A MAN WHO LOOKED STRONG, DESPITE HIS GREAT AGE, stepped forward to greet Oksa reverently. He was so elegant, with his hair tied back in an Asiatic-style bun and his immaculate grey kimono, that Oksa felt shabby in her torn jeans and dirty tee-shirt.
“My name is Edgar, my Young Gracious, and I was your great-grandfather Waldo’s best friend. We knew each other when we were children and I was with him until he died. Welcome to the Monumental Tree. Please accept our protection.”
Oksa didn’t know what to do or say so she looked at Abakum for some guidance. The Fairyman began speaking:
“Long before the Great Chaos, Edgar had alerted Waldo about Ocious. But Waldo, like Malorane, was an idealist. He couldn’t imagine anyone letting their dark side take control. A dark side which everyone has, I should add… Then disaster struck, claiming lives, dashing illusions and shaking certainties. The Edefians had always believed themselves to be good, peaceable citizens, but this turned out to be a huge mistake—none of us is a saint and the vast majority of people, devastated by this realization, simply kept their heads down in the hope of surviving. A brave few, on the other hand, held on to their pride and rolled up their sleeves to fight. Edgar and our friends were among those. During all those years and despite the decline ravaging Edefia day after day, they remained hopeful that a new day would dawn and they have worked tirelessly behind the scenes planning for the future. And that future, thanks to you, begins today.”
Oksa studied the men and women gazing intently at her. They weren’t all venerable elders, they weren’t all forces of nature, but they had the same light in their eyes: an unyielding strength that could move mountains.
“Even before the first Velosos—our tiny long-legged messengers—had arrived to tell us you were in Thousandeye City, we knew you were expected,” continued Edgar, speaking to Oksa. “At that time, Lucy was working in the Glass Column and everything she observed was reported back to us by Achilles and Arvo. Ocious’s apartments on the top floor of the Column had been a hive of activity for several days, and our Docent’s mounting tension made everyone suspect that something important was in the offing. It wasn’t long before these suspicions were confirmed: the Young Gracious and the Runaways flew across Edefia’s sky, and it was the most extraordinary thing I’d seen in the past six decades. From the top of this tree, I saw the Gargantuhen flanked by Ocious’s guards. I saw our hated ruler leading you, and I saw Abakum, the Fairyman, whose integrity has never been questioned. I realized then that the strangers with him were going to reverse our disastrous destiny. The Velosos spread the news throughout the territory. There was no one in Edefia who didn’t know that the New Gracious had arrived. Then we waited. For several weeks nothing happened. Dust continued to consume our land and hope began to fade. Many slipped back into defeatism, thinking that no one could save us from ruin. Others of us clung to hope. No—it was more than hope, it was a certainty. And yet we had no more news since, following her father’s arrest, Lucy was no longer welcome at the Glass Column. Fortunately, fate brought us just the person we needed.”
He gestured at Tugdual, who ducked his head, letting a strand of hair hide part of his face. He suddenly and unexpectedly fixed Oksa with an icy look which, to her annoyance, made her heart lurch. Sometimes ice could burn worse than fire, she should know that by now, but she still let herself be caught unawares.
“Where were you?” she asked quietly, but Tugdual had clammed up.
“Our Firmhand allies found him more dead than alive at the bottom of a canyon in the Peak Ridge Mountains,” continued Edgar, when Tugdual didn’t answer. “He’d been seriously injured by the Vigilians pursuing him. Our friends took him to one of the troglodyte dwellings we use as a secret base in that region. They tended to him, aided his recovery and then brought him to us. Tugdual gave us some invaluable information about what was happening in Thousandeye City and particularly in the Glass Column. This allowed us to plan a rescue operation to free the Runaways held captive on the penultimate floor. We were almost ready when, one day, the sun filtered through the thick cloud cover which has plagued us for so long. The sunshine was so beautiful and so strong! That was the sign we’d all been waiting for. It didn’t last long because the heavens immediately opened and it started to rain. Can you imagine, Young Gracious, what the rain meant to us?”
Wide-eyed, Oksa shook her head.
“It was a miracle,” continued Edgar. “A blessing for our poor dying land. And do you know what struck me most of all? It was my great-grandson’s reaction. He’d just turned five and he’d never seen rain falling. That day, when everyone was overcome with joy, he was frightened and he started to scream with terror at the torrential water tumbling from the sky. That was when I thought to myself that we’d been very near the end.”
The old man nodded several times, lost in his memories.
“What happened next?” asked Oksa, as gently as she could, given her impatience to know more.
“Ocious had already gone to great lengths to show everyone he was in charge,” replied Edgar in a flat voice, “and we thought he’d reached the limits of what was tolerable. But he proved us wrong.”
