Chapter Twenty-Three
Behind Bars
The boys jumped to their feet, the last move they made before Cadrow raised a hand and completely immobilized their legs. Surprised that I could still move, I turned to face the men.
"What's going on here?" Cadrow stayed calm, but I heard an undertone of fury.
"I... We... Jor..." How could a Guardian defend this abduction? My parents would be so upset when they found out. But they were the reason I was in this cave, weren’t they? I took a deep breath and opened my mouth to try again.
Cadrow cut me off. "No Sairon has ever been treated this way. I'm truly at a loss, Guardian, and very disturbed."
"But—"
With a wave of his hand, Cadrow instantly psiflew everyone back to a room I recognized as being in the Hall of Judgment at Saironalis.
Kenny, John, and Matt all regained use of their legs, but never got to take a step since several Sairons immediately surrounded them. Another Sairon freed Jor, who rubbed the circulation back into his wrists. He was shaken, though I felt sure that he knew I’d never have hurt him.
"As Guardian, you're free to leave the Hall, of course," Cadrow said to me. "The others must stay here until we can gather everyone who came through the Stream with you."
Oh no. "What do you need them for?"
"They have to go back to Nodyra."
Kenny's jaw dropped. "But we're staying in Balmythra. Leah said we could." He exchanged looks of alarm with John and Matt.
Matt spoke up. "We weren't really going to hurt Jor. We just needed—"
"Shh." I waved everyone to silence. "Cadrow, this whole thing is my fault, not theirs. Just let me explain, and I know you won't send them away."
Cadrow shook his head. "There is nothing you can say to make this right. For years now, Jor has blamed us for not taking action against the Dagonel that emigrated from Nodyra to Balmythra. He predicted the violence that now threatens our way of life. He urged us to take steps to rid our world of these infiltrators." Cadrow sighed. "I see now that he spoke with wisdom beyond his years. We must take steps and will…beginning with these troublemakers." He pointed to Matt, Kenny, and John. "Their potential for violence is alarming. It also proves that Jor has been right all along. Immigration from Nodyra ends now."
I tried again. "But this was my idea." Was it time for a confrontation? "I know the truth about the Gilmarden Rite, Cadrow. I followed you and saw the evil you created. I heard my parents crying for help."
Cadrow's eyes flashed. Startled by his rage, so rare in a Sairon but seen twice in one day, I took an involuntary step back. Jor stepped forward and started to speak.
Cadrow cut him off. "You dishonor us, Alleana M'Orrean." His voice shook with emotion. "No Ionian has ever witnessed our most ancient and sacred ceremony. You're a disgrace to your parents and to your people." Whirling, he motioned for the other Sairons. They swept from the room. Jor hesitated, but finally followed without saying a word to us.
Matt and I exchanged looks of dismay. He took a step toward me. The air crackled. He fell back, startled.
"What was that?" asked Kenny.
"Some kind of force field or something." Matt rubbed his hand as if it tingled or stung. "Is this a Balmythran jail?"
"I don't know." I felt so bad for them. "We've never had them here before."
"What do we do now?" John's voice shook.
"I don't know." Apparently that was the only answer I had. Tears stung my eyes. Was I turning into the world's biggest cry baby? Impatiently, I brushed them away.
"Leah! What's going on?" At the sound of Ashley's voice, I turned and saw her entering the room with the younger orphans in tow. A Sairon I didn't recognize neutralized the invisible barrier, herded them into the center of the room where the older boys stood, and activated it again, all with a casual wave of his hand.
He turned to me. "Where are the other two girls?"
"I'm not sure."
"I'll find them." With a short nod, he left us.
"What on earth is going on?" Ashley asked again. "That guy said they're sending us home. Why? What's happened?"
"It's a long story." My gaze swept the group. Tears streamed down Brady's face; Ginzy trembled so violently the bag hanging from her shoulder actually shook; Julie and Katie seemed to be in shock. "Too long and complicated to tell."
"But we can't go back now," Ashley said. "Jor was just starting to notice me."
"Oh get real!" Matt shook his head in disbelief.
John pointed a finger at him. "Don't you yell at her."
"Why not?" Kenny asked. "She deserves it...always thinking about herself: where she's gonna go; who she's gonna see; what she's gonna wear."
Ashley rounded on Kenny. "You jerk!"
