by C J Benjamin
“You did it!” Remi cheered from below.
I made my way up further. The route was much easier now that my path was illuminated. I was making progress when I hit a snag.
“Uh . . . Remi? The vine ends.”
“What?”
“There’s no more vine. They stop here.”
“Come back down. It’s too dangerous without the vines. It was a good try.”
I was so close. I didn’t want to turn back now. I could see the fading sunlight above. I could feel the warmth of it bathing me as it filtered in from the overgrown opening above my head. There was no way I was going back down. I was too close. I steadied myself and looked for an alternate route. There seemed to be some good handholds a few feet above my head and there was a ledge wide enough for me to stand on. Once I reached it, I should be able to grab onto the roots and climb out easily.
“I can do this, Remi,” I called to him as I made up my mind to keep moving.
“No! Geneva! Just come back down. It’s not worth it. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
I tried to tune Remi’s calls out of my head as I kept ascending the slick, earthen wall. Now that I didn’t have the luxury of using the vines as a ladder, I had to press my face into the wall to stay as close to it as possible. The smell was not enticing. The walls were covered in musty dirt that reminded me of the mildewed potatoes I used to peel at the Troian Center. I pressed on, but soon found myself stuck again. I misjudged the ledge. It was too high for me to reach. It was too late to turn back now. Despite Remi’s pleading, I knew my only option was to keep going up. I mustered up all of the strength I had left and pulled from a reserve of courage I didn’t even know I had. I channeled Sparrow, when she taught me how to bound through the treetops. It was her way of ‘flying’ and I had been able to do it when I fought Greeley. I was praying I still possessed Sparrow’s power now.
I pushed off the stale, crumbling wall and stretched my limbs to their limit. I shrieked with glee when my hands connected with a root on the ledge I had been aiming for!
“I did it!” I called to Remi.
“Woo-hoo!” he hollered from below.
I turned to grin at him, then heard the heart stopping sound of splintering wood. The root I was dangling from had long been dead and it cracked, snapping under my weight as it pulled away from the wall, taking me with it.
For the second time today I found myself falling uncontrollably through the air, into the earthen cavern. This time I fought the urge to close my eyes and scream. I knew I was not over the lagoon this time. I needed to keep my eyes open as I scrambled for anything to latch onto that might delay my fall as I bounced and tumbled down the walls, back into the cave. I clawed at the vines on my plummet. They managed to help slow me a bit. But, they also spun me wildly out of control and possibly dislocated my shoulder. I felt searing pain as I careened down the cave walls, connecting various parts of my body with unyielding rock faces. One struck me so hard on the side of my head that I tasted blood.
For a brief moment, I thought I heard Nova call my name. Was I dying again, I wondered? Then, the lights went out.
Blackness.
“Tippy!” Nova screamed.
He arrived at the mouth of the cavernous hole right as Geneva was falling. He and the others were following Niv through the forest when they came to the disheveled clearing. He heard the splintering of wood and then Geneva’s scream. Nova rushed to the opening just in time to see her land with a thud on the sandy shore near Remi’s feet. All the breath left his body as he was consumed by fear. His panic only lasted a moment before he sprang into action.
“Remi! Is she breathing?” Nova shouted down into the cave.
“I can’t tell,” Remi called back frantically.
“Check! And if she’s not, you need to breathe for her. I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going?” Remi called as Nova disappeared from his view. “Don’t leave us!”
Remi leaned in and listened for breath sounds. When answered with silence he was frozen in fear. The girl he’d known his whole life, lay motionless before him! He reached out gingerly touching her cool lips, remembering how warm they’d been moments ago when he kissed them. That thought fueled him forward.
Remembering what he’d learned in Plants and Poisons, he leaned over her and tilted her head back and then gently pressed his lips to hers, breathing into her lungs. At first, his hands trembled as he regarded her delicate jaw line with fragility. But when she didn’t respond, he breathed deeper and more desperately this time.
“Geneva, we need you,” Remi said between breaths. “I need you,” he pleaded.
