A knight in shining armor suddenly appeared.
Okay, his armor wasn’t actually shining. It was made of sand. In fact, the entire knight seemed to be made of sand. He leaped forward, drawing a longsword made of (you guessed it) sand. With a deft slice, he cut the arms off the rising kelp monster, causing it to free-fall, flailing, before it struck the moat below.
“Thanks,” I said to the knight.
He bowed slightly to me and Ridge. “You should return to the courtyard,” he said. “Help the others dig.”
“You can talk?” Ridge said.
“We are the knights of the sand,” he said. “Of course we can talk.”
“There are more of you?” I cried. What a great bonus! My sandcastle was populated with helpful sand knights!
“We have sworn to defend the Wishmakers within these castle walls,” the knight said. “Go. Dig in peace.”
Grinning, Ridge and I sprinted along the walkway and down the stairs. We passed another pair of sand knights guarding the front gate. One of them had an awesome battle-ax.
We rounded the corner and came into the courtyard. Thackary and Ms. Gomez were still digging. Vale was standing beside them, but I didn’t see Jathon. No matter: he couldn’t be more than forty-two feet away.
“We should be safe in here,” I said, dropping to my knees beside the hole in the sand. “My sand knights have sworn to protect us.”
“Your sand knights?” Vale put her sandy hands on her hips.
“Yeah,” said Ridge. “Apparently, they came with the castle. I did not see that coming.”
Jathon suddenly appeared around the corner. But there was something different about him. Oh, yeah. He was riding a horse.
Unlike everything else around, the horse wasn’t made of sand. It looked like a real stallion, big and black, with a leather saddle.
“Where did you find a horse?” Ridge asked him.
“I didn’t find it,” answered Jathon. “What do you think? There’s a bunch of stray horses wandering along this beach.”
“Not a bunch,” said Ridge. “You only got one.”
“It’s a consequence,” Vale answered.
“For what?” I asked.
Just then, one of the sand knights entered the courtyard. He approached Jathon, taking a knee, helmeted head bowed, with the point of his sword touching the ground in a reverent pledge.
“Lord Jathon,” the sand figure said. At the sound of his name, Jathon laughed. At the sound of his laugh, I hiccuped.
“The south wall is holding,” the sand man continued. “We have knights stationed at every access point. We await your commands.”
“Uh . . .” Jathon said. “Just keep doing what you’re doing. Don’t let the bad guys in.”
The knight nodded. “Wise orders, sire. I am at your service, my liege.”
Hey! That was my line.
The tall knight rose, sand armor grinding together as he retreated from the courtyard.
“You wished for the knights?” I asked Jathon.
“Had to come up with something more helpful than a sandcastle,” he replied. “As soon as you guys went up those stairs, one of the seaweed monsters punched a hole through the wall. I had to make a quick wish for something to keep them back.”
“And you got to ride a horse as a consequence?” Ridge said. “That’s way better than what Ace usually gets.”
“It’s actually really uncomfortable,” said Jathon. “My legs are already hurting, and I can’t help dig. In fact, I can’t even get off this thing until tomorrow morning.”
“Have you ever ridden a horse before?” I asked.
“No,” Jathon said as the animal tromped backward, causing him to lurch in the saddle. “They make it look so easy in the movies.”
“Well, at least you can’t get bucked off,” Ridge pointed out.
“Quit yer gabbing and start diggin’!” shouted Thackary, who was now standing waist-deep in the hole.
“Bawk!” added Ms. Gomez.
“We should hurry,” I admitted. “We have no idea how long the sand knights will be able to stand against those seaweed monsters.” I had less faith in them after learning that they answered to Jathon.
I focused on scraping sand out of the deepening hole. The shade from the walls was nice, and the sand felt cool the farther down we got. Everyone helped dig except for Jathon, whose big horse pranced around the courtyard.
From time to time, a sand knight would come into view, bowing to Jathon and giving him updates on the castle defenses. It sounded like they were doing a pretty good job, until one guy with a tall shield made his report.
