 
# Teruvisa

Two Kingdoms

By Gentry Winn

Copyright 2011-2012 Gentry Winn

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords 5th Edition, License Notes

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# Contents

Prologue: Vanished

Chapter 1: Nightmares and Visions

Chapter 2: Under the Lake

Chapter 3: The Coincidental Deaths

Chapter 4: The Council Room

Chapter 5: The Tour

Chapter 6: The Sublevel

Chapter 7: Ferran's Library

Chapter 8: The Rebellion Begins

Chapter 9: The Spies

Chapter 10: The Division

Chapter 11: Dreggan Wins

Chapter 12: Rise of the Enemy

Chapter 13: Neural Connections

Chapter 14: Diestro

Chapter 15: Amatay

Chapter 16: Bleeding Mountain

Chapter 17: Jared, the Hero

Chapter 18: The Uninvited Guest

Chapter 19: Ketauro

Chapter 20: The Decoder

Chapter 21: The Passwords

Chapter 22: Danielle's Sacrifice

Chapter 23: Crossing Over

Chapter 24: Light Versus Darkness

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#  Prologue

Vanished

The instant Hilcar exited the portal of swirling light, he crouched down by a nearby tree and looked around to see if his arrival had been noticed. The portal had vanished, and all he could see around him was jungle, blanketed by the usual misty darkness that covered Obalin.

The last place Hilcar wanted to be was Obalin, but he didn't have a choice. That was where he had tracked Amron, Meya, and Jared (he started tracking them the instant they left Teruvisa).

He took out his treyo—a silver, credit card-sized handheld device. He used it to quickly verify his position and then, returning the device to an inside pocket of his brown robe, looked in the direction he needed to go.

_Just up ahead. Better get going._ Hilcar took a deep breath and set off into the jungle and its thick darkness toward his family.

In less than a minute, Hilcar reached the clearing he was looking for. Through the dark mist, he could see movement. His heart raced, but he crept closer—the haze still helping to hide his advance.

When he reached a large tree that was about 10 feet from the clearing, he turned around and leaned back against it. _This is close enough for now._ He didn't want to risk being seen—the mist, though thick, wasn't thick enough to conceal his presence if he got any closer.

_I need to come up with a plan_. He took a deep breath to calm himself and listened.

There were sounds of some shuffling and a physical struggle. Jared, Hilcar's two-year-old grandson, began to cry.

Hilcar rotated slightly to the right and peeked out from behind the tree, concerned for Jared. _They better not hurt him_.

Dreggan, who was wearing a black, hooded robe with wide, gold trim, had taken the boy from Meya.

Meya reached out for her crying son but was held back by one of Dreggan's black-robed thugs. "Let him go!"

Amron was also being restrained by a large, robed man.

"Silence her." Dreggan gave the command as casually as someone would say the time of day.

The large, robed thug holding Meya turned her around and then swung a massive fist into the side of her face. She squeaked and let out a groan as she fell to the ground.

Amron called out to his wife as he struggled in vain to free himself, "Meya!"

Hilcar tensed up, clenching one hand into a fist and clawing at the tree with the other. After witnessing Meya getting struck and seeing her lying motionless on the ground, he wanted to storm into the clearing and fight off the captors, but he couldn't allow his emotions to cause him to act impulsively. Dreggan was too powerful. Hilcar needed a better plan than rushing into a fight and hoping they could escape.

_But what?_ Frustrated, Hilcar hit his forehead with his fist a couple of times. _Come on_... _think_. He wished he had more time.

Meya stirred slightly and moaned.

Hilcar relaxed a little. _Good. She's coming around. Tough girl_. His daughter-in-law was about as tough as they came. He smiled to himself, remembering how she had stood up to him once. _And stubborn._

Dreggan waved his hand in front of Jared's face, and the toddler instantly stopped crying. "Where are they?" He sounded calm but determined.

Amron fired back, "I'm not telling you anything!"

Nearby, to his left, Hilcar saw a dense group of tall plants with broad leaves and thick stalks, behind and to the side of Dreggan, and got an idea. _If I can make it over there, I just might be able to get Amron's attention without the others seeing me._

Hilcar crawled behind the low-lying foliage along the edge of the clearing toward his next hiding place.

"If I have to ask again, your precious little boy won't have a mommy." Dreggan snapped his fingers.

The man standing by Meya picked her up by the throat. Her feet dangled above the ground. Gasping for breath, she began to kick her legs wildly and clawed at the arm of the brutish attacker choking her.

Hilcar's blood boiled. He clenched his jaw as he restrained himself from rushing to her aid. _Almost there. Just keep going._

"Okay, I'll tell you!" Amron cried. "Just put her down!"

Dreggan's thug dropped Meya, and she went crashing to the ground. She coughed and gasped a few times but otherwise seemed to be okay.

Hilcar made it to the plants behind Dreggan undetected. _Now, how am I going to get his attention?_

Hilcar decided to try beoveh. Since Dreggan apparently hadn't noticed that his prisoners had been followed by Hilcar, the odds that he would be listening for a beoveh communication from Hilcar were pretty slim. However, it was still risky.

Hilcar did his best to concentrate on sending his message to only Amron and then reached out mentally to his son. _Son_... _I'm here_... _don't try to talk_.

Hilcar saw Amron's eyes dart around, looking for him.

Wanting to let Amron know his position without anyone else noticing, Hilcar looked around for something small to throw at him—something inconspicuous—but not too small that he wouldn't feel it or too big that it would hurt him. A drop of liquid was the first thing that he thought of, but he didn't see any dew on the leaves of the plants he was hiding behind or any other form of moisture nearby. So....

He stuck a finger in his mouth and pulled it out with a bit of saliva on it. _Right_... He flung the saliva at Amron's face, and then, using some of his powers, he pushed the spit with a focused, almost microscopic, stream of air that propelled the drop to its target. _Here_.

Amron wiped the moisture from his cheek and looked right in Hilcar's direction, but it was unlikely he could see Hilcar hidden behind the large plants in the mist at the edge of the clearing.

"Well? I'm waiting." Dreggan, who was still cradling Jared in his arms, sounded very impatient.

It was time to act. Hilcar risked one last beoveh communication with Amron. _Distract them, and I'll grab Jared._

Amron exhaled loudly. "Why do you want them, anyway? There's no way you can get into Teruvisa now."

Dreggan barked out a laugh. "Ha. Teruvisa? Obalin will become more powerful and glorious than Teruvisa _ever_ was."

Hilcar wondered what Dreggan meant by that statement but dismissed it. He didn't want to get distracted while waiting for Amron's distraction.

A thug escorted Meya, who had gotten back on her feet, to Amron's side.

Dreggan said through clenched teeth, "Now, tell me where they are."

Amron took a deep breath. "Right here." He reached into his robe and then threw something down.

Dreggan's attention turned to the ground. Amron had tossed an olamshi—a golf ball-sized, silver orb—at Dreggan's feet. Hilcar immediately threw an arm up to his eyes to protect them from the blinding flash of light he knew would come.

The olamshi made its high-pitched squeal.

Dreggan wailed, "AAAAAH!"

Hilcar sprang forward and jerked Jared from Dreggan's arms.

"KILL THEM!" Dreggan shouted.

Amron called out, "Dad, get Jared to the rendezvous point! We'll meet you there!"

Hilcar, holding Jared tight against his chest, launched himself up and out of the jungle. At the other end of his mile-wide arc, he let himself freefall into the Divide—a great canyon—until his robe, acting like a parachute, slowed him down.

When Hilcar landed gently on the thin strip of shoreline between the river and the canyon wall, without so much as a stumble, he took out his treyo and pointed it straight ahead. A disk of light appeared in the rock, and he stepped forward through it.

A breath later, Hilcar was standing on the steep slope of a forested mountainside. The earth beneath his feet loosened, and small rocks tumbled down the hill. He grabbed onto a nearby boulder, heaved Jared onto it, and then climbed up next to his grandson.

Hilcar sat up and exhaled loudly to calm his nerves. _Made it_. He looked around at the scenery and then at the silent, passive toddler, wearing the same style of blue pants and white collared shirt as he.

Hilcar remembered that Dreggan had waved his hand and made Jared stop crying. _I'll have to remove that soother Dreggan put on him as soon as we get to the rendezvous point._

"Well Jared, we better get going." Hilcar picked Jared up, pulling his cloak around the boy and holding him tightly, pictured the exact spot in the backyard of the house in Riverside, California (more than 50 miles away) where he intended to land, and then sprang into the sky and rocketed toward the rendezvous point.

In the blink of an eye, Hilcar and Jared reached the back porch of their new home. Hilcar opened the sliding glass door and went inside.

"Hello. Anyone here?"

No answer.

_That's odd. I wonder why they're not here yet._ Hilcar reflected on the escape from Obalin, trying to remember what Amron and Meya were doing right before he flew out of the jungle with Jared. He recalled that they were both free and were leaving the clearing in the opposite direction as he and Jared.

He shrugged. _They'll probably be here any second._

Hilcar glanced down at Jared and then walked over to the family room couch. "Well Jared, let's get you back to normal."

After placing him on the couch, Hilcar waved his hand in front of Jared's face and said the words to release him from the effects of Dreggan's soother. Surprisingly, Jared didn't start crying or even look around at his new surroundings as Hilcar had anticipated. He just fell over onto his side, closed his eyes, and went to sleep, apparently exhausted from the day's events.

Hilcar carried him upstairs and tucked him in bed.

As he shut the door on the way out of Jared's bedroom, worry started to set in. _Amron and Meya should be here by now_. He started to feel a little guilty for leaving them. _I shouldn't have abandoned them like that._

But, Amron had told him to get Jared out of Obalin and meet at the rendezvous point. There hadn't been time to argue or discuss a different plan, and Jared's safety had to take priority. _I thought they would be right behind me_. He clenched his jaw and balled up his fists.

A thought crept into his mind. _What if they didn't make it?_ Immediately, he reprimanded himself. _No, don't think that._ He didn't want to think about "what ifs" and went downstairs. _Manasto will be able to send some people to find out where they are_ , he assured himself.

Hilcar contacted Manasto using beoveh. _Manasto_.

Manasto answered almost immediately. But, before Hilcar could explain what had happened and ask for help, Manasto's voice filled his head, "We know. We were tracking them, too. Some men arrived at Obalin only moments after you left." He paused (which caused Hilcar to gulp and a sense of impending doom to fall upon him). "I'm sorry, but they found no trace of Amron or Meya."

_No_. Hilcar didn't want to believe it. _But if they were still alive, they would have been here by now._

His heart sank, and his legs lost their strength. He let himself collapse to his knees.

Hilcar wanted to cry out and beg Manasto to keep looking, but he found it hard to breathe, let alone speak. The world around him seemed to go dark, and it felt like time had stopped.

Manasto's next words sounded distant. "We're still monitoring all movements in and around Obalin as best we can, but so far, no gateways have been used to leave Obalin other than yours. So, Hilcar, for the time being, you must look after Jared."

Hilcar muttered, still in disbelief, "Of course."

"Good. I'll keep you informed."

The beoveh conversation ended, and Hilcar fell face down on the ground, groaning and sobbing uncontrollably.

When the tears stopped coming, he realized that he was curled up in a ball on his side, covered by his robe and its hood, but had no idea how long he had been like that. He was still shaking a little, so he tried taking deep breaths to steady himself.

After a few minutes, he reached deep inside—past the shock, disbelief, and grief that had overwhelmed him—and summoned the strength to get up. He took a step toward the stairs, intending to go up to his bedroom, but despair started to swell inside him again as he thought of Jared, who was asleep upstairs. _How am I going to tell him?_

Hilcar stumbled backward and then fell onto the couch as he let himself go limp. He sank into the cushions, and his head tipped back. He felt a great sense of loss and emptiness inside him as he stared at the ceiling.

Eventually, he succumbed to emotional exhaustion and fell asleep.

**********

Hilcar was awakened by a quiet voice and someone pushing on his shoulder. "Grandpa. Grandpa."

He turned his head and saw Jared kneeling next to him on the couch.

Jared rubbed his abdomen. "I'm hungry."

Hilcar put Jared on his lap and smiled at him. "Of course, you are. I'm sorry grandpa's being such a sleepy-head this morning." He gave Jared a big hug.

As Hilcar led Jared by the hand into the kitchen, Jared asked, "Where's mommy?"

Hilcar's heart melted again, but he tried to be strong for Jared's sake. He wasn't sure what to say, but he managed to explain the situation in simple terms. "She and your daddy have gone away, so you'll live with grandpa for a while. Does that sound okay?"

As innocent as could be, Jared answered, "Yeah."

A tear rolled down Hilcar's cheek, but he quickly wiped it away and stood up. He didn't want Jared to think something was wrong and start asking questions that Hilcar couldn't handle at the moment.

Hilcar didn't feel like eating anything, so, after he got Jared some breakfast, he went back into the family room and sat down on the couch.

He remembered Manasto's words, "...you must look after Jared," and began to think about what he would tell people (and eventually Jared—when he got older) about the deaths of Jared's parents and about how he would convince others he was Jared's legal guardian. _I'll have to come up with the appropriate documents: a will and death certificates._

His thoughts turned from death certificates to coming up with a story about how Jared became an orphan. _I guess I could go with something easy_... _like he lost his parents in a car accident in Los Angeles._

It seemed almost cruel to use something so ordinary as the cause of their deaths when, if they were killed, it would have been in a self-sacrificing act of heroism. But, not wanting to dwell on the cause of their deaths (especially if they were still alive), he moved his thoughts along. _So, when will I say they died?_ He quickly decided, _I'll make it recent_... _like a month ago_.

Hilcar began to wonder if, to the people on Earth, it would seem strange that an older man (and a widower, as well) would be taking care of a toddler. _I'll have to say that Jared didn't have any other family to take him in. I suppose I could say that Meya didn't have a good relationship with her family—so they refused to care for him—and Amron was our (my wife and mine) only son, so there were no siblings on our side of the family to take responsibility for him, either._

_Responsibility_... That word prompted Hilcar to think of what one of his Earthly responsibilities would be—work. Of course, he would only have to pretend to go to work, but Jared would still need to be in day care.

_So, what'll my career be?_ Nothing came to mind. _Well, it should probably be something ordinary so that people don't ask too many questions about it_... _He thought of accounting. Yeah. That'll be fine._

Hilcar had come up with a good story, but being an older man (according to Earth's standards) and having to raise his grandson alone was going to make living on Earth challenging. Additionally, he couldn't use any of his powers around Jared or teach him anything about Teruvisa until Jared was old enough (that was what the Council, himself included, had decided would be best).

Hilcar groaned within himself, _Aaah. The boy would be better off with his parents._ Tears started to well up in his eyes, but he took a deep breath and tried to focus on what had to be done. _No use in dwelling on what can never be._

Hilcar became determined to raise Jared the best he could, love him as his own son, give him a good life, and prepare him in subtle ways for the time when he would return to Teruvisa.

# Chapter 1

Nightmares and Visions

Jared wanted to run, but he couldn't. A force of some kind held his bare feet firmly to the cold ground. He twisted and tugged, desperate to escape from the dark, silent forest that refused to release its grip on him.

Moments later, a robed figure came out from behind a nearby tree and approached Jared with the confidence of a hunter who knows his prey can't get away. Without a word, the tall stranger grabbed Jared by the shirt and lifted him off the ground with ease.

Jared's face was inches from the menacing stranger's face, but he could see only darkness where the person's face should've been. "Who are you?"

Jared woke up. His eyes darted in every direction.

He exhaled loudly, annoyed and impressed by the realistic dream, and then rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. _Wow. It seemed even more real than last time._

It had been over a week since the last time Jared had had that recurring nightmare, and he hoped, just like he did every time, that this would be the last time. He hated how the nightmare made him feel weak and alone. He also disliked admitting how strong of an effect it had on him because, after all, it was just a dream, and he wasn't a child.

With a groan, Jared sat up and stretched before throwing off his covers. He got out of bed, picked his algebra book and homework folder up off the nightstand (he had done his homework in bed last night), and then tossed them both on his backpack, which was lying open on his desk by the door, as he left the room.

He crossed the hall to the bathroom to start getting ready for school. It wasn't going to be just another day of seventh grade, though. It was the Friday before Halloween, which meant that the students could dress up in costumes at school, and Jared had decided to wear his soccer uniform to show off that he was on a soccer team.

Seeing his black goalie shorts, orange-and-black-striped soccer jersey, black tube socks, and shin guards sitting on the bathroom floor by the wall renewed his excitement about his costume choice. A light had been shined on the dark gloom left in his thoughts by the nightmare he had.

About 20 minutes later, as Jared came out of the bathroom, he got lightheaded, and an image of a white hand on a black background flashed before his eyes. _Whoa_. He leaned against the wall to steady himself.

After a couple of seconds, he took a deep breath and pushed off from the wall. He was about to take a step when his grandpa approached him in the hall.

"Jared, I was wondering if..." Jared's grandpa paused and got a concerned look on his face. His voice became softer. "Are you alright?"

Jared nodded. "Uh—hm." He didn't feel that getting lightheaded after standing up too fast was worth mentioning.

His grandpa took a step closer and then put a hand on Jared's shoulder. "Did you have that nightmare again last night?"

Jared was stunned. He did have the nightmare again. _But, why is he bringing it up?_

The last time Jared had his nightmare, more than a week ago, his grandpa mentioned he thought Jared looked tired, and that's when he told his grandpa about the recurring nightmare he was having. But, he hadn't made a big deal out of it.

_Maybe I look tired again_. Jared wondered if that was what prompted his grandpa's question.

Jared looked down to the side and shrugged. "Yeah." He tried to make it seem unimportant, even though the nightmare really did bother him. "But, it's no big deal."

His grandpa slid his hand off Jared's shoulder. "Well, I think I have an answer as to why you've been having these bad dreams."

Jared looked up with curiosity and disbelief. "What do you mean? They're just dreams."

"No. I think it's something else." Jared's grandpa looked more serious than usual. "Have you seen any images outside of your dreams?"

Jared never seemed to be able to hide when something was bothering him from his grandpa, but he was still surprised by the question. _How did he know?_ Sometimes, it seemed like his grandpa could read his mind.

Hesitantly, Jared admitted, "Well... I did see something just now."

"What was it?"

Jared couldn't believe he was going to tell his grandpa what he saw, but, for some unknown reason, he felt he should say what it was. "I think it was a hand." He shrugged, not thinking that it had any great significance.

To Jared's surprise, his grandpa seemed very interested. "What did it look like? Describe the hand to me." Jared must have had a weird look on his face because his grandpa said, "Humor me."

Jared didn't know why his grandpa was acting so strangely over nothing, but he held up his own hand, with his palm facing himself, as he described the hand he had seen. "I got lightheaded and then saw an image—or I guess you could call it a drawing or a symbol—of a white hand on a black background. The hand was open, with the fingers together, and the thumb was sticking out to the side." After he said it, he realized just how stupid it sounded.

"This is very serious." Jared's grandfather remained straight-faced.

Jared expected his grandpa to start laughing or at least smile, not carry on like he was. "Serious?"

"Yes, very. I'm going to have to pick you up right after school and bring you home, and you won't be able to leave the house at all tonight."

"What?" Jared thought that maybe his grandpa was teasing him.

His grandpa kept the same serious look on his face and tone in his voice. "Meet me on the south lawn outside the school as soon as your classes are over. I'll get off work early today and give you a ride home."

It took a few moments for the reality of what his grandpa was saying to sink in. _This_... _can't be happening._ His grandpa had approved Jared's plans that evening. _He can't change his mind like that._

"But, I was going to go trick-or-treating with Tom. Remember?" Jared whined.

Jared's grandpa remained solemn. "I know. I'm sorry."

That answer wasn't nearly good enough. It only made Jared more annoyed. _I can't believe he's doing this._ Anger started creeping into Jared's voice. "Can't it wait 'til tomorrow?"

Jared's grandpa shook his head. "I'm afraid not."

"Why not?" Jared wondered if the reason his grandpa was having second thoughts about him being out after dark was because he thought Jared might pass out on the street and get run over by a car or something, even though Jared was 12 years old—old enough to go out at night around the neighborhood without his grandpa having to worry about him—and his friend Tom would be with him. "I'm sure Tom—"

His grandpa cut him off. "Jared, your dreams have crossed into your waking hours. There's a reason for these nightmares and this hand vision. If you'll just—"

Jared couldn't hold in his frustration any longer. "A vision? Okay, now you've gone totally crazy!" He had never insulted his grandpa before, and he almost wanted to take it back right after he said it.

"No." His grandfather was noticeably agitated and waved a finger side to side. "I assure you; this is no little thing. Based on what you've told me, I can't let you go out tonight."

Even though Jared felt a little guilty for having spoken so disrespectfully, he remained firm against his grandpa's ridiculous conclusion. _I can't go out because of a stupid nightmare and some so-called vision?_ "What are you talking about?"

"You're my responsibility." His grandpa's tone softened slightly. "I could never forgive myself if something bad were to—"

_Enough is enough_ , Jared thought. His grandpa was being way too overprotective about nothing. "What do my nightmares have to do with going out on Halloween?"

Jared's grandpa had never been so controlling before. He was acting very strange—even unreasonably.

That's why Jared was so shocked when his grandpa cleared his throat and said definitively, "Your parents left you in my care, so I'll decide what's best for you."

"It's not fair," Jared pouted as he stomped his foot and folded his arms. He didn't know what else he could say to change his grandpa's mind.

With an empathetic tone, Jared's grandpa responded, "I know. I want you to be able to have fun with your friends. But just not tonight, okay?" He put a hand on Jared's shoulder and spoke more softly. "I've never asked you to do anything without a reason, so I need you to trust me when I tell you that it's very important that you stay home tonight. I wish I could explain, but it will have to wait until tomorrow."

His grandpa seemed sincere, but that didn't make Jared happy about not being able to go out with his friend. Jared looked down and grumbled, "I don't understand. What are you so worried about?"

His grandpa reached out to Jared with his voice. "What every parent's worried about—the health and safety of their child."

For some reason—maybe because he was caught up in his emotions—Jared said something to his grandpa that he never had before. "Yeah, but you're not my dad." He shrugged his shoulder, pulled away from his grandfather's touch, and turned around. He couldn't look at his grandpa anymore. "I better finish getting ready for school," he muttered.

As Jared started down the stairs, he heard his grandpa say, "It'll all be clearer tomorrow. I promise." There were unmistakably tears in his grandpa's voice.

Jared was torn by the hurt he caused his grandpa, but his frustration was equally strong. "Yeah right," Jared said under his breath as he entered the kitchen to get some breakfast.

A few moments later, his grandpa came down the stairs. Jared expected his grandpa would come into the kitchen, but instead, Jared heard the door that led to the garage open.

"Have a good day at school." The sadness in his grandpa's voice weakened the sentiment. "Don't miss the bus."

Jared, still sulking, called back halfheartedly, "Okay."

Jared heard the door shut, the garage door open, his grandpa's car start up and drive away, and the garage door close. Then, there was silence.

Jared sat down to eat. He struggled with what he should do and stared absently at the back of the cereal box as he ate.

After finishing his breakfast, Jared stared down at the milk left in his cereal bowl. He was disappointed and felt justified in his anger about not being allowed to go trick-or-treating. He thought about going out anyway—sneaking out—but then reconsidered; he knew by the tone in his grandpa's voice that he better not disobey.

Yet, he still wondered what his grandpa was so worried about and what his reasons were for making Jared stay home. Jared shrugged. He didn't see how there could be a reason for the dreams—dreams just happened.

After thinking about it for a while and not being able to come to any rational conclusion, and because he noticed what time it was, he got up, put his bowl and spoon in the sink, finished getting ready for school, gathered up his things, and then left for the bus stop.

**********

From his desk, Jared looked up at the clock above the whiteboard at the front of the classroom. The bell to start the last class of the day would ring in a couple of minutes. He turned slightly to the right in his chair and stared blankly at the large poster of the Periodic Table of Elements on the side wall.

He was still upset—though considerably less than that morning—over the argument with his grandpa. Jared's thoughts turned to the discussion he had about it with his friend Tom at lunch.

Tom was just as baffled as Jared about why Jared's grandpa was overreacting. Tom had even tried to convince Jared to sneak out that evening, but Jared declined. He made up some excuses—like he didn't want Tom to get in trouble for helping him—but the real reason Jared wasn't going to disobey his grandpa was that, despite having had a heated argument with him, he respected him and didn't like disappointing him. Of course, he didn't tell Tom that because it would have made him sound like a sissy.

Jared sighed and resigned himself to being stuck at home and bored, and at that moment, Tim, a large, round, blonde boy, tromped into the classroom. Jared kept looking at the poster on the side wall to avoid making eye contact with the school bully.

Jared heard some commotion near the front of the room and then a book hitting the floor. Noise always seemed to follow Tim wherever he went. Though, it would be more accurate to say that he _caused_ noise wherever he went.

"Hey!" a girl complained.

"Sorry. It was an accident." Tim was obviously lying.

Out of the corner of his left eye, Jared watched Tim stroll over to his desk, which was across the aisle from Jared, and sit down.

Tim started slapping Evan—the pale, skinny boy he sat behind—on the back of the head and the ears. Without saying anything, Evan leaned forward as far as he could, rested his forehead on his desk, and cupped his hands over his ears. Tim didn't stop, though, and Evan, who was wearing some kind of superhero costume, started whimpering.

Jared wished someone would teach Tim a lesson. _What a jerk_. He fantasized about learning martial arts and kicking Tim in the face but knew he was only kidding himself. _Dream on._

"What are you looking at?"

Jared snapped out of his trance and realized that he had turned almost completely sideways to watch the torture session. He found himself staring right at Tim. With a jolt, he turned his body back to face forward, and his eyes darted to the blank whiteboard at the front of the classroom.

"Nothing," Jared muttered.

Panic replaced the swelling of hatred that Jared had been feeling toward Tim. His heart pounded in his throat, and he found it hard to breathe. He gulped and tensed up, wondering if Tim was going to start picking on him next.

Fortunately, the teacher, Mr. Hobson, appeared in the doorway. Jared relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief. He was safe, for the time being.

Mr. Hobson, Jared's seventh grade science teacher, was a tall, dark-haired, handsome man. Jared noticed that, as usual, the eyes of all the girls had became riveted to Mr. Hobson as he walked across the front of the room. Practically all the girls in the class—and all the girls in the school for that matter—had crushes on him.

Jared rolled his eyes. Mr. Hobson was way too old for any of them, and he was a teacher.

"Hey, Collins." Tim's voice caused Jared to cringe.

The tardy bell rang.

Jared gritted his teeth and clamped his eyes shut. _Leave me alone!_

"Hey, soccer boy. Quit ignoring me."

The same symbol he had seen that morning—of the white hand on a black background—flashed across Jared's mind. His eyes popped open.

"What? Do you think you're too good to talk to me? You freak!"

Jared saw Mr. Hobson look at him and, at the edge of his peripheral vision, saw Tim move his arm. As if he had sensed something flying toward his head, with cat-like reflexes, Jared turned his head, lifted his hand, and batted away what Tim had thrown at him.

Jared's eyes followed the small, thin, yellow object—almost like it was moving in slow motion—as it flew toward the back of the class, hit a lab table, and then landed on the white vinyl floor. Tim had thrown a broken pencil at him.

Jared couldn't believe what he had just done. _How did I do that?_

He looked at the palm of his still raised hand and marveled at the spot of graphite he saw where the tip of the pencil had hit his hand, or rather, where his hand had hit the pencil. Then, he glanced over at Tim.

With narrowed eyes and a scowl, Tim shook his head. "Lucky."

_Luck?_ Jared didn't have an explanation for what happened, but he felt that luck wasn't a good enough reason. Also, he was baffled that he had seen the hand vision again, and right before Tim threw the pencil. _Coincidence?_

"Tim! I saw that!"

Jared's attention shot back to the front of the class.

Mr. Hobson demanded, "Come up here, right now!"

Tim waved his hand dismissively. "It was just a pencil."

"I don't care what it was. You don't throw things at other people. I'm sending you to the office." From a drawer of his lab table, Mr. Hobson took out a small, pink pad of paper and began writing on it.

Tim shrugged with his hands held out. "What's the big deal? It's not like it would've hurt him. He has a metal plate in his head." He pointed to his own head.

"That's enough." Mr. Hobson gave Tim a stern look. "Come here." He motioned with a curling finger for Tim to approach and then continued writing.

"Aw, man," Tim whined.

Jared's plump classmate got up and dragged himself to the front of the class. Once he reached the teacher's lab table, he leaned against it, rested one arm on the countertop, and then began tapping on the lever of the gas spigot next to the sink.

After Mr. Hobson finished filling out the hall pass, he ripped it off the pad of paper and held it out between two fingers. Tim stood up, snatched the note from the teacher, and turned toward the door to leave.

With all the maturity of a third-grader, Tim dangled the hall pass out in front of himself between his thumb and index finger, pinched his nose with the fingers of his other hand, and cringed at the pink piece of paper like it was a piece of stinky garbage. Then, continuing his dramatics, he wiped both sides of the paper on his faded, black T-shirt to clean the fake grime and germs off the note.

Next, smiling, he shoved both of his hands into his front pockets and strutted across the front of the classroom. His jeans, already riding too low on his hips, were pushed down even more, exposing more of his white boxer shorts.

And, for his big finale, once Tim reached the open doorway, he said over his shoulder, "On my way to the office, I'll try not to walk too close to the library, so the plate in my head doesn't set off the metal detector." He made a few high-pitched beeping noises as he stepped out of sight.

There were a few snickers. Jared could feel his ears burning with embarrassment. He bowed his head and slunk down in his chair.

Mr. Hobson made downward motions with both hands. "Alright, alright. Settle down. We're going to watch a short video now."

**********

Jared's grandpa was waiting for him after school. When he got in the car, his grandpa asked him, "How was your day?"

Jared didn't want to look at his grandpa but muttered, "Fine."

After the silent car ride home, Jared went straight upstairs to his bedroom. He changed into a pair of blue shorts and a black T-shirt and then went downstairs.

His grandpa was on the phone ordering pizza. Jared managed to smile. His grandfather was obviously trying to smooth things over with him—pizza was one of Jared's favorite foods.

Jared sat down on the couch and turned on the TV with the remote.

His grandpa asked, "Is pizza okay with you?"

Jared gave a short, flat reply. "Sure."

His grandpa went upstairs to his bedroom and didn't come out until the doorbell rang.

"Sweet. Pizza's here." Jared went into the kitchen and got some chips and soda while his grandpa answered the front door.

They set their bachelor's meal on the glass coffee table and began eating while they watched Halloween movies. Jared hoped that eating and watching movies would take his mind off his disappointment about not being allowed to go trick-or-treating and would make it easier to give his grandpa the silent treatment.

Jared was anxious to hear his grandpa's explanation of the hand vision and recurring nightmare, but his grandpa had insisted that he wouldn't be able to tell Jared until the next day. So, to show his displeasure, Jared had decided to talk to his grandpa as little as possible.

As Jared took a bite of pizza, he wondered, _What's he going to find out between now and tomorrow that will explain what's going on?_ He shrugged to himself, _Well, it better be good, whatever it is,_ and turned his attention back to the movie.

Later that evening, as Jared was starting to doze off, he looked at the clock on the wall above the TV. It read _10:05_. He couldn't stay awake any longer. _I'm going to bed._

Without looking at his grandpa, who was seated next to him, or saying good night to him, Jared got up, yawned, and then dragged himself upstairs. He plopped down on his bed and then pulled the covers over himself.

Resting his head on the pillow, he wondered if he would have the nightmare again, what his grandpa would say about its meaning, and what the hand vision had to do with it. It didn't take long for those thoughts to fade, though, and he was soon fast asleep.

However, if he'd known that he would definitely have the nightmare again and that the outcome would be life changing, he might not have fallen asleep so easily.

# Chapter 2

Under the Lake

Jared sprinted through the maze of dimly lit hallways without knowing where he would end up. He sensed something or someone lurking in the shadows, following him, and desperately wanted to get away.

With his next step, a force propelled Jared into space. Then, as quickly as he was rocketed into the heavens, he fell back down to Earth.

He landed on his feet in a dark and silent jungle. An icy chill ran through him.

He looked around for an escape route and saw a crack of light ahead in the trees. He tried to run toward it, but his feet were stuck.

A robed figure came out from behind a tree, grabbed Jared by the shirt, and pulled him closer. He felt the menacing stranger's breath on his face, but there was only darkness where the person's face should've been.

Jared was jarred awake from his nightmare. His eyes burst open, and he gasped. To his surprise, he discovered that his feet were dangling above his bed. He felt two big hands holding him up by his armpits, and, as his eyes started adjusting to the dark, he saw that those big hands were attached to two strong, hairy arms, which were connected to a rather large person wearing a hooded robe.

Jared's nightmare had become real!

The dark figure growled in a low, resonating tone as he moved Jared closer to him. Jared cringed from the stench of the putrid breath entering his nostrils.

The stranger's facial features were no longer shadowed by the hood of the robe he was wearing, and Jared could see the man's flared nostrils and pointed teeth. He seemed like more of a beast than a man.

Jared tried unsuccessfully to jerk himself free.

Jared's grandpa, wearing a hooded robe, burst in, fracturing the door jamb where the bolt of the doorknob broke through and almost knocked the door off its hinges.

The man-beast dropped Jared onto the bed, turned, and then leapt out the second-story window, his black robe fluttering behind him.

_What the_...? Jared looked from the window, to his grandpa, to the broken door, back to his grandpa, and then back at the window.

Jared wondered why the window was open. He was sure it was shut when he went to bed.

He guessed that his attacker had opened the window when he entered the room. _But why?_

Jared sat up and tried to collect his thoughts, but he wasn't sure he could make sense of what took place. The whole thing had happened so fast. It was like a blur.

Jared's grandpa walked over to the window and paused briefly, looking into the night, before shutting it.

He stepped toward Jared and put a hand on Jared's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Jared didn't know what to say, so he just nodded. Also, he noticed that his grandpa didn't seem worried or upset about the startling break-in.

Jared heard the front door downstairs open, and his heart started racing again. _He's back!_

Jared's grandpa turned and stepped slightly to the side. Jared scrambled out of his bed and stood half-hidden behind his grandpa.

A few seconds later, a man in a hooded robe entered the room.

Jared felt some relief when he realized that it wasn't the man-beast that attacked him. _Who is that? Did he chase away the other one or capture him?_

Jared's grandpa spoke to the man. "It got away?"

"Yes." The stranger took a couple of steps toward Jared and his grandpa.

The man was wearing a hooded, brownish-green robe made of a lightweight material that hung down to his calves. The robe was open in the front, and he wore black pants and a white shirt.

Jared then noticed that his grandpa was wearing a robe similar to the other man's in style and material. The only apparent difference was that his grandpa's was light brown. _Are they in some kind of robe-wearing, criminal-fighting club together?_ Jared also wondered how long his grandpa had had that robe because he had never seen it around the house before.

Jared's grandfather said, "No sense in worrying about it too much, Gromagan."

Jared looked up at the tall, well-built man, who had a prominent nose, deep set, brown eyes, angular jaw and cheek bones, and strong facial features that had the appearance of being chiseled out of stone. _Gromagan?_ He scrunched his forehead. _That's a weird name._ "Gromagan?"

Gromagan nodded, acknowledging his name.

Jared's grandpa added, "But, it'll be back. And with help."

Jared was stunned to learn that the man-beast would come back. He stepped forward and looked up at his grandpa. "What?"

"It's okay. Calm down, Jared." His grandpa patted his shoulder.

Jared wasn't entirely sure what had happened in his room, but he was sure it was nothing to stay calm about. "How can I be calm after what just happened? That... that thing attacked me! And, it'll come back?!"

"Jared." Jared's grandpa turned, put both hands on Jared's shoulders, and then gave him one of his serious looks. "I'd love to spend some time explaining to you what's going on right now, but we need to leave immediately."

"Leave?" Jared's voice cracked.

"Yes, leave. Right after I contact the other guardians." Jared's grandpa closed his eyes as if he was concentrating.

_Guardians?_ Jared furrowed his brow. _Is that the name of his club?_

"Dorn. Prienna. This is Hilcar." Jared's grandpa spoke as if he was talking to someone in the room, but he wasn't wearing the wireless earpiece to his cell phone. "We've been discovered. Get to the rendezvous point as soon as possible." He opened his eyes.

_What was that? Telepathy? And why did he call himself Hilcar?_ Jared's frustration and curiosity slipped out. "What's going on?" He looked at both men. "Who are you?"

Without answering, Gromagan and Jared's grandpa ushered the reluctant Jared out of the bedroom.

After a few nudges from his grandpa, Jared threw up his arms in defeat, "Fine," and went downstairs without resisting. _I'll go along with them, for now_. As they entered the garage, Jared also decided that he would keep his thoughts and his questions to himself for the time being because he figured he'd just be wasting his breath.

Jared got into the front passenger seat of his grandfather's white Acura Legend, and Gromagan got in the back seat.

When Jared's grandpa got in the driver's seat, he said, "Sorry to drag you off so suddenly. I thought we'd have more time."

_Whatever. But, I better get some answers soon._ As they sped away from the house, Jared wondered where he was being taken and when, or even if, he'd be back. It didn't even dawn on him, until they were already well on their way, that he was leaving the house in just the shorts and T-shirt he wore to bed.

After they were on the road for a while, Jared noticed a traffic sign with "San Bernardino" on it and, later on, another with "Mountain Resorts." He wondered if they were going to the mountains—they seemed to be headed in that direction.

Jared's observation turned out to be correct. They were soon winding their way up the San Bernardino Mountains. Through the breaks in the trees and between the boulders that lined the road, Jared caught glimpses of flickering lights glowing from the dark, smog-filled valley below.

Jared noticed that his grandpa was driving aggressively (more uncharacteristic behavior from his grandpa). He seemed to be in a hurry, taking some of the turns a little fast.

Jared wanted to ask why he was in such a rush, but, when he glanced over at his grandpa, he decided it would be better not to distract him. His grandpa seemed so focused on his driving. He had an intense look on his face, was gripping the steering wheel tightly, and checked his mirrors frequently.

Jared tried reading road signs to keep himself from dwelling on the uncertainty he felt about his situation and his grandpa, who seemed like a different person—one with a second, secret life.

After passing the next few signs, it seemed evident that they were going toward Lake Arrowhead, and Jared asked himself, _Why the mountains? Is there something up here that has to do with the explanation grandpa said he had for my nightmares and that "vision"?_

The silent drive on the winding roads up into the mountains and around Lake Arrowhead finally ended when Jared's grandfather pulled the car over onto a shoulder. "This is it."

Jared looked around as he got out of the car. Most of the houses in the area were hidden in the pines. He wondered if they were going into one of those secluded homes or somewhere else.

Jared followed his grandpa and Gromagan to a cement slab. He took the few steps across the gravelly shoulder carefully because it was uncomfortable walking on the rocks with bare feet.

"This way." Jared's grandpa pointed down a concrete staircase between two houses.

As he turned to go, Gromagan gestured for Jared to go ahead of him, so Jared stepped over to the stairs, placed a hand on top of the metal rail that lined one side, and began descending.

On the way down, Jared's grandfather, a few steps ahead of Jared, said, "Things are different now, Jared. There'll be many new things for you—some things that might even be hard for you to understand, at first, but you'll understand them in time."

_What's that supposed to mean?_ Jared furrowed his brow and just kept following silently, looking at his surroundings and wondering where they were going.

At the bottom of the steps, there was a chain-link fence with a locked gate. On the other side was Lake Arrowhead. Moonlight glimmered across the surface of the water.

"Gromagan, open this, please." Jared's grandpa pointed at the padlock.

Gromagan stepped forward, grabbed the lock in one hand, pulled on it until it snapped, and then threw it aside. He held the gate open for Jared and his grandfather, so they could pass.

Jared glanced at the broken padlock on the ground as he walked by Gromagan. _How did he do that?_ Gromagan seemed to possess superhuman strength.

They continued another few feet on a concrete walkway until they came to a dock. Jared's grandfather led Jared and Gromagan out onto the wooden pier, which was about 15 feet long. They had walked almost to the end when Jared's grandpa signaled for them to stop.

Jared and Gromagan waited as Jared's grandpa continued to the edge and then looked down at the water. "Jared, come here, please." He gestured, without looking up, for Jared to approach the end of the dock.

Jared was resistant to do anything. "Wait. You've dragged me out here to jump off a pier? What's going on? Who are you?"

His grandpa turned sideways and looked at Jared. "There isn't time for this right now."

Jared could sense his grandfather's frustration, but he didn't budge. He just stood where he was with his arms folded across his chest in defiance. He wanted answers, and he was going to get them. After all, his grandpa—or Hilcar or whoever he was—promised he would explain what was going on. _No time like the present_.

His grandfather softened slightly. "Okay. As you overheard at home, my name is Hilcar. But, I'm still your grandfather. So, listen to me. Right now, we need to get you to Teruvisa."

_Teruvisa?_ Jared didn't move. "What are you talking about?"

"Fine." Hilcar lay down on the pier, put his finger in the water, and swirled it around in a pattern like he was writing something. When he finished, he rose to his feet and wiped his finger on his robe. He pointed to the water past the end of the pier. "There. Now, will you look, please?"

Jared approached, eyeing Hilcar curiously. He was still upset that he didn't know what was going on but was interested to see what his grandpa did to the water.

Once at the edge, Jared leaned forward and looked down. Instead of water at the end of the pier, there was a square, transparent platform slightly bigger than the width of the pier.

"Go ahead. Get on." His grandfather motioned for Jared to get on the platform. "It's okay. It'll hold you. It's safe." Something reassuring in his grandpa's voice urged Jared to trust him.

So, Jared took a deep breath and stepped down. The platform was sturdy—not at all like it was floating.

When he placed his other foot down on the platform, Jared instantly found himself in a transparent chamber. He touched one of the sides. It was smooth and cold. Water surrounded the glass-like compartment on all four sides and above.

He looked down at his feet. Through the platform on which he was standing, he could see the night sky. At that point, he realized that he was standing upside down under the surface of the lake!

But, he didn't feel upside down. _What? How?_ He couldn't make sense of it. _Weird_.

Suddenly, Gromagan appeared in the small chamber and then Hilcar a few seconds after that. There wasn't much breathing room in that compartment, and Gromagan elbowed Jared in the ribs.

"Hey," Jared complained.

Gromagan apologized and then pulled something out from inside his robe.

The object, which fit in the palm of his hand, looked kind of like a credit card, except silver in color, and a faint glow emanated from the side facing up.

Jared asked, "What's that?"

"A treyo," Gromagan replied.

"A treyo, huh?" Jared shrugged. He liked to keep up on the latest technological toys, but he couldn't recall ever hearing about anything called a treyo or about any small, illuminated cards being developed.

Gromagan pointed the handheld device at the wall that faced back toward the shore. The wall turned into a non-transparent, metallic panel, and then promptly disappeared.

Jared blinked hard. He wasn't expecting the treyo to do anything like that. _Is it some kind of ultra-thin remote control?_

"Okay. Let's go." Hilcar stepped out of the chamber.

Gromagan ushered Jared through the opening onto a pier that was about 50 feet long and appeared to be made of wood, but the surface was in perfect condition—not worn, cracked, or faded.

Jared took a tentative step onto the pier (yet, at the same time, he felt adventurous). The wood—if that's what the material was—was smooth to the touch.

As Jared followed his grandpa, he glanced up at the sky a few times. He couldn't see a sun, any stars, or even a moon. Yet, it wasn't dark outside. He wondered why.

Jared looked around, intrigued and wide-eyed, at his new surroundings. When they were about halfway down the pier, he noticed that they were walking toward a cave in the towering rock wall ahead of them. "Are we going in there?" He pointed around Hilcar's shoulder at the cave as they proceeded along the pier.

"Yes," Hilcar stated.

_Oh great. He's still doing that whole not talking very much thing. I wish he'd stop it. It's annoying_. Jared just wanted his grandpa to tell him what was going on. _That's not too much to ask, is it?_

Jared's frustration vanished when the murky water attracted his attention. It looked as smooth as glass and had what appeared to be fire burning just below the surface.

After a dozen more steps, Jared and Hilcar reached the end of the pier. Jared stepped down onto the shore. The fine sand underfoot was warm. As he looked to both sides, he couldn't see an end to the wall of brownish rock marbled with off-white.

Continuing a couple more steps, Jared and Hilcar entered the cave. The inside of the shallow cavity was shaped like a dome cut in half vertically.

Hilcar turned around to face the outside. Jared figured he should do the same.

Gromagan, with his back to Hilcar and Jared, was still standing at the other end of the pier, looking out over the water. The chamber from which they had emerged was gone.

Jared continued to survey his surroundings. The lake—or vast river—was probably a mile wide and was situated in a deep canyon.

Jared looked to the left and right. Off in the distance, to both sides of him, there were bends in the canyon, so he had no way of knowing how far the water reached in either direction.

Jared's focus went back to Gromagan. "What's he doing?" he asked his grandpa, without looking at him.

Even though Jared had said the name Gromagan before and heard his grandpa say it, that name still sounded strange. Of course, the name Hilcar seemed just as foreign.

Hilcar stated, "Waiting for the others."

_What kind of answer is that?_ "What others?" Jared was getting more impatient and wanted the awkward moments of silence and short answers to end. His grandpa wasn't usually a talkative person, but his lack of explaining things had gotten to be ridiculous.

"Others like you." Hilcar turned to Jared and tried to offer what Jared interpreted as comfort. "Don't worry. Soon, all your questions will be answered."

_That's what you keep saying_. Despite his grandpa's attempt to appease him, Jared was still tired of not knowing what was going on. He didn't like the lack of control he felt. He wanted to grab his grandpa by the shoulders and shake the answers out of him.

"What did you say this place was again?" Jared didn't care that he sounded impatient.

Hilcar glanced over at Jared. "Teruvisa."

Jared wanted to find out more. "So, how did we get here? I mean, I know we came through that chamber thing." He pointed at the other end of the pier, where Gromagan was. "But, what makes it work?"

"Our technology." Hilcar piqued Jared's interest with one of his favorite words—technology.

Jared definitely wanted to learn about Teruvisa's technology.

Hilcar started to say something else but then pointed toward Gromagan. "Ah, there they are."

A metal panel appeared at the end of the pier. It promptly disappeared and exposed the inside of the chamber Hilcar, Jared, and Gromagan had been in.

A boy and a man stepped out onto the pier. Gromagan shook the boy's hand as he was introduced by the other man. After Gromagan directed them to walk down the pier, the two newcomers walked over to the cave.

The boy, who was about the same age as Jared, had a slightly olive complexion, brown eyes, and curly, jet black hair. He was wearing pajama bottoms with vertical white and blue stripes, a white T-shirt, and leather sandals.

The man accompanying the boy looked a lot like Hilcar—so much so, they could've been brothers. He was also wearing a robe like Hilcar's.

Hilcar smiled as he stepped forward to greet them. "Hello, Dorn." He put his hand on the man's shoulder.

Dorn shook hands vigorously with Hilcar. "Hello, Hilcar. Good to see you again."

Hilcar turned to the boy. "Hello, Paul. I'm Hilcar." He pointed to Jared. "And, this is Jared."

Just as the pleasantries were over, a woman and a girl appeared from the portal chamber at the end of the pier. The girl, who seemed to be about the same age as the boys, acted like she knew Gromagan as she greeted him.

Without waiting to be told where to go, she turned, looked at Jared and the group in the cave, and began walking down the pier toward them with a spring in her step.

The girl had straight, shoulder-length, auburn hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a two-piece, pink pajama set with big, yellow flowers printed on them and had on fuzzy, pink slippers.

She grinned from ear to ear as she stepped off the pier. "Hello. It's good to finally be here."

The woman following behind the girl appeared younger than Hilcar and Dorn. She had dark brown hair and big, brown eyes. Such dark features contrasted sharply with her fair complexion. She too was wearing a light brown, hooded robe.

Hilcar made the introductions. "Danielle. I'm Hilcar." He pointed to Dorn. "This is Dorn." Hilcar gestured toward Gromagan, who was stepping off the pier. "Gromagan you've already met, of course." Then, he looked at Paul and Jared. "Paul. Jared." He pointed to the girl, who was looking around like she was taking in scenery on a vacation. "This is Danielle." Finally, pointing to the woman, he said, "And, this is Prienna."

Jared was confused by Danielle. She talked like coming to Teruvisa was like coming home but acted like she had never seen Teruvisa before.

Out of curiosity, Jared asked her, "Do you know what's going on or something?"

Danielle smiled smugly at Jared, "Maybe," and then turned away to face the water.

Not knowing what to make of her response, Jared scrunched his brow and looked around at the adults, but they all just smiled. _What? Did I miss something?_ It was like they were part of an inside joke that they weren't letting him in on.

"Well, we better get going." Hilcar waved for everyone to join him in the cave as he took a few steps back.

Once they were all huddled in the shallow cavern, Gromagan did something with his treyo, and the ceiling and walls turned into loose sand that shifted toward the opening of the cave. Within moments, the entrance became completely sealed, and the interior surface of the cave began to glow a soft, green color.

Immediately, Jared felt the sensation of going up, like in an elevator. The earth started flowing all around them—from the top of the dome-shaped cavity to below their feet.

After a few seconds, a spot of daylight appeared above them. The area of light grew larger until they were standing on solid ground in a small clearing at the top of the cliff.

Jared was amazed. They had just been lifted up through the earth, in a dome-shaped bubble, like it was some sort of reverse quicksand!

Jared looked down at the ground around his feet and let a, "Wow!" slip out. He couldn't believe that he had just come up through the earth he was standing on—the very dirt that was now solid ground.

He wondered what other surprises Teruvisa had in store for him.

# Chapter 3

The Coincidental Deaths

Except for on the cliff side, dense jungle surrounded the clearing Jared and the others were in.

Hilcar waved everyone toward him as he started walking away from the canyon rim toward a dirt path as wide as a single-lane road that led into the trees. "Follow me, and stay on the path."

Jared proceeded forward with the group into the lush, tropical foliage. However, as he walked, observing his surroundings, Jared thought it was strange that he didn't see any animals, and, other than the sound of the group's footsteps on the dirt, the jungle was quiet and still.

In contrast, Jared's head was filled with noisy anticipation. With every step he took, he grew more excited, not only because he was interested to find out where Hilcar was taking them but because he knew that the farther he walked, the closer he got to having his questions answered.

The group traveled silently for several minutes until they came to within about 20 feet of an enormous, earthen wall. The barrier went straight up past the tops of the trees, and the trees themselves were at least 15 stories tall. There was no visible passage through or around the wall.

Hilcar stopped, faced the group, and held up a hand. "Wait here." He turned back around and took a few steps toward the wall.

From high in the trees, a large, gray bird swooped down and flew over everyone's heads. Jared ducked. At that same moment, the ground surged to his right, just off the edge of the trail, and then a long, thin, tongue-like cord shot out from the bulge in the ground, grabbed the ostrich-like bird, and pulled it underground.

Paul gasped. "What was that?" He pointed at the ground, which had returned to normal.

Gromagan said matter-of-factly, "A jobalich."

"What's a jobalich?" Danielle's voice trembled slightly when she asked.

"Well, you don't ever want one to get its tongue around you—that's for sure." Prienna chuckled. "It's a scavenger. It'll eat anything."

Paul looked around like he was nervous. "Will it get us? Should we run?"

Jared was concerned about the very same thing.

Prienna held up a hand to calm Danielle, Paul, and Jared down. "Just stay out of the jungle and the sky, and you'll be fine." She smiled.

Paul gulped. "You mean they can fly, too?" He shot a worried glance into the sky.

So did Jared.

"No, not jobaliches. But, porumfids do," Prienna explained. "In fact, that creature that just flew over our heads and was eaten by the jobalich was a porumfid. They're scavengers, like jobaliches, except they won't eat other scavengers."

"Somebody should have told that porumfid about jobaliches," Jared joked sarcastically.

"Yeah, they're not the smartest of beasts," Dorn added with a grin and a nod.

After everyone exchanged smiles, Hilcar took a few more steps toward the wall and then turned his head to address the group. "Quiet please. I must get permission from the guards for us to be able to pass."

"What guards?" Paul questioned.

Dorn pointed at the wall. "Those."

In front of Hilcar, two huge bubbles formed, side by side, from the wall. They looked like two bubbles being blown from bubble-blowing wands.

As they emerged, they morphed, from looking like lumps of mud the same color as the wall into giant centurions with bald human heads. Their disproportionately large upper bodies—like super strong body-builders' physiques—were covered in leathery-looking robes that went all the way to their ankles. Also, each sentinel was holding a long, metallic staff with a large, brass ball on top.

In a thundering voice, one guard asked, "What is your request?"

Hilcar calmly stated, "My company and I would like to pass."

The two towering guards took a wider, more defensive stance, and each guard spread out a pair of large wings to block passage to the wall.

Jared flinched. It looked like the guards were going to attack Hilcar. Jared almost called out for his grandpa to run, but the guard on the left spoke.

"Do you have a token?" he asked.

"Yes." Hilcar held his hand out to the side. In his up-facing palm sat a small, glowing, white rock.

Jared relaxed slightly.

The guard held out his hand, and the rock shot out of Hilcar's hand into the guard's. Both of the sentinels retracted their wings and walked backward. When they reached the wall, they were absorbed back into it.

Jared was fascinated by Teruvisa—the portal, the cave, and the guards. _They have some amazing technology here._

Just as Jared wondered what was going to happen next, a slit appeared in the wall from the ground almost all the way up to the top. The barrier melted away until the breach was wide enough for the group of people to enter.

Hilcar motioned for everyone to follow him. "Okay. Follow me."

When they had all passed the wall, it rapidly closed back up. Overhead lighting extended down a long and spacious corridor with a smooth, metallic-looking, rounded ceiling. The tunnel was probably big enough to drive four semi trucks through it, side by side.

Hilcar turned around and held out his hand. The glowing rock went flying out of the wall and landed in his palm. He closed his fist around the stone and then put it in his robe.

Jared was intrigued by the stone the guard called a token. _It must be some kind of key. Hmm... I wonder if I'll get one._

"Let's get you to your rooms." With a silver treyo in his hand, Hilcar pointed down the seemingly endless corridor. "Everyone hold hands... and hold on tight."

Jared grabbed the hands closest to him—Danielle's and Hilcar's.

Once everyone had joined hands, Hilcar pushed on part of his treyo with his thumb. Their human chain began floating, and then they accelerated down the tunnel. The lights above became a blurry streak.

A second later, Jared came to a dead stop. He felt Hilcar let go of his hand, so he let go of Danielle's.

_It must be over_ , he thought, referring to the ride.

Jared was amazed. He could tell that he had traveled fast but only experienced a slight amount of G-force upon being launched down the tunnel—and only for an instant at that.

_I didn't know I could move that fast_ , he joked to himself.

Next, he wondered how far he had gone, so he looked back down the tunnel. However, he couldn't see the other end of the tunnel where he'd started. _Whoa!_

Jared quickly turned his attention to the room he and the others were in. Upon exiting the tunnel, they had entered a large, circular room. The walls, floor, and ceiling looked like polished obsidian.

There were 12 wooden double doors spaced evenly around the circumference of the room. Each door had an arched top that nearly reached the ceiling.

"First thing in the morning, we'll take you to the council room to meet the Judges. They'll begin to answer some of your questions. But until then, we have some rooms prepared for you to stay in." Dorn pointed to one of the doors to the right. "This way, please."

Jared was disappointed that he'd have to wait longer for the promised answers everyone kept telling him would come. However, at least he was given a more specific time.

He wondered who the Judges Dorn mentioned were. _Their answers better be good_. He was only half-joking.

"Judges?" Jared asked as he and the group began walking.

"Yes," Hilcar said. "They're the heads of the Council of Teruvisa."

Well, if anyone can give me good answers, I guess the guys in charge are the best ones to ask.

As the group got close to the double-door Dorn had pointed out, it opened automatically.

Jared wasn't impressed. _All you'd need is a motion sensor and a motor to open a door like that._

They passed through the doorway into a hallway that was wide enough for everyone in the group to walk side by side with room to spare. The walls of the corridor were metallic and shiny. The floor was made of polished, white stone. Rectangular light fixtures hung down from the ceiling in an intermittent line like the dashed lines on a road. The ceiling was about twice as high as the hall was wide.

As they walked, they passed a few shiny, metallic doors. Oddly, none of them had knobs or handles. However, Jared did notice that one of the doors they passed on the left looked like an elevator door, and, on the wall next to it, there was a kiosk. The touch screen was about the size of a piece of notebook paper.

After walking a few hundred feet down the corridor, they turned to the right and went down a smaller hallway. That passage curved to the left and came to a dead end. On the right, there were three white doors, none of which had handles or doorknobs.

