Crusade Across Worlds (39 page)

“What’s the plan now?” Pratt asks through
chattering teeth. “S-s-someplace warm?”

“Pallooloo?” Sampson scans the herd of fuzzy
blue natives.

“Pallooloo,” they all chant in nasal unity
as one scurries to the front. They continue to pop out of the cave
as explosions soar through the trees, blasting into trunks with
bright orange flames. The Dofinikes and Nerwos fire back as more
thunderous explosions rip overhead, shaking the forest and rumbling
the ground.

Sampson nods, “This is what we’re going to
do. Pallooloo,” he looks to the Pwebole King. “When I give the
order, take the Pweboles around the side there,” he points to the
opposite end of the hill. “Attack those you find.”

“You’re just going to throw the Pweboles at
them?” I whisper.

“I’m going to distract them so the Pweboles
will have the best advantage. We need allies who know this
terrain.” More orange blasts explode into nearby trees, shaking the
ground and setting a few of the closest trunks aflame. Sampson
looks between us. “Hopefully they’ll chase them off planet.”

“And where will they go?” Clarence asks.

A heavy load of Traxpires ignite in unison,
lighting the white sky with orange heat. Crackling emits as the
flames hit the trees and on instinct, we all duck again. Sampson
points. “Pallooloo,
go!
”

The Pwebole King rushes off with his army
behind him, all gripping blades in their monkey-like hands. They’re
racing to the intended target, a flood of blue sweeping through the
freezing white.

“What do we do?” Walker asks.

Sampson scans the fighting on his left and
raises his fist. Through the ongoing chaos, the others notice and
offer a return nod of understanding. Turning back to us, Sampson
winks. “We win.” Then he disappears along with the majority of our
forces.

“Where’d they go?” Able asks.

“You heard him,” Clarence grins. “It’s go or
die time, and as much as I’d like to leave you guys out of it, I
don’t think it’s safe by yourselves so,” he takes Able and Mae’s
hands and she reaches for Pratt. “Fallon, if you could get the
others…just to the front there,” he indicates to the top of the
hill. “Let’s get the bastards.”

All four disappear.

“Guess we’re bringing the fight to them,”
Jace says.

“Guess so,” I glance around Walker and the
Rogues. “Ready?”

“What about Werzo?” Booker asks.

“Forgot about me, didn’t you?” he chokes on
a laugh.

“I’ll stay with him if you want to take the
others,” Jace offers. “Send Clarence if you don’t feel strong
enough to bring him yourself.”

“Is it the best place for him?” Walker looks
between us. “In the middle of a battle?”

“We can’t just leave him here,” Reid
says.

“Maybe Fallon can take him to Arosin or
something. Or he can stay below in the tunnel.”

I look between the boys, considering the
options. Walker is right. It wouldn’t make any sense to bring
Werzo. He’d be right in the middle of the fight and in his wounded
condition, it wouldn’t do anything other than get him killed. He
can’t go. But he can’t stay here either. Not alone, at least.

“All right. Maybe we can—”

“Go!” Clarence reappears with a terrified
Able, Mae and Pratt.

In the distance, Arizals are in full-blown
retreat, chased down the slope by a stampede of Vermix, at least a
few thousand strong.

“Holy mother of—”

“
Go!”
Clarence shuffles Jace toward
the cave. The blonde Rogue slides into the hole and then Clarence
moves for Booker and Walker, hands on their backs, nearly pushing
them in. Both follow Jace through the narrow opening before
Clarence turns for me. “Fallon.”

“Is Sampson alright?”

“Fallon, just—”

A storm of orange blasts lights up the
trees. A wave of Arizals fly through them, ducking and dodging the
flaming trunks, some disappearing mid-run. Where are they going?
Back to Nerwolix? To Arosin? Somewhere else?

Vermix stampede behind the retreating army,
but balls of blue fuzz scurry between the Dellapalanian loyalists,
slashing and slicing as they run. The Pweboles manage to cut down a
heap of the encroaching enemy, but there are too many. Far too
many. We’re being overrun. And fast.

“Fallon,” Clarence directs me to the cave
and I slide through, dropping back into the relative darkness. It’s
about a five-foot drop but I land on my feet and turn back for the
opening, just as Clarence calls down, “Werzo’s coming!”

