Prophecy

by Kyle West

  It was hard to imagine anything more beautiful than this, but I had to hold that thought because we arrived at a wide veranda, the last construction on this bough. It made a perfect circle, perhaps fifty paces across, and was ringed by a variety of food stalls. Most were closed for the night, but there was one still open – the largest from the looks of it – which had its own fire pit over which meat was roasting on a spit. The smell of bread, roasted vegetables, meat, and spices drifted on the breeze, making my stomach growl.

  Circular tables and stools rose from the veranda in the center, seeming to be carved from the wood itself. There were about twenty tables, and only two of them were occupied at this time of night. One contained a young man and woman, while another held two men wearing strange black armor that shone in the light of the surrounding leaves. The young couple stared, probably shocked by my drab clothing. Or perhaps they were staring at Prince Isaru.

  “Find us a spot,” Isaru said. “I’ll get us some yeir.”

  I didn’t know what yeir was, but I felt as if I could eat anything.

  I found a table in the middle of all the stalls, and Isaru returned not long after with two flat pieces of bread wrapped around some strange pink and purple vegetables I’d never seen before. I saw caramelized onions in there, but that was the only vegetable I recognized. There was also some sort of browned meat. The aroma was savory, yet sweet.

  “Yeir is the most basic food you can get around here,” Isaru said. “From commoner to King, everyone eats it.”

  It looked similar to something that could be bought on the streets in Colonia, called a gyro, and the similarity of the names made me think that, long ago, they had been called the same thing, but after a couple of centuries, it started to be called something slightly different.

  Whatever the case, it tasted amazing, even the vegetables I’d never seen before. One of them was sort of like a potato, but a bit sweeter and denser. The other was chewy and somewhat bitter, but didn’t exactly taste bad, though on its own it might have.

  We ate quickly, and I wasn’t ashamed to finish before Isaru. For the first time since Shara’s going-away dinner, I felt full.

  As Isaru continued to eat, everything seemed to come at me at once. It was my first moment to just sit down and do nothing. All I could think about was the insanity of the past few days.

  “What’s going to happen to me, now?”

  I didn’t really mean to say that out loud, and it made Isaru stop eating. He looked at me a moment, concern written on his features.

  “We’ll just take it one step at a time,” he said. “First, you need some sleep. You can stay in one of the guest rooms in the Palace.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Of course,” Isaru said. “We’ll have to be careful not to let my father see, though.”

  “What? Why?”

  “He’s going to be mad at me, to put it lightly.”

  “Maybe sleeping there isn’t such a good idea, then...”

  “Unless you want to sleep outside, that’s the only option.”

  I looked at my surroundings, deciding that outside probably would be a lot more comfortable than what I was used to.

  Finally, Isaru finished, licking his fingers and smacking in a rather unprincely manner. “Ready?”

  We got up from the table, and I followed Isaru back to the trunk.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  WE CONTINUED CLIMBING THE SPIRAL until it ended at a final opening. When we walked out we found ourselves on the High Veranda built at the very top of the tree. Various branches arched and curved above, far too thin to support any more constructions. However, they still provided a covering that constantly shifted in the breeze.

  With a start, I realized that it was the tree itself that was moving. It was so tall that it would have been impossible for it to have remained perfectly still. The sway was gentle, at least. If Haven had stood for over two centuries, as Isaru had said, then it probably wasn’t going to topple any time soon.

  The veranda wrapped around the entire trunk, but directly ahead, a depression had been built into the platform with three rows of seating. It had to be the theater Isaru mentioned. To my right, a set of finely carved wooden steps led to a pair of intricately crafted doors. This had to be the entrance to the palace. The rest of the veranda was left wide open, filled with seats and benches, bordered with a high wooden railing.

  I went to the side of the platform and looked down, trying not to be dizzied by the height. I had never been so high off the ground, not counting flying on the dragon. Tiny trees grew in the canyon far below, though they were only small because of the distance. They were still giants in their own right, and like Haven, they glowed with silvery light. There were at least a dozen of these trees distributed throughout the canyon, though Haven was the centerpiece.

  Even Isaru seemed quiet for the moment, though he had surely seen this sight countless times before.

  The doors to the palace suddenly swung open, causing Isaru and me to turn. Out walked a tall regal man, of middle age, wearing blue, elegant robes with silver trim. From the glow of the surrounding leaves, I could see that he had a strong face and a portly figure, along with a thick, brown beard and the same color eyes. He and Isaru looked little alike, save perhaps in the shape of the jawline. The gray eyes and hair had to have come from his mother.

  There was no mistaking this man’s identity. This was King Taris. And the King didn’t even seem to see me, instead focusing on Isaru.

  “Where have you been?” he demanded, angrily. “The entire city has been in an uproar!”

  “Well...” Isaru said mildly, “I’m back now.”

  King Taris’s eyes went to me. Under that gaze, I wished I could disappear. “And who is this?”

  “The Elekai,” Isaru said. “The one the Council of Elders refused to save.”

