The Shaktra (6 page)

Her mom would have been the first person to tell her to go ahead.

Yet this headache was particularly severe when she got home, and she ended up swallowing a few grams of the stardust, along with two Tylenol. After a brief nap, she felt somewhat better.

She was sitting on the edge of her bed when Cindy called to say that the bus for Toule was at one o’clock, and that she had better hurry over to the station. Ali told her she would be there.

In the middle of getting dressed, Ali called and tried to talk to Ted Wilson about the old man at the barbershop, but his wife said he was out of town. Seemed he was looking for a new job.

It was only as she was leaving the house that she realized she should speak to the head of Omega Overtures alone, without Steve and Cindy present. The e-mails Steve had found bothered her. Clearly the woman behind the company had secrets she was keeping.

But could she be the Shaktra? It seemed highly unlikely. That creature
had
to be in the elemental kingdom, where it was causing endless grief.

On the other hand, was she so sure of her facts?

Lord Vak might have asked her that question . . .

“Geea, what is wrong with you? The Shaktra came from the human kingdom!”

Ali ran back in the house and grabbed her entire supply of stardust—just in case.

To Steve, Ali was not so much a queen as a princess—although, unfortunately, he never felt he deserved to play the part of the prince. Not that he saw himself in the role of the frog, either, it was just that his feelings for her were not something that he could talk about. Especially to her.

It didn’t matter. He knew
she
knew how he felt, and that was enough. He loved her and she loved him. Their love simply sprang from different regions of the heart.

Sitting in the middle section of the bus, beside Cindy, on the road to Toule, Steve watched as Ali appeared to nap on the backseat, her long strands of red hair touching the floor. Her eyes were closed but he did not think she was
truly
asleep. He did wonder if she was in pain, though. He had never seen her lie down in the middle of the day before.

Cindy said she had caught Ali taking a number of naps in the last month. And here Ali said she could dash all the way up the mountain without stopping. To Steve, since they had returned from their big adventure on Pete’s Peak, Ali appeared far more powerful and far more delicate. It was almost as if her fairy powers were burning her up.

“She’ll be all right,” Cindy said, noticing his gaze.

“Do you think?” Steve replied quietly, not wanting Ali to overhear them.

Cindy set aside her magazine, glanced at Ali. “She just gets headaches is all.”

“She told you that?” Ali had never said anything about it to him.

“No. But I’ve seen her buying Tylenol. I don’t think it’s a big deal.”

“I hope you’re right. She doesn’t look in any shape to run up a mountain.”

“I think she’s anxious to go while her father’s gone.”

“How long is he gone for?”

“A week.”

Steve considered. “There might be another reason. Did you know it’s a full moon tonight?”

“Do you think she needs a full moon to use the Yanti?”

“Who knows? She never talks about it. The whole subject is a mystery to me. That’s why I was trying to get her to talk about it at the house. Did you notice how she changed the subject?”

“Sure. But I don’t think she was trying to be rude.”

“She went from the Yanti to those colored doors.”

Cindy frowned. “That was weird. She said we went there twice. That we
died
the first time. Do you believe that?”

“Of course not. Then again, maybe I should. Ali changed when we were in that cave. She changed big time.”

“I remember. It was like she was glowing.”

“She still glows,” Steve said.

Cindy nodded. “I think she has the power all the time now. Not just when it’s an emergency.”

“But you’re not sure?”

“No.”

Steve nodded. “That’s what gets me—there’s so much she doesn’t want to talk about. I don’t understand why. Doesn’t she trust us?”

“She could be afraid we’ll fall into the hands of the bad guys and they’ll torture the truth out of us.”

“That brings up another point. Who are the bad guys? First it was the elementals because they were trying to invade our world. But then, after she sent them back to their realm, she dropped hints that it was not their fault.” Steve added, “She used that word once, the ‘Shaktra,’ but then she never explained what it was.”

“I don’t think she knows what it is,” Cindy said.

“Then how does she know about it?”

“She’s remembering parts of her life as a fairy. She’s told me that much.”

