The Five Keys Book 2The Children of the Plateau

by The Inner Genie

Complete! CHAPTER 5 and the EPILOGUE ARE POSTED! Sequel to The Future is Back. The children are back in their own timeline and deep in a mystery that will affect everyone on the plateau.

5. AHunting We Will Go

Apology: Sorry this chapter took me so long to post. It was a real bear to finish. I want to thank my great betas alliecat and MissMeganJane. Their suggestions and encouragement were invaluable. You two are STIMULATING!

Any mistakes left in this chapter are all my own.

The Five Keys

By The Inner Genie

CHAPTER 5: A-Hunting We Will Go

Veronica, with tears in her eyes, pulled away from her mother's embrace and motioned Ned over.

"Mother, I'd like you to meet my husband Ned Malone," she said, her voice cracking with emotion.

Ned hugged his mother-in-law. "It's a pleasure to meet you at last," he murmured sincerely.

Veronica then introduced the Roxtons who threw etiquette to the wind and hugged her too.

When things had calmed down and everyone was seated once more, Summerlee called them to order.

"Now, despite this happy reunion, we need to get down to business."

He gestured toward Abigail. "When we asked our guests to take a look at the tablet, Abigail recognized the language. It seems to be the ancient language of Avalon, the home of the Protector of the Plateau. I understand that the danger that is now plaguing us was loose on the Plateau hundreds of years ago, and the Protector, from that time, was the one who captured it and locked it far under the Plateau."

"Actually," Abigail interrupted, "that was not the first time the danger was on the Plateau and tried to destroy our home. The earliest legends tell of a being that came to the Plateau from out of the sky. It became trapped here and could not return to its home. It was an evil being with powers both awesome and terrible. It delighted in tormenting the people who lived here. It is said that it could move parts of the Plateau and set them down in other places. It could fool your mind into thinking you had walked for days when, actually, you had barely moved from your first location. Its power could reach through space and time and snare people from other civilizations and bring them to the Plateau. The giant beasts that roam through our jungle were brought here by the danger to kill and terrorize us all."

She paused, hesitant to shock them any more, but R'tor waved his hand for her to continue.

"The being had the power of deception. Tribes which lived only miles apart never knew the other existed, except if they happened to wander through one of the invisible portals that the danger placed all around the Plateau. It turned those it captured into evil, ruthless slaves and sent them out to torture and torment the other inhabitants of the Plateau. The danger learned to control the weather, the wind, and the water. Terrible storms with tornados, cyclones, hail, and sudden, deadly, bolts of lightning assaulted the Plateau and all that lived on it. It was a very dangerous and chaotic time. People called this being "the danger" because they were afraid that by giving it a name, they would inadvertently call themselves to its notice. Many people fought against the danger, but my ancient ancestor was the only one who was given the knowledge, the wisdom, and the power to capture it. She became the first Protector of the Plateau. Despite the fact that the danger was buried deep inside the Plateau, the fear of its return put a burden on my family. In every generation there will always be a Protector to save the Plateau if the danger reappears. The line of the Protector must be preserved."

As she said these words, each Avatar warrior pounded a fist against his chest and bowed his head to her.

Challenger raised his hand to stop her. "Do you mean to say that all of the strange phenomenons that we have encountered while we have been on the Plateau were all caused by this.this danger?" he asked incredulously, his mind working feverously to assimilate this new information.

Abigail smiled at his excitement. "Well, I guess you could say that. However, over the years, the evolution and consequential mixing of these phenomenons have caused more strife and confusion than even the danger could have hoped for and, even more terrible, many of the danger's evil minions still roam the Plateau to this day." She sadly shook her head. "Now that it has managed to escape again, things will only get worse."

"How did the danger escape this time?" Marguerite asked. She, like the others, was having a hard time absorbing all that the Protector was saying.

Abigail shook her head. "No one knows for sure. A tectonic shift, perhaps, or the lava surrounding the danger lost its cohesiveness. These are only guesses. But however it happened, we think that the danger got loose about ten or fifteen years ago. Its powers had to have been weakened by the environment of its prison. Somehow, since getting loose, it has been growing stronger."

She paused thoughtfully and then blurted. "I'm sure you've noticed that the Plateau's weather has been growing milder over the past few years?"

Challenger's eyes grew wide with speculation. "Yes! Of course, of course," he murmured, nodding to the others. "We have noted that, but could come to no conclusions about what was causing this change."

Ned raised his eyebrows. "I thought you said that the abundance of carbon dioxide expelled by the dinosaurs was causing the ozone layer to---"

"Hypothesis, Ned. Merely an hypothesis," the elderly scientist interrupted hurriedly.

Intrigued, Summerlee nodded his head. "And an interesting one, too, old boy." He leaned forward. "Carbon dioxide, eh. Why---"

Marguerite stopped Arthur with a glare. She rolled her eyes. "Really, Ned. Look what you've done. We'll be here for days if they get started."

Ned had the grace to look a little sheepish.

The Protector smiled at this exchange and continued.

"It is our belief that the danger has been absorbing the power from the most destructive weather that we have on the Plateau; the storms it left here the last time. Not only has it been growing stronger, it also has been growing more evil and destructive. The vortex that is spinning in the jungle is pulling in everything causing the whole Plateau to shrink. When the danger finally does appear on the surface, and it can appear in any shape or form, all of the people of the Plateau will be in mortal danger. It will be far more powerful than it was the first time it escaped. We must use every means that we have to send it back into the earth and, this time, we must be sure that it stays there."

"Abigail," Roxton spoke up, "just how did your ancestors manage to capture the danger?" Roxton asked because he had been running scenarios through his mind trying to come up with a way to trap this awesome being and had come up empty handed.

"Well, John, if I may call you that?" at Roxton's nod, Abigail continued, "there is one element on the Plateau that the danger has never been able to control. That element is fire. The danger is vulnerable to heat. Heat weakens its power. My ancestors used that fact to bury the danger under molten lava. The tablet found in the small cavern says that the pit at the bottom of the deeper chamber is a trap made many, many years ago in preparation for the danger's return. The pit goes deep under the mountains to the very center of the Plateau. The job of the Protector is to trick the danger into that pit and, then, seal it in with the volcanism of our home."

The Protector looked deeply into the faces before her. Her voice was soft but deadly serious. "Heed this. The danger hates the Protector and knows that the Protector is the only human that can destroy it. When it gets to the surface it will try to destroy the Protectors.both present and future."

Her words sent icy chills through the Explorers.

*****

The five children stepped out of the small cave opening that they had discovered. They found themselves on a ledge high above the jungle. Their eyes squinted against the bright sunlight.

Victoria shaded her eyes with her hand and looked out over the Plateau below them. She could see for miles. She frowned. Doubts about their plan assailed her. Now that they had left the caves, the inadequacies of the plan were becoming evident. How were they ever going to find the danger? How could she and Edward keep the younger ones safe? Would they need food or water?

She took a deep breath. Edward was right, though. They had to do this themselves. If they could take care of this problem then their parents wouldn't be put in danger. She shivered a little at the thought of anything hurting her parents. After all, she reassured herself, R'tor had told them that they were the chosen ones; the ones who could capture the danger and save the Plateau. So that must mean that he thought they could handle whatever needed to be done.

Edward called her out of her reverie. "Tori!"

"What?" She turned her head toward him and saw that the others were flapping their arms and hopping around like baby birds getting up the nerve to leave the nest.

"Look here," Edward said waving his arms out to the side. "See, we don't make any shadows. Isn't that extraordinary!"

"Indeed!" Will agreed, nodding his head sagely.

With a shout of laughter, the two boys pointed a finger at each other and yelled, "Grandpa!"

Tori ignored them and held out her arms. Sure enough, the sun shone right through her.

"That's because we're invisible," Will informed her.

"Gee, Will, I never would have thought of that." Tori rolled her eyes and shook her head.

Edward grinned at her smart comeback.

Suddenly Tori yelled, "Summer, get away from the ledge before you fall!" She turned to Alice. "Alice, can you watch her for a few minutes? I need to talk to Edward."

Alice, ever ready to help, nodded and took Summer's hand as the little girl shuffled over.

"Come on, Summer. Let's go sit in the shade and play with our dollies."

Summer gave her big sister a pouting look just to let her know that she didn't like to be yelled at like she was a baby. She wasn't going to fall off, for goodness sake.

With a deep sigh, Tori motioned Edward to one side. Her concerns about their plan were uppermost in her mind.

Will followed them despite his sister's warning frown.

"Edward, how are we going to find the danger?" she asked him in a low voice deliberately excluding her brother. "It may be at the vortex, but the vortex could be anywhere."

Edward pondered her question. He, too, had had a sinking feeling when they had stepped out of the cave and the miles and miles of jungle were laid out before them. He had set his unease aside, though, and decided to tackle one problem at a time.

"Well," he said slowly, "you're right. We don't know that it will be at the vortex, but that's still our best bet, don't you think. And as for the vortex, we'll just have to look for it, I guess."

Tori tapped her chin in thought. Seconds later, her big, gray eyes began to twinkle with mischief. She heaved a big, dramatic sigh.

"Well," she sighed, "looks like one of us will have to eat the roots of that disgusting plant."

With a wide grin, she clapped Edward on the back.

"I knew there was a reason I let you be the Captain."

Will laughed at Edward's startled expression.

Just as dramatically Edward drew himself up and put his hand over his heart.

"It is my duty as your Captain," he intoned, "to sacrifice my life for my crew."

He grinned at his two friends.

"Really, I don't mind. I'll do it," he told them.

"No, Edward, the roots were my thing to remember, so I'll eat them. Besides, I want to help, too."

Startled, the three of them turned around to see Alice, holding Summer by her hand, standing just behind them.

Every time Tori saw Alice, she smiled. She couldn't get over the change in Alice's appearance. The pretty, delicate looking, little girl with the beautiful long blond hair who looked the spitting image of her mother, now looked just like a smaller version of her brother-but her sweet nature couldn't be disguised.

Edward also smiled at his sister. "Do you really want to, Alice?" he asked.

"Oh, yes," she answered.

Edward looked over at Tori. She shrugged. "I don't think it matters. Go ahead, Alice."

"Okay," Edward said, getting down to business. "Alice will eat the roots and find the vortex. It shouldn't be hard to see from up here."

Happily, Alice dug in her backpack, pulled out the t'balee plant, and wrinkled her nose at its unappetizing appearance. Then, taking a deep breath, she held the plant above her head so that the ends of the white roots hung down to her mouth. Sticking out her tongue, she pulled the roots into her mouth and chewed a few inches of them.

The other children watched anxiously as she closed her eyes and swallowed. A minute passed. Suddenly her eyes flew opened and she looked around.

"Goodness!" she exclaimed in awe, "I can see everything." She turned her head back and forth as she looked out over the jungle. With a yelp of excitement, she grabbed Will's arm and pointed off to the right.

"Over there! Over there! I can see leaves and branches whirling around above the trees. That must be the vortex."

"Now we're getting somewhere," he said patting her on the back.

Summer, who had been unusually quiet, pulled on her sister's dress. "Tori! Tori! I gotta go!" She crossed her legs and grimaced.

"Oh, for Pete's sake, Summer. Can't you hold it for a little while? There's nowhere to go up here."

"I have to, too," Alice whispered.

Tori scowled at Edward who was grinning at her predicament. He was very happy that he was a boy.

"Wipe that smile off your face, Edward, before I wipe it off for you," she threatened.

He laughed. Then he sobered as he saw that she was seriously frustrated. He suddenly realized that Tori must get tired of being the one the little girls always came to when they had a problem. Not to mention, if he were honest, that even he and Will depended on her to set things right. Silently, he vowed to himself that he would share the burden with her. After all, they were less than a year apart in age.

Putting his resolve into effect, he looked around for a place the girls could use, but the ledge offered no privacy.

"Tori, why don't you take the girls back into the cave, and while you're gone, Will and I will repack all the backpacks. We don't want things falling out of them on our way down."

Tori looked at him curiously; she hadn't even thought about that problem. Suddenly she felt a little better.

"Come on, girls," she said.

Seeing the girls disappear, Will spoke hesitantly, "Eh, Edward, I have to."

"Over the edge, Will. Over the edge."

Quickly, Edward gathered up the backpacks and began rearranging the contents and buckling up the pockets so that everything was secure.

It was very hot on the ledge. The afternoon sun beat down on his back. Wiping sweat off of his forehead, he saw that Will had found a tiny patch of shade to sit in. He was tempted to join him, but determined to be more helpful to Tori, he bent again to his task. However, he didn't need to suffer alone.

"Will," he called without looking up. "Come over here and help."

"It's too hot," the younger boy whined.

"Will, now!" Edward snapped.

Will reluctantly got to his feet. "Okay, okay. I'm coming," he said in a rude voice.

Now I can see why Tori's grumpy sometimes, Edward thought.

When the three girls reappeared, the backpacks were tightly closed and ready to go.

Will was hot and grouchy.

"What have you been doing all this time?" he demanded. "We've done all the work."

"Really, Will. What an indelicate question," Tori chided, although her eyes glinted with amusement.

Will turned away, red-faced.

