Into the Forest Shadows (10 page)

She couldn't hear anything happening behind
them because of the noise of moving so quickly through the forest.
Just as well, as her imagination was doing fine filling in the
blanks.

Leaves, tall grasses and the whip-like twigs
slapped at them. Kate gave up trying to protect her face and arms.
She couldn't do it and stay on top of the creature at the same
time.

A ribbon of fog snaked across the path in
front of them. The creature huffed, turning sharply. Ayden bent
down low over the neck. Kate followed, letting her cheek rest
against his backpack. Pins and needles ran down her left ankle.

The creature moved violently to the side.
Kate had one image of a curl of fog on the path ahead of them
before she hit the ground. A cloud of leaves sprung up around her
as she slid and rolled.

The creature continued on its way, the snorts
and huffs fading in the distance. Kate took a deep breath, trying
to figure out what might be broken.

"Kate? Are you okay?" Ayden asked
breathlessly.

Kate opened her eyes and turned her head.
Nearby, Ayden slowly picked himself up.

Kate groaned, rolling to her side. "Yeah, I
think so."

"We used to ride those things for fun. Who
knew the day would come when it would save my life." Ayden used a
nearby tree to help himself get to his feet, "The fog is getting
thicker. We're almost to the trees, though."

Kate pushed herself to her feet. "Let me
guess. Run?"

"Pretty much."

Kate couldn't manage a full run, but she did
manage a trot pushing the palm of her hand hard against a stitch in
her side. She let Ayden lead the way around the increasing patches
of fog.

Then Kate saw the leaves up ahead of a
Trailing Willow. Finally!

But it was a tiny tree, barely big enough to
shelter a small warren of bunts, much less something as big as a
human. Didn't Ayden say it needed to be bigger for the dense fog
that would be rolling? Her eyes searched for a tree bigger than the
one they'd taken refuge under after the shuttle crash.

Ayden froze, putting out a cautioning hand
towards Kate. He dropped down to his knee. Kate dropped down next
to him. She looked out into the trees, trying to find what he was
studying so intently.

A dark shape moved along the edge of a tree.
Another raced through a patch of low bushes. She spotted the razor
edges of fur along a razor wolf's back before it disappeared behind
a tree.

They were moving away but Kate still didn't
like how close they were. Ayden turned towards her and mouthed a
few words. She thought he said "They have a new kill."

She dearly hoped she'd read his lips wrong.
She felt sorry for any creature a Shadow Creature got a hold of.
She definitely didn't want to be one.

Ayden rose and moved to the side. She
followed as quietly as she could, which didn't say much. With each
crack of a twig, and the thunder of dry leaves crushed under her
feet her eyes darted into the shadows, expecting a bundle of claws
and teeth to launch at her.

Fog meandered in and out of nearby branches,
building in strength. Ayden passed a small Trailing Willow slightly
bigger than the last. A bank of fog standing in their way diverted
them to another path.

Kate didn't like how the fog moved. It was as
if it had a purpose. As if it were determined to box them into a
trap. Waiting to reach out to them.

She hugged close to a bushy tree with a halo
of tightly intertwined branches to stay out of the way of the
moving fog. At the touch of her hand it shuddered.

Kate dropped to the ground, looking around
the small clearing for an attack. The branches above her head
swayed. One side of the round circle of branches flattened.

Through the new opening Kate caught sight of
the biggest Trailing Willow she'd yet seen.

Ayden paused, looking back at her. She
gestured quickly at him before darting through the opening. Ayden
followed just before the branches released to reform the circle
around the tree.

She ducked under the protective veil of
leaves, moving toward the center to the trunk of the Trailing
Willow. She let herself drop to the ground, easing her aching feet.
Ayden joined her, putting his back to the trunk while turning to
gaze back out through the veil.

A soft rustle next to her hand set her heart
pounding.

Kate looked down to find a bunt peering up at
her from behind a tree root. It sniffed her hand, regarding her for
another moment before ducking down. Another bunt head popped up
further away before disappearing down a hole in the tangle of
roots.

