Lauren splashed toward him and scanned the garden area. Mendallah was missing. She must have gone to the village to get Zohar. When Lauren joined Merlin, she looked at the pulsing heart. “What does it mean?”
“It means that we are standing in a cross-dimensional field. In moments, it will snap back into place. I cannot predict the result.” Merlin turned toward the dual portal. “I assume the other side leads to Earth. We should go there at once.”
“Shouldn’t we wait for Clefspeare to grow so he can come with us?”
A frown tightened Merlin’s face. “We have already waited far too long. Arramos will not delay in carrying out his threats.”
“I’ll see what I can do about that.” Lauren faced the Earthbound portal, created a fiery shield around herself, and walked into the plane. As the boundary sizzled, she peered into the Earth dimension. A dark cloud roiled in the sky. Rain and fiery hail fell over several children who lay trembling on the ground. One combat helicopter had landed on the field, a second descended, and a larger helicopter sat farther away. A girl leaned out of its open door until a pair of young hands pulled her back in.
Closer to the portal, Arramos stood on a swath of scorched grass with a dragon pinned under his rear claw. He no longer held a girl in his grasp. Nearby, Dad and two other adults used their bodies to shield children from the catastrophic weather. Obviously a lot had taken place on Earth during the past several minutes. Dad and the others had likely battled to keep Arramos from carrying out his threats and managed to get some of the children to the distant helicopter.
“Well, Sapphira,” Arramos said as he blinked an oozing eye. “I have waited with the utmost patience. What is the status of the portal?”
Lauren glanced down. Most of her body was still on the Second Eden side. Arramos could see only her head. She cleared her throat and tried to imitate Sapphira’s silky voice. “The portal is completely open, and a large object is able to pass. Release the children.”
“When the helicopter has safely traveled through.” Arramos waved a wing. The engine of the closer helicopter roared to life, and its propellers began spinning. Dad looked up. Lauren followed his line of sight but couldn’t find what he had spotted.
The helicopter lifted off. Lauren swiveled her head and peered into Second Eden. Clefspeare continued growing. His head pod, still as green as grass, swelled to the size of a volleyball, and his leaflets stretched out into full-fledged dragon wings. His single stalk split into two thick trunks, and his body expanded in every direction, including a skinny protrusion that morphed into a spiny tail. The surface divided into scales from the tip of the elongating snout to the end of the tail.
Lauren swiveled again. The helicopter hovered several feet ahead, apparently ready to fly through. The front edges of the spinning blades eased closer and closer.
Swallowing hard, Lauren turned again. Clefspeare’s green stalks uprooted and stomped down, now dragon’s rear feet. As his claws dug into the soil, white radiance raced along the scales. His wings shook. His tail whipped upward and thumped against the ground. Finally, as the radiance ran toward his head, his neck stretched out, and the energy seemed to explode through his mouth in a ground-shaking roar.
The dragon, as white as pearls, beat his wings and shouted, “I am Clefspeare! And I have returned!”
Marilyn wrapped her arms around his foreleg, then leaped back and shook her hands. “You’re scalding hot!”
The sanctum’s heart erupted with bright light. Radiance shot from every hole. The ground quaked and shook Lauren from her stance. She stumbled backwards until she could regain her balance and set her feet.
“The portal structure is unstable,” Merlin called as he leaned against his staff. “We had better go to Earth while we can.”
Something exploded beyond the portal. Metal fragments flew into Second Eden and scattered across the water-covered ground.
“Clefspeare!” Merlin shouted. “The reservoir’s energy is now your armor. It should protect you! Fly through the portal! Lauren will create a shield so the rest of us can follow!”
Marilyn called out, “Clefspeare! Arramos murdered Carl and Shelly and countless children in cold blood. Hold nothing back.” She slapped him on the flank. “Go! Be our omega dragon!”
* * *
Billy arched his body over a fallen girl and boy. They heaved rapid breaths, apparently still conscious. Elizabeth and Adam shielded other children in the same way, though Adam’s legs had been scorched in a fiery battle against Arramos as they kept him from killing children while waiting for news from the portal. They had managed to send most of the little ones to the transport helicopter, and only these few remained on the field—too scared to run.
