The leader screeched one last time before picking up the children’s food pouch and tearing through the forest. Though before they had all walked upright like a man, he began to run on all fours like an animal.
The Robin Hood character turned to face the children for the first time. He was an older boy, perhaps just shy of eighteen, with thick brown hair and a sprinkle of brown freckles on his cheeks.
He climbed to a higher branch and thrust his swords into the trunk of the tree, holding them in place. He stretched out his hand to Maggie. “Hand me your bow.” Maggie hesitated. “Do hurry, girl. He must be taken down or he will tell the rest of his friends you’re here and they will be upon us within the hour.”
Maggie looked to Connor. He nodded. She handed the boy the bow along with an arrow. He slotted it against the taut string and closed an eye, taking aim. It was an impossible shot, a moving target over one-hundred yards away, barreling through the brush and trees. He let the arrow go. It fell down from their elevated perch and traveled across the land as quickly as a bullet shot from a gun, sticking directly into the back of the beast. He collapsed and was no more.
“Are you all alright?” he asked, handing the bow back to Maggie.
Maggie and Lucy collected themselves and nodded. Connor added, “Yeah, we’re fine.”
“Good. Now come, we must flee. There could be more nearby, and they could’ve heard the commotion. There’s little time to waste.”
“Who are you?” Maggie asked. “Are you…”
The boy removed his swords from the tree and grabbed a large leaf to wipe the blood off the blades. He slid them back in the holsters, layered in an X across his back.
“Yes, I am the one meant to find you. My name is Revin…Revin the Righteous.”
21
A NIGHT IN A CAVE
Five minutes later, the children were on the ground. Maggie and Lucy retrieved some of their arrows and knives as Revin went to grab their food pouch from the leader who’d run off with it. He tossed it to Connor.
“Follow me, and keep up,” he commanded.
The children followed Revin deeper into the forest. He moved at an incredible pace, shifting between trees and hurdling impediments in their path as if he had memorized the layout of the entire forest.
At one point he paused and crouched behind a fallen tree, instructing the children to do the same with a hand motion. His eyes scanned the woods.
“What is it?” Connor whispered.
Revin tilted his head up and whistled, calling a small cardinal to the stump beside them. He whistled again. The bird whistled and tweeted back before flying off into the canopy.
“Ah…were you just talking to that bird?” Lucy asked.
“They see more than I do. We must change course. There’s another patrol ahead.”
“What’s the plan? Where are you taking us?” Connor asked.
“To the Shadow Tree?” Maggie added.
“No. It’s still a day’s journey away. Night is coming. We must make camp.” Above the trees, thunder boomed in the distance. Revin’s eyes were drawn up. “And apparently we’ll need to find some cover. Keep low…”
He tore off again, moving swiftly but silently as the children trailed his path. The daylight falling between the trees dwindled and the storm’s thunder grew louder by the minute. Rain began to fall, a slight pitter-patter pelting the leaves at first and then a more intense downpour.
Revin led them to the mouth of a cave hollowed out of a rock face layered in moss and vines. They raced inside and collected their breath, wringing out their wet hair and clothes and hiding from the storm. Revin rummaged around the ground gathering up sticks and dried weeds. He piled them together and pulled two pieces of flint from his pocket, striking them together below his pile. Sparks flew up and landed on the dried earth, wafting smoke into the air. He crouched low and blew life into the fetal stages of his fire. When it caught, he piled on more sticks and grass. The flames eventually grew larger, drawing Maggie and Lucy closer to hold their wet hands up against the warmth.
“Stay here,” Revin said.
“Where are you going?” Maggie asked.
“Those beasts tainted some of your food. I’ll go catch something so you can save the rest.”
“I’ll come with you,” Connor offered.
“No, stay with your sisters.”
He threw his hood on and darted into the storm. Connor, meanwhile, took off his belt, threw his sword on the ground and plopped down by the fire.
“What’s your problem?” Maggie asked.
“Nothing,” he answered, staring into the flames. “It’s just…I should be taking care of you. I should’ve protected you two from those vicious creatures back there.”
“And you should be getting our dinner?” Maggie asked. Connor nodded. “Don’t be absurd. This boy lives in this forest. He’s fought the Shadow Army before and he knows what he’s doing. And he’s a friend of the queen. He’s here to help. You should be able to take help when it’s offered. It’s silly to be jealous of him. Besides, you were so brave back there. You did project us.”
“If anyone should feel crummy, it’s me,” Lucy said. “It was my fault those beasts almost got us.”
“Snapping that twig was an accident, Lu,” Connor said.
“Yeah,” Maggie agreed. “It wasn’t your fault. And we’re safe now. It’s all in the past.”
Lucy’s head remained down and it looked like she might cry. Connor and Maggie came closer to put their arms around her. The children sat like that for almost an hour as the popping of the fire blended with the sound of rain falling through the trees and the occasional rumble of thunder. The short battle with the demons weighed heavy on their minds. It was the first time they had engaged in combat and seen such evil like that up close. It was not right for children their age to have to confront such things, but if you had been there you would have, like the children, realized there is only one thing you can do when evil threatens what is good: fight! After seeing their enemy firsthand, they knew now what they were up against, and were certain that was not the last time they would have to defend themselves.
