“Then you know what I’m talking about,” Boon exclaimed. “That’s why we climb.”
Boon hoisted himself up and climbed the root system. I figured that if the price of avoiding those lizard creatures outside was to climb a tree, that was okay by me. Boon was right; it was easy. It was like climbing the jungle gym in the playground at Glenville School.
“What happens when we get up?” I called up to Boon. “Won’t we be stuck?” I thought about making a joke about dumb cats getting stuck up in trees and having to be rescued by the fire department, but I didn’t think Boon would get it.
“Trust me,” he said. “I’ll get you where you need to go.”
This was his show, so I stopped asking questions. Since he hadn’t eaten me yet, I had no reason to believe he meant me any harm. As strange as the whole situation was, I was beginning to feel that finding Boon was a good thing. And if he took me to Gunny, it would be an even better thing. We climbed quickly for about five minutes. When we reached the top, I hoisted myself out of the vertical tunnel and into another large, empty room. We were still inside the tree, but now high above the ground. The room was about a third of the size of the room at ground level. I could feel a slight swaying as theiuge tree moved in the wind. The floor was made of wood planks that looked old and weathered, like they had been there a long time. Leading outside were three big archways cut into the walls. I felt a warm breeze blowing through and saw blue sky beyond.
“It’s a tree house,” I said. “Do people, uh, klees live here?”
“I told you, nobody comes here much anymore,” Boon answered. “It’s too far from civilization. But somebody must have lived here at one time, and built this dwelling.”
“So now what?” I asked.
Boon walked for one of the archways. I followed him, but slowed before reaching the opening. I’m not good with heights. I expected to peer out of the archway and see a long drop to the ground. When I took a tentative peek outside, I was surprised to see that beyond the opening was a balcony about twenty feet wide. I took a cautious step outside and saw that it wrapped around the tree. The floor was made of the same wooden planks as inside. There was a handrail around the outside for safety. Better still was the view. I walked slowly toward the handrail and got another look at the incredible forest.
Boon joined me and said, “Pretty, isn’t it?”
“It’s awesome,” I replied. I meant it.
“This is nothing,” Boon scoffed. “Wait until you see Leeandra.” He walked away from me as if he were actually going somewhere.
“Where are you going?” I asked. “We’re in a tree!”
“To Leeandra,” he shouted back without turning. “It’s a long way, let’s not waste any more time.”
I followed him, but fully expected to circle this treetop balcony and end up right back where we started.
We didn’t. After walking a few feet, I saw that there was a bridge leading off the balcony. It was about ten feet wide and held up by thick vines, like a suspension bridge. Boon stepped onto it like it was the most natural thing in the world, and kept walking. I, on the other hand, wasn’t so sure. I stood at the beginning of the bridge and peered over the handrail. It was a long way down. Alongway. The bridge seemed safe. It barely moved when Boon walked across it. Still, this was scary. I’d seen too many movies where people walked across these suspension bridges and the wooden slats started to break through and…look out below! I reached up and grabbed one of the suspension vines, giving it a good tug to see if it would hold.
“It’s safe, Pendragon,” Boon assured me. “I told you, klees live in the trees. We know how to build bridges.”
“So everybody lives in tree houses?” I asked. “Klees and gars?”
“It’s better than worrying about tangs all the time,” he answered.
I gritted my teeth and took a step onto the wooden bridge. Obviously it didn’t break, and I didn’t plummet to a horrifying death. I took a few more tentative steps, and we were on our way to Leeandra. It turned out that the big tree that held the flume was only one of thousands. Every tree on Eelong was as big, if not bigger. The bridges were like roads in the sky, snaking beneath the canopy of leaves. Each new tree we reached had a similar platform that ringed it. Some had multiple platforms with stairs between them. I thought back to the first moment I stepped out of the tree and looked over the cliff. I now realized that the reason I didn’t see any buildings was because they were hovering just below the treetops, out of sight from above. Incredible! An entire civilization existed high above the ground. It was a world of tree houses.
This world was full of life, too. I saw a swarm of tiny, orange hummingbird creatures float by like a small cloud. They each gave off a sweet, whistling sound that must have been their tiny wings beating. Together, the effect was like music. I glanced up to see a large hawk soaring overhead. It was pure white and floated on thermals like a lazy cloud. Directly across from us, on our level, was a tree full of green monkeys. They were cute little things that chattered and chased one another from branch to branch.
Looking over the side to the forest below, I saw that it was dense jungle, like a rain forest. Every so often I’d catch a glimpse of a green tail disappearing into the underbrush. These could only be more of the lizardlike tangs. I decided that if there were more of those bad boys hiding below, I was very happy to be walking above them, out of reach.
Boon walked quickly. I had to work to keep pace. After five minutes we had passed through a dozen trees, each with a couple of different choices as to which bridge to take next. I was going to need a roadmap to find my way back to the flume. That wasn’t good.
“Tell me about Saint Dane,” Boon said as we walked. “He’s a gar, right?”
“I guess,” was my answer. “But he can change himself to look like whatever he wants. I’ll bet he could change himself into a tang if he wanted to.”
“Really? That’s hard to believe,” was his response.
Hard to believe? I was walking along a wooden sky bridge talking to a cat. Don’t tell me about hard to believe.
“You think he’s here, on Eelong?” Boon asked.
“Yes, I do,” was my answer.
“Finally!” Boon exclaimed. He hopped ahead of me with excitement and walked backward while talking quickly. “I’ve been waiting forever to meet this guy. Seegen said he’d be here someday, but I never thought the day would actually come! He’s really bad, right? I mean, do you think he’s going to try and do something horrible on Eelong? Let him try. I’ll slash him like that quig in the flume tree!”
I realized that this man-eating cat was no more than an excited kid who thought the war with Saint Dane was some kind of exciting game.
“Uhh, this isn’t like pro wrestling,” I said. “This is real.”
“I know that,” Boon said defensively. “What’s pro wrestling?”
I didn’t like having to be the voice of reason. I was suddenly feeling like I had to act like an adult or something. I stopped walking and spoke in my most serious voice.
“Look, Boon, I don’t know what Seegen told you, but this isn’t going to be fun. Saint Dane is a killer. I’ve seen him start wars and destroy cities. He’ll do anything he can to turn Eelong inside out.”
“Let him try!” Boon shouted with defiance. “I’m not afraid and neither is Seegen.”
“Yeah, well, I hate to burst your bubble, but maybe you should be.”
“Why? He’s a gar! There hasn’t been a gar born that I can’t handle.”
“He isn’t an ordinary gar, Boon, he’s…Wait, what am I doing? I’m talking to a cat! You’re a freaking cat! This is insane!”
Maybe it was because the shock of my first few moments on Eelong had finally worn off. Maybe it was because I was feeling alone. Or maybe it was because my mind had finally rejected the possibility that cats could talk, but I had had enough.
“I’m going back,” I said, and turned back for the flume. I had no idea how to find it, but I was ready to try. Boon ran around in front to head me off, but I kept walking.
“You can’t go back, you’re supposed to be here!” he complained.
“No, I’m not,” I shot back. “This territory is crazy. Quigs are humans. Cats talk and live in trees because they might get eaten by big lizards. And I’m supposed to follow somebody who thinks battling Saint Dane is going to be fun? I don’t think so.”
I kept walking. Boon kept pace. “But, but, Seegen will be really angry with me,” he complained. “I was
