The Prince Warriors

by Priscilla Shirer

  “Eleanor?”

  “That’s her name! It’s like my favorite name in the whole world. I wish my name was Eleanor—”

  “Brianna, that butterfly—it’s not even a butterfly! You need to get away from it right now—”

  “Don’t be silly, Evan. She’s the sweetest thing. Come over and meet her—”

  Brianna’s head was turned toward Evan, so she didn’t see her sweet little butterfly, the one that had led her to this place, open its wings and rise up into the air. Evan stared aghast at its large gray body, segmented as if it were armored, and its long tail. Wait a minute—butterflies didn’t have tails, did they? The thick tail curled toward Brianna, and Evan realized it wasn’t a tail at all—it was a stinger. He blinked, shocked by what he was seeing. Butterflies weren’t supposed to have stingers either! Evan started to run toward Brianna, shouting as he went.

  “Look out!” He ran as fast as his boots would carry him.

  “What’s the matter?” Brianna turned to look at her beloved butterfly—her eyes widened in alarm. She realized all at once what it was. “Maribunta!” she shrieked.

  “Eleanor” made a noise like a cackle and shot a thin, silver, javelinlike dart at Brianna. Before he even knew what he was doing, Evan threw himself in front of her. He shut his eyes, bracing for the impact of the deadly dart in the middle of his chest.

  “Evan!” Brianna cried.

  Evan heard a clang and felt a jolt as the dart knocked him backward. He sprawled on the ground and lay still, wondering if he was still alive. He took a breath. Then another. Apparently he was. But was he wounded? He opened his eyes, looking down at his chest with a wince. The dart wasn’t there—it had bounced off his breastplate and ricocheted into a nearby tree. He almost laughed out of sheer gratitude—the breastplate had actually guarded his heart.

  Brianna rushed over to help him. “Quick! There!” she whispered, indicating a leafy bush. She quickly helped him to his feet, and the two of them dove into it, covering their heads and staying as still as possible.

  The evil Eleanor creature was angry—it made a hideous screeching sound, calling the other butterfly things to attention. Brianna peeked out to see a whole bunch of them swarming together, their red laser eyes scanning the forest, their long antennae probing the air.

  “What are they doing?” Evan asked in a hoarse whisper.

  “Looking for us.” Brianna peered through the leaves. “I read somewhere that butterflies can’t see well in the dark. But they can hear . . . with their antennae.” She put a finger to her lips. The two kids stayed as quiet as they possibly could as the Maribuntas continued to search for them.

  Brianna was just beginning to wonder how long they could stay perfectly still when her breastplate began to pulse softly. Evan’s did too.

  “What’s it doing?” Evan whispered.

  “I’m not sure.” Brianna couldn’t see any light coming from the breastplate, but she could feel subtle, soundless vibrations. Then she thought she understood. She whispered, “It’s telling us which way to go—without telling them which way we will go.”

  Evan understood.

  The two kids began to shift their positions in the bush until the vibrations stopped. Evan raised one finger and pointed in that direction. She nodded, understanding. Evan couldn’t see any path before him, just black forest, but he thought he heard Ruwach’s voice somewhere—up in the treetops perhaps? You already have everything you need. He took a deep breath. This better work. He held up three fingers so Brianna could see his count. He took another breath. Then he lowered one finger, then the next, then the last.

  The two kids jumped up from their hiding place and ran. The Maribuntas, alerted by their movement, raced after them. Brianna grabbed Evan’s hand as they tumbled over twigs and brush, keeping their heads down as best they could. Deadly darts sailed past them on all sides, some just inches away from their heads. They kept on running until Brianna spotted a bright splash of sunlight peeking through the dense trees.

  “There!” she cried.

  They ran toward the light, finally crashing through dense undergrowth into tall, bright grass. They fell forward and lay still, breathing hard, waiting for the angry insects to zero in on them with their evil stingers. But it was quiet.

