Behemoth (The Jharro Grove Saga Book 6)

by Trevor H. Cooley

  I hope so. I’ve still been sorting out the Roo-Tan trollkin for him. He thinks that if Mellinda ever does turn on him, he could arm them with Jharro weapons and hopefully they will decide to choose his side.

  It seems like a good strategy to me, Tarah replied. Knowing who’s who will certainly make things easier when this is all over. Is there anything else?

  Djeri gave her a reluctant mental nod. Uh, there is one new thing that happened, I finally told Murtha the truth.

  Really? Tarah said, wincing in preparation for the words that would come next.

  She had not been pleased when he had told her about Murtha’s crush on him. She had particularly not liked the part where the two part-dwarves had kissed. But she really couldn’t blame him for what he had done under Mellinda’s command. Especially since he hadn’t gone through with her plan.

  I told her that I had regained some of my memories and that I was sure that we hadn’t known each other before the Mother swallowed us, he said. And then I-uh sort of told her that you were my wife. Hope you don’t mind.

  I still plan to be, Tarah assured him. She didn’t care how different he looked. She would learn to get past all of that. The important thing was that he was still the same person inside. How did she handle it?

  She . . . cried. I felt awful, he said and his thoughts were tinged with guilt when he added, I told her that Mellinda made me pretend to like her more than I did.

  No, said Tarah in dismay.

  She ran off after that, he continued. I saw her go to her room a while ago, but when I tried to talk to her she just shut the door.

  Tarah groaned. Why would you put it like that? You should have blamed it on me. You should have told her that I was a jealous person and pregnant. That wouldn’t even have been a lie.

  Jealous and pregnant, huh? he said and though he still felt bad about how he had handled Murtha, he liked the reminder of their child. The fact of her pregnancy was one thing that he had been able to hold onto every day to hold onto his sanity.

  One downside of having recovered all his memories was that he now knew how awful the Mother’s birthing process was. He’d had to go through a few awful days before he learned to cope with it all. The thing he still found most difficult was eating raw meat all the time. Luckily, the trollkin had started to harvest some vegetables and tubers from the swampland farms they had created. Raw swamp tater was at least an improvement over raw swamp gator.

  Well, I should get to sleep, Tarah said. I’m excited to see how the dream has changed.

  Djeri didn’t want her to leave so soon. Isn’t there anything else you can tell me to make this easier? When are Lenny and Cletus coming?

  Tarah hesitated. One thing that Xedrion and Aloysius had made her promise early on was that she wouldn’t tell him any details of the coming attack. Djeri understood why they wouldn’t trust him completely. Besides, in a way it was easier on him. If he didn’t know anything he could never accidentally tell anyone.

  Still, it was impossible to ask him the questions that Xedrion and Aloysius wanted answers to without him figuring some things out. He knew that the attack was coming soon and that Mellinda was targeted.

  Well, Mellinda will find out tomorrow anyway, so I guess it wouldn’t hurt to tell you that the attack begins in the morning, she said and tried to edit what came next. Djeri and Cletus will come with a . . . group of people, uh, taking a secret route.

  But how will they avoid the Mother? Djeri wondered. She is distracted with birthing right now, but once she knows that she is under attack she will begin trying to swallow every person that enters the swamps.

  Aloysius has found a way, she assured him.

  Okay, he said. The knowledge that it was beginning tomorrow filled him with excitement. Soon it would all be over. Then would come the difficulty of seeing Tarah again, or more accurately, having her see him again. She had a general idea of the ways he was different, but until she saw him in person it was impossible to predict her reaction.

  Hey, she said. I know what you’re thinking about. Don’t doubt. I know you, Djeri. What you look like isn’t what’s important. After all, you accepted me despite how I look.

  That wasn’t hard at all, Tarah, Djeri told her. You’ve seen my memories of that time. You know that I like how you look. Every part of you.

  Her cheeks reddened. Well, I’m gonna feel the same way. I’m sure of it. Even if you are kinda slimy, slippery isn’t always a bad thing, is it?

  Djeri chuckled. I guess not. You know what? Now that I know I might not die during this war, I’m glad that you’re not coming.

