At last they arrived at a dark cleft in the ground sheltered by a boulder. The cavity didn’t look like much of a cave. Nate wouldn’t have expected it to extend back more than a few feet out of view.
“We had to excavate this,” Cleon said, his lungs working hard. “Jeanine didn’t pitch in. She sat back and watched. Everybody who wants to criticize my hiking should keep in mind that I was up most of the night uncovering this entrance.”
“We’re very proud of you,” Jeanine consoled. “It’s a majestic hole.”
Cleon gestured at the cleft with both hands. “In we go.”
Chris ducked inside.
“Watch out for that first step,” Cleon called, one hand beside his mouth. “It’s a doozy.”
“The kid can fly,” Jeanine pointed out.
“It’s an expression,” Cleon growled.
“Watch your tone,” Jeanine said. “You’ll need my help before long.”
Cleon gave a little nod and tipped an imaginary hat. “No disrespect intended.”
Risa hesitated, crouching at the entrance of the cleft.
Cleon waved for her to enter. “Go on, girl. You’ll be fine.”
“They left light in here,” Chris called from inside. His voice already sounded kind of distant.
Risa entered. Nate followed, squirming through the narrow opening. He wondered how a big guy like Cleon could fit. He probably couldn’t squeeze through without getting scraped up.
The deeper Nate progressed into the cleft, the more it opened up, until he was no longer squirming and could walk comfortably. The air smelled of minerals. Up ahead he saw Chris silhouetted against an electric lantern.
“Come here,” Chris called, waving.
Lifting off the ground, Nate flew along the cave to where Chris stood by the lantern. Nate caught up to Risa, and they reached Chris together.
Where Chris waited beside the lantern, the cave widened considerably, forming a large, craggy chamber. A massive hole dominated the floor. Chris lingered a few paces from the brink of the yawning crater.
“Looks like we go down from here,” Chris said.
“I don’t see any other openings,” Risa agreed.
Nate drifted out over the void. “Hello,” he called, tilted downward, hands cupped around his mouth. The acoustics of the echoes suggested that the hole was extremely deep.
“How can you hover over all that emptiness?” Risa asked with a shiver.
“I don’t know,” Nate replied. “The same way I can swim in deep water, I guess. It’s a long way down, but I can fly.”
“I can’t,” Cleon remarked, striding toward them. “That’s why I need Gravity Girl.”
“And why you had better be nice to her,” Jeanine reminded him.
Lindy glided out over the void to hover beside Nate. “Wow,” she murmured. “Now, that is a deep hole. It’s like staring down the throat of a volcano.”
Jeanine cracked a chemical light stick, then shook it until it emitted an even, green radiance. She tossed it underhand into the crater. Nate watched as it fell and fell, shrinking to a faint green spark before vanishing entirely.
“It has a bottom, right?” Nate asked.
“I can’t confirm,” Lindy said. “It extends a long way and then elbows a little to the side. I can’t see through the rocks here.”
“It has a bottom, all right,” Cleon said. “The Gate and the Protector are down there right now.”
“How’d they get down there?” Risa asked.
“We had a busy night,” Jeanine said.
“Are we ready?” Cleon asked.
Jeanine cracked more chemical light sticks, distributing one to each of them. Then Jeanine and Cleon floated out over the pit. Cleon wobbled and waved his arms for balance.
“Keep still,” Jeanine advised. “You’re messing up my concentration.”
Cleon obeyed without comment.
“I’ll lead the way,” Lindy offered.
They started downward. Nate regretted his lack of opportunity to strategize with the others. Somebody employed by Jonas was always present to overhear. He hoped that when the time came, Chris and Risa would help hold back Jeanine and Cleon so he could race ahead to Uweya. He would have to pick his moment with care. If he failed today, Jonas would win.
Nate stole glances at Cleon and Jeanine. If he made it to Uweya ahead of everyone, what would he do? How much time would he have before others caught up? This was not the sort of situation where he wanted to trust to luck and improvisation. But what else could he do, considering how little he really knew about Uweya? What else could he expect, with so little time to collaborate and plan? A nervous, fluttery feeling persisted in his belly.