  King Taris’s eyes went from his son back to me, then back to his son, his face reddening all the while. “This...girl? This is the powerful Elekai those fool Elders wanted to save? Gods, Isaru. I was angry before, but this only makes it worse. Not only did you disobey me and the Council of Elders...you risked your life to save a girl...a Colonian, no less...”

  “She is Elekai,” Isaru said. “She may be from Colonia, but they were going to kill her had I not intervened.”

  “And what if they killed you, my son? What would become of the High Line of the Annajen? What would become of our noble house – we, who can trace our lineage back to the Good Goddess herself? What do you have to say for yourself?”

  Isaru took his time to respond. The king waited, seeming to grow more furious the longer the silence went on.

  “You can’t protect me from the world forever, Father. I’m a grown man now, capable of making my own decisions.”

  “A man? You are still a boy. Eighteen years might be old enough to be a man, only you fail to act the part. Any man who can’t subjugate his will to the Elders is no man at all. Even I, King Taris of Haven, must bow to the Council’s demands.”

  “Yet you have not always, Father. You know this.”

  King Taris ignored that point. “The Council ordered there be no rescue attempt, and you openly defied them. They didn’t even wish to risk their own Champions!”

  Isaru set his jaw. “My unwise decision led to saving an Elekai, whatever else you want to say. And not all members of the Elder Council agreed with the ruling. Besides, would you tell Shanti that her life was not worth my risk?”

  At the mention of my name, I grew even more embarrassed than I already was. I wished disappearing into thin air was one of the Twelve Gifts, because it definitely would come in handy now.

  The king scowled. “Perhaps you didn’t die this time, but you would be a fool to believe that you won’t someday if you keep up these foolish adventures. What then? The High Line remains unbroken to Elekim and Annara themselves. This is what you must protect, guard, and cherish. And you would throw it away for this...girl?”

  “We ar
e all of value,” Isaru said. “Was it not you who taught me this, long ago? What has changed?”

  King Taris sighed, seemingly at a loss for words. “The Council is already meeting tomorrow, and don’t think you will escape their judgment. Regardless of whether or not you saved the Elekai, you disobeyed the highest authority in the Red Wild. That you take this so lightly is...is...” He trailed off, shaking his head in frustration.

  “I still think...”

  “Silence!”

  Isaru shut his mouth, and in the following quiet, I had never felt more awkward in my life. I wasn’t just witnessing an argument, but an argument between a king and his son that was about me, a complete outsider. I was contemplating trying to sneak away, but I was forced to stand there and hear every excruciating word being exchanged. I noticed that at the top of the steps, watching from within the entry hall of the palace, several servants had gathered.

  “And what of Shanti?” Isaru asked. “Am I to return her to that evil land that would kill her? Is her life worth nothing to you?”

  “She’s to appear before the Council tomorrow, just like you,” King Taris said. “There, we will decide what is to be done with her.”

  “No,” Isaru said. “She’s not going back. They’ll kill her.”

  “I am the king, and I command you both to Council tomorrow, at the third bell. And that is final!”

  King Taris gestured for someone to come out of the palace. At once, a tall man of middle years with a trim beard and dark brown hair, wearing long, gray robes, made his way down the steps.

  “Garvin, please find the outsider an empty bed for the night. Not here, but where the soldiers sleep. Make sure she doesn’t escape.”

  Garvin nodded. “At once, my lord.” He turned to me. “This way.”

  I looked at Isaru, but he was just glowering at the deck below. It seemed as if I was out of his hands now.

  “You can’t lock me up,” I said, quietly.

  I knew this was the king, but I never wanted to be locked up again. But the angry stare King Taris gave let me know he was not to be argued with. Garvin also stared me down, seemingly more furious than the king. Isaru looked at me, an amused smile on his lips. I felt my face burn from embarrassment.

  “This way, outsider,” Garvin said, coldly. “And if you speak directly to the king again, you might find yourself in much meaner accommodations.”

  With that, Garvin went off. I cast Isaru a final glance before following.

  ***

  In the space of hours I had gone from prisoner to criminal to damsel in distress, and now I found myself in a kingdom based in a giant tree. I had no idea what to think of this situation, and there probably wasn’t any person in the world who would know what to think.

  My thoughts instead turned to my parents. Not knowing their fate was near-maddening. I thought of Shara and wondered how she was doing with her training for the army. At that moment, it felt as if I would never see anyone I knew or loved again.

  Garvin turned off a spiral not far down from the top, and I followed him along a walkway that followed a bough as thick as the trunk of a normal tree. The bough split in three directions, and from each hung dozens of spherical constructions, each with a ladder descending through its top from the branch above. Their walls were thin and greenish, and lights glowed from the inside half of them. It took me a moment to realize that these were the pods Isaru had mentioned.

  The further the pods went from the trunk, the smaller they became. This was probably because the bough closer to the trunk was thicker, and could support more weight.

  Garvin headed for the leftmost bough, passing several of these hanging pods. Carved within the bough itself were narrow holes for the ladders that descended to them.

  He came to a pause at the last one, a small thing that must have had room for nothing more than a bed.

  “You’ll stay here,” he said, his manner still cold.

  I didn’t really want to go in, but I didn’t see what else I could do. I tried not to think of the similarities between descending into this pod and the way I had been forced to descend into the pit.

