The Tree

  “You ask the wrong question, my child. Now we are no one. The question is who were we.”

  Lil noticed that the figure had been moving back slowly and they as a group had been following unconsciously, keeping the distance between them the same.

  “We have much to think on. We should go,” Uchel finally spoke. Lil turned to find Uchel staring intently at the merchant, but when Lil turned back to the merchant, he was gone. The slightest noise in the woods behind where he had been was the only sign of where he might have gone. Lil turned back and Uchel was searching the woods with her shrewd gaze, as were Kima and Assan. Lil joined them in searching but could see nothing at all.

  “Kima, gather the herbs that you can,” Uchel said, breaking the quiet.

  Kima immediately headed back to the table and began to pick up spilled piles of colorful leaves and put them back into the bags and baskets they had carried here. Every once in awhile Lil would see her toss something to the side rather than save it.

  Uchel stepped in front of Lil, reaching for the branch that still hovered in the air, but the thing flung itself back against Lil. It curled itself around her right forearm but did not cut her skin with any of its thorns. Uchel stared at the place where it pulsed slightly against the black fabric of Lil’s sleeve.

  Uchel frowned at the branch, and Lil raised one eyebrow at the older woman, who held up her hands and silently backed away with an exaggerated smile on her face. The expression did nothing to hide the worry and fear in her eyes.

  They walked back to the house silently. All the small animals they had heard before were silent now. When they arrived at the house Lil said nothing to them and ignored the soft call of Kima as she continued to her room. Lil knew it was rude, doubly so because she was a guest here, but she did not want to talk right now.

  She wanted to think.

  As soon as she entered the room, the Nif who had formed her shoes and endured throughout the night slithered off. They collapsed in a pile in the corner and a number of the ones who had stayed behind hurried over and petted their exhausted relations.

  Lil sat on the bed and thought of what the strange merchant had said about allies. Arel and Jagi were the obvious choice—ones who had stood by her side and never left and never given her reason to doubt. Except she could not find them or her sibs.

  Lil sat on the bed and pulled out the root. She opened the bag and let the small bones fall into her palm. One of them bounced out of her hand and fell to the floor. Before she could get off the bed, there was the small sound of chittering and one of the Nif hurried over and raised it toward her with its starfish like arms.

  She reached for it and froze staring at the Nif as it cooed at her.

  The Nif. Allies she had made before all of this, who had been there for her all along.

  She had never been sure how smart they were. Were they sentient beings who understood what she said, as they sometimes seemed? Were they animals who had learned to imitate ‘dants behavior? Or maybe neither of these things? Maybe comparing the Nif to anything she knew was a mistake.

  With a single thought the wood slithered off of her arm and floated in the air before the Nif.

  DoYouKnowOfKnowledge

  HiddenInTheseWoods?

  And suddenly she was facing more than one Nif as all of those who had been scattered about her room rushed forward at once making affirmative noises at the same time.

  CanYouLeadMeThere?

  They were already rushing toward the door of her bedroom and looked back at her impatiently. She had not removed the jumpsuit yet, so she put on the boots she’d found in her room before the Nif formed into shoes again. She looked out the window and realized that Yanwan was not that far from rising. Already a false dawn lit up the sky. If she was going to do this tonight she should leave now.

  She placed her finger over her lips and the Nif immediately quieted down. She cracked open the door to her room and looked out into the dark of the main room. She quieted her own breathing and tried to listen for any sounds. There was nothing, so she slipped through the door. The Nif tumbled over each other to get in front of her and lead the way. She moved silently through the house, creeping down the stairs and through the small living room into the foyer. They were almost at the front door when the voice stopped them.

  “You trust that merchant?”

  Lil turned and peered into the dark. There was the rough sound of a match being struck and the glow of light came from the dark corner she had just passed. Uchel was sitting cross-legged on the floor, in the shadow of the stairs. The light came from a candle in the woman’s lap which lit up the wrinkles of her face, turning them into folds that made her look older, wiser, more dangerous.

