See part one for explanation and disclaimers. I don't own 'Dinotopia', James Gurney does. Hallmark still owns the characters and I'm still not profiting from this. Hope you're enjoying this. Still recommended for teens and up for action/violence and mild language.
As soon as he heard the door to Jack's room slam shut, Karl realized he'd just made a huge mistake. Oh no… He ran back, tried to open the door, and found it wouldn't budge. "Jack!" Karl banged on the door. "Jack! Open the door!"
"Go to hell, Karl!" the boy shot back from the other side of the door.
The sound of shouting brought the saurian guards first, then Marion, David, Romana, and Noree followed. They found Karl still pounding on the unmoving door, "Jack! You little---open this door!" It wasn't hard to guess what had happened.
Barrett arched an eyebrow. "Little brother seems a smidge reluctant."
Karl wasn't in the mood for jokes. "You think?"
Marion studied the skybax rider, looking for something: "Karl, where's the Tohma Faiere?"
It dawned on Karl that he'd left the space rock on the table in Jack's room. "Oh sh---Jack!" He slammed his hands against the wooden door more frantically.
Romana added her gentle calls to Karl's, trying to help. "Jack, it's going to be all right."
"We can't undo the Tohma Faiere's spell without the Tohma Faiere," Noree chided.
Karl slumped against the door. Jack wasn't going to open it. Karl didn't blame him, really. I botched this up real good, didn't I? He glowered at the saurian. "I know that! What do you want me to do?"
"The guards can force the door…"
"No way," Karl and David answered as one.
Marion didn't like the idea either, but the longer the waited, the more danger Frank—and David—were in. "We have no choice," she said.
"That's a real nice attitude for a 'topian," David said. "I'm not breaking down a door on a scared fourteen-year-old and forcing him back into the packs---even I'm not that far over on the dark side. There's always a choice." Payden wasn't going to wait for the kid to calm down, and Barrett hadn't put too much hope in the 'use the magic space rock to fix the timeline' rescue plan anyway. Knowing what had to be done, David headed for the stairway. Karl, Marion, and Romana were right behind him.
"Where are you going?" Marion asked, a note of panic in her tone suggesting she knew already.
"To get Frank---Dad---Frank---oh, I give up…"
"Payden will kill you. You said it yourself. Karl?" the matriarch turned to the skybax rider to talk sense into the Outsider.
David directed his explanation at Scott. "Frank's my responsibility---Payden took him to get me. I'll get him back." Karl was staring at him in shock. Barrett found that a little insulting. "What? Did you think I wouldn't? You have to trust me, Scott."
Scott blinked. For a second, he had a déjà vu of being back in his room on a snowy night with bickering relatives downstairs…
"What are you doing here?"
"Where should I be? What? You thought I wouldn't show up? Don't you trust me?"
Karl slowly broke into a grin, baffling all present. "What did you have in mind, Mr. Bond?" he asked his brother.
His real brother.
The remark was lost on the others, but comprehension and a hint of smile soon lit Barrett's eyes.
The last thing he remembered was Le Sage. She'd been standing on the pier, paying no heed as some of the taller waves lapped over the boards and soaked her boots. She was bending to examine the submarine, looking distinctly unhappy about something. "Sonnuva---Dane! You'd better take a look at what your clumsy pack of ten-thumbed baboons have done!"
Dane had crossed the beach and joined her on the pier. As he did, she had straightened up. He paid no mind when she scratched her nose and then her elbow. His only concern was that she was pointing to something on the boat with a glare that said she was fit to kill someone. His group of outsiders also headed towards the water, some to enjoy the commotion, some curious, and others to defend their work on the submarine against whatever accusations the dark-haired woman was about to dish out. None of them noticed that Le Sage's own pack was quietly positioning themselves around Dane's men and women.
"Look at this! It's going to take a day to fix this mess," Le Sage told Dane.
He didn't see anything wrong, but he knelt to check again just to get her to shut up. "I see nothing th---"
That was when he felt a blow to the back of his head. The next thing he knew, he was falling face-first into the water and the world went dark.
He awoke to the sensation of being up to his chin in tepid water with his arms bound fast around something large and round. A wave splashed him in the face, sending water burning down his nose and throat. Dane coughed, spitting saltwater, and opened his eyes. He was chained beneath the pier. The high tide was already up to his neck. Before he could process that dire turn of events, he turned his head just a bit and saw Le Sage. She was lounging on the very top of the submarine, watching him with glee. She was holding a fussing messenger parrot by its feet.
"What have you done, you b---" he spat. Where was his pack? He craned his neck as best he could, trying to discern why they weren't helping him. From his vantage point, it was impossible to see that Le Sage's pack surrounded his own, their weapons just visible enough to deter anyone from coming to Dane's assistance.
"Speak," Le Sage told the bird.
The bird chirped: "Ahem. Message from Payden Boreal: Have taken captive and sent message. Barrett won't be making the trip with you, as requested. Wish you a safe journey. May we succeed in our mutual endeavors this night. End of Message."
Satisfied, she released the fidgety creature. The messenger fluttered away, this time to a much higher branch in the nearby trees. "I know he didn't mean David Barrett, of course. That would mean you'd broken our agreement. And you know how I feel about being double-crossed, Gabriel. Naughty, naughty," Le Sage tsked at Dane.
Another wave splashed his face. Dane fumbled for something to say that would get him out of his unacceptable position. He'd kill her afterwards, of course. "You, of course, and the boy are not ones to talk of double-crossing. I, too, have a reputation to consider."
"You forgave us for that, remember? As part of the aforementioned agreement?"
"Doris, you know I never forgive, I only delay my revenge when it suits me. To forgive such disrespect would make me a weak leader, yes? But, with you I have no quarrel if you release me now."
She rubbed her chin. "Hmm, now how do I know you're forgiving me and not delaying your revenge? Clearly, you're pretty flexible with the whole forgive/don't forgive thing…tell you what, I'll ask David what he thinks when he gets back."
"Such loyalty be your weakness, pretty one. Barrett is dead by now."
Le Sage frowned. "Ooh. That's bad luck."
"We move past this. Unlock the chains and I'll…"
She jumped from the submarine to the dock and leaned over the side of the pier to grin at Dane. "No, I meant bad luck for you. You see, it's something of an embarrassing story, so don't ask, but…" She pointed to the lock. "…I'm afraid David has the key."
The sound of her laughter accompanied the fall of her steps on the wooden planks as she walked back to shore. His shout was muffled by another wave slapping his face.