Forest Kingdom Trilogy 3 - Down Among the Dead Men

Far away, hidden in the darkness of the unending night, something screamed with rage. Jack didn’t look around to see what it was. It didn’t matter. He was Scarecrow Jack, and the strength of the trees was his. He was a part of the Forest, its agent and protector, and he would not allow this corruption to continue.
    The dead and rotting trees stirred uneasily as he walked unhurriedly among them, but their thrashing branches couldn’t cross the pool of light to reach him. Jack moved out into the glade and stood waiting. The Blue Moon glared down, but its light couldn’t touch him. The Wild Magic raged powerlessly around him. Jack looked up at the night sky.
There ought to be stars
. One by one the stars came out, pale and insignificant at first when seen against the Blue Moon, but gradually growing in strength as they spread across the night sky. There was a sudden flutter of wings as an owl swooped down out of the darkness, its wicked claws outstretched before it. Jack didn’t flinch, and at the last moment the owl veered aside rather than enter the pool of sunlight. The flapping of wings grew to a roar as hundreds of birds of all species came flying out of the night to swoop and soar around him. All the animals, small and large, every beast that had ever walked the Forest, came surging out of the darkness, snarling and clawing. Jack stood still and confident, and none of them could touch him. Scarecrow Jack felt the strength of the trees grow in him again. The birds and the animals disappeared. The light from the Blue Moon faded away and was gone, and night broke as the day returned. Jack stood alone in the open Forest glade on a bright summer’s day. He looked unhurriedly about him. Everything was as it should be. He nodded slowly and laid down on the mossy bank again.
    I
have been dreaming. I will wake up now
.
    He closed his eyes and let go.
    Hammer jerked awake, thrashing wildly about him, and then slowly relaxed as he realized where he was. He was safe in the border fort annex, and everything else had been a dream. Just a dream. He sighed shakily and sat up in his chair, his heartbeat slowly returning to normal. He ran his fingers through his hair, and mopped the cold sweat from his face with his sleeve. He stopped suddenly to look at his hands, turning them over and over before him, searching for signs of the decay he remembered, but they were fine. He was fine. It was nothing but a dream, a memory of the past that had been distorted in his sleep.
    He looked across at the others. Jack was sleeping peacefully, but Wilde was moaning and writhing in his sleep. He suddenly started to choke, spittle flying from his lips as he fought for breath. Jack woke up and looked quickly about him. Hammer moved over to Wilde and shook him fiercely by the shoulders, calling his name. Wilde’s eyes flew open and he stared up horrified at Hammer before realizing where he was. And then he relaxed with a great shuddering sigh, and his breathing slowed and eased. He felt at his throat with a trembling hand and swallowed dryly. Hammer straightened up and stood back a pace to give him room.
    “Bad dream?” said Jack. Wilde nodded shakily. Jack frowned. “Same here. What about you, Hammer?”
    “I had a nightmare,” said Hammer, carefully keeping his voice calm and even. “So what? Maybe we’ve all got guilty consciences.”
    “I think there’s more to it than that,” said Jack. “This place is full of nightmares.”
    Hammer looked at him sharply. “How do you mean?”
    “The first time I was here,” said Jack, “I spent some time studying the Rangers. They were all asleep, even the one on guard duty. They were dreaming, and it didn’t look like pleasant dreams. What did you dream about, Hammer?”
    Hammer looked at him suspiciously for a moment, and then shrugged casually. “A bad time in my past. How about you?”
    “I dreamed the Forest turned back into the Darkwood. Wilde?”
    “My sins finally caught up with me,” said the bowman quietly. “Let’s get out of here, Hammer. I hate this place. It’s evil.”
    “Places aren’t evil,” said Hammer impatiently. “Only people are evil.”
    “That isn’t always true,” said Jack. “There are places in the Forest it’s wise to stay away from. Dark places. They were there before the coming of the long night, and they’re still there now it’s passed. You can feel the evil there, soaked into the wood and earth and stone like a dark stain that will