D. MacHale - The Soldiers of Halla

Mark and Elli were sitting at a table among several of the stolen helicopters. He had put out food for her, but Elli wasn’t eating. I wasn’t much interested in food either, but I knew we had to eat when we had the chance. I sat down and looked over the feast. It was basically a bunch of canned fruit and vegetables that had been opened and spread out across the scarred, wooden table. A single fork was in each can.

Mark must have seen the look on my face. He said, “Not exactly the Manhattan Tower Hotel, but it’s good. And it’s safe. There’s a ton of canned food all over the city.”

“Looks good to me!” I said, lying. I picked up the least vile-looking can and scooped out a big chunk of something that looked like half of a peach. At least, I hoped it was half a peach. If it wasn’t, I didn’t want to know. I popped it into my mouth and tried to swallow it without chewing or tasting it. Not an easy thing to do. It was sweet, that much I could tell. It slid down and I didn’t gag. I hated canned peaches.

“Try to eat, Elli,” I said. “You never know when we’ll get another chance.”

She took a couple sips of water. Mark sat staring at the table. His mind was somewhere else.

“Who was he?” I asked.

“My best friend” was his answer. He quickly looked up at me and added, “After you, that is. We got shoved into the flume in the Bronx at the same time.”

“I’m sorry” was all I could say. I didn’t think it could even begin to help him feel better.

Elli looked sick, and I didn’t think it was because of the canned peaches. She had retreated into herself, hugging her waist in a way that looked as if she were trying to protect herself. As we sat there, I realized there was something we had to talk about. Neither of them were going to like it, but I didn’t see any way around it.

“Mark, this is Elli. She’s the Traveler from Quillan.”

Mark looked up and nodded politely. I wondered how long it was going to take for him to connect the dots. He smiled at her, then his face went blank. The smile was gone. The dots had been connected in about three-point-two seconds.

“Elli Winter?” he asked, to confirm. Elli nodded.

“Nevva’s mother,” Mark stated flatly.

I had to cut in. “This is Mark Dimond, Elli. He’s been my friend since we were kids. We grew up together on Second Earth.”

“I know,” Elli said, her voice cracking. “You’re the one my daughter’s been manipulating.”

“She’s been manipulating a lot of people,” Mark shot back.

I wasn’t sure if he was angry or hurt. I also didn’t know how he would relate to Elli, knowing that her daughter had threatened to kill his parents and generally made his life miserable. It was a tense moment. I didn’t know what to say to diffuse it.

Elli took care of it for me.

“I’m sorry, Mark,” she said kindly. “I’ve heard a lot about you and how you were tricked into helping Nevva. If I could undo the things my daughter has done, I would. It’s why we’re here.”

Mark shot me a questioning look.

“It’s true,” I said. “We’re scrambling, Mark. I thought Elli might be able to get through to her daughter.”

“And do what?” Mark asked sharply.

“I don’t know,” I answered lamely. “Make her see reason. Show her another side to this whole thing. Maybe even shame her into acting like a human.”

“There’s nothing human about that witch,” Mark spat. “She’s heartless.”

Elli winced.

Mark stood up, throwing back his chair. It clattered to the floor as he walked away from us. I went after him.

“Whoa,” I said, heading him off. I got close to him, speaking softly but with intensity. Elli didn’t need to hear what I was saying.

“I hear you,” I said. “I know she’s a witch. There are worse words to use. Nobody knows that better than I do, except for you. But Elli isn’t Nevva. She’s a Traveler.”

“So what? Nevva’s a Traveler too.”

I thought about getting into the whole thing about Elli being Nevva’s natural mother, but that would have meant explaining to Mark about Solara and the fact that none of the Travelers were actually from their home territories. I figured he had enough to deal with.

“I know. Nevva’s a traitor. You get no arguments from me. But there were times, you said so yourself, that Nevva showed there might be more going on with her. Remember when she forced you into giving up your ring?”

“She threatened to kill my parents.”

“Right, and when you gave it to her, you said she was disappointed, like she’d wanted you to fight for it. Saint Dane wanted that ring. Her mission was to get it. But she was disappointed when you gave it up.”

“Yeah.” Mark sniffed. “Because she probably wanted to kill my parents.”

“Or maybe she was having second thoughts. I’ve seen it too, Mark. There might be some humanity in there somewhere. I figured if anybody could find it, it would be her mother.”

Mark glanced over at Elli, who sat staring at the table.

“We have to do something, Mark,” I continued. “Your friend died trying to get back here to tell you an attack was coming. If those Ravinians are coming after you and the rest of your friends, that’s bad enough. But if Saint Dane knows where the rest of the exiles are, the ball game’s over. It’s all about the exiles, Mark. They are the last, best hope to save Halla.”

“Why? How?” he asked.

“I can explain it all to you, but I think it would only make things more confusing. It’d be a lot easier if you just believe me. We have to find those people. We have to make sure they’re safe. That includes you and your friends. I think Elli gives us a shot at doing that. I don’t know how else to say it to you. It may be desperate, but it’s the only thing I can think of doing.”

“So you’re just going to walk up to the gates of that fortress and ask if Nevva can come out and play?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t figured that part out.”

Mark looked at me and nodded thoughtfully. “Did you find Courtney?” he asked.

“No” was my quick answer.

“She might be with the rest,” he said hopefully.

“Maybe. I hope so. There are a lot of them out there, Mark. We have to find them and protect them.”

I couldn’t tell if I was getting through to him or not. I was asking him to take a lot on faith. He had trusted me since we were kids. I hoped he wouldn’t stop.

Mark took a tired breath and walked away from me, headed toward Elli. I watched nervously, not sure of where his head was or what he was planning to do. He knelt down next to her and put his elbow on the table.

“I’m sorry for saying those things about your daughter,” he said with sincerity.

Elli couldn’t bring herself to look at him. “Don’t be,” she replied. “They’re true.”

“When I thought I lost my mother and father, it made me do things I might not ordinarily have done.”

“Nevva did lose hers,” Elli replied sadly.

Mark nodded. “I know how important it was for me to get them back. Maybe it’s time to let Nevva have her mother back.”

That struck Elli. Her gaze lifted from the table. She looked Mark in the eye. He smiled warmly. Elli gave me a hopeful look, then touched Mark’s cheek. “I’m sure your mother is very proud of you.”

It looked to me as if Mark’s eyes were filling with tears.

“She was,” he said. “I miss them.”

“I can’t guarantee that Nevva misses me.”

Mark held her hand and said, “Let’s find out.”

He stood up and faced me. “I can get you inside the conclave,” he announced. “There’s only one catch.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m going with you.”