Pendragon - The Rivers Of Zadaa Part 22

"Teek!" Loor shouted, and ran to him. I was right behind her.

Teek looked bad, like he hadn't slept in a week. It was pretty obvious that whatever the big, scary secret was, he knew it. "Bokka?" he asked.

Loor frowned. "He was killed," she said. "By the archer with the silver arrows. I am sorry."

Teek dropped his head. I saw tears roll down his cheeks. "Bokka was coming to find you," Teek said, his voice clutching. "To warn you."

"About what?" I asked.

Teek looked between the two of us with red, teary eyes. "Who is Saint Dane?" he asked. "He says he is from a tribe on the far side of the desert. Could he be one of your enemies, Pendragon? The Red Sox?"

Under other circ.u.mstances I Would have thought that was funny.

"He is not a friend," I said. "Not of the Batu or the Rokador."

Teek nodded. It seemed as if he already knew that, but my words confirmed it.

"Then why is he here?" he asked.

"That would take a really long time to explain," I said.

"Please believe me," Teek continued. "We did not know. Most of the Tiggen guards were spread far across the underground. We were lied to. We believed everything the elite told us."

"About the Rokador holding back the water?" I asked.

"That's only the beginning!" Teek cried. "There is so much more. It is horrible."

"Tell us, Teek," Loor said softly. "Maybe we can help."

"No one can help!" Teek cried. "It's too late."

"We can try to stop things from getting worse," I said.

Teek rubbed tears from his eyes and took a deep breath. He nodded as if he had made a decision. He unlocked the cell door.

"You must hear it for yourselves," he said. "After that, I will take you to see. Until you see, you will not truly understand."

"Where are we going?" Loor asked.

"First to the Rokador elite," Teek answered. "They are sharing a final meal with the one who calls himself Saint Dane."

JOURNAL #22.

(CONTINUED).

ZADAA.

Whenwe stepped out of the cell, I saw that Teek had brought our weapons. Nice idea, but there wasn't a whole lot that a couple of sticks could do against an entire tribe of Rokador. Still, it felt good to have them back. I guarantee Loor felt the same way. Teek led us on a quick, twisted journey through the corridors of the stone building. I'm guessing we were in the bas.e.m.e.nt since the hallways looked like the tunnels of the underground. There wasn't much to see except for stone walls and closed doors. Teek knew exactly where he was going, which was amazing because it all looked like a whole lot of the same to me. We made a few turns, dashed down a few more empty corridors, and stopped at a closed door.

"You must be quiet," Teek said softly. "Above us is the private dining quarters of the elite. This door leads to a small tunnel that provides air to the building."

"Who are these elite?" I asked.

"Our leaders," Teek answered. "They govern the Rokador, pa.s.s the laws, and sit in judgment."

"That's a lot of power," I said. "Are they elected?"

"They are descendents of the original Rokador-those who first discovered the underground many generations ago." Teek stopped talking and closed his eyes. It was like he was suddenly overcome with emotion. "Are you ill?" Loor asked.

"I'm fine," Teek said after taking a breath. "We can hear what they are saying, but if we are discovereda" He didn't finish the sentence. I figured that whatever would happen, it wouldn't be good. Note to self: Don't get caught.

He quietly opened the door and entered. Loor and I followed. We found ourselves in a s.p.a.ce with a ceiling so low we had to duck down to walk. There looked to be two shafts that disappeared into darkness. Teek had explained that these tunnels provided air. I felt a slight breeze, as if the air were moving. But learning how they ventilated this building wasn't why we were here. Light shone down from above through several small slits that were about a foot long and an inch wide. Teek approached this light source quietly and pointed for us to look. We quickly saw that these slits were the openings through which the room above was ventilated. More important, we were able to look through them and see into that room. Judging from the angle, I guessed that the slits were at the base of a wall. It was the perfect vantage point to peek into the room and eavesdrop on the proceedings.

The room itself was like nothing we had seen in the underground. It was big enough to hold a long dining table. There was artwork on the walls and comfortable-looking furniture. Candles burned everywhere. The dining table itself was loaded with an incredible feast. There were silver bowls heaped with all sorts of strange-looking fruit. On one end of the table was a roast something. On the other end was another roast that looked like a turkey. There were tall goblets full of drinks. It was a pretty fancy feast-not exactly something you'd expect to see in a place where people were desperate for food and water.

