Alosha (29 page)

But was she still in her own dimension?

Maybe when they had passed through the red door, they had entered another.

Or maybe this was hell, she thought, and she was here because of what she had done to her friends. It was possible she would be here a long time.

The fairies brought her inside the hive, into a shallow area perched high above the volcanic lake. The place could have been another cave, or a jail cell, or a torture chamber. From the ceiling hung sharp metal hooks, and the skeletons of a dozen victims who had been there before her. Most appeared to be young children, and probably all had died long ago. Hung upside down like slabs of beef, the sockets of their skulls seemed to cry out to her as she came near, and she did not know how much more she could take.

But her three companions were just getting started. Grabbing her by the feet, they tied her upside down on one of the metal hooks. They pinched her as they worked, and grinned with pleasure at the sight of her tender limbs. They had fangs for teeth, and long purple tongues with sharp tips. They were going to eat her alive, she thought.

Soon they left her alone, though, and flew out the opening and disappeared into the swarm of fairies that seemed to endlessly circle the hive. There were no bars on her cell, no guards, but she would have needed wings to escape.

Ali checked her watch. Five-thirty, fifteen minutes earlier than the last time she had looked. What was wrong with it? Or was the time distortion due to the cave? What time was it outside? Had she already failed Nemi?

Hanging upside down, the pressure of the blood in her head was painful. She knew she could not stand it long before she would pass out. Fortunately, they had not tied her hands and she was able to swing up and grab the hook beside her. Only it had a skeleton attached to it; the bony feet practically poked her in the eyes. She wondered how long ago the kid had been killed.

Her arms grew tired. She had to let go, swing down, let the blood rush back into her head. But that quickly grew unbearable so she swung back up. The routine was torturous; the dark fairies probably wanted it that way. She felt herself despairing. Tears burned her eyes, but they rolled upward, into her hair, instead of onto her cheeks, and they brought her no relief.

She checked her bonds. The rope the fairies had used was like thick spiderweb; it was sticky to touch, and very strong. Without a knife, there was no way she was going to get through it.

Then she had an idea. What if she tied her hair onto the nearby hook? It would hurt to have it constantly pulled on, but anything would be better than what she was doing.

Swinging up and grabbing her hair into a long bunch, she worked on a knot. It was not easy—one hand had to hold the hook while the other fiddled with her hair. But after a few minutes she had her knot, and a hammock of sorts. Too bad her body and hair were the only things holding it together.

The tug on her hair was awful. Her scalp felt as if it were being peeled from her skull. She could only breathe and bear it. Escape was impossible. She wondered if the dark fairies would eat her alive or wait until she was dead.

Then she came, the queen. Ali knew she was the big bat without knowing how she knew. The fairy wore no special ornaments, no gold or silver crown. The creature flew straight into the torture chamber and landed five feet in front of her. Ali saw that her head was injured. Red veins pulsed beneath its translucent skull, reminding Ali of the lines of lava on the floor of the cavern. It was the same fairy she had wounded the night before.

“Do you know me?” the dark fairy asked. The voice hissed like a reptile, like the previous night, yet there was an intelligence behind it. Ali knew she would have to be careful what she said.

“I know you,” Ali said.

“What is my name?”

“Snake Face.”

That was not being careful. Annoyed, the creature came close, spoke in a
deadly voice. “You joke. You used to like to joke. Or is it that you really do not remember?” The fairy paused. “What is my name?”

The name simply came to Ali, seemingly out of nowhere. “Radrine.”

The dark fairy seemed satisfied. “What is your name?”

“Geea.” Again, she did not want to speak the name Nemi had given her. She felt the name had power, and this beast would surely misuse it. Radrine nodded at her reply.

“Your memory is long, I am impressed. Especially since you are now human. That is one reason I have come to question you. Why did you become human?”

Ali hesitated. “To stop the war.”

Radrine mocked her. “All by yourself, Geea? Have you grown so powerful as a human being, or merely so deluded? Come now, what was your real reason?”

