For I Could Lift My Finger and Black Out the Sun (33 page)

9

We drove on in the damaged car, putting as many miles between us and the bus station as we could. With Margrethe on a bus heading east, each mile we traveled doubled the distance. I could only hope the many adjustments I’d made to her mind were enough to keep her away. At any rate, if she wanted her vengeance on me, it would have to wait. Sol and my sister were my only concern.

Gauging the miles, Mom said the words I had longed for and yet dreaded. “We should be there tomorrow, you guys.”

Bobby didn’t say anything, instead slumping back into his seat, looking out the window at the passing landscape. Rugged hills, the color of rust, sped past. The endless repetition of phone and power lines, pole, slow curve of wires, pole, over and over and over, enough to mesmerize you. Soon, Bobby closed his eyes.

The sun was setting in front of us. It was a beautiful sight, orange and pink and purple sky coloring the land, rocky hills and outcroppings silhouetted in black and tinged with light. I stared at it all, transfixed, though even the fading brilliance of the sun was enough to burn temporary blind spots in my eyes. With every blink, I saw the landscape in negative.

I figured this would be my last night alive, so I might as well watch the sunset one final time. I’d never been big on admiring nature, but it’s funny how impending mortality changes your opinion of such things. I mean, I wasn’t trying to be pessimistic or anything, but seriously. Two kids going up against an adult whose previous experience included keeping the entire power of the police and military at bay?

What could be easier?

I was scared. Bobby was snoring. And Mom was clearly worried.

“Mom?”

“Yes, honey?” The last rays of the sun cast an eerie array of pink and purple on her face, like I was looking at an angel.

“I just want you to know I’m going to do everything I can to get Holly back.”

She turned to me with a smile, but her eyes quickly grew wet. “I know, John. In just a couple of days, the things I’ve seen you do… Well, they’re just
incredible
. I have faith in you. And thank you. From Holly, too.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Mom. If it weren’t for me, Holly would be home. She’d be fine. Sol took her because of me.”

“That’s not your fault, John. This…
Sol
person is a monster. Stealing helpless children. I hope they lock him up and throw away the key.”

I sighed. “I don’t think that’s going to happen. Remember how easily he got away, back when he held the governor hostage? They won’t be able to arrest him. I’ve got to deal with him.” She didn’t say a word, but I could tell she was holding herself in, trying to be strong, knowing her son and daughter were both at great risk. “But Mom…”

“Yes, John, is there something else you need to tell me?”

“Yeah. But I don’t know how.”

She looked at me sideways, still watching the road as the dark came on. “You can tell me anything, honey. Anything at all. Okay?”

“I know, Mom. It’s just that it’s not easy to say it.” I swallowed hard before continuing. “I don’t think I’ll be coming back after tomorrow.”

I expected an argument, empty reassurances, something. But Mom had just witnessed the full fury of one bad person with power, and Margrethe was only a student. Sol was the master. And I was the outsider. I’d never even studied.

Still, she was my mom. “John. I know what you’re about to do is dangerous, the most dangerous thing in the world. And I know you’re doing it for Holly.” Through her tears, she kept driving, west into the darkening sky. “My instincts tell me to turn around, to take you away from Sol, not toward him. But he has Holly. We can’t just leave your sister with him. So as much as I want to protect you, as I
need
to protect you, I believe in you. I know you’re strong.”

“Okay, Mom, okay, thanks.” She had me crying, too.

“But I want you to know two things.”

“What’s that, Mom?”

“First, I’ve seen you in action. What you did back there against that woman was nothing short of unbelievable. If you can do that, then I think you can do anything.”

I blushed. “Thanks, Mom, but really —”

“But nothing. It was incredible. You don’t just have power and skill, you have compassion. I’m sure you could’ve done much worse by her, maybe even killed her, right?” I nodded. “But you did the right thing. And that means you’re a good person.”

There was a long silence. The only sounds were the low hum of the engine, the tires on the road, the wind outside. “What’s the second thing?”

“Just this,” she said. Her tone had changed, become hard. I never heard my mother speak so forcefully in my life. “Sol is an evil son of a bitch, and if I have to pull him limb from limb myself to get
both
of my children back, I will.”

I couldn’t help but crack a grin as we rolled along. Somewhere ahead, Sol was waiting for us, maybe laying a trap. But we were three determined people, each powerful in our own way, and at that moment I thought Sol was in for a load of trouble.

A rustling sound from behind got our attention. Bobby was waking up. Drawing a hand through his mop of hair, he yawned, one cheek red from pressing against the seat.

“What’d I miss?” he said with a dopey grin.

10

We arrived late morning the next day, after a long stop overnight for Mom to get some much-needed sleep. Amid the dull, sand-scrubbed monotony of the desert, something finally popped out: a wooden sign, painted a deep, even brown, with simple capital letters carved into the wood and painted white. They read:

EL DESIERTO DE LAS TRES MANOS

DESERT OF THE THREE HANDS

NATIONAL PARK & HISTORIC SITE

Below that, a green metal sign warned PARK CLOSES AT DUSK.
Oh good, thank you. We’ll be sure to wrap up by then. Wouldn’t want to break any rules.

