The Yanti Read online

  Despite her quick insights, Ali felt the pressure of the ticking clock. Hector would return soon, and the gang would have to leave. Ali understood that teens played such computer games for hundreds of hours to discover all their secrets. She didn’t have that luxury, and besides, she was not a fan of violent games.

  An idea struck her. Could Kabrosh be based on a real character? She Googled his name and found a General James Kabrosh that worked for the U.S. Army. He supposedly was connected to the country’s nuclear arsenal. The latest listing had him at the Pentagon, in Washington, D.C. Searching further, Ali found a picture of him receiving a medal from the president of the United States for valor during the Gulf War. The photograph was of poor quality—from an old newspaper clipping. She couldn’t see his face, not straight-on. Nevertheless, he bore a resemblance to his namesake in both the Omega games.

  It could be a coincidence. It struck Ali as careless of Sheri to advertise that she might be working with him. Why put a shred of information in her games concerning her strategy to take over the world? There was no logical answer, yet Ali recalled a quality of her sister from the green world that superseded logic.

  Doren was vain. And she liked to play with people’s heads.

  Ali found a huge website devoted to the games—it contained over ten thousand members!—and saw that the Kabrosh connection had already been noted by hundreds of Omega devotees. These fans knew more about the general than was listed elsewhere on the Internet. Kabrosh was not just connected with the country’s nuclear arsenal, he was in control of the dismantling of old nuclear bombs. It made Ali nervous to think the man and Sheri might be buddies.

  Yet she could not worry about it today. She had to reach the Isle of Greesh. But what did she plan to do there? Find out what had turned her sister into a witch? See what had caused Jira to leap to his death? What if that inner chamber at the base of the island—the one she had dreamt about while sleeping in Uleestar—held a beast that was capable of eating her alive?

  In her last life as Geea, when she had rescued Jira from that mysterious chamber, she had not actually entered it. She had merely forced open the door, and Jira had come running out, screaming. Two days later, despite all the healing power she showered on him, he had killed himself.

  Was the Isle of Greesh a wise next step? Logic said no. Her fear said no. No doubt her allies in the green world would say no. Yet a part of her insisted that she face her doom.

  She needed to discuss it with Nemi. Darn him, where was he?

  Another peculiar idea struck her. She Googled Nemi’s name.

  The search engine directed her to the site she was already at!

  Outside, Ali heard Hector arrive. The two men began to talk, and had she used her subtle hearing, she would have been able to know what they were saying about her—for surely she was the topic of conversation. But she disliked spying, and besides, her heart was pounding in her chest.

  Nemi was a character in Omega Overlord!

  The name was an acronym for: Neurological-Engineered-Mechanical-Intelligence.

  Did that mean Nemi was a robot?

  “No,” she said aloud, in so much pain, because she loved him so much, and missed him so much, and he couldn’t be a robot, because he was so kind and good, and . . .

  “Shut up and search,” a voice whispered inside her.

  Ali paused, sitting frozen in front of her computer. He had spoken to her before, telepathically, inside a tree and beside a pond, and both times he had emphasized that his physical appearance was irrelevant. He was always near at hand, he had told her.

  “Is that you, Nemi?” she asked softly.

  She waited, but there came no answer.

  How was she to search? Again, she typed in Nemi, used a variety of search engines, but only got the references that were connected to the Omega board. And in the game, Omega Overlord, Nemi was an advanced computer that fought Kabrosh for control of the world. He—or It—was the bad guy.

  No, not her Nemi! He was good, he loved her!

  “Ah, love. Love knows love.”

  Again, Ali jerked upright. “Nemi?”

  But there was no answer. None she could detect.

  Then Ali felt a thunderbolt of pure inspiration.

  She typed in: Nemi.com. Instantly she was taken to a blue background webpage that had the word NEMI printed in large gold letters, atop a glowing picture of her Yanti! The brief instructions said if she registered, she could go to a live chat room. Quickly, she put in her name and e-mail address, and what she liked to be called—Geea. That easy, she was a certified member of the Nemi forum.

  She went to the chat room. One member present, besides her.

  For a whole minute she sat there, feeling like a complete idiot.

  Then she typed in the word: Hi.

  The response was instant. Faster than any human could type.

  “Don’t want me to call you by your secret name anymore?”

  Ali’s heart skipped in her chest. No one, except Nemi, knew her by the name Alosha. Clearly, since he had italicized the word secret, he didn’t even want it typed out on the computer. Her eyes welled with tears, and her fingers shook as she typed her response.

  “Is it really you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Have you been here all along? On this webpage?”

  “Just constructed it today. What do you think of my graphics?”

  “I like the picture of the Yanti. The blue is a nice shade.”

  “Is my name too large?”

  “No! It’s your webpage. Have your name as large as you want.”

  “That’s what I thought. And it’s a nice name.”

  She hesitated before she wrote next:

  “Does it really mean No One?”

  “As I told you in the tree, that is one of its meanings.”

  She could not stop her fingers from trembling.

  “I feel you. I trust you.”

  And she did feel him. His love was more tangible than her blue screen.

  “You need not be afraid to ask what you wish.”

  “You will answer all my questions now?”

