Finding it nearly impossible to traverse through the bracken and fallen rotted trees that were covered with a coating of slick moss, they finally gave up the idea of traveling inland and began moving at a slow rate back to the rocky shoreline.
“Now, see what I meant about flying? If we could rig up one of those flying boats I was talking about, we could just sit comfortable and fly above all this stuff instead of trying to push our way through it.”
Oliver had been retelling his idea of a flying boat repeatedly over the course of the last week. The other travelers at first thought it a very sensible idea, if they had been able to acquire the materials necessary to make the sail.
Eventually, however, after hearing of Oliver’s flying boat night and day, their enthusiasm had bled dry.
“Oliver, we love the idea of your silly flying boat,” groaned Thomas. “But, we don’t have one, and we don’t have the means or materials to make one. So hush up about it, and keep walking!”
“Yeah, I hear you,” replied Oliver as he pushed his way past an unusually large fern that crossed the animal path they were following. “And if you weren’t so damned big I’d...
“Wait a minute,” interrupted Everett.
The entire group stopped as they saw Everett gazing down the ravine that ran along their path.
“What do you see?” asked Michael as he followed Everett’s gaze.
“A wisp of smoke. I saw a wisp of smoke through the trees up ahead.”
The travelers all stared toward where Everett was pointing. No smoke could be seen now, but the wind could have blown it in another direction.
Michael had been practicing his magic at every opportunity the past week, so it surprised no one when he began to lift off the ground. He passed the twenty foot level that Everett was used to floating at, and kept rising. Nearly fifty feet from the ground, Michael stopped his ascent and hung motionless in the air.
He pointed to the area Everett had said the smoke came from, and began saying something to his friends; but, at that level the sound of his voice was lost in the trees.
Everett raised his hands, palms up, to the level of his shoulders to indicate they could not hear him. Michael began to lower himself when he realized he could not be heard.
The wind had blown him some feet from where he was standing, and more than once in his descent he had to push himself away from branches of trees, either with his hands or feet.
Sarah reached up to his hands as though helping him as he settled to the ground. Once firmly down, Sarah pulled him to her in a strong embrace. Although it was no longer a surprise to see him use his magic, Sarah felt that they were drawn further apart with each occurrence. She had never been exposed to any magic in the past, and Michael’s powers were growing at an increasing rate. In her mind, the rift that was growing between them was caused by the visible change in Michael. While he changed and grew daily, she felt that she was not keeping up; that she was still the naive little girl that had never been out of the small village of Monterey. She did not stop to think of the changes in herself; changes that the others were noticing daily.
No longer did they have to slow their travels to her pace, she kept up with whatever demands were made of her. She had traveled more in the past few weeks than most grown men. On at least three different occasions she had survived life threatening situations, and still she pressed ahead.
She was not aware of these changes in herself, but they had not gone unnoticed by her fellow travelers. Michael watched her blossom into a mature, capable woman, and felt a pride that he had never felt for another person.
“What did you see, Michael?” she asked when she finally released him from her hold.
“Just as Everett said. The smoke you saw, Everett, is from a shack just ahead. There is a stone chimney along the near wall of the shack. Whoever lives there has a fire going.”
Everett nodded his head in response to Michael’s report. Looking up at the level of the sun in the sky, he answered Michael. “Yes, it’s early evening now. People in this area are in bed with the sun. They are probably preparing dinner.”
“Dinner!” interjected Thomas, with a smile. “What are we waiting for?”
“Yes,” continued Everett, “we must not keep your stomach waiting. But, we will go with caution. We do not know who lives in that cabin; and they most certainly will not be expecting us.”
The five of them continued their way through the lush forest. Nearly a half-hour later they approached the small cabin. It was solidly made, using logs cut from the oak trees that had strangled the path that Michael and the others had been following. There were two open windows along the front of the cabin, none on the sides. Glass was not readily available to people that lived in the wilderness, so Michael assumed they would have shutters that swung in toward the interior of the cabin, and could be secured at night.
