Songbird (36 page)

With tender devotion he kissed her again, marveling that such a beautiful creature belonged to him. He had many unanswered questions, but put them aside. All that mattered now was that she was here and they were together.

With nothing held back, their souls met in a torrent of cascading light. The bond sharpened and augmented the feelings of love between them, lifting them to a place beyond understanding.

Bran felt the familiar burning of her power, but this time it enfolded him in a warm embrace, welcoming him in a cataclysmic deluge of light and love. He entrusted her with everything that he was in a mutual sharing of heart and soul. Together, they soared on wings of light, exalting in this holy union of love.

She had chosen him, and in her sweet embrace, he was finally home.

****

Later that day, they planted the seed in a simple ceremony. Teya chose to plant it in the glade where she had found Bran that morning. Already nourished by their union, the glade held a special magic that would cultivate and nurture the seed.

She poured the water she had carried so many miles into the carefully turned well of earth, then placed the seed deep inside this womb of life. For a moment, she caught a glimpse of light that stretched upward into the heavens, connecting mortal to immortal.

With Bran’s help, she covered the seed with dirt, and began to sing the song of Creation. Bran joined her with his beautiful baritone voice, anchoring her lilting tones solidly to the dark earth beneath their fingers. The song resounded through the glade, piercing every living thing to the core.

As the tones faded to a reverent finish, a small beam of light angled through the forest from the heavens, and illuminated the earth over the seed like a benediction.

In this soft glow, the warmth of love arose, and a small green shoot extended above the ground. The light expanded in an ever-widening circle. Where the light touched, the nature of the glade changed, taking on vibrant tones of color in glowing hues.

The light encircled Teya and Bran, suffusing them in a symbolic link to the heavens. When the light dissipated, Teya caught her breath, her heart full of wonder. This new grove sparkled with a light of its own, surrounding and nurturing the young shoot of a Silver Tree.

The song of Creation echoed all around. The earth shook, sending small tremors through the soles of her feet that filtered upward to flow throughout her entire body with an echoing thrum. Next to her, Bran trembled, and they held fast to each other, witnesses as well as participants in this extraordinary event.

It was a new beginning in a new age. This tree was a union of both heaven and earth, much like her and Bran. It didn’t need magic to survive, just air and water. The cycle of life would go on, and with the birth of the Tree, the song of Creation would never end.

Epilogue

The young woman pushed through the undergrowth, searching for the path she had known as a child. It had been much easier to find then, but maybe that was because she was smaller. Today was her twenty-first birthday. The day chosen for her return.

Humming to herself, she let her thoughts drift, and suddenly there it was, stretched out before her like a red carpet. Smiling, she stepped to the path, fused with a rush of anticipation. For years, she had been awaiting this day.

Green ferns and mountain geraniums hung over the edge of the path, straddled by wild roses and dainty columbine. The trees branched overhead in leafy shadows and the breeze carried the scent of dark earth and pine. It had been raining earlier, but the sun broke through the clouds every now and then, lighting the shadowed way.

The path turned, and as she came around the bend, opened up into a beautiful shining glade. Even though it was a cloudy day, the glade seemed brighter than the rest of the forest. In the clearing at its center, stood the most beautiful tree she had ever seen. Larger than she remembered, it reached upward, towering above her in unequaled majesty.

The thick trunk was smooth and silvery white. Green leaves shimmered with glistening silver sparkles, giving off light that had nothing to do with the sunshine. When the wind shifted, the leaves rustled in faint musical tones, and she caught her breath. She knew that melody. From the edge of her memory she remembered her grandmother singing it to her many times when she was small.

The tree spoke to her in a way she couldn’t express, as if she were linked to it somehow. She reached out and laid her palm against the smooth bark. It was surprisingly warm, and the perfumed scent caught at her senses with a profound feeling of peace. Like she was home.

She remembered the story of how her great-grandparents had planted the seed a long time ago. Teya and Bran. They brought it from another place that was gone, taken from the earth by magic.

The seed had sprouted because of their love, and grown in this beautiful garden to keep watch over them and their posterity. It stood like a sentinel, guarding their love forever. That was the story. When she was young, she used to believe in magic, but that was a childhood fancy. Magic was only something told in tales. It wasn’t real.

Yet, standing here in this grove, she could almost believe in it again. This place was different. The rest of the world may be turning sour with darkness and strife, but here, it was as if life had begun anew. This place held hope.

She sighed, and the tree seemed to shift in response, sending a faint intimation of melody. The musical tones grew and reverberated through her mind, then went deeper into her skin. With a smile and a rash sense of buoyancy, she let the notes trickle off her tongue into the air. The leaves caught the tones of her clear voice and played with them in a counter-melody that sent shivers up her spine.

In a burst of exaltation, she opened her mouth and sang the tones with unbounded pleasure. She’d always held back before, keeping her voice in check because of the amazing feelings she could summon. Here, she let it all out, and the grove filled with the sounds, echoing through the glade like a vast domed cathedral, spiraling upward to shower down in waves of resonant beauty.

Within this conduit of sound, a vision opened to her mind of a white city filled with shimmering buildings that reflected the light like prisms. These shining crystal towers stood amid silvery green trees and deep azure blue sky. Countless people inhabited this fathomless beauty, and in the midst of them, stood two whom she knew instinctively as her great-grandparents.

Their glowing happiness spread through her like a brand of fire. Her great-grandmother’s smile bridged the gap between time and space, sending a feeling of deep love that filled her heart with a sweet burning of truth.

A connection ran between them and she knew in the core of her being, that this was part of her heritage, part of who she was. She realized that the magic of this legacy was imbedded deep inside of her, ready for her use. If the need ever arose, it would be there for her and her posterity.

The vision cleared and she stood again in the shadow of the Silver Tree. Her heart pounded with new understanding and strength. Grateful for this gift of understanding, she vowed to carry on the birthright of her ancestors. Whatever the future held, this tree was part of her heritage and also part of her destiny.

A destiny her family would carry to the end of days.

If you enjoyed this book, please take a moment to post a review on Amazon. It’s a great way to thank an author!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A long career as a wife and mother while juggling several part-time jobs gave Colleen the ambition to dream of being a published writer, where she could put her imagination to good use. Now instead of making up stories to tell her children, she writes books that they love to read. Hopefully you will too. She is the author of three romantic fantasy novels, Songbird, Flame of Destiny and The Relic. Her Shelby Nichols Adventures include Carrots, Fast Money, Lie or Die, Secrets That Kill, Trapped by Revenge, Deep In Death, Crossing Danger, with more to come.

Please visit her at:

http://www.colleenhelme.com

https://www.facebook.com/ColleenHelmeAuthor

http://shelbynicholsconsulting.com/