The Giant from the Fire Sea, page 19
“Now wait here. I have a thing to do.”
Marlite took off toward Newton’s house. Bonnie watched her from inside. The giantess tromped past her and barreled down the beach, hugging close to Newton’s talking wall. The girl stepped outside and watched her shrink in the distance.
“Where is she going?” she asked herself.
The waves of the firetide rolled and slipped, slipped and rolled, rolled and slipped. A light evening fog wandered in from the forest and crackled in the flames. The ground began to pulse. Marlite was rushing back, the thump of her feet spraying sand in the air all the way back at the house. The girl ducked inside.
The giantess rejoined Aphanfel.
“Where did you go?” he asked.
“Not for you to know.”
“What is that dust on your hands? It is blue. Do you bleed? Do holygiants bleed dust?”
“That is the most empty this giantess has ever seen a giant’s head,” said Marlite.
Suddenly, Trapper let out a snort back at the house.
“What is that?” asked Aphanfel, sniffing the air. “I smell it.”
“I do not know,” said Marlite. They tromped back toward the house and saw the horse. It paced restlessly by a window, bathed in the light from the glowing stone inside.
“The long-faced ox!” said Aphanfel. In three strides he was upon it. He picked it up and shoved it into his mouth.
“NOOOO!” shouted Bonnie, running out of the house. “TRAPPER!”
“The shrunken giant!” The spy bent down to pick up the girl. Marlite sent him flying with the back of her hand.
“It is the thing that killed Flintoak!” said Aphanfel, struggling to sit up.
“I didn’t do it! Constable Stoggin did it! You just ate my horse, you…” She ran at the fallen giant but was stopped by Marlite.
“He won’t let you do to him what this giantess let you do to her. We did not know it was your pet. Aphanfel owes you a balance in the take-give. He will make good.”
“He … ate … TRAPPER!” shouted Bonnie. She picked up a rock and threw it at the giant. It bounced harmlessly off his forehead. “Go away! Both of you, go away!” She picked up another rock, aimed, and hit Aphanfel in the eye. The giant squawked and turned away.
“You have to watch your eyes with this one,” said Marlite to the spy. She turned back to Bonnie. “We are leaving now.”
“Just you? Where are the other giants?”
“Looking for you,” said Aphanfel. “You made them angry. You make ME angry! They thought you went back to the place Flintoak was killed.”
“They’re what? You have to stop them!”
“We cannot,” said Marlite. “I am setting out to find Newton. And your mans-friend.” She pointed to Aphanfel. “This one is coming with me. My hope was to tell the other two giants to end their search. To return home. But they are not here. I do not know if they will even return. Maybe a Stoggin will thrump them, too. The longer we wait to catch Newton, the more steps there will be between us.”
“But what about the mess you are leaving behind? What do we do to stop those giants from tearing our land apart? More than they already did! Our village is in pieces!”
Marlite thought a moment. She got down on one knee to bring her face closer to the girl’s. “I do not know,” she said. “And it washes this giantess in a bowl of sadness.” Marlite pulled the vial of stoneturner oil from her robe and set it in the sand. “This may be of help. It turns a giant to stone. Find a way to get them to swallow it. A little will turn them for half a moon. More … will turn them forever. This holygiant does not wish that upon even them. But wishes often lose their way.”
“Why do you do this?” asked Aphanfel. “We may need it.”
“First we trumple the life of a giant. Then we trumple the lives of a herd of these little giants. We are of a need to do something right or a balance will never be made. And this giantess is fond of this little ‘not-a-mans.’”
Bonnie stared at the huge vial. A look of fear grew on her face. “I don’t know how I … I’m just a…”
“Nor does this one. But this holygiant smells a thing in you. It tells her that you will find a way.”
The giantess stood. “We go now. You are wished a blessing of good fortune. But I fear your enemies may need it more.” She walked toward the Fire Sea, her braid swishing back and forth across the sand. Aphanfel followed, head turned, looking down at the girl. Bonnie glared back up at him with a look that nearly made him shudder.