He put all his love and want for her into his next breath and something finally caught!
Geneva sputtered and coughed weakly. Her eyes didn’t open, but her chest maintained a ragged rise and fall. Remi collapsed next to her in tears as he gripped her hand and kissed it.
Within moments of Geneva catching her breath, Nova was back at the mouth of the cave, tossing a length of heavy vine down. It landed in a coiled thud next to Remi and an unconscious Geneva. Nova repelled quickly and gracefully down the vine into the cave. He landed with cat-like ease on the black sand and rushed to Geneva’s side, edging Remi out of his way so he could cradle her head.
“Tippy! Tippy . . . can you hear me?” he said, with a hint of un-Nova-like fear.
He leaned in to listen to her shallow breathing.
“It’s okay, Tippy. You’re going to be okay. I’m gonna get you out of here,” Nova whispered tenderly into her ear. He lightly stroked her temple and kept murmuring to her. “Journey is helping Sparrow down here and she’s going to heal you. You’re going to be all right. Eja went to get more help so we can get you out of here. Just hang on for me, Tippy. You’re going to be just fine, love,” he said as he kissed her forehead.
Remi couldn’t watch Nova dote on her any longer. It was making him nauseous and angry. He cleared his throat and interrupted their tender moment. “How exactly are we going to get out?”
Nova looked up startled for a moment, almost as though he’d forgotten Remi was still sitting there. When he focused on him, he narrowed his eyes and growled. “You had to go after her, didn’t you?”
“What? This isn’t my fault!” Remi said defensively.
“Really, Remi? How’d she end up down here? And why was she the one climbing out of this cave? You thought it was a good idea for her to risk her life climbing up some dead vines to save your hide?” Nova accused through gritted teeth.
“I asked her not to. You know how she is,” Remi replied indignantly, getting to his feet. “Besides, she was being unreasonable. I think she just really wanted to get away from me,” he muttered to himself more than to Nova.
“What?” Nova said incredulously, getting to his feet too. “Why was she trying to get away from you? What did you do?”
“Nothing! Geez, Nova. Get off my back, all right,” Remi shouted. “Maybe you should be thanking me for saving your precious Tippy. She wasn’t breathing, you know? I had to give her life’s breath.”
“Yeah and I’m sure you thoroughly enjoyed that, Remi. Do you think I don’t see the way you look at her? But it’s never going to happen. She’s with me, so go ahead and enjoy your mouth to mouth moment, because it’s the closest you’ll ever come to kissing her,” Nova hissed.
Nova stood still, clenching and unclenching his fists as he took in deep breaths, trying to keep his cool. His eyes momentarily left Remi as he watched Journey and Sparrow landing smoothly on the cavern shore. Sparrow immediately scrambled over to Geneva and went to work on healing her while Journey stood over her shoulder anxiously watching. Nova gave Remi a disparaging look and started to turn away from him to go back to tending to Geneva. But Remi couldn’t let it go. He should have known better but his emotions were raw and he was taking them out on Nova.
“You don’t know that. You don’t know I haven’t kissed her,” Remi barked defiantly at Nova’s back, s
topping him in his tracks.
Nova whirled around. Before Remi knew how it happened, Nova had a vice grip hold of his shoulder. He tried to squirm away but Nova had gone right for the nerve slightly above the collarbone and it just about immobilized him.
“Nice try, Remi. I know you haven’t. You don’t have the nerve. She would have told me if you had, because she knows she can tell me things. But, I do know she won’t like you talking about her like this.”
“I don’t know what she sees in you, but I can only hope it wears off in time. All you care about is yourself. I’m the one that’s always been here for her. I’m the one that saved her just now and you can’t even thank me. I’m fine by the way. Thanks for asking.”
Nova pulled Remi close and whispered into his ear in a calm, quiet voice through gritted teeth. “Thank you for saving her life. And I’m glad you’re feeling well, Remi, because this is gonna hurt.”
He drew back and punched Remi square in the jaw, dropping him in one strike. Remi landed in a sprawling heap a few feet away from Geneva.
