Pendragon - The Rivers Of Zadaa Part 3

"That is true," Loor said, sounding a little defensive. "In return the Batu grow crops and tend livestock to feed both tribes. We also protect the Rokador from the wild tribes of the desert and the zhou beasts and snakes you've seen. Without the Batu, the Rokador would perish."

"Without the Rokador, the Batu would live like primitives," Teek threw in.

Loor quickly shot back, "We are a warrior race that does not shy from life by cowering beneath the ground."

"You're a crude people with no modern skills," Bokka said quickly. "Look at your ancient weapon, and look at mine." He held up his s.h.i.+ny, steel baton. "This is the product of an advanced race of modern thinkers."

He and Loor exchanged cold looks. They seemed ready to start throwing fists.

"Sandworm!" Loor threw at him.

"Barbarian!" Bokka shot back.

The two glared at each other intensely, then broke out laughing. I'm serious. Loor actually laughed!

"We have argued like this since we were young," Loor said.

"The truth is," Bokka said, "both tribes need each other."

These guys were having a little bit too much fun. I was feeling like an outsider, but I couldn't let that get in the way of our mission.

"So if they need each other so much, why is everybody worried about a war?" I asked.

"There's always been tension," Teek said. "But since the rivers began to run dry, the tension has turned into suspicion, and anger and fear. It has now given way to outright hatred."

Loor said, "The Batu are accusing the Rokador of holding back the water until we are so weakened that they will rise up from their underground home and seize control of Xhaxhu."

"But why would they do that, if everything was going so well?" I asked.

"To put it simply, we are running out of s.p.a.ce," Bokka said. "Our way of life is simple. We have always lived below ground. But as our population grows, that is becoming more difficult. The fear among the Rokador is that if we try to venture aboveground, we will be treated as inferiors and forced to live like animals."

"They aren't wrong," Loor said. "Many Batu would treat the Rokador badly. But the royal family of Xhaxhu understands their plight. Our prince, Pelle a Zinj, has made it his goal to convince our people to accept the Rokador as equals."

"But not everybody agrees," I stated.

"That is correct," Loor said. "What is the saying you use? It is a no-win situation. Many of the Batu will not accept the Rokador, and now they fear that the Rokador are holding back the water."

"In return," Bokka said, "the Batu have stopped providing us with food from the surface. We are starving."

"And we are thirsty," Loor said.

"So what's the deal with the water?" I asked. "Are the Rokador holding it back?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out," Bokka answered. "I've heard rumors that there is something dramatic about to happen, but I cannot find out what it might be."

"And with each pa.s.sing day, the danger of war grows stronger," Loor said somberly.

"So, Pendragon of the Yankees," Bokka said. "Do you still feel as if you can help us prevent this catastrophe?"

I didn't like the way he said that. It was all sorts of smug, as if he knew darn well I had no clue of how to keep these two tribes from killing each other. Unfortunately he was right. I didn't.

"I'll get back to you on that," I said.

"I am torn, Bokka," Loor said. "If the Batu are going to attack, I want to warn you. But then it would mean my own people would be at a disadvantage."

Bokka took both of Loor's arms and held her rea.s.suringly. "I understand," he said. "The only thing we can do is try and stop this from happening. But if it does, I am a Rokador, and you are a Batu. I am a Tiggen, you are a Ghee."

They held eye contact. The grim reality was obvious. These two could very well end up having to fight each other. As much as I wasn't sure about the guy, I wouldn't want that to happen to Loor.

"If you hear anything," Loor said, "please, contact me."

"And the same for you," Bokka said. "Good-bye, Loor. When we meet again, I hope it will be under better conditionsa as it was when we were young."

Loor nodded sadly.

"I don't know who you are, Pendragon," Bokka said to me. "But if Loor says you can help us, then I do not doubt her."

I nodded. What else could I say to that?

"Good-bye, Loor," Teek said. "And to you, Pendragon."

