Andrew and the Quest of Orion's Belt (Rise of the Fallen)

by Ivory Autumn

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Lightning

  A low rumble of thunder shook the ground, as the Barnacle dropped Andrew's limp body onto the ground.

  The second Andrew's body hit the forest floor, the green grass surrounding his body went brown. A low moan rose up from the trees overhead, as if in great distress and sorrow. They shivered, shedding their leaves as a deadness crept into their branches.

  In the trees’ death, the diamond seeds that had fallen onto the ground grew and blossomed into full glory. They sparked radiantly, speaking truths to the heavens that no earthly ear could hear. Overhead, black clouds formed, and thunder rumbled. A blinding flash of lightning lit up the sky, and hit a dead tree inches from the plump Barnacle who stood over Andrew, looking full, and triumphant. The tree's dry bark exploded and popped as orange flames licked up its trunk.

  The Barnacle jumped back in terror. It howled in fear as the lightning began to strike the ground around it, over and over. The lightning lit up the Barnacle’s body, exposing everything beneath its icy cloak of spider webs. His body looked more filled out and stouter, than before. His once thin cheeks were full, his bony arms looked strong, and his orange eyes glowed bright silver.

  It was so startled by the lightning that it fled into the forest with the other Barnacles that lurked in the shadows.

  When the Barnacles had gone, the lightning stopped, and a peaceful quiet settled over the forest. Ivory immediately ran to Andrew's body, and sobbed over him like a child, her tears turning into jewels of ice, as they hit Andrew's cold face. She reached out to grasp his hand in hers, but the familiar warmth was gone. An icy hardness had taken its place. Andrew was dead, she was sure of it. Nobody could be so cold and still be alive. Andrew looked deathly skinny---his face looked thin and drawn. His eyes were closed, and his skin looked so icy that it resembled glass.

  She sobbed harder.

  "Andrew," she cried. "Andrew?"

  "Ivory..." Andrew breathed.

  "Andrew?" She cried, squeezing his hand. "You're alive!"

  He tried to answer her, but only a small puff of frozen air escaped his lips. He tried to squeeze back, but his fingers were so stiff he could barely move them. He felt so numb, so very cold. And every moment that passed, he felt harder, and colder. He worried that Ivory's warm breath might shatter his body like glass.

  A branch snapped. Ivory jumped and glanced over her shoulder, scanning the dark woods beyond the flaming trees that had been struck by lightning. The trees popped and crackled as flames devoured their wood, and the smell of burning logs filled the air. The flaming trees looked like orange pillars, in a hellish cathedral. Sprouting up around Andrew’s body, in uneven rows, were the most beautiful plants Ivory had ever seen. Hundreds of jeweled flowers, with glittering green leaves, that unfolded before her eyes. They sparkled like fallen stars that had found a place on earth. They had the aroma of home, and peace. The smell soothed her, made her feel as if everything would be okay, that Andrew would be alright. Above the sound of burning branches, she heard a low, mournful sigh. It was as if the remaining trees were whispering to one another, sorrowful tones.

  Through the smoke, she saw Freddie, Monday, Talic, and Gogindy. They stood there for one long second, taking in the strange scene---the glowing embers of the trees, the sparkling flowers.

  “Over here,” Ivory cried to them. “Please hurry!” Freddie reached her first and she hugged him into a sobbing grasp. Freddie let go of Ivory and knelt down by Andrew, brushing away the gathering frost from his friend’s face.

  “Is he alive?” Freddie asked, as the others crowed in around him. They all bent down and touched Andrew's face.

  "Yes!" Ivory insisted. "He's alive, he spoke my name. I'm sure of it!"

  "He looks dead," Gogindy said, slightly poking Andrew's body with one finger, and quickly withdrawing with a shiver. "If you heard him talking, I'm sure it was his ghost."

  "If Ivory says he's alive," Monday said, "then he's alive!" He pushed everyone aside, and ripped Andrew’s shirt open. He touched the skin around the wounds where frozen blood oozed. Andrew was so cold that a pool of bloody ice formed beneath his body. Monday held an ear to Andrew’s chest, listening.

