Dave and Josh carried the limp form of Reb up onto the beach and laid him down.
“What is this place?” Sarah asked, looking around. It was not a large cave, probably no more than forty feet in diameter, but obviously it had been built, for the walls were not rough coral, but smooth.
“We made it for a tidal wave, or in case anybody ever got lost or trapped in enemy territory. See,” Val said, “there's food stored here, and we can make a fire.”
“Let's do it. Reb's cold,” Josh said. He pulled Reb's helmet free and felt his forehead. “He's freezing to death.”
Soon they had made a fire out of materials left in one of the lockers, and it made the place a little more cheerful. They stripped the diving suit off Reb and wrapped him in blankets they found stored in another locker, but he was absolutely motionless.
“Can't we do anything else for him?” Sarah pleaded. She was holding Reb's head in her lap and was frightened at the absolute stillness of his body.
“It's the poison,” Val said. “Most people die when they get hit by a ray that big.”
“No,” Sarah cried out. She held the boy's head closely. “We've got to do something. He can't die!”
Val's face was grim. “Everybody dies.” He looked upward and added tightly, “We'll all die if Aramis takes us.”
They made a quick meal out of the food that had been stored. No one was hungry, but they all tried to eat something.
Josh and Sarah stayed close to Reb, and Wash took up his position by the boy's side and held his hand. “Ain't we going to do something?” he begged. “We can't let him die like this.”
Sarah looked at Josh, who said, “I'd do anything I could, but who could know about a thing like this?”
Sarah said suddenly, “I wish we'd never come. I wish you'd never listened to me.”
Josh moved closer and put a hand on her shoulder. “You can't blame yourself, Sarah. We came at God's command. That's all we could do, and we've got to keep on going, no matter what happens. Even if—”
He suddenly broke off. He had intended to say “even if Reb dies.”
Sarah looked down at Reb's pale face. “I don't know what to think anymore. I don't know how to talk or how to ask Goel for help or anything else.” There was desperation in her voice. She lowered her head and began to weep.
Josh, feeling self-conscious, put his arm around her and drew her close. “I guess we all fed that way,” he said. He held her for a long time.
Finally she cried herself out, and then she looked up at him with a tired smile. “You do have a time with me, don't you, Josh Adams?”
He was embarrassed by the question. “Oh, I don't know.” The two sat there with Wash as the time went on, and with each moment it seemed Josh could see life leaving the still form of Reb Jackson.
11
If I Were King
For hours Sarah and her friends took turns watching the sick boy. At times he would appear to wake up, but he never spoke anything resembling logical speech. A raging fever took him, and they had to bathe him with cold cloths to fight it down until it was not deadly.
Val stared down at him. “There's only one thing that would help,” he said hesitantly.
“What is it?” Josh said. “Anything we can do?”
Val shifted nervously, locked his hands behind his back and said, “There is one sort of medicine, but it's very rare and hard to find.”
“Isn't there any in the locker?” Sarah asked.
“No, although there should be. It's made from a particular kind of coral, a soft coral. Very hard to find.”
Josh said, “Well, we're in a coral reef. Is there some of it here?”
“Yes, I suppose there is,” Val said. “But if we go out there—in the first place, those rays are there. In the second place, if Aramis has his mariners out searching for us, we run the chance of being found.”
“I don't care,” Sarah said. “We've got to go find some of it.”
Josh said, “Tell me what it looks like. I'll go.”
But Val shook his head. “You'd never find it, Josh. And if you did, you probably couldn't find your way back here.”
Sarah was waiting for Val to offer to go, but the young man merely turned and walked down to the beach, where he stood staring moodily into the still, green waters.
“I'll go talk to him,” Sarah said. “You stay with Reb, Josh.”
“All right, I will.”
Val turned to meet her. There was a strange look on his face, and he appeared to be more sober and thoughtful than usual. He stared at her as she began to speak, telling him how she would do anything—she would go herself.
