Emma tried to wriggle free, but was held fast. She started to feel very thirsty and then there was something in her mouth. She spat and a glob of saliva and a handful of pine needles landed on Arkanelder’s arm.
“Wait! Stop! What are you doing?” Emma said, still trying to wiggle free.
Arkanelder pulled her close and looked her in the face. His visage blocked out the sky.
“I am turning your hubris back upon you. You will remain here forever, your form to decay and nurture the ground for a tender sapling!” he said, his breath rushing over Emma in a blast.
“What does that mean?” Emma said, hoping to open a line of questioning and stall whatever scheme he had in mind.
Arkanelder threw back his massive head and another thunderous laugh shook everything around her.
“I am turning you into a pinecone!” he said.
Emma was about to protest, but then she noticed she couldn’t feel her legs.
“No! Wait! Please!” she said.
She thought she was getting somewhere as he released his grip upon her. She tried to get away, but shock froze her in his palm. From the waist down her legs were not her legs. Dark wooden scales encompassed her lower half entirely. The change was moving up her stomach and heading for her chest.
“I’m a private investigator. I just wanted to ask you about a Hamadryad in town. I think she may have hurt somebody and I’m just trying—”
Her words were stifled as she felt her throat closing up. Looking to her left and right, she saw her arms were gone, her body almost completely a pinecone. She fell back as the transformation consumed the last vestiges of her body. Her vision grew dim, and then suddenly it stopped. Peering down at her, Arkanelder’s face again filled her vision.
“Hamadryad? Hamadryad’s do not live in towns, they are forest dwellers, bound to their trees, sworn to care for them!” Arkanelder said.
Emma tried to speak, but she had no mouth. Seeing this, Arkanelder waved his hand over her and she returned to her former self from the waist up. She gasped as she sucked air into her now pineconeless lungs.
“Walnut tree! I think she is a Hamadryad bound to a walnut tree! I have a lead that she may be responsible for turning someone into a Sasquatch. I’m just trying to help,” she said, letting her head fall back in exhaustion from the effort it took to say even that much.
After a few minutes of silence, Emma looked up to see what was happening. More importantly, to see if she was still mostly a pinecone, albeit, a human sized one. She was, at least still from the waist down. Gazing into the face of Arkanelder, she could see he was in deep thought. One of his hands stroked his chin and the sound of mountain sized pieces of wood grinding against each other filled the forest with a deep cracking.
“You speak of Odelina,” Arkanelder finally said, staring hard at Emma.
Emma didn’t know what or who an Odelina was, so she answered the best way she knew how to in such circumstances.
“Um…” she said.
Arkanelder shook his head, the motion slow and methodical.
“She is the Hamadryad who count the walnut trees as her charges. But they are in another’s care now,” he said.
Emma pushed herself up and leaned on her elbows. She really wanted the giant tree man to change her back to the way she was, but she wasn’t going to press her luck just yet. If changing her back worked out, she did plan to press it further and see about Barrett, but first things first.
Arkanelder sighed and his breath shook the surrounding trees.
“She betrayed her nature, and in so doing betrayed all of nature. Creatures of the forest are content to keep to themselves, to run the course set down for them by the one who made them. Odelina was not content to run her course. She chose violence and self will, desired things achieved only by violence. She did not love her charges. She did not love the forest and so she was cast out, her roots barred from the sacred soil,” he said.
Emma nodded, taking in the information. She wasn’t allowed to set foot, or root in the forest, but that had not stopped her from floating above it. If she didn’t love the forest that could only mean…
“I think Odelina is looking for something. Do you know what that might be?” Emma said, sitting up a little higher and leaning on her hands.
Arkanelder furrowed his brow.
“If she is looking for something, it is only to do harm,” he said.
Emma had gone this far. She went a little farther.
“You say she does not love the forest, but why would she be raising money to help preserve it. Is the forest in danger of being developed or…” she said, her words trailing off as she wondered how much of humans’ ways Arkanelder might be familiar with.
