Faar? It had to be real, because Seegen had been there and drawn a map. And Gunny was there. It was definitely important enough to the gars that they chose death over revealing its secret. And what did those little amber cubes have to do with anything? I hoped to find some clues in Seegen’s journal, but that chance went up in smoke. Literally. But in spite of all the setbacks and uncertainties, I felt sure that Black Water was key to Saint Dane’s plan. I had to get there and find answers.
I tried to get some sleep but it was tough. My mind was racing in eighteen different directions. Thankfully my body took over and I nodded out. Sleep is an amazing thing. It heals the body, and the brain, too. Good thing. I desperately needed healing. I even had a dream. Boon was bouncing around wearing a tall, red-and-white-striped hat and saying nonsensical rhymes like: “Where is Gunny? I think he’s funny. I don’t like eggs all soft and runny.” Yeah, I know. Twisted dream. But hey, no more twisted than Eelong. The next thing I knew I was being shaken awake.
“Pendragon,” a voice whispered. “It’s time.”
I was still half asleep, but opened my eyes to see Boon. I said, “Imagine that, you’ve lost your hat.”
“Huh?” was Boon’s confused reply.
I didn’t bother to explain my bizarre Dr. Seuss dream. “Where’s Kasha?” I asked, rubbing my eyes.
“Down with the zenzens,” he answered. “She wants to get out of Leeandra early, before anybody asks where you’re going.”
I dragged myself off the couch and took a couple of deep breaths. Every move I made hurt, because my body was covered with bruises from sleeping in that gar prison. Even my hair hurt.
“I wish I was going with you,” Boon said, sounding like a disappointed kid who didn’t get the pony he wanted for his birthday.
“I know,” I said. “But if anything happens to us, you’re the only one who knows what’s going on. You’ll have to stop Saint Dane yourself.”
Boon gave me a long, worried look and said, “Now Ireallywish I was going with you.”
I laughed. “Stay close to the Council of Klee, but don’t let them know you’re watching. Saint Dane doesn’t know who you are. Keep it that way. When we get back, tell us where they stand on Edict Forty-six.”
D. J. MacHale
Black Water
“Got it,” he said. “Good luck, Pendragon.” Boon grabbed me in a big bear hug. Or cat hug. It was kind of scary, but sincere. So I hugged him back. I liked Boon. I liked Yorn, too. It was Kasha I was shaky on. I left Boon and took the elevator down to the jungle floor. Three zenzens were at the base of the tree. Kasha sat tall in the saddle of one; Yorn was in the second; the third was loaded with equipment. Swell.
“I guess the gar walks,” I said snottily.
“Only until we leave Leeandra,” Yorn said. “It’s against the law for gars to ride alone.”
“Of course it is,” I said sarcastically. “Maybe you should just load the equipment on my back so the zenzen won’t have to work so hard. Better yet, maybe I should carry the zenzen.”
“Do you want to go or not?” Kasha said flatly.
“Absolutely,” I said quickly. “I amsoover this town.”
I was being obnoxious, but I was in a grumpy mood after having just been woken up three years too early, discovered I was one big black-and-blue mark (which Boon’s hug didn’t help, by the way), and then told I was the only one who had to walk. It wasn’t a good way to start the day.
Our little caravan made its way along the jungle floor, headed for the giant gates of Leeandra. I glanced at the zenzens to see a number of vicious-looking weapons lashed to the sides of the strange horses. There were a couple of spears, some short wooden clubs, a few coiled ropes with the three balls on the end, and even a bow and arrow. It all looked good to me. I was pretty sure that at some point we’d need some firepower against a hungry tang. As we trudged along, I saw that the city was quiet. We hadn’t passed a single klee, andIwas about to ask ifIcould ride when a dark shadow leaped out of a tree, landing right in front of Kasha. Her zenzen reared back and she had to wrestle it to a stop. At firstIthought it was a tang and was ready to go for a weapon, but beforeIcould make a move, it spoke.
