And All the Stars Shall Fall

by Hugh MacDonald

  “How long should we wait?” asked Nora finally, the gold specks in her eyes visible even in the dim light that entered the middle platform of the bell tower from the full moon in the sky outside.

  “They may have left one or more of their murderers behind,” said Mabon. “They can’t be sure how many women were out here. I think we should wait for morning. It’s not a cold night. In the morning I’ll check out the damage.”

  “We’ll check the damage,” said Nora, clinging to him.

  “And both get caught?”

  “Four eyes are better than two,” she said, reaching up to ruffle his hair. Mabon grinned and, after a brief pause, nodded.

  “Let’s find a smooth bit of wall and lean back…get some sleep if we can.”

  “Can I lean against you?” she said. “You’re a bit softer than the wall.”

  Mabon nodded again and she sat down against his right side and rested her head against his broad shoulder. He wrapped an arm protectively around her and gradually her heart slowed and began to beat normally and she felt safe enough to close her eyes. Mabon struggled to relax but remained mostly restless, his mind full of the imagined horrors suffered by the former insiders from Aahimsa who had been betrayed by the city’s enemies after helping them destroy their own home. No matter how fitting their punishment, it was hard for him to sit back and do nothing. But nothing was all he could do. He and Nora had too much to lose and so did all their companions if they were discovered.

  Mabon awoke to early morning light that crept down the inside of the bell tower from where the bell rope hung down from the bell. The hatch at the top of the wooden ladder remained closed as they had left it. Mabon felt stiff and sore, but he was aware that moving or stretching would wake Nora. He decided he’d let her sleep as long as possible. A moment later he heard Nora sigh and felt her small hand squeeze his leg just above the knee. She turned her head and tried to smile, then looked up toward the hatch.

  “Let’s go have a look,” she said. “But we’ll have to be careful.”

  From the top of the tower they saw that the gazebo where they’d spotted a few of the renegade insiders no longer existed. A charred circle of broken ground had replaced it. They stood as still as statues and surveyed all they could see of the area outside, looking for any sign of movement. Nora clung tightly to Mabon. He could feel her shudder. He, too, was horrified at all that may have happened. After several discussions, considerable anxiety, and waiting an impossibly long time during which the cool early morning dampness was replaced by midday heat, they came to a decision.

  “I think it’s safe to go outside and take a look around. I fear there isn’t much left to see. But we can’t be sure. A bit of a look around and then back to the others,” said Mabon.

  “Yes,” said Nora. “As safe as it’s ever going to be. I can’t imagine how terribly worried the others will be.”

  Chapter 25:

  Adam Is Worried

  It must be getting quite late, Adam thought, although he had no way of telling exactly what time it was. His parents had left shortly after everyone had eaten lunch together with the sisters. He and Tish had spent some pleasant moments exploring the greenhouses and had almost completely lost track of time when they heard explosions outside in the distance, and felt the ground shudder, and the large glass panes rattle in the starry sky above their heads. The silent workers in the huge, fragile building gathered around them and, without speaking, pointed to the door. All filed out in a long line that descended underground as swiftly as possible to the further silence and security of the convent.

  That had been hours ago, and there had been no signs since of Nora and Mabon’s return. How horrible it would be to lose his parents now, after they’d survived all of their adventures in the wild and in the hidden valley and all that happened after their family had been forced to separate for their own safety. And now, just after they had been joyfully reunited, to have this happen. And he didn’t even know what “this” was.

  But from the sound of this latest series of explosions, it had to be some part of the army of the Federation at work. They had come to complete their destruction. Somehow they must have discovered that Blanchfleur or the others from Aahimsa were here, or perhaps it was only the Aahimsa traitors they were seeking. Whatever the explanation, it couldn’t be good for them. Adam tried to rest, but every time he closed his eyes he imagined that bombs were falling and cannons were blasting at his parents.

