She spun around and bounded through the grass. “Run!”
Jeremy bolted.
“With us!” Even shouted after him.
“Sorry!” He circled back to them. “Very sorry.”
Odd scooped up Even by the scruff of her neck and climbed onto Jeremy’s back. As soon as they were on him, he galloped away from the dragon.
“You’re going back the way we came!” Odd shouted. “You’re going the wrong way!”
“Away from the angry dragon is always the right way!” he shouted back.
Even clung to Odd’s shirt with her claws. Over Odd’s shoulder, she saw the dragon, red scales bright against the blue-green sky. It pumped its wings, and the wind bent trees sideways.
“She’s right!” Even called. “It’ll catch us this way! There’s no place to hide!”
“What do we do?” Jeremy asked. “I don’t want to be eaten by a dragon! Or roasted by a dragon! Or torn to pieces by a—”
Even scanned the horizon. Off in the distance, across a field of flower fairies, she saw purple boulders sparkling as bright as amethysts. “There!” She pointed with her paw and then clung to Odd again. “See the purple rocks? Go that way!”
He shifted direction, racing across the meadow. Fairies flew up around them, and Odd batted them away. “Ow!” she cried as they bit her.
Even bared her fanglike skunk teeth and hissed at them. She waved her tail menacingly, as best she could while still clinging to Odd’s shirt.
Swooping down, the dragon breathed fire, and the flames danced across the meadow. More flower fairies took to the air, shrieking as they fled. Jeremy aimed for the labyrinth of boulders.
“Faster!” Even yelled.
“I’m already going faster!” Jeremy panted. “I told you . . . I am not . . . good under pressure! I do not like this at all!”
“Duck, Odd!” Even shouted. She scrambled up onto Odd’s back, stuck her tail in the air, and sprayed as hard as she could behind them as the dragon dove, skimming the fiery meadow.
The spray hit the dragon’s mouth as it opened its jaws to breathe more fire. Coughing, it flew upward, away from them. Jeremy raced in between the boulders.
“Watch out!” Odd shouted.
He leaped over a rock and then ducked beneath an arch.
They zigzagged through a maze of purple stone while the dragon chased them overhead—the gaps between the rocks were too narrow for it to reach them and too deep for the dragon’s fire to touch them, but the dragon was persistent. Shadows crossed them as the dragon soared above, and they felt heat from the flames as the fire scoured the top of the maze.
Up ahead, Even spotted an alcove. “Hide there!”
Jeremy raced for it, jumping over rocks and skirting around stone pillars, and then plunged into the alcove. An overhang of purple stone blocked the sky—and the dragon. Jeremy stopped, his sides heaving. Odd and Even clung to his back. All of them held quiet.
Overhead, they heard the dragon cry. Its wing beats sounded like a windstorm. Stay quiet, Even thought. Stay calm. The rock walls were high. The dragon couldn’t reach them here.
Gradually, the sound of wing beats subsided.
“Don’t move,” Even whispered.
The dragon returned twice more. Keeping as still as possible, they stayed hidden and silent until all was quiet. At last, Even said, “I think it gave up.”
Carefully, Jeremy stepped out of the alcove. They all looked up, but saw only blue sky peeking between the rock walls. Odd slid off his back. She lifted Even down and set her on a rock, and then she plopped onto the mossy ground.
“You were amazing,” Odd told Jeremy. “I think you ran faster than a car.”
“Really? I didn’t think I could do it, but I did it!” Jeremy paused and ducked his head as if embarrassed. “We’re going to forget about how I initially ran away, right?”
Even grinned. “Already forgotten.”
They waited for a while longer, until they felt certain it was safe to move on.
After picking their way out through the stone maze, they crossed the meadow and returned to the yellow brick road. They all checked the sky frequently as they continued on. “Do you think that’s going to happen again?” Odd asked.
“It shouldn’t have happened at all,” Jeremy said. “Dragons don’t live in this part of the world. Their home is far to the west, hundreds of miles from here, and the Academy of Magic has treaties with them to keep them in their own territories. I’ve never even seen one before. Truthfully, I thought they could have been mythical.”
