TBC: Chapter Eight

Zareb continued his run deep into the forest, his golden-green gladaé held steady. Malik's trail—a single twinkling speck of light—floated in the air before him. As Zareb reached the light, it disappeared, and another appeared several feet ahead. He followed the reappearing lights until he saw the glow of Malik's skin.

Malik stood in a large clearing encircled by some of the tallest trees in the forest. He didn't look up as Zareb approached.

"Where is she, Sir? I thought…" Zareb scanned the area, his breath labored.

"She is too clever to capture yet, but just wait…" Malik replied calmly. He continued to study the thick trunk of the tree before them, his eyes narrow in concentration. "If the forest does what I expect it will, her identity will be revealed."

"I do not understand, Sir," Zareb replied.

"I knew that if any were using the means of magic as the rumors stated, then whoever was doing so was very clever and powerful. She saw through many of the traps I set for her in Gawl Forest, but what she did not account for tonight was my enchantment of our forest trees.

"I cast a binding effect on the tree branches from where we stand to the edge of the southern part of the forest, near the borders of Kraundor," he explained. "The effect causes branches to entangle and extend, making it more difficult to journey through them without harm. I knew that if Mordán had a spy who was using magic, then it was most likely she entered Ceiabré Forest from the south for tonight's event. As she reaches the forest's edge, she is likely to relax and become less cautious about her surroundings."

"How will the binding effect assist us here rather than at the edge of the forest?" Zareb asked.

"If we keep our distance, she will not sense us following her and will lower her guard. I have bound the other trees to this one. If she receives any scratch from a branch of an enchanted tree, the effect will be transmitted to our location."

Malik quietened as a slow drip of violet-blue blood appeared in the middle of the trunk before them. He smiled and retrieved a small container from inside his robes and held it up to the tree to collect the blood. "As I had hoped." He held the container out to Zareb. "This is all we need."

Zareb took the container and studied the blood inside. "You wish me to read it?"

"Precisely."

Zareb's eyes lit up brightly in the darkened forest. He pressed his finger to the blood in the container, which was absorbed by his skin instantly. His brow furrowed in concentration as his mind formulated the information. "She is of your kind, Sir Malik—a star witch with black hair, but years younger."

Malik's face fell. "It cannot be."

"She is very powerful," Zareb continued. "Her presence is strong in Gawl Forest. I believe she resides in the Ice Mountains." Zareb's eyes returned to normal. "That is all I can sense at this time." He placed his finger into the container and the thick blood returned just as it was minutes before.

"I wish you to do one other thing, Elder Master," Malik said, his face grave.

"Anything."

Malik held out his right arm to reveal multiple, vertical violet-blue marks across his inner arm as if something with sharp claws had left thick, permanent scars. "I wish you to read another's blood and see if any traces or patterns within the blood match those of the star witch."

Zareb looked skeptical. "I have never read two at once, but I will tell you what I see."

Malik nodded. His eyes lit up with a bright silver-blue light. He held a glowing hand over the blue stone on the top of his staff, which dislodged. Malik lifted it from the staff as the stone shrunk into a small jewel. With it, he cut across one of the marks close to his wrist. A small bubble of violet blood appeared over the mark.

Zareb placed his left index finger back into the container and absorbed the blood of the star witch. "I gather that the marks on your arm carry someone else's blood," Zareb said as he looked at Malik's wrist.

"They do."

Zareb placed his right index finger on Malik's wrist to absorb the blood. His eyes lit up brightly again as he concentrated for several moments and then touched the pads of both fingers together. "The patterns in the blood are a close match, so I believe that the two individuals are related," he said. "The star wizard male whose blood you carry in your wrist is similar to the star witch in appearance, as well as in potential power."

Malik turned his gaze to the southern part of the forest. "I searched for her for months," he mumbled. "How did she survive the war?" He placed his hand over his own wrist and mumbled a spell to heal the small cut over the blood mark.

"It is someone you know well?" Zareb asked.

"Yes. She will present a larger problem for the Order than I anticipated," Malik replied darkly. "If only I had—"

"Who is she, sir?"

"She is my granddaughter."

***