The Silver Sphere (24 page)

"About before.... I'm sorry," she mumbled. "It...
it shocked me. I'm sorry." She couldn't think of what else to say.

He shook his head. "It's okay, Shelby. It just stung, that's
all. I know you cared about him a lot, but I had to save you. I didn't have time
to do both, and the others were too far ahead to come back and help."

"I understand. If they had, we'd all have died."

He just nodded.

"Please forgive me," she begged. Her chest ached; the
thought of Max being mad at her for the rest of their time together was almost too
much to bear. Mr. Dempsey was already gone. Losing Max would destroy her.

"I do," he said, and when he looked at her, she knew
he meant it. His hazel eyes were soft and comforting. "He was a good man, Shelby.
We'll make it right. I promise."

Shelby gave a firm nod. "Yes, we will. Malefic won't ever
hurt anyone we love again. I swear it."

"Me too."

They hiked for an hour through wild country, then stopped and
brought out the map. Shelby figured they should have reached the caves by now. With
a grimace, she scanned the area. The clouds had receded, moving south, and the sun
blared upon them. It wasn't a warm day, but the chill of winter had not ravaged
the land yet, either.

"The caves are supposed to be right around here, two different
entrances," said Stuart, stroking his chin with his hand as he examined the
scroll. He'd tied his long hair back with a length of twine.

"I hope we're reading this map correctly. One wrong turn
could put us off track," said Riley.

"No, no, we made it to the river without difficulty. The
caves must be close," he said, jabbing the vellum right where they stood.

A rumbling noise surged through the woods east of them.

A Disemboweler burst through from the thicket. Stuart blasted
it with his hand-cannon, and Emily whistled an arrow into it as the beast writhed
on the ground.

A horde of Nightlanders swarmed in behind it.

"We tracked the escapee to this point," one of them
bellowed.

"Ah, what have we here? Drop your weapons or die!"
another ordered.

The Kin glanced at each other.

Rage boiled in Shelby's stomach. "I was just about to say
the same thing to you."

Stuart fired into the last speaker, knocking him back several
feet. Emily cocked her bow and let fly three arrows at once into the mob.

The dark warriors charged forward.

Max lunged and swished his sword with a clang into the closest
one. He lifted the soldier up and hurled him into the others.

Shelby picked up a downed man's sword and leapt into the throng,
spinning with both blades gashing through the air.

Pellets hissed from Riley's slingshot, smacking troopers in the
face and knocking them off their feet. The hand-cannon echoed in Shelby's ears while
she twirled in savage combat. She channeled her anger and exploded through the Nightlanders
on a bloody rampage.

The last few soldiers scrambled into the forest.

"They can't get away. I'm going after them," Max yelled.

Stuart followed as they barreled into the woods.

Shelby scanned the area, now littered with dead Nightlanders.
Her heart thumped and she inhaled a lungful of air.
Calm down now.

Before long, Max and Stuart returned, sweat and blood dripping
from their brows.

"We got them," Max said.

Emily wiped her blade with a rag. "They said they tracked
an escapee to here, but I don't see the caves. What were they talking about?"

Shelby pointed to a dense part of foliage. "Hold on. What's
over there?"

Her boots snagged a few brambles as she walked. A pair of holes
gaped in the greenery, where thick, leafy vines and ivy covered the rock.

"The two openings," Max said. "I didn't think
of this before, but these are Meridian Army maps. Perhaps only they know of this
place. It's camouflaged to keep it secret. You'd go right past this if you weren't
searching for it."

He looked around cautiously. At any moment,
more Nightlanders might attack them. Everyone was on edge, listening and watching.

"Well, now what?" Emily folded her arms across her
chest. "Do we go through one entrance, and try the other one if we don't find
anything?"

They stood silent for a few seconds before Shelby spoke. "We
aren't supposed to split up, but we should in this instance. A couple of us can
go in each tunnel, not too deep, and we keep one stationed outside in case any trouble
erupts." She walked closer to the caves and faced the others.

"Hmm, I'm not convinced splitting up is a good idea,"
said Stuart.

"Well, why not?"

"Okay, go on," said Riley.

