Beyond the Forest

by Kay L. Ling

  A queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach made her stumble to a halt.

  Raenihel grasped her arm. “What is it?”

  She held up a warning hand. He nodded and waited silently.

  Focus. What did she feel? She took several deep breaths. Danger. The impression grew stronger and so did the queasiness. Brief flashes of boys’ faces. Harmless looking boys, yet something felt wrong. She couldn’t read their thoughts but two impressions came through. They’re hiding something. And they’re worried we’ll find out. She and Raenihel needed to get away from these people as soon as possible.

  “Whoever they are, they can’t be trusted.” She put her gemstones away. Her palms were damp. She felt vulnerable, even with the knife. “We need a code word.”

  He looked confused. “A code word?”

  “You know, a signal.”

  Understanding came into his eyes. “You mean, a way to let each other know something without the strangers catching on.”

  “Exactly.” If either of us thinks we’re in danger, we say the word. Then we attack.”

  “All I have is a small knife.” He took off his backpack, rummaged through, and came out with a sheathed knife. “It’s small but very sharp.” He tucked it into his belt.

  “What code word should we use?” she asked as they started walking.

  He thought for a moment. “Fialazza. If we think we’re in danger, we’ll say something about fialazza.”

  “All right. Good idea.” Nervous tension ran through her. She hated uncertainty. Meeting these strangers, not knowing their intentions, was almost as nerve-wracking as facing Sheamathan.

  By the time the strangers came close enough to see them well, she and Raenihel had nearly reached the base of the embankment. Both young men waved their arms and ran toward them. Raenihel gave her a sidelong look as the boys stumbled to a halt, panting.

  “Hey! Are we ever glad to see you!” said the tall, redheaded boy.

  The other boy, slightly over-weight, with dark curly hair said, “We haven’t seen anyone and we’ve been wandering for days!”

  Raenihel shot her a furtive, skeptical glance.

  She folded her arms. “How’d you get here? Where’d you come from?”

  “From our forest park. A bunch of ugly monsters grabbed us and brought us here,” the redhead said. “They looked sort of like him.” He jerked a thumb at Raenihel, “only way uglier. No offense.”

  Raenihel cleared his throat but kept silent.

  “We fought like maniacs and got away,” the other boy said as he dropped to one knee and tied his shoelace.

  “Then we hid in the woods. Up there.” The redhead pointed to the top of the hill.

  Her eyes narrowed. “You’ve been there ever since?”

  The pudgy dark-haired kid stood and dusted off his jeans. “Yeah. What a creepy place.”

  “Poor things,” she said. “What did you find to eat?”

  Exchanging a glance, they answered in unison, “Plants!”

  “Yes, of course,” she said, “which ones?”

  The boys shared another quick look. Green ones!” the red-head said.” He shifted uncomfortably. “Can you help us get home?”

  “Possibly,” Raenihel said in a tone that didn’t sound very promising. “You haven’t been to the castle, or seen the woodspirit?”

  “Castle? There’s a castle around here?” the dark-haired boy said just as the other boy said, “Woodspirit, what’s that?”

  Lana raised a brow. She looked at one boy, then the other. They looked decidedly nervous and all of this sounded rehearsed. “By the way, I’m Lana, and this is Raenihel.”

  “I’m Pete,” said the redhead.

  “Rob,” said the other.

  Introductions aside, the conversation stalled. The boys seemed to have run out of things to say. They exchanged sly, meaningful glances and Rob said, “I don’t like hanging around here in the open. It’s safer in the woods. Let’s climb the hill.”

  “Okay, sure,” she said. “You go first. We’ll be right behind you.”

  “Ummm, we’re tired and kind of slow. You go first,” Rob said. Something flickered in his eyes, and then it was gone. He smiled.

  Her queasy feeling came back. An image flashed through her mind—the boys springing on them from behind as she and Raenihel climbed the hill. She bit her lip as she looked at Rob, trying to think of an excuse, any excuse not to go first. Her mind went blank. “Rats!” she muttered.

  Rob paled and Pete’s eyes widened in surprise.

