Paddy was suddenly agitated. “No.”
“Paddy?”
“Nothing there, Missy.”
“Is the Shaktra there? Is that where it came from?”
Paddy stopped walking and lowered his gaze. “We do not say the word.”
“How could it come out of the sea? What’s out there? Is there an island?”
Paddy nodded reluctantly. “The Isle of Greesh.”
“Who controls the Isle of Greesh?”
Paddy hung his head. “The fairies did.”
“Did? What happened? Did it fall?”
“Aye. It fell . . . It . . . We do not speak of it.”
Ali persisted. “It fell to the Shaktra? Is that what happened?”
“It just came.” Paddy glanced up, and in his huge green-and-gold eyes there might have been tears. “No one knows where it came from.”
She asked what it was, but could get no more out of him.
It took them another hour to reach Overhang. The name fit the spot; the rock ledge protruded from the side of the mountain like the edge of a giant, half-buried plate. Ordinarily, she would have considered it an ideal place to take shelter, but she planned to stop only long enough for them to eat and gather their strength for the final push. From her watch, she estimated they had only three hours of night left.
Nevertheless, she left the others in search of a nearby pond where she had spoken to Nemi previously. It was probably silly to think he would talk to her there again. Nemi had made it clear that neither a tree nor a pond were that important when he wished to talk. But still she hoped to reach out and grab his attention. She had so many questions in her head, and so few answers.
The pond took only a few minutes to find. It looked smaller than before, probably because some of the water had evaporated since June had changed into July. But it was as clear as she remembered so still, and on its surface the moon could have been pretending to shine from the depths of the earth. Sitting on her knees close to the edge, she stared at the watery sky and prayed for Nemi to come.
“I really need your help,” she said. “I’m not sure where my mom is. I’m not sure who the old man is, or Nira, or Rose, or Ms. Smith. I don’t even know how to work the Yanti, not any more than when I found it. I’m tired of thinking that I’m the only one who can save the world when I’m not sure I can save myself. I keep getting these headaches—they’re getting worse. I give Steve and Cindy orders, and decide what Farble and Paddy are supposed to do, and all the time I think I’m supposed to be this great fairy queen, and I don’t even feel like a great person. I don’t feel like a normal girl anymore, either. It’s like each time I look in the mirror, I want it to break and find you on the other side. I need to feel you near, Nemi.” She lowered her head. “I need to feel your love . . . just to keep going.”
He did not respond, no one did, and she felt foolish.
Yet as she stood to go, an unexpected warmth touched her chest.
It was faint, she might have imagined it. But it brought a tear to her eye.
This tear, it was not sad, nor salty, and it reminded her of him.
“Nemi,” she whispered.
If it was not his hand on her heart, then at least she remembered her love for him. That might have been enough, for she suddenly felt stronger, more sure of the course she had chosen. She bowed to the pond as she left, and this time she did not feel foolish.
CHAPTER
8
They reached the cave two hours later, high on the bare slopes, which put them ahead of schedule. The only problem was that the entrance was piled high with boulders. Ali did not have to study the huge rocks long to figure out what had happened. Many of the boulders were scarred with black lines, as if they had been torched by powerful lasers. The dark fairies had been busy with their fire stones—Radrine had deliberately cut off this entrance into her realm, and Ali had to wonder if the evil queen had blocked the other end of the cave as well.
“Looks like we should go home, Missy,” Paddy said hopefully.
She cast him a hard look. “Go sit on a rock and keep quiet.”
The leprechaun, seeing her foul mood, scurried off. Ali was angry with herself for not having anticipated the blocked cave. Her focus had been on the doors, how to open them. Yet it was not as if the barrier was unassailable. Given time, with Farble’s help, she was sure they could dig her way inside. But the clock was not on their side. One hour to dawn, and it would not be easy on Farble if the troll had to stand out in the sun. Sure, she had brought an umbrella and sunblock, like last time, and there were clouds over the sea. But they might take two hours to blow inland. In the meantime, Farble could get burned.
