Blazing Earth by Terri Brisbin

appearance was no different; his shape was as tall and muscular as always. No, the thing that had changed was that he now stood outlined surrounded by a green light.
    No, that wasn’t it. His body gleamed as though encased in green. Green like the grass that covered the lands. Green like the plants that would begin to shoot from the soil. Green like the color of the leaves on the mighty oak trees that grew all over the area.
    He must have noticed her surprise, for he stepped closer and reached out to touch her. The hand and arm shimmered, casting off flashes of green as he moved. As her skin had given off the golden light like the sun.
    â€œTolan.” She touched his hand, not knowing what to expect. “You are . . . shining.”
    Now he was the one looking surprised. He shrugged and shook his head. “I do not see it.” Holding out his hand, he shook his head again. “Nay.”
    His expression changed then, and she had the feeling that he knew her next words and would not like them.
    â€œSo, is yours related to your abilities with growing things?”
    Although he paled, the green shimmer remained around him. “Aye.”
    One word, but it explained so much about hiscontinued success in times when famine or drought or pestilence struck other lands or farms or fields. Had he inherited this power from his father? There were stories about how many generations of his family had served Lord Geoffrey and his ancestors, so there must be a connection there.
    For that moment, she no longer felt alone and frightened. She let out the breath she did not realize she’d been holding inside her and asked the first question that came to her mind. “How long have you known?”
    The crackling sound of brush underfoot pierced the silence before he could answer and he raised a finger to his mouth.
    â€œPut out the fire, Thea. ’Tis time to sleep,” he said in a loud voice. He nodded at her and she did just that. “I will return anon,” he then whispered. “I will see if I can chase him off.”
    Tolan walked over and opened the door quickly, peering into the darkness outside. Then he strode over to the side of her cottage and relieved himself. ’Twas then that she heard the scurrying footsteps down the path away from her home, using the sounds of Tolan’s actions to cover the noise of his retreat.
    Tolan had known someone was there. She banked the fire for night and when she turned, she found him in the doorway staring at her.
    â€œWho was it?” she whispered once he’d closed the door.
    â€œA guard from the castle. My steps have been shadowed since I spoke to Lord Geoffrey days ago.”
    â€œWhy? What does he suspect? This?” she asked,motioning to the aura she could still see outlining his shape.
    â€œCome with me,” he said softly, holding out his hand to her.
    She took it without hesitation and followed him out. Slowing only to grab the small lantern by the door, they walked quickly around her cottage. He did not stop until they stood beside the low wall that surrounded her garden.
    â€œThis is when I first suspected you were more than you seemed, Thea.” He pointed to the only part of the small plot that she’d been able to work so far.
    She’d spent hours here today, thinking and turning the soil, and thinking and then just drifting off lost in her thoughts. Now, looking into that corner, she noticed how the soil glimmered the same way her hands had. Opening the gate and walking over there, she stared at it.
    â€œI think that you have been putting whatever power you have within you into the herbs you grow and the medicaments you make and use. You left your mark there on the soil.”
    â€œWhat?” she asked, shaking her head. “Do you not hear how ludicrous that sounds? Power? Are you saying I have some kind of magic within me and use it? That is against God’s laws and the Church, Tolan.”