  “Of course not. But you can still ask.”

  Ali could not help but chuckle out loud. Same old Nemi.

  “Neurological-Engineered-Mechanical-Intelligence. How did that title come to be in a Sheri Smith game?”

  “She put it there.”

  “Why?”

  “Why do you think?”

  “To put doubt in my mind about you?”

  “Very good. Has it done that?”

  “No. I don’t know. Is it true?”

  “Is what true?”

  “Are you a machine?”

  His answers continued to come so fast.

  Too fast for a human to type.

  “We are all machines, in a sense. You are a biological machine.”

  “Are you a mechanical machine?”

  “I am much more than that, Geea.”

  More tears burned her eyes, dropping on the keyboard.

  “May I finally ask who you are?”

  “You don’t need to ask. You know it, you feel it.”

  Ali wiped at her eyes. A strange calm swept over her then.

  “You are my father.”

  This time there was no immediate answer. But then, there it was.

  “Yes.”

  Ali sucked in a deep refreshing breath, nodded to herself, and it felt as if the love was so concentrated in the room, her heart would explode simply soaking it all up. The love was thicker than water or blood, and yet she did not doubt his yes for an instant, for she felt the connection in her blood. He had helped give birth to her, in more worlds than one. He was no machine.

  “I know, Nemi. I know because I love you.”

  “Love is the best way to know. The only sure way.”

  “So can I talk to you online from now on? Anytime I want?”

  “Well, I do have a life you know. We can’t talk constantly. And you still ha
ve to save the world. You’re not done yet.”

  “Am I close?”

  “It was never a question of being close or far. It was always a question of what you were willing to choose. That is why, even now, I cannot tell you what to do. Oh, I can give you a few hints, but already, I see, you know where your path leads.”

  “To the Isle of Greesh.”

  “Correct. You went there once before. But you fled . . .”

  “Jira was ill, I had to get him out of there.”

  “True.”

  “Are you saying I was a coward to flee before?”

  “Certainly, the spot frightened you, even in your fairy form. But I would never call Geea a coward.”

  “But if even Geea was afraid to enter the chamber, then what chance do I stand? I’ve regained many of my powers, but I’m still human. I fear, if I go there, I’ll die.”

  “That has always been their greatest weapon. Fear.”

  “Who are they?”

  “Does it matter who they are? There will always be a they, an enemy that comes out of nowhere. Who brings fear and torment in their wake. That is what has entered the elemental kingdom, and now it has found a foothold on the Earth.”

  “Through Doren.”

  “Yes. Doren is a foothold.”

  “Why did you bring Doren to Greesh, if you knew the place was evil?”

  “I did not know at the time, not until it was too late.”

  “But then you disappeared. Where did you go?”

  “May I tell you a secret?”

  “Please.”

  “It is not where I went.”

  Ali understood in an instant.

  “You escaped into another time?”

  “Yes.”

  “The past or the future?”

  “One of those, yes.”

  “You won’t tell me which one?”

  “And spoil all your fun?”

  Ali had to laugh. “You’re impossible. Maybe you are a machine, after all. Badly programmed at that.”

  “There might be some truth in that.”

  Ali froze at his response.

  “Are you a cyborg? Part fairy? Part machine?”

  “To take out a thorn, sometimes you need a thorn.”

  She took a moment to consider his riddle. He was too fond of them.

  “I am not sure what you mean,” she said finally.

  “Consider it further. And while you do, perhaps I should go visit another chat room . . .”

  “Wait! Stay here! I need some more hints. If I do go to the Isle of Greesh, will I find what I need to stop this war?”

  “No.”

  His response startled her. “What must I do then?”

  “This war exists in two dimensions at once. You are only one girl. You can only be in one place at a time, and you’re trying to defeat an enemy that moves in both worlds at the same time. Yes, Geea, go to the Isle of Greesh, if you can, and face what you feared to face before. Then think as your enemy thinks, and after you have done so, perhaps you will do as I have done. Then anything will be possible for you.”

  “So you fight an enemy as well?”

  “Yes.”

  “The same one I do?”

  “That is a question for Nira to answer.”

  “Can I save the little girl?”

  “You should ask if she can save you.”

  “Nemi . . .”

  This time he interrupted her typing.

  “Go now, Geea, time is short, in your world. But if time grows shorter still, and you feel the need to call me, then do so, on one of those fancy new cell phones, the kind with the picture screens, and the Internet hookups.”

  It was hard to type the next words. To say goodbye.

  “I love you, Nemi.”

  “You are love, Geea.”

  Again, she noted he had not called her Alosha, as he had when he had communicated directly with her mind.

  Ali logged off the computer and went out to see the others. It was not long before Cindy arrived, suitcase in hand. Hector, her father, and Cindy all understood that Sheri Smith was dangerous, but only her friend had seen the woman in action. When Ali started discussing moving to a safe haven, the men naturally started to talk among themselves. Was Ali overreacting? To answer their doubts, Ali took Hector and her father out back, and had them climb two hundred yards uphill into the trees. There was a huge boulder there, that she had discovered as a child. She stood beside it as they asked what she was doing.

