Into the Forest Shadows (27 page)

She made herself smile at Vistus. "And thank
you, for finding a way to safely cross."

"I keep my word. I will see the Watcher to
safety." Vistus sniffed at the air. "I sense no other Shadow
Creatures in this area."

"One bit of good news," Ayden said. "Now some
bad news. Look at the mountains."

The fog covered the sides just below the high
snow capped peaks. From the closer vantage point she could see the
fog moving, slowly extending down the flanks.

Kate emptied a shoe of water while holding on
to Ayden for balance. "I wish it could be the fog with the bugs
instead."

"So do I. It would mean bunts would come out
to eat."

Kate's eyes flew down to Vistus to find him
licking his teeth. The voice in the back of her head grew louder.
She put her shoe back on. "The bunt we have with us is
off-limits."

"You are with the Watcher. You and those with
you will go unharmed. Now we walk," Vistus huffed at her. He
trotted towards the trees.

"I don't care what he's promised, Bunbun
isn't leaving my shirt." Ayden whispered. He extended his staff,
using it to help himself across the sand. "I wish I had a red shirt
or something, for the protection of the trees. I would feel better
about all this."

Vistus stopped at the edge of the forest long
enough to say, "The color would not help. The mark of a Helper is
deeper."

"Definitely good hearing," Kate said with a
cringe.

Ayden reached out to touch a fold of the
cape. "If it isn't the color, then what is it?"

She put her hand over his, liking how warm
his was. She turned the edge of the cape over so he could see
underside weave. "Grandma made the thread and dye herself. Wove it,
too. I thought she was inventing a new fabric."

He smiled at her. "See, told you she's smart.
She figured out a protection."

"I think it's more than that. She was a
Watcher Helper, but she knew she needed a backup. Just in case
things went wrong."

"If something happened that she couldn't take
care of it herself." Ayden nodded, turning to follow Vistus. "That
sounds like Ms. Blackstone, too."

Kate took one more look out over the water.
The surface of the water showed no sign of where the narboa might
have submerged. She turned back, pulling the choking cape ties away
from her throat and extending her own staff.

Vistus found a trail, trotting down it at a
speed she had no hope of keeping up with. At regular intervals he
waited in the shadows for them to catch up before moving ahead
again. He didn't say anything, but Kate could tell from his tail
that he was impatient.

Ayden followed, watching the trail behind
them. No one talked. Sounds of the trees and creatures of the
forest filled the silence. The fragrance of light spice drifted
through the air. After experiencing the pain of the trees around
the two camps, it felt comforting.

The Watcher on her back barely moved. She
wished she knew more of what to do for it. She couldn't feel
emotions off of it like she could the trees.

Her water-soaked shoes rubbed at her feet.
Several tender areas threatened to form blisters. Just as well they
didn't come across a Phoenix Elm. It would be too tempting to call
a halt to the hike, but that didn't mean she couldn't fantasize
about enjoying the radiating warmth of one.

"Heads up," Ayden said.

Kate swung around, her eyes searching the
trail behind them.

Ayden pointed towards the sky, "No, I mean
up."

Along the high boughs small shapes scuttled
along. Heads with huge eyes peered over the edges to chatter at
them. A flutter of leaves drifted down.

She steadied herself against a tree, "I'm not
up to dealing with them."

The tree under her hand shivered. She felt an
outburst of comfort, along with an urging to continue. The bright
trees of the mesa filled her head.

"Is there a problem?" Vistus asked, appearing
from around the tree she leaned against. He looked up into the
trees. "Ah, we have tricksters about."

"We should keep moving," Ayden said, helping
Kate stand up straight again.

"Not all humans are bad," Kate groused,
pushing herself away from the tree.

The treetops erupted in sound. A flurry of
leaves fell. Kate rushed forward, ducking her head down. She needed
to find shelter, to protect the Watcher. Its shell was too badly
damaged to fend off even a small attack.

"Good for the trees!" Ayden crowed.

