The Battle for WondLa

by Tony DiTerlizzi

  Huxley’s jovial voice turned grim. “I’d say, between the royal guardsmen and the pillar guards, Loroc will be dealt with. But we can swoop in and get you out if it gets hairy, Eva.”

  “Yeah, just call us.” Hailey turned his cup upside down to get the last drop.

  “I can use this to stay in touch.” Eva pulled out Cadmus’s Omnipod.

  “Good idea,” Van Turner said. “Now where do we hide a thousand-plus refugees?”

  Everyone took a sip of tea, except for Hailey who had finished his.

  “If we could put ’em in a safe place, but also use this opportunity to let ’em poke around a little and open their eyes to their new way of life, then that would be good,” said Van Turner, thinking aloud.

  “Then stay at the ancient ruins.” Eva swirled her hot tea over the brown lump at the bottom of her cup. “Let them see what I have seen. Let them understand what could happen.”

  “And if Loroc’s forces find us?” Van Turner asked.

  “There is an entity at the ruins who will protect you. A lone pillar guard who would stop any warbots that might land.” Eva grabbed the liquid light pen from her poncho. She plucked up the rag wrapped around the teapot’s handle and drew a picture of the pillar guard on it. Next to the guard she drew herself. She handed the rag to Van Turner. “Show the guard this, and he’ll know you’re with me.”

  “That’s it? Really?” Van Turner looked at the drawing on the rag.

  “Really,” said Hailey. “Trust her.”

  Eva smiled at him.

  Huxley extinguished the campfire. “And as long as you remain in the ruins and don’t venture out into the desert, you should be fine for a couple of days.”

  “I think we have plenty of hydration tablets for that,” said Hailey.

  “Goody! Time for class number two: How to Make Water.” Van Turner rubbed his hands together. “I’m gonna go tell them, and we’ll load up for takeoff.”

  “So soon?” Eva was enjoying the moment.

  “The sooner the better.” Hailey tipped the teapot for more tea, but it was empty. “Unloading everybody and settling them at the ruins is going to take some time.”

  While she finished her tea, Eva walked over to Otto and patted his head. She whispered into his ear, “I want you to stay here and watch over the Cæruleans and Halcyonus, okay? They need someone to protect them.”

  The water bear looked up and hooted while munching on the corrugated leaves of giant lichen.

  I watch. You. My herd.

  I’ll be okay, Eva thought to Otto. And I shall see you soon. She nuzzled Otto on the nose and returned to her friends.

  Van Turner was stroking Bix’s fine coat. “You don’t mind if we take them with us, do you?”

  Eva scratched Bax around his horns, causing him to nicker with delight. “Of course not. They love Sustibars, though, so keep those in a secure place.”

  “Class number three: Munty-runner Riding and Care,” Van Turner said with a grin. He hugged Eva. “Good luck, reboot.”

  “You, too.” Eva squeezed him tight.

  Huxley mussed Eva’s white hair. “I’ll see you soon, right?”

  “Do you think they’ll write songs about our bravery?” Eva asked.

  Huxley chuckled at her joke. “Don’t change, little bayrie,” he said with a wink. He helped Van Turner lead Bix and Bax up the ramp and into the ship.

  Eva gulped down the last of her tea. She handed her cup to Hailey, but he grabbed her hand before she could withdraw it.

  “What?” Eva looked down at the pilot’s dirty fingers. Her gaze rose up and met his.

  “Eva.” His voice was just above a whisper. “You know that I always wanted to be a retriever, just like my dad?”

  “I think your father would be proud of what you’ve done.”

  He shook his head. “Just—let me finish. There’s a motto the retrievers used to have. I memorized it when I was a little kid: ‘Wherever you may roam, we’ll safely bring you home.’ ”

  Eva smiled. “That’s a good motto.”

  “But none of us has a home anymore.” Hailey swallowed. “Where am I going to bring you?”

  Eva glanced down at her pale fingers in both his hands. “I think home can be more than a single place. I think it is wherever you find those that you love. A family.” She gazed into his hazel eyes.

  Hailey broke the gaze and looked down at his feet.

  Behind them the Cærulean shuttle set down in a clearing and the ramp opened. At the entrance stood Rovender.

  “I have to go,” said Eva.

  Hailey looked back up at her. “I will bring you home, Eva Nine, I swear.”