  And then she knew.

  “Raenihel, I need a drink of fialazza.”

  She kicked “Rob” in the stomach. He doubled over and collapsed, rolling onto his side, howling. She drew her knife. If he as much as thought about getting up, she’d skewer him. Behind her she heard the thump of someone hitting the ground, and then shrieks of pain that weren’t Raenihel’s.

  Rob tried to roll over and get up. With a savage grin, she kicked him in the ribs. He collapsed again, moaning. Holding his ribs, he rolled onto his back. She dropped to her knees and brought the knife to his throat. The blade glowed softly. “Are you Jordy or Greg?” she demanded fiercely.

  “Jordy!” he gasped. “Please don’t kill me!”

  “I ought to shred yer meat from yer bones,” she said through her teeth. X’s threat seemed appropriate, she thought with a grim smile.

  “It’s hot!” Jordy moaned.

  She gave him a puzzled look. “What’s hot?’

  “The knife!” He tried to move his head to escape the blade, but she kept the knife to his throat. Looking at it in surprise, she repeated, “Hot?”

  “Yeah,” he gasped raggedly.

  “I’ll let you up if you promise to march your worthless, rat-tailed butt straight back to Shadowglade. You don’t deserve to be taken home.” She kept thinking about the knife. Hot? How very odd. It should only be hot when touching evil beings from Shadow.

  Getting to her feet, she looked around. Raenihel, still holding his knife and looking angry enough to use it, stood over Greg, his boot planted squarely on the boy’s chest.

  “I didn’t wanna do this,” Greg said tearfully. “Jordy said if we didn’t steal your knife and give it to Sheamathan we’d die here as rats.”

  Raenihel’s voice shook with anger. “You planned this while we were helping Lana escape?”

  “No,” Greg said, his lower lip trembling. “Jordy thought of it right after we left you.”

  Jordy looked too bruised and miserable to do much harm. She left him and went to kneel down by Greg. “Tell me,” she said, holding the knife to his throat. “Does this feel hot?”

  His voice quavered. “Not exactly hot, just warm. Why?”

  “Never mind. Just testing a theory.” She stood and sheathed the knife.

  “What should we do with them?” Raenihel asked angrily. “They betrayed us. Why should I take them through the portal?”

  Jordy struggled to his feet, still clutching his ribs, his face white. “We couldn’t go home, anyway. The deal was, we bring back the knife or we turn back into rats by sunset tomorrow.”

  Greg said mournfully, “Only then we’ll be dead rats. She’ll probably kill us for not coming back with the knife.”

  Lana said, “I realize that breghlin can’t touch the knife, so she couldn’t use breghlin to steal it. She needed a gnome or human. But even if you got the knife away from me, I’m surprised she trusted you to bring it back.”

  Raenihel said with evident alarm, “Who says she trusts them? Look!”

  Lana froze as she followed the direction of his gaze. In the distance, row after row of dark forms marched across the lowlands.

  “Breghlin!” she gasped.

  Chapter 21

  Raenihel took his foot off Greg’s stomach and said to Lana, “To the portal! Now!”

  Greg stumbled to his feet. In a tone a lot like his rat voice he squealed, “You’re leaving us?”

  Lana snapped, “What did you exp
ect?”

  “We can’t stay and protect you.” Raenihel’s lined face looked implacable. “We have to save ourselves.”

  Jordy’s eyes brimmed with tears. “That’s all we were trying to do—save ourselves.”

  “By attacking us? And stealing my knife? It’s not the same!”

  Jordy’s face crumpled. He let out a sob. “I’m sorry.”

  “They’ll kill us for sure!” Greg’s eyes implored her for mercy. “Take us with you. Please!”

  “Jordy just said you can’t go home,” she protested.

  “We’ll turn into rats tomorrow, but I’d rather be a rat there than here!”

  Jordy’s face lit with sudden hope. “Sure! Why didn’t I think of that?”

