Red Leaves and the Living Token (35 page)

Barnus shot his hands forward before the new material had reached him, sending it down towards the remaining soldiers spread across the garden. The two fountains of storm hit near the center and pushed out in all directions. The Botan and Petra caught in its path were picked up and thrown back head over heel until they hit the rising slope of the outer rim.

The garden was clear now, except for Bedic, Valance, and Whiting. Bedic wasn’t sure how they’d managed to avoid being swept away with the rest of the soldiers. Perhaps they were close enough to Barnus not to be effected.

Barnus turned back to the thicket behind him and withdrew his sword. With a few swipes he opened up a large enough hole in the dense twisted wood to pass through. Bedic watched in terror. Not knowing what to do. All he could see was Barnus’s back through the opening.

Barnus sheathed his sword and removed a small dagger from his waist. He reached down into the vines with his dagger then stopped as though he’d reached his target. He dropped his other hand down to take hold of it. Then he froze.

“Aaaaargh!” He cried in pain and tried to pull his hand back. But it stayed, pinned.

Then Bedic saw what was holding him. A tight weave of roots and vines crawled up his arm, reaching his shoulder in a matter of seconds. Once it had spread across his back, it was clear to Bedic, the roots and vines weren’t just crawling over him, he was being eaten away.

Another second passed and it was over. Where Barnus stood a moment before was now a twisted mass of vines and branches. The Crown tumbled down the back of the gnarled heap and rolled into the grass.

Bedic had never seen anything like it. He could see through the spaces between the strands of vines. There was no flesh, no bone. There was nothing. The man was gone.

A violent eruption of thunder shook the ground. Bedic looked up at the sky. The two strands of purple cloud that Barnus had claimed swirled upward to rejoin the rest of the storm.

Bedic stared in disbelief as another flash of lighting brightened the sky and revealed what had been forming beneath the surface of the clouds. A second smaller burst of light confirmed it, back-lighting a massive spinal cord that was hanging down from the ugly head. Great arms extended from the top of the spine and the thick bones of the legs curled up against what would be its chest.

He was here, Bedic thought. And this time he was awake. His fear immobilized him. His eyes were locked on the creature as it slowly unfolded its legs. The face had stopped thrashing about now that it was attached to its body. Now the head moved with focus, intent. It shifted its attention from its newly formed body to thicket below.

One of its enormous legs dropped down and made contact with the ground. The impact rippled the earth, sending a shock wave across the garden that knocked Bedic off his feet. Another impact spun him over on to his stomach.

The way he’d landed positioned him so he was facing the small hill and thicket in the center. The Red! Suddenly, the full impact of the situation hit him. In a complete panic, he pushed himself to his feet and ran to the center as fast as he could.

One of the sides had been completely opened up by Barnus. He pushed through the opening, careful not to touch any of the gnarled remains and he passed. There laying at the heart of the thick patch of bushes and trees was a small clearing. At the center of that clearing was a tiny plant with brilliant red leaves that filled the entire thicket with a warm glow. Amazing, he thought.

The ground shook again, heightening his panic further. Raj was laying on the soft leaf covered floor unconscious with his arms stretched out towards the small plant.

“Who are you?” Emret said looking up. He was laying next to his father, holding him. His face was wet with tears.

“You’re alive!” Bedic cried. He knelt down, grabbed the boy by the shoulders and shook him emphatically.

The boy smiled back. “Yes.”

“I’m Bedic, a friend of your fathers.”

“You were with us, with Valance.” Emret said.

“Yes I was a taken captive by Valance. But we can talk about that later. There’s something we must do now. And we must be quick.” Bedic glanced up at the sky.

The boy sat up, staring at his father’s motionless body.

“This little plant.” Bedic pointed. “It’s in danger. We must move it quickly or it’ll be destroyed.” He looked up at the sky again.

Emret followed his gaze to the storm above them. “What is that?” He asked.

“Something bad. And if it kills this little plant we’ll have no power to stop it.” Bedic said.

“Stop it from what?” Emret asked.

“From destroying everything. Every city, every person, every living thing.” Bedic answered.

“What can I do?” Emret asked.

“You’re the only one that can move it. It trusts you.” Bedic said.

“OK.” Emret got up on his knees and looked over at the tiny plant.

Bedic moved over to it. “We’ve got to hurry. Take your hands and dig up the roots carefully.”

Emret followed him over and followed the instructions, digging his hands into the soft black soil.

“Make sure to get as much of the roots as you can, then wrap them up into a ball.” Bedic said.

Emret finished digging a large hole around the plant then lifted it up.

“Take some of these leaves from the ground and wrap them around the root ball.” Bedic continued.

Emret did so.

“Now, that thing in the sky is going to try to stop us. We must make it to the other side of the garden. To the trees. Can you do that?” Bedic asked.

“Yes.” He answered, then turned his attention to his father. “But what about my dad?”

“Once we move the Red the storm won’t be interested in this place. Your father will be safe until I can come back and get him.”

Emret stared at his father, uncomfortably. “OK.”

Bedic pointed to the tree line in the distance. “Run as fast as you can! I’ll be right behind you.”

-

Emret burst out of the hole in the thicket and raced across the soft grass. He didn’t stop to survey the situation in the garden, he just ran.

To his surprise and delight, a bright glow swelled over the ground in front of him. It extended across the garden, up the ridge and into the trees beyond, striking a clear path for him to follow. His heart leapt with excitement. At least he wasn’t doing this alone.

His feet moved fast, carrying him past the outer ring of Manea trees and ferns. It felt fantastic. His heart was pumping hard. It was a feeling he hadn’t had in a long time. It was freedom!

