Mara Lantern: Broken Realms Part 42

"We'll be gone before someone shows up. Come on."

Mara stepped into the dark entrance and turned left. Ping followed. Inside, she ran around the central elevator shaft to get to the front of the observation deck overlooking downtown. Reflected blue light streaked across dozens of holographic historic photographs mounted side by side along the wall. Mara ignored them. Ping eyed them as he jogged to keep up.

She rounded the bend into full view of downtown. "Oh, my G.o.d."

Ping stumbled into her back. "What?" he said, stepping around her.

Through the windows of the observation deck, hanging out over the bluff, they looked down on the business district, the Willamette River and the Oregon City Bridge. All was engulfed in a storm of blue and white light, bursting from below the arched superstructure that hung over the roadway. Bolts shot out across the river and into the sky, followed by claps that shook the observation deck's windows. Lampposts on the bridge exploded, fell away.

Main Street went dark.

Flashes of blue silhouetted downtown. Mara lifted her arm to shield her eyes against the erratic bursts coming from the bridge. Even though she squinted, she could not make out what was happening.

Then the bridge disappeared into the night. No light. No sounds.

"Look," Ping said in the dark, pointing to the bridge approach where it connected to Main Street.

"What? I don't see anything," Mara said, whispering.

"The lampposts, the obelisks at the entrance to the bridge."

They luminesced blue, pulsed from base to tip, base to tip, over and over, accelerating and intensifying with each pa.s.s.

"Look, the four obelisks next to the arch are glowing too," Mara said.

"It's hard to see, but I think the ones on the far side are illuminated as well. They are becoming quite-"

A beam of light shot out of each obelisk, collided at the top of the arch, bursting into a plume of radiance and engulfing the center of the bridge. As the brilliance receded, Mara could see, floating above the Willamette River, surrounding the central arch of the bridge, a huge translucent blue bubble.

"I thought you said only a progenitor could activate the Chronicle." Mara stared at Ping's pale blue-lit face.

"That has always been my understanding," he said, staring at the bridge, distracted by the light display. The bubble sputtered, became hazy. Then it became cohesive again. "It looks like she may have trouble maintaining it. It doesn't look as stable as when you use it."

"It looks like she's figuring it out."

"I still don't think she'll be able to transport someone from another realm. That is something only a progenitor can do."

"She's not down there putting on a light show just for kicks. She has found a way to do it. We know she's using the obelisks as her talismans. Why would she use a bridge? Unless her followers are over in West Linn, it's not going to do much good."

Ping's eyes widened.

"What?" Mara grabbed his arms.

"Maybe she's not going to use any special abilities to bring her people to this realm. If she can use the Chronicle to tear an opening between our realms, she could theoretically walk them over. She's creating a physical bridge between the realms. They'll cross over physically, not metaphysically."

"That seems far-fetched, don't you think?"

"Given what you've seen in the last few weeks, I would think far-fetched might be within your ability to grasp," Ping said.

"Let me get this straight. She's ripping a hole in the fabric of the universe, in the middle of the bridge. That way she can simply walk her serpent cult from her realm into downtown Oregon City. I think I might need a little more proof-"

Ping's eyes widened. He pointed out the window toward the bridge. "What is that?"

A shadow emerged from the darkened arch over the bridge. Only movement separated it from the dark background as it took to the air, heading toward them.

"I can't make it out," Mara said, eyeing it while she talked. "Some kind of bird, maybe a seagull."

"I don't think that's a bird," Ping interrupted. "It's much too large."

Whatever it was, it dived toward Seventh Street, the road leading from the bridge directly to the base of the elevator. With the bridge and the blue bubble that encased it no longer behind it, it was impossible to see. Mara and Ping leaned into the windows, looking down on Seventh. A dark ma.s.s hurtled at them from below, flapping black wings, gaining speed.

A burst of flame enveloped the windows, cracking the one directly in front of them.

Mara stumbled; fell into the closed elevator doors. She grabbed the doorframe and steadied herself.

"Tell me, that wasn't-"

Two thuds shook the roof as something alighted above them. Claws sc.r.a.ped, shifted as it found a perch.

