by Tony Abbott
“Since we spoke, I have found something else,” said Max, calling them over to a chasm.
“More passages and thorns?” asked Neal.
“Stairs,” said the spider troll. “And stairs for Emperor Ko are always dangerous!”
Everyone knew exactly what Max meant.
More than five hundred years before, Ko had built something called the Dark Stair from Droon to Salamandra’s city of Pesh in the Upper World. He used it to kidnap Zara, the Queen of Light, and Sparr, her son, and bring them to Droon. The kidnapping was one of the most terrible events in Droon’s history, but it was also the one that started the whole enchanted adventure, for Galen first came to Droon to search for his mother and brother.
Everyone stared at the narrow black steps carved into the walls of the chasm.
“The Dark Stair is sealed by a charm,” said Galen. “I wonder where these steps lead.”
“One thing we know,” said Max. “They lead not up but down.”
As they all peered at the darkness of the stairs, there came a whimper, and the starfox stumbled down the first step, then the second.
Errrrr! he wailed. When he tried to climb back up, he only slipped farther down.
“Help him!” shouted Keeah. She reached for the starfox but tripped. “Eric —”
Eric grabbed at her hand but couldn’t manage to hold on, and he lost his balance. Julie, Neal, and Max reached for Eric and slipped, too.
Galen leaned down. “Take my hand!”
Even as Eric grabbed hold of Galen’s hand, a fierce wind rushed down from behind them, pushing Keeah, Neal, Julie, and Max farther down the steps toward the starfox. As they fell, a stone door began to slide over the chasm’s opening.
“Galen, save them!” cried Eric.
“Leave them!” snarled a sudden voice.
Eric’s heart thudded. When he and Galen turned, they saw her.
Her.
Wearing a green cloak shimmering with scales and jewels, and wielding a staff of tangled thorns sizzling with sparks, was none other than Salamandra herself.
“Leave them,” she repeated.
Her green-skinned face beamed as if in a smile, but her catlike eyes pierced theirs coldly.
As Keeah, Julie, Max, and Neal tumbled away into darkness, and the chasm shut above them, she began to laugh.
“You again!” said Eric.
“Me again!” said the thorn-haired teenager.
“Princess of Shadowthorn!” said Galen.
“Queen of Shadowthorn, if you please,” she said, spelling a big Q in the air with her finger. “I finally gave myself a promotion. Hey, I deserve it. I’ve been a princess for — what? — five thousand years? It’s time I sat on a grown-up throne —”
“Enough!” said Galen abruptly. “Where are our friends?”
“Safe,” she said. “Well, safe … ish. But you never know with Ko’s hideouts. They have booby traps, mazes, surprises —”
“What are you up to now?” the wizard interrupted. “It was your little starfox that led Max to Ko’s lair, wasn’t it?”
“And you showed us a vision of Jaffa City on fire,” said Eric. “Why?”
Salamandra pretended to faint. “Well, will you look at that! I try to be helpful, and this is the thanks I get. I feel so …”
“Evil?” said Galen.
“Misunderstood,” she said with a laugh. “No, seriously, folks. I’m only trying to help.”
In moments like these, listening to her joke around, Eric found it hard to believe that Salamandra really was evil. She had taken his powers, sure. And he desperately wanted them back. But she had helped him save his friends. In fact, she had helped to release Keeah’s parents from the strange enchantments of Jabar-Loo. He just wasn’t sure what she was up to — or why.
What really was going on in her mind?
“Salamandra, speak,” said Galen.
The thorn queen strode to the edge of the crag and tapped the enormous block of stone that had sealed over their friends. Their distant cries could still be heard.
“I stumbled through a ragged hole in the fabric of time,” she said. “Never mind how. But I saw a future full of fire and smoke. All was chaos, unclear, dark. And yet I felt something I believe was Ko. Good girl that I am, I thought you should know.”
“Ko plans to attack Jaffa City?” said Eric. “To burn it like in the vision you sent us?”
“For starters,” she said. “But I think we can stop him.”
