Chapter 23
Acacia stood next to the tree of life, carrying a lantern that had been one of the museum’s window lights for hundreds of years. Now burning the last bit of oil in its reservoir, it illuminated the curved inner walls, revealing a few dusty scrolls lying on shelves. Leaning against the shelves, wooden ladders, some with broken or missing rungs, climbed high into the dark upper reaches. The rope from the elevator shaft lay in a coil at her feet.
“Hold this, please.” She handed the lantern to Bonnie. “Here’s the plan. I’ll create the portal around everyone, and as soon as I can see the volcano in Second Eden, I’ll throw the rope to Billy and climb up. That way, we’ll be sure it’s safe to pass from here to there. Then, from the volcano level, I’ll keep the portal open for you to join me.” She scanned each face. “Who’ll be next?”
Irene raised her hand. “They need a dragon up there. We’d better make sure they get one.” She pointed at the two girls in turn. “Then Bonnie, and then Shiloh.”
Acacia picked up an end of the rope. “If you don’t have the strength to climb, I’m sure we can pull you. Billy and Candle and Listener are all there to help.”
Looking up, Acacia peered through the darkness. Her enhanced vision acted like a telescope, allowing her to see the beams that crossed just under the museum’s domed top and a hint of light from an unseen source. Could it be the other realm? “This must be a very thin portal,” she said, waving for everyone to gather around. “It shouldn’t take much to open it.”
When all four drew into a tight huddle, Acacia raised her hand and called out, “Give me light!” A white flame erupted from her palm. She swirled her arm, creating the usual circle, then a descending curtain. Within seconds, the twisting fire swept around their cluster and enveloped the tree, as well. The leaves fluttered, and the soil in the planter glowed white.
Soon, the volcano chamber materialized above their heads. Half in one dimension and half in another, they seemed firmly planted in the museum room while floating in the volcano’s throat. The fire passed right through the cave’s semitransparent floor above, unhindered by the solid stone, and made a wall that encircled the upper hole.
Billy, standing next to Candle and Listener, held his hands up, as if blinded by the fire, or maybe warding off the heat.
Acacia lowered her hand and let the portal vortex spin on its own while she wound the rope into a loop. Then, tossing it through the flames, she yelled, “Catch!”
Billy snagged the rope, wound it around his waist, and backed up slowly. “Let’s go!”
As the rope slid against the side of the volcano chamber’s floor opening, Acacia gripped the line, riding the pull as she struggled to help by climbing hand over hand. It took only a few seconds for her to reach the lip of the hole. About a foot or so of stone floor lay between her hand and the encircling wall of flames. When she stretched one arm and pushed her hand through the wall, Candle and Listener grabbed it and dragged her the rest of the way out.
She leaped to her feet, faced the portal, and waved her arms. “I have to keep it open. Irene is next.”
Candle pointed at the rope. “It’s catching fire.”
“The fire is real,” Acacia said as she stamped out the embers. “If we keep the rope moving up and down, maybe it won’t burn up.”
Billy took a few steps forward and reeled the rope back down. “Okay! Let me know when to pull!”
As Acacia peered into the fire, Irene grabbed the rope and began to hoist herself up. “She’s got it,” Acacia said. “Pull!”
Billy heaved backward again. The rope tightened. Several fibers broke free, blackened and smoking. When Irene’s head appeared above floor level, Acacia leaned into the flames and grabbed her by an arm. Then, while lifting, Acacia raised her free hand, waved it around, and shouted, “Increase!” The curtain of fire crept outward, allowing Irene room to stand.
“Now Bonnie!” Acacia called. As the rope lowered again, she looked into the museum room. Bonnie clutched the line, but the flaming wall down below had contracted, forcing her and Shiloh to squeeze close together.
“The tree’s on fire!” Shiloh yelled.
Suddenly, the mountain began to shake. Pebbles drizzled from above, pelting Acacia’s head. She swung around to Billy. Smoke rose from the rope between them. More fibers snapped. “Pull!” she shouted. “Now!”