Edward cleared his throat. "Well, we should be getting started. While you girls were.um.away, Will and I spotted a way down." He pointed to a series of rough, stony projections that meandered precariously down the side of the mountain.

"Are you mad?" Tori burst out. "We're not mountain goats. We'll have to find another way."

Will, still a little miffed at his sister for embarrassing him, said, "We can do it, Tori. Don't be such a sissy. All we gotta do is eat some of that bread they gave us, and we'll be as strong as anything." He started patting his pockets.

"Good idea, Will. Isn't it Tori?" Edward asked. He was anxious for her to approve the plan.

"I guess that would work." She turned to the younger girls. "Take out the bread you were given in the playroom, and let's see how much we have."

Edward watched eagerly as the other children pulled out the pieces of bread the Sw'atee had given them for a snack and piled them on a rock. The unwholesome looking bread didn't look any better for being squashed in their pockets.

Edward wrinkled his nose at the orangey clumps.

"How much do you think we ought to eat, Tori?" he asked.

Tori looked uncertain, but Will didn't hesitate.

"We should just eat a big bite and see what happens," he said matching his words with the deed.

The other children watched curiously as Will slowly chewed, his face screwed up in concentration. Then he swallowed and smiled.

"It's pretty good," he exclaimed.

"Whew! I'm sure glad of that." Edward said, letting his breath out. "Okay, pick up something heavy, Will. Let's see if it worked."

Will looked around, but the ledge was bare of heavy objects.

Shrugging, he walked over and put his arms around Summer's stocky, little body.

"Hey!" she objected as he easily lifted her up and down, up and down.

"Now, me, Will," Alice pleaded.

"Sure," he agreed dropping his sister back on her feet. Summer squawked indignantly.

"Wait, Will," Tori interrupted. "You need something heavier to pick up. You could lift the girls before. Pick me up."

With a premonition that this was probably not a good idea, Will reluctantly told her to put her arm around his neck while he bent and scooped her up into his arms.

"Oops," he exclaimed as he put a little too much power into the lift and Tori went flying up into the air.

"Ahhhh!" she screamed as she looked down at the ground far below and realized that she wasn't going to land back on the ledge.

"Tori!" yelled the others as they, too, realized her danger.

"I'll catch you. I'll catch you!" called Will. He ran to the edge of the overhang and snagged Tori's arm as she went flailing past. With a great heave, Will lifted her out of the air and set her neatly on her feet. Her legs wobbled and she fell to her knees. For a moment, she hung her head catching her breath then she looked up and glared at her brother.

"Will, you idiot, you almost killed me!"

"I'm sorry, Tori," Will said contritely. "I didn't mean to lift you so high."

Then he gave her a big grin. "But I saved you, didn't I?"

He strutted around the other children.

"Did you see me, Edward? Did you see how I saved Tori?" He put his hands on his hips. "I'm as strong as a horse. Stronger, even. I'm as strong as a dinosaur!"

Tori had gotten to her feet. Shaking off the help of the two little girls, she stomped over to her younger brother. Edward, taking his life in his hands, stepped between them and put up his hand to hold her back.

"Wait a minute, Tori. It wasn't Will's fault. Not really. It was the bread."

She knew Edward was right, but she was still scared and angry. As she turned away, she hissed to her brother, "Little weasel. Just wait until we get home."

Will gulped at the threat. Then remembering how strong he was, he flexed his muscles and tossed his head.

Alice was kneeling down beside the bread carefully breaking a large clump into four pieces.

As Edward and Tori walked over, she stood up and handed a piece to them and to Summer, who looked at it warily.

"Eat up," Edward encouraged popping his piece into his mouth.

The girls followed suit. They smiled when they found it didn't taste as bad as they had thought it would taste.

Edward stood still waiting for something to happen. After a minute, he looked over at Tori and Alice and grinned. They grinned back. Summer looked from one to the other, and then went, "Oh!" when she felt her muscles twitch.

"Let's go," Edward said, stuffing the leftover bread into his backpack. He watched as the children shrugged on their packs and, with Tori in the lead, one after the other they pulled themselves over the ledge, clutched the rocky outcroppings, and began the dangerous journey to the jungle floor.

*****

Mere minutes later, safely at the foot of the mountain, the children, laughing giddily from their success, danced around whooping with excitement, and slapped each other on the back

They couldn't seem to stop. Will jumped on Edward's back and wrestled him to the ground. Hooting like steam engines, they rolled around in the dirt.

With shinning eyes, Alice shook off her backpack and, with one motion, peeled Summer out of hers. She grabbed her little friend from behind and began twirling her around and around.

"Whee!" Summer shrieked, her feet flying out straight in front of her.

Tori doubled over laughing. She pointed to her little sister.

"Look out, Summer, your boot is about to come off!"

Sure enough, Summer's boot, which was a little too big for her, flew off of her foot and straight up into the air.

Alice started laughing so hard that she fell over, pulling Summer down with her.

Will and Edward, who had rolled up against the base of the cliff, saw the girls fall down, and roared with renewed laughter. They rolled over on their backs and kicked their feet in the air with glee.

Tori was still giggling about Summer's boot, but when she saw the boys, she fell to her knees gasping between giggles, "You look like turtles trying to flip back over!" This observation amused her so much, that she slowly fell the rest of the way over, and, holding her stomach, she rolled back and forth laughing until tears streamed down her face.

All five of them were rolling on the dusty ground. Their laughter, echoing off the walls of the tall mountain, sent the nesting birds shrieking into the air.

Gradually, the laughter died down. The children sat up one by one and wiped the tears off of their cheeks with grubby hands. Lifting dirt streaked faces, they looked at one another with puzzled frowns.

Tori shrieked.

"Just look at my dress. It's filthy!" She shook her head in confusion. "What was I thinking?"

Alice stood up and brushed off the seat of her pants. She was glad that she wasn't wearing a dress.

"Why were we laughing so much?" she asked as she pulled Summer to her feet and helped her dust herself off.

"Cause I was funny," Summer declared.

She raised her arms over her head and turned around slowly so that Alice could give her a good brush down.

"No you weren't," Will contradicted automatically. Then he frowned. "Was she?"

"I don't know," Edward said. "But something was funny. It was like I couldn't stop laughing."

"Me, too," Alice said. "It was like someone was tickling us all at the same time."

"It was probably that stupid bread we ate," Tori muttered, her head turned over her shoulder. She was trying to see if her dress was as dirty in the back as she suspected that it was. She couldn't believe that she had been rolling around on the ground. She was ten years old now! How embarrassing.

"Maybe it was the bread," Alice agreed. "We probably shouldn't eat any more of it."

"Hey!" Will yelled. "I'm not strong anymore!" He had his arms wrapped around a big rock and was straining to pick it up.

Of course, the rest of them had to try, too. It was true. Even a medium size rock was beyond their strength.

"Bloody Hell," stormed Will. He was very disappointed.

"William Richard Roxton!" Tori said sternly. "Just wait until Dad hears that you've been cussing again."

He glowered at her defiantly, and she glared back. It was a battle he couldn't win. Victoria had perfected her mother's glare, and no one could withstand its force for long.

He hunched his shoulders and turned away.

"I don't care," he muttered under his breath. Sticking his hands in his pockets, he kicked at the loose stones on the ground.

Alice was dealing with a problem of her own. Every time she got Summer's boot halfway on her little friend's foot, Summer, who was standing on one wobbly foot, would lose her precarious balance and slam her stocking foot into the dusty ground.

After the third time, Alice, waving the dust from in front of her face, coughed out, "Put one hand on my head, Summer. That way you can balance better."

Tori watched them for a minute then said grumpily, "Alice, Summer can put on her own boot. She's not a baby."

Alice had just gotten the boot pulled all the way on her friend. She hesitated. Should she take it back off and have Summer do it herself? The decision was taken from her when Summer jerked away from her helping hands, rushed over to her big sister, and threw her arms around her waist.

Tori was not pleased.

"Summer, get off of me!" she ordered, trying to unclasp the little girl's arms.

Summer looked up at her, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Tori, do you really think I'm a big girl?" she asked.

Tori looked down at her grubby, little sister and started to dismiss her question, but found that she couldn't. She saw the emotion in her face and the hope in her eyes. For the first time she really saw Summer, not as her annoying, pesky baby sister, but as a person-a person who had, like her, the same yearning to be acknowledged as the person she was, not the person others perceived her to be.

So, instead of pushing her away, Tori smiled at her sister--an honest, admiring smile that shone out of her eyes.

"Yes, Summer Leigh, I think you're a big girl. The only baby in our family is Rosie."

Tori was rewarded by the biggest smile Summer had ever given her-and the hardest hug. But this time, Tori returned it.

"Hey, you two!" Edward called. "Alice says that she can see where the vortex has started to pull at the jungle. We're gonna have to be really careful not to get pulled in, too."

Will looked up at the sky, what he could see of it through the leafy, canopy far overhead, and said, "We'd better hurry. We've been gone a pretty long time."

Alice had retrieved her backpack where she had so carelessly tossed it, and was already rooting around in it.

"Ahah!" she exclaimed as she pulled out the withered plant. "Chew the leaves, they're for speed," she chanted.

It took the other children a moment to realize what she meant and another moment to join her on the ground and to begin digging out their plants, too.

Adventurous Will chewed three of the brittle, crunchy leaves before his sister slapped his hand away from going for the fourth and told him to stop.

"Will, what are you doing? We don't know how many we should chew."

"Well, I ate three and I'm okay."

Edward shrugged. "Then, three it is," he decided.

A quiet crunching noise joined the sounds of the surrounding jungle.

Alice, chewing the dry and slightly sour leaves, looked around at her friends. They were all so brave, she thought. She swallowed with determination. She would do her best to keep them safe.

"Buckle up your packs really tightly," she reminded them as they scrambled to their feet.

"Okay, everyone." Edward said. "This is it. From now on, we have to be really careful. The danger is out there somewhere and we're going to find it and destroy it."

"Yeah!" Will shouted, pumping both fist into the air.

Summer slipped her hand into Tori's. They smiled nervously at each other, and then laughed. Alice came shyly over to stand with them and Tori held out her other hand to the delicate, blond-haired beauty.

"We girls have to stick together, you know," she said with a wink. "Hold tight."

"Come on, troops," Captain Edward ordered. "Let's move out!"

One second they were there and a second later they weren't. The bushes that surrounded the small sunny spot at the bottom of the cliff swished back and forth as if from a breath of a hurricane and then stilled.

*****

Seeing the frightened faces in front of her, Abigail decided it was time to reveal more of the plan deciphered from the tablet found in the hidden chamber.

"Yes, the Protectors will be in danger, but so will every living thing on the Plateau. The threat will only increase as the danger grows stronger. But I really believe that now is the time to defeat it, and your children are the keys. Our job is to protect them while they carry out their destiny."

She held out her hand, and a Sw'atee, who was not there a moment ago, handed her the sleek, brown tablet that had had such a mysterious affect on their lives.

"As I have told you, the plan for trapping the danger if it escaped was put into motion many years ago. I have read the tablet. The plan is simple, but the execution is not. I will not lie to you, if all goes as planned your children will be in the path of the danger. I believe, though, that with your help, they will be safe."

Marguerite shook her head. "No!" She turned fear-filled eyes toward Roxton. "I don't think I can go through with this, John. It's too much to ask of us." Before he could answer, she jumped to her feet and turned to glare at the King and the Protector. She repeated angrily, "It's too much to ask of us! Do you know how hard it is to raise children on the Plateau? How difficult it is to keep them safe, to keep them from worry and fear?" She turned to her friends. "We've worked hard to make our corner of the Plateau safe for our children, haven't we? The rest of the Plateau is not our problem!"

Roxton stood up and took her gently into his arms. She buried her face in his chest. Veronica and Ned were horrified but not surprised to see her anguish. They knew how protective she was of her family.

There was an uncomfortable silence in the king's chamber.

With a quick glance at R'tor, Abigail spoke, her voice filled with compassion for the distraught woman.

"I understand, Marguerite," she said quietly. "I, too, raised a child on the Plateau. I honor what you all have done to protect your families, but eventually even your safe corner will not be safe. If the rest of the plateau is not your problem now, it will be your children's problem later."

Roxton looked beseechingly at Veronica, silently asking for her help.

Veronica took his meaning and, although her heart had misgivings, too, said reassuringly, "We'll be there with the children, Marguerite," she promised her. "We will protect them."

Roxton sat down with his wife beside him. She had regained some of her composure. It helped that Ned and Veronica looked so confident.

She looked at her old friends. "So, you think we should let the children do this?" she asked.

Veronica glanced quickly at her husband, and then nodded her head. "Yes, Marguerite, Mother is right. If we don't defeat the danger now, the Plateau will never be a safe place for our children---or any one who lives here."

Marguerite sighed and looked at Ned. "Is that what you think, too, Ned?

"Yes," he said confidently. "As much as I would like to take my children home and keep on living like we have been, pretending that the danger will never touch their lives, I know now that this is not true, in fact, the opposite is true. If we don't stop the danger now, we will never be able to provide our children with the safe environment we wish for them."

"Do you agree, John?" Marguerite asked her husband. She knew that he was even more protective of the children than she was.

Roxton rubbed his forehead. "Although I don't like it, I think Ned and Veronica are right, my love."

