Bonnie picked up Excalibur. Being away from Matt would be torture, but what choice did she have? Merlin knew the situation. She could trust his judgment. “I’ll do what I can.”
“Don’t worry, Mom,” Lauren said. “I’ll take care of Matt.”
Sir Barlow handed Bonnie the ovulum. “This is a viewer. Merlin will explain how it works.”
Bonnie held the ovulum in her palm. “You’re going, too?”
“Yes. I made a pledge to Lauren that I must fulfill.”
At the portal, light from the strange bat illuminated a dim rectangle, though nothing was visible through it. When Lauren raised the cloak high, Sir Barlow bent underneath it. Bonnie guided the cloak’s edges over them. With the bottom part missing, it barely covered them, but it looked safe enough. “You’re ready.”
Without another word, Lauren and Sir Barlow jumped through the portal, raising the usual splash of sparks.
When they disappeared, Bonnie closed her eyes and imagined their next steps. Lauren had to cover Matt, provide fire, and wait to see if the process worked. It might take quite a while to hear news about Matt’s recovery.
“Follow the glowbat, dear lady.” Merlin’s low voice sounded like a lion’s purr.
The bat flew in the direction Sir Barlow had come. As Bonnie walked that way, a man came into view carrying a staff and wearing a scarlet cloak.
When she arrived, he laid a hand on her shoulder. “You might not remember our first encounter in the candlestone, but—”
“Oh, Merlin. I remember. You encouraged me to sing.” She gazed into his deeply set gray eyes. He looked like a bearded Professor Hamilton. “That advice probably saved my life.”
“Perhaps we will find time to sing again while we watch what develops.” He took the ovulum and held it in a palm where she could see it. “We cannot view Lauren and Matt directly, for my ovulum is unable to penetrate Jade’s sanctum, but we can see Sapphira and get a glimpse of Second Eden through her perspective.”
“In the meantime …” Bonnie lifted Excalibur. “I heard you need me to search for fire spiders.”
“Yes, they have taken refuge in the shadows. Excalibur’s light should be able to chase them from their hiding places.”
Bonnie concentrated on the blade and tried to make it glow, but again it stayed dark. “I can’t get it to work. The same thing happened when I first entered this place.”
“Shhh.” Merlin touched the flat of the blade and whispered, “Lauren also lost many of her abilities when she entered this realm. I was hoping you would be able to use Excalibur to open the life reservoir when needed, but that might no longer be an option.”
She pushed the hilt into his hand and kept her own voice to a whisper. “Can you make it work?”
“I can try.” He lifted the blade high and stared at it for a moment. Again, it stayed dark. “It seems not.”
“Then what do we do?”
Merlin handed Excalibur back to Bonnie. “If the fire spiders attack, you, as the better sword warrior, can use the blade to fend them off, which I assume will be more efficient than the stomping method we have used. With regard to the life reservoir, I will explain its purpose, then perhaps you and I can brainstorm a solution to our dilemma.”
Bonnie propped the blade against her shoulder. “I’ll do my best.”
“And speaking of being a warrior, you might also wish to pray about Lauren’s torturous dilemma. She has a bitter decision to make that will shake her to the core. Sapphira has a similar dilemma that will torment her godly soul. Should she take the time to move a portal or instead stay and fight to save children’s lives? In spite of their best efforts and intentions, Lauren and Sapphira will soon learn that they cannot save everyone.”
Bonnie bent to get a better look at the ovulum. “So more people will die?”
“It is inevitable that someone will perish in Jade’s sanctum.” Merlin lifted the ovulum closer to their eyes. “Let us watch while I explain what Lauren is trying to accomplish.”
* * *
Standing on one foot with Elam at her side for support, Sapphira waved her arms and stirred flames into the air. The usual fiery cyclone formed overhead and began a slow descent. As always, a sense of sadness washed over, and her eyesight sharpened. A scene beyond the portal clarified—a compass design on a wall. She swiveled her head and looked behind her. Burnt logs and smoking embers lay in a slipshod pyramid—the remains of the fire that had earlier broken the atmospheric static.