  Why? she asked with a frown.

  I’d rather have you safe back there at the Grove with Esmine. The one thing I’ve always liked about your dream was the idea that I knew you would survive for sure.

  She snorted. I’m Tarah Woodblade, remember? I would survive either way.

  I love you, he told her.

  I love you too, Tarah said and made sure to push the intensity of that feeling through the bond. Good night. I’ll see you soon.

  Tarah’s dream started no differently than before. She stood on a hill overlooking Malaroo, Roo-Tan’lan and the Grove to her left. The Troll Swamps and KhanzaRoo on the right. Esmine appeared next to her, looking at Tarah expectantly.

  Taking a deep breath, Tarah summoned Lenny and Cletus at her side. Her dream versions of them weren’t exactly as they were in reality. Lenny was quite a bit taller, his gaze more focused than usual, while Cletus looked a lot less gawky and more gallant.

  “Go save Djeri,” she told them and they walked down the trail to the right.

  The dream rolled forward. She saw Djeri in KhanzaRoo dressed in his full platemail, though instead of standing at the top of a pyramid, he was running down a dark hallway somewhere deep inside one. Meanwhile, the green wave of troll flesh rose again at the outskirts of the Troll Swamps and began to surge forward overcoming everything in its path on its way towards the Grove.

  Tarah started down the path and headed to the left. The landscape skimmed by and soon she was standing at the forest’s edge, watching as the giant wave loomed high above the skyline. As it came closer, she saw that it was made of tentacles, thousands of them packed so tightly together that they looked to be as one.

  When it reached the city a vast army stood in its way. A thick cloud of arrows flew into the wave. Roo-Tan and Academy warriors hacked at it. Yet it continued on, overwhelming all of them. Mellinda stood atop the wave, balancing on the spiky tip of the tallest tentacle, mocking all of them with her laughter.

  Tarah plunged the staff into the ground. A wave of power erupted from Esmine and struck the wave with tremendous force, sheering through it and cutting down all of the tentacles like they were so much cordwood.

  Eagerly, Tarah looked to KhanzaRoo, her dream-assisted sight allowing her to see into the depths of the pyramid. She searched for Djeri, saw Cletus and Lenny fighting their way down the passageway towards him . . . but they were too late. They came to a chamber at the end of a long corridor. There Djeri lay unmoving at the bottom of a deep pool of water. Dead.

  Chapter Twenty Two

  She awoke with a start. “Djeri! No-no-no!”

  It wasn’t different. Why hadn’t it changed? She had been so certain. Lenny had convinced her!

  Tarah realized that the light of morning was streaming through the guest house’s one window. She twisted around and saw that Lenny and Cletus were gone, their packs missing. She jumped to her feet and looked out the window. There was no one in the yard. “Esmine!”

  The elf child popped into existence. This morning the ribbons in her hair were scarlet red. “Morning, Tarah. Willum is coming this way.”

  “Where are they?” she demanded as she pulled on her armor. “Lenny and Cletus. Tell me!”

  The child gave Tarah an innocent look. “They were up before the sun. They’ve been gone for hours.”

  “Hours!” With her boots in one hand and her staff in the other,
Tarah ran out into the yard and looked to the east. The sun had already cleared the trees. Even on a normal day she should have been up far before then. Tolynn would have expected her an hour ago. Esmine was supposed to make sure she never slept in like this.

  She turned on the child. “You didn’t wake me!”

  Esmine shrugged. “I saw your dream. I knew what you might do.”

  “What I might do?” Tarah exclaimed, the vision of Djeri’s unmoving body still fresh in her mind. “That’s not for you to decide!”

  The elf child folded her arms. “I’m sorry about Djeri, but the Grove is too important. You know it.”

  “Yes, I know it! All we’ve talked about for weeks is how much I know it!” And she was also well aware of Esmine’s love of the Grove. If it were up to the rogue horse, Tarah would never leave the place.

  “You would have been weak after that dream,” Esmine said accusingly, her little chin thrust out. “Don’t deny it. I know you, Tarah. You would have abandoned everything for that one person you love.”

