The Rivers of Zadaa (5 page)

“And the same for you,” Bokka said. “Good-bye, Loor. When we meet again, I hope it will be under better conditions…as it was when we were young.”

Loor nodded sadly.

“I don't know who you are, Pendragon,” Bokka said to me. “But if Loor says you can help us, then I do not doubt her.”

I nodded. What else could I say to that?

“Good-bye, Loor,” Teek said. “And to you, Pendragon.”

Bokka took a step backward and flipped up his hood. Teek did the same. Bokka waved to the Tiggen guards behind our horses. I turned to look, but didn't see them. I took a step to my right to get a glimpse of them, but it was too late. They were gone. Vanished into the sand. I turned back around to see that Bokka and Teek had disappeared as well.

“They're like worms,” I said to Loor.

“There are tunnels everywhere,” Loor said. Without another word Loor strode back to her horse and mounted up. I did the same. We snapped the reins and started back to the city.

“So how is it you got so friendly with a Rokador?” I asked as we trotted along. “I thought the two tribes didn't mingle.”

“At one time we did,” Loor answered. “Especially the children. Bokka and I were marked at an early age to be trained as warriors. There were two camps, one outside of Xhaxhu and one belowground. Groups would take turns traveling to the other camp. It was a way for us to learn the ways of our tribal neighbors.”

“Things have changed,” I said.

“Yes they have,” Loor said sadly. “That kind of cooperation no longer exists. The royal family of Zinj has been trying to bring our tribes back to the old ways, but prejudices and anger run too deep.”

“So, was this Bokka guy your…boyfriend?”

Loor thought about the answer. I didn't like that. I wanted her to scoff and say: “Nah! Are you kidding?” But she didn't.

“Under different circumstances, we may have ended up together,” she said sadly.

“I guess being from enemy tribes made that tricky,” I said.

“Yes,” she replied. “And finding out that I was a Traveler did not help either.”

Oh. Right. That. So she and Bokka were not meant to be. Awww, too bad. Man, am I being mean or what? I decided to change the subject.

“What about this royal family?” I asked. “Ninja something or other?”

“Zinj is the family name,” Loor corrected. “The crowned prince is named Pelle a Zinj. Though he has not yet taken the throne, he has slowly taken on the responsibilities of ruling the Batu. Even the Rokador recognize his wisdom. The king and queen are preparing to hand over the crown very soon.”

“Is that good or bad?” I asked.

“It is good,” Loor said confidently. “Very good. He will make a wonderful, fair leader. He has dedicated his life to forging a treaty with the Rokador. But I fear it will be in vain. The drought has seen to that.”

“Or maybe it was the Rokador who have seen to that,” I cautioned. “Like you said, there may be more to this drought than bad weather.”

It was a grim journey back to Xhaxhu. I now had a pretty good handle on what the trouble was here on Zadaa, but figuring out something to do about it was a whole nother matter. There seemed to be only two possibilities. One was that Saint Dane was somehow manipulating events. When he disappeared from the celebration at Black Water, he did say he was coming to Zadaa, and he never went to a territory just to hang out. The other possibility might actually be worse. If the rivers had dried up here simply because there was a funky weather thing happening, there was nothing anybody could do about that. The sad truth might be that a war between these two tribes was the way it was meant to be. It would be tragic, but the job of Travelers wasn't to interfere with the normal course of a territory's history. Our only concern was if Saint Dane tried to monkey with things. For Loor's sake, I hoped that wasn't the case. If Saint Dane wasn't involved, then I had no business here. Loor was from Zadaa. She would have to do what she had to do. But I was from Second Earth. I would have to back off. This was going to be a tough call. But I couldn't make it until I found Saint Dane. Or he found me.

We trotted the horses back through the giant opening in the wall of Xhaxhu and went right back to the Ghee stables where the horses were kept. As I think back on what happened next, and I think about it a lot, I can't believe how dumb I was. I guess I have to give Loor some of the blame too, but it was mostly my fault. It was a simple, stupid mistake that could have been easily avoided. But it wasn't. I messed up, and I paid the price.

