His fedora inched out of the pack and crawled several feet across the sand. He took a couple of steps toward it as it edged further away. He reached down, but suddenly it skidded away and out of his grasp. "Hey! Come back here."
Indy chased after the hat, snatched it up, and a foot-long rodent ran off. He examined the inside of the hat, brushed it off, and placed it firmly on his head. He walked back to the pack and recovered what he could of the food.
"Rats."
Indy heard a splashing sound, and glimpsed the dugout gliding through the water. He couldn't see who was inside of it. He ducked down in the mangroves as the dugout eased up to the beach. Another giant? But then why was he still alive?
"Indy?"
"Salandra!" He stepped out of the mangroves as she and Vicard climbed out of the dugout and waded to shore. "You're alive!"
"Of course we are," she said. "We arrived yesterday while you were sleeping."
"Yesterday?"
"You slept at least fourteen hours," Vicard said.
"Why didn't you wake me?"
"You needed the sleep after those three days in Swampland," Vicard said. "We slept, too. We took turns, of course."
Three days. It seemed impossible. He momentarily wondered if the time expansion he experienced here was related to the place, or something that Salandra and Vicard somehow effected. But he had more immediate questions on his mind. "How did you two get away from that giant so easily, and how did you find me here?"
"You already know the answers to those questions, Indy," Vicard said. "Now we must leave right away. There's no time to waste."
"I don't think I do know the answers. And where are we going?"
"Think about your dream. It's all there."
"What dream?" But the moment he asked, a flash of a dream came back to him. He was soaring over a desert, and then there was something about a castle and strange men on horses and women with one side of their faces painted black. Something important was going on, but he couldn't recall what it was.
Salandra peered curiously at him. "Do you remember now?"
He shrugged. "Sort of."
"It'll come back," she assured him.
They saved what they could of their supplies, and Vicard slung the pack with the remains of their food over his shoulder. "Ready, Indy?" he asked. "Hat, whip, jacket. You look ready." He laughed and slapped Indy on the middle of his back.
For a moment, Indy was annoyed by how hard Vicard had struck him. Then suddenly his dream came back to him with clarity and detail. "We can't go to Wayua," he said firmly. "Maleiwa isn't there anymore. He left." He glanced over at Salandra. "You were there. I mean in my dream."
Salandra and Vicard were silent, and he felt more and more confused as he related what he remembered, and tried to make sense of it. "But I guess it was just a dream, so it doesn't really matter." His voice trailed off.
"Of course it matters, Indy," Salandra said. "I'm pleased that you've remembered so much. We have to get to the Unicorn's Gate before he does. That's where we're headed."
She acted as if the entire thing had been real. He laughed nervously. "Then why don't we just fly there and save our feet?"
"You are very limited in what you can do when you and I are together in the bird-form. You have to get the alicorn away from Maleiwa on your own. As much as you would like, you cannot simply dream away your problems."
Look who's talking, he thought. "Why's it called the Unicorn's Gate?"
"Because at one time unicorns passed freely between worlds," Salandra said. "But their horns became so prized in your world that they retreated to the interior and guarded their gate. It became part of their survival instinct."
"A nice myth," Indy said as they set out.
"A true one, too," Vicard added.
They walked away from the beach and into a pleasant moorland. But when Indy stared toward the horizon, he felt disoriented. He quickly turned his gaze to the field in front of him, and away from the rolling, purple hills that rose in the distance and curved into the sky. If he stared too long at the horizon, he'd probably fall over.
"Are we in Wayua territory yet?" Indy asked a while later.
"We've been in it ever since we entered Swampland," Vicard said.
"I'm surprised anyone would claim that horrible place as their own," Indy commented.
"The Wayua put it to use," Salandra said.
"It's the place where the worst criminals are sent," the bearded king added. "We encountered one of them."
"The giant?"
"That's right."
"Many people in Wayua are as large as that man," Salandra commented. "His size is not unusual, but his crimes probably were."
