The Ghostly Guardian

by Maggie Marks

  This book is not authorized or sponsored by Microsoft Corp., Mojang AB, Notch Development AB or Scholastic Inc., or any other person or entity owning or controlling rights in the Minecraft name, trademark, or copyrights.

  AQUATIC ADVENTURES IN THE OVERWORLD:

  THE GHOSTLY GUARDIAN

  Copyright © 2020 by Hollan Publishing, Inc.

  Minecraft® is a registered trademark of Notch Development AB.

  The Minecraft game is copyright © Mojang AB.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Sky Pony Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

  Sky Pony Press books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Sky Pony Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or info@skyhorsepublishing.com.

  Sky Pony® is a registered trademark of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.®, a Delaware corporation.

  Visit our website at www.skyponypress.com.

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

  Special thanks to Erin L. Falligant.

  Cover illustration by Amanda Brack

  Cover design by Brian Peterson

  Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-5107-5330-3

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-5107-5331-0

  Printed in the United States of America

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 1

  “Boys, could you head down to the cellar to get some potatoes?” asked Mrs. Diaz. She wiped her hands on a towel and checked the food in the furnace.

  As the smell of pork chops wafted out, Mason’s mouth watered. “Hey, Asher,” he said, nudging his brother. “When was the last time we ate anything besides fish and dried kelp?”

  Asher grinned and rubbed his hands together. “It’s been years, I think.”

  Mason laughed out loud. “Not years,” he said. “But months, anyway.” How many months had they been living in an underwater village with their friend Luna? He’d lost count. But he was glad to be above water now, visiting Savannah and Chase in their small fishing village.

  “Asher, are you going to help with the potatoes?” Chase waved him toward the cellar door.

  “I’ll help too,” offered Mason. But Asher and Chase were already halfway down the cobblestone stairs, elbowing each other out of the way to see who could be first.

  They’re exactly the same, thought Mason, shaking his head. Like twins.

  As he followed them down, he shivered. The dank, damp cellar was lined with barrels, each filled with dried fish or root vegetables. He passed a bin filled with carrots and another with dusty beets. “Here?” he asked, pointing toward the bin heaping with golden potatoes. Then something caught his eye in the room beyond.

  Through the cracked door he saw treasure chests lined up against the stone wall. He stared, lured by the glow of green emeralds spilling from the nearest chest.

  Behind him, Asher sucked in his breath. “Is that treasure?”

  “What?” Chase raised his head from the potato barrel. “Yeah, we moved it after our ship was wrecked in the storm. We’re storing it here until we rebuild our ship.” He waved his hand in the air, as if the treasure were no big deal. As if every family had a room filled with diamonds, emeralds, and gold in their cellar.

  “Whoa,” said Asher under his breath as he pushed his way past Mason into the room.

  “Slow down!” a familiar voice called. “We’re trying to organize in here.”

  As Mason poked his head through the doorway, Luna waved. “Savannah and I are almost done stacking the gold ingots.”

  Stacking the gold ingots? Mason couldn’t believe what he was hearing. But there was Luna placing the last bar in a row of shiny ingots, layered like an ocean monument made of gold.

  Beside her, Savannah brushed off her hands. “We did it!” She gave Luna a fist-bump, which turned into a hug. Luna’s cheeks flushed pink.

  Asher and Chase are best buds, and Luna and Savannah are, too, Mason noticed. He felt a niggle of loneliness.

  “Mom wants potatoes, Savannah,” Chase called into the room. “You have to help!”

  Savannah rolled her eyes and tugged on Luna’s hand. “We’re coming.”

  As they left the room, Mason fell in step behind them. “Let’s go,” he called to Asher.

  His brother didn’t answer. His head was stuck in a chest.

  “Asher!” Mason scolded.

  Asher stood up so fast, he smacked his head on the lid of the chest. “Ouch! What? I was just looking. Don’t you want to know what’s in there?”

  Mason hesitated. He did kind of want to know.

