The Last Summoning---Andrew and the Quest of Orion's Belt (Book Four) (20 page)

“Here, let me see it,” Ivory said, taking the
jar from Andrew. She smiled and gazed at the swirling sounds,
tapping at it, like it was a mouse in a jar. “Let’s open it. I want
to see what happens.”

Andrew reached to take the jar back. “No. I
don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“What?” Ivory retorted, yanking the jar back.
The bottle slipped from Andrew’s hands, and fell onto the edge of a
jagged rock, CRACK! The glass broke into a million pieces, in a
burst of sound. The sounds were faint at first, but grew louder as
the liquid oozed over the sand.

Shocked and surprised, Andrew fell to his
knees and picked through broken glass.

“I’m sorry, Andrew,” Ivory said, placing a
gentle hand on his. “I didn’t mean to.”

Andrew cringed, and closed his eyes. “OW, my
ears are ringing.” He put his hands over his ears, trying to shut
out the sound.

“Mine too,” Ivory cried.

The ringing sound cut through the air,
growing louder and louder, laced with the sound of horses
whinnying. The sounds echoed around them in sparkling, pulsing
rivulets of air. The sounds grew louder and louder until they
formed solid shapes in the air, like ghosts prancing in front of
them. The pulsing air swirled with color, like brown ink, eager,
and friendly. Then in a wave of sound, a blast exploded through the
air, blowing them over.

WHOOSH!

Andrew and Ivory slowly sat up, watching in
amazement. In the wake of the soundwave, the swirls of color and
sound solidified into two horses, Starfire and Oragino. Andrew’s
horse neighed and snorted loudly, jerking forward onto the beach,
pulling a small cart in which a few bricks still were scattered.
Starfire’s eyes were red. He reared up, crying out loudly, startled
by Ivory and Andrew.

“Calm yourselves!” Andrew cried. “Oragino!
Starfire! It’s us. You’re safe.”

Both horses instantly silenced. They stood
still, swishing their tails back and forth, shifting nervously from
foot to foot. Then realizing that it really was Andrew and Ivory,
they crowded in around them, nuzzling them affectionately.

“Oh!” Andrew cried. “It’s good to see you.
You don’t know how much I’ve missed both of you.”

“And us you,” Oragino answered. “It has been
a long time. As you can see, my occupation has changed since we
last met. From one of bearer of elves, to carting bricks. Believe
me, I would rather have you on my back any day of the week, than be
carting loads of backbreaking bricks all day long.”

“How long were you in that bottle?” Ivory
asked.

“Too long,” Oragino replied, nuzzling Andrew
with his nose. “I’m just glad to be back.”

“I’m glad you’re back too,” Andrew agreed,
stroking Oragino’s mane affectionately. “Let’s go wake Freddie. I’m
sure he’ll be glad see both of you.”

The Last Flicker

The sun was rising over the beach, tucked
comfortably amid the company of puffy pink clouds. The gentle
lapping of the water pushed gently onto shore. The angry ocean of
the night before had become humble and submissive. It was almost as
if it was making penance for the wrongs it had done. The earth was
cold and full of rising fog. All was moist, dewy, and heavy with
moisture.

Andrew walked along the shore with Ivory,
while Talic, Freddie and Croffin rode on Starfire. He and Ivory did
not want to add to the weight Oragino carried. Andrew’s horse
walked beside him pulling the cart filled with the heavy chest of
words.

Shawee, Shawee, Shawee. The wagon wheels
groaned in complaining creaks against the sand. From the sound of
the complaining cart, Andrew wondered how long it would hold up
under the weight of the chest of unsaid words. As in answer to
Andrew’s question, Oragino jerked to a halt, struggling to pull the
heavy cart over a rock that protruded from the sand.

“You can do it,” Andrew urged his horse. “I
know you can.”

The horse grunted and heaved pulling the
heavy cart up and over the rock.

“Good!” Andrew exclaimed, patting his horse.
“You did it.”

“Phew,” the horse panted. “This is hard
work.”

“Stop whenever you need to,” Andrew said.

“I’ve just started. The sun’s just rising.
I’ve got plenty of fire in me yet.”

Andrew smiled, looking at his horse with
grateful eyes. “Okay. I know how heavy that chest is, so when you
are tired, stop. And I’ll understand. More than you’ll know.”

“I’m a horse,” Oragino shot back. “This is
what I do. Just try to keep up with me okay?”

