Raven Rise

SECOND EARTH

We were going after Naymeer.

My plan was to move before dawn. Alder and I were wanted by the police. We would stick out on the streets of Stony Brook like, well, like two guys who were wanted by the police. There would be no place to hide in daylight. Not in the busy, crowded suburbs. We had to get to our destination before the sun came up.

The predawn hour was the best time to stage our attack. Our target? The Sherwood house where Naymeer lived. It made all sorts of sense to go after him there. As much as we debated about whether or not it was right to kill him, that wasn’t our first plan. We wanted to get him into the flume and off the territory. The flume was in the Sherwood house. Hopefully, Naymeer would be too. It was also a place where we stood the best chance of getting to him. Once he was out in public, surrounded by his guardians and worshipping followers, we wouldn’t even get close. If we could get into his house, in the quiet hours before dawn, hopefully his guards would be a little less alert. Hopefully. There were all sorts of things that could go wrong with this plan, but it was the only one I could come up with.

Alder woke me at three thirty a.m. I didn’t have near enough sleep. It would have to do. We had roughly three hours until sunrise. I figured it would take around an hour to get to the Sherwood house on foot. We quickly and quietly got dressed, splashed water on our faces, and finished off the last of the packaged food that the Chetwyndes had stowed for their next voyage. With a silent nod to each other, we were off.

It would have been risky to travel on a main road, so I led Alder on a trip through the backyards of Stony Brook. I had no problem finding my way. Up until I was fourteen, I must have explored every inch of my town. Most of them with Mark. Alder and I ran along train tracks, snuck across school parking lots and ball fields, and skirted private swimming pools. Whenever possible, we stayed on paths through woods that had yet to be developed. It was a piece of cake. We jogged the whole way. Both of us were in great shape. I think the anticipation of what was about to happen burned off any residual fatigue. We both knew that each step brought us closer to a showdown.

We made it to the Sherwood property with no problem. We crept behind a hedge that bordered the yard across the street from the imposing mansion. From there we got a decent view of our target.

“I trust you have a plan, Pendragon,” Alder whispered.

“Not exactly” was my answer. “All I can think of are negatives. There are the guards. Who knows how many? They’re the least of our worries. They’re armed, but I don’t think they’ll shoot us.”

“Why not?”

“Because Saint Dane wouldn’t allow it. At least, I don’t think he would. He wants us around for the end. I can get us over the wall, but I don’t know what kind of surveillance they have.”

“Surveillance?”

“Cameras, motion detectors, microphones, anything that would alert them to intruders.”

“I do not know what any of that means,” said the knight from Denduron.

“It means they’re going to know we’re here pretty quickly. All we can do is take on the guards and force our way in. I’m guessing Naymeer’s bedroom is upstairs. The big one is on the second floor, off the center of the hallway. If he’s here, that’s where he’ll be. We’ve got to grab him and get him down to the basement.”

“He will resist,” Alder added.

“He’s an old guy. If we get that far, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“What if we do not get that far? If we are separated? Or if Naymeer is not there?”

“No matter what happens with Naymeer, get to the flume. It’ll be our only hope of escape.”

“And go where?”

“Third Earth,” I answered quickly. “That’s the one thing I’m sure about. We need to find out what happened to Patrick. If we’re lucky enough to have Naymeer, we’ll see if getting him out of here changes Third Earth back to normal. If we don’t have him, we’ll regroup there.”

“There is a third scenario,” Alder reminded me. “If we find Naymeer, but are unable to get him to the flume, you must allow me to do what needs to be done.”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

Alder looked me square in the eye. “No, but I am capable.”

I grabbed Alder’s arm and squeezed. “You’re my brother. There’s nobody I’d rather be here with. Actually, I’d rather not be here at all, but since I am, I’m glad you are too.”

Alder laughed. “It is good you have not lost your sense of humor.”

I shrugged. “It’s pretty much the only thing I have left.”