Galen glared at her. “Why do you care?”
“That’s for me to know and you to find out,” she said. “In the meantime, I can tell you that if Ko is eliminated now, Droon can be saved. For the moment.”
Eric and Galen stood staring at the thorn queen, stunned into silence. Finally, the wizard spoke. “And how is he to be eliminated?”
Salamandra’s face twisted into a smile. “You remember my fabulous Portal of Ages, don’t you? Using it, I can send Ko back into the distant past, trapping him in time. I can make him a prisoner forever. The problem is that the Portal lies hidden beyond sight. To locate it I need the silver thorn. Find the silver thorn for me, and the great war of fire and destruction I see coming will be delayed until Sparr returns. Sparr is needed in that war if Droon is to be saved.”
Sparr? Eric felt as if an ice cube had slid down his back. Salamandra had once come to him in a vision asking about Sparr. He had told her that Sparr had vanished.
“Is that why you came to me?” asked Eric. “To find out about Sparr? Are you saying that Sparr will come back?”
Her eyes flashed. “If you help me and we act now, yes. Sparr returns.”
“Help you?” said Galen. “We barely trust you! What if we do not help you now?”
She turned to him. “I’ve been in Ko’s lair. I know where your friends are trapped —”
“So!” boomed Galen. “You are forcing us! You … you … person!”
The children’s calls echoed beneath the block of stone. Galen stormed off toward it.
Eric had turned to join him when Salamandra grabbed his arm. She narrowed her eyes. “Why, Eric Hinkle, you little secret-keeper!” she whispered. “What will your friends say when they discover you lost your magic —”
“Lost it? You saw to that!” he snapped. “When will I get my powers back? If we do this for you, will I be a wizard again?”
“That’s up to you,” she said. “Losing your powers was the price for saving Droon.”
“But for how long? And what does that mean anyway?”
“It means … hush!”
Galen returned from the sealed chasm, dejected and angry. He stared at the queen. “So where is this silver thorn you need?”
Salamandra grinned. “Oh, goodie. I knew you’d agree to find it. It’s in Pesh!”
Eric nearly choked. “Pesh? Your ancient traveling city in the Upper World? The silver thorn is in Pesh?!”
“A little outside, actually,” she said. “From the eastern gate, you take a right, then hang a left through the foothills. Five hundred years ago, my goblins were bringing the thorn to me when Ko attacked them. That magic thorn disappeared on the very night Ko marched up the Dark Stair and entered the Upper World. Maybe you know about that night —”
Galen’s face turned pale. “That night … that very night …” he murmured. He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, they were brimming with tears. “On the very night Ko kidnapped my mother and my brother Sparr?”
Salamandra tilted her head. “Oh, right! That happened, too. So, look. Bring me the thorn, and you’ll have your revenge.”
“But the Dark Stair to Pesh is sealed shut,” said Eric. “We can’t get there anymore.”
“There’s another way,” she said. “Long ago, a secret book was written about my empire of Shadowthorn and its capital, Pesh. That book still exists, passed down through the ages, tumbled from one hand to another until now. Until this very day.”
“Where do we find it?”
asked Galen.
She shrugged, then said brightly, “Try looking where all the books are!”
Eric stared at Salamandra. Where all the books are? Neal had said that earlier.
“You mean the library?” he asked.
She smiled. “To reveal what is hidden, sometimes all you have to do is pull the veil aside.”
“You speak in riddles!” said Galen. “What do you mean?”
“I mean time moves fast,” she snapped. “Ko gains strength. Your friends need air! And you’ll need them. They’re part of Droon’s future, just as Sparr is. Now, go!”
With a wave of her staff, Salamandra created a funnel of spinning thorns around herself. A moment later — poooom! — she was gone, and the mountaintop was littered with steaming thorns.
“Can we trust her?” said Eric. “Galen?”
“We have a mission,” the wizard said abruptly. Standing over the sealed chasm, he struck the stone with his palm. “Friends! Be safe until we return. And we shall return!”
