We were going to teach our young ones to fish at night, he thought. In this spot… right here.
The King of Gray Mountain waded out into the cool stream and closed his eyes. He felt the water pass through the fur on his legs, and let the sounds of the night fill his ears. The quiet trickle of the cool water, the scurrying of small creatures on the forest floor, the wind as it lifted the branches of the trees, and then, set them back down. Eveneye’s instincts came to him and his claw darted into the stream. Quick as a dragonfly, the King found a fish in his grasp. He opened his eyes and looked at it with a grin.
“I guess I’ve still got it,” Eveneye said to himself.
“I guess you still do,” returned a familiar voice.
Eveneye dropped the fish he was holding and staggered backward in the stream. Before him, wavering in the air above the water was the vision of his old friend, Whiteclaw.
“My mind is leaving me,” breathed Eveneye.
“No, my friend, it is not,” said the apparition. “It is good to see you again.”
“How can this be?” asked Eveneye.
“Have you not seen enough in this world that is beyond explanation, my brother? Have you not been confronted, time and again, with things none of us can understand? Is it really impossible to accept that I speak to you now?”
“But how?”
“She has sent me here with a purpose,” said Whiteclaw. “She needs you to understand… that there is much you cannot understand. There are many visions that your eyes cannot perceive, sounds that your ears cannot hear, things that your senses cannot sense, and most importantly, ideas that your mind cannot conceive. But the fact that there are things all around us that we cannot see or sense or know does not stop the continuation of our lives. That which we do not know cannot bind us. We are challenged to have faith, Eveneye. Faith that the things we do know will carry us through our lives. We are challenged to have faith in ourselves. This is why I am here. To remind you of that.”
“You’ve come to remind me to have faith in myself?”
“Yes, Eveneye. You are the King of Gray Mountain. Do not be afraid to do what you know is right.”
“But, Whiteclaw… are you not… dead?”
“I have learned, my friend, that I do not know what death is, but I can no longer interact with the world as I once did. I am learning, within the moments of what I am, more of what I am.”
“I’m not sure I understand,” said Eveneye.
“One day, you will understand more, but today, I was sent to give this message, and now, I’m afraid I must go.” And with that, Whiteclaw’s ghost began to fade from the world. “Goodbye, my brother.”
“But, wait!” cried Eveneye. “Who sent you? Who is she?”
Eveneye’s question remained unanswered as the phantom of his old friend disappeared, and he was once again alone, standing amid the cool stream.
Have I lost my mind? thought the bear. So much has changed in my life. How am I to know what I can believe and what I cannot?
The truth of Whiteclaw’s words rang like a bell in Eveneye’s mind, and he understood that all the answers he searched for were within his grasp. He remembered the day when the Kingdom had seen the lights in the sky, and had thought it was the return of the Great Tyrant. He didn’t have irrefutable evidence at that time, but action was still necessary.
“I must create the path of my life. For all that is unknown may always be so. That cannot stop me from moving forward.”
Eveneye turned back toward Gray Mountain and began his return to the castle.
•••
“My King,” said the young bear, guarding the entrance to the castle. “Please, proceed to your chambers. The Queen has been looking for you.”
“Is everything all right?” asked Eveneye with concern.
“I believe so,” answered the bear, “but the Queen did seem as if the matter was urgent.”
“Thank you,” said Eveneye, and began to rush toward he and his wife’s chambers.
When he arrived, slightly winded, Eveneye flung the door open to find Goldenheart and Autumnbreeze seated and waiting for his arrival.
“You were in the forest,” said Goldenheart.
“Yes. What’s wrong? What happened?”
“He told us that you were in the forest,” said Autumnbreeze.
“The guard?”
“No,” said Autumn with a crack in her voice, and now, Eveneye could see that Autumnbreeze had been crying. “Whiteclaw.”
“He told us what he had told you,” said Goldenheart. “He was very brief, as if he were running out of time. Eveneye, what can this mean?”
“It means we cannot wait for answers any longer. We cannot wait for answers that might never come to us. We have to choose a direction. We have to act.” Eveneye looked solemnly at Autumn, understanding how painful it must have been to see the apparition of her husband, and then, to have him here so briefly. But as he was feeling pity for Autumn’s condition, he found himself wondering why Autumn and Goldie had been together in the first place. “Did Whiteclaw find the two of you together?”
“Yes,” said Goldenheart. “Autumn had come to me to tell me of another dream.”
“The dream has changed?” asked Eveneye, unbelieving. “Have you seen what becomes of us? Have you seen the end result of the storm?”
“It was not a dream that I had,” said Autumn. “It was not a dream about the mountain.” Eveneye didn’t say anything. He was confused and felt very tired. Autumn wiped a tear from her eye and continued. “Before Riverpaw and Evercloud left the mountain, Iolana came to me to talk about a dream she had been having. She wanted to know my opinion of the dream, because of my own history with dreams of meaning.”
“You’re just telling us this now?” asked Eveneye.
“It had left my mind,” said Autumn. “It wasn’t until very recently that I remembered her dream and her concern. She wasn’t completely specific with me about the details, but she said she had been dreaming about a prophecy. She said that the crux of the prophecy seemed to center around an unlikely pair.”