Marguerite crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the people around her. "Then, if we're going to put our children on the front lines, we'd better be damn sure we win."

Roxton laughed, and said loudly, "Watch out, danger, you don't know who you're up against."

The others laughed, too.

"Now, Abigail, please tell us everything we need to know," Roxton asked.

The Protector, satisfied, nodded and picked up her tale.

"As I said, the plan is simple. I, as Protector of the Plateau, will lure the danger into following me deep under the mountain. My path will end at the small chamber that the Sw'atee discovered. In this chamber, it will be up to me to fool the danger into falling into the pit. Your children will be in the chamber, too. As soon as the danger falls over the ledge into the pit, their job will be to seal up the pit so that the danger cannot climb out."

"Wait," Veronica interrupted, "how will they close the pit?" A terrible thought came to her. "Don't tell me they'll be sent down over the ledge into that.that fiery hell!"

"No, no," Abigail quickly assured them, reaching a hand out toward her daughter. She tried not to show it, but she felt and shared the parents' fear.

Summerlee shook his head. He had never seen the Protector of the Plateau rattled before. Abigail seemed reluctant to get to the point that was of the greatest interest to the parents-the part their children had to play in this daring plan. He suddenly realized where her anxiety lay. Her grandchildren, and the line of the Protector, were to be put right in the danger's path! But that danger could not be helped. Time was growing short. His old friends needed to be given all the information the Protector knew in order to play their parts.

The old man breathed deeply in through his nose and blew out a breath of determination. His voice when he spoke was again the voice of a king. Even the Protector of the Plateau started at the sound.

"Enough! The plan is the only hope for the Plateau. It must go forward no matter the danger. Protector, explain the plan quickly. There is no time to lose."

Abigail steadied herself. R'tor was right. It didn't matter that the plan was dangerous.

There was strength in her voice as she continued.

"Quickly then. Deep beneath the mountains, there are two chambers that are joined by an archway. The first chamber where you and the children will be contains the carved column that is described on the tablet. If you go through an archway in the chamber's fourth wall, you will be standing on a narrow ledge that overlooks the second chamber. This second chamber is shaped like a funnel with its steep walls narrowing down to the deep, dark pit at its bottom. There are volcanic fissures in the walls of this chamber that send jets of steam hissing out."

"The tablet says that inside the small holes carved into the column in the center of the first chamber are magical mechanisms that will open the fissures and release molten lava into the steep walled chamber. The lava will cover the pit and continue down inside the earth until is covers the danger as well. Heat robs the danger of its strength. Without its power the danger will not be able to return to the surface of the Plateau."

Abigail rubbed her fingers contemplatively over the carving on the tablet.

"Remember I spoke about a prophecy? Well, after reading the tablet over and over, each time gleaning more information, we have come to understand that this plan to capture the danger was based on a prophecy spoken by the Protector of that time. The Prophecy of the Five Keys it is called. "

She smiled at her daughter and her friends, and her voice became softer. "You must have wondered why you were all brought together to the Plateau and never allowed to leave. Well, the Plateau needed you here. Your destiny was to produce the children who will fulfill the Prophecy of the Five Keys. Only with their help can we seal in our mortal enemy once again."

She smiled gently at their shocked faces.

Marguerite felt calm enough to tease her husband just a little. Her eyes glittered with mischief.

"Our destiny? See, John, all your reluctance to get involved with me was for naught."

"My reluctance!" the hunter exclaimed before he realized she was teasing.

"That's right, my friends," Arthur chuckled at Marguerite's jibe. "At first I thought the Five Keys mentioned in the tablet were the five of you, then, when we found out about your children, we knew that they were the ones predicted by the prophecy."

"What exactly did this prophecy say about our children?" Ned asked for them all.

Arthur looked over at Abigail, raised his eyebrows, and nodded his head for her to continue.

She ran her finger down the side of the tablet.

"Here it is." She looked up at them. "It says that a time will come when five special beings, born on the Plateau, will unite to help the Protector return the danger to its prison. These special beings are the only ones who can release the mechanisms inside the column. The prophecy describes these beings in a very cryptic way to protect them from the danger's dark minions who still hunt for the Protector and any who would pose a threat to their master. The description is in the form of a rhyme. This rhyme was very difficult to understand and loses a lot in the translation, but here goes.

"The first key is the chosen key, wise and strong and tall - The second key protects the land, for it once saved us all - The third key is the speaker's key to tell us what to find - The fourth key is the heart key, warm and good and kind - The fifth key is the fire key, hot and burning bright These Five Keys together will wield the Plateau's might."

She stopped and frowned. "I'm afraid a word in this next part has not been translated. I'm not sure if it has to do with the Five Keys. Let me read it and perhaps you all can help."

'To keep the menace captive, the blank will close the door. The smallest blank will pull the ring. The danger is no more."

"Let Marguerite have a look at it, Mother. She can read just about anything."

Veronica smiled over at her dear friend.

Summerlee bestowed a beatific smile on the two women who had to come so far in order to find their friendship.

Marguerite took the offered tablet and bent her head to study the strange markings on its polished surface. Abigail pointed to the word that she couldn't decipher.

The rest of them were silent while the linguist of their group frowned in concentration.

The Sw'atee standing on either side of the cushioned throne looked at each other over the top of R'tor's head. They were pleased that their king had found his friends, but at the same time, the noise and bustle surrounding them was very foreign and upsetting to them.

The Avatar warriors did not look at each other. Their eyes were fastened on the Protector and their thoughts were consumed with her protection.

"Damn it!" Marguerite cursed in frustration. "I can't tell what the word means. It seems to be such a simple word but I just can't figure it out."

"Never mind, my sweet," Roxton soothed, loathe to see her upset again. Then more hopefully he said to Abigail, "Perhaps its meaning will become clear to us when we need it to."

Abigail sighed. "Let's pray that it will."

"Okay," Veronica said thoughtfully. "Let's say that our children are the Five Keys. What do they need to do?"

"As I have said, the holes in the column contain mechanisms that, when activated simultaneously, open the volcanic fissures that surround the pit. I will lead the danger into the small chamber. As soon as the danger falls over the ledge, your children will reach into the holes and pull out the rings that activate the mechanisms."

"That's it?" Ned looked around at the others. "That's all they have to do? He raised an eyebrow at Abigail. "Far be it from me to question my mother-in-law, but the five of us can pull out the rings just a well as the children. They needn't be put in any danger at all."

Marguerite and Roxton nodded in agreement. Challenger stroked his beard and nodded to Tilly.

"Ned's right," he said. "Tilly and I will volunteer for the job as well."

Only Veronica held back. She had been on the Plateau far longer then the others, and she knew that nothing was as simple as it seemed. She shared a look with her mother.

"I afraid that won't work," the Protector said gently. "You see, as the people were constructing the trap, one of the danger's dark minions found the chamber. He cast a spell that made it impossible for anyone living on the Plateau to gain access to the mechanisms. He was killed before he could escape, but the damage had been done. The Protector was not able to lift the spell. She found a way, however, to modify it so that through her prophecy, when the time was right, the mechanisms would work. To further protect the trap, she had the chamber buried. It was no coincidence that the Sw'atee found the chamber and the tablet. It was time. Now your children, the Five Keys, are the only beings who have the power to work the mechanisms. It is their destiny."

Something she had said clicked in Roxton's mind. "You have mentioned the danger's dark minions several times. I believe that we have run into a few of those in our time."

"Yes," the Protector frowned. "All of the danger's evil legions were not captured. Even though over the years many were found and killed, there are still some that roam the Plateau to this day."

Before anyone could react, a disturbance at the chambers entrance drew the group's attention.

Ry'see, holding a very sleepy looking Rosie, hurried into the room, her face a mixture of anxiety and fear. She looked only at her king as she said as loudly as she could, "Their children---their children have gone!"

Roxton strode over and took his daughter from the distraught woman's arms. Rosie put her head on his shoulder and stuck two fingers into her mouth.

They crowded around the Sw'atee teacher and bombarded her with questions. All of their misgivings about letting their children go off with strangers had returned.

"Silence!" shouted the king. The frantic noise stopped. He flicked his finger in a 'go' gesture at his two helpers and they disappeared. "I have sent the Sw'atee to look for the children, and they can do a much faster job of it then you can. Now, let Ry'see tell her story."

Ry'see licked her thin, white lips and bravely met the eyes of the strangers. She held up a round object between her thumb and finger.

"A t'balee bean!" whispered Challenger in wonder. Ry'see nodded at him.

"Yes. We found this in a small gathering chamber inside the children's tunnels. We don't know how it got there since our children are strictly forbidden the use of the t'balee plant. The only way it could have gotten there is if your children brought it in," Ry'see explained.

Arthur nodded. "Edward may have left some plants in his pack." At the dark look from Edward's parents, he said hastily, "Quite by accident, I'm sure."

"And that is not all," Ry'see continued, gaining confidence from her king's calmness. "Runners have checked all of the passageways to the open entrances, and one group found a spot near an opening where several people." She clamped her lips together and leaned in to whisper in R'tor's ear.

"Yes, well. I see. Ahem." he equivocated.

"What?" snapped Marguerite. Then she quieted when her sharp tone made the baby jump.

"It seems they found a spot where someone, or several someones,.ah.relieved themselves." Arthur's kind face was pink with embarrassment.

"Peeing in a cave.sounds like something my children would do," said Roxton with a twinkle in his eye despite the seriousness of the situation.

Veronica was pacing. She stopped before the pale teacher. "So you're saying that you think our children got out of the playroom unseen and made it to an outside entrance?"

Ry'see could only open and close her mouth in the face of this angry woman.

"Now, Veronica," Ned, said putting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her close. "The children couldn't have left the caves without being seen by someone. You heard what Arthur said. The Sw'atee runners are questioning everyone. Someone must have seen where they went."

Tilly had taken the bean from Ry'see and was looking at it contemplatively.

"It may be that no one saw them at all, Ned," the Zanga woman said. "If the bean is out of the plant, then perhaps the liquid is also. The children could be completely invisible."

Challenger leaned in to kiss her cheek. "A regular Sherlock Holmes, isn't she?" he said proudly,

"Arthur, would the plant hurt the children?" Veronica asked worriedly.

The old man frowned. "Oh, it won't make them ill, Veronica dear. In fact, our school children, as a sort of vitamin booster, are given bread made from a mixture of the t'balee stalk and wheat flour. They have never shown any adverse affects from this bread. However, some of the properties of the plant do have an, uh, unfortunate affect on our children and especially on adults and children who are not native Sw'atee. Because of this, we have found it best not to let the children have any other part of the plant, except for the leaves, until they are quite grown."

He paused, then added reassuringly. "Even if your children do ingest the plant, the affect on them will not be harmful and will wear off very soon."

Somewhat mollified, Veronica looked over at her husband who was rubbing his temple, silently mulling something over.

"I just can't understand why they would leave the caves," Ned muttered. He suddenly opened his eyes wide and looked at the others. "Surely, they wouldn't have gone after the danger on their own?"

This idea was enough to silence the room. Marguerite was the first to respond.

"I don't know about the others, but our Will would." She looked at her husband with a mixture of panic and accusation.

"Hey," the accused father shot back, "Will's got your wild, impulsive streak." He raised one eyebrow speculatively. "He's got my courage, though," he added proudly.

"Foolhardiness, you mean," Marguerite muttered.

Abigail had been thinking. "You know, on our way up here, I could have sworn that someone was in the passage with us." She looked over at her guards. "I guess not, though. If they had sensed anything dangerous, they would have acted on it."

The Avatar warriors stared ahead stone-faced. Invisible children had posed no threat to the Protector.

Without a sound of warning, R'tor's two Sw'atee attendants appeared beside the old king.

"What have you found out?" R'tor asked them.

He was answered with effusive whispering, like wind rustling the summer leaves. A satisfied look came over R'tor's face as the whispering wound down. He nodded his head several times and rubbed his chin.

"Well?" everyone chorused.

"Ahem." Arthur cleared his throat. "Your children were not found inside the mountain. Of course, if they are invisible, they might be here still. The invisibility wears off after an hour or so, so we will continue to look for them. One more thing, the opening with the.ah.evidence has nothing but a ledge outside of it, so unless your children are rock climbers, I'm afraid they could not have gotten out that way."

"Rock climbers." Roxton said grimily. "If they have the benefit of the t'balee plant, they could have jumped off that ledge for all we know."

He looked at the others. "I say that's the place we start looking."

"Agreed," Ned and Veronica said together.

Marguerite turned a very worried face toward Tilly. "Tilly, I hate to ask you to watch Rosie again, but you're the only one I completely trust."

"Nonsense," Challenger broke in gruffly. "Ry'see can take care of the baby. Tilly should come with us. It isn't fair for her to miss all of the excitement.I mean helping with the search. You just give that baby over, Tilly, my dear, and we'll be on our way."

Tilly, who had taken Rosie from her father, smiled at her mate. "Now, George, I can help best by doing what I'm best at. Your friends will need your skills, and Rosie will need mine." She kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you, though, for being my pa-tika," she finished in her native language.

Challenger smirked.

"Thank you, Tilly. We are very grateful for your help." Roxton pulled the small, native woman into a one armed hug and dropped a kiss on Rosie's curly head.