Yet, no one was around, not even Lauren. Had the dream really been only a dream?
Sapphira blinked to clear the vision of Second Eden and refocused on the Earth realm. Arramos stood several paces away, his eyes wary. Beyond him, the helicopters had all landed. Thugs dressed as military soldiers guided children down a short ladder from the transport chopper, forming a line that led toward Arramos. They appeared to range from four to eight years old, girls and boys, maybe twenty in all. Some cried as the thugs prodded them with rifles.
To the east, dark clouds drew closer, defying the usual west-to-east movement pattern. Lightning flashed green within the weather front. Thunder boomed. Streaks of fire continued falling over the city in sporadic intervals, like meteors plummeting from the heavens.
Near the bleachers, Billy struggled to his feet. His shirt was little more than shredded ribbons, and blood streamed from claw marks on his back. He helped Edmund rise and brushed the remaining sparks from his clothes.
Walter ran toward Sapphira and called to Billy. “The other knights are dead. Get Edmund out of here and see what you can find out from Adam. I’ll cover Sapphira.”
“On my way.” Billy helped Edmund stagger to the bleachers and cross the passage toward the parking lot. Arramos and the thugs ignored them. They had all the hostages they needed.
Sapphira stalled the portal curtain’s descent at head level and searched the sky around the bleachers. Walter’s words meant more than he had let on. He wanted Billy to check on Makaidos and the other dragons. Maybe they had delayed their attack because of the presence of child hostages.
When the children gathered within reach of Arramos, he extended his neck toward Sapphira, his head only an arm’s length away. “Is the portal open?”
“Almost.” Sapphira swirled the cyclone with exaggerated arm movements. “The way this works, I can either surround one of your soldiers with the fire and take him through, thereby protecting him from the portal’s boundary, or I can leave the portal open and walk away. The flames will persist for a short time, and the portal will remain open, but it is impossible to say for how long. The trouble is that anyone who passes through without my protective fire will be in danger. You see, the boundary carries a jolt that varies in severity. Some portals cause superficial burns while others cause death. This one feels more severe than most.”
“Is a helicopter able to fly through it? Remember, if you lie to me, I will slaughter the children.”
“An airplane once flew through a portal without harm, but that portal was exceptionally large. Allow me to check the size of this one.” Sapphira blinked and opened her vision to the Second Eden side. Still the same—a compass design and a dying fire. Lauren’s visit must have been a dream after all.
Just as Sapphira made ready to refocus on Earth, the compass flickered. Like a sheet of paper igniting, everything burst into flames and burned away, replaced by a dark void.
Lauren appeared at the center, her body small. Wearing a chain with an attached green gem, she turned and walked away, as if floating in space at a great distance. She set her flaming hands on a flat surface and seemed to be drawing a box on it.
Sapphira dared not speak to her. Arramos would know something was amiss. She blinked away the vision and looked at Arramos. “I need to make the portal bigger. This will take some time.”
“Do what you must, but I will kill one child for every minute I think you are delaying, so I suggest that you hurry.”
/> * * *
Lauren whipped the cloak from herself and Sir Barlow. Matt lay on the floor two steps away.
Listener pressed a hand against his neck. “He’s unconscious.” Tear tracks stained her reddened cheeks. “He’s fading fast.”
“Maybe this will help.” Lauren spread the cloak over Matt. “Sir Barlow, as soon as I start my fire, bring him close to me. I have to do both jobs at the same time.”
“Right away.” Sir Barlow slid his arms under Matt and lifted while Listener kept her hand in place. “Say the word, Miss.”
Lauren walked close to the sanctum’s heart. As the jade dangling at her chest glowed, she peered into one of the holes, but only darkness lay within. She shifted to a second hole, then a third, both dark. In the fourth hole, something glimmered. She narrowed one eye. An image appeared deep inside. Sapphira stood with flames encircling her head, and a red dragon sat beyond her.
After backing up a step, Lauren pointed at the image and called out, “Ignite.”
Sparks sprayed from within the hole, and a beam of light shot out. It streaked across the chamber and drilled into the surrounding wall, making an acute angle with the beam leading to the reservoir portal.