Then he unrolled the flying carpet, turned to Eric, and said, “Come!”
Leaping onto the carpet, the two friends flew up from the mountaintop and soared back over the plains toward Jaffa City.
Eric and Galen soared as swiftly as the magic carpet would carry them to the place where the rainbow stairs had last appeared.
“Whose side is Salamandra on?” asked Eric.
“Her own,” said Galen, leaning into the wind. “Make no mistake. Salamandra does nothing that does not help herself.”
Eric looked back at the pink-stoned peaks. He knew it was true. And yet she had helped them in the past. She was irritating and confusing, but could her side really be their side, too? Or was she just helping herself now?
Maybe. Or … maybe not. He wasn’t sure.
The walls of Jaffa City sparkled in the sun, even as great numbers of soldiers patrolled its thick walls. Galen tugged the carpet, and it lifted into the sky, slowed, and then stopped in midair.
“I don’t like to do this, but …” The wizard tossed a handful of glittering dust high into the air. It struck something invisible but solid, revealing a set of curving stairs.
“The staircase!” said Eric. “You found it!”
Galen nodded. “It has faded from sight, but is still here. Let us hurry up.”
They leaped onto the stairs. On Galen’s command, the carpet remained hovering. The two friends were at the top seconds before the steps faded from view once more.
Opening the closet door, they found Eric’s basement empty. A warm patch of sunlight brightened the floor. As Eric guessed, there was no sign of smoke anywhere. “It’s clear,” he whispered, slipping out of the closet.
“You have an idea where we might find this strange book Salamandra has told us about?” Galen asked.
Eric smiled despite himself. “The library. Where all the books are,” he said. “And I know where to look. We have a new rare books room. It has display cases with cloths over them.”
“Ah, pull the veil aside to reveal what is hidden!” said Galen with a smile. “Salamandra may send people on chases, but she does give clues. Perhaps first, though, a change of clothes?” The wizard motioned to his blue cloak. “And of size and face, too? We should arouse no suspicion at all.”
In an instant, Galen shrank away, and the figure standing in his place was Neal!
“Holy crow!” Eric gasped. “Galen, I don’t know. Neal’s mom is the librarian, you know.”
The wizard smiled. “The better to get into secret places. I shall be on my best behavior.”
Eric laughed. “Funny, Neal never is.” Carefully closing the closet door, he led the wizard up the basement stairs to his kitchen, then out the side door to his front lawn. “You’ll need to use some of Neal’s key words to convince his mom. He says dude and whoa and totally a lot. Also burger, hot dog, peanut butter, and anything to do with food. Plus he likes baseball and basketball. A lot.”
“Those are foods, too?” Galen asked.
Eric looked at him. “Uh … no. Sports,” he said. “Though he’s not good at either of them. I’m better. And Julie’s better than both of us. But don’t try to tell him that.”
Eric could go on and on, telling Galen more things about Neal, but time was running out. If what Salamandra had told them was actually true, they had to find the silver thorn in the few minutes before Ko did, or her plan to send the beast emperor to the past would fail.
Hurrying through the streets unnoticed, Eric and Galen soon arrived at the library. They rushed into the main reading room and through the waiting crowd outside the rare books room. Because almost no time had passed since Eric and his friends had left for Droon, the room hadn’t yet opened to the public.
Only Mrs. Kroger was inside.
Eric nudged Galen as they opened the door. “Remember what I told you. And be cool.”
“Boys,” said Neal’s mother, turning when they entered the room. “I think everything’s ready —”
“Whoa, dude!” Galen said. “Dog me a hot peanut burger! I totally love basketbase!”
Mrs. Kroger’s jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”
Eric pulled the wizard aside and whispered, “Not so weird! If you can’t be Neal, just be you!”
Galen nodded. “Got it.” With a big smile, he bowed and took Mrs. Kroger’s hand. “Forgive the silliness, Mother. We have come to consult the ancient books. They are very educational, you know.” He stepped over to the display cases.
