After the Dark Page 13

  “Do you think Baer is the one controlling the Bahbeq?” asked Felicity quietly, clearly thinking along the same lines as Pil.

  “Can’t be,” said Sandy. “Harlem said Elfin don’t have that kind of magic anymore.”

  “Maybe Harlem’s in on it too,” said Dirk in a fearful whisper.

  Pil shook his head. “He has nothing to gain from destroying the Exidite.”

  “Sometimes people don’t need a reason,” said Dirk quietly. “Some people simply hate because it’s all they know.”

  They all took that in for a moment as they continued picking their way absently through the forest, their thoughts very far away.

  “I never got that from Harlem, though,” said Pil suddenly. “I mean, we know people like that in lower town,” he said, nodding in Dirk’s direction. “We know how to spot them. He struck me as serious and harsh, but never cruel.”

  “Who knows?” said Felicity seriously. “Baer could be in league with a bunch of Exidite. Or he could be alone; it’s not up to us to decide.”

  Pil nodded grimly. He had had a tough life in lower town; they all had. The one thing that had kept him sane had been the thought of the Exidite. And now that he was here, it seemed trouble was fast on his heels. They walked on in silence at a steady pace, picking their way very carefully, ears perked for any sound. Things in the forest were beginning to wake; every step seemed to bring the music of small birds and far away rustling. It was anxious work; every sound could be approaching predators, every bird’s song seemed oddly menacing.

  They would have been quickly lost among the maze of trees were it not for Felicity's keen sense of direction. Still, the trek took a painfully long time as their nerves seemed to slow their progress. At last, they approached the spot where Pil had left Dirk and Felicity to check out the camp. In the light, they could partially see the destroyed clearing up ahead through a thinning set of trees.

  They stopped for a moment, completely silent, staring out at the spot where their comrades lay dead. Sandy’s face was pale as he took in the wreckage.

  “Stay here,” said Pil quietly to his friends. “I’m going to check something…”

  Pil walked apprehensively through the trees to the camp and, with a steadying breath, headed back into the clearing.

  In the light of an Afterdark day, the destruction was even more prevalent; the bodies still lay strewn haphazardly across the grass in a mess of tangled limbs and blood. In the pale purple light, he could clearly see the body of the Bahbeq, its head cut cleanly off.

  It was sickening, but he forced himself to ignore it and took off towards where he knew his Captain’s body lay. But as he approached the spot, Pil noticed that all that was left of his Captain was a bloody mess of leaves. Pil frowned at it in disgust. He didn’t like to think what creature had taken off with Tiberius.

  Pil looked quickly away to the spot where the supplies were. Dirk had taken the only two bags that had not been squashed by the Bahbeq, but there were a few hammocks rolled into bundles strewn around the clearing.

  Pil took four and then started back before something caught his eye. A bow and set of arrows lay across his path. He picked them up gingerly and hurried quickly back to his companions without a backward glance.

  “Found these,” he said as he caught sight of them. Silently he passed around a hammock for each of them.

  “Thanks,” said Felicity as she took hers. “But I don’t think we should sleep out in the open… not in the light.”

  Pil nodded. “We will set them up in the trees. We should be safer there, at least. With any luck, we won’t need them at all. And there’s this,” he said, handing over the bow and quiver to Sandy. “You do know how to use this, right?”

  Sandy laughed. “I’m an Elfin, aren’t I?”

  Pil smiled and then silently led the way, following their earlier tracks and heading around the camp towards the pack point. Luckily, they stumbled upon the bags of supplies that Dirk had dropped. Even more luckily, the bags showed no sign of being picked at by any animals.

  “We should eat a bit of real food,” suggested Pil. The others nodded eagerly.

  “It’s a bit scary in here,” said Dirk nervously, once they had set down and begun to eat. “I mean, just sitting still in Lungala.”

  “Yeah, I don’t reckon we should be here for long,” said Pil as he took a long draught of his water drop.

  They ate a hurried lunch, all glancing about as though waiting to be attacked. Though Pil’s sharp ears hadn’t picked up anything more than a distant rustling of trees, the thought of sitting still too long in broad daylight was not a comforting one.

