Authors: Nina Berry
Othersphere (31 page)
“Let's do it!” Lazar pivoted and ran down the tunnel, over to where his laptop was set up, hooked into a computer bank.
Arnaldo took the Blade from November warily, and laid it carefully on the floor right on top of the buzzing border of the doorway, jerking his hands away from it as if shocked. “Back up!” he shouted, waving us away from the doorway. “Back up to the end of the tunnel. Lazar, get ready to fire.”
London and her dire wolves herded Ximon back down the tunnel, away from the door, with November and Arnaldo following.
On the other side, Khutulun stepped over Orgoli's body, coming toward us, blood dripping from her lips.
This is your last chance. Come be what you really are.
This is your last chance. Come be what you really are.
I slipped my hand into Caleb's. He lifted it up and kissed my palm, and we backed up the tunnel together slowly. “I am already myself,” I said. “I am what I chose to be. Good-bye.”
Khutulun neared the doorway, her gaze circling it, calculating.
We reached the end of the tunnel. Ximon, wobbly and bewildered, hesitated there, staring down the metal hallway at the doorway, at Khutulun, at Othersphere.
“Here,” said November to London. “I'll get him.”
The wolves backed out completely. November took Ximon by the shoulders, standing at the mouth of the tunnel. “All clear, Arnaldo!” she called.
“Ready!” Arnaldo shouted.
Lazar pressed a key on the laptop, and the entire half-sphere of tubes and metal piping lit up. A hum of electricity hit my skin.
“Aim!” Arnaldo said, lifting his right hand.
Lazar pressed several more keys. “Target acquired.” He poised his index finger over the last key, eyes on Arnaldo, waiting.
Khutulun paced along the perimeter of the doorway,
Good-bye, and good riddance.
Silhouetted in front of the giant bank of glowing machinery, November's hands on Ximon's thin shoulders tightened.
I had a strange, sick premonition. “November!” I shouted. “Wait!”
“Fire!” Arnaldo ordered at the same moment.
Lazar tapped the key.
“So long, asshole.” November shoved Ximon into the tunnel. He stumbled forward, clattering down the metal hallway.
Caleb, Amaris, and Lazar staggered forward a step at the same astonished moment. Caleb would have kept going, but I tightened my grip on his hand instinctively, pulling him back.
Amaris cried out wordlessly. Ximon tottered into the doorway to Othersphere and turned back, just a thin, lost silhouette, teetering on the brink. I couldn't tell if he was through the doorway or not.
The high hum of the machinery hit a peak. Hundreds of thousands of red laser beams struck Morfael's staff and the Shadow Blade at once. Everyone winced back at the brightness, throwing hands in front of their eyes, squeezing lids shut, turning heads away.
There came a soft
whumph
of air. Like a window swinging shut.
whumph
of air. Like a window swinging shut.
The light assaulting my eyelids dimmed. I opened them cautiously.
The doorway, the staff, the Shadow Blade, and Ximon were all gone.
CHAPTER 18
Everyone was staring at November, aghast. She dusted off her hands, as if her work was done, and gazed right back, unashamed. “He thought Othersphere was hell,” she said. “So that's where he deserves to go.”
Tears were pouring down Amaris's face. Caleb and Lazar exchanged wordless glances, and then walked over to their sister and put their arms around her. The three of them stood like that for a long moment. In spite of the horror of all that had just happened, my heart lifted a little to see the siblings so bonded at last.
An alarm clanged, startling me. The red light by the open metal door flashed. My tech-fu had only shut it down for a short period of time. With my connection to Othersphere severed, I'd probably never be able to do such a thing again.
I was smiling. That was fine by me.
“Better get out fast,” Arnaldo hollered over the claxon. “The shifters outside can't knock humdrums unconscious indefinitely.”
November was the first up the stairs.
Detaching himself from Lazar and Amaris, Caleb came to me, hands outstretched.
“I'm sorry,” I said. “About your father.”
His expression was more pensive than upset. “And I'm sorry,” he said, “about your biological father.”
We started up the stairs after Lazar. Amaris came right after, with London and her wolves clustered around her in silent support.