The head of a white-haired girl appeared at the portal while the rest of her body stayed hidden behind a wall of fire. Billy studied her features. She looked a lot like Sapphira, but the hair couldn’t mask her identity—Lauren.
A surge of relief swelled in Billy’s heart. There she was … his precious daughter … back from the dead, but would Arramos fall for this disguise? Maybe his failing eyesight would help the cause.
Arramos looked at Lauren and blinked rapidly. “Well, Sapphira. I have waited with the utmost patience. What is the status of the portal?”
Lauren glanced around before answering. “The portal is completely open, and a large object is able to pass. Release the children.”
“When the helicopter has safely traveled through.” Arramos waved toward the first grounded helicopter with a wing. The pilot started the engine and set the propellers in motion. Another engine hummed somewhere above, nearly drowned out by the storm.
Billy looked up. A third helicopter dipped below the clouds, then shot back into hiding. He squelched any reaction. That had to be Walter.
The first helicopter lifted off the ground and moved into position in front of the portal. As it drifted closer, Lauren stared at the approaching blades.
Billy whispered, “No, Lauren. Don’t sacrifice yourself.”
The pilot slowed the chopper to a pause. The front of the blades barely touched the portal plane. Sparks flew, but the blades remained intact. With a roar of engines, the helicopter backed away as if making ready to surge and burst through.
Billy rose. It was do-or-die time. He couldn’t let that helicopter through no matter what.
Just as he set his feet to dash toward the chopper, it exploded. Shrapnel flew everywhere. He dove for the children and covered them. Again, sharp objects pierced his back and raked across his skin. With each scrape, he grimaced at the excruciating pain.
When the flying debris settled, Billy looked up once more. Walter’s helicopter spun in the buffeting wind, and smoke continued streaming from its tail. He seemed to be trying to get into position to shoot at the final enemy helicopter or maybe at Arramos, but the storm slapped him around with water, hail, and gusts.
The other helicopter took flight and shot at Walter’s with its machine guns. A few bullets glanced off the frame, but the storm tossed the attacker as well.
Arramos shifted his rear claw from Roxil’s neck to her belly and shouted, “Now she dies!”
Sparks exploded at the portal. A white dragon burst out, plowed into Arramos, and bowled him over. The attacking dragon’s tail smacked Arramos full in the face and drove him back. As Arramos regained his balance, he called out to the sky, “Drones! Come to my aid! The time has arrived!” With the battle paused, Roxil dragged her body across the rain-slickened grass toward Makaidos.
Billy peered at the white dragon’s face. Clefspeare! His father had finally come! But why was he white?
Arramos lunged at Clefspeare, and the two dragons clashed again—clawing, biting, and whipping tails. Growls and screeches pierced the rain-swept air.
“Hang on, Dad!” Billy scrambled to his feet. Adam rose to his knees and tossed his rifle. When Billy caught it, Adam shouted, “You’re in better shape to use it than I am.”
br /> Elizabeth picked up one of the children. “I’ll take the rest to the transport!”
Billy helped Elizabeth form a chain of connected hands, then she and the children dashed together across the field toward the helicopter.
A new burst of fire erupted at the portal, a cyclonic swirl of flames in the shape of a wide cylinder. The flames sizzled in the downpour and vanished, revealing Lauren, Matt, Listener, Marilyn, Sir Barlow, and a man in a red cloak carrying a staff.
Billy blinked away rain droplets to clear his vision. The cloaked man looked a lot like Professor Hamilton. Could he be … Merlin?
Wielding a sword, Sir Barlow ran to the dragon battle and set his feet as if looking for a chance to jump into the fray. Arramos swung around and slapped him away with his tail. Sir Barlow sailed to the sideline and rolled to the remains of the bleachers. Lauren and Marilyn sprinted to him and knelt at his side.
“Clefspeare,” Merlin called through the swirling storm, “we are expecting a dimensional rift, but I have no idea what it will do.” He waved his staff. “Matt, work on Thigocia first. She can help with healing the other two.”
