Free Songbird by Colleen Helme Page B

strength to hold him upright until his strength returned. After a few deep breaths, he nodded and she let go. With Bran safe at her side, she prodded her horse toward the whistling tones she heard in the distance.
    All at once, the mist thickened into a solid wall around them, but she tried not to panic. Closing her eyes, she concentrated hard, knowing their only hope to survive meant finding the source of the music. At last, a faint breeze carried the tones to her once again, and she jerked her horse toward the sound. Bran nodded to hear them, finally understanding her intent.
    As they got closer to the tones, the darkness thinned in front of them, then disappeared altogether. What she had imagined as reeds were actually pipes, turned to catch the wind and placed on a wooden stand. About ten feet in both directions, more pipes formed a barrier against the mist. With a cry of relief, she and Bran surged between them to safety. Gasping in huge breaths, Teya slid off her horse and fell to her knees.
    A sudden moaning shriek surged from the darkness toward them. In response, Teya’s horse reared in fright, jerking from her grasp and galloping away. As the darkness swirled into a churning mass of turbid malevolence, Teya jumped to her feet, only to shrink back in horror from the small tendrils of mist that crept forward between the pipes to reach her.
    Instinctively, Teya lashed out with her song. The mist jerked back as if stung. Seeing this, she strengthened her tones. The darkness hung in the air for a few moments, then suddenly disappeared into the dead countryside.
    Taking huge breaths, Teya swayed. Bran came to her side, his breath shallow and uneven. “That thing almost had us,” he said. “For a minute there, I thought I was dead.”
    “I know...me too.” Her trembling legs barely held her up. Bran caught her and they clung to each other as the shock of their narrow escape washed over them. With Bran’s firm arms around her, Teya’s trembling subsided. Finally calm enough to notice her surroundings, she pulled away in astonishment.
    “Look at that,” she exclaimed. “It’s grass.” The green carpet began a few feet beyond the barrier of pipes and continued up a slope. Now that the darkness was gone, the orange and yellow rays of the setting sun cast golden light across the land.
    “There...in the distance,” Bran said, pointing past the slope. “There are trees, lots of them.” More golden light gathered on the tips of the trees and Teya’s breath caught with excitement.
    “That must be the grove,” she said. “The pipes are the handiwork of my people. They have to be here.”
    They scrambled up the slope and the vista opened up to a scene of green grass covering the rolling countryside. At the center, stood a magnificent stand of trees, glowing in the last rays of sunset. The grove’s beauty overwhelmed her, but also seemed so small compared to what she remembered. Was this all that remained of the grove and her people?
    They found the horses munching contentedly on the green grass, and quickly mounted, urging them toward the trees. As the sun set, the golden light went with it, leaving them in gray twilight. It didn’t take long before they closed in on the trees and found them spread out over a small valley. Nearby, a stream gurgled, but it was the glow of a light inside a small cottage that sent Teya’s heart racing.
    She grabbed Bran’s arm and pointed. “Can you see the cottage? Someone’s there!” She didn’t wait for a reply, but urged her mount through the trees. She quickly dismounted and ran to the cottage door, throwing it open.  
    “Hello?” she shouted. “Is anyone here?” No one answered and she hoped she hadn’t scared them off. She glanced at the simple furnishings, but found nothing familiar. “I don’t mean any harm. Please come out.”
    A rustling of hooves marked Bran’s arrival and she hurried back out. “Did you see anyone?”
    He shook his head. “Not a