“Maybe next time you will heed my warnings,” Edward scolded her gently, a pained, almost parental look on his face.
“I’m sorry for letting you down,” Katie responded, feeling a bit like an admonished child.
At times like this, Edward wished he wasn’t the person everyone looked up to as a leader. He hated having to speak to the people who had come to be his closest friends in such a manner. The best he could hope for was that they wouldn’t take his words as an insult to their intelligence, but realize that he was merely trying to accomplish his role in the most respectful way he knew how.
An imperceptible sigh escaped his lips as Edward turned his attention toward the enormous tree in the center of the meadow. If Katie had truly witnessed the sizable reptile she claimed to have seen, it would be in everyone’s best interest to proceed with extreme caution. However, he hoped the creature was only a product of her fear addled imagination. “Is everyone ready to investigate the area surrounding this ancient tree?” He hiked his thumb in the direction of the colossal foliage as he turned back toward them. “It should be an intriguing study, for if I’m not mistaken, that is the fabled Tree of Life.”
While Brian and Julie gasped at Edward’s declaration, Katie kept her opinion to herself. If you ask me, it’s more like the Tree of Death. As they began walking across the clearing toward the wooden giant, some with more enthusiasm than others, Katie brought up the rear, clearly not ready to revisit the horrors that surrounded the mammoth trunk.
Halfway across the meadow, Edward slowed to a stop and waited for the others to gather around him. “Do you hear that?”
Brian frowned and tilted his head, trying to decipher what he was hearing.
“It sounds vaguely like a hum,” Julie replied, her eyebrows drawn down in concentration.
“To me, the noise reminds me of a swarm of flying insects,” Katie added after a hesitant pause.
Before Edward had the chance to agree with any of their observations, the sun was blotted out by thousands of tiny, winged creatures. There were so many of them that a section of the sky had turned black. The buzzing, dark cloud moved as if it had a single mind driving it, rapidly closing the distance and approaching the group. Edward’s first instinct was to conjure a spell to protect everyone, but he hesitated for a few seconds too long. One of the creatures had broken away from the blackened mass and was hovering in the air less than a foot from his face.
Edward blinked his eyelids rapidly, considering the tiny creature a hallucination brought on by stress. When the being did not disappear, he wasn’t sure what to think. Before his eyes, a naked, one-inch tall, blue-skinned woman floated. A blur of motion to either side of the minute body indicated that it was likely propelled by wings, which would explain the buzzing sound he'd heard.
“Leave our domain now, or suffer the wrath of my people,” the woman hissed in a less than welcoming tone.
“I’m sorry, your what?” Edward resisted laughing at the threat of harm coming from a being that was about as substantial as a horsefly, unable to take the menace seriously. It seemed preposterous, in his mind, for one such creature to leave the safety of its fellows to confront a potential adversary on its own. If Edward really wanted to, he could snuff the life from his winged foe in the blink of an eye, and easily handle the swarming cloud of its comrades before they even got close.
“Was I not speaking clearly? Turn around and go back to where you came from! This is our home, and we will not allow you to defile it,” she threatened, flying so close to his face that she was nearly touching Edward’s nose.
“I don’t understand where all of this hostility is coming from,” he remarked with an exasperated sigh, shaking his head. “For one, we were only passing through and were curious. My mother told me stories when I was younger about a giant tree that created every race of being in the world. Before now, I considered the tale to be something she had made up. That is, until we came across this meadow. Secondly, I cannot return to where I came from. Elysia was destroyed, leaving me much like an orphan with nowhere to call home.”
“If you’re expecting pity from us, you are not going to get it. I will say, however, that your mother’s story was not a fabrication. This tree has been around for millennia, but no matter how curious you are, getting any closer is forbidden. We are its guardians, nurturers, and ushers, escorting each new life to its proper environment.”
“How, might I ask, did your kind become burdened with such a monumental task?” Feeling as if the tension had eased a bit between them, Edward relaxed his stance to give the appearance of cooperation, hoping to avoid a major confrontation. He knew that one fight would be upon them soon, and he needed to make sure everyone in the group would be alive to help with the battle. Without the group’s combined abilities, Edward was certain they would be defeated, plunging the world of Desolace into chaos and darkness.
“The king of the gods created my kind specifically for this purpose. I suppose it was his way of ensuring balance in the world, suffusing it with equal amounts of good and evil. If this delicate symmetry did not exist, the entire planet would be consumed by its own short-sightedness. The noblest of creatures would fall victim if there weren’t evil beings to keep them busy. Without a righteous war to fight, even those with the best intentions would turn to darkness; their suppressed desires and greed would spill out, making them no better than the very beasts they’ve vanquished.”
Edward had never considered the fairy’s scenario, and it raised more questions than answered. “If such is the case, how are we to know when things have gone too far, that this balance you speak of has been tipped beyond its natural limits?”
“That is for the gods to decide,” the tiny blue woman replied. “If such a catastrophic thing were to occur, I doubt my people would be able to nurture sufficient life forms from the tree to counteract the effects. Only the gods themselves would have the power to put the world back in order.”
