Free The Whispering Trees by J. A. White Page B

uneaten dangled from its lower gums.
    Kara reached out with her mind, feeling for the creature, but whereas the grettin was like a fond memory eager to be recalled, the sledgeworm was a moment better left forgotten: the snap of a broken bone, a sleepless night burning with fever, her mother’s face looking away in disappointment.
    â€œI can’t,” Kara said. “I found what the grettin wanted and made a sort of connection with it, but there’s nothing I share with this monster.”
    â€œYou mean nothing you want to share.”
    The sledgeworm went after Mary then, turning its body with surprising speed and knocking her to the ground. Kara ran to help her but the monster blocked her path. It swung an arm and Kara ducked, feeling the hiss of air as its claw passed just over its head.
    Suddenly the sledgeworm collapsed.
    â€œI got it!” Taff shouted, wooden sword in hand.
    Kara saw what had happened. When the sledgeworm put all its weight on one arm to attack her, Taff struck it with his sword. The blow hadn’t been enough to hurt it, but the timing had caused the monster to lose its balance, buying her precious seconds.
    Taff had already helped Mary to her feet, the two of them running toward the shelter of the trees now. Kara, thinking the sledgeworm would follow her, ran in the opposite direction.
    Except it followed her brother instead, furious at the little human wielding the biting stick.
    â€œGet back here!” Kara screamed. “Leave him alone!”
    She picked up a rock and threw it at the sledgeworm, striking its body. The monster, only a few steps away from Taff now, ignored her.
    Build a bridge! Now!
    Reaching into her mind, she thought about Simon—not the guilt she felt for killing him but the pure joy shehad taken in the act, under the spell of the grimoire but ignoring that now, enjoying his screams as her children bit into him, the pleasure of the kill . . .
    . . . and transformed that rush of feeling into a mind-bridge that she followed straight to the sledgeworm. Her passage into its mind, however, was blocked by a solid wall of hate. She concentrated harder, pushing the wall, but it was as hard as stone. Unlike the grettin, the sledgeworm did not know the meaning of trust. It would never come to her. If Kara wanted to stop it, she would have to make her own entrance into its mind.
    Taff screamed.
    Holding her head between her hands, Kara lashed out with her mind and struck the wall as hard as she could.
    The sledgeworm wailed in pain and fire blossomed in Kara’s head. Her nose popped . Something wet and sticky dribbled onto her lips. The creature faced her, uncertain, but then Kara saw its arms tense as it prepared to charge.
    She closed her eyes and struck the wall again. It waseasier this this time, though no less painful.
    The sledgeworm flew backward as though caught in a sudden gust of wind.
    Withdrawing Mary’s dagger, Kara approached the monster. It lay coiled on the ground, struggling to regain its balance. Despite everything that had happened, Kara felt pity for the creature. It had only been hungry, nothing more.
    She held its gaze, remembering a moment of blinding fear ( Grace has Taff; where has she taken him? ) and used that to find the monster, feeling what it was feeling right now.
    I won’t hurt you again , Kara told it. As long as you leave this second .
    With a weak hiss the sledgeworm righted itself and sprang into the treetops.
    Taff watched it go, then turned to his sister with something like awe in his eyes.
    â€œWhat did you do?” he asked.
    â€œMagic,” Kara replied, and collapsed.

B OOK T WO
IMOGEN

    â€œIn time, those who use magic become monsters.
This is the fate no witch can escape.”
    â€”The Path
    Leaf 182, Line 45

S he slept for two days.
    During this time she was visited by another dream of her father. It started like the first one: Father in the field, folding seeds into the soil and