Raven Rise (19 page)

That was it. An incredible story of survival. But there was still a big fat unanswered question looming.

“Now,” he said, “tell me what has happened since I last saw you.”

I shook my head. “No, I want you to finish your story first. What did you mean when you said, ‘They're coming'?”

“There are more of them, Pendragon. More than we imagined.”

“More of who?” I asked.

“Flighters” was his answer. “They haven't given up. I've heard them talk, and plot. They haven't given up on trying to invade Ibara. They're organized, much more than we thought. I'm afraid that sinking the pilgrim ships was only the beginning. They're preparing for something else.”

I was actually relieved. I was afraid he was going to say there were more dados gathering. After all my worrying, Loque was actually delivering old news. We expected the Flighters to attack again. We were preparing for it. The biggest surprise was that it hadn't happened already.

“It's okay,” I assured him. “They've already attacked once. Right after we returned from Rubic City. We won. There's nothing else they could throw at us now that we can't handle.”

Loque frowned. “You don't understand. Their attack has something to do with the mineral we were digging for. From the little bit I heard, once they find this mineral, they're going to use it to attack Ibara. It sounds like some kind of weapon.”

My blood pressure spiked. Was it possible? I didn't want to believe it. I had to force myself to stay calm. “Mineral? What did they call it? Tak?”

“No.”

I let out a relieved breath. The idea of a vein of tak existing on Ibara would have been disastrous.

“It was a strange word. I'd never heard it before. The only person who used it was that tall, cold guy. He said we were digging for something called…flume.”

My ears started to ring. I wasn't sure whether the room was spinning or my head was spinning. I should have put it together when Loque first mentioned digging in a mine. It wasn't a mine. They weren't looking for precious minerals. They weren't hunting for weapons. Saint Dane was digging for something all right, but it wasn't a mineral natural to Veelox.

He was trying to unearth the flume. He was trying to escape from Veelox.

I had to get out of that cavern room. I needed air.

“Rest,” I told Loque, silencing him. “There's a lot I have to tell you, but not now.”

“Where is Siry?” he asked.

Oh man. I didn't want to get into that yet. “He's fine,” I answered.

He was, too. He was just on another territory with no chance of ever coming home. I didn't think Loque needed to hear that just yet. “Go to sleep. I'll tell you everything after you've had some rest.”

“Thanks. I am pretty tired.”

I started for the door when Loque called to me, “Pendragon? Is everything all right?”

How could I answer that?

“Yes,” I said. “Go to sleep.”

That seemed to be enough for him. His heavy breathing told me he had dropped off instantly. I was glad that somebody felt better, because I sure didn't. When I left the room, I ran into Twig, who had come to visit.

“He's going to be okay,” I told her.

Twig squealed with delight and threw her arms around me. I wished I could have been that happy. I was, actually. I was thrilled that Loque was alive. But the other news he delivered kind of put a damper on that.

“He fell asleep,” I added. “Stay by him.”

I left Twig with Loque and walked out of Tribunal Mountain. I walked toward the beach on Ibara, but my mind was elsewhere. It was in Rubic City. Rather it was below Rubic City. Was it possible? Could Saint Dane unearth the flume by using Flighters to dig with their hands? No wonder we hadn't seen a single Flighter try to land on Ibara. They were busy. Busy digging. Busy trying to spring Saint Dane from the prison I'd created for him.

I arrived at the beach, sat down in the sand and looked out to sea. Ibara was truly paradise. I'd grown to consider it my home. I didn't want anything more to happen to it. The people had been through enough, dating back to Aja Killian's time. As I sat on that beach, smelling the sweet flowers that framed the bay, I made a decision. As much as I didn't want to, I had no choice.

I had to learn the truth.

I had to go back to Rubic City.

(CONTINUED)

Y
ou can't leave us,” Telleo commanded. “Not now.”

We were alone on our perch, high above the growing village of Rayne. Telleo was the first person I told about leaving. She was the only person I fully trusted to take care of Loque. She had to know that she would be on her own.

“I don't want to go,” I argued. “Believe me. I
really
don't want to go. But I have to.”

“Why?” she demanded to know.

I didn't know how to explain this. No, I take that back. I knew exactly how to explain it, but not in a way that anyone from Rayne would understand. I decided to tell the truth, more or less.

“The guy who launched the attack on Ibara is still around,” I said. “Loque saw him. He's organizing the Flighters. Who knows what he might try next? If we're in for another war, we need to know about it so we can be prepared.”

“Send someone else,” she insisted. “Haven't you done enough? You're on the tribunal now. You can't just run off on some…some…spy mission. Send some men from the security force.”

“It's more complicated than that,” I explained patiently. “Trust me. It's
way
more complicated.”

