“Let’s just say I have my connections. And,” he added, “I sharpened your arrowheads myself.” Rumalock turned to Kristina. “My thoughts are with you, dear chosen one.” He turned to Ugan and Retzel. “I want you two to go with the children.”
“What about you?” Kristina asked Rumalock.
“Don’t worry about me, child.” Rumalock gently placed his hand on Kristina’s shoulder. “You have enough to think about.” He smiled kindly at her and then went to open the hidden door. He watched as Werrien, Ugan, Retzel, and, lastly, Kristina climbed up the ladder.
“Wait!” Kristina said suddenly. She went back down the ladder and threw her arms around Rumalock. “I’m worried that this could be the last time I see you.”
“Dear child, I know how you must feel, but I’m sure everything will turn out for the best. Now, you hurry up and get going.” Rumalock gave her a pat on her blonde head.
Kristina went quickly back up the ladder, and the hidden door slammed shut behind her. But just before it did, Clover slipped through the opening—if she had been even one second later, she would have been squished like a bug. “Couldn’t wait just a few seconds longer?” she snapped at Kristina.
“Look, Clover, we don’t have time for arguing. Besides, you didn’t have to come,” Werrien said in Kristina’s defense.
Clover’s eyes grew wide with embarrassment. How could he talk to me like that, and especially in front of Kristina? The nerve he has, after I saved him from the wicked queen. “I see you won’t be needing me anymore,” she said haughtily. She wrinkled her nose and stuck her tongue out at Kristina. Then she flew off.
“Feisty spirit that one has,” Retzel said.
“She’ll get over it; she always does,” Werrien said. Then he turned to Kristina, “Where’s Taysha?” he asked her.
Kristina shook her head sadly. “After Rumalock took me into the underground hideout, we heard a great commotion above us. Rumalock said it must be the zelbocks searching for me. We stood very quietly at the bottom of the ladder, and when the noise finally stopped, Rumalock said it would be safe for me to check on Taysha. I went outside again, but I couldn’t see her anywhere, and even when I called for her and looked all around, she was nowhere to be found.”
Werrien lowered his head in sadness.
“I’m so sorry, Werrien.” Kristina felt terrible.
“She’s a smart girl. She’ll find her way home.” Werrien took the map out of his pocket and began to look it over. “It says we’re to head northwest from here. If everything goes as planned, we should have the Warble up the mountain and in its resting place within a day, hopefully.”
The four had been walking for about half an hour when Raymond, who had been sitting on Retzel’s shoulder, stood up on his hind legs and began to sniff the air.
“What is it, Raymond?” Kristina asked.
“I sense something is coming our way.”
They all stopped and stood silent.
“I don’t hear anything,” Ugan said.
“Sh-h! I think I might hear something,” Werrien said. He drew one of his arrows out of his quiver and quickly placed it in his bow. “Quick! Everyone take cover!”
Kristina, Ugan, and Retzel, along with Raymond, ran and hid behind the nearby trees. Werrien drew his bow back and was ready to shoot, but just before he let the arrow fly, he heard a soft whinny. “Taysha? Is that you girl?”
A large figure emerged from among the trees, and Werrien could tell that it was his beloved mare. She went to him and nudged his arm with her head.
“I’m so happy to see that you are well,” Taysha said.
Werrien hugged her around her neck. “And I’m so glad to see you are well too.”
Their reunion was interrupted by more noise coming from the same area where Taysha had just come from. Werrien raised his bow again, ready to shoot.
“It’s okay; I brought a friend,” Taysha said.
Then another horse emerged; it was about the same size as Taysha however black in color.
“Oh, great, not another big brute,” Raymond said, as they all came out from hiding.
“Lisheng?” Ugan questioned the dark horse.
“Do you know this horse?” Werrien asked Ugan.
“Very well, as a matter of fact,” Ugan said. “This is Lisheng, Ramon’s horse.”
“Why have you come here?” Werrien asked Lisheng.
