“Hello?” Gunny called. “Bell Captain!”
No response. We took a chance and went inside. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, except that nobody was around.
“Hello?” Gunny called again. Still no answer.
“Do you smell that?” I asked.
Gunny took a whiff. “Smoke,” he said.
We both looked around quickly and Gunny spotted it first. Smoke was creeping out from under the door to Max Rose’s office. We ran for the door and I threw it open. Instantly billows of smoke blew out. The room was on fire.
“I’ll get the hose,” Gunny shouted, and ran back into the corridor. A few seconds later he came back into the penthouse pulling a heavy fire hose. “Go turn it on!” he ordered me.
“Don’t close that door,” I yelled. “It locks automatically.”
I ran back to the hallway, following the hose to the source. I quickly cranked the handle and the limp hose jumped to life. I sprinted back into the penthouse in time to see Gunny expertly killing the fire. Billows of smoke and steam blew out from the room as he doused the flames. Seconds later it was over.
“Okay,” he announced. “Turn it off.”
I ran into the corridor and turned off the water, then returned to the office to check out the damage. What a mess. It looked like the inside of a barbeque grill. It didn’t smell so great either. Luckily all the damage was contained in the one room. A few minutes more, though, and it would have spread.
“This was deliberate,” Gunny said. He kicked at a few garbage pails that were full of ashes and water. “Burning evidence is my guess.”
I saw that the file cabinets were open and empty. The desk drawers were empty too. Max Rose was covering his tracks. Every bit of paper in this room was now a charred memory. There was nothing left that might connect him with his network of spies, or with the Nazis.
“I guess this means everybody’s gone,” I said.
“Probably,” Gunny said. “We should do a quick check though.”
We left the wet, smoldering mess and searched the penthouse for signs of life. We checked bedrooms, sitting rooms, the kitchen, and the dining room. Not only were there no people, all the drawers had been emptied too. Max Rose had definitely pulled up stakes and moved out. We knew where he was going, too. He had a date with a zeppelin.
The final stop on our search was the grand living room where I had set out lunch for Rose and the Nazi, Ludwig Zell. Nobody was in there, either.
Gunny said, “We’re wasting our time here. I’ll get Caplesmith’s car so we can get down to—”
We then heard a sound that made the hair go up on the back of my neck. It was the steady sound of somebody clapping. There was someone in the penthouse after all. Gunny and I looked at each other, then slowly turned toward the door. Standing there looking as beautiful as ever was Esther Amaden. Her friends called her Harlow. Her enemies called her Saint Dane. She was clapping in mock approval.
“Congratulations, boys,” the bogus woman purred. “I’m guessing you finally solved the riddle.”
“At least have the guts to show yourself,” I said defiantly.
The beautiful woman closed the door behind her. Gunny shot me a curious look. It was hard for him to believe that this movie-star-gorgeous woman could be the demon Traveler who was about to turn three territories into rubble. But I knew better. I’d seen it before.
“Whatever you’d like, Pendragon,” she said with a smile.
Esther Amaden then went through the transformation that I had seen too many times. Her body became fluid as she left behind the image of the beautiful big-band singer. Her body grew taller until it was near seven feet. Her rosy complexion turned the pasty white color of a corpse. Her short dark hair grew out into a long, gray mane. Her silky bathrobe turned black and changed shape into a black suit that, as I’ve written before, looked vaguely Asian. The final step was always the toughest to watch. It was the eyes. Harlow’s soft, dreamy brown eyes turned razor sharp. They took on the icy blue fire of our nemesis—Saint Dane.
I sensed Gunny’s surprise and fear. He took a step back. This was the first time hed witnessed this transformation. It was also the first time he was seeing Saint Dane in his true form.
“Better?” Saint Dane hissed through a twisted smile. “We really don’t spend enough time together, Pendragon, do we?”
It took every bit of willpower I had not to scream.