"Bianca sent us this message, and something important is
here. It has to be this escapee she wants us to find. The last thing she would want
to do is put us in danger. The tunnels are narrow. We should be able to handle anything
coming our way, or at least to turn and run. And then we will have one of us waiting
out front to help, as well as listening for any strange sounds. In the event one
of the caves is dangerous, at least we wouldn't all be together. We'll be finished
quicker, too, and time is important."

Max chimed in. "I agree. And I have the same feeling. Time
is essential."

"All right, let's do it," said Stuart.

Shelby noted the charcoal sigil on his chest had smeared.

"I'm game," Max said.

Emily and Riley bobbed their heads in agreement.

Riley said, "Emily, you're the best with a bow. You should
stay out here and keep guard." She raked her hands through her knotted blonde
hair.

"Done," Emily said.

They decided Shelby and Max would go up the cave on the left,
Stuart and Riley to the right. Emily hid herself where she'd be able to guard, but
not be seen.

Shelby strode to the cave with confidence, and Max sped after
her. At the mouth of the cavity, she knelt and lifted a thick branch from the ground,
broke it in half with a
crack
, and tore a strip of cloth from her cloak.

Max frowned. "What are you doing?"

"We need something to illuminate our paths. Caves are dark."
She wrapped the material around the top of the stick, then took some twine from
her backpack and used it to hold the cloth in place. After striking two pieces of
flint, which she found in a pocket on the satchel, she lit the makeshift torch.
"Come on."

They inched in as the cavern dimmed. Shelby's eyes adjusted to
the darkness, illuminated by flickering light. Several torches protruded from the
stony walls, and she lit them as they advanced. She glanced back at the access to
the cave and spied Emily squinting after them, her bow cocked.

Rocks crunched underfoot as she moved through. Max crouched down
and treaded behind her. They made little noise as they went, but each time a footfall
echoed or a pebble skipped across the stone, her heart bounced into her throat.

Almost ten yards in, the cavern came to its first turn. The rocky
walls made things difficult to take in, even with the aid of the torches. Beards
of moss clung to the craggy walls.

They followed the curve deeper. After
a few minutes, the tunnel widened and a wooden door emerged.

"All right, open it." Max's voice bounced off the rock
as he raised his blade. "I will enter first."

Wood ground against stone as Shelby pulled the door forward.
Max stepped past the entry, his sword leading the way, and she followed. More torches
lined the sides, and she lit them.

A large wooden desk with a splintered chair sat in the center
of the antechamber. The petrous walls surrounding them contained several file cabinets
and hanging pictures.

"Looks like some kind of old office," said Shelby.
She drew closer to the wall, where a map had caught her eye. The title of the print
read
Earth
.

The diagram was mostly black and white, except one area. The
spots she spied on the map were colored green, just off the coast from Morocco in
the North Atlantic Ocean. The islands were named the
Atlaseria Islands
; in
parentheses it read:
now known as the Canary Islands
.

Max gaped at the map. "Atlaseria. I've had dreams about
a place called Atlaseria. My brothers teased me about them."

"Hmm." Shelby squinted as her mind raced. She recalled
the sound of an ocean lapping the shore, the scent of fish and salt, and the warm
sun. "I've had dreams of a place named Atlaseria, too. I never told anyone,
either. I've read about the Canary Islands. I remember some mystery regarding its
earlier inhabitants."

She picked up a dusty textbook underneath the map. The title
read,
The History of Meridia.

She turned the cover and a picture of a huge tidal wave about
to hit a coastal city poked out. Under the image read,
The Great Deluge: Atlaseria
Destroyed.

"I recall Presage saying they were all originally from Earth,"
Max whispered.

Shelby turned another page, and a photo
of a colossal ship hovering over the ground appeared with the caption:
The
Atlaserians decide to leave Earth and travel to Azimuth to begin anew.

"Do you think because we are Kin we've been having the same
dreams about Atlaseria?" she asked.

One of the wardrobes shook to their right. Shelby and Max backed
away, swords high. The doors crunched open and a boy plopped to the floor, his tattered
clothing flowing as he fell.

