The Return To Erda Box Set

by Beca Lewis

  Usually, Beru didn’t like to be hugged, and I am not much of a hugger anyway, but this time I reached out and pulled her close to me. She was a wisp compared to me. It was like hugging a flower.

  “When this is all over, I’ll help you find them, Beru,” I said.

  Behind me, a loud burp interrupted our moment together. Thinking it was Ruta or maybe even Zeid, I turned around ready to give the offending person a look of disdain.

  Instead, I found myself staring at five Ginete. Perhaps the five who set up the Remembering Ceremony, but these dwarf-like people all looked the same to me, so I wasn’t sure. Besides, those huge golden eyes still scared the pants off me.

  Where had they come from? Why were they here? Did I need another ceremony? All those questions flashed through my head before Beru left my side and flung herself into one of those dwarf’s arms.

  “Pita, I am so happy to see you and your brothers,” she said.

  After that, I had no idea what was said. It was a series of grunts, maybe burbs, whistles, and sighs that must have been language because the five of them seemed to be carrying on a conversation that they all understood. After a few more smiles and hugs, Beru must have remembered that I was there.

  “You remember Pita and his brothers, don’t you, Hannah?”

  “Yes, of course,” I said, faking it.

  “Pita says my parents are safe in a village further east.”

  “That’s fantastic, Beru. But why are Pita and his brothers here and how did they get here?”

  “What they have to say is probably best said to the team all at once,” Beru said, neatly avoiding answering how they got there. “That way there is no confusion, and we can all decide together what to do.”

  “About what?” I stupidly asked. Of course, I knew what it was about, didn’t I? It’s just that for a brief moment I had enjoyed the illusion of safety in a quaint town. I wanted to stay and explore, meet more of the people, maybe even learn about gardening. But I was sure that what Pita was there to tell us would mean something terrible was happening.

  Lightning bolts were great and all that, but I would need more than that to fight off screaming blobs of green and a big shattering machine made of metal. Actually, when I said it to myself like that, it didn’t sound all that bad.

  Until I heard what Pita had to say. Then I was terrified all over again.

  Shatterskin Thirty-Two

  We stayed one more night in Kinver and decided not to have the meeting with the Ginete until morning.

  “The news can wait,” Pita said, “but not long.”

  I think everyone just needed one night of sleep inside and a chance to get really clean before heading back out on the road.

  In the morning we gathered in the mayor’s office. Even though our dimensions seemed worlds apart in some ways, in others it was very similar. The mayor’s office reminded me of the one I knew back in the Earth Realm.

  The Mayor told us that there was a small police force in Kinver that never had to do anything other than find a child who might have wandered too far from home, or rescue a cat or two.

  But there was a disturbing trend of small pranks. Mean ones that would never have happened before. He wanted to know if we thought that it was the result of Abbadon’s movement further east.

  Suzanne had joined us for our meeting with the Ginete, so she was the one that answered.

  “Yes, it probably is. Even though you can’t hear the Shrieks yet, those sound waves are traveling around the planet. Sound affects everyone, even the ones that you can’t hear. It could easily be disturbing people enough to make them act out.

  “Even more reason to stop them before they move any further east. That uprising among your people will only get worse even if they never find your village. It could cause everything we love in Erda to self-destruct.

  “Which means that we have to eliminate every Shriek. The problem is, we don’t know how Abbadon is making them.”

  “Making them?” I asked. “I hadn’t thought about that. So you are saying the Shrieks are not living beings, they are machines that Abbadon made?”

  “They are a weapon, or weapons, that somehow Abbadon has produced,” Suzanne answered. “They are not born from anything natural, they are human-made, or in this case, Abbadon made. But if he made them we can unmake them.

  “There are a few problems with that, as you know. They are a sound weapon. As a weapon, they disable anything within the range of the sound that they make. It rarely kills, but it doesn’t have to because Shatterskin comes right behind them, and it does the killing.”

  “Does the shrieking disable everything?” I asked.

  Pita stepped in. “There are very few reports of anyone surviving the dual attack of the Shrieks and Shatterskin. But we have heard that some insects manage to keep on moving during the sound attack. They would have to move quickly out of the danger zone before Shatterskin arrives, though, because everything dies when he shatters.”

  “Is he using sound too?” I asked.

  “That is a great question, Hannah. Yes, he is—not the same as the Shrieks. His sound is different. It is not designed to stun, but to shatter.

  “Think of the stories you’ve heard about singers shattering mirrors and glass on their high notes. It’s akin to that.”

  “And do you know how Abbadon made Shatterskin, or what he runs on? Where’s the energy that keeps him going?”

  Zeid looked at me approvingly, and in spite of myself, I felt a tinge of satisfaction that I had pleased him.

  “Now you are asking the right questions, Hannah,” Suzanne said. “No, we don’t know how Abbadon made Shatterskin, but we have an idea about how he is powering him. We have noticed that there is a brief cycle of time when Shatterskin is shut down, or off.

