Obert Skye - Leven Thumps 05, page 1
Leven Thumps and Ruins of Alder
Obert Skye
© 2009 Obert Skye.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher, Shadow Mountain®. The views expressed herein are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of Shadow Mountain.
All characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Skye, Obert.
Leven Thumps and the ruins of Alder / Obert Skye.
p. cm.
Summary: Leven discovers that he must travel to the island of Alder to
find the answer that will save the realm of Foo from destruction.
ISBN 978-1-60641-146-9 (hardbound : alk. paper)
[1. Fantasy.] I. Title.
PZ7.S62877Ler 2009
[Fic]—dc22 2009022749
Printed in the United States of America
Bang Printing, Brainerd, MN
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Loo, Goo, Punk, Bubba, and Nay.
May your dreams fly as high as your hats.
“My fellow Americans,” the president began, looking straight into the camera, “and citizens of all nations. It is with complete soberness and urgency that I address you tonight. Recently our world has begun to experience some unusual events. Fields are coming alive, tornados have personalities, buildings are walking, bugs are carrying people off, and clouds are interfering with planes. We believe there are logical and sane explanations for these occurrences. We must keep a cool head and calm mind. I have been in touch with many world leaders, and this is a global concern. I want you to know that your government is doing everything in its power to keep you safe and combat this problem. We are urging everyone to . . .”
Nobody heard the rest because it was at that point that everyone’s TVs, computers, and phones went temporarily dead. It was also at that point that almost everybody began to understand that the world was most definitely in a mess.
Table of Contents
Long Night
When Peace Is Shattered
I'm Not Sleeping Anymore
Allergic Reaction
When It Comes to the Subject of Tim
A Little Privacy, Please
So Many Misfits
When the Whispering Fades
A Very Important Piece of Land
Divided We Ride
Always Something There to Remind Me
On the Rocks
Tag, You're Wrong
When Worlds Collide
Drained
Somewhere There's a Place Where We Belong
Pulchritude Aplenty
Sizing Up the Competition
Never in His Wildest Dreams
The Disadvantages of Following the Crowd
The Worst Shall Be Third
Finding What You Didn't Know Was Missing
Peel Away the Skin and We're All Quite Similar
Fuzzy
It's Raining Confused Men
Picking Yourself Out in a Lineup
And the Walls Came Tumbling Down
Way to Worship
There's No Repellent Strong Enough
The Residue of a Life Well Lived
Karma
Maybe Just a Bite
Oklahoma Bound
Fair Fight
You Don't Know What You've Mocked Till It's Gone
Just Add Water
Standing Before Both the Problem and the Answer
Explaining to Yourself
Cloverine
Hurry Up and Wait
Sticks and Stones
All Together Again
There's Nothing Better Than Brisket
Outta Whack
Your Name Here
Record Play Stop Fast-Forward Rewind Eject
To Be or Not to Be
The Perfection of Possibilities
The End
Who's Who in Foo
The Order of Things
Prologue
Long Night
The night was as dark as any serious sin. Only the yellow stars in the sky had any presence up above, and the ground below shook as Foo continued to transform. If you remember correctly, Leven had just cut the Dearth in half and dragged a near-dead Azure back to Geth and Winter. If you don’t remember correctly, then Leven had just hosted a birthday party and Winter had come to give him a new sweater that matched his eyes.
Let’s hope you remembered correctly.
Directly after Leven had returned with Azure, they had all moved their camp to some hidden tents at the edge of the Swollen Forest. The tents, built on stone, were a secret place where Azure had sometimes come to get away from the constant dark whisperings of the Dearth. Once they got safely there, they had all collapsed into a tired sleep.
Thirty minutes later, Leven jumped up, yelling. He looked around, catching his breath. The tent was unfamiliar, and the dark of night made the surroundings look like a dream.
“Are you okay?” Geth whispered.
Leven sat down on a wooden chair—nothing more, he just sat, but in sitting, the weight of the world seemed to settle. His large shoulders relaxed and he thrust his fingers back though his long black hair.
“It was a weird dream,” Leven said.
“Could you keep it to yourself until morning?” Winter pleaded.
“Wait,” Geth prodded. “What do you feel?”
Geth stood up to the right of Leven. His left hand was on Leven’s shoulder, and his blue eyes glowed in a way they had never previously done. Geth was over six feet tall, and his dark blond hair was wild and hung in front of his right eye like a ragged curtain that was hiding something entertaining and secretive. He was muscular in his green robe and black pants and stood like a statue that nobody could easily push over or damage.
Geth smiled. “It’s all changed, hasn’t it?”
Leven looked up at his friend and smiled anemically. “Yes—it’s all changed. I can see so many dreams.”
“I don’t understand,” Winter said, looking around. “What’s changed?”
