Thank you Bookworm250250, WolfishMoon, Daft Prince, hamaiasa, MiddyMiles, Jett-Wolfe98, and Ellie Stone for your reviews, critiques, and encouragement! I love hearing from each of you; it seriously brightens my day! :)
Bookworm: Thank you so much for reviewing! Yours is the kind I lovelovelove to see! :) I'm so glad you slogged through the cheesiness! THANK YOU so much for reading it! I hope it continues to satisfy and I hope to hear from you when it's finished to know what you think of it. :D
If anyone sees any glaring typos or inconsistencies, please point them out! I'm off to do a bit of travelling for a few days, so I won't be able to correct it right away (no computer, no phone; we're going off the grid, baby!), but I will when I get back! And I would love to have lots of reviews and thoughts waiting for me when I return. :D :D :D
Remember when I said it was going to be ten chapters? Well, it might be eight. Or maybe ten with two really short ones. I haven't decided yet, but my point is: the end is in sight, people! The chapter after this and the rest of them were my favorite to write. :D Thank you to everyone who's followed this and reviewed and enjoyed!
OH! And remember how I told you this whole idea was based off of a song? (Tikal by ES Posthumus; I do not own it!) It was actually two songs. The second one that gave me the Africa idea is called He Lives in You. It's from the Lion King 2 soundtrack, which I do not own. Go look it up; it's awesome! :D
All original characters and storyline belong to Scott Westerfeld; I own nothing!
"Volger! What the in blazes are you doing here?"
He gave her an impatient look. "We've been here for days awaiting your arrival. It's about time."
Typical Count Volger, she thought to herself.
"Where's Bauer gone?"
"Did you not notice the large tunnel I'm currently standing in front of?"
She hadn't, actually. She was too preoccupied with the situation moments before. It was a round, large tunnel, big enough to stand in and rather wide. Its stone structure contrasted greatly with the stark white walls of the room they were currently standing in.
"Oh," she said. "Where does it go?"
"Come, and I will show you."
She didn't have time to go skipping down dark tunnels. "We've got to help Alek!"
"Yes," he said, a slight hint of exasperation in his voice. "Unless you are able to force those bars back with your mind, I suggest you come with me."
She hesitated for a moment, then followed the Count into the tunnel. It was dark only for a moment, then quite light. On the right-hand side, there were small rooms similar to the one they had just come from, all with bars instead of doors. And with the lights now on, it illuminated everything quite well.
"Barking spiders," she whispered. "What is this place?"
The Count sighed. "We were hoping you could tell us."
"'We'?"
He turned into one of the cells, where Bauer was sitting beside Hoffman. His arm was in a make-shift sling.
"What happened?" Deryn exclaimed.
Hoffman winced at her voice, which was made loud by an echo.
"We arrived a few days ago, and were fine waiting for you. The doctors here were very agreeable, but once that man showed up a few hours ago, things went awry. He ordered us in here."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "You let him push you around?"
"No. And as you can see, Hoffman didn't fare so well. He kept telling us we were not part of his plan."
"What's he doing?" Bauer asked.
"He believes he is summoning a god," Volger answered.
"He's barking mad," Deryn said.
"I do agree with you," said the Count. "And I didn't believe him at first. But we caught a glimpse of the creature, and I must say he appears to have been successful."
"Blisters."
"Indeed. Now, perhaps you could get our guard to cooperate with us, that way we can get to Alek as soon as possible. He refuses to make any such response to Hoffman or myself."
She followed the Count's gaze. Sitting on the other side of the bars in a chair was Illeya, his back to them. He scoffed at Volger's words. "Trust me, you're safer in there."
Deryn sat down in front of the bars, as close to Illeya as she could. He was bent down gingerly rubbing one of his feet.
She took a deep breath. "Illeya," Deryn said in as close to a pleading tone as she was willing to get, "Please let us out."
No response.
She cleared her throat. Perhaps if she took a different route… "What happened to your foot?"
Illeya straightened up and crossed his arms. "Dmitri dropped a box of tools on it."
So he was finally turning against his own assistant. Well, then. "Illeya, he's mad. We need to stop him. Please let us out."
He turned and looked at her. "I couldn't if I wanted to. I don't know where the key is."
Deryn sighed, biting back her temper.
"There is another way," Illeya added quietly. "But it's dangerous."
"Oh?" Deryn said.
He nodded. "It's where Dmitri put an… Extra fabrication."
She frowned. "I thought he dumped all of those in the River?"
"Not all of them. This is one he doesn't want anyone to know about. He said it's for later."
She grimaced. If what chased her and Alek across the River was nasty, she could only imagine what this beastie was like. That was, if it was something even created by the UDSRM.
"Is it the only way?"
Illeya nodded.
"I will go with you, Deryn," said the Count.
Hoffman let out an objection, but Volger ignored him.
"Are you sure? I can go by myself; I don't mind." Truthfully, she did mind and would be delighted for company. She could never say that to the Count's face, of course.
"I am sure," he said, turning to Illeya. "Which way is it?"