We stayed low and crept out of the neighbor’s yard, headed for the Sherwood house. We moved quickly along the base of the high stone wall, like commandos, looking for the tree that Mark and Courtney always used to climb over. I held my breath. Would it still be there? It was a pretty huge security risk. If they were really trying to protect Naymeer, that tree would be the first thing to go. When I rounded the corner, I let myself breathe again. The tree was there. Idiots. We stopped at the base and looked up.

“There might be something on top,” I whispered. “Like barbwire that’ll make it tough to get over. Be careful.”

Alder gave me a leg up and I quickly climbed. When I reached the top of the wall, I scanned both ways, looking for anything that might hurt us, or maybe trigger an alarm. There didn’t seem to be anything. That was weird. Naymeer was a controversial guy. I thought for sure he’d need big security. Things didn’t look any different from when the house was empty. Dumb for him, good for us. I reached down for Alder and helped him climb up. I didn’t want to be on top of that wall for a second longer than necessary. As soon as Alder was up, I dropped my legs over the other side, lowered myself until I was fully stretched out with my hands on top, and let go. After a drop of a few feet, I was on the ground, inside the compound. I crouched down against the wall, wishing I were invisible.

A second later Alder’s huge form dropped down next to me. We were in. No alarms were triggered. No floodlights bathed the place. No hounds came running. Until that moment I didn’t think we stood a chance of getting close to Naymeer. After getting as far as we did, I was beginning to think we actually had a shot. I tapped Alder’s shoulder. The two of us crouched, and sprinted across the grass toward the house. We made it to a large bush of something-or-other that had grown next to the rail of the porch. We stayed close to it and rounded toward the front door. We had yet to see a single guard. The thought hit me that maybe it was because Naymeer wasn’t even there. That might explain the lack of security. Alder and I could be going all Navy SEAL while Naymeer was halfway around the world. I pushed the thought out of my head. If Naymeer wasn’t there, fine. We’d go to the flume and find Patrick.

I led Alder up onto the porch, trying not to make the wooden stairs squeak. Our next challenge would be to get inside the door. That’s when the fireworks would start. I figured the door would be hooked up to an alarm, and once we broke in, there would be people descending from all over.

“Do we break it down?” Alder whispered. “I think that’s the only way,” I answered. We both took a step back, ready to smash it open with a double kick and start the party. “Wait,” I said.

I stepped forward, reached out for the door handle…and opened the door. It was unlocked! I looked at Alder and shrugged. This wasn’t making sense. I had to figure that if the perimeter security was lacking, at least the security of the house itself would be good. It wasn’t. Alder and I were able to walk in as if we owned the place. He followed me in; I gently closed the door behind him; we both turned for the stairs…

And came face-to-face with Naymeer’s dog.

We froze. At first I thought it was a quig, but this dog was a sweet-looking black Lab. She sat on the bottom step with her ears up and her head cocked, as if thinking: “Who the heck are you guys?”

I knelt down and put my hand out in a friendly, nonthreatening gesture. I wanted to give her a good scratch behind the ears and send her on her way.

That’s not what happened.

The dog must not have understood the universal “I’ve put my hand out, so I’m cool” gesture. She started barking. Loud. Really loud. The house was so deathly silent, it sounded like thunder exploding inside. I guess Naymeer didn’t need a fancy alarm system when he had Old Yeller standing guard. The clock had started ticking. We had to get to Naymeer before his guards got to us. Alder and I started for the stairs just as one of the red-shirt guards made an appearance. He ran into the foyer from deeper in the house. One guard. A single guard. What were they thinking? They’d have to do better than that if they were going to keep us from Naymeer. Alder and I leaped at the guy. He didn’t stand a chance. He went for his Taser. I launched myself at his legs, feetfirst, knocking him forward. Alder hit him as he fell. The guard had been in the room, conscious, for maybe three seconds. He wasn’t anymore. Conscious, that is.