  “You better.” She smiled. “Or I will hunt you down like a sand-sniper.”

  He gave a lopsided grin. “At least I don’t smell like one.”

  Eva stood on her tiptoes, kissed him quickly on the cheek, and dashed off to join Rovender on the shuttle. As the shuttle began to ascend, she watched Hailey give a final wave from the ground below and walk up the ramp of his warship.

  CHAPTER 27: SCARS

  We will land in cover of de Wandering Forest and remain dere for tonight,” said Redimus. He finished strapping down his glider and followed Eva and Rovender up to the cabin of the shuttle.

  Through the open cockpit door Antiquus could be seen seated in the copilot’s chair and engaged in conversation with the pilot. “ . . . your silence about this is important, Hækel. Understand?”

  “Understood,” Hækel replied, and gave a little wave to Eva. “We all set, Rovender?”

  “All set.” Rovender sat down and strapped in. Eva did the same.

  Flopping down opposite them, Redimus’s large frame sprawled out over several passenger seats. “Eva Nine, tomorrow morning, before de feaz, I will take you to zee de queen.”

  “That should be when the first tribal leaders shall be arriving,” Antiquus said from the copilot’s seat.

  “So it will simply seem like we are also arriving for the meeting,” said Rovender.

  Redimus yawned and nodded.

  “What about the Halcyonus leader staying at your village, Rovee?” Eva asked.

  “She’s not a fan of flying,” Hækel said.

  “She and her aide leave today on our prized munt-runners. Galell is guiding them,” Antiquus said.

  “If the weather is good, they should arrive midafternoon, just before the feast starts,” added Hækel.

  “Redimus, how do you plan to sneak Eva in to see the queen?” Rovender asked.

  “I have eet under control.” Redimus grinned, showing the edge of his sharpened beak. “Onze we arrive in Zolas, I wheel tell your shuttle pilot what to do.”

  Eva and Rovender exchanged concerned glances. This did not go unnoticed by Redimus.

  “What?” he asked.

  “That part of the plan seems a little vague,” said Eva.

  “Do not fret, Eva Nine. As I have zaid, eet iz under control,” said Redimus. “I will tell you when de time arrivez.”

  Eva crossed her arms and gave Redimus a look.

  “Do I frighten you, Eva Nine?” asked Redimus.

  “It is a little much to ask, Redimus. After all, the last Dorcean—the only Dorcean—that Eva encountered was Besteel,” said Rovender.

  “I know dat you crozzed pazz wiz my brozeel and he left a bad imprezzion . . . as he waz known to do. If I may, I would like to share a ztory about Bezteel and myzelf. Perhapz eet will offer zome fragment of understanding. Yez?”

  Rovender looked at Eva. She scooted close to him. “Okay,” she mumbled.

  “Our zire raised us in de forest, north of Lake Concorz. De woodz dere are wild and untamed, full of beasts unlike any you wheel ever zee. My zire waz an exzellent huntsman and able to live off de land and eat any-zing he came acrozz. Do either of you have ziblings?”

  “I do not,” said Rovender. “But she has an older sister.”

  Redimus leaned back in his seat. “Zo, Eva Nine, you underztand then dat yo
ur zibling, even if born of de zame litter and raised by de same zire, iz not identical to you?”

  Eva reluctantly nodded in agreement.

  Redimus continued. “At a young age Bezteel proved to be an exzellent huntzman, just like our zire. A good tracker, stealthy, quick, and eager to kill.”

  “Yes, yes, we know the Dorcean values,” said Antiquus, listening from his seat.

  “Yez. But you do not know me.” Redimus gazed at Eva with his good eye. “My zire favorz Bezteel.” He began counting things off on his clawed fingers. “I am an exzellent tracker. I am quite stealthy. But de killing . . . I lack de zeal for eet.”

  “Really?” Rovender leaned in toward Redimus, his curiosity piqued.

  “Yez. Keeling to zatisfy your hunger is just. But to zlay for sport or trophy? Dis I cannot do.” Redimus looked down at his taloned hands. “One time we had znared a horned martick dat had been poaching our ztore of food during de night. Vizious creaturez, dey are. My zire demanded dat I be de one to crush iz skull. I hezitated. Eet attacked.” He pointed to the scars on his face. “I think I pauzed because I knew de martick did what eet needed to zurvive. But dat split zecond cozz me an eye—and my zire. He wanted me to carry de scars of my miztake as a reminder. Later he told me from heez deathbed, ‘You are embarrazzment to our heritage, our way of life, and our kind.’ And zo, before my father pazzed, I left heem, Bezteel, and de forest. I travel to Zolas.”

