contained in the one room. A few minutes more, though, and it would have spread.
“This was deliberate,” Gunny said. He kicked at a few garbage pails that were full of ashes and water. “Burning evidence is my guess.”
I saw that the file cabinets were open and empty. The desk drawers were empty too. Max Rose was covering his tracks. Every bit of paper in this room was now a charred memory. There was nothing left that might connect him with his network of spies, or with the Nazis.
“I guess this means everybody’s gone,” I said.
“Probably,” Gunny said. “We should do a quick check though.”
We left the wet, smoldering mess and searched the penthouse for signs of life. We checked bedrooms, sitting rooms, the kitchen, and the dining room. Not only were there no people, all the drawers had been emptied too. Max Rose had definitely pulled up stakes and moved out. We knew where he was going, too. He had a date with a zeppelin.
The final stop on our search was the grand living room where I had set out lunch for Rose and the Nazi, Ludwig Zell. Nobody was in there, either.
Gunny said, “We’re wasting our time here. I’ll get Caplesmith’s car so we can get down to-“
We then heard a sound that made the hair go up on the back of my neck. It was the steady sound of somebody clapping.
There was someone in the penthouse after all. Gunny and I looked at each other, then slowly turned toward the door. Standing there looking as beautiful as ever was Esther Amaden. Her friends called her Harlow. Her enemies called her Saint Dane. She was clapping in mock approval.
“Congratulations, boys,” the bogus woman purred. “I’m guessing you finally solved the riddle.”
“At least have the guts to show yourself,” I said defiantly.
The beautiful woman closed the door behind her. Gunny shot me a curious look. It was hard for him to believe that this movie-star-gorgeous woman could be the demon Traveler who was about to turn three territories into rubble. But I knew better. I’d seen it before.
“Whatever you’d like, Pendragon,” she said with a smile.
Esther Amaden then went through the transformation that I had seen too many times. Her body became fluid as she left behind the image of the beautiful big-band singer. Her body grew taller until it was near seven feet. Her rosy complexion turned the pasty white color of a corpse. Her short dark hair grew out into a long, gray mane. Her silky bathrobe turned black and changed shape into a black suit that, as I’ve written before, looked vaguely Asian. The final step was always the toughest to watch. It was the eyes. Harlow’s soft, dreamy brown eyes turned razor sharp. They took on the icy blue fire of our nemesis-Saint Dane.
I sensed Gunny’s surprise and fear. He took a step back. This was the first time he’d witnessed this transformation. It was also the first time he was seeing Saint Dane in his true form.
“Better?” Saint Dane hissed through a twisted smile. “We really don’t spend enough time together, Pendragon, do we?”
It took every bit of willpower I had not to scream.
(CONTINUED)
FIRST EARTH
“I’m disappointed in you, Pendragon,” Saint Dane said. “I’ve left so many clues for you like breadcrumbs in the forest, and it’s still taken you all this time to uncover my little plot. Time is growing short. Are you losing interest?”
Saint Dane walked casually around the room with his hands clasped behind his back. Gunny and I kept our distance. It was like being trapped in a room with a wild animal. You never knew what this guy was going to do.
“I suppose the loss of your uncle’s sage guidance has made it all the more difficult for you to keep up with me.”
Oh, man. This guy loved to hit where it hurt the most.
He then added, “I must admit, you surprised me on both Denduron and Cloral.”
“Why’s that?” I asked.
“You were a force to be reckoned with. For that, I bow to you. And I must apologize for my own foolishness. It was a mistake to ask you to join me on my quest.”
“You got that right,” I said quickly. “No way I’ll ever join you.” Saint Dane stopped walking and smiled. He was enjoying this.
I wasn’t.
“You misunderstand,” he said. “My only mistake was asking you too early. It gave you the impression that I was somehow…vulnerable.” He chuckled. “I assure you, I am not. That’s why I chose to play out this latest game on the Earth territories. Yourhome territories. I wanted to demonstrate how easy it is for me to make you dance like a toy puppet. Mytoy puppet. In spite of what you may think due to our past encounters, I am in total control.”
“You aren’t in control,” Gunny said with authority. “Not anymore.”
Saint Dane let out a deep, bellowing laugh. I hated that.
“Such an amusing old man,” Saint Dane chuckled.
“Old enough to know how to handle the likes of you,” Gunny shot back.
“Oooh,” Saint Dane bellowed in mock fear. “Forgive me if I don’t feel threatened by an old man who doesn’t possess the courage to fire a weapon.”
“You think you’re bothering me,” Gunny said without missing a beat. “But you’re not.”
“Stick around, Gunny,” Saint Dane snapped back at him. “By the time we’re done, I promise, you will be very, very bothered.”
Saint Dane walked to the glass doors that led to the balcony. He threw them open, letting in a chilly wind. He stood with his back to us, looking out over the gray city.
“You see, Pendragon, my victory here on First Earth means much more than the toppling of three territories. What makes this all so wonderfully special is, you’re the one who is doing it for me.” That was a strange comment. I didn’t like it, one bit.
“We know what’s going on, Saint Dane,” I said. “We know what will happen if theHindenburgdoesn’t crash. We went to Third Earth.”
Saint Dane spun back to us and exclaimed, “Well, of course you went to Third Earth! I was counting on it. Iwantedyou to know what would happen.”
That wasn’t the reaction I expected. Gunny and I shot each other a quick look.
Saint Dane chuckled and said, “You still don’t understand, do you? I’ve been leading you and your band of merry men around like trained dogs. Everything that’s happened, every turn, every surprise, I’ve orchestrated. You knew to follow me to First Earth because of the bullets that killed your uncle. But to be sure, I first went to Veelox. That annoying Traveler girl thought she was being so clever by recording my arrival. I couldn’t have been any clearer in telegraphing my ultimate destination if I had painted a sign on my back.”
I thought back to the hologram that Aja Killian showed us of Saint Dane arriving at the flume on Veelox, then making a show of calling out “First Earth!” before leaving again. Now that I think of it, itwaspretty obvious.
“Once you were here, my only challenge was to make sure you discovered Winn Farrow’s plot to destroy theHindenburg. I knew that once you learned of his plan, you’d do everything possible to prevent that ship from blowing up. The idea of innocent lives being lost is just too horrible a concept for your righteous mind to accept.”
As Saint Dane spoke, I thought back to the events that led us to crossing paths with Winn Farrow.
“The gangsters in the subway?” I asked.
“I brought them to the flume to put you on the trail of Winn Farrow,” he answered. “Killing Press was a bonus.”
I forced myself not to let that throw me.
