The Journey of the Marked (The Miyran Heir Book 1) (28 page)

Kenrya and Azetan had traveled
cautiously through the dark forest the day before, covering a good distance,
and were pleased with their progress. They camped among a small ring of trees
with a relatively clear patch of forest ground in the middle. The area rested
off the main path, which would be safer if the Graeliths happened to be
following them. After the night’s rest, they again moved well through the
forest, staying close to the path, constantly alert for danger.

“I’m beginning to wonder if Eros’s
visions are more like hallucinations,” Kenrya said, glancing back at Azetan. He
was walking at the very edge of the path, which required skirting the roots
sticking up from the ground. “What are you doing?” She motioned toward the
smoother section. “This part of the path is much easier for walking.”

Azetan stopped and looked toward
her feet. “I know. That’s what worries me.”

“You’re starting to sound like
Eros.” She rolled her eyes and started walking again.

They continued for several hours
and stopped midday for lunch. Azetan refused to move to the center of the main
path to eat, despite the fact the path was much wider and clearer, thus Kenrya
grudgingly joined him among the uncomfortable roots running along the path’s
edge.

When they finished eating, they
packed the supplies. Kenrya glared at Azetan and said with an edge in her
voice, “We could travel much faster if you would simply walk on the path.” She
strode to the center of the main path and turned around to face him. “Here I am
in the center of the path.” She held her arms out and wheeled around
full-circle. “It’s fine.”

Azetan stood up slowly, staring at
her feet. “Kenrya, you’re sinking.”

“What?” Kenrya looked down. Her
shoes had sunk into the ground about half an inch. “It’s not a problem if the
ground is a little muddy.” She shrugged away his concern. “We should start
moving again.”

Azetan gathered the packs. Kenrya
tried to pick up her foot to move back to the edge of the path and found her
foot was mired in the mud. She tried to lift the other; both were stuck. As she
struggled to move her feet, she began sinking faster into the mud. “Azetan!”

Azetan spun around to see the mud
now covered the top of Kenrya’s shoes. He picked up a loose stick and tossed it
into the center of the path where it quickly sank beneath the surface. “Hang
on,” he said calmly. “Let me find a bigger branch to help pull you out. Stop
fighting! If it’s anything like sinking sand, you’ll sink faster.”

Kenrya stopped fighting and the
sinking slowed. She watched while Azetan frantically searched for a loose
branch, while staying clearly off the main path. By the time he found a branch
he could easily snap off a tree, she had sunk to her ankles. He held the branch
across to her. She grasped the end as tightly as she could and he tried to pull
her toward him, but she never budged. Trying again with all his strength, he
couldn’t dislodge her.

She looked around desperately for
another way out. Azetan ran to his pack and started digging through the
contents.

“What are you doing?” Kenrya raised
her arms toward Azetan with a shrug.

“Remember the horn the old men gave
us? While they didn’t tell us its purpose, maybe Eros and the others took a
nearby path and can hear it. With their help, perhaps we can free you.”

Azetan pulled the horn from his bag
and blew into it with all his might. The sound it produced was low and deep. He
glanced at Kenrya, seeing she had now sunk to her calves. He blew the horn
again and again.

Something whizzed by Azetan’s head
and he raised his arm to shield himself. Kenrya searched for the source and
found a small creature standing directly across from him on one of the tree
limbs. The creature stood about a foot tall and had a long, crooked nose. The
head was disproportionally large for its body, which was a thin, stick-like
torso holding two scrawny arms and legs. The creature wore a green bodice and a
pointed hat. He turned his beady eyes toward Azetan, placed another arrow in
his bow, and shot again.

Azetan hurled a small rock at the
little creature and almost knocked him off the branch. The little creature
sneered at him. “Go ahead. Try to knock me off. She will eat you soon enough,
she will. You and the girl will be a great feast.” He cackled as he pointed to
Kenrya, who had now sunk to her knees.

“Eat?” she yelled. “What does he
mean by that?”

