The Evertree

  “What should we do?” Conor asked Tellun.

  The elk kept his eyes fixed on the Evertree. “We answer Kovo’s call,” he replied. One of his hooves stepped forward, kicking up dust.

  “We … answer his call?” Conor asked. He looked around at the others. None of them seemed to feel the pull of Kovo’s summon.

  Tellun fixed him with a steady gaze. “Come.” Then he began to head down.

  Meilin and Abeke called their spirit animals out too, and Essix soared over Rollan. As Tellun made his way down into the crater, the others followed, spreading out until they were all several dozen feet away from one another. Conor looked at Briggan as they walked. The wolf’s blue eyes stayed locked on the Evertree and the figures of Kovo and Gerathon underneath it. His muscles were tense, and the hackles on his back were up. Conor’s gaze shifted back to Tellun. They were answering Kovo’s call … they were approaching him, right out in the open. What did Tellun have in mind?

  Kovo turned to face them as they drew closer. He paused in his roar for a moment, then puffed his chest out arrogantly. Conor thought he could see a sneer spreading across the ape’s face. Kovo lifted the Staff of Cycles higher, then pounded his chest with one mighty fist. He slammed the staff into the earth.

  The entire land trembled at the blow. Conor stumbled, barely keeping himself from falling. The sound seemed to reverberate all across Erdas, deep into the world’s core.

  At first, nothing happened. Then the ground trembled again. Conor looked to the crater’s horizon. What had Kovo done?

  The tremors came one after another, deep and slow. Footsteps.

  And as Conor looked on, dark silhouettes appeared all along the far edges of the crater, each spaced apart from the other, all facing in toward the Evertree and Kovo. The tremors came in rhythmic, thundering steps, like the beating of war drums. Conor began to recognize the approaching silhouettes.

  Rumfuss. Suka. Dinesh. Conor exchanged a startled glance with the others as they recognized the towering shapes of the great boar, polar bear, and elephant. Arax too, and Cabaro, and Mulop, the octopus’s huge tentacles sliding a wide path across the ground. A Great Swan flew beside them, her white wings expanded in a bright canopy of feathers, and Conor caught his breath at his very first sight of Ninani herself.

  The Great Beasts had all arrived.

  “Keep going,” Tellun said in a low voice. Conor pressed his hand tightly into Briggan’s neck fur, took a deep breath, and focused on the Evertree as they moved forward in step with the other Great Beasts.

  As the Evertree came into better view, Conor noticed that one side of the tree had a large, dark blemish on its otherwise pristine silver trunk. The blemish was twice as big as he was, a region of black, rotting wood that seemed to be slowly eating away at everything surrounding it. An indescribable sadness sank into Conor’s chest at the sight. So, this was the consequence of Kovo trying to control the tree with a partial staff. Even though it had happened long ago, the wound still looked fresh and festering.

  Closer and closer came the Four Fallen and the other Great Beasts. Now their footsteps were so strong that Conor could barely keep his balance with each thundering reverberation. He had never seen all of the beasts together in one setting – dusk extended their shadows into long, endless streaks across the land, and the approaching darkness cut their enormous figures into shades of stark black and white, making them look even bigger than they were.

  Keep moving, Conor reminded himself. Briggan, Uraza, and Jhi strode steadily onward, their focus unbroken. Maybe Tellun was wrong. What if they were feeling Kovo’s summon too?

  Finally each Great Beast stopped a short distance away from the Evertree, forming a ring around where Kovo, Gerathon, and Halawir had gathered beneath its canopy. Tellun halted too. Conor stood between him and Briggan, his hand still buried in the wolf’s fur. His breath came in shallow gasps. Without the tremor of footsteps, the plains fell eerily quiet, the silence punctured only by the crackle of lightning and rumbles of thunder overhead. An icy wind whipped around them. None of the Great Beasts uttered a word. They stood frozen, the ominous totems of an endgame.

  Kovo moved first. He pivoted where he stood, staring at each of his brethren in turn. His stare stopped on Tellun. Under the dark sky, the ape’s eyes flashed scarlet. His gaze shifted hungrily to the talisman that hung from Conor’s neck. The final piece of the puzzle.

  “The era of our power is coming to an end,” Kovo finally shouted. The wind carried his words across the plain. “The world is in upheaval. You have all seen it. I have seen it. Once, long ago, we stood against each other and let mankind destroy what should have been ours by right – the control of this world. We allowed four of our own to perish.” Briggan tensed beside Conor, and nearby, Uraza uttered a low growl. Conor’s jaw tightened too. Kovo and Gerathon had been the ones responsible for the Four Fallen’s deaths, after all. “Now, the end of this old era has come to pass. That is why I have summoned us all here today for a Grand Council.”