The air grew cooler as they descended. The gentle glow of their light sticks seemed a feeble weapon against the thick darkness above and below. They didn’t rush—the ominous obscurity around them forbade haste. Nate felt like a deep-sea explorer sinking into an oceanic trench.
The profound shaft elbowed once, then again. After the second bend, the bottom of the pit came into view, illuminated by various electric lanterns.
“Katie Sung is waiting for us,” Lindy announced.
“Jonas wanted his best people along,” Cleon said.
“Is that why you’re here?” Jeanine said, straining to resist laughter. “Don’t make me crack up, Cleon. I wouldn’t want one of his best people to fall.”
“You calling me minor league?” Cleon challenged.
“We’ll let your performance today do the talking,” she replied. “Now let me concentrate.”
“Welcome,” Katie greeted warmly as Nate touched down between a pair of lanterns. Her form-fitting outfit emphasized her athletic build. Nate noticed the cot where she must have slept. “Turns out the Jets were the top squad after all. A few of us employed by Mr. White lost some money on that outcome.”
“Don’t remind me,” Cleon grumbled.
“You bet against us?” Chris exclaimed.
“Nothing personal,” Cleon said as his feet reached the ground. “I figured that racer plus tank equaled domination.”
“Don’t bet against the delinquents,” Katie said. “Nate and especially Lindy earned their stamps through suspicious means. The kind of person who beats the system once is likely to do so again. I have my eyes on them.”
Nate didn’t miss the message—Katie was there to ensure that Nate and Lindy would perform as expected. When he tried to make his move, she would be there to stop him.
“What now?” Risa asked.
“You’ll see,” Katie promised. “This way.”
They followed her down a passage away from the base of the shaft. The passage opened into a cavernous room, lit by glowing crystals in the walls and ceiling. A colossal stone gate dominated most of one wall.
“It looks exactly like the Gate,” Lindy realized. “The one we took from the Hermit.”
“The Gate is a simulacrum,” Katie said. “As is the Protector. No doubt the Gate will open the way once placed on the pedestal. How the Protector will be employed remains to be seen.”
A pedestal composed of white stone flecked with gold
projected up from the floor in the center of the room. The Gate and the Protector rested on the ground near the base of the pedestal.
“We use the little gate to open the big one?” Chris verified.
“Presumably,” Katie said. “Sadly, we don’t know what to expect once the gate opens. Mr. White suspects we will face some stiff opposition. Enough that it could spell the end for all of us.”
“Unacceptable,” Cleon said. “My team’s playing tonight. I have a date with my TV.”
Jeanine elbowed him.
“I brought some weapons,” Katie announced. She motioned toward a large canvas bag. “Take what you want.”
Risa made it to the bag first and pulled open the mouth. “Lots of baseball bats.”
“Bats, hammers, shields, a few axes,” Katie recited. “Mr. White suspects we’ll want blunt
instruments.”
“Not for smashing giant Protectors,” Nate hoped.
Katie shrugged. “We’ll know when the gate opens.”
“What about machine guns?” Chris asked. “What about a bazooka?”
Katie scowled. “Mr. White warned that an accomplished mage like Iwa Iza would have installed powerful defenses against magical attacks. Since Iwa Iza lived long before the invention of gunpowder, firearms would probably register as magical attacks and engage those formidable defenses. This place is mage-proof, and consequently gun-proof.”
“But we’re all using magic,” Risa said, confused.
“We’re magically enhanced,” Katie explained. “We’re not wielding magic ourselves. None of us are mages. We’re just employing our enhanced skills.”
“We’re using gifts bestowed by mages,” Jeanine added. “We’re originating nothing. It makes a difference.”
“Go on,” Cleon said, shooing the Jets toward the bag. “Cowboy up. Those who can fly and are bulletproof get to bear the brunt of the attacks.”
