Another funny one because everyone still hates Shane! Enjoy!
"Abeke!" Shane called. "Abeke, where are you?"
"Hiding because she hates you!" Conor said
Abeke kept still in her tree, a slow smile parting her lips. Uraza crouched motionless on a limb beside her. Down below, Shane blundered closer to her hiding place. "This is the wrong time for games!
"Oh no." Rollan said "Because you said it's the wrong time, it's the right time!"
Remember those important people I told you about? They're here! We shouldn't keep them waiting."
"Let me guess," Conor said "Gar" Abeke nodded
Ever since their ship had reached this island, Shane had gone on and on about these visitors. He seemed very impressed by them. In many ways, Shane was her first real friend. Not only had he saved her life, but he continued to train with her, watch out for her, and even joke with her.
"It's all just an act" Rollan said
He appreciated her hunting, her strength, her stealth- many of the traits that she most valued. Only her mother had ever made her feel accepted in that way. Yet she had questions about the people he worked with. None wore green cloaks,
"They don't wear green cloaks because" Conor said "I don't know, maybe because they are CONQUERORS!" "Conor, please calm down" Lenori reminded him
but they seemed well organized. They had ships, a big outpost, and many trained soldiers. All had spirit animals. Who were they, and why did they leave Uraza so agitated? Lately, she hadn't pressed Shane for answers. She was afraid of what she might learn.
"Oh," Rollan said "So she did know something was up." "Don't be afraid of what you will learn," Meilin said. "Yeah," Conor said "You will learn all their secrets, which will be good"
But that wasn't the main reason she was hiding. "All right, Abeke," Shane said. "I admit it. You keep improving. Even on this puny island, you and Uraza could probably evade me for as long as you chose."
"That was a really good idea to hide from him" Rollan said "Cuz now you're late." "And the blame will go on Shane" Conor said smiling
"I just wanted to hear you say it," Abeke replied. "There you are!" Shane greeted. "You picked the worst time to prove a point." Abeke descended from the tree. Uraza landed beside her. "You backed down, so I must have chosen the right time." "You and Uraza are really coming along as a team," Shane said. "Our visitors will be pleased." "They're really here?" Abeke asked. He might have simply been trying to lure her out of hiding. "They're not just here," Shane said. "They're waiting for us." She felt nervous, but hoped it didn't show. "Lead the way." They started walking toward the walled buildings. "You should probably put Uraza into her dormant state."
"Ha!" Rollan said "Too scared?"
"Won't they want to see her?" Abeke asked. "It proves your abilities," Shane said. "You're young to use the dormant state. It also shows respect. Some of their spirit animals don't get along well with others. If you keep Uraza with you, they'll have to make their animals passive. It would be rude." Abeke could see what he meant, but wasn't it rude for them to expect her to put Uraza away if their animals were the unfriendly ones? The visitors clearly meant a lot to Shane, so she decided not to argue. Abeke held out her arm and called to Uraza. With a stinging flash, the leopard became a tattoo. It was not far to the walled stronghold. They passed through a massive iron gate and Shane led Abeke to the central building. They entered and went to the main chamber. A pair of guards who Abeke didn't recognize stood outside a set of heavy doors. They bowed to Shane and let them pass.
"Bowed, really?" Rollan said. "Well he is their king." Meilin said
The visitors were assembled at the far side of the large stone room. A throne had been set up, and on it sat a regal man just entering his autumn years. His temples were touched with gray, and he had a craggy face with a jutting chin. A circlet ringed his head, wrought like a snake consuming its own tail. Below his heavy eyebrows, dark eyes watched Abeke intently.
"Gar" Rollan said disgustingly
Before his throne stretched an enormous crocodile. Abeke had no idea they could grow so large. From snout to tail, it was longer than five grown men lying end to end. "He's a king," Abeke murmured to Shane. "Yes," Shane muttered back. "Behave accordingly." To one side of the king crouched a wizened old woman on a stool, bundled in coarse rags. Drool dribbled from one corner of her withered lips.
"Yumaris" Abeke said
On the other side of the throne stood Zerif. He was dressed in fancier clothes than when they had last met, and his hair was slicked back. "Zerif!" Abeke cried.
"You did a good job behaving accordingly" Rollan said
"And that is the LAST time I am excited to see him" Abeke reminded them
Her eyes had been so drawn to the man on the throne and to the crocodile that she had been slow to recognize her former protector. He gave a polite nod. "I told you that we would meet again." He gestured toward the throne. "May I introduce General Gar, king of the Lost Lands.