  Lil watched her. The branch that was now wrapped around her waist like a belt slithered its way free. The words formed between them.

  ITrustTheNif.

  Uchel looked down at the small creatures of shadow. Some gathered around her feet and others in a line straight to the front door.

  “Well I guess I can’t fault you on that. Since they did save your life.”

  Lil looked at the woman for a long moment before the branch reformed.

  HowExactlyDidYouFindMe?

  Uchel looked at her for a long moment before she rose from the floor smoothly, her age not at all evident in her movements. She moved toward Lil.

  “It was in the woods a ways from here. Quinn and Assan found you as they were scouring the forest for herbs. You were wrapped in a cocoon of darkness. When Assan . . . disturbed them, they reformed into Nif and surrounded you. Quinn convinced them—”

  Quinn?

  “She has had some past experience with them.”

  Lil only raised her eyebrow at that but Uchel shook her head.

  “It is not my story to tell.”

  Lil nodded, accepting that.

  “Go. I will be here when you return,” Uchel said.

  Lil turned to go but stopped only a step from the door and turned back to the older ‘dant who stood in the same spot watching her.

  KimaIsNotTheLeader

  IsShe?ItsYou.

  Lil was sure of it. All the little things that didn’t add up, the way Kima would defer to Uchel. The way that none would dare to cross the older ‘dant. Lil had thought it was simply respect but there was more to it. This was the leader of the resistance.

  Uchel’s expression did not change.

  “And now that you know, will you tell someone? The Ruling Courts perhaps?” It was said calmly, with no fear or caution.

  Lil rolled her eyes before the branch reformed.

  WhyWouldIDoThat?

  IHaveNoQuarrelWithYou.

  Uchel nodded, staring at her for a bit longer.

  “Will you actually return?”

  YesButWhoKnowsWhatI

  WillLearn?WhatWillChange?

  With that, Lil finally exited the house and moved with the Nif into the forest surrounding the house. Some of the foliage had recovered well from the burning. New growth was peeking through, though it sprouted from burnt stumps and branches. At one point, as they moved, Lil became aware of other buildings—small things of scavenged wood and metal she could see in the pre-dawn light. She saw no one as she moved through the outskirts of the small, scattered community.

  As she followed the Nif deeper into the woods the foliage got denser. There was less evidence of burning, and less evidence of any ‘dants. It grew dimmer as the canopy overhead blocked most of the light. Lil occasionally heard the calls of birds or the hunting yowls of small akoshes. If the sound was close then a group of the Nif would split away and run off. Sounds of squabbling and fighting would grow distant and the group would rejoin them later.

  After what felt like hours she stopped, shocked by the total stillness around her.

  The sounds of animals had been left far behind. The eerie silence almost qualified as a sound on its own, like a ringing in the air, or a resonance on the edge of hearing. The bushes around her grew taller as she conti
nued to move, reaching past her hips. Their resistance and strength grew as well, so that she started to sweat as she pushed through. The Nif made their way one of two ways; either on the ground, moving through and around the roots that Lil kept tripping on, or the more adventurous ones skated across the tops of the plants, the fronds bending under their small weight.

  Suddenly all the foliage was gone and Lil was stumbling and falling to her hands and knees. The pain of it reverberated through her elbows and legs and she bit through her lip. She stayed there, palms skinned raw, knees aching.

  Lil looked up. The foliage around the clearing was too thick to see beyond. She looked behind her. The place she had fallen through had bent and broken plants that were slowly repairing themselves and returning to their former glory.

  In some ways, it reminded her of the clearing that the night market had taken place in, but more powerful. Energy faintly pulsed, tinting the air with a rainbow sheen but this clearing was much smaller and completely bare. Also the ground here was nothing like the dirt-packed ground of the forest. It was stone; hard and rough.