“Remi!” Sparrow cried. “Nova, what the heck was that for?”
She scrambled from Geneva to Remi. Cradling his head and calling his name. She snapped her fingers until he came to.
While she stroked his dark hair, Sparrow hissed at Nova. “I don’t know what that was all about, but it was uncalled for, Nova! We’re all on the same team here. So quit whatever this is so I can concentrate on healing Geneva, please.”
“Sorry, Sparrow. It won’t happen again,” Nova politely apologized.
“Sure it won’t, mate,” Journey laughed.
Nova shrugged at him and then pointed to the opening above them. “Looks like Eja’s back with reinforcements.”
A vaguely familiar shadow danced before me. It was slim and brown and moved calmly and gracefully about. It was a man. No, a boy. He was taking me in—studying me, poking at me, but in a gentle way. He spoke to me, but I couldn’t hear him over the pounding in my head. I tried hard to focus and it finally registered—it was Eja, my Beto friend. He was whispering something to me. I could feel his voice faintly reverberating off my eardrums. I squinted as if that would help me hear better. Something wasn’t right. I tried concentrating harder and I felt the tiny beads of sweat forming on my forehead finally swell past their limit and begin their uncharted voyage down my face. For some reason this made me think of tears, and that made me think of Jemma. I imagined my beads of sweat were leaving the same unattractive streaks as Jemma’s tears had on her face when she found out I was her sister.
“Jemma,” I muttered bitterly. But it didn’t come out right. My tongue felt too fat for my mouth and I tasted blood.
Slurp. Finally something broke through my trance, I looked down and focused on the dark, furry rodent shaped creature by my side. How long had it been there? It softly nuzzled my limp palm and licked me again. Slurp. It licked my hand. Slurp, slurp. It licked my wrist and then my arm and tickled me with its coarse whiskers. Then, it looked up at me with those large dark brown eyes. Those eyes that could see into the deepest part of my soul. I locked eyes with it and watched as the long, silver wisps of its ear hair floated, like strands of silk in the wind. They hung in the air, momentarily frozen, as though time had stopped. And perhaps it had, because suddenly the hammering in my ears stopped and I was blanketed in an eerie quiet, allowing my mind a moment of clarity.
I lifted my hand with tremendous, trembling effort and laid it softly on the marmouse in my lap and let his name escape my lips in a whispery exhale, as the searing pain in my arm took over. “Niv . . .”
Blackness.
9
Kobel fondly stroked the leather cover of the Book of Gods. He’d been tasked with babysitting it since it had unexpectedly spewed water. He took pride in caring for the Ravinori’s most prized possession.
The Book of Gods had first been discovered by Ravin, himself. He built his life around the lessons in its pages, convinced that if he followed them just so, that he could achieve perfection. And that would lead him to greatness and godliness.
Ravin gathered supporters during his reign. They agreed with his goals of elitist perfection for Lux. They would meet in secret to come up with ways to help him rid the city of the lowly locals and natives. This group became known as the Ravinori—a powerful secret society, set on total rule and domination.
After the Flood, the Ravinori held fast to Ravin’s beliefs and made it their goal to find him. There had been many rumors regarding his whereabouts. Some said he was hiding on the island, some said he’d fled, some said only pieces of his soul remained, waiting to be gathered by his supporters. There was even a rumor that he had perished. But, once his book, the Book of Gods, was discovered, the doubt about his survival was made clear.
The book possessed a magic about it. It was somehow able to predict the future, thus writing legends before they came to be. This made the book widely coveted and bound the Ravinori together, sworn to protect it. Because the final passage of the book said,
“He has fallen, but is not forgotten, he will rise again and he will not forget who served his side in his absence. Seek the bringer of light, for after light comes the darkness . . .”
That ominous statement kept the Ravinori going for years. Convinced that their master, Ravin, was somewhere watching, waiting for them to bring him back.
Kobel carefully flipped through the pages until he came to a map of the island. He closed his eyes and concentrated on one thought and one thought only.
The bringer of light—the Eva.
