Kayla nodded, and they pushed down. Nothing happened. Like the rock had grown roots, it clung obstinately to the earth below. Jaden was about to tell Kayla they should give the handle another jolt when, with a soft whoosh, the rock gave way, lifting a little.
Working their way around the hole, they released the rock sufficiently so they could remove it. Except Jaden didn’t know how they’d manage. The rock was incredibly heavy. He discussed options with Kayla, and in minutes, they hatched a plan. Using some smaller stones they had collected earlier, they lifted and shimmed repeatedly in a circular manner until the rock was high enough for them to coax it from the hole using the shovel. It groaned out, flipped over, and came to a stop with its dirty underside facing away from them.
Diving into the hollow, Jaden and Kayla scooped out the stones they’d used as shims . . . and found nothing. Just more sand. Which, ironically, resembled beach sand, loose and fine, nothing like the hard soil they had had to dig through to this point. Jaden snatched up the shovel and attacked the soft earth, tossing large loads over his shoulder in an almost maniacal frenzy.
When his pace slowed, Kayla took over, digging just as feverishly. Ten minutes later, Jaden took over again. But after only a few loads, he threw the shovel to the ground and stalked off. Kayla trailed him, her disappointment as keen as his own. They dropped to the ground, away from the offending hole, miserable. It was time to face the painful truth: there was nothing in the hole.
Jaden slumped onto his back, permitting his aching muscles some relief. “I don’t understand. Why would the map lead us here if there was nothing to find?”
Kayla collapsed next to him. Turning his head, Jaden observed as she scratched peevishly at her birthmark. He would have to ask her about that sometime.
Sighing, Kayla said, “Maybe you were right. Whatever was there could’ve already been found or moved. Alternatively, it’s been here for so long that it’s completely disintegrated. If it was organic, it could’ve decomposed by now, right?”
Jaden nodded a mute agreement. While he understood her groping for a logical answer to his question, his fury rose by the minute. Why does the map show this precise spot if there’s nothing here? They had to be missing something.
Jaden rolled his shoulders, then rotated his neck, trying to stretch the stiff muscles as he lay on the hard ground. Something flashed from the rock they’d removed, lying just behind his upturned head. Rolling onto his stomach, he squinted to get a better view. There, embedded in the rock's underside, was a second relic stone.
“Would you look at that!” he exclaimed, leaping to his feet.
Kayla twisted her head backward, lacking the energy to spring up as Jaden had. Then her eyes widened.
“Ziggety! There’s another one!” Kayla shouted, bounding up to land next to Jaden in one fluid movement. Inspecting it, she asked, “How do we get it out of there?”
Winking, Jaden withdrew his Swiss army knife from the pocket in his pants. He examined the rock until he found what he was looking for. With extreme care, he inserted the tip of the blade into the tiny crack in the boulder on one side of the relic stone.
Gently, he tried prying the precious object from its prison. It didn’t give. Exasperated, he removed the tip and tried again, altering the angle. But the minute space hindered maneuverability, rendering his tactic ineffective. The relic stone remained lodged. Drawing back, Jaden frowned. His blade hadn’t even scratched the surface of the surrounding rock.
“How do you think they embedded the ring in the rock?” Kayla wondered aloud.
“Maybe they didn’t. It’s possible they buried it underneath the rock, but with time, and the rock’s weight, the two melded together.”
“That’s plausible. Then again, whoever placed it there might have wrapped the rock around it to prevent it from being removed.”
Jaden stared at her. Is she insane?
“What?” Kayla retorted. “Weren’t you the one who told me this morning that the more improbable the explanation, the more likely it was correct?”
“You have a point—again. It just sounded so ridiculous when you said it.”
Kayla laughed. “Didn’t it? But I made that point for a reason. If we figure out how the ring got in there, we might find the way to get it out. The knife is useless; it didn’t even mark the rock. Maybe a diamond-tipped drill bit would be the answer, but considering we don’t have one of those handy, what are the alternatives?”