“Just tell me what it looks like—we've got to try something.”
Val pressed his lips firmly together. Finally he said, “It's not that I'm afraid to go—although it is dangerous— but I can't.”
“Why not, Val? He's going to die if we don't get help.”
“He may die anyway. That was a huge ray that got him, and he took a big dose of the poison. I'm not sure that he would live even if we got help, even if we got the medicine.”
“But we can't just let him die.” Sarah's eyes pleaded with Valar. She came closer. “He's such a fine boy, and he's been through so much. Please, Val, help us.”
There was a long silence, as Val turned back toward the sea and appeared to forget about her. Sarah could do nothing but wait. Finally, he wheeled around and said, “I had a dream last night.”
“But what has that to do—”
“You've told me several times about your dreams, that Goel appears to you and tells you what to do. Isn't that right?”
“Yes, of course. It's happened more than once. And not just to me, but to Josh as well, and the others.”
Val rubbed his forehead, covering his eyes for a moment. “I never believed much in dreams. At least I never believed they meant anything. But while I was dozing a little while ago, I had one. Never had anything happen to me like that before. It was real.”
“What was it? What did you see?”
“Well, I didn't see anything, but I heard something— a voice. I don't know whose voice it was, but it said, ‘You are the closest to the throne, and when Aramis is gone, you are of the royal blood and will rule over Atlantis.’”
Sarah stared at him. “I don't know what that means.”
“Why, it means what it says, Sarah. Didn't you know that I'm the nephew of King Cosmos, the only living male heir to the throne? Aramis has gone. He probably would have been king, but he's forfeited that now. His rebellion has cut him off forever from the throne.”
Sarah listened to the waves lap the sandy beach. She was shocked by what she had heard, although really she had known it. “What would you do if you were king?”
“If I were king? First, I'd execute all the traitors and the rebels. Kill this rebellion dead in its tracks.”
“But a ruler should be kind, shouldn't he?”
“I could be that too.” Val smiled. “There's a time for each, isn't there? I mean, in a war when you're fighting to save your country, is there really any way to be kind?”
“No, no, I suppose not. Though I hate the thought of it. But Reb—”
“You Sleepers,” Val said suddenly, “are very important.” He suddenly reached out and took her by the shoulders, asking, “Can you do magic?”
“No, of course not!” Sarah said. She was embarrassed by the question, and somehow the touch of his hands was sending a sort of strange signal to her, something she had never felt before. He was so tall, so fine looking, and his eyes burned as he looked at her.
“Nevertheless, you are the key,” Val said. “Cosmos said so. And anyway, you would not be hunted by Lord Necros if you were not. You must play some part in what's going on in Atlantis.”
“I've never understood it,” Sarah said. She was still very conscious of his hands on her arms. She wished that he would remove them and yet at the same time that he would leave them there, strangely enough. “I t
hink that somehow we've been brought to this time and place to bring the House of Goel into being—at least to help—but none of us have ever known exactly what we were to do.”
Val stood there thinking, and his grip on her arms increased. “We will help each other,” he said finally.
“How?” Sarah whispered.
“I will get the medicine for your friend. That will prove to you that I care, and that I am loyal. If I risk my life, will you believe that?”
“Oh yes, Val,” she whispered. “I would believe that.”
He looked down at her, and there was a light in his eyes. “Sarah, when the time comes, you will help me. I will need your support.”
“Of course, you'll be the lawful ruler of Atlantis,” Sarah whispered.
“No, I mean more than that.” He hesitated. “You and I, Sarah, we will rule together, king and queen.”
Shock roared through Sarah's head, and she thought she had misunderstood him.
But he said, “We will marry. We will rule Atlantis.”
“I'm too young,” Sarah cried out.
A smile touched Val's lips. Very gently he pulled her forward, held her in his arms, and leaned over and kissed her cheek. Then he released her so that she stepped back, fear in her eyes but also something more than that.
