Grandmother scoffed. “You’re exaggerating. But you feel it strongly, don’t you?”

Keelie pressed her palms to her temples. “It’s like a black mark on the magic. It feels sick, like a spot along the edge of the tree magic.”

The older elf’s bright green gaze was fixed on her. “What do you think it is?”

“You tell me. You’re keeping secrets. What is it?” Keelie leaned her cheek against the cool glass of the window, relieved that the pain had eased.

Grandmother stopped the truck, shoving the gearshift into park so that they all were propelled forward.

Instantly, the headache was back.

“You’re right.” Grandmother stared directly out the windshield.

Okay, Keelie hadn’t expected her to agree so quickly. Her headache faded. “What’s going on?”

“The Redwood Tree Shepherd sent me a message before the call went out to find him.” Grandmother looked at Keelie intently, as if she knew Keelie would understand some kind of secret message in her words.

“You mean he asked you for help before he disappeared? Why didn’t you tell Dad?”

“Viran was afraid. You have to understand that Viran is not the fearful sort. He’s a steady man, and he values the trees above all. He’s been shepherd to the redwoods for almost four hundred years.”

“Four hundred years ago the only humans here were the Native Americans, right?”

“That is correct.”

“So maybe he’s just afraid of change. Too many humans or something. He doesn’t like the tourists.”

“He’s seen more change than many others, Keelie. He said he feared something … dark.”

Keelie’s stomach sank. Dark. There had been too much dark in her life. What was she, a magnet for the evil gremmies of the world? Redcaps, dark magic books, unicorn killers, vampires, what next? Maybe she’d better not ask.

“There’s more, and it may be connected. Soon there will be a gathering of elves in the Northwoods, where strange things are also happening.”

“The Northwoods are in Canada, right?” Elia had said that her mother was from the Northwoods. “So the elves there are organizing?”

Grandmother nodded. “It’s unprecedented for the clans to work together.”

“Then it’s a good thing. More communication. So when did the Redwood Tree Shepherd contact you?”

Sheepishly, Grandmother gave a little half smile, which was very creepy. “To answer your questions in the order you asked them—Viran contacted me because he knew your grandfather, Zaros. He sent for him.” Keelie had a vision of an elven Father Time with a long white beard and long white hair. Zaros, her grandfather, had died (or, as the elves said, faded) a century ago.

Yet Keelie sensed there was more that Grandmother wasn’t telling her. Maybe having Dad take over as the leader of the Dread Forest had left Grandmother without a job. Some people didn’t adjust too well to retirement.

Grandmother reached down to turn the key. Keelie quickly removed it from the ignition. “You’re going to tell me what’s going on. I want to know what is really happening in the forest. Tell me everything you know, and until you do, we don’t go.” Keelie dangled the key from her hand.

Anger flashed in Grandmother’s eyes. “You’re so human sometimes.”

“Thanks for not calling me a brat, but back to the subject at hand.”

Knot climbed into Grandmother’s lap and curled up in a ball.

Grandmother’s brow wrinkled in disgust and she pushed the cat away. Knot landed on the floor of the truck with a thump and returned to Keelie’s side, satisfied. Annoyed elf: mission accomplished.

“If you must hear it, I’ll tell you now, before we get to the village,” Grandmother said. “Viran, the Redwood Tree Shepherd, has been here for hundreds of years. When the logging began he tried to stop it, but he was too trusting. He thought that the loggers would hear his plea for the forest with compassion. Instead, he was arrested by the sheriff for disturbing the peace. A small charge, but they kept him locked away while the forest, unprotected, was logged.” Grandmother looked out of the window toward the untouched wilderness outside. “The redwood elves discovered that they could only release him by going through the human courts, and thus learned about the importance of integrating themselves into the human world. They helped establish the forest service, and were able to work undisturbed. John Muir stayed with them for a while.”

“John Muir? The man who’s responsible for the start of the first national parks?”

