“Keep running,” was Tim’s only reply.
There were still troops marching around the Meadows and securing their prisoners. Tim and Janet reached the side of the Meadows near the stone cliffs. Hundreds of soldiers were marching down through tunnels created by avalands.
“Where are they going?” Janet yelled.
Before Tim could answer, the rants they were marching with turned and headed into a tunnel, dragging them along.
“I guess we’ll find out.”
Tim pulled off his blindfold and kept in rhythm with those marching. After about two hundred feet the tunnel sloped upward and into a massive cavern. Piles of weapons were scattered about and small fires burned in more than a dozen different fire pits. Little cottages dotted the rocky cavern walls and soldiers were drinking from small springs and gathering weapons.
Tim peeled away from the group and ducked behind a weathered cottage with a moldy thatched roof.
“What is this place?” Tim asked.
“I have no idea,” Swig answered. “It’s not on maps.”
Across the way a tall black skeleton addressed a cluster of rants.
“Go see what he’s saying,” Tim said to Janet.
“Me?”
“They can’t hurt you,” Tim reassured. “I need you to listen in.”
Janet moved across the cavern toward the group. She stepped up to the skeleton’s side. He looked bothered that she was there, but he kept talking.
“Some spy,” Swig said from Tim’s shoulder.
Tim watched Janet’s face light up as she listened. She leaned in closer and the skeleton brushed her away. More soldiers began to move in as groups of other soldiers moved out. Janet ran back to Tim.
“Leven’s here,” she said breathlessly.
“And Winter?” Tim asked.
“He didn’t say,” she answered. “But Leven has to know where she is, right?”
“You would think so,” Tim said thoughtfully. “Where is he?”
“He didn’t say. He just said that Leven was locked up and that Azure was dealing with him. He also said that most of the army was now going to head to the gloam and march to Sycophant Run.”
Swig gasped.
“What?”
“They’re marching to Sycophant Run,” she repeated. “And he also said some words I couldn’t understand.”
“Do you need to go?” Tim asked Swig.
“Where would I go?” he answered.
“Are your people in trouble?”
“You’re my people,” Swig said.
“Amazing creatures,” Tim said kindly.
Swig looked proud.
More soldiers marched out.
“Let’s find Leven,” Tim said, concerned. “We’ll worry about the rest of the world falling apart when we get to that point.”
Swig disappeared and Janet drifted behind.
Chapter Thirty
The Bionic Toothpick
A large, square magnifying glass was propped up on the motel desk. A tall gold lamp shone down and lit up the desktop. Dennis was sitting in a chair leaning over the magnifying glass and breathing slowly. Beneath the magnifying glass, a weak, deformed Ezra lay in pain.
“Hold on,” Dennis said. “I’ve just got to remove this.”
Dennis pulled off the small, bent sliver where Ezra’s tail used to be.
“Owwwwww!” Ezra screamed. “I thought you were helping me.”
“Hold on,” Dennis insisted.
Dennis cleaned off the flaky green nail polish where Ezra’s right leg had once been.
Ezra winced.
“Sorry,” Dennis said.
“I could have taken him,” Ezra said angrily.
“Right.”
“Don’t patronize me,” Ezra growled. “He took me by surprise, and you did nothing.”
“He took me by just as much surprise.”
“Well, way to have my back.”
“Do you want me to fix you or not?”
Ezra answered by panting shallowly and blinking his single eye under the bright light.
“Good,” Dennis said.
Dennis took a silver paper clip out of the desk drawer and straightened it out. He clipped it in half and then bent one of the ends with a small pair of tweezers. He twisted the bent end around Ezra’s waist and pinched it closed, creating a new metal leg. Dennis bent the leg slightly at the knee.
“Are you done?”
“Done,” Dennis answered.
Ezra rolled over and pushed himself up with his thin, nail-polished arms. His new leg was stiff and made it hard to stand. He spun in a circle until he caught hold of the edge of the lamp and could pull himself up.
He balanced on his new metal leg. He couldn’t bend it, but he could lift it with his hip and step forward. His new appendage made a soft clicking sound.
“Not bad,” Ezra said happily. “It makes me look interesting.”
“You actually didn’t need help in that department,” Dennis said. “You’re a living toothpick with purple hair and a green body. That’s interesting enough.”
“Still,” Ezra said. “Maybe I should break off my other leg and arms and replace them with metal. I’d be a more imposing world ruler if I were all metal.”
“I wouldn’t suggest that,” Dennis said.
“That only makes me think I should do it more.”
Ezra stomped across the table and jumped onto Dennis’s arm. The bottom tip of his new leg snagged Dennis’s shirt and he had to tug at it to get it free.
“You’ll get used to it,” Dennis said.
Ezra leapt from Dennis’s arm to the floor and began to run around in small circles to break in his new leg.
“Thanks,” Dennis said sarcastically.
“You’re not welcome,” Ezra replied, picking up his pace. “Thanks is what someone says when they have a limited vocabulary. This leg makes me even more certain that I will be triumphant. How could I fail when I’m half machine?”
“More like one-fourth,” Dennis corrected.
