The Acolytes of Crane "Updated Edition" (32 page)

The
nameless guards brought us to our rooms after we received our previously issued
weapons and equipment, the ones from the Uriel, through shipping crates. These
crates had been hauled into the castle through a hydraulic hover lift. We
radiated pride as we truly felt that the king was taking our role very
seriously, treating us like privileged guests. The guards told us that the king
was waiting for us at the castle’s lounge.

We
left to meet the king, after dropping off our gear in the dorms. We were
marched to what we were told was the king’s strategy room. Our newly assigned
escorts kept staring at us and keeping a respectful distance from us, as if we
were celebrities.

To
the uninitiated, a strategy room conjured up the image of a drab boardroom,
replete with whiteboards, projector screens, and a huge oval table in the
center, covered with wood veneer. However, the king’s strategy room was
elegant, consisting of an enclave much like that of a church’s alcove. A round
room, it had oak furniture, a marble floor, and stained glass windows showing
medieval-themed motifs. As I approached the king, I could see that he had a
hearty pitcher of beer right beside him. In the room was a body odor that could
make a bum’s nose crinkle.

The
closer we were to the king, the more I wrapped my face with the scarf to filter
the stench.

Upon
our arrival, King Trazuline stood up strong and prideful. He sounded irritated
and disappointed.

‘Well,
how was your trip through the town?’ he asked, and none of us responded. His
tone was slightly sarcastic. ‘That is precisely why you are here. You are
lacking a defined leader, and your confidence is impaired. What will you do
when you are shoved into battle?’ 

‘We
will fight, your majesty,’ Lincoln said. I was surprised to see his
assertiveness, since he was the more cerebral one.

King
Trazuline sneered. ‘Like you did in the bazaar? I specifically instructed you
not to stop. You could have all been killed. Your assigned guard detail will be
increased. One guard for each of you.’ Sitting back, he took another swig of
his suds. He burped out loudly and said, ‘Want some?’

‘No,
thanks,’ Dan politely declined. We exchanged startled glances at each other.

After
wiping his mouth, the king shook a finger at us. He gazed into Lincoln’s eyes,
and scolded,

‘I
had you humans ranked among the top of the recruits. You are all brilliant, but
you have failed me with your cowardice. To see you run like sissies after that
tea party with the Rangiers just outside the castle.’

The
boys were stunned. I think they even believed him, becoming ashamed of
themselves.

That
was all the fuel I needed; no one talked to us like that. My mother would give
me hell if I let any man, alien or not, push me around. I didn’t care—for that
one fleeting second—if this was a king of an entire planet, imbibing a brew
right in front of us. That he had millions in his servitude and was the
right-hand man of the demigod Zane. ‘
Respect is earned
,’ I affirmed to
myself, seething. I was ready to blow up in the face of that arrogant beast. To
the boys’ shock, I stormed over to him with my fist clenched and my posture
straight.

I
said, ‘Listen here! We are strong and will fight for you, if you just give us a
chance!’

“That
was all that came out of my mouth before I felt a crushing weight on my back. I
had to kneel as if bowing to his glory. He made me cower with his rolesk.”

“From
what I know about you, Mariah, I cannot imagine you taking that,” the warden
says. I am still in the holding room with the warden, halfway done with my
story.

“I
have not always been as strong as I’d like to be. Just as the crushing pressure
was starting to make me buckle down even more to the floor, he waved his hand
in the air. Suddenly, I was free.”

King
Trazuline gazed at me admiringly and said, ‘You have fight within you, but you
lack the patience to make it work. I am your last hope in the multiverse. Can't
you see that?’

‘Yes,
your majesty,’ I said. As if I had a choice of words.

To
my surprise, the king’s features softened as he stared at me. He clapped his
hands and motioned for the guards to take the boys away. ‘Take them to their
rooms!’

The
boys twisted their heads around with pleading eyes as I saw them leaving, my
heart sinking. What did Trazuline want with me? Was he trying to isolate me?
Why?

The
king looked at me in the eyes for a few more seconds, and he turned to the
doors to ensure that everyone was gone. He mouthed the words, ‘I want to speak
to you alone.’

Nodding,
I say nothing. I sense he doesn’t want me to speak. He seemed worried about
being overheard.

 ‘Follow
me,’ the king mouthed to me as he beckoned at me. I walked in lock-step behind
him as he led me to a secret door in the room. ‘Step inside.’

I
did.

The
door shut electronically. He breathed a sigh of relief, and said, ‘This room is
powered by magnetism. The electromagnetic field around this chamber keeps
Dietons outside. What we say in this room, stays in this room.’