Andrew laughed, then grew somber, thinking.
The air was much cooler than it had been for many days. The Drought
was indeed a thing of a past, but its effects would last long. In
the weeks it had been allowed to roam free, all the earth had bowed
to its power.

Andrew wondered how many had given up their
weapons in exchanged for sustenance. He wondered how many people
were now in complete bondage to The Fallen, and how he could
reverse what was now coming. How could he summon the people when
they had no weapons? How could he even consider going through with
all that he had been commissioned to do? The thought of it made him
feel sick.

“Where are we going now?” Talic asked, in a
shrill voice that sounded more like Gogindy’s. He was riding double
on Freddie’s horse, with Croffin, chewing what looked to be a large
grasshopper. His long whiskers stuck out from his cheeks, bobbing
up and down.

“Don’t talk while you’re chewing,” Freddie
complained, jabbing his friend in the back. “Especially when you’re
chewing so close to my ear.”

Talic glowered at his friend. “You’re just
jealous that you aren’t enjoying yourself eating such delicacies as
I am.”

“No, I’m not jealous. Grasshoppers aren’t
delicacies, they’re disgusting. I wonder where your brain has gone.
Please, if you find another bug, be a good fellow and stomp
on---don’t eat it.”

“Yes,” Croffin agreed. “It’s most
disturbing.”

Talic picked a long grasshopper leg from
between his teeth and studied it. “And why would I stomp on it? How
could I do something like that when they taste so good? It would be
like stomping on a chocolate. Freddie, you really must try one.
They are ever so tasty.” He dangled the grasshopper leg in front of
Freddie’s face.

“Get that out of my face!” Freddie snapped.
“Or I’ll throw you off this horse and leave you there!”

Talic folded his arms, and stuffed the
grasshopper leg into his mouth and chewed, crunching loudly. “Gosh,
I was just trying to share. Next time I’ll just keep all the
goodies to myself.”

Freddie’s face filled with irritation. “Good,
you do that.”

“I will!”

Andrew quickly looked away from Talic,
feeling his stomach lurch, as Talic caught a large black beetle
that was flying through the air, and popped it into his mouth. He
could hear his teeth crunch into its hard shell. Crunch,
crunch.

“Oh Talic,” Andrew said. “You really need to
see a doctor or something.”

“Me, see a doctor?” Talic grinned from ear to
ear, which was saying a lot because his ears were quite large now.
“I’m perfectly fine. I feel better than I ever have in my entire
life. I feel carefree, and happy. Almost kiddy. You should try it
sometime. It would do you good. Here, would you like a beetle? I
can’t believe I never realized how yummy they are.”

“Oh, no,” Andrew grimaced. “I’ll pass.”

“Ah, you don’t know what you’re missing. I
feel so free, soo…”

“Too carefree,” Ivory said. “You’re eating
bugs, Talic, doesn’t that disturb you?”

Talic shook his head. “No. In fact, I like
the way I am. Whoever I was before doesn’t matter. I’m happy with
who I am.”

“Have you looked in the mirror lately?”
Andrew asked. “You don’t look like you. I’m afraid of what you will
do to Gogindy when you come out of this, and realize that you’ve
been acting like a fool, and eating stinkbugs.”

Talic stared up at the cloudy sky, not caring
that the clouds were beginning to be dreary, like it was about to
storm again. To look at his face, you would think it was the best
day of his life, full of sunshine and roses. “I don’t care what I
look like. And no, I won’t do anything to Gogindy. When I see him
next, I’ll give him a great big hug and thank him for letting me
experience a little of what life must be like through his
eyes.”

“I’ll remember you said that,” Freddie said.
“Because I doubt the real you would say that.”

“You don’t get it. I am the REAL me!”

“Oh dear,” Freddie moaned. “This is going to
be a long ride.”

“Ah, I love long rides,” Talic sighed. “They
bounce me, and joggle my whiskers. Makes me feel like a flower in
springtime. I feel so giddy I feel a song coming on. A very good
song. And I shall sing it for you all.” He cleared his voice and
began singing. “Lovely grasses, lovely greens, I love the beautiful
springs. Raining weather, wet and soggy, makes my soul feel bright
and bonny. I love the bugs, I love beetles, love them like I love
eating lumpy leeches…”

“Stop!” Croffin cut him off. “That’s quite a
song you’ve got there Talic.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, a real dandy. You should write it
down. I do believe Ivory has a pen and paper. Here, you write it
down so you can sing it later.”

