The Soldiers of Halla (18 page)

I asked, “Didn't the Rokador still need the Batu for protection against enemy tribes?”

“No” was her quick reply. “They found another means of protection. The Rokador brought in an army from another part of the territory. They proved to be superior warriors to the Batu and wasted no time in gaining control over them. I did not know that such an army existed on Zadaa, but it did, and the Rokador brought them here to vanquish the Batu and take their place.”

I saw a small group of these warriors marching together down the far side of the wide street. There were six of them, all marching in step. One look told me the truth.

“Dados,” I said. “They didn't come from Zadaa. The Ravinians brought them here, just like they did on other territories.”

“Whatever they are, they are demons,” Loor said through clenched teeth. “They have destroyed my people.”

“How did you find out about all this?” Spader asked.

“Come with me,” Loor answered.

She walked quickly, keeping her head down so nobody would recognize her as a Batu. She led us on a winding path through the transformed city. We reached the far wall and continued outside again to the vast farmland that fed the people of Xhaxhu. I wasn't surprised to find that all the people laboring under the hot sun were Batu. There were men and women and even kids. Dozens of them. They all worked under the watchful eyes of several dado guards. It made me feel horrible to see how this once-proud tribe found themselves working on their knees to feed the very people they once
protected. I could only imagine how it made Loor feel.

“I may be a spirit of Solara,” she said, her voice trembling. “But I am still a Batu. This is not right.”

The life she had known had been turned upside down. You could say that about all of the Travelers, but it must have been especially hard for her, knowing what a strong, proud person she was. I wished I could say or do something to make her feel better, but I had nothing to offer.

“What d'ya want us to see out here?” Spader asked.

Loor led us to several large carts that were piled high with what looked like potatoes. That's what the Batu were digging out of the dirt. Potatoes.

“Stay here, I will return,” she said, and walked away from us.

“You're right, mate,” Spader said to me wistfully. “Every territory has changed. We've lost every one of 'em.”

“It's not about the territories anymore,” I corrected. “It's about Halla.”

Spader nodded thoughtfully, then added, “Do we have any chance of turning the tide?”

“I don't know” was my honest answer. “But it's not like we can stop trying.”

“No,” he agreed. “We're in this till the end. Funny thing though.”

“What's that?”

“How are we going to know when the end comes?”

I was about to give him a quick answer, but stopped myself. The truth was, I didn't know. One way or the other. If Saint Dane found the exiles and wiped them out, would we all just stop existing? Would we even know that we had lost? And what if we won? What did that actually mean? Would things suddenly change? Would a gun go off and
confetti fly, and we'd all pat one another on the back in congratulations? Probably not. Spader's simple question raised so many others. I decided not to deal with predictions. There was enough to worry about. One thing at a time. But Spader's words haunted me.

How would we know?

“Hello, Pendragon,” came a familiar voice.

I turned to see that Loor had returned with one of the Batu workers from the farm. It was a woman, though that wasn't obvious, because she was dressed in rags and was covered in dust from head to toe. She was also drenched in sweat from her labors.

“It has been a very long time,” the woman said. She sounded tired and beaten.

“Do I know you?” I asked, digging through my memory to try and remember who she might be.

“I have grown since you saw me last. I used to be a warrior. Now I dig in the dirt. But I am still an acolyte to Loor.”

“Saangi!” I shouted, and threw my arms around her. I did it without thinking. If I had thought for two seconds, I probably wouldn't have hugged her. Saangi wasn't the huggy type. She was a tough little girl who wanted nothing more than to follow in Loor's footsteps. She didn't like me much either. She thought I was a wimp. I'd gained some respect after I went through warrior training with Loor and Alder, but I still had the feeling that she thought I was a step above useless.

I was surprised to find that Saangi hugged back. Yet another example of how much things had changed.

“What has happened?” she whispered in my ear, her voice quivering.

I felt a drop of her sweat on my cheek. Or maybe it was a tear. My heart ached. Saangi was beaten. She was a slave. Knowing the kind of strong girl she had once been made it all the more gut wrenching. She didn't let go of me. Instead, she cried. I felt her body shudder with emotion. All I could do was hug her closer.

“Saangi told me of the rise of Ravinia here, and the destruction of the Batu,” Loor explained. “But there is more. Something you should hear.”

Saangi pulled away from me and sniffed back a tear.

“There is talk of a group being held captive,” she explained. “They are prisoners of the Rokador. Of Ravinia. We do not know all there is to know—that news only comes from overhearing the Rokador speaking when they do not think we are listening.”

I gave Spader a quick, hopeful look.

“How many are there?” he asked.

“I do not know,” she answered. “Many. Perhaps enough to fill a city.”

