Chapter 9
It wasn’t long before Billy found them and the forest guardian was grinning from ear to ear as he flung himself down beside the two human boys. They couldn’t help smiling in return he looked so pleased with himself.
“I’m assuming from the noise,” Michael began quietly, “that you were successful?”
Billy nodded as he scanned the surrounding trees. “No trouble at all, like I told you. My mother’s arrogance is even greater than my father’s, she would never dream that I would dare steal from her!”
“So where is it?” James asked curiously.
“What? Oh, I buried it not too far away!” he told them. “We don’t need it and it would just be a burden so I thought it best to hide it.”
James looked at Michael and shrugged. “So what now? We need to get moving and away from here! The last thing we need is to get caught between your parents.”
Billy grinned again and then got up warily, listening to the distant sounds of turmoil. “I think she’ll find him soon enough so if we make our way around to the other side of the Tree we might remain undetected.”
He took off at a jog and the other boys hurried after him, relying on his superior senses to find trouble before it found them. They wound their way through the trees in a circle around the Queen’s sanctuary and then on past it.
Michael and James hurried after Billy and he couldn’t help noting to himself that they would be hopelessly lost if it wasn’t for their new friend. They followed no discernible path and Michael assumed Billy was trying to make it difficult for anyone to find or follow them.
After a while Billy slowed down and then stopped beside a strange mound of stones, waiting for his two friends to catch up to him.
“This is where we can rest for a while,” he told them quietly, scanning their surroundings.
“Rest? But we’re so close! Why stop now!” Michael protested.
Billy looked at him with a frown. “We’re about to enter the very worst part of the woods. There’s not only the fae to avoid but the woods themselves will try and trick you, lure you away from the Tree. If you’re tired then it will be much easier to fool you.”
“I’m not tired!” Michael continued to protest.
“I am,” James confessed quietly and smiled a little when Michael turned to look at him, “We didn’t really get much rest with Togan and the others and we really don’t know whether it’s even night or day in here! I really could do with some sleep.”
Michael scowled a little at his friend and almost said something but he had to admit that James did look quite tired. Now that sleep had been mentioned he realised he couldn’t remember how long it had been since he had slept himself.
“Alright, but only for a couple hours. We can’t delay for much longer or something terrible might happen to my mother!”
Billy smiled slightly in understanding then waved his hand in front of the mound of stones as he muttered some strange words the boys didn’t know. The air seemed to shimmer and an opening appeared large enough for them to pass through.
“Quickly, before we’re seen!” Billy said before disappearing into the mound himself.
James was the first to follow with Michael right behind him. As soon as Michael was inside the opening closed and they were left in darkness until Billy muttered a few more strange words and a small glowing globe appeared above their heads. By the warm glow they could see that they were in a small chamber in the earth that had a few scattered belongings they assumed belonged to Billy.
The forest guardian lit a few candles and then vanished the glowing globe before turning to the boys.
“We can’t light a fire in here but there are some blankets to keep warm,” he told them rummaging around in a small wooden chest. “This is a safe haven for those of us that know where it is.” He stood back up with a blanket for each of them. “I’ll stay on guard while you get some rest.”
Michael nodded and wrapped the blanket around himself then lay down against the wall, wriggling until he was comfortable. James did the same on the opposite side of the chamber leaving Billy sitting cross-legged between them as he watched over them.
Michael was still feeling a little irritated about the delay but as he rested his head on his arm he realised how tired he really was. It was true about not even knowing if it was day or night in this forest. For all he knew they could have been awake for more than a day. He drifted off to sleep thinking of his mother and how she had looked before becoming ill. Billy pretended not to notice the small tear that slid from the corner of Michael’s eye and into his hair.
It didn’t seem that long before Billy was shaking his shoulder and speaking quietly. He sat up on one elbow and blinked sleepily. He noticed that Billy had already woken James and his friend didn’t look too happy about it.
“I feel like I’ve hardly slept at all,” James complained.
“I’m sorry,” Billy said, “But we need to move on.”
Michael couldn’t help but notice the slight worry in Billy’s voice. “Is something wrong?” he asked the fae.
Billy shrugged, a quick jerk of the shoulders that seemed to indicate his uncertainty. “I don’t know what it is,” he tried explaining, “but it feels more urgent now. I don’t know what’s happened but I think we must hurry.”
Michael looked from Billy’s worried face to James’ pale one. “Did something happen when we were asleep?”
Billy shook his head, “No, nothing. There was a lot of noise outside at one point but they went away. A hunting party I think.” He paused for a moment rubbing his chin. “I don’t think my little plan worked as well as I had hoped.”
“The one about your parents?” Michael asked with a sinking feeling in his stomach.
Billy nodded looking miserable. “I heard both of their soldiers out there – working together. Seems they both hate me more than they hate each other.”
Michael just couldn’t be angry with Billy when the fae looked so miserable and hurt. Instead he stood up and shook out the blanket he had been wrapped in, folding it neatly and placing it on the ground beside him.
“Then I guess we better move fast!” he told them as cheerfully as he could.
James looked from Michael and then to the dejected Billy. “Sounds good to me!” He stood up and folded his own blanket.
