Sapphira gasped. “Elam! They’re down.”
“I saw. Should I help them or take you to the portal?”
“To the portal.” Tears blurring her vision, she looked again. The helicopters, including the transport, began landing in the end zone.
Walter picked up a rifle and skulked toward the downed knights. “Keep going, Elam! I’ll try to cover you!”
“Protect the children first. Sapphira still has her flames.” Elam set her down at the portal site on one foot and kicked the smoldering wire frame out of the way. “Okay,” he whispered as he steadied her. “Do whatever you have to do.”
In a surge of rage, Arramos plunged his claws into Billy’s shoulder, tore him away, and slung him toward the sideline. He rolled to a stop near the bleachers. Arramos snapped at Edmund and caught the knight’s foot in his jaws. With a huff from his nostrils, Arramos set Edmund’s clothes on fire and spat him toward Billy. Billy crawled to him and began batting away the flames.
Heaving deep breaths and snorting sparks and smoke, Arramos glared at Sapphira. “So you allowed a replacement to face me. I am surprised at your lack of courage.”
“Silence, dragon!” Sapphira lifted her hands. Flames erupted in both palms. “I will open the portal. Align your forces and get them ready to face what they will encounter in Second Eden.”
CHAPTER 23
REUNION
Bonnie scanned the garden area. Now that total darkness had fallen, every light seemed to magnify—the nearby fire that warmed Clefspeare’s plant, Mendallah’s fire at the other plant, and a glow from one of the huts in the village, probably where Zohar was taking care of the babies. If Clefspeare didn’t grow in the next few minutes, they would have to summon the male Oracle of Fire.
A fourth light flickered several paces away—obscure, hard to distinguish. Perhaps five feet in height, it looked like a … a flaming tree? “Do you see that?” Bonnie asked, pointing. “Is that a tree?”
Marilyn squinted. “It certainly looks like it.”
Rising to her feet, Bonnie whispered, “The tree of life? I knew the portal was around here somewhere, but I didn’t know it was open.”
Grackle let out a shrill call.
Bonnie looked his way. A man carrying a sword stood a few steps beyond the edge of the garden. Firelight danced over his disfigured face and shimmered on his glasses. “Good evening, ladies.”
“Mardon?” Bonnie asked.
“Yes. I apologize if I frightened you.” He displayed a corked glass vial. “I came with the potion Clefspeare needs to grow.”
Marilyn rose and stood between the plant and Mardon. “Why do you have a sword?”
“To protect me from beasts in this world.”
Marilyn set a fist on her hip. “Where did you get it?”
“As you might be aware, it is a long journey on foot from the portal to here. I stumbled upon a village some distance away where the residents offered me food and this weapon.” He raised the sword. “I have not needed it, but it did give me comfort as I traveled.”
Marilyn pointed at the ground near his feet. “Leave it there.”
“I understand. Of course.” Mardon set the sword down. “I have not yet earned your complete trust.”
“No kidding.” Marilyn stalked to him and extended her hand. “Now give me the potion and leave.”
“The potion is yours.” He handed her the vial. “But will you kindly grant me the favor of watching the growth? As a scientist who constructed every detail of this mechanism, I greatly wish to witness this miracle.”
“As if I care what you wish.” Marilyn picked up his sword. “But I’ll let you watch from where you are. Just be aware that Bonnie has Excalibur, and she could fry what’s left of your face in the blink of an eye.”
Bonnie tightened her grip on Excalibur’s hilt and made the blade glow.
“Your warning is adequate.” Mardon folded his hands at his waist. “I will not move from this spot.”
When Marilyn returned to the garden, Bonnie whispered, “Trusting him is like trusting Satan himself.”
“I know exactly what you mean.”
“But how can we test the potion? Clefspeare isn’t growing much without it, and we can’t keep waiting. Time is running out on Earth.”
“I know. I know.” Marilyn gave Mardon a furtive glance. “Mardon knows we can kill him if the potion fails, and he doesn’t seem scared at all. Why would he want to stick around if he knows it would do Jared harm?”