"So the swamp is like a prison," Indy said.
"There's only one worse penalty."
"Death?" Indy asked.
"The swamp is death. But an even worse fate is to be sent through a gate and deprived of nalca," Vicard said.
A one-way ticket to the land of the lost, the maze, Indy thought, recalling what Salandra had told him. He wondered if it was true, but his thoughts turned back to the giant. He asked Vicard why the brute had spared him.
"He was planning to save me," the king answered. "He liked fresh meat, and he was full from feasting on one of the guards."
"A cannibal," Indy said in disgust. "I guess we're lucky we didn't run into more of them."
"They don't survive long in the swamp," Vicard explained. "There is precious little to eat, except each other, but the prisoners are usually quickly disposed of by the beasts."
"It's a harsh penalty."
"And usually a fitting punishment, for most of them." After a moment, Vicard added: "I only wish Maleiwa would end up there himself."
"No. He deserves the maze, and he'll get it." Salandra's voice was hard, unforgiving. "He's already responsible for hundreds of deaths, and if he is allowed to continue, the dead will be stacked high in both worlds."
The last two words—both worlds—rang in Indy's head. In spite of all he'd seen and experienced, he couldn't say for certain that he was actually inside the earth. It clearly seemed that he was, yet...
"You still don't believe what you see, do you?" Salandra said. "After all your experiences."
Indy laughed self-consciously, wondering how she'd guessed at his thoughts. "It defies everything that I know about what is real," he said as they plodded along. "But right now I'm just glad the ground underneath my feet is solid, and I'll be glad when we're closer to the hills, so I don't have to see the distant ones climbing sideways up the sky. I'm not looking any further than that."
23
The Unicorn's Gate
By the time they had crossed the moorlands and entered the hills, a thick fog hugged the ground. It didn't matter whether they were walking through a valley or over a crest. The fog never rose higher than Indy's waist, and the way it folded over the hills made it seem as if they were walking through a bed of clouds.
The reality of the situation was another matter. They stumbled from time to time as they stepped on invisible rocks, and Indy was constantly wary of walking off an unseen cliff. The best thing that could be said about the fog, as far as Indy was concerned, was that their view of the horizon from the hilltops resembled a cloudy day, rather than the crazy, concave distortion that would never be either welcome or familiar to him.
The fog gave the landscape a dreamy appearance. Indy could easily imagine the unicorns he'd seen in his dream galloping through it.
"How much longer before we reach the gate?" he asked after they'd mounted the fourth or fifth hill.
"It's not that kind of gate," Salandra said. "It's very difficult to locate, because it drifts."
Swell. Indy knew about revolving doors, but drifting gates guarded by unicorns were something else altogether. "Then how are we going to find it?"
"We'll leave that to Maleiwa. He can find the gate with the alicorn. That's been his plan all along."
"Where does it lead?"
&
nbsp; "No one knows for certain. It's shifted over the years with changes in your world and ours. It could lead right to Germany, as I'm sure Maleiwa hopes, or to Trafalgar Square, but it could also drop you in the Arctic."
"What?"
"Sorry."
"I should've brought a scarf."
So they didn't know where to find the gate, or where it would take them. They were in real good shape, Indy thought. "But why would Maleiwa take a chance on ending up in some impossible place? I don't get it."
"His arrogance is getting the better of him," Vicard said. "He thinks that, with the help of the alicorn, he can actually manipulate where the gate will open."
"Can he?" Indy asked.
Vicard shrugged. "I don't know."
"Swell. What else don't you know?"
"Where to find Maleiwa," Vicard said.
"You're kidding, aren't you?" Indy could tell that he wasn't.
They stopped as they reached another hilltop. Wisps of fog threaded around Vicard's waist; with his red beard and robust appearance, he looked like a mythical god rising from the sea. "It's up to you, Indy. Tell us which way to go."
"How would I know? I thought you two knew where we were going."
Vicard tapped a finger to his chin as he considered Indy's comment. "Only to a point, and we've reached it. I'm actually not very good at directions."
