Into the Forest Shadows (24 page)

Ayden lifted his head from the stream. "Still
have the tea?"

Kate wiped the moisture from her mouth. "We
don't have time for tea."

"For your Grandmother's tea we do. You said
it did something with the spores."

She searched around in her pockets until she
found the wrapped package. "That's what she said. That it took time
to build a protection."

"And we only had one dose." He took the
package and looked around the area.

"Well, I've had at least one other. Maybe
more."

"Which means I need more."

He stood up and went into the trees and came
back with large cupped leaves. Filling them with water he dropped a
bag into each one.

He toasted her with one. "It's cold, but
it'll do."

The bitter taste she recognized. It lingered
lightly in the cold water, so the last cups she had before all this
started must have been a huge dose. She grimaced even while forcing
herself to drink most of it.

She pulled Bunbun out to drink the last
little bit, even though he didn't want to come out of the warm
sleeping nest he'd made in the side of her shirt. "Yep, I've had
more than one dose."

Ayden dropped his empty leaf. He took a deep
breath. "I hope it works fast."

She turned to him in alarm. His face had gone
pale again.

Getting to her feet with the help of the
staff she put a hand on his shoulder. "Keep fighting it. It'll get
easier."

Ayden rose so quickly she almost fell
backwards in surprise. "I'm fine. Let's get going. We need this
ended."

Ayden found a slow shallow area where they
could cross away from the few Memory trees bordering the shores. On
the other side the Watcher led them to where a portion of the cliff
had crumbled away. By the time they climbed to the top Kate had
been reduced to crawling on her hands and knees.

Ayden made it to a log, sitting down hard.
"Okay, this time I'm the one insisting on a rest. My ribs are still
killing me."

Kate was too tired to object. She pulled
herself to her feet and stumbled to the same log. "One good thing
about having the Watcher with us: Not one tree has taken a swipe at
you."

"Small favor."

"I would say a big favor. We couldn't have
crossed the gorge easily if we were forced to hold hands." Although
she didn't mind the holding hands part, but she wasn't about to say
that out loud. She leaned forward, pulling the ties to her cape off
her throat. "I don't know how you carried the backpack for so long.
This is killing me."

"You're not used to it. When we go out into
the forest we always take our gear. I feel naked without it." He
pulled BunBun out of his coat, setting him down on the ground
between his feet. "Go. Get something to eat."

BunBun shook himself. He took a few minutes
to groom his fur, scratching and stretching. A local bunt nosed his
way out of a nearby hole, sniffing in their direction. BunBun
looked up, and took a few hops in its direction. The other bunt
disappeared, only to reappear a moment later with two others.

Beyond a nearby trailing willow Kate could
see the mountains. They were much closer, but still seemed forever
away. Her eyes narrowed, studying the hills heading up to the
mountains.

With a start she realized it wasn't the
mountain she wanted, but the hills at the base. Where she'd seen
the strange ship take off from. The one with the really flat top.
That might be more do-able.

A sharp cry came from the direction of the
bunt congregation. Bunbun sat on his hind legs staring off into the
trees. The other bunts went to attention on their hind legs,
balancing with their tails, staring in the same direction. Ears
rotated back and forth.

Bunbun turned and awkwardly hopped back to
Ayden as fast as he could. Ayden grabbed his staff and reached down
with one hand to scoop Bunbun up, hissing "The shadows."

Kate tensed, her eyes seeking out the
shadows.

In the exact location the bunts stared she
caught sight of a shadow moving. Two bunts ducked down into their
holes, but the rest stayed at attention.

The shape moved forward, breaking away from
the shadows of the trees. Kate rose up to her feet at the sight of
the creature.

It wasn't a razor wolf. Wide ears arced
around the side of its wide flat face. A long sinewy tail moved
behind it as it moved forward on wide feet with big pads. It didn't
make a sound as it moved forward. The dark fur was sleek when the
sunlight hit it, showing a mottled black and brown coat.

