The Tower (45 page)

Alia cried aloud, “Are you nuts?!”

Actually, I already knew from our experiments at the Psionic Research Center that my sister couldn’t re-grow limbs. I just couldn’t face what I was about to do. I wanted a few more seconds to steady my nerves.

I turned to Terry again. The water had crept up to her side now, and in only seconds, her head would be underwater. I looked into her terrified eyes as I lifted the ax above me. Terry whimpered a little, but then nodded. I slammed the ax head down onto her arm.

Terry screamed. Alia ran forward, dropping the flashlight. I picked it up before it rolled into the water and, throwing down the ax, I shined the light on Terry and Alia. I had amputated Terry’s left arm about a finger’s length below the elbow, and blood was gushing out of the severed limb. Carefully as not to get any of Terry’s blood on her hands, Alia was attempting to close up the wound.

The water was over our ankles. I pointed the flashlight toward the exit. To my horror, I saw that the doorway was already nearly completely submerged.

I looked at Terry again. The stump of her left arm was still bleeding, but the blood was no longer pouring out. It would have to wait.

“Time to go!” I shouted.

Terry looked at me, clearly in agony but unwilling to let it show any more than she could help. The room was almost diagonal now, and the water was rising much faster.

We jumped into the murky water and swam toward the exit, which by now was no longer visible. I ducked under the water and pulled myself through the doorframe, thanking my lucky stars that my flashlight didn’t go out, and praying that Alia and Terry were right behind me.

My head broke the water’s surface, and a moment later, my sister appeared at my side, followed by Terry. We swam forward and pulled ourselves out of the water and up onto the slanted floor of the narrow corridor.

Suddenly the towboat rocked violently, and then began to level itself. I realized that this was because our side was sinking much faster now. I heard the sound of rushing water from beyond the dark corridor. A moment later, a small wave washed over our feet as the corridor began to fill up with river water.

“We better hurry,” said Terry, wincing in pain.

We sloshed our way down the corridor to the staircase. By the time we reached it, the water was above my knees, and I had to keep a firm grip on Alia so she wouldn’t get swept back down the corridor.

“You first,” I said to Terry, noticing that she had lost so much blood that she seemed ready to pass out.

Gripping the railing with her right hand, Terry began pulling herself up the staircase one slow step at a time. The water was getting louder.

“Addy!”
cried Alia.
“It’s coming!”

I shined my light down the corridor, but all I could see was a dark, dead end. It was a moment before I realized that the dead end was actually a rapidly approaching wall of water.

“Ali, go!” I shouted, pushing my sister up the stairs.

I tried to follow, but suddenly I was underwater, being flushed back down the corridor deeper into the hull of the sinking boat. My flailing arms hit the sides of the corridor, and then I felt my head break the surface of the swiftly moving water. I coughed the dirty water out of my mouth and tried to take a deep breath, but the top of my head hit the ceiling and my mouth was underwater again. There were only inches of space left between the water and the ceiling. I pressed my face up against the ceiling, sputtering and coughing. And suddenly that air was gone too.

I opened my eyes in the water. There wasn’t the slightest flicker of light anywhere.

Chapter 17: A Force to be Reckoned With

A spotless white room. Clean sheets and a soft pillow. I turned my head to one side, looking out the window at the city below. New Haven. But this wasn’t my room. I turned my head the other way. There was an empty hospital bed against the wall, and on it sat a giant fluffy white unicorn. Where had I seen that unicorn before? I yawned once, and I no longer cared. Too sleepy. Just too sleepy. I closed my eyes and fell back into a deep, dreamless slumber.

When my eyes opened again, I found myself looking at the back of a man who was wearing a long white coat and a horrendously obvious toupee.

“Ah,” said Dr. Pales, turning around. “I was hoping you would wake before the weekend. You are still not brushing enough, you know.”

I stared at him for a moment, and then, with some concentrated effort, just managed to say, “Huh?”

“Nothing like a good drowning to help you sleep, don’t you think? Hope you didn’t swallow too many fishies.”

My vocal skills were finally returning to me, and I croaked, “I’m not dead?”

“No,” Dr. Pales said cheerfully, “but you were for about twenty minutes. Did you see the light?”

“Light?” I asked slowly. “What light?”

Dr. Pales laughed. “The light at the end of the tunnel, of course!”

“No,” I breathed, still too dazed to grasp what Dr. Pales was talking about. “No light. What is this place?”

Dr. Pales said rapidly, “If you were hoping for the afterlife you will have to be a bit more patient though considering the kind of risks you take I believe you may not be in for a very long wait.”

I stared at him, unsure what to say.

Dr. Pales smiled. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m a bit thirsty,” I replied.

He laughed again, saying, “I shall get you a glass of non-river water. I also promised to call Ms. Gifford as soon as you woke, so I’ll be right back, okay?”

It took a moment for what Dr. Pales had said to register in my mind, and I didn’t believe it until Cindy appeared at my door several minutes later. By then I had finished two glasses of non-river water.

“Adrian!” cried Cindy, rushing up to the side of my bed and hugging me. “You’re back!”

“You’re back too,” I breathed, putting my arms around her. “You’re back too, Cindy.”

Cindy released me and said, “I was so worried about you! Alia told me most of the story, but really, Adrian, you could have died! Oh, and your poor ear...”

