A Kelpie of Rowan

Chapter 66

The water of the passage swirls around them, light with the sunlight pouring into it. Rowan leans forward, peering around Camden's head. She can see the end of the passage. Her fingers tighten around the hairs of Camden's mane and he snorts. Rowan loosens her hold and strokes his neck.

"Sorry."

The end of the passage is close now, only a few meters away. Maybe six. They spear through it, rising up to the surface of the river. Instead of swimming, Camden gallops across the surface of the water to the shore. Rowan slides off his back before he can shift and looks up at the sky. She sighs.

"Close to when I went through. Good."

Camden follows her up the slope of the riverbank to the trees that line its edge. The river seems to divide the forest, unlike other rivers she has seen. Other rivers have the trees coming right up to the water but with this river, they stop before the bank begins to slope down to the water. Rowan pushes herself up a particularly steep section of the bank and places a palm against one of the trees. It warms beneath her touch and she grins.

"Can you take me to Andrian?" The warmth fades and she frowns. "No! Do you know where he is?"

The tree's leaves flutter in the wind and it whispers into her head. Not forest. Hidden.

"He's not in the forest? That's why you can't take me to him?"

Yes.

"Do you know what part of the forest he was in before he disappeared?"

The warmth returns to the bark beneath her hands and it lights up. A path of faintly glowing trees appears ahead of her and Rowan grins, following them. Camden steps forward to walk beside her. He looks around at the trees, his brows drawn together. He reaches out to touch one of the trees and runs his fingers over the ridged bark. Rowan turns her head to look at him, still keeping an eye on the path ahead of her.

"What's wrong?"

Camden's head snaps back around to look at her. "How is this path created for us?"

She shrugs. "I don't know for sure. I ask one tree to show me the way and the rest light up to create a path. I would guess that it is because the trees share information. The tree I ask for help passes on the message and the other trees come to assist."

"How do they share information?"

Rowan beams. "Through their roots. They can pass nutrients, warnings of danger, and other things."

Camden tilts his head. "How do you know this?"

"I like learning about plants. I read about them."

Camden nods. "Ah. That makes sense."

Rowan turns to look back at the path, only to stop in her tracks. The forest continues on, but the trail doesn't. It seems to stop at a large outcropping of rock. She twists to look at Camden.

"Do you know what's going on here?"

He shakes his head. "Not a clue. What do we do now?"

Rowan runs forward to the base of the stone. The last tree of the path is beside her and she touches its bark, whispering to it. "Thank you."

The glow from the tree fades and Rowan sits in the dirt. Camden kneels beside her. "Ro? What do we do now?"

Her voice is quiet. "I don't know. I thought I could find some physical clues when the path ran out, but no. We just have a giant chunk of rock."

A hand rests on her shoulder and Rowan twists to look at Camden. "Hey. We'll find him, Ro. We might have hit a problem, but we will find him."

She nods and pulls her bag onto her lap, cradling it against her chest. Something is poking into her skin, a hard lump. She frowns and pulls the bag away from her skin, opening it. A runestone shines up at her and she gasps. She pulls it out of the bag and cradles it in her palm, looking down at it. Camden peers over her shoulder.

"What's that?"

She twists to look at him, beaming. "A runestone!"

A rune swirls to the surface and disappears. Rowan stands ad holds the runestone out before her, summoning the guide rune to the surface. She pictures Andrian in her mind and the rune glows blinding bright. She squints as something tugs at her navel. The runestone pulls her towards the rock and she is powerless to resist. She doesn't want to smack into solid stone, but she has no choice now. Camden calls out from behind her.

"Ro, what's happening?"

She looks back at him. "The runestone is guiding me to him! I don't know how, since it wants me to walk right into stone, but it is. Come on!"

Camden darts forward to her side and he laces his fingers through the ones on her free hand. She squeezes his hand back and follows the pull of the runestone into the outcropping before her.
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What do you think they'll find behind/inside the outcropping? Did you think the trees would lead them all the way to Andrian? Do you think he'll be okay when they find him? What do you think is going to happen next? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.