“Sire! The west wall is barely holding. A dozen knights have already been crushed to dust.”
“See?” Vale yelled at Jathon. “I told you to wish for knights made of granite!”
“Bagawk!” Ms. Gomez, who had been taking a turn in the hole, suddenly stood upright. Clutched tightly in her raised hand was the dagger we had been searching for.
The blade was tucked into a rusted, dingy-looking sheath. Years underwater had not been kind to it. The hilt didn’t look much better, with grit from the ocean’s bottom clinging to the ornamentation on the handle. The dagger was longer than I had expected, the whole thing measuring about half the length of her arm.
“This is glorious news!” cried the knight. “I shall bear this hopeful omen to the defenders at the west. . . .”
Two strands of tough kelp suddenly lashed around the knight like deadly ropes. The streamers tightened, and the warrior collapsed in a heap of useless sand.
The seaweed monster whose arms had done the damage came flailing into the courtyard. From the shadows, two more sand knights appeared, swords slicing through kelp and driving the creature back.
But the seaweed wasn’t our only problem now. All around, the castle seemed to be falling apart. It was most noticeable at the inner rooms around the courtyard. The walls sagged, and wind off the ocean caused the sand to swirl as it collapsed.
“What’s happening?” Jathon called.
Ridge suddenly slapped a hand to his forehead, and I knew that he had some bad news. “You wished for a sandcastle to surround us as we dug for the dagger.”
“I know!” But I didn’t understand why my wish was failing!
“We’re done digging,” said Ridge. “We found the dagger. That means the castle won’t protect us anymore.”
I grimaced, realizing that my specific wording of the wish was coming back to bite me.
“That’s a problem,” said Vale.
“Duh!” I replied.
“Not just because the castle is falling apart,” she said. “Jathon wished that the knights would defend us while we were in the sandcastle.”
Jathon laughed at his name. I hiccuped.
“So the knights are going away with the castle?” Ridge shrieked. “We’ll be defenseless.”
I whirled at Jathon. “Why didn’t you wish for the knights to escort us off the beach?”
He glared back at me. “Why didn’t you wish for the sandcastle to last until the seaweed went away?”
“Arrr!” cried Thackary. “Ye both be terrible Wishmakers!” He hurled a handful of sand in my direction. It probably would have gotten in my eye if it weren’t for that convenient patch covering my left side.
Another portion of the castle crumbled into dry sand. It wouldn’t be long before the outer walls completely fell.
“We’ve got to get out of here!” Ridge shouted.
Ms. Gomez scrambled out of the hole, ancient dagger gripped tightly. “Bawk!” she said. There was a sincere look in her eyes, but it was really hard to take her seriously when she sounded like a chicken. “Bawk, bawk, bawk, bagawk, bawk, bawk, and we can meet up with you later.”
“I think I’m finally understanding her!” Ridge said.
“That’s because you’re a chicken,” Vale said with a sly grin.
“Mocha almond!” cried Ms. Gomez. “It’s about time that consequence ran out
!”
“It’s good to hear you say something other than bawk!” I admitted.
“They were real words to me,” she said. “Mostly ice cream flavors. You guys have no idea how frustrating it is when nobody can understand you.”
“Could other chickens understand you?” Ridge asked. “You could have talked to them.”
“Do you see any chickens on this beach?” Ms. Gomez cried.
We all jumped as another wall by the courtyard turned into a pile of sand. Jathon’s horse reared on its hind legs, but magically, he didn’t fall out of the saddle.
“Your Majesty!” shouted an approaching knight. The horse had barely settled enough for Jathon to carry on a conversation. “The castle is collapsing!”
“We noticed!” Jathon replied.
“What are your orders, sire?”
Jathon struggled to keep his horse under control in the chaos. It was Ms. Gomez who answered the knight.
“Lower the drawbridge and open the east gate,” she said. “Jathon and Ace can take the dagger and escape on horseback.”
Jathon laughed, causing me to hiccup as we pondered Ms. Gomez’s plan for a moment. Then he turned to the knight. “Do as she says.”
