Spirit Animals: The Evertree Part 10

Meilin and Rollan both jerked their heads toward Conor in surprise.

"What?" Meilin said.

"You want him to come with us?" Rollan added.

"Yes," Conor repeated, his voice firm. "This is his mess in the first place. He needs to help us fix what he started."

Meilin kept her voice as reasonable as she could. "Shane is a traitor," she said. Her eyes went to Abeke, who had crossed her arms and was regarding Shane with a wary look. "Abeke, maybe you should make the call."

Abeke was quiet for a moment. Then she lifted her head higher. "I agree with Conor. Shane should come with us. Who knows what will happen if we leave him here? He might escape again. If he comes with us, at least we can keep an eye on him." She turned to Shane. Her voice became scathing. "If you're remotely genuine about anything you said to me earlier, then you'll help us track down Kovo and stop him."

Something about the thought of striking back at Kovo seemed to light a spark in Shane's eyes again. It was a small spark, a fraction of what had once burned there, but it was a light all the same. His eyes narrowed.

"I'll kill Kovo myself," he said.

Tellun stepped between them, quieting everyone. He turned his head toward Shane and held his gaze. Shane trembled as he looked into Tellun's unwavering eyes.

"Shane will come with us," Tellun finally said. "We need all the help we can muster."

Conor looked at Meilin and Rollan. "We'll be careful," he rea.s.sured them. "We'll keep him tied tightly up." He narrowed his eyes. "Don't worry. I haven't forgotten what he's done either."

Rollan sighed, but when Essix bowed her head in deference to Tellun, he threw his hands up and shrugged. "Fine. He comes with us."

Meilin looked at Abeke, who tightened her jaw and walked toward Shane. Anger bubbled in Meilin's stomach, and she told herself silently that she would still make him pay for what he'd done to her and the others.

Abeke stopped right in front of Shane. "So," she said. "You want to be worthy? Well, now's your chance."

THE SIDE OF MUTTERING ROCK THAT THEY HAD CLIMBED up was sheer and steep, but the opposite side sloped like a mountain, revealing a large expanse of land that ended with the white foam of the seash.o.r.e. As they made their way down, Conor shot an apologetic smile at Meilin and Abeke, who still didn't look thrilled with their new companion. Shane stumbled along behind Tellun, tied to the elk with a thick length of rope. His hands were bound tightly behind him, done by Abeke and Meilin. He walked in silence, with his head down.

"Where is the Evertree?" Conor asked Tellun as he traveled beside the mighty elk.

"The Evertree grows in the place where all life began," Tellun explained. "It marks the piece of land that first emerged from the oceans."

Where all life began. Nearby, Abeke turned in interest. "Yes! We have many tales about the first land," she piped up. "Chinwe used to say that Nilo was the firstborn, birthed from the fires in the world's belly."

Tellun gave her a wise nod. "You are right, Abeke. Nilo is the First Lands, the origin of all life." Conor saw Abeke puff up a little with pride.

"But we're in Stetriol right now," Meilin said. Rollan lifted an eyebrow at her obvious statement, but she just nudged him in the ribs.

"Yeah," Conor added. "Our s.h.i.+p, the Tellun's Pride, sank as we tried to dock in one of Stetriol's bays. How are we going to get to Nilo?"

"We will walk there," Tellun replied.

Rollan let out a grunt of disbelief. "I'm sorry," he said. "For a moment, I thought you said we were going to walk from Stetriol the island continent to Nilo."

"How is that possible?" Conor asked.

Tellun's antlers gleamed. "In the earliest days, when the world was very new, the oceans sat lower and left more of our lands uncovered. Conor, did your s.h.i.+p encounter the jagged rocks lining Stetriol's bay?"

Conor nodded.

"Those jagged teeth first existed when the oceans were low and Stetriol was young. They were called the Jaws of the Underland. The ocean swallowed them up after several millennia, but now they have returned. All of the things you have seen happening around the world earthquakes, storms, blizzards are turning the world back to how it looked in those early days."

Suddenly Conor understood what Tellun was saying. "In the old days, there was a way to walk from Stetriol to Nilo, wasn't there?"