10
I awoke with a start. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the warm soft glow of firelight. I was resting comfortably on a soft, cocoon-like surface. I was elevated and when I moved the whole room swayed. I closed my eyes and waited for the spinning to stop. I felt dizzy, but it passed after a moment and I tried to sit up again. The swaying returned with a vengeance. I teetered wildly, as I uselessly tried to steady myself with my arms. Then I lost all control. Before I knew what happened, I was lying in a heap on the ground. I looked over my shoulder for the culprit that landed me on my aching back, but all I saw was a tan, woven hammock, swaying peacefully behind me. I glared at it as I stood.
“Stupid hammock,” I muttered as I surveyed myself.
I was noticeably worse for wear. I was covered in cuts and bruises and my uniform was unrecognizable; completely tattered and torn. I was wrapped in bandages that had strange smelling tinctures on them. There was a sling on my left arm, but as I timidly tested it out, I was pleased to find that it didn’t hurt. I slid it off my arm and winced as it brushed past my forehead. The worst pain was coming from my head. I felt the bump protruding under the thick bandage and flinched.
I looked around me as I gingerly stood, peeling off a few flapping bandages. It appeared that I was alone and in a primitive tent, lit by rustic candles, leaving haphazard wax puddles upon the old tree stump they occupied. They made the tent feel warm and inviting and filled the air inside with the sweet aroma of honey. There wasn’t much else in the tent. A water canteen that I was happy to find, and my shoulder bag; but Niv wasn’t in it.
Niv! Where was he? He was the last thing I remembered before, before . . . Strange memories flashed through my mind. Oh yeah, How could I forget? We found the Book of Secrets and all hell broke loose.
The last place I remembered being, was in that stupid cave with Remi. Well, actually falling into the cave for a second time, to be exact. I shook away the queasy feeling creeping up my spine from the pit of my stomach. Whether it was from my throbbing head or from the events of the past few days, I decided these bad feelings would still be here later. Right now, my heart was driving me to find Niv and my friends.
I pushed the tent flaps open and was shocked by the sight that greeted me in the inky darkness outside. It was night, yet it wasn’t all that dark. And I wasn’t alone. Dozens of little glowing tents like mine dotted the forest in front of me. There were tiny fires c
rackling here and there, illuminating the heavily tattooed tribal people casually milling about the thick rainforest landscape.
I rubbed my eyes. I had encountered some strange things in the past year, some magical and some not, yet nothing prepared me for this. I felt like I had walked into a page torn straight out of one of my History & Trade textbooks. The scene before me looked exactly like every painting I’d ever seen depicting the Beto tribes of Hullabee Island. But it couldn’t be real, could it?
“How hard did I hit my head?” I murmured rubbing the goose egg again.
I had a strange feeling of déjà vu. My mind returned to the cave and the visions of my future that my mother had painted on the water for me. This was one of them. At the time I had thought it was nothing more than a memory, rather than a history lesson come to life! I immediately thought of Eja. He said that he wasn’t the only Beto still remaining on the island, but somehow this wasn’t what I’d envisioned. Why had he been so elusive? I assumed he was referring to his family or something normal like that, because he was just a kid like me, so I was sure he was living with a parent or sibling at least. Even with his magical powers, I would have found it hard to believe he could survive out here on his own. The rainforest wasn’t a safe place to live after the Flood.
I rubbed my eyes again to make sure this wasn’t some type of illusion, but the images stuck. Bewildered, I scratched my head as I scanned the horizon searching for any signs of Niv and my friends. I didn’t see anything that told me where to start my hunt. I was still a bit uncertain of how I got here and if my friends were here at all. I backed my way into the tent and let the flaps close silently in front of me. I felt a little safer in the confines of the tent, but was still on edge. What if the Beto people weren’t happy that I was here? What if I was a captive? I couldn’t just go traipsing around camp like I belonged here. Even if my tattered Troian Center uniform didn’t give me away, my shocking blonde mane certainly would. And my clear blue eyes and pale freckled skin didn’t fit in among the tan, painted skin of the Beto natives.
