Angel Fall (21 page)

They were looking into the face of a king.

“Who is it?” Tori whispered.

“How the heck should I know?”

“I wasn’t asking you.” But before Mirick could answer, they heard the sound of running water. Grabbing the lantern, Alex moved to the rail.

“The cave is flooding.”

Tori joined him. As they watched, water rushed in faster and faster. Suddenly they felt the boat lift. Then they were moving. Trying to see, Alex ran to the prow, but the light wasn’t strong enough. All he could tell was that they were traveling with increasing speed through an underground tunnel carried along on a river of rippling shadows.

I
’m sick of riding in this tub down a thousand miles of sewer pipe. Where are we going?” Alex had been complaining for an hour.

“Tell him to stop whining or I’ll fly into his mouth and drill a hole all the way to the back of his head.”

“You wouldn’t do that.” Tori was trying to deal with both of them at once.

“Wouldn’t do
what
?”

“Not you, Alex. I’m talking to my friend.”

“You’re crazy, you know that? There’s nobody here but us.”

“Then why do you keep wanting me to ask him questions?”

“I must tell you that my patience with your brother is fading rapidly. And a moth doesn’t have a copious supply to begin with,” Mirick whispered loudly in her ear.

“Stop it! Both of you.”

“Look at me, Tori. I am only one person so both of me can’t do anything.”

“Shut up!”

“What a superlative idea. If only he would do it.”

“You too! Everybody just be quiet! You’re driving me crazy.” Tori marched to the stern of the boat and plopped down. Alex continued slouching near the prow.

“Fine! But maybe you could tell your stupid imaginary friend that I’m starving to death.”

“I told you, I’ve got nuts and berries.”

“I hate nuts and berries!”

“Then go eat poop.”

“That was not poop. It was the best food I’ve ever had.”

“Then just pretend you’re eating more of it and leave me alone.” Closing her eyes, she leaned her head against the carved wood. They had been speeding down the underground river for hours, and Alex had become more and more obnoxious. Mirick, who was still nestled in her hair, whispered, “I should warn you that in a few minutes he’s going to get very, very nasty.”

“How can it get worse than now?”

“Oh, believe me, this is nothing. It’s almost dawn outside, and he’s away from his window.”

Suddenly there was a loud guttural rasp. Tori froze. “What was
that
?”

“It’s begun. Now, no matter what he does or says, just stay away from him and remain calm.”

A jittering gurgle came from the prow. Tori jumped up and looked at her brother. He lay slumped on the deck with spittle drooling from his mouth. She rushed up to him.

“Don’t get too close.”

Slowly Alex’s empty gaze shifted down to his arm. The flesh on either side of the metal band was swollen and running with pus. Suddenly his mouth opened, and from it came a choking roar. Then he began tearing at the wound, raking it with his nails and teeth.

“Alex, stop that!”

“He doesn’t hear you.”

“He’s biting himself.”

“That’s the least of his problems. He’s like a dog on an invisible chain, and his master is jerking on it.”

As Tori watched in horror, he began shrieking and beating his arm on the deck. Then he leaped up and rushed back and forth, screaming and flailing. After a few moments his eyes rolled into the back of his head, then he staggered and crashed to the deck where he lay unconscious. Tori ran over and bent down.

“He’s dying!”

Mirick fluttered into the air beside her. “No, he isn’t. His master won’t let that happen. He’s far too valuable.”

“We’ve got to do something.”

“Why? The silence is refreshing.”

“His arm is all bloody.”

“It’s only a few drops. There will be help when we get where we’re going.”

Suddenly there was a swooshing gurgle and the boat slowed so abruptly that Tori was almost knocked off her feet. “What’s happening? Are we sinking?”

“We are not sinking.”

“It feels like we’re sinking.”

The moth groaned. “After riding with you and your brother, I have to admit that sinking is an attractive idea, but look around.”

Rushing to the rail, Tori looked. Though it was still dark, she could tell that they weren’t streaking down the tunnel anymore. The boat was bobbing aimlessly with water lapping against its sides. “Where are we?”

“On an underground lake called Leresh Mirickgard.” The moth fluttered to the rail and landed next to her.

“Is it big?”

“About a thousand miles across.”

“We’re not going anywhere. Are we just gonna float like this?”

“Look ahead.”