Edgar and his friends looked glum. A woman turned away, pale as death.
“What did he do?” urged Oksa after several long seconds.
“He went beyond the point of no return by attacking his people. Your disappearance made him furious. His overweening pride had been wounded and there’s no worse injury for a man like him. He launched commando operations throughout the territory to find you, completely disregarding the last principles we’d managed to preserve despite our decline. Even the Great Confiscation of Granok-Shooters wasn’t as violent as this.”
“Ocious confiscated your Granok-Shooters?” cried Oksa, looking aghast.
“Yes, about ten years ago. Only his supporters and the members of his guard were allowed to keep theirs. It was a hard blow for us, because it was like losing part of ourselves.”
“But what could he possibly do with them?” asked Oksa. “Granok-Shooters can only be used by the people they’re made for, so what was the point?”
“Oh, he didn’t want to do anything with them. It was just to deprive us of some of our power and strengthen his hold over us. He, at least, didn’t endanger our lives.”
“Ocious isn’t the worst one!” suddenly cried Lucy angrily, then burst into tears.
A few people went pale and Abakum squeezed her shoulder sympathetically.
“His son is the lowest of the low! I hate him!” wailed Lucy with a loud sob.
Oksa looked enquiringly at her father.
“Orthon killed Lucy’s grandfather right in front of her eyes,” Pavel told her softly.
“Orthon?” Oksa couldn’t help crying.
Everyone turned to look at her, including Lucy, her eyes full of tears.
“That’s terrible,” she gasped.
“Ocious and Andreas are hard-hearted, but Orthon seems far worse than them in many respects,” explained Edgar.
“He’s rotten to the core!” remarked Oksa. “I hate him too.”
Everyone fell silent for a few seconds, lost in dark thoughts.
“There was no going back after that appalling act of violence,” continued Edgar. “It was the last straw. We had to do something so, making the most of the confusion caused by the fighting, we paid Thousandeye City a visit by night. Tugdual had the most accurate knowledge of the Column and Ocious’s security measures. Forewarned is forearmed, so our small group was able to make full use of all the information he generously gave us. The Vigilians weren’t a problem: we had with us Edefia’s leading entomologist and, when all’s said and done, the Vigilians are just caterpillars.”
“What did you do?” asked Oksa, shivering at the thought of those vile creatures.
“We have a secret recipe,” said the old man. “Would you like to know what it is?”
Oksa nodded vigorously, bringing an amused smile to Edgar’s face.
“There’s a substance contained in the roots of the Majestics, the trees which produce Zestillia beans,” he explained.
“Oh, yes, the beans that make food taste just how you want? I know.”
“Well, it just so happens that eating this substance can severely disrupt spatial awareness. It doesn’t alter gravity, just the way it’s perceived.”
“What do you mean?”
“Vigilians are greedy creatures,” replied Edgar. “They wolfed down the pellets prepared by our friend. A few minutes later they were crawling on the ground, convinced they no longer had wings. They couldn’t break free from the Earth’s gravitational pull, which they believed was stronger than it is.”
“So the Vigilians were crawling, were they?” cried Oksa. “I’d have loved to see that!”
She saw Tugdual give a slight smile.
“I have to confess it was very hard to resist the temptation to crush them underfoot,” continued Edgar. “But we had a mission to fulfil. Tugdual and Lucy led us up to the penultimate floor. Lucy and our Sylvabul friends passed through the inner gangways, while those gifted with the power of Alpinismus followed Tugdual up the façade outside.”
“The Spiderman technique!” exclaimed Oksa. “Brilliant!”
“Despite the prospect of facing Ocious’s men, who were far more battle-hardened than us, it was exhilarating to do something for a change and to use our gifts,” sighed Edgar with obvious pleasure.
“Could you tell what was going on from your apartments?” asked Oksa, turning to her father, Abakum and Zoe.
“Nothing happening in the Column escaped the notice of some of our ultra-sensitive creatures,” said Pavel with an amused wink.
“We soon realized something was afoot from the reactions of our inquisitive Ptitchkins and the highly strung Squoracles,” added Abakum. “When Ocious also realized he was being attacked on two fronts, he burst into my room with Orthon and Andreas to take me away.”
Oksa gave a startled cry.
“Remember the corrosive effect of the spittle from one of our dear creatures?” asked Abakum.
The Young Gracious’s eyes sparkled.
“Don’t tell me they came in for a shower of Incompetent spit?”
“Let’s just say that the damage caused created a useful diversion,” replied Abakum mysteriously.
“Fantastic!”