"Da, Da," Rosie babbled cheerfully, pointing a chubby, little finger at her father.

"Ah, it is a wise child who knows her own father," he quipped.

"Let's go," Marguerite groaned, pulling him out the entrance after the others who were already out in the passageway.

*****

With two Sw'atee as guides, it didn't take them long to reach the cave opening. Before they went out on the ledge, they looked at the 'evidence', but it told them nothing. Only the fact that it hadn't dried up, indicating that it had been done fairly recently, was of interest.

Roxton went out on the ledge first and used his keen tracking skills to see if there was any sign of the children. The ledge was pretty bare. The wind and rain combined to keep it swept clean. It wasn't until his nose was practically touching the stony floor, that he found the crumbs from the orange bread.

"Here!" he shouted. "I've found something."

The others crowded around him trying to see what he was pointing at. Roxton carefully pinched up the tiny crumbs and held them out for them to see. The Sw'atee murmured to each other excitedly, then wandered off on their own, scouring the rocky ledge for more evidence of the children's passing. Moments later they were back with small, white strings held in their pale palms.

Whistling with excitement and pointing at the strings, they frowned and shook their heads.

"What are they saying, Marguerite?" Veronica asked.

"The white bits are t'balee root and the orange crumbs are from the bread the children were given," she translated excitedly. "The children must have been out here!"

"Can you ask them if they can look out in the jungle for them?" Veronica asked with hope in her voice.

Before Marguerite could ask, Roxton, Ned and Challenger let out a whoop.

As the others clustered around them, Ned pointed out the scuffmarks on the rocky outcroppings beside the ledge.

"Looks like something went down this way," he said.

Marguerite looked over the edge of their high perch and paled.

As if reading her thoughts, Roxton said confidently, "Well, if they did, they made it down safely." He looked around at the group. "And if they could do it, so can we. Who's with me?"

Understanding the tall man's intentions, one of the Sw'atee tapped Marguerite on the shoulder. He quickly spoke to her, pointing back into the cave entrance and then pointing off into the jungle.

"Hold on, John," Marguerite called to her impetuous husband who was already testing his grip on the first handhold. "They say that they can open an entrance down at the bottom. The short one says that he can see the vortex out there. If the children saw it too, that's probably where they're headed."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go," Roxton replied to his wife.

Minutes later, they stepped out of the opening the Sw'atee had made in the solid, rock wall.

Ned looked back at the seemingly magical opening and muttered, "I'll never get used to that."

"I do wonder how they do it," Challenger said frowning. "I'll have to ask Arthur when we get back."

Veronica and Roxton were absorbed in trying to comprehend the meaning of the myriad of clues-footprints, broken twigs, trampled grasses, etc-that had been left behind, quite clearly by the children.

"They were here all right," Veronica said. She frowned.

"John, do you see any footprints leading away from here?" Veronica asked the hunter.

"No, and that's what's got me worried. It looks as if they just disappeared." He frowned and rubbed his forehead. "Like they were simply lifted away."

"Could it be that they were picked up by a.a, oh, you remember, that flying machine from the future? The one that could land and take off straight upward," Challenger queried.

"Do you mean a helicopter, George? Well, I hardly think so. Someone would have heard it. If I remember correctly, it created quite a racket," Roxton replied.

"True, true," murmured the scientist.

The Sw'atee and Marguerite were standing at the edge of the jungle talking together. The taller of the two men was making elaborate hand gestures. Marguerite nodded, shook her head, bit her lip, and in all ways indicated that she didn't like what she was hearing.

Finally, she heaved a big sigh and called to the others.

"The Sw'atee say that the children probably ate some of the t'balee leaves and raced off. That's why we don't see any footprints; their feet barely touched the ground."

"Great. Now how are we going to find them?" Ned sounded very discouraged.

Veronica put her hand on his arm. "We'll find them, Ned. Arthur gave us special permission to use the t'balee plant. We can catch up with them before they get to the vortex." Veronica spoke more optimistically than she really felt. She could tell that the children had left this area some time ago.

Roxton was champing at the bit to be off. He was worried about the children, especially Will. At almost eight-years old, his son was a bit too competitive and impulsive. He acted like he was completely invincible- a feeling that could be extremely dangerous in these circumstances. The boy lacked horse sense, as Roxton's late father would say.

"Marguerite, tell the Sw'atee to dig out those plants. We're going to have to hurry if they're going to show us the way to the vortex."

"Oh, they won't be coming with us, John. They can't stand the heat or the sun. Besides, they have to stay here to help Abigail by opening caves when she needs them to."

Roxton nodded understandingly. He held out his hand for the small, dry, gray leaves that the pale men were handing out. "Well, then, we'll be depending on you, my dear, to show us the way."

Marguerite spoke to the Sw'atee once more. She then turned to her husband and friends.

"Okay. The vortex is northeast of here. Challenger, have you got your compass with you?"

"Oh, indeed I do." He pulled off his pack and rummaged through it. His face lit up as he withdrew his hand but his smile quickly turned into a scowl as he saw he had pulled out a round, smooth stone. "Now, how did that get in here?" he muttered and threw the rock over his shoulder. Once again he reached into his satchel.

His friends were bouncing with impatience, but didn't say anything.

"Aha!" he exclaimed at last holding up the sought for item. He turned it this way and that admiringly. "Such a simple device, but oh so very useful."

"Any time, George, any time," said Roxton between gritted teeth.

"Oh, of course. Let's see." He turned with the compass. "Yes! That way." He pointed off to his left.

Ned held up the leaves resting in his palm. "Chow down, everyone."

They did.

Then, with a wave to the two Sw'atee, the five friends took off.fast.

*****

Running neck and neck with Edward, Will looked back at his sisters and Alice and grinned.

"Come on, slowpokes. Can't you go any faster?"

Tori looked down at the two little girls running on either side of her. She winked.

"Oh, I think we probably can. Come on girls," she said, grabbing their hands in hers.

Whoosh! Summer stuck out her tongue at Will as the three girls ran past.

"Hey! Wait up!" Will called.

"Quiet, Will," Edward ordered suddenly. He pulled the younger boy to a stop beside a large tree.

"Tori, come here!" he shouted. The urgency in his voice brought her running back pulling the younger ones with her.

"What is it, Edward?" she asked, panting slightly.

Edward put his finger to his lips. "Shhhh, I think I heard something ahead of us. Something really big."

The children stood still straining their ears to hear they knew not what.

Summer cupped her ears with her hands and scrunched up her face listening as hard as she could.

After a tense minute, she put her hands down and smiled. "Aw, there's nothing here, Edward. You were just teasing."

ARRROOOR!

The children froze. They had heard that sound before, but only in the far distance. The older ones knew what it was and their hearts beat faster.

"Tyrannosaurus Rex," Alice breathed just as the ground began to shake.

"Quick, behind the tree!" Tori hissed. She grabbed Summer's hand and Edward pushed Alice before him. They scrambled around the back of the thick trunk.

Tori popped her head back out. "Will! Get over here, now."

Will was standing right where they had all been a moment before. He was craning his neck trying to catch a glimpse of the giant dinosaur. He looked over his shoulder at his sister.

"Why? We're invisible." He held out his arms to show her that he made no shadow. "It won't be able to see us."

"Will!" Tori called again, but it was too late.

The T-rex crashed through the underbrush and loped into the small clearing. It raised its snout and sniffed the air, then roared as it lowered its savage head. Its shiny, evil eye blinked practically in Will's face.

Edward had been creeping out to drag the younger boy back, but froze as the animal turned its eye on him. Will, seeing the beast looking at his friend and the fear in Edward's eyes, ran over and kicked the dinosaur's scaly leg as hard as he could.

"Ha-haha" he laughed. "Try to catch me, you ugly monster!" he yelled.

Using his t'balee speed, he began to run around and around the confused predator. The big animal roared and turned its head from side to side trying to see what made the noise and the wind he felt swirling around him.

Behind the tree, the other four children looked on with despair. Tori was beside herself with worry.

"Edward, please watch the girls. I'm going after Will."

"Wait, Tori. We'll all go. We'll snag Will and keep on running."

"Okay, but let's hurry."

The two brave children each took one of the younger girls by the hand and raced out from behind the tree.

Will was in his thirtieth orbit around the huge beast that was now staggering dizzily around and snapping its fearsome jaws in an attempt to catch the invisible pest.

Picking the best moment, the four children ran into the circle just behind Will. As they began the race to get the young boys attention, Tori looked down and gasped.

"Shadows!" she yelled.

Will looked over his shoulder and saw his friends behind him. Tori's meaning did not dawn on him for a few moments, and then he, too, looked down and saw the tell-tale shadows.

"Follow me!" he called back and made a run for the protection of the thick jungle foliage. The others were now close behind him.

Although very dizzy and confused, the giant dinosaur saw the children suddenly appear and opened its huge mouth as if to scoop them all up in one bite. Fortunately, the children were far enough into the trees that all the T-Rex came away with was three bushes and a python. Furious now, it shook the bushes from its mouth, swallowed the snake as an hors d'oeuvre, and lumbered after its fleeing entree.

The children were running fast, but so was the beast, driven on by hunger and just plain cussedness.

Deeper and deeper into the jungle they ran with the giant predator still behind them. They were crossing a small clearing when Alice suddenly dug in her heels and yelled, "Stop!"

Edward was jerked backwards since he was holding her hand. The others ran several yards ahead before they could turn and head back to where the Malones stood.

Will was jumping up and down, waving his arms in alarm. "We have to keep going, Alice. That T-Rex is still coming for us."

"We can't go any further," the blond girl said, her blue eyes wide with worry.

Her brother knew that she wasn't usual a stubborn person, so he asked her gently, "Why can't we, Alice?"

"I can see." Her voice trailed off. She wasn't sure how to describe what her enhanced vision had shown her.

"What, Alice?" Summer asked curiously.

"Alice, is it the vortex?" Tori guessed.

Alice nodded her head. Her eyes were full of tears. She was glad that her friends didn't have to see the devastation that the vortex was causing.

She bit her lip and thought how to answer. "Everything ahead of us is stretching out. The vortex is pulling it in, just like you said it would. We can't go any further or we'll be pulled in, too."

Through the dense jungle behind them, they could hear the roar and thud of the approaching dinosaur.

Edward looked over at Tori. Now what should they do? They were between a rock and a hard place, all right.

"Well, if we can't go forward, we'll stay and fight that old T-Rex. BIFF! BOP! WHAM!" Will said swinging his fists in the air and bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Will," his sister said repressively.

Will shrugged a bit sheepishly. "Well, not if you and Edward don't want to, of course."

"Why don't we climb that big tree over there?" Summer asked, pointing to a tall tree with lots of branches. "Then Rex won't be able to eat us."

Edward eyes opened wide with surprise. Summer's idea was a good one.

Tori hugged her little sister. "Great idea, Summer, let's do it."

As they headed for the tree Summer had indicated, Alice whispered to her brother, "I told you Summer was smart."

"I'm beginning to believe you," Edward murmured.

Climbing the tall tree was not hard for the Plateau children. They helped each other up to the highest branches. Tori sat with Summer safely beside her, braced against the solid trunk.

They waited anxiously for the giant beast to appear, and it wasn't long before a great rustling in the underbrush heralded its arrival. With great loping steps it sprang into the clearing and without breaking stride, it pushed through bushes on the other side and disappeared from view.

The five children high in the tree let out their breath in relief. Alice looked after the beast and then closed her eyes as she saw the animal caught in the relentless grasp of the spinning vortex.

"It's gone," she whispered. "The vortex sucked it in."

"Poor dead Rex," sympathized Summer a little uncertainly and then leaned a little closer to her sister.

"I'm glad it's dead!" Will declared stoutly.

"I am too," Edward said with a shudder. "But that's not a nice way to go."

Tori had a very determined look on her face. "Well, it's obvious that we can't go on, so it looks like it's here that we take our stand," she said.

"What? Oh, yeah, you're right." In the relief of evading the dinosaur, Edward had let the reason for their journey slip to the back of his mind.

Slowly, they climbed down from their safe perch.

Standing on the ground, they looked at each other.

"Well? How are we gonna fight the danger?" asked Will. Then, answering his own question, he said, "We could run around it and get it all dizzy like I did the T-Rex."

Summer had been unusually quiet, partly because she didn't want to say or do anything that Tori might think was babyish, and partly because she didn't quite know what they were doing. However, her reticence was rapidly wearing off.

"Yeah, Will. It got all dizzy like this." Summer staggered around with her eyes crossed and her tongue hanging out.

Alice giggled.

Summer did look funny. Tori looked over at Edward and clamped her lips around a grin. The younger boy rolled his eyes.

Sometimes Edward was much too serious, Tori thought.

Summer finally fell down and Alice tried to pull her up, but they were both laughing so hard, that she kept dropping her. Will, gnashing his teeth and growling, was stalking them. He held his arms drawn up in front of his chest like the T-rex's small limbs. He loped over to the girls and roared. They squealed and tried to smack him as he circled them.

Victoria looked at the chaotic scene and blew out her cheeks. Maybe Edward had a point. It was time to get back to business. She put her hands on her hips and called, "Will, Summer, Alice, get over here, now!

