by Tracey Tobin
She couldn’t help that her head was positively oozing with curiosity. It’s one insane surprise after another. With a gulp she motioned for Jacob to lead the way and followed closely behind. The ladder swayed and bounced as they climbed, but height was no longer at the top of Tori’s list of concerns. She was too busy thinking about what would be at the top, and she was hardly disappointed.
The village was like something she might have fantasized about having in her backyard as a child. The ladder (which, evidently, had been placed there exclusively for Jacob’s use) lead them up to a circular wooden platform, the center of which housed a large torch of the flickering white flames. That base platform had three rope bridges linking it to three other circular platforms, each of which housed a handful of little wooden buildings with thatched roofs and open-air doors and windows. Each of those platforms had rope bridges linking them to other platforms, creating a beautiful spiderweb-like pattern amongst the trees. Jacob called it a village, but Tori thought it was more like a small town; it stretched wide enough around that she couldn’t discern where the other end of it was. And at the center of the ‘village’ was a larger platform that housed a building ten times the size of any of the others, built around and within the trees so as to not disturb the natural formation of the forest.
“This is absolutely amazing,” Tori announced with a whisper. “It’s so much bigger than I expected.”
“This particular clan has been building and expanding for several years,” Jacob explained happily. “Eden has helped protect their whereabouts, and Maelekanai are often born in litters of three or more, so the village has grown quite a lot in the time that I’ve known it. Occasionally Eden leads other families here as well, if they are looking for a safe haven.”
Tori didn’t know what else to say, so she asked, “Why is it in the trees?”
“Partially, it’s a tactical advantage to make the village more difficult to be noticed, but it’s also because the Maelekanai simply prefer to be above ground,” Jacob told her. “They are extremely agile and have very powerful claws, so they enjoy traveling amongst the branches.”
As though to drive his point home, Kaima suddenly dropped down from the trees to land beside them with a scowl. “Think lynx more-so than cat,” she hissed with a sideways glare at Tori.
Jacob ignored her rudeness but gave her a glare of his own. “Where is Eden?” he asked.
Kaima strolled off toward the central bridge, flicking her tail at them as she went. “She’s in the council room with my father,” she replied. “Better hurry or she might just give up on you!” With that she took off at a run, as though she planned to get there first and send Eden away. Jacob made a rude gesture at her as she disappeared into the village.
“Let’s actually hurry, though,” he suggested. “It is a great honor to meet with Eden.”
They walked through the village at a brisk pace, with Tori’s head was on a swivel the entire time. At first she was staring at the little houses, which had beautiful, brightly-colored murals painted on their outer walls. There were portraits of lovely landscapes, fields of flowers, and cloudy skies, but some were wonderful, multi-colored hand-paintings that looked to be made by children. Tori was distracted by these only until she spied more Maelekanai, and then it was difficult not to stare as dozens of them came and went about their daily lives. Most of the females were roughly the same size as Kaima, but no two had exactly the same coloring. There were blacks and browns, whites and grays, oranges and dark, ruddy reds, and all of the females had a long plait of hair - usually in a different color from their fur - falling at least to their shoulders. The males, on the other hand, seemed to keep their shocks of hair cropped as short as their fur so that it was simply a discoloration that gave the illusion that they were wearing helmets. The males were also half again as large as the females, making them as tall as, but thicker than, Jacob. No one seemed to wear much in the way of clothing; several of the females wore small items like scarfs or head wraps, while a number of the men wore leather belts with hunting knives hanging from them. A few of the men carried long wooden spears as well, with blades made of bone strapped to the top.
As they walked Tori kept her eyes out for Maelekanai children, but saw no sign other than for the paintings on their homes. “Where are the kids?” she questioned Jacob, to which he grinned and pointed up. She followed his gesture and almost cried aloud. A group of about fifteen miniature Maelekanai - They look like kittens! - were above them, swinging from branch to branch like little, giggling monkeys. While Tori watched, one little kitten slipped and almost fell, only to be snatched out of the air by his mate.
“Don’t worry,” Jacob assured her when he saw the horror on her face. “They always land on their feet.”
Tori almost sighed in relief before she realized that Jacob was having a go at her. “Oh, shut up,” she shot at him and stuck out her tongue. Her growl drew a hearty laugh from the jester.
They were beginning to approach the central platform with the largest building, and Tori’s natural curiosity was beginning to take a back seat to an overwhelming discomfort. Despite Jacob’s statement about her being “with” him, she was beginning to notice an awful lot of stares, and a few of them were not very friendly at all. She made a point to walk a little closer to Jacob and hoped that his presence would deter any confrontation.
When they got close enough to see the outer walls of the big building Tori couldn’t help but let out an impressed whistle. Like the homes and other buildings they had passed, this one - the council room, she assumed - was painted, but these paintings must have been painstakingly planned out from the start. The walls were covered in greens and browns, each section of the arched walls painted to match the trees and vegetation behind it. The illusion that was created was of a structure that was trying to blend into the forest, to become part of the forest itself.
“Wait until you see the inside,” Jacob told her, and took her hand.
