A Measure of Disorder (8 page)

By the time they camped that evening, they could see the edges of an enormous forest in the distance. The river they followed headed straight into the heart of it. Crank called it the
Lodir’naie
and thought they would reach the edge some time in the afternoon of the next day.

“We will have to ask permission to pass through,” Crank said when they sat down to eat. “But I don’t think we will have any trouble.”

“Permission from who?” Jenni asked.

“The guardians of the
Lodir’naie
.
Faerstrastenai
mostly, though there may be others. I don’t really know.”

“Where will we go from there?” Marco asked him.

“We’ll keep following this river, which eventually empties into the
Baer’naie
river. Then we follow it south to
Seren’naie
.”

Marco’s mother looked to Crank. “Do you know how long it will take?”

He shook his head. “I have never been this far from home. I know the
Lodir’naie
            
   
is vast and we will have to travel through a good portion of it to reach
Seren’naie
. I don’t know how difficult it will be to move through the forest. It will certainly be slower going than out here on the plain.”

She nodded and said, “Thank you, Crank, for all you’ve done for us. I’m sure it was hard for you to leave your home to help us on this journey.”

Crank blushed lightly. “As I have told Jenni, I am happy to help you. My hope is much the same as yours really. I want to find someone in
Seren’naie
to teach me, and allow me to work with plants and animals.”

“You and Marco have a lot in common then, it sounds to me,” she said with a smile.

Alisha ate her fruit with a sullen stare. She was sick of this. Sick of eating the same thing every day, sick of walking mile after mile going nowhere, sick of bathing in a dirty river like a peasant, and sick of being treated like baggage.
No,
she thought,
worse than baggage — at least baggage was carried!

Maggie and Lori, and lately Zoe too, had tried to help Alisha out of her funk, but they were dealing with their own problems. Maggie was only about two feet tall and had trouble arranging clothing to keep herself covered most of the time. Lori and Zoe were, well, odd. They hadn’t changed in size, but Zoe had turned red and orange and was always cold. Lori had lost all color whatsoever. Her eyes were almost clear.
Very creepy.

Todd and Will fell all over themselves, wanting to do things for Alisha — which she liked — but their looks disgusted her, and became worse daily.

She finished her meal — if you could call it that — and watched the clouds color with the setting sun. Things had been somewhat interesting when Brandon had been around. She had enjoyed watching the sparring matches. She frowned though as she thought of Sara always winning in the end.
Still, it was better than being bored all the time.

Maybe Mr. Kain would let the boys practice again now that Brandon’s gone.
Alisha warmed to the idea and stood up.

“Did you need something, Alisha?” Will gushed and stuck his deformed face in hers.

She managed a smile — quite an effort under the circumstances. “No, Will,” she said and pushed him away. “I’ll just be a minute.”

Will sat back down, disappointed, and she made her way over to Mr. Kain.

He was talking with Ms. Pap in low tones, away from the group. Mr. Kain had always been handsome, and his changes only enhanced his looks in Alisha’s eyes. His darker skin and subtly pointed ears gave him an exotic look she found intriguing. His eyes, however, disconcerted her. They were a dark yellow and the pupils weren’t round anymore, but diamond shaped.

Alisha was sure she had caught Mr. Kain staring at her in class more than once, but that was no surprise really. She was used to it.

“Mr. Kain,” she purred, “can I talk to you for a minute?”

The adults broke off their conversation and looked up. Ms. Pap was hideous and Alisha had to look away from her, focusing solely on Mr. Kain.

“Sure, Alisha. What is it?”

“I, well all of us really, were wondering if you would let the boys go back to practicing with their sticks. It was fun to watch and we’ve been so bored the past few days.” She looked squarely in his eyes and felt a warm tingle throughout her body.

“Alisha, I …” He paused and she continued to focus on him. “I … I think that would be a great idea,” he finished.

“What?” Ms. Pap sat up and looked at him in surprise.

Alisha kept Mr. Kain’s gaze in hers, and said, “Well, Brandon’s gone and he was the one who really caused any trouble, Ms. Pap.”

Mr. Kain nodded. “That’s true.”

Alisha felt an almost physical connection between them, a bond she gained more control over each passing second. It felt good. Really good.

“So,” Alisha prompted, “what do you say?”

Perplexed, Ms. Pap sighed. “Well as long as no one else gets hurt, Roger … I guess it would be okay. Everyone could certainly use a distraction.”

