by Maggie Platt
Finally, Silas spoke. “I know you asked me to leave you alone, but I figured you could use a friend.”
She nodded and bit her lip, trying to control the new round of tears that threatened to fall.
“You can talk to me about it. All of it,” Silas said.
“That wouldn’t do any good. You would just get angry with me.”
“No, I won’t get mad.”
“How could you promise that? It’s not just Avi. You don’t know the secrets I’ve been keeping.”
“I can help you, Tovi.”
Still looking away from him, her eyes glassy and unseeing, she said softly, “I don’t think you can.”
They didn’t exchange any more words but stayed at the ridge until the sun had fallen down the other side of the sky. So many thoughts careened through her mind. Could she really leave her home? Worse than that, did she have the strength to lie to Ganya, to be dishonest? Would Calix believe that she came to her decision on her own, without the help of Leeto? Would he still offer to take care of her? More than anything else, her pulse quickened at the thought of finding Tali or clues about her parents.
Eventually Tovi and Silas got up to leave, and their slow pace made the silent journey home last more than an hour. Silas stayed silent by her side the entire way. When they finally glimpsed the village of tree houses, the pain of the morning crashed over her again.
There was a tradition in Adia, started long ago, to honor loved ones who had faded into their great adventure. The mourning family would put a large candle on the front porch of their home. Any Adians who wished to honor the dead would light their own smaller candles from the flame and leave them to burn in jars all night.
The sky was dark around the cluster of trees, but the whole village was lit with the soft glow from the many lives impacted by Avi Tivka. The individual flames seemed to tell stories as Tovi climbed past them, stories of wisdom and courage and love held inside those glowing jars.
She approached the big candle on her porch, which was dripping wax down its cylindrical sides. She picked up a small candle from a nearby pile and held the wick to the flame, slowly turning it and allowing it to light as she stared at the flickering brightness. Silas lit his own candle and held it in one hand while putting his other arm around Tovi. They stood like this for a while, watching the wicks lengthen and curl.
Then, he leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I love you, Tovi. I’m here for you. Always.”
She nodded, pulled away from his embrace, and walked into the cottage.
She could tell Ganya was already asleep when she entered the house. Everything was quiet, and the only light was from the candles streaming through the windows. A note lay on the kitchen table in Ganya’s curvy writing:
Goodnight, Tovi dear.
I love you very much and hope you had
a meaningful time at the ridge.
Tell me all about it in the morning.
Love, Ganya
The morning! For the few minutes since lighting her candle, she had forgotten what might happen in the morning. She could be leaving Adia and all that she knew. On top of everything else she experienced that day she didn’t think she could take any more pain.
She took a deep breath and tried to think logically.
Her deepest desire: to find Tali.
Her only chance of searching the mountain for him: Be led through the mysterious cloud and into the infamous city by Calix.
How to make that happen: Pretend to go with Calix for Calix’s sake. That way she would have a place to stay and something to eat during her search. She had no other means of providing for herself once she was on the mountain.
It was decided. All that was left was to find a way to keep Ganya and Silas from worrying about her during the journey. She pulled out a piece of scrap paper and wrote:
Gone to spend a few weeks in the forest to look for Adwin.
I love you with all my heart, Tovi
She felt a stabbing sensation slice into the back of her shoulder. She yelped in surprise. Rubbing at the tender spot, she wondered if the stress of the day was enough to cause such a physical reaction. Too tired to do anything else, she tumbled into the warm pile of fluffy blankets without undressing. Despite all that was on her mind and the pain in her shoulder, she quickly fell into a deep sleep.
CHAPTER 16
Eryx had to work doubly hard to stay hidden in the trees with so much light coming from the candles on each porch. He had watched over Tovi all day, from her morning run to Avi’s death to her interactions with Calix, Leeto, and Silas. Now he sat just above the Tivka cottage waiting for any stirrings of his enemies. No one else would harm her tonight.
