Ruwach didn’t answer, just handed Manuel the boots, which he put on easily. He walked around, trying them out. Brianna had mentioned boots when they were out at the chasm. But Manuel wasn’t sure what was so special about these boots, although they were quite different from any shoes he’d ever worn.
“Come,” Ruwach commanded and turned swiftly back down the tunnel they had just traveled. Manuel went after him. He wanted to ask about the sword and the other stuff—including the padlocked doors that stood beside each set of armor—but he didn’t dare interrupt. He had a feeling that Ruwach didn’t tell you anything until you really needed to know.
* * *
When they returned to the main room of the Cave, the three boys and Brianna were waiting, dressed much the same as he was. They stood proudly, very pleased with their armor, not at all concerned about its lack of practicality.
“Hey, you look good!” Levi said.
“Thank you,” Manuel said skeptically.
“Better check out the rules,” said Evan, pointing to a large scroll that had just appeared in the air over their heads. Manuel peered up at the scroll, his lips moving slightly as he read. Most of them he already knew now, like making sure he got to the Water as soon as he arrived in Ahoratos. But there were some he didn’t understand.
“Why can’t we—” he began, but Ruwach interrupted, his voice booming through the room.
“You have a mission.”
Manuel jumped, startled—he was the only one who did so. The others seemed pretty used to that voice.
“A rescue mission.”
“A rescue mission?” Evan said. “Didn’t we already rescue Levi?”
“Now you must rescue a prisoner of Skot’os,” Ruwach said.
“Skot’os!” Evan said. “We can’t go over there! We don’t even have swords yet.”
“You have everything you need.”
The kids heard some special emphasis in Ruwach’s tone this time, although none of them could put an exact name to it. Maybe Ruwach wasn’t talking about just the armor anymore.
“Who are we going to rescue?” Levi asked.
“Follow me,” Ruwach said. He led them into a room they had never been before, smaller and darker. No glowing stalactites. No Sparks. The only light came from a single lamp stand, under which stood a wooden table. On the table was a small, plain, wooden box.
“Open it,” Ruwach said, indicating Xavier. Xavier stepped forward and gingerly opened the box, as if expecting something to pop out. When that didn’t happen, he looked inside.
“It’s empty,” he said, disappointed. All the kids craned their necks to see—the box contained nothing but a purple, satin lining, like the inside of a jewelry box.
“What do you see?” Ruwach asked.
Xavier looked harder. “Well—there was something here.” He saw that the purple lining was indented—he began to recognize the shape. It was long and narrow, with a knob on one end and a smaller indentation on the other. It reminded him of something he’d seen in a movie once—something sort of old-fashioned but familiar. “Uh, maybe . . . a key?”
Ruwach’s hooded head nodded slowly. “The key,” he said. “That unlocks the rooms.”
“You mean those padlocked rooms we passed?” asked Manuel. Ruwach nodded again.
“What happened to it?” Evan asked.
“It was stolen,” Ruwach said.
“By Ponéros?” said Levi.
“By a Prince Warrior of Ahoratos.”
The kids were silent, glancing at each other nervously.
“You mean someone—like us?” asked Evan in a small voice.
“We shall call him—Rook. For now.” Ruwach extended his hand—it was the first time the kids—other than Levi—had seen it. His hand looked like it was made of light, with no visible creases or lines like a regular hand. He held it palm up, and a beam of swirling white light shot upward from the palm, making the kids shield their eyes for a moment. Ruwach began to tell a story, and as he did, images appeared in the light beam, portraying the tale he told.
“Rook was a fine Prince Warrior, but he was always curious about Skot’os, always going down to the Bridge of Tears to look over the chasm to the other side. He seemed to feel as though there was something there for him, something he was missing on this side of the bridge.”
Evan leaned over to his brother, holding his hand to his mouth. “That must be the bridge we saw when we got here,” he whispered. Xavier nudged him to be quiet.
The beam from Ruwach’s hand showed a Prince Warrior slowly crossing the Bridge of Tears then stopping in the center, where the stone stairway changed to metal beams. Butterflies fluttered merrily around his head, their red eyes blazing, although the warrior did not seem to notice.
“The Ents told him fantastic stories of the wonders of Skot’os,” Ruwach said. “The Source continually warned him that they were liars and deceivers, but Rook became more and more taken in by their stories.”
“Those insects can talk?” asked Manuel in a soft voice.
“Oh yes, they can,” said Brianna with a sigh.
Another figure appeared in the scene—this once much larger, more human-shaped, but very dark and elongated, like a shadow projected against a wall.
“Then, one day, Ponéros came to meet Rook at the bridge. He promised Rook all the riches of Skot’os, a kingdom of his own, if he would steal the key and deliver it to Ponéros in his fortress.”
More images appeared—a beautiful castle, mounds of gold, a table filled with food.
“How did Ponéros know about the rooms? Or the key?” Xavier asked.
“He had been in the Cave often, before his rebellion. He knew the secret of the rooms. But he didn’t know where the key was hidden.”
“Why did Ponéros want the key?” Levi asked.
