A Riddle of Green

by Isobelle Carmody

  These questions made her head ache, so she turned her thoughts to the lemmings. Those who had spoken to Gem had departed immediately after their audience. Two hours later, the lemmings who wanted to make the exodus had begun arriving in small groups. By the time Ofred had settled to dream, there were hundreds of lemmings sleeping at the foot of the tree. They slept so close together that they looked like a great misshapen creature with a mottled coat.

  Little Fur tried to imagine how it would be to travel with such a horde, all of them led by a mad lemur. She could not see it. Yet Gem had said there was no other way.

  Little Fur stood up again and paced, wishing that Ginger would return with the fresh healing pouches he had promised to fetch so that she could talk over everything with him. She was also worried about Sly. Clearly there had been a link between their quests, for she was sure it was Sly who had freed the lemur. She had wanted to know more about Sly and what had happened at the zoo, but Ofred had only whimpered when she had asked him. Little Fur went back to the step and sat again, rubbing her eyes and wondering if Sorrow had found Nobody yet.

  Suddenly there was a rustling of leaves and Ofred dropped lightly to a lower branch. Little Fur rose to her feet and waited.

  CHAPTER 6

  Danger

  For a moment, Ofred seemed not to see Little Fur, but then he looked at her and pointed to the horizon. “I dreamed of the place where the land meets the great sea,” he said.

  Little Fur stared at him in dismay. “We are to go to the great sea?” she asked, unbelieving. Her friend Brownie the pony had told her that earth magic did not flow through the salten sea as it did through fresh water.

  The lemur made no response. He was gazing about in a startled, fearful way, as if he had heard someone calling his name from different places all at once. He did not notice the lemmings, most of whom still slept soundly about him. He pointed again, but in a completely different direction, and said, “The great sea waits for us with a gifting and a maw that will swallow us.” Then he put one of his paws in his mouth and began to suck it.

  Little Fur sighed. So this was to be the way of it. The lemur would tell them his dreams, and she would have to figure out how to understand them. And it was not only herself that she would be deciding for, but the lemmings, too. She looked crossly at them and then was ashamed, for had she not failed Lim after he had saved her life? Was not something owed for that?

  Little Fur straightened her shoulders and drew her cloak about her, trying to recall all she knew of the great sea. It was quite a lot, thanks to Brownie, who was taken by his human to the seaside each winter. She remembered that he had said that there was a river that flowed to the salten sea. Surely, then, they only had to find the right river and follow it.

  When Crow awoke, Little Fur told him her plan.

  “Crow knowing way to river to the great sea!” the black bird said eagerly. “Crow can leading the way.”

  This seemed a good omen and helped Little Fur keep her temper as she roused the lemmings, who each needed to be shaken gently several times before they were properly awake. Crow said they might be able to reach the edge of the city before the sun opened its eye if they moved fast. Little Fur did not know where they could hide the horde of lemmings in full daylight, so she declared that they must go immediately.

  Ofred cringed and gave a little whine as he dropped to the ground in the midst of the lemmings. His red eyes shone with madness, and Little Fur’s heart sank. Yet there was nothing for it but to begin the journey.

  They moved more swiftly than Little Fur had hoped. The lemmings swarmed, which meant they could draw upon the power of the horde to strengthen them. And for all his oddness, Ofred had a rapid gait. Even Little Fur moved faster than usual, for there was no need to make sure she set her feet down on grass or earth. Knowing this, Crow led them in a very direct route toward the river. All of them were alert for greeps and humans.

  They passed into the part of the city where the high houses clustered thickly, a few pale stars reflected in their shining surfaces. Little Fur had never been here before, because there were so few trees and plants. She gazed up at the forest of darkly gleaming high houses and saw a chilly beauty in them, for all their deadness. She shuddered, wondering if this was a sign that her troll blood was growing stronger.

