much,” he seethed, “then have it.”
The guy lifted me up and turned me upside down. The other warriors laughed and cheered.
“Hey, stop!” I yelled. “You’re making a mistake.”
I know, pretty lame, but I didn’t know what else to say. The guy lowered me toward the open latrine hole. I was going into the sewer headfirst! I was in such a panic, I didn’t even think to try and use my powers of Traveler persuasion on him. All I could think about was landing in smelly sludge. My head got closer to the hole. I did a quick calculation and unfortunately figured that it was plenty big enough for me to fit through. This was going to be gruesome. My head was only a few inches away from crossing the portal into the land of stench and disgust, when someone shouted out, “Put him down!”
I really, really hoped they were talking about me. Sure enough, the warrior flipped me over. I landed on my feet and looked up to see…
Loor.
I could have kissed her, but that would have been a major-bad move.
“I know this one,” Loor said. “He gives me information on the Rokador. He must not be harmed.”
The warriors grumbled in disappointment and shuffled off. Loor had spoiled their fun. Gee, too bad. Bullies. I hate bullies.
“Come with me, Rokador!” she barked at me. She then walked away quickly. I was all too happy to follow. Seconds later we were in her apartment.
“Nice friends you have,” I said.
“They do not like the Rokador,” Loor said with no emotion. “Yeah, I got that. Thanks for saving me.” “No need to thank me. If they had finished what they started, I would have had to smell your stench in my home.”
The two of us looked at each other, then I burst out laughing. Loor relaxed too.
“Man, I’m glad to see you, Loor,” I said. I went over and hugged her. She didn’t hug back. It wasn’t that she didn’t like me, it’s just that Loor never showed affection. So as I hugged her, she only gave me a couple of friendly pats on the back. What can I say? That’s Loor.
She started a fire and we settled into her woven chairs. I first told her all that had happened on First Earth and the Hindenburg disaster story. I left out the part about my chickening out at the last second. I didn’t want Loor to know that.
Loor told me how tension between the Batu and the Rokador was worse than ever. She feared there would be a war. The Batu had strength, but the Rokador controlled the water. In her heart she knew this would be the turning point of Zadaa, but had no idea what to do about it.
I then told her about Veelox and Lifelight and the Reality Bug. Being a warrior from a territory that had no technology, it was hard for Loor to imagine the concept of a wristwatch, let alone something as amazing as Lifelight. Still, she listened and did her best to understand.
As I sat in that room with the dirt floor and the fire crackling in the fireplace, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. The fire gave her dark skin a warm glow that looked as if she had stepped out of a painting. An amazing painting. And she’s cut like an athlete. The leather outfit she wore showed off the long, strong muscles of her shoulders and arms. I’ve seen her battle guys nearly twice her size and kick butt. But more important than the physical stuff was that she had an incredibly clear way of seeing things. She didn’t overthink things the way I sometimes do. Okay, the way I always do. With Loor there are only two ways: the right way wouldn’t think twice about cutting down an enemy, or risking herself to save a friend.
That’s why I was here. I needed Loor to cut down some enemies and risk herself for a friend. Me.
“I want to help, Pendragon,” she said. “But I worry about what will happen here on Zadaa. I do not want to be somewhere else when trouble finally arrives.”
“I get that,” I said. “And when the time comes, I want to be here to help you. But the flumes will always put us where we need to be, when we need to be there. I don’t understand it, but it’s true. When the time comes that you’re needed on Zadaa, you’ll be here.”
“And what if this Lifelight is as dangerous as you say, and we do not survive?”
Ooh. Good question.
“I don’t know,” was my only answer. “But I do know that millions of people are in trouble right now. If they die, Veelox will die along with them and Saint Dane will have his first victory. I can’t let that happen.”
Loor stoked the embers of the fire. In this light she looked like her mother, Osa, the woman who died saving my life. Loor was a little older than when we had our adventure on Denduron. So was I. Hard to believe this was possible, but she was even more beautiful. I was suddenly hit with the realization that I didn’t want anything to happen to her. Not here, not on Veelox, and certainly not in the fantasy world of some wacky old scientist.
I was about to get up and walk out when she turned to me and said, “I want to return as soon as possible.”
“No,” I said quickly, and I stood up. “This was a bad idea. You don’t need to be watching my back. Your place is here. I’m sorry. It was wrong of me to ask. I’m gonna go back and-“
“Pendragon!” she said firmly. “I am a Traveler. It is what we are meant to do.”
She stood up and grabbed a nasty-looking sword that was leaning against the fireplace. She twirled it expertly, the sharp blade flashing with light from the fire. “What weapons will I use on Veelox?”
“We won’t know until we jump into Lifelight.”
Loor gave the sword one last swing, then put it back down. I knew she wanted to take it with her, but that was against the rules.
“What is it that Spader says?” she asked.
“Hobey-ho?” I answered with a smile.
“Yes. Hobey-ho, Pendragon. We belong on Veelox.”
We were a team again.
We made it through the streets of Xhaxhu with no problem. Nobody was going to mess with me since I was with a Batu warrior. But we then had to go into the underground. Rokador territory.
“We have to get by some Rokador thugs,” I warned. “They’re guarding this machine that controls the water.”
“Stay behind me,” was all that Loor said. She wasn’t worried.
We hurried down the ramp into the bowels of the underground. I thought that if we moved fast enough, nobody would notice us.
I was wrong.
Before I could stop her, Loor walked boldly into the room with tle guards. It was a good move because she took them by surprise. I think the last thing they expected to see was a Batu warrior babe strolling into their secret subterranean chamber.
Before they had a chance to recover, Loor pounced. She took care of the first guy guy fell to a leg sweep followed by a roundhouse kick that caught him on the side of the head; the final guard got the worst of it. He charged Loor from behind and grabbed her in a bear hug. Loor pumped her legs and drove the guy backward, through the room and out of the portal. She finished him off by flipping him over her back into the waterfall, sending him plummeting into the fast-moving river.
I looked up at the Rokador guy who was operating the water controls. He didn’t stop working, but gave me a nervous glance.
“You should see her when she’s mad' I said to the scared guy.
I thought the poor dude was going to faint. I hurried out of the room, jumping over the bodies of the groaning guards, and joined Loor on the ledge behind the waterfall.
“Finished playing?” I asked.
She gave me a sly wink and we were off. A few minutes later we made it to the gate and hit the flume.
When we arrived on Veelox, I was glad to see that there were two sets of green coveralls waiting for us. Evangeline had been here. I made a mental note to ask her how the acolytes knew when to bring stuff to the flumes. We changed quickly and made our way along the derelict subway tracks and up the ladder to the manhole that brought us out onto the quiet street in Rubic City.
I was happy to see that Aja was waiting for us. She was at the wheel of a new vehicle. This one still used pedal power, but it had four seats rather than two.
“I didn’t think it would take so long,” was the first thing Aja said.