Matt, Bonnie, and Listener rushed to Thigocia where she lay to the west of the portal. Matt spread his body over her head, while Listener stayed close, a white garment wrapped around her waist.
Arramos vaulted into the sky. Clefspeare gave chase, latched onto his tail, and slung him through the air. Arramos spread out his wings and banked back toward Clefspeare. Their eyebeams flashing, the two dragons blasted fire at each other. The flames deflected off their scales, and they collided shoulder to shoulder. Both dragons veered away and circled back for another clash.
While the dragons fought and two flying helicopters battled the weather, Bonnie backed away from Matt and summoned Excalibur’s beam.
“Bonnie!” Billy limped toward her, the rifle in hand. “Did you remove the rubellite?”
“Got it in my pocket.” She plunged the beam into the ground. A streak of radiance shot along the turf and drilled into Matt. He stiffened. Twin lights shot from his eyes and into a deep wound in Thigocia’s face.
An explosion from above rocked the field. Chunks of metal rained down at the end zone on the west side. Walter’s helicopter, now the only one in the sky, flew eastward and hovered over the portal. The gale-force wind slapped it time and again, but he kept it in place. He appeared to be maneuvering into position to get a missile shot at Arramos, but the danger of hitting Clefspeare was too high.
Bonnie shut off the beam and rested the sword’s tip on the ground. “I think that should be enough.”
Matt slowly peeled himself away from Thigocia. Listener helped him walk back a few steps. She pushed him to a seated position, caught rainwater, and splashed it into his face. Thigocia rose and shuffled toward Makaidos and Roxil, flapping her wings to provide lift.
Shrieks blistered the air. A mass of churning blackness descended from the clouds—drones. Billy aimed his rifle at the swarm and edged closer to Bonnie. “We’ve got drones!”
“I’m on it!” Bonnie raised the sword and whipped the beam skyward. The swarm scattered and swooped toward the ground.
Lauren and Marilyn helped Sir Barlow rise. He lumbered toward the transport helicopter, a hand on his bleeding head. “I will guard the children!”
“You’ll need a pilot.” Marilyn caught up with him and held his arm as they hurried.
Lauren ran toward Billy and threw fireballs at the descending drones, but the wind and rain blew the balls apart. Billy breathed flames at the attackers. When the flames sizzled and died, he fired the rifle again and again. Hitting the randomly flying creatures in such a windstorm seemed impossible.
The transport helicopter took off. A few drones flew after it, but it quickly zoomed out of reach.
Bonnie waved Excalibur back and forth. The beam struck a few drones, disintegrating them and delaying a mass attack. One drone flew into the portal plane. The protective field zapped it and sent it somersaulting backwards, its wings on fire.
Billy limped to Bonnie’s side. Every inch of his body ached as he gasped for breath. “If you get tired … I’ll take over.”
Wet hair clung to her face as she searched for another target. “I’m fine. Maybe you can—”
A blast of white light ripped through the portal. A winged man burst out in the midst of the blast and rolled over the wet grass, extinguishing flames on his dark suit. White cloth covering his head and hands, he leaped up, tore the material away, and shouted toward the sky. “Attack now! Show courage! I will deal with Excalibur!”
“Tamiel!” Lauren stalked toward him. “I’ll take care of him!”
Tamiel thrust his arms toward her. Raindrops scattered in front of a pressure wave that rocketed from his hands. It struck Lauren in the chest, knocked her down, and sent her skidding backwards across the saturated turf.
Billy blasted fire at Tamiel. The ground quaked. Billy staggered back, and Tamiel fell to his side.
A hole opened in the ground on the west side of the portal and expanded toward Matt and Listener. Billy shouted, “Matt! Watch out behind you!”
Matt leaped up and turned. The ground crumbled at Listener’s feet. He grabbed for her wrist but missed. She toppled backwards and plunged into the void. Without a second’s hesitation, he dove headfirst after her.
“Matt!” Bonnie dropped Excalibur, beat her wings, and surged toward the hole. A huge drone slammed into her chest and knocked her to the ground.