"These are your rooms." Prienna indicated the three doors. "You'll find everything you need in them, including some clothes in the closet. Please, put on those clothes when we come back to take you to see the Judges. We'll be back in about six hours. Now, try to get some sleep."

Hilcar added, "And remember, do not leave your rooms and wander around. You will get lost."

Prienna held her arms out wide to Danielle. "By the way, before I forget, welcome to Teruvisa!" She gave Danielle a hug.

Hilcar pushed open the door to Jared's room, and they said their goodbyes. When Jared entered the room, Hilcar let the door swing shut.

As Jared stood there alone, he wondered what he could do to pass the time. He glanced around the bedroom to see if there was anything interesting.

There were no windows. The walls were made of large, rough-textured, stone blocks. The floor was covered with plush, red carpet. To the right, there was a king-size poster bed with a sheer, white canopy and four fluffy pillows.

The head of the bed was against the wall. Next to it, there was a chest of drawers made out of a dark, reddish wood. Across the room, in front of Jared, there were a table and chair made out of the same cherry wood.

To the left, there were two identical doors. He opened the door closest to him. It was a closet. Hanging inside were a white shirt, a pair of tan pants, and a light brown, hooded robe like the ones the adults wore. On the floor were a brown belt, a pair of brown socks, and brown shoes.

His focus returned to the hooded robe. He was curious as to what kind of material it was, so he reached out and touched it. He rubbed the material between his fingers. The robe had the look of cotton but was light and smooth like silk. Jared assumed that the cloth the robe was made of was particular to Teruvisa because he'd never seen cloth like it before on Earth.

After opening the other door in his bedroom and discovering that it was just an ordinary bathroom, Jared lay down on his bed, trying to take in all the recent events as a slew of questions entered his mind. _Where exactly_ is _Teruvisa? Why am I here? What are the Judges going to tell me? How are my nightmares and the vision of the hand tied into all this? How can I find out more about Teruvisa's technology?_

However, the more he thought about all his questions, the more his curiosity turned into anxiety and impatience. Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore. He had to get out of the bedroom and talk to someone.

_I could just go over to Paul's room for a little while_. Jared supposed that there wouldn't be any harm in that. _Maybe together we'll be able to come up with some answers._

He walked over to the door and placed his hand on it where the door handle would have been if there was one—Hilcar had opened the door earlier by just pushing on it in that general area.

_It worked_. Jared nudged the door open just enough to peek into the hall. He didn't see anyone, so he ventured into the hallway.

He sneaked over to Paul's room—the one adjacent to Jared's—and knocked quietly. He waited. There was no answer, so he opened the door and looked in. Paul was coming out of the bathroom.

With a loud whisper, Jared called out, "Paul."

Paul jumped. "Oh, it's you."

Jared apologized. "Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. I knocked, but I guess you couldn't hear me because you were in the bathroom."

Paul shrugged. "No big deal. I just wasn't expecting anyone since we're not supposed to leave our rooms." He sounded a little critical, but Jared ignored it. Then, Paul got an inquisitive look on his face. "So, what's going on? Why were you looking for me?"

"Well, I have a lot of questions. And, I was just wondering if you..." Jared paused, still holding the door open.

Paul completed the sentence. "If I had some answers?" He started walking toward the bed.

"Yeah." Jared stepped in the room and let the door swing shut.

"Well, I don't think I'll be of much help, but I can tell you what happened to me."

"Great."

Paul sat down on the foot of his bed. "I was living in Mexico with my uncle Mark—"

"You don't have a Spanish accent." Jared went over to the foot of the bed, too, and sat down, facing away from the door.

Paul continued. "I went to an American school, and my uncle didn't speak very much Spanish at home."

"Then, why does he live in Mexico?"

"I'm not sure. Although, one time when my uncle and I were on a fishing boat with some of his friends, one of them made a comment—something about escaping from police in the U.S.—but I didn't hear the whole conversation; I was busy reeling in a tuna.

"When I asked him about it, he said his friend was just joking around. My uncle seemed a little mad that I had asked him about it, so I never mentioned it again." Paul shrugged and shook his head. "I don't know."

"Whoa. A fugitive." Jared's mouth hung open.

Paul shot back, "Don't tell anyone, okay?"

"Yeah, no problem." Jared waved a hand at Paul and then changed the subject. "So, how long have you lived in Mexico?"

"Since I was about two years old."

"Hmm." Jared thought that was quite a coincidence. "Same with me. I've lived with my grandpa since I was two." He paused for a moment, wondering if it could be more than just a coincidence. "So, how did you find out about having to come here?"

"Well, my uncle Mark woke me up, introduced me to Dorn, and then shoved me in a car. All he said was, 'You'll be safe.' Then, Dorn drove us out into the middle of a desert and told me to walk up to a cactus—the biggest one I'd ever seen—and touch it.

"And when I did, it sucked me into it, and... well you know the rest. See? I told you it wasn't much."

A girl's voice interrupted their conversation. "I knew it was your voice I heard out in the hall, Jared."

Startled, Jared spun around. Danielle was standing in the doorway.

Jared asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Talking. Same as you two." Danielle pointed at both boys. "Mind if I come in?"

Jared and Paul shrugged their shoulders at each other.

"Sure." Jared walked around to the side of the bed closest to the door and grabbed three pillows.

Danielle walked into the room. "Thanks."

Jared tossed a pillow to Paul and Danielle and kept one for himself. The three of them sat down on the floor, facing each other.

"So, what did I miss?" With raised eyebrows, Danielle looked at the boys.

Jared indicated himself and Paul. "We were just talking about where we were before we had to come here."

"Well?" Danielle shifted her eyes back and forth between Jared and Paul again.

Jared said, "Both of us have lived with relatives since we were two years old. Paul told me that he had been living with his uncle in Mexico. I was living with my grandpa in California. How 'bout you?"

Danielle tapped her lips with her index finger before answering. "Ohio. I've been living with my adoptive mother in Ohio since I was two."

"Prienna adopted you..." Jared thought about how his grandpa had adopted him. _Another coincidence?_

Danielle nodded. "Yep. Except, her name was Emily before all this happened."

"That's kind of the same thing that happened to me." Jared pointed at himself. "My grandpa went by Henry, but then he told me his name was Hilcar."

Paul interrupted, "Not me. I came here with someone I've never met before."

Danielle turned to Paul. "Dorn."

Paul nodded. "Uh—huh."

Jared hesitated giving Danielle and Paul the details of Gromagan's and his first encounter in his bedroom, but he wanted to tell them that there was someone else he came with that he'd never met before. "There's also Gromagan. He came with my grandpa and me, but I've never met him before, either."

After a short break in the conversation, Paul said, "I'm not sure if it's coincidence or not, but it's strange that we've all been orphans since we were two." He had obviously been thinking along the same lines as Jared.

"Car crash?" Danielle asked.

Jared had the impression that she already knew the answer and wondered, _How could she know that?_

Paul's mouth hung open, and he had a surprised look on his face. "Yeah."

Jared's jaw dropped, too. He looked at Paul, pondering the startling coincidence. "Mine too..." _Was it just a lucky guess?_ He asked Danielle, "How did you—?"

"My parents were killed in a car accident, so I figured it wouldn't be much of a stretch." Danielle remained casual. She appeared to be unaffected by her discovery.

_So, all three of us lost our parents in car accidents._ Jared wasn't sure what to make of it and tried to think of some questions he could ask Danielle and Paul to find out what else the three of them had in common.

Finally, Jared shrugged. "Hmm. So far, I can't see any connection between us except that our parents all died in car crashes. There has to be something else, though."

Jared felt the urge, for some unknown reason, to tell Danielle and Paul a little bit more about his recent experiences. He looked at both of them as he thought about what to say. "Well... I'm not sure how this plays into it, but for a while now, I've been having a recurring nightmare about a robed figure trying to get me. Also, I've been having these," he held up his hands and made invisible quotation marks in the air with his fingers, "visions—as my grandpa calls them—of a hand symbol. Yesterday, my grandpa told me that he knew why I was having those dreams.

"Then, last night—uh, I guess that would be early this morning—while I was asleep in my bed, I was almost kidnapped by someone with pointed teeth. Luckily, my grandpa and Gromagan showed up and chased him away.

"Then, all three of us drove right to Lake Arrowhead and went through the portal." Jared leaned back against the bed. He was hoping that they had similar stories. "So, have either of you had bad dreams, weird visions, or strange visitors that had anything to do with Teruvisa?"

Paul shook his head. "No."

Jared looked at Danielle for a response. She seemed deep in thought. Either she didn't hear him or didn't want to answer. _She must know something—at least more than she's letting on. I'm sure of it._ "Danielle, did you hear what I said?"

Danielle snapped out of her contemplation. "Yeah. Sorry, I was just thinking." She shook her head. "No, I've never seen anything strange like that."

Jared persisted in his questioning of Danielle. He wanted to find out what she knew but wasn't saying. "Back on the pier, you didn't really seem surprised to be here. How did you find out what was going on?"

Danielle looked up and grinned mischievously. "Well, I don't really know what's going on. If you remember, I said that _maybe_ I knew what was going on."

Jared wasn't satisfied with that answer. _So, what_ does _she know?_ "So then, how come you didn't seem surprised about all this?"

"Oh, I'm just as surprised as both of you are. But..." Danielle got more serious and looked at both of the boys. She took a deep breath before continuing. "For a while now, I've had these impressions—impressions that I could only express through painting and drawing.

"Anyway, my m—uh Em—uh Prienna, or whatever you want to call her, always seemed very interested in my paintings. She would always tell me that some day I would understand their significance."

"What did you paint?" Jared expected her to say that she had painted pictures of hands like the one from his visions.

"They were just abstracts." She waved her hand dismissively. "So, I haven't quite been able to make a connection between my paintings and Teruvisa. But, I'm sure I'll figure it out.

"Anyway, Emily woke me up and said, 'We have to talk.' That's when she told me her real name was Prienna. She also said that she had a secret to tell me about my paintings and why she had adopted me. She said we'd have to leave right then in order for me to learn about the secret, though.

"After I got past the initial shock of her lying all these years about her name, I felt a sense of comfort. I know that sounds strange but, for the first time in my life, I felt I had a purpose... that something important was going to happen... I didn't know what it was, but Prienna told me we'd be going some place very special. So, I agreed to go.

"Then, without even giving me time to change out of my pajamas, she drove us to a nearby park, had me walk into a tree, and now I'm here. This whole thing is just so strange. My world has been turned upside down.

"But honestly, I'm glad to be somewhere else." She sniffed. "Prienna promised me that I wouldn't feel so... different here." Tears started to well up in her eyes.

"What do you mean different?" Jared asked, although he knew exactly what she meant.

Danielle sniffed again. "Well... I—"

Paul interrupted. "You were made fun of by the other kids for something, weren't you?" He didn't make eye contact with Danielle or Jared.

Jared got goose bumps and a tingling sensation all over. He sensed Paul was going to divulge another connection the three of them had.

Danielle asked, "H—how did you know?"

Paul, with his head still lowered, said, "There were metal detectors at the entrance to my school. Every day I would make the alarms go off. The teachers started making me go around the sensors so that I wouldn't cause a disruption every time I entered the school.

"But, it didn't matter. When the other kids saw me coming, they would make alarm sounds. They teased me about being an alien with some kind of mechanical brain in my head that set off the sensors.

"My uncle Mark told me I had a piece of metal stuck in my brain that couldn't be removed. He said it got there during the car accident that killed my parents." Paul looked up at Danielle solemnly. "And, I'm guessing Prienna told you that you were in the car when your parents died, too."

"She did." Danielle nodded. "And, metal detectors caused problems for me, too—especially at stores. It even got to the point where I didn't want to go shopping with her anymore because it became a hassle to explain to the security guards and salespeople why I would set off the metal detectors every time we went in and out of a store."

Jared's jaw dropped. "Guys, guess what?"

Danielle guessed the obvious. "You too, huh?"

"Yep." Jared nodded slowly. "Everyone thought I had a metal plate in my head, too. Only for me, it was the security sensors at the exit of the school library."

Jared remembered the day he came home from school and told his grandpa about setting off the metal detectors after checking out a book and trying to leave the library. He mentioned how the librarian's aide had to search through his backpack. He was _so_ embarrassed.

After that, Jared's grandfather sat him down and explained that Jared was with his parents in their car when a truck, traveling in the opposite direction, swerved onto their side of the road. The front of the car was demolished, but, because Jared was in the back seat, he lived.

Aside from some cuts, the small piece of metal that penetrated his skull and lodged itself in his brain was the only injury he sustained. However, the doctors said Jared wasn't in any danger. They decided to just leave the fragment in his head instead of putting him through the risks of surgery.

Feelings of sadness welled up in Jared as he thought about never knowing his parents, not feeling like he fit in, and being teased. Jared exhaled and tried to think of something else.

Suddenly, he was overcome by the feeling that he finally had friends that understood him—that were like him. He felt a strong bond forming between the three of them.

Danielle asked, "So, what do these coincidences mean?"

Paul scratched his head. "Maybe we were all in the same accident."

Jared wanted to find out more about how he, Paul, and Danielle were connected, but he had to admit that Paul's hypothesis didn't seem very likely. "How could that be? And, what are the odds of all three of us getting a piece of metal stuck in our heads?"

"I don't know. It was just a guess." Paul shrugged.

"At this point, anything's possible." Danielle rested her chin on her hand and stared blankly straight ahead.

"Well, at least one thing's for sure." Jared, suddenly feeling relaxed and sleepy, lay down on his pillow, with both hands tucked behind his head. "Our pasts are somehow connected, and I have a feeling that our futures will be, too. But, I guess we'll just have to wait until we meet with the Council to find out." He looked up at the swirly texture of the ceiling and yawned.

Paul lay down on his pillow. "So, what do you think this place is?"

"I don't know." Jared gazed up at the ceiling. "I don't even understand how we got here. All my grandpa said was that it had something to do with their technology."

"This is all so unreal. We're probably just dreaming," Paul said. "And when we wake up, everything'll be back to normal."

"Yeah." Jared's eyes were too heavy to keep open any longer—the soft floor and fluffy pillow were too inviting.

He let the possibilities of why they were in Teruvisa, what Teruvisa was, and what else he, Danielle, and Paul had in common drift from his thoughts as he drifted off to sleep. Then, he began to dream.

# Chapter 4

The Council Room

Jared followed a path through a dark jungle. After a short distance, he came to a clearing. There was a solitary, white door standing upright in the center of that clearing.

As he got closer, Jared noticed that the door had a symbol of a hand, not much bigger than a man's hand, painted on it. When he reached the door, he placed his palm on the emblem.

The moment he touched the hand symbol, the door disappeared, leaving only the door jambs, which framed the opening to a corridor. Immediately, he sensed someone or something close by, stalking him.

Jared stepped into the dimly-lit hallway and started running. He didn't know which way he was supposed to go. All he knew was that he needed to get away.

As Jared ran, he turned left and right at random, frantically trying to find a way through the maze he was in and not knowing if his unseen stalker was catching up to him.

After turning a corner, he fell and began careening through space. A second later, he landed on his feet in a jungle—possibly the same jungle he had recently left.

A figure in a black, hooded robe, who had apparently been waiting for him, grabbed Jared by the shirt and pulled him closer. Jared had the feeling that he knew who was holding him, but he couldn't see the man's face because there was a misty darkness covering it.

"Give it to me," the man demanded as he shook Jared. "I want it, now!"

Jared insisted, "I don't have it."

The man shook Jared even harder.

Jared woke up. His grandpa was shaking him and saying his name. "Jared. Jared."

Jared rubbed his eyes and blinked hard once before he could focus on his grandpa's face.

Hilcar said softly, "It's okay. It's me. I think you were having another nightmare."

Jared looked around. He was lying on the floor in Paul's room—right where he had fallen asleep. Dorn and Paul were standing nearby. Prienna had just awakened Danielle and was telling her it was time to go get dressed.

Jared felt like he had only been asleep for a few minutes and said groggily, "I was, but it was different this time," referring to his dream.

Hilcar smiled. "That doesn't surprise me."

Jared furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

Hilcar helped Jared sit up. "Well, I told you there was a reason for your nightmare. I suspect that since you are now in Teruvisa, the reason for the nightmare has changed, so your nightmare changed."

Jared rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. _What kind of an answer is that?_ He lowered his hands and looked at his grandpa with confusion. "Either I'm still half asleep, or you're not making any sense."

"It's probably a little of both." Hilcar smiled and then went from squatting to kneeling. "Sorry. I know that sounds strange. I guess what I'm trying to say is that your dreams are trying to communicate something to you, or memories that you have been suppressing are trying to come out through your subconscious. But, I'm sure you'll learn what they mean in the near future."

Jared was glad to hear that, and it was nice that his grandpa was in a good mood—or at least appeared to be—especially since Jared had left his room after being told not to and had fallen asleep in Paul's room. _What changed?_ he wondered.

Hilcar put a hand on Jared's shoulder and took a deep breath through his nose (which meant he was about to say something important). "Also, before we go, there's something I'd like to apologize to you about—about how I've been acting. I know I've been standoffish since yesterday. I've just been very worried about you and had a lot on my mind.

"I wanted to explain everything to you but couldn't. We, the Council that is, determined that it would be best to wait until you, Paul, and Danielle were together in Teruvisa—the best place to be to understand everything you're about to find out—so that you could talk directly with the Judges, and they could tell you about Teruvisa and answer your questions. Well, the time has finally come."

That's exactly what Jared wanted to hear. All of his questions would soon be answered. "It's okay. I understand."

Hilcar smiled and patted Jared on the shoulder. "So, what do you say we get you to the Council room, then?"

Jared was anxious to find out about Teruvisa. "Yeah. I thought you'd never ask."

Hilcar smiled. "Then, let's go. Of course, you need to get dressed and have a bite to eat before we take you there. Come on."

As Jared and Hilcar left Paul's room, Hilcar rubbed Jared's back. "I'm so excited and proud that you're finally here."

Jared didn't know what else to say besides, "Yeah. Me, too." Then, he went into his bedroom to get ready.

After about 15 minutes, everyone was gathered together in the hallway. The youths were escorted, at a brisk pace, back to the larger hallway. They crossed that corridor and entered another hall.

Hilcar stopped at the first door they came to. When he turned to face it, the door opened automatically. He went in, and everyone followed.

They entered a completely white room. There was a long, metal table with two equally long, wooden benches—one on either side of the table. The metal legs of the furniture were attached to the floor. Also, one end of the table and benches were against the wall opposite the entrance to the room.

Recessed slightly in that wall was a panel at the height of the tabletop. It was nearly as wide as the table but only about one-foot tall.

Prienna held a hand out to the table and benches. "Please, sit down."

When the youths sat down, a beam of light poured out across the table from the rectangular cubby hole in the wall. When the light faded, there was a wonderful breakfast of waffles, eggs, bacon, fruits, milk, and juices.

Jared was again impressed by Teruvisa's technology. "This place is amazing."

Hilcar, Dorn, and Prienna turned around to leave as the youths began to eat.

On the way out, Hilcar said, "We shall be back momentarily. Stay here, please."

Jared nodded as he stuffed a piece of waffle in his mouth.

"What do you suppose this place is?" Paul asked. "I've never heard of or seen anything like this before—making food appear out of nowhere—except in science fiction movies."

"Yeah. And, it tastes good," Jared said. "You'd never know it came out of thin air."

Danielle tapped her fork on her waffles. "I was thinking... could it be that this is some kind of secret, government or military base where they test experimental technology?"

"It's possible." Jared was intrigued and lowered his fork. "What kind of experiments?"

Danielle, who was sitting opposite Paul and Jared, shrugged, "I don't know," and then leaned forward slightly. "But, who else would have access to the kind of money and resources it would take to build and operate all this?"

Danielle made an interesting point, and Jared couldn't think of anyone else. "I don't know." Jared took a drink of orange juice and looked at Paul to see if he had a response.

"Well, no one here's been dressed like any military or government personnel _I've_ ever seen." Paul raised his eyebrows and cleared his throat. "Could be aliens."

Jared nearly spit out his orange juice. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand to catch the small amount that had dribbled out.

Paul raised a hand. "Yeah, I know it sounds strange, but I'm beginning to think that everyone was right about me."

Danielle rose up slightly, obviously bothered. "You're not an alien, and neither are we. And, no one here is a little, green alien in disguise if that's what you're thinking." She settled back down in her seat. "But, whoever is behind all this has obviously gone to a lot of work to keep this place a secret."

Jared's imagination took over. He envisioned his parents as being like characters straight out of a spy movie. "Maybe our parents were secret agents that were killed in the line of duty during some dangerous, top secret mission."

"What would that have to do with _us_?" Surprisingly, Danielle seemed to be considering the notion.

That wasn't the response Jared expected. He thought she would reject the idea completely.

"I don't know. Just guessing." Jared tried to come up with a good explanation, and when he looked at his arm resting on the table, he joked, "Maybe the freckles on our bodies are really tattoos put on us as some kind of code to pass along secret information. Yeah. Our parents could've been taking us somewhere to have the code deciphered when they were killed. And, we've been in hiding to protect the secret message until now." Jared took a bite of eggs.

Danielle smiled and slowly shook her head. "That's quite an active imagination you have. That sounds a bit too strange if you ask me."

"Strange, huh?" Jared held up another bite of eggs on his fork. "Stranger than food appearing out of thin air?"

"I just don't agree. That's all." Danielle continued eating and avoided making eye contact.

Jared was hungry, and he knew he was only joking—his freckles were probably not a secret code. So, instead of arguing, he decided to just finish his breakfast. However, he continued contemplating the uncertainty of why he was in such a strange and interesting place.

As a million fantastic possibilities raced through his thoughts, he knew that his questions would be answered soon, which caused him to become more anxious to hear what the Judges would say, and he started eating faster.

As the three of them were finishing up their breakfast, the adults returned. Jared, Danielle, and Paul were escorted back to the black room with the 12 wooden double doors. Hilcar led them across the room to a door directly opposite the tunnel through which they had entered Teruvisa.

The door opened into another large hallway. About 100 feet ahead, the corridor ended at a set of huge, wooden double doors with enormous brass hinges. Also, there were two half-round, smooth, gray, stone pillars to the sides of the doors that extended all the way to the ceiling.

Jared's anticipation grew as he and the group proceeded forward. He knew that his answers lay just beyond those doors at the end of the hallway.

A short distance before reaching the door, they went down a few steps, which were as wide as the hall, onto a landing with maroon carpeting. Once they reached this entryway, as if sensing the group of people were there, the doors swung open.

"Children, you go first." Hilcar held a hand out to indicate that Jared, Danielle, and Paul should go ahead.

Jared walked into a sizeable room with maroon walls. Tall, stone bleachers, engraved with ornate, gold scrolling and draped with black banners, lined the sides of the room.

Council members, wearing robes of varying colors, dotted the seating areas. Everyone sat up straighter in their plush armchairs and stared intently at Jared and his two companions when they entered.

Walking at a slow, steady pace, Jared looked up and saw three huge, crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The room was magnificent, yet not overly lavish.

As Jared continued forward along the white-and-gold-marbled aisle, he became aware of just how fixed the Council members were on him, Paul, and Danielle. But, he wasn't so concerned with why everyone was staring at him so much as he was anxious to know what was going on.

When Jared neared the center of the room, his attention was drawn to a tall, crescent-shaped platform at the end of the aisle. As with the bleachers, the top of the platform was about 15 feet above the floor, and, atop the platform, a man and a woman were seated on plush, high-backed chairs.

The man was sitting with both of his arms resting on the arms of the chair. His robe was silver with black trim. His short hair and chin beard were also silver. The woman, sitting to the man's left, had an almost identical robe to the man's, and her long, straight hair was silvery, as well.

When Jared and the others reached a large, black, circular area on the floor, the man raised his hand, palm out. Jared stopped. Danielle, Paul, and the three adults lined up on both sides of him.

Trying to stay focused so that he could ask the right questions, he took a deep, calming breath to control his emotions. He was feeling excited, anxious, nervous, and hesitant all at the same time.

_Why isn't anyone saying anything?_ he wondered as he stood before the Council and the Judges, who were all completely silent. _Should I say something first?_

The silver-haired man's voice resonated throughout the hall. "Welcome." It was a friendly yet powerful voice. The acoustics of the room carried his words throughout the Council chamber.

_Well, that answers that_.

The silver-haired woman spoke next. "Come here, please." Her voice was almost melodic but at the same time commanding. Her words echoed throughout the room, as well.

Immediately, the black circle on the floor rose, elevating Jared's group to the level of the platform and bleachers.

The man looked at the three adults. "Thank you for watching over them."

The woman smiled, and her green eyes sparkled. "The time has finally come, Manasto."

"Yes it has, Verissa." Manasto nodded slowly.

The Council members cheered. Manasto raised his hand, and the room fell silent.

Jared's eyes met Manasto's piercing, green eyes.

Manasto addressed the young trio. "Children, I'm Manasto." He pointed to the woman. "And, this is Verissa." He sat up straighter in his seat and surveyed the youths.

Jared was anxious to hear what Manasto would say.

"I can see that we have your undivided attention." Manasto smiled. "Now, I'll explain why you're here in Teruvisa." His expression became more serious. "What I'm about to tell you may not be easy to hear, but you must hear it." He leaned forward slightly. "Regardless of what you were told about the deaths of your parents, Dreggan, our enemy, was responsible."

Jared's jaw dropped at the unexpected announcement and wondered, _Who's Dreggan? And, how was he responsible for the death of my parents? He caused the car wreck, or he killed them?_ He needed more details.

Jared listened with anticipation as Manasto continued. "Your parents helped develop some important, new technology for Teruvisa, and we discovered that Dreggan was conspiring to use that technology to take control of Teruvisa. For his treasonous actions, he was banished. However, instead of leaving peacefully, Dreggan and his followers stole a piece of the new technology and started a war."

Jared pictured in his mind that his parents were killed in some battle during the rebellion and wanted to ask specifically _how_ his parents died, but he didn't want to interrupt Manasto and, in some way, supposed that maybe he was afraid of the truth.

He criticized himself. _That's ridiculous._ He was there to get answers, and how his parents died was exactly the kind of answer he was looking for. _Still_... He couldn't bring himself to ask it. Maybe some things were better left unsaid, for the time being.

Manasto cleared his throat. "Because of the rebellion, we eventually had to abandon Teruvisa, so we never got to implement the new technology. And, that is why we have brought you three here—to finish your parents' work."

_How can_ I _help?_ Jared didn't think he could help because he didn't know anything about Teruvisa's technology.

Manasto provided a partial answer to Jared's unspoken question. "But before you can do that, you must learn as much as you can about our technology, Diestro. So, we have arranged for three Masters to train you."

That's exactly what Jared wanted to hear. His heart leapt. He wanted to learn the technology of Teruvisa ever since he'd arrived. _Cool. But, what's a Master?_

Jared didn't want to interrupt, but he cleared his throat and hesitantly asked, "Excuse me. But, what's a Master?" It wasn't a profound question, but he felt it needed to be asked anyway.

Manasto smiled. "Well, Jared, Master is a title we give a person when he or she has achieved a certain level of expertise with Diestro."

_A Master, huh? I wonder if grandpa's a Master._ Jared asked, "So, is everyone here, including our guardians, a Master?"

Manasto indicated those present in the Council room. "Yes, we're all Masters here."

Jared let out a quick, "Thank you," _My grandpa is a major techno-genius. Wow!_ but resisted the urge to turn his head and stare at Hilcar.

Paul asked, "So, why is this new technology so important?"

Manasto nodded slowly and seemed to contemplate something briefly. "That's an excellent question." His tone became more elevated. "The new technology will help Teruvisa achieve ultimate greatness, and everyone will be connected to the whole and become powerful Masters..."

He suddenly stopped his passionate address and looked at the youth. "Sorry. Sometimes I get carried away. I guess finally having the three of you back here has gotten me a little excited."

"Yes, we're all very excited," Verissa added as she glanced over at Manasto and smiled. "The dawning of a new Teruvisa is at hand." She looked at the youths. "You might not understand the significance of everything you have been and will be told, but hopefully you understand that the new technology is very important."

Jared nodded. He could tell how important it was to them. He glanced out the corner of his eye and saw that Danielle and Paul were nodding, too.

"Good." Verissa, obviously satisfied with that response, settled back down into her chair.

"Excellent," Manasto said contentedly. "Then, I shall continue. The fundamental thing you need to know about this new technology is that it has three components: a program that can be added to the existing systems of Teruvisa, a piece of equipment called a decoder, and," he held up three fingers, "three special microchips."

Jared repeated the three items to himself. _Program, decoder, and microchips. Got it._

After a brief pause, Manasto went on. "Now, let me explain the importance of these three elements. First, there is the programming for Teruvisa's systems, which was completed by your parents. I know you all have an understanding of what computer programming is, so all I'll say about the additional program files is that, even though they are the logic and governing processes of the new technology," he started shaking his head, "I wouldn't consider them the _key_ component."

Manasto stroked his chin beard. "The next component is the decoder. The decoder is a piece of equipment that receives encrypted data, translates that data, and then transmits it to Teruvisa's systems. The systems in turn can transmit encrypted data back through the decoder to microchips, which constitute the third piece of the new technology."

Manasto paused, staring at Jared, Danielle, and Paul, for a moment. "An MSI, or microchip security implant, was implanted in each of your brains when you were babies. They are the only MSIs in existence and the key to the new technology."

Jared was surprised by Manasto's revelation. _What?_ He blinked hard, and his head jerked side to side. He placed a hand on his head. _So, what's in my head, setting off metal detectors, isn't a metal fragment... it's a microchip. But, why me?_

Jared let his hand slide off his head and fall to his side.

Paul asked the same question Jared had just asked himself. "Why did you put the MSIs in _our_ brains?"

Manasto looked at Paul, Danielle, and Jared. "Well, to put it simply, you three were chosen because of your parents. For this discussion, it's not important to know all the details of how or why _you_ were chosen, but I guarantee that you can find out very soon."

Jared didn't agree. He thought he should be told right then, and then _he_ could decide if it was important or not.

Manasto held up a finger. "However, I will tell you why we chose _children_ to be the recipients of the first microchips: because an infant's mind is so pure and provides a clean slate, so to speak, to work with." He was quick to add, "But, that's not to say the chips control you."

Jared was glad Manasto said that the chip didn't do anything to his brain because brainwashing and mind-reading had crossed his mind.

Manasto stroked his chin beard. "I think it would be good for you to understand a little bit more about the MSIs."

Jared nodded in agreement, anxious to hear more about the chip in his head.

"Basically, an MSI communicates, on a subconscious level, with the brain to transmit random information that is used to constantly change and adapt Teruvisa's systems, thus making it impossible for anyone to tamper with them."

Jared didn't quite grasp the technicalities of what Manasto said, but he thought he got the basic principle nailed down. "So, the MSIs keep people from hacking into Teruvisa's systems?"

"That's correct." Manasto nodded and smiled.

Paul said, "You mentioned earlier that part of the new technology was stolen. You were talking about the decoder, weren't you?"

Manasto gave a solemn nod. "Your deduction is correct. The decoder was stolen during the rebellion. And, we believe that Dreggan has recently finished developing his own program, which is ready to interface with the decoder and the MSIs. So, that means he has two of the three things he needs to take over Teruvisa _and_ Earth."

Jared was hit by the realization that all Dreggan would have to do is capture him, Danielle, and Paul to have all three parts of the new technology. _That just leaves us._ He gulped.

"However," Manasto was quick to add, "we are confident that we can recover the decoder soon." He held up a finger and had a serious look on his face. "And, we will not let Dreggan get the MSIs."

Manasto sounded so certain, but Jared wondered, _Can I believe him?_ After all, Jared, Danielle, and Paul had been lied to about their parents' deaths. However, he looked at Manasto and inside himself and discovered that he did believe Manasto.

Jared began to think back on all that had been said since they arrived in the Council room.

When he recalled how Manasto had told them about their parents' work and learning about Teruvisa's technology, a thought popped into his head that made him curious about the training he was supposed to receive. "Excuse me, Manasto. You said that we're supposed to be trained in your technology to finish our parents' work, but I don't see that there's anything left to do. It sounds like once you get the decoder we just need to stand here and let the MSIs do their job."

Manasto didn't blink or hesitate. "We need you to _turn on_ your MSIs."

It had never occurred to Jared that the MSIs weren't already turned on. "And, we will be trained how do that?"

Manasto had a hopeful gleam in his eyes as he looked at Jared, Danielle, and Paul. "Once you three get the necessary training and understand our technology, yes, you'll be able to turn them on.

"Of course, the training won't be easy." Manasto's tone was serious. "It will require focus, determination, and great effort. But, that is the only way you can turn on the MSIs. And, you must turn them on yourselves. We cannot do it for you."

"Why not?" Jared asked, although he was pretty sure he knew what the reason was.

"Another tamper-proof measure." Manasto had confirmed Jared's hypothesis. "Originally, we intended to implant the MSIs in a ready state, but after the rebellion started, and it was determined that we would abandon Teruvisa, we decided it would be better to leave the chips dormant until we returned and were ready to train you to activate them."

Paul asked, "Why can't you just make new ones that are already turned on, and implant them in three other people?"

Manasto raised an eyebrow (Jared thought that was a strange response to Paul's question). "We can make some more, but your parents built an additional security measure into the new technology. Initial startup of the new systems will only happen with the chips that are implanted in you three. At least one of you has to have your MSI turned on to initiate the security protocols."

After a few seconds of silence, Manasto took a deep breath. "There is one other thing I failed to mention earlier. Shortly after the rebellion started, our security system was partially crippled. We were able to modify it to work acceptably until we abandoned Teruvisa, but it is running right now at only a fraction of its capabilities.

"That, in addition to having only minimal security personnel and a small number of Council members here, leaves us vulnerable to an attack by Dreggan , who has grown more powerful with Sedroth—dark, evil, destructive technology—the opposite of our technology, Diestro. And..."

For a few seconds, Manasto seemed to be searching for the right words to say. "Somehow, Dreggan found out that the MSI implantation had been done on you three. He also intercepted a signal that you three were ready to start your training and sent one of his agents to kidnap Jared."

Jared remembered the intruder in his bedroom and then got goose bumps, _A signal?_ Jared had to ask about it. "Excuse me. You mentioned a signal. Are you referring to the hand vision I had?"

"Yes." Manasto appeared to ponder something briefly and then turned his gaze back to the youths. (Jared could see that Manasto was troubled.) "Don't misinterpret what I am about to tell you as a lack of confidence in your ability to succeed in your training, but things will be more... complicated with Dreggan interfering.

"There's no telling what he'll do to get the MSIs or to get revenge for the wrongs that he perceives were done to him by your parents." His next statement sounded as if he was thinking out loud. "But, I suppose we knew that he wouldn't just sit around when we returned."

Jared wondered, _Was that supposed to be comforting? Because finding out that Dreggan knows we have the chips in our heads and wants them is not very comforting._

Manasto pounded his fist on the arm of his chair, snapping Jared out of his thoughts. "No! We _must_ succeed!" He took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and then settled back into his chair. "If we don't, the consequences are too ghastly to imagine." He bowed his head and shook it slowly.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have dwelt on such negative thoughts." Manasto looked up. "Our future lies with you." He stared at each of the youths. "And the tiny chips embedded in your heads." Then, he lifted his head high and puffed out his chest proudly. "After 10 long years of preparation, the time has come to restore Teruvisa!"

Jared was impressed by the power and conviction in Manasto's voice, and Jared's whole body tingled with excitement. The Council members applauded and cheered. Jared started to get caught up in the energy that filled the room and almost felt like cheering, too.

Manasto looked around the room for a few moments, taking obvious pleasure in the joyous uproar, before raising his hand to signal everyone to calm down.

He continued with a slightly elevated tone. "Your parents gave their lives for their beliefs. If you decide to be trained, you'll learn the importance of those beliefs. Your parents gave you a gift—a gift to help us regain what we've lost. It would be a shame to let their efforts have been in vain." Manasto settled back down into his chair. "The time has come for you to choose." His voice was calm yet bold.

Jared's mind was going a mile a minute as he thought about his nightmare, the hand vision, everything he had been told about his parents' deaths, the new technology, and Dreggan. He wanted to say that he would do it but screamed at himself in his head, _This is crazy!_ It all seemed so unreal.

"How do you know we'll even be able to turn on the brain chips?" Paul was apparently having some doubts of his own.

Manasto smiled. "I trust in the abilities of the Masters that will train you—that they will train you well. And, I believe in you three—that you will achieve your full potential."

Jared still didn't understand why Manasto seemed so confident. _How can he be so sure?_

Manasto clasped his fingers together and laid his hands on his lap. He appeared to be waiting for a response from them.

Danielle, who Jared just realized hadn't said anything during the whole conversation up to that point, was the next to speak. "Manasto, sir?"

"Yes, Danielle?" Manasto looked eagerly at her.

She cleared her throat and continued a little louder. "We obviously have our doubts. You've told us that Dreggan killed our parents, and he wants to kill us to get the microchips in our heads. And we're supposed to help you turn on this new technology, which we know nothing about? It's very surprising to say the least. We're just not sure what to do."

Jared had thought that Danielle would do whatever she was asked. _Even_ she's _not saying yes._

"Your confusion is understandable." Manasto nodded. "We are asking you to do a lot without you understanding exactly what it is you will be volunteering to do.

"You're at a fork in the road. Both paths have their dangers and uncertainties. So, which path do you take? You can't proceed until you choose a path.

"I can only offer you advice as to which path _I_ believe you should take. But, the choice is ultimately yours. You've come this far. The truth is waiting for you to find it. And, I would like nothing more than for you to finish your parents' work."

As Manasto finished speaking, Jared was flooded with determination, and his spirit soared.

But, before he could exclaim his acceptance of the call to duty, Danielle stepped forward. "I do want to know where I came from, who I am, where I fit in, and where I can go from here. At the very least, I've figured out that I don't want to go backward. I will go through with the training." After she finished, she stood tall and firm, folded her arms, and looked at Paul and Jared, waiting for them to decide if they would join her.

Jared knew he was going to accept what was being asked of him, but he couldn't resist letting them know in his own way—with his sense of humor. "So, what are we saying here, guys?" Jared tried his hardest not to smile and give himself away.

Jared looked at Paul, who shrugged his shoulders, and then at Danielle, who raised her eyebrows. "Are we really willing to risk death? Walk into unknown dangers for something we know almost nothing about? Do whatever they ask us? Let them pick our brains and experiment with us like guinea pigs? We're willing to go up against an evil man, even though a whole civilization has already failed to defeat him? Is that what we're saying?" Jared smiled at his friends. "Sounds okay to me. Count me in."

Danielle smiled back at Jared. "Great. What about you, Paul?" She looked in Paul's direction.

Paul lifted his chin and took a deep breath. "I'll do my best," he said with a nod.

The three of them smiled at each other and then huddled together, putting their arms on each other's shoulders.

The Council chamber erupted with applause and cheers.

"Now that that's settled," Manasto called out over the noise. "I believe it's time for a little tour."

# Chapter 5

The Tour

Manasto and Verissa stood up, looking very stately and regal in their flowing robes. They were tall—taller than Jared had estimated when they were sitting down.

After the two Judges joined Jared, Danielle, Paul, and their guardians on the black, circular platform, the platform descended slowly back to floor level.

Manasto waved his hand, indicating something behind the youths and their guardians. "Please, have a seat."

Jared twisted around to look. There were three movie-theater-like seats—red, padded, and high-backed but without cup holders. He stepped past his grandpa and then sat down in the middle seat.

Paul and Danielle both took the seats to Jared's left and right. Simultaneously, the chairs rotated 180 degrees clockwise so that the Judges and guardians were behind the youths.

"Let's begin," Manasto said.

The room went dark briefly, and then a three-dimensional, holographic planet of mostly water filled the entire area before them and lit up the room, which was serving as a movie theater for the time being.

Verissa said, "Our world, Teruvisa, has one continent." The presentation zoomed in on that continent. "The continent is divided into two kingdoms: Obalin, where Dreggan and his followers live; and Teruvisa, where we are."

Jared noticed a large, winding canyon that ran north to south for the entire length of the continent. On the right side of it, there was a mountain range surrounded by a jungle on the northern, southern, and western sides. And, to the east of Teruvisa, there was a desert.

On the left side of the canyon, Jared could only see a thick, dark mist covering everything. _That's strange._ He wondered why the mist only covered Obalin but decided to save his questions until after the virtual tour if Verissa didn't explain about the mist.

Verissa continued with her narration. "The canyon you see here is called the Divide."

Since the Divide was the only canyon on the whole continent, Jared assumed that it was the same canyon he was in when he arrived at Teruvisa.

"As you recall, you came to the world of Teruvisa through a portal that took you to a pier down in the Divide," Verissa said, confirming Jared's assumption. She paused briefly, then said, "At this point in the tour, I would like to explain something you don't see here. Before the rebellion, there was no Divide or an Obalin. We referred to the _world of Teruvisa_ and the _continent of Teruvisa_ interchangeably. It wasn't until the rebellion that we decided we needed to separate ourselves from Dreggan and his followers and split the kingdom."

Jared was surprised that they physically split the kingdom, not just separated themselves into different groups when the rebellion started.

Verissa said, "Thus, the Divide was formed and split the continent in two. Now, we refer to our world as Teruvisa, and our half of the continent as Teruvisa or the kingdom of Teruvisa. I just wanted to make you aware of that since you'll hear the name, Teruvisa, used both ways. Hopefully, you won't be confused."

Getting back to the presentation, Verissa said, "Next, I'd like to point out something else about the Divide. When the Divide was made, the raguam ocean spilled into the chasm to further help separate us from Obalin."

_What's raguam?_ Jared almost blurted out his question but then realized she must have been referring to the weird water he saw when he first got to Teruvisa.

Verissa confirmed what Jared had guessed. "Raguam is a fire-water substance that binds Teruvisa and Earth together and helps protect us."

Jared wondered how the raguam protected Teruvisa.

Verissa said, "In addition to the Divide, the raguam provides a significant boundary for Dreggan. If someone that isn't authorized to cross the raguam crosses it, it can consume them."

Oh. That's how.

Verissa added, "And, in case you're wondering, no one has ever touched raguam and survived. To survive in raguam, you need a protective field—you'll learn about those during your training, by the way."

Jared wondered if she meant that they would learn about protective fields (he imagined some kind of force field like in a science fiction movie), or they would learn how to make them. _That would be sooo awesome!_

Jared snapped out of his fanciful thoughts when the holographic presentation zoomed in more, rotated to the east, parallel with the treetops, and then zoomed forward to the mountains.

Once the view reached the rugged, bronze-colored, mountain range, Verissa said, "The Divide was not the only thing that was created during the rebellion. These mountains, which completely cover Teruvisa, are really artificial mountains that were put in place during the rebellion. They help shield us from attacks."

Jared was again amazed. _Not only did they create the Divide, but they created an entire mountain range! Wow!_

Verissa added, "Of course, we'll be able to remove this protective layer once the new technology is operational."

The holographic presentation proceeded forward over the mountains, which Jared noticed didn't have any trees on them, and the focus of the movie shifted to a downward angle. A second later, the movie began advancing over a desert.

Verissa continued her narration. "Now, what you're seeing here, on the east side of the kingdom, is a fiery desert."

The sand was pure white, and the surface of the desert was perfectly flat—there was a complete lack of contour. It reminded Jared of a documentary he saw about people testing cars at high speeds on some salt flats in Utah. _Fiery, huh?_ He assumed that Verissa probably just meant that it was really hot.

A few moments later, the presentation stopped. Verissa said, "This is the lava marsh."

Jared wasn't sure what she meant by lava marsh at first, but when he saw a black swampland with lava bubbling out of the tar-like ground and occasionally spurting out flames as the bubbles burst, it made sense why it was called a lava marsh.

"This strip of lava marsh, as well as the fiery desert, runs the entire length of the continent, north to south," Verissa explained.

Jared couldn't see the whole continent at this point, but he remembered from earlier in the tour that the desert did run the entire length of the eastern edge of the continent. As far as the marsh being that long too, he'd just have to take Verissa's word for it because he hadn't noticed it when he saw the whole continent at once.

Verissa said, "And, there you can see the raguam ocean."

The lava marsh wasn't very wide, and Jared could see the waves of raguam rolling in and breaking on the black, marshy shoreline straight ahead.

It seemed odd at first sight that there was no steam when the water hit the lava, but then Jared remembered that raguam was a mix of water and fire. _It must not behave like normal water._

As the hologram zoomed back out to a view of the continent, Verissa said, "If I may, I'd also like to explain something about Obalin that I failed to mention before. As you can see, Obalin is shrouded by a misty darkness."

As Jared looked at the dark cloud covering the Obalinian side of the continent, he asked himself, _Why?_

Verissa explained, "Dreggan and his followers , who use the evil technology of Sedroth, use that dark mist to hide from us and to veil their actions."

_Oh. That explains it_ , Jared acknowledged.

Next, the hologram turned off, and the theater went completely dark.

After Manasto said, "The next part of the tour is of the inside of our kingdom," a new holographic scene faded in. "There are many shuttle bays throughout Teruvisa."

In the shuttle bay Jared was seeing, there was a shuttle parked straight ahead. It looked like a tall, white, van-like limousine without wheels. Next, almost all at once, the hologram zoomed in on the vehicle, there was a flash, and the vantage point changed to that of a pilot's point of view.

The shuttle flew out of the hangar, turned sharply, and then entered what Jared thought looked like a canal.

The canal was about three times wider than a soccer field and at least five field-lengths deep. Jared also noticed that the bottom of the trench was emerald green. However, he didn't have time to notice anything else because shortly after the shuttle was clear of the shuttle bay, the craft accelerated, and everything outside of the vehicle became a blur.

As the shuttle sped along, Manasto explained, "These transportation corridors, called circuits, can take you to other shuttle bays anywhere in Teruvisa."

Jared wondered how fast the shuttle was going, and his attention was drawn to the driving controls at the same time Manasto said, "The way you control shuttles—and any other Teruvisan vehicle—is with the console."

The hologram focused in on only the shuttle's control panel, which consisted of a flat screen and an array of different colored touch controls (the whole console was like one large touch screen). Jared got excited to learn how to fly a shuttle.

Manasto continued his flight instruction. "Each shuttle is equipped with a map. This is the main navigational control. The map is quite intuitive and shouldn't be difficult for any of you to figure out. You simply locate and select your destination, and then the shuttle takes you there."

Jared's eyes widened with excitement as Manasto narrated the steps to fly a shuttle. _That's easy._ He couldn't wait to try it out for himself for real.

Jared's eyes pored over the whole console, but his trance was broken when the focus of the holographic tour went back to the windshield.

The next second, the shuttle turned and entered a shuttle bay similar to the first. And, as it did, the hologram turned off again.

After the brief moment of darkness for a scene transition, the point of view of the next part of the virtual tour was set, looking down a large hallway.

Manasto pointed out, "This is a main hallway, which is called a pathway." As the focus zoomed in on a wall, Manasto further explained, "There are also map consoles, like the ones on the shuttles, in every pathway. These kiosks are typically located next to elevators but not always.

"Let's say you want to go to the archives. To get there, locate and select the destination on the map screen, and in moments, a mini shuttle will drop down from above to transport you."

Immediately after Manasto completed his explanation, the view of the hologram went back to the pathway, and Jared saw what could have only been a mini shuttle quickly descending to the floor. Whereas the larger shuttle looked like a tall, white limousine without wheels, this much smaller shuttle looked like a sleek, white golf cart without wheels.

Jared tried to remember if he and the group had ever been in a pathway. He was pretty sure the large corridor they walked through from the black room with all the doors was a pathway, but he didn't remember ever seeing a mini shuttle. _Maybe they just weren't up and running at that time._

Before Jared could hypothesize anymore, though, Manasto finished his explanation of the mini shuttles. "These mini shuttles are only in the pathways. However, in case you're wondering, even if you're looking for them, you can't see them. The mini shuttles are silent and move too fast to be seen with the naked eye. They fly around unnoticed above, and on either side of, the lights that hang down from the center of the pathway's ceiling."

The mini shuttle floated up past the light fixtures and vanished as it sped off.

"Well, that's it—as far as the tour goes," Manasto said.

The hologram disappeared, and the lights came back on.

Hilcar put his hand on Jared's shoulder and said for everyone to hear, "It's time for us to take you to Central Security so that we can take care of some things. After that, we'll take you to Ferran."

Danielle glanced back over her shoulder at Verissa and asked, "Is that the first Master we're going to train with?"

Verissa nodded. "Yes."

Danielle looked over her shoulder again. "What about the others? What are their names?"

"Well, after Ferran will be Rohlwig, then Tiersda. And hopefully, you'll be able to turn on the MSIs by then."

"Alright. Follow us." Hilcar motioned for the youths to get up.

The youths and their guardians exchanged good byes with Manasto and Verissa as Hilcar, Prienna, and Dorn led Jared, Paul, and Danielle out of the Council chamber.

They went back out to the black room with 12 doors and then through the door that led to their rooms. Hilcar went to the nearest wall console and summoned three mini shuttles. The group loaded up, two people per shuttle.

Within moments, they arrived at a large door. When they got off the mini shuttles, the door opened. It was the entrance to a shuttle bay. Everyone went in and then boarded one of the shuttles.

Hilcar piloted the shuttle into the circuit. Their lone craft sped through the maze of deep transportation trenches at lightning speed, taking curves, and even 90 degree turns, with ease. They didn't slow down at all until they came to rest in another shuttle bay.

"Here we are," Hilcar said.

Dorn led the way out of the shuttle to a metal door, which slid open when they got close to it. They entered a short hallway and walked toward an elevator.

When Dorn reached the elevator, a female voice said, "Security clearance granted," and the doors opened.

After they had all piled in, the doors closed, and the elevator took them up to an empty 15 x 15 foot room with no apparent exit other than the elevator doors.

Jared wondered, _What are we going to do in here?_

Once everyone was out of the elevator, Dorn pointed to the left. "Okay. Now, line up shoulder to shoulder against that wall, facing the middle of the room."

After everyone except Dorn was against the wall, Dorn took out a small, shining rock—a rock like the one Hilcar used to get past the winged guards at the wall entrance to Teruvisa. He held it in his open, outstretched hand. It shot out of his palm and was absorbed into the wall directly in front of him.

Jared expected the wall to split open, but it didn't. Instead, a pole protruded from it where the stone had gone in.

Dorn took his place alongside the others against the wall. "Each of you hold your guardian's hand."

Hilcar took Jared's hand and held up his other hand with the palm facing out. The other two guardians did the same. Jared wasn't told to put out his hand, so he didn't.

The pole stopped once it reached the elevator door, and then a thin strip of green light that ran along the entire length of the pole turned on. The pole began to rotate. It got faster and faster until the flashing green light created by the spinning of the pole changed into a constant glow with barely a flicker.

Jared noticed that the adults were still holding their hands out. He couldn't even begin to imagine what was going to happen. He was intrigued.

Dorn's glowing stone popped out of the cylinder and landed in his waiting palm, and then there was total darkness.

"Everyone," Dorn said, "step forward on three. One... two... three."

Jared stepped forward, wondering if he would be launched at incredible speeds down a tunnel. He braced himself for whatever surprise Teruvisa had in store for him. As soon as his foot landed, he briefly felt a coolness and a sensation like static electricity coursing through him, and then he found himself in a short, dimly-lit hallway as wide as their chain of people.

_That's it?_ Jared was kind of disappointed. He looked to his sides. Everyone was there. He looked behind himself. There was only a wall. _How did we do that?_

Dorn said, "Okay. Let's go."

Hilcar led Jared and the rest of the group the short distance to the only door, which was as wide and tall as the corridor. "Welcome to Central Security."

The enormous door in front of them silently slid upward, revealing a spacious oval room. Two men, dressed in white robes, were standing by the entrance. They looked like they were twins—they had the same dark hair and facial features and wore the same stern facial expression—except one had blue eyes and the other had green.

The blue-eyed guard stuck out his chest and pointed to one of the many high-backed seats in the room. "Take a seat."

The way the guards were acting, Jared wondered jokingly if he had signed up with the military. He was going to salute the guard mockingly but thought better of it.

The chairs in the room were arranged in a large circle, facing inward. Jared chose the closest seat and sat down. Danielle and Paul sat down next to him. Jared looked back at Hilcar. He and the other guardians stayed by the door, which had already dropped closed without a sound.

As the guards walked to their seats, Jared leaned back into his swiveling armchair and put his arms on the armrests. He looked around the room. The only visible furniture was the chairs.

Simultaneously, the white-clad guards sat down and swiveled their chairs 180 degrees. Each of them flipped open a panel on one of the arms of their chairs.

Jared fingered the contour of his armrests with his thumbs to see if his chair has panels, too. He felt little indents on the inside edge of both armrests. He opened the right-hand armrest panel slightly and looked down with just his eyes.

He saw touchpad controls and then closed the panel.

When the guards were finished, they both slapped the panels on their armrests shut at the same time. It was almost like they had rehearsed it a hundred times—they were so perfectly together.

In front of each of the guards, a foot-wide pillar of light shot down from the ceiling. Then, as fast as they came, the pillars of light disappeared.

Three headbands with knobby studs were left, floating in midair. Jared was curious to know what those were for.

The blue-eyed guard grabbed the two headbands hovering in front of him, and the other took the remaining one as they stood up. The guards handed each child a headband.

The green-eyed guard said, "Put these on your heads."

Jared slipped on the studded, leather headband.

He joked to himself, _Nice fashion statement._

The blue-eyed guard said, "Rest your arms on the arms of your chair, palms up."

Not thinking anything of it, Jared laid his arms on the armrests as instructed. However, when Jared turned up his palms, clamps came shooting out of the arms of the chair, locking his wrists in place.

A hint of panic came over him. He tried to pull an arm loose, but the restraints were too tight. Up until that point, he had done everything that was asked of him, so he wondered why they would restrain him.

"What's this? An electric chair?" Paul was obviously concerned—of course, so was Jared.

The blue-eyed guard snapped, "Quiet," flipped up the panel of the armrest of his chair again, and then touched the control pad with one finger like he was pushing a button.

"One at a time, say your first and last names." Pointing to Jared, the guard said, "You first."

_Why are they strapping us down to say our names?_ Jared was going to refuse, but he didn't dare when he looked at the guard, who was almost scowling at him with impatience.

After Jared, Paul, and Danielle said their names, a bubble of light engulfed Jared's right hand. He saw that both Paul and Danielle also had bubbles over their right hands.

The green-eyed guard said, "Your hands will feel warm briefly, but try not to move."

Jared looked at the bubble. His hand was getting warmer. As the heat quickly became uncomfortable, despite the guard's request that they not move, Jared couldn't help squirming a little.

However, after a few seconds, the bubble of light disappeared, the heat went away, and, in Jared's palm, there was a glowing stone. It was made of a smooth, glassy material shaped into an oval a little bigger around than a quarter—just like Hilcar's and Dorn's stones.

The clamps released Jared's wrists, and the blue-eyed guard stood up in front of the youths. He looked each one of them in the eyes. It was a piercing gaze. Jared felt like the guard was trying to read his mind.

"These are your security devices." The guard pointed at the glowing rocks in the youths' hands. "They're called kevanshus. These kevanshus have undergone a genetic molding process, which ensures that no one but the owner can use them.

"However, do not lose them or give them to anyone. It is possible that the genetic encryptions can be altered to allow another user to operate the device."

Jared looked at his kevanshu. _Whoa. It has my genes?_

The guard continued. "Since these kevanshus give you full access to Teruvisa—something to which I was opposed but was overridden by Manasto—it is vital to use them responsibly, with discretion and prudence." He scowled at the youths in an intimidating manner. "Is that understood?"

Jared wasn't afraid of the guard but could tell he was very serious. He nodded to acknowledge that he understood.

Danielle slowly raised her hand. Jared thought it was bold of her to ask the guards a question.

She timidly asked, "Um... how do we get them to work, sir?"

The guard said arrogantly, "I assure you they already _work_. But if you're referring to how to _use_ the devices, it's quite easy.

"When you approach an access point—whether it be a gate, portal, door, etcetera—simply hold it out in the palm of your hand with the palm facing up." He held out his hand, with the palm open. "Then, when you're done with the kevanshu for that particular use, close your fist around the device and hold it up to your chest near your shoulder, and it will be absorbed."

He enacted the movement. "Now, assimilate your kevanshus just as I demonstrated."

Jared closed his fist around the kevanshu and slowly placed his fist against his chest. He opened his fist and looked at his palm. His eyes widened in amazement. His hand was empty.

Jared rounded his lips and mouthed, "Whoa."

As the guard returned to his seat, Hilcar stepped forward and asked, "Would you be so kind as to activate the archives?"