I had to stop from shouting with excitement.

“Is it possible?” Loor asked. “Could these be the exiles we seek?”

“‘Exiles,'” Saangi repeated. “I have heard that word.”

“Hobey, this could be it,” Spader cried with obvious excitement.

“Only one way to find out,” I said, then looked to Saangi. “Do you know where they are being held prisoner?”

“Yes, I do, as do you.”

“Uh, what?” I asked dumbly.

Saangi smiled. She actually smiled. That didn't happen much.

“It is a place you may not have fond memories of,” she
said slyly. “For you it was a training ground. It has become a prison.”

“Mooraj,” I declared. I knew that place all too well. It was the abandoned Ghee warrior training camp in the desert, where Loor and Alder battered me into becoming a warrior. When the Rokador tunnels collapsed and the tribes joined together, Mooraj had become a playground for both Batu and Rokador children. From the sound of it, there was no more playing going on.

“It is heavily guarded by the new warriors,” Saangi added. “If you seek those being held inside, it will be dangerous.”

“Thank you, Saangi,” I said. “I can't promise anything, but if these people turn out to be who I think they are, things might begin to change around here. For the better.”

“There is something you can do for me,” Saangi said.

“What's that?”

“Take me with you.”

I wasn't sure about that. Saangi was a warrior in training at one time, but things had changed. She was older, and the time spent laboring in the sun had taken its toll. Saangi looked frail.

I frowned and shook my head. “I wish we could, but if things get tough, I don't think you'll be able to—” I didn't get the chance to finish my sentence. Saangi spun, kicked my right leg out and grabbed Loor's stave that I had been holding. With one swift move she knocked me on the side of my head. I fell to my knees, looking up at the girl who suddenly looked every bit as formidable as Loor ever had.

Spader laughed. “Can Saangi be on my team?” he asked.

I rubbed my sore cheek and looked to Loor.

She shrugged and smiled proudly. “A Batu warrior does not forget.”

I looked back to Saangi. Her tears were gone. I slowly got to my feet and took the stave from her.

“Let's stop picking potatoes and see what's happening at Mooraj,” I said to her.

Saangi smiled in relief. Like Spader, I wanted her on our team.

W
e needed a way to get to Mooraj.

It was too far to walk and there were no such thing as cars or trains on Zadaa. The solution came from Saangi.

With a satisfied grin she said, “I have been looking for an opportunity to use my skills once again.”

I didn't ask what she meant by that. Spader and I were instructed to wait on the outskirts of the farm, while Loor and Saangi returned to Xhaxhu to carry out her plan. Whatever it was. All Spader and I could do was wait.

“Suppose we get there and find the place is loaded with exiles?” Spader asked. “Then what?”

“We go to Solara and bring Uncle Press back in,” I answered.

“And what will
he
do?”

I shrugged. “Let's just find them first.”

The truth was, I was forming a plan of my own. But I didn't want to talk about it, or even seriously consider it, until we found the exiles. Too much was up in the air for me to start getting everybody all worked up about something that might never happen. We had to stay with the mission,
find the exiles, and make sure they were safe. Once that happened,
if
that happened, I'd reveal my thoughts.

We only had to wait a few minutes before two robed Rokador trotted up to us on horseback, each leading another horse. All four horses had wooden staves strapped to their saddles. The riders heads were covered by white hoods, but I knew who they were.

“How did you pull this off?” I called out.

Loor and Saangi took down their hoods. They both beamed. They were back in the saddle, so to speak.

“It seems,” Loor explained coyly, “the new warriors are not as invincible as we thought.” She threw down two white Rokador outfits. Spader and I now had white pants and white tunics with hoods. We would be as good as invisible. Spader and I quickly put on the new, lightweight clothing over our own.

Saangi said, “I do not believe those warriors are flesh and blood.”

“They aren't,” I replied as Spader and I mounted up. “And they aren't from Zadaa. But they're still going to come looking for their horses.”

“By then we will be at Mooraj,” Loor announced, and kicked her horse into gear. “I look forward to meeting more of those warriors.”

“As do I,” Saangi said, and followed after her.

Spader looked to me with wide eyes. “Those two scare me.”

“Good thing they're on our side,” I said with a chuckle.

The four of us rode across the wide-open countryside of Zadaa. The rivers that once flowed beneath the ground now provided enough irrigation to turn arid desert into rolling, grassy hills that stretched all around us for as far as I could see. There were no roads. We followed narrow trails that
had been tramped by other horses. I'd like to say it was a huge improvement over what used to be, but it was hard to say that, knowing how Ravinia controlled it all. It was a steep price to pay for grass and wildflowers. I kept scanning the horizon, expecting to run into some Rokador. Or worse, a patrol of Ravinian guards. Being confronted wouldn't have been the end of the world. They had no long-distance communication on Zadaa. No radios. No cell phones or walkie-talkies. If we came upon a patrol, we would have to take them out. Simple as that. We couldn't risk them going to Mooraj, or back to Xhaxhu for reinforcements. No, if we happened upon random travelers, they would regret it.