“You are young. And so am I, but one thing is certain, Sarah.”
“What is that, Val?”
“We are young, but time will change that. We will win this revolution, and time will go on, and we will learn to love each other—not as children, but as man and woman.”
He turned and walked away, calling to the others as he pulled on his diving suit. “I will try to find the medicine that will help our friend. All of you stay here until I come back.” When he had the suit on, he quickly mounted his sea beast and disappeared in a swirl of water.
Josh came over and asked curiously, “What did you do to get him to go, Sarah?”
Sarah shook her head. “Nothing, Josh, nothing at all.” And then suddenly she began to sob and walked away from him without speaking.
* * *
Josh stared after her, wondering. I never will learn to understand that girl.
12
Wash's High Hour
After Val left, the others tried to get some rest, but Wash stayed beside Reb, his eyes fixed constantly on his friend's face. For a long time Reb did not move at all, and the smallest of the Seven Sleepers grew more and more despondent. He closed his eyes and was saying a prayer to Goel when all of the sudden a faint voice said, “Hey, what you doin’ there, Wash?”
Wash's eyes flew open, and he saw that Reb was moving his head and watching him.
Wash leaned forward and took Reb's hand. “You're awake. Hey, it's good to see you come out of it.”
Reb blinked slowly, and the usual cheerful spirit was gone. “I guess … not out of it yet. Never felt so bad, not even when I had malaria.”
Wash squeezed the limp hand in his and worked up a smile. “You're gonna be all right. Mr. Valar, he's gone to get you some medicine that's gonna get you all well again.”
Reb smiled faintly. “Sure do hope so, Wash, sure do. I'd hate to know I'm gonna feel this bad the rest of my life.”
The two of them were silent for a long time. Occasionally Wash said a word to establish communication. Finally, Reb looked up out of hollow eyes, and a faint grin touched his lips. “This is funny, about you and me being friends, ain't it, Wash?”
Wash knew instantly what the boy meant. “You mean about us being different colors? I guess that's one good thing about coming to Nuworld—I found me one good friend.”
Reb grinned faintly at him. “Yep, good old … Wash …”
He faded off, and Wash leaned back and began again to ask Goel for help.
* * *
Sarah awoke to find that Josh was awake too. They lay there listening to the water lapping on the sand, from time to time casting a glance over to where Wash sat beside the wounded boy. Finally, Sarah said, “Josh …”
“Yes, what is it, Sarah?”
“Do you ever doubt?” Then she said quickly, “I mean, all the jams we've gotten into and now this one. Do you ever just wonder if there's anything to it all?”
“You mean Goel and the House that he's talking about, and are we going to get out of this?”
“Yes.” Sarah rolled over and looked into his eyes, “Don't you sometimes just wonder if we're not kidding ourselves?”
“Sure, don't you?” He caught her nod and said, “You know, it's pretty easy to believe when things are going fine, but when we're in a mess like this, I guess that's what really tests whether we believe or not.”
Sarah nodded, “I believe in Goel but … I don't know—somehow being in this cave, and Reb may be dying over there, and no way that I can think of to get into the Citadel, it just looks pretty grim right now.”
Josh sat up, crossed his legs, and put his elbows on his knees, holding his chin. He was quiet for a while, but finally he said, “You remember the stories my mother used to read to us after you came to live with us?”
“Yes, I remember that.”
“Well, if you think about it, those fellows in those stories had some pretty dark times too. Just think about old Jonah—at least we're not in some whale's belly. We'd have a hard time cooking a meal up in a thing like that, wouldn't we?”
“Why, that's silly, Josh.” Sarah smiled, glad that he was talking.
“I don't think it's silly. Remember Daniel? He was all set to be a prophet sandwich for a bunch of lions, but he never did doubt. Do you remember?”
“Yes, I remember.” They talked on and on about men and women who endured in dark, hard places, facing death. Somehow Sarah felt the better for it. Then their conversation was interrupted when Dave sang out, “Look, there comes Val.”