My
heart beat as I realized his apparent change of heart—or his well-crafted plan.
‘Why would someone create a room to keep Dietons away?’

The
king’s eyes took on an appearance of innocence. What a change from that brash
display in the strategy room. ‘Could you imagine living in your house on Earth
with absolutely no privacy? Imagine going to the bathroom, while cameras watch
you and document every move you make. How would that make you feel?’

It
was an easy answer. ‘Vulnerable.’

‘Precisely.
We are in an age of peril, Mariah. No one to trust.’

‘Why
should we trust you?’ I asked. I’d had enough of Zane. We trusted him, and look
how far it got us.

The
king held his hands up in the air, temporarily lifting his robes off the floor.
He turned his back to me. ‘I have given you a purpose. Zane was deathly afraid
of you all staying on his ship because of your unbridled spirit. I was the one
who seized the opportunity to solve Zane’s problem and make him happy. But he
doesn’t know everything.’

He
cackled at me. ‘Mariah, I know Theodore is alive. His ship crashed on another
planet.’

My
blood chilled. ‘What! How do you know that?’

He
whispered to me, ‘Because I helped him escape.’

I
stood stunned. This powerful discipline of Zane, standing right before me, was
admitting to something that could cost him his life— treason. His pungent
stench was also starting to overpower me again. It was hard to think straight.

‘Where
is Ted?’ I demanded, furious that he’d been hiding a secret from us.

‘I
can’t tell you. We have to work together.’

‘Wait
a minute,’ I said, stepping back from him. ‘You know where he is, and you’re
not telling us? How can we work together if you don’t tell us?’

‘Please
understand,’ he asserted. ‘It could endanger all of us to have such valuable
information. Zane could crush you all, and I would be powerless to stop him.’

‘Where
is Ted?’ I insisted.

‘Work
with me. I will tell you.’

I
gazed at him, furiously thinking. Why was he speaking to me alone? Was he
trying to pry our team apart, one by one? Aha, I thought. We were the key to
getting Ted back, and Trazuline was pretending to be the good cop. After Ted
reached out to us, and Zane captured him, Zane would just terminate us all and
amply reward his loyal subject Trazuline for luring us. I had to play my hand
carefully.

‘It
makes perfect sense,’ I lied through my teeth. ‘I need to discuss this with my
team.’

Trazuline
visibly relaxed at my apparent change of heart. ‘That's fine. Just think about
what I have said. We could rescue Theodore together.’

‘Thank
you very much for giving us this valuable information. You have given us fresh
new hope.’ I left the chamber, shaking over the revelation about Ted still
being alive.

“Before
I exited, Trazuline whispered. ‘Be very careful how you tell your team.
Everywhere, Zane’s spies may be eavesdropping on you.’”

“This
sounds like something straight out of a spy story. What did you do?” the warden
asks, flashing his teeth.

“I
took control of the team, because someone had to. When I caught up to the boys,
I said, ‘Wait up, you guys. Listen to me for a second. Let's all meet in the
recreational lounge, after we put up our stuff.’”

We
requested for the guards to let us mingle by ourselves in one of the lounges.
It was a huge lounge, and we positioned ourselves inside the center, playing a
game of electronic shuffleboard. The magnetic disks sailed along with ease on
the marble floor as we babbled to each other, holding our electronic
shuffleboard paddles straight up as if they were walking sticks. The guards
were far away, taking our activity as a sign that they could ease up. They
appeared bored, and reveled in the opportunity to gossip among themselves.

I
knew that Zane, or one of his minions, could be listening every second, but I
chanced it. Who could be listening in every second, twenty-four hours a day?

I
told the guys about the shocking revelation of Ted being alive. We fell into an
excited banter, but did our best to appear casual. ‘What should we do? We don't
have a choice. We have to play ball with these guys,’ Liam said.

‘My
mother once told me,
Aunque la mona se vista de seda, mona se queda
. You
can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, but you can still make a purse out
of something else!’ I said.

The
boys looked at me like wavering bowling pins. ‘Okay,’ I relented, ‘I admit we
have not been at war. We are not used to fighting for our lives, and that is
why we are having a difficult time. They are giving us weapons and training
us,’ I lowered my voice and leaned in so they all could hear me. ‘We could
escape. So far, we have been so predictable. Let's take control of our own
lives and leave here!’

‘Yeah,
I think this Traz guy is just bluffing. But he knows about Ted. What do you
have in mind?’ Dan asked.

‘Trazuline
told me he knows Theodore is alive. We could find Theodore ourselves. What's
stopping us?’ I gazed at the disk in front of me and gave it a half-hearted
push. It fell short of the required baseline. I ignored my
faux pas
.