The guard sat down with a look of pondering the request seriously.

He asked Hilcar, "Do you have an authorization code?"

"Certainly. I have my treyo right here." Hilcar pulled out his handheld device. "Ready for transmission whenever you are."

The guard did something on the arm console of his seat that caused a holographic, flat panel computer monitor to appear in front of him. It hovered motionless just above his lap. The guard's fingers moved quickly over the holographic touch screen.

"Ready to receive." The guard didn't look away from the screen.

Hilcar pointed his treyo at the monitor. A moment later, the hologram disappeared.

"Operation complete. Access has been granted." The guard had a look of satisfaction.

Hilcar inclined his head slightly. "Good. Thank you."

Jared wondered why the archives needed to be activated.

"Okay. We're done here." Prienna motioned with her hand toward the door. "Children, come with us."

With that, they left the security control room and went back to the shuttle bay. After they had all boarded and the shuttle took off, Danielle quietly asked Prienna, "Are we going to the archives before we go see Ferran?" Danielle also must have been wondering why Hilcar had the archives activated.

Prienna shook her head. "Sorry, not yet. We need to run some tests on the archives to determine the state of the records and investigate possible security breaches."

"Oh," Danielle sighed, obviously very let down.

Jared was disappointed, too. He would've liked to have gone to the archives to look up a few quick facts about his parents. _Oh well_. He shrugged to himself. _Maybe some other time_.

The rest of the shuttle ride was quiet and uneventful until, when the vehicle was about to fly into a shuttle bay, something hit the top of the shuttle hard and caused the craft to drop. Luckily, Hilcar managed to pull it back up in time to fly the shuttle through the opening to the bay.

"It's still on top!" Hilcar cried out.

The shuttle landed with a thud and turned 90 degrees as it skidded to a stop. Dorn, who was seated in the copilot's chair, did something on the control panel that made an alarm sound.

Also, mixed with the alarm was a woman's voice repeating, "Intrusion alert. Intrusion alert."

At first, Jared couldn't tell if the alarm was only in the shuttle, but when the door opened, he heard the same alarm and female voice outside.

Prienna jumped up from her seat, grabbed the top of the shuttle's doorway, swung her feet up, and then launched herself back over the top of the shuttle with a grunt.

Jared heard a loud thud and a growl above, and then a large furry, leathery mass—some creature with a long tail and big, strong, leathery arms—flew out of the shuttle bay into the circuit. A second later, Prienna landed on the bay floor on the opposite side as the shuttle door.

"What's going on?" Paul asked, almost with a whimper.

"Everyone out." Hilcar grabbed Jared by the arm and helped him up.

Dorn got Paul and Danielle out. Hilcar and Jared were right behind them. Prienna met the group at the shuttle bay elevator door.

Jared looked at his grandpa, who was talking but not to anyone in their group. _Who's he talking to?_

The elevator opened, and the youths were quickly ushered inside. After getting off the elevator, Jared, Danielle, and Paul were rushed down a pathway to a wall console.

Jared asked, "What was that thing?"

Hilcar didn't answer. He kept tapping the kiosk on the wall.

Soon, three mini shuttles appeared.

Hilcar called out, "Everyone, let's go!" and practically shoved Jared into a mini shuttle.

Hilcar and Jared's mini shuttle immediately ascended above the lights and then shot forward in a flash. Except for the brief initial acceleration, Jared didn't feel like the mini shuttle was moving—similar to how he felt in the tunnel they all flew through after they entered Teruvisa through the earthen wall.

They arrived at their destination in only a few seconds. Jared wondered how far they had traveled.

The instant the mini shuttle landed, Hilcar jumped out, started tapping the touchpad of the wall console next to the door where the mini shuttle was dropping them off, and then placed his hand on the kiosk's screen.

He motioned anxiously with his other hand for Jared to join him at the door. "Come on."

As Jared got out of the mini shuttle, the other two mini shuttles, carrying Danielle, Prienna, Paul, and Dorn, landed.

The door opened.

"In here. Hurry up." Hilcar held the door open and motioned for everyone to get in the elevator.

# Chapter 6

The Sublevel

Hilcar pushed the only button on the inside panel to the right of the door. The door closed, and immediately the elevator propelled them downward. Jared felt a momentary sensation of weightlessness.

After a few seconds, the elevator stopped, and the doors opened, revealing a small room with a window that was nearly the width of the room and, below that, a control panel that was slightly narrower than the window.

When Jared got out of the elevator, without waiting to be told where to go, he stepped up to the console underneath the observation window in front of him and looked out.

The booth he and the others were in overlooked a stadium-sized chamber. Conduits of different sizes ran in every direction. There were many pointed towers of varying heights. Also, huge columns rose to the ceiling.

Some of the numerous conduits went into circular tunnels. These passageways could be seen everywhere. There were even some in the ceiling far above the control room.

"Wow. We must be underneath Teruvisa." Jared's curiosity was piqued.

Dorn responded to Jared's awe, "Yep. This is the sublevel."

Prienna added, "You need to get some of that gear on so that we can take you down there."

Jared looked to his left where a row of several belts and some headgear hung on the wall. On the floor just below the belts and helmets was a row of boots lined up in pairs.

The adults started putting on boots.

As Jared walked over to the gear, he asked, "What are we doing in the sublevel?"

Hilcar said, "It's the safest way to the transport room. We can more easily evade detection by that Beast that attacked our shuttle."

Jared grabbed a pair of boots. _Beast. That's a good name for it._

Danielle held up a boot. "All these are really big. I only see adult sizes here."

Jared had noticed the same thing when he grabbed a pair. He figured it was because the Teruvisan engineers and clothing designers probably never planned on kids using them.

"Just pull the straps tight," Prienna said.

Jared put on the shiny, vinyl boots. They were army green and as heavy as lead. He concluded that the black soles must contain some kind of metal, although they were flexible like rubber.

Then, he yanked the three boot straps as tight as he could. As soon as he did, the boots shrank to fit his feet.

_Whoa!_ Jared was impressed. "Cool."

Danielle, who had also put on some boots and watched them resize, agreed. "Very."

Next, Jared grabbed one of the brown belts off the wall. He noticed that the buckle had a dial with numbers around the edge from _0_ to _10_ on it. The dial was currently set at _0_. He shrugged, not knowing what the numbers were for, and then fastened the belt around his waist.

Then, Jared grabbed a helmet. The helmet was shaped like a bicycle helmet and had a light on the front. Also, what looked like a microphone and headphones were built into it.

He put on the headgear and fastened the chin strap. As he did, the lamp on his helmet began shining on the wall next to the elevator door.

Hilcar stepped toward the middle of the room. "Follow me."

Once he was standing inside the lines of a square painted in the center of the room, that area of the floor vanished, Hilcar dropped out of sight, and then the floor became solid again.

Prienna and Dorn nudged the youths closer, and Prienna said, "Okay, one at a time now. Jared, you go first."

When Jared clomped into place, the floor vanished, and he dropped out of the control booth. Almost instantly, he found himself at ground level in the arena. He looked up. Directly above him was the bottom of the control booth.

He quickly stepped out of the square painted on the floor because he knew Danielle or Paul would come down at any moment.

Hilcar, to Jared's left, motioned for him to follow. "This way."

As Jared took his first few exploratory steps out from below the control booth into the vast chamber, it dawned on him, as he kind of stuck to the floor as he walked, that the boots were probably magnetic.

Everyone assembled at the round entrance of the tunnel Hilcar had chosen. It was about 15 feet tall. Inside the tunnel, a line of lights were installed along the top, and several runs of smaller conduit were fastened together along one side. The conduits and lights disappeared around a bend way down the tunnel.

Hilcar said, "Okay. Let's go. We'll explain how to travel the sublevel systems as we walk. But, let's walk quickly, okay?"

When Dorn and Paul, who were in front of everyone else, stepped into the shaft, Paul was immediately lifted off his feet and began floating away slowly from the rest of the group.

_What's going on?_ Jared wanted to help and was about to race into the tunnel to catch Paul, but he hesitated. He didn't know why Paul starting floating and wondered if he stepped into the tunnel if he would start floating uncontrollably, too.

Paul cried out, "What's going on?!"

Jared looked at his grandpa, who was grinning, _Why does he think this is so funny?_ and then looked back at Paul, who was trying to undo the chin strap of his helmet.

Dorn called out, "It's okay, Paul. Just turn the dial on your belt back to _0_."

Paul fumbled with his belt buckle and then dropped back onto his feet.

Hilcar entered the tunnel. "Well, now you all know how the belt dials work."

Jared checked the dial on his belt buckle to make sure it was on _0_ and then followed his grandpa. _So, the dial controls whether we can fly or not and how fast—kind of like a speed dial. Cool._

Paul, who was waiting for the group to reach him, smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "Sorry. I must've bumped the dial when I was putting on my belt."

When the group was together, Dorn said, "We need to keep moving." He motioned down the tunnel. "As Paul demonstrated, the belt controls the initial lift and forward movement, so let's all turn our dials to _1_."

Jared turned his dial one click, and he lifted off the ground. As he began floating lazily down the tunnel, he wobbled a little but held his arms out for balance.

He wondered what kind of force kept him situated in the center of the tunnel and propelled him forward. _Magnetism?_

Dorn, who was in the lead with Paul, said through the helmet communicator, "Now, turn your body 90 degrees." He took a surfer's stance. "I've found that turning yourself this way and holding your arms out helps you balance better."

Jared turned so that his left side was leading, and, almost immediately, his balance improved.

"Also, you can lean back or forward to turn left or right, lean toward the direction of travel to go down, and lean away from the direction of travel to go up." Dorn swayed left and right and bobbed up and down as he demonstrated.

Jared tested his steering ability by leaning slightly backward and then forward a few times. He quickly started to feel more stable and confident with the zero-gravity ride. _Cool._

Dorn said, "Let's try going a little faster now. Turn your dials to _3_."

Jared did so and started moving at the speed of a fast jog.

The group approached the first bend in the tunnel. Dorn said, "Now, remember what I told you: lean." He and Paul leaned as they reached the bend and didn't have any problem staying in the center of the tunnel as they followed the curve.

_Looks easy enough._ Jared reached the turn and leaned back, but he leaned too hard and bumped into the side of the tunnel with his shoulder. As he bounced off the tunnel wall, he quickly adjusted his weight, got back in the center of the tunnel, and finished the turn smoothly. _I've got it now. No problem._

Hilcar complimented him. "Good, Jared."

After everyone made it around that bend, Dorn told them to go faster.

At _5_ , Jared felt like he was moving at the speed of a very fast sprint, and, at that speed, the turns started coming faster. Jared didn't have trouble keeping up, though.

Soon they got to their first up and down branch in the tunnel.

Jared's first attempt to go up as he followed Dorn and Paul into the upper fork of the tunnel went much better than his first try at a left turn. _Much better._

A short time later, Dorn and Paul said something to each other, glanced back at Jared and the others, and then shot forward, pulling away from the rest of the group.

Jared guessed that they had turned their dials to _8_ or _9_. _So, they want to race, huh?_ He and his grandpa exchanged smiles.

Hilcar asked, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Jared nodded.

From behind, Prienna called out, "Well boys, what're you waiting for?"

"Let's get 'em." Jared cranked his belt dial to _10_ and accelerated with a jolt. _Ha ha! Here I come!_ The lights overhead became blurry flashes as he rocketed through the tunnel.

Jared started to catch up to Dorn and Paul but then, only a few seconds later, noticed that he had stopped gaining on the leaders. He assumed that they too had put their dials on _10_.

_Those cheaters. How are we supposed to catch up?_ Jared narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw. _I'll show them_. He was determined not to let Paul and Dorn get any farther ahead.

It was challenging following Dorn and Paul through all the curves, turns, and forks. Sometimes it took a quick change of weight to maneuver through one turn or fork and then another as he shot through the tunnel, but Jared focused on keeping his balance and watching where Dorn and Paul were going.

As Jared watched Dorn's and Paul's movements, he realized he would have to change his impression about Paul. Apparently, Paul wasn't always as reserved as Jared thought. Between being first into the tunnel and first to go fast, Jared was seeing an adventurous side to Paul.

Not long after that, Jared heard Dorn's voice through the headphones built into the helmet. "We're almost there. Slow down."

Immediately, Paul dropped, hit the bottom of the tunnel with all his momentum, tumbled, and then slid to a stop.

"Whoa!" Dorn quickly added, "Turn the dial _slowly_ to _0_."

Jared, Hilcar, Prienna, and Danielle passed over Paul a second later.

Jared gradually turned down his speed dial and gracefully landed on his feet next to Dorn. "Whew! That was awesome!" Jared had never experienced such a thrill ride—no roller coaster he'd ever been on could compare to the exhilaration he felt as he flew through the tunnel. He wanted to go again.

Jared made a fist and, flexing his arm, tucked his elbow into his side. "That was the best ride ever!" he exclaimed as he shot his fist into the air.

"Wait here." Dorn walked back to Paul, helped him up, and then, holding Paul's upper arm to help keep him up, brought him back to the group.

Jared smiled at Paul, "He said _slow_ down, not _fall_ down."

Danielle elbowed Jared in the arm.

"Hey." Jared rubbed his arm even though it didn't really hurt. "I was just joking."

"Ha, ha," Paul said with a fake laugh. "Funny." He wobbled slightly as he walked, obviously a little dizzy from his tumble.

"Are you okay?" Danielle asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah," Paul said as he planted his feet down firmly and tried to shake it off.

Jared thought Paul looked a little nauseous and jokingly asked, "Ready to go again?"

Danielle looked at Paul, then Dorn. "How about if we walk for a little while?"

Paul nodded. "That would be nice."

Jared smiled and shook his head. _Figures._

"Sure. Our exit is just up ahead anyway." Dorn took the lead. "Follow me."

As they walked, Jared noticed that Danielle was helping Paul steady himself. Eventually, Paul was able to walk on his own and seemed to be doing alright.

After they had walked a few hundred yards, Dorn stopped, held up one hand, and pointed down with the other. "Here it is."

Jared looked down and saw that Dorn was pointing at a 10-foot-wide, round hole in the floor of the tunnel. He stepped up to the edge of the hole next to Dorn and saw a dim light at the bottom of the vertical shaft.

Once everyone had gathered, Dorn said, "Jump in and turn your dials to _1_. Then, when you touch down, turn them back to _0_." He jumped down into the opening.

Jared put his belt dial on _1_ as he followed Dorn into the shaft. He lazily floated down through and out of the pipe. After he gently landed on the floor in the middle of a stadium-sized room, he turned his belt dial to _0_.

Jared saw Dorn a few steps away and, a little more than midway up the wall he was facing, a control booth sticking out into the arena. _A way out._ He wasn't anxious to leave the sublevel—it had been fun—but he followed Dorn to the area just below the control booth.

After Dorn was shot upward and disappeared through the underside of the control booth, Jared stepped into the square that was painted on the floor directly under the control room and was also launched up through the bottom of the booth.

Jared looked down when he was inside. The floor had immediately reappeared beneath his feet. He stepped toward the wall, and moments later, one right after the other, Hilcar, Danielle, Paul, and Prienna appeared in the booth.

Dorn looked at Paul. "You can go ahead and take that stuff off now." He pointed at Paul's boots, belt, and helmet.

After they had all taken their gear off, they got into the elevator. Prienna pushed the only button on the panel. Jared felt a brief sensation of heaviness as the elevator launched upward. After several seconds, the elevator stopped, and the door opened.

As Jared and the others entered a large room, a man dressed in white like the guards in the security control room started walking over to meet the group. He must have been waiting for them. "Come on. Let's get the children out of here."

The room Jared and the others entered was the size of an enormous warehouse. Straight ahead, along the wall, were two rows of large but shallow recesses. The bottom row had rectangular indentations. The row on the mezzanine above had round holes.

Next to each alcove was a small control panel on a pedestal. There were several escalators leading to the upper level, but they were motionless.

Jared had expected to see shuttles in a transportation room, and he didn't see anything that looked like it could be used for transportation.

Dorn asked the guard, "So, do you have any information about the...?"

Jared looked at Dorn, then in the direction Dorn was looking, and saw why Dorn hadn't finished his question. The guard had grown fangs and claws.

He gave Jared a mean look and leapt toward him.

# Chapter 7

Ferran's Library

Hilcar, Dorn, and Prienna jumped in between the guard and the youths. The guardians put up their arms and said something Jared didn't understand that created some kind of force field.

The guard bounced off it, landed on his feet, and then growled.

Jared thought the guard looked terrifyingly familiar to the man-beast that broke into his bedroom in California.

The guard began to transform again. His head and face became furry, and his nose elongated into a snout.

The top part of the guard turned into a huge, black, dog-like creature supported by muscular front limbs and large, clawed hands.

The creature's torso became textured like an elephant, starting from where the fur ended just behind the forelimbs, and narrowed into a long, lizard-like tail (the Beast didn't have any hind legs).

The entire metamorphosis took less than two seconds.

The dog-lizard whipped its tail around toward Prienna's head, but she ducked just in time.

Continuing its attack, the creature reached out with one of its clawed hands and swiped at her. She dove out of the way and then got back on her feet.

Immediately, the three guardians surrounded the Beast.

Hilcar called to the youths without looking at them, "Get up to the portals on the second level!"

Part of Jared wanted to help, but he felt powerless. _Before I can go up against something like that beast, I'm going to need a lot of training... and weapons... big weapons._

Dorn pointed up to the alcoves. "GO! NOW!"

Jared snapped out of his trance, ran around the guardians, and followed Paul and Danielle up the stationary escalator onto the mezzanine.

When Jared looked down below, he saw the Beast move toward the escalator, but Hilcar waved his hand while saying something Jared wasn't able to make out. The Beast whimpered and put a paw up to its eyes.

Jared watched anxiously as Hilcar, Prienna, and Dorn pointed at the stunned Beast at the same time. After they yelled something that seemed like a foreign language again, light flashed out over the creature.

A transparent bubble of light encapsulated the dog-lizard, and the Beast collapsed to the ground like it had been shot with a tranquilizer.

Jared wondered how long the Beast would lay there like that.

The guardians wasted no time getting to the youths and sprinted up onto the mezzanine. Dorn, who got there first, started doing something on the control panel by the alcove where Jared, Danielle, and Paul were standing.

As Dorn's fingers typed away, the portal came to life. Light filled the shallow, cylindrical hole.

Prienna and Hilcar were standing close by the youths by then. Jared was starting to feel a little more relaxed until he glanced down and saw that the Beast was waking up. The effect of the tranquilizer must have been wearing off.

After the portal lit up, the guardians ushered the youths closer to it. Jared looked back at the lower level. The trapped monster began clawing at the bubble.

"That bubble won't hold for long," Hilcar said.

A second later, the Beast tore through the bubble. At that moment, white-clad guards entered the room, through the same door Jared and the others used to enter, with pole-like weapons. The Beast sprang onto the escalator.

Jared didn't move, but his thoughts turned to the portal—his only chance of escape.

Prienna yelled, "Now!"

Jared felt Hilcar shove him. He stumbled into the portal but managed to turn to the left as he fell. The last thing he saw before completely entering the portal and being encompassed by light was the Beast face to face with Hilcar at the top of the escalator.

A split second later, Jared became surrounded by darkness, followed by a brief moment of weightlessness, and then he was rocketed through space. After a couple of seconds, he slowed down and dropped.

He stumbled only slightly as he landed, but, a second later, Danielle and Paul crashed into him, one right after the other. They all toppled into a pile on the floor.

Jared made an effort to get to his feet, but Paul's elbow jabbed Jared hard in the ribs. "Hey, get off me."

"It's not like we could help it," Danielle said. "Ouch! Paul, that was my hand."

Paul apologized. "Sorry."

Jared groaned as they unpiled themselves and got to their feet.

Hilcar, Prienna, and Dorn still hadn't arrived. _Where are they? What happened to them? I hope they're okay._

Almost frantic, Jared pushed through Danielle and Paul and slapped his palms on the wall behind them. He began rubbing and patting the surface. "Grandpa?" He desperately wanted to get back to Hilcar, but it was no use; the wall remained solid. "Do you think they're okay?"

"I don't know, but that monster _was_ outnumbered. They're probably alright." Danielle didn't sound convinced, though.

Jared stepped away from the wall, still surveying it. "I suppose," he said, wanting to believe that his grandpa was fine.

While rubbing his neck and massaging his aches from the collision, Jared surveyed the compartment they had landed in. They were in a small, cube-shaped room with brass-colored walls and an elevator door.

A few seconds later, the elevator door opened.

Danielle, Jared, and Paul looked at each other, then at the open door.

"Well, I guess we should try to find that Ferran guy," Paul said.

Jared hesitated for a moment as he looked back at the wall, wanting to wait for his grandpa, but then he followed Paul and Danielle into the elevator. _We do need to find Ferran_.

The elevator compartment was identical to the room they just left. "Are we in an elevator or did we just get out of an elevator?" Jared looked around. "Or both?" The door closed, and Jared felt lighter, like when going down in an elevator. "I guess that answers that question."

When the elevator stopped and the door opened, they exited into a hallway with a cement ceiling, wooden wall panels, and brown carpet. At the end of the 10-foot-long passageway was an arched doorway.

They passed through the archway into what looked like a library. Besides the arched entryway, there were three wooden doors—one on each of the other three walls. Books filled the shelves on every wall from floor to ceiling. Also, there were several long tables, chairs, and computer terminals scattered throughout the room.

"That was a close one."

Jared turned to see who had spoken. He recognized the man who had just entered through one of the doors. It was one of his teachers from school back home.

_What's he doing here? And for that matter, where's here?_ "Mr. Hobson?" Jared wondered if Mr. Hobson, who was wearing a dark blue, hooded Teruvisan robe, was a figment of his imagination.

Mr. Hobson approached Jared. "Yes, Jared, it's me."

Jared looked over at Danielle and Paul. "This is my science teacher." He pointed at Mr. Hobson.

"I'm also one of the Masters who will train you." Mr. Hobson bowed slightly. "My real name is Ferran."

Jared marveled that his science teacher was a Teruvisan. _First my grandpa and now my teacher. Who else from Earth do I know that's Teruvisan?_

Jared's thoughts immediately turned back to Hilcar, Prienna, and Dorn. He took a step toward Ferran. "My grandpa... and the other guardians... there was a—"

"I know I know." Ferran raised a hand, making a motion for Jared to calm down. "Don't worry. They're fine. But unfortunately, the Beast escaped."

Jared doubted Ferran for a moment. _How does he know?_ But then, Jared remembered how his grandpa could talk to people who weren't close by. _That must be it._ Jared took a deep breath and then relaxed as he exhaled.

"What was that... that thing?" Danielle asked with a scowl.

"That was Damen. One of the Beasts of Tirum—some of Dreggan's awful creations." Ferran sneered. "Terrible monsters, those Beasts." He shuddered slightly. "Unnatural, genetic mutants."

"You mean there's more than one?" Danielle had a disgusted look on her face.

"Yep. Six." Ferran turned. "Now, follow me, please."

_Wow. Six_. Jared thought _one_ was too many.

Ferran led Jared, Danielle, and Paul across the room toward a different door than either of the ones through which any of them entered the library. As he walked, Jared realized that he should be less concerned by the fact that there were five more of those dog-lizards roaming around than how he would be able to tell the difference between a real man and a Beast or if it was even possible. After all, Damen's disguise had tricked Dorn and the other adults in the transport room.

Jared wanted to ask his question about how to recognize a Beast's disguise but was afraid of the answer he would probably get—that there was no way. Instead, he looked around and asked, "Where are we?"

Ferran answered, "You're in my library—my secret library."

_Does he like to read or what?_ Jared joked to himself.

Ferran continued his explanation of the library. "We're far beneath my house on Earth."

_So, we're on Earth. But not only that, I'm close to home._ Jared almost wanted to go visit his house but then remembered the trouble he had the last time he was there.

"This library is where I've spent most of my time over the years." When Ferran reached the intended door, he said, "In here, please," and opened it.

Jared and the others entered an all-white room with a tiled floor. There were a half dozen dentist chairs inside. Next to each chair was a small computer terminal on a stand. On top of each computer was a small, black, glass dome. It was similar in shape to a small snow globe.

As he looked at the dentist chairs, Jared joked to himself, _Part of our training is getting our teeth cleaned?_

"Have a seat, please," Ferran requested, indicating the chairs with a wave of his hand.

Instead of sitting, though, the three youths stopped and furrowed their brows at each other.

"Excuse me." Danielle pointed at one of the chairs. "But, what is this room?"

_Danielle must not want to get her teeth cleaned either._ The corners of Jared's mouth turned up slightly.

Ferran walked over to one of the chair-side computers and turned around with his arms out to his sides. "This is the transfer room. We're going to create a communication link between you and the backup archives of Teruvisa in order to do a memory transfer."

Jared wondered what Ferran meant by that. _Memory transfer?_

Paul asked, "Are these machines connected to Teruvisa?"

"No," Ferran replied. "The library we just came from stores a backup copy of Teruvisa's system files. That is what you'll be connected to."

At first, Jared wasn't sure how computer files could be stored in books, but then he realized that he hadn't bothered to take a close look at the books in the library. They could really be a type of electronic storage device made to look like books.

Ferran added, "Ever since we knew we'd have to abandon Teruvisa, I've been guarding the system backups in the library here. I've also been searching through every bit of data possible in preparation for this day—the day when you three would be old enough to be trained.

"And, I'm quite proud to say that I've successfully found a way to selectively explore and transmit memories and historical data between humans and computers. I call it Historical Sharing and Transfer—HST for short."

Ferran smiled. "Now, if you'll sit down, I'll explain what's going to happen during the memory transfer process."

Jared was a little hesitant because the last time he sat in a strange chair, clamps shot out of the armrests. But, Ferran was Mr. Hobson, and Jared had always trusted his science teacher. So, Jared walked toward a chair. Danielle and Paul followed his lead.

Once the three of them were seated, Ferran walked over to the seat Paul was in. He started doing something on the chair-side computer.

Paul had a worried look on his face as he watched Ferran. "So, why do you need our memories?"

After Paul asked that question, Jared pictured a laser beam from the small, domed lens on top of the computer shooting into his head and taking his memories. He felt a little uncomfortable at the thought of having his brain zapped and his memories stolen. "Yeah."

"Well, I'm not going to _take_ them if that's what you were thinking." Ferran continued doing whatever it was he was doing. "I'm just going to copy them into a database. And don't worry. It's completely harmless. You'll be in a deep, relaxing, sleep-like state during the whole thing to allow your subconscious to work freely, and it'll be like a dream because you'll only be observing what's going on."

Jared started to feel less apprehensive about the memory transfer.

Ferran went on to explain a little bit more about the process. "Anyway, the library servers will send signals to your brains to prompt memory recollection. During the process, you'll remember vividly specific, key personal experiences that deal with the rebellion and abandonment of Teruvisa. And, the HST server will record those memories." Ferran walked over to Jared's chair and began working on the computer.

_So, the computer can access my memories—memories I didn't even know I had._ Jared considered the possibilities. _What will I remember?_

Ferran continued. "Oh yeah. And since you'll be hooked up together, after the process is finished, you'll exchange each other's memories."

"Exchange?" Jared furrowed his brow with curiosity.

"Yes," Ferran said. "Once all of your memories are relived and transferred to the server, each of you will see what the others have seen."

_This could be very interesting._ Jared was excited to see his memories and wondered what the exchanging of memories would be like.

"Oh. And one more thing." Ferran held up a finger. "Before I initiate the process, I do have to give you a warning. Some of the memories could be rather intense. Some might even be difficult to bear. But, it's necessary for you to see them."

"You mean memories about our parents, don't you?" Danielle asked flatly.

Ferran took a deep breath. "Yes." He looked down. "I'm sorry to make you relive those times."

Jared's heart leapt at the thought of seeing his parents, even if only in a dream, because the only images he had of his parents were from a few pictures given to him by his grandpa.

"Sorry?" Danielle furrowed her brow, almost scowling. "How could seeing our parents be a bad thing?"

Jared also got a little confused as to why Ferran seemed sad about them seeing their parents. _Yeah_. But then, he realized that, if he saw his parents, he might see Dreggan. And if that was the case, he might see his parents get killed. He didn't know how he would handle that, but he convinced himself that he did want to get on with the HST anyway.

"Uh..." Ferran paused as if contemplating a good response, but all he said was, "Sorry. But, it's best if you just see for yourselves." He shifted his feet and looked away from the youths. "However, any questions you have afterward, I'll gladly answer." Ferran smiled apologetically.

Obviously hiding something and feeling uncomfortable, he changed the subject. "But, the good thing about the HST is that it will help you remember where you came from and who you really are. The knowledge you gain could greatly benefit you in your training." Ferran walked over to Danielle's chair-side computer and began working on it.

Everyone was silent until Ferran was done and said, "So, what do you say we get started with the HST?"

He looked around at each of the youths. Jared and his friends nodded.

"Okay. I'll be back by the time it's done." Ferran started to leave.

_Am I supposed to just go to sleep? I'm not even tired._ Jared sat up. "Wait. What are we supposed to do?"

Ferran stopped and turned around. "Just sit back, close your eyes, and relax. The computers will do the rest." He left before anyone could ask him anymore questions.

_How am I supposed to relax?_ Jared lay back down. "Okay..." He settled into his chair, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then relaxed as he exhaled. To his surprise, as he let himself go, he started to feel very light and peaceful. He relaxed even more.

Memories of Ferran, as Mr. Hobson, entered his thoughts. Jared had enjoyed having Mr. Hobson for a teacher. He had a kind smile, was very intelligent, and treated all his students fairly—even Tim.

_Mr. Hobson is Ferran. Wow. What else will I find out?_ Jared speculated briefly, but not being able to concentrate any longer, he drifted off into a sleep-like state.

# Chapter 8

The Rebellion Begins

Paul opened his eyes. He was in a dark room with only a crack of light coming from a partially open door, but he could make out a woman, judging by the long hair, sitting in a rocker recliner nearby. She was rocking slowly and humming quietly with her head tilted back slightly, resting on the headrest.

Paul also noticed that he was behind bars and lying down on his side. He realized that he was in a crib. _I'm a baby._

A chiming noise caught the woman's attention, and she looked toward the door.

From the other room, a man's voice said, "Hello, Darren. What can I do for you?" The voice seemed very familiar to Paul, but he couldn't quite place it.

Another male voice said, "Well, Bryn, I just had a quick question. Manasto told us there would be a meeting today to discuss the implantations. I was wondering if you'd heard anything else about it."

"No. That's all I was told about the meeting. But..."

"But what?"

"Earlier today, I did overhear something I think I wasn't supposed to."

"What was it?"

"Well, when I went to see Manasto at the Loron observatory, I overheard him and Verissa talking."

"What were they talking about?"

"That's just it. I'm not quite sure. I was outside the door, and they were talking quietly. But, I was able to make out a few words. I'm pretty sure I heard Verissa say, 'Isaac' and 'banished.'"

"So... they want to throw Isaac out of Teruvisa. I haven't heard anything to even suggest that kind of action. What do you suppose—?"

"I know it sounds like that's what they're planning, but we can't jump to any conclusions. What I told you were only bits and pieces of a conversation."

"True. And, I'm sure the Council would let _us_ know if they had to take such serious actions. After all, _we_ are heads of security."

"Yeah, you're probably right. But still..."

"What?"

"I'm tempted go to the Council room right now and try to sneak in to hear what they're discussing."

"Wait. You mean they're meeting right now?"

"Yep."

"Without us? Why?"

"I don't know. All I heard was that Manasto, Verissa, and the more senior Council members would be there."

"Hmm. Well, I better go. Thanks for the information. See you later."

"No problem. Bye."

Paul heard a door close and then footsteps approach the bedroom. The door to the nursery opened slowly. The light from the other room silhouetted a man peeking in. The woman got up from her chair.

"Liz," the man whispered.

"Shh." She put a finger up to her lips and then pointed at Paul. "Come on. We can talk outside."

The man whispered back, "Oh, sorry about that."

Paul had never even seen a picture of his parents (his uncle didn't have any because he didn't like pictures), but he did know their names—Bryn and Elizabeth. _So, these are my parents_...

As Paul's parents left, his father whispered, "Darren was just here."

"Yes, I know. I heard," his mother whispered.

The room went dark again as the door was gently pulled shut. Once they were outside the bedroom, his parents began talking in hushed tones, so Paul couldn't hear what they were saying.

A short time later, there was another chiming noise. The baby Paul sat up.

Bryn asked with a little hostility in his voice, "Can I help you?"

Paul realized that the chime must have been a door bell and that his dad had let someone else in. _Who is it?_

The visitor—male, judging by the voice—said, "I just wanted to give you another chance to join my special society. I came here to extend the invitation personally because I wanted to let you know just how serious I am when I say that you two would be valuable members of the society. Our numbers have increased dramatically. We'll do so much good for Teruvisa. What do you say?"

"No thanks," Paul's dad replied flatly.

The guest asked, "No? Why not?"

Paul's dad responded, his voice more elevated, "I know what your society really is, and I'll have no part of it. In fact, I doubt that the Council will even let your society be around much longer."

The other man exclaimed, "The Council isn't going to do anything to me! I haven't done anything wrong! All I want is to make Teruvisa greater than it has ever been! And, they'll have me—the most powerful Master ever—to thank when that happens!"

"You're no Master." Paul's dad sounded disgusted.

"Oh no?"

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Fine. But, you're making a big mistake. You'll see."

Paul heard the door get slammed shut. His father was obviously upset about the visit and didn't like the man—whoever he was.

Paul's mother said, "Calm down, Bryn. I know you don't trust Isaac." (Paul finally had a name to go with the voice, but he had no idea who Isaac was.) "I don't either. But, if he has done something wrong, the Council won't let him get away with it."

"He has some nerve calling himself a Master. His ideas are contrary to everything the Founding Masters intended." Paul's father still sounded agitated.

Elizabeth seemed calm as she tried to soothe her husband's anger. "Yes, I know. His involvement with the system enhancements was controversial, but Manasto and Verissa dismissed him from the project."

"Yeah, but he talks like he hasn't stopped. You heard him—going on about making Teruvisa great and all that. What else am I supposed to think?"

"Well, I think we should let the Council—"

"Yes, the Council. I need to tell them what Isaac said right away."

"I'm coming with you. Just wait a sec' while I get Paul. He's probably not asleep with all this commotion, anyway."

Paul's mother burst in the room, scooped Paul up into her arms, and wrapped him in a blanket. By the time his mother made it back into the living room, his father was already halfway out the door. But, she quickly caught up to him in the hallway.

Paul finally got a good look at his mother for the first time since the HST started. She was an attractive woman with an olive complexion like Paul's. As she walked briskly to keep up with her husband, her long, black hair would sweep across Paul's face.

When they got to the entrance of the Council room, a man, with dark brown hair and wearing a gold and emerald green robe, was standing there, facing the doors.

Paul's father called out, "Stop, Isaac!"

Isaac turned and looked over his shoulder as the Council room doors started opening by themselves. Isaac had a prominent brow and deep set, brown eyes that seemed full of anger and arrogance.

"I don't think so, Bryn." Isaac turned and, with a flick of his robe, went into the Council room.

Paul's parents followed him in. A hush fell over the entire chamber.

Bryn said, "Sorry, we tried to stop him, but—"

"It's okay, Bryn." Manasto held up a hand and looked at Isaac. "What can we do for you, Isaac?"

"I hear you're planning to banish me. I demand to know why," Isaac snarled, raising a fist and shaking it in the air.

"Your ideas are not in harmony with the laws of Teruvisa." Manasto remained seated with his arms resting on the arms of his chair. "We have eyewitness accounts, testifying that you've been building up a coalition to overthrow our rule. This constitutes the highest form of treason."

"It isn't treason to want to improve Teruvisa or to aspire to rule. Our laws clearly state that I have the right to challenge this governing body. My coalition, as you call it, is a peaceful and legal gathering of individuals who discuss and research alternative ideas.

"What this is really about is fear. I have proven myself to be a powerful individual. Just because you're too afraid to admit that my way is better—too afraid of losing your standing as a head of the Council—you call my actions treasonous."

Manasto raised a finger. "Ah, I'm afraid, Isaac, your assembly is not as innocent as you make it out to be. And, since you seem to insist on making this a trial, I shall oblige." He looked around the room. "Members of the Council. I've already shown you the evidence proving that Isaac wishes to change our implementation of the new technology. And, I've explained how those changes would jeopardize the integrity of our world.

"You've even seen samples of coding from the program he's compiled, and you've heard testimony that he has been recruiting followers and fully intends to use that program. It's not just research, as he professes.

"He claims that his plans will keep Teruvisa safer and make it even more powerful, but I believe otherwise. He would have ultimate control over everything—even the minds and wills of the people who subjected themselves to his rule. That violates the provisions of Teruvisa's constitution that prevent the establishment of a dictatorship and protect our most fundamental freedoms.

"Isaac's system design is a totally corrupt version of the one we're trying to implement. Our system design will allow our citizens to be on equal ground and contribute to the whole of Teruvisa. And, such a system would permit everyone to progress toward becoming Masters—not just a select few—as would be the case if Dreggan were to rule over us.

"Our new system will help prevent any one person from taking control of Teruvisa, thus allowing Teruvisa to grow and flourish beyond the dreams of our Founding Masters."

Verissa removed her arms from the arms of her chair and set her hands in her lap. "Isaac, do you have anything else to say in your defense against this charge of treason?"

"Yes," Isaac barked. "I can make Teruvisa more powerful than any of you shortsighted fools can imagine! I don't need to answer to any of you! I don't acknowledge your authority or this makeshift trial!

"What do I get for wanting to take Teruvisa to unimaginable heights? What do I get for trying to make a generous contribution to our society? Accusations of treason!

"I will lead Teruvisa to greatness! And, to anyone who follows me, I promise a place of power in my new kingdom!" Isaac stood tall with widely outstretched arms.

Then, as he put his arms down, he announced, "And one more thing. From this day forward, I am no longer Isaac. Call me... Dreggan. For that is the new name I have chosen for myself now that I'm a Master."

Gasps and whispering erupted throughout the Council room. Manasto had to raise one of his hands to get everyone to quiet down.

Once order was restored, Manasto lowered his hand and said to Isaac, "A Master, huh?" After a brief pause, Manasto looked at Verissa, then nodded.

"Is that all you wish to say, _Dreggan_?" Verissa emphasized the name when she said it.

"Yes," replied Dreggan.

Manasto closed his eyes for a moment, as if he was concentrating or listening for something, and then said, "Well then, it's the ruling of this judgment seat that you, Dreggan, are to be banished—exiled—for treason. Should you ever try to return to Teruvisa, the punishment will be death."

Manasto looked toward a door in the corner to his left, and it opened.

Dreggan growled. "Fine. Have it your way. But, I'll be back, and I'll crush you all with one fatal blow!"

Guards, dressed in their white robes, entered the room through the open corner door and marched toward Dreggan. However, Dreggan turned around, whipping his robe, and then vanished in a blurry streak.

Manasto jumped to his feet. "Send out a high priority alert! He could be anywhere by now!"

The Council chamber filled with commotion. Excited voices echoed throughout the great hall.

Amid the chaos and noise, Paul noticed that Manasto was staring at Bryn, and Bryn was looking up at Manasto. Neither of them moved a muscle. Paul wondered what was going on.

The two men stayed fixed on each other for about a minute. Then, Bryn, who had his back to Paul during the whole trial, turned around, and Paul was able to see his father's face for the first time since the HST started.

Bryn had broad shoulders, strong facial features, brown hair, and brown eyes. He looked a lot like Ferran, just younger. Paul wondered if his father and Ferran were related.

Bryn touched his wife's arm. "Elizabeth. Let's go. We need to meet with the other heads of security."

Without hesitation, Elizabeth responded, "Okay."

Paul's parents left the Council room immediately. Soon, they were in a shuttle flying through the circuits.

"Darren. Jenna. Mike. Amy." Bryn said the names like he was talking to people in the shuttle. "Meet in the Loron observatory as soon as you can and bring your children. We need to determine our readiness level for the implantation and discuss the possibility of moving up our timeline."

A little while later, the side door of the shuttle Paul and his parents were in was blown off. Paul's mother held him tight against her and turned away from the door.

"What happened?" Elizabeth asked.

"I don't know," Bryn said. "Hold on. I'll try to land."

Elizabeth turned slightly, and Paul saw another shuttle come up alongside of them.

"Help us!" Elizabeth shouted to the driver of the vehicle next to them.

A passenger in the other shuttle jumped into their shuttle. The tall, muscular man landed next to Elizabeth. "It's okay. I can help." Immediately, he went to the front, sat down next to Bryn, and started doing something on the control panel.

Bryn said, "I can't seem to get control—"

Suddenly, the craft veered into a shuttle bay.

"I seem to have managed it," the man said.

Elizabeth leaned forward and grabbed the back of the copilot's chair. "Thank you."

"Yeah, thanks." Bryn turned to his wife as the shuttle landed. "Well, Liz, we better get another shuttle."

The man put his hand on Bryn's chest and held him back. "I'm sorry, but you can't leave."

"Why? What's going on?" Bryn asked in defiance.

The shuttle from which the man had jumped pulled in next to them, and someone got out.

Elizabeth gasped, "Dreggan."

Dreggan entered their shuttle through the hole where the door used to be. "You should be ashamed of yourselves. I know that your testimonies were one of those used to convict me. I've been tracking you and listening to your conversations for a while now.

"Really, Bryn, you should always use an olamshi to scan for listening devices whenever you have sensitive communications."

Bryn's jaw dropped. He closed his eyes and bowed his head. He started shaking it slowly. "How could I have been so stupid?" Paul could tell his dad was ashamed and distressed.

"Yes, you were very negligent." The corners of Dreggan's mouth turned up in an evil grin. "My plan is working out perfectly. Not only do I know where to go to dispose of the heads of security, but I have finished my own programming for the new systems, soon I'll have the decoder and the MSIs, and, now that I know the children are to be the recipients for the MSIs, I'll have them, too."

"No!" Elizabeth yelled. "You can't!"

Dreggan lifted his chin and eyebrows and said coolly, "Yes, my dear, I can. I warned you. I told you that you'd regret going against me." Dreggan turned to the man next to Bryn at the control panel. "Take us to the Loron observatory. Lie low until we're inside. Then, have reinforcements surround all exits and keep anyone from going in or out."

"Out of the way," Dreggan's guard said as he shoved Bryn toward the back of the shuttle.

Bryn sat down next to Elizabeth, slumped over, and put his face in his hands. "How could I have been so careless? I've led Dreggan right to them."

Dreggan took a seat in front. Two other guards got in to block Bryn and Elizabeth from getting out. The agent at the controls flew the shuttle into the circuit.

Elizabeth caressed Bryn's back. "It's not your fault."

"Then, whose fault is it? It's standard procedure to use an olamshi." Bryn sounded very regretful. "I let my guard down. There's no excuse for it."

"Well, I let down my guard, too, so I guess I'm as much to blame as you are." Elizabeth put her arm over his shoulders, leaned over, and whispered to him, "We'll just have to find a way to make it right. Together."

Bryn looked up at Elizabeth. His mood changed almost instantly. "So, what you're saying is..." He smiled and winked.

After a brief pause, they both jumped up.

"Hey! Get back in your seats!" one of the guards at the opening in the side of the shuttle yelled.

"GET THEM!" Dreggan commanded.

Because Elizabeth was holding Paul close to her, he couldn't see what was going on, but somehow, Paul's parents pushed past the guards and jumped out of the shuttle into the transportation corridor. The green floor of the circuit was approaching fast. However, moments later, their free fall began to slow.

Bryn shouted, "Darren! Mike! It's a trap!"

Amazingly, Bryn, Elizabeth, and Paul landed nicely on the bottom of the circuit, but the shuttle had turned around and was coming toward them.

"Look." Bryn pointed to the side. "There's a door. Run!"

As they sprinted across the circuit, Bryn called out, "Dorn. Meet us at the circuit service entrance number... hold on."

The way Elizabeth was holding Paul, he could see back over his mother's shoulder. The shuttle landed right behind them.

"A—15—R—T—N—5," Bryn said. "It's an emergency! Isaac's after us! Inform the guards!" When they reached the door, he pulled it open. "Quick. Get in."

There was an explosion. Paul was thrown out of Elizabeth's arms and landed on the ground on the other side of the doorway. Paul the baby wailed, and the baby's tears flooded Paul's eyes. Also, there was a lot of smoke, so he couldn't see his parents anymore.

"Paul—!"

Elizabeth's cry was cut off as the door swung shut.

Paul was alone, lying on his back, kicking, waving his arms, and crying. He was by himself for a while in the dimly lit area until someone finally picked him up.

It was Dorn. "It's okay, Paul. I've got you."

The baby Paul stopped crying almost immediately.

Paul realized, _So, I_ did _know Dorn before we met in Mexico._

Dorn, with Paul in his arms, turned and went down a metal staircase. After going down several flights, Dorn entered a hallway through a sliding door and, moving quickly, wound his way through a maze of narrow corridors. Next, Dorn got in an elevator that took him and Paul to what Paul recognized immediately as a control booth. They were in the sublevel.

Dorn set Paul down to put the helmet, boots, and belt on himself. Once he was suited up, he picked up Paul, and then they descended into the large arena outside the control booth.

When Dorn reached one of the tunnels, he must have turned his belt dial all the way to _10_ because they took off really fast.

After flying through miles of tunnel and crossing an arena, they were soon up in another control booth. Once Dorn and Paul got up to a pathway, they took a quick ride in a mini shuttle.

The next thing Paul knew, Dorn was carrying Paul into the Council room. Paul couldn't see anyone else.

"I've retrieved their son," Dorn said.

"And his parents?" Manasto stepped into view.

"Nowhere in sight."

"That's unfortunate."

A couple, each one carrying a baby, entered the Council room.

"Manasto," the man said, out of breath. "We have Danielle. It... wait. Why do you have Paul? Where are Bryn and Elizabeth?"

"I don't know," Dorn said. "We haven't found them. It appears that Isaac has captured or killed them."

"No," the woman gasped.

The older Paul's heart ached. He figured that his parents were going to be killed sometime during the HST but didn't want it to be so soon. And, he didn't want to believe that they died that way—by being blown up.

Manasto asked, "So, Mike, what was the urgent news? And, why do you and Amy have Danielle?"

"Oh yeah." Mike cleared his throat. "It appears that we were right. Darren and Jenna have aligned themselves with Isaac. I caught them trying to steal the decoder and the MSIs.

"I was able to trick them into taking fake chips and letting us watch Danielle for them while they transported the MSIs to Portulane hospital, but they have the decoder."

Amy, the woman with Mike, grabbed his sleeve and looked at both him and Manasto. "But, we can't give Danielle back to her parents to let them brainwash and corrupt her, can we? Not to mention, we'd probably be walking into a trap. What do we do?"

"So, he thinks he has the real chips, huh?" Manasto scratched his chin beard. "He has working system files of his own, the decoder, and what he _thinks_ are the real microchips. It's not likely Dreggan—"

Mike interrupted. "Wait. Who's Dreggan?"

"Here in the Council room, before Isaac escaped, he declared himself a Master and announced his new name—Dreggan."

Mike and Amy's faces showed surprise and dismay.

"So, as I was saying, Dreggan will probably not let Darren or Jenna contact you to get their daughter at Portulane hospital until he has gathered all his followers in that area on the western side.

"Then, he'll try to implement his takeover strategy. We definitely need to do something drastic to turn the tables in our favor... I have an idea. It should work, but we must act quickly."

Mike asked, "Drastic? How drastic?"

Manasto answered, "We're going to separate the west side of Teruvisa from the east side. But, I need to consult with Verissa before attempting such a maneuver. It'll be very complicated and risky. Of course, if we can figure it out, I hope I can count on you for help in carrying out my plan."

Without hesitation, they all said they would help.

Manasto looked at Mike and Amy. "Great. Then, I'll have you send an alert to all Teruvisans. Tell them that we have unconfirmed reports that Dreggan is somewhere in one of the western sectors. Tell them to congregate in the eastern sectors to avoid any contact with Dreggan and his army.

"Hopefully, those who aren't in league with Dreggan will heed the warning and be safely on the east side during the separation. Conversely, those who are on Dreggan's side will most likely ignore the warning and go to the west. Okay, you have your orders. Go. I'll contact you later with more details."

"But, what about Paul and Danielle?" Amy asked.

"Contact Prienna and have her take care of Danielle." Manasto looked at Dorn. "Dorn. I trust you can watch after Paul for a while longer?"

"Yes, of course." Dorn nodded slightly.

**********

Paul was in a room, lying down. Mike, Dorn, Amy, and another woman, who Paul recognized as Prienna, were speaking in hushed tones. Paul didn't see his parents anywhere in the room. He was even more convinced that that explosion in the circuit really had killed them.

"I sure am glad we were finally able to do the implantation," Mike said. "I was beginning to think this day would never come."

Amy said, "Yeah, I can't believe it's been almost two years."

"It does seem hard to believe," Dorn agreed. "But, since we've been so focused on defending ourselves against Dreggan's constant attacks, it's been difficult to work on the new systems and do the implantation."

"That was probably his intention," Prienna pointed out.

Mike smiled. "Well, Manasto sure outsmarted Dreggan with that diversion. It gave us enough time to do the surgery."

Manasto walked in at the end of their conversation. "Well, I'd like to take all the credit for that diversion, but I'm afraid a big part of it was luck." He leaned over Paul. "How are the children?"

"They're doing fine," Prienna said.

"Good. Now, let's go over the plan again while we have a moment." Manasto signaled for everyone to gather in closer. "First of all, the system files have already been backed up. And, as soon as everyone, except for you two," he pointed to Amy and Mike, "is evacuated, Verissa and I will put up the mountain shield. Which reminds me. Did you have any questions about your escape route?"

Mike shook his head. "No, we got it."

"I still can't believe we have to abandon Teruvisa." Amy sighed.

"It's the only way," Mike said, apparently trying to reassure her. "We'll just need to have patience. When the children are older, they'll be trained, and we'll be able to come back to Teruvisa."

Manasto added, "Until that time though, Teruvisa should remain safe while we're gone. I doubt that Dreggan will be able to penetrate the shield or that he would even want to waste his time trying. He'll be too busy trying to track everyone down and locate the MSIs.

"And, once the children are on Earth, Dorn will take Paul to stay with his uncle. Prienna will take Danielle and hide at the location we discussed."

"And, we'll," Mike pointed to himself and Amy, "take Jared with us after the shutdown."

"Good," Manasto said. "It doesn't sound like we've left anything out. But, I would like to remind everyone that once we're all out of Teruvisa, our next meeting will be at the backup archives 24 hours after the shutdown. We'll need to discuss our plan to get the decoder back. Well, I guess all that's left to say is good luck. So, good luck."

Paul woke up from the HST.

# Chapter 9

The Spies

Danielle was lying on her back. The only thing she could see was the ceiling. She noticed that it had a swirly texture.

Then, she heard a voice—a man's voice. "The genetic recognition has already been programmed into the chips. We've decided to implant the MSIs into our children: one, in our daughter, Danielle; another, in Jared Collins; and the third, in Paul Harmon... yes, I'm sure we can steal the chips... yes, the decoder as well. They trust us. They'll believe any excuse we tell them... yes, very gullible... fine. We'll wait for your signal. But, what about the other two children...? Very well."

**********

Danielle was looking up into the green eyes of a woman holding her in her arms. The woman had curly, brown hair, a thin face, and a petite nose. Something seemed very familiar about her.

Danielle had never seen a picture of her birth parents because Emily, her adoptive mom, said that the adoption agency didn't give her one. _Is this my birth mother? It has to be._ She figured she was reliving an experience from when she was an infant.

When baby Danielle turned her head, she saw a man standing nearby, looking down the hallway. He had on a gold and emerald green robe. His hooked nose and strong jaw line reminded her of someone, but she couldn't quite place the face.

"So, what did he say?" the man asked.

Just as Danielle wondered who he was talking to, a tall, blonde man, wearing a dark brown robe, approached. He had blue eyes, an oval-shaped face, and a cleft chin.

"I found out that certain Council members are in a special meeting with the Judges right now." He was looking at the man in the gold and emerald green robe. "They plan on banishing you, Dreggan."

Danielle recognized the voice of the blonde man as the voice of the man she heard at the beginning of her HST—the man who was plotting to steal the MSIs and the decoder. And, the person with whom he had that conversation must have been Dreggan—the very person standing next to her!

"I knew it," Dreggan said. "All those interviews with security personnel. I could tell by the questions they asked you that they were up to something. You've done well, Darren."

"Thank you, Dreggan." Darren bowed slightly.

Dreggan raised a finger. "I need to have a little chat with Bryn and Elizabeth. In the meantime, you and Jenna will go to your quarters and wait till you hear from me." Almost as an afterthought, he added, "It looks like I'll be able to reveal my new name soon." He rubbed his hands together, obviously pleased with that idea.

As if the baby Danielle had closed her eyes, the scene ended.

**********

Danielle was being held by her mother, Jenna, sitting inside a shuttle.

Darren was sitting to the left of them and looking straight ahead. "Where are you...? Yes, we heard the transmission from Bryn... we were on our way to the Loron observatory. But, did you know he sent another transmission saying it was a trap...? Understood."

Darren looked at Jenna. "Change of plans. We're supposed to get the MSIs and the decoder now and then take them to Dreggan at the alternate rendezvous point. Dreggan told me that once we get all three children together, we'll do the implantation. And, once that's complete, we'll immediately upload Dreggan's new programming and enable the new systems. Then, Dreggan will take over."

Jenna said, "Alright. Sounds good."

The older Danielle didn't want to believe it, but she had learned the horrible truth about her parents—they were helping Dreggan!

**********

Darren and Jenna (holding baby Danielle) entered a room. Without bothering to turn on the lights, they crossed to the other side. Part of the back wall retracted, then slid to the side, revealing a door.

Darren opened it. On the floor inside the closet was a black metal box. Also, there was a glass shelf lit from above. On the shelf were three silver saucers. Each plate displayed a square microchip the size of a dime encased in a small transparent box.

Darren was reaching out to grab one when a voice startled him.

"I thought I heard somebody. What are you doing here?"

Jenna turned, with Danielle in her arms. A tall, dark-haired man and a slender, brown-haired woman, who was holding a baby, came out of an adjacent room.

"Oh, it's just you, Mike," Darren said.

"Yeah, who else would it be?" Mike smiled.

"Well, Isaac has escaped," Darren said. "For a second, I thought you might be him. Anyway, we came here because I thought it would be a good idea to move the microchips and the decoder to a more secure location."

Mike stepped closer. "That's an excellent idea. Of course, that's why I'd already thought of it. Great minds think alike, huh?" He smiled. "But, I wouldn't take those chips if I were you." He pointed to the closet. "They're fake. I've already switched them. If Isaac does come to get the chips, by the time he realizes they're fakes, we'll have the real ones implanted."

"Clever..." Darren paused briefly, as if pondering something.

"So, if these are fake," Jenna pointed toward the closet, "where are the real chips?"

Mike pulled three glass cubes with microchips in them out of his robe. "These are the real ones. Take them to the western hospital. We'll be able to implant the MSIs there. I'll contact the others and let them know where you are."

Mike gave the three boxes containing the microchips to Darren and then held out his arms to Jenna. "Here, let us take Danielle. It could be dangerous. You might get ambushed by some of Isaac's men. After you get the operating room ready, give the all clear, and we'll come with the children."

"Fine." Darren turned toward the closet while Jenna handed Danielle to Mike. "And, we should probably take the decoder, as well."

Mike held out a hand, balancing baby Danielle in the other. "Wait. Maybe you shouldn't have the chips and the decoder at the same time. It would be terrible to lose both."

"We won't lose _either_ of them." Darren was obviously offended.

"Sorry. I didn't mean anything by it. I'm just a little paranoid right now with Isaac on the loose." Mike stepped back. "So, we'll see you at Portulane hospital, then?"

Darren put the MSIs in his robe, took the metal box from the closet, and turned to leave. "Yes, of course. We'll see you there soon."

Mike waved. "Yeah. Sure."

After Darren and Jenna left, Mike said, "Manasto. I have to meet with you right away. It's about Isaac... okay, we're on our way."

"What did he say?" the woman asked.

"He said to meet him in the Council room. But first, let me get the microchips." Mike turned and went toward the closet.

The woman said, "I'm glad you gave Darren the fake MSIs. I didn't believe that excuse he gave about hiding them in a safer place, either." She sighed heavily. "You know what this means, don't you?"

Mike put the three chips, one by one, in his robe. "That I'm incredibly smart?"

She smiled. "Well, I'll give you credit for being smart enough to marry me and for getting Danielle away from her parents. But, I was referring to Darren and Jenna being on Isaac's side."

