Chapter 16
Mereniang looked both bewildered and horrified. She didn't move. But LeShan took two quick steps and thrust a hand into the fountain.
"Here," he said, holding out one of the shards toward Rob.
Rob didn't glance up. He was kneeling by Timon, one hand on the old man's upper chest.
"Hang on," he said. Then he glanced up at Mereniang. "He's so weak! It's as if his life-force has disappeared..."
"The crystal was sustaining him," Mereniang said. Her blue eyes, though still fixed on Timon, were dull.
She had withdrawn into herself, arms wrapped around her body. "When it shattered, his life ended."
"He's not dead yet!" Rob said fiercely. He shut his eyes, placing his free hand on Timon's forehead.
Kaitlyn could sense the healing energy flowing from him.
"No," Timon whispered. "It's no use, and I need you to listen to me."
"Don't talk," Rob ordered, but Kait went to kneel by the old man. She needed to understand what was happening.
"Why did you do it?" she asked.
Timon's eyes opened. There was a strange serenity in their depths. He even managed something like a smile.
"You were right," he said faintly. "Change is good - or at least necessary. Take the shard."
LeShan was still holding out the crystal. Kaitlyn looked from him to Timon. Then she reached out her hand.
The shard was almost as thick as her wrist and a foot long. It was cold and heavy and the facets were very sharp. One sliced into her thumb when she tested the edge.
"Take it back with you, and do what needs to be done," Timon whispered. His voice was almost inaudible now. Rob was sweating, his hands trembling, but Timon seemed to be fading away.
"Some things are so evil they must be fought..."
A shiver went through Timon's frame, and a strange sound came from his lungs. Death rattle, Kaitlyn thought, too numb to move. It was almost like hearing a soul leave a body.
Timon's eyes were wide, staring at the sky. But now they were unseeing.
Kaitlyn's throat felt tight and swollen. Her eyes filled, tears spilling over. All around her the members of the Fellowship were milling about, like a flock of birds thrown into confusion. They didn't seem to know what to do now that Timon was dead and the crystal shattered.
And Rob's chest was heaving. His hair was dark with sweat, his eyes dark with grief. A healer who had lost the battle.
Kaitlyn scooted over to him, glad to have some problem she could understand. She put her arms around him. She felt a ripple in the newly free web and saw Lewis and Anna come to kneel beside her.
They put their arms around both Kait and Rob. All of them holding on as they had in the blizzard.
Clinging to one another because they were all they had.
"All right, you lot!" LeShan was shouting. "Timon's gone, but we're still alive. We're going to have to think for ourselves. And we don't have time to stand around!"
"We're going to have to leave, of course," LeShan said. He seemed to have taken charge while Mereniang was grieving. Kaitlyn was glad; LeShan might be aggressive and quick-tempered, but she found him much easier to understand than the rest of the Fellowship.
They were all standing in the central hallway of the white house. Around them the Fellowship was busying itself, packing and carrying, moving and loading.
"You think Mr. Zetes will attack again," Rob said. It wasn't a question.
"Yes, that was just the beginning. He's removed our defenses - and that was probably all he could do at one go. Next time it'll be for the kill."
A tall woman looked in from another hallway.
"LeShan, are the children coming with us? I'm trying to arrange transportation."
LeShan looked at Kait and the others.
"Well?" he said.
No one spoke at first. Then Rob said, "Let me get this clear. Timon's idea was that we should go back down to Mr. Zetes, and use the shard of your crystal to destroy his crystal."
"It's the only way to do it," LeShan said. "But that doesn't mean you have to."
"Timon died so we could have a shard," Anna said. Her normally gentle face was severe.
"And I still don't understand," Kait burst out. "Why did everyone listen to him? You were dead-set against fighting before - what made you all change your minds?"
LeShan's lip curled. "I don't think they all did change their minds. They're just used to obeying Timon.
He might not have considered himself the leader, but everyone let him do the thinking."
"And he changed his mind because of the attack?" Lewis said uncertainly.
"Because of Sabrina," Kaitlyn said. Everyone looked at her. "Didn't you see?" she asked.
Lewis blinked. "Who's Sabrina?"
"Sabrina Jessica Gallo. She was one of the gray people. I didn't realize it before because I couldn't see her face."
"Are you sure?" Rob asked.
"Positive. I saw her clearly this time. And I guess that means the other gray people are the other old students. They all looked young to me."
"That was what Timon sensed," LeShan said. His lips were still curled slightly, as if he had an unpleasant taste in his mouth. "We all sensed it, everyone who was touching the crystal. The attackers were children - none of them over twenty. And their minds were twisted... I can't explain it."
"They were insane," Kaitlyn told him rather calmly. "That's what Mr. Zetes said, that the crystal had driven them crazy. And that's why I never thought of him using them to attack us. I had the idea they were in institutions somewhere."
