“Smart,” Jaden murmured. “Even if you were watching from a distance, you could see which group but couldn’t identify the exact tree holding the access point. And I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts, if you ‘bark up the wrong tree’ so to speak, you’re in for a nasty surprise.”
Kayla and Atu giggled. When rumbling sounded behind them, they all turned, Jaden dropping his arm from around Kayla. Too stunned by what she saw, Kayla didn’t notice the loss. She gaped as a section of the cliff face slid open, exposing a narrow tunnel. Her first thought was how the bats would fit.
“Amazing!” Jaden crowed, clapping his hands with delight.
Atu was just as fascinated, strolling over to the entrance and poking his head in. “Yup, Armorer has some neat tricks up his sleeve.”
Sven returned and accepted their compliments graciously. “Thank you, thank you, you are too kind. But may I suggest we move? I don’t enjoy leaving my front door open for too long.”
Kayla gazed anxiously at Taz. “Can you and Han fit through there?”
“You’d be surprised at the spaces we can squeeze into when the need arises,” Taz said.
And to Kayla’s astonishment, Taz slid first one half of her body and then the other through the narrow opening, only barely touching the sides. Kayla was even more impressed when Taz sidled forward, her body sideways. “How do you do that?”
“Twisting in and out of confined spaces is something we learn even before we can fly because not all sleeping areas in your world are as spacious as they are in ours. We were all trained this way in the event we were the ones chosen to carry the next voyagers.”
“That’s some foresight,” Kayla said.
Taz sniffed. “I’m glad you approve.”
Kayla spotted Jaden reaching for her—to slide his arm around her again, she supposed. But she was feeling okay now. And she shouldn’t delude herself into thinking there was more to the action than he had stated, much as she wished there was. Plastering a smile on her face, Kayla slipped beyond his reach. “I’m feeling much better, thanks. I think I can manage on my own from here.”
Kayla almost relented when Jaden froze, forcing himself to back down so he could agree to her request.
Dropping his arm, he attempted a grin. “Alright then. But I’m here if you need me.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.”
From his frown, Kayla knew he was confused about what she appreciated: his offer of help or that he hadn’t persevered. Well, I’m not telling him. As if he knew that, Jaden turned away. Kayla allowed the small sigh its escape.
Ushering Kayla ahead of him, Jaden scooted her further down the tunnel, allowing the others access. They waited for Sven to shut the rocky door, but this time, he urged them ahead. “It’s a straight path from here, and it’s safe.”
“What? No more booby traps?” Jaden asked, disappointment coloring his voice.
Sven’s raucous laugh reverberated against the stone walls and echoed down the tunnel. “Even if I couldn’t disable them right here at the entrance, I don’t think they’re things you’d want to experience. None of the conventional knives coming out of nowhere or trapdoors opening under your feet, just some nastier treats.”
“Rad!” Jaden shouted. “You must show me sometime.”
Kayla rolled her eyes. “More toys! Talk about a man-cave haven.”
“Now, now, no stereotyping,” Jaden chided, his good humor restored as they negotiated the tunnel. Glancing at Kayla and confirming she was coping, he loped ahead, his curiosity stirred.
Kayla watched, amused, as he rushed down the corridor, inspecting it and trying to find the hidden traps. She giggled. He was incorrigible. Taz gritting her teeth wrecked Kayla’s carefree moment. Even though they were ambling, progressing through the cramped space was taking a toll on her glider.
About to suggest a break, Kayla smothered the words when the tunnel widened into a spacious hallway. A relief because Taz was too stubborn to admit to her pain. As they pressed on, Kayla kept a watchful eye on her bat, but Taz appeared to get stronger by the second. Whether this was because of the added space or Atu’s medicine taking effect, Kayla didn’t care. She was grateful either way. No longer distracted by Taz’s health, her own pain and fatigue resurfaced, and Kayla stumbled.
“You alright?” Atu murmured behind her.
“Just wasted. And my head is aching again.”
“Armorer, how much further?” Atu called back.
“About five minutes,” Sven replied.