The sand knight nodded. Turning eastward, he shouted, “Lower the drawbridge!”
“Lower the drawbridge!” the call was repeated.
“Open the gates!”
“Open the gates!”
At the top of the east wall, I saw a few knights spring into action, heaving against a huge crank and pulling some sand chains.
“What about you?” I asked Ms. Gomez. Strangely, I didn’t worry so much about Thackary.
“The seaweed monsters are obviously after the dagger,” she explained. “You need to take it as far away as possible. Maybe you can outdistance them.”
I studied Jathon on his big black horse. The animal was impressive, but I felt like I needed to point something out. “There’s no way four of us will fit on that horse.”
“You’ll have to put your genies in their jars,” said Ms. Gomez.
Ridge and Vale moaned in unison.
“Ridge could go polar bear,” I suggested.
“What would that do to you?” asked Ms. Gomez.
“Good point,” I replied. “I don’t think I’ll be able to stay on the horse if I have to bear crawl.”
I cast an apologetic glance at Ridge. The least I could do was wait until the last possible second to stow him. “Let’s get into position.” I crossed to Jathon’s horse.
It was ridiculously hard to climb onto the stallion. I put my bare foot on the strap that dangled from the saddle and hoisted myself up. The horse shied away and I fell flat on my back in the sand. I eventually managed to get into the saddle, but it took Ridge, Vale, and Ms. Gomez boosting me up while Thackary stood by, laughing. That made me hiccup, which made the task even harder.
I didn’t want to hold around Jathon’s waist, but I grabbed on to him with all my strength when the horse lurched forward. The others followed our trotting stallion as we maneuvered into position at the east wall.
“Sire,” the knight said to Jathon. “We cannot protect you outside the walls of this castle.”
“Well, in a few minutes, there won’t be any walls left,” Jathon said. “We’ll have to take our chances on the beach.”
The thick gate was open, and the drawbridge had just settled into place, spanning the deep moat that surrounded my castle. A couple of armored sand knights were still raising the latticework grate that covered the entryway.
Beside us, the knight reached to his belt and drew his longsword. Carefully gripping the sandstone blade, he offered the handle up to Jathon. “Take my sword,” the knight pledged. “May it serve you well on your daring ride.”
“Nah,” said Jathon. “I think I’ll need both hands to hold the reins.”
“I’ll take it!” I said. Wicked-looking longsword? Yes, please!
“Yeah,” Jathon said. “Give it to Ace. He’s more likely to need it since he might get bucked off.”
The knight turned, swinging the hilt of the sand sword over to me. It felt . . . sandy. And heavy. As soon as he let go of the blade, I nearly dropped the weapon. Still, it felt better to have some kind of defense against the seaweed monsters.
Behind us, the south and west walls of the castle had totally disintegrated. The seaweeds that had been waiting charged forward in a frenzy. Ahead, I saw two more creatures moving onto the drawbridge.
I saw a glass pickle jar in Jathon’s hand as he commanded Vale inside. Reaching back, I gripped the peanut butter jar in my backpack and did the same to Ridge. I must have looked pretty epic, sitting on a black stallion with a longsword in my hand, residual smoke from the disappearing genies swirling around us.
“Ride, boys!” Ms. Gomez said. She stepped forward and tucked the old dagger into Jathon’s belt. “Ride like you’ve never ridden before!”
“I haven’t,” Jathon croaked.
“I don’t think that’s what she—” I started to say.
Our horse saw that the way was finally open and took off at a full gallop, sand churning under its hooves. I barely managed to hold on to Jathon with one arm, while my sand sword dangled in my grasp.
Overhead, I heard the twang of bowstrings as arrows flew from the knights on the crumbling wall above us. The arrows found their marks, cutting into the pair of seaweed monsters on the drawbridge. They were knocked back as we rode on. I attempted to swing my sword at one of them, but we were past by the time I got some momentum behind it.
There were more seaweed creatures waiting for us where the waves lapped at their feet. Our horse turned hard, splashing through the shallows and dodging streamers of kelp as it moved westward for the city. It didn’t seem like Jathon was doing much steering at this point. Our trusty steed was as desperate to get off the beach as we were.
