“I’m proud of you, Loor,” said Uncle Press. “Your mother would be too.”
“She taught me well,” said Loor.
My mother never taught me anything like that. She spent a lot of time drilling good table manners into me, but we never got to the lesson on how to disarm and crack heads with three guys twice my size. My education was definitely lacking in that area.
“What about the bomb?” said Alder. “We must do something!”
Uncle Press spun back to us and said, “Okay, first thing we have to do is get to the palace. We aren’t doing any good here.”
I wasn’t so sure that going to the palace was on the top of my To Do list. The palace was the target and unless we had a real chance of stopping Rellin from setting off that bomb, the only thing getting closer would do is guarantee that we’d be killed the instant it went off. But I wasn’t about to say that. The truth was if there was any hope of stopping Rellin, we had to get there.
“Alder, I want you to go back to the village,” said Uncle Press.
“No!” he exclaimed. “I want to stay with you.”
“Look,” said Uncle Press firmly. “I have no idea if we’re going to stop this thing. So get back to the village, talk to anyone who’ll listen. Warn them that this bomb is going to be bigger than they could ever imagine. Try to get them to go down into the mines. Maybe if they get underground they’ll be safe.”
“But I-”
“No buts, Alder,” said Uncle Press. “I know you want to be with us, but if we fail, you still might be able to save some of the Milago.”
Uncle Press was right. If Alder could save even one person from being killed by the explosion, then his mission would be successful. He had to go back.
Alder nodded to Uncle Press, which told me he understood how important his job was. There wasn’t time for long good-byes. I hadn’t known Alder for very long, but I had grown fond of him. He was kind of a goof, but I didn’t doubt for a second that he would have put his life on the line for any one of us. I’d like to say that I would do the same for him.
“Good luck, Travelers,” he said, and smiled at each of us.
“You too, Alder,” said Uncle Press. “Hurry.”
Alder then spun around and ran back toward the Milago village. Now it was just the three of us. The warrior, the boss, and the kid who was so scared he had to pee. Guess which one I was?
“Come on,” commanded Uncle Press and ran deeper into the forest. Our immediate goal was to get back to the Bedoowan palace. Beyond that, there was no plan. We would have to wing it once we got there, assuming we even got there. Since we were bushwhacking, it took us a long time. I could tell that Loor was getting impatient, but it was better to take a little longer to get there than to risk being captured again. We took a wide route and circled around toward the sea, then crawled along the bluffs until we were within eyesight of the outcropping that held the Bedoowan palace. Though we couldn’t see it, we knew where it was because there was a long line of knights marching toward it. Behind them were the four miners carrying the ore car full of glaze and tak. They were almost at the palace. In a few minutes they would descend into the stadium.
We continued to move quickly along the bluffs, moving closer to the stadium. It was a smart thing to do because none of the knights expected anyone to be coming from the sea. They were ever vigilant, but always with their eyes toward the forest. We were able to quietly slip in from behind them and crawl the last several yards on our bellies until we reached the lip of the stadium. We had made it. Now the question was, what were we going to do?
The three of us peered down into the stadium to see that the line of knights was marching down the steep stairs toward the grass field below. Behind them came Rellin and the miners struggling with the heavy ore car. I glanced around the rest of the stadium and saw that two of the spectator sections were beginning to fill up. The Bedoowan people and the Novans were once again taking their seats in anticipation of a show. It was a horrible feeling. None of these people had any idea that the main event was going to be their own deaths. I looked to the section where the Milago were before to see that it was empty. Big surprise. These guys knew what was coming and didn’t want to be any part of it. I then looked to Loor and to Uncle Press. Nobody said anything. That could mean only one thing. Nobody knew what to do. The thought ran through my head that we could run down the stairs screaming at everyone to run for their lives. But all Rellin would have to do is stop, press the button on his homemade bomb and it would be all over. That wouldn’t work at all. But if we were going to come up with a better plan, we needed to do it fast, because Rellin and the miners had reached the grass field and were about to place the ore car dead center in the ring.
“If I had an arrow I could kill Rellin from here,” said Loor.
“Then one of the others would press the button,” said Uncle Press.
I then heard the three chimes that signaled the arrival of Queen Kagan. Sure enough, when I looked at the royal box a few knights marched in, followed by the chubby queen. True to form, she was munching on something that looked like a roast beef. What a piece of work.
“Mallos isn’t there,” said Uncle Press. “My guess is he’s on a horse riding as fast as he can to get as far away from here as possible.”
Indeed, Mallos was nowhere to be seen. That was further proof that everything was happening according to his plan.
And that’s when it hit me.
“I…I’ve got an idea,” I said without even thinking. Even as I said it I was still working it through my head, calculating the possibilities and the chances of it working.
Uncle Press and Loor looked at me, but I didn’t respond to them at first. I still had to work things out.
“Don’t take your time, Bobby,” said Uncle Press. “We don’t have much.”
“Okay, okay,” I said nervously. “There might be a way, but if it doesn’t work, we’re all dead.”
“We are all dead anyway,” said Loor.
Good point. I looked down to the stadium and realized that I was about to volunteer to do something crazy. If I did it, I’d probably die. If I didn’t do it, we’ddefinitely die. Probably was better than definitely.
“I think I know how to stop this party,” I said with as much confidence as I could muster, which wasn’t much. Before I said another word, two more chimes sounded and the crowd fell silent. Rellin and the miners stood next to their wicked gift. Queen Kagan dropped her roast and leaned over the railing to look down on them.
“Tell me what it is you’ve brought me!” she shouted greedily.
If we were going to do something, now was the time.
Journal #4 (continued)
Denduron
“Good day, Queen Kagan!” shouted Rellin from the center of the stadium field.
This was probably the first time a Milago miner had addressed a Bedoowan monarch. Ever. It was probably going to be the last. Rellin had everyone’s attention in the stadium. I hoped that he had a lot to say, because if he decided to keep it short and reach for the bomb button, my plan had no chance of working. But if he took this opportunity to say what was on his mind and make some kind of grand political statement for the history books, then maybe we’d have a chance.
For my plan to work, we each had a different task.
Unfortunately my job was probably the most dangerous. It’s not that I wanted the most dangerous task, but it was the only job I was capable of pulling off. Lucky me.
I quickly told my idea to Uncle Press and Loor. They didn’t even stop to discuss it. The time for debate was over and since nobody had any better ideas, my plan was a “go.” The plan called for the three of us to split up. Before we had the chance to share a “good luck” or a “good-bye,” Loor was off and running. Typical. Uncle Press didn’t run off as quickly. He stayed long enough to give me this look of unclelike concern. I felt like I needed to say something important, but the only thing that came to mind was, “I really wish you had let me go to that basketball game.” Okay, maybe not the most eloquent last words, but it was how I felt.