“I have always wanted to escape my horrible owner, but there was never an opportunity. I felt it was only a farfetched dream for me, but today my dream has come true.”
“For me also, my good friend but let me ask you—how did you ever manage to get away from Ramon?” Ugan asked.
“Well, you see, Queen Sentiz was in a rage, yelling out orders to the zelbocks. I saw her storm into Ramon’s tent. Then he came out with her on his tail. She was shouting at him to saddle me up and ride me ahead of the zelbocks. He was to lead them up the mountain. When he came to the place where I was tied up, I noticed his behavior was very strange—he was hiccupping and staggering, and his breath smelled horrible. Then another odd thing—he’d usually saddle me before untying me, but this time he untied me first and then went to get the saddle. When he left, I noticed the zelbocks were running to and fro, preparing to leave. It was the perfect opportunity for my escape, and escape I did.”
“Well, I guess you couldn’t have come at a more opportune time,” Werrien said. “We could sure use two horses to speed us along.”
“I am honored to be at your service, Prince Werrien,” Lisheng said, enthusiastically.
Ugan and Retzel mounted Lisheng, and Kristina and Werrien got onto Taysha, but before they proceeded, Werrien took out the map once again to make sure they were heading in the right direction. “Looks like we’re on track.”
The horses started to gallop, but it wasn’t too far into their journey when they were visited once again by Roage. He flew between the two horses and landed on the ground in front of them. Taysha, startled, reared up on her hind legs.
“Whoa, girl! It’s all right. He’s on our side,” Werrien said.
Roage stretched out his wings and cawed loudly, making both horses skittish once more.
“Could you stop trying to scare the horses?” Kristina snapped at Roage.
Raymond, who was now hiding in Retzel’s cape, stuck his head out and said, “Look, raven, I’d like to make it back to my home in one piece, if you don’t mind.”
“I am confused as to why you are going in this direction,” Roage said.
“This is the way the map tells us to go,” Werrien responded.
“And if you don’t mind, we’d like to get going before its too late, and I become lunch for one of those horrible zelbocks,” Raymond added.
“I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you are heading straight toward the enemy,” Roage said.
“That can’t be possible. Rumalock gave us his word that we’d be heading in a totally different direction,” Kristina said.
“The queen’s army is heading northwest, and within a few minutes, you’ll be running right into them,” Roage said.
“Do you think he’s telling the truth?” Kristina asked Werrien.
“At this point, I’m not sure what to believe.”
“Listen! You must not wait any longer. They will be here very soon. Take my word for it,” Roage said.
“Which way do you suggest we go?” Werrien asked.
“Head directly west, until you hit the coast, and then follow it north, until you come to the far west side of the base of the mountain. Then you’ll—” Roage was interrupted when a flaming arrow flew past them.
“Quick! Lisheng, head west, as Roage said. I will catch up with you as soon as possible,” Werrien said.
No sooner had Lisheng passed through the trees when the trees burst into flames. Roage took to the air. Werrien, Kristina and Taysha, could feel the heat of the blaze as it began spreading from tree to tree, very near to where they stood.
“Pass me an arrow out of my quiver,” Werrien said to Kristina. Kristina pulled one out and handed it to him, but as he was placing it in his bow, he noticed that the arrow had no spearhead on it. “I need another arrow—this one’s broken.”
She pulled another one out and handed it to him, but it also had no arrowhead. “Try another one,” Werrien said.
Kristina reached for the third one, but it, too, had no arrowhead. She pulled out more and more until there were no more in the quiver. None of them had arrowheads.
How can this be? Werrien thought.
Then a picture of Rumalock handing him his quiver entered his mind, and he remembered the old dwarf’s words: “I sharpened your arrowheads myself.”
Werrien’s face went pale white and his heart seemed to sink in his chest. Rumalock must have done this.
The zelbocks were coming into their view, and all Werrien and Kristina had to defend themselves was the knife that Werrien had given to Kristina. It wouldn’t be enough. Werrien knew Kristina and he wouldn’t stand a chance when fighting the zelbocks.