Tellun paused to nod toward the ocean in the distance. "Yes. Long ago, a narrow land bridge connected northern Stetriol to southern Nilo. Now, this bridge has once again reappeared."

At that, Rollan sighed dramatically. "Oh, good to know. I wish it had reappeared a little faster, so that we could've taken that to Stetriol instead of nearly dying in those Jaws while sailing here."

As they traveled down from Muttering Rock and toward the ocean, Conor started to see what Tellun was talking about. Far along the horizon, waves crashed against a tiny strip of new land it barely peeked out of the water, but even from here, Conor could see its uneven rock pus.h.i.+ng against the sky. It connected to the Stetriol mainland.

"How far away is Nilo from here?" Conor asked. He was a bit too embarra.s.sed to ask if he could actually walk from one continent to another.

But Tellun just blinked at him. It was strange to see a hint of mischief on such a reverent Great Beast's expression. "How would you all like a lift?" he said.

By a lift, Tellun meant a ride on his back. And by a ride on his back, Tellun meant that each step he took made the ground below them rush by, as if they were all carried forward by some magical force.

All of them Conor, Abeke, Meilin, Rollan, and even Shane could fit comfortably on the Great Elk's back with plenty of room to spare. To Conor, it felt like riding on the back of a mountain like he was close enough to touch the sky. The wind whipped against their faces as Tellun led them off of Stetriol and onto the narrow land bridge that carved a path through the ocean. Conor couldn't help throwing his head back, closing his eyes, and letting the wind comb through his hair.

The land bridge wasn't perfect. Essix, the only one of their spirit animals that stayed out of dormant state, flew ahead, shrieking warnings whenever she saw places where the rocks were still partially covered by the ocean, leaving paths as narrow as Conor was tall. The rocks here were slippery and wet. But Tellun never seemed to slow or stumble. He walked on, serene and mystical, and the earth beneath them flew past. Sometimes, the rocks sat so low in the water that they couldn't see them at all. It appeared as if they were walking on the ocean, with nothing beneath them but their own reflections mirrored back on the surface of s.h.i.+ning gla.s.s.

As Stetriol became a thin strip along the horizon behind them, Conor's heart began to beat more rapidly. Something about the earth here pulsed with new life, like the heart of a giant creature. Conor found himself constantly searching for the first signs of Nilo.

The clouds cleared as the hours dragged into the afternoon. They traveled so quickly on Tellun's back that by the time the sun started to set, bathing the ocean in golden light, Conor saw the telltale silhouette of land rising along the horizon. He pointed at it.

"Look!" he exclaimed. "Nilo."

All of them except Shane let out a whoop. When Conor looked over his shoulder, he saw Abeke take a deep breath. "Home," she murmured under her breath.

The clouds had started to gather again, turning darker with each pa.s.sing second as the sun dipped into the water. The wind picked up too, whipping their cloaks out behind them. Conor squinted at the approaching land. He hadn't seen this side of Nilo before or perhaps the changing world had s.h.i.+fted it into something unrecognizable. The land bridge began to slope out of the water, until they were now suspended a good twenty feet above the ocean. Sheer cliffs stretched on either side of Nilo. Conor tried not to think about how high they were.

But, most noticeably, Conor could see an enormous, craterlike formation looming ahead, not far from where the land bridge connected with the mainland.

"We are drawing near," Tellun said, his low voice sending a rumble through everyone.

Fat drops of rain started to fall right as they reached Nilo. Tellun began traveling up narrow paths that winded along the crater's edge. The air was colder here, and Conor had to wrap his green cloak more tightly around his shoulders. The trees began to dwindle until they disappeared altogether, leaving nothing but low shrubs, yellow gra.s.ses, and bare rock along the path. As they climbed higher, Conor could see the land bridge winding back toward Stetriol like a slender snake through the ocean.

The sky behind them looked gray and threatening. Conor hadn't been able to make it all out from the ground, but from this higher vantage point, he could see that the clouds streaked in ominous lines from Stetriol all the way to where they were in Nilo, gathering in swirling circles over their heads. He s.h.i.+vered.