Loor and I exchanged looks. I knew she was thinking the same thing I was: Where was the horror Teek was talking about? It sure wasn't in this room. This place looked pretty sweet. I counted ten Rokador. The ruling elite. I guess I expected to see a bunch of white-hairs who had centuries of experience between them to draw upon as they made the wise choices that helped guide the future of their people.

Wella no.

A couple people looked kind of old. One guy was so ancient he didn't look like he could get out of his chair. I think he was nappingaand drooling. I swear, there was a line of drool dropping from his mouth that formed a puddle on his chest. Nice. But overall it was a totally diverse group. There were three people who looked like adults. Two women and a man. There was a guy and a girl who didn't look any older than I am. And then there were two little kids. I'm serious. Kids. They all had the pasty white skin and green eyes of the Rokador and wore the familiar white robes. This must have been a special occasion, because they all wore the fancy robes with the gold trim like I wore to the Batu Festival of Azhra.

Everyone was eating quickly, pounding down the food as if it were their last meal. Truth be told, it might have been. They stuffed their mouths with fatty chunks of meat before they had even finished chewing what they already had bitten off. They washed it all down with water from their fancy goblets. I was surprised at first, but that's before I remembered that in truth, there was no water shortage. At least, not down here.

Oh yeah. There was one other guest at the table. Saint Dane. He sat on one end, watching the elite stuff themselves.

He wasn't eating. Every so often he'd take a sip of water. The whole event seemed to amuse him. He watched them with a slight smile, like a spider who knew he didn't have to sweat because all the little flies were firmly trapped in his web. After watching this gluttony for a while, I was starting to feel sick to my stomach. I don't know if it was because I was scared, or disgusted, or just plain hungry. I think it was all the above.

Finally one of the adult women stood up and addressed the group. "A toast," she said, holding up her goblet. "To our friend from the far side of the desert. He came to us a stranger, but has grown to be a trusted friend, a wise council, and the angel who will be forever known as the man who resurrected the Rokador. To Saint Dane!"

"Saint Dane!" everyone echoed. They raised their gla.s.ses and cheered.

Saint Dane smiled and raised his hand modestly, as if to say, "Aw shucks, folks, it was nothing."

I wanted to puke. Whatever Saint Dane said to these people, he had them totally convinced he was there to help. It was an eerie feeling. The people in this room loved him. I saw it in their eyes. They offered him a toast, they fed him like a king, they thanked him for all he'd done. They were probably forming plans to build a statue to him. They had no idea that whatever it was he talked them into, it would lead them to ruin. It was chilling. Was this the horrible truth that Bokka tried to tell us about?

Saint Dane wiped his mouth daintily and stood up. "My friends," he said. "And I am honored to call you my friends. Today marks a new beginning. The wise decision you have made will allow you to put aside the recent dark past and look to a brighter tomorrow. Now, finally, the Rokador will be able to grow and flourish in ways that just a short time ago seemed impossible. After today nothing will be impossible for you. I applaud your courage, and your vision."

He raised his own gla.s.s to them as they applauded. It was a total lovefest, until one of the older guys stood up and raised his hand for silence.

"I share in everyone's grat.i.tude to Saint Dane for offering us his insight and advice. We are on the brink of a new future. A safe future. But I must admit, I am troubled by the lengths we must go to in achieving it. As we sit here now, enjoying our feast, I think we should ask ourselves one last time if the drastic course we have chosen is the right one."

There was general murmuring of concern. Some of the people nodded in agreement with the old guy, others were shaking their heads no. The two little kids kept eating. I don't think they cared one way or the other. I half expected them to start a food fight.