I ran for the stairs.

“Pendragon?” Alder called.

It surprised me that he called so loudly, but quiet didn’t count anymore. Not with Underdog still bellowing at us. I looked back to see Alder kneeling over the fallen red shirt. “Leave him,” I commanded.

“Look at this,” Alder said, ignoring me.

“Alder, c’mon. There’s gonna be more.”

“That is what I am afraid of.”

It was something about the grave way he said that that made me stop and focus. I jumped back down the stairs, past the barking dog, and ran to the kneeling knight. Alder held up his hand. In it, was an ear. The guard’s ear. My first thought was to retch. My second thought was to wonder why Alder would pick up the gruesome trophy. My third thought was the only one that counted. I took the ear. It didn’t feel right. Not that I’d ever held an ear before, but something was definitely off. It didn’t feel human. I looked at the unconscious guard. He was lying injured-ear-side up. Alder had knocked the ear clean off when he pounded the guy. There was no blood and no wound. Where the ear had been was a smashed piece of computer board.

“It’s a dado,” I gasped.

“Of course it is,” came a voice from across the foyer.

Alder and I both jumped to see Alexander Naymeer standing in the doorway that led to his office. He wore a deep red bathrobe over pajamas. Even at that early hour, the guy looked perfectly put together, like some kind of magazine ad for elderly slick guys in Vegas or something.

“All of my guardians are dados,” he continued. “They make excellent guards.”

The dog continued barking, even though her master was there.

“Nevva!” Naymeer commanded. “Come.”

The dog instantly stopped howling and ran to him.

“You named your dog ‘Nevva’?” I asked.

“After my former nanny. I believe you know her.”

I didn’t answer. I hadn’t thought about Nevva since I left Ibara. Was she lurking around somewhere? Could she possibly have taken on the form of a dog? It didn’t seem likely.

“Please,” Naymeer said cordially. “Join me, won’t you?”

He turned and went back into his office, leaving Alder and me alone in the foyer.

“This is just odd,” I whispered.

Alder followed the old man. I followed Alder. When we entered his office, Naymeer was headed for his desk, to pick up what looked like a TV remote control.

“I’m pleased that you two are here,” Naymeer said calmly. “It saves us all the trouble of hunting for you.”

It would have seemed so normal and cordial, if he hadn’t used the word “hunted.” That wasn’t a cordial word. Still, the whole British thing with the accent and the civility made it seem as if we were welcome guests.

On one wall was a huge, flat-screen TV that I hadn’t noticed the first time we were there. It looked like it was tuned to CNN.

“I am surprised you arrived so early in the day,” he continued. “Why is that? Did you expect to catch us all napping?”

Of course he was right, but we didn’t give him the satisfaction of answering.

“I don’t sleep much,” he continued. “There’s too much happening. I’ve already had breakfast. Would you like something to eat?”

Our answer was to stare at him. Naymeer shrugged and pointed the remote at the screen. Instantly the news went away as the on-screen image divided into several smaller pictures. A close look showed the feed from surveillance cameras that covered every possible angle of the compound. I felt Alder tense up. He wasn’t used to watching TV. Heck, he wasn’t used to any kind of technology. He’d probably freak if he saw an electric toothbrush.

“Are you surprised how easily you made it through to me?” Naymeer asked.

He gestured for us to look at the screen. We watched several different images of ourselves being played back simultaneously. We were recorded running toward the house from next door, creeping along the wall, climbing up the tree, climbing over the wall, and running to the house. Here we thought we were being so stealthy. They were watching us from the second we got within shouting distance.

“What is this magic?” Alder asked in awe.

“It’s not magic,” I answered. “It’s the surveillance I told you about. Oops.”

Naymeer added, “Suffice it to say, leaving the compound won’t be nearly as easy.”

He pointed the remote, and the screens changed to what looked like live pictures from the same surveillance cameras. Several red-shirt guards took positions at the front gate, at the front door, and at the four corners of the outside walls of the compound. In other words, we had walked into a trap.