  “A group of Shrieks arrive carrying something and swarm over him. When they withdraw, they are carrying something away. We are making a pretty valid assumption that it is some kind of battery. They are bringing it from the west and taking it back that way, so we think that Abbadon keeps on sending out fresh ones every few days.

  “If we could block that supply line, even for a short time, we might be able to destroy Shatterskin as he runs out of juice. At least we could determine what kind of metal he is made from and from there determine how to stop him.”

  I turned to Pita and asked. “You said you have news for us?”

  “Yes, I have good news and bad news. They are the same. Depends on which way you want me to tell it.”

  Ruta made a sound clearly indicating that Pita should just get on with it.

  “The Riff has moved closer.”

  Inside my coat pocket, the Priscillas shivered. Everyone else just looked stunned. We all knew what it meant. We would get there sooner, but the Shrieks and Shatterskin were closer to towns and villages.

  “They have destroyed thousands of acres of the country in just the last few weeks. At least one town that we know of was swallowed up. People don’t escape. They can’t move once that sound begins. If we could stop the sound, then they have a chance. Shatterskin moves slowly. He doesn’t have to move quickly when there is no resistance.”

  Suzanne stood. “I have a piece of news that might be helpful. Dragons and our bird cousins have discovered something interesting. There are parts of the country that the Shrieks go around, and then of course so does Shatterskin.

  “We don’t know why. Nor do we know why they allow whatever was living there to continue. Perhaps because as those areas are surrounded by dead country, sooner or later the beings will starve anyway, and they don’t want to waste time and energy on them.”

  “Or,” Zeid broke in, “He has another weapon to take care of them.”

  Suzanne nodded. “Very possible. Perhaps that weapon comes after he has destroyed more
of our land.”

  “What kind of country do they go around?” I asked.

  “Swamps and salt flats.”

  “Must mean something,” I mumbled.

  “Yes, but what. Perhaps we can figure it out as we move out.”

  We all stood, ready to go. Niko thanked the Mayor of Kinver for his hospitality one more time.

  The Mayor had turned an unflattering shade of green while we talked. Perhaps the reality of what Beru and Ruta had tried to tell him was becoming real to him. In any case, he managed to gather himself up enough to turn to Ruta and Beru to thank them for what they were doing.

  “I pray that you find your parents, Beru,” he said.

  Beru, true to form, was gracious in her reply of thanks.

  After Ruta and Beru left the room, I turned to Zeid and asked, “What about Ruta’s parents? How come no one talks about them?”

  “First, this isn’t his village. Second, he knows what happened to his parents. It was their village that your mother was visiting when the Shrieks and Shatterskin destroyed it. It’s why he is here. It’s why he will give his life for yours as your mother tried to do for his family.”

  I was getting angrier every day. It was beginning to feel like it was a good thing. No more sweet Hannah. Princess Kara Beth was on the move.

  I might not remember my mother, but I promised her that I would destroy the machines that killed her.

  Shatterskin Thirty-Three

  In the end, five men from the village came with us. I watched with a feeling of dread as they said goodbye to their families. One of the men was the father of the little girl I had noticed. I wanted to tell him to stay and take care of her, but I didn’t.

  It wasn’t my choice. Each man had to do what he thought was the best thing for his family, but it still broke my heart watching them walk away from the ones that loved them. I would do everything I knew how to do to return them safe and sound.

  Just before we left town, the little girl slipped up beside me, whispered that her name was Liza, put something in my hand, and then scampered away. I looked in my hand. Liza had given me her necklace. I had seen it on her—a small star sparkling in the sun. Now it was in my hand. When I started to go after her and give it back, Beru stopped me.

  “This is Liza’s way of keeping you safe, Hannah. Let it be.”

  I started to protest, but her father caught my eye and nodded. He knew. He wanted me to wear it too. Beru fastened it around my neck, and I hid it beneath my tunic. It was our secret. That tiny star was going to bring them all back. I swore it to myself.

  We didn’t march out of town down the road all together as I had envisioned. Suzanne returned to dragon form right in front of the villagers, and no one blinked an eye, reminding me that the people of Erda knew about magic. She headed into the woods where I knew she was scouting for the safest path to the Riff. Where the Ginete went, I had no idea. But Zeid assured me that they were traveling with us.

  Cahir was waiting for me when we stepped back into the woods, and everyone gave me time to hug him and hide in his fur the tears that were always underneath the surface with me. The Priscillas had discovered that Cahir would sometimes let them hide in his coat, so they hopped out of my pocket and on to him. I couldn’t blame them. Riding through the woods with a wolf sounded like freedom to me too.

  Before moving on, I wanted to meet the five men that had chosen to come with us. The little girl’s father’s name was James, and his brother John had come too. They had left the third brother in the village to watch over their families and to care for the shop that their family owned in town. The last three were Kit, Mark, and Thomas, all farmers.

  As they said their names, I thanked them for coming with us. I was afraid for them. They were weaponless, or so I thought. Then I remembered the day I had come to the Castle and all the people who had been there. Some were happy to see me, some were not, but they all had weapons.

