by Tim O'Rourke
“Why?” Faraday asked him.
“Because he is the only one who knows how to turn off the machines,” he said, and this time he did turn to look at Faraday.
A silence fell over the group as they thought about what Bom had just said. Then looking at Tamrus, Zach said, “Why did you call Faraday an ACT Droid? What does A.C.T. mean?”
“Advanced – Cribbot – Technology,” Tamrus said. Then looking at Zach, Tamrus added, “If you want to get across the Outer-Rim, the captain is right, you will have to turn off the machines.”
“But how do we do that?” Zach said. “That is why we came looking for you. We hoped that as you were one of Cribbot’s friends, you might know something.”
Tamrus sat thoughtfully for a moment, his long fingers strumming on the tabletop. “I don’t know how to turn the machines off,” Tamrus started, “But there are machines – a certain kind of creature – that will get you safely across the Rim whether you turn the machines off or not.”
“Where are these creatures?” William asked.
“Believing Throat’s lies that the Queen was sending peacekeepers to the Clockwork City to destroy his creations, Cribbot hid his most precious,” Tamrus explained.
“Where did he hide them?” Neanna asked.
“Within the canyon,” Tamrus said, his voice suddenly low as if someone might overhear him.
“Can you take us to these creatures?” Zach asked him, his voice now just above a whisper.
“Yes,” Tamrus nodded.
“What are these creatures?” Bom asked, his eyes fearful.
“You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you,” Tamrus smiled wistfully. “But they are truly incredible.” Then standing up he added, “If you’ll excuse me, I will go and speak to the train driver and get him to change direction.” Tamrus turned his back on the others and made his way down the carriage and out of view.
Once they were alone, Zach looked at Faraday and said, “Do you remember if what Tamrus says is true?”
“I’ve already told you everything that I remember,” Faraday told him.
Zach got up and took the now-empty seat opposite Faraday. “I know what you are thinking,” he whispered so the others couldn’t hear him.”
“No, you don’t,” Faraday said.
“Yeah, I do,” Zach insisted. “You fear that you don’t know who you really are. I know how that feels, Faraday. I arrived in this world thinking I was the kid from back home, the kid who had just buried his mum and dad, the kid who wasn’t very good at football, but liked running. I wasn’t special. I was just me. But now I’m told that I’m a peacekeeper. Everyone keeps telling me that I’m the one who is going to save Endra.”
Faraday looked across the table at Zach and said, “And I’ve just been told that I was created to destroy Endra. That would make us enemies, right?”
“Enemies?” Zach sighed. ‘You’re not my enemy. And you’re not going to destroy Endra.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Well, you haven’t tried to kill me yet,” Zach half-smiled. “I think Tamrus is right. Like it or not, I think you are a result of Cribbot taking you through the doorway and entangling you. I think there is a part of you in him. If what Tamrus says about Cribbot is true, he wasn’t a bad man. He was tricked by Throat. Cribbot was a conservationist of sorts. He cared about things, he cared about the animals my people were slowly killing. That doesn’t sound like someone who would try and start a war. He built you to protect the creatures he had made. His mistake was believing the Queen wanted to destroy everything he had created.”
“If what Tamrus says is true, do you think I could ever be untangled?” Faraday asked him.
“Maybe?” Zach said.
Faraday sat quietly for a moment, then fixing Zach with his jet-black eyes, he said, “Faraday or Cribbot, man or machine…we will never be enemies, Zachary Black.”
They both sat quietly and looked out of the window. The Scorpion Steam had now left the tunnel and was racing at speed across a red coloured wasteland. The continuous ‘thud-thud’ of the track bellowed ahead as the Scorpion Steam laid down more rails for the journey.
