Seeds of Rebellion (7 page)

Jason stared down the chimney in silence. He really was trapped. His demise was only a matter of time. At least he had sent Tark off with a message for Galloran, so his return to Lyrian wouldn’t be a total waste.

“Be reasonable,” Peluthe pleaded.

“Sorry for the inconvenience,” Jason said, trying to keep the fear out of his voice, “but I’m going to make this as difficult as I can. You should be ashamed for inviting a guest into your home and then trying to eat him.”

“Suggestions?” Peluthe asked, no longer addressing Jason.

“Find a pole,” someone proposed.

“Smoke him out,” growled the codger.

“Saul!” Peluthe called. “Trade places with me. I’m coming down.”

A commotion of voices ensued, with some giving directions and others complaining. Jason heard the giants clomping about. A big pair of hands began piling wood into the fireplace.

“Find greenery,” Jep instructed. “It makes more smoke.”

Jason heard the front door open and close.

He examined the little ledge he was on. If he put his nose against the rear corner of the ledge facing the wall and breathed through his shirt, he might last for some time. But no matter what precautions he took, eventually he would asphyxiate. If they piled the wood high enough and it burned hot enough, he might even cook! Jason had known returning to Lyrian might get him killed, but deep down he had not believed it would happen. At least not so soon!

Down below, green boughs were heaped atop the growing pile of wood.

Jason patted his pockets, considering his options. He had money and jewels from Tark, but the giants would not likely accept a bribe when they could just kill him and rob his corpse. He had Ferrin’s hand, but there was no chance the displacer was near enough to offer direct assistance. Were these giants loyal to Maldor? If so, could he pretend to be a displacer by dropping the hand, maybe bluff that he was on an errand from Maldor? He doubted whether the giants would care.

Peluthe called to him again, this time from below. “Are you sure you refuse to come down? This won’t be pleasant.”

“Not to mention that the smoke will sully your flavor,” Jep added.

“We could provide a quick, clean death,” Peluthe offered. “Dignified and painless.”

Jason wondered if he should keep answering. His responses might only encourage them.

“Don’t bother playing possum,” Retta said. “We’re going to get you down one way or another, even if we have to climb up there in the morning.”

“I hope I taste like ashes,” Jason snapped.

“He’s a rather poor sport about all of this,” the codger grumbled.

“I’m going to light it up,” Peluthe announced. “I don’t mind my humans lightly toasted.”

Jason watched Peluthe bend forward over the logs. He was clacking some stones together to make sparks. Whatever Jason was going to try, it had to be quick.

“Use the coals from the other fire,” the codger said.

“They were swept aside,” Peluthe replied. “They’re not hot enough.” He kept clacking the stones.

“Let me do it,” Retta insisted.

“I have it.” Peluthe clacked for a few moments to no avail.

“I do this every day,” Retta sighed.

“I have it!” Peluthe snapped.

“I’m a servant of Maldor,” Jason called down. “I’m here on official business.”

“Little late to claim friendship with Maldor,” Peluthe replied disinterestedly. “You didn’t have any idea what we were when you met us.” He huffed with exasperation. “Fine, Retta, you light it.”

Jason decided he should send a final message to Ferrin. He took off his backpack and started rummaging around in it.

“Uh, Peluthe, Saul, we have a visitor,” warned a wary female. Perhaps Deloa.

Jason heard multiple gasps.

“Great demons from Beyond!” Peluthe exclaimed, moving away from the fireplace and out of view.

“Get out!” Jep cried urgently. “Don’t look at it!”

Jason heard the giants clomp across the floor and out the door. Silence followed. Was it a ruse to fool him into climbing down? A ploy to avoid having him taste too smoky?

“Come down from there, Saul!” Peluthe called from outside.

“Why?” The response came from near the top of the chimney.

“Don’t argue. Trust me.”

Jason heard the roof creaking, then nothing else. After waiting for a moment, he decided to leave the hand in his backpack, and zipped it back up. The zipper seemed unusually noisy.

If the giants had only pretended to leave, they would pounce on him as soon as he exited the chimney. If they truly had run off, Jason could only conclude that his situation had grown worse. What would frighten away a house full of giants? Deloa had mentioned a visitor. Could it possibly be somebody friendly? A good guy?

Biting his lower lip, Jason peered down the chimney. The fireplace remained vacant. He heard nothing.

“Hello?” Jason called softly. “Anyone there? Anyone who hates giants and likes people?”

The silence continued unbroken.

Time passed. Jason breathed the charred odor of the chimney. He became fidgety. Using his pocketknife, he scratched the sooty stones around him, seeing if he could remove the blackness. He couldn’t. Above him, visible through the mouth of the chimney, dusk began to fade into night.