The area was different for other reasons. There was still plenty of snow on top of the peak, but around the cave it was all rock and gravel. The latter was dark, like volcanic sand, and the moonlight gave it an otherworldly feel. For that matter, the top of the peak looked like a crystal cathedral erected on an alien moon. She had not talked about it, but the summit was her backup plan if she failed to open the green door. If the door would not budge, she was going to try to use the Yanti tomorrow night when the full moon was straight overhead. It had worked before . . .
Yet she feared her alternative plan. It was dependent on time and place.
Aware of the full moon, Lord Vak might be waiting for her on the other side.
Better to go through the green door, she thought, do the unexpected.
Ali turned to Farble. “We’re going to move these rocks out of the way, and we’re going to do it fast. The sun will be up in an hour. Move your rocks to the right, I’ll move mine to the left. Try not to crush Paddy.”
Farble nodded. “Help Geea.”
They set to work, and at first they made excellent progress. To Ali, the boulders were just big rocks, and she casually tossed them aside, while Farble, who was supposed to be partially made out of stone, worked without tiring.
Unfortunately, she had underestimated the blockage. The boulders did not cease when they finally dug beneath the cave ceiling. Radrine had not simply brought down the roof. Her slaves must have stolen boulders from other parts of the mountain, and jammed them into the entrance.
Light appeared in the east. They worked faster.
The heavy clouds over the sea had moved closer, but not close enough.
It was amazing how quickly the light grew.
Finally, Ali gestured for Farble to stop. “How do you feel?” she asked, panting.
“Hungry,” Farble said.
Ali ignored him; he was always hungry. She could see him turning more frequently to the east. The sky near the horizon was already turning red. Farble was well aware of the situation. Paddy called from behind them.
“We should go back down to the trees, Missy,” he said.
“We’re not going back,” Ali swore, reaching for her backpack. The last time she had fought Radrine, she had taken the evil queen’s fire stones and she had brought them along on this trip—just in case. The thought of using the dark fairies’ tools annoyed her, yet they did give her a channel through which she could pour a tremendous amount of her energy. Blasting the side of the mountain was not her idea of a deft approach. Anyone inside the cave would know she was coming. Yet she refused to let Farble burn.
Gesturing for the others to stand back, she focused the crystal globes toward the blocked entrance. Her breath was her battery, her will, the on switch. Power ran up her spine and the globes exploded in red light as a thin beam shot away from her. A dozen boulders instantly shattered, and their dust rained down all around them. Firing ten blasts in a row, she only stopped when she could no longer see what was in front of her. Luckily, a breeze came up right then, and the dust cleared, and she saw that the opening to the cave had been badly damaged, but that at least there were no longer any boulders in the way. Farble looked relieved, Paddy, disappointed.
“Nice cave,” Farble mumbled.
“Probably full of dark fairies,” Paddy said
.
Ali smiled. “It’s not the dark fairies you have to worry about.”
She gave her father, and Steve, another call before she entered the cave. Steve continued to act evasive when she told him to stay away from Toule. She feared he had some silly plan up his sleeve . . .
Together, Paddy, Farble, and Ali went inside the cave.
Paddy carried a flashlight, as did she. As before, they had not hiked far when the walls and ceiling narrowed. Farble had to lean over to keep from hitting his head. The rough square shape was as she recalled, as was the material of the walls—a hard smooth black lava. The floor was also familiar; the grainy black sand clung to Ali’s shoes like magnetic dirt.
The cave went neither up nor down, but the temperature increased the further they went inside, and soon Ali removed her jacket. Since she had gained her fairy powers, hot and cold did not affect her much. However, using the fire stones might have taken energy out of her. Hurrying through the long cave, she realized she had a headache. Two grams of stardust and some water helped, but what she needed to do was lie down and rest.
