by Jeff Rosen
“We’ll never find in her in the tunnels!” Ben Bruin called to the team.
He urged his oroc straight at the queen, leveling his firelance. The queen spun from the cave, her massive mandibles snapping Ben’s fire-lance like a twig. Ben was flung from his oroc and landed heavily on the hillside, looking dazed but alive.
Caley and Kip landed their orocs at the base of the cliffs and stared around. They were the only ones left from the Cheetahs. A few players from the other teams were chaotically trying to organize themselves as the queen began to burrow back into the cave.
“Any more of those crackers?” Kip asked, turning to Caley.
Caley fumbled around her pockets and found an animal cracker. Kip dumped it into his glove and speared it onto Ben Bruin’s broken fire-lance, which had landed nearby.
“Go, Arrow!” Kip urged his oroc into the air.
Caley stared, mystified, as Kip flew straight at the queen, dodging venowasps. He aimed the fire-lance and heaved it with all his strength. It lodged in one of her wings. She spun around frenziedly, her mandibles slashing at Kip. He managed to dodge the deadly jaws and landed again near Caley.
“What was that all about?” said Caley. “You could have gotten killed!”
Kip swung down from Arrow, and his armor, which had a great gash from the queen’s mandibles across it, fell right off him.
“That’s the end of this useless kit, and good riddance. Think I’ll wear a trash toad to the next Equidium. If I survive this one. Follow me. I’ll explain later!”
Kip began to scramble up the cliffs. Caley threw her helmet off with a puzzled look and followed. When they reached the cave entrance, Kip motioned in the direction of the players who were making their way in, the trackers stopping and listening every now and then and staring uncertainly into the murk.
“The other trackers’ baests are all hawks and owls and things like that,” said Kip. “Good for seeing and hearing, but the tunnels are dark and the queen’s here to lay her eggs. She won’t be buzzing around flying. You won’t hear or see her. And that’s where K-Dog comes in.” He pointed at his long nose. “I’ll follow the scent of that cracker.”
“Kip … you’re brilliant!”
The two headed into the cave. They reached a series of tunnels all leading off in different directions. They could hear the footsteps of players echoing around faintly. Kip sniffed the air and chose a tunnel that descended deeper and deeper into the earth. As they rounded a bend, the last light filtering in from the cave entrance disappeared. They were now in total darkness. Kip drew his fire-sword, making a little flame at the end of it.
“Once we find the queen, I’ll have to put it out,” he said in a hushed voice. “She hates bright lights. Lives in her nest in complete darkness and only leaves to lay her eggs here. It’s one of the reasons her drones surround her, aside from the camouflage. Keeps it nice and dark for her. Clever creatures, venowasps. Horrible … but clever.”
They followed the tunnel deeper under the earth. The air became moist and foul. Kip’s nose wrinkled in disgust. He held up his sword to reveal they had emerged into a huge cavern tangled with immense dark taproots giving off a faint bluish glow and slowly writhing. It reminded Caley of the legs of an enormous stepped-on spider.
“We must be right under the castle,” Kip whispered. “Those are the main roots.” He sniffed the air again. “I know that smell …”
A hacking cough made them turn. Kip raised his fire-sword to provide more light. To their surprise, they saw Doctor Lemenecky in a corner of the cavern. He drank the contents of a vial. His beard glowed bright blue and began to spasm as if it had been electrocuted. It attached itself to one of the castle’s roots, and the glow spread to the root.
Caley and Kip exchanged confounded looks, but there was no time to think about what they had just seen because a scraping sound snapped their heads in the direction of a huge shadowy silhouette burrowing into the floor of the cavern. They could make out giant wings with a fire-lance impaled in one.
It was the queen.
“She’s laying,” Kip said, his voice hushed.
He silently sheathed his sword. Now the only light came from the roots that seemed to be glowing even brighter than before and twitching violently. Kip and Caley began to pick their way toward the queen, across the tangle of twisting roots that formed the cavern floor. Caley took a deep breath and activated her snagger. Her hand was shaking so badly it took her three tries to make a little net that she was sure couldn’t catch a fruit fly.