  “Let’s get a move on, then?” asked Pil as he tied the food bag back up.

  The others nodded, and they made their way back through the trees. It was getting tiring, really; Pil hadn’t slept and he could tell the miles were beginning to wear on his companions. It was a short while of silent creeping through the dead forest before he stopped and the others followed suit.

  “How much longer?” asked Pil.

  “Something like three hundred paces…” Felicity answered, winded.

  “Let’s rest,” Pil suggested. He looked up to the trees around them, they were big and old. The branches were tough and wide. This would be as good a place as any, thought Pil. He felt the thick oak nearby and then sprang quickly up the tree with all the speed and grace of an Elfin.

  Pil heard the others climbing up beneath him. He had reached a copse of branches and set about hanging up his hammock as did Felicity and Dirk.

  “Guys!” came a quiet cry from beneath them. There, clinging desperately to the middle of the thick oak, was Sandy, glancing worriedly down. “I — I’m not really good with heights.”

  Pil laughed, unrestrained. With danger all around them and everything that had happened, this simple bit of humor was a relief he hadn’t realized he needed.

  “Here, grab hold,” said Dirk as he unrolled his hammock and swung it down to Sandy. Luckily the hammock was just long enough to reach him. Sandy snatched gratefully at it and scrambled the rest of the way up the tree.

  “Thanks,” said Sandy, panting anxiously. “I thought I would be stuck there forever…”

  Felicity laughed. “Aren’t you an Elfin, Sandy?”

  Sandy blushed, embarrassed. “I am!” he argued. “I just don’t fancy climbing. ’Specially not up a tree... I mean, I’ve never even seen a proper tree before, have I?”

  Pil smiled and nodded. “Your Exidite test didn’t have anything to do with climbing?”

  Sandy smiled, abashed. “You mean the test we took separately? No, we had to escape from our room. There were hidden clues, and we had to find the key out! I wouldn’t have passed it if it weren’t for Felicity, though. I didn’t actually think I’d make it this far, to be honest.” He crawled across a thick trunk to tie one end of his hammock. “I just wanted to catch a glimpse of Harlem.”

  Dirk laughed as he set his hammock further up in the tree.

  “We all did,” said Pil, smiling. “He’s a hero, even in lower town.”

  “Especially in lower town,” Dirk agreed gruffly.

  Sandy and Dirk settled into their newly constructed beds and, after making sure of their sturdiness, fell right asleep. Pil and Felicity argued over the first watch, but in the end, they both lay quietly in their hammocks listening intently to the forest, unable to fall asleep.

  There was a stillness in the trees and greenery; the only sounds were of Dirk and Sandy’s quiet snores. The bright-green leaves shaded the sleeping Elfins lazily from the white purple sky overhead.

  “It’s not what I thought it would be,” said Pil quietly, speaking suddenly out of a deep silence.

  “What isn’t?” Felicity asked softly from her cot next to his.

  “Everything, the Exidite… Lungala… the world…” Pil paused sleepily; his whole body ached with stiffness. “I just thought things would settle, you know? I thought our lives would suddenly become ea
sier.”

  Felicity made a quiet noise of agreement. “It’s not as much fun as I thought it would be.” She paused for a moment. “But I get the feeling that we are a part of something now. It’s like things are finally moving.”

  Pil nodded before remembering she couldn’t see him. “I know what you mean. The Elfin have been sleeping still for over a decade; it’s about time things changed.”

  “Still —” Felicity said in quiet anxiety, “it is a lot scarier than I had thought. I mean, the campsite — the cave — I think I would have gone crazy if we weren’t all together.”

  Pil knew what she meant. The very thought of what he had seen in the Chasm still chilled him to the bone. Pil reached instinctively for the scabbard lying next to him.

  "I'll take the first watch — I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep as it is,” said Felicity in a whisper.

  “Thanks —” said Pil in tired relief as he felt the sway of the day overtake him. Pil’s eyelids fell closed, and soon he slipped blissfully into the safe nothingness of sleep.

