The Ironwood Tree

by Tony DiTerlizzi

  From there they moved into an enormous space where a massive tree grew underground. The thick trunk reached up until it was lost in the shadows, branches forming a canopy over them. The air was filled with a strange metallic birdsong.

  “That can’t be a tree,” Simon said. “There’s no sun. No sun means no photosynthesis.”

  Jared peered at the trunk. “It’s metal,” he said, realizing that the leaves were all of beaten silver. High in the tree a copper bird beat its mechanical wings and stared down with cold, jet eyes.

  “The first ironwood tree,” said one of the dwarves. “Behold, mortals, a beauty that will never fade.”

  Jared looked up at the tree with awe, amazed by how one metal had been forged as rough as bark and twisted into branches while another was as delicate as filigree. Each silver leaf was unique, veined and curled like a real one.

  “Behold, mortals, a beauty that will never fade.”

  “Why do you call us mortals?” Jared asked.

  “Don’t you know your own tongue?” a dwarf said, and snorted. “It means one who is fated for death. What else should we call you? Your kind wither in a blink of the eye.” He leaned close to the bars of the cage and winked.

  Several passages led from the cavern out into corridors that were too dim for Jared to see where they led. The cage was wheeled through one—a wide, columned hallway that led into a smaller room. Sitting on a throne hewn from an enormous stalagmite was another gray-skinned man, this one with a wiry black beard. His eyes shone like green jewels. A metal dog stretched out on a deerskin rug before the throne, the dog’s side rising and falling in time with a thin mechanical wheeze, just as if it were really sleeping. On its back a single key slowly turned.

  “My lord Korting.”

  Around the throne were other dwarves, all of them silent.

  “My lord Korting,” said one of the dwarves. “It is as you said. They have come looking for their sister.”

  The Korting stood. “Mulgarath told me you would come. How fortunate you are to be here, how honored that you will see the beginning of the end of human rule.”

  “Whatever,” Jared said. “Where’s Mallory?”

  The Korting scowled. “Bring her,” he said, and several of the dwarves immediately shuffled off. “You would do well to watch what you say. Mulgarath will soon reign over the world, and we, his loyal servants, will be at his side. He will strip the land bare for us and then we will build a glorious new forest of ironwood trees. We will rebuild the world in silver and copper and iron.”

  Simon crawled to the edge of the cage. “That doesn’t make any sense. What are you going to eat? How are you going to breathe without plants to make oxygen?”

  Jared smiled at Simon. Sometimes it wasn’t so bad having a know-it-all for a twin brother.

  The Korting’s scowl deepened. “Do you deny that we dwarves are the greatest craftspeople you have ever seen? You need only to look at my hound there to see our superiority. His silver body is more lovely than any fur, he is faster, he needs no food, and he neither drools nor fawns.” The Korting nudged the dog with his foot. The dog turned and stretched before resuming its wheezy sleep.

  “I don’t think that’s what Simon was trying to say,” Jared began, but he was interrupted by six dwarves entering the room, a long glass box on their shoulders.

  “Mallory!” Jared stared with a sinking feeling in his stomach. The case looked like a coffin.

  “What did you do to our sister?” Simon demanded. He looked pale. “She’s not dead, is she?”

  “Just the opposite,” said the dwarf lord with a smile. “She will never die. Look more closely.”

  The dwarves set down the glass case on an ornately sculpted stand beside Jared and Simon’s cage.

  Mallory’s hair had been arranged and hung in one long braid snaking past her waxy, pale face. A circlet of metal leaves rested above her forehead. Her lips and cheeks were rouged as red as a doll’s, yet her hands held the hilt of a silvery blade. She had been dressed in a white gown of frothy lace. Her eyes were closed, and Jared was almost afraid that if she opened them, they would be made of glass.

  “What did they do to her?” said Simon. “It doesn’t seem like Mallory at all.”

  “Her beauty and youth will never fade,” said the Korting. “Out of this case she would be doomed to age, death, and decay—the curse of all mortals.”

