Winds of War
Page 25
“I’m not Mr. Hill,” T-Bone (Smalik) said. “I’m Smalik, the queen’s sorcerer. Let me out or I’ll turn you into a mouse.”
The guard handed T-Bone (Smalik) a mirror. Smalik was surprised to see the face of Mr. Hill. Then he felt a terrible pain across his entire body. He dropped the mirror and fell to the floor. The guard watched as he convulsed and transformed back into Smalik.
Smalik stood up and demanded, “Get me out of here. I’ll change clothes and meet you in the control room.” Moments later, he was standing in front of the red cloud-like balloon.
“We didn’t know what to do,” a nearby soldier said. “So we did nothing for fear of making things worse.”
Smalik walked around the balloon, poking it with his finger every now and then. He shook his head. “We have to get her out of the thing, whatever it is. Give me your knife.”
A nearby soldier handed a particularly evil-looking knife to Smalik. Smalik carefully punctured the balloon, but it didn’t deflate. He cut a small hole in the side of the balloon and peeked in.
There she was, standing in the same pose as when T-Bone threw the small red vial at her. She had the same determined look on her face, her outstretched hand pointing her wand in the direction of the Alliance.
Smalik cut the balloon enough to get it off of Torron. Minutes later, he had Torron lying on a bed with two doctors attending her.
One of the doctors came and spoke to Smalik quietly. “She’s dying. If we don’t get her back to Gandoral, we won’t be able to save her.”
“Why Gandoral?” Smalik asked. “Tell me what you need, and I’ll send for it. The battle must continue. We must continue. We must win. It’s now or never.”
“It would take six days for the round trip to Gandoral,” the doctor said. “What we need wouldn’t get here in time. She won’t die, but she’ll never recover if we don’t get her back as soon as possible.”
“If she leaves Earth, her magic goes with her,” Smalik said. “If her magic goes, all of the Torron forces will collapse. Are you sure this is the only solution?”
“Yes, I’m sure,” the doctor said.
“When we get back to Gandoral and when she wakes up, if she doesn’t agree with what we’ve done, we’ll all be sent to Skornes-Tarude,” Smalik said. “You know that, right?”
“Yes, we know.” He looked at the other doctor.
“The battle here is finished in either case,” the second doctor said. “If we stay, her magic will diminish as her coma deepens. Eventually, there will be no magic, and her army will be defeated. We need to get as much back to Gandoral as possible before everything collapses.”
Smalik turned to General Haflyf and said reluctantly, “Retreat.”
Chapter 43
It’s Not Over Yet
Sergeant Barr rushed into General Wisecoff’s office to find the general and several other people moving debris and looking for survivors. Gary, Sammy, and Johnny had all been removed from the room.
“General, you need to see this,” a soldier announced.
The soldier and the general hurried out of the room.
The general looked at the screens. Every dome had a black cloud going from the dome into the northeast sky. The Oar-7s were scrambling to get back into the protection of the domes. The mother ships were falling out of the sky.
“Why?” General Wisecoff asked. “They were getting the better of us. If they had kept it up another day, I would have recommended we let them have the West Coast. Most of it is already destroyed, and most of the civilians have been evacuated.”
“I don’t know why, but they’re leaving,” Colonel Smith said. “Their shields started to fail about ten minutes ago. We’re taking down as many as we can before they get back in the domes. Their foot soldiers are running back to the domes as well.”
Several screens showed the ground forces being chased back into the domes.
“It’s a full retreat, sir,” Smith said as yells of victory went up through the command center.
~~~
In a clearing about a mile and a half away from the dome, Caroline fired up the engines on the V-22 Osprey. She looked toward the dome in the distance. “Look, there’s a gray cloud forming at the dome.”
The others scrambled to the front windshield. Sure enough, a small gray cloud was forming on the northeast side of the dome, about halfway up the side. Once formed, it turned black and extended into the northeastern sky.
“They’re leaving,” Jeremy said. “They’re leaving.”
They gave high fives all around.
