The Last Summoning---Andrew and the Quest of Orion's Belt (Book Four) (22 page)

After some time, Flicker settled back down in
front of Andrew. His eyes were filled with a look of anger, and his
face was stern. “Everything is as I imagined. Desolate, and
empty---the bodies of my brothers who would not have their wings
clipped have been burned in heaps. “What a woeful time this is to
be living. Thank you for urging me to face my fears. Yes, I cannot
hide any longer. The devastation of my city needs to be avenged!”
He let out a loud, piercing, screech that sounded more like a
mournful cry. “EEEYAAAAAAAA!” As his voice died down, he bent down
and picked up a handful of feathers that lay strewn on the ground.
He cried out once more, and let the feathers slowly fall like snow
from his winged hands. “What a dark time of shadow our world is
falling under, eclipsed by a fallen star that consumes light like a
fire consumes wood. I fear that only when all life and light has
been shut out, will the people of the world begin to finally see.
But then it will be too late. So a dark people will be raised under
its false light, fuel for The Fallen’s miserable existence.”

“I hope it never comes to that,” Andrew said,
his voice strong.

Flicker walked around Andrew, gazing at
Andrew from all sides, frowning like he had caught a whiff of some
unpleasant odor. “And you have the arrogance to think you can stop
what is coming? With what army?”

“We intend to gather one.” He drew his sword.
Instantly a burst of light caused Flicker to jump back.

“I bear the sword of Cosmo,” Andrew said.
“And with it I intend to strike down The Fallen and send him back
into the void he came from.”

Flicker blinked, trying to accustom his eyes
to the bright sword. “Ah…I see…” his voice cooed. His frown slowly
turned into a smile. Respect shone on his face. Flicker’s smile
grew bigger. “The sword of Cosmo. The mighty elf, half star, half
human. It is the end of times. Oh, but what an honor! I will serve
you, wherever you go. With or without an army.”

“Thank you,” Andrew said. “That means a lot
coming from such an honorable creature as yourself.”

“Where are you heading?” Flicker wondered.
“And what is your plan?”

Andrew pointed to the wagon where the chest
of unsaid words sat, the unsaid words thumping and glowing in
excitement. “First I must take this chest to the largest city I can
find, where these unsaid words can mean the most and will spread
far and wide. What that chest holds, can say far more than I ever
could.”

Flicker’s face shone with wonder. “The chest
of unsaid words. Oh, how curious. How wonderful. Yes, you are
right. Such words have not been heard in many years. It will be
good to hear the truth on the streets again. We must free them, and
quickly. I know the lands here. I can take you to the largest city,
Copious is its name, and rightly so, for it is a great city, and
powerful, ruled by Vargas himself, though he is hardly ever there,
for he visits The Fallen more often than not. The city is not far
from here. It would be most appropriate to release the chest of
unsaid words there, for many things go unsaid there, and it is
about time the forbidden words have an ear. But between Copious,
and us, is the land of the Inbetweeners, and the Valley of Slaves.
We must journey through these places in order to get here.”

Andrew nodded, listening to every word
Flicker spoke. “Good. I’m glad you are coming with us. We will go
to this city of Copious, and we will gather whoever will follow us
on our journey there. Perhaps, if we are able, we will free the
slaves as well.”

“Free the slaves…” Flicker said, his voice
filled with wonder. “Yes. Oh yes. Let us. Let us free the world!”
The words seemed to fly out of his mouth. “Andrew, you have given
me renewed purpose in life. I will fight to the end of my days to
help you. I will avenge my dead brothers. I will fight!”

The Inbetweeners

After leaving the city of Flicker, Andrew, and his
friends journeyed further north into a land where sheets of heavy
clouds, and smoke hung over the land like lingering ghosts. The sun
was high in the sky, but dreary rain clouds hid it from view,
threatening to storm once again. A miserable drizzle of rain began
to fall, making the land look more hazy than before.

Flicker flew undaunted through the rain, not
letting it dampen his determination. Only when he was far ahead of
the others did he stop, and settle on the edge of a steep knoll
where jagged rocks jutted up from the earth, waiting for the others
to join him.

“What’s down there?” Andrew asked, finally
catching up to Flicker.

“A nothing city, really,” Flicker said. “We
should go around it. From there, we should be able to get to the
valley of slaves. We will do the most good there. For the slaves in
this city, the Valley of Inbetweeners, is a lost cause.”

