Plain of Sorrows

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I only own my ghosts

Author's Notes: this one, then one more should do it…


Chapter Forty-Two

Devon Adair had been thoroughly pissed off at John Danziger…until the explosion almost knocked her off her feet.

The entire group stopped. The noise reached them a few moments later, a hard thump then a deep rumbling, like an avalanche. A great cloud rose in front of them, obscuring the sky.

Devon had just enough time to think, John's plan worked, then she was running, her heart hammering in terror. She wanted to scream; the last time she'd seen Uly, he'd been riding Danziger's back, toward the source of the destruction…

She wasn't alone. The Trans Rover was abandoned; Walman and Yale had been inside the cab, and now they were keeping pace with her. Alonzo wasn't far behind them, his long legs eating up the ground and bringing him to the front of the group. Devon could hear the Dune Rail's engine whining. If she remembered correctly, Bess had been taking a turn driving, and Julia had been with her.

All the while, as she ran toward she didn't know what, Devon prayed that Uly, John, True and Morgan had survived, had somehow escaped the conflagration. They had to be alive…just so Devon could kill John for doing this to her!

The cloud grew closer, as Devon's fears grew. It was getting harder to breathe, and there was a growing stitch in her side. She didn't dare stop, didn't dare rest; she had to know what had happened.

"Jump in!"

Devon glanced toward the sound of that voice. Julia was there, waving her over to the Dune Rail. The doctor clambered over the supplies tied to the back of the vehicle, leaving room for Devon to jump onboard.

Usually Devon would never do anything so idiotic as to try to climb onto the moving Rail, but this wasn't a usual time. She reached out and grabbed the roll bar, swinging herself into the passenger seat.

Then Bess was off, pushing the vehicle to its limits. Her curly hair flew in the wind their progress caused, and she looked frantic, yet at the same time determined…if the clenching of the other woman's jaw was any indication. She was just as afraid for her husband as Devon was for Uly…and for a particular mechanic and his daughter.

They quickly outstripped the runners, thanks to Bess keeping the Rail's pedal pressed firmly to the floorboard. The uneven ground rattled the three of them around; they hit a particular deep rut, and Devon's teeth bit into her tongue, drawing a little blood.

But she didn't care. It wouldn't matter – none of it would matter – if their loved ones were…no, Devon couldn't bear to go there. They had to be all right! Besides, who would argue with her if something happened to John?

The dirt cloud kicked up by the explosion was settling back to earth. It was hard to tell how close they were getting. Devon cursed inwardly at their apparent lack of progress.

Suddenly, though, Bess slowed down. Devon was about to demand an explanation when she caught sight of what had the other woman had: a figure running toward them, barely head and shoulders above the tall grass.

It was Uly.

Bess turned the Rail in the approaching boy's direction. Devon stood up, leaning against the roll bar, grinning like a maniac. Her son was all right!

And if Uly was, then most likely the others were, as well.

She was out of the vehicle before Bess had brought it to a complete halt, and had her son in her arms, hugging him fiercely. Then she pulled back, holding him by the shoulders. "Don't you ever do anything like that again, young man!" she snapped.

"Aw, Mom…"

"Where's Morgan?' Bess asked breathlessly.

"Everyone's over there." Uly made a vague gesture off behind him. "They're all unconscious, though…"

"Show us." Julia had her medical kit with her.

He led them to the others. Devon's heart did another painful lurch when she saw John lying there, between Morgan and True. All three were, indeed, unconscious.

Bess started forward, but Devon held her back. "Let Julia take a look first, okay?" Bess nodded, but didn't look at all happy about it.

Julia knelt and examined all three. By the time she was done, most of the others had caught up, and were milling around nervously.

And Devon doubted anyone was as nervous as she was.

The doctor stood up. "True and Morgan are just physically and mentally exhausted," she reported. "They'll be fine, after a couple of days rest. John has a concussion, and no other injuries. But…" She looked puzzled.

"But what?" Devon asked, stiffening slightly.