Billy backed up a step. The rope broke away, sending him stumbling toward the outer wall. As the line whipped toward the hole, Acacia grabbed it and hung on. More rocks fell, bigger ones crunching on the cave floor.
A stone as large as her head plunged into the museum room, striking Bonnie’s shoulder. She collapsed to the floor in a heap. Shiloh leaped over her body, and they faded out of sight.
Acacia looked up. The cone’s entire opening crumbled. She yelled, “Extinguish!” and threw herself and Irene through the dwindling wall of fire.
Candle and Listener jumped to the cave’s outer wall just before the chamber’s roof collapsed. Tons of rocks crashed down into the volcano’s throat, some falling through while others plugged the hole and piled up in a heap.
Acacia, Irene, Billy, Candle, and Listener pressed their bodies against the side wall, watching the rain of boulders, rocks, and dirt. Soon, the breeze swept the dust away. The volcano top was now just a flat stony platform with a surrounding circular wall and a heap of stones in the center.
Billy leaped for the pile of rocks and began slinging them to the side. “Bonnie and Shiloh!”
As the castaway stones tumbled down the slope, Acacia and the others joined him. “I don’t sense a portal,” Acacia said as she pushed a stone to the side. “It might be gone.”
Irene dug into the grit and pebbles with both hands. “My daughter’s hurt! We have to get it open!”
In spite of the frigid wind buffeting their faces, beads of sweat speckled each brow as they grabbed, clawed, and tunneled. Soon, only a cluster of rocks remained wedged at the top of the volcano’s throat. As before, Billy pushed Excalibur into one of the gaps and pried a stone loose. When it gave way, the obstruction broke apart and tumbled into the void. A new stream of sulfur-laden fumes rushed upward and dissipated in the wind.
Acacia knelt and peered into the darkness, while Listener pointed her spyglass.
“I think I see magma,” Acacia said. “My eyesight is normal now, so the portal is probably gone.” She looked up at Billy. “The other realm is out of reach.”
“Can’t you open a new one?” Billy waved his arms in the air. “I mean, like you did before. Just make the fire spin and open it up again.”
Acacia shook her head. “I open portals that are already there, and I have moved portals from one place to another, but creating a new one requires more firepower than I can generate.”
“I see someone,” Listener said. “Two girls who look exactly alike.”
Irene dropped to her knees and looked down. “Bonnie and Shiloh!”
“They’re lying close to a burning tree. Too close, I think, and …” Listener’s brow furrowed. “And now they’re gone.”
“If she can still see the other realm,” Acacia said, lifting her arms again, “I’ll try to open it. I’ll give it all I’ve got.”
Acacia followed her usual portal-opening procedure, shooting more flames than ever into her cyclone, but the museum room never appeared. Of course, she could have jumped into the hole anyway just to see if it led to the mines, but the leap would have been suicide if reality matched what her eyesight told her.
She lowered her arms and let the spin of fire die away. “It’s no use. There’s no way to get down there now.”
Billy clenched his teeth. “I can’t believe this! Bonnie’s hurt, and now we can’t help her!”
“She’ll have help.” Irene wrapped Billy in her arms and leaned her head against his. “Sapphira’s still there. She and Shiloh can take her to Yereq.” A sob broke through, shaking her words. “I’m sure … she’ll be all right. Remember the prophecy.”
He patted her on the back but said nothing. His facial expression said it all—a blend of anxiety and determination in his wrinkled brow and steeled jaw.
“There’s nothing more we can do here,” Acacia said as she huddled with the two children. “We’d better get out of this cold wind.”
Pushing Irene back, Billy added, “And get you to the garden. We need another dragon as soon as possible.” He took off his coat and gave it to her, leaving only a thick sweatshirt for himself. “Let’s get going.”