Wide black eyes studied them as it crept
forward, moving with the main part of its body close to the ground.
A few more bunts disappeared down the holes.

One brave bunt hopped forward, sniffing at
the creature. The creature turned its attention from Kate and Ayden
to look at the bunt. It lowered its body even more, bringing both
ears forward, lowering its head until its snout touched the
ground.

Ayden put a hand out, pushing Kate backwards.
They could make the tree line easily enough, but what then? They
were both exhausted. No way could they outrun a Shadow Creature.
They would have to depend on the trees for protection.

Kate looked back. She couldn't believe what
she was seeing. The creature and the bunt were nosing each
other!

The creature looked up from nosing the bunt,
sitting down on its haunches with its head held high. All the bunts
disappeared down their holes. The creature cocked his head at them.
A deep thrumming came from its throat and then a curious bark.

"Do you know what sort of creature that is?"
Kate whispered to Ayden. The Watcher on Kate's back plucked at her
cape.

"One of the Shadow Creatures. Wait, is it
trying to talk to us?"

The creature made a few more odd sounds. It
got up and padded a few more paces closer to them. It stopped and
sat down again, cocking its head at them.

Ayden reached into his coat and pulled out
Bunbun, bringing him to his forehead. He handed Bunbun back to her
and Kate nuzzled the furry little head. The rush that followed hurt
her spore-filled mind.

"The Watcher you carry is not compatible with
your species. You will not be able to understand it, even with the
help of the bunts."

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Kate's eyes popped open. She turned her
attention back to the creature. The tail twitched back and forth.
She handed Bunbun back, who disappeared down Ayden's coat.

"Who are you?" Ayden asked.

"You may call me Vistus. And yes, I am what
is sometimes referred to as a Shadow Creature." Vistus looked
around the area, "Humans are not permitted on this side."

"We know that. It wasn't our choice or our
doing," Kate said quickly. "May I ask your intentions towards
us?"

"Intentions?" Vistus repeated. He turned his
full attention back to them. "I am here to protect the Watcher. I
heard rumors of an attack. I have searched for him ever since."

"To finish off what other Shadow Creatures
did not finish?" Ayden challenged. He held his staff in front of
him. "The Watcher is under our protection. We will not permit you
to harm it."

"I do not wish to harm the Watcher, nor those
the Watcher seems to trust," Vistus said.

Ayden pushed Kate back. "We're leaving."

Kate found her way around the log and moved
towards the trees. The safety of the trees, the same types of trees
that had protected them from Diasis and his pack. The moment they
moved under their protective shade Kate felt much more secure. The
trees around them rustled but made no move at the shadow tailing
them.

"Let us be, Shadow Creature!" Ayden shouted
at it.

"My name is Vistus," he reminded them,
slinking from one shadow to the next. "I promised to watch over and
protect the Watcher once I found him. I will keep my promise."

"Ayden, the Watcher isn't reacting badly to
him," Kate said.

"The Watcher is probably asleep, trying to
recover from his injuries," Ayden reminded her.

"The Watcher needs to be returned to his own
kind for true healing," Vistus said from the shadow of a nearby
tree, "But not on this side of the river. It is too dangerous."

Kate put a hand on Ayden's arm to stop him
for a moment. He scowled down at her impatiently while she asked,
"Too dangerous? Are we being followed? Are we in danger?"

"Of course you are. A group of Shadow
Creature mean the Watcher death. All intelligent creatures know the
Watcher's presence instinctively, can sense when one is near."
Vistus cocked his head at them, "I hear other shadows nearby. We
must leave this area as fast as possible. We must cross the river.
None of the shadows on this side will be able to easily follow. The
river is too wide. Well, except the flying wolves."

Ayden looked at Kate, "That's the kind of
Shadow Creature that carried off your Grandmother."

The image of the creature carrying her away
against the backdrop of the moon sent a shiver through Kate.
Another vision came to mind, accompanied by the vigorous rustling
of the trees. Shapes moving, hunting.

"We're being followed," Kate whispered.

"Don't get paranoid," Ayden said.