The ground shook with a blast. A moment later, Emret regained consciousness with a horrible ringing in his ear. His body was sliding over the lip of a deep pit. He grabbed at the grass and clawed at the dirt, trying to get his hands on anything to keep him from slipping and any further into the hole below him.

A firm pair of hands grabbed his arm. It was Bedic! He helped pull him up out of the pit and then helped him to his feet. “Come on. Keep moving!” He shouted.

Again they ran, around the pit to get back onto the glowing path and then hard towards the trees. Now much closer, hope started to surface. They weren’t too far away!

Another blast took him off his feet. The ground lifted up at a steep angle, and he rolled. Below him was another deep and wide open hole in the ground, and he was falling helplessly towards it. He noticed a flat part of ground to his side. He jumped towards it and caught the edge. His feet dangled over into the pit. He pulled with his arms and scraped his toes against the freshly cut wall until he found a foot hold. Then he quickly pulled himself out and rolled over on the grass to catch his breath. He opened his eyes and looked up into the sky for the first time since he left the thicket.

Above him stood a figure of a man, two arms, two legs and a torso. Yet it was so large it defied logic. Currents of storm cloud wrapped around his black skeletal frame like a loose robe. Other streams flowed inside, giving it weight and mass.

The creature bent down towards the earth, bringing its face closer to Emret. Its mouth opened, and a voice boomed, so loud it caused the ringing in his ears to return. “Give… me… the… RED.” it roared, painfully slow.

Emret stared at the little plant bundled in his arms. So small and seemingly insignificant. Yet it had saved his life.

“No.” Emret whispered in response. “I can’t do that!”

Bedic crawled up next him. “Where’s the Token?”

“I don’t know.” Emret answered. He didn’t remember anything after he was hit with the arrow. He must have dropped it in the grass somewhere.

“Then… You… Die…” The crackling voice from the sky shouted with a boom that shook the earth under them.

Emret remembered what he’d seen in the courtyard in Shishkameen, the red tree, so large, so powerful. Was this tiny thing supposed to become that? There were so many things he didn’t understand.

“How do I protect you?” he whispered to the plant.

The giant swirling arm pulled back up into the sky slowly then began to descend towards them.

Bedic got to his feet and pulled the boy up. “Come on! We’re not too far away.”

They ran straight for the trees as fast as they could go. Bedic glanced back and forth between the forest ahead of them and the hand coming down from above. When it got close, he steered them off to the right, hoping it’d be too slow to react. The great fist of black bone and storm continued on its path and hit with such force it tore another deep hole in the earth.

Bedic and Emret were knocked down by the impact. But they weren’t hit. They’d managed to get far enough away to avoid falling directly under the blow.

Emret rolled over. The beast’s other dark purple hand was coming down at them. He got up and pulled at Bedic. “We’re there!”

The lighted path continued into the forest ten feet in front of them. Bedic scrambled to his feet and hobbled towards the edge of the trees as Emret continued to pull him. As they reached the threshold, the thick tangle of trees parted to allow them through and then closed back into tangled behind them.

The vast skeletal frame of the monster moved slowly towards the tree line where they disappeared. Once there it dropped its massive claws down and swatted at the clump of trees.

Emret ran through the tangled underbrush. It continued to open in front of him as fast as he was running. Something crashed into the forest behind him. He turned towards the noise and saw pockets of sky where the thick trees had been.

The lighted path extending out in front of them suddenly turned and veered off to the left. They followed, with as much speed as their bodies would give them.

He heard another crash behind him. This time a little further away. He turned to see the thick trunks of trees breaking and a large swath of the forest being scooped up and lifted into the air. The attack repeated over and over. But with each hit it was further and further away.

Emret looked up above him. The trees were so thick, he couldn’t see the sky at all. That must mean the creature couldn’t see them either. If he couldn’t see them, he had no way of following them.

Emret allowed himself to feel a little glimmer of hope. Maybe they would make it out of this after all. He smiled.

E
mret sat in the center of a large meadow holding the tightly bundled plant on his lap. The forested hills rolled down below him, eventually flattening out into a wide valley. A city began where the hills ended, filling most of the valley. Emret studied with amazement the complex pattern of Shishkameen’s tiny streets and buildings that sprawled out from a central hub in a criss-crossing maze. It looked more like a spider web than a city, he thought.

Bedic rested a hand on Emret’s shoulder. “I’ll go back and look for your father as soon as it’s safe,” he said.

Emret turned and looked up at him. He noticed the sky above him was blue with a few strands of clouds, a welcome and reassuring site.

“As soon as the storm has moved on.” Bedic said, then glanced back over his shoulder.

Emret twisted around further to follow his gaze. The sky far in the distance behind them was that same sickening shade of dark purple he’d become familiar with.

“Is it following us?” Emret asked.

“No. He doesn’t know where we are... For now.” Bedic answered.

Emret turned back to the city, took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Feelings of guilt weighed heavily on him, pushing out almost every other thought. If he hadn’t have left, his father wouldn't have come looking for him, wouldn’t have gotten hurt.

To make matters worse, after all his dad had done for him, after he got what he needed, how did he show his gratitude? He ran away, leaving his dad there to die.

Bedic sat down beside him interrupting his thoughts.

“Everything will work out, son.” Bedic said.

How could he say that, Emret thought.

“It may not seem possible now. But trust me, it will.” He continued.

“How?” Emret pleaded.

"You have a new responsibility now. And with that responsibility comes the promise that you will be looked after. As long as you do everything you can to fulfill that responsibility, you will be prepared for whatever comes against you.”