Talic’s face lit up. “Oh Croffin, you’re
brilliant. Thank you. What a good idea! Paper, I need some paper,
and something to write with. Hurry! Quick, before I forget it.”

“Here,” Ivory handed Talic a pencil, and some
paper.

Soon, Talic was scribbling away, muttering
off-key syllables, but quiet, just the same.

“I’ve got to hand it to you, Croffin,” Andrew
said, casting Croffin a wide grin. “You are brilliant.”

Croffin nodded, and straightened his eye
patch. “Why thank you. You really think so?”

Freddie glared at Croffin. “Don’t let it go
to your head. I can see it swelling. Any more compliments, and it
might explode completely.”

“Humph,” Croffin growled. “You’re just
jealous you didn’t think of it in the first place. Perhaps you’d
rather him still be eating bugs slobbering all over you?”

“Oh, be quiet.”

“You be quiet.”

“I will not. Besides, I want to know where
are we going?”

“We are following the shore,” Andrew
answered. Drust’s map hinted at a seaside village not far from
here, where there is a city called Flicker.”

“Flicker?” Croffin asked. “What sort of name
is that?”

“I don’t know. But we shall soon see.”

“How do you spell, insect?” Talic blurted
out, picking at his beetle-leg infested teeth. “Is it with an en or
a an?”

“Neither,” Ivory interjected. “In,
Talic.”

“Oh, yes, in, as in…”

“Interrupt,” Croffin snapped. “Because that’s
all you’ve been doing ever since we’ve found you.”

“Uh?” Talic wondered looking up from his
paper. “What rhymes with edible?”

“Stupid!” Croffin shot back. “If you say it
just right, it sounds perfect.”

“Hmmm…” Talic looked up at the sky, deep in
thought. “I don’t think it really rhymes. Honestly, I had thought
you were better at poetry.”

Croffin’s eyes lit up with wrath. “Poetry?
You want poetry. Fine! I’ll give you some poetry that’ll knock your
socks off!” He quickly peered down into his little book of weeds,
searching for the right words it was sure to give him. Before he
could say the wonderful string of words he found in his book,
Andrew stopped him. “That’s enough, Croffin. Talic is far above
your clever insults. If you think you can perturb him, you’re
wasting your time.”

Croffin folded his arms. “Yes. I guess you’re
right. He’s beyond anyone’s help now.”

Andrew chuckled to himself, and stared into
Talic’s big, innocent eyes. “Talic will find his way back. For now
he can’t help the way he is.”

“True,” Croffin agreed. “Besides, I kind of
like him better this way. I can feed him all my fleas, and never
have to feel guilty about it.”

Andrew looked back at Croffin, sitting
sheepishly behind Freddie on his horse. “Really, Croffin? You have
fleas? Gosh, Freddie, looks like you’re in good company.”

Freddie turned his head, and cast Croffin a
hard stare. “What? You have fleas?”

Croffin stopped in mid-scratch. “I never said
I had fleas. I just said, IF. IF. That’s very different.”

“Hey,” Freddie interjected. “I didn’t hear
any if? Did you, Andrew?”

Andrew shook his head, and laughed.
“Nope.”

“You all have wax in your ears!” Croffin
spat.

“We may have wax in our ears,” Freddie said.
“But you have it in your brain.”

“What?” Croffin cried, sitting up in the
saddle. “Did you hear that, Andrew?”

“Yes,” Andrew grinned, walking alongside the
horse. “I heard.”

“Does it not prove my point?”

“No. Because if I heard you, we are not as
deaf as you think.”

Croffin let out a loud sigh. “Oh, this is a
pointless conversation. I don’t even know how we got on this
subject.”

“You’re the expert,” Freddie said. “I’m sure
you can figure it out.”

“Ah!” Croffin howled. “I give up. I’m
traveling with a bunch of nincompoops. Help. I want off.”

“Good,” Ivory agreed. “Because, I’m tired. My
feet are starting to hurt, and I'd like to ride now. And I'll bet
Andrew would too.”

“Already?” Croffin moaned.

“Yes,” Ivory said. “Already.”

“Oh, alright.”

They quickly changed places, taking turns
when those on foot got tired. On they went, at a moderate speed,
while Oragino pulled the cart holding the chest of unsaid
words.

Sweak, eek, eek eek, the wheels of the wagon
throbbed on relentlessly as they journeyed along the beach, only
stopping for short breaks. Just as the sun set, they gradually
moved off shore a short distance into a grove of trees, down a
grassy slope, and onto a road where they stopped just outside the
village of Flicker.