They were all exhausted. Cindy led them straight to Overhang and asked if anyone else wanted to sleep for ten hours. It was agreed they should rest before continuing on.
“We can make a fire,” Mr. Warner suggested. “I brought a lighter, and there’s plenty of dry wood in the area. We can rest near the flames, recover our strength.” He glanced at Nira. “Unless you think that’s a bad idea?”
The child closed her eyes and stood motionless a moment.
Then she opened them and nodded. “There’s time,” she said.
Nira’s confidence and seemingly omniscient insight should have reassured Cindy. Yet it did not—not in a normal way. Cindy thought she understood why. For a while, she’d imagined she’d been taking care of the girl, when in reality Nira had probably been taking care of her.
Yet Steve had died on Nira’s watch.
Cindy saw that Nira was so far above them, that the everyday fears human beings felt did not touch her. In other words, she would probably accomplish what she set out to do, but she was not going to get upset if one—or even all of them—died in the process.
The child was from a dimension where death was an illusion. However, standing on the side of the mountain, with her bizarre traveling troop nearby, Cindy felt death was more concrete and more close at hand than ever before.
What was Sheri Smith doing with a nuclear bomb?
Why wasn’t Ali answering her phone?
The answer to the second question was simple. Ali’s cell phone, the one she had borrowed from Hector, was not ringing. Maybe it had something to do with the crystal plug Nemi had told her to attach to it. Maybe there was another reason.
After Ali tied up General Kabrosh, she flew home to the West Coast, fed Officer Garten in the basement, and got back online in order to talk to Nemi. He hurt her feelings by telling her that he was kind of busy.
“Busy? The world might end today! How can you be busy?”
“Is it possible that’s the reason I’m busy?”
“I’m sorry, I know you’re working on the situation from your side.”
“True. What did Nancy Pillar and General Kabrosh have to say?”
“Nancy had a spell on her, but I removed it. I expect to hear from her today. But she was able to tell me that Lucy had visited a few times over the years. More important, I think, I found a number of paintings Lucy had done of seven mountains. They were each exquisite, created with great care. I recognized five: Pete’s Peak, Kilimanjaro, Fuji, Shasta, and Blanc in France. The other two . . .”
“Are Mt. Popocatepeptl in Mexico and Mt. Ararat in Turkey.”
“Thanks. I assume these are the places the caves inside the mountain lead to?”
“Yes.”
“What’s special about them?”
“You tell me.”
“Each one is potentially volcanic. Or at least, each one has erupted in the last few hundred years.”
“Correct,” Nemi said.
“The nuclear bomb General Kabrosh sold Sheri Smith was an MK-41. It’s an old bomb, made in the fifties, when America and Russia were racing to see who could create the bigger bang. Most modern weapons are smaller. But this one generates twenty-five megatons. Is that enough to start a chain reaction that could lead to a volcanic eruption?”
“Now you’re thinking. What are the last few pieces of the puzzle?”
“I was thinking she might need billions of tons of volcanic ash to help shelter her elemental invasion. Trolls can’t tolerate sunlight, and since dragons can’t fit into the caves to come here, the trolls are probably her strongest allies—from a purely physical point of view. Am I right?”
“Yes. Continue.”
“The scaliis have a single huge eye, where their faces should be. I suspect they’re also sensitive to bright sunlight. When they attacked the first time, they came at us after sunset. Is that important?”
“The scaliis dislike the green sun, but can move around in it. A few of them tried to nibble on you yesterday, by Lake Mira. But they would have trouble with Earth’s yellow sun. So your reasoning is solid. Continue.”
“If volcanoes erupt all over the world, gigantic clouds of ash will darken the skies. It will create a global phenomenon. Not only are the elementals protected by the darkness, the whole world is thrown into confusion and fear.”
“Yes. When your opponent is scared, the battle is already half over. Now give me the final piece of the puzzle.”