After hiking down the side of the volcano, they crossed a field of rippled lava, black and crumbling. Tree-studded slopes rose on each side to rocky peaks, lining this valley of basaltic stone. A few puffy clouds raced overhead, riding the numbing breeze that swept down and funneled through their channel, making their passage a wind tunnel. Fortunately, it streamed in from behind, cold, to be sure, but helpful as it pushed them speedily along.
As usual, Listener gazed through her spyglass from time to time, always on the lookout for any oddity, announcing every sighting of clouds that might bring another rainstorm, or birds that might be carrying shadow people. Finally, as they approached a thin forest, she grabbed Billy’s shirt. “A dragon! A red one!”
Billy looked in the direction her spyglass pointed. “I see it. It’s coming this way!”
“Could it be Goliath?” Acacia asked.
“It’s not Goliath,” Irene said. “Look at those powerful wings. I would recognize them anywhere.” As the breeze tossed her blond locks, a smile spread across her face. “It’s Clefspeare.”
A few seconds later, Clefspeare landed on the dark field, his red wings a striking contrast to the black lava residue.
Billy ran to his side. “What’s up, Dad? Why are you here?”
“An important mission.” He heaved large gulps of air. “Life or death.”
While they waited for him to catch his breath, Candle scooted closer to Billy. “I wonder how he found us without a guide.”
After a final deep breath, Clefspeare pulled in his wings and settled to the ground. “I apologize for my lack of endurance, but I flew here as quickly as I could, and I fought a ghastly wind all the way.” He lowered his snout toward Candle. “One of your people gave me general directions, and once I sensed Billy’s presence, I followed my nose.”
“Dad,” Billy said, nodding toward Irene. “Look who’s here.”
Clefspeare shifted her way and bowed his head. “You are a welcome presence, Irene, but we have no time for pleasantries. I must take Billy back immediately for a vital flying mission. With no healthy dragon to watch the birthing garden, the villagers are vulnerable.”
Billy hooked his arm around Irene’s. “Can you carry both of us? That way we can get another dragon right away. Candle knows how to lead Acacia and Listener home.”
“Let us take Listener as well,” Clefspeare said. “With the wind in our favor, I will be able to carry three.” He lowered his head to the ground, allowing Billy, Irene, and Listener to climb his neck and settle on his back, Billy in front, then Irene and Listener. “Come as quickly as you can,” Clefspeare said to Acacia. “If what we have in mind for Billy to do doesn’t work, Ashley will want to try a fiery healing. Although Elam believes she needs to rest further, she will not be persuaded easily.”
Acacia nodded. “I understand.”
Clefspeare spread out his wings and beat them furiously, raising black lava dust in his wake as he rose into the sky. Within seconds, he and the three riders disappeared over the treetops.
Acacia took Candle’s hand. “Know any shortcuts?”
“I was hoping you’d ask that,” he replied, grinning. “Listener’s scared of them, so we went the long way coming up here.”
“I’m glad to hear you’re so sensitive to her fears.”
He half closed one eye. “Are you afraid of skunk lizards?”
“Skunk lizards!” Acacia brushed lava dust off her tunic and tugged down on the hem. “Well, I’m not sure what they are, but with a brave young man at my side, I’m sure I can manage.”
“You sound so much like my mother, I think …” Candle’s smile suddenly wilted. His companion pushed under his dreadlocks and nestled against his ear, pulsing a soft blue light.
As tears welled in his weary brown eyes, Acacia laid a hand on his shoulder. “I used the right words for you. You really are a brave young man. You remind me of Valiant.”
Candle tilted his head and rubbed her hand with his cheek. “Do you really think so?”
“I know so. And your mother knows, and your sister knows. And I’ll bet even the skunk lizards know.” She gave his back a gentle push. “Now lead the way, valiant soldier. I’ll be right behind you.”