Kayla groaned. “Is that until we get to the next obstacle or your home?”
“Home,” Sven’s worried voice returned. “Is everything alright up there?”
“I’ll let you know if it isn’t,” Atu replied. He studied Kayla. “Think you can make it?”
Kayla nodded gingerly but wasn’t at all sure she could last even another step. It felt like they’d spent half the day just reaching this spot. But her PAL refuted that notion—their journey had taken under thirty minutes. So what are another five? I can make it. If Taz can tough it out, so can I. But every step sent sharp stabs of pain skittering through her skull, and by the time the stone hallway emptied into a wide valley, Kayla was fighting back nausea.
She stretched a shaky hand out to Atu. “Can we stop for a bit?”
One look at her ashen face and Atu instantly understood the problem. “You need to throw up again?”
“I would if there was anything left in there.”
Atu scowled. “We should’ve stopped in the tunnel. You’ve been pushing yourself too hard. Why didn’t you say something? You should know better with your medical training.”
Kayla glared. “Sure, that really would have helped us reach a safe place quickly.”
“Nice to see you still have to have the last word,” Atu remarked, the tightness around his eyes easing. He waited, his tension ebbing when he saw slight traces of color filtering back into her face as they rested. “Feeling better?”
“A little, but can we give it a few more minutes before we move again?”
“What’s wrong?” Sven asked, catching up to them.
“Kayla needs a break. We can move again soon.”
“No, we’re there,” Sven declared, pointing ahead.
And when Kayla looked, there it was. The organic building materials blended seamlessly with the surrounding vegetation, camouflaging the building perfectly. “I wouldn’t have known it was there if you hadn’t pointed it out.”
“Let’s catch the geek before he walks right into a wall,” Sven said, referring to Jaden, who was blundering ahead. Scooping Kayla into his burly arms without effort or preamble, Sven carried her the remaining distance.
Too startled to protest, Kayla huddled there, thankful she didn’t have to take another step and closing her eyes in relief. Aware of Taz hovering, Kayla opened one eye to smile reassuringly at her glider, letting her know with one look she would be fine and that she was safe with Sven. When Sven slowed, Kayla opened her eyes. In time to witness Jaden catching himself just short of crashing into the wall of the house.
“Some craftsmanship,” Jaden said when he heard their approach, not turning to face them but analyzing the house with interest. Taking a few steps back, Jaden squinted at the house, verifying it was invisible until he’d almost walked into it. He was such a geek.
“Thank you, thank you!” Sven beamed. “Let’s get indoors where it’s warm.”
Jaden turned then and found Kayla in Sven’s arms. Emotions flashed across his face: concern she wasn’t on her own two feet; regret he had left her; and then guilt he had. He was by her side in an instant.
Jaden stroked a hand across her forehead. “Hey, what happened?”
Kayla managed a smile. His hand felt so warm and soothing against her head. “I almost made it. Sven just helped without asking first.”
Sven grinned sheepishly. “Sorry, I thought—”
“No, don’t apologize,” Kayla hurried to reassure him. “It really wa
s nice to not have to walk that last part. Thank you.”
Glancing at Jaden, Kayla’s pulse skipped when she saw the fire in his deep blue eyes. They sparked, and for a moment, Kayla feared the sparks would fly out and burn Sven’s hands. The way Jaden was eyeing Sven’s arms around her . . . he wasn’t happy. Kayla suddenly felt much better.
Jaden gritted his teeth and smiled tightly. “Yes, Sven, thank you for helping her.”
Kayla was happier than she’d been in a long time. Even though Jaden’s reactions weren’t making sense. She was too tired to care. One thing she was sure of, though: next time, he would make sure he was the one by her side. And wasn’t that a lovely thing to know.
Chapter Nineteen
Peering around Sven’s arms at the entrance to his home, Kayla frowned. This time, their gliders couldn’t possibly fit inside. “Um, I thought you said you had somewhere our gliders could rest?”
“I do,” Sven said. “They have their own entrance. Here, let me take you inside and set you down. Then I’ll show them where they can enter.”
