The Quillan Games (39 page)

“You're late!” came a voice, echoing from somewhere.

I spun around and saw someone standing on the top of the stairs, looking down on us. He wore one of those masks
over his head like the people who'd rescued me from Veego and LaBerge. He stood with his legs wide, holding something that looked like a long, heavy black wand. He held it in one hand and tapped it into the palm of his other, menacingly.

“We stopped to watch the competition,” Nevva called up to the person. “I thought it was important for him to see.”

Another voice boomed from behind us. A quick look showed another person standing on top of the stairs, across from the first. “You know it's difficult for us to all get away during the day,” the second person said. “Our time is valuable.”

“I know that better than most,” Nevva said. She was apologizing, but she wasn't backing down. “I don't believe I wasted a minute of our time. Everything we did was important. I hope you'll trust my judgment on that.”

Three more dark figures appeared at the tops of the stairs. We were surrounded by these masked people, each with their own black baton.

I said to Nevva, “Tell me these are the revivers.”

“They are the leaders of the revival here in Rune,” she said. “Rune has the largest number of—”

“That's enough!” the first person barked.

Nevva fell quiet.

“I'm sorry,” she said. “But if he's going to help us, we have to trust him.”

The first person started walking down the stairs toward us. The others walked as well. The circle was closing in around us. These were supposed to be the good guys, but they didn't know who I was. If they thought I was a bad guy, it wouldn't matter if they were good guys or bad guys because . . . oh, you get the idea.

“What is your name?” the first person asked.

“Pendragon,” I answered. “What's yours?”

Nevva shot me a look as if I were being a little too smartass.
“Forgive him for that,” Nevva said, trying to do damage control.

“Should I also forgive him for being a liar?” the guy asked.

Huh? What did he mean by that? I looked to Nevva. She looked as clueless as I felt. The guy stepped off the stairs directly in front of me and pulled off his mask to reveal . . . he wasn't a he. He was a she. And I knew her. It was the woman on the motorbike who'd helped the guy escape from the dados when I first got to Quillan. That must mean . . .

I looked around as the other people removed their masks as well. Sure enough, one of them was the older guy who'd helped me escape from the dados, and brought me to the garage where I was captured.

“This is Tylee Magna,” Nevva said. “She is our leader here in Rune.”

“I see your loop is gone,” Tylee Magna said to me sarcastically. “Did you remove this one the same as the last one?”

“Wait!” Nevva said, confused. “You've met already?” It was the first time I saw Nevva rattled.

“I was being chased by security dados,” I said to Nevva. “They helped me get away, at least for a little while.”

This was going to be tricky. I had forgotten the lies I told these people when they helped me escape. If I wanted to gain their trust, I couldn't sound like I was making stuff up back then—which I was.

“You knew our sign,” the older guy said, grabbing his left biceps with his right hand.

“Pure luck,” I said. “I saw you give that sign to each other when you helped that other guy get away from the dados.”

The older guy and Tylee Magna exchanged looks. I didn't know if they were impressed that I was so observant, or angry
at themselves for being so obvious about their supersecret spy signals.

“So you tricked us into helping you, then lied to us,” Magna said matter-of-factly.

I figured I shouldn't add more lies to my lies so I said, “Yeah, I lied.”

“He is from another city,” Nevva said. “I gave him the challenger clothes, and the loop.”

The older guy with the gray hair said to Nevva, “We've seen him compete. You're right; he is exceptional.”

“It doesn't matter,” Magna said forcefully. “The risk is too great. There is too much at stake.”

Nevva said, “But think of what could happen if we're successful! This could be our defining moment! We have the chance to create the spark that puts the revival into motion. We can't pass up this chance!”

“And if he fails?” the woman asked.

“If he fails then we will be no worse off than we are now,” Nevva answered. “I don't see that there is a choice.”

“Uh, hello, folks!” I said. “Would somebody mind telling me what's going on?”

Nevva looked at Tylee Magna as if to get the okay to talk. Tylee nodded. Nevva stepped in front of me and said, “We are ready. Throughout all of Quillan there are tens of thousands of people who are prepared to take back their lives.”

“Are you talking about a civil war?” I asked.

“In a way, yes,” she answered. “We will start with the security dados. They must be destroyed. We have been storing weapons and training to do just that. Once their security force is no longer a threat, the power will be ours. Blok relies on manpower to exist. If the people revolt, Blok will be powerless. Their factories can be shut down, the tarz can be interrupted, water plants can be controlled.”

“If it's that easy, why haven't you done it already?” I asked.

Tylee Magna answered, “Because the people don't have the will. Blok not only controls our lives, it controls our minds. After so many generations of living this way, people don't believe there is any other way of life. Blok has stolen the most valuable possession any person can have—imagination. “

The old guy who reminded me of my father added, “The revivers believe we can bring that back. We have been working to show people that there is so much more to life than what they have. It sounds so simple, but to do it on such a large scale is daunting. We have tens of thousands on our side. We need millions.”

“How does Mr. Pop fit into this?” I asked.

The revivers shared looks. Nevva leaned toward Magna. She wanted to hear the answer as much as I did.

“Mr. Pop is our spiritual leader,” the woman answered. “Once the revival begins, it will be Mr. Pop who will show us all the way. But it is up to us to take the first step.”

Nevva added, “That's where you come in, Pendragon. We've been looking for the right person to light the fuse on the revival. I believe it is you.” She looked right at me for emphasis and said, “This could be the turning point for Quillan, Pendragon.”

Crash!

Shattered glass and pieces of brick rained down on us. The revivers jumped back, looking just as surprised as I was. I covered my eyes and looked up to see dark figures descending from the broken ceiling directly above us. Like giant marauding spiders they quickly slid down on ropes that were dropped from the roof.