“Thanks,” I said to Caleb. “Part of me is horrifiedâat the Amba and Khutulun, and at November.”
“The other part of you thinks Orgoli and Ximon got what was coming to them. I know,” he said, as we walked side by side through the metal door. As always, he'd read my thoughts exactly.
We quickly wound our way through the NIF hallways, passing unconscious guards at various checkpoints, and burst outside to the parking lot. Surrounding it was a chain-link fence topped by razor wire with a large, grizzly bearâsized hole in it.
I'd expected to find the tiger-shifters milling about, and a lot of other kinds of shifters, too, but there were only three large SUVs waiting outside the fence.
Jonata, the lynx-shifter on the council, climbed out of one of the trucks and waved. We streamed toward her over the parking lot, Morfael elegantly bringing up the rear.
“So good to see you,” she said as we climbed through the hole in the fence, shaking everyone's hands as they passed her. “Everything all right?”
“Orgoli's dead,” I said. “The doorway's closed for good. And Ximon . . .”
I looked up at Caleb. “We don't need to worry about him anymore,” he said.
“Where is everyone?” I asked.
“Oh, we shuttled the tiger-shifters and everyone else out of here lickety-split when the alarm went off again,” she said. “Various cat-shifters volunteered to house the tigers till we can get them back to their own countries.” She leaned into me, smiling. “They told us how you saved them. Nice job.”
“There was a Bengal, a kind of leader,” I said. “Can you let them know he died fighting Orgoli?”
She pressed her lips together in regret and nodded. “Of course. Some of them expressed a wish to come visit you at the school.”
“Great,” I said. Arnaldo was motioning us toward the school SUV. Sirens were approaching in the distance.
I heard incredulous shouts down the dark street, which was unusually deserted even for such a late hour.
Jonata grinned. “Better get going. Bears and mountain lions on the road can only keep the cops busy for so long.”
She climbed into her truck, and the woman beside her hit the accelerator. “Whose car is that?” I asked, pointing at the third car.
“Mine,” Caleb said. “Confiscated from the Tribunal at the lodge.” He bent in close to me, hand reaching into his own coat, which I still wore. His face got within inches of mine, and he smiled, drawing out a set of keys. “Hey, pretty girl. Want a ride?”
I nodded, laughing low. “One second.”
I turned and ran over to throw my arms around first London, then Amaris, Arnaldo, and November. “Yes, even you,” I said, squeezing her tiny form against me.
Her voice, muffled against my chest, said something very rude about what I should do with myself.
“Even me,” Lazar said as I let November go. He put both arms around me and kissed me on the cheek.
“I know why you did it,” I whispered. “You broke up with me for Caleb's sake.”
He pulled back, his face relaxed and resigned. “You're what he wants most in this world, what he needs,” he said. “We talked a little on the ride over,” he said. “Not about that, exactly. But we might end up brothers after all.”
“Oh, Lazar,” I said, my face flushed with a thousand emotions. “That's wonderful.”
Caleb appeared next to me. Lazar drew away self-consciously, but Caleb reached his hand out to Lazar to shake. “Well done today, brother,” he said. “We'll see you back at the school.”
“Class begins tomorrow morning at six a.m.,” Morfael said, opening the passenger side door. It was weird to see him without his staff.
Everyone groaned, until Morfael's face lit with a wide, teeth-baring grin. He climbed into the shotgun seat, as we all looked at each other.
Lazar shut the door, looking vaguely astonished. “I think he just made a joke.”
“It better be,” November said from the depths of the SUV. “Get inside, handsome. If you sit next to me and keep me warm, I promise not to shove any more of your relatives through the veil tonight.”
“Shut up, 'Ember,” London said.
“Yeah,” said Amaris, who was snuggled with London in the back. “For once, shut the hell up.”
November's eyebrows shot up toward her hairline. She opened her mouth to make a smart-ass remark.
“You heard her,” Lazar said warningly.
November shut her mouth, smirk wiped away. Lazar climbed in. He did sit next to her, but not close enough to keep her warm. Her eyes slid up and down his long lean body, and the smirk returned.
“See you all in a few hours,” I said.
