“What?”
“I’m not sure we can be ready for what’s next.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s that.”
Wangchuk pointed.
A dozen frost beasts had stepped out of the cave.
They were groggy, yawning, until they saw the humans in front of them. Then their faces changed into masks of animal predation. They huffed in the freezing air. Mist came out of their nostrils. They were a terrifying sight, but Wangchuk refused to back away.
“Come, brothers!” he said. “We must fight for our home!”
They all charged.
Twenty monks and a dozen frost beasts met in front of the cave. It was like gasoline meeting fire. The monks battled the beasts, slashing at the creatures’ ankles and knees with their spears, trying to get them to fall, so they had access to their sensitive fontanels.
But the frost beasts were bigger, stronger, faster . . . and had their ferocious claws and teeth always moving, jabbing, spinning. They cut several monks down, while picking up others and devouring them in a few nasty bites.
Eleanor took a deep breath, thinking: I can do it! For Mom, for Dad, for Cordelia and Brendan!
She climbed onto the back of a creature, avoiding its slashing claws, but as she reached the top of its head, she was knocked to the ground by another beast. Lying in the snow, her mind spinning, she managed to roll away from the stomping feet of the creatures. When she looked up, she saw the big picture of what was happening.
The frost beasts were winning.
The bodies of several monks lay on the ground. Others were being shoveled into the frost beasts’ mouths. Felix was holding his own, keeping them away from him, but Wangchuk was surrounded, slashing blindly. There was an enormous cut on his forehead and blood streaming into his eyes. He’s spent most of his life meditating, performing shadow plays, and drinking tea, Eleanor thought. What were we thinking, forcing monks to fight? Fighting is supposed to be a last resort!
Suddenly, Wangchuk fell to his knees and dropped his weapon.
“Wangchuk! No! Use your magic!” Eleanor called.
But the frost beast was too fast. The creature lifted Wangchuk, bit off the top half of his body, and swallowed him whole.
“Noooooo!” Eleanor screamed.
The angry frost beast threw the lower half of Wangchuk’s body into the snow.
At this rate, all the monks would be dead within minutes.
But then something very strange happened.
Eleanor watched as the frost beast stopped moving. The creature grimaced, growled, and clutched its stomach in tremendous pain. Swirling red smoke began to seep from its ears, nostrils, and particularly large belly button. The smoke had a familiar smell to it. Cinnamon and vanilla.
“Wuh . . . ?” Eleanor managed—but now she could hardly hear herself. The frost beast was screaming in agony, its body beginning to expand. Its arms, legs, and belly swelled up as if it were being inflated by a gas-station air pump. And then there was a loud—
Bannnggg!!!
The frost beast exploded into a million pieces. Chunks flew everywhere. And all that was left behind, propped up in the snow, was . . .
The upper torso of Wangchuk.
Very much alive.
And smiling.
Smoke spiraled out of Wangchuk’s mouth, moving toward the ground, to the lower part of his body. Eleanor watched the red smoke swirl around Wangchuk’s detached legs and feet. Within seconds, the monk’s lower torso and legs stood up. Then Wangchuk’s upper body rose from the snow and floated, descending toward his lower half—
And reattached itself.
Soon, the smoke dissipated and Wangchuk was whole again. No trace of being bitten in half.
“Wangchuk!” Eleanor screamed. “You’re . . . all together again!”
“Thanks to you!” said Wangchuk. “In the heat of the battle, I found the magic!”
That’s when Eleanor heard another bannngg!
She turned and saw the last bits of an exploding beast. Inside, floating in midair, were a few sections of an eaten monk. Within seconds, red smoke began to swirl around the monk pieces and his body parts re-formed.
Banngg! Banngg! Banngg! Frost beasts were exploding all around them, and the monks were coming back to life! Even the monks that were dead on the ground gathered up their missing parts in a cinnamon haze, stood up, and joined their reanimated brethren. Only the ones who had been tossed down the mountain seemed lost for good.
