Inside Evil

Chapter 11 - Part II

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"Mrs Peacock?" Roberta said, staring up at the ghostly form.

"Yes, and you are still Roberta."

"Sam?"

"I was very careful about which cup he had dear, he'll happily continue talking for as long as we're gone. This form allows us to leave our earthly bodies and discuss the real reason why you had to find me today."

"So you do recognise me," Roberta said, knowing that she hadn't been wrong.

"Of course my dear, but one has to be careful when the Ammokra is in flow. I'd have never lived this long if I introduced myself properly to everyone I met. Come dear, I need to show you something."

She turned away from Roberta and shuffled around the side of the coffee table.

"Try not to hurt yourself Roberta. There's been many an accidental death by those who thought themselves invincible in this form."

Roberta slowly lifted herself from the seat beside Sam. It was strange looking down at her body which was sipping tea and chatting to the others as if nothing had happened.

"Will I-"

"Yes, you'll remember your whole conversation when we go back, don't worry. Now come, we haven't much time."

"Are you a witch Mrs Peacock?"

The elderly lady looked around at Roberta and chuckled. "There's no such thing as witches dear girl. They are a myth created by those in the past wanting to hide the real evils of the world. I am a gatekeeper, but more in time, come."

Mrs Peacock moved across to the mantelpiece above her gas fire, and pointed into a glass case. It was very similar to the ones that cover mantle clocks, a large glass dome, only there was not a clock inside but what looked like a small tree. Roberta could have sworn that the bonsai was not there before, but what she thought and what was real was proving to be considerably different these days. On closer inspection she saw that the tree was unlike any bonsai she'd ever seen before. A gnarled crimson trunk seemed to pulsate slowly and whilst she would have thought the tree to be covered in leaves, Roberta guessed that there were 40 at most, hanging sparsely on the end of the small twiggy branches.

Roberta noticed some movement on one of the leaves to the left of the trunk, and saw that there, on this strange silver leaf, was a tiny blue caterpillar slowly munching its way around the outer side. She looked at the other leaves and saw too, that whilst there were no more caterpillars, some leaves seemed to have cocoons hanging from them. And a few leaves, near the top of tree, had tiny blue eggs, one on each leaf, sitting next to the stem.

"What is this?" Roberta asked with a smile as she watched the tiny blue caterpillar's bristles vibrate as it ate.

"This is the Ammokra Arbor, otherwise known as the Tree of Death."

Roberta's smile faded and she wished she hadn't asked. It was disheartening that a thing of such life and beauty could actually represent something as dark as death.

"To be more precise," Mrs Peacock continued, "this is your tree of death. See here." She pointed to one of the bare leaves with a cocoon hanging from it. "Each day since you found Vanessa and caught the Ammokra, an egg hatches, the caterpillar eats the leaf and then creates a cocoon. The number of leaves isn't always the same, in fact you've had the largest in a long time. Have you got cats? Yes, I think you have." Mrs Peacock seemed to lose her train of thought for a moment and Roberta's concern increased at the realisation that her life might be hanging in the balance of the frail lady.