She was right. I didn't. These two women had risked their lives for me, and there was no way I was capable of living up to what they expected of me in return. But as bad as I felt, the real horror of the situation hadn't yet hit. Loor and I stood up and started back into the clearing. Osa saw us. She took a few steps toward us, then suddenly stopped. Loor saw this and quickly put her hand out to stop me as well. Something was wrong. Were the knights waking up? I looked at Osa, who slowly returned to her fighting stance. She was back on full alert and started to reach for her wooden stave. I looked around the clearing, but there was no movement at all. The knights lay unconscious where they had fallen. Why was everyone so tense?

A second later I had my answer-a moment that will forever haunt me. I first heard a rustling and thought someone was coming through the bushes. I soon learned it wasn't in the bushes. It was coming from above. It was in the trees. I looked up and saw to my horror that perched up in the trees were four more knights. These knights weren't armed with clubs. They had bows and arrows. I had forgotten that the miner was killed with an arrow. These knights had been there the whole time, watching the spectacle. And now they were about to make their move.

Osa stood in the middle of the clearing, unprotected. Loor was about to run to her, but Osa yelled out, "Hide him!"

This made Loor stop. It must have taken every bit of will-power to go against her instincts and obey her mother, but that's what she did. She backed off, grabbed my hand, and that's when it started.

The knights let loose with their arrows, all aimed at Osa. The brave woman wore no armor. There was nothing to protect her from this deadly rain. All four arrows hit their mark, and Osa crumpled to her knees. Loor let out a pained little sound and started to run for her, but I grabbed her. By now the knights had already reloaded, and if Loor had run to her mother, she would have met the same deadly fate. We stood there for a second, looking into the doomed woman's kind eyes. Maybe I was imagining things, but as I write this now I could swear that she gave us a little smile.

The knights unleashed another volley of arrows. But these weren't meant for Osa. These were aimed at us. Luckily we were protected by trees and they all ended up missing us or slamming into branches. But it was enough to throw Loor back into action. She grabbed my hand and off we ran into the forest, leaving behind her mortally wounded mother.

Loor knew the forest well. Keeping up with her was like running with a deer. She leaped over fallen trees, skirted boulders, and blasted through a thicket. We weren't going in a straight line either, and I realized that this journey was all about shaking the knights who might be trailing us. I was getting tired and had a nasty stitch in my side, but there was no way I would complain. Not after what these women had done for me.

We eventually made our way around to the far side of the village, where Loor brought me to a stone hut. I wasn't exactly thrilled with her choice of hiding places. All it would take for a knight to find us was a quick search of the village. But I soon found out that Loor had other things in mind. She quickly dove on the pile of animal skins that was lying along one wall and pulled them aside. Beneath was the same hard-packed earth that all the hut floors were made of. Loor took her wooden stave and started to scratch at the dirt. With a couple of quick digs, she unearthed a wooden ring. She threw her stave down, grabbed the ring and pulled. It was a trapdoor!

"This leads to the mines," she said in explanation.

Oh, great. I had promised myself never to return to those mines. It was a promise that lasted a good twenty minutes.

"The Bedoowan are afraid of the gas," she said. "They never go into the mines." She threw open the trapdoor to reveal another crude ladder leading down. Here we go again. She motioned for me to go first. Loor followed quickly and closed the door behind her. We climbed down only one ladder. It led to a small tunnel that we had to crouch down in to walk along. I could tell that it was angled downward.

"There are many of these small tunnels," she said. "They bring air to the miners."

So basically we were walking along a ventilation shaft. Made sense. But since this was only for ventilation, there were no candles to show us the way. It was like walking through ink. I kept one hand out in front of me in case a wall decided to jump out. But I wasn't going fast enough for Loor. She barged ahead and took the lead. She moved much faster and it was easier to follow her than it was to follow nothing. I just hoped she knew where she was going.

This ventilation tunnel led to a much wider tunnel with some ore car tracks. I figured this must have been one of the early mining tunnels that was dug before the Milago built the big cavern. We followed this tunnel for several minutes until it emptied out into a familiar space. It was the mine shaft where Osa and I first climbed down. When was that? It felt like a century ago, but it was more like an hour. We came out on one of the rock ledges and I saw that we were only three levels down from the surface. The familiar circle of blue light beckoned from above.

Loor stood out on the ledge and looked up. She was obviously debating with herself about something and it didn't take long for me to find out what it was.

"Go to the bottom," she commanded. "I will meet you there. Go!" She stared at me until I started to climb down the ladder. As soon as I started down, she began to climb up. Just as I figured. She wanted to go to her mother. I hung on the ladder and watched her climb to the surface. I know I should have kept going down as I was told, but I couldn't. Osa had put her life on the line for me, and I had to find out how she was. So after wrestling with the decision for a few seconds, I started to climb up.

