Meanwhile, three of the Desert Dogs circled around the arena. Suddenly, one of them stopped and sniffed the air, then paced again, then stopped to sniff the air again and looked directly at the platform in which she, Thomas, and Blink were hiding. Letting out a low growl and narrowing its eyes, the lumbering creature raced toward the stone steps leading up to the platform.
“Oh no,” Radianne whispered to Thomas. “I think we've been found out!”
“My mistake. I should have thought about them earlier!” Thomas said with frustration. “I didn't think the dogs would be with the Snorgs when they arrived. Whatever happens, remember to stay calm. Don't give in.”
Thinking fast, Radianne pulled Blink out from under her hair. She had to protect him. Even if she and the others didn't make it out, there was still hope for him if he could get to Shondalina.
“Whatever happens Blink, you try to get out of here if you can,” Radianne told him. “When they catch us, run! Get away from here, figure out how to get to the Winged Ones, figure out how to get home!”
Blink stared up at her with wide eyes. “I'm not leaving you, Radianne.”
Tears filled Radianne's eyes as the snuffling sound of the Desert Dog fast approaching grew louder. She gave the star a kiss and set him on the floor. “Don't get caught, go and hide for now,” she whispered, waving him on, as he took a few steps away from the cage. She nodded and he headed off into the shadows.
No sooner had Blink scampered off to unknown parts than the ugly snout and bared teeth of one of the Desert Dogs poked through the narrow opening in which Radianne and Thomas were hiding. The beast began to snarl something horrible and soon began barking. The noise alerted the others and he was quickly joined by several members of his pack.
Thomas and Radianne thought about making a run for it, squeezing through the back of the cage and out the other side. But then there was the sound of heavy footsteps approaching, and a rotten smell – even more rotten than the scent of Desert Dogs – filled the air. The Snorgs.
Radianne sucked in a breath.
“What is the matter with you dumb beasts?!” one Snorg growled as it clambered up the stone steps.
“I think I see something hiding there in the shadows!” another Snorg bellowed. “Looks like our dumb beasts have found hidden treasure!”
Radianne looked for any sign of Blink. He was nowhere to be found, and this brought some sense of peace to her. At least her friend would not be caught. At least not just then.
A bulbous nose poked into the space between the cage and the wall. Then, two blackened and narrowed eyes.
“Well look what we have here!” the nosy Snorg bellowed. “If you want to live… for a little while anyway, you'd both better come out of there right now!”
As the Snorg spoke, bursts of foul air wafted up from its mouth into Radianne's nose. She gagged.
“Just do as they say, at least for now,” Thomas whispered. “We'll figure a way out of this.”
With trepidation, Radianne slowly moved out from her hiding spot. She brushed up against the disgusting Snorg in the process. Thomas followed close behind. Though she was feeling quite nervous at the moment, she tried not to let it show. She would not let them intimidate her. Instead, she took advantage of the first opportunity she'd had to size up the Snorgs and got a good hard look at what the horrible creatures were like up close.
They were taller than she expected. The three of them loomed over her head and as she took in their physiques, she couldn't keep the disgust off her face. Dark unruly hair sprouted up every which way from their heads and out from the innermost parts of their curved ears. More of the dark hair covered their arms and legs. Their skin was a sickly shade of yellow-green, covered in bumps. Their brown and ragged clothes were smeared red with what could have been the remains of a recent rank lunch – or, possibly, blood. Worst of all was their smell. Radianne had never smelled anyone or anything so unpleasant before. It was like decaying garbage, and, she thought uneasily, hints of death.
“Like what you see?” one of them growled at her. Reaching out with a beefy, hairy arm, he grabbed her forcefully by the shoulder.
She bit her lip as his curved blackened nails dug into her flesh, but she didn't cry out. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.
One of the others grabbed Thomas. “Why, look who it is boys!” he snarled. “Long time no see.” The other two Snorgs turned to look at Thomas, narrowing their black eyes in recognition and dismay. They frowned, baring sharp and jagged yellow teeth.
“You little rat,” the Snorg holding tight to Radianne spat out at him. “You may have escaped once before, but you won't get out of here so easily this time. At least, not alive!”
Thomas and Radianne were silent as the Snorgs forced them down the stone steps and across the sandy arena. The Desert Dogs trailed close behind. As they walked, Radianne turned her head nonchalantly, searching for Blink. There was still no sign of him.
“Yes, take a good look around my lovely,” the Snorg whispered into her ear, covering her cheek in spittle as he spoke. “This is going to be your home for quite some time. Hope you enjoy the look of things.”
Feeling as if she were going to vomit, Radianne reached up and brushed the slime off her face. She knew he was wrong. They were going to get out of there, one way or another.
Surprisingly enough, the Snorgs led them to cages directly near Henrick and the Floppersnogs. Perhaps they really were quite dumb after all, Radianne thought. If she were a Snorg, she would have wanted to keep the Eugladians far away from one another. Apparently the Snorgs hadn't thought of what several Eugladians placed in close quarters could conspire to do.
She and Thomas tried to keep their faces void of emotion as they approached the cages that contained her friends. Henrick was smart enough to do the same.
