Shadow Tree (25 page)

Chapter 43: Reunion In Ice

It took ten minutes until Alfonso's feet touched the bottom of the trench. The area was deathly quiet, and he paused before turning around to look. He was afraid of what he might find.

When he surveyed the scene, he saw them immediately – two figures, huddled together, cowering beneath a small ledge of ice. It was Hill and Resuza. They looked terrible, near death. Hill's face was a clammy white and his beard was thickly matted with ice and dirt. Scratches ran across Resuza's neck and hands. Their eyes were closed. Alfonso rushed over and shook them. He was terrified that they had frozen to death, but then they opened their eyes and Alfonso's heart surged with joy. Hill began mumbling and Resuza threw her arms around him, refusing to let go. Alfonso could feel her terribly thin shoulders and arms and he had to conceal his horror. He knew he mustn't show how shocked he was.

“You saw the kite,” whispered Hill. “Thank heavens. I had a...a feeling you would be nearby. They forced us down a rope ladder, and they meant for us to die here.”

Resuza stared close into Alfonso's eyes.

“It's been so long,” she whispered.

Alfonso nodded. “Since before Jasber, even before the razor hedges.”

“So much has happened,” replied Resuza. “I don't know where to begin.”

“Not now,” replied Alfonso. “We have to leave this place.”

Resuza nodded, and put her hands on Alfonso's cheeks. She drew him close, and very deliberately, kissed him on the cheek.

The slightest trace of a smile appeared on her face.

“You're a sight for cold eyes,” she said in that playful, teasing way that Alfonso fondly remembered.

“So are you,” replied Alfonso. He stared back at her and wanted this moment to continue on and on, but he couldn't ignore that Resuza's body was trembling nonstop. They had to leave. Hill was now shivering violently and Alfonso took off his fur
parka – the one he had taken from the airship – and placed it on Hill's shoulders. Hill smiled gratefully. Now he had to get them out of here. Under other circumstances, he would have simply eased his way into hypnogogia, and particle-climbed out of the chasm – carrying Hill and Resuza with him. But he knew this wasn't an option. He knew intuitively, deep in his core, that hypnogogia was done and to try was to court death.

“I think I can get us out of here,” said Alfonso. “It's a little unusual, so you mustn't be too shocked.”

“Okay,” said Resuza tentatively.

Hill nodded.

Alfonso sat on the ice-covered ground and closed his eyes. He concentrated, breathing in four seconds through his left nostril, then breathing out through his right nostril. This continued for another minute or so. Once again, he began searching his mind for memories. There seemed to be so few left. He saw the same image of himself in the snow, as a teenager, three or four times. There were almost no memories of him as an adult. Then, for a fraction of second, he caught a glimpse of himself chopping wood. He was a young man, in his early twenties perhaps.

Gasps from Hill and Resuza told him he hit the mark. He opened his eyes and looked down at his hands. They were strong, calloused hands.

“What in blazes is going on?” Hill approached him with a look of great concern.

“Don't worry,” smiled Alfonso. “This is something that happened to me in Jasber. I've become an ageling.”

“Your eyes,” said Resuza. “They're paler than I remember. Almost white.”

“That's one of the side effects,” said Alfonso. “Now watch.”

Grabbing the other coil of rope, he began climbing the wall that Hill and Resuza had been forced to descend. It took him only ten minutes to get to the top of the chasm. Once he had made it to the top, he tied the end of the rope into a loop, which could serve as a harness. He then tossed the rope down into the crevasse below. “I'm going to pull you up – one at a time!” he yelled down. “Just sit in the harness!”

It took Alfonso roughly thirty minutes to hoist Resuza up out of the trench. It was harder with Hill. Even in his emaciated state, Hill weighed a lot. Alfonso and Resuza worked furiously to pull Hill upward and, after nearly an hour of back-breaking work, they succeeded.

“What now?” asked Resuza.

“We need somewhere to rest for a bit,” said Hill. “And ideally we need some food as well.”

Alfonso nodded his head thoughtfully.

“What's your plan?” asked Resuza.

“I need to go to Dargora,” said Alfonso. “To the Shadow Tree.”

“What?” said Resuza. “Why?”

Alfonso hesitated. He was uncertain of how much to tell them. Best to keep it simple.

“I know how to destroy it,” said Alfonso. Then he picked up his walking stick – the one with Imad's compass embedded in it – and held it up so they could see. “This thing here will help me do the job,” said Alfonso. “I just need to get close enough to use it.”