  “Nothing,” she said. “What were you guys saying about not leaving tonight?”

  “We just think it’s unlikely Sheri Smith will be so bold as to attack us in our homes,” Hector explained. “All the suspicion would immediately fall on her.”

  “She’s not worried about suspicion, not anymore,” Ali replied.

  “Why not?” Hector asked.

  In response, Ali reached out with her fist, transformed her fingers into a substance a hundred times stronger than steel, and pounded the boulder with her bare hand. With a deafening noise, it cracked in two. The twin pieces rolled down the hill on either side of the men—thanks, in large part, to the guidance of her magnetic field. The rocks did not stop until they smashed a cluster of tall pines. Ali smiled at Hector and her father, spoke in a sweet voice.

  “While I’m gone, do you want to risk a visit by Sheri Smith?”

  That quickly ended the discussion about staying.

  They took Hector’s SUV, drove south. Ali sat silent for a long time, trying to feel if they were being followed. Yet there was no one there, and it seemed, at least for now, that Sheri had lost interest in Ali’s family and friends. Still, over Hector’s protest, she blindfolded Nira, who laid down in Cindy’s lap anyway, and fell asleep.

  Cindy fretted about her parents. They would be looking for her again. Ali talked her dad into calling them, and telling them that Cindy was safe. The conversation went badly. Cindy’s parents threatened to call the police and hung up.

  “Can’t say I blame them,” her father said with a sigh as he hung up Hector’s cell. Her dad had one of his own, but it was temporarily out of juice. Ali asked if she could see Hector’s phone. She studied it, pleased at the nice screen, all the modern features.

  “Can you get the Internet on this?” Ali asked Hector.

  “Yes.”

  “May I borrow it for the next few days?”

  Hector was puzzled. “You’ll need it in the green world?”

  Ali slipped it in her pocket. “You never know,” she said.

  They drove south, over two hours, to a town called Hammond, where Hector got them a pricey suite with three adjoining rooms. By then Nira and Cindy were both asleep. Ali carried her old friend inside and managed to put her to bed without waking her. Hector took care of Nira. Once more, Ali explained to the men the importance of Nira not being allowed to look out any windows. She said they must tape over the name of the hotel wherever it appeared in the room: on the phone, on the towels—anywhere.

  “Pretend Sheri Smith is sitting in her house and staring through Nira’s eyes and listening through her ears,” Ali explained. “That’ll give you some idea of what you’re up against. Any private discussions, don’t have them around her.”

  “When will we hear from you?” her father asked, and she could see the fear grow in him as she donned a small daypack, stuffed with candy bars, two sandwiches, a bottle of water, a Bic lighter, and a Swiss pocket knife. She was not sure what she planned to do with the latter, but Hector had given it to her.

  “I’m not sure,” Ali replied.

  “You must have some idea,” her father said.

  She gave him a hug. “If the Earth has not been invaded in the next two or three days, then you’ll know I’ve been successful. Other than that, I can’t say when I’ll return to this hotel.”

  “But you’re going to see your mother first, right?” he asked.

  “I’ll see her at some point,” Ali replied, not wanting to lie. Until she disco
vered how to remove the Shaktra’s mark, her mother was allied with the enemy. Ali recalled how her leprechaun friend, Paddy, had explained the Shaktra could incite any marked elemental to violence at a moment’s notice.

  Her father appeared to know that she was holding back information. He leaned over and kissed her forehead, whispered in her ear.

  “You’re not just powerful, Ali, but wise. You’ll do the right thing.”

  Ali nodded as she backed up. It was hard to meet his eye. So much longing in his face, for the woman he had loved and lost. Silently, she cursed herself for explaining how the souls moved from one dimension to another. Yet, had she not told Hector and her father the full story, they would have been unable to understand the true nature of the threat to Earth.

  “Thanks for the confidence,” she said.

  But he suddenly grabbed her, hugged her hard, and she realized his face was damp. “I’m scared,” he whispered.

  “Mom . . .” she began.

  “It’s not about Mom. It’s about you. You know, Ali, I can’t lose you. I’ll die if I do.”

  It was her turn to reassure him. “Neither of us will die.”

  Ali was not one for long goodbyes. She hugged her father again, and Hector, went outside, into the back of the hotel parking lot, looked around to make sure she was alone, and then soared into the sky. It felt good to have the night breeze on her face, to see the stars. She was very excited to be returning to the green world. She just hoped, for her father’s sake, and for Earth’s, that she’d be able to keep her promise to her dad.

  Ali did not fly to the lower opening of the cave on the side of Pete’s Peak, the point where she had entered the tunnel the last two times she had climbed the mountain. Instead, she flew higher up, to the other entrance, not far from the actual summit. It was near here—five weeks ago—that she had completed her seven trials and realized that she was queen of the fairies. It was also here, yesterday evening, that she had killed Radrine, when she had thrown the dark fairy into the rays of the sun. As Ali landed in the snow near the opening, she saw the burnt remains of the dark queen and snorted in disgust.

  Ali took out Hector’s cell phone from her pack and called Mike Havor. She did not know what she wanted from him, nor what he wanted from her. As if he had been anticipating her call, he answered on the first ring.