  Brianna was the first to take a peek. She saw only pretty, sparkly butterflies fluttering among the wildflowers at the edge of the forest.

  “Where’d they go?” said Evan, still panting from the ordeal.

  “I don’t know. It’s like they changed back . . . into butterflies . . .” Brianna couldn’t even finish.

  They sat in the cool grass a long moment, trying to get their breath. Evan thought his heart might explode out of his chest; it was beating so fast. Sweat dripped down the side of his face. He wiped it away.

  “That was close,” he said.

  He glanced over at Brianna, surprised to see her big eyes all watery, like they were filling with tears.

  “I’m sorry.” She sniffed, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean—”

  “Yeah, yeah, I know,” Evan said. Nothing made him more uncomfortable than seeing a girl cry.

  “Thank you, Evan—for coming for me.”

  “It’s okay.”

  Then Brianna did something truly horrifying. She hugged him.

  “Yuck!” he said, pushing her away. “Don’t ever do that again!”

  “Oh, sorry, I was just trying to say thanks,” she said, deflated.

  “Don’t thank me, thank Ru,” said Evan. “He gave us the armor. But no more chasing butterflies, capeesh?”

  “Capeesh? What’s that mean?”

  “Uh—nothing.” Evan stood up, brushing off his pants. “What did you call those things? Mariachis?”

  “Maribuntas,” Brianna said. She thought about the story she’d told Landon about the Lupinas Ala Maribunta. Big black bugs with stingers the size of ballpoint pens. “I didn’t think they really existed.”

  Their breastplates began to blink again. Evan swiveled around until the light became steady.

  “Come on,” he said. “We need to keep going.”

  “There’s no path!”

  “It doesn’t matter. This is the way the armor is pointing. So we’re going.”

  They made their way through the tall grass, searching for a clear path. The meadow seemed endless. But then the ground began to slope downward, which made the going easier. Evan could make out a wide stream below—cool, inviting water tumbling softly over pebbles. And then he saw something else—something that made his heart nearly burst.

  “Look!” he shouted. “There’s my brother!”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  The Water Rises

  Xavier awoke to the sound of a familiar voice. He sat up, blinking, trying to shake the sleep from his head. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been out.

  “Xavi!”

  He looked up to see his brother running down the hill toward him. Brianna was close behind. They looked like they were okay. He stood up, overjoyed to see them. He realized he was standing in water—it was seeping into the ventilation slats of his boots. The water in the stream must have risen while he was asleep. He took a few steps up the bank toward his brother.

  “Evan! Brianna! How’d you find me?”

  They both began talking at once, telling an incredible story—something about walking on walls and big ugly bugs. When Brianna told him about how Evan had come to rescue her, he turned to his little brother with genuine admiration on his face. “Way to go.”

  “It was no big deal,” Evan said, hanging his head to hide his wide grin.

  “Have you seen Levi?” Brianna asked. “Is he here?”

  “I haven’t seen him,” Xavier told her.

  “Maybe he made it to the castle already,” she said hopefu
lly.

  “Is that real water?” Evan asked, pointing to the stream. “I am so thirsty.”

  “Yeah, help yourself,” said Xavier. “But be careful, the water’s rising pretty fast.”

  Evan and Brianna both knelt down by the stream. Brianna dipped her hand in daintily, but Evan used both hands, splashing his whole face and laughing.

  “Evan, you’re splashing me,” Brianna said, annoyed.

  “Can’t help it! Almost as good as grape soda,” Evan said, relishing every drop.

  “It’s not anything like grape soda,” she said, rolling her eyes.

  While they drank, Xavier told them what had happened to him and how he had gotten to the stream. They were amazed at his story, so different from theirs but then again sort of similar.

  “Your boots became jet boots?” Evan said, awestruck. “I want jet boots!”

  “Our boots walked on walls, Evan,” Brianna reminded him. “Isn’t that cool enough for you?”

  “Jet boots would have been faster,” Evan said. “We could have flown all the way to the top instead of walking.”