Arkanelder laughed at her question.
“The forest is in no danger. No one dares encroach upon the sacred soil. I care for the forest and all who dwell within it,” he said.
“But there has been development, right? I mean isn’t there a prison somewhere… around here,” she said, wincing at her blunt attempt to get a secret out of him.
Arkanelder nodded slowly.
"For those who practice violence with magic, there is, by agreement, a place. The only place where such as those can be held. For only the forest is ancient enough to remember the magic before, and only such magic can bind them,” he said.
“You wouldn’t want to tell me where that prison is, by any chance would you?” she said, expecting to be flattened just for asking.
“No,” was all Arkanelder said.
An awkward silence fell between them.
“I am going to let you return to your side of the trees. Your course is to stop Odelina. My mercy has proved insufficient. You will stop her. Those who have agreed will give her to us and we will do what must be done,” Arkanelder said.
Emma took a breath to ask another question, but found herself standing at the edge of the forest. Arkanelder was no where around. Her car was still parked by the side of the road. She looked down and was relieved to see her own two legs. Looking up, she had no time. A walnut struck her in the head and knocked her down. Stunned, she lay there a moment, staring up at the sky. A face appeared in her line of vision, beautiful, but tinged with cruelty.
“Odelina?” she said.
Odelina smirked.
“You’ve been talking to Arkanelder. I can smell his sap on you. I don’t like that,” she said.
“Oh, nuts,” Emma said.
Odelina raised her hand and brought a large walnut down hard on Emma’s head.
Everything went dark.
11
Emma awoke to the loud squawking of Barrett. Above her was a ceiling that seemed familiar, the preservation society. It started coming back to her. Raising her head, she looked at her feet which were pointing at that same ceiling. Looking around her, she saw Barrett and the Hamadryad across the room, their shapes unclear through her blurred vision. Emma shook her head and her eyes cleared. Barrett ruffled his feathers and began preening.
“Well, well. Look who’s awake. The red-headed menace,” Odelina said.
Emma sat up and put a hand to her cheek.
“Why does my face hurt?” she said.
Odelina smirked.
“You mean apart from being pummeled by a walnut? I may have slapped you a bit, to try to wake you. When you didn’t come around, I may have slapped you some more. It was one of those things you don’t know you like till you try it. I liked it,” she said.
Emma huffed and started to stand.
“Uh-Uh, slow and easy. No sudden moves and all of that,” Odelina said.
Emma stood up and faced Odelina. In the Hamadryad’s hand was Emma’s service pistol, pointed right at her.
“Gun? Really? I figured a Mouth Jammer would be above that sort of thing,” Emma said, feeling her angst rising and threatening to make her do something brash.
Odelina sneered.
“That’s an ugly word. Sort of like sub-creature or magic-less, no talent, hard
case, private gumshoe,” Odelina said, thrusting the gun at Emma for emphasis.
Emma chuckled.
“Gumshoe? What, you been reading ‘40’s pulp fiction? Besides all that is more than one word, you know like, temperamental, tree twit with daddy issues and a violent streak,” Emma said, smiling at Odelina.
“Enough!” Odelina said, moving across the office.
It was then that Emma saw there was someone else in the room with them. Tied up on the floor was the balloon guy, Old Man Stinson. Odelina kept the gun on Emma as she untied Stinson.
“So, why not magic instead of the gun again?” Emma said.
Odelina finished up and waved the old man over to Emma.
“You thought I didn’t see the charms you and the bird were wearing? I know what those are. They’re… charms. Keep you from being altered. I would have removed them myself, but I didn’t know what other nasty things they might do. You hate purveyors, but truth is nothing can be more deceptive and conniving than a human,” she said.
Emma shrugged her shoulders. She really had no argument for that one.
“I had on the charm when I talked to your daddy. Didn’t seem to bother him when he tried to turn me into a pinecone,” Emma said.
“Well, he’s higher up the tree if you know what I mean. Too powerful to be hampered by your trinkets,” Odelina said.