Amaris and London waved. In the driver's seat, Arnaldo tapped the horn softly and grinned. November stuck her tongue out and Morfael lifted one hand in blessing or farewell. Or both.
Lazar leaned out to grab the door handle to pull it shut. His brown eyes were rueful, but smiling ever so slightly. He leaned into me, his voice low. “This is going to be an interesting ride home.”
The door slammed shut, and I ran back to Caleb's SUV. He was already revving the engine. I climbed into the passenger's seat and saw he was holding his phone up, talking to someone via Skype.
“Hold on, she's right here,” he said, and handed me the phone. “Someone wants to talk to you.”
“Desdemona!” My mother's sweet face, slightly distorted by the wide-angle lens of her laptop camera, peered at me, grinning so big I could see her back fillings.
“Hi, Mom! Everything okay?” I beamed back at her, warmth spilling out of my heart into every corner of my being. It was so good to hear her voice say my name, the name she'd given me after fighting so hard to adopt me from that Russian orphanage all those years ago.
She flapped her hand at the camera. “I'm fine. Caleb called just now and told me you had a bit of an adventure but that everything's fine. You're a sight for sore eyes, my girl.”
I shot an amused glance at Caleb. He was cranking the wheel and stepping on the gas, grinning. “Oh, Caleb called you, did he?”
“He's a considerate boy,” Mom said.
“He's the best boy I know,” I said.
Caleb, smile widening, reached out and put his hand on my knee, sliding his fingers over it and down the inside of my thigh. Heat burned its way up my thighs where he touched me. I tried not to gasp in front of my mother and smacked his hand.
“So you went there,” Mom said. “To that other world.”
I nodded.
“What was it like?”
“Beautiful, magical, dangerous,” I said. “But I can't ever go back.”
Her face was very serious. “I'm sorry, honey,” she said. “I know it was important to you.”
“It's okay,” I said. “Because this world is all those things, too. And it also has everyone I love.”
Mom sniffed, blinking. Her eyes were sparkling a little too brightly. “I love you, honey.”
“Love you, too, Mom.”
She wiped her eyes quickly and raised her voice. “Caleb, you drive her safely back or you'll be hearing from me!”
“Yes, ma'am!”
“Talk to you soon, Mom,” I said, and ended the call.
I looked out the windshield. Caleb had turned onto a smaller service road and kept the headlights off. We bumped along, guided by the light from the stars. Over on a parallel road, a horde of flashing police cars, sirens blaring, zoomed back the way we'd come. The sight stirred a few memories.
“Coming back from battle under the evening sky with Desdemona Grey,” Caleb said. “It doesn't get any better than this.”
“I can think of something even better,” I said, and ran my hand over his knee and down the inside of his thigh.
Caleb shot me a look and lifted his foot off the accelerator. The car rolled to a stop, and he turned the engine off. His dark eyes had a reckless, determined look that turned all my muscles to jelly.
“Come on,” he said, grabbing my hand. He opened his car door and pulled me out his side of the SUV. I stumbled onto the dirt road, wearing nothing but his long dark coat, and into his arms.
Caleb's lips met mine with wild certainty as his hands slid under the coat to circle my bare waist. “Was that what you were thinking of?” he murmured against my mouth.
“Yes,” I said softly. “That's even better.”
Around us crickets were chirping their concert to the night. The moon peeped from behind a bank of clouds rimmed with silver, and the nondescript side road on the half-deserted edge of town was transformed into a glowing wonderland.
BEYOND THE STORY
EXTINCTION AND BEYOND
While I was writing
Othermoon
in 2011, the Western black rhinoceros, a subspecies of rhino that dwelled mostly in Cameroon, was declared officially extinct due to poaching. The news was painful to hear. I love animals. The world is a magnificent place thanks to its incredible biodiversity. Every time another species is destroyed by humans, everyone loses.
Othermoon
in 2011, the Western black rhinoceros, a subspecies of rhino that dwelled mostly in Cameroon, was declared officially extinct due to poaching. The news was painful to hear. I love animals. The world is a magnificent place thanks to its incredible biodiversity. Every time another species is destroyed by humans, everyone loses.
