And with that, the mermaid raised her arms. The sea that now covered and surrounded what was left of Dark Isle started to bubble all around them. Billy felt a thrill of fear. What was Blue up to now? He barely knew her, but knew enough to worry about her strange and alien ways.
“Artemaeus, Artemaeus, Old One of the deep,” sang Blue as the water bubbled and broiled with whatever was happening below. “Come to me, my friend, my companion of ages and eons.”
She raised her arms even higher, like a conductor of the world’s greatest and largest symphony orchestra, and now the source of the bubbling could be seen.
Whales. First hundreds, then thousands, and then what seemed like tens of thousands. The leviathans surfaced with a spouting of water and air, surrounding the island like smaller living islands as far as the eye could see.
At the front of the great expanse of whalekind was Artemaeus. The great blue whale looked at Billy with its enormous eyes. And as it had before, it dipped its head at Billy in a slow and ponderous bow, and Billy stood from his granite chair and bowed somberly back.
“What is this?” demanded Fulgora. As always, she was almost imperious, the warrior princess speaking as though she had an army at her back, ready to enforce anything she said. “Have you returned to wreak havoc on us with your forces, to kill the leftovers?”
Blue looked at the Red Lady with an almost savage expression. “Blue speaks not to you, young Fire, youthful Flame. Blue speaks to Billy, to the Deal-Maker, the Messenger, the Seeker to be and the Ender of Worlds.”
Billy felt a thrill at her words. What was she talking about? Seeker to be?
Before he could think too long on it, though, Blue continued. “True it is and true it will be that you, young Billy, did not expect Blue to do as she did. But true it is and true it will be that we had a deal, and there was no provision about how each of us would fulfill its terms.” The mermaid crossed her arms across the mane of green hair that still almost completely covered her upper body. “Still it is and still it may be that Blue will need you, and you will need Blue. And so I think that perhaps you should be given a token of trust.”
She held up her hands again. As one, the thousands of whales all opened their mouths. And as soon as they did, Billy and the Powers near him were all on their feet in shock. For each whale held a single person in its mouth, resting on its tongue. Each person was unmoving, but Billy could see that they were breathing. They were merely asleep, or in some kind of magic trance.
“What’s happening?” Billy asked Mrs. Russet. It was a bit ridiculous to expect her to have answers to everything, he knew. But he did expect it, and she didn’t disappoint him.
“It’s the Dawnwalkers,” she said. “All of the ones who were imprisoned on Dark Isle.”
Tempus was almost dancing with glee, and a puff of wind launched him ten feet in the air as he laughed. “Phoebus, and Nebia, and Trachton,” he said, pointing out several of the sleeping Powers, people who were clearly his friends. “And Grayson and Lamika and Berzeb…and Ralph!” He clapped his hands in delight.
“And…Daddy!” screamed Ivy. Billy looked where she was pointing, and saw that it was true: Veric the Green, Councilor of the Throne of Life, was in one of the whales, asleep on a whale’s tongue and a bed of green seaweed.
The other Powers were too astounded to speak. They all had their mouths open wide enough that Billy was a bit worried that the edges of their mouths might meet together in the back and the tops of their heads would fall off.
Vester was the first to say something after Tempus’s and Ivy’s outbursts. “All of them?” he asked, clearly not believing his eyes. “Alive?”
“True, true as Blue,” sang the mermaid. “And unexpected as the treasures of the deep.”
“But why?” managed Ivy.
“As I said, and as I am,” responded Blue, “it is because Blue wishes to show her signs of solidarity and tokens of trust with Billy Jones. Besides,” she added, with an element of glee like sun kissing the waves of a summer beach, “Artemaeus likes Billy, and as one of the Oldest of the Old Ones, he carries much sway.”
“Then,” said Vester in a strangely quiet voice, “we’ve won.”
Fulgora glanced at Vester when he said this, and Billy saw in her eyes that she approved of his grasp of the underlying realities of the fantastic event now unfolding. “Spoken as a strategist,” she remarked with an actual smile, and again Billy thought he saw tendrils of pleased smoke curling up from the fireman’s clothing.