"Maybe Mr. Z got them out," Lewis said hollowly.
LeShan grimaced. "In any case, we could feel their agony - and their evil. None of us realized evil like that still existed in the world. I think we had the idea that it died when our country died."
"And you're not going to tell us what that country was, are you?" Kaitlyn asked. She'd been meaning to get the question in since yesterday.
LeShan seemed not to hear her. "If you four go back down to fight this man, it will be dangerous," he said. "I won't pretend otherwise. And you can't rely on any help from us. I've got to make sure all these people get settled somewhere - and by the time I'm free, it may be all over with you."
"Thanks," Rob said dryly.
"If I can help after that, I will. But it's your decision."
"We'd be safe if we went with you?" Kaitlyn asked. She felt almost wistful.
"Reasonably safe. Nobody can promise perfect safety."
Kaitlyn sighed. She looked at Rob, and at Lewis and Anna. They were all looking at one another, too.
Do we really have a choice? Rob asked.
The longer we wait, the stronger Mr. Z will get, Anna said. Her thought smoldered with conviction.
We might as well finish what we started, Lewis put in, sounding resigned. He'd bounced back remarkably quickly from his upset. With his natural resilience and optimism, he was even now hoping for the best in Lydia - Kait could tell.
Kaitlyn had a different reason for wanting to go back. Yes, she wanted to stop Mr. Zetes, but there was something more important.
Gabriel, she told the others.
There was an immediate swell of emotion. Some of it was anger, bewilderment, feelings of betrayal. But there was sympathy, too, and determination - and love.
You're right, Rob thought. If he really is going to join Mr. Zetes -
I'm afraid he is, Kaitlyn broke in. I should have thought of it last night. Meren said that any crystal that produces energy could feed him. And Mr. Z's crystal certainly produces energy.
You think that's why he left? Anna asked.
I don't know. I doubt that's all of it. But I think he'd rather get energy from a crystal than from people. And the more contact he has with that crystal -
"The worse he'll get," Rob said aloud. "The more like Sabrina and those other poor jerks."
"We've got to stop that," Lewis said, startled.
Rob looked at him, and then smiled. It was just the ghost of his normal grin, but it warmed Kaitlyn immeasurably.
"You're right," he said. "We've got to stop it."
"My parents may be able to help," Anna said. "I'm sure they've been trying."
LeShan said, "I'll arrange your transportation."
That was all he said, but his lynx eyes flashed at Kaitlyn. She had the impression that he was desperately proud of them.
"Wait, there's one more thing, " she said anxiously. "I wanted to ask you before, but I never got the chance. There's this girl back in California. Mr. Zetes put her into a coma somehow - with drugs, we think. I told her brother that we'd ask you for help, but..."
Her voice trailed off. She could feel Rob's concern regarding Marisol, and his chagrin over forgetting - but LeShan's face was impassive.
Of course they won't be able to help, she thought. They're not doctors. I was stupid for even asking...
She didn't want to imagine Marisol's brother's face when she told him.
LeShan was nonchalant. "The perfect crystals had the virtue of curing most diseases," he said. "Even a shard ought to do something to help your friend."
Kaitlyn's breath came out in a rush. She hadn't even realized she was holding it, but suddenly her heart was lighter.
LeShan was walking away, but he glanced back over his shoulder and grinned.
"So it's just us again," Lewis said. They were waiting for LeShan to bring them a guide through the forest. Kaitlyn was carrying her duffel bag, which held her clothes - all dirty by now - and her art kit.
She had the crystal shard in her other hand.
"We're the only ones we have to rely on," Kaitlyn agreed.
Anna said, "That's all anybody ever has, really."
"Yeah, but all that driving, all that searching," Lewis said. "All for nothing."
Rob looked at him quickly. "It wasn't for nothing. We're stronger now. We know more. And we finally have a weapon."
"Right," Anna said. "We set out to find this place and we did. We wanted to find a way to stop Mr. Z and we have."
"Sure. It's all over but the screaming," Lewis said, but he smiled.
Kaitlyn looked back at the white house, now looted and empty. She was wondering if she could have stayed if things had been different. If Gabriel hadn't betrayed them, if the Fellowship were staying, could she have made her home here? Would it have been a place where she could have belonged?
"If we can destroy the crystal, we can cure Gabriel, too," Rob was saying.
Kaitlyn looked at him fondly. No, she thought. I don't belong with the Fellowship. I belong with Rob - and Lewis, and Anna, and Gabriel, too. Wherever they are, I'm home.
"Right," she said to Rob. "So let's go do it. The search is on again."
She looked down at the shard. As a ray of sun broke through the clouds, it flashed like diamond.
***