“Go ahead,” Mira commanded.
The autocoach started rolling forward, accompanied by the soft clomping of the walking brick’s strides. Now that he listened mindfully, Cole heard the other autocoaches following.
“We’re moving now,” Twitch observed.
“Then I agree we should shut up,” Jace said.
“All in favor?” Cole asked, raising a hand.
The other three kids raised their hands. “Aye,” Mira said.
“As long as I get the last word,” Jace said.
“What if I want it?” Mira asked.
Jace gave a slow grin. “Then you’ll have to take it.”
“Maybe I will,” Mira said.
“I will for sure,” Jace said, his stare level.
“Guys, are you sure this is a good time to play chicken?” Cole asked. The autocoach was entering the forest.
“We have until the trees get big,” Jace said.
“It’s the Boomerang Forest first,” Mira agreed.
“Any chance of getting slaughtered by giant bears is too big of a risk,” Twitch said.
“Getting in on the contest too, Twitch?” Jace asked.
“Just trying to be the voice of reason,” Twitch explained. “How about you guys say something at the same time? You can both have the last word!”
Jace shrugged. “Seems like a nice, reasonable, cowardly way to settle it. Count me out.”
“Me too,” Mira said. “You’re not going to beat me.”
Jace smirked. “I will if I’m willing to get eaten by bears.”
“Are you?” Mira asked.
“Out of stubbornness?” Jace asked. “Sure, why not? I considered myself dead on my first sky castle mission. Helped my nerves. The rest of this is just borrowed time. A bonus.”
Mira narrowed her eyes. “But things have changed. You’re not a Sky Raider anymore.”
Jace cocked his head, as if unsure he believed her. “The danger feels about the same. Or worse.”
“What about that freemark?” Mira asked, glancing at his wrist.
Jace jerked a little, the comment cracking his facade. He rubbed his wrist and stared out the window. “You’re right. That hasn’t really sunk in yet.” He glanced her way. “I guess . . . it would be stupid to throw my life away to win some little contest.”
“Right?” Mira said appreciatively.
“Of course, if you’re going to die . . . ,” Jace said.
“Might as well be doing something stupid?” Mira finished. “The good stupid is the brave kind. When there’s a real reason behind it. Bad stupid is everything else.”
“The same is true for you,” Jace said. “You’re being just as obstinate. Just as dumb. So why do I have to back down?”
“To show you’re the bigger person?” Mira tried.
“I don’t get how losing makes me big,” Jace said.
They were well into the woods now. Cole stared out the window. The path had become twisty. Did the trees look larger? A little, maybe. Not way bigger yet. How big had Liam meant?
“Guys,” Cole said. “We’re deep in the woods. The trees are looking bigger. This isn’t funny anymore.”
Jace smiled wide. “Wrong. It’s just getting funny. Do you know what the punch line will be? I hear they look like huge bears.”
“You’re a riot,” Mira said blandly.
“I’ll die laughing,” Jace said. “Go ahead, test me.”
Cole felt like the situation was out of control. “Mira, this is crazy. Let him have the last word. Who cares? We have too much to do, too much real danger to survive. If he wants the prize of biggest nut job, let him have it.”
Mira looked from Cole to Jace and back. The only sound was the gentle clomping of the walking brick. “No. He doesn’t have to always get his way.”
“I kind of do,” Jace said. “Want to know the secret? You don’t bluff.”
Cole thought Jace had been kidding before, but something about the way he said it made him really wonder. Of course, that was probably the point. “Mira,” Cole repeated.
“Cole’s right,” Twitch murmured.
“And the grasshopper is back in the contest!” Jace cried.
Twitch glared, lips compressed, but said no more.
Bertram leaned forward. “Might want to stop speaking now. Up ahead is a stretch where talking could prove problematic.”
Everyone fell silent. Leaning out the window, Cole peered ahead. The path had mostly straightened. About a hundred yards forward on his side, partly obscured by lesser vegetation, he saw a soaring tree with a trunk wider than the autocoach. The path went right by it. He could glimpse others beyond.
