“I ain’t gonna do it. I’ll stay dirty.” He backed himself against the wall. “I hate bugs!”
“Andy!” Tahmi yelled, “Stop it!” She doubled over, pains piercing her stomach once more. What was causing them?
Teri stood frozen with fright as three large roaches inched closer wiggling their feelers at her. “What does letting them clean me entail?”
“They gotta crawl all over you and bite the guck off!” Andy shouted, scraping his nails on the limestone. “I want outta here. I hate this place!”
Tahmi bit her lip.
Anala blinked. What was wrong with Tahmi? “Can I tell Ot’tai to have his men clean them?”
Tahmi couldn’t picture the black ones as “men” but if they felt that they were men who was she to correct them? “Yes, just do it. They’ll thank you later.”
Teri twirled around, waving her hands at the near approaching bugs. “Tahmi call them off me.”
“No.” She trembled. Trusty kicked his feet trying to stamp one. Two roaches jumped on his back and he bucked furiously.
Sandy neighed, trying to guard him from more approaching creatures. “Why are you allowing this, princess?”
Tahmi turned her back to them.
“I HATE YOU!” Andy bellowed. He was surrounded, his face red and sweaty. “I’m never going to speak to you again,” he said.
“Why can’t you guys trust me?” Tahmi cried, covering her eyes.
Trusty and Sandy stopped resisting. Their hearts pounded and the very thought of those creatures clanking their feelers all over them sent chills down their backs. But if the princess asked for their trust—who were they not to give it?
With shaking knees, Trusty nuzzled Sandy.
Teri watched about ten roaches jump onto the horses. She screamed like a raven, ready to emit oil. But would that even work? “Tahmi, please stop your bugs or I will.”
Tahmi turned, face burning. “You will not. I won’t allow it.”
Teri, eyes wide, placed her hands at her side. “I’ll never be one of your subjects. You’re just a puny little human.”
“I don’t ever expect you to be.”
This confused the princess but she didn’t have time to think. The three bugs climbed all over her, knocking her out.
Beads of sweat dripped from Andy’s face. It was his turn. The scorpion stood with his tail swaying back and forth. What was he doing? He wouldn’t kill him, would he?
Tahmi looked scared. “What’s Ot’tai doing, Anala?” She cried. “Don’t let him kill my best friend!”
It was too late. The scorpion leader gripped Andy with his claws drawing him in close.
“I’m sorry I called you bugs!” Andy sobbed. “Please don’t kill me!”
Ot’tai’s tail straightened.
“TAHMI!”
“Stop it, Ot’tai!”
“NOOOOO!”
His tail punctured Andy in his shoulder, sending him to his knees.
Roaches covered his body like a blanket.
Tahmi opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out. She stayed like that with her mouth agape.
The pains in her stomach suddenly gurgled and something pushed against the sides of her stomach. Anala stepped forward with her head low. “He was scared. Ot’tai just tranquillized him like he did Jerry. Now he won’t be scared.”
Tahmi sobbed in her hands. “I thought he killed my best friend. He’s the only reason I’m here, ya know, I want to make sure he gets home safe. He’s like my brother. I love him.”
Anala didn’t seem to understand. “But he isn’t your brother.”
“He is to me.”
“How do you define this word?”
Tahmi slowly stretched her hand out. She trembled as her hand rested on top of the loonette’s head. “I grew up with him, shared all my fears, dreams and secrets with him. We’ve cried together, laughed together, and been there for each other through good times and bad times. Plus, we fight like cats and dogs.”
“What’s a dog?”
Tahmi leaned her head back and laughed. “Nevermind, Anala. We argue, disagree, say mean things and just banter back and forth all the time.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Because I know no matter what I say or how I feel, that he’s going to still accept me for who I am.”
Anala thought on this. So did Ot’tai. He stood inches from her with his tail limp and his claws in. Did he want her to touch him, too?
Tahmi closed her eyes, reaching forward.
Ot’tai’s skin was slick like oil and hard as steel. He hummed, closing his eyes. When he opened them, they were black. The green glow to them had vanished.