  There was no heartbeat.

  “Is…is…he alive?” Gogindy whimpered.

  Monday turned to answer Gogindy, but his face turned deathly pale.

  “Is he?” Gogindy asked again. “Is he...gone?”

  Before he could answer, a blinding flash of lightning raced across the sky hitting Andrew in the chest, knocking everyone to the ground.

  Crack!

  Thunder rolled through the forest, shaking the ground in rippling vibrations. Everyone slowly sat up, watching in awe as a stunning woman dressed in a blinding white dress, as vivid as the lightning, walked gracefully through the smoke of the smoldering trees and stopped in front of Monday.

  A warm breeze hit everyone in the face as the woman neared Andrew's body. The woman's presence was so warm, it felt like the warm summer sun was shining down on them all. Where the lightning had struck Andrew in the chest, a pink patch of skin was revealed, surrounded by layers of ice that even the lightning could not melt. The woman’s gaze locked onto Andrew's cold figure, her eyes filling with a deep sadness. She reached out and gently touched the boy’s cheek. “All trees mourn for you, and the very stars weep. Do not let your light go out so easily.”

  Monday gazed at her, stunned. “Who are you?”

  “I am Coral, keeper of lightning. I saw your signal for help, and came as quickly as I could.”

  “Is he alive?” Ivory asked her.

  “He is a half star,” the woman murmured. "Star's cannot die so quickly."

  “What does that mean?” Monday queried.

  “It means that every star has an afterglow, even after its light source has faded, the time it takes for that light to reach us, still exists. While that light lasts, we may still be able to rekindle his life.” She smiled mysteriously and pressed her strawberry-colored lips against Andrew's cold forehead. Where her lips touched, the skin turned a healthy pink. “Let me hold him,” she said.

  Monday nodded, hypnotized by her warm gaze, and gently placed Andrew's stiff body in her arms. Just as her warm skin touched Andrew's, the frosty sheen on Andrew's skin melted, and spread out over his body. But the cold frost on his hair and eyelashes remained.

  “Though the gates of death, and darkness, try to hold you, you will conquer them,” she whispered. She breathed a warm breath of air over his face and melted the frost that stubbornly stayed on his hair, lips, and eyelashes. She hugged the boy closer to her, and then set him gently on the ground. “Awake!” she commanded, clapping her hands together.

  Another blinding streak of lightning surged across the sky, striking Andrew once more.

  The earth shook, and the ground echoed with the deafening roll of thunder.

  Gradually, the smallest bit of color came to Andrew's cheeks, and he let out a heart-wrenching cry of agony and started to shiver uncontrollably.

  “He's alive!” Gogindy cried. "Ivory was right!"

  The woman smiled kindly at Gogindy. Her face glowed with a warm light, and her hair gleamed like an iridescent sword. She glanced behind her and scanning the trees. "We must go, none of us are safe here. Andrew needs the fangs removed from his chest if he is to survive."

  Still holding Andrew, she motioned to the others to follow her. “Come, you will be safe as long as you stay with me."

  She lifted Andrew gently, moving through the trees like a nymph, until they found themselves standing before a curtain of ivy leaves that obstructed their view.

  “Over here,” the woman said, ducking behind the ivy, through a hidden door, walking through a tunnel that led out into a great courtyard of a city. A tall man, with dark hair, and an expression of displeasure greeted Coral as she entered the city. He carried a bow and arrow, and looked as if he thought about using it when he saw t
he strangers standing behind her.

  “Coral!” the man exclaimed. “Father's spent half the night searching for you. Where have you been?”

  “Sterling, there's no time to explain,” Coral said. “Quick, run to Drogen's house, tell him I've brought another one."

  Sterling stopped, and gaped at the boy in her arms. "Another one? But you know it's no use. They still die, Coral. No matter how many you try to save."

  "I don't care! Just go tell him. Hurry!"