Chapter 2: The Forever Caves
The mysterious note held tightly in his hand, Edward, along with Will and Rosie, was bustled to the treehouse by the women. He tried to protest, but they were deaf to his pleas.
Lips pinched shut with worry and helplessness, the adults did what they could to gain control of a situation that had gotten rapidly out of hand. The only thing that kept them from hysteria was the knowledge that John and Marguerite were with the children and they would protect them with their last breath.
Ned and Challenger stayed behind and thoroughly searched the basket and balloon. They found nothing else. They secured it down with ropes and asked two of the Zanga to stand guard. The balloon had returned to the meadow on its own and they didn't want it to leave that way, too.
When the men returned to the Malone treehouse, they sent Will to the bedroom to watch over Rosie while she napped. Edward sat at the dining table with his hands clasped between his knees. He knew he was in trouble.
Ned paced around the room, tapping the small piece of paper on his palm. If it had been a grenade, it couldn't have given the adults more concern.
"All right, Edward, we want to know what this note means and I want the whole story," he spoke sternly.
Edward looked up. "Sure, Dad, I'll tell you. We were going to tell you soon, anyway."
"Whose "we"?" asked his mother.
Edward looked over at her. He could tell by her expression that he had better have a good story.
"Alice and Tori," he said, and paused.
"Go on."
"Well, a few weeks ago Alice and I went over to the Roxton's, but Aunt Marguerite said that only Tori could come out and play."
"Why couldn't Will and Summer play?" asked Challenger curiously.
"Oh, they were caught throwing their Mom's biscuits over the railing and they had to stay home to "learn not to waste food."
Despite the seriousness of the occasion, Veronica smiled at that. There were some foods that Marguerite just never could learn to cook.
Edward sighed.
"So we.the three of us. went to the meadow to practice with our bows and arrows, and then we started chasing each other around and hiding behind the rocks at the bottom of the cliff. Tori and I had just found Alice stooping down behind a big rock, when we saw a small cave that we had never noticed before."
Edward looked around to gage how his audience would react to this next piece of news. They were staring at him with slight frowns of disbelief on their faces. They knew the cliff wall well, and had never seen a cave in it. Edward sighed and plunged on.
"We were taking turns looking into it, when a girl came popping out of it. She was kind of skinny and had very white skin."
The grownups looked at each other with deep concern. This was an unexpected blow. For eight years, they'd worked to keep the rest of the plateau out of their compound. Now it seemed that they hadn't succeeded.
Ned stopped pacing and clamped his hand on his son's shoulder. "Did she hurt any of you?" he asked, shaken.
"No, Dad." Edward hastily assured him. "She was really nice and she didn't try to scare us or hurt us at all!"
Ned, reassured by Edward's tone of voice, ran his hand through his short, pale hair and went back to pacing.
Taking a deep breath, Edward said quickly, "She had a waterskin under her arm and, this is the really strange part, she poured the water into a little bowl in the rocks, and a man's face appeared in it!"
"Edward," Veronica said warningly.
"Really, it's true, Mom. The man looked really old and wrinkly, but he wasn't mean or anything. We looked into the water and he said, "Hello" to us and we said "Hello" back and he said, "My, what polite children."
"He spoke English?" Challenger asked, incredulously.
"Yeah, Grandpa. He told us that the girl and her people lived in caves under the mountains. He called them the "Forever Caves" because the caves were inside all the mountains and they were all connected together."
He was so intent on his story that he didn't see the look that passed between the adults.
"Then he asked us our names and we told him. He seemed really happy to meet us and he told us his name was R'Tor and the girl's was K'dell Sw'atee. He asked us all kinds of questions about all of you and the other kids, and the Zanga. Then Tori asked him if he was in the water and he said no, that he was in the caves, but this was special water and when he looked in the water from his cave, he could see us, too."
"Edward," Veronica interrupted. "Why on earth didn't you tell us about this?"
"R'Tor told us not to, just yet. He said that there was a great danger on the plateau and that we could help get rid of it, so that all the tribes and people who were hiding in the caves could go home. He said that the time was coming soon when the danger would be vul.vulner...bull and that we would know when that time came."
He pointed to the crumpled paper in his father's hand. "Tori says that the time has come."
"How did he say that you could help?" asked Tilly. She was the only one who seemed to be undisturbed by Edward's story.
"He didn't tell us that time, Grandma, but the next time we talked to him, he said that we kids had.well," He gave an embarrassed laugh. "that we had special gifts that could stop the danger."
Edward looked around at their skeptical faces and held up his hands.
"I know it sounds crazy, but he told us that we had faced the danger once already and had gotten away, so that proved that we were immune to it."
Challenger shook his head.
"Is that why you asked me what immune meant?"
"Yes, sir."
"What did you think he meant, when he said that all of you had faced the danger before?"
Edward shrugged. He was truly puzzled by this. "I really don't know, Grandpa."
"Did Will and Summer meet this.R'Tor?" asked Ned.
"No, we didn't want them there. You know how they are. They would have told everyone. A lot of times Tori stayed with them so they wouldn't follow us." He sighed and shrugged. "But, R'Tor said that we had to tell them, anyway, so we were going to tell them tomorrow.but, now."
"Edward, tell me," Veronica asked thoughtfully. "Did Alice's sudden change of temperament, not to mention hair and clothes, have anything to do with R'Tor?"
Edward squirmed uncomfortably. This was the part that he felt the most guilty about.
"Well, yeah, sort of. You see, R'Tor said that Alice might not be as safe as the rest of us because the danger would recognize her."
He heard his mother gasp, so he hurried on.
"I didn't want the danger to recognize Alice, so I told her that she had to disguise herself. We thought that if she looked like a boy, she would be safer."
Veronica whispered. "But how could the danger recognize her? She's never been outside the electric fence.
Edward jumped up and ran over to throw his arms around his mother's neck.
"I'm sorry. I should have told you. But no one will recognize her now. She looks just like me!"
Veronica held him close. How could she blame him? He was just trying to keep his sister safe.just like they all were.
"You were very clever, Sweetheart." She pushed his blond curls back from his forehead. "Dad and I are so glad that you take such good care of Alice."
"I always will," he promised.
She pulled him down to sit beside her, keeping one arm around his shoulder.
"Now, Edward, I have one more question for you."
Edward raised his eyebrows, all cooperation. "Sure, Mom. What is it?"
"Why did you and Alice insist on planting those strange seeds? I've never seen such funny plants coming up."
"Oh," Edward said, relieved that it was such an easy question. "R'Tor asked us to plant them. He said that his people love those plants, but they're having trouble getting them to grow up in the highest mountains, so he wanted us to see if we could grow them here. Alice and I were going to give the plants to the Sw'atee."
"You're not saying it right, Edward," Will said as he came into the room, his baby sister holding tightly on to his shoulders as he struggled to carry her.
He handed the baby to Grandma Tilly. "Here, Grandma, she woke up."
"What do you mean, he isn't saying it right, Will," asked Challenger.
Will looked around at the people sitting in the Malones dining area. He was trying to read their faces, trying to figure out if he had said something wrong.
"Well, Edward said the people were called the Swa-tee, and that's not right." He stopped, but no one said anything, so he continued.
"They're called the Swah-ah-tee."
Will frowned, puzzled, as everyone stared at him.
His uncle cleared his throat.
"Ah, Will. How do you know what they're called?" Ned asked fearfully.
"A'mit Sw'atee told me," Will answered simply.
Veronica reached out and pulled the boy to her side.
"Tell me, Will, how did you meet this Sw'atee?" She saw the worried look on his face. "It's all right. You're not in trouble. In fact, you may be able to help us find your family."