“Leave it to you to ruin a perfectly good conversation by applying math to it.”
Ezra’s new leg got stuck in the carpet. Dennis bent down and picked him up.
“Would it kill you to file down the end a bit?” Ezra asked.
Dennis held Ezra back under the magnifying glass and opened the file on his Swiss Army Knife. With short, methodical strokes he filed down the sharp edge of Ezra’s metal leg.
“There,” Dennis said, pulling Ezra out from under the magnifying glass. “It shouldn’t snag on anything now.”
“I wish your word came with a guarantee,” Ezra scoffed. “I’m certain that right when something crucial is happening I will get snagged again.”
“Thanks for your faith in me,” Dennis laughed.
“I have no faith in you,” Ezra said seriously.
“Thanks.”
“Limited vocabulary,” Ezra sniffed.
Dennis set Ezra down on the bed. Ezra jumped up and down a few times and then reclined against the edge of the pillow.
“Can I be honest with you?” Dennis asked.
“I wish you wouldn’t,” Ezra answered.
“I know you have nothing but acid and insults for me, but I am so much happier to be here than where I once was.”
Ezra put his hands to his ears to block out Dennis’s talking. “La, la, la, la.”
“I don’t know what to believe in all the time,” Dennis went on. “But I remember working in that law firm and feeling as if there was nothing for me. I would wander those halls like a ghost that nobody could see. I thought I was one of those people who would walk the earth and die without purpose. I remember thinking that if I choked to death in my apartment nobody would even notice until the rent came due and my landlord came looking for it.”
Ezra rubbed his eye and moaned. “Why won’t you stop talking?”
“Say what you want,” Dennis said, waving it off. “But there’s something between you and
me. There’s a reason why I ordered that sandwich and you were sticking up in it. I think I believe in fate. I never would have thought I could accomplish something great, but now I know that before I die I will play a part in something big.”
“You’ve been watching too much daytime television.”
“Say what you want.”
“You’re a fool.”
Dennis stared at Ezra.
“What? That’s what I wanted to say.”
“I’m not doing this to make you happy,” Dennis said. “I’m doing this because I know that in the end I will have had a part in something larger than I could have ever dreamed. And, I’ve grown attached to you.”
Ezra started to weep.
Dennis smiled. “There, that’s the emotionally unstable toothpick I know.”
Ezra turned over and cried into the pillow.
“Listen,” Dennis said, “I’m sorry. If we’re going to do this we have to have a plan.”
“I have a plan,” Ezra sniffed.
“Let’s hear it.”
Ezra sat up and ran his hand through his purple hair.
“People like things that are interesting,” Ezra said. “So we’ll put up a large tent to meet in, and we’ll call you Today’s Wizard.”
“Today’s Wizard?” Dennis said. “That’s your plan?”
“It’s a work in progress,” Ezra scoffed. “I have more.”
Dennis pulled out a pad of paper from the motel desk and grabbed the cheap pen next to it.
“Shoot,” he said.
Ezra began to explain.
ii
The dark of night dripped down like melting plastic. It stuck to the roads and buildings and made walking and driving seem like more of a trial than usual. The neon signs and headlights in view shone no more than a couple of inches from their source.
The interstate was fairly empty, with more vehicles heading east than west. Terry sped quickly westward in the far right lane.
“Is it supposed to be so dark?” Addy asked. “What sort of people live in a place like this?”
“Dark is dark,” Terry reasoned. “We got bigger problems. Why won’t they pay?”
“They don’t believe us,” Addy grimaced. “They sit there in their big offices with nice haircuts and tell me things they think I don’t understand.”
“That makes no sense,” Terry sniffed.
“They won’t give us any money unless they see you float,” Addy snipped. “We gotta drive to them and let them inspect us. Nobody trusts nobody these days.”
“Then they’ll give us money?” Terry asked. “Once they see me float?”
“They’d better,” Addy said. “We should take care of that robe.”
“I ain’t going to hurt it,” Terry said. “I like wearing it.”
“You should take it off,” Addy insisted. “Keep it in a box or something for safekeeping.”
“I’ll think about it,” Terry said, bothered. “They’d better give us enough money. Otherwise we could have stayed with that bald guy.”
“And share our money with Leven?” Addy asked. “No way. It would be just our luck to have him come back and start whining about us taking care of him. He’s still too young to just leave on his own. And the courts are always siding with the children.”
“We’ll get our own lawyer,” Terry said. “That boy already cost us thousands of dollars to raise. He should pay us.”
“You might have something there,” Addy said excitedly. “All right, if he asks for money we’ll threaten to collect what we’ve already spent on him.”
“Even if he doesn’t ask,” Terry suggested, “let’s see if we can collect. You didn’t ask to take care of him. He was thrust upon us.”
“I shouldn’t have to pay for having a big heart,” Addy said indignantly.
“I’ll say you shouldn’t,” Terry spit. “This isn’t Russia.”
“We might have a real case,” Addy said greedily. “And when we win we’ll have more money than we’ve ever had. Now take that robe off so it doesn’t get ruined.”
“I’ll take it off next stop.”
“Just take it off now,” Addy demanded, pulling on the right sleeve. “We’ll get no money unless you float.”
