The Terran Ranger Saga Volume 4 by Heather Ray (ebooks children's books free .txt) 📕

Tanya gasped as he reformed, this time taking the shape of the hideous beast Giuseppe Coppola, with yellow trenchcoat and wrinkled face.

"Sandman! You're a shape-shifter?!"

"Indeed," he said, reverting into his more pleasant form. "My true form is amorphous, so I can choose whichever shape I prefer. And my name is not Sandman, nor is it Giuseppe Coppola. Those are just aliases I go by when dealing in the world of humankind. I am Coppelius, of Areana."

"Areana?"

"Areana is the planet of my birth," he explained, "I was the sole survivor of a space expedition from Areana, a planet circling the star known as Betelgeuse, which crashed here on Earth centuries ago. I had no way to contact my people, nor repair my ship. I was trapped on this strange planet, the only one of my kind. Needless to say, I was feared by mankind, because of my abilities, and appearance. Although I can change my shape, I cannot entirely fit in with human kind. I stood out, and was feared and hated."

"If you're trying to get sympathy from me," said Tanya in a low, nearly growling voice, "you're barking up the wrong tree!"

"I just thought you'd like to get to know me better," Coppelius said, his smile falling. "After all, you'll be spending the rest of your life down here. It can either be a pleasant experience, or it can be a prison for you. I do hope you choose the former option."

"What do you mean 'down here'

?" she asked, glancing out of the window again. "Where are we?"

"We are several miles deep into the crust of the Earth. This is my only refuge from mankind. Here is where I constructed my own kingdom, made of crystal, glass, and sand. Here, I am in control. This is my sanctuary, where mankind can never follow."

"I want to see my parents," Tanya said coldly. Coppelius nodded, and turned towards the door.

"Come," he said, opening the door, "I shall take you to see them. I'm sure they will be most surprised to see you again."

Coppelius slowly marched through the spacious hallway, closely followed by Tanya. Tanya studied the artwork along the brick walls with interest. Most of them were of this underground land, with only the light of torches and small fires. The coloring was always of shades of yellow and orange, since the sand was yellow and the illuminating flames orange. At the end of the hall was a rather large portrait of a lady, with flowing curly raven hair, mysterious, large dark eyes, and flawless, chocolate brown skin. She wore a charming, heartwarming smile, revealing pearly white teeth. Tanya marveled at the portrait she saw. The subject looked very much like herself, except the hair was longer and darker.

Tanya turned away, and saw that Coppelius was descending a flight of narrow stone steps, into a consuming blackness. She followed him, cautiously watching her step, into the lower level of the exotic palace, where the dungeons were.

Coppelius held a torch that lit the dark chambers with an eerie orange glow, and led Tanya to the last prison cell, which was lit by a small oil lamp. Inside the spacious cell were two middle aged people, dressed in clean, contemporary clothing. Tanya was visibly surprised by the sight of the two prisoners. The only thing that spoke of their captivity were the iron bars on the walls. Otherwise, they lived in the lap of luxury. But, Tanya could tell from their somber expressions that they were not happy with their present situation. She gazed at the two people whose faces were clouded in her memory, while the continued with their business, unaware of her presence. But Tanya knew in her heart that they were indeed her parents. Coppelius had spoken the truth.

"Henry," said Coppelius, "Agatha."

The couple within the cell looked towards the gate, and saw the handsome face of their captor. Henry stepped in front of Agatha, and frowned at his host bitterly.

"What do you want?" he barked, "I already told you, I refuse to tell you were we hid Tanya! So, either kill us or let us be!"

"I no longer need you assistance in determining the whereabouts of the child," said Coppelius coolly, "I have someone who has waited over a decade to meet you."

Coppelius unlatched the door, and Tanya timidly walked into the room. Both her parents gasped, and tears welled in Agatha's dark eyes. Agatha slowly walked towards Tanya, and tightly embraced her daughter with all the affection in her heart. But Henry's reaction was very different. He was mortified.

"No!" he roared, his eyes flashing with ire. "You will not take my daughter!"

"But, I didn't take her," Coppelius replied, "She came willingly, to save your lives. And so, you are free."

"What do you mean?" asked Agatha, releasing her daughter from the welcoming embrace.