When I reached the last ladder before the surface, I heard something coming from outside. I didn't know what it was at first, and when I finally recognized it, it made my heart sink. It was Loor. She was humming the same sweet song that I'd heard her humming by the river. I pulled myself up out of the mine shaft and what I saw then, broke my heart.

Loor was sitting on the ground next to the stone foundation. She cradled Osa's head in her lap and stroked her hair while slowly rocking back and forth as if lulling a baby to sleep. I didn't know if Osa was dead or alive. Lying next to her were the four arrows that had hit her. Loor had pulled them out. I stayed where I was because I didn't want to intrude. Loor was a proud girl and I was sure she wouldn't want me to see her cry.

I glanced around the clearing and saw that the knights were gone. The archers in the trees probably dragged off their unconscious buddies. The body of the Milago miner was still there though. He lay on his back, staring up sightlessly into the sky.

That's when I saw Osa's hand move. She reached out weakly and took her daughter's hand. She was alive! I quickly ran over to see if I could be of any help. Loor didn't acknowledge that I was there, except that she stopped humming her song. But Osa knew I was there, and she looked up at me with tired eyes.

"Do not be sad," she said with a weak voice. "Either of you. This is the way it was meant to be."

I had trouble holding back my tears. Osa wasn't going to make it.

"I...I'm sorry, Osa," was all I could get out.

Osa then took her hand away from Loor and reached for the leather pouch around her neck. It was the pouch where she had put the silver ring.

"Take this, Pendragon," she said. "Use it as you see fit."

I took the pouch and pulled out the ring. Osa nodded encouragement, so I put it on the ring finger of my right hand. Oddly enough, it fit perfectly.

"You are both at the beginning of a long journey," said Osa as she grew weaker. "Pendragon, I know you do not feel you are up to the challenge. You are wrong."

I nodded, but I didn't believe her.

Osa continued, "Halla is in your hands. Remember that. Let it be your guide. Together you two will-" Osa caught her breath, gave a little shudder and closed her eyes. They would never open again.

This was a painful moment. Of course, I felt sympathy for Loor. The girl had just lost her mother. But I, too, felt loss. In the short time I had known Osa, I had developed an affection for her. She was the one voice of reason in the storm of confusion that I had been swept into. I trusted her. I felt safe with her. And my trust had proven to be well placed, for she had sacrificed her own life to save mine. That's a debt that can never be repaid.

I wanted to comfort Loor but I didn't know how. I struggled to find the right words, but Loor spoke first. "Go down into the mine, Pendragon," she said. "I will meet you there."

I wasn't about to argue. I just nodded and stepped away. Before I climbed down onto the ladder I said, "I'm sorry, Loor."

Loor didn't acknowledge me. She just sat there, still cradling her mother. As I climbed down the ladder, I could hear that she was once again humming the tune from the river. I had to fight back my tears.

I climbed all the way down to the bottom of the mine and found my way into the giant cavern. Once there I saw that it was business as usual. There was no day here and no night. All signs of the excitement from the explosion were gone. I didn't know what to do, so I found a quiet corner and sat down to try and think. To say that my mind was a jumble of conflicting thoughts was an understatement. I spun the silver ring on my finger. This strange piece of jewelry might actually be my ticket home. But as much as I wanted to use it, the idea of bolting out of here made me feel incredibly guilty. For some reason that I still didn't understand, everyone was expecting me to help these poor people fight for their freedom. Stranger still, an amazing person had just given her life so that I could live to carry out that mission.

I wished I knew what to do. If there was something these people needed that I could deliver on, I'd gladly do it. But lead a revolution? That's insane! I sat there for a while and even got a little bit of sleep. Finally Loor arrived carrying a basket.

"Come with me," she ordered. So I got up and followed her. She led me down one of the mine tunnels that didn't look as if it were active. A few feet along we came to an opening to a small room that had been cut from the rock. It was set up like one of the huts with animal fur bedding, a table, and candles for light.

"This is where we come when Kagan is looking for us," she explained. "You will be safe here." She then handed me the basket and I saw that it was full of bread and fruit. I needed to eat, but I didn't have much of an appetite.

I took a chance and asked, "Where's Osa?"

"She was taken to the village," said Loor with no emotion.

"Tomorrow I will take her to Zadaa."

Zadaa. That was the territory where Loor and Osa came from. So that meant Loor knew how to use the flumes to get around. And if she was going to bring her mother's body back home, I couldn't imagine she planned to climb back to the top of that mountain to get there. There must have been another way to use the flumes.

