"Look, Cade," Tasha said, pointing to a nest of dried branches. "Something built this."
Cade saw only a cluster of twigs and branches, shaped into a rough sphere, overlain with brown dried leaves. "It looks only like some twigs that cling together."
Starlight hovered, flapping her silvery wings, and sniffed at it. "I think she's right, Cade. This is a hive--somebody's home."
The hive seemed hollow, and they kept walking, and soon saw a second hive of dried branches, then a third. As they passed by, Cade smelled mushrooms and chocolate and cinnamon, and heard a faint laughter, a tinkly laughter as of something tiny.
"Faerie forts!" Harmony breathed in wonder, gazing at the hives of branches. "Look, there's one."
Cade turned and glimpsed a tiny girl, the size of a sparrow, with tattered butterfly wings of orange and brown. The faerie gazed at him, her hair wild and knotty, her eyes green-brown... and then disappeared into the hive of dried branches.
Starlight landed on Cade's shoulder. "Twig faeries," the pegacat said.
"They look different from the faeries I've seen before," Cade said. "These ones don't sparkle or leave golden powder behind them."
Starlight nodded. "The twig faeries are different from the glitter faeries, who live in the east. These ones don't concern themselves with magic or mystery, but with dried branches, acorns, rotting leaves, moist earth, and all that is real; that, to them, is powerful and wonderful." She gazed toward the faerie fort. "I've never seen one myself until now. Only Galgev, and perhaps Yor, have ever traveled this far west." She smiled. "I can't wait to tell them of this."
"Me too," Harmony said.
They slept among the thin dark trees that night, upon the orange leaves. The next day, they left the trees behind, and the gray pall finally dispersed to reveal the sun. The hills grew tall, coated with short green grass. Tan boulders stood upon the hills, some as large as cars, some the size of buildings. Thin acacias grew here, naked but for some sparse leaves of bright green. Clouds stretched across the sky like fingers of heaven. Birds fluttered and their shadows danced upon the ground.
In the gloaming, the sun grew large and orange, gilding the clouds. When they walked by a flat boulder, tawny and towering atop a hill, they heard a great roar that echoed across the land. They started, looked to the boulder, and saw a great white lioness, so beautiful that they lost their breath.
Cade stood frozen, staring. The lioness lay upon the rock. She laid her head upon her paws and gazed down at him. Pure white she was, but gilded in the sun. The sunrays burst through the clouds above her.
"What do you seek here?" the lioness asked, her voice soft, almost too delicate for so powerful a creature.
"We seek safe passage across these hills, fellow cat," Starlight answered. "I am Starlight of the Waterfall. Who are you? I have lived in Dream for ten thousand years, and know all its gods and creatures, yet I have never heard of the White Lioness."
A creature of Nightmare? Cade wondered. No--this creature seemed too fair, too noble.
The lioness gazed down upon Starlight, eyes golden in the sun. "I know your name, Starlight, pet of Niv. Old you are, but there are older beings in Eloria." She licked her paw, her tongue flicking. "The sleeprealms are changing. Gods will die. New gods are being born even as we speak." She looked at Cade, then returned her eyes to Starlight. "Eloria is endless, and rolls on even beyond those borders we see. There is much to Eloria that you have not yet explored, pegacat. There are realms of Eloria where the Great Elk whom you call Yor is of other names, and other forms, and some realms where he is but a memory or myth."
"Did the Twig Eater create you?" Harmony asked, gazing with awe.
The lioness shook her head. "He did not, Harmony. I am not one of Yor's children, though I will grieve when Phobetor kills him."
The pegacats stared, mouths opening and closing. Cade stepped forward. "The Elk King will not die easily," he said icily. "If you foresee his death, I suggest you rethink your prophecy. I have seen the Elk. He is wise and strong."
The lioness regarded him. Light filled her eyes like dust motes in dawn. "But have you seen Phobetor?"
When Cade said nothing, the White Lioness nodded sadly. "Phobetor is great, child, and powerful in ways you cannot comprehend. He is of a strength and wisdom that rival Yor, or--many would say--eclipse it. They say that those who have met Phobetor, who truly know of his malevolence and might, can do nothing but serve him in terror. Those who truly know him, I have heard, fear him too much to dream of fighting against him."
