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clearly means toharm whomever tries to impend our progress.

“After me,” he mutters, and withouthesitating he takes off.

We race up the trail the trees have carvedout for us, blasting forward at a speed that I’m familiar with. TheEarth hindered me from moving this fast, but not this universe. Itfeels like we are finally making progress in the search for mysister.

I picture the last time I saw her, in mydream. She was in such misery. I’m incessantly haunted by how thebranches of the wicked tree coiled tightly around her torso, arms,and legs, squeezing her, tormenting her.

Na’ta! I shout within myself, andlouder than I’ve ever shouted.

I expand my senses, hoping to receive eventhe tiniest response from her, even if optimism eludes me. Andrightfully so: I’m still unable to sense her.

This forest is indeed vast. We’ve traveled agreat distance and still have not come to the end of it. I’m happythat the air is no longer stiff, hot, and moist. It seems that eversince the Mtknv arrived, it has cooled down to a tolerabletemperature. The trees are kinder to us and have stirred up alight, inviting breeze. Yet I am perspiring again, and am suddenlyself-conscious about it. I take a nervous glance at Chex and he’salready observing me.

“What is it?” I anxiously ask.

He’s not devouring me with his eyes and I amrelieved about that. Although I wonder—if he did watch me in thatway, will it have the same effect on me?

“Where are you from?” he asks, interruptingmy train of thought. The look on his face tells me that he’sextremely interested in hearing my answer.

“I am from Enu.”

“Right. I can smell that you’re not human,but where on Earth are you from? You have a life on Earthdon’t you?”

“No, I’ve never been there until…” I barelysay because I’m suddenly struck by what lies before us.

We come to an abrupt stop because we havereached the edge of the forest. My lips part in awe and so doChex’s. What we see is worth our response.

The land is like a sheet of smooth stone,but it’s dry and has millions of deep, narrow cracks intersectingacross it. The plane is barren, holding no plant life, and Iventure to say that no living species can seek to survive here. AsI gaze further out in the distance, I see pockets of smoke risingbehind the flat-topped mountain range that stretches from coast tocoast, farther than our eyes can see.

For the life of me, my eyes seek the sun.There it is, red and ominous, like it has been stabbed in the heartand is bleeding to death. It feels like my beautiful Enu was merelya place I lived once upon a time in a wonderful dream.

“What the hell?” Chex marvels at thespectacle which lies before us. He looks down to examine the dryearth that’s only one step away.

He carefully presses a foot against the dryground. I gasp when I see it go right through the foundation.

“See this? These Mash monsters…” he takes afast side-glance at me, “…creatures, whatever the hell you want tocall them, have come to play.” He hawks out into the distance withhis eyes narrowed and top lip curled.

“It’s a trap,” I say, stating the obvious.However, I’m compelled to test the ground with my own foot.

Chex and I look at each other dumbfounded.My foot doesn’t sink through. Suddenly, he becomes very still.

“Do you hear that?” he takes care towhisper.

I open my ears to listen out. “Just thebreeze behind us,” I whisper.

“No, that’s not it. How good are you in afight?” Are you anything like your sister, Glo?” he asks in arush.

“Well, no,” I reply, feeling like I’vedisappointed him. “Glo’s power is of the body, mine is of themind…” My words trail off and I gulp at what I see next.

A black swarm rises out of the mountainrange and then momentarily hovers above it. The creatures that aregathered together have fluttering wings and they know exactly wherewe stand.

“Are those bats?” I ask, spellbound by thesight of them.

“No,” Chex says assuredly.

“Then what are they?” I whisper, notexpecting Chex to know the answer.

Their wings are spiny and flapping rapidlyas they soar in our direction. I’m petrified.

“Hell if I know but if you can’t fight, thenget back in the woods!” he shouts above the buzzing noise theymake.

I turn to look behind me. There lies thesafety of the forest. The trees have kept me from being imprisonedby the Mtknv and I’m sure they’ll keep me from being devoured bythe Mash. But the Selell is standing bravely beside me. He’swilling to fight, and for what? My sister’s freedom? He hasloyalties and allegiances, if not to me, then certainly to Baron ZeFeldis. But he doesn’t go run and hide in the forest. Yet here Istand, considering doing just that.

The creatures are closer and the noiselouder. Their refrain is comprised of a combination of buzzing andgrowling. And now I can see that they’re not bats. They have bonyarms and legs, and long feet with broad heels. They are black andchalky looking. And as they squawk they open their mouths wide,revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth.

I let out a long breath once I realize I’vebeen holding it. “I’ll stay,” I gasp.

“If you’re going to die, go. If you’re goingto live, then stay,” the Selell shouts over all the noise.

“I’ll live!” I hear myself shout but I amterrified. Is this the sort of peril my sisters have faced and Ihave avoided throughout the centuries?

“Rule number one: never let him hit first!”Chex shouts right in my ear.

He takes a huge leap up off the ground andtoward the desert land. There are hundreds of them and one of him,yet he’s streaking ahead like the numbers are in his favor.

I can’t let him leap alone. I summon thepower of light to my hands, all of it. Every fiber of my beingdreads getting close to those creatures but I charge forward,staying as close to Chex as I can. Black ashes spray all over me ashe clashes with the first flank of Mash creatures and I lose sightof him. Grit pours in my eyes and up my nose.