Leven smiled a half smile. Winter was no longer a child; she was beautiful, and as strong as any nit in Foo. Her green eyes looked at Leven, the depth of them immeasurable and mesmerizing. Winter was wearing a snug white shirt with burgundy pants. She had a thin white robe hanging loosely over her left shoulder, the hood of it tossed back, exposing her lengthy blonde hair tied loosely behind her head. She blinked, and the green in her eyes seemed to rise to the surface.
“I’ll take this one,” Clover said, fielding Winter’s question. “Leven’s no longer just that boy who lived with those awful people in that . . . what was it called?”
“House,” Winter answered.
“No,” Clover sneered, “in that long box with wheels hidden beneath it.”
“That was their house,” Winter said.
“Really?” Clover shrugged. “It had wheels.”
“It was still a house,” Winter insisted.
“But the floor sagged and the walls were made of paper.”
“It was still a house.”
“Does anyone have a dictionary?” Clover asked. “I think you’re—”
Leven stopped Clover by patting him on the head. He smiled at the small sycophant and stood up. Leven was taller than Geth now, and his face was well defined and framed by a strong jawbone. His eyes burned so strongly that when he closed his eyelids they still glowed lightly. Leven stretched out his right arm and Clover sprang from the ground and twisted up his arm and onto his shoulder, looking like a bulky snake.
“It was a house,” Leven smiled. “But it wasn’t home. And I’ll tell you what’s changed,” he went on, looking toward Winter. “Everything.”
“That’s pretty vague,” Winter complained. “What’s coming next? Something?”
“So, how many days?” Geth asked.
Leven closed his eyes.
“How many days till what?” Winter questioned.
“He’ll know,” Geth said softly, nodding toward Leven. “He should be able to see the end.”
“End of what?” Clover whispered excitedly.
“The end of it all,” Geth answered.
“And it’s in just a matter of days?” Winter asked anxiously.
“Can’t you feel it?” Geth said gently. “One would have to be emotionally dead not to recognize how close we stand to the end.”
Winter and Clover were quiet as Leven lifted his eyelids and let the gold shine brightly. He looked at Geth and smiled. “I should let you know that in the end you will fight yourself.”
Geth rocked on his feet and grinned. “I can’t wait to meet my missing piece.”
“You’ll have to get back to where we began,” Leven added. “And you,” he said, turning to Winter. “You might save us all.”
“Might?” she said, blushing deeply.
“Oh, oh, do me, do me!” Clover said, jumping up and down.
Leven’s expression dropped and he let his gaze fall to the ground. He raised his hands to his face and rubbed his eyes with his palms.
“What do you see?” Clover asked excitedly.
Leven was quiet, his eyes closed.
“It must be something really great,” Clover whispered.
“It is,” Leven said solemnly, his eyes opening slowly. “But you’ll have to wait.”
/> Clover shivered and disappeared.
Leven began to cough, and his eyes flashed. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. My throat gets hot and one leg feels longer than the other and my eyes keep freaking out.”
“You’re changing,” Geth explained. “The gifts will really start coming on now.”
“Just think of it as kind of like a Foovian puberty,” Winter joked.
Leven stared at her.
“So, how long do we have?” Geth asked again, looking like a soldier awaiting his orders.
“It’s already begun, but once the exit opens, no more than three days,” Leven answered. “That’s all the time we’ve got.”
Geth cheered.
“All of that stuff will happen in three days?” Winter asked frantically. “The end will be here in three days? Three literal days, or figurative? I mean that’s only . . . seventy-two hours.”
“Should be a wild three days,” Leven smiled.
“Then I’m getting some sleep,” Winter insisted. She stood up and gathered her blankets and furs. “I’ll be in the other tent.”
Winter walked out to go to the other tent, where Tim and Janet and Azure were sleeping, while Geth continued to quiz Leven.
Chapter One
When Peace Is Shattered
Two small sycophants stood on a tall gray rock and gazed out over the Veil Sea. The dark waters were choppy, and the largest moon was pulling and pushing huge waves up on the shores only to call them back again. The banks were covered with sycophants all poised and waiting for battle.
“They’re coming,” Rast whispered, his voice sounding old and tired.
“I know,” Reed replied. “I’m worried that each breath might be my last.”
The night felt poised to fall and shatter, as if someone had stacked it precariously on a high shelf and now the smallest motion might send the whole thing tumbling down. Orange flares shot across the sky, drawing lines from one end of Foo to the other.
“Keep your heart light,” Rast pleaded. “Please.”
“It’s not in my nature,” Reed admitted. “But I’ll try.”
