The PureLights of Ohm Totem (25 page)

“You know what it is,” Numee walked in, almost forcing her way passed Taregan. Taregan motioned for Zoey to follow. The door closed with a thud behind her.

The place was empty, echoing every step throughout the tree.

“Numee, why are you involving Zoey?”

Numee became very serious. “You know why.”

Taregan looked up at the sky. Although they were inside, Zoey remembered that there wasn't a ceiling in the Spruce Hollow. She glanced up as well. A small white cloud slowly moved by, almost as if it was painted against the blue sky.

He tapped his foot again, glancing at Zoey with one brow raised. “There's change afoot.”

Zoey put both wings together. “There's change afoot?”

Numee looked around, making sure no one was within earshot. “There are some real Dims living in our tribe. We haven't discovered who, as of yet.” She sniffed the air and then paused, again, making sure no one else was around. She eyed Zoey, “And, no, we aren't speaking of Skint.”

Taregan looked worried. “I think some are learning the Art of Defense here. When they complete the training, they'll most likely find their way back to the Dims and teach them what they've learned.”

Zoey didn't have much of a reaction to this. She hadn't learned the Art of Defense. She didn't know anything about it. She replied with a simple, “Oh.”

Taregan tousled her head feathers, just like her father tousled her hair. “Well,” he said, “we're entering the era of the Shiver, so we should expect this sort of thing. The combined thoughts in Ohm Totem have declined significantly. The thoughts have become fearful. It's spreading to the PureLights.”

“What's the Shiver?” Zoey inquired, faintly remembering she had heard this word before.

Numee padded next to her. “The Shiver is a change in weather. We're quickly turning from warm weather to cold weather. This happens because of the change in the mass thought patterns in Ohm Totem. When the thought patterns change, the weather responds in kind. The more erratic and violent our thoughts, the more erratic and violent the weather behaves.” She sat on her rump. “Soon, snow, ice, storms, and tornadoes will be common occurrences.”

Taregan walked next to Numee and sat on his tail feathers. “And,” he explained, “we know the Dims have infiltrated the Sihu Tribe. That's the only way that the shiver-inducing consciousness could have spread through our tribe so quickly.” He scratched his head, now talking more to himself than to the others, “how they hide among us and produce a colored crystal to deceive us is beyond me.”

Zoey was about to speak, but a loud bang interrupted her. All three looked up to stare at the balconies above.

“Was that a door?” asked Numee.

Taregan continued to watch the balconies, slowly moving his eyes left and right. “That was a door.”

Again, a loud bang and Zoey's heart raced. She accidentally flapped herself off the ground from the sudden start.

Taregan motioned to Zoey and Numee to be quiet. He spread his wings, gesturing for Zoey to do the same. He jumped and flew faster than she'd ever seen a bird fly before. He landed on the ninth railing and waived his wing for Zoey to join him. She stared in uncertainly. Taregan had been as stealthy as a mouse.
And he expects me to do the same?
She nodded, flapping her wings anyway, doing her best to be quiet. She flew up to him, landing awkwardly on the railing, almost losing her balance. Taregan steadied his wing on her back, making sure she didn't fall.

“How graceful,” he whispered. He pointed to the twelfth floor and whispered again, “It came from that balcony.” He nodded to her, asking her if she understood. Zoey nodded back.

He flew to the eleventh railing and Zoey followed. They jumped off the railing, and walked as softly as they could to the wall. They planted their backs against it, listening.

Another bang. Zoey's stomach twirled. She did everything she could not to jump off the balcony to wait it out with Numee below. She didn't know what else Ohm Totem had in store for her and she didn't want to find out.

Zoey heard a scuttle of feet from the balcony above, then a door slam.

She glanced at Taregan. He had one eyebrow raised, the other lowered. He was doing his thinking thing. He put his wing under his chin. “Who is trying to get our attention and why do it in this fashion?” He spread his wings. “Follow me, but stay ten crane lengths behind. I can deal with a surprise attack. You can't, as of yet. Understand?”

