Everflame- Mystic Wild

by Dylan Peters

  “Ignatius doesn’t have to stay invisible anymore,” Jim said, obviously thinking the same thing I was. “Can you tell him that, Wembley? We’re not dangerous. He can come out of hiding.”

  Wembley leaned forward slightly and squinted his eyes at Jim. “What in the hell are you talking about? Ignatius isn’t invisible.”

  Anna, Kay, Jim and I were now looking at one another with dread. We had made a mistake and followed a madman into his home. We had no idea if he was dangerous or not, but it was clear that Wembley had made up Ignatius. We needed to find a way to leave as fast as possible.

  Or so we thought, until Ignatius revealed himself.

  9

  “Hey, Ignatius,” Wembley exclaimed. “Would you mind helping with a bit of fire? It’s getting cold in here, mate.”

  At that moment the rock walls groaned as if they were alive, and everyone but Wembley instinctively moved closer together.

  “Look,” Jim said and pointed up.

  We all looked to where the large orb hung in the center of the room, and I quickly realized it wasn’t an orb at all. Down from the ceiling, the light descended until I could see that above it was the head of a great gray lizard. His giant yellow eyes matched the shade of the bulbous sac that hung from his throat like a frog’s. I didn’t know what the lizard held inside of that sac, but it was from there that he generated light.

  Wembley stood up and walked to the side of the room where he retrieved a few small logs of wood before returning to where we sat.

  “If you could all back up a bit,” Wembley said. “I wouldn’t want Ignatius to singe anyone.”

  We moved back as the great lizard’s head continued to descend from the ceiling. Then Ignatius opened his mouth and shot a jet of fire onto the wood Wembley had placed upon the floor.

  “Thanks, mate,” Wembley said with a smile and raised a hand to stroke his friend’s nose.

  After dispensing his fire, Ignatius’ throat sac collapsed and gave no more light. For a short time the fire in the center of the room was all the light to see by, but as the seconds passed we could see Ignatius’ sac filling once more. Jim was in shock and continued backing up until he bumped into the wall behind him. As he did, he let out a yelp. The walls were moving, and the long black spaces we had thought were cracks in rock turned out to be spaces between Ignatius’ coils.

  “I take it you lot had no idea we were inside of Ignatius, did you?” Wembley asked.

  “Inside?” Jim exclaimed tactlessly.

  “Well, not like he ate us or something,” Wembley said defensively. “We’re inside his coil. This is how I stay safe through the night. He keeps me safe from rain, safe from mynahs, safe from all of it. From the outside, he just looks like a great big rock.” Wembley turned to me. “Come on over and give him a good scratch on the chin. Let him get a sniff of you so he knows you are friendly.”

  “Me?” I said foolishly.

  “No, the other pale chap I’m staring at,” Wembley said sarcastically. “Go on, he won’t bite at you like some dim-witted fiend. He’s a mystical.”

  I reached my hand out tentatively, and as I did, Ignatius moved his head forward to meet it. He sniffed at my hand and then pushed his nose against my palm, prompting me to pet him. I did, and he responded with a low purr of appreciation.

  “Can I?” Anna asked.

  “Of course,” Wembley answered.

  Without prompting, Ignatius turned his large head and swung it over to where Anna sat. She reached out with both hands eagerly, and the great lizard was happy for the attention. Anna laughed as she pet him, as if she were amazed at how fantastic this all was.

  “He’s incredible,” she said.

  “He is,” Wembley said. “I’m lucky to have him.” He smiled and crossed his long arms like a proud father. Yet at that moment his head cocked to the side as if he had just remembered something. “Ignatius, how long have we been together in these woods?” he asked.

  A moment passed where I assumed Wembley and Ignatius were silently communicating with each other. Then Wembley shrugged.

  “He says he can’t remember.” Wembley shook his head. “Strange that both of us can’t remember, but I suppose it was a very long time ago. What’s that?” Wembley stopped again as if Ignatius had just said something to him. “No, I haven’t asked them if they have any pineapple. Why would I have asked such a thing?” Wembley paused again. “Yes, I know how much you dislike pineapple. That’s why I wouldn’t have asked them.”