Her hands aflame, Lauren followed the new beam to the wall and set her palms on the surface at two corners of a large square. The beam’s contact point at the center expanded toward the corners and created a glowing smudge. When she shifted her hands to the other two corners, the smudge spread out to fill the square.
Sapphira and Elam appeared behind the newly created frame. Fire spun around their heads in a swirling curtain as he helped her walk. Now within inches of the viewing plane, they stopped, seemingly locked in place. Her hands grasping the inner portion of her curtain of fire, she looked straight at Lauren and whispered, “I am ready.”
“Okay. I’m going to attach myself to my portal, the one leading to the reservoir.” Lauren raised her hands palms up and shouted, “Give me fire!”
A ball of flames blossomed in each hand and traveled up her arms to her shoulders. She stood with her back to the reservoir portal and waved her arms up and down as if making a snow angel with the fire. When the flames adhered to the wall, she shouted, “Engulf!” Fire erupted around her body from head to toe. She vaulted up with a backwards step and embedded herself within the portal plane.
An electrostatic jolt sent a shock wave through her limbs and up her spine. Her back scales tingled like never before. Every sound magnified—her own breathing, Matt’s failing heartbeats, Listener’s whispered prayers.
Waving her left arm to keep the flames going, she reached out with her right. Everything hurt from head to toe. “Sir Barlow …” She spoke between pain-streaked gasps. “Bring Matt. Lean him against me. I’ll apply the pressure to his wound.”
“Immediately, Miss.” Sir Barlow pulled Matt away from Listener, covered his head with the cloak, and propped him up in the portal plane, his feet even with Lauren’s, several inches from the sanctum’s floor. Sparks flew around the cloak, creating a buzz that pierced her ears with a deafening screech.
When Sir Barlow stepped back, Lauren wrapped an arm around Matt’s shoulders and supported him as she tried to reach for his neck, but her hand wouldn’t stretch that far. “Matt,” she whispered as pain throttled her words, “you have to … try to stand. I can’t … put pressure … on your wound.”
“I’m …” His arms slid around her waist, and his weight shifted to her hips. “I’m trying.”
“Good. Good. That should be enough.” She curled her arm over his shoulder and pressed her hand against his neck. With the cloak acting as a buffer between her skin and his, no heat or blood passed through.
She looked to her left. Sapphira and Elam also stood within the wall. Elam grimaced. The pain must have been horrible for him, though Sapphira’s flaming shield likely protected him somewhat.
“Sapphira,” Lauren called, “let’s break the portals from their places. A burst of fire on three.”
Sapphira offered a weak nod. “You count.”
“All right.” Lauren whispered to Matt. “Hang on. The fire will get hot, and I’m going to have to jump.”
His arms tightened around her waist. A faint “Do it” reached her ears.
After inhaling deeply, she called out, “One! … Two! … Three!” She willed a surge of flames. An inferno exploded all around and ran along her body and the cloak. She bent her knees and leaped toward the sanctum. An ear-splitting squeal ripped from the wall. She dropped toward the floor in a slow drift, as if parachuting.
When her feet touched down, she leaned forward, flexed her leg muscles, and pushed toward the central column. A force pulled back, like stout ropes attached to every inch of her body.
At the other portal, Sapphira did the same. She and Elam appeared to be carrying a thin door on their backs. Fire and sparks streamed backwards from it, like radiant fingers trying to grasp for reattachment to the wall. Every time Sapphira stepped with one foot, Elam lifted her so she could step with the other.
No longer needing to stir the fire, Lauren clenched a fist and pumped with her arm and legs, desperately trying to keep a hand on Matt’s neck as she pulled him along. At times, he pushed with his legs. At others, she had to drag him. Yet, they made progress as they inched toward the sanctum’s heart.
When they drew within two paces, Lauren reached out to Sapphira and grabbed her wrist. A blast of sparks flew from their connection. A new laser beam ran along their arms and formed a triangle with the two beams radiating from the sanctum’s heart. The doors on their backs expanded and melded into one, and the pulling force from behind slackened.