Zoey did, but didn't want to go. Nonetheless, she followed Taregan to the twelfth railing.

There they perched. She looked to her right, where Taregan was, realizing she was only a couple of crane lengths beside him. She moved several paces to her left.

The balcony floor was as polished looking as ever, reflecting the light from above. The crystal lights were off and all the doors were shut. She saw nothing suspect.

Taregan pointed at the door with the number twenty-seven on it. “In there,” he whispered.

He slid off the railing, gently tiptoeing to the door. Zoey waited.

She wanted to yell for Taregan. She wanted to tell him to wait for Nova.
Just don't open that door
, she thought. Still, she bravely slid off the railing and crept forward. She heard a creak, and saw Taregan opening the door. He hid behind it as it opened.

She hopped, softly landing about five crane lengths away from Taregan. The nerves in her body tingled up and down her spine. She didn't want to walk any farther, and was happy when Taregan gestured for her to stay put.
Why does he want me here anyway?

The door and the room behind it seemed silent. Taregan peered around the door, peaking into the room, and then ducked back behind it. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Zoey didn't move. She watched him for several moments, until he opened his eyes. He motioned for Zoey to come closer, “Whomever it was, is gone.”

He walked around the door, but Zoey hesitated.
What if there actually is someone in there?

“There's not. He, or she, escaped out the window,” said Taregan. His voice echoed loudly in the room. “It had to be a bird.”

Zoey felt annoyed.
How do they always know what I'm thinking?

From below, Numee called out, “Is everything alright up there?”

Zoey peered over the railing and saw the raccoon staring up at them.

“We're fine!” called Zoey.

“Did you find them?” asked Numee.

“Zoey,” Taregan's voice was a heavy whisper, “look at this.”

Zoey shook her head 'no' to Numee, then went to investigate Taregan's find.

As she entered the room, she noticed that the room was much like hers. An open window, two nests, and a tablet in the center. Not much else, except whatever it was that Taregan was standing over.

His face was solemn as he crouched down to peer deeper into something. Zoey walked around him to see what it was.

It was an open scroll. It was golden in color, thickly outlined in black.

He pointed to it, asking, “Can you see writing?”

She looked closely. It had words, just like the words in her books at school. She nodded a yes.

“Then it's written for you,” he replied. “Because I don't see anything.”

Zoey was befuddled by this new mystery. “Huh? Why not?”

“To me, the writing is invisible. Whoever wrote this wanted you to see it, and only you.” He stood up, placing both wings on his hips. “Whoever wrote this has the touch and expertise of a VioletLight.” He continued to stare at the scroll. “No one else but a VioletLight can do something like this.” He turned to Zoey, asking, “So, what does it say?”

Zoey stared at the scroll. She mouthed the words. Then frowned. She was confused. “That doesn't make sense to me.”

Taregan became anxious. “Read it out loud.”

“Alright,” she sat down to take a closer look. “You who walk the path of the sacred heart must stand alone in the eyes of the shaded crystal, and wait for the protection of the ghost shadow. Fear not, for she will be there.”

Zoey hoped Taregan could translate this for her, but he didn’t seem to know either

“Pick up the scroll, Zoey. It's yours. Take it into your room and study it. Sing with it if you have to,” he winked. “The meaning may come to you tonight, or in several moons to come. I have a feeling it's to help you.”

“Sing with it?”

He nodded. “Sing with it. In the meanwhile, I'm going to do my best to figure out who the messenger of your scroll was.”

Zoey picked up the scroll with her beak as she hurried out of the room. She jumped on the railing and looked back at Taregan inspecting the open window. “Get, get!” he shooed her along.

Clutching the scroll in her beak she thought,
I should at least say goodbye to Numee.
But before Zoey could wave a goodbye, Numee blurted out, “I'm going to get Honani,” and dashed out the main door.

