"You have been healed for now, but the mark will not leave you. You need more attention than I can give."
A single tear streamed down Sara's cheek.
"Do not worry, young one. Sebastian is healthy for now, but I need to take you both with me on my journey. If I cannot find my tribe, there may be one other I can turn to."
Sara wiped her eyes. "What will happen if we don't find someone to help him?"
"This is my fault," Sebastian said.
Sara gripped his hand. "We'll figure a way to heal you and get home."
Capri put a hand on each of their shoulders. "I have desired for many seasons to have companions on my journey. I now find myself overcome with regret and guilt when I look upon you two. I promise you I will do everything in my power to protect you both and get Sebastian the help he needs, but the road in front of us is long and difficult."
Capri picked up his staff but stopped when Sebastian asked, "How does your walking stick do all those tricks?"
The elf looked at his staff. "It was given to me by Entheca. She was the tree I was born in. My family lived in an enormous oak not unlike Meridian. When I was an infant, my mother would leave me cradled in her boughs when she went away collecting food." Obviously noticing the confusion on Sebastian's face, Capri stopped his story. "To us, the tree we grow up in and around is as much a parent as our real ones. Upon leaving home, Entheca gave me a living branch as a gift. As long as Entheca lives, then the staff will have power. This is why it grows and bends when I ask it to. One day I will find my tribe, and we will return home to the forest where Entheca lives. I will reattach the branch as a sign that the conflicts with the Kylo have ended and peace has been restored."
Sebastian lightly touched the crystal hanging off of Capri's staff. "What about this?"
"The crystal you see was given to me by my mother and holds the power from my family. My people mix this power with substances found in nature. Someday you humans may be able to do the same. That is, if you do not destroy all your resources." Capri motioned for them to follow. "Come, we have all had a long day. I will show you to your rooms for the night."
Capri took Sebastian and Sara to the bow of the ship, where two small rooms sat across from each other. "These will be your rooms for the remainder of the journey." Sara turned to Sebastian, who knew exactly what she was thinking. "What about our families?"
"If I were to take you home now, your families would be in danger. You are safest with me for the time being."
Sebastian felt homesick for the first time in his life. He wondered if Sara was feeling the same. She winced as if Capri's words had physically hurt her, and he knew the answer.
"Please, go in and make yourselves comfortable," Capri said. "You will find a cloak and some garments next to each of your beds. These clothes will help protect you from the elements."
Sebastian entered first, followed by Sara. The rooms were small, and each had a stuffed mattress on the floor. Four small torches were mounted along the walls of each room. Their calming blue flames did not burn the wooden hull of the ship or throw off heat. Small white crystals embedded in the ceiling glowed with a soft golden light. They watched for a few moments as some of the crystals went out while others turned on.
"Why do the crystals do that?" Sebastian asked.
Capri pointed to a few crystals that were coming to life. "They cover the ceiling of each sleeping cabin and act as a compass when you are not on deck. As the ship changes course, the lighting re-arranges itself. This creates different shapes on the ceiling to show the constellations we navigate by." He pointed to a new formation coming to life. "These are the Nyad and Dryad constellations you see coming to life, which tells me I must go back up on deck and readjust our course. Please join me when you are ready."
Sara and Sebastian each found a pouch next to their feather beds, which contained white button-down shirts and thin black pants. They changed in separate rooms and then faced each other. The garments hung loosely off of their small frames. Slowly, the shirts and pants shrunk without a sound to fit their bodies. Both of them jumped back before realizing they were fine. Also folded neatly in the bottom of each bag were small green cloaks similar to Capri's.
Sebastian ran his hand over his clothes. "This stuff is amazing!"
"More comfortable than my pajamas, too," Sara added.
After changing, the children met Capri back up on deck. Sebastian could see their breath in the cool night air, but the cold could not penetrate their cloaks and garments. The lights from their oceanside town twinkled in the distance.