As they came closer to the cabin, it appeared there were two people standing on the covered porch. With Sarah in the lead, to calm the inhabitants that may be fearing an attack by strangers, they moved close enough to the two people on the porch to recognize that one was a middle-aged woman, the other a small boy, perhaps ten years old.
“Ya’ just stop right there!” called the boy. As he called his warning to the approaching strangers, he pulled a length of sturdy oak from behind his back. The hardened oak club was nearly as long as the boy was tall, and as thick as Big Thomas’ forearms. He had to use both hands to keep the club under control.
“If yer part of them what took my dad, ya’d better spit out what ya’ done to him! If yer not, ya’ best be high-tailin’ it outta here!”
Taking lead of the group, Sarah raised her hand to stop the men. “Let me talk to them. Maybe they won’t feel threatened by a woman.”
She put on her best smile as she continued walking toward the cabin. The small boy seemed to be uncertain what to do now that one of the strangers failed to heed his warning. He turned to look up at the woman that stood on the porch with him, as though seeking advice. The woman, however, just stood on the porch, wringing her hands, watching the approach of the unknown girl.
Rightfully assuming that he would get no help from the woman, the boy turned back to the stranger. He tried mightily to stand taller and puff out his chest before he spoke.
“Ya’ stop right there, lady. I ain’t got no reason not to bash in a lady same as I would a man.”
Sarah bravely continued to approach the couple until she was within ten feet of them. There she stopped and once more smiled at the small boy.
“You have nothing to fear from us. We are traveling south, and just happened upon your cabin. We have been sleeping in the open for weeks, and hoped we would have a chance to have a roof over our heads tonight. We would gladly do whatever work you need done here to pay for the privilege.”
The boy once more looked back at the woman. The woman was looking from Sarah to the men that waited some distance away, and back to Sarah again.
Moving to place a protective arm around the boy, the woman finally broke her silence. “My name is Esther, this is my son, Brian. You and your friends are welcome here.”
“But, Mom!” interrupted the boy as he twisted around to look up at the woman by his side.
“Now, son...we can’t live in fear, and maybe these folks can tell us something about what happened to your dad.”
Sarah turned and called her friends to her. When they were together in a group again, Sarah introduced each in turn.
Esther, over the strident objections of her son, invited the travelers into her home. She offered them small helpings of the stew she had been preparing. With apologies for the meager fare, she explained how her husband and his brother had been stolen by a wizard, and her supplies had been dwindling since her loss.
“...and after Brian chased the wizard, throwing rocks at him, the wizard disappeared.”
“A tragedy, no doubt about that,” offered Everett, “but I don’t think this man was a magician. I thi
nk he was controlled by a magician. If he had been one himself, he could have easily protected himself from a few thrown rocks.”
Everett told Esther about Acantha, and his belief that Acantha was behind the taking of her husband and brother-in-law. After gaining the trust of Esther and her son, he told them of the quest to regain the magical ruby. The promise was made to give every effort to gain the release of her husband and his brother.
Michael and the boy, Brian, stayed up into the night, past the time when everyone else was asleep, talking about the good and evil in magic. Michael felt it was necessary that the boy learn that there was good and evil in the world, and that it affected all areas of life, not just magicians.
The next morning dawned bright and warm, a welcome change after the last week’s rainstorms. Everyone was doing their part in helping Esther finish the chores that had piled up since the loss of her husband. Sarah and Esther had left early to do the laundry at the stream bed close by. Big Thomas and Oliver were on a hunt to supply Esther’s dwindling larder. Thomas was given the loan of one the hunting bows that belonged to Esther’s husband. It did not have the stiffness that Thomas favored because of his size and strength, but it was a sturdy, well-made weapon nevertheless. That left Michael, Everett, and Brian to chop a good supply of wood for the cool evenings, and for cooking.
