“I don’t talk about her,” she said, so softly I could barely hear. The words “Why not?” almost flew out of my mouth, but I swallowed them.
“I’m sorry,” she said, softening. “It’s just…difficult. My mother and I had problems. I want to let it go at that, okay?”
“Yeah, sure, sorry,” I said, trying to do damage control. “Don’t be sorry. Just don’t mention that woman anymore. To anyone.”
That woman. Yikes. Whatever had gone down between Telleo and her mother, it wasn’t good. My curiosity was running wild, but I had to respect her wishes and made a pact with myself to forget all about Telleo’s mother. It was a smart thing to do for lots of reasons.
As time passed and Rayne healed, my thoughts returned to the bigger picture. I guess that was inevitable. My main goal in destroying the gate was to trap Saint Dane here on Ibara. I could only hope that it had worked; I had no proof. Since the battle, not a single Flighter had been seen on Ibara. Sentries were positioned all over the island. That was one of the big changes that was made after the dado attack. There were no reports of Flighters trying to land. In some ways that worried me. Since Saint Dane was stuck here, you would think he’d try to rally them for another shot at Ibara. Why not? There was nothing else for him to spend his time on. What was he doing? Hanging out in Rubic City watching the buildings crumble? In some weird way the fact that there were no Flighters hanging around made me nervous.
A few times I went down to the rocky rubble on the beach to see if there was any way to get to the flume. There wasn’t. I suppose a dygo could dig down to it, but there was nothing on Ibara that could tunnel that deep through so much rock. I tried myself once, for about a minute. I threw a couple of boulders aside and quickly realized it was a waste. The flume was buried. Still, I didn’t have proof that Saint Dane was trapped.
That is, until one afternoon that I don’t think I’ll ever forget.
I was working with Twig and Krayven, carrying what felt like the one-millionth dado part down to the junk pile on the beach. No sooner had I lobbed the foot (yes, foot) onto the pile, when I heard something overhead. Nobody else would have given it a second thought. In fact, Twig and
Krayven didn’t. But I did. The sound was the single, loud caw! of a crow. A big crow. A raven. I looked up to see the huge bird circling the pile. I froze. Could it be? “Big bird,” Twig commented.
That made me think of the big goofy yellow dude from Sesame Street. I should have laughed at that. I didn’t. The black bird circled once more, then flew off along the beach… in the direction of the buried gate. It didn’t seem like a random move. It felt more like it was waiting for me to see it before shooting off.
I wanted to puke.
“I’ll meet you back at the village,” I told the others. “I want to check something out.”
“What?” Krayven asked. “I’ll help.”
“No!” I snapped, a little too quickly. They both jumped in surprise. “I mean, it’s not important. I’ll be right back.”
I didn’t stick around to debate and walked quickly along the beach. My heart raced. What did this mean? Was it a random bird that I was following? Was my paranoia meter set a little too low? Or was something else going on? I knew where I’d find that answer.
It was the fifth time I had gone to the tomb of the gate. Each time I came away with the same conclusion. The flume was buried. It was inaccessible. No problem. Then time would go by; I’d get itchy and go down to make sure. Again. What can I say? I’m paranoid. This time was different. My paranoia was justified. I followed the shore until I reached the huge mound of volcanic rock, turned inland and began to climb. Normally when I’d reach the pinnacle, which was around three hundred feet high, I’d look to see if there was any possible way to get to the flume. This trip would be different.
As I climbed the mound of rocks, I didn’t know what I hoped to find. I didn’t want to face Saint Dane. I really didn’t. Who would? I’d just as soon never lay eyes on the demon again. But seeing him there might have confirmed that my plan had worked. I wanted to know for sure that I wasn’t the only one trapped on Ibara. His presence would confirm that. When I reached the top, I threw my leg over, hoisted myself up, got to my feet, and had my answer.
“Good morning, Pendragon,” Saint Dane said with a casual smile. “Lovely day to enjoy the beach, don’t you think?”
JOURNAL#33
(CONTINUED)
IBARA
Hesat on a flat boulder, looking all sorts of casual, with his feet propped up on a smaller rock. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he looked like some guy who was just hanging out, catching some sun. I knew better.
He was in his normal form, wearing the dark suit that buttoned up to his chin. His bald head was so white in the gleaming daylight it made the jagged red scars seem like streaks of blood. The word “vampire” came to mind. Actually, a lot of words came to mind. None of them were good. I stood staring at him. This was his show. He’d lured me there. I wanted him to speak first. He didn’t. He stared at me with those creepy blue-white eyes. What was going through that twisted brain? I knew this couldn’t be a social call. Saint Dane always had an agenda.
I finally couldn’t take it anymore and said, “I hope you used sunblock on that skeleton head of yours. You’re gonna fry.”
He chuckled and asked, “Do you really care?”
“Nope.”
Saint Dane stood up to his full height, which was several inches taller than mine. I thought back to a time when he towered over me like some ominous giant. I’d grown up since then. Now he was just an ominous regular- height guy. He strolled around the peak, kicking at random stones.
“Quite the dramatic choice you made here,” he began. “I have to admit, I was surprised. Not that you used tak from Denduron, mind you. I predicted that. But I didn’t think you would do something so drastic as sealing the flume. Bravo. It was a selfless act. Desperate, but selfless.”
“Desperate?” I said, scoffing. “I kicked your ass.”
“It was quite the battle, wasn’t it?” he said with glee, as if enjoying the memory. “The dados didn’t know what hit them. Literally. Then again, they didn’t think about anything at all. They were mindless automatons.”
“Now they’re trash.”
“Don’t gloat, Pendragon. It’s unbecoming.”
“Hey, I earned it,” I shot back. “I didn’t start this. But I finished it. And I finished you.”
Saint Dane threw me a look with those cold eyes. “What do you want?” I snarled.
“I want to congratulate you,” he announced jovially. “I must say, events did not play out exactly as I expected. You have proven to be a formidable adversary. I thought this conflict would have ended long ago, and that is to your credit.” He bowed deeply and added, “For that, I commend you.”
“That’s it? That’s why you came here? You got so bored hanging out in the rubble of Rubic City that you flew all the way over here just to tell me what a great job I did? Talk about desperate.”
“There’s more,” he said flatly.
Oh. There always was. The guy sat down again. He looked out over the ocean, then back to the island, as if soaking up the beauty of the tropical territory. He seemed almost human. Almost.
He continued, “We’ve come a long way, you and I. I’d like to think we’ve both learned from each other. I now understand the resilience and fortitude the people of the territories possess. They are a passionate people, and for that, I’ve developed a certain…respect for them.”
“But not enough respect to leave us alone,” I added.
“Ah!” he exclaimed. “That is exactly my point. You see, my friend, we are-“
“I’m not your friend.”
“Yes, of course. I hope that by now you understand exactly where our differences lie.”