“Rokador!” a gruff voice screamed.

We had just gotten off our horses. I looked around, wondering what Rokador would have been idiot enough to stroll into the lion's den, the home of the Ghee. There were none to be seen. That's because the person being called out, was me. I was the idiot. I instantly realized my mistake. I had taken off my dark cloak out in the sandy farm. There was so much to get my mind around back there, I had forgotten to put it on again. It was still lying out there in the sand. Loor's mind must have been elsewhere too, for she didn't even notice. So here I was, looking all sorts of gleaming-white, having strolled right into the belly of the beast.

“I will handle this,” Loor whispered to me. “Say nothing.”

A tall Ghee warrior strode up to us with madness in his eyes. As luck would have it, this guy was bigger than Loor. She stood in his way, saying, “I am taking this Rokador to the superior for questioning—”

The guy didn't stop. He blew past Loor, knocking her out of the way like she was a doll. Whoa. I had never seen that happen before. This day was full of a lot of things I hadn't seen before. I didn't like any of them. As this angry giant strode toward me, I was like a deer caught in the headlights. I backed off, and hit into my horse. There was no place to go. The guy grabbed me by the front of my Rokador jacket and lifted me up until I was on my toes.

“How dare you?” he seethed. The guy was out of his mind. That much I could see. “You ride into the Ghee compound? On a Batu horse?”

Loor tried to get between us, saying, “He is my responsibility. I brought him here.”

The Ghee warrior looked at Loor and said, “And you will bring him out, when I am finished with him.”

The guy held me tighter and dragged me out of the stable and into the light of the compound. By now, several more Ghee warriors had heard the commotion and started to gather. Loor trailed behind, trying to take control.

“What is your division?” Loor demanded. “Who is your commander? This is my prisoner. Your superior will punish you for standing in the way of—”

“Someone quiet her!” the tall Ghee shouted.

Instantly Loor was jumped by two big Ghees. Whatever was going to happen, Loor couldn't stop it. The tall Ghee dragged me to the center of the compound, and threw me to the ground. I landed hard, rolled once, then popped back to my feet ready to, well, I'm not sure what I was ready to do, except run. That wasn't going to happen because we were quickly surrounded by Ghees. I was trapped inside a circle of enemies, with a very big guy facing off against me.

“Never let it be said that the Ghee are unjust,” the tall warrior said with a sneer. He walked to one of the other warriors and yanked the guy's wooden stave from the harness on his back. He walked back into the circle and tossed the six-foot stick at me. I caught it, if you could call it that. It was more like I stopped it from hitting me in the head by blocking it with my hands. The weapon fell to the ground. The Ghee warriors laughed.

“L-Look,” I said nervously. “I have agreed to speak with your superior and tell them all I know.”

The tall Ghee laughed and slowly walked toward me. “That is good to know,” he said with a chuckle. “And I will allow you to do that. But first, you must get past me.”

The guy suddenly shot forward, grabbed my jacket, and jerked me toward him until we were nose to nose. We were so close I could smell his sour breath. At that instant something triggered in my memory. Smells can do that. It's like there's a direct link from your nose to your memory. It wasn't a happy memory either. I looked into the guy's wild, brown eyes and saw something that made my heart race even faster, if that was possible. We were so close, I was the only one who could see. His eyes changed color. They went from deep brown to lightning white. My mind didn't accept it at first. It was impossible, right? Wrong.

“Welcome to Zadaa, Pendragon,” the Ghee warrior whispered. His voice was suddenly calm. Gone was the rage. He was totally in control of himself…and me. “Let's put aside all the intrigue this time and show each other how we really feel, shall we?” he said.

In that instant I saw his eyes return to brown as he tossed me down on the ground. I was too stunned to react. The Ghee warrior reached behind his back and pulled out his wooden stave.

“Pick up the weapon!” the warrior bellowed, showing rage once again. Though now I realized it was all a show for the spectators.

