The Soldiers of Halla (31 page)

“Kasha?” the voice gasped in disbelief.

Kasha turned and faced the klee.

“Hello, Boon,” she said. “I can't tell you how happy I am to see you.”

The light brown klee stood there for a moment, stunned.
He then ran to Kasha and threw his paws/arms/hands/ whatever around her. The two hugged like long-lost friends, which was exactly what they were.

“I—I don't understand,” Boon mumbled. He was in tears. “I saw you die. In that tunnel.”

Kasha glanced to me. I wondered how deep an explanation she was going to offer her friend.

“Obviously, I didn't. I was able to escape and was nursed back to health.”

Smart move.

“Do you remember Pendragon?”

Boon looked at me and his eyes grew even wider.

“Pendragon!” he screamed, and leaped at me.

It was kind of scary. After all, klees ate us tasty gars now. But Boon wrapped his furry arms around me and gave me just as big a hug as he'd given to Kasha.

“You shouldn't be here, Pendragon!” he exclaimed. “It's too dangerous!”

“I know, Boon, it's okay.”

Boon was just as full of energy and enthusiasm as I'd remembered. He pulled back from me and held me at arm's length to size me up.

“You've grown,” he declared. “You are stronger.”

I shrugged. He was right.

“What about Spader and Gunny?” he asked. “I haven't heard from them since…since…”

“Since the klees kicked out the gars?” I asked.

Boon nodded. “Yes. Are they all right? Are they still in Black Water?”

“No,” I said.

He relaxed. “That's a good thing.”

Alarms went off in my head.

“Why's that? Has something happened to Black Water?”

“No,” he answered. “Not yet.”

Kasha and I exchanged looks.

“Tell us what's happening,” she said to Boon.

Boon took a quick look around, as if to make sure nobody was watching.

“Come,” he said. “Into my home. It would not be good to be seen by a Ravinian guard.”

Ravinian guard. Unbelievable. It didn't matter what territory or what race or even what species was on a world, the Ravinians' control of Halla was complete.

As it turned out, Kasha had brought us to the platform that led into the tree where Boon lived. It was a small, old-school Leeandra apartment structure built into the hollow tree. There were old, crumbling chairs and threadbare rugs on the floor. Boon didn't live in luxury. We made ourselves comfortable, and Boon gave us some sweet drink that re-energized me. He also gave me one of his old cloth shirts, so I didn't have to walk around half naked.

“So much has happened since you two left,” Boon told us. “I don't know where to begin.”

I wanted to learn it all, but I was much more concerned about the future. About Edict Forty-six and what it would mean to the gars and the exiles in Black Water.

“Let me guess,” I said. “Things were going really well between the klees and the gars. Once the klees understood that the gars were intelligent, they began to accept them, and a new society began to emerge. But then came Ravinia.”

Boon sat down on the floor next to me.

“How could you know?” he asked.

“The same kind of thing has been happening all over Halla. The Ravinians promise a better way of life, but in
order to achieve it, they only reward those who provide something they consider valuable to society. Those who don't make the cut are cast aside or reduced to slavery. I'm guessing that Ravinia was the beginning of the end for the gars here in Leeandra.”

“That was exactly it!” Boon exclaimed. “The Circle of Klee had become just ‘the Circle,' to allow the gars to be part of it. Now it is called ‘the Circle of Ravinia.'”

“Of course it is,” I said with a sarcastic huff.

“The rights of the gars were reduced instantly. They barely had time to get used to being equals when the Ravinians began tossing them out into the jungle.”

“Why weren't they kept around to perform the menial jobs?” Kasha asked. “Like before?”

“Because there were plenty of klees to do that,” Boon answered. “Ravinia separated those klees they considered special from those who did not contribute. The chosen were given incredible houses and positions of power, while everyone else was forced into building the new city.”

“And I'm guessing the gars were considered beneath even them, so they were cast out. Right?”

Boon nodded.

“What happened to you, Boon?” Kasha asked.

Boon dropped his head. He looked ashamed. “I was just a lowly forager, and not a very good one at that. I thought the part I played in bringing the gars from Black Water would allow me to be part of the elite. I was wrong. Actually, I think it hurt me. They saw me as a gar sympathizer. I'm no longer a forager. My job is to clean the sewage lines that carry waste from the new buildings. I am easily replaceable, as they tell me each day. Look at this apartment. I'm lucky to still have it. Soon this will be taken over by the Circle
of Ravinia and knocked down, and another mansion will be erected. I'll have to live in the outskirts of the city, at a place they call the Horizon Compound. I hear that klees live four to a room there, with little food and even less comfort.” Boon sighed. “The future for Eelong seemed so bright.”

