The person on the skimmer yelled out a word that I can only describe as somewhere between a hoarse croak and a cry of agony.
“Help,” he called.
I didn’t hesitate a second more and swam for the craft. It may have been a trap, but so what? I grabbed on to the side rails and looked up at the horrible, sunburned face.
“Who are you?” I called.
The guy could barely move. He reached up a hand and pushed the blond hair away from one eye. A lifeless eye. He was blind. His face was blistered. It was a hideous sight. I had no idea who the poor guy was.
“Did I make it?” he asked hoarsely.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Where are you trying to go?”
The guy smiled. I think I had answered his question.
“Pendragon,” he gasped with obvious relief.
I froze. He had recognized my voice. He knew me.
“Where else would I want to go but home to Ibara?” he croaked.
It was when he said the word “home” that the truth hit me. It was impossible. It couldn’t be. But it was. “Loque?” I asked in dismay.
The guy nodded. I couldn’t move. Loque was dead. I saw him die in a crushing avalanche of shattered glass. Yet he was there, lying on the skimmer. Back home.
Alive.
I looked into his dead eye. He nodded. My heart hurt.
It actually hurt. There were so many emotions going on. I had to fight off both laughing and crying. He pulled himself over to the edge of the craft until his lips were right next to my ear and whispered the few words that I really didn’t want to hear.
“They’re coming.”
It took every last bit of gas in his tank to say those words. Once the message was delivered, he passed out.
JOURNAL #34
(CONTINUED)
IBARA
Loquewas alive. Barely. I wasn’t sure if I should be happy or terrified. The idea of the Jakill making it all the way back to Ibara only to die within sight of shore was unthinkable. And what did he mean by “They’re coming”? Who was coming? When? Why? It didn’t sound like a good thing. I didn’t thinkLoquewould fight to stay alive just to deliver a casual message that some friendly folks were going to drop in for a visit.
“Loque!” I cried, shaking him. “Who’s coming?”
He didn’t budge. He was gone. With one hand I grabbed the edge of the skimmer. With the other I paddled furiously toward shore. Within minutes I hit the beach and dragged the craft onto the sand. A quick check for a pulse told me he was still with me. But for how long?
“Help!” I screamed, hoping somebody was within earshot. “Somebody!”
I was lucky. Or rather Loque was lucky. A young kid was wandering toward the beach to fish. I waved him over. When he got close enough to hear me, I yelled, “We need a doctor.”
The kid stood staring at me, his eyes wide.
“Now!” I shouted, shocking him into action. He sprinted back toward the village.
I waited for help to come, not sure of what to do. His heart was beating, so he didn’t need CPR. All I could do was make him comfortable. I thought back to what had happened with Loor in the caves below Zadaa. She was dead. A sword had been driven through her heart. But I held her in my arms and willed her to stay alive. It was a ridiculously desperate thing to do, except for the fact that it worked. Loor somehow survived with no injuries. To this day I don’t know how that happened. Could I do it again? I put my hand over Loque’s heart, but had no idea how to go about healing somebody. I closed my eyes and repeated to myself, “Don’t die, don’t die, don’t die.”
The good news is that he didn’t die on that beach, but I don’t think it had anything to do with me. There was no miraculous recovery. No instant healing. If anything, his heartbeat grew fainter. That meant that whatever happened with Loor, it wasn’t because I had magical healing power. The mystery of why she came back to life would continue.
It wasn’t long before several men and women came running toward us from the village. I recognized one as a doctor that Telleo worked with. Man, what a relief. Loque had a chance. An hour later he was lying in a cavern medical room in the base of Tribunal Mountain. I waited outside to get a report on how he was doing. Between the doctors and Telleo, I knew he was in good hands. If he had any chance of surviving, these were the guys who would pull him through. It was torture sitting alone, waiting for news. All the memories of that nightmare in Rubic City came back to me.
Loque was Siry’s best friend. I guess you could call him the second-in-command of the Jakills. Siry was the leader of the young rebels and didn’t want anything to do with me, or with being a Traveler. It was Loque who calmed Siry down. He was the strong voice of reason to the tightly wound, angry Siry. If not for Loque, Siry might never have accepted his role as a Traveler, which led to the saving of Ibara. Loque was a hero, which made the memories of that horrible day all the more painful. Twig had been captured by the Flighters. Siry, Loque, and I were on the run. We hid in the ruins of a massive cathedral-like structure with Flighters swarming all around us. When we thought they were gone, it was Loque who took it upon himself to scout around, to see if it was safe for us to come out of hiding. I’ll never forget seeing him standing in front of that massive wall of stained-glass and noticing the ominous shadow outside. The cannon. We realized what was happening, but too late. The Flighters shot the glass wall, shattering it into a billion pieces that rained down on Loque.
How could he have survived that? The only one who could answer that question was Loque, and he was barely clinging to life. The guy deserved to live. His sacrifice and vision helped save Ibara. He was a brave and loyal friend. For me, I wanted there to be one less victim of Saint Dane’s vicious crusade.
I had been waiting around for a few hours, writing my journal, when Telleo finally came to talk to me.
“It doesn’t look good,” she said sadly. “He was in surgery for a long time. He’s lost a lot of blood. Being exposed to the elements out on the water didn’t help. He’s totally burned.”
“His eyes?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Telleo said somberly. “Losing his vision may be the least of his troubles.”
“When will we know?” I asked.
“Every moment he stays alive, his chances for survival increase” was Telleo’s professional answer. “We’ll see if he makes it through the night, and then reevaluate in the morning.”
She sat down and put her arm around me. I didn’t fight her. She clicked out of professional mode and into friend mode. “This is hard, especially with Siry gone,” she said with compassion. “I know how much Loque meant to him.”
“Loque helped save Ibara,” I said.
“We’ll do all we can to save him,” Telleo assured me.
She held me tighter. I think she wanted me to hug her back, so I gave her a quick hug, but then pulled away and stood up. Telleo seemed a little surprised but didn’t say anything.
“Can I see him?” I asked.
“He’s sleeping. Better not disturb him.”
I nodded. “Okay. I’ll be back in the morning. I’m glad you’re here for him, Telleo. Siry would be happy about that.”
Telleo smiled. “I did all I could for the Jakills. You know that.”
I nodded, and left Tribunal Mountain to find a quiet spot near the beach to lie down and sleep. There was nothing I could do to help Loque. Knowing that he was in good hands, my mind went to the two words he’d said to