"You know," Sebastian said. "If Capri could turn around, we might be able to bring you home. I was the one harmed by that attack."
"I'm not going to leave you," Sara mumbled. He knew her heart longed for the safety of home.
"But you could tell everyone what happened and be safe."
Sara turned from the fading lights of their coastal town to face Sebastian, looking resolute this time. "I'm not leaving you, and don't try to talk me out of it."
Sebastian smiled and gave her a hug before turning his focus toward Capri, who stood at the wheel of the ship. From time to time, the elf scanned the skies as well as the water. "Capri, what else can you tell us about these Kylo creatures?" Sebastian asked.
"The Kylo used to be elves and forest faeries," Capri said. "Now they are shadows of their former selves. Some believe the original Kylo were infected with a disease and sent to clear the lands for humans. Others, like myself, believe the original Kylo were seduced by an ancient demon of the ether world. When they embraced this choice, they lost a connection with nature. For the Fair Folk, losing this link is our path of suffering. When this happened, they changed into the evil creatures you saw earlier."
"It's like the elves got infected by a sickness or disease?" Sebastian asked.
Capri squinted and took a deep breath as if trying to calm himself. "I do not believe they were infected—they chose the path they follow. Each individual Kylo constructed its own path to darkness through his own weaknesses."
Sara wrinkled her nose. "It must be a horrible life feeding on others to survive. They sound like vampires."
"The Kylo are similar," Capri said, "but different from those creatures you speak of."
"Why would anyone want to be a Kylo?"
"I doubt any creature would have chosen to become a Kylo had they known the outcome. The Kylo are spiritually dead, but this undead existence manifests itself physically."
"What do you mean?"
"Child, what would happen if you stopped eating?"
"You would die," Sebastian said.
"The Kylo existence has been described as being starved for a hundred seasons, but they do not die. They feed on our kind to try to satiate their hunger, but this cannibalism never fills their emptiness. The hunger worsens with each passing moment, and this drives them to madness. They have little consciousness left, and are nothing more than mindless animals now." Capri looked up at the stars and adjusted the wheel. He turned back to Sebastian. "You should have never seen myself, the merfolk, nor any of this. 'Tis unfortunate as the Kylo now have the scent of a particular human. They may have only your scent now, Sebastian, but soon they may be able to track other humans."
"We didn't mean to cause so much trouble," Sara said, reaching for Sebastian.
"I know. Foolishness seems to go hand in hand with childhood. For those who live through it, but do not learn from it, therein lies the danger."
Sebastian stared at Capri's face in the moonlight. At certain moments the elf had a youthful appearance with smooth skin and high cheekbones, but at other times he looked like a middle-aged man with years of pain resting upon his shoulders. "Capri, the story goes that you planted the tree hundreds of years ago. How old are you?"
"I am five hundred and ten of your seasons." The children gasped at this number. "This is still middle age for my kind."
Sebastian raised his hand as if he were in a classroom setting. "Uhm?"<
br />
"Another question?" Capri smiled.
Sebastian lowered his hand. "Sorry, but the stories we've heard never told us how you got separated from your tribe."
Capri looked out to sea as if trying to recall some forgotten nightmare. "There was a time when we lived like naïve children. We thought only a small number of Kylo existed in the world, but we were foolish to think so." The wheel of the ship creaked as Capri gripped it, like someone trying to hold onto the past. "One day, hundreds of Kylo attacked, and I ordered my tribe to flee. As their leader, I commanded my guards to leave and protect our children. I alone remained to battle the Kylo and was gravely wounded.
"During that time, the poison they infected me with negated my ability to remain on our plane of existence. I fell down to your world, and in doing so, lost the ability to see and find my people, who are normally invisible to humans. As I slowly healed, I found I had gained the ability to live in between both worlds. Since the attacks started, all of the elves and other fair creatures have become nomads."