It was dawn outside and the sun burnt fiercely on the horizon ahead, spinning its golden rays between the tips of two ragged mountains. Neanna threw her cloak about her; just her eyes peering out of a gap were visible. Zach got up from his seat and joined his friends back at the table. He sat next to Neanna. He thought of his conversation he had had with Faraday. Zach knew that he was as confused as Faraday was. But he wasn’t only confused about the whole ‘being the savior of Endra’ thing. He was confused about how Neanna also felt for him. Sometimes it seemed she liked him – perhaps more than just a friend. But there were other times when she was distant.
Trying to push those confusing thoughts from his head, he looked out of the window at the beautiful landscape on the other side. “What are those mountains called?” Zach asked as Neanna rested her head against his shoulder, as if readying herself for sleep.
“They’re called ‘The Identical Peaks,’” she whispered dreamily.
“Like twins,” Zach mused. “That sounds nice.”
Even though Zach had seen and experienced so much since coming through his doorway into Endra, the sight of the landscape on the other side of the window was breathtaking. Zach tried to absorb every detail, every shard of light that glinted through those mountains, and every rock that glowed like embers on the surface of this incredible wasteland.
“It’s beautiful, don’t you think?” Neanna asked, her voice soft as she snuggled closer up to Zach.
“Incredible,” he whispered, as the jagged scenery slipped past. “Is it as beautiful as your home – the Sleepy Caves?”
“Nothing is as beautiful as my home,” she murmured as if on the edge of sleep. “The caves are not like any other caves. They are a metropolis of wonder beneath the ground – deep hollows that reach for miles.”
“It sounds amazing,” Zach said.
“It is,” she sighed, her voice sounding miles away, as if lost in her own memories. “When I was a child, all I knew was the Slath – the other vampires as you call them. But all I wanted to do was venture above ground. To see what it was like. To see if the people were as incredible as the Slath.”
“And were they?” Zach asked.
Peering at Zach through a pair of half-closed eyes, Neanna whispered, “Some of them are.”
But before Zach had a chance to ask who she was talking about, Neanna had fallen into a deep and peaceful sleep.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Willow and Wally stepped through the doorway and back into Endra. Wally had told Willow to step through frontways, and both now stood on the vast empty plains of Endra as their true selves – Noxas. Willow was glad to have her long braids of hair back, and they now swung from her face in the wind. She looked at her hands and was relieved to see that they were claws again, each of her long fingers capped with ivory-looking nails. The bright red nail polish had gone and so had the jeans, boots, and blouse. She stood and watched her long blue robes flap about her.
The door thundered shut, but didn’t disappear. Wally took a key from his pocket, and twisted it in the lock.
“What are you doing?” Willow asked him.
Wally turned to look at her with his bright yellow eyes and said, “My doorway is trapped, remember? It doesn’t disappear or move away. I have to lock it or anyone might go through. I don’t want my cavern to be burgled.” Then smiling at Willow and placing the key safely back into the pocket of his dungarees, he added, “You can’t trust anyone these days.”
With his long, dark dreadlocks flowing beneath his chin and his claws swinging loosely by his sides, he set off across the desert.
“Where are we going?” Willow called out.
“To the station,” he grinned back over his shoulder. “Don’t worry, it’s not far.”
Willow hurried after him. “How long it will it take to get there?”<
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“Not long at all, if we run,” he said.
Willow looked down at her robes and said, “I’m not really dressed for it.”
“Oh, go on, Willow,” Wally said, trying to contain his excitement. “I haven’t had a good run for ages. It’s not often that you can do it on the other side.”
Looking at his crazy grin, Willow smiled back and said, “It’s not too far you say?”
“No, I promise,” Wally said.
“Okay then,” she said, dropping onto all fours and hitching up her robes.
“Excellent!” Wally beamed, hunkering down.
“How far is ‘not far’?” Willow asked glancing at him.
“About a hundred miles or so,” he laughed. Then he was gone, bounding away on all fours across the desert floor in a rush of flying dreadlocks and a shower of dust.
