Chapter 7

  The Godpines

  When Boreal spoke of realm gates, Ari pictured heavy stone doors with glowing, esoteric symbols carved into their surfaces. She expected something alien and unnatural in design. Searching the trees for the imagined structure, she was so distracted that she almost walked past the real gate. Boreal stopped her with a grunt. She turned around and he gestured to the left with a paw, where two old juniper trees stood, their branches woven in a tangled embrace that created a natural arch.

  “This is it?” she asked.

  Boreal nodded. Ari approached the right most tree, placing a hand on the pale bark. Magic pricked her fingertips. She could feel it coursing through the trunk, flowing across the bridge of woven branches, and down the roots in a perfect loop. She could almost see it, a wheel of magic, glowing threads of light, weaving in and out, eternally spinning. The space within the wheel was thin. A foreign breeze passed under the branches, catching at strands of her black hair. It was warm, dry, and smelled heavily of pine.

  “How do we open it?”

  “Ignite gate with magic,” Boreal said.

  Ari’s brows knit with concern. “You want me to set the tree on fire?”

  “No, no. Ignite magic with magic,” Boreal said.

  Ari stared at him blankly. He stared back. After a few moments of silence, he released a long, rough exhalation Ari interpreted as a bear’s approximation of a sigh.

  “If its so easy, why don’t you do it?” she asked.

  “Cold iron, it drinks magic. I do not have enough,” he said.

  Ari frowned. His shimmering blue coat and starlight eyes were dimmer than usual.

  “Are you okay? Do we need to stop for a bit?” she asked.

  He tossed his head. “I need rest, but not here. You must open door.”

  “Right, okay,” Ari said as she turned back to the juniper gate. She touched the right most tree again and closed her eyes. The wheel of magic flashed behind her eyelids. She reached out with her left hand, feeling the thin veil within the wheel, and wondered if this was what Boreal wanted her to ignite. With a snap of her fingers, flames devoured the veil, tearing open the space between. Ari opened her eyes. An aurora swirled between the trees, casting a pale blue-green light over the mists. She smiled.

  “It worked.”

  Boreal nodded. “You do as I said, ignite magic with magic.”

  “So we just walk through?” Ari asked.

  In answer, the bear lumbered into the light and disappeared. Ari stared at the place where he’d been for a moment, then extended a hand into the aurora. It was warm and tingled like static. With one deep breath, she closed her eyes, and stepped through.

  There was a pulling sensation, as if she were being dragged forward, followed by a wave of tingling warmth that ran through every fiber of her being. A rushing filled her ears, then faded as quickly as it came. Instantly she felt the difference in the air. The dampness of the mists was gone. It was warm and the scent of pine she caught earlier had returned, stronger and fuller than before. She shifted her weight and felt something dry crunch underfoot.

  Slowly, she opened her eyes, looking down at her mud-caked shoes. Under her feet lay a carpet of pine needles. She picked one up, holding it like a staff. It was taller than she was, longer than a grown man even.

  She swung the needle around experimentally. “Are we small or are the trees here huge?”

  “Both,” Boreal said.

  Looking up to see what he meant, her jaw dropped. The tree trunk a few yards ahead of her was so wide, three semi-trucks could have driven through it side-by-side with room to spare. It made sequoias look small. Glancing around, she realized they were surrounded by the giant pines. The dry, rocky ground was covered in a thick mat of spear-length needles. The thick, evergreen canopy above blotted out the daylight, creating a persistent gloom that only the most shade-loving plants thrived in, like ivy and trailing periwinkle. Glowing pools created by the few shafts of sunlight that managed to pierce the canopy speckled the ground. Much of what grew on the forest floor huddled around these pools.

  “These are godpines, native only to Aborra, the realm of giants,” Boreal said, his voice snapping her out of her awed stupor.

  “Are the giants friendly?” Ari asked.

  “No.”

  She frowned at the bear. “You said this world was safe.”

  Boreal rose from his haunches with a grunt and started walking. “In Realm Sea, nowhere is truly safe. There is enclave here. We may find help there. To day we camp, tomorrow we reach hold.”

  “What’s a enclave?” Ari asked, following him.

  “City protected by magic or walls. Safe place for humans, mages, and weird. They are scattered across Realm Sea.”

  “Why build a city in a place filled with giants? Sounds like they’re asking to get stepped on,” she asked.

  “Giants keep other monsters away. City is in the trees, out of their way,” Boreal explained.

  “Oh,” Ari said, turning her eyes to the canopy, searching for signs of civilization among the branches. She didn’t see anything, but the bear had said that they wouldn’t reach the enclave until the next day.

  They traveled through the gloom in silence for a time. Ari kept glancing at Boreal. He was worse off than he would admit. His fur and his eyes were faint and he’d become slightly translucent. He moved slowly, his breathing coming in pants. Fretfully, she wondered if he was dying. Was that why he wanted to find someone else to help her? Was it even possible for a creature like him to die?

