Crusade Across Worlds (21 page)

Tucker’s mouth opens, pain burning in his
expression.

Ariana’s face softens, her eyes starting to
water, but she bats away the tears and assumes her mask again.
“Goodbye.”

With that, the queen, the chancellor and the
slew of guards are swept from the hall as Mybyncians disperse
behind them. Once the area is nearly empty, Sampson motions us
toward the exit. As a unit, we ride Gala, Salva’s Stancimis, back
to the FH.

Dismounting at the Docking Station, I remove
my helmet and head for the Fychu. “Sampson?”

“Just one moment,” he moves for Maris and
the two exchange quick words. With a point, he indicates our wing
and then the boys’ wing and then points up toward the broken
segments of the Docking Station’s domed ceiling. Qippert and
Clarence make their way over and soon, Blovid, Jothkore and Vix
join the conversation.

“Everything okay?” Reid takes off his helmet
and pins it between his arm and hip.

“I need to talk to Sampson,” I look over his
shoulder and find Tucker. I motion the Rogue Leader with my head.
“Is he okay?”

Reid doesn’t turn. “No, I don’t think so.
What did Ariana say?”

“She’s taking her duties as queen
seriously.”

Reid looks back at Tucker. The Rogue Leader
strolls closer and when he arrives, Reid nudges him in the
shoulder. “You okay, man?”

Tucker doesn’t answer. The remaining Rogues,
Pratt, Mae and Walker make their way over, all staring at him,
waiting for him to start talking. Only he never does. Finally, he
looks at me and I decide to share the other piece of news.

“Ariana did say something…something we can
use.”

“What’s that?” Pratt asks.

With a last glance at Tucker, I lean in and
lower my voice. “She mentioned the Gorgen fields. Said there may be
something else hidden there besides the Dilly.”

“Really?” Pratt gasps. “That’s it! That’s
where—”

“Sshh… we don’t…” I glance around, hoping no
one else is paying attention, “…we don’t know for sure that’s what
she’s talking about, and if it is, we don’t want that information
to spread. So for now let’s…keep this to ourselves.”

“But you’re going to tell Sampson?” Able
asks.

“Of course. Although…he may not have the
same desire any longer.”

“I don’t know, Fallon,” Walker rubs his
chin. “Think he still wants to avoid invading Dellapalania.”

“Sure,” Able nods. “But if he can’t find the
other one—”

“Maybe Hozfin knows where it is but is just
keeping quiet,” Jace shrugs.

“No. He doesn’t know. Believe me.”

“Maybe he does,” Werzo tries. “But he
doesn’t want—”

“I’m telling you,” Walker crosses his arms,
“he doesn’t. There’s no one on Nerwolix that knows where the
Floating Ruby is located.”

“Well he still can’t entice Reuzkimpart with
only one Gift. And that’s
if
we’re even able to secure it.
You heard Fallon—under the
Gorgen fields?”
Werzo
scoffs
.
“We barely made it out alive last time!”

“Why?” Able asks. “What are the Gorgen
fields?”

“What’re you guys talking about?” Clarence
pokes his head over but everyone stays silent, all looking at
me.

I exhale. “Maybe we should talk with the
others…and in private.”

“Everything okay?”

“Ariana gave us some information…information
I think will be useful.”

Acknowledgement flashes in his eyes. “I
see,” Clarence glances over his shoulder at the other Dofinikes.
“Why don’t we get the Fychu and the others to the Dining Hall?”

“I think it’s best if we talk on the
surface. We don’t know who could be listening.”

“You’re right. I’ll grab the others and
we’ll head up.”

“Will it be safe?” Mae asks. “I mean…could
the Muskos be there?”

“We’ll have the Fychu,” Clarence says. “I
think we’ll be fine. And it’ll only be for a short time. It’s been
another long day so best we get to sleep early. Agreed?”

We all nod and Clarence jogs over to the
Dofinikes. He speaks quickly and I see Sampson and Blovid looking
our way, nodding in agreement. Clarence glances back at us and
points up. He places his helmet on and we all do the same.

“Something to discuss?” Sampson asks, making
his way toward Gala as we climb back on.

“You could say that,” Reid nods.

“Alright. We’ll talk on the shore.”

Gala takes us up to the beach and by the
time we get there, the sky is dark. It’s nearly pitch-black, so I
quickly remove my helmet and take off my suit, bringing my Callix
out. It glows a bright pink, peach and red, but it’s not
enough.