“I’m fine,” I said, lightly running my fingertips along the uneven edge of what was left of my right ear. “This is nothing.”

I hadn’t actually seen it yet, but I decided that a mirror could wait.

“How did you...” I began. All my memories were rushing back to me now, and suddenly my head was spinning with questions.

“The Knights tracked me down,” said Cindy. “You led them to the Angel pyroid. They followed him to my escort.”

“Alia’s okay?”

“Yes,” said Cindy, and chuckled. “She’s back under Mr. Koontz’s care, but probably only for a few more days.”

“And Terry?”

“Alive and well,” said Cindy. Then she added sadly, “Or at least as well as she could be, under the circumstances.”

“Where are they?” I asked.

“I left your sister studying in her room. She doesn’t know you’re awake yet. I didn’t want her to jump on you, just in case you weren’t fit enough to survive it.”

“I’m more than fit enough to survive Alia,” I informed her. “But where’s Terry?”

Cindy paused, studying my face for a moment before saying quietly, “Terry is down below. In the holding block. Mr. Baker’s orders.”

“She’s in jail?” I asked incredulously. “After she led us to you? Baker put her back in jail?”

Cindy nodded.

I looked at her angrily. “Doesn’t anyone know why she helped the Angels in the first place?”

Cindy sighed. “Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as that, Adrian.”

“Have you seen her?” I asked, turning my head away.

“Yes. Alia and I have been down there every day. We’ve had some long talks.” Cindy laughed lightly and added, “Terry actually calls me Cindy now.”

I didn’t laugh. Terry was back in jail. I wanted to go see her too, but I wasn’t sure what I would say.

I looked back up at Cindy and asked, “How long was I asleep this time?”

“Three days, Adrian. They tell me you were clinically dead for a while, so I guess it isn’t such a long time to be unconscious, but you had us all worried sick.”

“I thought I was dead for sure,” I said, shuddering as I remembered my last moments in the black water.

“They found your breadcrumbs, Hansel,” Cindy said with a smile. “The Knights split into two groups at the boat. Half of them went after the pyroid, and the other half went inside to search for you guys. Terry told me she ran into them at the top of the stairs. Fortunately, one of the Knights was also a fish.” Noticing the lack of understanding on my face, Cindy added, “A water-breather, Adrian.”

Breadcrumbs... I looked down and touched the pendant around my neck. Instead of my usual amethyst, though, it was a green stone speckled with bits of red. Alia’s bloodstone.

“Oh,” said Cindy, looking down at the pendant, “sorry about that. Alia insisted on wearing yours until you woke. Would you like me to call her down?”

“Yes,” I answered, but at that moment, the door opened again and Mr. Baker strode in.

“Ah, so he really is awake,” said Mr. Baker, rubbing his hands together gleefully. “Excellent!”

“Hi,” I said, giving him a nervous little wave.

Mr. Baker approached my bed. “How are you doing?”

“I’m okay, Mr. Baker,” I said, pulling myself up into a sitting position. Three days was plenty of sleep, even after being dead for a while.

My only real problem at the moment was that, instead of an ordinary hospital gown, someone (probably Cindy) had dressed me in my bright pink pajamas. I was used to it at home, but it made me feel uncomfortably small in the presence of the leader of New Haven. I knew that Mr. Baker hadn’t come here merely to ask how I was doing.

Mr. Baker politely refrained from commenting on my girly appearance. Peering carefully into my eyes, he instead asked, “Are you fit enough for a short talk?”

I nodded, bracing myself.

“Very well,” Mr. Baker said crisply. “Adrian Howell, you have broken Guardian law. You used your psionic power and attacked one of our Knights in the holding block. You helped Teresa Henderson escape. You stole a police car and took a mad drive through the city. A
police
car, Adrian! Of all the insanity!”

I remained silent. Technically, the police car had been Terry’s idea, but I didn’t want to mention that. Nor was I about to remind Mr. Baker that two cops had been shot during the theft.

Mr. Baker took a deep breath before continuing in a loud and stern voice, “You and Terry were caught on the police car’s onboard camera. Do you have
any
idea what it cost us to keep your names and faces out of the news?! Not to mention what it took to keep the police from swarming that boat when they heard the gunshots. You have risked the public exposure of our entire settlement! I ought to have you locked up for the rest of your life!”

I glanced at Cindy. Despite the seriousness of what I had done, I couldn’t help feeling it slightly strange that Cindy was just standing back and letting Mr. Baker have his say. But Cindy’s eyes looked more amused than upset. I looked back up at Mr. Baker, who suddenly broke into a broad smile.

“Your insanity brought Cindy back to us,” said Mr. Baker, his smile becoming even wider. “Bless you, Adrian. You saved a very important part of New Haven.”

Cindy was smiling too, and I breathed my relief as Mr. Baker continued, “I hate to do this, Adrian. I really do. However, in light of your actions, the New Haven Council has demanded that I revoke your current Guardian membership.”

Mr. Baker paused, looking over my bed and out the window. It was hard to read his expression. His lips were bent down in a slight frown, but his eyes seemed to be pleased.

So he was happy that I had helped save Cindy, but nevertheless I was being banished from the Guardians. That wasn’t so bad. I could probably still live with Cindy as a non-Guardian, like Alia.