  She glanced at Raenihel but she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. The boys deserved whatever happened to them. They had planned to attack her, steal the knife, and hand it over to Sheamathan. The very idea made her furious. Let Sheamathan have them, she thought bitterly. She took a deep breath to calm herself and uncurled her fingers, which she had unconsciously clenched into fists.

  Across the lowlands the breghlin marched toward them. What would become of Greg and Jordy? They had failed to steal the knife. Turning them back into rats might not be punishment enough. Sheamathan might torture or kill them.

  Her resolve weakened as she looked at the boys’ terrified faces. To be perfectly fair, she told herself reluctantly, they hadn’t come to Shadow by choice, as she had. For nearly a year they’d lived in rats’ bodies, hiding in the castle, foraging for food, at risk of being eaten by predators. Now, for the first time, they’d found a way to win their freedom so they could be boys again and go home. But they had to hurt—maybe kill someone—and steal a knife for an unthinkably evil being. They might not understand all the consequences, but ignorance wouldn’t absolve them of whatever terrible things happened. Lana gave a frustrated sigh. It was easy to say that in their place she wouldn’t be tempted, but—

  Raenihel interrupted her thoughts. “We don’t have time to debate this. The boys are from your world, Lana. You decide.”

  Hands on her hips, she stared at the rat-boys. It was her nature to look for the best in people and give them the benefit of the doubt. She hoped she wouldn’t regret her decision. “Go! And if you turn on me again, I’ll skewer your hides to the nearest tree.”

  “Thank you! Thank you!” Jordy shrieked. This time, there was no discussion of who went first. Jordy ran to the embankment and started up on all fours, grunting in pain, muttering curses. Greg followed with Lana and Raenihel close behind.

  When she reached the top, she stopped to get her breath. Their pursuers were still a fair distance off, but moving quickly, trying to close the gap. She rubbed her arms, suddenly chilled. Why was she worried? Everything would be fine. Soon it would be dark and Raenihel would attune himself to the portal and lead her and the boys through.

  Raenihel motioned for her and the boys to gather round. “I have something to tell you, but we need to keep moving so I’ll explain as we walk. Boys, take this path. Lana and I will follow.”

  The narrow dirt trail led toward the portal. Obediently, Jordy and Greg started walking. “You boys may not have thought of this,” Raenihel said from behind them, “but even after you go through the portal you won’t be safe. The breghlin will follow us through.”

  Lana’s mouth dropped open in dismay. She hadn’t thought of that.

  “We’ll never escape,” Jordy moaned. “They’re sure to find us and bring us back.”

  “Not if I take you to the Tree Home,” Raenihel said. “Breghlin can’t follow us inside.”

  The Tree Home! Lana’s hearted lifted. It would be perfectly safe there and the Tree Home was near the portal so they wouldn’t have far to go. “Of course! You’ll go back to Shadow before dawn, but so will the breghlin and then the park will be safe until nightfall.”

  “That’s right.”

  “What’s a Tree Home?” Jordy asked.

  “You might call it a multi-dimensional refuge inside a tree,” Raenihel said.

  “Cool!” Jordy breathed.

  Lana said, “You didn’t like it when Gliaphon brought me there. Now you’re taking the boys?”

  “I see no way around it. The boys need to stay the night. As head of my clan, my decision will be respected, which is not to say there won’t be complaints.”

  “Bringing the boys along was my decision. Now I’m making trouble for you.”

  The gnome said firmly, “You helped my people. Say no more about it.”

  Without meaning to, she had put Raenihel in an awkward position. Hasty decisions had a way of creating unexpected problems, and she had a feeling this was the first of many. Tomorrow at sundown the boys would turn back into rats. Would Sheamathan send breghlin through the portal to search for them again? Or would she give up, assuming the rats had fled beyond the Amulet? A knot formed in Lana’s stomach. Where would the rats go? She couldn’t take them to their parents. Here are your kids. I found them in another world. Sorry, but someone turned them into giant, talking rats. Yeah, that wouldn’t go over so well. Could she simply turn them loose outside the park? What did rats eat in the wild? Could they scavenge enough from fields to live? Or eat from village dumpsters? No, the village was out. Populated areas would be too risky. She didn’t want Greg and Jordy to end up in a government research lab. Rats! I shouldn’t have agreed to help them!

