World Warden, page 56
“In its natural state, this Flower is as hot as molten rock,” Elias explained. “Maybe She Who Hungers had nearly extinguished its energy, but I think it’s coming back. You guys better hurry.”
“Right,” Tristan replied. “Oscar, come over here. Climb onto my shoulders.”
“Okay,” Oscar said.
It was tricky but manageable. Tristan crouched so Oscar would be able to place his feet on either side of Tristan’s head, but keeping balance while simultaneously holding the increasingly hot Flower was hard, and they had to try several times. Oscar nearly fell on the fourth attempt, but Tristan grabbed his ankles and stabilized them.
“Ready?” Tristan asked.
“Yes.”
Tristan stood up fully underneath the place where three long vines drooped, almost as if questing for the thing that was missing from the world. Even with the added height, however, there was still nearly a meter of distance between Oscar’s outstretched arms and the vines.
The Flower was getting so hot it was painful to hold.
“I’m going to jump,” Oscar announced. “Tristan, this might hurt.”
“Do it,” Tristan said. “I’ll catch you.”
Oscar craned his neck up, gauged the distance, and then jumped as high as he could.
At the same time as he sailed through the air, the vines extended. They did not move much, but it was enough. Oscar smashed the Flower against them, and he felt the slight pull when they made contact. In that instant he perceived a faint inkling of something vast and peaceful, like an enormous networked consciousness spanning the entire world.
Then he fell. Tristan caught him, and they once again tumbled to the ground in a heap. Oscar banged his hip against the ground, and Tristan’s shoulder hit an old bone that snapped.
“Ouch,” Tristan complained.
Oscar grunted as well. He suspected he was going to get a big bruise, but he was okay. “Thanks, Tristan.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Oscar rolled onto his back and shone the beam of his flashlight at the ceiling.
“Tristan?” he said.
“Yeah?”
“Get out of the way!”
The two of them scrambled to their feet and were barely in time to avoid a single drop of bright red liquid that hissed and smoked when it hit the ground.
“That was close,” Tristan commented.
“Oh wow,” Oscar said. “Look.”
The Flower was transforming. Its petals no longer hung limp but instead opened fully in an intricately beautiful array. Each of them blazed with inner light that grew brighter by the second. Their edges and sides resembled liquid bronze.
“They look like her,” he whispered. “At the end.”
A warm hand touched his shoulder. Elias was standing next to him, smiling.
“Thank you, Oscar. Tristan.” He closed his eyes for a moment and breathed in as though inhaling pure bliss. “The world is whole again.”
They watched the Flower for nearly a minute and witnessed how its inner light spread through the vines themselves, slowly and steadily. Each plant conduit began to glow softly in the same crimson hue, and the radiant splendor of them all soon covered the entire ceiling of the eyrie. The cavern was fully lit from above, and the effect was wondrous in the darkness of night.
“This is how it should have looked,” Elias told them. “It’s the true majesty of the Flower of the Sky.”
Samantha joined them where they stood. Oscar glanced at her, and she nodded. It looked like she had been crying, but she managed a tenuous smile.
“I never saw it like this,” she observed. “I do not think any of my ancestors every did.”
“There was darkness in here for centuries. An age,” Elias said. “But it’s been banished at last.”
“Good,” Samantha replied. Then she turned around. “I will show you the way down. Follow me.”
She led them to the opening to the tunnel that would take them down to the volcano. She jumped down, but a problem became apparent.
“Um, tiny logistics issue,” Oscar pointed out. “The wurl won’t fit through there.”
“They can descend the way they came,” Samantha said. “Even the injured one should manage.”
“Right,” Oscar agreed. “Eli? Let’s go down.”
Elias looked at the wurl. “Guys, we’ll be going down this way, is that okay? We’ll meet down below.”
Vanor huffed and touched the white egg with his snout. Then he positioned himself between Elias and the tunnel, blocking the way.
