30
Until Piper spoke her plan, she hadn’t actually known what it was. She heard herself say that they would arrive on Mother Mountain while the Chosen Ones were still asleep and get to Conrad and the others before anyone knew they were there. She had no idea what they would do once they reached Conrad, but she would think of that when the time came.
It was decided that AnnA would jump them in one at a time. As Rory Ray and Jimmy Joe didn’t want to be the first, Piper bravely stepped forward, determined to demonstrate to the others how easy it was going to be.
“What do I do?” Piper waited in front of AnnA.
“I do not know,” AnnA whispered back, looking over Piper’s shoulder at the boys. “Fido was the first living thing I ever jumped with.”
“Let’s hold hands,” Piper advised. Reaching out, Piper took hold of AnnA’s trembling fingers. “It’s okay, AnnA. You can do this.”
“I am not so sure.”
“Just do what you do.”
Puffing out a shaky breath, AnnA closed her eyes. Piper silently said a prayer when all at once her stomach felt like it was dropping down to the ground and her head felt dizzy. She could feel her body dissemble, stretch apart into air, and then just as quickly snap back into place like a rubber band.
“Piper?”
Piper opened her eyes. AnnA was peering at her, an alarmed expression on her face. “You do not look well,” AnnA said.
Piper leaned over and threw up. “Ugh,” she groaned when she could speak again. “I can’t say I thought it would feel like that.”
AnnA patted Piper on the back. “It is startling the first time, but you are on Mother Mountain. We are here!”
When AnnA was sure that Piper had finished throwing up, she went back for Jimmy Joe and then Rory Ray. Both of the boys arrived, as Piper did, with a green look to their faces. Jimmy Joe retched into a vine, but Rory Ray, ever the marine, swallowed firmly and punched his fist into his hand.
“Let’s do this!” Rory Ray said.
It was not quite dawn when the four of them were safely stashed in a secluded nook off the main plateau on Mother Mountain. The boys, having never been to Xanthia, peeked out to see what they could see.
As the tallest mountain in a remote, vast range, Mother Mountain was an imposing presence in Xanthia. Nestled in her peaks about three quarters of the way up, the Chosen Ones had settled themselves into cliff dwellings that were hollowed out of the mountain in a horseshoe shape. The three tiers of dwellings, with their graceful stone archways, brought to mind Mount Olympus, while the flowering vines that grew on them added the charm of an old English village. To Jimmy Joe, it closely resembled what he thought heaven would look like.
“Man.” Jimmy Joe whistled soft and low. “This place is something.”
The breaking of the dawn cast a golden glow over the white stones on the mountain, making them appear luminous. Mother Mountain had diverted her waters so that they tumbled down the center divide, pooling on the large plateau at the base of the tiers. From there, the waters gathered before gently flowing over the precipice to the valley below.
“We must hurry. The sun is coming, and the singer will be out to greet it soon. All will be woken.” AnnA set out.
Piper said, “Where are they being kept?”
“I will take you.” AnnA led them through a curving passageway to stairs. Rory Ray tried to keep track of the many twists and turns but soon became hopelessly disoriented.
Piper, who had spent some time in Xanthia, already knew about the strange creatures there. Like the messenger squirrels the size of small dogs that mimicked human voices and traveled throughout the mountain as the communication system, being paid for their efforts with nuts. She knew that things were not only beautiful but had a purpose and sometimes a keen intelligence, too. Like the purple flowers on the vines that crawled up the stone, which gave off heat when it was cold and a cool mist in the summer. The banks of gardens were populated with fruit and vegetables not known to Outsiders, bursting with strong flavors. Piper was prepared for all of this, but Jimmy Joe and Rory Ray craned their necks every few steps, unable to believe their eyes.
Soon enough, they emerged on the very top balcony.
“The elders council chamber is just over there.” AnnA pointed to the far side of the curving structure, where lights burned and the low rumblings of conversation wafted their way. “We must make like the wind or they will know we are here.”
