A wide smile lit up Saray's face, and she crouched down to touch Corvan's cheek, then pat his head, as if she needed to make sure he was real.

Saray straightened and pulled him easily to his feet. She was taller and stronger than when he last saw her and moved without being hunched over. Corvan was happy for her but his hope for Kate faltered. Saray must have used the power of the last seed from the mother plant. It was the only thing that would explain her new strength and vitality.

"That crafty man of mine," she chuckled, patting Corvan's shoulder. "In the early days we were all alone here in Molakar. Later on, a few others joined us, those who wanted nothing to do with the rule of the Chief Watcher. Time went by, the community continued to grow and then one day Jokten told me we needed move out of our first home near the front of the cavern. He said one of the cavern walls was going to collapse inside our house. He went to work and cut us a new home, back here away from the rest and sure enough, after we had moved out, the wall collapsed at our old place. I always wondered how he was so sure that would happen but now I see he had it planned all along." She beamed at the memory of her husband. "I've been searching the whole cavern looking for another way out after the palace soldiers collapse the entry tunnel, and all that time Jokten had hidden his secret exit right in our own home.

Kate moaned and her body stiffened on the low table, her face twisted in pain. Corvan knelt beside her, his anger rushing to the surface. The old man was hurting her again. He needed to get back to the chamber and tell him to stop it. The icy cold medallion bit into his chest and he tugged on the chain to get it free from inside his tunic. Before he could get it out, Saray moved Corvan firmly to one side and sat beside Kate, running her hands over the girl's face, around her neck and then down her arm. Opening Kate's hands, she pulled out the slingshot, gave it a quick look then handed it over her shoulder to Corvan. Saray moved on to probe the small scar where the power from the seed of the mother plant had entered the girl's body before turning to look at Corvan, a puzzled expression on her face.

"I don't understand it. Her body is close to death, yet her spirit is strong." Her eyes went to his chest. "Let me see the medallion." Before he could stop her, Saray reached out and tugged the medallion free. Corvan tried to pull it back but her fingers were locked in a vise-like grip. She didn't breathe for a long moment, then exhaled, slowly tucking the medallion back under his outer cloak, then letting it go. Her eyes focused on his and her grey head bobbed. "So, he has captured our Kate," she said softly, shaking her head. Her eyes narrowed. "What a bitter old man. He wields the compassion of others like a weapon. We need to bring him to justice. His evil ways must come to an end."

She gave him a wan smile and patted Corvan's cheek. "Don't give up hope, my boy. I know a few things that will help us get our Kate back." She went to a basket by the wall, took out a piece of cloth and covered Kate's body. The image of a young man and woman at the top of the tapestry lay on each of Kate's shoulders. It was the old piece that used to hang over Saray's front door. Saray traced a finger over the embroidered face of the girl on Kate's left shoulder and mumbled a fragment of a poem to herself. Corvan caught the words "may it be so" at the end before she turned to him. "You can speak out loud now. He has left the chamber and cannot hear you for the time being. When he returns and makes a connection the medallion will grow cold and heavy. When that happens, signal me but do not address me at all. We must be certain you do not say anything we do not want him to hear." She winked at him. "But I might have you say a few things that will make him uncertain of what to do. He has not aged well. He has become even more arrogant and self-willed and that means we can make him uncertain of his plans if we speak to his fears, and I know what he fears most." She pointed to Corvan's hand. "What is that strange device Kate was holding?"

"It's my slingshot from my home. I had lost it in the crypts, and she must have found it and was bringing it back to me."

"Hang it there for now," Saray said, pointing at a peg on the wall. "Perhaps it may comfort her when she . . ." Saray leapt up, stared hard at Corvan's feet, then laughed out loud. "I thought it was another mouse." Corvan looked down at a round fruit wobbling on the ground. "It is a mouse," Saray said, "a rather large one that appears to like fruit." Pushing a tall woven basket out of the way, she revealed Gavyn sitting on his haunches, a half-eaten green orb in each hand. "So, who do we have here?" Saray asked, suppressing a laugh.

"His name is Gavyn. He helped me carry Kate to your door, but he doesn't speak."

Gavyn's eyes sparkled and he held one of the fruits up to Saray.

"That's okay, small one, there are plenty more where those came from. Come, I will show you." Saray hoisted Gavyn off the ground, set him on his feet, and gestured to Corvan. "You come too. Kate can rest here while we gather a few things to help sustain her body."