“He’s having none of that,” Tristan said. “I don’t think these guys are going to let that egg out of their sight.”
Elias sighed. “Fine. I’ll go down with you three. Narev, you’ll carry me, but be careful, okay? Oscar, Tristan, you go down with Samantha.”
“Sure,” Oscar said, although he felt uneasy about leaving his brother. “You’ll be there, right?”
Elias grinned. “Of course I will.”
They said goodbye, and Oscar and Tristan followed Samantha down the tunnel.
They spoke little at first. It was difficult going in the dark despite the light of two links, and Oscar was very tired. He could tell Samantha and Tristan weren’t any better off, but they didn’t complain.
Eventually, however, the silence was too much for Oscar.
“Hey, Tristan?” he asked.
“Yeah?”
“Thanks again,” Oscar told him, skirting an unsteady-looking boulder in his path. “You came all this way for me although this wasn’t your fight.”
“Yes, it was,” Tristan said right away. “I protect people. It’s my job as an officer of the Colony Patrol.”
“We’re kind of far away from the colony, though.”
Tristan glanced in Oscar’s direction briefly. He smiled. “And I also did it for Elias.”
Oscar grinned. “You love him, right?”
“With all my heart.”
Oscar hugged him. Tristan appeared surprised, but he stopped walking momentarily and returned the hug.
“That makes me really happy,” Oscar said. “You guys are such a great couple.”
The arduous descent soon demanded their full attention again. It was almost two hours later that they finally reached the gentler section of the path near the narrow tunnel that would lead them out of the volcano. Oscar’s legs were trembling by then, and his throat was parched.
“We should’ve brought water,” he complained.
“Almost there,” Samantha answered. There was an edge to her voice. “We are almost out of here.”
“They’re all right,” Oscar reassured her. “I know they are.”
“I hope so,” she said.
When they finally came out into the open, it was an enormous relief.
“Took you long enough!” Elias called out. He was sitting on Narev, safe and sound, Sizzra’s egg in his arms. Siv and Vanor stood on either side of him like bodyguards.
“Eli!” Oscar yelled. He half ran, half stumbled over to him.
“You guys okay?” Elias asked.
Oscar nodded several times. “We are. And you?”
“Well, Vanor here had some issues going down because of his leg and wouldn’t ask for help, but other than that we’re fine.”
Vanor grunted. Oscar got the distinct impression that if the wurl could have rolled his eyes, he would have.
“This way,” Samantha said, walking past without stopping.
Oscar patted Elias’s leg briefly. “Eli, I’ll go ahead with Samantha. Is that okay?”
“Sure. We’ll be right behind you.”
“Thanks.”
Oscar hurried until he caught up with her. She was walking fast, her hands bunched into fists.
It was very dark when they came to the house. The moons had all set, and daybreak was still hours away.
It was also silent. Deathly so.
“Mama?” Samantha called as they approached the main door. “Oma? Laurie?”
There was fraught silence for a couple of seconds. Oscar feared the worst.
Then the door burst open.
“Sam!” Nadja exclaimed. “Oh goodness, Sam!”
Ute and Laurie were immediately behind her.
They rushed into each other’s arms, hugging and crying. Samantha kissed her mother’s cheeks, held Laurie’s hand, and stroked Nadja’s hair. Oscar stood a few steps away, smiling. He was very happy to see they were all okay.
“I thought I would never see you again,” Nadja sniffled. “I thought Dresde would….”
“I am here,” Samantha reassured her. “I am safe. We all are.”
“And her?” Laurie asked. “Is she—”
“Dead,” Samantha interrupted. “Dresde is dead and gone forever.”
Laurie teared up. “At long, long last.”
Ute beamed. “I am so proud of you, Sam.”
“Mama!”
“Your father would have been proud as well,” Ute continued. Her voice was hoarse but firm.
Samantha looked down with evident sorrow. “Did he suffer?”
Ute shook her head. “He fought until the end. He still held a knife in his hand when I found him.”
