Renhala (11 page)

Chapter 15

Repulsive

The travel to Renhala is like sneezing, or even blinking an eye. One moment, I
’m standing in my room, and the next, I’m standing on a mulched path in the middle of a forest of black trees. It’s less foggy than what I previously experienced, but the air feels sticky and mucky. There are puddles of the pus-filled goo scattered here and there. “Why has the fog lifted?” I ask.

Gunthreon turns to me. “With each travel, you get more acquainted, if you will, with Renhala,” he says as he swats off a bug
—half spider, half dragonfly—which has landed on his arm. “At the start, your mind has problems grasping the concept, hence the fog. You sort of teeter in-between until you get the hang of it. When you know where you want to be, you just arrive, with no fuzziness. Clear as crystal.” Sure, that’s what
he
says.

I pull out the pendulum and hold it before me. It just hangs, lifeless.

Kioto is beside me, right up against my leg, with every step I take. During our first attempt at leaving, we tried putting her in my front room and closed the bedroom door behind us, but somehow, she ended up with us in Renhala.
I don’t even know how to travel yet, but my damn dog evidently does.

Gunthreon said animals have the natural ability to travel and she must have really wanted to be at my side. Now I think I have a clue how the cats and dogs in news stories really journey thousands of miles to find their owners. Kioto’s a stubborn one, I’ll give her that, but I
’d never trade her in a million years.

Gunthreon and Philip walk away from me, chit chatting amongst themselves, not knowing I
’m purposefully giving them some privacy. I’m glad they’re at least on talking terms, because the animosity could have suffocated me. And I couldn’t imagine anything pulling me and Amber apart like that. I’d miss her too much, even if she is the biggest pain in the ass.  

Growing more nervous with each growl from Kioto at some unseen creatures of the forest, I start fiddling around with my pendulum, kind of recklessly. “Come on, already,” I mutter. “What are those two talking about?” I mutter to myself, and then see Gunthreon look over his shoulder toward me. I shoo him forward and mouth, “I
’m okay,” and continue following them at a brief distance, despite having my fear barometer ready to burst. I keep a hand in my pocket, caressing my braided silver ring, grounding myself.

A sudden howling noise from the forest makes me jump two feet straight up in the air, causing me to fumble my pendulum and drop it. It falls hard and cracks against a rock, breaking the pendulum in half, vertically. I cry to myself as I stand, staring at it.
Why am I doing this? Maybe I’m in purgatory. I must have died. I’m paying for my sins, surely.

A small gnat-type bug then lands on my hand and bites me as I squish it. I bend over and pick up my broken pendulum.
Shit.
Great, what am I going to do now?
Gunthreon may kill me, or Philip—Ladimer. After all, that’s his thing, right? But I pull myself together. What I need is glue—something sticky.

A quick spin
reveals one of the gross puddles of gook. I ponder whether it might be sticky enough to keep the halves together. Deciding to take the risk, I stick the smallest part of my finger in the goo. Kioto watches me closely, sniffing the goo and sticking her tail between her legs. The goo doesn’t melt me or kill me, and it
is
sticky, so what the heck? I dip half the stone in the slop, only to find that I need to force my finger out before it and
my whole body
are pulled into the puddle.

I then attach the other side, just as Ladimer and Gunthreon walk back over to me. 

“Kailey, take out your pendulum and ask it what direction we should head.” Gunthreon doesn’t seem so happy, and Philip is frowning. “And get away from that stuff. You don’t want to fall into that.”

I turn so that they can’t really see the pendulum fully, then start asking out loud if Bu is located in each direction. Once I get the circle motion, I say, “It says that way.” I point.

“Just what we thought, but we needed some confirmation,” says Gunthreon. “Thank you.” They continue on with their own conversation, which seems to have heated up a bit.

Phew.
I shove the pendulum in my pocket and feel it fall apart as the sharp point cuts my fingertip.

Another howl has me and Kioto running to stand near Philip and Gunthreon.
I scan the area for hidden grebles. “Gunthreon,” I say, “that greble that attacked me told me he brought me to Renhala. Is that possible?” He nods. “How? Why?” I say.

