“And what promise was that? You left him. You left your own wife for over ten years. How do you expect to gain the trust of anyone after being away for all that time? You are a coward who hid in the shadows and now you expect to be welcomed back as if you’d never left? You will find no forgiveness here, traitor.”
“I’ve forgiven him,” Tabitha Ogilvy said, stepping into the great hall.
“We must hear him out, James,” his mother said, following Tabitha through the door and closing it behind them.
James looked into his mother’s eyes and then into the eyes of Tabitha Ogilvy. James took a deep breath and sheathed his blade.
“Very well, let us hear your tale Mr. Ogilvy.”
— 24 -
James and Kilani ran down the narrow tunnel. Ahead of them a pink orb hovered, lighting the way.
“James, please tell me what’s going on?” Kilani asked. “We must hurry, our friends are in trouble.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked as they rounded a bend and began up a steep set of stairs.
“Darkness will fall and they’re stranded on the first widow. If we don’t hurry there won’t be anything for us to find,” James replied, increasing the pace as they reached the top of the stairs and continued down another tunnel.
“What do you mean? Total darkness won’t come for another month.”
James stopped and turned to her. “It is coming tonight,” he said and then continued down the tunnel.
The twisting and turning continued for some time. Somehow, James appeared to know exactly which tunnels to take and before long they reached the open air. The sun had fallen behind the trees in the jungle.
“This way,” James said, taking off at a run once again. The noise in the jungle was deafening. Sounds Kilani had never heard before came from animals screaming at the impending darkness.
The pair burst through the dense foliage at the jungle’s edge and onto the beach. Several small creatures that resembled a cross between a crab and an otter scattered into the sea as the pair ran across the sand toward the boat. As they rounded the northern point of the second widow, Kilani came to a dead stop. On the horizon was a blood red moon. James looked over his shoulder and stopped. He walked back to Kilani who stood staring at the moon.
“We must keep moving,” he said.
“What’s happening?” she asked.
“I’ll explain everything when we get back to the boat. Please Kilani, time is of the essence,” he pleaded. Kilani nodded and they took off at a run again, still energized and from the water they drank several hours before. In minutes they reached the boat. Kilani glanced over her shoulder as they pushed the boat into the water. The moon, which had risen entirely above the western horizon, was etched with black striations, making it appear alive, an organ wrenched from the body of The Never and thrust into the sky. As Kilani stared at it, she thought she could hear the beating of a heart. The sound of her name being shouted at her brought her back to the present.
“Hold on, Kilani,” James said.
“ Tertiri ze Manukto ahlnas Svartbek,” James said, his hands extended over the water. The boat turned quickly and began moving to the south. Kilani noticed the oars were still sitting at the bottom of the boat. She looked at James, who was staring into the distance. His face was illuminated on one side by the blood red moon, giving him the appearance of a man wearing a mask. It frightened her enough to look away.
“What happened to you back there?” she asked, looking at her hands.
“I touched the tower.”
“Why?”
“It called to me,” he replied.
“What did?” Kilani asked.
“The castle. When I touched it, she shared with me the language of this land. Somehow, I understood. Somehow, I always knew.”
A smile came across her face, and she looked up at James.
Despite his still eerie appearance she was able to look into his eyes. Excitement returned. Hope returned. “You are the one,” she said.
He looked at her, but said nothing. The water receded beneath the boat as it glided gently onto the beach. Kilani could see the silhouette of the Queen Mary in front of the rising moon as they jumped out of the boat.
“They’re not here,” she said.
James extended his hand. Three green light orbs rose from his palm. He sent them high into the air where they exploded like fireworks. They heard a shout from down the beach and saw someone running toward them. Whoever it was, was screaming.
“Let’s go,” James said.
They ran toward the screaming man. James sent his pink light orb out in front of them. Its brightness intensified as it went until they could see the man’s face. It was William. He was breathless and panicked.
“Roger, ze been bitten. Zey ere trapped en ze jungle by monsters.”
“What monsters?” Kilani asked.
“Ee’ve never seen anyting leeke eet. Eye saw ligzts an came ran ere.”
A strong wind blew up the beach and William let out a cry. “’Ell an’ zee div-eil!” he screamed. Kilani and James turned.
Clouds were dancing in front of the moon. They weren’t substantial enough to block it completely, but James knew it was only a matter of minutes before complete darkness fell.
“We must hurry,” James said, taking off at a run down the beach. William and Kilani followed closely. James saw the faint tracks William had left where he stepped out of the jungle onto the sand. He stopped. The noise from the jungle was deafening.
James held both hands, palm up just in front of his body. Thousands of sand grain-sized orbs of glowing light rose from them like stars. They rose above their heads where they hung for a moment before rapidly moving into the jungle.
“ Tertiri ze Manukto kama,” James said. Each tiny orb grew in size and intensity, lighting the jungle beneath them. The noise fell silent. Thick dark clouds blew across the sky and finally blocked the last of the red light. The Never had fallen dark. James stepped into the jungle. Kilani and William exchanged nervous glances and followed closely. As he walked, James once again sent three green orbs high into the air where they exploded like fireworks one after the other.
“Not much furzer zere is a bamboo grove,” William said.
“Zey’re just beyond it.”
Each of James’s light orbs hung just below the canopy, like lanterns burning so brightly that they left no shadows. Kilani marveled at this feat.
The group reached the first stalks of bamboo, which were thicker than any James had seen during his travels back in his world. Rather than green, the chutes were midnight black.
They moved around the perimeter of the tightly knit plants that would not allow passage by anything but the smallest of jungle creatures. William looked nervously into the bamboo thicket as they passed. Despite the power of the orbs, it seemed no light could penetrate this bamboo forest.
“Juzst aeead,” William whispered.
They reached the end of the bamboo grove and James came to a stop. In front of him stood the strangest creature he’d ever seen. It had its back to him and paid none of the three any notice. The creature stood on two long legs, balanced by long toes. It had four arms, each equally spaced and equal in length with extremely long fingers, which were clenched. A shell extended down the creature’s back, stopping just over its waist. A pair of wings were folded over the top of the shell. The shell fanned at the top blocking the view of the creature’s head. Dozens of other jungle creatures, each stranger than the next, also stood immobile, almost touching each other. It