“Wonderful!” Alisha smiled. “Thank you, Mr. Kain.” She broke eye contact and walked back to her group.

Mr. Kain blinked and stared after her. “Y … you’re welcome, Alisha.”

Delicious!

“Will,” she announced, “I’ve convinced Mr. Kain to let you boys practice again. Go tell Todd and the others so you can get started.”

Will beamed at the news. “Cool!” he said and went to find Todd.

Alisha sat and thought about what she’d experienced. Boys had always been easy to manipulate, but this was different. She had power over Mr. Kain. She felt like she could’ve told him to go jump in the river and he would’ve done it gladly. As she pondered it, she could still feel the connection to him in the back of her mind, an awareness of where he was and even what he was feeling. She was definitely going to have to experiment some more with this!

In the end, there were only three contestants for the matches. Vic and the twins were too small and Sara decided not to participate. Alisha was mildly disappointed at that. She didn’t think Sara would stand a chance anymore against the wiry strength of Todd, and certainly not against Kim’s bulk. Kim stood close to seven feet and was strong as an ox. Alisha thought Kim looked ridiculous in the patched-together clothes she wore. Kim had two jackets tied together as a top and one of the bigger boys had given her some sweat shorts which were stretched to their limit. Once Kim had a club in her hand, however, she was all business, defeating both Will and Todd handily. Todd, with his longer reach, eventually wore Will down in their bout.

The three walked away with nothing more than a few bumps and bruises and everyone had a good time. Alisha felt Mr. Kain’s eyes on her several times throughout the evening. Occasionally, she rewarded him with a small smile and felt some of the thrill he experienced through the bond they shared.

Alisha settled down for the night, thinking of more ways to take advantage of her newfound power.

Jenni woke with a fresh sense of purpose. The idea of a change of scenery from the rolling grasslands had sparked them all, and they made good time moving toward the massive forest.

Crank rode on her shoulders, as he often did. Sara walked on her right, with Tori riding awkwardly on her backpack. Tori had shrunk rapidly the last few days, since the appearance of Merlin, but she wasn’t small enough to ride him yet. Jenni and Sara had taken Tori’s T-shirt apart with one of the utility knives a few nights before to make something for her to wear. They had managed a tube top and long skirt affair that Tori could adjust each day as she got smaller. Merlin flew and swooped above them, periodically diving to snatch up a mouse or small snake.

Sara towered over Jenni’s five foot one frame by nearly another foot. She had a dancer’s grace and a body builder’s power. Her coppery skin glinted in the sunlight. She was still Sara on the inside, but Jenni was still startled by her friend’s appearance. Everyone had changed so much over the last couple of weeks it was astonishing.

Except her. She remained plain old Jenni.

It bothered and upset her.
What’s wrong with me?
Why hadn’t she changed too? She had always wanted to be special, unique. Sometimes she found it funny that here, she had become special simply by remaining the same while everyone around her changed. Laughing kept her from crying.

They crested a small hill and the endless forest stretched before them. The trees most closely resembled oaks, with broad, green leaves and solid trunks. They grew smaller near the edge, perhaps twenty to thirty feet in height. Deeper in the forest, they were massive. A variety of birds flew among and over them, creating a cacophony of noise.

They stopped at the base of the first few trees and Jenni lowered Crank to the ground. He had warned them not to step into
Lodir’naie
uninvited. Most took their packs off or sat down to rest while Crank surveyed the scene.

They waited quietly for nearly an hour before three birds approached and landed in the lowest branches of the closest tree. Each bore a small rider, and each rider carried a tiny spear and miniature bow and arrows. They did not appear hostile, but looked ready to defend themselves despite their small stature.

Crank bowed before them and said, “Guardians of the
Lodir’naie
, we seek passage through the great forest on our way to Seren’naie.”

The rider in the middle addressed him. “Greetings, Builder.” Jenni was surprised his voice carried well enough for them to hear over the birds and sounds of the river. “
Lodir’naie
hears and acknowledges your request, however, we cannot allow your party passage.”

Crank blinked in surprise. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand. Why can’t we pass?”

“There are
festri’i
present. We cannot allow them into
Lodir’naie
.”

Crank’s eyes widened. “
Festri’i
. Fire spirits?”

The rider nodded.

“But that’s not possible. These beings are all flesh and blood,” Crank said, indicating Jenni and the class.

“They are unusual to be sure; nevertheless, they are with you.”