Her brother and sister ignored her, but Alice whipped her head around. She tugged on Summer's dress.

"Summer, Summer, Tori wants us. We better go."

Summer didn't hear her. She squealed again and tackled Will around his ankles. He fell with a grunt and then squealed himself when his little sister sat down on his back, pinning him down. Summer beat his head like a drum and screamed, "I'm a vortex! I'm a vortex! I'm glad you're dead, you mean Rex!"

"Stop it, Summer. Stop!" he yelled covering his head as best he could with his hands. "Get off of me!"

Alice saw Tori stomping toward them, so she bravely grabbed Summer's arm and tried to pull her off of poor Will.

"Get up, Summer," she pleaded. "Get up. Tori's coming."

With a triumphant "HAH!", the little terror stood up and put her hands on her hips. Will scrambled to his feet. Rubbing his head, he glared at his sister, but before he could say anything, Tori loomed over them.

Alice looked around for her brother. If this was going to be one of those Roxton fights, she wanted an ally.

While the other children were playing, Edward had been walking the perimeter of the clearing to see if he could see any sign of the danger. Everything looked normal until he came to the place where the T-Rex had torn through the jungle in its mad pursuit. There, several yards past the trampled vegetation was another, smaller clearing encircled by tall, white stones.

This looks promising, he thought. He turned around as he heard someone behind him.

Alice ran toward him, her short, blond bob bouncing with every step.

"Edward!" she panted as she reached his side. "The Roxtons are fighting again and we don't have time for one of their rows. You have to stop them."

He sighed and looked over to where the Roxton children were yelling and pointing their fingers at each other.

"I don't know what you think I can do, Alice."

"Talk to Tori," she pleaded.

He sighed again and scratched his head. "Okay. Let's go." He really had little hope of being successful.

The Malones arrived just in time to see Summer burst into tears and fling herself on her sister.

Alice was aghast to see her little friend so unhappy.

"What's wrong with her, Tori?" she asked, her own lip trembling.

Tori reached down and smoothed wild hair from her little sister's forehead.

"I think the dinosaur really scared her," she whispered.

Will, all animosity forgotten, stooped down and tilted his head so he could see Summer's face. He patted her on her back.

"Did that mean old T-Rex scare you, Summer?" he asked. His voice was very kind. For all his bravado, Will knew what it was to be scared.

Summer nodded and transferred her boa-like grip to her brother's neck. Surprised, Will barely managed to sit on the ground before Summer plopped into his lap. She sobbed against his chest.

Tori knelt down and rubbed the distraught child's back.

"It's okay, sweetheart, I was scared, too," she said gently.

"Me, too, Summer. I was scared to death," Alice agreed.

"I almost fell off the branch when it jumped out of the jungle" admitted Edward a little shamefaced.

Summer raised her head. "You did?" she asked between great gasps.

Edward nodded.

"Listen, Summer. I was so scared my HEART nearly popped out of my MOUTH!" Will said with emphasis.

Summer sniffed loudly and smiled a little despite her tears. Will said such funny things, sometimes.

"We were all scared, Summer," Tori said.

Edward added, "But you saved us. You thought about climbing up the tree."

He stood in thought for a minute, then straightened up and ordered in his Captain's voice, "Summer, please stand up."

Summer looked at Will. He nodded encouragingly, so she scrambled to her feet.

She squinted one eye shut and tilted her head to look up at the older boy. She wondered what Edward was up to.

Edward stood stiffly at attention and looked down his nose at the little girl.

"Summer Leigh Roxton, your quick thinking under dire circumstances has saved as all. As Captain of this expedition, it is my honor to appoint you my second in command. From this moment on, you will be Lieutenant Summer."

Summer gaped at Edward until he brought his hand to his forehead, then she snapped to attention and returned his salute. She grinned at him. The children had often played soldier, but this was the first time that she had been chosen as an officer. She knew it was a great honor, although she wasn't exactly sure why.

Will, Alice, and Tori saluted her too. Then they all laughed and clapped Lieutenant Summer on the back. Alice winked at her brother to let him know that she thought he had done well.

As the girls walked away to get their packs, Will sidled up to the Captain and said in a low voice, "I say, Edward, can I be a lieutenant, too? I can be very helpful, honest I can."

Edward raised his eyebrows, but didn't say anything.

"Okay, okay," Will amended, negotiating like mad. "Then how about sergeant? I would make an excellent sergeant. I.I could carry all the weapons."

"Will," Edward said, slipping into his backpack, "we don't have any weapons."

"Right!" Will said brightening. "I could make some weapons and then I could carry them."

"Put your pack on, Will. We need to get on with this."

Will sighed, but did as he was told.

Quickly, Edward told the others about the stone circle. Their enthusiasm for their quest returned as Edward described his mysterious finds.

"Maybe we should eat a little more of the t'balee bread," he suggested. "We'll need to be strong to face the danger."

"NO!" shouted Alice, startling everyone. "We agreed not to eat any more of the bread. It's not safe."

"I didn't agree." Will denied. "I liked being strong."

Alice ignored him and turned to the oldest girl.

"Tori, you don't think we should eat any more, do you?"

Hearing gentle Alice so outspoken and vehement, Tori thought seriously about her question.

"I think we were affected by the bread," she said remembering how silly they had become after they had eaten it. "And if we eat more, it might affect us even worse. I don't think we should take that chance unless we have no choice."

Alice let her breath out. For some reason, she felt very strongly that the t'balee plant was not good for them.

"Hey, don't the rest of us get to vote on this?" asked Edward. He hated to go against his sister, but he wanted to have every advantage in their upcoming confrontation.

Tori looked at Alice and then shrugged her shoulders. "That's fair, I guess."

Alice shook her head hard and opened her mouth to protest, but Tori put her hand up to stop her.

"We have to, Alice."

The young girl subsided.

"All right, who votes to use the bread again?"

Will shot his hand into the air and waved it around. Edward hesitated for a moment, then, he, too, raised his hand.

"Two against two," Tori said unnecessarily. She looked at Summer. "Well, Summer, it looks like you have the deciding vote."

Summer frowned. She wasn't EXACTLY sure what deciding meant, but she was used to voting.

She put one grubby finger on her chin and looked around at the others.

Will grinned, waggled his eyebrows, and silently pointed back and forth between Edward and himself. A move that confused Summer even more.

Summer made up her mind.

"Lieutenant Summer votes for Alice," she declared hugging her friend.

"Awwww," moaned Will in disappointment. Edward shrugged philosophically. He hadn't really expected anything else.

"Lieutenant Summer, are the troops packed up and ready?" Edward barked.

Summer whispered to the others, "Are you?"

They nodded.

"Yes, sir. They're ready," she answered.

"Good job."

Summer beamed.

The afternoon sun shone through the tall trees and cast long shadows in front of children as the little band tramped over the sunny clearing and into the dappled jungle. The stone circle was even more awesome close up. The stones were not stones at all, but huge, standing crystals that glinted with living light with every passing sunbeam. On the far side of the circle, several of the stones had been toppled over by the blundering, giant T-rex. Alice grabbed Edward's arm as he started over to check them out.

"No, Edward. Don't go over there."

"Why, Alice? What do you see?"

"The edge of the vortex," the blond-haired girl said with a shudder.

Summer ears perked up. "I wanna see that," she declared and started off.

Will jumped in front of her and blocked her way.

"Whoa, Summer. You can't go over there. You'll get sucked right up like this," said her brother making a loud sucking noise.

"No, I won't." She glared at him. "Lieutenant Summer says move!" she ordered.

"Hey," Will frowned. "You can't order me around. You're not a real lieutenant. You're just a..a baby lieutenant."

Before Summer could explode, Alice pulled Will around by his arm.

"Don't you dare call Summer a baby! She's very big, and very smart, and she's a REAL lieutenant, too!" The usually composed Alice was upset. She whipped around and spoke to her little friend.

"And, Summer, you CAN'T go over there because it's very, very dangerous. Why, it's even too dangerous for Captain Edward!"

Summer was as surprised as the rest of them to see Alice so outspoken.

"Alice is right, Summer. None of us should go any closer," Tori said as she reluctantly turned away from examining the crystals. She wished her mother could see them.

She looked at Edward.

"Well, we're here, Captain. Do you want to call the danger or should we all call together?"

"Let's all call," Edward decided. "Are you ready?"

At their nod, he counted, "One, two, three."

"DANGER!" they all shouted, then waited expectantly.

Edward shrugged. "Let's try again."

"DANGER!" they yelled even louder.

"I guess it's not com.." Tori started to say when suddenly a misty figure began to appear behind the fallen stones on the other side of the circle. A large figure.

The children stepped back, fearful for just a moment that the T-Rex had escaped the hungry vortex after all. Edward took Alice's hand and protectively pulled her behind him, but she would have none of it and bravely stepped up beside him. The two younger Roxtons stepped closer to their big sister and Summer held tightly to a handful of Tori's dress.

The apparition began to take form and the children were relieved to see that the form was human. A tall, broad-shouldered man started forward, but stopped just short of the fallen crystals. Dark hair streaked with white fell like a cape down his back. It was held back with a golden circlet pulled down low over his forehead. Bushy, black eyebrows covered cold, clear, turquoise blue eyes.

If he was surprised to see five children standing in front of him, he didn't show it.

"Who called the Destroyer of the Plateau from his work?"

"We did," Will piped up, then swallowed loudly as the creature focused his icy eyes on him.

Alice stepped in front of Edward, her temper flaring up anew. "We came to tell you that you must leave the Plateau and never return," she yelled.

Shocked, Edward looked down at her, then quickly back at the danger. "Y.yes, you're not wanted here and you'll leave right now if you know what's good for you."

The Destroyer laughed rudely and started to answer, then clamped his mouth shut, cocked his head to one side, and pursed his cruel lips. He stretched his head forward and looked more closely at the children. His head jerked back and a spasm of a smile cracked his face.

"Well, what have we here?" He threw back his head and laughed. "Has the Protector grown small and weak, while I have grown strong and invincible?"

A sudden thought came to him and he snarled, "Is this some trick? I have learned the Protector's ways and I am not so easily taken in."

He spat as he spoke the Protector's name, his face becoming truly hideous as images of his alien visage swirled just under his skin.

"This is no trick," Tori bravely began. Will's face registered surprise. Had his sister forgotten their purpose? "Yes, it is," he whispered hoarsely.

Tori quelled him with a look.

Averting her eyes from his fearsome visage, she drew a deep breath and shouted, "Edward is right, you'd better leave right now. If you don't, we will use our magic powers to defeat you."

"We'll push you into the vortex!" Will shouted defiantly.

"Yeah, and we'll make you all dizzy like the Rex." Summer shook her fist at him.

"Go away! Go away!" Alice began to chant. The others joined in.

The Destroyer snorted angrily at this nonsense of a threat. What magical powers could these children have that would make them unafraid to taunt the danger? He glared at them and would have dismissed their claim of magic altogether if he had not strongly sensed the aura of the Protector hovering over them. How dare the Protector send such small minions to threaten him! He should crush them where they stood! He started to lunge toward the children, but then he hesitated remembering that the Protector was clever and tricky and would know how he would respond. Well, he was too clever to fall into her trap so easily. Instead, he threw back his head and laughed an evil, menacing laugh. Perhaps he should not destroy these creatures just yet, but show the Protector that her threat did not frighten him. He pointed his long, pale finger at the children and Summer came flying off of her feet straight into his evil grasp.

*****

As if out of the air, four of the Explorers suddenly appeared next to the children inside the crystal stone circle. The children cried with relief and clung to their parents.

Challenger, holding his hat firmly on his head, popped into existence a few seconds later. "My word," he exclaimed as he caught sight of the standing crystals. Then he gasped, "My word," as his eyes fell on the beast.

"DADDY!" Summer screamed. "Make him put me down!"

"Give me the child!" shouted Roxton aghast at what he saw. Roxton pointed his rifle at the evil being, ready to shoot when he got a clear shot. The beast laughed and waved his hand. The rifle flew out of the hunter's grasp and clattered to the ground a few feet away. Roxton stepped forward to pick it up.

"Stay back," the creature warned the frantic father. He held the little girl even higher above his head. "I wouldn't want to drop her." His manic laugh sent chills down Roxton's spine.

Suddenly he stopped laughing and stared curiously at the group in front of him.

"What's this?" he hissed. "I feel the presence of the Protector even more strongly, and yet, I do not see her."

Veronica stepped forward, thankful that the danger didn't recognize the future Protectors. "Please. We just want to take our children home. Put the child down and we'll be on our way."

"We'll be on our way," he mimicked. "Why should I listen to any of you? If the Protector thinks she can trick me. "

His voice trailed off as, with a brilliant flash, the Protector herself appeared in the center of the circle. Gone were her long, dress and the midnight blue cloak. She was dressed in a short, golden dress that barely reached her knees. The dress was fastened on one shoulder with an intricately worked gold clip, and she wore her long, silver hair in a tight braid.

The Explorers gasped and the children quaked as they saw her materialize.

She stood with her hands on her hips and sneered with contempt at the evil being.

"Why should I waste my time with a coward such as you?" Abigail asked "Frightening children." She laughed derisively. "You are weak. You will never rule the Plateau."