  13

  The Song

  Pil awoke, refreshed. For a second he forgot where he was and then a gentle breeze and a canopy of leaves brought his memory sharply back. He lay idly, staring up at the branches swaying gently along with the wind. And then something else caught his attention, a rhythmic but gentle twang and thud, which came from the forest beneath him. For a moment Pil listened to it, afraid.

  The smart thing would be to not move, but as the twanging and thudding went on, curiosity overtook him. Very slowly and cautiously, he peeked down over his hammock. A breath of relief came from him as he recognized the small form of Sandy. He was holding the bow and apparently practicing with it.

  Pil swung lightly out of his hammock and descended noiselessly to the ground. Sandy had not noticed him. He was holding a notched arrow and concentrating intensely on the small grouping of feathers in a nearby tree. Pil watched as Sandy took a deep breath and let the arrow fly. It landed with a gentle thud in the crowd of arrows.

  “Nice shot,” said Pil.

  Sandy jumped up and swung around so quickly he tripped over his own feet, landing in a heap on the ground.

  Pil repressed a laugh and reached his hand out.

  Sandy took it gratefully. “Thanks,” he said, embarrassed as he got to his feet. “I — I just thought I should practice. I wasn’t too loud, was I?”

  “No,” said Pil smiling. “Probably a good idea to practice. You’re not too bad a shot either.”

  Sandy smiled uncomfortably. “Thanks. I thought about being a Legacy, you know…” he said timidly. “I mean, before Exidite.”

  “Good goal, that,” said Pil with a smile. “Thought of it, too, actually, but you have to be sponsored to get into the Pit ’n’ Bows, and no one would sponsor a kid from lower town.”

  “That’s not true!” Sandy objected. “I’m sure. I mean, if anyone could do it, it would be you.”

  Pil laughed. “Why me and not you?”

  “It’s — I dunno,” said Sandy thoughtfully. “You have this presence, like — like some light, you can't help but notice." Pill looked at him skeptically, wondering if he was joking. “You talk like I’m Harlem or something — I’m no different from you.”

  “Me? I’m always messing up,” said Sandy with a shrug. “You — you always know what to do; you can make the hard decisions.”

  Pil frowned. “I don’t want to — I — it’s not like I think I’m better or anything…” Pil tried to explain awkwardly.

  “No, I don’t mind!” said Sandy truthfully. “It’s good. We need someone like that — like a leader.”

  “I don’t want to be — I mean, I just feel like it’s my responsibility,” Pil explained. “I know it’s not my fault, but Todd put me in charge. I don’t want to —”

  “Pil, I know that, but you’re still good at it. I trust you; we all do.”

  Pil felt awkward. Had he been acting bossy, certainly towards Dirk and Felicity, but only because he felt like it was his fault they were here. He had led them to the Exidite, led them into danger.

  Pil sighed and grabbed Sandy’s bow, notching an arrow. He hadn’t shot an arrow in years; he held the arrow for a moment, remembering. Suddenly he felt like his younger self, practicing with Dirk and Felicity just outside of lower town, carefree and hopeful.

  He let the arrow go with a breath and watched it soar right into the middle of Sandy’s group, splitting an arrow in half as it did.

  “Woah,” said Sandy, awed.

  Pil looked up; he had been lost in a memory. “It’s nothing,” Pil said honestly. “There were a lot of arrows in the trunk, it’s just luck.”

  “Wish I had luck,” said Sandy with a chuckle.

  Pil smiled and handed him back the bow. He looked up to the large tree they had camped in and gave a sharp but quiet whistle. In seconds Felicity and Dirk were peering fearfully down at him.

  “Let’s get some food,” Pil said lightly. “We ought to get moving.”

  They ate quickly and got ready for the day. The wood was quiet and still, peaceful and bright. It was quite disconcerting.

  Pil wished for more noise, rustling, birds, anything. Noise would make it far easier to go unseen. Even the wind was soundless and gentle.

  “Practicing to be a Legacy, eh?” Dirk asked as Sandy went around collecting his arrows.

  Sandy laughed. “Just practicing. I don’t think you can be a Legacy and an Exidite.”