It was very late, but the Tivka porch was not empty. Silas sat in a rocking chair next to Ganya.
“You could have let yourself in and made yourself at home,” Ganya told her guest.
“I didn’t want to disturb you while you were finding some rest.” Silas rocked back and forth, looking at the old woman. “How are you doing? The first night of widowhood is surely one of the hardest.”
She nodded slowly, her eyes unfocused and full of sorrow. She closed them for a moment. “Is he all right? Does he like it there?” she asked.
“You know I won’t tell you much,” he said, his voice more tender and kinder than anything Eryx had heard in years. “But yes, he does. He has acclimated quickly to his old legs.”
Ganya stared at her candle for a while, watching the glittering flame as it held its vigil. Silas’ hand patted hers in rhythm with the rocking of his chair. Somewhere in the distance cicadas sang, leaves rustled, and a family of owls fluttered into flight.
“I’m worried about Tovi,” Ganya said. “She has not been herself, and the way she reacted today makes me fear that there is something terribly wrong.”
“You have always been very perceptive, Ganya. Something is very wrong. Tovi has been speaking with two men from Mount Damien, and there has been a third watching her for some time.”
Eryx’s eyes grew large and he leaned forward to listen more closely.
“Men from Mount Damien?” Ganya gasped. “How could that be?”
“One of them in particular has been meeting her at the ridge. His name is Calix. He hasn’t completely succeeded, thanks to her stubbornness. But he has strengthened her doubt and introduced some dangerous thoughts.”
“What about the other two? Have they had a hand in this?”
“One of them spoke to her for the first time today. Leeto said very little, but those few minutes were horribly potent. While Calix set the groundwork, Leeto seems to have dealt the biggest blow.” Silas paused for a moment. “That’s not all.”
“What more could there be?” Ganya’s voice was tinged with pain.
“We might lose her.”
“Lose her? Surely, she is not going to die,” Ganya gasped.
“No, at least not yet. But she plans on leaving Adia in the morning. Once she is on Mount Damien, there is no end to the danger she will face.”
“Leave Adia? Leave everything she has ever known? For what?”
“She is miserable, dreading leaving you. She is so afraid to hurt you, to cause you more heartache, but I’m afraid she has been convinced that leaving here is her best chance to find her parents and Tali. She has changed in these last few days. She stopped looking for me. I have left so many clues for her to find, and many of them have remained undiscovered,” Silas said, picking at a yellow streak of paint on his hand. “Calix has even used some of them against me.”
“Isn’t there something you can do to stop her?”
“You know my options are limitless. But I won’t do it.”
“Why?” Ganya wailed.
“For the same reason I left the mountain,” Silas said urgently. Eryx detected frustration, a feeling he knew well. “For the same reason I did not command any of you to follow me here.”
They were silent for a long time, both deep in thought, until Ganya’s brow wri
nkled in concentration. “Didn’t you say that there were three men here?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Who is the third?”
“His name is Eryx.”
Eryx’s pulse thudded in his ears. Silas knew his name, and for the briefest moment, he thought he saw Silas’ eyes glance in his hidden direction.
“He has been watching Tovi for the last six months, but he has never attempted to speak with her.”
“Do you know his thoughts the way you know ours?”
“Yes, but it would do you no good to hear them. Go back inside and I will give you some rest. I have some work to do before morning.” He rose slowly, bending over to kiss her on the cheek.
Eryx watched Silas leave Ganya’s porch and silently followed him up to his cottage, spying through the open door as the painter mixed several jewel tones on a palette and used his right hand to sweep his messy dark hair out of his face.
He set to work, first using a broad brush to stroke green paint into basic stems and leaves. He did the same with large, strange shapes created out of ruby and topaz. He bent close to his work, examining every minute detail. He worked with painstaking precision, every slash of color finding purpose as the masterpiece took form.