Reality had finally settled in. The good news was, I had found Saint Dane.

The bad news was, I had found Saint Dane.

ZADAA

S
aint Dane had taken the form of a Ghee warrior. It didn't matter what side he was on. He could have chosen to be with those loyal to the royal family of Zinj, or put in with the rebels who wanted war with the Rokador. Right now, that didn't make a difference. He was a Batu. I looked like a Rokador. We were enemies in the eyes of everyone here…and we were about to fight. I shot her a quick glance to see that Loor was being held firm by three of her fellow warriors.

“Loor,” I shouted while keeping an eye on Saint Dane. “It's Saint Dane.”

Loor gave a quick, surprised look to the tall, dark warrior who had called me out. Saint Dane returned her look, gave her a quick nod, and actually winked at her.

I saw Loor's eyes grow wide. “Who is that Ghee?” she shouted to the other warriors. “I do not know him! He is not one of us! We must summon the commander and—” The Ghees holding her clamped a hand over her mouth. She struggled to get away, but it was hopeless. I was on my own. I looked at Saint Dane. He gave me a quick shrug, as if to say: “Guess you're on your own, pal.”

The only choice I had was to reach down and pick up the weapon.

You guys know, I'm not a fighter. Up until that moment I'd managed to survive by luck, and with the help of my fellow Travelers. The one serious fight I'd been in was on Eelong, but that was against a prisoner who was half my size, and so starved and weak that it was a joke. I was now looking up at a warrior who towered over me, with biceps like you'd see in a graphic novel about gladiators. If that weren't bad enough, it was Saint Dane behind all that muscle. My enemy. The demon who was trying to lay waste to Halla. I was scared, obviously. But I was also confused. Why was he doing this? This wasn't his style. For him, fighting was too…simple. Unimaginative, even. I had some vague shred of hope that he had another reason for doing this, other than to beat me up. There was a chance this fight would never happen.

“Are you serious?” I asked, trying not to sound as scared as I was. “Isn't fighting beneath you?”

His answer was to lash out with his stave and clock me on the side of my head. It was so fast, and so violent, I wasn't sure if I was more hurt, or shocked. I stumbled, but stayed on my feet. The crowd of Ghees cheered. Saint Dane circled in front of me, relaxed and smiling.

“If there is one thing you should have learned by now, Pendragon,” Saint Dane said, “it's to expect the unexpected.”

He lashed out with his weapon. I ducked, but it was a fake. He never swung. The Ghees laughed. I backed away. Saint Dane stayed with me.

“Come now, Pendragon,” Saint Dane taunted. “Don't you want to hurt me? This is your chance. No pretense. No illusion. Just the two of us.”

“Yeah, right,” I said. “You can turn yourself into a studly warrior with armor and all. I'm just me. Is that fair?”

Saint Dane laughed. I hated it when he laughed. “Fair?” He chuckled. “What has fair got to do with anything?”

I caught a glimpse of Loor struggling to get away from the Ghees. They held her firm. She couldn't bail me out this time. This was all about me…and Saint Dane. I thrust my stave at his gut. He knocked it away as easily as if he was batting a moth. He then cracked me across the back with the other end of his weapon. I stumbled forward. It hurt. He wasn't fooling around.

“Come now, Pendragon,” he taunted. “Show a little enthusiasm.” He flicked his stave up quickly, catching me on the chin, making me bite my lip. I tasted blood. “Where is your rage? Think of how miserable your life is because of me.” He punctuated this with a quick jab that clipped my shoulder. He was playing with me. He was enjoying this. I wasn't.

“Don't you miss your family?” he jeered. “Don't you want revenge for those you've lost? So many have died in your futile crusade. Surely that makes you angry.”

He flipped one end of his stave toward me; I actually knocked it away with my weapon and was smart enough to know another blow would quickly follow. He spun away from me and whipped the other end of his weapon backward, like he was paddling a canoe. But I was ready for that one too. I dodged out of the way. It was the third attack I wasn't ready for. Saint Dane spun back around and jabbed at me underhanded, catching me square in the gut. Oof! It hurt, but I was okay. So far. The crowd of Ghees watching didn't matter to me anymore. They were nothing more than a blur on the edges of my vision.