I was so nervous, I giggled at this silly thought. Mom and Bobby each gave me a look, eyebrows raised. I waved it off with a quick apology.

There was no ranger station, no visitor’s center. Just an empty two-lane road that lead to a parking lot.

The lot sat empty except for a single vehicle. An old maroon minivan.

Sol.

Mom parked and killed the engine. Bobby and I sat still. I guess he was as afraid to get out as I was. We sat in silence for a couple of minutes.

“Man, I’m really thirsty all the sudden,” Bobby said. “I mean, it’s a desert and all, right? I think there was a store, maybe 10 miles back. We could —” I tossed him a full water bottle from the pile of random stuff we’d accumulated on our brief stops. “Oh. Okay. Thanks.”

I faced the two of them. “Bobby, it’s time. I’ve got to do this. I’d say I wouldn’t blame you if you decided not to go, but I will. You owe me, and you owe Holly.” Bobby nodded, eyes to the ground. “And Mom. I can’t have you follow us. It’s too dangerous.”

“John —” she started, but I cut her off.

“I know it’s crazy. I’m 14 and you’re my mom. You should be the one telling me what to do. But you saw what went down with Margrethe. It’ll be that, times 10.” I took a deep breath. “Maybe times a hundred. I want you to stay with the car, here.”

“It’s not that,” she said. “And you aren’t 14. Not any more.”

“Huh?”

“I nearly forgot myself, with all the hiding and driving and powers and such, but it’s true. I’d sound like a fool wishing you happy birthday while I’m sending you off to fight a madman, but it
is
your birthday. You’re 15 now, John. And I love you. I’ll stay back, but I meant what I said. I want
both
of my kids back today.” Bobby cleared his throat dramatically, and Mom laughed despite the situation. “
And you
, Bobby!” She tousled his hair and he smiled.

There was nothing else to say. No way to really prepare otherwise. So I opened the door to get out. Mom gave me a short but intense hug. I didn’t want it to end, but it did. I stood in the parking lot outside the car.

God, it was hot.

Late morning in the desert, it must have been in the high 90s. Any last semblance of cool from the AC in the station wagon quickly evaporated. I leaned back into the car and grabbed my backpack, filling it with four water bottles, leaving two for Mom.

As I stood and slipped the backpack onto my shoulders, the ground started to vibrate. It came on slow, but built up steadily.

An earthquake
. I hadn’t felt one in so long. Just thinking about it felt strange. They’d been so common at one point, even the news had stopped reporting on each one. I thought of Holly’s seizures, how they could predict the earthquakes.

Sol, you’re doing this. It’s like your calling card. And each time you do it, you’re hurting my sister, you bastard.

The fact that Sol could move the earth itself did little to bolster my confidence, but there was nothing left to do. “Come on, Bobby,” I said, and we both set out.

Bobby pulled at his collar, trying to loosen it, even though he was wearing a light t-shirt. To me, he simply mouthed one word:
hot
.

I gave my mom a final wave just before we crossed over a little hill and disappeared behind a rocky outcropping, hiding her and the car from view. My heart sank, knowing it was likely the last time I’d ever see my mother.

* * *

We followed the easiest path, no doubt the one any tourist would follow after parking in the small lot. It wound between growing rock walls, a sandy flat path into the deepening canyons.

These are box canyons
, I reminded myself.
We need to be careful about dead ends
.

We were tense, alert. Expecting an attack at any moment as we rounded turns left, right, right, left again. The canyons were a maze, the walls towering over us. Countless times, we’d turn blindly into a new area, expecting Sol but finding nothing. Eventually, our state of readiness diminished.

Which of course was when we turned into a wide opening. On the far side two branches of the canyon split off, one left, one right.

And in the very middle stood Sol.

“Hello, my old friends. Thank you so much for coming to visit me. I’ve been waiting for you.” Bobby and I nearly fell over each other getting into stances like amateur karate masters preparing for hand-to-hand combat. Sol chuckled. Yes, he did. That damned chuckle. Again. “Boys, please. Lower your arms. Can we not talk? Are we not, in many ways, brothers? Even if brothers-in-arms? We should seek to resolve our differences as such. Please.” He held out one hand in a gesture of peace, his charm working overtime.

I saw Bobby lower his arms, and felt myself doing the same. Bobby took a step forward.

“No,” I said with as much force as I could, willing myself out of the daze Sol was putting us in. “Bobby, stop.
He’s
doing this. He’s trying to push your mind to give up.”

Another chuckle. “Ah, John. So clever. Well, you can’t blame me for trying, can you? There’s really no need for a fight. I was just trying to…
alleviate some
tension
.” He gave me a smile, bright white, perfect teeth gleaming.

I wiped my forehead, already beaded heavily with sweat, and noticed Sol wasn’t perspiring at all.

The ground started to tremble again, and Sol looked down. It was brief and weak, soon passing.