Lincoln
rolled his eyes. ‘Reality check. We have to find out where Ted is. Trazuline’s
not telling us. Plus, we need a ship. Trazuline helped Ted find a ship, but
he’s not going to do the same for us. Plus, how about the guards that are
constantly following us?’

I
seized the moment to motivate them further. I said, ‘Don't you see? They are
protecting us. We mean something to them. I am sorry, but I do not trust Trazuline.
He seems like a good guy, but there is something he is not telling us.’

Lincoln
pressed on his disk and pushed it out accurately, making us envious of his
grace under pressure. ‘They will not even know what is coming. We can do this.
We just have to make a plan. We can escape and find Theodore,’ Lincoln said.

“That
was all I needed to hear, and even I started to believe...”

“Believe
in what?” the warden asks.

“Us.
When Theodore left, we were freaking out. We were like a car with no steering
wheel, empty of gas. He brought us to the Uriel and without him, our purpose
was gone. But we found ourselves when we heard he was alive.”

“I
see. Well, it has been a pleasure, Mariah. I have to admit, there is actually
no real exit debrief. My prisoners leave, and before they go, I tell them one
thing.” I scoot to the edge of my seat to hear, nearly falling off. “If you
pick up another rifle to fight for Sephera and Zane, or resist us in any way,
with Theodore and your misfits, you will be in here again. And not in a way
that is considered easy. Do you understand?”

“Yes,
sir.”

“Then,
tomorrow you will be free. Make the best of it.”

A
guard barged into the room and yelled, “Warden! We have a situation!”

“Wait
here! I want two guards on this prisoner. Why are the alarms sounding?” the
warden asks.

“I
am not at liberty to say in front of the prisoner, sir,” the other guard
answers. The two extra recruits arrive to take over command.

The
two original guards leave, and I am left sitting between the gun muzzles of the
two freshly arrived guards who are watching me intensely. What could be so
pressing? I have never heard the alarms sound before, besides drills, but
usually the warden seems prepared for those instances.

This
was probably my weirdest encounter in this prison. If he is keeping my friends
captive here, it may not be the last time I see this prison. I sigh.

The
stampeding of bodies and pouncing of the dirt floor of the cave drove me crazy.
I hid from the unknown. It caused me to shield myself within my cave room.

‘He
is in here, summon him forth,’ an Elon voice said from outside the room.

‘They
are waiting for his command,’ another Elon voice different from the first said.

It
was time to make my grand entrance. I let loose the searing destruction of
Wrath through the leafed curtain and peered out in astonishment at the stirring
sight before me. My heart slapped my sternum with a violent ferocity.

Directly
in front of me stood a thousand Elons, erect and still. When I appeared, they
all turned to me in perfect harmony.

‘Master
Theodore. Sir, we are honored. Attention!’ one of the Elon soldiers echoed
loudly throughout the tunnels, and every Elon in the Cave snapped to an upright
formal posture. They were like a line of Monk statues. They looked so similar.
It was difficult to tell one from the next.

‘What
are you waiting in line for?’ I asked, because the line paralleled the walls of
the cave with no end.

One
of the Elon soldiers jumped to respond, ‘We already have received our communication
devices, and now we are waiting for our gear, sir-zzz.’

I
felt overwhelmed at the prospect of shouldering the responsibility of such a
large army. The simulation exercises on the Uriel were nothing compared to
this. The Uriel had trained me to fight, but not to take command. This was a
totally new level of authority. I was a commander of my own army, and being a
solider of Zane was long in the past.

The
Elons were young and wiry, but they were plants, resilient, and full of life.
They were saplings compared to their mother, but they were still formidable.
Even though I was anxious, I was focused.

I
remembered what Jezra said about blind obedience, and I knew that if I was
going to drive these Elons like a javelin into the chest of Travis and his band
of Dacturon warlords, I had to give my virgin army reason.

The
atmosphere in the cave was positively electric. The current of energy flowed
down that army, and I was wired as I strolled past the never-ending throng of
troops, which gradually parted exactly in the middle as I inspected them all.
Each head turned as I walked, boring in on me. It felt like being in a
battalion of robots, but these were living, breathing beings. When I made it
past the contingent, Pike was darting about, a ball of energy, as he delivered
bows and arrows to each Elon soldier. He was calculating inventory when I
approached him.

‘Hey
Pike, so the weapon of choice is bow?’ I asked.

He
beamed a huge smile as he looked at me and said, ‘Ha! The young Messiah
awakens. Yes, my liege, the bow will be the perfect weapon—you will see. Each
soldier will have fifty arrows and two bows. If they run out, you will find
they have the means to make more for themselves.’