The little creature leaned on his
bow and explained, “You, my dear, have been walking in the mouth of the great
Sah. Yes, she picked up your scent as you brushed against her tendrils,” he
said as he stroked one of the tree trunks. “She led you right where she wanted
you ... her throat.” He fell on his back, laughing.

Kenrya started battling the mud again
and sinking faster. “Stop!” Azetan insisted. “Stay still. The others will
come.” He blew the horn again.

“Yes,” the little creature jeered,
“fight harder, my dear. That only aids her swallowing, though she won’t digest
you until you have traveled deep into her stomach.” He then picked up his bow
and started firing at Azetan again, always directing the arrows to force Azetan
closer to the path. More creatures appeared on other limbs and the first one
began instructing them to steer Azetan toward the main path. Azetan continued
to blow the horn while trying to work his way back into the forest.

Kenrya berated herself for letting
her arrogance lead her down this path. If she had listened to Eros rather than
fighting him, they would never have traveled this way. She remained as still as
possible and hoped Azetan was right about the others not being too far away. As
the pressure of the ground moved to her hips, something fluttered nearby. She
strained for a better view and saw more fluttering movements. Then they came
into her line of sight — little flying creatures, much like the ones firing
arrows from the trees, except the heads of these beings were more appropriately
sized for their bodies. They were no bigger than four inches high, with long
braids swinging at their backs and wings about the size of their bodies. Their
body coverings were various shades of blue.

The creatures flew directly toward
her and as they drew near, they threw small ropes around her arms. “No!” she
yelled. “I will not be eaten so easily.” She shook the ropes off and swatted at
the little winged pests. They kept circling around her, unable to draw any
closer as she fought to keep them at bay. By now she had sunk over her waist. She
was determined not to die without a fight.

“Kenrya!” a voice yelled from the
forest. She stopped swatting and followed the sound of the voice; Azetan turned
in the same direction. Tip rushed through the trees, waving his arms. “Kenrya,
stop fighting! Stop fighting! Eros said not to fight!”

At first Kenrya thought he was
telling her not to fight against the sinking mud. Then she looked warily at the
little winged creatures.
Should I trust them? Or rather, should I trust
Eros?
Tip certainly never would have run through the forest without
prodding from Eros. She took a deep breath and resisted the urge to swat them.

As the creatures flew near her
head, one of them said, “Well, about time! We thought you were going to let her
swallow you before allowing us to help.” Just as he started issuing
instructions to the other winged creatures, an arrow whizzed by, narrowly
missing him. Azetan hurled a rock at the tree creature shooting the arrow,
knocking him cleanly off his branch. The little winged creature turned back to
Kenrya and ordered, “Hold your arms out to the side as stiffly as you can.”

She nodded and did as she was told.
She closed her eyes as she sank up to her chest. The little winged creatures
quickly looped ropes under her arms and tightened them securely.

Tip stopped by Azetan’s side to
catch his breath. “What is that?”

“A massive creature, swallowing
Kenrya whole.”

“Ugh! What can I do to help?”

“We need to keep these tree
creatures from shooting arrows at the ones helping Kenrya. Throw rocks, sticks,
anything you can find and stay away from the path!”

Tip grabbed the flute stuck in his
waistband. He moved farther back from the path to ensure his safety and, using
the technique he learned watching Chimsey, started to play a soft melody.

One of the tree creatures hopped
from limb to limb until he was closer to Tip and a second followed. The first
elbowed the second and said, “What do you think he’s doing?”

“Dunno,” the second replied. “Maybe
he thinks we’ll fall asleep or something.”

The first one snorted. “That’s
ridiculous. Let’s shoot him.”

They drew back their bows and
started shooting arrows at Tip. Tip raised his arm to protect his face and
growled a warning to the tree creatures. They continued shooting arrows until
he pulled back his hand holding the flute and swung it wildly in their
direction. He hit the first one with such force that the creature flew at least
ten feet into the forest and caught the second one as his arm swung back,
knocking it well on the other side of the path. Turning the flute over in his
hands, he must have been satisfied as he then took off after another of the
creatures with the flute raised.

