Dormia (45 page)

"Holy cow!" exclaimed Alfonso. "Those soldiers are—"

"
Dragoonya,
" finished the general. His voice trembled and his eyes were wild with alarm. "I can't believe it—they've infiltrated the Founding Tree's root system."

G
ENERAL LOXOC
stood up. "Let's go," he said grimly. "Somnos must prepare for battle."

"Wait," replied Alfonso. "Let me go down there—I'll see what they're up to."

"Are ya crazy?" asked Bilblox. "Ya can't go down there!"

The general considered this. "It might be worth a try," he said. "But be careful! As you know, the Founding Tree is dying. Soon, the root system itself will collapse. The roots' ceilings and walls will simply cave in. It could happen at any time. Be very, very careful!"

Alfonso nodded and slithered through the hole. Only once he was fully inside did Alfonso realize the seriousness of his situation. He was basically clinging to the ceiling of a giant
tube and several hundred feet beneath him was a river of icy water. If he fell, and did not die from the impact, the Dragoonya knights would waste no time in killing him. The key, he told himself, was to use his hands and feet to dig into the soft, dark green walls of the root. The strange texture of these walls felt oddly familiar. Alfonso had a quick moment of déjà vu—as if he had been in this very root before—but he knew that this couldn't be the case.

Alfonso crawled like a spider down the wall of the root. Halfway down, he came across a wet, slimy patch about ten feet wide. It was crumbly to the touch and smelled strange, like mold. Alfonso remembered General Loxoc's warning, and cut a wide path around the area. Finally, he came to a stop near the waterline, where he crouched in a small crevice and watched several boats of soldiers float by.

Alfonso crept downstream for several minutes until he came upon what appeared to be a giant construction site. It was dark enough inside the root that Alfonso was able to move without being seen. As poor as the visibility was, however, Alfonso could see that the Dragoonya had just finished building a giant wooden ramp. Indeed, hundreds of foot soldiers and horsemen were already marching up the steep incline of the ramp in order to reach the top of the root. There, another work crew had burrowed a tunnel through the ceiling of the root and up through the soil to the surface above. All in all, this appeared to be an incredibly well-organized operation. Clearly, the entire Dragoonya army would soon be above ground.

Time was of the essence. Alfonso had to scurry back to the top of the root, reenter the prison, and warn General Loxoc as quickly as possible. Alfonso turned to leave, but just then, he
noticed something out of the corner of his eye. It was a head of long blond hair. He looked more closely and there, standing near the base of the giant wooden ramp, was the last person he had expected to see: Resuza.

The very moment that Alfonso saw her, it all came together. His head swirled with dizziness at the realization that Resuza had betrayed them. The moment of betrayal had occurred back on the other side of Straszydlo Forest on the day of the avalanche. That was when Alfonso and Resuza had discovered the mysterious square tunnel on the side of the mountain. Alfonso had nearly fallen in. At the time, Alfonso had been too scared and confused to see this tunnel for what it was—a root of the Founding Tree of Somnos. This was why the texture of the tunnel's walls felt so familiar! He had been in this very root system once before! Normally, roots of the Founding Tree were probably buried deep beneath the ice, but this one had been sheared off by the avalanche. Resuza had either figured this out or simply reported it to the Dragoonya. In any case, Nartam had been given an opportunity—an actual opening into the Founding Tree's root system—and he had seized upon it!

Alfonso was so angry that he almost felt lightheaded. He grabbed a thick portion of the wall of the root and held on, as if seasick. Suddenly, he heard a new sound. It was the light patter of footsteps, and they were coming toward him. He looked up—Resuza was only a few feet away and drawing closer. Her attention was focused on the river. Only seconds remained before she discovered him.

He whirled to one side of the path and waited for her to arrive. When she did, he grabbed her leg and pulled her to the ground. She fell with a muffled thud. Although she tried to scream, Alfonso had placed his hand over her mouth. Her eyes widened with shock when she saw him.

"Traitor!" Alfonso hissed. "How could you do it?"

Resuza's eyes were wild with panic, and she struggled against him.

"What happened to you?" asked Alfonso. "We thought you were
dead.
"

"I wish I were dead," said Resuza bitterly as she pried Alfonso's fingers away from her mouth.