Will relaxed. "Okay," he said. "I saw him in the hunting grounds when me and Dad and Grandma went hunting for rabbits." He turned to his grandma. "You know that rabbit hole between the rocks that Dad sends me down to chase out the rabbits? Well, at the bottom is a little cave and that's where I saw him. He comes there to catch a rabbit. He doesn't eat meat, but his.king?.I'm not sure what he's called.likes a nice rabbit stew, so A'mit takes the rabbit to him and he cooks it."
Will nodded with satisfaction, as his story seemed to be so absorbing to the people gathered around him.
"Why didn't you tell us about this, Will?" Ned asked.
Will shrugged. "A'mit told me not to, so I didn't."
Edward looked sharply at Will. "How do you know what A'mit said? Did he speak English?"
Will frowned. "I don't think so, but it was okay, 'cause I could understand him."
The grownups looked at each other and Edward nodded to himself. Tori was right. Will did understand other languages, just like his mother.
"Well," Veronica said with a sigh. "Now we have two places to start. It sounds as if this Sw'atee king may be able to help us."
Ned stood up. "Let's get started then. Tilly, could you stay here with Rose? I think if Will here can talk to these people, that he should come with us."
Before Tilly could answer, Edward jumped to his feet.
"No!" he exclaimed. "Rose has to come with us. R'Tor said that when the time came to defeat the danger, all of us kids had to help." He turned to his Grandma. "Can't you come with us, too, Grandma Tilly? You know how to take care of Rosie the best of all. I know she'd be safe with you."
Tilly looked at her husband. Challenger raised his eyebrows and shrugged. "I think Edward is right. We all need to stay together if this is the time to banish the danger and reclaim our plateau."
It seemed to the grownups that, as hard as they had tried to keep their children from having to live in the strange and dangerous environment of the plateau, the plateau had found their children. Revelation upon revelation was having a strange affect on Veronica.
She looked at Ned. "I feel it, too, Ned. I think the time for hiding is over. Jarl is right. We have to take a stand."
She stood up and removed the small spectacles from her nose. It was as if eight years dropped away from her. Her eyes glinted with an internal light. Determination and strength flowed from her. For too long, the fear she felt for the safety of her children had held her hostage. But no longer. The very real danger to her daughter and friends was like a catalyst that broke the spell cast on her so long ago.
Ned and Challenger rejoiced to see the Veronica of old return to them.
Ned hugged her to him. "My Veronica," he breathed into her ear. She returned his hug with a fierceness that was a silent apology for all the years he had stood by her when she had retreated from the world that she loved, because her love for her children was so much greater.
The bold, brash, strong, brave, beautiful woman who had captured his heart the first time he saw her was back.
They broke apart to laugh at the grinning faces around them.
"How can we lose now?" asked Challenger. "We have the future Protector of the Plateau on our side!"
"Some Protector I'll be," Veronica muttered.
"Will you go back to your jungle princess garb?" Ned joked to cheer her up.
Edward's head jerked up at this description of his mother. Where had he heard it before? He frowned in concentration, but it was no use. He couldn't remember.
Veronica laughed. "Please, Ned, I'm sure I couldn't fit into it again. I'm ten years older and two children bigger."
Ned slid his arm around her. "Nonsense, you look just the same as the first time I saw you."
Challenger walked over and helped Tilly to her feet.
"Let's pack up and get started." Challenger ordered. His face glowed with excitement. "There are mysteries to be solved and friends to find. We must not dally."
"You're right, George." Veronica said, already heading for the bedrooms. She stopped at the top of the stairs and turned back to her friends. "You know, I can't help wondering what happened in the balloon," she mused.
**
The chilly wind twirling her hair loose from her braids, Victoria Roxton leaned her elbows on the rim of the basket and looked down, for the first time, at what lay outside of the several acres that had been her home for all of her life. Her parents, who sat on stools on either side of her, stared down, too. It had been many years since they had traveled freely ( perhaps, foolhardy would be more accurate) through the dense jungle and open meadows and hills below.
Victoria let out a long sigh. Still looking down so as not to miss anything, she said, with awe in her voice, "There's a whole world out here that I didn't know about." She looked to the horizon. "And another beyond this one and another beyond that."
Her parents looked at each other over her dark head. Guilt was in their eyes as it always was when they thought of their decision to keep the children safe, but confined.
Victoria turned shining eyes to her mother.
"Oh, Mother," she said, "which way is London? And China? And America?" Before Marguerite could answer, she clasped her hands together and rested her chin on them, staring down again. "Oh, I do want to see them all!"
She sat up abruptly and turned to her father. "Do you think I can, Dad? Do you think I'll ever get to see them?"
Roxton put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her against him. He looked again at Marguerite as he answered her. He bit his lip and breathed out through his nose. Really, he thought, they should have anticipated the impact this trip would have on Tori.
"I can't tell you for sure, Tori. We'd all like to see them again, I think." At her disappointed look, he continued, "I'll tell you what, when we get back, let's talk about it some more. It's been awhile since we looked for a way home, and maybe it's time we started again."
He reached across to put his hand on Marguerite's shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
"John," Marguerite said slowly, distracted by what she saw past the basket's rim. "The mountains seem so much closer than they did before. Don't you think?" Her voice became both puzzled and excited. "I could have sworn that they were at least a three-days journey from the treehouse, yet, there they are, just in front of us."
Roxton leaned forward, his face taking on a puzzled frown as well.
"You're right, Marguerite. What can it mean?"
His sharp eyes scanned the hills below him and the sky above.
"I haven't spotted any animals, either. Have you?"
Marguerite gave an involuntary shiver.
"Now that you mention it, I haven't. I wish George were here," she murmured. "He might be able to explain this."
Roxton laughed. "Oh, he'd explain it all right."
'I'm sure there's a logical, scientific explanation for all of this,' he mimicked. He laughed, again, "It's been awhile since we've heard him talk about the mysteries of the plateau."
Marguerite had to chuckle at the memories of how their scientific friend would go on and on and on, expounding theory after theory.
Tori had been looking back and forth between her parents during this exchange. She didn't understand exactly what they were talking about, but it sounded interesting.
She opened her mouth to ask about these mysteries, when a cold gust of mountain air nearly blew her off of the stool. Her mother caught her and helped her back on.
Roxton rubbed his arms against the sudden chill.
"I guess it's time to break out the blankets, ladies." He moved over to the pile. "We'll all be snug and warm in just a minute."
He lifted up the top blanket and froze. There, curled up next to each other, sound asleep, were Summer and.Alice. They were breathing quietly and their cheeks were rosy from the heat of the blankets. As John watched, the cold wind blew across them and they sat up, rubbing their eyes.
"Oh, my God," whispered Marguerite.
Tori wasn't quite so surprised. She frowned at her little sister. How like Summer, she thought. She always got what she wanted, and this time, she dragged poor Alice along with her.
Alice sat up on the blankets, her arms wrapped around herself. She shivered, but was too nervous to say anything. She wasn't as timid as most people thought, but, sometimes, Aunt Marguerite's temper scared her.
Summer didn't have any fear of her mother's temper. Her temper was so much worse. Besides, she knew how to handle her parents.
She looked from her father's furious face to her mother's angry glare and gulped. Maybe she'd gone too far this time.
"Summer Leigh Roxton, what do you have to say for yourself?" Marguerite thundered. Before Summer could reply, she turned to Alice.
"Alice? Do your parents know you're up here? No, of course they don't," she answered herself. "What was I thinking?" she threw her arms into the air. "They would never dream that you would be so sneaky and disobedient without being led astray by our little terror."
While Marguerite was venting her temper, Roxton had been wrapping everyone in blankets. He didn't trust himself to speak. Summer had really crossed the line this time. Her desire to always get her own way had gotten out of hand.
Alice pulled the blanket more tightly around herself. Aunt Marguerite was really angry, but she had it all wrong. She took a deep breath.
"Aunt Marguerite," she interrupted. "It wasn't Summer's fault.
