by Lenore, Lani
“But that’s nothing for us to worry about now,” Nix relented, changing his demeanor. “Since we won’t have his answer until tomorrow, there is nothing to do but rest. Let’s go.”
Wren was unsure, but she guessed he was right. It was not something that she could worry about – at least not right now.
I will take it as it comes, she resolved, but secretly hoped that nothing did.
Chapter Sixteen
1
Wren looked over the pieces of the suit in her hands. The metal gleamed and the stones churned within, flashing with a strange power. Finn had assured her that Tikilin would not cause her eyes to glow without months of exposure, which was the only reason she had agreed to be near it.
The Tikilin ornaments were small and thin, and fit around her in three separate pieces – one for the waist and one for each leg, attaching to her thigh and calf, bracing her knees. She put them on and then slipped her clean gown over her head, and was pleased to see that once she had smoothed the material, one could not tell that she even possessed such items.
They are hidden well enough, she thought. Now there is only to see what they can do.
“What unusual contraptions,” Calico muttered, looking at the pieces of the suit on her own body. “My people have never had need for such things.”
The two of them had been left alone to change, though Wren did not doubt that Nix was directly outside in case Calico made another attempt. Wren did not respond to the girl’s comment, not feeling the need. She did not have anything to say to Calico that didn’t have to do with the journey. They were not friends.
“Are you decent yet?” came a voice from the door. The sound startled them at its abrupt coming, and Wren looked back to see the tall boy who passed inside with very little warning.
Nix let himself in, clearly not caring whether he had given them long enough to cover themselves or not. It was lucky that they already were. Calico muttered something spiteful in her native tongue, but Wren did not know what it meant. Nix seemed to understand it, however. He smiled, dropping his bag and settling back on a hammock. Wren didn’t doubt that he was tired by now. He’d certainly gotten plenty of exercise today.
Running, fighting… Nix had been at it for far too many hours, all for her sake.
Wren sat back into her own hammock and saw Calico doing the same, but there were no more words in her spiteful mouth for Nix. Wren was grateful for that. This hut was much too small and the village much too silent to have them fighting.
Adjusting herself to assure that she would not fall from the hanging bed, Wren stared up at the roofing above her, taking in the quiet. As she found herself staring at it, she began to think of the past – wanting it back.
She was reminiscing about exotic flowers that only bloomed at midnight, of beautiful jeweled caverns, and of a starlit sky. Rifter had shown her all these things in the past. Would she ever see them again, or would the world be reborn as something different once it was saved? She was not quite sure how things could go back exactly as they had been, but she believed that Rifter could do it. The world had been born of his dream, after all, and he had the power to shape it.
She was certain that he could cure this disease.
Wren had almost lost herself to these thoughts when she became suddenly aware that she was being watched. She turned her head, seeing that Nix was staring at her from his own hammock, but for what reason, she could not say. His expression gave nothing away. He didn’t say anything when her eyes met his, but she offered him a nervous smile to compensate.
She closed her eyes for his sake, guessing that what he wanted was to see her sleep, but behind her eyelids, she was watching the fairies dance.
2
The hours slipped on in the silent night. Nix would’ve loved to sleep – to take advantage of the hut in the treetops – but he was far from it. Despite what he would have liked, he could not trust this place. Finn, his brother of circumstance, had assured them safety here, but Nix was not so certain he believed it. Perhaps that was what Finn had intended, but…
Something is not right about this place.
Turning his head, he cast his eye at Wren, who he’d been watching periodically through the night. At times, her eyes would be closed as if she was sleeping, and at others, they were open wide – staring – but he did not think she was awake. He guessed that she was absent in some way, retreating back into her mind, but unable to rest. He did not want to disturb her.
Sighing lightly, he turned his face toward the thatch roofing above. He’d been listening carefully to the sounds of night in this village, all quiet, save for the soft patters of raindrops, and now his mind began to wander.
What would happen if he let Wren go off to meet the demon alone? Even if the others were with her, did they have it in them to doubt their former leader? To see through the lies? What was in store for them, and did he care at this point?
A lot had happened. Perhaps he did not feel the way that he used to. But he shook his head at that, knowing it wasn’t true. He wanted to be with them again – wanted them all to be safe – yet he could not hope for that unless they made it through in one piece, starting with this Silent Woods.
Maybe I was wrong about it all, he thought drowsily as he rested there. He had seen the damage and anticipated another attack, but there had been no sort of disturbance so far. At the end of it all, perhaps he was just being paranoid.
Nix had just closed his eyes, content enough to let himself drift away–
At a disturbance, his eyes shot open, caught by a sharp cracking sound from outside the hut. Nix was no stranger to this noise. It was the crisp, splintering of a weighted branch, and his fear for what that meant – being in the treetops – was immediate.
He pulled himself up from the hammock and moved to the door. By the time he had thrown back the curtain, he heard footsteps rushing by on the wooden platforms, and he quickly noticed many of Finn’s people hurrying about in their furry disguises, but because of that, he could not tell one from the next. He did not know if Finn was among them.
