The Changelings (War of the Fae: Book 1) (23 page)

I could tell he was irritated with me, so I dropped it.
 
But only for now.
 
I was still going to be figuring this out and watching for signs of Jared's previous participation.
 

I slowly reached up and tied our flags to the pole, touching the others gently with my fingertips as my hand came back down.
 
I wondered who had put the pink flag there, and where he or she was now.
 
I sent up a silent prayer that this mystery person was still alive and happily drinking hot chocolate in front of a crackling fire at home with a mom, dad, and a family pet.
 

Tony interrupted my nonsensical daydream with, "I guess at the very least, this means we're not the first ones here.
 
This isn't the first test they've had, I mean."

"I guess not."

"I wonder where the flag owners are now."

"Stop reading my mind, Tony."

"I wasn't!" he said, a little guiltily.

I shot him a look.

"Okay, fine, I was feeling you a little."

" 'Feeling' me sounds a little weird, don't you think?"

"Okay, I was vibing you then."

"Vibing me.
 
Okay, well, stop
vibing
me."

"I would if I could, believe me."

"Yes, I know, you've already told me how nutty it is in there – in my head."

"Not nutty, that's not the right word.
 
It's just ... intense.
 
Sometimes I just can't keep up and I get a little lost.
 
Anyone watching me probably thinks I'm having a major brain fart or something."

I laughed, reaching over to hug him tight.
 
"Tony, thank you for saying brain fart.
 
That really brought me down to earth."

He smiled.
 
"Down here on Earth where there are vampires and gnomes, you mean?"

"Shit, don't remind me."
 
I pulled my map out of my bag again.
 
"Tell me where we need to go next, would ya?"

We looked over the map together.
 
The next waypoint was directly south of this one.
 
The color on the map was a slightly darker green through the area where we had to travel, so we assumed that meant the forest would be thicker.
 
That seemed hardly possible.
 
I wondered if the trees there gave hugs.

"What?" asked Tony.

"
What
, what?"

"What were you just thinking about?"

"Why?"

"I was accidentally vibing you ... sorry.
 
It's just that I was feeling something like when you and Becky were messing around in the forest earlier."

I smacked Tony on the back of the head.

"Ow!
 
What was that for?"

"For saying I was messing around with Becky.
 
We were peeing, that's all."

"Well, then you get way too much pleasure out of peeing with another girl."
 
He ducked, moving his head out of my reach and wagging his finger at me.
 
"No hitting!"

"If you keep hinting around that I'm hot for Becky I'm gonna do more than hit you, brain fart boy."

"Well, tell me what that vibe was all about, then.
 
You seemed so happy and excited."
 

I gave him a warning look.

"Not excited in a sexual way – just really happy."
 

I sighed.
 
I didn't like keeping secrets from Tony; and it wasn't like I was intentionally not telling him.
 
It just seemed too weird to talk about.
 
I decided that it would just be better to show him.

"Come on, follow me."

"Why won't you tell me?"

"I'm going to show you, not tell you.
 
It will be better that way."

Tony got a gleam in his eye.
 
"Are we going to play doctor?"
 
He jumped out of the way before I could smack him again.
 
"Missed me!"

I shook my head.
 
"What's gotten into you, Tony?
 
You're not normally this hyper."

"I don't know.
 
The joy of being alive, I guess.
 
Where are we going, anyway?"

"Just farther into the trees."

We got away from the clearing and the trees began to get bigger.
 
They were close together too, blocking out most of the sun.
 
A little light filtered through, but not much.
 

I stopped, surveying the area around us.
 
"Pick a tree."

"Pick a tree?
 
What, are we going to pee together?"

I sighed.
 
"Just say that one more time and see what happens."

"Okay, okay, fine."
 
Tony looked around.
 
"Should I pick something special, like a certain kind of tree?"

"I don't think so.
 
Just pick one and we'll see."

"That one."
 
Tony was pointing to a giant reddish brown tree.
 
It was nearly twice as big as the first one Becky and I had touched.
 

I looked at its base and then slowly ran my eyes up to the top of it.
 
I actually couldn't see it very well, since it was so obscured by its own branches and those of the nearby trees.
 
I walked over, urging Tony to come with me.
 
"Come on, we have to touch the tree."
 

I arrived at the trunk and put my feet on either side of a huge root that was running from the tree quite a distance across the forest floor.
 
"Stand here next to me and put your arms out, towards the tree."

Tony didn't say anything – he just stepped up to the tree and stood where I told him to, putting his arms out in front of him.
 
I loved that he just followed my directions without question.
 
It showed me how much he trusted me, even when I was being weird.
 
That said a lot about our friendship.

"Now, put your arms out to the side, like this.
 
We're going to hug the tree."

Tony looked at me like I was crazy.
 
"Hug the tree?
 
That's what this is all about?"

"Shut up and hug the damn tree, Tony.
 
Maybe in a second it will all make sense."

He shrugged his shoulders.
 
"Here goes nothin'."
 
He leaned towards the tree, steadying himself with his hands and then stretching his arms out to lay them horizontally against the bark.
 
"Now what?"

"Just wait a second."
 
I put my hands out to steady myself against the trunk, getting ready to lay my body against it.
 