Cade thought of the Dreamblade on his back. He wanted to reach back and grab the hilt. "Do you serve Phobetor then?" he asked carefully.
The White Lioness shook her head. "No. I have never met the Fallen God, nor do I wish to. I met your king, the Father Elk, once, and spoke to him. He visited this rock many millennia ago, before Niv and the pegacats were born."
"So whose side are you on?" Cade demanded.
"I am loyal to none but this rock on which I lay, and the hills of grass surrounding it. This is my territory. I claim loyalty to none other."
"But if Phobetor conquers Dream, he will destroy your land and destroy you."
"That might be." The lioness seemed sad, yet almost seemed to smile. "Yet if that should happen, the White Lioness will die with a mighty roar that will shake Dream and Nightmare!" She licked her lips. "Now leave this place. You have lingered in my territory long enough."
Cade took a step toward the boulder. "Come with us, White Lioness," he said. "You are strong and wise. We could use you in the fight. Sound that roar now! March to Nightmare and sound it to Phobetor."
The lioness rose to her feet, majestic across the sunset. "You have not listened, child. I take no sides. Now leave! Leave lest I grow hungry for the flesh of Yor-stock." She tossed back her head and roared, a roar of such fury and power, that the ground shook and the clouds swirled in the heavens.
Cade gave the White Lioness one last look, for she was beautiful against the golden clouds, perhaps the fairest thing he had seen in Dream. He then turned and walked, and kept walking even as the lioness roared behind him, and he never turned back to look upon her again.
* * * * *
Through a land of weeping willows they walked, great trees that wept real tears. The salty waters flowed in rivulets across the land.
"Why do you weep, Weeping Willows?" Harmony asked them.
One willow turned toward the pegacat, tears falling from its leaves. "Because the children have left us."
"The children?" Cade asked, feeling their sadness seep into him.
They nodded, their old branches creaking, their leaves murmuring. "The children who used to play among us. Laughing Willows we were, until the children all grew up and left this land."
Cade placed his hand upon a tree. He felt it shiver.
"Well, I can play with you for a little while," Harmony said. Hesitantly, she flew onto one tree and began to frolic among the branches. Starlight joined her, and the pegacats moved from tree to tree, climbing, swinging from the branches, playing games until the trees no longer wept.
"Come back to visit us," the trees said when it was time to move on. "Do not forget us here. And if you find the children, remind them of us."
Cade nodded. "We will."
They continued walking.
During the next few days, the hills grew larger and the flowers disappeared. Mist hung above the rocks, and no plants or animals were to be found. The land was gray and bleak, the sun hidden behind a veil of clouds. A drizzle fell.
"The land is dead," Tasha said. "Not an ant or blade of grass to be seen." She lowered her head. "I don't like it here."
Starlight nodded and spoke softly. "We are getting close."
On the sixth day since leaving the willows, they saw a gaping cave ahead, yawning open beneath an outcrop of stone in a hill.
When they saw the cave, they all paused. Cade felt a tingle run through him. They had encountered many caves along their j
ourney, and none had made Cade miss a heartbeat. Seeing this cave, he could barely move. Something was wrong.
The pegacats felt it too. They stood frozen, butterfly wings folded against their backs, staring. The cave seemed to stare back, pitch black and silent. Sad. Despairing. Cade felt fear and anguish flow through him, like ice seeping through his veins. The drizzle fell softly.
"What is this place?" Tasha whispered.
Starlight did not tear her gaze from the cave. Harmony sang softly.
Galgev
fox-god of the Enchanted Garden
set upon a journey
In the distant fringes of Dream
he came upon a cave
where dwelled a mysterious ghost woman
Starlight nodded and whispered. "Here is the cave where Phobetor was conceived."
Harmony lowered her head, and her voice was so soft, Cade could barely hear.
