variety of potions, which wasn’t easy since Alder was pretty out of it.
“I will continue to administer the medication,” the doctor said. “I do not believe the arrow damaged anything vital, but the blood loss may have been too much. The rest is up to your friend. If he lives through the night, he may survive.”
“Can we stay here?” I asked.
“If you wish,” the doctor asked. “But I cannot protect you if a Ghee discovers you. I am not a brave man. I will help care for your friend, but I am not a warrior.”
“You’re wrong,” I said. “You’re a very brave man. Thank you.”.
The doctor left, with the promise to return frequently.
“I must return to Mooraj,” Loor said. “Bokka must be taken care of.”
I wanted to argue. It was dangerous to go back through the underground. But if Loor wanted to go, I wasn’t about to stop her. She left without saying another word. Saangi stayed with me. I think Loor wanted her there in case there was trouble. Or maybe she wanted to take care of Bokka’s body alone. Either way, Saangi and I stayed with Alder. Doctor Nazsha was true to his word. Every few hours he returned to change Alder’s dressing and give him more liquid. The guy probably didn’t sleep all night. He was a good doctor.
After spending a few hours there watching over Alder, Saangi went out to get some food and water. That was fine, but I didn’t have the energy to eat. All I wanted was to be unconscious. I was dog-tired. But as beat as I was, I couldn’t knock off. Random thoughts kept bouncing around my head like a foosball game with twelve balls.
There have been many times since I left home that I questioned whether it was a mistake that I had become a Traveler.
Did I say “many times”? How about a few hundred times a day? I wrote to you before about Gunny’s theory. He thinks that somebody actually chose the Travelers, though he has no idea who that could be. If it’s true, when I meet him the first thing I’m going to ask that guy is: “Why me?” I guess I’d done okay so far, but if I were asked to describe the perfect Traveler, it sure wouldn’t be me. As I sat there, trying not to stress over these cosmic questions that had no answers, I heard a familiar voice. “How is he?”
I looked up to see Loor standing in the doorway.
“The same,” I said. “But I think that’s a good thing.”
Loor walked over to Alder and put a hand on his forehead. I watched her, thinking that when I met that mysterious guy who chose the Travelers, the one question Iwouldn’thave to ask is: “Why Loor?” I knew why Loor. She was strong. She was brave. She was simple, but I mean that in a good way. She didn’t overanalyze everything the way I did. Right and wrong were as easy for her to pick out as left and right. All the Travelers are special in some way, but I have to say that Loor is our backbone. If we lost her, we’d be done. I know I would. I actually thought ahead to a time in the future when this battle with Saint Dane would be over. Would I ever see Loor again? Would I continue to ride the flumes? Would she come to Second Earth? I couldn’t imagine life without her being part of it. How that might work was a whole nother problem for another day. I already had too many balls bouncing around the foosball table in my brain to worry about that.
She left Alder and walked over to me. “Bokka is at rest,” she said before I had the chance to ask her. “I honored him in the traditional way.”
I knew what that meant. She had cremated Bokka’s body, the same as we did with Kasha. I couldn’t begin to imagine how tough that was. I didn’t want to.
“I’m sorry, Loor” was all I could say. “I wish I knew him better.”
“In many ways he was like you,” she said. “He believed that good could be found in everyone. That was what I liked most about him.”
I nodded.
“Pendragon?” came a raspy voice.
It was Alder. He was awake! Loor and I hurried to the bed to see that his eyes were open. They were unfocused and glassy, but open. I wasn’t sure if that was from the blood loss, or the wacky mind-numbing medicines the doctor had been pumping into him.
“Water,” he croaked.
I grabbed a cup and brought it to his lips. Alder raised his head to take a few sips, then dropped back down as if the effort were too much.
“Weak,” he whispered.
“I hear you,” I said. “But you’re gonna be okay.” At that moment Doctor Nazsha entered, along with Saangi.
“He’s awake!” I announced.
The doctor went right to Alder and did a quick exam.
“I am amazed,” Nazsha said. “His wounds are healing.” He looked at me and added, “You and your friend have remarkable recuperative powers.”
We did? When I was in that hospital it sure felt like my recovery took a long time. But then again, I’d never had my entire body pummeled and broken before, so I didn’t have any frame of reference.
The doctor continued, “If there is no infection, I believe he will be fine.”
Relief? Yeah, that’s an understatement. Even Saangi smiled. More surprising than that, Loor hugged me. Loor. Cold, professional Loor. I didn’t know if this meant she was warming up, or she was totally relieved that she wouldn’t have to witness the deaths of two friends. It didn’t matter. I hugged her back.
Alder rasped, “I feel as weak as a baby.”
Loor said, “Not for long. You are stronger than any Ghee.”
The doctor said, “It will take time before you will be well enough to move. I will care for you until then.”
Alder nodded and fell back to sleep. Lucky him.
“Thanks, Doctor,” I said. “You did a good thing here.”
Nazsha nodded and said, “I trust you will be as successful in your quest.” He left. The pressure was off. Alder would live. Knowing that, my mind instantly went to the challenge ahead.
“I know this is tough to talk about,” I began. “But we have to. Bokka died trying to give us information. Something is going on with the Rokador. It was so important that he was killed by his own people to stop him from telling us.”
“He said it was a nightmare,” Saangi added.
“Right, nightmare,” I said. “Remind you of anyone?”
“Saint Dane,” Loor said.
“Yeah, Saint Dane,” I echoed. “Tell me about Kidik. It’s a city, right?”
“It is the seat of Rokador power,” Loor explained. “Not many Batu have been there. I have never seen it myself.”
I took Bokka’s map from where I was keeping it, inside the chest piece of my Ghee armor. I unfolded the parchment to see that it looked like a crude road map. But rather than roads, this map showed tunnels. Hundreds of them. Some wider than others. It was pretty extensive, too. Imagine looking at a road map with no markings other than the roads. No landmarks, no mountains, and certainly no rest stops with a McDonald’s. The route to Kidik was traced in red.
“Bokka has shown us the way,” I said. “He said we’d find the truth at the center, beyond Kidik. Do you know what that is?”
“No,” Loor said.
I looked to Saangi. She shrugged.
“Well,” I said, “I think we have to go find out.”
“We are going to Kidik?” Saangi asked, eagerly.
“Not you,” Loor answered. Saangi wanted to argue, but Loor cut her off fast. “Stop!” she commanded. “That is my decision. You must remain here to care for Alder. When he is well enough to move, you must bring him to the flume and send him home.”
“Uh, but don’t use the flume yourself,” I added, just in case.
“But Loor-“
“That is final!” Loor said. She meant it. Saangi realized it and backed off.
“Let’s go now,” I said. “I’m ready.”
