Root (53 page)

“
That’s not saying much, coming from
you.”

“
No, but … I was just hoping for a
smaller tunnel … a quieter patch of roots.”

“
Do you suppose there are monsters
here?” said Isobel.

Karla sighed. “Probably. Aren’t there
always?”

I put my arm around Karla and she snuggled up
against me. There was a bit of a nip in the air. It felt like that
big sky was going to swallow us up. Isobel came over and took
Karla’s hand.

“
La? How come I can’t feel my
fingers?”

“
What? Oh Izzie! You’re
fading!”

“
You too!”

Panic shot through me. There was a gap where
Karla’s shoulder had been, and holes in her face, where the star
light shone through.

“
Crap! We just got here.”

Even in the dimness I could see the calm
confidence in Karla’s eyes. “No worries, my love. We’ll be
back.”

She leaned in to kiss me, but was gone before
her lips engaged, brushing my cheek with a touch so light it could
have been the eyelash of a butterfly, if butterflies only had
eyelashes.

I staggered into the space she had just
occupied. Only Bern’s quick and firm hand kept me from tumbling
over the rim of the overhang.

I dropped to my knees, anchorless and adrift
in the universe like a boat ripped from its moorings.

***

Claire was in mid-sentence, telling us about
the evil things drunken men do in Baton Rouge when she too, blinked
out. Jeff faded soon thereafter, without as much as a
peep.

“
Terrible, isn’t it?” said Lille.
“How this nasty place operates. Just when things are getting good,
it boots you out.”

“
But you guys never seem to leave,”
I said. “What’s your secret?”

“
Pessimism,” said Bern. “Toxic and
absolute.”

“
Not to mention, a hefty helping of
mechanical life support on the other side,” said Lille. “One of
these days, nature will prevail and this will all be over. But
we’ve had a good run, Bern and I. No regrets.”

“
Oh, I’m not so sure about that,”
said Bern. “I see no reason why we couldn’t figure out a way to
extend our stay indefinitely. I mean, there must be a way. Perhaps
… Victoria’s crowd That Frelsi place, wherever it may
be.”

“
But I thought you were supposed to
be a pessimist?” I said, smirking.

“
Oh no, not here. I meant on the
other side. Here is where all my hope resides.”

“
So what do we do now?” I
said.

“
Well you know,” said Bern,
squinting off into the distance. “That light certainly intrigues
me. I wonder what’s that’s all about.”

“
Well, before we go, let me fetch us
some water, in case we need a spot of tea,” said Lille, veering
over to the little stream that drained into the pit.

“
We shouldn’t go too far,” I said.
“The others … how will they find us?”

“
Far enough to learn what’s what,”
said Bern. “See what that glow is all about. Who knows when they’ll
be back … or even if.”

That last quip caused my stomach to clench. Of
course, Karla would be back. But would I? The uncertainty of it all
sent my head spinning.

Lille returned, water sloshing in a basket she
had converted into a bucket.

“
I could swear there’s something in
the bottom of that riffle that is a perfect substitute for mud. And
there are plants, too. I thought they might be cress but they’re
too bitter. Who made this place, I wonder?”

“
Someone more skillful than Luther,
I should think,” said Bern.

“
Or Victoria,” said
Lille.

“
Alright then?” said Bern. “Shall
we?”

***

We walked toward the light on the horizon,
which seemed to increase in intensity over time. I kept looking
back the way we had come, making sure I knew how to return to the
sinkhole. As much as I dreaded it, I feared I might have to climb
back down into those tunnels some day to find Karla.

The land was barren, like a desert, sparsely
clothed in tufts of grass and bushes that gave off a strong
turpentine-like smell when we brushed against them.

The air grew chillier. I ripped a branch off a
shrub and tried to fashion a warmer shirt from it, but not much
happened when I applied my will. I ended up with a fistful of
coarse twine and twigs. There was something up here inhibitory to
Weaving, or maybe it was just me and this was the first sign of a
backslide.

This diminishing of my skill left me feeling
vulnerable. I still had that sword, but now it was just a blade,
not an instrument for super-powered Weaving. A Reaper would have
its way with us up here.

But something about the whistle of the wind
and the rustle of the brush told me that we didn’t have to worry
about Reapers anymore. Not up here.

We came to a hollow that had trees growing in
it, and a spring-fed pond.

“
Willows!” said Lille. “Now this is
the kind of place one puts a cabin. Never mind that horrid cave. I
bet there’s fish in that pond. And with willows we have lumber,
firewood. Coppice them and we have rods for furniture and baskets.
And I’m talking about real weaving here—physical—none of this
mental gymnastics.”

“
Now Lille, don’t you be getting all
domestic until we know exactly what we’re dealing with here. This
could be Hades, you know.”

“
Somehow … I doubt that,” said
Lille, wistfully. “I could have sworn I smelled honeysuckle back by
that brook.”

“
Hell flowers. That’s all they
were.”

“
Now stop. You’re just being
crotchety. I think we all need some tea.”

“
Oh please. You and your
tea.”

“
Listen to you. You definitely need
some tea.”

She unpacked her kettle and filled it with
water from the bucket. She did her usual swirl and twirl over the
top but the water refused to boil.

“
Here, let me give you a hand,” I
said and pointed my index finger at the kettle until it trembled.
Steam began to waft from the spout.

That felt gratifying. It was nice to know I
hadn’t lost all my powers.

“
There are some strong spells
binding this landscape,” said Lille. “We’re lucky to have James
here to unbind them.”