It was hard to judge distance on rolling hills. It's not like there were signposts saying:
MOORAJ
–
THIS WAY
or
ONLY FIVE MILES TO MOORAJ
. I had to trust that Loor and Saangi knew the way.

Finally, after getting a little saddle sore, I saw the beginnings of the wall that surrounded the training camp.

“We must use caution to hide our approach,” Loor advised. “We will keep to the troughs.”

Loor led us on a winding route around the higher hills, using them to block any view of us. It was a good move, except that my butt was in agony. Riding was something you had to get in shape for, and I wasn't. At least, my butt wasn't. I looked to Spader, wondering if he was having the same trouble. As usual, Spader looked as fresh as if he had only been riding for a few minutes. He must have recognized the pain on my face, because he said, “I've been riding zenzens on Eelong, remember?”

I shrugged and grimaced. I didn't want to let on how sore I was.

Finally, mercifully, Loor motioned for us to stop. She got
off her horse and handed the reins to Saangi, then lay down on her belly and crawled to the top of a rise. She peered cautiously over the crest and motioned for Spader and me to follow. I got off the horse and had to stop myself from letting out a huge, relieved “Ahhhh.” No way I was getting back up on that beast.

Saangi took control of our horses while Spader and I crawled up to join Loor. The three of us peered over the top to see we weren't more than a half mile from the walls of Mooraj. The place looked pretty much as I remembered it. There was a formidable sandstone wall that surrounded the camp. I could see only the hint of the tops of structures inside, but they didn't look any different from when I had been there to train. There were no silver buildings or weird sculptures. All looked normal, except for one thing.

“Hobey,” Spader exclaimed. “Quite the tricky-do.”

The place was surrounded by Ravinian guards. Dozens of them. For whatever reason, they didn't think they needed much security at Xhaxhu, but Mooraj was being guarded like a fortress.

“There's definitely something in there they don't want to let out,” I observed.

“And that will make it difficult to get in,” Loor commented.

“No offense, mates,” Spader added, “but I don't think we stand much chance with swinging sticks against that army.”

We were stuck. There was no way we could fight our way in. I thought that maybe it was time to do a little shape-shifting, but that had to be a last resort. Besides, the idea of turning into a bird or smoke or anything other than Bobby Pendragon kind of creeped me out.

“What's that?” Spader asked.

I looked to the right of the sprawling fortress to see a small, stone building about thirty yards from the wall.

“It is the entrance to the underground tunnels,” Loor answered.

I looked at Loor. She looked at me. We were on the same page.

“Does the tunnel end there?” I asked.

“No,” she said thoughtfully. I could tell that her mind was racing to possibilities. “The transfer trains are housed beneath Mooraj.”

“It will be guarded,” I cautioned.

“But with fewer warriors than outside the walls.”

“We won't know how many until we get there.”

“But it is our best opportunity.”

Spader had been looking back and forth between the two of us, trying to catch up. He finally couldn't take it anymore and blurted out, “Stop! What are we talking about here?”

“I think we have a way in,” I answered.

We let the horses go. We didn't need them anymore, and even if we did, it would have been impossible to hide them. My aching butt would have rebelled, anyway. So the horses were history. We crept through the valleys, doing our best to shield ourselves from curious eyes. In no time we found ourselves a few yards from the stone hut.

“I see no guards,” Loor commented.

“Wait,” I said, and quickly ran for the hut. Once there, I pressed myself against the far side, away from Mooraj. No alarms sounded. No Ravinian jumped out and tried to beat my brains in. I glanced inside the darkened hut. It was empty. Why weren't there any guards here? I waved the others to come forward.

“I will go first,” Loor whispered. “Wait for my call.”

I didn't argue. If she wanted to take on the first guard, that was okay by me. Heck, she probably needed to get out a little aggression anyway. After learning what happened to her people, I had the feeling she would welcome a fight. Loor held her wooden stave out in front, ready to do some damage. A moment later she entered the dark stairway. The three of us waited and listened. Loor descended silently. If a Ravinian guard was down there, he wouldn't know what hit him. I kept expecting to hear the sounds of a fight. Instead, we heard a single word.

“Come,” she called to us.

