The Poison Season(89)

She pulled the axe free and struck again. It would take her hours to cut such a massive tree down on her own, but a moment later, Jaren joined her, wielding an axe he’d taken from another Endlan. Pieter’s father joined as well. Within a few minutes, the tree began to groan under its own weight, sounding as lonely and ancient as the wind itself. They stepped back as the massive pine crashed to the earth, taking a smaller tree with it.

Leelo turned to the next tree. A few Endlans stood before it, their weapons raised. “Don’t do this,” a man said. “You don’t know what the consequences will be.”

“No. But I do know the consequences of letting things continue as they have been. I’m willing to take the risk.”

To her surprise, the people stepped aside. As she and Jaren swung their axes, first one, then the other, it struck a primal beat that Leelo could feel in the soles of her feet. She felt that desperate choking sensation in her throat, that insatiable need to sing.

“Are you all right?” Jaren asked her.

She nodded, but she felt like she was suffocating. She clamped her mouth shut, and with one final swing, she struck the death blow. The sound of branches snapping and the trunk splintering was ear-shattering.

This tree fell against its neighbor, taking it down with it. Many Endlans had gone home, but some stood watching, still waiting to see if there would be any consequences for what Leelo and the others were doing. Within twenty minutes, they had taken down all the pines, save the tallest. Leelo and Jaren were preparing to strike when a sudden bolt of lightning flashed overhead, followed instantly by a clap of thunder so loud Leelo screamed.

“Look out!” Jaren shouted, knocking Leelo to the ground. Just inches from where she’d been standing, a massive branch crashed to the Forest floor.

Leelo scrambled to her feet with Jaren’s help. She told herself it was a coincidence, that this had nothing to do with the Forest. But then the ground beneath her began to tremble. Suddenly, a sinkhole opened up nearby, swallowing the man who had warned Leelo to stop.

“Leelo!” Jaren screamed. She followed his gaze to the top of the pine, where flames blazed against the night sky. The lightning had started a fire.

She searched frantically for her mother as the wind roared and the other Endlans fled.

“I’m here,” Fiona said, taking Leelo’s other hand. “Quickly. We have to get you to the shore.”

Leelo’s mind was racing, trying to process what was happening. Somehow, they had succeeded in destroying the pine grove, but she had never accounted for lightning. She could only hope the rain would put out the flames before the fire spread.

They ran, dodging falling branches and fissures that opened in the Forest floor without warning. Leelo could hear people screaming in the distance, and a sob caught in her throat. What had she done?

They didn’t make it far before a mob of Endlans, still carrying their weapons, materialized from the trees. “Stop this madness, Fiona,” one of the men said, stepping forward. “Rein in your wayward daughter before she kills us all.”

Behind them, Leelo could hear the roar of flames growing louder.

Fiona pushed her wet hair out of her eyes. “My daughter was the only one here brave enough to call for an end to this Forest’s cruelty. For decades we have lived the lie our ancestors passed down to us. We told it to our own children. We sent our babies away!”

Several of the Endlans exchanged glances. They knew deep down that what they’d done to scores of innocent children was wrong, and they’d justified it by telling themselves it was for their own good.

“The Forest has already killed several of us tonight,” someone shouted from the crowd. “Even if Leelo is right, it’s not worth the cost.”

“The Forest protects us,” a woman cried. “Without it, we’ll be slaughtered.”

“You won’t,” Jaren shouted. “The outsiders aren’t what you imagine them to be. My family is kind and loving.” He glanced at Leelo, as though he were seeking some kind of confirmation.

She nodded.

“They took me in,” he continued. “They found me by the lake. They must have known what I was, but they brought me into their home and raised me as one of their own.” His voice broke, and Leelo squeezed his hand tighter.

“Just leave,” an old woman said. “Let those of us who wish to stay remain. Take the boat and be gone. The Forest will forgive the rest of us.”

Leelo had lost some of the islanders who’d been helping her amid the chaos, but she turned to Rosalie and Gant. “I’m sorry. I failed to destroy the Forest, and now all I’ve brought is destruction to our people.”

Rosalie stepped forward. “You tried, Leelo. You were the only one who would visit us after our entire community shunned us. You brought Isola back to us. You’re a good person. You should go, now. While you still can.”

“But what about you? Mama said the boat can only make the trip once.”

“We’ll be all right,” Rosalie said. “We can’t leave without Isola.”

Leelo looked up into the trees. The flames were spreading, though the rain seemed to be preventing the fire from growing into a conflagration. “The Forest...”

“Go,” Rosalie insisted.

Jaren squeezed Leelo’s hand, and she nodded. The mob parted, allowing them to pass, reforming behind them as they walked.