The Coiled Viper
Page 4
“Aw, Mom!” he said.
Julie sprang up the front steps of the library, smiled at the volunteers, and led the way straight through the doors of the new children’s wing, then downstairs to the ground floor.
Keeah stopped. Standing in the center of the room, she closed her eyes and began to tremble.
“Do you remember any more?” asked Eric.
“Demither was so afraid of the Viper,” said Keeah. “She told me terrible things would happen if Sparr got hold of it. She couldn’t fight him, but she hoped someone else could.”
Eric saw fear in Keeah’s face. He felt it, too. He wanted to tell her it would be okay. That everything would turn out all right.
But he couldn’t. He wasn’t sure it would.
The air suddenly crackled overhead.
“Lightning,” said Julie. “Sparr’s on his way.”
Keeah turned to a story-time area filled with colorful pillows. She pointed down a short hallway to a gray metal door.
“That leads outside,” said Neal.
Keeah shuddered as she walked toward the door. “It’s out there.”
Eric aimed a narrow stream of sparks at the door. Zzzt! The door popped open on to a small grassy area behind the library.
It was hedged in by a row of bushes. Nearby were some planks of wood, a mound of dirt, and several shovels left by the library builders.
Keeah stepped out. She went three paces left, then five paces out. She looked down. “Here.”
Julie transformed back into herself, and together the four friends grabbed shovels and began to dig. They dug deeper and deeper until —
Clank!
Eric tossed his shovel aside. “There’s a rock blocking the way. I have to go down.” Trembling, he squirmed into the hole. As soon as he did he heard Om’s words screaming in his head.
You will find it!
“You just keep quiet!” he snapped.
The air in the hole was heavy and dark. Eric felt suddenly exhausted as he knelt in the dirt.
“It’s powerful,” said Julie. “I feel it up here.”
The sound of drums thumped in the distance.
Neal peeked around the side of the library. “Ninns on Main Street,” he said.
“Demither said it was a thing of darkness,” said Keeah. “Be careful, Eric.”
And yet as Eric heaved the rock aside, what he found was not a thing of darkness at all. Light burst up from the dirt, shining from a golden object buried there.
Eric cried out. “I have it!”
You will find it and bring it to Sparr!
He tugged the object out with both hands. It came loose from the dirt around it. Pulling himself out of the hole, he lifted the thing up for everyone to see.
Keeah gasped when she saw it. “A … crown! The Coiled Viper is a crown!”
It was a crown, a ring of gold, shaped like a snake — a viper — coiled three times upon itself. Jaws wide, tongue out, fangs extended, its head was wound together with its tail and raised up.
Raised up … as if ready to strike.
“It’s horrible,” said Julie. “And beautiful.”
“It’s red gold,” said Neal, gaping at it.
Light circled along the crown’s red-tinged golden skin, making it seem alive, slithering with fiery color — green, blue, purple, black.
It surprised Eric that he could touch it at all. It felt as if it would uncoil itself and strike at him.
Did it suddenly move in his hand? Did it twist its golden head to look at him? Or was it just a trick of its own light? No, it couldn’t look at him. It had no eyes. The dark holes were empty. The two blue gems would go there.
The sound of war drums filled the air.
“The Ninns are closing in,” said Neal.
“Sparr, too!” said Julie. “Let’s get out there.”
Clutching the crown tightly, Eric raced around the library after his friends, only to find the street full of townspeople, frozen in fear.
For there was Lord Sparr, on a throne carried by a troop of Ninns, marching, marching, marching right up the center of Main Street. Sparr’s fins burned a deep purple, and his eyes flashed redder than the lightning crashing overhead.
The four friends stood there, trembling.
“This is it,” said Keeah.
“Sparr’s really here in our world,” said Eric.
“Marching up Main Street,” said Julie.
Neal nodded. “Is it okay to freak out now?”
Kkkkk! Lightning blasted over the street, sending the townspeople scattering for cover.
Eric shouted at the top of his lungs. “Run! Everyone, go home. There’s going to be a —”
“A battle? I hope so!” cried Sparr, leaping from the throne. “How’s this for starters?”