“Big tree,” Cole said, pulling back into the compartment. “Really big tree.”
“Liam might just be messing with us,” Jace said. “You know, playing a joke on the new guys.”
“You know it’s serious,” Mira said.
“We’ll find out soon,” Jace said.
If Cole thought he could knock them unconscious, he would have. But Jace was bigger than him and already had his golden rope in hand. Cole considered getting out his Jumping Sword. He might need it when the bears showed up.
“Please, Mira,” Cole urged.
“All right,” she sighed, exasperated. “Fine. You win, Jace. Have your last word, and let’s live to get killed in a more surprising way.”
Jace’s grin widened. He held out a hand to Mira and nodded once.
“That’s it?” Mira asked.
Jace nodded again.
“You just wanted me to say that you could win,” Mira said.
Jace gave a slower nod and pointed at her.
“You’re so chivalrous,” she said dryly.
Jace shrugged.
Cole made a zipping motion over his lips and then buttoned them. The others nodded.
Cole watched as they passed the first big tree. The trunks only grew thicker after that one. The path continued to wind. Some of the trees looked wider than Cole’s house. The grooves in the bark were deep troughs. The path weaved a slalom course through the towering forest. Between the surreal trunks, fragile ferns grew among expanses of dark soil and mossy boulders. The colossal trees filtered the sunlight, transforming the world beneath their layers of unreachable limbs into a twilight realm.
The steady clomps of the walking brick provided the main sound. Faint clomping reached them from the trailing autocoaches. Despite the rough path that had grown weedy in places, the autocoach itself made little noise—a slight creak when they hit a bump was all. Otherwise the ride was surprisingly smooth and quiet, especially when Cole contrasted it against the jolting and rattling of his slave wagon.
The atmosphere under the trees felt close and silent, almost like all of nature had paused and was listening. Cole supposed it might feel that way because he knew about the giant bears.
As minutes passed, Cole relaxed enough to feel a small temptation to shout something. He tried to think what would be funny. “I win the contest!” was up there, but his favorite was “Bears are wimps!” Of course, he said nothing. Aside from wanting to live, any loud noise in these imposing woods would feel out of place, like screaming in a church.
He thought about his Jumping Sword, wishing he had retrieved it when he had the chance. Although, technically, it was only talking that would trigger the bears, he didn’t want to risk the extra noise of digging through the storage compartment, just in case.
“Hello?” called a voice in the distance.
Cole looked across the coach at Mira. Her eyes were wide.
“Hello?” the voice called again. “Anyone?” It was a man, his voice muffled by the trees, like he might not be as far away as the first cry had sounded. What came to mind was some hunter or hiker who had lost his way.
Jace squeezed Cole’s arm and shook his head sharply. Twitch brought an urgent finger to his lips. Mira nodded, both hands over her mouth.
Cole knew they were right. This had to be a trick. And bes
ides, if it was real, the guy had already sealed his fate.
“Please!” the voice called again, a bit fainter, as if heading away from them. “Help! Somebody!”
Soon the woods were silent again. Cole watched and listened, wondering if he might notice a sign of one of the giant bears. He knew it would freak him out if he saw one, but he couldn’t resist looking.
“Hello?” called a new person from the other side of the autocoach. This time it was a woman, her voice hoarse. “Anthony? Where are you? Say something!”
“I wanted to show my grandnephews some of the sights in Sambria,” Bertram said. “My grandniece as well. No laws against that I hope!”
Cole went rigid at his words. Bertram was a semblance, so he was free to talk, but the unexpected response startled him. Jace was covering a laugh. Cole remained too tense to find it funny.
“Is somebody there?” the hoarse woman called out. “Please! I’ve lost the road!”
Mira was shaking her head. They were all in agreement to keep silent.
“Please, answer me!” the woman called, her ragged voice dripping with despair.
