by Beca Lewis
Shatterskin Forty-Six
“We have a problem,” Niko said.
“Not like we don’t know it,” John huffed. Behind him, the other men from the village agreed with him with grunts and agreements of “Yea, we do!”
I felt terrible for them. These men had left their families to come help us. Now it looked as if our solution for killing the Shrieks might not work, and what we did might have made everything worse because Abbadon now knew what we intended to do.
“Sure, we managed to stun them and then dissolve most of them, but at what cost?” Kit added.
It was the first time I had heard Kit speak up in a meeting. Up until now, he’d gone along with whatever Niko said, but something had triggered his fear to the point he had gotten over his shyness.
I knew what it was, but I waited until someone else said it.
Niko continued after acknowledging John and Kit, but not answering them directly. “Before we go down the rabbit hole of what didn’t work, let’s acknowledge what did,” Niko said.
“We worked!” Pris sang as she fluttered down on to the center of the table and did a little pirouette.
Her performance prompted a round of clapping, which I was sure was exactly what she was aiming for. But she was right. Their insect brigade did work. I clapped as hard as I could to let her know how proud I was of her. Pris was still peeved at me, and I missed her. I hoped she would get over it soon.
We were all seated around another large table just like the one we left behind. I thought about how much the Ginete and the Whistle Pigs had to do to be ready for us this way. There had to be some serious magic going on that enabled the cousins to not only dig the tunnels but furnish them for us too in such a short time.
Cil whispered in my ear, “These tunnels and rooms have been here forever, Hannah. They are not building them as you move.
“What they do is add the portals that will bring you down here. Once you move on, they’ll remove the portals, so the wrong people, or things, don’t trigger them. Like the Shrieks.”
Cil shivered when she said that, and so did I. The idea that the Shrieks might be able to come into this safe place scared me too.
“Thank you, Cil,” I whispered. “You saved me from making an even bigger fool of myself.”
I wondered how long Pita and Teddy would have let me continue to believe that they were that fast. Fooling the new girl. I caught Pita’s eyes, and he winked a big golden eye at me! The nerve.
“Some people say it’s better to believe anything is possible than to have a closed mind, Hannah,” Niko said. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s better that you have an open mind than one that can’t accept a new idea.”
Speaking to the entire group, Niko added. “And that is what we are all going to need—a belief in possibilities. I’m serious about looking at what worked. Until a few weeks ago, we didn’t have a single weapon against the Shrieks. Now we do.”
“Sure. But how is that going to work in a bigger picture? How are we going to be able to carry enough salt and water to dissolve the Shrieks?” John asked.
“That’s not all. How are you planning to transport insects everywhere? That’s not counting the fact that the trees and plants took a huge hit from both the sound that was blasted towards them and the salt that was dumped on the ground.”
When Niko started to answer, John held up his hand.
“Let me finish. There are not enough of us to stun and then dissolve the hundreds and hundreds of Shrieks that will be attacking us next time.
“And even if you solve these problems, we have huge ones that I don’t see any solution for. How did the Shrieks know we were coming? How did they hide from us? And finally, the biggest problem of all, to do what we did, the mirrors were left on for a long time.
“The possibility that Abbadon knows what we did is huge. And he probably saw what worked and what didn’t work and he will use all that against us.”
“And,” Kit added. “He knows where we are right now!”
Niko paused. “Does anyone else have any concerns that they want to voice?”
When no one else said anything, Niko said. “Thank you, John and Kit for bringing up all the problems that we need to address. But we will solve them.”
“Because we have to,” James added. “If we don’t, we don’t have a chance. I know that we all miss our families, and want to go home, but if we don’t figure this out, there won’t be a home to go back to. If we want our wives and children to be safe, we can’t give up.”
John looked at his brother and nodded. He didn’t look happy, but what James said was true. There really was no choice. We had to solve the problems and do it fast because John was also correct. If Abbadon knew where we were right now, wouldn’t he target us first?
“Okay,” Niko said. “One problem at a time. Which one first?”
“We have a solution for one of them,” Teddy spoke up. “We were already working on the issue of salt and water. We just needed to see if it worked at all. Now that we know it does, we only had to solve getting more water and salt faster. That turned out to be easier than we thought.”
“But won’t a huge amount of salt destroy the plant life?” John asked.
“Yes, it could,” Teddy said. “However, we have addressed this issue in two ways. More plain water after it’s over to flush the salt down into the ground as far as we can get it. And the trees had been working with us to develop a counter to the salt once it gets deep enough for their roots to deal with it.”
“You’ve been working with the trees?” I asked.
“And what delivery system could possibly be big enough?” John demanded.
A huge blast of air blew through the open door, and Earl walked into the room accompanied by Ruta.
Niko turned to the two of them and said, “Great timing. It’s your turn now.”
Shatterskin Forty-Seven
Earl, imposing as ever, and Ruta, who always reminded me of a tree stump with arms and legs, walked into the room together. They were an interesting pair.
