Lor Mandela - Destruction from Twins (38 page)

“What is that?” Bridgette shrieked.

The whooshing became so thunderous that the
entire house was shaking.

“Dude! Get away! Don’t
touch her!” Holden bellowed at Nathan, “
Blue! Don’t let him touch you!
”

Maggie yanked backwards, freeing herself
from her father, who immediately reached out to grab her again.
“No! Dad, don’t!” She jerked back and ran around the kitchen table
to put more space between them.

Regardless of what Holden or Maggie was
saying Nathan was not going to let his daughter be abducted
again—not without one heck of a fight! He started around the table
after her, arms outstretched.

Maggie grabbed a hold of a chair and slid it
between them, then turned and sprinted toward the back door,
reaching out for the handle. As if it had been choreographed, both
Nathan and Holden simultaneously dove through the air towards her.
They were mid-lunge, when a brilliant flash of blue light sent a
powerful shockwave rippling through the room, momentarily blinding
everyone.

Bridgette let out an earsplitting
scream.

Holden smacked right into Maggie, knocking
her forcefully to the ground.

Maggie blinked and squinted, straining to
focus in on where she'd been taken, but her eyes weren’t adjusting
to the light very quickly. Through the twinkling flashes in front
of her eyes, she saw a hand move toward her to help her up. She
grabbed the hand and tried to make out who it belonged to.

“Holden?” she muttered. Now she understood
why he'd yelled for her dad not to touch her. Apparently, whoever
was in contact with her when she was taken would be taken as
well.

“Where are we?”

As Holden's face became clearer, an even
more confused look spread across it. “Uh, we're um . . . we're
still in your kitchen, Blue.”

Maggie jumped up and frantically scanned the
room. Her stomach bottomed out. She stared wide-eyed from Holden to
Bridgette, back to Holden and then back to Bridgette. “Where is he?
Where is he?” she cried as—much to her horror—she realized that
this time, it was her dad who was gone.

“
A
aaaaaaaaaaaaa!” Nathan had thrown himself across the kitchen
with such momentum, that when he materialized, he was still
hurling—arms and legs flailing—through the air. He bulleted right
through the top of a large shrub, hit the muddy ground with both
feet, flipped forward, landed with a thud on his back, and then
rolled sideways down a small hill. “Goo . . . hoo . . . hood . . .
night!” He exclaimed when he finally came to a stop.

Taking a deep breath to
restore the air that had been knocked out of him, he pulled himself
to his feet, and brushed at the sticky, dark mud that was now
covering his blue jeans. “Maggie,” he called out. “Smaggs? Where
the devil are you?” He scanned the area around him, and realized
that he'd not just simply tossed himself out into the backyard.
“
And, uh
. .
.
wh . . . where
the devil am I?”

He stared off in a daze for several seconds.
“How on Earth,” he mumbled. Suddenly his eyes widened and a knowing
smile spread across his face. “Wait a second,” he exclaimed, “maybe
if I jump again . . . .”

He closed his eyes tightly, and flung
himself into the air, hoping to undo what had just been done.
Unfortunately, all he succeeded in “undoing” was his vertical
orientation. He hit the ground and tumbled down another grassy
hill. When he came to a stop, he was face-down, and even more
covered in mud and grass stains. He pulled himself up to sitting,
and looked blankly out at the dew-covered meadows and lush green
foothills that stretched before him as far as he could see.

“This is definitely not Glenhill,” he
muttered, as a somewhat frightening realization took hold of his
senses. He’d left Earth—he didn’t know how or why—and he had no
idea how to get back again.

“Sma . . . aggs,” he called out shakily, but
there was no reply. Maggie was nowhere to be seen. In fact, there
was no one at all to be seen. He was alone. He got back up to his
feet, and took a deep breath. Again, he browsed the scenery around
him.

Despite being less than thrilled with this
present unfamiliar locale, he had to admit the view was quite
beautiful. The bottom rays of the sun were just beginning to
descend behind the emerald hills, and the sky was slowly changing
from soft pink to brilliant orange.

“Come on, Smaggs, where're ya at?” He
started back up the hill, ascending the gentle slopes with little
effort. As he reached the top and looked down the other side, his
legs became wobbly and he very nearly collapsed.

