The Shaktra (11 page)

“You mention south, and you mention the sea. How far is the mountain from the sea? Is it closer than
our
mountain is to
our
sea?”

“Aye. It is not such a pretty mountain. It has no trees.”

“No trees?” The remark surprised her. And here she had thought the elemental kingdom was completely green. “Why are there no trees?”

“The mountain is in the south, near the desert.”

“Who lives in the desert?”

Paddy looked away. “No one.”

“Paddy?”

“No people, Missy. Paddy promises. No reason to go there.”

“But is there something dangerous in the desert?”

“No!”

“Paddy?”

He took forever to answer. “Scabs.”

“Scabs? What are scabs?”

“Scabs are scabs. They are dangerous. No reason to go into the desert.”

“Fine. We will not go into the desert. What lies directly north of the mountain?”

“Land, rocks, some trees, a wide river.”

“Who lives there?”

Paddy paused. “I do, and other leprechauns.”

Ali had to smile. “Is it a nice place?”

Paddy shrugged. “It is what it is. It is not as beautiful as Karolee.”

The word sent a wave of warmth through Ali. “What is that?”

Paddy looked up at her. “Missy must know.”

Ali spoke the words as if in a dream. “It’s where the fairies live. And the center of their kingdom is named Uleestar.” She discovered she was shaking. “Is that correct?”

“Aye. But Paddy has never been to Uleestar, only heard of it.”

“But you’ve been to Karolee?”

“Aye. From time to time.”

“What is it like?”

“Full of trees, running water, flowers, and fairies.”

“How do fairies and leprechauns get along?”

“There are fairies and there are fairies. Some like leprechauns, some do not.”

“But fairies allow leprechauns to cross their borders?”

“Aye. They did, Missy, not so much now.”

“Why?”

“Things change. Another war comes, leprechauns get pushed aside.”

“Would you say the fairies guard their borders well?”

“They guard Uleestar. It is strong.”

“How long would it take us to hike from the mountain to Uleestar?”

“Paddy does not know. Never been there.”

“Guess.”

“Missy?”

“I want you to give me your best guess.”

Paddy looked miserable. “Five days?”

Ali nodded. “Who lives to the east of Karolee?”

“Lord Vak and his elves.”

“And south of him is Lord Balar and the dwarves?”

“Aye. Dwarves are in the mountains, in their caves.”

“Where do the trolls come from?”

“The far east.”

“Are there mountains there?”

“Many mountains, Missy.”

Ali remembered a dream she’d had before they went up the mountain the first time. In it there had been huge white mountains in the sky, like floating icebergs, and a vast dark shadow on the western horizon. She asked Paddy about what she had seen.

“You mean the kloudar, aye. They are up in the sky.”

“Do they float all over the place?”

“They float around Anglar.”

“What is Anglar?”

“The moon.”

Ali was stunned. “You mean they orbit the moon?”

He was uncertain. “Paddy sees them near Anglar.”

“Does anyone live on the kloudar?”

“Dragons visit.”

Ali had to laugh. “There are dragons there?”

“Aye. Missy must know. Dragons visit the kloudar.”

“So these dragons, they fly?”

“Aye. The kloudar are high up.”

“Do fairies fly up to the kloudar?”

“Aye, the high fairies.”

“Does anyone else live on the kloudar?”

The leprechaun hesitated. “Paddy should not say.”

“Why not?”

“Paddy does not want to say.”

“Why don’t you want to say?”

“It is . . . my pa told Paddy . . . it is . . . too sacred to say.”

“Sacred?”

“Aye.”

“Do you even know what that word means?”

He just stared at her, didn’t speak.

Ali tried another tack. “What about in the west? What’s there?”

“The sea.”

“Is there something out in the sea? A place you know about?”

Paddy was suddenly agitated. “No.”

“Paddy?”

“Nothing there, Missy.”

“Is the Shaktra there? Is that where it came from?”

Paddy stopped walking and lowered his gaze. “We do not say the word.”

“How could it come out of the sea? What’s out there? Is there an island?”

Paddy nodded reluctantly. “The Isle of Greesh.”

“Who controls the Isle of Greesh?”