“I do not think I would want to eat that one,” he said to the holygiant.
“I do not think you could,” said Marlite, and the two giants stepped into the sea of flames.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Not a Nannytale
“What do we do now?” asked Jat.
“I do not know,” said the giant through a mouthful of crabs. They were small but plentiful in the pools of water at the edge of the tide. “Do you think that dragon is of a concern?”
Jat laughed. “You’re the giant. Is it? Can they eat you? That one looked big enough.”
“This giant didn’t know there were dragons. Maybe we should act as if it can eat us until we learn it will not.” He crunched another handful.
“I think that’s a good idea. We could go to the forest up there so we can have some cover. We’re too easy to find out here. Especially you.”
“Will there be more sandcrabs up there?”
“Probably not, so stuff your cheeks now.” The giant took the boy’s suggestion.
Newton and Jat walked along the base of the white cliffs. They searched for a break in the steep walls that led to the top. At last, they found a fissure wide enough to allow them to work their way up.
“Do you want to ride in my pocket?” asked Newton.
“No,” said the boy. “I’m not a toy. I can climb.”
When they reached the top they turned and looked out at the sea that had carried them here. Pale sunlight washed over the endless expanse of ice and milky-white water. It looks so cold, thought Newton, yet it is so warm here on the shores.
“We came a long way,” said Jat.
“We have,” said Newton. “I want to call out for Pryat, but I do not know if it would bring dragons.”
“Or if your friend is even here. Can you smell him with that big nose of yours?”
“This big nose smells only trees. And a sweaty boy.”
“You don’t smell that great, either.”
“Haroomph!”
“At least the trees are taller here than back at home. We’re pretty well hidden from anything looking from the sky.”
“Jat.”
“What?”
“This giant is hungry.”
“So is this man,” said Jat. “I didn’t eat, what, a thousand crabs like you did.”
“We need to find food.”
Jat thought a moment. “I’ll go a little deeper into the forest to see if there is sign of any large animals. I want to get a better idea where we are, too. You wait here until I get back.”
“Why should I wait here?”
“You’re a noisy walker. If anything is here, it will run off long before you got there. And you’re easier to see by whatever other things that might be here. There might be things besides dragons we don’t want to be seen by. I know how to move quietly.”
“What if something happens?” asked Newton, concerned for his friend.
“Somethings always happen. I’ll be okay. Just a quick look around.” Jat disappeared into the soft needles of the surrounding trees.
Newton sat and stared out at the water. Is this home now? He knew he’d never be able to make it back to his old home—either one of them. He was happy that Jat was with him, but he also felt bad that the boy would never see his family again. That he would not be able to keep his promise to Fira that he’d return. That is my fault. Pryat’s fate was his fault, too. Everyone he cared about was worse off because they knew him—even his enemies. But whenever the guilt threatened to grow too strong inside him, he remembered what he’d done to cause all of this. I looked up. I asked myself questions. I do not know how else to live.
“Enough,” he said to himself, slapping his thighs. “Cooking in my own regrets again.” He reached up and pulled a seedcone from a tree. Maybe this can be eaten? They had similar trees back in his land, but the seeds were only eaten in times of hardship. He popped one in his mouth and bit down. Sticky … bitter … but a thing to eat, he thought. He had soon cleared the area of all the cones. It filled a little more of his belly, but he needed a good ox or goat.
Newton was beginning to worry about the boy, when the branches parted and he stumbled forward.
“Stupid roots,” he said. “Tripped most of the way.”
“And?”
Jat smiled. “You will be very happy. Very, very happy. Very, very, very—”
“Stop, boy,” said Newton. “What did you find?”
“The ground drops down into a deep valley that is filled … with … deer! Or something that looks like them. Way in the distance, but now we at least know there’s food here. They look pretty big, too. Bigger than the ones we have back home. Doesn’t that make you very, very, very—”
“Show me,” said the giant.