Darkness eventually shrouded the forest. The night was so black it looked like the cave extended both behind them and before them, that is, until a flash of lightning illuminated the entrance to the cave where a figure stood. The girls yelped and Connor reached for his sword, but their alarm faded when they saw it was only Revin.
He entered the cave with a dead fox slung over his shoulder, its four legs tied together with a rope. He threw it down and pulled out one of his swords to begin skinning it. It was a rather savage activity and the girls didn’t care for it, but they were anxious to put something in their belly.
“Did you talk to this fox before you killed it?” Lucy asked.
“Of course not,” Revin answered, continuing to skin the dead animal.
“But I thought you were friends with all the animals in the forest.”
“I’m friends with those who are loyal to the queen. This fox was no such ally. He was a spy for the enemy. There is not even an insect on this island who does not serve one side or the other. All have chosen because all must choose.”
Revin grabbed several nearby sticks and formed a kind of teepee with them. He skewered one of his swords through the fox and laid it atop the sticks to let the meat roast.
“Thank you,” Connor said. “For saving us back there.”
“Yeah,” Maggie agreed. “You showed up just in time.”
“We were hoping you’d find us earlier,” Lucy said. “We weren’t sure we were going the right way.”
“I wouldn’t have let you veer too far of course,” Revin said, cleaning off his bloodied sword.
“What do you mean?” Connor asked.
“I’ve been watching you since you entered the forest.”
“What?” the children all said in unison.
“Are you kidding me?” Connor said. “So you were watching us battle those demons back
there? Why did you wait so long to help us? We could’ve been killed!”
“Sometimes help must be withheld so that one can grow in strength and courage. I wasn’t going to let anything happen to you. I moved to action at the precise moment I was needed.”
The children were flustered by Revin’s admission, but he had still saved them and delivered them from danger, so how angry could they really be?
“Are you going to tell us the plan for tomorrow?” Connor asked, wanting to change the subject and get down to business. “The queen told us you’d be taking us to the Shadow Tree and helping us destroy it.”
“I always do what the queen asks of me,” Revin answered. “But the laws state it is you,” he said, looking to Connor, “who must confront Radicle and bring down the giant tree. I can only do so much to help.”
“We know that,” Lucy said. “So what are you going to do to help us?”
Revin turned the meat roasting atop the fire. The flames gave off a soft glow, illuminating his face.
“When I was a young boy living in the village,” he began, “I would often play in the roads, engaging in pretend battles with the other boys. One day, Sir George came to visit the village and saw me wielding a small, wooden sword my father had carved for me. He thought I displayed promise and petitioned my parents to let me join him in the castle years before most boys were allowed, training under his guidance to become a knight in the queen’s court. I took well to his training and was knighted at the young age of fourteen.
“But shortly after that, the queen summoned me for a new calling. She sent me into the forest to be her eyes and ears in the lands between hers and Radicle’s. I have spent more time engaged in combat with the Shadow Army than any knight or servant she has, and I have even infiltrated the enemy’s territory on several occasions to gain reconnaissance. All that experience and knowledge finds its purpose in what will happen tomorrow. It was all meant for this, to help you find a way to bring down the giant tree once and for all and save your father, and so that we who live in this story can find peace. So please, gather ‘round and let us speak of what we must do.”
The children huddled closer to Revin and circled the fire as he divulged the plan for the following day. They would awake at dawn and set out into the trees. When they reached the east edge of the forest, they would discover that the Shadow Tree was surrounded by at least a dozen bunkers, each manned by hoards of demons. He described them as arched mounds of dirt hovering over tunnels that led down into the roots. This description made sense to the children considering they had designed these very bunkers with their father back home. In addition to these bunkers, there was a wall around the base of the tree (also something the children had built on their model), where even more of the Shadow Army stood watch. Since all these forces surrounded the bottom of the tree, Revin explained they would have to enter from the top.
“The top of the tree?” Maggie questioned.
“It may seem contrary to logic since it is into the mud we must go, but entering from the top and moving down the tree is the only option. We cannot take on the hundreds that stand watch at the base of the trunk. But only two guards are stationed in the top-most lookout tower. If we can land up there and take them out, no one will know we’ve entered the tree’s branches. I can then covertly guide you down the tree and into the mud where the sinister roots grow and protect Radicle. This way we avoid the forces surrounding the trunk.”
“Did you say if we can ‘land’ up top?” Connor asked.
“That’s right. I have constructed gliders for us, made from the sturdiest wood and sails and covered in albatross feathers, the largest of the seabirds. I stationed them at the top of a tree opposite the Shadow Tree. We can use them to glide through the air and land up top. Aided by the cover of darkness, we should be able to avoid the enemy’s gaze while we swirl in the sky. If they do make us out, they will mistake us for birds. Or at least, that is the hope.”
