Tokens and Omens

by Jeri Baird

  She checked the embroidery. Zander wasn’t far. Her stomach growled as she trudged the path, but she didn’t take time to find breakfast. It wasn’t long before screeching peacocks, followed by Zander’s swears, led her in the right direction. When he burst through a thicket of evergreen bushes, she couldn’t help but giggle. Iridescent blue peacocks surrounded him, their fancy tails spread wide, pecking at his feet and pants. He glared over the birds as he hopped away from their sharp beaks.

  His dark look faded. “Alexa, your neck!”

  Before she could respond, Dharien crashed into the clearing, chased by his own cluster of peacocks. Jumping over a bird, he yelled, “What token do I use?”

  Grimacing at the peacocks surrounding him, Zander kicked at the closest fowl. “If you share, I’ll tell you. I know you have plenty.”

  When Dharien nodded, Zander said, “Throw out sparrows. One for each of the peacocks.”

  After struggling to open his pouch Dharien flung out the tokens. The tiny trinkets transformed into twittering sparrows that darted back and forth to peck at the large birds’ heads. The peacocks ran in circles, ducking and squawking until the sparrows chased them into the woods.

  Dharien’s mouth dropped. “Huh, it worked. I should have paid more attention in class.”

  Zander searched among the nearby plants until he found a comfrey leaf. He crushed it in his hands, spat on it, and then pressed the paste to Alexa’s neck. “Hold it there while I search for breakfast.”

  Surprised at his knowledge, Alexa sighed as the poultice pulled the fire from the sting. She wondered if he’d found the plants she’d stitched. Maybe her embroidery would help.

  While she held the glob on her neck, she snuck a peek at Dharien. With so many things she wanted to say to him, Alexa found she couldn’t speak. He seemed to have the same problem, opening and closing his mouth before giving up and glaring at her. They spent several minutes in uneasy silence before Alexa found her voice.

  “You have all of Zander’s tokens. Would you please give them back to him?”

  Dharien turned scarlet and stared at the ground. “I need them.”

  Anger flooded her, but she heard Zander returning.

  She struggled to control her emotion before she spat, “At least give me Shadow’s token. He won’t help you.”

  Dharien dug the token out of his bag and held out his hand without looking at her.

  Alexa snatched it and hid it in her pocket.

  When he joined them, Zander glanced at Dharien and then Alexa before he held up shaggy ink cap mushrooms and tender green dandelion fronds. His water skin bulged.

  While Dharien fiddled with his pouch, Zander threw a mushroom at him.

  “I’ll trade you breakfast for saving me from the peacocks.”

  Dharien dug out a bread token and held it in his palm. He frowned when it didn’t do anything.

  Alexa said, “I had to say something when I used my star token.”

  “Breakfast?” he asked the token, and almost dropped it when it turned into a real loaf of oat bread. He handed it to Zander, who pulled off ragged chunks and stuffed them with mushrooms and greens.

  They ate in silence. Alexa had never eaten raw mushrooms, but with the bread and greens, she was surprised at how much she enjoyed them. Or maybe she was really hungry. She turned to Dharien and took a deep breath. She needed some answers. First, she spread out the embroidery cloth between them. Then, she pointed to the broken cage. “Why did you release the panthers?”

  Zander glanced up in surprise.

  Dharien flushed, but remained silent.

  “Cobie said you have a black panther too. I don’t know why you hate Zander or me, but we need to work together or none of us will live.”

  Instead of answering, Dharien asked, “Are you really twins?”

  She said softly, “It’s true. We only found out ourselves.”

  Dharien stared at his clasped hands. “I don’t hate you, Alexa. I love you.”

  What would Dharien say if she told him of the potion? It wasn’t fair for him to think he loved her. A confession felt past due. “No, you don’t. At the Festival of Victoria, I put a love potion in the cider. Paal was supposed to drink it, not you. So you see, you don’t really love me.”

  “You wanted Paal to fall in love with you?”

  It was Alexa’s turn to blush. “I thought I did. I was wrong to try to force anyone to love me.”

