Birdie's Book - Andrea Burden [40]
I raced to help, not sure what I could do. Instantly, a frond sprang out, not at me but at Kerka’s weapon. The razor fern, in one fell swoop, sliced the Kalis stick in half.
The single fern blade turned toward me. It raised its head and waved slowly from side to side like a blind cobra about to strike. But then it seemed to change its mind, and it stretched itself high above Kerka’s head. The lights hovered above us, their eerie light throwing shadows everywhere.
“No!” I shouted.
Kerka screamed, and I lunged toward her, but the vines had wound around my feet, holding them tight to the ground. I fell sprawling, screaming, but my hand was within reach of the half of the Kalis stick that had flown my way. If I could push the end close enough for Kerka to grasp, I could pull her out of there.
“Grab the stick, Kerka!” I yelled, reaching the half Kalis stick as far as I could.
A drip of blood trickled down her face as she gaped at me. She reached out, but the vines pulled her away. The fern blade waved in victory above her head. I suddenly remembered my cloak in my other hand. I tossed it to her like a net.
“Get it!” I shouted.
Even as I yelled, the fern blade dropped.
I shut my eyes, and the next instant I heard Kerka scream in what sounded like pure fury. “My hair!” she shrieked. “How dare you!”
She was alive!
I opened my eyes to see that the fern blade had indeed hacked off Kerka’s braids, right to the nape of her neck. But I saw her only for one moment before the vines and roots pulled her kicking and screaming under the ferns.
Then suddenly there was complete and utter silence.
The ferns swayed innocently. The lights hovered for a moment, then flew to perch in the dead tree branches again.
“Kerka, are you there?” I shouted.
“Birdie.” I thought I heard Kerka’s voice coming faintly from inside the tree.
“Kerkaaaaaaa!” I screamed into the darkness.
No reply. She was gone. On the ground, strands of blond hair were scattered, along with scraps of cloth from my once-lovely green velvet cloak.
I was alone, only a stone’s throw from the Shadow Tree. What was I going to do? Half the Kalis stick lay by my feet. Half of the Singing Stone was in my pocket. Kerka, my other half on this adventure, was trapped inside the tree.
I suddenly thought of my mother. No wonder she gave up. No one normal person could possibly have the power to fight off such enemies!
I put my hand to my heart, desperate for courage. I remembered Kerka’s words: Think, think of what you can do. But I was too tired to think. I sighed, and decided to see if the Shadow Tree itself would offer any clues.
My heart beat loudly as I stepped up to the tree. I didn’t care about the ferns, and as if because I didn’t care, they didn’t sense me. I walked all around the tree and came back to the oozing knothole.
Now the inky ooze didn’t just bleed from the knothole but flowed from the bark, forming a hot black pool around the base of the trunk. I know it was hot, because I slipped in it. When I stood up, I was covered in goo and dirt and bits of leaves and hacked-off vines.
It was horrible.
How did I end up here? I wondered. This was supposed to be a nice little trip to meet my granny Mo, and it had turned into a quest to save my family. And now to save Kerka as well!
I looked at my hands, caked with muck, and didn’t recognize them. Who are you, Birdie Cramer Bright? Aren’t you that shy girl, carrying Belle on the train? How did this happen? I had thought New York was a hard, cold place. Kerka was right—what a whiner I’d been! I had my dad and my new school waiting for me. There was my mom, who loved me even if she didn’t understand me.
Heat seemed to pour off the tree. I was sweating. My hand went to wipe my forehead and stopped at my heart. I closed my eyes. Now the heart light gave me coolness, and new thoughts rose up.
I was Kerka’s only hope. I was the only hope of the Arbor Lineage. And I was the only hope to mend the rift between my