Whistlestop (22 page)

“
But my lord, we need those
nuclears!” Karl exclaimed. “How are we supposed to rule without
them?”

The Emperor of the Universe was
sitting in his library with Linger Bartholomew Breakneck. They sat
on matching overstuffed leather armchairs across a small table from
one another. The walls were lined with bookcases reaching up to the
stained-glass domed ceiling twenty feet above their heads. Linger
looked around as though checking for others listening, but the two
men were alone. “Make no mistake about it, Karl, we will have them.
The only question is how to get them to where they are needed
without my family butting in. As fortune would have it, the knights
are playing into our hands. After all, there are only four knights
left. Four nuclears should be enough to end their scourge.
Unfortunately, one of the knights is where we cannot get to him
yet.”

“
He is just a boy, my lord.
Certainly he is not that important. Once his family is dead, he
will likely forget about us. He may even choose to stay in the
Upper Realm. Problem solved, no?”

“
Perhaps, but as you know,
I do not like loose strings. There is also the chance that after we
act, the angels will intercede on their behalf, and then all would
be lost. Worse yet, our brazen attack may actually cause the others
to join forces against us. Up until now, it was only the Knights of
Winterpast who were able to convince the ogres, sprites, and others
to come together against us. No, I think we must stick to our
original plan. We will need several hundred nuclears, all detonated
simultaneously in order to drive civilization to an
end.”

“
We should be able to get
everything we need from Earth, my lord,” Karl replied. “There are
thousands of warheads in caches around the planet. Since it is the
Empty Realm, it is unlikely our forces will be noticed, especially
if we take a circuitous route to the various
destinations.”

“
Commandant Brad Lincoln
should be able to facilitate that.”

“
Are you certain he is up
for that task, Linger?”

Linger laughed and replied, “The
cities of that planet have already been emptied. I had thought
about using some of the warheads to destroy them, but the fallout
would likely kill most of your new slaves. The success of that
operation was largely due to Brad. I have been thinking you might
consider him for Trehbor of that planet.”

Karl looked shocked, but quickly
regained his composure. “My lord, perhaps we can make that
announcement after the nuclears are safely off the planet? That
will give us another measure of his competence to rule.”

Linger considered slaughtering Karl on
the spot. How could a mortal man dare to put conditions on the
desires of an immortal? Was it possible that Karl knew Brad was
really Bartok, and an ogre? After a moment, he calmed himself and
decided that Karl August Galantine Armstrong still had some value.
The Upper Realm would clearly become involved if Linger sat on the
throne. For a second, Linger imagined Bartok sitting across from
him as Emperor of the Universe. “I think that is a reasonable
approach, Karl. Why don’t we have a drink to celebrate, dear
friend?”

Karl hurried over to a small bar and
prepared drinks, while Linger sat thinking about the future. Far
above their heads, almost invisible on a piece of dark stained
glass, Asmodeus, in the form of a tiny spider looked down on them.
“Will you stop at nothing to destroy us all?” he thought. “My
brother talks about using nuclear weapons as one talks about
yawning and stretching after a nap. We will need to meet at the
Chamber of Despair again, without that bastard and formulate a
plan!”

Jerry had been working with Montrose
for three days. His workouts were made all the more intense by his
hatred of the situation. It was not that he hated Bastion, the
ogres, sprites or fairies. His family was in trouble, and he was
helpless to do anything about it. He hated his inability to protect
his family. He was an accountant, and now he was sparring with a
ten foot ogre with battle axes. All he wanted was to hold his wife
and children in his arms and know they were safe. Montrose swung
his blade horizontally to slice Jerry in half. Jerry jumped
straight into the air and did a flip over the ogre’s head and
landed behind him. He struck Montrose in the back with the butt of
the axe handle, knocking him off balance and down to the mat. Jerry
jumped on his back and held the blade against the ogre’s neck.
“Surrender or die, Emperor!”

“
Good job, Jerry,” Montrose
laughed. “You mastered the axe. Now get off of me!” Jerry climbed
down and Montrose flipped over and sat on the mat. “Me glad axes
not sharpened for sure!”

Jerry sat and put his hand on the
ogre’s knee. “Let me ask you a question, Montrose. You want your
son back, just like I want my family here with me. When can we
start doing something to make that happen?”

“
Now, if you want. But it
is not so easy, Jerry. Your family is with Jeremiah, so they are
safe.”

“
That’s what everyone says,
but I have to see them with my own eyes to know for sure. Do you
know where Bartok is?”

“
No, I have no idea. We
need a seer to help us find him, and elves to fold and more ogres
to fight. But that is not worst,” he sighed. “Bartok was new baby
when stolen. Demon probably told Bartok that I sold him. He was too
young to remember the truth. Bartok probably hates me. At least you
know your family loves you, Jerry.”

“
Don’t worry, friend, we
will find him.”

“
Hope so,
Jerry.”

They were interrupted by the sound of
the door being pulled open. Simplot walked in smiling. “Are you two
on a break?”

“
What do you want now,
Simplot?” Jerry snarled, which he knew was unfair. Simplot had
saved his life, but now represented this place and his
impotence.

“
Jerry, I know how you
feel, and that’s why I brought a friend.” Jeremiah Beetleweed
Mosscatcher walked in the door.

“
Jeremiah!” Jerry and
Montrose shouted in unison. Both jumped to their feet and ran over
to him. Montrose hoisted the elf high over his head and then hugged
him. “I missed you, elf!”

“
What brings you to
Bastion, Jeremiah?” Jerry asked.

“
Well, it is time to act
against the emperor, but we need an army. I think we need to
recruit ogres, sprites and fairies into our forces.”

Montrose set the elf down and noted,
“We need a seer to find my son, Jeremiah.”

