Into the Forest Shadows (22 page)

With Ayden tangled right at the base of
it.

Strands wrapped around his arms and legs held
him firmly to the main web. His extended staff with a deactivated
cutting edge swung in the webbing above his head.

Kate rushed forward, "Ayden, it's Kate! I'm
here!"

"Get away from me. Haven't you done enough?"
Ayden yelled, both fear and anger in his voice.

"We had to do something to get away from the
Shadow Creatures. No way would they follow us into the Memory
trees." She pulled the staff from her belt. She managed to get it
to extend but not to activate the cutting edge.

She prodded the web, only to find the strands
sticking to the end. With a yank back the web let loose, bouncing
as it sprung back into position.

"How could you sell me? What kind of a mother
are you?" Ayden demanded, trying to twist around to see her, and in
the end tangling himself up all the more.

Kate stopped prodding with the staff.
"Mother?"

"You never really loved me. I was always in
the way. I knew it, but still, how could you do this?"

Kate pushed the staff at one of the coils
around his hand and pushed up. The web stuck to his skin for a
moment and then snapped away. Kate jerked the staff back to release
it from the web's grasp.

She knew she shouldn't ask, but she couldn't
help it. "What was it I did to you, Ayden?"

"How can you ask so innocently? You ignore me
for years. Then, when I finally decide to take my life into my own
hands and start winning scholarships, you sell me?" His voice rose
as he demanded, "What kind of a mother are you?"

"Sell you?" Kate repeated in the middle of
unwrapping another coil from his leg. She swallowed hard against a
lump. "Are you talking slavery?"

"What else would it be? You sell me to the
corporation in exchange for money. Do I get any choice in it? No,
not until I'm of age!"

"And you came here to your Uncle to hide out
in the forest," Kate guessed. No wonder he loved the forest so
much. In it he could disappear any time he needed to. The ultimate
hiding place.

"And my Uncle will find me and you'll never
discover me again!' Ayden raged, tears streaming down his face
despite the brave words.

"Good grief, and I thought my father was
bad," Kate muttered. She wrenched another bit of web off of him.
"Your Uncle is still in the forest. Your mother is not here. This
is Kate."

"Leave me alone! Go away!"

"Are you going to allow the Shadow Creatures,
the Newcomers and my Uncle to destroy the peace you've found in
this forest? Aren't you angry they are trying?" Kate poked him in
the side with the staff before going after another strand, "How
about this? Here is the city-girl Kate rescuing the big and mighty
forest Gatherer!"

Ayden went still, "What?"

"This is Kate, you doofus! Aren't you
supposed to be the smart forest person and not me?" She poked him
again for good measure.

"Hey, stop that!"

Kate poked him again, "Or what? Come on
Ayden. Aren't you supposed to rescue me and not the other way
around?"

One of his hands came free and he waved her
off, "Stop poking me!"

"Who am I, Ayden! Look at me! Say my name!"
Kate demanded.

Ayden turned his head, staring straight at
her. His eyes went wide, "Kate? What are you doing?"

Kate waved the staff, "Trying to get you out
of a humongous spider web, that's what! Come on, I need your help.
Stop twisting yourself up even worse!"

"Spider web?" Ayden's head snapped up to look
at the web. "Get me out of here!"

Kate managed to move another strand. The
entangled threads around his legs and ankles proved stubborn to any
attempts to remove them. "Trust me, I'm trying!"

"Oh no, it's awake," Ayden groaned.

The hair on the back of Kate's neck stood
straight up. She slowly tilted her head up, following the line of
his intent stare.

And straight into the many bright red eyes of
the biggest spider she'd ever seen.

CHAPTER TWENTY

The spider dangled from a thick thread
attached somewhere in the canopy of the Memory tree. Its hairy legs
tapped lightly on the trunk as it smoothly glided lower. Parts of
the body lacked a hard outer shell, meaning it wasn't technically a
spider, but the double jaws around the mouth made the
identification pointless. It looked like it could crush them with
one bite.

