World's End (31 page)

***

Several hours later, both gliders approached a stone ledge on the left side of the gold-veined wall. The ledge was equipped with a long landing strip that was clearly intended to function as a runway on which gliders could land and then take off again. Hill's glider landed gracefully with hardly a bump, while Alfonso's landed with a great deal of jostling. Both gliders were stopped by an old rope that stretched across the runway. Hill observed that this rope functioned exactly like an arresting wire on an aircraft carrier. It caught the gliders, slowed them down, and brought them to a quick stop. Incredibly, the rope itself was made of several hundred intertwined strands of gold string, and it still functioned well after several hundred years of neglect.

Alfonso and the others exited their gliders, stretched their legs, and took a good look around. Earlier in the day, while they were still in flight, they had passed over a number of ledges. Most were small and contained only a scattering of rocks. This particular ledge, however, was remarkably different. It was at least four times as large as the previous ledges and it contained something they hadn't seen in several days: water. Most of the ledge was taken up by a small lake bordered by a scattering of moss, shrubs, and waist-high grass. All of this plant life was the same color, a bright reddish brown. The lake itself contained water that was perfectly clear and the floor of the lake was covered with starfish. The water looked very clean and eminently drinkable. In the middle of the lake sat a man-made gold dome.

"At last we've run into some good luck," exclaimed Clink as they all took in their surroundings. "This is a perfect place for a rest."

"Careful," warned Hill. "We have no idea what we've landed on. For all we know, this water is a trap built by the zwodszay."

By the time Hill had finished his sentence, Clink had already walked to the edge of the pool. He leaned over, stuck an inquiring finger into the water, and then brought it to his lips.

"Absolutely, lip-smacking delicious!" he declared jubilantly. "You could make a fortune bottling this stuff. I suspect it's ice melt. Look at the edge of the lake, next to the wall." Although difficult to make out, it appeared as if melt from the ice-covered ceiling above them was steadily running down the wall and merging with the lake.

"This don't make sense," muttered Misty. "In the middle-a this god-fersaken place, we got an oasis?"

"And what about that gold dome in the middle of the lake?" asked Resuza. "What do you suppose that's all about?"

She was interrupted by a splash. Kõrgu had jumped in the water and begun swimming around. It soon became apparent that she was headed directly for the dome.

"What's yer wolf doin'?" Misty asked.

"I don't know," replied Bilblox.

They all watched as Kõrgu approached the curious gold dome. She swam around it several times, pawing at its gold walls. She barked loudly at the group and then dove underwater. After a few seconds, they heard her barking again, although this time they couldn't see her. Her barks sounded muffled.

"She's inside!" shouted Resuza. "There must be an underwater entrance!" Resuza took off her backpack and proceeded to take off her socks and shoes. She glanced at the others. "Come on—let's see what's inside."

"Wait a minute..." began Hill.

But Resuza was not to be deterred. She walked briskly into the small lake and within a few feet, the cool water rose above her waist. Resuza began swimming toward the gold dome. Once she was only a few feet away from the man-made island, she disappeared under the water. A few seconds later, they faintly heard her voice. "It's perfect!
Come on!
"

Alfonso quickly followed and in no time he neared the hut. When he dove under the water, he saw a murky light. He swam up toward the light and then bobbed up into the dome itself. He hoisted himself out and sat down, dripping wet, to take in his surroundings.

"Incredible," said Alfonso. "It's just like a beaver lodge, only it's for people."

The lodge was only one room but it was large, perhaps twenty feet in diameter. There was a thick glass window overhead, and through this skylight a dim light shone through. The entire circumference of the round hut was lined with bunk beds. They were plain-looking, but each bed was covered in soft piles of the same fluorescent blue fabric that tied their gliders together. The floor of the lodge was covered with a soft yellowish moss that seemed to function like a carpet. In the center of the hut, next to the hole that led back down into the water, was a fireplace with a grill for cooking. Alfonso peered through the half-light and saw Resuza resting in one of the bunk beds.

"How's the bed?" he asked.

She raised her head and smiled at him. "It's very comfortable," she said. "Try it out."

Alfonso stood up and walked toward her. He avoided Kõrgu, who was sitting contentedly on the floor by the fireplace chewing on what appeared to be a
very
old piece of meat. Alfonso took the bed to Resuza's left and lay down so that their heads were less than a foot apart.

