Raven Rise tpa-9

by D. J. MacHale

  “You’re not being charged with anything,” Hirsch said patiently. “I just thought you could shed a little light on the mystery. Is that too much to ask?”

  “You can ask,” Courtney shot back. “But we don’t know anything. We’re just as surprised as you are. Bobby showed up tonight, looking for a place to stay. I suggested my parents’ boat. Before he got the chance to tell us anything, the storm troopers showed up. End of story.”

  Hirsch stared at Courtney. Courtney stared back. Hirsch looked to Mark.

  “What’s your version?” he asked Mark. Mark shrugged. He was just trying to keep up with Courtney’s thinking.

  “Same as hers,” Mark answered. “Courtney and I got back to town tonight and ran into Bobby.”

  “And what about that big galoot friend of his? What’s his story?”

  Courtney strode back to the table. “Weren’t you listening? We don’t know! We have the same questions you do.”

  Hirsch looked between the two, thinking. He let out a breath, leaned back in his chair, and rolled up his shirtsleeves, as if preparing to get down to some serious work.

  “The journal I read back then, when Bobby first disappeared,” Hirsch said. “The one that talked about flumes and territories. What was the name of that lowlife who stole it? Right. Andy Mitchell. Maybe I should take another look at that thing.”

  “I–I told you back then,” Mark stammered. “I wrote that journal.”

  “Maybe,” Hirsch said. “I still think I should take another look.”

  When he finished rolling up his sleeves, Mark and Courtney saw it at the same time. Tattooed on Hirsch’s arm was a green star tattoo.

  “You’re a Ravinian,” Mark gasped.

  “Is that a problem?” Hirsch asked.

  “Is that how you got promoted to chief?” Courtney asked.

  Mark winced again. Courtney just couldn’t keep herself from stirring up trouble. Hirsch snickered, stood up, and walked to the mirror. He stared at it. Mark and Courtney exchanged looks.

  Courtney called out, “What are you doing? Getting instructions from somebody?”

  Hirsch quickly turned away from the mirror. Gone was the calm, friendly officer. His frustration over not getting any information from Mark and Courtney was starting to show. He strode back to the table. “This would be so much easier if you told me the truth,” he said impatiently.

  “Weird,” Courtney said.

  “What is?” Hirsch asked, his voice cracking.

  “We’re being interrogated, but you’re the one who’s all nervous. Why is that? You getting pressure from somebody behind the mirror?”

  Hirsch started to answer, but couldn’t find the words. He was flustered. Mark gave Courtney a stern look. She shrugged. Hirsch paced. He was definitely nervous. He stared down at the floor, deep in thought. The phone on the table jangled, making him jump.

  “Wow,” Courtney said. “You really are under pressure.”

  Hirsch swiped at the phone quickly, snatching it before it could ring again. He didn’t speak. He closed his eyes and listened. Whatever he was hearing, he didn’t like it. He nodded, as if the person on the phone could see.

  “Bad news?” Courtney asked.

  Hirsch shot a quick glance to the mirror and gently put the phone back down.

  “Hey, you okay?” Mark asked with genuine concern. Both he and Courtney actually liked Hirsch. He once tried to help them.

  “Is there anything you can tell me?” Hirsch asked. “Anything?”

  To Mark it sounded like a last, desperate stab at solving an impossible problem. Both he and Courtney answered the same way-with a shrug. Hirsch’s shoulders fell. He looked beaten. He shook his head, as if resigning himself to something he didn’t agree with.

  “Take off,” he ordered the uniformed cop who had been watching the scene silently.

  The cop walked for the door without question. Before leaving, he threw a troubled look to Mark and Courtney, then left without a word.

  “What’s up with that?” Courtney asked. “I think you’d better get my parents.”

  Hirsch picked up his suit jacket and walked for the door.

  “I hope this works out for you guys,” he said. “I think you’re good kids. Do the right thing, and everything will be fine. Good luck.”

  Hirsch opened the door and left quickly, without so much as a look back. Courtney stood there, staring at the door. Mark didn’t move.