“What?” said Ivy. “What do you mean by that?”
Fulgora gestured around them, at the whales holding their sleeping passengers. But she allowed Vester to answer, nodding at him to explain himself. “Well,” said Vester, the big fireman wearing an expression that was two parts pride and three parts love-struck devotion, “if all the Dawnwalkers are still alive, but there’s no army of Darksiders, then…”
“Great Powers of Element and Wind!” cried Tempus. “He’s right!” And the wind power again shot into the air, this time going even higher than before, and dancing what looked like a leprechaun’s jig on the way down, his knobby knees knocking together as he bobbled in glee.
For a moment, all were silent, and then what Billy could only describe as pandemonium erupted on the cliff. The Powers were all shaking hands and thumping shoulders, hugs and kisses all around. Only Ivy seemed a bit reserved, and Billy could tell that, though she was pleased at the lives saved, she was also saddened by the loss of so many others. She was a creature of Life, and could feel no other way.
But before long, Blue spoke again. Billy looked, and saw that the mermaid’s eyes were somber and deep as she spoke. This was not the chaos of the waves, or the uncertainty of the surf. She was speaking with the profundity of the deep, the farthest reaches of Water and the Blue. “But remember, air-breathers, Powers of land,” she interjected. “Remember that Blue takes little which is not freely given. And though Artemaeus may like our young friend, and though Blue may seek him as an ally, still she must be true to who she is, to the evenhanded luck of the deep.”
And with that, she once again raised her hands, and once again the sees boiled and bubbled with underwater presences. “Come to me, come to me,” sang Blue. But this time her tone was less melodious, and harsher. The sharp points of her teeth could be seen clearly as she spoke this new refrain. “Come, Gelgash, and bring your bounty with you.”
This time the creatures that surfaced were not whales. They were, instead, what Billy could only think of as the darker creatures of the sea: sharks and giant squids, slimy octopods and seven foot eels, and more than a few creatures that Billy couldn’t even name.
And clinging to the backs of each creature was a water-logged, soggy-faced, and very angry looking person.
“The Darksiders,” said Vester with an angry hiss that reminded Billy sadly of his friend Prince. And Fulgora suddenly held a rapier of fire in one hand, and a spear of flame in the other.
“Just so, young Flame, you speak true to Blue,” said the mermaid in reply to the fireman. “The Deep is capricious, and can be violent. But she will not tip the scales so one-sidedly, not now at any rate.”
The Darksiders glowered at the Powers on the cliff. Billy looked around them and couldn’t see Wolfen anywhere—the powerful Dark Master must have escaped somehow. But he did see with a start and more than a little fear that Mrs. Black and Cameron were riding on a pair of twin killer whales—apparently some of the only whales that did not ally themselves with Artemaeus, though still clearly servants of Blue.
As they passed, Billy could see Cameron mouth something, and point at him. But surprise lit the other boy’s face when nothing happened. He shook his finger like it was a broken remote control, and tried again, but again nothing happened.
Blue noticed the motion as well, and crooked a finger. Immediately, both Mrs. Black’s and Cameron’s killer whales dipped under the water, dunking the two people under for a moment. When they came back up, splutte
ring and even more angry seeming, Blue gazed at them warningly. “Your powers will not work at this time, not while you travel at Blue’s pleasure, and live only by her leave.”
The mermaid turned to Billy again, her eyes still strange, her manner unworldly. Billy realized how alien the sea was, and how fearful, though he had to admit that Blue herself was also beautiful and alluring in a strange and frightening way.
“Then we strike now!” cried Fulgora, and Billy saw the flames writhe around her. But again Blue crooked a finger, and this time a small wave erupted out of the water spout on which she rode. It struck Fulgora with a sizzle, and immediately her fire withered to a spark.
“Not here, not now,” said Blue. “Blue has restored what she has taken, but will not allow you to take advantage of her mercies either.”
Fulgora glared, but had been thoroughly drenched by the sudden rush of water. Her armor sizzled with contained fury, but it was clear to Billy that here, in the midst of her territory and at the seat of her power, Blue could not be challenged.
