“No, Maddox! Stop,” I plead, my voice cracking. “Please don’t do this.”
“It’s been an honor accompanying you,” he says. He tugs his wrist once more, and my grip on him is gone.
“No!” I scream.
As the ship flies deep within Germany’s borders, a vast woodland area comes into view, and within it is an enormous network of pathways and walls expanding as far as the eye can see. A magnificent tree inside some kind of mazelike structure stands in the middle, glittering in the early evening sun. With a monocular, I peer into the distance. I can’t see it, but I know Lohr Castle stands dark and foreboding.
“What is that?” Gwen says, joining me at the helm and motioning to the forest.
“I have no idea,” I say. “Whatever it is, we’re sailing over it.”
The zeppelin flies over the wall, and when I glance down I see that we’re passing over a vast maze filled with corridors and pathways leading in every direction. Forests, rivers, and lakes are partitioned off by tall metal and what seem to be living green walls. I steer the ship toward the massive tree that stands in the center of the labyrinth. It sparkles in the sunshine, the light refracting on the shimmering leaves into brilliant colors.
As we come closer to the tree, I look through the monocular again to get a better lay of the land. My blood runs cold when I see cannons shift on the top of the walls that surround the magnificent tree. They aim right for the Jolly Roger. Before I have a chance to react, an explosion bursts from the nearest cannon. Shoving the monocular into Gwen’s hand, I grip the helm, turning it so the ship tilts violently as I change our course, heading south in hopes of flying the ship out of the maze. A cannonball whizzes by, nearly hitting us.
The crew scatters, each taking a post. There are so many missing that not all the stations are filled. I feel sick knowing that their bodies lie in Umberland, left for dead.
Another cannon fires, sending a cannonball straight for the zeppelin. There’s no time to divert the ship; she’s a little too big and a touch too slow to maneuver that fast. The hot metal sphere pierces the balloon, igniting the hydrogen in a ball of flames.
“Abandon ship!” I yell.
Still seeming somewhat dazed by his head injury, Doc rises and stumbles to the emergency chute box. Handing out the parachutes, he shouts instructions, assisting the littlest of what’s left of the survivors as best he can, including Gwen’s siblings, Joanna and Mikey.
The helm shudders beneath my grip, and I struggle to keep control.
Gwen comes to my side, holding out a parachute. “Pete, we have to go.”
“Go with the others,” I say.
“What about you?” she asks, thrusting the parachute toward me.
I bite my lip, knowing she isn’t going to like what I’m about to say. “I have to get the Queen off this ship. She’s too weak to do it on her own, and as captain, it’s my job to make sure we all get out alive.”
Wide-eyed, Gwen shakes her head. “I’m not leaving without you.”
I don’t bother pointing out that she’s already left me. Instead, I say, “And I’m not leaving without the Queen. If she dies, Katt really is in charge. That can’t happen. You told me of your father’s devotion to the Queen. How the day the bombs fell, he left you, telling you he had to protect her. There is honor in that. Your father was a brave man. He stayed with her until he no longer could. I will do the same.”
Tears brim in Gwen’s eyes. I’ve struck a nerve.
“Please, Gwen, go now.”
Suddenly, she kisses me, hungrily. As confused and angry and hurt as I am, I pull her into me. Knowing this might be our very last kiss, I don’t want to let her go. When she finally breaks away, there is a determination in her stare. “You better not die, Pete.”
I have no words, nothing that I can say to convince her. She’s made that clear. All I know is that this is my ship and if it’s going down, I’m getting everyone off alive.
Gwen gives me one last hard stare before turning. Only she and Doc are left on the deck of the ship. Doc struggles to buckle his parachute. Gwen helps him and gives him a hand as he climbs over the railing.
“Don’t forget to pull the cord,” she says, tapping it lightly to show him where it is.
He nods before throwing his weight off the ship. Gwen sits on the ship’s railing, staring at me. Clipping her chute, she watches me, her eyes searching mine, as if this is the last time she’ll see me.
I give her a weak smile before she leans back and falls over the side.