Blam! A spray of red sparks struck the library steps. Eric was thrown back into Julie and Neal and dropped the Coiled Viper. It let out a low, hissing noise.
Take me to Sparrrrrr!
“You be quiet!” Eric snapped, snatching up the crown and looping it on his belt.
“Give it to me!” yelled Sparr, stomping toward Eric. “It’s mine. I made it. I want it. I need it!”
“Eric, together,” said Keeah. They both blasted Sparr, but the evil sorcerer shot a bolt of lightning from his raised hand, and their blasts went wild.
“You should have tried that in the tent!” Sparr sneered. “I was weak then. But already I grow stronger. Soon, I shall have that crown and be stronger still. With the Viper I shall —”
“Oh, shush up!” boomed a familiar voice. And a bolt of silvery light exploded near Sparr, wheeling him backward into a handful of Ninns.
The kids spun around. Out of the smoke came a tall man in a long blue robe, brandishing a wooden staff that shone in a rainbow of colors. Next to him ran an eight-legged spider troll.
“Galen! Max!” shouted Neal.
“Can you use a helping hand?” chirped Max, shooting a web of sticky spider silk at the Ninns. “Or should I say helping feet?”
“Yes!” said Keeah. “How did you get here?”
The old wizard hurled a second bolt at Sparr and pulled the children to safety. “We raided the Ninns, stole back the Eye, then rushed here first thing. Eric, I think your mother — sweet lady — was surprised to see us tramping out of her basement!”
Eric blinked. “She saw you?”
“I’ll have to erase her memory, of course. Everyone’s, actually. But first, you must take the Viper to safety. Go to Droon. King Zello and Queen Relna are waiting in Jaffa City.”
Sparr leaped to his feet, his eyes flashing as he clutched the medallion around his neck.
Eric trembled. “Galen — the Moon Medallion. Sparr has it.”
The wizard shot a glance a Sparr. “Ah, it gets worse! Eric, go now! Children, take him away!”
“We will,” said Keeah. “You watch out.”
Galen nodded. “I always do! Now, go!”
The old wizard sent blast after silver blast at Sparr, while Keeah, Neal, and Max sprang from the library steps. Eric and Julie jumped on their bikes, hotly pursued by a troop of Ninns.
The five friends raced down the street, skidding through a coffee shop, a bookstore, and a dry cleaner’s before the Ninns cornered them in a yard where a family was grilling on their patio.
“Here they come!” said Julie, jumping from her bike and flying up to a nearby apple tree to look around. “Everyone, get ready!”
“Ready?” said the father at the grill. “Ready for what — ahhh!” He dropped his spatula when three big red-faced Ninns crashed into his yard.
“We’re terribly sorry about this,” said Keeah, taking a moment to bow to the family before pushing the first Ninn into the lawn sprinkler.
“Get the Viper!” cried the second Ninn.
“Viper?” said the mother. “But we’re having hot dogs.”
“Mmmm!” the third Ninn grunted as he swept the food off the grill and gobbled it down.
Keeah sent a blast of blue light at four more Ninns, tumbling them over the patio wall.
“Get the boy!” two new warriors grunted, chasing Eric across the yard to the swing set. He jumped onto the swing, pumped twice, and kicked both warriors as they lunged.
“Bombs away!” said Julie, pummeling the downed Ninns with ripe apples.
“More warriors in the front yard!” chittered Max. He scurried up to the roof and shot a sticky net over another troop of Ninns there. They fell to the ground with a resounding thud.
“Eric, get on!” came a yell from the street.
He turned, and suddenly there was Keeah, popping a wheelie on Julie’s bicycle. “What —”
“More Ninns behind you! Come on!”
He climbed over the fence, jumped on the seat behind Keeah, and she tore off around a corner.
“Wow, you’re a fast learner!” he said.
“When you fight evil, you sort of have to be. Watch out!” She sent a sparkling blue blast at a troop of Ninns charging from behind a garage. “I am definitely going to ask Friddle to help me build one of these! Now, to your house!”
