me. “What did that mean?” she asked.
“That guy was scared,” I said. “I don’t think it’s because the Batu are coming, either. He was truly shaken. Something else is going on.”
“Do you believe he will find Teek?” she asked.
“I don’t know, but right now he’s our best shot at getting out of here.”
There was nothing for us to do now. I needed to get my thoughts together, so I sat on one of the cots and took out the paper and pencil I always carry in my leather pouch and began to write this journal. I hoped that by putting it on paper, I might discover something we had missed. As I wrote, I went over ever detail, trying to unravel the mystery of Saint Dane’s plan. What I kept coming back to was Bokka. He knew something was up. He said it was a nightmare. I figured that when he and the other Tiggen guards returned to Kidik, they discovered something so horrible, he had to come and tell us even though it meant putting himself in danger. Whatever it was, it had all the Tiggen guards on edge. What could it be?
I was writing for about half an hour, and was about to roll up this journal and send it to you guys when I heard a small voice calling from the corridor. “Loor?”
We both looked up quickly to see the Tiggen named Teek standing beyond the barred door.
“Teek!” Loor shouted, and ran to him. I was right behind her.
Teek looked bad, like he hadn’t slept in a week. It was pretty obvious that whatever the big, scary secret was, he knew it. “Bokka?” he asked.
Loor frowned. “He was killed,” she said. “By the archer with the silver arrows. I am sorry.”
Teek dropped his head. I saw tears roll down his cheeks. “Bokka was coming to find you,” Teek said, his voice clutching. “To warn you.”
“About what?” I asked.
Teek looked between the two of us with red, teary eyes. “Who is Saint Dane?” he asked. “He says he is from a tribe on the far side of the desert. Could he be one of your enemies, Pendragon? The Red Sox?”
Under other circumstances I Would have thought that was funny.
“He is not a friend,” I said. “Not of the Batu or the Rokador.”
Teek nodded. It seemed as if he already knew that, but my words confirmed it.
“Then why is he here?” he asked.
“That would take a really long time to explain,” I said.
“Please believe me,” Teek continued. “We did not know. Most of the Tiggen guards were spread far across the underground. We were lied to. We believed everything the elite told us.”
“About the Rokador holding back the water?” I asked.
“That’s only the beginning!” Teek cried. “There is so much more. It is horrible.”
“Tell us, Teek,” Loor said softly. “Maybe we can help.”
“No one can help!” Teek cried. “It’s too late.”
“We can try to stop things from getting worse,” I said.
Teek rubbed tears from his eyes and took a deep breath. He nodded as if he had made a decision. He unlocked the cell door.
“You must hear it for yourselves,” he said. “After that, I will take you to see. Until you see, you will not truly understand.”
“Where are we going?” Loor asked.
“First to the Rokador elite,” Teek answered. “They are sharing a final meal with the one who calls himself Saint Dane.”
JOURNAL #22
(CONTINUED)
ZADAA
Whenwe stepped out of the cell, I saw that Teek had brought our weapons. Nice idea, but there wasn’t a whole lot that a couple of sticks could do against an entire tribe of Rokador. Still, it felt good to have them back. I guarantee Loor felt the same way. Teek led us on a quick, twisted journey through the corridors of the stone building. I’m guessing we were in the basement since the hallways looked like the tunnels of the underground. There wasn’t much to see except for stone walls and closed doors. Teek knew exactly where he was going, which was amazing because it all looked like a whole lot of the same to me. We made a few turns, dashed down a few more empty corridors, and stopped at a closed door.
“You must be quiet,” Teek said softly. “Above us is the private dining quarters of the elite. This door leads to a small tunnel that provides air to the building.”
“Who are these elite?” I asked.
“Our leaders,” Teek answered. “They govern the Rokador, pass the laws, and sit in judgment.”
“That’s a lot of power,” I said. “Are they elected?”
“They are descendents of the original Rokador-those who first discovered the underground many generations ago.” Teek stopped talking and closed his eyes. It was like he was suddenly overcome with emotion. “Are you ill?” Loor asked.
“I’m fine,” Teek said after taking a breath. “We can hear what they are saying, but if we are discovered…” He didn’t finish the sentence. I figured that whatever would happen, it wouldn’t be good. Note to self: Don’t get caught.
He quietly opened the door and entered. Loor and I followed. We found ourselves in a space with a ceiling so low we had to duck down to walk. There looked to be two shafts that disappeared into darkness. Teek had explained that these tunnels provided air. I felt a slight breeze, as if the air were moving. But learning how they ventilated this building wasn’t why we were here. Light shone down from above through several small slits that were about a foot long and an inch wide. Teek approached this light source quietly and pointed for us to look. We quickly saw that these slits were the openings through which the room above was ventilated. More important, we were able to look through them and see into that room. Judging from the angle, I guessed that the slits were at the base of a wall. It was the perfect vantage point to peek into the room and eavesdrop on the proceedings.
The room itself was like nothing we had seen in the underground. It was big enough to hold a long dining table. There was artwork on the walls and comfortable-looking furniture. Candles burned everywhere. The dining table itself was loaded with an incredible feast. There were silver bowls heaped with all sorts of strange-looking fruit. On one end of the table was a roast something. On the other end was another roast that looked like a turkey. There were tall goblets full of drinks. It was a pretty fancy feast-not exactly something you’d expect to see in a place where people were desperate for food and water.
Loor and I exchanged looks. I knew she was thinking the same thing I was: Where was the horror Teek was talking about? It sure wasn’t in this room. This place looked pretty sweet. I counted ten Rokador. The ruling elite. I guess I expected to see a bunch of white-hairs who had centuries of experience between them to draw upon as they made the wise choices that helped guide the future of their people.
Well… no.
A couple people looked kind of old. One guy was so ancient he didn’t look like he could get out of his chair. I think he was napping…and drooling. I swear, there was a line of drool dropping from his mouth that formed a puddle on his chest. Nice. But overall it was a totally diverse group. There were three people who looked like adults. Two women and a man. There was a guy and a girl who didn’t look any older than I am. And then there were two little kids. I’m serious. Kids. They all had the pasty white skin and green eyes of the Rokador and wore the familiar white robes. This must have been a special occasion, because they all wore the fancy robes with the gold trim like I wore to the Batu Festival of Azhra.
Everyone was eating quickly, pounding down the food as if it were their last meal. Truth be told, it might have been. They stuffed their mouths with fatty chunks of meat before they had even finished chewing what they already had bitten off. They washed it all down with water from their fancy goblets. I was surprised at first, but
