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The next day Tory, Simon, Tory’s mom Sophie and dad Charles and Tory’s mother-in-law Nonny, sat next to the stranger’s bed and listened as he told them what had happened to him and his brother on their way to The Cave of The Rippers.
“I am Chaz Xanadu and he is my brother Troy Xanadu—from the Red Fire Pride. It was to be my birthright to lead the pack. Now I can never return. I’ve destroyed my own destiny and that of my dear brother. My brother warned me to stay close because of the bears that were known to live among the caves in the forest. But I wanted to show him I could shift into a raptor and soar into the air.
“What happened?” Tory urged. “Was it a bear that attacked you?” “Yes. It all started because I was fascinated by the trees and the little tree people that inhabited them.
“Look up Troy,” I told him. “We are surrounded by trees—a world of trees!” He looked up and said, “It’s beautiful here, my brother.”
“We had trekked many miles and were hungry, so we sat and had lunch. Our mother, Mara, had packed a delicious lunch of Steak Tartare, Blood Pudding and Black Bread—made from the giant black mushrooms in the woods that almost look like a spaceship. After we filled our bellies, we lay on the ground looking up at the Magic forest—filled with trees of every size—little, middle, giant. Tall, skinny and thick, some with broad leafs, others with narrow leafs. I became hypnotized, gazing at the trees. Rough barked ones, smooth barked others—bright green, dark green, one in a solid hue, another spangled or variegated with many-colors of fragrant flowers, ones that bore nuts, bore fruit, and even the shriveled up, seemingly useless trees, who were feeding the forest with their nutrient-rich debris. I couldn’t stop looking up, dreaming about being among the trees. We watched as the sunlight struck down in darts or flakes—formless and unconfined—dancing among the saplings.
“It was when I was looking for the light that I saw them. The itty-bitty tree people of Magic—some leaning their heads against one another, others working on the trees, pressing side to side, and a group of them pulling on endless vines looping through the forest—all of them looking as colorful and varied as the trees themselves, crawling, walking and flying amongst the branches. The tiny tree-folk had nests and houses throughout the trees—a tiny forest within a forest.
“Arrangements of sticks and forest debris they heaped between the forks of the trees. They wore tiny tree hats, hats made out of leaves, even ones made out of sticks. They pretty much stood upright, and when they moved about, they seemed to use their eyes so they could see things on top of the forest as well as the things around them.
“My brother and I lay watching their tiny world unfold before us. These were wonders we’d never seen in our part of Magic, where the forest is not as dense. We were in a trance. I wanted to get closer, with my horizon widened for the first time away from my pride—I wanted to go up higher. Watching them filled me with curiosity. I longed to get closer. Wanted to see the world from up top. That was the first time the hawk inside me spoke. For the first time, I realized I could fly.
“I put my Winchester down and then I shifted. When I flew off, Troy made his way to the stream to gather water. He was becoming frustrated because I was not as anxious as he to get to the Cave of the Ancients. I had finally begun mastering my hawk, I was absorbed into enjoying the feeling of soaring.
“While I was still high up in the air, I heard a desperate cry. I sped down and saw the grizzly's hook marks where he laid into my brother. I could see this before my eyes, yet it felt like it was far, so far away.
“I saw Troy grab his chest and look at the blood in shock. The mighty bear raked his it open with one blow of his long claws. He had to be in the vicinity of 800 pounds. There was a big glob of blood on the ground and the bear had torn the earth up something fierce. Blood, hair, flesh spewed all over hell. As I flew toward him, blood shot over me—gave me the chills just looking at him so helpless.
“He tossed my brother’s rifle downstream. I transformed back into my human self, grabbed the gun, but it jammed and that’s when he charged. I screamed as a sear of boiling pain knifed up my leg as the bear held me then tore into my calf. I passed out from the pain. When I came to, the bear had gone. I crawled over to the fallen tree, thinking I could pull Troy in and we could hide inside of the log in case the bear returned. I passed out several times before your boys heard my cries for help. They saved me.”
“They saved your brother, too,” Nonny said in a sympathetic voice while she patted his head with a warm washcloth.”
“You mean, Troy’s not dead?”
“No. He was near death, but Tory got you both here just in time. It took some powerful magic, but he’s going to be healed. So are you. You both need lots of rest.”
Chaz Xanadu smiled up at each of them. “Thank you. From the bottom of my heart—I thank you.”
“Rest now,” said Nonny and weaved a spell over him that like his brother, put him into a deep healing sleep.
After a few weeks of magical spells cast upon him by The Fates Sisters Nonny and Topper, along with lots of help from Tory, and Charles and Sophie—Chaz Xanadu was again well.
He knew he’d soon need to leave and make his way back to the deep forests of Magic to find the Ancient Cave of the Rippers and begin his training. He felt like he’d found a new family.
They knew all about him and the order of Rippers. They each did what they could to heal both him and Troy. He knew since his brother had almost died from the attack, he would need many more weeks of magical spells to heal his wounds. He knew he’d be leaving him in good hands.
