Tommy rolled his eyes and responded with an annoyed grunt.
She handed Tommy a couple of ibuprofen and a bottle of water. “I was thinking a little later you could hike down the cliff to that tiny little river and get us some fresh water.”
Tommy looked up at Eevie. “Seriously? Are you trying to write a book on sarcasm, because you are rapidly improving?”
“I am, and you have the good fortune of being my guinea pig for all of my new...” Eevie stopped midsentence. The alchemy sign for death was drawn into the ashes below.
“What is it?” asked Tommy, suddenly very alert. As he looked down, a chill traveled up his spine. “The ranger...,” whispered Tommy.
“Why didn’t he kill us? It’s like he’s toying with us.”
“I have no idea,” said Tommy, now fully awake. “But we need to get moving.”
Eevie and Tommy packed their supplies in a flash and scrambled down the tree. Eevie double checked the fire circle, making sure it was completely out.
“This stinks,” he said. “We have no idea which way to go. On one side of us we have a huge cliff, and on the other side woods and more woods.”
“Well, I have a suggestion,” said Eevie, pointing at a series of footprints on the ground. “Let’s track the ranger and see where he goes—at least that way we aren’t just wandering aimlessly through the forest.”
“I knew there was a reason I kept you around. Lead on.”
Trekking through the forest was exhausting. Having to hyper-focus on every indentation in the dirt, and every little broken twig or misplaced plant stem, was mind-numbingly stressful.
Dozens of times, they had to backtrack through the dense undergrowth because they had missed a tiny clue that sent them in the wrong direction.
Whap! Tommy’s head snapped back as Eevie flat-palmed his mouth. His lips were already forming “Wh” of “What gives” when he saw him.
Tommy froze, not daring to breathe. Just a few feet in front of them, the ranger sat on a fallen dead tree. The remains of a small, furry animal hung limp in his hand. In the stillness of the forest they could hear the crunching of bone as the ranger chewed.
“Gross,” whispered Eevie in disgust.
Finished eating, the ranger stood and placed the carcass of the animal on the fallen tree. He lowered his hand over the remains and whispered, “Exscindo.” A bright flash burst from his hand, and the carcass was gone.
“Eevie,” whispered Tommy, “did you see that? He completely obliterated that thing with his hand.”
Eevie nodded, blaming herself. She couldn’t even get simple spells to work; how were they supposed to fight a powerful sorcerer?
The ranger was on the move. Stepping over the log, he began moving through the dense underbrush, traversing deeper into the shadows of the forest.
“Come on, we don’t want to lose him.”
“I’ve already lost my appetite,” said Tommy, frowning. “Does that count?”
“That doesn’t even make sense...”
“Says the girl following a demon creature into the forest, wearing this year’s explorer’s collection for middle-aged men.”
Now they could see it. Barely visible, but definitely there, before them, was a narrow path cut through the forest. About an hour into the walk, the ranger suddenly stopped in front of a gnarled and twisted tree.
What at first appeared to be dark knots or burls suddenly opened, revealing dozens of eyes covering the entirety of the tree.
“Woah,” exclaimed Tommy softly. He turned to Eevie. “Imagine that tree’s optometrist bill.”
The ranger held his hand up to the eyes and then slowly rotated it. The eyes followed his every movement. Seemingly satisfied at what they saw, they closed, vanishing into the coarse tree bark.
Touching the tree with his fingertips, the ranger spoke the word “Resero.” Eevie and Tommy tensed, getting ready to run if necessary as the ground began to shake and the tree slowly untwisted.
“Look! There’s something in the tree,” breathed Eevie. She dropped to her hands and knees and crawled behind a cluster of trees to get a better view. She inched over, making room for Tommy to squeeze in beside her.
Eevie gasped at what she saw. Inside the tree was a shriveled mummy—roots and vines coiled like snakes around his body. Larger vines spread across his body, like a giant spider web pinning him to the tree. Two sunken black orbs, indentations where the eyes should be, sat above a strip of cursed paper stretched across the mummy’s mouth.
