The Last Portal (13 page)

Chris raised
his head. ‘You have more soldiers?’

‘Yes, a
substantial force.’

‘That’s
fantastic. How many?’

‘Enough to give
Zelnoff a sizeable headache,’ Batarr reflected. ‘And, if we are
lucky and surprise him, we may even capture or kill him.’

His tone
sounded almost confident and Chris felt his own spirits lift. ‘So
all you want us to do is find the portal?’

Batarr sat down
on a log next to Chris and put down his drink. ‘We have two keys,
so we will split up into two small groups of five,’ he continued.
‘A Caan will accompany each group. Whichever group finds the portal
first can then send a message to the other group. You and I will be
in one group, and Susie and Joe will join the other.’

‘Oh no, come
on… you want to separate us again, I’ve only just found you.’

‘I need a Mytar
in each group, and besides, we can’t risk travelling this route any
longer. It’s too exposed. Tomorrow we must leave the main company
and make our own way to Mount Caporel. The rest of the company will
continue on to join the main force.’

Chris was about
to hurl forth a torrent of objections and complaints, but the words
wouldn’t come. He had seen too much, experienced too much, knew too
much, to doubt Batarr’s reasoning or motives. There was nothing he
could say that wouldn’t sound like some childish tantrum. He only
wished he had never decided to question Batarr. At least then he
would have had the benefit of a good night’s sleep.

Batarr drained
his cup. In the flames of the fire, his grey features looked almost
rosy. ‘You have already achieved much, Mytar. More than I would
have ever expected, and you are still growing stronger.’ He leaned
over and put an arm around Chris’s shoulder. ‘Get some sleep.
Tomorrow this will not feel like such an impossible task.’

Chris looked up
into Batarr eyes. He didn’t know why, but he didn’t believe
him.

When Chris woke up the
sun was well over the horizon. The air was still but cold, and
patches of frost lay on the ground in places the sun hadn’t
penetrated. He hadn’t slept well. There had been many strange
sounds in the night, and among them he had clearly recognised the
Prower. Not far away, he could hear Joe’s nearly hysterical voice
ripping into Batarr yet again. He guessed Batarr had told Joe and
Susie of his plans. Joe, to put it mildly, was not taking the news
well.

‘I used to
think I was badly treated on Earth,’ Joe was saying. ‘But compared
to this…’ He waved his hand toward the camp. ‘And you,’ he pointed
rudely at Batarr, ‘forced marches, hardly any food… Prisoners in
jails get better treatment.’

Batarr looked
unimpressed and stood impassively listening to Joe’s ranting’s.

Susie smiled
briefly at Chris when he approached.

‘Just take me
home. I don’t belong here.’ Joe pointed to his feet. ‘I’ve got
blisters. My feet are bleeding. I need medical help.’

‘We have some
herbs that will help your blisters,’ Batarr suggested.

Joe’s face went
red. ‘Don’t you understand? This has all been a big mistake. I
don’t have any special powers.’

Batarr remained
impassive.

Joe turned to
Chris when he caught sight of him. ‘Have you heard of his latest
grand plan?’

Chris was in no
mood to join in the insults. ‘I think it’s a good idea,’ he said
bluntly. ‘This route is bound to be watched. We need to split into
smaller groups.’

With this
reply, a fresh flush of red appeared on Joe’s cheeks. ‘You sound
like him,’ he spluttered.

‘The sooner we
reach the portal, the sooner we can get home,’ Chris replied. He
turned to Batarr. ‘Once we find the portal you can send us
home?’

Batarr raised
an eyebrow. ‘Yes, I don’t see why not.’

Joe looked from
Chris to Batarr and back again, not knowing whether to believe
either of them.

‘Whichever
group finds the portal first will immediately notify the other,’
Batarr said, assuming the discussion was now over.

‘But we might
get lost,’ Joe said.

‘You won’t get
lost. Sasli will be with you. If you have any problems, Sasli will
find us.’

‘But won’t the
portal be guarded?’ Joe continued, in voice that was quickly
deteriorating into a whine. ‘I mean Zelnoff’s not going to just let
us wander in there.’

‘You only need
to find the approximate location. Any sign of danger and you should
return straight away, or send Sasli to find us.’

Joe grunted,
but it was clear he couldn’t think of any further objections.