They approached a curtain of vines that now veiled the doorway out to the Molakar settlement. Saray was not afraid and as her hand touched the green leaves, the vines spread apart of their own accord. They weren't the poison kind like at Katay Set. Tsarek must have been mistaken. "I will lead you out," Saray said, but you must both close your eyes. I have the most wonderful surprise for you." She joined Corvan's hand to Gavyn's and then whispered in Corvan's ear, "I am so glad you came back to see this. I never dreamed it would be possible."

She towed them along though the dense foliage, the air around them growing warm and moist. The scent of flowers touched his nostrils as a wash of bright light swept over his eyes, shining pink through his eyelids.

"Keep your eyes shut. No peeking." Saray sounded like his mother the year his parents bought him a used bicycle for his birthday. Corvan kept his eyes closed, but his ears picked up the sound of running water in the distance. Saray was leading them toward the Molakar karst, and with each step the memory of the day Jokten had died grew stronger. Despite his best efforts, his past-father had died, and the associated guilt of that failure weighed down on him.

Saray stopped and let go of his hand. "Okay, boys. You can open your eyes."

Corvan blinked, then blinked a few more times as the scene before him was so oddly familiar he had to think twice about where he was. It was like he had stepped inside the huge black velvet oil painting that hung behind the counter at the Barron's store — a tropical beach scene that glowed with vibrant color. Up ahead, a setting orange sun, hung low on a watery horizon, its reflection stretching across a small lake and seemingly inviting him to walk out on the ripples of its golden path. To the left, a lone palm tree leaned out over a boat dock, its curved trunk neatly framing the setting sun. Off to the right a steep slope of broken boulders was covered with flowered vegetation cascading down to the water's edge.

"Surprised?" Saray took his arm, ushering him along the path and pointing at the glowing sun. "I planted that strange lumien seed you left with me as high as I could reach on the wall near the water to give it lots of moisture. It grew so fast I was sure I could actually hear it getting larger each day. I'm glad it finally stopped as I had no way to get out of Molakar if it didn't."

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Gavyn shook himself free of Corvan's hand, tore along the shore and onto the dock. In seconds his clothes were off, and he had jumped into the lake, scattering ripples of golden light to the shoreline. Corvan looked closer at what had first appeared to be a palm tree. It was the frame of the crane that had lowered Jokten to his death and then had been bent and downward by the beast Jokten had killed with the firestick. The water level had risen to fill the karst to overflowing and was now running away under the platform that supported the bent crane.

The dock creaked under Corvan's feet, as he sank slowly onto the bench, the very place where the young boy in shackles had stood and begged for his help. Now a network of vines spread out across the wooden deck and wound their way up the twisted metal of the crane. The metal arc bounced; Gavyn was pulling himself out of the water on the rope attached to the tip of the crane. The boy smiled at him, then swam over to the dock with the rope in tow. Clambering out, he ran to the back of the dock, reached up on the rope, and swung out, letting go over the water then tucking his knees up to make a resounding splash. He surfaced with a grin on his face, grabbed the rope and made his way back to do it again.

"The soldiers collapsed the passage leading into the settlement," Saray said, pointing to the boulder strewn rock slope along the far side of the lake. They also made sure no one could come in that way by planting those terrible poison vines by the exit into Kadir. Some are making their way in through the cracks on the slope so be sure to warn Gavyn to stay away." She pointed into the water. "Their explosion and the rockslide blocked up the river outlet in the Karst below and the water rose to the top. I was afraid the cavern would be flooded but the water ran down to the gardens where the soldiers found the crack in the Cor wall and went out that way instead."

Twisting around on the bench, Corvan looked behind them to where the water flowed down a series of small waterfalls until it found its way toward the man-made room supported by pillars where he and Kate had escaped from the Cor. "Another pool formed near the Cor wall but thankfully it started draining away and has not grown any larger. There must be a different crack in the wall beside the one Rayu sealed up after you and Kate left. I used the stream and pond to save the small plants that were abandoned when they forced our people to leave."

Saray swiveled about and took his hand. "Come along and I will show you the most amazing garden in the history of the Cor. You won't believe how much fruit it produces, thanks to our mother plant."

Corvan followed her along the watercourse leading to the garden room. "Jorad and the captain of the guard were in such a hurry to close the settlement they also left a few small lumiens behind." Saray said. "Those vines connected with the mother plant, and now look at them. Every time I come in this room there are more and more lumiens growing."

They passed under the stone entry and emerge into what felt like the sunniest day he had ever experienced. The light was so strong it made him dizzy, and he put a hand against one of the rough support pillars to steady himself. He stared at a fist sized lumien bulb hanging from a vine that wound down the pillar.

"Go ahead and eat it," Saray urged. "They grow back so fast you could eat another one from that same vine by next light."

