House of Imperial

by Jaymin Eve

  I was distracted from the heavy thoughts as Chase swung his head toward the land of trees, braids clinking together. I liked the way most of his hair was shorn except for those few longer pieces. It really suited him. His symbols were darker than his skin, but still in the same tone. And they glowed much more brightly.

  “Welcome to the House of Leights,” he said, and I focused on the land of trees that spanned out into the distance. I couldn’t see the end. I couldn’t even make out one other landmark, just a single canopy of huge green and gold-tipped leaves. As we took a few more steps closer, I noticed the trunks were not brown but a solid gold. Flaky bark and gnarled whorls gave them a similar appearance to trees from home, but as we stopped right before a massive one – its trunk the width of a truck – I felt the unnatural energy.

  I’d always been vitalized by nature, water especially, which was probably why I loved the ocean so much. House of Leights took the normal buzz of nature, multiplied it by a million … and then threw in a few cans of energy drink.

  We were on the edge of the platform, huge trees in front of us towering way above our heads, so tall I had to lean right back to see the top. Star and Marsil remained a little behind, allowing Emma and I the first look. We were the newbies here.

  Emma’s eyes were wide and filled with wonder and awe. I often forgot that she was an Earthling too. I wasn’t alone with these new experiences.

  “I’ve never seen anything like this,” she murmured. “I never even realized they were so huge. I wish I’d walked over here sooner.”

  Chase flashed almost perfect white teeth. Two on the bottom were slightly crooked, but it wasn’t even remotely a flaw. I was just being a picky bitch because he was too much of everything. Dude needed a flaw.

  “You’ll have plenty of time now to become acquainted with my land, and if you treat her with respect, she will return the favor.”

  This reminded me of what Daniel had said about the trees and Laous. I wanted to know what that meant, so I asked, hoping like heck I wasn’t stepping over the line. Thankfully, Chase didn’t seem offended. He smiled at me, while placing his hand firmly against the golden trunk closest to him. Almost immediately, a literal glow washed over his skin. I thought I saw his body shimmer and grow larger, but when I blinked again he looked like normal-sized Chase.

  “They’re called Galinta,” he answered. “An ancient breed of tree folk. Here, the trees are not inanimate beings like yours on Earth. This is their land. We’re just lucky enough that they allow us to share it with them.”

  Not inanimate? “They walk?” I asked slowly.

  Chase nodded. “Yes, if they want to, they can walk and communicate. They’re ancient creatures, living here long before Daelighters existed on this world. Most of the time they rest, but … not always.”

  Emma had a hand over her mouth. Then removed it to say: “This is why your power is connected to nature.” She turned to me. “Leights shift their shape, turning into beings that are very much like the trees here.”

  Chase shrugged. “We’re nothing like the Galinta. They are so much more than we could ever hope to be.”

  The respect and reverence in his voice, the glow the Galinta still shared with him, it was all very mystical and incredibly emotional to experience. Something inside my tight chest, where the darkness was hovering, waiting to pounce, eased. We were insignificant to these beings, but at the same time, being near them made me feel like I was more, that I could strive further and reach new heights.

  Marsil and Star moved forward. “We need to cross into your land now,” Marsil told Chase. “It’s not safe for us to linger out in the open like this.”

  Chase turned to the tree and placed his other hand onto it. “We ask for safe passage to the village of Charwin.”

  There was a moment’s pause, then a rumble jolted me. At first I thought the platform was shaking, but it turned out to be the trees – Galinta – in front of us. They vibrated hard and fast, leaves drifting down. I fought against the urge to pick one up and see how it felt. Magic trees might possibly be the coolest thing I had seen in Overworld to date.

  When I finally lowered my head from watching the leaves fall from above, I choked on my next breath. What in the…? Right in front of me was a large rounded pathway through the canopy.

  The branches and boughs had shifted and bent themselves to form the path, which was level with the platform we were on. It was like those wooden bridges that hang over gorges, the ones with the planks and small gaps between each board. The boards in this case were tree branches, so we’d have to watch our steps, but it looked relatively safe.