The ship shudders again, and smoke billows from the zeppelin above. The fire spreads wildly. Panic grips me as the nose tilts. If we hit the ground, I’m not all that sure that either the Queen or I will survive. To the east, a murky river flows. I whirl the wheel of the helm, guiding the ship to the water. It’s my only hope to extinguish the blaze. What’s more, it’s the only way either of us will survive.
I squeeze my eyes shut, not wanting to watch Maddox be incinerated. The Jabberwock roars nearby, and I’m sure I’m next to be burned alive. Instead, Maddox lets out a grunt. I open my eyes. Maddox lies on a rotating gear above me in the fetal position, his arms wrapped around his gut.
“Son of a bloody devil, I don’t know whether I want to kiss that hunk of metal or kill it,” he says through a groan. “Stay away from the tail. It’s got a mean sucker punch.”
Elated to see him alive, I struggle to pull myself up as the cog continues to turn. As I round the corner, I realize the adjoining disk is not like the others. Instead of regular teeth like the other gears, it is a blade like that on a circular saw, spinning faster than the other geared platforms. I can hardly breathe.
Shifting my hands to the left, I hope to buy myself time. Maddox crawls toward me and grips my wrists, ready to pull me up, but behind him the Jabberwock flaps its mechanical wings. It pulls back as if taking in a breath.
“Gun! Give me your gun!” I say.
Maddox snatches it from its holster and hands it to me, holding on to one of my wrists. I aim. Maddox ducks just as the bullet whizzes passed his head, striking the Jabberwock in the face. Metal shards scatter, raining down on us. Half of the Jabberwock’s face is gone. It howls, the exposed portion appearing like a titanium skeleton beneath its armor. Taking flight again, the Jabberwock circles above us. Just as the blade draws nearer, Maddox pulls me up, but not in time. The blade slices my thigh as I throw myself over the edge.
Blood trickles down my leg, pooling into my boot. Although it stings, adrenaline presses me on. Handing Maddox his pistol, I grab my sword from where it lays on the gear. Having lost my shield to the pit, I keep an eye on the Jabberwock, not wanting to get into the direct path of its angry flames. Maddox takes my hand, and together we hurdle over the remaining gears until we reach the far side of the room.
“The door!” Maddox says, aiming his pistol at the Jabberwock.
Reaching for the wheel on the door, I spin it as fast as I can until I hear the tumblers click. I wrench the door open.
“Thank heaven’s stars. Let’s get the bloody … ”
Maddox doesn’t finish his sentence. When I turn back around, his eyes grow wide. A metal barb protrudes from his right leg.
“Maddox!” I scream, wielding my sword.
The Jabberwock lifts him up, its horn skewered through his leg, and throws him against the wall. Maddox hits it hard and crumples to the floor. I leap onto the beast’s head and drive my sword into what’s left of its face and neck. It screams, but I don’t stop. I pull the sword out, then plunge it in again and again. Sparks burst from its gears like fireworks, and I keep stabbing until the head is held on by nothing else but a few slender rods. I slam my sword down on them, severing them. The head tumbles into the fire pit and the Jabberwock’s body goes limp, crashing to the ground. Steam rises from its broken pieces as it lies in a puddle of oil.
“Maddox!” I shout, leaping from the machine. He screams in agony. Blood rushes from his wounds, pooling beneath his body. I
rip the sleeve from my tunic and make a tourniquet around his leg wound. When I tie the knot on the crudely made bandage, he winces, although I can tell he’s trying to not to let his pain show.
“Go get the apple. I’ll be all right,” he says, trying to quell my worry. “It’s just a scratch. Go.”
His wound is hardly superficial, and I know he needs medical care immediately. But ultimately that apple is the only thing that will rescue him … will rescue any of us.
Placing a hand on his cheek, I lean in and press my lips against his. Afraid that once I take my eyes off him, he’ll be gone forever, I memorize every detail of his handsome face, from his gold eyes to his full pink lips, the warm tones of his skin, and the dark scruff of his closely shaved beard and mustache. It’s hard to breathe and I’m dizzy with fear.
“I’ll come back for you. I promise. Hold on, Maddox.”
He gives me a weak smile and nods. I race to the door and swing it open wide.