The problem goes far beyond the rhinos and elephants being slaughtered in record numbers for their horns and tusks, beyond the fact that tigers are vanishing from India, Russia, Thailand, and Indonesia due to trade in their parts and destruction of their habitat. The horrible truth is that dozens of species, plants, and animals are going extinct every single day, at a rate that far exceeds any since the mass die-off of the dinosaurs sixty-five million years ago. Scientists believe we're in the middle of the sixth mass extinction to happen in the last half billion years, with species being lost at 1,000 to 10,000 times the normal “background” rate. (For more information on the extinction crisis, try this site:
www.extinctioncrisis.org
)
www.extinctioncrisis.org
)
No one knows the diversity in the world, not even to the
nearest order of magnitude. . . . We don't know for sure how
many species there are, where they can be found or how fast
they're disappearing. It's like having astronomy without
knowing where the stars are.
nearest order of magnitude. . . . We don't know for sure how
many species there are, where they can be found or how fast
they're disappearing. It's like having astronomy without
knowing where the stars are.
â
E
DMUND
O. W
ILSON,
biologist and environmentalist
E
DMUND
O. W
ILSON,
biologist and environmentalist
The difference between the time of the dinosaurs and now is that currently 99 percent of all extinctions occur because of humanity. We're the ones bumbling into pristine environments and polluting or destroying them. We're the ones hunting down elephants for ivory or smuggling rare turtles off their beaches. Illegal trade in wildlife is the third largest in the world, after drugs and arms, and the money fuels terrorist and insurgent organizations all over the world.
It's the next annihilation of vast numbers of species. It is
happening now, and we, the human race, are its cause.
happening now, and we, the human race, are its cause.
âR
ICHARD
L
EAKEY,
paleontologist and conservationist
ICHARD
L
EAKEY,
paleontologist and conservationist
Now that I've thoroughly depressed you, time for an injection of hope. We're the problem, so we can be the solution. A lot of organizations are working to make things better. Check out the links at the end of this piece for places you can go online to help. And don't despairâbald eagles were down to 412 breeding pairs by 1950, but then the US protected them by law. Now their numbers are estimated to be over 200,000! And in the 1940s there were only around 40 Amur tigers left in the wild. Today those numbers are closer to 400. Change for the better is possible.
Few problems are less recognized, but more important than,
the accelerating disappearance of the earth's biological resources.
In pushing other species to extinction, humanity is
busy sawing off the limb on which it is perched.
the accelerating disappearance of the earth's biological resources.
In pushing other species to extinction, humanity is
busy sawing off the limb on which it is perched.
âP
AUL
E
HRLICH,
Nobel Prizeâwinning scientist
AUL
E
HRLICH,
Nobel Prizeâwinning scientist
So now you know why I included so many extinct species in
Othersphere
. I wanted readers to feel the magnificence of nature and appreciate how much we still have to lose. In my books, the Tribunal has wiped out most of the different kinds of shifters. No one has heard from the tiger-shifters in nearly twenty years, and other shifters fear that means they, too, have been made extinct.
Othersphere
. I wanted readers to feel the magnificence of nature and appreciate how much we still have to lose. In my books, the Tribunal has wiped out most of the different kinds of shifters. No one has heard from the tiger-shifters in nearly twenty years, and other shifters fear that means they, too, have been made extinct.
Then Dez and her friends go to Othersphere and findâwell, I'm not going to spoil it here in case you haven't read the book, but I featured a number of species that have gone extinct over the millennia to showcase the issue of extinction, and because the animals are supercool.
The extermination of the passenger pigeon meant that
mankind was just so much poorer; exactly as in the case of
the destruction of the cathedral at Rheims. And to lose the
chance to see frigate-birds soaring in circles above the
storm, or a file of pelicans winging their way homeward
across the crimson afterglow of the sunset, or a myriad terns
flashing in the bright light of midday as they hover in a
shifting maze above the beachâwhy, the loss is like the loss
of a gallery of the masterpieces of the artists of old time.
mankind was just so much poorer; exactly as in the case of
the destruction of the cathedral at Rheims. And to lose the
chance to see frigate-birds soaring in circles above the
storm, or a file of pelicans winging their way homeward
across the crimson afterglow of the sunset, or a myriad terns
flashing in the bright light of midday as they hover in a
shifting maze above the beachâwhy, the loss is like the loss
of a gallery of the masterpieces of the artists of old time.