The elf turned back to the door and
extended his arm. Lynnette Truth Iron-heart stood there smiling.
Jerry rushed over to her and held her in his arms. “My God, Lynn,
it’s so good to see you, my darling.” He kissed her over and again.
“Where are the kids? How are you? Why are you here?”

“
I am your seer,” she
smiled.

“
What?” he
gasped.

“
You’ve been gone for some
time, Jerry,” the elf started. “Much has changed since the emperor
stole you away. As it turns out, Lynn’s father is the Foreboding of
Asterpast. He fled to Earth several years after your father. She
had no memory of that former life either, but believe me, she is an
excellent seer, and we need her to let us know what will
happen.”

“
What about Lilian and
Jeremy, sweetheart?”

“
Don’t worry, Jerry,
they’re safe. Both are with our mothers and my
grandparents.”

“
I don’t know how that
makes them so safe.”

Jeremiah laughed. “You’ll learn,
Jerry, you’ll learn. Montrose, you should come with me to help get
our supplies. I think Jerry and Lynn will want so time together
before we leave.”

“
Where are we going,
Jeremiah?” Jerry asked.

“
We will travel around
Bastion, looking for more recruits. As our army builds, more will
want to join. At some point, we will meet up with the other armies
that your father and cousin are assembling. But we can talk about
this later. It’s good to see you again Jerry.” The others left the
building and Simplot pulled the door closed.

Lilian and Emmanuel were walking down
the sidewalk just outside her home in San Diego. The building was
smashed after the explosion when Jeremiah rescued them. Apparently,
nothing had been done with the wreckage. “Why are we here,
Lilian?”

“
It’s so quiet, Poppy,
where is everyone?”

“
I thought you
knew?”

She looked around at the empty
neighborhood and closed her eyes for a moment. She looked at her
great grandfather and said, “Everyone has been sent to prison
camps. It’s the same all over the world. Why would the emperor do
such a nasty thing?”

“
That’s a good question, my
dear. Frankly, it seems completely unnecessary. Without your family
to protect the people of Earth, he could have ruled with impunity.
What do you think?”

“
He wanted to steal their
hope and I think he wanted to make my family lose hope as well. If
dad and granddad knew what happened here, they would be very sad.
They might also think it is impossible to fight him.”

“
But we know
better.”

“
Yes we do, Poppy. Before
we go, can I fix the house?”

Emmanuel shrugged his shoulders and
replied, “If you like. Do you think you’ll ever come back
here?”

“
I don’t know, but someone
might like to live here. It was a very nice house.” She waved her
arm and the broken boards, glass and shingles flew into a funnel
and spun around, reassembling themselves before their eyes. Within
a minute, the house was whole again. “Can we leave now?”

“
That’s up to you,
sweetheart. This is practice for you.” In less than the blink of an
eye, they were walking across a barren, rock-strewn plain. A range
of jagged mountains was several miles ahead of them and a similar
range was even further behind. The heat was stifling and a few
buzzards flew in circles above their heads. “Are you certain it is
wise to come here, Lilian?”

“
Poppy, you know about my
dad’s boss, right?” He only smiled and patted her on the head. “I
think I should go in alone. You might scare them.”

Emmanuel shrank and turned into a
hummingbird, flew up and sat on her shoulder. “Is this
okay?”

“
Perfect, Poppy!” She
continued walking for another hour before the fence and gates of
the internment camp became visible. Even from this distance, she
could see the monsters standing guard and looking out from their
towers. “Poppy, why do the demons choose that form
here?”

“
They are trying to
terrorize the humans into inaction. Do you recall when they
attacked your house?” the hummingbird asked.

“
Of course.”

“
And you were frightened,
right?”

Far ahead, the gates opened and
several guards began to approach. “Yes, I was really scared. But
they are not really like that.”

“
No, but that form works
well in most of the realms. They are much larger than many higher
beings and their size gives them the appearance of power. But we
know better now.”

“
I’m beginning to,” Lilian
said, “but even now I am getting frightened by their appearance.”
The beasts were only one hundred feet away now. The razor-sharp
edges of their axes sparkled in the midday sunlight.

“
We can leave if you
prefer.”

“
No, it’s better if I face
them.”

“
Halt! Who are you, child,
and how did you escape the compound?” the lead guard
bellowed.

She curtsied politely and said, “I am
Lilian Lynnette Iron-heart, and I did not escape your silly prison
camp. Why have you put all the people of this planet in such awful
places?”

“
I do not have to answer
your questions,” the guard said. “Come along with us now and we
will find a bunk for you with the other children.”

“
I think not.”

“
What? Are you insane,
child? Come with us or we will chop you in half to feed the
buzzards overhead.”

“
That is where you are
mistaken, demon,” she growled.

The lead guard pushed one of the
others forward, saying, “Kill her.”

The guard looked back and replied,
“She’s just a child, sir.”

“
Kill her or I will turn
you over to father.”

The guard frowned but knew he had no
choice. He looked at Lilian and mouthed “I’m sorry” and then held
his axe overhead and rushed her, screaming out loud in hopes she
would flee. With each step the guard shrank by half. Four feet
away, he could no longer hold the axe and it fell to the ground.
The guard dropped onto his hands and knees and began to change. By
the time he reached her, he had become a cat. It purred and rubbed
against her shins. Lilian bent down and petted it. The other guards
stood staring in horror, dropped their axes and ran back toward the
gates. Lilian picked up the cat and continued forward.

No additional guards came forward to
stop her and most fled for the far side of the massive camp. When
she arrived at the open gate, she waved at the few guards left in
their towers and they sheepishly waved back. She continued further
into the camp. Prisoners poured out of their barracks and
surrounded her. They asked who she was and whether they were now
free. She handed the cat to another young girl in the front row and
smiled at her.