Part 25 (2/2)

Saint Dane turned to us.

”Welcome aboard, my friends,” he said with a warm smile. ”I just love the toys they've got here on Cloral, don't you?” We didn't say anything. What was the point? I glanced at Spader and saw that he was grinding his teeth in anger. His hatred for Saint Dane because of what he did to Spader's father had come flooding back. I really hoped he wouldn't do anything stupid.

”And where is my friend, Press?” he asked. ”Not still on Faar, I hope.”

I didn't answer. But Saint Dane walked up to me and looked me right in the eye. I didn't want him to think that he scared me, so I looked right back at him. It was like he was searching my mind. After a few seconds he shook his head slowly.

”It's all in your eyes, Pendragon,” he said. ”Press is dead. I am sorry. He was a worthy adversary, but as I've told you before, I cannot be beaten. This is the way it was meant to be.”

”No, it isn't,” I shot back at him. I couldn't stand hearing those words. ”Cloral isn't done yet.”

Saint Dane chuckled like I was some kind of stupid kid who didn't know what he was talking about. I hated that. Mostly because he was right.

”Is that what you think?” he asked. ”Let me show you something.”

He pointed forward and I now saw light outside through the window. We were no longer underwater.

”All clear,” announced one of the raiders at the controls.

A raider who had been guarding us stepped to the rear of the control room to a round door in the wall. There was a wheel on the door that he spun to disengage the locking mechanism. He then pulled the door in on its hinges and sunlight flooded into the submarine.

”Please,” said Saint Dane, gesturing for us to go outside.

I walked to the door and stepped out, followed by Spader. The control room was inside the tower above the main body of the sub, so when we went outside, we stepped right onto the top of the hull. The sub was big. I'm guessing from the bow to the tail it was about fifty yards long. The control tower was about two-thirds of the way forward. I also noticed that there were long guns jutting from the control tower. They weren't as big as the battle cruiser's, but I'm sure they were just as deadly.

Saint Dane walked past us and strode toward the bow of the s.h.i.+p.

”Come,” he ordered.

Spader and I had no choice but to follow. Saint Dane walked almost to the bow of the s.h.i.+p and the three of us stood there, alone.

”Do you see that?” he asked.

We looked ahead and I didn't see anything at first, but once our eyes adjusted to the light, we saw what he was talking about. It was a giant whirlpool. And I mean, giant. There was no question as to what was causing it. This was the spot directly above the shattered dome of Faar. The swirling water was pouring into the doomed city, creating this monstrous whirlpool. Saint Dane stood there with his arms folded in front of him, smiling, enjoying his handiwork.

Spader said, ”Where are - ” but Saint Dane held up his hand to quiet him.

”Please, a moment more,” he said.

We all looked back to the swirling water to see that he was right. A few moments later the whirlpool stopped. The water was still for a moment, and then a giant bubble of air erupted on the surface.

”That's it,” Spader said softly. ”Good-bye, Faar.”

It was heart-wrenching. That bubble of air was Faar's last gasp. The city was now completely underwater. The ocean surface was once again still.

Saint Dane then turned to us.

”Now, what were you saying?” he asked Spader politely.

”Where are the pilots from the hauler?”

Saint Dane waved his hand as if this were an insignificant detail.

”We threw them back in the sea,” he said. ”Two small little fish of no consequence. But they did help us quite a bit.”

”How's that?” I asked.

”The moment we saw them launch from Faar, we knew the exact spot to target our missies and cripple their fleet. No more bubble boats emerged,” he added with a laugh. ”So we must have been successful!”

”You trapped a dozen men down there!” Spader spat out in anger.

”And destroyed the heart and soul of Cloral,” Saint Dane replied calmly. ”Not bad for an afternoon's work, don't you think?”

I could feel Spader's tension. He was out of his mind nuts with hatred for Saint Dane and was a hair away from lunging at him. But that would have been a huge mistake. So I put a hand on his shoulder. Spader jumped. He really was a raw nerve.

”Calm down,” I said as softly as possible.

Spader forced himself to take a breath and seemed to relax a bit.

”Pendragon, I am impressed,” said Saint Dane. ”You've grown wiser since our adventure on Denduron.”

”I beat you on Denduron,” I shot back.

”So you think,” Saint Dane said. ”Honestly, do you really think I care which territory is my first domino? Cloral will do just as nicely as Denduron. As I told you before, once the first falls, the rest will tumble in turn.”

”Cloral hasn't fallen,” Spader spat out.

”But it will,” Saint Dane replied smugly. ”Eventually they will find a way to purify the crops, but not before thousands have died and thousands more go to war. It was a delicate balance here, with all the habitats existing together. But now with Faar gone, the scale just tipped.”

Saint Dane then walked over to me and leaned down. Our eyes were on the same level and he was so close I could smell his breath. It was sour. I wasn't surprised. But I wouldn't back off. No way.

”It is all happening exactly as I planned,” he said softly. ”Even if you managed to stop me here, I would simply move on to another territory. You have no idea what is waiting for you, Pendragon. If you continue to fight me, you will certainly go the way of all the pitiful Travelers who came before. Is that what you want? Do you want to die in futility like Spader's father? Or Osa? Or Press?”

This last comment stung, but I wouldn't let him know it.

”The offer still stands, Pendragon,” he said with a tempting smile. ”When Halla is mine, there will be grand rewards for those who helped me. You seem to enjoy splas.h.i.+ng around Cloral. I'll give it to you. Do what you want with it. Restore their farms, make Spader an admiral, be their hero, make them love you. Whatever you want. It would be so easy and the fight would be over. What do you think?”

This is going to be hard to explain, but at that moment something changed for me. Yes, I was still afraid of Saint Dane. I still didn't know much about being a Traveler or even why I was chosen to be one. There was still a ton for me to learn, but at that moment, something became very clear and it filled me with a sense of confidence that I hadn't felt since, well, since I was on the basketball court at Stony Brook.

”You want to know what I think?” I asked Saint Dane. ”I think if you truly knew what was going to happen, if you really believed this was all part of your plan and that you couldn't be beaten, then you wouldn't keep begging me to join you.”

Saint Dane blinked. I saw it. I had hit a nerve.

”What do I think?” I added. ”It might not be here, it might not be today or even on this territory, but for the first time since I met you on Second Earth, I think that when this is all over, I'll be the one who's beatenyouabecausethatis the way it's supposed to be.”

Something clicked in Saint Dane's eyes. It wasn't huge. He didn't gasp or shout or anything like that, but I saw it: Saint Dane was afraid of me. I was sure of it.

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