The war ship was sailing at what seemed like a fast pace, but Dancer was faster. The little creature was soon out of sight. Lexi swayed for a moment, and Tiberius put his arm around her. Her eyes were closed, and he knew she was seeing through Dancer’s eyes.
“Oh no,” she said.
“What?” Tiberius asked.
“Trees.”
“Trees? That’s not so bad.”
“No, not just trees,” Lexi said. “It isn’t like a forest. It’s more like a tangle of trees. There are so many.”
“Is there something bad about the trees?”
“No, not the trees specifically. It’s hard to explain. They aren’t natural. It’s like a thousand forests have been chopped down and dumped in place.”
Tiberius didn’t understand, but he felt instinctively that they were nearing their destination. The commune of wizards would have been a primary target during the war between the wizards of the Four Orders and the rogue sorcerers they battled. It made sense that something horrific would be all that remained.
“Take us lower, Captain!” Tiberius shouted.
“You heard him!” bellowed the old sailor. “Tighten those lines and bring us down.”
The ship was still flying toward the brown smudge on the horizon, and Tiberius decided he needed to see the mass of trees for himself.
“Ultimus Conspectus,” he whispered.
Immediately his vision raced forward. It was like he was looking through a telescope, only the magical enhancement allowed him to see much further and more clearly than any spyglass. The unnatural forest came into view, and Tiberius felt his stomach knotting up with fear. The forest looked horrific. Most of the trees were gray and lifeless, some were tangled sideways in the mass of trees, and other were even upside down, their roots reaching out like gnarled limbs desperately seeking a way out. The trunks and branches were entwined like the forest was a giant knot, both frightening and oddly curious at the same time.
“What do you think could have caused that?” Tiberius said.
“Magic?” Lexi asked.
“No magic I’ve ever heard of,” Tiberius said. “It must be a result of the cataclysm.”
“At least we can sail over it.”
“No, we have to go down there. The Emerystone is there. I’m sure of it.”
“In there?” Lexi asked. “Ti, if it’s in that forest, you’ll never find it. You could search your entire life and not find it.”
“I have to try,” he argued. “We can’t turn back now.”
“But how are you so sure? There’s no sign of the wizard village down there. Why would they build something in that forest?”
“That forest was grown or created to hide the commune. Perhaps it was supposed to wipe any sign of the Four Orders away, but I know I have to go down there.”
“Your back is just now getting better,” Lexi said. “Let’s sail over it and explore it first.”
“No, don’t you see? That won’t do any good. That forest is meant to hide something. We have to go down there and find out what it is.”
“Anything could be hiding in that forest, Ti. Creatures we’ve never seen before. More sentient trees. We can’t risk going down there.”
“I have to,” Tiberius said. “You can stay here.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. If you’re going, I’m going. You probably wouldn’t last half an hour without me anyway.”
As the war ship sailed closer to the strange forest, Tiberius and Lexi gathered supplies. Lexi carried food and water for several days in a pack that she strapped securely to her back. Tiberius gathered rope and blankets. He hoped they wouldn’t be in the forest long, but he had to be ready to spend at least a few days in the tangled mess. He guessed that finding the Emerystone wouldn’t be easy.
“Tell me you’re not going in there,” the captain said, pointing toward the forest that was now clearly visible from the ship.
“We have to,” Tiberius said.
“You’re out of your mind.”
“Just take us as close as you can.”
“Dancer’s back,” Lexi said. “She found a way in.”
“What do you mean?” Tiberius asked.
Dancer was standing on Lexi’s shoulder, trilling and pointing with one small paw.
“There’s an opening further south,” Lexi said. “It’s hard to explain. A tunnel maybe, I’m not sure.”
“Can she lead us there?”
The little animal jumped up and down on Lexi’s shoulder.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Tiberius said. “Show the captain where to go.”
Tiberius checked his weapons. He was carrying a dagger, but he had lost his whip. He didn’t know what he might need in the strange woodland. A spear would be too difficult to carry through the tangled forest, which looked almost like a junk heap. He had no idea what they might face and he knew he had to be ready for anything. He slid a throwing knife into a hidden sheath in his right boot, and Robere brought him a climbing pick.
“Where did you find that?” Tiberius asked.
“The ship has a small armory,” the aging servant said. “That pick looked useful.”
“I guess a flying ship should have climbing equipment,” Tiberius said.
“You will be careful, Master Tiberius. That forest looks dreadful.”
“I will be—don’t worry.”
When Tiberius got back on the main deck of the ship, they were over the forest. Some of the trees had leaves, but they were all brown and brittle looking. Nothing about the forest looked vibrant or even alive. The trees seemed to be coated with brown dust or sand. The trunks and limbs were packed tightly together, and the forest stretched out as far as Tiberius could see.
“How far are we from the opening?” Tiberius asked.
“I still can’t see it,” Lexi said.
Tiberius was impatient. He was ready to see what lay inside the forest, ready to find the Emerystone and return to Avondale before anything dire happened. But he also felt afraid. He wished that his back wasn’t still so weak or that he could know for certain what lay inside the forest of gnarled, twisted trees. Lexi was right—they might run into anything down in the tangled mass, but Tiberius knew he had to go, and once he understood that, he was anxious to get moving.