Valiant pushed a clump of tall reeds to the side. Across a wide, shallow gulley, the land sloped upward to high ground where at least thirty huts encircled a field of crops as well as a modest collection of pigs and goats. Some of the beasts were tied to hewn logs that had been pounded into the mud, and some were corralled within waist-high wooden fences. “Father Abraham’s trail leads here,” he whispered. “But I cannot see him.”
Pushing his nose past Valiant, Dikaios looked through the gap. “Nor I. Perhaps I can pose as a witless horse and be taken in.”
“Father Abraham said that the people have already heard you speak.”
“Flint did not hear me, and knowing Greevelow, I doubt that a man of such few words would ever volunteer to tell him. As far as Flint knows, I am merely a faithful horse who sought help for Abraham. He has no idea that I am able to act as a spy.”
“Very well. I will wait here and watch.”
Dikaios strode into the clearing, then paused and looked back. “If they decide to tie me up like some kind of senseless farm horse, I should be able to free myself, but if not, I will be glad of your help.”
Lifting his dagger, Valiant smiled. “Easily done, my friend.”
Standing at the edge of the garden, Elam looked out over the plants, his sword arm drooping. After only an hour of training with Sir Barlow and their new army, his muscles had rebelled. Still, although he had given everyone a break, they would all have to go back to work as soon as he finished overseeing this important task.
With Thigocia using this opportunity to get her wings checked out at the dragon launching field, and Clefspeare taking off to collect Acacia and Candle, he would have to stick around until at least one of them returned.
Irene, whom Clefspeare had recently dropped off, stood at his side, gazing at the garden in wonder. “There are living babies within those leaves?” she asked.
“That’s how they procreate here.” Elam stepped into the garden and crouched near one of the plants. “They didn’t tell me how long it takes.”
She pointed at the soil. “Are those white things the bones Clefspeare told me about?”
“They are.” He picked up a short bone. “We think they’re what made this place into a dragon regeneration garden, but we’re not sure how it works. Jared just walked in there and walked back. As soon as he stepped out, he turned into Clefspeare. When Patrick tried, it didn’t work, but I’m hoping he’s just unique for some reason.”
She took in a deep breath. “I’m ready.”
“Let’s do it.” Elam stepped back from the garden.
As Irene walked along one of the furrows, glancing from side to side, Elam watched her progress. Somehow everything seemed different. Without the brilliant aura around Paili and the energized bones, would it work at all?
Irene reached down and petted one of the plants. “Is this far enough?”
“Maybe. Come out, and we’ll see.”
She hurried back to the edge and stopped. “Okay. Here goes.” With a dramatic stretch, she stepped out of the garden and onto the grassy field. Then, standing upright, she set her hands on her hips. “I don’t feel anything.”
“That’s because nothing’s happening.” Elam looked up at the sky. “Clefspeare should be back any minute. I hope he found Acacia. We’ll need her fire to energize the bones.”
“Would Billy’s fire work? He’s at the infirmary. I could go get him.”
“His fire is different.” Elam set his hands as if holding a ball. “Acacia’s aura is a lot like her portal opener—”
“There they are.” Irene pointed at the sky. “I guess I’m about to see for myself.”
Soon, Clefspeare landed, Candle riding tall in front and Acacia clutching his waist. After Elam sent Candle to find his sister at Abraham’s house, he guided Irene and Acacia to the garden. “Let’s try it again, shall we?”
Irene took three steps along the row and turned around. “I’m ready.”
Acacia raised her hands. Fire sprang up in both palms. As the breeze flapped her cloak and white hair, a foul odor assaulted Elam’s nose. “What’s that smell?” he asked.
“Skunk lizard.” Acacia said blankly. “I’ll explain later.”
As she had done with Paili, Acacia fashioned a flaming blue aura around Irene, leaving a couple of feet of space between her and the surrounding fire.
“Now walk to the plowed area and back,” Elam said.
Irene obeyed. The aura floated along with her. With each step, the bones along her path sizzled and popped, glowing bright white. When she returned to the edge, she stopped and looked at Elam through her veil of shimmering blue. “I feel something this time.”