“What now?” Billy asked. Blue turned to him, and just as he had to Artemaeus the whale, Billy bowed. It wasn’t a calculated thing, just a reaction that he somehow had built into his genes. Both the mermaid and Artemaeus were Old Ones of the deep, and he knew that they were used to—and merited—his respect.
Blue’s eyes lightened a bit. “Truly acted, Billy Jones,” she whispered. “And so you may first choose, and perhaps we will see if you act truly again.”
“What do you mean?” asked Billy. He didn’t like how everyone was looking at him all of a sudden, and once again longed for the good ol’ days, when Salisbury steak and a closed locker door had been his two greatest fears.
“Blue will not permit the fight to be here,” said the mermaid. “But she is wise, and deep, and knows the struggle will continue. So she will take one group one way, and one group another.”
There was a long pause. “And?” Billy finally prompted, since he wasn’t sure what the heck Blue was talking about at this point and was fairly certain no one else was either.
“And you may choose for the Walkers of the Dawn,” said Blue. “You may choose where Blue shall put them and wake them from their slumber of the deep. And you may choose first, and send them where you wish.”
“Hey, no fair!” screamed Cameron from his killer whale nearby. “How come he gets to choose first?”
Blue frowned, and just looked at Mrs. Black, who blanched and hissed something to Cameron that Billy didn’t catch completely, but which sounded suspiciously like “Shut up, Cam, or you’re grounded and won’t get to be in charge of the zombies ever again.” Cameron shut his mouth, but glared at Billy with murderous eyes, clearly hoping that he would soon get his chance to repay Billy for his bloody nose.
Blue looked back at Billy. “And so?” she asked. “What will Blue do? Where shall Artemaeus take your army?”
“They’re not my army,” was all Billy could say. He looked at Mrs. Russet, Vester, Ivy, and Tempus for their input.
“No!” shouted Blue. “This is not for them to help, it is for you to decide. Where shall Artemaeus take your army?” she repeated.
“Powers Island,” Billy mumbled. He wasn’t at all sure that was the right thing to say, but he thought he saw Mrs. Russet smile nearby.
“Very well, you have again acted truly,” said Blue with approval. She raised a hand, and just as quickly as the whales had appeared they were gone, apparently already on their way to deliver the Dawnwalkers to Powers Island.
“But how will they get there?” asked Billy. “Doesn’t everyone have to go through the Accounting Room to get onto Powers Island?” When Blue just looked at him blankly, he glanced at Mrs. Russet for support. “It’s the rules, right? Everyone who goes to Powers Island has to appear in the Accounting Room first, so that there will always be an even number of Dawnwalkers and Darksiders.”
Blue laughed, a smile glittering in her sea-colored eyes. “Powers may fly in a way that is constrained, but Blue has her own ways, and she has taught them to Artemaeus. The whales will leave your friends on the shores of the isle, and they will be there waiting for you should you choose to follow. And as for the balance….” The mermaid glanced at the amassed armies of the Darksiders. “I think that those who kept it have not kept it honorably; have not kept the terms of their agreements, so should not be trusted to do so now.”
With that, the mermaid now turned her gaze directly to Mrs. Black. “And you?” she asked. Billy was somewhat heartened to hear that Blue’s voice grew noticeably colder when she spoke to the Councilor of Death. “Where would you have me take you, servant of Dark?” the mermaid asked.
Mrs. Black thought for a moment. “The City of the Sky,” she finally said.
For the first time, Billy saw Blue look a bit unsure. “That is beyond Blue’s realm, and beyond her reach,” said the mermaid. Her eyes grew cold and gray as an arctic sea as she spoke, and the sea air seemed to turn dismal and dark.
Mrs. Black’s thin lips curled in derision. “So you are not omnipotent after all,” she said. Blue cocked a finger angrily, and Mrs. Black hastened to add, “though you are very powerful, I concede that.” Blue lowered her hand slowly, though Billy could still sea turbulent menace in the mermaid’s eyes.
Mrs. Black was silent a moment, thinking. “We have nowhere better to go than here,” she finally said. “Will Dark Isle be returned from the sea soon?” she asked.
