Kendra Kandlestar and the Crack in Kazah Page 11

  Kendra raised her finger.

  “Time to use it,” Gayla said.

  “How am I going to concentrate when we’re under attack?” Kendra asked.

  “I don’t know,” Gayla said. “But you’re going to have to try. Eeks and I will hold off these snot-suckers.”

  “Oh don’t think of eggs,” Oki agonized.

  “Where should we go?” Kendra asked.

  “Anywhere!” Gayla screeched. “Somewhere where there’s no Burdock!”

  “Or Ungers,” Oki added. “Or Goojuns, or . . . .”

  Kendra tuned him out. She tucked her wand into her belt, closed her eyes, and raised the Kazah stone. She tried to concentrate, tried to focus and mute the sounds of the passageway.

  No Burdock! she thought. No Ungers, no Goojuns . . . .

  She tried to imagine a place of peace. A place of serenity. No war. No terror. Then she thought of water. Yes, it was calming. She imagined the sound of bubbles, the cool feeling against her skin. She imagined the smell of it.

  Faintly, one corner of her mind heard someone—Captain Rinkle?—yell, “Charge!”

  Go back, Kendra told herself desperately. Days of Een! Just take me back, back, back, back . . . .

  The stone must have started to work, for suddenly she felt Gayla and Oki clutch her sleeve. Then, in a flash, they were gone.

  SOMETHING WAS WRONG. It was like all of Kendra’s senses were clogged; she couldn’t quite see or hear or move. It was cold, and her nose was stinging as if someone had punched her. She opened her mouth to scream and water flooded down her throat. In an instant of terror she realized what was happening.

  She was drowning.

  Frantically Kendra waved her arms, but she was disoriented and didn’t know which way was which. Then she felt something grab her by two braids and yank her upwards, hard. Next it was a hand underneath each arm. She broke the surface with a gasp and was dragged onto a grassy bank. She lay there heaving, and it was only after a few seconds that she had recovered enough strength to look over and gaze upon her rescuer. It was Gayla. She looked in just as bad shape as Kendra, dripping wet and breathing heavily.

  “Oki?” Kendra gasped, suddenly realizing he was missing.

  Gayla’s eyes flashed with alarm and she plunged back into the water. Kendra crawled to the edge, panicking; but only a moment later Gayla reappeared, this time clutching a very soggy mouse. Kendra reached out and helped pull them both to shore, and there all three of them lay for several minutes, coughing up water in shock and exhaustion.

  “Where are we?” Gayla asked finally, sitting up. “Shouldn’t we have just landed back in the Elder Stone, but in a different time?”

  Kendra nodded. She pulled herself to her elbows and took a look at their surroundings. They were at the edge of a large, round pond in the middle of the woods, but nothing seemed familiar. “There’s definitely no Elder Stone here,” Kendra said.

  “Good job, Braids,” Gayla snorted. “Not only do we not know when we are—now we don’t know where. Figure out how to use that stone before you kill us!”

  Kendra wiggled the ring off her finger and held it in her palm. “The crack is getting wider,” she murmured.

  “What does that mean?” Gayla asked.

  “The blind old sorceress warned me about it,” Kendra replied. “We have to be careful . . . too many jumps and the ring will burst completely apart.”

  “Eek!” Oki squealed. “Maybe the ring already stopped working. Maybe that’s why it brought us . . . well, here.”

  “Hmph,” Gayla grunted.

  “Your arm is still bleeding,” Kendra said, now tucking the ring in her pocket. “We have to get you fixed up.”

  “It’s just a scratch,” Gayla told her, though she grimaced as she spoke.

  Kendra was just about to insist upon taking a closer look at her injury when a slight movement caught her eye, and she turned to see a rust-colored squirrel sitting at the edge of the pond, just a short distance away. It was staring at her with two large, round eyes.

  Kendra assumed at once that the squirrel was an Een, for though he wore no clothes, he was very large. (Een animals, of course, are much bigger than the normal critters we find in our backyards or out in the woods.)

  “Hello,” Kendra said to the squirrel. “Can you tell us where we are?”

  The squirrel cocked its head quizzically at Kendra and then broke out in a chatter: “Chy chy chee chee! Chee chee chasta!”