Kate glanced up. Small limbs snapped at the
creatures, who scurried and jumped out of the way. Small bodies
raced away, hopping from one limb to the next.

She let herself laugh at the sight. No
airborne attacks today.

Vistus padded past her, "They aren't good
eating, either."

Kate returned her attention to where she was
stepping. "That is a subject I really don't want to talk
about."

And not only for the obvious reasons. Her
stomach had growled several times in protest at the lack of food.
She couldn't recall having anything to eat since the morning and
the few small water-berries they'd found at the bottom of the
gorge.

Vistus turned down a wide path. The ground
crunched softly under their feet from a thick layer of leaves. The
Watcher shifted on her back.

A series of clicks came from the ground. Kate
froze, searching for the source.

Vistus lay down in the shadow of a large
tree. "We're here."

In the deep shadows of gnarled roots she
spotted the holes. The more she searched, the more she found.
Great, they were in the middle of a warren.

Ayden took her arm and pulled her to the
center of the trail. The clicking increased in frequency and
volume.

The Watcher answered the clicks. Dark bodies
swarmed out of the holes, some of them taking to flight. Vistus
watched it all, his long tail waving slowly back and forth.

Several beetles the same shape as the Watcher
stopped in front of Kate. The clicking filled the forest, echoing
down from the tree canopy.

"Can you tell them we mean no harm?" Ayden
asked Vistus.

His eyes narrowed, "Why should I have to?
Does the girl not carry the Watcher?"

"I hope that's enough," Kate whispered.

The Watcher pulled on both of her shoulders,
clicking fast, shifting on her back. She did the only thing she
could think of, going down on one knee. She bent over, crouching
close to the ground.

All the clicking stopped. Kate looked up, but
none of the other beetles moved towards her. They encircled,
watching. So long as they didn't decide to attack. One of the legs
of the Watcher let go of her shoulder. In little movements the
beetle climb down off her back. The movements faltered, the Watcher
stopping to rest.

Kate knew how it felt. She was exhausted, an
exhaustion she knew she couldn't give into.

The Watcher crawled away, stopping next to
her. She straightened up her back, flexing and rubbing her lower
back, feeling so light. The Watcher gazed up at her with the dark
faceted eyes.

"Welcome home," Kate said, despite knowing it
couldn't understand her.

The Watcher responded with a series of
clicks. It moved forward, dragging two of its legs behind it.
Several beetles met it, legs and pincers picking up the Watcher and
carrying it towards one of the larger holes. With a flurry of
clicks the Watcher disappeared underground.

Kate stood up. The other beetles milled
around them, some of them disappearing into holes while others flew
up into the canopy above their heads.

Vistus rose to his feet, joining them in the
middle of the trail. "Time to go."

Kate turned to retreat down the trail behind
Vistus. She glanced back constantly, but couldn't see any beetles
following them. Vistus switched trails, leading them to a small
swift-flowing stream.

"That went better than I expected, especially
with the lack of communication," Ayden said as he sat down on a
moss-covered rock.

"I'm not sure I'll ever stand up straight
again." Kate rubbed at her lower back. "Now that the Watcher is
safe we can take care of the rest of it."

"And what is it you wish to accomplish?"
Vistus said, having taken his fill of water.

"We do our best to stop Diasis, the
Newcomers, and my Uncle. That means speaking with the
Ancients."

Vistus gave a curious bark. "Find the
Ancients in winter? You wish to speak with them? You would do
better to attempt diplomacy with Diasis."

"Like that's possible." Ayden said with a
snort.

"Exactly," Vistus said. "Stay here."

Vistus jumped over the stream, disappearing
into the brush on the other side.

"Any idea of where to go from here?" Ayden
asked her quietly.

Kate took a deep breath, surveying her
surroundings. She couldn't see very far, but she knew. She knew
because the trees knew. She pointed to the other side of the
stream, "That way. I don't know how far, though."

"I'm not up for much more."

Her eyes flew to his face. Even in the muted
light of the forest she could see his fatigue and pale skin. "You
have to fight it, Ayden."