“Everyone did their bit, you know. Ocious had made a big mistake not checking if we had Granok-Shooters. He probably assumed we couldn’t make them on the Outside. So when Tugdual appeared at my side and we began to counter-attack by firing Putrefactios and Colocynthises, he knew things weren’t going to be as easy as he’d thought.”
“Did you manage to hit him?” whispered Oksa, captivated by this story.
“Nice work!”
“Don’t forget Orthon is a powerful Werewall with an unusual metabolism,” said Abakum. “Still, our surprise attack made life very difficult for Ocious and his sons. The Knuts and the Bellangers managed to get out of their apartment-cum-prison to help Reminiscens and Zoe, who’d been dragged away by Andreas and around fifteen men. Zoe managed to escape, but our dear Reminiscens is still in their clutches.”
Abakum’s face tensed almost imperceptibly. Oksa put her hand over his.
“We’ll get her back soon, I know we will,” she said softly. “She’s Ocious’s daughter, she won’t come to any harm.”
“Unfortunately, I’m not so sure, sweetheart. Still, I live in hope,” he added, his lips trembling.
It broke Oksa’s heart to see him looking so unhappy and ground down by worry. Abakum had devoted his whole life to others. He’d watched tirelessly over Dragomira and her family at the expense of any kind of love life of his own. Reminiscens had been his one true love. It was a love he’d never confessed and one which had been doomed for ever when the young Reminiscens had fallen madly in love with Leomido, and again when she’d suffered Beloved Detachment. Nonetheless, Abakum’s feelings had remained unchanged. Despite sixty years of separation during which all hope had faded, the Fairyman still loved Reminiscens, and saving her from Impicturement had been one of the high points of his life, even though Leomido had given up his life there. Everyone knew and respected the depth of this unspoken love. Oksa squeezed his hand in compassion and support. Abakum gently shook his head, as if to banish unwelcome thoughts, then looked sadly at Oksa, and continued:
“It would have been best if we could all have escaped, but the battle was in full swing. So when your father and his Ink Dragon appeared, breaking windows and balconies, I grabbed the Incompetent and we jumped onto the dragon’s back. ‘Hurry!’ your father yelled to everyone in the Column. Inside, our Runaway friends were battling with all their might: Naftali and our supporters were protecting Zoe from Orthon’s attacks. Capitalizing on their animal instincts, the Firmhands were using their fingers as talons and their bodies as barriers, while the Sylvabuls, with their mastery of plants, attacked with nets and spray guns filled with highly toxic plant extracts. Then I caught sight of Tugdual, who was filling my Boximinus while Brune and the Bellangers provided cover. It was an absolute brainwave, as well as being very brave: the creatures are one of our main trump cards, and Ocious made his second big mistake by leaving them with us. Which is just as well…
“Tugdual threw the Boximinus to me through a broken window and disappeared into the raging battle. The dragon continued to breathe billows of fire at Ocious’s guards, while being attacked by hundreds of Granoks. The situation was becoming untenable and we had to retreat. Any of our allies who couldn’t Vertifly jumped onto the dragon’s back, along with Zoe. Then Pierre appeared. ‘Leave! Now!’ he bellowed. Reluctantly the dragon took flight, immediately followed by a host of Vertifliers, not only our friends who’d been held prisoner and our Firmhand supporters, but also Ocious and his men. It was impossible to take action without running the risk of hitting one of our own.”
“What happened to the Runaways?” asked Oksa tensely.
“Tugdual and a few of our companions did everything they could to set Brune and Jeanne free,” replied Abakum, looking upset.
The old man fell silent. Oksa gripped his arm, holding her breath. Her eyes prickled as she searched the Fairyman’s face for the answer to the question she couldn’t bring herself to ask. Brune… Jeanne…
“Orthon was able to recapture them, despite our best efforts,” continued Abakum at last. “Naftali managed to cling to the dragon for several miles, but fell when Ocious fired a paralysing Granok at him. He just plucked Naftali out of the air like a flower,” he added bitterly.
“What about Helena? Little Till? And the Fortenskys?” asked Oksa.
Oksa could barely breathe.
“Are they still… alive?”
“According to our feathered informers, everyone’s safe and sound. They are in very low spirits and some of them are injured, but their lives aren’t in danger.”
Despite Abakum’s reassuring tone, Oksa looked sceptical.
“Could that change?” she asked.
She saw Tugdual stiffen. She gnawed her lower lip and clenched her fists. Curiosity killed the cat; contrary to all expectations, it was Tugdual who answered:
“Of course it could change. Ocious could decide to kill all of them at any moment.”
“Ocious, or Orthon,” added Abakum, gazing into the distance.