  “Diamonds,” Asher announced, throwing out his arms. “The whole chest is filled with diamonds.”

  Mason blew out his breath. “That’s crazy.”

  “I know!” said Asher. “Do you think Mr. and Mrs. Diaz are treasure hunters?”

  Before Mason could answer, Savannah did. “They used to hunt treasure,” she said, a proud smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “Every buried treasure from here to the Taiga—on beaches, in the extreme hills, and buried in the ocean floor.”

  “Really?” said Luna. She rolled up the front of her T-shirt like a pouch and piled a few potatoes in.

  “Even in the frozen ocean,” Chase piped up from the stairs above. Mason could see nothing but his jeans and sneakers, but he imagined Chase’s arms waving as he spoke. “They had to fight off polar bears and strays!”

  “Shh, that’s enough now,” said Mrs. Diaz, who met them at the top of the stairs. “Did you bring my potatoes?”

  Mason’s cheeks flushed. He’d forgotten all about the potatoes.

  Asher had, too, but he didn’t act the slightest bit guilty about that. “I’m going to be a treasure hunter too,” he announced to Mrs. Diaz. “Just like you and Mr. Diaz. Just like Uncle Bart.”

  Mason’s heart squeezed, like it did every time he heard his uncle’s name. Uncle Bart had been lost at sea during a storm. And we almost were too, he remembered, shuddering.

  “Treasure hunting is dangerous business,” Mrs. Diaz said to Asher. “We do more trading now, sailing up and down the coast to trade the treasure we already have.”

  Asher shook his head. “It won’t be dangerous if I have my crossbow.” He reached for the weapon he’d left hanging from the back of the chair.

  Luna smiled. “You shouldn’t have given him that,” she said to Chase. “It’s all he talks about now. ‘My crossbow this,’ and ‘My crossbow that’ …” She reached over and mussed up Asher’s hair.

  He waved her hand away. “Did Uncle Bart have a crossbow?” he asked.

  Mason hesitated. “I don’t think so.” He tried to picture Uncle Bart’s stash of weapons, everything he kept in his supply chest on board their ship. “He had an old wooden bow,” he said slowly. “And a few iron swords and tridents.”

  “Engraved with the letter B, right?” said Asher. “For Bart?”

  Mason nodded. “Just like on his helme
t.” As Mason traced the loopy letter B in his mind, he swallowed the lump in his throat.

  “I still think we should look for him,” Savannah said quietly.

  Mason shook his head. “Uncle Bart’s gone.” I saw him fall overboard myself, he wanted to add, but didn’t.

  Savannah shrugged. “Maybe a passing ship rescued him. Maybe you’ll meet someone someday who has seen him. You never know.”

  Mason couldn’t think of a thing to say. He was relieved when the front door burst open and Mr. Diaz stepped in. He set down his dusty pickaxe, but before he could latch the door, a poppy-red bird flew in after him.

  “Hiss!” cried Luna, greeting the parrot. “I’ve missed you!”

  It landed on her shoulder and bobbed its head as if to say, I’ve missed you too. Then it let out a long, low hiss.

  Mason burst out laughing, all thoughts of Uncle Bart washed away. “Hiss still sounds more like a creeper than a parrot. Where did you get him again?”

  Savannah reached into her pocket and pulled out a sunflower seed. She held it in her palm until Hiss hopped over to claim it. “We sailed to the jungle last year. That’s where we found him.”

  “I’d love a pet parrot,” said Luna, reaching out to stroke the bird’s tail feathers. “Are you going back to the jungle any time soon? And can I come too?”

  “Definitely!” said Savannah.

  Chase shook his head. “Dad says we’re sailing north, to the Taiga. But maybe you could come along and tame a fox!” He cast Luna a sideways glance.

  Savannah grinned. “Or maybe we’ll go south to the bamboo forest, where you could tame a panda.”

  “No, I’ve got it,” said Chase, waving his hand. “We’ll go to Mushroom Island so you can get yourself a brown Mooshroom.”

