The Orchard of Hope (9 page)

“Not
‘
meatballs.
’
The bird is saying
‘
Megan.
’”
Roland explained.

They listened
for several more iterations of the message. Kelsey and Maggie both
concentrated on the bird and focused carefully on
hi
s vocalizations as he spoke the phrase several
more times.

“M
eetings
—
not reaping, and stak
ing
—
not spanking!
”
Maggie
exclaimed as soon as she understood. Kelsey glanced over at Roland,
who shook his head to indicate that the translation was still
incorrect
.

“Closer,
though,
”
he
replied.

“The bird is
saying Megan
’
s
name,
”
Kelsey
informed Maggie. She and Maggie both concentrated and listened
again as the bird spoke.

“Greetings.
Megan is taking good care of your soul,
”
Maggie finally said as she
stood upright.

Kelsey turned to
Roland who nodded that the translation was correct. Kelsey repeated
the bird
’
s
speech and said the phrase aloud as she reflected on the sounds the
bird had made and how they translated into human speech. After
about a minute, she turned to Roland.
“
What does that
mean?
”

“What it sounds
like it means: Megan is taking very good care of your
soul.
”

“My
soul?
”
Kelsey asked in
confusion.
“
How
did she get it, and why isn
’
t my soul with me? Am I hearing
you correctly? Or is this part of the sorcerer
’
s spell? Is the spell confusing
my hearing?
”

“You heard me.
Didn
’
t you read
the contract you signed before you left?
”

“Read it? It
was, like, 30 pages or more! Of course I didn
’
t read it. I was preparing for a
quest and didn
’
t have time for that!
”

“Read
what?
”
Maggie
asked.

“The
contract,
”
Kelsey replied.

“You probably
should have read it,
”
Maggie said with conviction as she shook her head
solemnly
.

“It
’
s not as if Megan
isn
’
t trustworthy,
”
Roland said
helpfully.

“That
’
s
not the point. She has my soul!
”
Kelsey exclaimed. She threw her arms up in the
air and dropped them again as she cursed.

“Not all of it.
She only has a piece. You still have most of it.
”

“That
’
s
still not the point. She shouldn
’
t have any of it without my
permission.
”

“But you did
give her permission when you signed the contract,
”
Roland explained. He cocked his
head to one side and stared back at Kelsey with a confused
expression on his face. His rust colored fur fluttered in the
breeze as he waited for her to respond.

Kelsey looked around in
exasperation. Her whole situation felt absurd. She saw the raven
sitting in front of her with feathers so black that they reflected
a deep shade of blue in the sunlight. Death was at her side, and
his fans were off in the distance, talking among themselves,
excited to be so near their idol. Then there was Maggie, who seemed
to have a natural ability to talk with the birds. Finally there was
the fact that she had accidentally sold off a piece of her soul.
That last bit of information was what pushed her over the
edge.

“I can
’
t believe
this,
”
Kelsey
said.

“I believe
it,
”
Maggie
said with conviction.
“
Contracts are binding.
”

Kelsey took a
step backward and put her hand on her forehead. The concept was
dizzying, and she was upset with herself for not reading the
document that she had carelessly signed. She had been too
interested in getting started on the quest to pay attention. She
had also trusted Megan. They were supposed to be friends. But
friends don
’
t
steal each others
’
souls.

Kelsey’s mind
rapidly considered the options. Was it possible that Megan was
working for the sorcerer? Yes, it could be possible. She could be a
double agent. But then Kelsey had traveled with her before and
didn
’
t think it
was true. Roland also wasn
’
t as concerned as Kelsey thought
he should be. Surely, with all of his knowledge, Roland would be
able to determine Megan
’
s true character. If Megan was
dishonest, Roland would know, and Kelsey trusted Roland to tell her
the truth. So, if Megan wasn
’
t dishonest, and Roland trusted
her, then perhaps there was a reason for taking a piece of
someone
’
s soul.
There had to be a very good explanation, and the only one that
Kelsey could think of would be to help the other person stay
alive.