“Hello, old friend,” rasped the ranger, holding up a small vial of glowing blue liquid. At the site of the drink, the mummy twisted and writhed, but only succeeded in entangling himself even more.
“Why not make it easy on yourself?” growled the ranger as he reached up, ripping the cursed paper from the mummy’s mouth.
“Nooo!” screamed the mummy. “Nooo!” his voice pleaded hoarsely.
The ranger grabbed the mummy’s head, slamming it against the back of the tree, then covered the mummy’s nose so he couldn’t breathe.
Eevie and Tommy could hear the mummy’s gasp for breath. They knew this was the opportunity the ranger was hoping for—and as they watched helplessly, the ranger poured the blue liquid into the mummy’s mouth.
The mummy’s body shuddered, and then its head fell forward, held secure in the living spider web. Satisfied, the ranger touched the tree. “Occludo.”
The ground began to shake as the tree twisted, resealing itself, protected by the ever-watching eyes. The ranger stood still for a very long time...then quickly and deliberately turned in their direction. He was clearly listening.
Had he heard them? Tommy and Eevie held perfectly still, afraid to breathe.
The ranger reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a glass marble. He rested the marble on the palm of his hand and spoke. “It is done. Everything is going according to plan.” He thrust the marble into his pocket and disappeared into the forest.
Wary of a trap, Eevie and Tommy remained crouched in the small grove of trees for twenty minutes before daring to move.
“You know the people that stand as still as statues for money?” asked Tommy.
“You mean like a human mannequin?”
“Yes, those! I’m marking that off my list of possible careers as soon as I get home. My legs are killing me.”
“You’re such a complex person, Tommy.”
“It’s true, I’m cursed.”
“You’re not cursed. Annoying yes, but not cursed. The poor guy in the tree, now he’s cursed.”
“Wait,” said Tommy, staring at Eevie. “I know that look. You’re not thinking about messing with that tree, are you? We’ve had some really bad luck when it comes to trees; I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“Didn’t you see how much he was suffering? Are you seriously going to leave someone trapped inside a tree to die?”
Tommy glanced at the tree, measuring his next words. “Eevie, in all seriousness, that tree...,” he pointed at it, “...is possessed, and we have no idea what will happen if we go near it.”
“We have to try, Tommy. Whoever that is, is obviously an enemy of the ranger. He may be able to help us—or at least provide some answers. Or...,” she paused, “...we continue to follow the ranger through the woods, and hope he doesn’t realize we’re shadowing him.”
Tommy shook his head. “I don’t like this idea at all...”
“I know, me neither, but we have limited options.”
“What if those eyes open? What if they are like some kind of—I don’t know—early warning system? If they see two kids standing there, I’m sure it’s gonna alert someone, somewhere that we don’t want to meet.”
“Tommy, we just need to think everything through. We can’t just wing through this one.”
“Winging it last time nearly got you skewered. I wonder if Amazon has a return policy on backpacks damaged by snake bites.”
“Oh my God! You really do have problems focusing. Your mind must be like a kaleidoscope on sugar.”
“You have no idea.”
“OK...can you please figure this out? We just need to go through what the ranger did.”
“All right,” agreed Tommy.
“First, he approached the tree,” said Eevie, replaying the scene in her head.
“Then those creepy eyes opened,” Tommy added, “and he did that weird British queen wave, where he showed the front and back of his hand.”
“That’s right!” Eevie nodded her head in agreement. “And then he said something that sounded like ‘raise arrow,’ which I’m sure is a spell.” Eevie pulled her phone out, tapped on the screen, navigated to images, and began to scroll through the pictures she had taken of the spell book.
“Resero,” said Eevie excitedly. “Resero means open.”
“And then he said something that sounded like ‘Oh Pluto’ to close the tree.”
Eevie quickly swiped across the screen. “Occludo means to close!”
“Awesome, so...that’s everything except it doesn’t solve the problem with those creepy eyes seeing two kids.”
“That part is easy,” said Eevie, removing her backpack and producing a roll of duct tape.