  Brianna threw her arms in the air. “So what happened next?” She turned to Xavier, clearly more enthralled with his story than Evan was.

  “And then I fell asleep,” Xavier said. “I’m not sure how long I’ve been asleep here.” He looked at the stream—water pooled around his boots. “We should move back up the hill.” His breastplate began to blink rapidly. That always meant: time to go.

  “I’m not done!” Evan said, still splashing himself with water. “What’s the hurry anyway? We just escaped from a swarm of giant Mangobugs, or whatever you call them. We need a break.”

  “It was pretty exhausting,” Brianna said with a huge yawn. “Gosh, I didn’t realize how tired I was.” She lay back on the grassy bank, sighing deeply.

  “Me neither,” said Evan. “Saving your life took a lot out of me.”

  “It’s really nice here,” said Brianna in a sleepy voice.

  “You guys, we can’t stay here,” Xavier insisted. “You need to get up!”

  “I know, I know,” said Brianna. “But I don’t think I can do it. I’m too tired. Just for a minute, okay?”

  “No, it’s not okay!” Xavier said.

  “Yeah—we need to go,” said Evan. He tried to get up, but he felt something heavy on his eyelids, something that seemed to push him back down to the soft, cool grass again. He reached up to brush it away—but it stayed there, like the big soft fleece blanket on his bed at home, settling over him, forcing his eyes closed. “We . . . need . . . to . . . go . . .” Evan fell back on the grass, sound asleep.

  “Get up, guys!” Xavier shouted. He tugged on Evan’s arm to no avail. “Wake up!” It did no good. The water kept rising, lapping at their legs.

  Xavier wondered if it was the water that made them so sleepy—after all, he had gotten sleepy after drinking it too. For the first time he realized that this cool, refreshing stream may not be the safe haven he had believed it to be.

  Then he heard a noise, like the beginning of thunder. But it didn’t end like thunder usually did. It kept going, getting louder and louder. He gazed upstream and saw that the water was not only getting higher, but the current was moving even faster, forming whitecaps as it sped over rocks and around boulders. It was weird how fast this was happening, but then again, this was the way things seemed to go in Ahoratos. Xavier knew he wasn’t dreaming this time.

  The rumble became a roar. Xavier looked upstream and saw a wall of water rising up, headed straight for them as if a dam had broken. The water thundered as it raced down the creek bed, collapsing the banks and consuming plants and trees on either side.

  Xavier felt a pit open up in the center of his stomach as he watched the water head right for them. He looked up the bank—he doubted it was high enough to avoid the water, even if he could get these two kids all the way up there. There was no time to even try.

  Xavier tried shaking them awake again. Neither one even fluttered an eyelid. It was like they were in some sort of trance. If he didn’t do something fast, all three of them were going to get swept away.

  Xavier wondered if Ruwach had known this would happen. “You have an enemy,” he had said. “An enemy who will use any means to distract you, to discourage you, to delay you, to defeat you.” If this was the work of this enemy, then Xavier had to figure out a way to overcome it. And quickly.

  If he could somehow keep them together, perhaps they could ride out the wave. But with what? He looked around frantically for a long vine or a rope—a rope? There wasn’t any rope. All he had was—a belt.

  The belt holds everything together. Ruwach’s words replayed in his mind.

  He reached down, grasped his belt in both hands, and pulled it apart. Even though he couldn’t even see where it was joined, the belt came off easily. It wasn’t long enough, but perhaps if he could stretch it, he could get it around the three of them. It was nearly hopeless, but it was all he could think to do. He quickly looped the belt under the two sleepers, then lay down between them, grasped the two ends, and pulled them together over all three of their bodies. The belt strained and stretched as Xavier pulled both ends together, and to his relief, he got them to touch. They fused together, tightening securely around all three, creating a little human bundle. Xavier put his arms around Evan and Brianna and shut his eyes, bracing for the impact.