Winived, she called herself
a cunning being of temptation and lies
She lured the fox-god into her cave
Pretending to be his wife
she tricked him into lying with her
and begetting a son with her
Cade shuddered. So here it is. Here Phobetor was created. Here was perhaps the most dangerous, monumental, sad place in Dream. They all stood in silence, watching, overcome with sadness.
Suddenly Tasha tensed. "I smell monsters arriving," she whispered, voice trembling.
Cade looked around wildly. He could see nothing, but did not waste a moment. He rushed toward a ring of boulders by the cave and hid between them. The pegacats joined him, and they all crouched inside the ring of stone, silent, barely daring to breathe.
"Tasha?" Harmony said. "I see nothing, I--"
"Shh!" Tasha hissed.
They crouched, still, stiff. All was silent... and then Cade heard them. The footfalls scratched against the earth like knives against stone. Claws. He heard them sniffing and snorting, and the stench filled his nostrils. He reached over his shoulder and gripped the hilt of Sunclaw.
"Holy Father of Kar," came a rumbling voice from beyond the boulders, "Protector of Nightmares, Avenger of Banished Spirits, we offer our souls to you, O future king of Eloria."
A host of other voices answered in consenting murmurs.
"O holy son of Winived!" said the first voice, louder than before. "The time for your return approaches. You shall resurface here, in the cave of your quickening."
"Hail Phobetor!" answered the voices.
Crouching between the boulders, Cade peeked. Twenty monsters were kneeling before Winived's cave. Scales, fur, and horns covered them. They wore patches of old armor, and ugly swords of barbed iron were strapped to their backs. Before them stood a tall beast, dark and hairy, whose mouth covered his entire head, filled with fangs. This monster wore black robes and carried a scepter in his claws. A shining firegem hung around his neck from a golden chain.
"We await your return, O Master of Kar," cried the tall monster with the giant mouth. A priest, Cade realized. "Soon you shall arise here, to lead us back into dominion over Eloria. O, praise be upon you, Lord of Kar! Death shall you bring to Ælor, the cursed elk, and death to all Gods of Eloria."
The kneeling monsters all replied with vehement calls, tossing their heads back and raising their claws to the skies. They began to chant in an ancient language. They sang in Elorian, Cade realized, for a moment surprised. Of course. Phobetor himself is a god of Eloria, the son of Galgev. It was hard to imagine that a lord of such evil could be a god of Dream like the benevolent Yor, Niv, or Harmony and Starlight.
"Yes, it is a holy place for Nightmare," Tasha whispered. "Of course the monsters would worship their god here."
Harmony was shivering. Perhaps she was remembering the snakes. Cade stroked her fur to calm her, and she licked his fingers.
From the monsters came a loud sniffing sound. Cade peeked and saw that the priest with the huge fang-filled mouth was flaring his nostrils, smelling the air. The other monsters began to sniff too.
"I smell Dream flesh," one hissed in disgust.
"From there, the boulders!" roared the priest, fangs flashing, claws rising.
The company froze for an instant.
"Run!" Tasha cried.
They began to flee. Cade ran with Tasha on his shoulder, the pegacats flying beside him. The monsters howled behind. Cade glanced over his shoulder to see them chasing.
As he ran, he drew Sunclaw. The blade hissed and sparkled.
"You cannot fight these beings, Cade," Starlight cried. "They are too many. Run to those caves!"
Cade saw the caves that peppered the hills ahead. He ran. The monsters screamed and grunted behind, and their thumping feet shook the earth.
"We shall dine on Dream flesh today," the priest called. The beasts' stench was overwhelming.
"Cade, I'm scared!" Harmony wailed.
The caves were close now. Most were too small to enter, but one--twenty feet up the hill--looked wide enough. If I can reach the cave in time, the monsters would have to enter one by one, and I can try to fight them. He did not know what hope he had, fighting twenty monsters one at a time, but surely it was better than fighting them all together in the open.
He glanced over his shoulder. The monsters were close now, so close that they could almost grab him. He ran with all his strength and was soon scurrying up the hill. The priest reached out, and Cade felt claws grab his cloak. Harmony shrieked and bit the priest's hand, and Cade came free. The monster laughed terribly, spraying spit.