All of them completely silent.

Ayden wasn't relaxed, either. He still had
his collapsed axe held tightly in his hand, his eyes fixed on the
world outside of the sheltering leaves of the Trailing Willow. Even
when Bunbun climbed out of his coat, he didn't make any move to
retrieve the bunt.

Kate reached out and picked up Bunbun before
he could hop away. She stroked him on the head, finding the caress
of the soft downy fur comforting. Bunbun went tense in her hands,
but he didn't make any move to leave. One of the other bunts came
up and sniffed noses with him.

From out of the fog one dark shape after
another appeared and disappeared. The tall trunks of some of the
trees glowed brightly as the fog enveloped them.

A dark shape flew through the air, landing in
the middle of the small clearing. A razor wolf and a creature with
a heavy body and two jagged horns high on its head attacked the
shape with far too much joy.

Ayden's words of a kill slashed through her
head. She closed her eyes. She didn't want to see them hunt. It
would be too easy for her imagination to see herself as the target
instead.

Kate felt Bunbun shiver. She looked down to
find him staring intently past the leaves. She found her eyes
following the direction despite herself.

Cream and light brown fur still covered some
of the rounded body. The pattern of the fur lead up to a
two-pointed right ear. For a certainty Kate knew exactly who it
was.

The Watcher.

Kate's stomach threatened to empty itself.
She turned away, concentrating only on Bunbun. But she couldn't
block out the noises of the Shadow Creatures. They huffed,
whistled, growled and clicked furiously over their meal.

The Watcher was gone. Which meant she
couldn't pass on what was in her head. And more personal, the
Watcher couldn't help her find Grandma.

Ayden reached over and stroked Bunbun's head.
He lifted him out of Kate's hands and with his eyes closed, he put
Bunbun's little head to his own forehead.

He smiled at her when he opened his eyes,
motioning towards Bunbun and her forehead. Kate shook her head. She
didn't want her head buzzing like it did with Grandma.

Bunbun twitched his nose at her from where he
hung limply in Ayden's hands. Ayden scowled at her and motioned
again. Finally he mouthed, "Do it."

Kate rolled her eyes. She put her head
forward, hoping she didn't look completely ridiculous. She felt
Bunbun's furry head against her own forehead along with his
tickling whiskers.

A rush went through her, making her shudder.
The top back of her head tingled. She put a hand up to rub the
spot

"So weak!" a voice said a short distance
away. "It didn't even fight!"

"How could it fight when death came so
swiftly? Well done, my brothers. The mark removed before giving the
forest time to react."

Words? Kate's eyes popped open. She returned
her attention outside, quickly identifying the last voice as coming
from the razor wolf. She took a deep breath. How could she
understand them?

"Give me a share of the Watcher!"

The words appeared at the same time as the
sounds she'd heard earlier. Why did they make sense now?

She looked down at a tickle on her hand A
bunt had popped up between her and Ayden, putting a paw on her hand
as it extended up to rub noses with Bunbun.

Bunbun. Somehow Bunbun made this happen.

A sharp bark and howl forced her head up. Two
razor wolves tussled, allowing one of the others time with the
body. A bank of fog rolled by, light sparking off their bodies as
it passed over them.

A creature with black leathery skin and large
dark brown scales of armor along its back and legs pushed into the
group, putting himself between the two. "Enough! You'll have plenty
to eat soon!"

The creature with horns laughed, "An entire
city to eat!"

"And the humans daring to live in the forest.
The twin full moons can't rise soon enough," said the creature
standing between them. "Save your fury for then, and not for each
other."

Kate gulped and looked back at Ayden. He
returned her worried expression, his eyebrows compressed together.
She didn't want to believe what she'd heard. Attacking the city and
the Gatherer camps?

Kate's delusions of Grandma's safety
diminished by the second.

A howl sounded in the distance. The Shadow
Creatures paused in the midst of their feast. One stood on its
gangly rear legs and answered the howl. Settling down, he
announced, "It is time to journey to the human city."