  “Well,” I said with a breathy gasp, “no wonder they think we’ll be safe from Laous here. No one gets in without the blessing of the trees.”

  “Exactly.” Star clapped her hands. “I love this land. We only ever came here a few times when I was a child. But it was so much fun. Their houses are built—”

  “No spoilers,” Marsil cut her off. “Let them discover it.”

  She shut her mouth, a chuckle escaping from between her tightly-pressed lips. Emma and I exchanged a look, and I wondered if I looked as excited as she did. I certainly felt an unusual level of anticipation. I wondered if this was what it was like to be a kid at Christmas. You know, for people who didn’t have a mother like mine. She had refused to celebrate the holiday, calling it a waste of time and money.

  “You okay?” Emma asked.

  She must have caught my scowl. “Just thinking about my mom,” I admitted. “She’s been on my mind a lot.”

  “Do you think she’s actually dead?” Emma’s voice was laced with new pain, and I knew this would be reminding her of the death of her own family.

  I kind of nodded and shook my head, before letting it fall to rest on my chest. “Honestly, I don’t know. The part that worries me the most is that I’m upset, but … also okay. I think there might be something wrong with me.”

  Like I was a sociopath masquerading as a normal person.

  Emma grabbed my hand. Star, who had been listening in from the side, took my other hand. “From the little I know, your mom treated you terribly,” Emma said fiercely. “You might think you have to grieve just because she was your mom, but the truth is, she doesn’t deserve your sorrow.”

  “You didn’t want anything bad to happen to her.” Star sounded so sure of this and it made me want to hug her. She thought I was a better person than I actually was.

  “No, I didn’t want her to die,” I agreed. “But I did want to be away from her. I dreamed about escaping all the time. And … now I’m free, and it’s … great.”

  Besides the almost dying and having my mind wiped part, I’d never actually been happier. Emotions were no longer a thing I would hide from. Numbness was safe, that was for sure, but it was not living.

  “You’re a good person, Callie,” Emma said with real emotion. “Don’t take this guilt on. It’s not yours to own.”

  Before I could reply with the heartfelt thanks she deserved, Chase stepped into the first part of the trees, startling the three of us. Both girls gave my hands a last squeeze, then released me so we could follow his path. There was enough space for us to walk side by side, but it seemed safer to go one at a time. I decided not to think about my mom anymore, focusing instead on where I was stepping.

  There was a thick canopy above us, which made it really dark. As this darkness grew, my nerves kicked in hard. Reaching out, I gently rubbed my hand across a nearby golden trunk. I was seeking something, reassurance, comfort, the knowledge that I was no longer stuck in my own head.

  “Thank you for helping us,” I whispered randomly.

  A low thrumming noise echoed through my mind and I almost fell over. I was pretty sure the sounds were words, in another language. The noise had the cadence and tempo of speech, each word filled with wind and melody and multiple voices. I must have squeaked, because Chase was at my side in a moment. He moved amongst these trees with more grace than I’d ever sh
own just walking on flat ground.

  “Is everything okay, Callie?” he asked, green eyes darting around me, searching for a threat.

  I patted his arm, my heart rate starting to slow after the shock of the trees talking to me. “Yes, everything is great. I just … I touched the tree and then there were words in my head. Not in English, though, so I guess it could have just been noise.”

  “The Galinta spoke to you?” He sounded surprised.

  I shrugged. “I … think so.” When he didn’t reply right away, I started to get worried. “Is that bad? Are they going to kill me now?”

  Chase shook his head, no hesitation. “Definitely not, it’s a great honor actually. They used to greet all who walked through our land, but the last few decades this occurrence has grown rarer.”

  Star nodded. “Yes, they did when I was a child. They sound so beautiful. Like a collective of wind and song.”

  “Yes, that’s exactly what it was like.”