With her flowing robes and bare feet, AnnA made no sound. Taking care, the others attempted to mimic her stealth.
“In here. Hurry!” AnnA guided them into a chamber filled with such dense foliage that to enter the room they had to push it aside to make passage. The draping vines tickled them as they went past, sticking shoots into tender areas of their neck or on their sides. Rory Ray batted them away.
“Stop tickling.” Jimmy Joe pushed a vine off his neck.
“It is letting you know that it is watching you,” AnnA said.
“What do you mean watching?” Rory Ray was on alert now.
“It is called a guardian vine. It guards.” Inside the chamber, the vine was slithering in a seemingly endless riotous coil. The chamber was a round, cavernous room, and in the center of it AnnA came to a stop.
Piper looked about eagerly, seeing nothing but the vine. “So? Where are they?”
AnnA pointed to the ceiling. “Up,” she said.
Everyone looked up. The ceiling of the room reached thirty feet above them. Halfway up, chiseled out of the stone, were crevices, each one the size of a large closet. Each contained a cozy white sleeping mat, a table with a bowl of fruit set out on it, and a jug of water.
A head poked over the edge of one of the nooks: Smitty. “Piper is here!”
Now heads were rising up off sleeping mats, and faces came into view.
“Piper! It’s Piper.”
“Piper, I’m so glad to see you!”
“How did you get here?”
“Can you get us out?
Last of all, Piper saw Conrad. He had bite marks on his arms and legs and an exhausted, defeated expression on his face.
Myrtle bent over, squinting at the boys. “Who are they?” She pointed at Jimmy Joe and Rory Ray.
“This is Jimmy Joe Miller and his brother Rory Ray.”
Once again, Myrtle looked completely confused, but just as Piper was going to explain further, she held up her hand. “Wait. They’re the locals from Lowland County? Why would you bring them here?”
“Looks to me like you could do with all the help you can get,” Jimmy Joe said with an edge. “And I’m not a local. I’m a … resident. A resident of Lowland County.”
“Well, c’mon,” Piper urged. “We’re here to take you home. Get down from there, and let’s get going on our way.”
“We can’t get down, Piper,” Conrad said, his voice weary. “The vine is keeping us prisoner. The minute we try to leave, we’re thrown back. Not even Daisy can strong-arm it.”
Daisy stepped forward, and the vine shot out, blocking her way. She grabbed it and squeezed, but another vine came out, grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, and tossed her back on her sleeping mat.
“That happens every time,” Ahmed said.
“Like clockwork,” Nalen agreed.
“But it’s just a vine!” Piper couldn’t believe this. With all their talents they couldn’t figure out how to outwit a vine? Surely not! “Conrad, what’s the plan?”
Conrad reached up to his throat, and Piper saw that a silver band had been fastened around it. “Elder Equilla put collars on us,” he said.
“The collar is generally used on small children when their abilities first blossom and there is concern that they will hurt themselves,” AnnA explained. “Some talents are very powerful and need time to develop and mature slowly. The collar regulates the degree to which you can access your ability.”
“Whatever that means.” Kimber snorted. “This thing makes us normal.”
“Equi
lla wanted to make sure that we don’t get out of here.”
“So that collar takes your talent away?” Now it was abundantly clear to Piper why they were stuck and couldn’t get out. “Well, there’s got to be something we all can do.”
“We’ve gone over it a thousand times,” Conrad explained. “We’re on a mountain surrounded by people who are extraordinary. Equilla has commanded that we stay, and no one here is going to help us. Chosen Ones are obedient to the elders.”
“Equilla wants to make sure we don’t stop the bugs,” Jasper said.
“But”—Piper clutched her hands together—“there has to be something that can be done! What do I do, Conrad?”
Conrad looked tired, rumpled, and worried. “I had a chance to see my father and mother when we first arrived. Equilla has put them in isolation too until she can be sure they are safe for the Chosen Ones to be around.”
“Safe? Why wouldn’t they be safe?” Conrad’s parents were hardly criminals. His little sister Aletha was six and not likely to cause trouble.