Ping gazed upward, tilting his head, listening. "I'm afraid it was." He looked down at Mara and said, "A dragon."

CHAPTER 62.

MARA CRINGED AS the metal bay door at the back of the elevator's observation deck clattered closed with a thud. She had hoped to get out of here without drawing the attention of the creature perched on its roof.

Ping turned to go back the way they came. Mara grabbed his arm, pulled him in the opposite direction. She pointed down the walkway in front of the promenade and began jogging. Ping glanced to his left, past the wrought iron into the blackened open drop-off of the bluff. He could barely make out the railroad tracks below, running parallel and a block closer to them than Main Street. From this vantage point, he could see lights streaking and reflecting off low clouds, but buildings blocked a direct view of their source on the bridge.

"Where are we going?" He looked over his shoulder to make sure someone, or something, was not following.

"There are stairs that go down the hill," Mara said.

The walkway came to the junction of three roads and wrapped to the right back toward High Street, which they had crossed earlier. To the left, the road descended to Main Street. Mara stepped off the curb and crossed directly to a parklike area featuring a few old trees and a bench facing away from them. When they got to the other side, she pointed to a railing that descended into the ground.

"These stairs run along the hill, back the way we came, and end up at the base of the elevator," she said, looking into the pitch black. The lights were out down there as well.

"Is it a tunnel?" Ping looked down the hole lined with gray stone.

"Yes. It pa.s.ses under the street here and comes out on the stairs. Come on."

He followed her into the darkness. It took less than a minute to emerge. Mara paused on a concrete landing at the top of a staircase astride the bluff, wrapping back toward the elevator. Ping heard running water off to his left just a foot or so away. He stepped forward to stand next to Mara.

"Is there a waterfall around here?" He looked at her in the dark, could not see her expression. She didn't reply. "Mara, are you all right?"

"Water, yes. There's water that runs down. It falls right here," she said in a dry monotone, pointing over the left edge of the platform on which they stood, then tracing her finger along the ground and pointing off to the right. "It pa.s.ses under where we are standing and continues down the hill that way."

She didn't move. Ping leaned forward, trying to see her expression. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know. I guess hearing the water reminded me."

"Reminded you of what?"

She turned away. "Reminded me that I am terrified. You think she picked the bridge because of the obelisks or to use it as a pa.s.sageway between realms. Do you know the real reason she picked it?"

Ping shook his head.

"She picked it because she knows I'm terrified. It's the one place where she knows I can't go." She looked down. "I'm not sure I can go out there on that bridge."

"I believe you can do it if you need to. I'll stay with you the whole time."

"Until something startles you and you disappear in a puff of dust."

"I wish I could tell you there is nothing to be afraid of, but that's not the case." He put a hand on her shoulder, turned her to face him. "What I can tell you is this. You have the ability to fix this. You are the only one who can. You can shape reality. Believe in yourself as much as I do, as much as your mother and Sam do, and you'll figure out how to get through this." He paused for a second. "And I promise you, when and if you need me, I'll be there for you."

"I'm going to hold you to that."

The height of each step varied as the staircase wound down the side of the bluff, making it difficult to rush, especially in the dark. After stumbling several times, they slowed so they would not pitch over the railing and end up splayed across the railroad tracks. They came to another small landing that marked a sharp turn in the stairs, pausing for a few seconds. Trees and brush grew closer the lower they went. So did the rocky side of the bluff. Mara eyed an outcropping.

Ping caught up to her. "Something wrong?" he said.

"No, just paranoid." She looked down the final flight of steps. It ended at a stairwell leading into a tunnel that pa.s.sed under the railroad tracks allowing pedestrians access to the elevator from Seventh Street. She looked up into the sky, through the branches and foliage. Blue bands of light strafed the clouds, but there was no sign of the dragon. A thunderclap shook the air, bounced off the bluff wall, jolting Mara into moving.

She stepped off the small landing to the next riser onto something soft that gave way under her weight. Sliding forward, she grabbed the railing. She put her other foot forward, thinking the next step would be clear. It too settled onto something mushy.