  “I think Mallory would rather be doomed,” said Jared.

  The dwarf lord snorted. “Suit yourself. What have you to give me for her?”

  Jared reached into his backpack and brought out the towel-wrapped book. “Arthur Spiderwick’s field guide.” He felt a twinge of guilt at the lie but ruthlessly quashed it.

  The Korting rubbed his hands together. “Excellent. Just as was anticipated. Let’s have the book.”

  “You’ll give my sister back to me?”

  “She’ll be yours.”

  Jared held out the fake field guide, and one of the dwarves snatched it through the bars. The dwarf lord did not even bother to look at it.

  “Take this fine cage to the treasure room, and put the glass case beside it!”

  “What?” Jared said. “But you wanted to trade!’ ”

  “We have traded,” the Korting said with a sneer. “You bargained for your sister, but you never bargained for your freedom.”

  “No! You can’t!” Jared banged his hands on the bars, but it did not keep the dwarves from pushing their moving prison out into a dark corridor. He couldn’t look at Simon. After all his yelling at his brother, it was he who was the stupid one, he who hadn’t been clever enough. He felt tired and worn-out, small and pathetic. He was just a kid. How was he supposed to find a way out of this?

  “You’re going to have to feed us.”

  Chapter Five

  IN WHICH Jared and Simon Wake Sleeping Beauty

  Jared barely noticed the path they took to the treasure room. He shut his eyes against the burn of tears.

  “Here we are,” said the dwarf who had brought them. His beard was white, and there was a ring of keys at his hip. He turned to the group carrying the glass box that held Mallory. “Just set that down right there.”

  The treasure chamber was lit with a single lantern, but the heaps of shining gold reflected the light, so it was not as dim as it might have been. A silver peacock with a lapis-and-coral-studded tail pecked at a copper mouse sitting atop a vase in a way that suggested more boredom than malice.

  The white-bearded dwarf peered at them while the others trooped out. He grinned at them fondly. “I’ll just see if I can find something for you boys to play with. Perhaps gob stones? They even stand up and hurl themselves.”

  “I’m hungry,” Simon said. “We’re not mechanical. If you’re going to keep us here, you’re going to have to feed us.”

  The dwarf squinted. “True enough. I’ll bring you a mash of spiders and turnips. That will fix you right up.”

  “How are you going to give it to us?” Jared asked suddenly. “There’s no door.”

  “Oh, there’s a door all right,” said the dwarf. “I made that cage myself. Sturdy, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah,” said Jared. “Real sturdy.” He rolled his eyes. Wasn’t it bad enough that they had gotten tricked and were stuck in a cage? Did the dwarf really have to rub it in?

  “See, the lock is inside this bar.” The dwarf tapped one of the bars lightly with his finger. “I had to make the gears really tiny—had to work with a hammer the size of a pin. If you look, you can see the seam of the door. See? Right there.”

  “Can you open it?” Simon asked. Jared looked at him with surprise. Had Simon been planning the whole time, while Jared had been busy just being upset?

  “You want to see it in action?” asked the dwarf.

  “Yeah,” Jared said, not quite believing that they were going to get this lucky.

  “Well, okay, boys. Now step back for a moment. There. Just once, and then I better get your food. What a t
reat to finally get to use all of these things.”

  Jared smiled encouragingly. The dwarf took the key ring from his belt and selected a tiny key. It was the size and shape of a whistle, with a complicated pattern of ridges on it. He inserted it into one of the bars, although Jared couldn’t see the hole from their side of the cage. With a twist of the dwarf’s wrist, clicks, clunks, whirrs, and whizzing noises came from the whole rail.

  “There.” The dwarf pulled on the bar, and a front section of the cage swung open on hidden hinges. But just as the boys were moving forward, the dwarf quickly shut it. “Wouldn’t have been as much fun if you hadn’t at least tried to escape,” he chuckled, moving to hook the key ring back on his belt.