“You thought they . . .” Even shook her skunk head. “Never mind.”
“Well, that dragon was not happy to be here,” Odd said, in the understatement of the year.
“It did seem surprised.” Even thought back to the popping sound she’d heard. It had appeared out of nowhere. “Can dragons teleport?”
“They can’t,” Jeremy said.
“Maybe whatever caused the unicorns and mermaids to vanish and reappear also caused the dragon to appear here,” Even said.
They all thought about that. It was an alarming idea.
“Maybe we should hurry,” Even suggested.
“Agreed,” Jeremy said. “Really don’t want to face more dragons. Or werewolves. Or gorgons. Or basilisks. Or—”
“How about instead of worrying about it,” Even said, “we just run?”
Leaving the site of the dragon attack behind them, Jeremy galloped toward Lakeview.
* * *
By the time they reached a sign welcoming them to the border town of Lakeview, Jeremy’s sides were damp with sweat. Even felt cramped in muscles she wasn’t sure she was supposed to have, even as a skunk. They’d lost a lot of time to hiding from the dragon, but at last they’d made it! This is it! she thought. We’re finally going home! We did it!
Perking up, Jeremy cheered, “It’s here!”
“What is?” Odd asked.
“Home!” He picked up his pace.
Ahead, the road looked broken, with bricks jumbled together at the foot of a hill, as if the yellow brick road had been bulldozed. Halfway up the slope, she saw the silhouettes of several unicorns standing beside a shadow that looked like an opening to a cave.
Even couldn’t see beyond the hill, but the border—and, more important, the gateway—had to be on the other side. Just a few more minutes and they’d be back where they belonged. Or at least they’d be in the right world. They’d contact Dad from the nearest border store, and he’d know what to do and how to get both them and Mom home.
Despite being unprepared, we didn’t do half bad, she thought. Then she considered the fact that they weren’t supposed to be here at all. Or at least it could have been worse, she amended.
“Mama!” Jeremy called.
One of the unicorns broke away from the others and galloped down the hill toward them. Her mane flowed in the wind, her horn sparkled in the sun, and when she whinnied, it sounded like music. Now this . . . this was a unicorn like Even had imagined! Majestic! Glorious! The mirror hadn’t done her justice. This was a unicorn who could solve problems, grant wishes, and send them home!
Jeremy ran toward his mother. Reaching her, he skidded to a stop.
Odd, holding Even, climbed off his back. Squirming in Odd’s arms, Even twisted to get a better look at the magnificent full-grown unicorn.
Dipping her head down to his, Jeremy’s mother nuzzled his face with hers. “My baby, my darling, my sweet little sugar plum!” Not just glorious, Even thought. Loving, too. She was everything a unicorn should be.
Jeremy rubbed his cheek against hers and then seemed to remember they had an audience. “Gah! Not a baby. Don’t cuddle me in front of my friends, Mama.”
She quit nuzzling but only backed a few inches away. “When we realized you hadn’t come with us, we tried to find you! Uncle Sunflower went to look for you. We began to worry you’d crossed the border. With all the uncertainty lately—”
“I came
to find you,” Jeremy said, “as soon as I could. But Mama . . . what happened?”
“Sweetheart . . . don’t be upset, but you need to know that when the hill moved, it shook everything. Several of the caves collapsed.” Though she was delivering bad news, her voice was still beautifully musical.
“Is everyone okay? How many caves? A lot of them? My cave? Is my cave okay?”
“We got everyone out of the caves in time,” she reassured him.
Even felt the warmth of the unicorn’s voice roll blissfully over her, before she noticed that Jeremy’s mother hadn’t answered the question about his cave. Unicorns can’t lie, she thought. But they can omit. She immediately wished she hadn’t had that thought.
“But . . . but . . .”
His mother nuzzled his face again. “You’re back, and everyone is all right. And that’s what’s important.”