“Think of it,” Kip whispered excitedly, “two first-years capturing the queen. It’s never been done before. We’ll be famous. They’ll write songs about us—”
They heard a low moan and turned to see Pansy Pingintee lying rigid on the ground, foaming at the mouth.
Kip leaned over her and shook his head. “A venowasp must have bit her. She’ll be all right. I feel bad for the venowasp … biting a Pingintee. They must taste terrible—”
A fire-sword suddenly stabbed from the darkness and sent a jolt through Kip, who buckled in a paralyzed heap, his eyes rolling back in his head. Ithica stepped out from the shadows. She poked Kip with her sword again, and he groaned feebly.
“What do you think you’re doing, Ithica?” asked Caley.
“Winning the Equidium. Thanks for leading me to the queen. I can take it from here.”
Pansy groaned and lifted her head. Ithica poked her with her sword, sending out an electric zap, and Pansy flopped back.
“And stay down this time.”
“You did that to her?” said Caley.
“Can’t have anyone else taking credit, can I?” Ithica twirled her fire-sword lazily, admiring the glow it was giving off. “I’ve been getting pretty good at this. I figure I can do more than stun someone.” The flame on her sword grew brighter. She inched the tip of it toward Caley. “I could say the queen stung you. Guess I’d be a queen, too, one day, instead of you. As it should be.”
“Bright …”
Kip was struggling to speak, his eyes fluttering wildly in his head.
“Of course, I’m bright, dumb mutt,” replied Ithica. “‘Blight the Bright.’ That could be my new nickname.”
Caley felt her armor tightening around her. The queen rose up from behind Ithica, her fire-sword shimmering in the venowasp’s immense mirror-black eyes. Ithica caught Caley’s horrified expression and slowly turned. Her pasty face turned even pastier as she froze, dropping her sword.
“She hates … bright … lights,” Kip managed to gasp.
The queen shot across the cavern at Ithica, her mandibles slashing viciously. Ithica managed to snap out of it and transformed into a cobra, slithering off into the darkness. The queen instantly turned her attention to Kip, who was desperately trying to get to his feet. She spun around, raising her fatal stinger as he lay helpless beneath her.
“GET AWAY FROM HIM, YOU BIG UGLY BUG!”
The words erupted from Caley in a monstrous voice she didn’t recognize. Something seismic jolted her bones and seemed to vaporize her from the inside out. She was now a dark swirling mass lunging straight for the queen, faster than thought. The queen’s giant stinger stabbed spastically, but it was useless against the onslaught that enveloped her like an atomic cloud. A snagger streaked from the explosion, its net expanding to trap her, Caley’s hand materializing on the other end.
Kip slowly got to his feet, staring wide-eyed at Caley, who was standing beside the trapped queen, breathless. He shook his head slowly, a look of awe spreading across his face.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Invitations and Investigations
Cross Cheetahs, glorious and ancient,
Never lost nor o’ertaken!
Noble House, o now awaken,
Crush our foes, obliterate ’em!
Caley and Kip, along with the House Cross Cheetahs (those not in the infirmary) were gathered with their fans in the common room to celebrate their Equidium victory. Everyone was arm
in arm, singing the team song over and over again, each time louder than the last. Then they’d yell, “Red Menace! K-Frog!” hug each other, raise a glass of stout-berry beer, and start again. Kip didn’t even look upset about the nickname—his face was fixed in a giddy grin halfway between euphoria and disbelief.
Coach Mandrake sat in an armchair cradling the Equidium Cup, muttering about what a miracle it was that everyone wasn’t killed the way they played. He was trying to look upset about it all but wiped a tear when he gazed at the cup.
Lucas Mancini ran in with a stack of leaves, and everyone gathered round to read them. They all featured pictures of Caley with the queen venowasp trapped in her snagger and various sensational headlines:
“STUNNER EQUIDIUM FINISH!”
“CHEETAHS CONQUER!”
“PRINCESS CALEY SNAGS WIN FOR THE AGES!”
Lucas began reading Trixi Tells, which featured a picture of Caley riding Fearfew.