“Until Ravinia,” I said.

“Yes, until Ravinia.”

Kasha added, “And now Edict Forty-six is about to be repealed. It sickens me.”

Boon shook his head. “Oh, no. Edict Forty-six was rescinded long ago. Gars are regularly killed and eaten for food.”

Kasha shot me a surprised look. Then to Boon she said, “But I overheard some foragers say that something important was about to happen that would make the hunt for food so much easier. I assumed they meant the repeal of Edict Forty-six.”

Boon's expression turned even darker. “Something
is
about to happen to make the hunt for food easier,” he explained. “But it isn't the repeal of Edict Forty-six.”

“Then what is it?” I asked.

“It's why I asked about Gunny and Spader,” Boon answered. “The klee army has been massing and training for a long time now. They play their maneuvers out on the old wippen fields. I have never seen so many soldiers assemble in one place.”

“What are they training for?” I asked nervously.

“I am not supposed to know, but as a worker, I turn up in many places that most would never expect. I have heard the plans.”

“What, Boon?” I demanded.

“The army is going to march on Black Water,” he stated
flatly. “Whatever gars are not killed in the strike will be captured and kept alive—”

“For food,” I said, numb.

Boon nodded. “The army is immense. The gars won't stand a chance.”

“Do you think they know of the exiles?” Kasha asked.

“What exiles?” was Boon's answer.

“Doesn't matter,” I said. “The klees won't know the difference between a gar or a human. Or care.”

“What's a human?” Boon asked, confused.

“Show me, Boon,” I demanded. “I need to see this army.”

“Can you do that?” Kasha asked Boon.

Boon thought a moment, then nodded. “Yes. I know a trail through the trees, along a route that is off-limits to most, but I have the combinations to the locks, since I clean everywhere. I can show you the entire klee army.”

“Now,” I said. “I want to see them now.”

“Why?” Boon asked. “They train the same way in the same location every day.”

“I want to know what we're up against” was my simple answer.

“Up against!” Boon said, aghast. “You cannot stop this army!”

“Let me be the judge of that,” I said boldly.

Kasha stood up. “I'm sorry if this is difficult for you, Boon, but it's important.”

Boon pounced to his feet. “You don't have to convince me. I'm happy to be back in action!”

I took the tarp from the forager wheelbarrow and draped it over my head in case we were spotted by a Ravinian guard. Or any other hungry klee, for that matter. Since Edict Forty-six had already been repealed, there were no restrictions on
Bobby-chow. Boon led us on a journey along the catwalk pathways that snaked across the treetops of Leeandra.

“Most klees don't come up here,” Boon explained. “Only the workers. We're able to move equipment and supplies without having to bother the klees below.”

“Typical Ravinians,” I scoffed. “They want everybody to do their dirty work, but don't want to see how it's done.”

“That's pretty much it,” Boon agreed.

Every so often we'd hit a doorway that had a complex lock made from twisted bamboo. They were primitive combination locks, and Boon knew all the combinations.

“I'd get lost up here,” Kasha said.

“I have. More than once.” Boon chuckled. “How do you think I learned my way around?”

We traveled for at least twenty minutes, moving from bridge to bridge, level to level, until we drew near the large, grassy wippen fields.

“Just past this last tree,” Boon explained. “That's where you'll see them. Be careful; once we're over their heads, we can be seen.”

“Don't worry, I don't want to be eaten,” I said.

“That would be the least of your problems,” Boon said somberly. “This army is training to invade the gar stronghold. If they saw a gar spying on them from above, I don't think there'd be enough of you left to eat.”

Oh. Thanks for that.

We cautiously approached a thick tree. The pathway continued through the center of it. All three of us entered into the dark of the tunnel. Boon stopped us before we could exit out the other side.

“Now be careful, and quiet. No sudden moves. When you pass through that opening, look down. We're directly
above the wippen fields. The armies are below. Hopefully they'll be in the middle of one of their mock battles and won't notice us. You still want to risk going out there?”

“I have to, Boon. We have to know what the gars are up against, because we're going to have to try and stop them.”

“Oh,” Boon said. “Then I suppose you really are a spy.”

“Absolutely.”

“Good. I will go first and signal for you to come if it is safe.”