Acacia waved her arms and whispered, “Extinguish.” The flames immediately evaporated in a puff of blue smoke.
“Now step out of the garden,” Elam said. “That is, if you’re ready.”
“I’m ready.”
While Elam, Clefspeare, and Acacia moved back several paces, Irene again stepped out of the garden. This time, as soon as her athletic shoe touched the grass, it swelled, splitting the leather sides. The swelling spread up her leg, ripping her jeans. Beginning at the ankle, her skin dried out and changed to a scaly coat, darkening from pale to light brown.
When her other shoe touched the grass, the process repeated, just seconds behind the other leg. With her waist now expanding, she reached for the snap in her jeans.
Elam turned his head. Better now to listen than to watch. As the process continued, rips, pops, and grunts sounded from the regenerating dragon. Soon, everything was quiet.
Something leathery touched his cheek. “You can look now, Elam.”
Turning, he pushed a huge dragon wing away from his face and smiled. “Process complete, I see.”
“I am now Hartanna once again.” She spread her wings and let the wind billow them like a pair of sails. “What is your command, Warrior Chief?”
Elam waved Acacia and the two dragons together. “I need one dragon to patrol this garden and the other to help Ashley and Walter with their mission at the sky hospital.”
“I will go with them,” Hartanna said. “I am anxious to fly again.” She turned to Clefspeare and blinked her fiery eyes. “That is, of course, if you agree, Clefspeare.”
The red dragon bowed. “I agree.”
Hartanna extended one of the “fingers” on her forefoot. “Well, look at this!”
Elam and the others looked at the finger. Shimmering gold scales encircled it, and a red gem had been wedged between scales at the top.
“It looks like a ring,” Elam said.
“That’s what I thought. It’s exactly where I wore my rubellite.”
Clefspeare raised his foreleg. “I have the same markings where my ring used to be, and a gem as well. I had not even noticed.”
Hartanna picked up her torn jeans. After pushing a claw into the pocket, she retrieved a ring. “Enoch gave me this one,” she said, extending it to Elam. “He said a time will come when I will be able to give it to Makaidos. I would be grateful if you kept it. I have no place to store it.”
“Gladly.” Elam slid it into his pocket. “Now that we have two healthy dragons, we have many more options, but first things first. Hartanna, go with all speed to the field on the other side of the village. You’ll find Ashley and the airplane there.”
She bowed her head. “I will.”
As she launched into the air, Clefspeare flicked his tail toward Elam. “Warrior Chief, I think we should teach your finest soldiers how to ride into battle on a dragon as soon as possible. If you will bring some to this field, we can begin their training.”
“My finest soldiers?” Elam asked, giving him an uneasy grin. “With Valiant gone, I have no idea how to choose.”
“A simple test of courage will provide your answer. Allow them to volunteer. Then have Barlow tell them about his flying adventures. If they still want to fly after hearing those harrowing tales, then they will be our test pilots.”
Ashley pointed out the airplane’s front windshield. “There it is. I see the sun glinting off its metal surface.”
“Right. I got it marked.” Billy guided Merlin into a sharp turn. “I’ll just point our nose in the direction it’s going. It shouldn’t be too hard to catch up with it.”
“If it’s as big as Cliffside described, it’s probably about a mile ahead of us.”
As Billy completed his turn, a heavy crosswind buffeted the plane, making everyone bounce. Ashley leaned around her copilot’s chair. In the back, beyond the seats, Steadfast knelt between two cots, clutching their sides, while Pearl, a tall, big-boned woman with curly blond hair, leaned over a third, holding it down while the plane rocked back and forth. Their companions zipped from shoulder to ear and back to shoulder again, as if excited by the new adventure.