  Wembley waved his arms in the air to communicate that he was done with the conversation, and then he turned to us with a fresh smile.

  “Sorry about that,” he said. “Ignatius can get a bit obsessive. If you’ll all come and sit around the fire we can talk about something a little less trivial.”

  We gathered around the fire and tried to get comfortable. It had been a strange day that seemed to be growing stranger by the minute, but at least now we could settle down. Jim unpacked some of our packaged food and doled it out, offering some to both Wembley and Ignatius.

  “What is it?” Wembley asked.

  “It’s just some trail mix,” Jim said. Then he realized Wembley might not know what that meant and explained. “Some dried fruit, nuts, and little bits of chocolate.”

  Wembley accepted graciously, though Ignatius seemed less enthused.

  “Thanks,” Wembley said. “You seem like a good lot, so I don’t want you to take what I’m about to say the wrong way. It’s just… you seem so nice, and I would hate for anything more to happen to you while you’re in the Nullwood. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I think you should go back home. As in, as soon as possible.”

  “What?” I asked, slightly confused.

  “We can’t turn back,” Anna added.

  “Now, I know you came into these woods with the best intentions,” Wembley said and put his palms up, “but you don’t know a thing about the Nullwood, and this is not the kind of place to be walking around willy-nilly. You’ve already tested your luck against a dopplemar, you were about to walk straight to the lakeshore if I hadn’t stopped you, and not that you should fear me and Ignatius, but you were quite willing to follow me home without knowing anything about me. You’re all quite naive.”

  “We only trusted you because our mysticals told us to,” Jim said defensively. “We’re not just a bunch of foolish kids.”

  Again, Wembley raised his palms in surrender. “I’m not trying to insult you, really, I’m not. It’s just… You can’t continue on here. You’re headed down a terrible path.”

  “You seem to think pretty poorly of the place you choose to live in,” Kay said.

  “I keep to the good spots, love,” Wembley said. “You’ve told me your purpose, and what I’m trying to tell you is you’re headed for the worst the Nullwood has to offer. You want to return that mystical dog to its partner, and you said she was taken by mynahs, right?”

  “That’s right,” Anna said.

  “Well, do you know anything about why the mynahs take people, or where they take them?” Wembley asked.

  “No,” Anna said defiantly, “but it doesn’t matter. We have two mysticals that will protect us and lead us. We’ll be fine. We have to help Ah’Rhea. We have to get Reego back to her. We have to.”

  “Please, love,” Wembley was practically begging now. “I’m with a mystical the size of a house and I wouldn’t go within five miles of the Starless Tower. It’s a suicide mission.”

  “What’s the Starless Tower?” Jim asked.

  “It’s where Kesia lives, and where the mynahs roost,” Wembley said. “It’s a massive black obelisk to the north. It’s called the Starless Tower because the skies above it are never bright. Even at the peak of the day, you would think it was the cloudiest black night you had ever seen. The tower stands three hundred feet into the air and serves as Kesia’s home. Nothing and no one that goes there comes back. Kesia is a malicious woman and the mynahs obey her. They capture people and take them to
the Starless Tower under her orders. For what purpose, I have no idea, but you can be certain it’s nothing you’d ever want to know. If your friend was taken there, she’s as good as gone.”

  “She’s not gone,” Anna said. Her eyes were wide and her hands were gripping the arms of her chair tightly. Wembley’s words were threatening to derail her hope of finding Ah’Rhea. “Reego can sense her; he can sense she’s still alive. He needs our help.”

  “A mystical doesn’t need your help,” Wembley said. “If he’s determined to find his partner, that’s his business, but going to the Starless Tower is incredibly dangerous, even for him. You lot can’t continue on your path. You just can’t.”

  Everyone grew silent, and Jim, Kay and I looked at one another dubiously. Anna stared forward, unrelenting. She was determined to continue on our path, no matter what Wembley had to say, but as I looked at Jim and Kay, I wasn’t so sure they were. Wembley was right. Reego didn’t need our help. He was a mystical, after all. What could we possibly do to help him?

