All For One [Nuworld 3] (48 page)

begin to heal. If you don’t release that evil and turn your heart back over to Crator, I’m

afraid it may be the end to us. Crator has given us the most powerful nations in

Nuworld. But I fear Crator might take it all away from us if we don’t truly search our

hearts and make sure we are doing His will and not our own.”

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“How did you figure all this out?” She looked unbelievingly at her son. Then, to her

surprise, the wise old look that had been on his face changed instantly when he grinned

and he looked like a mischievous teenager.

“A good ruler always knows what’s going on in his kingdom,” he quoted his father.

She slapped him playfully and he ducked and giggled.

“All these winters I thought the dog-woman quit coming to me because I’d served

my purpose and now it was your turn to receive guidance. But she quit coming to me

because I closed my heart to her.”

“I always thought you sent her to me,” Andru said quietly. “Can you open your

heart back up, Mama?”

Tara pulled her son into her arms and hugged him in a way she hadn’t for over

several winters now. He let her hold him and cuddled gently against her breast. They

stayed that way for several minutes with the landlinks buzzing quietly around them.

Tara prayed with every inch of her soul for the ability to lose the hatred she felt for Beel.

Although she’d been told he was dead, something inside never allowed her to

believe that. She prayed if they were reunited that she would be able to show

compassion to the young boy who sincerely appeared to crave just that. She told Crator

with her thoughts that the Runners and Gothman were in His hands and that she

would follow His instruction in leading them.

She begged for forgiveness in killing her sister and giving Beel to the Lunians. Had

she ever asked Crator to forgive her for those two incidents before? No, she’d always

thought she’d acted on His instruction. She saw now she acted on her own instruction

and it was way back then that she’d closed her heart to Crator.

So that was what The Waiting was all about. Crator was waiting for her to ask for

forgiveness. How close-minded she’d been. She decided to leave the reports for the

morning and took off to her bedroom where she collapsed into a dreamless sleep and

woke up well rested the next day.

“What’s going on?” Tara entered the kitchen to see Andru and Syra deep in

discussion.

“Ana’s gone.” Andru leaned against the island in the middle of the large kitchen.

Syra leaned on the opposite side of the island and nibbled on some cold fried ham,

which she stopped eating in mid-chew to note Tara’s response.

“What do you mean…gone?” Tara stopped in her tracks in the doorway and looked

from her son to her niece.

“She wasn’t home last night when you went to bed. I didn’t tell you because I knew

you’d stay up until she got home. Besides, I knew she would be, um, detained.” He

looked into his mama’s eyes and she immediately knew he’d carried out her instruction

to send someone to her. “When half the night was over I started looking for her. I

contacted the last person I knew she was with and he helped me search for her—” he

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sighed, “—but we couldn’t find her. I did, however, find the bug that was in one of the

rocks in her braids. Mama, I fear she might have fallen into foul play.”

“Who was she last with?” Tara began pacing slowly across the well-swept wooden

floor.

“Gilroy…to the best of my knowledge. He told me it was almost dark when he left

her and they were just outside Bryton at the time. We flew out to the spot where they’d

been…Fools Creek, just east of here. We found her glider with the bug sitting on the

seat. I spent the entire night flying over every inch of this damn nation, I swear to you—

I never found her.” There was pain in Andru’s eyes and both women noticed he white-

knuckled the countertop.

“Where do you think she is?” Tara asked.

“I believe she’s in the Tree People Nation.” His voice was cold with the patented

Lord Darius stone glare.

Tara reached for her comm and wrapped it around her ear.

“There’s more,” Syra moved around to the opposite side of the island from Tara on

the pretense of pouring more coffee. When Tara shot her a look of what now? Syra

instinctively made note of how quickly she could get out the back door.

“What is it?” Tara sounded exasperated.

Syra looked at Andru but he gave no indication that he would speak for her. She

sighed and sent up a quick prayer that Tara wouldn’t get too violent over what she was

about to say.

“Roth and Beel have been living in Taratown. I flew down there last night to see if

they would help get Torgo back and…they’re gone.” She spoke quickly and then she

and Andru both braced themselves for Tara’s reaction.

“They’re not dead.”

“No.”

“I see.”

Silence.

“Why didn’t you two wake me up last night?” Tara’s voice was strangely calm.