  Tarah shook her head emphatically. “I had already made my decision, Esmine. Before the things Lenny told me last night.”

  “Then why does it matter that I didn’t wake you?” Esmine argued. “They are gone. You are here where you are supposed to be. Tolynn will forgive you for being late. She knows what today is.”

  “I would have at least been able to warn them! I could have told them which building to look for. What corridor to hurry down!”

  “You don’t know if any of that is real,” Esmine said. “It has changed every time you dreamed.”

  With a shout of rage, Tarah threw the staff as hard as she could. It arced through the air and struck the hard-packed ground at the front of Beth’s house with a thud.

  Esmine turned her head and looked at the staff in the dirt. “Am I supposed to say, ‘ouch?’”

  “You’re supposed to be my friend!” Tarah shouted.

  The elf child winced. “You know I am, Tarah. If you had run away and abandoned the Grove, you would have regretted it forever. Or at least until the world ended.” She cocked her head. “If that’s what happens. It’s never been quite clear exactly.”

  Groaning, Tarah reached up and grabbed two fistfuls of her hair. Was Esmine right? Would she have run off? No. She couldn’t believe that. She would have done everything she could to help Djeri. She could have told him to run! Only, she had tried that in dreams past and he only ended up dead in some other way, usually at the hands of the Roo-Tan or Mer-Dan forces.

  “Uh, hey, Tarah,” said a familiar voice and Tarah saw Willum standing at the head of the path. He glanced down at Tarah’s staff, which wasn’t too far from his feet. “Do you want me to pick this up?”

  Tarah glanced at Esmine.

  “What?” said the child. “I told you he was coming.”

  “You might as well,” Tarah said and she sat down on the edge of the porch to put her boots on. “What brings you out this way? I rarely see you three feet from that mage anymore.”

  Willum, as he was bonded to Tolivar, was one of those few people immune to the body changing attacks of the Rings of Stardeon. That fact, along with his powerful axe meant that he would have been a good choice to go with Sir Edge’s group. Nevertheless, he had decided to stay behind and stand with the other Academy warriors on the walls of Roo-Tan’lan. Tarah was certain that Vannya was the reason why.

  Willum frowned. “That’s not true. It’s sorta not true, anyway. Yes, I like Vannya and yes, I like being with her. But that doesn’t mean I . . .” He picked up the staff and started towards her. “Look, I’m not here to talk about her.”

  Tarah stood and stomped her heels firmly into the boots. “Sorry, Willum. I’m not mad at you. Esmine didn’t wake me this morning and I didn’t get to watch everyone leave.”

  “It was for her own good,” Esmine said and she must have just made herself visible to him because he looked at her with surprise.

  “Oh. Okay. Tarah, the reason I’m here is because Theodore really wants to talk to you,” Willum explained. He held the staff out towards her, then shrugged and planted the end of it in the dirt instead. He pulled the waraxe out of the half-sheath at his side and held it out to her handle first. “He says it’s about your dream. He thinks he has an answer.”

  Eyes widening, Tarah reached out and grasped the axe. The moment she did so, Esmine frowned.

  “This won’t work long,” said Theodore, his voice sounding as if he was speaking both aloud and in her head. “Ho-ho, I’m keeping her out of your mind while I tell you this.”

  What? she replied mentally.

  “Well, Terri, I have figured out a way that you can save the Grove and your boyfriend.” He paused. “Dwarf friend? Ho, let’s just call him Jelly.”

  Tarah frowned. How about you just tell me your idea?

  The imp chuckled proudly. “Well neither you or the horse is gonna like it much.”

  Several minutes later, Tarah was sprinting down the path towards the Grove, her staff held loosely at her side in the manner of the elves. Her heart was beating madly, her emotions full of both excitement and sorrow. A pack of angry Esmines ran all around her, each of them talking in turn.

  “What are you so sad-happy about?” asked one with blue ribbons in her braids. “What did the imp say?” asked another with white ribbons.

  When she didn’t answer, a red-ribboned child stood unmoving in front of her. “Tell me, Tarah!”