Through the open doorway and down a short corridor they went, and found themselves in the large, open council room, which probably would have held every Maelekanai in the village if required. The walls of the room curved up to create a dome, and that dome was painted like the night sky. There were thousands of white, blue, pink, and purple stars surrounding them in every direction, and they almost seemed to twinkle with the help of several torches of white fire. Tori turned in a circle, in awe of the time and effort it must have taken to create such a beautiful effect. As she came full circle her gaze landed on Jacob, who was watching her with a peculiar smile on his face. She couldn’t help but return his grin as they shared a happy, silent moment together amongst the beauty of the room.
Then a throat cleared, and they turned together to find that they were not alone.
At the center of the room, where a rather large tree grew up from the floor and out through the ceiling, there were two figures waiting. The larger figure was a male Maelekanai who had a similar coloring to Kaima, except that his shock of short hair was more gray than silver. He had a long piece of gray material draped over his shoulders like a shawl, and he held a long, crooked staff in his hands. Tori thought that this must be the elder Jacob had originally intended to bring her to. He had a grim, serious look in his eyes that made her wonder what he was thinking about at that moment.
The smaller figure, however, made a strange chill go up Tori’s spine. She was about Tori’s height, and swathed entirely in white robes that were so pristine they practically glowed. All of her body that was visible beneath those robes were the white-tipped fingers peeking out from the sleeves, and the blood-red lips just showing from beneath the long hood. Tori assumed that this must be Eden, and something about her filled Tori with a combination of awe, familiarity, and dread.
Suddenly subdued, Jacob began to walk toward the pair. Tori stayed close, but made sure to stay a step behind. When they’d reached the center of the room Jacob bowed low and Tori clumsily copied him.
“My child
,” said a lilting, ethereal voice. “It is so wonderful to see you again.”
At first Tori didn’t even look up, but after a moment of awkward silence she raised her eyes to find that the red-lipped woman was speaking not to Jacob, but to her. “I’m… I’m sorry?” she stuttered. She threw a sideways glance at Jacob, but he looked just as confused as she felt. “I think you must be mistaken,” she insisted. “There’s no way you could possibly know me.”
The ethereal woman smiled, and something about that smile felt to Tori like a long-lost memory. “My child,” she repeated in that other-worldly voice, “you may not remember me, but I remember you. I was with you on the day of your birth, and I was the one who left you that jewel around your neck.”
Tori straightened up, took a step back, and her hand found its way to the crystal pendant. She remembered the nurse, Marianne, and the story that had seemed like the rantings of a crazy-woman. “That was you?” she whispered, almost to herself. “She was telling the truth?”
The woman, Eden, nodded once. “I must admit that I was unsure whether I would truly ever see you again, but I had faith, and when I felt your presence as you returned to our world, I rushed here as quickly as I could to greet you.”
Jacob had begun to slink into the background, having come to the clear conclusion that Eden had never actually meant to see him in the first place. However, the Maelekanai elder spoke up for the first time: “Stand your ground, Jacob Ravenson. You are a part of this as well.”
Tori listened to the exchange, but she had eyes only for Eden. “Who are you?” she gulped. “Why were you there the day I was born? And what do you mean that I ‘returned’ to this world?”
Eden moved forward gracefully, appearing almost to float above the ground rather than walk on it. Without hesitation she reached up and brushed her fingertips along the side of Tori’s face. The touch made Tori shiver; her fingertips felt like a cool breeze. “I will explain all, my child, but please, tell me first: what did they name you?”
The question seemed so benign to Tori, so meaningless, so unnecessary when compared to all the questions she herself had fighting for attention in her mind. She wanted to ask Eden what the hell did it matter, and to beg for a way to return home, but something about the woman’s presence made Tori feel like a child in front of an authority figure. “Victoria,” she responded, obediently. “Victoria MacKinnon.”
“Victoria,” Eden repeated, seeming to taste the name. “Victoria MacKinnon. Fair born and victorious. How wonderful.” Her fingers brushed aside a strand of Tori’s hair as she considered the younger woman with a strange kind of reverence. “You have grown as I’d hoped you would.”
Tori didn’t seem to be able to find the words to speak. She felt a strange sense of warmth and familiarity radiating from Eden, but she was also confused, frustrated, and perhaps a little scared as well. Part of her felt unusually safe and longed to fall into this strange woman’s arms, but another part felt that something bad was coming and wanted to run far, far away before it could occur.
Eventually, with the Maelekanai elder clicking his tongue in disapproval, Jacob intersected on Tori’s behalf. “Good Eden,” he cleared his throat. “Victoria has come to see you today in the hopes that you may know of a way to return her to her home.”
Again the red lips smiled, and the fingers caressed the sides of Tori’s face as a mother might caress her child. “Oh, my dear Jacob Ravenson,” she tittered. “You do not understand. Our lovely Victoria is home.”
The straightforward way with which she presented the claim broke the spell over Tori. She found herself pulling away from Eden, distancing herself from the cool, airy fingers. She scowled at the blood-red lips and their nonsensical accusation. “What the hell do you mean by that?” she demanded. “What do you think you’re playing at?”
