D. MacHale - Raven Rise

“What is?” Hirsch asked, his voice cracking.

“We’re being interrogated, but you’re the one who’s all nervous. Why is that? You getting pressure from somebody behind the mirror?”

Hirsch started to answer, but couldn’t find the words. He was flustered. Mark gave Courtney a stern look. She shrugged. Hirsch paced. He was definitely nervous. He stared down at the floor, deep in thought. The phone on the table jangled, making him jump.

“Wow,” Courtney said. “You really are under pressure.”

Hirsch swiped at the phone quickly, snatching it before it could ring again. He didn’t speak. He closed his eyes and listened. Whatever he was hearing, he didn’t like it. He nodded, as if the person on the phone could see.

“Bad news?” Courtney asked.

Hirsch shot a quick glance to the mirror and gently put the phone back down.

“Hey, you okay?” Mark asked with genuine concern. Both he and Courtney actually liked Hirsch. He once tried to help them.

“Is there anything you can tell me?” Hirsch asked. “Anything?”

To Mark it sounded like a last, desperate stab at solving an impossible problem. Both he and Courtney answered the same way-with a shrug. Hirsch’s shoulders fell. He looked beaten. He shook his head, as if resigning himself to something he didn’t agree with.

“Take off,” he ordered the uniformed cop who had been watching the scene silently.

The cop walked for the door without question. Before leaving, he threw a troubled look to Mark and Courtney, then left without a word.

“What’s up with that?” Courtney asked. “I think you’d better get my parents.”

Hirsch picked up his suit jacket and walked for the door.

“I hope this works out for you guys,” he said. “I think you’re good kids. Do the right thing, and everything will be fine. Good luck.”

Hirsch opened the door and left quickly, without so much as a look back. Courtney stood there, staring at the door. Mark didn’t move.

“Did that creep you out as much as it did me?” Courtney asked. “I don’t like this,” Mark announced, standing up. “Something’s going on.”

“What do we do?”

“We leave.” Mark started for the door, but got only a few steps closer before it opened.

“Mom? Dad?” Courtney called out.

It was neither. Entering the room quickly were two of Naymeer’s red-shirt guardians. They wore the same masks as when they’d captured Mark and Courtney at her house. “No, no!” Courtney shouted.

She picked up a chair and flung it at the first guardian. He ducked, and it clattered harmlessly against the wall. There was no way out of the room. Courtney ran to the mirror and hit it with her fists.

“You can’t do this!” she screamed at the unknown faces beyond. “You aren’t above the law!”

It was the last thing Courtney said before the smell of lemons filled the room.

(CONTINUED)

We were going after Naymeer.

My plan was to move before dawn. Alder and I were wanted by the police. We would stick out on the streets of Stony Brook like, well, like two guys who were wanted by the police. There would be no place to hide in daylight. Not in the busy, crowded suburbs. We had to get to our destination before the sun came up.

The predawn hour was the best time to stage our attack. Our target? The Sherwood house where Naymeer lived. It made all sorts of sense to go after him there. As much as we debated about whether or not it was right to kill him, that wasn’t our first plan. We wanted to get him into the flume and off the territory. The flume was in the Sherwood house. Hopefully, Naymeer would be too. It was also a place where we stood the best chance of getting to him. Once he was out in public, surrounded by his guardians and worshipping followers, we wouldn’t even get close. If we could get into his house, in the quiet hours before dawn, hopefully his guards would be a little less alert. Hopefully. There were all sorts of things that could go wrong with this plan, but it was the only one I could come up with.

Alder woke me at three thirty a.m. I didn’t have near enough sleep. It would have to do. We had roughly three hours until sunrise. I figured it would take around an hour to get to the Sherwood house on foot. We quickly and quietly got dressed, splashed water on our faces, and finished off the last of the packaged food that the Chetwyndes had stowed for their next voyage. With a silent nod to each other, we were off.

It would have been risky to travel on a main road, so I led Alder on a trip through the backyards of Stony Brook. I had no problem finding my way. Up until I was fourteen, I must have explored every inch of my town. Most of them with Mark. Alder and I ran along train tracks, snuck across school parking lots and ball fields, and skirted private swimming pools. Whenever possible, we stayed on paths through woods that had yet to be developed. It was a piece of cake. We jogged the whole way. Both of us were in great shape. I think the anticipation of what was about to happen burned off any residual fatigue. We both knew that each step brought us closer to a showdown.

We made it to the Sherwood property with no problem. We crept behind a hedge that bordered the yard across the street from the imposing mansion. From there we got a decent view of our target.

“I trust you have a plan, Pendragon,” Alder whispered.

“Not exactly” was my answer. “All I can think of are negatives. There are the guards. Who knows how many? They’re the least of our worries. They’re armed, but I don’t think they’ll shoot us.”

“Why not?”

“Because Saint Dane wouldn’t allow it. At least, I don’t think he would. He wants us around for the end. I can get us over the wall, but I don’t know what kind of surveillance they have.”

“Surveillance?”

“Cameras, motion detectors, microphones, anything that would alert them to intruders.”

“I do not know what any of that means,” said the knight from Denduron.

“It means they’re going to know we’re here pretty quickly. All we can do is take on the guards and force our way in. I’m guessing Naymeer’s bedroom is upstairs. The big one is on the second floor, off the center of the hallway. If he’s here, that’s where he’ll be. We’ve got to grab him and get him down to the basement.”

“He will resist,” Alder added.

“He’s an old guy. If we get that far, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“What if we do not get that far? If we are separated? Or if Naymeer is not there?”

“No matter what happens with Naymeer, get to the flume. It’ll be our only hope of escape.”

“And go where?”

“Third Earth,” I answered quickly. “That’s the one thing I’m sure about. We need to find out what happened to Patrick. If we’re lucky enough to have Naymeer, we’ll see if getting him out of here changes Third Earth back to normal. If we don’t have him, we’ll regroup there.”

“There is a third scenario,” Alder reminded me. “If we find Naymeer, but are unable to get him to the flume, you must allow me to do what needs to be done.”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

Alder looked me square in the eye. “No, but I am capable.”

I grabbed Alder’s arm and squeezed. “You’re my brother. There’s nobody I’d rather be here with. Actually, I’d rather not be here at all, but since I am, I’m glad you are too.”

Alder laughed. “It is good you have not lost your sense of humor.”

I shrugged. “It’s pretty much the only thing I have left.”

We stayed low and crept out of the neighbor’s yard, headed for the Sherwood house. We moved quickly along the base of the high stone wall, like commandos, looking for the tree that Mark and Courtney always used to climb over. I held my breath. Would it still be there? It was a pretty huge security risk. If they were really trying to protect Naymeer, that tree would be the first thing to go. When I rounded the corner, I let myself breathe again. The tree was there. Idiots. We stopped at the base and looked up.