“One of us needed to be thinking clearly this morning,” Andru said simply.

“Mama, I want to organize a small group of people to go over there and find them.”

“And I say he should stay here,” Syra quickly cut in and Andru glared at her.

“I would take Syra with me. She knows the country.” Andru focused his attention

on his mama and ignored Syra. “I want to go over there undercover, so to speak. I think

we’d get more accomplished. Syra’s told me there is a force field that travels on their

side of the mountain range. It won’t detain you but no one travels over it without being

detected. We would have to go around the mountains. It would be half a day’s journey

and I want to get started right away.”

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“So you’ve organized this group of people you want to take with you?” Tara asked

and glanced from Syra to Andru.

“Yes.” Her son stood tall.

Tara rubbed her forehead and then poured herself some coffee. She looked at the

two of them and then everyone turned as Fulga walked in the back door.

“The food bags are attached to the gliders.” She wiped her large hands on her

apron. She addressed Andru but then when she looked at Tara she quickly lowered her

head and darted out of the kitchen mumbling something about getting to her dusting.

“Andru, you’ll stay here,” Tara said after sipping her coffee.

“Mama.”

Tara held up her hand. “Like it or not, you can’t leave. Darius is injured and Torgo

is gone and that leaves you. You’re Lord of Gothman for now and you can’t leave.”

She took a long sip of her coffee but her eyes didn’t leave her son’s face. Andru

settled on her eyes for a long minute before glancing at Syra and then down at his

hands. When he looked back up at Syra, the stoniness of his face had intensified. “I

want my sister returned home immediately…unharmed.” His growl was deeper than

either woman had ever heard from him before.

“I’ll bring them both back unharmed.” Syra grabbed her leather jacket off the stool

next to her and headed for the door.

Tara went out back with Syra and Andru to assess the small group that had been

formed. Ten Gothman and Runners, all young people, stood idly around their gliders

but jumped to attention when the trio approached them. They were all dressed like

River People and some of them even had the braids in their hair. The gliders had been

stripped of all insignia and made to look dirty. Tara realized this plan had been devised

during the night and they’d spent a fair amount of time preparing for it.

“Have any of these people gotten any sleep?” She looked at the group,

predominantly Andru and Ana’s friends. She noticed Gilroy and wondered when he’d

begun to look like such a man. She didn’t notice any scratches or bruises on him and

hoped he hadn’t hurt her daughter. He noticed her looking at him and shifted his gaze

to Andru.

“Some of them,” Syra shrugged. “We’ll be okay. I’m familiar with the ground we

need to cover. I’ll keep my transmission open until we reach the perimeters of the Tree

People’s surveillance. It begins several miles up the other side of the mountains.” She

squinted at the morning sun. “We should be there by midafternoon.”

Tara nodded and clasped her hands behind her back. “May Crator go with you.”

Their flight was uneventful and Syra sensed the excitement and anticipation in all

those around her. She had three Gothman teenage boys, four Runner teenage boys, and

two Runner teenage girls. As long as they didn’t start sparring with each other, she felt

safe her plan would work.

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“We’re at the edge of the Rangbak tribe.” Syra offered the information to the small

group when they’d landed among the incredibly large trees. “Gilroy, you’re the largest,

I want you to act as leader if we approach any tribal members. These are very primitive

people but they enjoy trading with the River People. You’ll want to ask them if any

members of the Barringswood tribe are here. River People know they can get the most

for their goods when they trade with that tribe.”

She quit talking when the sounds of gliders overhead caused them all to take cover

and search the sky. Without warning laser beams flew through the air and several

screams followed. Syra realized quickly that they were being attacked and dived into

the thicker brush of the woods surrounding them.

She watched as several gliders landed and dark, red-haired guards from the

Barringswood tribe began walking through the area trying to determine if they’d killed

all of Syra’s group or not. She slid into a hollow tree trunk and held her breath with her

own laser poised. Several minutes of silence passed before she heard more gliders land.

This time she dared to peek out of her hiding place to see who was in charge of the

attack.

“Roth, oh Crator, no!” Ana’s voice filled the air and Syra watched her run from her

glider to one of the Runner girls who lay dead on the ground. “These were my people.”

She began looking around frantically as Roth walked up behind her. His expression