“‘The plucky little princess from another planet pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Equidium history, overcoming numerous distractions leading up to the big tourney.”
“Trixi Thistlewhip was the biggest ‘distraction’ of them all,” said Kip, as Lucas read on.
“‘Princess Caley, looking savage but stylish in her mother’s ancestral armor, managed to capture the queen—and our hearts—with only Kipley Gorsebrooke by her side.’”
Everyone cheered and started singing again.
“This is the happiest day of my life.” Kip beamed at Caley.
Caley beamed back. She felt happy too. But there was another feeling, even stronger. Her body was still tingling with the aftereffects of the athrucruth that had taken over her in the cavern, and that feeling of dark, limitless power. It seemed the wild animal that had made a nest inside her had moved in for good.
The common room began to shake. The evacuation siren sounded, and mailbox-men clanked in, ordering everyone to get out of the castle as quickly as possible.
EVERYONE gathered on the lawn, watching anxiously as the castle convulsed. A few of the bat-like balconies fluttered off into the gathering dark, looking like they’d finally had enough. Colonel Chip Chesterton’s beaver-baest squad were racing around with headlamps, trying to shore up the various parts of the building that were threatening to collapse.
“Have you seen Neive?” Caley asked Kip, scanning around.
Kip shook his head. “And this time I am not looking for her.”
Caley stared at the agitated castle a moment.
“What do you think Doctor Lemenecky was doing in that cavern?”
“Maybe that’s where he sleeps.” Kip shrugged. “Or … grows … or … whatever he does.”
“And now the castle’s going crazy,” said Caley. “That’s strange, don’t you think?”
“He is the Animals and Botanicals teacher,” replied Kip. “He was probably trying to cure whatever’s wrong with it.”
Caley nodded, unconvinced.
Kip’s hair bristled. Dark shapes were moving across the castle: squirrels, hundreds of them, scurried down the trembling walls and into the nearby forest.
“What’s with the squirrels?” said Caley.
The all-clear siren eventually sounded, and everyone headed back to the castle.
Neive came hurrying up.
“Where were you?” asked Kip.
“I have something for you to give to Master Pim.” Neive placed an object wrapped in a leaf in Caley’s hand.
“What is it?” said Kip.
“None of your business,” replied Neive, hurrying off again.
Kip cocked his head, his hair bristling, as he watched her go.
“Definitely a cat.”
•
CALEY found Pim puttering around in his greenhouse.
“Congratulations on your Equidium victory today.” Pim smiled. “I’m happy you and Fearfew reunited. The oroc, not the root.”
“Thanks. He liked your magic crackers.”
“Magic?”
“They worked just like fearfew. The root, not the oroc.”
Pim pulled a box of animal crackers from a pocket in his overalls and handed them to Caley.
“In that case, please have the rest.”
“I have something for you. From … a friend.”
Caley handed over the leaf-wrapped package. Pim opened it, and she saw it was some kind of tree nut. Pim’s eyes narrowed on it a moment; then he turned to Caley.
“Will you walk with me? Chilly, but no snow yet. A pleasant enough evening for a stroll.”
The two walked together in silence through the winding pathways of the gardens. The trumpet flowers blew a fanfare to the rising moon as the ballerina blossoms in their tulip tutus curtsied to it. Pim stopped before a row of overhanging yews that magically parted to reveal a hidden grove.
“My secret garden,” said Pim, entering the grove with Caley. “I find it a good place to think. Or to not think.”
The garden smelled of evergreen and (strangely) soup. Pim picked a yellow berry from a bush that was growing on the bank of a pond and handed it to her.
“Try it.”
Caley regarded the berry warily. Pim nodded encouragingly, and she bit into it. To her surprise, it tasted like squash soup. It was even warm.
“It’s a ponderberry. My own breed.” Pim smiled proudly. “Ponderberries taste like whatever you think about.” He popped a berry in his mouth, then spat it out loudly. “Pardon me. I was thinking I should have worn warmer socks.”
Caley noticed Pim was turning the nut over in his hand distractedly.
