The Quillan Games

QUILLAN

“I never thought we’d see you again!” LaBerge said, all bubbly and happy as I walked up the marble stairs toward the front door of the castle. Behind me were the two security dados that had met me as soon as I set foot back inside the front gate. “This is just incredible! Do you know how much excitement is building for the Grand X? It’s impossible! It’s phenomenal! It’s-“

“Yeah, I get it,” I said.

“Oh,” LaBerge said, looking all pouty. “Just wanted to let you know how happy we are to see you back.”

He turned with a huff and stormed into the castle. Veego stood at the top of the stairs, staring at me with those cold, calculating eyes.

“Miss me?” I said, faking a smile.

“They told me you’d be back,” she said coldly. “I didn’t believe them. Yet here you are. I must admit, I don’t understand.”

I walked right up to her and said, “I’m here to win your dumb little contest. Is that a problem?”

Veego said, “Absolutely not. This is going to be the most widely seen Grand X in the history of the games. Your running away has only raised the interest. And now that youVe come back on your own, well, let’s just say we expect the wagering to be very high.”

“Then we’re all good,” I said. “I want to compete and you want to look good to your bosses. Everybody’s happy.” I was being kind of obnoxious, but couldn’t help myself.

Veego continued to stare at me suspiciously. “Don’t push your luck. Challenger Red,” she said. “We aren’t as dumb as you seem to think.”

“Really? How dumb are you?” I asked.

Veego didn’t fight back. “Your quarters haven’t been touched,” she said. “Settle in and we’ll begin the preparation.”

“Terrific,” I said, and walked past her, headed into the castle.

The woman grabbed me by the arm and said, “Just one more thing.”

Before I realized what was happening, she deftly slipped something over my hand and pushed it all the way up my arm. I instantly felt the tight grip of the loop as it grasped my biceps.

“Welcome back. Challenger Red,” she said with a sneer.

I didn’t give her the satisfaction of reacting, though the feeling of being constrained again by one of their leashes made my skin crawl. I continued on into the castle, where someone was waiting for me in the grand entryway.

“Hello, Challenger Red,” Fourteen said formally. “I’ll bring you to your room.”

“Hi, Fourteen,” I said. “Or maybe by now you’re Fifteen.”

My robot friend didn’t even crack a smile.

“Never mind,” I said. “I’m glad to see you.” I really was.

He had been pretty decent to me. I was glad that he was going to be my personal dado again. The two of us walked up the staircase toward my room.

“I wish I could say the same to you, Pendragon,” Fourteen said. “Why did you return?”

“For the Grand X,” I said. “I’m gonna win.”

Fourteen didn’t answer. If a robot could look worried, he looked worried.

“What?” I asked. “Don’t you think I can?”

“You certainly have the ability,” the dado said. “But Challenger Green does not win on ability alone.”

“I know, he’s a rotten cheat,” I said. “Don’t worry. I’m ready for him.”

“I do not think that is possible,” Fourteen said. “At least for you. I cannot see you lowering yourself to compete with his type of tactics.”

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I’ve got some tactics of my own, but thanks for your concern.”

Fourteen led me to my room and left me alone. When the door closed behind me, I looked around at the familiar space. I got the same feeling as when I’d jumped out of the car a while before. What had I gotten myself into? Why did I come back to this horror house? Up until that moment it had all felt like theory. Seeing the castle and this room made it real.

The Grand X didn’t happen right away. Nevva was right. Veego and LaBerge wanted to whip up as much excitement as they could. When I did my training, there was always a dado there with a small handheld camera. They were beaming my image all over Quillan so that everybody got to know Challenger Red. I didn’t see Challenger Green much, but the few times I caught a glimpse of him outside lifting weights, or doing exercises, I saw that there was a camera on him, too. I guess it was like showing those “up close and personal” videos of athletes during the Olympics on Second Earth.

Of course, there was no way that Veego and LaBerge could know that all this publicity was playing right into the hands of the revivers. Up until then, all anybody had actually seen of me were the Hook and Tock matches. Now they were seeing hours of me. I imagined my picture being shown on hundreds of screens lining the streets of Rune. It was kind of intimidating, to be honest. I found myself getting nervous. Not about the Grand X. I was more worried that I might not come off as the big “champion” that the revivers were building me up to be. I mean, I was still me. What if nobody was impressed? It would all be for nothing. I found myself trying extra hard during training to look worthy. I ran a little faster and did my best to impress during agility drills. I really wanted to do my part to build up the myth. I figured that was just as important as the actual training.