Marguerite and John stopped in surprise. It wasn't very often that they heard those words.
Alice went on bravely.
"I wanted to see what the inside of the basket looked like. Summer did too, but I'm older, I shouldn't have let her get in. So," she looked over at her friend, "if Summer's a little terror, then so am I."
Alice's defense of her friend drained some of the anger out of Roxton and Marguerite. But not out of Tori.
"Mom," she whined. "You're not going to let them get away with this, are you? You know that Summer wanted to go on MY lonely trip. She planned this all along. She should be punished. It isn't fair."
Summer stuck out her lower lip. Her eyebrows turned down. She glared at her big sister.
"You're mean, Tori," she said, her temper rising. "I didn't want to go on your old lonely trip. I just wanted to see inside the basket. You're being a.a.terror," she finished.
"Summer," her mother said warningly. "Tori isn't the one in trouble."
"Yeah, Summer, and I am not a terror," Tori said indignantly.
"I think you should punish me, Aunt Marguerite," piped up Alice. "Really, I do."
"No, Mommy, you should punish me," Summer demanded, seeing the spotlight moving away.
"Enough!" Roxton shouted over the squabbling. "No one is going to be punished, at.this.time." He looked at his four year old daughter with one eyebrow raised.
Summer wilted under that look.
Roxton looked over at his wife, communicating with his eyes.
"All right, then," he said, "we're turning around and taking our two stowaways home."
Tori started to protest.
Roxton held up his hand. "We're sorry, Tori, but Ned and Veronica must be frantic."
He immediately started the procedures that Challenger had drilled into him to get the balloon going in the opposite direction, back to meadow.
Summer, who was sitting beside Alice on the floor of the balloon, said in her sweetest voice, "Daddy, can me and Alice look over the side? Pleeeese!"
Roxton glanced over at her.
"Sorry, Summer. Bad behavior does not get rewarded. Why don't you just sit there and be verrrry quiet, like a teeny, tiny, little bug," he said, remembering Summer earlier promise.
Summer stuck out her bottom lip and pulled the blanket up over her head. This part of her plan wasn't going nearly as well as she had hoped.
Alice hunched down lower in her blanket, wishing she could disappear through the floor. She was totally mortified and ashamed. Here she was almost seven and she was following the lead of a four year old! How did she get into this? Peeking inside the basket hadn't seemed such a bad thing to do when they were doing it. Her mind raced on to thoughts of her parents. Uncle John was right. Her parents were probably very worried about her. And then there was her brother. Edward would be so mad at her. He warned her that Summer was trouble.
Alice looked over at the little girl sitting next to her. All she could see were her nose and bottom lip sticking out of the hood of her blanket. Alice's kind heart went out to her. Summer did get into a lot of trouble, but it was only because she was so smart. The other kids didn't know just how smart she was. But Alice knew.
Victoria was, once again, leaning her arms on the rim of the basket. But, this time, she wasn't looking in wonder at the world below. She was trying to hold back her tears.
Marguerite put her arm around her. She knew just how disappointed she was feeling. She was very close to her eldest daughter and found that, at times, she could almost read her mind.
"It's all right, Tori, darling," she whispered in her ear. "Once we drop off the little terrors, we'll get right back in the balloon and continue your lonely trip." She lowered her voice even more. "And if we don't get back until really late, we'll fly the balloon home by moonlight."
Tori turned shinning eyes up to her adored mother. "Have you ever been in the balloon at night?" she asked.
"No, I haven't, but it should be very exciting, don't you think?"
Tori nodded, happily. Her mother made her feel like one of the grown ups.
Just then, Roxton let out a curse and said, "What the.?"
"What is it, John?" Marguerite asked.
"It's these bloody controls. I can't seem to turn the balloon."
"Are you sure you're doing it right? George did say it was tricky." She moved to stand beside him.
Frustrated, Roxton grumbled, "Of course I'm doing it right. I'm following his exact instructions."
"Here," Marguerite said, "let me try."
"I really don't think you can do it, Marguerite, if I can't. You were barely listening to him."
"Well, he did go on, so," she said defensively. "If you'd just move over, I could take a look."
She bumped him with her hip, and he bumped back.
"Really, Marguerite, why don't you just watch the children and I'll handle this."
"Watch the children! Do you think becoming a mother has addled my brain? I can do a lot more than "just watch the children", she shouted.
Tori rolled her eyes. Her parents loved to argue. At times, they sounded just like Will and Summer.
The wind picked up and blew so strongly that, once again, Tori was blown off the stool. Roxton looked over at her.
"Sit down and hold on, Tori," he shouted over the howl of the wind.
The ten-year-old made her unsteady way over to the little girls huddled in their blankets. She sat down between them and put her arms around both their shoulders.
She had always been the little mother to the younger children and she couldn't stand to see them so sad.
"Close your eyes, my sweet ones," she said softly, sounding so much like her mother that Summer looked up at her sharply. Seeing the look in Tori's eyes, she quickly snuggled into her embrace. Alice was already leaning hard against her other side.
Marguerite grabbed Roxton's arm and pointed. The balloon was headed right towards the mountains!
Together, their quarrel forgotten, they worked feverishly at the controls. Nothing they did made any difference. The balloon was out of their control.
The mountain loomed ahead of them, rugged, sharp peaks reaching out to tear into the balloon. Roxton could see in his mind's eye the basket bouncing and tumbling down the side of the mountain, turning over and over as it made its inexorable descent.
He put his hand on his wife's arm as she continued her fruitless manipulation of the levers.
"Come on, Marguerite," he shouted over the wind. "We can't stop it. Help me strap in the children."
She looked at her husband. She knew that he wasn't one to give up if there was even one spark of hope.
She clutched his arm with both of her hands, her eyes telling him what was in her heart. He nodded and kissed her quickly.
They moved swiftly to the children and, taking a rope out of one of the boxes, looped it around the stricken children and fastened it securely to the basket struts. Then, Marguerite sat down beside Alice and John tied her to the basket, too. She pulled all three children as close to her as she could.
"Hold tightly to me, my sweet ones," she said softly. "The ride is going to get very bumpy."
Swiftly, in a last ditch effort to change the balloons course, Roxton picked up one of the heavier boxes and balanced it on the rim of the basket. With a shove, he sent it over the side. He leaned over the rim and watched as it crash on a jagged outcrop far below.
He turned to pick up another box, when Marguerite called frantically to him.
"John, leave it. Tie yourself in beside Summer. We'll ride this out together."
"One more, my love," he shouted, bending down again. As he straightened, box in hand, the balloon suddenly began to rise swiftly.
"It worked!" Roxton shouted. "I think it's working!"
He set the box down and stood up frowning.
"But, how could it? I barely lightened the load at all," he muttered.
Yet, there was no mistaking it. The basket was already skimming over the highest peak.
Marguerite untied herself and moved to stand beside her husband.
"Mom!"
"Mommy!"
Her daughters called to her at the same time. She looked down at them.
"Can we get up, now, Mommy?" asked Summer.
Her father answered. "Stay where you are, girls. We aren't out of the woods, yet."
Summer's eyes widened. Her mouth formed a little round oh.
Tori looked over at her sister and sighed. "No, Summer. Dad doesn't think we're in the woods. It's just an expression."
Summer blinked. "I know that," she said hastily.
Alice put her hand over her mouth and giggled.
The balloon, quite of its own accord, lifted them up and over several more mountain peaks before it started descending towards a grassy mountain meadow.
John and Marguerite looked at each other in consternation. They knew that they weren't in control of the balloon, but they wondered just who was.
Gently, slowly, softly, the balloon set them down in the meadow.
The girls wiggled out of the confining ropes and started to stand up until Roxton told them to sit still.
"But, Dad." Tori started to say, but her mother cut her off.