An unconscious patient lay in each cot. One heaved fast, shallow breaths—Mason, a muscular man, a builder and the father of two little girls. Something had broken his sternum and bruised his heart. Another patient groaned with each lurch of the plane—Willow, a young artist who had been impaled by one of Goliath’s spines. Apparently it speared his heart. How he had survived this long, no one could tell. Finally, the third patient lay quietly … too quietly—a little girl named Onyx, less than two years old and as dark and beautiful as her namesake. With a punctured lung and internal bleeding, she would have to be the first one out.
Another sharp lurch shook Ashley back to attention. “How’s it going?”
“Pretty rough,” Billy said. “The direction we’re heading will keep us jumping like crazy, and we can’t fly as slow as the hospital.”
Clutching her armrests, Ashley bounced in place, her voice shaking with the jolts. “I see what you mean. A tailwind would be better, but we have to wait for Hartanna to land before we can speed it up.”
Billy sat up higher and looked out his side window. “Any sign of her?”
“Not yet.” Ashley leaned as far forward as her seat belt would allow. Near the top of her view through the windshield, a dark spot appeared, bouncing in the sky and closing in on the hospital platform, a small concrete circle that protruded from the side near the front of the tube. “There she is!”
In a flurry of wings, Hartanna landed heavily on the platform. Striking belly first, she rocked forward, but her outstretched wings kept her from somersaulting into the main body of the flying tube.
When Hartanna settled into an upright position, Ashley adjusted her headset and spoke into the microphone. “Walter, the dragon has landed. Now we need to turn the hospital ninety degrees to the left and keep it there. Speed it up. I’ll let you know when you’re at the right velocity for us.”
The silver metal tube, at least five times as large as the fuselage of a jumbo jet, slowly turned. Billy steered to match and picked up the tail wind, kicking them to a faster speed.
Ashley kept an eye on the instruments. Soon, they were flying even with the hospital, both in elevation and velocity. Wind still jostled the plane, but now it felt more like a ride on a bumpy road rather than on a rampaging bull.
“This’ll work,” Billy said. “See if Walter can hold it.”
Ashley pushed her microphone closer to her lips. “Keep it right there, Walter. Since it’s about five-point-two miles until we pass the focal magnetic plane, we’ll be able to stay on course for fourteen-point-two miles total. Billy will watch the distance and let you know when we’re getting close to the drop dead point for turning back.”
“Try to think of a better term,” Billy said.
Ashley arched her brow. “Would you prefer ‘minimum webers of magnetic flux’?”
“Never mind. Drop dead will do.”
As the airplane edged closer to the docking platform, Ashley shook her head. It looked smaller than a helicopter landing pad. “This is going to be really tough.”
Billy glanced between his instruments and the hospital. “You’re telling me! When I get right next to the tube, I’m not sure what the effect will be on the air currents or the magnetic field. We might create a weird cushion of air that’ll really make us rock.”
“Yeah, but I’m sure you can handle it.” Ashley raised her hands to her headset. “Walter, I’m going to help unload the patients. Just keep it steady. Billy will talk to you now.” After whipping off the earphones, she hurried toward the back. “Let’s make it quick, Steadfast! The magnetic field has a nine-mile range, so Walter and Cliffside have to turn it back in less than four minutes. We don’t want to ride those crosswinds while we’re wheeling our patients out.”
She reached for the latch and pushed open the upper half of the cargo door. Freezing air rushed across her body and into the cabin. The plane bounced erratically, jostling everything not bolted to the floor. Steadfast and Pearl pushed down on the sides of the cots, while Ashley leaned against the gusts and set her hand on the lower latch.
“Don’t open the other door until I get us right up to the dock,” Billy shouted. “We had it modified to open down like a ramp.”
Ashley half closed her eyes, forcing herself to brave the bone-chilling wind so she could survey their destination. Tears streamed back across her temples as she read the lettering on the side of the hospital’s wall—Healing in His Wings.