I had no idea if it was doing any good, until one day when I got an interesting opportunity. Fourteen brought me to the platform where the Tato competitions were held. Waiting there for me were Veego, LaBerge, and Challenger Green. I had no idea what was going on, but tried to act cool.

“Is this it?” I asked. “Are we starting?”

“No!” LaBerge said with excitement as he scampered up to me. “Veego and I thought it would be wonderful if you two could say a few words to the people of Quillan. You know, to let them know how you feel, and how it’s going to be such a fabulous Grand X and all.”

“It was my idea actually,” said Nevva Winter as she stepped up onto the platform. “What better way to let the people of Quillan know who they will be wagering on than to hear from the challengers themselves?”

As Nevva said this, she looked me square in the eye, as if she were trying to tell me something.

“We can say whatever we want?” I asked.

Veego chimed in, “So long as it doesn’t embarrass us, or Blok.”

“Oh, no,” I said sarcastically. “Wouldn’t want to do that!”

Nevva said, “Just tell them what you’re about, and why it’s important for you to win the Grand X.”

Nevva again looked right at me. I realized that she had set this up as a golden opportunity for me to tell the people why I was competing. Every person on Quillan would see this. I had to find the exact right words.

Challenger Green laughed and said, “You mean, there are other reasons for winning besides not getting killed?”

LaBerge was the only one who laughed. When he saw that nobody else did, he stopped. Idiot.

“Let Challenger Green go first,” I said. “He is the champion, he should have the honor.”

Actually, I wanted more time to think about what I was going to say.

“All right,” Green said. “Let’s do this.”

Veego and LaBerge stood together. A service dado appeared with a small camera and pointed it at them.

“Let us know when we are online,” Veego said to the dado.

Nevva stood next to me and spoke quietly, while looking at Veego and LaBerge.

“How are you?” she asked. “Ready” was my answer.

“You know this is an incredible opportunity,” she said. “The right words will put you over the top.”

“Yeah,” I said. “And the wrong words might bury me. Stop talking and let me think.”

The service dado nodded and signaled for the two to begin.

LaBerge put on his biggest smile and sang, “The time is growing near, the games are almost here; the challengers are ready, and now their words you’ll hear!”

Veego added, “This will be one of the most difficult choices you will ever face. Who best to place your wager on? We’ve done our best to educate you about the two challengers, now it’s time to hear from them, in their own words. First we will hear from the champion. Challenger Green.”

The service dado panned over to Challenger Green, who stood with his hands on his hips.

“You know me,” he said brusquely. “You know I don’t lose. I’ve been watching the games my whole life. Blok has never seen a champion as powerful as me. I’m going to be the first challenger to retire undefeated, and then tour Quillan to promote the games for Blok. When you think of Blok, you think of power and you think of me.”

He turned arid jumped down off the platform. The service dado quickly panned back to Veego and LaBerge, who seemed surprised by Challenger Green’s quick exit. I couldn’t have been happier about what he said. Nevva looked as if she were holding back a smile.

“That’s perfect,” she said. “He has totally aligned himself with Blok.”

Veego said to the camera, “And now we will hear from Challenger Red, the only challenger in history who is so confident, he actually asked to compete against Challenger Green. I give you… Challenger Red.”

The service dado whipped the camera to me as Nevva stepped aside. It’s a strange feeling to know that your image is being broadcast to millions of people. It was the biggest stage possible. I needed to make the most of it. I folded my hands in front of me and said, “You don’t know me as well as Challenger Green, but there’s something important you should understand. I didn’t come back to compete in the Grand X for myself. I could have disappeared and nobody would ever have seen me again. But I came here as a tribute to the people of Quillan.”

D. J. MacHale

The Quillan Games

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Veego and LaBerge give each other concerned looks.

“I’m here to prove that you don’t have to be big and powerful to triumph. I believe in myself, and I believe in the people of Quillan. And even though I know I will win the Grand X, I am asking each and every one of you to be brave, and as a protest against these brutal games, do not wager on the Grand X. Either on me or on Challenger Green. It’s the best way you can show Blok that you aren’t going to live by their rules any longer.”

“What?” LaBerge screamed.

Veego walked quickly to the service dado and pushed the camera off me.

“End this transmission,” she hissed at the dado. “Now!”

The dado hurried off the platform with the camera.

“How could you say that?” Nevva asked, faking surprise. “That was not authorized! The trustees will be very angry! I’m going to have to bring this up with them at once.”