“Where did you get that stick?” asked Hill curiously.

“Actually my dad gave it to me,” said Alfonso.

“Leif!” exclaimed Hill. “He's alive! Where is he?”

“He's coming... I mean I think he is,” stammered Alfonso.
How much should he say? What could he say?
Hill looked electrified with excitement. “We came here together to destroy the tree, but we had a bad time crossing the Petrified Forest. We were attacked by a pack of wolves and we got separated.”

“Did you look for him?” asked Hill.

“Kind of,” replied Alfonso uneasily. “But, the thing is, I think my best chance of meeting up with him is at the tree itself – that's where he was headed – and knowing dad, he'll find it.”

“Hmm,” said Hill. He didn't seem entirely satisfied.

“It's a very long story – and we don't have much time,” said Alfonso. “Please, if you can, just show me how to get there – to the tree.”

“It's not so easy,” said Hill wearily. “It is a good distance from here and, besides, there will be Dragoonya soldiers everywhere.”

Alfonso sighed.

“I have an idea,” said Resuza. “In fact, I have the perfect solution.”

“Huh?” said Hill. Then slowly a look of realization spread across his face. “Are you sure about that?” asked Hill.

“Positive,” said Resuza.

Chapter 44: Love and Lies

Resuza led the way and, after several hours of walking, they came upon a giant rock that resembled an oversized egg. Resuza then began to search around frantically, until she found a small hole in the snow. She kicked at the hole and it opened up, forming the entrance to a tunnel or passageway of sorts. This was her escape tunnel – the one that she had made with the Pen. She quickly led them down into the long, dark passageway that wound its way all the way back to their storage depot and the slave quarters beyond. Compared to the frigid cold, the tunnel that Resuza had carved out during her experiments with the Foreseeing Pen was warm and cozy. As they walked, Hill peppered his nephew with questions.
How had he become an ageling? What had happened to Marta? Where was Leif? Where had Leif found the walking stick with the compass – the one that he believed would destroy the Shadow Tree?
Alfonso answered some of these questions – and he assured his uncle, repeatedly, that Leif was okay – but he refused to discuss anything about the Shadow Tree.

“Uncle Hill, I know this is very hard to accept,” said Alfonso, “But there are some things that I just can't explain right now. I love you, and I am so happy to see you, but you just have to believe me when I say,
I know what I'm doing — and I have to do it on my own terms
. Okay?”

Hill frowned, but said nothing.

“There's something you're not telling me about your father,” said Hill. He seemed angrier than Alfonso had ever seen him. “And it's wrong. Leif is my brother. I deserve to know the truth!”

Alfonso nodded. He knew that his uncle was right.

“Are you going to level with me or not?” demanded Hill.

“There was a prophecy,” said Alfonso finally. “It's a long story, but dad found it in Imad's library – and this prophecy, it said that I had to destroy the Shadow Tree. Dad didn't want me doing that because he was worried about what would happen to me. We had a fight and I... I ran away...” Alfonso sighed. He felt better. It wasn't the whole truth, but it was most of it.

“I see,” said Hill. “And you believe this prophecy?”

“Yes,” said Alfonso. “Everything it said, including how I would meet you guys – it all came true.”

No one spoke for a while. Resuza led them all the way to the storage depot and, as she did, she tried to break the tension by chatting – recalling how she used the Pen to create the tunnel. When they reached the depot, they were all overjoyed to see all the supplies were still there. They feasted on biscuits and cider in silence. Afterwards, Hill said that he was in dire need of some rest and that he wanted to take a cat nap. “Wake me up if I start doing anything funny in my sleep,” he told them. They promised him that they would. “And don't you dare try to sneak off,” added Hill. Alfonso nodded. Hill fell asleep almost immediately and, meanwhile, Alfonso and Resuza tried to make themselves comfortable.

Alfonso wished there was more light so that he could see Resuza's face properly. He could feel the charged atmosphere and he wanted nothing more than to see her smile. He had known her for a long time, but since they last met their interactions now were somehow different. Perhaps it was because of the memories that he had seen – the one from the future, where Resuza was playing with the children on the dock at the edge of the lake.
Their children
.
Their children who would never be.
Alfonso couldn't help but shiver.

“What's wrong?” asked Resuza. “You look like you just saw a ghost.”

“Nothing,” said Alfonso.