“You are not going to wrap me up like a mummy,” Tommy said.
“No...but I must admit the idea does sound tempting,” Eevie said with smile. “OK, we just need to make sure our faces are completely covered. Pull your hoodie down. I’m gonna use the duct tape and make sure everything is covered except a tiny slit for your eyes.”
Tommy pulled the hoodie over his face, bunching up the material so that only a tiny black gap was visible for his eyes. Eevie placed a couple pieces of tape to hold everything in place. She took a step back. “I can’t see your eyes. Can you see?”
“Yeah,” answered Tommy’s muffled voice. “I have no peripheral vision, but I can see.”
Tommy helped Eevie adjust and secure her hood. “You’re right!” she exclaimed. “I can only see what’s directly in front of me.”
“After the eyes close, we should be OK,” Tommy said. “We should be able to take off our hoods then.”
Eevie didn’t answer. She was already feeling her way into the opening, walking slowly toward the tree.
If You’re Feeling Froggy!
“Eevie, wait!” implored Tommy, as they approached the tree. The ground beneath their feet began to tremble and the roots twisted and undulated, making it difficult to stand. Suddenly, hundreds of eyes opened simultaneously. The effect was overwhelming, paralyzing Eevie and Tommy with fear.
Eevie felt a strange tug in her right hand. That’s right, she remembered, raising her hand to the tree.
“Argh!” She screamed out in pain. Something wasn’t right. She tried to tear her eyes away, but she couldn’t. Against her will, her wand suddenly appeared in her hand. She fought desperately as an invisible force tried to rip it from her grasp.
“Eevie!” screamed Tommy, bewildered. “Eevie!”
Tommy stepped in front of her, blocking her view of the tree. The roots began wrapping around their ankles. As Tommy held up his hand to the tree, a strange sensation ran up his hand through his ring finger. The eyes of the serpent ring that encircled his finger opened. Tommy watched as the eyes stared at his ring.
“She’s with me!” Tommy hissed. “Let her be!”
Tommy felt the roots go slack around his ankles, and then the eyes snapped shut. Eevie staggered backwards, rubbing her throbbing hand.
“What just happened?” inquired Eevie, confused.
“I think it’s because of this ring,” said Tommy, holding up his hand. “The ranger has the same ring...that’s what he was showing the tree.”
“It was trying to get my wand, and I couldn’t stop it, and then...I didn’t want to stop it.”
“It’s OK,” Tommy assured. “We’re here together. We’re a team.” He took a deep breath. “Somehow those eyes put you in a trance.... We’re dealing with magic and powers we don’t understand. We’re gonna have to be careful.”
“We better open this tree before those eyes open again,” Eevie said. “Not sure the ring will work twice.”
“Do you want me to do the honors?” asked Tommy nodding at the tree.
“You better.... You have the exclusive members-only ring that gets you into all of the meet-and-greets.”
“OK, what was the word he said again?” asked Tommy.
“Resero,” Eevie whispered quietly, weary of awakening the tree again.
Tommy slowly placed his fingertips on the tree. He could feel energy gently coursing through him. “Resero.” Tommy spoke the word gently, but firmly.
He and Eevie stepped back as the tree untwisted, groaned, and opened. The rough sound of bark and roots uncoiling sounded like thunder in the solitude of the forest. The smell emanating from the tree was sickening and pungent like something had died. Tightly ensnared inside the belly of the tree, the mummy’s body hung limp, like a marionette waiting to be controlled by its master.
Up close they could see that instead of cloth, the mummy was completely entombed by thousands of vines and small branches. Across his mouth, the ranger had reattached a white strip of paper, with some type of unidentifiable writing.
“What is that paper across his mouth? Do you think it’s safe to touch?” asked Tommy, hesitating.
“I think that is some type of prayer seal, like if a certain area is demon-possessed, priests used these seals to keep away the evil spirits. According to some religions, King Solomon was given a special seal that enabled him to command demons and speak to animals.”
“Wait, so is this seal keeping him from being possessed by evil spirits, or is the prayer thingy preventing evil spirits from escaping from him?”