“No matter,” Naymeer said jovially. “I’m sure you don’t wish to leave so quickly. Not after going through such trouble to see me.” He put the news program back on and sat behind his desk. “You caught me as I was preparing for this evening’s conclave. I would love it if you honored me by attending as my guests.”

“What’s a conclave?” I asked.

“A small gathering of the faithful,” Naymeer answered, waving his hand as if it were nothing. “Tonight should be especially eventful though. We’re preparing for the big night tomorrow.”

“What will happen tomorrow?” Alder asked.

Naymeer’s eyes went wide. “You can’t be serious! It’s the night of the General Assembly vote! It’s nothing less than the event that will decide the future of mankind.” He got a mischievous gleam in his eye and added, “And the future of Halla.”

I wanted to jump over the desk, yank him by his expensive robe, and drag him down to the flume right then and there. I might have tried, too, if the TV news show hadn’t caught Naymeer’s attention.

“Shhh!” he commanded, looking to the screen.

Alder and I looked to see a dark-skinned man being interviewed. He was introduced as Professor Haig Gastigian of New York University, the leader of a group called the “Foundation.” Mark and Courtney had told us all about the guy. He was the one sane voice that anybody seemed to be listening to.

On the screen, Gastigian said, “To say this has gone too far is a gross understatement. For the General Assembly of the United Nations to allow a single entity to dictate matters of morality is nothing short of fascism. There are far too many people who will not sit still and let these Ravinian people impose their value system on the world. We plan on staging a protest outside of the United Nations, beginning today and carrying through the vote tomorrow evening. In addition, as a show of strength and unity, there will be a major rally beginning tomorrow evening-”

Naymeer clicked off the TV and tossed the controller onto his desk in disgust. “Gastigian and his people call themselves the ‘Foundation,’” he scoffed. “Foundation of what? Failure? Excuse? Whimpering? Thinking that a group of loudmouthed ne’er-do-wells can stand up to us is exactly why we have become so powerful. Ravinia is about taking positive, decisive action, not whining and fearing change. Do they have any idea that their complaining and negativity is their downfall?”

There was plenty to discuss with Alexander Naymeer. But not then. Not there. I glanced at Alder and nodded. It was time.

“I want to hear all about it,” I said as the two of us stalked toward Naymeer’s desk. “Let’s take a trip first.”

“Excuse me?” Naymeer said, genuinely confused. “And please,” I added. “No whimpering.”

“Wha-”

Alder grabbed the guy’s arm and twisted it behind his back.

“You’re hurting me,” he complained.

“Nuh-uh,” I cautioned. “No whimpering.”

“I will not hurt you, so long as you do not resist,” Alder said to the man.

Naymeer didn’t fight. “You realize this is futile,” he said.

“Let’s find out,” I replied, and walked for the door.

Alder followed with Naymeer. The dog named Nevva sat on the couch and didn’t so much as whine in protest. It seemed as if this Nevva was just about as loyal as the original. When we exited the office, four red shirts arrived, each carrying Tasers.

“Stand back,” Naymeer ordered them. “I must not be harmed.”

The guards looked confused. Or as I’ve written before, as confused as a dado can look. They kind of bumped into one another as they jockeyed to get out of our way. I ran to the door that led to the cellar and the flume.

“Go,” I commanded after opening it.

Alder pushed Naymeer ahead and down the stairs. I looked back at the dado guards and said, “You bozos wait here. We won’t be long.” I closed the door, leaving them standing there, befuddled.

“What is the point?” Naymeer asked as Alder wrestled him down the stairs and through the basement. “Do you think taking me away from Second Earth will change anything? Ravinia is more powerful than any one man. All will continue as planned whether I’m here or not. This is all so futile.”

“Maybe,” I said. “Maybe not. We’ll know for sure in a couple of minutes.”

