ISOF

by Pete Townsend

  The gnarled bark of the oak imprinted itself on Mak’s face as tears ran down his face. Slowly wrapping his arms as far around the tree as he could the red fruit slipped from his hand and dropped to the ground. Instantly a tree root wrapped itself around the fruit, held it for a moment and then disappeared beneath the ground. Mak knew he had accomplished what had been asked of him. As more tears caressed his face a loud peel of thunder ripped through the sky.

  Wakened from his temporary stupor, Thrumble, his face apoplectic with rage, roared at the guards.

  ‘Get that being away from the tree,’ he cried pointing at Mak.

  The guards raced over to the tree but there was nothing they could do. The outline of Mak’s face against the tree began to blur. Within moments, his arms and legs became indistinct as the colour of his skin darkened. The once dead oak tree suddenly shuddered and a screeching sound pierced the air.

  As they watched, the branches began to twitch as Mak’s body became one with the tree. A cacophony of creaks and groans erupted as new leaves sprouted, forming a delicate green hue against the grey background of the sky.

  A low murmur spread amongst the crowd as the tree appeared to grow before their eyes, its branches no longer searching for life on the ground but spreading upwards to welcome the sun.

  Thrumble roared again.

  ‘Stop watching what’s going on,’ he yelled at the guards. ‘Detain them,’ he directed pointing at Ben and the others.

  The guards moved menacingly forward, their spears levelled at Ben and the others.

  ‘Now would have been a good time to use the Book,’ muttered Trep.

  ‘But…’ stuttered Ben as he felt his back come into contact with the hard surface of the building.

  ‘But, nothing,’ growled Trep as he shuffled backwards. ‘You and your misplaced altruism doesn’t look like it’s going to do us any good is it?’

  ‘A little late for regrets now,’ said Noj as he too found himself forced towards the building.

  The Jaresh guards moved closer, the points of their spears threateningly close to making a terminal contact. Alisha gripped Ben’s hand.

  ‘Sorry I can’t think of a way to get you out of this,’ she said with a sad smile.

  Ben squeezed her hand. ‘Not to worry,’ he replied quietly. ‘It’s not your fault.’

  The group stood rigid against the wall. Surrounded by the guards and with spears at each of their throats, the group could barely make eye contact as they tried to bid each other farewell. Thrumble stepped forward.

  ‘Enough of these foolish antics,’ he growled. He gave the group a mocking smile. ‘So unpleasant to have met you,’ he sneered. ‘I bid you goodbye.’ He held his hand up as a signal to the guards. ‘On my command,’ he ordered.

  ‘Desist!’ roared a voice.

  All eyes turned to see Briel, or at least it looked like Briel but now resplendent in a shimmering indigo robe. His face shone as he held his arms aloft.

  ‘You will not harm these beings,’ he said, his voice full of authority. ‘They are under my protection.’

  Thrumble stood tall and looked down at Briel.

  ‘And who are you to dare challenge me?’ he asked coolly. ‘You look nothing more than a circus performer. Do you have any tricks up your sleeve?’

  Briel smiled. Reaching inside his robe he pulled out a small box. He nodded at Thrumble. ‘As it so happens.’

  Without further comment, Briel removed the lid from the box. Instantly a loud buzzing began to fill the air followed by a myriad of tiny glowing spheres that immediately began to swarm around the heads of the Jaresh.

  Dropping their spears and waving their arms about, the guards staggered around trying desperately to rid themselves of the irritating spheres.

  ‘What trickery is this?’ growled Thrumble.

  Briel didn’t answer as the spheres suddenly exploded in a shower of intense iridescent light. Within seconds, the graffiti that the Jaresh hated seared the sky. As the words Fish Heads bristled once more in the air, the Jaresh guards began yelling in a mixture of anger and terror as the blinding light began to burn their eyes.

  ‘You’ll pay for this,’ roared Thrumble as he strode towards Briel. ‘Your childish magic will be the death of you.’

  ‘I hardly think so,’ replied Briel.

  With a wave of his arms, Briel’s indigo robe began to move as if caught in the grip of a hurricane. Briel clapped his hands together releasing a shockwave that knocked Thrumble completely off his feet.

