The farther away that thing gets, the better.
Very carefully, Sam peeked around the corner.
The giant snake glided along the smooth surface, as silent as a shadow. Sam had never seen a snake—or anything, for that matter—like that one. Its scales were deep black and looked as if they were reflecting the stars, yet when it moved, the pinpricks of light remained firmly in their places. The stars were part of the snake. The tail gave a small flick as it rounded a bend and disappeared.
Sam took a deep, thankful breath. He transferred the remaining gunk on his palm to the wall with a long swipe. That had been a close call.
Then he remembered why he’d come in the first place—Bariv’s loophole.
“Seriously?” He shuddered. “That’s the snake? He’s got to be joking.”
Sam bit his lip. On the one hand, he could end up as an appetizer for that monster, and on the other, he could get some of the skin and make a faster return back to Stanton. It seemed like a no-brainer—count his blessings and go back empty-handed—but then he remembered Bariv’s black swirls.
Letting out a small groan, he followed the serpent. If it would get him home quicker, he might as well try.
Besides, Bariv must still be following me, and he wouldn’t let that thing eat me.
Sam cupped his hands around his mouth. “Wait up!”
He started moving faster, resisting the nagging thought that the closer he got to the snake, the closer he got to becoming a meal. For the first time in his life, Sam wished he were smaller, so then maybe his meaty arms wouldn’t appear so appetizing.
“Hold on a second!”
He rounded the bend where the snake had disappeared.
Am I really trying to talk to a snake?
Against all better judgment, he kept going. Normally, millions of years of instinctual evolution would tell him to run away from the giant man-eating predator, but then again, he normally wouldn’t be in the middle of Magictown, trying to learn sorcery from someone not tall enough to ride most roller coasters.
The snake was gone.
The empty crystalline structures loomed over him like reflective bleachers.
He tried to stop short, but his cleats skidded across the crystal for a few feet. Once he came to a halt, he heard only silence.
He’d blown his chance.
The cool flood of relief cut short as his coach’s voice resonated in his mind, more forceful than the snake’s vocal projection. You gonna mess this up, too? You gonna cower there and let the world scare you into submission? You want your dolly, little girl? Gimme twenty!
Sam grinned at the thought, and dropped to the ground. It was slippery under his sweaty palms, but he managed to execute twenty full-extension pushups.
The activity—so tied to his life back home—brought memories to the surface: the look on his father’s face as Sam had been escorted out of his own house; the booing of his ex-fans at the game; his sunken dreams of a scholarship and a multi-million-dollar contract to the pros.
He had this one chance to make it all right.
Knowing one thing for sure—he was sick of failing—a strong desire took root. He had to follow that snake.
But how? Which way do I go?
Then the smell hit again, stronger than ever. Maybe it was because he had just gotten re-acclimated to a world that didn’t smell like sumo wrestler, but it made him dry-heave. He hated the smell, despised Bariv for introducing him to it, and then realized it was the solution to his problem.
He would follow the stench.
He inhaled deeply, scrunched his face, and started walking. It seemed to be working. The smell drew him to the left in an almost supernatural way. It couldn’t have smelled like of one of Mom’s apple pies, or a well-cooked steak on the grill, or even one of those rinsefish flowers, noooo.
Step by step he crossed the crystal surface, hoping that he wouldn’t fall through a crack into never-never land, or perhaps into the jaws of something that would look at that snake and salivate.
Letting the odor pull him, he continued on for a few minutes. The rancid smell grew more potent. Once he got back to Atlas Crown, he vowed to stick an entire handful of rinsefish globs in his nose—if he got back to Atlas Crown.
A few more turns, and small grains of the crystal lined the base of the walls. The smell guided him through a confusing, twisting labyrinth, where the shiny material looked less tarnished than the rest.
How am I going to get back out?
He continued on until, suddenly, he turned a corner and gasped. Sam was face to face with the massive serpent, close enough to feel its hot breath. It stared at him, eyes not twitching, scales not stirring.
Up close, Sam could see the utter beauty in the beast. Other than the fangs that could scare the white off a goalpost and the bewitching eyes, it was a striking creature. Its body was obsidian, with specks of light all over its skin, especially concentrated on its underbelly. A few cloudy spots along its scales gave the impression of distant galaxies.
“Is there something else?”
Sam again heard the voice reverberate throughout his head. He didn’t see the snake’s mouth move—nor did he expect to—but he knew that it was the snake talking to him.
“Y-yes,” Sam answered.
“Well, speak up, what is it?”
“I guess…” Sam gulped. “I need some of your skin.”
The long tongue slowly flickered from its jaws and fluttered in the air. “Yes?”
“Um… yeah.”
The snake let out a hiss. “How would you feel if I said I needed your skin in exchange?”
A jolt of fear tied up his stomach. He took a slow step back. “Well… I need my skin.”
“And I don’t need mine?”
“I—”
“You don’t even introduce yourself, and you come right out and ask me for something as precious as my skin?” The long fangs peeked out, and ropey slime dripped from the tips. “How uncouth.”