“There!” Lexi said at last, pointing to the southwest.
The captain altered his course slightly. They were barely more than a dozen feet from the top of the forest canopy, which was surprisingly level. Tiberius leaned over the railing and searched for the opening. Finally he saw what appeared to be a small gap between the barren branches of one tree and the upturned roots of another. The opening wasn’t large and looked almost like the mouth of a cave. The interior of the forest was very dark.
“Should we take a lantern?” Lexi asked.
“I don’t think taking fire into what looks like a gigantic brush pile is a very good idea. It looks like a spark could set this whole forest ablaze at any moment.” Dancer trilled sadly. “Do you have everything you need?” Tiberius asked.
“I think so,” Lexi said, adjusting the pack on her shoulders.
They went back to the center of the ship and waited while the captain and his men brought the vessel as close to a halt as they could without someone on the ground to anchor the war ship.
“You’ll have to climb down the rope ladder,” the captain explained. “Once you’re down, you can tie us off, and we’ll be more stable.”
“All right,” Lexi said. “I can do that.”
“Be careful,” Tiberius said, hating himself for letting Lexi go first but knowing she was much more suited to the climb than he was.
She kissed him, then gave him a wink before slipping over the rail and climbing down the swaying ladder. Tiberius leaned out over the side of the ship so he could see Lexi descend. She was graceful and completely sure of herself. He marveled at her ability. She made the climb down quickly with no wasted effort or loss of balance. He knew that, compared to her,
his descent would be clumsy and awkward.
Lexi stepped off the rope ladder and onto the gnarled roots of the upturned tree. She tied the ends of the rope ladder, which were several feet longer than the rungs, to the tree roots. The sailors then dropped several lines, which Lexi also tied to the roots. The anchoring would have been more secure if she could have spread the lines out wide, but the canopy of the forest was uncertain at best. There was no real way to know which branches could support her weight.
Dancer jumped from place to place on the canopy as Tiberius braced himself for the climb down. He stepped onto the rope ladder, felt the flimsy instrument bend under his weight, and a jolt of pain shot through his back. He grimaced but continued climbing down. It took him nearly twice as long as it took Lexi, but he made it to the bottom of the ladder without incident.
“It looks dark,” Lexi said as she bent over the opening. “But there is some light filtering in.”
“At least we’ll be able to find the ship again if we need to,” Tiberius said.
He gazed into the small opening, surprised that they even found it. He couldn’t help but wonder if this was the only way into the mass of tangled trees or if there were other gaps all over the twisted forest. He knew it was wishful thinking to hope that the opening led straight to where the Emerystone was hidden.
“We should get moving. There’s no telling how much daylight we have left.”
Lexi nodded and stood back up. This time, Tiberius went first. There were limbs and tree trunks large enough to support his weight, but he went slowly, testing each hand- and foothold before trusting it to support him. Lexi moved more easily and could have quickly outpaced him, but she seemed content to let Tiberius lead the way. Their eyes slowly adjusted to the gloom. Amber-colored sunlight filtered through the branches, but the light seemed dull, the shadows dense. They couldn’t see very far ahead and continued to follow the gap that led downward.
The forest was taller than Tiberius had thought, and there was no way to move out of the tunnel they were in without slithering through the convoluted branches. The gloom intensified as they moved down the tree trunks. Occasionally they saw small animals dashing between the branches, but none were in the tunnel they were moving through.
“Has it occurred to you that perhaps this is like a game trail?” Lexi asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, maybe some creature uses this gap in the trees to move through the forest. Something big.”
Tiberius hadn’t thought of that, and the possibility was chilling. Still, he didn’t see that they had much choice.
“We could use some light,” Tiberius said.
“You think?” Lexi said sarcastically.
“You sound nervous,” Tiberius said, trying to keep things light as he steadied himself on a thick branch.
“I’m not afraid of the dark, Ti,” Lexi said. “But not knowing what we’re walking into is disconcerting. We don’t even know for sure if this is the right place.”
“I’m fairly certain,” Tiberius said.
“The map showed a city, then the commune. There was no city.”
“The city was consumed by the forest.”
“How in the world can you know that?”
“I don’t know, but somehow it makes sense to me. Some powerful magic was used to create this forest.”
“But why?” Lexi asked.
“I think it was created to hide the Emerystone.”
“And you think this tunnel will just lead us right to it?”
“Probably not,” Tiberius said. “But it’s the only way we’ve found to move though the tangled wood. You could probably climb through that”—Tiberius pointed into the thicker tangle of branches and trunks—“but no one else could. Our only hope is that we can find it.”
“Can’t you use magic?”
“I could set the forest on fire,” Tiberius joked.
“That’s not funny,” Lexi said.
“I think our best bet is to just keep climbing,” Tiberius said. “But I can shine a little light on our surroundings.”
Lexi looked at Tiberius expectantly. He smiled and raised a hand.
“Fulsi,” he said quietly.