  Kendra looked at Oki and Gayla in surprise. “He can’t talk! Maybe he is wild after all.”

  The squirrel chattered again, this time in a more excited manner, his fluffy tail twitching back and forth like a flag.

  “Hmm,” Oki murmured.

  He stepped closer to the squirrel and then, much to Kendra’s amazement, chattered back. This exchange went on between the two animals for some time until at last Gayla said, “Hey, Eeks! Can you actually understand Chatterbox?”

  “Sort of,” Oki replied. “He’s speaking . . . well, it’s like an ancient dialect or something. I don’t quite understand. It’s like he’s trying to speak, but he can’t quite do it. I think he is an Een squirrel.”

  “Then that means we are in Een,” Kendra said. “But the question is when?”

  Gayla shook her head and looked back at Oki. “Well, what did that little twitter-tail say?” she asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Oki answered. “I think he wants us to follow him . . . to his dray. I think he means his family . . . or his house.”

  “Well,” Gayla muttered, wincing as she climbed to her feet. “We don’t have anything better to do. Maybe he’s got some acorn soup on the go. I don’t know about you two drips, but I’m starving.”

  This remark seemed to quite please the squirrel, and he now beckoned them to follow him through the woods. It was warm at least; Kendra guessed it was either late spring or early summer, and the walk helped dry them even further. As for the squirrel, he scampered far ahead, sometimes scrambling up tree trunks and leaping from one low-hanging branch to another. It took some effort for Kendra and the others to keep up, but after an hour or so they reached a clearing with a small knoll in the center. The knoll was shaped like the wave of the sea, and from its crest there grew a long, crooked tree; this was definitely an Een house, for it had doors and windows and even a small chimney pipe. Indeed, it quite reminded Kendra of her own house.

  The squirrel led them along a cobblestone path that wound up the knoll, but before they even reached the house the front door swung open and there stood a tall and elderly Een. He was an imposing figure, with a giant, blunt nose and large ears. He had a long, white beard and even longer locks of snow-white hair that curled at his feet. In one hand he held a knotted staff of Eenwood. There was no doubt he was a wizard—the type, Kendra thought, you didn’t want to mess with.

  Then the wizard spoke, and at once completely changed Kendra’s opinion. “Ah Clovin, my furry friend!” he trilled in a voice that sounded altogether musical. “You’ve found our visitors. Fabullation!”

  “Fabullation?” Oki squeaked.

  The wizard looked down at the mouse in surprise. “Did you just speak?” he asked.

  “Er . . . yes?” Oki answered timidly.

  “Fabullation indeed!” the wizard exclaimed. “A most appropriate word on this momentous occasion! A mouse that can speak! And you do it as well as any poet!”

  “A poet?” Gayla snorted in derision. “Do you want to hear him recite Ode to Eggs?”

  The old wizard tilted his head back and released a hearty laugh. “Indeed—I would!” he declared. “And you two kind sisters,” he added, gazing intently upon Kendra and Gayla. “What wondrous braids you have!”

  “Er . . . we’re not sisters,” Kendra told him. “We’re just, sort of—”

  “Thrown together right now,” Gayla interjected.

  “Aha!” the wizard cried. “Well, come, come. We must sup. But first, let’s get you refreshed and repaired; it seems as
if you”—here, he looked pointedly at Gayla’s bleeding arm—“have had some adventure.”

  He chattered something to Clovin (as the squirrel’s name appeared to be), and the bushy-tailed creature at once ushered the three companions into the house. The inside was very similar to Kendra’s own home, for the rooms were narrow and cozy, and everywhere Kendra looked there was another nook crammed with books, scrolls, and mysterious instruments.

  Clovin led them up a steep corkscrew staircase to a small room that contained a washbasin, a trunk, and a shelf filled with an assortment of bottles. Clovin pulled a roll of cloth from the trunk, yattered something to Oki, and with a nod scampered back down the stairs.

  “There’s medicine in those bottles,” Oki translated. “And we can use this cloth for a bandage.”

  “Ugh,” Gayla snorted as she uncapped one of the bottles to take a sniff. “Smells like Goojun breath. I’m not putting any of this stinky-pink on my arm.”

  “Just let me clean and bandage you,” Kendra said, rolling her eyes.