Several times Eryx came close to barging in, or at least banging on the door frame. He knew he should get this man’s attention. If there was any hope of keeping Tovi safe, this was it. But he feared that his usual violence and threats wouldn’t do the trick.
With a few flourishes, Silas added golden swirls to the deep red petals and put down his brushes. He mixed new colors and turned to a different empty space on the wall. Eryx watched Silas work all night. As the hours of darkness dwindled and the first signs of dawn crept over the horizon, he put the finishing touches on other projects.
After Silas rinsed out his brushes, Eryx stepped back into the shadows. Silas climbed down his tree and started making his way across a wide limb that served as a bridge between willows. Eryx followed silently. About halfway across the expanse, Silas abruptly stopped. There was a slight smile on his face as he turned around, making pointed eye contact with Eryx through the thick foliage.
“If you have something to say, by all means, say it,” he called.
Eryx parted the leaves and stepped forward. “Aren’t you going to stop her?” he growled.
“No, Eryx, I’m not.”
“How do you know my name?” Eryx asked fiercely.
“I know everyone’s name,” Silas answered, matching Eryx’s combative tone. “Do you know mine?”
“Yes,” Eryx said through clenched teeth.
Silas’ face flashed with intensity. “Tell me who you think I am.”
“You’re Adwin, but now you go by Silas. You used to rule over the mountain, but you left us. You claim to love people, but that’s a lie.”
“Why do you say that?” Silas asked, suddenly gentle.
“You would stop her if you really loved her,” he growled, pointing toward Tovi’s window. “You wouldn’t let her leave. You would have protected her from us.” He jabbed his finger into his own chest.
“I will never cage my creatures, even at the risk of losing them. When I designed them, I gave them wings in order for them to soar and experience the rush of the wind. Chaining them to the ground would be far crueler than permitting a test of their freedom.”
Eryx snarled and looked away, frustrated tension building in the muscles of his jaw. Without warning, he turned and slammed his fist into the side of a nearby tree, shattering the bark and leaving a deep hollow in the wood. “Those words are useless,” he said, taking the last few steps between them. Now they were face to face. “None of that matters. She’s a person! Who cares if a bird gets snatched out of the air? No one will ever know the difference. But Tovi . . . ” He couldn’t finish the sentence, overwhelmed by images of a different kind of predator.
“Why do you care?”
Rage ripped through the sinews of Eryx’s body again, shaking him as he attempted to harness the furious power. He breathed raggedly and grabbed hold of two limbs to steady himself. Two of his older scars—one under his right eye and the other along his left shoulder—tore open, and he could feel the blood and a thick black sap ooze slowly through his shirt. “I have a better question,” he said through gritted teeth. “Why don’t you care, Adwin?”
“I do care. I love Tovi.” Silas’ voice remained even, his eyes fiery and firm. “And whether or not you choose to believe me, I want a better life for you.”
Eryx glared and clenched his jaw, causing the skin of his cheeks and forehead to shift slightly. A better life. How could there be value in any life? There was no escaping this existence, this life of a Master. A weapon.
He stormed away, shaking the trees with his heavy footfalls and trying to undo the hope inflicted by Silas’ words.
CHAPTER 17
In the soft light of early morning, Tovi crept outside. She stood for a moment, her shaking hand still on the door.
“Good morning, Tovi. Where are you headed?”
Tovi gasped, and her hand flew to her heart. Silas was sitting against the railing of her porch, his legs stretched out in front of him like he had been there for a while.
“I’m just going out to the forest for a few days. I’m going to look for Adwin . . . ” Tovi faltered, grimacing and rolling her shoulder. Sorrow filled her heart as she realized this was all the goodbye she could give her best friend.
Silas stood, and she folded herself into his arms, trying to memorize how it felt. He kissed her hair and said, “I don’t want you to go.”
She pulled back and looked in his eyes, those sparkling blue eyes that looked so bereaved. Did he know? How could he? “I’ll be back soon,” she said, another stab slicing across the skin of her shoulder.