“What’s happening?” he tried to ask one as they dashed past, but the villager wouldn’t – or couldn’t – respond to him.
Nix could see that the branches of the trees were swaying. The wind must have picked up. The people were rushing about, scrambled, and he could not tell if it was an evacuation effort or–
What the hell?
Before his eyes, Nix saw a large branch fall, smashing down on one of the huts, crushing the roof and breaking it to pieces. His first thought was that a dangerous storm had gathered, but that was before he saw the very same branch lifted back into the tree and smashed down again. And it was not the only one. All through the village, branches were swinging in, breaking the houses and shattering the boardwalks. These people were being attacked, just as Nix had seen evidence of before, but he had never suspected the forest itself of attacking!
In times of danger, a list of priorities and possible actions ran through his mind – Fight or flee? Stay close to Wren. Save these people? Don’t get involved. The villagers did not seem to be trying to fight the branches back. Was there any hope of that? What did one use to fight back a tree? Nix knew of something – a device he knew all too well – but it might do more harm than good. Still, it may have been worth a try.
Turning, he rushed back into the hut and took up his satchel promptly. He grabbed his bow and quiver, and was just about to turn back again when he saw that Wren and Calico were both awake now, looking at him.
“What is going on out there?” Calico wanted to know, but he had no time to explain. He glanced at Wren apologetically, but tried not to spend too long looking at her worried expression.
“Put on the Tikilin, and stay low!” he ordered them.
He did not stop to wait for Calico’s demands that were certain to follow. He left the hut, stepping rapidly across the planks, drawing an arrow as he did. The one he pulled had been previously prepared. There were no
torches along the path, but as he paced along, he brushed it against a mounted chunk of Tikilin, and he was somewhat surprised when it came alive with flame, but this was exactly what he’d hoped for.
His aim did not have to be accurate, so he did not waste time between setting the flaming arrow in the bow and letting it fly. The fiery projectile ignited one of the incoming branches, but Nix could not tell whether it did anything to stop the attack or even cause the tree creature pain, but he had already drawn another, ready to try again before a voice halted him.
“Stop!” The cry came to him from across the way, and Nix held back the arrow, turning to see one of the villagers rushing toward him. His hood was back, and Nix could see that it was Finn.
“What are you doing?” Finn demanded angrily.
“Trying to help.”
“That’s not help,” Finn said, halting before him. “You don’t understand!”
“Then make me understand!”
Finn sighed, shoving Nix’s arm to push the bow aside.
“The forest is alive – yes, I knew this. Before I came here, the people kept it at bay. They kept it appeased by blood.”
“Blood,” Nix repeated.
“Sacrifices,” Finn clarified. “They offered trespassers to the forest to secure their own lives. They were going to do the same to me once, but I managed to talk them out of it. After they made me their leader, I changed their old ways. I made them stop. We turned to animals and monsters instead, but lately, that hasn’t been good enough. It started attacking us at random.”
Beyond the huts, several of the hooded villagers were throwing ropes across the branches, hoping to subdue them, or at least slow them down. Nix was not so sure that it would work.
“They’re not bad people,” Finn insisted, “only desperate. They began to beg me, and how could I deny them safety? So I promised them that the next trespasser we found would be good enough. What was one less pirate, after all? But it turned out to be you three instead.”
This caught Nix’s attention. They were meant to be sacrifices? The skeletons tied to the trees below… He wished he had known it sooner. Whether or not Finn meant them harm, he would never have stayed here.
“And how certain are you that they will keep to your rules in these desperate times?” Nix asked angrily.
Get back to Wren, his mind urged him. Get back to her now!
Finn’s glowing eyes lit with realization, and the two of them picked up their feet, rushing back to the hut where the girls had been left, flinging back the flap of hide to peer in.
The room was empty. They were gone.
3
Wren had done as Nix had told her, crouching on the floor of the hut. She was already in the Tikilin suit beneath her gown, but she did as he said, though she had no idea what was going on out in the village.
Calico was next to her, silent but alert. Wren wondered what she was thinking, but after a moment, the huntress volunteered her thoughts.
“This forest lives in a way we didn’t imagine,” she uttered. “So this is why no one treads here.”
You brought us here! Wren wanted to make this reply, but she kept silent. If we hadn’t come here, we wouldn’t have met Finn, but–
Something heavy fell against the roof, and Wren shrieked as part of it collapsed, twigs and grass littering the floor around them. Calico gave no reaction except for widened eyes, but they were not crushed. The grassy shelter was lightweight, but that did not erase the fact that it was coming down.
The hut is falling in on us! Wren thought frantically.
“We have to get out of here!” Calico decided resolutely, snatching her wrist. Wren knew she was right.
Just as they were coming to their feet, the flap flew back from the doorway and a pair of the yellow-eyed villagers stuck their heads inside. They saw the two girls immediately and beckoned to them with waving hands. Wren did not question whether or not she should trust them.
