Nevermor (49 page)

They didn’t
waste time.  They went back to their rooms and started grabbing things that
were important to them, putting on the rest of their clothes and gathering
their weapons.  Wren went for the only thing that was important to her.  She
grabbed a blanket and woke Max up, hurrying to wrap it around him.

“What’s going
on?” he asked her sleepily.

“We’re going
outside,” she explained, trying not to seem too panicked.  “I want you to keep
your eyes closed, alright?  And don’t be afraid.  I’ll be with you.”

The tired boy
nodded and she scooped him up.  She abandoned everything else that was in her
room, including the sewing projects she’d started and the clothes she’d made
for herself.  Her gown was enough as long as she had her life.

She hurried back
to the den where the others were gathering, strapping on satchels and as many
weapons as they could carry.  She appraised the group, noting Henry first and
the rest of them second, but the main one of them was absent.

“Rifter’s not
here,” she said worriedly.

“He’s not in his
room,” Toss told her.  “Guess he hasn’t come back from the search yet.”

“But we can’t
worry about that,” Nix said, tightening his satchel around him.  “We have to
go.  Everyone ready?”

He can take care
of himself
,
Wren thought. 
Better he’s out there than down here. 
But he probably
would have been an asset to helping them get out.

A count was
taken, and once they were sure that everyone was there save for Rifter, they
emerged from the underground through the cave mouth beyond the rabbit door.

The twins had
spoken the truth.  All around them, the forest was burning.

Wren couldn’t
believe how the flames lit up the night, beautiful and terrible all at once. 
Tree branches, engulfed in flames, broke free and fell to the ground.  How had
this happened?  What had started it?  And how was it spreading so quickly? 
There was no time to figure out the answers.

The boys
surveyed the flames, trying to decide which was the best way to turn.

“If we go back
in, we can run through the tunnels to the other end,” Toss suggested.

“No,” Nix said. 
“We don’t know what’s happening on that side.  We can still get to the beach
through here.  Let’s go!”

They didn’t have
time to stand around and argue about it.  Nix took off and the group moved
after him, brushing past flaming bushes and trying to be aware of falling
limbs.  They moved together, as quickly as possible, though they were all
weighed down by the extra bulk they carried.  Wren was especially encumbered to
be carrying a small person.  She hadn’t gone far before her back was aching and
the child was growing much too heavy for her weak arms.  She simply couldn’t
hope to run very far with him.

“Let me take
him, Wren,” Finn offered.  She didn’t protest.

“Keep your eyes
closed, alright?” she told Max as she handed him over.  “I’m going to let Finn
carry you.”

“No, no!”  She
gave him up, even though the boy was whining, still reaching for her.

“Close your
eyes.  It’ll all be alright.”  She hoped she wasn’t lying.

They moved on
through the clearer path toward the beach.  Wren tried to stay close, but
couldn’t help looking up into the treetops which burned and swayed, making her
feel dizzy.  Where was Rifter?  Had he not come back from his last search?  She
would have felt better if he was there with them.  What if he came back and
thought the worst?  She would have at least liked him to know that they were
alive.

She looked
toward the sky, though she couldn’t say she hoped to catch a glimpse of him,
but it seemed the only logical place to look.  That was when something caught
her eye.

What’s that?

She tried not to
slow too much, but she couldn’t let go of the idea that she had seen something
dark moving across the sky, blocking out the moon briefly.  Some sort of
eclipse?  Surely not.  Had she imagined it?

She hadn’t even
realized that she had stopped until she heard the cracking sound, and by then
it was too late.  Wren was trying to find the source when the tree came crashing
down in front of her.

She shrieked and
jumped back, shielding herself from the burst of embers, but she was only lucky
that the flames did not touch her.  Even so, she was cut off from the rest of
them.  The branch was blocking her path and she couldn’t get around.

“
Wren
!” 
They were calling out with concern, but she didn’t want them lingering because
of her.

I need to find a
way around.  Don’t panic
.  Even though she told herself this, it did not
keep her heart from pulsing in her throat.

She turned to
run, but she might as well have been blind.  She searched for a safe place to
cross, but the farther she went, the more disoriented she became.  By the time
she had decided to turn and go back, she couldn’t say where she had come from.

Nothing that
Rifter had taught her about navigating the forest would come to the front of
her mind.  There was fire everywhere and somehow she had gotten herself turned
around.  The others were still yelling for her, but the constant roar of the
flames was distorting the sound and she couldn’t tell where they were anymore.

Is this the end?
  She wondered. 
Am I going to die like this?

As she looked
death in the face, she realized that she had barely lived.  She was much too
young to die.

3

Rifter had been
flying over the dark ocean, circling the island for any sign of light in the
darkness, gradually widening his berth until he was several leagues out.  If it
had been the Scourge’s intention to hide, he was doing a fine job of it. 
Rifter had seen nothing of the ship.  Even listening at the camp across the way
and threatening a few of the dwellers had done no good.  The longer he
searched, the angrier he became, yet his wrath hadn’t helped him to be more
productive.

He passed around
to the far side of the island now, toward the forest where he’d made his home,
wondering if he should stop this time.  He could sleep for a bit, and maybe in
the daylight, he would have better luck.

No, I can’t
sleep.  I won’t rest until I find him.