“Do not kill her!” Arramos shouted from the sky. “Just neutralize her!”
Billy scooped up Excalibur, summoned the beam, and ripped it through the drone. It burst into flames and exploded in sizzling globs of dark goo.
Clefspeare collided with Arramos again and drove him to the ground near the portal. There the two dragons wrestled with beating wings, gouging claws, and snapping teeth.
As Billy slashed through and disintegrated drones, he glanced at the other battles. Makaidos, Thigocia, and Roxil sat on their haunches and shot streams of fire at the flying horde. Closer to the portal, Lauren and Tamiel stood five paces apart and stared at each other as they sidestepped in a standoff circle, Tamiel with a dagger in his grip. Flames radiated around Lauren. Although they sizzled in the driving rain, they kept the drones away.
While Billy continued battling next to Bonnie, she rose to her feet and whispered, “Let’s go!” Their heads low, they hurried to the side of the hole and looked down. Far in the depths, a white light pulsed. Swirling wind shot up and mixed with the falling rain.
A screeching drone attacked from above. Billy sliced through its midsection with Excalibur’s blade, cleaving it in two. With a wave of the sword’s beam over his head, he created a protective dome.
Sucking in quick breaths, he looked again into the dark shaft. “The abyss? Did it move here from the seventh door?”
“I think so.” Bonnie’s voice shattered as she spoke. “The sanctum’s heart … was about right here … in Second Eden. Merlin said …” She shook water from her wings. “Never mind. I have to fly down there and save them.”
“But the wind! Gabriel couldn’t fly in it. Even Roxil wasn’t strong enough.”
“Matt is our son! And every second counts!” Bonnie took Excalibur and shut off the beam and the dome. She stretched out her wings and leaped over the hole, but a blast of air blew her upward. A drone crashed into her side and sent her barreling into Billy. Their cheeks banged together, and Billy slammed onto the turf, smacking the back of his head.
He blinked at the driving rain. Dozens of dark-winged monsters flew in a swirl, barely visible against the clouds. A drone landed on his chest and exposed its dripping fangs. Billy commanded his arm to swat it away, but the muscles wouldn’t respond.
The drone sank its fangs deep into his neck. A blade whipped by and sliced the drone in half. Bonnie shouted from somewhere, her call frantic. Billy opened his mouth to answer, but a pit of darknes
s engulfed his vision, and everything faded away.
CHAPTER 26
THE ABYSS
Matt dove into the hole and knifed through a surge of rising wind. Illuminated by white light from below, Listener fell with her limbs splayed. Her horizontal position increased the striking surface for the upwelling air and slowed her plunge. The wind slapped her against one side of the surrounding wall, then whipped her to the other.
After several seconds, Matt, still in a vertical dive, fell to her level, shifted his body to horizontal to slow his descent, and caught her in his arms. As they fell together, protrusions dropped open from the wall’s surface, like short drawbridges falling into place, making pathways leading to shallow recesses. Holding one arm around Listener’s waist, Matt spread his other arm and legs to make their bodies into a sail.
The updraft slowed them further, but the swirling breeze sent them toward another collision. Just as they neared the wall, a rocky drawbridge opened below. Matt pulled Listener and himself into a standing position and struck it with his feet, bending his knees to absorb the impact.
Pain shot into his heels, through his legs, and up his spine. When Listener’s feet hit the protrusion, she cried out, then stifled herself.
Matt’s knees buckled, and he dropped to his bottom. Again the impact sent a shock wave to his skull that jolted his brain.
After taking a moment to clear the fog, he whispered to Listener who now sat in his lap, his arm around her waist. “Are you hurt?” The cyclonic wind snatched his words away, but Listener wouldn’t miss them.
She grimaced. “I think I broke my ankle.”
“Just now?”
“No. When I slammed into the wall a few seconds ago.” Listener rolled off his lap and knelt facing him. “Are you all right?”
Matt touched the wound on his neck. “This still hurts, and healing Thigocia took a lot out of me, but I don’t think the landing injured anything. The wind slowed us down quite a bit. Otherwise I might have broken my legs. Or worse.”