Jaden considered. “Going with your theory and expanding it, let’s say someone from Zareh’s world secured the relic stone here. If that’s the case, then perhaps only someone—or something—from that world can remove it. Do you think the gliders could extract it with their talons?”
For the second time in as many minutes, Kayla laughed. “I’d like to see you asking Taz. I can already hear her complaining you’re ruining her manicure.”
The picture had Jaden laughing too. “Okay, so maybe not. Han would be the better option. Or we could ask him to carry the rock into the air and then drop it. He’s insanely strong, so the weight wouldn’t be a problem.”
“Hmm, no, not such a great idea either. If we can break the rock by dropping it, the relic stone might shatter too.”
Bamboozled, the teens studied the rock from various angles, as though this would impart inspiration. And oddly, it did. Jaden snapped his fingers and marched off to their pile of discarded digging stones. Searching until he found one with a relatively sharp point, he crossed back to the boulder and scraped the stone across the impervious surface.
The stone lasted all of ten seconds before it cracked and fragmented under the pressure. Jaden repeated the process with another stone, this one differing in color and texture, hoping this specimen was made of stronger stuff. But it crumbled in an even shorter time. In quick succession, he experimented with several others, all with the same unsatisfactory result.
Jaden sighed. “Well, whatever the boulder’s made of, it’s stronger than any of the other rocks up here.” His stomach grumbled. “Let’s grab lunch. I’m famished.”
Kayla agreed, and they clambered down the butte and trudged back to their camp. Discouraged, they mechanically removed the sandwiches they had brought with them and began chewing.
“The bats are taking forever to come back. Where do you think they are? Surely they can’t still be out foraging?” Kayla said.
“Who knows?” Jaden answered, his mind still puzzling over how they would remove the relic stone. “Maybe they figured they got us here, so there’s nothing more for them to do.”
“Jaden!” Kayla admonished. “They don’t think like that. We’re their responsibility, and I’m sure that wherever they are, they didn’t just dump us here!”
Jaden rolled his eyes. “I don’t really think that. I’m just being peevish. Forgive me?”
“Yes, but muzzle your mouth. If our gliders heard you, it would offend them.”
Jaden nodded. For the third time that day, she made a valid point. Her astute mind continually amazed him. No, that’s not true. It’s not only her mind. It’s everything about her. I’ve never met anyone like her before.
“What are you thinking?”
Kayla’s unexpected question flustered him. She would catch him thinking about her. But he wasn’t about to admit it. Not all of it anyway. “I was thinking about your brilliant brain. Why don’t you set it to work calculating how we can remove the relic stone from that rock?”
She eyed him curiously before answering. “That’s what I was doing. I was guessing the bats might have suggestions on what we could try, which made me wonder where they were. But since they aren’t back, I suppose we must figure it out for ourselves.”
“Bummer,” Jaden grumbled. But he was relieved she hadn’t asked why he’d been momentarily speechless. A random thought struck him. “Hey, where do you reckon the first relic stone came from? I mean, before it was in human hands? Was it also encased by rock?”
Without waiting for her r
eply, Jaden delved in his backpack for the relic stone. He had not thought to remove it when they took to the skies the previous day with their gliders. Then again, his mother’s disclosures and her distraught face when they left had traumatized him.
Pushing the depressing memories aside, Jaden scrutinized every square inch of the ring for signs of forcible removal from tough sheathing. He found none. Sighing, he stowed the ring in his zippered shirt pocket in case they wanted to look at it again when they were back on the butte.
“Nothing there?” Kayla guessed, noting his downcast face.
“Nope. What have you been up to?” he asked, aware she hadn’t been close.
“While you were studying your relic stone, I was collecting a few things that might help remove the other one.” She gestured toward a pile of pointy instruments: a bottle opener with a fortuitous corkscrew attachment on the opposite end; a small screwdriver; a pair of tweezers; a thick metal wire from the frame of her backpack; a star-shaped earring; and a small glass bottle. Eyeing the bottle, Jaden gestured toward it inquiringly.