Michael was perspiring heavily under the early sun as he swung the head of the axe in yet another whistling arc. Once a log was cut into manageable sized pieces, Brian would rush in to grab an armful and then retreat to stack it neatly against the cabin.
“So, if yer a magician, Michael,” the boy said, as they both stopped to catch their breath, “why don’t ya’ cut and stack all this wood using magic. It’d sure be a far sight easier.”
Michael smiled down at the boy as he wiped the sweat from his face with his hand. “Yes, it would be easier at that. But, then I would become fat and lazy. That was one of the things my teachers tried to teach me early; don’t use magic to get out of work that can be done easily by hand. Man’s nature is to take the easy way out. That’s not always the best way.”
Brian considered Michael’s words before responding.
“Yeah, well if I was a magician, I’d just sit back and wave my hand and get everything done.”
“Well, perhaps that’s why you’re not,” replied Michael gently.
Brian scowled up at Michael. “Ya’ mean ‘cause I’m lazy I can’t do magic?”
Michael laid his ax down and sat on the cutting block to take a rest and speak with the young boy.
“No, I don’t believe you’re lazy. I’ve watched you stack that wood for the last hour. I mean you lack the respect of magic, it’s not a toy to be played with.”
“But this Acantha lady doesn’t respect it, does she?” he asked.
“Not anymore, I’m afraid. But she did when she learned.”
“Do ya’ think if I respected it, I could learn?” the wide-eyed Brian asked.
Michael ruffled the boy’s hair as he stood. “I’m sure you could. Now let’s get back to work.”
Over lunch the talk turned once more to Oliver’s flying boat. “You may be right, Oliver,” said Everett. “Now may be the time to build your vessel; that is if Esther could be convinced to part with her curtains.”
Esther jumped at the chance to be of help, if it would hasten these adventurers on their way to her husband’s rescue. “Not only would I give my curtains to your quest, but I will sew them myself to fit your needs.”
“You just tell me what you need as a base for this ship of yours, Oliver, and I’ll chop down as many trees as we need,” offered Thomas, anxious to do his part in this grand scheme.
“I don’t want to try to float half the forest, make it as small as possible,” said Everett.
“I don’t think we need that much,” agreed Oliver, “just a couple of planks to sit on, and a pole or two to rig the sail on.”
“Well then, let’s finish lunch and get to work,” said Sarah. “I’ll help Esther with the sails, and you men can go out and work up another sweat.”
With everyone pitching in to help, all of the materials were at hand by nightfall. The actual construction would wait until first light. The remainder of the evening would be spent around the fire in light conversation. Off in one darkened corner of the cabin, Michael sat alone. With legs crossed and hands clasped in front of him, he was lost deep within a meditating trance.
Brian, awed with the unknown power of magic, crept from the fire to sit in front of Michael, watching over him protectively. He would shortly get his first taste of the true potential of magic. CHAPTER 19
Michael sat in the trance, oblivious to his surroundings. He was not aware of his friends sitting by the fire, and he did not realize that Brian had moved over to sit in front of him. He was lost within his mind, searching for the limits to the emerald’s power, and for the ways to tap them.
Over the past few weeks of the trip, with each period of meditation, Michael gained more knowledge and understanding of what was necessary to call upon the potential of the emerald. The same was true on this occasion. He reached out with his mind and grasped what he saw as new tendrils of knowledge.
Behind his closed eyelids, he began to see light filtering through. The light began to dissolve into shapes and forms. With his eyes still closed, Michael first saw Brian sitting directly in front of him, intently watching for any miraculous occurrences. Rising a couple of feet, he could see Sarah, Everett, Oliver, and Thomas sitting by the fire, talking quietly. Occasionally Everett or Sarah would glance over to where Michael sat. Seeing no difference in his posture, they would then turn back to their conversation.