One of the Shadow Creatures grabbed the
remains of the Watcher and dragged it with him while others trailed
behind him, fighting for pieces. The thickening fog swallowed their
forms.

A tree next to the Trailing WIllow shivered.
It spread its leaves wide into the fog. The leaves protecting them
glittered at the force of the fog.

Bunbun nuzzled her hand before hopping to the
ground. A few bunts poked up from the roots. Out of nowhere a dozen
bunts appeared, moving quickly out into the fog. Bunbun joined them
in their racing antics.

Ayden shifted, pulling off his backpack. He
said quietly, "That means we're safe. Bunts have a good
self-preservation instinct. If they're out in the open, then the
Shadow Creatures have moved on. Lucky for us the fog moved in when
it did."

"Lucky?"

"It destroyed our scent trails."

Kate let out a long breath. "I can't believe
we survived that. How many of them did you get with your axe?"

"Maybe two. It's hard to tell." He looked up
at the tree above them, "I'd like to know what happened back
there."

"So would I. I thought the bunts always hid.
They didn't do that tonight."

Ayden studied the trees around them. "I
wonder if they called them."

Kate turned her anger on him. She didn't need
help thinking things up. She had a great imagination all on her
own. "Oh great. Now you are suggesting talking trees?"

"The group out there was pretty big. The
bigger they are the more intelligent they are. So, the trees could
have communicated with them." At her expression he rolled his eyes
at her. "Bunts can translate. They can act as one in a group.
Haven't you noticed?"

Bunbun poked his head out Ayden's coat. She
reached out and scratched him between the ears. "Just how smart are
you saying those things are?"

"Individually, not very smart. Together? Who
knows the limit. Think a group mind." He handed her a small package
holding a thin folded blanket. "That's why they can translate. The
group mind can understand what is going on around them and adjust
for it. To hide or to fight. To locate food and water. To pass on
to the individuals what the others know."

"I've never heard anything like that about
them," Kate said, settling against the tree, keeping vigilant for
any movement past the protective veil of leaves.

"If one isn't in the forest it wouldn't be
noticed. The Gatherers live here." Ayden said, setting aside a
blanket for himself. "There is an entire social dynamic in the
forest those in the city know nothing about. The bunt groups would
make great universal translators."

"Social dynamic," Kate whispered, her eyes
darting out to the fog. "They knew how to kill him."

"What?"

"The Shadow Creatures. They boasted how they
took off the mark of the Watcher before the trees could react. I
think they meant the patch of red on his fur." She fingered her
cape. "The trees didn't start reacting until I had my hand back on
my cape."

"Diasis made sure you had it off before
attacking," Ayden said slowly. He exhaled sharply, reaching out to
touch the material. "I don't know what that cape is, but don't take
it off again."

Kate nodded, "You don't have to tell me that
twice. Grandma always told me to wear it anytime I left the city.
Stupid thing is that Grandma made it. I watched her. Why did Diasis
say it was theirs?"

"Never trust a Shadow Creature. It could be
they simply recognized it as a protection for you." He pulled a
small pack of food out of his pack as he settled his back against
the trunk, his shoulder brushing hers. "Eat and then rest. Once
this fog lifts we'll have to move fast."

Kate gratefully accepted the package, finding
it filled with small chunks of dried fruit. She managed a few
pieces, but her stomach didn't want food.

Leaves rustled above their heads. Limbs
extended or retreated from the fog. Low creaks and soft pops
accompanied the movements. A forest in movement, some active and
feeding, others withdrawn and sleeping.

The sounds and movements should feel
soothing. After all, it was just the forest being the forests. Much
better than the noises the Shadow Creatures made. Yet the sounds
went right through her head.

Kate moved her back, trying to get
comfortable. It was going to be a long night.

CHAPTER TEN

The meal at the restaurant appeared
delicious. It smelled exquisite, the presentation perfect.

But it tasted like dust, laying heavily in
Mary's stomach.

Travis sat across from her, intent on keeping
up the bland conversation to distract her. Not one word about Kate
or her mother.