“But you’re not, right?” Emma said, smirking.
Odelina lost her smile.
“Remove the charms from the chick and the bird,” Odelina said, gesturing to Stinson with the barrel of Emma’s gun.
"I ain't goin' anywhere near that mangy pigeon, so you can just shoot me!" Stinson said.
“Forget the bird! Get the other one. I like him better with it on, anyhow. Hands up, Detective,” Odelina said. The word ‘detective’ was slathered in contempt.
Stinson went over and looked at Emma.
“You know she’s gonna kill us no matter what?” Emma said, in a whisper.
The old man smirked.
“Yeah, I suppose. She is a temperamental tree twit,” Stinson said, reaching around Emma’s neck and removing the charm necklace.
“You know, I could have just taken the charm off myself,” Emma said, staring at Odelina over Stinson’s shoulder.
“Uh-uh. I want to see your hands at all times. Besides, remember what I said about deceptive and conniving? Balloon man over here is old and slow. I’m playing the odds. I’m not stupid,” Odelina said.
“Old? Slow? That may be, but I can still show you a thing or two, make you respect your elders!” Stinson said, the effort sending him into a coughing fit.
Odelina moved around and gestured for them to head to the back door.
“Elders? Human, I’m older than you by a long-shot. That’s the only good thing about your kind, they wither quick,” she said as Emma and Stinson shuffled to the door.
Outside, Odelina told them to stop under the walnut tree.
“Okay, turn around, nice and slow,” she said.
Emma, her hands still up, stared at Odelina. Stinson just stood there muttering to himself.
“Now, I don’t need the gun. I mean I could have just shot you, but then there’s the whole dead body thing. People tend to notice stuff like that. Why go through all the trouble, when I can just have two new trees out here, shading my yard,” Odelina said, tossing the gun behind her.
The Hamadryad bent her knees, widened her stance, and raised her hands. Emma felt her one chance slipping away. It was now or never. She went to tackle the Hamadryad, but she couldn’t move. Looking down, she saw her feet were stuck in the ground almost to her knees. Beside her, Stinson was worse off, his legs had already melded together and become the slender trunk of a sapling walnut tree. Emma looked back at Odelina, who was smiling broadly at her as she mumbled her incantation.
“Please, wait. What about my partner? What are you going to do with him?” Emma said.
Odelina paused and stood up.
“Him? Oh, there was a plan, of course. But now, I think I have him just where I want him. I think I’ll keep him the way he is, as my little pet,” Odelina said, getting back into her stance and raising her hands.
Emma got mad. She tried to lunge at Odelina, but now her legs had begun to fuse, her calves already forming a tree trunk. She glared at Odelina as the Hamadryad continued her spell.
Emma lost all feeling in her hips and she tried to fight what was happening to no avail. It was then that a flash of green caught her eye. Through the open back door of the office, Barrett flung himself at Odelina’s head in a flutter of feathers.
“Not your pet!” Barrett screeched as he dug his claws into Odelina’s head, smacking her about the face with his wings, and pinching her nose in his beak.
“Bad plan! Treacherous! Plan of my own!” He continued to squawk as Odelina tried to fight him off.
The spell, being incomplete, started to recede. Feeling returned to Emma’s legs. As Odelina and Barrett continued to fight, Emma tried to pull her feet from the ground, but it was slow going. A new thought occurred to her and she lay on her back. Digging in her pocket, she pulled the cheap plastic lighter out and began to flick it. The first two tries produced nothing. On the third try, a flame jumped from the lighter. Sounds of tree twit/parrot mortal combat almost distracted her, but with everything she had, Emma stretched her arm above her.
“Hey! Mouth Jammer!” Emma said.
Across the courtyard, Odelina tossed Barrett away and looked at Emma. Her face froze in abject fear as Emma lit a branch on fire. Odelina screamed. She clutched at her hair, now ignited, and writhed in pain. Emma extracted her legs from the earth. She turned, pulled her lime green water pistol, and extinguished the flame. Before Odelina had time to recover, Emma ran over, grabbed her service pistol, and hit the Hamadryad over the head with it. Odelina crumpled to the ground in a heap.