“I’m afraid we’re just here on holiday,” Bertram said brightly. “I’m getting on in years—call it a last hoorah.”
“Please, help me! Someone! Anyone!”
“I’m not feeling my best today,” Bertram apologized. “Better stay coach bound, I’m afraid. Aging joints and what have you.”
The woman’s pleadings faded behind them.
The trees remained enormous. They heard a couple more people calling for help, different voices, one male and one female, lost souls roaming the forest. The distant cries were faint enough that Cole partly wondered if his ears were playing tricks on him.
Finally the trees began to diminish in size. They were still huge, but most of the trunks were now smaller than the autocoach, and none were as wide as a house. On Cole’s side, a deer ambled beside them, keeping pace. Cole watched the graceful creature, wondering how long its curiosity would last.
“Greetings,” the deer called to him in a male voice. “Are you good people lost?”
Cole watched the animal in stunned silence.
“Can you hear me?” the deer asked.
Cole looked at his companions. Twitch mimed buttoning his lips shut. Cole nodded.
“That isn’t a very safe road,” the deer called. “Where are you trying to go?”
Cole waved good-bye to the deer.
“Think you know these woods better than I do?” the deer asked, turning away. “Your funeral.”
“One and one makes two,” said a voice at the other side of the autocoach. Cole swiveled to see another deer. “Two and two makes . . .”
His mind automatically answered “four.” But he kept his mouth shut.
“Row your boat, gently down the stream,” the deer recited. “Merrily, for life is but a . . .”
He could hardly believe the deer was so blatantly trying to get them to say something. Twitch shooed the deer away with his hand, and it bounded off.
The autocoach rolled onward, and the trees continued to diminish until they resembled an ordinary forest. They passed a crossroads. Their autocoach went straight, but behind them, one of the autocoaches turned right; the other, left.
Cole and the others stayed silent for another long stretch. Finally Mira tapped Bertram and pantomimed talking.
“What’s the trouble, my dear girl?” Bertram said. “I’m sorry, you’ll have to speak up. My hearing isn’t what it once was.”
Leaning close to him, Mira whispered in his ear. Cole couldn’t hear a word she said.
“Oh, yes, we’re in the clear,” Bertram replied. “Feel free to converse. After all, we’re on holiday.”
“That’s a relief,” Mira said.
“I was honestly ready for the two of you to get us killed back there,” Twitch said. “I was set to fly away.”
“Sometimes you have to stand up for what’s right,” Jace said.
Mira kicked at his shin from across the compartment. “You were like a spoiled kid who complained until he got the treat he wanted.”
“What did that make you?” Jace asked, having twisted to avoid her foot.
“The adult who relented,” Mira said.
“It worked out perfectly,” Jace said. “I waited for you to give me what I wanted, but I let you be the nut job who got the last word.”
Mira sprang out of her seat, crouching because of the coach’s roof. She didn’t kick him too hard, but this time it connected. Jace laughed along with the other boys.
Then Mango flew in the window and perched on Mira’s shoulder. “Good, good,” the bird approved. “You’re having fun. I hate to spoil the mood, but we have company.”
“What?” Mira asked, settling back in her seat, all playfulness gone.
“Legionnaires coming this way. On horseback. Lots of them.”
CHAPTER
25
ON THE RUN
“Legionnaires?” Cole exclaimed. “How many is lots?”
“One hundred and forty-four,” Mango said. “They’re west of us, coming this way in four equal groups, along four different routes.”
Jace yanked open the hatch to the compartment where their gear was stashed. He handed Mira her Jumping Sword, then Cole his bow and his sword.
“How’d they find us so quickly?” Twitch asked.
“They haven’t found you,” Mango replied. “They’ve fanned out over a broad area. They’re searching.”
“They might suspect we ran off this way,” Mira said. “Or they might just be checking everywhere. Either way, I guess they know we’re alive.”
“Like Declan warned us,” Cole reminded her. “Your father must be able to feel that you haven’t died. He must have told them.”
