became a part of the endless twilight.
No one had ever been meant to play here. There was no comfort or security to be found in the great Forest. The place of the trees was wild and free and untamed, and man entered at his own risk. The tall trees stood close together, wide and wrinkled, their leaves a dark, bitter green. The air was thick with the scent of earth and sap and living things. The paddle steamer moved slowly, surely, down the River, branches occasionally trailing on the roof of the bridge. It was like moving through an endless evening, grey and solemn and eerily quiet, a vast living Cathedral of ancient wood.
And so they passed out of the world of toys and into the great green dream of olden days, sailing down a dark River in search of a mystery and an enigma—the lost soul called the Red Man. And the army he had gathered around him for his own, unknown, purposes.
Finlay and Giles had their disrupters in their hands, ready for use at a moment's notice. Julian and Evangeline stood together at the guardrail, feeling somehow small and insignificant in such a place of giants. Flynn was going crazy trying to get it all on film, but for once in his life Toby felt too intimidated by the dark glory around him to offer any commentary. Poogie, the Bear, and the Goat stood close together, drawing strength from each other. Alone on the bridge, Halloweenie stared into the gloom ahead like a bird hypnotized by a snake.
The endless quiet had a strength of its own. No one felt like breaking it with idle chatter. There were no sounds of bird or beast or insect, just the steady chugging of the ship's engines. The never-ending hush had an expectant quality, as though at any moment some great voice might begin speaking, to which all living things must listen. So both the humans and the toys were all listening hard when the first piercing notes came tumbling out of the dark toward them.
The song came first, a bright, vibrant melody, joyous and free. And then came the singers, tiny glowing winged sprites, flying through the trees like tiny stars come down to earth. There were crowds of them, bustling and animated, breaking over the ship like a wave of light, swooping and soaring all around the paddle steamer, but never, ever, coming too close. The humans and the toys watched with wide eyes and wider smiles, touched by unexpected joy in a dark place. The sprites were human in shape, but only a foot or so long, with great, pastel- colored wings. They shone with a brilliant inner light, dazzling and vivid, luminous beings, like living moonlight.
And they sang, singly and together, high delicate tones of rippling arpeggios and endless harmonies, a choir of angels on the wing, a sound so pure and beautiful it broke the heart to hear it. It was the Forest given voice, a place and a mood and a meaning wrapped up in song. Everyone on the ship felt that they were on the brink of answers to every question that ever really mattered. And then suddenly the sprites were gone, surging away into the Forest, their song dying away in the gloom and the distance.
'What the hell was that?' said Toby finally, after they were all gone. 'And did you get it on film, Flynn?'
'Don't ask me,' said Flynn. 'The camera was running, but I was away with the fairies. Weren't they beautiful?'
'Marvelous,' said Finlay. 'But what are they doing here? What is this Forest doing here, on Shannon's World? This was never intended as a place for children. Hell, I'm not sure if I'm ready for it at my age.'
'Could it be real?' said Julian. 'Something original to the planet? It looks old, even ancient.'
'No,' said Evangeline. 'This planet was a lifeless rock before Shannon had it terraformed. Everything here is his.'
'Then why did he build this?' said Giles. 'What's its purpose?'
'It was to be his next project,' said Poogie, and they all turned to look at him. The cartoony figure didn't look around. His voice was calm, certain. 'Shannon's purpose had always been to reach the soul of Humanity, to heal its wounds. Summerland was just the first step. A place for children of all ages to find peace and comfort. The Forest was to be the next step. A place men and women could disappear into for as long as they needed, to find their spiritual roots and grow strong and sure again.
'Once the Forest was completed. Shannon walked into it and never came out. He's still in there, somewhere, if he's still alive. That's why Harker chose this place for his retreat. This is a place of rebirth. The rebirth of the soul of Shannon's World.'
'Wait a minute,' said Bruin Bear. 'How do you know why Harker chose this place?'
'Because I'm one of his people,' said Poogie, turning round at last to face them with his large, knowing eyes. 'I'm going to lead you right to him.'
