Oliver followed Melkem, making the climb back down to the forest floor as though in a trance. Gray, rusty clouds boiled through the gaps in the leaves overhead, building into a storm. The air smelled like rain.
Zarine said nothing; she did not seem to want to distract him from whatever it was that was about to come. Oliver followed after Melkem, who was making his way toward the centermost of the enormous trees. He had never been here, before. It was where the Trebbons usually seemed to gather most thickly, which he usually avoided, so as not to get in their way.
The creatures were there, now – hundreds of them, gathered on the huge roots of the tree, which stuck out like tortured spider legs in all directions. It was strange to see so many of them sitting so still; usually, the Trebbo
