Noah Zarc: Mammoth Trouble (Noah Zarc, #1) (9 page)

The next morning, Hamilton and Sam went to inspect the
Morning Star
. When they came back, they said the repair was complete—the expanding gel foam had hardened and they’d got the right aileron working too.

I searched the cave for Adina but couldn’t find her anywhere.

“Maybe she’s not big on goodbyes,” Dad said.

I gazed down the trail toward the Mammoth’s Tusk.

“Her whole life has been one big goodbye.”

Dad and I followed the long trail to the
Morning Star
. It seemed the whole tribe had come to see us off. He put his hand on my shoulder.

“I know you and the girl have become good friends. Bet it’s hard to leave her.”

“Yeah,” I said. “I’ll miss her.”

“I’ve been thinking…when this whole mess with Haon is straightened out and we’ve rescued your mother, maybe we should spend time on Mars. Give you a chance to make friends your own age.” He squeezed my shoulder. “What do you think?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Of course your mother has to agree, but I don’t see why she wouldn’t.”

We reached the
Morning Star
and turned to face the people who’d come with us. Dad raised his hands, palms toward the crowd.

“We thank you for the hospitality of your cave. May your fires be hot and your stomachs full, all the long days of your life.” He’s always had a flair for the dramatic.

A cheer rang out from the tribe.

I looked over the crowd once more for Adina. She was nowhere to be seen. Dad and I turned and entered the ship. The hatch sealed behind us.

As often as I’d flown with my dad, I never got over what a bad pilot he was. The ride to the
ARC
was almost unbearable. He seemed to have a knack for finding every pocket of turbulence in the sky.

By the time we reached orbit I actually felt a bit queasy, and I
never
get motion sickness. Sam and Hamilton didn’t look like they’d fared much better.

“I need to lie down.” I unstrapped myself and floated from my seat. It’s hard to believe he’s my dad, the way he flies this thing.

“Don’t hurl,” Sam yelled. “Be a real mess in zero-g.”

I glared at my sister and left the cockpit. I got to the cabin, opened the door—and stopped dead.

“How did you get here?”

Adina lay strapped in the bunk. Her face looked kind of green and her eyes scared. She said something I didn’t understand, and I scrambled to put my Triple-B back in my ear.

She repeated herself. “Is it always this bumpy?” Her teeth chattered as the ship bounced.

“Only when my dad’s the pilot.” I moved into the cabin and closed the door.

“I thought I’d never see you again.” I pulled myself into a chair and strapped down. “How did you get on board?”

She tried to smile. “It wasn’t hard when I found the orb in your coat pocket.” The blue ball floated from her hand and she snatched it out of the air.

I grinned. The ship rumbled.

“My dad isn’t going to like this.”

“Well, it was your idea.” She smiled, then her face went white when the ship spun around.

“My idea? How do you figure?”

“You gave me your coat and left the blue orb in the pocket. You told me you could take me somewhere warmer. You even asked if I’d miss the people of my tribe.”

Maybe she was right. I didn’t consciously think about getting her to stowaway, but some part of me might have been hoping she would.

“Well, whoever’s idea it was, I’m glad you’re here.”

At last the ship calmed.

“Adina, you’ve got to take a look at your world.” I unbuckled and pushed toward the far wall. “Computer, open the shield on the cabin widow.” A panel on the wall slid open just as the
Morning Star
rotated, revealing the planet below. The white expanse of the British Isles filled the screens.

Adina gasped. “That’s where I lived?”

“Yup,” I said. “Just wait till we get a bit higher.”

She sat transfixed by the view while the ship rocketed deeper into space. A few minutes later the blue sky around us turned black. The curvature of the earth appeared below.

“It’s round?”

“Earth is round, just like the sun and the moon.”

She glanced over at me, then back at the screens.

“That makes perfect sense, now that you say it. Why should our home be any different from the homes of God?”

I laughed. “Well, I’m not sure I know where God lives, but I do know that every planet we’ve found is round like Earth.” The
Morning Star
passed through the last remnants of the atmosphere.

“Look now.”

Adina sucked in her breath. “It’s so beautiful.” The white and blue ball filled the window.

Dad’s voice came over the intercom. “Everything all right in there?”

“Yeah Dad, everything’s great. It was a perfect flight.”

“Sarcasm doesn’t become you, son.” He laughed. “We’ll be on the
ARC
in ten minutes.”

“Okay, and Dad?”

“Yes, Noah?”

“Umm...” Adina was shaking her head. “Never mind, I’ll talk to you later.”

I sat in Hangar Bay One as Dad assigned us all tasks that needed to be accomplished before we could rescue Mom.

“We need to have a ship capable of inner-atmospheric flight before we get to the twelfth century. The patch job on the
Morning Star
wouldn’t hold up during the burn upon entry.”

