Bedic yelled again. “The storm. It’s still coming.” You must control your anger. You can’t bring it here. It’ll destroy the Red! That’s what it wants. That’s what it’s been looking for since you let it out!”
“I’m trying,” Handers yelled back. He turned again to the glowing hill just beyond the shallow pond. He splashed through the water carrying his son quickly towards the thicket at the top.
Bedic turned to look up at the sky as he followed behind Handers. The thin fingers were now a swollen mass of dark that was swirling directly over them. Lighting flashed casting a blinding pulse of light across the valley.
Bedic stopped as two black funnels dropped down out of the cloud. "Hurry Handers!
Handers turned and looked up at the sky in time to see the two black funnels slam into the ground by the outer barrier of the garden. Botann soldiers scattered. Others were sucked into the cloud.
Handers smiled.
“RUN!” Bedic yelled.
Handers glanced back at Bedic. He didn't understand the urgency, the panic in Bedic's voice. He'd been with the storm before. He wasn't the one in danger, they were.
But there was something different this time. More of the storm had come with the funnels. The sky was quickly filling with a strange, moving blackness. Hundreds of tiny arms stretched out of the sky, clawing toward the ground, towards the middle of the garden, towards the red glow.
“Handers. GO now!” Bedic yelled.
Despite the storm, the Botann soldiers still charge forward towards Handers. Determined despite the threat.
The Petra soldiers too had decided to attack, flooding into the garden behind the Bota.
Handers ran towards the hill, now so close he could almost touch it. He felt his feet push against the ground with the rhythm of his heart beat, sending his body, his son closer with each step. He focused on the movement, allowing it to drown out his desire to turn back, to make sure the storm did what he had hoped it would. It took all his concentration not to stop, turn around and watch it destroy them.
Another volley of arrows landed in front and to the side of him. They were still attacking! They were still trying to stop him!
Impossible! The storm, it should’ve taken care of them, it should’ve wiped them out. He couldn’t help it, he turned to see what was going on.
Valance’s protective shield was gone. He and his men were dodging out of the way of a massive black funnel spiraling towards them.
Some of the Botan soldier had gotten close. One of them was aiming a bow at him.
Then a sharp but quick pain pierced his chest followed by an unimaginable burn. He panicked, turned, and tried to run. But the ground, instead of passing under his feet, rushed up towards his face, striking him as it hit.
He fingers searched across his chest for the pain and found the tip of an arrow protruding from his skin. There was pain; there was immobility in his shoulder. But still he could move his arm. His legs? He got to his knees. Then to his feet. It hurt, but he could still move. He could still carry his son.
The thicket was in front of him, within his grasp. He took a step forward. He was too close to be stopped now!
Another stabbing pain shot through his back. Then another. He lost his balance and fell to his knees. Two more metal tips protruded from his chest.
The ground below his feet wobbled. Still, he willed himself forward far enough to grab the thin trunks at the edge of the thicket. He pulled himself close then pushed his son through the knotted branches. Fortunately, it wasn’t as tightly spaced as the barrier. He found another opening a little wider than the first and twisted himself through. A few feet in, the ground was smooth and free of the outer vines. He set his son down under the hot red glow and collapsed onto his side.
There beyond his son was a tiny red plant in the very center the thicket. Dwarfed by the size of the vines protecting it, it looked like it couldn't have been more than a few days old. It was so small, so fragile.
This is what they came to find? This seedling? He thought.
And yet the red glow bathing them, the warmth that he felt, it was clearly coming from this tiny thing, and it was anything but small.
With his last reserve of strength, he pulled his son’s lifeless body next to the seedling and lifted Emret’s limp hand up to touch one of the red leaves.
“I’m sorry.” Handers said, holding his blackened arm, still bubbling and churning, towards the young red seedling. “Please forgive me. Please…” He looked down at his lifeless son. “…heal him.”
The moment of silence was interrupted with a horrible crack. His son's body moved. The arrow in Emret’s chest broke and fell to the ground.