  The wall of water slammed into them with a mighty roar. Xavier felt as though he were being shot from a cannon, like a clown at the circus. The force of the water was so strong it knocked out his breath. He kept a tight hold on his companions as the surging water swept them downstream. He thought they would be dragged under, but instead he felt as though they were actually being lifted, floating on top of the water. He opened his eyes, unable to make out anything but the relentless waves thrashing against him. He coughed and gagged, searching for air. Then he realized that something was surrounding them, compressing them, protecting them from the force of the water. He looked down to see that the belt had inflated around them like an inner tube. They were going on the wildest tube ride of their lives.

  They bounced and jetted over the turbulent water, which spun them around eddies and hurled them into boulders. At one point, they hit a large rock and catapulted straight into the air. Xavier felt his stomach lurch into his throat, but the tube prevented them from getting bruised. They ricocheted through a chute and cartwheeled several times, making Xavier dizzy. No sooner had they landed than the water swept them away again, faster and faster. The water stung Xavier’s eyes and pounded his face and arms, but he kept a tight hold on the two sleeping kids and worked frantically to keep their heads above water. Nothing about the situation was sure, except one thing: the tube kept them strapped together securely.

  Too bad Evan is missing this, Xavier thought. They’d been white-water rafting once on a camping trip, but that was nothing compared to this. It would have been fun if it weren’t so terrifying. He wondered if this ride would ever end.

  Instead of slowing down, Xavier sensed the current getting even stronger. He was able to turn his head in time to see what they were headed for.

  Waterfall.

  “Hang on!” he whispered, as much to himself as to the others, even though they were still asleep. He closed his eyes and held on tight.

  They plunged over the lip of the waterfall, and Xavier felt suspended for a split second, like the cartoon animals do when they run off a cliff but don’t realize it. Then the falling water caught them, hurtling them toward the unknown below. Xavier’s stomach took up residence in his throat. This is like the flume ride at Six Flags, he told himself. Except he wasn’t sure that they’d make it out of this ride alive.

  “Ahhhh!” As if on cue, both Evan and Brianna woke up suddenly as their makeshift raft careened down the waterfall.

  “Hang on and hold your b
reath!” was all Xavier could say as water pummeled them, drowning out any more words.

  It was over in seconds—yet it seemed like a million years.

  They hit the water like a meteor, then plummeted under for a few heart-stopping seconds before bobbing up to the surface again. They wobbled a bit as the water smoothed out, finally calm.

  “What’s happening?” Brianna said, coughing up mouthfuls of water.

  “Yeah, what was that?” croaked Evan. “I thought we were . . . I thought . . .”

  “Waterfall,” Xavier said, barely able to catch his breath. His heart pounded still. “We just went over . . . a waterfall.”

  “Waterfall! Why didn’t you wake me up?” Evan exclaimed.

  “I tried. Are you guys okay?”

  “I think so,” said Brianna. “But where’d this raft thing come from?”

  “You’re probably not going to believe it.”

  It will lead you down the right path. The instruction never said it would be a calm path, or an easy path. Just the right path.

  “We’re okay now.” Xavier saw a beach ahead and began kicking toward it. The raft deflated as soon as his feet touched the sandy bottom. Xavier pulled it apart and the three of them separated, splashing around to get their footing. They felt dizzy and waterlogged from the crazy ride. Xavier shook his head to get the water out of his ears. Brianna and Evan stumbled toward the beach and collapsed.

  Xavier buckled his belt back on, still amazed at what it had done. It fit his waist perfectly again. He sat down on the sand, lowering his head to stop the spinning.

  “I thought I was dreaming,” Brianna said.

  “You were, for a while,” said Xavier. “For most of the ride down the river, I couldn’t wake either of you up.”

  “Ride? Down the river?” Brianna asked, her eyes wide.

  “Why were we so sleepy?” said Evan.

  “The water you drank,” Xavier said. “I think it made you sleepy. Maybe it was one of those enemy attacks Ruwach told us about.”