“What? How?” Naymeer asked.

“We’re going to see the future.”

We stopped at the wooden door with the star. The gate to the flume. I took a second, and touched the star symbol that had been burned into the door.

“This star used to represent something special,” I said to Naymeer. “Something bigger than all of us. This star said Halla. But you took it and made it into something small and hateful. You feel good about that?”

Naymeer lifted an eyebrow and said, “What makes you think that star ever represented anything other than the pursuit of perfection that is Ravinia?”

I wanted to hit the guy. Especially if he was right. I didn’t want to believe that the star was put at all the gates solely to mark the way for Saint Dane’s crusade. That would have been too horrifying to even think of. So I didn’t. I pulled open the door and motioned for Alder to take him into the root cellar.

“We’ll all travel together,” I said as I stepped into the mouth of the flume. “I don’t want to risk this guy getting away and-”

The flume came to life.

It began to crack and writhe as light appeared in the deep distance. I shot a look to Alder. I wasn’t sure why. He didn’t have any more answers than I did.

“This is my lucky day,” Naymeer said with a confident grin. “It looks as if I’m to be receiving additional guests.”

I jumped out of the flume and stood with Alder and Naymeer, our backs to the far wall. The gray stones of the flume turned to crystal. A shadow appeared. A tall shadow. A single Traveler had arrived. He walked slowly from the depths of the flume and stood with the light at his back.

The light didn’t disappear. That meant only one thing.

“I’m honored that you’ve all come to greet my return,” Saint Dane said. “I trust you’re getting acquainted.”

“We’re taking him out of here,” I shouted.

Saint Dane laughed. “Why would you do that? You wouldn’t want him to miss all the fun, would you?”

“Let’s go,” I growled to Alder, taking his arm and pulling him toward the flume. I didn’t care if Saint Dane was there. I was ready to bowl him over. We had to get Naymeer away from Second Earth. We had to change the future.

It was going to be harder than I thought. More shadows appeared from deep within the flume, walking toward us in two military-like lines.

Alder and I stopped short. “Dados,” he declared.

They all wore the red-shirt uniforms of Naymeer’s guardians. Naymeer was right. It was going to be a lot more difficult leaving the house than it had been getting in.

We weren’t ready to give up. I spotted the two dado-killing rods that we had brought from Denduron. They were still on the dirt floor where we had dropped them when we were Tasered on our arrival.

“Let him go,” I commanded Alder, while diving to the ground and grabbing the rods.

Alder pushed Naymeer away. I tossed him a weapon.

Saint Dane stood in the center of the flume with his legs apart and his arms folded. He wasn’t about to move.

“Must you always be so difficult, Pendragon?” he asked, bored.

“Uh, yeah” was my answer, and the fight was on.

The dados jogged past Saint Dane on either side of the demon, headed for us. I dropped my rod down to my waist, ready to use it like a prod. I nailed the first dado in line, instantly feeling his power going out. I pulled the weapon back and jabbed again at the second. They didn’t know what hit them. Wherever these dados came from, it wasn’t Quillan. They knew nothing about the power of these weapons. We had a chance.

Naymeer ran from the root cellar. I didn’t care. We had to get out of there and go to Third Earth, where we could figure out another plan of attack. Alder took out the dados one by one. The bodies were piling up, but more red shirts marched from the depths of the flume. Many more.

I heard Alder gasp. He’d been hit. I wasn’t sure by what. A Taser? The butt of a gun? He staggered. I went to him to try and keep the dados off him. It was the last move I made. There were too many of them. As soon as I jumped to Alder’s defense, I felt a sharp shot to the back of my head. I fell forward, dropping the weapon. Alder was already flat out. I was on my knees, about to join him. I took another shot to the side of my head and went down, hard. The last thing I remember seeing was Saint Dane’s smiling face looking down at me.

“Always the hard way,” he said, shaking his head.

(CONTINUED)