“I’ll make a small fire,” Qippert drags some
broken fauna together.

“Let’s sit around here,” Sampson gestures to
a pile of broken stones. The Rogues begin to move the rocks into a
circle and once Qippert places a heaping pile of wood in the
center, he strikes a fire with two small stones. We each find a
seat, and after removing our helmets, Sampson looks around. “So…”
he rubs his hands together, “...what is this all about?”

Everyone looks at me.

“I guess the floor is yours, Fallon.”

I take a deep breath. “I think—we think we
know where the Shadow Bag is hidden.”

Surprise flashes across his face. “Oh?”

“Ariana mentioned the Gorgen Fields. Said
they’re not only hiding the Dilly.”

“When did she tell you this?”

“Just before. After her coronation.”

“I see…” Sampson leans forward, his elbows
on his knees and his chin on his fists. A long moment passes before
he speaks again. “Do you believe she told you this with the
assumption you would go after it? Or was it just a passing
guess?”

“I think she told us with an
assumption.”

Another long moment goes by.

“She
is
queen now,” Clarence breaks
the silence. “She can advise of the location if she chooses.”

“But,” Blovid starts, “she said herself she
was not certain. She merely had ideas. What if the Gift is not
located there? What if this is only her guess? We have already
spoken with Ehan and King Hozfin. They are under the impression the
invasion will be on Dellapalania, not Nerwolix.”

“Plans can be changed,” Reid shrugs.

“But on a guess? A whim?”

“We could always make a try for it,” Jace
suggests, “see if we can get it. If not—”

“We would not even know where to begin to
look,” Qippert shakes his head. “Where would it be buried? The
Gorgen Fields stretch for miles. There is no way we can get to it
without being killed in the process.”

“Unless we had some help.” Everyone looks at
me.

“What do you mean?” Blovid frowns.

“Well, I didn’t know where the Vermix were
keeping their experiments, but I found them. The Lynzees led me.
Maybe they could do the same. Show us where the Gift is
hidden.”

“Unlikely,” the Arizal Leader shakes his
head. “They helped you locate what you needed to, but you are
talking about unraveling the Shadow Bag’s location. They would
never give this information up.”

“If that’s true, then
no one
would
know the Gifts’ locations. Not even the ruling bodies themselves,”
I remind him. “The locations were disclosed at one point. It can
happen again. And besides, if the Lynzees revealed that the Vermix
would invade Nerwolix, then that means it’s got to happen, right?
We’re meant to find and relocate the Gifts.”

Sampson, Clarence and Blovid exchange
glances.

“She makes sense…” the Fychu nods. “The
Lynzees
did
explicitly reveal that the Vermix would invade
in three months. That wasn’t an assumption or a guess.”

“But we do not even possess the Floating
Ruby,” Blovid shakes his head. “How could we—?”

“Unless they disclose the location of that
Gift too.”

The Arizal Leader sighs. “Fychu,
please
. I understand you want to do whatever is in your
power to avoid invading Dellapalania, but some things…are
inevitable.”

“I agree,” he nods. “So why would the
Lynzees advise that the Vermix are invading Nerwolix when they are
not?”

Blovid lets out another breath. “So what is
your plan, then? Go to the Gorgen Fields and wait for a sign?”

“My plan, as it always has been, is to pray
to the Mother for guidance,” Sampson says just as Blovid starts his
rebuttal, “and don’t you dare say she will not answer because both
you and I know the power of prayer.”

Blovid closes his mouth and leans back. A
long, quiet moment passes. “You risk much, Fychu.”

“Only what is necessary.”

“And your family?” his voice grows loud as
he gestures to the circle, to us. “Are they necessary to risk?”

“They don’t need to accompany. I will go
alone if the Mother deems it—”

“And if she asks you to risk
their
lives?” he snaps. “What then? Are you willing to lose
another—?”

“Okay, okay,” Clarence lowers his hands, his
voice a calming tide in the rough seas. “We’re all on the same side
here. Let’s…” he clears his throat, “…get back on track.”

Sampson sits quietly, his head lowered
between his shoulders, his sight focused on the flickering flame.
No one says anything for a long time. Not until Werzo speaks
up.