"You mean the guy posing to be the king" Conor said
Sire, meet Abeke, the summoner of Uraza." "No small feat," said the man on the throne. He had a voice that carried weight. It wasn't terribly deep but, like his face, it was full of presence. A voice accustomed to giving orders. "Is that your crocodile?" Abeke asked.
"NO" everyone shouted.
"IT'S SHANE'S, aka THE DEVOURER, or the guy standing next to you!" Conor yelled. Lenori gave him a look. The quiet down look.
General Gar raised his eyebrows. "Indeed. A saltwater crocodile, from the continent of Stetriol." Abeke frowned. Stetriol? Erdas had four regions, and none were named Stetriol. She shivered as her eyes strayed to the huge reptile. Abeke had only heard of one person who ever had a saltwater crocodile as a spirit animal. The Devourer.
"Finally you notice you're on the bad guys side!" Rollan said
"What are you thinking, Abeke?" General Gar asked. "Speak freely." "It's just that..." Abeke hesitated. "I've seldom heard of a big crocodile like this as a spirit animal." "Only once, am I right?" General Gar said with a knowing grin. He waved a dismissive hand. "It gets mentioned all the time. The Devourer, from the children's stories, was said to have been paired with a saltwater crocodile. But he died long ago. I know it is rare across the rest of Erdas, but in Stetriol, summoning a saltwater crocodile is no cause for astonishment. It occurs from time to time." Abeke looked to Shane, and then to Zerif. They seemed at ease. "I see." "It's true, Abeke," Shane said. "The histories don't mention Stetriol, but it's a real place. I was born there." "He's right," Zerif assured her. "The Greencloaks wrote the histories, and they deliberately ignored Stetriol.
"We had a good reason to" Olvan said
No surprise there. They committed horrible crimes against the people of our continent." Abeke measured up Zerif. "You told me you work with Greencloaks." "I do, on occasion. Some of them are very good people. Others seek to dominate the world.
"I think it's the other way around." Rollan said "I think you seek to dominate the world"
The organization has been corrupt for a long time, and is getting worse. Listen, nobody knows more about the Devourer than the people of Stetriol — we were the first continent he conquered, all those years ago. We were grateful when the Greencloaks freed us from his evil rule, until they turned on us. Women, children — the Greencloaks tried to wipe out all life on Stetriol, as if the common people were responsible for what the Devourer had done. We had suffered under the tyranny of the Devourer, and then we suffered worse after the Greencloaks defeated him. Only by hiding did any of us survive." Zerif's dark eyes held Abeke captive. "The Greencloaks were ashamed of their actions and tried to hide the fact that Stetriol ever existed.
"Liar" Rollan said/sang
For the most part, they succeeded. They removed it from the histories and from the maps. But not all the people in Stetriol perished. The survivors had descendants. General Gar is their king." Abeke shot a curious glance at Shane. This information was new to her, but she supposed it was all plausible. "You are understandably puzzled," General Gar said. "Perhaps you imagine yourself among enemies, for that is how the Greencloaks characterize everyone but themselves. Nothing could be further from the truth." Chinwe was the only Greencloak Abeke had actually known. She had always seemed kind of mysterious, but had genuinely cared about the village. In the stories, the Greencloaks were always the good guys, but if the Greencloaks had written the stories…
"Ok" Conor said "Now he's just messing with your brain"
Shifting on his throne, General Gar raised his eyebrows. "The war happened long ago. We do not hate the Greencloaks. The butchers who slaughtered our ancestors are long gone. But you must forgive us if we are slow to trust them. They tried to exterminate us once, and we fear they may do the same again. This is why we have endured centuries without the Nectar, our people suffering the illness and death that accompanies natural bonding." Abeke looked to Shane again. "How awful! Your bonding..." "Occurred without any Nectar," Shane said.
"It's called the Bile" Rollan said
"I was one of the lucky ones. Other friends and family weren't." Abeke realized with surprise that Shane's eyes were wet. She had never seen him look so vulnerable. "We mean the Greencloaks no harm," General Gar said. "We mean no harm to the other nations of Erdas. We just want the chance to protect our people from the side effects of natural bonding. Our problem is that the Greencloaks control all the Nectar, and use that control to wield power over the people of Erdas. The Greencloaks should make the Nectar available to everyone." "They share it," Abeke said, thinking of Chinwe. "The good ones do," General Gar agreed. "But they only share it on their terms. In return, they want influence, control. And those are the best of them. Some keep it for themselves. Or, worse, they share false Nectar.
