by D P Rowell
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
The Dead Forest
Footsteps by the hundreds pounced the dock outside. Then, the main deck! They scattered all about the ship. Ace rushed from the desk, shut the door and locked it. The ship shook mightily after a thunderous roar smacked against its outer wall. He stumbled as the ship rocked and caught himself on the wall, then anxiously ripped open the letter to read it.
Ace,
I left this letter here in case something should happen to prevent me from telling you myself. This, your grandfather’s ship, he has turned over to you at his passing, and it can only be captained by you. Your grandfather and I have spent countless nights, for more years than I can count, modifying this ship, and I, for what seemed forever, had no idea what we were doing. I thought he’d gone insane, because he told me he received the schematics for the modifications in his dreams. Nevertheless, I obeyed my Captain’s orders. It was only the day before we set sail for what I would soon understand to be our last vacation together, he showed me the Emerson Stone. I didn’t believe it was truly the stone at first, but he took me to the ship’s mainframe, where we’d been doing most and placed it inside. The stone powered the ship in such a way, all the work we’d done for years came to—
Another explosion smacked the ship and sent it swaying on the sea. Ace frantically read through the letter, thinking, c’mon, c’mon, we don’t have time!
. . . for years came to life. He told me our work was not in vain, then took the stone and locked it away safely. He said he would soon give the stone to you, and at that time, only you could power the ship to its full capabilities. In order to make this ship do everything it’s capable of, the power source requires both your DNA, and the power of the stone. When we arrived in New Eathelyn, he told me to take the ship to Dorneg and wait there, for you would soon arrive and take your rightful ownership of the vessel, but he also warned me to be aware, pirates may try to take it and prevent you from captaining it. So, I wrote this letter on the way to Dorneg in case we ran into trouble. Your grandfather has hidden the power source for this ship on the steering wheel, encoded with a message only you will understand. Should you find yourself in danger, press it, and the ship will come alive.
Best wishes,
Damion
Voices shouted on the main deck.
“All hands on deck, loose all sail!”
Ace bolted to the main deck, prepared to fight whoever stood in his path between the meeting room and the steering wheel. What could Grandpa have done to this ship? What did Damion mean by the ship coming alive? Another thunderous boom shook the vessel. Ace stumbled across the main deck and leapt to his feet, eager to fight, but was delighted to find Cameron on the deck, giving orders to the pirates.
“Cameron! What are you doing?” Ace said. He glanced about the deck, amazed at the sight before him. Borundi, Juneg, Easley, Trilo, and . . . all of Dad’s pirates! Save for Sebastian and Father himself. They were firing back at the cavalry trying to board Grandpa’s ship and preparing to set sail. Where did they come from?
“We’re buying you time,” Cameron said. “Have you found the thing?”
Ace nodded and waved the letter in the air. “Cameron, it’s incredible!” He rushed along the deck to get to the steering wheel. Other hovercrafts surrounded them on the water. Policemen and chasers fired at them from the sea, and the pirates fired back. Grandpa’s old pirate stories were coming to life. Ace enjoyed hearing the stories. Being in them? Not so much, as he couldn't tame the beastly fear coursing through his veins. He wasn't fighting anti-magic this time, rather, plasma fired all about them, whistling and zipping by.
Ace rushed to the deck, ducking as a plasma bullet zipped overhead. He crawled to the steering wheel and peered at it. It only took him a second to see the code Damion mentioned in the letter. How had he never seen this before? Grandpa had carved an ancient Earth symbol into the center of the steering wheel. A symbol known only to Yutarians who understood Earth culture. A symbol known well to Ace. Cameron stood next to Ace, staring at the symbol with an equal amount of shock.
“It’s a. . .” Cameron trailed off.
Ace smiled from ear to ear and looked at his brother. “It’s an Ace of Spades.”
