Moon Shimmers(59)

“Those over there, they’re handover roots too?” Delilah pointed to a small thicket of the plants.

“Yeah, those are handovers.”

We moved over to the patch and dug up eight more roots before washing them off in the stream and carrying them back to the fire. Bran had managed to catch five of the samracks—each the size of a medium-sized trout—and he had scaled and gutted them.

I handed Delilah the bag of handovers. “Here, start chopping these for the pot. You don’t need to pare them. The skins make good eating, too. I’m going to look for some wild parsley and a larabay plant.”

Larabay was a wild herb that tasted very much like a leek. They, too, grew wild through the forests of Otherworld, especially the northern climes near water. It didn’t take me long before I found five of them, which should do well for seasoning. I washed them in the stream and carried them over to Delilah. She cut them up and added them to the soup. Bran had diced the fish into the pot along with the handover roots. Trillian dug a box of salt out of his pack and added a spoonful of it to the pot and before long, the rich aroma of broth filled the camp.

We ate the sandwiches as Bran ladled out the soup for us. We had each brought our own enameled camp mug. They were light and easy to carry. I pulled out my spork—another implement we had added to our gear—and began spooning up the hot broth and food.

“Mmm,” Delilah mumbled, her mouth full. “I’m so glad we took the time to make this. I needed something hot.”

“It’s good,” Chase said. “I want to help out. What can I do?”

Roz clapped him lightly on the back. “We’ll wash the dishes after everyone’s done.”

The evening passed quickly, or perhaps I was just tired enough to make it seem so. Shortly after dinner, I found myself yawning. While Roz and Chase washed the dishes, and Delilah and Shade snuggled off to one side, I wandered over and sat down by Venus. He sprawled back against a log, sitting on his bedroll near enough the fire to stay warm. As I joined him, he glanced over at me, a crafty smile on his face.

“The journey hasn’t been difficult so far,” he said, returning his gaze to the fire. “Too easy, perhaps.”

“Don’t say that. I want it to be easy. The mountains aren’t going to be a picnic. They’re harsh, Venus, and filled with danger.” I shivered. The Tygerian Mountains were wild and so were those who lived in their peaks. The Order of the Crystal Dagger had fortified their monastery, but that protection didn’t extend to travelers.

“Easy is as easy does. I’m not saying we’re walking into a trap, my dear. But I’ve found that when great things come too easily, they aren’t appreciated for what they really symbolize.” He paused. “You know the diamond will change you, just as the seals have changed those of us who bear them.”

I hugged my knees to my chest. Nobody could ever accuse Venus the Moonchild of being comforting. “I thought as much. I don’t know what I’m getting into, Venus. I don’t really want this honor, if it’s that. But nobody can ever say I shirk my duty. I grew up fast. My father expected things to be done right. He, himself, grew up under the same expectations. I think I inherited his devotion to duty. In some ways, I’m probably best suited to this.”

He considered my words. “I think you are. Delilah doesn’t have the patience to put up with it, and Menolly, well…I think it’s safe to say she can walk away from things easier than you can. When you put that gem around your neck, be prepared. I had no clue what would happen when I actually took on the spirit seal for my own. It’s like one door closes and another opens, and you find yourself part of history in a way you never expected to be.”

I glanced over at Delilah. “She’s growing. And so is Menolly. Both have come so far from where we were when we arrived Earthside. I don’t know about myself. I feel the same, and yet, I’m not. I’m tougher. I’m also letting go of always having to take care of them. They don’t need me so much now, and that’s a good thing, given what’s coming up for all of us. I guess we’ve all grown up a lot.”

Venus nodded, a sage look on his face. “You ventured Earthside expecting something totally different than what you ended up with. It’s bound to be a shock, but you’re adapting and you’re not fighting it. That’s the key—to go with the flow. To ride the current of your personal destiny and surrender to what it means to you. I’m not saying you don’t ever make new goals and try out something that seems foreign to you. But it means that you quit trying to control the universe, because nobody can do that. In the long run, we’re the sum total of where our journeys have led us. If you fight the journey, you end up stagnant or backtracking.”