“We’re going to have to go through it,” Werrien said.
“Do you mean the fire?” Kristina asked.
But before Werrien could answer, Taysha began to charge at full speed toward the blazing trees.
31
Taysha ran through the flames, and Kristina ducked her head behind Werrien’s back. Once they were past the fire, Taysha made a dead stop and turned toward the blazing trees.
“Are you all right?” Werrien asked Kristina.
Kristina ran her hands over her hair and her clothes to make sure that she hadn’t caught fire. “I’m fine.” But just as she answered, three more flaming arrows came whizzing through the blaze, right toward them. “Duck!” she yelled.
They ducked down and the arrows zoomed over their backs and into the trees just ahead of them. The fire spread quickly all around them.
“It looks like we’ll have to do it again. Hold on tight!” Werrien said.
Taysha began to gallop toward the burning trees, and this time she didn’t stop; instead, she kept running at full speed through the forest.
“Keep your head down. There are too many trees and low branches around this area,” Werrien said.
Taysha continued running until Werrien felt they were far enough ahead of the zelbocks. Then he brought her to a jolting halt. All was quiet now except for the sound of a small brook trickling down a slope nearby. Taysha was very hot, and the steam coming off her body could be seen in the cool, crisp air.
“Do you think we’ve lost them?” Kristina asked.
“I think so, at least for the time being.” With tension laced across his face, Werrien ran his hand through his unkempt hair. Then he dismounted Taysha, and Kristina dismounted after him. He led Taysha to the brook so she could drink.
While Kristina waited, she began to stretch her sore legs. “It’s a good thing we were able to outrun them. I can’t imagine what they would have done to us this time.”
Werrien just stared into the darkness.
Kristina looked oddly at Werrien. “What’s the matter?”
“Don’t you realize what’s happening?” Werrien was angered by her calm attitude.
“What?” Kristina shrugged her shoulders. “Are you mad because your arrows were so dull?”
Werrien frowned. “It figures you’d think something as dumb as that!”
Kristina didn’t reply; he’d embarrassed her with that remark.
“Look, Kristina, I’m sorry to snap at you, but my nerves are really tense at the moment.” They were both silent again, and then Werrien asked, “Do you remember Rumalock’s telling me that he sharpened my arrowheads himself?”
Kristina shook her head. “No, I don’t recall.”
“Well, I remember it clearly.”
“If he had sharpened them, why were they so dull?”
“They weren’t ‘dull’ Kristina. They had no arrowhead on them.”
There was a bewildered look in Kristina’s pale-blue eyes. “Do you think Rumalock took them off?”
Werrien exhaled. “I’m afraid so,” he said, feeling discouraged.
“Why would he do such a thing?”
“The only reason I can think of is that he must be working for the queen.”
The thought of it made Kristina’s heart sink. First Retzel had betrayed them and now Rumalock.
Werrien took the gold case out of his shirt. “Funny, I haven’t felt it warm up lately.” He opened it, stared down at it, and a grim look crossed his face. The worst thing that he could have possibly imagined had happened. “It’s gone!” he cried.
Kristina’s jaw dropped. “I can’t believe it! Why didn’t he take it when I first met him? He had every chance then. Why would he wait until now?”
“Can’t you see? The queen needed for you to meet up with me so she could rid of me too. They must have known that the Warble would bring us together!”
“Now I see why Rumalock said, ‘You might even get some help along the way.’ He knew all along I would meet up with you.”
“Exactly! Have you ever heard the saying ‘Why not kill two birds with one stone?’”
“Yes of course. What are we to do now?”
“We’ll have to go back to the underground hideout and get the Warble back from Rumalock.”
“What about the zelbocks and the fire?”
“I don’t know. We’ll just have to take a chance.” Werrien helped her to get back up on Taysha.
On the way back, they passed by the burned and smoldering trees. There was no sign of any zelbocks, and all was quiet when they arrived back at the underground hideout. Werrien dismounted Taysha, and then Kristina took her to hide in the trees.