  Asher snorted with laughter. “There’s no such thing.”

  “Yes, there is!” said Chase. “They spawn when lightning strikes a red Mooshroom. Honest!” He looked to his mother for confirmation.

  “It’s true,” said Mrs. Diaz with a smile. “But it’s very rare. And, no, we’re not sailing to Mushroom Island to get one.”

  Mr. Diaz sighed. “We’re not going anywhere until we fix the damaged hull of our ship,” he said, stroking his chin. “We need more wood and better tools. And sponges to dry out the cabin. We can’t get sponges at the market, but we can trade for a few tools.”

  “The market?” asked Mason. His pulse quickened. He’d been to the market only once in the last few months, but he remembered the hustle and bustle and all the interesting goods the villagers had traded for emeralds.

  Savannah caught his eye. “We should all go,” she said. “We might run into someone who has seen your uncle.”

  Mason’s throat tightened. Stop talking about him! he wanted to say. But he knew Savannah was only trying to help.

  “We can all go,” said Mrs. Diaz, “but come to the dinner table first. These pork chops and potatoes aren’t going to eat themselves.”

  As Mason slid into a chair beside his brother, a tingle ran down his spine. He plowed through his potato and dove into the steaming hot pork chop on his plate.

  In an hour or so, he’d be heading to the market—with a family who had a chest full of emeralds. What will they trade for? he wondered. Diamond pickaxes? Barrels full of enchanted books? Buried treasure maps?

  Or … information about Uncle Bart?

  When Mason’s stomach lurched, he pushed his plate away.

  CHAPTER 2

  “Here, kitty, kitty, kitty!” Luna crouched low and held out her hand, but the brown and white tabby cat only stared at her with wary yellow eyes.

  Chase, who was leading Asher down the dirt path ahead, stopped and turned. “You should have brought fish,” he reminded Luna. “That’s how you tame a stray.”

  Savannah shook her head. “No way. If we’d brought fish, we would have had a hundred stray cats swarming us! They’re everywhere at the market.”

  “I just want one. One kitty to call my own.” Luna sighed as she pushed herself up to her feet.

  “You already have a pet!” Mason pointed out. “You have Edward.” The thought of the squid that lived near Luna’s underwater home made him smile—and feel just a bit homesick.

  She shrugged. “Edward’s alright, but you can’t cuddle with a squid. Or ride one.”

  Chase laughed out loud. “Plus, cats are better hunters.”

  “That’s because they can see really well at night,” said Luna. “They can even see people who have taken potion of invisibility.”

  Luna would know, thought Mason. She was a master potion brewer, and probably carried potion of invisibility in her sack right now.

  “Speaking of disappearing,” said Chase, “I can barely see Mom and Dad anymore. We’d better catch up!” He took off down the dirt path, with Asher on his heels.

  The girls walked more slowly, lingering behind Mason. With the two younger boys running ahead and the two girls walking behind, Mason once again felt a twinge of loneliness, like the fifth wheel on a minecart. He studied the landscape, the rocky coastline that separated the village from the ocean beyond. And his thoughts drifted back to Uncle Bart. Are you still out there somewhere? Mason couldn’t help wondering. If Uncle Bart were here, Mason wouldn’t feel quite so alone.

  He was so lost in his thoughts that he nearly ran into Asher, who had suddenly stopped walking. “What’s that bell for?” Asher asked.

  A giant bell hung beside the village well. Savannah stepped toward it and ran her hand over its smooth surface. “It’s a warning bell,” she said, lowering her voice as she spoke. “It warns villagers of danger—like when the sun goes down and mobs come out, or when there’s about to be an illager raid.”

  “A what now?” Mason’s heart skipped a beat.

  “A raid!” said Chase. “You know, like when hostile pillagers take over a village. They ride in on their ravagers—which are like these giant angry cows—and attack with crossbows.”

  “They use crossbows?” asked Asher.

  “Sure!” said Savannah. “How do you think we got the one we gave to you?” She winked.

