Who will Arise?

Chapter 9 & 10

Back at the cave Kau ordered Kreeno to keep first watch at the entrance and called the rest inside. The pitch darkness inside had them huddled together and moving slowly. The floor of the cave was soft, dry sand beneath Quinn's feet.

"Look in the direction that you hear my voice, Quinn. You might enjoy seeing this." Zebbah said mysteriously.

Quinn heard shuffling in the sand. Then, at the crack of two hard surfaces connecting, all he saw was a burst of bright sparks. The inside of the cave was instantly illuminated by a soft glow. He should have come to expect the unexpected by now, but so far this strange land always managed to catch him off guard.

A performance worthy of the silver screen unfolded right in front of Quinn's eyes —a rare performance, Quinn knew, because the performer was none other than the unpretentious Zebbah. Quinn stared into the soft glow in a dreamlike state and started when another crack sounded. It was immediately followed by more sparks. As the glow brightened, Quinn realized what was going on.

Zebbah stretched his arms out at hip level and moved his hands, palms down, around in lazy circles. The motion seemed to cause the sand on the floor to stir and rise up. A baseball-sized cloud of dust ascended as his hands turned so that his outstretched palms now faced one-another. The small cloud settled and hovered between his hands, which were continuously moving and manipulating the cloud into a perfect sphere.

Zebbah removed his hands carefully, the sphere remaining suspended in place before him, and reached into his satchel for two of the stones. Holding a stone in each hand, he held them up to the cloud and slammed them together. And there it was again. The sphere lit up with a bright flash. Then the glare subsided, leaving in its wake another perfectly round, glowing cloud. Zebbah's hands made an outward motion and, as if it had just been dismissed, the glowing mass of dust floated toward the ceiling of the cave.

Zebbah repeated the process three more times before he was satisfied there was enough light in the cave. Five glowing balls of dust now hovered above their heads, bathing the cave in light.

Quinn noticed he wasn't the only one who had been mesmerized. Gersha, and most definitely Efost, sported the exact same look of wonder his cousin, Elizabeth, had on Christmas mornings. Quinn suspected it was due to the fact that Zebbah wasn't one to often...entertain...with his gift.

Zebbah walked to the furthest wall of the cave and in the glow Quinn got a glimpse of the inside. It wasn't a big cave. In fact, it very closely resembled the inside of any of the rooms at Tibay. The high ceiling, which was about three times Quinn's height, made for a roomy rather than a cooped-up feeling. Zebbah lowered himself onto the sand, his back leaning comfortably against the wall. Gersha and Efost settled in the same position a few feet from Zebbah. Kau strode to the entrance and stuck his head out, presumably to check on Kreeno.

It occurred to Quinn how tired he was. He sauntered over to Zebbah and plopped down between him and Gersha. Slouching down into a comfortable position he rested his head back against the wall of the cave. He could crash for a week, but sleep eluded him. There was just too much going on. Next to him both Gersha and Efost appeared to have drifted off. After some time had past he gave up.

"Will you tell me about the suns?" he asked Zebbah mutedly.

"Can't sleep?"

Quinn shrugged.

"In short—and very basic—terms" Zebbah said "we have two suns, as you have pointed out." He was clearly relaxed, almost playful as he lifted his hands and started maneuvering the glowing globes above them. Quinn soon noticed that Zebbah was planning to use the globes to illustrate their world's position in relation to their suns.