Gunthreon and Philip exchange a brief glance, and Gunthreon talks first. “Not sure exactly
why, and actually how is also questionable. Travelers can take people with them back and forth, but the one ‘bringing’ had to have already been to where they’re going, at least once in their life. Understand?” I nod, then freeze as I realize what Gunthreon is telling me—that the greble somehow knew where I lived. “Kailey,” Gunthreon says, “you have to know what you are up against, and how unpredictably vicious these creatures can be, whatever their motives. While we’re here, with my powers, I can block some things for you as we walk on to find Bu, but I cannot make it all entirely pleasant.”

“So why is Bu not like them? Y
ou talk of these creatures like they’re demon spawn. What if Bu’s putting up a good front?” I say, petting Kioto’s head as we continue to walk through the dark forest, trying to ignore the scurrying sounds of little feet on the forest floor. I see one of those raccoon things peek out from behind a tree stump as we walk by and Kioto growls.

Gunthreon shakes his head
as his face softens. “He’s not. Bu’s an exception, as was his mother. You see, she was abandoned by her clan at birth because of her small size and was found by a weary traveler. This traveler took pity on the creature, despite knowing what it was and where it came from, so it took this creature with it on its many journeys. Bu’s mother was raised outside the greble world and treated like the traveler’s own child for many a year. She learned sympathy and kindness, and what it was to provide love and warmth to another creature.

“In time, as she grew bigger and bigger, the lands outside of the greble boundaries wanted nothing to do with her, so for her own safety, the traveler brought Bu
’s mother back to the greble lands. She also thought she could make a difference in the greble community—maybe instill some values. She did her best to fit in, sneaking kind acts here and there, and eventually became pregnant with Bu. As he grew, she instilled her own values in him, nurturing him and forming him into the lovely soul we know today. Before Bu’s mother’s untimely death by the hands of a jealous female, babe and mother traveled often to see the traveler, and the day before she died, she made the traveler promise one thing: to watch over the child when she was no longer around to do so.

“Bu was kept by his father
’s clan, but he snuck out every chance he could to meet the traveler, and they grew to love each other very much.”

Philip then decides to add to the conversation. “Yeah, yeah. Guess who the traveler is, blah, blah. Well, hopefully we can do this quickly. My ideal plan is we find Bu, convince him how stupid he is, and bring him home. Done,” he says. 

“He’s only trying to protect something he cares about,” says Gunthreon.

“I know how that plays out
, all too well, don’t I, Gunthreon? How stupid a mistake it can be.”

“Come on!” My nerves can no longer take the bickering. “If you don’t stop this, I will refuse doing anything you ask and just run and ask the nearest helpful greble if he’s seen Bu. How would you like that?” The horror on their faces confirms I’ve made them realize they need to stop.

Gunthreon starts leading us west, I think. There are small noises and whispers on the wind, and it stinks like mildew. Occasionally, I see more of the raccoon creatures scurrying about, foraging—or so it seems. I almost feel like they’re following us. Maybe they are, because they know we’ll die and can eat our carcasses. Maybe my eyes taste good.

We pass several ruined buildings, all built very roughly, and I swear one owns a set of giant yellow eyes. The eyes watch us walk by, and I get a strong whiff of putrid egg.

Gunthreon spots the pair of eyes, too. “You must know that the grebles are very selfish creatures and will do whatever they can for themselves,” he says. “Most likely, that one we passed will not let anyone know, but rather follow us to see if we have anything it wants.” 

We continue, but not for long. We abruptly stop, and I almost faint from the hideous scene hanging before me. There, looming ahead, is a giant, grizzly tree of redwood proportion with hundreds of silhouettes hanging from it like warped Christmas ornaments. Upon closer examination, some are human and some are not. The unfortunate commonality among them is they are all hanged by what appears to be their intestines.

“Oh God!” I cover my mouth quickly and Kioto walks around in circles, scoping the area, and perhaps feeling the residual evil of the acts performed. I find myself tempted to cover Philip’s eyes, but he seems unfazed by the obscenity.

Instead, he stares at the display. “This
is a sacrificial tree,” he mutters. “The grebles will make sacrifices—rarely, but they do it—to one known as Devoten, one of Velopa’s top men. He prefers the whole hanging, intestinal-noose thing.
He
is demon spawn, as you call it.”