JOURNAL #12
FIRST EARTH
“I’m disappointed in you, Pendragon,” Saint Dane said. “I’ve left so many clues for you like breadcrumbs in the forest, and it’s still taken you all this time to uncover my little plot. Time is growing short. Are you losing interest?”
Saint Dane walked casually around the room with his hands clasped behind his back. Gunny and I kept our distance. It was like being trapped in a room with a wild animal. You never knew what this guy was going to do.
“I suppose the loss of your uncle’s sage guidance has made it all the more difficult for you to keep up with me.”
Oh, man. This guy loved to hit where it hurt the most.
He then added, “I must admit, you surprised me on both Denduron and Cloral.”
“Why’s that?” I asked.
“You were a force to be reckoned with. For that, I bow to you. And I must apologize for my own foolishness. It was a mistake to ask you to join me on my quest.”
“You got that right,” I said quickly. “No way I’ll ever join you.”
Saint Dane stopped walking and smiled. He was enjoying this.
I wasn’t.
“You misunderstand,” he said. “My only mistake was asking you too early. It gave you the impression that I was somehow…vulnerable.” He chuckled. “I assure you, I am not. That’s why I chose to play out this latest game on the Earth territories. Your home territories. I wanted to demonstrate how easy it is for me to make you dance like a toy puppet. My toy puppet. In spite of what you may think due to our past encounters, I am in total control.”
“You aren’t in control,” Gunny said with authority. “Not anymore.”
Saint Dane let out a deep, bellowing laugh. I hated that.
“Such an amusing old man,” Saint Dane chuckled.
“Old enough to know how to handle the likes of you,” Gunny shot back.
“Oooh,” Saint Dane bellowed in mock fear. “Forgive me if I don’t feel threatened by an old man who doesn’t possess the courage to fire a weapon.”
“You think you’re bothering me,” Gunny said without missing a beat. “But you’re not.”
“Stick around, Gunny,” Saint Dane snapped back at him. “By the time we’re done, I promise, you will be very, very bothered.”
Saint Dane walked to the glass doors that led to the balcony. He threw them open, letting in a chilly wind. He stood with his back to us, looking out over the gray city.
“You see, Pendragon, my victory here on First Earth means much more than the toppling of three territories. What makes this all so wonderfully special is, you’re the one who is doing it for me.”
That was a strange comment. I didn’t like it, one bit.
“We know what’s going on, Saint Dane,” I said. “We know what will happen if the Hindenburg doesn’t crash. We went to Third Earth.”
Saint Dane spun back to us and exclaimed, “Well, of course you went to Third Earth! I was counting on it. I wanted you to know what would happen.”
That wasn’t the reaction I expected. Gunny and I shot each other a quick look.
Saint Dane chuckled and said, “You still don’t understand, do you? I’ve been leading you and your band of merry men around like trained dogs. Everything that’s happened, every turn, every surprise, I’ve orchestrated. You knew to follow me to First Earth because of the bullets that killed your uncle. But to be sure, I first went to Veelox. That annoying Traveler girl thought she was being so clever by recording my arrival. I couldn’t have been any clearer in telegraphing my ultimate destination i
f I had painted a sign on my back.”
I thought back to the hologram that Aja Killian showed us of Saint Dane arriving at the flume on Veelox, then making a show of calling out “First Earth!” before leaving again. Now that I think of it, it was pretty obvious.
“Once you were here, my only challenge was to make sure you discovered Winn Farrow’s plot to destroy the Hindenburg. I knew that once you learned of his plan, you’d do everything possible to prevent that ship from blowing up. The idea of innocent lives being lost is just too horrible a concept for your righteous mind to accept.”
As Saint Dane spoke, I thought back to the events that led us to crossing paths with Winn Farrow.
“The gangsters in the subway?” I asked.
“I brought them to the flume to put you on the trail of Winn Farrow,” he answered. “Killing Press was a bonus.”
I forced myself not to let that throw me.
“But they tried to kill us. Twice.”
