Touched, but unsure what to say, Aibek nodded.
Leading again, Aibek limped back into the dim light of the forest. This path was wider and smoother than the previous trail, and they moved faster than they had all day. They hadn't traveled long when something made him pause. There was an ethereal quality to the air here, a light that bespoke a clearing up ahead.
The trees rustled, and the raspy whisper came again.
“Only you…”
The hairs on his neck prickled, and he turned to his friends.
“I’ll go from here alone. I think the Bokinna is in that clearing.”
Aylen straightened his back and squared his shoulders. “I have orders to go with you into that clearing. You can’t stop me–this is the whole reason I came!”
Aibek hesitated. He couldn't disobey the voice. They were at the mercy of the forest here, and he didn't know what the Bokinna would do if they disregarded her orders. His gaze bounced from the elf to the clearing and back again.
The voice sighed, a great, breathy sound that Aibek felt in his bones. It was the weariest sound he had ever heard.
“They may enter, as well.”
Aibek nodded and waved the others forward, but Kai and Aylen stood stock still, their faces pale and eyes wide. They must have heard it this time, too. He gave them a moment to collect themselves and waved to the clearing again.
“Let’s go. This is what we came for.”
They entered the clearing in pairs: first Aibek and Serik, then Aylen and Kai.
At the center of the clearing stood an ancient, gnarled Shadow Tree with a trunk so thick a house could fit in its girth. Halfway up the trunk, the wooden face of a woman watched them. Untold centuries had wrinkled her brow, and thick mossy eyebrows set above kindly eyes. Her nose was a knob, her mouth an oval opening. A pointy chin was carved into the wood below, with soft edges. It showed the same wrinkles as the rest of her face. She reminded Aibek of Faruz's gnarled grandmother back in Xona.
Aibek took two steps forward and knelt. He yearned to say something, but couldn’t find his voice.
The tree’s leaves had not fallen with impending winter, and they rustled overhead.
“Stand, child. You have come for a purpose. I am too old and ill for all the pomp and tradition.”
Ignoring the pain in his ribs and leg, he stood. "Are you sick? I suspected you might be. Is that why we can't make the other trees better?"
“I am quite ill.” She paused and heaved another sigh. “The vile soldiers you battled last year poisoned the edges of the forest as they came. I have fought the poison as long as I could, but I fear I may not last much longer.”
“My comrades have gone to the swamp to get the Saethem’s fruit and save you. Please just hold out a little longer. The forest needs you, and so do I.”
“I…will try. Now, for what purpose have you made this journey?”
“Well…” He hesitated.
Was he truly going to ask this ancient, sickly being to involve herself in a war? He sighed. He had to.
“We need your help.” He spoke slowly, as if she were an old woman who couldn’t hear well, and flushed with shame. Hadn’t she heard him that morning when he had barely spoken above a whisper? He barked an uncomfortable laugh and spoke more naturally.
“I have heard that you can move your Shadow Trees within the forest. Will you help us keep those vile soldiers from returning by forming a wall at the edge of the forest?”
“You want me to use my shadows to build a wall?” The mossy eyebrows pulled together.
He chuckled despite himself. “No, the trees. I want you to position the Shadow Trees so that the soldiers can’t get past them into the forest.”
“That is a rather large request, child. Do you know how difficult it is to move a tree? Even my shadows do not move easily.”
He dropped his eyes to the leaf-strewn forest floor. "I understand it must be challenging, indeed, but we're running out of options, and I'm not sure we can defeat him again without your help."
“I will consider it.”
“Really?” Aibek grinned. “Oh, thank you–”
“If my protectors agree to help you, as well. I am too old to do such work on my own.”
A knot of dread formed in Aibek’s stomach. “How do I find your protectors?”
“Gworsad comes from a long line of Dodonni. He is the head of my protectors now. You will find him in the caves near the river, or out patrolling the forest.”
She paused, heavy breaths puffing out her weathered cheeks.