Danielle woke up from the HST.

# Chapter 10

The Division

Jared gazed up at is mother. She had shoulder-length, brown hair that shaped her face. As she looked down at Jared, a tiny hand—his hand—reached up as if trying to touch her big, brown eyes. She responded to Jared by stroking his head and running her fingers through his hair. Jared realized that he was experiencing a memory of when he was a baby.

Of the bathroom he was in, Jared could only see the ceiling and one wall that had towels hanging on a bar. His mother, who was wearing a brown, hooded robe, was sitting down, holding him in a jetted tub without water in it.

Even though Jared couldn't see anyone else in the bathroom, his mom seemed to be talking to someone other than him. Jared remembered that back on Earth his grandfather had done the same thing—talked to people that weren't there. That must have been what his mom was doing.

"When the power goes off, I'll brace myself... got it... and you? Do you have anything to hold onto...? Yes, he's right here with me. We're in the tub... no, we're not taking a bath." His mother smiled. "Mike, this is no time to be joking around... so, do you really think this is going to work...? Yeah well, be safe, okay...? Love you, too."

Jared's mother looked down at him. "Well, Jared, get ready for a serious earthquake." She squeezed Jared, clutching him to her chest. "I sure hope your dad will be alright."

A few seconds later, the room went dark. A long series of what sounded like distant explosions could be heard.

Suddenly, Jared and his mom were tossed into the air. The jolt was followed by a low, rumbling noise. It started to get louder like thunder rolling in. Baby Jared began to cry.

Within moments, a sound that was as loud as a million trains roared through the bathroom. The walls and ceiling shook so hard, it seemed like the bathroom would fall down around Jared and his mother. After what seemed like minutes but was probably only four or five seconds, there was another big jolt, and then the shaking stopped.

Jared's mother shifted her weight. He heard her moan as she sat up. She picked Jared up and held him. "Are you okay, Sweetie?" She started checking Jared's head, arms, and legs by touching and squeezing them. She kissed his forehead.

A few seconds later, the power came back on, and Jared's mother stood up. To his surprise, Jared couldn't see any damage to the bathroom. Even when they went into the living room, he couldn't see any signs that there had just been an earthquake.

For a long time, Jared's mother paced back and forth, and she kept repeating, "Mike. Are you there? This is Amy."

Finally, there was a reply. "Yeah, I hear you." A man with wavy, light brown hair came through the front door. Jared recognized him from photos he had seen—it was his dad.

Amy rushed over to him. "Are you okay? Why didn't you answer?"

"I didn't hear your call. I tried to call you, but there's too much interference." Mike leaned down closer to Jared's face.

Mike's eyes were hazel, like Jared's. They also had the same nose. But, Jared definitely had his mom's chin and ears.

Mike continued, "Communications have been temporarily disrupted. It's probably because the Division caused an electromagnetic shockwave, but the effects should wear off soon." He pinched Jared's cheek. Using a baby tone, he said, "How's my little man doing? How was your little bath with Mommy?" He smiled at Jared.

Jared tried to say something to his dad, but all that came out was a gurgling noise and a coo.

Mike stood up straight and looked at Amy. "There's another problem, though, and I'm afraid it's more serious than a lapse in communication."

"What is it?" Amy asked.

"We need to go to Central Security. It looks like the security system is experiencing global failures. If something isn't done soon, this whole plan could fall apart very quickly."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go." Amy was already on her way.

Jared recognized the security control room when they entered it. At the end of the room, opposite from where they entered, a large, flat-panel screen lowered from the ceiling and turned on. There were several guards in the room, as well as Manasto and Verissa.

Everyone looked over at the screen as one of the guards said, "This camera is pointing to the west. As you can see, we successfully created a large chasm to separate the west side of the kingdom from the east side."

The next view that appeared on the screen was that of a wide canyon—the Divide—from above. Teruvisa was on the east side, and Obalin was on the west side. Jared noticed that Teruvisa looked different, though.

Instead of being covered with a rugged mountain-like terrain, the entire kingdom looked like a continent-sized, circuit board. It was like he was looking at the insides of a mammoth computer.

Skyscrapers and large, square buildings were scattered all over the continent. Cylindrical towers dotted the landscape. Here and there, smaller, rectangular buildings were arranged in groups like city blocks.

Thick lines ran everywhere in between the different structures connecting the buildings like streets. When he looked at the lines more closely, Jared realized they were circuits—the trenches used for shuttle transportation.

Manasto approached the screen, pointing at the Divide. "The good news is that the Divide was created successfully. It runs the entire length of Teruvisa, north to south. The bad news is that our security systems have been compromised."

A guard said, "Manasto. Verissa. Unless something is done to stop the intermittent, random crashes throughout the kingdom, all our security systems will fail."

"That's unfortunate. We obviously didn't study this out thoroughly enough." Manasto paused, stroking his chin beard. "We'll need to have guards posted at every entrance. Until we can get the security systems up and running stably, we're extremely vulnerable."

"So, why did the security fail?" Verissa asked.

Manasto walked over to a computer terminal and looked over the shoulder of the guard who had announced the bad news about the security. "Well, from the information I'm seeing here, it appears as though the security system wasn't able to adapt to such a radical, structural change. We had hoped that the system would just drop the connections it couldn't find to the west side of Teruvisa after the separation, but we obviously overlooked something.

"But, let's not dwell on our failures. I'm confident we can make the necessary patches to get Teruvisa's security up and running again," Manasto glanced toward Mike and Amy.

"I already have an idea of how to fix it, Manasto," Jared's father said. "I think it'll just be a matter of programming the system to ignore the entire western side by removing the links to the west stored in the security database, then resetting it."

"Excellent." Manasto turned to a guard. "Captain, have every guard, and anyone else who's willing, armed and ready at every external entrance to Teruvisa immediately."

"Yes, sir." The captain saluted before leaving with four guards.

Mike had already begun working at a computer terminal, and Amy, still holding Jared, went to his side. Jared's parents searched through system files for errors to fix. Jared's head buzzed with all the technical jargon—it was like they were speaking a foreign language most of the time—as his parents discussed solutions.

But, while they were busy working on the security systems, Jared was able to eavesdrop on a different conversation.

"What's next?" Verissa asked.

Manasto said, "We prepare for war. We were able to catch Dreggan off guard. I'm sure he's very angry about that, so he'll no doubt start an offensive.

"We must be ready when he strikes back. We need to think of a way to put a shield over Teruvisa—one that Dreggan can't penetrate—regardless of how stable we can make the security systems."

"I might have a solution," Verissa said.

Before Jared could hear Verissa's idea, everything went dark and silent.

# Chapter 11

Dreggan Wins

When his next HST memory started, Jared was no longer in the security control room. He wasn't a baby anymore, either. In fact, he was walking. Judging by how close his eye level was to the ground, Jared guessed he was probably about two years old.

His mother, Amy, was holding Jared's hand. She led him down a hallway. His father, Mike, was on the other side and slightly ahead of him.

His parents were walking slowly and being very cautious—looking around every corner and speaking in hushed tones. All the hallways and pathways they walked along were dimly lit and totally deserted.

Later, after they had entered a pathway, they went a short distance and stopped in front of a wall console. Mike called down a mini shuttle.

Amy turned to her husband. "What were you saying about Danielle and Paul?"

As they got in the mini shuttle, he said, "I've made arrangements with Paul's uncle and Dorn for us to take Paul once we get to Earth."

"Really?" Jared's mother smiled. "That's wonderful. Jared will have a friend his own age to play with—a friend with the same special gift." Amy looked down at Jared. "And Danielle? Will she come stay with us, too?"

Mike said, "Yes. When everyone meets at the rendezvous point on Earth, we'll take Danielle from Prienna and go to our new home."

Amy smiled bigger. "Until you just said that, having to abandon Teruvisa and go to Earth hasn't sounded so nice. I'm glad we'll all be together."

After a short ride on a mini shuttle, they took an elevator into a sublevel control booth. Jared recognized it right away. His parents dressed in the boots, belt, and helmet used for navigating the tunnels, and they were soon flying through the underground labyrinth of pipes.

After a while, they stopped at a hatch blocking the tunnel. Mike took out a treyo, inserted it halfway into a slot in the middle of the door, placed his thumb on the device, and then removed it.

Jared heard a click, and the hatch started spinning. After a few rotations, a hole appeared in the center. A bright light shined through the opening as it grew larger until the hole was as big around as the tunnel.

They stepped out of the tunnel and into a stadium-sized room that housed an enormous cloud of light with brighter spots of light, some of which were moving, scattered throughout.

There were also some not-so-bright spots that flowed and swirled in a seemingly random manner inside the light cloud. The light cloud seemed like some kind of nebula of energy to Jared.

The cloud had to be at least a quarter mile long and 10 stories tall. Metal stairs and walkways gave access to different levels and areas of the cloud.

Jared wondered what the cloud was used for and why it was there, deep under Teruvisa.

Jared's parents walked up to the light cloud, and a computer terminal appeared on the surface of it. Mike took a disc out from inside of his robe and inserted it into a slot in the console.

A woman's face appeared on the computer screen above the console. "Security clearance required for system deletion and shutdown."

Jared's father took out his treyo. He pulled a black cable from the sleeve of his robe and plugged one end of the cord into his treyo. The other end, he plugged into a socket on the lower part of the console.

"This should work, right?" Mike obviously felt some reluctance.

"I hope so," Amy responded.

Mike began talking to himself. "Erasing the system files and shutting down _should_ lock down Teruvisa, and the only way to get in _should_ be through the gateway we established."

"It _should_. But, we'll never know unless you enter those codes."

"Right." Mike began doing something on his treyo. When he was finished, he unplugged both ends of the cable and fed it back into his sleeve. As he put away his treyo, he said, "Well, that's it."

The woman on the screen said, "System deletion in progress. Complete system shutdown is imminent. Locking down."

Mike turned around and touched Amy's shoulder. "Okay, we better hurry, or we won't be able to get out."

Jared's parents took off the gear they were wearing, except for the helmets.

"Wait." Mike held up a hand.

"What is it?" Amy asked.

"Shh. I thought I heard something." Mike looked up and down the room.

Amy whispered, "I don't hear anything."

"Must've been my imagination... okay, this way." Mike waved his hand for Amy to follow him.

Amy picked Jared up, she and Mike started jogging along the outside of the light cloud, there was a flash, everything became a blur, and then they were standing in front of an iron door at the end of the room.

Jared noticed that the door was hinged on all four sides. Big rivets formed an X on the door, all the way to the corners. In the center of the X, there was a small circular pad.

When Mike placed his hand on the center pad, it glowed red. As he removed his hand and stepped back, the rivets started glowing red, too. Jared heard a searing noise, and the rivets started disappearing as if cutting torches were making an X-shaped gash.

The door parted along the X, springing open like a blossoming flower. The hinges held the triangular sections of the door open.

As they proceeded forward, Amy changed the way she was holding Jared so that he was looking back over her shoulder. After they passed through the iron door, it closed behind them and sealed itself back up.

Suddenly, they started falling, and Amy turned Jared around to a sitting position on her lap. They were sliding down a silver tube. Amy's head lamp shined on Mike, who was just ahead of them.

The slide twisted and turned several times, spiraled, and then leveled off. They went shooting out into a narrow corridor and then started walking.

Mike looked back over his shoulder and said to Amy, "It's straight down this hall. We better..." With a surprised look on his face, Mike pointed at Amy and Jared and shouted something Jared didn't understand.

Jared and his mom were surrounded by light, and then there was a loud POP. Amy swung herself around. Someone had come out of the tubular slide and was pointing at them.

Mike said something else unrecognizable by Jared, and the shield of light around Amy and Jared shot toward the unknown person following them. The black-robed pursuer was hit by the light, encased in a bubble, fell over, and curled up in a ball on the floor. Behind him, the opening of the tunnel slide closed up like the shutter of a camera.

Jared's father yelled, "Run!"

As Amy turned around, she flung Jared up against her shoulder and followed Mike. Jared could see behind them again.

As they were running down the hall, Jared noticed that the walls looked like volcanic rock—black, rough, and porous. After a few moments, the tunnel went dark behind them. The bubble that Mike had caught the robed stranger with must have burst.

About a minute later, they stopped running, and Amy turned Jared around. They were at the end of the hallway, and in front of them was another iron door—identical to the last one they had gone through.

Mike placed his hand momentarily on the sensor plate in the center of it and then stepped back. The door started to creak and moan as the red-hot rivets started cutting an X in the door.

Mike pointed a hand in the direction of the door, and Amy did the same. Jared saw a thin cable shoot out of each of their sleeves and become anchored in the lava rock to the sides of the door.

"Here goes nothing," Jared's father said as he glanced over his shoulder.

Almost in unison, Jared's parents said something in some foreign language. A bubble of light surrounded Jared and his mother, and another encased Mike.

A split second later, the door burst open and a wave of water gushed in. Amy, white-knuckled, gripped the cable that tethered them to the wall. As the surge of water roared around the bubble protecting Jared and Amy, Jared realized it wasn't really water; it was raguam—the fire-water that surrounded Teruvisa.

When the torrent finally calmed, they were completely submersed. The murky raguam all around them made it impossible for Jared to see his father's bubble. There was no way for Jared to tell if Mike had been swept away by the raguam or not. Jared hoped his dad was okay.

Jared's mom said some strange, foreign words again, and the bubble they were in immediately started to propel itself through the raguam. Amy snapped her wrist and let go of the cable. The line was sucked out through the wall of the bubble without leaving a hole.

After a short distance, the raguam started moving across the bubble's surface in a way that it appeared as though they were going up. Jared found that his observation had been correct when the murkiness of the raguam lessened, and his and Amy's bubble broke the surface of the raguam.

Jared and his mom floated, bobbing up and down in their spherical buoy on the vast raguam ocean.

Amy started looking around in all directions and seemed very concerned about something. That's when Jared realized that Mike's bubble of light hadn't surfaced, yet.

_Did something happen to him?_ Jared was worried his father hadn't made it out.

Amy muttered, "Come on. Where are you?" She sounded desperate.

Suddenly, a bubble broke the surface of the raguam not too far away. A wave of relief rushed over Jared.

His mother sighed, "Amron."

Jared was confused as to why his mother had called his father Amron, but he was so glad to see that his father was still alive that he didn't dwell on it.

Using the bubble as a hamster ball, Amy turned and started walking across the raguam ocean. Mike, in his bubble, came up alongside of Jared and Amy.

When they reached the shore, their spheres popped. At that instant, Jared's mother pointed her hand at the swamp below their feet and said a strange word. A platform of solid ground appeared beneath their feet, surrounded on all sides by a bubbling marsh spitting fire into the air.

As the fiery swamp started to ooze onto their earthen platform, Mike stepped closer to Amy and Jared. "Here. Let me take him." He took his son from Amy.

Next, pointing at the swamp again, Amy said some foreign words, and a dirt path appeared in front of them.

Before it got covered by lava, she started running. Mike, still carrying Jared, was right behind her. Suddenly, they took off in a flash, like they were riding a lightning bolt.

They crossed the marshland in a split second. After that, they traversed the white sand desert almost instantaneously. Then, they came to rest on a rocky embankment.

The towering wall of Teruvisa was right in front of them. Mike and Amy climbed the slope and leaned against the wall.

Jared looked out over the vast desert they had just crossed in the blink of an eye. Off in the distance, the marsh was barely distinguishable. He wondered how they had moved so quickly.

Mike said, "Well, that was easy enough." Jared noted the irony in his dad's voice.

Jared's mother smiled and shook her head as she took out her treyo and, after doing something on the device, pointed north. "That way, funny man."

They stayed close to the wall as they walked a couple hundred feet over the rugged terrain of the lava rock.

Amy stopped. "This is it."

Mike also stopped and then turned to face the white-sand desert. "Hilcar. We're at the gateway now... okay. See you in a sec'."

He leapt off the hill. However, instead of landing on the fiery desert, he and Jared started careening through a worm hole of light.

Unexpectedly, Jared and his father were jerked sideways, and then they lunged back the other way and began to tumble. A moment later, they rolled out onto the ground.

The toddler Jared was lying on his side, crying. His father and mother were next to him.

"Are we where I think we are?" Amy asked as she stood up.

She brushed herself off, then stooped over and picked up Jared. As she comforted him, he stopped crying. She wiped the tears from his eyes and rubbed his cheeks with her thumb.

Jared saw that they were in a jungle.

"Yep." Mike got to his feet. "I don' know what went wrong, but let's get out of here, quick."

As Mike began working on his treyo, he mumbled, "Come on. Where are you?"

"How's this possible?" Amy asked. "I'm sure I got the right gateway."

Jared looked around. The trees surrounding them were obscured slightly by a misty darkness. Also, the jungle was eerily silent.

But, not long after Jared noticed that, a low voice broke the quiet. "Welcome."

Out of the corner of his eye, Jared saw someone grab Mike. A second later, a hooded figure appeared out of the dark fog in front of Amy and Jared.

Amy gasped as the man stepped closer. "Dreggan."

Someone grabbed Amy, from behind, by the shoulders. Dreggan approached Amy and reached out.

He grabbed the baby Jared, causing him to cry. Amy resisted, but Dreggan was able to pull Jared from his mother's arms.

"Let him go!" Amy shouted.

"Silence her," Dreggan commanded.

Jared heard a whack, a squeak, a groan, and then a thud. At the edge of his peripheral vision, Jared could see his mother's hair. She was lying on the ground, not moving.

"Meya!" Mike yelled.

Not only was Jared upset by the beating his mother received, but he was confused; a little while ago, his mom had called his dad Amron, and his dad had just called his mom Meya. _Wait. Maybe people change their names when they become Masters. My parents must be Masters now._

Dreggan held Jared, who was still crying and screaming for his mommy, out in front of him and backed away from Amy. Dreggan's hood was hanging down over his eyes, shadowing his face, but that didn't keep Jared from seeing Dreggan's menacing grin as he held him closer. He waved his hand in front of Jared, and the crying instantly stopped.

"Where are they?" Dreggan asked in a calm voice.

Mike growled, "I'm not telling you anything!"

Dreggan cradled Jared in one arm and pinched one of the child's cheeks. "If I have to ask again, your precious little boy won't have a mommy."

Dreggan snapped his fingers, and a large, robed man picked Amy up by the throat. Her feet dangled above the ground. She began to kick her legs wildly and clawed at the arm of the brutish attacker choking her.

"Okay, I'll tell you!" Mike cried. "Just put her down!"

Dreggan's thug dropped Amy, and she went crashing to the ground. She coughed and gasped for breath but otherwise seemed to be okay.

"Well? I'm waiting." Dreggan sounded very impatient.

After a long pause, Mike exhaled loudly. "Why do you want them, anyway? There's no way you can get into Teruvisa now."

Dreggan barked out a laugh. "Ha. Teruvisa? Obalin will become more powerful and glorious than Teruvisa _ever_ was."

A thug escorted Amy, who had gotten back on her feet, to Mike's side.

Dreggan said through clenched teeth, "Now, tell me where they are."

Mike took a deep breath. "Right here." He reached into his robe and then threw something down.

Dreggan's attention turned to the ground. Jared couldn't see what he was looking at. Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light, and a high-pitched squeal pierced the air.

Dreggan wailed, "AAAAAH!"

Jared was jerked from Dreggan's arms, but he couldn't see who was holding him—mostly because the baby Jared's eyes were still trying to adjust after that bright flash.

"KILL THEM!" Dreggan shouted.

Mike called out, "Dad, get Jared to the rendezvous point! We'll meet you there!"

A few seconds later, as Jared's sight started to clear up, he saw that Hilcar was holding him, and they were freefalling into the Divide. Hilcar wasn't wearing a parachute, but they miraculously started to slow down and glided to the bottom of the gorge.

When Hilcar, still holding Jared, landed gently on the thin strip of shoreline between the raguam river and the canyon wall, without so much as a stumble, he took out his treyo and pointed it straight ahead. A disk of light appeared in the rock, and he stepped forward through it.

Instantly, Hilcar was standing on the steep slope of a forested mountainside. The earth beneath Hilcar's feet loosened, and small rocks tumbled down the hill. He grabbed onto a nearby boulder, heaved Jared onto it, and then climbed up next to him.

Hilcar sat up and exhaled loudly. He looked around at the scenery and then at Jared.

The older Jared was surprised that his younger self was being so calm and quiet. Whatever Dreggan had done to him when he waved his hand in his face had made the younger Jared speechless and passive.

In contrast, the older Jared would have screamed out loud if he could. Although he understood that Hilcar was just trying to save him, Jared yearned for his grandpa to take him back to see his parents again; however, his rational side told him that he never would. He felt a deep sense of helplessness about the situation.

"Well Jared, we better get going." Hilcar picked Jared up, pulling his cloak around him and holding him tightly, and then sprang into the sky.

In the blink of an eye, Hilcar and Jared were on a porch, facing a sliding glass door in the backyard of their house in Riverside, California. Hilcar opened the door and went inside.

"Hello. Anyone here?"

No answer.

Hilcar glanced down at Jared and then walked over to the family room couch. "Well, Jared, let's get you back to normal."

After placing him on the couch, Hilcar waved his hand in front of Jared's face and said some words that Jared didn't understand.

Jared woke up from the HST. Ferran was standing above him.

# Chapter 12

Rise of the Enemy

"Hang on just a sec', Jared." Ferran did something on the chair-side computer. "Paul and Danielle are already awake. The memory sharing is initiating."

As scenes began to flash before Jared's eyes, like watching a movie in extreme fast forward, he realized that he was seeing Paul's and Danielle's memories.

When it was over, he had a vivid recollection of everything they had seen: Paul seeing Dreggan's banishment in the Council room; Paul's parents losing him while trying to get away from Dreggan in the circuit; and Danielle's parents conspiring with Dreggan to steal the MSIs and the decoder, which led to her being taken from her parents by Jared's parents.

Jared sat up. "Ferran, was that the memory transfer?"

Ferran raised his eyebrows and smiled. "Yeah. Pretty neat, huh?"

"So, they saw _my_ memories, too?" Jared pointed to his two friends. He wasn't sure if the embarrassment he felt was because they saw _his_ memories or because he saw _his friends'_ memories.

"That's right." Ferran nodded.

Jared looked over at Danielle and Paul. They were both sitting up, but Danielle was looking down and wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

_Is she crying?_ Jared wondered.

Ferran walked over to Danielle and put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright, Danielle?"

Danielle jerked away from Ferran. "My parents were traitors!" She buried her face in her hands. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"

Ferran stood up straighter. "We thought it would be better for you to find out for yourself."

Danielle looked up and, furrowing her brow, asked with obvious agitation, "Was it also better for me to find out for myself that my parents weren't really dead?" Danielle raised her voice more. "And even if you did want me to find out on my own, that doesn't give you, Prienna, or Manasto, the head of the Council, the right to lie about it!"

"What do you mean? When did Manasto lie to you?" Ferran folded his arms.

"What do I mean?" She took a deep breath before continuing. "Manasto said Dreggan killed our parents. Or, was he not talking to me at the time?"

Jared could tell Danielle was trying very hard to contain her anger. Her jaw was clenched, she was breathing hard through her nose, and tears were welling up in her eyes.

Ferran thought for a moment. "As I recall—"

"You were in the Council room?" Jared was sure he hadn't seen Ferran in the Council room.

"No," Ferran shook his head, "but I was listening in." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, Manasto said that regardless of what you heard about your parents' deaths, Dreggan was responsible, not that he killed them.

"No. What he was referring to was that, because of Dreggan, it was necessary to lead you all to believe your parents were killed in car accidents.

"Now, I can understand that misleading you makes you feel like we were being cruel to you, but keeping you ignorant seemed like the only way to keep you safe. So, the Council decided that the best time to tell you the truth would be when you were old enough to be trained—old enough to understand the truth and do something about it.

"Of course, Danielle, although you found out that your parents joined Dreggan, we believe they _are_ dead."

"What makes you think that?" Danielle scowled.

"A reliable source told us that Dreggan killed them for their failure to get the MSIs. And, even if that weren't true, when your parents joined Dreggan, they became dominated by his evil influences—a death worse than death itself."

Danielle closed her eyes and took a deep breath. As she exhaled, she lowered her head in defeat.

After a few moments, she shook her bowed head and sniffled. "What if I end up like my parents?"

"The fact that you don't want to follow in your parents' footsteps should show you that you already have an advantage." Ferran was apparently trying to make her feel better. "You don't have to be like your parents. The training you receive will help you do great and wonderful things."

Ferran looked around at the youths. "If the three of you succeed in finishing your parents' work, you'll be able to put an end to Dreggan's more-than-ten-year dominance, which has threatened to destroy all that Teruvisa stands for."

Ferran walked over to Paul. Jared then noticed how intently Paul had been staring at Ferran. Paul's brow was furrowed as he surveyed the Master.

"Do you have a question, Paul?" Ferran asked. "Go ahead. Ask it."

Paul snapped out of his trance. "I... uh... saw my father... during that memory thing."

"The HST," Ferran said.

"Yeah. The HST. Anyway, he looked a lot like..." Paul swallowed, "well, you."

When Paul mentioned that, Jared remembered that he had noticed the same thing during the memory exchange, but it had happened so fast that he didn't have time to dwell on it.

Ferran pulled Paul off the chair and embraced him. "That's because I'm your father."

Jared blinked hard at the unexpected announcement.

Paul pulled away. "You're my father? Why did you change your name to Ferran? You've been alive this whole time, and you and Mom didn't try to find me? And, where is she—my mom?" He looked around like he was expecting her to suddenly appear in the room.

"She's not here right now. But, I know she's anxious to see you." Ferran stepped back. "Now, to answer your first question, my name was changed when I became a Master. That's one of our traditions."

Ferran had confirmed Jared's hypothesis about why his parents had referred to each other as Meya and Amron later on during his HST. They had become Masters sometime after the Divide was made and prior to the abandonment of Teruvisa. He felt pride, knowing that his parents had achieved such a high ranking.

"As for how come we're still alive... think back to when we jumped out of the shuttle to get away from Dreggan and were running along the bottom of the circuit. I had just opened the service door, and one of Dreggan's men shot at us.

"I was able to make a shield bubble, but it wasn't strong enough to withstand the impact. The bubble burst, we were thrown back several feet, and the jolt knocked you out of your mother's arms.

"The door closed before we could get back to you, but we knew you'd be safer in the service corridor than in the circuit. That's why we left you there.

"Also, since Dorn would find you, we knew he could return you to us once we had safely escaped. Obviously, that's not what happened, though.

"But more about that later. First, let me tell you how we escaped from Dreggan and his guards. We used grappling hook darts to catch a ride on a shuttle passing by overhead. Then, a split second before that shuttle was blown up, we swung into an open shuttle bay.

"Dreggan must have thought we died in the explosion because he didn't keep chasing us. That would prove to be an advantage later on, too. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

"So, after our escape, even though we were glad that we had gotten away and that you were safe, I was ashamed of myself for allowing Dreggan to get a hold of sensitive information about the system enhancements. Of course, we found out later that I wasn't really to blame—the leaks had come from somewhere else."

Danielle interrupted. "You mean my parents, don't you?" She folded her arms and frowned, then looked down and said quietly, "It's okay. You can say it."

Ferran cleared his throat. "Yes, Danielle's parents were the ones leaking information to Dreggan, but, at that time, we didn't know it.

"Anyway, I was afraid to tell Manasto and Verissa that I was to blame for leaking information about the Council meeting to banish Dreggan and about the implantation being moved up, but I had to tell them, even before we got you, Paul, from Dorn.

"The Council needed to know what Dreggan had found out, despite my part in it. I was willing to accept any punishment they felt would be necessary, so I contacted Verissa.

"After I told her what had happened, she told us about Darren's and Jenna's involvement with Dreggan. Then, she told us to go to our quarters and stay there until Manasto contacted us.

"We did ask about you, Paul—if you were alright. She said that you were fine and that she would probably have Dorn bring you to us after Manasto met with us. So, we waited.

"When Manasto finally did visit us, he told us that, since Dreggan thought we—your mom and I—were dead, we should go into hiding on Earth. He told us to wait down here," Ferran pointed at the ground, "in this underground library, which is a storage place for backups of the system files of Teruvisa, for further instructions. We asked if we could take you with us, Paul, but Manasto said they needed to leave you in Teruvisa to do the implantation."

Paul looked down. "And, you left without me. Why didn't you put up a fight?"

"No, it wasn't like that at all. Leaving you was the hardest decision we'd ever had to make. We argued with Manasto for a long time to try to get him to reconsider. We told him that, even if we had you on Earth, we could take you to Teruvisa for the implantation and then bring you back to Earth afterward, but he wouldn't agree to that.

"He finally told us that he also had a dangerous mission for us, and that was another reason why we needed to go to Earth without you. He wanted us to figure out a way to infiltrate Obalin from Earth and gather information to help recover—or to recover by ourselves—the decoder."

Paul looked up with wide eyes. "Like spies?"

"No, not _like_ spies." Ferran placed a hand on Paul's shoulder briefly. "We _were_ spies."

Paul smiled, obviously pleased that his parents were spies, and Jared had to admit to himself that he was a little jealous that _his_ parents weren't spies—being spies sounded glamorous and exciting.

Paul nodded slowly. "Well, I guess I can understand why you couldn't take me, then." His facial expression changed to one of curiosity and uneasiness. "But, why didn't you come get me later? Have you been in Obalin for the past 12 years?"

"No. We were only there for about a month. We hid in the sublevel of Obalin and tried to locate the decoder by hacking into the mainframe and searching for connections to it." Ferran frowned. "However, we were unsuccessful. But," he held up a finger, "Manasto had us return to Earth because of some different information we found out."

"So... how about after that?" Paul was being persistent. He was obviously not going to let Ferran off easy.

Paul was going to make Ferran account for every moment of his life since he and his wife left Paul in Teruvisa. Also, Paul was probably trying to do the same thing Jared was—find any holes in Ferran's story.

"We still couldn't keep you with us on Earth. The fighting was very bad during the rebellion, and communications with Teruvisa were brief and few in number due to the risk of being traced. Second of all, they still hadn't had a chance to do the implantation. It wasn't a simple surgery, after all. And, trying to spare the two remaining heads of security to oversee the operation, with the awful state the Teruvisan systems were in, was not possible at the time."

Jared felt some pride knowing that his parents had been so important.

Ferran scratched his chin and then added, "In fact, it had been about a year and a half before Manasto was able to come up with a way to distract Dreggan and his army long enough to have the implantation done."

Jared wanted to know what the distraction was. "What was it? What did he do?"

"I don't know all the details, but he flooded part of Obalin with raguam." Ferran smiled. "I don't know how he did it, but like I said, communications were very limited after the rebellion started. Anyway, the raguam kept Dreggan and his followers busy for a while."

"I still don't understand why I couldn't be with you. Once your mission in Obalin was done, and the implantation was done, after everyone abandoned Teruvisa, and all the years since then, you still didn't come for me." Paul was almost in tears. "Did you forget about me?"

"No, no, no. We never forgot about you. We thought about you all the time. I'm so sorry you couldn't be with us. It was hard for us, too." Ferran grabbed Paul by both shoulders.

Jared could tell Ferran was holding back tears.

After looking hard at Paul for a couple of seconds, Ferran took a deep breath and stood up straighter, letting his arms fall down to his sides before reaching out to Paul but not quite touching him. "Let me try to explain, though I know that no excuse will make it better. Just know that we were doing what we thought was best, and as it turned out, we were right because you're here now, ready to finish what we started. What's happening _now_ is the important thing, right?"

Paul nodded slowly.

Ferran continued. "Remember how I said that we weren't able to find the decoder but got some other information? Well, as it turned out, while your mother and I were in Obalin, we found out that Dreggan had plans to try to find the location of the backup archives on Earth so that he could use the connection between the backup archives and Teruvisa to overload Teruvisa's system and cause a total crash. Then, he was going to destroy the backups. Teruvisa wouldn't have stood a chance of regaining its power if that happened.

"So, the connection between Teruvisa and this backup archive was severed, and your mother and I were charged with guarding the backups of the system files. Despite the sadness we felt, knowing that we wouldn't be able to go to Teruvisa, get you, and come back here to Earth, we knew that this was a very important mission.

"We had to make the sacrifice to save Teruvisa. We wanted to be with you throughout your childhood to see you grow up, but Teruvisa could have been destroyed if we had been selfish." As Ferran spoke, grimacing and clenching a fist, he seemed to be reliving the agony of the decision he had to make those many years ago. "No, we couldn't be selfish—though we wanted to be."

"It's alright. I understand." Paul hugged his dad, and Ferran, relaxing noticeably, hugged Paul back. They held the embrace for a while. "You did the right thing."

Ferran wiped away some tears with the back of his hand as the two separated. "Thank you, Paul. You've shown more forgiveness than I ever imagined."

At that moment, Jared realized that he had been able to see Ferran almost everyday in junior high this past semester. _So, why couldn't Paul?_ "Ferran."

Ferran turned to face Jared. "Yes?"

Jared had to be careful how he worded his question so that he didn't offend Paul or accuse Ferran of something. "You explained why you weren't allowed to ever contact Paul, and it all makes sense. However, I was wondering why you were allowed to be my teacher. If you could see _me_ , why not _Paul_?"

Ferran didn't look upset by the question. Jared also noticed that Paul seemed anxious to hear Ferran's response.

Ferran cleared his throat. "That's a good question. Well... this is what I was told. Amron and Meya were going to keep you three in the same house, but, after their deaths, it was determined that it would be a good idea to split you up.

"So, Paul went to live with my brother, Dan, in Mexico. Of course, Dorn watched over you, Paul. Prienna, who already had a house in Ohio, took Danielle to live with her. And, Hilcar raised Jared in their house.

"Also, Jared, even though our houses are in the same city, they aren't terribly close. So, there was probably no way we would run into each other, especially since I never left the library or the house until a few months ago. That's when I started teaching at your junior high."

Jared remembered Ferran—or rather Mr. Hobson—on his first day, say that he had transferred from another school. "So, why did the Council let you start teaching at my school, where we were sure to see each other?"

Ferran said, "They didn't _let_ me. They _told_ me to."

"Huh." Jared was surprised. "So, being my science teacher wasn't a coincidence."

Ferran nodded. "That's right. We knew the time was drawing close for your training to begin, and, since I was close by, I was told to go teach at your school and be your science teacher. I was to watch for the sign."

Jared realized what Ferran was referring to. "Right. The hand symbol."

"Exactly." Ferran pointed at Jared.

"Okay..." Jared still had one question about Ferran needing to be his teacher, "but if Grandpa saw me every day, why did you have to be around, waiting to see the sign, too?"

"In case you saw the sign at school first, I could notify Hilcar immediately. And, remember that Beast in your room?" Ferran raised an eyebrow at Jared.

Jared nodded.

"Well, I was around in case you needed protection from something like that at school."

Jared realized, _But, Danielle and Paul didn't see any visions_. "So, everyone knew _I'd_ see the hand symbol and not Danielle or Paul?" He wondered what was different about _him_.

Ferran nodded. "Yeah, that's right. But, I never found out exactly why it was _you_ who would see the sign. Honestly, communications were short so that they couldn't be traced, and I didn't think it was important enough to ask about." He shrugged. "Maybe it had to do with the order the MSIs were implanted or something." He looked at Jared. "Maybe your microchip was implanted first."

Thinking back to when he was in the Council room, Jared realized that Manasto could have answered that question if he would have thought to ask it. _Oh well_. Jared figured he would just have to ask Manasto or someone else later about why he was the one who saw the hand vision.

Ferran added. "In fact, the only communications we've had in the past 10 years were right after Teruvisa was abandoned, a few months ago, and yesterday. In the first, we were told that Amron and Meya were killed after the shutdown, and you three would have guardians watching out for you on Earth. In the second one, I was told to start teaching at Jared's school. And, in the one yesterday, we were told to re-establish a connection to Teruvisa and to upload the system files. Also, in that last communication, Tiersda and I were told that we would help train you in Diestro."

"Tiersda?" Paul asked. "I thought Mom was helping you."

"Yes, that's right. Tiersda is your mother, Paul." Ferran looked at Paul and smiled. "Surprise." He held his arms out wide.

Paul's jaw dropped.

Jared was also shocked to hear that. Paul's mother was the other Master who would train them.

Ferran nodded. "Yeah. You heard me right."

"Well, where is she?" Paul was obviously excited.

Ferran smiled. "I was getting to that. Patience. I know you're anxious to meet her. You're mom's very anxious to see you, too. But, you won't get to see her until after you train with me and Rohlwig. She's away, preparing a secure location to use for her part of your training.

"Even _I_ haven't contacted her. We thought it would be wise for us to only have contact if it was an emergency."

Seeing Paul get reunited with his dad (and not to mention that he would soon be reunited with his mom) made Jared heavy-hearted. He wished _he_ could be reunited with _his_ parents.

Ferran waited, looking around at Jared, Danielle, and Paul, and then asked with a smile, "Anything else I can answer for you?"

Not wanting to dwell on thoughts of his parents, Jared asked, half-joking, "So, what else, besides teaching, have you been doing?"

"Well..." Ferran thought for a second, "not only did we guard the backups, but we made modifications to them."

"Like the HST," Paul said.

"Yes," Ferran confirmed. "That was an important one, alright. We knew it would be a beneficial way to start your training. But, we also made other modifications to the backup files because we were told, after the implantation, that Teruvisa was going to be shut down and abandoned.

"So, we needed to try to get the Teruvisan systems running better and be ready to upload and restore them when the time came to return to Teruvisa—a difficult task without being able to connect to Teruvisa to do testing."

Ferran waved his hand, signaling the youths to follow him. "Come on. Time to show you where you'll be staying."

Jared and the others followed Ferran through the library to the elevator—the one through which they had entered the secret underground archive. Once inside, Ferran touched the wall near the door. A piece of the wall slid open, revealing a panel of buttons. When he pushed one of those buttons, the doors shut, and then the elevator went up.

After the elevator stopped and the doors opened, Jared stepped out into a hallway of Ferran's house. To the right, at the end of the hall, which had tan carpet and white walls, there were four doors. To the left, there were stairs leading down to an entryway and a living room.

Ferran pointed to each of the doors to the right, in turn, as he said, "That's my room. That one's for the boys. That one's for you, Danielle. And, that's the bathroom. By the way, you'll find some clothes and other miscellaneous items for each of you in your rooms and the bathroom." He pointed to the left. "Also, downstairs and through the living room is the kitchen. What do you say we get something to eat?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Follow me, then." Ferran led them downstairs and through the living room, which had two couches and a recliner. The only other furniture was a small bookshelf full of books.

As they entered the kitchen, Ferran pointed to a rectangular wooden table with six chairs around it. "Have a seat. Dinner's ready."

The table was already set for four people. Jared, Danielle, and Paul sat down, then Ferran. Jared looked at his plate and then at the other plates. On each was a small, red cube of a gelatin-like substance.

Ferran scooted his chair up closer to the table. "I hope you like it."

Jared was, to say the least, disappointed with the small snack. After all, he was very hungry and had been expecting something more substantial to eat.

He didn't want to be rude but had to ask, "Is this all we get?"

Ferran raised an eyebrow and then smiled. He smacked his forehead with the base of his palm. "How stupid of me. Sorry. I totally forgot. You've never eaten insta-food before. Just poke it with your fork like this."

He stabbed his gelatinous substance with his fork. Instantly, a steaming plateful of steak, mashed potatoes, and green beans appeared. The gelatin was gone.

Jared and the others stabbed their red cubes with their forks. Jared's eyes bulged, and his mouth watered when he saw the scrumptious steak dinner on his plate. The smell of a hot, delicious meal filled the air. Ferran chuckled as his guests began feasting.

During the course of the meal, Paul asked Ferran, "So, how did you—how did anyone for that matter—learn about Teruvisa?"

"Me? Well, I was born there, and I can trace my lineage back to the Founding Masters. However, I knew many who had been recruited or who had ancestors that were recruited."

Paul interrupted with, "Who were the Founding Masters?"

Jared was just about to ask the same thing. _We often seem to be wondering about the same things—like we have some kind of mental connection._ He conceded that he and Paul might be more alike than he originally thought. And, as he thought about it, he did feel a certain attachment to Paul—like they had been friends for a long time.

Ferran scratched his chin. "Perhaps a history lesson is in order. How about if I fill you in on some of Teruvisa's past?"

Paul, Danielle, and Jared nodded as they chewed. Jared was interested to hear about Teruvisa. Through the HST, he had only seen small fragments of Teruvisa's past, and only the things during the short time Jared was there.

"Okay." Ferran put down his utensils and leaned back in his chair. He tapped a finger on his cheek a few times. "Hmm... where should I start...? Well, I suppose... in the beginning. Alright.

"So, in the beginning, the Founding Masters, Archemel and Terimova—the most powerful users of technology ever—established Teruvisa. After a while, they started looking for other people, who they thought would be good candidates, and trained them how to use Diestro."

"What about Dreggan?" Paul asked.

"Dreggan...?" Ferran thought for a moment. "I'll get to him. Don't worry. Anyway, almost two centuries later, during the height of Teruvisa's growth, there was a lot of recruiting being done. By the time I was made one of the heads of security, our numbers had been growing rapidly.

"However, not everyone embraced our growth. Some members of high standing in the Council, for some reason—probably for fear of losing their positions to promising newcomers—began to oppose the expansion. But, for the most part, those individuals remained passive, and we kept recruiting heavily.

"Okay. Now, this is where Dreggan comes into the picture—of course his name was Isaac back then. Anyway, Dreggan became quite outspoken about the dangers of our growth. He would gladly voice his opinions about it to anyone who would listen."

"He was against the growth?" Jared asked. "But, he wasn't on the Council. Why was he against it?"

Ferran picked up his fork and tapped it on the table a few times and appeared to be thinking. "I'm not sure. He did have lots of friends on the Council that didn't like the expansion, though. He probably wanted to remain friends with them.

"But, shortly after we started developing the new technology and systems for Teruvisa, he found out about it—probably from one of his contacts on the Council—and began promoting our research and development heavily to anyone who would listen, saying how beneficial the new technology would be."

Paul asked, "Do you know why he changed his mind?"

Ferran leaned back into his chair and looked up before answering. "Well, at the time, it seemed strange that he was so excited about the ideas we had, especially since he had previously expressed his opposition to any kind of change or growth. But now, we know why. He wanted to become the supreme ruler of Teruvisa and control everyone.

"And, his enthusiasm for the project got him an influential position to help him accomplish his goals of domination—as one of the heads of security, he had access to whatever information he needed." As an afterthought, he added, "Apparently, he hadn't lost too many friends on the Council if he was able to get _that_ job."

"Oh." Paul sat up straighter. "I remember Mom mentioning, during the HST, that he had been one of the heads of security—at least until he got fired."

Ferran pointed at Paul. "That's right. But, it took a while for us to realize what Dreggan was up to—why he was so interested in supporting the new system enhancements.

"When he first presented some of his ideas about how to make the new technology work better, Dreggan painted a world where chaos ruled and how everything we had worked for would be lost. He successfully convinced many prominent Council members that, if we were going to increase our numbers, Teruvisa needed a way to control the masses better. And, implementing his modifications to the original designs for the new systems was the way to accomplish that."

"And, people went along with that?" Paul sounded almost rhetorical.

Ferran raised his eyebrows and one corner of his mouth and shrugged slightly, indicating that that's just the way it was—like it or not. "He was very persuasive and made many promises." He raised a finger. "But... later on, many Council members heard rumors about him saying that he would never make good on those promises."

From what Jared had observed, Dreggan did seem like a liar. "What kind of promises?"

Ferran leaned forward. "Well, there were whisperings of how Dreggan promised to give positions of control to certain Council members in his new government. He claimed that the leaders wouldn't be the ones being controlled—they would be the ones doing the controlling. That kind of power could be very tempting.

"But fortunately, Manasto, Verissa, and several other Council members were able to convince a majority of the Council to have Dreggan removed from the security team because of his controversial labors. He was ordered to destroy any records, equipment, and programming dealing with his version of the new systems.

"Of course, Dreggan didn't give up easily. He tried to overturn the decision. He argued that putting him on the project team and then removing him from it was a conspiracy to steal his ideas, take credit for the work he did, and leave him with nothing. Ultimately, he was removed as a head of security, and guards watched him destroy all his work and the backups—at least they thought he had destroyed everything."

"So, he didn't just start over." Jared realized that Dreggan must have been either very resourceful or well-connected to hide is work from the Council. "He must've had hidden copies of his programming somewhere."

"That's correct," Ferran confirmed. "He was able to retrieve those records and continue his project. Also, even though the majority of the Council had him removed from his position, unfortunately, many still believed that his work was important. Consequently, some Council members (we suppose that's who helped him) secretly provided him with supplies to build new equipment and keep developing his own systems with the modifications he wanted.

"Somehow, his work was able to go undetected for a long time. He would still talk about his ideas openly, but it could never be proven that he was doing the things he was talking about—that is until Manasto discovered that Dreggan had continued his work in secret. And, as you saw during the HST, he was banished."

Paul added, "And, that's when he escaped, and the rebellion began."

"Yep." Ferran leaned back and folded his arms across his chest. "And, the irony of this whole thing—the great flaw in his plan—is that Dreggan insisted that, without his version of the new technology, Teruvisa would be lost—destroyed.

"In reality, what Dreggan either failed to understand or had chosen to ignore was that, if he were to take away the freedom for us to think and act for ourselves, there would have been no more power in Diestro—our technology would've fallen into chaos and become worthless.

"Sure, he would've ruled over everyone, but Teruvisa would've never achieved ultimate glory. Dreggan said he was concerned with security, but I have a feeling that all he wanted was power."

Ferran looked at his watch. "Well, it's getting late. You can stay up a while longer if you'd like, but I'm going upstairs to my room. However, if you do stay up, please, don't leave the house." He looked each one of the youths in the eye. "Okay?"

Jared could tell Ferran was serious, so he nodded.

Paul yawned. "I'm beat. I think I'll just go to bed."

"Yeah, me too," Jared agreed with a yawn. "And by the way, thanks for filling us in on some of Teruvisa's history, Ferran. A lot of what I saw from the HST makes more sense to me now—not to mention, why our mission is so important."

Paul nodded. "Yeah."

"No problem. That's why I'm here." Ferran smiled, stood up, and then said, "Oh, and just leave the dishes; they'll clean themselves up."

Danielle, who had picked up her plate, said, "Oh," as if her mind was somewhere else and then placed the dish back down on the table.

Suddenly, all the dishes on the table disappeared. Jared blinked hard several times to make sure he wasn't imagining things. Danielle, on the other hand, didn't seem interested or impressed.

Ever since they came up from the underground library, Danielle hadn't said more than two words to anyone. Jared didn't want to say anything to her about it though because she was probably depressed about her parents. Jared knew _he_ would be if he had found out that _his_ parents were traitors.

Paul closed the door after he and Jared entered their bedroom. "I can't believe my parents are alive." He looked at Jared, bright-eyed and obviously overjoyed.

Jared sat down on one of the twin beds. "Yeah. Pretty amazing." He wasn't trying to sound convincing, though.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean it like that." Paul sat down on the other bed.

"Yeah, I know. Don't worry about it. I'm just tired." Jared lay down on his pillow with his fingers clasped behind his head. He knew Paul wasn't trying to rub the fact that his parents were still alive in Jared's face. He knew that Paul was just excited to have his parents back.

Jared stared up at the ceiling, trying to remember as much about _his_ parents as he could from the HST. _They sure were great._

Paul interrupted Jared's daydream. "Danielle seemed really upset about finding out about her parents. I don't know how _I_ would feel if I found out that _my_ parents were working for Dreggan."

Jared relaxed more as he took a deep breath and exhaled. "Me neither." He rolled over onto his side, and then closed his eyes, wondering if his dream would be different again.

# Chapter 13

Neural Connections

A knock on the bedroom door woke Jared from a dreamless sleep.

Ferran peeked in. "Time to get up. Get ready and meet downstairs for breakfast."

Jared heard Ferran repeat the same message at Danielle's door.

After Paul and Jared had gotten ready and gone downstairs, Ferran asked, "Have either of you seen Danielle yet this morning?"

"No," Paul said. "Her bedroom door was closed."

Jared shrugged. "Maybe she went back to sleep."

"Let's go check on her." Ferran headed for the stairs.

"I'm hungry," Paul said. "Can't it wait until after we eat?"

Ferran kept walking. "No. We need to see if she's okay."

Jared kind of thought Ferran was overreacting. Danielle was probably just tired and wanted to sleep in.

Once they had gathered at her door, Ferran knocked lightly.

There was no response, so he opened the door. "Danielle?"

Jared peeked around Ferran. Danielle was sitting on her bed, still in her pajamas. Her arms were wrapped under her thighs. She was hugging her legs to her chest. Her head was resting on a pillow that she had placed on her knees, and she was looking at the wall, away from Jared, Ferran, and Paul. She didn't turn her head to look at them or even stir when they entered her room.

Ferran approached Danielle, "It's time for breakfast," and then put his hand on her shoulder.

She buried her face in the pillow and started to sob.

Jared felt uncomfortable watching Danielle cry and wanted to leave.

"Danielle." Ferran was firm yet gentle, and for some reason, the tone in his voice kept Jared from leaving. "I want you to listen to me. Sit up, please."

He took away her pillow and helped her sit up on the edge of the bed. Ferran squatted down to Danielle's eye level, but she didn't look up. He was about an arm's distance away from her.

She remained slumped over, looking down, as she wiped the tears away from her eyes with the back of her hand. She sniffed and rubbed her nose.

Jared started to feel more at ease with the situation once Danielle had stopped crying, but it was still a little awkward.

Ferran spoke quietly to her with a nurturing but decisive tone. "Danielle. It's okay to feel this way about your parents, but don't let your feelings consume you."

"My parents betrayed everyone who loved them." Danielle's jaw quivered.

Ferran kept his voice bold yet soft. "Danielle, there was nothing you could've done about your parents' decision to follow Dreggan. But, what you can do is _learn_ from their mistakes.

"You have the advantage of seeing what they did wrong, so you won't fall into the same traps. Leave what happened in the past, in the past. Don't forget it, though. Learn from it, then do the right thing."

Danielle sat up a little straighter, and her eyes started to lift. She seemed to be accepting what Ferran was saying.

Ferran continued. "Look deep inside yourself. Search your feelings. You wanted to know where you fit in. You've always known you could achieve something great, but you didn't know what that something was. Now you do."

Ferran stood up. "You can be trained to restore Teruvisa to its former greatness. On top of that, you, Jared, and Paul will be key components in taking Teruvisa to even greater heights."

Jared felt his spirits begin to lift and wondered how Ferran's words were affecting Danielle. However, her expression was unreadable, and she didn't say anything.

"Please," Ferran pleaded with her, "don't give up on us like your parents gave up on Teruvisa."

To Jared's surprise, Paul stepped around him and approached Danielle. "Dreggan wants you to give up. Don't give up."

Danielle looked up at Paul briefly and wiped the tears from her eyes.

Jared couldn't think of anything to say, so he just agreed with what Paul said by nodding.

Ferran said, "That's right. Dreggan wants you to be afraid. He doesn't want you to realize your potential. Don't give him any power over you. You three are better and more powerful than he'll _ever_ be."

Jared wondered how he could be more powerful than a man that defeated an entire civilization. Sure, he felt he had an important job to do. _But, am I really more powerful than Dreggan?_

Ferran must have sensed Jared's doubt and seen the same look of disbelief on Danielle's face that Jared saw. "It's true. Don't doubt it for a second. You want to know why the three of you were chosen for the MSI implantation?"

Jared had assumed he was chosen because his parents were heads of security and was just a convenient subject for his parents to experiment on. _There's another reason?_

Ferran looked at Jared, Paul, and Danielle, "Not only are you descended directly from the Founding Masters, but you have possessed, since birth, a remarkable energy—one that can be felt. We knew you three would be our best hope for success with the microchips."

Jared got goose bumps. _I had no idea._

"By just deciding to begin training, you three have brought hope to those of us who've been lost." Ferran smiled, and it looked like he was getting teary-eyed. "We've been working hard to prepare for this time, not knowing if we would succeed."

Ferran looked at Danielle with a piercing gaze. "Danielle, you chose to start this journey. Now, let's finish it together."

Jared found himself stepping forward. He didn't know exactly why. He just felt the need to help her. He nudged Paul, and they both took a step closer to Danielle.

Jared said, "Come on, Danielle. I know we can do it." He had hoped his words would be powerful, but, after he said them, he thought they seemed feeble.

Instinctively, Jared held his fist to his chest. He was startled when he felt his kevanshu in his hand. He didn't intend for it to appear, but there it was.

He unclenched his fingers and looked at the glowing stone. The light on the surface of the stone began swirling in an irregular pattern.

Jared elbowed Paul in the arm, not knowing if his friend had seen what the light on the stone was doing. A few seconds later, Paul held his kevanshu out next to Jared's. The light from the two stones swirled around faster and became brighter.

Jared wondered, _What's going on?_

The boys looked at each other and then at Danielle, who had put her fist to her chest.

She paused, lowered her hand, and then, standing up, slowly uncurled her fingers, revealing her glowing kevanshu. With a look of uncertainty on her face, she held her stone out next to the boys'.

The three kevanshus began to shine even brighter. The light quickly became very intense, and Jared looked away, shielding his eyes with his other hand.

Along with the increase in light, a force pulled Jared forward. The instant he felt his hand make contact with the hands of Danielle and Paul, a blast of warm, soothing energy shot through him. He lowered his arm from his eyes.

Jared looked at his hand. His kevanshu was gone; so were Danielle's and Paul's. They were completely surrounded by a soft, white light.

Jared looked down at the ground around him. "Where are they?"

Before anyone answered, a low hum began filling the room. Jared looked around, trying to figure out what was making the noise.

Paul asked, "What's that noise?"

The hum got louder, and then a sharp pain pierced Jared's head. He put both hands up to the sides of his head and squeezed. His skull felt like it was going to explode. He closed his eyes and fell to his knees.

A second later, a blast of heat shot down from his head to his toes and out of his body, taking the pain with it. He opened his eyes. He was lying on his back, looking up at Ferran.

"What happened?" Jared asked.

Ferran helped Danielle to her feet and looked at Jared. "I was just about to ask you the same thing."

Paul stood up. "The three of us were surrounded by a white light. There was this humming. My head felt like it was about to burst. Then, suddenly, I felt hot. After that, the humming and the pain just went away, and I woke up." He looked stunned—exactly how Jared felt.

Danielle said, "Same with me."

Jared got up. "Me too."

"I wonder..." Ferran looked off into space, tapping his puckered lips with one finger.

"What is it?" Jared asked.

Ferran held up his finger. "Well, I saw the three of you surrounded by light. Soon after that, you were drawn closer together." He brought his palms together. "Then, when your hands touched, the kevanshus flew into the air and were absorbed into your heads." He pointed to his head.

"What does it mean?" Danielle asked.

A light seemed to go on inside of Ferran (Jared could see it in his eyes). He started nodding slowly. "Yes. I suppose it could be possible." He seemed to have not heard Danielle's question.

"What's possible?" Jared asked.

Ferran looked at the youths and raised his eyebrows. "Let's get you hooked up to the neurointerfacer and find out."

_What's he talking about?_ Jared asked, "What's a neurointerfacer?"

"I can use it to connect to your MSIs to do a status probe." Ferran tapped the side of his head with a finger.

_The MSIs?_ Jared furrowed his brow. "So, you think what happened has something to do with our brain chips?"

"I can't be sure, yet." Ferran nodded. "But, that's a definite possibility."

Jared noticed some excitement in Ferran's voice.

Paul asked, "Where is the neurointerfacer?"

"In the library. Let's go." Ferran turned to leave.

Danielle asked, "So, what is it that you think has happened?"

Ferran turned back around and looked like he was about to explain but then said, "It'll be better if you see for yourselves." He smiled apologetically. "Sorry." Ferran ushered Jared, Paul, and Danielle out of the bedroom.

Once they were in the underground library, Ferran indicated the shelves of books with a sweeping motion of his hand. "Yesterday, I didn't thoroughly explain to you that these books are really cartridges containing data. They cumulatively comprise the system files of Teruvisa. They are all connected by a network to a central processor."

Ferran walked over to one of the shelves. "In fact, one of these runs the neurointerfacer program." He ran his finger along the spines of the book-cartridges. "Ah—ha." He pulled one off the shelf.

The edge of the book had a rectangular, metal strip on it where the pages would've been if it were a real book. Ferran walked over to a nearby computer terminal and put the cartridge in a slotted box next to the computer.

He started typing on the keyboard and using the mouse touch pad attached to it. "I'm now accessing the neurointerfacer program contained on this particular data cartridge. Give me just a minute to set up the scan."

