The Rivers of Zadaa (29 page)

“Hello, Mallos,” the guy said. “That is what you called yourself on Denduron, no?”

It was Alder! Standing next to him were Saangi and Teek.

Saint Dane clutched his arm, screaming in pain. It didn't last long. The demon turned into a liquid shadow. The silver arrow dropped from the inky cloud and clattered to the ground. The shadow re-formed itself into the same black bird I had seen flying away from the Manhattan Tower Hotel on First Earth. Saint Dane was about to get away. Again. The bird rose into the air, flapped its wings, and sailed off. We all watched it disappear into the darkness that enveloped Kidik Island.

“Ahhhh!” A scream of terror came from the balcony above. It was Teek. I guess he wasn't used to seeing a person turn into a giant crow. Go figure. I glanced up to see him back away from the edge of the balcony in confusion and fear. Alder and Saangi tried to calm him. Good luck. I had no idea what they were going to tell him. But that wasn't my concern. I ran to Loor. She was no longer shaking, but still looked pretty dazed. I knelt down next to her and put my hand on her shoulder, saying, “Relax. You're not hurt. It was just a small jolt.”

“That…is…easy…for…you…to…say,” Loor said through chattering teeth.

She was going to be okay. I kept my hand on her shoulder, more out of reassurance than anything. Shortly we were joined by Alder, Saangi, and a very nervous-looking Teek who was shaking almost as much as Loor. I stood and hugged Alder. “I can't believe you're here,” I said. “Are you all right? When we left, you were barely conscious.”

“I believe it was the medicine that made me sleep. I feel better now,” he said. He flexed his stiff shoulder and added, “There is some pain, but it did not stop me from taking this from a Tiggen guard.” He held up the multiple-shot crossbow. “Interesting weapon.”

Loor moved to get up. She was quickly getting her act back together. Saangi helped her sit up.

“You were to take Alder to the flume,” Loor scolded.

“Do not blame her, Loor,” Alder said. “I would not leave, not while there was still work to be done.”

Talk about making me feel guilty. Leaving is exactly what I was about to do.

“How did you find us?” I asked.

“It is my duty to help Loor,” Saangi said. “To do that, I did something that will make you angry. Before you left, I copied the map to Kidik. Please forgive me.”

Loor stared at Saangi in disbelief.

Saangi kept her eyes to the ground and said, “Once in the underground, we took a dygo and followed the route.”

I had to hand it to Saangi. She never gave up. I said, “I guess it was a good thing we sprang all of those traps.”

“I did not expect to see an ocean under the ground,” Alder said.

“Yeah, no kidding,” I shot back. “How did you know enough to cross it?”

“The city was dead,” Alder explained. “You were nowhere to be found, and we saw lights across the water. We found a boat, followed the lights, and made it as far as this building.”

“That is when we found Teek,” Saangi said. “He brought us here. I know this is not what you wanted, Loor, but if we had not come…” Saangi didn't have to finish the sentence. We all knew. If they hadn't shown up, Saint Dane would have fried Loor.

“I am not angry, Saangi, I am grateful,” Loor said. “Perhaps you should disobey me more often.”

Saangi beamed. She had once again proven to be Loor's guardian angel.

“I did not really mean that,” Loor added. “But thank you.”

“Evil spirits!” a voice shouted. We all looked at Teek. He was standing away from the group, looking spooked.

“Are you okay, Teek?” I asked.

“Evil s-spirits!” he repeated nervously. “He is an evil spirit! Evil!”

Teek wasn't okay. I had to think of something to say that would keep him from going totally insane.

“He's no spirit,” I said. “It was a trick. He's full of tricks to fool people.”

“He…he transformed! And flew!” Teek chattered.

“All a trick,” I lied. “But you're right about one thing: He is evil.”

Loor got to her feet. She was wobbly, so Saangi had to help her up. “We must get Pendragon to the flume,” she said. “He must be kept safe.”