Beyond the Jabberwock’s lair, I stagger into an exquisite garden filled with brightly blooming flowers. Flowers that are all too familiar. Blossoms I last saw within the Poison Garden. In the center, the largest tree I’ve ever seen reaches toward the sky; its leaves glitter with an iridescent sheen. The base of its trunk is easily as wide as an elephant. Ripe apples cover the tree, but they are no ordinary fruit. They sparkle with a brilliant glow, as if containing a life force of their own. Searching for a path to get to the forbidden fruit, I circle the foliage. Overgrown and uncared for, the bushes, trees, and vines spread wildly, intertwining with one another so it’s indiscernible where each plant ends and where the other ones start. There is only one way to the tree—through.
Wielding my sword, I hack away at the vines closest to me, careful not to touch any part of the plant. I slip through the small opening I’ve carved out. Afraid to breathe, to risk the rise and fall of my chest in the narrow path I’ve created, I hold my breath. It’s just as well. Pungent smells rise from the broken stems, and I have no idea if the fumes are poisonous or not. I pray they aren’t.
It is difficult to keep slicing my way through, but I manage as best I can. When I’m nearly through, I bring my sword down on a writhing vine. Sap splatters over me, burning holes in my clothes and searing my exposed flesh. I scream, trying to wipe the liquid off my body, but to no avail. It eats through the fabric of my gloves, seeping into the sores on my hands and fingers. I grit my teeth, fighting back the urge to scream again. My knees feel weak, but I know I can’t sit down. Beneath my boots are the clippings of the plants I’ve hacked through.
Gripping my sword tightly, I continue to chop through the vines, using the excruciating pain to press me onward. Not soon enough, I stumble out of the dense foliage and onto a thick grassy patch that sits below the tree. The grass looks like ordinary grass, and I collapse on the ground, rolling around, hoping to brush some of the searing sap off me. Finally, I lie back and stare up at the tree, admiring the rainbow sheen on the leaves. Exhaustion threatens to steal me away from my mission. I’ve come so far from home, battled this insane deathtrap created by the Bloodred Queen, only to have the apple within reach, but I can hardly muster the strength to sit up. From the corner of my eye, I notice a fallen apple glowing nearby. I reach for the fruit and cradle it to my chest, a prize I’ve fought so hard for. It’s real; it’s actually real. Hope bursts in my chest. No one else has to die. I have to keep moving. Sitting up, I gather as many apples as I can carry, ripping off the bottom of my tunic to carry them in. An explosion rings through the air. Atop the massive wall that surrounds the garden, cannons fire at something in the distance. Sprinting, I follow its aim.
Horror digs its sharp claws into me as I watch a ship I’d recognize anywhere, the Jolly Roger, nose-diving into the Labyrinth. Flames consume the zeppelin as dozens of people parachute out. I can’t see where they land, so it’s hard to say if they’re okay or not. I have no idea why the ship is here, but whatever the reason, it can’t be good. As tempted as I am to race to the survivors, I won’t leave Maddox alone.
I rush back toward the Jabberwock’s lair, and suddenly smell what I think is a campfire: burnt wood and leaves. Smoke hangs thick in the air. Waving it from my face, I cough. As I run back around the bend, I discover the source of the smoke. The Colonel stands at the base of the pwazon pòm tree. That strange glass-and-copper tank is strapped to his back, the liquid inside bubbling furiously. He aims metal gauntlets toward the giant tree, and then I realize that fire is spewing out of the palms of his hands.
“Stop!” I shout. “What are you doing?”
The Colonel peers over his shoulder, wearing a welder’s mask. “Destroying the last pwazon pòm tree on earth!” he shouts, his words muffled.
“But why?” I say, still shocked and unsure what to do.
“This tree has brought nothing but death and destruction. It’s taken everything. Everything from me! My Queen, my country … ” He shuts the flames off with a click of his thumb and raises the mask. Anger burns hot in his eyes. “My wife and children.”
He turns back to the tree, which is now a wild blaze. Embers and ash rain down on us. “It’s time to rid this world of its evil forever!”
Afraid of what he’ll do with the apples I retrieved, I clutch my makeshift satchel behind me.
“Alyssa?” Maddox says.