When he finished, Ferran looked at Paul. "Okay, Paul, you go first. Put your thumb on the touch pad, and hold it there until I tell you to move it."

Paul placed his thumb on the touch pad. On the black background of the window on the computer screen, white letters appeared that read,

Scanning for Parameters...

Please wait.

Soon, the message changed to,

Host Identified..........Paul Harmon

Neural Connections......Active

Power Status............Off

Security Status.........Access Denied

"Yes!" Ferran punched his fists in the air.

Paul asked, "If the chips aren't on, why are you so excited?"

Jared wondered the same thing.

"Why am I so excited? I'll tell you why I'm excited. The neural connections are active!" Ferran pointed to the second line of the display. "We're one step—one significant step—closer."

Ferran typed on the keyboard. "Okay, Paul, you can take your thumb off the pad now." He turned to Danielle. "Now, it's your turn."

A similar message appeared on the screen when Danielle placed her thumb on the pad.

Jared immediately stepped forward to take his turn when Danielle removed her thumb from the pad. His name and the same status messages appeared on the screen.

Danielle asked, "So, Ferran, did you know that all we had to do was put our kevanshus together to activate the neural connections?"

"We did know, or rather we hypothesized, that, when the kevanshus were held close together, you would be able to access your MSIs, with the right amount of mental focus." Ferran smiled. "But, we thought that you would need at least _some_ training in Diestro to do it.

"It's amazing that you've been able to activate the neural connections already. You three are definitely gifted. You've demonstrated a real aptitude for our technology."

Jared was puzzled. "But, I don't get it. How can the chips not be turned on if our brains are connecting to them?"

"Well, think of it this way. Your MSIs are like lamps. Just because you plug a lamp into an outlet, doesn't mean it's going to give off light." Ferran removed the book cartridge and put it back on the shelf. "A lamp has electricity running to it, which is like your MSIs receiving signals from your brains, but you're missing two things—a switch and a light bulb.

"With training, you'll be able to learn how to turn on the MSIs—like flipping a switch. After that, you'll need to get the final element to unlock the MSIs, just like the bulb is the last thing you need for a lamp to give light. After all, even if you can turn on a lamp, if it doesn't have a bulb, you still don't have light." Ferran paused. "And, that last piece is..."

Jared leaned forward slightly onto his toes, waiting to hear what he needed to unlock his MSI.

Ferran looked at each of the youths as if he was making sure he had their attention, "A password. When you give the proper password at the proper time, the MSIs will be unlocked, the microchips will interface with Teruvisa through the decoder, Teruvisa's old systems will go offline, and the new systems will be enabled."

_So, we turn them on and then say a password._ Jared asked, "But, how do we get the passwords?"

Ferran held his hands up at chest level with his palms facing outward. "Hold on. Don't be too anxious. Although you've already exceeded our expectations, you still have much to learn about our technology." Ferran stepped closer to Jared and patted his shoulder. "But, before we get started with today's lesson, how about if we go back upstairs and get some breakfast?" He looked around at the youth. "You can't learn on an empty stomach."

At that moment, Jared's stomach grumbled. He nodded. "I could eat."

"Okay. Good." Ferran led Jared, Danielle, and Paul back into the elevator.

# Chapter 14

Diestro

After Danielle got ready and they all ate breakfast, Ferran took Paul, Danielle, and Jared back down to the underground library for their first lesson. Ferran provided them with big, pillowy chairs and laptop computers. The chairs were arranged in a circle at the center of the room.

Ferran instructed them to sit down and turn on their laptops. When Jared pushed the power button, the laptop began floating silently above his lap. Jared stared at it in amazement.

Ferran said with a chuckle, "Pretty cool, huh?"

Jared nodded, grabbed the edges of his laptop, and then pushed down lightly. It didn't budge, so he pushed a little harder. It still didn't move.

As he moved it around, he found that he could move the laptop toward himself, farther away, side to side, and higher up, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the laptop closer than three inches to his lap.

He let go of the laptop. _I wonder if it'll float by my waist if I stand up._

Ferran must have noticed that Jared was about to stand up because he took a step toward Jared and held out a hand. "Jared, wait. Don't stand up. The laptop will turn off and fall to the ground unless you're holding it when you stand up."

Jared held up his hands. "Okay." He leaned back into his comfortable chair, leaving his laptop floating just above his lap.

"Okay." Ferran sat down in an overstuffed chair. "Let's start your Diestro training."

A picture of a cloud of Light appeared on the screen of Jared's laptop. It looked very similar to the one he saw during the HST when his parents shut down Teruvisa. "Hey, that looks like that one Light cloud from my HST."

Ferran said, "That's right, and I'm going to explain what that Light cloud is. As I told you yesterday, the Founding Masters, Archemel and Terimova, made Teruvisa, but they didn't invent Diestro."

Danielle raised her hand but didn't wait until she was called upon to ask her question. "If they didn't, then who did?"

"No one." Ferran's tone was flat and straightforward.

_How could_ no one _create a technology?_ Jared looked at Ferran sideways and waited for an explanation.

Ferran leaned back into his chair, looking upward as he inhaled deeply through his nose, and then, as his focus returned to the youths, he said, "Well, you see, the Light has always existed, and Diestro, which is the technology of the Light, has too.

"The Founding Masters discovered a way to tap into that technology and create Teruvisa. And, the Light, which is a pure form of matter, provides a constant stream of energy that sustains our world."

Solar power came to mind when Jared heard that you could get energy from the Light.

However, Ferran offered a completely different explanation of the Light—one that Jared didn't expect at all. "Think of the Light as intelligence."

"The Light can _think_?" Danielle asked.

Jared had a hard time imagining how Light could think.

Ferran shook his head. "Not exactly."

Jared furrowed his brow. He needed clarification. "How 'not exactly'?"

"The Light is intelli _gence_ , not intelli _gent_." Ferran emphasized the endings of those two words. "Let me give you an example: water. Jared, what is water?"

Jared gave the text book answer from his science class. "Hydrogen and oxygen."

Ferran held up a finger and then pointed it at Jared's laptop. "That's correct."

A picture of three atoms appeared on Jared's laptop screen.

Ferran added, "So, if you know how to combine two hydrogen atoms with one oxygen atom, you can make a molecule of water."

On Jared's laptop screen, the two hydrogen atoms joined with the oxygen atom, that molecule was joined by many more water molecules, and then a picture of a drop of water appeared.

_Oh. I get it._ That made more sense to Jared. _You can combine atoms to make molecules, which make up objects. But, that just sounds like regular old science to me._

Ferran said, "Now, let's apply that logic to forming a new world. If you can create water or a flower from pure matter with Diestro, then why not a whole world, if you know how?" He didn't pause long enough for anyone to respond. "Well, that's exactly what the Founding Masters did to make Teruvisa."

Jared nodded. "So, with this pure matter, you can make things to do whatever you want?"

"Yes." Ferran brought his legs up under himself and sat cross-legged on his chair. "It can be made into any living organism or inanimate object. But... I wouldn't go as far as to say that the things you make can do whatever you want.

"Diestro works within universal laws, which I will explain in later lessons. For now though, I'll say that, although you can make a flower, you can't make the flower think and talk like a human being."

Jared nodded. That made sense to him.

"Now, let's talk a little bit more about how you can begin to use Diestro," Ferran said. "In short, you have to be given the power to unlock the Light to use Diestro."

_What about the Founding Masters?_ Jared wondered.

Apparently, the same thing had occurred to Danielle. "Excuse me, Ferran. But, who gave the Founding Masters the power?"

"Well, let me tell you." Ferran smiled at her. (Ferran sure seemed to like talking about history, which was strange to Jared because he had always known Ferran as Mr. Hobson, his science teacher, and thought that would be his favorite subject.)

Ferran put his feet down on the floor and leaned forward in his chair slightly. "The Founding Masters—before they were Masters, of course—were conducting an experiment on Earth to find a better way to harness the energy of the light from the sun, and during that experiment, a blast of pure energy never experienced before on Earth strayed out of the containment field and engulfed the Founding Masters.

"In that moment they were able to see the true properties of the Light and that everything was connected by this pure matter. As a result, they were given the code, so to speak, to unlock Diestro."

Paul asked, "So, no one _gave_ them the power. They got it _themselves_. Doesn't that contradict what you said about having to be _given_ the power?"

Jared had also noticed the inconsistency, but he was glad that Paul had brought it up—Ferran probably wouldn't get mad at his own son for pointing it out.

Ferran raised an eyebrow. "Really, what I said still holds true. The _Light_ gave them the power. When the Light touched them, the Founding Masters got kevanshus." He settled back down into his chair with an expression of satisfaction on his face, apparently thinking he had settled the matter.

Jared remembered when he got a kevanshu while he was in Central Security. _Yeah, that makes sense. We got the power to use Diestro in order to be trained how to use it._

Paul, who still had a confused look on his face, asked, "But, I thought you said the Light couldn't think."

_Yeah. That's right._ Jared had been so caught up on what Ferran said about the kevanshus giving the Founding Masters the power that he had overlooked how the Light seemed to have had a mind of its own when it, as Ferran had said, "gave them the power."

Ferran didn't seem to be getting impatient with Paul's repeated questioning of him and simply stated, "It doesn't." His head swayed side to side a few times. "At least, not in the way _we_ think. The conditions were right, the right people were present, and communication was established. That's what's most important to understand, for now."

_Communication was established?_ Jared asked, "They talked to it?"

Ferran shook his head. "No. It wasn't a _discussion_. There are other forms of communication—non-verbal ones." He thought for a moment as he tilted his head back and puckered his lips slightly. "I guess I should have said, 'enlightened.' Yes. It was more like the Founding Master minds were _enlightened_ to comprehend what Diestro could do in the right hands—that's what I meant by communication."

Jared leaned farther back in his chair and looked up. "That makes sense, I guess." Jared raised his eyebrows. _I'll need more time to understand Diestro—that's for sure._

"Another important fact is that soon after the Founding Masters could command the Light—manipulate it to do what they wanted—they realized they needed to keep Diestro safe and find a place to continue learning about it." Ferran waved a finger side to side. "No place on Earth would do, though. And, that's the main reason why the Founding Masters decided to make a new world—they had to hide Diestro to keep it safe."

Danielle asked, "Why didn't they want to share Diestro with everyone?" Her tone of voice almost sounded like she was accusing the Founding Masters of something.

"Well, actually they did." Ferran looked around at the youths. "The Founding Masters had hoped to eventually teach _everyone_ about Diestro—everyone who was interested that is. They just couldn't do it all at once." He held a hand out as if inviting Danielle to accept that explanation.

Danielle nodded, apparently satisfied with that answer.

"Of course, as history has shown us, Diestro might not be meant for everyone." Ferran raised an eyebrow and tapped his temple with a finger. "That is evident in the fact that even some of those who got the power, ended up abusing it."

Jared got the hint but didn't want to mention Danielle's parents specifically. "Dreggan and his followers."

He looked out the corner of his eye at Danielle and suspected that she was thinking the same thing as he was. Her parents were evidence that Diestro wasn't meant for everyone.

"Yep." Ferran nodded slowly, then added, "It is a power that those who receive it must be careful with. After all, it's the ultimate power—to control anything, to move mountains."

Somehow, Jared knew Ferran wasn't speaking figuratively and marveled even more about Diestro as he imagined a Master throwing a mountain on top of an invading army.

"Now, let's talk about the devices you will be trained to use to tap into Diestro." Ferran then asked, "So, what kind of devices have you already seen or learned about?"

Paul said, "The MSIs and the decoder."

Jared added, "Kevanshus."

"There's also the treyos." Danielle held out a hand and pointed to it like she was holding her handheld device.

Ferran held up a hand, gesturing for Jared and the others to stop answering. "Yes. Good. And, as you go through your training, you'll find out there are many others.

"And, all the devices of Diestro help us perform tasks. However, devices are not the _focus_ of our technology."

"So, can we use Diestro without devices?" Danielle had posed an interesting question.

Ferran started to shake his head slowly. "Well, there haven't been any Masters that I know of that have been able to use Diestro without using at least _one_ device." He put his hand to his chest, retrieved his kevanshu, and held it out. "A kevanshu. Even the Founding Masters used kevanshus."

He reabsorbed his stone. "And, Masters nowadays do use a treyo from time to time. But other than those two exceptions, yes, you can eventually use Diestro without devices."

Paul mentioned what Jared was also speculating about. "So, the better Master you are, the fewer devices you need to use."

"Exactly." Ferran seemed to beam with fatherly pride. He leaned back, clasping his fingers and putting his hands behind his head. "In fact, as you go through your training, you'll get various devices to help you manipulate Diestro, but there'll come a time when you'll become practiced enough to not need _any_ of those training devices."

_Toys. Cool_. Jared got excited as he thought about getting devices. He loved gadgets and electronic devices of all kinds. He liked to take them apart to see how they worked and experiment with them to see what they were capable of.

However, Ferran was quick to add as he sat back up, "But, let's not get ahead of ourselves. We have a lot to cover first. Once we get past the basics, then you'll start practicing Diestro."

Jared deflated slightly. "How long will that be?"

Ferran responded to Jared's obvious disappointment. "You have to fully understand the theories and basics of Diestro before you even _attempt_ to use the Light, or else you'll die. It would be like throwing you at the sun. Poof—you'd be gone."

"So... what's the problem," Jared said jokingly.

Everyone laughed.

After a few moments, Ferran continued the lesson. "Okay, let's move on."

An animated video began to play on Jared's laptop. The animation showed the Light spreading out like a web throughout a jungle scene—a part of the jungle outside Teruvisa.

Ferran said, "As I said before, the Light connects everything, like a web. So, every tree, every rock, every particle of sand, and every element of our world is connected to the systems of Teruvisa."

On Jared's laptop, he watched the Light as it touched everything in the scenery pictured: the trees, the plants, a porumfid flying near the ground, and small, puffy clouds floating by above. And, as the Light touched those things, they seemed to become filled with the Light. Even Teruvisa's mountain shield in the background started to glow with the Light.

Ferran started speaking again. "However, the connections are invisible. You won't see a string of Light connecting everything." Ferran paused briefly. "It's more of a feeling." He nodded a few times and then smiled. "And, with adequate training, you can tune into that feeling at will—like tuning into a specific radio station to listen to a certain type of music."

_Good. Seeing everything glowing all the time would be annoying._ Jared was glad he didn't have to see the Light all the time.

Danielle asked, "What does it feel like?"

Ferran thought for a moment. "Well... it can be a little different for each person, but the best ways to describe it are warmth, confidence, awareness of things around you, and clarity of thought.

"So, be aware of those feelings. Also, be aware of how the Light affects everything and vice versa. I used an analogy of a web to describe the Light for a reason. When an insect moves on part of a web, another part is affected. The same is true with the Light, except the effects are spread across not only actions but thoughts and words."

_Thoughts and words?_ Jared began to imagine Light shooting out of his brain and mouth every time he thought or said something. "No wonder you wouldn't want to see the Light all the time. That's a lot of Light," Jared said with a smile.

"True." Ferran chuckled.

**********

One evening a few weeks later, while Jared was lying on his bed going over some of that day's lessons, he stopped to consider something Ferran mentioned about nature. A saying Ferran occasionally used kept coming to the foreground of Jared's thoughts: technology is nature, and nature is technology.

From their lessons about Diestro, the technology of the Light, Jared was beginning to see how everything was connected to Teruvisa.

_Wouldn't that also include Obalin and Earth?_ He was surprised he hadn't thought of that earlier.

He was about to turn his head and ask Paul what he thought but remembered Paul wasn't in the bedroom. _Oh yeah_. He glanced over at Paul's empty bed.

Paul and Ferran were downstairs in the living room talking again, which meant Paul wouldn't be going to bed for while. Jared noticed the feeling of jealousy that accompanied that thought, but he knew he couldn't blame Paul for wanting to spend time in the evenings alone with Ferran. They had a lot of catching up to do.

Jared supposed that _he_ would want to spend as much time as he could with his dad too if he was in _Paul's_ situation. And, the evenings were really the only time Ferran and Paul ever had time to talk about anything personal. After all, during the past few weeks, when they weren't eating or sleeping, Jared, Paul, and Danielle spent their days in the underground library for Ferran's training.

Jared sighed and then turned onto his side. He wasn't tired, though. His head was swimming with what Ferran had taught them earlier that day, just like it did every night since the lessons started—nearly a month ago.

With the ton of information he was being bombarded with daily during Ferran's training sessions, it took Jared a long time to allow his mind to wind down enough for him to fall asleep.

In addition to the amount he was learning, Jared began to think about how advanced many of the topics were—especially for a seventh grader. However, for some reason, he seemed to understand everything easily.

It's not like Jared ever had a hard time in school, but it seemed strange that he could learn something so advanced as Diestro with so little effort. Sure, Ferran was a great teacher, but maybe it was because, although, Diestro could be extremely advanced, it seemed so logical... so natural... so right.

# Chapter 15

Amatay

The tutorials on the theories, science, and technology of Diestro continued to be fast-paced and intense, and the days passed by quickly.

One morning a little over two months after their training started, Ferran seemed more excited than usual to continue the training. "Well, let's get back down to the archives."

He led them upstairs to the hall closet elevator and then said, "I can hardly wait," as he opened the elevator with a wave of his hand.

"For what?" Paul asked.

As everyone was getting in, Ferran said, "So far, we've gone over the basics of Diestro, and I've talked a lot about communication using the power of the Light. Well, now the time has come to introduce you to Amatay."

Danielle asked, "Who's Amatay?"

Ferran said, "Not who, what."

They began descending to the library.

Ferran cleared his throat. "Amatay is the pure language of the Light. The Founding Masters learned to decipher and speak it soon after they became exposed to the Light."

When the elevator stopped, Jared walked over to one of the over-sized, pillowy chairs they had been using every day, picked up his laptop, and then sat down. Danielle and Paul did the same.

Ferran said, "Go ahead and turn on your laptops, and let's begin with some basic vocabulary."

After Jared's laptop started up, a list of strange words appeared on the screen.

Ferran said, "Okay. Now, repeat after me..."

**********

As Jared lay on his bed that evening, practicing some of the sounds and words of Amatay, his mind began to wander. He started to think about something Ferran said: speaking Amatay was like harnessing the power of the mind.

Jared wasn't sure what to think about that and had yet to see any enhancement to his brain power. Of course, he had barely started learning Amatay.

He smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand when he realized that he had allowed himself to make the same mistake he had been making all day—he wasn't keeping his mind clear enough to allow himself to effectively speak Amatay.

During the lesson, Ferran had told them not to worry about it (Paul and Danielle had been experiencing the same difficulty) because everyone had trouble focusing when learning Amatay for the first time. But, Jared still didn't like that he couldn't speak Amatay perfectly right away.

Ferran had explained that they weren't less focused than they normally were, just that they weren't used to the amount of focus required to speak Amatay, so their brains would automatically try to take a break after a while. He had also told them that the reason Amatay took so much focus was because they were speaking from their hearts and minds.

He recommended that they concentrate not just on _what_ words they said or thoughts they had but _how_ they spoke or thought. So, Jared closed his eyes and tried to push out the many random thoughts that occupied his mind in order to concentrate on "feeling" and correctly pronouncing each Amatay word he had learned that day.

**********

Jared and the others descended to the underground library, just like they did every morning for the past three months, but, as they got out of the elevator, Ferran announced, "We're going to do something a little different today."

With an excited look on his face, Ferran gestured for everyone to gather around him instead of leading them to the chairs they usually sat in. "So far, you have learned to focus your thoughts effectively to speak Amatay out loud, but in this first exercise, I want you to practice focusing your thoughts to project them to other people. We call this beoveh."

"Beoveh..." Paul considered the word for a moment, then asked, "Doesn't that mean hearer and speaker?"

Ferran smiled. "Yes. Beoveh is the term we use to describe how we," he made air quotes with his fingers, " _call_ each other. By projecting words and listening through brain waves, we can communicate across the Light with our knowledge of Amatay and Diestro."

Jared realized he had seen others do what Ferran was talking about. "Oh. So, that's how you can talk to other people that aren't around."

"Exactly." Ferran grabbed something off a nearby table. "And, that's what you're going to learn to do. I have some training devices, called beos, for you to use to help you hone your skills with beoveh." He opened his hand and gave Danielle, Jared, and Paul each a tiny, beige, plastic, cone-shaped object. "Put these in your ears."

Jared put the tiny listening device snugly in his right ear. _A high-tech device. Cool_.

"Now, I want you two," Ferran pointed at Danielle and Paul, "to go to opposite sides of the library." He pointed to his left and right. "Jared and I will stay here in the middle." He pointed at his feet. " I'm going to give him a message to relay to one of you, so be listening."

As Jared's friends walked away, Ferran stooped down to Jared's ear level and whispered, "Jared, I want you to tell Danielle, with just a whisper, that you like ice cream. But first, you must picture her in your mind. Ready?"

Jared nodded.

Ferran stood upright and nodded as he mouthed, "Now."

Jared closed his eyes and pictured Danielle—her auburn hair and blue eyes. Then, he thought of ice cream and whispered, "I like ice cream."

Jared waited for a response but got nothing.

Ferran coached him a little more. "Try saying her name first, then give the message."

"Danielle." Jared pictured her face again and then concentrated on giving his message. "I like ice cream."

Nothing.

Ferran asked, "Did you picture her?"

"Yes."

"Nothing else?"

"Well... the ice cream."

Ferran held up a finger. "That's the problem."

Jared frowned. "What is?"

"You need to picture Danielle and just Danielle." Addressing everyone, Ferran said, "You must first focus on the receiver of the message, not the message. Once you have a connection, then you can focus more on the message."

"Okay okay." Jared closed his eyes. Once he had a mental image of Danielle, he whispered, "I like ice cream." He repeated it several times, concentrating harder and harder on seeing Danielle's face in his mind each time.

Danielle called out (she didn't use beoveh), "Alright, I get it. You like ice cream."

Jared raised his eyebrows and smiled. He was impressed with himself. _I did it!_

Ferran said, "Danielle. Paul. I want you to try to talk to each other by envisioning who you want to talk to, then saying what you want to tell the other person. Danielle, you first. Paul, once you hear her, try to reply."

Jared watched as both his friends took turns concentrating, and moving their lips, as they relayed their messages.

Soon, Jared heard Danielle's voice in his head. "Jared. I like ice cream, too."

Then, Paul's voice filled his head. "Jared. Danielle likes ice cream. And, guess what?"

Jared knew what Paul was going to say, so he pictured him—his black hair and olive complexion. "You like ice cream, too."

Through beoveh, he heard Paul say, "That's right," and start giggling.

When Danielle's laughter immediately followed Paul's, Jared realized that Paul and Danielle had planned together that they would say what they said to Jared.

_So, they think they're funny, huh? Well, I can be funny, too._ Jared figured that it was as good a time as any to try to talk to two people at once (he had seen it done before), so he pictured both of his friends and then said, "Danielle. Paul. Okay, here's a joke I heard on—"

Ferran put his hand on Jared's shoulder. "Alright. Danielle. Paul. Come back over here, please."

Jared wondered if Paul and Danielle had both heard him try to talk to them at the same time. _Oh well. I'll try it again some other time._

Ferran smiled at Jared and the others. "You did a great job. With practice, you should be able to communicate with anyone you know, no matter how far away."

_Okay. What next?_ Jared was ready for more. _This is fun._

"Now that you can connect with others, I need to train you in mind control. But," Ferran held up a finger, "it's not the kind of mind control you're thinking of. No, I'm not talking about controlling others' minds but guarding your mind from being controlled by others." He turned to Jared. "Come here, Jared."

Jared walked over to him.

Ferran said, "You are a chicken."

A picture of a chicken went through Jared's head. He uncontrollably started strutting around, bobbing his head, scratching at the floor, and clucking.

Ferran held up his hand. "Stop. You're Jared."

Jared snapped out of his trance. "How did you do that? I couldn't control... hey, I thought this wasn't about controlling other people's minds."

"It's not." Ferran shook his head. "But, I wanted to make you aware that you're susceptible to suggestions from others. So, it's imperative that you learn to block someone who's trying to control you. Dreggan can't have power over your mind or influence you if you don't let him in."

Jared definitely didn't want anyone messing around with his mind. _Okay. Got it._ "Yeah. I can see how that could be a good thing to know."

Ferran smiled. "Well then, it's a good thing you're here because I'm going to tell you how to protect your mind." He cleared his throat. "Let's use our chicken example. I told you to be a chicken, which is an animal, right?" (Jared nodded.) "But, you're not an animal. You're a human being. So, to block the chicken command, you can picture yourself as a person. Let's try it again."

Ferran looked at Jared. "Jared, you are a chicken."

Jared immediately started to feel like a chicken again, but he quickly tried to counteract the suggestion by thinking of only himself. _I'm a boy, not a chicken._ Jared was surprised how quickly the urge to act like a chicken went away.

"Good." Ferran nodded at Jared. "Thinking of a truth is a very useful way of blocking mind control. In some cases though, it will be more effective to resist a suggestion by thinking of the opposite or something that is completely different than the thought being put into your head, or you can think of something comforting, trustworthy, or safe."

"Excuse me, Ferran," Danielle said. "I know you said you're not going to teach us how to control someone else's mind, but I'm curious about something. If I told Jared to be a chicken right now, would he obey me if he didn't try to block it?"

Ferran answered, "No. And, I'll tell you why not. You haven't mastered word usage, yet. You need to have power behind your words. For example, if it was cold outside, and you wanted to express irony, you might say, 'It sure is hot.' But, it wouldn't suddenly get hot. It would take great power to make that happen."

"You mean it's possible to control the weather?" Paul asked.

Ferran raised his eyebrows. "The power of the mind is limitless."

Ferran hadn't said, "Yes," but Jared knew that Ferran's comment was his way of saying that he didn't want Jared, Paul, or Danielle to dwell on advanced Diestro powers because, although controlling the weather could be possible, it was way beyond their training at that point.

Ferran waved a hand dismissively. "But, I'm getting ahead of myself. For now, let's focus on blocking unfriendly suggestions. I'd like Paul to practice blocking the chicken command next, then I'll work with Danielle"

Paul and Danielle each took a turn blocking suggestions from Ferran to act like chickens.

"Fantastic. Now, let's move onto something more difficult." Ferran pulled a pocketknife out of the front pocket of his pants and opened the blade. Jared heard a quiet click as it locked into place.

"If you find yourselves going up against an enemy, he might try to turn you against each other." Ferran held the knife out and gestured for Jared to take it. "Jared, kill me with this knife."

Jared couldn't resist the command. He grabbed the weapon and slashed at Ferran. Ferran jumped out of the way, though.

Jared paused when he heard Ferran's voice echo in his head. "Try harder. Resist."

He tried to muster some resistance, but, a second time, he swung the blade at Ferran, who easily dodged it.

Fighting against the urge to attack Ferran again, Jared began searching for something that was comforting or the opposite of hate or fighting. The first thing Jared thought of was from the HST: his mother's loving embrace.

The desire to kill Ferran left him. He flung the knife down on the floor with disgust and stepped back.

"Excellent." Ferran picked up the knife.

Jared said, slightly out of breath and mystified, "It was like I was outside of myself. Then, I was suddenly able to grab myself and put my body back on. It was weird. You guys gotta try it." He stepped back, signaling for his friends to come forward.

After a few attempts, Danielle and Paul were also able to deflect the kill command.

While they were all standing around congratulating each other, without any explanation, Ferran stared into Jared's eyes and spoke. "The brain chip in your head is broken."

The words filled Jared's head, and then his skull suddenly felt hallow. He even thought he could feel the MSI rolling around inside.

He put both hands to either side of his head and cried out, "It's broken!"

But, not wanting to accept it and struggling to find the truth, he remembered being encompassed by Light when his kevanshu was joined with those of Paul and Danielle. He also recalled the scan that revealed his neural connections were active. He felt a shot of excitement through him as he convinced himself the chip wasn't broken.

The image of a white hand superimposed on a brick wall flashed before his eyes. Jared immediately stood up and started reciting something, but he didn't understand what he was saying.

When he stopped speaking, Jared looked around at the stunned faces of those in the room with him. "What did I just say?"

Paul said, "I don't know. But, my head started to throb, and I felt warm all over."

"Me too," Danielle added. "And, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up."

Ferran, who had a perplexed look on his face, said, "It sounded like some sort of code. Jared, what were you thinking about when you blocked my suggestion?"

"One second, I thought the chip was rattling around in my head; the next, I remembered that the neural connections were active." Jared shrugged.

Ferran asked, "Anything else? Did you see anything else right before you started speaking in code?"

Jared didn't think everyone wanted to keep hearing about his hand visions, but he decided to tell Ferran about the hand on the wall, anyway. "Yeah. A drawing of a white hand on a red, brick wall."

Ferran scratched his chin for a moment. "A hand, huh?"

Wanting to know what Ferran was thinking, Jared asked, "What does the hand on the wall mean?"

Ferran furrowed his brow as he thought about it for a moment. "Well... I suppose that, when you were thinking about the MSIs being active, since the MSIs are part of Teruvisa's new technology, the wall appeared because it's a symbol of the strength and security of that new technology." He didn't sound very sure, though.

_That explains the wall but not the hand._ Jared persisted. "But, what about the hand?"

Ferran's expression was unreadable as he replied, "It's a signal."

_There has to be more to it._ Jared wondered if Ferran was holding something back. "So, every time I see a hand, it's just a signal?"

"As far as I know." Ferran shrugged. "That's all I was told it was." He seemed to be telling the truth.

Jared was a little disappointed that Ferran couldn't explain more about the hand vision. _But, maybe he knows what the signal is for._ "So, what's the hand signaling?"

Ferran raised his eyebrows and then smiled. "That it's time for you to move onto the next phase of your training!" Without warning, he started jumping up and down and cheering, "The MSIs are on! The MSIs are on!"

Jared was stunned. _What?_ He didn't know what to say.

Ferran grabbed Jared by the arm and pulled him over to a computer terminal. "Come on. I'll show you." After getting the "book" that contained the neurointerfacer program, inserting it in the terminal, and starting the program, Ferran pointed to the touch pad. "Go ahead. It's ready."

Jared was nervous and excited at the same time. He placed his thumb on the touch pad.

Ferran read the words on the screen aloud, "Power Status... on!" and then started cheering again.

Maybe it was seeing the words on the screen, or enough time had passed for it to sink in since Ferran first announced it, but whatever the reason, Jared was overcome with emotion at the realization that, _The MSIs are on!_ He started laughing and cheering along with Ferran. _Now, all we need are the passwords._ Jared wondered when that would be.

Ferran quickly had Danielle and Paul check the statuses of their MSIs. Both of theirs were on, as well.

After a few moments of celebration, Ferran called out, "Okay, okay. I know it's exciting. You guys do rock! But... we need to go to Teruvisa."

Jared took a few deep breaths to calm down and wiped the tears out of his eyes. (He had been cheering and laughing so hard, it had brought tears to his eyes.)

Ferran added, "And, since the window of opportunity to complete your training is limited, we should leave as soon as possible. I need to take you," he looked at Jared and the others, "back to Teruvisa to meet with Manasto and Verissa, and then you'll start your training with Rohlwig." He turned to leave. "So, let's get going."

Jared's mood instantly changed—like someone had flipped a switch inside of him—from excitement to gloom when Paul asked pitifully, "Do we have to leave?"

Ferran turned back around and looked at Paul. His huge grin was replaced by a solemn look. He seemed to be searching for the right words to say. It was pretty obvious to Jared, by the look on Ferran's face, that Ferran wanted to spend more time with Paul but knew that Paul had to continue his training elsewhere.

Ferran cleared his throat and said only, "We do."

Paul's shoulders dropped. He pleaded, "Can't we keep training _here_ ," and indicated the library, "with _you_? You could teach us whatever else we need to know, right? Or, you could have Manasto send for the other Masters to come train us _here_."

"No." Ferran shook his head solemnly as he stepped closer to Paul. "I know we've only been together for a brief time. It's not that I don't want you to stay longer, but this is the way it has to be. Besides, we'll have a little more time together. I'll be taking you to Teruvisa personally.

"Also, we'll be able to spend a lot of time together after this is all over." He placed a hand on Paul's shoulder. "As you continue your training, remember that. Okay?"

Paul looked down and nodded slowly.

Ferran continued. "The main reasons for having you here were to perform the HST and to give you a good foundation in Diestro and our language, Amatay. I've done both of those things, so it's time to get you started on the next phase of your training."

Without another word, Ferran turned and started walking toward the elevator. Paul, Jared, and Danielle followed.

Jared felt a little down about having to leave, but mostly he was excited. While Ferran's lessons were great—especially the mind control exercise—Jared had a feeling that the lessons with Rohlwig and Tiersda would give him plenty more to practice. He was overcome with the desire to learn more Amatay and enhance his skills with Diestro.

Once they were up in the house, Ferran told the youths, "Go get your robes."

Jared went in his room and grabbed his and Paul's robes out of the closet. He handed Paul's to him and put his own on.

After they were all back in the hallway, Ferran led Jared, Danielle, and Paul downstairs, through the kitchen, and to the garage. Ferran opened the door and turned on the light.

Backed into the garage was a rusty, old Buick sedan with faded, brown paint.

Jared was puzzled. _With all the technology he has access to, why would Ferran choose to drive a run-down, old car?_ Pointing at the car, he joked, "Nice car. But, do you think it'll make it? Wherever we're going better be close."

Danielle and Paul both stifled laughs.

Ferran smiled. "What?" He shrugged. "I had to keep up appearances. I had to pretend to be living off a teacher's salary, and I didn't want to stand out by having a flashy, new car. Besides, it runs great."

Paul got in the front seat. Jared and Danielle hopped in back.

When Ferran got in the driver's seat, he reached up and pressed the button of the garage door remote clipped on the sun visor. The garage door rolled up, and sunlight poured in. Then, he started the engine, which Jared noticed did run smoothly and quietly.

Ferran pulled down the gearshift lever on the steering column, and the car rolled forward. Once they were out of the garage, Ferran reached up and pressed the button on the garage door opener again to close the garage door.

When he noticed Ferran looking around vigilantly, Jared looked out his window. _Does he see something?_

After the car was out of the driveway, the car quickly accelerated down the street. Ferran must have slammed the gas pedal down.

Jared's heart began to race like the car's engine. "What's going on? Is someone after us?" He quickly snapped his head left and right but saw nothing unusual.

Ferran glanced in his rear view mirror at Jared. "No. I just want to be safe." (Jared thought it was ironic that Ferran used the word "safe" because Ferran was driving fast and aggressively, not safely.) "I'm not going to make it easy for anyone to follow us in case we are being followed."

After going several blocks, Ferran finally slowed the car down to a normal speed but kept glancing in his rear view and side view mirrors.

Jared leaned forward. "So, Ferran, where is the portal to Teruvisa? Lake Arrowhead?"

"No." Ferran looked in his side view mirror again. He obviously wasn't taking his own advice about relaxing. "Only _I_ know about _this_ gateway."

Paul turned toward Ferran. "Where is it?"

Ferran took a long look out his side window and then faced forward again. "I'll let you know when we get there. But, it's not very far."

Paul turned his head to look out his side window and leaned his head back on the headrest. He breathed out an, "Oh."

Ferran stayed tense, constantly looking around and checking his mirrors.

Jared was anxious to get the drive over with, not only because no one was talking and he was bored—reading street signs and watching the scenery pass by weren't exactly interesting—but because all he could think about was the hand symbol he had seen again and what the next part of the training would be like with Rohlwig.

After a while, Ferran turned the car onto a street lined with palm trees and then onto a narrow road that bordered an orange grove. They went a short distance farther, then Ferran pulled the car over onto the dirt shoulder.

Jared supposed the gateway was nearby in the trees, and he expected Ferran would tell them all to get out. However, Ferran just looked around, checking his side and rear view mirrors some more, without saying anything. Also, the car engine was still idling.

"What's going on? What are we waiting for?" Jared asked.

"I'm just making sure there aren't any other cars around." Ferran drummed on the steering wheel with both thumbs as he looked around outside some more. "I wouldn't want them to get in the way."

Ferran looked in his rear view mirror again, and a few seconds later, a car sped past them.

Once the white compact turned off onto another road, Ferran said, "Okay. Here we go."

And with that, he pulled the car out into the middle of the street. However, they hadn't gone very far when he stopped the vehicle again.

_Now what?_ Jared wondered.

Ferran leaned toward Paul. "Excuse me, Paul. I need to transform the car for kenulae."

Jared recognized that word. It was a term used to describe a method of travel—hypertravel. _But, in this car? How are we going to go that fast in this old heap of metal?_

Jared looked over Paul's shoulder and saw Ferran open the glove box, reach inside, and then push a small, round, yellow button. There was a loud click, and then a creaking noise came from the rear of the car.

Jared turned around. The trunk had opened.

Ferran said, "And now for the cloaking device."

After a quick blast from the car horn, the trunk lid slammed shut. Jared snapped back around and saw all the windows, including the windshield, go completely black. The tint of the glass made it impossible to see out.

Next, a small holographic screen appeared over the inside surface of the windshield, just above the steering wheel. The screen showed a live video feed of the road ahead.

Jared realized what was going to happen. "You're not taking us to a portal are you? You're taking us _through_ it."

"You got it." Ferran smiled mischievously as he glanced back over his shoulder.

Suddenly, the car started to vibrate. After a few seconds of shaking, it swayed side to side, then front to back. Jared wondered what kind of transformation the car was going through.

When the car stopped moving, Ferran said, "Brace yourselves. I'm setting the velocity booster... now."

He pressed his thumb on the center of the steering wheel, and the car accelerated. The force pinned Jared back against his seat. As Jared watched the holographic video up front, he was worried about how the long stretch of road was quickly coming to an end.

After no more than a second, they had already gone almost a half mile and were only about a hundred yards from where the street turned sharply to the right. They would never be able to make the turn if they didn't slow down.

Jared tensed up, and Danielle gasped. In the blink of an eye, they reached the curve, the holographic screen went black, and Jared felt weightless.

Ferran said, "Here comes Teruvisa."

Jared lurched forward as the car rapidly decelerated, the tint on the windows vanished, and light flooded the inside of the vehicle. The next second, Ferran turned the car hard to the right.

Jared looked around outside the windows in amazement. The car was in a tunnel, the sides of which almost touched the sides of the car, and, through the windshield, Jared could see streaks of light overhead as the Buick sped down the narrow corridor.

A second later, there was a bright flash, and the car instantly came to a stop in a large room. Jared spun around and looked out the back window. A large, rectangular portal, barely wider and taller than the car, was directly behind them.

He noticed that the portal didn't have any light in it and guessed that it must have turned off the moment the car passed through it.

Ferran opened his door. "Okay, you can get out now."

Jared and the others got out of the car. They appeared to be in a transportation room like the one they were in when the Beast attacked them on their way to meet Ferran—it had rectangular portals at ground level and escalators leading up to circular portals on the top level.

Jared turned his attention back to the Buick. He again wondered what sort of transformation the old car had gone through. _It went so fast._ He shrugged.

"Manasto. Verissa. Gromagan. This is Ferran. I'm back with the children. And, I have good news." After Ferran finished talking with beoveh, he looked at Paul, Jared, and Danielle. "Manasto and the others should be here shortly."

They didn't have to wait long.

"Welcome back." Manasto entered the transportation room with open arms. Verissa and Gromagan were right behind him.

Ferran stepped forward, standing at attention almost like a soldier. "Manasto, the children are ready for the next phase of training."

Manasto smiled and put a hand on Ferran's shoulder. "I take it Jared saw the hand then?"

Ferran relaxed noticeably. "Yes."

"Excellent. I'm very anxious to hear all about it. I'd like a debriefing in my private, council room chamber as soon as possible." Manasto turned to Gromagan. "Gromagan, send the children to Rohlwig, please."

"Right away." Gromagan turned to the youths. "Follow me."

Ferran held up a hand to stop Gromagan. "If I may," he looked up at Manasto briefly, "I'd like to have a word with Paul in private before he goes."

Manasto nodded, and then Ferran escorted Paul away from the group.

With his hand still on Paul's shoulder, Ferran spoke briefly to his son. Paul said a few words back, and then they embraced. Ferran patted Paul on the back and then escorted him back over to the group.

Jared, remembering that he had a question for Manasto, took the opportunity to ask him about the hand sign. "Excuse me." Trying to be insistent but not too bold, he looked right at Manasto. "I was wondering if I could find out what the hand I've been seeing means."

"It's a signal," Manasto said, "that you're in touch with Diestro. The hand symbol you keep seeing is a manifestation of the power of Teruvisa. You will come to understand the significance of the vision as you continue your training."

Jared was hoping for a little more than that but couldn't think of a follow-up question to ask. He let out a deflated, "Oh."

Danielle stepped forward. Apparently, she had a question about the hand (or something else). "Why is it that neither of _us_ has seen the hand?" She indicated herself and Paul.

Jared had wondered the same thing but had forgotten to ask about it.

Verissa pointed in Jared's direction and answered, "The MSI in Jared is the key chip. The key chip is the only one of the three chips that has a beacon. It serves as a link to the other two MSIs.

"Before the abandonment of Teruvisa, Jared's parents came up with the idea of modifying Jared's MSI with a beacon to initiate and keep contact with the other two MSIs until all three could be connected to Teruvisa. You see, since Teruvisa's new systems wouldn't be online when the signal to start the training was sent, there wouldn't be any system files for the chips to access in order to maintain a connection with each other."

Though Jared's question about what the hand vision meant hadn't quite been answered like he thought it would, some light was shed on why he was the only one who saw the hand visions. His MSI was the main chip; it linked all three MSIs together.

"Now, if there are no more questions, you should go. I know Rohlwig is anxious to get started, as I'm sure you are." Manasto looked at the youths with a kind, warm smile.

Jared noticed that Manasto's and Verissa's faces were beaming, and their eyes shone with hope.

For a moment, Jared got caught up in thoughts of continuing his training, getting Teruvisa's new systems operational, and reaching his true potential by eventually becoming a Master.

Gromagan pointed to one of the round portals up on the mezzanine and said, "This way, please."

Jared snapped out of his daydream, said goodbye to Manasto, Verissa, and Ferran, and then, excited to get on with his training, helped Gromagan hurry Danielle and Paul, who took extra coaxing, along.

As he walked up the motionless escalator steps, Jared wondered what amazing skills he would learn with Diestro and Amatay during the next part of his training. Once he reached the mezzanine, Jared looked down to the first level. Ferran, Manasto, and Verissa were leaving through a side door.

Gromagan activated the portal. "It's ready. Step in."

"Thanks." Jared stepped into the portal and was propelled through a tube lined with what he thought looked like stardust. After riding in elevators, going through portals, and being in the sublevel, he barely noticed the initial acceleration. He guessed he was getting used to it.

Jared sped along, suspended in the center of the starry tunnel as it twisted and turned for a few seconds and then was ejected. He landed on his feet and stepped to the side moments before Danielle and then Paul, who bumped into her, came through the portal.

# Chapter 16

Bleeding Mountain

Jared, Danielle, and Paul were in a metal, cube-shaped room. There was a round, iron door, opposite the portal, which no longer had light in it and had returned to being just a shallow, round hole in the wall.

Jared also noticed that the door, which was about six feet in diameter, didn't have a handle. _How are we supposed to open it?_

He suddenly felt a light surge of energy throughout his body. He noticed that Danielle's arm was touching his. He was tingly all over. _Must be a reaction like when we put our kevanshus together in her bedroom._

As if it was a result of that energy being present, the door rotated like a dial one quarter turn clockwise. There was a click, the door retracted slightly, and then it started spinning rapidly and receding—screwing into the wall.

After a few seconds, the door dropped down, leaving a 10-foot-long tubular entrance to a dimly-lit room. A man, with long, white hair, a wrinkled face, and a dark-brown robe, stepped into view at the other end of the tunnel.

Waving them forward, he said, "Come on in," with a huge smile.

The youths walked through the passageway into a small room.

The man removed his glasses, which had a telescopic, magnifying eyepiece over one lens, and put them inside his robe. He leaned down to Jared, Danielle, and Paul's eye level and looked at them with his big, blue eyes.

"Hello. I'm Rohlwig." He gestured for them to follow him, "Let's go," and then turned and walked over to the wall to Jared's right.

As Jared watched Rohlwig, he wondered what a guy like this would be able to teach him. Rohlwig was old, his robe had several stains on it, he had strange glasses, and his hair was unkempt.

Jared smiled to himself. Rohlwig seemed nice but a little goofy, and he looked kind of like a mad scientist. Jared shrugged, not knowing what to expect out of Rohlwig or his training.

Rohlwig pointed at the wall. A large section of it became speckled like TV static and then disappeared. The hole was tall enough that Rohlwig could walk through it without stooping and wide enough for two people to pass through it side by side.

Rohlwig said, "Follow me, please."

After Jared entered the foyer that was on the other side of the hole in the wall, he glanced back over his shoulder. Paul stepped through the hole, and then the wall sealed itself up.

Jared and the others followed Rohlwig out of the foyer and into a huge arena that was probably the size of six baseball fields.

Rohlwig turned around to face the youths and stretched his arms out to either side of himself. "This is the field where most of your training will be done." He was obviously proud of the training facility.

Jared looked around in awe at the size of the arena. The field, which was longer than it was wide, was surrounded by an immensely tall, white wall, and the ends of the arena were rounded.

Also, on the sides, midway up the field, there were two exits—one to the left, and one to the right.

Jared looked up. Far above, the ceiling was covered with bright lights.

Jared brought his focus back down at the same time Rohlwig pulled a tennis ball out of an inside pocket of his robe. Jared looked at the ball, wondering what it would transform into.

Rohlwig tossed the ball from one hand to the other. "Imagine that this tennis ball is Earth."

Jared wondered, _What's he going to do with that ball?_

Rohlwig poked his finger into a large slit that went about three quarters of the way around the ball, turned the ball completely inside out, and exposed the rubber layer inside. "This represents Teruvisa."

Jared furrowed his brow. _Earth is inside Teruvisa? How is that possible? Teruvisa came after Earth._

Rohlwig said, "Let me explain. This tennis ball is just one ball, but I was able to make it appear to be two different balls—one fuzzy ball and one rubber ball. This is similar to the relationship between Earth and our world—one world that is really two worlds.

"So, figuratively speaking, traveling between Earth and Teruvisa is like turning a tennis ball inside out." He turned the tennis ball right side out and tossed it aside.

"However, don't be misled by this comparison. Teruvisa is not inside Earth, and Earth isn't inside Teruvisa. It's just in their relationship that Earth and Teruvisa are similar to the two sides of a tennis ball."

Jared didn't quite understand. "What do you mean 'the relationship'?"

"Well, while they are entirely different worlds, Teruvisa and Earth have been fused together." Rohlwig brought his hands together and interlaced his fingers. "So, neither can exist without the other, just like a tennis ball wouldn't be a tennis ball without a fuzzy side and a rubbery side."

Rohlwig had an interesting way of explaining things. Jared kind of liked it. Maybe Rohlwig wasn't as odd as Jared had originally thought.

"I'm not sure why I showed you that. It just occurred to me a couple of days ago, while I was studying the matter warping techniques of the Law of Coincident Matter, that using a tennis ball like that would be a good way to explain the connection between Earth and Teruvisa." Rohlwig paused. "I guess I just wanted to show it to someone. Anyway, you're here to learn—"

Jared almost laughed out loud. "So, that thing with the tennis ball was pointless? You're not going to teach how to do any of that matter warping you mentioned?"

"Are you kidding? I seriously doubt you're ready to learn that. Unless Archemel and Terimova came right here to Cira and gave you all their powers." He laughed heartily. "Jared, you're as funny as your dad; that's for sure."

Jared's ears perked up. "You knew my dad?"

"Yeah." Rohlwig waved his hand dismissively. "I knew all your parents. In fact, I could tell you some stories about when I was training them that... well, they probably wouldn't want me talking about that. Besides, we're in a time crunch, so let's get on with your training."

He was right about Rohlwig. _Nope. He's odd_. Jared nodded to himself. _But, he trained my parents. He must know a lot of Diestro if he's been a Master since before my parents were trained._

Jared could tell he was going to enjoy being trained by Rohlwig. Maybe it was Rohlwig's casualness, sense of humor, or oddness, or all of those traits; but whatever the reason, Jared liked him.

Danielle half-raised her hand hesitantly. "Sorry to change the subject, but you mentioned that this place was called Cira." She asked, "Is Cira on Earth?"

"No," Rohlwig responded. "Cira is the small moon that orbits Teruvisa."

Jared had assumed they were on Earth since he had only used portals to travel between Earth and Teruvisa previously. _So, we're not on Earth. Portals can transport you to other places besides Earth and Teruvisa. Good to know._

Danielle said, "Thanks. I was just curious, and since you mentioned it..."

"No problem. That's what I'm here for." Rohlwig looked around at the youths as if he was waiting for another question.

Jared didn't have any questions; he wanted to get on with the training. He looked at his friends, and they didn't say anything, either.

"Well then, let's get started." Rohlwig reached into his robe. "First we'll need a map." He took out a rolled up piece of parchment and then threw it into the air.

The parchment unrolled and then started to expand. Jared flinched when a blast of air and light hit him.

An instant later, Jared and the others found themselves on hilly terrain, facing the base of a black mountain. The hills were sparsely dotted with spiny-looking, grayish-green bushes and rocks jutting out of the ground.

There was rocky desert and a few plateaus on the horizon to the left. There were sand dunes to the right and behind as far as the eye could see.

"We'll now begin your first lesson with this simulation I've prepared." Rohlwig waved his arm, indicating the landscape.

Paul looked around. "A simulation?"

Rohlwig pointed at Paul and smiled. "That's right. We're still on Cira." Rohlwig spun around. "Everything you see is a holographic representation of the planet Tirum."

Danielle asked, "Tirum? Isn't that the—"

Rohlwig said, "Yep." His facial expression became more serious. "It's the planet where the six Beasts live."

_Why are we doing a simulation of Tirum? Is he going to test our knowledge of Diestro and Amatay by putting us up against the Beasts? But, all I know how to do is use beoveh_. He joked to himself, _I guess I could call one of the Beasts and talk it out of killing me._

Setting those thoughts aside, Jared reached out and touched a huge boulder to his right. It was rough—just like a real rock. _How did he do it?_ "It feels so real."

Paul looked down and kicked the dirt, making a little dust cloud. "Yeah."

Rohlwig stomped his foot on the ground a few times. "That's because it is real—solid matter I mean. Just think of the simulation as disguised matter. But enough about that. Here's what I want you to do."

Jared was anxious to hear what their task would be.

"Your goal for this simulation is to reach a cave, due north," Rohlwig pointed up the mountain, "on the face of Bleeding Mountain—so named for the streaks of red rock scattered over its otherwise black surface. And, you must reach the cave before the sun sets in six and a half hours."

"What'll happen when the sun goes down?" Paul seemed worried. Of course, Jared wondered the same thing.

"I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise," Rohlwig said, withholding his secret behind a big grin. "Besides, it wouldn't be much of a test if I told you all the answers, would it?"

_A test? But, we haven't learned anything, yet. What is there to test us on?_ Jared just dismissed it as being Rohlwig's way—he obviously liked to do things a little differently.

Rohlwig glanced up at the sun, as if to remind Jared and the others of their deadline, "Let's get going," and started walking.

Jared mumbled to himself, "Well, here we go," and started hiking up the foothills of Bleeding Mountain with Rohlwig and his other companions.

Jared squinted in the light of the bright sun. It was blazing hot. If he didn't know better, he'd have thought they were really in a desert. _It's so real. Amazing._

After a short distance, Rohlwig looked back over his shoulder and waved his hand, indicating that he wanted Jared, Danielle, and Paul to pass him. "I want you three to lead, so come up here, please. Just keep moving forward, keep your eyes open, and stay alert."

As Jared took the lead, he felt a little disappointed in the simulation. He wondered if all they were going to do was walk—there wasn't anything challenging about that.

About a half hour later, Jared passed between two boulders and walked up to the edge of a dry stream bed that had been carved into the ground about two feet deep and was at least a hundred yards across.

Jared hopped down into the shallow ravine at the same time Rohlwig called out, "Jared, wait!"

Jared turned around. "What?"

Rohlwig had a look on his face that said, "Whoops."

Jared immediately realized the reason for that look when he felt tiny stings all over his legs. He looked down. There were tiny puffs of dust floating all around his ankles.

"Ouch! Hey! The sand is stinging me!" He leapt out of the ravine and started patting down his legs, trying to swat off the stinging dust.

Paul asked Rohlwig, "What do we do?"

"Jared has been bitten by thiguts," Rohlwig said. "They live in the dust of this wash. Unfortunately, they carry a very potent virus."

_Virus?!!!_ Jared started panicking. The pain was getting worse. And, Rohlwig was being way too calm about Jared's dilemma. _Why isn't he helping me?_ However, with his next breath, the anxiety, pain, and frustration melted away.

Weak and sleepy, Jared fell to his knees, and then slumped onto the ground. Everything went blurry, and the voices of his friends and Rohlwig seemed very distant as he slipped into unconsciousness.

**********

Awakening, Jared sat up, wiped water off his face, and then ran his fingers through his hair. It was wet. His clothes were damp, too.

"What happened?" he asked as Danielle and Paul helped him to his feet. "And, why am I..." he noticed that everyone else was wet, too, "uh—why are we wet?"

Paul said in one breath, "The thiguts were biting you, but since they can't stand water, the downpour washed them away."

Jared, still a little woozy, repeated back what Paul said, trying to understand. "So, there was a storm that washed the thiguts off me?"

Paul said, "Yeah. It was a downpour."

Jared looked around. The ground looked dry, and the sun blazed overhead. "It rained?" _Why isn't the ground wet? Maybe it's because we're in a simulation._ But, that didn't make sense because everything else so far had been realistic.

Paul nodded. "Yep."

_Weird_. Jared looked down around him again. He was surprised to see that his pants were almost dry. _Really weird_. It was so hot and dry on Tirum that apparently the water evaporated extra fast. _No wonder this planet's a desert._

Jared bent over and pulled up one of his pant legs. There were no thigut bite marks on his legs, and the stinging was gone. "So, I'm okay then?"

"Yes." Rohlwig stepped forward with an apologetic expression. "Sorry about that. I wasn't fast enough. You jumped into the river bed before I could warn you. I should have been paying more attention."

Jared accepted Rohlwig's apology. "That's alright. It was an accident." He shrugged and let his sense of humor come out in an attempt to make Rohlwig not feel so guilty. "I needed a rest anyway."

Rohlwig laughed. "Yep. Just like your dad." He patted Jared on the shoulder and then quickly changed the subject. "Well, we better get back to worrying about reaching that cave on time."

Rohlwig stepped around Jared, Paul, and Danielle and then jumped down into the ravine.

Jared cried out, "Wait!"

"Don't worry." Rohlwig signaled them to follow. "We can cross while the sand below the surface is still wet. But, let's hurry. Although the thiguts have burrowed down deep into the ground to avoid the rain, they'll resurface once the ground completely dries out. And here on Tirum, that won't take very long."

Danielle and Paul stepped into the ravine, but Jared hesitated. The sting of the thiguts was still fresh in his mind.

Rohlwig motioned for Jared to follow. "Come on, Jared. We only have about six more hours."

Jared took a deep breath and held it as he hesitantly stepped down into the ravine. _So far, so good_.

Still worried, Jared hurried over to the group and kept moving past them, across the soft sand of the drying river bed. He was the first person to the other side and waited for Rohlwig so that he could ask him some questions about the simulation.

Once everyone was across, Danielle said to Rohlwig, apparently referring to a conversation she and Paul must've had with Rohlwig while Jared was unconscious, "Not that I'm not glad he's okay, but I thought you said that water repelled thiguts, not that it cured the victim. So, how come he's alright now?"

Jared looked at Rohlwig, realizing that, if the rain hadn't washed away the thiguts, he'd probably still be unconscious, or worse. _Why doesn't Rohlwig seem concerned about that?_

Rohlwig held up a finger. "Ah, yes. I forgot to mention that the effects are reversible within a certain length of time. You see, as powerful as the virus is, the thiguts weren't on their host long enough to permanently infect him."

Jared interrupted, wanting to know just how sick the thigut virus could have made him. "And, what if there wouldn't have been a storm? What would've happened to me?"

"You would've died," Rohlwig said a little too casually for Jared's liking. However, he quickly added, "But, I knew there was going to be a storm that would wash them away. The rains come at predictable intervals."

Rohlwig looked down at the ground and kicked a pebble to the side. "In fact, my plan was to time it so that we would arrive at the wash just before or during the rain storm and then cross without a problem. However, we got here a _little_ ," he held up his thumb and index finger close together and squinted one eye, "too early."

He looked at Jared. "I'm sorry you had to experience thigut bites."