  “Did that creep you out as much as it did me?” Courtney asked. “I don’t like this,” Mark announced, standing up. “Something’s going on.”

  “What do we do?”

  “We leave.” Mark started for the door, but got only a few steps closer before it opened.

  “Mom? Dad?” Courtney called out.

  It was neither. Entering the room quickly were two of Naymeer’s red-shirt guardians. They wore the same masks as when they’d captured Mark and Courtney at her house. “No, no!” Courtney shouted.

  She picked up a chair and flung it at the first guardian. He ducked, and it clattered harmlessly against the wall. There was no way out of the room. Courtney ran to the mirror and hit it with her fists.

  “You can’t do this!” she screamed at the unknown faces beyond. “You aren’t above the law!”

  It was the last thing Courtney said before the smell of lemons filled the room.

  (CONTINUED)

  SECOND EARTH

  We were going after Naymeer.

  My plan was to move before dawn. Alder and I were wanted by the police. We would stick out on the streets of Stony Brook like, well, like two guys who were wanted by the police. There would be no place to hide in daylight. Not in the busy, crowded suburbs. We had to get to our destination before the sun came up.

  The predawn hour was the best time to stage our attack. Our target? The Sherwood house where Naymeer lived. It made all sorts of sense to go after him there. As much as we debated about whether or not it was right to kill him, that wasn’t our first plan. We wanted to get him into the flume and off the territory. The flume was in the Sherwood house. Hopefully, Naymeer would be too. It was also a place where we stood the best chance of getting to him. Once he was out in public, surrounded by his guardians and worshipping followers, we wouldn’t even get close. If we could get into his house, in the quiet hours before dawn, hopefully his guards would be a little less alert. Hopefully. There were all sorts of things that could go wrong with this plan, but it was the only one I could come up with.

  Alder woke me at three thirty a.m. I didn’t have near enough sleep. It would have to do. We had roughly three hours until sunrise. I figured it would take around an hour to get to the Sherwood house on foot. We quickly and quietly got dressed, splashed water on our faces, and finished off the last of the packaged food that the Chetwyndes had stowed for their next voyage. With a silent nod to each other, we were off.

  It would have been risky to travel on a main road, so I led Alder on a trip through the backyards of Stony Brook. I had no problem finding my way. Up until I was fourteen, I must have explored every inch of my town. Most of them with Mark. Alder and I ran along train tracks, snuck across school parking lots and ball fields, and skirted private swimming pools. Whenever possible, we stayed on paths through woods that had yet to be developed. It was a piece of cake. We jogged the whole way. Both of us were in great shape. I think the anticipation of what was about to happen burned off any residual fatigue. We both knew that each step brought us closer to a showdown.

  We made it to the Sherwood property with no problem. We crept behind a hedge that bordered the yard across the street from the imposing mansion. From there we got a decent view of our target.

  “I trust you have a plan, Pendragon,” Alder whispered.

  “Not exactly” was my answer. “All I can think of are negatives. There are the guards. Who knows how many? They’re the least of our worries. They’re armed, but I don’t think they’ll shoot us.”

  “Why not?”


  “Because Saint Dane wouldn’t allow it. At least, I don’t think he would. He wants us around for the end. I can get us over the wall, but I don’t know what kind of surveillance they have.”

  “Surveillance?”

  “Cameras, motion detectors, microphones, anything that would alert them to intruders.”

  “I do not know what any of that means,” said the knight from Denduron.

  “It means they’re going to know we’re here pretty quickly. All we can do is take on the guards and force our way in. I’m guessing Naymeer’s bedroom is upstairs. The big one is on the second floor, off the center of the hallway. If he’s here, that’s where he’ll be. We’ve got to grab him and get him down to the basement.”

  “He will resist,” Alder added.

  “He’s an old guy. If we get that far, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “What if we do not get that far? If we are separated? Or if Naymeer is not there?”

  “No matter what happens with Naymeer, get to the flume. It’ll be our only hope of escape.”

  “And go where?”

  “Third Earth,” I answered quickly. “That’s the one thing I’m sure about. We need to find out what happened to Patrick. If we’re lucky enough to have Naymeer, we’ll see if getting him out of here changes Third Earth back to normal. If we don’t have him, we’ll regroup there.”