This is it, Sam’s throat felt like sandpaper. I’m done for.
The snake slithered forward. Its fangs protruded just inches away from his face. “I think you can see my… point.” The voice rattled in his brain.
“I’m sorry,” Sam managed to squeak.
All of a sudden, the fangs were sheathed.
“Ah well, I guess that’s a start.”
Sam’s heart pounded so hard he thought it was going to explode. “So…so you’re not going to eat me?”
What might have been a smile appeared on the snake’s face. “Of course not. I’m a vegetarian.”
Sam made a sound that was half laugh, half gasp.
“But when someone comes asking for your skin…”
“Again, so sorry,” Sam said with relief. “Let’s try this again. My name’s Sam. I hope you enjoyed your gift.”
“Pleasure, Sam. However, that gift was not for me, as much as I appreciate it.”
Sam wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Then who was it for?”
The snake dipped its body out of the way. Sam could finally see where he was. They were in a cavern under a massive dome of the clear gemstone material. Behind the snake were round, green pods, just big enough for a person to curl up in, covered in layers of leaves that rested upon each other like shingles on a roof. Each pod floated above a twisting braid of tiny green roots that tethered it to the ground. They looked like balloons, but far too heavy to float or to be supported on the delicate roots.
“For them.”
“What are they?”
“Cultivated by my own hand, if I had a hand, that is. I do not have a name for them, simply because they need no name. Miracles can often be best captured without the captivity that comes with a label.”
Sam snorted. “You sound just like Bariv.”
“That is not surprising. Come, let me show you.”
The mighty body unwound and slithered over to the looming pods. Moonlight filtered through the overhead dome, so Sam had no problem seei
ng the details. Curiosity replaced the last of the lingering fear as Sam drew nearer to the pod.
“Take a peek.”
Hoping he wasn’t going to find the last person Bariv had sent out to find the snake, Sam peeled back a leaf.
Intense light burst forth from inside.
Startled, Sam let the leaf fall back in place.
“Do not be frightened; you will not be harmed.”
Sam again pried open a leaf, releasing the oddly bright light. The leaves tickled his cheek as he drew close and peered inside.
In the center of the spherical plant was a tiny sun—floating, pulsing, almost breathing with light. It was no larger than a closed fist, suspended in midair. Circling the sun were tiny particles of varying colors—blue, orange, turquoise, auburn—like miniscule planets in orbit. Some of the little planets even had almost microscopic rings. He felt like he was intruding on a tiny solar system, somewhere he was not supposed to be, yet he still felt drawn to watch. In an act of deep willpower, Sam pulled his head away. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust. “It’s amazing.”
The snake dipped its head. “I knew you would appreciate it.”
“What am I looking at?”
“A plant that creates its own energy source. It is a brilliant manifestation. Absolutely miraculous of Her. They have captured my full attention for a very long time.”
“How long?”
“Almost a millennium.”
Sam paused a moment. “I think that was the first straight answer I’ve gotten since I got to Atlas Crown.”
The snake rotated its head. “I cannot stop my obsession, nor do I have any intent to. As you have noticed, there is a self-sustaining symbiotic system inside the plant. They feed off each other. The sun gives the plant food and the plant keeps it safe. The plant feeds off the light and gets larger and grows stronger. Eventually, like everything must, the system dies. The sun expands in the most infinitesimal moment, swallowing up the tiny planets, and instantaneously crystallizes the plant. The minerals are sent in all directions and join with the other fallen.”
Sam looked around. “Is that how this place got formed?”
“As a matter of fact, it was,” the voice paused. “Then the sun implodes, and hardens into a very dense seed. The seed falls and slowly grows into a plant by using the latent and innate energy. When the energy reserve gets low, it uses it all to create a new sun. A fascinating system.”
“That’s incredible.”
“It is but one of the wonders She has given, yet it is the one I feel the most connection to.”
Sam gestured to the pods. “You said the plants came from your hand?”
The snake snatched up Bariv’s pungent bag with its fangs. Sam had forgotten about the smell, but now it was back.
“I didn’t create them, but I do watch over them and help them grow.” The snake gestured toward the bag with its eyes. “Fertilizer. With this, the plant has extra energy that it can put into fruit.”
“A snake with fruit? That can’t end well.” Sam allowed himself a small chuckle.
The snake cocked its head.
“Never mind. What does the fruit do?”
“Exactly what it is supposed to.”
It pierced the bag with a fang and let the juices fall onto the various pods. The liquid seeped through, and the plant subtly changed shades.
After the bag was drained, the voice spoke. “I know why you want my skin.”
Sam absentmindedly put his right hand into his pocket. “You do?”
“You are not the first to ask.”
“Bariv?”
The voice gave a haunting laugh. “No.”
“Who?”
“He never introduced himself.”
Sam smiled.
The voice hesitated for a moment. “I chose not to give it to him.”
“Why not?” Sam rolled the diamond around in his fingers.
“I have my reasons. Now. Why do you want my skin?”