To let Rohlwig know it wasn't a big deal, Jared said, "Don't worry about it. Look on the bright side."

Rohlwig raised his eyebrows with interest. "The bright side?"

"Yeah. I learned something new. Now I know what a thigut is." Jared smiled.

Rohlwig smiled back and shook his head. "There you go again. You're a funny kid." He motioned with his hands for them to keep walking. "Well, let's get going." Still shaking his head, he mumbled, "One funny kid."

As Jared began walking, something occurred to him about dying. _But, how could that be? This is a simulation._

Jared would have to wait to ask his question, though, because Danielle began speaking to Rohlwig, who was behind the youths. "Rohlwig, I was wondering something."

"Yes?"

"You knew the thiguts weren't going to be a problem. But, why would they be able to kill Jared? This is just a simulation, right?" Danielle threw a quick glance back over her shoulder at Rohlwig.

_That's exactly what I want to know._ Jared looked back at Rohlwig.

Rohlwig nodded. "I'm glad you asked that. Let me explain something. Everything you experience in this simulation is real. So, you can die for real."

Jared didn't like the sound of that. "But, what if something happens that you didn't think of? Like, what if I fall off the mountain or something? You could just stop the simulation, right?" He and Rohlwig were walking side by side by that point.

"Truthfully, I can't. It's set to run a pre-determined length or outcome." Rohlwig joked, "So, my advice to you is don't fall off the mountain." He patted Jared on the shoulder.

"Not very comforting," Jared remarked.

Rohlwig explained, "No, I suppose not. But, we're in what I call a 'real simulation.'"

Paul said, "That sounds like a bit of a contradiction."

"I know. You're right. It does seem like a bit of an oxymoron. So, is it real or simulated?" Rohlwig smiled. "Well, as I already said, the simulation uses real matter that has been disguised—if you will—to take on the characteristics of the landscape of Tirum. But, on the other hand, this is still a simulation because it is, after all, a program. We aren't really on Tirum."

"Why does it have to be so real?" Paul asked.

"It's more fun that way." Rohlwig grinned.

Paul didn't laugh. "No, really."

Jared wanted a straight answer, too.

"Okay okay." Rohlwig held up his hands. "Would you rather practice Diestro in an unrealistic setting, where everything is controlled—like in a classroom?" Before anyone could answer, he said, "No. What kind of training would that be?" Again he answered his own question. "I'll tell you what kind: the bad kind. It's much better to learn and practice your skills in a real life setting, or in this case, as close to real life as I can make them."

Jared nodded. _I can accept that._ "So, what other things should we look out for?"

"I can't tell you that." Rohlwig held up his index finger and waved it side to side. "This is after all a test. And, I have to maintain the integrity of the test."

Jared nodded. "I suppose so."

Rohlwig added, "But, don't worry. Just pay attention and do as I say, and you'll do fine."

"Okay." Jared decided he could trust Rohlwig since he was a Master and had trained other Masters. _He must know what he's doing._

Jared and the others continued trudging up toward the base of the mountain in the scorching heat of the harsh desert planet. To help pass the time, Jared, Danielle, Paul, and Rohlwig made small talk about whatever they could think of.

After another hour of hiking, they reached a steep incline at the base of the mountain. Then, as Jared looked around to see where the trail leading up the mountain was, something caught his attention. There was an oasis up and to the left a short distance away.

"How come we didn't see that earlier?" Danielle asked, pointing in the direction of the oasis.

Jared blinked hard several times and rubbed his eyes to make sure it wasn't a mirage.

"Well, it wasn't there before; that's why we didn't see it. But, since it's there now, let's go and rest for a little while." Rohlwig pointed toward the oasis. "It'll be a nice break from the heat."

Jared began hiking toward it, anxious to sit in the shade and drink some water. The others were right behind him.

It only took Jared a few minutes to reach the oasis, and when he did, he stopped and smiled. "Water."

Paul passed him and knelt down at the edge of a pond of clear, blue water.

Rohlwig said. "Drink all you like. But remember, we must be off soon."

More interested in the water than what Rohlwig said, Jared barely acknowledged that he had even heard Rohlwig say something by slightly nodding his head. He knelt down next to Paul, plunged his cupped hands into the pond, and then indulged himself in big slurps of the cool, refreshing water.

After Jared, Danielle, and Paul had their fill of water, almost as if on cue, all three of them lay back to rest on the grass.

Jared looked up at the big tree shading him. He noticed that the trunk was made up of several smaller trunks, which wove together, untwisted, then spread out into branches with broad, rounded leaves that created a nice barrier from the rays of the sun.

Jared let out a long sigh. "Ahhh."

"It sure is a lot cooler under here," Danielle commented.

Rohlwig said, "You know what? It's very coincidental that we should come across this oasis because it moves frequently. That's why we didn't see it earlier. It just appears out of nowhere, randomly, across this desert. Anyway, we should probably get going."

Jared stretched. He heard what Rohlwig said, but he wasn't anxious to get up. "Just a little bit longer."

"I really don't think that's a good idea." Rohlwig sounded more urgent this time.

However, Jared barely stirred. It wasn't until about a half a minute later, when Jared noticed that the scenery outside of the oasis had suddenly changed, that he sat up. Bleeding Mountain was still in front of him but looked totally different. _What the_...

Rohlwig said with urgency, "Quick, get up."

Jared jumped to his feet.

"The oasis has moved." Rohlwig pointed straight ahead. "We're on the back side of the mountain."

Jared could have kicked himself for not getting out of the oasis sooner. _It could be worse, though; we could be on the other side of the desert._ Jared tried to make their mistake not seem so bad. "But, that's not so bad. We're still at the base of the mountain, right?"

"True," Rohlwig said. (Jared felt a 'but' coming.) "But, the terrain on the backside of the mountain is more dangerous because the slope is steeper and prone to rock slides." He shrugged. "We'll just have to go up this way. There's no way we can make it to the cave before sunset if we try to go around the mountain." He started to leave. "Come on. We better get climbing."

As Jared, Paul, and Danielle followed Rohlwig out of the comfort of the oasis, Rohlwig pointed them toward a crevice leading up the mountain. As they proceeded into the large fracture, the gravel and rock beneath Jared's feet shifted.

Rohlwig caught Jared by the arm. "Be careful. This ground's not very stable. Stay close to the wall."

When they were about three hours into their climb, Jared, who was in the lead, took a step, and a sizeable rock was loosened. He gasped as he watched it roll down the slope. There was no time to call out. Luckily, Paul moved just in time to avoid being struck.

"Sorry." After Jared offered the apology, however, he thought it sounded pathetic because he realized that Paul could have been seriously hurt by that rock. _I'll have to be more careful._

As Jared progressed up the steep mountainside, there came a time when he seemed to be going almost straight up. It would've been an understatement to say that the climb was difficult. _This is definitely no oasis._

With only about an hour left until sundown, they all reached the uphill end of the crevice. But, Jared saw that they would have to scale a pile of large boulders to get out. By that point, he was already exhausted, so just the sight of those huge rocks made his muscles ache even more. He didn't know if he could make it, but he somehow found the strength to keep going.

When Jared did finally reach the top of the pile of boulders, he was dusty and sweaty, and the tips of his fingers and palms were scraped up from the roughness of the rocks. He was glad the grueling climb out of the crevice was over.

However, the relief was short-lived. Jared saw the steep mountainside that still lay before him. He was exhausted, and sweat was pouring down his face. _It's so hot on Tirum. Realism is fine, but you'd think Rohlwig could have turned down the heat, even just a little bit, when programming the simulation._

Jared dropped down onto all fours and then onto his back, out of breath, and moaned. He looked up at Rohlwig, who didn't appear to be tired at all.

Rohlwig looked around. "Fortunately, we don't have to go straight up the mountain anymore, but we really must keep going." He pointed up the mountain to the right. "We'll go that way, then cut back the other way." He pointed up the mountain to the left. "Come on. Let's go."

Jared groaned as he struggled to get to his feet and then managed to start dragging himself up the mountain. _I've come this far. Might as well go all the way._

After a few steps, he became more determined to get to the top and began to focus on just taking one step at a time—putting everything else out of his thoughts. He kept his eyes on Rohlwig and just kept walking. He didn't even think about whether or not Paul and Danielle were keeping up.

Jared was pleasantly surprised when, about 30 minutes later, Rohlwig said, "Ten more minutes, and we'll be over the top."

His words gave Jared a little extra strength. _And, it looks like we'll make it before sunset._

When they reached the peak, Danielle asked, out of breath, "Now where?"

"Down there," Rohlwig said, pointing down and to the right. "Come on. It'll be a little easier going downhill." He started down. "Hurry. It's almost sunset. Come on. You can do it. Don't give up."

After climbing—and slipping a lot—down the steep, rocky mountain, Rohlwig pointed to the right and called out to them, "That way to the cave."

As the group moved along the face of the mountain, the slope became less steep.

Soon, Jared saw their objective. "The cave!" He started pointing excitedly but then stopped when Rohlwig turned around. He wasn't smiling. Jared then saw what Rohlwig had obviously already noticed: the sun was almost touching the horizon.

"Run!" Rohlwig shouted, still looking at the sun but pointing to the cave.

Jared bolted toward the entrance of the cave.

When he reached it, Rohlwig said, "Inside."

Jared stepped into the cave, not going too far in because it was dark. Paul and Danielle entered the cave right after him.

Jared sat on the ground with his knees near his chest and his folded arms resting on his legs. Paul and Danielle, who were breathing just as hard and looked just as worn out as he was, sat down next to him.

Rohlwig walked into the cave just as the sun was sinking below the horizon. "We made it. Good job." He sat down on the ground next to Paul.

After Rohlwig sat down, the cave's cool air got warmer as the pink and orange sky quickly turned a darker shade.

Jared thought that was strange. _Shouldn't it be cooling off now?_

At that moment, the sky turned black, and a blast of frigid air outside of the cave left the desert frozen solid in a split second. Jared's jaw dropped.

"That's why we needed to get in here before sunset," Rohlwig said. "Otherwise, we would've been frozen solid." He joked, "Some say that's a good way to preserve yourself, but the thawing part is a bit iffy in my view."

Jared wasn't sure whether to laugh or strangle Rohlwig.

Danielle asked Rohlwig exactly what Jared was thinking, "At the beginning of the simulation, why didn't you just tell us we'd become popsicles? We probably wouldn't have stayed so long in that oasis."

Rohlwig said, "Really? Granted, I didn't tell you explicitly what would happen at sunset, but my instructions should have been enough. I told you to stay alert and listen to me. However, you got too comfortable in the oasis and didn't listen when I said we should go."

Jared could tell that Rohlwig was disappointed, and he started to get the idea that there was more to the simulation than just being a timed hiking test. "So, the simulation wasn't just a test to see if we could make it to this cave, was it?"

Rohlwig shook his head. "Nope." He held up a finger as he made each of his points. "First of all, I wanted to walk and talk with you to get to know you and see how you got along. Second, I wanted you to learn to be aware of your surroundings and not get too distracted. Third, I wanted to see how you dealt with the unexpected. Fourth, I wanted to see how well you followed my directions. And fifth, I wanted you to work hard at something and succeed.

"Learning our technology isn't always as easy as sitting in a classroom. It takes hard work to strengthen your character and master Amatay and Diestro."

_Easy?_ Jared thought Ferran's lessons had been challenging, but he was pretty sure he understood what Rohlwig was saying. It was easy because Jared had been sitting on a cushy chair every day, listening to Ferran, and looking at a laptop to learn those things.

Danielle frowned. "It sounds like we didn't do very well on the test."

Rohlwig stood up. "Oh, quite the contrary. You passed with flying colors. And, now I can honestly say it will be a pleasure to train you." He took a deep bow as if honoring Jared, Paul, and Danielle.

Jared felt a little uncomfortable, but the act of admiration increased Jared's respect for Rohlwig.

Suddenly, the four of them were back inside the arena on the moon where Rohlwig lived.

"Well," Rohlwig held his arms out to his sides and then dropped them, "that's the end of the simulation." He turned to leave. "Come with me. I'll show you to your rooms."

# Chapter 17

Jared, the Hero

Jared followed Rohlwig across the field into a dimly lit hallway. Along one wall, there were four elevator doors.

Rohlwig walked up to the last one and then turned around to face Jared, Paul, and Danielle. "This not-just-an-elevator will take you to your living quarters."

"Not-just-an-elevator?" Jared thought that was a strange name.

"Yep." Rohlwig smiled with his goofy, mischievous smile before turning to face the door. "Now, in order to access the not-just-an-elevator, you simply look up at the sensor." He pointed to a small, black lens above the door. When he stepped closer, the door opened. "Okay. Let's go."

Jared could see his reflection in the surface of the shiny, metallic walls of the not-just-an-elevator. _It looks like a regular old elevator to me._

After the doors shut, the not-just-an-elevator didn't move up or down—it moved horizontally. Jared was thrown off balance and landed against one of the padded handrails.

The not-just-an-elevator changed directions several more times after that—up, down, sideways, and diagonally—before it finally stopped.

It was obvious to Jared how the not-just-an-elevator got its name. _Rohlwig must've been the one who designed it and came up with the name._

The doors opened, and they entered a comfortable-looking, well-lit, living area.

Rohlwig turned around to face Jared and the others as he indicated the room with a wave of his hand. "This is your common room."

Black, leather couches and rocker-recliners were spaced throughout the room. In the center was a long, wooden table with benches along both sides. Plush, beige carpet covered the floor.

_Very nice. Rohlwig sure knows how to treat a guy._ Jared continued to survey the room, nodding with approval. He noted that, while the room was luxurious, it was practical and made him feel at ease.

Spherical lamps, attached to the walls with brass fixtures, were spaced evenly along the velvety, drab olive, wallpapered walls. Hanging over the table in the center of the room was a crystal chandelier. Next to each couch and recliner stood a reading lamp with a pole that curved back down and a conical lamp shade on the end. There were three doors across the room, opposite the not-just-an-elevator.

"On the other side of those doors are your bedrooms." Rohlwig pointed to each door in turn. "Danielle. Yours is the room on the left. Paul's is the middle one. And, Jared's is the one on the right. Everything you need is in them, including clothes.

"Which reminds me... you didn't have to wear your robes at Ferran's, but always put them on when you train with me out there." He pointed at the not-just-an-elevator, signifying that he meant the training field. "You can, of course, take them off when you're in here and in your bedrooms." He pointed behind Jared. "You can hang them up on that."

Jared turned his head and saw a wooden coat rack with brass hooks next to the not-just-an-elevator.

"Excuse me." Rohlwig walked between Jared and Danielle and got back in the not-just-an-elevator. He turned around and reached for the controls. "Dinner will be served momentarily. Have a good evening, and rest well."

Paul asked, holding up a hand, "But, what if we need to find you?"

As the doors started closing, Rohlwig quickly replied with a grin, "Then, come look for me."

"Yeah. But where?" Paul asked.

But, the doors closed all the way before Rohlwig could answer.

Jared turned to his friends and smiled. "I like Rohlwig. He's..."

Danielle finished the sentence. "Odd."

Jared added, "Yeah. But in a good way."

Danielle smiled at him. "True."

Jared's stomach jumped, his heart fluttered, and he felt warm and tingly. He looked away, not knowing why he suddenly felt uncomfortable returning Danielle's gaze, and pretended to check out the room some more.

Danielle said, "I'm going to go see my room. Do you guys want to come?"

Jared tried to sound casual. "Sure."

Paul nodded.

Danielle's bed, desk, and chair were similar to those in the bedrooms they had on Teruvisa, and the layout was identical. But, the room looked more like an Earth bedroom—normal.

"This feels like home." Danielle sat down on her bed. "Maybe even a little better."

Jared agreed. "Yeah." There was a certain quality about the bedroom. It was inviting and comfortable.

Paul turned toward the door. "I want to go see my room."

"Me too." Jared followed Paul out and threw a glance back over his shoulder.

Danielle stood up. "I'll go with you."

Paul's and Jared's rooms were also similar to Danielle's, except tailored to the boys' tastes.

Jared felt at home for the first time since leaving Earth. He thought that was strange, though. _At home? On a moon orbiting a strange world? But then again, maybe I feel so at home because I've been here before_... _when I was a baby_... _when Teruvisa_ was _my home_.

A sense of loss and loneliness began to crowd Jared's emotions. _But, what's home without a family?_

Jared snapped out of his inward reflection when he heard the tinkling sound of a small bell from the common room. When he and the others stepped out of the bedroom, he noticed that the dining table was set for three and a hot meal awaited them.

They devoured everything on their plates—roast, potatoes, rolls, carrots, and some cherry cheesecake for dessert.

After they stuffed themselves, Jared started talking about the simulation. "That simulation was amazing. I'm still blown away by how real it was."

Danielle said, as if thinking out loud, "I wonder what the rest of our training will be like."

"I don't know, but I hope it doesn't involve thiguts." Jared looked at Paul and Danielle, then burst out laughing.

Danielle smiled and shook her head. Jared could tell she was trying hard not to laugh.

Paul chuckled and nodded. "That's for sure."

**********

The next morning, after breakfast—which had again mysteriously appeared after the tinkling of a bell—Rohlwig showed up in the common room to escort the youths to the training field.

Once on the field, Rohlwig reached inside his robe and pulled out three devices. "The time has come for each of you to get a treyo." He handed them out to Paul, Danielle, and Jared.

Rohlwig took out his own treyo and held it up. "Well, here you have your treyo." He pointed to the screen. "This is the touch screen." Next, he indicated the buttons along the bottom. "There are also several buttons here below the screen." He pressed his thumb against the screen, and it lit up. "Now, turn your devices on by placing your thumb on the screen, please."

Jared placed a thumb on the screen of his treyo. The screen illuminated.

"Good." Rohlwig continued his explanation of the treyo. "Now, on the main screen, there are several icons. Look for the one that looks like a roll of paper. Tap it. That's how you get to the map program. With it, you can locate where you are and where you want to go. Now, let's practice using the maps in the treyos."

Rohlwig took out a rolled up piece of parchment and threw it in the air. A realistic scene appeared all around them like with the last simulation, except this time, they were in a canyon, which Jared recognized as being the Divide.

After orienting Jared and the others on the features of the map program, Rohlwig said, "Now, let's practice using the maps in the treyos." He took out a rolled up piece of parchment and threw it in the air.

A realistic scene appeared all around them like with the last simulation, except this time, they were in a canyon, which Jared recognized as being the Divide.

Rohlwig pointed to his treyo. "First, open the map program."

Jared did so, and a flashing white dot appeared on the map.

"That flashing white dot is where we are right now." Rohlwig waved a hand to indicate the Divide. "Near the northernmost mouth of the Divide."

After a brief pause, Rohlwig held up a finger. "Next, I'll show you how to let the treyo know where you want to go. Let's say it's the closest gateway back to Cira.

"You say," Rohlwig put his mouth close to the treyo, "Cira." Then he added, "Or, you can search for a gateway in the collections of maps."

Rohlwig gestured for the youths to follow his instructions.

Jared and his friends said, "Cira" in unison.

Jared saw a flashing green dot on the map.

"That flashing green dot is where the gateway is. Also, notice the alphanumeric code that appears under the flashing dot on the map." Rohlwig held up his treyo and pointed to the screen. "This is the identifier."

Jared was about to ask what the identifier was used for, but Rohlwig quickly added, "And, what do I do with the identifier, you might ask?" Without waiting for a response, he answered, "Well, simply hold out your treyo, say the number shown out loud—or tap the dot on the screen—and the treyo will point the direction you should go.

"When you reach the location of the gateway, the treyo will already be set to let you through. All you have to do to make it appear is push the green button centered below the screen."

Jared looked at the green button on his treyo. _Seems easy enough._

"So, let's practice." Rohlwig tucked his treyo back in his robe. "Repeat aloud the gateway identifier shown on your treyo."

Jared and his friends read the code in unison. "C -- 42 -- V -- 58 -- R -- T -- 3."

The screen of Jared's treyo went blank momentarily, and then a white arrow appeared. The number _.50_ appeared in the middle of the head of the arrow.

"That arrow indicates the direction you go. And the number on the arrow shows the distance." Rohlwig pointed to the south. "Follow your treyos until they read _0_."

Jared looked southward along the narrow strip of shore between the canyon wall and the water's edge. He wondered how far _.50_ was.

"And, try not to fall in." Rohlwig pointed at the raguam.

Jared looked at the fire-water and recalled that Verissa had explained that no one had ever touched raguam and survived. _Yeah. Good idea._

As Jared and the others walked single file along the shoreline, they heeded Rohlwig's warning by staying close to the canyon wall.

After a while, Jared began to get bored but then remembered what happened when he thought the last simulation was boring: he ended up unconscious after being bitten by thiguts.

So, Jared forced himself to stay alert because there was bound to be something strange or unexpected around the next bend. _And, I'm going to be ready for it._

Coincidently, as Jared began looking around, a flying creature swooped down. He ducked. "Look out!"

However, Danielle didn't see it in time, and Jared was too late with his warning. A porumfid snatched up Danielle by the shoulders with its large claws.

Jared wrapped his arms around Danielle's ankles, thinking he could pull her loose, but the large and mighty, white, feathered bird wouldn't let her go. And, since Jared didn't let go, Danielle and he were both carried away.

As the porumfid took them higher and higher—its long, yellow beak pointing up into the heavens while its head and long neck bobbed in unison with the flapping of its wings—Jared held on tightly.

A second later, he looked down. They were already halfway up to the top of the canyon. And, in another couple of seconds, they were flying high above the trees on the Teruvisan side of the canyon.

"We'll meet you at the gateway!" Rohlwig called out using beoveh.

There was a flash of light, and the porumfid dropped Jared and Danielle.

_What happened?_ As Jared began falling toward the jungle below, he looked up at the bird and saw it change direction and fly away; it appeared to have forgotten about Jared and Danielle.

But Jared became less worried about what _happened_ and more worried about what _would happen_ as the canopy of the trees grew rapidly nearer. Logic told Jared that he and Danielle were going to fall to their deaths, but he suddenly had an overwhelming feeling that everything was going to be okay.

Immediately after that feeling entered him, Danielle's screaming called him to action. He let go of Danielle's legs and grabbed her hand as she reached for him.

Jared looked at Danielle—she looked terrified—and gave her an okay signal with his fingers. He didn't know what was going to happen, but at the same time, he felt calm.

Jared pictured Rohlwig in his mind and was about to call out to Rohlwig with beoveh when, to his amazement, the speed of their descent abruptly changed. Jared felt his robe furling behind him like a cape, slowing him down. Danielle's robe was also acting as a parachute for her.

Jared felt like a super hero. He grinned and almost laughed. _Is this for real?_

He looked at Danielle. She had a look of wonderment and disbelief on her face.

Jared realized, _Rohlwig must have known about our robes. That's why he didn't try to save us. And, just like he knew that storm would come when I got bitten by those thiguts, he knew that lightning, or whatever that flash of light was, would happen and make the porumfid drop us._

Still holding hands, Jared and Danielle floated down into the jungle and gently landed on a large tree limb high above the ground. They looked at each other. They were both wide-eyed, and their mouths hung open.

Danielle could barely speak. She pointed up at the sky, at herself and Jared, and then at their robes. "What...? how...?"

With an astonished smile, Jared stammered, "I... I... I can't believe... we survived that... fall."

Danielle's lower lip quivered, and she shuddered as she exhaled. "I thought we were going to die." Tears started forming in her eyes.

To avoid an emotional meltdown, Jared tried to reassure her. "Yeah. But, we're okay." He let go of her hand (he wasn't fully aware that he was still holding it until that moment) and crouched down looking for a branch to climb down onto. "Rohlwig must have known our robes would save us."

Jared glanced up at her. Danielle sniffed, blinking away the tears, and her spirits seemed to lift.

Jared said, "What do you say we get down from here?"

Danielle nodded. "Rohlwig said to meet him and Paul at the gateway, right?"

"Yep. So, we better get going." Jared led the way as they began to climb down the tree.

It didn't take very long for them to reach the lowest branch. Holding onto her wrist, Jared helped Danielle down onto the limb.

Jared looked down. They were about 10 feet from the ground. _A little too high to jump , but we could probably hang from the branch and then drop down._

"Now what? Jump?" Danielle asked.

Immediately after she said that, Danielle was jerked off the branch.

Jared, who was still holding onto her wrist, instinctively squeezed it tighter. As he was pulled off balance, he fell against a nearby vertical branch and managed to hook it with the crook of his free arm.

He looked down at the ground as he struggled to hold onto Danielle. The tongue of a jobalich had wrapped itself around Danielle's ankle, and it was trying to pull her underground.

"A jobalich!" Danielle began screaming hysterically.

Even though his arms felt like they were being pulled out of their sockets, Jared kept a hold of her wrist and the tree. Then, just as he felt Danielle's wrist starting to slip from his grasp and his strength starting to give out, the pulling stopped.

Jared scanned the ground and Danielle's leg. The jobalich was gone. It must have given up and decided to move on to an easier-to-catch snack.

But, they weren't out of danger, yet. The jobalich could come back; and, even though Danielle's feet dangled only a few feet above the ground, Jared couldn't let her go because the jobalich would definitely come back then. Jared continued to fight to hold onto the tree and Danielle.

Danielle, who was whimpering, looked up at Jared.

Straining, he said, "Use me as a rope and climb up."

"I don't think I can."

"You have to. I can't hold on much longer."

Danielle looked up at him with despair in her eyes.

Jared didn't want to give up on her, but he was feeling frustrated. _Why won't she try?_ "DO IT! NOW!"

Danielle flinched, and then her facial expression changed. She seemed to forget her doubts and reached up with her free hand.

Jared encouraged her. "That's it. Good."

Danielle grabbed Jared's sleeve and pulled herself up. Jared let go of her wrist, and, with that hand, she grabbed a fist full of Jared's sleeve higher up.

At first, Jared was worried that his robe might rip, but it seemed to be holding up fine. He was surprised. _For being such a light fabric, it sure is strong._

Danielle continued to climb until she reached Jared's shoulder. At that point, she was able to swing her leg up and put her foot on the lowest branch.

Then, putting his arm around her waist, Jared helped stabilize Danielle until she could get her other foot on the branch he was on and balance herself.

Once she was steady, Jared let go of her and, with a grunt, pushed off from the vertical branch his arm was hooked around.

Jared shook his arm to get the circulation going. "I guess we'll have to find another—"

With one hand holding onto a smaller branch, Danielle embraced Jared with her free arm and let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

Her hug made him feel warm and peaceful. Jared patted her on the back with his free hand (his other hand was holding onto a nearby branch). He liked that she was so appreciative of his help but wanted to get farther up in the tree in case the jobalich decided to come back.

Jared cleared his throat. "Um... yeah... no problem. But, we better get higher up in case that jobalich comes back."

Danielle nodded and let go of him. Jared noticed that her eyes were red and puffy. He felt uncomfortable seeing her so emotional and quickly turned his attention upward.

After he climbed about 10 feet up, Jared thought, _This is probably high enough_. He sat on a large limb to rest and to try to think of a way out of the jungle. "I just need to think for a minute."

Danielle sat down next to him without saying a word. She wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands and sniffed.

As Jared looked around, he noticed there were many jungle vines woven through the trees. "I have an idea."

Danielle rubbed her nose and sniffed again. "What?"

Jared took out his treyo and opened the map program. "Rohlwig wants us to meet him at the gateway to Cira, but we need to find a gateway down into the canyon." He continued searching on his handheld device and soon found the right gateway. "Ah—ha. There it is."

Jared held out his treyo. "T—N—726—X—S—438." The arrow on the screen of his treyo pointed back to the west.

"We're not far from the canyon rim," Jared said, looking at the _.10_ on the arrow. "Let's go."

"But how?" Danielle asked, gesturing with a hand to the tree branches around her and Jared. "We're in a tree, and we can't go down there." She pointed to the ground.

Jared stood up, jumped onto a different branch, and grabbed a large vine. "We can use these vines."

Danielle smiled and leapt over to his side. "Lead the way."

Jared was glad that Danielle liked his idea. He tugged on the vine. "Seems secure."

He began crawling upside down along the vine toward the next tree. Danielle followed.

They climbed up and down several trees and along the largest vines they could find until the distance on Jared's treyo read _0_.

"Stop." Jared was relieved they finally made it; his arms were very tired. "This is it," he said out of breath.

Danielle, also breathing hard and looking just as exhausted as Jared, came crawling off the vine onto the branch next to him.

Jared pointed his treyo at the trunk of the tree and pushed the green button on it. An area of bark swirled in a large, oval-shaped pattern and then disappeared, leaving a small cavity in the tree.

"Ladies first." Jared indicated the hole with the wave of a hand.

"Thank you."

Jared let Danielle pass. She crouched down as she stepped into the hollow part of the tree and disappeared. Jared waited a moment and then squeezed into the hole. Instantly, he found himself looking out over the raguam at the bottom of the Divide.

Danielle already had her treyo out. "I'm looking for a gateway."

Jared sighed and said ironically, "That was easy."

Danielle rolled her eyes, half-smiled, and shook her head. Once she finished her search, she said. "Okay. Got it."

Jared was glad to see Danielle happy again. "Great."

After saying the map point's identifier code to the treyo, Danielle led the way along the canyon bottom and around a bend to the north. Rohlwig and Paul were waiting for them there.

When Jared and Danielle walked into view, Rohlwig said, "I was just about to go looking for you."

"Well, we had a nasty encounter with a jobalich," Jared said, trying to make light of the experience.

"First, a porumfid, then a jobalich? How unfortunate, indeed," Rohlwig said in a way that made Jared suspect Rohlwig had planned the whole ordeal.

_Was that whole thing another test?_ Jared joked to himself, _He probably planned it to build our character or something._ He would play along with Rohlwig, for the time being.

"So, did you see why the porumfid dropped us, Rohlwig?" Jared asked, wanting to know if Rohlwig had planned that part of the simulation. "There was a flash of light—"

Paul jumped in. "Rohlwig pointed at that thing and said something in Amatay. A bolt of lightning shot out of his fingers." He excitedly pointed to his own fingers. "Then, the porumfid dropped you." He made a downward motion with his hand. "I thought you two were going to go splat," he slapped his hands together, "on the ground, but Rohlwig told me not to worry. He said you'd be fine. And, here you are—safe and sound."

_So, he shot the porumfid with a bolt of lightning._ "Well then, thanks, Rohlwig." _But, that still doesn't tell me whether or not the porumfid getting us was an accident_. Jared smiled and, wanting to trick Rohlwig into revealing any plan he had, said, "We were lucky not to fall to our deaths, though... something happened... when we were falling... we—"

"Yes, I know. When falling, as you reach a certain velocity, the robe serves as a parachute." Rohlwig further explained, "Now, you can see why they're so valuable. But, this is just one of the many functions a robe has. And in time, you'll learn all its secrets."

Although Rohlwig hadn't said that he had planned for Jared and Danielle to be carried away by a porumfid, parachute down into the trees, and get attacked by a jobalich, Jared still had a feeling that Rohlwig knew more than he was letting on. For one, he didn't ask for any details about what happened with the jobalich.

Jared began to ponder the matter further. _But, how could he have known I'd grab Danielle's legs? Wait. Maybe he didn't plan on that. But, what would be the reason for letting Danielle be taken away? A test for me to save her? To give her a challenge? Both? Or, maybe the point was to get me and Paul alone with him, so he could test us. But, what would that test have been?_

Jared asked Rohlwig, "So, what did you and Paul do?"

"While, you two were off on your little adventure, Paul and I had plenty of time to talk and get to know each other better." Rohlwig smiled and patted Paul on the shoulder.

Jared, still suspicious, looked at Paul to see if he would validate what Rohlwig said. _There has to be more to it than that._

To Jared's disappointment, Paul only said, "Yeah. It was nice."

Jared was still convinced that Rohlwig had planned what happened, and the simulation wasn't just an exercise in finding a gateway. However, Rohlwig wasn't saying anything either way.

"Well, now you know how to find gateways, so let's get back to the training field." Rohlwig turned to Paul, "Would you mind opening the gateway for us, Paul?"

Jared thought Rohlwig would explain more about the simulation—about how he had planned everything that happened and the lessons they should have learned. _Strange_.

"Me? Sure." Paul took out his treyo and pointed it at the cliff.

The simulation stopped, and they were back on the training field.

"Go back to your rooms and get some food." Rohlwig started walking away. "I need to finish preparing the next simulation." He said back over his shoulder, "I'll come get you a little later."

Rohlwig got into one of the elevators on the opposite side of the arena from the one Jared, Danielle, and Paul used to get to their quarters with the not-just-an-elevator.

Paul looked at Danielle and Jared with interest. "I want to know what happened with the jobalich you ran into while you were in the jungle and how you got back to the Divide."

"Okay," Danielle waved for them to follow her to the not-just-an-elevator.

Jared started walking but just listened as Danielle told the details of her and Jared's adventure to Paul. She had finished the story by the time they got to the not-just-an-elevator.

"Wow. Good thinking, Jared," Paul said.

"No big deal." Jared shrugged.

They got in the not-just-an-elevator.

"No big deal? You saved my life." Danielle gave Jared a serious look.

Honestly, Jared knew he had saved Danielle's life and listened with interest to her recounting the events, but he had only done what anyone in his situation would've done.

After the quick ride in the not-just-an-elevator, when they stepped into their common room, the dining table in the center of the room was set, and there was food waiting for them.

Jared pointed at the table. "Look. Lunch is already here. I'm starving."

# Chapter 18

The Uninvited Guest

After eating, Jared and the others removed their robes and then hung them on the coat rack by the not-just-an-elevator door.

As Jared turned and headed toward one of the couches, his attention was drawn back to the not-just-an-elevator when he heard Rohlwig.

"Are you ready for some more training?" Rohlwig held out his arms inviting Jared and the others to join him in the not-just-an-elevator.

Jared nodded. "You bet."

"Well then, put your robes back on, and let's go." Rohlwig stepped to one side to make room for his students.

Once they were out on the training field, Rohlwig said, "Cover your eyes," and then tossed an orb up into the air.

Jared immediately closed his eyes and covered them with his forearm.

A few seconds later, Rohlwig said, "Okay. You may open your eyes now."

Jared removed his arm and opened his eyes. The small sphere was lying on the ground, and they were all standing in a forest of colossal pines. _Are we in a simulation? He threw a ball in the air not a rolled up map_. Jared deduced that it was possible to store a simulation in other kinds of objects.

Rohlwig pointed at the sphere. "I had you cover your eyes because the olamshi emits a blinding flash of light as it creates a security perimeter, which can sense enemy life forms and detect devices being used to eavesdrop. And by the way, the way you'll know if your security perimeter is being breached is by the high-pitched sound the olamshi will make."

"Like from the HST. My dad used one to help my grandpa and me escape from Dreggan." Jared got a little choked up. He was surprised at the emotional tug he felt just mentioning an event surrounding his parents' deaths.

"Correct. Of course, this olamshi has been altered to store a simulation." Rohlwig had confirmed Jared's deduction about being able to store simulations in objects other than maps. "Anyway, here's a regular olamshi for each of you." He handed an orb to each of the youths. "Put them in your robes, please."

Jared took the olamshi and looked at it. It was a smooth, silver sphere a bit smaller than a golf ball. He put it in an inside pocket of his robe.

It was strange that there was another pocket when he needed one—one for his treyo and then one for the olamshi. What made it so strange was that he didn't remember there being any pockets the first time he put the robe on.

Jared shrugged to himself. _Just another one of those Diestro mysteries, I guess._

"I want to teach you how to omporulae, which is the ability to travel super fast without a vehicle of any kind." Rohlwig slapped his hands together, and then shot one forward. "You won't be able to go super fast at first, though. But keep in mind, the more you practice, the faster speeds you'll reach.

"Someday, you might even be able to travel across the universe in the blink of an eye. Of course, such instantaneous travel could take many years to master."

Jared was impressed. _Now, that's fast_.

"Anyway, I want to teach you how to omporulae because it could come in handy if you need to escape a dangerous situation." Rohlwig raised his eyebrows and nodded slightly.

Jared agreed, _Yeah_ , and then joked to himself, _You never know when you might need to outrun some thiguts_.

"Now, turn around, and let's get you into position." Rohlwig lined the youths up side by side. "Okay. When I say, 'Go,' I want each of you to close your eyes, clear your mind, imagine yourself next to that tree lying down," he pointed at a fallen tree a long distance away—probably a couple hundred yards, "and then take a step while saying the command 'omporulae.' Okay... go."

Jared took a deep, cleansing breath, closed his eyes, and then tried to free his mind.

Rohlwig spoke in an almost hypnotic tone. "Now, imagine seeing yourself over by the tree."

Jared pictured himself standing next to the tree.

"Think about getting there as fast as you can." Rohlwig paused. "Now, take a step while saying the word 'omporulae,' and then open your eyes."

Jared took a step. "Omporulae."

When he opened his eyes, his jaw dropped, and he did a double-take. He was surprised to see that the tree was right in front of him. In amazement, he turned and leaned back against the trunk.

"Very good, Jared." Rohlwig gave him a thumbs-up.

Danielle and Paul suddenly appeared next to Jared.

"Whoa." Paul blinked hard and shook his head.

Jared looked at Danielle. She gave him a surprised smile.

Rohlwig appeared in front of Jared, Paul, and Danielle. "Excellent." He clapped lightly. "Well, all three of you picked up on that quickly, but I do have some advice for you when omporulaeing. It's easy to go short distances, but beginners get really tired or run into things over extended lengths. So, my advice to you, if you have to go long distances, is to do several shorter intervals with breaks in between until you get better at it."

Jared didn't like the idea of running into something while omporulaeing and wondered if he would die from the impact. It seemed likely, so he didn't bother to ask Rohlwig about it.

"Now, the next exercise I'd like to do with you requires a laris." Rohlwig handed each child an object that he pulled out of his robe. "Put this on the back of your hand, with the barrel toward your knuckles."

Jared took a moment to examine the laris. It was a very lightweight, glassy, silvery-black oval with a rounded topside and four long hooks that looked like curved insect legs—a pair on opposite sides. A pencil-thick, hollow tube, no longer than the thickness of a quarter, stuck out of one end—most likely the barrel.

As Jared placed it on the back of his hand, the four legs of the device grabbed the sides of Jared's hand and squeezed. It didn't hurt, but it was snug. Jared shook his hand, but the laris stayed on.

Jared looked at Rohlwig. _What are we going to do with this?_

Rohlwig said, "The laris is a defense weapon. I probably don't need to remind you, but, like the beo, the laris is a training tool. When you've reached a certain level of proficiency with it, you won't need to use it anymore." He turned to Jared and pointed at him. "Ena'am solum."

A bubble of light covered Jared. He reached forward and pressed on the surface. The bubble was solid and didn't give at all. It seemed to be as strong as steel. Rohlwig dropped his aim, and the bubble disappeared.

_Handy_. Jared looked at his laris. He was ready to give it a try but waited for Rohlwig to instruct them on what to do.

"That's a restraining bubble. There are," Rohlwig held up two fingers, "two types: a bubble that can hold its prisoner as long as you keep your aim steady and a more self-sustaining bubble that can remain intact after removing your aim.

"To make a temporary bubble around someone else, as I demonstrated on Jared, say 'ena'am solum.'

"The bubble is a fairly strong containment field, but it is by no means impenetrable. It is mostly meant to keep your opponent at bay to make an escape or to buy time.

"Now, I'd like you to try the solum on each other. Jared I'll have you practice with me."

Jared nodded and then aimed his hand with the laris on it at Rohlwig. "Ena'am solum."

He captured Rohlwig in a bubble of light. Keeping his hand pointed at Rohlwig, he looked over at Danielle and Paul. They both chuckled and pointed toward Rohlwig.

Jared turned back to see what was so funny. The bubble around Rohlwig was gone.

Jared frowned and looked at his laris. He joked, "It must be broken."

Danielle snickered. "Yeah, that's it."

"Remember to keep your aim steady," Rohlwig said.

Embarrassed by the mistake, Jared shifted his mouth to the side. "Hmm."

"And, don't feel bad. With practice, I'm sure you'll be able to make the field stronger and last longer." Rohlwig turned to Danielle and Paul. "Now, you two give it a try."

Danielle and Paul took turns making solums appear around each other.

Rohlwig moved his hands in a swirling motion. "Now, let's change partners."

After Jared and Paul had practiced making solums around each other a few times, Jared looked over at Danielle, who had encapsulated Rohlwig. Rohlwig waved his arm, and the bubble split in two as a beam of light slashed through it like a sword.

Jared flinched. _Whoa_.

"What was that?" Paul had taken the words right out of Jared's mouth and sounded just as excited as Jared to learn how to do it.

_I've gotta learn that_. Jared looked with anticipation at his laris.

"That was a," Rohlwig made a downward slicing movement with his hand, "slashing weapon—perfect for fending off an attacker, breaking through a restraint, or cutting through whatever. The command is 'tahsil.'

"Oh, and you should also know that the blade of light only lasts long enough to make one slashing motion. When your arm stops, the tahsil disappears."

Paul waved his arm while saying, "Tahsil." A flash of light cut through the air. "Whoa."

Rohlwig said, "Good job, Paul," and then turned to Danielle. "Okay. Now you, Danielle. Attack me."

Danielle looked at Rohlwig but didn't move—as if to say, "Really?"

"Don't worry. I'll block it." Rohlwig motioned with his arms for her to approach him.

Jared knew Rohlwig was baiting her and wondered what he would do to repel the attack.

"Okay," she said with hesitation and lifted her arm.

As she slashed at Rohlwig with a tahsil, he brought his arms up and said, "Estio."

The tahsil was blocked by a shield of light.

Jared wanted a turn. "Let me try." He stepped up to Rohlwig.

Rohlwig took a wider, more solid stance.

Jared called out, "Tahsil!" and swung his sword hard.

Rohlwig leaned into the attack, and once again, his force field deflected the blow.

Jared took a step backward. _Whoa!_

Rohlwig lowered his arms. "My purpose in demonstrating the tahsil was not to teach you how to be aggressors." He smiled at Jared. "However, it's important to know that many weapons can be an essential part of a good defense.

"That being said, now I'll teach you how to make a force field like the one I used." Rohlwig acted out his instructions. "Point your laris up, with your palm facing you. Where the back of your hand is facing is where the shield will appear. Also, since you're beginners, I'd recommend covering the laris with your free hand, so the back of both your hands are facing away from you. This double-handed method tends to provide more strength for the shield. Then, when you want to make the shield, say, 'estio.'"

_Seems easy enough._ Jared copied Rohlwig's movements to practice.

"Like the solum, it's temporary. So, when you move your hands, the shield will fade. Also, the shield area is relatively small. You can only protect the area right in front of you. But, there's a simple technique to block an attack from behind." Rohlwig spun around 180 degrees. "Just turn around." He smiled.

Jared rolled his eyes. _That was a lame joke._

Rohlwig turned to Paul. "Paul, go ahead and attack me with a tahsil."

Paul stepped forward.

Rohlwig took a wider stance. "But this time, I want you to repeat it several times in a row."

Paul repeatedly swung a tahsil at Rohlwig, but Rohlwig stood firm with his estio.

Rohlwig relaxed when Paul stopped. "The strength of your shield and the duration with which you'll be able to hold it under an attack depends, once again, on practice."

Jared made a mental note. _Practice. Check._

"So then, let's have you practice it." Rohlwig faced Jared. "I'll try to grab each of you. When I do, hold your hands like I showed you and say the estio command."

"Alright." Jared held up his arms in the position Rohlwig had demonstrated. "Estio."

Rohlwig tried to touch Jared, and his hand stopped when it met the barrier of light. He smiled at Jared. "Nice shield."

Rohlwig pushed harder, and the shield disappeared. Jared was disappointed that he couldn't keep his shield strong.

Rohlwig patted Jared on the shoulder. "No, don't feel bad. You did a good job. That was your first estio. The next one will be stronger."

Paul and Danielle each took a turn making a shield to block Rohlwig's hand. Rohlwig tested all three of their estios again several times—each time pushing harder than the last on their shields.

Fortunately, by the end of the exercise, Jared's estio was stronger.

"Good." Rohlwig stepped back. "Well, those are the basics of the laris. I'm impressed. All three of you have done quite well—in fact, better than I expected—with all these defense commands. And in such a short period.

"You sure are gifted. We were right to choose you."

Jared felt proud and confident with his Diestro and Amatay skills. He wanted to do some more. "What else are we going to learn with this?" he asked, waving his hand with the laris on it, hoping there were more things Rohlwig would teach them.

Rohlwig scratched his chin. "Hmm... well, there is the disorienting technique I used on that porumfid that took you and Danielle on that ride. And, there's a commonly used tranquilizer command."

"I think our guardians used a tranquilizer on Damen when it attacked us in Teruvisa," Paul pointed out.

Rohlwig nodded. "If the Beast just lay there, then it probably was a tranquilizer."

Danielle tilted her head to the side. "It was lying down, but there was also a bubble," she brought two cupped hands close together, "around it—a bubble like the solum."

Rohlwig held up a finger. "That was a double command. Very advanced. It requires combining code words in succession. Beginners have a hard time with that. Usually, when they try to do two things at once, they get confused, and nothing happens."

Jared wanted to try a double command. He had learned to focus quite well when speaking Amatay. _But, maybe I better get the singles down first. I don't want to embarrass myself._

"For now though, let's just do simple commands." Apparently, Rohlwig didn't want Jared to embarrass himself, either. "First, to disorient an opponent, point your laris and say 'tordistrem.' If done right, this will leave your opponent confused, and he won't know whether he's coming or going. He might even experience some memory loss."

Jared silently mocked the porumfid he and Danielle had an encounter with. _Just like that stupid porumfid that dropped us._

Rohlwig looked around. "Let's see if we can find something to practice on."

"Look. Over there." Rohlwig pointed up and behind Jared, Paul and Danielle. "A bird. Try to get it with a tordistrem."

Jared turned around and looked in the direction Rohlwig was pointing. When he saw a small red and white bird high up in a tree, he lifted his hand. He noticed that his friends were also pointing at the bird, but he wanted to be first.

Jared imagined that he was practicing on a porumfid as he took aim. "Tordistrem."

The beam of light from his tordistrem hit a branch next to the bird, and the bird flew away. Paul tried to get it while it was in flight but missed. Then, all three of them kept trying to hit the bird with a tordistrem, but no one was able to hit the target before it was out of sight.

Jared turned around, hoping that Rohlwig would have something else for them to try to disorient.

"Good try, but let's try the tranquilizer this time. The command is pana'idem." Rohlwig looked around briefly and then pointed to Jared's right. "Look. There's a squirrel. Try to get it with the tranquilizer."

Jared quickly turned his head and saw the small animal close by. He pointed his laris at it. "Pana'idem."

He hit the little creature sitting on a stump. It dropped the nut it was holding and fell over.

"Ha—ha." Jared smiled at his friends, held his laris up by his mouth, and then blew across the barrel like it was a smoking gun. "Got it."

Danielle rolled her eyes. "Big deal."

Suddenly, a loud, high-pitched squeal filled the air, and a Beast of Tirum jumped out from behind a tree less than 100 yards away from Jared and the others.

The fierce-looking dog-lizard leapt forward, and Rohlwig omporulaed toward it. As fast as lightning, Rohlwig, using an estio, plowed into the Beast and knocked it over.

The Beast started to get back upright, but before it could regain its balance, Rohlwig reached out with one hand and said, "Ena'am solum."

The Beast became trapped in a bubble. Rohlwig held out his other hand, and the silver olamshi he'd used to start the simulation shot into his palm.

The high-pitched alarm stopped.

"Help me get it!" Rohlwig had turned away from the Beast as he asked for help and didn't see that his captive had broken the bubble.

"Look out!" Jared wanted to help Rohlwig and, pointing at the Beast, used the first command he could think of. "Pana'idem!"

Rohlwig fell to the ground, unconscious. Jared had accidentally hit Rohlwig instead of the Beast! Jared stood there in disbelief. _What have I done?_

Danielle gasped. "Oh no!"

The Beast ran past Rohlwig toward Jared, Paul, and Danielle.

Jared snapped out of his daze and clenched his teeth in frustration. _Grr_. And, regardless of the fear he had of messing up again, he pointed his laris at the Beast. "Tordistrem!"

The Beast faltered slightly but kept coming. Jared froze with fear. _It didn't work._

It was almost within striking distance of Jared, but before it was able to pounce, Paul jumped out from behind Jared and swung his arm down diagonally in front of himself. "Tahsil!"

A flash of light cut through the air.

The Beast hesitated, and Paul repeated the command.

Jared was grateful for Paul's help but felt it was too soon to celebrate. "Thanks, Paul. Keep it up." _He's not going to be able to keep that thing away for very long with a little sword._

Paul did a good job of holding the Beast at bay as they carefully made their way to Rohlwig.

"Way to go, Paul," Danielle said as she and Jared knelt down next to Rohlwig.

Jared didn't take his eyes off the Beast, but, out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rohlwig stirring. He was glad Rohlwig was coming to but felt embarrassed about knocking him out. "Sorry, Rohlwig. I... um... it... uh... are you okay?"

"Oh yeah. I've had worse." Rohlwig grunted as he got to his feet. "Pretty good pana'idem, Jared, but your aim could use some improvement. Remember to focus."

Jared knew Rohlwig was joking to make him not feel so bad, but he still felt guilty.

The Beast lunged forward. Paul jumped back. The Beast's claw barely missed him.

As it was preparing to swing again, Rohlwig stepped forward and pushed Jared and Paul aside. "Estio!"

His shield took the full blow of one of the Beast's powerful claws. Rohlwig lost his balance and fell down.

The Beast whipped around. Rohlwig flung his cape over himself and disappeared. The Beast's tail came swinging past where Rohlwig had been lying.

Rohlwig appeared behind the Beast and jumped onto its back. Using a tahsil, he slashed the Beast and then jumped off.

The Beast cried out, rolled over, and began writhing on the ground in agony from the wound Rohlwig had inflicted upon it.

Rohlwig scrambled to his feet. "Go!" He pointed at a dirt path that started between two trees about 50 yards away to Jared's right.

As he sprinted toward it, Jared wondered why he hadn't noticed the path before.

Paul and Danielle appeared between the trees Jared was running toward. He realized they must have omporulaed, so he envisioned himself at the trail head and, with his next step, shot forward.

When he reached his friends, Jared looked back over his shoulder. Rohlwig was slowly walking backward toward them while keeping an eye on the Beast, but the Beast, apparently not happy about Jared and the others getting away, sprang at Rohlwig.

Danielle cried, "Rohlwig!"

Rohlwig blocked the Beast with another estio. He continued watching the Beast but communicated with the youths using beoveh. "Jared. Danielle. Paul. Take the trail until you get to a clearing, and stay there."

The Beast pounced again several times on the force field before stopping to analyze the situation. It paced back and forth, probably waiting for an opportunity to attack again.

"Omporulae. Now!" Rohlwig took a wider stance like he was bracing himself for a tackle.

Jared was about to go, but he hesitated when he saw the dog-lizard attack Rohlwig, knock him off balance, and streak past him. However, Rohlwig grabbed its tail and flung the Beast against a tree.

Jared was amazed by Rohlwig's display of strength. Jared had learned during his training with Ferran that it was possible to enhance one's strength by using Diestro, and he remembered when Gromagan used enhanced strength to break a padlock off a gate at Lake Arrowhead.

Furious, the Beast focused on getting Rohlwig. When it leapt forward and swiped at Rohlwig with one of its massive claws, Rohlwig jumped and did a back flip to get out of the way, and then he encased the Beast in a solum.

Jared knew he should leave, but he didn't want to move. He was mesmerized by the fighting.

He watched in astonishment as Rohlwig jumped and flew about like a cosmic acrobat, dodging the attacks of the Beast. And, every time it would make a move in Jared's direction, Rohlwig would trap it in a containment bubble.

Rohlwig yelled at Jared, "Get out of here, now!"

Jared snapped out of his trance and looked at Paul and Danielle, who were gesturing and vocally urging him to go with them. He figured he should do what Rohlwig wanted.

Jared turned but threw one last glance over his shoulder at Rohlwig before he left.

At that moment, the dog-lizard's tail made contact with Rohlwig's arm. Rohlwig twirled around, and it ran past him.

_No!_ Jared stopped.

Danielle screamed. "Jared, come on!"

Jared felt her pulling on his arm and hesitantly started to give in.

Rohlwig pointed his finger in the Beast's direction. "Vashoh'!"

A burst of light hit the Beast, and in an instant, it was gone—disintegrated.

"He got it," Jared breathed out in relief. He felt Danielle's grip loosen and pulled his arm out of her hands.

Rohlwig omporulaed over to Jared and the others, holding the upper part of his left arm with his right hand.

Jared realized, _He's hurt._

Rohlwig asked, "Are you alright?"

"We're fine. But, what's wrong with your arm?" Danielle stepped forward, pointing at his arm. "We need to get you to a doctor."

Jared was also concerned.

Rohlwig said, "I think it's broken. But, don't worry. I can fix it."

Jared wondered, _How?_

Rohlwig took a small, purple, glass vial out of his robe and then handed it to Danielle. "Unscrew the lid for me, would you?"

After Danielle removed the brass-colored lid for him, Rohlwig took the container from her and then poured a few drops of a semi-clear, yellowish liquid on his arm. The fluid, which had the consistency of vegetable oil, disappeared when it touched his skin.

_This will heal him?_ Jared didn't think it could be possible.

Rohlwig whispered something. Then, recapping the bottle himself, he put the vial back in his robe.

Rohlwig moved his left arm in a circular motion, bending and straightening it and allowing it to rotate in the shoulder joint. "A little stiff. But otherwise fine."

Jared wondered if Diestro would ever cease to amaze him. _What'll they think of next?_

Paul asked, "What's in that vial?"

"Lumahneh." Rohlwig patted the outside of his robe in the area where the inside pocket was that he kept the vial in. "A special oil for healing."

Jared rubbed his hands together, eager to learn the art of healing. "Are we going to get some lumahneh?"

"Not yet." Rohlwig shook his head. "Healing is a very advanced technology."

Jared was a little disappointed. "Oh."

However, even if he wasn't going to get to learn how to heal with lumahneh, Jared was still glad that Rohlwig was okay and that the Beast was dead.

On the other hand, the fight with the Beast was no doubt a test, and Jared wished he had done better. He felt especially bad because of the blunder he made earlier with a pana'idem that knocked Rohlwig out.

"Sorry we weren't much help." Paul looked down, apparently feeling a bit disappointed in his performance, as well.

Rohlwig shook his head. "No, not at all. You did fine. Don't feel bad. I planned on doing most of the fighting and knew I would have to kill the Beast myself anyway, especially since I hadn't taught you any killing commands.

"Mostly, I just wanted to give you a taste of what it would be like to defend yourselves in a realistic situation instead of practicing on small woodland animals or trees. I wanted see if you would be able to use your newly-acquired skills instinctively—without over-thinking them.

"And as usual, you exceeded my expectations. Good job." He gave Jared and his friends a thumbs-up.

"Hello," someone called out. Then, Jared saw a tall, black-haired man, wearing a white robe stepping out from behind a tree about 100 yards away and waving. At the same time, there was a flash of light in the trees, and the high-pitched squeal of an olamshi pierced the forest.

"Lohmus?" Rohlwig took a step forward, putting himself between the man and the youths.

Jared thought it was strange that Rohlwig seemed surprised to see the visitor. _Maybe he's just pretending._ _After all, he made the simulation and would be expecting the man to appear, right?_

"I have a message from Manasto, but I'm afraid that a Beast followed me here and infiltrated the Cira complex. The Beast must be close if it set off the alarm." Lohmus looked down and bowed his head slightly but kept advancing. "I'm sorry."

Rohlwig held a hand out toward Lohmus and turned to the youths. "Children. This is Lohmus. He's the official messenger for Manasto and Verissa."

Jared noticed that Lohmus was starting to breathe fast—almost panting. _What's wrong with him?_

Lohmus looked up at Jared with his blue eyes, and an evil grin crossed his face.

Jared stepped backward. Something didn't feel right. _What's going on?_

In the blink of an eye, Lohmus transformed into a dog-lizard, omporulaed toward the group, and jumped over Rohlwig. The Beast roared as it came bearing down on Jared.

Jared threw his arms up in a defensive position, covering his face, and tried to scream, but all that came out was a muted, "Aaah!"

# Chapter 19

Ketauro

"Vashoh'!"

It took Jared a second to recognize that Rohlwig had said the kill command and that the high-pitched alarm had stopped. He slowly put down his arms and opened his eyes.

The Beast was gone. Jared breathed out a sigh of relief.

Rohlwig hurried over to Jared and helped him to his feet. "You okay?"

Still too stunned to speak, Jared nodded.

