He smiled and sank into the ground. Only a minute later, he came out of the ground a few yards away from the entry gate to the dome, the edge of the lake right behind him. When two of Torron’s generals walked out of the gate and headed toward the lakeshore, he quickly sank into the ground and came up just ahead of the generals, where he transformed himself into a flat rock.
The two generals walked right up to Slatel. One sat down on him, while the other put his foot on Slatel and leaned on his knee.
“What do you think?” Haflyf asked.
“It’s not for me to have an opinion,” Hasmin answered. “The queen gives the orders and we follow. It’s the best way to live a good long life. You of all people should know that.”
“I’ve also learned, if you don’t speak up when you know something could go wrong, she’ll blame you for that too.”
“Damned if you do and damned if you don’t,” Hasmin lamented. “What do you think we should do?”
“Do as the queen has commanded,” Haflyf said.
“Well, we’ve already demonstrated our military superiority, so we shouldn’t have to cause maximum damage,” Hasmin said. “Maybe we could take the West Coast with little or no damage. There would be less to rebuild later on.”
“You’re not looking at the big picture, Hasmin. The West Coast of the United States is a tiny part of the world. If we completely devastate the West Coast, the rest of the world will easily fall. If we’re merciless, the world won’t want to provoke us ever again. The sacrifice of the entire West Coast would be well worth it, given we gain the rest of the world with little or no resistance. The queen is right. No mercy, even if they raise the white flag.” Haflyf scraped the mud off his boot onto the boulder he was leaning on.
The two generals headed back into the dome.
Slatel waited until they were out of sight, then rose up out of the boulder into himself. He shook his head as he rubbed the mud off his face, then sank back into the ground.
~~~
It took a little longer than I thought it would, but we’re finally at the top of the stairs, Jesse thought. Steve should be back soon with Slatel and T-Bone’s concoctions. Even if we have the Wand of Wongate, the Jaban potion, and the Oiltex elixir, I’m not sure how to use them. There have to be a thousand combinations.
“You’re daydreaming again, Jesse,” Jeremy said. “Should we wait here in this narrow hallway or should we go through the door?”
The stairs had led them out of the large, deep cavern and into a narrow hallway.
“We don’t know what’s on the other side,” Matt said. “I’d rather wait until Steve returns before we go.”
“I agree,” Caroline said. “Let’s wait until Steve and Slatel return.”
The hallway was just wide enough to walk in and about fifteen feet long. At one end were the stairs leading down, and at the other end was the small black door. If they opened it, they would have to duck down to enter.
They sat waiting, with their legs crossed.
Chapter 27
The Situation Room
The president entered the Situation Room. The entire National Security Council was there, the mood tense, with vigorous debates taking place all around the room. Screens displayed live feeds from various places on the West Coast. All thirteen domes were labeled by location. Six screens showed troop movements, ten screens showed civilian evacuation efforts, and one screen broadcast from Travis AFB. The other five screens were feeds from news organizations.
“What is the latest, Mark?” the president asked his chief of staff.
The room went quiet.
“Our air power is in place, the ground forces will be in place by zero hour, and . . .”
The president interrupted him. “By zero hour, you mean ten a.m. tomorrow morning?”
“Yes, Mr. President, by ten a.m. tomorrow morning,” Mark said. “The Pacific Fleet won’t be fully in place, but we’ll have sixty percent of the fleet ready by zero hour.”
“Sixty percent?” the president questioned.
“Yes, sir. Approximately forty-five ships, two hundred twenty aircraft, and twenty-three thousand navy and marine corps personnel. The rest will be here within the week. Can we speak privately, sir?”
“Yes.” The president motioned for the two to talk in the corner of the room.
The debates in the room started back up.
“What is it?” he asked.
“There’s a deep divide in the national security team,” Mark said. “The Homeland Security adviser, secretary of energy, and the treasury secretary want to wave the white flag. The vice president, secretary of state, and the secretary of defense want to have a vigorous defense of the country. We’re running out of time. A decision must be made.” Mark shook his head. “The ultimate fate of the nation—indeed, of the world—depends on what you decide right here, right now.”
“I understand there are two camps about what to do tomorrow,” the president announced as he sat at the head of the conference table.
Everyone quieted down and took their seats.
“One is for surrender. The other is to defend our nation. I have a strong opinion on the subject, but before I say anything, I want to hear two well-crafted and complete position statements. I’ll return in one hour. While I’m gone, I want the two sides to get together, pick a spokesman, and plead your case. I’ll make a decision once I’ve heard both sides. Now go conference together and be ready in one hour.”
President Davidson left the room, followed by his staff.
~~~
When Steve arrived at the north entrance to the Black Forest, five Rocpeans were waiting. “Wow! You guys really are fast,” he said as he settled to the ground.
“King Mumford said you needed help,” one of the Rocpeans said.
“Yes, I need to find the Cathedral of Gardenel,” Steve said. He pointed to the southwest. “It should be in that general direction. If you search underground, you should hit the foundation. I’ll be overhead. Once you locate the cathedral, start a fire. I’ll see the smoke and come to you.”
