she waited, trembling. For several minutes everything was quiet. Finally her curiosity got the better of her and she peeked out.
The shadow in the sky was transforming. From black it turned to gray and then to white. And as it became visible, it boiled and surged like a thunderhead. Then with a mighty rush it shot upward into a pillar thousands of feet tall. For a moment it hung motionless.
Then lights appeared.
From inside the pillar flashed gigantic beams of red and green, blue and purple. Up and down they swirled, leaving trails of glistening mist. As they moved faster and faster, out of them dropped thousands of smaller lights that raced and spun in every direction like a dance of fiery stars. Amanda stared at them. She had never seen anything so beautiful. As the lights grew brighter and swirled faster, her fear vanished and she felt a dreaming kind of ecstasy. Suddenly nothing mattered but seeing the lovely lights.
Laying the baby down, she walked out into the open. They were like streaming angels, and seeing them made her want to dance. Stretching out her arms, Amanda began to twirl.
If only she could fly.
If only she could dance with them.
Dance with the angels forever.
Filled with joy, she cried out, “You’re so beautiful. I love you.”
Instantly from the bottom of the pillar appeared a brilliant shaft of light that shot down into the middle of the graveyard. And in the light Amanda saw the path. “There it is. That’s why you came, isn’t it? To show me the way. Oh, thank you, thank you.”
She had barely spoken the words when the beam shifted straight onto her. Bathed in the shimmering brightness, she looked up…and her smile faded. The joy changed to confusion; and then to horror.
She couldn’t move. Her arms and legs…her whole body was frozen.
The pillar began to gnarl and glow, and then caught fire. Above her hung a blazing tree, and from it grew a thousand twisted limbs and branches that spread upward in a raging mass. Out of the bottom fell steaming roots that dangled to the ground. Amanda saw them slithering toward her. Still she couldn’t move. In a moment she was surrounded. Only when there was no escape did the light release her. Collapsing to the ground, she gasped. All her strength was gone.
A burning tendril appeared on a gravestone above the baby. The little boy was lying on his back, cooing and clapping as though it were the most fascinating thing that he had ever seen.
Amanda screamed, “No!” It felt as though her body had turned to lead. With every ounce of will she dragged herself across the sand toward him. The roots were everywhere. As she crawled, one of them slithered over her ankle. The pain was so great that she almost passed out. When her vision cleared, she screamed again. The tendril was dangling toward the little boy.
“Get away!”
Lunging forward, she tried to hit at it. But it was like hitting mist. Everywhere she touched it, it burned her skin. The root was inches from the child. Then the most unexpected thing happened. The child reached out his hand…and with one tiny finger… touched it .
The tendril froze.
For a heartbeat nothing happened.
And then suddenly there was a rushing, sucking wind and a blood-red explosion. Sweeping out from the baby’s touch roared crimson darkness. Higher and higher it streaked…up the roots…up the trunk…and out to every limb and branch across the sky. Then with a shriek and a gigantic flash…the tree disappeared.
Amanda stared. Gurgling happily, the little boy clapped his hands. Above them the sky was clear and the universe was filled with stars.
13
PATH THROUGH THE TREES
I t was midmorning when Amanda finally awoke, and waking up wasn’t easy. Her sleep had been filled with horrible dreams. Nightmares about Tori. Nightmares about Alex. And other nightmares that she had had so many times before. For a moment she lay shivering, trying to remember.
Where was she?
What had happened?
She was lying on her
The shadow in the sky was transforming. From black it turned to gray and then to white. And as it became visible, it boiled and surged like a thunderhead. Then with a mighty rush it shot upward into a pillar thousands of feet tall. For a moment it hung motionless.
Then lights appeared.
From inside the pillar flashed gigantic beams of red and green, blue and purple. Up and down they swirled, leaving trails of glistening mist. As they moved faster and faster, out of them dropped thousands of smaller lights that raced and spun in every direction like a dance of fiery stars. Amanda stared at them. She had never seen anything so beautiful. As the lights grew brighter and swirled faster, her fear vanished and she felt a dreaming kind of ecstasy. Suddenly nothing mattered but seeing the lovely lights.
Laying the baby down, she walked out into the open. They were like streaming angels, and seeing them made her want to dance. Stretching out her arms, Amanda began to twirl.
If only she could fly.
If only she could dance with them.
Dance with the angels forever.
Filled with joy, she cried out, “You’re so beautiful. I love you.”
Instantly from the bottom of the pillar appeared a brilliant shaft of light that shot down into the middle of the graveyard. And in the light Amanda saw the path. “There it is. That’s why you came, isn’t it? To show me the way. Oh, thank you, thank you.”
She had barely spoken the words when the beam shifted straight onto her. Bathed in the shimmering brightness, she looked up…and her smile faded. The joy changed to confusion; and then to horror.
She couldn’t move. Her arms and legs…her whole body was frozen.
The pillar began to gnarl and glow, and then caught fire. Above her hung a blazing tree, and from it grew a thousand twisted limbs and branches that spread upward in a raging mass. Out of the bottom fell steaming roots that dangled to the ground. Amanda saw them slithering toward her. Still she couldn’t move. In a moment she was surrounded. Only when there was no escape did the light release her. Collapsing to the ground, she gasped. All her strength was gone.
A burning tendril appeared on a gravestone above the baby. The little boy was lying on his back, cooing and clapping as though it were the most fascinating thing that he had ever seen.
Amanda screamed, “No!” It felt as though her body had turned to lead. With every ounce of will she dragged herself across the sand toward him. The roots were everywhere. As she crawled, one of them slithered over her ankle. The pain was so great that she almost passed out. When her vision cleared, she screamed again. The tendril was dangling toward the little boy.
“Get away!”
Lunging forward, she tried to hit at it. But it was like hitting mist. Everywhere she touched it, it burned her skin. The root was inches from the child. Then the most unexpected thing happened. The child reached out his hand…and with one tiny finger… touched it .
The tendril froze.
For a heartbeat nothing happened.
And then suddenly there was a rushing, sucking wind and a blood-red explosion. Sweeping out from the baby’s touch roared crimson darkness. Higher and higher it streaked…up the roots…up the trunk…and out to every limb and branch across the sky. Then with a shriek and a gigantic flash…the tree disappeared.
Amanda stared. Gurgling happily, the little boy clapped his hands. Above them the sky was clear and the universe was filled with stars.
13
PATH THROUGH THE TREES
I t was midmorning when Amanda finally awoke, and waking up wasn’t easy. Her sleep had been filled with horrible dreams. Nightmares about Tori. Nightmares about Alex. And other nightmares that she had had so many times before. For a moment she lay shivering, trying to remember.
Where was she?
What had happened?
She was lying on her
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