Willow and The Gift: The Final Chapter

By DB Jones

Willow has transformed from the shy young girl who lived with her family on land, to the most powerful being in the endless waters, the Goddess of the sea. She is an ongoing mystery that not even the most powerful souls in the land of the ancients can understand. With each challenge she faces to secure the balance of her worlds, Willow discovers laden powers within her that have been passed down since the beginning of time.
She struggles with the sacrifices she must make for the survival of not only the clans of the sea kingdom but those who dwell on the land. Her decisions will affect all those she loves and cherish and could change the destiny of her worlds and alter its existence for all eternity. It’s not until she learns the truth about who she is that the great task before her becomes clear.

• Language: English
• Publisher: DB Jones
• Release date: Apr 5, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311230300

DB Jones

DB Jones is a best selling author of Mystery and Crime Drama, including the Madison Hart Mystery Series and the Seasons of Passion Mysteries. She also writes YA/Fantasy which includes the Willow Trilogy. Before writing DB along with her husband composed melodic flute music for over thirty years. She began writing at the age of 68 after her husband passed away. She lives in the hills of Virginia where she overlooks the BlueRidge Mountains as she hammers away at the keyboard bringing her characters to life. DB writes in two genres, Young Adult/Fantasy and Mystery/Crime Drama with an occasional twist of the paranormal spun through some of her books. Join DB’s mailing list at http://www.dbjones-author.com/ for news about her books and upcoming events. Follow her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/dbjones.author, Twitter https://twitter.com/dbjones72. Contact DB at [e-mail]

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Willow and The Gift

Copyright © 2016 DB Jones

All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form without written permission.

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This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Dedication

Dedicated to all who believe that magic still exist!

To my mother, Bette Beiger Lang, who encouraged me to believe that I could do anything I set my mind to do.

My brother, Ted Beiger, Jr. who inspired me not to wait until it was too late to do what I always wanted to do.

To my sisters, Nanette Furrow, Laurel Beiger, and Renee’ Strickland, who believed in my dreams and my nephew, Brandon Beiger, who followed his dreams.

Thank you!

A special thank you to all my Beta readers who helped me make this a great read.

Table of Contents

Dedication

Prelude

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Other Books by D.B. Jones

About the Author

Contact D.B. Jones

Prelude

Willow and Ellura cast the great beast, Iku, back to the underworld, and then together they wove their silver strands of hair across the porthole in magical synchronicity to seal it for all eternity. Iku was sealed and would forever remain banished deep beneath the sea kingdom.

Vala glided down to escort Willow and Ellura back to the coral forest. Willow turned and called to Ellura in their secret language, but Ellura just looked back at Willow as a tear trickled from the corner of her eye. Willow could see the pain in Ellura’s eyes, and she told Vala they would be returning alone, and that Ellura would join them later. Vala sensed something was wrong, but did not question her. Willow was weakened by Iku’s poisonous tentacles that had trapped her in his grip just before he was cast back to the underworld, yet she still glided with the ease of light back to her home in the endless waters.

As Willow and Vala glided back toward the forest, she could not erase the look on Ellura’s face as she motioned Willow to return without her. The vision of Ellura stroking Iku’s head and then whispering something to the mighty beast before she returned him to his realm remained implanted in Willow’s mind. Even the great beast looked forlorn and saddened by Ellura’s touch. What was this strange connection?

Chapter 1

The murky waters still lingered over the coral forest and remained hovering throughout the sea kingdom. It had taken its’ toll on Willow and Vala. They needed to retreat to the cave of the ancients for a much-needed rest. Willow had been poisoned by Iku when he captured her with his electrifying tentacles as his poison penetrated her body and weakened her more than she realized. She struggled to hang onto her powers during the battle that nearly cost her, her life.

Willow’s mother, Audra, was sent to the cave of the ancients for protection while Willow battled the evil Iku. Though that danger was over, there was still much more to do. But now she needed her mother to return to the forest in the endless waters. Willow could feel her mother’s concern and her eagerness to be with her daughter. Even though Audra was in a deep sleep, the sea spirits watched over and would alarm Willow if anything was wrong.