Bokka took a step backward and flipped up his hood. Teek did the same. Bokka waved to the Tiggen guards behind our horses. I turned to look, but didn't see them. I took a step to my right to get a glimpse of them, but it was too late. They were gone. Vanished into the sand. I turned back around to see that Bokka and Teek had disappeared as well.

"They're like worms," I said to Loor.

"There are tunnels everywhere," Loor said. Without another word Loor strode back to her horse and mounted up. I did the same. We snapped the reins and started back to the city.

"So how is it you got so friendly with a Rokador?" I asked as we trotted along. "I thought the two tribes didn't mingle."

"At one time we did," Loor answered. "Especially the children. Bokka and I were marked at an early age to be trained as warriors. There were two camps, one outside of Xhaxhu and one belowground. Groups would take turns traveling to the other camp. It was a way for us to learn the ways of our tribal neighbors."

"Things have changed," I said.

"Yes they have," Loor said sadly. "That kind of cooperation no longer exists. The royal family of Zinj has been trying to bring our tribes back to the old ways, but prejudices and anger run too deep."

"So, was this Bokka guy youraboyfriend?"

Loor thought about the answer. I didn't like that. I wanted her to scoff and say: "Nah! Are you kidding?" But she didn't.

"Under different circ.u.mstances, we may have ended up together," she said sadly.

"I guess being from enemy tribes made that tricky," I said.

"Yes," she replied. "And finding out that I was a Traveler did not help either."

Oh. Right. That. So she and Bokka were not meant to be. Awww, too bad. Man, am I being mean or what? I decided to change the subject.

"What about this royal family?" I asked. "Ninja something or other?"

"Zinj is the family name," Loor corrected. "The crowned prince is named Pelle a Zinj. Though he has not yet taken the throne, he has slowly taken on the responsibilities of ruling the Batu. Even the Rokador recognize his wisdom. The king and queen are preparing to hand over the crown very soon."

"Is that good or bad?" I asked.

"It is good," Loor said confidently. "Very good. He will make a wonderful, fair leader. He has dedicated his life to forging a treaty with the Rokador. But I fear it will be in vain. The drought has seen to that."

"Or maybe it was the Rokador who have seen to that," I cautioned. "Like you said, there may be more to this drought than bad weather."

It was a grim journey back to Xhaxhu. I now had a pretty good handle on what the trouble was here on Zadaa, but figuring out something to do about it was a whole nother matter. There seemed to be only two possibilities. One was that Saint Dane was somehow manipulating events. When he disappeared from the celebration at Black Water, he did say he was coming to Zadaa, and he never went to a territory just to hang out. The other possibility might actually be worse. If the rivers had dried up here simply because there was a funky weather thing happening, there was nothing anybody could do about that. The sad truth might be that a war between these two tribes was the way it was meant to be. It would be tragic, but the job of Travelers wasn't to interfere with the normal course of a territory's history. Our only concern was if Saint Dane tried to monkey with things. For Loor's sake, I hoped that wasn't the case. If Saint Dane wasn't involved, then I had no business here. Loor was from Zadaa. She would have to do what she had to do. But I was from Second Earth. I would have to back off. This was going to be a tough call. But I couldn't make it until I found Saint Dane. Or he found me.

We trotted the horses back through the giant opening in the wall of Xhaxhu and went right back to the Ghee stables where the horses were kept. As I think back on what happened next, and I think about it a lot, I can't believe how dumb I was. I guess I have to give Loor some of the blame too, but it was mostly my fault. It was a simple, stupid mistake that could have been easily avoided. But it wasn't. I messed up, and I paid the price.

"Rokador!" a gruff voice screamed.

We had just gotten off our horses. I looked around, wondering what Rokador would have been idiot enough to stroll into the lion's den, the home of the Ghee. There were none to be seen. That's because the person being called out, was me. I was the idiot. I instantly realized my mistake. I had taken off my dark cloak out in the sandy farm. There was so much to get my mind around back there, I had forgotten to put it on again. It was still lying out there in the sand. Loor's mind must have been elsewhere too, for she didn't even notice. So here I was, looking all sorts of gleaming-white, having strolled right into the belly of the beast.