She pedaled swiftly down the street. But another squad of Ninns leaped from behind a hedge and blocked the way. Yelling, they charged the children, the ground thundering beneath their feet.
Suddenly, they stopped charging, but the thundering went on.
Eric looked at Keeah. “What is that noise?”
Then a tiny voice cried out, “Eric! I promised we would help!”
A moment later, a caravan of blue shovel-nosed beasts came stomping around the corner. And, piled on their backs, an army of hoobahs, tootling their musical instruments as loudly as they could. The beautiful melody filled the air.
“Akkk!” cried the red warriors. “Hate music!” They dropped their weapons and stopped their ears with their chubby fingers.
“Yahoo!” yelled Eric as he and Keeah wheeled toward his house. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you!” cried Pikoo, waving from atop the largest of the blue beasts.
Keeah pedaled up to Eric’s yard just as Julie, Neal, and Max got there. Together they charged up to his door. Suddenly, the sky flashed with red light, and the air grew hushed.
Eric turned. “Something’s wrong.”
“Galen said to get to Droon,” said Keeah.
Eric shook his head. “The Moon Medallion. Sparr will hurt Galen. I have to go back.” He started to run.
“Eric!” yelled Keeah. “Eric, wait!”
But he was already rushing back through the yards to Main Street. When he got there, Galen was standing in front of the library. He held up his hand. “Eric, you should not have come back.”
“I had to.”
“Then get behind me,” said Galen.
Sparr strode slowly toward them, the Moon Medallion flashing in his hand.
Galen stared at the stone. “You stole that.”
The sorcerer broke into a cold grin. “Such a strange family we have. Urik and I met in the past. We fought. I took the moonstone. Demither told me about the branch that would strike me down. But this has power over the sons of Zara. I can break the branch.”
“You talk too much,” said Galen. But even as he sent a blast at Sparr, an icy-white mist seemed to swirl from the stone, shoot across the air, and encircle the old wizard. He sank to the street.
“Ha!” crowed Sparr. “It does work! And look. You no longer stand in my way, old man!”
Galen gasped for breath. His face grew as pale as the stone itself. His eyes closed, and crystals of ice began to form on his skin.
The children and Max rushed up the street, looking on with horror. Even as the noon sun shone down, it seemed as if Galen were turning to ice right before them.
Trembling, Eric knelt down next to Galen. He took the wizard’s hand in his own. He nearly dropped it again. Galen’s hand was warm. In fact, it was hot. Eric looked down to see a thin stream of silver light coil away from the wizard’s fingers and swirl through the mist toward the sorcerer.
“Galen?” he whispered.
“Go, Eric. Escape,” said the wizard softly, pulling him closer. “You are young … strong … like the branch of a mighty tree.”
“No! No, this can’t happen.”
“But it is happening!” said Sparr.
Eric turned to stare at him, but what caught his eye was the medallion itself. Its strange symbols, carved so deeply into the surface, were glowing with silvery light.
Eric couldn’t believe his eyes. For a moment, he almost believed that Galen was drawing the medallion’s icy frost over himself. But why? Why?
“Leave me,” whispered Galen, staring right at Eric. “Take the Viper. Hide it away. Both our worlds will thank you. Lives are at stake.”
At that moment, looking into Galen’s eyes, Eric seemed to understand what was happening. Somehow, Galen was doing this for him. So he could escape.
Eric shook his head. “Lives are at stake,” he said. “But not yours, Galen. Not today. You have lots of years left. Lots of time to stop Sparr. Together, we’ll get him. We will. Because we’re the good guys.”
Eric stood and unhooked the Viper from his belt. “You want this, Sparr? Here. Take it!”
He tossed the crown roughly at Sparr.
Sparr laughed. As he grabbed the Viper, the Moon Medallion’s white cloud vanished instantly. And in that moment, Galen leaped to his feet and pulled the stone from Sparr’s neck.
“Take the trinket!” cried Sparr. “I have the Viper!”
He turned the crown slowly in the air. As he did, it began to hiss menacingly and cast its golden light on the faces of everyone present.
“Eric, I never thanked you for fulfilling the prophecy,” Sparr sneered. “How kind of you to find the Viper and bring it to me!”