They all came to their feet and rushed down to meet Valar. The young man slipped off his sea beast, waded in to the shore, and grinned at them. Holding up a sack, he said, “I got it.”
Sarah ran and threw her arms around him. “Oh, Val, I knew you'd do it.”
Val hugged her and said, “Well, all we have to do is get some water boiling and dissolve this stuff in it. Come on, you girls, let's see some action!”
An hour later, they had cooked the coral down until it made a soupy pot full of liquid.
“What do you do with it? Does he swallow it?” Sarah asked.
“No, you put it on the puncture,” Val said, “and you keep it moist. I know that much.”
At once, Sarah bent over Reb and drew the cover off his leg. The leg was swollen, and around the puncture wound was a blackish, angry-looking area. Sarah dipped out some of the medicine and put it on her finger.
“We'll take turns. We'll keep that stuff on him at all times,” Josh said.
* * *
“Well, it worked,” Val said with satisfaction. He was sitting off to one side and looking over to where Reb was propped up, laughing and talking and eating. “Took twenty-four hours, but I guess that's pretty quick for medicine to work.”
“Oh, Val, I'm so happy,” Sarah said. She put out her hand, and he took it and squeezed it. “I'm so thankful to you, and all the rest of us are too.”
“I'm glad I could help.” Valar thought for a moment and asked, “What do you think it was? Your prayers to Goel or my going out and getting the coral? Couldn't I have gone and gotten the medicine without prayers?”
“Oh, I think prayer and action sometimes are all tied together,” Sarah said. “We pray and then we do all we can and are obedient to Goel, and that's all I know to do.”
Val stared at her, an odd expression in his eyes, and said, “Well, we're all in this together, aren't we?” He squeezed her hand again. “The king and the queen?”
Sarah flushed and lowered her eyes, pulling her hand back. She said, “Don't tell anyone about that. Will you promise, Val?”
“Of course not,” he said. “That's just our secret.”
* *
*
Reb improved almost hourly, and twenty-four hours later they were ready to go.
Valar said as they were preparing, “I'll go up and take a look, to be sure no patrols are around.”
The others were pulling their belongings together when all of the sudden Sarah heard a furious splashing. She looked up to see Val coming out of the air lock, his arms flailing, pulling at his mask.
“What's wrong? What is it, Val?” Sarah cried as they all rushed to him.
Val's eyes were wide with shock. He pointed to his right arm and said, “Look at that.”
She looked down at Val's right arm and saw a series of red rings that had pulled the fabric loose.
“There's a giant squid—a huge octopus—and he's perched right outside the cave,” Val whispered. “He nearly got me. If he'd gotten one more tentacle on me, I'd be dead by now.”
“Come on, we'd better get that suit patched up and that arm treated,” Josh said.
Val let them lead him back close to the fire where they repaired the suit and examined his wounds.
The sucker marks were not serious, but Val was shaken. “Those things can wait around for days,” he moaned.
“Maybe not,” Dave said hopefully. “Maybe he'll get tired and go on.”
Val jerked his arm back from Sarah, who was attempting to put some ointment on the sucker marks, and gritted his teeth. “He won't. We're lost now. I wish I'd never got pulled into this crazy scheme.”
His words shocked Sarah. She thought none of them had considered anything other than going on.
Wash said, “We're gonna make it, Mr. Val. Goel ain't brought us this far to let us down now.”
“You don't know these squid. None of you do. They're just patient as a mountain and can stay in one place about that long. Once they get a hint about a prey— which is us—they'll stay forever. And the only way out of this cave is right past that monster.”
Dave said, “Well, it's a bad scene all right, but I'm believing somehow we'll get out of it.”
“You can believe in anything you want,” Val said, “but what I'd like is for about a battalion of good mariners to suddenly appear and fill that thing so full of darts he'd shrivel up. It's a big one too. I've never seen a larger octopus.”
Gates of Neptune Page 8