“That's exactly what Remudi said before he left to go on his mysterious mission. Look what happened. He was killed playing a foolish game and we lost a tribunal member. The people look up to you, Pendragon. You have become their guide into the future. If you're not worried about yourself, worry about your people. They love you. I love you.”

Whoa. I hadn't expected that. Telleo stood close and took both my hands.

“Don't act all surprised,” she said. “You know I love you. Please don't leave me.”

Okay. Awkward. Telleo was putting herself on the line. How could I tell her I didn't feel the same way? Things were going badly enough as it was.

“You know how I feel about you, Telleo. I wish there was another way. There isn't. I'm going to go talk to your father now and let him know what I'm going to do.”

Telleo looked down. I think she realized that she had lost the argument.

“When will you leave?” she asked softly.

“Tomorrow morning. First light.”

She nodded. Accepting it.

“You can help,” I added. “Take care of Loque.”

“I've been doing all that I—”

“I know. I'm asking you to watch him. Don't leave him alone until he's well enough to take care of himself. Either you or Twig or Krayven should always be with him.”

“Why? What are you worried about?”

“I'm worried there might be people around we can't trust.”

“What?” she asked, stunned. “Like who?”

“Just take care of him, please?”

“Tell me who you think—”

“I don't think anything. I'm just worried about Loque. Promise me you'll protect him. He deserves that.”

Telleo nodded. She didn't understand, but she nodded.

“Talk to my father,” she said. “I'm going to stay here and look out on the beautiful village we've built and pretend that everything is going to be all right.”

I let go of her hands and left her alone. It was sad. Things had been going so well. The future was bright for Ibara. I didn't want to believe that could change. I had made up my mind to do all I could to secure Ibara's future. At that moment, to do that, I had to go to Rubic City.

I found Genj alone in the tribunal cavern. I quickly explained to him about what Loque reported to me. The Flighters were still around. They were active. They were organized. I repeated what I'd said to Telleo about the man who was running the show. Of course, I didn't go into any real details about Saint Dane. Genj already knew of him. To Genj, he was the guy who launched the dado attack. That was enough.

“Can't we send others?” Genj asked. “You are on the tribunal now. The people need you.”

“I know that,” I said. “And by going, I'm doing exactly what I have to do to protect them. I can't do that from here.”

“Have you told Telleo?” he asked.

“Yes. She wasn't happy about it.”

“She loves you, you know.”

I nodded.

Genj put his arm around me and said, “We owe you a debt that can never be fully repaid. All I can ask is that you come back to us. I don't want to lose two friends in such a short time.”

“Two?” I asked.

He gave a tired sigh. “Have you forgotten about Remudi? He also went on a mysterious mission. He never returned.”

Right. Of course. “I didn't forget,” I said softly.

The two of us hugged. There was nothing more to say, so I started for the door. I got halfway across the cavern floor when a thought hit me. Something was wrong. It was something Genj said that triggered it. I turned back and asked, “What did I tell you about Remudi?”

“What do you mean?”

“What did I say happened to him?”

“You said he was killed by the man who destroyed the pilgrim ships and staged the attack on Ibara.”

“Right. Did I tell you
how
he died?”

Genj frowned and shook his head. “No.”

I walked back toward him. Alarms were starting to go off in my head.

“I never gave you any details?”

Genj shook his head.

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. Don't you think I'd remember something like that? If there's anything more you can tell me, please do.”

I could feel my heart pound. I hadn't told anybody about how Remudi died. No way I would have. It would have meant explaining about Quillan. And the games. I never would have told anyone on Ibara about that.

But Telleo knew.

Only a few minutes before, she said how Remudi was killed playing a foolish game. That's what she said exactly. A foolish game. I heard it. I was there. How could she have known that? There had to be some explanation. Maybe Siry told her. Or Alder. My mind flew back to a million different moments. Things that were said. Comments that were made. Was I being paranoid?

Genj must have sensed my growing panic and asked, “What's wrong, Pendragon?”

“I'm sorry for asking this, I really am, but you told me Telleo and her mother had a great relationship. You said they were like sisters. Can you think of any reason why Telleo might say she had problems with her mother and would never talk about her?”

Genj straightened up, as if I had slapped him. “That's insanity,” he barked. “The two were inseparable. Telleo held Sharr's hand until the moment she died. They couldn't have been closer. She would never say a harsh word about her mother.”

“Unless she didn't know what kind of relationship they had,” I muttered.

“Pardon me?”

I couldn't catch my breath. My head got light. I think I was hyperventilating as I backed out of the cavern room.

Genj called out, “Pendragon? What's wrong?”

“Close off the mountain,” I ordered. “Send a security team to the medical section.”

“What? Why?”

“To protect Loque.”