Ace grew indifferent to the surrounding chaos. The symbol reaffirmed what he previously doubted. The crew hustled about the deck, firing back at the people of Dorneg and making way to set sail. Hovercrafts over the ocean moved in front of them in a blockade. Their ship had already begun to drift into the ocean and Borundi shouted from the deck.
“Ace, Cameron, should we drop anchor?”
Neither one of them responded. Their eyes captivated by the clue Grandpa left for them. Despite them being surrounded by the council’s armies with no way out, Ace stood confident and joyful.
A loud voice came over a speaker from the blockade trapping them in the bay. “You are completely surrounded. If you do not surrender, we will fire at will.”
Trilo ran up the stairs to the steering wheel. “Ace, Cameron, what do we do?”
Ace placed his hand forward and touched his finger on the Ace of Spades in the middle of the steering wheel. Following his touch, the symbol glowed blue and a small, female voice came timidly from a speaker of an unknown location.
“Access granted.”
The blue glow emitted from the symbol in a flash and exploded until it surrounded the entire ship in a transparent orb. The surrounding chaos went still. Hundreds of thousands of bullets shot from the police crafts outside the blue orb but did not penetrate it. The contact of the bullets only allowed a slight, muffled hum. The crew stood all around them and lowered their weapons, gazing at the blue shield protecting them. Ace and Cameron turned around at a whooshing sound behind. Just above the deck, on the orb surrounding the ship, hovered a screen of different planets, simulating an orbit. Darkness covered two of them, and a red X lay on top of them as well. Only one remained visible. Underneath read the title: Earth.
Ace and Cameron lit up and turned to each other.
“What?” Cameron yelled. “Is this—is it—real?—Grandpa traveled between realms?”
Ace stared eyes wide, jaw on the floor, unable to muster the words to express his shock and awe. “No. I don’t think he did,” he finally said.
“Why not?”
Ace turned to Cameron. “He wasn’t an elyrian. His was denied access.”
“No wonder Grandpa was so obsessed with Earth,” Cameron said. “He never got the chance to go there.”
Ace kept his eyes on the digital map of the realms before him and stepped forward. “Take me to Earth?” Not knowing if vocal commands would work.
“Earth selected.”
The gray sphere blinked three times and the blue shield surrounding the ship glowed brighter. Grandpa’s ship zipped forward like plasma from a blaster and fell beneath the ocean. Everyone on board screamed and clenched whatever they could. The orb surrounding them kept the water outside. The ship continued to sink below the ocean rapidly. The surrounding purple water grew deeper and darker. Soon they found themselves surrounded by pitch blackness.
“What’s happening?”
“The sea has swallowed us!”
“We’ve met our doom!”
The crew members shouted as they gripped the ratlines, crates and masts.
Ace felt a change of sensations. When it seemed like they were falling, now it seemed like they were rising back to the surface. Only he couldn’t tell when the sensation had changed because it never felt like they had stopped moving. The surrounding blackness grew brighter. Ace tilted his head at the surrounding water. The darkness faded into a sky-blue color as they rushed to the surface. The ship burst through the top of the ocean with such a momentum, it thrust them a few feet in the sky. The ship fell back down and smacked against the surface of the blue ocean. Ace fell to the deck, smacked into Cameron, and rolled to the back. The crew members must’ve had a similar experience.
“Ouch!”
“Watch it!”
“Ahh!”
Once everything calmed, everyone staggered back to their feet, rubbing their heads and groaning.
“What in Eathelyn Summers was that?” shouted Easley from below. Ace rubbed the crown of his head. He looked at Cameron and Trilo, who also lay on the floor. Once they caught eyes, they leapt to their feet as quickly as they could and looked around them.
“Oh my . . .” Trilo said.
“No way!” Ace said. They both smiled wide at each other. “Are we actually on Earth? It’s not . . . you know . . . gone?”
“I guess not,” Cameron said.