“You can't keep this up.” Saint Dane chuckled. “You're going to get hit. Like Kasha did with that rock that crushed her skull.”

He was baiting me. He wanted me to attack. I realized if that's what he wanted, it was the one thing I shouldn't do.

“Your uncle couldn't avoid me either. Was there much pain when the bullets tore through his heart? Did he die quickly? I certainly hope not.”

That one hit too close to home. I lost it and swung my stave at him in anger. He took a simple step back and danced out of the way. I had swung for the fences and missed, losing my balance and nearly falling over in the process. I sensed that the Ghee warriors were once again laughing, but I didn't care. I had to force myself to get my act together.

That's more like it,” said Saint Dane, chuckling. “Rage is such an exhilarating emotion, no?”

He flipped his stave again and clipped me on the knee. I staggered, but I was back in control. At least of my emotions, anyway. I had to be. It was the only chance I had. Saint Dane was making me look bad, but I was beginning to think that making me look foolish was exactly what this fight was about. To embarrass me. To show his power over me. There was no question that if he wanted to, he could knock me silly. But he hadn't. Don't get me wrong, the knocks I was taking hurt, but they weren't serious. I figured I'd be black and blue the next day, but I'd survive. It made my confidence grow. I figured I knew what this fight was about. I decided it was time to fight back.

So I laughed.

“You find this amusing?” Saint Dane asked with a touch of confusion.

“Getting hit, no,” I said. “But when you try this hard, all it says is you're getting desperate.”

He didn't expect that. He jabbed his stave out at me, but I dodged it.

“Four times,” I continued, trying not to let the pain creep into my voice. “That's how many times you've tried to control a territory, and how many times we've stopped you cold.”

He spun around and swung his weapon at me. I ducked. He missed, but it was so close I felt the wind rustle my hair. If he had connected, he would have knocked me into next Tuesday…if there was such a thing as Tuesday on Zadaa.

“And Veelox?” he asked. I heard the confidence in his voice waver.

“No biggie,” I said cockily. “When you go down for good, we're going back and pull Veelox out too. Aja is working on it right now. Veelox was a draw.”

Saint Dane took a step back as if I had physically hit him. I was definitely getting to him. I didn't think it was because of what I was saying. None of it was new news. It was more the way I was saying it, with absolute confidence. It was becoming pretty clear that Saint Dane's plan to embarrass me in this fight, wasn't working. I was slowly getting the upper hand.

“You can beat up on me all you want,” I said. “But you can't change the truth. You are losing. I think you know it too. You're getting so desperate that you've resorted to beating me up with a stick. How pathetic is that?”

Saint Dane staggered. Oh yeah, I was hitting him worse than he had hit me.

“You can't even make me feel bad about Uncle Press anymore, because he promised that one day I would see him again. And I believe that. I believe all the Travelers will be together again. I don't know how, but you know what? I think you do. Oh yeah, you know exactly how it's going to happen, and you're getting nervous because that time is getting closer. And when we're all together again, it'll be the end of your sad little quest.”

I was hammering him, bad. I saw it in his eyes. He clutched his stave, wringing it fitfully. It was time to go in for the kill.

“And you know what? The real reason you're going down is because that's the way it was meant to be…and there's nothing you can do to change it.”

Since the day I learned that I was a Traveler, I had made a lot of mistakes. Some of them small, others not so small. What I had just done with Saint Dane in the Ghee compound on Zadaa was one of the big ones. Saint Dane's plan in picking this fight may have been to embarrass me in front of the Ghees and hurt my confidence, but in that one second, his plan changed. I'm sorry to say that I changed it. What happened next I had brought on myself, with my words. The only good thing I can say about it was that it was fast.

Saint Dane took me apart.