I turned and sprinted out of the tribunal's cavern. I desperately hoped that I was wrong. If I wasn't, Loque was in trouble. Suddenly the strange overdose made sense. Loque had information. He had seen things—things Saint Dane didn't want me to know. Was it possible? Could Telleo be Saint Dane? Had she tried to kill Loque? As I ran down the stone stairs, barely staying upright, I thought back to the time we had spent together. There wasn't a single moment that she and Saint Dane were together, but that alone didn't make her guilty. There had to be other clues.

I hoped that I was being paranoid. Maybe Telleo truly hated her mother and hid it from Genj. That was possible. Or maybe Telleo didn't really mean what she said about her mother. She might have been in a bad mood. It happens. It could all have been a misunderstanding.

Except there was no way she could have known that Remudi died playing a game. I had no explanation for that one. As I ran, I tried to convince myself that I was overreacting. I didn't want to believe that I had been fooled again. Unfortunately, I wasn't doing a very good job of convincing myself. In my heart I knew the truth.

Telleo was Saint Dane. Loque was in danger.

I hit the ground floor of the mountain, ran through the stone corridors, and finally arrived in the medical area. The place was empty. No doctors. No Twig. No security. I didn't hesitate and flew into Loque's room.

Telleo stood next to Loque, gently laying him back down on the bed. She had a brown cup in her hand.

“Stop!” I shouted.

Telleo jumped in surprise.

“Get away from him,” I ordered.

“Quiet!” she said harshly. “He's asleep.”

I leaped forward and grabbed the cup. It was empty.

“What did you give him?” I demanded.

“A sedative…to help him rest. What's wrong?”

“How did he get the overdose yesterday?”

“I told you. It could have been from a number of sources. Can we discuss this outside?”

There wasn't time to do this dance. If she had given him something lethal, time was critical. If she hadn't, then I was an idiot. I had to know which way this was going to go.

“Tell me how you knew Remudi died playing a game.”

Telleo's eyes widened. She took a breath, ready to answer, then stopped. My gut clenched. I wanted her to keep talking. I wanted to hear the logical explanation. I wanted her to say that Siry told her all about the Quillan games. Or Alder. Instead, she exhaled and smiled.

“So close,” she said calmly.

That's all I needed to hear. If I hadn't grabbed the end of the bed for support, I would have fallen over.

“A momentary lapse,” she lamented. “A simple, foolish mistake. Slip of the tongue. I'm embarrassed.”

I was hearing the words but didn't want to accept them.

“Don't worry, Pendragon,” she said. “I didn't poison him. At least not this time. It was different before. He hadn't told you what he knew.” She gently stroked the hair back from Loque's forehead. “His death now would be pointless.”

“Don't touch him,” I spat.

“I hadn't anticipated this,” she said, pulling her hand away from Loque. “Without him you would have no idea what was happening in Rubic City. Or maybe you had suspicions and pretended not to care. After all, you took yourself out of the equation when you blew up the flume. You're finished with being a Traveler.”

I wanted to leap across the bed and throttle her. Telleo had been my best friend since the moment I arrived on Ibara. We shared everything. The realization that she was Saint Dane all along made me want to scream.

“Telleo's dead,” she said, as if reading my mind. “Since before you arrived. I didn't learn as much about her background as I should have. I'm surprised it took you this long to have suspicions.”

I swallowed, trying to get my wits back. “I did actually. I just didn't put it together until now. That's not like you, Saint Dane. You usually don't make mistakes like that.”

Telleo shot me a look and broke into a wide grin. It was an odd reaction. It threw me.

“Of course!” She laughed, as if realizing something she hadn't thought of. “That's exactly what you would assume.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked with caution and more than a little confusion.

“It appears I'm better at this than I thought.” With that, Telleo began to transform. Her image melted before my eyes. She became a moving mass of liquid smoke. I knew what was coming, or at least I thought I did. I was ready to see her become Saint Dane. She didn't. When the transformation was complete, I stood face-to-face with Nevva Winter. It was a good thing I was still holding on to the bed, or I would have gone over for sure.

“Surprise,” said the beautiful, dark-haired woman from Quillan. “It was fun while it lasted, wasn't it?”

I opened my mouth, but no words came out.

Footsteps were heard outside, coming quickly. It was the security detail I had asked for.

Nevva walked quickly to the window, then turned back and added, “It's too late, Pendragon. While you were busily rebuilding this sandy village, the Convergence has begun. Unlike you, Saint Dane didn't quit. I suggest you continue to enjoy your oblivious little life here. At least what's left of it.”

I ran for Nevva too late. She dove out the window, already transforming into the raven that quickly flew away. A second later the security team entered the room.

“Is everything all right?” the first guy to arrive asked.

I stood at the window, numb. I didn't even bother to look out. My entire world had collapsed. Nothing was what I had thought it was. I had been played as a fool for months.