Earl didn’t give us any time to wonder what they were doing there; he strode to the head of the table and stared at us. His hair streamed down his back flowing like a gray river. Earl had a face that looked as if it had remained that way for thousands of years, unchanging. Now that I knew more about Erda, it was possible that was true.
Earl looked at me and smiled. “I see you have learned a little bit, Hannah. You know your name now, and you’re beginning to grow into it. Still trying to remember your magic though. Although that little display of lightning bolts from your hands was a nice prelude. Do you know how you did it yet?”
I shook my head no and then asked, “Am I the only one who doesn’t know your true name, Earl?”
Earl looked around the room taking in our team. We were all so different. His gaze rested on Suzanne, and she smiled back at him.
“Well, they’ve heard of me, as have you, Kara Beth. But not everyone knows me as Coro, the commander of storms.”
I could tell who hadn’t known who he was, because most of the table, like me, gasped. The Priscillas, on the other hand, were now adorning his coat. No fear there.
Earl smiled down at them, and they all looked up at him adoringly. “Yes, some of us have been friends a long time,” Earl said, and then his massive hands carefully patted each fairy on her head. If I had done that they might have chewed off my fingers. When Earl did it, I think they actually purred.
Suzanne spoke. “Earl, as Coro, is our delivery system. My father will sweep up waters from the oceans. He’ll carry the salt water to where you are fighting the Shrieks. My mother will assist him in directing the water to only the Shrieks and not dumping it on you, at least as much as possible.”
“Your mother? Who is your mother? Wh
ere is your mother?” I asked, totally confused.
“My mother is Ariel. She is the leader of the winds. I fly with her every day. She prefers to be the wind over being locked into a physical body, but I am sure she will be present as herself for you one day, Kara Beth.”
I had to force myself to listen to what Suzanne said after that. Was I going to return to my family? Did she mean Hannah’s family or Kara Beth’s family? I suspected it was my Erda family that she was referring to, and at that moment I realized I still didn’t remember them.
“Let it go, Kara Beth,” Suzanne said. “It will happen soon enough, but only after we have completed this part of our mission.”
When I still looked puzzled, she added, “Get a grip, Hannah. We are here to deal with the Shrieks and Shatterskin.”
“You said ‘this part of our mission.’ What other parts are there?”
For a moment Suzanne’s face softened. Perhaps she hadn’t meant to tell me that. “This is enough to think about for now.”
John, who seemed to have taken over being the spokesman for the men from the village said, “Okay. Earl here brings the salt water, and his wife dumps it on the Shrieks. Let’s say that works. What happens to the salt?”
Ruta stepped to the head of the table. Aki took one look at him and somehow levitated him up high enough so all of us could see him. He gave her a grateful look before speaking. “After the Shrieks have been killed and devoured by the Priscillas’ insect friends, the trees will take care of the rest. They have developed a supplemental root system that will pull the salt out of the soil, and then release minerals from the salt that are beneficial back into the ground.
“After the roots have absorbed all the excess salt, the trees will release the supplemental roots that are storing the salt water. Those roots will drop down into the underground streams and eventually the streams will carry those roots to the ocean. Over time, the roots will dissolve and return the salt to where it came from.”
“Seriously?” I said. “This is all going to happen this way? Are you kidding? How do the trees know how to do that?”
“You mean you have a harder time believing that the trees have intelligence and understanding than you do that Earl is the commander of the storms and his wife of the wind? Aren’t you saying then that people are smarter than nature? Especially trees?” Ruta demanded.
“Well, if you put it that way,” I began, but Ruta wasn’t done. I swear I thought I saw smoke come out of his head.
“Look around you, smart girl. What’s holding these rooms together? Yes, tree roots. What are you breathing? Air. Who put it there and took out what you can’t breathe? Trees. You live because trees have made this world habitable for you and every other form of life. Where does all this magic come from? You can’t even remember. But guess. It’s not hard. Trees, Hannah. Trees.”
Everybody had been staring at Ruta. When he was done, all heads swiveled to me. I stood there rooted in my seat not knowing what to say. I was furious. I let the anger build. I allowed myself to feel what it felt like to be powerless, to be called a little girl, to know that I was failing my friends. I heard Link say, “That’s it, Hannah. Control it. Now surrender.”
I did what he said. I surrendered to everything that Ruta had said. I surrendered to my helplessness. I surrendered to who I could be. As I did, the anger turned to something else, and within me rose a massive surge of power as the door to my memory opened and the past rushed out.
Shatterskin Forty-Eight
The table and everyone around it faded into the background. I was alone and yet not alone. Shadows and images of the past surrounded me. I let the memories of the past seep into me. From the ground beneath me, I felt the heartbeat of the earth.