Kayla smiled her thanks as Sven took her indoors and settled her on a soft, overstuffed sofa in what looked like the living room. Jaden and Atu followed Sven in, examining their surroundings.
“Please, make yourselves comfortable,” Sven said. “I’ll be back shortly with your gliders. Look for us over there.” Sven gestured toward the far wall.
“More magic tricks?” Atu teased.
“You’ll see,” Sven answered, disappearing out the door.
In seconds, the whirring had even Kayla scrutinizing every inch of the wall for the first sign of something unexpected. And unexpected it was when the roof over their heads shifted instead of the wall. They watched, fascinated, as the walls grew taller and the roof lifted higher, and then an opening appeared in the wall they’d been told to watch. On the other side, their gliders waited behind a beaming Sven.
“You like?”
Jaden grinned. “That has to be the best conversion we’ve seen today!”
“Yes!” Atu whooped, making them all jump and then laugh at his outburst. “Didn’t I tell you Armorer could help us?”
“You did,” Jaden answered.
Han and Taz stepped cautiously into the room, showing their lack of confidence in the newly created space.
“Are you sure the roof won’t fall back down?” Taz questioned, glancing up at it.
Sven chuckled. “No chance, I assure you.”
“If you say so,” Taz muttered, stepping further into the room.
Han trailed her. “You have made a striking home here, Armorer.”
“I tried to account for any eventuality. It was a little difficult guessing your size, but I’m pleased I allowed enough space. I’m honored you and Taz can use my home for shelter.”
Han dipped his head toward Sven, then hopped closer to Jaden, where he assumed his usual resting position. Taz did likewise, taking up her position behind Kayla.
Jaden gawked. “You suspected you might have to house gliders?”
“‘Fortune favors the prepared mind.’” Sven smiled, quoting Louis Pasteur. “I’ve had time to work on the house and my many other inventions. I went big, and if I didn’t get to use all this,” he said, gesturing expansively toward the house and general area around them, “it wouldn’t have mattered because I hoped it might help future seekers. I never dreamed I’d meet the seekers who’d be the next voyagers or their gliders.”
Digesting this, Jaden asked, “When was the last time you saw a Gaptor?”
“When that beast attacked me more than a month ago. Why?” Sven returned, interest gleaming in his eyes.
Jaden’s smile was tight. “According to the stories Atu’s father passed down, only one Gaptor remained in our world. And that abomination won’t be bothering us again. It’s the possibility of more Gaptors coming through that concerns us now. Since you’ve seen none in the last week, we can tentatively assume that hasn’t happened yet.”
Sven held up a hand. “Whoa, steady! That was a terabyte. What do you mean the one that attacked me won’t be back? You defeated it?”
“We did—although quite by accident.”
“How?” Sven’s barely contained excitement made them all smile.
Jaden displayed the ring on his finger, as did Kayla. Sven rushed forward, pulling their hands together as he examined the rings, his eyes glittering. “What are these? I’ve never seen such jewelry before.”
“They’re called ‘relic stones,’” Jaden replied.
“Where did you get them? And how do they work?” Sven’s enthusiasm bubbled over. “What are they made of? Did they kill the beast or send him back to his own world?”
Jaden paused. “That’s an excellent question. We thought the rings killed him because he turned to ash before our very eyes, disappearing as though he’d never existed. But it could’ve been the aftereffect of sending him back to where he came from.” Jaden frowned. “I suppose the real answer, then, is we don’t know for sure whether he was obliterated or transported. I wonder if Zareh would know—”
“Who’s Zareh?” Sven asked, his head snapping up at the unfamiliar name.
“I hate to be the party crasher here,” Kayla ventured, “but I need food to settle my stomach. Jaden, I’m shocked you haven’t asked for any yet.”
On cue, Jaden’s stomach growled.
“Yes, yes, where are my manners? We need to get you and your steeds fed. Please, don’t give me any more information until we have eaten and slept, no? Or I will keep you awake all night,” Sven confessed, bustling off toward the kitchen. “Come, let us speak of other things while I prepare dinner. I’ll do the talking—then I can’t get distracted, no? Fresh information is too tempting for me, I’m afraid.” He shrugged apologetically. “So, do you have questions for an old man like me?”