"Why'd you do it?" demanded Alfonso.

Resuza said nothing.

"Why?" he repeated.

"I didn't have a choice," she replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Don't look so surprised," whispered Resuza. "If you knew anything at all about Barsh-yin-Binder you would have guessed that I was a Dragoonya slave. For goodness sakes, Barsh-yin-Binder is a city of slaves."

"You're a slave?"

"Of course," said Resuza. "I have been a slave since the day that the Dragoonya killed my parents and captured my sister and me." A tear rolled down her cheek. "And Naomi is still a slave, in their capital of Dargora."

"What about Straszydlo Forest?" asked Alfonso. "How did you survive?"

"I didn't go very far," said Resuza. "I just walked in, threw off my cape, and then reversed my steps, walking out backwards."

"We thought you were dead!"

"I know," said Resuza dejectedly. "That's what
he
told me to do."

"Who?"

"Kiril," said Resuza. "Don't you see? Kiril was telling me what to do from the beginning. He knew you would be coming through Barsh-yin-Binder. I waited by those docks for you every day for a month."

Alfonso shook his head. "So it was all a setup?"

"I am sorry," said Resuza. "I wanted to tell you, but Kiril was always there, hiding in the shadows, watching. The only time I knew for certain that I was alone was in Straszydlo Forest. Only then could I warn you—by carving the list of perfect squares into the snow. Did you see it?"

"Perfect squares?"

"You know—one, four, nine, sixteen, twenty-five—all are numbers that have perfect square roots," said Resuza. "I was positive that you would figure it out. After all, you solved the riddle of Prince Binder in the catacombs. You love riddles!"

Alfonso looked confused.

"Don't you remember?" asked Resuza exasperatedly. "We found that perfectly square-shaped tunnel that was actually a root—
a square root!
I even wrote "Warn them!" in the snow. I wanted you to warn the Dormians! Didn't you get it?"

Alfonso shook his head in frustration. He hadn't figured it out. Now it made sense. She had tried to warn him and the Dormians about the severed root! Suddenly, Alfonso also remembered the words that the Straszydlo had uttered:
I'm so sorry, Alfonso!
These were words that she had said—not in
the anguish of death—but in a spell of regret. He stared at Resuza and didn't know what to do.

"There were other moments when you could've warned us," insisted Alfonso. "You could've told Hill on the way out of Barsh-yin-Binder, or you could've whispered it to me. Kiril couldn't have been watching the whole time."

Resuza shook her head. "You don't know him," she said. "He sees everything."

At that moment, a gruff voice interrupted their conversation.

"Who's there?" asked the voice. Alfonso looked up. Two Dragoonya soldiers were standing less than five feet away. One of them had his sword drawn.

"Come out of the shadows," demanded the soldier whose sword was drawn. "Show your faces."

Alfonso reached into his coat pocket and slipped his fingers around the cool surface of the blue sphere. He could not see the sphere, of course, but he pictured it; and he pictured exactly what he had to do with it.

"It's just me, kind sirs—the slave girl," said Resuza nervously. "Give me a second."

"You'll come out right now or I'll cut you to pieces!" barked the soldier. "I'll give you three seconds: one, two..."

But the soldier never finished counting. Before he could say the word
three,
he had fallen to the ground and was unconscious. An instant later, the other soldier lay knocked out beside him. Neither soldier would have any memory of being smacked directly in the forehead with a darting blue sphere.

"How did you do that?" asked Resuza.

"Nevermind," said Alfonso. "We've got to get out of here."

"What?"

"Come," said Alfonso. "It's not too late to atone for what you've done. Besides, if you stay here, you'll be killed. After all, we just attacked two Dragoonya soldiers."

Resuza said nothing.

"Are you coming?" asked Alfonso.

S
EVERAL
minutes later, General Loxoc was flabbergasted to see Alfonso emerge from the root of the Founding Tree with a young blond-haired girl in tow. "What's the meaning of this?" asked the general. "Wh-who is she?"

"This is Resuza," explained Alfonso hastily. "She's a Dragoonya slave, but she's going to help us."