He hesitated but answered after a moment, "Follow the tunnel with the piping at the top. When you come to a wall, turn to the left. That will take you into the caves. There's a lake there."
Deryn frowned. "A lake, under the ground?"
He nodded. "It's water collected from the river; it's really more of a lagoon, I suppose. There are no boats, so you'll have to go through it. If you stay to the left, it's shallow enough to wade."
"Where does it lead out?" the Count asked.
"Once you get to the other side of the water, there is an opening into the forest, just in front of the temple. You'll be facing the steps. Deryn, make sure you stay to the left."
"I'll stay with Hoffman," Bauer offered.
"Count, don't overexert yourself," Hoffman said in a warning tone as he and Deryn walked off.
So Deryn and Count Volger did just as Illeya said, following the piping until they reached a wall. They were about to descend into the cave when the Count began coughing.
Volger leaned against the wall for support, wheezing and hacking in an unsightly manner. It went on for a moment or two and didn't stop, prompting Deryn to say, "Barking spiders, Volger! Are you all right?"
She was answered by even uglier coughing.
He regained his breath after a moment. "No. I'm dying."
Deryn's eyes widened. Count Volger dying? It seemed impossible; the man was near inhuman.
"What?"
He straightened up slowly. "I'm sick. My body can't take much more. It is simple, really."
"Then why are you here?"
He sighed. "For Alek. And for my son."
Deryn's mouth fell open. The thought of Count Volger having offspring was a very, very foreign concept. "Your son?"
He nodded slowly. "I never knew him."
She couldn't contain her curiosity. "What happened?"
"His mother was a gypsy. She and I met in Vienna, while her caravan was passing through. We fell in love, and she ended up pregnant. When she told me, I had just taken an oath to Franz to live with the archduke and duchess and tutor Alek. My father always hated her, and with his help, I convinced myself that sending her and our child away and honoring my oath to Franz was the best choice for all of us."
"That's terrible," she said slowly. "How could you do that?"
"Believe me, Deryn; if I could go back and change it, I would. Not a day goes by that I don't regret the decision I made," he said quietly. "I planned to take this year to seek out my son, but the sickness caught up with me faster than I expected. So therefore I am where my duty lies, and am here for Alek."
She blinked.
"And if I am to die, at least it will be for a good cause."
Deryn felt completely stupid. It was she, after all, that had brought Alek here and had let Cocijo go in Africa. She unknowingly handed them over to Dmitri like a lamb to the slaughter. And here Volger was, knowing full well of his impending death, willing to sacrifice himself for Alek. She hadn't even thought that she might have to do that.
"Deryn, I don't know for certain what that mad man has planned, but whatever it is, it appears to be highly dangerous. Even to the point where you may die. Are you willing to do that?"
She thought for a moment. She was the one that had created the Project in the first place! This mess was her responsibility; it was her duty to clean it up. If ever there was a noble cause to die for, it was Alek.
"Aye."
"Excellent. Shall we continue?" he said, straightening up.
She nodded. "Are you sure you're all right?"
"As long as I don't lose my breath."
They descended a gentle slope made of pebbles. They slipped and skidded until they arrived at the bottom: an incredibly big sort of cavern.
"Blisters," was all she managed to say. "Where in blazes are we?"
"I have no idea," the Count whispered back, equal awe in his voice.
It was beautiful.
When Illeya had first told her it was an underground lake, Deryn felt skeptical about it. She thought of the lochs back at home; they were big enough to swim in and take a boat out on, but not so big you lost sight of the shore. To her, a lake was a fairly large body of water; surely something no bigger than a pond could be underground. But Illeya was right: it was in fact, a lake, and it was in fact, the usual size.
There was an opening on the cavern ceiling high above them, causing a beam of white sunlight to shine down into the water. Stalactites hung down from the stone ceiling. They resembled melted wax that had just hardened, their scraggly ends just touching the surface of the water. It was clear and glowed bright blue. It was a relief, being able to see the bottom.
She stepped quietly into the warm water and the glow scattered from where her feet landed. Upon closer inspection, she saw that they were tiny glowing fish. They were blue and gold and no bigger than the tip of her finger. She had read about glowfish once. They were related closely to the glowworms, though much more difficult to train. Their lights went out when they became frightened, as they had when she had stepped into the water. Luckily, there was a whole lakeful of them. Deryn decided not to mention this to the Count, as the thought of swimming with thousands of tiny fish might put him off about the whole thing, him being a Clanker and all.
She waded up to her waist when she realized the Count wasn't following. He was standing on the shore, looking rather twitchy.
"You can swim, can't you?" she said skeptically.
He gave her an offended look. "Of course I can," he scoffed. "It's just a matter of not enjoying it."
She rolled her eyes and continued walking into the water. It only came up about to her waist and if Illeya was being truthful, they wouldn't have to swim at all. "Come on, Count! It's shallow enough that you can wade."
He dipped the tip of his shoe into the water skeptically.
She bit back a laugh. She had seen this man yell in the faces of important people, fight off groups three times his size of enemies with a mere sword. Of all things for Count Volger to be afraid of, she hadn't imagined water to be one of them. "Just pretend it's the bath!"
