by Owen Crane
“Joachim!” called Ariella, “To your right!”
But it was too late. The charging ball of fury took Joachim unawares and
smashed headlong into his leg. The usual thunderclap was replaced instead by a
sickening snap as Joachim"s leg gave way and he collapsed on the ground.
Before the Thunderhead could retreat, Indio was on it, smashing his axe down
on its back. The others cut through the remaining Thunderheads forming a
defensive ring around Joachim as he tried to climb back to his feet. The creatures
kept on coming, wave after wave.
“What the hell did you do to them Joachim?” said Eleazar “They seem intent
on finishing you off.”
Joachim said nothing but spat on the ground as he tried to stand.
“We"ve got to get him out here,” said Ariella. “This clearing is too exposed,
they"re going to surround us and that"s not going to be pretty. Indio help
Joachim, see if we can move him.”
Indio ran to Joachim"s side and tried to help him up.
“Get off me!” He yelled, “I can do it, I don"t need you losers.”
“Joachim, stop being an idiot!” yelled Ariella, desperately defending herself
from the charging Thunderheads.
“Let"s ditch him Ari” called Indio, “See how he manages on his own.”
Eleazar nodded in agreement.
“No way. We don"t leave any of our Knot. He"s one of us.”
“The hell he is,” said Indio, “he hates us.”
“I don"t care,” replied Ariella, “we"re not leaving him.”
“Well, we need a plan,” said Eleazar, “even with Phoebe, we can"t hold them
off forever.”
Phoebe was swinging her great sword in a huge arc, forcing the
Thunderheads backwards and preventing them for making a clear charge at the
fallen Joachim.
Indio ducked instinctively as he heard the whistle of an arrow, then another.
Two Thunderheads fell to the ground, arrows in their unprotected flanks.
“Excellent timing.” sighed Eleazar at the sight of Jaron returning with the
others.
He and Theia were raining arrows down on the Thunderheads as Eugenie,
Felix and Esther drove into the rear, scattering them. The last few were picked
off easily as Karlov strode into the circle with a furious look on his face. He
walked across to Joachim lying on the ground grimacing in pain.
“What exactly did you think you were doing?” He shouted. “Thought you
could clear the whole lot on your own? How did that work out for you?”
Joachim pulled himself to his feet; his eyes were blazing with anger. “I don"t
need you!” he shouted back. “I don"t need any of you!”
Karlov was mad. “You are a Sojourner, this is your Knot. I don"t care if you
don"t like it, get used to it!”
“No chance. I never asked for this, I never wanted this, you can all throw
yourself of a cliff for all I care, you and all the other Guardians!”
Karlov held Joachim"s unwavering gaze, then his face softened as looked to
the other nine.
“Don"t need any of them? Lets see how you get back to your horse without
them.”
With that Karlov turned on his heel and walked out of the clearing towards
the horses.
There was stunned silence. Nobody moved. A few cast unpleasant looks at
Joachim as he sank back to the ground, unable to stand. Nobody said anything.
Esther walked across to her fellow Erestian and studied his leg. “It"s broken
Joachim. You"re not getting back to your horse without help.”
“Get away from me.” He snarled.
Esther shook her head and walked away as Joachim continued to try to get to
his feet.
Jaron edged up to Ariella. “What do you reckon? We leave him?”
Ariella shook her head. “We don"t leave people, even when they are being
idiots.”
She looked around at the Knot. Theia and Eugenie were apart from the rest,
apparently uninterested in Joachim. Esther and Felix stood next to each other,
both upset by the situation. Eleazar was comparing weapons with Indio. Ariella
sighed.
“Jaron, would you go and find a tree branch we could use as a crutch?” He
nodded and slipped into the trees.
Ariella started walking towards Joachim and beckoned for Felix to join her.
Joachim was lying on his back trying to catch his breath after attempting to
stand on his shattered leg. Ariella"s shadow fell across him and he opened his
eyes.
“You can get lost too.”
“Joachim, stop being a jerk. We"re not leaving without you, and the sooner
you can get that through your thick head the better.” She pulled Felix closer.
“What do you think Felix? You"re the best user of the Light we"ve got. I"ve seen
Yvette and Karlov heal using their Light. Fancy a crack at it?”
Joachim starting swearing “Get that spineless, pathetic freak away from me!”
Ariella tapped his broken leg with her foot, Joachim howled in pain.
“Sorry Joachim, I slipped. Now do be a good boy and shut up for a
moment.”
Felix swallowed and went pale.
“I"ve no idea how you do what you do Felix but it seems natural to you so
just let it flow.” Ariella smiled, trying to reassure him.
Felix hesitated but just then Esther came and put her hand on Felix"s arm,
smiled at him and nodded. Some of the colour returned to Felix"s cheeks and he
knelt down beside Joachim. He took a deep breath, shut his eyes and opened his
hands above the mangled leg.