  Crow led them across a wide square made of shining blocks of polished stone. Not a single blade of grass grew between the blocks. At the center of the square was a great stone bowl from which sprang the likenesses of four enormous rearing white horses, their faces frozen in straining desperation. Little Fur did not know why humans would shape stones in such ways, but they must possess a kind of magic to capture such urgency in stone. Water flowed from under the horses as if they were leaping up out of it, but it smelled of human poisons, so none of them drank from it, though they were thirsty.

  The sky grew lighter, and soon only one bright star remained. Little Fur’s legs were weary, for she was not used to walking so fast. She wanted to ask Crow how much farther the river was, but summoning him would waste time. It was strange to think that this was how humans went through their cities, striding about without fear.

  She had once asked Crow how he knew where she could walk safely when he was flying above the city. He had said that birds saw the earth magic as a shimmer of green, flowing like a stream and pooling around trees and gardens and patches of grass. Crow had also told her that birds saw the air currents as shimmering golden paths, and that those birds who flew away for the winter used them to find their way home in spring.

  I ought to feel free, Little Fur thought, but when she passed a stunted tree and couldn’t reach down through its roots to commune with the seven ancient sentinels in her beloved wilderness, she felt alone.

  The last star winked out as they passed from the high houses to the outer limits of the city. There the empty dwellings were smaller, with patches of grass and more trees. Crow flew lower now and circled often, for he knew, as all of them did, that this area was where greeps were more likely to hide. Crow led them to a narrow, shadowy lane, and the lemmings funneled into it after Little Fur and Ofred.

  Little Fur had not gone far along it when one of the shadows rose and took a solid shape. Little Fur reeled back with a cry of fright as an enormous black cat emerged from the gloom.

  “Danger,” she whispered.

  It was the panther that Sly had vowed to free from the zoo: Danger, who had sworn his own oath to kill and kill if he was freed. Crow plummeted out of the night sky, silent as a stone, claws outstretched. But he was not an owl with silent wings, and the rush of air warned the great cat. He leaped sideways and pounced on the black bird, pinning him under one powerful dark paw.

  “No!” said Ofred.

  Little Fur gaped as the lemur laid his small paw on the panther’s large one and said softly, “I did not dream of you killing.”

  Danger held the lemur’s gaze, then sheathed his claws and lifted his paw. Freed, Crow fluttered upright and flew up to the top of a pole topped with a ball of false light, where he began a scolding tirade.

  Little Fur ignored him, asking the lemur, “What happened at the zoo?”

  It was Danger who answered. “The cat Sly stole the key and then freed the lemur from his enclosure so that he could open my cage.” He turned back to Ofred. “Did you speak the truth, dreamer?” he demanded.

  “I told you my dream. You will not be free unless you travel with me,” sang Ofred, the fire fading in his eyes.

  Danger turned to Little Fur, then looked over at the lemmings. They all watched him with grave, respectful eyes. “These are also following you?” Danger asked Ofred at last, disdainfully.

  “They have chosen to follow my dreams, as you may do,” answered the lemming. “I alone cannot choose.”

  “I—I don’t understand,” Little Fur stammered at Danger. “You are free.”

  The panther looked at her for a long moment before deigning to answer. “I was trapped in this shap
e when humans captured and caged me. I wore it so long that I had forgotten myself. The moment I was outside my cage, I remembered myself. But my flesh has forgotten how to shift.”

  “You are a shapeshifter?” Little Fur murmured, for she could smell nothing of the last age in the great dark beast.

  “I was. Perhaps I will be again. But this shape goes deep.” There was a rumble in the panther’s throat, and he regarded Ofred suspiciously.

  The lemur was humming a tuneless little song and preening the bedraggled tip of his tail.

  Little Fur looked up at the lightening sky. “Listen, Ofred has dreamed of the great sea, and that is where we are going. We will follow the river to it, but we must get outside the city before the sun opens its eye. If you would come with us, then come, else the humans will see us.”

  “I will not be caged again,” Danger said. “Let us go.”