  Tarah ran straight through the apparition. How was she supposed to put this? She replied to Esmine mentally, There is a way.

  “I heard him say that part,” one replied and then all the Esmines said in unison, “What is it?”

  In my dreams, your power is needed here to save the Grove, Tarah sent carefully. Tears welled up in her eyes. But . . . any time I have chosen to save Djeri, I don’t do it with your powers. I find him. I pull him out of whatever trap he’s in, but I do it myself.

  Esmine’s pack stopped running. All of them disappeared but one and though she continued to move forward at the same pace as Tarah, she didn’t move her legs anymore. The child floated a few inches off of the ground, looking at Tarah with accusing eyes.

  “Are you leaving me behind?”

  Tarah’s bottom lip quivered and it was very difficult to keep from slowing down. Tolynn can use your powers to save the Grove. If I hurry I can catch up to Lenny and Cletus and save Djeri too. Do you understand? The world doesn’t end and my baby will know its papa.

  The child nodded slowly, her anger fading. “I don’t like being away from you, but . . . this is good, right? You save the dwarf and come back. Why are you sad?”

  It’s good, she assured the rogue horse. It’s just not the way I wanted it to happen is all.

  “Okay,” said Esmine suspiciously. Then the child’s feet touched back down on the ground and she was running alongside Tarah once more. “At least I get to stay in the Grove more. I like Tolynn. And the elves don’t mind my jokes as much as the humans do.” A smile grew on her face. “Hey, maybe I can get Tolynn to teach me a way to make Djeri see me.”

  That’s right, Tarah said, swallowing back tears. This is good.

  Soon the smell of the Grove overtook her. Tarah’s breathing steadied and the intoxicating magic of the place distracted her long enough for her sorrow to fade. Soon the air took on a blue tint, reflected from the undersides of the leaves high above. Tarah ran up onto the root paths between the enormous trees and asked Esmine to tell Tolynn she was there.

  Many of the elves noted Tarah’s passing, their dark heads shaking at her as they pointed up towards the sun, teasing her for her lateness. When she arrived at Tolynn’s tree, the elf was up in the branches high above. She glanced down at Tarah and the wood next to her bulged, forming a platform.

  Tolynn Yni stepped onto the platform and descended the trunk of the tree, propelled by the morphing wood. Her body was covered in a living armor of Jharro wood that moved along with her but, as Tara
h knew from experience, was hard enough to repel swords or arrows. Her head was dark and smooth, ageless and beautiful.

  Tolynn stepped off of the platform in front of Tarah and even though Tarah was a good foot taller than the elf, she always felt dwarfed in Tolynn’s presence. “Esmine says that it is her fault that you are late.”

  The elf spoke in her people’s language of clicks and whistles. Tarah used to have to wear a Jharro wristband to translate for her, but she had returned the wristband weeks ago. She understood perfectly now.

  The sadness that Tarah had dispelled threatened to overcome her again. “There is something that I have not told you.”

  Tolynn cocked her head. “Why am I not surprised?”

  Tarah reached out her hand. “Please let me show you.”

  The ancient elf grasped her hand and her talent reached out to merge with Tarah’s. Tarah sent her all the information that she had held back, showing Tolynn the series of dreams that had plagued her and the terrible decision she was forced to make.

  You kept this from me because you knew the right decision from the beginning. You just wanted to fool yourself into thinking that you could choose the other, Tolynn said mentally. There was nothing accusatory in her thoughts. Just a statement.

  I know, Tarah said. I wanted to believe that I could change the outcome.

  And? Tolynn said.

  I was being too self-centered. The answer was in front of me all along. She showed the elf what the imp had told her that morning.

  Tolynn nodded slowly as she absorbed the information. Are you willing to make this sacrifice?

  Tears welled in Tarah’s eyes once more. It is the only way.

  Esmine appeared next to them. She had heard the discussion in Tarah’s mind and her expression was puzzled. “What sacrifice? So we’ll be apart a few weeks.”

  Tolynn looked at Tarah. You haven’t told her? This is a sacrifice you both shall need to make.

  “Tell me, Tarah!” Esmine demanded, suddenly worried.