“Not to be a downer or anything, but, let’s
say we do get this sign,” he says and everyone looks at him. “We
know where it is and all…then what? How do we get past the Gorgens
long enough to dig it up? I mean,” he laughs, “all we needed was a
few bags of Dilly last time and that sure as hell wasn’t easy,”
Werzo gestures to me. “We didn’t even know if Fallon would get out
alive.”

“The Gorgens themselves
would
be an
obstacle,” Clarence nods.

“How’d you say you got past them?” Pratt
asks. “You said you led them away, right?”

We all nod.

“But they came back quickly,” Jace shudders.
“
Too
quickly.”

“And there were only five last time,”
Qippert reminds us. “If we do not know where the Gift is hidden, we
could end up in the middle of a giant nest and there would be no
way to retrieve it, especially if digging is involved.”

“So what do we do then?” I ask.

I’m answered with quiet. The fire crackles
and we all stare at it for a long minute, mulling over the last few
exchanges. Finally, Blovid lets out a deep sigh.

“I think we should continue on with our
current plan. Everyone has agreed, and at this point, there is less
possibility of unintended risk. Even though Queen Ariana has
offered what she really should not have, she does not know if her
assumptions are correct. For all we know, the Shadow Bag could be
somewhere completely different,” he looks at Sampson. “I am sorry
old friend, but I vote nay.”

The Fychu, who now has his chin resting on
threaded fingers, offers the slightest nod and looks at Qippert,
who sits beside the Arizal Leader.

“I am against invading Dellapalania as
well…but the risks are too many. It would seem wise to seek out the
source of this evil, rather than tempt him with our World’s sacred
relics,” he exhales. “I vote nay.”

Sampson looks at Vix.

“You have led us through a great many
battles,” Vix says, “but I do not see the outcome you are hoping to
achieve with what you are planning to do,” her voice grows quiet.
“I vote nay.”

“Jothkore?”

“If we were to obtain the Shadow Bag…what
then? The same problem would arise on Nerwolix for the Floating
Ruby. And we have less than two weeks…” he lowers his head and
shakes it, not meeting Sampson’s eye. “Nay.”

Sampson proceeds to look around our side of
the circle, stopping on each one of us. And one by one, Werzo,
Booker, Jace, Tucker, Walker, Able, Pratt and Mae whisper a soft
“nay.”

And then he gets to Reid.

Sitting forward, Rox lets out a breath,
resting his chin on his thumbs and his pointers against his nose.
His eyes follow the dancing flame in the middle of the crackling
fire. “I’ve seen a lot of crazy stuff work—stuff that I didn’t
think
could
work. I don’t think it sounds like the smartest
plan, but if you believe in it, then I will too. Yay.”

Sampson nods with a look at me. “We’re
already overruled but…” I shrug. “Yay.”

The Fychu turns to Clarence who shakes his
head with a laugh. “Saving the best for last, huh?” He sits back.
“Look, I know I’ve led you into some troubling situations in the
past, but this one sure takes the cake. You’ve got Gorgens,” he
counts out on his fingers, “we don’t even know where it is, and no
army to help us look. And
then
we still have the Floating
Ruby to find. We’ve got everything stacked against us, Sympse…” he
exhales, running his hands through his yellow-white hair. “But
yeah, all right. If you think it’s best…” he sighs. “Why the hell
not? Yay.”

“That still leaves the majority to a nay,”
Werzo reminds us.

“Thanks for the recap,” Clarence smirks.

“So going forward,” Blovid says, “can we
agree that while Queen Ariana had good intentions to support the
Fychu’s original plan, we will continue on in invading Dellapalania
in two weeks time?” He looks around the circle, watching us each
acquiesce with a nod. “Good, then let us consider this
settled.”

He stands and reaches for his helmet,
leading the rest of us to do the same. I pull on my suit and climb
onto Gala with the others. The ride to the FH is silent and almost
no one looks at one another as we dismount. The boys head for their
wing while Vix scoops up Mae, and Pratt follows her toward our
own.

Before I start for the tunnel behind them, I
call out. “Reid?”

Removing his helmet, he jogs over swiftly.
“What’s up?”

I glance at the departing Rogues. “Tucker’s
having a hard time. Maybe you should talk to him or something.”

“This about Ariana?”

I nod.

“Yeah,” he scratches the back of his head.
“I don’t know what to do. If she breaks up with him…”