The Sentinels of Eden, Books 1-4

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

High above the ground, the Sentinel stood right on the point of the tree branch between where her weight was supported easily and the bendy region where a sudden movement would surely send her to her death again.

The view was spectacular enough to distract her for quite some time, and she soaked it in as greedily as her lungs soaked in air—scented with pine and honey and blossoms—as she recovered from the climb. Under her feet, helpful rustling reminded her how deeply she was loved and cherished here, as the tree began to redirect its energy into growing faster beneath her toes, the branch thickening and strengthening with miraculous speed. The timeless pine hungered to keep her safe at least as much as it hungered for the sweet nectar of warm sunlight. Deep textured wisdom flowed up through the core of its massive trunk, tasting the atmosphere to assess her needs as well as its own.

She brushed her fingertips across the tips of the pine needles. Their scent tripped threads of elusive memories—decorated trees on Christmas mornings with ACDC echoing across the backyard and Dad yelling at Mum to turn it down and Mum yelling back that he must be getting old and would he like a glass of sherry and Dad teasing her back by saying he’d prefer a shandy … but those memories were best left behind. Still, something tugged at her, from the east, demanding her attention in a place where demands were meaningless. Something forgotten, and uncomfortable to dwell on. Something that made her want to stay distracted enough not to have to think about it, and death was very distracting.

Above her head, sparrows flicked around tiny gusts of air with each wing beat, throwing in random bursts of speed every time there was a hint of a pause in their song like they were playing musical chairs. Smiling, she pulled a slightly squished piece of Fruit from where it had been tucked under her belt, and then she launched herself from the branch, up towards the graceful sky.

Adrenaline washed away her lingering discomfort as she plummeted past the base of the tree and down into the rocky gorge that it leant out over. Remnant reflexes from another world caused her to gasp, and for a second her limbs became rigid in response to her body’s perceived danger, but that only lasted for a few moments. She inhaled sweet life to drown the memories, and then let her breath out again with a laugh as she noticed the sparrows trying to follow her, unable to fall nearly as well with their hollow bones. Poor little things. Spreading her arms and legs in glorious celebration, she flew downwards faster than she could move in any other game, wishing she could somehow break the laws of gravity and move even more quickly. But then it wouldn’t last as long. As it was, the ground was rising up far too rapidly. She would have to ask around to see if any of her friends knew of anywhere higher to jump from. They would laugh at her childishness, but to them she was still a child, and they loved to indulge her.

Below, the River sparkled, its curved body growing fatter as she approached it. The darker blue of its deepest pool called to her like a lover ready to fold her into his arms, and tears fell through her laughter. In her blurred vision, the River became a spiral of blue, curling around a plain brown shell. Lost. She had lost it, so long ago, and with it she’d lost her lover’s embrace. As she hit the water with explosive force, bones broke, bruises blossomed like tulips at dawn, and the piece of Fruit she had been clutching floated away from her limp fingers.

By the riverbank, a tall Tree swayed in the gusty breeze, scattering out a flurry of dry leaves. A little while later, after the Sentinel had been found by her friends and had tasted life again, a silver branch cracked and fell.

The Tree was dying.