‘Maybe the two
groups can travel together and split up when we get closer to Mount
Caporel?’ Susie suggested.

Batarr
considered Susie’s suggestion for a moment. ‘I have no objections,
as long as it is understood that we split up when the keys start to
become warm.’

After some
further debate between Batarr and Altac, it was decided to take an
alternative route through the region known as the Murtral. This
region was the main catchment basin for Mt Caporel and the
surrounding mountains. Consequently, the area was streaked with
tumbling waterfalls and fast-flowing rivers that spawned some of
the densest sub-tropical rainforest on the planet. The perfect
cover, Altac argued, to approach Mt. Caporel undetected.

An hour later, at the
junction of two valleys, a party of ten, consisting of two Caan,
the Mytar, Batarr, Altac and three Taal, separated from the main
company. The going was hard. The valley they had taken climbed
steeply between two snow-capped peaks. Along its length, a torrent
of foaming water spilled down moss-covered boulders, or over cliffs
carved from basalt lava flows. These obstacles had to be negotiated
by beating a path through the surrounding undergrowth, thick with
strangler vines and prickly bushes. The Taal led the way, cutting a
path with huge hatchets. Despite the cold weather, their bodies
were soon covered in sweat from their exertions.

Chris walked
alongside Susie who, in contrast to Joe, seemed as though she was
almost enjoying herself.

‘What have you
found?’ he asked, peering over her shoulder.

Susie had
picked up what Chris would have called a rabbit on Earth. ‘It’s
what Altac calls an ilper,’ she replied, stroking its fur.

‘Is it
sick?’

‘No, it’s quite
healthy, just startled by all this activity.’ She placed the ilper
down and it ran into a nearby bush.

‘So, the
animals around here must be pretty tame.’

She shook her
head. ‘Quite the opposite.’

Then he
realised: Susie’s powers, like his own, were still growing. ‘Can
you control animals?’

She stood up
and flicked some strands of hair from her face. ‘No, not really,
but I am beginning to understand their thoughts...maybe even
communicate with them. It’s really cool.’ She flashed a smile at
him, then ran over to a nearby tree and placed both hands on it.
‘This tree is about eighty years old. It has borers and some kind
of grub eating its leaves.’ She moved her hands to different parts
of the trunk, closing her eyes in concentration. ‘I can even tell
what animals live in it and what animals regularly visit it. I’m
starting to sense all the life of this planet.’

‘Wow, that’s
cool,’ Chris agreed, viewing Susie with a new sense of awe.

‘But I can’t do
what you can do. I can’t read people’s thoughts, or travel in my
mind to distant places.’

‘But between
us,’ Chris added with a smile, ‘we can eavesdrop on just about all
the life of this planet.’

She beamed
broadly back at him.

‘Have you told
Joe?’ Chris asked.

Susie paused
thoughtfully. ‘I think this is the last thing he would want to
hear.’

‘Hmm… How about
Batarr?’

She shook her
head. ‘I was going to a number of times, but... well I felt there
was something not quite right about telling him.’

‘What do you
mean?’

‘Something
about his mood.’

‘Can you sense
feelings?’

‘Sometimes...although it’s more that he just seems
pre-occupied.’

Chris nodded.
‘Then don’t tell him for now.’

When the red
ball of the sun had reached its highest point in the sky, the
company paused for lunch. They were perched above a cliff that
provided spectacular views right down the valley. Above them, a
grey mist, like a huge blanket, was rolling down the valley,
engulfing all in its path. By the time lunch was over, the first
tentacles of mist were creeping across the sun, diffusing the light
into deep-reds and purples. A cold, white dampness started to
descend, reducing the visibility to little more than a handful of
metres.

By late
afternoon, the dwindling light, exhaustion, and many bitter
complaints from Joe forced Batarr to call a halt for the night.
After devouring their food, the Mytar collapsed into their
makeshift beds, too exhausted even to talk.

The next day
the company broke camp at first light. The mist had not lifted but
at least it was slightly warmer than the previous morning. With
sinking spirits they trudged on. Joe had ceased to talk to Chris or
Susie, preferring his own sullen silence. Altac, however, chattered
on happily. It turned out he was something of a herbalist in his
spare time. Periodically, he pointed out plants that could cure
various ailments and explained the ways important ingredients were
extracted. These conversations did wonders to lift Chris and
Susie’s spirits as Batarr had also fallen silent, preferring only
to sing to Sasli in low tones that Susie could not overhear.