"That was Sepra." Rohlwig took a step backward and looked around with a worried look on his face. "I don't know how it got in here, but I think it's time to get you out of here. Its brothers might not be far behind. The sooner we get out of this simulation, the sooner we can get off of Cira."

Danielle asked, "Wait. You mean that was the _real_ Sepra?"

Rohlwig reached out. "Yep." An olamshi flew into his hand.

_The real Sepra?_ Jared asked, "How did it get in our simulation?"

Rohlwig put away the olamshi. "It just walked in no doubt, but the real question is how it got into the Cira complex."

Jared then asked, "Where did that olamshi come from? You already got the olamshi that started the simulation, didn't you?

"The olamshi I just got," Rohlwig patted the outside of his robe to indicate the olamshi he had put in an inside pocket, "was the one I used on Cira to start the simulation and consequently to end it." He held up one finger. "The first olamshi was only part of the simulation. It's gone now."

"Well, follow me." Rohlwig pointed to the trail behind Jared and the others.

He was about to take a step when Paul asked, "Wait. How can the simulation be over? We're still in this forest."

Jared was also wondering why Rohlwig said he had ended the simulation when they were obviously still in the same forest.

"Well, the simulation was a simulation of this very forest, so it looks the same." Rohlwig waved his hand, indicating their surroundings.

Jared blinked in surprise. _What?_

"You see, I not only used the olamshi to create a simulation, but I altered it to open a portal that would bring us here when the simulation ended." Rohlwig held his arms out to his sides. "Quite an amazing piece of Diestro, if I do say so myself." He smiled and let his arms drop.

"So where's here?" Danielle asked.

"Earth." Rohlwig nodded once. "Tiersda—"

"We're going to see my mom?" Paul stood up straighter. Jared could tell he was excited about seeing his mother.

Jared wondered what that would be like—to get to see _his_ mother—but then tried to put it out of his mind. There was no point in dwelling on impossibilities.

"Yes. There's more I'd like to train you on, but Cira isn't secure." Rohlwig looked at Jared, Danielle, and Paul, as if he was surveying them, and then nodded. "But, I think you'll be fine moving onto the next phase of your training with Tiersda.

"By the way, you can take off your larises." Rohlwig pointed at Jared's hand.

Jared had forgotten he was wearing a laris. He rolled his eyes, realizing that he could have used it against Sepra. _What was I thinking?_ He mentally whacked his forehead with the heel of his hand. _I wasn't thinking. That's the problem._ He made a promise to himself that he would try to be more prepared and aware of his surroundings.

Not more than a second after he made that oath, he heard a rustling noise, and then someone with long, dark hair grabbed Paul.

Paul screamed. "Help!"

Jared was about to reach out and grab the attacker's arm to free Paul, but then something odd happened. The stranger kissed Paul on the cheek.

_What? Who is this?_ Jared wondered.

"Paul," the woman sighed and then relaxed her hold on Paul.

Jared grabbed the woman's shoulder and pulled on it to get a good look at her face.

As she turned to face Jared and the group, Jared realized it was Paul's mother, Tiersda. (He recognized her from the HST.)

He stepped back. "Sorry, Tiersda. I didn't know it was you."

With tears streaming down her face, Tiersda turned back to face Paul and hugged him again. "I'm so happy to see you." She released him, stepped back, and then, eyeing him up and down, said, "Let me have a good look at you."

Paul kept his arms at his sides but smiled. He seemed uncertain how he should feel or hesitant to show how he felt.

Jared shook his head. He didn't understand why Paul felt so awkward. _If it were_ me, he told himself, I _would have been so thrilled to see my mom that I would have hugged her and not let go for a long time._

However, Jared was sure Paul would become as close to her as he was to Ferran once she and Paul got to spend a little more time together.

Tiersda wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her brown robe. "Well, I'm sure you all don't want to keep standing around here and watch me bawl my eyes out. Let's go."

She kept her eyes on Paul and, putting her arm around his waist, pulled him away from the group. Jared, Danielle, and Rohlwig followed her.

_Wow. She's not excited at all to see Paul_ , Jared joked ironically to himself.

As Tiersda led them through the forest, she expressed how much she missed Paul and made comments like, "I can't believe how grown up you look," and "You've become quite a handsome young man."

Paul seemed to be enjoying the attention. He was staring at his mom and listening intently to every word she spoke.

Jared began wishing _his_ mom could see _him_. She'd say the same thing that Tiersda was saying about Paul, to him.

Tiersda took the group out into a large clearing. When they reached the middle, Tiersda said over her shoulder, "It's good to have you all here."

She stopped and then turned around to address the group. "I think it's time to do some more training. What do you say?"

She looked at Paul. He nodded eagerly.

Jared was ready, too. "Alright." He rubbed his hands together.

Tiersda held up two fingers. "There are two things I need to go over with you before we continue your training.

"So far in your training, you've learned that words are an important—really the fundamental—part of our technology. But, I wanted to let you know that you don't always have to speak Amatay out loud for it to work.

"You were taught to speak the words out loud because it's easier to focus and say the words correctly when you're first starting to learn Amatay. I just wanted you to be aware that vocalizing commands isn't absolutely necessary because, for the next phase of your training, there will probably be a time when you'll need to know that."

Jared was glad Tiersda had addressed that topic. After she brought it up, Jared thought he remembered seeing someone do something with Diestro without saying anything. He couldn't remember if it was from the HST, during his stay in Teruvisa, or while they were being trained, though.

Tiersda looked at Paul, Jared, and Danielle with a smile. "Now, you've already learned how the Light touches everything like an enormous, intricate web—everything is connected. Well, I want to show you that _we_ can also be connected to everything around us."

Tiersda held her hands out in front of her, with her palms up and cupped together, and then said, "Varq ho inela."

A small cloud formed just above her hands and darkened. Rain drops began falling into her hands. After a moment, the cloud disappeared.

Tiersda whispered into her hands, "Whey oh astohna."

The water spewed from her hands, curled like a wave, and then evaporated.

Tiersda showed everyone her empty hands. "When you learn more about Diestro and how to master Amatay, a grand connection between yourself and nature is possible. As you saw with my little rain cloud demonstration, I was able to connect to the very moisture in the air and manipulate it."

Jared watched the mist dissipate into the air with awe. So far in their training, they had only talked about controlling the elements. He understood how it was possible and all the theories and laws about it, but that was the first time he had seen it. He wondered how long it would take him to be able to do what Tiersda did.

Tiersda added, "As we move onto the next portion of your training, try to be conscious of this connection—the connection between the Light that is all around us; the Amatay we speak and think; Diestro, our technology to harness the power of the Light; and all forms of life and matter. That is the only way you'll be able to unlock the MSIs."

Jared, inspired by Tiersda's demonstration and words, thought he could almost feel the web of Light surrounding and touching him.

"Now, onto your training." Tiersda took a few steps away from the group and turned to the left. She clapped her hands together. "Wemana poriyu faso."

When she stretched her arms out wide, Jared heard and felt a low rumbling. Then, with an earsplitting CRACK, the earth cleaved in two a short distance in front of Tiersda. The crevice grew longer and deeper until Tiersda and the others were standing at the edge of a canyon that stretched deep into the forest.

Tiersda lowered her arms, and the rumbling stopped.

She turned around. "The next skill you need to learn is how to fly."

Jared wasn't sure he heard her right. "Fly?"

"That's right." Tiersda smiled and held a hand out toward Rohlwig. "If you would, please, Rohlwig."

"Gladly." Rohlwig stepped forward, facing the canyon. "Here's how it's done. When you jump, pretend that you're diving." Rohlwig put his arms straight up above his head. "But, you'll be going straight up into the air, of course.

"As you jump, you must envision yourself in the air, almost feel yourself weightless before you leave the ground, and think or say the command 'votunlae.'" Rohlwig dropped his arms. "Then, when you feel yourself accelerating, you can use your arms freely. To steer, just lean in the direction you want to go. To stop, simply press down with your heels. Watch me do it once, first."

Rohlwig reached up and then jumped. He rocketed out over the canyon and then circled back around. He landed easily and made an exaggerated bow.

Rohlwig stood up and held his arms out. "Ta—da. Now, let's have you give it a whirl."

Jared was excited to fly. _I'm actually going to fly!_ He'd always had dreams about being able to fly. If he could've wished for any super power, it would've been the ability to fly. So far, the closest he'd ever gotten to flying like in his dreams was in the sublevel.

Jared flexed his knees and glanced over at Danielle and Paul. They were getting ready to jump, too.

Jared looked out over the canyon, took a deep breath, and then pictured himself soaring through the sky, imagining what it would feel like. He jumped, reaching into the air, said, "Votunlae," and then felt himself slingshot up into the sky.

"Yeah!" he cried out in exhilaration. It was even better than he dreamed. _I can fly!_

Jared held his arms out like airplane wings, leaned to the left, and started banking. He completed his turn and headed back toward Tiersda and Rohlwig.

When he got closer, Jared brought his legs forward and pressed down hard with his heels. He abruptly stopped and started falling down into the canyon. Without panicking, he reached up, said, "Votunlae," and hoped he'd be able to start flying again without being able to push off from the ground.

Fortunately, he shot straight up. _Phew! I did it. It would've been embarrassing if I would've had to parachute down to the bottom and then fly back up._ He pointed himself toward Tiersda and Rohlwig.

When he reached the end of the canyon and wanted to stop, he didn't push so hard with his heels and gradually started to slow down. As he neared the ground, he pushed a little harder and slowed down even more.

He hit the ground a little harder than he expected and stumbled forward, but he managed to stay on his feet.

Regaining his balance, Jared smiled broadly at Rohlwig and Tiersda. _That was the best thing I've learned so far._ Jared jabbed a fist into the air in triumph. "Awesome!"

Jared couldn't adequately express in words how he felt, but he didn't need to. Rohlwig and Tiersda both nodded, acknowledging that they understood how he felt.

Paul and Danielle landed as roughly as Jared had but fortunately stayed upright. The three of them looked at each other and then laughed and cheered.

Once he settled down, Jared was ready to try it again, but Tiersda said, "The next phase of your training will help you hone your skills with using Diestro." She smiled. "I'm sure you'll like—"

"Anyone for a game of ketauro?" Ferran had appeared on the canyon rim and was walking toward Tiersda, Rohlwig, and the youths. He held his arms out.

_What's Ferran doing here? And, what's ketauro?_ Jared grunted, "Huh?"

Ferran ran up to Tiersda. They embraced and kissed.

After only a few moments (though Jared thought the kiss was dragging on), Tiersda took a half-step back and, still in Ferran's arms, said, "I'm glad to see you. So, this means everything is ready?"

Ferran nodded.

"Ready?" Paul asked, stepping closer to his dad.

Ferran gave Paul a hug. "Hi, son."

Jared didn't want Ferran to get off the subject. "Yeah. What's ready?"

"Oh, just some things I had to do before I could come here to help you get your passwords for the MSIs." Ferran seemed to be purposefully evading the question.

_He's hiding something. But what?_ Jared prodded a little more. "Oh yeah? What things?"

"Just things." Ferran changed the subject. "So, let's get started."

"Okay..." Jared accepted that Ferran wasn't going to tell him anymore than that. "What are we going to do?"

Ferran stated, "Play ketauro."

Jared was curious to find out what that was. "What's ketauro?"

Tiersda addressed Jared, Paul, and Danielle. "It's a training exercise we'll use to help you find your individual passwords so that your MSIs can gain access to the decoder and Teruvisa's new systems. It's a game that has been used in training ever since the Founding Masters' time, although, we're changing the purpose a bit this time to fit our needs—to get the passwords."

"A game?" Jared was confused as to how a game would help him figure out his MSI's password.

Tiersda nodded. "Yes. As you compete in ketauro, you should become focused enough to unlock the passwords embedded in the chips. You can't get the passwords by learning a Diestro command or skill; it's mostly subconscious. But now that you've learned enough Diestro, as you use your skills without thinking about using them, the passwords will come to you."

Jared was excited. They were finally going to get the passwords—the final key to unlock the new systems.

"Before we start, let me explain the rules." Tiersda held up two fingers. "Ketauro is played with two teams. The object is to get the ball, called the tauro, to your team's side of the canyon without touching it with your hands; any other body part is fine."

_Like soccer._ Jared was good at soccer, although he wasn't quite sure how well he'd do while trying to fly from one side of the canyon to the other. _This should be interesting_.

Tiersda added, "However, the way to really excel in ketauro is to use your skills with Diestro to move the tauro, not just kick it. Oh, and by the way, don't worry about being gentle with the tauro. It's indestructible, so you can use anything to move it, such as a tahsil or explosion."

Jared began thinking about what skills he could use to move the tauro without kicking it. _A sword_... _a shield. What else?_

"Well, I think that's it. Let's go ahead and split up into teams." Tiersda put herself, Ferran, and Paul together on one team. Rohlwig, Danielle, and Jared were on the other.

Tiersda waved an arm over her head with a circular motion. "Ena'ulae ferra keey hezsha."

Jared suddenly found himself with Danielle and Rohlwig on one side of the widest part of the canyon, which was about the same width as one of the circuits used for flying shuttles around in Teruvisa. On the other side were Paul and his parents.

Tiersda flew out to the midpoint between the two rims of the canyon. She had a shiny, silver ball under her arm.

Her voice resounded in Jared's head. (He assumed that everyone else could hear it, as well; after all, beoveh could be used to talk to multiple people at the same time.) "Now, put on your larises and get ready." Tiersda held up the tauro in the palm of one hand. She waited until Jared, Paul, and Danielle had on their larises, said, "Ketauro," and then let go of the ball.

Rohlwig immediately jumped into the canyon, diving head first past the tauro, then stopped in midair. The ball rebounded off his head and shot up above the canyon rim.

Tiersda flew toward the tauro, streaking across the sky, and when she reached the tauro, she bicycle-kicked it back toward her side of the canyon.

On the way down from its high arc, Rohlwig zipped over to the tauro and trapped it in a floating containment bubble. He began moving the captured tauro toward Jared, Danielle, and his side of the canyon.

Jared, wanting to help Rohlwig, thought, _Ketauro doesn't seem too tricky. They're kicking and heading the ball. I can do that. And, I know how to make a solum, although, I'm not sure how Rohlwig's making it float. I think I'll jump in and give it a try._

Jared was about to fly over to Rohlwig and the tauro when a black whip wrapped around the bubble a few times. When the whip cracked, the tauro was flung in the other direction.

Jared's eyes followed the whip as it retracted into the sleeve of Ferran's robe. _I want to learn how to make one of those._

Jared wanted to help even more because, since Ferran had joined the game, Rohlwig was outnumbered, but he hesitated when he saw a small, dark cloud form over the canyon where the tauro was.

He thought it was odd that a cloud would suddenly appear in that location, especially since there wasn't another cloud in the sky.

Then, a second after the cloud appeared, large hail stones rained down into the canyon and began pelting the tauro, Tiersda, Ferran, and Rohlwig.

_I don't want to go out there now_. Jared decided to wait for the hail storm to stop.

Within moments, the hail stones turned into balls of fire. To protect themselves, Ferran, Tiersda, and Rohlwig curled up into balls and floated like robe-covered balloons.

After several hits from fireballs, the bubble around the game ball broke, causing the sphere to plummet toward the ground, and then the fire-hail storm stopped.

_Is the tauro controlling the game?_ Judging by the timing of the firestorm, it almost seemed to Jared that the tauro had made the storm appear to release itself from the solum, but he dismissed that theory. _Nah. That can't be. Tiersda, Ferran, or Rohlwig must have made the hail appear._

Jared jumped into the gorge, chasing after the game ball. However, his robe started furling behind him, and he began slowing down. _No. I need to go faster._

Jared grabbed the edges of his robe and pulled them in close around himself. He immediately began picking up speed, but he realized he might not reach the tauro before it hit the ground.

As he shot toward the canyon floor, he didn't remember if, in the rules, Tiersda had stated anything about whether or not the tauro was allowed to touch the ground. But, even if he was able to get to the tauro as it bounced off the ground, he wondered, _How will I take control of it without grabbing it?_

Jared got an idea. He would try to bat it upward with a tahsil. _It just might work._

When Jared was inches from the tauro, and the tauro was about 15 feet from the ground, Jared swung his right hand—the one with the laris on it—upward. "Tahsil!"

The sword of light missed the ball because the tauro dodged his swing. _Oh, man_.

Jared didn't have enough time to try to hit the tauro again, so he quickly got his feet underneath himself in order to votunlae. But, he wasn't fast enough.

Fortunately though, when he landed, the ground gave way like a trampoline. He sank into it until his momentum stopped, and then he was catapulted straight back up into the air.

Jared heard Rohlwig's voice in his head. "Good try, but you could've been squashed." As Jared shot past Rohlwig, Rohlwig caught him in a net of light and began reeling him in. "Next time you have an idea, maybe you should let me in on it. I would definitely have advised against doing that maneuver." He chuckled.

Jared shrugged and laughed to himself. _Yeah_. He figured he'd get better at the game, though.

At that point, Jared looked down. Ferran was standing next to the tauro at the bottom of the canyon. The ground had returned to its rigid state.

Jared wondered if Ferran was the one who made the tauro move out of the way of his tahsil and if Rohlwig was the one that saved him by making the ground into a trampoline.

Rohlwig turned his head. "Danielle, get over here. We could use your help." He pointed in her direction. "Raukish."

An earthen walkway, formed from the rocks and dirt of the canyon wall, jutted out from the cliff to where Jared was. The net holding Jared vanished, and Jared and Rohlwig landed on the dirt platform.

As Danielle ran toward Jared and Rohlwig, Jared looked down into the canyon. Ferran blasted the ground under the tauro, and the ball rebounded toward Tiersda, who was standing a few feet away from Ferran. She kicked the ball into the air, and then the two of them began kicking the tauro back and forth to each other as they floated upward.

Jared wanted to jump down there and steal the tauro away but decided to ask Rohlwig if he had a plan. However, before Jared could ask, a huge, black, vulture-like bird swooped down, snatched the tauro in its beak, and then headed up and out of the canyon near Paul's side.

Paul pointed at the long-necked bird. "Tordistrem!"

A beam of light hit the winged creature. It squawked, faltered, flipped over, dropped the tauro, and then flew away in an erratic manner.

Jared turned his attention from the bird to the tauro, which was falling fast. He turned to ask Rohlwig what to do, but Rohlwig wasn't next to him anymore. Then, he saw Rohlwig fly out of the forest on the other side of the canyon, holding onto the trunk of a pine tree he had uprooted.

_Diestro sure can make you strong._ As Jared marveled over Rohlwig's display of strength, he wondered how long it would take him to be able to use Diestro like that.

When Rohlwig reached the tauro, he batted the game ball back toward Jared and Danielle and then dropped the tree, letting it fall into the canyon.

Jared prepared himself to jump up and kick the tauro or head it toward his side of the canyon, but Paul was flying like a rocket toward the ball.

_He's going pretty fast._ Jared realized that Paul would get to the tauro before it reached him. He needed to fly out and try to get it.

He looked at Danielle. "Come on."

Danielle nodded, and they both flew toward the tauro, but, a second later, Tiersda flew up out of the canyon and caught the tauro with a tornado spinning around on the palm of her hand.

Jared wished he was a Master so that he could do stuff like that, too. _Man. I need more training_ , he half-joked to himself.

When Tiersda tipped the whirlwind toward her team's side of the canyon, and the tauro shot out, Jared darted toward the game ball. _I'm all over it._

Jared heard Rohlwig shout, "Faatubada! Keey raukish ulae!" and then saw the earthen walkway—the one Danielle, Rohlwig, and he had been standing on earlier—shoot past him. _Whoa. What's he doing?_

The walkway passed the tauro and then tilted so that, when the tauro hit it, the angle allowed the tauro to bounce off of it and down into the canyon.

"Dive!"

When Jared heard Rohlwig's command, he darted toward the tauro.

Paul and Danielle were right beside him, but Jared was determined to get to it first. He closed his eyes and tried to lunge himself forward even faster.

A second later, he opened his eyes and saw that he was right above the tauro. It was like he had omporulaed while flying. It caught him by surprise, and he only had a split second to react.

He swung his arm up. "Tahsil!"

His light sword struck the tauro at the same time as two other tahsils. The impact created a blinding light and a deafening ring.

Jared felt himself floating and became enveloped in cold. A moment later, his sight returned, but he was completely submersed in water. He held his breath and swam up to the surface. He was surprised that wearing a robe didn't weigh him down—it was like the robe didn't absorb water.

When Jared's head broke the surface of the water, he gasped for air. Then, he looked up and saw Ferran, Tiersda, and Rohlwig hovering above him and pointing down at Paul, Danielle, and him.

Tiersda said, "You've been viquened. You can move easily and breathe underwater now."

_So, that's why the robes don't make it hard to swim_. Jared took a moment to look around. He was treading water at the bottom of the canyon. _How'd all this water get here?_ He looked up at Rohlwig. "What happened? We hit the tauro, and then there was a flash of light and a ringing noise."

"It's just part of the game," Rohlwig said. "Keep it up." He gave Jared, Danielle, and Paul a thumbs-up.

Jared looked around for the tauro. _Where is it?_

Tiersda said, "The tauro is now submerged. It can now move in any direction on its own, so it'll be harder to catch."

Before Jared could dive under the water to look for the tauro, Rohlwig, who was standing on the water, called Jared and Danielle over to him.

_How does he float in the air like that?_ Jared swam over to Rohlwig and asked, "We learned to fly, but how do you float like that?"

Rohlwig raised his eyebrows and nodded. "Oh. I didn't go over that, did I? Well, when you're flying, right after you press down with your heels to stop, push with your toes."

"Oh, okay. Thanks." _Sounds easy enough._ The next time Jared had a chance, he'd try it.

Rohlwig, crouching down, changed the subject. "Okay. We need a plan."

Jared looked over at the opposing team huddled together in the water, a ways off, discussing their strategy. "Yeah. What are we going to do?"

Rohlwig brought his hands together and then parted them. "We'll spread out. And, if any of us sees the tauro, we'll make some kind of signal so that the other team doesn't know we've found it. How about if, using beoveh, we bark like dogs?"

Jared remembered, _Tiersda told us we might have to use Amatay mentally during the game. She was right._ He felt confident he could do it. _It shouldn't be too hard._

Rohlwig nodded. "When one of us barks, the others will find that person, and we'll all surround the tauro. Then, when we're close enough, I'll count to three, we'll all enclose the tauro in a solum at the same time, and then we'll toss it up out of the water. After that, we'll fly into the air and pass the tauro back and forth to each other until we can kick it onto our side. Sound good?"

_Sounds good to me_. Jared nodded. "Uh—hm."

"Okay, let's go." Rohlwig stood up and then sank feet first into the water.

Jared looked toward where Danielle was, but she had already dived underwater. So, Jared quickly let himself sink, as well.

He was surprised that he could see clearly. Being viquened apparently helped people see normally underwater in addition to allowing them breathe and swim better.

Jared, Danielle, and Rohlwig looked at each other. Rohlwig pointed for them to go off in different directions.

Jared swam away from his team, keeping an eye out for the tauro. He was amazed at how easy it was to move in the water. He felt as light as a jellyfish and as fast as a shark.

Every kick and stroke propelled him through the water with ease. He felt no resistance in front of him as he sliced through the water, yet the water gave enough resistance behind him to allow him to push off of it. It was almost like the water gave way before him, then solidified behind him.

As he searched for the tauro, he started to have a little fun. He changed direction several times, pretending he was a shark darting through the water in search of its prey.

Jared smiled to himself. _It's not flying, but it's still fun._ He enjoyed how free he felt moving in the water.

After a short time, he thought he caught a glimpse of the tauro. He was about to bark but then noticed that it was really two spheres floating side by side.

They started coming right at him and were gaining speed. When they got closer, he realized they were eyeballs attached to a whale-sized, aquatic creature.

The large fish was as black as night, with fins the size of airplane wings and a long, eel-shaped body. As it opened its mouth, baring its teeth, Jared started to get sucked in. He backpedaled but kept getting closer.

Jared swam harder against the pull of the current. _Why is it so hard to swim now?_ He became desperate. _What do I do?_

Jared was only a few feet away from the pointed snout of the creature. Fighting back his fear, he came up with an idea. _Maybe a shield will protect me._

Jared stopped swimming, put his arms up, and was about to produce an estio by saying the command silently when the sea monster froze—literally froze. He bumped into the giant eel-sicle and looked through the ice, past the teeth, and into the darkness of its throat.

_Ew. I'm glad I didn't end up down there._ Jared pushed off backward from the block of ice and turned around.

Rohlwig swam up to him, "That was a close one," and then got a surprised look on his face. He pointed to Jared's right. "Woof woof."

Jared turned his head and started barking when he saw the tauro. Danielle, who was not far away, barked, as well, and swam over to Rohlwig and Jared.

Rohlwig motioned for Danielle and Jared to surround the ball. Ferran, Tiersda, and Paul had seen the tauro and were closing in on it, too.

Soon, everyone had positioned themselves in a large circle around the tauro, which began moving erratically within the bounds of the ring of people. But, as the tauro would go up or down, the circle of players would do the same.

Jared heard Rohlwig say, "One... ( _Okay. Time for the solum._ ) Two... ( _Focus._ ) Three."

Jared thought only of the tauro and making as strong a solum as he could. He locked his eyes on the target, pointed at the tauro, and then mouthed the words, _Ena'am solum_ , as he said them in his head.

The tauro was surrounded by a bubble of light. Then, as planned, he heaved his arm upward to fling the tauro out of the water.

The tauro and solum shot upward. An instant later, Jared felt a tug. _It's taking me with it._

Jared tried to release his solum, but he wasn't able to. The tauro flew up out of the water, dragging not only him but Paul and Danielle by invisible leashes.

When they reached the top of the canyon, the ball of light stopped. However, Jared's momentum carried him toward the sphere. In the second before he hit the solum, he wondered what would happen when he hit the bubble.

Jared hit the ball of light around the tauro, spread eagle, but the luminous material didn't feel like a solum. It was soft and sticky like a melting marshmallow.

In fact, as Jared tried to move, he found that the light bubble was so sticky he couldn't free himself from it. He started sinking into it and was soon totally enveloped in light.

Amid the light, Jared swore he saw a flash of something that looked like a hand blazoned with the word 'Prebano.' But, it was just so quick, he wasn't sure.

He wanted to make the word come back, so he blinked hard several times, squinted, and focused on the spot where he saw the word. The image didn't come back, though, and the light faded away.

At the same time he felt solid ground under his feet, a force, like a strong wind, pushed against his face and chest. He staggered backward but quickly regained his balance.

With the light gone, he could see that he was standing on the rim of the canyon, and Danielle and Paul were right next to him. The three of them exchanged confused looks with each other.

The ground started shaking.

_Earthquake_. Jared stepped back away from the cliff.

Moments later, Ferran, Tiersda, and Rohlwig flew out of the canyon, which Jared noticed was starting to narrow, and landed in front of Paul, Danielle, and Jared. Within a few seconds, the canyon closed up completely, and the shaking stopped.

Tiersda looked excited. "The game is over. Put away your larises."

Jared and the others took off their larises and put them in their robes.

Tiersda added, "You now have the passwords, but don't say them out loud. Once we're back in Teruvisa and ready to get the new systems online, then we'll tell you to say them."

Jared remembered the word he saw while he was enveloped in the light. _That must mean Prebano is my password._ Jared almost couldn't contain his elation and pride. He had finally gotten his password to unlock his MSI and save Teruvisa!

He was about to breathe out a sigh of relief when something came crashing out from the forest. A few trees fell over, and others burst into splinters.

Five Beasts of Tirum emerged from the flying debris.

# Chapter 20

The Decoder

Rohlwig omporulaed and was instantly facing the Beasts. A split second later, Tiersda and Ferran were at Rohlwig's side.

As the fighting started, it was hard to follow what was going on. Amid the dust clouds, there were flashes of light everywhere. One second, someone was in one place. The next second, they were somewhere else.

Beasts were thrashing around, here and there. People were flying in every direction. Pops, cracks of thunder, grunts, roars, and yelling filled the air.

Jared was seized by the shoulder. He turned around, thinking it was Danielle or Paul, but it was Gromagan. "When did you get here?"

"Stay here. Reinforcements are on the way." Gromagan moved toward the fighting as if he hadn't heard Jared's question.

As he walked away from Jared, Gromagan put his hands up to the sides of his mouth and made a loud noise that sounded like a tuba amplified a million times.

Jared clapped his hands to his ears. The ground vibrated wildly for a couple of seconds, and then there was silence.

He couldn't even hear the wind or the sound of the trees rustling. Also, everything looked like it was frozen in time. The very dust seemed to become still.

Jared wondered, _What did he do?_

The moment of motionlessness was replaced by a rush of wind that knocked Jared over. However, he quickly got back on his feet and surveyed the scene.

He saw Gromagan, Rohlwig, and Ferran, but not Tiersda. Also, all the Beasts were gone.

_Where is she?_ Jared was worried and looked around some more.

Ferran's voice rang out, confirming Jared's fear. "They've got Tiersda!" He pointed behind himself into the trees. "Come on!"

Ferran and Rohlwig ran into the forest. Gromagan turned around and seemed like he was about to say something, but, before he could say a word, Jared was scooped off his feet from behind.

A Beast had grabbed him with one of its massive forelimbs and was holding him close to its chest. Jared struggled against the Beast's tight grip but couldn't get free.

Two other Beasts grabbed Danielle and Paul.

_It was a trap._ The other Beasts had lured the Masters away so that these three Beasts could get the youths. "Let me go!" Jared again tried to free himself, but he wasn't strong enough. _If only they'd taught me how to use super strength._

Gromagan pointed in Jared's direction, and, at the same time, the Beast jumped backward. Everything went black, and then Jared and the Beast began accelerating through the darkness.

A few seconds later, they landed in a desert. The Beast still had a strong grip around Jared's arms and upper body.

Jared recognized the landscape from Rohlwig's first simulation. _Tirum_.

They were at the foot of Bleeding Mountain. The two Beasts holding Danielle and Paul appeared next to Jared and the Beast holding him.

The Beast holding Jared slithered and used its one free forelimb to claw at the ground as it climbed the face of the mountain. Side by side, the three Beasts, carrying their hostages, moved with remarkable speed up the steep slope.

Jared figured that he, Danielle, and Paul were being taken to the Beasts' lair. _This can't be good_. However, Gromagan had seen them get snatched by the Beasts, and Jared was hopeful that he would come with help before the Beasts killed them and took their MSIs. _But, how would he know where we are?_

Within minutes, the Beasts reached the entrance to the largest of the caves, but someone was waiting for them near the opening.

Gromagan held up his hand. "Put the children down. Now."

Jared was relieved. _He found us_.

"How did he get here before us?" growled the Beast holding Paul.

The Beast holding Danielle said, "Quick. Inside."

Jared's captor dropped him as it said to the other Beasts, "Leave them."

He, Danielle, and Paul were left on the ground as the three Beasts charged past Gromagan, who made no attempt to stop them, and disappeared into the blackness.

Right after that, Rohlwig and Ferran appeared from a portal near the cave entrance.

"Did we miss anything?" Rohlwig smiled in his funny way.

Gromagan remained straight-faced and jabbed a thumb back over his shoulder at the cave. "They're in there."

"Here. Take these." Rohlwig took out four tiny, leather pouches, handed one to Jared, Danielle, and Paul, and kept one for himself. "Swallow one of the havahstus inside." Rohlwig took something from his pouch and put it in his mouth. "They'll keep you cool."

The real Tirum's climate seemed even hotter than in the simulation, so Jared was glad that he had been offered something to help keep him cool. He removed a small, white pill from his pouch and placed it on his tongue. A refreshing wave of coolness spread throughout his body as the havahstu dissolved.

Jared sighed with relief. _I wish I would've had one of these during the simulation of Tirum_. He then realized, _Hey. Rohlwig must have used a havahstu to keep cool during our Tirum simulation. Why else wouldn't he have gotten hot and sweaty? That little cheater. Why didn't he give some to us?_ He smiled to himself and shook his head. _Rohlwig and his games._

Jared didn't know for sure that Rohlwig had used one during the simulation and didn't want to come out and accuse him of not being fair, so instead, he only made the comment, "It sure would've been nice to have one of these during that simulation of Tirum you made for us," and then put away his pouch of havahstus.

Rohlwig nodded. "That's for sure."

Not knowing what to make of Rohlwig's response, Jared changed the subject. "Anyway. How did you find us?" He looked at Gromagan.

Gromagan replied, "I marked the Beast that took you with a tracking command."

"Good thinking." Jared smiled but then asked himself, _Why would the Beasts bother to capture me, Paul, and Danielle and then release us? And, where are the other two Beasts and Tiersda?_ He thought for a moment. _Unless_... _it's a trap_.

Ferran looked at the youths and then at Rohlwig and Gromagan. "I'm going in."

Jared called out, "No! It's a trap!"

Ferran was about to take a step, but Gromagan put a hand on his shoulder.

"I have to go get her." Ferran looked so determined to save his wife that he might punch Gromagan and run into the cave, but he didn't.

"Not without us." Gromagan's words were strong but calm. "I sent a distress call to Teruvisa. Reinforcements should be arriving any moment. When they get here, then we'll go in."

Gromagan was right. In the time it took Jared to take a deep breath, a dozen men in white robes had appeared at the mouth of the cave. They marched over to Ferran and stood at attention.

Ferran addressed one of them. "Captain. They have Tiersda. We must rescue her."

"Yes, sir," the guard said, saluting. "Men, come with me." He waved for the soldiers with him to go into the cave.

Facing the cave entrance, Ferran made a thrusting motion away from himself with both hands. "Jahra ulae."

A ball of light as big as his torso flew down the throat of the cave. The guards followed the beacon of light, and Gromagan and Ferran were right behind the troops.

Outside the cave, Rohlwig stayed behind with Jared, Danielle, and Paul.

_Good_. Jared was glad Rohlwig was there to protect them, but his relief was mixed with concern for Tiersda. He glanced over at Paul, who had begun pacing back and forth with his eyes fixed on the interior of the cave, obviously hoping he would see his mother running out at any moment.

Jared glanced at the horizon and noticed that the sun was almost touching it.

Rohlwig saw it too and said, "The sun. Quick. Everyone, get inside." He ushered them a little way into the cave.

Within moments, the coolness of the Beasts' lair became warm as everything outside the cave instantly froze in a blast of wintry frost. Following the freeze, something outside the cave fell from above.

It looked like a statue at first. But, when he took a step closer, without leaving the cave, he realized it wasn't a statue. It was Tiersda—frozen.

She looked like an ice sculpture. Her hands were handcuffed in front of her body, and there was a thick band around her head that covered her mouth. Tiersda's eyes were wide open, and she was as stiff as a board. Also, her skin was a blueish-white color.

Jared couldn't bring himself to say what he was thinking. _Is she dead?_

Paul rushed over to Jared's side. "What did they do to her?"

Judging by his voice, Jared could tell Paul was almost in tears. All Jared could think to do was put a reassuring hand on Paul's shoulder. However, as Jared looked at Tiersda's frozen body, he knew that Paul would not be easily consoled at the loss of his mother for a second time.

_Losing a mother once was bad enough. But, to get her back only to lose her again...?_ Jared felt for Paul.

Rohlwig said, "Hela kolay." A glow began to radiate from his body, and then he stepped out of the cave.

Danielle gasped, "No. What are you doing?"

To Jared's surprise, Rohlwig wasn't frozen solid. _That glow's protecting him from the cold._

When Rohlwig reached Tiersda, he picked her up, turned around, and carried her into the cave. Once inside, Rohlwig laid her down and then laid his hands on her head. She promptly warmed back to life.

Paul helped Tiersda sit up, took the band off her head, and hugged her tightly.

Jared smiled. Not only was he glad Tiersda was okay, but he was impressed by Rohlwig's skills, which had saved her life.

After Rohlwig and Paul helped Tiersda to her feet, two Beasts appeared at the cave entrance. They leapt forward at the same time, but Rohlwig blocked them with an estio.

The Beasts shook off the blows and attacked again. Rohlwig blocked one of the Beasts, but the other was able to avoid the shield. Its tail made contact with Rohlwig's back and knocked him over.

Jared rubbed his hands together nervously. _Come on, Rohlwig._

When the other Beast made a move toward Danielle, Tiersda jumped forward, grabbed one of its arms, and then flung the Beast out of the cave.

The other Beast grabbed onto one of Rohlwig's legs before he could get up and started to drag him outside the cave. Without his glow to protect him, Rohlwig would freeze, though.

Tiersda reached out toward the cave opening with both hands and cried out, "Ental effa terraush!"

A blast of heat thawed everything outside, and it became daylight again. Tiersda appeared to have reversed the climate!

Jared was amazed. _That's some pretty powerful Diestro._

The Beast's plan to freeze Rohlwig had been foiled, but, with a growl, the Beast threw him up against the rock wall, knocking him unconscious.

Just as the Beast was about to rip Rohlwig apart, Tiersda rammed into it, knocking it onto the ground outside the cave. Tiersda jumped to Rohlwig's side and grabbed his arm.

He instantly woke up. Jared suspected that she had said some kind of healing and revival command silently in Amatay.

Tiersda helped Rohlwig to his feet. They stood at the cave entrance between the Beasts, which were outside, and the youths, who were inside.

As Tiersda let go of Rohlwig's arm, simultaneously, the two Beasts attacked again. Tiersda was able to fend them off with a tahsil, though.

A few seconds later, three Beasts outside the cave dropped down from above and landed next to their two brothers.

Rohlwig said, "Gromagan. We're under attack out here. We need your help."

Jared, Paul, and Danielle huddled together, backed up farther into the cave, and then crouched down against the wall.

Jared didn't like the odds; Tiersda and Rohlwig were outnumbered. _They better get here soon_ , he thought, hoping Ferran, Gromagan, and the soldiers would arrive before the Beasts attacked again.

Fortunately, Gromagan came shooting out from the depths of the cave, tackled two Beasts, and tossed them down the mountainside. Then, continuing his roll, he sprung to his feet and turned to face the other Beasts.

Tiersda and Rohlwig each trapped a Beast in a solum and launched the bubbles down the side of the mountain, which left only one snarling Beast to deal with. The Beast didn't show any sign that it was going to surrender, though.

Jared thought, _They must be the most stubborn and stupid creatures alive_.

However, as Ferran and the guards reached the cave entrance a second later, the Beast finally realized it didn't have a chance, spun around, and ran away.

Jared and the others stood up and started walking toward the cave entrance.

Ferran grabbed Tiersda by the waist, pulled her close, ran his fingers through her hair, and looked into her eyes. "As pretty as the day we met."

Tiersda smiled. "I was covered in mud."

Ferran jokingly said, "Okay then. Maybe not _quite_ as pretty."

Tiersda elbowed him in the ribs, but Ferran countered by grabbing her by the upper arms and pulling her in for short but strong kiss.

Tiersda turned toward Paul, Danielle, and Jared and then pointed outside the cave. "Quick. Everyone, out of the cave. We need to climb up and over the mountain to the back side. I have a plan."

However, before anyone could move, the five Beasts came slithering and clawing up to the cave entrance. Ferran, Tiersda, the guards, Gromagan, and Rohlwig were all poised between the youths and the five Beasts.

As the human barrier began moving toward the wall of angry Beasts, Jared heard Rohlwig's voice in his head. "Get to the back side of the mountain and wait for us."

Jared looked at Danielle and Paul. They had apparently also heard the message. They all nodded to each other and stepped up behind their protectors.

Once there was room for them to squeeze by to the side and out of the cave, Jared, Paul, and Danielle scurried up the mountainside. Jared stopped and turned around as soon as he was higher than the cave entrance.

The Beasts weren't going to let them get away that easily, though. All at the same time, a Beast slammed into several guards, another whipped its tail around and knocked Ferran and Tiersda over, Gromagan was tackled by a Beast, the fourth Beast attacked Rohlwig, and the fifth Beast evaded an attack from the remaining guards and jumped toward the youths.

Quickly thinking of a way to escape the crazed Beast as it lunged up the slope, Jared grabbed Paul's and Danielle's hands in each of his and exclaimed with beoveh, "Fly!"

He squatted down slightly, and his friends did the same. Then, they held their hands up and pushed off the ground at the same time while saying, "votunlae."

As they flew over the Beast, it swiped at Jared but missed. However, a force hit him and the others and threw them off balance. They tumbled to the ground a hundred yards away.

_What was that?_ Jared groaned and then scrambled to his feet as the Beast turned to chase them.

Danielle, turning to go, yelled, "Run!"

As one of the other Beasts broke away from the fighting at the cave entrance to join its brother and chase the youths, Jared, Paul, and Danielle sprinted down the mountainside. Within seconds, the Beasts were right on their heels.

Jared saw an escape route, "Over," he pointed past a boulder sticking out from a steeper slope farther downhill, "there!"

Jared pictured himself on the outcropping, said, "Omporulae," and, with his next step, covered the distance to the rock in a flash. His friends were right next to him.

Not stopping for more than a second, Jared jumped off the protruding rock. "The oasis!" he called back to his friends as he dove toward the pool of water and lush foliage.

With the aid of his robe, he floated down and landed in the waist-deep water of the oasis. He looked up just as Danielle and Paul splashed down next to him and saw the Beasts leaping from the boulder.

"Run!" Paul turned to go.

Jared grabbed Paul's robe. "No. Wait."

Jared closed his eyes and concentrated on the oasis moving, as if he had the ability to control it. "Come on. Move."

Paul pulled his robe free from Jared's grip. "What are we waiting for? Let's get out of here!"

Jared felt Danielle pushing him. "Go!"

Jared gave up and opened his eyes. He looked up, upset that his plan didn't work. The oasis hadn't moved, and the Beasts would land on them in two seconds.

He was about to run when the scene instantly changed. They were still on Tirum, of course, but Bleeding Mountain wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Yes!" Jared punched the air with a fist.

Danielle and Paul also cheered.

Danielle put her arms around Jared, gave him a tight squeeze, and then kissed him on the cheek. "Way to go."

Jared felt tingly all over and weak in the knees, and his heart fluttered.

As she released him, Paul slapped Jared on the back. "Yeah. I thought we were dog-lizard meat for sure. How did you know the oasis would move?"

"I..." Jared shook off the effects of Danielle's kiss, "didn't. But, it was worth a shot." As he said that, he realized just how risky his gamble had been and how close they had come to being caught by the Beasts. He was glad it paid off.

"Now, we need to get back to Teruvisa." Jared pulled out his treyo.

After searching for while, he said, "I can't find a gateway to Teruvisa."

Danielle and Paul, who had their treyos out, as well, weren't able to find a gateway, either.

Paul said, "We need to find one. I doubt it'll take them very long to figure out where we are."

Jared didn't look up. He just nodded and kept his focus on his treyo as he looked for a portal to Teruvisa.

Danielle offered a suggestion. "Maybe we can just go through the closest gateway, then keep going until we find Teruvisa. Anywhere is better than here, isn't it?"

"Good idea." Jared agreed that if they kept moving, they would be harder to find.

"Well, I've found one we can try." Danielle pointed straight ahead. "It's the closest one, but there's no information on where it goes."

Jared looked in the direction Danielle pointed. They would be traveling into a gorge with high, red rock walls.

He didn't like the thought of being trapped in there if they were found by the Beasts. _But, hopefully Rohlwig and the others will be able to keep the Beasts away or find us first. And, we need to get off of Tirum, fast._

Danielle's portal seemed to be the fastest way and best chance of getting off of Tirum. "Let's go. It'll be fine." He led the way out of the oasis.

"Let's omporulae to the portal," Jared said, anxious to get to the portal as soon as possible. "But, since we don't know what the place looks like and can't envision ourselves there in order to omporulae the whole way at once, we'll just go as far as we can see." He pointed to the entrance to the valley carved into the rising hills before them. "First, go there. And then from there, we'll go as far as we can. We'll just make short jumps until we get to the portal."

Danielle and Paul nodded and agreed to try it.

After five omporulaes, when they reached the point where Danielle's treyo indicated they should stop, they found themselves standing almost directly below a rock arch. Danielle pointed her treyo straight ahead. The whole space under the arch turned into a black, swirling vortex.

"I don't know exactly where this'll take us. But, it has to be better than here, right?" She sounded like she was having second thoughts.

Jared nodded. "Yep." He couldn't think of any other way to escape. "Let's go."

The gateway sucked Jared in as he stepped into its blackness. Two seconds later, he was spit out into total darkness. He couldn't even see his hand when he held it up in front of his face.

He wondered if his friends were there with him and was about to call out for them, but Danielle spoke up first. "Jared? Paul?"

Jared answered, "I'm here."

"Where are we?" Paul asked.

Light entered the room when a door opened. Jared squinted and rubbed his eyes to adjust to the brightness.

When the lights came on, four people appeared in the doorway.

Jared's legs almost buckled when he saw who was at the head of the group. Shocked and not able to speak, he mouthed, "No."

Dreggan said, "Welcome to Obalin," opening his arms. "I trust your stay here will be a pleasant one." He wore an evil grin and rubbed his hands together with satisfaction.

Jared glanced around and noticed that they were in some sort of operating room. He suspected that they were there because Dreggan wanted to dissect them.

Jared stepped back, away from Dreggan's intimidating presence, but stopped when he banged the back of his leg against a bed.

Dreggan pointed at Paul and Danielle. "Get them." Then, he jumped forward, grabbed Jared by the throat, picked him up, and then slammed him down onto the gurney. "Ena'atrella."

When Dreggan stepped back, Jared tried to move, but he was paralyzed.

Next, one of Dreggan's henchmen positioned some kind of X-ray machine right above Jared's head, and then it produced a blinding light.

Jared clamped his eyes shut and, finding his voice, cried, "Nooo!" He wasn't in any pain, but he didn't know what the machine was doing to him.

Danielle asked, "What are you doing to him?"

Dreggan said dismissively, "Don't worry. This won't hurt. It's merely a brain scanning machine."

One of Dreggan's men said, "It's no good, sir. There's no way to separate them without killing the children and damaging the MSIs."

Jared felt the paralyzing hold on him go away. He opened his eyes and quickly got off the bed.

He looked toward the door and was about to run, but a guard grabbed him by the arms. Jared wondered if they were going to kill him and his friends.

"I anticipated as much. We'll just have to stick to our original plans to copy the chips. Hmm..." Dreggan grinned at the youths. (Jared hated the way Dreggan looked at him.) "Yes. We'll just have to keep you here for as long as it takes to reverse engineer the chips and get them working with our new systems." He moved closer to Jared. "It looks like you'll be with us for a while."

Jared felt his hatred for Dreggan welling up inside. He clenched his teeth and balled up his fists.

Dreggan laughed through his nose. "Manasto and Verissa were foolish to wager so much on children. Of course, it's useless to challenge the greatest Master ever." Dreggan puffed out his chest. "Everything has transpired according to my plans.

"And now, because of my great wisdom and the excellent training you've received, Obalin will soon be fully operational and invincible."

_All that training, and now_... Jared was disappointed that he had worked so hard, only to be used by Dreggan.

Almost as an afterthought, Dreggan added, "And to think, Sepra almost ruined my plans." He shook a finger at Jared, Danielle, and Paul. "It's a good thing it didn't kill you on Cira. But, no matter; it got what it deserved."

Dreggan raised an eyebrow and his head swayed side to side briefly as if he was thinking. "But, I must admit, the others did do an excellent job of getting you here. And, Damen played its part well, too."

Dreggan tilted his head back and laughed, rocking back on his heels. "I had them thinking I was trying to kill you." He looked off into the distance and sneered. "No, Manasto, my plan is much sweeter than that." The corners of his mouth turned up in an evil grin, and he rubbed his hands together.

If Jared understood Dreggan correctly, Sepra wasn't sent by Dreggan to kill Jared and his friends. Sepra must have just gotten out of control, and Damen wasn't out of control when it attacked them in the portal room on the way to see Ferran. _Then, why did it attack us?_ He guessed that it could have been a distraction planned by Dreggan. _For what, though?_ Jared didn't have an answer, but apparently, Dreggan never intended to kill Jared, Danielle, or Paul to get their MSIs.

_But, what about after he clones the MSIs? What then?_ Jared wondered what Dreggan's intentions would be. _Kill us?_ That seemed to be the most logical conclusion.

Dreggan turned to one of the guards. "Take them to the main operations room. It's time to connect the decoder."

_The decoder. With the decoder, Dreggan will be able to interpret the signals from the MSIs._ Jared was determined not to let Dreggan get Obalin's new systems up and running. _I'll never give him my password. No matter what._

As Jared walked, he noticed that Obalin looked very different than Teruvisa. Everything was lined with gold and silver. Everywhere, there were lavish decorations, and huge statues and paintings of Dreggan. _Is this the Dreggan Hall of Fame, or what?_

Being surrounded by such riches was quite a contrast to the plainness of Teruvisa. Obalin was like a grand palace. _Of course, it'll be our prison unless we find a way to escape. But how?_

Jared noticed another difference between Obalin and Teruvisa: the people. In Teruvisa, the halls were empty, but in Obalin, people were everywhere. However, they kept their hoods pulled down low over their eyes and their focus down even when talking to each other. Also, everyone bowed to Dreggan as he passed by them.

After a ride in a shuttle and taking an elevator up to a hallway, the group walked toward a door. It vanished when they approached, and the youths were escorted into a room that looked like the central security control room in Teruvisa.

There was a circle of 12 black, high-backed, swivel chairs in the center of the room. Two people already occupied two of the seats, and they each had a flat-panel, touch screen computer floating over their laps.

When Dreggan entered the room, he went straight to the center of the circle of chairs, while the youths were held back on the outside, and clapped his hands together. "Decoder."

As he separated his hands, a textbook-sized object appeared between them. Dreggan grabbed it and held it out. It had a smooth, shiny, black surface.

"This is the decoder." Dreggan stroked the decoder gently and looked at it as if it was his most prized possession. Then, he approached the youths. "Now, tell me the passwords, or I won't be as kind as I have been."

Jared started a beoveh conversation with Danielle and Paul without looking at them. _Danielle. Paul. Don't tell him. Whatever you do, don't tell him._

Danielle's voice filled his head. "Are you crazy? Of course I won't tell him."

He heard Paul ask, "So, how are we going to get out of this? What if he decides to torture us?"

_Don't worry._ Jared tried to sound brave. _The Masters will save us. We just need to keep quiet and give them time to find us. They have to find us._

Dreggan said, "Feeling confident you have the upper hand, are you? Fine. If that's the way you want to play, let's play. I have other ways of getting the information I need. You will give me the passwords, one way or another."

Jared had a strange feeling that Dreggan knew that he and his friends were talking using beoveh, but he mentally said, _He's bluffing. Stand your ground._

Dreggan scowled. "I don't need to bluff, you little, insignificant child!"

Jared flinched. _No_. Dreggan _had_ been tuning in on Jared's beoveh conversation.

Dreggan waved his arm to dismiss the youths, and, as the three guards escorted Jared, Paul, and Danielle to the other side of the room, he continued, "In my great foresight, I had anticipated such a response to their brainwashing of you. So, I have had special chambers prepared where I can extract the necessary information from you. Now, you'll find out just how powerful I really am."

Three doors slid open. Jared and the others were shoved into the closet-sized compartments. Jared tried to jump out, but the door closed too fast. He crashed against it with his shoulder and the side of his head.

Enraged, he started pounding on the door and then yelled, "Let me out! You'll never get away with..."

The door slid open. Jared was surprised to see Manasto standing in the doorway.

Manasto held out a hand. "Come on, Jared. We don't have much time."

# Chapter 21

The Passwords

Jared paused for a moment in disbelief and then stepped out of the closet onto Rohlwig's training field on Cira, not into the security operations room of Obalin. Verissa was there, too.

Jared turned and saw Danielle and Paul step out of their closets, which then, along with his, disappeared. Confused, he faced Manasto. "How did... what...?"

"There were gateways connected to those chambers." Manasto pointed behind Jared, where the closet had been. "Once the doors were closed on Obalin, they could be opened on Cira."

Danielle asked, "But, how did you put a portal inside Obalin?"

Verissa stepped forward. "We've had spies working for us to try to recover the decoder, and they were the ones who created the portals."

_The decoder_. Jared snapped out of his astonishment. "We have to go back." He couldn't believe he had just said that, but they needed to get the decoder. "He has the decoder." He pointed behind himself, where the portal that vanished had been. "Dreggan does. I saw it."

Manasto grabbed Jared by the shoulders. "It's okay." (Jared was a little frustrated that Manasto didn't feel the same urgency.) "It's all been taken care of. Our spies found the decoder and switched it with a fake one. Dreggan just _thinks_ he has the real one. So, as you can see, there's no need to worry.

"Right now, we need to get you to Teruvisa. It probably won't take long for Dreggan to trace the gateway here." Manasto turned on his heel and waved for everyone to follow him. "This way."

He led them across the field to the alcove—the one with the portal that brought them to Cira the first time—at the end of the arena.

Manasto and Verissa stopped just shy of the back wall instead of going through it, and Manasto pointed his treyo at the ground in front of him.

A section of the floor dropped down and slid back, revealing a metallic, spiral staircase.

Jared looked into the dark stairwell and then pointed at the wall. "We're not taking that portal?"

"No. We need to take a secondary portal because the main one is probably being monitored by Dreggan." Manasto glanced back over his shoulder at Jared and smiled like he had a secret. "Rohlwig made a special way to get to Teruvisa. One I'm sure Dreggan doesn't know about."

That sounded like a good idea. Jared muttered to himself, "Alright."

Jared and the others followed Manasto down into the darkness. Once they were all below ground level, the floor panel slid closed above them, and the walls began glowing yellowish-white, illuminating the metal stairs.

Jared thought, _Good. We'll be able to see where we're going._

After descending the steep, winding staircase for about a minute, Manasto stopped and held up a hand. "Hold on—or rather, don't hold on." He sat down.

"What do you meeeeean?" The stairs rotated down, creating a ramp, and Jared began sliding.

He started gaining speed and was actually enjoying the ride. He smiled to himself. _Just another one of Rohlwig's interesting ways of getting around Cira. He probably calls this the not-just-a-staircase._

Jared held up his hands. "Look, Danielle. No hands."

Danielle, who was behind him, giggled and then called out, "Wahoo!"

After what seemed like a good two minutes, the slide leveled off, Jared slowed down, and he was let out on a landing in front of a metal door.

When Verissa, who was the last one off the slide, entered the small compartment, which was barely large enough to hold all five of them, an overhead light turned on, and the door slid upward to let them out.

The group walked into a large cavern. Huge stalactites hung from the ceiling, and stalagmites towered from the ground into the air. The light from the compartment behind them danced on the formations momentarily, and then it went pitch black.

Jared didn't move.

"What's going on?" Paul's voice trembled slightly. "I can't see."

Jared's eyes darted around in every direction, but he saw nothing except blackness. "Yeah." He started to get a little nervous.

Verissa said, "Jahra ental effa."

The whole cavern lit up as a ball of light shone overhead.

Verissa pointed at a large pillar off to the right. "This way."

She led them through a labyrinth of cave formations, with the ball of light she made hovering above them the whole time.

After going around a bend, they walked up to the shore of an underground lake. There appeared to be no way around it. There were sheer walls to either side.

"Into the water, please." Manasto, who was standing next to Jared, pointed to the water in front of Jared. "Dive down, keep your eyes closed, and keep swimming until you touch the bottom. Then, you can open your eyes, and you'll be in Teruvisa. And, once you're there, you'll be instructed to say your password." He urged Jared forward. "Go ahead."

"Just dive down and touch the bottom?" _What's so hard about that?_ Jared shot an inquiring look at Manasto. "How deep is it?"

"Not very." Manasto's expression was unreadable. "But, it's cold, and, once you get in, there's no getting out, except through the portal at the bottom. And, I can't viquen you."

"Okay." Jared shrugged.

Manasto patted Jared on the back. "We'll be right behind you."

Without another question, Jared took a deep breath and dove into the murky water. The water was frigid. It made his head ache and his joints stiffen, but he kept swimming, propelling himself farther and farther down.

After a few strokes, he was surprised that, even though he hadn't been viquened before he jumped into the water, the robe wasn't cumbersome or heavy. _It must be water resistant_. But, it still would've been so much easier to swim if he could've been viquened like during the ketauro match.

Jared pushed that thought aside and focused on swimming. Soon, he wondered if he would be able to hold his breath long enough. _How deep is this lake?_ Manasto's answer from before rang in his head. "Not very." _It doesn't seem like it._

Luckily, it wasn't more than a few strokes later that he felt soft, muddy sand. When he opened his eyes, he saw only blackness briefly, and then the mud sucked him underground. In the snap of a finger, he was completely engulfed.