The danger roared at her insults. "We will see who is weak," he shrieked and the images under his skin bulged and writhed. "When you are dead, the Plateau will be mine."

As he lunged toward Abigail, she turned and ran back into the jungle, laughing at him. The monster roared again and followed his nemesis into the jungle. Before he disappeared into the dense foliage, he seemed to notice that he still held the human child. Without a second thought, he tossed poor Summer over his shoulder.

Summer screamed as she fell through the air.

With a shout, Marguerite, Roxton, and Challenger rushed to catch her. Challenger got there first, and the little girl fell heavily into her Grandpa's arms. Marguerite snatched up the sobbing child and held her closely.

"It's all right, sweetheart," she crooned. "You're safe now. The monster is gone and Mommy and Daddy are here."

The other Roxton's gathered around her patting her back and saying soothing words to calm her fears. The little family was so busy with their current crisis that they didn't notice the crisis that was building on the other side of the crystal circle.

"You can't go after her," Ned shouted holding Veronica by her shoulders.

"Yes, Ned. I have to. She shouldn't have to do this alone." Veronica's eyes were steely with determination. Ned squeezed his eyes shut and dropped his hands. He knew that look.

"Please don't go, Mommy!" begged Alice holding tightly to her mother's arm. Her eyes were awash with tears.

Edward held her other arm, and he was crying too.

"No, Mom. No!" he cried.

Veronica stooped down and swiftly took her children into her arms.

"I have to help your grandmother, my darlings. She's my mother. You understand, don't you?"

Alice clung to her, sobbing into her shoulder, but Edward sniffed back his tears and nodded his head.

"I understand. You have to help your mother."

Veronica gave him a grateful look and carefully untangled herself from her daughter's arms. Ned picked up Alice and held her, sobbing, against his chest.

"Be careful," he begged, looking into his wife's eyes with all the love, understanding, and respect he had always shown her.

Veronica nodded. She quickly kissed her family and followed the danger's trail through the jungle.

"Mommy!" screamed Alice as her mother disappeared.

The Roxton family heard the little girl's anguished cry. Forgetting their own terror, they rushed to see what had caused it.

"Where's Veronica?" Marguerite asked breathlessly. Reading the answer in Ned's look, she fell silent.

Challenger, still reeling from the swift turn of events, demanded, "Well, where is she, man? Where did she go?"

Ned nodded toward the jungle. "She went after Abigail," he said calmly.

"Good God, Ned! Why did you let her go? It's much too dangerous out there."

Edward placed a hand on the older man's arm. "Grandpa," he said gently, "that lady is her mother. She went to help her. She'll be okay. Really."

"Well, of course she will," Challenger harrumphed. "Your mother could always take care of herself."

He looked over at the other adults.

"Well, what do we do now?"

Marguerite, John, and Ned shared a look.

"We continue with the plan," Roxton shrugged.

"We'll have to get back to the chamber, then," Marguerite said wiping Summer's tear streaked cheeks with her pocket handkerchief.

Roxton lifted his hat and rubbed his hand over his hair. "It's a hell of a long way back," he huffed.

Ned rocked the still sniffing Alice in his arms. "Do we have anymore t'balee leaves?" he asked

"Dad," Will said pulling on his father's pants.

"Perhaps if we check all our pockets." Challenger suggested slapping the sides of his jacket.

"Dad!" Will shrilled tugging more forcefully.

"What is it, Will?"

"Look!"

The young boy pointed to the largest crystal in the circle. As everyone watched spellbound, the narrow crack that Will had observed slowly opened and out stepped a pale Sw'atee woman. She motioned for them to come and whispered excitedly.

"She says she's here to take us to the chamber, " Marguerite exclaimed.

"What chamber?" asked Tori.

"We'll explain as we go," her mother assured her.

*****

Far beneath the Plateau the Protector dodged into a narrow opening as shards of razor sharp stone whizzed past her. She suppressed a groan of pain as several sliced through the thin material of the gown and cut into her side. The danger's strength had indeed grown and her plan was not going well. The danger twisted and turned the tunnels until she wasn't sure if she was still headed in the right direction. Now, she was trapped in this dead end. Desperately, she looked around hoping to see a crack in the rocks around her open and a Sw'atee motion her through.

The roar of the danger echoed off of the rocky walls. She wanted it to follow her, but she needed to keep some distance between them. Her heart pounded and the wound in her side oozed blood. She had just decided to make a run for it in the hope that the Sw'atee would catch up with her when from across the tunnel she heard the welcome sound of stones sliding apart.

"Mother!" hissed Veronica. "Come this way. Quickly!"

Her hopes of success soaring at the sight of her daughter and two Sw'atee standing inside the large opening, the Protector pressed her hand against her bleeding side and stepped out of the concealing niche. She stood for a moment until the danger spotted her.

"You'll never catch me, coward!" she taunted and then ducked into the opening.

With a roar like an avalanche, the danger followed.

*****

The late afternoon sun glinted a rainbow off of the tall crystal as the crack Will had spotted got larger and larger until it was big enough for even the men to get through. The whole group piled in and after a long walk filled with questions, explanations, and planning, they were very surprised to find themselves in the large chamber where the steps to the mysterious room were located. Their Sw'atee guide smiled shyly and handed a soft flask containing magic viewing water to Roxton. Then, with a nod, she disappeared.

Ned looked around and saw the steps with the bright glow illuminating them from below. He sighed. The time had come to get the children into place so that they could play their roles in trapping the danger.

"Leave your backpacks here," he instructed. "We won't need them below."

They all piled their packs in one corner of the chamber and assembled at the top of the stairs.

"Now stay close to us, children," Marguerite reminded them.

Roxton raised one eyebrow at his son. "Do you understand, William?"

"Sure, Dad. I get it." Will smiled up at his father and took his hand. He was very glad that his Dad and Mom were with them now. He admitted to himself that the danger had been very scary, indeed.

Their nerves on edge, the adults slowly lead the children down the winding stone stairs. The air got warmer the deeper they went. At last the little group reached the small chamber where the mysterious column sat, its carved holes like black eyes watching them enter. Where the fourth wall should have been was an archway that glowed with bright light.

While the others were examining the column, Edward and Tori looked at each other in silent communication. Quietly, they started walking toward the glowing opening. They were extremely curious to see what the chamber through the archway looked like.

Stopping before the archway, the two children peered through the opening into the cavern. A narrow ledge was all the flooring they could see. Tori waved Edward forward and they stepped out onto the ledge. Through the steam, the children looked down and could just make out the pit far at the bottom.

"Edward! Tori!" a voice called behind them. They turned to confront a stern-faced Ned.

"You were told to stay with us. Get away from there and come over here. You must be in place when the Protector needs you."

"Coming, Dad," Edward hastened to reply. He and his friend hurried over to where the rest of the group stood.

The adults positioned the children around the openings in the stone column which were at different heights and different sizes. They went over the instructions again, and then they all waited.

Just as the children began to squirm with boredom, a crack appeared in the wall across from the steps. The crack widened, and, as everyone watched, Abigail, Protector of the Plateau and Veronica, future Protector, came running through the opening. Behind them a terrible noise erupted and then the danger, no longer human looking but grotesque in face and form, emerged only steps behind them. Veronica veered off to come to a halt, panting, beside her husband. Alice cried, "Mommy!", and began to rise, but her mother shook her head at her and gently pushed her back down.

Everyone else had eyes only for the action that was taking place before them.

The enraged monster ignored the second woman and reached out its long, tentacle-like arms to grab the Protector. His fingers brushed through the air just inches from her back. Abigail reached the glowing opening and leapt. Roaring, the danger leapt after her.

For a several heartbeats, the people in the chamber froze. Then Abigail swung back into the room on a hidden vine that the tablet had told her was there landing hard on her knees. Wrapping both arms around her middle, she raised her head and shouted, "NOW!"

The children, responding more quickly then the adults, reached into the apertures and pulled the metal rings that met their questing fingers. Almost simultaneously they jerked out their hands and held the rings above their heads. With a loud, exploding noise, the fissures in the smaller chamber burst open and lava, thick, red-gold, and oozing death poured down the steep walls to run into the pit at the bottom.

They shouted in triumph and jumped to their feet. Veronica rushed over to her mother and helped her up. Blood ran from the wounds covering the Protectors legs and more blood seeped through the gold cloth covering her side.

Veronica looked up as the others came rushing to her aid.

Without stopping to examine her injuries, Challenger said, "Take her up to Arthur, Veronica. I'll come and help."

"We'll all come," Ned said decisively.

"No," the Protector gasped. "It's not over. You're all still needed here. Veronica can take me."

"What do you mean, not over?" Marguerite demanded nervously. As if in answer to her question, a small hole squealed open in the wall next to the archway.

The Protector, supported by her daughter, turned painfully as they reached the stairs. She pointed to the new opening.

"The door. You have to close the door or the lava will fill all the caves in the mountain." she panted.

"Right, we'll take care of it," Ned assured her confidently seeing the panic on Veronica's face. He could tell that she was torn as to where her help was needed. He winked at her and waved her off. Reluctantly, she turned back and supported her mother up the steps.

As the two women disappeared from sight, Ned faced the others. "Now what?" he asked.

He was answered by a loud explosion in the lava chamber that made everyone jump. Large rocks shot up from the pit and the floor shifted. They all staggered.

When the movement settled down, Roxton examined the small hole which, according to the prophecy, would close a door and seal the lava chamber off. He stuck two fingers in, but it was a tight fit. He shook his head. It was a very small hole, indeed.

"Summer, come over here. It looks like we need your help, again."

Summer broke away from her mother and ran to him. He picked her up. She reached out her arm, and it was obvious that even her four and a half year old hand was too big.

"Try, Summer," Roxton told her encouragingly.

Summer gave him a sideways look and put her hand to the hole. She put all five of her fingers in, but could reach no further.

She clamped her lips together with determination and tried again. She shoved and twisted her hand, but it just wouldn't fit.

"Stupid hole!" she shouted and then burst into tears.

Roxton hugged her. "It's all right, sweetheart. You did your best."

The chamber floor rocked again, and the children screamed.

"How are we going to get it closed, Dad?" asked Tori. She thought quickly. "If we had a stick, we could pull the ring with it."

"That's a good idea, Tori, but there're no sticks down here." Roxton's pronouncement didn't stop the children from looking around for one, though.

Challenger didn't like to be bested, so he looked around for inspiration. He spotted the flask of viewing water and held it up.

"Let's check with Arthur. Maybe they've been able to figure something out."

Roxton nodded anxiously. "We have to do something."

Challenger poured the water into a shallow depression in one of the stones that littered the floor. The water sloshed for a minute and then settled and R'tor's familiar face floated into view.

"Summerlee," Roxton shouted. "We have a problem. We can't get the bloody door shut!! The bloody hole is too small to put a hand in it!"

"Have you tried?"

"Of course we've tried! The hole is too small, I tell you. What does that stupid tablet say? How are we supposed to close the door?"

Another deeper rumble made the water slosh and Summerlee's face moved back and forth, back and forth.

The children squealed as they tried to keep their footing.

"Calm down everyone," Ned shouted. "Arthur," he said into the settling pool. "Read us what it says about closing the portal."

"Wait, wait," the old king said. His face in the water disappeared only to reappear seconds later holding the stone tablet in one hand and the piece of paper that contained the translation of the dark tablet's strange language in the other. Muttering the words under his breath, he quickly reread the translation.

"Tsk, tsk," he clicked his tongue. "I really thought that the door could be closed the same way the fissures were opened. The Five Keys, you know." He paused as he studied the translation. "Are you sure the children tried very hard?"

"Yes, yes, I tell you. This is a different hole. None of them can get their hand inside." Roxton was frustrated and worried, too.

Ned stepped up. He spoke calmly but they could hear the tension in his voice. "Read us what it says, Arthur."

"Well, you know that the last bit of writing on the tablet has not been completely interpreted. Let me see, let me see," he dithered.

Marguerite pushed Ned aside and leaned her face down close to the water's surface.

"Oh, for God's sake, Arthur! Hold the tablet up so that I can see it. I'll take another look at it and see if I can tell you what that word says.

"A very good idea, Marguerite. Here, can you see it now?

"Hold it still, can't you. I can't read it flying about like that."

"Wait. I'm propping it up. There, is that better, my dear?"

"Better," she said grudgingly. "Let's see." She leaned over the basin and mumbled to herself as she read the prophecy. As she got to the end, she nodded her head and spoke the last line out loud.

"These Five Keys together will wield the Plateau's might. Okay, here it is down here." She studied the strange markings but the same word, repeated twice, that she hadn't been able to interpret before still made no sense to her. In frustration, she pounded her fist on the side of the bowl and, as if in response, a large boulder shot straight up out of the flowing lava and slammed into the roof of the cave only to fall back into the molten rock.

"Hurry, Mommy," Summer urged. "The monster is coming up!"

"Arrg, it's no use. I just - I just can't make sense of it. What bloody thing can both seal a door and pull a ring?" she moaned.

Will moved to stand beside her and peered into the bowl.

"That's okay, Mom. Maybe I can tell you what it says."

"Will, if I can't read it, what makes you think you can?"