Mrs. Kroger made a face at Eric. “Is Neal … sick … or something?”
Eric tried to laugh. “No, no. Earlier we found a book about manners. He’s trying to be more polite.”
She frowned, then smiled. “Well, that’s probably a good thing. He should read more.”
She looked at the clock, nodded, then left the room, closing the door behind her.
“I suppose I overdid it?” the wizard asked with a chuckle.
“A little bit,” said Eric. “But being Neal is something only one person has ever been able to do. Over here —”
They went straight for the case at the far end of the room. Eric lifted the cloth away, and the old book that he, Neal, and Julie had seen lay open as before.
Galen breathed deeply. “We must remove it for a moment.” He ran his hand over the case. Its lock clicked, and the case popped open.
The wizard’s hands shook as he touched the ancient pages.
“Sombraspina,” he whispered.
“We thought it was about sleep,” said Eric. “But maybe not?”
“Not quite,” said Galen. “Sombraspina is a word made up of two Spanish words. Sombra and espina … shadow … thorn.”
Eric trembled, and yet somehow he wasn’t surprised. The book seemed far too mysterious simply to be about sleep. “It just showed up here at the library.”
Galen turned to him. “For a reason, I have no doubt. Eric, when you return here later, you must find out how this book arrived here. Where it came from. Who owned it. You must find out.”
Eric stared at the book. “I will.”
The smell of ancient days wafted over them when Galen turned the pages. He stopped at a fanciful drawing. Right away they recognized it as the ancient city of Pesh.
Galen bent over the drawing. “So …not all magic is lost from your world as we thought,” he said. “This book contains a power you may never have dreamed of.”
“What do you see?” asked Eric.
“Look for yourself!”
When Eric studied the drawing closely, he saw streets drawn in delicate detail, weaving away into the distance. Canals, bridges, the great dark palace — it all seemed more like a fantastic photograph than a sketch.
All of a sudden, he jumped. “That person … he moved! I saw him move!”
Galen nodded excitedly. “Yes! Yes! Sombraspina turns out to be quite a magic book, after all. Look near the palace wall….”
As Eric moved his eyes slowly across the drawing, he saw a wagon
roll down a tiny street. Overhead, a tiny bird swooped, then dipped into a square. A banner, black and purple as the night, waved, and then …
And then he saw two figures by the palace wall. The tall one wore a cloak and coned hat. The smaller figure of a boy stood next to him.
“Wait,” he said. “Is that … us? It’s us!”
As he watched, the two figures moved, first one way, then the other, as if they were searching for something.
All of a sudden, the drawing seemed to move toward him, filling his vision.
“Galen —!” he said. He reached wildly for the wizard’s hand, but Galen was right there with him, holding his hand tightly.
Whether the two friends were falling toward the page, or the picture was growing up around them, he couldn’t tell, but the room, the library, the town, his world — all were falling backward away from him.
At the same time, the city of Pesh was growing huge in front of him.
The wizard’s iron grip held him until the pull from the drawing was too strong and together they fell, fell, fell.
The next instant, Eric and Galen were standing together on a winding cobbled street in the foul-smelling shadows of the great palace of Pesh!
“That was … my gosh! I don’t even know!” gasped Eric. “What is that book?”
With a wave of his hand, Galen’s face aged, his beard grew out, and as quick as a wink he was Neal no longer. “A relic of a former time. A secret of untold power. And one you must keep safe at all costs.”
The wizard scanned the dark street, moved into the shadows, and pulled Eric with him, his eyes darting in every direction. “Whether Salamandra has become good, remains bad, or is somewhere in between is a judgment we cannot make just yet. But one thing is for sure. Her street-leaping, net-flinging, and carpet-flying goblins are all around us. It would be bad luck indeed if we ran afoul of them. If the plains outside are where the silver thorn was lost, we must exit the city as quickly and quietly as possible. This way.”
The farther they moved through the narrow streets, the more Eric’s fear of Salamandra’s dark city returned, and the more he reflected upon how his world and Droon were first linked together.