JERRY
It was pitch black. Jerry rubbed his eyes. Why did he feel like he’d been kicked in the head by a war horse? A faint light peeked through an opening up ahead. Muffled voices echoed in his ears. Was that Tahmi he heard?
Jerry struggled to stand. His legs wobbled and his head pounded. He dragged his feet down the narrow tunnel towards the voices.
At the opening of the cave, a large fire crackled and danced in the center. Tahmi sat next to it with Teri while Trusty paced in the firelight. Andy lay in the corner passed out with Sandy standing guard over him.
A loonette sat in between the princesses. A black scorpion stood on Tahmi’s other side. Were his eyes black? Was her hand on his head? All around them were black bugs. They covered the ground, the walls and even the ceilings.
Jerry turned his head and gasped. Two green eyes glared at him. The bug was inches from his face. It scurried away, deep into the mob.
“So, Teri, what do you think we can do about their food supply?” Tahmi sighed. Her hair was clean! Jerry looked down at himself. So was he.
Two wasps hovered over his head. Would they sting him? He swallowed, avoiding them. They hadn’t killed him yet, had they?
“Why can’t they go digging in the goo for fruit? There’s plenty of food out there,” Teri said, inching away from the loonette.
Anala turned her back to the raven princess, focusing on Tahmi. “Whenever we try to swim in the goo, we drown. We’re too small.”
Tahmi’s eyes darted across the room. They set on Trusty.
The brown horse nodded. “If Ot’tai’s men are willing to meet me at the golden bridge once a month then I will bring them food.”
Anala seemed satisfied. Hundreds of bugs clanked their feet, wasps buzzed, circling the firelight. “They love it! It’s dangerous, but it’s better than starving or drowning.” The loonette flipped backwards.
The scorpion leader’s claws smacked against themselves and his hiss sounded almost like a deep giggle. “Okay, so now that that’s covered, what about protection?”
Teri shook her head. “I don’t know what to tell you about that one. What can we possibly do?”
Jerry stepped forward. As he did, bugs scurried out of the way. “Princess Teri,” he called. All heads and green eyes turned. “You’re not trying very hard to help. Aren’t you extremely powerful? Isn’t there something you could do to help keep their cave safe from the war pigs?”
Tahmi nodded. “Right. You could figure something out, couldn’t you? You’re amazing.”
Teri’s black hair fell around her face. Her cheeks grew hot. “Before I came on this journey, I thought that I was special and the strongest and most powerful person in all of Gadaie. But along the way I realized I’m not that amazing after all. I couldn’t save myself from oil—a substance that I myself create.” She looked up, her black eyes wet. “I can’t even control my own self.”
Tahmi squeezed her sister’s hand. “You saved our lives a million times in like two days. How could you even think that you aren’t special?”
“I also nearly got you killed.”
“Teri,” Anala finally said to the raven girl. “I’ve misjudged you for many years.”
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not.” Anala crawled into her lap. Teri shook nervously. “I don’t see a pri
ncess out of control at all.”
Teri wiped her nose. “What do you see? A selfish, spoiled, jerk?”
“No, I see a girl who is about to transition into someone she does not want to be. I see that same girl fight herself with her heart and soul. I have watched a child grow past the deadline of her kindness and still possess it.”
Jerry sat down next to Tahmi. She leaned in, her blonde hair smelling of lavender. “What is she talking about?” She whispered, her breath tickling his ear.
He leaned in close, his green eyes dancing, inches from hers. “Teri is half Gadaen. Up until your fourteenth birthday you’re able to be both Gadaen and human without problem, but fourteen is the transition year. That’s when what’s human about you begins to vanish, and by your eighteenth birthday you’re completely Gadaen.”
Tahmi swallowed. It was as if a huge pit sat in the center of her stomach. “What happens exactly?”
“Gadaenites are selfish creatures. Teri should’ve lost all her kindness, all her generosity and helpfulness at fourteen. She’ll be fifteen in a few weeks and yet she still clings to some of those qualities. She fights herself—and it exhausts her.”
“So, normally, she never would’ve helped us?”
Jerry shook his head. His lips tight and his eyes serious. “No, she never would’ve.”