Challenger put his hand on her shoulder. He looked at Will's calm demeanor and heard his confident voice.

"Let the lad try, my dear," he told her.

Alice stepped up beside Will and slipped her hand into his.

"Go ahead, Will. I know you can do it."

Will glanced quickly over at her but didn't jerk his hand away. He turned back to stare into the water. His lips moved silently as he read it to himself. He shook his head and read it again. He leaned closer and frowned. When he lifted his head, a huge grin split his face.

"It's easy," he bragged.

"Well, don't hold us in suspense, boy. Tell us what it says," his father demanded.

"Okay," he said agreeably. "I'm going to start right here," he said and touched his finger to the water near the bottom on the tablet's reflection.

In a singsong voice, the young boy began to read slowly.

'To keep the menace captive, the lock will seal the door. The smallest lock will pull the ring. The danger is no more."

The others looked at each other.

"Lock," Marguerite murmured to herself. "I never thought of that." Grinning, she ruffled her son's hair until he yelped and dodged away.

Ned blew out a breath. "Well, Summer's the smallest. I guess she needs to try again."

Roxton raised one eyebrow in doubt, but picked up his daughter and held her up to the hole on the wall beside the lave chamber.

"Okay, sweetheart, please try again," he urged.

The heat in the chamber was becoming intense.

"She needs to pull a ring, John," Challenger reminded him. He wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"I know she has to pull a ring, damn it, but she has to get her hand in there first."

"Daddy, I still can't get my hand in. The hole is too small," Summer wailed.

"That's okay, sweetheart. You gave it a good try." Marguerite said glaring at Challenger as she took Summer from her father's arms.

"What do we do now?" Ned asked no one in particular. "Summer's the smallest and it doesn't work for her."

"Summer's not the smallest, Dad," Edward disagreed.

"What do you mean, Edward?" Ned asked.

Edward put his palms up and raised his shoulders in an 'isn't it obvious' gesture. "Rosie is. She could get her hand in that hole."

"By god, you're right, Edward. Why didn't we think of that?" Challenger asked excitedly. "Rosie is the lock. Of course!" He turned to Roxton. "We need to get Rosie down here."

"Now just a minute, George," Marguerite snapped. "I agreed to let my older children help, but Rosie is just a baby. I won't allow her to get involved."

Marguerite held Summer tighter, turned her back on the older man and moved to the wall. Unfortunately, the wall took that opportunity to move toward her. It bowed out, but didn't crumble. A loud roar came up from the pit and almost shook them off of their feet. The wall bulged out again and Marguerite jumped back with a shriek.

Summer clung to her neck and shrieked, too.

Victoria ran to her mother and threw her arms around her. "Please, Mother, let Rosie come down. We'll all protect her. We can't let the danger out after all it took to trap it. Please!"

Summer leaned back, placed a hand on each of her mother's cheeks and looked her right in the eyes.

"Mommy, Rosie won't mind. She loves to help out."

Marguerite looked over at her husband. He shrugged resignedly.

"I think we don't have a choice, darling. Tori's right. We've invested too much into this to see it all go for naught."

"But how will we get her down here?" Another tremor rumbled up from the pit and the heat increased as the lava inched nearer to the ledge. "We don't have too much time left."

"Hullo! Hullo!" came a faint voice from the forgotten pool of water. They all rushed over to peer once again into its shallow depth.

"I'll send Rosie down with Madame Tilly," Summerlee beamed. "She's already nibbling on the t'balee leaves so she'll be with you in a moment.

"Tilly?" George said in surprise. Then he smiled. "Leave it to my Tilly to find a way to get into the action. She's been itching to try out that plant."

They stepped back to await the arrival of the smallest member of their party. They didn't have to wait long.

With a whoosh, Tillaka stood in front of them with Rosie in her arms. Rosie's eyes were opened wide with surprise, and her baby curls stood up all over her head-blown backwards by the speed of her journey.

She blinked and reached out her chubby little arms to her father. "Da, Da," she shouted, with a bright baby grin.

Everyone looked at the adorable baby and smiled. They couldn't help it. Rosie brought sunshine even to the darkest situations.

Roxton kissed his youngest daughter and quickly carried her over to the hole. He lifted her up until she could reach into the strange aperture. "Come on, Rosie. There's a good girl. Put your hand in the hole."

Rosie grinned and patted her father's cheek and blew a big bubble in his face.

Roxton wiped his face off with his hand. "No, no, Rosie," he said patiently. "Put your hand in this hole." He smacked the wall next to the hole. Rosie frowned as she watched her father's actions. Then she smiled and leaned toward the hole. Every breath was held as the baby put her hand out and ---smacked the wall next to the hole.

A swoosh of air could be heard as they all let out their breath.

"The hole, Rosie. The hole," shouted Challenger.

Marguerite frowned at him. "She's just a baby, George. You're scaring her."

The ground shook again and they all staggered about trying to keep their balance. Again, a roaring sound blasted out of the pit, louder and closer than before.

"Hurry, hurry, Rosie," Summer pleaded. She clung to her mother. The other children grabbed the hand of the closest adult.

Alice stepped up to stand beside Roxton and Rosie. "Here Uncle John," she said, pulling something from her pocket. "Put this cracker in the hole. Rosie loves to play Put and Take."

Roxton frowned in confusion, and then a broad smile spread across his face. "Thank you, Alice. That just might be the ticket."

He took Alice's offering and held it up for Rosie to see. "Okay, my little Rose Bud, would you like this nice cracker? Of course you would," he said as the baby lunged for the treat. He held it just out of her reach until he was sure that he had her attention, and then he put it just inside the opening and, with a flick of his finger, he sent it flying out of sight, deep in the hole.

Rosie blinked her eyes at the cracker's sudden disappearance. She leaned forward and looked into the dark hole. She turned her face to her father, her bottom lip trembling.

Alice tugged on the baby's foot. "Where's your cracker, Rosie? Where did it go?" she said in a high pitched voice, one she had heard the grownups use with the baby. "Find it, Rosie. Find your cracker," she urged.

Another terrible rumbling shook the ground. Rocks blasted up through the lava and the roar that accompanied the eruption was ear-splitting.

"John," Marguerite shouted. "We have to get the children out of here!"

"Give me one more minute, Marguerite. I think Rosie is about to do it!"

Will pushed Alice gently aside. Rosie smiled down at her brother. She loved to play with Will.

"Rosie, will you give Will a bite of your cracker?"

Rosie crowed with delight.

"Yum, yum," Will said smacking his lips and rubbing his stomach. Then he opened his mouth wide.

Rosie squealed and lunged for the hole. She stuck her hand in and frowned. It was obvious from her expression that she didn't feel the cracker.

"Pull it out, Rosie," Will urged. "Pull hard."

The baby frowned again and tried to pull her hand out. It was stuck! She pulled again and then again. Her hand came popping out of the hole, and she crowed in puzzlement. Instead of the small cracker she expected, a bright, shining, gold ring glinted on her finger.

"She did it!" shouted Will. "Good Rosie."

Everyone signed in relief and waited for something to happen.

The great, fiery river continued to flow into the open pit, the steam and heat became more intense, and no door closed anywhere.

Ned broke the silence. "Wasn't the lock supposed to close a door?"

Will nodded excitedly. "Yes, Uncle Ned. When Rosie pulled out the ring, the door was supposed to close and keep the lava out of here."

Hearing its name, the lava let out a forceful burp and shot a fiery plume into the air.

"Well, it didn't work. I suggest that everyone get up the stairs, fast!" Ned shouted.

Just as he finished speaking, all hell broke loose. The small chamber began to shake. The walls bulged in and out, the floor tilted and the rock basin that held the magic water fell over with a crash. The Explorers were thrown around as they lost their footing on the madly heaving floor. Summer and Alice fell to the ground and screamed. Marguerite ran to help the little girls up, but was thrown down herself when the floor gave another rumble. Roxton handed Rosie to Challenger. Challenger held the baby tightly to his chest and headed for the stairs and safety up above. But how safe were the caves above? Would the deadly lava flow upwards until the Forever Caves were filled as well?

"Tilly?" he called over his shoulder.

"I will follow you soon, husband," she called as she saw the little girls fall.

Everyone was screaming and all of the little children were crying. Tori held on to Will and pulled him toward the stairs. Tilly rushed forward and helped Marguerite to her feet and they both reached for one of the girls. Ned and Edward were fighting their way across the chamber to help the others, but the bulging walls hampered their progress.

The chamber was unbearably hot now. The lava was inching ever closer to the ledge and would soon fill the small chamber as well.

Marguerite picked up Summer and hugged her close. She looked around wildly, counting heads and pushing everyone toward the stairs. They were all on their feet but she couldn't see Roxton through the thick steam that was filling the room. Frantically, she called his name and heard through the uproar a soft moan coming from the corner. She threw Summer into Ned's arms as he and Edward approached through the haze.

"Get my children to safety, Ned," she pleaded anguish in her voice. "I have to help John."

"I'll take care of them, Marguerite, I promise," he said. He knew that he was promising her more than his words said.

Marguerite nodded--understanding his deeper promise.

Quickly, before her heart could break, she turned away and followed the sounds of her husband's moans. She found him lying on the floor up against the wall. He was holding his head and blood was running between his fingers. She knelt down beside him and reached out to touch his bloody face. She struggled to stay calm.

"John," she said gently. "Can you stand up? We need to go, now."

He lifted his head and tried to focus his eyes on her face. Tears sprung into Marguerite's eyes as she realized that he couldn't move.

She sat down and pulled him into her arms.

"It's all right, my love. I'm here with you. Close your eyes and rest."

The heat and the haze thickened around them as they rocked together.

John stirred in her arms and she soothed him again.

"Don't worry, darling, we've been in worse situations. We aren't going to let a little lava get the best of us," she whispered.

Her brave words were in stark contrast to the silent tears running down her cheeks.

Minutes passed before a strange, grinding sound drew her attention away from her misery. She looked in the direction of the sound but the haze and the glare from the lava chamber made the room too bright for her to see what was making the noise. The sound continued, louder and stronger. Marguerite squinted her eyes and looked again. And then she noticed that the bright opening to the lava chamber was getting smaller. As she watched, the grinding noise continued and the light shrunk to a narrow strip and then disappeared altogether. The loud, scrapping sound stopped, too. In seconds, the haze and the heat of the room also disappeared. Marguerite stared. The opening was now a solid looking rock wall!

She gently propped John against the wall behind him and stood up. The floor felt solid under her feet. The walls were no longer bulging in and out. The air was clean and a soft light filled the room from some hidden source. She walked to the new cave wall and carefully ran her hand over it. It looked as if it had been there for millennia. No matter how carefully she looked, she could see no seam, no crack to indicate that the wall had not been there moments ago.

"Marguerite."

She turned at the hoarse call and found John sitting up wiping the blood from his eyes.

"John!' she cried and ran to him. She pulled him once more into her arms but this time her tears were of relief and hope.

"What happened?" he asked, then, as memory returned, he got jerkily to his feet. Marguerite stood up with him, supporting him as he swayed.

"Where are the children?" he demanded. "We've got to get out of here!"

Marguerite shook his arm.

"It's all right now, John. The children are safe with Ned. Everyone is safe," she soothed him.

He grabbed his head, groaned again, and staggered backwards to lean against the wall.

Marguerite face went white with concern. She had to get help, but she couldn't bear to leave him.

She looked toward the stairs as a clattering noise grew louder. A yellow light filled the stairwell.

Marguerite stepped in front of her husband and braced herself for whatever new disaster was coming their way.

The noise on the stairs stopped as the light got closer to the bottom.

Marguerite put her back against John to shield him. She was ready to defend him to the death.

"Hello? Marguerite?"

Ned's voice preceded him into the chamber. Marguerite blew out a breath as Ned, Challenger, Veronica, and, surprisingly, Edward came down the stairs.

Veronica and Challenger rushed forward as they saw the bloodied man behind Marguerite. Marguerite stepped aside to let them lower him gently to the floor. Her legs suddenly felt weak and she had to put a hand on the wall to keep from falling.

Ned and Edward were feeling the newly formed wall. They looked at each other in disbelief.

"Dad? Is this the door that was supposed to close?" Edward asked, his face screwed up in confusion.

Ned just shook his head and raised his eyebrows. He had no explanation to offer him.

Meanwhile, Challenger was examining Roxton. He'd found the wound on the hunter's head. The bleeding had stopped, but the wound was jagged and would need some stitches. He suspected that a wall bulge that caught him when he had been distracted by the chaos of the lava flow had injured Roxton. He was more worried about a possible concussion than the wound. They had used a candle to negotiate the suddenly darkened stairs, and now he waved it before his patient's eyes. Roxton squinted in the bright light and pushed Challenger's hand away.

"Are you trying to bloody blind me, George?" Roxton complained. His voice was stronger than it had been.

Challenger grinned at him.

"Sounds like nothing much is wrong with you, John, except a nasty knock on the head."

He helped Roxton to his feet and Marguerite put her arm around his waist to support him as he walked over to the mysterious wall. Roxton eyed the wall with curiosity, but Marguerite only had eyes for him. She bit her lip to keep the tears back as she thought how close she had come to losing him.

