Falling Skyward

Chapter Five: Smoke in the Dark

Lana and Gailen hurried through the maze, speeding up at every turn so that by the time they rushed through the exit, they were sprinting. Though she knew Direc was far behind them, Lana still felt a giddy nervousness at the thought of being discovered, so she took Gailen to the far side of the carnival. Afraid that her bright dress stood out too starkly against the townspeople's muted greys and browns, Lana took Gailen to the gypsy camp, where her clothing faded into the eccentric and colorful crowd.

The gypsies put on no glittering spectacles in this corner of the bazaar, yet the celebration felt no less alive. The gypsies' instruments made sweeter music than the windpipes Lana's people used to worship—pipes with piercingly high tones or deep thrums felt in your bones more than heard. But the gypsies' instruments included drums, curved guitars, and strangely shaped horns that sent a thrill through Lana. A sense of mystery clung to the fortune-tellers hunched in their grimy, smoke-filled tents.

A roiling bonfire illuminated a cluster of storytellers settled against the forest's edge. Lana and Gailen felt drawn to this group, lulled by the intoxicating murmur of trees and voices.

". . . the sons of the Solimore still walk the earth punishing the Neomore for the slaughtering of their people," a man in crimson said with a dramatic flourish.

"When my father was only a little boy, strange things began happening in his village. Inexplicable things. Unspeakable things. Many people heard strange noises from the forest—terrible, wailing shrieks that would last sometimes all through the night," the man punctuated his words with moans and screams. "Others had nightmares so vivid, so frightening that they stopped sleeping altogether. Livestock disappeared only to be found days later hanging from the tree, the carcass skinned and all the blood drained, but no cut or mark left on the remaining flesh and muscle.

"Soon children went missing. Some mothers were driven insane with uncertainty. Others were driven insane by what they found.

"My father's parents warned him to stay clear of the forest, to stay near the house, especially when night fell. But one evening, from his window he saw men in black robes wandering through the woods. Thinking they were priests or necromancers summoned to stop the killings, my father followed, wanting to see their sacred rituals and magic. Even as night began to fall, he kept following these shadows, shadows that appeared deeper than the night itself," the man's voice dropped to a whisper.

"Soon, the trees grew so thick overhead and the path so dark he could only continue by listening for their voices, thin whispers and clicks.

"When they reached the next clearing, my father could barely make out their darkness outlined against a starless sky. Then, the noises began. Inhuman screams that forced their way into his brain, causing him to fall to his knees. The sound made him convulse with pain as it seared into him. Then, my father watched these creatures begin to jerk and contort. They fell on all fours and began scampering across the ground like, like some animal. Only, they didn't move like animals. They moved . . . unnaturally.

"My father froze as he saw them scuttling into the trees. He tried to move, tried to scream, tried to close his eyes, but the noises had frozen his blood and muscles. He sat like that all through the night, still on his knees, eyes wide open even while he heard other noises, fresher screams and cries.

"As the light began to rise, my father felt his mind stir. He began to awaken, even though he had stayed awake throughout the night. The dark, wet smears in the clearing began to turn from black to red, but my father couldn't bring himself to look at the white shapes laying nearby. Just as my father had made up his mind to run, he heard rustling behind him. A man shrouded in black, now walking upright, came through the twilight. My father looked up into his eyes and he said they were a demon's eyes—eyes dark as caves that seemed to suck the light and soul right out of him.