“I suppose that
if I get mortally wounded in battle, it would be a good idea to
have a piece of my soul in reserve. You know, like keep it safe
somewhere else so that you could bring me back to
life,
”
Kelsey
reasoned aloud.

“It
doesn
’
t work
that way,
”
said
Roland.

“How does it
work?
”

“If I tell you
how it works, it may not work at all. So for now
you
’
ll just
have to trust me.
”

“What is he
saying?
”
Maggie
asked after a few minutes of silence in which Kelsey had been
thinking.

“Nothing. No
one is talking,
”
Kelsey answered.
“
He said that I have to trust
him.
”

“Then I think
you should,
”
said Maggie.

“Why?
”
Kelsey asked in a challenging tone.

“Because you
can see him, and you know who he is.
”

“She raises a
good point.
”
Roland nodded with approval as he spoke.

“It
’
s just so
creepy,
”
said Kelsey.

“Reality can
sometimes be creepy, but that doesn
’
t mean that it
’
s bad for you,
”
Roland replied. As Kelsey
sighed in resignation, Roland turned to the bird and said something
that Kelsey couldn
’
t understand, and the bird flew off.

“Am I going to
learn how to answer the birds, also?
”
Kelsey asked as she watched the
bird soar into the bright sky. Understanding them was useful, but
communication needed to go back and forth for it to be fully of
use.

“Yes, but not
today. You
’
ve
learned enough for one day.
”

“My brain feels
so full, it hurts,
”
Kelsey replied in agreement as she reached her hand up to
her temple and rubbed the skin gently.

“Mine
too,
”
said
Maggie.

Chapter

Six

Moss Grows On You

His hair was
white, but he had a very long green beard the color of moss, and he
smelled of earth. It wasn
’
t a dirty smell, as if something
were rotting. Instead, it was a rich smell that reminded Nicholas
of the forest. It had the scent of both new and old things that
intermixed in the present air. The fragrance seemed relevant, but
Nicholas couldn't explain why.

“Hello,
Sir,
”
Nicholas
said politely.

“How much time
do we have?
”
Moss asked.

“I
don’
t know,
”
Nicholas replied, since he
wasn
’
t sure how
long his lessons were scheduled to last.

“Then
I
’
ll need to
teach you to tell time,
”
Moss concluded.
“
Have you ever seen a clock
before?
”

Megan winked at
Nicholas and then slowly drew a circle in the air. Nicholas
understood why she had said that genius was circular, but he still
wasn
’
t sure
that Moss was a genius. But he was certainly odd.

“I
’
ve seen a clock,
sir,
”
Nicholas
answered.

“Good. Then
telling time won
’
t be quite so foreign to you.
”

Moss rapidly made his way across
the room to an old clock and brought it back to where Nicholas was
standing. The old man set the clock down on the table and told
Nicholas to study the hands. Nicholas first glanced at Megan and
then at Moss before turning his attention to the walnut clock that
stood before him. He watched a small pendulum erratically swaying
from side to side as it settled into a regular rhythm. Then he
looked at the hands, which were shaped like little gloves with the
palms turned outward and fingers held stiffly together.

“How many hands
are there?
”
Moss asked as he tapped a pencil on the back of a
chair.

“Two,
”
Nicholas quickly replied.

“Look
again,
”
Moss
insisted as he stopped the tapping motion. Nicholas glanced at
Megan, who motioned for him to follow directions.

Nicholas stared at the face of the
clock, and as he did, the hands turned to wings. They were long
slender wings that stretched out elegantly in a slight curve as
they moved slowly around in circles. Then they faded from his
sight.

“How many hands
are there?
”
Moss asked again.

“None,
”
Nicholas replied as he stared at the face of the
clock with no hands on it. He blinked forcefully a few times, as if
attempting to wake himself up. He was certain there were hands or
wings on the clock only a few moments ago. Now there was nothing
but a smooth round disk with numbers around the edges. There
wasn
’
t even a
notch in the center for attaching the hands.

“Better,
”
Moss replied
thoughtfully.
“
But look again.
”

“He
’
s trying too
hard,
”
said a
very deep resonating voice from somewhere near the
floor.