They all questioned him for some time, but he just shook his head, and said Harker would answer all their questions soon enough. The Goat was furious at being deceived, and even threatened Poogie with his club, but the Bear made him back off. Nothing had really changed in their mission, and if the Friendly Critter could lead them directly to Harker, so much the better. The Goat subsided, muttering, but wouldn't put his club away. Poogie stood alone at the tip of the bow, looking eagerly up River. The humans talked quietly among themselves. Giles said he'd never trusted the toy anyway. Finlay pointed out that one rogue toy was hardly any danger to them. But only Evangeline spotted the real implications of Poogie's revelation, that Harker knew they were coming.
They pressed on through the twilight. After a while, they began to hear drums beating up ahead, like the slow heartbeat of a sleeping giant. Or perhaps even the heartbeat of the Forest itself. There were traces of smoke in the air, sharp and spicy. The feeling of being watched by unseen eyes became increasingly powerful, causing the humans and the toys to huddle together in the ship's bow, weapons at the ready. The humans were thinking less about their mission to get important tactical information from Harker, and more about how they were going to survive a meeting with the dreaded Red Man and his army. From whose territory no traveler had ever returned before. The drums grew louder and more threatening.
'He's a great man,' said Poogie, almost dreamily, from where he stood alone. 'Not easy to understand, sometimes, but still a man of great wisdom. We belong to him, heart and soul. We would die for the Red Man. He will lead us all out of the darkness, put an end to the war, change the face of this world beyond recognition.'
'Whether everyone else wants it or not,' said Bruin Bear.
'How is he going to make these changes?' said Finlay. 'By unleashing his army on everyone else? By forcing them to follow his way, rather than the way they've chosen for themselves?'
'You don't understand,' said Poogie. 'He knows a truth that changes all of us who hear it. He saved me. He saved us all. He'll save the world, too.'
'Whether it wants to be saved or not,' said Giles. 'I've met his kind before.'
'No,' said Poogie. 'You've never met anyone like the Red Man.' He wouldn't be drawn any farther.
Finally they came to Harker's camp. His people had cleared an open space among the tall trees, and in it built a great wooden fortress, with high walls, slender towers, and suspended walkways. Toys in their thousands watched from all around as the paddle steamer slowed to a halt in the great dark lagoon that was the end of the River. The sound of the drums was deafening now, hammering on the air. Smoke rose from a hundred fires, burning scarlet and gold in the darkness between the trees. There were blazing torches on every side, the dancing flames casting uneasy shadows. There were toys of every kind, standing close together in and out of the trees, holding all kinds of weapons, silently watching the newcomers with unwavering eyes. Held back by the Red Man's will, but still wary and watchful, and openly menacing.
Without warning, the drums fell silent. The army of toys didn't react at all. The sudden quiet was broken only by the crackling of hundreds of fires and torches, and the slow chugging of the paddle steamer's engines. Finlay and Giles looked slowly around them, careful to make no sudden move with their guns that might be misinterpreted. The Bear and the Goat stood very close together, holding hands, lost souls in the underworld. The light from the ship's lanterns made little impression on the surrounding gloom, and the crimson glare of the massed fires and torches only served to deepen the darkness between the trees, like burning coals in the night.
'Welcome to Hell,' Toby said quietly.
'This isn't Hell,' said Poogie. 'This is home. Pull into the left-hand bank and lower the gangway. We mustn't keep Harker waiting.'
Giles looked up at Halloweenie on the bridge. 'Sound the whistle. Let Harker know we're here. I don't want him thinking we're intimidated.'
'We are intimidated,' said the Sea Goat.
'Maybe,' said Julian. 'But Harker doesn't need to know that. Sound the whistle.'
The whistle sounded again and again as the Li'l Skeleton Boy hauled jerkily on the rope. It was loud and strident, pushing back the quiet, its overlapping echoes seeming to fill the Forest. The watching toys didn't stir in