Kayla grinned. “Who knows? It might just release the relic stone.”
Jaden had to smile. “Yeah, you never know. Should we take a cotton ball too?”
Kayla smacked him on the shoulder, but she laughed too. “Have anything you want to add before we climb that wretched hill again?”
Jaden poked around in his backpack, coming up with a pair of nail clippers, a magnet, and a paper clip. “More of the innocuous,” he said when Kayla raised her eyebrows.
Refreshed by the food and their break, they made short work of the trip back to the butte. Jaden couldn’t say it surprised him that the climb to the top seemed easier the second time around for Kayla. After heaving themselves onto the flat top, they retraced their path back to the overturned boulder.
Tipping their excavating tools out of the small bag they had brought them in, they unsuccessfully tried one after the other. Eventually, only the bottle remained.
“Should we smash it so we have a sharp edge to use?” Kayla asked.
“No, let’s take a break and think.”
They sprawled out on the ground. Jaden unzipped his pocket and retrieved the relic stone his grandmother had given him. How had this one come to exist? He studied it, but there were still no clues. Annoyed, he shoved the ring onto his index finger.
Boom!
Jaden flipped his hands towards his ears, but the ring distracted him midway—it was burning his finger! He altered the course his arm was taking, intent on ripping the ring off, but before he had a chance, there was a blinding flash of light, and an unseen force smashed his hand into his face.
Shell-shocked, Jaden lay there, waiting for something else to happen. But the noise had vanished. The light dimmed back to pure, desert sunshine. The air stilled. Sanity returned. A trickle of blood ran down his cheek where the ring had ripped the flesh.
Turning his head slowly toward his hand, the relic stone’s altered shape astounded him. He blinked, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. Staring at the ring, his eyes regained focus. The ring hadn’t changed shape. The second relic stone now supplemented it, inverting itself on the first, the two discs cemented together.
Jaden sat up gingerly. “What happened?”
“Why don’t you tell me?” Kayla snapped, rubbing her elbow where it had cracked against a rock, then gesturing toward the relic stones on his finger.
“I don’t know,” Jaden muttered, still confused.
“Well, maybe all the light and noise had something to do with it?”
“You think?”
They began laughing. It was a mixture of relief, joy, and fatigue all rolled into one sweet, liberating sound.
Kayla finally sputtered, “Why are we laughing?”
“No idea.” Jaden chortled, before another fit of laughter seized him.
When their laughter died down, Kayla said, “It seems we only needed the relic stone your grandmother gave you to get the other one out of the rock. How does that work?”
Jaden sighed, gesturing toward his medallion and the attached relic stones and then imitating something flying. “How does any of this work?”
“Right. Well, what now?”
“Get the rings apart? I don’t think they’re meant to remain attached.”
“Really, we’re flogging that horse again? I say we leave it where it is, get off this hill, and go get some dinner.”
“I like where you’re going with that thought—” Jaden began.
But he didn’t get any further. A piercing whistle interrupted him. Two enormous shadows rushed over them, momentarily blocking the sun’s heat and chilling him. Peering up, Jaden saw their gliders swooping past.
“Jump!” Han yelled, urgency imprinted along every line of his tense body. “You’re in danger.”
Danger? Here? Kayla’s face was as blank as his own. Then, looking around, Jaden spotted it. The impossibly black shape of the Gaptor, heading straight for them. Without hesitation, he and Kayla turned and sprinted to the edge of the small hill. They leaped with abandon. Their gliders caught them in midair before speeding off in a mad dash, intent on escape.
Chapter Five
“Spittlebugs, how’d he find us?” Kayla cursed.
“Our question too!” Taz shot back. “What were you doing? Shooting flares to mark your location? He appeared from nowhere, streaking toward your exact position like a cockroach to a festering cesspool.”
Kayla exchanged glances with Jaden. The only explanation was the explosive way the second relic stone removed itself from bondage. But she couldn’t talk. Their gliders were moving faster than in any of their practice sessions, and Kayla had to garner every ounce of concentration just to regulate her breathing.