Nevva hurried off the platform. Before she stepped down, she stole a quick look back at me, and winked. I had just kicked some serious Blok butt. Veego stood there, glaring at me, while LaBerge paced nervously.

“This is bad,” he clucked. “Very bad. We’ll be blamed, you know. How are we going to control this? Do you think the people will listen to him? What are we going to do?”

“We’re not going to do anything,” Veego said without taking her eyes off me. “Challenger Red will no longer be allowed to address the public. Beyond that, we will do nothing.”

LaBerge hurried off the platform, shaking his head fretfully and muttering, “This is bad; this is very bad.”

Veego took a step closer to me and said, “What are you doing. Challenger Red?”

“Just trying to get a little excitement going,” I said innocently. “That should get people talking, don’t you think?”

Veego stared at me for another moment, then turned and left. I wasn’t sure if I had gone too far. I didn’t think for a second that they would cancel the Grand X after all the buildup, but I couldn’t be sure.

There was one more event planned before the Grand X, and it was a big one. Challenger Green and I were to be paraded through the streets of Rune on the backs of two cars. The idea was for the people to see us in the flesh so they’d get all sorts of whipped up and excited… and of course make big wagers. Mark, Courtney, what happened that day was something I could only dream of. Up until that point, the idea of the people of Quillan seeing me and learning about me and believing in me as a symbol of their freedom was only a concept. It wasn’t real. I had to take what the revivers had said on faith. Though I had fully bought into the plan, somewhere in the back of my mind I wondered if the people were going to really care. What happened that afternoon shot those doubts to pieces. No, it vaporized them.

There were three cars in the parade. The first held Veego and LaBerge, I was on the second, and bringing up the rear was Challenger Green. We stood up through an opening in the roof so we could be seen by all. A line of security dados marched alongside the procession in case somebody did something silly and tried to get at us. I figured that was a good idea, because the streets of Rune were pretty crowded.

At the very least, the security dados would be able to clear a path for the cars to get through.

What happened was bedlam. I can only liken it to one of those ticker-tape parades they have in New York City for sports champions and astronauts and whatnot. It was absolutely, positively nuts. People were everywhere. They were packed on the sidewalks, hanging out of windows, and perched on top of buildings. They were screaming, too. As the parade turned off the side street and onto the main parade route, it was like being hit with a wall of noise from a thousand jet engines. It was such a mad sea of faces, it was hard to pick out any one person, but the thing that struck me most about the people was that they were smiling. I saw joy in their faces. It was something I hadn’t seen at all on Quillan, except for maybe the lucky few who had won a wager on a game. These people were ecstatic.

There wasn’t any ticker tape falling, but there was something else even better. I can’t say that every person had one- that would be impossible to judge. But thousands did. Wherever I looked, I saw old men and young kids and women and every type of person you could imagine waving a solid red flag. Maybe I’m a little slow, or maybe I was just too stunned by the whole scene to realize what that meant right away. It wasn’t until I heard the chant that it came together. It was tough to make out at first, because it was like white noise, but soon enough I understood what they were chanting: “Red! Red! Red!” These people were chanting for me! The red flags they were waving were for me! To say this was unbelievable is too simple a statement. It was impossible.

Ahead of me LaBerge beamed and waved like he had just won the World Series. I don’t think anybody cared. Veego stood stock still, with a tight smile on her face. I don’t know what she was thinking. If I were to guess, she was calculating how much these fools would wager on the underdog, me, and how much her enterprise would benefit. So I guess she was happy.

Turning around, I saw that Challenger Green was probably the only sour-looking person in sight. He stood with his hands gripping the roof of his car. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see the metal twisting in his fingers. Besides that, he was glaring at me. As they say, if looks could kill… there wouldn’t have been a Grand X. I would have been history right then and there.

I turned to face front. This was my moment and I wanted to enjoy it. If what was happening here in Rune was any indication, the revivers had done their job. The people were on my side. What remained to be seen was if they would take the next step and not wager on the Grand X. I suppose that didn’t matter much. This wasn’t about the betting. This was about creating a display that fired the people into action.

As great as the day was turning out to be, the best was yet to come.

The parade ended at the big, imposing Blok building. There was a wide balcony below the giant blok sign that looked down onto the street. We were quickly brought up there for a final event. On the balcony were me. Challenger Green, Veego, LaBerge, and a few of the trustees. Mr. Kayto wasn’t one of them, though I felt sure that Saint Dane was watching from somewhere. There were speeches and presentations and lots of blah blah blah about how exciting the event was going to be and how Quillan had never seen the likes of this and may never again and… who cared.