"Resuza!" boomed Bilblox. "Are ya kiddin'? She's alive?" His tone turned suspicious. "Wait—what was she doin' with the Dragoonya?"

"Don't worry about it," gasped Alfonso. "I'll explain later. Resuza, tell the general what you know."

"Something happened last night," explained Resuza. "The Dragoonya were planning to wait in the tunnel until their full
army had arrived, but Nartam went up to the surface, and then rushed back with the order that the attack was to proceed today. It's strange, because their full force has not yet arrived."

"Can this girl be trusted?" asked the general.

Alfonso hesitated for a fraction of a second and then nodded.

"It makes sense," replied General Loxoc. "Only the ash from burning a living tree gives them what they want. From his reconnaissance, Nartam undoubtedly realizes that the Founding Tree is dying. If it dies before he burns it, he will lose any chance of getting the purple ash."

"The advance guard is exiting the root about a quarter-mile south of here," continued Resuza. "But there's another group, with about thirty men, including Nartam. They're continuing deeper into the root."

"So it's a two-pronged attack," said the general. "The Dragoonya force will strike the city from the north. And as for that second group with Nartam, they must be heading for the main chamber. We've caught a break—Nartam's army won't hit us with its full force. Let's hope our defense is strong enough." He looked at Alfonso and shook his head. "We have no time to waste—let's go!"

The general dashed out of the cell and sprinted back toward the entrance to the jail. Alfonso followed, and just behind him was Bilblox, clutching fiercely to his shoulder. Resuza brought up the rear.

"Wait!" yelled Alfonso. "What's the main chamber?"

"It's where all the roots converge at the base of the tree," yelled the general without looking back. "It's the best place to go if you want to burn down the whole tree."

"Why is that?" asked Alfonso as he hurried after the general.

"Because," yelled the general impatiently, "the roots of the tree aren't flammable but the trunk is—and the main chamber is where the trunk starts—it's like the fuse on a giant firecracker."

"Oh boy," grunted Bilblox.

"Shouldn't we go back into the root system and stop them?" yelled Alfonso.

"No!" yelled the general. "There's a faster way to get to the main chamber—but we have to hurry!"

***

Their only hope was speed. As they boarded the chariot sled at the prison, General Loxoc pointed to a cloud of snow lit up by the moon and rising from the ground in the distance. It was the Dragoonya army emerging from the root. Clearly, they were under instructions to make for Somnos immediately, since the Dragoonya on the ground appeared to be galloping at full speed toward the city.

The race was on.

Alfonso, Bilblox, Resuza, and General Loxoc were soon experiencing the ride of their life as Ivan snapped his whip and goaded the horses back toward Somnos at breakneck speed. "Yahhhhhhh!" screamed Ivan. "Yahhhhhhh!" The only other sounds that Ivan let out were snoring grunts. With each grunt, he raised his right arm in the air and snapped his long whip. Fortunately, the horses needed little encouragement. They galloped mightily in a cloud of pounding hooves and billowing
snow. Inside the sled, the wind rushed against their faces and flattened back their hair. The bumps in the road were so numerous that everyone was popping out of their seats like kernels of corn in a hot frying pan.

"It's going to be close!" yelled the general, who was riding in the front with Ivan. "We'll beat them back to the city gates, but I won't have much time to gather my men and warn the rest of the city. In this darkness, the Dragoonya won't be noticed until it's too late. We must try to light the urns with the green flame right now!"

He looked at Alfonso. "Reach under your seat," ordered the general. "Hand me my crossbow."

Alfonso crouched on the floor and pulled out a giant crossbow, which weighed close to fifty pounds and stood almost four feet in height. Attached to it was a quiver with some twenty arrows—almost all of them had red tips except for two that had green tips. Alfonso remembered the ceremony that he had witnessed in which the Dormian archers had shot the flaming arrows into the urns. He realized what had to be done: they had to shoot a green-tipped arrow into one of the urns. This would cause a special green flame to erupt and, if all went according to plan, the people of Somnos would realize that they were about to be attacked.

"It's going to be a very difficult shot!" yelled the general. "We're still a good distance from the city. Alfonso, you take the shot! You're the only one who could do it from this distance."