The Black Sword Trilogy: The Four Nations (31 page)

Chapter Thirty Five

              The first two days of their journey on the Tree of Life was uneventful.  Terri and Kenner mostly sat on the deck of the boat, talking, laughing and smoking.  Occasionally, they would eat and drink some water, but the time passed surprisingly quickly between two friends sharing stories of their lives.  Kenner told stories of his life in the village and Terri told of her home life on the farm.

             
“You may laugh at putting your hands on a cow’s tit,” Terri told Kenner, “But in the middle of a cold morning before the sun’s come up that tit feel very good on a pair of ice cold hands.”

             
“So does putting your hands inside the guts of a deer in the middle of winter.” He answered.  “There were some times I wanted to climb inside a hollowed out carcass and take a nap.”

             
“I don’t think your father would have approved.”

             
“He’d have taken a switch to my ass.  For one reason that I would have ‘dishonored the beast’ and another that I would have spoiled the meat.”

             
“Spoiled meat is one of the reasons I prefer women.”

             
“I knew it!  I knew it!  You can’t go ten minutes without talking about sex.”

             
“These days, talking about sex is the only sex I get.”

             
The forest was relatively quiet during the day.  Sometimes they would see the curious eyes of strange creatures following them.  They saw small creatures with black fur and big, round eyes climbing up and down the trees, swinging from trees and hanging from branches with their tails.  Huge snakes wrapped around branches or cruised along in the muddy water and birds of all sizes flew around them and over them.  And they were all sharp, bright and vibrant colors.  Birds that were bright blue with large yellow and orange beaks.  There were also large red and purple birds that made sounds almost as if talking and huge white birds with yellow beaks as long as swords.  A number of times, they saw fearsome beasts that looked like giant green lizards with huge jaws and jagged teeth dive into the river and follow them for a while.

             
Terri and Kenner tried naming some of these creatures, such as “tree children”, “rainbow beaks” and “sword birds” and laughed at the thought that whatever name the Masallans did have for them was nothing like they had come up with. 

             
At night, the noise was deafening.  The birds and other animals called to each other from all around them.  Kenner had discovered how to make the Sword glow with a dark blue light and he would sometimes see the reflection of some creature’s eyes, like the reflection of wolf’s eyes in firelight.  The dark, blue light also seemed to repel the mosquitos that had tormented them before.  Back on the Golden Serpent, the crew had given them both an ointment that helped with the itching and burning and now they barely felt it at all.

             
On the morning of the third day, Kenner noticed that Terri looked cold, despite the stifling heat.  She was curled up and holding herself as if she were in need of a coat.  She had a sad expression and was her breathing was a little heavier.

             
“Chills,” He asked her seriously?

Her pained eyes darted at him.

              “How could you tell?” She asked.

             
“I’ve seen it before,” he answered sadly.

She tried to smile and look brave.

              “I’ve been through worse.  Let me tell you about the winter we spent near Calderon one day.”

             
She noticed that he wasn’t laughing.  He had a sad and worried expression; one that knew more than she did of what was to happen.  He leaned back and sighed.

             
“I wish I could tell you that it gets better from here, but it doesn’t.” He told her.

             
“What do you mean?” She said shivering.

             
“Soon, your hands will begin shaking. You’ll feel colder and your whole body will quiver.  Before nightfall, you may begin seeing things that aren’t there.”

             
“Why are you telling me this?” She asked shakily.

             
“So you’ll know what’s coming.”

             
“What good does knowing do when I can’t do anything about it?”

She was starting to become frightened and wished for some way to avoid the fate that Kenner seemed to know was coming.

              “You’re wrong.” She tried to say bravely.  “There’s nothing wrong with me.”

             
“Is that why you’re starting to sweat?”

             
“Well, it’s hot isn’t it?”

             
“And you’re shivering.”

She started to lean more into the railing of the boat as if trying to hide from Kenner.

              “Look, this isn’t going to be easy for you.”

             
“Nothing’s going to happen to me that I haven’t been through before.”

             
“Even if you have been through this before, it’ll be different this time.”

             
“In what way?”

             
“You won’t be alone.”

             
“That’s a comfort.” She said angrily.

             
“It may not seem like much, but I’ll be right here the whole time.”

             
“Like you’ve got somewhere else to go.”

             
“Even if I did, I wouldn’t leave you.”

She looked away from him and for what seemed a long while wouldn’t look at him.  Later, she noticed her hands starting to shake a little and she felt colder.  Sweat began trickling down her face and pooling al
l over her, but she still felt cold.  She then noticed Kenner wrapping a blanket around her and she felt herself huddling into it.

             
“How do you know about this?” She asked him.

             
“I’ve seen it before.”

             
“Anyone I know?”

             
“An old man in the village.  It happened every time he stopped getting drunk for more than a day or two.”

She shivered and quaked in the blanket, then curled up more seeking any sensation of warmth.

              “How did he turn out?”

             
“It almost killed him.”

             
“I really wish you hadn’t told me that.”