“An unlikely pair of what?” asked Eveneye.
“She said that it was two people, but she didn’t know who those two people were. Her concern was focused on her involvement with these two people that, she thought, might be the pair. She couldn’t explain it to me properly, but she was convinced that the decisions she made would influence this pair in a very meaningful way. She said that her heart was pulling her to do one thing, but because of her dreams, she was fearful to act. She was very vague and it was difficult for me to give her any advice at all.”
“Why are you telling us this now?” asked Eveneye, still not grasping the importance of this dream. “What does it have to do with us?”
“It was a fleeting comment she made, and that’s why it took so long for it to come back to me. She said, my failure could bring a storm. It seemed too much of a coincidence that we were dreaming of a storm now.”
“Questions upon questions upon questions,” said Eveneye, venting his frustration. “We have no information, we have no facts, we have–”
“Each other,” finished Goldenheart.
“Goldie,” began Eveneye, “do you believe we are in danger?”
“Yes,” said Goldenheart reluctantly.
“And you, Autumn. What do you believe?”
“The same,” she answered.
“I am done waiting,” said Eveneye. “I believe what you believe, and I have faith in us. It is time to act… no matter the outcome.”
Chapter 34: Awaken, Mighty One
“I still can’t believe you did that, Ben. What were you thinking?”
“For the last time, Tomas,” said Ben Floyd with a smile. “You need to calm down. Stop worrying.”
“Well it worries me even more that you are so nonchalant about it. You’re practically laughing right now.”
Ben, Tomas and Riverpaw flew high through the air, above the crystal-blue wa
ters of the Felaquan Ocean. Schools of large fish could be seen swimming within its depths as the sunlight heated and illuminated the marine world. Riverpaw remembered the paradise that was Felaqua. He wouldn’t allow himself stay stranded upon a ship this time.
“I’m sorry,” said Ben. “I don’t mean to laugh at you. It’s just funny. You’ve become so responsible all of a sudden. It’s sort of liberating to have switched roles with you. I kind of like it.”
“Well, I don’t,” barked Tomas. “You made an enemy with a very powerful spirit.”
“You’re assuming we can’t change that at some point, Tomas. We’ve also gained some very important information. We can’t live a life without risk; I’d have thought that was apparent to you by now. We’re close to this thing. We have to stay on the offensive. There’s far too much riding upon our success.”
“That’s all well and good, Ben, but we’ve already got powerful enemies. We don’t need more, and we shouldn’t take risk without need. At some point, it’s going to catch up with us, and I don’t want to have to give you an I told you so.”
“Bah,” said Ben and waved an arm in his brother’s direction.
“Look,” yelled Riverpaw above the wind. “The Port of Sanctum. We’ve reached Felaquan shores. Where do you think we should start our search for Selva?”
“Oww!” yelled Ben and turned to look over his right shoulder at Tomas. “Why did you hit me!?” Ben grabbed his arm in pain.
“I didn’t hit you,” protested Tomas, looking at his brother incredulously. “I don’t know what you’re talking–”
An arrow zipped by Tomas’ head, nearly missing its mark. Ben removed his hand from his arm and found a bleeding wound.
“We’re being attacked!” roared Riverpaw who banked to the right, in an attempt to avoid a volley of arrows coming from the shoreline of Felaqua. The arrows flew at the travelers, and this time, four arrows hit the bear directly on his side. Riverpaw roared with pain, and then, lost consciousness.
“Riverpaw!” screamed Tomas as the three companions plummeted toward the ocean.
The wind was violent against their ears and the ocean rose toward them with dizzying speed. The brothers gave one final yell, and braced themselves. They hit the crystal waters of Felaqua and the world went black.
•••
Heal.
The whispers were so soft, Riverpaw didn’t know if he were hearing someone’s voice or if a memory was swelling upward from the depths of his subconscious.
Heal.
He opened his eyes, just enough to see a small blur in the dim light.
“Do not worry,” said the small voice. “I am a friend. Now, sleep. Sleep.”
Again, Riverpaw closed his eyes and drifted away.
•••
“Awaken, Mighty One.”
Riverpaw’s eyelids snapped open. A moment was needed before his eyes could focus, and he moved his paws over the mossy ground. He was lying on his back, staring up at gigantic, green leaves that blocked most of the day’s light from hitting the floor of the jungle. Riverpaw tried to roll onto his belly, and found that he could not. Stabbing pain hindered him if he tried to move that much. The jungle was dense, the air was moist, and the bear felt trapped and panicked.
“Where am I?” he wondered aloud.
A thin, young woman stepped into Riverpaw’s vision. Her skin was dark, like the shadows of the jungle, and she raised her hands to show she meant no harm.
“This is my home. You are safe here,” said the young woman.
“Safe?” asked Riverpaw, still slightly disoriented.
“From the men who attacked you. From the men who captured your friends.”
“Ben and Tomas,” said Riverpaw. “We were attacked in the air. Where are they? I must go to them.”
“No,” said the woman. “The time is not ripe. You must wait.”
“I don’t understand,” said Riverpaw. “I must wait?”
“For three days.”