Paddy hung his head. “The fairies did.”

“
Did?
What happened? Did it fall?”

“Aye. It fell . . . It . . . We do not speak of it.”

Ali persisted. “It fell to the Shaktra? Is that what happened?”

“It just came.” Paddy glanced up, and in his huge green-and-gold eyes there might have been tears. “No one knows where it came from.”

She asked what
it
was, but could get no more out of him.

It took them another hour to reach Overhang. The name fit the spot; the rock ledge protruded from the side of the mountain like the edge of a giant, half-buried plate. Ordinarily, she would have considered it an ideal place to take shelter, but she planned to stop only long enough for them to eat and gather their strength for the final push. From her watch, she estimated they had only three hours of night left.

Nevertheless, she left the others in search of a nearby pond where she had spoken to Nemi previously. It was probably silly to think he would talk to her there again. Nemi had made it clear that neither a tree nor a pond were that important when he wished to talk. But still she hoped to reach out and grab his attention. She had so many questions in her head, and so few answers.

The pond took only a few minutes to find. It looked smaller than before, probably because some of the water had evaporated since June had changed into July. But it was as clear as she remembered
so still, and on its surface the moon could have been pretending to shine from the depths of the earth. Sitting on her knees close to the edge, she stared at the watery sky and prayed for Nemi to come.

“I really need your help,” she said. “I’m not sure where my mom is. I’m not sure who the old man is, or Nira, or Rose, or Ms. Smith. I don’t even know how to work the Yanti, not any more than when I found it. I’m tired of thinking that I’m the only one who can save the world when I’m not sure I can save myself. I keep getting these headaches—they’re getting worse. I give Steve and Cindy orders, and decide what Farble and Paddy are supposed to do, and all the time I think I’m supposed to be this great fairy queen, and I don’t even feel like a great person. I don’t feel like a normal girl anymore, either. It’s like each time I look in the mirror, I want it to break and find you on the other side. I need to feel you near, Nemi.” She lowered her head. “I need to feel your love . . . just to keep going.”

He did not respond, no one did, and she felt foolish.

Yet as she stood to go, an unexpected warmth touched her chest.

It was faint, she might have imagined it. But it brought a tear to her eye.

This tear, it was not sad, nor salty, and it reminded her of him.

“Nemi,” she whispered.

If it was not his hand on her heart, then at least she remembered her love for him.
That
might have been enough, for she suddenly felt stronger, more sure of the course she had chosen. She bowed to the pond as she left, and this time she did not feel foolish.

They reached the cave two hours later, high on the bare slopes, which put them ahead of schedule. The only problem was that the entrance was piled high with boulders. Ali did not have to study the huge rocks long to figure out what had happened. Many of the boulders were scarred with black lines, as if they had been torched by powerful lasers. The dark fairies had been busy with their fire stones—Radrine had deliberately cut off this entrance into her realm, and Ali had to wonder if the evil queen had blocked the other end of the cave as well.

“Looks like we should go home, Missy,” Paddy said hopefully.

She cast him a hard look. “Go sit on a rock and keep quiet.”

The leprechaun, seeing her foul mood, scurried off. Ali was angry with herself for not having anticipated the blocked cave. Her focus had been on the doors, how to open them. Yet it was not as if the barrier was unassailable. Given time, with Farble’s help, she was sure they could dig her way inside. But the clock was not on their side. One hour to dawn, and it would not be easy on Farble if the troll had to stand out in the sun. Sure, she had brought an umbrella and sunblock, like last time, and there
were clouds over the sea. But they might take two hours to blow inland. In the meantime, Farble could get burned.

The area was different for other reasons. There was still plenty of snow on top of the peak, but around the cave it was all rock and gravel. The latter was dark, like volcanic sand, and the moonlight gave it an otherworldly feel. For that matter, the top of the peak looked like a crystal cathedral erected on an alien moon. She had not talked about it, but the summit was her backup plan if she failed to open the green door. If the door would not budge, she was going to try to use the Yanti tomorrow night when the full moon was straight overhead. It had worked before . . .

Yet she feared her alternative plan. It was dependent on time and place.