Willow didn’t want her mother exposed to the murky waters lingering in the forest. She knew that when her mother returned, the Shell Queen would give her the nourishment she needed to sustain her. Willow called out to Morven in the cave of the ancients to bring her mother back from her deep sleep and instruct her to return to the forest.

Morven entered the cave and hovered near the rim of the crystal pool where Audra was still in a deep, restful sleep.

Granddaughter, Morven whispered. Morven leaned down and gently stroked Audra’s head.

Yes, Audra replied.

It is time for you to return to your home in the coral forest. Your daughter is well and safe but will need rest from her great challenge.

Audra looked up at Morven as she hovered above her in a mist of ethereal lights.

Grandmother, I was dreaming of a great battle where my Willow nearly lost her life. Was I dreaming or was that a vision? Morven looked down at her and smiled.

Your daughter is home now, and that is all that is important.

Audra stood up and followed Morven out of the cave and back into the warm waters that would guide her back to the coral forest. The busy little sea spirits were eagerly awaiting Audra as they led her along the pathways until they reached the cool waters of their home. As they emerged from the cave, Willow was waiting. Audra quickly glided through the water and embraced Willow. Are you all right?

Yes, Mother.

I had a vision you were in danger, and I could not help you, Audra whispered. Willow did not deny there had been a great danger but told her mother that everything was fine now.

Willow asked her mother to return to the forest and stay inside her cave for awhile until the sea cleared up.

What is that smell? Audra asked.

Willow looked at her mother, That is the smell of death. It will take some time for the sea to flush itself from the poison which is why it is safer for you to remain close to your cave. If you need anything, the sea spirits will help you. Vala and I must enter the cave of the ancients, but we will return soon.

Be well, Daughter, Audra said, and then glided off toward her cave.

As she passed the Shell Queen, she felt compelled to stop and request nourishment. But before Audra could ask, the queen opened her mighty shell. Take what nourishment you need. It is my honor to care for the mother of our goddess. Audra bent down and took a small morsel and then thanked the queen. Then the queen slowly lowered her golden shell. Audra felt renewed and refreshed the moment the food touched her lips. Then as Willow had asked, she followed the sea spirits back to her cave. She glided into her cave and curled up on the soft bed of seaweed as the tiny spirits stayed buzzing around outside her cave keeping watch.

Before Willow and Vala entered the cave of the ancients, she hesitated. I must first speak to Llyr. Willow and Llyr bonded together when she first came to the endless waters so long ago. They have a special connection that words cannot define.

I will wait for you, Vala said.

Go ahead. I will join you soon.

Vala knew if she set her mind to something it was usually for a good reason, so he entered the cave without her.

Willow glided to the rim of the coral forest where Llyr was waiting. She came up beside him and then they headed toward the realm of the Delfins. When they arrived, Willow told him what had happened when leaving Ellura behind, and the strange event that happened before casting Iku back to the underworld. Llyr brought his gentle head next to her and their eyes locked as they had done so many times before. She thought he was going to show her what was going on, but he only showed her tears. If Ellura chooses to share this with you, she will. But you must respect her privacy and her pain. It is far more complicated to tell you in such a short time, and it is not my place. If Ellura ever feels she wants you to know, she will share it with you herself. Willow did not proceed any further with questions. She loved Ellura and would not want to bring any grief or pain to her. She would say no more to anyone.

Willow asked Llyr if he had heard anything from the sea about Adaro.

No, but I felt him scurrying back into the darkness of the sea after the great battle with Iku. Also, I heard that one of his remaining slithers saw him with a strange object protruding from his distorted jaws, and it was flailing around like one of his own slithers. Though Adaro is sick and weakened, you must not discard him. He is still a desperate creature and has years of cunning and powers that still could cause great havoc.

She thanked her friend for letting her complete the challenge with Iku the way she had planned; even though he was not happy about it. But she always knew he was close and would give his life for her, but was glad it didn’t have to come to that. Llyr sensed her weakness and noticed the glow around her dimming. My child, you must go to the cave of the ancients immediately. She was becoming weaker and knew she must leave right away. She bowed to her dear friend and then returned to the forest. Llyr watched as Willow glided through the coral structures and notice she was a little off balance, and he feared for her safety.