"Not bad," he admitted. "I could stay here for a while." He paused. "I wonder why they have beds. Wouldn't the Jasberians be active sleepers, just like Dormians from Somnos?"

Resuza stretched out her arm and playfully tousled Alfonso's head. "Even if they didn't sleep, they'd still need to rest. Anyway, look above you. This is Dormian for sure."

Alfonso stared at the bottom of the bunk above him. It was covered with intricate pictographs. The pictographs showed people with their eyes half-closed flying gliders down a fault. The illustrations were done in beautiful gold leaf and a light blue ink that glowed like pale moonlight.

A gurgling noise came from the water entrance. Hill appeared and then, within the next few minutes, Bilblox, Misty, and Clink all came through the porthole in a hubbub of excitement.

"As nice as this lodge is," said Hill, "I'm afraid it's bad news."

"How do ya figure?" asked Bilblox.

"There's only one reason the Jasberians would've constructed such an elaborate lodge with an underwater entrance," said Hill. "They must have used it to protect themselves from the zwodszay, which means there could be more zwodszay lurking about."

"He's right," said Misty. "The zwodszay hate water. That must be the purpose of this here strange domed abode. We're safe fer now. But them beasts is probably lurking about somewhere not too far away."

No one said anything else. They quickly unpacked and tried to get some rest. Hill stretched out his legs. Alfonso heated up some slabs of salted pork, an activity that drew Kõrgu's rapt attention. Resuza boiled water for tea. While in the relative safety of the lodge, Misty and Clink were busy calculating the amount of gold contained in the Jasber fault walls. "At least a hunnert tons!" Misty exclaimed. "We could buy every buildin' in Somnos fer that."

"Pshaw, that's nothing," said Clink with an excited giggle. "We couldn't spend all that gold in Somnos. We'd have to strike out into the world. Maybe we could go to Barsh-yin-Binder and buy that whole city. Hah! We could put gold dust in handkerchiefs and blow our nose with it! I'll found a university in my name and we'll both get honorary degrees!"

The two cousins continued to plan all the possible ways to spend their riches. The others just listened to their chatter as they ate their dinners. Toward the end of their meal, Kõrgu's ears pricked up. She growled and looked up through the skylight.

"What is it?" Resuza asked.

"She hears somethin'," Bilblox said. "And I heard somethin' too, like a very quiet flappin' noise."

"What kinda flappin' noise?" Misty asked. She looked excited. "Like wings?"

"Sorta," replied Bilblox. "It sounded like—like dried leather flappin' in the wind."

"Hoo boy," replied Misty. "I was wonderin' if we'd see any of them creatures. Bilblox, ya may have heard the magmon flyin' nearby. They usually stick close to the lava, but they're curious types, I reckon."

"What are you talkin' about?" asked Bilblox. "Magmons? Is this more miner lore?"

"Ah, don't ya worry," replied Misty. "They're like kittens compared to the zwodszay. These are flyin' reptiles that love the heat. They're purty big but gentle. Or so I've been tol'."

"Are you serious?" inquired Hill.

"'Course I'm serious," replied Misty. "Here—I'll draw ya a picture." She pulled out a sketchbook, nodded off to sleep, and began to draw. Ten minutes later, she woke up and revealed her drawing.

"As ya can see fer yerselves," said Misty, "they're purty big. Them little birds is seagulls, so that should give ya some sense-a scale."

Now Alfonso's curiosity was truly piqued. The flying creatures that Misty drew were identical to those depicted in the murals back at the Hub. The rectangular faces, the back-swept wings, the dorsal fins jutting out from the middle of their backs—it all matched.

"How do you know about them?" Alfonso asked.

"Ever' Dormian miner knows about 'em," Misty replied. She looked at Clink with a sly grin. "I guess they're another
myth
comin' t'life. Josephus knew about 'em. Don't rightly know how they live down there or how they feed. 'N' I only seen one once. They're the silent type. Only noise they ever make is that sound Bilblox jus' heard—kinda like dried leather flappin' in the wind."

Hill stared up at the hole in the ceiling and shivered. "Even if they're only curious, let's hope we can avoid them," he said. "Come on now, let's enjoy these beds."