“But she doesn’t give you any details?”

“Not really,” Cindy said.

“Has she told you anything about the Yanti?” Steve asked.

“Hints. When she first found it on the mountaintop, she knew exactly what to do with it to send the elementals packing. Since then I think she’s been experimenting with it, but not getting very far. She did tell me that she had no idea where it came from. In fact, she gave me the impression that she didn’t even know where it came from when she was a fairy.”

“That’s odd,” Steve said.

Cindy studied Ali. “The poor girl, she really does have the weight of the world on her shoulders.”

“What do you think about her going into the elemental kingdom alone?”

“She won’t be alone. She’ll have Farble and Paddy with her.”

Steve waved his hand. “They could turn against her in a heartbeat.”

Cindy shook her head. “They love her, or at least they respect her. But I told you at the house how I felt. It’s one trip where I don’t think we can help her.”

“I don’t like it,” Steve muttered.

“You don’t like it because you feel guilty for not going. So do I. But she’s right, we would just slow her down.”

“I disagree. Say she’s able to open the fourth door. What if she’s killed the second she gets over there? We wouldn’t even know. She would just be . . . gone.”

“I don’t think Ali’s that easy to kill nowadays,” Cindy said.

“She has power but she’s still human. If she gets shot in the heart with an arrow, or stabbed in the back with a knife, she’ll die, just like you and me.”

“Don’t talk that way,” Cindy said.

Steve shook his head. “I’m not ready to let her go off on her own.”

“Do you think you can stop her?”

The question shut him up. He went back to staring out the window, while Cindy returned to her magazine. The scenery was lovely—with great views of Pete’s Peak, its snow-covered summit brilliant in the summer sun—but the trip was nevertheless long and tedious. It seemed to Steve as if the bus stopped every time it saw a bench. He could not wait until he was sixteen and had a driver’s license.

Ali finally sat up and waved for them to join her in the back. They were quick to oblige, and asked how she was feeling. Fine, she said, although her eyes looked tired.

“I heard you two talking about me,” Ali said.

“You were supposed to be sleeping,” Cindy said.

“Did you hear what we said?” Steve asked.

“You can doubt me, I don’t mind. Half of what I say must sound crazy.”

“Half?”
Cindy said.

Ali smiled. It was such a simple thing: teeth, lips, and a mouth working together. But to Steve Ali’s grin was more magical than the Yanti and the entire elemental kingdom put together. Ali did not simply smile—she
radiated
.

“I guess it’s pretty freaky to imagine another timeline,” Ali said.

“How did we die in that . . . time?” Steve asked, not sure if he wanted to know. Ali lost her smile and stared at him.

“Bravely,” she said.

Steve felt a chill. “Well, if we die in this timeline, go back there and save us again. Okay?”

“Sure.” Ali changed the subject. “When we get to Omega Overtures, I want to go in first—by myself.”

That
did not go over well.

“The only reason we’re taking this stupid bus ride is to help you out,” Cindy said.

“We’re not going to stand out in the parking lot,” Steve said.

Ali raised her hand. “I just want to check out the scene, then you can join me.”

“You’re worried the person who sent those e-mails is the Shaktra?” Cindy asked.

Ali looked surprised, wary. “I never spoke to you about that.”

“You spoke to Lord Vak about it, and I was there, remember?” Cindy said.

“We know you’re worried about it, whatever it is,” Steve said. Ali was evasive. “I doubt it’s at Omega Overtures. I’m just being cautious.”

“If the Shaktra is there, it’s odd it would use its name in an e-mail,” Steve said.

The observation struck Ali. “It is odd,” she agreed.

“What are you looking for at the company?” Cindy asked her.

“Anything unusual. I plan to go in as a big fan of Omega Overlord, try to weasel my way in to see someone in publicity. To do that, I need you guys to tell me everything you know about the game.”

“Do you have a fairy power that allows you to force your will on someone?” Steve asked.

“That doesn’t sound like a power I would want,” she replied, not answering his question. “And it’s not necessary. I just need to get my foot in the door, that’s all. I’m pretty sure I’ll sense if something is wrong there.”