“If Sheri detonates the MK-41 at the place where the tunnels all meet in their different caves, then she only needs one bomb to start a reaction that will trigger all the other mountains—all over the Earth. That’s why you kept asking me what she would do with just one bomb. In that one place, one bomb is equal to seven bombs exploding in seven separate places.”
“Bravo, Ali.”
“So all I have to do is go up to the cave and kill her!”
“It won’t be that easy.”
“Why not?”
“She’s smart. She’s powerful. She might kill you.”
“I’m smart and powerful. I defeated Kashar.”
“Look what that fight did to you.”
“So what are you saying?”
“You discovered Sheri Smith’s plan in the last few hours. She’s been meticulously planning it for years. Also, Sheri is a master when it comes to creating backup scenarios. If one fails, you can be sure she’ll have another handy.”
“I can’t just sit here and do nothing!”
“I suggest you do exactly that. You need to stop and consider your options. Furthermore, Geea is not yet in position to challenge the Shaktra.”
“So?”
“Ali Warner is Geea. Sheri Smith is Doren. To have any chance of success, all your forces against the enemy must converge—at the same time. Give Geea a chance to catch up with you.”
“If I can take out Sheri in this world, I might be able to help Geea in her world.”
“Didn’t Geea herself warn you about taking care of your own world?”
“Yes. But . . .”
“Respect her wishes. Furthermore, don’t try to compete with her. You’ll fail.”
“That’s silly, Nemi! I’m not in competition with her!”
“When she awoke, she took over, and started giving you orders. Your pride was wounded. Now, worse, you have three bosses above you telling you what to do: myself, Geea, and Nira. You’re no longer in charge, and you like being in charge.”
Ali sighed. “It was fun while it lasted.”
Nemi replied, “And you’re no longer the green-eyed beauty queen.”
Ali found her hands shaking. “Ouch,” she typed.
“It’s all right, Ali. I know how you feel.”
She felt like crying. “Then why rub it in?”
“So you will admit that it bothers you.”
Ali wiped her face and typed. She would not talk about her looks.
“I just felt Geea sent me here to accomplish a goal. Now it’s within my grasp. I understand Sheri’s strategy now. I can defeat her.”
“When you defeat her and how you defeat her will determine if you do defeat her. Each point is connected. Likewise, ponder your connection to Geea. You are one and the same, and yet you have cut yourself off from her.”
“I have not. I am here. She is there. She sent me here.”
“Still, if you will sit quietly, let your mind settle, you might discover that you can communicate with her. Trust me, she waits for you to do so. She knows much that you need to know, especially the time you should attack.” Nemi paused. “You understand?”
Ali sniffled, nodded. “I just wish . . . I could talk to her.”
“You’ve been given the key. Use it. Now I must go. Goodbye, Ali.”
“Goodbye, Nemi.”
Her heart heavy, Ali turned off the computer. Going downstairs, she released Garten and gave him back his gun. She warned him to keep his mouth shut about the whole affair.
“If you try to explain w
here you’ve been, and what’s happened to you, no one will believe you. They’ll just laugh in your face. It would be better if you just went home and called in sick and rested up for a few days.”
He nodded vigorously. He was pretty scared of her.
“You promise to leave me alone?” he pleaded.
“Let’s promise to leave each other alone.” To both their surprise, she leaned over and hugged him. “You’re not a bad man. You’re just too anxious to be the boss. But don’t worry. I have the same problem.”
He shook in her arms. “So you didn’t kill anyone?” he asked anxiously.
She let him go and stared him in the eye. “I’m not a murderer, Officer Garten.”
When he was gone, Ali sat to meditate. To feel Geea.
But all she saw were vast armies moving beneath dark skies.
CHAPTER
19
The black smoke came all of a sudden, seemingly out of nowhere.
At the time, Ra was with Geea, Amma, and Trae—sitting in Geea’s bedroom, in the Crystal Palace. Already the boats were fully loaded and sailing north toward Karolee at a brisk clip, a strong wind at their backs.