Emret sat up wearily. “Dad?”
Raj watched his son and smiled. “Emret!” He turned back to the seedling. “Thank you.” Then collapsed to the ground.
-
Bedic scrambled out of the way of a black tendril that shot down out of the sky. It was more than a whirling funnel of air. It had form.
Up in the sky above him, he saw the exact thing he feared. An ominous black face pushed out of the clouds, twisting and gnashing its teeth.
Valance and his men had regained their footing enough to put their dark shroud back above them. Swarms of Petra and Botan soldiers had advanced into the center of the garden and were pushing up against the shroud.
The three struggled to hold them back. The numbers gathering around them were growing quickly. There were already to many for them to control. In a moment they’d be unable to defend themselves.
“Put on the Crown, Valance!” Barnus yelled.
“No!” Valance screamed back. “If he sees it, he’ll hunt us!”
“What choice do we have! If we stay here, he’ll kill us just as well.” Barnus yelled.
Valance turned to Bedic. “Were is he? Where’s Handers?”
“We can’t wait any longer,” Barnus yelled. “We must go in and get it ourselves.”
“We can’t! The boy and his father are the only way in. Wait for them to bring it out to us!” Valance yelled.
Barnus dropped his sword out of the air, removing it’s energy from the protective shroud. He turned without a moment’s hesitation and plunged his blade deep into Valance’s side. “You coward!” He screamed. “You’ll kill us!”
Valance dropped to his knees, his silent mouth stretched with pain.
Barnus stooped down and yanked the velvet sack attached to Valance’s waist, opened it and pulled out the dark glowing Crown.
“I will not die here waiting for you or that boy’s father!” Barnus shouted.
“No Barnus, he’ll kill you. He’ll kill all of us.” Valance whimpered.
“You have to fight for what you want, Valance! What happened to you?” Barnus kicked him over then turned to Whiting. “Lets go!” He turned towards the glowing thicket in the center of the garden and sprinted.
Whiting held back with Valance for a moment. “I’m sorry,” he said, then jogged after Barnus.
The two arrived quickly in front of the small tangle of trees and vines protecting the small Red plant. Barnus turned to face his adversaries, the armies advancing on him and the storm gathering strength above.
He held the glowing purple crown out in front of him, took a deep breath, then dropped it down over his head.
An immediate surge of energy exploded out of the crown. Barnus’s body convulsed wildly, as though he was being exposed to an electric shock. His body bulged; his leather armor split. When the shaking ended, Barnus doubled over in a fetal position.
The giant black face in the sky went wild, twisting and pulling. Its features stretched and strained in a silent expression of its fury. Then, without warning, it shot down towards Barnus like the head of a snake. But half way between the sky and the ground it caught and snapped back up into the sky. Apparently not yet able to reach. The dark purple storm was still split between the mountain in the distance and the sky over the garden.
After a mome
nt Barnus regained his strength and stood up. He was noticeably taller. His body was swollen, showing thick defined muscles. His skin had turn black and had lost its fur. His entire body looked like Hander’s arm.
Without another moment lost, he stretched out a hand towards the on coming mix of Petra and Botan soldiers. A stream of dark purple siphoned off the storm above and channeled towards him. It collected into a thick swirling cloud around his body..
The creature in the sky reeled backwards in pain as though a part of him had been stripped away.
Barnus extended his hand again and the cloud that had swirled around him shot forward toward the on coming soldiers. It caught them on contact and swept them back in a swirling torrent. Barnus smiled. Then stretched his hand up above his head. Two massive surges of storm pulled away. Lighting flashed, thunder roared. The face in the storm screamed in agony.
Barnus shot his hands forward before the new material had reached him, sending it down towards the remaining soldiers spread across the garden. The two fountains of storm hit near the center and pushed out in all directions. The Botan and Petra caught in its path were picked up and thrown back head over heel until they hit the rising slope of the outer rim.