"Kin? You are K-Kin?" He scrambled to his feet.

Shelby examined the boy. A mop of sandy hair covered his head,
shaggy bangs falling before his blue eyes. He was pale, and the threadbare shirt
he wore kept slipping off one of his shoulders. Ash and dirt smudged his cheeks
and clothes.

Max asked, "Who are you and what are you doing in this cave?"

"I'm Simon. The Nightlanders kidnapped me until I escaped
two nights ago. I hid here ever since." He shielded his eyes from the torchlight.
A thin boy, he no doubt lost much of his weight during his time in the cave. He
looked rather familiar.

Shelby and Max glanced at each other, nodding.

Simon shivered and stumbled forward a step. "I've only ventured
out for berries and water."

"Come with us. We'll keep you safe," said Shelby, offering
her hand.

He accepted and she led him back to the
mouth of the corridor, tossing the expired torch aside. She and Max worked their
way over to where Emily stood sentinel, and found the rest waiting for them.

"A dead end in our cave," said Stuart, "and an
empty tunnel—just some hollow barrels and boxes. Any luck?"

Shelby raised her brow as she pulled the boy forward gently.

"We found Simon hiding," said Max.

They all glanced at each other. Shelby nodded behind Simon. Though
the day had been long and tiring, she couldn't help but smile. "Simon, is your
father Casselton?"

"Yes, yes! Do you know him?"

"Oh yes, he'll be so happy to find out you're fine. He's
traveling with a Meridian battalion on the Dorado Path back to Meracuse."

Simon's face contorted with fear. "Oh, no, Malefic will
attack Meracuse, if he hasn't already!"

"Where did you hear such news?" asked Max.

"They held me in a jail, underground, right at the brink
of the Canopus Hills. I overheard the guards speaking. In fact, they celebrated
the fall of Degei while I escaped. They became careless after drinking ale, and
I managed to pick one of their pockets for the keys when he stumbled by my cell.
I waited until they dozed and made my break." His stomach rumbled, and he held
his hand over it, as though embarrassed.

"Here, let me get you some chud. We need you to answer a
few questions, but I don't want you starving. Are you thirsty?"

Simon nodded and grabbed the food and canteen from Shelby.

She smiled. "Now, you said your prison was outside the Canopus
Hills. Did you notice any other prisoners?"

Simon swallowed a chunk of the chud. "I did, I did. I meant
to tell you first thing. Ms. Saddler, of course, was drugged and chained. I stopped
at her cell, and she couldn't speak much. She told me I would be safe at the Canaveral
Caves. The caves were easy for me to find because of my dad's maps in his office.
I should have thought of this straight away, but I haven't had much to eat or drink
in days, and I... I'm sluggish." He rubbed his temples as he spoke, and devoured
the chud Shelby had given him.

"Do you think you would be able to lead us back to the prison?"

"Why, yes. Its underground location makes it difficult to
find if you aren't looking for it. A large entrance is manned by hidden sentries,
mostly archers in the treetops. I stole one of the knave's clothing and managed
to walk away unobstructed. Distracting the guards is easy because the dungeon is
not as heavily protected as you'd expect—about a hundred soldiers, maybe."
He took a long swig of water. The torn, black clothing he wore had faded.

"Yes," Riley said, her expression unsure. "However,
once they found out you escaped, it's likely Malefic sent a battalion to defend
the place. No one knew of the location before, and now you're running around the
countryside with valuable information."

"I'm sure of what
I
would do," said Stuart.

"What?" asked Max.

"I would usher them to a different location. Always works
with the flag in
Halo
."

"We need to get a move on," Shelby said. "How
far from here is the Canopus Hills on foot?"

Simon frowned. "I'm not sure. I ran until I almost passed
out, but I'd guess several hours, at the least."

"We have to leave now," she said.

The Kin gathered their belongings and helped their new guide
along the path to the Canopus Hills. With a full belly and some water, the youngster
seemed to be doing much better.

Shelby gazed at the caves behind her. She wondered where in the
woods Zach Ryder might be. Her gut twisted as she thought of Mr. Dempsey's fate,
and Sculptor was still missing, too.