“Three days!” exclaimed the bear.
“In three days your wounds will be healed. In three days, your friends will be executed by the men who captured them.”
“What?! I can’t wait. I must go now.”
“You could never breach their security. You must wait for your friends to be brought out for public execution, and you must heal. You must have patience.”
“Who are you?” asked Riverpaw.
The woman laid an eagle feather upon Riverpaw’s stomach as he lay immobile.
“I think you know who I am. Now sleep. Heal.”
•••
Tomas’ arms hung in shackles above his head, and blood and spittle dripped from his chin. A fist balled and struck him in the face, sending blood, sweat and spittle flying to the prison floor.
“Where is your demon?” asked a man with a low and gravely voice.
“I’ve told you,” gasped Tomas, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The man struck Tomas again, and he groaned in agony. His eyes had swollen shut from the beating and every inch of him ached.
Another man, somewhere further from him, spoke. “Enough of this insolence. Where is your bear? Where is your flying bear?”
“I don’t know. I’m telling you the truth. I can’t remember anything after we hit the water. Why are you doing this?”
Tomas could hear the man who was further away from him begin to walk closer, and when he was less than a foot from Tomas, he could feel the man’s breath as he boiled over with anger.
“You are murderers!” the man spat. “You defile the sanctity of the world and you must pay for what you have done.”
“I don’t know what–”
“Silence!” yelled the man. “We saw you, with your flying, demon bear, leave as the great one fell dead to the ocean floor. We dispatched our fastest marshals to bring you to justice, but only one of those marshals returned to us, the name of the assassin, Evercloud, forever in his nightmares. And now, you return to our land as if you deserve your freedom. We are not as weak as you believe; you will pay with blood! I ask you again! Where is your bear?!”
Images flashed through Tomas’ mind. Tenturo eating the Felaquan monk, Sudali, causing his great turtle, who had made the life bond, to die along with him. Tomas remembered how Evercloud had killed the men who attacked their group upon the plains of Ephanlarea, as they traveled to Hammlin. And Tomas’ own words echoed through his head, mocking him. At some point it’s going to catch up with us, he had said to his brother. I don’t want to have to give you an I told you so.
“Ben,” sobbed Tomas as he hung in the prison, broken and beaten.
“Your brother,” huffed the man. “He will not hear your sobbing.” The man moved very close to Tomas’ ear and whispered, “he is dead.”
“NOOOOOOO!!”
A large, hard fist came down, again, upon Tomas, and he fell into darkness.
•••
“Awaken, Mighty One. Today is the second day.”
Riverpaw blinked and rubbed his eyes. There was not as much pain when he tried to move, and he was able to roll upon his stomach and push himself off of the ground. He found he was very stiff though, and everything he tried to do needed to be done slowly.
“Water?” he asked.
The young woman carried a large, folded leaf to Riverpaw and tipped the end of it into his mouth. Water that was being held in the cupped leaf poured onto Riverpaw’s tongue and he felt an instant soothing relief.
“You must continue to rest today,” said the woman. “But first, I wish to show you something. Come, follow me.”
Riverpaw followed the dark woman as she moved through the dense jungle. They walked slowly, as not to aggravate Riverpaw’s wounds, though moving through the jungle quickly would not have been possible anyway. The land was uneven, mossy and slick in some places, while rocky and steep in others. The vegetation, many times, had to be moved or cut with a long knife the young woman carried with her. Riverpaw notic
ed that each time the woman cut away the trees and plants, she would whisper to them after she and Riverpaw had moved past. The plants would immediately begin to regenerate, as if the woman’s speech were magic. The bear watched the woman as she walked. She seemed light, never missing her step or losing her footing, as if she were one with the jungle. Though the woman seemed human, Riverpaw was quickly reminded that he was in the presence of the spirit, Selva.
“Do you know of my quest?” Riverpaw asked as he and Selva continued through the jungle.
“I do,” said Selva.
“Do you think what I and my companions are doing is right?”
“Would I be healing you if I didn’t?” asked Selva.
“It’s just that your sister, Lithlillian, seemed to think that your mother would not approve.”
“Lithlillian believes a certain thing, and I believe another. Besides, I am older than I would care to measure. It has been some time since I did everything my mother wished of me.”
Selva stopped at a banana tree and gestured toward Riverpaw. He slowly took a few bananas from the tree and began to eat. Selva did not partake of the tree, but instead, continued to walk further into the jungle. Riverpaw quickly finished his breakfast and followed her. They walked for a moment longer and Riverpaw posed another question to Selva.
“Will you help us with our quest?” he asked.
Selva stopped walking and turned to Riverpaw with a finger to her lips. Then, she pulled back the large leaf of a banana tree and motioned to Riverpaw, so that he would look through the space she had cleared. Two hundred yards away was a gigantic, bronze-colored block, standing at least sixty feet in the air. The cube was massive and its sides seemed to be made of rough material, but no entrance could be seen. No door, no windows, nothing.
“This is the prison for the Port of Sanctum,” whispered Selva. “This is where your friends are being held. The only way inside is from the top. The men get in and out by dropping ropes for each other.”
Everflame: The Complete Series Page 71