Already I could feel the energy, with only my hands touching.
 
"Yeah, I think this is going to work."

"What's going to work?
 
Come on, Jayne, I feel stupid standing here like this."

I leaned into the tree, moving my arms out laterally into hugging position.
 
I stretched out my right arm so it rested on top of Tony's while also touching the tree.
 
I had my face purposely turned towards Tony's so I could see his reaction.

His face instantly lit up as soon as we touched.
 
"What the hell ... ?"

I smiled.
 
"This is what Becky and I were doing in the forest."

Tony closed his eyes, inhaling deeply.
 
"My god, the feelings ... Can you feel that?
 
It's ... it's ... unbelievable."

"I know."
 
There was nothing else to say.
 
This tree was ancient.
 
I didn't have to see its size to know this.
 
It had been here a very, very long time.
 
There was a sense of peace, a deep understanding, flowing through our connection.
 
Strength.
 
A certain knowledge that whatever was happening right now was just a moment of time in an infinite amount of time.
 
Years, centuries, eons would come and go – and this tree would still be here, standing sentinel.
 
Wars would be fought and won or lost, and this tree would still be here.
 
Silently.
 
Waiting and watching.
 

Through this connection, I was able to realize for the first time that everything in this forest was linked.
 
The trees were connected to each other, to the land, to the things that walked the forest floor and flew through the forest air.
 
The memories were all still here.
 
I couldn't see them like pictures; I only got the sense that anything that happened here, stayed here as shadows.
 
And there were lots of shadows in this forest.
 

Something was niggling the back of my mind.
 
Something was there, wanting me to pay attention.
 
But then Tony began speaking and I lost it.

"I feel like I'm being rocked in a rocking chair by a grandma I never had.
 
This is just ... so incredible.
 
No wonder you were vibing all that happiness.
 
I'm like, on cloud nine right now."
 
He smiled contentedly at me; and for the first time, I realized how truly beautiful my friend Tony is on the outside.
 
I've always known how beautiful he is on the inside.
 
But with the clothes and the glasses and everything, his outer gorgeousness was sometimes too easily hidden.
 

"You're really beautiful, you know that, Tones?"

"I was just thinking the same thing about you."

We both smiled.
 

"What are two gorgeous bombshells like us doing out here in this fucked up forest full of messed up creatures, anyway?" I asked.

"I don't know.
 
But as much as I'd like to stay here and hug this tree all day, we really need to get going to that other waypoint."
 
Tony broke the connection, pulling away from the tree and standing up straight.
 
The light on his face faded out and he became regular old, serious Tony again.

I sent a big thank you up to the tree as best I could, hoping it could read my mind and feel the gratitude I was trying to transfer through my arms, and then stood to join Tony.

"When do you think the others will get to the first waypoint?" I asked.
 
I had half expected them to show up while we were there.

"I don't know.
 
From the look of the map, it seems like maybe an hour or two after us.
 
We were just lucky to have met those gnome things."

"Yeah, well at least
they
didn't try to eat us."

"Did you see their teeth?" Tony asked, shivering at the memory.
 
He started walking through the forest again, glancing back to make sure I was following.

"Yeah, disgusting.
 
I've never seen anything like that before.
 
Makes me want to keep Mister Biggles out of the garden forever."
 
Mister Biggles is my old cat who loves to go and lay right smack in the middle of my mom's flowers.
 
It always made her crazy because his fat butt always squashed them, but it made me laugh.
 
Thinking about one of those lumpy gnomes with the dirty, sharp teeth coming up from behind and ...
ew
.
 
Poor Mister Biggles.
 
"Should I call my mom and tell her to keep Mister Biggles in the house?"
 
I was only half-joking.
 
I had to believe that as much of a pain in the ass as I was to my mom, she was worrying about me now.

"No.
 
First of all, you don't have a cell phone, so you can't; and second, all you'd do is freak her out.
 
This forest isn't normal.
 
There are no gnomes in Florida or we would have seen them or signs of them – or someone would have. This is some ... enchanted place or something.
 
Once we're out of here, life will go back to normal."

"Enchanted forest, eh?"
 
I'd bet old Walt Disney had never envisioned this kind of shit going on in
his
enchanted forests.
 
Maybe a few dwarves, sure; but nasty-toothed gnomes?
 
Vampires?
 
No, I think not.
 
Face it Tones – life is never going to go back to normal after this.
 
We've seen something we shouldn't have.
 
This forest.
 
The Green ... this connection with the trees.
 
It's alive, and I don't mean alive like just living.
 
It's alive like
aware
alive.
 
I don't know if I'll ever be able to look at the world the same way again."
 
The Green seemed liked the perfect name for this weirdness around us.

"You're probably right.
 
I'm not sure that we fully appreciate what's going on here right now, but I'm not in the best frame of mind to figure it all out.
 
I just want to focus on finishing this thing and getting out of here.
 
Must be my survival instincts."
 
He took his axe out of his bag as he walked along.

"Why are you getting your axe out?"

"I think it's a good idea to keep it handy.
 
When those gnomes showed up, I was totally unprepared.
 
We're just lucky they weren't killer gnomes – otherwise I would have been dead meat."