  Eva stayed close to Rovender, wondering if a horned martick was the beast she’d encountered in the forest. As she listened, she could hear both the sadness and the pain in Redimus’s voice.

  “What did you do in Solas?” Rovender pulled out a bag of dried berries and seeds. He offered some to Redimus, but the Dorcean declined.

  “I joined de Royal Beamguide crew for a bit,” he said.

  “Like Huxley?” Eva asked.

  “I am nuzzing like dat one. But yez, although I azked for a different ezpedition team. We mapped north of Zolas, whereas hiz team went west. Of courze, he choze de wrong team and de humanz capture heem.”

  “And Besteel?” Rovender asked.

  Redimus reached into his own satchel and pulled out an elongate fruit with spikes running in rows down its length. He began to peel it. “Becauze I knew de area zo well, I led de beamguide crew through de northern forezz. Dere, we came across Bezteel. I had not zeen him zince our zire pazzed on. Dezpite our different lives, he is de only family I have. Zo I azked him to visit me zometime in de city.” Redimus adjusted his weight in his seat, as if uncomfortable. “One day he came, and I showed him around. We ate and drank until our ztomachz and cropz were full. While at de tavern we maybe had too much Nuccan usquebaugh.”

  Rovender shook his head. “Usquebaugh. Yes, I know what you mean.”

  “Zo my brozeel got belligerent and he became boastful. He zaid to me, ‘I can hunt down and nab any prey. But you never could. Zire was ashamed of you.’ ” Redimus let out a heavy sigh. He wrapped up the fruit and put it back in his satchel, uneaten.

  “The relationship with your father must have been difficult,” Antiquus spoke softly. “It hurts me to hear how you were treated.”

  “Yez. My only family . . . I thought dey hated me.”

  Rovender and his father looked at one another.

  Anger surfaced in Redimus’s tone. “Zo I told Bezteel, ‘I can do de thingz that you can do; I juzz chooze not to.’ ”

  During her brief time spent with her sister, there had been frustrating moments when Eva Eight had not always seen things Eva’s way. She remembered arguing with Eight, abandoning her . . . even kicking and hitting her.

  “Zo Bezteel, he zaid, ‘Prove eet.’ ” Redimus wrung his many hands together. He kept his eyes fixed on the floor of the shuttle. “I took heez boomrod and went to de Royal Menagerie.”

  “No!” Rovender put his hand to his mouth in shock.

  “That was you?” Antiquus’s eyes were wide.

  “Yez.” Redimus did not raise his head.

  A wave of nervousness came over Eva as she anticipated his answer. “Wait, what did you do?”

  Redimus looked Eva in the eyes. “I zlaughtered every animal in de queen’z menagerie.”

  Eva recoiled into Rovender. He put a reassuring arm around her and held her close to him.

  “Eet waz wrong. I know,” said Redimus. “But I killed dem to show my brozeel. I killed dem to show my zire. But in showing Bezteel that I choze not to be de monzter that he waz, I became zomething worzz.” Redimus put his head in his hands.

  “And you were captured immediately. I have heard this part,” said Antiquus.

  “Yez. Both of uz were caught, and I waz imprizoned. Bezteel begged for my freedom. He told de queen dat he waz de one rezponzible, and for her to jail heem inztead of me. But Ojo would not have eet. She knew de truth.” Redimus took a deep breath as if releasing the haunting memory from his body. “She challenged Bezteel to capture one zingle specimen of every creature known to Zin. If he accomplished thiz, then she would zet me free.”

  “And so off he went.” Rovender leaned back in his seat.

  “On a fool’s errand,” said Antiquus.

  “Becauze of me,” said Redimus.

  Eva kept her arms folded and said nothing. Unlike her, Redimus had endured a terrible upbringing. But did that excuse him or Besteel for what they had done?

  Redimus gazed back up at Eva. “My brozeel could hunt down and capture any-zing. Exzept you. Eet is he dat should have feared you, Eva Nine, not de other way around.”

  “He was relentless,” Rovender said. “And he did . . . much damage.”