Even couldn’t help but wonder what else Jeremy’s mother wasn’t saying. Stop it, she told herself. We made it here. That’s all we had to do. Our adventure is over. The grownups will take charge now.
“But—”
“How about you introduce me to your new friends?” she suggested. “I’m Starry Delight. Please, call me Starry. So very lovely to meet you. I am sorry that we aren’t greeting you under better circumstances. Did you have any problems along the way?”
“A dragon appeared, out of nowhere,” Jeremy said.
Starry gasped. “But there aren’t supposed to be dragons anywhere near here!”
“I think the dragon agreed with that,” Odd said. “It seemed surprised too. And unhappy. We really want to get home before anything else happens. Can you help us? Please?”
A few other unicorns had joined them, and they were all regarding the sisters with what looked like pity. Even felt a growing unease, a knot returning to the pit of her stomach. What if . . . We can’t be too late. It has to be open! She pushed the feeling away. “It’s still open, isn’t it?”
The unicorns looked at one another, and Even knew the truth before Starry Delight spoke. “I’m so very sorry, my dear. But the gateway closed shortly after you contacted us. It hasn’t reopened.”
Even felt her heart thumping faster in her chest. But . . . but the unicorns were supposed to send them home! We made it here, she thought. That was supposed to be enough!
“Then where’s another gateway?” Odd asked.
“Why don’t you come rest?” Starry suggested, as if Odd hadn’t asked anything.
The knot of worry tightened even more. The unicorns dipped their heads in sympathy. Even felt her tail rising up, as if it sensed danger and instinctively wanted to spray.
“But . . . we need to go home,” Odd said. “Please, you have to help us go home!”
“I am so terribly sorry, my dear children,” Starry said sorrowfully. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news . . .”
Don’t panic, Even told herself and her tail. Maybe it isn’t that bad. Maybe there’s one open but it’s far. Maybe this gateway will reopen soon. Maybe it’s moved but we can still reach it!
“. . . but all the gateways are closed.”
Even sprayed.
10
“All of them?” Odd squeaked as the unicorns recoiled from Even’s scent.
Oh no, Even thought. Her tail flexed again as if it wanted to spray more. No, no, no, this isn’t right at all! She grasped at hope. “We don’t know what’s wrong with them. They could reopen any minute.”
“That’s right, little furry one, keep a positive attitude!” Starry said encouragingly. She pranced sideways, positioning herself upwind of Even. “All our problems could fix themselves by dawn, and we could wake in delight to discover our home is back where it belongs. In the meantime, eat, sleep, and enjoy our hospitality . . . though I do apologize that, under the present circumstances, we cannot offer more.”
Eat and sleep? This wasn’t how this was supposed to go at all. “What if the gateway opens again and we’re not near it?” Even asked. “We need to be ready to go through it the second it starts working again.”
It had to reopen, didn’t it? It couldn’t be closed forever.
She felt as if she were trapped in one of those awful fairy tales where you made a wish and it came true in the worst possible way. Yes, she’d always wanted to return to Firoth, but not like this.
“We promise we’ll let you know the instant the gateway reopens,” Starry said soothingly. “It’s being watched—don’t worry. You weren’t the only ones affected by its closing, and our home’s translocation wasn’t the only side effect. Magic has been faulty all along the border. Geography has been shuffling around—homes moved and creatures displaced from their homes, like the dragon that you saw, and others. A flock of very confused pixies was just here as well. We believe the malfunctioning border magic is responsible for the appearance of so many creatures outside their normal territories.”
“More dragons?” Odd yelped.
But Starry was already trotting up a slope that was littered with boulders and torn-up chunks of grass and flowers, and all she said was, “Come along, children.”
Even weaved through the debris, trying to keep up with Odd and the unicorns. She hopped over a fallen branch and shook her tail free of the leaves. “What do you mean, ‘malfunctioning’?” she called after Jeremy’s mom.
“Is it why our home moved?” Jeremy asked.
