02 Tanequil by Brooks Terry

Author:Brooks, Terry [Terry, Brooks,]
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2010-04-10T10:40:52.622000+00:00

He turned his face into the rock, peering ahead, and felt something move against his cheek. He jerked away, looking back in surprise at a greenish gray patch on the stone.

Lichen.

But it had moved. He had felt it move. He hesitated, then placed his cheek against the patch again. Again, he felt it move. He wasn't sure if he was feeling it with his senses or his mind. It wasn't quite one or the other. He held his cheek against it and closed his eyes.

Warm.

The lichen was expressing what it felt, and his odd magic was reading its communication. He placed his cheek against it once more, feeling the faint movement of its tiny bristles, the expression of its tiny intelligence.

Warm.

He looked around quickly. Lichen grew all over these rocks in mottled greenish gray patches. He peered into the mist. Everything looked the same to him, but maybe not to the lichen. The lichen couldn't see, but it could feel. It was a plant. It sought the sun. That was what it was communicating to him. Warm. It was sensing the hidden sunlight.

Was there a way that he could use the lichen, a way that could help them get clear?

"Kermadec!" he said quickly, searching for the Maturen. The big man moved out of the haze past Cinnaminson. "What direction does the trail go, the one we need to follow?"

The big man bent down, his barked face as rugged as the mountains they were trapped in. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Just tell me. Which way?"

"Southeast. Why?"

"And the time? What time of day is it?"

"After noon by about an hour, I would guess. What are you asking, Penderrin?"

"Then north would be that way?" He pointed, and Kermadec nodded. "And south that way?" Again, the Rock Troll nodded. Pen took a deep breath. "Let me take the lead. I think I can get us out of here. If the trail leads down at some point, back to tree level, maybe we can get below this mist. Will you let me try?"

Kermadec eased him to the front of the line, and Pen began to move forward, running his hands along the patches of lichen that grew on the rock face. The afternoon sun would be south and west of them. He needed to lead them south and east to stay on the path. It was easy at first, because the trail only led in one direction and there were no choices to be made. But it quickly grew more difficult as the number of twists and turns increased and the path split, forcing him to read the lichen's response to his touch and then advance accordingly.

He couldn't be sure he was going the right way, not entirely, not while he was unable to see anything of his surroundings, the mist so thick and impenetrable it was like swimming underwater at night. But at least they were moving somewhere, rather than just standing out in the open with night coming on. It was better to take the chance, he told himself.

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