“They were supposed to warn you to stay away from Winn Farrow, which I knew would send you running to him like rats to garbage. Killing you was their idea. Idiots. That’s why I had to dispose of one of them. Or should I say, Harlow had to.”
“The gangster who fell from the hotel was pushed by Harlow? I mean, by you?” Gunny asked in surprise.
Saint Dane answered with a proud bow. Now we knew how Mr. Nasty Gangster died. It was Saint Dane.
“I couldn’t let him kill you,” he said. “Not before my drama played out. You might say I was your guardian angel, Pendragon.”
“In the slaughterhouse,” I said, remembering. “You left the door open so we could escape.”
“Again, guilty,” he said, gloating.
He then took a step back, and transformed. His body grew watery and in a few seconds he became…Ludwig Zell.
“You were Zell, too?” I shouted in surprise.
“Not until recently,” Zell/Saint Dane said. “Once Max Rose learned of the plot to destroy the Hindenburg, I knew he would warn Herr Zell.”
Zell/Saint Dane walked over to a closet door.
“I couldn’t have our Nazi friend sending the zeppelin back to Germany, so I had to intervene.”
Zell/Saint Dane opened the door and a body rolled out. It was Ludwig Zell. The real Ludwig Zell. He was pretty dead. No matter how many times I see dead guys, I can’t get used to it.
“Poor Ludwig was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Max Rose thought he was giving his Nazi cohort the bad news, but he was actually telling me.”
The truth was rushing at me way too fast. I was getting dizzy.
“But why?” I asked. “If Ludwig Zell warned Germany, the Hindenburg would be saved. That’s what you want, isn’t it? What difference would it make how it was saved?”
Zell/Saint Dane’s attitude grew dark. He took a step toward me, and as he did, he transformed back into his evil-looking self. His horrid eyes locked on mine and he spoke through clenched teeth.
“Because this is about you, Pendragon!” he seethed. “I don’t care what happens to that airship. I don’t care what happens to these pathetic Earth territories. I don’t care who wins their silly war or what they do with this useless world afterward.”
“You don’t?” I said, totally confused.
“In a few short hours the course of your world will be changed forever. The Earth territories will fall into chaos. And who will be to blame? You! If you hadn’t come here to stop me, history would have played out the way it was intended. But you couldn’t stay away. You put yourself into the equation and because of that, three territories will collapse. Your home will collapse.”
I stared into Saint Dane’s fierce eyes. I’m not sure which I was more afraid of: him or the horror to come. Everything he said was true. If Spader and I hadn’t chased him to First Earth, the Hindenburg would be destined to crash, the way it was supposed to. But now, because of my meddling, there was a good chance the Hindenburg would be saved and the Earth territories doomed. This whole adventure was to prove how easily Saint Dane could manipulate us. Manipulate me. The amazing thing was, he was willing to destroy three territories to do it.
Saint Dane then said, “How does it feel, knowing this was all for you?”
The two of us held eye contact. In that one, horrible moment, things became all too clear. I knew where the struggle between Saint Dane and the Travelers was headed. Someday, somehow, somewhere, it was going to come down to Saint Dane…
And me. That’s why he was doing his best to prove himself to me. What a sickening thought. The only thing that kept me from losing it was knowing that the ultimate day of reckoning wasn’t today. No, this was far from over.
“I’ll tell you how it makes me feel,” I answered with a very small voice. “I feel that as long as you’re trying to impress me, I can beat you.”
There was a frozen moment.
“You think you understand me?” he said. “You think you have the strength to bring me down? Talk to me again in a few hours, after you’ve gone to Second Earth to see the scorched world where your friends used to live. Everything you’ve ever loved will no longer exist, Pendragon. Your home will be turned into a charred pit of death…and it will be your fault.”
“We still have time,” I said. “We can still make sure the Hindenburg crashes.”
An odd thing happened then. Saint Dane smiled. It wasn’t like the sly, knowing smiles he usually threw at me. This was a genuine, wide, Cheshire-cat grin. The guy was actually happy. Being that it was Saint Dane, a sincere smile seemed all the more grotesque. It was totally creepy.