âT
HEODORE
R
OOSEVELT,
26th President of the United States
HEODORE
R
OOSEVELT,
26th President of the United States
Here are some fun facts about the extinct animals I featured in
Othersphere
.
Othersphere
.
Â
Quetzalcoatlus
The largest creature ever to have flown in our world, named after an Aztec god, this pterosaur was as large as a private jet airplane. The exact dimensions are debated, but the coldblooded creature's wingspan was at least thirty feet wide. Compare that to the largest flying creature currently on our earth, the condor, with a wingspan of “only” ten feet! You can see footage of an animated
Quetzalcoatlus
flying here:
Quetzalcoatlus
flying here:
Megatherium
This ancient ancestor of the tree sloth was one of the largest land animals on earth until about 8,000 years ago. They were over twenty feet long and weighed up to five tons. Like elephants, they lived in large family groups. We have fossil evidence of their footsteps, which show they often stood up on their hind feet, probably to reach foliage to eat. But scientists believe they might have also opportunistically dined on carrion killed by carnivores, using their huge claws and massive strength to drive off the likes of sabre-tooth tigers and dire wolves. Here's a fantastic video animation of a
Megatherium
taking food from predators:
Megatherium
taking food from predators:
Dire Wolves
Canis dirus
(“fearsome dog”) was 25 percent larger than the modern gray wolf, with a bite 130 percent more powerful. But this North and South American creature was very similar to modern wolves in that they hunted in packs and lived in large family units. There's a long, fascinating video documentary online about dire wolves here:
(“fearsome dog”) was 25 percent larger than the modern gray wolf, with a bite 130 percent more powerful. But this North and South American creature was very similar to modern wolves in that they hunted in packs and lived in large family units. There's a long, fascinating video documentary online about dire wolves here:
I have a particular fondness for the dire wolf, not only because they remind me of London, but because I vividly remember my first visit to the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits as a child, where I stood aghast at the sight of an entire wall covered in dire wolf skulls. Also on display there: ground sloth skeletons, camels, extinct horses, mammoths, and of course,
Smilodon
, aka the saber-toothed cat. If you're ever in Los Angeles, it's a great place to visit. Or check it out online:
Smilodon
, aka the saber-toothed cat. If you're ever in Los Angeles, it's a great place to visit. Or check it out online:
For if one link in nature's chain might be lost, another might
be lost, until the whole of things will vanish by piecemeal.
be lost, until the whole of things will vanish by piecemeal.
âTHOMAS JEFFERSON
Last, but certainly not least, my personal favorite, for obvious reasons....
Â
Caspian, Java, and Bali Tiger Subspecies
The Bali tiger (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bali_tiger) was around the size of a leopard, the smallest of the tigers, with males reaching only around 220 pounds. The Javan tiger (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javan_tiger) was a bit larger, with males reaching up to 310 pounds. Because both were isolated on islands, they each evolved to have distinctive fur colors, stripe patterns, and head shapes.
The Caspian tiger (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caspian_tiger) was around the size of the current Bengal tiger () with a wide range around the southern end of the Caspian Sea, from Turkey through Iran, all the way to the western deserts of China. One fascinating tidbit about the Caspian tiger is that the Kazakh people referred to it as the “road” or “traveling leopard” because it would follow migrating herds of preferred prey over large distances, which is markedly different behavior from its more territorial cousins in Siberia and India.
The Caspian tiger was most closely related genetically to the Amur or Siberian tigers (my favorite, of course; animals.nationalgeographic. com/animals/mammals/siberian-tiger), and some scientists have proposed introducing Amur tigers to the areas where the Caspian tiger once ranged. But without large tracts of undeveloped land containing a large prey population, the proposed region is currently unsuitable for re-introduction. Alas.
What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone,
men would die from a great loneliness of spirit. For
whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man.
All things are connected.
men would die from a great loneliness of spirit. For
whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man.
All things are connected.