Blue nodded. “Already the tides recede, and the island returns,” she said.
“Then,” answered Mrs. Black, “can our army just wait until that happens and then go back to Dark Isle?”
“As you wish,” said Blue. She turned back to Billy and her friends. “The Siders of the Dark have claimed this place as their own again, and Blue has promised to take them where they ask. It would be best for you all to leave, thinks Blue, before that should happen, lest you be at their mercy.”
Fulgora looked like she was about to protest, and Billy was more than a little worried that the Red Lady might just hurl herself bodily at the assembled Darksiders and take them all on at once. But Vester put a hand on her shoulder, and whispered, “My Lady.” Fulgora clenched her fists, but nodded and turned her back on Mrs. Black and the water-drenched hosts of Darksiders.
“Come then,” said the Red Lady. She looked around at the assemblage on the cliff. “We are to battle.”
Billy looked at Mrs. Russet, waiting for his teacher and Sponsor to speak, wondering if she agreed. And apparently she did. For she sighed and nodded. She looked at Blue and bowed curtly, then clapped her hands together. The granite chairs that had sprung up for Billy and his friends to sit on trembled, and changed subtly. Billy realized that they were now the same kind of chair that Terry had used to take him on his trip through the earth.
“Oh, no,” said Tempus, eyeing the chairs suspiciously. “You know I hate to travel by Earth, Lumilla.”
“Sit down, Tempus,” snapped the Brown Councilor. “All of you, sit.”
The group did so, Billy settling into his chair and feeling more than a little proud that he wasn’t particularly nervous.
One trip and I’m already an old hand at this, he thought with a smile.
Billy looked at Blue. The mermaid was watching him closely. “Fare thee well,” said the sea creature. “And remember our bargain, Billy Jones. The sword is mine.”
Billy nodded. He was no longer angry at Blue. She was weird and strange, but he could now see that she operated under some kind of rules and moral code, alien though they might be.
“Thank you, Blue,” he said.
She nodded.
Mrs. Russet clapped again, and the seats began to rumble. “To Powers Island,” she said.
“To the final battle!” Fulgora screamed. And to Billy’s dismay, no one corrected her as the seats sank into the cliff.
CHAPTER THE TWENTY-SIXTH
In Which Billy Sees a Squooosh, and the End Begins…
As
before, the trip through the earth was beautiful. The crystalline caves and Volvo-sized diamonds spun past them as they traveled through the world. The only difference this time was that Billy was traveling with his friends. All of the Powers seemed to take the trip well, except Tempus. The old Gray Power clutched at the sides of his granite chair and insisted on saying things like “Too fast, too fast!” and “Watch out for the crystals!” and “We’re all going to die!” at odd intervals. Apparently the Wind wasn’t so comfortable when buried in the Earth.
But still, the trip went quickly, and before Billy realized it they were passing through the dark void that marked the separation between Powers Island and the rest of the world. It was different this time, he realized: the void was not quite so black and forbidding. In fact, rainbow spectrums of color could be glimpsed in the darkness, sparkling like deep jewels, as though something was being born within the emptiness.
And then they were through, and the chairs pushed them up, up, up, until suddenly normal light flowed into Billy’s eyes and he saw that they were back in the Accounting Room once more.
Unfortunately, so were the zombies. Or perhaps they had never left at all, simply waiting there for their Darksider masters to return. But regardless of the reason, Billy once again faced dozens of the undead.
Apparently the small army had been given new instructions, to destroy everyone and anyone who might appear in the room without waiting for them to be Counted and receive their identity badges, because as one the fiends moved toward Billy and his friends. Their huge bulbous eyes glinted dully in the light of the Accounting Room, and Billy shrank back against Vester, who was standing nearest to him. Had they all traveled such a hard road and suffered so much, only to be rendered unconscious and taken right back to Dark Isle again?
But Billy had failed to reckon with an important fact: the zombies had taken his friends before. But that had been when neither Fulgora nor Mrs. Russet had been among them. And here, for the first time, he got a glimpse not just of how wise and knowing Mrs. Russet could be, but also how dangerous.
Billy: Messenger of Powers Page 42
