A Forest of Secrets

Chapter 20

Koldo dismissed everyone from the room except for Jo. That bad feeling she had about the ritual increased by the second.

"What we will talk about now is not meant to be a secret, Jocasta," Koldo started when everyone was out. Jo clasped her hands between her thighs, trying to hide the fact that she was shaking uncontrollably. "But your friends do not need to be here to hear it. If you wish to tell them afterward, you may," he looked at her with kindness in his eyes. In that moment he reminded her of Gerard. She nodded. "I assume you will want to tell your beau about it," he was not teasing her, she could tell.

"He's not my... Alaric is..." she sighed irritably. "Never mind," she cleared her throat. "Now, tell me about the ritual" the sooner they changed the subject, the better. It wasn't any of his business anyway.

"These are desperate times, Jocasta. The Core Silvam has never been in this kind of danger before, which is why have to make use of our strongest weapon: the tree itself," he drank some of the syrupy beverage, presumably to refresh his throat, if one could do that with such a drink. She was too tired to listen to another long tale, too hungry and thirsty.

"Look, I don't want to be rude or anything, but: just tell me what part I play in all this," she scratched her scar. "We've been here long enough."

"I need you to understand the risk we are taking to keep the tree safe," he answered, putting a heavy hand briefly on her shoulder. "And the significance of what we are asking of you: it is important."

"Fine," she sighed, trying her best to look polite and composed. "I'm listening, old man."

"We need you to act as a conduit for a powerful spell," Koldo informed her. That sounded easy enough, maybe all she had to do was stand still? Of course not, she wasn't that lucky, she thought. "The ritual will take place on the winter equinox, in two nights time."

"Right, right," Jo pressed her lips. "What's the catch?"

"The catch?" Koldo looked puzzled.

"Something horrible can happen to me, right? That's probably it," she teased, but in all seriousness: that was probably it.

"Yes, you are correct," Koldo confirmed. He closed his eyes, then propped his hands under his chin "To keep it short, since I see you are not very well versed in magic."

Jo scoffed to herself, what did he know? He'd only known her for a couple of hours... he had been right, however. Plus, she didn't want to hear that many explanations. "We need you to channel all the magic the tree has inside, which is... a lot. It has never been attempted before, and it can probably kill you."

"This trip gets better and better," she sneered. "I survived all this only to get here and probably get killed, the perfect ending to the perfect journey."

"You may survive, it is also a probability," Koldo shrugged. "But, like I said, I thought you should know what is been asked of you. The possible outcomes."

"And if I refuse?" she lifted her chin, defiantly.

"Then we will have to persuade you to cooperate," Koldo didn't seem as nice anymore: the look he gave her confirmed he was willing to do whatever it took to save the tree's power from falling into the wrong hands.

"No need, I understand," she gulped.

She didn't have much of a choice, it seemed: die willingly or die screaming and kicking, spending her last days tied up in a cell or something. The first option sounded a lot more comfortable. She was indeed a prisoner, after all, she thought. "What will happen next? After the ritual. What does it do? I may not be able to see it, since I'll probably be dead and all," she jested to try to make herself feel better about it.