The spider stopped a short distance above
Ayden, who was reaching desperately above his head for his staff.
The spider extended a leg, shaking at the thread.

The staff dropped out of the web, bouncing on
the forest floor.

A rich gravely voice said, "I would
appreciate it if you would not destroy my web. I already have a lot
of work to do to repair it."

Kate stared at the spider. No way did she
just hear that. She swallowed, "Uh, I'm sorry. Did you just
talk?"

"Do you see someone else here?" The spider
demanded. With another shake of a line one of the heavy strands let
loose of Ayden's arm. "It seems I will not have a big meal today.
Not with one of the helpers. But then, you are contaminated."

"Sorry, but I haven't used a bunt, so I don't
know how I can understand you. Unless you used one?" Come to think
of it, she hadn't seen a single bunt in the forest. In fact, no
animals at all until the spider.

"Like a few of the other creatures of the
forest, once I learn a language I do not forget. Was it not wise to
learn the languages of the Newcomers after the crash from the sky?
Was it not wise to learn that of the humans when the camp became
established? Am I not more intelligent than the traitorous leader
of the rebellious Shadow Creatures?"

"Diasis," Kate guessed.

"Do not speak his name to me, helper or
not."

Kate silently sent a 'thank you' to Grandma
once again for the cape. "We didn't mean to get tangled in your
web."

"So I observed. The young male arrived in the
throes of his memories. That is the way of this forest." It spoke
gently, but just the sight of it gave her chills.

Ayden fell to the ground, his upper body
freed. He shook his legs one by one, the strands detaching
themselves. The moment he was freed he retreated to her, grabbing
his staff as he did. He cleared his throat, "Thank you. I'm sorry
about your web."

The spider sniffed, "Indeed. What a mess it
is. It will take hours, perhaps days, to fix."

The vision of a bright forest flashed through
her head. Directly below her a coned trunk topped with a bushy
canopy had rings of flowers blooming from the base to the very top.
The flowers snapped shut and retreated into protective tubes as a
beetle flew past.

Ayden put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you
all right?'

She nearly jumped at the touch. She shook her
head "No, I keep seeing something and it's a part of the forest
I've never seen before. It's not a memory. Isn't that all this
forest is supposed to bring into one's mind?"

"Supposedly. I've never heard of anything
other than memories, or a play off of memories."

Kate ducked down at the sound of singing
wings coming up fast behind them. Ayden waved his staff in the air
as a giant insect sailed through the air above their heads. It
swerved out of the way, and right into the spider web.

"Finally, dinner!" the spider gloated,
dropping down. With a few flicks of its legs it had the insect
fully tangled in the webbing.

Kate grimaced and turned her head as it
dropped down further, hearing a soft crunching sound.

"A forest of memories, only you didn't have a
memory. Something else? Something different?" The spider chuckled.
It retreated to the side of the web as the insect twitched. "I feel
charitable today. A good meal will do that to one. One question.
You may ask me one question, girl. Make it a good question. Do you
know the right question to ask?"

Kate turned to Ayden, who shrugged. "I'm
barely keeping the forest out of my head right now. Besides, he
asked you."

The vision tugged at her again. She put a
hand on Ayden's arm and let herself slip into it.

The mountain loomed up above her, the twin
suns warm and bright. She was closer to the large mesa where the
large trees actively mingled, their branches touching each
other.

Among them were trees with bright red and
purple leaves with brilliant red flowers. Moving closer she spotted
a red markings on the bark. Like the one cut down in the Gatherer
camp.

One of the red-marked trees shook, the roots
coming up out of the ground. On the mass of heavy roots it moved
down a path. Many of the other trees moved out of the way. Other
trees moved their limbs out of the path. Even the bunts moved out
of the way, watching its progress.

A rumbling filled the air. Birds and insects
filled the air and the bunts scurried for cover. Beyond the mesa a
dark object rose up into the sky, a shape of gnarled brown with
portions that looked suspiciously like knots and leaves. As if many
giant trees had come together into one tightly knotted mass.

And it was flying.