Rast smiled at his friend. Rast was one of the most important sycophants and the brightest point in the Chamber of Stars. He had been entrusted with the well-being of Foo, and now the entire realm teetered on the brink of collapse. Rast stared at the thousands of sycophants who were all poised and waiting along the shore for battle. In the past, the only way to see the sycophants would have been to look through the special glasses he had. Now, with the secret of the sycophants floating around everywhere, and so many Lore Coils exposing the words that stole the sycophants’ invisibility, there was no need for the glasses. Rast, along with anyone who had vision, could easily see every sycophant.
“Everything’s changed,” Reed complained. “How can we ask our children to fight when they are visible?”
“They must,” Rast said. “And they still have their claws.”
The claws Rast was speaking about were temporary and usually came during the few years all sycophants spent committed to guard the shores of their homeland. The claws were tremendous and razor sharp and shot out from their knuckles and could slice through just about anything. Their claws were extremely effective weapons, especially when sycophants were invisible. Now, however, they would be fighting against larger foes without the ability to disappear.
“I wish Brindle were here,” Rast said. “His heart is always light.”
“He’ll be back,” Reed said, too worried about himself to think of others. “We’ll win this, right?”
Rast looked at his friend and sighed. He put his small hand on Reed’s shoulder. Reed was a kind but anxious sycophant. He was one of the lower points in the Chamber of Stars.
“I can only hope,” Rast answered.
“Foo can’t fail,” Reed argued.
“Can you hear that?” Rast asked in a hushed whisper.
Reed jumped and then steadied himself. “Hear what?”
“Look,” Rast said, pointing. His voice was filled with sorrow. “The gloam now connects to our home.”
Reed looked, but there was nothing but darkness and thousands of sycophants standing motionless and on guard. “I can’t see anything but our troops.”
“See how the black of night moves right above the gloam?”
Reed slowly shook his head.
“We should have shattered that map,” Rast said.
“We tried,” Reed shivered.
“Well, it’s too late now,” Rast said sadly. “Can you feel that in your feet?”
Reed fell to his knees and pressed his palms down against the stone. “What am I supposed to . . . the ground’s shaking.”
“Ready the captains,” Rast ordered. “Claws out and eyes wide. Look over there now.”
Reed looked toward the gloam and could faintly see thousands of twinkling bits of silver reflecting under the moonlight. The lead rants were carrying huge silver poles, and the staffs were strung with thousands of coin-sized pieces of silver.
“Reed,” Rast ordered, “I was wrong. Claws out and eyes like slits—don’t look at the metal.”
Reed leapt from the stone as the largest moon increased in intensity, doubling the light of the night. Rast could see the armies clearly now. The shimmering metal looked like a net of sparkling lights. All over, sycophants who should have been fighting for their home began to stare at the silver and fall into a trance. Their small bodies splashed into the water or onto the shore, lying there motionless, looking like rag dolls.
“Keep your eyes closed and fight!” Rast demanded, screaming out to those in front of him. “Remember: Without us, Foo fails.”
Thousands of rants spilled onto the shores of Sycophant Run. They were swinging metal swords and wooden kilves. Rast jumped from the pointed stone and sprang up over a dozen considerably younger sycophants. He struggled up onto another flat stone and looked out over the scene.
Rast’s small heart slid down into his right foot. He watched as thousands and thousands of sycophants were thrown aside or trampled over. Stunned or wounded, the valiant beings fell. Everything in him told him to turn and run, but Rast knew that this was the sycophants’ last chance to stop what was happening. His eyes became wet and he could no longer see clearly.
Reed climbed up next to him. “There’s too many, Rast. And the metal is putting so many of us in a trance.”
“I see cogs and echoes fighting as well,” Rast said sadly. “Why would they fight against us?”
“It’s the whole of Foo spilling onto our shores,” Reed cried. “They want out and we’ve failed to keep them away.”
Rants circled in and around the numerous troops of sycophants. Some sycophants were slashing away with their claws out and eyes closed, but most were dropping like stones as their minds became transfixed on the shimmering metal.
“We should retreat,” Reed yelled. “We should hide until these fools have gone away.”
“And let them just walk out of Foo?” Rast asked.
“What choice do we have?”
Rast looked at all the thousands of sycophants. He watched as wave after wave of attackers rolled off the gloam and joined the battle. Two sycophants were hurled over their heads, flying back into the trees and crashing to the ground.
“We must retreat,” Reed said.
Rast looked at Reed. “Let me at least get my hands dirty first.”
“But . . .”
Rast screamed and then plunged down from the flat stone directly onto a huge rant. Reed shrugged, screamed even louder, and took on an enemy of his own.
Chapter Two
I’m Not Sleeping Anymore
Leven tossed and rocked, trying desperately to find some more sleep, but the dream he had just experienced kept his mind racing. So, despite the exhaustion that had been brought on by lack of rest and even more by Leven’s battle with the Dearth, sleep was not coming easily. As he lay on the floor, his mind whirled and whined like a rusty hamster wheel. He could hear Geth breathing lightly across the room.