"Now, Tori, don't argue. We need you all to cooperate. Please stay down until we see what's going on."
Grumbling, the girls sat back down.
"Come here, Marguerite," Roxton said, motioning her over. "Is that a cave entrance over there? It's hard to make out. It could be shadows on the rocks." he said, trailing off as he squinted at the mountain side.
"If it is a cave, I hope nothing horrible lives in it," shuddered Marguerite.
Just as John began to say, "I haven't seen anything moving--", the basket was suddenly surrounded by a throng of pale, thin people, who stared at them silently.
John and Marguerite jumped back, startled. It was as if these wraiths had formed out of the air.
"What the hell?" Roxton yelped. "Where did they come from?"
As sudden as their appearance had been, Roxton felt no threat from them. Marguerite hadn't gone into defensive mode either. They looked at each other, curiosity, not panic, on their faces.
Alice and Victoria jumped up.
"Look, Tori," said Alice, excitedly, "it's the Sw'atee!"
Smiling with delight, Alice and Tori stepped forward.
John put out his arm to hold them back.
"Do you two know these people?" he asked incredulously.
Both girls nodded.
"They're the Sw'atee, Dad," answered Victoria.
"They're very nice, Uncle John," Alice said. She smiled and waggled her fingers at them.
"How do you know who they are, girls?" asked Marguerite.
"We met them at the bottom of the cliff. Behind the targets," Alice added, helpfully. "K'dell was the first one we met, and then we met Me'hyar, and then M'stri."
"No, Alice," Tori disagreed. "We met M'stri before we met Me'hyar."
Alice put her finger to her chin in thought.
"You're right, Tori," she said, then giggled. "R'tor always got them mixed up, didn't he?"
"Wait a minute, here," Roxton said in disbelief. "Are you two making this up?"
"No, Dad. It's true." Tori assured him.
Marguerite, who had been distracted by a low-pitched whispering sound, looked down at the girls in puzzlement.
"Who is R'tor?" she asked.
"Oh, he's their king," Tori told her. "He's very, very old. Even older then Grandpa."
Summer slid up next to her mother and leaned against her leg.
Roxton's head was spinning. He turned to his middle daughter
"Well, Summer, I suppose you know these people, too." he asked resignedly.
Summer frowned. "I don't know who they are, Daddy." She brightened. "But I'd like to meet them."
Roxton shook his head and looked over at Marguerite, who was again looking out at the several dozen Sw'atee around the them and listening intently.
"What do you hear, Marguerite?" he asked, his irritation evident in his voice. Truth be told, he was irritation with himself. His family might still be in danger, and, carelessly, he had left his rifle packed away in one of the boxes. The years inside the protection of the electric fence had dulled his survival instincts, he thought.
"Shhhh," she said. She moved closer to the side of the basket, dragging Summer, who still was holding her leg, with her.
"Marguerite? This is no time to go into a trance," he warned.
He was getting totally exasperated with the situation. He didn't like the children hiding such a potentially dangerous secret from him, and he certainly didn't like the feeling that he was in the dark about what was going on. His wife was staring at these people as if they were the most interesting beings on the plateau, and the two older girls were flirting with them, well, smiling and giggling and waving at them, anyway. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Stop doing that," he snapped at them.
They frowned at him, but stopped.
"John," Marguerite called excitedly. "I can understand what they're saying!"
Roxton frowned. "I don't hear them talking."
"Listen!"
Dutifully, John cocked his ear towards the Sw'atee and strained to hear them.
"All I can hear is the wind blowing,"
"That's them. They speak in whispers."
Roxton looked more closely at them.
"They're not even moving their lips," he argued.
"The sounds come from their throats," Marguerite told him.
"Okay," he said. When she just stood there, he asked her, in what he hoped was a patient voice.
"Well, don't keep us all in suspense. What are they saying?"
"They want to take us to their king."
She listened again.
"Well, how can this be? They say that he's expecting us!"
"Oh, goody," Alice enthused. "We get to meet R'tor!"
Victoria grinned and nodded.
"Hold on just a minute," John said. "I thought you said that you'd met this R'tor already."
"We only talked to him when he was in the water, Dad. We've never really met him."
John raised one eyebrow at her.
"Before we go anywhere, we need to know what has been going on." He looked at his remarkable wife. "Can you tell them that we need a few minutes?"
"I think so," she told him.
She leaned slightly over the rim and made blowing, whispering noises in her throat. The Sw'atee standing closest to her made similar sounds. Marguerite nodded her head at them.
As quickly as they had appeared, they suddenly weren't there. Roxton blinked his eyes. Looking quickly around the meadow, he saw them standing over by the cave entrance.
"Fast little devils, aren't they," he muttered.
As quickly as they could, Tori and Alice told their story. They were anxious to see R'tor.
When they had finished, Summer, who had enjoyed their story, laughed, clapped her hands and asked, "What happened next?"
"We don't know what's going to happen, Summer," her sister said impatiently. "It hasn't happened, yet."
Roxton shook his head in wonder for what seemed like the thousandth time.
"Well, if this R'tor thinks the children are going any where near the danger, then we need to set him straight," Marguerite fumed.
"Damn right!" Roxton agreed.
Marguerite made a whistling, blowing noise in her throat and, just as suddenly as before, the basket was surrounded by the Sw'atee.
Marguerite talked to them for a minute and then said, "Let's go. They say that R'tor is waiting."
Roxton leaped out of the basket and helped Marguerite climb out. The two little girls squealed as he lifted them over the rim. He turned back for Tori and found her kneeling on the floor of the basket, seemingly rooting around in the blankets for something.
"Leave it, Tori," her father called. "Let's go."
"Coming, Dad," she answered, giving the corner of the basket one last look.
When they were all out, some of the Sw'atee led them towards the cave. These Sw'atee moved slowly in deference to their guests. The other ones had no such restriction. They moved so fast, that they seemed to blink in and out of existence.
As the Roxtons and Alice vanished into the shadow of the cave, the Sw'atee still in the meadow, began lifting the boxes, blankets and other supplies out of the basket. Within minutes, the basket was empty save for three Sw'atee who proceeded to work the controls until the basket rose into the air and swiftly disappeared over the tall mountain peaks.
Inside the cave, the adults held the children tightly by the hand, not because they felt fear for their safety, but because the girls had quickly shown a tendency to dart off to explore the beautiful, glittering crystals that adorned the walls of the passageways.
Marguerite held herself tightly in check. She, too, would like to go exploring. She was very fond of gemstones herself.
Roxton noticed her longing looks and whispered to her out the side of his mouth.
"Now, now, Marguerite. Must set a good example for the children, you know."
She glared at him, but said nothing.
They were led down, up and through the winding, twisting passageways until they were deep inside the mountains. Occasionally, when she started to whine, Roxton would hoist Summer onto his shoulders. Alice and Victoria were too excited at the prospect of meeting R'tor in person to feel the fatigue of the long walk. There was something about the old Sw'atee king that had captured their hearts.
Once in a while, a group of Sw'atee would suddenly appear near them. Watching and silent, the group never stayed long, but disappeared in a mere blink of an eye. When this had happened several times, Marguerite remarked that she was beginning to feel like a rare exhibit in an underground zoo.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Roxton whispered when they had been walking for a good twenty minutes.
Just then, they turned a corner and entered a large chamber that contained seats and tables carved from stone and covered by bright cloth and pillows.
"Too late," Marguerite whispered back.
At the far end of the room, four Sw'atee stood guard around a pile of colorful pillows that almost hid the wide, squat figure of their ruler.
As the five of them approached, the Sw'atee king's white-bearded face peeked out from the depth of the pile and a jolly, familiar voice sang out to them.
"Welcome, my dears. It's so good to see you both again."
"ARTHUR SUMMERLEE!" John and Marguerite gasped.
(TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 3)
The mysterious note held tightly in his hand, Edward, along with Will and Rosie, was bustled to the treehouse by the women. He tried to protest, but they were deaf to his pleas.
Lips pinched shut with worry and helplessness, the adults did what they could to gain control of a situation that had gotten rapidly out of hand. The only thing that kept them from hysteria was the knowledge that John and Marguerite were with the children and they would protect them with their last breath.
Ned and Challenger stayed behind and thoroughly searched the basket and balloon. They found nothing else. They secured it down with ropes and asked two of the Zanga to stand guard. The balloon had returned to the meadow on its own and they didn't want it to leave that way, too.
When the men returned to the Malone treehouse, they sent Will to the bedroom to watch over Rosie while she napped. Edward sat at the dining table with his hands clasped between his knees. He knew he was in trouble.
Ned paced around the room, tapping the small piece of paper on his palm. If it had been a grenade, it couldn't have given the adults more concern.
"All right, Edward, we want to know what this note means and I want the whole story," he spoke sternly.
Edward looked up. "Sure, Dad, I'll tell you. We were going to tell you soon, anyway."
"Whose "we"?" asked his mother.
Edward looked over at her. He could tell by her expression that he had better have a good story.
"Alice and Tori," he said, and paused.
"Go on."
"Well, a few weeks ago Alice and I went over to the Roxton's, but Aunt Marguerite said that only Tori could come out and play."
"Why couldn't Will and Summer play?" asked Challenger curiously.
"Oh, they were caught throwing their Mom's biscuits over the railing and they had to stay home to "learn not to waste food."
Despite the seriousness of the occasion, Veronica smiled at that. There were some foods that Marguerite just never could learn to cook.
Edward sighed.
"So we.the three of us. went to the meadow to practice with our bows and arrows, and then we started chasing each other around and hiding behind the rocks at the bottom of the cliff. Tori and I had just found Alice stooping down behind a big rock, when we saw a small cave that we had never noticed before."
Edward looked around to gage how his audience would react to this next piece of news. They were staring at him with slight frowns of disbelief on their faces. They knew the cliff wall well, and had never seen a cave in it. Edward sighed and plunged on.
"We were taking turns looking into it, when a girl came popping out of it. She was kind of skinny and had very white skin."
The grownups looked at each other with deep concern. This was an unexpected blow. For eight years, they'd worked to keep the rest of the plateau out of their compound. Now it seemed that they hadn't succeeded.
Ned stopped pacing and clamped his hand on his son's shoulder. "Did she hurt any of you?" he asked, shaken.
"No, Dad." Edward hastily assured him. "She was really nice and she didn't try to scare us or hurt us at all!"
Ned, reassured by Edward's tone of voice, ran his hand through his short, pale hair and went back to pacing.
Taking a deep breath, Edward said quickly, "She had a waterskin under her arm and, this is the really strange part, she poured the water into a little bowl in the rocks, and a man's face appeared in it!"
"Edward," Veronica said warningly.
"Really, it's true, Mom. The man looked really old and wrinkly, but he wasn't mean or anything. We looked into the water and he said, "Hello" to us and we said "Hello" back and he said, "My, what polite children."
"He spoke English?" Challenger asked, incredulously.
"Yeah, Grandpa. He told us that the girl and her people lived in caves under the mountains. He called them the "Forever Caves" because the caves were inside all the mountains and they were all connected together."
He was so intent on his story that he didn't see the look that passed between the adults.
"Then he asked us our names and we told him. He seemed really happy to meet us and he told us his name was R'Tor and the girl's was K'dell Sw'atee. He asked us all kinds of questions about all of you and the other kids, and the Zanga. Then Tori asked him if he was in the water and he said no, that he was in the caves, but this was special water and when he looked in the water from his cave, he could see us, too."
"Edward," Veronica interrupted. "Why on earth didn't you tell us about this?"
"R'Tor told us not to, just yet. He said that there was a great danger on the plateau and that we could help get rid of it, so that all the tribes and people who were hiding in the caves could go home. He said that the time was coming soon when the danger would be vul.vulner...bull and that we would know when that time came."
He pointed to the crumpled paper in his father's hand. "Tori says that the time has come."
"How did he say that you could help?" asked Tilly. She was the only one who seemed to be undisturbed by Edward's story.
"He didn't tell us that time, Grandma, but the next time we talked to him, he said that we kids had.well," He gave an embarrassed laugh. "that we had special gifts that could stop the danger."
Edward looked around at their skeptical faces and held up his hands.
"I know it sounds crazy, but he told us that we had faced the danger once already and had gotten away, so that proved that we were immune to it."
Challenger shook his head.
"Is that why you asked me what immune meant?"
"Yes, sir."
"What did you think he meant, when he said that all of you had faced the danger before?"
Edward shrugged. He was truly puzzled by this. "I really don't know, Grandpa."
"Did Will and Summer meet this.R'Tor?" asked Ned.
"No, we didn't want them there. You know how they are. They would have told everyone. A lot of times Tori stayed with them so they wouldn't follow us." He sighed and shrugged. "But, R'Tor said that we had to tell them, anyway, so we were going to tell them tomorrow.but, now."
"Edward, tell me," Veronica asked thoughtfully. "Did Alice's sudden change of temperament, not to mention hair and clothes, have anything to do with R'Tor?"
Edward squirmed uncomfortably. This was the part that he felt the most guilty about.
"Well, yeah, sort of. You see, R'Tor said that Alice might not be as safe as the rest of us because the danger would recognize her."
He heard his mother gasp, so he hurried on.
"I didn't want the danger to recognize Alice, so I told her that she had to disguise herself. We thought that if she looked like a boy, she would be safer."
Veronica whispered. "But how could the danger recognize her? She's never been outside the electric fence.
Edward jumped up and ran over to throw his arms around his mother's neck.
"I'm sorry. I should have told you. But no one will recognize her now. She looks just like me!"
Veronica held him close. How could she blame him? He was just trying to keep his sister safe.just like they all were.
"You were very clever, Sweetheart." She pushed his blond curls back from his forehead. "Dad and I are so glad that you take such good care of Alice."
"I always will," he promised.
She pulled him down to sit beside her, keeping one arm around his shoulder.
"Now, Edward, I have one more question for you."
Edward raised his eyebrows, all cooperation. "Sure, Mom. What is it?"
"Why did you and Alice insist on planting those strange seeds? I've never seen such funny plants coming up."
"Oh," Edward said, relieved that it was such an easy question. "R'Tor asked us to plant them. He said that his people love those plants, but they're having trouble getting them to grow up in the highest mountains, so he wanted us to see if we could grow them here. Alice and I were going to give the plants to the Sw'atee."
"You're not saying it right, Edward," Will said as he came into the room, his baby sister holding tightly on to his shoulders as he struggled to carry her.
He handed the baby to Grandma Tilly. "Here, Grandma, she woke up."
"What do you mean, he isn't saying it right, Will," asked Challenger.
Will looked around at the people sitting in the Malones dining area. He was trying to read their faces, trying to figure out if he had said something wrong.
"Well, Edward said the people were called the Swa-tee, and that's not right." He stopped, but no one said anything, so he continued.
"They're called the Swah-ah-tee."
Will frowned, puzzled, as everyone stared at him.
His uncle cleared his throat.
"Ah, Will. How do you know what they're called?" Ned asked fearfully.
"A'mit Sw'atee told me," Will answered simply.
Veronica reached out and pulled the boy to her side.
"Tell me, Will, how did you meet this Sw'atee?" She saw the worried look on his face. "It's all right. You're not in trouble. In fact, you may be able to help us find your family."