After an hour the cave suddenly swelled in size, and they came to three metal doors, one set beside the other, arranged in a semicircle. She had seen them before. The metal was dark, dirty; all three doors were rectangles and had no markings, although each had a domed curve at the top. Each had a black handle as well, but there was no place to insert a key. All three were closed, and it was only the middle one that swung open when she tugged on it. Just before they went through, Ali gestured to the other two doors.
“Do either of you know where these doors lead?” she asked.
Farble and Paddy shook their heads.
They continued on. The cave began to angle upward, and for the first time Ali felt the effect of the altitude, as did Paddy. The steep slope demanded more effort. The two of them began to pant loudly, and the leprechaun signaled a few times that he had to stop. Ali did not begrudge him the rest. Since they were inside and out of the sun, she was not bound by any particular timetable. Yet that did not feel entirely true. A part of her gnawed at her to hurry.
While they were resting, the ground lurched slightly. An earthquake? Or was the mountain, which had once been a volcano, becoming active again? It was a sobering thought. If Pete’s Peak blew, the entire area would be buried in ash. Breakwater would be completely destroyed, along with Toule.
Ali wondered if the minor earthquake had anything to do with the elementals.
After another hour of hard hiking, the walls of the cave transformed into a small cavern, and they reached their first major goal, the seven doors. They were similar to the previous three, made of metal. But there was one significant change: Each door was a different color. Starting on the left, there was a red door, followed by an orange one, a yellow one, a green one, a blue one, a violet one, and on the far right there was a white door.
As before, it was the fifth door, the blue one, that intrigued her the most.
She did not know why. She was here to open the fourth door, the green one.
And to lock the first door, the red one. She noticed that—like the third door, the yellow one—the red door lay slightly ajar. She knew about both doors. The yellow one led to the top of the mountain, the red one, to hell.
She tried the other doors. They were all locked.
She even tried knocking on the green door. No one answered.
Paddy and Farble stared at her with big wondering eyes.
She gestured. “Sit and rest. I need to be alone for a few minutes,” she said.
Setting her flashlight on the floor of the cavern, Ali moved in front of the red door, closed it, took out the Yanti, held it between her hands, and quietly repeated three times, “Alosha . . . Alosha . . . Alosha.”
The Yanti warmed, she felt an expansion of her field. The red door in front of her, the walls of the cavern, and even the other doors—she suddenly felt connected to them. The last time that had happened, on top of the mountain, she had known that everything in her immediate environment was under her command. This time, she ordered the red door to lock and stay locked.
But it did not obey her. It remained unlocked.
She repeated the process. The feeling of expansion returned.
The door remained unlocked.
Ali moved in front of the green door. Holding the Yanti in her right hand, she put her left palm on the center of the door. Once more she repeated her secret name three times, and the sense of heat and expansion grew even greater. Loudly, and mentally, she ordered the door to open. Her confidence was high, she felt as if her fairy power was at maximum strength. . . .
The green door remained locked.
Ali switched the Yanti into her left hand, repeated the process.
Nothing happened. She did not know what she was doing.
Ali sat down beside her flashlight to think. Paddy called over.
“Does Missy want to go home now?” he asked.
“Oh brother,” she muttered.
She closed her eyes, to think, but might have dozed for a moment. No surprise, she had skipped the entire night’s rest. A few sleepy minutes seemed to go by, and she feared she might doze again.
Then a sound caught her attention.
It appeared to come from far off; a disturbing noise of whirling air and beating wings. It was coming from the other side of the red door!
Ali was on her feet in a second. She called to the others, who might have been sleeping. “Dark fairies are coming!”
Paddy and Farble jumped up, ready to do battle. Ali gestured for them to remain silent, motioned them away from the red door. Taking out the fire stones, she crept near the first door and opened it ever so slightly. For a moment there was only pitch black, but then a red glow began to grow in the depths and she saw a concentrated cloud, filled with batlike shadows, buzzing and hissing like a plague of locusts, moving swiftly toward her.