“Papa,” Samantha sobbed.
Nadja walked over to Oscar and took his right hand in both of hers. “You have brought my granddaughter safely to us once again, Oscar. You have my undying thanks.”
“Uh, actually Samantha sort of brought me back safely. She did most of the saving. And my brother and Tristan.”
“Your brother is here?” Nadja asked.
“Yes. Look!”
The women backed away in evident horror when they saw Elias and Tristan approach, and Oscar had to admit that their wurl companions looked terrifying. Their eye clusters gleamed red, and their loud breathing betrayed their size and heft.
“It’s okay!” Oscar said. “They’re friendly.”
“What are they?” Laurie asked.
“Wurl,” Samantha answered. “From across the ocean.”
“I see a rider,” Nadja said. She then stepped forward unhesitatingly. “Greetings.”
Elias dismounted and approached, together with Tristan. “Greetings,” he replied in a formal tone. “I am Elias Trost.”
“I am Tristan MacLeod.”
“My name is Nadja. Welcome.”
“It’s very nice to meet you,” Elias said. “Thank you for keeping my brother safe.”
Nadja nodded solemnly. “You are welcome. We are thankful to him too. For many things.”
After all the introductions were made, Elias spoke up. He addressed Nadja as the head of the household. “We would like to offer you to come back with us, to Portree.”
“Is there a home for us there?” Nadja asked. “Oscar spoke of it, but we know little about your colony. Will we be treated with dignity and equality?”
“Yes,” Elias replied.
“But you are not part of the governing body, the council, as Oscar has told us,” Nadja argued. “How can you assure us that we will not be treated unfairly, relegated to the outskirts of your city, or exiled outright? My ancestors fled persecution. It is why they came here.”
“Um…,” Elias stammered.
“I can vouch for that,” Tristan added. “I am a member of the Colony Patrol. I know my commander will see things the way we do.”
“Plus everyone will vote or something, right?” Oscar asked. “You can be made citizens, and then you’ll be free to choose whatever profession you want, do whatever you wish to do.”
“Free,” Nadja whispered. Then she looked at her family. “What shall we do?”
“We go,” Laurie said immediately.
Ute nodded. “We go.”
“Sam?” Nadja asked.
Samantha looked determined. “This was our home,” she said, “but not anymore. There is too much death, too much sorrow here. I would like to go with Oscar.”
Nadja walked up to the house and placed her hand on the weathered wall. “When I was a child here, I spent many a night awake, dreaming the impossible dream of freedom. I would often imagine a life away from the scourge of Dresde’s shadow.” She sighed. “My parents would be happy to know my dream came true, all these years later. I still find it hard to believe.”
“The nightmare is over,” Samantha assured her. “She can never hurt us again.”
Nadja looked at Tristan and Elias. “We will go with you, Elias Trost and Tristan MacLeod. But we will hold you to your word and your promise of equality.”
“If it weren’t for you, Oscar wouldn’t be here,” Elias replied. “On my gratitude to you, I swear you’ll find a new life in Portree. A better life.”
Nadja smiled. “I can hardly wait.”
Oscar’s stomach chose that moment to growl loudly. “Sorry,” he said. Everyone was looking at him. “Can we have something to eat?”
With formalities over, they all went into the house and shared a simple but large meal at the dining table while the wurl waited outside. It was surreal to Oscar to see his brother and Tristan sitting with him. It was almost like a dream that wouldn’t end.
Afterward Nadja offered her new guests one of the empty bedrooms to rest, but Elias declined.
“We have spent many months sleeping in the open with the wurl,” he explained. “We are used to it. And besides, they want to be close to the egg.”
He stepped outside with Tristan after thanking his hosts for the meal.
“Before we rest as well,” Nadja said, “there is one more thing to do.”
“I will dig the grave,” Samantha announced.
“As will I,” Ute joined in.
“I will help if I can,” Laurie added.
They made as if to go out, but Oscar hung back, unsure what to do.