Willow approached the entrance to the cave of the ancients and expected to transmit herself there instantly. But that did not happen. She could barely glide through the corridors and pathways. Vala could feel her weakness and started to head back into the water to get her. He could feel her body and mind fading with barely a heartbeat to detect. He called out to her in their secret language, but there was no response.

He began to panic when he no longer felt her heart beating with his. Just as he was about to submerge back into the warm waters, Morven appeared. You must stay here and go deep into the cave by the crystal pool.

But I must get to Willow.

Morven hovered down closer to him. Willow will not be joining you. This is a task you must do alone. He started to ask about Willow again when Morven vanished. He became frightened. He could always feel the heartbeat of his mate; yet no matter how hard he tried he could not, nor could he hear her thoughts. He felt empty inside. As long as he could remember, he knew he would spend his days with Willow. Even before she entered the endless waters, he would enter her dreams. How can I go on without her? He desperately wanted to look for her, but if Morven sent him to the cave, he must go. Even if he wanted to look for Willow, he knew he would not find her now.

Ellura was still sitting outside the porthole near the underworld. So much was racing through her mind. She reflected on eons gone by and wondered, what if. . . . ., when suddenly she could feel the silver strands in her hair wrench and begin to wither. Without time for another thought she was beside Willow in the corridor of the cave. Willow’s body was limp, and the glow from her was gone. Ellura sent forth the silver strands from her hair and encased Willow like a cocoon. She let her life force enter into Willow. She cried out in such pain that the entire sea kingdom was shaken by her cry. No one but Morven and the ancients knew this cry came from Ellura. But her pain reached the soul of every living creature in the endless waters and on land. Something had just happened that may alter the mere existence of everything, and every living soul felt it.

In less than a blink of an eye, Willow and Ellura were encircled by streams of glowing, luminous, ethereal blue lights that carried them both through the walls of the cave and transported them to the land of the ancients. Only those who had passed, and were from the lineage of Willow, returned to the land of the ancients. Those in the coral forest dropped to their knees. What has happened?

The stench and sickness still lingered throughout the entire sea kingdom, as well as in the village where Willow grew up. Each time Iku had roared, he emitted his venomous evil across the endless waters, and then his poison rode on the crest of the waves that washed up on the shore where Willow’s family lived. A dark cloud hovered over the land. Many became sick and weak. Abaigh, Seth’s wife, was with child and steadily became weaker.

Willow’s sister, Raven, her husband, Nuallan’ and the twins, Nara and Ciara remained in the house with the doors and windows closed. The stench was so strong that just stepping outside made most of the villagers sick. There wasn’t much activity in the village, as many became deathly ill.

Audra taught her daughter, Raven, the powers of the herbs. The two of them had often gathered special herbs from the forest and marshes just outside the village. Audra taught Raven how to blend them for healing many ailments and sicknesses. Raven had seen her mother heal many neighbors when no one else had any hope for them. She pulled out her mother’s healing book and asked the twins to bring the jars from the cabinet where Audra had stored them. It had been a long time since Raven looked at those jars but knew her mother healed many with their mixtures.

The cloud and smell that lingered over the village seem to affect the old ones the hardest. Many had trouble breathing, and were unable to eat. The children in the village were coming down with stomach problems and fever. It was similar to the whispers heard from grandparents of long ago; when the land and its people were dying from a plague. It was during that period when many village women became unable to bear children.

Morven, the great-great-great grandmother of Willow, was given as a gift to a childless woman from the water people, but no one knew from where the child came from. The childless women would sit on the shore longing for the loss of her husband and the fact that she would never have any children. She sat on the shore waiting for the endless waters to take her soul. She had fallen asleep on the sands, and when she awakened, the baby was laying next to her wrapped in silver strands. From that time on the village thrived, and life began to return to the land.

This gift of Morven did not come without a promise. But so much time had passed that it was forgotten, until Willow. Willow was the promise, and she was to return to the people of her lineage and bring balance back to the sea and the land. Only Audra and the water people knew of this promise.

But now, without Willow, what would become of the sea kingdom and how would the family she left behind survive this terrible sickness?