At that moment, Jeremy burst into tears. Within seconds, Ginzy, Julie and Katie bawled, too. I sprang into action. "Kenny, Ashley, John, and Matt, shut up. You're scaring the little ones. And Ashley, would you please wipe Jeremy's nose?"
"You're not my mother," Ashley shot back. "This whole thing is your fault, isn't it? You got the bighead when they gave you that crown thing, and now we're all going to pay." She faked a laugh. "And I thought it was supposed to make you smarter."
Matt got really red in the face. "Cool it, will you? This isn't all Leah's fault."
John disagreed. "Sure it is. She's the one who wanted to question Jor, isn't she?"
At wit's end, I abruptly pivoted and left the room. I burst from the Hall of Judgment moments later into the noonday sun. To the east lay a wood. To the west lay gardens, and, beyond them, I knew, a snow-capped mountain range. I began to walk, no destination in mind. My parents had never seemed further away than now. I missed their smiles, their laughter, their love. Mostly, however, I missed their wisdom.
What a mess I've made of things. I'm such a screw up.
What if the Sairons couldn't forgive me? What if relations between the two races never healed? What if my friends were really sent back? My spirits settled in the soles of my boots, but I kept walking. Sometime later—I didn't know how long—my emotions got the best of me yet again, and I burst into noisy sobs. Blinded by them, I stumbled to a halt near a bagowan tree.
This time I didn't hold back. Instead, I sank onto the grass and crawled beneath the tree. It immediately lowered its branches, enclosing me in a leafy cocoon. Sitting cross-legged, I cried my heart out. It was a pair of boots that finally ended my pity party some time later. Startled by their sudden intrusion into my shelter, I gingerly parted the leaves overhead and peeked out to see who wore them.
Jor, of course. "We need to talk." With a wave of his hands, he raised the branches of the tree as if to let the sunlight spill into my hiding place.
That did nothing, however, to warm the coldness that grew in my heart when my eyes reached Jor’s face—that face I'd adored as a child. I kept my thoughts in check so he wouldn't guess my current mindset.
"I assure you, Guardian Alleana—" he addressed me so formally "—we're not holding your parents captive. Since you need to be convinced, we'd better go there."
I jumped to my feet in disbelief. "You really expect me to go with you, the jerk who turned my Nodyran friends against me? Your people are sending them back to the Dagonel. How can I trust you?"
For a split second, I focused my mind's eye on the makeshift jail. The children sat huddled near Ashley. A few of the little ones napped. The others were really scared. Raine and Skye lay on pillows nearby, pale and obviously groggy. Kenny and Matt talked quietly in one corner, while John sat a few feet away and scowled at all of them. I next scoured my consciousness for Rocc. I found him arguing with Cadrow and some other Sairons, all of whom appeared stern and unmoved. Tirafalen stood in silence nearby.
"Who else can you trust?" Jor's question yanked me back to the present.
Such a simple statement, but with so much truth in it. I could trust my people, sure, but would they trust me back? They'd never believe my suspicions about the Sairons. Ionians had always
been too close to them, too trusting. Even Rocc couldn't be counted on to believe me over Jor.
"Well...?"
"I'm thinking." I realized that living on Nodyra for so long gave me an advantage: objectivity. I could see right through the Sairons where no other Balmythran could. As for Jor, well, I knew firsthand how deceptive he could be. Just remembering the precious memories he'd stolen put my stomach in knots. He’d kept that fact from Rocc, too. Ever trusting, my brother had simply accepted Jor's explanation, his pathetic excuse that the Stream had taken my memories.
"Why are you waiting?" Jor as good as growled at me, yet another show of temper.
Though bothered by his anger, I hid it. I raised my chin, looked him dead in the eye, and placed my hand on his arm. In a flash, we stood just outside the vast ceremonial mountain. Jor immediately touched the rocky surface, which dissolved into the doorway.
As it slowly widened, I filled up with dread leftover from my last experience there and second guessed my impulsive decision. What was I thinking?
"Why do you call this cave Ayrasaironalis, anyway?" I translated the word. "That means home—no, origin—of the Sairons, doesn't it?"
"It's an ancient place, a sacred ground."
"Sacred?" I scanned the area, struggling to suppress powerful feelings of being watched by something unseen and unclean. "You call this dungeon sacred?