“Master Pim, what does it mean?”
“It is a message from our friends, the silent squirrels. It says, ‘The castle is dying. We shall not return.’’’
“How can a castle … die?”
Pim carefully wrapped the nut up again, placing it in his pocket.
“The castle, as you may be discovering, is no ordinary structure. In fact, it is a nen.”
“A … what?”
“The rarest and most long-lived of beings. A nen castle is the sacred center of Erinath. Energy flows to and from it, connecting and protecting everything in its vast network of roots.” Pim’s face grew solemn as he gazed toward the castle lights glimmering above the yew-tops in the darkening distance. “Though for how much longer, I cannot say.”
“I saw Doctor Lemenecky under the castle. My friend Kip thinks he’s trying to save it, but … I’m not sure.”
Pim kept staring at the castle. “The doctor is himself a nen. A very young one, perhaps only a few hundred years old. He has cared for the castle since his arrival here, not so long ago. If something malicious is happening, dark forces are at work.”
“Olpheist?”
Pim began to poke around the ponderberry bush with his staff.
“I think he’s looking for me,” Caley went on urgently. “I think—”
“Caterpillars love these berries.” Pim plucked a caterpillar from the bush. “I cannot say what they think of when they eat them. I find caterpillars nearly as difficult to understand as squirrels, although I suspect they think about their feet a lot, having so many of them.”
Caley’s shoulders slumped. As usual, Pim didn’t even seem to be listening to her. Or at least the mention of Olpheist didn’t appear to alarm him.
“They would happily devour every single berry if they could,” Pim went on, “but the bush knows this and it releases poison into the berries when it senses a caterpillar. Not enough to kill it; just enough to give it a bad tummy ache. You see, the bush needs this particular species of caterpillar because when they become butterflies, they pollinate its blossoms. Sometimes, however—perhaps the winter was unusually warm and there were many caterpillars in the spring—the bush would be forced to make so much poison it would kill the caterpillars. Then the bush would die as well. No soup for you.”
Pim carefully placed the caterpillar back on the bush.
“It is the way of the On
e.”
“The One?” asked Caley.
Pim turned to the moon’s bright reflection in the pond.
“Everything in the ocean of galaxies—the caterpillar, the bush, the berries, the poison—is connected in a great and delicate balance within the One.”
He poked the water with his staff, and the moon’s reflection rippled apart.
“There are those, however, who see only two: good and evil, black and white, me and you. I think every destructive act—or even unkind word—happens when you see the One as two. Don’t you?”
The ripples reached the edges of the pond, the water stilled, and the moon came together again.
“There are protectors of the One. They are known as the Watchers. Olpheist was once a Watcher. But he turned against the Order.” Pim’s voice was suddenly bitter. “And very nearly destroyed us all.”
A passing cloud eclipsed the moon’s reflection into darkness.
“He was finally defeated and sent to the Black Gate. For an endless age, he remained there. But he escaped.” Pim stroked his whiskers thoughtfully a moment. “Around the time you were born, come to think of it.”
“How did he escape?”
“Only a Watcher can open a Gate.”
“But … I opened one.”
Pim regarded Caley intently, his orange eyes twinkling in the night like two tiny suns.
“What does Olpheist want with me?” Caley met Pim’s gaze. “I’m just an ordinary girl. Except … I raise the dead. And I have an athrucruth baest.”
Did she just say that out loud? Those X-ray eyes of Pim’s! If he heard, his face revealed nothing. He set off again with Caley.
“Do you know why I call it a secret garden?” Pim said after a moment.
Caley shook her head.
“My Eavesdrop-Daisies love to listen. They draw secrets out.”
Caley looked at the flowers and realized they were all earlobe shaped, and each one turned toward them as they passed.
“Oh, don’t worry.” Pim pointed his staff at some delicate blue flowers with fuzzy black centers growing here and there. “The Forget-Me-Lots never let them remember a thing. Forget-Me-Lots grow wild in the gardens. Nearly as obnoxious as fearfew. The root, not the oroc. Be careful not to spend too much time around them, or you will lose your mind. Quite literally.”