“Yes,” he said. “You still have time. Please, make the most of it.”
He backed away from me and walked over to the door. He turned the knob and gave a look of mock surprise. “Oh, no, it’s locked.” he announced. “Max Rose is so paranoid. He’s made all of these doors self-locking. But you already knew that, didn’t you?”
He then reached into his pocket and pulled out an old-fashioned brass key. He waved it at us, taunting us.
“But no fear,” he said. “I’ve got the key.” Saint Dane walked out on the balcony. “Do you think you can stop it, Pendragon?” he asked. “If I let you out of here, do you think you can stop Spader? And Rose? Could you let the Hindenburg crash?”
“We can try,” I said.
“Of course you can,” Saint Dane said as he backed toward the edge of the balcony. “And I want you to. I want you to come close. I want you to feel as if you’ve beaten me one more time, because that’s when victory is the sweetest…when your opponent feels as if he actually has a chance to win, just before it all comes crashing down.”
He looked out over the city and said, “I think I’ll return to Veelox and see what trouble I can stir up. That little girl Traveler is even more sure of herself than you, Pendragon. She’s in for a big surprise.” He was at the edge of the balcony now.
“Good-bye, my friends. Enjoy your afternoon.” Saint Dane gave an exaggerated bow, and in one graceful move, jumped up and off the balcony!
Gunny and I gave each other a quick, unbelieving glance, then ran for the railing. Just as we were about to look over the side, a huge, black raven rose up from below. I swear, it was the biggest crow I had ever seen in my life. It was more like the size of an eagle. The bird rose as if riding on thermals. Then with one quick snap of its wings, it turned and sailed off. But the instant before it left, I saw that it was holding something in its curved beak. It was only a quick flash, but I was certain I had seen it.
It was an old-fashioned brass key.
“You don’t think—?” Gunny asked.
“I don’t know,” I answered. “I don’t care. We’ve got to get outta here.”
I ran back into the apartment and over to the door. I tried the knob to make sure it was locked. It was. I took a quick look around and saw another door. I ran to that one. Yeah, it was locked too. Those two doors were the only way out of this room.
“We’ll have to break ’e
m down!” I announced.
I was all set to put my shoulder to the door and start bashing away, when Gunny warned, “Don’t!”
“We have to!” I shouted.
“We’ll never break those doors down,” Gunny said. “Max Rose had them reinforced with steel. This was his fortress. You couldn’t knock them down with a battering ram.”
I quickly scanned the living room, looking for another way out…and saw the telephone. I grabbed it, only to find it was dead.
“He cut the phone lines,” I announced. I then looked at my watch. It was almost noon. “Gunny, we’re running out of time.”
The Hindenburg was going to arrive in nine hours.
JOURNAL #12
FIRST EARTH
“This is your hotel!” I shouted. “How do we get out of here? There must be some kind of emergency way to let people know we’re in here.”
Gunny looked around the fancy living room, then shook his head. “Not if the telephone’s out.”
This was insane. The world was about to collapse and we were locked in a dumb hotel room.
“I got it!” I shouted. “We can start a fire. It’ll set off the smoke detectors.”
Gunny gave me a strange look. “What’s a smoke detector?”
Oh yeah. 1937. I looked around the room, then ran out on the balcony. Looking over the edge, I hoped to see Saint Dane’s smashed body lying on the pavement below. It wasn’t. I don’t know why, but I wasn’t surprised. I thought about that big raven. How weird was that? But I couldn’t obsess about it. We had to get out of there.
I looked down to see if there was a ledge we could crawl out on. But the closest foothold was thirty floors down. On the sidewalk. I looked up, thinking we might be able to climb onto the roof. No go. It was out of reach. We really were trapped.
I have to admit, I even stood there for a second and tried to change myself into a raven. What the heck? If Saint Dane was a Traveler and he could do it, maybe I could too.
The Never War Page 21
