Chapter 12: Forest At Midnight


It darkened quick in the Forest. "I'm so, so sorry, Odale and Sep. I... I..." Nicko begun, but Odale cut him of. "It's not your fault, Nicko. It could happend to anybody." she said. "It's Forest-twilight, we better stays quiet. It's not a good idéa to move around when things shifts." Septimus told them and the others nodded.

Marcia looked at the kronometer and sighed irritated. Odale and Septimus was late, and that bothered her. They had never been late, and Marcia hoped that they would keep it like that. But well, they were so young. She shrugged and deceided that she would went to van Klampff to fetch the new part of the shadowsafe. If she was lucky he wouldn't complain about how complicated the shadowsafe was. And honestly she didn't care. If it was so hard, why did he even do it then? Right, because she was the ExtraOrdinary Wizard. But couldn't he lie? No, she would figure it out. She always figured it out. Marcia straightened her hair and went down to the Hall. She took her time, there was no reason to hurry. Or there was a reason, but Marcia prefered to annoy van Kalmpff. While she wandered at the Wizard Way she noticed that many persons looked down when she looked at them. "Marcia! Hey, wait!" someone shouted and Marcia turned around.

Odale tried not to breath so loudly, but she was so nerveous. She hated the feeling around the Forest, there were lots of creatures she didn't knew how to handle. Now she wished that she was better at transfixing living beings, but she weren't. Killing was one thing, but she wasn't in disposition to secure a thunder flash. So she felt as good as helpless, even though she hated to admit it. Last time she had felt this helpsless she had been turned to a wolf, and the time before... Odale shivered, was when she fetched (or as Marcia said; saved) Marcia from Dungeon Number One. "At the night exercises in the Young Armé, what did they teach you? I mean, what were you forced to do?" Nicko, who seemed to think much alike Odale for the moment, asked Septimus lowly. "Well, hm, once when we practiced 'fight with animals without any weapons' we digged a wolverine-trap and waited the whole night for a wolverine to fell into it. No wolverine fell into ours, but they lost three boys in the trap next to ours. And sometimes we had practising in reading a compass, and the they tied up a boy against a tree, and we had to find him before he got eaten up. It wasn't always we got there in time..." Septimus said. "Ugh. I wouldn't ask you." Nicko replied and shivered, but Odale looked unconcerned. "I thought that you was learning something about survival." Nicko continude. "We did." Septimus said, "Stay away from everything that is faster and got more teeth than you. Watch out for the carnivorous trees, because you never knows which they are before it's too late. And the most important...". "What?" Nicko and Odale asked. "Don't go into the Forest at night." Septimus continude. Odale snorted. "Haha, very funny." Nicko muttered. "I think" Septimus whispered, "that we should find a safe place in a tree or something.". "A carnivorous tree, you mean?" Nicko kidded. "Sch!" the others hissed. "Sorry, Sep." Nicko said. "As I said before- we should climb up in a tree. Only our luck determines if it's a carnivorous tree or not." Septimus said. "Maybe we could set up a barrier? That would be easier, then we don't needs to risk anything." Odale suggested. "But you're the only one here who can make a barrier, Odale, and if you fells asleep it will dissapear." Septimus said. "But I don't has to sleep. I don't think that I can do that either right now." Odale answerd. "I votes for climbing in trees." Nicko said. "Me too. That's two versus one, we win. Sorry, Odie." Septimus hurried to say. Odale pursed her lips, but didn't argue it. Septimus helled on his heavy backpack and they begun to walk, with Septimus first this time. The light from the dragon ring shine clearly and Septimus pulled his hand in his pocket. Light would attract any creature in miles distance. Nicko tried to be so quiet he could, but he was not so flexible as Odale or Septimus, and he often broke branches and leafes rustled when he stepped on them. Septimus knew that soon a creature or something would hear them. They had too quickly get up in a tree. Desperatley he searched for a tree with low branches, but he didn't find any. They were in the ancient part of the Forest where all the trees were high and held their branches highly over the ground. Suddely Odale grabbed the boys arms in her special Odale-grip. "Ouch!" the boys exclaimed, but Indigo just hissed at him. "They're around us!" she hissed, and sounded very much alike Indigo. "Who?" Nicko asked, though he know who. Or more exactley; what. "The wolverines!" Odale answerd. "Can you freeze them, Odale?" Septimus said. "No! I can't! And don't ask for a thunder flash either, because I'm not concentrated enough!" Odale replied, "Can't you transfix them?". "How? Ask them to settle down in a nice lead so I can deal with them one by one?" Septimus snapped. "Run!" Odale hissed, "Now!". The boys didn't need to hear that twice. Odale shot of through the trees, and Nicko and Septimus wasn't late after. Hot on their heels there came the wolverines. Septimus could hear Odale shriek in pain and saw her collapse with her left foot in a hole. "Keep on running!" she cried, "I can do this!". But Septimus didn't care of what she said. "Get up Odale!" he told her and dragged her up on her feet. "No, Sep. I can distract them, and when I got their full attention I can materialize away." she said and moaned in pain when she tried to take a step. "Run! Please, just run. Forget me!" Odale pleaded, and at last Nicko grabbed Septimus's arm and set of again. Then they ran a few yards, but then something grabbed around their waists. Septimus dropped his backpack and it reached the ground with a thud. They could hear Odale's disanced shrieks, but suddenly it dissapeard. Septimus didn't know if it was because of that she had materialized away, or if the wolverines had... if the wolverines had... No, he couldn't allow himself to think that. Instead he deceided to care about his own situation, which didn't seem so much brighter.


(A/N Did you like it? Did you hate it? Will Odale die? Are you wondering why it's only questions? I don't know.)