Free Mystic by Jason Denzel Page B

head popped up. She’d been staring at the ground as they walked. “What? Where?”
    The laghart pushed aside a branch to reveal an enormous circular clearing. Pomella gasped.
    A wide, manicured lawn, bigger than she’d ever seen, shone under the highsun light. Scattered trees provided pools of shade, including a massive willow tree trailing its leaves in a gentle pond. Shaggy goats grazed lazily. The sounds of a nearby river drifted toward her and the laghart. A cluster of simple buildings rested on the far side of the clearing near the source of the sound. Pomella glanced down and saw a path of pebbled stones that began near her feet and ran toward the clearing’s most dominant feature—a rounded stone tower, perhaps seventy or eighty feet tall and half as wide, rising from the center of the clearing. Ivy crawled up its sides, the tendrils spreading across the white rock beneath it. A series of small windows climbed the tower in a slow spiral, unevenly spread apart, their panes twinkling in the sun. Capping the tower was a conical green slate roof. Wildflowers surrounded the tower in a wide ring, rippling like the waves of a colorful moat.
    A hawk soared overhead as they stepped out from the cover of trees onto the grass. A wide smile burst onto Pomella’s face. She yanked off her shoes. Her toes found the soft grass and she wiggled them, feeling the comforting relief offered by the lawn.
    Vlenar led her along the pebbled path toward the great tower. He walked in his hunched manner, his tail swishing in a steady rhythm. Pomella craned her neck, trying to take it all in.
    The ground rumbled, and the soil ahead of them erupted into a massive humanoid shape. Pomella jumped back and yelped. Vlenar gave no reaction as the figure loomed over them. Steadying her tumbling nerves, she forced herself to calm. She recognized this creature.
    â€œWelcome, Goodmiss AnDone,” the Green Man said, his voice rumbling like shifting tree trunks. “I’m glad you made it safely. You are a bit early, in fact.”
    Relief flooded Pomella. She’d made it! She flashed the Green Man her best smile.
    As before, his eyes were made from stones and his body was formed from the nearby soil. But instead of branches and leaves like she remembered him having in Oakspring, well-manicured grass now built his body. The shape of his face and his mannerisms remained the same, however.
    She stared at him in wide-eyed wonder. Vlenar bowed, the tip of his face touching the grass. Pomella dropped to curtsy, suddenly aware of her absolutely filthy appearance. She’d washed most of the grime from the pit away in a creek the day the ranger found her, but her clothes and hair were still knotted and stiff. Her cloak still hadn’t dried from the rain and falling in the river.
    â€œThank you, good Green Man,” she said, not knowing the proper way to address him.
    â€œBehold Kelt Apar,” he said, sweeping a heavy arm across the clearing. “For over a thousand years the lineage of High Mystics has held presence here, tending to and protecting the Mystwood and its inhabitants. Perhaps someday that duty will become yours, so look upon it this one time with fresh, new eyes.”
    A warm wind blew across Pomella’s face, catching her hair. On the far side of the tower a white spire peeked above the treetops. Off in the distance, an old gardener pulled weeds. A brown dog stood halfway between them and barked. Nearby, a wooden bridge spanned the river that she’d heard earlier.
    The Green Man turned to Vlenar. “Mistress Yarina thanks you for delivering Goodmiss AnDone in a timely manner. The other candidates will arrive soon. Please escort them to the grounds.”
    Vlenar inclined his head and left. His slitted, golden eyes briefly met Pomella’s as he walked past.
    â€œHe doesn’t like to talk much, does he?” Pomella said before she could stop herself.
    The Green Man shook with