I looked down on a sea of people. That’s no exaggeration. It was a sea. The streets were packed solid. I’m sure that only the people up front could actually see us, but our images were projected on the screens up and down the street. As I stood there, trying not to listen to the speeches, a strange feeling came over me.

I wasn’t nervous, or intimidated. Of course I had played many basketball games in front of big crowds, but a big crowd for Stony Brook Junior High was about a thousand, and that was for a championship. Here I was being watched and scrutinized by millions. Literally, millions. I wondered why it didn’t freak me out. I guess it had something to do with the confidence I had in our mission. I looked at these people and knew that their lives would soon be better. Strangely enough, it seemed as if they felt it too. What I saw on those people’s faces that day was hope. Yeah, it was hope that I’d win the Grand X. Maybe I was making too much of it, but if these people had the ability to hope, then they had the ability to change their lives. It felt like they were beginning to realize that.

Of course, all of that had even greater implications. If I could help turn the course of events on Quillan, then Saint Dane would be done. I was sure of that. His goal of having me compete in the Grand X was to have me humiliated. Instead, I stood on that balcony being cheered by millions. I figured that Saint Dane must have been seething mad. It seemed like bringing me to Quillan had backfired. Before I got there, Quillan was lost. But my being there and competing in the games looked as if it would spark a revolution that would put the brakes on and bring Quillan back from the brink. The best part about it? Saint Dane had invited me. His quest to destroy me was going to lead to the salvation of a territory, and his own undoing. It was all pretty sweet. I looked out over those hopeful people and imagined all the many faces of Halla. The faces of all places and times. It was good. I had no doubt in my mind.

We were going to save Halla.

Challenger Green and I were not allowed to speak. I think my little speech a few days before might have had something to do with that. Still, we were both introduced and asked to step forward. First Veego introduced Challenger Green. I’m not going to say the guy was booed off the balcony-he wasn’t. There were a lot of cheers. After all, he was the champion and people had won bets on him. I didn’t hear a single “boo.” I wasn’t sure if that was because they still liked him, or they didn’t know the concept of booing.

On the other hand, what happened next was electric. I was introduced and the place went berserk. It was so loud, I thought the glass in the windows would shatter. The crowd became a sea of red as thousands of people waved their flags. I wasn’t sure what to do. Should I wave back? Should I clasp my hands over my head in the classic “champion” gesture? Or should I hold my arms out like you see royal people do? As I stood there, buffeted by the tornado of sound, an idea came to me. I wasn’t sure if it was a smart thing to do, or totally idiotic. I didn’t take the time to analyze it, I just went for it. I stepped forward on the small platform so the crowd could see me better. That small movement made them scream even more. I looked up and saw my image projected hundreds of times on screens along the avenue. The setting was perfect, so I did it.

I lifted my right hand and grasped my left biceps in the salute of the revival.

The reaction was so strong and so sudden, I thought the building was going to collapse. The whole place shook. I swear, this huge building made of black rock shook like a house of cards. It felt like an earthquake hit the street, that’s how strong the reaction was. The pounding of thousands of people jumping up and down made the foundation rock. I remember being in Yankee Stadium when the place was full and the people were rocking. The whole place moved. That’s what this felt like. The screams became so loud, it was painful. But it was perfect. There was no denying it now. The people knew exactly where I stood, and they were with me. I wished I could take that moment and bottle it. For a brief instant I saw my image on all the screens with my hand clasped on my biceps. Suddenly, all the screens went blank and I was pulled roughly off the platform by security dados. I was quickly brought into the building, but the crowd wouldn’t stop. The building was still shaking. I thought they might tear it down with their bare hands.

“Get them out of here,” Veego commanded the dados.

Challenger Green and I were hurried into separate elevators and taken down to the basement, where we were put in different cars and quickly driven underground away from the building. Even underground I could hear the chaos above. I could feel it. The dead city had returned to life. As I sat in the back of that car, alone, I had to smile. It was working. The revivers had succeeded. That image of me giving the reviver salute was icing on the cake. It had just been broadcast all over Quillan. The message was there. Change was coming.

Now all I had to do was win.

Oh, that.

I was driven back to the castle, where Fourteen met me and brought me right to my room.

“Did you enjoy your day?” he asked as we walked.

“Yeah,” I said casually. “It was okay.”

When I stepped into my room, I saw that Veego was there, waiting for me. I couldn’t tell if she was happy about what had happened, or totally pissed.

“Some show, huh?” I said cockily.