  “You tricked me?” Dharien stood and backed away as disbelief colored his face. His voice choked. “How could you, Alexa? I didn’t release the panthers. I wanted to protect you. When I knelt to check the door, the bars fell apart and they escaped.” His wild eyes searched her face. “And I do love you. I’ve loved you since the first day of class. Before the potion.”

  Her heart raced at his confession. She’d assumed the worst of him when she’d watched the panthers run free. He didn’t truly love her, did he? She cringed at the grimace of betrayal flooding his face before he turned and bolted.

  At least she had Shadow’s token. It might save Zander’s life.

  Zander studied Alexa as he chewed his final piece of bread. “That went well.” He snorted. “I was going to try to steal my tokens back.”

  “I should have waited until the quest ended, but I couldn’t let him believe a lie any longer.”

  “You did the right thing.”

  Alexa stiffened. A pale gray snake with a black zig-zag along its body coiled next to Zander’s feet ready to strike. A poisonous adder!

  She whispered, “Don’t move.” Her heart rose to her throat. She couldn’t lose Zander now. Saul had died last year from an adder bite. She dug through her bag and held out a mouse and a bird token. “Which one?”

  He flicked his eyes toward the mouse, and blanched as she tossed it between him and the hissing snake. After the mouse came to life, it scampered to hide behind Zander. Alexa jumped back and the bird token fell from her hand. As she reached to the ground, the snake lunged.

  “No!” Alexa screamed.

  Zander jumped to the side, exposing the mouse. The adder struck and the rodent lay on its side. As the snake opened wide jaws to swallow its prey, Zander and Alexa backed away.

  Zander lifted his eyebrows. “One down, three to go.”

  Grimacing, Alexa admitted,

  “I have four too. Let’s get out of here.”

  As they walked the trail together, Alexa asked, “Why didn’t you come to the tree?”

  Zander stopped. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea to work together.”

  “Why? You agreed to the plan.”

  He searched her eyes. “If one of us has to die, it should be me. I’m the one who lost my tokens.”

  Alexa grabbed his arm. “No, neither of us has to die. Not if we fight as one.”

  “But what if there is a curse? What then?”

  “I don’t believe in curses. We’ll work together, and we will survive.”

  By the time they reached the gathering tree, Alexa’s cheek throbbed from her second hornet sting. Zander had stepped on a honey locust thorn so long it pierced through his sole and into his heel. He limped the final steps, cursing the priest for giving him so many thorn omens.

  As they stepped into the clearing, Odo stood pressed against the tree eyeing an adder coiled at his feet. Paal tossed a bird token into the air and jumped back.

  A sparrow hawk materialized and circled above the tree.

  Distracted, the snake swayed back and forth eyeing the bird. The hawk folded its wings and dove. It snagged the snake and swooped up and out over the treetops.

  Odo slumped to the ground. “That was close. Thanks Paal.”

  It appeared the questers had battled a few other omens as well. Several had welts from stings. Alexa prepared a comfrey poultice and passed it around.

 
“Where’s Merindah?”

  “She muttered prayers half the night.” Paal sighed. “When we woke, she’d gone. She has plenty of tokens and not many omens. She’ll be all right.”

  The sting of her best friend’s distrust hurt worse than the welt on her cheek, but she nodded. “We talked with Dharien this morning. He’s going it alone too.”

  “Zander!” Kaiya cried out, “On your shoulder!”

  Zander’s eyes flared as a yellow-tailed scorpion inched toward his neck. The pinchers snapped, and the tail flipped over its back.

  This was too much, too soon. Alexa froze. Her tokens fell from her trembling hands as she ripped open her bag.

  Kaiya plucked a token from her pouch and tossed it at Zander’s chest. The rest of the questers stared in horror as the dove dived toward Zander and snatched the scorpion off his neck. The poisonous stinger whipped out and missed him by a hair.

  Kaiya rushed to Zander. “Did it sting you?”

  Zander rubbed his neck.

  “No, you threw out the token in time. Thanks.”