  Jared darted his hand out and grabbed for the key ring at the same time. The keys clattered to the floor.

  Simon scooped them up before the dwarf could.

  “Hey! No fair!” said the dwarf. “Give those back!”

  Simon shook his head.

  “But you have to. You’re prisoners. You can’t have the keys.”

  “We’re not giving them back,” Jared said.

  The dwarf looked panicked. He walked to the edge of the hall and yelled, “Quick—someone! Send guards! The prisoners are escaping!” When no one came, he fixed Jared and Simon with a glare. “You’d better stay right there,” he said, and darted out into the hall, still calling for guards.

  Simon fitted the key into the door, and they jumped out of the cage. “Hurry, they’re coming!”

  “We have to get Mallory!” Jared gestured to her case.

  “There’s no time,” said Simon. “We’ll come back.”

  “Wait,” Jared said. “Let’s hide here! They’ll think we ran away.”

  Simon looked panicked. “Where?”

  “On top of the cage!” Jared pointed to the solid silver lid of the cage. He scrambled on top of a nearby pile of loot and used it to climb up. “Come on!”

  Simon climbed halfway, and Jared hauled him onto the top. They had just enough time to curl up tightly before dwarves burst into the room.

  “They’re not here, either,” one dwarf said. “Not in the hallway, not in any of the nearby rooms.”

  Jared smirked against the cool metal.

  “Wind up the dogs. They’ll find them.”

  “Dogs?” Simon mouthed to Jared as the dwarves shuffled out of the room.

  “What’s the matter?” Jared smiled, giddy at the success of their plan. “You love dogs.”

  Simon rolled his eyes and dropped to the floor, kicking a candelabrum and scattering a few pieces of hematite. He picked up one and tucked it in his pocket.

  “They’re not here, either.”

  “Stop making so much noise,” Jared said, trying to climb down carefully and nearly toppling a copper rosebush.

  They knelt beside the glass case, and Jared unlatched it. There was a hiss as the lid lifted, as though some invisible gas was escaping. Inside, Mallory was motionless.

  “Mallory,” Jared said. “Get up.” He pulled at her arm, but it was limp and flopped back onto her chest when he let go.

  “You don’t think someone needs to kiss her, do you?” Simon asked. “Like Snow White?”

  “That’s gross.” Jared couldn’t remember anything about kissing in the field guide, but he couldn’t remember anything about glass coffins, either. He leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. There was no response.

  “We have to do something,” Simon said. “We don’t have much time.”

  Jared grabbed a lock of Mallory’s hair and tugged hard. She twitched slightly and half opened her eyes. Jared sighed with relief.

  “Getoffme,” she muttered, and tried to turn on her side.

  “Help me get her up,” Jared said, moving the sword off her and onto the floor.

  He pulled her body a little ways up before she slipped back into the case.

  “Come on, Mal,” Jared said into her ear. “Up!”

  Simon slapped her cheek. She twitched again, opening her eyes groggily.

  “Wha—,” she managed.

  “You have to get out of there,” said Simon. “Stand up.”

  “Lean on the sword like a cane,” Jared suggested.

  With her brothers’ help Mallory managed to get on her feet and stagger out into the hallway. It was empty.

  “Lean on the sword like a cane.”

  “For once,” Simon said, “things are actually going our way.”

  Just then they heard the distant sound of hollow, metallic barking.

  “Thestones. Thestonesspeak. Theyspeaktome.”

  Chapter Six

  IN WHICH the Stones Speak

  Jared and Simon ran, half dragging Mallory, through a series of hallways and narrow, dim rooms. Once, they passed through an overhang high above a central cavity where the Korting oversaw dwarves laboring to stack weapons onto carts. The barking, at first far off, became closer and more frenzied. They continued on, through chamber after chamber, ducking behind stalagmites when they heard dwarves nearby, and then creeping on.

  Jared stopped in a cavern with pools where white, sightless fish darted. Tiny rocks were balanced atop the points of all the stalagmites, and the sound of water droplets echoed through the space, along with a strange tapping rhythm. “Where are we?”

