Uncle Press didn’t say another word. Saint Dane then came to me. We stood eye-to-eye. Both of our faces were battered from the beating we had taken, and given. He clutched at my shirt.
“Pendragon,” he gasped, his voice getting raspy. “My adversary. We are not so different, you and I.”
Saint Dane’s image blinked again. For a moment I saw right through him. Literally.
“We both want what is best for Halla; we just come at it from different perspectives. Think. Think, Bobby. Together, you and I embody exactly what Solara is about. There is no right and wrong, there is only balance. Together, you and I, we can restore that balance and heal the wounds.”
“You mean the wounds that you inflicted?” I said.
Saint Dane was losing strength. He started to cry. He fell to one knee while still clutching at me.
“It wasn’t supposed to happen this way,” he sobbed. “I made mistakes. I was weak. I was seduced by my own vision. You of all people should understand that. You know that Halla is imperfect, and I am the embodiment of Halla. Forgive me. Please. Save me.”
“I can’t,” I said.
“Why?” he cried. “Why can’t you?”
Saint Dane was sobbing. His image winked out again, then returned, but not fully. He raised his chin, and I looked into those blue-white eyes for the last time.
“Because this is the way it was meant to be.”
Saint Dane dropped his head, let out a guttural cry, and disappeared.
The demon was dead. His spirit had ended. It was only fitting that, in the end, I wasn’t the one who destroyed Saint Dane. His final undoing came at the hands of the very people he’d set out to dominate. The people of Halla finished Saint Dane. In doing so, they took back control of their own destiny.
(CONTINUED)
THE END
A few weeks have passed since that incredible day that saw the end of Saint Dane and his bid to create a new Halla. I’ve been walking around in kind of a dream state. It’s hard to believe that it is over. Truly over. The quest to stop Saint Dane consumed my every thought for nearly five years. It changed my life. No, it revealed to me a life that I never imagined existed. I know this is going to sound strange, but now that reality has sunk in, I’m feeling kind of sad. Don’t get me wrong, defeating Saint Dane was a glorious thing. It was the right thing. I’m still having trouble getting my head around the fact that by ending his spirit, we have put Halla back on the proper course. I know that it’s true, but come on… it’s a lot to accept.
The other Travelers are in much the same state of disbelief. We all took up residence here in the Taj Mahal. This is where I’m writing my final journals. We all are. Uncle Press asked that we all take the time to reflect on events and write them down. I’m not sure why that’s so important, other than as a record from ten different points of view. He hasn’t said what’s going to happen to them, but the way
I look at it is, if there is ever any hint of somebody like Saint Dane making rumblings about causing trouble again, maybe our journals will serve as a warning. Learning from the mistakes of the past is a good thing.
So I’m writing. Everything. I can remember it all in such amazing detail. All of it. From when I kissed Courtney in my home on Second Earth to Saint Dane disappearing before my eyes. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that I’m not really human. Maybe I’m somehow channeling the spirits of Solara into my consciousness to bring back every little fact. I wish I knew I had this ability back in algebra class.
Of course, that raises the question that’s on everybody’s mind. Nobody has said it yet. Most of the time we spend reflecting on the past, reliving events, filling in the blanks of what happened to each of us when we weren’t together. Filling out the story. But there is a very big elephant in the room that nobody has dared mention.
What happens to us now?
In my head I’m still Bobby Pendragon from Second Earth. I understand about Solara and the spirit of mankind. It’s true. It’s real. I saw it all. The idea that we Travelers are spirits that were taken from Solara and given physical life to battle Saint Dane makes sense to me. More or less. What I can’t conceive of is a future. Our future. Nobody has brought it up. I’m not sure we’re ready to know. At least, I’m not.
Luckily, there has been enough happening to keep our minds off such cosmic concerns.
The heroic gars returned to Eelong. To Black Water. By joining with the exiles, they exemplified the spirit of Solara and helped save Halla. That was a no-brainer. They belonged on Eelong and were sent back to continue their lives and their fight to gain respect from the klees.
Boon went along with them of course. Eelong was his home. He and Kasha said their good-byes privately. Seeing their tearful farewell made me realize I would soon be in the same position with my own friends. I put it out of my mind. I didn’t want to deal with that until I had to.
More difficult was the issue of what to do with the exiles. These were people who originally came from Second Earth. Many of Mark’s rebels were also from Second Earth. Should they go back?
The answer was a harsh one. No. Uncle Press was adamant. There were no territories anymore, only the seven worlds of Halla. To send those people back in time would once again disrupt the way things were meant to be. Or had become. He said that Halla should rebuild based on the events that had occurred. On all the worlds. There would be no more traveling. No more interference from Solara. He said that the natural order had been restored, and sending those people to the past of their own world with the knowledge they had of the future would be wrong.
Many discussions took place with the exiles and the leaders they had chosen. They were divided. Some wanted to return, others understood that it would be disruptive. In the end they agreed to start a new life in the future of the world to which they had been born.
Once that decision was made and accepted by all, the flume was destroyed. Using explosives taken from the Ravinian armory, the final tunnel through time and space was buried. Forever. There would be no others.
I’m happy to say that the Ravinians welcomed the exiles with open arms. They had been living in a gilded cage. Few were allowed to leave the conclave, and when they did, it was usually to travel to another conclave. Now the entire world was open to them. It was a thrilling concept. The exiles would be spread among many conclaves that had been built worldwide. From these centers, a new civilization would grow. Like Halla, Earth had been reborn.
There was no way of knowing what was happening on the other territories. At least, not yet. I assumed that once we returned to Solara and became part of the spirit, we’d be able to witness events all over Halla. Not participate in them, but witness them and offer the kind of gentle guidance that was the essence of Solara. I still didn’t know exactly how that would work, but I believed we would all know soon enough. I also believed that with Saint Dane’s influence gone, the hold that the Ravinians had on all the various societies across Halla would weaken and eventually crumble. The positive spirit of mankind was too strong to allow Ravinia to keep its grip. There was no telling how long it would take on each territory, but after seeing what happened here on Earth, I had no doubt that the days of Ravinia were numbered, and each world would eventually return to its normal path. The way it was meant to be. All these broad-stroke decisions made full sense to me. I accepted them and encouraged them. Where it got difficult was when it became personal.
What was to become of Mark”and Courtney?
If our theory about not sending the exiles back in time was correct, the same would have to apply to Mark and Courtney. As much as it killed me, I agreed with the decision. I was so incredibly proud of these guys. From day one they embraced every challenge that was thrown at them. That I had thrown at them. Now that the battle was won, they didn’t stop. They had both been working very hard to act as ambassadors. Mark knew the rebels. Courtney knew the exiles. Together they worked to bridge the gap between them and help them become one. Their knowledge of these newcomers put them in the perfect position to do the same with the Ravinians. They were the liaisons. They were incredible. I loved these guys, which made it hard to tell them the truth.