“With the right tools I could have her ready in a few hours,” Sam said. She stood on my left, tapping her foot, and seemed ready to bolt for the fabrication shop the minute Dad finished speaking.

“Good,” Dad said. “But I’d also like to get the
DUV III
ready. Hamilton, can you help me with the warp manifold calibration?”

“Of course,” Hamilton said.

I eyed the hatch to the
Morning Star
.

“Noah, why don’t you help your sister?”

“What? No, I—”

“Not now. I want to get moving as fast as possible. Hamilton, meet me back here after I get the
ARC
on course.” Dad looked at the three of us.

“We’ll find her.”

With that, everyone dashed off, leaving me in the middle of the hangar bay. I watched Dad leave, then turned toward the
Morning Star.

“What did he say?” Adina sat on the edge of the bunk.

“I didn’t exactly have a chance to talk with him. Anyway, I think it’s best if I tell him later. For now, follow me.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” She stood up but stayed near the bed. “We should tell him now, it’ll be worse later.”

“Trust me, he’ll be much easier to talk to when he isn’t distracted.” That way he can give me his full attention when he tans my hide.

Adina followed while I worked my way down to the hatch. I held up my hand and peered into the hangar bay. Hamilton was nowhere to be seen, and Sam was in the workshop across the bay. Her back was to us as she tossed tools into a bin.

“Come on.” I waved Adina after me and sped out of the ship.

Minutes later, we entered my room. Obadiah jumped up in my lap, licked my face, then leapt to greet Adina, barking and racing back and forth between the two of us. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed him.

“Calm down, boy.” I laughed as he put his paws on her chest. “You’re going to cover her in dog-slime.”

Adina grinned while he licked her face.

“This is Obadiah.”

“He certainly is friendly. I’ve never seen an animal like this. Is it a fox or a wolf puppy?”

“He’s a dog—a beagle-hound mix, actually.” I laughed when Obadiah knocked her over. “I think he likes you.”

Once Obadiah got his fill of face licking, Adina turned and studied my room. A look of wonder filled her face.

“This is all yours? There’s… there’s so much!”

“Yeah, isn’t it great?”

“I can’t believe you need all this.” She bit her lip. “Your life must be much harder than I imagined, if one person needs a room full of…whatever this stuff is… to live.”

I picked up a half-finished model of a J-Class destroyer I hadn’t touched in months.

“Nah, most of it’s just for fun. Like your doll.”

Adina reached into the pocket of my coat, which she still had on. She pulled out the little figure made of bone and rawhide. She looked around the room, then back at her doll. With her eyes cast down she put it back in her pocket.

“So what’s your plan, Noah Zarc?”

“I think you should stay in my room until we get back.” I pushed a pile of clothes off my bed. “We shouldn’t be gone long, and Obadiah will keep you company.”

“I don’t know.” She looked around the room as if something might jump out and eat her the minute I left. With the mess I kept, it wasn’t that far-fetched.

“You just have to trust me.”

She raised her eyebrows and gave me a look I couldn’t figure out.

“This doesn’t feel right—not telling your dad about me.”

“But if I told him now—”

“He’d send me back home?” Her voice rose a bit.

He probably would, eventually, but I didn’t want to tell her that.

“I know if we just give him some time—”

“Noah, I just think it’s wrong! If he doesn’t want me here, I should go.”

“But once we get Mom and she meets you, there’ll be no way Dad can send you back.” Why was she getting mad at me? Didn’t she see I was just trying to help?

She studied me through her shaggy hair. Finally she sat down on my bed with a harrumph.

“We’ll do it your way for now. But I don’t have to like it.”

I struggled to find something to say that would convince her I was right but decided I’d just have to settle for having her mad for now.

“I’ll bring you something to eat.”

I moved around straightening my room. For the first time in my life I was a little embarrassed about the mess.

“It’ll take a few hours to get ready,” I said, “and if all goes well we’ll be back just a few minutes after we leave.”

She glanced about the room again, then back at me.

“Okay, but please hurry back.”

“I will, Adina. I
know
my mom will let you stay with us, I just know it.” I tried to reassure her with a smile, then left the room.

I glanced over at Sam, who looked miserable in her twelfth-century dress. She scowled at me. Maybe she was mad that I didn’t have to wear something just as uncomfortable. But I’d trade places with her in a minute if it meant I could leave the ship once we got to the surface. Well, I wouldn’t put on a dress, but something just as bad as what Dad was wearing. Who ever heard of a man in hose?

Dad constantly fidgeted in his seat, pulling his tunic down, trying to cover the dark wool clinging to his legs.

Sam had studied twelfth-century history and culture during the trip back in time, so we had some idea what to expect. According to her, she and Dad were now dressed appropriately for the period.

“You look like you’re wearing a pressurized EV suit in a low atmosphere,” I said, grinning at her.