  The five men started laughing. They had caught what I was thinking? Ziffer, I needed to be careful. Now everyone could hear me. James answered for them, speaking out loud.

  “No, we can’t hear your thoughts. Your face gave you away. Besides, if I were you looking at us, I would wonder how we could be helpful without weapons. But we do have them. Each one of us has a skill that you might need.

  “And if you are looking for a physical weapon, we have them too.”

  James nodded at the four other men, and all five had a weapon in their hand, either a staff, a sword, or a knife. When I looked again, they were gone.

  “We don’t need to display these. Weapons come when we need them. As far as hearing your thoughts, no we wouldn’t do that, but we’re tuned into the common channel that Professor Link set up for your team before you left the castle.”

  Once again I was caught flat-footed. “Professor Link? Is he monitoring the channel?” I asked.

  “That he is,” Niko said. “You don’t think we would be heading out here without his support, do you? Think of him like you would a computer hacker back in Earth. You need something, he can tell you about it. Right now he is working on the ideas we learned yesterday from the Ginete.”

  “Like the insects escaping and the land the Shrieks and Shatterskin avoid?”

  “Like that,” Niko answered. “Now we need to get moving.”

  I grabbed his arm but removed my hand immediately when Niko scowled at me. What was I thinking? He could have probably chopped my hand off with a look.

  “Sorry,” I said. When I got another look both from Niko and Aki I stopped myself from descending into my sorry state and added, “Just one more thing. Can I talk to Professor Link, too.”

  “Of course,” Niko said.

  Great, I thought. But how?

  The five men behind me laughed, and I did my best not to turn around and snap at them. Tears, anger, irritation, you never knew what you were going to get with me. I never knew what I was going to get with me.

  Zeid smiled at me, and I felt better. “Let’s go, Hannah. Link says he’ll pop in later and talk to you if you haven’t figured it out before then.”

  Nodding my thanks, I turned to follow Ruta into the woods. The men from the village fanned out, and I lost sight of them. Everyone in Erda was much more than they appeared on the surface. No, not everyone, everything.

  As we walked, I thought about that. It was like there was another view of everything. In Earth, we had our five senses, and some people used other senses, like intuition, or paranormal abilities, to see what others couldn’t see, but was there anyway.

  In Erda there appeared to be even more than that. Instead of being a 3D world, perhaps it was a 4D world. I thought about Liza and the world she lived in and something clicked in my brain, and my eyes did something funny, and all of a sudden the entire world around me looked different.

  It was like those magical pictures back home. Hidden within the pictures was a whole other picture which could only be seen when the eyes focused a different way.

  “Holy, ziffer!” I yelled and stumbled forward and once again, fell flat on my face, just barely breaking my fall before my nose hit the ground. When I looked up again, everything was normal, or perhaps it was that I was blind once again.

  Did I see what I thought I saw—or was it all illusion?

  Shatterskin Thirty-Four

  Zeid reached down and pulled me up trying hard not to laugh. I wasn’t ready to tell him what I saw. I didn’t know if it was something wrong with my brain, or if it was something everyone else saw all the time. Either way, I wanted to practice doing it on my own before I said anything to anyone.

  “Still feeling clumsy I see,” Zeid said. In that he was right, I was feeling clumsy and awkward, so I let it lie, for the moment. Instead, I changed the subject.

  “What are our plans when w
e get to the Riff, Zeid,” I asked. “We keep moving towards it, but I haven’t heard anything about what we are going to do once we get there. And since it is moving closer to us every day, shouldn’t we be preparing?”

  “We have one more stop at a village. The people there have been working on ideas that we can use because, as you said, brute force is not going to win this battle. The Shrieks’ sounds will incapacitate us before we can do anything to them. That’s where the Ginete come in to play.”

  “The Ginete? You mean Pita and his brothers?”

  “The same. We are stopping at their village tonight. They’ve gone ahead to make preparations.”

  My curiosity was piqued. A Ginete village. In my mind’s eye, I had it pictured as a quaint town peopled by little Ginete. I imagined their children as adorable miniatures of their parents making them look like cousins of ET. So later that day when Niko held up his hand for us to stop and Zeid whispered that we were there, I was perplexed.

  We were standing in the middle of the forest. It looked like every other part of the woods with trees, ferns, and moss. No village. I was just ready to mouth off at Zeid when a Ginete I thought was Pita popped up five feet in front of me.

  “What? Where did you come from?” I asked.

  Pita pointed to the ground.

  “You came from the ground? That’s impossible!” I said.

  Pita just pointed at the ground again, and I swear he smirked at me. I heard Ruta laugh his frog croaking laugh. Even the Priscillas who had positioned themselves on my shoulder were giggling. By now, everyone had gathered around me. I could see Cahir sitting outside the group. If wolves could laugh, I think he was.

  “Stop kidding around you guys. This isn’t funny,” I shouted at everyone. By then the five men from Kinver had joined the group and were laughing. Only James kept his face impassive, but I knew he was trying hard not to laugh.