  He paused to hoist the Staff of Cycles again. He looked up at the Evertree’s gleaming branches. “But know this!” he said, pointing the staff at each of the beasts. “With the end of this era, we can begin another. A better era. An era where we are truly great again. Everything I have done – everything – has been with the goal of bringing us all to our former glory. When I rule Erdas, I will ensure that all will bow to us. Our power will be unsurpassed. We should not war against each other. We should unite. Join me in this. We will be true Great Beasts!”

  Conor listened in silence. His eyes wandered to the others. None of the Great Beasts made a move or a sound. No, Conor thought desperately. They’re listening to Kovo.

  Kovo turned back to Tellun. He brought himself up to his full height, then nodded once at the elk. “Stand with me, Tellun!” the ape roared. “You once imprisoned me, but I am now free. Don’t you see how much power is here for us to take?” He stretched out one huge palm. His eyes narrowed at Tellun’s talisman. “Give me the Platinum Elk,” he commanded. “You know what a complete Staff of Cycles can mean for us. You know you must do this, for all of Erdas. For the Great Beasts.”

  For a long moment, Kovo and Tellun just stared at one another. Conor’s heart began to pound. What are you waiting for? he thought fiercely at the Great Elk, wishing he could hear him.

  Then, to Conor’s shock, Tellun lowered his head. “What –” Conor stammered, not knowing what to say next. Tellun didn’t reply. Instead, he let his antlers touch Conor’s chest, right where the Platinum Elk talisman now hung.

  Kovo’s eyes widened, and a slow smile started to spread across his face. Tellun was going to take back the talisman and give it to him!

  “No!” Conor shouted. He couldn’t let this happen. The Platinum Elk was the only thing left that Kovo didn’t have. With this, all would be lost. Conor’s eyes shot to Tellun’s, and he put his hand on Tellun’s lowered muzzle. “Please –” Conor begged. Meilin, Rollan, and Abeke looked on in horror. “Don’t do it. I don’t know what Kovo has done to persuade you, but you have to fight it. You –”

  Tellun only met Conor’s desperate gaze with his quiet one. Conor felt as if he could see straight into the Great Beast’s soul. Tellun still didn’t speak. The rest of Conor’s plea withered away on his tongue.

  Tellun lowered his head again. He made no move to take the talisman away from Conor.

  Kovo’s smile wavered.

  “Everything lies with you now,” Tellun said to Conor in a low, rumbling voice. He nodded once. “Protect it.”

  Conor couldn’t think. He couldn’t react. All he could do was clutch the Platinum Elk close and look on as Tellun turned toward Kovo. Kovo’s fading smile twisted into the picture of rage. Tellun lowered his antlers again.

  As Kovo opened his mouth to utter a furious roar, the Great Elk charged at the Evertree.

  Blinding light exploded from the tree as Tellun struck it. An enormous force threw Conor clear off his feet. He flew ba
ckward, landing heavily in the grass. The brilliant light was everywhere – he couldn’t see anything. The ground beneath him trembled violently. An earthquake.

  Then the light vanished. Spots swam before Conor’s eyes. He pushed himself up, blinking, and immediately reached out for Briggan. His hand made contact with familiar fur. As his vision cleared, Conor saw that Tellun had disappeared. All that remained was a new dark mark on the Evertree’s trunk where Tellun had struck it. Conor’s mouth hung open. A feeling of indescribable pain pierced him.

  Tellun had never intended to give Kovo the Platinum Elk. Instead of letting Kovo have what he wanted, Tellun sacrificed himself.

  Tellun had died.

  Before Conor could react, he saw Rumfuss the Boar stamp the ground with his hooves. Huge clouds of dust whipped into the air. He, too, looked toward Conor and the other Four Fallen, exchanging a quiet, knowing look with them. Then he snorted loudly at Kovo.

  “For … Erdas!” he roared. He charged at the Evertree.

  “No!” Kovo managed to call, but it was too late – Rumfuss hit the tree with a force like thunder, shaking the entire crater with the impact, and vanished in a flash of light. Another dark wound appeared on the Evertree. A shower of golden leaves fell as the tree shuddered.