"If this was the bath, I can assure you I would be alone," he muttered. He cautiously stepped into the water very, very slowly.
"Barking spiders, Count! Pick up the pace! We haven't got all day!"
He shot her a glare but begrudgingly obliged.
As they walked, she could see there was a small island in the water on the other side, away from the light. Deryn could only make out the shape of it, but it was obvious what it was. It was strange, one of those being in an underground lake. She wasn't paying attention to where she was walking and her foot slipped off the ledge and she dropped unexpectedly into the water. But it was no trouble; she merely swam back to where she was, regained her footing, and resumed walking.
It was a bit of trouble, though, that the light coming from the glowfish in the entire lake went completely out. Something had frightened them.
"What just happened?" Volger whispered frantically.
Deryn stopped where she was and listened. The only noise she heard was the Count breathing and water slowly dripping. Her gaze went back to where the island was; only she was unable to locate it.
"Odd," she said to herself.
"What's 'odd'?" the Count said, just as frantic as before.
She probably wasn't looking in the proper direction, and besides, it was dark now. She shook her head. "Nothing. Come on now, we're almost to the other side!" No need to alarm him.
The water level became lower and lower until Deryn was just to her ankles. She could see sunlight coming from up ahead from what was presumably the exit; it looked like the mouth of a cave.
"See? That's wasn't so bad," she said to the Count. "The way out is just up there."
He scoffed. "Perhaps not, but-"
His words were cut off by a small, quiet splash. Just as Deryn turned to see what it was, she saw the Count disappear under the water's surface, leaving only the faintest ripples in his place.
Something had pulled him under.
Panic coursed through her veins. "Volger! Volger!" she whispered frantically, not wanting to draw further attention to the situation. She ran back into the water to the spot where he was and felt for him, but he wasn't there. The water was still dark, too dark for her to see where he might be.
A few feet from where he had just been, he emerged, gasping for breath. She ran to him and took his hand, pulling him out of the water. But whatever had him was holding on tight.
"Kill it!" he screamed at her.
"With what?"
"The sword on your back, woman!"
She had completely forgotten about the maquahuitl. She reached for it clumsily with her free hand.
"Where?" she screamed back.
His hand was slipping from hers. "It's got my leg!"
She hacked awkwardly in the water near Volger's feet. Thankfully he was on the shallow edge; otherwise it would have been nearly impossible.
She must have hit something, for whatever it was released its grip of Volger and she hauled the limping Count out of the water and onto the shore. She did not look back to see the creature as they ran, nor did she care to.
"It's just up there," she panted. The Count leaned on her as they hobbled towards the mouth of the cave.
Once they were just outside, she let him go and sat to catch her breath. The wind had picked up significantly and the sky was much darker than before.
The Count was leaning on the entrance. He let out a wheezing cough, leaning forward with each hack. He groped for support, but could find none and dropped to his knees. He collapsed. Deryn rushed to his side and rolled him over.
"Volger! Stay awake!"
He coughed again, blood leaking out from his mouth.
"It is too much," he said hoarsely. "I think my time here is finished."
"No, you can't die! You need to find your son!" she said in a raised voice. She felt tears welling up in her eyes. It surprised her, feeling so much empathy for a man she once despised. But she had been so wrong. He was being noble, righting the wrongs he had done in his life.
Footsteps came from behind them. Deryn tore her gaze from the Count to see Hoffman running at them, with Bauer who was supporting Illeya coming not too far behind.
"What's happened to him?" Hoffman demanded, dropping to his knees and looking over Volger.
"How did you get here?" Deryn hollered over the wind.
"He found the key," Bauer yelled back, motioning to Illeya.
Volger tugged on Deryn's hand as she turned back to him. She leaned down just close enough to hear him whisper, "Find him for me." He exhaled and closed his eyes.
"No, no!" Deryn exclaimed. She shook him, but his eyes didn't open.
She'd been so wrong about him. All these years she despised him all because he wanted Alek to be the son he never knew. She had been so rotten to him.
Hoffman began trying to revive him in every way he could, but to no avail. It was then that she remembered the vial of Life Essence Themba had given her. She dug into her pocket, feeling for it. Miraculously, it was still there.
She hesitated as she unwrapped it. If she was to die on the top of the Temple, this was her one way out. Her one way to see her mother again. Her one chance to be with Alek forever. She shook the thought and handed it over before she could think anymore. The Count deserved it.
"Hoffman, give this to him the minute his pulse stops," she said clearly, trying not to think about it and risk changing her mind.
Hoffman looked bewildered. "I'm not sure I understand, Deryn."
"Open the barking vial and pour it in his mouth once he's dead," she hissed at him. "When he wakes up, tell him … I'm sorry. I'm sorry I was ever rotten to him."
"Where are you going?" Bauer asked.
"To get Alek and Cocijo."
Hoffman was still puzzled. "Can't you tell him, once you get back?"
She took a deep breath. "I don't think I'll be coming back."
She got herself up and ran to the steps of the temple.