For the next thirty minutes Ali drilled them about the game, and by the time they reached Toule, she probably could have played it and won. Steve was not sure if it was because of her recent change or not, but it seemed to him that Ali had developed a virtually perfect memory.

The bus let them off downtown. For a city that had been leveled by an explosion, they saw no overt signs of calamity. Of course, that had been thirteen years ago, almost fourteen. Why, Steve thought, they had been busy being born right then.

Yet there
were
signs, if one looked close. The buildings were mostly new. None had the flair of structures that had been hammered together at the turn of the last century. Also, the town had many trees, but none were that tall, or etched with the deep lines of a proud history. Toule was pretty, surrounded by thick forest, as was Breakwater, and it was considerably larger than their own hometown.

Yet the city lacked a center; more, it seemed to lack soul. There was a main street, no town square, and the former looked as if it had been erected hastily, maybe to put a quick bandage on the agony the city had gone through when the waves of fire had swept its streets.

However, on the north side of town, closest to the mountain
and sheltered by the trees, was a modern structure that could only have been the home of a successful business. Omega Overtures headquarters was an awesome mosaic of glass cubes. It was as if each section had been fused together without regard to gravity, falling trees, or, for that matter, cost. Steve doubted there was an office with a lousy view in the whole building.

Omega’s logo—fitted in ruby red on the side of the structure, in exotic contrast to the darkly tinted windows—was a bundle of three hypnotic wavy lines. He recognized the logo from the side of the game boxes.

Ali stared at the building for a long time without speaking. Cindy and Steve could only watch and wait. Finally Ali lowered her gaze, put a hand to her head.

“You okay?” Steve asked.

“I’m fine,” she said.

“Is Darth Vader in there or what?” Cindy asked.

“There’s something weird . . .” Ali frowned. “Not what I expected.”

“That’s helpful,” Steve muttered.

Ali glanced at him. This time her smile was forced. It did not shine, it just made him more uneasy. He could not help feeling a pinch at the thought of her high up on the mountain at night, with only a leprechaun and a troll for company. Worse, he could not imagine having the courage to walk through a door—whatever its color—without any idea where it led. That was part of the reason he admired her. She reminded him of all his shortcomings, and desires, with the same look. When she spoke next, it was almost as if she read his mind.

“You’re not my slave, you know,” she said. “You don’t have to do what I say.”

“We’re afraid not to,” he said.

Ali scanned the area, pointed. “If you want, you can hang out in that park until I return. I don’t think I’ll be long.”

“I want ice cream,” Cindy said.

“Get whatever you want.” Ali began to walk away. “Wish me luck.”

“Always,” Steve whispered, although he did not think she heard him.

Ali had felt as if she was being watched when she had studied the building. The odd thing was, two weeks earlier, she had felt the identical sensation, as if the same pair of eyes had stared at her both times. Back then, in the middle of the night, she’d had a disturbing dream. She was standing in an icy chamber, with five glass coffins set on top of a row of low black boulders. The clear box on her left drew her attention, for a beautiful woman with long red hair lay sleeping in it. But as she approached, the case began to fill with bubbling red liquid. It might have been steaming blood, or worse, acid. As the red goo spread over the woman, she began to dissolve, like a wax doll in a boiling pot. In seconds there was nothing left but the sick liquid, with bits of hair and bone. It began to spill onto the floor and splash her legs, and she let out a scream. . . .

And that’s when she had awakened, feeling a terrible sense of loss.

Then she had heard a sound outside.

Someone . . . a woman . . . whispering.

Putting on her robe over her pajamas, she had climbed out of
bed and went out on the front porch, where she had searched up and down the block.

Only there had been no one there. The whispering had stopped.

“Must have imagined it,” she muttered to herself.

Yet she had felt as if she was being watched.

Even when she had gone back inside, the feeling had persisted.

Now she felt the same sensation, but it was lessening, as if whoever was watching her was slowly turning their gaze in another direction. Halfway to Omega’s headquarters, Ali lost the sense of being watched altogether.