The Yanti

by Christopher Pike

  CHAPTER

  18

  The relocation of the elemental army to Uleestar did not go easily. In fact, it soon became apparent to Ra—and Geea and Drash for that matter—that the bulk of the army could not be gathered onto the fairy island—at least not in a day’s time. For that matter, it was going to be difficult to simply transport the elementals to Karolee—the wooded lands surrounding the fairy capital.

  The obstacles were enormous. First there was the sheer size of the army. Flying around on Drash’s back, trying to organize the situation, Ra and Geea could see millions of elves, fairies, dwarves, and trolls. There just as well could have been hundreds of millions. Geea admitted a portion of the army was still backed up against the Morray Mountains—in the far east.

  Yet, studying Geea, Ra began to get the impression that the fairy queen was not determined to get everyone to Uleestar. He began to see she merely wanted to create a focal point where the Shaktra’s wrath would fall. A place where Doren would attack with what strength was left her.

  But Geea warned that—even with the dragons on their side—her sister’s power was great. Over the years, Doren had marked millions of elementals. They were mindless thralls, that would quickly spring into fierce warriors at an instant’s notice. Even worse were the elementals that had been attacked by scabs, had their brains eaten, and were now the walking monsters known as scaliis. Both the marked thralls and the hideous scaliis had backed off Vak’s army since his surrender, and since the dragons had been shepherding the army toward Mt. Tutor.

  Now all that had changed. The Shaktra knew it had been tricked.

  “Doren must be furious at the dragons’ shift to our side,” Ra said as they flew toward the fleet of ships anchored in a bay on the coast of the green sea. To save time, the dragons were ferrying as many elementals to the boats as possible, rather than all the way to Uleestar, which was much farther north. But Geea said she might change their transportation technique if the Shaktra attacked soon.

  To Ra’s surprise, Geea shook her head.

  “Doren probably anticipated this,” Geea said. “She’s clever—she knew there was a chance she’d lose the dragons. They’re hot-tempered—no pun intended. They’re hard to control period. Remember, Doren’s immediate goal is to invade the Earth. That would be easier with more elementals on her side. She will definitely hit Uleestar hard, try to kill the heads of the different armies—myself, Vak, Drash, Balar. She’ll figure that if all us leaders fall, then the elementals will turn back to her as their leader.”

  “Will they?” Ra asked.

  “Probably.”

  “But they hate the Shaktra!” Ra protested.

  “It doesn’t matter as much as you’d think. Doren will have the power. Enough elementals dislike humanity anyway. It’s an old prejudice. If Vak, Balar, Drash, and myself are gone, the majority will feel compelled to follow her. At the same time, if the fight goes against Doren, she can still unleash millions of scabs and scaliis on the Earth. That’ll cause global panic.”

  “Will her creatures enter the Earth using different mountains?” Ra asked, remembering how Kilimanjaro and Pete’s Peak were linked.

  “Yes.”

  “Then why don’t we concentrate on securing Tutor?”

  “It’s too late. The interior of the mountain is filled with scaliis and scabs.”

  “How do you know?”

  “When I rested on the high kloudar, I was able to leave my body and study what was going on throughout the land. Doren has planned well for this day. There are layers and layers to her plans.”

  Ra was worried. “I hope you’ve made some plans of your own.”

  She smiled. “But of course.” She added, “At least we have Nira now, awake and holding the Yanti.”

  “She’s just a child!”

  “I admit she’s a wild card. I’ve no idea what she has planned, I just know she’ll do the unexpected.”

  “How come she’s so powerful?”

  “She’s a goddess. She’s of the violet ray.”

  “She’s your younger sister?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why wasn’t she made queen of the fairies?”

  “The position was offered her but she turned it down. She was not here long, in this world, before she desired to rest in the kloudar and be born on Earth.”

  “She purposely chose Sheri Smith to be her mother?”

  “Ironic, isn’t it?”

  Ra shook his head. “You have to know, on the Isle of Greesh, I did nothing but stand outside the forbidden door. I don’t understand this Entity you and Ali spoke of.”

  “Nor do I, really.”