“You think you’re in control here, don’t you… Pendragon?” Whoa. Talk about a buzz killer. The party was over. How did she know my name? The look on my face must have told her how surprised I was.

“Yes, I know your name, Bobby Pendragon,” she said. “Aja Killian told me all about you.”

My knees went weak. Did I hear right? Had she said Aja Killian?

“I–I don’t understand” was all I was able to get out.

“Let’s drop the pretense,” she said. “I don’t know what you’re hoping to accomplish here, but I’ve worked too long and too hard to build up this operation to let you tear it down. I didn’t leave one disaster to step into another one.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said. I wasn’t covering, I really didn’t know.

“Stop feigning ignorance, Pendragon!” she snapped at me. “LaBerge and I know the truth. We aren’t from Quillan either.”

“Really? Where are you from?” I spoke weakly but my mind was racing.

“I know you,” she said, wagging her finger at me like a stern teacher. “I remember seeing you. You nearly destroyed Lifelight. I will not let you do the same here on Quillan.”

I wanted to scream. What was happening? “You’re from Veelox?” I shouted. “But… that’s impossible.”

‘Apparently it isn’t, because here we are,” she said.

“But… how?” was all I could ask.

Veego paced while staring at me with hatred. I truly had no idea what was going on. Was she Saint Dane? Was LaBerge? No, they couldn’t be. Saint Dane can do a lot of things but he can’t split himself in two. They had both been in the chambers of the trustees together with Mr. Kayto. Kayto was Saint Dane. Who was this woman?

“LaBerge and I were phaders on Veelox,” she finally said. “We monitored the Lifelight jumps. Aja Killian was our supervisor.”

My mind was reeling. I tried to keep up with what this could mean, but it was impossible.

“LaBerge and I entered into the fantasies of many people,” she said. “That’s where we came up with the ideas for the games. You really didn’t think LaBerge was that creative, did you? He’s an imbecile. I’d have gotten rid of him long ago if he weren’t my brother.”

Her brother. That explained a lot, but there was a long way to go.

“We found the ideas for the games from a thousand sources. A thousand fantasies. Between us we had access to the collective imagination of Veelox… and beyond.”

“Beyond?” I croaked. “Beyond what?”

“Wippen,” she answered. “We found that game on Eelong. It isn’t quite as exciting with horses as with zenzens, but it will do.”

“You’ve been to Eelong?” I shouted. I was reeling.

“Interesting place,” she answered. “I wouldn’t have minded staying longer, if it weren’t for the fact that those cat creatures thought we were food,”

“But… are you Travelers?”

“I don’t understand the question,” she said.

“Yes you do!” I shouted. “You have to! Only Travelers can use the flumes. If you’re not Travelers, then you would have destroyed them. Saint Dane must have told you that!”

“You mentioned that name before,” she said. “Who is this Saint Dane person?”

“Don’t he to me!” I shouted. “You have to know Saint Dane. That’s who sent me the invitation to come here!”

“I’m sorry. I never heard the name. Is he from Veelox as well?”

This was maddening. Veego and LaBerge couldn’t be from Veelox or they would have destroyed the flumes when they traveled.

“I don’t believe you,” I said. “If you’re really from a different territory, and you’re not Travelers, when you jumped into the flume you would have destroyed it. End of story.”

“I do seem to remember something about that,” she said calmly. The tide had turned. Veego was back in charge and I was groping again. My brief moment of control was long gone. The feeling I had while standing before the multitudes of Rune was less than a memory.

“Mr. Kayto explained it,” she said. “He said that as long as we went through the flume with him, there would be no trouble. Obviously he was right, because there wasn’t any. Marvelous devices, those flumes. Though I must admit, I don’t fully understand how they work or what the difference is between territories. Maybe you can explain that to me.”

“Mr. Kayto,” I said. “The trustee. He’s the one who brought you here?”

“He came to Veelox in search of talent to resurrect the gaming business here on Quillan,” she answered. “And found us. Veelox is in shambles, in case you didn’t know. Lifelight is failing. There is no one left who cares. Everyone has chosen to stay in their own fantasies… and they are dying there. People are starving. Power plants are failing. There is no food. Even the gloid plants are shuttered. It’s a nightmare. When Mr. Kayto offered us an alternative, we jumped at it, so to speak.”

“What about Aja?” I asked.

“She’s fighting a losing battle,” Veego said. “She’s very noble, trying to keep those poor souls alive. But it’s impossible. Which is why I’m here talking to you.”