Not understanding why they had not noticed that he had risen from a sitting position, Michael moved closer to the fire and his friends. Sarah once again turned to glance at Michael. Seeing him still sitting in the corner, she once again turned back to the fire. Confused, Michael turned to look into the corner that he had just left. Sitting there was Brian, intently watching a slender dark-haired man in meditation.
“Good Heavens, that’s me,” thought Michael. Looking down to where he should be standing, he saw only blank floor. He was terrified of the thought of being trapped outside of his body. Quickly he floated back, and found that he could easily re-enter. He opened his eyes and seeing Brian sitting in front of him, offered the small boy a private smile. When the smile was returned, Michael once more closed his eyes and eased back into the trance. Satisfied that he could return at will, Michael once again floated free from his body. He continued floating upward until he was at the rafters of the eight foot ceiling.
Looking down at the small room, he could see his friends still in quiet conversation, while Brian continued to sit in the corner, watching Michael’s empty body. Wanting to explore this new power, Michael continued floating up and out through the roof of the cabin. He received no sensations as he passed through the solid roof, nor could he feel the chill of the night air. This close to the ocean it would be cool and moist, but all Michael felt was the warmth of the fire in the cabin room.
Looking around him, Michael could see he had floated nearly one hundred feet above the forest floor. The heavily wooded land extended as far as he could see; his view cut off inland by the rugged low mountains. In the other direction he could see the ocean, startlingly close, with the moonlight glistening on the waves as they rushed to shore.
He turned to the south, their destination, and began moving toward Acantha’s keep. He quickly picked up speed as he soared over the tops of the giant pine trees. The feeling of this unrestrained flight was exhilarating, and he reveled in the freedom of his spirit. He could not feel the dragging weight of his body that always tried to pull him back to earth when he floated.
If anyone had been on the forest floor, and happened to look up as Michael streaked overhead, they would have seen nothing. It was only his spirit that flew through the night.
He lowered his flight until he was below th
e tops of the trees, briefly dodging between them at an alarming rate of speed. He soon stopped trying to go around the trees and allowed himself to soar straight through them. Once again he felt nothing. The only sensation he had from flying through the trunks of the massive trees was the brief flickering of darkness, like the slow blinking of the eyes.
The density of the forest quickly gave way to the rich greenness of grasses and low shrubs. The darkness of the night made it difficult to see the forms of the bushes, and the contour of the ground. Suddenly he burst from the final growth of the smaller trees and found himself over gently rolling hills. He continued on, knowing that Acantha’s keep would be reached in a matter of minutes at this speed. He briefly saw about a dozen forms lumbering down a hillside below him as he flashed overhead. He was past them and across the other side of the hill before he realized the forms were wrong, alien to anything he had seen before.
Instantly he stopped, once more floating above the ground as he pondered what he had seen. At a much slower rate of speed, he began to retrace his path. Crossing over the crest of the hill, he saw the same figures beginning to climb the next hillside. They were moving much more quickly than he had first thought, they were nearly out of sight already. Moving more rapidly, he chased after the retreating band. As he got closer he saw the disfigured lumbering gait of the gruesome beasts. Some were moving on all fours, some running nearly upright then falling to all fours for a few strides before thrusting themselves upright again.
Once nearly over them, Michael got his first close look. There were nearly a dozen creatures, moving rapidly, faster than a man could run at full speed. They were a dark, dirty red with occasional mottled gray areas on their hairless bodies that flaked and peeled as they ran. Their bodies were misshapen, some of the limbs sprouting from the bodies at the wrong angle, accounting for the lumbering gait.
The beasts that ran upright had long razor sharp claws on the ends of their front legs. When they dropped to run on all fours the claws did not retract, forcing them to return to an upright posture. The pain the beasts felt when trying to run on the exposed claws caused them to howl, gnashing long teeth at any of the pack that happened to come too close to them. All of them had long, sharplypointed teeth coated in a foam-flecked bile that reflected the moon with a pale, sickly yellow light.
The Enchanted Emerald (The Enchanted Stones Book 1) Page 15