Ali felt no moral imperative to let the dark fairies take the first shot. Surrounding herself with a force field that was capable of repelling any of the elements, even empty space, she opened wide the red door and raised the fire stones close to her chest and let loose with a blast that more than rivaled the shots she had aimed at the boulders. The laser beam exploded down the length of the cave like a mass fired from an atomic cannon. She hit the swarm dead center, and there came a hideous screech of pain, followed by a dozen return blasts. But the dark fairies had nowhere near her juice. Their red beams bounced harmlessly off her field. Letting loose another dozen shots, she was not sure how many she was killing but, from the cries, she knew it must be a lot.
It was almost too easy, yet the destruction of her enemies brought her no pleasure. Her empathetic nature had no off switch. Evil was opposed to good, but pain was pain—their screams echoed in her heart as much as her head. She kept shooting but wished they would quit coming.
Didn’t they know who she was?
Then a cruel voice spoke at her back; it hissed like a reptile.
A creature that knew her perhaps better than she knew herself.
“Time to stop, Geea,” Radrine said.
The queen of the dark fairies was a cross between a human, a lizard, and a bat. Coated with black scales, she had claws instead of fingers, and a long dark tongue that slithered in a nauseating motion as she stared at Ali. Her wings were rotting leather hides. The pulsating light of her eyes—buried deep in an eggshaped skull—glowed a wicked red. Yet Ali saw that the queen had not fully recovered from the injury Ali had given her at their last encounter. Scarred veins and purple blood pulsed beneath her clear skull. Her brains were visible, and they were a horror—a dish of maggots steadily crawling on a lump of meat. However, like before, Radrine wore no ornaments, no gold or silver crown, only her deadly intelligence.
Yet she carried weapons, two exceptionally large, red fire stones, which she had pointed at Farble and Paddy. Radrine’s tactic was now obvious. She had sent her minions to attack from the other side of t
he red door merely to distract her and, like a fool, Ali had fallen for the simple trick.
Ali regretted the pounding she had given to the entrance. It had probably alerted Radrine. The evil queen must have flown out the far end of the cave, near the top of the mountain, under the cover of the clouds, or perhaps in them, and circled around to catch her unaware. Not that any of it mattered now.
Radrine stood close behind the leprechaun and the troll.
Ali could not get off a shot, not without hitting one of them.
Radrine smiled again. “Put down your fire stones. Or should I say my stones? You stole them, you know, although I must admit that I am flattered you have taken such good care of them.” The queen nodded. “On the ground, please.”
Ali ignored her. Her force field—shimmering a faint blue in the cavern gloom—surrounded her still, but did not extend to Farble and Paddy. Slowly, raising her right palm—the fire stones were in her left—she mentally stretched it out. But Radrine was not so easily fooled; she came up at Farble’s neck.
“I think not!” Radrine snapped.
Ali drew her field back, but did not drop it. Behind her, on the other side of the red door, she heard a gang of dark fairies gathering, hissing like a bowl of snakes. It was not a pleasant feeling, to be assailed on both sides. But she refused to show Radrine any fear.
“You have a reason for being here?” Ali asked.
Radrine grinned. “I have come to congratulate you. Everyone is still talking about how you defeated Lord Vak on the mountaintop. Sent his army packing, I understand.”
“There was no fight. We merely talked.”
Radrine nodded. “Still, Lord Vak is not easy to talk to. And you took the Yanti from him. I see it there, hanging from your delicate neck. How lovely. May I have a look at it, please?”
“Really, Radrine, you have grown so tiresome. I would just as soon hang it on the neck of a dragon than hand it over to you.”
Radrine lost her smile. “But I do think you will hand it over to me, yes, I honestly do. And I think you will tell me about the mystical code you placed on it.” She added, “If you don’t, I will kill your two friends.”