“There is a code,” she said when she had regained her breath. “It lets him know I have sent you. If you approach him without it, he will kill you.”
"All right." Aibek gulped back the fear that rose in him and waited for the ancient being to give him the code. He waited until the eyes in the tree closed, and a soft snore came from the Bokinna.
“Um… Excuse me.”
Heavy-lidded eyes opened a slit, peering down at him. “Oh, I’m sorry. Did you need something else?”
“Yes. Could I please have the code? So I can approach G…Gworsad without being killed?”
“Yes, yes. I’m terribly sorry.
‘Wisdom wrapped with fire and scale
Hear the secret tale
For one who knows another’s heart
Has spoken from the start’”
"Thank you." He bowed low and backed toward the forest. The face relaxed in sleep once again.
Aibek backed out of the clearing and stopped a dozen paces into the forest.
“Well? What now?” He glanced around at the heavy brush. How would they go about finding this creature? And what exactly did that rhyme mean? He had too many questions and no answers.
“Let’s go back to the river. We can figure it out from there.” Aylen dropped the fern frond he had peeked under and jumped back, losing his footing and falling in the dirt. “Can we leave now?”
Curious, Aibek looked under the fern. A jumble of human skulls and other bones lay piled at the base of a tree, mostly obscured by the bracken covering the ground. No wonder the elf had reacted so strongly.
Dropping the fern frond, Aibek turned toward the river. “That sounds like a good plan to me.”
He led the group back the way they had come, leaning hard on his crutch. His leg ached from the morning's travel, and he desperately needed to rest. He couldn't get the image of the skulls out of his mind. Whatever had killed those people couldn't be far away and could be hiding behind any tree or bush out there. He repeated the rhyme to himself as he led the escape, trying to remember it exactly.
He whispered the words so the others wouldn’t hear. “Wisdom wrapped in fire and scale… Hear the secret tale…” What was the next part? “One who knows a brother’s heart?” No, that didn’t sound right. If only he had brought along paper and a pen. He sighed. There was no use thinking like that; pots of ink didn’t travel well. Besides, it would have been crushed by the emrialk.
“For one who knows another’s heart.” He said it aloud, testing the sound.
“What was that, sir? Did you need something?” Serik stepped up beside him, craning his weathered neck to see up into Aibek’s face.
“Hmm? Oh no, it’s nothing. I’m trying to make sure I remember the words to the limerick. It wouldn’t do to find this…this… Gworsad and not know what to say to keep him from killing us.” He gestured back toward the abandoned trail. “Those poor souls probably didn’t know the code.”
The old man glanced over his shoulder toward the clearing–and the bones. "I think I have it if you need help remembering."
The corners of Aibek’s mouth turned up in a tiny smile. “That would be great. I need all the help I can get. How much do you remember?”
"I think it went ‘Wisdom wrapped with fire and scale, hear the secret tale, for one who knows another's heart, has spoken from the start.'"
"That sounds right." Aibek nodded. "We should repeat it as we go, so we don'
t forget."
They repeated the lines between themselves until they reached the river. There, Aibek limped over to the small eddy in the shadow of the boulders and searched for direction. They could likely follow the river for days, even weeks, without finding the Bokinna's protector. Surely, he–or it?–wouldn’t be far from the spirit he protected. Aibek trailed his fingers in the swirling water and reached out with his senses. He stretched his mind toward that place in the forest where the energy concentrated; he understood it better after he had been there.
Nothing happened. Was the spirit still sleeping?
"I don't care! We got what we came for. It's time to go home!" Aylen's shout broke through Aibek's concentration, and he opened his eyes.
The elf stood toe to toe with Kai, his hands balled into fists at his side. “We have more than one objective, and we’re not done yet. We have to find the Dodonni and get him to agree to help us.” Kai grabbed Aylen’s shoulder and shoved him back a step, and Aylen reached for his staff.
