Astro hurled one of the ammo balls at them, and a thick fog sprang up once again. Moonstar suddenly stopped and rubbed against something solid. Roseabelle raised the spyglass to her eyes, and she saw a room floating a few feet above them. Moonstar was rubbing against a pillar in the center that kept the room standing. A white door faced out of one of the room’s walls, and she could see the glassy tube coming from it. A brown door led inside in the room.
“Hurry!” Astro shouted.
More arrows rained down from random directions; the Darvonians couldn’t see it.
Jessicana flew up as a parrot and landed on a ledge beside the door. “Roseabelle, jump!” she called.
Bending her knees, Roseabelle focused and leaped, falling short by a few inches.
“I’ll boost you up,” Astro said, and Roseabelle quickly climbed on his shoulders. The smoke was clearing up; they didn’t have much time. But as Astro stood up, she toppled over. He groaned. “Really, Roseabelle?”
Jessicana suddenly shook her head. “What am I doing?” she said incredulously. She withdrew her Stone, waved it, and a staircase appeared under their feet.
Moonstar leaped up and Roseabelle and Astro charged up it. Astro vanished the steps with his red Stone once they were safely positioned on the ledge. Jessicana threw open the door and they piled in, Roseabelle quickly closing it behind her.
Finally safe, at least for now, Roseabelle realized they had plunged into a tiny dark cellar, lit dimly by some torches placed on the wall. Roseabelle reached into her pocket and grabbed the glittering white gem.
“There it is,” Roseabelle said, gesturing to the almost transparent door. On it were positioned three scooped openings, one for each Stone.
“Wait,” Jessicana said as Roseabelle moved toward it. “Shouldn’t one of us stay here? I mean what if the Dream World door closes on us and we’re stuck in there forever?”
“Or worse, if Darvonians come down here and enter in while we’re gone,” Astro added.
“Or even worse, if something in there gets out,” Jessicana continued.
“Or—”
Roseabelle laughed and put up a hand to stop them. “All right, I see your point. I’ll go in alone.” She swallowed, immediately regretting her words. “Once the Stones are in position, I’ll quickly Shadow Tumble back to the entrance, so I won’t be demolished with the rest of the Dream World.”
“Are you sure?” Jessicana asked, coming up beside her friend. Roseabelle hesitated. She didn’t know what was waiting for her, and the only thing she was armed with was the trutan and a javelin.
“I have my powers,” she said. “I’ll be all right.” Astro and Jessicana nodded solemnly. “But if anything goes wrong, you have to destroy the Dream World.”
“Don’t talk like that,” Astro said. “You can do this, Roseabelle. We believe in you.”
Jessicana leaped forward and hugged her, and Astro gave her a reassuring grin. Roseabelle managed a small smile back. Even Moonstar rubbed affectionately against her leg.
Roseabelle crossed to the door and placed the white Stone inside of the door. “Wait,” Roseabelle said and pulled out the trutan. She couldn’t exactly do anything with it in the Dream World except lose it. “The Darvonians will come through the door, so use this to create anything you might need. They might’ve seen us disappear through open air and figured out where this room is.”
Astro accepted the parchment. “Thanks, Roseabelle,” he said. Together he and Jessicana put their Stones in the door, the gems clicking in place. The door instantly radiated a soft silver-white glow and it gently swung open, a soft mist flowing out of it. Roseabelle tried to peer ahead but all she could see was a glowing passageway. Astro removed the Stones from the door and handed them to her.
To their left, the door abruptly flew open. “Well, this is fortunate,” a silky voice said. A Darvonian emerged from the shadows, followed by two guards dressed in cloaks. Roseabelle scowled. The fog must have cleared; the Darvonians had spotted them entering the room.
“Go, Roseabelle!” Jessicana urged. “Now.”
The center Darvonian threw off her hood to reveal a familiar face. Roseabelle gaped. Of course! This Darvonian resembled an older Heltonine. It was Kinetle, ruler of the Darvonians. Roseabelle flinched and took a step backward, toward the open door of the Dream World. Her two friends were alone, cornered in a small room, standing up against three dangerous, fully-armed Darvonians. She couldn’t just leave them!