Before him sprawled a massive, unbelievably
beautiful, glowing city, the likes of which he'd never, ever seen.
Its shimmering buildings and flowery gardens glistened in the soft
light of the setting sun. The city was surrounded on two sides—the
one where he stood and the one to his right—by lush, deep green,
rolling hills. To his left huge trees reached skyward.

The hills were dotted with
quaint structures that reminded him of French Chateaus, but with
one very distinct difference. They weren't made of brick, or stone,
or wood, like the houses he was used to. They seemed to be
constructed of a thick, pearly, almost liquid-looking substance,
colored in shades of white, tan, silver, and a pale, grayish-blue.
Several people were out and about near the houses, visiting,
working in the yards, reading, tending to animals and performing a
myriad of other tasks. Children happily played together in large
groups on the hillsides.
Hmmm,
he thought to himself,
they don’t look like aliens.

At the base of the hills, a wide, winding
river separated the quaint villages from hundreds and hundreds of
much taller and larger edifices—each made of the same pearly
material as the smaller houses, but in varying shades of
grey—surrounded by their own lavish, perfectly manicured gardens.
The mass of tall, stately buildings stretched for miles toward a
hazy mountain in the far-off distance that was glowing golden from
the reflection of the sunset on its face. The whole scene looked
like an ethereal, living, moving, watercolor painting.

“Tabbit, look! There he is!” Suddenly, a
woman's voice sounded from somewhere below, breaking Nathan away
from the mesmerizing view.

A red-haired young woman and a wild-looking
child with crazy white hair were running up the hill toward him.
His first instinct was to turn and run away, and he was about to do
just that, when he heard the woman again.

“Mr. Baker! Wait! We're here to help!”

He stopped and turned to face them. “Help,”
he quizzed, “Who are . . . ?” Upon seeing the young woman up close,
he was instantly rendered speechless. She was stunning—with her big
green eyes, flowing auburn hair and pale, slightly freckled
skin—and arguably the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on.
“Um, hi,” he fumbled. “Do . . . do I know you?”

The young lady squinted at him for a few
seconds. “Uh . . . no. I'm afraid not.” Her tone implied a hint of
disappointment. “Your daughter, Maggie . . . she told me about you,
that’s all.” She looked cautiously around and then grabbed him by
the arm. “Now, come on. We have to get you out of here.”

“Hold it just a doggone minute,” he
protested. “Who are you, and exactly where are you taking me?”

Just then, he felt a soft
tugging on the leg of his jeans. He looked down at the little
wild-haired girl, and stumbled backwards in shock. “You . . .
you're . . . wha . . . wait . . . no . . . there's no way . . . how
. . . ?” He ran his hand across his forehead. “You’re that thing
Paul gave Maggie! The one that was stolen! O . . . only,
you’re
alive!
” he
whispered.

Tabbit looked up at him
with a crazy grin on her face. “You . . . you're . . . wha . . .
wait . . . no . . . there's no way . . . how . . . ? You’re that
thing Paul gave Maggie! The one that was stolen! O . . . only,
you’re
alive,
”
she mimicked. “
I
is not a thing, sir. Tabbit's the name, sir. Yeses . . . very
much alive, sir!” She rolled up and down on her little brown, bare
toes, beaming happily.

“Uh, pleased to meet you?” he replied,
eyeing Tabbit like she was nuts.

The woman cleared her throat. “Um, we really
should be going,” she insisted. “We can make small talk after we
get to the palace.” She started down the hill, tugging Nathan along
by the arm.

“Palace? What palace?” Nathan gasped.
“Listen, uh . . . ?”

“Kahlie.”

“Okay, good . . . Kahlie. I'm not goin'
anywhere until you tell me what in the devil's goin' on!” He yanked
his arm out of her hand and stopped walking.

Kahlie froze in her tracks and glared at
him, annoyed.

“Fine, Mr. Baker,” she
snapped. “Here is what's going on! I am trying to save your life,
and you are making it very difficult.
That
is what is going on, all right?
Now let’s go!” She started off down the hill with Tabbit and Nathan
in pursuit.