Werrien went back into the pitch-black underground and though he couldn’t see anything, he knew that the tunnel was straight ahead. He walked carefully until he finally felt the cool earthen wall. Then he turned left and continued on until he could see the light coming from the room where they had been earlier. As he walked cautiously toward it, he heard voices. “Rumalock and Queen Sentiz are already on their way up the mountain. Ramon has the Warble, and is on his way also, with the queen’s army.”
Werrien went a little closer and could see that it was one of the queen’s servant gnomes talking to a zelbock. When he heard them mention Rumalock’s name, he felt like someone had dropped a load of rocks in his stomach. It was a heavy blow to his heart, for he had known Rumalock for most of his life and had always thought him to be nothing other than a trustworthy, caring friend.
“Once at the top of the mountain, Ramon will destroy the Warble,” the gnome said.
“What about the boy and the girl?” the zelbock asked.
“No worries; it’s all taken care of. You see, Rumalock gave Werrien a map that will lead him directly into Ramon’s army.”
Werrien heard their footsteps coming toward the tunnel, so he turned and quickly went back the way he had come. When he reached the ladder, he hid behind it. A few moments later the gnome and zelbock came out of the tunnel. Then the gnome opened the trap door, and both he and the zelbock went up the ladder and out of the underground.
The trap door slammed shut, and Werrien was left standing in the pitch-black darkness.
Many thoughts began to swirl around in Werrien’s mind, like why would Rumalock betray him, or how would he and Kristina get the Warble back, now that it had been snatched away for the second time? And what about the Book of Prophecy being in Rumalock’s hands? And what about all those gnomes and dwarfs preparing for battle under Rumalock’s command? Did they have any idea that Rumalock had betrayed them as well? Werrien wondered if he was kidding himself, thinking that Kristina, a young girl, and he, a not-much-older teen, could actually accomplish this dangerous task of delivering the Warble. The load of worry began to get very heavy, and he felt things couldn’t possibly get any worse. He leaned his head on one of the steps of the ladder feeling very discouraged. Just t
hen, he felt something crawl across his face and onto his hand. He lifted his head up to see a large spider sitting on his hand. It opened its mouth to reveal two large fangs, dripping venom. He knew if he tried to move, the spider would most assuredly bite him, but there was no other choice. He lifted his other hand up very slowly to whack it, but as he was about to do so, the spider lifted up into the air. He looked up to see the trap door opening above him, and the spider’s web, which was attached to the trap door, pulled the spider up and into the air. It swung back and forth, toward Werrien’s face, but he quickly backed away just as it reached its long legs toward his face, trying to latch on to him.
“Werrien!” Kristina called down from above.
“I’m down here!”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m much better now.” He broke the web and flung the spider away toward the tunnel. He hurried up the ladder and out into the much-appreciated open air of the forest. Kristina, Ugan, and Retzel were all standing around the trap door when Werrien came out of the underground hideout.
“What are you guys doing here?” Werrien asked.
“When you didn’t come to meet us, we got worried and decided to come back and look for you,” Ugan said.
“Did any of you see a gnome and a zelbock come out a few minutes ago?”
“Yes,” Kristina said.
“Did they see you?” Werrien asked.
“No, I don’t think so. We were hidden pretty well.”
“Which way did they go?”
“They headed northeast,” Ugan said.
“I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Ugan, but your brother Rumalock has stolen the Warble,” Werrien said.
Ugan’s face turned white, and he looked very sad. “I have always looked up to my brother, and now he does this. I suppose we are both the same, two of a kind, sneaky cowards.” He lowered his head in shame.
Retzel put his arm around Ugan. “If it’s any consolation, I feel just as much a coward as you.”
“At least you two realized and confessed your faults,” Kristina said.
“I’m going to have to change our plans,” Werrien said. He went to get Taysha, who was still hidden behind the trees with Lisheng. Ugan followed to get Lisheng. Then they all mounted the horses.
The Warble Page 16