  Dinesh, too, stepped forward and charged at the Evertree, letting out one last, enormous trumpet of his trunk before sacrificing himself. Then Cabaro the Lion let out a bone-shaking roar and charged at the Evertree too. His impact knocked Conor to his knees. When Meilin hurried over to help him up, he saw that Cabaro was gone and the Evertree had a new wound. Even Cabaro, the vain and cowardly! He felt a swell of sadness and kinship.

  Kovo pounded his chest in rage and snarled at the other Great Beasts. “Such fools!” he shouted. “All of you! I could have handed true power back to all of us – I could have made sure we ruled together! Do you not know that our era is waning?” He roared as Suka the Polar Bear stepped forward. “Stop!” His voice had a note of anguish in it that surprised Conor.

  Meilin met Conor’s eyes with a wild, startled expression. “The Great Beasts are sacrificing themselves!” she shouted. “So that Kovo cannot control them! We have to help!” Beside her, Jhi pawed the ground and uttered a long, low, pandalike cry. It was the first time Conor had ever seen her in a battle pose.

  This snapped Conor out of his shock. “Right!” he replied. He touched Meilin’s arm and looked at Rollan and Abeke. “Briggan and I will aim for Kovo,” he said. “Get Halawir and Gerathon! This is our last chance!”

  The four nodded in unison. No time to waste. Conor pulled out the ax at his belt. Briggan bared his teeth at Kovo. He and Conor charged as one.

  Abeke and Meilin lunged for Gerathon, with Uraza and Jhi right beside them. Rollan called Essix as Halawir prepared to take off from the Evertree’s branches. They all seemed to move in a slow, blurred motion. From the corners of his eyes, Conor saw Suka change her course in mid-gallop from the Evertree to Gerathon. The Evertree’s branches glimmered behind her towering shape. Conor veered to one side and crouched low as the bear charged past him. His hair whipped over his face and he turned his eyes up, mouth open, to see one of her enormous paws soar over his head. The rest of her was shadowed, a titan of a silhouette with a bright glowing eye high above the earth. Then her paw crashed down to the ground, throwing Conor onto his back. He scrambled to his feet again.

  The other Great Beasts were on the move too. Arax the Ram’s horns looked nearly big enough to tear the Evertree down. His hooves beat against the earth, furious and heavy, ripping up entire fields of grass as he charged ahead. Kovo tensed as the ram hurtled toward him. At the last moment, Kovo sidestepped with surprising speed. He grabbed Arax’s horns and twisted hard. Their shadows engulfed Conor and everything around him. The two giants toppled to the ground with a shudder, the force strong enough to crack the earth.

  Halawir took off into the air – but Mulop swung his giant tentacles up. One of them caught Halawir before he could fly higher. The giant eagle shrieked in fury as the enormous suctioned rings on the tentacle wrapped around his talons, trapping him in midair. Essix dove for him, a small, stark figure against Halawir’s maelstrom of beating wings. The falcon extended her talons and hurled into Halawir with an earsplitting shriek. One of Essix’s claws hooked into Halawir’s left wing, throwing the eagle off balance. Halawir lunged at Essix with his gleaming, razor-sharp beak – the beak tore into Essix’s wing before the gyrfalcon could pull away. Essix let out an angry cry and lunged back. Even restrained by Mulop, the beating of Halawir’s wings was so strong that a funnel of wind started to form around him. The gusts bent some of the Evertree’s branches, and more leaves whipped around in the air.

  Conor had to fight to keep from being lifted right off his feet. As the leaves flashed past his vision, he remembered his dreams in a flash. Golden leaves, towering tree, the Great Ape roaring. He turned back to Kovo and gritted his teeth.

  “Now, Briggan!” Conor shouted.

  As Kovo shoved Arax away roughly by his horns, he turned in time to see Conor and Briggan charging straight for him. He only had time to bare his teeth before Briggan slammed into him. The wolf knocked him onto his back with a heavy thud. Briggan snapped at the ape’s neck, but Kovo rolled just in time, forcing Briggan off of him and swinging a mighty fist at Briggan’s snout. Briggan leaped back, narrowly avoiding the blow. For an instant, Kovo was on the ground, and his attention was turned completely away from Conor. Briggan snarled as Kovo lunged for him.

  Conor made a flying leap for Kovo. His arms laced around Kovo’s neck, throwing him off balance and stopping his attack. The wolf twisted around Kovo’s arm. He sunk his teeth into the ape’s thick wrist, making him roar in pain. Conor saw instantly that Briggan was trying to force Kovo toward the Evertree. To make him sacrifice himself in the way that Tellun, Rumfuss, and the other Great Beasts had.