The garden was clear now, except for Bedic, Valance, and Whiting. Bedic wasn’t sure how they’d managed to avoid being swept away with the rest of the soldiers. Perhaps they were close enough to Barnus not to be effected.
Barnus turned back to the thicket behind him and withdrew his sword. With a few swipes he opened up a large enough hole in the dense twisted wood to pass through. Bedic watched in terror. Not knowing what to do. All he could see was Barnus’s back through the opening.
Barnus sheathed his sword and removed a small dagger from his waist. He reached down into the vines with his dagger then stopped as though he’d reached his target. He dropped his other hand down to take hold of it. Then he froze.
“Aaaaargh!” He cried in pain and tried to pull his hand back. But it stayed, pinned.
Then Bedic saw what was holding him. A tight weave of roots and vines crawled up his arm, reaching his shoulder in a matter of seconds. Once it had spread across his back, it was clear to Bedic, the roots and vines weren’t just crawling over him, he was being eaten away.
Another second passed and it was over. Where Barnus stood a moment before was now a twisted mass of vines and branches. The Crown tumbled down the back of the gnarled heap and rolled into the grass.
Bedic had never seen anything like it. He could see through the spaces between the strands of vines. There was no flesh, no bone. There was nothing. The man was gone.
A violent eruption of thunder shook the ground. Bedic looked up at the sky. The two strands of purple cloud that Barnus had claimed swirled upward to rejoin the rest of the storm.
Bedic stared in disbelief as another flash of lighting brightened the sky and revealed what had been forming beneath the surface of the clouds. A second smaller burst of light confirmed it, back-lighting a massive spinal cord that was hanging down from the ugly head. Great arms extended from the top of the spine and the thick bones of the legs curled up against what would be its chest.
He was here, Bedic thought. And this time he was awake. His fear immobilized him. His eyes were locked on the creature as it slowly unfolded its legs. The face had stopped thrashing about now that it was attached to its body. Now the head moved with focus, intent. It shifted its attention from its newly formed body to thicket below.
One of its enormous legs dropped down and made contact with the ground. The impact rippled the earth, sending a shock wave across the garden that knocked Bedic off his feet. Another impact spun him over on to his stomach.
The way he’d landed positioned him so he was facing the small hill and thicket in the center. The Red! Suddenly, the full impact of the situation hit him. In a complete panic, he pushed himself to his feet and ran to the center as fast as he could.
One of the sides had been completely opened up by Barnus. He pushed through the opening, careful not to touch any of the gnarled remains and he passed. There laying at the heart of the thick patch of bushes and trees was a small clearing. At the center of that clearing was a tiny plant with brilliant red leaves that filled the entire thicket with a warm glow. Amazing, he thought.
The ground shook again, heightening his panic further. Raj was laying on the soft leaf covered floor unconscious with his arms stretched out towards the small plant.
“Who are you?” Emret said looking up. He was laying next to his father, holding him. His face was wet with tears.
“You’re alive!” Bedic cried. He knelt down, grabbed the boy by the shoulders and shook him emphatically.
The boy smiled back. “Yes.”
“I’m Bedic, a friend of your fathers.”
“You were with us, with Valance.” Emret said.
“Yes I was a taken captive by Valance. But we can talk about that later. There’s something we must do now. And we must be quick.” Bedic glanced up at the sky.
The boy sat up, staring at his father’s motionless body.
“This little plant.” Bedic pointed. “It’s in danger. We must move it quickly or it’ll be destroyed.” He looked up at the sky again.
Emret followed his gaze to the storm above them. “What is that?” He asked.
“Something bad. And if it kills this little plant we’ll have no power to stop it.” Bedic said.
“Stop it from what?” Emret asked.
“From destroying everything. Every city, every person, every living thing.” Bedic answered.
“What can I do?” Emret asked.
“You’re the only one that can move it. It trusts you.” Bedic said.
“OK.” Emret got up on his knees and looked over at the tiny plant.
Bedic moved over to it. “We’ve got to hurry. Take your hands and dig up the roots carefully.”