  I felt calmer now, my fear of the darkness fading away under the knowledge that I had friends around me. And the Galinta. We started to walk again. Chase spent most of his time keeping Emma from falling to her death. That girl was seriously uncoordinated, and she complained the entire time about forced exercise and how it was the bane of her existence. I laughed more than once at her.

  “I’m serious,” she told me, trying to stomp her foot, before twisting her ankle and almost dying again. “Gym class in school should be banned. Running for fun should be banned. Squats should be banned.”

  Everyone laughed then. “So what do you like to do?” I teased.

  Before she answered, there was a loud rustling from behind us, and I momentarily freaked until I realized that the trees were just closing the path, making it inaccessible again.

  “Don’t stress,” Chase told us. “They’re making sure no one follows us. We’re not about to be crushed by tree branches.”

  The Galinta were already on the short list of beings I trusted, so I was not stressed.

  “My number one love is reading,” Emma said, picking up the previous conversation. “I used to live my life through books. Fantasy especially. Now I get to live out real life fantasy, and it feels like I have been preparing for this my entire life. I also love cooking, eating, knitting, and cats. Totally not a dog person.”

  “What about dragons?” Star winked at her.

  Pink tinged Emma’s cheeks, and she narrowed her eyes playfully at her friend. “I can’t lie. Dragons might just be my favorite now.”

  She tripped, and Chase caught her again. With a sigh, she called over her shoulder: “What about you, Callie? What do you like to do for fun?”

  I had to think about it for a moment, because she’d had this entire list. I’d never done much in my life I considered fun. “I guess … I like to fight – or train to fight anyway. The human body is an incredible thing. It can be honed and focused into a weapon. I can scale rock walls and climb ropes, flip and contort myself into a million positions. I like the power and control of that.”

  I heard Emma’s groan. “Always ruining our friendship by liking exercise.”

  “I can’t lie,” I said, mimicking her. “I love it. Even running. My mind calms when I am warming up. I usually run five miles before we start training.”

  Emma sounded like she was choking. “Five. Miles! Are you freaking kidding me?”

  She started muttering then about how I wasn’t human and the only time humans should run was to get away from angry dogs. “Don’t forget I am going to teach you how to fight,” I told her.

  Her rambling cut off, and she sounded less annoyed when she replied with, “I’m actually not dreading that as much as I thought I would.”

  I had no idea if I was going to be able to teach another person. I knew how to train and fight, but translating that into teaching a newbie was not easy. I had seen a lot of amazing fighters be really terrible teachers. But I would try.

  “I also love cats, Converse shoes, jeans with rips in them, and casual shirts.” Because that all had to count for something. “Oh … and romantic movies.”

  Her eyes lit up, and she almost died again trying to turn to me. “Hallmark, right? I basically live for the new Christmas movies.”

  “Same!” I said, showing more enthusiasm than she’d probably seen from me before.

  Then both of us laughed, and I once again thanked the fates for this new family I’d found.

  We walked for a long time. The scenery didn’t change much, different variations of the same trees. “Do you walk like this all the time to get everywhere?” Emma asked Chase, sounding mildly fatigued.

  “Yes.” His voice was calming. “Walking is the best way to get around. We do not allow transporters in Leights. We also don’t connect to the network except in an emergency. The Galinta are all we need.”

  “Great,” Emma groaned. “How much further until we reach your town?”

  “We’re walking above Fronza Canyon right now, so it should be another mile or so.”

  I stumbled a little, my eyes drawn down to the gap between the branches. I wasn’t sure what a canyon was here, but if it was like Earth, then that meant…

  “Holy shit,” Emma gasped, her eyes drawn down as well. “There’s a thousand foot drop below us.”

  Chase looked confused, his eyes shifting between me and Emma. “There is no need to worry. We’re safe in the trees.”

  “What if the trees decide to release us?” Emma whisper-shrieked, panic filling her voice.

  Chase placed a hand on her shoulder, and … she visibly calmed. Whoa. He definitely had a magic just like the Galinta. “They will never let you fall.” She let out a relieved sigh, until he added. “Not unless you wrong them.” Then he winked, and I relaxed somewhat.