Soon, their left wing extended over the platform. With the plane rattling as it rode out the bumps, they eased even closer, bringing the cargo door within a foot of the platform’s outer edge. The gap seemed like a chasm, every bit as dangerous and impossible to cross as the chasm spanned by the rickety bridge. One wrong step, and a plunge through thousands of feet of freezing air would follow, then a bone-crushing smash in a remote forest where no one would ever find her rag-doll body.
Ashley bit her bottom lip. Okay. Gotta stop thinking like that. This is going to work. She looked at Billy. “Ready?”
“Okay!” He shouted. “Now!”
She opened the latch and pushed the door with her foot. The howling wind pushed back at first, then a downdraft slapped it to the platform’s surface.
Hartanna lumbered to the edge and set a forefoot on the ramp. As the airplane continued to bounce, the door jiggled up and down on its hinges. She extended a wing toward Ashley and bellowed, “Roll the first one to the edge! I will block the wind!”
“Okay!” Ashley called. “Here goes!” Grabbing the head rail of Onyx’s cot while Steadfast guided the other end, she backed toward the door and set her foot down gingerly. The ramp held firm. As she lifted the cot’s wheels over the bumps, Hartanna’s wing billowed at her left, redirecting the howling wind. The plane’s engine and propeller droned, adding to the cacophony of confusing sounds.
Holding her breath, Ashley took the remaining two steps to the platform and backpedaled until Steadfast also reached firmer ground. With Hartanna’s wing and body still blocking the wind, Ashley pointed at the double doors to the hospital. “Take her in! I’ll get Willow!”
While Steadfast wheeled the cot away, his companion tucking itself under his collar, Ashley ran to the airplane. She hesitated for a moment and took a deep breath. Then, ducking her head, she leaped back inside. Pearl caught Ashley’s arm and pulled her to a stop.
Ashley turned to the front and panted through her words. “Billy! How much time till we have to turn?”
“Probably just under two minutes!”
Ashley nodded at Pearl. “Let’s go!” She grabbed the head rail of Willow’s cot and backed toward the door, this time with more confidence. When she set a foot on the platform, the plane bucked and tossed the cot into the air, slinging Willow into Hartanna’s webbing. The door shot upward and slammed in front of Pearl’s face. The cot flew over the edge of the platform and tumbled end over end behind them.
With a jerk of her wing, Hartanna made a pocket for Willow and lowered him gently to the floor.
Now buffeted by the wind, Ashley leaned into every step until she reached Willow. “Can you carry him to the door?” she shouted. “I have to get Mason!”
“I will,” Hartanna said, “but Pearl will have to open Merlin’s door for you. Billy can’t leave the pilot’s chair.”
“I can do it. The upper door is open, and the lower door has a latch on the outside.”
“As if it weren’t already dangerous enough out here.” Hartanna scooted toward the hospital entrance. “I won’t be able to shield you from the wind until I return.”
“I know.” Ashley hurried back to the plane, leaning to her left to battle the wind. Through the pilot’s window, Billy pointed at his wrist, obviously indicating that they were out of time. They would have to make the turn.
She walked as close to the edge of the platform as she dared and shouted into the open upper door. “Pearl! Tell Billy to tell Walter to make a full one-eighty degree turn! A headwind will be easier than a crosswind.”
Pearl nodded, and as she made her way toward the front, her profile, bending low to avoid the ceiling, passed by each window. Ashley leaned out and grasped the door handle. It would be better to try to get inside before the turn than afterward. Who could tell how rough it would become?
She tried to twist the handle, but it wouldn’t budge. As she used her weight to try to muscle it open, the plane eased away. Ashley lurched forward and slung her arms over the top of the lower door. Her head leaned into the cabin as her feet lifted off the platform. She tried to scream, but her “Help!” sounded more like the croak of a frog.
Merlin slid farther from the dock and then dropped. With the sudden fall, Ashley felt almost weightless. She kicked and pulled, then finally tumbled into the cabin. After rolling to a stop, she lay on her side and gasped for breath.
