Chapter 15
Jasper left Sapphire sitting on the ground, catching her breath, while he had a look around the inner tree. It was surprisingly bright; surprising both because any light from the moon outside couldn’t penetrate here, and also because the outer tree had been so utterly black. He couldn’t understand it; why was this tree here? A tree so bright it would have been like a beacon of light in the forest if not for the terrifying structure that surrounded it? It didn’t make any sense.
Jasper walked further forward on his path, taking in the sights around him. Now that his mind was clear and he could concentrate, he noticed that the path he had taken was one of many that climbed up the walls of the tree, crisscrossing each other like a huge maze of walkways. The wooden walls seemed to shimmer faintly, and the light increased the higher up Jasper looked. He felt calm here, safe, and that scared him. Was he being tricked into thinking he was safe here only for the tree to send out its defences? He had to be vigilant; he couldn’t let himself get comfortable in this place - after all, he was still inside the tree of doom, and the ringing in his ears hadn’t quite gone away yet.
“Are you ready?” he asked Sapphire after making his way back to where he’d left her. “It looks safe, but we can’t be too careful.”
Sapphire looked a little better; her skin was still faintly green and Jasper worried she might throw up again, but the sheen of sweat had gone from her brow and she looked like she was picking up strength.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she replied, drawing her sword from its scabbard. Jasper did the same and, side by side, they started the ascent to the highest point of the tree.
It took a long time to scale the walkways, and more than once they’d had to stop for a rest. The start of their journey really had drained them and Jasper worried that neither of them had enough strength to complete this task. Still, no enemies had appeared to stop them and Jasper was still determined to get out of here as quickly as possible, so they only stopped briefly each time before pushing on as fast as they could.
Finally, what seemed like hours later, they reached the top and there, embedded in the silvery pale wood, was the trident Amethyst had told Jasper about. It was made of the same knotted wood of the outer tree trunk, and as Jasper approached it he felt a shadow of his earlier feelings come back to him; it was cold and made him feel nauseated just to look at it. A faint ringing sound came from it, staring up a dull ache in his head. There was no doubt that this thing was dark. Jasper just hoped that when he took it it would lose its power and he wouldn’t have to deal with feeling sick the whole way back to the Tiffikin village. He stepped forward, trying his best to ignore the awful sensations that washed over him, and reached out to grab the trident. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sapphire take a few steps backwards, back down the path that had led them here.
“Sorry, but it clearly affects me more than it does you. I don’t want to feel like that again.”
Jasper understood, and besides; it was his task. He was the one who had to do this so he gave Sapphire a quick nod, stepped forward and wrapped his hand around the dark wood.
He’d expected something to happen when he’d laid his hand on the trident, but as he gripped it and pulled it free from where it was embedded in the pale wood, everything stayed exactly as it had been. It was calm; quiet. Scarily quiet, actually. The only sounds were his and Sapphire’s breaths as they panted, glancing around to see what would happen next.
“Well, that was…”
“JASPER, LOOK OUT!”
Sapphire’s eyes were suddenly full of horror as she stared behind Jasper. He turned quickly, knowing he had to see whatever was behind him to be able to defend himself, but at the same time wishing he didn’t have to look. He grimaced as he turned, reluctantly bringing his gaze upwards to where his enemy was forming behind him.
It was as though the outer tree had liquified, turning into a mess of midnight black leaves and bark held together by sticky blood-red sap. It flowed in from above, seeping through any crack it could find and coming to rest on the floor in front of Jasper. He stood stock-still, too scared to move as the tree-lava rose from the ground, building itself up into a human-like shape and solidifying before Jasper’s eyes.
It was a shape he recognised; a shape he’d seen only days before - The Dark Knight. Though, this dark Knight was worse than the first. Its armour boiled, great bubbles of molten tree sap popping and sending scalding spray across the pathways. Where it landed, the wood burned, turning to ash and falling down to the floor far below almost instantly. The huge tree creaked and groaned as it began to crumble, and Jasper suddenly came to his senses.
“WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!” he yelled, racing towards Sapphire and grabbing her with his free hand, pulling her along at his side. Sapphire didn’t need telling twice; she picked up the pace, pulling free of Jasper’s grip as she reached behind her, pulling a bow and arrows from a quiver strung cross her back. Without breaking stride, she aimed over her shoulder and let loose, sending an arrow right into the Dark Knight of Doom’s heart. It would have been a good shot; a great shot, even, if she’d fired it at any other enemy. As it was, though, the arrow splintered, burned up and dropped to the floor in a pile of ash.
Sapphire looked to Jasper, communicating in her look of horror that she didn’t know how to fight this thing; that any of her weapons would surely burn up the minute they made contact with it. Jasper nodded, knowing exactly what she meant.
“Just RUN,” he bellowed and Sapphire picked up the pace, following the pathway back down to the ground and leaving Jasper behind her.
At least she’ll be okay, Jasper thought as he suddenly stopped in his tracks, turning to face the approaching enemy. He didn’t know what he was going to do; didn’t know how to defeat this thing that was tearing towards him at great speed, spitting scalding sap as it ran. What he did know, though, was that he was the only one who could defeat it and if he didn’t at least try, he could never live with himself.
The world seemed to slow down as he stood there with the stolen trident in his hand, trying to think of a plan. He saw the Knight get closer and his mind drifted for a moment back to that night in his room only days ago, where he’d met Amethyst the fairy and made the wish which would ultimately bring him here. It seemed like years ago now; like another life and, he realised now, not the life he wanted. Had Amethyst known when she sent him here that he was a Tiffikin? Had she known he would choose to stay in the forest with Sapphire and the rest instead of returning to the house that had never felt like home with Mr. Grind? He knew now where he fit in, knew that even if he could be made human-sized, he’d never be happy in that world. Here is where he belonged. Here, with Sapphire; his friend. With Moss, his family, and with the people he had to protect.