Ali twisted and arched her back to make herself more comfortable. The effort did not help. “Funny, but I can't think of another reason right now,” she muttered.

Radrine came near and spoke softly. “I can make you think of another reason. I can torture you in a hundred ways. Or I can let you go. It is your choice, Geea.”

Ali did not need fairy magic to hear the lie. “You will not let me go.”

Radrine gloated. “But there are so many ways to die. I could make it quick and painless, or slow and messy. I could make you beg, Geea.”

Ali refused to give her the satisfaction. “That will never happen.”

“Perhaps not.” Radrine paused and stepped to the opening. Beyond her the interior of the cavern glowed like a vision of a prehistoric world. The fumes continued to bother Ali—she could not stop coughing. Far below a mound of lava erupted and a geyser rose up like a flame born of a dragon's breath. The fire seemed to please Radrine, although Ali could not see her face. With her wings pulled close to her scaly body and her bony back to Ali, Radrine spoke in a soft voice. “Tell me about the Yanti. You possessed it a long time, before even Lord Vak had it.”

The remark told Ali a great deal. Clearly knowing Radrine's name had convinced
the creature that her human captive had all her previous memories back. Ali wished that was the case. Had she really been a fairy? And an important one at that? If she moved carefully, she thought, she might be able to find out a lot about the elemental kingdom.

For all the good it would do her.

Radrine was familiar to Ali—her voice, her movements, her manner of speaking. Yet she remembered the dark fairy differently. The creature had been pretty once, Ali was sure of it.

“You know plenty about the Yanti,” Ali said, making an educated guess.

“But no one knows its secrets like you.” Radrine glanced over her shoulder. “Lord Vak is ready to use the Yanti to bring his army into this world. No doubt he will succeed. But he cannot tap its full power. A code was placed upon it, I suspect, a mystical formula. The Yanti does not always obey his will, nor, I think, would it obey mine if I had it with me now.” Radrine fluttered her wings and took a step toward her. “What did you do to it, Geea?”

Ali was not sure what a mystical formula was, never mind which one she had placed on the Yanti. “Why should I tell you?” she asked.

Radrine smiled, her teeth very sharp. “Because you are my prisoner, and I can do whatever I want to you. You were a fool to try to face me on this side of the red door. Indeed, you surprised me, coming here. The old Geea would never have made such a mistake. What's happened to you? Has taking human form made you stupid?”

Ali did not like being mocked. “Being human has taught me a lot. The elementals cannot win this war. Humanity has jet fighters, machine guns, huge tanks, atomic bombs. The elementals will be wiped out in a matter of days.”

Radrine laughed softly. “You are mistaken, the end will not come in days. The war will be long and bloody. Humanity has physical weapons, true, but lacks magical powers. Both sides are equally matched. But in the end we want the dwarves and elves to be destroyed, as much as we want humanity wiped out. Did you not know? The whole world can glow with radioactive dust and we will be happy. Because it is then we will move fully into the third dimension, and take over, and make all who have survived our slaves.”

The third dimension?

The yellow door had been the
third
door. And it had been open.

Radrine's words stunned Ali. She understood now why Paddy had said everyone hated the dark fairies. “You'll need the power of the Yanti to take over the whole planet,” she said, making another guess. “I don't think Lord Vak's going to just give it to you.”

“He cannot hold onto it if he has no hands!”

“You're not strong enough to kill him,” Ali said, not sure how strong anybody in this upcoming war was, least of all herself. Yet she felt she had to continue to play the role, see what she could learn. Radrine took her insult in stride.

“Perhaps. That is why I will let the humans destroy him.”

“They'll destroy you as well!”

“Really? How will they find me on this side of the red door?”

“They'll find you,” Ali said, feeling the hopelessness of her words.

Radrine came near. Ali felt her breath on her cheek, so cold, even with the torture chamber so hot. The fairy raised a nail and traced the outline of Ali's eyebrows. She spoke in her ear, a hissing whisper that recalled to Ali nightmares she had never known she'd had.