“What matters is what we do now,” Jace said, all business. “Mango, will they find us if we stay on our current path?”
Mango gently pecked at Mira’s silver necklace while talking. “If they don’t double back or change course, they’ll overtake you before the end of the day.”
“Can we go in other directions?” Mira asked.
“You could leave the autocoach,” Mango said, nibbling at one of the pins in her hair. “They’re sticking to the roads. But traveling cross-country on your own can be dangerous in Sambria, especially in a wild area like the north of the kingdom.”
“We should stay with the coach until we know we’re going to be found,” Twitch said. “You can warn us when they get really close, right, Mango?”
“Yes, sirree,” the bird replied.
“If they find an empty coach, they may heavily search the nearby area,” Jace pointed out.
“I don’t mean we should desert the coach a minute before they find us,” Twitch clarified. “More like an hour before. The autocoach will travel a good distance before they find it, and we’ll have time to get well away from the road.”
“Good thinking,” Cole approved.
“We want the autocoach as long as we can keep it,” Mira said. “We’ll be much slower on foot. And Mango is right. This part of Sambria is unsafe.”
“Maybe we can use that to our advantage,” Jace said. “Sort of like the cloudwall all over again. Is there anywhere we can go where the legionnaires won’t want to follow? Someplace they would expect us to avoid? Especially if it’s away from where they’re headed.”
Mango flapped her wings and gave a soft squawk. “There are plenty of dangerous places. The legionnaires are west of you, some moving northeast, others southeast. Going west isn’t an option right now, and I don’t think you could get ahead of them cutting straight south. If you flee north, you’ll end up back in the Quiet Wood, and eventually you’ll get pinned against the Boomerang Forest. If you try to get around the Boomerang Forest to the east, you’ll end up against the Brink.”
“I don’t mind the Quiet Wood,” Jace said.
“But we don’t want to get pinned with nowhere to run,” Twitch sai
d. “The Boomerang Wood is a dead end. With no skycraft, the Brink is too.”
“For most of us,” Mira said.
Twitch blushed. “We can talk about me later.”
“The Brink continues east of the cloudwall?” Cole asked.
“Yes,” Mira said. “The cloudwalls only mark off a portion of the Brink. The Boomerang Forest keeps people from looking behind the Eastern Cloudwall, just like the Briarlands keeps people away from the Western Cloudwall. But beyond the Boomerang Forest, the Brink keeps going. Floatstones don’t work there, so having skycraft wouldn’t matter.”
“What else can we do, Mango?” Jace asked.
“You can run to the northeast,” the cockatiel said. “That leads away from civilization and into some wild, dangerous territory. Plenty of places to get lost that way. Based on the current search pattern, they assume you’re fleeing there.”
Bertram cleared his throat noisily. “If they still want to reach Middlebranch and don’t mind a risk, Brady’s Wilderness would be an option.”
“I’ve heard of that place,” Jace said. “Isn’t it trouble?”
“It’s in the right direction,” Mango said. “Mostly east, a little south. They won’t expect you to risk going that way and won’t be eager to chance it themselves. It has quite a reputation.”
“I’ve heard of it too,” Twitch said. “Seems like you only hear about the really bad places.”
“You don’t hear about the worst places,” Mira said. “Nobody makes it back to spread the rumor. Didn’t a shaper go nova there?”
“ ‘Go nova’?” Cole asked.
“All shapers worry about going nova,” Mira explained. “When gifted shapers overextend themselves, they can lose touch with what is real and what is a semblance. Greed or paranoia or insanity take over, and they shape uncontrollably, usually until they kill themselves in the process. Sometimes it leaves a big mess behind.”
“What do we know about this place?” Cole wondered.
Mira shrugged. “I haven’t heard much.”
“Little is known,” Mango said. “Story has it Brady was a young child who came here from outside. He had a lot of power and a child’s mind. He shaped vividly but without control. This happened about forty years ago, and there has been no word of him since.”