She and Calico rushed out onto the boardwalks, and Wren saw the chaos outside. The forest appeared to be moving on its own, reeling and swaying, crashing down. Had the trees brought on the damage that she and Nix had observed before?
And where is Nix? And Finn?
The two animal-like villagers, in their fur suits, kept close, ushering them toward the lifts. Were they leaving? Wren tried to look around for faces she recognized, but they had efficiently swept her away, and eventually she gave in. Perhaps they had no choice but to go.
Wren was ready to follow them, and Calico had already stepped toward the lift, but a whistling sound made them stop.
Wren turned her head to see Finn and Nix running their way. Her heart was lifted to see them both, glad that they would all be together now as they got to safety, but the smile was quickly taken from her face.
A forceful arm drew around her shoulders, pulling her back, restraining her. One of the villagers that had been leading her away had taken hold of her unexpectedly, and to her thinking, for no reason. A hand went to her throat, and though she had not seen it, she could feel the cold edge of a blade on her skin.
Nix and Finn were aware of it as well. They slowed their pace, hesitant now.
“Please don’t do this,” Finn entreated, keeping his voice firm. “We’re better than this.”
The person holding Wren said nothing in response, but she could hear his nervous breath. She was nervous as well. She could see that Finn’s eyes were full of concern, and beside him, Nix was itching to act.
Someone do something!
“Put the knife down,” Finn said, begging with his hands. “We don’t have to result to this again!”
Wren could hear the one behind her groaning angrily as if he wanted to speak, but couldn’t quite recall how. Calico had managed to move closer to Finn and Nix, away from those who might try to grab her as well. Though Finn was begging, the villager did not seem to be losing his grip.
“Finn!” she gasped pleadingly, hearing the desperation in her own voice. Her captor had not budged, despite Finn’s effort. Nix was looking at her, and he had lost all patience for this.
“Finn, get your man to back off,” he shouted. He was reaching for his gun. Wren could not see how this could go well.
Her captor pressed the knife harder against her throat as if to warn Nix against his pending act–
Wren heard noises behind her, the snapping of branches, and then a sudden jolt sent her falling to the wooden planks below. Nix was there quickly, pulling her to her feet, and she turned in enough time to see what had delivered her.
The one who had threatened her was there, pierced through by a branch that left a bloody wound in his chest. The others of his kind did not dare try to help him. They only stood back, watching as their kinsman was pulled back into the dark tree, disappearing from sight.
Other sharp branches shot out, stabbing into the villagers that were standing near the edge of the platform, pulling them back into the darkness. Wren’s eyes widened in horror as she watched, but what was happening was clear in the simplest form: the forest that had protected these people had turned on them.
“We have to get out of here, Finn,” Nix reminded him harshly. “Now!”
Finn came to life at that, swallowing this misfortune and taking control of himself.
“Everyone wearing the Tikilin?” he asked quickly, ushering them back as he turned. None of them spoke up against it. “Follow me then!”
Finn dashed off, and Nix quickly pulled Wren to follow. He was holding her arm so tightly that it might have bruised, but she did not want him to let her go. She wanted him to get her out of here. Calico was with them, but the villagers stayed behind. They did not even try to flee as the forest picked them off one after another, taking as many as it desired to pay the blood price.
They aren’t even trying to fight! Distantly, she was reminded of herself.
Wren knew that she couldn’t dwell on the fates of those people. She had to focus on getting herself away from the danger, keeping up
with the others. She was not sure where Finn was taking them, but she kept running and did not look back.
“This way!” Finn shouted, and without any sort of hesitation, he leapt off the edge of the platform, plummeting to the forest floor below.
Finn!
Wren gasped and rushed to the edge. It was a long way to the ground, for the trees were quite tall, and when they reached the end of the platform, Finn was still falling. They all saw him land – straight on his feet with what looked like a bit of bending at the knees, but he stood back up and waved his arms to them, perfectly unscathed.
Calico muttered something in her native tongue, but followed his lead without question. Though it was clear that all this was perfectly safe with the aid of the Tikilin, Wren had no intention of dropping off there. She was frozen – completely unable to move. All too suddenly, she was standing on the edge of a roof beneath a dark sky. A storm was blowing in, tossing her hair violently. In her ears were swirling whispers, and beneath her on the ground was the bloody grass. The children’s bodies, broken. It had not been meant to happen that way! Why had it happened?
Please forgive me. I couldn’t save you. I was a fool.
When a hand touched her arm, she gasped and drew back in shock. She looked up to see Nix, realizing then that she was shaking.
“Let’s go!” he insisted.
“I just – I cannot do this,” she sputtered, hardly able to gather the words.
Nix looked back over his shoulder, no doubt gauging the danger of the thrashing branches. Wren did not dare look back.
“What is the difference between this and flying? You’ve done that many times.”
“Because it is not flying; it is falling!” An idea came to her. “I have the fairy ashes. I can use some of them now.”
“No time!”
So much blood… It could have been me as well. It should have been!
She lowered her head so he could not look at her terrified expression. He tired of her quickly.