  “What do you guy’s think is going on back home?” Dirk asked, looking up at the bits of purple sky visible between branches. “I mean, you think they told our folks we went missing?”

  There was a sad silence for a minute before Pil broke in. “I think everything’s going on as normal back home. I bet the Exidite are working on a plan and haven’t said anything just yet.”

  Dirk chuckled humorlessly. “Bet your right about that. Bet Dad’s already holed up in Foibles, drinkin’ his life away.”

  “Thought your dad wasn’t allowed back at Foibles?” asked Pil.

  “Yeah, he wasn’t for a bit,” said Dirk as he gathered a pack of supplies. “Knows one of the new bartenders, though. Suppose he sneaks him in the back or sells it to him.”

  “Well, damn,” said Felicity as she dropped down from the tree, four hammocks hanging from her arm. “I hoped he’d be out of drink for a while.”

  Dirk laughed grimly. “Not likely, not him — he’d kill for a leaflet of anything.”

  “Bet Peach and Pa’ are real worried I haven’t sent word — I said I would…”

  “Pil, they’ll be all right, really,” said Felicity. "They're strong, especially Peach. She’ll take care of your dad.”

  Pil nodded but said nothing as he rolled his hammock and packed it away with the rest of his supplies. Would they be all right without him? Lower town could be rough — and he had started to think he was the only thing keeping them safe.

  That was another reason he had wanted to become an Exidite. Although, right now, he wasn’t sure if he was even fit to be one.

  “Are we off already?” asked Sandy as he came back to see them all packed up.

  “No point waiting around,” said Pil as he hefted up a sack of supplies. “Fel — where do we go exactly?”

  Felicity pointed to a spot to his left. “Over there.” She picked up a bag and headed off towards the spot. Pil followed with Dirk and Sandy trailing behind.

  It was a quiet but harsh hike through Lungala, and it seemed like only a short time before they were sweating heavily and panting from effort.

  The sun was relentless; it pursued them at every break in the trees and made the air around them hot. Having lived in the cold ground all their lives, the Elfins were unaccustomed to heat. Dirk, in particular, seemed to be having a hard time.

  “Pil?” asked Dirk suddenly, in between breaths.

  Pil looked at him. Dirk’s face was drenched in sweat, his short black hair glistened with wetness in the s
unlight. “You want to take a break?”

  “’M all right,” said Dirk, hefting his bag higher. “I was just thinking — about — about the Wretch…”

  Pil turned away. “What about him?”

  “Nothing — it’s just…” He paused awkwardly as though he were trying to find the words. “How do we know we aren’t still — I mean, the things I saw were so real. How do we know we aren’t still in the cave?” “You think this is an illusion?”

  “It’s possible — isn’t it?”

  “I suppose so,” said Pil quietly. “I dunno. It would be a weird illusion, don’t you think?”

  “Pil’s right, Dirk,” said Felicity, chiming in suddenly. “The Wretch only wanted to hurt us. This reality isn’t so bad, so far.”

  “No — I know this is real, it’s just — it got me thinking, what’s real and what’s not, and how we can know the difference. I mean — when we were in there — it was so hard to be sure.”

  Pil was quiet for a time, thinking this over. He knew that this was real — and he supposed Dirk did too, but how could they be sure? What made reality different from the reality in your mind?

  “I don’t think we can be,” said Pil slowly. “I mean, how can we ever be sure we are real? It’s a hard question — maybe an impossible one.”

  “So what do we do?”

  “There’s nothing we can do,” said Pil, chuckling. “I suppose, no matter what our reality is at the time, we just have to convince ourselves there will be a time when things are stable. Stability is reality, whether it’s real or not.”

  “I’m not following,” said Sandy, confused. “What do you mean real — I can hear you, touch you — that’s real, isn’t it?”

  Felicity laughed; it was the tinkling of a bell in an empty space. “You weren’t there, Sandy — well, you were, but you weren’t conscious. The Wretch — what he did — it’s enough to make anyone question his sanity.”

  Pil nodded. “It was like he pulled us into the darkness, and there was a whole other world in there — a world where he was a god.”