Chapter nine
a talisman just for you
T he early rays of dawn lit the cottage as I crawled down from the loft the next morning. Still in his clothes from the day before, Darragh lay fast asleep on the sofa. A board creaked beneath my foot and Darragh stirred.
I waved. “Did you have a good sleep?”
Darragh reacquainted himself with his surroundings and glanced groggily down at his clothes. His eyes widened and darted to me. “I had to run into the village.” He pushed his hair behind his ear and looked at his feet. His voice cracked as he said, “Complications with Fyn.”
Liar.
Where was he last night? What right do I have to ask?
I waited for the truth. Darragh refused to look at me. I might not have a right to ask where he was, but I had a right to walk away when someone lied. Crossing my arms, I said, “I want to go home.”
Darragh propped himself up. “It’s not safe for you on Earth.”
“I don’t care!” I shouted. “It’s not safe for me here! Everything wants to kill me. I can’t control my magic. I’m lost, and useless. I’m relying entirely on you to keep me alive. It’s like I’m trapped in the middle of the ocean, and the only thing keeping me from drowning is this tiny little raft—”
“A raft?” Darragh interrupted. “I’m more of a ship.”
“Ships sink!” I shouted. “And then I’m dead.”
Darragh inhaled, preparing to argue, but instead he just frowned, then glanced at the ceiling, contemplating. I was right. If anything happened to him…
“I have an idea.” Darragh swung his legs off the sofa and sat up. He untied a necklace, from which hung a carved wooden bird. Cradling the necklace, lines creased Darragh’s forehead while he concentrated.
The bird started to glow.
“Oh,” I said, startled.
The bird burned brighter and brighter, until I had to look away. Darragh grunted as if struck, and the light died. “There,” he said, rather proud of himself. He handed it to me. It was an unassuming wooden bird once more.
“It looks the same.”
“So ungrateful!” Darragh crossed his arms. “It’s a talisman imbued with my magic—a piece of me to carry with you.”
I recoiled. “Like, something an evil wizard might make?” I meant it as a joke. Darragh looked confused, and more than a little hurt. “What’s it do?” I asked quickly.
“It’s a one-off burst of my magic. If you get in trouble, this will help. It might make you feel a little safer until you can control your own.”
“Oh, okay.” I examined the little bird. “Can I have, like, ten of these?”
“I’m hoping you don’t even need that one.” Darragh laughed. “It takes a piece of my magic with it. I’ll be weaker until it’s used up.” He lowered his eyes. “And it’s quite painful. ”
I’m terrible at receiving gifts. Unsure how to respond to a gift so meaningful, I shifted and tried to think of what to say. I should have said thank you. Instead, I lowered the necklace over my head and said, “Happy bird-day to me.”
Darragh reached out, turning the bird so it sat straight on the leather. His fingers brushed my skin; he frowned and pulled away.
“Do you truly wish to return to Earth?”
Homesickness rose within me. Watney, Sasha, a cup of coffee—all the things I missed flashed through my mind. Mulling the decision, I glanced out the window, to the trees looming at the end of the path. That wood was filled with terrible monsters, all manner of creatures that would have me dead if I wasn’t careful.
“Yes.” I shivered. “Yes, I do.”
Darragh cleared his throat and nodded. “I’ll take you back.” Blinking quickly, he turned and headed for the door. As Darragh walked away, an inexplicable wave of panic spiked my adrenaline. Before I could speak, the door closed behind him.
Through the window, I watched Darragh walk a few paces and pause. He rubbed his neck and stared at the ground. His reaction puzzled me. We’d only just met. And yet, the way Darragh’s gaze rose and lingered on the pale pink sunrise, one might think he was preparing to say goodbye to a very old friend.
Stranger still, while I wanted to go home, a small part of me, growing louder every moment, was disappointed that I didn’t join Darragh before the rising sun.
***
Darragh returned shortly thereafter, wearing a stony, absent expression. I didn’t even manage a greeting before he said, “There are a few things I have to getfor our journey to Earth.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll return in a few days.”
“Wait—what?”I rounded on Darraghso quickly, heflinched and dropped his bag. “You’re leaving me here?”
Pointing at the floor, Darragh said, “You’re safe here.”
“What if something happens to you?No one knows I’m out here.”
“Bowyn knows you’re here.”
Ugh. I still wasn’t so sure about Bowyn.
“I’ll only be gone a few days,” Darragh reasoned.