The elder made a strangled sound and Jacob cringed as if Tori had done something absolutely unforgivable, but the mysterious woman smiled on. She offered one pale, beautiful hand, palm up and spoke gently. “Take my hand, dear Victoria, and I shall show you your story.”
Tori took another step backward instead. She had endless questions racing through her mind, but she felt quite suddenly that she did not truly want the answers to any of them. Nothing good will come of this, she thought to herself. I’m sure of it. Nothing good at all. She looked to Jacob for support, and found him staring back at her expectantly, clearly wondering why she would ever hesitate for even a moment. The elder had bowed his head and offered no input at all.
“Even if you refuse to hear it, it will still be your story,” Eden whispered. “Nothing can change that fact.”
The next moment, hardly realizing that she was doing it, Tori had reached out and taken Eden’s hand. It was now as warm and soft as a baby’s skin.
The room became dark, but it wasn’t due to an absence of light. The four gathered together could see each other plainly enough, their bodies fully illuminated, but the room itself seemed to vanish into a void of darkness. It was as though the world around them had melted away and they were left standing together amid nothingness.
Eden’s voice filled the air around them, although Tori never saw her lips move. “This world was host to the birth of six strong, intelligent races,” the story began. “These races grew together, worked together, and learned from one another. They each had their weaknesses, but they drew from each others’ strengths. The cleverest of these races were humans, and so as time passed and society grew, they were bestowed with gifts from the ancient ones, and unanimously chosen to lead.”
The air around them sprang to life and color. Tori gasped as they were suddenly standing in the air, high above a cliff, looking down upon the world. Near the cliff a city was being built. They watched as houses appeared, and then larger buildings, fences, stables, markets. Eventually there came a grand castle, looming over the growing city from the very edge of the precipice. Many bodies moved among the settlement; they were too far away to distinguish, but Tori could tell that many of those bodies were not human. She blinked against the rising sun, and suddenly they were inside the throne room of the castle. Many men and women were gathered as one man - the first king - was crowned for the first time.
“The people of these lands accepted human rule, because they recognized the power of the gift this particular family had been given, and the first king and queen and their descendants were kind and just.” As Eden’s voice spoke the king in his throne became a younger man with a similar face, and then another, and another, showing the passage of time and the passing of the crown. “But eventually all kingdoms face troubled times.” The roulette of faces froze on a young king with eyes as black as his long hair and a scowl that made a shudder ripple through Tori’s body.
“Iryen,” Eden explained. “This particular successor to the throne was a very troubled young man. He believed humans to be the superior creatures of this world, and he did not consent to the rights and freedoms that the others enjoyed. He believed in a human king as the all-powerful lord of all the world. He wanted ultimate control of his land and his subjects, and he wanted to see the non-humans suffer for daring to think themselves equal.”
The young king stood and they followed him down, down, deep beneath the castle, to a dark underground chamber. In the center of the floor there was a pit that had a raging fire burning within it, and on a table behind the pit was a large, ancient-looking book.
“As a boy, Iryen stumbled across the secret of his family’s ancestry: that they were blessed with the power of blood magic. The force of that gift had faded over time, and weakened as the bloodline was diluted, but Iryen searched every corner of the land to learn how to reignite the ancient power that would allow him to rule implicitly and for all times.” Eden’s red lips had become a sad frown as Iryen began to read from the book. They watched, as though on a muted television, as his mouth formed strange, powerful words. He threw a myriad of objects into the flames as he chanted, and the fire sparked and sizzled wi
th each addition.
“Only one person ever learned of Iryen’s plan,” Eden continued. “This was the woman who loved him, who was to become his queen.”
A beautiful woman burst into the chamber. Her lovely white dress and flowing blond hair were covered with dirt and grime as though she’d climbed through the very earth to find her way here, but there was something very familiar about her full, red lips. She screamed something at the king, who produced a knife and waved it in her face with a snarl and a glare.
“She tried to convince him to turn away from his evil ambitions.” Eden’s voice was sad, almost pained. “But he could not be deterred. He was power-mad, and had long since been seduced by the darkness, and the promise of power.”
Iryen bellowed into the fire as he swiped the knife across his hand and let the blood drip down into the flames. The woman, teary-eyed and determined, ran forward and threw her arms around her lover’s neck. He was caught off guard for but a moment, but he managed to shake her off easily, and he brought the knife up and across her face. The blood of her eyes wept down onto her beautiful lips, a horrifying sight that the king admired as an artist with his canvas. In that moment of blanket cruelty, the woman snatched the knife from his hand and brought it straight up under his chin and into his brain.
Tori grasped at her throat and let out a cry of horror. She watched as Iryen’s body crumpled and fell into the flames to be engulfed. The marred woman shrieked her pain to the stony walls. It seemed that the dark spell had been halted, but then the flames that had taken Iryen’s body grew dark, and a thick, smoky shadow appeared from the remains of the would-be king. The dark thing lifted into the air and it shrieked. For the first time since Eden’s story had begun, the spectators heard what was happening; it was a terrifying wail that made the heart go cold and caused the marred woman to cry out in terror. Then the flame snuffed out and the shadow vanished.