Given the bickering he had heard until they left, Jason did not believe the giants were capable of such patience. Not only was the house silent, the whole village was quiet. Still, he waited. He had no desire to let impatience kill him.

As stars became visible through the mouth of the chimney above him, Jason’s little ledge grew very dark. He listened for clues as to what might have frightened the giants, but heard nothing unusual.

Gradually Jason became convinced that the giants were truly gone. He began to worry he might be wasting his only opportunity to escape. Turning around, Jason climbed quietly down the chimney, feeling for little outcrops with his toes, pausing occasionally to listen. There still was no sound.

Toward the bottom, as the chimney began to widen into the fireplace, Jason lost his grip and fell onto the stack of wood. The green branches on top cushioned the fall, although it felt like he’d twisted his ankle.

Rolling off the mound of firewood, Jason sat rubbing his ankle, staring at the dark room. A pallid gleam from the rising moon peeked through the shutters.

Standing in the center of the room was a human shape.

Squinting, Jason studied the stationary form, feeling chills tingle down his back. It was the size of a typical man, but through the gloom, Jason could identify no details. The figure held perfectly still.

His ankle already hurt less, which suggested it was not broken or sprained. Jason arose. The dark figure did not move. All remained quiet.

The personage could not have missed his fall. “Hello?” Jason whispered. The mysterious figure offered no response.

Jason edged along the wall, away from the fireplace. Whoever stood in the center of the room remained unnaturally still—not shifting, not twitching, not moving its head, not even visibly breathing. Reaching the corner of the room, Jason moved along the next wall toward the door.

The big door had been left slightly ajar, and Jason pulled it open and then stepped out into the night. The village was still. No light shone from any windows. The gibbous moon was rising, large and white over the treetops.

Limping slightly, Jason descended the oversized steps to the wide street. In a window across the road, he met the gaze of a large pair of eyes. The eyes ducked out of sight.

Jason turned to look back at the house he had just left, only to see the shadowy figure standing silently outside the door. Gasping, Jason stumbled several steps backward.

Beneath the direct moonlight, Jason could now see that the figure was truly featureless. The being looked like a human shadow made three-dimensional. No moonlight reflected off its matte surface.

Jason stood frozen, staring. Was this what had followed Tark? Was this a torivor? If so, Jason understood why people compared the creatures to the form Death might take. The unnatural
presence of the shadowy being filled Jason with dread.

“What do you want?” Jason asked, his voice cracking.

The silent figure remained motionless.

Glancing around, Jason glimpsed another face dropping out of sight behind a window. Whatever this thing was, the giants wanted nothing to do with it.

Jason swallowed dryly.

He started down the street toward the north side of town. Listening intently, he detected no evidence of anything following him, although his own steps crunched noisily against the gravel road. Whirling, Jason beheld the shadow being standing in the road, about ten paces behind. How could it move with such stealth?

Jason turned back around and walked quickly. When he looked back, the creature once again stood less than ten paces behind him. Was this some kind of game? Jason studied the ominous figure. It made no move, threatening or otherwise. Finally, he continued along the road, walking backward, keeping his eyes on the black figure and hoping it might hold still while he watched, since Jason had yet to see it move. The dark form began to walk, advancing with fluid grace. The shadowy entity made no sound.

Facing forward, Jason hurried out of town. The road became a groomed forest path, cutting through the woods to the north.

Repeatedly Jason glanced back, always to find the dark being standing ten paces behind. He remembered that Tark had mentioned lonely nights when the mysterious creature tracking him could have attacked. But Tark had never seen the creature clearly. He had caught only glimpses. This being did not seem interested in hiding.

Pausing, Jason stared at his pursuer. The dark apparition showed no sign of aggression. But given the reaction of the giants, he had to assume it could be plenty dangerous when it wanted.

After a couple of hours, Jason felt his lack of sleep weighing him down. Tonight was less warm than the previous evening, but with dry clothes, he didn’t feel too cold. Finding a grassy patch beside the road, Jason stretched out, wadding his jacket under his head. Would the creature kill him in his sleep?

He had a feeling it might be creeping up on him. Sitting up quickly, Jason found the figure still standing roughly ten paces away.

Lying back down, mind racing, he tried to calm his nerves. Either it would kill him, or it wouldn’t. Out here alone in the woods, there wasn’t much he could do about it either way.

Jason glanced at the creature. It remained the same distance away as before, still as a statue.

“What do you want?” Jason asked.

No answer.

“Are you the thing that followed Tark? You should keep following him. He’s the real mastermind. Shoo. Go hide.”

No response.

“Okay, how about you stand guard while I sleep. Keep the giants away. Sound good? All in favor, hold perfectly still. Fine, I guess we have a deal.”

Jason felt a little silly, like he was conversing with an inanimate object. Bundling his jacket into a makeshift pillow, he closed his eyes and eventually sank into an uncomfortable sleep.

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