Tahmi hugged herself, focusing on the dimming fire. Even though she wasn’t special, was she part Gadaen, too? That would explain the red eyes anyway. If Teri could transition into a cruel and selfish creature—would she?
Teri and Anala spoke softly. Ot’tai and his men clanked loudly in approval. Jerry and Tahmi struggled to hear through the noise. What was Teri telling them?
Trusty kicked his legs. “I’ll help!”
“So will I.” Sandy joined the conversation.
“Horses have sonar hearing.” Jerry hovered over Tahmi. “Even with all the noise of the bugs, they heard whatever was said.”
“Don’t call them bugs. It’s not proper,” Tahmi whispered, pulling on a strand of his hair. “Call them men or ‘the ones’.”
Jerry scrunched his nose. What in the world?
THE WALL
Teri and Anala ran outside the cave. Trusty, Sandy, and the bugs swarmed behind them. Tahmi and Jerry covered their faces while the insect stampede disappeared outside.
“Maybe we should drag Andy out,” Jerry suggested.
Tahmi nodded. “Yeah, something is about to happen, I think.”
Tahmi took Andy by the feet while Jerry held him under the arms. Roaches crawled under him taking the shape of a stretcher. Tahmi let Andy’s feet go and Jerry slowly lowered the boy onto the bugs.
They scurried up towards the mossy roof. “Climb up out of the way.” Trusty nudged Tahmi. “There’s going to be a serious mess in a moment.”
Jerry offered his hand. Tahmi took it and he pulled her up onto the slanted stone. They peered down at Teri and Trusty. They argued. Sandy paced though the mud, kicking some up with her feet.
“What are they doing?” Tahmi leaned forward. Jerry grabbed her by the shirt.
“Careful.” He frowned. “You’re a walking disaster.”
Tahmi grinned, glancing at her lap, her fingers trembled. “I’m not that bad.”
Jerry rested his shoulder against hers. She could feel the hairs on his arms. “No,” he whispered, “you’re not that bad.”
“Sandy!” Teri shouted.
Tahmi and Jerry turned their attention down below.
“Sandy.” Teri pointed at a large boulder. “I need you to help me with that. Do you think you’re strong enough? You’ll have to guide it.”
“I shall try my best.” Her gray eyes blinked. “I’m a little out of shape, but my muscles remember easily.”
Trusty neighed. “I’ll be down here to help you.”
Teri took a deep breath. She shook out her hands and stretched her fingers. “I need to stand in the valley below. There’s more oxygen there.” Her feet rose from the ground.
Tahmi smacked Jerry. “Did you know she could do that?”
Jerry followed Tahmi’s gaze. He’d seen it a million times. “Yes.”
“She floats,” Tahmi said. “I wish Andy was awake to see this.”
“Yes, the princess floats. She tries to fly but for some reason, unless she’s in the flower garden she can’t.”
Tahmi wasn’t listening. Her eyes stayed glued to Teri whose dark hair flowed behind her all the way down into the mud. “Why would she ever walk?”
Jerry smiled. “Why doesn’t Sandy fly? Haven’t you noticed she still hasn’t?”
“Yes, I was wondering about that, too.”
“See, it takes a lot out of you to do these things. But, I think you’ll get to see Sandy do her stuff now.” He pointed at the white horse.
Sandy stretched her wings as if they were legs. When the light hit them they sparkled. Tahmi kicked her feet like a restless child at a rodeo. “Look how beautiful she is!”
Jerry wondered what Tahmi would do if he held her? He inched closer. Would she back away? Why was his heart beating so fast? “I wonder what they’re planning to do. Why don’t you ask one of your bugs—I mean, men?”
“I don’t know their language. Anala translates for me but she’s down below with the others.”
“I think they’re going to do something crazy.”
“I dunno.” Tahmi wrapped her arm around his. Her fingers brushed against his. “Um, I think maybe they’re going to create some sort of barrier.”
Teri, now only a tiny spec, raised her arms out and screamed like a raven. Mud and small rocks rose from the ground and shot across the valley like bullets. They smacked into the hillside sending mounds of mud towards the princess. She floated above it. The mud flowed quickly like a river collecting underneath Teri’s feet. She looked down and groaned. Her voice bounced all around her. It was as if a million Teri’s had cried out.