Boon padded quietly (which was easy for him since he was a cat) out and onto the bridge that continued beyond the wide tree. Cautiously he peered down over the edge. Kasha and I watched nervously, waiting for his signal.

It didn't come.

“What is he waiting for?” Kasha whispered nervously.

Boon stood on the bridge, looking down. His body language changed. He no longer kept low to make himself less visible. He stood up straight on his back two feet.

“What is it?” Kasha called to him.

Boon looked back to us. There was no expression on his face. He slowly lifted his paw and motioned for us to join him. Kasha and I crept forward quickly. We stayed low and quietly stepped out onto the bridge. I held my breath. We were about to see the enemy. The army below was gathered, organized, and trained to march on Black Water. It was a gruesome hunt for food that could end up wiping out the last hope for the salvation of Halla. Did Saint Dane know that? Was this his doing? If the invasion succeeded, he wouldn't need the dado army on Third Earth. He wouldn't need to use any of his dark power to create another flume. Halla would be his.

I prepared myself for the worst. Would the army be
mechanized? How would they be armed? Would this be a primitive army of cats? Or had Ravinia somehow developed more deadly weapons? Maybe most important, would we find that the army was filled with dados? As we crept out onto that bridge and looked below, I expected all of those questions to be answered.

They weren't. What I saw below was far worse than anything I could have imagined.

“I don't understand,” Boon said, sounding as dumb as I felt.

What we saw below was…nothing. The wippen fields were empty. The armies were gone.

“I do,” I gasped. “They're on their way. They've already left for Black Water.”

H
ow long?” I asked.

“How long what?” Boon replied.

“Since you saw them the last time!” I shouted. My heart was pounding. I had the sick feeling that we were too late.

“Yesterday. Maybe the day before. I don't remember.”

“It's a long day's ride to the mountains that surround Black Water,” Kasha reasoned. “I believe an army the size that Boon described would take at least twice as long to get there.”

“So if they left two days ago, we're too late,” I snarled.

“Let's hope they left yesterday” was Kasha's reasoned answer.

“We've got to get there,” I said. “Before they do.”

“There's only one way to do that,” Kasha offered.

I knew exactly what she meant, and it wasn't about going back to Solara and hoping that the spirit would send us back to Black Water.

“You think you can still fly?” I asked.

“No!” Boon shouted in protest. “You want to steal a gig?”

I shrugged. “We've done it before.”

“Things have changed, Pendragon,” Boon argued. “The Ravinian security is much tighter. Leeandra is on a war footing.”

“Good,” I said. “Then they won't be surprised when we bring the war to them.”

“You do not have to help us, Boon,” Kasha said sincerely. “You have already done far more than I should ever have asked for.”

Boon looked back and forth between the two of us. “Wait,” he said. “Do you think for one second that I would
not
come with you? I am your acolyte, Kasha. And in case you did not understand, I have no love for the Ravinians. Trust me, I want to do everything I can to stop them. If that means trying to steal a gig and landing in the middle of Black Water, so be it. I just want you to know the risks.”

Kasha smiled. “Thank you, Boon. We understand the risks.”

“Then when do we leave?” he asked.

“How about yesterday?” was my obnoxious answer.

The three of us made our way quickly across the sky bridges, headed for the tree that housed the hangar where the gigs were stored. Kasha and I had flown one of the small, two-seater helicopters to Black Water once before, and ended up in a dogfight over the jungle with other, more-experienced gig pilots. We won. I hoped that she was just as sharp with her flying skills as she'd been back then. No, what I really hoped for was that she wouldn't have to use those skills again. An uneventful flight would be just fine. But first we had to get a gig.

The trip back was easy. I kept the tarp over my head and couldn't see much. Kasha and Boon more or less led me along. I'm sure we got plenty of strange glances, but
nobody stopped us. The gig hangar was in the same spot as I remembered, but as with the rest of Leeandra, it had changed. My memory of the place was that it was a massive space hollowed out from one of the monster trees, high in the air. One whole side of the tree was open, under which a launch platform was built out over the city. Launching a gig meant wheeling it out from inside the tree and onto the platform, and taking off from there. All of that was the same…but there was more. The first change I noticed was that when we reached the doorway that led into the back of the hangar, there were no guards.

“What happened to the increased security?” I asked.

Boon shrugged. “I don't know, Pendragon. I clean sewers. They don't discuss those details with me.”

“Oh. Right. Sorry.”

“Perhaps they don't need security anymore,” Kasha said soberly. “The gigs may all be gone to support the army.”