Corvan tentatively touched the fruit and was relieved to discover that although he could feel its power, he had no desire to eat the seed. Either these ones were different with their connection to the mother plant or else the intense energy from the lumiens in this room was enough to satisfy the need for more. Perhaps it was a more natural use of the lumien energy, the way it could have been for everyone in the Cor before the plants became so scarce.

A small creature zipped out of the leaves, ran down his arm and over his back. Corvan leapt and twisted to see where it went.

Saray laughed. "Just a mouse. A number of small animals have been moving in, but thankfully none of the larger tarks. That is one creature I can't stand having around." She looked up around the upper reaches of the pillars. "A couple of times I was even sure I saw a small rantel flying across the garden."

Corvan scanned the spaces between the lumien plants overhead. Could the rebel leader's rantel be spying on them? If the creature was able to find its way into the Molakar settlement, it could lead its master here.

"It's such a shame I am the only one left behind to enjoy these gardens," Saray said, gesturing to the plants of many sizes, shapes and colors growing out in rows that fanned out from the stream. "I have felt bad knowing how hard our people used to work here under palace guard yet barely allowed enough to eat to keep themselves from starving to death. No doubt they are even worse off now in Kadir."

They stood together looking about the garden for a long while before Saray spoke again. "This was the Cor of my childhood, when all our cities were full of lumien light and the seven cities lived in peace with each other." She sighed. "Like all the others, I never saw the Great Destruction coming. I never imagined what unrestrained greed could do to our world."

Saray straightened up. "But as long as we have life, we have hope. If I had some help this place would rival the hanging gardens of Rozan."

"Isn't that the dead city where the rebels live?"

"It's a dark ruin now but in its unspoiled state Rozan was truly incredible. Their lumien vines were woven into suspended walkways running between the massive pillars of their city. You could walk high up amidst the lights and eat freely from any of the gardens. Rantels flew down from their nests overhead, some even large enough for a child to ride upon, but it's all gone now."

A little farther down the trail Saray reached into a spiked bush to pull out a red cucumber-like fruit that was covered with evenly spaced yellow bumps. "These have not been seen in the Cor since I was a child. I believe a dormant seed has been brought back to life by the mother plant."

She held the fruit up to her ear and flicked it with a finger. Satisfied with the sound, she snapped the fruit in half and handed a piece to him. Peeling away the red skin from her half, she sucked on the glistening white fruit like a popsicle. Corvan followed her example. The flavor reminded him of a fresh pineapple he had tasted once at the Barron's store. The fruit began melting and running down his fingers. "Eat it quickly or it will be gone," Saray said, licking the juice from her lips. "My mother always told me bonni fruit is like your life. You need to enjoy it while you still have it in your hand."

She sucked out the last of the white core and tossed the skin at the base of the plant. Corvan did the same and crouched beside her to wash the sticky juice off his hands. Just ahead the swirling water ran into the pool at the lower end of the cavern and on the far side a jagged fracture in the dark rock of the cavern revealed the polished surface of the Cor shield. A group of three small lumiens hung inside the grotto, like the chandelier in the nave of the church in Fenwood. Corvan nodded to himself. It was a fitting tribute for that was where Rayu, the man who had given his life to save Corvan and Kate from the leader of the Rakash, was now entombed.

Corvan sat on a boulder by the water's edge. There were great people in the Cor, people who were full of love and honor, but he wasn't one of them. He had started down the same path as those who had brought about the Great Destruction. It was true that in Saray's garden, so full of lumien power, he felt strong, like he would never eat another lumien seed as long as he lived, but what about tomorrow when he was back in the darkness?

Saray put her hands on his shoulders. "My mother also said you cannot let your fears of what might happen tomorrow rob you of today. I have learned that the problems of tomorrow will be quite different than what we worry about today."

Corvan nodded and watched the vines in the niche sway in a soft breeze off the water, the three lights twirling and sparkling in the rocky grotto. Saray was right. When he was most afraid, he did the wrong things in an attempt to control the future. His fears always seemed to get the best of him. If he were to become an honorable person like Rayu he needed help. It was time to tell Saray about eating the seeds so she could teach him how to overcome the temptation and live on his own terms.

Corvan stood to his feet, energized by his new resolve, but the sudden cold weight of the medallion dropped him back to the stone. He was being summoned back to the chamber. His hand shook as it rose toward the silver star.

Saray crouched behind him, wrapped her arms around his chest and whispered in his ear. "Don't be afraid Corvan, I will go with you." She put her hand over Corvan's and then closed their hands around the medallion.

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