  Little Fur looked up and nodded to Crow, who flew on just above the lane. Danger leaped after him and the lemmings swarmed in Danger’s wake, leaving Little Fur and Ofred to bring up the rear. It seemed to her that the lemur was moving more slowly. No doubt he was weary, too. As soon as they reached the river and got out of the city, they would rest and forage for some food.

  Little Fur was about to ask Danger what had happened to Sly when Crow screamed a warning: “Humans coming!”

  CHAPTER 7

  The Wander

  Little Fur looked around in dismay. The lane was narrow and there was nowhere to hide, except for an enormous metal bin set in a niche in a wall ahead. “We must hide behind that,” she cried, but already Danger was weaving cat shadow about himself.

  Little Fur turned and ran toward the metal box, gagging at the awful smell rising from it. The lemmings flowed in a soft tide under and behind it. Just as Little Fur was about to press herself in beside them, she realized that the lemur was sitting on his haunches in the middle of the lane, gazing vacantly into the false light.

  And now Little Fur could hear the humans!

  She ran back, grabbed Ofred’s paw, and dragged him into the malodorous space behind the metal box. Sinking into a crouch, she put her arms about him and whispered that he must be quiet. He trembled, but made no sound.

  Little Fur could see the hulking shapes of the humans coming along the lane. There were three of them, and they were reeling as they walked. Little Fur could smell the sickly sweet smell of fermented fruit coming from them, and realized that one of them was almost a greep.

  To Little Fur’s horror, one of the humans stopped alongside the metal box and heaved it open with a screeching creak. There was a shout from one of the other humans, and the rummaging one dropped the lid with a clang and stumped angrily to where they were doing something to the wall. There were long hissing sounds and a terrible smell—but at last the humans staggered on, leaving strange glistening runes on the wall.

  Little Fur breathed a shuddering sigh of relief as Crow glided down to land on the metal box. “Run! To escape from Danger will be easy now!” he cawed urgently.

  Before Little Fur could speak, something black landed beside him. Crow screamed in fright and took to the air, but Little Fur saw at once that it was only Sly. “I am so glad to see you!” she said.

  The one-eyed cat gave her a green and glowing look, then leaped to the ground, where Danger was emerging from the cat shadow he had woven. “I followed your scent,” she told Danger. “You will go with the lemur?”

  “He said that things were not as they seemed, and that was true,” Danger told her.

  “He smells of madness,” Sly said disdainfully.

  “Yes,” Danger replied. “It is that which made me change my mind. For madness does not come from lies. It comes from too much truth.”

  “You could remain in this shape. It is strong and powerful,” Sly said lightly, as if it did not matter to her at all what he chose to do.

  “This shape is beautiful, but it is another cage. I must be free. You made me know that, Emerald Eye.”

  Sly said nothing, and Danger bent down to touch noses with her. They exchanged a long look; then, suddenly, Danger stiffened. Both cats turned their bright gazes back to the lane.

  “Must going!” cawed Crow, circling overhead. “Sun will soon opening its eye!”

  Sly stretched and yawned before bidding them all farewell and leaping up over the wall.

  “Go!” Little Fur commanded the lemmings, and they swarmed along the lane. She looked at Ofred, who sat where she had left him, sucking his fingers. She sighed and took his wet paw, but before they could go more than two steps, Danger blocked their way.

  Little Fur thought that the panther meant to attack, but he merely said, in his low, smoky voice, “I will carry him.”

  Little Fur nodded and pushed the lemur up onto the huge cat’s back. Ofred hardly seemed aware of what was happening to him, though she heard him mutter, “Who will ride upon the back of Danger must beware its teeth and claws. …”

  They set off again. The lane spilled into a wider cobbled street with a gutter cut down the center. Even as Danger loped after Crow, the sun began to open its eye. They had a little time, for the sun had to reach over the roofs before they would be completely exposed. Now Little Fur could smell a large body of water ahead. A moment later, she heard the cry of birds and saw a flock of them wheeling around Crow in a pattern that told her they were exchanging news.