"I mean just that," said Coppelius. "All three of you are free to move about the palace at your leisure. I trust you'd like to spend some time with your long-lost daughter before you return to the surface world. So, you have my permission to stay for one day. Then, I shall personally escort you to the surface world."

"You're just going to let us have free access to the palace?" said Tanya in surprise.

"Of course," said Coppelius. "After all, you have given me your life in exchange for your parents. We made a deal, and I trust you will not break it. Also, there is no way you can escape, for there is nowhere to go. You are miles deep within the crust of the planet, and you can never make it to the surface. Now, I shall leave you."

Coppelius disappeared, leaving the small family alone, within the prison cell with an open door. Tanya's eyes were watering, and she smiled as she hugged both parents at once.

"Mom, Dad, you don't know how much I've missed you."

"We've missed you too, Baby," said Agatha. "All these years, we silently wondered what had become of you. But we knew we could trust Ishala to protect and care for you, and we were right. You've grown into a wonderful, beautiful young woman."

Tanya turned to her father, who wore a bitter scowl.

"Dad," she said, "what's wrong?"

"Tanya," she said in a low voice, "I can understand why you did what you did, but you shouldn't have. We're old. We've lived our lives. Now you, in the prime of your life, have thrown your future away!"

"I couldn't just let you live in a prison!" Tanya objected. "Besides, you are two people, and I'm only one. He'll only have one slave."

"He doesn't want you for a slave," said Henry, shaking his head. "He wants your body."

"What...what do you mean by that?" asked Tanya.

"Sit down," said Henry, gesturing to a couch against the stone wall, "I'm going to tell you a story that has been passed down from generation to generation. It is the story of the Sandman..."

Chapter Thirteen

In the Central Access Complex, the two X-Rangers and the four Terran Rangers waited in a semi-circle, surrounding Billy as he tended to Adam, who was still unconscious.

Billy loosened his tie, and examined the computer scan of Adam's body.

"Well," he said finally, "he's only asleep. Whatever this substance Sandman threw at him, it's a powerful chemical that induces sleep. It should wear off soon, but I don't think there's anything I can do to speed up the process."

"Don't," said Tommy. "Let the drug work through his system. Meanwhile, we have bigger problems."

"Namely the Sandman," said Zack. "Is there any way we can track the Sandman's teleportation signature?"

"I doubt it," said Billy. "Whatever means Sandman uses to teleport, it's not similar enough to Rita and Zedd's magic for the computers to notice it. If it were, alarms would have gone off each time he came to Earth."

"How do we know he left Earth?" asked Aisha. "After all, the Sandman is a legend that's existed for centuries!"

"Do you really think this is the

Sandman?" asked Katherine.

"I don't know," said Aisha.

"Well, he couldn't have gotten far," said Kimberly, "Billy, is there any way you can track down Tanya?"

"Not unless she has her communicator with her," said Billy. "But if she had, she would have contacted us."

"Maybe she's out of range?" suggested Jason.

"Perhaps," said Billy, rubbing his chin. "Even if she's out of communication or teleportation range, we can still track her signal, and get coordinates. But, it'll take some time."

"Then let's get to it," said Tommy.

Chapter Fourteen

In the prison cell inside the magnificent palace of Coppelius, Henry took a deep breath, and began his strange tale.

"In Falun, there was an ancient mine, that ran hundreds of feet into the earth. Once upon a time, in the year 1759, a miner named Nathaniel Sloan was trapped when the mine caved in. It was the day before his wedding to his love Olympia, and he was found unconscious by the Sandman, who is a mystical creature who lives in the ground below. Nathaniel begged the strange scientist to help him return to the surface, so he could live his life. Sandman agreed, saying that, in return, he would claim Nathaniel and Olympia's eldest child, to serve him until the day he dies. And every 100 years, the Sandman would claim a new servant from the upper world, to assist in his experiments, and perhaps be a part of them. Nathaniel agreed, sine he knew his wife was unable to bear children, and the Sandman brought Nathaniel to the surface through an entrance only he knew of. Nathaniel returned to Olympia, and they married that very evening. About a year later, Olympia became pregnant. Nathaniel knew that the Sandman would lay claim on the child, so he and Olympia fled Sweden, to live in the African colonies. But, twenty years later, the Sandman found them, and took their eldest child, Ligeia, from them. At first, she was his servant, but he