Two of the beasts that Felix had been fighting blew up in front of him, bringing two more monks back to life. This left Felix with only one beast to deal with. Felix threw his sword high into the air just as the creature was about to attack. The sword spun in midair, fell straight down, pierced the frost beast’s fontanel, and sent it crashing to the cold ground.
Felix dashed back to Eleanor and the monks. They surveyed the situation. The remaining few frost beasts were looking around in stunned horror at what was left of their splattered kin.
Suddenly, there was a loud clatter above. Eleanor looked up.
Something was diving down quickly, like an airplane.
But instead of a whirring propeller, this plane was . . . barking?
“The sled dogs!” Eleanor screamed. Then: “Deal!” She saw her sister in the sled, along with—“Bren?!”
Her brother was there too. And Nell saw Will holding the reins.
“Go for the tops of their heads, Will! Get their fontanels!”
But Will didn’t need to attack. The frost beasts had seen the Batan sled dogs and they were already running down the mountain, not looking back
The battle of the beasts was over.
Eleanor sat down with a huge sigh. The sled landed and everyone looked at the carnage around them. The ground was littered with dead monsters. “We did it!” Wangchuk yelled, and the monks answered with triumphant shouts . . . but it hurt Eleanor to see all this death. The frost beasts were majestic creatures, like buffalo. But they were horrible killers, thought Eleanor. I can’t let myself feel bad. We saved the lives of the monks.
Then she heard her brother behind her. “Nell? Are you okay?”
She snapped back to reality, stood, and hugged him.
“Bren! Don’t leave again! Don’t ever leave again!”
“You forgive me?” asked Brendan.
“Of course,” said Eleanor. “We’re family. We’re supposed to screw up, make each other mad, and then forgive each other.”
Eleanor wrapped herself around her brother and hugged Will and Cordelia, overjoyed to have them back. Brendan, who had picked up a monk’s hastily discarded yak-fur coat, hugged Felix, and Felix greeted Cordelia, and even Will gave bear hugs to them all, betraying his usual English reserve. Eleanor felt nothing but joy, and it warmed her.
“So what happened in Rome?” Eleanor asked.
“Long story,” Brendan said.
“Now that you have defeated the beasts,” said Wangchuk, “it is time to claim your reward. You must enter the cave.”
They all looked at the cave. It was a portal of blackness.
“I’ll go first,” Brendan told Eleanor.
UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE
HarperCollins Publishers
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It was the least he could do. Having selfishly abandoned his family in search of fame and glory, Brendan was filled with a deep guilt. He needed to prove himself to them again. So he stepped toward the cave and stood there for a few moments, peering into the darkness. As the monks stood guard in the event that the frost beasts returned, Cordelia and Eleanor stepped away to talk privately.
“Did you get the treasure map?” Cordelia asked.
Eleanor reached into her pocket, felt the map, and looked up at Cordelia. “No.”
“You’re lying, Nell.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are,” said Cordelia. “You just closed your eyes and you always c
lose your eyes when you tell a lie.”
Eleanor sighed and pulled the map out. “Fine. Take it. I went down into the tank like you said and found the map, but I wanted to burn it.”
“Why?”
“So our family would never be rich again,” said Eleanor. “But I don’t care anymore . . . I just want to get home.”
“We’re going to get home,” Cordelia said. “You don’t think I want to get home? . . . It’s gotten way too intense here . . . I mean . . . Will tried to kiss me!”
“Oh my God,” said Eleanor. “But you like him, right?”
“No way,” said Cordelia. “My first boyfriend is going to be someone who exists in the real world. Someone who respects me for what I do as a normal person, not a fictional fighter pilot.”
“So I guess Felix is out of the question.”
“Completely!”
Eleanor smiled. “So why do you want to keep the map?”
“Insurance,” Cordelia said. “Survival, if we lose everything. To protect Mom, Dad, Bren, and you.”
“What do you mean?”
But Cordelia wouldn’t say more. She took the map and put it in her pocket. Eleanor saw something else in that pocket: Eliza May Kristoff’s diary.