“Wait?” Andrew said. “There are slaves in
this city, too?”

Flicker let out a loud screech, and shook his
feathers, twisting his neck like an owl, to face Andrew. “Ahg! In a
way, yes. But slaves of a different kind. Slaves to themselves,
bound by fence-sitting so long that they are stuck forever where
they are. No one can help them. Not a soul has ever made it out of
their city. Please, just listen to my advice. We would do better to
just go around it.”

“We can’t,” Andrew said, staring over the
knoll. “I have come to wake all captives. If there’s a chance any
might be helped, even just one, we must be sure to check.”

“Fine,” Flicker murmured. “But don’t say
didn’t I warn you. You will soon understand what I mean. For none
of them can be helped, even if they want it.”

“What if we had skipped your city?” Andrew
questioned. “No. We will go and see, even if it is a fruitless
trip. We will have tried.” Andrew sighed, and looked beyond the
hill, into the valley of Inbetweeners. He could still see the smoke
lingering below them undisturbed by the rain. It was as if the land
itself was belching out the smoke, hiding what looked like a large
city filled with many muted lights.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Flicker cried,
stepping over the edge of the knoll and spreading his wings. He
soared over the city, and looped back around. He cut through the
rain, his great wings filling with air, like the mast of a ship,
not undone by the rain and wind. While he flew above, Andrew and
his friends followed below, making their way down the knoll, into
the city. The closer they came to the city, the more the chest of
unsaid words throbbed and moaned in the back of the wagon, as if it
was swelling and would soon burst apart.

Once in the smoke-filled valley, Andrew
instantly wished he had listened to Flicker’s advice. The rain did
not penetrate the thick smoke. It was as if the moisture dissolved
before it ever reached the ground. Andrew could barely see
Flicker’s glowing eyes, shining above, through the thick smoke. The
chest continued to throb and shake, making it difficult for
Andrew’s horse to keep steady amid the ash and soot-covered
ground.

It was a miserable spot of land. Smoke and
ash, tinted the earth in an orange, freakish light. It was wholly
the gloomiest place Andrew had ever been. Shadows lurked in the
cracks and corners, and reached out at them as they passed by.

Freddie stopped to stare at a burning tree.
“Look at that tree. The fire isn’t consuming it like it should.”
The flames licked at its trunk, but never grew any bigger. It
looked like it had just been set on fire, but the fire did not have
the willpower to consume the rest of the tree, nor utterly go
out.

“Look at those houses.” Ivory pointed through
the smoke to the houses and trees that lay in flame. The fires
neither grew bigger, nor consumed the timbers of the houses like a
hungry fire should.

“Weird,” Andrew murmured.

“It looks as if someone just set the village
on fire. Yet, why isn’t anything burning up?”

“How is that possible?” Croffin asked,
peering into a house whose roof was aflame, but no other part of
the house was being consumed.

Flicker soared above them, and let out a loud
screech, before settling beside them. “I told you it was a
miserable place.”

“Yes,” Andrew agreed. “You did. The sooner we
search the city, the sooner we will go.”

“I hate this place,” Talic said, trembling in
the saddle, behind Freddie. “I hate fire.” He pulled his long
whiskers and wrapped them close to himself to protect them from
being singed.

“Calm down, Talic,” Ivory consoled her
friend. “We won’t let the fire hurt you.”

“You can’t protect my whiskers from fire!”
Talic cried, leaping off the horse. As he fell, he rolled, then
quickly stood up. His head jerked back and forth in fear. “Fire,
fire, fire,” he breathed, panting like a wild animal. His eyes
gleamed with the reflection of the flames.

“Talic!” Andrew shouted, running after him.
“Come back!”

“Get away from me,” Talic growled, darting
away from Andrew, slipping into a vacant house that looked like the
only house in the village that was not on fire.

Andrew quickly followed Talic into the house.
The house was made of brick and stone, and looked very solid, but
very old. The room's only light was from a small window that let in
the dismal orange glow of the burning town. Underneath the window
was a small table heaped with buttery rolls, and a bowl of steaming
stew.