Saint Dane stood again and took control. "You are a wise leader," he said to the old guy. "Your caution is further proof of that. All I can offer you as a.s.surance is my own experience. My tribe was faced with a similarly difficult choice. Once the possibilities were discussed, we came to a conclusion that could not be denied. Details aside, we had two choices. To survive, or to perish. We chose to survive, and I am here today as proof that we chose the right course. You, the ruling elite of the Rokador, are faced with the same choice. The path you are on is not a pleasant one, I will not deny that. But what other choice do you have? I am the last one who needs to remind you how close you have come to the depths of oblivion. The wheels are now in motion. I suggest that if you do not want to be enveloped by the dark shadow of death, that you choose to break freeaand live!"

"To Saint Dane!" shouted the really old guy, who had been asleep and drooling. He jumped out of his chair, holding up his goblet. I couldn't believe he could move that fast. Or move at all.

"Saint Dane!" the others cheered, and jumped to their feet. Even the old guy who had just questioned their plan took his gla.s.s and raised it with the others. Whatever was about to happen, there was no stopping it now.

Teek touched me on the shoulder and led us back out of the ventilation room. Once we closed the door, I asked, "What the h.e.l.l were they talking about? What's going to happen?"

"Follow me," Teek said, and led us farther into the building.

"That group of bozos was the elite?" I asked. "How did they get to be in charge? Eeenie, meenie, miney, mo?"

"As I said," Teek answered, "they are descendants of the original Rokador who discovered the underground."

"So, they get to be in charge because of their ancestors, not because they're any good at it?" I asked.

"That's one way of putting it," Teek said.

"That's the only way of putting it," I shot back. "There were a couple of kids in there! I'll bet Saint Dane had a real tough time convincing them to doawhatever."

I had to calm down. This was their show. The way the Rokador chose to rule themselves was none of my business-no matter how idiotic it was. I was more concerned about this big decision they had made. No, more like the big decision that Saint Dane maneuvered them into making.

Teek led us to the end of a long corridor, where a door stood out from all the others because it was made of steel. He stopped and turned to us. "We must be careful. There will be Tiggen guards inside."

"What's in there?" I asked.

Teek didn't answer, but he opened the door and entered. I shot Loor a quick, nervous look. Were we about to see the nightmare that Bokka told us of? We followed Teek through the door and found ourselves on a narrow, steel catwalk that looked down onto a cavernous room. It was freaky at first, because I thought we had been running around the bas.e.m.e.nt of this building. The room we had just entered dropped down another bunch of stories. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. Digging holes is what these guys did best. Once I got my wits back, I tried to understand what I was looking at.

It was some kind of machine room. There were dozens of giant vertical silver cylinders lining the walls of this huge cavern that were connected by ma.s.sive horizontal pipes. The center of the room was taken up by a single, huge horizontal pipe that ran the length of the room. This pipe had to be twenty feet across, with thick seams that were bolted together by thousands of fat rivets. The bottom half of the pipe was below the floor, so only the top half showed. Built onto the top of this pipe was a long platform. On the platform was the complex instrument panel that controlled the machinery. There were countless flas.h.i.+ng lights, along with small dials and gauges. Three Rokador were on the platform, monitoring the gauges and making occasional adjustments to the small silver handles that controlledawhatever. As we watched, two more Rokador climbed the ladders to the platform and manned their own stations. The place had an energy to it. A physical energy. You could feel it. There was a low, steady hum. It felt likeapower.

"This is the center of our world," Teek said. "It is the master control station for the rivers of Zadaa. From here we channel all the water, and create our power."

Hydropower. Of course! That's how the Rokador kept the lights on. They used the flowing water to create power.

"So, all the water can be controlled from here?" I asked.

Teek nodded and motioned for us to follow him to the far side. We snuck across the catwalk and left through the steel door on the other side, finding ourselves in another tunnel. Teek made sure the door was closed, then turned to us and said, "When the Tiggen guards returned to Kidik, we learned why the engineers had been closing down the satellite stations throughout the underground. We were told it was because of the drought. The truth was that they wanted all control to be here. It is how they plan to defeat the Batu."

We didn't have to ask him what he meant by that. He wasn't finished. He wanted to talk. I think he needed to talk. That was fine by us. We needed to hear. Teek looked tired, and sad. He took a deep breath and continued, "This is the plan Saint Dane brought to us. When the Batu attack, we will wait until they are on our doorstep to be sure that most of the Batu are in the underground. When the first wave of warriors reaches the sh.o.r.es of the Kidik Ocean, we will release the water."