For a moment nothing seemed to be happening, then, ever so slowly, Felix"s
distinct blue light seemed to be oozing from his fingers and rolling onto
Joachim’s leg. The tall Erestian boy sat up, his eyes wide and mouth hanging
open. The rest of the Knot gathered round, watching and waiting, even Theia
and Eugenie came over to see what would happen.
After a few minutes Felix closed his hands and opened his eyes. He looked
up at Ariella. “I"m not sure if that did anything, but it"s the best I could do.”
Ariella glanced over at Phoebe, “Could you help him?”
Before Joachim could resist, Phoebe had tucked her arms under Joachim"s
and lifted him to his feet. He winced in pain but was able to put some pressure
on his broken leg.
“Well,” asked Ariella. “How is it?”
Joachim hesitated for a moment checking out his previously shattered leg,
“It"s not perfect,” he muttered. “There"s still pain when I lean on it.”
“But?” pushed Ariella.
“It"s not broken,” he replied through gritted teeth.
“Anything you want to say?”
He gave Ariella a filthy look then glanced at Felix. “Thank you.” He said
with a great deal of reluctance.
By this time Jaron had returned with a branch he had fashioned into a
makeshift crutch and he tossed it to Joachim who grunted his thanks.
“You"re welcome,” smiled Jaron
“Come on,” said Ariella, “Let"s get back to Karlov and get out of here.”
The Knot made their way through the orchard towards where they had left
the horses.
“I"m starving,” moaned Indio. “I don"t suppose anyone has any food with
them?”
“Here,” called Jaron as he reached up and
pulled an apple from a nearby tree
and threw it over to him.
The apple was a delicious looking yellow-green and Indio took a huge bite.
“Arrggh!” He cried as he spat the apple from his mouth, dropping the rest to
the ground. “What type of apple is that?”
“Indio,” said Eleazar, an odd sound to his voice. “What"s that on your
chin?”
Indio wiped his face with the back of his hand, “It"s just the apple juice.”
Ariella came over, “It doesn"t look like apple juice.”
Indio turned his hand over and looked it. Where he expected to see the
sticky juice from an apple he saw a dark, thick, red liquid.
“It"s blood,” said Indio checking his face and mouth. “But it"s not my
blood.”
“Then whose blood is it?” asked Jaron
Eleazar had picked up the apple Indio had dropped. “Look.”
The hole in the apple where Indio had taken a bite was dripping the same
dark, thick, red liquid.
“Are you kidding me?” said Indio. “The apple is bleeding? What the heck is
going on? Is someone playing a trick because it"s pretty grim?”
Eleazar went to another tree and pulled off an apple. He sliced it in half,
letting it drop to the floor. The same thick blood trickled out on to the green
grass. The young Sojourners exchanged nervous glances. They all went to a
different tree and tried more apples. It was the same everywhere. The apples
were bleeding.
Nearby was one of the trees smashed down by the Thunderheads. Indio
took his axe to the bark around the fallen tree trunk. The same sticky blood
oozed from the bark, the blood was being carried up the trunk of the tree.
“This is nuts.” He said, wiping the blood off the blade of his axe. “I"ve never
heard of trees bleeding before.”
“We have.” Said Eleazar, “Haven"t we Ari?”
She nodded.
“Is this a Lightharbour thing?” asked Jaron
“No.” said Ariella, “It was the day before we arrived in Stonegard. We were
on the outskirts of Trevena when we passed through a village in uproar. Their
crops all had the same thing, even the flowers had it, they were all dying.”
“You were there too?” Indio asked Eleazar
He nodded, “it was the day she saved my life.”
That comment caught Ariella off guard.
“You saved his life?” said Jaron with a big grin on his face
“Well. I, sort of, I suppose so. Maybe.”
“Yes, she did.” Said Eleazar
Jaron laughed, “That"s why you"re so horrible to her!”
Eleazar blushed and nodded, “I don"t like being in debt to people and I find
it difficult to say thank you”
Jaron laughed harder and Indio joined in.
“Come on,” said Eleazar testily, “Let"s show these apples to Karlov, see if he
knows what"s going on.”
The three boys walked on leaving Ariella behind, speechless.
He’s horrible to me because he doesn’t know how to say thank you! Is that supposed
to be funny?
“Hey!” she yelled after, “Here"s an idea, instead of putting rats in my
pillowcase you could just say „thank you!"”
Eleazar didn"t turned around or stop walking; he simply lifted his arm in a
wave.
That’s it? A wave. No apology. He’s an idiot; I don’t care how thankful he is!
The four of them caught up with the rest of the Knot as they met Karlov
waiting by the horses. They wasted no time filling him in of the details of Felix"s
healing Joachim"s leg and the bleeding apples. Karlov walked a few paces back
into the orchard and picked an apple from a tree, slicing it open with his knife.
His face dropped when the same red liquid splashed over his blade.