  “There is a third scenario,” Alder reminded me. “If we find Naymeer, but are unable to get him to the flume, you must allow me to do what needs to be done.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked.

  Alder looked me square in the eye. “No, but I am capable.”

  I grabbed Alder’s arm and squeezed. “You’re my brother. There’s nobody I’d rather be here with. Actually, I’d rather not be here at all, but since I am, I’m glad you are too.”

  Alder laughed. “It is good you have not lost your sense of humor.”

  I shrugged. “It’s pretty much the only thing I have left.”

  We stayed low and crept out of the neighbor’s yard, headed for the Sherwood house. We moved quickly along the base of the high stone wall, like commandos, looking for the tree that Mark and Courtney always used to climb over. I held my breath. Would it still be there? It was a pretty huge security risk. If they were really trying to protect Naymeer, that tree would be the first thing to go. When I rounded the corner, I let myself breathe again. The tree was there. Idiots. We stopped at the base and looked up.

  “There might be something on top,” I whispered. “Like barbwire that’ll make it tough to get over. Be careful.”

  Alder gave me a leg up and I quickly climbed. When I reached the top of the wall, I scanned both ways, looking for anything that might hurt us, or maybe trigger an alarm. There didn’t seem to be anything. That was weird. Naymeer was a controversial guy. I thought for sure he’d need big security. Things didn’t look any different from when the house was empty. Dumb for him, good for us. I reached down for Alder and helped him climb up. I didn’t want to be on top of that wall for a second longer than necessary. As soon as Alder was up, I dropped my legs over the other side, lowered myself until I was fully stretched out with my hands on top, and let go. After a drop of a few feet, I was on the ground, inside the compound. I crouched down against the wall, wishing I were invisible.

  A second later Alder’s huge form dropped down next to me. We were in. No alarms were triggered. No floodlights bathed the place. No hounds came running. Until that moment I didn’t think we stood a chance of getting close to Naymeer. After getting as far as we did, I was beginning to think we actually had a shot. I tapped Alder’s shoulder. The two of us crouched, and sprinted across the grass toward the house. We made it to a large bush of something-or-other that had grown next to the rail of the porch. We stayed close to it and rounded toward the front door. We had yet to see a single guard. The thought hit me that maybe it was because Naymeer wasn’t even there. That might explain the lack of security. Alder and I could be going all Navy SEAL while Naymeer was halfway around the world. I pushed the thought out of my head. If Naymeer wasn’t there, fine. We’d go to the flume and find Patrick.

  I led Alder up onto the porch, trying not to make the wooden stairs squeak. Our next challenge would be to get inside the door. That’s when the fireworks would start. I figured the door would be hooked up to an alarm, and once we broke in, there would be people descending from all over.

  “Do we break it down?” Alder whispered. “I think that’s the only way,” I answered. We both took a step back, ready to smash it open with a double kick and start the party. “Wait,” I said.

  I stepped forward, reached out for the door handle…and opened the door. It was unlocked! I looked at Alder and shrugged. This wasn’t making sense. I had to figure that if the perimeter security was lacking, at least the security of the house itself would be good. It wasn’t. Alder and I were able to walk in as if we owned the place. He followed me in; I gently closed the door behind him; we both turned for the stairs…

  And came face-to-face with Naymeer’s dog.

  We froze. At first I thought it was a quig, but this dog was a sweet-looking black Lab. She sat on the bottom step with her ears up and her head cocked, as if thinking: “Who the heck are you guys?”

  I knelt down and put my hand out in a friendly, nonthreatening gesture. I wanted to give her a good scratch behind the ears and send her on her way.

  That’s not what happened.

