The Eagle's Promise (Gold Feather Gardeners Book 5)
By Erin Greneaux
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Chapter 1- A Real Boy
Everly walked in the front door of her house with a roll of tape around her wrist and a stack of bright blue papers in her hand. She smacked down the pile of lost cat flyers on the kitchen table and sank into a chair with a sigh.
Maya turned from her post by the oven, holding a pot holder in each hand. “Any sign of him?”
“No. None of the neighbors have seen Boomerang. Mom and Dad took another drive around the neighborhood to look for him.”
Maya stared into the oven as the buttery smell of warm chocolate chip cookies hovered around her. She thought it was strange for her mom to suggest making cookies this morning, but now she could see why. They needed something sweet on a discouraging day.
“Waiting is the worst,” Everly muttered.
Maya glanced at the timer. “Only six minutes left.”
“I’m talking about Boomerang. He has been missing for three days!”
Maya leaned against the kitchen counter. “It only seems long because everything else this summer has happened so fast.”
Everly shrugged her shoulders. “If you say so.”
“Think about it,” Maya said. “We discovered the Enchanted Garden in the woods. We met the Gardener, the great golden eagle, and we met Clara, the garden fairy. Deceptra and the forest animals took the seven Virtue Gems from the fountain.”
“And we found three of the gems to put back in the fountain,” Everly said.
“We found Trey living in the forest, and I gave him one of the Gardener’s feathers.”
“I still think that was a bad idea.” Everly crossed her arms.
“You found the century seed and planted it,” Maya said. “So much has happened.”
“If only I could find Boomerang. Do you think we’ll ever get him back?”
Maya frowned. “I hope so.”
Both girls stared off in silence.
Ding!
The oven timer went off, and Maya sprang up. “They’re ready!” She slid out the cookie sheet in a wave of hot air. Maya grabbed a spatula and transferred two of the gooey cookies onto the waiting plates. She passed one to her sister and sat down across from her at the table.
Everly pinched off the edge of her cookie and popped the piece onto her tongue. She closed her eyes as the warm goodness melted in her mouth. “Oh, that is delicious.” The dessert revived her with a little hope to keep looking.
Maya nodded, licking melted chocolate off her fingers. “That was definitely worth the wait.” Maya pushed out of her chair and headed to the back door. “I’ll meet you at the Garden later?”
“I won’t be long,” Everly replied as she headed to the front door. “I’m going to hang up a few more flyers.”
Everly hopped on her bike, the basket in front filled with blue flyers held down by the heavy roll of tape. There was one street on the far side of the neighborhood that she hadn’t covered yet. She raced over, the rubber tires bumping over the uneven joints in the sidewalk.
She skidded to a stop in front of a street sign and stuck a flyer to the metal pole. A boy at the edge of the woods caught her eye. It looked like Trey. Everly laid her bike down in the grass and tip-toed through the lawn.
She paused at the edge of the forest and saw Trey’s unmistakable curly hair as he retreated into the trees. What was he doing?
Everly glanced around, but the property looked abandoned. A leaning house slumped against the grass, the windows covered by crooked boards. Weeds crept up the front steps and onto the porch. The only other building nearby was a shed just as old and unkept.
Everly returned to hanging up signs, but she couldn’t stop wondering what Trey had been doing by the mysterious house. No matter what Maya thought, Everly didn’t trust this boy. He lived in the forest on his own and ate the poisonous diamond berries without getting sick. She was sure he knew something about Boomerang’s disappearance.
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Maya strode through the woods behind her house, but she wasn’t on her way to the Enchanted Garden. She was on her way to see Trey.
Another thing hadn’t happened this summer. Trey hadn’t used the golden eagle feather she had given him to enter the Enchanted Garden. She wasn’t sure if she trusted Trey or not, but she knew he needed to meet the Gardener. Maya was determined to keep inviting him to the Enchanted Garden until he did.
She paused outside the branches surrounding Trey’s campsite. “Knock, knock!” she called. The other side of the leafy barrier was silent. She lifted a branch and pushed her way through to the clearing.
Trey’s campsite looked the same as before. Logs smoldered in the fire pit, a hammock stretched between two trees, and organized bundles of feathers hanging everywhere. She scanned the bundles but didn’t see the Gardener’s feather.
“Breaking and entering again?” Trey entered the campsite with his satchel slung over one shoulder.
“I was just waiting for you to get back. And it isn’t breaking in when there’s no door.”
Trey raised an eyebrow at her over his lopsided grin.
“You didn’t add the Gardener’s feather to your collection.” Maya pointed to the bundles.
“I thought you weren’t spying?” His grin spread and he patted the satchel. “I keep it in a safer spot.”
Maya nodded. “That’s a good idea in the forest because the animals out here are tricky.” She studied his face for a reaction. Did he know about Deceptra?
“Yeah, I never know who will be snooping around here while I’m gone.” Trey laughed.
Maya put a hand on her hip. “When are you going to tell me what you’re doing in the woods?”
Trey pointed to the hammock. “This is called camping.”
“You know what I mean. Why are you living out here? Where is your family?”
Trey crossed his arms and set his mouth in a line. “Well, if you must know.” He took a deep breath. “My father was a wood carver.”