  Ra was surprised to hear that. “You couldn’t examine their chamber while out of the body?” he asked.

  “I couldn’t get near it. It was totally blocked off.” Geea added, “Until Ali went inside. Then I could see.”

  “But what if they jump into this war on Doren’s side?”

  “They can’t. They’re constrained to use agents they’ve already corrupted to their cause.”

  “The marked thralls and the scaliis were never brought over to their side. They just had their lives stolen from them.”

  “Because Doren acted as their agent and created the monsters.”

  “Where do you think your sister is now?”

  Geea pointed to Tutor. “She’s in there, busy unleashing her plans.”

  “Can you see what they are?”

  Geea hesitated. “I have my guesses.”

  Ra studied the dragons that flew alongside, ferrying the elementals to the boats. “The dragons joined us so quickly. I fear they could turn on us just as quick.”

  Geea nodded. “They’ll all be craving their dust soon. But I’ve taken steps to secure Denzy. They can go there for brief treatments.”

  Ra had to laugh. “They don’t want treatments! They want parties!”

  Geea nodded. “Sad but true.”

  “May I ask a blunt question?”

  “Why, Ra, darling, all your questions are blunt! Just as Jira’s were!”

  Ra felt embarrassed being called “darling” by the queen of the fairies.

  “Your goal is to lure Doren to Uleestar so you can fight her, right? One-on-one? You’re going to try to kill her, aren’t you?”

  Geea nodded. “Ali’s going to try to do the same on Earth.”

  At the same time Ali was in Washington, D.C. with General Kabrosh—and Ra and Geea were in the green world preparing to do battle with the Shaktra—Cindy was exiting a cave high on the slopes of Pete’s Peak.

  With Cindy was a host of unusual characters: Ali’s father; Nira; Mike Havor; and the blind man’s personal guide, a teenage boy named Terry. While Mike couldn’t use his eyes, Terry was mute. He did not speak, simply held out his bent elbow so Mr. Havor could hold onto it.

  There was something about Terry that gave Cindy the willies, but Mr. Havor was always so kind and gentle, she felt she did not have the right to question his guide. Plus Nira did not seem to mind the guy. Indeed, Nira had welcomed both of them on their adventure.

  It had all started when Ali had removed the mark from Nira’s forehead, then flown away to only God knew where. Immediately, in a kind and yet powerful voice, Nira had told them they had to leave the hotel. She had pointed to Hector first.

  “You have to return home and wait for Ali to come get you.”

  “How do you know she’ll come for me?” Hector asked.

  “She will.” Next Nira pointed to Mr. Warner. “What do you want?”

  He stared at the child. “I think you know what I want.”

  Nira nodded. “You want to see Amma.”

  “That’s the name you use for my wife, right?”

  “Yes. The soul is the same, the body is not.”

  “Can you take me to her? Ali said it wasn’t possible. But . . .” He didn’t finish.

  “We shall see.” Finally, Nira turned to Cindy. “You miss Steve.”

  It was not a q
uestion, just a statement of fact. Cindy nodded.

  “His body is at my house. He should be returned to his parents,” Nira said.

  Cindy shook her head. “Ali checked out that place from top to bottom. She said he was not there.”

  “He has always been there,” Nira replied confidently.

  They drove back to Toule, dropped Hector off to await Ali’s call, and went over to Sheri Smith’s mansion. Cindy felt ill entering the place, but Nira held her hand and that helped. At first there was no sight of Steve, or the trapdoor that led to the caves where the witch had held her and Steve hostage.

  Then Nira showed her power, or at least, her secret knowledge. All around the house were computer monitors that gave off a dull purple light. They had no keyboards in front, nor did they appear attached to any visible computers. But each had a black cable that ran from the rear of the monitors and into a wall.

  Moving fast, Nira tore the cables from the walls.

  The monitors went blank. Suddenly Steve’s body became visible, exactly where they had laid him on the living room sofa. The trapdoor also reappeared. At that point Cindy and Mr. Warner almost fainted. Nira took it all in stride. She told them to call the Toule police and have them pick up the body.

  Before the police arrived, Mike Havor and Terry came to the door.