Capri went over to tighten the ropes on one of the sails. Sara wanted to follow. She wanted to hug Capri and tell him things would be okay but realized she needed to believe those words first.
Capri returned to the wheel and continued his story. "As my strength grew, I traveled all over this world to plant the trees as beacons for my people. Their properties have attracted all sorts of creatures but not my kin. This is disheartening. I feel a great woe has befallen them."
"I don't understand," Sara said. "What do you mean you live on a different plane?"
"We live in the same world, but the world we created is invisible to humans. Certain creatures of the forest and ocean can see and communicate with us, but few humans are able to do so."
"Why not humans?"
"Humans were the only species who can no longer see us. Something needs to change so they can perceive us once again. It has been a source of debate among my kin as to whether or not this will ever happen."
Sebastian was amazed that humans had once interacted with people like Capri. What other fairytale creatures were real, he wondered.
For the rest of the night they sailed on in silence. Sebastian and Sara wandered about the ship, exploring little nooks where they found the walls covered with markings of some language they did not recognize. Every so often, one of them would say to the other, "This is like a dream." Or "It can't be real."
Sebastian finally concluded, "If it's a dream, I hope it doesn't turn out to be a nightmare."
They went to bed long after the moon rose, but low moaning noises woke Sara a short while later. She ran into Sebastian's room and shook him awake. "What is it?" he yawned.
Before Sara could respond, they heard the sad, echoing noise again. Both went on deck to find Capri running from side to side, looking into the water. "What is it?" Sebastian asked.
"That was a call from the whales," Capri responded. "They say that something has attacked Burber."
"You can understand what they say?" Sebastian asked.
"Of course," he said. "They are also divine creatures. You need only open your mind and your heart to the world."
"Amazing," Sebastian said. "He can talk to both trees and whales."
"Who cares?" Sara cut in. "Is Burber hurt?"
"Yes," Capri said, "but I do not know how grave his injuries are. If it was the Kylo, then we must get to him soon. Please spread out and help me look."
Sebastian ran to the stern while Sara went to the bow. Capri pulled his staff out of its sheath next to the steering wheel and quickly climbed the rope ladder attached to the main mast, like a cat chased up a tree. A moment later he stood in a small crow's nest bucket. The crystal at the end of the staff brightened to a hot white light and illuminated the water's surface. He panned back and forth in slow, rhythmic motions.
Sebastian saw Capri's light, remembered the flashlights in the backpack and rushed down into his room. When he came back on deck, he tossed one to Sara. They searched the water's surface as the moon rose and had found nothing as it started its descent. Capri eventually lowered the sails, and when the sounds faded, the elf lowered his head as well.
Chapter Six
Burber
It was an hour later when Sebastian saw the albino whale break the surface close to the ship. Burber moved up and down, spraying water and air with sluggish strokes. Sebastian rubbed the weariness from his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things before he shouted, "Over there!"
Burber swam in tight circles, with his melon-shaped head moving left and right. Once he saw Sebastian's flashlight, he locked onto the beam and approached like a train on a track.
Capri jumped off the twenty-foot-high mast and landed softly on the deck. He handed his staff to Sara and dove over the side, disappearing under the waves. "Capri!" Sara shouted.
The elf broke the surface, took a breath, and dove back underwater, reappearing only when he'd reached the whale. Burber was over twice the length of the elf, but Capri did not hesitate to reach out to touch him. He patted Burber's large, bulbous forehead. "Can you turn over, my friend?"
The whale complied. Capri looked up at Sebastian and pointed to Burber's tail. Sebastian adjusted the flashlight beam. A chunk of flesh was missing, and black markings surrounded the edges of the wound. The whale jerked its tail every time Capri tried to touch it. "Something attacked him," Capri shouted. "His wound was cauterized the moment it happened."
Sebastian's mind immediately went to the Kylo, and his hand subconsciously drifted to his neck. His stomach rumbled but not from hunger.