“Okay, let’s try that again,” she mumbled. Teri drew in an even deeper breath and screamed. Bigger rocks and even more mud swirled round and round in a small twister.
Tahmi’s eyes widened. She watched Teri struggle. Her body was nearly parallel in midair. “Is she going to be okay?”
Jerry couldn’t speak. He’d never seen Teri look so strong. Her hair straightened and she screamed louder.
Two twisters sucked up rocks and mud. Teri’s arms shook. Show them you’re not selfish. Show them you can control yourself. The whirlwinds grew larger and larger filling the valley.
Sandy neighed, rearing up. “Enough, you’re tiring yourself out!”
Teri nodded, using her hands to direct the monstrous wind tunnels. She closed one eye and bit her lip. Her eye narrowed and she pushed the twisters forward.
A whistle rang in their ears making the bugs run. Some buried themselves into the mud for protection, while others hid behind the cave.
The large boulder shook and rumbled. Teri’s whirlwinds sat on either side of it, forcing it off the ground. Slowly, it rose and pushed forward.
“My turn!” Sandy’s wings sparkled and she galloped forward, faster and faster. With a battle-like whiny she jumped off the tor, disappearing below.
“She fell!” Tahmi cried, nearly falling. The twisters blew her hair backwards and made her eyes sting.
“No, look!” Jerry pointed at the sky.
Sandy’s wings spread out like an enormous kite. She soared through the clouds, slicing through them. She whinnied and then plunged, head first, downward.
“What’s she doing?”
Sandy collided into the back of the boulder.
The massive rock rolled away from the wind tunnels. It flew forward, stumbling over the muddy terrain.
Tahmi jumped. Where was Andy? “Get up, Jerry.”
“Why, what’s your problem?”
“That rock is headed for us.”
Jerry’s eyes widened. She was right. He ran, slipping in the moss. Several bugs collected Andy, carrying him down the si
de of the cave.
Tahmi looked back.
Her heart pounded.
Teri struggled to hold the boulder in a straight line with her wind tunnels. Trusty and Sandy pushed it forward whenever it slowed.
“C’mon.” Jerry tugged on her arm hard. She slipped, falling into a pile of mud.
“Than—”
Tahmi didn’t have time to complain. As she sat up, the massive rock crashed into the entrance of the cave, shaking its foundation. Broken rocks tumbled down from above knocking them in the head.
Bugs dug deeper into the mud disappearing completely.
Wind blew back Tahmi’s hair and her ears popped.
Teri collapsed in the pool of mud. Her limbs jiggled about as if they were rubber. She blinked her eyes. Each time she closed them they stung. Did I do it?
Teri couldn’t breathe. Her chest burned and her arms trembled. She let out a sigh of relief. Hundreds of bugs clanked their feet, crawling up on top of their cave. She’d done it. The entrance was blocked. No one besides the bugs knew where the secret entrance was.
“That should hold the war pigs off for a while at least,” Teri said, still breathless. “I think they’ll have a hard time invading, now.”
Anala flapped her wings across the valley. She dropped quickly like a ball of lead, landing in Teri’s lap. “You saved them! My friends will not have to fear those gruesome creatures anymore!”
Teri half grinned, patting the loonette. “Yes, we did it. Sandy and Trusty helped me.”
Sandy’s big eyes brimmed with tears. Had Teri given them credit? Sometimes she didn’t believe the rumors. Maybe Teri would be different and never grow selfish like all the other Gadaenites.
“We need to get moving. We can’t seek shelter in the cave anymore so it’s best if we journey on,” Trusty said. He stood at the top of the tor with his eyes set on Sandy. “Are you strong enough to help carry the children?”
Sandy nodded, kicking her feet. “I feel ten years younger.” Her mane flew around her as she pranced in circles. She held her head high and snorted.
Trusty watched. His body still. “I haven’t seen you this happy in years.”
“I helped those bu—” she stopped, “those men. I feel fantastic. There’s nothing like this feeling.”
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