“Let's find out,” I said, and dropped the tarp for the last time. I hoped.

I boldly went for the wooden door that led into the hangar. Opening it cautiously, I was met with darkness.

“I don't get it,” I said softly, for fear there were Ravinians inside. “Are we in the right place?”

“Yes,” Boon answered. “There is no other hangar.”

“Then why is it dark? The opening where they launch the gigs is huge.”

Kasha didn't wait for the answer that Boon didn't have. She pushed past me and into the hangar.

It was definitely the same hangar, but with one big difference. The opening through which the gigs were launched now had massive doors that looked to be made from bamboo. They were closed. I waited for my eyes to
adjust, which was something Kasha and Boon didn't have to worry about. After all, they were cats.

“The gigs are here,” Kasha whispered.

My eyes hadn't adjusted enough to make out any detail, but I could sense that the room was full. That was a relief. At least the klees weren't planning another aerial attack on Black Water. The gigs were there for the taking. But it wouldn't be easy. Not only were the giant doors shut, the helicopters were powered by crystals fueled by light from the sunbelt. Good news was that it was daytime, without a cloud in the sky. Bad news was that it wouldn't matter how much light there was outside if we couldn't open those doors to get at it.

“Look,” Kasha said, pointing high above.

I saw a room two stories up, built out from the hangar wall. It looked like a control room with an open balcony surrounding it. My guess was that it was a flight tower where they coordinated the gig launches. A light was on inside the room. I clearly saw a klee sitting inside.

Kasha continued, “I would guess the hangar doors are controlled from up there.”

My eyes had adjusted enough to see that there was a set of open stairs built against the wall that led up to the control room. The way to go seemed obvious.

“Find a gig,” I said to Kasha. “Boon and I will go up there and open the doors. As soon as the light comes in, power up.”

“You cannot fight a klee,” Kasha warned.

I grabbed Kasha's forager weapon that she always had strapped to her back. It was a long wooden stick much like the ones Loor and the Batu warriors used.

“I can fight one klee,” I said.

“And I'll be with him,” Boon added.

“Even so, we can't fight a bunch of klees,” I cautioned. “Once things start getting nasty, we've got to get out of here fast.”

Kasha nodded. There wasn't any more to be discussed. I tapped Boon on the back and motioned for him to head for the stairs. We wound our way through the gigs, trying to hide from the eyes of the klee up above in the control room. If there was one thing we needed, it was surprise. If that klee thought he was being attacked, I'd bet anything that there was an alarm he could sound and bring others running. We had to be quiet and fast and out of there before he knew what hit him, which hopefully would be the end of Kasha's stick.

At the bottom of the stairs I stopped Boon to strategize.

“Get him to come outside onto the balcony,” I instructed.

“Are you sure?” Boon asked, uncertain. “I know you're brave, Pendragon, but you're not a warrior.”

I almost laughed. I probably would have if I hadn't been afraid of alerting the klee.

“Boon,” I whispered. “A lot has changed since we were together. Just get him outside.”

I think he sensed my confidence and didn't question me again. The klee pounced up the stairs on all fours. Though he moved quietly, the stairs rattled under his weight. The klee in the control room would know pretty quickly that somebody was coming up. Hopefully, when he saw another klee, he wouldn't think anything bad was about to happen to him…because something bad was about to happen to him. The stairs twisted and turned as we climbed. I kept one section of stairs between us, thinking that if the klee came out to see who was coming up, he'd see Boon and not me.

When Boon was almost to the top, he gave me a quick look. I waved as if to say, “Go for it.” He continued on up to the balcony, where a closed door led into the room. He didn't open it. Instead, he walked around on the balcony to the front of the room, where there were two large windows that looked out from the control room onto the hangar floor. I could lean out, look up, and see Boon as he rapped on the glass. I couldn't see the klee inside, but I saw Boon gesture for him to come outside.

This was it. I crouched low on the stairs. Directly above me was the door into the room. As soon as the klee came out and turned to round toward Boon, I'd have my chance to spring from behind and knock him into next week.

The door opened. The klee came storming out, looking angry. I guess he didn't like having surprise visitors knocking on his window. I was close enough to see that he wore a red Ravinian guard uniform. I stayed low, hoping he wouldn't see me on the stairs. He walked around the balcony to the front, where Boon waited for him.