“No,” I said. I looked at Loor, then Alder, and Saangi. “Saint Dane thinks he's proving a point on Zadaa? I can prove one too. We're seeing this to the end. All of us.”

“Are you sure?” Loor asked.

I nodded. I could see her relief.

“The end may come sooner than you think,” Saangi said.

“Why's that?” I asked.

“That is another reason we had to come,” she answered. “The Batu have entered the underground. The attack has begun.”

ZADAA

L
oor knew the plans for war, as did Saangi. The Ghee had been preparing for this day for a long time. The invasion would be overwhelming.

“It will begin with dygos,” Loor explained. “Ghee spies have stolen dozens of them, of all sizes. They have been kept hidden in the desert. The plan is to drive them into the underground and use them as shields against the defenses of the Tiggen guards. Each dygo will be followed by hundreds of warriors. The dygos will break through any resistance, whether it be rock or Tiggen, clearing the way for the Ghee warriors.”

“How do they know where to go?” I asked. “I mean, isn't the underground like a huge spiderweb?”

“It is,” Loor answered. “But there have been scouts. They know the general direction of Kidik. They know this is the seat of power. This is the target. They will travel through the tunnels that take them in the proper direction. If there is no tunnel, they will drill one. The attack will be relentless.”

“Yeah, until they reach the ocean,” I said.

“What will happen then?” Alder asked.

“It's a trap,” I answered. “The Rokador are going to flood the tunnels and drown every Batu who's in the underground.”

Saangi shot me a look of surprise. Alder looked just as stunned. I hated to have to put it so bluntly, but we were way past worrying about tact.

“That will be thousands of Batu,” Saangi said, her voice suddenly sounding like that of a frightened, little girl.

“Can they truly do that?” Alder asked.

I looked to Teek. He still looked shaken, but his senses were returning.

“What did you find out?” I asked him. “How is this gonna work?”

Teek answered with no emotion. It was as if he were in a trance. His world was crumbling around him, in more ways than one. “The Kidik Ocean is nothing more than a giant holding tank,” he began. “It is fed from the north by many distant rivers. The engineers control how much water is let in with giant gates. To the south, near the city, there are many small gates that control the flow to the rivers beneath Xhaxhu. Those are the gates that have been closed to choke off the water and create the drought. The plan is to throw all the gates to the north open, allowing the ocean to rise. The engineers have already begun. I can see that the ocean level is far above normal.”

“Isn't that dangerous?” I asked. “I mean, if they let too much in?”

“No,” Teek continued. “The next step will be to open the gates to the south. The rivers of Zadaa will flow again, higher and faster than ever before.”

I thought back to the deep, dry riverbed near the flume. When I first saw it, the water moved through quickly and powerfully, fed by the tall waterfall. Now the water was long gone, but I could envision water suddenly spewing from the top of the waterfall and crashing down into the dry trough, filling it with a violent, relentless surge. The same would happen to all the dry riverbeds. The water would quickly find its way up to the streets of Xhaxhu, filling the troughs and recharging the fountains. Some on the surface might think this was good news, signaling the end of the drought. They'd be right, at least about the drought being over. Those below would quickly learn that the return of water wasn't such a good thing.

I looked to Loor and said, “When the Ghee see the water suddenly return to the rivers, what will they do?”

Before Loor could answer, Teek said, “They will die. Even if they decide to call off the invasion, there will not be enough time to escape. That is when the final step will be taken. There are giant overflow gates throughout the underground that lead to runoff tunnels. They were designed to carry off excess water should there be a flood, or the control gates malfunction.”

“I've seen those,” I said. “Giant silver disks built into the tunnel walls?”

“Yes,” Teek said. “Today they will be used for another purpose. When the control gates to the south are opened, the gates leading to the runoff tunnels will also be opened. These tunnels will quickly fill with water.”

“There is enough water to do all of this?” Loor asked.