It turned, and on the side blazed the same
red mark as the sacred trees. It pointed itself towards the sky,
rising up to disappear into the sunlight.

"If you can't find a Watcher, you must find
the Ancients and warn them," Grandma's voice said softly in her
ear. "The entire forest is counting on you."

"But where do I find them?" She asked. She
turned her eyes from the ship to her side. Only Grandma wasn't
there. Only the trees of the forest of Shadows and Memories.

She missed Grandma. She should have tried
getting to the hut Grandma had been held in, to take her into the
forest with her.

But then she dismissed the idea. They'd
barely escaped the camp and Grandma had been in a lot worse
physical shape. The Shadow Creatures would have caught up with them
easily before making the safety of the forest of Shadows and
Memory.

And she knew what she needed to ask. "Where
do I go to speak with the Ancients?"

The spider laughed softly as it wrapped the
insect even tighter. "A very good question, indeed. And unless I am
wrong, your visions are telling you where to go. Did you not see
the mountain? Did you not see the plateau?"

"With all the moving trees," Kate
muttered.

"Ah yes. The summers are so much more
interesting and exciting. So full of life. So many satisfying
meals," the spider sighed with happiness.

"I did see the place. I saw it very clearly,
but I don't know how to get there. Do you know?" Kate said.

The spider waved at them with one leg as it
continued its work with the other legs, "I will not lead you. I
have a meal to enjoy. Either the forest will lead you there or you
were never meant to find it. Take the Watcher with you. I don't
want to make the mistake of eating someone protected when
hungry."

Kate perked up, "A Watcher? Here? But we saw
the Watcher killed!"

"Then it must have been one of the other
Watchers. This one is still very much alive, although not for the
Shadow Creatures trying. You speak perhaps of the Watcher who was
the intermediary for your species? Oh dear, that will cause
problems."

"That's who killed our Watcher. The Shadow
Creatures," Ayden said.

Kate grinned, smacking Ayden on the shoulder,
"Another Watcher! A living Watcher!"

Ayden rubbed his shoulder, scowling at her,
"Yes, I heard."

The spider gestured with a hind leg, "Go
around. You'll find him on the other side. He took shelter in this
forest to escape the Shadow Creatures, just as you did. I'm sure
he'll be glad to be out of here, as you will be. Don't understand
that myself. The forest is a rather calm and peaceful place."

"Maybe it affects you differently?" Kate
asked, carefully picking her way around the trees with the web.

"I'm sure. We spiders are such evolved
creatures. Our minds aren't nearly as clouded as lower life forms,"
the spider said.

"I think we were just insulted," Ayden
muttered.

She ducked down under a bough, stepping over
several tall roots.

"Wait, I've lost Bunbun!" Ayden cried,
searching among the roots. "Have you seen him?"

"I have him. He found us after we were locked
up," Kate said.

"Don't let him get away. He gets frantic
around Memory trees."

Kate adjusted Bunbun's position as she bent
to go under a thick limb. "So I've noticed. He's scratched my
stomach a few times."

On the other side a depression with webbing
stretched across the trees and bushes created a sheltered grotto.
On one side lay a long dark object that occasionally twitched.

The spider swung over to the area, catching
one of the tree branches. It looked down at the object, "Take him.
He should return to his kind for healing."

The beetle appeared to be a similar shape to
the ones they'd encountered while hiking towards Grandma's house,
only this one sported a multi-layered back shell with a long and
tapered body. The thought of the encounter sent a shiver through
her. She didn't want to approach the thing, much less help it.

It lifted its head, the dark multifaceted
eyes staring them over. It inched forward with four legs, dragging
two others behind it. A ragged edge of a corner of the back shell
displayed bite marks. It shifted in shuddering and abrupt movements
that hurt her just to watch.

The thing radiated with pain.

And on the back was a large marking of bright
red, in the same shape as the trees Kate had seen moving in her
vision and the one cut in the Gatherers camp.

The creature filled Kate with revulsion.
She'd never liked bugs and a giant bug just made it all the
worse.