Free By the Magic of Starlight (The Forbidden Realm) by Serena Gilley Page B

buzzing around his head. “But you need to hurry. He sounds close!”
    He moved quickly, but not nearly as silently as she would have wanted. Humans were such clumsy creatures. Fortunately, due to his size, he could cover a lot of ground. One bound with his long legs and he was hidden behind the rocks. Not that this would do much to protect him if the approaching human thought to look there, but for now he was out of sight.
    “Why can’t you just make me invisible?” he questioned when she followed and began tugging at the undergrowth, hoping to cover him with it.
    “I don’t have enough dust for that,” she explained. “Look at you, Kyne. You’re huge.”
    “I told you this would be a problem.”
    “Shh. He’s right there. See his light through the leaves? I’m going up into the trees. He’ll probably have that device again and I can’t have my magic nearby, giving you away. Stay hidden.”
    She hoped he would be smart and follow her advice. She had barely made it up to the lowest branches when Baylor came crashing into the clearing nearby, waving his flashlight and his device.
    “Kyne, is that you?” the man called out.
    She held her breath and willed Kyne not to answer.
    “Damn it, I know there’s magic here,” the man said. “I can detect it—I have sensors all through this part of the forest. They’ve already automatically alerted the council, you know. Whoever you are, show yourself now before it’s too late.”
    Nothing answered him but the night breeze and a distant bird call. She could tell the man was frustrated, but at least he had stopped walking and was standing still, safely away from Kyne’s hiding place behind the rocks.
    “I need to know what you did to my equipment!” Baylor called out. “Whatever you did, it isn’t going to make them happy.” He paused, waited, and waved his device around, then gave out a frustrated growl. “You don’t know what you’ve done. You’ve just put your entire Realm in great danger.”
    Something rustled behind the rocks. Raea cringed as the man’s head jerked toward that direction. She started scanning the branches around her. If only she could find an acorn or something and throw it, distract the man. No luck. She’d taken refuge in an old maple tree. Only the tiniest buds of thin little seed pods grew anywhere close to her. The chances of getting any of them to spiral down and make enough noise to catch Baylor’s attention were nil.
    And he was moving toward the rocks, just steps away now from discovering Kyne.
    “Kyne, talk to me. I don’t want to harm you.”
    Suddenly Kyne darted up through the brush to hover in the air a safe distance away from the man. He was small again, and not naked. A fern frond was wrapped around him, making him seem wild and untamed. He glared at the human, and if spite alone were a weapon, he likely could have struck him down where he stood.
    “How do you know who I am?” Kyne demanded.
    “You think you are the only one who’s been curious? I know you’ve tracked me, Kyne. You’ve watched me; you’ve studied me. You know who I am just the same way I know you.”
    “You don’t know me. You know nothing about me.”
    “I wish we had time for this, but we don’t. They’re on their way back here already and I need to get this machine running again. You can’t be here when I do. Its effects will harm you.”
    “It’s here, under these rocks, isn’t it? What does it do? What are you and the council creating out here in this forest?”
    “The less you know of it the better,” Baylor replied. “Just trust me.”
    “Trust you? After what you did to my mother? Where were you while the council accused her of terrible things? While I was ridiculed and mistrusted every day of my life? No, I’m not about to trust you, but I do want some answers. What is this mechanism, and what does it do?”
    Baylor paused and glanced around nervously. At first Raea thought he would refuse to answer. After a heavy sigh