“You’re not the only one who enjoys hitting. Turns out, I like it, too,” Emma said, pulling her cuffs and snapping them around Odelina’s wrists.
“Nice job, partner!” Emma said, standing up and looking at Barrett.
“Nobody’s pet!” he squawked, walking around in an angry circle on the grass.
Odelina groaned.
“How… did you know?” she said.
Emma hauled her to her feet.
“The fire? Little thing called the Internet. Once I knew what you were, I looked up how to stop you,” Emma said.
Under the tree, Stinson rubbed his legs and tried to walk it off. Emma was pulling Odelina toward the door when Odelina stopped and looked over her shoulder at Stinson.
“Coona Macka Deceptus Rey!” Odelina shouted at him.
Everybody froze, expecting something to happen.
“What’d she do?!” Stinson said.
The all waited, but after several seconds nothing had changed.
“I guess nothing. Not so big with your hands tied behind your back are ya, Mouth-Jammer?” Emma said, thrusting Odelina forward.
“Just for the record. You know it wasn’t Harry Tidwell that passed you that bum check, right?” Emma said.
“I know that,” Odelina said.
Emma grabbed the cuffs, stopping Odelina in her tracks.
“Oh yeah? Well then how d'you figure the old man, here?” Emma said.
“Little birdie told me,” Odelina said.
12
The thunderous beat of the helicopter drowned out every other noise as it cruised above the lush greenery of the Hemisphere forest.
“And you’re sure she turned him back? My Harry?” Audri Tidwell said, sitting in the cabin next to Emma, her voice sounding in Emma’s headphones.
Both women looked out either side of the open doors, scanning the terrain for any sign.
“She agreed to do it for a reduced sentence. She also knows that it can just as easily be revoked, so I don’t think she lied about it,” Emma said, into the microphone by her chin.
Emma and Audri fell into silence and co
ntinued to search. The helicopter flew along a stretch of the forest, making a gentle turn as it completed another search grid.
“I was so worried about him as that thing, now I’m worried about him as my husband. Alone and defenseless in the forest. I mean what if…” Audri said, her words trailing off.
Emma turned and put her hand on Audri’s shoulder.
“You can’t think like that. You have to hope. Hope and never stop until you see him again,” Emma said.
Audri turned and looked at Emma.
“She couldn’t do anything… about your situation?” Audri said.
Emma held her smile, but the feeling went out of it. She turned back to the opening and looked at the trees.
“No. She just told me what I already knew. One Mouth Jammer can’t undo the magic of another,” she said.
Audri put her hand on Emma’s shoulder now.
“Then I guess we both keep hoping until we see our loved ones again,” she said, then looked out her own side at the forest below.
Emma found the words easier to hear then to believe, but realized she had no choice but to continue the search, here and wherever her own quest took her.
Another minute of silence and the pilot’s voice crackled over Emma’s headphones.
“Sorry, Detective. We’re running low on fuel and it’ll be dark soon. We have to turn back,” he said.
Emma nodded. Audri lurched forward in her seat.
“No! We can’t go back. Just five more minutes,” she said, hearing the same message over her own headset.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. No can do. We’re not good to anybody disabled on the ground. We can start fresh tomorrow,” he said.
Audri looked at Emma and Emma could see the pleading in Audri’s eyes.
Emma didn’t know what to say. The silence told Audri what she didn’t want to admit. Audri nodded and turned away, her body shaking, her hand to her mouth.
The edge of the forest slid under them, the town of Hemisphere spread out before them. In between a rolling field of scrub and grasses. In the cockpit, the pilot leaned forward. Beside Emma, Audri lunged toward the open door, so much so that Emma instinctively reached out to stop her.
Emma Spaulding Paranormal Detective: Sasquatch (A Hemisphere Story Book 1) Page 5