  Lil felt exhausted and achy—the effects of her fall into the clearing and the earlier fight combined to make her muscles scream in protest. She struggled to her knees and looked around at the large circle of black stone she rested on.

  Why do you come?

  The voice came from all around her. It was thick and liquid, like something you could sink and drown in. Lil understood the words even though she had no familiarity with the language. It was unlike any of the ‘dant languages she knew; a steady pulse of sounds with no pauses or hesitation. The words flowed into one another like they were one word and she heard the translation in her head.

  The branch moved from her arm and spelled out words in the air, anxious to answer the presence.

  IAmLilianaBlackthornJohns.

  IComeForKnowledge.

  The ground began to shake and the tension that had been in the air took on heat and fire. It was a force of displeasure that Lil could feel.

  Speak.

  The branches moved again. The same message again, with the same two lines. First higher in the air and then against the surface of the stone. There was no reaction from the power around them. The branches began to shake and the letters of the words became loose and fell out of shape as the heat grew and she panicked.

  The voice was like thunder when it spoke again. Sweat burst out all over her body and her eyes felt dry and sticky.

  Speak or be destroyed.

  Lil could no longer control the branch at all. It flopped and twisted next to her, writhing against the increased pressure and power just as she did. In desperation she grabbed the branch and did what she had been doing so much of lately. She bled. She dragged one of the sharpest thorns across her palm and let her blood spill onto the stone.

  The blood bubbled and steamed where it landed. The steam filled her nostrils with the smell of burning meat.

  Then everything stopped: the pressure, the shaking, all of it. Lil could breathe the air without heat searing the moisture from her mouth.

  I see.

  The ground had stopped moving underneath her and Lil lay flat, her cheek against the warm rough stone. It was no longer hot as fire, but a low, comforting heat that soaked into her abused body.

  The voice echoed around her and this time purred in her mind as well.

  Yes. Blood is better than words. Blood speaks. Mine to yours. Yours to mine.

  Lil barely heard. She was too busy panting against the warmed stone, focused on the aches and pains in her body. She did not notice the softening of the ground, or the way that her body began to sink, until the moment her face was being pulled under. Lil tried to push herself upwards and while her upper half managed to rise a bit, it just made her hands and other parts sink faster. She tried to scream but the softened ground was already in her mouth, blocking off what was left of her voice. She waited to run out of air but it did not happen. She could breathe normally, though the air that filled her lungs was stale and old with musk and rot. But it was breathable.

  When her face was completely submerged, all she could see was black. She could hear nothing, and feel nothing, but the ground that was slowly sucking her down. It was this sense of movement that kept her sane. As long as she was moving there was a purpose and she could believe she would not be trapped forever in the unending dark.

  After only a few breaths Lil was spat out and down to the ground.

  The fall was not far, but it still awakened the aches in her body. All the pain she had been put through over the last few days came rushing back. Still, Lil pushed herself to her knees and looked around. She was in a round cavern with no way in or out. The ground was surprisingly smooth, though the ceiling was littered with outcroppings of rock. The edges of the cavern had a circular river that rushed around and around. Swarms of insects congregated, with some floating on the surface and others flying in the constant mist that the rushing water threw up. The insects were the things illuminating the space. Their bodies flickered with every movement, a soft orange glow that set shadows to dancing.

  The clatter of wood drew her attention to where her speaking-branch was clattering on the ground. Lil held out her hand and it slithered through the air, wrapping around her forearm. She’d had it for only a little while, but already found the weight of it comforting. There was the sound of more falling and a soft chittering as a mountain of Nif fell into a squirming, arguing pile before her.

  She looked up in time to see the ceiling releasing the last of them slowly, bulging with its passengers. The bulge slowly moving down to one of the outcroppings, where it gathered like a drop of water at the tip. There was a tiny popping sound as it split and the last Nif fell to the ground.