Jace, Booker and Walker brace themselves for
his legs which start to lower into the limited pink glow. Together,
the boys are able to gently ease the Rogue into the cave and onto
the ground. Pratt jumps down next, followed by Able, Mae and
Reid.

“Clarence?” I call up.

No answer.

“
Clarence!
”

“Go!”

“But—”

“Now! Go—now!”

The five boys crouch besides Werzo and Reid
counts them down. “Three, two, one—lift!”

The Rogue is in the air, Reid and Jace
hoisting his shoulders, Walker and Able at his sides and Booker
propping up his legs. It’s a tight fit and although they’re trying
to maneuver through the cave as best they can, they’re stopping
every few seconds. They also don’t have a ton of light. We’re not
surrounded by the Pweboles’ shimmering blue seeds, so the only
thing to light the way is my Callix, and I’m all the way up here. I
don’t want to move too fast, and I can’t have Pratt and Mae go
ahead because they won’t be able to see where they’re going. But
the boys are going slow. Too slow. We’ll never make the distance we
need if the Vermix reach this tunnel.

Werzo winces as Jace slams into the
wall.

“Keep moving,” Reid instructs.

“I can’t see where I’m going,” Able
says.

“I just hit my shoulder,” Walker gripes.

“Can we carry him the whole way?” Jace
tosses his partner a doubtful look.

We’ve only made it a few feet when a faint
light trickles in from behind. Has Clarence come to join us? Maybe
he can transport us—

Arizals are down here. Blow it.

I don’t have time to explain. I grab Pratt’s
hand and pull her to a stop as I clutch Reid behind me. I know
Pratt is holding onto Mae, so I close my eyes and focus on the warm
red walls where I spent twelve long weeks. Arosin should be
relatively safe. And Qippert and Jothkore will be there, but I
still have no idea what to expect. Reuzkimpart might have his
forces stationed on the red planet. Maybe not. There’s no way to
tell what we’ll be walking into.

But it has to be better than this.

Concentrating on the dry heat of the flat
desert landscape, I picture it around us, imagining the hard
rust-colored ground.

Arosin…

A sudden shift of temperature followed by an
eerily solid silence. No more Traxpire explosions. No more Vermix
thoughts echoing in my head. I open my eyes. I’ve landed us
somewhere underground, on one of the slanting layers of the
endlessly descending red cavern, the unfamiliar heat suffocating.
It’s a drastic change from the bitter cold a few seconds ago, but
at least we’re not shivering. At least Walker and Able aren’t in
danger of freezing to death.

“
Whoa
,” Pratt inhales.

“What just—?”

“She did it again,” Werzo winces, still
propped up on the Rogues. “Didn’t she?”

“Looks like it,” Jace says.
“So where are we now?” Walker scans his new environment like the
others. “Mars?”

I search the surrounding area for immediate
danger, but we’re alone. It’s strange being back here after only
two weeks, especially with everyone else and
especially
after everything that’s happened.

“Arosin,” I indicate the closest wall. It’s
as good as any. “Let’s rest Werzo here.”

The boys carefully lay the wounded Rogue on
the ground. It’s hard and flat and probably not very comfortable,
but it’ll do. We’re inside, safe, and away from the Vermix for the
time being. At least we have that. At least we have a moment to
catch our breath and think.

But what about the others? Where did
Clarence go? And Sampson and Blovid and the rest of them? Are they
still on Larupip? Or did they return to Nerwolix? I won’t be able
to hear them again until we’re on the same World. I won’t be able
to know what’s going on with the rest of the Arizals or the state
of the battle until we meet up again, on whichever planet we
regroup.

Reid crouches beside Werzo and examines the
red stain on his lower abdomen. He glances back at me, his
expression unreadable, before focusing on the Rogue’s pale face.
“How you doing, Werzo? You hanging in there?”

“Got any valium?” He winces again. “Or
Hunnis? I’d take some Hunnis about now.”

“Yeah,” Jace laughs. “You and everyone
else.”

“So this is Arosin?” Pratt gapes at the rust
enclosure, her neck arched so she can take in the varying types of
slanting levels. Babeebs—spherical, golden creatures—are the only
light inside the entire cavern, clinging to the ceiling,
illuminating the small patches of vegetation I consumed for three
months. “And you spent
twelve
weeks here?”