"Trust me, I have been!"

She leaned towards him, "You have more on
your side than you think. Grandma's tea."

"I've been wondering how much worse I would
be if I hadn't had any." He smothered a yawn. "I'm thinking we
would be completely under the spore control."

"I think you're right."

A crash in the brush preceded a large barrel
body splashing through the stream.

"All right!" Ayden whooped, on his feet in a
flash.

"Oh no," Kate groaned. She eyed the creature
trotting towards her. The last thing she wanted was to be involved
in another stampede.

Ayden rushed forward, flinging himself on the
back as it passed while Kate plastered herself up against a tree.
Vistus raced by, skidding into a tight turn in front of the animal.
The animal turned to avoid the Shadow Creature, coming back towards
Kate.

"Get on!" Ayden and Vistus shouted at her at
the same time.

Kate rolled her eyes. Great, now two men
telling her what to do in stereo.

She let the massive head of the animal pass,
then reached out to take Ayden's hand. She scrambled to get
situated on the back just behind Ayden before the rough trot
knocked her off. The animal plowed through the stream.

Vistus slunk from one shadow to the next,
keeping apace with them. "He's eaten well, so he has the energy for
a long and fast journey."

"I thought you said we didn't stand a chance
at success," Kate taunted, grabbing Ayden around the middle as the
animal skittered away from Vistus. Ayden pulled at the ears to
bring it back to the path.

"I don't think you do, but you might surprise
me. Perhaps the Ancients will permit you to find them. I must leave
you. Dark times are coming and I have much work to do." With a
twitch of his tail, Vistus disappeared under a bush.

The mesa. Vistus was correct, there was much
work to do. They had to get to the mesa.

"I need a direction!" Ayden warned.

Kate stopped searching the undergrowth for
Vistus. A short distance ahead the path branched in two
directions.

With the jostling gait she wasn't sure of the
exact direction, but one tugged the strongest. "Turn left."

Ayden pulled at the left ear, turning down
the left path. A group of bunts ran off the trail out of their way.
The trail turned sharply before going down a steep decline.

"I hope your sense of direction is good,"
Ayden said.

"Hey, take it up with the trees!"

#

Travis O'Hanson stalked back into his
apartment. After the interview with the Rangers he'd been released
from custody but with orders not to leave the one building that
housed the corporation and his apartment.

There was one good aspect to not having an
official colony government. Unless they made arrangements for the
Alliance to prosecute him, the most the morons could do was kick
him off the planet.

And with his cash reserves, he could easily
buy himself a citizenship on another world. But not with much money
left over. He didn't like that. He'd hoped to have had more
reserves by now, but there had been no way he could skim off more
without causing suspicion.

If only Mary had been more agreeable to his
advances. She might have without Kate's interference.

He frowned. Despite being the child of his
brother, he couldn't see much of him in her. Too bad he hadn't
thought of getting her out of the situation earlier. He could have
married Mary and gained control of her shares by now.

Even so, not all was lost. Mary had
disappeared in a shuttle to head into the forest. With any luck the
forest fog would take care of her. With Mary, Kate and Olivia gone
he could manipulate the courts to give him the shares of the
company.

If necessary he could run the corporation
from off-planet. Getting kicked off the planet wouldn't be as big a
detriment as first thought.

He stopped and pulled at a ferociously itchy
ear. A loud roar filled his hearing accompanied by a sharp tug.

Travis closed his eyes, shaking his head to
clear it.

He opened his eyes to find himself in a
different corridor. A group of children ran by him, piling through
a doorway he recognized as one of the inside recreational areas.
With the city sealed over a silly hysteria concerning the trees and
Shadow Creatures, the halls were filled with people.

The main Directory building? He'd been
heading for his apartment. He looked down at his watch, realizing
more than an hour had passed.

He groaned. The first time it happened the
month previous he'd put it off to too much stress. Not this time.
Perhaps leaving Oburos and taking a vacation before setting himself
up on another world would do him good.