I didn’t want to stay here, alone, for a few days. I wanted to argue, but there’s alevel of familiarity inarguing, and I wasn’t there yet. It was easier just to say, “Fine.” Darragh went to the kitchen, where he unpacked jars and herbs from his bag. They floated away, finding spots on shelves and in cupboards. I crossed my arms and sat sullenly on the sofa. When I realized Darragh had nothing more to say on the topic, I stood up. “I’m going for a walk.” Darragh started to respond, but I slammed the door.
I stumbled down the path, and before I knew it, I’d entered the wood. I paced at the edge of the trees, pouting. Fifty feet into the wood, a shadow dipped behind a tree, and I stilled. I squinted, hyper focused on the trunk. A hand with three fingers wrapped around the bark. Slowly, it slid away and out of sight. I backed up the way I’d come, into the sunshine of the meadow.
Darragh’s right. I’ll be safer in the cottage.
“Ugh,” I grumbled at the reasonable thoughts. I looked back down the path. Darragh was sitting, arms crossed, out on the bench where he could see me. I picked my way through the gardens. I brushed aside a droopy branch and sat beside him.
“Are you hungry?” Darragh asked .
I kicked the dirt and muttered, “Yes.”
“Let’s go eat.” Rather than head inside, Darragh walked into the wood. The trees grew thick here, the leaves knit so tight, hardly any light filtered through. Darragh skirted a massive, red-barked tree. I circled the tree—lights flickered above. Glass jars filled with twinkling lights hung from the branches. Beneath them, amongst the soft moss and rocks, lay a blanket and basket filled with food.
I smiled. “Is this how you eat most of your meals?”
Darragh shrugged, a sudden bashfulness about him. “I saw it in a Home the trees that pursued us must have cleared off. Just like before, Darragh hopped across the rocks with a graceful ease. I waited for him to get a good head start and crept to theedge of the river. My crossing was far less dignified. On the last stone, I slipped, and my feet splashed into the water.
I froze.
Had Darragh heard me?
When hedidn’treappear, I hauled myself onto theriverbank.In the distance, Darragh bobbed and weaved through the trees. I jogged to catch up and cametoa break in thewood. The white-tipped mountains loomed in the distance. I scanned the rocky landscapefor Darragh, and my heart plummeted. The grove of trees which chased us had re-rooted back to the middle of the plain.
Darragh walked directly toward them.
“Please don’t go in. Please don’t go in,” I mumbled.
Darragh walked straight into the trees and disappeared within.
“Damnit!” Not wanting to lose him, I trotted across the plain. I paused at the border of the grove; I really really didn’t want to go in.
This is a stupid idea.
I should walk around, and when he comes out the other side,I’lljust tell him what happened.
A gentle wail carried from deep within the grove. At first, I had trouble identifying it. I didn’ t want to identify it.
Screaming.
I strained to hear it more clearly.
“Help!”
Darragh.
“No, no, no, no, no, no,” I whispered.
The wailingcontinued and a tightness spread through my chest. I flexed my fingers and wiped my palms against my pants. I rested my hands on my knees and peered into the dark. An ebbing breeze carried a foul stench from within.
“Issomeone there?” Darragh cried.A whimper and an agonizing moan followed.
“Ugh!” I put one foot in the grove, and thenthe other. The light dimmed, and my skin prickled. The gnarled trees edged closer, I was sure of it. I stalked Darragh’s pained moans, tiptoeing over giant roots that lay across the ground like pythons.
CRUNCH .
I yanked my foot away.
What was that ?
A white mass writhed below my boot. My eyes adjusted to the dark—I stifled a scream. I’d stepped through a partially eaten rib cage. Wide holes had rotted through the decayed flesh. They wriggled and writhed as if alive, and I squealed as a wave of maggots crawled up my legs. Brushing them off, I backed away, and bumped into something moist.
Bits of rotten flesh dangled from the nearly picked-clean bones of a skeleton. Covering my mouth, my eyes darted around. What I’d thought were branches brushing my arms were corpses. Jagged remains of torsos and limbs protruded from the trees. Streaks of blood smattered my hands; I turned to run—
“Please!” Darragh’s voice called .
So much fainter than before.
Stifling a cry, I wiped the blood on my pants. I took a shaky step in Darragh’s direction.
Focus on Darragh. Don’t look at the bodies. At least theyaren’tspiders .
Darragh would surely be dead if that were the case.
