I mention that because the Realm—at least the part of it we stepped into—looked like the forest in Sleeping Beauty. Towering trees spread their branches over a smooth carpet of perfectly green grass, that would have been the envy of any golf course back home. The whole place looked landscaped—almost manicured—so that not a single branch or leaf or blade of grass was out of place.
There was no underbrush and no dead leaves beneath the trees—it really was as though someone had brought that ideal cartoon forest to life. I half expected to see sentient woodland creatures come out to greet me and then maybe break into a song and dance.
“Wow,” I murmured, looking around. “This is amazing. And the colors here are so intense.” Which was true. The sky, which I could see peeking at me through the high tree branches, was a brilliant azure blue and the leaves and grass were a startling emerald. Even the bark of the trees was a rich, chocolate brown that looked almost edible.
“Everything in the Realm is more intense than the human world,” Bran murmured. “Next to the realm, the human world seems washed out and grey.” He shrugged. “But you get used to it, after a time.”
“Some say that the human world is only a pale reflection of the Realm,” Lachlan added. He frowned as he looked around. “We seem to have come out near our old meeting place, Bran.”
“So we have.” Bran nodded as he looked around. “Tell me, are our weapons still intact?”
“Unless someone has disturbed them while I’ve been gone,” Lachlan answered. “But I doubt it. I put quite a strong ‘ignore me’ spell on the entrance after you and your family left, so I wouldn’t have visitors. Why? Do you want to get them now?”
“I think we should.” Bran nodded.
Lachlan frowned. “But to go into the Summer Court armed…it’s a sign of aggression.”
“It’s also a sign that we won’t allow our lady to be hurt,” Bran said fiercely. “They ought to know we mean business.” He turned to Chrisanther, who was still whizzing around our heads in agitation. “We wish to get ready to be introduced to the Summer Court. Can you spare us a moment?”
“A moment only,” the Nixie replied. “For we must get to Court soon, so I can make my report and deliver the prisoner for sentencing!”
“It will only take a moment,” Bran promised. “Come on,” he said to me and Lachlan.
The three of us trooped further into the forest, followed by Chrisanther, flying above us, until we came to a huge tree, as big as a redwood, growing in a clearing it had entirely to itself.
I wanted to examine the tree—which was big enough to drive a car through—but somehow my eyes kept sliding off of it and I found myself staring someplace else. It was the same effect the Suva had had on Bran’s face, back when he was taking it, I realized. It was extremely strong magic that was, in effect, saying, “Nothing to see here. Move along, move along.”
Must be the “ignore me” spell Lachlan said he put on it, I thought.
Determined not to let the spell stop me, I walked right up to the tree and put my hand on its massive trunk. When I touched it, a doorway suddenly appeared in the bark and I found I could look at it directly.
“So much for your ‘ignore me’ spell, friend,” Bran said to Lachlan, laughing. “Emma seems to have broken it with a single touch.”
“She shouldn’t have even been able to get near it!” Lachlan frowned.
“Sorry.” I shrugged uneasily. “Was it supposed to have a force field or something around it? Because I didn’t feel anything.”
“Not exactly—you just shouldn’t have been able to approach the tree,” he explained. “The minute you looked at it, your gaze should have slid away and your attention should have focused elsewhere.”
“The same way the Suva makes you want to look away from the person who’s taking it, right?” I asked. When Lachlan nodded, I said, “I figured it was something like that, which is why I went right up and touched it. And now I can see the door.” I nodded at the rounded door cut into the rough bark of the tree. “Can you open it so we can go in?”
“I want to see if you can open it.” Lachlan looked at me intently. “Go on, little one—try.”
Shrugging, I pushed on the bark door—which had no knob, so I assumed it opened inward. I felt some resistance, as though the door was sticking on something, so I pushed harder.
With a little more effort on my part, the door finally creaked open, revealing a surprisingly spacious room inside.
“Well, well,” I heard Bran said from behind me. “Did you spell the door as well, Lachlan?”
“I did.” Lachlan sounded grim. “No one but another mage—one with considerable power—should have been able to open it.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, turning to look at him. “Because it, uh, wasn’t that hard to open. It felt a little like the door was sticking for a minute but…”
I trailed off, because he was looking at me and shaking his head.
“I think your powers have grown since we entered the Realm, little one,” he murmured. “Possibly because we’re in the Natural World of the Realm, where the power we all draw on comes from, in the first place.”
“Really?” To test his theory, I closed my eyes and held my focus pendant. I reached for the ribbon of gold, which I always saw with my magical eye when I looked for it.
But there was no ribbon this time. Instead, I saw a rushing river of shimmering golden sparks—something so vast I feared I would get lost in it if I got too close. What if I got sucked in?
I dropped my pendant and opened my eyes.
“What did you see?” Bran asked me.
“It’s so big here!” I held my arms wide apart, as though to illustrate that the river of golden power had been much larger than I could reach. “It’s just a tiny, thin ribbon in the human world but here…” I shook my head.
“It’s as I thought,” Lachlan murmured. “Emma, you’re going to have to be very, very careful how you use your magic here. In fact, it might be better if you don’t use it unless you absolutely have to.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I promised. I still felt a little bit shaky, thinking of that vast river of power rushing just in front of my face when I looked for it. It was too big—too much. Nobody had to tell me twice to leave it alone.
“Come inside,” Bran invited me. “This was where Lachlan and I used to meet to play when we were younger.”
“And this is where I moved when I left my parents’ dwelling,” Lachlan added. “I guess you could say that it’s my home in the Realm, as much as anywhere else.”
We all stepped through the door in the massive tree’s trunk and found ourselves inside a room carved out of the living wood. It was about the size of one of those small apartments in big cities and it had the feel of a hobbit hole, with low ceilings and hardly any windows.
Despite the lack of natural light, it didn’t seem stuffy or depressing. The smooth walls made of living wood were illuminated by sconces which held magical glowing golden spheres. They grew brighter when we stepped inside, as though they were welcoming us home.