Indy glared at Vicard. At the moment, he didn't look so much like a mythical god as a bumbling old man.
"Concentrate on the alicorn," Salandra said. "It was once in your possession. You should be able to sense its location."
Indy wasn't at all sure' of that. Nevertheless, he looked out toward the next hill, which resembled a soft, fluffy cloud. He turned left, then right. He shrugged. "I guess I don't sense alicorns very well."
"Come, Indy," Salandra urged. "You've got to try harder. Sit down."
"Here, in this soup?" Indy reached down and felt grass, then sank into the fog.
Salandra was to his right, Vicard to his left. "Look into the fog," she said. "Picture Maleiwa carrying the alicorn. Where is he now?"
Indy stared intently ahead. At first, nothing happened. No matter how hard he tried to imagine Maleiwa carrying the alicorn, he couldn't see him. Even the images from his dream had nearly faded. He could only vaguely imagine Maleiwa parading across a courtyard.
"You're trying too hard," Salandra whispered. "Relax."
How could he relax when he was being asked to do the impossible? Forget it, Indy thought.
The moment he stopped trying to see Maleiwa, the fog seemed to grow more dense. It seeped right through him, and then he saw Maleiwa riding a horse up a hill. He was wearing long pants and a jacket, dressed like a man of the exterior world. Three other men were with him, and fog covered all of them to the haunches of the horses. But protruding from the fog was the silver crest of the alicorn.
Indy stared intently at the silver, double-headed eagle. Of course. The eagle was Indy's guardian bird, it had been for years, and it had guided him through hard times on several occasions. It could work for him now, if he called upon it.
"Which way?" he asked. He didn't know whether he'd spoken the words under his breath or aloud. He didn't care. He stood up, and for a moment glimpsed a majestic bald eagle soaring over the hill to his right. He pointed toward the bird, but it was gone.
"That way?" Salandra asked.
"Yeah. That way," Indy answered, not bothering to say anything about the eagle. It was his bird, and there was no reason to say any more.
Neither Vicard nor Salandra questioned Indy's choice. The three of them moved off through the low fog, descending the hill and ascending the next one. Indy had not even considered what they would do when they found the Wayua leader. He'd face that matter when the time came. They paused at the top of the hill, saw no sign of Maleiwa or his men, then moved on, proceeding in the same general direction.
Maybe he was mistaken about the direction. What if there was no significance to the eagle he'd seen? For all Indy knew, they were heading the wrong way. Maybe they'd never find Maleiwa. But on the next rise, he forgot all about his concern. It was just as he'd seen it: Maleiwa and three of his men were approaching a hill on horseback, except now Maleiwa was gripping the alicorn by the shaft just below the crest, and holding it out in front of him.
Indy's eyes focused on the silver eagle heads; he was mesmerized by the sight. Then Vicard dropped to one knee and pulled Indy and Salandra down into the fog with him. They watched in silence as Maleiwa dismounted, and climbed the hill on his own while his men waited.
Indy crept forward, staying below the fog. Vicard and Salandra followed. Every so often Indy poked his head through the fog. Finally, he stopped a hundred feet short of the guards, and watched. Maleiwa held the alicorn by the crest with both hands, and slowly turned in a circle. He looked as if he were witching for water, but Indy knew better.
Indy ducked down, and crept ahead. He felt his way carefully, making sure not to loosen a stone or make any noises. He knew the guards were close by.
"Indy!" Salandra called out from behind him.
Great. Let's have a conversation. He raised his head and saw that the fog was dissipating, and the guards had spotted them.
"Run!" Vicard shouted.
But it was too late. The guards rushed toward them, crossbows drawn. They were surrounded. Trapped. Indy slowly raised his hands, and glanced toward the top of the hill. The only fog that remained formed a tunnel a few feet in front of Maleiwa and it led straight out from the hillside. Maleiwa had paused a step from the entrance. He turned to them, and grinned. "Too bad, Vicard. Your daughter and her counterpart are too late. Shoot them with death darts."