âCHIEF SEATTLE
If you're wondering about species currently at risk or recently extinct around the world, here are two links with lists, information, and photos (there are a lot more if you go looking):
To hunt a species to extinction is not logical.
âS
POCK, IN
S
TAR
T
REK
IV
POCK, IN
S
TAR
T
REK
IV
Should we bring back species that have gone extinct? That's the fascinating question raised by recent advances in cloning. It's similar to the thought that crosses Dez's mind in
Othersphere
when she comes across tiger subspecies in the other world that are extinct in ours. It would be fascinating in some ways, but problematic in others.
Othersphere
when she comes across tiger subspecies in the other world that are extinct in ours. It would be fascinating in some ways, but problematic in others.
You can read about both sides of the issue on the National Geographic site here:
The full cover story National Geographic did on “de-extinction” is here:
Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing
because he could only do a little.
because he could only do a little.
â
E
DMUND
B
URKE,
Irish statesman and philosopher
E
DMUND
B
URKE,
Irish statesman and philosopher
If you're wondering “What can I do to make a difference?” below are some of the things I do. It doesn't seem like much, but the more of us who try to make things change, the more likely it is to happen.
But do your own research and make up your own mind. I've included links with more information, but it's easy to find your own as well.
1.
Sign up to get updates from organizations like
www.WWF.organdwildlifeconservationnetwork.org
. They'll keep you informed and give you easy ways to contact your legislators and leaders all over the world who can make a difference for wildlife.
Sign up to get updates from organizations like
www.WWF.organdwildlifeconservationnetwork.org
. They'll keep you informed and give you easy ways to contact your legislators and leaders all over the world who can make a difference for wildlife.
2.
Try to live as sustainably as you can. This means different things for different people. You can try recycling, composting, eating mindfully, conserving energy, gardening, and so on.
Try to live as sustainably as you can. This means different things for different people. You can try recycling, composting, eating mindfully, conserving energy, gardening, and so on.
3.
Avoid supporting the trade in illegal wildlife or abuse of wild animals, particularly when you travel. For example, when I went to Thailand, I decided not to go to one of the controversial tiger temples or parks there, where visitors handle the tigers. It's very tempting to go because the animals are so intriguing, but if you see an animal behaving in a manner contradictory to its wild nature, odds are that animal is being grossly mistreated. For that reason, I also avoid giving money to any venue where wild animals are forced to perform.
Avoid supporting the trade in illegal wildlife or abuse of wild animals, particularly when you travel. For example, when I went to Thailand, I decided not to go to one of the controversial tiger temples or parks there, where visitors handle the tigers. It's very tempting to go because the animals are so intriguing, but if you see an animal behaving in a manner contradictory to its wild nature, odds are that animal is being grossly mistreated. For that reason, I also avoid giving money to any venue where wild animals are forced to perform.
4.
Raise awareness via social networks (without being too obnoxious). I try not to deluge people with requests to sign petitions and so on when I tweet or post on Facebook, but I've seen the power of social media. Education is the key to making any lasting change.
Raise awareness via social networks (without being too obnoxious). I try not to deluge people with requests to sign petitions and so on when I tweet or post on Facebook, but I've seen the power of social media. Education is the key to making any lasting change.
5.
When you support charities, consider organizations that protect wildlife and preserve natural habitats. Along with the World Wildlife Fund (
www.wwf.org
) and the Wildlife Conservation Network (wildlifeconservation network.org). I recommend (no surprise here if you've read my books) the Snow Leopard Trust (
www.snowleopard.org
), Tiger Time (tigertime.info), and Panthera (
www.Panthera.org
), which focus on conservation of big cats.
When you support charities, consider organizations that protect wildlife and preserve natural habitats. Along with the World Wildlife Fund (
www.wwf.org
) and the Wildlife Conservation Network (wildlifeconservation network.org). I recommend (no surprise here if you've read my books) the Snow Leopard Trust (
www.snowleopard.org
), Tiger Time (tigertime.info), and Panthera (
www.Panthera.org
), which focus on conservation of big cats.
Here are some lists by reputable sites of other things you can do:
In wilderness is the preservation of the world.
âH
ENRY
D
AVID
T
HOREAU
ENRY
D
AVID
T
HOREAU
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