  Lil looked around, searching for why she had been led here. The air in the place felt old and stale with power in a way that reminded her of the Ossuary. The power here, however, was not tainted the way the space around the Ossuary had been. Lil took a deep breath through her mouth, savoring the flavor of it. She was busy taking in great lungfuls of the air so she did not notice the movement at first, but one of the Nif tripped over her foot and her attention was diverted back to them.

  The Nif were gathering in two concentric circles. As she watched they completed the outer circle and all went still. She felt tickles across her skin and realized that the insects from the water were making their way to the center of the circle of Nif. A number of them landed briefly on her shoulders and scalp before taking off again.

  Slowly, the insects gathered. They hovered and shivered and glowed brighter, and died by the dozen, falling to the ground in a constant rain. The insects fell but their light stayed in place, floating in the air, gathering more and more to itself. It grew so bright that Lil had to look away.

  There was a scream that reminded her of the sounds she had heard ‘dants make as they birthed children. It sounded like pain and tearing flesh and ecstatic relief all linked with one another. There was a final flash of light and when she could see again there was a ‘dant before her lined with the aftereffects of the bright light. Looking closer Lil realized it was no aftereffect. This ‘dant glowed. She was now the source of light.

  The ‘dant was like no one Lil had ever seen. She was a bit taller than Lil’s own frame. Her skin was of a lighter shade than Lil’s but not by much. But it held a glow of sunlight. Her hair was gathered into three thick braids, two on each side of her skull and one falling down her back. She wore a loose wrapping of sky-blue fabric that showed off her skin. Her arms and her legs from the knee down were completely bare. She smiled at Lil, her full lips quirking farther up on one side.

  “I have not had a visitor in—” She paused and her head tilted to the side. “In fact, I do not think I have ever had a visitor who was not of my line. This is an occasion for celebration.”

  She tilted her head to the side farther and flashed a wide smile at Lil. It did not make her look friendlier. It made her looked amused
at Lil’s expense.

  The branch floated into the air toward the ‘dant, and her attention went from Lil to the branch.

  “Interesting.”

  WhoAreYou?WhatAreYou?

  “I am all,” she answered.

  Lil struggled to interpret that and decided a different line of questioning might be better.

  HowDidYouComeToBeHere?

  “I am everything. In all places, but especially here, where they hid the last piece of me. Those that live here are me as well.”

  She gestured down at the corpses of thousands of small insects and as Lil watched they sank into the ground, disappearing, becoming a part of it.

  “They live, they die, they live again.”

  IMeantHowDidYouCome

  HereInTheFirstPlace?

  The ‘dant took a step forward. Her hair and clothes moved in a wind Lil did not feel. The ‘dant’s back was unbowed and so was her spirit. She was defiant and angry and her rage made her beautiful. She spoke as she got closer.

  “There was war. A conflict that nearly ripped the world apart. Our children rose up against us and we lost. They took my body—those you call Antes—they took my form and all the power in it and they ripped it apart and shaped it to their ends. I was one of the last to fall and they took my body and used it to craft this world for them. This whole land would not exist without me. My bones became the rocks of the earth and the mountains and my flesh the ground. My blood and tears became the oceans and my hair the vegetation. I am this world and it is me but it was done by force, not choice. And so this world has been slowly falling apart ever since its beginning.”

  “I would have been dispersed, and become lone thoughts and feelings drifting in nothing until they met each other. But they spirited away my heart. A heart is no more important than any other organ, but it was whole and my essence remained whole within it.”

  She took another step forward and knelt before the first line of Nif, reaching out to touch them, caress them as they preened beneath her attention.

  “My children,” she sighed, glowing brighter. She lit up the whole space, as if Yanwan was at its brightest. In her light, the Nif cast giant shadows, shadows the size of Lil whose shape morphed back and forth from Nif to ‘dant-like-figures. “Not all of our children turned against us, but they struck suddenly and viciously, wiping out many of the descendants that were loyal. My children were some of the few who stayed loyal, and survived in numbers. They joined the other side at my behest. I would have still lost, even if they fought for me, and they would have been destroyed.”