Avondale

by Toby Neighbors

  He hurried over to Rafe and shook his friend awake.

  “What?” Rafe said, his voice still thick with sleep.

  “I think there are animals of some type approaching the camp.”

  Rafe rubbed his face.

  “You sure?” he asked.

  “No, that’s why I woke you. Come see what you think.”

  Rafe rolled out from under the blanket he was sharing with Olyva. He touched her head, grimaced, then tucked the blanket it around her. Tiberius helped pull his friend up.

  “How close?” Rafe asked.

  “It’s impossible to tell,” Tiberius answered. “All I can see is the firelight reflecting in their eyes. But they seem to be getting closer.”

  “Any chance they’re the big cows you saw the other day?”

  “It’s possible, but it could also be the Graypees.”

  “Do the horses seem nervous?” Rafe asked.

  “No, they’re quiet.”

  “Okay, show me.”

  They had to move to the other side of the fire. With their backs to the bright flames, they could peer out into the darkness. It took Rafe a minute, but then he confirmed Tiberius’ suspicions.

  “You’re right,” Rafe said. “It’s definitely a pack of animals. Better to prepare for the worst.”

  “Prepare how?” Tiberius asked.

  “Well, the best thing to do would be to build a ring of fire around the camp. Animals are afraid of fire.”

  “We don’t have enough dung. We can build up the fire we’ve got, but not by much.”

  “Well, we’ll need to move Olyva closer to the fire. Wake up Lexi, we’ll need everyone armed and ready.”

  “She’s only been asleep a few hours,” Tiberius said.

  He hated to wake her. She seemed so peaceful and so beautiful curled under his cloak. He shook her shoulder gently. Her eyes fluttered open.

  “We have trouble,” he said quietly.

  She nodded and got to her feet. Rafe tried to wake Olyva, but she wouldn’t come around. He and Tiberius lifted her by picking up the blanket she was sleeping on and set her as close to the fire as possible.

  “See to your weapons,” Rafe said.

  Lexi handed Tiberius a spear. She kept one and gave the other to Rafe. Tiberius had a good dagger, but he doubted that he could do much with it if they were facing the Graypees. In his mind, he remembered the reptilian creatures. They looked like big lizards, with powerful hind legs that could hurtle their heavy bodies forward rapidly. Tiberius had been lucky when he’d killed the Alpha that had lunged at him outside the walls of Avondale. The creature had impaled itself on his spear. He doubted he would be so lucky a second time.

  “Can you do that fire trick like you pulled on the trees?” Rafe asked him.

  Tiberius thought about it. He wasn’t sure if it were possible. He remembered that in the book of magic, the second part that described the Fourth Order of magic had said something about kindling fire. He wracked his brain for a moment, trying to remember what the book had said.

  Fire is universally known and used, from a cook using fire to roast meat, to a blacksmith manipulating fire in a forge. Yet, very few truly understand fire, and as the second principle of magic states, magic begins with knowledge. Fire occurs when combustable matter loses its magical energy. For instance, wood when heated, will shed its inherent magical energy (the spark of life that causes it to grow) producing fire. Accendo summons that energy. The Wizard should feel the pull of magic from the unseen, into the physical world as fire.

  Tiberius didn’t think that animals were naturally combustable. He doubted that using the spell he’d used on the trees would have much effect on them. He also wondered why the spell in his book was different than the spell that had been on Princess Ariel’s list.

  “Well?” Rafe asked. “Can you do it?”

  “No,” Tiberius said irritably. “It won’t work on animals. Maybe if they had fur.”

  “Damn,” Rafe said. “You got any another handy tricks up your sleeve?”

  Tiberius shook his head. He was tempted to pull out the scroll and look over the spells on Princess Ariel’s list again, but in his nervousness he couldn’t think of anything that would help them.

  “I can’t tell how close they are,” Rafe said.

  “What are we going to do?” Lexi asked.

  “When we killed a couple of them outside Avondale, it scared the rest of the pack away.”