“Look over there,” Matt said, pointing in the direction of Seattle. “Their aircraft are retreating to the dome for the trip back to Gandoral.”
“The shields have failed,” Caroline said as she lifted the V-22 off the ground. “They’re being shot down by air and ground forces as they try to get to the dome. We’ll head to Nellis Air Force Base outside of Las Vegas. That’s where General Wisecoff is and where I sent Haven. It’s about eight hundred miles, so we should be there in two and a half hours or so.”
~~~
Smalik loaded Torron, strapped to a stretcher, onto one of the Oar-7s heading back to Gandoral and turned to General Haflyf. “Move the army first. Cram as much as you can into the next three days. During that time, the influence of Torron’s magic will dwindle away. The shields are already gone, so move as many personnel as possible. While moving the army, fly as many Oar-7s as you can, but the army is more important. We can replace the machines easier than soldiers. Do you understand?”
“Yes, move the soldiers and Oar-7s,” Haflyf confirmed. “The rest stays.”
Smalik boarded the Oar-7 with Torron and lifted off into the black cloud.
~~~
“There it is,” Caroline said. “Nellis Air Force Base. We’ll be able to see Haven in a few minutes.”
The V-22 came to rest on the tarmac. Ten minutes later, they were at Haven’s bedside.
“She has some serious internal injuries,” the doctor said. “I don’t expect her to live through the night. She’s got internal bleeding that we cannot stop. I’m sorry. We’ve done all we can.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” Jesse said. She sat down in a nearby armchair. “Bring her to me,” she said to Matt and Steve.
They disconnected the IVs and took the oxygen mask away. The doctor and nurse tried to stop them, but Jeremy, Caroline, and Jack held them back. They watched as Haven’s limp body was placed in Jesse’s lap.
“Remember, Jesse,” Jeremy reminded her, “she’s deaf and wants to stay that way.”
“I don’t know if I can heal one thing without healing the other,” Jesse said. “I’ll try.” She gently held Haven close to her.
“What does she mean?” the doctor asked.
“Watch,” Jeremy said.
Haven’s labored breathing started to calm down and be more regular. Color began to return to her face. The scraps and cuts healed. Her eyes behind her eyelids began to move. It took about five minutes, but then Haven opened her eyes and smiled as she saw Caroline. She held out her arms and went straight into Caroline’s.
The doctor and nurse were speechless.
“Bring me all your wounded,” Jesse said. “Your worst cases first.” She spent the rest of the day healing those who were injured during the battle.
~~~
“Jesse gets like this after a battle,” Jeremy said to T-Bone. “She feels the need to help as many people as she can. She has a gift, and she wants to share it.”
“That’s fine,” T-Bone said. “She should. However, we have to go as soon as possible. You know what’ll happen if we don’t get to Gandoral and finish this for good. Torron will be back.”
General Wisecoff heard the last sentence as he entered the room. “She’ll be back?”
“Um, yeah,” Matt said. “The battle isn’t over because Torron’s leaving. Her goal is to dominate Earth. She’s been trying for twelve hundred years to dominate this world. She’ll be back unless we
finish the battle. It’s our responsibility, the Alliance’s responsibility, to end this never-ending conflict. It’s between Torron and the Alliance.”
“We can help,” the general said. “What do you need? We’ll send an army to help you.”
“You still don’t understand,” Jeremy said. “All the armies of the world can’t defeat her. You can die in the battle—the queen’s soldiers can die in the battle—but that won’t defeat the queen. If you took a great army to Gandoral, a lot of people and creatures would die. However, the only true defeat would be for the Alliance to defeat Torron herself. You can’t defeat her. Only the Alliance can defeat her.”
“Can I send a special forces unit with you for your protection?” General Wisecoff asked.
Matt looked at Steve, Jeremy, T-Bone, and Slatel. None of them objected.
“I suppose a small unit could be helpful,” Matt said. “Not more than six. But remember, they’ll be there to protect the Alliance. Nothing more.”