  “You know,” Gayla said, taking a seat on the trunk so that Kendra could begin washing her wound, “that’s one strange old man. I’m sure I’ve seen him somewhere before.”

  “Of course you have,” Oki declared. “We just saw him. Well, at least in statue form.”

  “What—OW!” Gayla snapped, flinching as Kendra administered the medicine. “Careful. That hurts. What in the name of Een are you talking about, Eeks?”

  “We’ve traveled way back,” Oki explained. “That wizard is Leemus Longbraids, one of the very first elders!”

  “Days of Een!” Kendra cried, looking up in surprise.

  “Exactly,” Oki said. “We’re visiting ancient history. Before Een animals could talk, or before there even was such a thing as Een animals. Before there was a magic curtain. Before the building of the Elder Stone—that’s why we landed in the pond. There is no Elder Stone in this time!”

  “Are you telling me the fuddy-duddy downstairs is that wizard from all those boring legends?” Gayla asked. “I thought those stories were all just made up.”

  “Oh, they’re real,” Oki said. “Take Clovin. Haven’t you heard how Een animals came to be? They were wild once, but after living with Eens started to absorb their magic. They started to change. That’s what’s happening to Clovin right now—he’s learning to talk, he’s . . . well, he’s Eening.”

  “But if that’s Leemus, where are his braids?” Kendra wondered. “He didn’t have any.”

  “I know,” Oki said, furling his brow. “That is strange. But it’s him all right.”

  “Hmph,” Gayla murmured thoughtfully. “Krimson would pluck out his eyebrows to be here right now. He’s always going on about all that mythology stuff. Wait till I tell him our founding father was a crazy old coot.”

  “Leemus Longbraids is not a crazy old coot,” Kendra said as she began bandaging Gayla’s arm. “He was—well, is—the wisest of Eens. And I like him.”

  “Me too,” Oki added.

  “Of course you do,” Gayla told the mouse. “He uses silly words.”

  “Like fabullation,” Oki said. “Ratchet and I can put that one in the dictionary.”

  “I’ve got some words for you,” Gayla offered. “How about Egghead? Fur-nerd? Eek-Geek?”

  “Just drop it,” Kendra said in exasperation, as she finished up Gayla’s arm. “We’ve got bigger worries than silly words. What are we supposed to do now?”

  “Eat dinner,” Gayla replied, for just then Clovin had reappeared at the doorway. “Let’s just hope that old man knows how to cook.”

  YOU NEVER KNOW what to expect when you are asked to dinner, especially when going to some-one’s house for the first time. Of course, you might think a wizard would be capable of whipping up a grand and delicious feast with a mere flick of his staff, but the truth is that while Een wizards are known for many things, cooking is not one of them. This is why Kendra wasn’t the least bit surprised to discover that dinner was nothing more than Squibbles and Pip (or, as we might call it—leftovers).

  “I hope you will excuse my humble offerings,” Leemus said as everyone took a seat at the table. “Visitors such as you certainly deserve a scrumptious feast. But I am a simple wizard, after all.”

  Clovin chittered in the wizard’s ear, causing him to exclaim, “Oh my! It seems that in all the fuddle-duddle I failed to make proper introductions. This is Clovin, my loyal assistant. As for me, I am Leemus Longshanks, a Brother of the lands of—”

  “Longshanks?” Gayla interrupted as she began spooning some of the Squibbles and Pip onto her plate (it looked rather like mashed potatoes). “Don’t you mean Longbraids?”

  “Toodlewitches!” the wizard exclaimed. “I think I know my own name.”

  “Well, you are the wise one,” Gayla snorted, and Kendra felt it was such a rude remark that she tried to kick her under the table. Unfortunately, she booted Oki instead, causing the mouse to squeal and drop his fork.

  “Now, now,” Leemus said. “There’s no need to get in a frunzy! Are you all right, my little friend?”

  Oki nodded, and Kendra whispered him a “sorry.” Then she thought to herself, Longshanks? How could all the stories and legends get his name wrong? But he doesn’t have braids, that’s for sure.

  “Well, come, come, my friends,” Leemus said, interrupting Kendra’s musings. “It’s time to tell me your names.”

  “Sure,” Gayla said between bites. “This is Braids and Eeks—or Kendra and Oki, if you like. And I’m Gayla. We’re from . . . well, let’s just say far away.”