Presently, the dragons were bringing as many elementals as possible directly to Uleestar. Geea had given the dragons a massive incentive to work fast. Ra had to tip his head to her, she was always a step ahead of everyone else. Earlier, she had sent Trae and other high fairies—who could fly—to Denzy to break apart the umbrella on the ceiling of the kloudar.
The umbrella that held the brown dust.
Trae had returned with literally tons of it.
Every time a dragon brought in a load of elementals to Uleestar, it was given a “snort” of the dust—not enough to intoxicate the dragon, but enough to keep it happy. Ra knew the method of inspiration disgusted Geea.
War was war, she said, and they had to win at any cost.
“You wouldn’t have said that years ago,” Amma gently chided Geea.
“That was before I understood to what extreme the Entity would go to achieve its purpose,” Geea replied.
“You saw through Ali’s eyes when she was on the Isle of Greesh?” Ra asked.
Geea stood and went to the balcony that opened onto the north side of Uleestar, near the rapidly flowing Lestre. Far off could be seen the Youli Mountains, Anglar, and hundreds of floating kloudar, twinkling like large sapphires beneath the enchanting rays of the stationary moon.
Yet something in the view troubled Geea. Frowning, she answered as if distracted. “I saw much more than Ali saw in that chamber,” she said quietly.
“What did you see that Ali did not?” Amma asked.
“The Entity has never failed to conquer a world it has gone after.” Geea added, “Except those worlds that decided to commit mass suicide.”
“Whole planets did that?” Ra gasped.
Geea nodded sadly. “To avoid enslavement.”
“The ice maidens will not allow that to happen here,” Amma said.
Geea looked at her. No, it was more like she studied her.
“You have been thinking about the ice maidens a lot today,” Geea said.
Amma lowered her head. “I pray to them.”
“Be careful what you pray for,” Geea warned. Then her gaze was distracted. She strode across her room, opened a curtain on a south-facing window, pointed with her arm. There was black smoke coming out of the south. “I should have guessed,” she muttered.
The others stood. Yet no one seemed to understand what the smoke meant. “Has the Shaktra begun its attack?” Ra asked.
“Yes,” Geea said, as she turned toward the door, the rest of them on her heels. “That smoke—the red tinge to it—it comes from beyond the red door.”
“The dark fairies!” Amma cried.
Geea nodded. “Somehow Doren has managed to break the lock Ali put on the red door. And she has reopened the green door. Even with Radrine dead, the dark fairies are coming to Doren’s aid.”
“They are cowards at heart. They must feel she can’t lose,” Trae said.
Geea nodded as she strode through the palace halls, and they hastened to keep up. “They’ll have brought their fire stones, and they’ll head for the ships. Try to set as many as possible on fire.”
“Surely the dragons can take care of them,” Ra said.
“Yes and no. The dark fairies outnumber them ten to one,” Geea replied.
Amma tried to come with them, to fight.
But Geea refused to let her leave the palace. Ra found it odd how she repeated the order twice to her mother. Speaking to Amma, her tone was almost hostile. “You are not to leave the palace. You are to go nowhere without my permission.”
Fifteen minutes later Ra was flying with Geea on Drash’s back not far from the rear of the main fleet, as it tread up the green coast toward Karolee. Yet Drash was high up, above the clouds of the choking fumes. Thousands of dark fairies were hidden in the smoke, and had begun to attack the ships with their fire stones. Naturally, the dragons fought back, but Ra had already seen what happened when a dozen of Radrine’s offspring concentrated their firepower on a single dragon.
The huge reptile’s armor swiftly began to peel off.
Once more, Ra watched in horror as it began to happen to one directly beneath them. The dragon’s flame was much more fierce than the red bolts of the fire stones, but the dark fairies were more maneuverable. They were like swarms of bees, with lasers for stingers. Six literally evaporated as the injured dragon swept the immediate vicinity with flames, but another six took their place. The screams of the dragon rent their ears.