  With the guards stumbling around with their hands clasped to their unseeing eyes, and with Thrumble lying semi-conscious on the floor, Briel waved his arms once more creating a small whirlwind that twisted his cloak until it spiralled skywards. As quickly as it appeared the whirlwind disappeared leaving no trace of Briel or his robe.

  Ben looked around in astonishment. He was just as he was about to look for the rest of the group and recommend a quick escape when a hand clasped his shoulder.

  ‘Gotcha!’

  Chapter 39

  The sky swirled in his vision while buildings jostled for attention as Ben felt himself dragged backwards. It had all happened so quickly. His senses were still reeling from the explosion of light and seemingly being abducted was far too much for this mind to accept, so any resistance was nothing more than fleeting wish. Ben’s only hope was that whatever happened it wouldn’t hurt!

  Without warning Ben felt himself propped against a wall where shadows hung thickly.

  ‘There now,’ said a husky voice. ‘All safe and sound, that’s what I like to see.’

  As his eyes became accustomed to the limited light, Ben could just about make out the outline of an archway. He seemed to be in some sort of courtyard once again. Fearing a repeat of his earlier encounter with the Cutters, Ben peered into the gloom. To his surprise he saw Noj, Trep and Alisha grinning back at him.

  ‘What?’ he gasped.

  ‘That was some show back there,’ said Noj with a huge grin. ‘We didn’t need the Book after all.’

  Trep blew out his cheeks. ‘That was too close for comfort.’ He patted his chest. ‘I don’t think I can stand many more scares like that.’

  ‘Getting too old for all this excitement?’ grinned Noj ruffling Trep’s hair.

  ‘Gerrof,’ he laughed. ‘I think there should be a sort of commemoration every year to celebrate our endeavours.’

  ‘And burn an effigy of Thrumble,’ laughed Alisha.

  ‘It’s like Guy Fawkes night back home,’ replied Ben. ‘It happens in November.’

  Even in the dim light, Ben could see the puzzled expressions on their faces.

  ‘What?’ he said for a second time.

  ‘You,’ said Trep with a shake of his head. ‘You’re off on one again.’

  ‘I’m not off on anything,’ replied Ben angrily. ‘It’s true. They have fireworks, bonfires and…’

  ‘Whatever,’ Alisha interrupted. ‘It’s good to be together again.’

  ‘Not quite all of us together,’ added Trep sadly.

  The quietness adequately expressed their sense of loss at Mak’s sacrifice.

  ‘Gone but not forgotten eh?’ said the husky voice. ‘Bit of a cliché I know.’

  Ben turned around to see the female Cutter.

  You’re…’

  ‘That’s right, me duck,’ she grinned. ‘Petal by name but not by nature, that’s me.’

  Instantly Ben scanned the courtyard for the other Cutters. Petal patted his arm.

  ‘Don’t you be worrying your socks off,’ she chuckled. ‘’There’s just little old me, which is more than enough for most people eh?’ she added nudging Ben’s arm.

  Ben nodded towards the market place. ‘Are we expecting company shortly?’

  ‘Hey!’ said Petal with mock severity. ‘Don’t get calling me Shortly!’

  ‘I didn’t mean…’ burbled Ben. ‘I…’

  ‘Don’t fret,’ laughed Petal. ‘I’m only joshing like.’ She patted
his arm again. ‘Not all of us Cutters are mercenary, you know. Well,’ she added thoughtfully. ‘Most of us are but some of us are well meaning too.’

  ‘So,’ mused Noj. ‘What happens now?’

  ‘What happens now,’ grinned Petal. ‘Is that I help you get out of town and safely away from the chaos you’ve created.’ She sighed deeply. ‘One thing’s for sure and that is the Jaresh are going to be absolutely livid with today’s events. They’ll be reprisals that’s for certain.’ Petal shuddered. ‘Can’t say as I want to be around when that starts.’

  ‘Come with us then,’ suggested Ben.

  Petal sidled up to Ben. ‘A woman could get very attached to a kind hearted soul such as yours,’ she said smiling up at his face.

  ‘Er, well, it was just…’ stuttered Ben creating space between his body and Petal.

  Petal laughed loudly. ‘Is he always this shy?’ she asked the others.

  ‘Shy is not the word I would use,’ remarked Trep coolly.