A seaweed monster lunged from the side. I acted on pure instinct, heaving my sword into a horizontal position. The speed of the horse did the rest. As we galloped past, the edge of my sand blade caught Mr. Seaweed in the middle, shearing it into two wriggling tangles of aquatic vegetation.
Ahead, two seaweed monsters reached out for each other, intertwining their kelp arms to form a sturdy trip wire. I braced myself to be thrown from the saddle, but our stallion jumped. Like a prize rodeo horse, it cleared the hurdle of seaweed and landed with a jarring jolt. I spun my sword around, cutting down one more enemy.
All at once, the sword in my hand turned to soft sand. It slipped through my fingers, caught on the ocean breeze. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that the final wall of my castle had collapsed.
With the fallen fortress, Jathon’s knights must have also disintegrated, which explained the sudden loss of my sword. A huge mound of sand now stood where my castle had once been. I worried about Ms. Gomez and Thackary, but there was no way we could turn back now.
This was the final stretch!
Suddenly, I heard the horse’s hooves touching down on something other than sand. I looked ahead to see that we’d made it off the beach! We were galloping on a paved street, heading into town.
“We should probably stop now!” I said to Jathon.
“That would be nice,” he replied. “But I think my horse has other plans.”
And so we rode on.
Chapter 15
By the time Jathon’s horse stopped running, we found ourselves in an outlying neighborhood. I couldn’t bear to leave Ridge in his jar any longer, so I climbed down from the saddle and called the genie out. Jathon did the same for Vale, although he had to stay on horseback. My legs were aching from the ride, and I wondered how uncomfortable it must have been for Jathon.
“Where are we?” Ridge asked, glancing down the street.
“No clue,” I responded. “But we should make our way back and try to find Ms. Gomez and Thackary.”
“Forget them,” said Vale. “Let’s try to find Tina.”
“We need Ms. Gomez to reac
tivate the trinket,” Jathon said, holding up the ancient dagger.
“Why didn’t she do that at the beach?” I asked.
“We were in a collapsing sandcastle, getting attacked by seaweed monsters,” Jathon said. “I’m guessing she didn’t think of it in the moment.”
Probably true. Survival had been the main thing on my mind.
“Well, I don’t think the four of us are going to fit in that saddle,” said Ridge. “And I’d rather not go back into the jar.”
“We can walk,” I replied, heading on to the sidewalk. Instantly, I broke into a wild dance move.
“Apparently, he’s really excited about walking,” said Vale. I did a quick little jig to get myself into the gutter.
“Hey, how long is this going to last, anyway?” I had accepted the dance-on-the-sidewalk consequence without learning much about it.
“It’s just for a month.“
“Guess I’ll stick to the road,” I said.
“That’s dangerous,” Ridge warned.
“I’ll be careful.”
Ms. Gomez and Thackary Anderthon weren’t at the beach by the time we got back there. I was glad to see that the seaweed monsters had fallen apart, their body parts strewn all over the sand. Chasm’s wish must not have been able to hold itself together once we got far enough away with the dagger.
We headed back into the city, wandering aimlessly in search of the adults while the hot afternoon crept on. We finally stopped under a small tree. I was grateful for the shade until Jathon’s consequence made all the leaves fall off. That was the last straw.
“I wish Ms. Gomez would find us,” I said to Ridge.
“Okay,” he answered. “If you want her to find us, then every time you hear a car honk, you’ll have to do a jumping jack.”
“Just one?” I asked.
“One per honk,” Ridge answered. “For the rest of the year.”
I listened down the street. Not too many pushy drivers here. I just needed to make sure I didn’t go back to New York City. “Bazang,” I said.
Ridge, Vale, and I sat down under the leafless tree, while Jathon’s horse carried him a few yards away to graze on some scrubby grass. I thought my wish would be answered promptly, but I hadn’t specified when she would find us, so it ended up taking several hours.
The Wishbreaker Page 12