Emret followed him over and followed the instructions, digging his hands into the soft black soil.
“Make sure to get as much of the roots as you can, then wrap them up into a ball.” Bedic said.
Emret finished digging a large hole around the plant then lifted it up.
“Take some of these leaves from the ground and wrap them around the root ball.” Bedic continued.
Emret did so.
“Now, that thing in the sky is going to try to stop us. We must make it to the other side of the garden. To the trees. Can you do that?” Bedic asked.
“Yes.” He answered, then turned his attention to his father. “But what about my dad?”
“Once we move the Red the storm won’t be interested in this place. Your father will be safe until I can come back and get him.”
Emret stared at his father, uncomfortably. “OK.”
Bedic pointed to the tree line in the distance. “Run as fast as you can! I’ll be right behind you.”
-
Emret burst out of the hole in the thicket and raced across the soft grass. He didn’t stop to survey the situation in the garden, he just ran.
To his surprise and delight, a bright glow swelled over the ground in front of him. It extended across the garden, up the ridge and into the trees beyond, striking a clear path for him to follow. His heart leapt with excitement. At least he wasn’t doing this alone.
His feet moved fast, carrying him past the outer ring of Manea trees and ferns. It felt fantastic. His heart was pumping hard. It was a feeling he hadn’t had in a long time. It was freedom!
The ground shook with a blast. A moment later, Emret regained consciousness with a horrible ringing in his ear. His body was sliding over the lip of a deep pit. He grabbed at the grass and clawed at the dirt, trying to get his hands on anything to keep him from slipping and any further into the hole below him.
A firm pair of hands grabbed his arm. It was Bedic! He helped pull him up out of the pit and then helped him to his feet. “Come on. Keep moving!” He shouted.
Again they ran, around the pit to get back onto
the glowing path and then hard towards the trees. Now much closer, hope started to surface. They weren’t too far away!
Another blast took him off his feet. The ground lifted up at a steep angle, and he rolled. Below him was another deep and wide open hole in the ground, and he was falling helplessly towards it. He noticed a flat part of ground to his side. He jumped towards it and caught the edge. His feet dangled over into the pit. He pulled with his arms and scraped his toes against the freshly cut wall until he found a foot hold. Then he quickly pulled himself out and rolled over on the grass to catch his breath. He opened his eyes and looked up into the sky for the first time since he left the thicket.
Above him stood a figure of a man, two arms, two legs and a torso. Yet it was so large it defied logic. Currents of storm cloud wrapped around his black skeletal frame like a loose robe. Other streams flowed inside, giving it weight and mass.
The creature bent down towards the earth, bringing its face closer to Emret. Its mouth opened, and a voice boomed, so loud it caused the ringing in his ears to return. “Give… me… the… RED.” it roared, painfully slow.
Emret stared at the little plant bundled in his arms. So small and seemingly insignificant. Yet it had saved his life.
“No.” Emret whispered in response. “I can’t do that!”
Bedic crawled up next him. “Where’s the Token?”
“I don’t know.” Emret answered. He didn’t remember anything after he was hit with the arrow. He must have dropped it in the grass somewhere.
“Then… You… Die…” The crackling voice from the sky shouted with a boom that shook the earth under them.
Emret remembered what he’d seen in the courtyard in Shishkameen, the red tree, so large, so powerful. Was this tiny thing supposed to become that? There were so many things he didn’t understand.
“How do I protect you?” he whispered to the plant.
The giant swirling arm pulled back up into the sky slowly then began to descend towards them.
Bedic got to his feet and pulled the boy up. “Come on! We’re not too far away.”
They ran straight for the trees as fast as they could go. Bedic glanced back and forth between the forest ahead of them and the hand coming down from above. When it got close, he steered them off to the right, hoping it’d be too slow to react. The great fist of black bone and storm continued on its path and hit with such force it tore another deep hole in the earth.
Red Leaves and the Living Token Page 26