The Floppersnogs, however, had a difficult time containing themselves as she and Thomas approached. Radianne could see them excitedly bouncing up and down in their cages.
One of the Snorgs noticed too, and ran over.
“Now then! Settle down you furry vermin, or I'll squash you flat!” he shouted, giving their cage a vigorous shake.
The Floppersnogs squeaked and instantly cowered and quieted.
Radianne's temper flared but she knew that little could be done for them at the moment. She allowed the foul Snorg to lock her in a cage next to Henrick. Thomas was imprisoned in a cage to her left.
“Listen now!” the Snorg who'd manhandled her shouted. “You are all to take part in our training and to become morphlings. You WILL become part of our alliance. You WILL have no choice but to join forces with us – or DIE. Your training WILL begin tomorrow.”
The creature paused, looking at each new prisoner with hatred in his eyes. “Tonight, you will meet one of our revered leaders, who will be along shortly. Until then, shut your mouths and don't make any noise! And no funny business,” he added, giving Thomas a pointed look. “Your traitorous scorpion friends have been properly disposed of, so don't expect any help from them! And there are guards standing by in the shadows.”
With that, the Snorg grunted something at the others about dinner, and they all marched off, the Desert Dogs following suit.
Radianne glanced over at Thomas. His face had fallen at the Snorg's words about his insect friends. She knew he would blame himself for their deaths and felt sad for him. As sad as his loss was, however, there were also more pressing matters at hand and there was no time to dwell on such things.
As soon as she was sure the Snorgs were safely out of sight and earshot, she quickly turned toward Henrick's cage. Though the light was dim, she could see him well enough.
“Henrick!” she called out in a loud whisper. “Are you OK?!”
Looking a little bruised and battered in the shadowy light, Henrick stepped forward and leaned up against the bars of the cage, wearily.
“I'm OK,” he replied. “But what are you two doing here? This is very dangerous, you shouldn't have come! And
where's Blink?!”
Radianne scanned the area once more for any sign of the star. There was none.
“I'm pretty sure he's somewhere around here,” she whispered. She lowered her eyes and her face fell. “He said he wasn't going to leave me, though I am afraid I honestly don't know how much time he has left.”
She felt so helpless locked up in the cage and couldn't bear to think of failing Blink after how far they had come.
Henrick slumped against the bars and sighed. “So his power is fading then. I'm sorry I failed again, Radianne,” he muttered. “Those beasts overpowered me, and for the second time in my life, I felt completely helpless. I can't believe it. You probably should have left with him – ” he jerked his head toward Thomas, though he frowned as he did so, “when you had the chance.”
“Right. Like she would have left you and those furballs to your deaths,” Thomas said as he rolled his eyes, joining the conversation.
“Stop feeling sorry for yourself man! This is what they want. Despair and negative thinking. It's time to put our heads together and positively think our way out of this.”
His words struck a nerve with Henrick, who tensed again and thrust a finger through the bars, jabbing it in Thomas's direction.
“A lot of this is actually your fault the more that I do think about it,” he snarled back. “We'd been doing perfectly fine before you came along and decided to join us…”
Thomas laughed. “My fault? Perhaps, to an extent. But it's not my fault you couldn't handle that Desert Dog back there and got yourself knocked out in the process. It's your fault you have such a poor and negative attitude all the time. You're not the only one who has suffered great loss, you know. But it is no time to whine about your lacking fighting skills or your unpleasant personality.”
Radianne sucked in a breath. She could tell the argument was going to escalate, and possibly attract unwanted attention. She thought the very idea that the two of them were choosing to argue at such a dire moment was quite ridiculous.
“Both of you, stop!” she whispered sharply. “Things just happened. It's no one's fault. It's not about who is tougher or weaker… it's just the way things are.” She sighed. “This desert, this place, anywhere where Snorgs can be found close by… I'm realizing they really do have a way of making people angry, making people despair and lose hope. It's been happing to me too. We can't let that happen, Henrick. Thomas is right, it is what they want. We can't give in. We have Blink – and our world and the rest of our lives – to think about.”
Her eyes locked with Henrick's as she said the last words, and then they both looked away quickly. The three Eugladian natives stood silently in their cages for a few moments, trying to calm themselves.
“We have to be rational and really think about what our next course of action should be,” Radianne said some time later. “My hope right now is that Blink will come to our aid, because I feel he is still here. Even though I told him to leave. And if not – ” her voice broke with emotion, as she thought of her friend and the faith she held that he would make it alive through whatever was to come – “if not, we still have to have another plan. We need to put our heads together and think about how to get out of this and how to outsmart the Snorgs. For now, let's just sit a few moments more and gather our thoughts. It's been quite the night.”
The two men agreed and all three of them slunk to shadowy corners of their individual cages.
Radianne sat with her head in her hands, praying to The Creator for the strength to get through whatever obstacles she was to face in the coming days.
Blink had inspired her all along, and now that he was gone, that terrible dark feeling started to claw its way deeper into her spirit. However, she knew that at that moment, more than ever, she had to be strong, think about all that was good, and fight against the enemy.
