They withdrew under the cover of the forest and settled for the night, cradled against some rocks for shelter. It wasn’t ideal, but it was adequate. Mouse struck a fire with his flint around which they huddled for warmth. Not far off, a narrow brook giggled through the stillness of the night.
Robbie wrapped his cloak around himself to ward off the cold. As soon as his head touched the soft earth, he fell asleep.
Chapter 19
Abandoned
The mournful call of a bird cut through the dawn’s sleepy silence. It penetrated Robbie’s dreams. Lying on his side with the sun warm on his cheek, he opened his eyes. He blinked at the quivering leaves overhead, and just before the gloom lifted from the forest altogether, the trees seemed to glow with pale gold. Whether it was an illusion cast by the rising sun or just his imagination, he didn’t know.
It was a fragile, ethereal moment that could have evaporated in an out-of-place whisper or a hasty movement. Peace welled up inside him. He half expected Sojourn to step from the trees. It brought a smile to his lips. He shut his eyes and daydreamed.
I wonder what would happen if—
A shadow fell across his eyelids. Someone was moving about. He slowly opened his eyes. The pleasant thoughts vanished as Mouse straddled a log beside him.
‘Must have been some dream you were having.’
Robbie pushed himself up onto his elbows, his face filling with instant heat. He ran his fingers through his tangled hair, snagging tight snarls. The sound of the inventor’s voice made Belle open her eyes and yawn. With effortless ease, she rose to her feet and strapped on her sword belt in a smooth, dance-like motion. She gave Robbie a quick smile that waned as her eyes drifted to Mouse. She was still suspicious of people she didn’t know. Understandable.
Robbie returned the smile. ‘When are we leaving?’
She indicated to Fox saddling her horse. ‘Ask her. She seems to know everything.’
‘She’s risking her life for us.’
Belle’s loose hair fell forward, hiding her face. The fierceness in her voice softened when she spoke again. ‘You are right. I shall try and be more friendly—but I cannot promise.’
Robbie understood what that meant. It all depended on how Fox behaved and treated her. Yet that was not what the Morning Star had revealed to him in Gendelthane’s chambers. An age had passed since then. But the revelation was still like a fire burning inside his heart.
‘Let me read you something, Belle.’ He reached into his coat pocket and withdrew the Lesson Book. He flicked open the pages and with a brief glance to see if she was listening, he held it open at his last entry and read, ending with— ‘Yet in the midst of all the chaos, there is something that even outlasts eternity. Love.’
When he looked up, her eyes were moist. Dougray was staring at him. So, too, was Mouse. Oblivious to the poignancy of the moment, Fox swaggered over with a bag of provisions and dumped it in between them. Belle jumped at her brusqueness and wiped her hand across her eyes.
‘We’ll eat before heading off.’ Fox stood with her hands on her hips, looking around at them. ‘Toward evening, we should reach the mountain pass. Then you’ll be on your own and I can head back—with the horses.’
Belle opened the bag and poked her face inside. Reaching in, she pulled out a loaf of bread and a knob of cured beef. Using a knife, Belle cut the food into portions. Mouse poured hot tea for them into the tin mugs. After they had finished their meal, they doused the fire and started their journey.
Fox led them down the bluff and into the forest following an animal trail. It meandered through the trees in the general direction of the mountains. Robbie had no idea how she knew where she was going when there were no clear markers to guide the way. And yet, the girl didn’t deviate from the path. Perhaps she had excellent navigational skills, or perhaps she’d travelled that way before.
He stared at her astride the tall gelding. From the start, she had kept her distance and offered little of the friendship that often bound travellers together. She remained cold and aloof in her manner and conversation. Belle was a particular sore point with her, but she seldom smiled at him or at Dougray either. It was as if she purposely avoided forming friendships with them.
As they rode on, the sun warmed and dried their clothes. It wasn’t long before Robbie removed his coat and draped it across the pommel. The sun was drying the trees, too, and vapour rose from the ground in slow, lazy whorls. It had the feel of an early spring and he half expected to hear birds singing in the branches above.
