D. MacHale - Raven Rise

There would be more.

A moment later the tunnel filled with light. I didn’t register what was happening until I heard the music. The jumble of notes.

The flume had been activated. “Nevva,” I gasped.

I scrambled to my feet and ran for the flume. When I rounded the corner into the cavern, I saw the light receding into the tunnel. The music ended. The cavern was empty.

Nevva was gone.

My heart was beating faster than humanly possible. What was I supposed to do? Everything was wrong. Saint Dane had escaped. Ibara was in danger. Again. The Convergence had begun. I still didn’t know what that meant. I was trapped.

Yet in front of me stood the doorway to everywhere.

I couldn’t catch my breath. What was I supposed to do?

Nothing. I was through. I wasn’t a Traveler anymore.

Did it matter? All that was happening was brought about because I had failed. I had given up. I had chosen not to fulfill my destiny.

Saint Dane’s prophecy was coming true.

What was I supposed to do?

I was weak. I was naive.

But I used to be the lead Traveler.

What was the Convergence?

Were the other territories in the same danger as Ibara?

I didn’t care. I only cared about Ibara. About Genj and Rayne and the Jakills. About fulfilling Aja Killian’s dream. I only wanted to save one territory. Wasn’t that enough?

But I used to be the lead Traveler.

It had been my battle to fight. I faced Saint Dane and I lost.

I wanted to see my family again.

I stood in that cavern alone. There was nobody to help me make a decision. Nobody to counsel me. Nobody to watch my back. My mind was in a thousand places and going nowhere.

Something on the dirt floor caught my eye. It was near where the Flighters had held me down. It was a flash of light. A sparkle. I walked the few steps toward it and bent down on one knee for a closer look. Lying in the dirt was my Traveler ring. As always, its stone sparkled because it was so near the flume. I gazed into the glittering gem, as if it might offer an answer. Any answer.

Close by I saw the wooden rod I had taken from the dock, lying where Nevva had tossed it. I reached out and grabbed it. It was a simple nautical tool. Six feet long. Solid. I stood up, holding it firmly with both hands. I held it out, testing its weight. I ran my hands across its smooth surface. It felt familiar. It felt good. I quickly flipped it into my right hand and spun it twice. This time I didn’t miss. I snapped it out in front of me sharply. Point forward.

It was a weapon.

I knew how to use it.

I bent down and picked up my Traveler ring. The stone was alive. So was I.

I put the ring back on my finger.

Things were happening exactly as Saint Dane had predicted. That’s what Nevva said. The first domino had fallen. It was something I had heard about years before.

I turned to look into the flume.

The dark tunnel looked back. Waiting. I walked toward it and stood in the wide mouth, staring into the darkness. Staring into the future. Staring into my destiny.

I clutched the weapon tighter. It felt right.

The first domino had fallen. I knew what that meant. I knew where I needed to be. I knew what I had to do.

I was the lead Traveler.

It was my job.

“Denduron,” I growled.

And so we go.

END OF JOURNAL #34

Mark woke up first. It was dark. His head hurt. The faint smell of lemons still tickled his nose. He was sitting in a padded chair that was shaking. How could a chair shake? He thought of those rides he used to go on outside the grocery store when he was a toddler. There were always fire engines or spaceships that you dropped a quarter into, and it shook for a minute. Back then it was thrilling. Now it was making him nauseous. Why was he on a kiddie ride?

As his head cleared, he realized it was a much simpler explanation. He was sitting in a moving car. A real one. Courtney sat next to him, still unconscious. He took a deep breath and tried to focus. It wasn’t just a car. It was a limousine. A big one. He had plenty of room to stretch his legs, and he still couldn’t touch the seat in front. How did they get there?

Oh. Right. The guys at Courtney’s house. The lemons.

Mark leaned over to Courtney and brushed her long brown hair away from her face.

“Hey,” he said softly. “You with me?”

Courtney stirred and grumbled.

“I don’t want to go to school today, Mom. I’m sick,” she whispered.

“You’re dreaming,” Mark said kindly.

“It was a joke, dork,” Courtney quipped. She cracked open her eyes and took in the surroundings. “Nice ride” was her groggy comment.

“Any guesses as to what’s going on?” Mark asked.

Courtney sat up and rubbed her face. She looked outside to see they were speeding along the highway. She leaned over and tried the door. It was locked.

“Well,” she began. “The guys who grabbed us weren’t the police, so that means we’ve been kidnapped. We’re not tied up, so that means we don’t scare them. And whoever they are, they’re not lowlifes, because we’re riding in a limousine. On top of all that, my head hurts and I’m still wearing your mother’s goofy freakin’ clothes.”

Mark stared at her. “Yeah, I guess that about sums it up.”

Courtney leaned forward and banged on the smoked glass that separated the rear seat from the front. “Hey!” she called out. “Where are we going?”

No answer. Courtney banged again. “Open up! At least talk to us.”

Nobody did. Courtney sat back in her seat and huffed. “That’s all I had. Your turn.”

“The guys who grabbed us had that star tattoo,” Mark said thoughtfully.

“So we’ve been kidnapped by people from the star cult,” Courtney concluded. “Why should they care about us?”

“I don’t know,” Mark answered. “It’s obvious that Saint Dane has to be involved. Maybe he’s afraid we’ll mess something up for him. It’s happened.”

Courtney chuckled. “Yeah, it’s happened.”

The two gazed out at the buildings flashing by.

“My parents are part of this,” Courtney said softly. “They had the star over the fireplace. They can’t be bad guys. My parents can’t be bad guys.”

“I don’t think they are. Or maybe they don’t realize they are.”

“What does that mean?” Courtney demanded.

“Saint Dane influences people. They think they’re making smart choices when he’s actually pushing them toward disaster. What if the star cult or Ravinia or whatever it’s called is something Saint Dane has been pushing people toward?”

“So then what’s the turning point of Second Earth? The Convergence?”

“No,” Mark said quickly. “The Convergence is bigger than that. At least I think it is. There has to be something happening on Second Earth that would naturally happen, and Saint Dane is trying to influence it. Maybe he’s doing it through this cult.”

Courtney thought about that. “This cult didn’t exist on the old Second Earth. Something changed in the past that allowed it to be created.”

“That’s the mystery,” Mark said.

“That and about a million other things,” Courtney added. She glanced out the window again and announced, “We’re in the city.”

The car sped off the highway onto a wide street in New York City. It moved quickly through traffic, headed across town. They soon reached an intersection that was loaded with people. More than normal.

“What’s all that about?” Courtney asked.

Mark joined her at the window to look out onto a crowd that was gathered along the sidewalk. Traffic was so heavy, the limo had to slow to a crawl. It gave them a chance to get a closer look at what was happening.