used to death, grieving wasn’t a part of the equation.
Veego and LaBerge said the challengers were treated like royalty. Judging from this party, they definitely were given the chance to have some fun. These guys were taking advantage of every second of life they had, for none of them knew how long they had left.
I wasn’t in the mood for partying. I had other business. I was about to move on, when something caught my eye. A lone challenger sat at the table. He wasn’t dancing, he wasn’t laughing or telling stories. He sat alone at the end of the table… looking at me. He was the only one in the room who even knew I was there.
I caught my breath. Why did I know this guy? It took only a second to remember. Challenger Green. The champion. The record breaker. The guy who killed Remudi. Challenger Green stared at me and lifted his goblet, as if in a toast for my eyes only. In that moment it all came clear to me. I was being set up. Whatever the Grand X was, if it was as big a deal as they said it was, it would have to involve their champion. Challenger Green. If I was going to be part of it, it meant I would be competing against this guy. He was the all-time doo-da big cheese that nobody could beat. How could I possibly stand a chance against him?
I guess I should have been scared, but you know what? I wasn’t. Just the opposite. The realization actually gave me a feeling of hope. I was going to go up against the guy who killed a Traveler. I would get the chance to avenge his death. I gave the guy a small salute. He drank from his goblet, and I continued on. I knew we would be seeing each other again.
As I made my way cautiously down toward the courtyard, I found that the castle was strangely empty. Once I left the blowout challenger party, everything became eerily quiet. I wondered where Veego and LaBerge lived, but wasn’t curious enough to try to find out. It was tough enough finding my way through the dozens of twisted corridors and intersections to make it down to the courtyard. It was slow going, because I didn’t want to risk being caught. Finding Nevva was too important. So I kept to the shadows and tried to be quiet.
Finally, after twenty minutes of wrong turns and dead ends, I found a side door that led outside to the courtyard. The next part was tricky. I got my bearings by looking out on the wide space and finding the front door, where I had first entered the castle. Looking directly across from that door, I saw a wide archway that seemed to lead into a small garden. According to Fourteen that was the octagon. The trick was to get across the wide open space without being seen. I stayed along one wall, moving quickly, holding my breath. I’m not sure why I held my breath. It didn’t make me invisible. It just seemed like the thing to do. Thirty seconds later I ducked through the archway and into the octagon.
It was a pretty garden that was ringed by, you guessed it, an eight-sided wall. Three of the sections were the outer walls of the castle. The other five were built out from the castle and rose up too high to think about climbing over. It was maybe thirty yards across in all directions… big enough to hide in the trees and bushes. There were lots of flowers, a brook, small flowering trees, and some stone benches. It was the kind of place where you’d see old people hanging out to feed the ducks. The sky was full of stars that were so bright they provided plenty of light to see all this. I wondered briefly if one of them might be Second Earth. I had a quick feeling of homesickness, and forced myself to change gears. I didn’t need to be feeling sorry for myself right then.
Nevva said to meet her there “later.” When was later? An hour? Three hours? A quad? A click? I found a small bench nestled between two flowering bushes, and settled in for I didn’t know how long to wait for her.
“Hello, Pendragon,” came a voice. “Thank you for coming so quickly.”
I whipped around to see Nevva standing behind the bench. Phew. “Later” meant now. Good thing. I didn’t like the idea of sitting on a hard bench for long. I was too beat.
“I can’t stay long,” she said. “I wouldn’t know how to explain to Veego and LaBerge why I’m still here.”
Nevva came across as somebody who was Г¤berefficient and buttoned up. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had “to do” lists. I was never like that. I’m more of a “wing it” kind of guy.
“You are everything Press said you would be,” she said.
“You knew my uncle?” I asked. It still surprised me to hear how Uncle Press had covered all the territories before I even knew I was a Traveler. Man, I missed him.
“Of course,” Nevva answered. “He came to Quillan a long time ago to tell me of my true destiny, and to give me this.” She pulled out the ring that dangled from her dark beaded necklace. When she spoke it was quickly and precisely. She seemed to know exactly what was going on. I, on the other hand, was floundering.
“Your true destiny,” I repeated. “What exactly is your true destiny? Who are you?”
“I’m the Traveler from Quillan of course,” she said as if she didn’t understand how I didn’t know that.
I stared at her for a long moment. I think my brain went back into the deep-freeze again. Nevva was the Traveler from Quillan. Then who was Remudi? Here I was looking for answers, and everything she said only led to more questions.
She continued, “I’ve been receiving journals from acolytes all over Halla, detailing your encounters with Saint Dane.”
“Acolytes send you journals?” I asked dumbly, trying to keep my head above water and make sense of all this.
“Yes,” she said. “Many yet to hear from your acolytes, Mark Dimond and Courtney Chetwynde.”
“I don’t think they know they’re supposed to be writing,” I said.
Are you guys writing journals? Are you communicating with other acolytes? I have no idea.
“I haven’t chosen an acolyte myself yet,” she said. “I simply haven’t had time. In fact, I may not choose one. I can operate more efficiently on my own.”
“Whoa, wait wait, slow down,” I said. “If you’re the Traveler from Quillan, wasn’t Remudi your acolyte? He had a ring, didn’t he?”
Nevva frowned. “That should never have happened. I tried to stop him from competing, but I have no power. You saw how Veego and LaBerge treat me. I am only an assistant to the trustees. Remudi was a brave and talented soldier, but he wasn’t ready to compete. I’m heartsick that we’ve lost another Traveler. Perhaps if he’d had more time…”
“What?” I shouted. “You just said that you’re the Traveler from Quillan! Was Remudi the Traveler before you?”
“No,” Nevva snapped. She sounded irked that I didn’t know the whole story, but she softened quickly. I think she finally realized that there was no way I could know the whole story. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I thought you knew.”
“Knew what!” I insisted.
“Remudi was the Traveler from Ibara,” she said.
For the third time that day I stared at Nevva Winter as my brain left to go on vacation somewhere. She had just dumped a truckload of information on me that I wasn’t even close to expecting.
“Ibara?” I croaked. “That’s another territory?” “Well, of course,” Nevva said with surprise. It was if I had just said, “United States? Is that a country?”
“How did a Traveler from another territory end up here on Quillan?” I asked. “No, how did a Traveler from another territory end up dead here on Quillan?”
Before Nevva could answer, we heard a car pull into the courtyard. Nevva grabbed me and pulled me down into the bushes.
“Remudi is the least of it,” she whispered hurriedly. “There is so much to tell. You need to see it all. Quickly.” Yeah, no kidding.
“Who is Mr. Pop?” I asked. I couldn’t get the questions out fast enough. “And who are the trustees? And what is Blok?”
I heard voices coming from the courtyard. It sounded like Veego. She was barking orders to somebody.
“Tomorrow,” she said. “You will learn it all tomorrow. That’s why I needed to see you tonight, to give you this.” She handed me a small silver clip that looked like a thick staple.
“And this is…?”
“A blocking diode,” she explained. “Keep it with you, but don’t let anyone know you have it. And don’t use it unless it’s absolutely necessary. You can only use it once. After that they’ll know you have it.”
“O… kay,” I said skeptically. “It would help a little if I knew what it did.”
“Clip it onto your loop,” she said. “It blocks the signal. They won’t be able to track you.”
Oh. Cool.
“I’d rather just take the loop off,” I said. “No,” she said. “They’ll know if it’s off.” “How come you don’t have