  “This is why we need to work together,” Alexa choked out. “Zander would have been stung without Kaiya.”

  Cobie asked, “But what happens when we run out of the tokens we need?”

  “Let’s play the game as we did in class. We’ll make sure we’re each prepared for our omens, and then we’ll know what we can share.” Alexa slid her journal from her bag.

  They spent the afternoon strategizing, interrupted by hornets and one snake, easily taken care of with a hawk token. Deep in thought, Alexa ignored the grunt behind her.

  “Look out!” Paal called from across the circle.

  When she whipped around, she stared into the crazed eyes of a razorback pig, hackles raised, five feet away. It pawed the ground and lowered its snout to charge.

  “Use a butterfly,” Zander yelled.

  Her fingers trembled as she fumbled with her pouch. She held out a butterfly token, wondering how it could possibly vanquish a pig.

  “Throw it, Alexa!” Kaiya yelled.

  She tossed the token into the air. It fell like dead weight, but before it hit the ground a two-foot body appeared with giant black wings that swooped up and over Alexa’s head. It hovered above her until the pig charged. Alexa fell back on her butt. The pig’s breath gagged her and she waited for the tusk to tear into her.

  In a blur, the butterfly landed on the pig’s back and latched on while the pig bucked and squealed. Then it wrapped its wings around the pig and squeezed until the pig lay dead.

  “Bravo,” Zander said. “That was awesome.”

  Alexa gaped as the butterfly flew off and disappeared over the treeline. She shook her head in disbelief. “I didn’t think it would work.” She glanced at the questers encircling her. “How many pig omens and butterfly tokens do we share?” It was time to get to work before any more surprises.

  The questers dumped their bags onto the ground and separated them into piles. Odo counted. “Two more pigs than butterflies.”

  Paal frowned. “What else could we do?”

  Scrunching her forehead, Alexa chewed on her thumb. “Could we turn a snake omen against a pig omen?”

  “Call for an omen? Instead of waiting for it to appear?” Zander’s eyes lit. “It might work.”

  “We take the risk of both turning on us, but if someone is prepared for the snake omen, we can reduce the danger.” Alexa rested her elbows on her knees and steepled her fingers in front of her face. “Let’s try it.”

  Jarl planted his feet and crossed his arms over his muscled chest. “It sounds risky.”

  Even though her heart thumped, Alexa met his glare. “Anyone else have a better plan?”

  No one else did.

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  Zander

  Zander hid a smile as Alexa took charge. He admired her determination to keep them safe. And she was smart. He never would have considered using an omen against an omen or calling for an omen so they’d be ready.

  “Who has a pig?” Alexa called out.

  All but Kaiya raised their hand.

  “Let’s see if this works. Paal, throw yours out. If a pig appears, then Cobie, you throw out a snake omen. Odo, you be ready with a butterfly.” She handed Zander a bird token. “Here’s a hawk.”

  He’d be ready to do more if her scheme didn’t work. The vibration from the red stone in his pouch confirmed his feelings. He’d protect them.

  Alexa motioned to the others. “The rest of you stand behind the tree.” She hesitated. “But watch for your omens.”

  Paal took a deep breath. He tossed the pig omen to the ground and it came to life. Coarse hair bristled along the back and sharp tusks extended from the flat nose. It swung its head from side to side, ready to charge.

  “Cobie, now!”

  Cobie flung the omen, but he threw too hard. It landed closer to Zander than to the pig, and an adder coiled in front of him ready to strike. Zander stilled, and silence fell over the group. Blood pounded in his head and sweat dripped down his temples.

  Unmoving, he waited.

  The pig lunged toward Paal and caught the snake’s attention. It struck the pig again and again until the boar fell to the ground twitching. Zander threw the bird omen into the air. He fell to his knees in relief as a hawk swooped in and snatched the snake. That was too close.

  The questers gaped at the dead pig, a reminder it could have been any one of them. They each had earned at least one snake omen.

  Zander struggled to speak. “Well done. We know it works. Now let’s revise our strategy.”