“To make sure it succeeds in destroying him?” Bonnie furrowed her brow and stared at Mardon eye to eye. He didn’t so much as blink. “He’s as cool as a cucumber.”
“I know what you mean. He’s usually a bundle of nerves.”
“And that makes me nervous.” Bonnie broke eye contact with him and returned her gaze to Marilyn. “Have we ever needed Ashley any more than we do now?”
“Not that I can remember.” Marilyn let out a heavy sigh. “I guess the decision is mine to make. Jared is my husband. It’s his life we’re risking.”
“And the lives of millions on Earth.”
Marilyn held up the vial and stared at the liquid. “We should test it on a different plant to see if it’s toxic.”
“Good thinking.” Bonnie scanned the area. With nearly everything covered by ice, finding a plant in the darkness might be impossible. “I’ll look for something. Keep your sword ready.”
“Don’t worry about me.” Marilyn handed her the vial. “Mardon’s a coward, and he knows I’d just as soon skewer him as look at him.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Bonnie summoned Excalibur’s glow and let it guide her to the edge of the garden. She peered through the portal window. Leaves from the tree of life lay strewn on the floor, still green and supple looking, at least from this distance.
She touched the blade’s tip to the portal plane. No sparks. She pushed a foot through, stepped down into the tree’s chamber, and hurried to kneel in front of the tree. After picking up one of the larger leaves, curled and somewhat dry, she pulled the cork from the vial and tipped out a drop on the leaf’s surface. The green color deepened, and the curl straightened.
Bonnie exhaled. Good. Mardon was telling the truth.
A sizzle rose from the leaf. It began to shrivel and turn brown.
“Bonnie! Help!”
Dropping the leaf, she jumped up and recorked the vial. In the garden, Marilyn sat on the ground, now twenty feet from Clefspeare’s plant. From the direction of the other plant, Mendallah ran closer. Mardon stalked toward Clefspeare, his sword raised.
Bonnie leaped through the portal and ran. Out of nowhere, someone wearing a white cloak hurtled into the garden and bowled Mardon over. The two wrestled and rolled away from the plant, but Mardon took control and set the sword’s blade at the attacker’s throat. The cloak’s hood slid down and revealed his identity, his jaw locked as he swallowed behind Mardon’s blade.
Bonnie stopped at the edge of the garden. “Matt!”
Mendallah’s thundering footsteps halted within reach of Mardon. “Say the word, Bonnie, and I will throttle him.”
“No! He’ll kill Matt!” Bonnie raised Excalibur. Its beam shot into the sky. “Let him go, Mardon!”
A deep furrow dug into Mardon’s forehead. “First pour the contents of the vial on the plant, throw Excalibur to the side, and call off your clueless giant. Then I will release your son.”
Bonnie palmed the vial, hiding it from sight. “If I do what you say, you’ll kill him and take off like the coward you are.”
“And if you don’t do what I say in the next ten seconds, I will slit his throat and fertilize your precious plant with his blood.”
Marilyn crawled on hands and knees toward Clefspeare.
Mardon shouted, “Stop, woman! I am not bluffing!”
She froze in place and stared, her sparkling eyes fixed on the tiny, vulnerable plant.
“Stan
d your ground, Bonnie,” a woman whispered from close by.
Bonnie turned toward the voice. Listener stood at her side, her brow knitted tightly. “Matt is a warrior and a healer,” Listener continued. “You can be aggressive without fear.”
“Good point.” Bonnie lowered the beam close to Mardon’s head. The end burned into the ground behind him, making the soil sizzle. “Let him go right now, or you’ll be sparks blowing in the wind.”
“Your time is up.” When Mardon flexed to strike, Matt thrust his arm out and tried to duck under the blade. The edge swiped against his throat and across his cheek, but he broke free and rolled away.
In a scramble of arms, legs, and flying dirt and blood, Matt and Mardon scrambled toward the plant. Mardon punched Matt in the face and crawled past him. Marilyn ran to the plant and covered it with her curled body. Grackle shot a stream of ice in front of Mardon. Listener threw herself onto the frozen sheet, slid into Mardon’s path, and blocked him.