As Pearl rushed down the aisle, Billy shouted from the front. “Are you okay?”
Ashley coughed. Her stomach boiled inside. She clutched her abdomen and dry heaved, unable to control the spasms.
Laying a hand on Ashley’s side, Pearl called to Billy, “It is probably just temporary nausea due to extreme stress. Go ahead with the turn.”
As Ashley curled into a fetal position, the plane dipped, slid, and banked as if batted about by the hand of a spiteful giant. Obviously they had turned back into the crosswinds. Gusts hurtled in through the open upper door and swirled throughout the cabin.
Closing her eyes as she tried to find a distraction from the horrible nausea, she listened to the propeller buzz and Billy’s sharp commands. “We’re at exactly ninety degrees now, Walter. Keep turning left. I’ll give you a countdown. Because of the headwinds, you might have to kick up the speed when you make the turn. I’m not sure how much. I’ll just have to let you know.”
After nearly a minute, Ashley let out a long breath and sat up. Pearl stared, her companion sitting on her shoulder, its tiny eyes blinking. “There is medicine in the hospital for your stomach,” Pearl said. “You will be fine very soon.”
While the plane continued to buck wildly, Ashley rubbed her abdomen. The muscles felt like knotted steel. “Let’s worry about me later. We have to get Mason inside.” With Pearl’s help, she rose to her feet, then clutched the head rail of the last cot. Mason’s shallow breaths came faster and faster. His face grimaced with every bounce.
“Let’s do it, Billy!” Ashley called.
“Two seconds!” Billy barked into his microphone. “That’s it, Walter! Hold her there!”
With a turn into the headwind, the bucking eased a bit, but not enough. Mason continued to hyperventilate. His lips turned blue and his face ashen.
“We’re losing him!” Ashley reached for the handle. “I’m opening the door.”
“Go for it! We’re steady.”
As before, she opened the lower hatch and pushed it down with her foot. Hartanna, now near the center of the platform, shuffled toward the plane. Turning her back again to the door, Ashley grasped Mason’s cot.
Pearl tugged on Ashley’s arm. “I will go first this time. You stay here.”
Too sick to resist, she switched places with Pearl. As soon as she put her hands on the cot near Mason’s feet, his gasping breaths stopped.
Ashley’s stomach knotted twice as hard. “Go! Go!”
As soon as Hartanna created her wing shield, Pearl backed onto the ramp. Her blond hair flew into a swirl over her head, and her tunic and trousers slapped against her arms and legs. Grunting with every inch of progress, she finally set the front wheels on the docking floor.
Just as Ashley picked up her end of the cot to lift it over the final bump, a shout of “I’ll get that!” pierced the rushing wind. Steadfast was running toward them from the other side of the platform.
Pearl turned toward him. The force of Ashley’s lift thrust the cot into Pearl’s legs. Pearl toppled backward, flailing. The cot slipped from Ashley’s fingers and ran over Pearl’s body.
Hartanna shifted her free wing to scoop Pearl and Mason to safety, but the wind breezing underneath her shield swept them over the platform’s side. Hartanna leaped after them and disappeared.
Steadfast dropped to his knees and stared. Ashley backed up to the opposite side of the plane, dashed forward, and jumped to the platform. Landing on the run, she rushed to him and stooped at his side, breathless. “Hartanna … will catch them. … I know she will. … She is fast … and powerful.”
Still staring straight ahead, Steadfast could only say, “Perhaps one of them. Catching both would take more than a miracle.”
Billy pulled the plane away from the platform, waving from the window. Ashley returned his wave, then hoisted Steadfast to his feet. “We can’t wait. We have two patients who will die if we don’t do something right now. I know your companion gave you that name for a reason, so let’s move!”
Poking out from under Steadfast’s collar, his companion flashed a soothing blue light. Without another word, he laid a shaking arm over Ashley’s shoulders, and the two leaned against the wind as they hurried inside.