D. MacHale - The Merchant of Death

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“No,” Mark shot back. “It takes socially evolved brilliant people to figure out hownot to blow themselves up. Look at it this way. The Milago are pissed off and they should be. The Bedoowan have been torturing them for centuries. Now suddenly they’re given a weapon that’s so powerful they can wipe out their enemies with the push of a button. They don’t really understand it. They really don’t know how to control it, but they’re angry enough to use it anyway. If that tak stuff is as powerful as Bobby wrote, then they could end up killing themselves as well.”

This made Courtney stop. “Is it really possible to use a battery to set that stuff off?” she asked thoughtfully.

“I don’t know,” answered Mark. “I suppose so. If tak is that volatile then a small electric charge could set off a chain reaction and…boom.”

The two fell silent for a moment, imagining the consequences.

“I guess the trick is to be somewhere else when the button gets pushed,” said Courtney. “I don’t think they’re smart enough to figure out how to make a timer.”

“It wouldn’t matter,” said Mark soberly. “Tak isn’t like anything I’ve ever heard of. If a little bit can make an explosion that big, then the amount Bobby described in that ore car would not only destroy the Bedoowan palace, it would level the Milago village too. And if the explosion makes fire the way it did with those scarecrow targets, then it could create a firestorm. Every living thing for miles around would be torched…the Bedoowan, the Milago, the farm, the forest…”

“And Bobby, Alder, Loor, and Press, too,” said Courtney slowly. “I guess this Figgis guy really is a merchant of death.”

Mark picked up the latest journal and scanned it, looking for something. It didn’t take him long to find it.

“Listen to this,” he said. “This is what Loor said to Bobby.” Mark read from the journal.“My mother explained that there are many territories, and they are all about to reach an important time. A ‘turning point’ she called it. It is a time when the outcome will either send the territory toward peace and prosperity, or plunge its people into chaos and destruction.”

Courtney said, “Yeah, and if the Milago beat the Bedoowan then everything will be okay.”

“I don’t think that’s it,” said Mark. “I think it’s all about tak. Think about it. The Milago have been slaves of the Bedoowan for centuries. If they fight them and lose, then it will be business as usual. But if the Milago tip the balance by using something as horrible as that explosive, then who knows what it could lead to?”

“Then we’ve got to try and undo it!” countered Courtney.

“How?” was Mark’s obvious question. “It’s not like we can go through the flumes. It doesn’t work for us, remember?”

Courtney paced, her mind kicking into overdrive.

“Then maybe we can send something to Bobby,” she said. “Like a…like a…”

“Like a what?” shouted Mark. “We can’t send anything to him. It would only make things worse! The only thing we can do is-”

Ding dong.Mark was interrupted by the doorbell. The two instantly fell silent.

“You expecting somebody?” asked Courtney.

“We skipped school today,” Mark said nervously. “Maybe they’re coming to check up on me.”

The doorbell rang again.

“L–Let’s hide,” said Mark.

Courtney gave him a sarcastic look and said, “Hide? Gimme a break, I think we have bigger things to worry about than getting caught for skipping school. Answer the dumb door.”

Courtney was right, thought Mark. Who cared if they got busted for skipping school? Whoever was at the door he’d deal with them and get back to the bigger problem at hand. When he got downstairs, he hesitated a second and tried to look sick in case it really was somebody from school coming to check up on him. He gave a little sick cough and then called out with a weak voice, “I’m coming.”

He got to the door, unlocked it, swung it open, and then shouted out, “Bobby!”

Indeed, Bobby Pendragon was standing at the front door wearing the same clothes he had worn the night he disappeared. The Milago leather clothes were history.

“Hey, Mark,” he said casually. “Can I come in?”

Courtney came running down the stairs on a tear. “Bobby?” she shouted.

Bobby stepped into Mark’s house and gave Courtney a little smile.

“Miss me?” he said.

Courtney grabbed him in a hug and Mark hugged the two of them together. Bobby was home. He was safe. Everything was going to be okay. When they finally pulled away from the group hug, Mark and Courtney looked at Bobby in disbelief. This was too good to be true. A few seconds ago they were worried about never seeing him again. Now here he was standing right in front of them. But Bobby looked different. Both Courtney and Mark noticed it. It was still Bobby, no doubt about that. But he looked tired, like he had gone through an ordeal that took a lot out of him.

“Are you okay, man?” asked Mark. “You look kind of…sick.”

“I’m not sick; I’m totally beat,” was Bobby’s answer. “I gotta lie down.”

Mark and Courtney quickly led Bobby up the stairs to Mark’s bedroom. They watched him as he walked and saw that he was a little unsure on his feet. They also noticed streaks of blood on his cheeks that came from many tiny cuts all over his face. Obviously a lot had happened since they saw him leave through the flume on his way back to Denduron. To Mark and Courtney only a few hours had passed. But as they had already figured out, time here on Second Earth and time in the other territories weren’t relative. Bobby could have been gone for much longer than a few days for all they knew. Bobby looked as if he’d been through a war, but neither Mark nor Courtney wanted to ask him about it. They both figured that he’d tell them when he was ready. So without another word, they followed Bobby into Mark’s room and watched as he lay down on the bed.

“I gotta get home,” said Bobby weakly. “But I want to rest up first. Is it okay?”

“Absolutely,” answered Mark. “Whatever you want.”

“Thanks, man,” said Bobby and put his head down on the pillow. Mark cringed, wondering how he was going to explain the streaks of blood on the white pillowcase to his mother. But then he felt bad for even thinking so selfishly and put the thought out of his head.

“Will you guys come with me?” asked Bobby without opening his eyes.

“Sure, Bobby,” answered Courtney. “Uh…where?”

Bobby spoke weakly, as if he were nearly asleep. “To my house. Everybody must be going nuts looking for me. I’m gonna need you guys to help explain things.”

Mark and Courtney exchanged looks. Both knew what the other was thinking. Bobby’s house wasn’t there anymore. His family had disappeared and along with them so had any history of the Pendragon family ever having existed. His parents, his sister, even his dog were just…gone. The police had launched an investigation to try and figure out what had happened to them, but so far they had come up empty.

“Whatever it takes,” said Courtney. “We’ll be there for you.”

Bobby smiled.

Mark, on the other hand, was dying with curiosity. He didn’t want Bobby to nod off before finding out what happened on Denduron.

“So tell us what happened!”

Courtney gave Mark a punch in the arm.

“Ow!” yelped Mark and grabbed his stinging arm.

“Go to sleep, Bobby,” said Courtney. “Tell us later.”

Bobby didn’t open his eyes, but he chuckled at his friend’s curiosity. “Oh yeah, I almost forgot,” he said while reaching up to his shirt. He unbuttoned a few buttons, reached his hand in and pulled out a roll of parchment paper.

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