Aibek pushed to his feet and hurried over to the men, positioning himself between them with a hand on each of their chests. His crutch hit the ground beside him, but he paid it no heed.
“That’s enough. We’re not going home yet. I have to find the Dodonni.” He met Aylen’s glare with a steady gaze. “Now, if you want to head home by yourself, I won’t stop you, but I wouldn’t recommend it.”
With jerky movements, Aylen turned away and picked up his staff. Aibek raised his voice a notch and talked to his back.
“We’ve only had the one encounter so far, but we’ve been a big enough group to scare off most predators, and we’ve kept watch for each other at night. We’ll head north along the river for a bit. We should pick up the trail pretty easily.” Aibek tried to project confidence.
He stuffed down the anxiety rising in his throat and limped north along the rocky bank. The crutch didn’t help much here; it kept sinking in the pebbled soil, but he moved as quickly as he could, scanning the woods with every step. Surely there would be something marking the right path.
They had only gone a few hundred paces when Aibek spotted bizarre impressions in the soft gravel. He knelt and examined the indentations. As big around as his thigh and deep enough to swallow his hand, the prints were irregularly shaped, with four long, spindly valleys extending from each one. What could have left such a mark? He wasn't sure he wanted to find out. He straightened to standing and took a deep breath.
“We’re on the right track. These prints go down that trail.” He pointed at a broad path of flattened ferns through the forest. “We’ll follow them and see where they lead.”
“Um…” Kai trailed off and kicked a pebble into the water. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, whatever made those tracks is big enough to kill us all in one swipe.”
“Well, we’re looking for an ally that can help us defeat Helak’s forces. Can you think of a better ally than whatever made those?” Aibek worked to keep the tremor out of his voice. “Besides, the Bokinna gave us the rhyme to tell it we’re friendly.”
* * *
The tracks proved harder to follow than Aibek had expected, disappearing for large sections and reappearing at random. He had a suspicion he knew what sort of animal they pursued, but he’d been wrong so many times that he kept his thoughts to himself. Still, the rhyme said, “wisdom wrapped with fire and scale,” these tracks were spread impossibly far apart and were larger than any he had seen before. If his suspicions were correct, it might be better to turn back and forget this whole adventure, rhyme or no rhyme. He pushed the thoughts away. He had to do what he’d come to do, even if it meant facing his biggest fears.
With a deep breath, he listened again to the forest: past the birds chirping and the squirrels chattering, even past the breeze rustling the leaves. He needed guidance and reassurance from the Bokinna.
He worked at keeping the connection to the forest open. Moving slowly forward, he kept his eyes open but concentrated on the forest's sounds. It felt odd to attempt it while walking with his eyes open. Had the Bokinna woken and informed her protector that they were coming? He hoped so. It could be unpleasant to surprise such a creature, even with the assurance of the rhyme.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Kai’s words echoed Aibek’s thoughts.
“We have to find the Dodonni, and I’m sure this has to be it. What else could have made these tracks?”
Aylen squeezed himself between Serik and Aibek. “I’d rather not think about the answer to that question. I still say we should turn around and go home. There’s really no need to track this…whatever it is through the deepest part of the Tsari. I’ve never heard of this place, even with the queen’s network!”
“I’ve heard whispers,” Serik replied, an awed hush in his voice.
The forest around them had changed as they followed the path, becoming deeper, darker. The trees grew close together, and each was twice the size of the large trees that supported Nivaka. Their barren branches formed a tight network overhead, obscuring any view of the sky. Aibek could still hear the roar of the river hurrying along its rocky course in the distance, but it was nearly drowned out by the chirping of hidden creatures in the wood.
The air had a breathless, tense quality that made Aibek's stomach tighten. The fresh scent he associated with the forest comforted him, and he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He tilted his head back, and something cold and wet landed on his cheek. Opening his eyes, he regarded the hints of grey beyond the branches and tucked his cloak closer around himself.