“Meaning what? I look fat?” Sam’s dress was made of a coarse woven silk, dark blue with red trim around the sleeves and neck. “Mom’ll gush when she sees me in this. ‘Oh darling, you look so beautiful.’ I say ugh.”

“I say let’s get going.” I looked at Dad. “The quicker we find Mom, the quicker you can get out of those getups.”

He raised an eyebrow. “So, you’re in charge now?”

“Sorry,” I said. “I’m just worried about Mom.”

“We all are.” Dad smiled. “Take us out of here.”

I had to laugh when we lost gravity. Sam’s dress, which had pooled at her feet, now billowed around her. She bunched the fabric up with her hands and wrestled it back down. It was hard to believe that just hours ago she was covered in grime while she worked on repairing the
Morning Star
. Hamilton had stayed aboard the
ARC,
completing the calibration of the
DUV III’s
warp manifold. He wasn’t happy about being left behind, but logic told him he could better put his talents to use with the work on the
ARC
. I only hoped Adina would stay out of sight.

I nudged the
Morning Star
into a lower orbit. From the cockpit window I could see the outline of the British Isles.

Moses had given us the coordinates of an isolated area in the woods that surrounded Haon’s castle. With a little luck, we’d be able to land without anyone seeing us.

Dad looked up from the screen at his chair.

“I’ve completed a scan of the castle and located several life forms.”

“Well, we know he doesn’t have any use for living animals, so we can assume they’re people,” Sam said. “And one of them has to be Mom.”

Twenty minutes later, the
Morning Star
was on the ground. A rich green forest rose up around us on all sides. I shut down the ship’s engines and engaged the shield generator.

“So what’s the plan? You walk up to the castle and ask Haon to let Mom go?”

Dad looked amused, but Sam took me seriously.

“Haon would know Dad in a minute,” she said. “He’d probably recognize me, too. We have to find a way to sneak in.”

“Once we’re in sight of the castle,” Dad said, “your sister and I will come up with a plan. I highly doubt Haon is expecting anyone to come looking for him here.”

They both stood up.

“Sam, do you have your Triple-B?”

She pointed to her ear.

My stomach tightened at the idea of their leaving me alone on the ship while they headed off to unknown danger. It must’ve shown on my face, because Dad went into mega-reassurance mode.

“Don’t worry, son.” He put his hands on my shoulders. “All you need to do is be ready for liftoff as soon as we come back with your mother.”

“I’ll be ready.” I touched my comm-link. “And you’ll keep in contact?”

“You’ll be able to monitor us every step of the way.” He gave my shoulder a last squeeze, then Dad and Sam left the ship.

For the next half-hour I listened in as they worked their way toward the castle. I began to feel better about sitting in the climate-controlled ship while they mucked around in the forest.

“How did humans survive in the Middle Ages with clothes this constricting?” Sam said. “If I don’t trip and break my neck I’ll probably die of heat stroke.”

Dad kept quiet, but every now and then I caught a snicker. Finally they reached the castle.

“Looks pretty run down,” Dad said, “but the gates are wide open.”

“Just inside the archway? Someone seems to be sweeping the floor.”

“I see her too. Let’s go see what we can find out. I’ll do the talking, Sam.”

After a few minutes, I heard a raspy woman’s voice. “Fàilte, Ceud mìle fàilte.” Of course I had no idea what she was saying—I wasn’t wearing a Triple-B—but I thought it was in Gaelic.

Dad said, “Tha mi toilichte do choinneachadh.”

I caught snatches of conversation as the woman apparently led them into the castle. “Is mise Brìghde inghean Flaithbheartach. Dè an t ainm a th’ort.”

“Is mise Noah Zarc,” Dad said, then whispered for my benefit, “She said her name is Bridget. She’ll be happy to give us a room for the night and something to eat.”

I hit my comm-link. “Did you ask about Mom?”

“I asked her about the master of the castle,” Dad said. “By the sound of things, Haon’s been living here for about ten years, off and on.”

I heard pots and pans clanking. Women chattered in the background.

“He disappears on long trips, often for months at a time. When he returns he usually has a new trophy for his wall, some dead animal he hangs along with the hundred others he’s killed. They know to stay out of his way when he comes back empty-handed.”

“Nearly two months ago was the first time he’d ever come back with another person,” Sam whispered. “He was agitated, so they avoided him. He asked for food for the woman—for Mom—”

“What? Two months ago!” My mind reeled. How was that possible?

Dad spoke again in Gaelic. Another voice, not Bridget, answered.

Sam gasped. “A servant girl said they didn’t see her the whole time she was here—”

“Until just a few minutes ago,” Dad said. “The master and woman were seen leaving the castle on foot.”

“What? Where did they go?” I shouted.