“Wally!” Willowed howled as she set off after him. And even though a small part of her was angry at being tricked by him, there was a bigger part that was happy. She had never had so much fun since meeting him.
Willow drew alongside Wally, and they bounded across the desert like two giant wolves. She had never felt so alive and free. She had spent her whole life living beneath the shadows of the Howling Forest like all female Noxas had. It was the men who went off and had adventures. But now she was free at last to have her own adventure, and she was intent on enjoying every moment of it.
With his long, pink tongue lolling from the corner of his mouth, Willow glanced at Wally as he raced along beside her. Warden, her husband, had often spoken of his friend; the one who he believed had killed himself while playing with inferno berries as a pup. Warden had always described his friend as having a dangerous streak which eventually got him killed. But Willow now wondered if Warden had not been right about his friend. She didn’t think Wally was dangerous – she thought he just craved excitement. He saw adventure in the ordinary and enjoyed every second of it. She had heard a lot about reflections and she wondered if she truly understood what that meant. Willow knew that deep down she was like Wally, she had always craved excitement and adventure, too. But unlike him, she hadn’t, until now, found the courage to go looking for it. So they were the same, weren’t they – just reflections of each other.
Willow looked front again and bounded across the desert next to her newfound friend – her partner in this adventure that was fast unfolding before them.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Throat was pleased. He looked up at the black particles of dust as it made a funnel shape above his head. Things were working out better than even he could have planned for. The Delf had managed to recapture the girl, Anna Black, and the meddling peacekeeper. But more than that, she had sucked the truth from Tanner and what secrets he had been hiding. The true cunning of the peacekeeper had finally been revealed. He would be punished for keeping such secrets. But they did reveal one thing; the peacekeeper’s secrets explained why the boy, Zachary Black, had become such a thorn in Throat’s side. The boy was a peacekeeper – Fandel had been right about that if nothing else. The boy would have to die now, despite his promise he had made to the other.
And it was the other’s voice that he could hear now, coming through the funnel of black dust which hovered over him.
“We are traveling through the Craggy Canyon,” the voice informed him.
“Good, good,” Throat cackled, rubbing his skeletal hands together with a feverish excitement. “There will be a reception party waiting for you at the other end of the canyon.”
“Who?” the voice asked. “You didn’t mention this.”
“There are many things that you do not need to know,” Throat rasped. “But you will be rewarded well.”
“My people?” the voice asked.
“Yes, yes,” Throat snapped, growing tired with the same old questions.
“And what about my friends?” the voice asked.
“Do you really think they will want to be your friend once they discover your betrayal?” Throat laughed, the sound of it echoing like thunder off the walls and along the winding passageways of the Splinter.
“They will be set free, won’t they?” the voice asked. “You promised.”
“Yes, yes,” Throat groaned.
“And Zachary Black?”
With a smile tugging at the corners of his misshapen mouth, Throat tried to hide his delight as he said, “It has come to my attention who and what the boy really is. He is a danger to me and my plans. So no – he will not leave the canyon with you and the others.”
“But that wasn’t part of the deal!” the voice barked angrily.
“Would you like to renegotiate?” Throat teased. “Perhaps I let the boy live and keep your people imprisoned. Perhaps I should send my Demonic Guardians to slaughter them all?”
There was an eerie silence from the other end of the funnel, which swished in the room at the top of the Splinter. The light from the candles flickered restlessly. “What will it be?” Throat teased, enjoying every moment.
“The boy,” the voice whispered through the funnel of dust.
“I’m sorry,” Throat grinned beneath his hood, “I couldn’t quite hear you.”
“The boy,” the voice came again, this time louder but still full of remorse and dread.
“You choose wisely,” Throat gagged, and with a flick of his hand, the dust dropped from the air and covered the floor like black grains of sand. With the spiderpedes scuttling all around him, Throat collapsed into his throne and shut his eyes. Rest, he thought, before he brought hell to Endra and the world on the other side of the doorways.