He followed the path–and the unnerving tracks–to a small clearing. A disorganized pile of dried wood, brush, and moss blocked the mouth of another trail. The earth opened into a vast, dark cave. The prints they had followed led directly to the cave. Aibek gestured in that direction and limped slowly toward it.
Apprehension grew in Aibek’s gut as he approached the cave. The creature had been out recently; fresh tracks marred the ground near the wide opening. His hand shook as he wiped the rain from his eyes.
“I think we should go in. It’s not likely to come out in the rain.”
Kai grunted and kicked at a stone. “You’re probably right, but I don’t like it.”
Aylen paled, and Serik nodded, but neither spoke.
“All right, then.” Aibek took a deep breath, ignoring the sharp pain in his ribs. “Let’s go.”
He ran through the rhyme one more time in his mind before stepping into the darkness. The air inside was damp but warm. Aibek inhaled deeply, trying to place the odd scent that permeated the cavern. It smelled like roasted meat, smoke, and wet wood.
Stomach churning with anxiety, he stepped deeper into the cave. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dim light, but soon he could see shapes along the stone walls. A large pile of sticks and logs sat in the middle of the cave. How would they get around it without making an awful clatter? His eyes probed the darkness beyond the obstruction, straining to see where the creature called Gworsad might be hiding.
Aylen strode past him and tested the pile, found it sturdy enough to support his weight, and clambered up it for a better view. He leaned forward for a long moment and turned back to the others.
“I can’t see anything. It’s too dark.”
His voice echoed through the cave, and the pile of sticks shifted. Aylen scrambled down and raced back to Aibek, hiding behind the taller man as one end of the obstruction lifted off the floor and stared at them with glowing orange eyes. It had horns shaped like tree branches with the right one broken off halfway up, and a mossy mane surrounding the long, wood-grained face. Wisps of smoke trailed from two round nostrils set above a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth.
Aibek couldn’t believe his eyes. “Is that a–”
Kai screamed and ran for the exit. “Dragon!”
A flurry of activity followed, with Aibek, Serik, and Aylen rushing out with Kai, and the great beast stretching and following close behind. The pain in his leg f
orgotten, Aibek ran with every ounce of strength he possessed. His ribs screamed with every breath, but he ignored the pain and ran harder.
The four raced along the path toward the river, the ground shaking with every step the dragon took behind them.
Aibek shouted to his companions as they ran, “We should hide. We can’t outrun it! Find yourself a fern or bush to get under.”
As he spoke, Aylen dove under a fern and vanished, and Kai dashed off the trail and deeper into the forest. Aibek watched until Serik concealed himself under a large bush, dropped, and rolled off the path and into a patch of waist-high ferns. He pulled his knees up to his chest and worked to make himself as small and invisible as possible.
In the forest, the shaking footfalls stopped, and Aibek held his breath and waited for whatever would happen next, running through the limerick in his mind to fend off the budding panic. Should he say the rhyme to the dragon? Standing up didn't seem like a good idea, so he kept himself hidden beneath the dark green cover and hoped they had all escaped.
18
Saethem
Faruz picked himself up out of the muck, marched back to the clearing, and spent the rest of the afternoon trying to get the Saethem to answer his calls. Each time he considered giving up, Amiran’s face flashed through his mind. He couldn’t let his friend’s death be in vain.
When the light faded and the sky turned red with the sunset, Wayra stepped forward and placed a hand on Faruz’s shoulder.
“We need to find a place to spend the night. I say we find a sturdy tree and sleep on its branches, like last night.”
Faruz nodded, his shoulders drooping in defeat. “You’re right. Let’s get some rest and food, and we’ll try again tomorrow.”
His stiff legs protested as he trudged back through the darkening bog.
When they found a tree, they settled in the branches. Faruz pulled a hunk of jerky from his pack and tore it into smaller bits. He needed to make the food last.
The Nivaka Chronicles Boxed Set Page 47