Jat took Newton to the lip of the valley. A great sea of swaying green grass lay before them. In the distance, they saw the dark shapes of what looked to be deer.
“I want one now,” said Newton.
“I know. But hold on for just a moment. Think. If we walk across that valley, and a dragon happens to fly overhead, we will be seen. Again, especially you. I doubt there is just that one we saw. I would think dragons come from mother and father dragons. And there could be uncle and aunt dragons. Brother and sister dragons. There could be hundreds! Maybe we should stay here until tomorrow to see what shows up. If we see nothing, then maybe we can risk it. Can you make it that long?”
“Yes,” said Newton. “And your caution is wise. It speaks louder than my grumbling belly.”
“Nothing speaks louder than that.”
They settled in for the approaching night. Both were asleep by dark, exhausted by their journey. At first light, Newton was awakened by a screeching roar. He sat up and looked across the valley. In the distance, dragons were swooping down and picking off the deer. A dozen or so circled above the herd, keeping it together in a tight pack so they could be easily captured. The giant watched, his mouth hanging open in awe. He turned and saw Jat, still sleeping on the ground. Nothing wakes that boy.
“Jat, wake up.”
“Ungh … Not … yet,” he mumbled, and rolled onto his other side.
“Dragons, Jat. Wake up.”
Jat bolted upright and crawled to the edge of the canyon. “Those are … Blazes! All of those … Newton. There are lots of them!”
“Aunts and uncles and brothers and sisters.”
“I’m sorry, Newton. I thought giants were pretty amazing, but next to dragons…”
“I would share that thought. This giant is grateful to you, Jat.”
“For what?”
“For telling him to wait before going down there.”
“I think we need a new plan. One that takes us in a very different direction,” said the boy.
“Yes. We should go now while they are busy.”
Newton took one more look at the hunting dragons.
This giant is no longer the biggest in the land. He turned back around to head into the forest and then froze. The giant let out a gasp and dropped to his hands and knees.
“What’s wrong?” shouted Jat. “Are you all right?”
Newton stared at the base of the tree in front of him. He could not speak. He could not move.
“NEWTON! What happened?”
The giant pointed to the tree. Jat ran over to see what he was looking at. Lines were scratched into the bark. They looked like …
“Pryat?” asked the boy.
Newton sniffed the image. “Pryat!” he answered. “Pryat did this! It is him!” He sniffed again. “There is a very small smell of him, almost none at all, but some.”
The giant felt as if his heart would burst in an explosion of joy. My friend lives! He made it! He gave the tree one more sniff. “It is old,” said Newton.
“So he might not still be…”
“NO!” bellowed the giant. He stood and then bent down toward the boy. “DO NOT SAY IT! HE IS ALIVE!”
Jat took a few steps back. “Shh! Dragons. I’m sorry. Of course he is. But, um … I’m sure he is, but how do you know it’s him? I thought you were the only giant that made pictures.”
“Pryat has seen this giant’s scratchings. First, he nearly turned to stone. But then he learned what they could do—what they could say. This,” said Newton, pointing to the image, “is as what I showed him. Pryat knew this giant of all giants would understand.”
“And I guess you smell him, too. On it. Okay. That’s good!”
Newton turned back to the tree and embraced it in his massive arms. You have made this giant grateful, Pryat. He smiled. And now you give me knots to untangle.
“So which way do you think he went?” asked Jat.
“Haroomph … I do not know.” He looked at the image again. It showed a giant, standing with his hands resting on his hips. A broad smile was etched in his face. “Look how he draws his arms bent at the elbow. It took me very long to figure that out—to bend arms and legs.”
“Yeah. He’s pretty good.”
“We can’t go across the valley, so maybe he thought the same.”
