“Congratulations,” he declared. “You’re officially free and a paying passenger. Want to play shuffleboard?”
Courtney threw her arms around him. Finally she cried. It all came out. All the emotion she had bottled up for the last few days. Mark held her and tried to soothe her.
“It’s okay,” he said. “It’s over now.”
“You have no idea how true that is,” Courtney sniffed through her tears.
Mark let her cry.
Later that morning Mark and Courtney sat in Mark’s suite, where a few days before Mark had destroyed his invention. It was the act they all thought would change history, but it didn’t. Mark and his parents had arranged to pay for Courtney and Dodger’s passage.
Mr. Dimond was a lawyer. He was very convincing in getting the stowaway charges dropped against both of them. Mr. and Mrs. Dimond left the two alone. They knew Mark and Courtney had a lot to say to each other. Even Dodger respectfully stayed away.
Courtney did most of the talking. She brought Mark up to speed on what had happened on Quillan. She told Mark about the dados, explaining how Saint Dane had brought the advanced plastic skin from Third Earth. Andy Mitchell wasn’t a genius after all. He was a thief. That was the nicest thing Courtney had to say about him. He was Saint Dane. Courtney led Mark into the future of his invention, describing how it changed technology on Second Earth, and evolved into the humanlike dados of Third Earth… that looked like Mark. She told him how that technology was brought to Quillan, where dados became servants and soldiers. Finally she said how Saint Dane created an army of dados that was to be his engine to destroy Ibara, and the rest of Halla.
“Still,” she said thoughtfully, “I don’t know why that didn’t all change when you destroyed Forge.”
“I know why,” Mark said, dropping his head. “After you and Dodger were arrested again, I wired the KEM corporation to say the deal was off. The whole reason for going to England was to deliver the prototype, and sign contracts to officially create the Dimond Alpha Digital Organization.”
Mark laughed ironically. “I came up with that name. I thought it sounded important. Some joke, huh?”
“What did they say?” Courtney asked.
“They wired back to say it was too late. Turned out the signing of papers was only a formality. My father explained it to me. We already accepted money from them. Heck, they paid for this voyage. Even without a signed contract, when you accept money, it’s as good as a done deal. They had been going forward assuming we had a deal.”
“But how? Without the prototype, how could they go forward?” Courtney asked.
“Remember the science competition? Our presentation wasn’t just the Forge prototype. We created detailed plans to explain how it all worked. Andy was in charge of those plans and-“
“And he sent them to KEM.”
Mark nodded.
“So you’re telling me a science project presentation is what nearly caused the downfall of Halla?”
“It was slick, too. Full color. Nice fonts.” “That’s not funny,” Courtney said with a frown. “I know.”
“So we never had a chance of stopping you. The flume didn’t put us where we needed to be, when we needed to be there.”
“Or maybe there was another reason you had to be here that we don’t know about.”
“Yeah, like to murder you!” Courtney shouted. “At least we stopped that.”
“Yeah, I’m glad about that one.”
The two fell silent, remembering that horrible almost-moment. “They’re gone, by the way,” Mark said. “Who’s gone?”
“Andy and Nevva. It’s not like they’re turning the ship inside out looking for them, but I know they’re gone.”
“Maybe that’s a good thing,” Courtney offered. “Maybe it means Saint Dane really is trapped on Ibara.”
Mark stood up and paced. “I feel so stupid,” he said, his voice rising. “It was all about me. All along. I nearly caused the downfall of Halla.”
“You can’t look at it that way. You didn’t create an army, you invented a toy. An incredible toy. Everything else was Saint Dane.” “But I should have seen through it. I believed everything he told me, because he told me everything I wanted to hear.”
“Exactly,” Courtney exclaimed. “You aren’t the first. Let’s hope you’re the last.”
Courtney couldn’t stand being cooped up anymore. She and Mark went out onto the Sun Deck for some much needed fresh air. It was the first moment that Courtney could enjoy being on that ship without looking over her shoulder to see if somebody was chasing her. It was time to heal. Having Mark back and safe was a great feeling, even though she knew things would never be the same as before. Mark had changed. He’d grown up. He was no longer a nerdy little boy. They had both changed. They’d been through too much to be the same people they’d always been before. For Courtney it felt right, but sad. They had lost out on their last few moments of childhood.
Their stroll took them to the bow of the ship. The two stood together at the rail, looking ahead.
“Do you think it’s really over?” Mark asked. “I mean, are we safe?”
“I guess it’s possible,” Courtney answered. “But how can things truly be right if we never see Bobby again?”
“I miss him so much,” Mark said.
Courtney nodded and leaned in to him.
