“Listen, Bobby —,” he said weakly.
“No! You are not going to tell me this is the way it’s supposed to be! Not like this. Not you!”
Spader crawled over to us and listened. He was in even more emotional agony than before. I knew what he was going through. Uncle Press was going to die because he saved Spader’s life, the same as Osa died saving mine.
“You’ve asked me a lot of questions, Bobby,” Uncle Press whispered. “But there’s one you never asked.”
“What?” I said, tears streaming down my cheeks.
“I’ve told you there is only one Traveler from each territory,” he said. “You never asked why there were two from Second Earth.”
He was right. I never did. I don’t know why, but the thought never crossed my mind. It was so obvious, but I never thought about it. Or maybe I didn’t want to.
“Are you going to tell me?”
“The answer is, therecan’tbe two Travelers from Second Earth. I knew my time was short. That’s why I brought you from home. It was your time. It was Loor’s time, and Spader’s, too. You are the next Travelers.”
I couldn’t think straight. I didn’t care about Traveler rules or Halla or Saint Dane or anything else, only that my uncle was lying here, dying.
“I’ll tell you something else,” he said. “You are the last. All that has gone before is prelude. The fight is yours. You will take it to the end. You are the last Travelers.”
He was growing weaker by the second. He looked to Spader and said, “Spader, I know this is hard to believe, but you will see your father again. Your mother, too.”
He then slipped his hand down my arm and held my hand. “And I promise you, Bobby Pendragon, you will see your family again. And when you do, I’ll be there. Remember that and don’t be sad… because this is the way it was meant to be.”
He then closed his eyes, and he was gone.
CLORAL
The ceremony was everything it should have been.
The Council Circle was loaded with people. The marble bleachers held the entire Council of Faar. Seated next to them was a group of aquaneers in full dress uniform. Among them was Quinnick, the pilot from Grallion, and Wu Yenza, the chief aquaneer.
The rest of the bleachers held an assortment of others. Some were from Faar. Others were from the Agronomy Society and had made the trip from Panger City. Seated with them was Ty Manoo, the agronomer from Grallion. There were also dignitaries from other habitats. Word was spreading quickly about the reemergence of the city of Faar. It had only been two days since the city rose, but the haulers had already been lifted from their hangar and sent across the territory to rescue the farms.
Cloral had reached its turning point — and survived.
Of course, no one seated in that circle had any clue about the bigger picture. They had no idea that Cloral was only one territory of many that Saint Dane was trying to spin into chaos. To them, victory was having ducked a huge ecological disaster. Nothing more, nothing less. And there was an added bonus in that this near-catastrophe had triggered the discovery of their own ancient roots. The raising of the city of Faar was an amazing event. Imagine if Atlantis had suddenly appeared back at home. How cool would that be? Well, this colossal discovery was all the people of Cloral could focus on now. They didn’t know about the larger evil that had almost destroyed their world.
But I did. So did Spader.
I had mixed feelings about Spader after what happened to Uncle Press. I knew it wasn’t his fault. If he thought his actions would have put Uncle Press in danger, he would have backed off. I’m sure of that. Still, I couldn’t stop thinking that if Spader had listened to us, Uncle Press would still be alive. Spaderhadto learn to control his emotions. He and I were very much in the same place right now. I still feel guilty because Osa died while protecting me. And now I knew what it was like to lose a loved one to death, and Saint Dane. But if we were going to work together as Travelers, we had to move past this. As I stood on the council platform waiting for the ceremony to begin I wasn’t sure if that was possible. I would always remember how Spader ignored our warnings and because of it, Uncle Press was dead.
I hadn’t seen Spader since we got back to Faar. Maybe that was a good thing. It gave us both a chance to chill out and get our heads together. But I was beginning to worry. He should be here for this ceremony. He was the Traveler from Cloral now. I really hoped that he hadn’t bailed.
I stood alone on the edge of the platform, outside of the Council Circle. The marble ceiling had been repaired and hoisted back onto the pillars right away. The round symbol of Faar was rejoined and placed back in its prominent spot. The rest of Faar was still pretty much a mess, but I think restoring the Council Circle was important because it represented the heart of Faar. From here, decisions about the future of Cloral would be made.
The sun was setting on the ocean. Sunsets are always beautiful and this one was no different. There were a few long clouds on the horizon. The warm sun lit them up like blazing arrows shooting across the water. The amber light washed over the marble buildings of Faar, making the city look like a painting. As I looked down on Faar’s mountain I saw that there were hundreds of people standing on the paths, watching the beautiful sunset. For them it must have been extraordinary. Faar had not seen sunsets in hundreds of years.
Kalaloo had explained to me how the transpire had been planned for generations. The scientists of Faar had devised an ingenious mechanism that when triggered would pump air into vast chambers below the city. The pressure built up in the chambers and lifted the city high enough to allow the sea to rush in and force the city even higher. The chain reaction continued until the surrounding seabed collapsed into the chambers, creating a base. It was like a controlled earthquake, where all the force was funneled upward.
It may have been physics that brought Faar to the surface, but to me it was pure magic. Seeing the people of Faar enjoying this sunset made it seem even more so. In spite of how horrible I felt right now, something good had come out of this adventure.
“Pendragon?”
I turned to see Spader standing there. He was dressed in his full aquaneer uniform, the same as on the day he thought he was going to meet his father. What a relief. Though it was going to be tricky working through what happened, at least I knew he understood that his place was here.
“I’ve thought a lot about what to say to you,” he said quietly. “But there’s nothing I can think of to tell you how sorry I am for what happened.”
I said, “How about ‘I’m sorry for what happened’?”
He dropped his head.
“I wish I could change what I did.”
I just nodded and said, “If I told you it was cool and to not worry about it, I’d be lying. But the thing is, now I know how you felt when your father died. Saint Dane killed Uncle Press, just like he killed your father. I want him stopped now more than ever. But there’s something you gotta understand. Getting revenge on him isn’t the answer. If you understand that, we’re cool. If not, then I’m going to have to go forward alone.”
“He understands, Pendragon,” said a familiar voice.
Walking up to us was Loor. I was stunned. Seeing her here, on Faar, was totally out of context. She was wearing a light green Cloral suit that really showed off her athletic body. She looked more beautiful than ever. I wanted to throw my arms around her and give her a hug, but that wasn’t Loor’s style. She stepped up to me and put a hand on my shoulder. That’s about as warm as Loor got.
“Spader came for me. He was confused, and afraid to speak with you,” she said.
I could understand that. If he needed help, the last person he could go to was someone who blamed him for getting his uncle killed.
Loor continued, “We have all lost the ones we loved most. Press always said how this is the way it was meant to be. I believe him. Spader was no more responsible for Press’s death than you were for the death of my mother. When she died, I hated you, Pendragon. But I came to see how this is the course we were destined to follow. It will often be a tragic one, but there is a greater purpose. I understand that. I believe Spader does too.”