"I will handle this," Loor whispered to me. "Say nothing."

A tall Ghee warrior strode up to us with madness in his eyes. As luck would have it, this guy was bigger than Loor. She stood in his way, saying,"Iam taking this Rokador to the superior for questioning-"

The guy didn't stop. He blew past Loor, knocking her out of the way like she was a doll. Whoa. I had never seen that happen before. This day was full of a lot of things I hadn't seen before. I didn't like any of them. As this angry giant strode toward me, I was like a deer caught in the headlights. I backed off, and hit into my horse. There was no place to go. The guy grabbed me by the front of my Rokador jacket and lifted me up until I was on my toes.

"Howdareyou?" he seethed. The guy was out of his mind. That much I could see. "You ride into the Ghee compound? On a Batu horse?"

Loor tried to get between us, saying, "He is my responsibility. I brought him here."

The Ghee warrior looked at Loor and said, "And you will bring him out, when I am finished with him."

The guy held me tighter and dragged me out of the stable and into the light of the compound. By now, several more Ghee warriors had heard the commotion and started to gather. Loor trailed behind, trying to take control.

"What is your division?" Loor demanded. "Who is your commander? This is my prisoner. Your superior will punish you for standing in the way of-"

"Someone quiet her!" the tall Ghee shouted.

Instantly Loor was jumped by two big Ghees. Whatever was going to happen, Loor couldn't stop it. The tall Ghee dragged me to the center of the compound, and threw me to the ground. I landed hard, rolled once, then popped back to my feet ready to, well, I'm not sure what I was ready to do, except run. That wasn't going to happen because we were quickly surrounded by Ghees. I was trapped inside a circle of enemies, with a very big guy facing off against me.

"Never let it be said that the Ghee are unjust," the tall warrior said with a sneer. He walked to one of the other warriors and yanked the guy's wooden stave from the harness on his back. He walked back into the circle and tossed the six-foot stick at me. I caught it, if you could call it that. It was more like I stopped it from hitting me in the head by blocking it with my hands. The weapon fell to the ground. The Ghee warriors laughed.

"L-Look," I said nervously. "I have agreed to speak with your superior and tell them all I know."

The tall Ghee laughed and slowly walked toward me. "That is good to know," he said with a chuckle. "And I will allow you to do that. But first, you must get past me."

The guy suddenly shot forward, grabbed my jacket, and jerked me toward him until we were nose to nose. We were so close I could smell his sour breath. At that instant something triggered in my memory. Smells can do that. It's like there's a direct link from your nose to your memory. It wasn't a happy memory either. I looked into the guy's wild, brown eyes and saw something that made my heart race even faster, if that was possible. We were so close, I was the only one who could see. His eyes changed color. They went from deep brown to lightning white. My mind didn't accept it at first. It was impossible, right? Wrong.

"Welcome to Zadaa, Pendragon," the Ghee warrior whispered. His voice was suddenly calm. Gone was the rage. He was totally in control of himselfaand me. "Let's put aside all the intrigue this time and show each other how we really feel, shall we?" he said.

In that instant I saw his eyes return to brown as he tossed me down on the ground. I was too stunned to react. The Ghee warrior reached behind his back and pulled out his wooden stave.

"Pick up the weapon!" the warrior bellowed, showing rage once again. Though now I realized it was all a show for the spectators.

Reality had finally settled in. The good news was, I had found Saint Dane.

The bad news was, I had found Saint Dane.

JOURNAL #20.

(CONTINUED).

ZADAA.

Saint Dane had taken the form of a Ghee warrior. It didn't matter what side he was on. He could have chosen to be with those loyal to the royal family of Zinj, or put in with the rebels who wanted war with the Rokador. Right now, that didn't make a difference. He was a Batu. I looked like a Rokador. We were enemies in the eyes of everyone hereaand we were about to fight. I shot her a quick glance to see that Loor was being held firm by three of her fellow warriors.