Kayla snorted. “You’re not old!”
Sven grinned at her, then winked at Atu. “I like this girl. You can bring her around anytime.”
They all laughed. Kayla voiced the question uppermost on her mind. “I have a question. How did you end up living out here in the middle of nowhere?”
Sven stopped what he was doing, gazing off into the distance.
“If that’s too personal, you don’t have to answer,” Kayla hurriedly added. “I’m sorry. I’m just being nosy.”
“No, not too personal. I’m just deciding where I should begin.” Sven brooded. “Maybe with what made me choose this location. It was a place safe from those hunting me.”
Kayla blanched. That didn’t sound good. Maybe he meant the Gaptor? “You mean the beast?”
“No, my dear, humans. The people I used to work for.”
Stunned silence followed his revelation. The teens looked at one another, unsure whether they should ask more questions or leave things as they were.
Sven decided for them. “I used to work for a highly covert branch of Gotskiena’s intelligence division.”
The room could not have been more still if a yet-to-be-invented atomizer vaporized them. Way to drop a bombshell, Kayla thought. Weren’t people who worked for those sorts of organizations not supposed to mention that?
Gripping his paring knife more firmly, Sven frowned and resumed chopping vegetables. “It began long ago when I was still a boy. I would spend hours in my father’s workshop, tinkering with the odds and ends he left lying around. Growing up on a farm meant there were always plenty of those, from steel pipes, to gears, to wheels, to pulleys, to scrap metal, and a thousand screws, nuts, and bolts, circuit boards, and chip sets.”
“Sounds like my kind of odds and ends too,” Jaden said.
Sven nodded. “I would find alternative ways of combining them, inventing things useful to both my parents. I grew older, and my interest in weapons manifested. I devised ways to modify weapons so they would be more powerful, more effective, and more accurate. Not exactly the thing an adolescent mind should dwell on.”
“Was that when my father met y
ou?” Atu interrupted. “He mentioned you lived in a rural area and had developed some unbelievable weapons.”
“It was. I’m surprised your father ever mentioned me to you.”
“You must’ve made an impression. He always told me that if I was ever in trouble and in need of weapons, you were the person I should reach out to. That’s why he called you the armorer.”
Sven chuckled. “Well, yes, now that I think of our first meeting, I suppose I made quite an impression.”
“It sounds like there’s a story there,” Atu said.
“Someone dared your father to sneak up on me. Not knowing any better, he agreed and hid behind a cow. So I made the cow disappear.”
“What?” Jaden and Atu exclaimed, and Kayla giggled.
“Yes, it was rather funny watching your father’s face,” Sven said, chuckling more.
“Wait, you’re saying you invented something that could disintegrate matter?” Jaden asked, wide-eyed.
Sven gave him a shrewd glance. “You’re definitely smart.”
“But isn’t that what all the hullaballoo is about with force weapons?” Jaden probed.
Kayla rolled her eyes at the interest flaring anew in Jaden’s eyes. Then again, his mind enjoyed solving puzzles and thrived on information. This quest must drive him nuts, she thought with a smile. One heck of a problem and not a lot of information. Am I a problem for him to solve too? Or does logic even enter the equation?
Considering the day’s events, Kayla realized his actions were bewildering and contradicted her conclusion he only wanted her as a friend. She closed her eyes. Her head was pounding. Now was not the time to get her hopes up.
Sven paused before he answered Jaden’s question. “It is.”
Jaden gave a shout and leaped up from his chair, pacing. “Well, if you’ve already designed a force weapon that can do that, why not sell your design to the highest bidder? Overnight, you’d be wealthy beyond your wildest imagination!”
“Because money is not what this is about.” Sven sighed. At Jaden’s quizzical expression, he elaborated. “Technology like that is far too dangerous to pass along. Think for a moment. Someone could commit murder, and there would be no evidence to show they had ever committed a crime. No blood, no body to find, no evidence, just missing people. How do you think they could maintain law and order after that?”
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