“Well?” Taz demanded. “What were you two up to?”
“We found another relic stone,” Kayla gasped.
Taz wobbled under her in surprise. “You did? Where?”
“On that butte you rescued us from,” Kayla managed, squeezing each word out with extreme effort.
“Details later. Our focus must be on eluding that beast. Can we fly faster?”
“A little, but I’m almost at my limit.”
“It’s impossible to avoid him at this rate. We must make for the cliffs and try outmaneuvering him there.”
Taz swerved violently to the right. With her attention honed on not passing out, Kayla pitched face-first off of Taz’s back. Momentarily disoriented by the fall, it took a moment before she remembered to relax her body into the reconnection position. Secure in the knowledge Taz would snatch her up before she crashed to the desert floor, Kayla drifted. Taz flitted into view a split second later.
Catch Kayla Taz did, but she was livid, making no effort to hide her displeasure. “We can’t afford to lose time. We don’t have enough of a lead. Stay on!”
Yes, ma’am, Kayla pouted, her disposition soured by Taz’s strident tone. But Taz worried how they would escape the predator when they couldn’t rely on the speed that usually bailed them out.
That’s the real question. How are we going to get away? Kayla scoured the desolate terrain below but spotted nothing that might aid them. The few scrubby bushes and thorny cacti dotting the landscape wouldn’t pose much of a threat to the Gaptor’s armored hide, and they were too small to slow him down. How will the cliffs help?
Kayla didn’t have to wait long to find out. They covered the distance from the butte to the cliff edge, where she and Jaden had admired the view that morning, in record time. Crossing over the edge and into the void, Taz tucked her wings and plunged them into the valley.
Kayla’s stomach lurched as they dropped twenty feet in a heartbeat. The cliff face surged past in a blur. Terrified, Kayla pinched her knees into the bat’s side while feverishly gripping the fur on Taz’s neck ridge. It wouldn’t do to fall off again. They no longer had sufficient altitude for Taz to catch her. Fear made Kayla tighten her hold on the bat further, and not a moment too s
oon.
“Prepare for some extreme weaving,” Taz warned. “Han and I will try to roll the Gaptor into the cliff face. It’s the only way to buy time.”
What does that mean? But there was no time to think. Taz rolled so aggressively, Kayla silently thanked her for all the practice runs she’d insisted on in the past few days. Without those, Kayla would’ve had no hope of staying on. Is Jaden struggling as much as I am to stay on?
Risking a glance, she saw Jaden wobble as Han deviated abruptly. Her breath hitched. Han’s every curve, twist, and turn was reflected in Jaden’s flexing back and arm muscles as he fought to maintain his position. If she wasn’t so worried, she might’ve enjoyed the view. Regaining his equilibrium, Jaden caught her staring and grinned. Kayla flushed and averted her gaze. What did my face tell him?
Trying not to think about it, Kayla searched for the Gaptor. The monster had closed the margin between them. Significantly. Sudden movement under her as Taz swerved again made Kayla forget the revelation. Her focus narrowed to a single task—predicting Taz’s movements.
It took only two rocky protrusions to figure out what Taz was up to. She raced along the cliff face, sticking as close as possible and weaving around the irregular outcroppings. This was what caused the violent changes in direction. Proving the point, another bluff loomed, and Taz twisted away. This time, Kayla expected the shift and handled the realignment with ease. Satisfied, she considered how all this weaving around the cliffs would help them, but dropped the thought when she spotted another protrusion in their flight path. Kayla concentrated on keeping her perch as Taz swerved again.
Taz’s shout was unexpected. “Han, we’re running out of cliff face. Slow down!”
Kayla panicked. What? Are they insane? Why slow down? Leaning forward to argue with Taz, the words died when she spotted the Gaptor, terrifyingly close behind. “Hurry!” she screeched in Taz’s ear. “He’s right behind the boys!”
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