He took another apple in both hands. Ariella saw his gentle green light form
a sphere around his hands, pulsing like a heartbeat. Karlov closed his eyes
allowing the Light to do its work, the Knot standing in silence. After a few
minutes he opened his eyes, took out his knife and sliced the apple.
He swore as the blood dripped on to the green grass. He pulled a few more
apples from the trees and stuffed them in his saddlebag.
“Let"s get back to Stonegard. Every mile we"re going to check the crops on
each side of the road. I want to know how widespread this thing is.”
The Knot did as they were commanded. Every mile they paused and
checked apple trees, plum trees and pear trees. As the farms changed they
checked wheat, barley, maize, turnips, carrots and potatoes. All along the route
it was the same. The countryside was bleeding.
Chapter 14
By the time they arrived back at Stonegard the sun had almost set and the
twin Dawnhaven moons were visible in the early evening sky. Normally the
traffic around the gates at this time would be quiet but on this evening it was
pandemonium. There were people everywhere. Shouting, crying, jostling with
each other and arguing with brightly coloured Trevena soldiers.
Karlov hadn"t smiled since he had sliced open the bloody apple, and now the
scenes before them didn"t help his mood.
“Esther, you and Eleazar go and find out what"s going on,” he ordered. The
rest of the Knot waited outside the main gates trying to keep out of the way of
the masses of people flooding into the city.
They had only been gone for a few minutes before they returned with
worried looks on their faces.
“Well?” barked Karlov, in no mood for pleasantries.
“It"s everywhere,” said Esther, her eyes wide. “There are people here from
every county in Trevena, they"re saying that plants are bleeding everywhere.
The crops are ruined, everything is soaked in blood. What"s going on Karlov?
What"s happening?”
Karlov didn"t answer her.
“Some of the people are blaming Khan,” said Eleazar looking at Indio and
Phoebe. “They"re saying their crops have been poisoned from the river. They
reckon every farm in Trevena uses the Willowbank to irrigate their crops; they
think the poison is in the river. They"re telling tales of dead fish, turned blood
red, bleeding from their gills. The louder ones are saying its Khan, that they"ve
poisoned the river as it runs out of the mountains.”
“That sounds like something Khan would do,” sneered Theia
“Shut your face Theia!” shouted Indio, his hand moving to his axe.
“That"s enough,” said Karlov. “Let"s get back to the compound. Move!” He
kicked his horse into a trot, forcing his way through the crowded streets, the
others following behind.
The Guardian compound was only slightly less manic that the streets. There
were people rushing everywhere, gathering weapons, collecting supplies. It
seemed that more Guardians from across Trevena had arrived and were re-
supplying.
“This is not good,” murmured Jaron
Eleazar nodded in agreement.
Karlov dismounted. “Stable your horses, hand in your weapons then get
some food in your bellies, I"ve a feeling it"s going to be a busy few days.” With
that he disappeared into the central building in the compound, one the Knot had
yet to venture in.
“Come on,” said Indio. “I"m starving.”
promise of good food spurring them on. Jaron was the quickest and first to reach
their tower.
“Hey,” he called as the others approached. “Someone has left us a present.”
On the very centre of the tower door was pinned a stunning purple butterfly,
its delicate wings outstretched.
“Yeah,” said Indio swinging open the door. “Very impressive, now can I get
my dinner?”
Ariella paused, studying the butterfly.
That looks familiar. It’s almost like the one on top of the pin that thief stuck in my shoulder.
She absentmindedly rubbed the place where the pin had struck her and was
about to step inside when she saw the look on Eleazar"s face. He"d gone deathly
pale and was scanning the tops of the wall all around the compound.
“Eleazar?” she asked “Ele? Are you okay?”
“Yes, I"m fine,” he said abruptly and stepped past her into the tower and up
the stairs ignoring the smells of food coming from the Mess Hall.
What’s going on with him? It’s the same look Micah had when they met on the road
to Stonegard. Eleazar said something about butterflies then. What’s the deal with butterflies?
The rest of the Knot pushed past Ariella as she stood in the doorway and the
smell of roast pheasant made her forget about butterflies.
After dinner she was curled up in one of the mess hall armchairs when
Karlov came down the stairs. It was soon apparent that the meetings he had
been in had done nothing to ease his mood.
“Get some rest, we"ve a long ride in the morning.”
“What"s the plan sir?” Ariella asked.
“Lord Vantor has ordered every Guardian in Trevena to go and scout out the
countryside. We need to find out if it"s as widespread as people are saying.
We"ve been tasked to track the Willowbank all the way down to Lake Evermere
and bring back water samples.”
“Excuse me sir,” said Theia, politely. “Should we not all be riding north to
stop those barbarians from Khan poisoning the rest of Dawnhaven?”
Eugenie nodded in agreement, casting a withering look at Phoebe and Indio.
“That does it,” snarled Indio, jumping up from his seat and sending his chair
crashing to the floor. He made to leap across the table to tackle the grinning
Theia, but before he could move, Phoebe had thrown one of her long arms across