“Le
t’s keep walking,” Gunthreon suggests as he leads us. We continue walking in quiet, for fear of awakening anything hungry. I see Gunthreon and Philip exchange glances every now and then, most likely agreeing to cover something up from me, as Gunthreon whispers me suggestions, like “Don’t be afraid.” And “Kailey, imagine you’re watching your favorite movie.”

I know one thing—they both seem to have missed the woman lying behind a broken-down wagon with only s
tumps as appendages. Her face was also missing a nose.

Kioto keeps turning and checking behind us, growling as we continue on. She doesn’t like those raccoons any more than I do. They only follow, though, apparently not wanting to do anything else. I even see one attack a small, gray, mouse-ish creature that lunges at my foot.

Gunthreon stops before a tall, creepy tower that seems to hold some authority. It makes my skin tingle and leaves me feeling strongly nauseated as we stand before it. I bend over, holding my stomach, feeling the retching about to be unleashed. Gunthreon sees my reaction and says, “Kailey, due to your
sensitivity
, you must do your best to repel the energy inside.” I toss him a quick glance to tell him to eat his words, but then find myself feeling instantly better as I look to Kioto, who is staring into my face. She licks the tear which falls quickly from my eye and I stand up straight.

“This is it,” Gunthreon says. “Don’t be frightened of the ceetchans that have been following u
s. They’re attracted to Ladimer, well at least his abilities.”

Before we enter the to
wer, Gunthreon gives directions—he is to lead, I’ll follow him with Kioto, and Ladimer will bring up the rear. We walk single-file, slowly and silently until we find Bu. We’ll snatch him and bring him back to my realm, immediately.

I notice the ceetchans do not enter the building when we do, but rather wait outside the door. Once inside, the place seems empty, except for the occasional friendly scream.

We walk quietly, as agreed, but every single noise has me scurrying to be close to Philip.
Why him?

On the walls are hideous, nasty things: shrunken heads, various animal feet, and one especially disturbing
sketched picture framed in bones. At first glance, the picture looks to be a sweet little blond girl holding a dog of some sorts, standing on a pile of pillows. But when you look closer, she’s standing on a pile of dead pigs and is choking one with her bare hands, with a smile plastered across her face. She’s also wearing a pig nose over her face. Philip says, “Lenni Fontaine. Local legend.”

“I
’m not gonna run into her, am I?” I ask, frightened.

“Nah
, been dead for at least ten years,” he answers. “But you could have the pleasure of meeting her twin sister, Lorrie. She, however, is much more disturbing.”

“More disturbing than that?!” I shout as Philip covers my mouth with his hand.

I shake the chill that has begun crawling through my skin and into my bones as we come to what seems the hundredth door. Gunthreon holds his ear to the door which is covered in what looks to be bloody handprints and paw prints of various creatures.

Suddenly, he runs from the door, dragging us with him to hide behind chain-mailled, greble-sized suits of armor.

Something opens the door partway, and we hear, “He is a child and malleable—you must remember this. He’s not entirely worthless, but should be thoroughly punished for what he did. If he attempts something like that again, I will most definitely decide his fate, the pathetic greble. I wish Devoten would let us end this game now.”

I peek out around the armor, expecting to see a hideous creature or human, but instead, see the cutest bunny. It
’s larger than bunnies on my plane of existence, but a bunny nonetheless—fluffy and white and floppy-eared. My inner child longs to run out and hug it, but as soon as it faces my direction, any hint of that thought escapes me. It has ugly, bloodshot eyes, and a huge, razor-sharp, blood-streaked talon where its right foot should be and its left ear is bloody, hanging in an unnatural position. It growls as it walks away, and I suddenly feel weak in the knees. Thoughts of my many weaknesses begin flooding into my head; horrible thoughts of my lack of defense as my freakish assaulter pummels me with his fists swim through my brain, making my self-esteem shrivel like a water-deprived, wilting flower. I feel as though I am a waste of matter, and that I should be fed to some stronger, greater god. I grab my head with both hands and, at the same time, Kioto whimpers a small, humble sort of noise, as though she feels exactly like I do.