The Obelisk

-Chapter 32-

An Obelisk.

Obelisk, Forest thought, testing out the word. Obelisk. He’d heard that before.

Maybe while his parents talked in the other room as he ran by, chasing his sisters? As he read Ri’s journal when she thought he was asleep? Overhearing his sisters secret conversations?

He wasn’t sure.

“I’ve seen that before,” Spark exclaimed. “We called them Sky Rocks.”

“There is no way,” Crimson said, “that that Little Rock came from THAT.”

“It’s possible that a meteorite hit the Obelisk and broke off a piece,” Needles explained.

“Hmmm,” Crimson mused.

Rust stared up at the floating object, then looked down at the rune in his talons. “Is it dangerous?”

Forest thought about that as Needles said: “I don’t think so.”

What if it is? Forest wondered. That Obelisk—it f l o a t s. How could that be possible?

“Do you know why it’s just floating up there?” He decided to ask Needles.

“Well…” Needles scratched his head with a pensive expression. “It’s very possible that the atmosphere fades closer to space up there—it is pretty high up.”

“Ah,” Spark said, nodding.

“We should get going,” Needles said. “We can take the rune with us, if you want.”

“I don’t want to,” Rust said ruefully.

“I do,” Forest said. “It’s seems interesting. Rust, if you don’t wanna hold onto it—I can hang on to it for now.”

“Oh—sure,” Rust stepped forward, and set the rune carefully in Forests palm. “There you go.”

“Thanks,” Forest said, holding the rock at eye level to study. It felt cold in his talons, smooth and a bit heavy.

“You can carry it in here,” Needles said, pulling down his sack.

Forest accepted the bag and gently set the rune inside, maneuvering it carefully around the three scrolls inside. The sack was blue and green dyed wool, carefully twined together and woven to create the soft shape. He wondered who made it.

He slung it over his shoulder. “Thankyou.”

“OK! OK let’s GOOOOO,” Crimson said. “Looking at that Obelisk is giving me a headache.”

Really? Forest had wondered why his head began to throb a tiny bit at the back of his brain, but he hadn’t exactly noticed till now. He thought he was just tired. Crimson has a headache… she’s being sarcastic about the Obelisk… but what if that’s actually it?

If the Obelisk was giving Crimson, and Forest the same affects… were the others feeling the same?

And was it the Obelisk causing it?