  Finally he got out of his bed and made his way to the reception area with its small kitchen that was attached to the apartment allocated to Blanchfleur and her improbable party of travellers. Adam was pleasantly surprised to find the mayor sitting at a wooden table with Tish and Alice and Doctor Ueland.

  “Are they back?” Adam asked hopefully. No one answered, but the adults looked from one to the other. Tish looked him in the face and shook her head. Knowing that she at least understood and sympathized with his concern about his parents’ long absence helped a lot.

  “What are we going to do?” Adam asked as he took a seat at a table opposite Tish.

  “Nothing,” said the doctor. His voice was gentle and relaxed, but he looked anxious.

  “Why not?” asked Tish. “Don’t you even care about them?” Her question seemed pointed toward her grandmother. All her young years, it had been the mayor who had furnished the answer to all of her questions, and now her grandmother was sitting here looking frustrated and helpless.

  Blanchfleur couldn’t suppress a rather nervous grin. “It’s because we care about them that we are waiting. It isn’t easy to wait here, not knowing what has happened outside. Once the dust settles and we are pretty sure there is no one waiting for us to appear above ground, Ueland and I will be out there looking. I’m hoping that the attack was not aimed at Nora or Mabon; the more likely target would be Gloria and that renegade insider group. But we can’t be sure, and we are worried. But rushing out into the open would only prove disastrous to all of us and also to our innocent hosts. So be patient, kids, and hopefully it will all work out for the best for everyone.”

  Chapter 26:

  Trouble Overhead

  “We’ll have a quick, cautious look around,” suggested Mabon. “One of us will move out ahead in bursts with the other watching. Then the second will join the first carefully while the first keeps watch for danger. Before we move, we pick a sheltered destination, plan the best route, and then run quickly to that destination, keeping low. Any sign of danger and the watcher will whistle like a bird once and the mover will freeze in place or hit the dirt.”

  “Who moves and who watches?” said Nora quietly, pushing firmly against his warm back. He leaned back to meet her pressure, enjoying the reciprocal heat of her softness, feeling empowered and comforted by her close contact.

  “Let’s take turns,” said Mabon, turning his face and kissing the top of her head. He loved the smell of her hair. She was as much a part of him as his heart, and just as vital to his existence.

  “Me first, okay?” said Nora, watching Mabon’s eyes for reaction. There was none but a happy twinkle and a nervous smile.

  “Sure,” he agreed. “A few feet at a time and go from tree to tree, building to building, as much out of sight from all sides and from above as possible. Let’s stay back from the blasted area and circle it, in case there are survivors.”

  “They wouldn’t leave survivors, would they?” she said.

  “Not on purpose. But I’ll sleep better at night if we check,” said Mabon, his face determined, ready for whatever they would find.

  “Okay, ready… I’m going,” said Nora.

  Mabon embraced her and held her tight for few moments. You never know, he thought.

  She hugged him back, aware of what he must be thinking. They had been together a long time and words were not always necessary. She said them anyway, smiling at him and holding his han
ds in hers. “I’ll be careful,” she said, and took one last look into his eyes.

  They circumvented the blast site in awe and horror of the impressive destruction, its sights and its odours. No sign of the gazebo remained and on the side that was free of buildings, probably a former city park site, there were only a few of the sturdier trees still standing. There was no sign of Aahimsa’s betrayers, no sign of life anywhere. They were together now, standing under a sturdy oak that had somehow managed to retain most of its leaves. Mabon shrugged and looked toward Nora. Her hazel eyes were dull; he saw no sign of the gold specks that seemed to gleam when she was filled with energy. His eyes were drawn to her forehead close to the hairline.

  “Did you hurt yourself?” he asked, concerned.

  “No, why do you ask?”

  Mabon reached up and touched a spot on her forehead that looked to him like fresh blood. She must have bumped something as she moved from spot to spot. He showed her his red-stained finger.