  Cindy had heard nothing but good things about the blind man from Ali. That made her comfortable with him—even though he worked for Sheri Smith. But his assistant, Terry, was a walking zombie. He wore a smelly hooded sweatshirt, torn blue jeans, and kept his head lowered—hiding his blond hair and blue eyes as much as possible. Like Mr. Havor, he was pale. In his defense, he was skilled at keeping Mr. Havor from bumping into stuff.

  Quickly, Mr. Havor got to the point of his visit.

  “My initial reason in coming here was to confront my boss about what she’s been up to. But since she’s not here, let me explain what I told Ali—plus a few things that I’ve just discovered. I’m blind, after all, there’s a limit to what I can do to stop this madness. But I’m hoping, if you can listen to me with an open mind, you’ll understand the danger we’re all in, and help take up my cause.”

  “Our minds have been pretty blown open in the last two days,” Mr. Warner said. “Please, tell us whatever is on your mind. And by the way, my name is Jason Warner.”

  “You are Ali’s father?” Mr. Havor asked, interested.

  “Yes.”

  Mr. Havor took a seat before beginning. “My employer, Ms. Sheri Smith, has purchased a nuclear bomb from a general in the Pentagon. I’ve shared this information with Ali, but so far, today, I’ve not heard back from her. But by hacking into Ms. Smith’s computer files, I’ve discovered that she’s having the bomb deposited on a spot high on the east side of Pete’s Peak. I’m in a quandary with what to do with this information. I tried bringing it to the attention of the local police but they treat me like I’m a lunatic. Then I called the FBI and Homeland Security. They acted like they checked on the matter, and then called me back and reassured me no nuclear bombs were missing. The way they said it—each agency—it was as if they were trying to muffle a chuckle.” He added, “For some strange reason that I don’t understand, Ali seems to be the only one who has a clue what’s going on here.”

  “My daughter is a pretty special girl,” Mr. Warner said.

  Mr. Havor nodded. “I knew that the moment I met her. I felt it, somehow. But I just wish she would answer her phone.”

  “Let’s try calling her on Hector’s cell right now,” Cindy said. “She’ll want to know what you just told us.”

  Unfortunately, when they tried, Ali’s phone just rang and rang.

  “I wonder why she’s not answering,” Ali’s father said, worried.

  “Maybe she’s gone, you know, to another place,” Cindy stammered.

  “She is not in the green world at this time,” Nira said confidently.

  Hearing the child’s voice, Mike Havor did a double take.

  “Who is that?” he demanded.

  Nira did not respond. Cindy replied for her. “It’s Nira. She can talk now.”

  Mike Havor shook his head. “Is this some kind of prank? Nira is autistic.”

  “You’re hearing her voice,” Mr. Warner said. “It’s no prank.”

  “But . . . it’s impossible!” Mr. Havor exclaimed. “At best, she can mumble.”

  “Listen to her again. You’ll hear it’s the same voice, just clearer.” Cindy added, “Nira, say hello to Mr. Havor.”

  “Hello, Mr. Havor. You know me, I know you,” Nira said.

  Mr. Havor appeared unconvinced—who wouldn’t be? He had Cindy’s sympathy. It was hard—with no eyes—for him to argue his case. He asked if he could feel her face. Nira was happy to oblige. Studying her features with his fingertips reassured him a bit, but he was far from a believer. Yet he let it go, for now. He was clearly more worried about nuclear holocaust.

  “I hope you people don’t think I’m joking about this bomb,” he said, removing some papers from his coat pocket. “I printed out much of the information in Ms. Smith’s private files. You can study it if you like. My documentation is thorough.”

  Mr. Warner took the papers, glanced at them. “How were you able—”

  “I have voice-boxes on my own computers,” Mr. Havor interrupted. “But I kept my headphones on the whole time I worked on her files.”

  “Did you fax these papers to the FBI or Homeland Security?” Mr. Warner asked.

  “Yes. I don’t think they even read them.”

  “Why not?” Mr. Warner asked, holding up the papers. “Your documentation looks genuine to me.”