Turning, I find him standing at the entrance of the Jabberwock’s lair, holding himself up. I dart over to him and hand him my sword to use as a crutch. Slipping his arm over my shoulders, I pass him the apples and hold him by the waist.
The Colonel, meanwhile, has fallen to his knees, his eyes turned up to the blaze that was once a beautiful tree. All that remains of its radiance is blackened boughs and trunk.
“We have to go. That tree is liable to fall any moment,” I say to the Colonel. By now both Maddox and I are coughing. Fumbling together, Maddox and I start moving away from the fire, trying to find the exit Chip and Chirp mentioned.
The Colonel pays no attention to me.
“You knew long ago about the dangers of this tree. That in the wrong hands the world could be destroyed, and no one listened. No one believed you, but I did. I’ve always believed in you,” he says tearfully. “This is for you and the children, my darling Marie. Gwen, Joanna, Mikey, I love you. May the four of you rest in peace.”
I still. The names are all too familiar. I can hardly believe it myself, but, trembling, I ask him the question that I can’t hold back.
“Was your wife Professor Marie Darling?” I hold my breath.
Finally, he turns to me, his eyes wide. “You know her?”
“Yes! She’s been in Alnwick since Everland was destroyed,” I say.
The Colonel throws his hands up and exclaims, “My Marie! She’s alive!” He beams, his smile so wide that I realize my next sentence is going to steal this moment of joy from him.
Shaking my head, I bite down hard, not willing to tell him the truth. His smile slips when he sees my expression.
“I’m sorry. I … ” Words catch in my throat, and none of them seem to be the right ones.
He nods, and at first I’m surprised by how calmly he’s taking the news until he screams, his face contorting into unbridled rage. The Colonel rips his heavy gloves from his hand, tears the tank off his back, and launches it at the tree. It explodes, fueling the flames even more.
A roll of heat washes over us. It’s time to go. “Your children are alive.”
The Colonel gasps and wipes away fresh tears. “Where, where are they? Also in Alnwick?”
Nodding, I say nothing more. He doesn’t need to know how sick Joanna and Mikey are. Gwen, too. Not right now. We just need to leave.
Another explosion draws our attention. We both turn our eyes to the sky, watching an odd machine equipped with propellers lift into the sky. A single occupant sits at the controls, and my blood turns to ice. The dark-haired boy with the eye patch is all too familiar. Although I’ve never met him in person, he meets the e
xact description of the treacherous Captain Hook of the Bloodred Queen’s army of Marauders.
“Hook’s got an apple,” I say, breathless. And another thought crosses my mind: The Bloodred Queen most likely needed the apple just as badly as we did. This is not good.
“We have to stop him! That’s our only way out of here!” the Colonel yells, racing after the machine and disappearing beyond wild brush.
“We’d better follow him,” Maddox says, wincing.
“I don’t know if he realizes it’s the enemy in that ship,” I say, wrapping an arm around him as he limps forward. “You’re in no shape to fight Hook. Let the Colonel take care of it. Besides, the Jolly Roger just went down not far from here, which means a crew from Alnwick is here. We should see if they need help.”
“Good idea,” Maddox says. “Maybe if the damage isn’t that bad, we can get that ship back into the air, and back to Alnwick.”
I don’t have the heart to tell him that from what I could tell, the ship is beyond repair. Instead we travel east, listening for any signs of life.
Aiming east, I head for the rushing river that runs near the massive tree. Flames engulf the zeppelin, causing the ship to descend faster than I’d hoped. Knowing that the landing is going to be rocky and I’ll have only moments to save the Queen, I sprint toward the captain’s quarters.
She sleeps peacefully. I wonder if she’s aware of the tragedy that has struck her kingdom. If she dreams of the horrible events of the last year. From outside the window, the river draws closer. It’ll be a matter of seconds before the ship will be submerged. Racing to the Queen’s side, I wrap my arms around her, bracing myself for the crash.
When the ship hits, it sounds like an explosion. The Queen and I are tossed from the bed, thrown apart as we crash to the floor. As I regain my footing, water roars in from every crack and crevice of the broken ship. Before I can reach the Queen again, the water is up to my neck. I search the cabin, but she is nowhere to be seen.
Umberland Page 20