The first bat Nate tried felt too heavy. The next was made of wood and seemed about right—light enough to swing fast, but heavy enough to do some damage. He chose a small mallet as a backup weapon.
Nate edged over to Lindy, who was testing the weight of a much larger bat than he had selected. Having a tank stamp had some advantages when it came to strength, although her practice swings lacked expertise.
“You don’t see anything, do you?” Nate checked quietly.
“Not through the rock,” Lindy murmured. “Not through the gate. This place is impermeable.”
“Nice Pigeon word.”
“It means—”
“I get that it means you can’t see through it.”
“We good?” Cleon asked. “All set?” He held a baseball bat over his head with both hands, pivoting at the waist and reaching high to stretch. “Let’s see what lies behind door number one.”
Risa zipped up into the air at an amazing speed. She zoomed to different positions around the room in quick bursts, darting like a dragonfly.
“Flying in race mode is cool,” Risa crowed. “You guys seem so slow.”
“Use the ability to good advantage when the gate opens,” Katie admonished.
“Will we need the Protector when the gate opens?” Nate wondered. “Should we have it ready?”
“I’m not sure,” Katie admitted. “We’ll need it at some point up ahead.”
“I’ll watch over it,” Chris offered. “I can take some punishment.”
“Are you going to chew a Peak Performance?” Lindy asked Nate.
“I’ll wait and see what we’re dealing with,” Nate replied. “I have a limited supply.” He held up the stick of gum in his hand.
“Who wants to do the honors?” Katie asked.
“I’ll open it,” Lindy offered.
Katie gestured for her to go ahead.
Lindy flew over to the pedestal. She picked up the Gate and set it on the pedestal. The Gate took on a faint glow, as if a light source within the stone had been ignited.
Chris took up a position near the little warrior statue. Nate and Risa hovered together. Nate rubbed his stick of Peak Performance with his thumb. He tried to keep calm.
“Open it?” Lindy checked.
“Everyone ready?” Katie asked, looking around.
“I’m past ready and halfway to bored,” Cleon said, taking a practice swing with his bat.
Nobody offered opposition.
“Do it,” Katie said.
Lindy pulled open the miniature gate.
Nate braced for the Gate to start morphing into a bizarre new form. Instead, the gate merely swung open, as did the enormous gate in the wall.
Beyond the open gate, Nate could see another large chamber populated by a horde of figures of varying size. Some were the height of children, some matched up with adults, and a few were larger than man-sized. The figures wore primitive, painted masks of extensive diversity. Some masks represented animals like snakes, wolves,
bears, hawks, or seals. Other masks were grotesque caricatures of people. Still others bulged with inexplicable shapes, abstract and unsettling. None of the figures moved. They were composed of a grayish ceramic material.
“Are they made of clay?” Risa asked.
“There are hundreds of them,” Katie observed, her voice hushed.
“Are they just going to stand there?” Cleon asked.
“Maybe they’re out of batteries,” Nate said wishfully.
The remark drew a few uneasy chuckles.
The ceramic host remained stationary.
“They have weapons,” Risa observed.
Most bore simple armaments—stone hammers, wooden clubs, stout rods, crude spears. A few carried primitive bows. Some lacked obvious weapons.
“Are they just for effect?” Chris asked.
“I’m a fairly lucky guy,” Cleon said. “But I can’t believe I’m that lucky.”
“Should I fly in there and look around?” Risa asked. “We can’t see the whole room. I could use my fastest speed.”
“If you’re volunteering, I won’t stop you,” Katie said.
“Wait,” Risa hedged. “You think it could be dangerous? Even flying?”
“It shouldn’t be too dangerous if you use your top speed,” Katie replied smoothly. Nate questioned how much she believed her words.
“All right,” Risa said with a trace of hesitation. “I’ll take a peek.”
Quick as a blink, Risa sped away, hardly even visible as a blur. Nate realized that, even under normal conditions, the kids could fly much faster than any person could run. If Risa was going around ten times her normal flight speed, she had to be moving at hundreds of miles per hour.