The pegacats flew into the cave. Cade leapt after them, just as the priest reached out again. The claws slashed his cloak and he felt pain in his back. The cave's darkness enveloped him, and he spun around, blade flashing, prepared to fight.
But the priest stood at the entrance and did not enter. His black cloak flapped in the wind, the bloodred beads strung into its tassels chinking. The gem on his breast burned with fire. Saliva dripped down his seven-inch-long fangs. Cade held his glittering crystal sword before him.
"Coward," the priest hissed. "You flee instead of fighting."
Cade stared at the monster, one eye at each side of his blade, waiting. The monster tossed back his head and howled. He craned out his neck and snapped his teeth at Cade, but did not approach.
"The monsters are scared of the cave," Tasha said. She smiled wryly. "Maybe they're scared of the dark."
Cade stared at the priest. "There is something about this cave, isn't there?"
The priest laughed. "Go deeper into the cave, mortal. Hide there. It will be your doom."
With that, the priest spat, turned around, and summoned his followers. The monsters formed a wall around the cave and stood, waiting, fangs bared and eyes burning.
Cade looked around the cave. The air was musty and moss covered the walls. The darkness led into a tunnel whence cold air flowed. Cade shivered. He could hear faint howls from inside the cave, distant, as if cold winds were blowing under the earth.
"What now?" Tasha asked.
Cade led them farther into the cave, until darkness enveloped them, and the monsters were out of earshot. The smell of must was heavy and the cold reached his bones.
"They will report this to Phobetor," Harmony moaned. "He'll know now that something is wrong. He'll piece together the clues."
Cade turned to Starlight. "Do you know anything about these caves?" he asked her.
Starlight gazed into the darkness. She thought for a moment. "Not much. Galgev never liked talking about them. You can imagine why. He did, however, mention traveling for days in the darkness. He said the tunnels form an intricate system underground, connecting the different caves. But I've not heard him speak of these caves for hundreds of years, and my memory of his words is hazy."
Cade tapped his chin. "Do you think the tunnels might lead to another cave opening? We can try to find another exit. The monsters might not know of it."
"That could be," Starlight said, "but Cade, if the mo
nsters are afraid to enter this cave, who knows what terror lurks here?"
Cade pulled the glowing gems from his pocket. The light danced softly against the mossy walls. "If they fear this cave, perhaps a great presence of Good lives here. Wouldn't monsters fear Goodness, and be aligned with Evil? Perhaps a place that monsters fear is a place where we'd find allies and safety."
"Or these caves might house a terror unaligned with Nightmare," Starlight said softly. "There is evil in the universe beyond the realm of Nightmare, evil more ancient than Phobetor, which has no allies."
They all shivered. Tasha snuck into Cade's pocket and hid there. Cade gripped the hilt of his Dreamblade.
"Maybe," he said finally. "But the exit is blocked for us now. Though I hate doing so, I see no choice other than going deep into the caves."
Holding the gems in one hand, Sunclaw in the other, Cade stepped into the darkness, moving deeper into the cave. The pegacats followed. The tunnel wound downward, moving deep into the hill. The soft light showed dank, smooth walls. The ceiling was a dozen feet high, the walls a dozen feet apart. The ground was smooth and slippery, and Cade moved slowly.
The tunnel kept descending. They were moving beneath the hill into the earth of Dream. The air was cold and Cade could hear a distant wailing. Shivers ran along his arms and cold sweat dripped down his back.
When they reached their first fork in the way, Cade randomly chose the left path. He opened his breadbox and began dropping bread rolls behind. "We'll be able to follow them back," he said.
Tasha spoke in the darkness. "Unless something eats them."
Cade nodded. "In that case, Tash, we'll have to follow your nose and hope you can smell our track."
"I do have a fine sense of smell now," Tasha said, "but I turned into a mouse, not a bloodhound."
They walked for a long time. The pegacats were invisible in the darkness, only their eyes glowing. It seemed to Cade that they walked for hours, moving miles into the darkness. He worried that they'd never find their way back. Whenever they reached forking paths, Cade dropped more bread.
The Gods of Dream: An Epic Fantasy Page 15
