Had I just proven his point? Was I no better than an animal who only knew to attack when threatened?
“What are you feeling, Pendragon?” Saint Dane seethed. “How will it make you feel when I touch this weapon to her head, and melt her brain?”
Saint Dane lowered the metal baton toward Loor. I was too far away to stop him. His white-blue eyes had frozen me in place. Loor was about to die, and I was too far away to stop it.
From the corner of my eye I saw a sudden flash of silver. An instant later Saint Dane screamed out in pain and dropped his weapon. Sticking from his arm was a silver arrow. I spun quickly to see someone standing on the balcony above us, holding a crossbow.
“Hello, Mallos,” the guy said. “That is what you called yourself on Denduron, no?”
It was Alder! Standing next to him were Saangi and Teek.
Saint Dane clutched his arm, screaming in pain. It didn’t last long. The demon turned into a liquid shadow. The silver arrow dropped from the inky cloud and clattered to the ground. The shadow re-formed itself into the same black bird I had seen flying away from the Manhattan Tower Hotel on First Earth. Saint Dane was about to get away. Again. The bird rose into the air, flapped its wings, and sailed off. We all watched it disappear into the darkness that enveloped Kidik Island.
“Ahhhh!” A scream of terror came from the balcony above. It was Teek. I guess he wasn’t used to seeing a person turn into a giant crow. Go figure. I glanced up to see him back away from the edge of the balcony in confusion and fear. Alder and Saangi tried to calm him. Good luck. I had no idea what they were going to tell him. But that wasn’t my concern. I ran to Loor. She was no longer shaking, but still looked pretty dazed. I knelt down next to her and put my hand on her shoulder, saying, “Relax. You’re not hurt. It was just a small jolt.”
“That…is…easy…for…you…to…say,” Loor said through chattering teeth.
She was going to be okay. I kept my hand on her shoulder, more out of reassurance than anything. Shortly we were joined by Alder, Saangi, and a very nervous-looking Teek who was shaking almost as much as Loor. I stood and hugged Alder. “I can’t believe you’re here,” I said. “Are you all right? When we left, you were barely conscious.”
“I believe it was the medicine that made me sleep. I feel better now,” he said. He flexed his stiff shoulder and added, “There is some pain, but it did not stop me from taking this from a Tiggen guard.” He held up the multiple-shot crossbow. “Interesting weapon.”
Loor moved to get up. She was quickly getting her act back together. Saangi helped her sit up.
“You were to take Alder to the flume,” Loor scolded.
D. J. MacHale
The Rivers of Zadaa
“Do not blame her, Loor,” Alder said. “I would not leave, not while there was still work to be done.”
Talk about making me feel guilty. Leaving is exactly what I was about to do.
“How did you find us?” I asked.
“It is my duty to help Loor,” Saangi said. “To do that, I did something that will make you angry. Before you left, I copied the map to Kidik. Please forgive me.”
Loor stared at Saangi in disbelief.
Saangi kept her eyes to the ground and said, “Once in the underground, we took a dygo and followed the route.”
I had to hand it to Saangi. She never gave up. I said, “I guess it was a good thing we sprang all of those traps.”
“I did not expect to see an ocean under the ground,” Alder said.
“Yeah, no kidding,” I shot back. “How did you know enough to cross it?”
“The city was dead,” Alder explained. “You were nowhere to be found, and we saw lights across the water. We found a boat, followed the lights, and made it as far as this building.”
“That is when we found Teek,” Saangi said. “He brought us here. I know this is not what you wanted, Loor, but if we had not come…” Saangi didn’t have to finish the sentence. We all knew. If they hadn’t shown up, Saint Dane would have fried Loor.
“I am not angry, Saangi, I am grateful,” Loor said. “Perhaps you should disobey me more often.”
Saangi beamed. She had once again proven to be Loor’s guardian angel.
“I did not really mean that,” Loor added. “But thank you.”
“Evil spirits!” a voice shouted. We all looked at Teek. He was standing away from the group, looking spooked. “Are you okay, Teek?” I asked.
“Evil s-spirits!” he repeated nervously. “He is an evil spirit! Evil!”
Teek wasn’t okay. I had to think of something to say that would keep him from going totally insane.
“He’s no spirit,” I said. “It was a trick. He’s full of tricks to fool people.”
“He… he transformed! And flew!” Teek chattered.
“All a trick,” I lied. “But you’re right about one thing: He is evil.”
Loor got to her feet. She was wobbly, so Saangi had to help her up. “We must get Pendragon to the flume,” she said. “He must be kept safe.”
“No,” I said. I looked at Loor, then Alder, and Saangi. “Saint Dane thinks he’s proving a point on Zadaa? I can prove one too. We’re seeing this to the end. All of us.”
‘Are you sure?” Loor asked.
I nodded. I could see her relief.
“The end may come sooner than you think,” Saangi said. “Why’s that?” I asked.
“That is another reason we had to come,” she answered. “The Batu have entered the underground. The attack has begun.”
JOURNAL #23
(CONTINUED)
ZADAA
Loorknew the plans for war, as did Saangi. The Ghee had been preparing for this day for a long time. The invasion would be overwhelming.
“It will begin with dygos,” Loor explained. “Ghee spies have stolen dozens of them, of all sizes. They have been kept hidden in the desert. The plan is to drive them into the underground and use them as shields against the defenses of the Tiggen guards. Each dygo will be followed by hundreds of warriors. The dygos will break through any resistance, whether it be rock or Tiggen, clearing the way for the Ghee warriors.”
“How do they know where to go?” I asked. “I mean, isn’t the underground like a huge spiderweb?”
“It is,” Loor answered. “But there have been scouts. They know the general direction of Kidik. They know this is the seat of power. This is the target. They will travel through the tunnels that take them in the proper direction. If there is no tunnel, they will drill one. The attack will be relentless.”
“Yeah, until they reach the ocean,” I said.
“What will happen then?” Alder asked.
“It’s a trap,” I answered. “The Rokador are going to flood the tunnels and drown every Batu who’s in the underground.”
Saangi shot me a look of surprise. Alder looked just as stunned. I hated to have to put it so bluntly, but we were way past worrying about tact.
“That will be thousands of Batu,” Saangi said, her voice suddenly sounding like that of a frightened, little girl.
“Can they truly do that?” Alder asked.
I looked to Teek. He still looked shaken, but his senses were returning.
“What did you find out?” I asked him. “How is this gonna work?”
Teek answered with no emotion. It was as if he were in a trance. His world was crumbling around him, in