What a whirlwind of a journey this had been so far, she thought. Now there she was, in one of the darkest places she'd ever been, without any idea how to move forward. She truly hoped Blink was still around, somewhere in the shadows. Though she knew she had to find strength within herself, she also hoped his light would still be there to guide her. She needed him as much as he needed her.
Feeling very tired, she closed her eyes.
Some time later, she snapped awake to the sound of a heavy door squeaking open. Then there was the unmistakable sound of Snorg voices. Jumping up, she clenched her fists and made her way to the front of her cage, her heart pounding wildly. She remembered the beasts had said earlier that one of their leaders would be along to visit with the prisoners… well, this was the time, she thought. And she was not about to be intimidated. She would face this leader boldly and head on.
Henrick and Thomas also stood alert at the front of their cages. The three captives quickly glanced at one another, listening intently as the Snorgs made their way up the stone steps and onto the platform.
There was clearly someone else with them this time.
“Well I must say that I'm delighted to see who we've added to our alliance,” the new voice said.
Strange, Radianne thought. She couldn't yet see who it was, but the speaker sounded oddly feminine.
“You will be very happy, we think,” one of the Snorgs growled.
“I'm sure I will,” the voice spoke again.
It was a female speaker, Radianne was quite sure of it. Perhaps a lady Snorg. She supposed it would only make sense that the Snorgs had wives and other females among them. She shuddered at the thought of little Snorg babies running around. She prepared herself to meet the female Snorg and wondered if the female version would be just as smelly and unpleasant as its male counterpart.
As the Snorgs and their leader approached, Thomas sucked in a breath.
“It's her!” he exclaimed. “But it can't be!”
“Huh? Who?” Radianne questioned.
But before he could answer, she saw who he had been staring at and her mouth dropped open. A young woman, close to Radianne in age, came to a stop a few feet in front of her cage.
She appeared to be Eugladian and was actually quite pretty. Her garb was similar in appearance to the Snorgs, except what she wore was much tidier and more becoming as it consisted of form fitting black pants and an equally flattering black sleeveless tunic top with a hood, which as draped over her head. She wore dark boots laced up to her knees. Long blonde hair fell out from the hood and cascaded past her shoulders, and though it was difficult to tell in the shadows, her eyes appeared to be a sort of steely gray mixed with blue.
“Shocked, are we?” the young woman said with a smile as she took in Radianne's surprised expression. She cast an equally amused glance over at Thomas, and then back at Radianne.
“I think these two will do quite nicely,” the woman said to the Snorgs. “As for the third…” She stepped away from Radianne's cage and walked slowly toward Henrick.
As she approached his cage, her smile faded. Her eyes clouded over and her face grew very serious. When she came to a stop in front of the cage, she cocked her head to one side and laced her fingers together behind her back.
“He might be difficult,” she whispered.
Radianne turned to look at Henrick. Even in the shadows, she could see that all color had drained from his face.
“It can't be,” he said softly.
The young woman smiled coldly and pulled back the hood of her tunic. “Hello, brother.”
-19-
Abandoned
T
he long lost brother and sister stared silently at each other. It seemed as if an eternity had passed before before either of them spoke again.
It was Henrick who broke the silence.
“Elin,” he whispered. “How is this possible? You and mother… I thought…”
The young woman laughed, a cold, shrill laugh. Then her eyes grew stony.
“You thought. You thought what?” she snarled. “I was dead, perhaps? Well, I didn't die. Mother grew sick and died.”
H
er eyes clouded over momentarily with emotion as she said the words, but then they grew icy again. “You left us there… at the mercy of the wild beast in Black Lake. The one who devoured father. However…” she trailed off and gestured with one hand to a few of the Snorgs standing nearby. “It was they who saved us. The Snorgs saved us from the beast. In time, I learned that the beast was being tamed and used for a higher purpose. At first I didn't understand, I hated the creature, but now I know. I understand all of it. Except…” She took a step forward again and pressed her forehead up close to her brother's cage. Letting out a deep sigh, she shook her head slowly against the bars. “I don't understand how you could live with yourself. For fleeing like you did. Abandoning us. A coward, you are.”
Radianne flinched. She watched the discussion unfold with a racing heart and felt anger boil up at Elin's thoughtless words to Henrick. She noticed his look of sadness. She hoped it was obvious to him that the Snorgs had brainwashed this girl – his sister – and distorted her sense of reality. She obviously didn't know what she was saying.
Thankfully, despite his poor sense of self esteem at the moment, and though Radianne suspected the coward part stung a little, Henrick also seemed to be well aware of this fact. Which was part of the reason for his expression of sadness.
“You don't know what you are saying,” he replied to his sister. “What have they done to you? I know you aren't in your right mind to be saying such things.”
“What have they done? I am more than in my right mind. You see, I've been enlightened. They have helped me see the truth. And in time, you will see the truth too. Even though I fear it may take awhile.” Elin paused and smirked for a moment before continuing. “These other two will be especially easy to convince though.”
Turning, she walked toward Radianne and Thomas, to where she could get a good look at them simultaneously.
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