Moonstar emitted a deep growl and sprang at one of the Darvonians. Okay, maybe they weren’t so alone. “Roseabelle, go!” Astro shouted.
Roseabelle glanced into the Dream World.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she whispered to herself and ran through the door to the Dream World. She left the door halfway open. It had to be left open or she wouldn’t be able to come back. The last thing she saw was Astro, hurling their last ammo ball at Kinetle, and the room crackling with electricity.
CHAPTER 15
The Dream World
ROSEABELLE TOOK A DEEP BREATH; SHE HOPED HER friends would be fine. She looked down the passage of the Dream World. It was eerily quiet but she knew it wasn’t empty. Roseabelle took a cautious step forward, amazed by all the mist floating in the air.
A light shone up ahead, and she continued down the tunnel, rounding the corner. An unbelievable sight greeted her eyes.
The landscape was dark and rocky—it mirrored Darvonia exactly, which was kind of scary. It stretched as far as the eye could see, and Roseabelle could even spot where she’d met Ugagush, Sheklyth’s brother, for the first time.
When Roseabelle had traveled here in her mind, she had concluded that Darvonians gathered here, because she had seen Kinetle’s son here. She had touched Asteran’s feather and been instantly transported. She figured that the Darvonians made specific objects so they could meet here. So Darvonians could come here mentally but never physically. Roseabelle scoured the black sandy beach for anyone, but she saw nothing.
Except for . . . Her eyes widened when she noticed some black clad figures in the far distance, huddling in a small group. Those had to be the Darvonians Astro had vanished with his Stone. That meant Sheklyth was among them. The thought made Roseabelle shudder.
So where was the center of the Dream World? Roseabelle searched the sky but saw no clouds. The sky was just plain black, artificial, and unmoving. Roseabelle thought hard back to the conversation with her father about moving through the Dream World as quick as the wind. Was that really possible?
She pictured herself moving through the land as quick as the air. Instantly, an invisible force propelled her forward. Roseabelle’s eyes widened and she imagined herself coming to a halt. Her actions obeyed her thoughts. “No way,” she murmured, and her hand went to her javelin. There was a rocky black mountain beyond the group of Darvonians. It would make sense if the center of the Dream World was in there, because it was more prominent and large, but the mountain was miles away.
Roseabelle took a deep breath. The Darvonians would probably notice her if she sped by, but she had to hurry! She didn’t have much time—Astro and Jessicana were still taking on the Darvonians back in Darvonia.
Imagining herself traveling at the speed of wind, Roseabelle closed her eyes and shot forward, an invisible hand pushing her. Her feet skimmed over the black grainy sand, and Roseabelle realized this place was almost a replica of Darvonia. Except for the looming mountain in the distance.
Her vision sped by in a blur. As Roseabelle shot by the Darvonians, she heard some confused shouts. She neared the mountain, clutching the Stones in her hands. They felt heavy in her tired arms.
Faster, she thought to herself. Come on. You can do it!
Glancing over her shoulder, Roseabelle saw distorted black figures chasing after her. Maybe they hadn’t seen who she was but they probably were curious. She had to destroy the Dream World before they could get the Stones.
The Darvonians were traveling at the speed
of wind also. Roseabelle saw the blurred figures following her, and she gritted her teeth, putting all her strength into reaching that mountain. She closed her eyes, thinking of Astro and Jessicana, her mother and father, and Benotripia. She had to get there in time!
She suddenly halted in her tracks, the force nearly toppling her over. She was already halfway up the mountain. Roseabelle spotted a boulder and ducked behind it just as the Darvonians shot right past. She counted two seconds and then once again emerged, speeding across the ascending black stone.
Her breath whipped out of her throat, Roseabelle peered up ahead to see the Darvonians slowing down, probably wondering where she had disappeared to—and then she passed them. She focused on holding onto the Stones and her only weapon.
Roseabelle focused on the mountain’s peak and her face split into a wide grin. This was it. Benotripia was finally going to have peace! The solution was just moments away!
But a hard hand suddenly gripped her wrist. The combination of her intense speed and the abrupt pull on her arm caused Roseabelle to fling backward onto the hard ground. The javelin landed to her right and the Stones scattered all over the ground.