  “Far away indeed,” Leemus mused, leaning back to stroke his beard. “Clovin tells me you came swimming from the sacred Elder Pool.”

  “Well, some of us were swimming,” Gayla said, casting a sidelong glance at Kendra and Oki. “Others were drowning.”

  “Er . . . we didn’t mean to be in the Elder Pool,” Kendra told Leemus. “We just ended up there by accident.”

  “I see, I see,” Leemus mused, now twisting one finger around the tail of his beard. “Such are the dangers of celestial travel, I suppose.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?” Gayla asked.

  “I have been studying the heavens these many months,” Leemus replied. “The stars have foretold that travelers from the great beyond would arrive at my doorstep—and now, here you are. Why, I suppose you are Eengels!”

  Kendra, who had just taken a drink of Eenberry juice, nearly spit it out in surprise (actually, she was lucky it didn’t come out of her nose). Eengels, of course, are what you and I might call angels. Kendra had been called many things in her life—but Eengel had never been one of them.

  “You’ve got your whiskers crossed,” Gayla told Leemus. “We’re not Eengels! We’re Eens. Just like you.”

  “Smingle-smongle!” Leemus scoffed. “You are no ordinary Eens! You have been sent to help us; this I know. And tonight I shall take you to meet my brothers at the Elder Stone.”

  Kendra looked at the wizard in surprise. “But there is no . . . er, well, that is to say: where is the Elder Stone?”

  “Why, right next to the Elder Pool,” Leemus answered. “Didn’t you see it? Well, you shall tonight; all in good time.”

  “But what’s going to happen at the meeting?” Oki asked.

  The old wizard’s face suddenly turned serious. “Tonight the council meets to discuss our brother . . . the fallen one.”

  Kendra shivered. She knew Leemus was speaking of the first elder of Een, Grendel Greeve. He was a dark wizard, and she had met him—his ghost at least—in the temple he had built with the power of his black arts, so many years ago. Except it’s not years ago, Kendra thought. It’s happening all right now—and we’re in the middle of it.

  “The heart of Brother Greeve turned so dark and wicked that we banished him from our lands,” Leemus said, a tone of regret clear in his voice. “That was three years ago. And yet, seven moons past, a giant moth appeared before the council, carryi
ng in its feelers a message from our brother begging for forgiveness. Tonight we shall decide our response.”

  Kendra tugged hard on a braid. She knew how this was going to turn out. The brothers would go before the Wizard Greeve and all would fall victim to his curse—all except Leemus.

  Maybe I can convince the elders not to go, Kendra thought. I can stop this curse from even happening. But then another voice came to her. It sounded like her elder self, the blind sorceress. You can’t pull at the fabric of time, Kendra, the voice warned. If you do, everything will change.

  Kendra sighed, and stared across the table at Leemus. He thinks we’ve been sent to help him, Kendra told herself. And he’s said to be the wisest Een that’s ever lived. So there must be something we have to do in this time. The question is . . . what?

  The moon had just appeared in the sky when the three “Eengels” set off for the council meeting, following Leemus Longshanks along the same path in the woods that they had taken earlier that day. Clovin scampered through the treetops above, leaping gracefully from branch to branch.

  It wasn’t long before they began clambering down a slope and the Elder Pool came into view. Now that she was looking at the meadow from above, Kendra could see a large, flat stone lying near the pool. Here, sitting cross-legged around the perimeter of the rock, were five dark silhouettes.

  “I guess those are the Brothers of Een,” Kendra said to Oki. “And that must be the Elder Stone.”

  “I recognize that rock,” Oki told her excitedly. “It’s the center tile in the council chambers of our Elder Stone.”

  “That makes sense,” Kendra said. “The ancients must have used that rock when they built the new Elder Stone.”

  They arrived at the bottom of the slope, and as they approached the stone Kendra was afforded a better view of the five Brothers. She already knew their names: Izzen Icebone, Nooja Nightstorm, Orin Oldhorn, Drake Dragonclaw, and Thunger Thunderfist. They did not look kindly in Kendra’s opinion, especially Brother Thunderfist, who was massive in size with a hunched back and two fists like rocks. Like Leemus, none of them wore braids in their hair.