  “No way.” Asher’s eyes widened.

  “She’s kidding,” said Mason. But when Savannah raised an eyebrow, he suddenly wasn’t so sure.

  Asher puffed out his chest. “I’d like to fight a pillager,” he said.

  “I’d like to ride a ravager,” Luna countered.

  Mason turned back toward the bell. I’m not sure I want to do either, he thought. He cleared his throat and added, “I’d like to bite into one of those juicy apples.” He pointed ahead at the market, where Mrs. Diaz was examining a barrel of ripe fruit.

  “Me too!” cried Asher. But as he raced toward the farmer’s wares, he suddenly veered left toward the blacksmith’s display, where Mr. Diaz was standing.

  Even from a few yards away, Mason saw the glint of gemstones in the setting sun. Diamond axes and diamond swords were lined up in a tidy, glittering row. Mr. Diaz reached for a diamond pickaxe and gently swung it, as if testing its weight and size.

  When Mason caught up to his brother, Asher grabbed his arm. “Do you see the enchanted diamond sword?” he whispered. “It’s only fourteen emeralds!”

  “That’s a lot,” said Mason. “We don’t even have one emerald.”

  Asher sighed. “It’s so unfair,” he whined.

  “Maybe Mom and Dad can buy it for you,” said Chase as he threw his arm around Asher’s shoulders.

  “No!” Mason whirled around. “I mean, no thanks, Chase. It’s too much.”

  A few feet away, Luna and Savannah stood near the butcher, who was trading saddles for emeralds. Luna looked lost in a daydream, as if she could already imagine herself taming a wild horse. Is Savannah going to buy her one? wondered Mason.

  Then he saw Luna’s gaze drift past the saddle display, toward the entrance to the market. Her eyes widened.

  Two strange animals were being led into the market—tall critters with large
ears and squat noses. One of the animals was cream-colored, and the other brown. Both wore colorful saddle blankets draped across their backs.

  Mason took a few steps forward. Soon, he was standing beside Luna. “What are those?” he asked.

  “Llamas.” She said the word slowly, as if it were the most beautiful word she knew. “From the desert.”

  While Luna studied the llamas, Mason’s eyes drifted toward the villager leading the animals. Like the llamas, the man seemed to have come from a faraway place. His blue robe was trimmed in gold and burgundy, like the blankets strewn across the llamas’ backs. And his hood was pulled high over his head, with only his grizzly red beard sticking out. Mason strained to see the man’s face.

  “Ah, yes,” said Mr. Diaz as he stepped beside Mason. “The wandering trader.” He gestured toward the man with the handle of his new diamond pickaxe.

  “You know him?” asked Mason.

  Mr. Diaz shook his head. “Not really. But we’ve seen him all along the coast, and he always brings exotic goods to trade. Glowstone, slime balls, cactus, nautilus shells—you name it, he trades it.”

  Mason stood on tiptoe, hoping to catch a glimpse of the goods strapped to the llamas’ backs. But Asher’s freckled face suddenly blocked his view. “Look what Chase bought me!” cried Asher.

  “Not the diamond sword. That costs too much—” Mason started to say.

  “No, an enchantment!” Asher cried. He waved a glowing lavender book in front of Mason. “It’s the multishot enchantment for my crossbow. The pillagers better not mess with me now. I’ll be able to take out a whole group of them!”

  Mr. Diaz touched Mason’s arm. “I hope that’s okay,” he said. “We bought a little something for you too, son.”

  He slid a rolled-up parchment from the sack on his back and handed it to Mason. “An ocean explorer map, for when you boys go back home.”

  As Mason unrolled the map, a wave of warmth passed through his chest. “Thank you,” he said. He studied the map, which showed a tiny ocean monument surrounded by a few islands. “We can mine for sponges in that monument!” he remembered. “You need sponges to dry out your ship, right?”

  Mr. Diaz nodded. “I do. But maybe you and Asher can mine for some gold in that monument too.” He gave Mason an encouraging pat on the back.