             
Later, her hands were shaking uncontrollably and her legs began to suddenly jerk on their own.  Sometimes a spasm would rip through her torso and all the while she was freezing and sweating at the same time.  Every now and then, Kenner would give her a cup of water.  At first, she would try to refuse and only comply to keep Kenner quiet.  Later, she felt so thirsty; she was drinking them greedily; gulping them down and spilling the water over her face and neck.  She felt frightened.  The noise of the forest was getting louder and louder and all the sounds were directed at her.  They were calling her.

             
She felt compressed and found it hard to breath.  The heavy air was closing in on her, surrounding her.  Suddenly she felt something crawling all over, like tiny insects crawling over every inch of her.  She started to panic.

             
“Get them off me!” She cried.  “Get them off me!”

Another blanket was thrown over her and she felt strong arms holding her down.  But now her body was doing what it wanted to do and she ha
d no control over it.  She was confined inside herself and had to get out.  She wrestled herself out of the arms and started to climb over the railing.  The river was her only savior and she knew she had to jump to save her life.  The arms grabbed her again and pulled her back.

             
“No!” She screamed.  “No!”

She was pulled hard back to the deck and then another pair of arms and hands wrapped around her.  She then felt enveloped in a warm, soft blanket, but she was still so cold.  Her body convulsed and her ins
ides felt as if pouring out of her.  Still the massive hands and arms held her.  She screamed and yelled, “No!  No!” and tried desperately to free herself.  She was dying…she knew she was dying.  She had to fight it somehow.  She struggled and screamed.  She shook against her captor as hard as she could but he was far too strong.  This enemy would not be denied. Death was coming.  Death was coming.  She fought and fought, but then she could fight no more.  Feeling as if death had won, she wailed and cried like a child.

             
Soon, she felt as though she were floating.  This is death, she let herself believe.  Her soul was leaving the world and she was floating to wherever her life had earned her.  She felt numb and soft.  The cold was gone.  The shaking and convulsing was gone.  The terrible sickness, the pain and the thousands of creatures all over her body were gone.

             
Suddenly she heard voices and felt afraid again.  They were the same voices she had heard so often in the nights before sleep would take her.  She needed a drink; an ale, a glass of wine; anything to silence the voices.  They talked, they whispered.  She thought she opened her eyes to look for a flagon or glass.  Nothing was there.  The voices grew louder.  The screams of the dying surrounded her and enveloped her.  Suddenly a high pitched scream felt as if stabbing into her ears and piercing her head.  Sharp knives dragged across her thighs and something boiling hot poured onto her bare flesh.  She tried to scream again, but no sound came out.  She felt as if falling from a great distance.  As she fell, she saw a forest on fire and a voice of a beloved friend shouting angrily at her.  Once more she tried to scream but nothing came out.  The noises became deafening and the sights of all the horror and death she’d ever seen poured through her eyes.  Men and women died around her.  A forest burned and then a golden weapon pierced a hundred naked bodies.  They all looked at her with dead eyes and then faded away into the darkness. 

             
Then came the dreadful whispering: “Murderer…murderer.”

             
“No,” she begged and pleaded over and over.  “Please no.”

             
“Murderer…murderer…”

             
“No…no…” she cried and whimpered. 

She felt her hands wrestle out of the soft and warm arms surrounding her and try to cover her ea
rs.  The voices would not be silenced.

             
“Murderer…murderer…”

The voices became louder and louder, until reaching a deafening roar.  Finally, she felt a scream escape her lungs.  She opened her eyes, saw only the planks of the boat underneath her and passed
into the dark.

             
Awaking from dreams she couldn’t remember, she heard and then felt herself breathing again.  She was drenched in sweat from head to toe and felt as if a very thick fur had been wrapped around her.  She opened her eyes and saw the soft light of early morning around her.  The air smelled thick and wet and examining herself, she found she was being held by the large paws and legs of a beast.  At first, she felt afraid, but her memory soon returned to her.  It had to be Shela holding her, she reasoned.

             
Searching around her, she looked up and saw Kenner sitting on the stern of the boat sleeping with his head down and the Sword across his lap.  She coughed and then she saw him wake with a start.  He looked at her and smiled.

             
“Welcome back.”

Ch
apter Thirty Six

             
Terri stood on the bow of the small ship silently watching the forest pass in front of her.  She was naked, except for being wrapped in a blanket and frequently sucking on one of the cigars that Kayla had given her, as if each draw comforted and soothed her in a way.  Daylight had only just taken over from the night and the heat was still tolerable.  The forest was somewhat quiet as if it were taking a rest for a moment before coming back to life.  Kenner came to stand next to her with another cup of water in his hand.

             
“Are you trying to drown me?” She asked dryly.

             
“You need to be drinking as much water as possible.  How do you feel?”

             
“My head hurts and the sunlight feels like needles in my eyes.”

             
“That’s to be expected.”

             
“Why does my stomach feel like it’s been kicked repeatedly?”