Lauren took another step forward. The entire chamber, including the heart and the surrounding wall, moved with her at a slight angle, turning toward Sapphira, likely because she hadn’t moved at the same time. Pain now easing, Lauren exhaled heavily. “We did it.” She took in another breath and nodded toward the tree-of-life portal. “Next we’ll go together to the birthing garden.”
Sir Barlow cleared his throat. “What do we do, Miss?”
“Let me check on Matt.” Lauren angled her head and whispered. “Matt? How are you doing?”
“Better … I think.” He set his feet, relieving the pressure of his weight. He pushed her hand away and, with the cloak still on, walked through one of the beams. He staggered forward, but Listener caught him.
Listener stripped the cloak off him and touched his neck, hot as an iron. She jerked her finger back. “He’s red hot, but the wound looks better. The bleeding’s stopped.”
“Great! Wonderful!” Tears welled in Lauren’s eyes but quickly dried in the heat. “You three take the cloak and go through the tree-of-life room to the birthing garden. When you see what’s going on there, send Sir Barlow back to report to us. We might have need of him.”
“To do what?” Matt asked as he swayed in place. “What exactly are you doing?”
Sapphira called out, “No time to explain. Arramos vowed to kill children while I’m here.”
“We’re going!” Listener spread the cloak over herself and Matt. “Sir Barlow, we’ll toss it back to you.” She helped Matt hurry to the portal. When they stepped through together, the cloak raised the familiar eruption of sparks.
After they passed the cloak to Sir Barlow and he exited as well, Lauren looked at Sapphira. “Let’s go. Together now.”
They took a single step at the same time. The horizontal beam radiating across their locked arms bent backwards, then snapped to its original position. The chamber shifted forward with their progress as if pushed by the beam. The sudden jerk sent a jolt through Lauren’s arm and into her skull. She winced. Sapphira moaned.
“We’ll have to take this slow and easy,” Lauren said as she tried to ignore the pain. “Are you with me?”
Sapphira groaned. “We need to … go faster. I’ll endure the pain.”
Elam scooped Sapphira into his arms. Laure
n’s hold on her wrist stayed in place. His face awash in sweat, he nodded at Lauren. “We’ll go as fast as you can stand it.”
CHAPTER 24
TWO TRAGEDIES
Billy limped toward the parking lot, an arm around Edmund as he half dragged the wounded knight at his side. On the lot, Adam and Elizabeth stood next to the three dragons who lay on the pavement, all with their eyes open, though they didn’t move a muscle. Adam held a rifle, and another lay near Elizabeth’s feet.
When Billy arrived, he helped Edmund down to the pavement. His foot mangled and his leg burned, he would not fight again anytime soon, but he could stay and help guard the dragons.
“Can they get up?” Billy whispered to Adam.
“They can … barely.” Adam handed Billy and Edmund each a bottle of water. “I’ve been giving them updates while they lie here pretending to be dead. We almost attacked a few minutes ago, but then the children showed up. We didn’t want to risk getting them hurt, especially since our dragons are so weak.”
“Risk doesn’t mean anything now. We have to attack. Arramos will—”
Screams erupted from the field. A gunshot rang out, then another, then a rapid barrage, too fast for one gun to shoot. Then, the gunfire stopped.
“Mother!” Jennifer appeared from around the east end of the bleachers and ran toward them in a halting, haphazard line, a hand over her stomach. When she arrived, she coughed and sucked in a wheezing breath. “He … a boy! … A little boy! … Arramos … He …”
“He what?” Elizabeth steadied her with a hand on her elbow. “Breathed fire on him?”
Tears streaming down her flushed cheeks, Jennifer shook her head. “I can’t say it!” She let out a raspy wail and looked upward. “Oh, dear God, why? Why?”
Billy grasped Jennifer’s wrist. “We heard gunshots. Did you see what happened to Walter?”
“I didn’t wait to see.” She dropped to hands and knees. “I think I’m going to be sick!”
“I’ll check it out.” Adam ran in the direction Jennifer had come. Within seconds he disappeared around the corner of the bleachers.