  “Blood,” he said after sniffing it, still convinced she had injured herself in the effort to move quickly around the broken trees and shrubbery. He showed her the blood once more and waited.

  She looked at it and rubbed her forehead and looked at her hand. She shrugged and Mabon checked her forehead. The spot was gone and there was no sign of injury. Instinctively, and almost as one, they looked upwards into the dense foliage of the oak tree overhead.

  “I’m going up there,” said Mabon, staring into the leafy branches. Without waiting for a response he scrambled up into the leafy tree, disappearing among the thick branches and the tenacious dark green leaves.

  Nora waited anxiously below until she heard his exhalation of air and knew he had found something. She was unsure if she wanted to see for herself what was up there.

  “She’s alive, but barely,” he called down to her. “But she’s hurt real, real bad.”

  “Wait,” Nora said, “I’m coming up.” She climbed slowly and with great care up above the first thick branches and on to where Mabon waited next to an injured insider. She did her own deep intake of air once she recognized the face she had seen only once before, on the viewer at Alice’s summer house just before Nora had fled Aahimsa and Alice carrying the baby Adam.

  “What is it?” asked Mabon.

  Nora didn’t answer right away but finally she looked up, her hazel orbs flashing their specks of gold. “She’s the worst of the Aahimsa traitors. She’s the insider, the ringleader who hated Blanchfleur, the one who wanted to kill Adam and all of the outsiders. I’m almost certain this woman is Gloria, Blanchfleur’s worst enemy.”

  “What should we do?” asked Mabon. “We could leave her here.”

  “That might be the best,” Nora said, her voice upset and angry.

  Mabon said nothing. He watched Nora’s conflicted face. He could tell she wasn’t finished with this. He would wait. Silently he waited, his hand against the injured insider’s dirt-stained face.

  “But we can’t leave her here, can we?” she said finally. “What will we do?”

  “We can’t take her back to the convent either,” said Mabon. “I think that would be dangerous and foolish. One of us should go for help and then we’ll decide. We need Doctor Ueland and Sister Thomas and perhaps Blanchfleur. They can come here and bring supplies and some food for us. We’ll have Ueland check her over and then decide how we should proceed from there.”

  Nora set out for the convent and Mabon stayed behind with the victim of the Federation killers. He had medicines in his shoulder bag. Also in the bag was his canister of drinking water, which still contained a few drops. He and Nora had passed a small pool of rainwater that they had tasted and found acceptable. He left the woman and climbed down to fill his canteen and when he returned he found her alert enough to stare at him with absolute terror. She tried to scream and squirm up the tree away from him, but she was physically unable to do either.

  “Help is on its way,” he told her. He unscrewed the cap of his canteen and watched a few large drops fall between her open dry lips. In spite of her fear and trembling she accepted the water and he managed to give her a few more small sips. He opened his medicine bundle and mixed a few powders into a handful of water and got some of that concoction between her lips, too.

  After a short while she seemed to relax somewhat and she closed her eyes and appeared to be asleep. Mabon watched her face and in spite of just learning the horrible things she had done, he felt very sorry for her and the suffering she would be going through if she happened to survive. Then he sat beside her in the old oak tree and waited.

  Chapter 27:

  Gloria speaks

  “What medicine did you use to treat her?” asked Blanchfleur through the door. Ueland turned, quite interested in Mabon’s answer.

  “A mixture of herbs and roots and dried leaves in hot water, something I learned from Brin and the old ones in Happy Valley.”

  Half an hour later they were called back inside the room.

  Ueland pulled them aside from the injured woman, who was now awake and looking around the room. She was startled to see Blanchfleur there but the fear quickly disappeared and was replaced with curiosity and confusion.

  “She has a few broken ribs, a broken collarbone, and one broken arm,” said Ueland, “but I feel safe to say she has no fatal internal injuries. If she had such injuries, she’d likely already have been dead when you found her. We’ll keep her undercover close to the monastery until her bones set and then we’ll leave her with the sisters if they all agree. By then the insiders’ troops will have stopped keeping a close watch on Queenstown.”