As they crested the top of the crater, Conor realized that it was the remnants of what must have been the most ma.s.sive volcano that ever existed. His jaw dropped at the sight. Once upon a time, this volcano would have been a formidable sight, raining lava and ash on its surroundings before collapsing in on itself in a spectacular display. Now, high from his new vantage point on top of the volcano's edge, Conor looked down on the inside of the ancient, collapsed crater and saw a huge expanse of lush green land.

Tellun spoke in the silence. "You are now on sacred ground," he said. "This is the birthplace of all life. Only the Great Beasts can find this place."

The clouds overhead had turned even darker, and lightning streaked at the edges of the crater. Conor's eyes s.h.i.+fted to a single tree standing tall in the center of the crater. He knew immediately what he was looking at. His eyes widened.

"The Evertree." His voice came out a hoa.r.s.e whisper.

It was taller than any tree Conor had ever seen in his life. It s.h.i.+mmered under the dark sky, glowing as if from within, a rainbow of silver and gold. Its branches reached up to the skies in an enormous canopy of s.h.i.+mmering leaves. Its twisting silver trunk was at least a dozen times as wide as Tellun's antlers. Pure white fruit hung from the Evertree's branches. Conor could hardly breathe as he took in the sight.

The origin of all life.

A rumble of what sounded like thunder shook the crater. They all startled at the sound. Meilin glanced back at Conor with raised eyebrows. "What was that?" she said.

"Thunder?" Rollan piped up, distracted. He couldn't take his eyes off the Evertree either.

The rumble sounded again. This time it was louder. There, standing below the Evertree's mighty branches, was a dark shape. A jolt of fear lanced through Conor. "No," he said, shaking his head. "It's Kovo's roar."

The ape lifted the staff high over his head. This time, his roar was unmistakable it pierced the air and brought goose b.u.mps out on Conor's arms. When he looked closer, he noticed Gerathon's serpent body coiled beside Kovo's, and Halawir perched in the branches of the Evertree. Even from this distance, they looked enormous and forbidding, more so than during their last confrontation on Muttering Rock.

But as large as they loomed, the Evertree dwarfed them all. Somehow, this gave Conor the bit of strength that he needed.

Tellun lowered his neck so that they could all slide off. Shane, still tied up, landed on the ground with an undignified roll. He grunted. Conor picked himself up and called for Briggan. With a flash of light, the wolf appeared at his side.

"What should we do?" Conor asked Tellun.

The elk kept his eyes fixed on the Evertree. "We answer Kovo's call," he replied. One of his hooves stepped forward, kicking up dust.

"We ... answer his call?" Conor asked. He looked around at the others. None of them seemed to feel the pull of Kovo's summon.

Tellun fixed him with a steady gaze. "Come." Then he began to head down.

Meilin and Abeke called their spirit animals out too, and Essix soared over Rollan. As Tellun made his way down into the crater, the others followed, spreading out until they were all several dozen feet away from one another. Conor looked at Briggan as they walked. The wolf's blue eyes stayed locked on the Evertree and the figures of Kovo and Gerathon underneath it. His muscles were tense, and the hackles on his back were up. Conor's gaze s.h.i.+fted back to Tellun. They were answering Kovo's call ... they were approaching him, right out in the open. What did Tellun have in mind?

Kovo turned to face them as they drew closer. He paused in his roar for a moment, then puffed his chest out arrogantly. Conor thought he could see a sneer spreading across the ape's face. Kovo lifted the Staff of Cycles higher, then pounded his chest with one mighty fist. He slammed the staff into the earth.

The entire land trembled at the blow. Conor stumbled, barely keeping himself from falling. The sound seemed to reverberate all across Erdas, deep into the world's core.

At first, nothing happened. Then the ground trembled again. Conor looked to the crater's horizon. What had Kovo done?

The tremors came one after another, deep and slow. Footsteps.

And as Conor looked on, dark silhouettes appeared all along the far edges of the crater, each s.p.a.ced apart from the other, all facing in toward the Evertree and Kovo. The tremors came in rhythmic, thundering steps, like the beating of war drums. Conor began to recognize the approaching silhouettes.