“The king said you know where Slatel is,” another one said.
“Yes, he’s on Earth working with the Alliance against the queen,” Steve said. “I don’t have a lot of time. Find the cathedral.”
The Rocpeans sank into the ground, and Steve flew into the air, crisscrossing the area just above the treetops.
~~~
“We don’t know how long it will take for Steve and Slatel to get here,” Jack said. “It took a couple of hours to climb the stairs, and we’ve been sitting here for more than thirty minutes now. I suggest we see what’s on the other side of the door.”
“There’s no place to hide here,” Caroline pointed out. “Once the door is open, we have to go through. If someone from the queen’s army decides to open the door, we’re dead. There’s no room to fight, and we can’t retreat. I agree with Jack. We should see what’s on the other side of the door.”
“I agree,” Matt said. “We’re in a pretty bad spot here.” He looked at Jeremy. “What do you think?”
“I’ve been uneasy since we sat down in this narrow hallway,” Jeremy said. “It’s small, and if we’re forced back down onto the stairs, there’s no rail. We’d be in a bad spot if attacked here. I say we go in.”
Jesse nodded in agreement, and they all stood up. She went to the door and placed both hands on it. It was warm to the touch. It had a wheel in the center with six latches, three on each side. She looked back at the others. “I’ll take a look.”
“Be careful,” Jeremy warned. “You’re the healer.”
She smiled and put her head straight through the door. She waited for a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the bright light, but the light was so intense, her eyes never adjusted. She withdrew her head and turned to Matt. “I need a pair of sunglasses.”
Matt rummaged through his knapsack, pulled out a small canteen, and placed it on the floor. Turn into sunglasses, he thought, and i
t did. He handed the sunglasses to Jesse.
She put them on, stuck her head through the door again, and came right back out. “Darker.”
Matt made them darker, and she put her head back through the door. She looked around long enough to see what was happening and came back out.
“Are you okay?” Matt asked.
“Yeah, there’s no one in the room,” Jesse said.
“I’ll go in and see if there is another door,” Matt said as he opened the door and went in. But, as soon as the door closed he came right back out.
“There is a good reason no one is in the room!” Matt exclaimed. “There are electric arcs jumping from the ball in the center, burning holes in the floor, walls and ceiling. It’s really dangerous in there.”
“Did you get a look around?” Jeremy asked.
Yes, the room is round, about the same size in diameter as the cavern we just climbed. The ceiling is probably thirty feet high. The tubes from below come up out of the floor in the center of the room and enter a large sphere-like globe.”
“Sphere-like globe?” Jeremy asked. “What does that mean?”
Jesse jumped in, and tried to explain. “I saw it too, it was round like a sphere, but it had flat sides.”
“Spheres don’t have flat sides,” Jeremy said.
“Well, that’s why Matt said it was sphere-like. It was like a sphere but had flat sides.”
“What did the flat sides look like?” Jeremy asked.
“I didn’t spend a lot of time looking at the sphere,” Jesse said, frustrated. “All I know is there were flat spots on the sphere.”
“It was probably a dodecahedron (dō-de-kə-hē-drən),” Jeremy said. “It would look like a sphere with flat sections. Each section would have five sides.”
“This one had flat triangles on it too,” Jesse added.
“Then it’s a snub dodecahedron,” Jeremy said. “They have a combination of five-sided flats mixed in with triangular-shaped flats. They make a pretty cool-looking sphere. Even though it has flat places on the surface, it looks like it has a smooth surface.”
“The surface was definitely not smooth,” Jesse said.
“Okay, then it’s likely a snub dodecadodecahedron,” Jeremy said. “It has a rough surface.”
Jesse gave Jeremy a quizzical look and shook her head. “Really? I knew you were into geometry, but a snub dodecadodecahedron?”
“Well, that’s probably what it is,” Jeremy said.
“Okay, okay,” Jack said. “It’s a big ball with bumps. What else is in the room?”
“The tubes from below come up through the floor and into the sphere. The sphere seems to be fixed in the air halfway between the floor and the ceiling. Another tube goes from the bottom of the sphere to the floor and then through the wall next to a door. If we are right there are thirteen tubes, one for each dome. There’s a light source in the center of the globe. That’s where the intense light is coming from. Electric arcs are dancing on the inside of the globe. Every now and then, an electric arc escapes the globe and shoots across the room, burning a one-inch hole in the wall, floor, or ceiling, depending on where it hits. There are hundreds of the holes around the room. There’s a second door on the opposite side of the room. It’s similar to this one with a wheel and six latches.”
“So we have two issues,” Caroline said and signed to Haven. “First, the danger of crossing the room, and second, we don’t know what’s on the other side of door number two.”
Chapter 28
Wand of Wongate
I need to help the Imphogs, Steve thought. They helped us when we needed help. He scolded himself. First things first. I need to get the wand, and we need to defeat Torron. Then I can come back to help the Imphogs. That’s it. I’ll come back . . . if I’m still alive.
Steve spotted smoke rising from the forest about a mile away. He got there in a flash and landed right in front of the cathedral.