I
thought as Lincoln always would in moments like that: one thousand soldiers
with fifty arrows apiece—that is fifty thousand arrows. That is real firepower.
I needed to get Pike alone so we could discuss strategy. I beckoned to him and
walked off to the side with him.

‘Pike,
I am going to get the help of one of the Elons to do the job you are doing
right now because, well, I would like to discuss our plan of attack.’ He agreed
quickly, admiring me. He had come a long way from mocking me the first time I
had landed on his planet. After all, I was the Messiah.

I
turned to the first Elon I saw close by, swelling with newfound confidence. I
was now unstoppable. ‘You there, I have an important job for you, what is your
name?’

The
Elon meekly replied, not daring to look at me in the eyes. Rather, he stared
straight ahead, out of respect. ‘I don’t have a name, sir. I will be pleased to
attain one.’

‘You
will relieve Pike at his post. Each soldier gets two bows and fifty arrows. We
will discuss names later.’ I grabbed Pike after I was done directing the Elon,
and we walked along a corridor of the cave that was separate from the lengthy
file of Elons.

‘Okay,
so before we discuss strategy, I have some questions that need answering. How
do the Elons know English, how come they don’t have names, and how do they know
how to fight?’

‘Theodore,
I thought I explained that to you already. Elons pass on information to their
kin through their genetic make-up. A Venus flytrap on your Earth, for example,
does not need to learn how to trap insects. It just does, based on its design.
In a way, you humans are not that different. Every learned experience will be
passed on to the next generation. As for naming the Elons, you are their
commander and it is your job. I would like to see you name a thousand Elons in
one hour. They will be issued rank next at your complete discretion, for any
Elon is highly adaptable and can quickly rise to any senior level because of his
collective experience. It is a lot for you to take in, I know. Now, have I
answered all your questions?’

‘So,
to confirm, we launch an assault against the Dark King?’ I asked.

‘That’s
why you arrived on our planet, yes, Theodore. It has been pre-destined.’

‘And
you will show me where Jaakruid is?’

‘I
know it like the back of my hand. I used to live there, while Jezra was still a
young Princess. I helped her escape when the Dark King usurped power. I will be
your guide.’

‘Fair
enough,’ I deliberated thoughtfully. ‘Strategy, I need to know what we are up
against.’ I asked. For half an hour, while the thousand Elons were busy fitting
themselves with weapons, Pike and I discussed our battle plan.

Our
plan was simple, but each level of attack required success one after the other,
and there was no room for error or contingency.

A
small elite group of the finest Elon’s in my army would escort me, cloaked with
invisibility by my XJ7-321, through the forest. After the fall of Jaakruid, I
was to finally reap my own personal reward by hijacking a Tritillian vessel to
escape to Karshiz. Pike had told me that King Trazuline was working against
Zane and would like me there covertly. Once there, I could prepare for my
offensive on Odion.

Earlier
this morning, Pike had sent dozens of small airborne recon devices to observe
any advantageous points of entry. These spy devices had just returned, and our
Elon commander had been busy collating and interpreting the dozens of
classified observations. These Elons were sure intelligent creatures.

‘What
did you find?’ an eager Pike asked the commander.

The
commander spoke crisply, ‘Sir, we found that our route is heavily guarded.
There are roaming patrols throughout the city’s perimeter, as well as the one
gigantic Morlorian at the gates.  There is a possibility of an approaching
offensive. Quasikeum seemed to know that Master Theodore is with us now. He was
guiding the warships into formation. There looks to be a Tritillian offensive
forming, but there is one other thing.’

‘What
is it?’ Pike yelled, wary.

‘A
Human—and a Driad,’ the commander said as he looked over at me, ‘They were
perched at the top of a KeKua tree and they saw our surveillance devices. I am
sorry that we have inadvertently revealed our presence.’ The commander bowed
his head after he was through speaking.

‘What
the heck is a Driad? This isn’t about a ship, is it Pike?’ I asked, even though
I knew damn well what the answer was.

‘No.
A Driad is a Rangier and Dacturon hybrid. They have the telekinetic ability of
the Dacturons and the image projections of Rangiers. They are very dangerous,’
he said.

‘How
the heck do you expect me, a fifteen-year-old, to undertake this impossible
task? This isn’t a fantasy, this is real! Are you trying to get me killed?’ I
yelled spontaneously. I was now afraid. Instantly I regretted my outburst, as I
did not want to demonstrate a lack of confidence in front of my army. They needed
me to be as forthright as a lighthouse shining in the night.

