The Rabbit and the Raven: Book Two in the Solas Beir Trilogy by Melissa Eskue Ousley Page B

patting his hands. “I think your brother was taken by something other than the Kruorumbrae,” David continued. “There is a chance he may still be alive.”
    “Oh, please, let it be so!” Yola cried.
    Abby put her arms around the woman. Then she turned to David. “If this wasn’t the Blood Shadows, then who was it? And why would they take Yola’s brother and the others?”
    “We’re still working on that part. We don’t have any answers yet, but we might have some ideas. I think it is more important than ever that we talk with the oracles,” David said. “Yola, I promise you and your people—I will send you news as soon as I can.”
    “Thank you, Solas Beir,” Yola said.
    “You are welcome. I truly hope we can find him and the other five.” David surveyed the village. “It looks as though the supplies have been distributed to everyone, but we could really use a place to store them, couldn’t we? Let me see if I can help with that. Abby, can you join me for a moment?”
    Abby nodded. “Of course.”
    David put his arm around Abby and guided her toward the field where the horses were grazing. He kept his voice low. “I need your help.”
    “What can I do?” she asked.
    “I’m going to use my power to rebuild the buildings that were lost, but I have no idea what the impact will be on me,” David whispered.
    “Do you think using power will make you sick like when you healed Nysa?” Abby whispered back.
    “No—I don’t think it will be that, exactly, but I’m worried I might pass out or something. Not a real confidence booster for them to see me like that.”
    “No, I suppose not,” she agreed.
    “Let’s bring our horses over, and could you just stay close to me? I have a feeling I’m going to be pretty exhausted. I’m going to need some help staying on my feet,” David explained.
    “Just lean on me if you feel faint, and I’ll keep you propped up until we can get you on the horse. I won’t let you fall,” Abby promised.
    “Thanks. I appreciate that.” He took the horses’ reins and led them back to where Yola and the elders were standing, then passed the reins to Abby. “Okay—here goes nothing...”
    “Good luck,” Abby whispered.
    David looked around. Everyone had stopped what they were doing. Although the adults all looked relatively young, they were diverse in appearance and dress. Like Yola, some of the women wore long, colorfully printed dresses, while others were dressed more like Abby in leather leggings and billowing shirts. Most of the men wore colorful tunics with loosely fitted pants, but a few were dressed in long robes. All of them were staring at him. No pressure, folks, he thought.
    Holding out his hands and closing his eyes, David focused on what the buildings should look like. He imagined them coming together, stone by stone, beam by beam. He felt warmth radiate from his hands and heard the sound of stone grinding as it moved. He kept his eyes closed, letting go, trusting that everything was happening as he saw it in his mind’s eye. He felt an intense pressure building inside his head, which began to ache. Then, as if he had released a breath, the pressure left him. He heard applause and cheering and opened his eyes.
    The buildings were standing as if the damage from the night before had only been a bad dream. That wasn’t so bad, David thought. I wonder if I could do something similar to find the missing villagers. If I could just see them in my mind… And then he teetered back a step, overwhelmed by exhaustion.
    He slumped against Abby. She put her arms around him to keep him steady, and Cael reached out to help. Cael had been watching David intently and had moved closer when David started to look faint. Together, Abby and Cael helped David into his saddle, bracing his legs in case he should slump over again.
    The only other person who seemed to notice that something was amiss was Eulalia. Judging by the concerned look on her face, she too had noted the