Mendallah lunged, grabbed a handful of Mardon’s shirt, and hoisted him into the air. As he flailed, his body transformed. It stretched taller and leaner and grew dark curly hair. She threw him to the ground and stomped on his neck, pinning him in place.
“Tamiel,” Bonnie whispered as she shut off Excalibur’s beam.
Matt rose, a hand pressed against his throat. “He was in disguise. We found the real Mardon’s corpse next to one of the huts. Karrick is still over there talking to Zohar.” Blood leaked between Matt’s fingers. “He should be here in a minute.”
“Matt!” Listener climbed to her feet and stood next to him. “You’re bleeding!” She peeled back a finger and peered at the wound. “I think he cut your jugular!”
He winced. “Then I’d better heal myself fast.” As blood dripped from his fingers, he looked at Bonnie. “We have to go through the tree-of-life portal to Jade’s sanctum. Lauren’s trapped in there, and she said she needs Excalibur. If we don’t help her, everyone might die.”
Bonnie sucked in a breath. “Lauren’s alive!”
“Yes … well … sort of. I can’t explain now. We have to get her. And we can pick up leaves from the tree of life to help heal me.”
“Of course. We’ll—”
The beating of wings announced Karrick’s arrival as he landed at the edge of the garden. “What happened here?”
“No time!” Bonnie waved in the mountain portal’s direction. “Karrick, fly to the cave and get Ashley. We need a healer for Matt.”
Listener blew a shrill whistle. “Grackle, you go with him. Since you have heated scales, you carry Thomas and Mariel. Stop at Peace Village to let Dr. Conner know what’s going on. He might want to come, too.”
Grackle bobbed his head, and with an explosion of wing beats the two dragons burst into the air.
Matt pointed toward the tree-of-life room. “The portals are this way.” He shook the cloak down, trading hands against his throat as the sleeves slid off his arms. When he held the cloak up, blood stained the material around his fingers. “This will protect us when we go through. We’ll have to take turns.”
“Someone has to stay with Clefspeare,” Bonnie said.
Marilyn rose from her protective curl and knelt close to the plant. “I’ll stay.”
“Then you’ll need this.” Matt set a handgun at Marilyn’s side. “I assume you know how to use it.”
“You bet.” She picked it up and checked the magazine. “Should be enough.”
“Just so you know,” Matt said. “Even cutting Tamiel’s head off didn’t kill him. That’s why I tackled him instead of shooting him. Don’t take any chances.”
Marilyn waved toward the portal. “Just go. Mendallah will keep him underfoot.”
With a hand still pressed against his neck, Matt led the way to the tree-of-life portal and leaped inside. Bonnie and Listener followed a step behind. “Keep pressure on your wound,” Bonnie called. “I’ll get some leaves.”
After Bonnie scooped up a handful, making sure to avoid the leaf she used to test the potion, she and Listener skirted the tree and joined Matt at the portal on the other side.
Now wobbling, Matt tried to pull the cloak over himself with one hand, but it slipped from his grasp and slid toward the floor.
“Here.” Bonnie held out her handful of leaves. “Let’s apply these.”
Listener draped the cloak over her head and shoulders. “While you’re doing that, I’ll test the portal.” When she jumped through, sparks flashed around the cloak’s edges, and an electrostatic buzz filled the air. She balanced herself on the other side and tossed the cloak back, raising a new splash of sparks. “Whenever you’re ready.”
“Just a second.” Bonnie pressed the leaves against the cut and set Matt’s hand over them.
He grimaced, his face ghostly pale. “That stings like crazy.”
“You’d better eat a couple.”
“I’ll try.” He allowed her to push two leaves into his mouth.
While he chewed, she picked up the cloak. “We’ll go together.” The odor of blood mingled with sweat drifted into Bonnie’s nostrils. “Just lean on me.” She handed Excalibur to him, threw the cloak over them both, and guided him through.
When the usual buzzing noise ceased, Bonnie pulled the cloak away and handed it to Listener. Again Matt wobbled. Bonnie took Excalibur and set a hand on his arm. “Maybe you should sit.”
“No … no.” He staggered forward and pointed at a vertical column at the center of the room. “See where the white beam leads? I think Lauren’s on the other side of that portal.”