Aware of the full moon, Lord Vak might be waiting for her on the other side.

Better to go through the green door, she thought, do the unexpected.

Ali turned to Farble. “We’re going to move these rocks out of the way, and we’re going to do it fast. The sun will be up in an hour. Move your rocks to the right, I’ll move mine to the left. Try not to crush Paddy.”

Farble nodded. “Help Geea.”

They set to work, and at first they made excellent progress. To Ali, the boulders were just big rocks, and she casually tossed them aside, while Farble, who was supposed to be partially made out of stone, worked without tiring.

Unfortunately, she had underestimated the blockage. The boulders did not cease when they finally dug beneath the cave ceiling. Radrine had not simply brought down the roof. Her slaves must have stolen boulders from other parts of the mountain, and jammed them into the entrance.

Light appeared in the east. They worked faster.

The heavy clouds over the sea had moved closer, but not close enough.

It was amazing how quickly the light grew.

Finally, Ali gestured for Farble to stop. “How do you feel?” she asked, panting.

“Hungry,” Farble said.

Ali ignored him; he was always hungry. She could see him turning more frequently to the east. The sky near the horizon was already turning red. Farble was well aware of the situation. Paddy called from behind them.

“We should go back down to the trees, Missy,” he said.

“We’re not going back,” Ali swore, reaching for her backpack. The last time she had fought Radrine, she had taken the evil queen’s fire stones and she had brought them along on this trip—just in case. The thought of using the dark fairies’ tools annoyed her, yet they did give her a channel through which she could pour a tremendous amount of her energy. Blasting the side of the mountain was not her idea of a deft approach. Anyone inside the cave would know she was coming. Yet she refused to let Farble burn.

Gesturing for the others to stand back, she focused the crystal globes toward the blocked entrance. Her breath was her battery, her will, the on switch. Power ran up her spine and the globes exploded in red light as a thin beam shot away from her. A dozen boulders instantly shattered, and their dust rained down all around them. Firing ten blasts in a row, she only stopped when she could no longer see what was in front of her. Luckily, a breeze came up right then, and the dust cleared, and she saw that the opening to the cave had been badly damaged, but that at least there were no longer any boulders in the way. Farble looked relieved, Paddy, disappointed.

“Nice cave,” Farble mumbled.

“Probably full of dark fairies,” Paddy said.

Ali smiled. “It’s not the
dark
fairies you have to worry about.”

She gave her father, and Steve, another call before she entered the cave. Steve continued to act evasive when she told him to stay away from Toule. She feared he had some silly plan up his sleeve . . .

Together, Paddy, Farble, and Ali went inside the cave.

Paddy carried a flashlight, as did she. As before, they had not hiked far when the walls and ceiling narrowed. Farble had to lean over to keep from hitting his head. The rough square shape was as she recalled, as was the material of the walls—a hard smooth black lava. The floor was also familiar; the grainy black sand clung to Ali’s shoes like magnetic dirt.

The cave went neither up nor down, but the temperature increased the further they went inside, and soon Ali removed her jacket. Since she had gained her fairy powers, hot and cold did not affect her much. However, using the fire stones might have taken energy out of her. Hurrying through the long cave, she realized she had a headache. Two grams of stardust and some water helped, but what she needed to do was lie down and rest.

After an hour the cave suddenly swelled in size, and they came to three metal doors, one set beside the other, arranged in a semicircle. She had seen them before. The metal was dark, dirty; all three doors were rectangles and had no markings, although each had a domed curve at the top. Each had a black handle as well, but there was no place to insert a key. All three were closed, and it was only the middle one that swung open when she tugged on it. Just before they went through, Ali gestured to the other two doors.

“Do either of you know where these doors lead?” she asked.

Farble and Paddy shook their heads.

They continued on. The cave began to angle upward, and for the first time Ali felt the effect of the altitude, as did Paddy. The steep slope demanded more effort. The two of them began to pant loudly, and the leprechaun signaled a few times that he had to stop. Ali did not begrudge him the rest. Since they were inside and out of the sun, she was not bound by any particular timetable. Yet that did not feel entirely true. A part of her gnawed at her to hurry.