Loor and I shot each other confused looks. "Explain what that means, please," Loor said quickly.

"It means we will flood the underground," Teek said with a shaky voice. "Every living thing beyond this island will be trapped, and drowned."

Loor fell back against the stone wall, stunned. I felt like I couldn't breathe. Saint Dane's evil plan for Zadaa had finally been revealed. He had found a way for one tribe to destroy the other. There wasn't going to be a war, there was going to be a slaughter.

"Every single Ghee in the underground will be killed," Loor said, numb. "Thousands will perish."

"Xhaxhu will belong to the Rokador," I said. "That's the nightmare that Bokka talked about."

"But it isn't," Teek said softly.

"Of course it is!" Loor shouted. "Why else would the Rokador wipe out so many Batu? You want the city. How can they make such a cruel decision? The Rokador used to be our friends!"

Teek was in tears. "There's more," he said.

"More than this?" I shouted. "More than genocide?"

"Yes," Teek said. "I promise you, we did not know. Bokka, me, and most of the Tiggen guards. We weren't here. We didn't see it. We knew the elite were preparing for war, but we didn't know why. It wasn't until we returned that we saw the truth."

"The truth," Loor said. "Bokka said we needed to know the truth. What is the whole truth?"

Teek wiped his tears and said, "I will show you."

We followed him through several more corridors until we had reached the far side of the large building. Teek stopped at a door and said to us, "Outside this door lies the truth, and the horror." He took a deep breath to prepare himself, then walked out. I wasn't so sure I wanted to see what was beyond the door, but I had to.

We followed him onto a balcony that looked out over a vast, flat field. It must have stretched out a mile in front of us, and almost as far to either side. The only reason we could see it so well was that the entire field was covered with small, round white stones. Thousands of them. I'm guessing they were about a foot in diameter. They were equally s.p.a.ced in perfect rows for as far as I could see. On each stone was a small light. I didn't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. There didn't seem to be anything horrible about this place at all.

I was wrong.

"It started slowly," Teek said. "There was no warning. By the time there was serious concern, it was too late. We are not like you. We do not live our lives exposed to the elements. We do not have the same resistance to disease as you."

"What happened?" I asked.

Teek looked out at the sea of stones and said, "We were hit with a virus that caused a sickness. A deadly sickness."

I looked at Loor. Her eyes were wide, unbelieving. The two of us looked back onto the sea of stones. The thousands of lights had suddenly taken on a whole new meaning.

"It is a graveyard," Loor said softly.

It was too much to accept. There had to be some kind of mistake. There were so many! I asked, "Are you saying each one of those stones represents a Rokador who died from this sickness?"

"No," Teek answered.

It was a brief moment of relief. Very brief.

"Each one of those stones represents ahundredRokador who have died," Teek continued. "Their ashes lie below those markers."

I was rocked. My knees went weak. The extent of the tragedy was mind-numbing. We were looking out over the remains of hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people.

"My family is gone," Teek continued. "Bokka's too. We didn't know any of this was happening until we returned. We had been gone for so long and it happened so fast. This is why there was so much secrecy. This is not just about the rivalry between two tribes. The survival of our entire race is at stake. We aren't running out of s.p.a.ce. We're running out of people."

"How many?" I asked, stunned. "How many are still alive?"

"Perhaps a few hundred," Teek said, barely able to speak. "A thousand at most. The elite were protected. So were their families. The Tiggen guards were spared because we were not here. Many of the engineers survived who ran the remote control stations. Our amba.s.sadors to Xhaxhu, as well."

"Is the disease still spreading?" Loor asked.

"No," Teek said. "The doctors were finally able to bring it under control. It had happened once before in our history. Thousands died before a cure was found. I don't know why it took so long to recognize it this time. It should have been stopped early, but it wasn't."

I felt as if Saint Dane probably had a hand in there somehow.

"We were told that if the Batu discovered our weakened state, they would invade us. The elite decided to strike first. We don't want to live in Xhaxhu. Our home is here. Underground. All we want is to survive."

"And who suggested this plan, as if I didn't know?" I asked.