  Nearby, Suka let out an earthshaking roar as she faced Gerathon. The serpent had uncoiled and now towered over the polar bear, her fangs wide open.

  Conor hung on for dear life as Kovo swung around, trying to shake the boy off of him. Briggan tightened his jaw. Kovo spun to crush Conor under his back, but Conor let go at the last second and scrambled away.

  Near them, Halawir managed to shake Mulop off, throwing him against the tree. Blood stained one of Essix’s wings, but the gyrfalcon dug her claws grimly into the eagle. Halawir looked ready to attack Essix again when a white blur of motion struck him. Ninani the Swan! Conor ducked instinctively at the sight. Wind roared against his face. Her pale wings nearly blotted out the dark sky as they beat furiously against Halawir. An angry cry emerged from her throat. Halawir, startled for an instant, forgot Essix – and the moment gave Essix the chance to strike out. Halawir screamed as the gyrfalcon’s beak tore into his side.

  “Conor!”

  Abeke’s shout shook Conor from watching the winged beasts fight. Just in time, he saw Kovo roar and throw a heavy fist at him. Conor threw a hand up in a pitiful defense. Something silver and gray blurred in front of him before Kovo’s strike could land.

  Briggan.

  The Great Wolf struck like lightning, his fangs shooting out at Kovo’s arm and locking onto his wrist before Conor could even think. Kovo’s roar changed to one of pain. He swung his arm backward, taking a snarling Briggan with him, and tried in vain to throw him off. Briggan hung on grimly. The ground shook as Kovo stumbled backward. Then he lost his footing as Briggan gave his arm a ferocious shake. Kovo roared again in fury. He twisted around and sank his teeth into Briggan’s shoulder.

  “Briggan!” Conor screamed as he scrambled to his feet. Briggan winced in pain. He tried to continue hanging on, but Kovo’s bite had taken its toll, and the wolf was forced to release the ape.

  The earth shuddered. Conor glanced over to the Evertree in time to see Suka seize Gerathon’s body between her thick jaws. She clamped down hard. Gerathon hissed in fury, twisting her body in an attempt to free herself, but it was
too late. Suka charged at the Evertree with the serpent. They struck with the force of an avalanche. The tree shook, one of its branches snapping and crashing to the ground. Blinding light engulfed everyone.

  When Conor could see again, Suka – and Gerathon – were gone. The Evertree leaned from the weight of the blow.

  Nearby, Uraza leaped for Halawir, managing to grab one of his talons in her teeth, and Mulop wrapped a tentacle around the other. With the forces of Ninani and Essix keeping him from flying higher, Halawir screamed in frustration. He finally lost his balance and crashed to the ground. Arax the Ram was there, ready and waiting. He lifted Halawir with his horns, then charged at the Evertree with the eagle. Halawir tried to untangle himself, but to no avail.

  Both Arax and Halawir struck the Evertree and vanished in a haze of light and thunder. Ninani and Mulop followed immediately afterward, sacrificing themselves in their wake.

  Kovo threw his head back with a furious cry. “You fools!” he shrieked, grief mixed with his rage. He brandished the Staff of Cycles higher. “You sacrifice yourselves for nothing!” He bared his teeth at the rest of them. “Then I will destroy everything. I will destroy you all! I will rule Erdas alone!”

  He looked down at the wounded Briggan at his feet.

  No! Conor sprinted toward them. With Gerathon and Halawir gone, Rollan, Meilin, and Abeke rushed to help. Uraza pounced on Kovo right before he could lunge at Briggan again. Her claws dug into the ape’s thick back hide. Kovo stumbled, giving Briggan the chance to dodge his blow. Kovo shook his body left and right – finally, with a terrifying growl, he spun so roughly that Uraza flew off of him. He reared up to his full height, pounding his chest with his fists. His eyes glowed red in the darkness.

  And then, to Conor’s disbelief, he heard Meilin’s clear voice ring out. “Now, Jhi!” she cried.

  JHI CHARGED AT KOVO. WHEN SHE REACHED HIM, SHE reared up to her full height – a formidable sight, even as a smaller version of her Great Beast self. She let out a roar. Meilin felt a sudden jolt of both fright and pride. Never had she heard such a sound before. Gentle Jhi, now a terrifying warrior. Even Kovo seemed stunned for a moment.