Within an hour, they were all in the comfortable bunk beds that lined the solid gold hut. Hill had brought a pair of torn trousers with him, and he was snoring gently as his sleeping-self expertly repaired the tears. Misty's sleeping-self was muttering to herself while Clink's was apparently in the throes of an epic fantasy in which he was conducting an entire orchestra. Meanwhile, Resuza, Bilblox, and Kõrgu lay motionless in their beds.

Only Alfonso was still awake. He stared at the underside of the bunk bed above him and at the luminescent pictograph of the gliders etched into it, and as he did, the pictograph came alive. The pilots of these gliders swooped and plunged in complete mastery of the countervailing wind currents. Alfonso soon realized that what he was seeing was an optical illusion. The pictograph functioned like a holograph that simply created the illusion of depth and motion.

Alfonso eventually closed his eyes, but just as he was drifting off to sleep, he happened to glance up through the skylight and saw an enormous head covered in reddish scales staring down at him. Alfonso let out an involuntary gasp.

"Just lie still, lad," said a voice through the darkness. Then came a cackle. It was Misty. "Yer starin' at a magmon. Now ain't that an incredible sight?"

F
ARTHER DOWN THE
J
ASBER FAULT,
perhaps a day's journey by glider, another stone ledge jutted out from one of the fault's gold-streaked walls. This ledge lay directly below a series of stalactites that hung down from a giant bulging rock. Similar to the station where Alfonso and the others currently were staying, this place also had a runway for gliders. Near the wall, water trickled out of a dark cave, and a few cattail-like plants grew there in the mud. In the middle of the ledge sat a dilapidated, rectangular building that was surrounded by several dozen gnarling, shrieking zwodszay.

The building was only a single, dingy room, illuminated by a sputtering candle. It was occupied by two men and a woman. These three people sat on the floor, breathing heavily and stealing glances at the room's lone door, which was rapidly giving way.

Qt-Thud! Qt-Thud! Qt-Thud!

This was the sound of bodies—the bodies of hungry zwodszay—pounding on the other side of the door with maddened vigor. The door was not going to last much longer. Its rusty hinges were starting to buckle under the pressure. The three people in the room—Josephus, Nathalia Treeknot, and Kiril—exchanged glances but said nothing.

Josephus and Nathalia were utterly exhausted. The historian's face was pale and coated with sweat. His fingers trembled and it appeared as if he had aged at least a decade in the past week. It took Nathalia great effort to rise to her feet and draw her sword in preparation for combat. Kiril, who wore shackles around his wrists and ankles, appeared to be in moderately good condition. And, oddly enough, he didn't seem concerned with the dire situation.

"The zwodszay are going to break down that door any minute," said Josephus weakly. "It's hopeless—this is the end. We have no more soldiers left to defend us. The zwodszay have slowly cut us down. Th-they just never give up."

Nathalia looked at her uncle wearily, but said nothing to contradict him.

"There's an alternative," replied Kiril calmly. "You could unchain me. I can't fight in shackles, not very well anyhow, but if you unchain me I can help defend us. I'm rather good with a long sword..."

Qt-Thud! Qt-Thud! Qt-Thud!

Two rusted, decaying screws popped out of the door's top hinge.

Nathalia reached into her pocket and felt the set of keys that unlocked Kiril's shackles. Josephus eyed his niece sharply.

"You can't do it, Nathalia," said Josephus. "This man is our worst enemy. No matter the cost, we cannot let him go. I forbid you! Somnos forbids you!"

"I'm afraid it's too late for that now, Uncle," said Nathalia. "This is our only chance to survive."

"Nathalia, we can fight these zwodszay off," added Kiril calmly. "The doorway is narrow. They can only come in two at a time. If you and I each wield our swords, we will cut them down as they enter."

Qt-Thud! Qt-Thud! Qt-Thud!

A slat of wood broke off the door and the gray tapered fingertips of a zwodszay entered wormlike through the hole in the door.

Nathalia took the keys out of her pocket.

"Don't you dare!" screeched Josephus. "A-All of Somnos will hold you responsible if Kiril escapes."

"I am at my wits' end with you,
Uncle,
" snapped Nathalia. She stared furiously at the old historian. "I have lost every single one of my soldiers—the best and bravest Somnos had to offer. And for what? So we could find a city that may not even exist? What's more, I have serious doubts whether the Grand Vizier ever approved of this mission in the first place. I think you lied to me and my men so that—"