  “My home, my life, and my Muthr—all were taken away by him.” The scorn in Eva’s voice made the words stick in her mouth.

  “I know dere is nozing I can zay that wheel bring dose things back,” Redimus said, his voice but a whisper. “I azzept dat I am juzt az much to blame for what haz tranzpired. Unlike Bezteel, who haz left dis world, I muzz continue on carrying de burden of my pazz actions. Know dat, if you know forgivenezz, my burden wheel become dat much more lighter.”

  Eva stood and walked toward the cockpit to sit with Antiquus and Hækel. As she passed Redimus, she found no words of comfort. She doubted that she ever would.

  That night Hækel landed the shuttle in the forest just outside Lacus at the southern edge of Lake Concors. The group sat around a small campfire and enjoyed a meal of blackened spiderfish followed by fresh voxfruit for dessert. Redimus chose to eat alone, close to the ship.

  “What are you doing there, Eva?” Rovender picked his teeth with a spiderfish bone.

  “This is Cadmus’s Omnipod.” Eva scrolled through the many virtual menus. “I am searching to see if I can find anything of use for tomorrow’s meeting with Ojo.”

  “You won’t need that device to impress the queen,” Antiquus said. “I think it’s what you know that intrigues both Zin and Her Royal Majesty.”

  “I hope you’re right. But just in case . . .” Eva continued searching through the files.

  With some effort Antiquus rose from his seat near the fire to climb onto his hoverdisc. “I am going to retire for the evening. Hækel, if you don’t mind, I suggest we all sleep on the ship.”

  “Certainly,” Hækel replied.

  “I agree, Father.” Rovender helped him onto his hoverdisc. “Though I do not think we will be bothered. Redimus told me he would keep watch throughout the night.” He pointed to the Dorcean, standing guard near the shuttle. “Hækel, do you need help setting up the sleepmats and blankets?”

  “Sure,” said Hækel.

  “I shall be back, Eva.” Rovender followed the pilot onto the ship.

  “Okay.” Eva kept to her task.

  “I hope you find what you are searching for, Eva,” Antiquus said.

  “Me too. Good night.” Eva gave him a hug. “I’ll be in soon.”

  As Antiquus boarded the ship, he passed Redimus. The Dorcean’s burly frame filled the shuttle’s portal, and yet he
seemed so little with his head hung low, almost like a lost child. Eva watched him sling his boomrod over his shoulder and take a seat under the nose of the ship.

  CHAPTER 28: PREDICTION

  The gilded light of the morning sun raked across the burned-out buildings that lined the streets of the city, Solas. Eva looked out the shuttle’s cockpit windshield as the ship soared over the devastation. Now it looks just like New Attica, she thought.

  “Cadmus’s fleet?” said Rovender, standing next to her. “I wonder where it is?”

  “The warbots are gone too.” Eva scanned the rubble-strewn avenues for the menacing machines.

  “Orbona’s seven rings! Is that what I think it is?” Hækel pointed to the street below. Variously shaped bodies were lying supine in rows on the ground.

  Once Eva realized what they were, she could see that the rows went on and on, stretching down entire blocks.

  “That is a lot of casualties,” said Rovender.

  “It’s like the hidden plague all over again,” added Hækel.

  “Except there is nothing hidden about what caused these deaths,” said Antiquus. “Which is why they have been put here, on display.”

  Eva’s eyes locked with Rovender’s for a beat.

  Rovender looked at Redimus and said, “Promise me that no harm will come to her, Redimus, or so help me . . .”

  “I promize.” Redimus pulled the beamguide from his satchel and held it in his talons. “Thiz beamguide holdz de location of all known human underground domicilez az dizcovered by de Royal Beamguide crew. Dere are many more beyond our immediate area.”

  “Sanctuaries?” Eva asked.

  “If dat iz what you call dem.” He placed the beamguide in her hands. “Now tell me dis: Would Ojo releaze dis information to you if she thought eet would rezult in her undoing?”

  Eva passed the beamguide to Rovender. “Keep this safe.” She swallowed down the nervousness that shivered inside her. “Let’s get this over with.”

  Redimus turned to Hækel. “Take de ship to de palace and zircle de tower once.”

  “Once?” Hækel asked.

  “Yez. Be inconspicuouz, az if you were azzezzing de damage.”