“I don’t know,” Dad said. “Let’s scan the area surrounding the castle. I can do it from here, but I’ll need help from the ship’s computers to amplify the signal.”

“What do you need me to do?” I said.

“Ask the computer to pair with my signal, then do a broad sweep of the surrounding area for life-forms.”

I moved to the main monitor bank and waved my hand, bringing the screens to life, and repeated Dad’s request. The monitor immediately displayed an overhead thermal view of the castle and outlying area.

Blue indicated the cool stone of the castle. Several warm orange figures were moving within the structure. Two ran through what looked like the main entrance and flared brightly once they were outside the walls.

“Did you just leave the castle?”

“Yes,” Sam said. “Do you see them?”

“Not yet.” I hunched over the screen searching.

“Computer, increase coverage area.” The display zoomed out to take in several kilometers around the castle. I saw one other heat signature—mine.

“I don’t … wait!”

On the edge of the screen a brief flash of orange appeared. I swiped my hand over the screen and zeroed in. Sure enough, there were two figures running away from the castle.

“I see them…I think.” The larger of the two blobs burned a dull red color. The other flared bright, almost white.

“I see them on my wrist-comm display.” Dad panted as he ran. “We’ll try to catch them before—”

“They’re getting away!” I launched myself toward the door. “I’m the only one close enough to stop them!”

“Noah, NO!”

I tore out of the
Morning Star
and swept my gaze around the forest. The display had shown Haon and Mom running several hundred meters behind the ship’s tail.

I spotted a trail leading out of the clearing in the underbrush and took off as fast as my chair would let me. Brambles ripped my face and hands as I rushed through the thicket. I could hear Dad shouting over my wrist-comm.

After about a hundred meters, I stopped and looked around near the top of a little ridge. Much as I wanted to, I couldn’t just blindly charge through the woods.

I swiveled, peering into the late afternoon gloom.

“Noah, what are you—” I slapped my wrist-comm and cut Dad off. It took me a minute to catch my breath.

The forest was still.

A bit of color flashed between the trees to my right. I moved toward it, trying not to make a sound. A crash of snapping branches and rustling leaves sounded just ahead. I climbed to the very top of the ridge, and a ravine opened before me.

Two figures ran through a small creek below. Haon and Mom. Water erupted around them as Haon dragged her through the stream.

They stopped. Haon whipped around and glared at me. How’d he know I was here?

“You’ll never catch me, son.”

He yanked Mom by the arm when she turned to see who was following. She stumbled and smacked her head against a large stone. Blood swirled in the water.

Haon reached down with one hand and lifted her out of the water like a rag doll. He turned and sprinted up the stream, Mom hanging limply under his arm.

I slapped my wrist-comm.

“Dad, I see them! Where’s the ravine end?”

“About... one hundred meters to the north… bends right.” He was breathing so hard he could hardly get the words out.

I searched the ridge and saw an opening through the woods toward the northeast. I spun my chair and rocketed forward through branches that whipped my face.

Moments later I overlooked the ravine again. It was empty. Where—

“Behind you!” Dad shouted over the wrist-comm.

Something hit me so hard on the back that I flew from my chair and landed on my side.

I twisted to see what had clobbered me. Three meters away Mom lay in the leaves, her eyes closed.

“Should have left well enough alone, kid.”

I flopped on my back and looked up at Haon. He reared over me like a bear getting ready to finish the kill. He held a heavy log in his hand as if it were a twig.

Sunlight streamed through the trees and shadowed his face. I glanced at my chair, just a meter or so behind him. It was still in range.

“Don’t even think about it.” He didn’t turn away. “I’d kill you before you moved a centimeter.”

I squeezed my eyes shut and gave the mental command. My magchair roared to life and launched itself right at Haon.

I flattened myself against the ground as the chair caught him behind the knees. He tumbled back and the chair flew over me, Haon sprawled on top.

He smashed into a tree, his arm between the chair and the trunk. A terrible crunch sounded in the woods.

Haon roared, but more in anger than pain.

He jumped up and threw the smashed chair aside with his left arm, his right arm dangling uselessly at his side. In two steps he covered the distance between us, hauled back his good arm, and smacked me across the jaw.

Pain exploded in my face. I collapsed to the forest floor, my ears ringing. Yet somehow I’d thought the blow would be harder, the pain worse.

“I should kill you now,” he said. “But that wouldn’t be very fatherly of me.”

He turned and ran toward Mom. Darkness flooded my mind as he bent over her.

Then I noticed something weird. Haon’s right arm, nearly severed in two, wasn’t bleeding. Bent and twisted cylinders poked out through the rent in his skin. Sparks sprayed from frayed wires.

But as strange as that was, his words and actions were stranger. He not only hadn’t killed me, he hadn’t hit me very hard—for Haon. And he’d said killing me wouldn’t be
fatherly
?

Who—or what—
was
he?