“Thank you for locating the cathedral for me,” he said to the Rocpeans.
He began tearing the vines off the front of the building, uncovering the double front doors. He ran his fingers over the nine Symbols carved into the wood.
“These are the nine Symbols of Power,” he said, looking over his shoulder at the Rocpeans. “The Alliance has seven of them. Once I get the Wand of Wongate from inside the cathedral, we’ll have all of them except the Bracelet of Witstal. If we find the bracelet, we’ll be invincible.”
The hinges squealed and groaned as Steve pulled open the double doors. Part of the roof had collapsed since he was there last, and the vines had made their way inside. The once majestic cathedral had been reduced to a web of vines.
How am I supposed to find the wand in this mess?
Steve went to work clearing the vines from the cathedral, carrying bundles up through the hole in the roof. He made fast work and when about half the vines had been removed, he found the pedestal. It had been crushed by the falling debris from the roof. He looked around and found the urn a few feet away, also crushed. He looked through the broken pieces to no avail. There was no wand to be found. He continued to clear the cathedral until it was completely free of the vines. All that was left were leaves and small sticks.
He sat quietly on the floor in the corner.
It was supposed to be here. I was to come here, pick it up, and get back to the dome. Easy-peasy.
~~~
The loud discussions and arguments ceased as President Davidson entered the Situation Room.
“Johnson, let’s hear your side first,” the president said as he sat down.
He listened for an hour and a half to both sides.
One side contended that surrender was the best option. “We cannot win because of their protective shields and advanced technology. We would lose anyway. Therefore, surrender would save lives and property. Yes, we would be subject to rule by an invading force, but we have no viable alternative.”
The other side said, “We can never surrender our freedoms to an evil dictator. We have no idea what her end game is. Surrender would be the end of the United States and would lead to the downfall of the rest of the world.”
“What do you know about those kids . . . the Alpha-6 team?” the president asked. “General Wisecoff, you’ve talked to them. What is your opinion of what you know of them?”
General Wisecoff appeared on a large screen. Everyone turned to hear his answer.
“To be quite honest, at first I was skeptical. Their story of magic and time travel was hard to swallow. However, I’ve witnessed their capabilities firsthand and am convinced they’ll play a central role in the defense of our nation. They keep telling me, to defeat the aliens we must drive the queen back to where she came from. Driving her back is the key to winning this battle.”
“Have they said how that gets done?” Davidson asked.
“No,” General Wisecoff answered. “I’m told they’ve faced her four times before in the past. Each time has been different. Each time they had to figure out how to defeat her. This time is no different. They’re currently working on a solution.”
“Sir, if I may?” the director of the Central Intelligence Agency interrupted. “They’re only sixteen years old. This is life and death. There are millions of lives at stake. Hocus-pocus won’t be enough. I . . .”
The president raised his hand, stopping the director from continuing. “I’ve listened to both sides. I know the consequences of either decision. We will not surrender our great nation to a thug. This evil queen must be driven back to where she came from. Our forefathers down through the history of our great nation sacrificed life, limb, and treasure to preserve our freedoms. We must step up now to do the same. We will stand and fight. The losses may be great, but if we give in, there will be a greater loss, that of freedom and liberty. As Patrick Henry said so long ago, ‘Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me
liberty or give me death!’” The president stood. “We will try diplomacy first at nine a.m. If that doesn’t work, we must be prepared for battle. We will never retreat.”
~~~
Okay, it has to be here, Steve thought. Maybe it’s mixed in with the leaves and sticks. He got up and began flying around the room, faster and faster, until a whirlwind began to form. He went so fast, the whirlwind picked up all the leaves and blew them out through the hole in the roof. All that was left were the small sticks and twigs. He got to one end of the room and blew hard. The force of his breath blew the sticks into one corner. He and the five Rocpeans sorted through the pile of sticks.
When they had gotten about halfway through, one of the Rocpeans held up a wand. “I think I found it.”
“Yes, I think that’s it,” Steve said as he was handed the wand.
It looked like a crooked stick with several knots along the shaft. The only thing that separated it from a twig was the four-inch handle. Made of the same wood, it was smooth with a carved knob at the end.
“I’ll test it outside.”
They all went out through the double doors into the Black Forest. The Rocpeans stood behind Steve.
One hundred yards, Steve projected.
A beam shot out for one hundred yards. Steve swept the wand first to the left and then to the right, and all of the trees and underbrush were cut down for a hundred yards.
Done, Steve projected.
The beam came back into the wand.
“I’ve got to get back,” Steve said.
“Aren’t you going to help the Imphogs?” one of the Rocpeans asked. “They’re about to be exterminated.”
“I thought they couldn’t be killed,” Steve said.
“That was before Smalik,” the Rocpean said. “Smalik has become a great wizard. He’s been doing experiments on the Imphogs for years. Just before Torron left for the battle on Earth, he had a breakthrough. He can now kill the Imphogs. They’re being rounded up as we speak.”
“Are they being killed right now?” Steve asked.
Winds of War Page 17