“Just remember that I love you. No matter what happens out there, I’m always here for you. You can turn around at any time.”
She nodded, still unsure if he was talking about her false hike into the woods or the real journey to the mountain. Surely there was no way he could know.
She hugged him again and began to walk away.
He called after her. “Do you want me to come with you?”
She pretended not to hear.
When she came to the ridge, Calix was standing nearby holding a large bouquet. Each flower’s stem seemed twisted and shredded, as if it had been torn—not picked.
The moment he spotted Tovi, he ran to meet her. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, hiding his face against her neck and murmuring apologies and promises. “I was so worried you wouldn’t come. I was awake all night. I’m so sorry for the way I acted yesterday. I will never get angry again. I’m so sorry, Tovi. I never should have suggested it, especially with all you are going through.”
He pulled away, showing her the flowers in his hand. “These are for you.”
She ran a finger over a deep red one with golden swirls.
“They are beautiful, Calix. Thank you,” she said, standing on her toes to kiss him. Then she laced her fingers through his. “I came here this morning to tell you that I changed my mind. I’m ready to go with you.”
His mouth hung open for just the briefest of moments. He watched her shift her shoulder uncomfortably, and his mood changed all at once. He swooped her up in his arms again, this time lifting her off her feet and twirling her around.
It took them the rest of the morning to reach the base of Mount Damien. Tovi had been to the foot of the granite giant many times in her adventures with Tali, but they had never attempted to climb through the cloud. She had always been told it would be dangerous to do so, and her imagination had created all sorts of pictures of what that could mean. Were the legends of instant death true? What about the stories of blindness and irreversible damage?
But Calix and Leeto had both made it through the cloud, so there must be a way.
They were quiet most of the way. Calix seemed determined to reach their destination
quickly, and Tovi’s mind kept wandering back to Ganya, Silas, and the houses in the treetops. How long would it take them to realize she was gone? Would they ever forgive her?
Each time she caught herself asking these questions, she forced herself to refocus on the mission at hand. Go to the mountain. Search for Tali. Maybe even find her parents.
Just when they should have begun the trek up the gradual slopes, Calix reached for her hand and pulled her toward a boulder at least twenty feet tall.
That was when she spotted it: a large, unravelling indigo flower with orange pollen. Her mind travelled back to that morning not so very long ago when she had first seen another just like it. Silas’ face flashed before her eyes. She had shared that moment with him.
She sighed, homesick and tired.
Behind the boulder was a path, barely distinguishable in the dusty rocks. Tovi’s feet objected to the sharp gravel, but she didn’t complain. After a few challenging minutes of slowly navigating this trail, they came to the mouth of a large cave. Her pulse quickened. She and Tali had never found this cave before. Her mind raced with all the possibilities before her. They weren’t even above the cloud yet, and Calix had already brought her to a new, unexplored place.
But all thought of her mission faded to nothing when she stepped inside. She was overwhelmed by totally foreign sights and sounds.
She and Calix stood on a terrace. What seemed to be a large cave from the outside was really a gaping entrance into what appeared to be the hollowed inside of the entire mountain. It was dark, but there were burning torches at regular intervals, spiraling up the dirty rock walls that grew closer together as she looked up. Four massive stone columns had been left to support the mountain. Each was as wide as her entire house back in Adia, and they reached up what must have been several thousand feet. She couldn’t see the top.
When she finally tore her eyes away from the heights, she looked down. The hollow stretched below her as well, the columns reaching down another fifty feet. At the bottom, hundreds of tattered and dirty workers teemed and moved like a restless ant hill. With pickaxes, they cracked the floor. Someone else would come and scoop the rock into large metal carts big enough for several people to fit inside. When a basket was full, a worker tugged on a rope. Somewhere in the endless heights, a pulley system sprang to life, lifting the basket into the unknown.