“Then I pray that my party’s mission doesn’t swing the balance too greatly,” Edward stated gravely. “I fear the worst, though. Who knows if our efforts will rid Desolace of more than its share of evil, but I can’t in good conscience stand idly by and allow the forces of darkness to devour our world.”
Chapter 3
“Can’t you get your army to move any faster?” While he hovered on the back of his three-headed steed near the front of the marching column of machines, which were being led by the formless demon the Black Knight had placed in charge, George's foul mood increased.
“What’s the rush? It’s only a matter of time before we catch up to the mortals,” Verin snapped.
“You think you’re gaining on them?” As furious as he was with the so-called leader’s ignorance, George laughed. “The last time I scouted the immediate vicinity, it seemed as if the group was putting more distance between us and themselves. To put it plainly, they’re leaving your army in the dust!”
“I highly doubt your information is accurate,” Verin retorted angrily. “After all, the mortals can’t cover ground day and night like we can. Machines don’t require rest, you incompetent fool, and neither do I!”
“I’m only relaying what I’ve seen with my own eyes,” George snarled. “I’m telling you, they are at least two, maybe three, days ahead of us. I am almost certain that we were closer to them when I first met up with you. Perhaps your bug-like machines are slowing the progress of the march.” Involuntarily, he shuddered, his words forcing him to recall the gruesomeness of his own death. Being strapped to a tree and having a legion of mechanical insects strip the flesh from your body was, in his opinion, worse than being buried alive. One day I will pay you back for what you did to me, you son of a bitch, he thought, the memory of the Black Knight’s betrayal making his blood boil.
Verin waved an insubstantial, shapeless hand at George in a dismissive gesture. “Nonsense!” He badly wanted to tell the human to get lost, that he didn’t want the mortal’s help, but didn’t desire to arous
e his master’s anger by sending the man away. “Just do your fucking job,” Verin growled.
With a hateful glare, George jerked backward on the control in front of him, causing his mount to swiftly ascend above the canopy of the forest and disappear into the sky.
***
After the somewhat heated debate with the leader of the fairies, Edward corralled the rest of his group and retreated to the relative safety of the dead forest surrounding the meadow.
“So ... what? You’re going to take the word of a creature you’ve never met before? I don’t think that tiny blue woman was entirely honest with you.” Katie’s lips puffed into a pout. Clearly, she was unhappy about being steered away from the enormous tree, desperately wanting to get closer to it so that she could prove to Edward and the others what she had encountered while they were sleeping was real.
“We aren’t here to pick a fight with anyone,” he admonished. “Our enemy lies to the north, not here. We need to remember that and keep focused on things that matter. As much as we would all like to investigate the Tree of Life more closely, perhaps it’s an endeavor we can embark on at a later time. Maybe, if we win our own battle and save Desolace from being destroyed by the dark forces arrayed against us, the gods will be indebted to us enough to allow our curiosity to be sated. That is, provided we survive to see that day.”
“So we’re just going to be good little boys and girls and do what we’re told?”
“In this instance, yes,” Edward replied sternly.
Upset, Katie spun around and stomped off into the woods like a sullen child, eliciting a heavy sigh from the wizard. Julie disappeared moments later, chasing after her friend to calm her down.
“Do you think I did the right thing?” Edward glanced toward the remaining member of the group, hoping that the shaman would have some advice he could use.
“You only did what needed to be done. Katie will see that when she stops being angry.” Brian knew it wasn’t the answer the wizard was searching for, but it was all he could come up with. Seeing the distraught look in Edward’s pale gray eyes, he desperately hoped his words were not taken as an effort to put off a real answer. The last thing Brian wanted was to cast doubt into his leader’s mind, making his depressive feelings of inadequacy reappear. They needed Edward to be the pillar of strength he had been before things had spiraled out of his control.
For a fraction of a second, the sorcerer wore a vacant look upon his countenance, as if it took him a moment to digest Brian’s opinion. His cheeks ballooned out and he released a slow breath, turning his head to gaze across the meadow. Edward couldn’t help but wonder why Katie had been so insistent about getting closer to the tree, unless she felt they wouldn’t believe what she’d told them until they saw it with their own eyes. As he started to turn around to face the shaman again, Edward noted that the dark, buzzing cloud of fairies was no longer hanging in the sky like a cloud of impending doom. Apparently they were satisfied by his compliance, and had deemed it safe to return to the greenery they called home. “Perhaps, if we skirt the perimeter of the clearing we’ll be able to catch a glimpse of what Katie was trying to show us,” he suggested, hoping his idea would prove fruitful and be a satisfactory alternative for his upset comrade. The ups and downs in the moods between them had been at their worst in Loknar, the small village near Outpost 13, and Edward wanted to avoid a repeat of the tensions in that town if at all possible.
“That sounds like a more than reasonable solution,” Brian remarked. “Should I go find the women and tell them we’re preparing to leave?”
After a brief hesitation, Edward nodded. “Yes, please. While you do that, I’ll make certain our supplies are stored and ready for our departure.”