Borundi shouted from the deck below. “Any one of you want to tell me what just happened?” The rest of the crew had joined Ace and Cameron in staring at the ocean before them. The sun overhead shone in a mustard yellow over a rich blue ocean. Only a couple miles ahead, a beach and a gray, rocky terrain lay on the horizon, grazing the shoreline.
“Where are we?” said Juneg.
Ace turned to the crew. “Everyone. Welcome to Earth.”
The crew erupted with laughter. Save for Borundi, who stared at Ace with a furrowed brow.
“He’s not kidding,” shouted Cameron. After a moment, the crew quieted down. “This is our grandfather’s ship. He rigged it to travel to the seven realms.”
“Seven realms?” Shouted one of the pirates. “You expect us to believe this garbage?”
“Look around!” Ace shouted with fury. “Does this look like Yutara to you?”
The crew hummed with rumor and whisper. The same pirate stepped closer to the bottom of the stairs leading to the upper deck. “This is madness. Next I assume you’ll be telling us New Realm’s Age is on its way too! The seven realms are just a legend.”
“The rest of Yutara would say the same about witches,” Ace said. The pirate stood silenced.
“Fine,” Borundi said. “Let say we are on Earth. Why we here?”
Ace and Cameron looked at each other, shrugged, then looked back at Borundi. “I have no idea,” Ace said.
The whole crew moaned and whined.
“Great.”
“Oh brother.”
“What are we gonna do now?”
“We’re trapped!”
Borundi slammed his fist on the railing next to the stairs and everyone immediately went silent. “That enough! Now, this young hunter just saved our lives,” the towering jag pointed at Ace, “The least you do is thank him. Nevertheless, it his ship and he gives orders!”
The crew stood silently, and all eyes went to Ace. Borundi looked at the boy confidently, and Ace nodded back. He stepped to the steering wheel and pressed the ace of spades glowing from the middle of it. The orb disappeared, and the ship sunk a little further into the blue water.
“Let’s take the ship ashore and see what we can find,” Ace said.
For a moment, the crew quietly traded eyes. Borundi turned to everyone and roared. “You heard boy! Get moving!”
Everyone scattered about the deck to their stations. Ace told Cameron to take the wheel and he jumped down the stairs to Borundi.
“Hey,” Ace said, “thank you.” The jag smiled at him and patted his back. “How does everyone here know how to sail?”
The jag chuckled. “Your father taught pirates how to sail not longer after we were assigned protect him.”
“What? Why?”
Borundi shrugged. “We had hideout close to edge of East Heorg. It something he did as hobby and eventually we got bored enough to join him.”
Ace laughed. “Unbelievable.”
“I don’t know . . . you be surprised how boring East Heorg is.”
“No, not that,” Ace said. “It’s unbelievable how everything in this past week as worked out to keep us moving forward. How Grandpa seemed to have this all planned out somehow.” Ace looked to the blue sky above him and smiled. “It’s almost like he’s still here.”
Borundi chuckled and gently patted his shoulder before he turned and walked the other way.
They pulled ashore not much longer, as they entered Earth just on the edge of land. The landscape consisted of cracked and dried up, gray rocks. Thousands lifeless, gray trees covered all from the shoreline to the horizon. Shadows of rocky hills lay in the distance. Once they had dropped anchor and stepped ashore, an eerie breeze blew by and brushed Ace’s shirt against his back. Something had starved this place. There was no life.
The rest of the crew made their way to the beach and Ace turned to face them. “Let’s split up in groups of four. Don’t go far! We’ll gather back here in an hour and share our findings.”
Everyone nodded quietly and trailed off. Ace and Cameron traveled with Borundi and Trilo into the dead forest. Cameron snapped a few twigs hanging from one of the dead trees as they walked by.
“Why would Grandpa lead us to a lifeless realm?” Cameron said. “This place really is gone.”
“But not completely,” Ace said. “On Grandpa’s ship, the other realms were blotted out in darkness. Couldn’t even be selected. They were probably wiped from existence. This realm still exists, it’s just that nothing exists on it.”