With an angry roar he charged at me, the wooden stave spinning like a helicopter blade. I threw my weapon up to protect myself, but Saint Dane dropped to one knee and kicked up at me with his boot, catching me right in the gut and knocking the air out of my lungs. I doubled over as he stood, driving his knee into my forehead. He was done playing. He wanted to hurt me. To say that I had never taken a beating like this is probably the biggest understatement I have ever made. When his knee hit me, I saw colors. Splotches of green and yellow floated everywhere. My ears rang.

I had a vague understanding that the Ghee warriors were laughing and cheering, but they sounded like they were on the far end of a long tunnel. I turned away to get my balance and cover up, but I wasn't fast enough. A dark flash hit me square on the cheek that must have been Saint Dane's weapon. It spun me around so fast, everything went blurry. I think this is when I dropped my weapon, not that it was doing me any good anyway. I fell to my knees and looked up in time to see Saint Dane winding up and attacking me with his weapon like a lumberjack chopping with a giant axe. The stave came straight down at me.

In that one fleeting instant I realized that this could be the end. It's amazing how many thoughts can race through your head so quickly. In times like this, it's almost like time slows down. It suddenly all seemed so clear. Forget the games. Forget the mystery and the misdirection and the complex plots to turn the territories toward chaos. The only thing standing between Saint Dane and the conquest of Halla were the Travelers, and I was their leader. With me out of the way, he would have a much easier time. Believe it or not, in that one instant I actually wondered what had taken him so long to figure that out.

Saint Dane was trying to kill me.

But I wasn't giving up. I threw my arm up and caught the full brunt of the blow. It didn't even hurt. My battered body was beyond pain at this point. My brain couldn't process it anymore. I deflected the blow from my head, but the force was so strong it knocked me onto my back. Saint Dane leaped at me, ramrodding the end of his weapon into my ribs. Once, twice, again. I knew he must be breaking bones, but I couldn't feel anything anymore. The demon got right into my face.

“Beg me to stop,” he hissed angrily. He hit me in the ribs again. I looked into his eyes. They had returned to lightning white…and were mad with rage. “Beg me,” he demanded. I felt his spittle land on my cheek. His anger had turned to frenzy. There was no plan here. No plot. No trickery. He had lost it.

“This is the way it was meant to be, cretin,” he growled. “This is what the future holds, for you and your like. That is the promise I made, and I will keep it.” He hit me again, but I was beyond caring. “You will beg for my forgiveness and mercy.”

I looked up at him. I can't begin to tell you where I got the strength or the brass to do this, but I smiled and croaked out, “Dude, you are talking to the wrong guy.”

He froze. I'm not sure why. Maybe it was because he couldn't believe I had that kind of brass either. At least, that's what I hoped. But the shocked look on his face quickly turned back into a fury that I feared would finally put an end to this beating, and my life. He reared back and let out a howl like a wild animal standing over fallen prey. He looked back down at me and raised his weapon. This was it. End of the line.

“Stop!” I heard a voice call out.

Saint Dane snapped a look to the crowd. He hesitated long enough so that two Ghee warriors had the chance to run in and pull him off me. Somebody had saved me. There was somebody out there who took pity on a poor Rokador. But I didn't recognize the voice. I was flat on my back and barely able to move, but I painfully turned my head to where the command had come from.

Standing in the crowd was a new spectator. He wore a dark purple robe that covered his head. It looked familiar, but I didn't know why. How could I possibly know anybody on Zadaa? I then remembered where I had seen him before. It was at the zhou battle. He was the mysterious guy who was in the tier above me, watching the fight. Whoever this guy was, he was my new best friend. He took a step into the circle, and I was surprised to see that the Ghee warriors backed away from him and knelt down on one knee.

Who was this guy?

He walked up to me and said in a soft, compassionate voice, “This is not what we are about.” He then took off the robe to reveal a tall, dark-skinned guy who wore an incredibly ornate, bright red tunic with an elaborate design around the neck. He held out his hand to me and said, “I am Pelle, heir to the throne of Zinj. We will take care of you.”