“Yes. Meanwhile, Viran returned to the Redwood Forest, where he performed a Tree Lorem for each and every tree that was felled. The redwood elves then used magic to sequester part of the forest, hiding it from humans, and that is where the village is located. Viran recovered eventually, but the damage to the forest injured him gravely. He is Lord of the Forest, and you know what that means.”

Keelie understood. Grandmother had once been Lady of the Dread Forest. When the Dread had failed last fall and humans had encroached on the forest, the trees were in danger and Grandmother had sickened. Keelie’s dad had stepped in, taking on the soul of the forest so that his mother could heal, and only when Keelie and Alora restored the Dread did Grandmother recover. Dad was still Lord of the Forest, and Keelie had assumed that Grandmother was enjoying her new freedom.

“Viran spent many a year up in the treetops,” Grandmother continued. “In all weather and even during fires, he stayed with the trees and became more and more like them. Even now he rarely touches the ground.”

“Why did he want to contact Zaros?”

“He said the trees were acting strangely.”

“It always starts with the trees acting differently.” Keelie resisted rolling her eyes.

“He didn’t tell me any more, other than he wanted to know how to expand and strengthen the Dread, and that he feared a dark presence. And now he’s gone and no one can find him, not even the trees.”

Keelie shuddered. She turned to her grandmother. Their eyes met. “I can’t save a forest again. It took too much out of me.”

“I don’t think you’re going to be the one to strengthen the Dread. Viran wants to know how to do it.”

The tightness that had squeezed Keelie’s ribs relaxed. She’d help Viran as much as she could. She wondered what he looked like, especially if he hadn’t left the treetops in hundreds of years.

Grandmother stretched a hand out for the key. “Well, we’re here. And we’re committed to the festival for the next three weeks.”

Keelie handed the truck keys over reluctantly.

Cranking the truck back up, Grandmother seemed almost jovial. She patted Keelie on the shoulder. “I don’t think helping the Redwood Tree Shepherd will take that much time or energy.”

Foreboding wrapped itself around Keelie like a shroud. This was not what she had planned.

Grandmother had told Dad that she would handle the forest and the missing tree shepherd, but it felt like she had dumped this magical chore on Keelie’s lap. Keelie had just wanted an opportunity to relax and run the shop, and to say goodbye to Mom’s house. How did one find a missing tree shepherd anyway, when even the trees couldn’t find him? She had a mental image of Viran hiding out on the beach. After four hundred years, a dude needed a vacation.

A few moments later, Grandmother drove up to a tiny, beat-up cabin of weathered logs. Keelie couldn’t believe that anyone lived here, and she hoped it wouldn’t be their home in the elven village.

“Don’t dawdle.” Grandmother hopped out and quickly walked to the dilapidated door. As her grandmother disappeared into the cabin, resolve steeled Keelie’s spine. No way would she use dark magic. She’d felt its presence strongly tonight, even if Grandmother thought she was exaggerating. She had to set boundaries, or else she’d turn into some kind of magical ATM, dispensing energy upon demand. She could relate to the missing tree shepherd and why he might want to ditch his job. Trees, elves, need, need, need. It never stopped.

Keelie stomped across the path and entered the cabin, pushing the door open with a dramatic shove. “We need to talk—”

She stopped.

A tall, silver-haired elf turned to her. He was standing close to Grandmother, holding her hand. He wore robes like Lord Elianard’s, but there the resemblance to the stuck-up Lore Master ended. Elianard never smiled. It was disconcerting to see this elegant look-alike beam at her. The silver-haired elf bowed his head toward Keelie.

She managed to slightly tilt hers. Grandmother dropped his hand and stepped away.

This elf’s eyes were an icy blue, not woodland green. Keelie had never met an elf with Siberian Husky eyes.

Grandmother cleared her throat. “Keelie, this is Norzan. He is Tree Shepherd of the Northwoods.”

“Tree Shepherd of the Northwoods? You’re far from your home.” Keelie sat down on a dusty, plump-cushioned sofa.