She turned and looked. “I don’t see anything.” But then she did see something. Far away appeared a pinpoint of green light. “What’s
that
?”

“Some friends on their way to meet us.”

Quickly it grew larger, weaving and glistening as it came.

“It looks like a
ghost
.”

“It isn’t a ghost.”

“Then why does it look like that?”

A few more moments and it became clear. Streaking toward them was a massive swarm of sparkling lights, and from it came a loud hum.

“It’s
bugs
!”

“Quite correct.”

“There are millions of them.”

“Close. But I can’t give you an accurate count.”

“And they’re
huge
!” She wailed.

“Now, listen carefully. I expect you to be on your best behavior. These are very dear friends of mine who have come to help us. They have highly developed olfactory nerves and will be extremely upset if your first reaction to their presence is some form of regurgitation.”

“
Ooooooo
…”

And then the swarm was all around them, a million twinkling insects, like gigantic fireflies, buzzing and swooping. Tori slid down under the rail, closed her eyes, and covered her head with her arms. “Keep ’em away from me.”

“Will you
please
not do that? It’s
quite
embarrassing.”

“I can’t help it.”

A moment later she thought she heard Mirick buzz as though he were having an intense conversation. Then there was a roar of buzzes, and the sound vanished with a strange kind of plopping noise as though a million pebbles had dropped into the water. Slowly she opened her eyes. The insects were gone. “Where’d they go?”

“To do their job. Look over the side.”

Pulling herself up, she stared into the water. Beneath the boat was a shimmering green light. The insects had submerged and were swarming under them.

“They’re in the water. How can bugs fly in the water?”

Suddenly she felt the boat lift and turn, and it began moving with increasing speed. They were traveling through the air.

“They’re carrying us. They’re that strong?”

“They’re warriors. It’s a detachment from the 222
^nd
Light Brigade that has come to escort us home.”

“Can they fight?”

“When necessary they can be quite lethal. Of course, their desire is to be insects of peace.”

“Where are they taking us, to some big beehive?”

“Since they aren’t bees, they couldn’t be going to a hive.”

“Well, it’s some kind of a yucky bug place, isn’t it?”

“My home is not ‘some kind of yucky bug place.’ You will see it when we get there.”

They were moving very rapidly, and it wasn’t long before a strange shape appeared in the distance.

“What’s
that
?”

“Isn’t it beautiful? I haven’t seen it in such a long time.”

To Tori it didn’t look beautiful at all, just exceedingly weird. Sticking up from the surface of the lake and growing larger by the moment was an island of tubes that appeared to be carved out of solid rock. A few were as huge as skyscrapers. Around those were clustered thousands of smaller ones. It was like a monstrous collection of smokestacks, and all of it was covered with a disturbingly iridescent glow.

“What are those things sticking up?”

“Pipes. Have you ever seen a pipe organ?”

“No.”

“It’s a big instrument that plays music.”

“Do they play music?”

“They used to, but they’ve been silent for a long time.”

As the boat flew nearer, Tori heard an astounding hum like the buzzing of a beehive as large as a mountain. “You said it wasn’t bees, but it sounds like bees.”

“There are no bees.”

“So it’s buzzing bugs.”

“Yes, buzzing bugs. And you’re going to see a lot of them, so prepare yourself.”

Soon they were very close. The gigantic cluster of pipes towered hundreds of feet in the air and seemed to ripple as though covered with loose, glistening skin. The boat slowed and dropped back into the water. In front of them appeared a tall arch that led into a wide canal. The buzzing was so loud now that it was like an army of chain saws. But until they were very close, Tori couldn’t see any bugs at all. However, as they passed through the arch she realized that every pipe was encrusted with them. It was their bodies that caused the green glow.

As they entered the canal, the buzzing changed into a strange kind of music, almost like a march being played by five million very large kazoos.

“Ah, the choir is greeting us with a new composition entitled ‘Winged Victory.’ This is a very great honor, perhaps the greatest that has ever been afforded anyone in the history of Boreth. Now I want you to smile and wave.”

“Do I have to?”

“You have to. They’ve heard about you for a very long time, and it’s only polite.”

Then, with a sickly grin, she began waving.

“Excellent.”

“I think I’m going to throw up.”

On either side of the canal, masses of insect-covered pipes towered above them, flickering and shifting as though covered with layers of green fire. The buzzing ‘music’ grew louder and more majestic. Mirick fluttered up and landed on the highest point of the prow. Instantly the buzzing rose to a crescendo.