"All the physical changes brought about by his contact with the cat-people are completely gone. I don't understand how it happened…"

"It's because they aren't connected to this plane anymore," Uly piped up. "When the ship exploded, it not only cut off the Changed, but the ghosts as well. That means everything they did while here was undone."

"And the Changed are gone?" Bess asked, her husband's head now cradled in her lap.

"Yep. I broke their connection to the ship, and to the dreamplane."

"Good."

Devon agreed. She hugged her child tightly, proud of him. She doubted she'd ever understand what exactly Uly could do, but it didn't matter…she loved him. "Is it safe to move them?"

"Yes, Devon," Julia answered.

"Then let's get the hell away from here."

No one gave her any argument at all.


Devon was sitting with John when he finally woke up.

They'd traveled a fair way before finally setting up camp, even risking moving at night in order to put as much distance between themselves and the pit where the cats' ship had once lain. Alonzo had scouted the hole while they'd been getting the three unconscious people ready to move. He'd reported that nothing much was left, although there didn't appear to be any danger of a grass fire; apparently, the earth it had been buried under contained the blast.

She had to admit, she was sad about the cat-people. They seemed to have truly and finally paid the ultimate price.

She wondered how John would react.

She didn't have that long before finding out.

Devon's heart did a little happy dance when John's eyes started to flicker open. He'd been out for almost a day and a half, and while Julia hadn't thought that was too unusual, given everything he'd been through in the last several days, it frankly concerned Devon to no end. So, it was with a sense of tremendous relief – more than she'd believed she'd feel – that Danziger finally awoke.

The first thing she noticed was that his eyes were back to normal.

The second was the utter confusion she saw in them, like this hadn't been what he'd expected to see on regaining consciousness.

Then she realized it was what he wasn't seeing.

"Hey," she greeted him warmly.

"Hey, Adair," he murmured, his brow wrinkling. "Where's True?"

"Right over there." She pointed to the bunk across the tent, where the girl had been sleeping ever since they'd found them yesterday. "She's all right," Devon reassured him, "just asleep. Julia says it's exhaustion. Morgan's the same."

"And Uly?"

She appreciated him thinking about her son. "Just fine, although if you carry him off like that ever again – no matter what he says – I'll put my foot so far up your ass my toes will tickle the hairs in your nose."

John grimaced. "That's really disgusting, Adair."

"It's meant to be."

He struggled to rise. Devon helped him, putting a rolled-up blanket under his head to support his shoulders. "Look, the kid did great," he assured her. "If I hadn't taken him then, the timing would've been all off. He had to seal up the cage after N'Merra and D'Lorrak got the Changed out of Martin and True, and he had to break the connection almost at the same minute. If he hadn't, they could've escaped again. And I don't think we'd want to know the consequences of that…"

Devon couldn't miss the flicker of sadness that passed over his face at the mention of the cat-people, especially N'Merra. "You can't see them anymore, can you?" she asked gently.

He sighed. "No. Do…do you know what happened to them? Are they…gone?" His voice caught.

"Uly says their connection with the physical plane ended when the ship exploded. I'm sorry, John.' She put her hand over his comfortingly.

Danziger looked stricken. Devon didn't think she'd ever seen him look like this, not even when he'd lost friends in the crash. He'd grown close to N'Merra…

Of course.

John Danziger was feeling her loss, almost as strongly as if it had been True who'd gone.

It didn't matter that the cat-girl was an alien; that she'd been dead for centuries. As far as John was concerned, N'Merra had been like another child to him, especially after he'd found out that her own father had been the one to betray her. Yes, she'd done some things to him that Devon didn't particularly like, but the girl had had the best of reasons. And it had all turned out all right. Not that Devon necessarily believed that the end justified the means…

Well, okay, she did, but only under certain circumstances…

"Why don't you get some rest, and we can talk again in the morning." She patted his hand in sympathy.

"Yeah, sure." He turned his back on her, facing the tent wall.

Devon looked at him sadly, then went to find Uly…