shop up ahead, and inside that cafe there was probably a newspaper waiting. Edeline was addicted to her news and was already becoming agitated having gone this long without it. What would happen to that miracle baby? Had the situation improved in Guyana? Did the first lady settle on more appropriate attire? Edeline had been in the midst of all these developments and was left on the ledge in every case. Now she had to wonder if she would ever find out. She rubbed her eyes and on reopening them was dismayed to see that the coffee shop had been a mirage.
"Do you ever see things that aren't there?" she asked Ember as she trailed along, struggling to keep up with the rapidly striding child.
"All the time," Ember admitted. "It's called the Pyraeus Effect. We named it after one of our kind who had a special knack for it. Old Pyraeus only sees things that aren't actually there. He doesn't believe when we tell him about the trees. He insists there are none, only office buildings everywhere."
"Why does it happen?" Edeline ventured.
"Because of the change in our brains," Ember related. "At least that's the theory. Some people think that whatever it was that caused our condition is also the cause of Pyraeus. And the other abilities some people have, like Strikers."
"What do they do?" Edeline asked.
"Telekinesis," Ember replied. "They can move things with their minds."
"Wow," was all Edeline could think of to say. After a bit more trudging along in silence, she spoke up again.
"What kinds of things?" she asked. "Big things? Any thing?"
"Little things," Ember told her. "It's why they are good in the game. They can score from a distance without touching the ball. It makes my job hell, that's for sure."
Ember had turned around to say this, and looking at Edeline for the first time in a while she almost felt sorry for the gal. Her glance made Edeline feel uncomfortable, although she had to admit that the dress made of ivy was "growing on her" in more ways than one. The leaves wouldn't go where the sun didn't shine, relieving one of her initial concerns. Also they felt warm and snug, and even seemed to give her an energy boost. Her hair was a mess, though, and she hated to know what her face must have looked like by then. Ember was thinking the opposite, that the men were going to go crazy over this one. Edeline was probably the most beautiful woman that Ember had ever seen and the weird thing was that Edeline didn't seem to know it. She was awkward, clumsy, even goofy at times, like an eagle that thinks it's a pigeon.
"What's this?" Edeline asked, hoping to direct Ember's attention away from her person. She was pointing at a tall plant growing by the side of the path.
"Mugwort," Ember replied. She was especially proud of her knowledge of the plant life in the forest. She had studied with an old botanist, one of their own kind, for years, a sixty-four year old named Elwin who'd been blessed with a photographic memory to go along with his years in academia researching nature. It was thanks to him, and him alone, that the Canopus dwellers did not have to go around making up new names for everything in their world. They had no books, and no hope of ever having any. Their collective memories would have to suffice.
"It's good for dreams," Ember continued. "You put one under your head when you sleep and you get the craziest dreams. It's because of the smell."
Edeline pulled a leaf off the plant, held it up to her nose and inhaled. The mugwort had a very strong, very nice odor. She was about the tuck the leaf into one of the pouches her ivy-dress made when suddenly a small, hairy man landed beside her, reached up and gave her a soft slap on the side of her face, then grabbed the leaf out of her hand and leaped back up into the tree. He scurried off into the branches and was quickly gone from sight. Edeline put her hand to the cheek he'd hit and rubbed, although it hadn't hurt at all. At the sight of her startled face, Ember burst out laughing so hard she got a cramp in her side and bent over pressing her elbow against it.
"What was that?" Edeline was asking, befuddled.
"A Smacker!" Ember managed to gasp out between breaths. "You were smacked."
"I don't see what's so funny," Edeline pouted.
"It's part of the game," Ember told her when she'd recovered sufficiently to speak without pain. "You're a Ball Gatherer, remember? It's what The Hidden One told you."
"And I still have no idea what that means," Edeline responded with a serious look on her face. "Honestly, I think you're all nuts. Is this all I can expect? You get locked up in this, this place and they throw away the key, there's no way out and you just go crazy? And I'm supposed to believe it goes on forever as well? This is just great. Just great."
It looked like she was about to burst into tears once again, but Ember held out her hand and tapped Edeline on the shoulder.