“What’s happening?”

“They’re cheering our arrival. Just keep smiling and waving. Nod to the left and then to the right. Left…right…left…right…good. You’re doing very well.”

Suddenly a blast of buzzes reverberated around them.

“What was
that
?”

“They’re beginning the funeral march for the Great King. They have waited untold ages for this moment.”

The insect choir devolved into a grinding bellow.

“I hate that sound. It’s awful.”

“It’s called ‘The Lament of the Moths,’ and it’s a great masterpiece in the post lingual style. By the way, you can stop nodding and grimacing. We’ve begun a funeral. Just look serious and take your fingers out of your ears.”

Slowly the glistening light under the boat guided them around a curve. Ahead stood a long pier, and above it hovered a swarming column of monstrous insects.

“Look at those! They’re monster bugs!” She started to scream, but Mirick flew right in front of her face.

“This is a very solemn moment. You will not destroy it with prejudicial howling. Is that clear?”

“Okay. But they’re as big as dogs.”

“They are the Larggen. Their job is to escort royal coffins into the Chamber of Sorrows. Long ago, when the kings of Boreth died, this is where they were brought to sleep with their ancestors.”

“To Bug Island?”

“To the Island of the Singer.”

“Is he a bug too?”

“He is what he is.”

“Am I going to have to see him?”

“When the time is right.”

“Just tell me so I can close my eyes.”

Gently the boat came to rest against the pier. The insects that had transported it rose from the water and flew away. As the endless bug-dirge ground on, the swarm of Larggen swirled above the boat. Tori had closed her eyes, so she didn’t see them descend and slowly lift the coffin into the air. Then, with a great deal of majestic buzzing, they carried it over the pier toward a regal doorway that led into darkness. When the coffin was gone, another swarm descended on the unconscious Alex. None too gently he was lifted and hauled off in a different direction.

“You can open your eyes now. It’s over.” Mirick fluttered in front of her. “Come with me. A room has been made comfortable for you.” He flew up onto the pier.

“What about Alex?” Tori looked toward where her brother had been, but he wasn’t there anymore. “Where’d he go?”

“He’s been taken to receive help.”

“By the bugs?”

“Yes.”

“What are they going to do to him?”

“Everything possible.”

“But I need to be with him when he wakes up.”

“No, you don’t. It’s daylight on the surface, and his spirit won’t be able to find his window.”

“He’s going to be okay, isn’t he?”

“We shall hope so. And you will see him soon. But now it’s time to rest. You’ve had a very long day struggling to control your nausea. And heaven knows, my day hasn’t been easy either.” As Tori climbed up onto the pier, Mirick fluttered to a small door tucked behind a mass of tiny pipes. Like everything else, it was covered with insects.

“Open please and allow our guest to enter.”

The bugs on the knob turned it and the door swung open. Tori entered a quaint little room hollowed from clusters of baby-sized pipes. In the middle was a soft bed with a thick comforter. To her deep relief there were no insects anywhere except Mirick. “Good, no bugs.”

“I have told them that great fatigue has made you quite irritable, and that exasperating unsociability in such a circumstance is one of the foibles of your bizarre race. They were disappointed, but being intelligent and sensitive creatures they understand. They were looking forward to hovering over your bed and singing you to sleep.”

“
Yick!
” She shivered. “Okay, well, tell them I’m sorry, but I don’t need anybody to sing to me right now.” Suddenly she was so exhausted that she could barely keep her eyes open. “I think I’m gonna lie down and rest a minute.” Without even removing her shoes, she dropped to the bed and went fast asleep. She didn’t see the tiny winged creatures that began hovering over her, not singing, but guarding her life.

T
he window…

Where is the window?

Fighting to get out…

Screaming…

Struggling…

Arms reaching…

Almost out…

Then sucked back in…

Over and over…

Where is the window?

Alex’s consciousness awoke to his own thrashing. He was caught inside a cage of stinking, rotting meat, a cage with dim glass holes that let in a sickening vision. Screaming, he mashed against the walls. What was that on the outside? He could see thousands of huge glowing things swarming everywhere. And he could hear them. The thrum of their wings was like the roar of some awful machine. And his cage was flying through the air along with them. He wailed and howled.