Poisonous Rage

Chapter Twelve

Sundew growled and began to fly backward slowly, searching for a safe spot to set Qibli down in case they needed to fight.

She set Qibli down gently on a large branch. "I have to go by myself."

"What?" Willow cried. "It's too dangerous. You can't fight it alone!"

"This village is compromised. We can't get Qibli help here. He needs to get somewhere safe, and he can't do it by himself. Someone has to help him, and that should be you."

Willow stared at Sundew for a long moment. "Be careful," the pale LeafWing said, and then she and Qibli lifted off into the air and flew towards the battlefield.

Hello, little one, said a voice.

Sundew jumped and whipped around, looking for someone around her. "Wait..." she murmured, "I've heard this before." It's you, isn't it, she said to the tree beneath her talons.

Yes. I have lived here for a very long time, the tree responded, watching the children of the forest grow and change. But something threatens the balance of the forest and the lives of everything in it. The Breath of Evil cannot continue to exist. Its heart lives deep down, but my roots reach far.

Where is it? Sundew asked excitedly.

At my base, there is a small tunnel, hidden well by vines and roots. I believe it leads to a cave where the heart of the plant lives.

Sundew nodded and flew down, circling the base of the tree. She was afraid she'd be searching for hours, but by a stroke of luck, she found the tunnel quickly. Good luck, little one, the tree said as Sundew descended into the dark.

She walked for a long time, the tunnel sloped slightly downward. It was completely dark, so she kept one hand on the dirt walls. Soon, they changed to stone, and tiny bits of light appeared, from plants and animals. Sundew continued down the path until she came to a turn and saw a dim glow coming from around the corner. She crouched down and turned the corner.

A large cavern awaited Sundew. Bioluminescent moss covered the walls, glowing bright enough to see the majority of the room bathed in a faint, otherworldly light.

Near the center of the room was a pit leading downward. Vines exploded out of it, growing long and far. They were paler than their above-ground counterparts, but there was no doubt they were Breath of Evil vines.

Sundew would've ran forward and attacked the vines, if not for the one obstacle in her way.

Standing in front of the vines was a white-eyed Mandrake. Give up, Sundew, he hissed, I don't know how you found this place, but you won't get any farther. Why don't you just give up? The rest of the LeafWings in this village are under my control. Soon, they'll attack the rest of the LeafWing forces from behind, and before long, you'll be all alone.

Sundew stood up, staring defiantly at her former friend. Have it your way, Mandrake snarled and leaped at Sundew.

Sundew roared and rolled to the side. Mandrake landed on the stone, claws scraping against it. Sundew readied herself for the next attack when she felt something curl around her talon. She spun, slashing the vine at her ankle, noticing the rest of the Breath of Evil reaching for her slowly.

Suddenly, Mandrake slammed into her side, knocking her to the ground. No other plants for you to control, he mocked, your greatest strength is useless here.

Sundew got up, running at him, but a vine wrapped around her tail and she crashed into the ground. She reached a talon toward Mandrake, but he crushed it against the ground. A vine reached for her mouth.

Suddenly, Mandrake's eyes flickered. His face twitched. The vine around Sundew's tail went limp. She leaped up, ready to fight. Then, Mandrake's eyes turned their regular moss green. "Go!" he roared. "Quickly!"

Sundew turned and ran towards the center of the Breath of Evil, a single thick vine, and began to cut through it with her talons. She watched in panicked hopefulness as the vine got closer and closer to being cut. There was a scream of rage and pain from behind her, and then her talons sliced through the vine, and everything went silent.

Sundew waited for a moment, expecting an attack from Mandrake or the cold grip of one of the vines, but nothing came. She turned around to see Mandrake staring at his talons as if he'd never seen them before. "I can't hear it anymore," he said, his eyes filling with tears, "it's gone." He looked up and ran to Sundew, hugging her. "Thank you," he whispered.

It's gone. Mandrake's words echoed in her head. The Breath of Evil was dead. So then why did it feel like everything wasn't ok?

"The HiveWings! They've reached the edge of the jungle by now, and even though they're no longer controlled, they could still choose to fight. We have to help."

Mandrake nodded and the two raced up the tunnel and took off toward the edge of the forest.

They passed a group of LeafWings who were wandering around confused, presumably the LeafWings who had been taken over by the Breath of Evil and had been headed towards the battlefield. Sundew beat her wings faster.

Finally, they burst out of the trees, diving down to an encampment where LeafWings waited, watching the swarm of HiveWings below. Sundew landed, shoving aside the guards and making her way over to where Queen Sequoia was standing.

Next to her were many of her advisors, as well as Belladonna. Off to the side were Tsunami, Turtle, Hazel, Qibli, and Sundew.

Willow tackled Sundew, wrapping her wings around the larger LeafWing. "You're ok!" she cried.

Sundew smiled. "I'm glad you are too."

Sequoia turned to Sundew. "What happened? Willow and Qibli showed up, telling us about the Breath of Evil. Then, Turtle and Hazel came here not long ago, claiming the village was compromised and many LeafWings had been infected."

Suddenly, Willow noticed Mandrake standing to the side and she growled, spreading her wings and preparing to pounce. "Wait!" Sundew cried. "It's ok. He's ok. We destroyed the Breath of Evil's root. Its power is gone. We came here in case the HiveWings decided to attack regardless."

Belladonna gave her a strange look. "You say that as if the HiveWings are free. They're all still white-eyed zombies."