I went first, followed by Saangi and then Spader. I remembered the stairs. We had taken the small train from one of the tunnels deep within Rokador territory to this very spot. These were the stairs I climbed to get my first sight of Mooraj, the camp where Loor and Alder taught me to be a warrior. Their vicious lessons served me well more times than I could remember. With each step down the stairwell, my hopes grew that this might actually be our way into the Mooraj camp, and our meeting with the exiles. We climbed down to a landing, turned, and continued into the dark. There was barely enough light for me to make out Loor's form standing on the next landing…in a foot of water.

“I should have known,” she announced, defeated. “The tunnel is flooded, just like all the rest of the tunnels.”

Of course. When the pent-up rivers of Zadaa had let loose, the water raged through every tunnel the Rokador had created over generations. The pressure became too much, and their tunnel system collapsed like a house of cards, creating the ocean near Xhaxhu. Many tunnels remained, but most were flooded, like this one.

“I guess that's why they don't bother guarding this entrance,” I declared.

“We have to find another way,” Saangi announced.

“Hold on, now,” Spader said. He stepped down into the water and scanned the area. “How far below us is the cross tunnel?”

“It is just below us,” Loor answered. “Perhaps a few feet.”

“And this leads to an open area under the camp?” he asked.

“It is where they kept the transfer trains,” Saangi said.

“Hobey,” Spader exclaimed. “I can swim that.”

“Impossible!” Loor blurted out. “No one can swim such a distance under the water.”

Spader gave me a knowing look. I shrugged.

“I'm an aquaneer,” he said with pride. “You may be a spiff warrior, but when it comes to playing in water, you're in my world.”

“What if you make it?” I asked. “Then what?”

“Depends on what I find. If it turns out not too natty, I can lead you back myself, one at a time. Or maybe find a rope to pull you through quickly. Or it may be too far for any of that, but we won't know unless I get wet and give it a lookey loo.”

Loor and Saangi frowned. They hated the idea.

I didn't.

“Do it,” I said.

“There you go!” Spader declared and quickly pulled off his white Rokador clothing to reveal his dark swimskin. He gave a quick look to Loor and Saangi and saw how unsure they were. “No worries, mates. This is what I do.”

They weren't convinced.

“If you get into trouble, you can always travel to another
territory,” I offered, then smiled. “Or I guess you could turn into a fish.”

Spader laughed. “You forget, mate, I'm already a fish.”

He took a few more steps down until the water was up to his waist. He hyperventilated a few times to fill his lungs with oxygen, then started to dive into the water, but in the wrong direction.

“Wait!” Saangi called out.

Spader looked up at her and gave her a big smile. “Just wanted to see if you were payin' attention.”

He turned in the other direction, jumped up, jackknifed, and dove into the dark. After one kick he was gone.

“He is an odd creature,” Saangi growled. “But I like him.”

I had to laugh. “Yeah, that's pretty much how I feel about him too. He's incredibly brave…and seriously crazy.”

Loor had been oddly silent. She stared at the dark water, as if hypnotized.

“He'll be okay,” I assured her.

“I believe he will,” she said. “But you are forgetting something, Pendragon. I cannot swim.”

Oops.

“I swim but not very well,” Saangi added.

“That's okay,” I assured them. “I'm a good swimmer, and I don't think I could make it that whole way underwater.”

“Then why are we attempting this?” Loor questioned.

“Because if anybody can find a way to get us through, it's Spader. If he thinks we can make it, we'll make it. If not, he won't risk it. Whatever he says, I'll trust him.”

My assurances didn't make them feel any better, but I was absolutely confident that Spader would give us an honest opinion. First he had to make it through himself. I was a little less confident about that, because he was swimming into the
unknown. We waited for several minutes. I wondered how long Spader could hold his breath. Two minutes? Three? More? I could probably squeak out about a minute and a half, but no more. A lot less if I was swimming for my life. But Spader was a pro. I wouldn't have been surprised if he could lung-bust at least three minutes, even while swimming hard. But the tunnel was dark. He could be a few feet away from air and not know it. Or what if he hit his head? After ten minutes I was beginning to think it wasn't such a hot idea to have sent him into the unknown. After another five minutes I started looking over my shoulder, expecting him to walk down the stairs after having left this territory out of desperation, and returned where it was dry.

“What if he does not return?” Saangi asked.

I hadn't considered that possibility, but it was starting to look as if we should. Before I could turn my thoughts to Plan B, the dark water started to churn. Something was moving below. It didn't seem to be a swimmer, either. I felt the stairs shudder slightly. The others did too. We exchanged curious looks.

“I have no idea” was all I could say.

The water continued to churn. The rumbling grew slightly more intense, then stopped. Abruptly. We all looked down into the depths, not sure of what to expect, when Spader appeared. He swam up to us, broke the surface, and let out a loud “Whoooo!” of joy.