“Yes, we believe it is,” Starry said. “Our world is a special place, full of magic and wonder, but it’s our connection to the mundane world that gives Firoth stability. Without that connection . . . The ramifications so far have only been seen on the border, but they will spread across the land if the gateways don’t reopen. All of Firoth could become unstable, with all of our citizens—and geography—subject to translocation without warning, along with other effects.” She then continued in a chipper voice, “But don’t worry. I’m sure the magic simply needs to refuel itself.”
“What do you mean by that?” Even asked. Please, let there be an explanation! She wanted to go back to believing it was all going to work out.
“Border magic is like all magic. You can picture it as water beneath the ground, filling a reservoir. Drain the lake, and you have to wait for it to fill back up before you can drink from it again. We believe that’s what’s happened with the magic that fuels the gateways. We have to wait for the border magic to, in essence, fill up again, like a wizard waits for his or her personal magic to refill, and then all the unsettling side effects should abate. I’m hopeful that will happen soon. In the meantime, we’d be delighted if you’d stay with us.”
“We can’t stay!” Odd cried. “We need to go home!”
Even echoed the sentiment. “She’s right. We only meant to check if the gateway was working. We didn’t mean to stay in Firoth longer than a few minutes. There must be another way back to our world.”
Trotting up the hill, Starry didn’t seem to hear their protests. “I wish I could offer you your own cave for the night, but all our side tunnels either collapsed or are currently unstable. Until repairs can be made, we are all utilizing the Great Cave, but we will do our best to see that you’re comfortable for however long you’re with us.”
She doesn’t know how long that will be, Even realized. The unicorns had no clue why this was happening or how to fix it either. All the cheerfulness in the world couldn’t hide the fact that Starry didn’t know when the gateway was going to reopen. She’d said by morning it could be back to normal.
But what if it wasn’t?
What if it didn’t reopen? What if none of the gateways reopened?
It wasn’t a lie that Starry was hopeful. They were all hopeful. But none of them knew.
Even hopped over the roots of another fallen tree. By the time they’d climbed up to the unicorn cave, her sides were heaving, and her tongue was hanging out the side of her mouth. She joined Odd as they followed their hosts inside.
For a brief second, she forgot about their situation and marv
eled at the sparkle of the unicorn cave. It was like nothing she’d seen before. The word “cave” didn’t fit what Even saw. She felt as if she were inside a jewelry box. The walls and the ceiling were flecked with hundreds, thousands, of gems: rubies, emeralds, diamonds. All of them sparkled and winked. She didn’t know where the light was coming from—batteries? Magic? “It’s amazing!” Even said.
“I feel like I’ve fallen into a princess-party supply bin,” Odd said.
As a skunk, Even couldn’t quite manage to roll her eyes the same way she could as a human, but she tried. “Doesn’t anything impress you?”
“Being able to go home would impress me.”
Louder, Even said so the unicorns could hear, “It’s beautiful.”
“It was beautiful,” Starry said sadly.
Even tore her gaze from the glitter around her to notice that jewels littered the floor. Bits of wall had crumbled and lay in heaps of rubble. Dust-coated items, including books and satchels, were piled up in the shadows. The debris blocked what looked like tunnels leading away from the Great Cave.
Jeremy let out a cry and galloped across the cave. Rooting through a pile with his horn and hooves, he unearthed a torn Farmcats poster. His mother trotted after him and spoke in low tones.
“Poor Jeremy,” Odd said.
“At least he’s home,” Even said.
“Sort of,” Odd said. “He is with his family.” They watched the two unicorns from across the cave. “Hey, I guess that’s one thing I’m grateful for. I can’t think of another four.”
“I can’t either,” Even admitted.
Despite how far and fast they’d traveled, they’d failed to make it home today. Dad had given her her first quest—go to the gateway by the bagel store and report home—and so far she had failed spectacularly.
But soon she’d do better. She had to.
“Tomorrow,” Even said, a promise to both herself and Odd. “We’ll get home tomorrow.”
“I hope you’re right,” Odd said.
So do I.
Even and Odd Page 9