“Make it four,” Jeremy said. “We want Captain Strong and Sergeant O’Rinski to go with us. That will make six.”
Matt and Steve agreed.
“Agreed.” The general left to make arrangements.
Chapter 44
Four Peaks Island
“I’ve been to the island a lot,” T-Bone said. “I have one of my restaurants there.”
“You do?” Jesse asked.
“Yes, and no matter how many times I tried, I could never figure out how to open the portal without the seven stones,” T-Bone said.
“Hagred and Margot told us they move back and forth to Gandoral through the portal on Four Peaks Island all the time,” Jeremy said. “If we can get to the island, we can get to Gandoral. I wonder what the island is like now.”
“You say Hagred and Margot have been going back and forth?” T-Bone said.
“Yes,” Jeremy said. “Apparently they found a way to open the portal without the stones, and now all you have to say is ‘Enter Gandoral’ from the island side and ‘Enter the Island’ from the Gandoral side. Pretty simple.”
“The old city has been converted into a tourist destination,” T-Bone said. “The cave that contains the portal has been sealed up with a door and a lock.”
“How do we get there?” Matt asked.
“Is there an airport on the island?” Caroline asked.
“Yes, there is,” T-Bone said. “I’ve flown in several times visiting my restaurant. It’s a good airport.”
“I’ll arrange transportation,” Caroline said. “Get ready to leave within the hour.”
Caroline and Haven left.
“What do you think will happen with Haven?” Jesse asked Jeremy.
“She’s stuck to Caroline,” Jeremy said. “I hope Caroline takes her in. They seem to be made for each other.”
They walked through the rubble of the air base to the command center. A few minutes later, Caroline joined them.
“These are the four special forces that will go with you,” General Wisecoff said. “Are you sure you don’t want more help than this?”
“Armies of thousands can’t do what we need to do,” Matt said. “We’ll push Torron back behind the gates just like we pushed her out of this world. This is our destiny.”
“Captain Strong has commandeered a Gulfstream for your journey,” General Wisecoff said. “She’ll pilot the plane. Captain Jordan, one of the special forces team, will copilot. Captain Jordan, would you introduce your team?”
“Certainly,” the captain said. He turned to his team. “I’m Captain Joey Jordan, JJ for short. This is Sergeant Patricia Martin.”
She saluted, then shook Matt’s hand. “My handle is Trish.”
“This is Sergeant Scott Henning,” the captain said.
“Scotty.”
“This is Corporal Bobby Raymond.”
“Rocky.”
“Welcome to the team,” Caroline said.
~~~
“You can come with us as far as the island,” Caroline signed to Haven. “I don’t want you to go with us through the portal. You would become a distraction, and we can’t afford any distractions. We must be completely focused. You’ll stay with T-Bone on the island until we return, okay?”
Haven nodded.
The Gulfstream was taxiing to the end of the runway when Caroline came on the intercom. “Our destination is eleven thousand two hundred and fifty-nine miles away as the crow flies. We’ll take the polar route, crossing over Greenland and Iceland into Berlin, Germany. We’ll refuel in Germany and go the rest of the way. The Gulfstream can fly at around six hundred miles per hour. I figure with a one-hour layover in Germany, the trip should take us between nineteen and twenty hours, depending on the prevailing winds. We should arrive around nine or ten Saturday night.”
“If we can get into the portal by midnight, we’ll beat Torron to Gandoral by two days,” Jeremy said.
“We’ll have a lot to organize before she gets there,” Matt said. “We should talk about strategy.”
“Haven, where did you get that bracelet?” Jesse asked. “I don’t remember you having a bracelet.”
T-Bone signed to Haven.
“Gary gave it to me,” Haven signed.
“Gary?”
“After the bombs destroyed the general’s office, I was trapped under the rubble with Gary,” Haven signed. “We had been talking. Just before he died, he gave me this bracelet. It has magic.”
“What magic?” Jesse asked. By now, all four members of the Alliance were listening in on the conversation.