"Hey," he whispered wiping a tear off her cheek. "What's all this? You didn't think we were really going to die down here, did you?" he teased.

Marguerite, tears welling up, shook her head. "Who? Us?" she sniffed. Roxton pulled her against him and dipped his head down to kiss her.

"Didn't I always tell you you'd be safe with me?" he murmured against her lips. Marguerite kissed him passionately.

"I'll have to remember that, won't I?" she murmured back.

"Hey, you two," Ned teased them. "Not in front of the c-h-i-l-d."

Edward grinned up him. "I don't mind, Dad. You and Mom act worse than that."

They all chuckled at Veronica's shocked expression. It was good to be able to laugh again.

Suddenly Marguerite remembered the other crisis.

"Veronica, your mother? Is she all right?"

Veronica smiled. "Yes, the Sw'atee healer is fixing her up."

Another thought struck Marguerite. "Challenger, are the children all right?" she asked anxiously.

"They're fine, my dear. They're with Tilly and Arthur. Oh, yes, Abigail is with them, too. She's getting to know her grandchildren while, as she put it, "there's a lull in the action".

Laughing with relief, Marguerite put her arm around John again. It felt wonderful to feel his strength returning to him. She hugged him gently then looked at the wall.

"Seems our "little lock" closed the door after all," she remarked patting the firm surface.

"It would appear that way," Challenger answered her. "I can understand that this hidden door was released by Rosie pulling out that ring, but what I can't understand is that there is no crack or seam where the door joins the wall." With the candle held in one hand, he put his nose only inches from the wall to search for the elusive joint.

"Oh well, Grandpa," Edward said patting him on the back. "As you always say, 'It's just another mystery of the Plateau'.

Challenger sighed. "Indeed, my boy, indeed."

Ned took Veronica's hand and held his other out for his son. "I don't know about the rest of you, but now that the danger is locked up once more, I think a celebration is called for."

"Hooray!" Edward shouted.

Marguerite grinned. "I have an idea, Edward. Poor Tori didn't get her birthday party today, so why don't we have it tomorrow and celebrate our victory too? We'll see if Arthur.R'tor can come and some of the Sw'atee as well."

"Hooray!" Edward shouted again his eyes shining with anticipation.

He took his father's hand and half dragged his parents up the stairs.

The other three followed more slowly.

"Challenger," Marguerite asked curiously. "How did you know it was safe to come back down here?"

Roxton slowed down. He, too, wanted to hear the answer.

"Oh, we didn't know it was safe, but we had no intention of leaving you two down here. You see, we had gotten the children up past the second chamber when we met Veronica coming down. She told us that her mother was being well taken care of, so she had come back to help us. Ned decided to come down with her. Well, my Tilly could see that I was as anxious to return as they were, so she told me to go with them and she would take the children the rest of the way up." He chuckled. "I couldn't turn down such a generous offer. So she and the children continued up, and Ned, Veronica and I hurried down to the lower chamber. We were just beginning to descend the stairs, when the glow from below slowly died out. We didn't know what to think. We were totally confused, but determined. Ned found a candle in his backpack and we stared down."

Marguerite frowned. "And Edward? Why in the world did you let him come with you?"

Challenger shrugged. "We thought he went with Tilly, but when we were half way down the steps, Veronica found Edward following right behind her. His disobedience was NOT well received by his parents. Of course, it was too late to take him back and too dangerous to leave him by himself."

They had reached the top of the steps and paused to let Roxton catch his breath. He was a little dizzy but he hid it well. They found the rest of the group waiting for them.

Ned was on one knee in front of his son who was looking quite unrepentant.

"We'll talk about this later, son," Ned said sternly as he stood up.

"Are we ready?" Veronica asked. She was anxious to get back to her mother and daughter.

"Lead the way, my friend," Marguerite said to her.

She waved her hand in a grand gesture and looked up at her husband, her own true love, and smiled her beautiful smile.

*****

EPILOGUE

The combination birthday and victory party was a huge success. Early the next morning, though not too early since everyone slept in, even the children, the two families met in their favorite meadow. Ned had sent word to the Zanga village, and everyone who could be spared was there. They had brought plenty of food and drink for the party. Even Arthur put in a brief appearance, but decided the sun was too hot to linger outside for long. He left early, promising to visit them again on the next overcast day.

The picnic brunch was greedily eaten by the hungry mob. A short rest time followed and then the children were let loose to play.

Abigail and Veronica sat on a blanket under one of the shady trees on the meadow's edge. Rosie was napping beside them while the other children played games and ran around with their Zanga friends. Veronica, under her mother's curious questioning, was explaining about the warnings that made her change her looks and confine herself and her family to the treehouse grounds.

"The prediction must have been very convincing to cause you all to change your lives so drastically."

"It was a very hard decision for us. If we hadn't had the support of Marguerite, John, George, and Tilly I don't know how we would have managed . Yes, it was hard, very hard, but we could do no less to protect our family."

Abigail pulled her into a hug. "You did the right thing. But now that has all changed. The danger had been taken care of-at least for a long, long time-and you can come out of hiding."

Veronica sat back with tears in her eyes. She could finally show her children the Plateau, their home.

They were silent for a minute watching the happy people celebrating.

"Alice looks so much like you did at that age." Abigail laughed as she watched her granddaughter chase after one of the Zanga boys. "Of course, your hair was longer."

Veronica winced, "I don't know if I can persuade her to let it grow out again. She loves looking like a smaller version of her brother, so she's very happy with it short." She grinned. "Summer is begging her mother to let her get her hair cut short, too."

Abigail shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe Alice will set the trend for all the girls on the Plateau."

They both laughed.

Grandma Tilly and Will, who were the best of friends, were down by the cliff, competing in a spear-throwing contest. Roxton, his head wrapped in a white bandage, was watching them and giving Will advice and encouragement.

"Great throw, Will," Roxton said clapping his hands as the young boy's spear bounced off the big red circle drawn on the center of the target. The younger children's spears were not sharp enough to penetrate the heavy canvas.

Marguerite and Assai stood at the long wooden table that had been built to hold the food. They each held an end of a light cloth that they were putting over the leftover food to keep the insects off. Marguerite kept looking down toward the group at the cliff. She wasn't checking on her son, but keeping an eye on her husband. She was just thinking about calling him over to sit in the shade when Demilla and Victoria, who was wearing the beautiful birthday necklace her parents had given her, came running up.

"Mother!" they both shouted at the same time.

"What is it?" Marguerite and Assai asked together.

They all four laughed and Queen Assai put her arm around her daughter's shoulder. Princess Demilla, though only twelve years old, was as tall as her mother.

"Mother," Tori said again. "Grandpa said that he had a birthday present for me, but he's disappeared, and we can't find him."

Marguerite shared a look with Assai. "I'm sure he'll be back very soon, sweetheart. Why don't you and Demilla play with the skipping ropes Uncle Jarl made for you?"

"But, Mom," Tori started to whine when she was interrupted by the breathless arrival of Edward and Atoo.

"Tori, Tori," Edward shouted with excitement. "Grandpa said for you to come to the pathway, I think he has your birthday present!"

"Hurry, Tori," Atoo added as excited as Edward.

"Let's all go," Marguerite said. She and Assai hastily set stones on the corners of the cloth to keep it on the table and followed the children across the meadow to the shadowy pathway on the other side.

Somehow word had spread and everyone was gathering at the same spot. Abigail and Veronica, holding the just awakened baby, wandered over, too. Roxton came up with Will and Tilly. He took his youngest daughter from her aunt and cuddled her to his chest. Marguerite smiled at him and slipped her hand under his arm.

Alice and Summer arrived hot and breathless. Never one to let an opportunity to wheedle go by, Summer lifted her damp hair off of her neck and said loudly, "Gee, I wish I had short hair like Alice, then it wouldn't get me so sweaty."

Roxton laughed and, giving Rosie to her mother, scooped up his Little Terror and put her on his shoulders. "We like you sweaty," he assured her.

Alice clamped a hand over her mouth and giggled.

Everyone got silent as Challenger stepped out of the shadows. He motioned Tori forward and when she stood beside him, he bowed to her in his very extravagant way.

"Lady Victoria Grace Roxton, for your very special, once in a lifetime, first double-digit birthday, we, that is, your family and the Zanga, would like to present you with the very first, one of a kind-so far-remarkably engineered, patent pending, Challenger Cycle!"

Victoria eyes widened as one of Challenger's Zanga engineering students came out of the shadows wheeling a bicycle. It was definitely a homemade vehicle, but remarkably manufactured considering the limitation under which it was made.

"Wow!" Will said. He didn't know what it was, but it looked really swell.

Tori didn't know what it was either, but she was a well-raised young lady and she smiled and thanked everyone for such a splendid gift.

Summer wasn't as polite as her sister.

"What is THAT, Grandpa?" she asked bluntly.

Challenger looked up at the child's curious frown and realized that the children probably didn't know what it was.

He threw back his head and laughed.

"Rather than tell you, I'll show you." He took the bicycle from his student and, without hesitation, threw his leg over the seat. Pushing off with his foot, he steered a wobbly track through the meadow grass.

"Careful, George!" admonished Tilly with a worried frown. Then, seeing the delighted look on his face, she smiled. Still a boy at heart that was her George.

The children's look of curiosity and puzzlement turned to amazement as Challenger picked up speed and pedaled faster. He was halfway across the field before, whooping with excitement, they took off after him.

"Down, Daddy! Down!" Summer demanded.

Her feet were moving before they touched the ground.

Roxton threw his arm around Marguerite and laughed.

"I hope George realizes that he'll have to make a cycle for all the children now."

Marguerite leaned into his embrace. "Somehow, I don't think he'll mind a bit," she answered watching their old friend run behind his creation as the birthday girl took her first ride.

***********************************

It was already dark when the three weary families finally made their way home. Their swinging lanterns made spots of light like large fireflies zigzagging through the humid air. At the point in the pathway where the road branched out in three different directions, the lanterns came together. Hugs and kisses, laughter and teases were exchanged.

Challenger and Tilly headed left toward the Zanga village, their arms twined around each other.

Roxton called his clan together to make the short walk to their treehouse. Victoria had very generously let Will sit on the seat of the bicycle while she held the handlebars and walked beside it. They could do this in peace only because Summer Leigh had fallen asleep on her father's shoulder. Marguerite carried the sleeping baby.

Edward and Alice were totally absorbed in their grandmother. They each held one of her hands and asked and answered questions, interrupting each other in their eagerness. Behind them walked the four Avatar Warriors, a silent wall of protection.

With one more goodbye the two families went their separate ways.

At the Malone treehouse, the children were cleaned up and put to bed, but the adults stayed up talking.

Ned and Veronica sat at the table while Abigail did a tour of her old treehouse.

"Mother!" Veronica called to her. "Would you like some more tea?"

She grinned to herself-Mother--she couldn't say it enough.

Ned noticed the grin and hid his own in his tea cup. Having a mother-in- law was turning out to be a good thing, he thought. Veronica had blossomed.

Abigail walked in from the balcony of the treehouse she hadn't been in for over twenty years. It was at once familiar and foreign to her. She looked around at the home her daughter and Ned had created and was overwhelmed. They had created the kind of home she had wanted for her family before destiny took her in a different direction.

"No more for me, my darling," she said. She sat down next to Ned and smiled at his amused look. She was happy with her daughter's husband. He was a good man. A good man just as Tom was.

"Should I take some down to the Avatars?" Veronica asked uncertainly. Her mother's guards had stationed themselves at the base of the treehouse, two on each side of the elevator shaft.

Abigail laughed lightly. "Don't bother, Veronica. I've tried for years to give something back to them, but they have their own code and way of living. I've learned to just accept them and be grateful for their devotion."

"I don't think I could ever get used to having them around me all the time," Veronica said with a shutter.

Abigail cocked her head to one side. "You'll have to get used to it one day, sweetheart," she said gently.

Veronica looked startled then nodded grimly. "Yes, I will---and Alice, too I guess. The future Protectors of the Plateau."

"Alice?" Abigail asked in surprise. "Alice will never be a Protector."

"Wh-wh-what?" stammered Veronica. She looked over at Ned. "Alice not a Protector?"

"I thought you knew. The protector's first born is always destined to follow the line." She laid a gentle hand on her daughter's arm. "Edward will follow you as Protector of the Plateau."

In the stunned silence that followed, unnoticed by the three at the table, someone moved deeper into the shadows of the bedroom passage. A stray beam of light bounced off of curly blond hair. Edward Malone grinned and pumped his fist in the air before silently scurrying back to his room.

The End of This One.

**************************************************************************** *

Author's Note: Ned and Veronica's adventure that caused her to change her looks and way of life will be revealed in The Children of the Plateau Bridge Story #3.

Stay tuned for Bridge Story #2 coming as soon as I can wrestle it into submission. Bridge Story #1 "Fire!" can be found at and at Carolyn's fabulous site TLW Fix.

Bridge Stories = Stories that span the 12 years between 1922 ("The Future is Back", "Fire!"), and 1934 ("The Five Keys") and explain how the Plateau came to be the way it is in the children's time. ***** Dear Readers:

Thanks to all who have taken their time to read this story, and a special thank you to those who have also given this author feedback. You've all helped me in so many ways.

The Inner Genie