“He believed that keeping the contents of these rooms hidden from every Prince Warrior was the key to securing his victory in Ahoratos,” Ruwach replied. “But he dared not risk coming for it himself. He needed an ally, someone willing to betray us. Rook took the offer. He stole the key and brought it to Ponéros.”
The moving picture in the light beam showed Rook, the Prince Warrior, opening the box and pulling out a key. The next image showed Rook handing the key to a shadowy figure.
Evan eyed the string of mysterious, locked doors down the darkened corridors. “So whatever’s in those rooms must be really important. What is it, anyway?” He asked the question casually, as if he thought he could trick Ruwach into telling him. Ruwach remained silent. Evan shrugged as if to say, Well, I tried.
“So is Rook a king there now?” Levi asked.
“Far from it. He is a prisoner, held in the dungeon in the Fortress of Chaós. He realizes the mistake he made and now begs for his release.”
The vision of the beautiful castle returned—but then it changed before the kids’ eyes, the fine stone walls and turrets melting away, leaving only a disordered skeleton of metal beams and girders. The colors of the gardens and the surrounding landscape smeared together in an ugly stew, like when you mix too many paints at once. The whole picture was one of desolation and sorrow.
Then the vision faded completely. Ruwach drew his hand back into his robe. The kids were all silent a long moment, disturbed by the story they had just heard and seen.
“So you want us to go there—to that fortress—and rescue Rook?” Xavier said at length. “But why? He betrayed you. He stole from you. He’s getting the punishment he deserves.”
“You didn’t leave me when I got stuck,” Levi said.
“That’s different—”
“No, it isn’t. Right, Ru?” Levi looked meaningfully at the guide.
Ruwach’s hood nodded slowly. “You wear the shoes of peace. To bring the good news to the prisoners who need to be set free. And every prisoner should have the chance to experi
ence freedom.”
“How can news set a prisoner free?” Evan asked, scrunching his eyebrows. “Don’t we need saws to cut the bars? Or dynamite? And swords to fight the guards?”
“You need only this.” Ruwach produced from his robes a small scroll, sealed with the Crest of Ahoratos. He handed it to Levi. “Guard it carefully until you give it to the one who needs to be set free.”
Levi took the scroll, smirking a little that he was chosen to carry it. He placed it carefully in his pocket.
Ruwach nodded.
“What about our instructions?” said Xavier.
“Ah.” Ruwach raised his long arms toward a dark corner of the room. It lit up, revealing a long, straight passageway, at the end of which was a shining object the kids instantly recognized.
“The Book!” said Brianna.
The Book sped toward them as Ruwach drew it in. This time it was Manuel who ducked for cover, certain it would crash into them. The other kids stifled their laughter, all but Evan, who laughed out loud.
“Did you see him duck?” he said.
“Yeah, I seem to remember you doing the same thing,” Xavier said, flicking him on the back of his head.
Manuel peeked out from under his arms and stared in wide-eyed awe at the golden book flickering before him on the fancy pedestal. “Oh my,” he said. “I’ve never seen a hologram this realistic.”
“That’s because it isn’t a hologram,” said Levi.
Ruwach approached The Book and lifted one robed arm over it—the pages began flipping and then stopped. Words lifted off the page and reassembled in midair above The Book:
Look straight ahead, and fix your
eyes on what lies before you.
The words hovered a moment before Ruwach seemed to pull them out of the air and fling them into each of the orbs on the kids’ breastplates, where they spun around, making the orbs glow. Manuel tapped on his orb, trying to figure out how it worked.
“This is a new projection technology I haven’t seen before,” he said. “I wish I had my notebook—”
Ruwach began flipping pages again. All the kids watched, breathless, as a new set of instructions poured out of the Book, unscrambling in the air before them.
Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go.
Guard them, for they are the key to life.
“Whose instructions?” said Manuel.
“The Source,” said Brianna. “That’s who wrote The Book.”
“But what are the instructions?” asked Xavier, still not understanding. “Like, how do we get to Skot’os, for instance? And how do we get into the fortress?”
“Yeah, and how do we not get caught and turned into Forgers?” said Brianna.
“Your armor will guide you,” said Ruwach placidly, as if unconcerned about their worries.
“I really think we will need more equipment,” Manuel said nervously. “If we are going to go into enemy territory—I mean, there might be guards with swords and spears and perhaps artillery—”
The kids all talked at once, raising every objection they could think of.
“Remember, you wear the shoes of peace,” Ruwach said in his thundering voice, bringing them to silence. “Trust your armor. You have everything you need.”
With that, Ruwach—and the Cave—were gone.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Building Bridges
The five kids found themselves standing once again at the edge of the great chasm with the rushing stream below. The landscape on the other side was still shrouded in dense fog. The red sky was streaked with purple and hung with those bizarre skypods that they had seen before.
“Where’s the bridge?” Levi said. It took them all a moment to realize that the Bridge of Tears—which they had seen plainly when they had first landed—was gone.
“Ruwach didn’t tell us that the bridge was gone!” Evan said.
“Maybe Ponéros knew we would be coming,” said Xavier. “So he took out the only access we had.”
“How could he know?” Brianna asked. “Could he hear us talking in the Cave?”