The next instant, the lake bottom squeezed him out onto solid ground. He was kneeling in a lighted room with his arms above him.

He dropped onto all fours, took a deep breath, coughed, and then took a few more breaths. _I made it. But, where are the others?_ He started to get worried and wondered if they had turned back.

He stood up and looked around. The room was completely mirrored—the walls, floor, and ceiling. And, he didn't see any way out. _I guess I'll just have to wait._

After a few seconds, he started pacing back and forth. _What's taking so long?_ He hoped that there hadn't been a problem, but something didn't feel right.

Jared looked at himself in a mirror and then, for the first time, noticed that he wasn't wet. _Strange. Somehow, that squeeze through the lake bottom must've wrung me dry._

When he looked down and patted his robe in amazement, someone said, "You could be great you know."

Jared spun around. _Who said that?_

The voice—his voice—spoke again. "I've seen what you can do. Don't try to deny it. I know how you think."

Then, Jared caught sight of himself in one of the mirrors. His reflection was talking to him!

He walked closer. The reflection did the same.

When they were nearly nose to nose at the mirrored wall, Jared moved quickly to the side, but his reflection didn't follow.

"Why'd you do that?" it asked. "There's no need to be jumping around."

Jared asked, "Wh—Who are you?"

"Well, that's a stupid question. Who do you think I am? I'm you, of course."

"How can you be me? I'm me."

"Hmm..." The reflection screwed itself up after thinking about that for a moment. "You've got me there. But, I _am_ you, or at least an excellent copy of you."

Jared found it hard to believe that his reflection was a copy of him that could think for itself. "Well then, if you're really me, you'll be able to tell me what the image was that I saw before all this started."

"What's with the test? You don't trust me?"

That's what Jared was trying to figure out—if he should trust his reflection. He didn't really have a reason not to, except for the strange feeling he had. "Well?"

"Oh, alright. But, you could've come up with a harder question. It's not exactly secret that you saw a hand symbol." The reflection raised its eyebrows. "Now that that's settled, we're ready—"

"We?"

"Yep. All of Teruvisa."

"Ready for what?"

"For you. Danielle and Paul have already given us the passwords they got after the ketauro match, so you can go ahead and tell me yours."

"How do you know they've already given theirs? They're not even here."

"Well, actually they _are_ here—on Teruvisa, that is. And, I know they've already given their passwords because I'm part of the program designed to record your security code. I'm not an isolated application. I'm a computer generated representation of you, running from the Teruvisan mainframe."

"Oh, I see." Jared relaxed his suspicions. What the reflection said made sense.

"So, whenever you're ready, I'm ready." The reflection raised its eyebrows and crossed its arms, apparently waiting for Jared's response.

"So, I'm in Teruvisa..." For some unknown reason, he was still hesitant to give his password.

"Okay. Here it is." The reflection sounded impatient. "The decoder is hooked up and powered on; we're waiting to get all the passwords recorded, and yours is the only one left; so, if you would, please, give me your password.

"We're kind of in a hurry. Dreggan knows you're here and could attack at any moment. Teruvisa's future is waiting on _you_." Almost scowling, the reflection pointed a finger at Jared.

Jared thought that if the reflection was a decent copy of him, it should understand why he was being so inquisitive. Of course, maybe it _did_ understand; maybe _he_ would've reacted the same way to the stress of trying to convince someone to hurry at such a critical time.

Jared nodded to himself, _Well, here it goes_ , swallowed, and then said, "Prebano."

Immediately after he spoke his password, the mirrors fogged up, his reflection disappeared, and the room went totally dark.

# Chapter 22

Danielle's Sacrifice

A light from behind Jared revealed that he was in a closet-sized space instead of in the mirrored room. He spun around and was startled to see Dreggan and one of his guards standing in the doorway.

_How can this be?_ Jared was confused and numb all over.

Dreggan snapped his fingers, and the guard dragged Jared out of the closet. Danielle and Paul were already out of their closets and being held by guards.

Jared couldn't believe it; they were back in the control room of Obalin. They had never really left Obalin.

A sick feeling hit him in the pit of his stomach. _It was all a simulation._

Dreggan had tricked him, Danielle, and Paul into saying their passwords.

"No!" Jared breathed out, shaking his head.

"Children," Dreggan snorted. "It was almost too easy," he boasted. "I can see you were impressed with my simulation. Well, I told you I'd get the passwords one way or another." He let out an evil laugh as he shook a clenched fist in the air.

Jared's disbelief turned into anger. He struggled against the hold of the guard that had him, but he couldn't free himself. He wanted to cut Dreggan in half with a tahsil.

"You're nothing but a liar!" Jared yelled through gritted teeth.

Dreggan said, "Me, a liar? Not any more so than your precious Masters of Teruvisa and your wonderful Judges. I, like them, have been using the truth to suit my own purposes."

"You killed my parents!" Jared growled.

Dreggan remained calm. "No, I didn't. In fact, they're in Obalin at this very moment. I can fetch them right now if you'd like."

Jared stopped struggling. He wasn't sure if Dreggan was telling the truth.

Dreggan narrowed his eyes and pointed at Jared. "You were just told what Manasto and Verissa wanted you to hear to get you to do their bidding." He stood up straighter with an air of arrogance about him. "The truth is they joined me voluntarily once they saw the greatness we could achieve together."

Jared didn't believe that his parents were traitors, but Dreggan sounded so convincing.

"And, you can be a part of it, too." Dreggan held out a hand and then closed it into a fist. "Join us, Jared. You can become so much greater than you've been led to believe. I've seen what powerful skills you have. I've seen you're potential."

"Don't do it, Jared," Danielle said, tears streaming down her face, her eyes full of rage. "He killed your parents, and he killed mine too. He's lying."

Dreggan strolled over to Danielle with his hands clasped behind his back. "Oh am I? Well, I assure you, _your_ parents are quite safe and alive, too, Danielle. See for yourself." He held out an upraised palm to his side.

Jared turned his head as two people, who were seated, got up, stepped forward, and pushed back their hoods. Ferran had mentioned that the Council suspected Danielle's parents were killed for their failure to get the MSIs, but there they were—alive.

Jared blinked hard. He almost couldn't believe his eyes. In the back of his mind, he wondered if Dreggan was telling the truth about his parents being in Obalin, too.

Danielle gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. Her eyes bulged. She didn't move.

"Jared. Danielle. Don't listen to him," Paul said. "Jared. Your parents are dead. Danielle. Your parents are traitors. Remember what Ferran said. Neither of you listen to him. Dreggan's a traitor and a li—"

The guard put his hand over Paul's mouth to muffle any further pleas.

Dreggan took Jared by both shoulders and looked into his eyes. "Don't listen to them, Jared. Listen to your heart. You've known all along that your parents were alive. Embrace the truth. Say you'll join me, and I'll call your parents up here right now."

Jared looked into Dreggan's soulless eyes and pulled back. _I can't believe anything he says. My parents are dead._ "Never," he whispered.

"Excuse me?" Dreggan cocked his head and raised an eyebrow.

"You heard me." Jared gritted his teeth. "I'll—never—join—you."

Dreggan stood up straighter with no expression on his face. "No matter." He waved his hand dismissively. "I have the passwords now."

He pulled the book-sized cartridge from his robe and turned around. A guard grabbed Jared from behind and held him back once again. Dreggan inserted the decoder in a slot on the control panel.

A red light started flashing on the decoder, the end of which was partially sticking out. When the light turned solid green, a small, holographic, satellite dish, appeared on the end.

Danielle's parents, who had already sat back down, started tapping on their touch screens.

"Children, sit down and relax. You're about to witness a new beginning for Obalin and the beginning of my reign as the ultimate Master." He pointed his finger at some empty seats.

Guards escorted Jared, Danielle, and Paul over to the chairs, sat them down, and stood at their sides. The guard next to Jared kept a firm grasp on his shoulder.

_This can't be happening._ Jared was angry at himself for being tricked but more upset that Dreggan was going to win.

Dreggan approached Jared and squatted down to his eye level. "Now, as a thank you for your help in making this day possible, I have a little secret for you." His evil grin grew wider and wider. "You were probably told that my version of the new technology would help me control everyone in my kingdom. Well, that's not entirely true."

Jared wondered what Dreggan was getting at. _What? It won't control anyone?_

Dreggan stood up and cleared his throat. "No, not true." He puffed out his chest. "I will be able to control anyone and everyone—in Obalin and Teruvisa, and on Earth."

Jared's jaw dropped. _This is getting worse by the second._

Dreggan rubbed his hands together. "Eventually, I'll even conquer the entire universe, but my first goal is to expand Obalin so that it encompasses all of Teruvisa and Earth."

_Oh no. It just got worse_. Although Jared didn't understand how Obalin would encompass Teruvisa and Earth, it didn't sound like a good thing. _This is bad._

"You see, through the technology of Sedroth, I have developed the power to change the melding process the Founding Masters used to create Teruvisa. Our world will no longer be connected to Earth; it will swallow up Earth." Dreggan closed his hand into a fist. "Earth will be no more. Teruvisa will be no more. Only Obalin will remain."

Jared, shocked and horrified, leaned back into his chair. It was hard to believe that Dreggan was so powerful that he could destroy Teruvisa and Earth.

"Sir, we're ready," Danielle's dad said. "Shall we load the passwords to restart the systems?"

"Mom. Dad." Danielle was looking at her parents but asked Dreggan, "Do they know who I am? Do they recognize me?"

Dreggan responded casually, "Of course they do."

Jared wondered what Danielle was going to do.

Danielle's parents stood up, looking at her blankly. Danielle's guard allowed her to stand up. Speechless, she looked back at her parents. Then, she ran over to them and threw her arms around their waists.

Her parents' moods instantly changed. It was very strange. They were suddenly very warm. They stooped down to her eye level.

Her mother, Jenna, wiped the tears from Danielle's face. "We've missed you, Sweetheart."

Her father, Darren, said, "We'd like nothing more than for you to stay here with us."

"Yes," added Jenna. "We have a lot of catching up to do."

Jared couldn't accept what he was seeing. _She's not really going to join them, is she?_

Danielle hugged her parents again, then, composing herself, took a half-step back. Jared could only see her profile, but the look on her face was unmistakable—rage.

"I don't know you. You're not my parents anymore. You betrayed your friends and Teruvisa! I would rather die than betray my friends!"

Jared was relieved that Danielle was still on the good guys' side, and he was impressed with her boldness. She had come face to face with her parents and rejected them. She was demonstrating remarkable confidence as well as extreme loyalty to Teruvisa.

Darren and Jenna stood up straight and became expressionless again. It was as if they had been putting on an act.

Jared realized just how true Ferran's words were regarding those who joined Dreggan: it was like Danielle's parents _were_ dead; they didn't have real emotions or minds of their own.

Danielle flung her arms wildly, hitting her parents. Darren grabbed her wrists but then let go, letting her slump to the floor. She started sobbing deeply. Jared could tell that she was emotionally drained.

"Put her back in her seat," Dreggan commanded.

A guard picked up her limp body and placed her in the chair. She sat there whimpering and looking down at the floor.

Jared looked at Paul. His face expressed the same frustration Jared felt.

As Danielle's parents took their seats again, Jared could feel his blood running hot. He glared at Dreggan.

Dreggan returned the look, staring him straight in the eyes. "Restrain them."

After the soldier guarding Jared pinned his arms down, clamps shot out of the armrests, locking his wrists in place.

Jared's sneer was met by Dreggan's self-satisfied smile.

Jared thought of all the nightmares he had, the many years without his parents, _They gave their lives for a reason_ , and all the training he received. _I can't let Dreggan win._

Dreggan turned and walked toward the other end of the room. "Load the passwords."

Jared looked at his fists. They were clenched tightly.

The regular lights turned off as the main systems of Obalin began to shut down for the reboot, and the backup lights came on.

With a surge of adrenaline, Jared tugged on the wrist clamps and... _they opened_. He was amazed. He didn't really think he'd be able to free himself.

He immediately came to his senses, shot out of his chair with the speed only omporulae could offer, put on his laris (all he had to do was reach inside the pocket in his robe, and the laris attached itself to his hand), grabbed the decoder, and yanked it from the console.

"NOOO!" Dreggan yelled.

Jared swung his arm at the console as hard as he could. "Tahsil!"

His blade ripped through the computer console.

Dreggan howled, "AAAH!"

Jared's next goal was to free his friends, but as he turned, Danielle and Paul were already at his side.

He wondered if they had broken their restraints or if the main power going out had cut power to the wrist clamps, but he didn't have time to speculate further. "Let's go!"

An alarm sounded, and a male voice said, "Global security alert."

Jared, Danielle, and Paul omporulaed to the door. Jared pushed a button on the panel next to the door, but the door didn't open.

He punched several more buttons, but nothing happened. The backup power wasn't supplying power to the door.

"We can't get out!" Paul grabbed the sleeve of Jared's robe.

Jared heard Dreggan say, "Effa'am solum."

Jared, Paul, and Danielle were trapped in a bubble of light.

_I failed_. Jared dropped his head and turned around.

Dreggan walked toward the youths. "Did you really think you could get away so easily?"

Dreggan stopped when Darren said, "Dreggan, we're back up, but we have major system failures. We need to dump the new system files, restart, and get our old systems back online."

"Do it, fast." There was a hint of panic in Dreggan's voice.

"Yes, sir, but it'll take some time."

Dreggan snapped, "Don't give me excuses! I want results!"

"As you wish." Darren began working without further argument.

Jenna also began busying herself at her console.

Dreggan released the solum and addressed the guards. "Get the decoder."

Jared put up an estio as a guard reached for the decoder, and then he tranquilized that guard and another guard, who both toppled over. The remaining guard seemed to hesitate.

Dreggan shouted, "Fool! Stun him!"

The guard wasn't fast enough, though.

Jared stunned him first. "Tordistrem!"

The guard stumbled backward into a chair, tripped, and then fell down, moaning.

Jared pointed at Dreggan. "Pana'idem!"

Dreggan held up his hand, and the light disappeared as the tranquilizer hit his palm.

Dreggan glared at Jared. "You insolent little... ena'prosh!"

Jared only had a split second to react. Almost instinctively, he held up his arms. "Estio."

Jared didn't know how he did it, but he had produced a shield larger than he had ever made before. It blocked the blast of light from Dreggan's hand. However, the force of the impact threw Jared back against the door, and he dropped the decoder.

Jared was momentarily dazed but quickly shook it off. He pointed his laris at Dreggan, who, at the same moment, shot at him again.

Jared saw a flash of light as a chair flew in front of him and then disintegrated.

Jared was confused. _What happened?_ He hadn't had time to put up a shield and, even if he knew how to, definitely hadn't summoned the chair to him to block the shot.

Dreggan narrowed his eyes and snarled at Jared.

Jenna, who had stopped what she was doing on her computer and stood up next to Dreggan, slowly raised her arm and pointed at Jared. "Bereh shaval!"

Danielle flung herself in front of Jared. "Est—!

The instant the blast hit her, she was enveloped in light and disappeared.

# Chapter 23

Crossing Over

Jared reached out where Danielle had been when she disappeared. "Nooo!" He glared at Jenna. "YOU KILLED HER!"

Danielle's mother just looked back at Jared with a blank expression. That made him even angrier. She didn't seem to care that she had killed her daughter.

Jared lifted his arm and pointed his laris at Jenna. _You have to pay for what you did. Danielle didn't deserve to die. But, you do._

Before Jared could say anything though, Paul omporulaed into his line of fire, "Aaah!" and, holding an estio in front of himself, bowled into Jenna, knocking her over.

Then, he tried to get her with a tahsil, but she blocked the blow with an estio. However, Paul didn't give up; he kept hammering away furiously.

Dreggan, who Jared thought would try to stop Paul, just watched and even seemed a little amused with the scene.

Jared glared at Dreggan. _And you. Even though it was Jenna who killed Danielle, you're the one who's ultimately responsible. She works for_ you. He was overcome with rage and wanted Dreggan dead. _First, my parents; and now, Danielle._

Jared was about to run up to Dreggan and get him with a tahsil, but he paused when Dreggan looked in his direction and grinned with evil delight, as if he knew Jared wanted to kill him and was daring him to try.

For a moment, Jared saw Dreggan's eyes drift to something down by Jared's feet. Jared glanced down to his left and slightly behind him. The decoder was lying on the floor by the door.

Jared squatted down while watching Dreggan. He felt around until he located the decoder and then picked it up. He stood up slowly, holding the decoder out in front of himself.

His first instinct was to throw the decoder on the ground and smash it or hit it with a tahsil just to spite Dreggan, but Teruvisa needed it. As much as he wanted to annoy Dreggan, he wanted to get the decoder back to Teruvisa even more.

Jared smiled as he realized, _Dreggan didn't try to kill me while I was holding the decoder because the decoder could've been destroyed, too._ He brought the decoder back toward his body and then put it inside his robe. _I think I'll just hold onto this as a bit of insurance._

At that point, Paul stopped pounding on the estio Jenna was holding up, but he was breathing hard and kept his eyes focused on her.

Jared spoke loudly to get Paul's attention. "Paul!"

Paul looked over at Jared. His eyes were full of anger and pain—the pain that Danielle was dead and he wasn't able to avenge her.

Jared knew how Paul felt, and tears started to well up in his eyes. He took a deep breath. "Come on, Paul. We're getting out of here."

"Oh, really," came Dreggan's smug reply.

Jared narrowed his eyes at Dreggan. "That's right. We're getting out of here and taking the decoder back to Teruvisa." He was scared out of his mind but determined not to let Dreggan get the decoder back. "Paul. The door, please."

Dreggan raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest but made no attempt to move as Paul walked toward the door.

"Faatubada!" Paul blasted the door with the same blasting command Rohlwig had used during ketauro. Jared was impressed that Paul was able to perform that blasting command without any practice.

Paul walked up next to Jared.

As Jared turned to leave, he grabbed Paul by the robe. "Fast."

Dreggan yelled, "GET THEM!"

Jared and Paul stepped out of the control room and omporulaed down the hall. Jared stopped at an intersection, looked both ways, and asked Paul, "Which way?"

Jared heard a guard behind him call out, "Over there!"

Jared was about to suggest that they take the left corridor, but Paul pulled Jared by the arm into the right corridor just as a large fireball shot down the main corridor they were in.

Jared patted Paul's shoulder. "Thanks. That was a close one."

"No problem. Now what? I assume you have a plan." Paul looked ready for action.

"Yeah. Keep moving." Jared turned and pointed down the hall. "Look. An elevator."

Jared and Paul omporulaed down the corridor to an open elevator.

Jared took out his treyo. "Cover me while I find a way out of here."

Before Jared even had the map program open on his treyo, Paul made an estio. "Get down."

Paul crouched down, and Jared dropped to one knee behind him.

Paul grunted as blasts pummeled the shield. "I can't... hold it."

Jared jumped into the elevator. "Get in!"

Paul leapt in next to Jared.

Jared looked at the buttons next to the door but knew they wouldn't do any good because the power was out.

Paul, with a hint of panic in his eyes, faced Jared. "What now?"

Jared got an idea and pushed down on Paul's shoulders. "Get down."

After Paul crouched down, Jared jumped up and spun around in a circle. "Tahsil!"

The bottom part of the elevator compartment was severed from the top, and he and Paul began freefalling down the elevator shaft.

A moment later, Jared and Paul's descent began slowing when their robes' parachuting feature kicked in, but the floor of the elevator compartment continued accelerating.

Paul and Jared smiled at each other as they landed gently on the lower half of the elevator compartment that lay mangled at the bottom of the shaft.

Jared was beginning to feel hopeful that they would be able to escape and resumed his search for a way out using the map program on his treyo as he followed Paul off the wreckage in the shaft and into a control booth in the sublevel of Obalin.

Using an archived map of Teruvisa from before the Division, Jared was able to locate, on his treyo, where he and Paul were and the nearest gateway to Teruvisa. "Got it." He read the gateway identifier to the device. "I hope this works."

The pointer on the screen of the treyo pointed up. Jared had been hoping that it would point anywhere but up. "Hmm."

Paul said, "Great. It wants us to go back _toward_ the people that are trying to kill us."

Jared was disappointed, but Dreggan would have a hard time finding them in the sublevel. "Yeah, but I think we can find a way up somewhere else. Let's hurry. Put on the gear and get out there." He pointed out into the sublevel arena. "It'll be harder for them to track us if we keep moving."

Once they left the control booth, Jared looked up at a tunnel above them. "Well, let's go."

They positioned themselves directly under it and turned the dials on their belts to _1_. They floated up, out of the sublevel arena, and into the large pipe in the ceiling. It took them straight up a short distance and then branched.

"Let's go left." Jared had no idea which way to go, but he figured any way was better than just floating there, trying to decide.

All that mattered to Jared was getting out of Obalin and away from the man that murdered his parents and his friend. And, the best chance he had of escaping was to keep moving and follow his treyo.

As he flew through the sublevel, Jared was torn apart by the haunting flashes of Danielle's death that repeated in his memory. He was being swallowed up by the misery and emptiness he felt.

It took great effort for him to pull his mind out of the numbing abyss of depression and loss, but he was able to tap into his determination to escape with the decoder and use that determination as a catalyst to focus on his present situation.

In honor of Danielle's memory, Jared made a promise. _We'll get out of here and save Teruvisa, so you didn't die for no reason._ Teary-eyed, he silently thanked her for saving his life and imagined her saying, "Just returning the favor."

He smiled, but, as he wiped the tears away, he noticed that the tunnel started curving down. "Ah, man. We're going down now."

Paul asked, "Should we go back?"

Jared tried to think positively. "No, we'll get out of this tunnel as soon as we can. Maybe we'll have better luck in a different one." _We have to. For Danielle._

However, the next tunnel they tried stayed level, and none of the tunnels they tried after that seemed to go up either.

Jared was beginning to get discouraged but had an idea. _Why didn't I think of it before?_ He smacked his forehead with the heel of his palm and then stopped.

Paul landed next to him. "What's up?"

Jared continued working with the map program on his treyo. "I should have done this sooner. I can overlay a map of the sublevel on the current map."

Using the detailed map of the Obalinian sublevel, Jared figured out which tunnels to take to get out of the sublevel. "Ah—ha. Got it. Let's go."

After Jared had successfully led Paul to a sublevel arena, he pointed up at the control booth ahead of them. "The elevator in that control booth will take us up to a shuttle bay. And from there, we can fly out of Obalin."

"But, the elevators won't work because there's no power. Remember?"

Jared tried to be optimistic that the power would be back on. "Well, when we escaped from the security control center, they said they were working on getting Obalin's systems back online. Hopefully, the power has been turned on. After all, I'm sure they want the power back on as fast as possible, not just to get Obalin back up and running but to make it easier to catch us."

"Good point."

Once they were in the control booth and had removed their gear, Jared checked the elevator. He had guessed correctly. Obalin's power had been restored, so they were able to take the elevator up.

As they ascended in the elevator, Paul asked, "What'll we do if there are people in the shuttle hangar?"

"Good question. They'll definitely be watching the elevators." Jared thought for a moment. _We need a distraction_. He got an idea. "When the door opens, throw an olamshi into the shuttle bay. Then, we'll run to the nearest shuttle."

Paul nodded, taking an olamshi out of his robe. "Sounds good."

Immediately after the elevator stopped and the door opened, Jared held his breath, and Paul tossed his olamshi out of the elevator.

Jared caught a glimpse of two people walking by just as he put his arm up over his eyes to protect them from the orb's blinding light, and then the olamshi began squealing.

He heard people yelling. The first part of the plan was working.

Jared uncovered his eyes. "Come on!"

He and Paul ran through the shuttle bay, shooting bubbles and tranquilizers in every direction. Jared wasn't bothering to aim—he just wanted to create a big enough diversion to get to a shuttle.

Jared boarded the closest vehicle he saw—the door was already open—and Paul was right behind him. He randomly chose a destination on the map on the console. It didn't matter what destination he chose; they just needed to go. Once they got out of the bay, then he'd worry about finding a way out of Obalin.

Paul sat down in the copilot's chair and started searching for something on the control console. "How do you close the door?"

"I don't know." Jared looked back at the door as the shuttle lifted off the ground. It shut by itself. _Good_.

As their escape craft started floating forward, it was rocked by a few small explosions on its hull, but, when the shuttle reached the bay door, it took off in a flash into the circuit.

"Now, let's get this thing moving in the right direction." Jared, using the map on his treyo as a guide, found where they needed to go to get out of Obalin and then set the destination on the shuttle's map screen.

When he touched the spot on the map, the shuttle changed directions and continued winding its way through the maze of circuits.

Jared monitored their progress on the shuttle's map and looked out the windshield and side windows for any other shuttles trying to pull up alongside of them.

Less than a minute later, their vehicle exited the circuit and flew into the dark mist of the Obalinian sky. But even with the headlights, Jared couldn't see very far in front of the shuttle—just shapes and shadows.

Jared checked his treyo again and saw that it was pointing in the opposite direction the shuttle was going. They were headed _away_ from the gateway to Teruvisa.

Jared's hand flew to the shuttle's map. "Whoops. We're going the wrong way. Hold on."

It took Jared a few moments to select a destination on the map, and then the shuttle flipped around on the spot. If Jared wouldn't have been so anxious to escape from Obalin, he probably would've enjoyed the ride, but instead, he was tense.

A few seconds later, the vehicle jerked sideways as a missile or something exploded on the hull, and the ship began shimmying, vibrating, and losing altitude.

"No." Jared slammed his fist on the console. He turned to Paul and took a deep breath to collect himself. "Well, it looks like it's time to bail out."

Paul had a scared look on his face but nodded.

Getting to the door was difficult, but they managed it. Jared located an emergency release lever and pulled the handle, and the door shot off and tumbled into the trees below.

Paul grabbed Jared's arm. "What about the shuttles?"

"Hopefully, they won't see us. But just in case, when you land, run as fast as you can."

"You don't think we should votunlae or omporulae?"

"No. It's too risky with the low visibility."

"Okay."

_Well, here it goes_. "Now." Jared dove out and shot toward the ground, holding his robe around himself.

When he got closer to the top of the jungle canopy, he allowed his robe to start slowing him down and then looked up. Through Obalin's haze, he saw an explosion. Their shuttle had been destroyed.

Jared kept his eyes peeled for any shuttles that might be coming after them as he and Paul glided down into the trees, but he didn't see any.

When he reached the top of the canopy of trees, he used an estio to keep the tree branches from hitting him in the face. His legs did, however, bang into a few as he descended.

When he finally reached one of the lower limbs, he perched himself on it and signaled for Paul to join him. Jared had originally told Paul to hit the ground running but then remembered that could be a problem.

Paul landed next to him. "Why'd you stop here?"

Jared remembered all too well the jobalich he and Danielle had encountered and didn't want to take a chance. He pointed down at the jungle floor. "Jobalich."

He didn't see one or even know if Obalin had jobaliches, but he wanted to make sure it was safe.

"Where?"

"I don't actually see one, but we need to be sure there isn't one down there." Jared used a tahsil to cut off a branch next to him.

It fell to the ground with a crash, and he waited to see what would happen.

Nothing.

Jared continued looking around, studying the ground, but he didn't see any sign of a jobalich in search of a meal. "Do you see anything?"

"Nope. Looks safe."

"Good." Jared held up his treyo. They weren't very far from the gateway. Yet, at that moment, the distance seemed like a great hurdle to overcome. He wished he was already in Teruvisa. "Let's go. We're not far from the portal—it's right on the edge of the Divide."

The limb they were standing on was about 10 feet above the ground, so Jared and Paul crouched down on the branch, held on as they swung down, hung on for a moment, and then dropped the remaining distance to the ground.

As planned, they hit the ground running. They sprinted through the dark mist, not daring to omporulae because they weren't able to see very far ahead.

The fog felt like an annoying film on Jared's eyes that kept him from seeing clearly. He rubbed his eyes with his fists and blinked hard several times anyway, hoping to reduce its effects. Of course, it didn't help, but that only made him more determined to get out of Obalin.

"Do you think they figured out that we weren't in the shuttle when it blew up?" Paul asked as they ran.

Jared narrowly avoided running into a large plant with broad, round leaves and ducked under a low-hanging vine. "I don't know." _But, I hope not_.

Finally, they reached the edge of the Divide, but, as they looked east, they still couldn't see Teruvisa. In fact, they could barely see past the canyon rim. It was like they were standing in front of a wall of fog that was even denser than what covered Obalin.

Frustrated by still not being able to see well, Jared wanted to get out of the Obalinian jungle more than ever. Looking toward Teruvisa and longing for its light, he pointed his treyo straight ahead. After he pressed the appropriate button on it, a disk of light appeared.

_We made it_. Jared put his treyo back in his robe. "Okay. Go." He nudged Paul's shoulder with his hand.

Jared followed Paul through the portal. They came out at the bottom of the Divide on the Teruvisan shoreline.

Paul turned around, grabbed Jared's shoulders, and started jumping up and down. "We made it! We made it!"

Jared spun around, shooting a fist in the air. "Alright!"

He was relieved that they had escaped from Obalin, although, he was sad that Danielle hadn't.

Exhausted physically and emotionally, he sat down on the ground and leaned back against the canyon wall. He inhaled deeply, breathed out a long sigh, and then looked up.

Several Obalinian shuttles flew out of the mist of the Obalinian side of the Divide and hovered above the canyon.

Jared jumped to his feet. _No. We need to get out of here._

Paul pointed up at the shuttles. "They're coming for us."

However, the shuttles didn't fly down into the canyon; they turned around and went back to Obalin.

Paul half-questioned, half-stated, "They're leaving."

_Strange_. Jared furrowed his brow. _They had to have seen us._

Seeing the shuttles turn around reminded Jared of something that he never really understood or bothered to ask about the Divide: how the raguam could prevent anyone from crossing over to Teruvisa. To him, it seemed like it would be easy to fly across the Divide. The shuttles hadn't even been close to the raguam.

"Paul. Find us a way out of here, will you." Jared continued to watch the sky.

Paul took out his treyo, "No problem," and, a few moments later, said, "I got it. An entry point to Teruvisa. It's probably an elevator-cave. Might even be the same one we used the very first time we came to Teruvisa."

"That'll work."

Paul spoke an alphanumeric identifier to his treyo, which caused the arrow on the screen to point to the right. "Okay. Follow me."

As Jared and Paul walked along the shoreline, Jared frequently looked up to see if any other shuttles would appear, but none did.

They walked around a bend and approached a small pier that looked like the same one they arrived on the first time they came to Teruvisa.

Once they got in the elevator-cave at the foot of the dock, earth covered the entrance, and, like reverse quicksand, they were transported up to a clearing at the top of the Divide.

Not very far away, near the middle of the clearing, something caught Jared's attention. There was something on the ground, or rather, some _one_.

Jared couldn't believe his eyes. _Could it be?_

Danielle was lying motionless on her back.

Jared glanced over at Paul, who had a stunned looked on his face that expressed the same disbelief that Jared felt. Jared's first few steps were cautious, but then he rushed up to her.

Jared knelt down next to her. "Danielle."

Her eyes were closed, and she didn't appear to be breathing.

_How did she get here?_ Jared looked up at Paul, who was standing next to him.

Paul looked just as baffled as he was.

Jared held his breath in anticipation and checked for a pulse on her neck.

Nothing.

Paul asked, "Well?"

_She's dead_. Jared exhaled, closed his eyes, and shook his head.

Paul dropped to his knees beside Jared. "How did she get here?"

Jared didn't have an answer and didn't try to figure it out. He was too overcome with grief.

The hope he started to feel when he first saw her lying on the ground washed away as tears started streaming down his face. It was almost like losing her twice.

"It's a shame, isn't it?"

Startled, Jared jumped up and turned around when he heard the familiar voice—the voice of the last person he wanted to see.

# Chapter 24

Light Versus Darkness

Jared felt like all the blood had rushed out of him. He almost fell over as the shock and horror overcame him. It was...

"Dreggan," he gasped.

Dreggan stepped closer, his face shaded by the hood of his robe "It's too bad this tragedy could have been avoided. It's because of _you_ she's dead."

His accusation pierced Jared's heart. Danielle had died trying to save him; in that way, what Dreggan said was true, but Jenna was the one who killed her.

"Leave her and the decoder, and you two," Dreggan pointed at the boys, "can go."

There was no way Jared was going to let Dreggan have the decoder or Danielle. "She was our friend, and we're not letting you have her!" Jared sneered at Dreggan and put his arms out to his sides to show Dreggan that he wasn't going to let him by. "You've already gotten all you're going to get from her! You took her life! I won't let you have the rest!"

Jared clenched his teeth, pointed his laris at Dreggan, and tried to stun him. "Tordistrem!"

However, Dreggan was quick to his guard and blocked it. He laughed at Jared. "Do you really think you can beat me?"

Jared lowered his arm. He knew he was no match for Dreggan's powers, but he made a snide remark anyway. "Well, we got away from you once."

Dreggan frowned. "Don't worry; it won't happen again." He narrowed his eyes. "Give me the decoder and leave. Do it now, or I'll kill you both."

Jared was scared and confused. He didn't want to die, but he also didn't want to let Dreggan win.

_But, I'm just not strong enough._ Jared took the decoder out of his robe slowly, looking at it.

He walked around to the other side of Danielle's body, keeping his eyes on her face, and then dropped to his knees next to her. He breathed out heavily.

Paul joined him on the other side of Danielle but remained standing.

Paul, Danielle, and he had become so close. They had a deep connection, so, with Danielle dead, Jared felt that a part of him had died.

He was physically and emotionally spent and felt that he couldn't fight anymore. He just wanted it to end. He silently apologized to his parents, as if they were there with him, for not being able to meet their expectations.

Jared looked at the decoder, shook his head, and then, for some reason, became acutely aware that his free hand was touching the dirt. He glanced down at the ground.

At that moment, he remembered the things Ferran and Tiersda said about everything being connected, looked at the palm of his free hand, and then saw the hand symbol flash before his eyes.

Suddenly, he got an idea. It was like a veil of darkness had been removed from his eyes, and he could see more clearly than he ever had. He began to feel hope, courage, and strength.

Jared tried to hide the optimism in his voice as he spoke to Dreggan. "Okay. But, just to make sure you keep your end of the deal, this is how it's going to go down.

"I'll leave the decoder here on the ground beside Danielle's body, I'll use my treyo to locate a gateway, and then we'll omporulae to it. That way, you'll have what you want, and we'll be safe."

Dreggan gave a dismissive wave. "Fine."

Jared looked at the decoder and then, seeing only one possible socket for his treyo's interface cable (like the one he had seen his father pull from his sleeve and put in his treyo when shutting down Teruvisa during the HST), placed it on the ground between himself and Danielle.

As he took out his treyo, he said, "Now I'm going to look for a gateway. Paul, watch him."

Paul knelt down next to Jared and then asked, "We can't just give up like this, can we?"

Jared took the opportunity, as Dreggan glanced over at Paul, to subtly reach into the sleeve of his robe and pull out the interface cable attached to the lining (he had never noticed a cable there before, but it was there at that moment because he needed it; he knew it would be). Once the cable was connected to the treyo, he kept the handheld device close to the cuff of his sleeve so as not to let Dreggan notice the cable.

Jared pretended to look for a portal on his treyo but was really looking for Central Security. "Yes we can. We have to. Danielle's already dead. I don't think she would want either of us to die, too. Dead, we can't do anything. But alive, we'll have the chance to stop him another day."

Dreggan snorted. "Your parents thought the same thing."

Jared located the security command center on his treyo. "Okay. I found the nearest gateway," he lied. "It's just at the edge of the clearing." He looked up at Dreggan and pointed to the right "So now, we'll be going."

Jared looked down and whispered to Danielle, loud enough for the others to hear, "I'm sorry Danielle, but this is the way it has to be. I hope you understand. I hope you can forgive me."

He touched her hand and then leaned over and rested his head on her shoulder, pretending to get emotional. With his robe, his head, and Danielle's body now blocking his hands from Dreggan's view, Jared was able to set his treyo on the ground and guide the cable out of his sleeve.

Once he had removed it completely, he took the other end of the interface cable and plugged it into the decoder lying at his knees.

"Enough," Dreggan said. "It's a shame I have to end such a precious moment, but I hate long goodbyes. Get out of here before I change our agreement. As it is, I'm being too merciful. I should kill you where you stand just for destroying the control panel in my security room." He paused. "You know what? I've grown tired of this game. I'm going to kill you right now and be done with you."

Paul gasped. "No! We had a deal!"

Dreggan sneered. " _I_ make the rules."

Jared didn't look up. Ready or not, he had to do it. _Now_.

He put a thumb on the screen of his treyo and placed the palm of his other hand on the ground. A word flashed in front of his eyes as he closed them and pictured himself in the central security control room of Teruvisa.

The word he saw wasn't the word he intended to say, but he didn't question it. "Falayno."

Instantly, warmth surged throughout his body. He opened his eyes. The ground quaked, and, in a matter of seconds, the sky became as bright as if he was standing on the sun.

Dreggan shrieked, "NOOOO!" spun around, turning into a whirlwind, and then flew back over to Obalin.

Jared was surprised that the raguam hadn't prevented Dreggan from crossing the Divide, but at least he was gone.

_It worked_. Jared had restarted Teruvisa and enabled the new technology. He smiled in amazement and then looked up at the sky, marveling at how bright it was—though, it wasn't as bright as the initial burst of light when he said the password. He also noticed that the darkness of Obalin contrasted with the light of Teruvisa even more than it used to.

After standing up and surveying the heavens some more, he looked toward Teruvisa. The mountain shield was gone, and Teruvisa shined brightly.

"What just happened?" Paul was looking around, wide-eyed.

"I remembered what Ferran and Tiersda said about everything being connected. I figured that, if they were right, I wouldn't need to be at a computer terminal to connect the decoder to Teruvisa. So, while I was bent over Danielle, I hooked an interface cable up to my treyo and the decoder without letting Dreggan see what I was doing.

"Once I was done, I touched the screen of my treyo and the ground. Then, I pictured myself in Central Security and said my password, which enabled the new systems. Jared thought about the unexpected word he had seen. "But, the password wasn't the one I got at the end of our game of ketauro..."

"It was the _real_ password," someone said from behind Jared.

Jared whipped around.

Manasto was standing there, accompanied by Verissa, Ferran, Tiersda, Rohlwig, Gromagan, Hilcar, Prienna, Dorn, and a few guards.

"Mom. Dad." Paul ran up to his parents and threw his arms around both of them at the same time. "I thought I'd never see you again."

Tiersda ran her fingers through Paul's hair and then bent down and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Ferran patted and rubbed his son's back. All three of them were crying tears of joy.

Jared was glad Paul and his parents were reunited, but he was confused about what Manasto said about the password. "The _real_ password?" _What was the other one for?_

Manasto nodded. "Yes. The password you got after your ketauro match was a fake one."

Jared was going to ask why they were given fake passwords, but Tiersda came forward and knelt at Danielle's side.

Jared's curiosity instantly turned to heartache. He didn't try to hold back the tears. "I'm sorry. There was nothing I could do." He knelt down next to Tiersda and looked at Danielle. "Her mom killed her." He sobbed harder.

"It's okay, Jared." Tiersda put a hand on Jared's shoulder to try to comfort him.

Jared took several deep, quivering breaths to stop sobbing. He sniffed and wiped the tears from his eyes with his sleeves.

Tiersda uncorked a thin, wooden vial. She lightly sprinkled a powdery substance over Danielle.

Jared asked, "What are you doing?"

Tiersda didn't answer but touched Danielle's head with both hands. "Pelay alemo."

She slid her hands down Danielle's arms, which were at her sides, all the way down to her feet. Then, scooping a hand under her neck, she picked up Danielle's head and placed her palm over Danielle's eyes. When she removed her hand, Danielle's eyes were open.

Jared couldn't believe it. He stared at Danielle in astonishment and then smiled. _She's alive!_ "What...? How did...?"

Tiersda shushed Jared. "Not now, Jared." She whispered to Danielle, "Danielle?"

Danielle looked around. She licked her lips and swallowed. "Is this a dream?"

Tiersda smiled. "No, Sweetie. We're real."

Tiersda had Jared help her get Danielle to her feet.

Jared could tell Danielle was weak because she was using Tiersda and him for a lot of support, but Jared didn't mind. He'd stand there holding her forever if he could. He was just so glad she was alive.

Danielle looked around at everybody. "Where am I? How did I get here?" She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. "What's going on? Where's Dreggan? And my parents?"

As everyone gathered closer around Danielle, Tiersda said, "We're on the Teruvisan side of the Divide. Jared figured out how to activate the new systems."

Danielle looked over at Jared. "You did?" She smiled.

Jared had thought he'd never get to see Danielle's smile again. He nodded. "It's good to have you back."

Danielle looked confused. "What happened to me? The last thing I remember is my mom pointing at me."

Tiersda brushed a lock of Danielle's hair out of her face. "You were killed."

Danielle scrunched her brow and looked down. "I was... dead?"

"Yes," Tiersda answered.

Like he was finishing a previous thought, Manasto added, "That's the difference between Diestro and Sedroth—Sedroth leads only to destruction and death, but Diestro is life. And, even though Dreggan doesn't believe it, Diestro is more powerful than Sedroth." He looked at Jared and Danielle, then Paul. "Don't ever forget that."

Jared shook his head to acknowledge that he wouldn't forget.

"Anyway, I think it would be a good idea to have Jared tell us all what happened after Danielle was killed." Manasto looked at Jared and smiled.

Jared pointed to himself and raised his eyebrows. "Me?"

Manasto nodded. "I can't think of anyone better."

Jared cleared his throat. "Well, Paul and I escaped with the decoder by distracting Dreggan and his guards with an olamshi. We hid in the sublevel and eventually stole a shuttle. We had to bail out over the Obalinian jungle, though, when our shuttle was hit by a missile or something." He looked at Danielle with a grin. "But, luckily there weren't any jobaliches."

Danielle smiled back, acknowledging that she remembered the encounter she and Jared had with a jobalich during one of Rohlwig's simulations.

"Then, we ran to a portal that brought us back here. That's when we saw you," Jared glanced at Danielle, "lying on the ground." He looked at Manasto, wondering if he would explain how she had gotten there, but Manasto gestured for Jared to continue.

"Anyway, Dreggan was waiting for us. He wanted us to leave you," Jared looked briefly at Danielle, who was still listening intently, "and the decoder in exchange for our lives. However, that's when I figured out that, since everything was connected by the Light, I could connect my treyo to the decoder and then connect to the Teruvisan main frame if I was touching part of Teruvisa at the same time—the ground.

"Then, I said the password, which restarted Teruvisa with the new technology enabled. But, it wasn't the password that I got after the ketauro game. Manasto said those were fake passwords." He looked at Manasto, who nodded.

Danielle asked, "So, what happened to Dreggan?"

"Well, my best guess is that, as we learned from our lessons, dark and light cannot occupy the same space, which I imagine means that Sedroth and Diestro can't either. So, when the new technology was activated, the Light filled everything on this side of the Divide," Jared pointed up at the sky in a circular pattern, "and Dreggan had to leave.

"The evil, dark powers of Sedroth are the exact opposite of Diestro's powers of Light. Darkness cannot be where the light is. Though, I can't explain how Dreggan was able to withstand the Light on the Teruvisan side _before_ I got the new technology online." He looked to Manasto for an answer.

"Well done, Jared." Manasto applauded softly. "And, you're absolutely right; Dreggan shouldn't have been able to withstand the Light before Teruvisa was restored. However, the fact of the matter is he _did_ figure out a way. It most likely had something to do with the weakened state of Teruvisa. But, the new technology, with the full power of Diestro behind it, was obviously too much for whatever protective measures Dreggan was using.

"Now, let's back up and talk about some circumstances and events that you might not have known about and fill you in on what our plans were." Manasto began pacing back and forth, apparently thinking about where to begin, and then stopped and addressed Jared and the group. "So, once Dreggan found out that the MSIs were already implanted in you, he knew that you would be trained to turn them on and receive passwords to interface with the decoder.

"We discovered that Dreggan's plan was to allow us to train you, turn on the MSIs, and give you passwords; then, he would step in, kidnap you, and threaten or trick the passwords out of you to implement the new technology for Obalin." Manasto raised his eyebrows. "Using that knowledge, we came up with a plan to get the decoder.

"First of all, Dreggan kept the decoder where only he knew where it was. Anyone who saw it to work on the programming of Obalin's new systems did so under the direct supervision of Dreggan. He never let it out of his sight during those times.

"So, our only hope for recovering the decoder lay in the assumption that Dreggan would want to make sure he was ready for the passwords by doing one last diagnostic test with the decoder connected to his systems. And, he would most likely do that once you three got your passwords."

Jared thought that was a pretty big assumption. _Hopefully, they had a backup plan._

Manasto continued. "Our plan was to finish training you and turn on the MSIs, as we originally intended, but then give you fake passwords after the ketauro match. Once Dreggan found out that you got passwords—not knowing that they were fake—he would get the decoder, and whatever else he needed to, ready while he had someone—which ended up being the Beasts—try to kidnap you."

"So, the ketauro match was just a hoax?" Jared was beginning to feel like he had been a guinea pig in an experiment.

"No, not at all." Manasto waved his hand. "The ketauro match was necessary for your training because it allowed you to get the real passwords."

Jared's slight agitation went away. _Good. There was a point to playing ketauro._

Manasto raised a finger. "What we did was create a mask over the real passwords with fake ones as part of our contingency plan. Also, the ketauro match gave us a reason to have several people around to protect you when Dreggan tried to capture you, without tipping him off that we knew he'd go after you at that time."

Manasto looked down. He seemed a little embarrassed. "Of course, we failed to keep you safe, even with all our safeguards."

_Mistakes happen._ Jared honestly didn't have any hard feelings about it.

Manasto held up a hand. "That's when our contingency plan became necessary. In case Dreggan _did_ succeed in kidnapping you and successfully got the passwords from you, by you having fake passwords, when he tried to load the fake passwords with the decoder connected, his new systems would fail, and our spy would be able to get you three out of Obalin during the chaos and maybe even recover the decoder in the process."

Manasto frowned slightly. "But as it turned out, our spy in Obalin failed to steal the decoder—he wasn't able to get close enough. And, he—"

Paul interrupted with the same question Jared had. "You had a spy in Obalin?"

"That's right. In fact, he was the person guarding you in the security command center in Obalin, Jared." Manasto looked right a Jared.

Jared flinched. "Really?" He tried to remember if he ever got a good look at the spy's face, but he didn't recall ever seeing it.

"Yeah. And, he didn't like being stunned. That made his job even harder." Manasto smiled, showing that he was joking around.

_Who would?_ Jared shrugged and put on an innocent smile. "I didn't know."

Everyone got a good laugh out of that.

Jared took the opportunity to ask another question. "Excuse me, Manasto. How did I see the real password if the fake one was masking it?"

"Ah." Manasto nodded. "As you'll see when we have the decoder connected to a security console and have Danielle and Paul focus on their connection to Teruvisa, the real passwords will just come out."

_Hm_. Jared nodded. _That's how it happened for me._

"Anyway, everything changed when our spy released your arm restraints, Jared." Manasto pointed at Jared.

_So, I didn't break them. The spy set me, Danielle, and Paul free._ Jared had been surprised that the restraints had come open so easily. _That explains it._

"He had intended to subtly free you one at a time, use beoveh to tell you to wait for a signal, create a diversion, and lead you to a hidden portal. He didn't expect that you three would try to take on Dreggan all by yourselves." Manasto threw the back of his hand to his forehead and tilted his head back as if he was faint with disbelief. When he brought his head forward he had a big smile on his face.

Jared knew Manasto was joking around, so Jared smiled with just his mouth, shifted his eyes from side to side, and shrugged. "Whoops."

Everyone chuckled.

Manasto exhaled loudly. "Anyway, before our agent could reveal himself to you, Jared, you ran to the control panel and grabbed the decoder. At that point, our man had to focus on making sure you three got out of Obalin with it.

"It was difficult for him to protect you without revealing his identity to everyone in the room, but fortunately, he was able to strengthen your shield and move a chair in front of you when Dreggan attacked. And, he was the one who put a protective, transportation bubble around Danielle an instant before she was hit with that baovissim—the obliterating, kill command."

Jared was glad that someone was there in Obalin to help them. Without that help, he, Danielle, and Paul would all either be dead or still in Obalin.

Manasto paused, shook his head slowly, and frowned. "Sedroth will do things to those who align themselves with it. It can make someone kill those who are close to them. Things that seem illogical or wrong to us, don't to them. Their minds are not their own. They're obligated to obey evil." He looked skyward as if thinking about something. "Danielle's parents aren't the same people we used to know."

Jared remembered how Danielle's parents behaved when they were in Obalin. He had noticed that they seemed like Dreggan's robots—like puppets.

"Where was I? Oh yeah. Your escape from the control room." Manasto smiled like he was keeping a joke from everyone else and then said, "After you escaped, our spy sure had a difficult time keeping up with you: in the sublevel, the shuttle, the jungle, the Divide, and all the way back here."

That was the point of Jared's plan to use the sublevel—to keep anyone from catching up with him and Paul. Apparently, it worked not only on Dreggan's soldiers but Manasto's spy.

"It was impressive how you stepped up to the challenge, Jared and Paul." He held out a hand to each of them. "And, equally impressive was how you," with warm, joyful eyes, Manasto looked at Jared, "were able to figure out how to connect the decoder to Teruvisa and focus well enough to see the correct password. You relied on your feelings and trusted in your abilities."

Jared felt proud and excited that Teruvisa was saved. _I can't believe it, Mom and Dad; I finally did it._

Out of the corner of his eye, Jared saw Paul standing with his dad. Ferran seemed so interested in Paul—looking at him and touching him like he was trying to make sure Paul was real. My _dad would have been so proud of me if he were here_.

Danielle said, "I think I'm alright now."

Jared and Tiersda let go of Danielle, allowing her to stand on her own. Tiersda rejoined Ferran and Paul.

"Excellent." Manasto was apparently noting Danielle's progress. "Well then, let's get you to Teruvisa, shall we?" Manasto pointed at Danielle and Paul. "You two need to recite your true password to connect to the new systems."

"Jared. If you would, please, bring the decoder." Manasto pointed to the ground where Jared had left his treyo and the decoder.

Jared nodded. "Sure."

As Manasto turned, he said, "Oh. And, keep it connected to your treyo until we get to Central Security. When we get there, I'll tell you what to do with it."

As Jared and the group walked through the jungle, Jared turned to Danielle and said, "Excuse me. I just need to ask Manasto something."

Jared caught up to Manasto, who was in the lead, and whispered, "Manasto, I have a question for you."

"Sure." Manasto must have sensed that Jared wanted to keep the conversation private because he spoke softly, too. "Whatever you want to know, just ask it."

Jared thought about how to word his question before speaking so that he wouldn't let his sadness and frustration show. "If you can bring people back to life with Diestro—like Danielle—then why couldn't anyone bring my parents back?"

Manasto's focus shifted downward. (Jared wondered if Manasto had dreaded that he would bring up the subject.) "Unfortunately, by the time we were able to get back to where Hilcar last saw them, it was too late. Everyone was gone, and we weren't able to find your parents to administer the fullayenah—the resurrection powder—to them. Dreggan must have killed them with a baovissim."

"Oh." Jared's frustration ebbed away. He didn't know what he was expecting to hear, but if his parents were gone, then they were gone. At least they had tried. Maybe he could find some consolation in that fact.

Jared thought that there was something else he wanted to ask Manasto, but he couldn't think of it right then. It took him a minute to remember.

Jared spoke normally, not caring if anyone overheard the next part of the conversation. "I noticed that some Obalinian shuttles couldn't cross the Divide. I know that it's a defense barrier, but I don't really understand why. It seems like it would be easy to just fly across it."

"Well, you see, raguam—which binds our world to Earth but also separates Teruvisa from everything else—is a bit of a physical contradiction." Manasto held out a hand and tilted it side to side. "It separates darkness from light, but at the same time, it _is_ darkness and light."

Jared wasn't sure he understood what Manasto was getting at.

Manasto must have noticed Jared's confusion. "That may not make sense unless you think of light and darkness in terms of technology—Diestro and Sedroth. Raguam, which is more light than dark, can consume anyone following Sedroth, and they will vanish forever. They are burned by the fire and embraced by the darkness with which they have made an oath."

"So, they don't have to fall in to be killed?"

"No. Raguam, which can seek to destroy that which isn't in harmony with Diestro, can consume a follower of Sedroth even by him just getting too close."

Jared wondered how close "too close" was.

Manasto added, "And just so you know, raguam creates a barrier that reaches high above it into the heavens and deep below it into the core of our world. So, a follower of Sedroth who tries to completely cross that boundary, at any distance from above or below, can be destroyed.

"But, as you have noticed, we can walk over raguam on a pier, fly over it, or protect ourselves from it with solums because we are of the Light, and as such, raguam doesn't seek us out."

"Then, how did Dreggan cross the Divide?" Jared asked.

"Well, the raguam is not an impenetrable defense, and, as I mentioned before, the old systems weren't stable." Manasto held up a finger. "Also, Dreggan is very powerful and knows all the tricks of Sedroth."

"But, Teruvisa's safe now with the new technology, right?"

"Yes, of course. There's no need to worry, now. Teruvisa is safe."

When they reached the outer earthen wall of Teruvisa, Jared noticed that it wasn't mountain all the way up anymore and could see some of the beautiful, prominent structures of Teruvisa towering above it.

Two winged guardians came out of the wall, and Manasto requested permission to pass.

Everybody held out their kevanshus, and, two at a time, the stones flew out of each owner's hand and into the hands of the sentinels, except for Jared's. Then, the guards absorbed back into the wall.

After the wall parted to reveal the dark tunnel, Jared called out, "Wait. I still have my kevanshu." He held out his hand and showed them his stone.

Manasto said, "Your MSI is already linked to Teruvisa's systems. That means that, at an access point like this one, you're instantly recognized. So, you can put away your kevanshu and enter."

"Oh." Jared put his fist to his chest and absorbed his kevanshu.

Manasto addressed the whole group. "Well, let's get inside. You all look like you could use a rest."

"A _long_ rest." Paul was apparently as exhausted as Jared.

Jared smiled. _True. So true._

Manasto laughed heartily. "Fine. A _long_ rest."

"And, I'm hungry," Danielle added with a chuckle.

Manasto laughed again. "Of course. Eat all you want."

Two winged guardians came out of the wall, and Manasto requested permission to pass.

Everybody held out their kevanshus, and, two at a time, the stones flew out of each owner's hand and into the hands of the sentinels, except for Jared's. Then, the guards absorbed back into the wall.

After the wall parted to reveal the dark tunnel, Jared called out, "Wait. I still have my kevanshu." He held out his hand and showed them his stone.

Manasto said, "Your MSI is already linked to Teruvisa's systems. That means that, at an access point like this one, you're instantly recognized. So, you can put away your kevanshu and enter."

Jared began walking as he put his fist to his chest and absorbed his kevanshu.

Once they had all passed through the opening, the wall instantly closed up, and the tunnel lights came on.

Jared, thinking about not needing to hold out his kevanshu to get into Teruvisa, realized that there was probably going to be a lot more new things he'd have to learn. He joked to himself, _And just as I was getting used to what I already knew._

The adults took their treyos out, and Manasto said, to Danielle, Paul, and Jared, "Now that you each have a treyo, we don't need to make a human chain for you to travel down the tunnel."

Jared took his treyo out, activated it, and found his coordinates.

"Let's go." Manasto disappeared down the tunnel.

**********

In the central security control room, a control panel raised up from under the floor by the wall. Jared was shown where to insert the decoder. When it was securely in the slot, Jared was instructed to disconnect the cable from the decoder.

After doing that, he unhooked the other end of the cord from his treyo, shoved the cord back up his sleeve, and then put away his treyo.

Verissa directed Paul and Danielle forward. "Now, we'll have both of you touch the sensor." She indicated a gray pad on the console. "All you have to do is close your eyes and focus on making a connection to Teruvisa. When you see a code word, don't think about it; just say it out loud."

Paul was the first to place a hand on the pad. As he did, it lit up. After a few seconds, he said a password.

Danielle was next. She, too, touched the pad and then said a password.

Everyone in the room cheered and began embracing each other.

Amid the celebration, Manasto announced, "The long-awaited moment in our history has finally arrived! Teruvisa will achieve its infinite glory!"

At that moment, Jared couldn't help but think of his parents. He wished they could've been there with him. They would've been so proud of him.

"It's time for the rest of those who left Teruvisa to return!" Manasto declared.

Jared snapped out of his contemplation. It was a time of rejoicing, not of wishful thinking. His parents wouldn't have wanted him to worry about what could have been, especially during such a joyous time, so he put his thoughts of his parents aside to celebrate the moment with his friends in the safety of the new Teruvisa.