An eerie red glow loomed ahead. I aimed for it, and peered around a tree before stumbling in. “What?” The strange light radiated from a patch of flowers. The rubies. Darragh knelt, picking them, and putting them in his bag. He was perfectly fine.
But if Darragh was fine, who’d screamed?
Something wet drip-dripped on my shoulder. “ Ah-AH!” I wiped it away. A shadow behind me moved and I froze. Drool dripped from the snarling mouth of a monster I’d mistaken for a tree. Behind it, more tree monsters inched forward. Eyes and gaping mouths, black and depthless like skulls, appeared in thegnarledbark. I stepped back into the clearing with Darragh. Branchestipped with fingernails of thornsreachedout, and thick brown vines snaked along the grove floor. I needed to alert Darragh, but I couldn’t speak. If I made a noise, the tree monsters would leap on me and tear me to shreds—
A hand grasped mine.
Darragh.
Eyes locked on the trees, Darragh pulled me behind him. All around us, the tree monsters pressed in, shrinking our circle.Darragh held out his hand, a film of blue flame sprung to life. A wave of hisses travelled through the trees, and they stopped creeping. Darragh stepped forward, pulling me with him. One of the trees let out a lowsnarl,its gaping mouth furious. Darragh puls ed the flame and the tree shrank away.We walked like this, slow and cautious, until the edge of the grove appeared.
My claustrophobia got the better of me. I wanted to run, to be out in the fresh air. My breathing quickened, and I struggled to suck in laboured breaths. The trees sensed the change in me… The weakness.
A vine slipped around my leg andripped me from Darragh. My feet flew out and I slammed against the ground with a painful, “Oof!” Rolling onto my back, I tugged at the vines. Darragh’s arms wrapped around my midsection, and he heaved, trying to free me. Pain shot up my legs, and I was sure they’d be torn from their sockets. With Darragh’s fire extinguished, the trees were no longer frightened. Thorns and branchestore at me from all directions. Bloodoozed throughscratches in my pants.
Darraghmutteredan incantation and curled around me. A sudden iciness chilled my skin as an explosion of fire erupted around us. Snapping my eyesshut, I tried not to choke on the smoke. My legs and palms scraped underbrush as Darragh dragged me through the flames.
The crackling fire ceased, and the cold ebbed from my flesh.
When I opened myeyes, we were outside the grove.Well, what was left ofit. As far as I could see, scorched trees smoldered. As I examined the carnage, my gaze fell onDarragh . Smeared with dark soot, tendrils of smoke wafted from his shoulders. He crossed his arms, and his outraged eyes said, explain yourself .
“Uh, well, Bowyn said—”
“Bowyn said?” Darragh’s arms fell to his sides, where his fists clenched.
I gulped. “Bowyn maybe implied you’d be happy if I joined you…”
Positively jubilant , I believe, were Bowyn’s exact words. Darragh’s nostrils flared. Black soot coated the inside of his nose.
Positively pissed was more like it.
I avoided Darragh’s eyes when I said, “Honestly,I didn’t think it would take you so long to notice me following you.I figured you’d have sent me back by now.”
“I knew you were there.”
“And you let me follow you into that deathtrap?!”
“I was keeping an eye on you.Did you learn your lesson?”
“What lesson? Not to follow you when I think you need help? Don’t worry, I won’t be doing that again.”
“Firstly, not to disobey me. You should have stayed at the cottage. Secondly, and most importantly, never do what Bowyn says.”
Disobey?!
“Who do you think you are?”
Darragh raised his voice. “I’m the experienced one! I’m the one trying to keep you alive long enough to get you home !”
“But—”
He was right.
Darragh pointed at the smoldering trees. “They didn’t need to die !”
“I’m sorry.” My voice cracked.
Darragh pressed a white-knuckled fist to his lips, stopping himself from saying more. He walked into the burned trees and rifled through debris for his bag. After several exaggerated steps out of the rubble, he swept his arm dramatically in front of us. “Shall wecontinue north, then?”
“Pardon?”
“We’re behind. I don’t want to camp out in the open. We need tomove now .”
“You’re not taking me back?”
“Oh, no.” Darragh gave mea too-sweet, sarcastic, smile. “Let’s get youback to Earthas soon as possible.”He stormed ahead. I took one last look at the devastated grove. I’d come awfully close to witnessing that tree scene from the Evil Dead firsthand.
I shuddered.