Second Earth.”
“I know,” Elli said, her voice cracking. “You’re the one my daughter’s been manipulating.”
“She’s been manipulating a lot of people,” Mark shot back.
I wasn’t sure if he was angry or hurt. I also didn’t know how he would relate to Elli, knowing that her daughter had threatened to kill his parents and generally made his life miserable. It was a tense moment. I didn’t know what to say to diffuse it.
Elli took care of it for me.
“I’m sorry, Mark,” she said kindly. “I’ve heard a lot about you and how you were tricked into helping Nevva. If I could undo the things my daughter has done, I would. It’s why we’re here.”
Mark shot me a questioning look.
“It’s true,” I said. “We’re scrambling, Mark. I thought Elli might be able to get through to her daughter.”
“And do what?” Mark asked sharply.
“I don’t know,” I answered lamely. “Make her see reason. Show her another side to this whole thing. Maybe even shame her into acting like a human.”
“There’s nothing human about that witch,” Mark spat. “She’s heartless.”
Elli winced.
Mark stood up, throwing back his chair. It clattered to the floor as he walked away from us. I went after him.
“Whoa,” I said, heading him off. I got close to him, speaking softly but with intensity. Elli didn’t need to hear what I was saying.
“I hear you,” I said. “I know she’s a witch. There are worse words to use. Nobody knows that better than I do, except for you. But Elli isn’t Nevva. She’s a Traveler.”
“So what? Nevva’s a Traveler too.”
I thought about getting into the whole thing about Elli being Nevva’s natural mother, but that would have meant explaining to Mark about Solara and the fact that none of the Travelers were actually from their home territories. I figured he had enough to deal with.
“I know. Nevva’s a traitor. You get no arguments from me. But there were times, you said so yourself, that Nevva showed there might be more going on with her. Remember when she forced you into giving up your ring?”
“She threatened to kill my parents.”
“Right, and when you gave it to her, you said she was disappointed, like she’d wanted you to fight for it. Saint Dane wanted that ring. Her mission was to get it. But she was disappointed when you gave it up.”
“Yeah.” Mark sniffed. “Because she probably wanted to kill my parents.”
“Or maybe she was having second thoughts. I’ve seen it too, Mark. There might be some humanity in there somewhere. I figured if anybody could find it, it would be her mother.”
Mark glanced over at Elli, who sat staring at the table.
“We have to do something, Mark,” I continued. “Your friend died trying to get back here to tell you an attack was coming. If those Ravinians are coming after you and the rest of your friends, that’s bad enough. But if Saint Dane knows where the rest of the exiles are, the ball game’s over. It’s all about the exiles, Mark. They are the last, best hope to save Halla.”
“Why? How?” he asked.
“I can explain it all to you, but I think it would only make things more confusing. It’d be a lot easier if you just believe me. We have to find those people. We have to make sure they’re safe. That includes you and your friends. I think Elli gives us a shot at doing that. I don’t know how else to say it to you. It may be desperate, but it’s the only thing I can think of doing.”
“So you’re just going to walk up to the gates of that fortress and ask if Nevva can come out and play?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t figured that part out.”
Mark looked at me and nodded thoughtfully. “Did you find Courtney?” he asked.
“No” was my quick answer.
“She might be with the rest,” he said hopefully.
“Maybe. I hope so. There are a lot of them out there, Mark. We have to find them and protect them.”
I couldn’t tell if I was getting through to him or not. I was asking him to take a lot on faith. He had trusted me since we were kids. I hoped he wouldn’t stop.
Mark took a tired breath and walked away from me, headed toward Elli. I watched nervously, not sure of where his head was or what he was planning to do. He knelt down next to her and put his elbow on the table.
“I’m sorry for saying those things about your daughter,” he said with sincerity.
Elli couldn’t bring herself to look at him. “Don’t be,” she replied. “They’re true.”
“When I thought I lost my mother and father, it made me do things I might not ordinarily have done.”
“Nevva did lose hers,” Elli replied sadly.
Mark nodded. “I know how important it was for me to get them back. Maybe it’s time to let Nevva have her mother back.”
That struck Elli. Her gaze lifted from the table. She looked Mark in the eye. He smiled warmly. Elli gave me a hopeful look, then touched Mark’s cheek. “I’m sure your mother is very proud of you.”
It looked to me as if Mark’s eyes were filling with tears.
“She was,” he said. “I miss them.”
“I can’t guarantee that Nevva misses me.”
Mark held her hand and said, “Let’s find out.”
He stood up and faced me. “I can get you inside the conclave,” he announced. “There’s only one catch.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m going with you.”
Chapter 21
The plan was to get some sleep and leave before dawn.
I had been going nonstop for who knows how long, and my tank was empty. Two rooms were set up for sleeping on the second floor of the grimy garage. One for men, the other for women. They each had single-mattress beds lined up along the walls. It wasn’t exactly cush, but it was far better than what the Batu had at Mooraj. At first I was reluctant to take one of the cots, thinking I’d be displacing somebody. That is, until I remembered that there were a bunch of people who wouldn’t be coming back to sleep there that night. Unfortunately, there was plenty of room.
I made sure that Elli was set up and comfortable in the room they had for women. She was there along with three others. They saw to it that she had everything she needed, which wasn’t much. Soon Elli was off to sleep. At least, I thought she was. She may have just been closing her eyes, so as not to have to deal with reality. Elli hadn’t said much since we’d arrived on Third Earth. I hoped she was up to the task in front of us. In front of her. If she wasn’t, our trip was for nothing.
When I finally settled into my own bed, Mark was waiting for me. He wanted answers. The thought of explaining the realities of Halla and Solara to him made me shudder. How would he react to it all? Getting Mark to understand and accept it was a job I didn’t look forward to. All I wanted to do was sleep.
But he needed to understand why our mission to protect the exiles was so important. Heck, he was an exile himself, and he’d been part of this war as long as I had. He deserved something.
“I know it all now, Mark,” I said as we sat facing each other on our beds. “Everything. Though I’m not sure how to explain it to you.”
“Give it a shot,” he said without hesitation. He didn’t care that I was exhausted. I didn’t blame him.
I racked my brain, trying to come up with the simplest explanation possible.
“There’s life beyond our own,” I began. “Spiritual life. The spirit that lives in every person doesn’t die when their body does. It moves on and becomes part of a bigger reality that reflects our own.”
Mark looked at me like I had just said cows could fly.