The winged creatures held the ropes
around Kenrya’s arms and started beating their wings rapidly. Little by little,
they began to pull her free. While she felt the ground below gripping at her
legs, the combined strength of the little winged creatures was far greater. They
lifted her from the path and carried her a few feet into the forest towards Tip
and Azetan.

“Are you all right?” Azetan asked
as they placed her gently on the ground.

“I think so.” She tested her legs,
which were filthy but seemed to function normally. “Outside of this slimy stuff
all over me, I think I’m fine.”

Azetan tossed Tip her pack and
loaded his on his back. Vine-like plants emerged from Sah’s throat, moving in their
direction. Tip motioned for them to follow him and they quickly took off
through the forest. The little winged creatures flew alongside them, and the
tree creatures followed them as well, still shooting arrows and making rude
remarks.

“Hurry!” one of the winged
creatures said. “She’s growing angry. The tendrils are becoming larger! She’s
trying to block your path.”

The roots of the trees expanded and
the limbs began sinking lower. Tip hurried the others and tried to help them
navigate the way, as best he could. As they neared the edge of what they now
knew was definitely not a typical forest, Eros and Prizene stood waiting in the
clearing. The trees continued to expand, closing the gaps through which they
could see the others.

When they finally reached the edge,
the roots and limbs fully blocked the path and they could no longer see through
them. They looked behind them to see the long vines from Sah’s throat snaking
their way across the ground after them. Azetan drew one of his swords and
slashed the blade into a branch. A harsh cry sounded deep beneath the ground. As
he raised his sword to strike again, another branch grew in place of the last. He
stopped, his arms falling to his sides, then took a deep breath and raised his
sword again.

“The laser gun!” Tip shouted in
sudden inspiration. He pulled the gun from his pocket, shifted the lever to the
unblocked position, and fired into the branches at a height he judged wouldn’t
hurt Eros and Prizene on the other side.

A great roar sounded beneath their
feet and the ground began to shake. Eros and Prizene dove out of the way,
allowing Tip to fire again and again, until a large enough opening appeared for
the three of them and the winged creatures to escape.

They leaped through the edges of
Sah’s mouth and stopped to catch their breaths.

“No stopping!” the little winged
creature yelled. “Sah still comes for you!” He pointed to the vines now
crossing the threshold of Sah’s mouth.

Eros and Prizene grabbed the
remaining packs and they all dashed onto the path leading to the southwest. They
ran a good distance before deciding they were safe. After unloading their
packs, they prepared lunch for those who had not yet eaten, and introduced
themselves to the little winged creatures. Two of the little creatures kept an
eye toward Sah in case she tried to reach them here. It was unlikely, one said,
but you never knew with Sah.

The leader of the creatures rested
on a rock to Kenrya’s right and smiled at her. “I am Cusilje of the Bertog
order. We live among these trees above you,” he explained with his hands held
toward the sky. “We journey near Sah only when in need of a rare moss that
grows in the forest near her.”

Azetan asked, “How were you able to
pull Kenrya out? I tried with a branch and she only sank faster.”

“We are stronger than we appear,”
Cusilje said with a wink and a chuckle. “Of course, the ropes we used are of a
unique variety, which may have helped.”

“Unique how?” Kenrya asked. She was
amazed that such small creatures could lift someone her size.

“The ropes are spun from a rare
weed that grows deep in the marshes to the south. When the Miyran clan and its
fellow travelers arrived here centuries ago, they developed friendships with
the Graeliths.” Cusilje looked from face to face as he spoke. “I see that
surprises you. Did you not know that the Graeliths once welcomed the Miyrans to
this world? You see, my people were among the species traveling with the
Miyrans. We live for thousands of years. I well remember those first meetings
with the Graeliths. Caldot thrived and life was good then, peaceful. I traveled
many times to the great marshes to visit a friend of mine, a Graelith who long
ago perished from old age. He insisted I visit the sacred place where the
golden weed grows and he offered some to me. The weed allows us to lift a
weight much greater than our own.” He saw questions on their faces and
shrugged. “We can’t explain its power. The weed truly is unique.”