Talic jumped onto the table, his eyes wild.
He looked at the food spread on the table. “Food,” he breathed,
forgetting that he was afraid. He reached for the food, and stuffed
his mouth full of rolls, and gulped down the stew. He ate the food
in savage hunger, groaning in delight, letting crumbs and soup
spill everywhere. When he saw Andrew, he stopped suddenly. He
grinned, as if almost embarrassed. He licked his messy face and
wiped the crumbs off his chin. “This is really good food,” he said,
stuffing another roll into his mouth, while offering one to Andrew.
“Really, oh yum. Good, Yum. Good. Food. Go ahead, Andrew, try
some.”

Andrew watched Talic, with folded arms.
“Talic!” he commanded.

Talic glowered at him but did not look
up.

“Talic!”

“Why are you shouting at me?” Talic yelped,
wiping up a long string of slobber. He held out a half eaten roll
for Andrew to take. “Oh dear, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to eat so
much of it. I’m sorry. I was saving this for you.” His eyes filled
with tears, and he began to cry over the roll. “I’m sorry. I knew
you wanted a piece. But I ate most of it. I’m sorry. I’m so, so
sorry!”

Andrew shook Talic by the shoulders. “Talic,
get a hold of yourself. It’s just a roll.”

Talic stared at Andrew with his abnormally
large eyes. “Only a roll?”

“Yes, a bit of food. Not worth tearing up
over.”

Talic poked the piece of roll, his eyes
gleaming. “Only a roll. Yes. It is only a roll. But why am I
crying? It’s so sad, I ate your roll.”

“Talic, look at me! I don’t care! It’s fine.
You can eat all of it, if you like.”

Talic’s face filled with relief. He smiled,
and wiped his tears. “You don’t mind then?”

Andrew shook his head. “No. It’s fine. Talic
what’s the matter with you?”

“Oh! You’re such a good friend!” Talic’s face
lit up and he popped the last bit of roll into his mouth and chewed
happily. “Oh,” he moaned, “I don’t know what’s come over me. At
times I almost feel like my old self, and then something happens
and I just get these urges, very strong urges, to eat, or to run,
or to hide, or to laugh. And I can’t help myself. It’s terrible. I
know. But I don’t know what to do. My old self scolds me, but then
I just…” his voice trembled and he started to cry again.

Andrew shook his head, and patted Talic on
the shoulder. “Talic, it’s okay. Really.”

Talic sniffed, and wiped his drippy nose on
his sleeve. “No. It’s not okay. It’ll never be okay.” He picked up
the empty bowl of soup and began licking the dish.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE!” a voice
bellowed.

Talic stopped mid bite and pointed behind
Andrew at a man standing in a far corner of the room. He was tall,
and thick, with hair that hung in greasy knots around his
shoulders. His clothes looked soiled and his face was twisted into
an ugly scowl. “Get out!” The man thundered, rushing towards them
with a thick club. He swung at the table, smashing it in half with
a loud crash. “Get out!”

Talic cried out in fear, and ran from the
room as the man swung the club again.

“Stay back,” Andrew warned, drawing his sword
in a brilliant flash of light.

The man jumped back. “Who…are you?” the man
trembled, his voice stricken with fear.

Andrew gazed at the dark outline of the man’s
face. His eyes were bright and filled with terror. His face was
sooty-black. His hair was sprinkled with thick layers of dirt and
soot. Seeds surely could have grown there.

“I’m Andrew,” he said, stepping nearer.

“Please,” the man whimpered. “Don’t hurt
me.”

Andrew put away his sword, and offered the
man a friendly hand. “I won’t hurt you. I’m sorry, my friend ate
your food. But we mean no harm.”

The man shook his head and pressed himself
against the wall, cowering in the corner like a frightened
creature. “Please, just go. Go!”

“Alright,” Andrew said. “I will leave if that
is your wish.”

“Yes,” the man said, ever so slowly moving
out of the shadows. His eyes were wild and red. His face looked
crazed and pitiful. “Yes, you should leave. Leave at once! No one
should stay too long in this place. Go, go, GO!”

Andrew backed away from the man, feeling very
uneasy. Something about the man’s desperate voice caused fear to
creep over him.

“LEAVE AT ONCE!” the man howled, staring at
Andrew, with widening eyes. The whites of the man’s eyes looked
striking against the backdrop of his soot-covered skin. “Ah, you’re
afraid. And you should be, too,” the man went on. “One thinks that
this village is vacant at first glance. But at first glance, you
can never tell. This is an accursed village. You should take your
friends and leave. Leave before it is too late.”