“Cut that out,” I said. “It’s hurting her.”

Sol raised his eyes to look at me again. “You mean Holly? The seizures? Yes, I am aware that she feels these tremors more
intensely
than others, it’s true. Despite her otherwise complete detachment.” He smiled again, giving a small bow. “My apologies, John. I shall try to control myself.”

“Give me my sister back, and this whole thing can end!” I shouted.

Sol
tsked
me. “No, John. I am afraid that is not true. You see, if I give you your sister back, it resolves
your
problems. However, it does nothing to alleviate
mine
.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think your friend Bobby knows what I mean. Right, Bobby?”

Bobby shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” His face was slick with sweat, and I could see damp stains growing larger under his arms. Still, Sol seemed oblivious to the heat.

“Ah, Mr. Graden, have my teachings had such little impact upon you? That’s disappointing. You don’t recall what I’ve told you — indeed, what I taught
the entire group
?” He spat the words like they tasted bad. “Don’t you remember what I said about
allies
?”

Bobby wrinkled his forehead. “You said, ‘Those who are not our allies are our enemies.’”

“Good,” Sol said, smiling. Not only wasn’t he sweating, but he was immaculately dressed, a pristine grey button-up shirt tucked into neatly pressed black pants, a sliver of gold flashing from the buckle of his thin leather belt. As usual, Sol was tanned and handsome. Even his hair was perfect. In contrast, Bobby and I were disheveled and probably smelled horribly. We’d been on the road and in the car for so long. Still, in the desert, we seemed to
fit
. Our clothes picked up many of the colors of dirt, like the rust-hued walls of the canyon around us. Unlike us, Sol wore pristine shoes — some kind of fancy type, maybe alligator? — So gleamingly perfect that I wondered how he’d come to stand in this place without scuffing or dirtying them. “So there we have it, John. If I hand over Holly to you, you go home, but we remain enemies. That does not help me to achieve my agenda.”

“And what
is
your agenda, Sol?” I put my hands on my hips, defiant. Or at least trying to look like I was. Beside me, Bobby tensed.

“Well, I’ve already explained it once to you, John.” He spoke with the perfunctory wave of a hand, like his words were so obvious he was insulted to have to say them. “I wish to be eternal.”

“But what does that
mean
? And what does it have to do with
me
?”

“It’s simple, John. Allies or enemies. If you join me, we can become eternal together. Change the world, bend it to suit us. And the others will return to us in time, I have no doubt. There have been so few people throughout history who were truly eternal. Think about it. Christ. Mohammed. Buddha. Mahavira. Moses. Or, in more secular circles, Aristotle, Khan, Napoleon, Einstein, Hilter. People who changed the world forever, left an indelible mark.”

I scoffed. “You realize how crazy you sound, right? You want to be put on a list that includes Buddha
and
Adolf Hitler? Jesus
and
Genghis Khan? And you think that sounds appealing to me?”

Sol stepped forward, radiating an intensity that spoke of his power. “Think about it, John. Genghis Khan was brutal, it’s true, but he lived in brutal times. Do you think it was
easy
to unite the nomadic tribes of Mongols, scattered as they were across a harsh landscape, unwilling for someone else to bring them to heel? But he did, and in so doing he changed their world, giving them something they’d never had before. An
empire
.”

“He gave them servitude. Just like you’d like to enslave people now.”

Sol nearly spat. “What use would I have for a horde of human slaves? No, Genghis Khan
enlightened
his people. Education, religious tolerance. Did you know that Khan promoted his deputies by their merit, not by who they knew or which family they came from?”

I was no history genius, but I did go to school. Genghis Khan was someone we’d spent some time learning about the semester before in Mrs. Setzer’s class. “Wait. Didn’t he divide his empire among his sons when he died?”

“So?” Sol clearly wasn’t someone used to being questioned on matters of intellect.

“Are you telling me that, of all the people who lived in his time, his
sons
were the most worthy?”

Sol gave a smug smile. “Perhaps they were, John. They learned at the feet of the master, after all. And that is what I offer you. Join me. And Bobby, I will forgive you and allow you to rejoin me as well. Let us come together to change the world.”

I took a deep breath, knowing this was the last moment, perhaps my last moment of peace in life.

“No,” I said, arms falling flat against my sides.

And from my right, without warning, Bobby launched an attack.

Sol was surprised, but not nearly enough. Bobby used his mind to pull down a section of the canyon wall behind Sol, and rocks the size of watermelons came tumbling toward him. But Sol simply pivoted and swept his hand back and forth, parting the falling rocks like one might sweep away the crumbs after a meal.

I was too stunned to move. I realized Bobby and I had absolutely no plan, and wondered in that instant how we had spent so many hours on the road, in the station wagon with Mom driving, without coming up with a single idea. Suddenly I realized that Bobby was only creating a distraction. With Sol’s back turned to handle the small avalanche, Bobby leaped forward. His arms and legs shot out in front of him, becoming rigid as steel as he slammed into Sol’s back. It was far from elegant.