“Maybe. We can go in the opposite direction, through the woods. It’s the direction I’d want to go and it’s the first thing that came to our mind. Maybe his, too. We have to assume he saw the dragons. But maybe he didn’t. Maybe he…”
“No, Jat. Pryat knows how to keep the hide on his bones. He is smart in that way. We will go through the forest. Look for more of him on the trees. But first…”
Newton found a small rock with a pointed tip. He scratched an image of himself and Jat on the bark next to Pryat’s drawing.
“Why did you do that?” asked Jat.
“If he comes back here, he will know his friends are looking for him.” The giant put out his hand. “Shoulder. Not pocket, like a toy.”
“What?”
“Ride on my shoulder. Yes, my boots make more noise than my friend Jat’s, but my friend Jat’s eat the trail more slowly. We must move fast to find him, and you cannot keep up.”
“No, that’s okay. I actually kind of like it up there. Just not the pocket thing.” Jat hopped onto Newton’s hand and was lifted to his shoulder. “It’s good not having to shout, too.”
“It would be easier for you, I know, if you had two hands to hold on.”
“I have two hands,” snapped the boy. He glanced over at the stone at the end of his wrist. “It’s still a hand,” he muttered.
Newton barreled through the trees. He traveled for days and traveled for nights, stopping only long enough for Jat to catch a bit of rest. The boy had rolled off his shoulder too many times, dead asleep. It was a far drop for a mans. I should sneak him in my pocket so I can keep going. Along the way they found bushes heavy with berries and trees laden with different fruits neither had seen before. Some tasted good. Some made Jat a little sick. Neither satisfied Newton’s hunger for a very long time.
At each stop, Newton scratched a new image of Jat and himself on the side of a tree. Just in case … He moved with little effort, driven by hope, through a forest that grew taller, and darker. Occasionally, they’d see something moving above the treetops. Dragons maybe? It was hard to make them out through the leaves. He’d seen no new signs of Pryat. No scratchings. No smells. But maybe no smells because of rains, thought Newton. It had rained several times since they’d arrived.
The moon was a thin sliver when they’d set out. Now it was full. It was the same moon he’d always known. He could only see a piece of it, though, peeking through the treetop branches like flickering stars. I am home wherever I can see you, he said, his face straining to catch the light. The giant came to a stop.
“We can keep going, Newton. I don’t think I need to stop tonight.”
“No, this giant should rest, too.” He sighed. “Your friend is tired of not being in one place. Tired of his boots carrying him from one land and then to another.”
“Yeah. You have been doing that a lot.”
“Just want to stop moving…” He lifted his hand to his shoulder. Jat climbed onto it and was placed on the ground. Newton dropped to the forest floor. I do need rest, he thought. I don’t want to ever get up from here. The strength he felt at the onset had waned, sapped by the failure to find more clues leading to his friend. He began to fall asleep.
Jat circled around, stretching his legs. There was a small clearing ahead, one of the few they’d come across since they left what he called the “Valley of Dragons.” In the middle stood a burnt tree stump. It sat awash in the moonlight streaming through the forest opening. “You know,” said the boy, “if I were to leave someone a message, I couldn’t think of a better place.”
“Poomfh … Go have a look,” said the giant sleepily.
Jat wobbled over to the stump. “My whole body is sore,” he said. “You’re a bumpy walker.”
“So you have told this giant every ten steps. Shhh … sleep…”
The boy scrunched his eyes and studied the stump, walking around it. “Newton?”
“Shhh … What?”
“NEWTON?”
The giant sat up. “What? Is it…?” He clambered over to the center of the clearing. “PRYAT! It is YOU!” He hugged the tree. “We found you! We will find you!”
“Did you see what he drew? Something’s not right. Don’t yell at me, but look at it.”
Newton brought his face to the image. It was Pryat, but now his arms were in the air. That is good, too, thought the giant. His arms bend AND lift! But what is that behind him?
“Jat. Is that a…”
“Dragon. He drew a dragon. I don’t know what that means.”