  “How do we kill them?” Lexi persisted. “They’re big, aren’t they?”

  “Almost as big as our horses,” Rafe agreed.

  Just then, the horses began to snort and paw the ground.

  “They must have heard something,” Rafe said.

  Tiberius picked up a piece of dung. It was round. He hurled it toward the eyes and whispered, “Ingesco Exsuscito.”

  He could have used the spell given in his book, and for a moment he considered it, but the book had said never to use the spells of a higher order until one had mastered the previous orders. So he used the same spell he used on the trees the day before.

  The dung patty burst into flames just as it began to arc down toward the ground. Light flittered across the area and they saw two of the creeping Graypees. The dung hit the ground and broke apart, each of the pieces still burning. The light did little to illuminate the creatures approaching, but at least they could occasionally see the Graypees’ silhouettes as they moved in front of the small flames.

  “That works,” Rafe said as he heft his spear.

  Tiberius watched his friend with more than a little awe. Rafe had trained with all sorts of weapons since they were children. His powerful shoulders flexed as he drew back the spear and took careful aim. He took took two steps forward and let the spear fly. It disappeared into the darkness and almost instantly they were rewarded with a roar of pain.

  Tiberius flicked his wrist, uncurling his whip in one smooth motion. He couldn’t throw a spear, but he could make some noise. He waved the long, leather whip over his head, then with a simple jerk, the whip cracked loudly. Lexi moved to stand guard over Olyva, and Tiberius tossed his spear to Rafe.

  Crack! Crack! The whip was whistling through the air now, the cracker on the end popping loudly with each of Tiberius’ practiced movements. He snapped the whip back and forth, waving it over his head and popping it as loudly as he could.

  Rafe took aim with the second spear and then made his throw. Once again there as a shriek of pain, signaling that another of the dreaded beasts had been hit. They didn’t know if the Graypee’s were merely wounded or seriously hurt. They could hear the pack growling and hissing now. Tiberius kept glancing up at the dark sky, silently praying that the sun would appear.

  Rafe drew his sword with his right hand and his dagger with his left. There had been times growing up that Tiberius had envied his friend’s prowess with weapons. Rafe was a natural born fighter. He not only had the physical ability, but he understood tactics and strategy. Glancing at his friend now, Tiberius thought he looked like a legendary warrior. If they had to die, and Tiberius was hoping it wouldn’t come to that, he at least took comfort in knowing that he would die fighting beside his best friend.

  Crack! Crack! The whip popped again and again. The glowing eyes stopped moving forward and began to pace back and forth.

  “What are they waiting on?” Lexi asked through clenched teeth.

  “I’m not sure,” Rafe said.

  Then the horses began to buck and neigh loudly in terror.

  “They’re after the horses!” Rafe shouted.

  He dashed into the darkness. Tiberius wanted to follow him, but he knew he needed to keep cracking the whip. The loud pops might be the only thing keeping the rest of the pack at bay.

  “Get out of here!” screamed Rafe.

  Tiberius felt a churning in his guts. He hated the fact that he couldn’t see what was happening. Inwardly he vowed never to be caught in such a situation again. He would make sure they had enough fuel t
o protect their camp from now on, if they could just survive the mess they were in.

  “What happened to him?” Lexi called out.

  “I don’t know,” Tiberius shouted. “I can’t see him. Rafe!”

  “I’m okay,” came the reply.

  The horses were still straining against the leather reins that had been used to secure them for the night. They neighed and shuffled nervously.

  “They don’t seem to be anxious to attack,” Rafe called again. “Loud noises scare them.”

  Tiberius kept working the whip, snapping and popping it over and over again. Lexi started shouting and Rafe rejoined them. The Graypees growled and hissed, but eventually they retreated. When the sun finally rose, they saw two of the large lizard creatures lying dead with spears through their bodies.

  “That makes three,” Rafe said proudly.

  “They would have attacked and killed us if it wasn’t for Tiberius’ whip,” said Lexi.