“I don’t know,” said Eevie worriedly. “I just know what I’ve read.”
“OK, thank you for the history lesson,” said Tommy. “Now, prepare to run if necessary.”
Eevie nodded, her eyes glued to the mummy.
He reached up and carefully pulled the seal from the mummy’s mouth. Hot, disgusting breath rushed out from the mummy’s mouth, as if it had been holding it for centuries. The mummy moaned and slowly attempted to right its head.
“Help me...,” breathed the mummy.
“Who are you?” asked Eevie. “Who did this to you?”
“Sorceress, evil sorceress.” The mummy’s voice was feeble and weak. “Please help me.”
“How?” asked Tommy.
“The adamas flower’s nectar.”
“Adamas flower?” asked Eevie, confused.
“Yes, the diamond flower. This and the tears of the moonbow frog.”
Tommy looked at Eevie and arched his eyebrows. “I think the ranger may have given him a little too much of that blue stuff.”
“It’s the antidote to counteract the spell. You must hurry,” rasped the mummy.
“We’re gonna help you, but we don’t have any idea where to find the adamas flower or the frog.”
“There is a small river...half mile north from here,” the mummy said in his weakened voice. “The adamas flower grows just on the edge of the water. They are very hard to see as they are crystal clear, like glass.”
The mummy coughed from deep in his lungs, his breathing becoming more labored. “You’ll find the flower there. Pull the flower from the stem. Inside the flower you will see a long white string. The end will have a drop of nectar on it.”
“And the frog?” asked Tommy, biting his lip painfully, feeling like this was all a bad dream.
“The moonbow frog hides under rocks and logs. He’s easily distinguishable because his skin is blue and yellow, like the moon. Once the frog ingests the fluid, his eyes will cry a green liquid. That liquid will counteract my poison.”
“Is he poisonous?” asked Eevie.
“Only if you lick him,” sai
d the mummy.
Tommy interrupted. “Just so we’re clear: You want us to find a diamond flower, get its nectar, make a frog eat it, and then collect the green tears that come from its eyes, and then feed the tears to you?”
“Yes,” whispered the mummy.
Tommy turned to Eevie, a flabbergasted look on his face. “And I was hoping it was going to be something challenging.”
“Is there anything else we need to know?” asked Eevie.
“Yes, please hur...”
“Please hurry, we know.... Come on, Eevie.”
Eevie gave Tommy an exasperated look and shook her head. Her eyes told him that she was not happy with him. She pulled her phone from her jeans and swiped her finger across the screen.
“Darn, I can’t geotag our location.”
“Oh, you’re kidding me,” said Tommy in mock surprise. “You mean Google doesn’t have a ‘choose your quest’ option, with maps and alternate routes?”
Eevie ignored him and opened her virtual compass. “North is that way,” she said, pointing. “Let’s go.”
A half mile of trekking through dense undergrowth was slow and tiring. Thorny green bushes tore at their clothing and skin, and incredibly strong spaghetti-like vines continuously coiled around their feet, tripping them.
“I feel like the freaking pied piper of plants,” said Tommy, hacking away with his knife at a particularly amorous vine that had wrapped possessively around his waist, refusing to let go.
“You are so dramatic,” laughed Eevie. “You fight a massive snake and a wolf, and now you’re crying ‘uncle’ because of a little vegetation?”
“Yeah, well you saw what a little...,” Tommy raised his hand in air quotes, emphasizing little, “...vegetation did to mummy man. He looks like a talking shrub.”
“Shhh, listen,” said Eevie, splaying her hand across Tommy’s face.
Tommy nodded. The sound of water splashing over rocks greeted them. “Perfect,” he said. “Let’s go find some flowers and frogs.”
The mummy was right. Within a few minutes of wading in freezing water, Eevie was able to find several adamas flowers. She was careful to remove the entire flower including its roots. She hated destroying such a beautiful flower; its petals glistened like wet crystal.
Quest Chasers: The Screaming Mummy (A Magic Fantasy Adventure Book Series) Page 10