Rumfuss. Suka. Dinesh. Conor exchanged a startled glance with the others as they recognized the towering shapes of the great boar, polar bear, and elephant. Arax too, and Cabaro, and Mulop, the octopus's huge tentacles sliding a wide path across the ground. A Great Swan flew beside them, her white wings expanded in a bright canopy of feathers, and Conor caught his breath at his very first sight of Ninani herself.

The Great Beasts had all arrived.

"Keep going," Tellun said in a low voice. Conor pressed his hand tightly into Briggan's neck fur, took a deep breath, and focused on the Evertree as they moved forward in step with the other Great Beasts.

As the Evertree came into better view, Conor noticed that one side of the tree had a large, dark blemish on its otherwise pristine silver trunk. The blemish was twice as big as he was, a region of black, rotting wood that seemed to be slowly eating away at everything surrounding it. An indescribable sadness sank into Conor's chest at the sight. So, this was the consequence of Kovo trying to control the tree with a partial staff. Even though it had happened long ago, the wound still looked fresh and festering.

Closer and closer came the Four Fallen and the other Great Beasts. Now their footsteps were so strong that Conor could barely keep his balance with each thundering reverberation. He had never seen all of the beasts together in one setting dusk extended their shadows into long, endless streaks across the land, and the approaching darkness cut their enormous figures into shades of stark black and white, making them look even bigger than they were.

Keep moving, Conor reminded himself. Briggan, Uraza, and Jhi strode steadily onward, their focus unbroken. Maybe Tellun was wrong. What if they were feeling Kovo's summon too?

Finally each Great Beast stopped a short distance away from the Evertree, forming a ring around where Kovo, Gerathon, and Halawir had gathered beneath its canopy. Tellun halted too. Conor stood between him and Briggan, his hand still buried in the wolf's fur. His breath came in shallow gasps. Without the tremor of footsteps, the plains fell eerily quiet, the silence punctured only by the crackle of lightning and rumbles of thunder overhead. An icy wind whipped around them. None of the Great Beasts uttered a word. They stood frozen, the ominous totems of an endgame.

Kovo moved first. He pivoted where he stood, staring at each of his brethren in turn. His stare stopped on Tellun. Under the dark sky, the ape's eyes flashed scarlet. His gaze s.h.i.+fted hungrily to the talisman that hung from Conor's neck. The final piece of the puzzle.

"The era of our power is coming to an end," Kovo finally shouted. The wind carried his words across the plain. "The world is in upheaval. You have all seen it. I have seen it. Once, long ago, we stood against each other and let mankind destroy what should have been ours by right the control of this world. We allowed four of our own to perish." Briggan tensed beside Conor, and nearby, Uraza uttered a low growl. Conor's jaw tightened too. Kovo and Gerathon had been the ones responsible for the Four Fallen's deaths, after all. "Now, the end of this old era has come to pa.s.s. That is why I have summoned us all here today for a Grand Council."

He paused to hoist the Staff of Cycles again. He looked up at the Evertree's gleaming branches. "But know this!" he said, pointing the staff at each of the beasts. "With the end of this era, we can begin another. A better era. An era where we are truly great again. Everything I have done everything has been with the goal of bringing us all to our former glory. When I rule Erdas, I will ensure that all will bow to us. Our power will be unsurpa.s.sed. We should not war against each other. We should unite. Join me in this. We will be true Great Beasts!"

Conor listened in silence. His eyes wandered to the others. None of the Great Beasts made a move or a sound. No, Conor thought desperately. They're listening to Kovo.

Kovo turned back to Tellun. He brought himself up to his full height, then nodded once at the elk. "Stand with me, Tellun!" the ape roared. "You once imprisoned me, but I am now free. Don't you see how much power is here for us to take?" He stretched out one huge palm. His eyes narrowed at Tellun's talisman. "Give me the Platinum Elk," he commanded. "You know what a complete Staff of Cycles can mean for us. You know you must do this, for all of Erdas. For the Great Beasts."

For a long moment, Kovo and Tellun just stared at one another. Conor's heart began to pound. What are you waiting for? he thought fiercely at the Great Elk, wis.h.i.+ng he could hear him.