Eric stared at him. “Here’s another prophecy for you, Sparr. Whatever your big plan is, you’ll lose. And we’ll be the ones to stop you. All of us. Count on it.”
His sneer fading, Sparr lifted the crown high. “Ninns! I have my Coiled Viper! Our work here is done. Quickly now, we go to the rainbow stairs. We go — to Droon!”
The Ninns cheered. “Sparr, Sparr, Sparr!”
With a noisy crash of lightning and a giant cloud of smoke, the sorcerer led his chubby warriors down the street and away.
His strength returning, Galen turned to Eric. He held up the Moon Medallion. “Eric —”
“There’s no time,” said Eric. “Sparr’s going to my house. And my parents are home!”
When they got to Eric’s house, it looked like a tornado had struck.
The mailbox had been knocked over, the door was hanging by a hinge, and the kitchen was a mess of macaroni and cheese, crushed soda cans, half-eaten chicken tenders, and melting ice cream.
“Uh, Eric,” said Neal as they raced in, “either your parents are getting sloppy or the Ninns just discovered your fridge.”
“Give me that mustard!” snapped a voice.
“Those are my cookies!” snarled another.
“My parents!” Eric gasped.
Galen pulled open the basement door to see Mr. and Mrs. Hinkle struggling with a pair of hungry Ninns on the stairs.
“Excuse me!” Galen grabbed the Ninns by their ears and dragged them down the basement stairs. The kids jumped down after him.
“I’m not sure I like these new friends of yours, Eric!” said Mrs. Hinkle as they passed.
“They aren’t my friends, Mom,” Eric replied. “They’re here to take over!”
“To take over our kitchen?” asked Mr. Hinkle.
“Nope, the world!” said Julie.
When the kids got into the basement, they saw Sparr pushing a bunch of mustard-squirting Ninns into the closet. “In, you fools!” he cried.
“Wherever you go, Sparr,” said G
alen, sparks streaming off his fingertips, “we’ll find you.”
Sparr grinned. “And when you do, I shall be more powerful than you can possibly imagine.”
Eric felt anger building up inside of him. “So go ahead. You got the Viper. Put it on. Let’s see how much more evil you can look!”
Sparr narrowed his eyes at the children, then laughed. “This crown? Oh, it’s not for me.”
Galen gasped under his breath. “What?”
“Then who is it for?” asked Keeah.
Instantly, a new expression crossed Sparr’s face, one that Eric had never seen there before. It was so strange, he almost didn’t know what to make of it. Then he knew. It was fear. It was as if Sparr looked into the future and saw something — or someone — terrifying. Sparr really was scared.
The look vanished in a flash.
But Eric had seen it and knew what it was. Sparr turned to the closet.
“One more thing,” said Eric.
“Yes?” said Sparr.
“I’ll never help you again!” And with a single push, Eric heaved Sparr into the closet and slammed the door.
Ka-whooom! The room exploded in red light, then everything went quiet.
Galen flung open the closet door again. Sparr and the Ninns were gone. “Well done. Now, Max, Keeah, children, follow me!” His strength completely back, Galen leaped down the stairs toward a Droonian sunrise.
Everyone followed close behind, but Sparr’s lead was too great. By the time they reached the bottom of the stairs, Sparr and his Ninns were already lifting into the pink sky on a flock of groggles. The flying lizards flapped their heavy wings and turned toward a distant sea.
“He flies away to fight another day,” said Max.
“Look,” said Keeah, pointing across the sea. A large serpent’s tail broke the surface and slapped the water. “It’s her. Witch Demither.”
Galen nodded. “Yes, she plays a part in this mystery of the Coiled Viper. Keeah, you, Max, and I must find out more. And we must do it now. There is no telling what wickedness Sparr will conjure next!”
Eric watched the groggles disappear beyond the horizon, then turned. “Om’s words were true. I did give the Viper to Sparr.”
“Urik’s words came true, too,” said Keeah. “Greatness came to you when you needed it most. Besides, no one knew that by giving away the Viper, you would be saving Galen’s life.”