It was late
afternoon on the second day when Chris noticed the key was
changing. Although not warm, it no longer felt cold in his
pocket.

‘I think we’re
near the portal,’ he whispered to Joe and Susie as he brought out
the key and examined it. ‘Who has the second key?’

‘Batarr won’t
let it out of his sight,’ Joe whispered.

They pushed
their way past the Taal and caught up to Batarr, who was singing
quietly to Sasli.

‘Are you sure?’
Batarr queried when Chris told him.

‘I think so.
Give me the other key and I’ll check.’

Batarr reached
into his robe and pulled out the second key. In Chris’s hands, it
immediately changed to red but, more importantly, there was a
subtle increase in temperature.

‘Yep, this key
too.’ He smiled back at Batarr.

Batarr returned
his smile with a broad grin of his own. ‘It’s here, we’re close.’
He focused back on Chris. ‘There’s no time to lose.’ He took a key
from Chris and handed it to Susie. ‘You must lead the second group.
Each group will have a Caan. The first group that finds the portal
can use the Caan to tell the other.’

Chris was
amazed at the burst of enthusiasm from Batarr. He seemed
surprisingly excited for someone who was about to walk into
Zelnoff’s stronghold. ‘What about Zelnoff’s soldiers?’

‘We will have
to be very careful, of course,’ Batarr added, in a more subdued
tone. ‘But we may be on the verge of discovering Zelnoff’s hiding
place and that’s something no one has done before.’

Altac, who had
been listening from a short distance away, came forward and
whispered into Batarr’s ear. Batarr nodded for a moment then
announced, ‘we won’t spilt up just yet.’

When the
company began moving forward again, Joe drew alongside Chris. ‘I
wonder what that was about?’

‘I think I
know,’ Susie said. ‘I didn’t sleep well last night. There were a
lot of strange sounds coming from the forest.’

‘Howls?’ Chris
asked.

‘Yeah, and
twice the Taal fired their weapons into the trees but missed
whatever they were aiming at.’

‘Maybe the Taal
are just getting jumpy,’ Joe suggested.

Chris shook his
head. ‘I can’t imagine a Taal firing randomly into the forest
because he was jumpy.’

‘I think they
were Prower,’ Susie said, dropping her voice to a whisper. ‘Today,
when I passed by some trees I put my hands on their trunks. There
were large creatures in their upper branches. I think we’re being
followed.’

‘I’ve also felt
something,’ Chris added. ‘I think we’re being watched.’

‘Oh, give us a
break,’ Joe said. ‘Neither of you has seen anything. You both just
think you can feel things that aren’t even there.’

There was a
thinly concealed contempt in Joe’s voice that made Chris turn to
study him. ‘Don’t you believe us?’

Joe’s mouth
curled into a sneer. ‘Nah… You might have Batarr fooled but I don’t
believe any of it.’

‘Well, how to
you explain the fact that I can understand Sasli?’ Susie asked;
stopping and glaring down at Joe.

The corners of
Joe’s mouth sank, but he said nothing. Chris knew Joe believed
them. That wasn’t the issue. ‘Look, you’re just a late developer,’
Chris said.

‘What?’

‘Your
powers.’

‘Oh…you think
so?’ Joe shook his head miserably, then turned and walked off.

Chris was
considering whether to follow him when Batarr reappeared. ‘There’s
only about an hour of light left, so we will pitch camp for the
night and make a fresh start in the morning.’

This was
excellent news. An hour of daylight left and they didn’t have to
spend it plodding up a mountain! Chris and Susie slipped away as
soon as the Taal turned their backs and found a stream with a large
pool, a little distance from the camp.

Susie dipped
her hand in the water. ‘There’s some big fish in here.’

‘Maybe we
should get some for dinner,’ Chris suggested. ‘You try and be their
friend, and I’ll grab them when they come close.’

She grinned at
him. ‘Ha, ha. I’m not about to kill anything. I think I’ll become
vegetarian when I get back home.’

Chris pulled a
face. ‘But don’t vegetables have feelings too? Won’t they get upset
if you eat them?’