  Her head snapped up. She hadn’t been paying attention. That clicking sound—

  Soon, the buzz of wings nearly drowned out the clicking.

  “Oh no,” Jordy groaned.

  Drawing the Challenger’s blade, she shouldered her way past the boys, muttering under her breath. She had two delinquent boys to deal with and breghlin in hot pursuit. Compared to that, mutant insects were a mere annoyance. Carnivorous mutant insects, she reminded herself. The blade began to glow as the insect army came into view. In their characteristic grotesque manner, they crawled, hopped, and tried to fly. She held up the glowing knife. What exactly did she want it to do? She had no idea. Right now she was so irritated she couldn’t think straight. “Out of my way you disgusting bugs!”

  An arc of light leapt from the blade, nearly blinding her. She turned her head, squeezing her eyes shut. Even through closed eyelids she could see arcs of light leaping from the blade.

  Insects sizzled. The air stank like putrid, burnt meat.

  She opened her eyes a few seconds later, reluctant to look. Charred insects littered the trail and hundreds of terrified bugs were fleeing into the underbrush.

  She spun to see what had become of Raenihel and the boys. Raenihel uncovered his eyes and gawked at her. The boys clung to each other, their faces frozen in open-mouthed astonishment.

  She turned back to the path. “Well. That’s something else the knife can do,” she muttered.” Walking again, she kicked aside charred insects. The knife glowed softly. Had the knife acted independently, or had her anger been the catalyst for its reaction? Behind her, the crunch, crunch, crunch of insects told her that Raenihel and the boys were following her.

  Fading sunlight gave way to the peculiar silvery haze that characterized Shadow’s night sky. The glowing knife did little to light the narrow path. Protruding branches, roots and stones—obstacles everywhere—threatened to trip them and slow them down.

  The still night air carried every sound. She turned her head to better hear behind her. The voices were much too close. Guttural breghlin voices were easily distinguishable. They were closing the gap, and they weren’t trying to hide the fact. Shouted orders and snapping branches marked their progress.

  “They’re coming! They’re coming!” Greg cried in a terrified whisper, tugging at Raenihel’s arm.

  Jordy cried, “We gotta get out of here!”

  Lana shared their panic. Even with a knife that shot bolts of lightning—and who knew what else it could do—she couldn’t take on a regiment of breghlin.

  Signal wh
istles and shouted orders came to her on the wind along with curses and angry threats. They crashed ever closer through the underbrush.

  She waved for Raenihel to take the lead and they ran deeper into the forest.

  Finally, Raenihel stopped and said between shaky breaths, “The portal is right in front of us. When I’m attuned to the energy field, I’ll pull us through, so stand close and join hands.”

  Sheathing the knife, Lana took Raenihel’s hand on one side, Jordy’s on the other, and Greg seized Raenihel’s other hand. Lana felt Jordy’s every movement as he bounced on his toes, shifting from one foot to the other. Taking a steadying breath, she waited. And waited. Why wasn’t Raenihel pulling them through? Was there a problem?

  Her face and arms tingled from the energy field’s vibrations. What would happen if she leaned forward, just a little? She leaned her upper body toward the field and something seemed to repel her, pressing her back. Was this what Raenihel was feeling? Greg mumbled over and over, “Come on, come on, come on.”

  It was dark now, or at least as dark as she’d ever seen it here. “Can you take us through soon?” she asked Raenihel, trying not to sound alarmed. “Isn’t the barrier weak enough?”

  “To transition between worlds I need to be calm.” He glared at the hyperactive boys. “And I am anything but calm at the moment.”

  The boys stopped fidgeting and fell silent. Seconds felt like minutes. Cold sweat coated Lana’s skin as Raenihel stood, eyes closed in solemn concentration. She was sure he could feel her hand shaking. As a last resort, maybe Raenihel could pull them inside a tree on this side of the portal, but she would rather cross and hide in her own world.

  “Now would be good!” Greg whispered breathlessly.