  “Can I talk with her for a moment?” asked Blanchfleur. “Is she well enough to speak with me?”

  “Yes, but keep it short and simple. She needs lots of rest.”

  “Should we leave?” asked Mabon.

  Blanchfleur shrugged. “It doesn’t matter, she’s your project.” They stayed.

  “We’re glad you’re going to be all right,” Blanchfleur said to Gloria. Gloria nodded. She waited for more. Eventually Blanchfleur got to the point. “Do you recall how you were injured?” Gloria shook her head.

  “We found you up in a huge oak tree,” said Nora. “There had been a huge explosion and lots of gunfire. Do you remember it?”

  Gloria shook her head again. She couldn’t recall an explosion but she remembered them coming. When she spoke it was softly and with a dry throat that left her voice barely audible. “They were all around the place. I was away from the others and I was trying to hide.”

  “Did you know any of the people who attacked you?” asked Nora, trying to treat her with as much kindness as she could muster. She still wasn’t convinced they had done the right thing by rescuing her.

  Gloria turned her head quickly toward Nora. “They weren’t people,” said Gloria, her face reflecting the horror of the memory. “Some kind of machines that looked more like large dogs than people. Machines that could find us and then knew how to kill us all. They had no eyes, just heads that looked like revolving metal cans. They just knew how to find us. There were voices. They seemed to know all our names. I have no idea how they could recognize us without eyes. Before we saw any of them, they were calling us by name.”

  “You must have been terrified,” said Mabon, his voice low and reassuring.

  “Who are you?” she asked. Before he could answer, she said, “You were the one in the tree. You were kind to me.” Gloria’s voice showed that she had been confused and surprised by his kindness, especially because she expected him to hurt her more, or finish killing her.

  “My name is Mabon,” he answered. “Thank you. I felt bad about what they did to you. I have known much pain and suffering and I hate to see it.”

  “You were the cleaner,” she said, suddenly recognizing him. “Great Goddess!” A tremor rocked her body and then she closed her eyes and slep
t.

  Chapter 28:

  Time to Leave

  The summer was drawing to a close, the air decidedly cooler and damper, as the party of travellers approached the lake. There had been little conversation since the decision had been made to leave Gloria behind with the sisters as she requested. She said that she thought she could be happy there and felt safe from further attacks from the insiders. She had met with each of the travellers and apologized to everyone, especially Blanchfleur and her family for her traitorous actions. Blanchfleur told her she was welcome to come with them on their journey to the east but Gloria said she was uncomfortable with the outsiders, even as she was grateful for their kindness and help with her injuries and her recent plight. But she wished them all well.

  “I still don’t get it,” she had said. “We should all be enemies, but, instead, you are helping one another and acting like friends.”

  No one had answered. They didn’t completely understand either, but somehow Blanchfleur felt understanding was highly overrated and irrelevant in this set of circumstances and probably in countless others.

  And now they were all travelling together, their numbers augmented by four young women from the convent and their children, three small boys and six little girls of various ages, and were drawing near to the meeting place described by Mother Superior. Adam didn’t know the children very well, but there would, with luck, be lots of time for that in the future.

  Twenty minutes after crossing on the canoes and following an old paved road that led to the interior of the island, they arrived at the ruins of a large red-brick house that sat amidst an unkempt tangle of gnarled trees, grasses, and vines. A young woman wrapped in brightly coloured woven blankets sat on a hardwood rocking chair on a porch whose damaged floor tilted toward them like the stage in theatres from the distant past. She rose and waved to them as they approached. She was a tiny woman whose pretty face was tanned like brown leather and covered in blemishes, perhaps the result of chicken pox or some such disease in her childhood. But her smile was young and merry and her large dark eyes sparkled with vigour and life.