The instant the half-glimpsed blur of Risa’s speedy form passed through the gate, the ceramic warriors attacked. Brandishing their weapons, the figures sprang into action, flooding through the gate as if their petrified poses had been an elaborate hoax. They raised no voices, but arrows launched into the air, stones were propelled from slings, and countless ceramic feet trampled over the stone floor.
After his initial jolt of surprise, Nate realized that several of the archers were targeting him. Flying higher, he popped the stick of Peak Performance into his mouth and started vigorously chewing.
His perception of the oncoming threat was instantly clarified. His attention first went to the twenty-two warriors within his field of view armed with projectiles. Avoiding arrows and stones would be essential to surviving the battle. But survival alone would not suffice—he had to help the other Jets!
Ranks of soldiers descended on Chris and Lindy. Katie Sung sprang to aid Chris, probably because it would help guard the Protector. She joined the fray with jaw-dropping ferocity, shattering foes with explosive kicks and vicious blows from the pair of mallets she wielded.
Chris had a large bat, and he swung it recklessly. Spears jabbed him, stone axes chopped him, and clubs slammed against him. The strongest blows made him stumble a little. Otherwise, he absorbed each impact and kept on swinging. Stroke after stroke pulverized warrior after warrior.
Despite the fierce defense from Katie and Chris, the ceramic warriors pressed forward undaunted, showing no regard for their survival. None hesitated. None retreated. Unlike Chris, Katie could not afford to take blows. She danced wildly to avoid endless attacks, retaliating whenever possible. Given the overwhelming quantity of assailants, Nate wondered how long she could last.
Lindy was faring much worse than Chris. She got knocked off her feet, and a gang of ceramic figures surrounded her, issuing blows at will.
Cleon rushed to her aid. His body kept passing through ceramic figures, as if he had no substance. Their weapons swished through him as though he were a hologram.
A few feet to one side of Cleon, ceramic heads were bursting and limbs were getting bashed to pieces in time with his swings. With his heightened senses, Nate quickly recognized that Cleo
n had somehow projected an image of himself a short distance away from his actual position.
Cleon was making slow progress toward Lindy, so Nate flew to help. Since he was the lone target above the combat, stones and arrows kept streaking his way, but he dodged them with casual effort, twisting and curving to avoid the projectiles. Swooping down, using the speed of his flight to boost the force of his blow, Nate obliterated a ceramic head with his baseball bat. Staying low,
bobbing up and down just above the heads of the inhuman soldiers, Nate started thumping them with precise forehands and backhands. Whether time had decayed their ceramic forms and masks, or whether they had never been particularly sturdy to begin with, they crumbled beneath his swings.
A group of ten warriors suddenly rose twenty feet into the air, then fell back to the ground, shattering on impact. Another group of attackers flew skyward, and another.
Nate helped Lindy to her feet while Cleon covered them. “You okay?” Nate asked.
Lindy looked up at him gratefully. “I’m unhurt. A little freaked, though. I wish I had spent more time practicing baseball.”
Katie Sung and Chris fell back to them. Katie was breathing hard. Jeanine levitated more groups of warriors and sent them crashing down atop others. No matter how many ceramic figures they incapacitated, more kept streaming through the gate, swarming fearlessly.
“They break easily,” Nate commented.
“True,” Chris agreed.
“There are too many,” Katie gasped, sweat running down the sides of her face. “Jeanine will get worn down before long. So will I. Fragile or not, they’ll overwhelm us with sheer numbers.”
More soldiers poured into the room, spreading out to approach from all sides. Nate took to the air again, narrowly dodging weapons while issuing perfect blows. Katie fought with manic intensity, moving in measured bursts from one enemy to the next, smashing them to dust with stunning power. Chris fought methodically, absorbing blows so he could focus on offense.
Risa returned abruptly. When she slowed to normal speed, her face was flushed, and she was panting. “There’s an even larger room beyond the gate!” she called. “If you can get through it, there’s a pedestal in there, and a big statue just like the Protector.”