  ‘Whatever,’ she replied. ‘Nice offer though it is, I must join up with me mates as soon as I’ve got you lot to safety.’ She started walking towards the archway. ‘Are you coming or what?’ she called over her shoulder.

  Taking care to keep within the shadows formed by the encroaching night, Petal led the group along narrow streets lined with tall houses lined with rows of characterless windows. From one street to another the group trudged on hopeful that their passing was as anonymous as the buildings. Just as the group turned into one of the narrowest streets they had seen on their brief journey, a large figure suddenly swooped out of the shadows and towered in front of them. Even Petal recoiled in fright as the figure raised a robed arm.

  ‘In there,’ commanded the figure in an ethereal voice.

  Chapter 40

  Obediently, the group filed through an open door to find themselves inside a room that was even darker than the rapidly forming night outside. Bumping into each other the group finally managed to stand huddled together waiting for whatever it was that had summoned them. The slamming of the door startled all of them. The darkness seemed impenetrable as their eyes failed to register the slightest glimmer of light. Suddenly, a bright ball of light floated across the room and hovered just above their heads.

  ‘Sit down then,’ ordered a voice.

  Each choosing an illuminated seat, the group sat as instructed. The ball of light increased in size until the entire room was bathed in a warming glow. Standing by the doorway stood Briel, a smile playing on his face.

  ‘You took your time,’ he said as he walked over to the largest chair and sat down. ‘It was getting a bit chilly standing out there waiting for you to come along.’

  Ben was the first to find his voice.

  ‘I thought you disappeared in a whirlwind,’ he said looking at the others for support.

  Briel laughed gently. ‘That’s what Thrumble and the others would have liked.’ He gave a contented sigh. ‘But rather than the finish we are now at the start of a long and arduous journey…’

  ‘Hang on,’ said Ben. ‘II think we’ve had enough of long journeys and the arduous bit thank you very much.’

  With a shake of the head, Briel leaned forward and tapped Ben’s knee. ‘Not a journey in the way you mean,’ he explained. ‘Your actions today have become the catalyst for change. A change that will, hopefully, see the Jaresh overthrown and the evil behind them exposed.’

  Trep frowned. ‘You mean there’s something even nastier out there than the Jaresh?’ he asked.

  For a few moments, Briel looked at Trep directly. ‘The truth is,’ he said sadly. ‘There are forces at large that you can only begin to imagine. Haven’t you wondered, even for a moment, how the Jaresh came to occupy our lands so easily?

  ‘They just appeared,’ said Trep with a shrug. ‘It al happened so quickly there wasn’t time to resist or do anything.’

  ‘The truth,’ replied Briel. ‘Is that the appearance of the Jaresh was not the beginning but the result of evil scheming with some of our own people actually working towards the day of occupation.’

  ‘You mean like, Cedric,’ said Ben.

  Alisha’s faced clouded over. ‘If I ever get to that scumbag,’ she began.

  ‘He’s been incarcerated in…’ Briel began.

  ‘I hope it hurt,’ interrupted Trep angrily.

  Briel smiled. ‘He’s been taken to a far off place where he’ll be kept prisoner until someone either decides what to do with him or forgets about him altogether.’

  Noj, who had listened carefully to Briel’s explanations, raised a finger.

  ‘Can I ask you something?’

  ‘Of course,’ replied Briel with a smile. Ben rubbed his eyes and looked intently at Briel. ‘Was all that stuff back there, you know the whirlwind and glowing spheres and everything, was it all trickery or something else?’

  Briel’s eyes flickered momentarily. He seemed to be thinking for a moment before answering.

  ‘As in life,’ he answered slowly. ‘Some things are learnt, some are acquired and,’ he paused momentarily, ‘some are innate, we are born within them.’

  ‘So what does that make you?’ asked Ben. ‘A magician, a trickster or a wise being?’

  Briel sat back in his chair and sighed. ‘I think,’ he said, his voice sounding tired. ‘It is time for you to move on.’

  ‘But what are you?’ persisted Ben.

  ‘What I am,’ replied Briel. ‘Is for another time but,’ he raised a finger in warning as Ben started to open his mouth to question. ‘Now isn’t the time or place to discuss such things.’