Then, to Conor's shock, Tellun lowered his head. "What " Conor stammered, not knowing what to say next. Tellun didn't reply. Instead, he let his antlers touch Conor's chest, right where the Platinum Elk talisman now hung.

Kovo's eyes widened, and a slow smile started to spread across his face. Tellun was going to take back the talisman and give it to him!

"No!" Conor shouted. He couldn't let this happen. The Platinum Elk was the only thing left that Kovo didn't have. With this, all would be lost. Conor's eyes shot to Tellun's, and he put his hand on Tellun's lowered muzzle. "Please " Conor begged. Meilin, Rollan, and Abeke looked on in horror. "Don't do it. I don't know what Kovo has done to persuade you, but you have to fight it. You "

Tellun only met Conor's desperate gaze with his quiet one. Conor felt as if he could see straight into the Great Beast's soul. Tellun still didn't speak. The rest of Conor's plea withered away on his tongue.

Tellun lowered his head again. He made no move to take the talisman away from Conor.

Kovo's smile wavered.

"Everything lies with you now," Tellun said to Conor in a low, rumbling voice. He nodded once. "Protect it."

Conor couldn't think. He couldn't react. All he could do was clutch the Platinum Elk close and look on as Tellun turned toward Kovo. Kovo's fading smile twisted into the picture of rage. Tellun lowered his antlers again.

As Kovo opened his mouth to utter a furious roar, the Great Elk charged at the Evertree.

Blinding light exploded from the tree as Tellun struck it. An enormous force threw Conor clear off his feet. He flew backward, landing heavily in the gra.s.s. The brilliant light was everywhere he couldn't see anything. The ground beneath him trembled violently. An earthquake.

Then the light vanished. Spots swam before Conor's eyes. He pushed himself up, blinking, and immediately reached out for Briggan. His hand made contact with familiar fur. As his vision cleared, Conor saw that Tellun had disappeared. All that remained was a new dark mark on the Evertree's trunk where Tellun had struck it. Conor's mouth hung open. A feeling of indescribable pain pierced him.

Tellun had never intended to give Kovo the Platinum Elk. Instead of letting Kovo have what he wanted, Tellun sacrificed himself.

Tellun had died.

Before Conor could react, he saw Rumfuss the Boar stamp the ground with his hooves. Huge clouds of dust whipped into the air. He, too, looked toward Conor and the other Four Fallen, exchanging a quiet, knowing look with them. Then he snorted loudly at Kovo.

"For ... Erdas!" he roared. He charged at the Evertree.

"No!" Kovo managed to call, but it was too late Rumfuss. .h.i.t the tree with a force like thunder, shaking the entire crater with the impact, and vanished in a flash of light. Another dark wound appeared on the Evertree. A shower of golden leaves fell as the tree shuddered.

Dinesh, too, stepped forward and charged at the Evertree, letting out one last, enormous trumpet of his trunk before sacrificing himself. Then Cabaro the Lion let out a bone-shaking roar and charged at the Evertree too. His impact knocked Conor to his knees. When Meilin hurried over to help him up, he saw that Cabaro was gone and the Evertree had a new wound. Even Cabaro, the vain and cowardly! He felt a swell of sadness and kins.h.i.+p.

Kovo pounded his chest in rage and snarled at the other Great Beasts. "Such fools!" he shouted. "All of you! I could have handed true power back to all of us I could have made sure we ruled together! Do you not know that our era is waning?" He roared as Suka the Polar Bear stepped forward. "Stop!" His voice had a note of anguish in it that surprised Conor.

Meilin met Conor's eyes with a wild, startled expression. "The Great Beasts are sacrificing themselves!" she shouted. "So that Kovo cannot control them! We have to help!" Beside her, Jhi pawed the ground and uttered a long, low, pandalike cry. It was the first time Conor had ever seen her in a battle pose.

This snapped Conor out of his shock. "Right!" he replied. He touched Meilin's arm and looked at Rollan and Abeke. "Briggan and I will aim for Kovo," he said. "Get Halawir and Gerathon! This is our last chance!"