"This was no natural encounter," Capri said, swimming without delay to guide Burber toward the ship. "The Kylo have their spies everywhere. I need you to go below and pull up the floor covering in the main cabin. You will see a trap door underneath. Open it by saying oscail. There will be a lever hanging under the floorboards. You must pull it toward you."
Sebastian and Sara scrambled below deck into the main cabin. Sebastian handed Sara his flashlight. He kneeled down and pulled the small grass carpet away, revealing the outline of a door.
Sara stood back. "What did Capri say again?"
"I think it was oscail."
The door dropped away, and Sara caught Sebastian by the arm before he fell into the void of a dark, empty hold. Sebastian reached under the floor, found the wooden lever, and pulled it toward him. With a creaking sound, the entire ship lunged to one side, then back to the other. Sara pointed the flashlight into the empty storage compartment to see water pouring in from holes in the side of the ship. The ancient wooden hull creaked as the sea rushed against it from the inside.
"Did you pull the right one?" Sara cried. "The ship is sinking!"
Sebastian frantically stuck his head back in the hold. "There's no other lever."
The ship dropped a few more feet as water continued to rush into the hold. Sara panned the flashlight back and forth and saw two dark shapes swim in from the side. She grabbed Sebastian and pulled his head away from the water.
Capri broke the surface inside the hold. "Now push the lever back."
Sebastian did as he was told, and the water stopped rising a few feet below the trap door opening. Burber swam around Capri as the elf treaded water.
"Sara, do you remember the crystals I used to make the potion for Sebastian?"
She nodded.
"Go quickly and make that same potion for Burber. Time is running short for him."
****
Sara ran to the wooden barrel and pulled out a blue and a red crystal. She remembered how still Sebastian had been when Capri had made the potion for him. He might have died if Capri had failed to make the potion correctly. Burber's life was in her hands now. She found the clay pitcher and poured the water with shaking hands before adding the crystals to the bowl in the order she remembered. She ran back over to the trap door, where Capri floated only a few feet below her.
Capri grabbed the edge of the floor and lifted himself out to look at t
he potion. "Well done, child. I will need assistance. I need one of you to come into the water and help me to hold Burber up while the other pours the potion into his mouth. Which one of you is better in the water?"
Sara turned to Sebastian. She and Sebastian both knew that she was the better swimmer, but she hesitated to go into the dark watery hold with an animal more than twice her size.
Sebastian put his hand on her shoulder. "I'll go," he whispered.
Sara's heart stopped racing. Capri patted Burber's forehead and whispered some words to the creature. The whale clicked and turned its head up to meet Sara's eyes, then opened and closed its mouth and started to slide under the water's surface. What would happen if Burber hurt Sebastian? He wasn't a good swimmer, and she knew he could get trapped under the whale in the cramped, flooded compartment.
She grabbed Sebastian's arm. "No, hold the bowl. I'm going in."
"Are you sure?" he asked.
Sara nodded and slid into the water, easily treading alongside Capri and the whale. The seawater was warmer than she'd expected.
Capri nodded to Sara and then dropped below the water. Burber came to the surface as Capri pushed from underneath. Sara tried to steady the whale's cold head as it moved back and forth. The skin felt like smooth, wet rubber. Finally, Burber seemed to realize what she was trying to do and stopped for a few seconds with his mouth wide open. Sara's heart raced and she looked away the moment she saw the rows of peg-like teeth and large, fleshy tongue.
Sebastian quickly poured the formula into the whale's mouth. After Burber swallowed the potion, he slid from Sara's hands and swam away to a darker area of the cargo hold, under the floorboards. Capri came up to the surface and helped Sara out before climbing out of the hold himself. He left the trap door open as all three sat on the edge, watching the whale swim back and forth, slowly regaining his strength.
"Well done," Capri said, exhaling heavily. "We were able to help him in time."
"In time?" Sebastian asked. "Was he about to die?"
The Grotto Under the Tree Page 4