Rayna's Sacrifice (The Katori Chronicles Book 3) by A. Lombardo (intellectual books to read .TXT) 📗

Rayna did not like the looks on their faces, nor how they had appeared so suddenly. She tried to leave, but Linnea blocked her path. “Don’t go, not yet.”

“Were you following me?” Rayna asked.

“Do you want to know why this place is so special?” Senina ignored her question. “We Kodama come here to practice becoming trees. The earth here is very rich, and the rivers from the Katori Mountains flow beneath this place. Our ancestors had the Stonekings create this sanctuary for us. Mighty women, in their old age, became the three oak trees that welcome each Katori into Zabranen Forest. As their descendants, it is our duty to protect this place.”

“Do you wish to learn?” Linnea asked.

Ciera laughed. “Her? Become a mighty oak?”

“I don’t know…” Senina paused and scanned the length of Rayna. “She is rather small to consider becoming an oak. Maybe she’ll be a lavender twistwood.”

All three girls laughed at the idea. “Come on, my sisters, she is not brave enough to even try,” Senina mocked.

In her studies, Rayna had seen sketches of a lavender twistwood tree. While extremely pretty, the tree remained small, no more than four feet tall at best. Their bark was dark, nearly black, and they often grew twisted, but their pale lavender flowers were said to be honey-sweet.

The comparison to this inferior plant made Rayna’s blood boil. She could do this. If they could become a mighty oak, she certainly could too. Glaring at the sisters with her hands on her hips, she was determined to prove them wrong. “I can too,” she shook her finger at them.

The girls turned around and laughed. A faint breeze whipped through the trees. “Well?” Ciera crossed back to stand near Rayna.

“What are you waiting for?” Linnea looked around the glade.

“Show us what you can do, little Kodama sister,” Senina mocked.

Rayna shook her head at the girls. Her fingers stretched outward. “You just watch what I can do.” She slipped out of her shoes to let the earth squish under her feet.

Connected to her magic, her green crystal began to shine. Within the ground, she felt great power. The soil welcomed her touch. Without thinking, she pulled at the ground, coaxing the earth up around her feet. Her toes sank into the soil and roots burst across the glade. Startled, the sisters stepped away.

“Rayna, are you sure you want to do this?” Senina asked, suddenly wary.

Ignoring the sister, Rayna took in a deep breath. The sun baked her scalp. Its power infused her and mixed with the energy from the ground. A mighty oak tree came to mind, and she used her newly created magic to change her form.

Raised off the ground by her expanding roots, Rayna gawked at her situation. One look at the sisters, and she pushed harder at the idea of becoming a tree. Their contorted faces concerned her. Senina covered her mouth. Fear washed over their expressions.

Senina waved at Rayna. “No. Please stop this. You really should not continue!”

Bark crept up Rayna’s legs. Craggy roots swelled around her and pushed her skyward. Her trunk thickened. Rayna lifted her hands, and branches sprouted from her arms and fingers. As the tree engulfed her body, Rayna suddenly felt afraid. What had she done? She had no idea how to change back or how to stop what was happening. She felt her skin change and harden. Her hair became heavy and woody. Her mouth curled into a scream. “Please help me!”

The advancing bark did not stop. Rayna struggled but could not reverse the effects. Warm tears ran down her face. She was afraid. The final bit of her face swelled into woody bark and disappeared.

Two of the oak sisters panicked and darted out of the glade. Only Senina remained. Her trembling hand touched the tree. To Rayna’s surprise, she felt the girl’s fingers caress her bark.

The desire to breathe came over her, but instead of lungs within her chest, her entire body felt the intake of air. Her leaves fluttered in the wind, and it trickled down her trunk. The sun bathed her in light, and it felt wonderful. Deep within the ground, her roots sucked at water and nourished her. Birds landed on her branches and sang to her. Their delightfulness pleased her. Happy, she swayed in the breeze and looked around her glade.

Below, on the ground, a girl slumped. Wet tears ran down her sad face, and she leaned against the tree trunk. The weight of her felt nice, and the mighty oak listened to the sobbing stranger.

“Please come out, Rayna. I am so sorry we tricked you.” Senina wiped the tears from her face and reached up at the tree. “I don’t know how to help you.”

The mighty oak stiffened and searched the cloudy sky. Peaceful and happy, it leaned toward the shifting sunlight. Content to watch the setting sun, the tree ignored the wet creature at her base.

Chapter 20

The Kodama

Winter snow filled the skies. There was no time to tramp through the forest. Kai needed speed. In his dragon form, he took flight. He had no idea how to find Rayna’s tree or how to find Imani. Katori was a vast country, the woman could be anywhere. His only hope was to follow his grandfather’s advice, fly toward Ryker, and search for Imani among the Matoku tribe.

Through the snowy weather, Kai flew higher and higher. Up into the snow-filled clouds, everything turned white. Through the vapors, the early dawn sky emerged. The Katori’s peaks came into view, their snow-covered summits clawing at the pink morning sky.

Over the mountain crest, Kai dove back through the clouds. There was no snow yet on this side of the mountain range, but he could smell that the crisp air was ripe for a storm.

He banked a hard right towards the southeast side of Katori. The rolling foothills. Home to Ryker’s Matoku highland tribe.

Thick fluffy clouds gave way to thin wispy ones. He crashed through their