“I used to admire your eyes. So much power in them, such beauty. I am pleased to see that even as a human they are powerful.” Radrine's nail came lower and brushed her lashes. “But what if I were to pluck one out? Eat it in front of you? Would you still be beautiful, Geea?”

Ali had to fight to stay calm. “I would still be who I am,” she said.

“You are brave. You were always brave. I grant you that.”

“Thank you.”

“Tell me the code you placed on the Yanti?”

“No.” Ali turned her head so her eyes met Radrine's. To her surprise she saw that there were still traces of green in the fairy's eyes, hints of beauty in what were now largely holes into horror. Yes, a part of her did remember Radrine as much different than the foul creature who stood before her. She also remembered
that she had sworn to herself that she would never bow to the monster. Ali added, “You waste your time and mine.”

Radrine lost her smile and suddenly reached up with her sharp nail and cut Ali's knotted hair close to her skull. It was like being scalped—her hair swung from the hook and Ali swung upside down. The dark fairy stared down at her and spoke in a quiet voice that no longer hissed.

“There is a difference between us. I have time to waste . . . you have none.” She moved toward the opening, her dark wings slowly unfolding like the black thoughts of people who have been born bad. But she glanced back once more and Ali was surprised to see a trace of sorrow on her otherwise cruel face. Radrine spoke. “You should have listened to me long ago, Geea. I asked you to join the Shaktra then but you said no. Now it is too late for that, don't you think?”

Ali did not know what to say. She still did not know what the Shaktra was, although it was clear it was not the queen of the dark fairies. It appeared that Radrine worked for it.

Radrine's regret quickly vanished and was replaced by a fangy grin. “I will let you hang for an hour. Then I will return, for dinner. Maybe you will be unconscious by then, maybe not.” She added, “I look forward to the meal. I've always wondered what royal meat tastes like.”

Radrine turned and flew away.

“If I'm awake, I'll be sure to spit in your face,” Ali muttered, to no one.

This was it, the test of time. She understood that. It had not come before and it was not going to come later. Because there would be no
later
, that was the nature of the test. Nemi had not told her but she should have guessed. The test of time was the test of death, when all time would grind to a halt.

Ali felt bad she had not passed the test of air. The test of space had been painful enough, crossing over the gorge with only a rope to keep her from falling, and then having to watch her friends die. But cornering Paddy on his
little lies had been nothing—she had never discovered the
big lie
hidden inside the group. Now she never would. That was the problem with failing the test of time, class was dismissed. Plus she still didn't know who she was. That bothered her more than she would have imagined. To die and not even know what her secret name meant. How sad.

Ali swung up and grabbed the hook beside her. The one she had tied her hair to. The one with the bony foot of the kid who had died before her. Her arms were weaker than they had been before Radrine's visit. Talking with the dark fairy had exhausted her. The creatures were like vampire bats. Just being around Radrine had sucked the life out of her. Ali could only hold on a few minutes before she had to let go. Of course then all her blood went straight to her head and she thought she would pass out.

So she swung up again, up and down.

It could not go on long.

She thought of her father, alone on the long roads—and how he would be even more alone when he returned home. She thought of her friends' parents, how they would search for their children and never find them. Even Paddy and Farble—they must have had someone who would miss them. So much pain, she thought, and all because of her single lousy decision—the red door instead of the yellow door.

So much for her intuition.

Ali stared at the wooden buttons on her green shirt. She had chosen the shirt at the start of their adventure because she had thought the color would help her hide in the woods if they were attacked. The shirt had been cheap. She had bought it at a small store in town when they were having a half-off sale. But she remembered distinctly that the shirt had had
seven
black buttons. Now there were
six
, she could count them even hanging upside down. The number made no sense. She had dropped two buttons, one at each of the doors they had passed through. That was a fact, she could have sworn to it.