But with his eyes shut, Throat failed to see the Queen open hers on the other side of the chamber.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Zach woke with a start as the Scorpion Steam juddered to a halt and let out an ear-piercing scream. He sat bolt upright to find Faraday standing beside him.
“How long have I been asleep?’” he asked, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
“The whole day,” Faraday informed him.
Zach looked out of the window and could see that it was dusk again, the moon rising high between the tips of the Identical Peaks.
“Why have we stopped?” Zach asked. Neanna and William were no longer in their seats.
“This is as far as we go by train,” Tamrus said, as he strode into the carriage. Zach could see that he had a large pack on his back and was carrying his staff tightly in his hand. “Let’s get going. We have a long walk to make.” Tamrus glanced at both Zach and Faraday, and then made his way down the carriage to the exit.
Zach got up from his seat and was about to go after Tamrus, when Faraday grabbed him by the arm. He glanced quickly about and then whispered, “Take this.”
Zach looked down and could see Faraday had handed him the little black book of notes, designs, and numbers, which he had taken from Cribbot’s farmhouse.
Confused, Zach asked, “What are you giving this to me for?”
“I’m a target and could be captured, especially if what Tamrus says is true about me. I think that book might contain the information we need to turn off the machines if we need to. These creatures that Tamrus talks of might not be as good as he boasts. There’s a chance I have the information in that book buried in my memory somewhere, but if I don’t ever remember, best we keep the book and me apart.”
“What makes you think you are going to be captured?” Zach asked him.
“I’m not sure…I just get a feeling that everything isn’t quite right.”
“I thought you didn’t have feelings?” Zach said.
But before Faraday had a chance to answer, Tamrus had come back into the carriage.
“Are you ready?” he asked in his gravelly voice.
“We’re coming,” Faraday said back, then whispered to Zach, “Keep your wits about you.” He winked at Zach, then began to head for the exit.
Zach climbed from the Scorpion Steam. The vast mountains stretched high above him, their peaks lost amongst a
haze of pink cloud that reflected the fading sunlight. It was cold, so Zach pulled the collar of his long, black coat up about his neck. Neanna and William were already off the train and were standing a few yards from the Scorpion Steam. Bom was standing off to one side and reminiscing with one of Tamrus’s guards about some ancient battle.
“Welcome to the Craggy Canyon,” Tamrus croaked.
“You really live here?” Neanna asked breathlessly, surveying the arid and rocky surroundings.
“Indeed we do,” Tamrus grinned as he turned and started to walk away amid the canyon which ran between the two mountains.
Zach and his friends headed after him, followed by six of the guards they had first encountered in the cavern. The gradient of the canyon was steep, like they were climbing a hill. Tamrus and his guards thrust their staffs into the fractured ground and used these to propel themselves forward.
As they walked, the last of the daylight began to fade as night drew in all around them. With it came a chill wind that whipped up a blanket of rusty coloured dust. They walked for what seemed like hours, and Zach’s stomach began to rumble with hunger. He couldn’t actually remember when he had last eaten anything, and he looked over his shoulder at Bom.
Zach wondered if he might have some rations on him, but seeing that glum look on his face once again, Zach thought better of asking. Perhaps they would find some Tep leaves for Bom to smoke – that would cheer him up, Zach thought. But looking at the rocky, red horizon, he doubted anything grew in such a place.
Like Zach, William and Neanna looked at the barren landscape and wondered how anyone or anything could survive in such a place. For as far as they could see, the land was awash with vast swathes of red rock. This was interspersed with huge craters and other vast canyons that stretched way off into the distance.
As Tamrus stopped and rested against his staff, he took the pack from his back and handed out clay bottles of water. Zach and the others, apart from Faraday, drunk greedily from the bottles. The water washed into their mouths and over their tongues and ran off their chins. William howled with delight as he armed away the water that dripped from the hair swinging beneath his chin.