“This can end,” the klee said calmly. “If you tell us where to find Black Water.”
The gar whimpered, but didn’t answer. If he knew where Black Water was, he wasn’t saying.
“Don’t you have laws against this?” I whispered to Kasha.
“Well…no,” she said. “They are animals. They aren’t protected like klees.”
“They aren’t animals!” I whispered back angrily, straining not to shout. “And even if they were, that doesn’t make it okay to torture them.”
“Uh-oh,” Boon said. “This just got more interesting.”
I looked back down to the torture room. What I saw was only a small surprise. It made perfect sense and confirmed my interest in Black Water. Stepping up to the gar was the klee called Timber.
“Saint Dane,” I said under my breath.
“It isn’t,” Kasha whispered. “That’s Timber, from the Council of Klee.”
“That’s what he wants you to think,” I answered, keeping my eyes on the demon Traveler. “I tried to tell you before. He can transform himself into anything he wants.”
I didn’t explain further. It wasn’t the time to start educating Kasha on the evil ways of Saint Dane. I watched as the klees backed away from their torture victim and let Saint Dane approach. He held something out for the poor gar to see.
“What is this?” Timber asked in a calm, friendly voice.
It was one of the small amber cubes. I knew it had something to do with Black Water, but didn’t know what. Neither did Saint Dane. But it was important enough for him to torture a gar to find out.
“Tell me what this is,” he said to the gar soothingly. “And your pain will end.”
The gar’s eyes were wild. Even from where we were, I could tell that he was shaking. It would have been easy for the gar to tell Timber what he wanted to know, but he kept silent. Brave guy.
Timber leaned down to the gar and asked, “Tell me, when will you go home?”
A strange thing happened. As soon as the gar heard the word “home,” it was like his pain went away. The word had a calming effect on him. He looked at Timber, and laughed. Right in his face. Whatever “home” meant, it gave him the strength to stick it to Timber. It was a brazen move, but not a smart one. Saint Dane didn’t like being dissed. What happened next was something that surprised even the klees in the torture room.
“Tell me!” Timber ordered the gar angrily.
The gar suddenly stopped laughing. His body went stiff. He snapped a surprised look at Timber. Their eyes met and he slowly arched his back as if straining against a heavy weight. The klees looked at each other with curiosity. They didn’t know what was going on.
“What’s happening?” Kasha asked.
“It’s Saint Dane,” I said sadly. “He’s doing this.”
The poor gar strained against the cords tying him to the bench. His whole body went red with the exertion. He lifted up off the table, defying gravity.
“Tell me what this is!” Timber bellowed, losing his cool.
The gar screamed in pain. The two klees backed away. I was pretty sure they had never seen anything like this. I didn’t want to watch, but I had to. So did Kasha. This was her first lesson on the evil depths that Saint Dane could sink to. Finally the gar let out a guttural, anguished cry. I heard a sickeningcrack. The gar went limp and fell back to the table. One of the klees felt his neck.
“How did that happen?” the klee asked in wonder. “He’s dead.”
“No!” Timber screamed in frustration. He grabbed the klee by the throat and shouted, “Find out the purpose of these cubes or you’ll be the next one on this table!”
“Y-Yes, I understand,” the frightened klee babbled.
Timber tossed him aside and stormed out of the room. I turned away from the small window and looked at Kasha. She was shaken. Boon bent over and puked. It wasn’t a kittycat hair ball gaak, either. He totally ralphed.
“Welcome to the wonderful world of Saint Dane,” I said to Kasha, trying to control the quiver in my voice. “Was it real enough for you?”
Kasha took a step back and cleared her throat. She tried to speak calmly, but her voice was shaky. “I need to go to my father’s home. You are welcome to come. Maybe we will find something of use there.”
“Good,” I said. I had to get out of there. I was sweating and shaking. Boon’s puke didn’t smell so hot either. We left the tree quickly and made our way across to the far side of Leeandra, and Seegen’s home. None of us spoke. I think we were in shock. I know I was. I wondered if after seeing that horrifying scene, Boon was still enthusiastic about doing battle with Saint Dane. When we arrived at Seegen’s tree house, Yorn was waiting for us outside.
“What are you doing out here, Yorn?” Kasha asked.
“I didn’t want to go inside until you arrived,” the old klee answered.
“That’s silly,” Kasha said. “You’re like family.”
Yorn smiled sadly. With the loss of Seegen, their family had just gotten smaller. We all went inside and I saw that the place was set up very much like Kasha’s.
“You won’t believe what we just saw,” Boon exclaimed. “The Inquisitors were torturing a gar to find out where Black Water is.”
“Black Water?” Yorn asked with surprise. “Seegen spoke of Black Water. He seemed to think it was real.”
“So do the gars,” Boon said. “And so does Saint Dane,” I added.
“Saint Dane?” Yorn asked, surprised. “He was there? With the Inquisitors?”
“Yes,” I answered. “He’s taken the form of a klee named Timber.”
“Boon told me,” Yorn said, shaking his head sadly. “It’s frightening to think he has found his way onto the Council of Klee. Why is he interested in Black Water?”
“That’s what I’d like to know,” I said.
Kasha didn’t say a word. She kept looking back and forth between all of us, trying to understand what it all meant.
Boon asked, “And what are those little brown cubes the gars have? Saint Dane was real interested in those, too.”
“Maybe your father has some answers for us,” Yorn said.
Huh? Now it was my turn to be confused. “What do you mean?” I asked.
Kasha reached into a fold of her tunic and pulled out a small, wooden key. “My father gave this to me the last time I saw him. He said that if anything should happen to him, I needed to use it right away.” She went to Seegen’s kitchen table and pulled it away to reveal a bench that was built into the wall. She ran her hand along the bench, just under the seat, until she found a small hole.
“This is where my father kept his most valuable possessions,” Kasha explained.
She inserted the key into the hole, turned it, and I heard theclickof a lock. Kasha lifted the seat to reveal a hollow area beneath. There was only one item inside. It was a wooden box about the size of my mom’s jewelry box. I wanted to make a comment about how Seegen didn’t have many valuable possessions, but figured that wouldn’t be cool. Kasha removed the box, dropped the seat back down, and placed the small chest on the table. I noticed that on top of the box was a folded piece of paper. Kasha opened the note and read it aloud:”For my daughter, Kasha.”
“It’s for you!” Boon exclaimed.
Kasha gave us all a quick, nervous look, then opened the box. She pulled out another note that was on top. She first read it to herself. A tear welled up in her eye. None of us said anything. That wouldn’t have been cool. Kasha sniffed, stood up straight, and turned to us, saying, “You should all hear this.” She read the letter aloud.
“My dear Kasha, If you are reading this, it means I am dead. Please do not grieve for me. This was the way it was meant to be. I know you do not believe in the Travelers, and our mission. I don’t blame you. But I’m afraid you will soon discover that it is all true. Eelong is in grave danger. If Saint Dane succeeds in his quest to destroy the gars, our home will be crushed. As difficult as this is to believe, Eelong being destroyed would be a small catastrophe compared to what would follow. Saint Dane must not succeed. If you choose not to follow your destiny as a Traveler, I would understand. The fault is mine. I have not done enough to prepare you for this responsibility. But I will ask one thing of you. It is something you must not refuse. A gar will arrive one day who goes by the name
