“And we can’t get around the fact that Bobby thinks we shouldn’t use the flumes. He might be wrong, but we just don’t know.”
“So what doyouthink we should do?” Courtney asked.
“I hate to say it but… nothing. Until something else happens that makes things a little clearer, we have to wait.”
“It’s torture,” Courtney said between clenched teeth. “Do you know how hard it is to go to school and do homework and take tests and deal with your parents while the universe is crumbling?”
“Well… yeah, I do,” Mark answered.
Courtney smiled, backing down. “I know you do, Mark,” she said sheepishly.
Mark reached for the journal papers and rolled them up. “I gotta get home,” he said. “I’ll bring this to the bank in the morning. Maybe after school we should get together again and talk about what might be-“
Mark stopped talking. His face went blank.
“What’s the matter?” Courtney asked.
Mark dropped the journal and lifted his hand. His ring was activating again.
“Another journal?” Courtney asked. “Already?”
“N-No,” Mark answered. They both saw that the dark stone in the center of the ring hadn’t changed. Instead one of the symbols that circled the gray stone wasglowing. Each of these ten symbols represented one of the ten territories of Halla. The symbol that was now glowing looked like three wavy lines.
“We’re getting a message from an acolyte,” Mark said, stunned.
When Tom Dorney told them about being acolytes, he explained that the acolytes were able to communicate with one another through the rings. Mark and Courtney had already seen it work when they got a message from the Veelox acolyte, Evangeline. Mark took off the ring and placed it on the table. It quickly grew, opening up a path between the territories. They heard the usual musical notes and saw the sparkling lights. As strange and magical as the event was, it had become familiar. They shielded their eyes from the harsh light, and in a few seconds it was over. The ring had returned to normal. The delivery had been made. Sitting on the table next to the ring was another roll of parchment paper.
“It looks like Bobby’s journal,” Courtney observed. “But it’s short.”
Mark picked up the paper and unrolled it to discover a single page.
“Well?” Courtney asked impatiently.
Mark said soberly, “I think we just got our first job as acolytes.” He handed the page to Courtney. She read:”You must come to the flume.”
“That’s it?” she asked. “Who’s it from?”
Mark took the paper back and rolled it up.
“No clue,” he said. “Ready?”
“You want to go now?” Courtney asked, surprised. “It’s almost dinnertime.”
Mark shot her a “you’ve got to be kidding” look.
Courtney smiled, realizing her priorities were slightly confused.
“Forget I said that,” she said quickly. “I’ll tell my parents I’m going to the library. Call your mom and tell her the same thing.”
“Okay,” Mark agreed.
The two sat for a second, letting the reality of what was happening sink in. Finally Mark said, “I’m, uh, I’m kinda nervous. What if Saint Dane shows up again?”
Courtney jumped to her feet and said, “Then we deal. This is what we wanted, right?”
Fifteen minutes later Mark and Courtney found themselves back in the basement of the abandoned Sherwood house. They had made the appropriate excuses to their parents as to why they had to go to the library and promised to grab something to eat at McDonald’s. Neither liked fibbing, but both figured it was justified in that they were helping to save the universe.
“How come the quigs aren’t here?” Courtney asked as they made their way through the dark, empty basement. “Not that I’m complaining.”
“I don’t know,” Mark answered. “But from what Bobby said, they only show up when Saint Dane is around.”
“Good,” Courtney said. “No quigs, no Saint Dane. So far I’m liking this mission.”
The two approached the wooden door with the star symbol that marked it as a gate to the flume. It was night. The basement was dark, but their eyes had adjusted enough so they could find their way. Mark had his backpack and dropped it just outside the door. With a quick look at each other, they entered the root cellar that held the tunnel to infinity. They walked up to the huge mouth of the flume, but stopped before setting foot inside. Both gazed into the endless void.
“Tempting, isn’t it?” Courtney asked playfully.
Mark nodded. He shot a sideways glance at her, worried that she might leap inside.
“How will they know we’re here?” she asked. “Whoevertheyare.”
“I don’t think they have to know” was Mark’s answer. “The flumes put the Travelers where they need to be, when they need to be there. So if somebody needs to see us, it doesn’t matter when they enter the flume, they’ll be here when we’re here.”
“That makes no sense,” Courtney said, shaking her head.
“I know,” Mark agreed. “But so far it’s worked out that way, right?”
Before Courtney could answer, a light appeared in the depths of the flume. “I guess you’re right,” she announced. “Here we go.”
The two backed away as far across the root cellar as they could go, which wasn’t far. They clung to each other for support. Both were thinking the same thing: The last time this happened, Saint Dane showed up. Gulp. The light inside the flume grew closer, brightening the dank root cellar. The musical notes grew louder and the gray rock walls of the tunnel melted into glorious crystal.
“It’s okay,” Mark whispered with an oddly confident voice. “I think this is the way it was meant to be.”
An instant later the light flashed and disappeared as quickly as it had arrived, taking the music with it. When Mark and Courtney’s eyes adjusted back to the dark of the cellar, they looked into the flume to see who had arrived. Both gasped in surprise. It wasn’t Saint Dane. It wasn’t Bobby. It wasn’t any of the Travelers they had met or read about.
It was a huge jungle cat.
Mark and Courtney didn’t let go of each other. Though they had read about the klees of Eelong being intelligent, it was totally unnerving to be standing a few feet away from one. This was a beast that could rip them in half and eat them for lunch.
The big cat was on all fours, staring back at them. Its coat was gray-and-white spotted, like a leopard’s. The only thing that gave Mark and Courtney a glimmer of hope that they wouldn’t be devoured was the fact that the cat wore a tunic, like the ones Bobby described.
“Are you the acolytes from Second Earth?” the big cat said with a firm, male voice.
Neither Mark nor Courtney could speak. They stood dumbly, with their mouths hanging open.
“I said,” the cat repeated more forcefully, “are you the acolytes?”
Mark and Courtney nodded.
“Good,” the cat said. “My name is Seegen. I am the Traveler from Eelong.”
Courtney shot Mark a surprised look.
“W-We got a message to come here,” Mark said weakly.
“Yes,” Seegen replied. “Sent by my acolyte.”
“Your acolyte knows about us?” Courtney asked, surprised.
“The acolytes know of many things,” Seegen answered.
Courtney said, “Really? We’re acolytes and we’re clueless.”
“I must see Pendragon, the lead Traveler,” Seegen continued. “I have vital information for him. He must come to Eelong.”
“Well, I guess your acolyte doesn’t know everything,” Courtney said. “Because Bobby’s already there.”
If it were possible for a cat to look surprised, Seegen did. His head wavered, as if he were dizzy. He sat down on his haunches.