Sam thought for a moment. “To be honest, I just want to go home and play football. If I do what Bariv says, he told me he’d fix my life. So, here I am.”
“You came all this way. And my skin is some of the finest. Is that the only reason? Just to turn on your path and wander home?”
It was the main reason, but something else, something deeper pulled at him.
“Well, I’ve been studying with Bariv. Studying the Veil…”
“Go on.”
“And I guess I’m suited for power magics.”
“You guess?”
Sam thought about how he had stopped Bariv’s attack and how right it had felt. The skull-wolf skin definitely had been the right pick. “I know.”
“Yes?”
Sam gave a sharp nod.
“Do you know what the Veil is?”
Sam inhaled. “The Veil is where you grip magic from. It is all around us and some people can use it—”
The snake thrust its body forward, ending its strike just inches from Sam’s face. A strong gust of air whizzed by.
Sam, astonishingly, didn’t flinch.
“Wrong.”
Sam hesitated a moment. He thought about what had happened when he grabbed the cornerback’s shoulder. He had tapped into something primal; he knew that for sure. Something ancient, something unique, something full of…
All pretention disappeared from his voice. “Power.”
“Yes…” The snake retreated. “But She is more than that.”
Sam took his hand away from the diamond and out of his pocket. “More than power?”
The snake bowed its head low. “She is imagination.”
Sam frowned in confusion.
“Does this surprise you?”
“I just… I don’t understand.”
“I know you just met Her,” the voice said, “but I’m sure you will.”
Sam felt his chest tighten in frustration.
“I will try and help you understand.” The snake eased backwards. “Peer again into the plant. Deep this time.”
This time, Sam peeled back a handful of leaves and stuck his entire head inside.
“Truly look.”
Staring at the tiny sun didn’t burn his eyes at all, unlike the times he had caught a glimpse of the real sun while attempting to catch a lobbed pass. He felt his focus being summoned inward.
“Look deep.”
The sun hung in the air, giving warmth and light. Giving life. Until that moment, Sam was sure he knew what silence was, but now, his head completely within the pod, the world melted away, and he truly understood. Warmth spread over his face as the yellow light drifted past his consciousness and reached deep into the crevices of his soul. The honeycombed sections of his mind filled with the sweet nectar of the tiny sun. The weight on his feet was forgotten. His muscles, tense from the second he’d entered the forest, were kneaded into complacency. The world he knew was no longer there.
“She has always been here,” the voice said, although now it was much more than a vibrating noise, as it had been earlier. Now, it was part of him. He no longer felt the words, he knew them. He had always known them.
“She lives where we cannot, but we can always visit.”
“Imagination?” Sam didn’t speak the words; it was a conversation that he was listening to.
“Yes. The world is hidden to most. Though She is not different from the world you thought you knew. Imagination is what sets people apart. She was a part of it, the seed of a magnanimous fruit, whose flesh was consumed and whose essence was discarded. People covered themselves in self-righteousness. You were always in Her presence. You can reach Her in the place where ideas are discovered. Imagination is both cradle and grave to power. She is a cycle. She is whole.”
“But why now?” he asked. “Why do I get to know Her now?”
“If you receive a gift which you are not ready to appreciate, it is not a gift; it is… a burden.”
“Am I ready?”
“That is up to
you. She can only give, the other side is yours.”
“What about my world? What about football?”
“What about it?”
“It’s all I have.”
“Apparently not.”
“I need it.”
“Why?”
“I don’t belong here.”
“Belonging implies possession. Do you not believe yourself to be free?”
“I think I am.”
“The key is to know.”
“I feel like I don’t know anything anymore.”
“A clear mind is the perfect vessel to fill.”
“But I can’t just leave my other life behind. What about my friends? My family?”
“Family is family; that will never change, even when the world changes you.”
“And my friends?”
“Friends are always left behind—it is the nature of life. A true friend will be there no matter how much time elapses.”
“So I’ll be able to visit?”
“When you become truly free.”
“How will I know?”
“When the time comes, you will have to choose whether or not to work with Her, and it will be soon.”
“When?”
The voice said nothing.
“When?” Sam demanded, but he was already on his way back.
CHAPTER 12
It wasn’t quite like waking up from a dream, Sam thought, it was sort of like a dream that woke him up.
The world was fresh; it smelled new.
Sam looked back at the crystal cavern and let his hand drift to the pocket on his thigh.
Inside was a fruit. A ripe, red fruit.
Sam thought about what had just happened.
After he’d come out of the trance, everything had happened so fast. The tremendous snake sprawled on the floor, writhing in pain. Sam had run over and placed a palm against its skin. It had been burning up, so hot, in fact, that Sam had to pull his hand away. “What’s happening?”
The serpent’s voice was missing from his head. It twisted and convulsed into loops and knots. The stars on its skin changed shapes, making the constellations swirl across the scales.
The snake hissed and spat and Sam didn’t know what to do. Then he realized what was going on. A portion of the skin detached from its body, bringing with it a select fragment of the constellations.
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