“The gar is mine,” Durgen said.
Uh-oh. What wasthisguy doing up so early?
“You had no right to take him in the first place,” Kasha answered.
“You owed me,” he spat at her.
“And you got value for him,” she snarled back. “Step aside, Durgen.”
Durgen didn’t move. This was bad. For me. Islowly moved toward a zenzen and reached for one of the short clubs. Iwouldn’t stand a chance in a fight against Durgen, butIdidn’t know what else to do.
“Durgen, please,” Yorn said calmly. “You two are friends. Be reasonable.”
Durgen spoke angrily through clenched teeth, saying, “The klee who was killed on the forage was my friend too. You, Kasha, have become dangerous. You are no longer a forager. I’ve had you ejected.”
“What!” Kasha shouted, stunned. “You can’t do that!”
“I can and I did! And if you continue this subversive behavior, you’ll be banished from Leeandra. Now get out of my way and give me the gar!”
Durgen pushed past Kasha’s zenzen, headed for me. In that one instant, all the horrible memories of prison came flooding back. It gave me a shot of adrenaline like I had never experienced before. I clicked into survival mode. I yanked the club out from the last zenzen and made a quick decision. Attack. I thought if I surprised Durgen, I might get in a lucky shot. Or not, and he’d kill me. Either way, I wasnotgoing back to that gar prison. I leaped out from behind the zenzen with the club held low. Durgen didn’t expect that. The big cat swiped at me. I ducked. His paw swept over my head so closely, I felt his claws cut the air. Cut was the right word. Durgen wasn’t trying to capture me. He wanted to kill me.
I drove the club forward, ramrodding it into Durgen’s exposed ribs. He let out a sharp, pained cry that made me think I might have broken something. But it didn’t stop him. It made him angry. He came at me with his paws swiping like I was a boxing speed bag. I backed off, using the club to knock away the relentless attack. The big cat hissed angrily. His ears were back. I was way out of my depth. I knew I couldn’t defend myself against this onslaught for long. I took another step back and fell on my butt. How pathetic was that? Durgen dropped to all fours and crouched down low. He was a jungle cat who had his prey in sight.
Suddenly he yelped and stood right back up. His eyes were wide and he arched his back as if something had hit him from behind. He snarled and turned his back to me. I saw that sticking out of his shoulder was a round, polished disk the size of a CD. But this was no CD. It had sharp teeth like a miniature buzz saw, and its blades were imbedded in Durgen’s back. The cat squealed with pain. He desperately grabbed at the disk to pull it out, but his arms didn’t reach.
“Kasha!” he screamed, and yelped in pain as he jolted again. He spun back toward me. I saw another disk imbedded near the top of his other arm. Blood blossomed from his wounds, spreading across his tunic. The dark, wet stain glowed with light from the street lanterns that hung overhead. Durgen fell to the ground, breathing hard, growling in pain.
Kasha walked up to him calmly, holding another killer disk ready to throw.
“You might as well kill me,” Durgen said through clenched teeth. “You’re as good as dead any Way. You’ve attacked a forager within the city. AkleelYou know the penalty for that.”
“Death,” Kasha said. She put the disk back into a pouch on a belt around her midsection. “You are a good klee, Durgen,” Kasha said. “You’ll do what you think is right.”
Durgen couldn’t move. Or maybe he decided not to. He must have known that if he attacked Kasha now, with his wounds, he’d be done. Kasha strode over to the last zenzen and yanked off the saddle bags, revealing the saddle. She tossed them up to Yorn, who sat on his zenzen with wide, stunned eyes.
“Carry that,” Kasha commanded.
Yorn caught the saddle bags and fixed them across his own saddle.
Kasha looked to me and said, “Get on the zenzen.” I was too stunned to move. Kasha stared down at me. “Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Can you ride?”
“Yes.”