Will relaxed. "Okay," he said. "I saw him in the hunting grounds when me and Dad and Grandma went hunting for rabbits." He turned to his grandma. "You know that rabbit hole between the rocks that Dad sends me down to chase out the rabbits? Well, at the bottom is a little cave and that's where I saw him. He comes there to catch a rabbit. He doesn't eat meat, but his.king?.I'm not sure what he's called.likes a nice rabbit stew, so A'mit takes the rabbit to him and he cooks it."
Will nodded with satisfaction, as his story seemed to be so absorbing to the people gathered around him.
"Why didn't you tell us about this, Will?" Ned asked.
Will shrugged. "A'mit told me not to, so I didn't."
Edward looked sharply at Will. "How do you know what A'mit said? Did he speak English?"
Will frowned. "I don't think so, but it was okay, 'cause I could understand him."
The grownups looked at each other and Edward nodded to himself. Tori was right. Will did understand other languages, just like his mother.
"Well," Veronica said with a sigh. "Now we have two places to start. It sounds as if this Sw'atee king may be able to help us."
Ned stood up. "Let's get started then. Tilly, could you stay here with Rose? I think if Will here can talk to these people, that he should come with us."
Before Tilly could answer, Edward jumped to his feet.
"No!" he exclaimed. "Rose has to come with us. R'Tor said that when the time came to defeat the danger, all of us kids had to help." He turned to his Grandma. "Can't you come with us, too, Grandma Tilly? You know how to take care of Rosie the best of all. I know she'd be safe with you."
Tilly looked at her husband. Challenger raised his eyebrows and shrugged. "I think Edward is right. We all need to stay together if this is the time to banish the danger and reclaim our plateau."
It seemed to the grownups that, as hard as they had tried to keep their children from having to live in the strange and dangerous environment of the plateau, the plateau had found their children. Revelation upon revelation was having a strange affect on Veronica.
She looked at Ned. "I feel it, too, Ned. I think the time for hiding is over. Jarl is right. We have to take a stand."
She stood up and removed the small spectacles from her nose. It was as if eight years dropped away from her. Her eyes glinted with an internal light. Determination and strength flowed from her. For too long, the fear she felt for the safety of her children had held her hostage. But no longer. The very real danger to her daughter and friends was like a catalyst that broke the spell cast on her so long ago.
Ned and Challenger rejoiced to see the Veronica of old return to them.
Ned hugged her to him. "My Veronica," he breathed into her ear. She returned his hug with a fierceness that was a silent apology for all the years he had stood by her when she had retreated from the world that she loved, because her love for her children was so much greater.
The bold, brash, strong, brave, beautiful woman who had captured his heart the first time he saw her was back.
They broke apart to laugh at the grinning faces around them.
"How can we lose now?" asked Challenger. "We have the future Protector of the Plateau on our side!"
"Some Protector I'll be," Veronica muttered.
"Will you go back to your jungle princess garb?" Ned joked to cheer her up.
Edward's head jerked up at this description of his mother. Where had he heard it before? He frowned in concentration, but it was no use. He couldn't remember.
Veronica laughed. "Please, Ned, I'm sure I couldn't fit into it again. I'm ten years older and two children bigger."
Ned slid his arm around her. "Nonsense, you look just the same as the first time I saw you."
Challenger walked over and helped Tilly to her feet.
"Let's pack up and get started." Challenger ordered. His face glowed with excitement. "There are mysteries to be solved and friends to find. We must not dally."
"You're right, George." Veronica said, already heading for the bedrooms. She stopped at the top of the stairs and turned back to her friends. "You know, I can't help wondering what happened in the balloon," she mused.
**
The chilly wind twirling her hair loose from her braids, Victoria Roxton leaned her elbows on the rim of the basket and looked down, for the first time, at what lay outside of the several acres that had been her home for all of her life. Her parents, who sat on stools on either side of her, stared down, too. It had been many years since they had traveled freely ( perhaps, foolhardy would be more accurate) through the dense jungle and open meadows and hills below.
Victoria let out a long sigh. Still looking down so as not to miss anything, she said, with awe in her voice, "There's a whole world out here that I didn't know about." She looked to the horizon. "And another beyond this one and another beyond that."
Her parents looked at each other over her dark head. Guilt was in their eyes as it always was when they thought of their decision to keep the children safe, but confined.
Victoria turned shining eyes to her mother.
"Oh, Mother," she said, "which way is London? And China? And America?" Before Marguerite could answer, she clasped her hands together and rested her chin on them, staring down again. "Oh, I do want to see them all!"
She sat up abruptly and turned to her father. "Do you think I can, Dad? Do you think I'll ever get to see them?"
Roxton put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her against him. He looked again at Marguerite as he answered her. He bit his lip and breathed out through his nose. Really, he thought, they should have anticipated the impact this trip would have on Tori.
"I can't tell you for sure, Tori. We'd all like to see them again, I think." At her disappointed look, he continued, "I'll tell you what, when we get back, let's talk about it some more. It's been awhile since we looked for a way home, and maybe it's time we started again."
He reached across to put his hand on Marguerite's shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
"John," Marguerite said slowly, distracted by what she saw past the basket's rim. "The mountains seem so much closer than they did before. Don't you think?" Her voice became both puzzled and excited. "I could have sworn that they were at least a three-days journey from the treehouse, yet, there they are, just in front of us."
Roxton leaned forward, his face taking on a puzzled frown as well.
"You're right, Marguerite. What can it mean?"
His sharp eyes scanned the hills below him and the sky above.
"I haven't spotted any animals, either. Have you?"
Marguerite gave an involuntary shiver.
"Now that you mention it, I haven't. I wish George were here," she murmured. "He might be able to explain this."
Roxton laughed. "Oh, he'd explain it all right."
'I'm sure there's a logical, scientific explanation for all of this,' he mimicked. He laughed, again, "It's been awhile since we've heard him talk about the mysteries of the plateau."
Marguerite had to chuckle at the memories of how their scientific friend would go on and on and on, expounding theory after theory.
Tori had been looking back and forth between her parents during this exchange. She didn't understand exactly what they were talking about, but it sounded interesting.
She opened her mouth to ask about these mysteries, when a cold gust of mountain air nearly blew her off of the stool. Her mother caught her and helped her back on.
Roxton rubbed his arms against the sudden chill.
"I guess it's time to break out the blankets, ladies." He moved over to the pile. "We'll all be snug and warm in just a minute."
He lifted up the top blanket and froze. There, curled up next to each other, sound asleep, were Summer and.Alice. They were breathing quietly and their cheeks were rosy from the heat of the blankets. As John watched, the cold wind blew across them and they sat up, rubbing their eyes.
"Oh, my God," whispered Marguerite.
Tori wasn't quite so surprised. She frowned at her little sister. How like Summer, she thought. She always got what she wanted, and this time, she dragged poor Alice along with her.
Alice sat up on the blankets, her arms wrapped around herself. She shivered, but was too nervous to say anything. She wasn't as timid as most people thought, but, sometimes, Aunt Marguerite's temper scared her.
Summer didn't have any fear of her mother's temper. Her temper was so much worse. Besides, she knew how to handle her parents.
She looked from her father's furious face to her mother's angry glare and gulped. Maybe she'd gone too far this time.
"Summer Leigh Roxton, what do you have to say for yourself?" Marguerite thundered. Before Summer could reply, she turned to Alice.
"Alice? Do your parents know you're up here? No, of course they don't," she answered herself. "What was I thinking?" she threw her arms into the air. "They would never dream that you would be so sneaky and disobedient without being led astray by our little terror."
While Marguerite was venting her temper, Roxton had been wrapping everyone in blankets. He didn't trust himself to speak. Summer had really crossed the line this time. Her desire to always get her own way had gotten out of hand.
Alice pulled the blanket more tightly around herself. Aunt Marguerite was really angry, but she had it all wrong. She took a deep breath.
"Aunt Marguerite," she interrupted. "It wasn't Summer's fault.