Around me, I could feel the pulsing from the tree roots that made up the walls, floors, and ceiling of the room. The trees heard everything. They knew everything. They stored all our memories within their bodies. Even in what appeared as death, they remained in different forms. Their fire warmed us. The smoke eventually returned to earth and fed the next generation of trees. Trees that fell in the forest provided homes and food for thousands of beings that lived in harmony with them.
Trees breathed in and out. They transformed every form of energy into something that was useful. They were the breath and life of the world.
The past sat on the edge of my vision waiting for me to acknowledge it. I let it in.
In my mind’s eye, I saw the stretch of a long meadow that ended at the base of a tall hill. Beru and I were playing together.
The Priscillas were dancing on the top of flowers singing and laughing over the antics of their insect friends. Ruta stood at the edge of the meadow, just at the tree line. Watching. Protecting. It was glorious. We were all happy without a care in the world.
Suddenly a wind rose from the west, and five runners burst out of the woods and into the meadow. Long legs were heading towards our home in the village. They were messengers from the Castle. I recognized Niko leading the way. Lady swooped out of the trees and headed the same way as the runners. We knew something terrible was happening. Beru, Ruta, and I ran as fast as we could to follow them, the Priscillas flying ahead of us.
We arrived out of breath and just in time to hear the name of Abbadon for the first time. Abbadon the destroyer was on the move. The King’s brother had decided that what he had was not enough. Abbadon wanted more. He wanted it all. Niko described the Shrieks. My mother screamed. My father reached over and held her hand as Niko continued to tell of the destruction. First the shrieking, then the shattering of every living thing. Every village in the Shrieks’ path had been destroyed. Most of the West Coast was brown and dead.
My vision cleared and I was back in our meeting room—everyone silent, waiting for me. I felt like throwing up. I wanted to run and scream from the room.
But the time of running was over. I knew everyone had seen the memories played out before me, and were waiting for me to ask the next question. I could feel a surge of support from Aki. She had done it before for me in our practice sessions, when I wanted to give up.
Those practice sessions back in the Castle seemed as if they had been a lifetime ago, not just a few weeks. So much had changed. I had remembered.
I asked, “How long ago was that, Niko?”
“In Erda time, just two years. A few lifetimes in Earth time. As soon as your parents, the King and Queen, heard about what we had seen, they didn’t hesitate. They were afraid to lose you, so they sent you through the portal to the Earth Realm. You know that Suzanne was given charge over you, so we had reports about your life almost on a daily basis.
“We loved hearing about how happy you were, and we were all willing for you to stay. But then Abbadon got better at what he was doing, and Suzanne thought you might be able to turn the tide in our favor. By then, your parents didn’t have a say in the matter.
“We needed you. We didn’t know you would have forgotten everything. We thought you would be ready as soon as you returned. At first, we were devastated, thinking that perhaps we should have left you in Earth. But now that you were here, we had to give it a chance.”
I know if I had a mirror to look at my face I would have seen that it had turned white, drained of blood. What could I do, now?
“Two years and all this destruction? Just two years of your time?”
The awareness of what Abbadon was doing overflowed into my veins, bringing the blood rushing back. I opened myself and reached out trying to feel the connection to the magic that I knew I had. It was time to remember. It was time for me to stop fighting my destiny.
I stood up. I felt my connection to the trees. The trees that had been trying to tell me something ever since I had arrived. It was their power that flowed in my veins. I rooted myself in their embrace, an embrace that reached into every surface of the earth.
I lifted my internal sight to the ground above us, where parts of the trees that grew in air stood, patiently providing. I saw Cahir guarding the circles that would bring us up to the forest floor. His gold eyes flashed as I entered his mind, with his permission.
He showed me that the trees were drooping, bark peeling away, limbs barely attached. I remembered that I could help. I could heal the trees. I sent out a pulse of energy through the ground, through the roots into the trees above. I directed it into every tree affected by what we had done.
Through Cahir’s eyes, I watched the return of the trees’ lifeblood flowing through every branch. Repairing breaks and healing scars.
No more little girl trying to remember her magic. I remembered. I knew that I was still weak from lack of practice, but I knew who I was, Princess Kara Beth.
I returned my vision to the room and to the people who had been watching around the table who had waited for me to return to Erda and then to myself.
“Thank you, Ruta, for always watching over me.” Taking each person in, I looked into each face treasuring what I saw there.
“I remember all of you now. I also remember this.”
On my open palm, a ball of light danced. My magic. A gift from the trees. The Priscillas shrieked with joy and flew up into my hair. Even Pris kissed me on the cheek. Ruta smiled proudly. The five men from the village hugged each other.
Earl clapped, breaking the celebration. “Congratulations, Kara Beth. But don’t get too cocky. You haven’t remembered everything. But now, with what you do remember we can fight and win. Abbadon has sent a wall of Shrieks to our location. They will be here soon.
“Even with all our magic, we may not succeed. Abbadon has learned some tricks with his Shrieks. And after watching the last battle, he will have more ways to deceive us.”