Raven found herself staying up from sun-up to the following sun-up, going from house to house, trying to help those in need. Some she could help, but others seemed only to get weaker, including herself. She was tired but had no choice but to do what she could. After all, it was what her mother would be doing had she not been taken by the sea. Though Raven did what she could, she did not have the ‘magic’ her mother possessed. Audra knew without thinking, the right herbs to mix for whatever ailed a person.

After running from one house to the next each day, all she wanted to do was come home to her family and then sit in the cool air of the evening and rock in her mother’s rocking chair overlooking the endless waters. It gave her a feeling of connection with her mother. But with the dark sickening cloud hovering over the village, she couldn’t go outside. No one was safe outside anymore. I wondered if the air will ever clear up before too many more villagers fall to sickness or worse.

Late one evening she sat in front of the fireplace staring into the burning embers. Her gaze became fixed on the glow that emanated from the flickering flames. The red and yellow flames appeared to be dancing above the embers, and visions seemed to come up from the heat. Raven saw the image of her mother floating in the light from the fire. It was as though her mother was looking right at her. Audra looked so well and happy. As Raven stared into the fire, she thought she heard her mother’s voice whisper to her. The flames became stronger and appeared to leap toward Raven, grabbing a hold of her wrist. Though the flames were hot, it didn’t hurt her. Raven was mesmerized by the flames. They seemed so alive. She leaned back in the chair as the heat intensified, and she did not take her gaze away from the dancing flames. Suddenly she saw the vision of her mother leap from the flames. The vision looked so real to Raven. Mother, are you trying to tell me something? Raven thought she heard a whisper, Reach into your pocket. You hold the answers.

What do you mean?

Again she heard, Reach into your pocket. You hold the answers.

She got up from the chair and started toward the kitchen table, but turned back one more time to look at the flames. There was the image of her mother staring at her and motioning to her. My daughter, you hold the answers.

She wiped a tear from her eye. Mother, is this you?

Yes, my sweet Raven. Then Audra told her to pull out the shell in her pocket. Raven reached deep into the pocket of her dress and pulled out the shell she had found on the shore. As she held the shell, the silver strands released their hold on the shell and wrapped themselves around Raven’s wrist. It startled her, but she wasn’t afraid. The strands felt cool against her burning skin and felt so natural around her wrist.

When Raven looked back at the flames, her mother had vanished, but she knew it was her mother in that vision. It was too real not to be.

Though Raven was exhausted from being up for days tending to the sick, she now felt a sense of renewed energy. She wondered if it was because of the vision of her mother or was it the strange silver strands around her wrist? She reached down and stroked the stands and then tried to remove them. But the strands would not budge. The more she tried to take them off, the tighter they became until Raven realized she was not supposed to remove them. The silver strands were there to stay, and she believed her mother wanted them to.

Chapter 2

Ellura arrived at the entrance of the ancients with Willow still encircled within Ellura’s silver strands of hair. The spirits of the ancients appeared and requested her to release Willow’s body to them, but she refused.

I will give Willow the powers she needs to revive her soul and to return to her body, but I cannot do this alone. I will need your help. It is not Willow’s time. There is still much for her to do. You must assist me in this.

Without another word, ethereal blue lights from all directions filled the cave of the ancients. The glow was so intense that no mortal eyes would be able to look directly at its brightness. Streams of lights engulfed Ellura and Willow until all that was left was a ball of translucent luminosity. There was no Ellura; there was no Willow; only the ethereal lights spinning and weaving through the very core of their beings. The ball of light hovered for awhile and then, protruding from the glow, came translucent silver strands. The more silver strands emerged, the more the ethereal lights dissipated until the embodiments of Ellura and Willow stood before the ancients. They hovered around. Morven drew near and hovered close to the two of them, but could barely tell them apart. Ellura had released herself from Willow, but before she did, she shared her soul with Willow. Willow stood on the shore of the ancients with such radiance. Her hair was now completely flowing with silver strands; the same strands that flowed from Ellura. Not even the ancients understood the significance of this. They only knew Willow was well and more powerful than ever, and was no longer just the Goddess of the Sea, but along with Ellura, she was now a Spirit of the Sea. Their bond was