From the
distance, he looked toward the forest and saw a hint of the light he’d been
seeking.  His muscles tightened as he readied himself – but this glow was not
quite what he’d been looking for.  Patches of trees were stricken by flames,
and the bright orange aurora lit up the night.

No!

Rifter didn’t
hesitate to abandon his mission.  He rushed back toward his home, throwing
weight into his flight to gain speed.  By the time he reached the forest, a
great portion of it had gone up.  Had the trees been that dry?  He thought he
heard loud shots in the distance, but he could not focus on that.  He had to
know that the rest of them were alright!

He’d meant what
he’d said to Wren.  He did not intend to lose them.

He dove down
into the trees, giving little regard to his own safety.  Were the others still
in the tunnels?  Surely they had gotten out.  Whoever was on watch should have
seen the fire and alerted them all.  But what if it hadn’t happened the way
they’d prepared?

None of them
would die if he could help it.  Not this way!

Rifter shot
through the forest, searching.  He saw fleeing wildlife, fairies, lesser
monsters, but there was no sign of his Pack.  He darted toward the tunnel exits
one by one, thinking they must have retreated through one of them.  When he had
checked several and turned up nothing, he dropped down into the tunnels
himself, but they were empty.

They got out at
least.
 
That consoled him a bit.  Still, he had to find them.  Where had they gone?

The beach.
  They must have
headed there.  It was the only other place they could have gone.

He flew onward
and was eventually drawn to the sound of their voices as they yelled at each
other, and this led him right to them.  Some were still on the move, but a
couple of them – Toss and the newest boy, Fang – were loitering.  They didn’t
need to be standing here.  The fire was growing by the minute.

“Go!” he shouted
at them.  “What are you waiting on?”

“Wren’s back
there!” Fang yelled to him.

Wren!
  Could he have
forgotten her if she wasn’t standing in front of him?  She had accused him of
that.  Rifter hated to admit it, but he almost had.

“I’ll get her!”
he said as if he could make up for it, and they trusted him to it.  The others
gave in and ran toward the beach.  Rifter turned and went back, flying low
beneath the layers of smoke.

Wren. Wren.
Wren…
 
She couldn’t have gone far.  He felt a bit of panic in his chest at the thought
of not being able to find her.  Hadn’t he promised that he wouldn’t lose her?

Where is she?

A flash of white
caught his attention, and he had to be thankful for that.  If she’d been
dressed like the rest of them, he might never have seen her.

He spun himself
around in mid-air and swooped back quickly to go after her.  She was running
the other way.  He saw her trip – but he grabbed her up and pulled her in
close.  She recognized him without having to see his face, clinging to him
tightly as he flew her to safety.  Even once they had broken free of where the
fire was strongest, he didn’t stop until they had gotten to the beach, out from
beneath so many trees that had once sheltered them.

“Are you
alright?” he asked her urgently as soon as they had their feet on the ground. 
“
Are you hurt
?”

He clasped her
face and made her look at him, and though she was breathless, horrified and
smeared with soot, she was safe.  She wasn’t burned.  Tearstains had left white
trails down her cheeks, existing for the trauma she’d been through.  He wished
he could erase it, but knew he could not.

She nodded for
him, but couldn’t say anything.  Rifter wanted to hold her but the young one
was reaching for her now, and Wren put the child’s needs first.  She took Max
into her arms, trying to hush him.

When they were
all standing there, even though none had been left behind or injured, the Pack
didn’t celebrate.  They didn’t joke or congratulate each other on how fast they
had gotten out.  They only stared at the flames burning away at the forest,
ruining everything that they had worked to secure.  It was a low blow.  Perhaps
they had taken their safety for granted.  They were welcomed to open their eyes
now.

Rifter glared
angrily up at the flames.  They reflected in his eyes, mirroring his rage.

“I will not stop
until he’s dead,” he said darkly and the rest kept silent.  “No backing down
this time.  It’s
war
.”

1

“There were
balls of fire crashing down from the sky!”

“We’re not
lying!”

“It was like
something that happens when Rifter and Scourge are fighting.  They just came
out of nowhere!”

The twins had a
hard time convincing the others that this was what had happened.  The rest of
them felt that these two were untrustworthy – believing they would put
themselves and each other before the group in a case like this.  The other boys
were convinced that the twins had been drinking the Firefly, being reckless
with the fiery streams it could produce, and had caught the forest on fire
themselves.  Mach and Mech swore otherwise.  They claimed it was an attack.

Rifter listened,
but had eventually decided that there was only one way to know.  From the
beach, he went up into the sky to get a better view of the island as a whole,
and there he saw that the forest was not the only thing that had burned that
night.  He found that there were several clear fires across the island, and not
just in areas where there were trees.

This had made
him feel so angry – so guilty – that the others couldn’t do anything with him. 
After a while, he’d simply wandered away down the beach, leaving them alone.

Wren had watched
all of this play out, holding Max in her lap.  She tried to comfort the boy but
at the same time it was a comfort to herself to have him close.  Her thoughts
held nothing but sadness, not so much for herself but for the others.  They had
a stronger connection to all this than she did, and her sorrow was for their
sake.  Everything that they had built was gone.  They couldn’t go back to see
what was left – at least not yet.  For now, they could only say goodbye to
their possessions and assume that they would never be seen again.

The group sat
quietly within the rocks, content not to look as the forest burned.  They
didn’t need a campfire because of the heat, and they didn’t want to draw
attention to their presence.