“W-What about the tangs?” Mark asked. “Isn’t it kind of dangerous to travel at night?”
“No,” Kasha answered. “Tangs don’t usually attack at night.”
“Then we’ll get there before daybreak!” Spader offered optimistically.
“What about you, Bobby?” Courtney asked.
Bobby took a deep breath, as if he didn’t like what he was about to say. “Please don’t be ticked,” he said. “But I can’t tell you what I’m going to do. After what happened with Yorn, I can’t be sure that one of you isn’t really Saint Dane.”
The others broke out with surprised responses. “What? Impossible! That can’t be. You’re not serious!”
“Saint Dane can do a lot of things,” Bobby said, trying to restore order. “But I’m pretty sure he can’t split himself in two. That means Gunny and Kasha are clear. But as for everybody else, I just can’t take the chance. I’m sorry.”
Courtney bit her lip. Spader smiled and shook his head. Boon laughed as if it were the most outrageous thing he’d ever heard.
“It’s okay, Bobby,” Mark said. “You’re right.”
“I’ll tell you one thing,” Spader said. “I’m not looking forward to wearing these rags.” He held up one of the smelly, rotten pieces of fabric that the gars called clothes.
“Don’t,” Bobby said defiantly. “If we’re throwing away the rules, we’re throwing themallaway. Keep your clothes from Cloral.”
“Now we’re talking!” Courtney said with relief.
“Are you sure, Bobby?” Mark asked meekly. “Absolutely,” Bobby answered.
“We should get going,” Gunny said. “Time may be precious.”
The group split up, each preparing for the mission in their own way. Spader strapped on his tank with the help of Gunny while Bobby helped Mark and Courtney gear up.
“Are you sure about this, Mark?” Bobby asked quietly. “If you want to go home, no harm, no foul. You’re already a hero.”
This was the moment of truth for Mark. He had wrestled with conflicting emotions since Bobby began his adventure so long ago. Part of him wanted to be right there with his best friend, battling Saint Dane and protecting Halla. It all sounded so exciting. But the practical side of his brain kept reminding him that he wasn’t a fighter; he wasn’t athletic; and he wasn’t particularly brave.
“I’m pretty scared,” Mark said. “But I’m more scared about what’ll happen if Saint Dane comes to Second Earth. One way or another, I’m going to have to face him. It might as well be here. Maybe we can stop him for good, before he gets a shot at my family.”
“Trust us, Bobby,” Courtney said. “We’re going to do this.”
Bobby smiled and said, “I believe you.”
Courtney added, “And neither of us is Saint Dane, you dork.”
Across the cavern, Boon approached Kasha. “Is it true?” he asked. “Is Yorn dead?”
Kasha nodded sadly and said, “Saint Dane changed himself to look just like him. If I hadn’t seen it for myself…” She didn’t finish the thought. “It’s not that I didn’t believe my father, it’s just that, I didn’t want to.”
Boon said, “You know what he told me? He said that when Saint Dane made his move, you’d be the one to bring him down.
He told me you’d complain, and argue, and come up with a hundred reasons not to be involved, but he knew in the end it wouldn’t be him, but you who would save Eelong.”
Kasha began to tear up at the thought of her father. She wiped her eyes quickly and took off her necklace. Dangling from the string were two rings. She took one off.
“Yorn’s ring,” she said. “If I’m the Traveler from Eelong, then you’re the acolyte.” She held it out to Boon. Boon took it reverently and slipped it into his tunic.
“I won’t let you down,” he said.
Gunny finished strapping Spader’s tank on his back, making sure it was snug. “How’s that feel, Flash Gordon?” Gunny asked.
“Snappy-do,” Spader replied. “Just like old times, aye, Gunny? It’s good to be back with you.”
Bobby stepped up to the two and said, “I guess I don’t have to say anything. You guys know how important this is.”
“No worries, mate,” Spader said cheerfully. “You’ve got the A team in now.”
Gunny and Bobby exchanged looks, and smiles. They were used to Spader’s cockiness. “Then there’s only one thing left to say,” Gunny announced. “Hobey-ho, let’s go.”
“Hobey-ho!” Spader echoed. He gave Bobby a clap on the back and started for the stairs.
“You be careful now, shorty,” Gunny said to Bobby.
“Yeah, right,” Bobby replied.
Spader called, “Last one back buys the sniggers!”
“You’re on,” Bobby replied.
Gunny followed Spader to the stairs. Mark and Courtney walked up to Bobby. Mark said, “You know I’ve been dreaming about this for a long time.”
“I know,” Bobby said. “But this is no dream, Mark. It’s on. For real.”
Mark gave him a small, unsure smile. “Don’t worry about us,” Courtney said. “Only one thing’s got me nervous.”
“What’s that?” Bobby asked.
“What the heck are we gonna tell our parents when we get home?”
Bobby laughed. Courtney did too. Mark’s stomach flipped.
“Like we don’t have enough to worry about?” Mark said.
Courtney leaned over and gave Bobby a kiss. “See ya,” she said with a wink. She was ready. The two joined Gunny and Spader, and the group pushed through the hanging vines, disappearing up the root stairway, leaving Bobby alone in the cavern with Kasha.
“Well?” she asked. “Are you going to share your big secret plan?”
“Are you in?” Bobby asked with dead seriousness. “I meanreallyin? Because if you have doubts, tell me now.”
Kasha said, “I don’t understand who you are, Pendragon. Or how you got here, or what it means to be a Traveler. But some things are very clear to me. The klees are going to starve. That’s a fact. I also believe the gars deserve better treatment. If the klees can be made to understand that, then I believe the gars of Black Water will share their knowledge and help feed all of Eelong. At least that’s what I hope. It may be our only chance to survive.”
“I think you’re right,” Bobby said.
“I still don’t know what Saint Dane is,” Kasha continued. “But I now believe he’s real too. He killed my father and he killed Yorn. From what I’ve seen, I don’t doubt for a second he’d use that poison to destroy Black Water. So given all that, Pendragon, I can say with total confidence… I’m in.”
“Good,” Bobby said.
“So what’s the plan?”
Bobby smiled and said, “If we’re lucky, it won’t matter if the others get the antidote to Black Water in time.”
“Because?…”
“Because we’re going after Saint Dane.”
EELONG
(CONTINUED)
“I’m not a killer,”Kasha said as they hurried along the sky bridge back to Leeandra. “If that’s your plan to stop Saint Dane, get another plan.”
“Give me a break. I’m not a killer either,” Bobby assured her. “Even if I was, killing Saint Dane wouldn’t stop