“Whoa,” Lucy said. “Wait a second. So we are going to…fly…up there? No one mentioned anything about us flying.”
“I assure you the gliders are safe. They could not have carried you all the way atop the forest, but they can carry you the short distance it will take. They have levers that allow them to flap like a bird’s wings. This will give us the lift we need to rise high enough; then we will approach the lookout tower and take out the guards.”
“Take them out how?” Connor asked.
“I will take Maggie’s bow with me and fire two arrows before they realize who we are and before they can sound an alarm. Once we land safely, we will quietly navigate our way down the tree and into the mud.”
“But won’t members of the Shadow Army be stationed all throughout the tree as we climb down?” Maggie asked.
“Some, yes, but not nearly as many as those on the ground. If we move with great stealth, we can avoid conflict until we reach the roots. Down below, we will encounter resistance—Radicle will call his army down to defend him—but if they do not know we are there until we are down within the roots, you girls and I only have to buy Connor a little time to thrust his sword into Radicle. Since the sword is made from the blade of Michael’s sword, it wields great power. If he can navigate his way past the sinister roots and drive it into Radicle, the First Root, all of the Shadow Army will perish along with him, for he controls them all and gives them life, just as he controls the other roots. He is like the brain of the tree and his army. Kill the brain, and we kill them all.”
He poked at the meat and cut off a sliver, examining it in the light of the fire. He put it in his mouth and chewed.
“It’s about ready. One more minute.”
“You said I must thrust my sword into Radicle,” Connor said. “That sounds like something that’s easier said than done.”
“What you must do will not be easy, Connor. Radicle has a network of roots that protect him. His lateral roots dig their way across the island toward the queen’s lands, but he has a cluster of roots surrounding him that you will have to sift and hack your way through. The three of us will help where we can, but we will be holding off the Shadow Army, who will surely come after you. They will not like you threatening their master. But so be it…we will not let fear overcome us. They can come. We will be ready.”
Revin finally took the meat off the flames. He carved it up and they ate in silence. After downing all the water in their thermoses, they laid them outside the cave to catch rainwater. Revin threw some more sticks on the fire and promised to wake back up to revive it in the night, but suggested for now that they all get some sleep.
“Shouldn’t someone stay up on watch?” Connor asked. “Me and you can take turns.”
“My wolves will protect us.”
Revin motioned with his head outside the cave. Connor and the girls peered into the darkness, straining their eyes to penetrate the black night. Something stirred before the trees. When a flash of lightning ripped across the sky, they saw four husky wolves with thick, gray fur pacing back and forth, as if on patrol.
“Sleep easy,” Revin said. “They will not leave us.”
Lucy rolled her eyes. “Of course…he has wolves for friends. And why wouldn’t he?”
For the first time, the children saw Revin crack a slight smile.
Connor, Maggie, and Lucy found a spot to curl up together as Revin stoked the fire. Though they were exhausted from the day’s journey and welcomed rest, the rocky floor made for lousy bedding and their minds raced about what awaited them tomorrow. They also couldn’t help wondering about what was happening back home and how their Daddy was doing. They each missed him, and Mommy and baby Mary too. They knew they had to complete their mission and make it back home safely to the rest of their family. But for now, all they could do was lie there in that cave, awaiting the morning as the rain continued to fall.
22
DADDY’S TEARS
It had been quite some time since Mommy saw Daddy cry. But there they were, salty tears strea
ming down the side of his face, falling into the thick of his brown hair as he lay on his back.
Hours earlier he had been forced to lie down because of the throbbing in his head. She suggested he go inside to the couch, but he refused to leave the garage, feeling that the island was a connection to his missing children. It was as if they were not truly gone so long as he stayed near it.
So Mommy mopped up all the seawater and then went to retrieve a sleeping bag and pillow, making him as comfortable as he could be on the garage floor, before taking baby Mary upstairs for her midday nap. When she came back down into the garage, she noted a look of grave concern on Daddy’s face.
“What is it?” she asked, sitting down beside him. “Did something happen to the children? Did you have another vision?”
Daddy nodded. “They’re in the forest. I saw them moving in the trees, and…”
“And what?”
“They had weapons.”
“Weapons?” Mommy cried. “What sort of weapons?”
“I’m not sure. Connor seemed to have a sword. But I couldn’t see the girls…bow and arrows maybe.”
“My babies can’t wield weapons! What on earth do they need them for?”
Daddy rubbed the sides of his throbbing head. He suspected hours ago that his children had been swept away to the island to confront the Shadow Tree. He didn’t want to believe it, but now that he saw them marching east through the forest with weapons by their side, he had little doubt that his fears were true: His children had been summoned by this queen to destroy the Shadow Tree—the real Shadow Tree—and conquer a sickness that was growing inside him. Who this queen was, other than some figure in a story he wanted to tell, he didn’t know, nor did he understand how the children had been brought to this other world. But he was sure of their mission now.
“I don’t understand how any of this is possible,” Mommy said after Daddy revealed everything he knew. “How can a silly tree in a children’s story do this? How can it physically assault you?”
The Island of Two Trees Page 12