Haven took the bracelet off, stretched it out, and put it on her head like a crown. “See? It can be whatever size you want it to be.”
T-Bone interpreted her signing and signed what the others said to her.
“Can I take a look?” Jesse asked.
“Sure,” Haven signed and handed the bracelet to Jesse.
It was a solid ring, the size of Haven’s head.
Jesse hung the crown over her wrist, and it shrank to bracelet size. “I believe this is the Bracelet of Witstal,” Jesse said. “Haven, this is the ninth Symbol of Power.”
“What?” Jeremy said. “The Bracelet of Witstal? Let me see.”
Jesse handed the bracelet to Jeremy. He examined it and handed it to Matt.
“This is really a surprise,” Steve said. “If Haven would be so kind as to let us borrow the bracelet until the war with Torron is over, we might have an outside chance of winning this battle.”
“If you let us borrow the bracelet, I promise to return it to you,” Jesse said.
Haven thought for a moment. “I’ve been listening to all of you ever since you took me in,” she signed. “I know you need all nine Symbols to defeat the queen. I freely give this Symbol to the Alliance as my part in the war against Torron. You don’t need to return it to me.”
Jesse smiled at Haven. “Your generosity is only exceeded by your sweet spirit.”
“Thank you, Haven,” Jeremy said.
“This is the last piece of the puzzle, and now we will have a fighting chance,” Matt said. “You’re great.”
Steve gave Haven an uncharacteristic hug. “Thank you.”
“We need to plan,” Matt reiterated.
“Not me,” Steve announced. “I’m catching up with the games on my phone and getting some well-deserved sleep.”
~~~
A couple hours later, Caroline came in from the cockpit, and everyone was asleep except Steve, who was playing a game on his phone. Caroline continued back to the bathroom. On her return to the cockpit, she stopped and sat across the aisle from Steve.
Steve looked up. “Who’s flying the plane?”
“JJ is. How are you doing?”
“I’m fine.”
“Really?” Caroline said. “I’ve heard all the stories. If I were you, I’d be a wreck.”
“Yeah, well, you’re not me. I’m fine.” Steve went back to his game.
Caroline continued to sit across from hi
m.
After a couple of minutes, he looked up at her. “What?”
Caroline reached across the aisle and touched Steve’s arm. “I know you lost your coach in a terrible car accident and now your father. Losing either one could crush someone, but losing both is devastating. I know about the loss of those close to you, and I know you’re hurting inside.”
Tears welled up in Steve’s eyes, and he tried not to look directly at Caroline. “I’m fine. Leave me alone.”
“The four of you have been close friends for years, ever since you were little. This anger you have for Jeremy is tearing the friendship apart.”
“He and I are no longer friends. We’re here together because our fathers forced us to be here.”
“Do you believe in what the Alliance is doing?” Caroline asked.
“In the beginning, I thought it was stupid, but as we went on the treks and our powers became more evident, I’ve changed my mind. We’re on a great quest, and it’s our destiny to confront Torron and do our best to defeat her. Yes, we have a destiny. I can’t deny that.” He wiped at the tears streaming down his face.
“Is the rift between you and Jeremy unrepairable?”
Steve thought for a minute. “I am quite stubborn. I’ve always been stubborn. I guess it’s my nature. I got on a path that drove a wedge between us, and now everything he does irritates me.”
“Can you see yourself getting out of that destructive path?”
“I don’t know. I know the death of my coach years ago started me down a dark path. I blamed everyone, when in reality the only one to blame was the drunk driver that T-boned our car. As far as my dad is concerned, it was the luck of the draw. Like Jesse said, it could have easily been Jeremy’s father we picked up last.”
“You have an opportunity to heal the Alliance, to bring them together tighter than ever before. You can give strength to the Alliance that they’ll need as you face Torron in the last battle. It is your destiny to defeat the queen, and you can bring stability and strength to the Alliance. I believe you can heal the wounds created over the past couple of years. It is your destiny, your choice. I hope you recognize this is the time for healing.”