"Like what you are doing" Rollan said
It is already a terrible problem in Zhong and Amaya, and the problem is spreading." "That doesn't seem very fair," Abeke admitted. "Exactly," Shane said. "But we can't risk asking them directly. If they know people survive in Stetriol, they might come destroy us." "We have a plan to help them listen to reason," Zerif said. "Did you know that each of the Great Beasts possesses a talisman?" "I think so," Abeke said, unsure. "My mother mentioned them in the stories she told." "All of the talismans contain powers that can be used by the Marked," Zerif explained. "The Greencloaks are currently seeking the talismans of the Great Beasts.
"We were seeking it because you are seeking it" Conor said "Because you want to dominate the world!"
They wish to control all of the talismans just as they control the world's supply of Nectar."
"You never knew how much power the talismans contained" Conor said
"We intend to claim the talismans first," General Gar said. "That way the Greencloaks will have to listen to us. And the talismans will give us some protection in case the Greencloaks try to wipe out Stetriol again. We cannot lose more loved ones to the consequences of natural bonding. With our modest numbers, we are risking everything to obtain a few of these talismans. Abeke, we hope that you and Uraza will help us." Abeke felt confused. "Me? How can I help? I know nothing about any talismans. Unless... Do you think Uraza has one?" "Uraza lost her talisman when she was killed, as did the other Four Fallen," Zerif said.
"I thought we had them," Rollan said. "We did" Olvan said "Until Shane took them"
"No one knows where they ended up. We have people investigating those. Shane's sister, Drina, leads that team." "We don't require information from you," General Gar clarified, and gestured to the crone on the stool. "We have Yumaris. Her spirit animal is an earthworm. Yumaris has lost touch with daily life, but she sees with a penetrating eye. She is how Zerif found you. She recently located one of the talismans, in Amaya. I want you to join Zerif and Shane to help us retrieve it."
"Ok, question" Conor said " Why did they decide to come after the same talismans as us?" "No idea, Conor" Lenori said
"You and Uraza can help repair the world," Zerif said,
"By repair," Rollan said "Do you mean dominate? If that's what you mean, Essix and I are in"
his face intent. "Join us in protecting our homeland and helping to make the Nectar available to all who need it." Abeke frowned. Something didn't feel right.
"Now would have been a good time to listen to your gut." Conor said
She trusted Shane, but it was all so much to absorb. "What about the men who were making monsters?" General Gar nodded. "Shane informed me about your unfortunate encounter. Those were not our men, but I am aware of them.
"NOT YOUR MEN!" Conor yelled. Lenori gave him the look she gave him earlier. "I mean," Conor said in a lower voice. "Not your men! Aarrgghh! Liar!"
They constantly experiment in the attempt to find a replacement for the Nectar. I applaud their desire to make Nectar freely available, but I have no love for their methods." "It was a terrible accident," Zerif said. "We have already sent an envoy to inform them of the danger they caused and to insist they take their unnatural tests elsewhere." Abeke nodded. She had hoped General Gar's people hadn't been behind those monsters, but needed to be sure.
"Good, Good" Rollan said "Suspect them"
Their cause sounded just. Everyone deserved to protect their home. Chinwe had called the Greencloaks the protectors of Erdas, but she had always been extremely secretive about the Nectar. And Chinwe was probably one of the good ones. General Gar, Zerif, and Shane all seemed to respect Abeke, and even more, they seemed to need her. They had gone to great lengths to find her and to train her. Perhaps her great stealth would help them get some of the talismans. Shane took her hand. "It's a lot to take in," he said. "We're involving you in our problems. If you need some time to think this over, just let us know." Abeke shook her head. Here she stood, with a king asking for her help, along with the man her father had trusted to watch over her, and her first close friend in all the world. There would be time to learn more details later. For now, she would do whatever she could. Abeke squeezed Shane's hand.
"You held his hand?" Conor said. He raised one eyebrow "Really?" "Umm, yeah you weren't supposed to know that, especially you." Abeke said embarrassed
"You can count on me," she said. "I'll help you find the talisman."
"Ok" Conor said "I'll pretend I didn't just read that. Anyways, who's next?" "Pick someone." Meilin said. "Here" Conor said, handing the book to Abeke. "Alright" she said
Chapter Twelve. Boulder City…