***
When Brian returned a short time later, the two women following closely behind, Katie seemed to be in much better spirits. Noting that the wizard had packed up camp in her absence, she strode toward him and cautiously wrapped her arms around his torso. “I’m sorry for being such a bitch and acting like a spoiled brat,” she whispered, making sure he was the only one who could hear her.
Edward tilted his head down, planting a light kiss on the top of her head. “I don’t know if Brian informed you or not, but I’ve decided that we will ride to the opposite side of the meadow and see what the view is like from over there. I’m hoping that we’ll be able to see what you wanted to show us when looking toward the tree from a different vantage point.”
“So, you’re not mad at me?”
He put a finger under her chin and gently lifted until he locked eyes with her. “I wouldn’t say that, but I may have had a moment or two where I was slightly upset. No need to worry, though. The feeling has passed.” Edward sighed softly, stepping out of her embrace. “We should get going.”
Flashing a quick smile, Katie turned away from the magician. “Time to go,” she said to Julie as she walked over to her mechanical steed and mounted. Once her friend was in position behind her, she spun her head around to check on the men. Seeing that they were also ready to depart, Katie nudged the control lever forward.
As the group slowly circled the outer perimeter of the meadow, Edward kept his eyes on the tree in the center while Brian steered the metallic horse toward its destination. So far, he had seen nothing that aroused his interest, but his eyesight was nowhere near what Katie’s was. Sometimes he thought she might be half human and half hawk. He wished he could see even remotely as well, partly because he knew that if he couldn’t see what she was trying to show him, Katie would likely become persistent about getting closer. Somehow, Edward knew it wasn’t an option he wished to explore. In all likelihood, it would anger the fairies. Possibly enough to provoke an attack, which he wanted to avoid at all costs. Their group had enough enemies just dealing with the Black Knight and his minions, adding more to that list would make their journey more like a suicide mission.
Brian’s voice floated softly over his shoulder, breaking Edward’s train of thought. “Do you think we’ve come halfway around the clearing yet?” He eased up slightly on the forward pressure he was exerting on the control lever, slowing the machine’s pace while he waited for an answer.
With his less than perfect eyesight, it was difficult for Edward to judge how far they’d come. “I have no idea,” he replied in frustration. “Everything looks the same to me.” He paused briefly, exhaling a soft breath. “Keep going a bit further. I have a bad feeling that if we stop now, and Katie realizes I can’t see what she wants me to, she’ll attempt to drag us all toward the tree again.”
“I could always steer us deeper into the forest and hope she follows,” Brian suggested. “I’m sure it would be better than picking a fight with the locals.”
The steady clomp of rapidly approaching hooves interrupted the conversation between the men, and Katie piloted her horse alongside them. “Look over there!” She pointed excitedly toward the massive tree. “It’s not what I was trying to show you earlier, but only because I was distracted by something else and totally forgot about it. Do you see it?”
Brian and Katie brought their mounts to a stop, allowing Edward time to squint into the distance. “What am I supposed to be focusing on?” He almost said more than he wanted to, but managed to keep his thoughts inside. He didn’t want Katie to realize that the only thing he could see was the enormous foliage in the center of the meadow.
“Look for something colorful and out of place at the base of the tree.”
Edward narrowed his eyes as he followed the aim of her finger. He wasn’t sure how he’d missed it, but he could distinctly see a reddish blob near the bottom of the trunk. “What the—”
“I’m not sure how I forgot about seeing that thing hiding behind the tree. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, but I must admit, I didn’t get a good look at it. I kind of got the impression that it was scared of me, trying to keep itself hidden while it watched to make sure I didn’t get too close to it. At first, I thought it was some sort of devi
l-like creature. What I could see peeking out from behind the tree was an elongated red face, and if I’m not mistaken it had horns protruding from its head. It also appeared to be the same height as the average human being, but I’m not positive about that, either. Its body was entirely hidden from view by the trunk of the tree.”
After listening to Katie’s description, Edward absently rubbed his chin as he considered the possibilities. “While I know you’re curious, and I’ll admit that I am too, I don’t think we should test the conviction of the fairies to defend what they call home by attempting to sneak closer.” He tried to keep his expression neutral, but could already feel his body preparing to cringe, fearing that another of Katie’s outbursts was about to erupt from her lips. Instead of provoking the reaction he expected, Edward noted a change in her posture; her shoulders slumped and she lowered her eyes to the ground, unable to meet the wizard’s gaze as if she were admitting defeat.
Katie let out a soft sigh, hating to concede the fact that Edward was probably right, even though she didn’t feel in the least bit intimidated by the tiny, flying creatures. She was more terrified of encountering the humongous serpent that had been slithering over the obscene mulch of human bones at the base of the tree, but she was currently in a better position to evade the creature than on her previous visit. Without lifting her head, Katie peered at Edward and hoped he couldn’t see her looking at him. From what she could tell, the sorcerer was turned away. It appeared that he was whispering something in Brian’s ear—his hand was held up in such a manner that it masked the movement of his lips—as if he was imparting a secret. Before Katie could make up her mind about what she was going to do, she saw the shaman shift his attention toward her. Shit! There goes my chance of making a mad dash for the center of the meadow before anyone realized what I was doing.
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