There was some serious tension in this little stone room just then. Loor was angry, but I wasn't sure how much of that anger was aimed at me. I was upset and sad and to be honest, a little scared of her. She had a nasty temper and if she decided to take it out on me, there'd be nothing left of poor Bobby Pendragon except a stain on the wall. I decided not to push Loor by talking. So I sat down on the animal fur and tried to act invisible.

Loor was like a caged cat, pacing back and forth. What I feared was that her anger would build to a point where she'd explode and take me apart. In a strange way, that was exactly what happened. But it happened in a way that I never expected. She didn't hit me. She didn't insult me. She didn't even scream at me. All of those things would have been understandable. But what she did hurt much more.

"I am taking you home tomorrow," she said flatly. "You do not belong here."

Whoa. That was thelast thing I expected to hear.

"But...what about the revolution?" I asked lamely.

"You think you cannot help these people because you are not a warrior," she said. "But the Milago do not need a warrior. They need someone they can trust. You are not that person."

This took me by surprise. Obviously I was not a fighter like Loor, and I was not exactly the brave, hero type. But trustworthy? Come on! I could be trusted. I was a good guy. Where did she get off calling me untrustworthy?

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

She looked me right in the eye and said, "How can someone be trusted who only thinks of himself? From the moment you arrived, you have plotted to get away. It did not matter how much the Milago need help. It was always about getting home."

I was feeling a little defensive at this point. I thought she was being unfair and said, "Okay, maybe you're right. But I was kind of thrown into this mess without a whole bunch of warning. It's a lot to ask someone to turn their life upside down in a day!"

"I know, Pendragon," she said. "The same thing happened to me. But there is a difference between you and me and it has nothing to do with fighting."

"And what's that?"

That's when she let me have it.

"You saw how my mother died," she said, trying to hold back emotion. "I would have done anything to save her. But you...I do not understand how you can only think of yourself when your uncle is about to die."

Those words hit me hard. She was right. Uncle Press was in trouble. I knew it ever since that sled had landed us in the snow bank. Yet I was planning on leaving without even trying to help him. I had been so worried about saving myself that I didn't think for a second that Uncle Press needed me. Loor was right and I was ashamed.

"That is why you are of no use here, Pendragon," she said with finality. "The Milago need someone to have faith in. You are not that person." She turned and headed for the door, but just before she left she said, "After you get some sleep, I will bring you home. You can go back to the life you miss so dearly and forget that any of this ever happened. I suppose in time you will also forget about Press." And she left.

I had just learned something about myself and I didn't like it. Could I really be that selfish? Everything Loor said was dead on. Sure I cared about Uncle Press, but I convinced myself that there was nothing I could do to help him. But was that true? Or was it just an easy way to get out of trying? Did I even let my mind think of the possibility of trying to rescue him? I spent the next few hours questioning myself. Memories of the past few days played over and over in my head. I was haunted by the vision of the guy who was coldly thrown to his death because the Milago hadn't mined enough glaze. I continued to see the horror of Osa fighting for her life and ultimately losing to a shower of arrows. I remembered the look on Loor's face when she wanted to help her mother, but chose instead to protect me.

But most of all, I remembered Uncle Press. I thought back to my first memories of him. He was always there for me. It was sad testament that my last memory of him was going to be the sight of him dragged off by Kagan's knights. That wasn't right. That was not the way it should end. And that's why I need your help, Mark.

After I finish writing this journal, I'm going to put down some instructions on a separate piece of parchment. That way you can keep it with you. I think you should keep my journal separate and in a safe place. Osa was right. It's important that I write down everything that's going on. If I never get back, these words are the only record of what happened to me. Treat them like gold, buddy.

I don't know if it's fair of me to ask you to do this. I'm beginning to think that I don't deserve it. If you can't help, I'll understand. No harm, no foul. I'm still going to do what I have to do anyway. I'm not even sure if the help I'm asking for will do any good. I'm winging it here. The real wild card is Loor. She may not give me a chance, and without her help the odds are going to be really against me. But you know, it doesn't matter. One way or another, with or without her, I've made up my mind.

Tomorrow I'm going after Uncle Press.

END OF JOURNAL #2.

Second Earth Courtney finished Bobby's second amazing journaland placed it down on the table. Mark had finished a few minutes earlier and was already looking over the additional piece of parchment paper that Bobby had included with his latest missive. It took a while for her to say anything. The story contained on the pages from Bobby was getting more fantastic with each new paragraph, and she had to let it sink in. Finally she looked at Mark and asked, "What does he want you to do?"