Ra wanted to close his eyes, but could not. He could only watch as the back of the dragon showed glimpses of raw flesh. After a concentrated blast from the fire stones, pieces of its heavy armor fell off like chunks of overcooked meat. One wing began to wither, to lose strength, to burn. Finally it was torn off, and the dragon began to fall toward the sea, like a flaming meteor. It hit the shoreline with a thundering crash.
“Drash must help! Drash must fight!” Drash appealed to Geea.
“Drash must listen!” Geea snapped. She pointed to a dozen boats that were already burning. The elementals leapt off the sides and into the water. Some were trolls . . .
“Can they swim?” Ra asked, vaguely remembering that they couldn’t.
Geea sadly shook her head. “They’re doomed.”
“Does it cost Doren a great deal of energy to keep the red door and the green door open at the same time?” Ra asked.
Geea nodded. “You begin to read my mind. Yes, Doren must remain at the junction of the doors to keep them both open simultaneously. For that reason, we’re going to take a risk. Drash! I’m going to expand my field to protect all three of us. I want you to fly directly toward Tutor. We’re going to try to shut the cave!”
Their descent—into the bloody smoke, the swarms of dark fairies, and the flaming dragons—was something Ra was never to forget. It was as if they had literally fallen into hell. The inferno raged all around, particularly when the dark fairies realized what they were up to. It was then they began to concentrate thousands of fire stones in their direction. Beneath the onslaught, Geea’s green field changed to red, to orange, finally to a searing blue. Instinctively, Ra knew Ali could not have withstood the attack for a minute. Geea herself sweated as the temperature of the field began to mount.
“Drash is hot!” the young dragon called out.
“A minute more!” Geea called back. “They’ll withdraw their attack once we reach the cave entrance! Or else they’ll risk burning their own!”
Her guess proved correct. As they reached Tutor, and the side where the cave opened onto the green world, the dark fairies let up. They had to because Geea forced Drash to fly directly into the swarm of exiting beasts, who seemed to ride a black wave of filthy exhaust out of the heart of the mountain. Remembering how beautiful the spot had seemed to him when he had first entered the green world, Ra felt bitter about the sheer mess the
Shaktra was making. He shuddered to think what it would do if it reached the Earth.
Geea urged Drash to move into the doorway of the cave. There she employed something she and Ali called voom. Blowing on her palms, she clapped them together, shouted out words—they may have been simply sounds—Ra did not expect. A sonic boom exploded all around. A large crack appeared in the rim of the cave. Geea used voom six times in a row before the top of the cave collapsed.
They barely escaped the fall. Geea liked to play close to the edge.
For now, at least, the smoke and the dark fairies were sealed inside.
“Were we in time?” Ra asked as Drash flew above the top of Tutor, still shielded by Geea’s magnetic field, but feeling the effects of the laser bolts. Yet, for some reason, the dark fairies had ceased to attack them.
“The dark fairies have a hive-like mentality,” Geea told them. “When they get separated from each other, or a portion of their clan gets killed, they have a tendency to panic in unison. Doren knows that. She’s just used them to throw us off balance. The ones trapped outside here—their attacks on the dragons will fall apart. The dragons will have no trouble killing them. But the damage is done. Smoke covers the land. The scaliis will now have cover to attack.”
“Surely we can take care of them,” Ra said.
Studying Mt. Tutor, the fairy queen did not appear so certain.
Beneath the yellow sand, it seemed as if the bedrock shifted.
Or else it was the sign of a million monsters crawling. Scabs.
Geea sighed and bid Drash to return home. Finally she answered Ra.
“One way or the other, Doren’s going to hit Uleestar with a hammer.”
“Any idea how to stop her?”
Geea’s answer made no sense. “Maybe by helping her,” she said.
When Cindy awoke, the sun was bright and high in the sky. She felt a moment of embarrassment; that while she had been peacefully snoring, the others had gathered their things together and gone off without her.