Billy didn’t look at either of them for a moment and then he stood slowly. “There is a way that my parents might not think of,” he said with a sigh, “but that’s only because they wouldn’t dare go that way themselves.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” James said slightly alarmed.
Billy grimaced slightly, “I’ve been that way a few times myself but I was alone and so didn’t appear much of a threat.”
“A threat to what?” Michael asked suspiciously.
“The trees,” Billy replied.
“The trees,” Michael repeated and looked at James a little confused. “What about the trees?”
Billy seemed reluctant to speak but he carried on. “We think that’s the way the sorcerer’s soul came to the Tree and the trees along that path are alive and they …”
“They what?” Michael demanded when Billy paused.
“They usually kill everything that comes close enough.”
Michael’s mouth gaped open before he snapped it shut. “And this is the way you want us to go?” he demanded incredulous.
Billy nodded. “I’ve been that way a few times and if you move slowly and quietly they usually leave you alone.”
“Usually?”
Billy seemed to squirm a little as they stared at him. Michael’s mind was whirring with thoughts that he couldn’t seem to grasp until he finally took a deep breath and his mind settled.
“What choice do we have?” he asked James.
James smiled in resignation but said nothing while Billy looked at both of them hopefully, a tentative smile on his lips. At Michael’s ‘lead on’ gesture Billy stepped up to the wall and pressed his ear to it, liste
ning intently.
“Leave everything you don’t need here. We need to move fast. Once I open the door follow as fast as you can!”
James hesitated a moment and then took off the bag Togan had given them and dumped it on the ground. Michael wrapped the bottle of Dragon Tears in a scrap of cloth and tucked it into his jacket pocket.
As soon as the opening appeared Billy took off at a run with Michael and James right behind him. The two human boys didn’t dare look around to see if there were any enemies nearby. They fixed their eyes on Billy and the ground in front of them and didn’t look anywhere else but unfortunately they could hear them.
A fierce baying went up in the distance and they knew the King’s hunters had picked up their scent but more disturbing of all was the high pitched howling that seemed to answer from the other side of them.
“Keep going!” Billy told them roughly. “We’re nearly there. They won’t dare follow us!”
Michael didn’t mention the fact that Billy had been just as sure about his first plan but kept it to himself concentrating instead in keeping up. He glanced over his shoulder to where James ran behind him and was glad to see his friend didn’t seem to be struggling.
It was sheer luck he didn’t crash into Billy when he turned to face forward again. The forest guardian had stopped running and had stepped to the side when he’d turned around so Michael had run past him before skidding to a stop.
“We have to go carefully and quietly now,” Billy said drawing them closer. He glanced back the way they had come as the sounds got closer but stayed calm. “Sometimes the trees will only go after what they see as a threat. Hopefully they will be too focused on what’s coming that they won’t notice us before we’re far enough through where we can make a run for it!”
He moved off again and the human boys followed, mimicking his stealthy movements while trying not to worry about the baying and howling that was getting louder behind them. When they focused on the trees ahead they almost stopped in horror.
Where the tainted trees were dark lifeless looking things the trees ahead seemed to pulse with malevolence. These trees were beyond tainted. The trunks were almost black and something oozed from the bark that gave them a slimy, diseased look. The branches were thin and jagged looking like the claws of some giant bird of prey.
When they followed Billy into the midst of them they seemed to shiver and turn slightly towards the boys. Michael almost held his breath and tried not to sigh loudly in relief when they turned away again. Studying the trees he realised that Billy was possibly right, they were more interested in the creatures behind them than in three skinny boys.
The air amidst the trees was oppressive. It was hot and felt as if there was barely any air to breathe. As Michael looked around them he could see that they were now surrounded by these dark pulsing trees and a sudden terror settled on him. He began to breathe heavily and suddenly stopped moving, looking around at all the dark malevolent giants that loomed around him. Only Billy’s hand on his shoulder stopped him from bolting back the way he had come.
“Michael!” Billy said sharply, “It’s just the trees! Their making you feel like this. Just take a deep breath to steady yourself!”
At the sound of Billy’s voice Michael could feel the terror leaving him and he took a shaky breath to get rid of the rest of it. He smiled at Billy and James to show he was okay but then looked closely at his friend when he gasped softly.
Looking back the way James was staring Michael could see that the King’s hunters had found their trail and were so focused on their quarry that they didn’t notice exactly where they were.
The boys could only look on in horror as the branches of the trees suddenly whipped towards the pursuing hunters and their strange mounts. Limbs were grasped and pulled the blood splattering the trunks as the victims screamed and then fell silent. The hunters behind tried to turn around and flee but they were caught just like their companions had been.
Michael could only watch in numb horror as the trees whipped and thrashed their branches getting bloodier and bloodier. The trees beside them that had been still shuddered and their branches began to sway as they responded to the massacre that was going on in their midst as if they wanted to join in.
“Come on!” Billy whispered savagely grasping each boy by the arm.
This time they ran as fast as they could away from those malignant trees but it was a long time before they couldn’t hear the screams any more.
The Spirit Tree Page 9