Afternoon shadows lengthened and the sun was still above the tree line when they came upon a narrow, dirt road. It was muddy and rutted from wagon wheels travelling across it. That it existed at all there in the forest made them halt and stare at it. The road disappeared in both directions through the dim-lit trees.
Fox cleared her throat and looked over her shoulder at no one in particular. ‘This leads into the hill country and beyond. We’ll follow it for a while.’
‘Do you have any ideas where we might stop for the night?’ Dougray asked.
She looked at him. ‘There’s a clearing just up ahead.’
Robbie shot her a quick glance. So, you’ve been here before!
She nudged her gelding on and they soon noticed the clearing through the trees. They veered off the road and onto the green grass. A tumble of large rocks at the far end would make an ideal windbreak for their backs.
‘We’ll camp here for the night,’ Fox called over her shoulder. ‘There’s a creek nearby where we can water the horses.’
They dismounted and led their mounts down to drink at the fast-flowing creek. Robbie kneeled and splashed his face and neck before he drank his fill. They led the horses back up to the clearing and let them graze while they set up camp.
The air was balmy and filled with swirling, orange pollen. Robbie couldn’t see where it was coming from, but it had a sweet, sickly smell. The very air shimmered with gold. Pushing it aside with his hand, he spotted a small cluster of odd-looking trees at the far end of the clearing. Just then, Mouse took out his little helpers to take a closer look at the glittering pollen floating in the sunlight.
‘Remarkable. Truly remarkable,’ he muttered.
Belle glanced at him. ‘Do you know what is making it?’
‘I’m not sure—yet.’ He gave her a brief smile. ‘But give me some time and I’ll let you know what I think it might be. Judging from the direction of the wind, it’s coming from over there—’ He waved a vague hand to the trees off to the right. ‘Care to explore a little?’
He moved off and Belle involuntarily followed.
‘Wait!’
She turned her head at Dougray’s urgent call and frowned. ‘It is just a tree—or some other plant. Can you not smell its wonderful fragrance?’
Dougray called again, ‘We shouldn’t wander off!’
Belle grabbed Mouse’s arm. With a look of irritation, the inventor halted and walked back, grumbling under his breath. Robbie rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes. The sun was warm and comforting; he didn’t want to move at all.
‘We should eat—and then gather wood for a fire.’
Fox’s voice made his eyelids flicker open. He looked up at the girl as she wiped her hand on her trousers and fossicked through the bag. He sat up and stared at her face. Something wasn’t right.
Maybe they should leave—
Robbie was about to voice his concerns when Fox handed him a parcel of food. His stomach grumbled and he sank back on the soft grass. He frowned at the parcel in his hands. He’d been thinking about something important a minute ago, but his mind had gone blank. Was it something he was going to do?
He took a bite of the bread and cheese, but it took an age to swallow even a mouthful. It was as if the hinges of his jaws had gone rusty. He looked up at the sky. Did the sun seem a little lower, the shadows a little longer? It had slipped below the tree line and cold shadows had crept over the clearing. His eyelids lowered.
Without waiting for a response, Dougray began to limp in the direction of the odd trees. Robbie didn’t want to look at trees—or anything else! He just wanted to curl up and sleep while he could. Scowling, he struggled to his feet and glared at his brother as he staggered ahead.
What’s wrong with you? You always want your own way!
Trailing on leaden feet, he lifted his eyes and froze. For a moment, he couldn’t move at all, only stare. The appearance of the trees was unlike anything he’d seen before. Despite the warm sun on his back, he shivered.
It was as if he was looking at a group of strange tree people huddled together, their twisted, gnarled branches intertwined about each other like the arms of friends. Then something caught Robbie’s attention as he peered at them. The knobbly knots in the trunks looked like—faces!
‘Dougray! They look like people!’