Norzan raised his eyebrows and looked at Grandmother, asking a silent question.

“What’s going on?” Keelie looked to Norzan for the answer. Grandmother was dropping tiny clues like crumbs in a forest. Aggravating.

Norzan sat down on the sofa next to Keelie. “This must be overwhelming for you, especially coming into this without any knowledge of the situation.”

Keelie was warming to him. “You’ve got that right.” He was talking to her like Sir Davey would. She hoped Grandmother would catch on and treat her like an adult, and with a little kindness. Grandmother would do great in the Northwoods. She was the original Ice Queen.

“The redwood elves summoned help a week ago. Their Council leader, Kalix, sent a request to our leader. As you know, Keelie, things are not well with the Earth. So far, the Redwood Forest has been immune to the changes. Frankly, the fact that the trees themselves cannot find the shepherd tells me that things are more serious than anyone thought. The boundaries between the magical worlds are breaking, and there are those on the dark side wishing to grab power for themselves.”

“You think someone took the Redwood Tree Shepherd?”

“We don’t know.” Grandmother interjected. “The redwoods do not know where he is.”

“We can only hope that no dark force is at hand,” Norzan said. “Even in the Northwoods, where the boundaries are strongly and magically protected, there is a break between worlds—human, elf, and fairy. But we have always met peacefully, every year, at the Quicksilver Faire. I want to work quickly here and return to my forest before the Faire begins.”

“I think you’re right, and whatever’s out there is very strong,” Keelie said. Her head still throbbed from the aftershocks of that psychic attack, whatever it had been. “So what are you guys planning to do about it?”

Silence.

She didn’t like the way they were watching her. “Wait a minute. If some dark magical force is kidnapping tree shepherds, why are you here? Aren’t you in danger?” Panic rushed through her. “Are we in danger?”

“We don’t know,” Norzan said. “That is why we must work together, forming a strong bond of magic to protect ourselves.”

“We elves can no longer live apart, isolated from one another,” Grandmother added. “To my deep regret, I am guilty of separating the Dread Forest from the other clans. We must join forces for all of our sakes.”

“And Keelie will be protected at all times,” a very deep and beautiful male voice said. A tall elven man walked into the room. His long hair flowed free and loose, which looked odd with the park ranger uniform that he wore. He was followed by Tavyn, the handsome young elf who had been at the ranger booth earlier. Keelie sensed a grounding about these elves, a feeling that was familiar about them, but she couldn’t tell what it was.

There sure were a lot of good-looking elves around here. She wondered if they were any different from the Dread Forest elves. She noticed one difference already—at least these guys wanted to protect her.

Grandmother bowed her head, even though Keelie noticed that she pursed her lips. Uh-oh. Granny elf didn’t like this tall ranger elf.

“Keliel, this is Kalix. We met his son Tavyn a while ago.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Kalix smiled at her. “We’re honored to meet you, Keliel Tree Talker, Daughter of the Forest.” Tavyn bowed to them.

Keelie was dazzled.

“Would you like to see our village?”

“I’d love to.”

Kalix motioned with his hand toward the back door, and the group headed out of the cabin. They walked along a small path, and then crossed under an arbor. Keelie felt a tingle flash over her skin as she walked through a veil of magic.

As they stepped off the path to follow Kalix, he motioned toward the ancient woods. Keelie gasped. A scene out of a science fiction movie spread out before them. The lengthening shadows of the day cast the illuminated houses in the treetops into sharp relief. Keelie couldn’t believe that people really lived hundreds of feet in the air, but the trees glittered with lamplight from dozens of homes. It was enchanting, and unreal. Her imagination flew up to the treetops, giddy with the thought of spending the next few weeks up there. Her stomach must have been human, though, because she was suddenly queasy.

“How do we get up there? I don’t see any elevators.”

Kalix walked on. “Follow me. It’s easy.”

Famous last words, Keelie thought, but she followed eagerly.