"It gets better," she insisted. "Come on. We're almost there. Really, we are."
"Okay," Edeline begrudgingly replied and the two started walking again.
"You still haven't told me about Smackers," she said after a while.
"Part of the game," Ember said. "It's how the ball moves. A Gatherer finds one, a Smacker comes and takes it. Other Smackers follow it, trying to steal it. Most of the game is played between Smackers. A lot of it happens way up in the trees. Eventually a Smacker will get the ball to some place it can be used by the Striker on his team, and then it's up to the Striker to shoot it into one of the goals revealed by another team's Hunter. You see?"
"No, I don't see," Edeline grumbled. "I mean, what I see right now is a banana tree that's full of ripe yellow bananas. Is it just the Pyro Effect or whatever you call it?"
"Pyraeus," Ember reminded her, "and no. That's a banana tree all right, and I'm hungry. Are you?"
Ember pulled off a couple of very large fruits and handed one to Edeline, peeling the other herself and stuffing it into her mouth. Edeline took smaller bites of her own and had to admit it was tasty. There was an additional benefit, too. No sooner had the first bit gone down than she felt completely refreshed, from her head to her toes. From that point the journey seemed easy, Edeline's spirits were lifted, and she even made herself smile, thinking about how silly that little man Smacker had looked.
She was walking alongside of Ember, no longer following behind, when they reached the Particular tree.
"People!" Edeline declared, as Baudry and Barque looked up and then got their feet.
"Striker!" Ember cursed, and spat on the ground.
Nine
"Savior!" Barque snarled back. His voice rose in anger but he was approaching her with caution.
"Your timing's terrible," he continued. "If you think you're going to stop me again, you're mistaken. I'm not even thinking of striking right now."
"That's not why I'm here," Ember said, "and I'm really not interested in you anyway. I always know what you're up to."
"Sure," he scoffed, "that's why you're not at all surprised to see me here now. Face it, little one, you just got lucky last time."
"And the time before that, I suppose?" she countered, and he shrugged. Barque turned away as if he had conquered the contest, and Ember turned her attention to Baudry.
"What about you, old man? What's your excuse?"
"Nice to see you too, little one," Baudry bowed in reply. "I'm honored to even occupy space around you."
"So answer the question," she snapped, but Edeline interrupted her with another of her interminably ignorant questions.
"So this is that tree you were talking about?" she asked, pointing at the dogwood which Barque was now leaning against. As if on queue, Barque started forward with a sudden lurch. Who was this? he asked himself, noticing the newcomer for the first time. His interest was considerably aroused.
"Hello," he cooed, gallantly stepping forward. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure."
"You're always having the pleasure," Ember grunted, but as Barque took a step toward Edeline, Edeline took a step back. It was not just the sudden approach by the man, but also the snake that was coiled around him. Edeline was terrified of snakes. Her attempt to conceal herself behind the child was, howe
ver, doomed to failure. Barque kept on coming until he was standing by her side. Leaning over her shoulder he droned, in what he thought was a most romantic tone,
"My name's Barque. I'm the top player in the game. Ask anyone, they'll tell you."
"He's the biggest something all right," Ember remarked, and Baudry burst out laughing. Barque was not amused.
"She's spiteful," he said, winking at Edeline. "Some of us are more fortunate in our outcomes than others."
"Some of us," he continued, "remain in the peakest of peak conditions, and not just now, but for always. You are, I presume," he asked, "a thirty two? If I may be so bold."
"I'm fifty one years old," Edeline promptly replied, drawing guffaws from all three of the veterans.
"And they just found you out?" Barque could hardly believe it. "Why weren't you here a decade ago? Or five or six years ago at the least."
"You should be proud of yourself," Baudry agreed. "Were you holed up somewhere for those years? How did you get away with it?"
"I have no idea what any of you are talking about," Edeline sighed. "Are all of you always speaking in riddles? I was just living my life until first thing yesterday morning. Someone knocked on my door and the next thing I know I'm stuck here in cuckoo-land with nothing but nonsense around me."
Edeline backed away further from Barque, who seemed on the verge of grabbing her boobs. He was certainly staring at them most rudely, covered in vines as they were.
"You'll