“Why have you become so secretive?”

Alfonso shrugged.

“What aren't you telling us?”

Suddenly he had an overwhelming desire to tell her absolutely everything – about his father believing that he had died, the prophecy, the tree, and his visions of the future. He needed to get this off his chest. He needed to tell
her
.

“Resuza...” he said seriously.

“Yes?”

“Do you remember that room in the lighthouse?” he asked. “That was an awfully nice place. In fact, I think that's just about the last good memory that I have.”

“You were going to tell me something else,” she said.

He nodded.

“Something bad?” she asked.

He nodded.

“Something bad that's going to happen?”

He paused and nodded again.

“To you?”

He shivered.

“Can we talk about something else?” he asked, almost pleadingly. “Please.”

To his great relief, she asked no more questions. Instead, she leaned over and gave Alfonso a kiss on the lips. It was long and lingering, and Alfonso felt as if he was floating. Eventually she stopped and leaned back to look at him through the murky light.

“Don't get any ideas,” she said with a smile. “That was just to say thank you for saving us.”

Alfonso could imagine a more collected version of himself saying something meaningful yet lighthearted, but that would take more energy and experience than he had. Instead, he just smiled at her. It felt like the happiest moment in his life. Alfonso knew that he ought to get going – he had a job to do, one last job – but he couldn't make himself go. Not just yet.

After the kiss, they both relaxed, as if something had been resolved between them. They each talked about what had happened to them since that fateful parting just outside the razor hedges, though neither one was completely truthful. Resuza skated quickly over her last encounter with Naomi. It was just too painful to imagine that she had found her sister only to discover that Naomi had betrayed them. And Alfonso discussed Leif, but never mentioned the terrible moment just outside the Petrified Forest, when Leif thought he had come upon the frozen body of his son.

Eventually, Hill woke up and – famished as they were – they all ate again. Alfonso also shared what remained in his backpack: several handfuls of dried fruit, which Hill and Resuza devoured. In between bites, Alfonso thought over Resuza's story, especially about the events leading to the disappearance of the Foreseeing Pen.

“So in the cave, the Pen just disappeared when Bilblox was holding it?” asked Alfonso.

“Yes,” said Resuza. “Just like that.”

“And where is Bilblox now?”

“We can't be sure,” said Hill. “But if I had to bet, I'd say he is on Nartam's ship. That's where they had kept him before.” Hill paused and asked if he could change the subject. He wanted to hear about his brother.

“He's alive,” said Alfonso.

It was hard to see Hill's reaction. Eventually, he whispered in a choked voice, “After all these years. Leif. Is he well?”

Alfonso nodded. He couldn't bring himself to speak. It broke his heart to be less than truthful with his uncle about such an important matter.

Hill's voice, suddenly stronger after hearing about Leif, returned. “So what now?” he asked.

“I need the Pen,” said Alfonso. “And I'm assuming if I find it, I'll find Bilblox. Which ship is Nartam's?”

“We can lead you to it,” replied Resuza. “It's the biggest one up there.”

Knowing the response, Alfonso still hesitated before he said, “I'm going alone.”

“No way!” replied Resuza. Her voice was much too loud and they all sat there for a few seconds silently fearing that perhaps, somehow, they had been overheard. “You can't,” she continued in a whisper. “What could possibly possess you to say that?”

“I want nothing more than for you and Hill to come with me,” said Alfonso. “But it's too risky. The prophecy says nothing about me destroying the Shadow Tree with help. I have to do it myself, alone. Trust me, I'd rather not. I'd really, really rather not. But if we've come this far, I don't want to do anything to mess things up.”

“You're too wrapped up in this prophecy,” said Hill. “You need to trust yourself and your instincts. What do they tell you?”

“Not very much,” admitted Alfonso. “That's why I'm relying on the prophecy.” He paused. “I guess the only thing I know for sure is that I have to find Bilblox. He will know where the Pen is. That much I feel pretty certain about. ”

“You've been right before about Bilblox,” said Hill. “Maybe you're right again.”

“I have to go,” said Alfonso.

“He should use the emergency exit,” said Hill. “Show him the way.”

Resuza stood up and gestured up the tunnel that led directly to the surface above. No one spoke. Alfonso grabbed for their hands, squeezed them once, and his eyes filled with tears. He wanted to say goodbye, but he was afraid his voice would betray him. Instead, he let go of their hands and rushed away.