"Mara, look behind you, up the stairs," Ping said. "Something is running down the steps."

Mara turned. Something thick and mudlike glistened and flowed down the stairs behind them. It swamped the small landing and poured over the edge toward them, overwhelming the steps in a river of sludge. Something wet slid against her ankle. She looked down to her feet.

"Come on, we'll have to outrun it. We don't have far to go."

She took five exaggerated steps, straining against the suction of the muck on her feet. As she approached the suspicious outcropping on the face of the bluff, she paused to check on Ping. He was right behind her. The mud flow had deepened and now reached halfway up her calves. She had to hold on to the railing to get enough leverage to move. Reaching back to help Ping, she lost her balance. She maintained her grip on the railing but the insistent push of muck slid her body out from under her, twisting her around to face downward toward the wall of the bluff.

Two yellow eyes floated in the dark several feet below her. Someone clung to the face of the bluff off to the side of the stairs.

Mara stiffened, resisted as sludge rose to her knees. The ma.s.s acc.u.mulated behind her legs, exerted more pressure, trying to buckle her legs and sweep her down the bluff. Ping hugged the railing. The flow had pulled his feet from under him; he lay on top of the mud as it advanced below his backside. If he lost his grip, he would sink.

A loud crack reverberated off the bluff face.

A football-size rock fell out of the night, landing a foot away in the mud with a wet smack, spattering Mara's face and torso. A smaller rock and tree limb followed, landing even closer. The bluff rumbled from above. Rocks clattered and branches snapped. The stairs shook; the mud vibrated, rippled. Wet slapping sounds surrounded them.

Mara tightened her grip and tried to find the yellow eyes again.

Debris, rocks and brush cascaded out of nowhere, pummeled them. Another crack, this one closer, shook the air. The outcropping of rock snapped off the face of the bluff. Now a boulder, it slowly broke away, arched into the air above Mara's head, blocking out the avalanche of debris raining from higher above. As a black shadow slid over her, Mara raised her arm and said, "Stop."

The barrage ceased.

She turned to check on Ping. He nodded to her.

She swung back around, looking for the eyes. They were still there. Staring.

A flame spit out from below them, lit a large branch-a makeshift torch-and illuminated a wet, scaly face.

Suter.

"You are too late, Ms. Lantern. There's nothing you can do here," he said.

She glanced upward. The torchlight bounced off a frozen wave of rock and branches, led by the boulder sheared from the bluff. The giant rock hung in the air, suspended ten feet above her. The barrage of sticks and stones dangled in the air motionless, waiting for gravity to rea.s.sert itself.

"You know, Special Agent Suter? Considering all that you have done these past few weeks, threatening my family and friends, stealing the Chronicle and G.o.d-knows-what-else, there is one thing I can do here, and I'm determined to do it," she said.

"What's that?"

"I want you to spend just one moment in my shoes. You know, see how it feels."

A flash of light enveloped Mara and Suter.

Both disappeared and immediately reappeared in each other's place.

Mara held the burning branch, lifted a foot and wiggled it at him. He tried to move but was stuck in the mud. He wailed into the air, turned toward Ping and spewed fire at him.

Ping dissolved into a cloud of dust.

Mara raised her hand to the night.

"Good-bye, Suter."

The avalanche resumed.

Mara looked away as the boulder smashed down and the debris blew over the staircase sending a cloud of dirt into the night sky. When the ground stopped shaking and the dust cleared, she pointed her torch toward the huge rock sitting on the stairway. A four-fingered claw, covered with scales, extended from beneath it, unmoving.

A moment later, Ping rea.s.sembled himself next to her.

"Hopefully that will be the last of our delays," he said, looking down at Suter. He turned to look at Mara in the flickering glow of the torch. "Are you okay with this?"

"He started it," she said.

A baritone screech from the sky drew their attention. The silhouette of the dragon circled above in the riot of blue strobes radiating from the bridge.

"Would the dragon still be here if Suter had conjured him? I had hoped it would be gone once Suter was gone," Mara said.

"I don't think the dragon was conjured by Suter. I think it crossed over from Diana's realm," he said.

"That means it's real," Mara said.