  Tiberius slumped to the ground. He was so exhausted he couldn’t imagine anything that could keep his eyes open for even one minute longer.

  “What’s happening?” Olyva said in a voice close to panic.

  Everyone turned, shocked that Olyva was even awake, but what they saw took their breath away. Olyva was holding up her right hand. It was dark and discolored, but even more amazing was the tiny brown stem that was growing from her palm and the fragile, green leaf that slowly unfurled from it.

  Chapter 31

  Olyva

  The dark dream seemed to last for an eternity. She remembered lying down on the soft turf, nestled between the gnarly roots of the odd looking trees. Rafe had been close, he was always close, always reassuring. And then the dream began. It was dark at first, and musky, like rich soil and wet leaves. She saw woody tendrils reaching out for her. At first she fought them off, slapping them away, but soon there were too many. They covered her, pulling her down into the spongy moss and dark earth. It was horrifying at first, but then a sweet feeling of peace swept over her.

  Amber sunlight invaded her dream, but the sun felt like life itself. It poured into her skin, into her hair, nourishing, strengthening, and beckoning for her to rise. But she was too tired, and eventually the sunlight faded away. Darkness came over her again and she was aware of the silent growth happening inside her. She could feel the essence of life taking shape and moving toward the surface of her body. At first she was confused and frightened, but then the peace came again and she recognized the beauty of what she was becoming.

  Eventually things changed. She felt the presence of fire close by, not just the heat from the flames, but the substance’s eagerness to consume and a raw wild terror that made her body shake. All around her she felt dissonance, vibrations of worry and fear buffeted her from the beings around her. She didn’t like it, but there was nothing she could do. She needed the sunlight to strengthen her again. When it came at last she heard voices, but they were hard to make out. There was a sense of the familiar, but no real recognition. As the sunlight soaked into her again, she felt the sweet beckoning once again.

  Finally she woke up. At first she thought it was all a dream, just one long strange dream that felt unbelievably real. It was rare for a dream to effect her so strongly, but not unheard of. Usually her dreams were more romantic in nature, but this dream had been fantastic and completely out of the realm of the ordinary. She opened her eyes and saw the beautiful amber colored canopy of clouds overhead. She breathed deeply, filling her lungs with the sweet clean air. She stretched and it felt good to move her stiff muscles.

  She pulled herself up, propping her body up on her elbows to look around. She saw Rafe and Lexi; both looked tense as if they were expecting trouble. The Earl’s son Tiberius was nearby; he looked completely exhausted. She was just about to call for Rafe when she felt something strange in her hand. It felt like a tender twig. She glanced down and was shocked to find a tiny branch growing out of her palm.

  “What’s happening?” she asked, her voice quaking with terror.

  As she watched a tiny leaf unfurled from the branch.

  “What is it?” Rafe said hurrying over.

  “I don’t know,” Tiberius said in a strangely tense voice.

  “Is that a leaf?” Lexi said.

  “What’s happening?” Olyva asked again.

  She felt tears stinging her eyes and despite the sun’s beckoning, she wanted to lay back down, cover herself, and fall back into the dark where everything was peaceful.

  “Olyva,” Rafe said, dropping to his knees beside her. “You’re awake. Thank god for that.”

  “Look at me!” she demanded, holding her hand up.

  “It is a leaf,” Rafe said.

  He reached out and plucked the leaf from the stem. From the look of consternation on his face, he had expected the twig to come with the leaf, but it was rooted securely in her hand. To Olyva’s surprise she felt not only the tug, like a rotten tooth being jerked from a person’s mouth, but also the leaf as it was smashed between Rafe’s fingers and pain as he pulled it away from the stem.

  “Ouch! What are you doing?” she cried.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it would hurt you,” Rafe said.

  “Is it stuck in her hand?” Lexi said. “I don’t see any blood.”

  “You mean like a splinter?” Tiberius asked. “I don’t think so.”

  “What is happening?” Olyva said again.