“It’s not as bad as—”

“Whoa!” Walker points over my shoulder. “Get
back!”

I already know what he’s talking about. Or
who. It was my same reaction the first time I saw the pile of rocks
form into something life-like as well. Reid jumps to his feet and
is already sprinting over when I turn and offer my old friend a
smile. “Hi Maddox.”

Made up of varying rocks, boulders and
pebbles, the rust-colored structure has two arms, two legs, a short
torso and a set of vague facial features, all of which can change
at any time. Maddox has the ability to grow as large as he wants,
or as small, and can then dissolve into the wall or ground when he
chooses. Since he’s a Spirit aide of the Lost Princesses, he can
manipulate himself to any element of any planet he’s on.

“Hello again, Miss Fallon,” his red eyes
flicker behind me. “I see you have returned with others.”

“My friends,” I turn to them and gesture
back to the rock formation. “This is Maddox. He’s a Spirit aide to
the Lost Princesses and was a great help when I was here.”

The others simply stare, trying to process
his existence, much like I did when I first met him.

“So you’re like…” Pratt cracks a grin, “a
pile of rocks?” She steps closer and extends her arm. He doesn’t
back away but allows her this curiosity. Pratt’s fingers brush the
top pebbles of his make-shift head and her smile widens.

“No, child. I am a Spirit occupying the
material around me. As there is very little material to utilize, I
have selected the most obvious resource.”

“You said the Lost Princesses,” Able tosses
me a glance before settling on Maddox again. “Does that mean
they’re here?”

“They are everywhere.”

“Have you seen anyone else?” I ask before
the others have a chance to bog him down with questions. I’m sure
they have plenty for him, but it’s not the time. We need to know if
Reuzkimpart has brought any of his forces yet. And Clarence said
Qippert and Jothkore should already be here with the Floating
Ruby—but where? We need to find them and help defend the Gift.
“Have you seen any Vermix? Or Qippert or Jothkore?”

“None are nearby, but they are on the
move.”

“Who?” Reid asks. “Which ones?”

“Both. Reuzkimpart’s army chases your
friends closer. They carry the sacred object but the Supreme Leader
is gaining. He will collect it soon.”

Collect it soon? Does that mean it’s
imminent?

“But what about the others?” Walker asks,
folding his arms. “The Dofinikes that Sampson sent ahead?”

“The Arizals that were here were killed at
the hands of the Vermix. Your two friends are the only ones to
protect Nerwolix’s Gift.”

I cover my mouth at his words. Slaughtered.
Sampson’s contingency players were probably killed without a second
thought, murdered for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. I
suppress a jolt of rage and look at the others. “We have to help
them.”

“We don’t even know where they are,” Reid
says.

“They will be here soon,” Maddox dissolves
into the ground and reappears behind Able and Mae, where the ground
begins to slant upward. “They are racing across the planet,
traveling in wide jumps.”

“We have to help them,” I say again.

“How?” Booker asks.

“We need back-up,” I think aloud, my mind
going quicker than my words. “Some sort of assistance or—”

“But the majority of our forces are still on
Nerwolix,” Jace says.

“They could be there, on Larupip—”

“We should find out where they are,” the
blonde Rogue continues, “and regroup.”

“But everyone’s scrambled. No one knows
where to go.”

“Well we can’t go back to Zinnollo,” Walker
says.

“Or Larupip,” Able adds.

“We could stay here,” Pratt suggests.

“Not if we’re the only Arizals,” Reid shakes
his head, dismissing the idea. “We’d have the disadvantage and
right now, we need to change that.” He takes a deep breath and
crosses his arms, a lengthy statement about to follow. “Way I see
it, we only have a few options,” he pops out his thumb, indicating
the first. “We go back to Nerwolix—to Thias’s end. Sampson’s not
allowed, but it’d be the best place for the Gifts.” Reid extends
his pointer finger. “We go to Mybyncia, but I wouldn’t suggest
it.”

“Why not?”

“Perio’s not an idiot. He wouldn’t bring his
entire army into battle, especially knowing the kingdom would be
vulnerable. He’s got to have left a few at home and I don’t want to
bring this fight to their waters,” Reid thinks for a second and
extends the third finger. “We return to Harrizel. But if we do,
chances are we wouldn’t be alone.”