The portal of light opened slowly. Tiberius was careful to keep the magic under control. The light was very powerful and could easily have lit the forest up nearly as brightly as the sun. Instead Tiberius contained the light so that it seemed like a tiny star was hovering over his head shining a strong light all around them.
They heard the movement of many creatures reacting to the light. Most were little more than a flutter of wings or the sounds of tiny feet skittering across the rough bark of the tree limbs. They could see that the bark on the trunks around them was different than anything they had ever seen before. It had a strange pattern to it that was very geometrical. There was also a lot of moss growing around them, but instead of bright green, the moss was a dirty gray.
“Strange,” Lexi said.
“Definitely magical,” Tiberius agreed. “These trees aren’t natural, not even in the blighted lands.”
Lexi was about to say something else, but she was interrupted by a deep, resonating growl. The sound was felt as much as heard. The limbs they were resting on vibrated, and both of their eyes grew round. There was something in the forest that didn’t like the light, and as Tiberius looked up, he knew there was no way he could climb back out of the twisting tunnel of limbs fast enough to escape.
“Go back,” Tiberius said.
“Are you coming?”
“There isn’t time.”
“I’m not leaving you,” Lexi said.
“Please,” Tiberius said.
“No,” Lexi insisted. “This time, we do things my way. Snuff that light and follow me.”
Chapter 12
Lexi
She grabbed Tiberius’ pack and pulled it off his shoulders. He had to turn so she could unhook the bag, but he didn’t resist. She shoved his pack into a small gap in a tangle of branches. Then she did the same with her own.
“What now?” Tiberius said.
“Time to find a better hiding place.”
The trees were still shaking, even though the growling had stopped. The woods vibrated in a pattern that Lexi recognized as footsteps. Whatever lived down in the hole they were climbing through was coming up to meet them.
Lexi pointed at what seemed like an extraordinarily small gap in the limbs, but she saw that it was just big enough for the two of them to wiggle through. And the space beyond was slightly larger. Lexi hoped it was far enough away from the main tunnel that the creature would pass them by.
She poked her head into the opening just as Tiberius snuffed the light from his spell. For a moment she was blind, but she didn’t need to see to keep moving. Her hands grabbed the rough bark and pulled while her feet pushed her deeper into the gap. The shaking was growing stronger, and Lexi felt the bark biting into her back, but she didn’t have time to rotate or adjust her body. She needed to get into the hole and help Tiberius in after her.
“Hurry,” Tiberius said.
Lexi felt the pressure mounting. She was terrified they would be caught by the creature. She reached back through the small opening and took Ti’s hand. It was a much more difficult climb for Tiberius. He wiggled frantically, grunting as the rough bark tore his clothes and gouged his skin.
The little opening was barely big enough to contain the two of them. Their bodies were pressed together in the tiny space, arms and legs entwined, but there was no thought of romance. They could heard the creature’s huffing breath now. Tiberius was staring back toward the tunnel, but Lexi was searching for a way to get even further from the creature.
There were no more openings large enough for both of them, but a small gap near her head was just big enough that she could squeeze through, and a larger gap between two branches might be big enough for Tiberius.
“There,” Lexi said, pointing at the gap. “Get moving.”
“We won’t fit,” Tiberius said.
“Not me, just you. I’m going this way.”
“I thought you wanted to stay together.”
“I want to stay alive more,” Lexi said.
She wasn’t waiting to convince him. She pulled her body into the tiny opening and slithered into a sitting position, pulling her legs in behind her. Tiberius was moving, too, but much slower.
Suddenly there was a deep, resounding growl, and the trees around them shook violently. Tiberius screamed in pain as the branches he was struggling through squeezed him. Lexi could see the beast’s head. It was round and covered in dark fur. There were four large teeth, the size of shovels, only flatter. The beast bellowed into the opening, and Lexi screamed back. Then the teeth began to bite into the wood, splintering it easily. The creature was too large to follow them into the small gap, but it wasn’t giving up the chase.
“Keep moving!” Tiberius shouted.
Lexi could see that he had finally made it though the small opening he had struggled into. The creature was clawing and biting the wood, pushing its mouth further into the gap. The trees around them were swaying as the beast burrowed after its prey. Lexi was distraught that they were moving in opposite directions but she knew they didn’t really have a choice. If they stayed together, the creature would certainly catch them.
She kept squirming her way through the branches. Some were soft and covered with moss; others were so rough they snagged her clothes and scraped her exposed skin bloody. The creature was angry, ripping and tearing through the trees. The sounds of its teeth gnawing the wood and the branches popping as it ripped them away was frightening, but the further she crawled, the more she realized the beast wasn’t following her. That fact was a relief but also frightening, as she realized that meant it was pursuing Tiberius.
Lexi worked her way back to the tunnel. It wasn’t easy, and she had to navigate carefully. Once she even had to stop and change directions, but eventually she made her way to the tunnel. She considered going back up to the war ship. She would be safe from the animal that was chasing them, and if Tiberius were smart, he would do the same thing, but she was also afraid that he might be hurt. If he needed her, she couldn’t bear the thought of having abandoned him in the forest.
Avondale V Page 7