  “We’re not sure,” Tiberius said. “But the trees were doing something to you.”

  “What?”

  “It’s okay,” Rafe said. “We rescued you.”

  “I don’t understand,” she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

  “The grove of trees was…” Rafe searched for the words.

  “Sentient,” Tiberius said, “and predatory. I’m not sure what they were doing to you, but while you were sleeping, they covered you with their roots. We had to burn the grove down to get you out.”

  “And you were unconscious all the next day and night,” Lexi said. “Probably because of some toxin they used on you.”

  “Or black magic,” Rafe said angrily.

  “Whatever it is,” Tiberius said calmly, “its having an effect on you, but there’s no need to panic. We just need to find out what exactly is happening. How do you feel?”

  “I feel okay,” Olyva said. “I had a really strange dream, and then I woke up.”

  “Other than the stem in your hand, do you feel different?” Tiberius probed.

  “The sun feels exquisite,” Olyva said, standing up.

  She stretched, lifting her arms up toward the sky. It felt so good, the sunlight was like warm water cascading over her body and into every inch of her skin. She started taking off her tunic.

  “Hey!” Rafe said. “What are you doing?”

  “I want to feel the sun on my skin,” she said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

  Tiberius turned away and Lexi stared wide eyed. Lady Olyva, the prim and proper Earl’s daughter from Hamill Point, had suddenly lost any modesty she might have had.

  “You need to cover yourself up,” Rafe said, grabbing her tunic and covering her chest.

  “Oh my god,” Lexi said. “Tiberius you have to see this.”

  “Have a little respect!” Rafe shouted angrily.

  “No, look,” Lexi said pointing.

  Tiberius turned around. Lexi was pointing at Olyva’s back.

  “What is it?” she asked, a note of panic in her voice.

  “Oh, god,” said Rafe, his voice cracking.

  “You’ve got more stems on your back,” Tiberius said, bending close to look.

  “I do?”

  “Yes, and some rough patches that look oddly enough like bark.”

  “Tiberius!” Rafe said, obviously on the verge of having a fit of rage. “What the hell is happening?”

  “I don’t know,” Tiberius said. “But it looks to me like the trees were somehow transmuting her into a tree. It�
�s possible that all of those trees were once people.”

  “This isn’t happening,” Rafe said.

  “We need to see the rest of your body,” Tiberius said. “And we need to see if it gets worse or better, and keep track of how quickly the changes come.”

  “Are you saying she’s going to turn into a tree?” Rafe said.

  He was pacing, his hands clenching. His agitation was discomforting to Olyva. She could feel the anger and fear radiating off of him. It was like the screech of rusty hinges and made her gnash her teeth.

  “Are you okay?” Lexi asked.

  “Rafe’s too angry.”

  “I just don’t understand,” he cried.

  “Get him away from me,” she said.

  “Come on Rafe, let’s check on the horses,” Tiberius said.

  Tiberius walked with his friend down the river bank as Lexi helped Olyva pull off the pants that Rafe had given her. Her legs had similar patches of stems and bark. The stems, she could see them on her legs, were like thick, brown fuzz, barely taller than her skin and soft. The patch of rough scales did in fact look like bark. Her feet were covered in the rough scaly skin, and her toes seemed longer and more angled on the ends. But the sun on her skin felt wonderful. She thought to herself that she could stand in the sunlight all day, just basking in the wondrous feeling of the sunlight on her skin.

  “Are you hungry?” Lexi asked, as she held out the pants for Olyva to put back on.

  “Do I have to?” she asked.

  “You don’t want to put your pants back on?” Lexi asked.

  “It just feels so good.”

  “To be undressed?”

  “The sun,” Olyva said. “It’s wonderful.”

  “Well, be that as it may, you need pants on. And a shirt. We were attacked by Graypees last night and they could come back.”

  “Graypees?” Olyva asked, the note of fear returning to her voice.

  “Yes, Rafe killed two of them. He and Tiberius held the others off, but they could come back.”