“How did I know I’d find you two here?” came a voice from behind. Dodger strutted up to them, flashing a big smile. “Here’s an interesting little tidbit you two should know about. When I thanked Mr. Dimond for helping us out of the slammer, I told him I thought he was brilliant for getting me off with no assault charges against that officer.”
“He’s good,” Mark said.
“Yeah, well he’s not that good,” Dodger replied. “He didn’t know what the heck I was talking about. He said there were no assault charges. I figured the guy I clocked was letting me off easy, so I went looking for Sixth Officer Hantin to apologize. Guess what? There is no Sixth Officer Hantin. This ship doesn’t even have a sixth officer. What do you make of that?”
Courtney rolled the events around in her head. “It was his gun,” she exclaimed. “History said you were shot, Mark. We got the gun from that phantom officer! Do you think-“
“Yeah, I do,” Mark gasped. “It was Saint Dane.”
“He wanted you dead and he wanted me to kill you.”
Dodger added, “I guess things didn’t turn out the way he planned.”
Mark asked, “So does that mean there was more to his plan than we thought?”
Nobody had an answer. They all silently looked forward at the gray line that was forming on the horizon. They were steaming toward England.
VEELOX
High above the ancient city of Rubic, a lone figure stood at the very pinnacle of a Lifelight pyramid, surveying the decay below, his dark suit snapping in the wind. It was the loftiest point in the city. Only the other pyramids, far in the distance, reached as high. It was an impossible perch. The only way to get there was to fly.
A large black raven sailed urgently through the clouds. It swooped down to the pyramid and landed next to the lone figure. The figure didn’t move or acknowledge the new arrival. After a brief transformation, two figures stood together above the city.
“Are you pleased?” the new arrival asked.
Saint Dane showed no expression. “There were a few surprises. No matter. The end result is the same. Pendragon is no longer a factor.”
“Forgive me for questioning,” the visitor said. “Can we be truly certain of that?”
Saint Dane took a tired breath. “He and his kind have drawn strength from the belief they have been battling my evil for the greater good of Halla. Now he understands there is no clear definition of evil. He has caused destruction and suffering. He has manipulated the people of the territories as much as I. It took many battles for him to learn. Now he knows he is no different from me. That realization has crushed his desire to go on.
He is finished.”
“Will it be enough to keep him away?”
Saint Dane gave his visitor an icy stare. “You question me?”
The visitor shuddered, but tried not to show weakness. “Of course not. I’ve never questioned your intent. But he is strong.”
The scars on Saint Dane’s head blazed in anger. “Not strong enough, or he would not have been manipulated so easily.”
“Do you think he understands what he has done?”
“If not, he will soon,” Saint Dane answered. “I told him long ago that Denduron would be the first domino to fall. By unearthing the tak, he assured that. Pendragon himself created our victory. I look forward to the moment when he realizes that.”
“And you’re certain it will crush his spirit?”
Saint Dane looked down at his visitor with a fatherly gaze. He reached out and stroked the visitor’s black hair. “So many questions.”
He quickly and violently grabbed a handful of hair and yanked it, making the visitor cry in pain. “Concern yourself with your own task,” he spat angrily. “Make him love Ibara. Make him want nothing more than to live there and help create his version of a perfect world. Who knows? Perhaps he will fall in love. By then it will be too late for him to strike back.”
He pushed the visitor away. He was back in control, his anger gone. “I look forward to the moment when he learns the true nature of our conflict and how futile his mission was from the beginning. We will stand together, he and I. One in victory, one in shame. Only then can I truly own the power of Halla.” He cracked a self-assured smile. “How sweet the moment of revelation will be, when he learns that he handed it to me.”
The visitor nodded, afraid to make eye contact with the demon.
“Forgive me, Nevva,” Saint Dane said softly. “I am the victim of my own passion.”
Nevva Winter wiped back a tear and replied, “It’s why I believe in you. That passion is what will ensure your ultimate triumph.”
“Our triumph,” Saint Dane corrected. Nevva added, “But please, don’t call me Nevva on this territory.”
Saint Dane chuckled. “I appreciate the way you so fully immerse yourself in your roles.”
“I too am passionate about our quest,” Nevva replied.
“And for that you will be rewarded. Once the power of Halla is mine, we can truly begin. Together.” Saint Dane took a step away from Nevva Winter and began to transform.
“Until then, good-bye… Telleo.”
The black cloud that was Saint Dane molded into the form of a raven. The bird launched from its perch, swooping down over the crumbled buildings of Rubic City before disappearing into the clouds…
And entering the Convergence.
(TO BE CONTINUED)
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The Pilgrims of Rayne tpa-8 Page 47