  ‘Will there ever be a right time and place?’ asked Alisha with a puzzled frown.

  ‘Most probably,’ replied Briel. ‘But now it is late and I am tired.’ He nodded at Petal. ‘It’s time for Petal to finish her task and lead you out from here and put you on the road back to Leonard’s Place.’

  ‘You trust that she won’t turn us over to her mates or the Jaresh the moment your back is turned?’ growled Trep.

  ‘Oh, she won’t do that,’ grinned Briel. ‘We’ve known each other for a long time.’

  ‘Really?’ asked Ben looking from Briel to Petal.

  ‘Yes, really,’ grinned Briel. ‘She’s my daughter.’

  Chapter 41

  The journey back to Leonard’s Place, as Briel had described it, was fairly uneventful until the moment came when Petal stopped, pointed towards the path that led to the forested area where Leonard dwelt, and started to say her goodbyes to everyone. Noj, Trep and Ben had tried desperately to put on mature, impassive faces during the goodbyes but failed totally when Alisha allowed tears to freely flow. Discretely wiping his nose and coughing loudly, Ben held out his hand toward Petal.

  ‘It’s been a pleasure,’ he said over loudly.

  ‘Don’t be daft,’ replied Petal and immediately embraced Ben in a hug that threatened to reduce his lung capacity. After she’d finished with Ben, she hugged Noj and Treo in turn and, finally, turned to Alisha.

  ‘Now’ she said, wiping her own eyes. ‘Don’t be silly. It won’t be long before we meet up again and then we can have a good old laugh.’ She patted Alisha’s hand. ‘OK?’

  Alisha nodded and they each waved until Petal had long disappeared from their sight. The four silently trod the path that led towards the forest. It seemed almost impossible to put into words the events of the last few days. Even Briel’s brief explanations hadn’t helped the group come to terms with what they had seen and the loss of Mak.

  Before they had taken their leave of Briel, they had tried to ask further questions about the Jaresh, what the day’s events meant and, most importantly, why Mak? To each question, Briel had merely shook his head pleading sleep deprivation, starvation and irritation in equal measure. Frustrated not to be given any answers, they’d given in to their own need for food and sleep before accompanying Petal the following morning.

  Approaching the edge of the forest, they were both surprised and pleased t
o be welcomed by an effervescent Leonard holding Culpin under one arm whilst waving frantically with the other.

  ‘Welcome, welcome,’ he called. ‘It’s so good to have you back.’ He began trotting along the path towards the buildings. ‘Come along,’ he yelled, ‘not a moment to lose.’

  As the four followed after Leonard, the smell of a busy barbeque assailed their nostrils. Trep quickened his pace.

  ‘Smelling good,’ he grinned.

  As they entered the clearing where the buildings rested and the barbeque bustled, Leonard stood with his arms outstretched.

  ‘A few adjustments to the cooking facilities since you were last here,’ he chuckled. In a blur of movement, Leonard began assembling dishes and plates with an occasional meddle with the barbequing food.

  ‘You took your time,’ laughed a voice close to Ben.

  Turning to see the source of the voice, Ben was delighted to see Telu standing with both hands on her hips.

  ‘Cat got your tongue?’ she enquired cheekily.

  Ben decided that words were insufficient and immediately hugged Telu.

  ‘Hey, let up a bit,’ she laughed. ‘Anybody would think you haven’t seen me for a while.’

  Ben stood back and grinned broadly. ‘Well, he said, still smiling. ‘Apart from seeing you in the market place performing something devious with Cedric’s vocal cords, it has been a while.’ He thought for a moment as the smile dissolved from his face. ‘By the way, what was it that you did to Cedric?’

  Telu shrugged. ‘Nothing he didn’t deserve,’ she replied. ‘It’s nothing permanent, but he’ll not be able to say anything for a good few months. The effect will wear off eventually and, hopefully, by that time he’ll be far gone from here and out of harms way.’

  Ben was aware of another figure sitting a short distance away. He looked at the figure, shook his head and looked again.

  ‘Pinchkin?’ he asked nervously.

  The figure turned to face him. The face looked like Pinchkin but it was somehow different. Ben couldn’t work out what was different, if it was Pinchkin, or whether it was a relation of hers. He took a few steps closer to the figure.