“Who are you?” the klee demanded to know. “This is a restricted area. You are not authorized to be—”

Before he could finish the sentence, I jumped up onto the balcony and clocked him on the side of the head. Hard. My plan had worked. Everything went perfectly, except that the klee barely reacted, other than to stop talking. Uh-oh. The klee slowly turned around to see what had hit him, so I hit him again.
Whack.
Right on the side of his cat head. The klee's head snapped to the side, but he wasn't hurt. My first thought was that it was impossible. I had nailed the guy with two blows that should have crushed him. The truth hit back a second later.

“Dado,” I gasped.

The cat jumped at me, paws up, claws out. I was so stunned that I barely moved. By all rights the thing should have torn me apart, but Boon jumped at the klee and tackled him from behind. The dado klee hit the floor of the balcony with Boon on top of him.

“The hangar door!” Boon yelled.

Right. The reason we were there. I backed away and went for the control room. Inside I saw that besides the door that led to the balcony, there was another door in the back wall of the room that must have led inside the tree. I feared there might be klees beyond that door, so I jammed Kasha's weapon against it, hoping it might give us an extra few seconds.

On the balcony, Boon and the klee were wrestling. I didn't know what kind of fighter Boon was, but there was no way he'd be able to battle a dado for long. I had to get the hangar doors open so that Kasha could power up a gig, then get back out to help my friend.

There was a long control panel with dozens of toggle switches. I really wished there was one that read:
HANGAR DOORS
. There wasn't. Luckily, most of the switches were the same size, which meant they must have more or less done the same thing. Whatever that was. To the far right of the panel was a large toggle switch. It looked just as good as any, so I threw it.

The overhead lights went on, bringing the hangar to life. The hangar doors didn't budge though. On the far left of the panel was another large toggle. I quickly went for it and threw it. Two things happened. With a jolt and a screech, the giant doors at the front of the hangar began to slide open. They separated in the middle and slowly moved to either side, like a curtain on a stage, opening up our escape
route. Sunlight streamed in, which meant Kasha would have power. That was all great except for the second thing that happened.

Alarms blared. There must have been a special security process required to properly open those doors. Unfortunately, I didn't know it. I had no doubt that we would soon be flooded with Ravinian guards, because you didn't need to have the acute hearing of a cat to hear the harsh, jangling horn that honked incessantly. I ran for the door to help Boon as the back door into the control room blew open. The bad guys had arrived sooner than expected. Kasha's weapon did nothing to keep the door closed. A Ravinian klee burst into the room, picked me up, and threw me against the far wall of the control room, opposite the door to the balcony. I was trapped. A Ravinian klee was between me and the way out. There was nothing good that could come of this scenario. I figured I could battle the klee for a while, but his claws would make for a short fight. I was all set to step out of there and go back to Solara when I saw something leaning against the control panel that made perfect sense. These were dados. Dados that were built on Third Earth. There was no more pretense about not mixing territories. Saint Dane had seen to that. So it made perfect sense that if dados were on Eelong, they would also have dado weapons. Leaning against the control panel was a long, silver wand exactly like the Ravinian dados used on Third Earth.

The klee went for me.

I went for the weapon.

I snagged it just as the klee swiped at me with its claws out. I ducked, feeling the whistle as he barely missed my head. My hands were on the weapon, but I didn't have
time to turn it on. Instead, I jammed the handle back into the dado's gut. Or whatever it is that area is called on a standing-up cat. The dado didn't flinch. Its instinct was to take another swipe at me. I didn't bother trying to block it. I just pushed away from the klee and fell down on my butt. It swiped nothing but air, then set its eyes on me and pounced.

I fumbled with the red power button. I didn't know if I'd have the chance to power it up and defend myself at the same time. It was more important to use it to ward off the attack than to damage the dado. I stopped worrying about the power and held up the silver wand. The cat did the rest. It leaped with all four paws in the air. Its eyes were locked on mine. It landed square on the point of the wand and seemingly perched there for a second, though I know that was impossible. I pushed, and the cat fell on the floor right next to me. Its lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling.

Dead cat.

I guess I'd gotten the power on.

There wasn't time to celebrate. Where there was one klee, there would be more. I jumped to my feet and ran for the door to the balcony. Outside, Boon was struggling with the first klee. He was holding his own, too. I think if Boon had known it was a robot, he wouldn't have been so bold. The klee kept swiping at Boon. Boon kept warding off the blows. He didn't bother to go in to attack the Ravinian, and I knew why. He wanted to keep it occupied long enough so that I could get the hangar doors open.