“It’s fine,” Terry complained. “I’ll take it off later.”
“Just pull it off now.” Addy tugged.
“I’m going seventy miles an hour.”
“Just slide it off behind you.”
Addy grabbed at the robe, pulling Terry’s arms back and yanking the robe. Terry’s hands slipped from the wheel and the car swerved. Terry lunged for the wheel, but Addy was still pulling and he fell towards her.
“We should have stopped first!” Terry yelled.
It’s difficult to believe, but for once in his life Terry might have been right. The car swerved the opposite direction as Terry slammed his foot on the gas pedal by accident, barely missing a stray dog that was foolishly crossing the interstate. Unfortunately Terry couldn’t avoid hitting something far more substantive.
Chapter Thirty-One
The Candor Box
The caves and caverns beneath the cliffs were vast and confusing. All around troops of soldiers and black skeletons were marching and moving avalands and prisoners out of the caves. Leven and Geth and Winter were taken to a large metal cage in a small cavern. They were thrown in, locked up, and left alone.
“I can’t think of anything but Clover.” Leven stood up.
“Me neither,” Winter admitted.
“He’s exactly where he should be,” Geth said, trying to comfort them.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Leven argued.
“Careful, Lev,” Winter said. “He didn’t mean anything.”
Leven looked at Winter with frustration. He couldn’t tell if he wanted to yell at her or kiss her. He knew also that his feelings towards Geth were largely due to Phoebe’s presence.
“You have to trust that Clover’s life will lead to good,” Geth said. “There’s nothing I would like more than to make sure Clover is safe, but I would be a scoundrel if I promised you that fate might not have other plans for him. He has already helped change the world, something quite spectacular for a sycophant. Who knows what his life—or death—might still accomplish.”
The words were harsh, but coming from Geth they sounded so sincere that Leven couldn’t help but mellow.
“I know,” Leven said, sitting down on the floor with his legs crossed. “I know you’re right. But it’s Clover.”
“Well then, breathe deep and put some pressure on fate to come through.”
Leven took a deep breath as a tall, normal-shaped rant stepped up to the cage. Two other rants were behind him. Leven stood again.
“The girl,” the lead rant grunted.
“No way,” Leven snapped. “Winter stays here with us.”
The rants laughed.
“I didn’t realize that you were the one giving orders,” the lead rant said. “The girl, now.”
“I said . . .”
One of the rants hit Leven in the chest with the thick end of his kilve. He flew back against the far bars and fell to the ground. Geth tried to move forward, but one of the other rants had reached in and pulled him up against the bars.
The lead rant opened the cage, grabbed Winter by the arm, and yanked her out. He slammed the cage and locked it.
“We’ll be back for one of you later,” he threatened.
“You can’t just take her,” Leven yelled.
“Really?” he growled. “Because that looks to be exactly what we’re doing.”
The rants walked off with Winter, leaving Leven and Geth alone.
“We have to do something,” Leven said.
Geth began checking the bars for any that were loose or designed to open. The floor of the cage was cement and the ceiling was stone. Leven shook the door but it didn’t budge in the least, thanks to the lock on its front.
“Can lithens do anything besides t
hink optimistically?” Leven asked, frustrated. “Don’t you have a secret power or something that can help?”
“What about you?” Geth asked less harshly. “Can’t you get the avalands to bust us out?”
Leven closed his eyes and tried, but nothing happened. He slumped dejectedly to the ground on his rear.
“It doesn’t work,” Leven said. “They won’t hurt her, right?”
“I hope not,” Geth answered. “Winter’s strong.”
“And pretty,” Leven said without thinking.
“What?” Geth smiled.
Leven looked shocked. “I didn’t mean it. I was just thinking . . . it’s that stupid longing. I’m saying things I don’t mean.”
“Don’t call Phoebe stupid,” Geth said seriously. “She’s a
longing.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot you’ve got a thing for her.”
“I don’t have a thing for her,” Geth insisted. “Longings and lithens have a long history and I just think that she and I would have a lot in common.”
“And Winter and I wouldn’t?”
“I’m not saying that.”
“Just so you know, Winter and I have been through a lot,” Leven said. “I knew her for days before you ever met her in Reality.”
“Well, Phoebe would understand me,” Geth argued, his eyes showing that he was as confused by what he was saying as Leven was. “Hold on, she’s . . .”
Geth put his hands up and took a deep breath.
“What?” Leven asked.
“I just think that Phoebe and I have much more of a chance than you and Winter.”
“Why?” Leven asked. “Because you’re both so old?”
“Just because we’re ageless is no—”
Leven stood up and charged into Geth. The two of them rolled across the floor and banged up against the metal bars. Leven’s head hit the bars hard, causing him to see stars for a few moments.
Geth stood up, reached his hands down to help Leven up, and started to laugh.
“It’s not funny,” Leven insisted.
“I know,” Geth said. “I’m sorry.”
Leven sat up and rubbed the back of his head. “Your girlfriend is making things messy.”
“I like the sound of that,” Geth said.
“You’re not acting very lithen.”
“Weird,” Geth said in a daze.