“Any contact Chosen Ones have with Outsiders causes unrest. They start asking questions, and Equilla wants to make sure that isn’t encouraged. She doesn’t like questions.”
“She’s also building a wall to keep Outsiders out,” Myrtle added.
Lily nodded her head, “And now she doesn’t want to let us go, either.”
“I think I can see someone coming.” Smitty craned his neck to get a better view. “My vision is not that great, but I’m pretty sure someone’s heading our way.”
AnnA grabbed Piper’s arm, pulling her back. “We must hide,” she urged.
Jimmy Joe and Rory Ray, taking their cues from Piper, followed closely. AnnA pushed aside the hanging ivy and tucked them behind layers of it until they were shielded completely. Then she snuck in next to them so that she, too, was hidden.
“Make way,” said a deep male voice.
Using her fingers to brush aside leaves, Piper was able to create a peephole through the ivy. Between leaves, she could make out ten elders walking into the chamber. Like AnnA, they were clothed in flowing white robes; each robe had its own unique adornment. Last of all to enter was a woman, more regal and silent than the others, her hair as white as her robes, and her eyes the color of steel.
“Who’s that?” Jimmy Joe whispered in Piper’s ear.
“That’s Elder Equilla. She’s like the president around here, and the others are in her council. They make all the rules.”
Jimmy Joe found her mesmerizing. “She looks like a snow queen.”
When she came to the center of the room, standing in front of all the others, Elder Equilla lifted her hand and flicked it with a graceful twist. Instantly, the ivy pulled away from the opening of each child’s nook.
“I invite you all to commune with me,” Equilla said with a voice like a song.
Tendrils of the vine snapped forward and plucked up the kids, grabbing them by the scruff of their necks and plunking them down in front of the elders. When they had brushed themselves off and settled, Equilla directed her attention to Conrad.
“Asanti.” She bowed.
Out of politeness, Conrad returned the bow.
“It is not in our custom to require our people to have ‘rest’ time. It is not a situation we wish to continue or find sustainable.”
“Let’s be clear,” Conrad said. “We’re not resting; we’re imprisoned against our will.”
Equilla looked around. “But I trust you are comfortable? All your needs are met?”
Conrad could not dispute that. “Yes.”
“Then it is also restful. Both may be true at the same time.” Elder Equilla folded her hands in front of her. “We understand that you wish to leave us and return to the Outside. We have considered this request and will now offer our decision. It is our belief that like must be with like: that the Chosen Ones are safer and happier with their own kind, so too the Outsiders. It is for this reason that we have invited you to be with us. Even though you have had the misfortune of being born on the Outside, you are Chosen, as we can see by your gifts.” Equilla paused to look among the children.
Conrad, with his shining blond hair and sharp blue eyes, didn’t take his gaze from her.
“While I cannot understand what calls you back to such a place, I must honor your wish to return.” Equilla shook her head as though their ignorance and lack of judgment was not to be understood by a rational mind. “However, it is clear to me that, for your safety and for the peace that now exists between Chosen Ones and Outsiders, clear lines must be drawn. Therefore, if you wish to return to the Outside, then you must be an Outsider. We will assist you in this process.”
Equilla nodded to one of her council members, and he stepped forward. “There are those of us who are skilled at releasing unwanted gifts. I assure you it is painless.”
Conrad’s lips drew into a thin line.
“If you remain with us, then you will remain as you are and enjoy all the privileges and benefits of Mother Mountain. As well, you will abide by the rules of our people, and no Chosen One may leave Mother Mountain or associate with an Outsider. It is forbidden.”
“What in the heck is she saying?” Jimmy Joe whispered. “I don’t get it.”
“Shhh,” Piper warned him.
“Under what authority can you impose this upon us?” Conrad addressed the council as a whole.
“You came to our home uninvited,” Elder Equilla pointed out. “When you set foot on this mountain, you placed yourself under our authority.”
“I do not accept that,” Conrad said.