That was it. That was the connection. Saint Dane went to Veelox in the form of Mr. Kayto. Veego and LaBerge didn’t know his true identity. That’s how Saint Dane got the invitation to send to me. Everything was felling into place… and falling apart.

Veego continued, “Now, I’ve told you what I’m doing here, what are you doing here?”

How could I answer that question simply? This woman had no clue about Travelers and Halla and what Saint Dane’s true goal was. I didn’t think for a second it would do any good to try to explain it to her. Not her. Not to someone who used people as pawns to serve her own selfish purposes.

“I–I think I’m here to compete in the Grand X,” I said. That was the honest truth.

“You think?” she asked.

“Yeah, I think. That’s the best I can do for you. Sorry.” I suddenly felt very tired.

“I don’t know who you really are, Pendragon, or where you’re from or what Travelers are, but I did see what you tried to do on Veelox. You wanted to destroy Lifelight, and you almost succeeded. For all I know, that may have been a good thing. I don’t care anymore. All I care about are my games and my life here on Quillan. LaBerge and I plan on being here a good long time, and we will not let you destroy something that is so perfect.”

“What are you going to do?” I asked. “Cancel the games? Pull me out? You saw how popular I am. Blok would get rid of you so fast your brother wouldn’t have time to pack up his little clown dolls.”

For the first time since I’d met her, Veego looked unsure of herself. She bit her lip.

“No,” she finally said. “You will compete. I don’t care if you win or you lose. I don’t care if you die or become the greatest challenger of all time. All I care about is that you compete.”

“Then we’re on the same page,” I said. “That’s all I want too. I want to compete and I want to win. You have my word on that.”

Veego looked at me and nodded. “We’ll take it one step at a time. After the Grand X, if you’re still alive, we’ll decide what to do from there.”

“Agreed,” I said.

Veego stood up straight. The cool, calm woman was back. She walked to the door, saying, “Get a good night’s sleep. Challenger Red. The Grand X is tomorrow.” She yanked the door open, walked through, and slammed it shut.

I sat there for a good long time, trying to make sense of what she’d told me. She and LaBerge were from Veelox. I believed that. There was no other way she could know those things. But they weren’t Travelers, which opened up a whole new, scary chapter in this already twisted story. Ordinary people could travel safely, so long as they were with a Traveler. They had no idea that Mr. Kayto was really a demon named Saint Dane, which meant they had no clue as to his plans for the destruction of Halla.

The thought of what this all meant was horrifying. The Travelers weren’t supposed to mix the territories. I was told that again and again by Uncle Press. I’d learned it myself more times than I could count. Territories had to play out their own destinies, without contamination from other worlds and cultures and times. Travelers were able to intercede, but they always had to work within the defined ways of a territory. That was the way it had to work. The Travelers had always tried to abide by that rule.

And now Saint Dane was flaunting it. He had tried to tip the natural balance of every territory he’d visited. He’d found the turning point on each territory and worked his evil to push events the wrong way. Now it seemed as if he were taking the next step by deliberately intermingling worlds. Was this his ultimate plan? Was he going to create chaos by having cultures and people collide? Was this how he intended to crush Halla? I didn’t pretend to understand the natural balance of all existence, and what might happen when that’s thrown off, but Saint Dane seemed to.

I’d thought that for Saint Dane, Quillan was about setting me up to get beaten. I learned there was a whole lot more to it when I met the revivers and saw their plans to take back the territory. But now it looked like Saint Dane had shifted into another gear. He was trying to blow Quillan apart by bringing in ordinary people and unique ideas from other territories. I couldn’t even begin to guess what that would lead to, for Quillan and Halla.

My head was exploding. I needed to talk to Nevva. She had to work her influence with the trustees to get rid of Veego and LaBerge. The games had to be shut down. We needed to get those two back to Veelox where they belonged. Quillan needed to be put back on its natural course. This had gotten bigger than Blok. This was about the future of Halla. I ran to the door. It was locked. My door was never locked. I threw my shoulder against it. It didn’t budge. I was a prisoner. A second later the door flew open. Standing there were three security dados.

“Is there something we can get for you?” one asked.

I slammed the door. I was trapped. Veego was going to keep a very close watch on Challenger Red.

Challenger Red. That’s right. The realization hit me. There was no way out of it. Tomorrow was the Grand X. I had to put these conflicting thoughts out of my head and focus. If I didn’t, I feared it might truly be the beginning of the end… not for just Quillan, but for Halla.

The only thing left for me to do was win.

(CONTINUED)