She instantly jumped to her feet, seizing the javelin and the blue and white Stones, but a pale hand grabbed the red Stone before she could reach it. Roseabelle looked up to see the group of Darvonians right before her, armed with shields, swords, maces, and other kinds of equipment. Why did Astro have to make them disappear with their weapons? she thought.
Her blood went ice cold when she saw who was at the front. A smirk was on her face and the red Stone in her hand.
Sheklyth, a black cloak encircling her, looked no different from the day she had betrayed the Benotripians.
Roseabelle immediately leaped forward with her javelin, swinging at Sheklyth’s hands and taking the Darvonian by surprise—she obviously hadn’t been expecting Roseabelle to attack her. The red Stone fell from Sheklyth’s grip, and Roseabelle dived forward.
As she lunged for the Stone, Roseabelle suddenly found the tip of a sword at her throat. She backed away, realizing that one of the Darvonians had caught the Stone. Sheklyth snatched it from him hurriedly.
“How did you even find out about this place?” Sheklyth asked, her intense eyes staring into Roseabelle’s. Roseabelle had faced Sheklyth many times before—as a friend, as a new foe, and now as an old enemy. Sheklyth had been her former trainer going by the name of Shelby, pretending to be a Benotripian while actually spying for Darvonia.
“Give me the Stone,” Roseabelle said slowly, readying her javelin. She didn’t know what else to do or say; the Darvonians definitely outnumbered her. Up ahead, she could see the peak of the mountain. There was some sort of silvery basin—that was where she needed to go. She just had to get that Stone . . .
Sheklyth reached inside of her cloak. “You’re too late, you know. The Darvonians are already here.”
“What?” Roseabelle asked, her thoughts turning furiously. What was her former trainer talking about? Just then, Sheklyth took the opportunity to strike with a long dagger. Roseabelle quickly blocked the blow with her javelin. The other Darvonians attempted to approach them, but Sheklyth just handed the red Stone to them, most likely making sure she wouldn’t lose it in battle.
Roseabelle drove the hilt of her javelin at Sheklyth, but the Darvonian sliced through it with her dagger, cutting Roseabelle’s weapon in half. Sheklyth took another jab at her, and Roseabelle stumbled a bit but managed to sidestep it. “Face it, Roseabelle. You’re beat.”
Seeing her broken weapon, Roseabelle glanced at the Stones in her hand. Should she use them to conjure another weapon for herself? Roseabelle could only create, not summon objects with the blue Stone; otherwise, she would’ve tried to get the red Stone from out of the Darvonian’s grasp.
Deciding against it, Roseabelle dashed to the side, ducking into the shadow of a large boulder. Before the Darvonians could reach her, she pictured a spot right behind the Darvonians and stomped her foot.
Instantly, Roseabelle appeared right behind Sheklyth, literally in her shadow. She wrenched the Stone from the Darvonian’s grip, thwacking Sheklyth’s fists with the pole of her broken javelin. As Sheklyth cried out in pain, Roseabelle darted up the mountain. She could hear heavy footsteps behind her and turned back partway, focusing on a particular patch of hard gritty earth. As the Darvonians advanced, she backed up the mountain, levitating a loose chunk of dry earth. She moved her head to the side and it splattered down on the Darvonians, knocking them to the ground.
Roseabelle raced to the top of the mountain and realized it wasn’t a basin she had been looking at. Instead, it was an embellished silver bowl perched on top of a staff. This had to be it. Nothing else in the Dream World had beckoned to her like this object did.
She was about to place all three Stones in the bowl when a black arrow pierced her sleeve, slamming her arm against the bowl. Two of the Stones slipped from her hand and tumbled from view. Roseabelle glanced over her shoulder to see hundreds of Darvonians pouring from the passage into the Dream World, all armed with weapons. Fear penetrated her mind, fuzzing up her senses, and Roseabelle did her best to push it away. She was too close now to give up! There were hundreds of Darvonians, it seemed. Roseabelle wouldn’t be surprised if they were streaming from every corner of the island.
Black-clad figures were zooming up the mountain. Roseabelle hurriedly slammed the red Stone into the bowl and watched as the silver melded around it. The gem had become part of the bowl. She bent down and stretched out her uninjured arm for the other two glittering jewels that lay innocently on the black sand. She grabbed the blue Stone and soon it was melded into the bowl as well.
