Truth,”
Perses said.
“ Ting !”
The sound came from right above them. Jill
turned to look up.
“ Mommy!” Katy
yelled.
The serpent hit the boat so hard that the
small craft capsized. They fell toward the Sea of Amber.
Chapter Three Hundred and Thirty-five
Negotiating with a Serpent
As the boat tipped, Jill flew up into the
air. She felt more than saw her father’s bulk falling near her. She
tumbled head first toward the Sea of Amber. Caught up in her
despair, her entire being longed for the cool amber water to
swallow her whole.
“ Do it again!” Alex
Hargreaves yelled to Paddie.
“ Ting!” The song of the Sword of Truth broke through all
enchantments and lies.
Inches from the sea, Jill expected to soon
be covered in thick, wet amber.
“ Ting!”
Jill’s body hit soft, red earth with a thud.
She was so surprised by the firm ground that she failed to roll.
Her father fell on top of her. Sandy rolled on the dirt and was on
her feet when Heather and Hera landed. Jill and Perses were
starting to get up when the boat landed on top of them.
“ Ow!” Perses said as he
threw the boat off them.
Jill laughed.
“ What happened?” Sandy
asked.
Heather still looked confused, so Sandy
hugged her. Jill looked up. They were standing at the bottom of a
steep earth bowl made out of rocky sand. The bowl sloped up a few
hundred feet until it became sheer, jagged rock that towered above
them. At the top, the round opening was made out of a black granite
shelf. A US military Black Hawk helicopter looked like a large fly
in the center of the clear starlit sky. Two long wires came down
from the helicopter and a military team began climbing down. When
they got inside the granite rim, they jumped from the wires. More
people came down the wires.
“ The Sword of Truth broke
through the enchantment,” Perses said.
“ What enchantment?” Sandy
asked.
Jill nudged Sandy. She stepped back from
Heather to look.
“ That’s Alex,” Heather
said and pointed to a woman climbing down the wire.
Alex jumped off the wire. The men who had
dropped first were landing with parachutes.
“ The Sea of Amber must be
a kind of enchantment,” Perses said.
“ But Jake!” Jill
started.
“ I was there, Jill.”
Perses touched her arm and nodded. “It sure seemed very real and
very wet to me.”
“ But you can still find
it, right?” Jill asked Heather. “Find Jake and
everyone?”
“ I hope so,” Heather
said.
Heather reached for Jill and hugged her.
Sandy joined in. Tanesha, in her fairy corps size, flew down to
them. She grew in size and joined in the hug. As they landed,
Alex’s team hiked down toward them. Paddie and Katy were strapped
onto two of Alex’s team members’ backs. Fin and Abi appeared beside
the hugging girlfriends.
“ Look,” Hera
said.
The women broke from their hug. Perses went
to Hera’s side. Hera pointed down to a spot of amber colored liquid
the size of a US quarter.
“ What’s that?” Jill
asked.
She leaned over to look. Perses dropped down
on one knee next to the amber dot.
“ Is that it?” Tanesha
asked.
“ Is that what?” Sandy
asked.
“ The Sea of Amber,”
Tanesha said.
“ We were just there!” Jill
said. “We almost fell in!”
“ Blane,” Heather
whispered.
They were so intent on the drop of amber
that they didn’t notice the military team had arrived. The team was
setting up a base camp with a satellite radio and telephones. In no
time, US Marine Sergeant Margaret Peaches was sitting at a table
working on a computer.
“ Mommy!” Katy yelled when
her feet hit the ground.
Katy ran to Jill with Paddie close behind.
Jill picked them both up and put them on each hip. After a moment,
they squirmed and wanted down.
“ Stay with me until we
figure out what has to happen,” Jill said.
Jill marveled that she could still hold them
in place until she saw Abi’s finger moving in her direction. She
smiled, and Abi grinned.
“ We brought something that
we’re
Perses said.
“ Ting !”
The sound came from right above them. Jill
turned to look up.
“ Mommy!” Katy
yelled.
The serpent hit the boat so hard that the
small craft capsized. They fell toward the Sea of Amber.
Chapter Three Hundred and Thirty-five
Negotiating with a Serpent
As the boat tipped, Jill flew up into the
air. She felt more than saw her father’s bulk falling near her. She
tumbled head first toward the Sea of Amber. Caught up in her
despair, her entire being longed for the cool amber water to
swallow her whole.
“ Do it again!” Alex
Hargreaves yelled to Paddie.
“ Ting!” The song of the Sword of Truth broke through all
enchantments and lies.
Inches from the sea, Jill expected to soon
be covered in thick, wet amber.
“ Ting!”
Jill’s body hit soft, red earth with a thud.
She was so surprised by the firm ground that she failed to roll.
Her father fell on top of her. Sandy rolled on the dirt and was on
her feet when Heather and Hera landed. Jill and Perses were
starting to get up when the boat landed on top of them.
“ Ow!” Perses said as he
threw the boat off them.
Jill laughed.
“ What happened?” Sandy
asked.
Heather still looked confused, so Sandy
hugged her. Jill looked up. They were standing at the bottom of a
steep earth bowl made out of rocky sand. The bowl sloped up a few
hundred feet until it became sheer, jagged rock that towered above
them. At the top, the round opening was made out of a black granite
shelf. A US military Black Hawk helicopter looked like a large fly
in the center of the clear starlit sky. Two long wires came down
from the helicopter and a military team began climbing down. When
they got inside the granite rim, they jumped from the wires. More
people came down the wires.
“ The Sword of Truth broke
through the enchantment,” Perses said.
“ What enchantment?” Sandy
asked.
Jill nudged Sandy. She stepped back from
Heather to look.
“ That’s Alex,” Heather
said and pointed to a woman climbing down the wire.
Alex jumped off the wire. The men who had
dropped first were landing with parachutes.
“ The Sea of Amber must be
a kind of enchantment,” Perses said.
“ But Jake!” Jill
started.
“ I was there, Jill.”
Perses touched her arm and nodded. “It sure seemed very real and
very wet to me.”
“ But you can still find
it, right?” Jill asked Heather. “Find Jake and
everyone?”
“ I hope so,” Heather
said.
Heather reached for Jill and hugged her.
Sandy joined in. Tanesha, in her fairy corps size, flew down to
them. She grew in size and joined in the hug. As they landed,
Alex’s team hiked down toward them. Paddie and Katy were strapped
onto two of Alex’s team members’ backs. Fin and Abi appeared beside
the hugging girlfriends.
“ Look,” Hera
said.
The women broke from their hug. Perses went
to Hera’s side. Hera pointed down to a spot of amber colored liquid
the size of a US quarter.
“ What’s that?” Jill
asked.
She leaned over to look. Perses dropped down
on one knee next to the amber dot.
“ Is that it?” Tanesha
asked.
“ Is that what?” Sandy
asked.
“ The Sea of Amber,”
Tanesha said.
“ We were just there!” Jill
said. “We almost fell in!”
“ Blane,” Heather
whispered.
They were so intent on the drop of amber
that they didn’t notice the military team had arrived. The team was
setting up a base camp with a satellite radio and telephones. In no
time, US Marine Sergeant Margaret Peaches was sitting at a table
working on a computer.
“ Mommy!” Katy yelled when
her feet hit the ground.
Katy ran to Jill with Paddie close behind.
Jill picked them both up and put them on each hip. After a moment,
they squirmed and wanted down.
“ Stay with me until we
figure out what has to happen,” Jill said.
Jill marveled that she could still hold them
in place until she saw Abi’s finger moving in her direction. She
smiled, and Abi grinned.
“ We brought something that
we’re
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