Marguerite and John stopped in surprise. It wasn't very often that they heard those words.
Alice went on bravely.
"I wanted to see what the inside of the basket looked like. Summer did too, but I'm older, I shouldn't have let her get in. So," she looked over at her friend, "if Summer's a little terror, then so am I."
Alice's defense of her friend drained some of the anger out of Roxton and Marguerite. But not out of Tori.
"Mom," she whined. "You're not going to let them get away with this, are you? You know that Summer wanted to go on MY lonely trip. She planned this all along. She should be punished. It isn't fair."
Summer stuck out her lower lip. Her eyebrows turned down. She glared at her big sister.
"You're mean, Tori," she said, her temper rising. "I didn't want to go on your old lonely trip. I just wanted to see inside the basket. You're being a.a.terror," she finished.
"Summer," her mother said warningly. "Tori isn't the one in trouble."
"Yeah, Summer, and I am not a terror," Tori said indignantly.
"I think you should punish me, Aunt Marguerite," piped up Alice. "Really, I do."
"No, Mommy, you should punish me," Summer demanded, seeing the spotlight moving away.
"Enough!" Roxton shouted over the squabbling. "No one is going to be punished, at.this.time." He looked at his four year old daughter with one eyebrow raised.
Summer wilted under that look.
Roxton looked over at his wife, communicating with his eyes.
"All right, then," he said, "we're turning around and taking our two stowaways home."
Tori started to protest.
Roxton held up his hand. "We're sorry, Tori, but Ned and Veronica must be frantic."
He immediately started the procedures that Challenger had drilled into him to get the balloon going in the opposite direction, back to meadow.
Summer, who was sitting beside Alice on the floor of the balloon, said in her sweetest voice, "Daddy, can me and Alice look over the side? Pleeeese!"
Roxton glanced over at her.
"Sorry, Summer. Bad behavior does not get rewarded. Why don't you just sit there and be verrrry quiet, like a teeny, tiny, little bug," he said, remembering Summer earlier promise.
Summer stuck out her bottom lip and pulled the blanket up over her head. This part of her plan wasn't going nearly as well as she had hoped.
Alice hunched down lower in her blanket, wishing she could disappear through the floor. She was totally mortified and ashamed. Here she was almost seven and she was following the lead of a four year old! How did she get into this? Peeking inside the basket hadn't seemed such a bad thing to do when they were doing it. Her mind raced on to thoughts of her parents. Uncle John was right. Her parents were probably very worried about her. And then there was her brother. Edward would be so mad at her. He warned her that Summer was trouble.
Alice looked over at the little girl sitting next to her. All she could see were her nose and bottom lip sticking out of the hood of her blanket. Alice's kind heart went out to her. Summer did get into a lot of trouble, but it was only because she was so smart. The other kids didn't know just how smart she was. But Alice knew.
Victoria was, once again, leaning her arms on the rim of the basket. But, this time, she wasn't looking in wonder at the world below. She was trying to hold back her tears.
Marguerite put her arm around her. She knew just how disappointed she was feeling. She was very close to her eldest daughter and found that, at times, she could almost read her mind.
"It's all right, Tori, darling," she whispered in her ear. "Once we drop off the little terrors, we'll get right back in the balloon and continue your lonely trip." She lowered her voice even more. "And if we don't get back until really late, we'll fly the balloon home by moonlight."
Tori turned shinning eyes up to her adored mother. "Have you ever been in the balloon at night?" she asked.
"No, I haven't, but it should be very exciting, don't you think?"
Tori nodded, happily. Her mother made her feel like one of the grown ups.
Just then, Roxton let out a curse and said, "What the.?"
"What is it, John?" Marguerite asked.
"It's these bloody controls. I can't seem to turn the balloon."
"Are you sure you're doing it right? George did say it was tricky." She moved to stand beside him.
Frustrated, Roxton grumbled, "Of course I'm doing it right. I'm following his exact instructions."
"Here," Marguerite said, "let me try."
"I really don't think you can do it, Marguerite, if I can't. You were barely listening to him."
"Well, he did go on, so," she said defensively. "If you'd just move over, I could take a look."
She bumped him with her hip, and he bumped back.
"Really, Marguerite, why don't you just watch the children and I'll handle this."
"Watch the children! Do you think becoming a mother has addled my brain? I can do a lot more than "just watch the children", she shouted.
Tori rolled her eyes. Her parents loved to argue. At times, they sounded just like Will and Summer.
The wind picked up and blew so strongly that, once again, Tori was blown off the stool. Roxton looked over at her.
"Sit down and hold on, Tori," he shouted over the howl of the wind.
The ten-year-old made her unsteady way over to the little girls huddled in their blankets. She sat down between them and put her arms around both their shoulders.
She had always been the little mother to the younger children and she couldn't stand to see them so sad.
"Close your eyes, my sweet ones," she said softly, sounding so much like her mother that Summer looked up at her sharply. Seeing the look in Tori's eyes, she quickly snuggled into her embrace. Alice was already leaning hard against her other side.
Marguerite grabbed Roxton's arm and pointed. The balloon was headed right towards the mountains!
Together, their quarrel forgotten, they worked feverishly at the controls. Nothing they did made any difference. The balloon was out of their control.
The mountain loomed ahead of them, rugged, sharp peaks reaching out to tear into the balloon. Roxton could see in his mind's eye the basket bouncing and tumbling down the side of the mountain, turning over and over as it made its inexorable descent.
He put his hand on his wife's arm as she continued her fruitless manipulation of the levers.
"Come on, Marguerite," he shouted over the wind. "We can't stop it. Help me strap in the children."
She looked at her husband. She knew that he wasn't one to give up if there was even one spark of hope.
She clutched his arm with both of her hands, her eyes telling him what was in her heart. He nodded and kissed her quickly.
They moved swiftly to the children and, taking a rope out of one of the boxes, looped it around the stricken children and fastened it securely to the basket struts. Then, Marguerite sat down beside Alice and John tied her to the basket, too. She pulled all three children as close to her as she could.
"Hold tightly to me, my sweet ones," she said softly. "The ride is going to get very bumpy."
Swiftly, in a last ditch effort to change the balloons course, Roxton picked up one of the heavier boxes and balanced it on the rim of the basket. With a shove, he sent it over the side. He leaned over the rim and watched as it crash on a jagged outcrop far below.
He turned to pick up another box, when Marguerite called frantically to him.
"John, leave it. Tie yourself in beside Summer. We'll ride this out together."
"One more, my love," he shouted, bending down again. As he straightened, box in hand, the balloon suddenly began to rise swiftly.
"It worked!" Roxton shouted. "I think it's working!"
He set the box down and stood up frowning.
"But, how could it? I barely lightened the load at all," he muttered.
Yet, there was no mistaking it. The basket was already skimming over the highest peak.
Marguerite untied herself and moved to stand beside her husband.
"Mom!"
"Mommy!"
Her daughters called to her at the same time. She looked down at them.
"Can we get up, now, Mommy?" asked Summer.
Her father answered. "Stay where you are, girls. We aren't out of the woods, yet."
Summer's eyes widened. Her mouth formed a little round oh.
Tori looked over at her sister and sighed. "No, Summer. Dad doesn't think we're in the woods. It's just an expression."
Summer blinked. "I know that," she said hastily.
Alice put her hand over her mouth and giggled.
The balloon, quite of its own accord, lifted them up and over several more mountain peaks before it started descending towards a grassy mountain meadow.
John and Marguerite looked at each other in consternation. They knew that they weren't in control of the balloon, but they wondered just who was.
Gently, slowly, softly, the balloon set them down in the meadow.
The girls wiggled out of the confining ropes and started to stand up until Roxton told them to sit still.
"But, Dad." Tori started to say, but her mother cut her off.