Robbie stumbled around the cluster of trees and stared at the knots in the slender trunks. They looked like mouths frozen in muted screams. Each one looked the same. The resemblance unnerved him.
‘I think we should leave this place. It gives me the creeps.’
‘I agree. Let’s get the others.’
Robbie turned and noticed Fox curled up asleep in the shade—alone! Mouse and Belle were nowhere to be seen.
‘They’re gone!’
His brother scowled; his face dark with fury. ‘I told them not to wander off! Don’t they listen? Belle should know better!’
As they hastened towards the sleeping girl, a wind swept a dense cloud of pollen through the clearing. It swirled about their heads, and its bittersweet scent filled Robbie’s nostrils.
‘Fox, wake up! Where are Belle and Mouse?’
Dougray’s harsh tone forced her eyes open and she squinted up at him. With a vague wave of her arm towards the trees behind her, she pushed herself up into a sitting position.
‘How should I know? I’m not their minder! I think they went that way...looking for plants, or some such thing.’
‘Pack up! We’re leaving!’
‘Why?’ Using the trunk behind her, Fox pushed herself onto her feet and glared at Dougray. ‘We need to rest, and this is as good a place as any! We have fresh water and grass for the horses. Why leave?’
Robbie wanted to shake some sense into her. ‘Fox, there’s something wrong with this place. Take a look at those trees over there.’
Dougray limped towards the trees behind her. ‘I’m going after them. Pack up and be ready to leave when we get back!’
Fox didn’t move. She continued to glare at him. Light-headed, Robbie fought down the panic rising inside him. In the wilds, it was dangerous to separate, especially with night approaching. His brother was pig-headed and impulsive, qualities that could get him killed. He was aware of Fox grumbling to herself, her voice loud and emotional.
‘I don’t know why I bother. We get burned every time we help the Resistance and we see no change! He just grows stronger and the people continue to die around us! Well, I’ve had a gutful! I’m leaving!’
Robbie lurched around as she mounted her gelding. She reached down and grasped the reins of the other horses.
He leaped towards her. ‘Fox, what are you doing?’
‘What do you think I’m doing?’ She glared at him as he grasped the reins of her horse. ‘Tell that brother of yours that he can find his own way through the mountain pass. These horses are ours and I’m taking them with me.’
‘Fox, please don’t do this! We need your help! You know this country; we don’t!’
She gave him a twisted smile. ‘Keep heading north and you’ll get there. So long.’
She struck a glancing blow to the side of his head with her reins and he let go. The stinging blow dazed him. Incredulous, he stared after her as she galloped off through the trees, leading the horses behind her. She was abandoning them. It couldn’t have come at a worse time.
The pollen blurred Robbie’s vision. Growling, he pushed it aside with his hand and it somersaulted through the air. The sweet, intoxicating fragrance left him light-headed. He swayed and scrubbed his hand through his hair, careful not to touch the welt Fox’s reins left on the side of his head. Then a thought struck him.
The pollen!
It was the cause of all their dilemmas! It was sending them to sleep and making them irritable with each other! Normally calm, his own annoyance had tripled since they’d arrived at the clearing. Now Fox was gone! What were they going to do without her and the horses?
Frantic, he faced the direction Dougray had gone, but the trees all looked the same. The shadows had grown darker, colder. The trees rustled as a chill wind blew across the clearing. It was strange how lonely and frightening things looked when one was alone. How loud and ominous sounds became.
Wrapping his kerchief around his face, he stumbled away from the odd cluster of trees. He didn’t like to admit it, but they frightened him. He began to gather handfuls of wood for a fire. Like a beacon, a cheery flame would guide Dougray and the others back to the clearing. He just wished they’d hurry.
He fossicked through the bags for a flint. Using Fox’s knife, which she’d left behind, he struck a spark, igniting a small flame. He fed it dry brush, and it soon leaped into a larger fire to which he added more sticks. Then he collapsed beside it and stared at the darkness spreading like spilled ink all around him.