  I climbed down the ladder, trying not to look down. If I somehow slipped, then it would be a long fall before I hit a branch or platform; if I was truly unlucky, I could fall all the way down to the tree’s roots hundreds of feet below.

  After twenty or so rungs, I entered the pod and stepped onto the floor, made of wooden planks. I gave a start as the whole pod swayed. I waited for it to go still, my heart racing the entire time.

  And then, something slid over the opening, followed by the click of a lock. I guess Garvin was taking seriously the order not to let me escape. All the same, that sound made my blood run cold, making memories resurface that were all too fresh.

  “Hey!” I called out.

  There was no answer. It looked as if I was stuck here, at least until tomorrow morning.

  To keep my mind occupied, I looked around. It wasn’t completely dark, as some of the silver light of the surrounding leaves penetrated the thin wall. I touched the wall, and it felt strange against my hand – hard, yet elastic. It reminded me of the way a leaf would feel, if a leaf were ten times thicker.

  A lamp sat on a small wooden table, which had two simple stools that sat opposite a small bed. Other than a tiny washbasin and a chamber pot, there was nothing. This pod had seemed so tiny on the outside, and the bigger ones were easily ten times as large. All the same, compared to where I’d come from, it was the lap of luxury.

  On the table, unnoticed before, was a bundle of clothes, much nicer than the garb the Sisters had given me earlier today. There were pants, a shirt, and a green cloak to go over both. Unlike other clothes in Haven, these were of a simpler weave or ordinary cloth, and didn’t glow in the darkness.

  I didn’t know whose they were, but I needed them. I changed, and once I was out of the scratchy garb I’d arrived in, I felt much better for it. I went to the lantern to turn it on, realizing there was no point because I didn’t have anything to light it with. Still, I turned the knob, and was surprised to hear the flow of gas along with several clicks. The lantern turned on, filling the pod with a pale pink light. This was a contraption I’d never seen before. Based off the color, the technology was probably xen-based.

  I looked around, but there wasn’t much I hadn’t already seen. All the same, I kept the lantern on and lay on the bed, being careful not to make the pod sway more than it had to.

  I rested a minute until the sound of the burning lamp began to grate on me. I turned it off and was left with the wind blowing through the leaves and the insects chirping from the branches. The sound was peaceful, but all the same, the anxiety of knowing that I was locked in here wouldn’t go away.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  IN THE DARKNESS OF THE pod, it felt as if I were back in the pit. I broke into a cold sweat, and the next thing I knew, I needed to find a way out.

  I got out of bed and climbed up the ladder. When I reached the top, I pushed against the trapdoor, but it only caught against the lock. I slammed my palm against it a couple of times, but it did no good.

  “Hello? Anyone out there?”

  There was no one to answer on the other side.

  I climbed back down and lay on the bed. I closed my eyes and listened to the wind and tried to relax. But within the sound of the wind was a strange, scratching noise coming from the opposite wall.

  I opened my eyes, only to see that it was a tree branch lightly scraping the wall outside. I could see the thin shadow of the branch moving, barely discernible.

  If I could somehow cut my way out of the pod, I could use that branch to escape.

  No. That would be foolish. Even if I managed it, was it really worth falling and killing myself?

  Yet, I couldn’t deny the pressing need to escape. I wasn’t going to be anyone’s prisoner. I couldn’t shake the thought. Using the branch might be possible. I wouldn’t necessarily have to climb all the way to the bottom. T
here were dozens of verandas built along the boughs, and there seemed to be more toward the bottom of the tree, where the limbs were thicker. If I could just find my way to one of these verandas, then I could make the rest of my way down using the trunk.

  I could survive in the Red Wild. Even if it was difficult, it was better than placing myself at the Council’s mercy. Besides, it seemed King Taris hinted that I was destined for nowhere but Colonia, anyway. If I ever went back there, it would be at a time of my choosing.

  I got out of bed and took a single step toward the opposite wall. I placed my hand on the section the branch was scratching. I couldn’t see anything through the thin veneer besides the branch’s shadow.

  If I had a knife, I could cut through the wall. Barring that, a solid punch might work.

  There was only one way to find out.

  I sucked in half a breath, bringing my arm back. My arm shot forward quickly while I stepped into the punch, holding nothing back, just as my father had taught me. I felt the surprising resistance of the wall, but the actual impact didn’t hurt. And then, just like that, my fist punctured it.

  I pulled my hand back, but my fist was caught in the hole. After tugging with my left hand, I was sent flying back to my bed. I crashed into it, causing the pod to sway. I held onto the bed tightly and waited for the rocking to cease.

  I collected myself before getting up to examine the puncture. Peering out, I could see the tree branch. It was thin at the point where it had been scratching the pod, but the limb dropped about five feet toward the main branch, which looked large enough to bear my weight. The hard part would be following that branch to a walkway or veranda. Landing on the branch itself would also prove difficult.

  The thin part of the branch, however, was in my way. I didn’t think I could circumvent it by jumping. I saw only one clear answer, and I didn’t like it one bit.

  I had to swing the pod past it and jump.