Book 2: Chapter 44: Insubordination

Book 2: Chapter 44: Insubordination

“What about the lemon trees?” I asked as we traveled across the sand at an infuriatingly slow pace. “Did they germinate? How many?”

Leroy swallowed his bite of the leftover pastry I’d given him before grimacing my way.

“I have my suspicions, but I don’t want to find out what Claws would do if I ruined the surprise—she’s chaos incarnate.”

Maria giggled, covering her mouth.

“Probably a safe move—we’ll just have to wait and see.”

“You can go on without me,” Leroy said. “I’m still reeling from last night.”

My body wanted to take him up on his offer, to sprint across the sands and see what had happened to the trees, but I fought it down.

“Nah, mate. We’re happy to wait for you.”

“I understand your pain,” Maria said, wincing. “That was me only a half hour ago.”

Leroy grunted, shielding his eyes from the sun as we continued.

“I hope it only takes me a half hour to feel better. What happened last night?”

“Well,” I said, grinning at him. “Last I saw of you, Barbara was cradling you in her arms like a newborn.”

“Good gods—I passed out?”

“Oh, no—you were very much awake. You were making up a song about someone named Trent? I don’t know what that bloke did to you, but your drunk self was not a fan. Your wife was trying to cover your mouth, but you just kept belting out lines. It was quite impressive, really.”

Leroy blanched as he blinked at me.

I roared with laughter.

“Yeah, mate—it was as bad as it sounds. Barry’s rum certainly makes for interesting feasts, if nothing else.”

“I can’t believe I missed that!” Maria said, the color in her face mostly returned.

“Wait, what happened to you?” Leroy asked, peering at her from beneath a hand that shielded his face from the sun.

“I may or may not have blacked out and needed to be showered by Ruby.”

Leroy started laughing, then immediately stopped, hunching down and holding his head.

“Dionysus’s cursed grapes—when does it get better?”

“Soon, mate. Just keep munching that pastry and you’ll be right as rain before you know it.”

Soon after, we stepped from the harsh late-morning sun and into the shade of the forest’s canopy.

Leroy let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank the gods—that’s much better.”

The air was cool, almost sweet, and I breathed deep of its moisture. So did Leroy and Maria—the former’s posture immediately lost some of the tension it held. We walked in silence, and while I couldn’t speak for the other two, my thoughts were consumed by what we’d find when we arrived in the clearing. As we got close to it, a strange sound rolled out over the ford floor to greet us.

“What is that?” Maria asked, cocking her head to the side.Gét latest novel chapters on nov(e)lbj/n(.)c/om

I knew what it was, and when I spun toward Leroy, he gave me a knowing smile.

“You recognize the sound, don’t you?”

“Yeah...” I answered. “But why are they there?”

“What is it?” Maria asked.

I turned to her, my eyebrows knitted in thought.

“And you,” I continued, pointing at the tree. “You used the food to grow the lemons, correct?”

The root beneath me nodded vehemently.

“Right—so you both did it. Agreed?”

Claws crossed her arms—so did the tree by sprouting two little tendrils from its root.

“Ladies...” I knelt down so I was eye to eye with the root—well, where its eyes would be if it had them. “You’ve both done something amazing here, and I can’t properly appreciate it until you stop fighting. Can you do that for me, Claws?”

She glared at me defiantly.

“... please?”

All at once, the raging bonfire in her eyes reduced to an ember and she let out an apologetic chirp. In response, the root uncrossed its, well, roots, and nodded, copying her movement. I smiled between both of them, feeling genuine relief. I pulled Claws into a hug, cradling her into my arms to apologize for holding her by the scruff.

“Unbelievable...” Maria said, walking over to us with hesitant steps. “The tree...?”

I shrugged.

“Looks like it, yeah. It’s as sapient as they come.”

Leroy stepped past us and laid a hand on its sturdy trunk. The root turned to face him, cocking its makeshift head as it took him in.

“It... no, sorry, she—you’re a female, right?” he asked the root.

My eyes narrowed; I’d said ladies, but hadn’t realized it until Leroy pointed it out. As with my animal pals, I had a sense of her gender. The root—she—nodded, and Leroy turned to me.

“She has expanded her bounds. Can you feel it?”

Confusion crossed my face, and I closed my eyes. I felt the waves of energy flowing around me, and just as Leroy had said, they swept outward, going to...

My eyes shot open.

“You took over the lemon trees?”

The tree made a kind of gesture.

“I think it’s more accurate to say she joined them.” Leroy walked over and touched one of their trunks. “I can feel a sort of awareness within each tree... they’re unique, as if they were each a different person.”

The root nodded.

“Unreal...” I said, walking over to stand beneath one of the lemon trees.

They were squat and nowhere near as tall as the blue-barked tree, yet I could still stand at my full height beneath them. From below, the hum of the pollinators was even louder, and I closed my eyes for a moment, letting the symphony wash over me. The remnants of a breeze flew beneath the forest canopy, and the cool, humid air swept across my skin, sending a pleasant chill through me. Maria slipped an arm around my waist, and we stood there for a long moment, both just enjoying existence.

When I opened my eyes, Maria was gazing up. I joined her in staring at the juicy, fat lemon hanging just above us. I raised a hand to cup it, then turned to the root still extended from the earth.

“Can I pick it?”

The root’s posture turned flummoxed, and the leaves of its main tree shook in what I took as humor. The root nodded, holding where its stomach would be in the approximation of a belly laugh. I smirked at it before returning my attention to the lemon. With a single tug, it came free.

“It’s so big...” Maria said.

“No kidding.” I squeezed the grape-fruit sized citrus. “These are even bigger than the genetically modified ones from back home.”

“They’re almost too big.” She stepped closer, peering down. “How are you gonna use all of it? It’ll taste too sour if you use all that juice in a single dish, right?”

“Huh...” I said, squinting at the lemon.

Maria arched a brow at me.

“What’s up?”

“You just gave me a fantastic idea...”