One more.
Adrenaline pumping and heart racing, she reached for the third Stone. Suddenly, a piercing pain engulfed her leg. She thudded to the ground over the white Stone, face twisted in agony.
An arrow had struck her leg. Breathing heavily, she saw that the Darvonians were filling the entire top of the mountain. As one group surrounded her, another walked over to inspect the bowl.
Agony like she had never felt before racked Roseabelle’s body, racing up and down her limbs in hot flashes of pain. She knew she had to get the last Stone. Where was it? She was too stricken, too paralyzed with stabbing pain to move. A part of her knew it was all over. The Darvonians had entered the Dream World and it had not been destroyed. All her friends’ adventures and sacrifices had been in vain.
But as she stared vacantly at the ground, Roseabelle pictured her friends at the entrance, waiting for her to return, fighting just so she could succeed. Jessicana and Astro had always been there for her—she couldn’t just abandon them now! Benotripia would be overrun if she did nothing. But what could she do? She was surrounded. Sheklyth had won.
Tears pooled in her eyes as Roseabelle recalled one more thing—she had finally found her father. If she survived the Dream World, her family would be united once again. The joyful faces of Danette, Dastrock, and Magford, all together—that was all she had wished for her entire life.
Roseabelle wanted to see her father again, wanted to tell him how glad she was to find him at last. She wanted to see her mother’s face when she saw Magford. All the things she wanted now seemed distant, like a dream.
Here she was lying on the ground, helpless, wounded. But thinking about her friends and her family filled her with sudden warmth. Hope. It fueled her. It wasn’t over yet. There was still time.
She’d been in dangerous situations before. Roseabelle knew she had to figure something out before the Darvonians found the other Stone and whisked it away.
Roseabelle heard the Darvonians trying to remove the Stones from the bowl, but it didn’t work. Sheklyth’s sharp voice struck her ears. “What’s done is done, but the Dream World is still standing. Get the girl out of here! Is she dead yet?”
“Probably just in too much pain to move,” a gruff voice responded.
Roseabelle’s thoughts raced throug
h her mind, and she shifted a bit. An arrow to the upper leg could be fatal if it wasn’t treated right away. She could see the black arrow protruding from her, and the pain was growing more intense.
Out of the corner of her eye, Roseabelle spotted a gleaming object right near her foot. It was her Stone, radiating as clear as the noonday sun. If only she could get a bit closer to it. Gritting her teeth, Roseabelle shifted back a bit and ignored the pain.
She grunted. Her breathing became more shallow as she inched toward it and covered it with her feet.
“Retrieve the white Stone! Where is it?” Sheklyth hissed from above. Roseabelle forced herself not to panic.
Gathering every last ounce of strength she had, Roseabelle focused on the Stone, and it suddenly scooted over to her, settling beside her wounded leg.
She could feel it right under her leg, healing her. She heard the Darvonians scuttling around to find the Stone and knew that this was the opportune moment to strike.
Roseabelle sat up with a start, wrenched the arrow from her leg, grabbed the Stone, and quickly plunged it into the bowl before anyone had a chance to react. The silver instantly melded around it, and the ground began to shake.
“No!” Sheklyth shrieked. “Retreat! Retreat!” She lunged for Roseabelle, her eyes mad with fury. Roseabelle dodged her, ducking into the silver bowl’s shadow. Trembling, Roseabelle pictured the shadow of the Dream World doorway.
Her body felt as though it were folding this time as she Shadow Tumbled. Roseabelle knew the Dream World was about to collapse on top of them. She was jolted back to the present as she appeared in the foggy passage with the door to the Dream World on her left. She had to get out before it was too late!
CHAPTER 16
Vanquished at Last
ASTRO AND JESSICANA WERE STANDING IN THE DOORway, eyes wide. “Roseabelle!” Jessicana yelled and ran forward, grabbing her friend’s arm and pulling her to safety. Astro then slammed the door firmly behind them.
Roseabelle toppled onto the floor, body weak with exhaustion, her mind still woozy from using the Dream World to travel so fast. How did her father do that all the time?
Benotripia- The Complete Trilogy Page 25