Indy belatedly reached for his whip. As the guards fired, Vicard dived in front of Indy. Three darts struck him in the chest and shoulder. Salandra screamed, and clutched her father. The guards raised their weapons to fire again.
But at that moment, one of the guards shouted and pointed toward the base of the hill. A herd of horses was charging toward them. No, unicorns!
The same ones from his dream, Indy thought in amazement. They charged up the hill, their heads down. The guards fired wildly, then scattered as the unicorns rushed at them. But the beasts were too fast. One of the guards tripped and he was instantly trampled. Another one held up his hands as if to appease the unicorns. A moment later, he was impaled and tossed through the air. The third guard disappeared over the hill, but his screams a moment later told of his fate.
"The gate!" Salandra shouted. "Go, Indy! Go!"
Maleiwa was gone, and the tunnel of fog was fading. Indy started for it, then turned back to Salandra, who held her father's head in her lap. "Are you coming?"
She laid her father gently down, and stood up. "I can't, Indy. I have to help Father."
"You mean he's alive?"
"I can bring him back. There's still time. Now go!"
He hugged her, and she whispered something in his ear.
"I'll remember that," Indy said. He hesitated a moment longer, then saw a majestic white unicorn rushing his way. It lowered its head, and at first Indy thought it was attacking him. Then he recognized it as the leader, the one that had pierced his heart in the dream.
As Indy dashed toward the gate, the unicorn moved alongside of him, and he grabbed its mane and leaped onto its back. The beast charged up the hill, but now Indy could see only a trace of the tunnel. He was sure that the unicorn was going to charge right through it, but suddenly it stopped, and Indy was catapulted through the air.
He tumbled head over heels and raised his arms over his head, expecting to strike the hillside. But he kept going... and going. He soared through the fog, which was not only visible, but was swirling around him. Then he was enveloped in a bright cloud, and he squeezed his eyes shut. He had no sense of speed or direction; he didn't know whether he was falling or climbing. Then he struck something solid.
Slowly, he raised his head. He lay on a dome-shaped, metallic su
rface that was tinged with green. Maybe copper. The surface was uneven, but he managed to stand up. At first, all he could see was pale blue sky, and below it a darker blue mixed with spots of churning white. Whitecaps. An ocean. He was perched about a hundred yards above it on a tiny copper island. But what was it? Where was he?
He noticed long spikes protruding from the edges. He turned and saw several things at once. He glimpsed a huge torch held by a massive hand, and he saw a skyline of tall buildings. New York! He was standing on the crown of the Statue of Liberty.
But before he could comprehend any of it, he spotted Maleiwa near the edge of the head. He was peering over the side, and he held the alicorn in his right hand. Indy loosened his whip and crept toward him. Maleiwa moved a few feet to one side and continued looking over the side. He was probably searching for a way down. Indy didn't know what they were doing on top of the Statue of Liberty, but it was a fitting spot to end the threat from Maleiwa once and for all.
Catch him off guard. Snag the alicorn with his whip and jerk it out of Maleiwa's grasp. That was his plan. Simple. Nothing to it. Beyond that, everything was up in the air, so to speak. Indy didn't know how long Maleiwa could last without the alicorn or nalca. But he'd find out. He calculated the distance to the alicorn, and pulled his arm back. What if he missed? His momentary hesitation cost him. Maleiwa spun around, gripped the alicorn in both hands, and held it over his head like a samurai warrior.
Face to face with Maleiwa for the first time, Indy realized the bald man was nearly as large as the giant from the swamp. He stood at least seven feet tall, and probably weighed nearly three hundred pounds. Indy was no match for him. Maleiwa would toss him over the side without a second thought. Indy hulled the whip, but Maleiwa instantly swung the alicorn downward in a circular path to his right, and the whip tumbled harmlessly over Maleiwa's left shoulder.
Indiana Jones and the Interior World Page 19