‘Theodore,
you don’t know what you are capable of doing. You almost brought down the
defenses of the Uriel—you, a teenager, escaped from Zane, something that no one
has been able to do—until now. I am here by order of Trazuline, the Karshiz
King.’ He blurted out the obvious as if it was a weight off his shoulders, ‘He
is the one that guided your escape from the Uriel.’

‘Yes,
I know. I heard him.’

‘Then
you must surely see that he is helping us.’

‘Yes.’
I rubbed my chin. ‘Why is he helping me?’

‘He
was a convert of Zane, but as he has drawn closer, he sees that Zane only
replicates things. Zane does not favor anything that does not have its own
mind. Therefore, Zane is a threat to the multiverse. He is building an army!’

I
looked on at Pike as he spoke animatedly, spittle flying out. He said,  ‘Right
now, Odion is planning a siege on the gateway to Sephera! It is our duty, your
duty as Messiah, to ensure that he does not succeed.’

It
was officially confirmed. King Trazuline was my benefactor from the beginning.
He was the traitor that the Urilians were trying to find, not me. At least the
Urilians still didn’t know. I would happily be the target of the Urilians, so
that Trazuline could continue his covert role.

But
first, I needed the Elons. And right now, the Elons needed me to liberate them.
We would leave under night’s cover. Pike paced round the room, then sat upon
his wife’s chair, deep in thought. I also seated myself, placed my elbows on
the table, and rested my head against my hands. I lifted my head and gazed in
Pike’s direction. He then looked at me and we stared at one another for just a
moment.

‘I
can do this right?’ I said, in doubt of my own capabilities.

Pike
nodded. ‘You are a dog that chases its tail between meals. You have made it
this far with what you have. Why do I constantly have to remind you what you
are capable of?’

I
swallowed my pride, and said, ‘My father always looked down on me.’ Tears ran
down my cheeks.

Pike
stood up and walked over to me. He laid his hand on my shoulder.

Wiping
my hot tears, I murmured, ‘No one ever believed in me until Zane found me. I
guess I always fear that it will happen again.’

‘Theodore,
you are not your father. You are of your father. That is where your rage is
born, but your father you are not. His path isn’t your path. I want you to know
something: there is no doubt in the bonds of trust. You cannot fake confidence.
Every moment you have thought you were going to fall to the winds of change, you
have remained standing. It is that fear that has slowed your true potential.
Grab hold of your fear, channel it into your trusted sword, and watch your
enemy. Then you will know what a coward looks like.’

‘Thanks,’
I said gratefully. I needed to hear that.

Pike
spat at me, out of regret, rather than contempt, ‘In other words, stop being
such a twit!’

His
words rendered minor invisible blows on me, but I thankfully absorbed them. I
thought back to my mom, and how she never stood up to Bill. She lived in fear,
and so did I. The only difference was my fear urged me to make a phone call to
the police, and if I didn’t get that snowball rolling, there might have been no
avalanche.

I
walked up to Pike in his chair, and I gave him a hug, ‘Pike, I am so thankful
to have you on my side. I could not have done this without you.’

Pike
looked up at me. ‘You’re finally right!’

I
walked out of the room, and my curiosity yanked me back, ‘Pike, what makes the
Dark King so deadly, the one who is now in Jaakruid?’

‘A
trident. Its savagery arises from the fact it is made up of uranium and is
extremely radioactive.  This weapon has the ability to pierce any armor. Thrown
hard enough at any target, the target would likely never recover. He paused for
a moment and gave me an assuring look. ‘It has never met your sword Theodore,
and I would put all the money in the multiverse on your weapon, not this
dastardly trident. Now get out of here, and get some rest. You will be awakened
in the dead of night to fight.’

‘Yes.
Plus the Driad, which can fool us with its holographic projections.’

‘Yes.
More than the Dark King, he is my one true concern. Go to sleep now,’ Pike
said.

I
walked into my pantry and lay on my bed of piled jungle leaves. My thoughts
were whirlpooling in my brain. I thought of what it could be like to just be
back on Earth, an innocuous fifteen-year-old, reading superhero comics in bed,
and not have to worry about saving Sephera.

My
fate was in the town of Jaakruid, waiting for me. I grew tired in thought, and
I fell asleep.

For
what seemed like a couple of seconds, I slept. My slumber eventually ended with
me suffering a kinked neck. I woke up, and I tossed upon my cot for a minute
before I decided to go outside. I slapped my kicks on my feet and exited the
cave. Now shrouded in pitch black darkness, I switched the lights on my kicks,
and flew up to the sheer cliff side. Even the light from my X73-21’s was not
enough to see the bottom of the unfathomable cliffs.  Sighing, I sat on a
lichen-covered branch jutting out from a tree miraculously thriving on a shelf
of the cliff.