"Loor," I shouted while keeping an eye on Saint Dane. "It's Saint Dane."

Loor gave a quick, surprised look to the tall, dark warrior who had called me out. Saint Dane returned her look, gave her a quick nod, and actually winked at her.

I saw Loor's eyes grow wide. "Who is that Ghee?" she shouted to the other warriors. "I do not know him! He is not one of us! We must summon the commander and-" The Ghees holding her clamped a hand over her mouth. She struggled to get away, but it was hopeless. I was on my own. I looked at Saint Dane. He gave me a quick shrug, as if to say: "Guess you're on your own, pal."

The only choice I had was to reach down and pick up the weapon.

You guys know, I'm not a fighter. Up until that moment I'd managed to survive by luck, and with the help of my fellow Travelers. The one serious fight I'd been in was on Eelong, but that was against a prisoner who was half my size, and so starved and weak that it was a joke. I was now looking up at a warrior who towered over me, with biceps like you'd see in a graphic novel about gladiators. If that weren't bad enough, it was Saint Dane behind all that muscle. My enemy. The demon who was trying to lay waste to Halla. I was scared, obviously. But I was also confused. Why was he doing this? This wasn't his style. For him, fighting was tooasimple. Unimaginative, even. I had some vague shred of hope that he had another reason for doing this, other than to beat me up. There was a chance this fight would never happen.

"Are you serious?" I asked, trying not to sound as scared as I was. "Isn't fighting beneath you?"

His answer was to lash out with his stave and clock me on the side of my head. It was so fast, and so violent, I wasn't sure if I was more hurt, or shocked. I stumbled, but stayed on my feet. The crowd of Ghees cheered. Saint Dane circled in front of me, relaxed and smiling.

"If there is one thing you should have learned by now, Pendragon," Saint Dane said, "it's to expect the unexpected."

He lashed out with his weapon. I ducked, but it was a fake. He never swung. The Ghees laughed. I backed away. Saint Dane stayed with me.

"Come now, Pendragon," Saint Dane taunted. "Don't you want to hurt me? This is your chance. No pretense. No illusion. Just the two of us."

"Yeah, right," I said. "You can turn yourself into a studly warrior with armor and all. I'm just me. Is that fair?"

Saint Dane laughed. I hated it when he laughed. "Fair?" He chuckled. "What has fair got to do with anything?"

I caught a glimpse of Loor struggling to get away from the Ghees. They held her firm. She couldn't bail me out this time. This was all about meaand Saint Dane. I thrust my stave at his gut. He knocked it away as easily as if he was batting a moth. He then cracked me across the back with the other end of his weapon. I stumbled forward. It hurt. He wasn't fooling around.

"Come now, Pendragon," he taunted. "Show a little enthusiasm." He flicked his stave up quickly, catching me on the chin, making me bite my hp. I tasted blood. "Where is your rage? Think of how miserable your life is because of me." He punctuated this with a quick jab that clipped my shoulder. He was playing with me. He was enjoying this. I wasn't.

"Don't you miss your family?" he jeered. "Don't you want revenge for those you've lost? So many have died in your futile crusade. Surely that makes you angry."

He flipped one end of his stave toward me; I actually knocked it away with my weapon and was smart enough to know another blow would quickly follow. He spun away from me and whipped the other end of his weapon backward, like he was paddling a canoe. But I was ready for that one too. I dodged out of the way. It was the third attack I wasn't ready for. Saint Dane spun back around and jabbed at me underhanded, catching me square in the gut. Oof! It hurt, but I was okay. So far. The crowd of Ghees watching didn't matter to me anymore. They were nothing more than a blur on the edges of my vision.

"You can't keep this up." Saint Dane chuckled. "You're going to get hit. Like Kasha did with that rock that crushed her skull."

He was baiting me. He wanted me to attack. I realized if that's what he wanted, it was the one thing I shouldn't do.

"Your uncle couldn't avoid me either. Was there much pain when the bullets tore through his heart? Did he die quickly? I certainly hope not."