  “You all want to give up, don’t you?” Anna knew our silence meant doubt, and it was upsetting her. Her glasses slid down on her nose and her wide green eyes welled with tears. “Go ahead then! Go home! We don’t need you! Wisket and I will be fine if you leave us.”

  I won’t leave you, I thought.

  “No one’s leaving you, Anna,” Jim said. “We’re just processing what Wembley has said. That’s all. It’s new information. We need time to think about it, that’s all.”

  Anna wiped her eyes and then pushed her glasses back into place. Wisket jumped into her lap to console her.

  “Look,” Wembley said cautiously. “I’m very sorry to have to be the messenger. I don’t want to cause you any problems. I just needed to tell you what was ahead of you so that my conscience was clear. Maybe we should all just get some rest. Sleep will do us good. In the morning we will part ways, and you can do as you please.”

  That ended the debate for the night, but as I looked at Kay and then Anna, I knew the morning was going to bring a fresh fight.

  There was not a lot of talking when morning came. Ignatius raised his head up and out of the coil, allowing sunlight to fall down upon us. Jim had bloodshot eyes again and looked as though he hadn’t slept well. I, on the other hand, had slept wonderfully. I suppose the idea of being protected by a creature somewhat akin to a dragon had put my mind at ease for once.

  As we got our things together, Wembley directed us to exit the coil so we weren’t inadvertently knocked around when Ignatius unfurled himself. We all walked about twenty yards away from the huge gray mound that was the mystical animal, and for the first time since entering the Nullwood, we could see sunlight and a blue sky above.

  It was amazing to watch Ignatius unfurl, and as he did it seemed ridiculous that we could have ever thought he was anything other than a coiled lizard. His great heft moved effortlessly, his tail fanned out behind him, and he stretched his muscular legs. Ignatius was the definition of mystical.

  “Well, I suppose this is goodbye,” Wembley said after he had walked over to us. “Ignatius and I are headed south, and I suppose you will be heading north. I do hope you heed my warning, though. Best to head back east.”

  “Thank you for letting us stay the night with you,” Jim said in an attempt to change the subject.

  “You’re very welcome,” Wembley said and then turned to leave. He stopped short and turned back with a finger in the air. “Avoid low lying areas. The dopplemars tend to prefer those, and if you must go up to a lake or pond, watch the surface for a good ten minutes before approaching. Just trust me on that one, will you?”

  We all nodded, and then Wembley turned and left. We watched him walk up to Ignatius, hoist himself up onto the great lizard’s tail, and then ride off through the trees. Just like that, they were gone; come and gone like a dream.

  I smiled and felt good for the first time since entering the Nullwood. I suppose it was because I had slept well, or maybe it was because the sun was shining in a place I didn’t think it ever could. Or maybe it was because I realized that if something like Ignatius could exist in this new world, then the new world couldn’t be all bad. I laughed silently at myself. There it was poking its head out again, just when you thought it was gone for good: Hope. Yet as I turned to look at the others, it was quite obvious I was on my own finding hope in giant lizards and rays of sunshine.

  “We should leave this place,” Kay said. “I vote to go home.”

  “Go, then,” Anna said coldly. She took the crown Kay had given her and tossed it back. “I don’t need you. I have Wisket and Reego. Go.”

  “Everybody just wait,” Jim said. He closed his eyes and sighed as if he were bearing some great weight. Suddenly, I realized that he hadn’t slept well because he was caught between Kay and Anna, and it was stressing him. Kay was his girlfriend, but he also had some loyalty to Anna I still didn’t fully understand. “Can we at least talk about this?”

  “I don’t know what there is to talk about,” Kay said. Her hands were shaking slightly with nervous energy. “You heard what Wembley said about that tower and about the mynahs. He has a freaking dragon with him, and he’s going south to get as far away from that place as possible.”

  “You don’t know that’s why he’s going south,” Anna argued.