Crank appeared at a loss. He turned, bowing to the riders again, and said, “Please allow us time to discuss the matter amongst ourselves.”

“Of course. We will wait here.”

Crank walked back and everyone gathered around. “I don’t understand this.
Festri’i
and their kind are beings of the elements, they don’t have any physical form except through the element they control.”

Ms. Pap sat next to Crank. “So they claim some of these fire spirits are among us and they won’t allow us inside? What would happen if we ignored them and went in without permission?”

Crank shook his head. “
Lodir’naie
can defend itself with the
Faerstrastenai
,” he said, gesturing at the birds and riders, “among other things. We will have many days of travel through the forest. I wouldn’t want to fight the entire way.”

“Can we go around?” Ms. Pap asked.

“Yes, but it would add many days to our journey. We’d also have to backtrack several days to find a suitable place to cross the river so we could continue south.”

Jenni looked at the river. It was about fifty yards wide and ran fast and high with snow melt from the mountains. It certainly didn’t look crossable.

“So,” Ms. Pap continued, “we either figure out who or what these fire spirits are and leave them here while the rest of us keep going, or we add possibly weeks to our trip.”

Crank nodded again, his features downcast.

Merlin landed in the tree next to the
Faerstrastenai
riders and screeched a warning.

Drumbeats thudded behind them.

Heads snapped around to the sound that had caused nightmares for many since they’d first heard it.

A large band of
Gobinstratstorai
crested the last hill of the grasslands about a hundred yards away. They raised their spears and hollered battle cries along with the pounding of drums. The birds in the forest fell silent.

“Well,” Sara said, drawing her tree branch, “this doesn’t look good.”

“Crank,” Jenni asked quickly, “will the forest help us?”

He eyed the horde in the distance. “Not unless the
Gobinstratstorai
enter the forest. And if we went in without permission, we’d be fighting both.”

“What are we going to do?”

“The best we can,” Ms. Pap answered.

Mr. Kain pointed to the river. “Everyone get closer to the water and the trees. We need to make as small a front as possible.” They all grabbed their things and moved. “Sara, Kim, Todd, and Will up front with me. Denny, get your last two bombs.”

They all got into position and waited. The
Gobinstratstorai
were still at the top of the rise, working themselves into a frenzy. Jenni recognized the commander from the band that had attacked them before.

He had found some friends along the way.

They numbered fifty or sixty and had added several large cousins that looked like Kim, only bigger. They wielded clubs the size of tree trunks. One swung his so wildly he hit one of his smaller companions and sent him flying twenty feet through the air. He landed heavily and remained motionless in the grass. It only served to feed the frenzy.

Jenni’s heart clenched in fear.

The late afternoon sun blazed full in her face. The
Gobinstratstorai
shouted and raved for several minutes while Jenni and the others waited helplessly. Then the mob’s long shadows advanced down the hill. Sara shifted her weight on the balls of her feet and held her branch in front of her with both hands. The others readied their weapons.

Another, much larger, shadow passed over the field in front of them.

Jenni first thought it was an airplane. Then she heard a deafening roar which quieted the
Gobinstratstorai
, and stopped them in their tracks.

A big black shape landed, with a dull thump that shook the ground, in between the class and their attackers. It might have been a single engine airplane, but its wings moved, and its landing gear were talons that dug deep furrows in the grass covered soil.

It faced the
Gobinstratstorai
and roared again. This time, a thick, dark liquid erupted from its mouth in a great cone spray.

The front wave of attackers went down, screaming in pain. Fifteen or twenty fell, writhing and smoking in the prairie grass.

The rest of the
Gobinstratstorai
beat a hasty retreat up the hill, keeping a watchful eye on the beast that had intervened in their sport.

At the top of the slope, the mob gathered around their leader and waited to see what would happen next.

Those caught in the spray of the animal’s attack soon stilled and were quiet.

Silence reigned and Jenni’s ears pulsed in time with her heartbeat.

Jet black spines twisted and scales rippled as muscles underneath moved the beast around to face Jenni and the others. Its wings furled, and a head the size of a refrigerator regarded them. It had spiny ruffles on either cheek and intelligent, orange eyes with vertical slits for pupils.

Its mouth split open in what might have been a smile, showing rows of shiny white, flesh-rending teeth, six inches or more in length. Jenni cringed in fright at the dragon in front of them.

A deep rumble issued from the creature’s throat that sounded like laughter and it said, “Hey, everybody. Did you miss me?”