“
But why me, of all
people?”

“
What do you mean?” said Lille as
she poured our cups. “Why not you? Do you find yourself
unworthy?”

“
Of course he does,” said Bern.
“This is Root. The land of self-hate and doubt.”

“
Something tells we’re not in Root
anymore, Toto,” said Lille.

“
For me to have these powers … it
doesn’t make sense. I’m just James Moody. I’m a nobody.”

“
Ah, but you’re the son of Darlene,”
said Bern.

“
What’s that supposed to
mean?”

“
These things tend to run in
families. I’m just saying.”

“
My mother … she had powers like
this?”

“
I’m just saying,” said Bern. He
took a sip and made a face. “This tea is weak.”

“
Count your blessings,” said Lille.
“At least it’s hot and tastes somewhat like tea.”

***

We headed off again, though Lille was
reluctant to leave the hollow. She had already placed four stones
on a terrace above the pond to mark the corners of the cabin she
aimed to build.

The silhouetted hills which had been flat and
black as paper cutouts began to bounce and reflect the burgeoning
light and take on definition and dimension, if not yet
color.

“
That glow,” said Bern. “That is no
city like we thought. I do believe that we’re looking a
sunrise.”

“
What a shame,” said Lille. “I was
hoping for some nice little village with a cozy inn and a
bakery.”

“
Personally, I can’t wait to see
what daylight brings us,” said Bern. “Even if it is a
wilderness.”

I walked with a bounce to my gait, feeling a
bit like a girl from Kansas heading down a yellow brick road. I
wanted to stay in the moment and enjoy the adventure, but I
couldn’t stop thinking about Karla and the trouble waiting for me
on that bench back in Inverness Station.

The glow ahead brightened and rose above the
hilltops. A perfect dome grew like a bubble into a golden orb that
perched there, all speckled and splotched with craters and
mountains.

“
Well what do you know? It’s not
morning after all,” said Bern. “Certainly had me
fooled.”

My heart did a flop at the implications of
this place having a moon. But something about it seemed off. Was it
the arrangement of its features? Its size and color? I couldn’t
quite pinpoint exactly what was wrong, but something definitely
seemed different about this moon.

A swarm of buzzing tingles overtook me,
stinging my skin like a limb re-awakening after having fallen
asleep. “Ah fuck … here comes the fade … I’m out of here,
guys.”

Bern sighed. “Ah … too bad. It’s down to me
and the old broad again.”

“
If you don’t like my company
mister, then fine, I’ll go back and start building my new
cabin.”

“
I was just saying, it was nice
having James around.”

“
Au revoir, James,” said Lille. “You
take care now.”

“
Catch you on the rebound,” said
Bern.

But this time I wasn’t sure I’d ever be
back.

Chapter 51:
Showdown

Again, my head was a spinning bag of mush.
Some rhythmic, treacly sound oozed through the air—music, I guess
it was called. It played over the train station’s public address
system. It must have been present before. I just hadn’t noticed it
filling the gaps between train announcements.

And then I could feel the bench pressing hard
against my back, digging deep into my thighs. The old lady who had
been sitting next to me was gone. I was relieved to find myself
alone. The station was empty, not a train or passenger in
sight.

I must have left my brain behind in Root,
because when I glanced up at the clock, I couldn’t remember how to
tell time. It had something to do with the position of those fast
and slow hands, but I might as well have been staring at a pile of
runes.

A man stepped out from behind a support
column. He was smiling, but not in a friendly way. A bulge
protruded from his denim jacket that was obviously the barrel of a
pistol.

His mouth moved and made noises, but it took a
long while before I could process his sounds into meaningful words.
He spoke with a thick brogue, but it was my head that was the
problem. This was the worst post-Root hangover I had yet
experienced. It left me feeling positively
brain-damaged.

And then—suddenly—the music became Van
Morrison, the clock told me it was four in the morning and the man
started making sense.

“
I said, you’ve run a long way,
haven’t you, mate?”

I wasn’t sure I could talk yet, but words
found their way out.

“
What do you care?”

“
I care about the price that’s on
your head, mate. And ain’t it my lucky day? They just upped the
ante. Somebody out there’s real anxious to find you. Got your face
plastered over all of Europe.”

I kept staring at that lump in his
jacket.

“
Are you gonna shoot me?”

“
Not if I can avoid it. You’re worth
more delivered alive than dead. But it’s a decent enough bounty
dead, in case you’re getting any ideas. Now get your arse off that
bench and do exactly what I say.”

I stood slowly up, my body creaking and aching
from all the abuse I had been inflicting on it lately.

“
Where are we going?”

“
Shut your face and walk towards
that exit ramp.”

“
Wait a minute. Why should I? If
they’re just gonna waste me ... I mean … why don’t we just get it
over with here?”

He shoved me hard. “I said get along. We’re
going outside.”

“
I’m serious,” I said. “Why should I
go with you if they’re just going to off me?”

His eyelids flickered. “You don’t know that.
Maybe they just want to talk.”

“
Yeah, right. Sounds like I don’t
really have any reason to go. You might as well shoot me now. Why
don’t you? Are you scared?”

“
Scared of what?” he chortled. “I’m
not scared of no little yank twerp. Now get your arse
moving.”

“
You never killed a man before, have
you?” My eyes scanned the station for some sign of activity, but
there was absolutely no one here, not even a bum.

“
I’ve cracked plenty of heads in my
day. And I’d be happy to oblige and blow out your brains if you
don’t get along! Even dead, you’re worth a decent wad of
quid.”