“Your acceptance or lack thereof is incidental. It will be so.” Elder Equilla’s voice held not a trace of emotion.
“So either we stay and keep our talents but never return home, or you take away our abilities and we get to see our families. And either way you will do nothing to help save the planet.”
Equilla bowed her head.
“Ohhhh,” Jimmy Joe said. “I get it. Holy cow, that’s harsh. D’ya think she’ll actually make them normal?”
“In a heartbeat,” Piper whispered.
“Today is an important day. Spring has come to Xanthia, and it is our festival day. There is much to do. I will allow you to rest for this day and consider your choice.” Equilla swept away, pausing just as she came to the spot directly in front of where Piper, AnnA, and the boys were hidden. She stood for several breaths, cocking her head slightly as though she could hear them.
Piper held her breath, and AnnA bit her lip. The ivy chose that moment to tickle Rory Ray, and he dug his fingernails into the palm of his hand to stop himself from moving.
“Tonight,” Equilla said, “when we give thanks at sunset, I will either introduce you as new, cherished members of Xanthia, or we will allow the community to bid you farewell and perform the ceremony of release. I will await your decision. Asanti.”
Equilla flicked her hand, and the ivy vines, which followed her commands, snatched each child up and efficiently deposited them back into their nooks. In the same graceful, quiet way that they had entered, the council flowed out of the chamber after Equilla.
When the coast was clear, Piper burst out of the vines like she had been submerged underwater.
“We’ve gotta get you out of here!”
CHAPTER
31
No one could figure out how to escape, not even Conrad, even though he pulled at his collar and held his head as though squeezing ideas into his brain. With the collar on, he no longer had boundless intelligence to rely upon.
“There’s no way I’m giving up my speed. I’d die if I couldn’t run.” Myrtle jutted out her chin.
“Same. What would I be without my electricity?” Kimber batted at the ivy closest to her, and it poked back.
“What about the bugs? They’ll be blasting soon.” Ahmed paced back and forth. He had been put in a nook away from his twin brother. Usually they were within arm’s reach of each other, and the distance mad
e him feel vulnerable and shaky.
“Maybe,” Violet offered quietly, “some of us will have to give up our gifts to go back to help, and the others will stay here.”
“But who’s gonna stay, and who’ll go? And if we don’t have any special abilities, what can we do to help anyway? That just defeats the purpose, and Equilla knows that.”
Piper leaned over to AnnA and Rory Ray, who were closest to her. “FYI,” she said quietly, “this is what a team meeting is supposed to sound like.”
“I thought we were gonna fight something,” Rory Ray groused.
“Listen up!” Smitty called out. “They’re bringing our breakfast in soon. You’d better disappear if you don’t want to end up in one of these.”
“Piper, go home,” Conrad said. “You can’t help us.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Piper insisted. “I’ll figure something out.”
“There is nothing that you can do. Even if you could fly, it wouldn’t be enough. It would take a team to break us out of here.”
Piper snapped her fingers. “So then I’ll just have to get a team of Chosen Ones together who will help us.”
Kimber snorted. “Like they’d ever help us.”
“AnnA is helping us,” Piper pointed out.
“We already asked them,” Conrad reminded Piper. “And they already told us no. They don’t want anything to do with Outsiders.”
A noise in the corridor behind them caught AnnA’s attention, and she grabbed Piper’s arm and pulled at her. “This way.”
“But—” Piper tried her best to reason through the situation. “Did everyone get to vote on it? Did every Chosen One say no?”
“Of course not.” AnnA tugged at her. “It was a decision for the council of elders. We must rely upon their wisdom in all things.”
“Uh, did I mention that someone is coming?” Smitty interrupted.
AnnA firmly grabbed Piper’s arm and ran. “We’ll be back for you,” Piper promised. Rory Ray and Jimmy Joe wasted no time in keeping up with her.
“In here.” AnnA turned quickly and led them down a small, narrow passage, and then suddenly they were out on the balcony.
The Girl Who Fell Out of the Sky Page 15