Chapter 20
Ghostly Army
It was such an effort to keep his eyes open. Then something hard and uncomfortable intruded on his attention. Rubbing sleep from his eyes, Robbie glanced down. Embedded in the earth beneath him was a plank of wood. Dreamily, he prised it from the shallow earth and held it up to the firelight. Scribbled across its rotten surface were letters in faded ink. He brushed the dirt away to see it better. It was a sign!
B w orange narc sia!
Orange narc sia?
He blinked. The orange pollen—narc sia?
What did the B and w stand for? What words were missing? He’d never heard of narc sia before. The sign fell from his fingers as he fought to keep awake. He caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. Uneasiness tugged at him. He should get up...should leave...find the others. There was a slow untwining of shadowed branches where the huddle of strange trees stood. Did he imagine it?
Crinkle. Rustle. Crunch.
With the last reserves of his strength, Robbie pushed himself onto his side. He was aware of sounds coming from the clearing, roots ripping from the earth, vague scraping of branches, bark brushing against the grass.
Creak. Rustle. Crack.
The trees seemed to be a little nearer, a little less huddled in the darkness, a lot more threatening. Wood creaked. He tried to call out, but his mouth wouldn’t open. His limbs wouldn’t move. Strong, woody hands grasped his arms and legs. There was no fight left in him as they lifted him off the ground, nor could he keep his eyes open any longer. He sank into an ocean of deep, prickly sleep.
Dougray growled under his breath all the way to the creek. He didn’t trust the inventor; he trusted and liked Fox even less. It didn’t matter that Robairt was seeking Mouse, or that she and her father were in secret cahoots with the Resistance. He’d had enough of their odd behaviour. He halted and glanced up and down the banks of the creek.
There was no sign of Mouse and Belle.
It was growing dark and he had to locate them fast or else become lost himself. The surrounding trees seemed to mock with their silence and he didn’t know the local tree language like Belle did. Where did they go? The forest couldn’t have swallowed them—could it? At least he could think clearly away from the orange pollen and that clearing.
He turned from the creek. Worrying thoughts niggled at the back of his mind. One in particular. Why did those soldiers turn back? If there was one thing he knew about Morgran’s soldiers from living in Wyfren was that they never gave up searc
hing for their quarry.
Never!
What was so frightening about this forest? What was Fox not telling them? He was certain she was keeping something hidden and not truthful about everything she and Kreon did. He moved on in the direction he assumed Belle and Mouse would have taken, eyes scouring the ground before him for their tracks. He was thinking of returning in case they had doubled back when something in the soft earth caught his eye.
Fresh footprints!
Crouching, he noticed two sets of boots had passed that way a short while ago. He limped on, keeping his gaze on the trail. He’d taken no more than a dozen steps when Belle appeared before him, wearing her kerchief tied about her face.
‘Dougray! Come and see what we found!’
‘I told you and Mouse not to wander off! Where’ve you been? And where’s Mouse?’
‘He wanted to take a look at something and could not wait, so I went after him to keep him safe. I am glad I did. Tie your kerchief about your nose, and then come and see what we found.’
Growling, he reached into his pocket, dragged out his crumpled kerchief and tied it around his face, then limped after her. Moments later, he spotted Mouse. The inventor spun around, kerchief tied about his face, but all Dougray could take in was the extraordinary tree behind him—smothered in gold blossoms! The air glistened with shining pollen.
What the—?
Belle giggled. ‘Is it not wonderful?’
Dougray limped towards the tree, but its strong, heady scent forced him to stop. It was overpowering. Mouse’s small eyes crinkled as he smiled behind his kerchief.
‘This is the narcosia tree. If you have been feeling light-headed, then this is the culprit. It has a quality in its flowers to produce sleep and is especially potent if you have a wound. It enters your blood and leaves you with a nasty headache in the morning, but it can also dull pain in your body for quite some time.’
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