  “You don’t know that it’s not,” Kay snapped. She sighed and tried to calm her emotions. “Anna, I’m sorry, but this has become far too dangerous. We are not equipped to handle this, and I don’t think that Reego and Wisket are enough to save us from an entire army of mynahs or whoever this Kesia person is. The way Wembley spoke of that woman and the tower, it sounds like she’s some sort of evil witch from a movie, and I can’t even pretend that’s a ridiculous statement because we just spent the night with a freaking dragon.”

  “Ignatius wasn’t an actual dragon,” Anna said.

  “Anna, stop it!” Kay yelled. “Just stop… We can’t do this. We have to go back.”

  Anna stared at Kay, but it wasn’t with anger. Her eyes were sad. I think that Anna understood exactly where Kay was coming from, and maybe a part of her really wanted to tell Kay we would turn around and go back.

  But Anna couldn’t tell her that.

  “I don’t have anything back there,” Anna said and stared down at the footrests of her wheelchair. “That is not my world anymore. My place, my home, is with Wisket now. My home is with him and others like him, like Reego, like Ignatius and Wembley, and maybe with…”

  “Ah’Rhea,” I guessed.

  Anna nodded and looked up. “I need to learn what I can be in this new world. I can’t go back to a world where people look at me like I’m just some broken girl in a chair. I’m sorry, but this is my path, and if you all need to leave that’s fine. I get it.”

  Something in what Anna said resonated with me and made my decision much easier than I had thought it would be.

  “I’m not going back either,” I said. “I’m not leaving the Nullwood until I find my mother. I believe in Wisket and Reego, and there’s a reason why I had those visions. There are things I still need to figure out. I’m not going back to a world where I’m just Creepy Kage.”

  Kay turned to her last ally. “Please help me talk some sense into them, Jim.” Her arms fell to her sides and it was obvious she was emotionally exhausted. “Please. We’re not safe here. I don’t want to do this anymore.”

  Jim stood silently, with his jaw set tight. In fact, all his muscles were tensed, and he looked like he was tearing himself apart inside. His eyes were tired and sad. He couldn’t make a decision.

  Anna tried to help him. “You don’t owe me anything, Jim. I know you think you do, but you don’t.”

  “I do,” Jim said quietly as if he was afraid that speaking too loudly might destroy his resolve.

  “You don’t, Jim,” Kay added. “You’ve got to stop beating yourself up. You didn’t do it. It wasn’t your fault.”

  “I could have stoppe
d it,” Jim said quietly through his teeth. His eyes were bloodshot and glassy. He was on the edge of breaking down. “I didn’t stop them. I knew it was happening, and I did nothing.”

  “It wasn’t you,” Kay said.

  “I could’ve stopped it!” Jim yelled. “With one word! With one damned word they would’ve left her alone!”

  Jim let go, and all his pent up frustration poured out. It was jarring to watch. I didn’t understand what was happening, so I turned to Anna for some clarity, but I found she had started crying.

  “What’s going on?” I said stupidly.

  “You want to know what’s going on, Creepy?” Jim was raving now, unable to handle the emotions tearing at him inside. “I did that to her. Me!”

  “W-What is he talking about?” I asked Kay, but she had checked out. She was a bystander now, trying to pretend this was all a dream.

  “The big mystery finally revealed,” Jim said with his arms held out. “You’ve been wondering why Kay and I are here with Anna? Why we follow her everywhere she wants to go, no matter where, no matter what? It’s because I do owe her. I owe her more than I can ever pay back, and I can barely live with myself.”

  “Jim, stop,” Anna blubbered through her tears. “I don’t want him to find out this way.”

  But Jim didn’t listen to her. He had gone off the rails.

  “Anna needed me and I failed her so utterly, so pathetically, that I should’ve been shot. At the bus stop outside of my house, I saw the kids pick on her, day after day after day, and did nothing. It wasn’t my problem or whatever stupid excuse I used to justify my lack of caring. I would get in my car and drive off to school, never giving a damn about her little middle-school problems. It was all beneath me. I saw Anna with tears in her eyes more often than without. I saw her get pushed down by a bigger girl. I watched some kid fling dirt on her. I listened to them call her names. Through it all I did nothing.