  Together, they examined omens, discussed scenarios, and challenged each other’s ideas. Zander was proud of how they worked together. Occasionally, someone’s temper flared, but Kaiya skillfully negotiated them to a peaceful solution.

  By nightfall, they had an organized plan they agreed on. At Alexa’s suggestion they were going to specialize. She would carry the butterfly tokens, and Paal would carry the bird tokens. Each quester knew exactly how to use the tokens they carried. The system made them dependant on each other.

  No one spoke of the panthers. Zander hoped his mountain lion token would handle one of them, but he didn’t yet have a plan for the second. He still had no idea how to use the two stones in his pouch, the horse, or the heart he wore around his neck. He had to trust he’d know how to use them when the moment arrived.

  Mentally exhausted but happy to have survived the first day of the quest, the goup shared a meal of mushrooms, fiddlehead ferns, and peppermint-infused water. Zander wished he could have found a way to roast the pig, but without a knife or a fire, it proved impossible. He and Cobie dragged the carcass far from the tree in case it attracted predators.

  When they returned, Zander studied the scared faces of the other questers. Nightfall brought a reprieve from the challenges, but there were other dangers in the forest besides their omens. A coyote or mountain lion could appear and no token would vanquish a non-omen. He examined the oak towering over him. Thick branches spread out horizontally. He’d slept in a tree once when he was thirteen and run away from one of his father’s drunken tirades. They’d be safe there.

  “Let’s sleep in the tree.”

  Bewilderment, astonishment, and undisguised disgust swept across the faces of the questers. Zander almost laughed.

  Kaiya broke the tension. “The quest is about testing us. I’ve never slept in a tree. It might be fun.” She smiled at Zander. “Give me a hand?”

  First Kaiya and then Alexa climbed into the tree and found wide limbs.

  “Don’t go too high, in case, you know, you fall?” Zander said when Cobie scampered above Alexa.

  The rest followed as Paal helped Zander boost them to the first branch. A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky and thunder rumbled above them. Eleven teens in a tall tree mi
ght be a mistake. As a light rain began falling, the lightning moved on to the east. They’d be uncomfortable, but safe from a strike.

  “I’m too big to sleep in a tree,” Jarl grumbled.

  Zander shrugged. “You don’t have to, if you’d rather stay here by yourself.”

  Jarl shook his head and settled on the bottom branch. Paal climbed up next and found a spot near Alexa.

  Rain filtered through the leaves as Zander grasped a lower limb. His foot slipped on the wet bark, and his head slammed against the trunk. He half-fell, half-climbed back down and parked at the base of the tree.

  “Zander?” Alexa called to him. “Are you hurt?”

  “I’ll be all right.” Dizzy and feeling vulnerable, he decided to keep watch. In the dark, the meaning of his name weighed on him. Defender of all.

  As Zander settled against the tree, an eerie moan drifted across the lower gulch, following tendrils of swirling fog. Puck whispered the names of the questers, one by one.

  Branches groaned as the young people struggled to sit.

  “Is that you, Zander?” Paal called down.

  Zander laughed. At last, someone else heard Puck. “Not me. It’s our ghost of the gulch.”

  “Questers, unite the tribes.”

  Alexa whispered, “What does he mean?”

  “Save the village.”

  “Is he crazed?” Cobie asked.

  “Complete my task.” The voice faded off as if content he’d made contact.

  “That was creepy,” Kaiya said. “How do you stand hearing him, Zander?”

  “I usually ignore him. He’s just a ghost.”

  A few leaves drifted down on Zander as the others got comfortable again. Zander had a feeling that sleep would come slowly to his spooked companions. As he sat, rain trickled down the trunk and soaked his tunic. Sleep pulled at him, and he was helpless to fight it. He woke on his side with his cheek pressed into the wet grass. His head throbbed, as did his right leg. In the early pink of dawn, he spied a snake coiled around his thigh, its narrow eyes gleaming.

  At first, he was too fuzzy to recall who carried the bird tokens and then it hit him. He whispered, “Paal? I need a bird.”