“Okay,” Borundi said from behind, “So what we looking for?”
“Look!” Trilo said. He rushed to the front of the group and aimed his AMR. Everyone slowly pulled their weapons once they saw what he saw as well. Standing in the forest, only a few feet ahead, stood a jag. He was a male, but thin as a twig. The little hair he had left grew in thin strings to the length of his waist. Wrinkles covered his skin and he held a wooden staff before him, clothed in a dark gray, tattered and torn cloak.
“Who are you?” Ace shouted, AMR aiming at the jag.
“Hello, Ace,” The jag said in an old, tired voice, “I’ve been expecting you.”
The jag slowly stepped forward, breaking a few twigs on the ground as he grew nearer.
“Don’t come any closer,” Trilo said.
The jag stopped and raised his fragile hands. Ace sensed something strange. He lowered his weapons and suggested everyone else do the same. It took a second of convincing, but they all soon observed a fragile old man with no intent of hurting them.
“Who are you and how do you know me?” Ace said.
The old jag smiled as he stepped closer to them. “Oh, you and I go long ways back, ug. I knew your ancestor. The first Halder I met went by name of Oliver.”
Ace’s heart dropped to his gut and his eyes went wide. He was taken back to the day in the cabin when Grandpa disappeared. The day when he told him the story of Oliver and the jag warlock named—
“Jakka,” the jag said. “My name is Jakka. And I can teach you how to get your light back, Ace Halder.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
The Old Warlock
Cameron and Ace lifted their weapons once again and Jakka didn’t flinch.
“He’s a warlock!” Ace shouted.
Borundi lifted his weapon as well. “Are you sure, Ace?” Borundi said. “Sure he not just parcel.”
The warlock raised his fragile hands. “I used to be, yes. I was seated on council for sometime, my friends.”
“Holy . . .” Borundi said.
Ace couldn’t have ever pictured Borundi being scared before, but the towering jag’s weapon shook as he attempted to hold it with his rattling nerves.
“Calm down,” Jakka said, “I no longer sorcerer.”
“Fat chance,” Cameron said. “We’re not idiots, Jakka!”
Ace kept quiet, taking note of the old warlock’s confident eyes. Jakka spread his arms and slowly spun in a circle. “Take look around. What po-
wer could I possibly have here? What would be my purpose to deceive you?”
“To take you back to Yutara and use your power there,” Ace said.
The jag hung his head. “I can never return to Yutara. Light has forbidden me.”
Ace slowly let down his weapon.
“What a
re you doing?” Cameron said. “You don’t actually trust him, do you?”
“No,” Ace said. “But I do trust the Light.” He took a step closer to the old warlock, “You said you can help me get my light back . . . how?”
Jakka displayed the same lack of emotion Kareena’s often bore. It gave him chills. “I can only tell you why your elyr is blocked. I cannot get it back for you. Only you can.”
“Okay, so tell me,” Ace said.
The jag chuckled. “Can I show you something . . . alone, please?”
All three others lifted their AMRs and aimed back at Jakka. “I’ve had enough of it,” Cameron said, “We should shoot him right now!”
“Very well,” Jakka said. “Death would be a great escape from this prison. But, what will you do when you kill me? Ace needs elyr back and I only form of life still existing on Earth.”
“He’s lying!” Trilo said.
“I not,” Jakka said, “I would know, I wiped this place out myself. Earth looks no different anywhere else than what you viewing now. Not in ocean, land, or sky exists any other life but me. I cursed to remain alive here until I hold up my end of bargain.”
Ace tilted his head. “What bargain?”
“There are three things I must tell you, in order to escape this prison of Earth and pass away. One, how to get elyr back; two, why Rio has Emerson Stone, and what his plan is with it; and three, reveal to you a talent you have that you don’t know about yet. This talent will be what leads you to wage final war. Emery will keep me here until these things occur. It his curse upon me. Or, blessing rather.”