"I'm not. The trees see them."

"We should hurry. We don't have much time,"
Vistus said, slinking into the next shadow to move ahead of them.
"Unless you wish to fight off the pack of razor wolves."

Kate pushed Ayden forward. He shook his head
at her, "I can't believe this. You want to trust a Shadow
Creature?"

"For now, yes. We have to trust the Watcher
and the trees. The trees picture Shadow Creature behind us, but
they aren't worried about Vistus. There have to be some good Shadow
Creature somewhere."

"Oh, thank you for the vote of confidence,"
Vistus mocked. "In return I will assume not all humans are
murderers."

"Murderers? I am not a murderer!" Ayden
yelled at him.

Kate shushed at him, glancing nervously at
the shadows behind them.

"Someone killed more than one of the sacred
trees. All of us felt it. The image of the humans who did it have
echoed through the forest. The forest itself still mourns their
passing." Vistus continued moving ahead of them, occasionally
glancing back at them. "Come on, keep up!"

"First I get tormented by you, and now a
Shadow Creature. This isn't my day," Ayden said with a scowl.

Kate grinned at his back.

The hike quickly wiped the smile off her
face. Her lower back hurt and it made the tug of the spores even
stronger. The urge to find a corner, curl up and sleep, was
becoming a wonderful daydream almost painful in pleasure.

A sharp hill descended to a body of water so
large she could barely see across to the other side. Kate stared at
it in horror.

"We're here!" Vistus announced, bounding down
the hill.

"That's a river? It looks like a lake!" Kate
said.

No way were they going to be able to cross
that by cutting down a tree. And no way was she going to be able to
swim across with the heavy Watcher clinging to her back.

"We're trapped against the water," Ayden
noted.

Kate pointed across the water, "And there's
the mountain. We have to find a way across."

Kate picked her way down the hill towards the
water. Ayden followed her, muttering under his breath the entire
time. Vistus waited for them at the bottom of the hill, leading the
way to a rocky shore.

Kate took one look at the swirling muddy
water and shook her head, "I learned how to swim, but I don't think
I can swim against that strong of a current."

"To attempt to swim across would be suicide,"
Vistus said.

He sat down on his haunches. Putting his head
up into the sky he let out with a howl that echoed across the
water.

"Oh, that's good! Any Shadow Creature who
want us dead are sure to have heard that!" Ayden said.

The edges of Vistus's long mouth twitched
upwards, his tongue licking his front teeth. "By then we will be
long gone."

A circle of ripples appeared on the surface
of the water, followed by streams of bubbles breaking.

The gray-green head of what looked like a
giant slug popped up out of the water, complete with upright stalks
off the top of the head. Ribbons of green vines trailed out of its
mouth, which it continued to chew. A long body and tail snaked out
behind it, whipping up the water as it snaked its way towards
them.

"Not one of the most intelligent of
creatures, but smart enough to know the Watchers and want to help,"
Vistus said, making his way over the rocky shore to the very edge
of the water.

"We're going to cross on that?" Kate asked,
the creature towering over them.

Vistus smirked back at her, "Unless you have
a better idea?

The monster wriggled its way up the rocks
towards the shore, water dripping off its massive head. Vistus
jumped into the water, wading up to its shoulder. With a bound he
started climbing the bulges and bumps of the giant slug to the top
of its back.

Once there, Vistus regarded them, "I suggest
you come quickly. The narboa doesn't like to be this far out of
water."

The Watcher on Kate's back moved, pulling on
the shoulder facing the creature. Kate rolled her eyes, "The
Watcher approves, I think."

"I don't like this. It submerges, and we
drown," Ayden said.

"Then I drown with you," Vistus called
out.

Ayden winced, "Good hearing."

The narboa munched on a mouthful of green
water plants, putting its head down, almost touching Kate in its
inspection. Gill slits fluttered on the side of the neck, and yet
it blew air around her. It lifted its massive head, looking back
out over the water. With a ripple of muscles, it started pushing
off the rocky shallows.