  The dog must not have understood the universal “I’ve put my hand out, so I’m cool” gesture. She started barking. Loud. Really loud. The house was so deathly silent, it sounded like thunder exploding inside. I guess Naymeer didn’t need a fancy alarm system when he had Old Yeller standing guard. The clock had started ticking. We had to get to Naymeer before his guards got to us. Alder and I started for the stairs just as one of the red-shirt guards made an appearance. He ran into the foyer from deeper in the house. One guard. A single guard. What were they thinking? They’d have to do better than that if they were going to keep us from Naymeer. Alder and I leaped at the guy. He didn’t stand a chance. He went for his Taser. I launched myself at his legs, feetfirst, knocking him forward. Alder hit him as he fell. The guard had been in the room, conscious, for maybe three seconds. He wasn’t anymore. Conscious, that is.

  I ran for the stairs.

  “Pendragon?” Alder called.

  It surprised me that he called so loudly, but quiet didn’t count anymore. Not with Underdog still bellowing at us. I looked back to see Alder kneeling over the fallen red shirt. “Leave him,” I commanded.

  “Look at this,” Alder said, ignoring me.

  “Alder, c’mon. There’s gonna be more.”

  “That is what I am afraid of.”

  It was something about the grave way he said that that made me stop and focus. I jumped back down the stairs, past the barking dog, and ran to the kneeling knight. Alder held up his hand. In it, was an ear. The guard’s ear. My first thought was to retch. My second thought was to wonder why Alder would pick up the gruesome trophy. My third thought was the only one that counted. I took the ear. It didn’t feel right. Not that I’d ever held an ear before, but something was definitely off. It didn’t feel human. I looked at the unconscious guard. He was lying injured-ear-side up. Alder had knocked the ear clean off when he pounded the guy. There was no blood and no wound. Where the ear had been was a smashed piece of computer board.

  “It’s a dado,” I gasped.

  “Of course it is,” came a voice from across the foyer.

  Alder and I both jumped to see Alexander Naymeer standing in the doorway that led to his office. He wore a deep red bathrobe over pajamas. Even at that early hour, the guy looked perfectly put together, like some kind of magazine ad for elderly slick guys in Vegas or something.

  “All of my guardians are dados,” he continued. “They make excellent guards.”

  The dog continued barking, even though her master was there.

  “Nev
va!” Naymeer commanded. “Come.”

  The dog instantly stopped howling and ran to him.

  “You named your dog ‘Nevva’?” I asked.

  “After my former nanny. I believe you know her.”

  I didn’t answer. I hadn’t thought about Nevva since I left Ibara. Was she lurking around somewhere? Could she possibly have taken on the form of a dog? It didn’t seem likely.

  “Please,” Naymeer said cordially. “Join me, won’t you?”

  He turned and went back into his office, leaving Alder and me alone in the foyer.

  “This is just odd,” I whispered.

  Alder followed the old man. I followed Alder. When we entered his office, Naymeer was headed for his desk, to pick up what looked like a TV remote control.

  “I’m pleased that you two are here,” Naymeer said calmly. “It saves us all the trouble of hunting for you.”

  It would have seemed so normal and cordial, if he hadn’t used the word “hunted.” That wasn’t a cordial word. Still, the whole British thing with the accent and the civility made it seem as if we were welcome guests.

  On one wall was a huge, flat-screen TV that I hadn’t noticed the first time we were there. It looked like it was tuned to CNN.

  “I am surprised you arrived so early in the day,” he continued. “Why is that? Did you expect to catch us all napping?”

  Of course he was right, but we didn’t give him the satisfaction of answering.

  “I don’t sleep much,” he continued. “There’s too much happening. I’ve already had breakfast. Would you like something to eat?”

  Our answer was to stare at him. Naymeer shrugged and pointed the remote at the screen. Instantly the news went away as the on-screen image divided into several smaller pictures. A close look showed the feed from surveillance cameras that covered every possible angle of the compound. I felt Alder tense up. He wasn’t used to watching TV. Heck, he wasn’t used to any kind of technology. He’d probably freak if he saw an electric toothbrush.

  “Are you surprised how easily you made it through to me?” Naymeer asked.

  He gestured for us to look at the screen. We watched several different images of ourselves being played back simultaneously. We were recorded running toward the house from next door, creeping along the wall, climbing up the tree, climbing over the wall, and running to the house. Here we thought we were being so stealthy. They were watching us from the second we got within shouting distance.