“Perhaps he—or one of his spies—saw us land here and went to tell Ponéros, and he just got suspicious,” said Manuel, reasoning things out as he always did. “At any rate, the bridge is gone, so until Ruwach builds another one, we will not be going to Skot’os today. Which is a relief, to tell you the truth. I really did not want to venture over there on my first day here.” Manuel pushed up his glasses and smiled crookedly. “We need a new plan.”
“I’m with Manuel,” Evan added. “I say we head to the castle, grab some ice cream, and come up with a new plan.”
Xavier rolled his eyes. “Our instructions were to follow the instructions,” he said. “Which means doing what Ruwach sent us here to do.”
“But how?” said Levi. “Should we climb down there and up the other side? Or jump like we did before?”
Xavier looked down at the water thoughtfully, then shook his head. “The Crest isn’t there. So I don’t think we should jump.”
“If we had some rappelling gear it might be feasible,” said Manuel, “or some materials whereby I could fashion a flying machine—”
“A flying machine?” Levi said, laughing. “Seriously?”
“Well, I almost had one working at home—until my father took it away. Too dangerous, he said.” Manuel shrugged, as if he still didn’t understand the problem.
“I read this book once where the hero threw a rope over a river and it caught on the other side, and then the characters zip-lined over,” Brianna said. “Maybe we could use our belts to do that.”
“That wouldn’t work,” said Evan with a roll of his eyes.
“Actually, it’s not a bad idea,” said Xavier. “It’s worth a try anyway.”
Brianna gave Evan a so-there look, which he did his best to ignore.
“Give me your belts,” Xavier said. They each took off their belts and handed them to Xavier.
“There’s no way it will be long enough to go all the way across,” Manuel said, shaking his head.
“Oh, you haven’t seen these belts in action,” said Brianna with a smile.
Xavier touched the ends of the belts together. They fused into one, long, continuous belt, much to Manuel’s astonishment. But still, he shook his head.
“Still not long enough.”
Xavier gathered the belt up into a loop, like a cowboy does before roping a calf. He took a big breath and threw it across the chasm with all his strength. The belt unfurled, sailing through the air . . . then dropped down over the cliff edge.
Manuel sniffed. “I thought so.”
“Try again,” said Brianna.
Xavier tried again and again. But the belt-rope failed to make it all the way across the chasm, let alone grab onto something on the other side.
“That didn’t work,” said Evan, glancing sideways at Brianna, who avoided his gaze.
“I guess that means we aren’t supposed to use the belts,” said Xavier. He unhitched the belts and returned them to the others, who fastened them around their waists once more.
“Now what?” said Levi. “Maybe we could cut down some of these tall trees and lash them together with the belts and lay them across . . .”
“What are we going to cut down trees with?” said Evan.
While they continued to discuss ideas, Xavier gazed thoughtfully over the edge of the cliff to the stream. The instructions from The Book rolled over and over in his head. The orb in his breastplate seemed to know what he was thinking, for the words beamed out and floated in the air before him: Look straight ahead. Fix your eyes on what is before you.
He looked up, toward the other side of the chasm. He saw something, just a flicker at first, then it grew steadier. A light. Shining through the thick fog on the other side.
You wear the shoes of peace.
Ruwach’s words tumbled in his head. He looked down at his boots. Then he turned to the other kids and exclaimed, “The shoes!”
They stopped talking and looked at him, startled by his outburst. Xavier’s face seemed to shine.
“Remember what Ruwach said just before he disappeared? You wear the shoes of peace. It’s the shoes that will get us across!”
“Really?” said Brianna doubtfully. She looked down at her boots. Although still rather sparkly, they did not seem to be doing anything special at the moment. “Are they going to fly us there?” All the kids examined their boots, hoping to see them sprouting wings.
Xavier set his jaw and moved to the lip of the cliff, where the bridge had once stood. He gazed over the edge—it was a long, long way down.
Fix your eyes. The voice was stronger, louder. Ruwach’s voice? Calling him to look up, to focus. He looked to the light flickering through the fog on the other side of the chasm. The others were silent, watching him. He took a deep breath.
“Xavi! What are you doing?” Evan cried. He went to grab his brother’s arm. But it was too late. Xavier had already lifted one foot in the air, as if he was about to ascend a staircase that wasn’t there.
* * *
Xavier kept his eyes on the light as he stepped up, not wanting to look down at the deep ravine below. The breath he had taken was locked in his chest as his foot descended. But then it stopped. On . . . something. He glanced down quickly. A stone. The step of a stairway that hadn’t been there a moment before. He let the air rush out of his chest in relief.
“Look!” he heard Evan shout behind him. “That step just appeared under his foot!”
Xavier let his lungs fill with air again, nearly laughing with relief and joy when he looked down and saw the stone step hovering under his outstretched foot. He stuck both arms out to steady himself and gain his composure. “Look straight ahead!” he shouted. “See the light? Fix your eyes on what lies before you!”
He took another breath and another step—and another stone appeared under his foot, floating in the air yet perfectly solid. But as soon as he lifted his other foot off the first step, it disappeared. It was as if the steps only became visible when the boot was actually touching it.
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