“What about the diary?” asked Eleanor. “Are you going to tell me what you read in it?”
Cordelia shook her head. “I hope no one has to know.”
“What’s going on?” Brendan asked. “Are we going into this cave or what?”
“Let’s do it,” Cordelia said.
But before they could walk into the cave, they had to face a line of Wangchuk and all the monks.
Wangchuk spoke, “We are beyond grateful to you. You will always be remembered as the one and only . . . traveling warriors!”
The monks bowed to the Walkers, Will, and Felix. But instead of raising their heads in unison, they raised them quizzically, at different times, because they heard the sound of whirling propellers overhead.
Brendan looked up.
It was an American P-51 Mustang.
“What do they want?” Brendan asked. The plane passed by and left someone behind, parachuting down, drifting back and forth. The monks all stared in astonishment as the parachutist landed on the ground. He detached himself from his parachute and took off his flight helmet.
It was Lieutenant Laramer, U.S. Army Air Force.
“Lieutenant!” said Will, snapping into a salute. “Greetings, sir!”
“What in the hell happened to you?” Laramer barked. “I had a homing beacon on that tank. After heading toward Rome, it went AWOL; I ended up in some kinda freak windstorm that brought me to these mountains . . . and what are these giant, dead ape-things?”
Eleanor started to speak up, but Will knew how to handle military debriefings.
“Lieutenant, sir! The tank experienced the same phenomenon you did, sir! We crash-landed here! Then Volnheim attacked Jerry—”
“Hargrove?” asked Laramer. “Where is Hargrove?”
Now Felix stepped up. He saw the crisp and concise way that Will had spoken to Laramer, and he took note.
“Jerry was killed, sir,” Felix said.
Lieutenant Laramer didn’t show any emotion. He just gave a quick nod. “He was a good soldier.”
“He died protecting us from Volnheim. He was the best, sir,” continued Felix.
“Thank you both,” Laramer said. “We’ll give Jerry the proper honors.”
Lieutenant Laramer began gathering up his parachute.
“Where are you going now, sir?” Will asked.
“Ten klicks away, to the landing strip my copilot identified. He’ll pick me up. Then it’s back to fight the war. Just the way we have been. Every day.”
Will looked at the Walkers, then at Laramer. The things he had said to Cordelia were absolutely true; he hated modern-day San Francisco. He knew this was going to be difficult, but he spoke to Laramer: “Do you need another soldier, sir?”
“What, Draper?”
“I’d like to volunteer, sir.”
Cordelia’s mouth hung open. “What? Will? You’re not coming with us?”
Will turned to her. “I can’t. This place—strange as it is—is closer to my home than your world. No cell phones or fitness hamster-machines. And you and I, if we’re really friends, should be able to visit from time to time.”
Cordelia looked away guiltily. Maybe if she hadn’t been so harsh . . . maybe if she had let him down a little more gently . . . he would be returning to San Francisco with them.
“But Will,” said Eleanor, “you have to come back with us! We’ll miss you!”
“I’ll miss you all,” said Will, his eyes starting to tear up. “But my place is in the military. In the skies.”
“Hold on, hold on,” Lieutenant Laramer said. “I never said yes! A John Bull pilot in the USAAF? Whose flying experience comes from planes that haven’t been used for twenty-five years? I appreciate your bravery, Draper, but you’re not cut out.”
“I can fly your planes, sir.”
“Really? And how would you know that?”
“Because we stole one,” Cordelia said, stepping in. She wanted Will to get his wish to fly again. Even if it would mean losing him.
“Excuse me?”
“Back by Kristoff House, Will and I stole a plane, and he flew it all the way to Rome—”
“You stole a plane? I ought to lead both of you out of here in handcuffs!”
“He landed it in the Colosseum to save my brother,” said Cordelia.
“It’s true,” Brendan said.
“You can’t land a P-51 in an arena!” Laramer exclaimed. “Crashing you can do. Maybe you crashed the plane, Draper.”