  Mr. Havor sighed. “One man, at Homeland Security, warned me that they get sixty crank calls a day about stolen nuclear bombs. They just have it so locked in their brains that no one can sneak onto an Air Force base and steal a bomb, they won’t consider the idea. And when I said no, my boss bought the bomb from a general at the Pentagon, then I lost the man altogether.” He paused, growing impatient. “Listen, that’s two hours of reading I just handed you. I can summarize the information if you like.”

  “Please,” Mr. Warner said.

  Briefly, Mr. Havor related his talk with Ali, explaining how a General Kabrosh at the Pentagon was receiving huge sums of money from Sheri Smith, and that this same man was in charge of the disposal of old nuclear weapons. When he was finished, Mr. Warner insisted they had to give Homeland Security another try. Mr. Havor shook his head.

  “We’ll get nowhere because all our accusations are based on General Kabrosh. And to these people, the man is a hero. In fact, he is a war hero. For combat bravery in Vietnam, he won the Congressional Medal of Honor. That’s the highest award possible for a soldier. They see the man as almost a god and we’re saying he’s a criminal.”

  “Then what can we do?” Mr. Warner asked him.

  “Mr. Warner . . .” Mr. Havor began.

  “Call me Jason.”

  Mr. Havor shook his head “Jason, I know from the outside I look useless. Without Terry’s help, I couldn’t walk a hundred yards into the woods. But I’ve let too much go on in that office that I should have spoken up about years ago. I’m going to hike up that mountain and find out what that woman’s up to—even if Terry’s the only one I’ve got with me.”

  “I admire your courage,” Mr. Warner said. “But how far up the mountain was she planning to deposit the weapon?”

  “From her files, it looks as if it was to be dropped near some kind of cave.”

  “Which is located where?” Mr. Warner persisted.

  “Near the top of the peak, I’m afraid to say.”

  A light went off in Cindy’s head. “I wonder if it’s that same cave we took?”

  “What cave is that?” Mr. Warner asked.

  “You remember, Ali told you about it,” Cindy said.

  Mr. Warner’s face changed. Of course, they were talking about the cave that led to the seven doors. And on the other side of
one of those doors was his wife. The tension in the room jumped noticeably. Especially when Nira spoke up.

  “I’ve explored all the caves that lead from beneath this house. One comes out near the central cave Ali and my mother are familiar with—high on the mountain.” Nira turned in Mr. Havor’s direction. “You’ll find the tunnel I’m talking about tall and wide. An easy hike.”

  Mr. Havor shook his head. “You sound like Nira, but . . .”

  “I am Nira,” the child replied.

  “But Nira can’t talk!” he almost shouted.

  “It’s Nira, please, just trust us,” Cindy pleaded.

  Ali’s father knelt in front of the child. “Are you saying we should all go up the mountain? Is this the adventure you were talking about when you left Ali that note at the hotel?”

  Nira nodded. “We have to leave soon.”

  Mr. Warner went to ask, “Will I have a chance—”

  Nira put a finger to his lips. “We will see. No promises.”

  It was decided then. They were going up the mountain to find a nuclear bomb.

  And Cindy had been worried it was going to be a slow day.

  They gathered together a handful of water bottles, several daypacks—which they stuffed with snacks—and three flashlights, with extra batteries. At Nira’s insistence, they sneaked out the mansion via the trapdoor. The little girl wanted to make sure they were long gone before the police arrived for Steve.

  The hike through the tunnel was long and uneventful.

  Mr. Havor, however, kept trying to quiz Nira. He did not get far. The child did not mind his company, but did not want to share her secrets with him. Again, Cindy felt sympathy for the blind man. He acted like someone whose whole world had just been turned upside down—and for him, it was doubly worse, because he could not see the world.

  When they finally exited the cave, into the woods, Cindy realized they were not far from one of the spots she and her friends had camped at during their first expedition to the top of Pete’s Peak. Karl Tanner—that traitorous jerk—had called it “Overhang.”

  The name was appropriate. With its large but narrow slice of rock jutting from the mountainside, it created a natural shelter from wind or rain. That was a concern, because in their rush to leave the mansion before the police arrived, they had packed no camping gear. Plus, even though it was well past dawn, the sky was cloudy and the air chilly.