“They found us,” Tylee Magna gasped.

They weren't giant spiders. They were security dados. They had discovered the lair of the revivers.

(CONTINUED)

W
e were under attack.

“How did they find this place?” the old guy said, stunned.

Nobody hung around for an answer. The security dados were coming down right on our heads. It was like being descended on by commandos. They zipped down the lines with military-like precision and skill. There were about eight of them headed down the lines. Who knew how many more were waiting above? We were outnumbered. Worse. They had guns. My first instinct was to run. For all I knew, this was an assassination squad. The others had the same thought. Nobody wanted to stick around and fight these guys.

“Scatter!” Magna commanded. “They can't get us all.”

The five revivers scampered off in different directions.

I looked at Nevva. Her eyes were wide and scared. “I'll find you,” she said, and took off.

It was time for me to do the same. As the dados slid down their lines, I ran for the stairs up to the next level of the mall,
taking them three at a time. I got to the top and took off running down one wide corridor. I was totally winging it because I had no idea where to go. My
hope
was that I'd find a doorway that led out, before the dados hit the ground and could follow. Of course my
fear
was that I'd find a door that led to a dead end and the dados would catch me and bring me back to the castle. Or worse. Running ahead of me was one of the revivers. I made the snap decision to follow him. I figured he had to know where he was going.

Fum! Fum!

Too late. The dados were firing their golden guns before they even reached the ground. The running reviver was nailed by both shots. His head snapped back as he fell forward. I think he was unconscious before he hit the floor. I dove to the ground and slid on my belly across the hard marble floor. I wanted to make as small a target as possible. I looked back quickly to see the dados descending on their lines past the level I was on, down to the bottom, where we had been standing moments before. That meant I had a few seconds before they landed, ran up the stairs, and started shooting again. I spotted the metal wand that the reviver had dropped when he was shot. On instinct I scrambled over and grabbed it. The unconscious reviver had no more use for it. The thing was about six feet long. It was thin, but it had weight. It wasn't as heavy as the wooden stave weapons from Zadaa, but I needed something to protect myself. It would have to do.

I was about to take off running, when it hit me that the unconscious reviver was at the mercy of the security dados. What if this really was an assassination squad? Or what if they captured the guy and made him give up more secrets about the revivers? I couldn't leave the guy there helpless. So I dropped the black wand, grabbed his legs, and pulled him toward one of the empty stores.

Inside I saw row after row of empty racks that spanned from the front of the store all the way to the back. It was once a bookstore. The shelves were barren, except for a few sad and yellowed books. In that split second I imagined these empty rows to be full of colorful books. The idea that the heart and soul of an entire territory could be destroyed, forgotten, and cemented over by a blanket of gray was gut wrenching.

It was also gut wrenching to know that we were being hunted down by killer robots. I didn't have time to hang around getting depressed over the loss of Quillan's books. I grabbed the unconscious reviver guy by one arm and one leg, and awkwardly picked him up in a fireman's carry. The guy was small and fairly light, but I have to admit, I was getting strong. All that work at the training camp on Zadaa had paid off. It also helped that I was scared to death. Like I've always said, adrenaline can be your friend. Once he was up on my shoulders, I knew I could move. At least for a little while. No way I could outrun anybody, but at least I could get the two of us to a safe place where we could hide. I took two steps toward the back of the store, when my big plan shattered . . . along with the front windows of the bookstore.

Fum. Fum. Fum.

Yeah, they saw us. I ducked down behind the first empty book rack as three dados jumped in through the smashed-out windows. I was operating more out of instinct than anything else. With the reviver guy still on my shoulders, I put my back against the book rack and pushed. The long rack fell on top of the attacking dados. I hoped it would slow them down long enough for me to get past them and out of the store. There was nothing more I could do for the unconscious reviver. If I tried to carry him, the dados would get us both. I had to let go of the poor guy and try to escape.

I leaped over the crashed book rack, past the flailing dados, through the broken window, and back out into the mall. I braced myself, expecting to feel the shock and shudder of getting shot by one of those stun guns. I told myself to keep moving until it happened. When I got through the window, I saw the metal wand was right where I'd left it. Without hesitation I scooped it up.

Those two seconds were costly. It gave the dados in the bookstore the chance to get their wits back. (Do robots have wits?) No sooner did I straighten up than one leaped at me through the shattered window with his gun drawn. I was done. Running was not an option. This mechanical robot would shoot me for sure at a range that was barely farther than point blank. When I was back on Zadaa, I made the decision that I no longer wanted to be a helpless victim who relied on others to protect himself. I had gone through grueling warrior training for situations just like this one. I now had the skills to defend myself. There was only one thing to do.

Use them.

I figured if I could keep them in close, I could keep them from shooting. Of course it was still three on one, and they were robots, but what the heck. Nothing I could do about that. All I knew for sure was that I did not want to go back to that castle. At least not easily.

The first dado came at me like a defensive back trying to make an open-field tackle. I spun out of the way and slashed at his gun hand with the black wand. The weapon made a nasty
swoosh-crack
sound as it cut through the air and slapped the dado's outstretched hand, knocking the gun out of his grip. I quickly slashed with the other end, cracking the robot on the back of his head, sending him sprawling. I didn't want to think what this simple but lethal weapon would do to flesh and bone.

The dado didn't make a sound. He didn't feel pain. Or if he did, he covered it well. I was about to go for the golden weapon when I saw the other two dados leap at me from the bookstore. I held the long wand out in front of me with both hands, parallel to the ground and my arms locked. I caught both the robots in the gut at the same time. If they had been people, they both would have doubled over in pain. They weren't people. There was no doubling over and no pain. I was on one knee, holding the weapon out, with a dado on either end. The two stood there, looking down at me with their dead doll eyes as if nothing had happened.