“Point is, I’m still here, sir,” Will said, putting his hand on his heart, “and I want to join your cause. Let’s see: ‘I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America—’”
“Enough, that’s not necessary!” Laramer said. “If you really did crash one of my planes, then you coming to fly for me is an appropriate punishment. Because I won’t treat you with kid gloves, Draper. I’ll work you hard, every single hour of every single day. You’ll be eating K-rations and swabbing down planes even if the rest of my men are eating filet mignon in Chartres. Understand?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Then I’ll take you on.”
Will turned to the Walkers. “I’m sorry . . . ,” he started to say, but before he could finish they all hugged him. They had been through so much with Will. He had saved their lives and they had saved his so many times, it was difficult to keep track. That’s the way it is with family.
“I’m gonna miss you,” Brendan said. “You were like the big brother I never had.”
“And you were like the brave little brother who was never written for me.”
They shared a warm smile.
Eleanor hugged Will one last time and spoke into his chest: “You be careful.”
Cordelia was the last of the three to look Will in the eyes, and she wondered again if she had made a terrible mistake by pushing him away in the plane. He was so much braver and more mature than any of the guys in her school.
“I hope you find everything you’re looking for,” said Cordelia, her eyes filling with tears.
“I know I won’t find a better friend than you, my sweet Cordelia.”
Then Cordelia kissed Will’s cheek so hard he was worried that she would put a hole in it. Will sniffled, wiped his eyes, and abruptly turned. He sprinted off to catch Laramer, who was already moving through the snow. But there was another person with Laramer, a big strong figure walking beside him.
“Felix?” Eleanor called. “You’re going too?”
Felix turned back.
“I have to,” he said. “I’m a fighter, a simple person, not cut out for the life you three lead.”
“You’re more than a fighter!” Eleanor insisted, running up to Felix. He had become one of her best friends. “You’re smart. You learn
so fast. You can do anything you want to. You could end up being a great leader, much better than that awful Emperor Occipus.”
“Then shouldn’t I do it with the army?” Felix asked. “I can learn from the Americans, and then return to my people.” He leaned in. “I know that the things we do in Rome will someday be part of your history. And I would rather be part of that history than study it.”
“Not to be rude,” Will said, standing with Laramer, “but what exactly will you do in the air force, Felix? You obviously can’t fly a plane.”
“No, but you know I learn fast. Can’t you teach me?”
“He has a point,” Lieutenant Laramer said. “I’ve always been a bit of a history buff . . . and one thing I learned is that there’s never been stronger warriors than Roman gladiators. A gladiator pilot would be just the thing to toast those Nazi cyborgs. How about it, Draper? If you’re such a hotshot, can’t you teach him to fly?”
Will said, “Yes, sir.”
Now the Walkers had to do another round of hugs and good-byes. Eleanor cried into Felix’s shoulder. It wasn’t easy for anyone to let go of the gentle gladiator—or for him to let go of them. When he came to Cordelia, he kissed her, technically on the cheek but close enough to the lips to make her jump back, her cheeks burning red.
“Felix!”
“Consider it a parting gift from your not-quite-husband.”
Then Felix was off with Lieutenant Laramer and Will. The Walkers waited for any of them to turn back as they departed, becoming specks in the snow, but only Will did, giving a wave and grin that was dashing, even though it was distant.
“Well,” said Wangchuk, “it is getting dark now, almost bedtime for us monks. We cannot travel into the cave with you. But we wish you luck on your journey to find the Door of Ways, and to pass the test that it poses, to return safely home. We will never forget you, Traveling Warriors. Or should we say, Traveling Walkers?”
“We sound like a band from the eighties,” said Brendan.
Wangchuk bowed, and the rest of his monks bowed with him. The Walkers returned the gesture, and then, as the sun began to edge behind a distant mountain, feeling very lonely as a trio, they held hands and entered the cave of the frost beasts.
House of Secrets: Battle of the Beasts Page 26