Suddenly, thinking about Amethyst and the tasks she’d set him, Jasper knew what to do. As quick as a flash, he pulled the dagger-key from its sheath, brought it up to the trident and jammed it with all his might into a slot on the wooden staff. This had to be how to defeat the tree; it was the only thing that made sense: the final artefact Amethyst had told him about.
A flash of light burst from the trident, knocking the knight backwards to the floor and, before he had time to think it through, Jasper was launching himself through the air, not caring about being burned; not feeling any fear at the thought of fighting this monster who was hundreds of times his size, aiming the pointed end of the now glowing trident at its heart. He landed on its chest, ignoring the pain as the sap blistered his skin, and drove the trident down hard. It slipped through the Knight’s chest as though it were butter and hit the ground below with a booming clang. Immediately, the Knight burst into white hot flames, exploded and turned to a pile of ash.
Burned and exhausted, Jasper pulled the trident from the ground and sank to the floor, covered in ash and sweat.
Soft footsteps sounded from behind him and, weary, he turned round to see who was approaching. It was Sapphire.
“Tell me it’s over,” he said.
Chapter 16
“It’s over.”
Somehow, he knew she was right; it really was over.
“We did it.” He panted, smiling up at Sapphire with relief all over his face. She didn’t seem as happy; she seemed almost embarrassed.
“Um, well, you did it, really.” Her gaze dropped to the floor and she kicked at some of the ash that piled around her feet. “I didn’t help at all.”
“Sapphire, stop. I couldn’t have done it without you.” Jasper stood up, aching all over, and flung his arms around Sapphire. She jumped a little in shock, then hugged him back. Jasper could feel the stress leaving her as they stood there in each other’s arms. Then, awkwardly, she pulled away.
“Well, I guess we should really be going. Do you… do you think we’ll have to go through that horrible stuff on the way out?” She grimaced, remembering everything that’d had to deal with on the way in.
“I don’t think so,” Jasper replied. “I think all that should have gone now that I have the final artefact.”
He was right; as they reached the bottom of the inner tree and stepped through the archway there to make their way back to the doorway they’d come in, they saw that actually, the Tree of Doom was completely gone. Instead of an outer tree, all that was left was a ring of ash surrounding the shining silver birch. They stepped out into the forest, surprised to see the moonlight creeping in from above; all sign of the evil that was once there gone forever.
“You really did it.” Sapphire smiled at Jasper. “Thank you.” And she strode ahead, leading the way back to the village.
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“So, what are you going to do, Jasper?” The prophet, Citrine, asked as soon as Jasper stepped through the door into her room. “You’ve done what you came to do. Now, will you leave us and live with the humans?”
“No.” Jasper answered, quite resolutely. “I realised today… well, I think I knew the moment I arrived here, really, that I belong here. I’m… I’m a Tiffikin.”
Citrine smiled an almost toothless grin. “Yes, that you are. I’m so glad you’ve decided to stay with us. Your parents would be so happy knowing you made it home safely.”
“Wait, you knew who my parents were?” Jasper gasped.
“Of course I did. What kid of seer would I be if I didn’t know anything?” She chuckled and Jasper couldn’t help but join in.
“There’s something I have to do though.”
“I know. Go, Jasper. I’ll see you very soon.”
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It was odd, standing here in the human world, looking up at the coffee shop after spending time with the Tiffikins. Jasper thought that when he came back here he’d be excited to be made tall like the rest of the humans but now that he was here, waiting for Amethyst to appear, all he could think about was turning round and running back to the Tiffikins; to his home.
“You came back,” a voice floated from the darkness and, slowly, Amethyst came into view. she looked surprised and a little troubled.
“I did, but I don’t want my wish anymore. I don’t belong here; I want to stay with the Tiffikins. They’re my family. They’re who I belong with. I need to go back.”
Amethyst’s worried expression changed and a wide grin spread across her face, revealing the whitest teeth Jasper had ever seen.
“I was hoping you’d say that. So, in that case, why did you come back here?”
“To give you this.” Jasper held out the trident, which had continued to glow faintly since he’d set the dagger into it. “You asked me to make this artefact and I have, so, here it is.”
Amethyst looked at the trident, then to Jasper’s face, her smile never wavering.
“No, Jasper; that’s for you. Now you know who you are. You’re the protector of the Tiffikins. You’ll need this; you earned it.”
“You mean I’m going to need this again? There are more enemies?”
Amethyst floated closer and placed a hand on Jasper’s shoulder. It felt vaguely like pins and needles where she touched him.
“There always has been and always will be danger for the Tiffikins. Throughout time there has always been a protector; before you it was your father and his father before him. It’s in your blood, Jasper. You’re destined to take care of your people, and I know you’ll do a wonderful job. Now,” she said, “it’s time for me to go and for you to return to your people. Good luck, Jasper. I hope we meet again.” And with that, she was gone, leaving Jasper alone on the kerb.
For a moment, he had doubts, but as he glanced up to the windows of Mr. Grind’s coffee shop high above, Jasper knew he’d do anything to get away from here; to be with the Tiffikins. It might be scary, he might get hurt, but with Sapphire at his side and his trident in his hand he could take on anything. It couldn’t be too hard, right?
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