  “Are you sure you’re okay? You don’t look so good,” she asked.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “I am weak, but I will not leave you,” he said, sensing her fear.

  Ari nodded, worry eased, but not erased. They were both relived to find shelter close by. After thirty minutes of hiking, Boreal pointed out a small cave formed by the roots of a gnarled old pine. The space was small, but they’d fit inside comfortably. Ari gathered dead needles on their way and laid them on the cave’s floor to keep them off the damp ground. Once she’d finished, Boreal curled up on the fragrant mat and yawned.

  “We rest here till dawn. Do not wander,” he said.

  “I won’t, I’m too tired,” she said with a weary smile.

  Boreal squinted at her.

  “Fine, I promise I’ll stay by the cave. I just want to visit the stream we passed for a bath. I’ll come straight back, okay?”

  After a few moments of scrutiny, the bear nodded, slowly, and closed his eyes, promptly falling asleep. Ari watched him for a moment. He was still dim, but his breathing seemed even enough. She set down her pack and rolled her sleeping bag out across from him. Freed of her burdens, she grabbed a canteen, a towel, and followed the sound of water to the stream.

  They’d stopped to drink from it on their way from the cave. Boreal assured her that it was pure, and it certainty tasted that way. She filled her canteen and took a deep drink of the clear water, slaking her thirst. Next she waded in until she was submerged up to the neck, and sat, giving herself time to soak. A sunbeam warmed her spot in the stream. It was still early in the afternoon, but the bars of light penetrating the canopy were already thinning, sliding up the trees as if climbing back up to the sky. Night would come fast here and it would be dark, but she had time. Ari sat in the sun kissed water and let herself enjoy the scenery.

  After days of traveling in the wilds, she thought she’d be sick of trees, but the majesty of the godpines was something to behold. The giant’s forest felt like something out of a RPG, a sacred place were the player would meet a god, or at the very least run around killing mutant squirrels with oversize swords. She laughed at that thought, her mirth fading as she realized just how much she missed the comforts of home. Video games and the mind numbing vastness of the internet. Her cellphone broke during the escape from the hunter’s camp, not that it had much battery life left to begin with, but it’d been something familiar, something from home. Now it sat in her pack, as good as a glass brick.

  She felt a little foolish missing these mundane things. There were kids out there, hell--adults even, who would kill to trade places and experience this high fantasy insanity. She wondered how long their enthusiasm would last after a few days of roughing it in the woods with giant arachnids trying to eat them. Sure, she had a guide and magic to protect herself with, but this wasn’t a video game. She wasn’t leveling up and tripping over new spells and equipment every five feet. She was tripping over danger every five feet and getting burrs in her socks.

  Ari took in a breath and submerged herself entirely, using her fingers to scrub dried mud out of her hair. Without shampoo or soap there was only so much she could do to clean herself and her clothes, but at least she could get the grit and grime off. She winced as her fingers brushed against a sore spot while scrubbing her right shoulder. She turned to examine the spot and felt a sudden chill that had nothing to do with the water.

  The golden scales had spread onto her shoulders, threatening to spill down her arms. She’d almost forgotten them again, preoccupied as she was with surviving last night’s dangers. One of the scales was raised and loose. Gritting her teeth, she pinched it between thumb and forefinger, and yanked it out. She yelped. It was like ripping off a broken fingernail. She clutched her right arm, hissing through her teeth, and waited for the pain to fade before examining the scale. It was about the size of a guitar pic, thin, but hard, with a smooth surface. It glinted like real gold in her hands.

  “Guess I really am cursed” she said as she set the scale on a large, flat stone next to her towel and canteen. She was too tired to worry, especially since there was nothing she could do about it at the moment. She’d ask Boreal about it later. He had a sharp nose, maybe he could confirm whether this was the weirding curse or something else.

  When she’d finished cleaning herself, Ari moved onto her clothes. She was grateful that her father had packed another set of jeans and multiple shirts. She wouldn’t miss the sweater until they reached the enclave. The hood would covered the scales on her neck. She’d be able to pass as human.

  Once everything was clean, she gathered her things, and returned to the cave. She hung the wet stuff on a small root outside and changed into fresh pair of jeans and a red t-shirt. She cooked up a packet of spaghetti, insisting Boreal let her have a warm meal instead of just granola. She didn’t have any money to trade for food at the enclave. Maybe she could trade secrets, like she did with Cynthia. Worries slithered through her mind as she crawled inside her sleeping bag, fading into silence as unconscious took her.

  The white void waited behind her eyelids. Fire filled the nebulous space, washing over her in warm waves, slipping in through her pores. It burned in every fiber of her body. She knew it was changing her, that she couldn’t stop it. Just as tired in her visions as she’d been in the waking world, she surrendered to it, and let herself fray apart like a caterpillar inside of a cocoon. The crack her fists had made in the void’s wall had lengthened, smaller fissures radiating out from it. Somehow she knew this space couldn’t contain her for long. Soon she’d break free, and when she did, she would never be the same again.