  Marsil, moving forward, wrapped an arm around Emma, offering comfort. She leaned into him and I heard her murmur, “I miss Lexen.”

  “He’ll be fine,” Marsil reassured her. “He’s a Draygo and an overlord minor. That’s a tough combination to hurt.”

  This seemed to mollify her, because she straightened, prepared to continue on. But my worry was back at the forefront of my mind. Daniel better be okay.

  By the time we finally reached our destination, Emma looked more than a little frazzled. Her long auburn curls were frizzing; strain was evident around her mouth and eyes, and she had somehow managed to tear the sleeve of her white shirt. I, of course, looked fifty times worse than that. I was still wearing my school uniform covered in dried gunk from the tank.

  Lately I’d been dirty more than I was clean, which made me uncomfortable because I generally showered twice a day. It would be great if there was some form of indoor plumbing in this village, along with food. Since we were up in the trees, though, that was probably a stretch.

  The path ended with a series of step-like branches that deposited us to a lower level of the forest. We weren’t on the ground, and I was starting to wonder if there was a ground here. It appeared the trees just went down forever. This lower level had a “floor” of leaves, thick like a canopy, but apparently fine to walk on. Chase stepped right out onto it.

  The area was huge, with lots of trunks dotted throughout, spiking up through the leafy floor. “Each one is a home,” Star whispered as we followed Chase.

  I had no idea what she was talking about until I noticed the rounded door of the trunk nearest us. That’s what Marsil had stopped her from telling us before: Leights lived inside the trunks of trees. Amazing. They’d taken the concept of a “tree house” to an entirely new level.

  Chase led us past dozens of dwellings like this, and the further we got from the stairs, the more villagers and huts emerged. Children ran by us, using branches to swing themselves around, playing and laughing. They all had long hair, mostly to their mid-back, but some even to their waist. Their skin colors ranged from the lightest tan to the darkest of ebony, all beautiful and exotic. The bone structure here alone would keep the modeling industry going for a thou
sand years.

  They also appeared friendly and calm. Even the children. They played, but it was all smooth motions and graceful leaps through the trees. No screams or shrieks, just gentle laughter. Everything had a peaceful feel to it, and I just wanted to sit for a while and take it all in.

  “I figure first you might like to wash up, and then food,” Chase said when we reached his side. “I’ll take you to the bathing areas.”

  Bathing areas sounded a little too communal for me, but I was past the point of being picky. I needed to be clean. We passed another round area, which had stones and branches scattered about.

  “We all eat together here, unless you prefer your own company,” Chase explained. “There are multiple villages like this spread out across the land of Leights. I visit between all of them with my parents. The overlord’s family is nomadic so that no village is lost or forgotten.”

  “Do you have any brothers or sisters?” I asked him.

  Chase shook his head. “No, my mother was lucky to be able to carry me to full term. We have long gestations, almost fifteen months, and it’s hard on a woman’s body. My mother was already weakened from a sickness that ravaged her in her youth, so it was very worrying.”

  “So sorry to hear that. I bet she’s glad to have had her one child, though.”

  Marsil chuckled. “I always thought my mother doted on me until I met Chase’s. He’s her golden child and can do no wrong.”

  Chase shrugged, not looking at all embarrassed to be called out on his close relationship to his parents. He loved his family, that much was clear. He owned it with pride.

  Beyond the eating area, we came across another set of stairs. These led down to a large platform beside a round pool. A pool in the trees? What sort of crazy was this?

  The water was so clear that I could see the bottom. It looked like a smooth wooden bowl, made up from half a huge tree trunk. “This is provided by the Galinta,” Chase told us. “They form the pool, and the water which falls in to it.”

  It was about the size of an Olympic pool, but round. “Not much privacy,” Emma said with a dry laugh. “I personally keep my lady parts out of the public eye, for multiple reasons.”