  “I’m not sure,” Simon said. “I would have remembered those fish, but I don’t. I don’t think we came this way when they brought us in.”

  “Where are we?” Mallory moaned, swaying slightly as she stood.

  “We can’t go back,” Jared said nervously. “We have to keep going.”

  A small, pale figure jumped out from the shadows. It had huge, luminous eyes that shone in the gloom. On its forehead, two long whiskers quivered.

  “Wha—what’s that?” Simon whispered.

  The creature tapped on the wall with one long, multijointed finger, then pressed a large ear against the stone. Jared noticed that the creature’s nails were cracked and broken.

  “Thestones. Thestonesspeak. Theyspeaktome.” It had a small, whispery voice, and Jared strained to pick out individual words. The creature tapped again. The sound was like some demented Morse code.

  “Hey,” Jared said. “Um, do you know the way out of here?”

  “Shhhhh.” It closed its eyes and nodded its head in time with something Jared couldn’t hear. Then it leaped into Jared’s arms, wrapping a strong hand around his neck. Jared stumbled backward.

  “Yes! Yes! Thestonessaytocrawlthroughthere.” It pointed into the darkness, past the pools of white fish.

  “Um, great. Thanks.” Jared tried to peel the creature off. Finally it unlatched, scrambled to the wall, and began tapping again.

  “What is that?” Simon whispered to Jared. “A really weird dwarf?”

  “A nodder or a banger, I think,” Jared whispered back. “They live in mines and warn miners of collapses and stuff.”

  Simon made a face. “Are they all insane? It’s worse than that phooka.”

  “Foryou, JaredGrace.” The creature pressed a smooth, cold stone into Jared’s hand. “Thestonewantstotravelwithyou.”

  “Uh, thanks,” Jared said. “We have to go now.” He moved toward the dark place that the nodder-banger-thing had indicated. As Jared got closer, he thought he could make out a crevice.

  “Thestonesspeak.”

  “Wait. How did you know Jared’s name?” Mallory asked, moving slowly behind her brothers.

  Jared turned back, suddenly confused. “Yeah, how did you know my name?” he demanded.

  The creature rapped on the cave wall again, an uneven series of taps. “Thestonestellme. Thestonesknowall.”

  “Riiiight.” Jared continued on. The creature had actually pointed them toward a small opening in the wall of the cave. They had overlooked it before. The hole was low to the ground and very dark. Jared got on his hands and knees and started to crawl. The cave floor was moist, and sometimes he thought he could hear a slither or a rustle just
ahead of him. His brother and sister shuffled along behind. Once or twice he heard one of them gasp, but he didn’t slow his pace. He could still hear the barking of the dogs echoing through the caverns.

  They emerged in the hall of the ironwood tree.

  “I think it’s that way,” Jared said, pointing to one of the hallways.

  They ran down the path until they came to a long fissure, almost as wide as Jared was tall. He looked down into the darkness. It was as black as if the crack went on forever.

  “We have to jump!” Simon said. “Come on!”

  “What?” said Mallory.

  The barking was close behind them. Jared saw red eyes in the gloom. Simon stepped back, then sprung across, landing hard.

  Together they leaped.

  “You have to!” Jared said, and grabbed hold of his sister’s hand. Together they leaped. Mallory stumbled when her foot hit the rock on the other side, but she fell safely onto the cave floor. They sprinted off, hoping the dogs could not jump as far as they had.

  But this passage circled around, and they found themselves back in the central hall, massive branches hanging above them, metal birds twittering.

  “Where are we going?” Mallory whined as she leaned on the sword.

  “I don’t know,” Jared said, catching his breath. “I don’t know! I don’t know!”

  “I think maybe that way,” Simon offered.

  “We already went that way, and we wound up here!” The barking of the dogs was so close that Jared expected them to burst into the room at any moment.

  “How can you not know where to go?” Mallory demanded. “Do you remember how you got in here?”