  As she waited below, Little Fur found herself fingering the green stone hanging from her neck. She lifted the stone and examined it closely, searching for a tiny fissure or crack where something might be hidden. She wondered what it was that trolls did not like about the feel of earth magic and shivered at the thought that a day might come when she was not just numb to the earth spirit, but repelled by it. It struck her that right now she was not like a troll or an elf; she was most like a human, because she could walk anywhere and feel nothing.

  Crow dropped away from the flock and swooped low, cawing, “River being right ahead!”

  They had not gone far before a high metal web that stretched out of sight in both directions blocked the way. Little Fur wrestled with a surge of anger at the thought that, once again, humans had spoiled things.

  Crow cawed that he would fly along the fence to seek a place where they could get through it or under it, and then he was gone.

  “I can jump it,” Danger said. “I will carry the lemur over, and you and the lemmings can climb it.”

  “That would not be wise,” said a gruff, shaggy sort of voice.

  Little Fur turned to see a very hairy creature coming toward them. It looked like a big dog but smelled strongly of the age of high magic. Ofred seemed not to notice the creature, but the lemmings sniffed and stared at it with interest.

  “Do not try to stop us!” Danger snarled, baring his teeth.

  “I would not dream of it,” the creature said with a chuckle. “I am only warning you that the fence will give you a powerful shock if you touch it, because it is full of sky-fire.”

  “We must get to the river,” said Little Fur, knowing they could not tamper with sky-fire. “How far does the fence go?”

  “You’d have to walk a long, weary way before you could get around it to the riverbank,” answered the creature.

  “What is caged by this web?” Danger asked.

  “Only the humans know that,” said the creature. Little Fur smelled that whatever else he was, he was male. “Do you mind which bank of the river?”

  “What do you mean?” asked Little Fur.

  “Well, there is a bridge that goes from this side of the fence right over the web and across to the other bank. And there is no fence on that side. I can show it to you if you like.”

  “That would be wonderful,” Little Fur said. Crow could easily follow, she told herself, and there was no time to spare.

  They had not walked far before Little Fur saw the bridge. It was slender, far too narrow and light for road beasts.

  “What are you, and what is your name?�
�� Little Fur asked the doglike creature as they neared the bridge.

  “I am Wander,” her guide said, giving her a look that glimmered with amusement. “That is what I am and who I am, and also what I do.”

  Little Fur had never heard of a wander before, but there were many creatures from the last age she did not know about. She introduced Danger and Ofred and the lemming horde. The lemmings bowed gravely, and the wander inclined his own head with the same gravity, though there was a twinkle of amusement in his eye.

  “How do you know the web is so long?” the panther asked, his fur still prickling suspiciously.

  “I went both ways to see how long it was,” explained the wander.

  “You did all that walking out of curiosity?” Little Fur asked.

  “That is what I do,” said the creature. “I wander when I wonder.”

  “It must take you a long time to get anywhere,” Little Fur said.

  “There is no hurry to get where I am going, since it is the same place we are all going in the end,” answered Wander. “On the other hand, there is a great herd of things to wonder about on my way to join the world’s dream, and when a question starts niggling at me, I go wandering until I find the answer and stop wondering. Or until some other question starts nagging at me more.”

  Little Fur imagined questions coming to Wander like small creatures came to her. “I suppose you brought us to the bridge because you were wondering about us,” she said.

  The wander chuckled. “I thought you smelled clever. I am curious about why three such different kinds of creature travel together with a horde of lemmings. I can’t think of any question that you might share.”

  “Are you asking me what we are doing?” Little Fur asked.

  Wander gave her a long look out of eyes that were the exact shade of honeycomb. “A wondering that is answered by someone else is like a nut that is eaten by someone else; all you have is an empty shell. Besides, hardly anyone knows the true reason for doing a thing.”