Bonnie studied the column. A laser-like beam emanated from one side and struck a reflective wall several paces beyond. The light spread out and created a ragged splotch from about knee to head high, its width the same as its height. “So do we just put on the cloak again and jump through?”
“I think so. If we … if we …” Matt dropped to his knees. “I feel sick.”
“Nausea?” Bonnie looked at Listener. “Could the leaves have the opposite effect on a healer?”
“Like a clash of two powers?” She shook her head. “I have no idea. I suppose it’s possible.”
Bonnie peeled Matt’s fingers from his wound, brushed the bloody leaves away, and set his hand back in place. “We might have to induce vomiting.”
“I’ll handle it.” Listener grasped Bonnie’s wrist. “You have to go. I’ll stay with him and watch for Ashley. Toss the cloak back when you get through.”
“You’re right.” Bonnie set a hand on the back of Matt’s head and kissed his cheek. “Matt, I love you.”
“I love you, too, Mom.” He gazed at her with glassy eyes. “Before Darcy died … we … we became friends … and I have faith now.” He licked his lips. “I thought you’d … like to know … in case I … don’t make it.”
“Oh, Matt, I’m so glad you—”
“No more time.” He waved at the portal. “Go!”
After kissing Matt again, Bonnie draped the cloak over herself and pushed a covered hand through the portal wall. In a splash of sparks, her hand disappeared. She backed up a few steps, then ran ahead and leaped through.
She broke into a chamber of cold darkness. Her feet slid, but she kept upright and rode out the momentum as she skated along the slick floor. When she stopped, she turned and summoned light from Excalibur, but the blade wouldn’t glow. Darkness shrouded everything.
Shivering, she pulled the cloak from her shoulders and tried to look at it, but nothing appeared. She had to throw it back to the others. If Ashley were to arrive at the tree room, she wouldn’t be able to get to Matt unless she had the cloak. But how could she throw something to a place she couldn’t see?
She shouted into the darkness, “Lauren! It’s Mom! Are you here?”
A faint cry drifted from far away. “Mom?” A light flickered in the distance that grew as it approached. Seconds later, a young woman with white hair and shining blue eyes appeared, ru
nning on a sheet of ice. A glowing, bat-like creature flew at her side. She spread out her arms and squealed, “Mom!”
Bonnie squinted. “Lauren?”
“Yes!” She set her feet to stop but slid onward, out of control.
Bonnie set the cloak and Excalibur down, caught Lauren with one arm, and spun in place while Lauren orbited her twice in a decelerating slide. When she stopped, they pulled into a tight embrace.
“Lauren!” Bonnie held her close and wept. Her warm, solid body felt like Heaven itself. “Oh, thank God you’re alive!”
“I resurrected, and somehow I became an Oracle of Fire like Sapphira.” Lauren pushed away. Tears shimmered on her cheeks. “It’s a long story, but …” She swiveled her head. “Where’s Matt? I thought he’d be with you. I told him how to find me.”
“He brought us here, but he’s hurt.” Bonnie picked up the cloak. “I have to get this through the portal. Ashley will need it when she arrives, but I couldn’t see where to throw it.”
Lauren took the cloak and put it on. “I’ll take it through.” She pulled a thin chain, lifted a green stone and medallion from behind her shirt, and let both dangle in the open. “Sapphira and I have some portal-moving work to do. No time to explain.”
“Wait!” came a call from the darkness. Another light approached, this one red. Soon, a man appeared in the glow. He carried a red ovulum, but shadows veiled his features.
“That’s Sir Barlow,” Lauren said. “Merlin is also here, but he’s staying at the reservoir to guard against the fire spiders.”
“Fire spiders?”
“That’s what we call them. They’re—”
“Hideous little beasts,” Sir Barlow said as he arrived. “We saw in the ovulum that Tamiel wounded Matt. Merlin says that Lauren should return to Jade’s sanctum, cover Matt with the cloak, and coat him with fire. That should enhance his healing gift. Bonnie should stay here with Excalibur to help him search for and destroy the spiders. If they attack the life reservoir, all could be lost.”