Free Draggah by Toby Neighbors

sensed a strength she ’ d never possessed before.  She could also feel the tremors of the Tamakas, along with the much slighter vibrations of the tribe as they walked across the wide open prairie.
    “ Like tree roots, ” the boy said.
    “ They are like roots, aren ’ t they, ” said Olyva.
    “ You ’ ll make a good tree, ” the boy said with a smile.
    “ Thank you, ” Olyva said, not quite sure what to think of becoming a tree.
    She pulled her toes up and continued walking.  She had never given trees much thought.  The trees that grew in Hamill Keep were stunted twisting things that had somehow managed to take root in the mountain itself.  Deep inside the Keep, the citizens mined coal, which they used to keep warm.  They grew a very limited crop of vegetables on the southern face of the mountain.  The soil there was gray and sometimes entire crops failed.  The fight for survival in Hamill Keep was a bitter battle that consumed most people’s lives.
    When Olyva had been sent to Avondale, she had been amazed at how green everything inside the massive city was—the well-tended crops, the wide slopping fields that led to the forest, and the wonderful evergreen trees, like an army of towering sentinels standing watch over the deep lake at the heart of Avondale ’ s cone-shaped mountaintop.  She had admired the trees of that forest, but she had never considered what it would be like if she became a tree.  She probably would have considered such a fate tragic.  The idea of being rooted in one place, unable to move or even communicate with other creatures, seemed more like slavery than life.  But now she knew better.  She wasn ’ t sure how she knew exactly, and she guessed that not every tree was as sentient as she imagined them, but she knew the glory of feeding on sunlight, of feeling the richness soak into every part of her.  She knew how sweet water could be as it was drawn up through rooty tendrils in the soil.  She understood that surprises came on every breath of wind, and she had felt the strength of a full-grown tree in the way that it shelters smaller animals and weathers storms.
    It was late in the day when they finally came upon the group of hunters.  Olyva saw immediately that Rafe was alone.  The tribe ’ s Rogu were busy harvesting the abundance that each of the slain Tamakas offered.  The only parts of the massive beasts that couldn ’ t be used were a few of the internal organs and the copious amounts of blood.
    Once the tribe arrived, fires were kindled and the hearts of the great beasts were roasted over the flames.  The smell of the meat would normally have made Olyva ’ s mouth water, but she found that food no longer tempted her.  She watched as small parts of the huge hearts were sliced off and handed out.  There was only enough of the rich meat for each person to have a bite or two, but the tribe celebrated, much as they had the night before when Moswanee and his champion Ummar had been defeated by Rafe.  Olyva regretted that she hadn ’ t witnessed the duel, but she had heard the children talking about it.  Olyva guessed that the Tuscogee, which had only been witnessed by the adult male members of the tribe, had been exaggerated in the retelling, and of course the children embellished the story even more.  Still, it was clear that Rafe had not won the duel unharmed.  She was thankful that Tiberius was able to heal Rafe, who had seemed perfectly normal when she had roused him that morning.
    Rafe finally came back to Olyva after having a heated discussion with one of the hunters.  She could tell he was angry, his face was set and his hand gripped the hilt of his rapier so tightly that his knuckles were white.  Despite these visual clues to Rafe ’ s demeanor, Olyva found that she could sense Rafe ’ s emotional distress as he drew near.  It was almost like an odor and she wasn ’ t sure how she was sensing it, but she could.  His anger and frustration made her