Who's Honani?

Zoey took a deep breath and allowed herself to glide into a landing on the ninth railing. She glanced at her door, perched in thought.
How can I be the only one who can read this? Mom and Dad could probably read it.

She suddenly felt a sadness she wasn't expecting. Her insides seemed to slump with the thought of her parents. She missed them. It’s been two days since she's seen them. When will she be able to go home?
Oh yeah
, remembered Zoey,
at the next full moon
. Her heart wept and a tear fell from her eye.
I want to go home
, she moped. For several moments, she wept. Her wings folded forward in melancholy and she hopped onto the wooden surface of the balcony.

She dragged herself to the door, wiping a tear with her wing. Her heart felt empty as she walked into the room and sat on her nest and stared out through the window. The leaves and branches of the Spruce Hollow stirred from the wind, sending a nice cool breeze that caressed her feathers. The sky was blue and the tops of trees danced with the fading wind.

For an instant, she no longer felt sad or empty as she stared at the canopy of dark green needles just outside her window. She was lost in the sound of pines swishing back and forth against each other and the rhythm that came with it. Then she became aware that she was holding something in her beak.

The scroll!

Dropping the scroll on the floor, she opened it up and stared at the words. There they were.
I'm supposed to sing?
She rolled her eyes, then peeked around the room. It was empty. She was sure no one would ever hear her.

She opened her mouth to sing a song that she liked back home. The chirps of a bird filled the room.
Where did that come from?
Curious, she opened her mouth to sing a second time. Again, the chirps echoed around her.
Is that me?
She began to sing again and the same thing happened. Zoey realized it was her making those sounds.

She giggled. This place continued to surprise her. She turned her attention back to the scroll as she made one more attempt to sing. She chirped.

“Ugh!” Frustrated, she pushed the scroll forward with her beak and looked outside at the moving branches. She quickly became lost in them. She felt herself swaying back and forth, mimicking their movements.

Why did she stop singing? It was so beautiful
, flowed a whisper into her ears.

She looked around. She didn't know where that came from.

It came from us, Zoey, the trees, the branches, the roots, the very essence of us. Please sing.

There was no ending to the strangeness of this land. Instead of questioning where the voice really came from, Zoey decided to chirp a song into the scroll.

Here I go, she thought. She opened her mouth and cringed at the first couple of chirps that came out, but soon realized that it felt really good to chirp a song. She continued on and on, moving her head back and forth in rhythm with her music, almost forgetting about the scroll. When she looked down she nearly choked.

The words on the scroll were moving, like a ship in the sea. Back and forth, up and down. She watched hypnotically, until the words slowly disappeared as a fog enshrouded the scroll. Her eyes wide and unblinking, she continued to sing.

Within the fog, three sets of eyes started to form. Gray crystals were set in between the eyes; one, however, was completely black.
Crepus?
The eyes glared with an anger that seemed to penetrate the very depths of her soul.

She continued to sing. She wanted to look away, but knew she mustn't. She held fast against those eyes, until they started to fade. An owl’s hoot filled the room, then a shadow covered the fading eyes. The shadow closed in on the eyes, becoming smaller and smaller, until she could see that the shadow was an owl.

The piercing eyes vanished and the penetrating feeling in her body left. But the shadow remained, and in a flash it changed into the talons of an owl swooping at her. Zoey lurched back and stopped singing. For a second she took her eyes off the scroll. When she looked back, the images were gone.

Her heart raced. She'd never experienced such a thing. Heck, she'd never experienced most of what Ohm Totem had to offer. She closed her eyes and saw only blackness. But in that blackness, the scroll slowly appeared, as if it was already part of her. And a chorus of female and male voices read the scroll prophecy aloud, saying,
You who walk the path of the sacred heart must stand alone in the eyes of the shaded crystal, and wait for the protection of the ghost shadow. Fear not, for she will be there
.