“What do you think?” Bobby snapped back, making himself clearly understood.
“Just as well,” Timber replied with a dismissive shrug. “I wasn’t making the offer. I must leave you now. After all, I’m the Viceroy of Leeandra. I have duties. I must prepare to deliver our welcome home gift to Black Water.”
“This isn’t over, Saint Dane,” Bobby said through gritted teeth. “No matter what happens here, I’m not giving up.”
Timber leaned down through the grid and broke into a wide, evil grin. “Of course you aren’t, Pendragon,” he hissed. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He straightened up and pounced off, disappearing into the night.
Bobby looked at Kasha. The confident attitude he put on for Saint Dane was gone. “We’ve gotta get out of here!” he said nervously.
Kasha jumped for the door and shouted, “Guard! Guard! I demand to see Durgen!”
A klee appeared in the window and said, “You have no right to make demands, traitor.”
Kasha stepped back from the door, stunned. “Traitor?” She turned to Bobby and said, “They think I’m a traitor.”
“I’m sorry, Kasha,” Bobby said. “That stinks, but we’ve got bigger things to worry about.” He paced the cell like a caged cat, which was ironic. Kasha once again tried to climb the stone walls, this time with more control. Like a rock climber on a steep pitch, she found crevices to dig her claws into and slowly moved higher. She made it halfway up the wall and Bobby thought she might actually make it. But her back foot slipped, her balance was gone, and she crashed to the ground again.
“I wish you were the one with claws,” Kasha said, rubbing her sore shoulder.
“Saint Dane said something at the meeting I didn’t understand,” Bobby said. “He said two klees could deliver the poison and be back within the afternoon. It takes a full day to get to Black Water. What was he talking about?”
“He was probably talking about using a gig,” Kasha answered. “That’s what I’d do.”
“What’s a gig?” Bobby asked.
Before Kasha could answer, they were interrupted by a low, humming sound.
“What’s that?” Bobby asked, looking around.
The sound was soft at first, but grew in volume. Seconds later the hum changed to the sound of four musical notes played over and over. It was a sweet little tune that sounded to Bobby like the sound from a flute.
“Have you heard that before?” Bobby asked.
“No!”
“Then what is it?”
The answer came from an unexpected source. The gars who had been cowering in the corners of the cell, stood up. Moments before, they had been groveling like animals. But once the sound began, they seemed to transform. They stood erect, straighter than any gar Bobby had seen outside of Black Water. Bobby and Kasha moved out of the way as the gars walked to the middle of the cell to form a circle. As one, they reached into their rotten clothing and pulled out their amber cubes.
The cubes were glowing.
“Uh-oh,” Kasha uttered.
“Yeah, uh-oh,” Bobby agreed. “It’s starting.”
The gars held their cubes out in front of them. The warm, amber light lit up their faces as if they were standing around a campfire. They no longer looked like frightened animals. These gars had a calm come over them that made them seem almost… human. The four notes played through a few more times, then stopped. The cell fell silent as the light from the cubes grew brighter. A few moments passed, and a voice came from the cubes. It was the first radio broadcast on Eelong. It was the turning point.
“The time has come,” the friendly, female voice said. “Salvation is at hand.”
There was a long pause. The gars stared at the glowing cubes. Bobby and Kasha stood in the shadows, watching with wide eyes.
The voice said, “Use the link. Listen to my words and follow my voice home.”
Mark bounced on the back of Spader’s zenzen as they traveled along a rocky path in the woods. They were right behind Gunny, who was in the lead since he knew the way to Black Water. It was a totally uncomfortable ride for Mark because Spader had the tank on his back and it pushed him even farther back on the haunches of the zenzen. Mark held on to Spader’s tank with both hands, with his legs stretched out over the widest part of the creature. He wasn’t even sitting in a saddle. Mark didn’t want to complain. After all, he was the one who didn’t know how to ride. But after balancing like this for several hours, he was ready to scream.
“Can we stop for a second?” Mark finally called out.
Gunny pulled his zenzen to a stop at the end of the trail before it opened into a clearing. The others stopped behind them.
“What’s up?” Courtney asked.
Mark jumped off and walked around to get his blood flowing again. “I don’t mean to complain,” he said. “But I feel like a wishbone trying to balance on a bouncing basketball.”
Boon said, “I don’t have a tank, you should ride with me.”
“Gladly,” Mark said. He rubbed his legs one last time, then climbed up on the back of Boon’s zenzen. “Thanks,” Mark said. “This’ll work.”
They were about to continue riding when Spader said, “Wait, what’s that sound?” They all listened. “Sounds like a flute,” Mark said.
“There’s a farming village ahead,” Gunny announced.
They trotted their zenzens out of the woods and across the clearing until Gunny held his hand up, stopping them. Ahead they saw what looked like a swarm of giant fireflies hovering a few feet off the ground. More lights dropped down from the trees and joined them. As a group, the lights moved toward the trail.
“What is it?” Boon asked.
“It’s the beginning of the end,” Gunny said soberly.
A closer look showed that the lights weren’t fireflies at all, but dozens of glowing, amber cubes being carried by gars who were climbing down from the trees to join the others already on the path.
“Link has been activated,” Gunny said. “The Advent has begun.”
“The…that means they’re headed for Black Water,” Mark exclaimed.
“The gars back in Leeandra must be doing the same thing,” Courtney added.
“How do they know the way?” Spader asked.
“The link cubes,” Gunny answered. “They glow brighter when faced toward Black Water.”
“Like a compass,” Mark added. “It’s so simple.”
“The fuse is lit,” Gunny said softly. “Now that the gars are on their way, there’s no telling when Saint Dane will unleash the poison.”
“But they’re not there yet,” Spader exclaimed. “Let’s pick up the pace, mates!” Spader kicked his zenzen forward and galloped along the trail. Gunny and Courtney followed right behind him.
“You comfortable?” Boon asked Mark.
“No,” Mark answered truthfully. “So let’s get there fast, okay?”
Mark hugged the furry klee, and Boon kicked his zenzen into motion. The goal was clear. They had to beat the gars to Black Water.
In the prison cell, the gars erupted into cheers and hugged one another as if they had just won the World Series. Some were weeping with joy. Bobby and Kasha stayed in the shadows.
“I don’t know what they’re so happy about,” Bobby said. “They’re just as stuck in here as we are.”
The gar celebration ended, but their adventure was just beginning. As if they had been rehearsing this for a long time, they put away their amber cubes and went to work. Several quickly formed a human pyramid against one wall that reached up toward the ceiling. With practiced precision, they climbed on top of one another, higher and higher, until two gars reached the bamboo grid. Bobby and Kasha watched in fascination as a gar on the ground pulled out a loose stone in the floor to reveal a cache of sharp tools. The gar handed them up the pyramid to the gars on top. Quickly the top gars began sawing through the bamboo grid.
“They were planning this,” Kasha declared.
“You think?” Bobby shot back with a touch of sarcasm.