Samantha looked at him. “Are you not coming?”
“I, um, yeah. I just didn’t know if I… if this was a family thing.”
“You should come,” Nadja said gently. “We would be glad to have you there.”
Oscar nodded and followed them.
They had the funeral as the sun was coming up, as if it wanted to remind them that warmth existed. Oscar seemed to float in a state of consciousness that went beyond exhaustion and into true connection with the people around him. He couldn’t help crying at the eulogies that each of them gave. He had barely known Johann, but seeing his gravestone next to Jörgen’s and Erik’s really drove home everything Samantha and her family had endured for decades. They bore wounds that would take a very long time to heal, if they ever did. There was irreplaceable loss and fathomless grief.
Ute was the last person to say goodbye. She knelt on the ground and whispered something inaudible, tears running down her cheeks. Then she glanced at the two other graves and placed her hands over her heart.
Samantha helped her up, and they all left the graveyard behind for the last time. Morning was returning to the world, and Oscar felt lighter with every step he took. He looked up once at the sky and scanned for a threatening winged shape out of habit but then realized there was no need to do so anymore.
“She is gone,” Samantha said, coming up beside him. She reached for his hand, and he took hers. “Forever.”
“Are you all right?” he asked.
She appeared to consider. “I will be. In time.”
Chapter 33. Back
THEY LEFT the next afternoon. Elias would have liked to have stayed longer and explored the fascinating wilderness of the new continent, but he also wanted to take Oscar home. They lingered only long enough to stock up on supplies and prepare for the journey.
Nadja was a gracious hostess. She gave both Tristan and Elias clean new clothing that was in surprisingly good shape for garments that had once been worn on the generation ship itself. Oscar took them up to the attic of the house the next afternoon so they could change into them.
Elias put on a matching set of tough-looking shirt and pants that had once belonged to an engineer on the ship. They were a bit small, particularly the former, but to Elias it was an inexpressible luxury to be wearing clean clothes after so many months roughing it. The bath he had taken earlier in the river had been heavenly, and the crisp fabric felt soft against his skin.
“This is so cool!” Tristan said, donning a pilot’s jacket that had the name Lt. Hugo Wright sewn above the left breast pocket. He lifted his arms to admire it.
“It looks great on you,” Elias observed. He touched Tristan’s smooth cheek with his fingers. “You look hot. Though less gruff now that you’ve shaved.”
Tristan grinned. “That tight black shirt fits you like a glove, but I prefer you without one. You’ve got great abs.”
“Ew, guys, get a room!” Oscar complained. He was sitting on the bed, fiddling with his link. The device beeped.
Elias laughed. “Any luck sending the message?”
Oscar nodded. “I think I finally managed. I had to work around the damage to the telecommunications array in the shuttle wreck and wait for the satellite to come around this hemisphere, but I’ve now received the acknowledgment. Message sent to Mom, Dad, Tristan’s dad, and the council.”
“Too bad the shuttle’s busted,” Tristan lamented. “I would have loved to return on it. Can you imagine the faces of everyone back home if we’d flown back?”
“I’m glad we’re able to tell them not to fear an attack from Dresde anymore,” Elias replied. “They must’ve been terrified after Oscar’s last message.”
“Are you sure we can’t salvage any of the electronics in the shuttle, Oscar?” Tristan asked. “I’m betting some of that technology would be really useful back at the colony.”
Oscar shook his said. “Most of the stuff is burned or broken. Dresde left it in bad shape. Besides, Samantha and her family aren’t taking anything with them, other than the bare essentials and some stuff for the baby when it’s born. They want to leave everything here the way it is and let nature destroy it in time.”
Elias sat down next to his little brother, although Oscar looked far from little. He was now tanned and fit, and his eyes had a survivor’s edge to them. “How are they doing?”
“Okay, all things considered,” Oscar told him. “But they don’t want anything that reminds them of this place. Can’t blame them, really.”