“So they say,” Teek answered. “The gates to the north will all be opened. Thousands of water sources will be channeled into the ocean. It will take only minutes to fill the overflow tunnels. That's when the overflow gates will be opened, flooding the entire underground.”

“Drowning every Batu below,” I said.

“And leaving Xhaxhu open to attack by every marauding tribe on Zadaa,” added Loor.

“It's a hideous plan,” Teek said. “But the elite are convinced it's our only chance of survival.”

“They are wrong!” Loor shouted. “Killing the Batu will be their own suicide!”

“Saint Dane has convinced them otherwise,” Teek said. “I believe it is a horrible mistake. So did Bokka. He died trying to warn you. I would do anything to stop it, but it is too late.”

“Maybe not,” I said.

Everyone looked at me with surprise. As Teek was explaining the Rokador plan, I got an idea. It may have been a long shot, but at least it was a shot.

“We cannot stop the Batu,” Saangi warned. “It is too late.”

“She is right, Pendragon,” Alder said. “Saangi showed me the dygo machines gathering in the sands outside of Xhaxhu. There were hundreds of them. We watched as they rose up on legs and began drilling into the ground. They are coming. The only reason we arrived here before them is we had a map. I would not be surprised if they are nearing Kidik as we speak.”

Teek added, “With so little time, there is no way to convince the elite of their mistake. The water gates to the north are open. The ocean is rising.”

“I know,” I said. “We can't stop the attack and we can't stop the Rokador. Our only hope is to control the controller.”

“I do not understand,” Loor said.

“This all comes down to the water-control device in the center of this building,” I said. “If we can't get the elite to stop the flood, maybe we can do it ourselves.”

Loor's face brightened. She said, “You mean, seize control of the machinery?”

“Exactly,” I said. “Shut it down. Reverse the flow. Whatever.” I looked to Teek and asked, “Do any of the other Tiggen guards agree with you? Do they know what a mistake this is?”

“Many do,” Teek answered.

“Find them!” I ordered Teek. “Bring them to the master control station. Now!”

“But—”

“Go!” I shouted.

Teek took off running. My mind was in overdrive. This seemed to be our only hope. There was no time for debate. We had to act.

“Wait, stop!” I called to Teek. He put on the brakes.

“Are there any dygos here on Kidik Island?” I asked.

“Yes, there are two housed on the far side of this building.”

“Good. Go!”

“Why do you want a dygo?” Loor asked. “To attack the control station?”

“No,” I said. “I want a chance of getting our butts out of here after it all hits the fan. We've got to do what we can to save Zadaa, but win or lose, if we're trapped here, Saint Dane wins. The whole thing. Halla. Before we make another move, you all have to promise me something. Whatever happens, there's going to be a point when we've done all we can. Promise me when that time comes, we'll all get out together.”

“I agree,” Alder said. “That is the wise thing to do.”

I looked at Loor. She didn't answer right away. This had to be tough for her. Finally she said, “I understand, Pendragon. You are right. When you say it is time to go, we will go.”

I looked at Saangi, and she nodded in agreement.

“Good,” I said. “Saangi, can you drive a dygo?”

“I drove here, did I not?” she answered.

“Perfect. You heard Teek. Find one. Bring it here.”

Saangi looked to Loor. Loor gave her a reassuring nod.

“Of course,” Saangi answered brightly, thrilled to be part of the plan. She turned and ran off. It was down to the three of us. Me, Loor, and Alder. We exchanged nervous looks. It was a brief moment of calm and a chance for us to catch our breaths.

“Seems like old times,” I finally said.

The two nodded knowingly. We had been here before. The three of us. We had become different people than the three kids who fought to save Denduron. Though it had been only a short few years since that battle, we had each gained a lifetime of experience. I could only hope we would be as successful—and lucky.

As the three of us stood there, on the edge of that vast cemetery, there was only one thing I was certain of. These would be the last few quiet moments we would have for a very long time.