“Save my life? Sheesh! First Maggie and that
California beach bum . . . now you? Why in blazes does everyone
seem to think my life's in danger?” Nathan panted as he rushed up
behind Kahlie.

“Because it is,” she answered
matter-of-factly.

Nathan glanced down at Tabbit who was
bouncing along beside him, grinning up at him, and nodding.
“Because it is. Yesses, big danger . . . Darian very bads!”

He shook his head and continued to follow
Kahlie, who was moving at a fairly fast clip. He increased his
stride to a sort of jog-walk to keep up.

After a few seconds, they reached the bottom
of the hill, and started toward the river. Directly in front of
them, a large, flat rock spanned from one bank to the other,
creating a solid natural bridge.

As they approached the bridge, a small, lime
green, disc-shaped object with two long crystals jutting from its
top came soaring past, barely missing Kahlie and falling to the
ground very close to the river's edge.

“Obeeo!” Tabbit squealed delightedly,
dashing over to where the object had landed.

“Tabbit,” Kahlie scolded, “what are you
doing?”

She stopped in her tracks, and looked at
Kahlie as though she was mournfully ashamed of herself.

Just then, three teenage kids—two boys and a
girl—raced out from behind one of the little chateau houses,
yelling loudly and laughing. “Obeeo! Obeeo!” they roared as they
pursued the crystalline disc. They ran toward it, barely noticing
that others were present.

All at once, the girl froze in place. It
didn't take long for the boys to realize she wasn't with them and
they stopped running as well. The girl was standing completely
still, eyes wide, and gaping at Nathan. One of the boys gasped, and
rushed back to her side. He grabbed her hand and yanked it
downward. At once, all three of the teenagers dropped to their
knees and bowed.

Kahlie cringed. “Oh, um, all right. Thank
you,” she groaned, grabbing Nathan by the arm and pulling him
toward the bridge. “You have honored the house of Borloc. Please,
go in peace. Return to your activities.” She shook her head in
frustration and told Tabbit to give them back their obeeo.

“What the blazes?” Nathan muttered, watching
as the three stunned kids rose back to their feet, their eyes fixed
on him. Even when Tabbit handed the obeeo back to the taller of the
boys, he didn't as much as blink.

Kahlie was agitated. “How could you, Tabbit?
We weren't to be seen, remember?” She motioned for Nathan to cross
the bridge in front of her.

“How could you, Tabbit? We weren't to be
seen, remember?” Tabbit echoed sadly. “Me is sorry, Miss Companions
Servant. Mees loves Obeeo!” She hopped up onto the rock and
sauntered slowly across.

Kahlie sighed.

“Come on,” Nathan gasped, “they're just
kids. You don't think they're tryin' to knock me off do you?”

“If word gets out that
you're here, it's only a matter of time. Darian
will
find out,” she explained. “He
has spies all over Lor Mandela.”

Nathan glanced backwards at the three teens
whispering amongst themselves, still staring. “Weird . . . .” he
muttered as he reached the edge of the rock bridge and stepped out
onto it.

Kahlie finally slowed the pace a bit, and
made eye contact with him. He knew that he should be concerned that
some madman was after him, but he couldn't help thinking just how
beautiful she was.

“Listen,” she explained, “I’m sorry that
I've been a little demanding, really, but you have to understand.
This is serious. On this world . . . Lor Mandela . . . only members
of the ruling family Borloc have black hair and blue eyes. Darian
thinks you are Atoc Jonathan Borloc, our High Ruler. He thinks
Maggie is the Child of Balance. He is planning to use her to gain
power and he has already commanded his soldiers to kill you on
sight.”

Nathan gulped. Up until now this whole
experience had seemed surreal—like a dream. But suddenly it was
sinking in. He was on Lor Mandela—not Earth. An army of assassins
was after him—or after the person they thought he was—and this
Darian character was trying to get to Maggie, too.

“Yeah, okay, Kahlie. I understand. I'll do
whatever ya say, and I appreciate you watchin' out for me, but
please,” he hesitated, “do not let anything happen to Maggie.”

“I won’t,” she assured. She smiled and
patted him gently on the hand—a gesture that caused a most
unexpected reaction. A surge of pulsating heat flooded through his
body and he felt himself blush from head to toe.