Mark stood up and paced Courtney's dad's workshop as his mind tried to work its way around the task at hand. On the additional piece of parchment, Bobby had outlined a job for Mark to do that was fairly simple, yet still dangerous.

"It's a list," explained Mark. "He wants me to put together a bunch of stuff and get it to him."

Courtney grabbed the paper and looked over the list. "Get it to him?" she exclaimed. "How?"

Mark grabbed the list back and shook it at her. "Th-That's the hard part," he declared nervously. "He wrote out instructions. First I'm supposed to try and use the ring the way Osa did. But if that doesn't work, which it shouldn't because I'm not a Traveler, then he wants me to find the gate to the flume in the subway station."

"You mean the abandoned subway in the Bronx with the killer dogs?" asked Courtney in disbelief. "That's like...suicide."

"Y-Yeah, tell me about it," Mark exclaimed.

Courtney and Mark fell silent. It was a dangerous favor that Bobby was asking.

Finally Courtney asked, "But you're gonna do it, right?"

"Of course!" Mark answered quickly, as if he were insulted that she even had to ask. "You think I'd blow off my best friend? Gimme a break."

"Then I'm going with you," said Courtney without a hint of doubt.

"N-No way," said Mark quickly.

"Yeah way!" Courtney shot back. "You need somebody to cover your butt."

"Who'll coveryour butt?"

"I can cover my own butt," said Courtney with her usual cockiness.

It was hard to argue with that. Courtneycould cover her own butt. But Mark doubted that she ever had to do it in a place like the badlands of the South Bronx against a pack of vicious quig-dogs and a demon killer by the name of Saint Dane. No, he was pretty sure Courtney hadn't encountered that particular challenge before. But then again, he didn't want to do this alone. The idea terrified him. He thought over the dilemma for a good five seconds and then asked, "You sure you want to help?"

"Absolutely," she said as she grabbed Bobby's list back. She looked it over and then announced. "I get why he wants some of this stuff...a flashlight, a watch...but what's he gonna do with a CD player?"

"You're asking me like I should know?" Mark said sarcastically. "None of this makes any sense to me."

Courtney scanned the list again and then said, "Uh-oh, he wants some stuff from his house."

"Yeah, I saw that," said Mark. "But I can substitute other things."

This raised another tough issue. Courtney threw a sober stare at Mark and said, "If we can get things to Bobby, that means we can tell him his family disappeared."

Mark had to think about this. Courtney's instincts were right. Bobby had to know what was going on, even though they didn't really know themselves. The only thing they knew for certain was that the Pendragons had vanished.

"Bobby should know," said Mark cautiously while still working out his thoughts. "But not yet. There's nothing he can do about it now."

"But it's his family," countered Courtney.

"I know," said Mark. "But so is Uncle Press. I don't know what Bobby's got planned, but he has a shot at saving his uncle. I'm not sure there's anything he could do here to help find his family."

Courtney realized that Mark was right. Bobby needed to do what he had to do on Denduron. There would be plenty of time after that to find his family. Besides, the police were already working on the case. What more could Bobby do?

"We'll tell him after he's back for good," said Mark with finality.

"And what if he doesn't come back for good?" asked Courtney. "Mark, I think we should tell our parents what's going on."

"N-No! We can't!" shouted Mark.

"Why? Maybe they can help!" said Courtney hopefully. "It would be much safer if weall went to the subway with the stuff! Right?"

Mark really wanted to agree. He wanted to dump this all on an adult who had more authority than he had. But he felt certain he knew what would happen if they did. He chose his words carefully and said, "Courtney, I'd love to tell our parents and get their help and go to this subway station with Captain Hirsch and armed cops from the Stony Brook Police. But you know what would happen if we told them? They'd stop us. They'd probably lock us up. Then they'd all sit around and try to logically figure out what's going on and by the time they came to any decisions it could be too late for Bobby...and for Press."

Courtney let Mark's words sink in. The guy was kind of a dweeb, but he was a smart dweeb. If they told their parents it would be all over. They had to do this on their own. Mark quickly gathered up the parchment papers and started rolling them up.

"We can get this stuff together in a couple hours," he said. "The trick will be to sneak out without our parents knowing-"

"Whoa, whoa," interrupted Courtney. "You're not thinking of doing this tonight, are you?"

"Well, why not?" said Mark innocently.

Courtney spoke to Mark slowly and deliberately, as if he were a child. She wanted him to understand exactly what she was saying. "This is important," she said. "But by the time we get this stuff together it'll be dark and something tells me that going where we have to go isn't too safe after dark."

This made Mark think. They were headed into a rough part of town and rough parts of town got rougher after dark. They definitely had a better chance of pulling this off in the daylight. It was more important to get it done than to get it done fast.