"Now, Tori, don't argue. We need you all to cooperate. Please stay down until we see what's going on."
Grumbling, the girls sat back down.
"Come here, Marguerite," Roxton said, motioning her over. "Is that a cave entrance over there? It's hard to make out. It could be shadows on the rocks." he said, trailing off as he squinted at the mountain side.
"If it is a cave, I hope nothing horrible lives in it," shuddered Marguerite.
Just as John began to say, "I haven't seen anything moving--", the basket was suddenly surrounded by a throng of pale, thin people, who stared at them silently.
John and Marguerite jumped back, startled. It was as if these wraiths had formed out of the air.
"What the hell?" Roxton yelped. "Where did they come from?"
As sudden as their appearance had been, Roxton felt no threat from them. Marguerite hadn't gone into defensive mode either. They looked at each other, curiosity, not panic, on their faces.
Alice and Victoria jumped up.
"Look, Tori," said Alice, excitedly, "it's the Sw'atee!"
Smiling with delight, Alice and Tori stepped forward.
John put out his arm to hold them back.
"Do you two know these people?" he asked incredulously.
Both girls nodded.
"They're the Sw'atee, Dad," answered Victoria.
"They're very nice, Uncle John," Alice said. She smiled and waggled her fingers at them.
"How do you know who they are, girls?" asked Marguerite.
"We met them at the bottom of the cliff. Behind the targets," Alice added, helpfully. "K'dell was the first one we met, and then we met Me'hyar, and then M'stri."
"No, Alice," Tori disagreed. "We met M'stri before we met Me'hyar."
Alice put her finger to her chin in thought.
"You're right, Tori," she said, then giggled. "R'tor always got them mixed up, didn't he?"
"Wait a minute, here," Roxton said in disbelief. "Are you two making this up?"
"No, Dad. It's true." Tori assured him.
Marguerite, who had been distracted by a low-pitched whispering sound, looked down at the girls in puzzlement.
"Who is R'tor?" she asked.
"Oh, he's their king," Tori told her. "He's very, very old. Even older then Grandpa."
Summer slid up next to her mother and leaned against her leg.
Roxton's head was spinning. He turned to his middle daughter
"Well, Summer, I suppose you know these people, too." he asked resignedly.
Summer frowned. "I don't know who they are, Daddy." She brightened. "But I'd like to meet them."
Roxton shook his head and looked over at Marguerite, who was again looking out at the several dozen Sw'atee around the them and listening intently.
"What do you hear, Marguerite?" he asked, his irritation evident in his voice. Truth be told, he was irritation with himself. His family might still be in danger, and, carelessly, he had left his rifle packed away in one of the boxes. The years inside the protection of the electric fence had dulled his survival instincts, he thought.
"Shhhh," she said. She moved closer to the side of the basket, dragging Summer, who still was holding her leg, with her.
"Marguerite? This is no time to go into a trance," he warned.
He was getting totally exasperated with the situation. He didn't like the children hiding such a potentially dangerous secret from him, and he certainly didn't like the feeling that he was in the dark about what was going on. His wife was staring at these people as if they were the most interesting beings on the plateau, and the two older girls were flirting with them, well, smiling and giggling and waving at them, anyway. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Stop doing that," he snapped at them.
They frowned at him, but stopped.
"John," Marguerite called excitedly. "I can understand what they're saying!"
Roxton frowned. "I don't hear them talking."
"Listen!"
Dutifully, John cocked his ear towards the Sw'atee and strained to hear them.
"All I can hear is the wind blowing,"
"That's them. They speak in whispers."
Roxton looked more closely at them.
"They're not even moving their lips," he argued.
"The sounds come from their throats," Marguerite told him.
"Okay," he said. When she just stood there, he asked her, in what he hoped was a patient voice.
"Well, don't keep us all in suspense. What are they saying?"
"They want to take us to their king."
She listened again.
"Well, how can this be? They say that he's expecting us!"
"Oh, goody," Alice enthused. "We get to meet R'tor!"
Victoria grinned and nodded.
"Hold on just a minute," John said. "I thought you said that you'd met this R'tor already."
"We only talked to him when he was in the water, Dad. We've never really met him."
John raised one eyebrow at her.
"Before we go anywhere, we need to know what has been going on." He looked at his remarkable wife. "Can you tell them that we need a few minutes?"
"I think so," she told him.
She leaned slightly over the rim and made blowing, whispering noises in her throat. The Sw'atee standing closest to her made similar sounds. Marguerite nodded her head at them.
As quickly as they had appeared, they suddenly weren't there. Roxton blinked his eyes. Looking quickly around the meadow, he saw them standing over by the cave entrance.
"Fast little devils, aren't they," he muttered.
As quickly as they could, Tori and Alice told their story. They were anxious to see R'tor.
When they had finished, Summer, who had enjoyed their story, laughed, clapped her hands and asked, "What happened next?"
"We don't know what's going to happen, Summer," her sister said impatiently. "It hasn't happened, yet."
Roxton shook his head in wonder for what seemed like the thousandth time.
"Well, if this R'tor thinks the children are going any where near the danger, then we need to set him straight," Marguerite fumed.
"Damn right!" Roxton agreed.
Marguerite made a whistling, blowing noise in her throat and, just as suddenly as before, the basket was surrounded by the Sw'atee.
Marguerite talked to them for a minute and then said, "Let's go. They say that R'tor is waiting."
Roxton leaped out of the basket and helped Marguerite climb out. The two little girls squealed as he lifted them over the rim. He turned back for Tori and found her kneeling on the floor of the basket, seemingly rooting around in the blankets for something.
"Leave it, Tori," her father called. "Let's go."
"Coming, Dad," she answered, giving the corner of the basket one last look.
When they were all out, some of the Sw'atee led them towards the cave. These Sw'atee moved slowly in deference to their guests. The other ones had no such restriction. They moved so fast, that they seemed to blink in and out of existence.
As the Roxtons and Alice vanished into the shadow of the cave, the Sw'atee still in the meadow, began lifting the boxes, blankets and other supplies out of the basket. Within minutes, the basket was empty save for three Sw'atee who proceeded to work the controls until the basket rose into the air and swiftly disappeared over the tall mountain peaks.
Inside the cave, the adults held the children tightly by the hand, not because they felt fear for their safety, but because the girls had quickly shown a tendency to dart off to explore the beautiful, glittering crystals that adorned the walls of the passageways.
Marguerite held herself tightly in check. She, too, would like to go exploring. She was very fond of gemstones herself.
Roxton noticed her longing looks and whispered to her out the side of his mouth.
"Now, now, Marguerite. Must set a good example for the children, you know."
She glared at him, but said nothing.
They were led down, up and through the winding, twisting passageways until they were deep inside the mountains. Occasionally, when she started to whine, Roxton would hoist Summer onto his shoulders. Alice and Victoria were too excited at the prospect of meeting R'tor in person to feel the fatigue of the long walk. There was something about the old Sw'atee king that had captured their hearts.
Once in a while, a group of Sw'atee would suddenly appear near them. Watching and silent, the group never stayed long, but disappeared in a mere blink of an eye. When this had happened several times, Marguerite remarked that she was beginning to feel like a rare exhibit in an underground zoo.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Roxton whispered when they had been walking for a good twenty minutes.
Just then, they turned a corner and entered a large chamber that contained seats and tables carved from stone and covered by bright cloth and pillows.
"Too late," Marguerite whispered back.
At the far end of the room, four Sw'atee stood guard around a pile of colorful pillows that almost hid the wide, squat figure of their ruler.
As the five of them approached, the Sw'atee king's white-bearded face peeked out from the depth of the pile and a jolly, familiar voice sang out to them.
"Welcome, my dears. It's so good to see you both again."
"ARTHUR SUMMERLEE!" John and Marguerite gasped.
(TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 3)