The Andy Smithson Series: Books 1, 2, and 3 (Young Adult Epic Fantasy Bundle) (Andy Smithson Series Boxset): Dragons, Serpents, Unicorns, Pegasus, Pixies, Trolls, Dwarfs, Knights and More!

by L. EE

  The King stepped forward. “How dare you enter these premises uninvited and offer threats! I will never hand over one of my subjects to the likes of you. Now, you will leave before we take stronger action.”

  The vulture-man sauntered forward. “King Abaddon sent me to apprehend this boy who put out his eye.” He spotted Andy next to the King. “Surely you see that justice must be served.”

  “You have no notion of justice. You will leave now or we will be forced to assist you in doing so.”

  “I’m afraid that will be impossible. We have our orders.”

  “Subjects,” the King called and motioned for noncombatants to clear the hall. He kept his eyes locked on the vulture leader.

  “As I said, we will not harm your people if you hand Andy Smithson over.

  “And I told you that will be impossible. Soldiers,” he commanded, his eyes still locked on the enemy.

  Andy drew Methuselah and the blade extended.

  As soon as the vulture leader squeaked, “Men!” clangs of metal striking metal erupted. Dozens more vulture-men materialized out of nowhere.

  “Andy!” the King called before engaging an opponent. “I want you to hurry to the dungeons. There’s an alcove off the open area where you battled Abaddon. Run to the back and slip behind the tapestry. You will find a hiding place where you’ll be safe. I’ll come find you when it’s safe. Go quickly!”

  “But I don’t want anyone to die defending me!”

  “Nonsense! Now go, hurry!”

  Andy wanted to argue, but he knew his grandfather was right. Resignedly, he nodded and headed in the direction of the stairs. Unsure whether the dungeon would be vulture-free based upon what he and Alden had witnessed, he figured he could face a few goons himself with Methuselah’s help. He engaged three of the enemy, cutting them down before reaching the stairs. He had to step aside as he reached the top step and allow several dozen soldiers and cavalrymen past. In one last glance back, he saw a soldier toss the King a sword.

  Five minutes later, breathing hard, he stood in the entrance to the tunnel he and Alden discovered while practicing their sword fighting. He listened, ready to respond at the slightest sound, but he heard only the distant ringing of swords in combat. Methuselah lit up, allowing him to see his surroundings.

  As the boys had speculated earlier, it was an entrance to the tunnel system they had once used to secretly leave the castle. He came to this conclusion after climbing one flight of stairs and finding the access to the hall right outside Alden and Marta’s room. Andy decided to check on his friend.

  He listened for sounds of enemy presence. Hearing none, he retracted Methuselah’s blade and depressed the stone that slid the door open. He closed it behind him, turned the handle to Alden’s room, and ducked inside.

  Alden lay sleeping on his bed. Upon closer inspection, Andy thought his arm looked less swollen. That’s got to be a good sign. I won’t disturb him.

  With that, Andy cracked the door open. Hearing only the distant sounds of fighting, he scurried back through the hidden door, again illuminating the tunnel with Methuselah’s blade. He studied his surroundings. I wonder where this goes?

  Ascending two flights of stairs, he could still hear fighting from where he stood on the other side of the dining room wall. He hated the thought that these soldiers were battling to protect him. He tried unsuccessfully to brush the thought aside as he climbed the next flight of stairs.

  He glanced down at the floor and saw a round metal rod protruding from behind a tapestry to his right. Bending down to pick it up, he found the wall hanging prevented him from doing so. He moved the covering aside and was surprised to find a cavity. Stepping into the foot-wide space, he found another tapestry hanging in front of him. Where does this go?

  Hearing no sounds, he stuck his head between the hanging and the wall, peeking into a room. But whose? An organization chart was affixed to one wall. Must be Razen’s office. Alden said he’d been given one when the King promoted him. After what he’s done, I’d love to—to—, he seethed.

  “You don’t want to do that, Andy,” his inneru intervened. “As you’ve seen from Imogenia, revenge is neither pretty nor dignified, if I may say so.”

  I know, he sulked.

  “Let it go, for your own sake.”

  Easy for you to say! You’re not the one he mistreated.

  “You don’t want to be like Imogenia, do you?”

  After indulging in thoughts of sweet revenge for a minute or two, Andy got himself under control and headed back into the tunnels.

  “I’d like to congratulate you on taking my advice for once,” Andy’s inneru chimed in as he ascended the next set of steps.

  “Humph.”

  He reached a landing and spotted another large tapestry hanging to his right. I wonder… His suspicions were confirmed when he found his grandfather’s laboratory past another set of hangings.

  How cool is this!

  Tunneling through the two tapestries at the top of the next flight of stairs granted him access to the King’s chambers!

  Wow! This must be why Razen didn’t want us snooping around in here.

  Back into the tunnel, Andy saw one more set of stairs leading upward, so up he headed. No tapestry hung at the top of these stairs. Instead, they opened directly into a room with a strange contraption in the middle. It looked like a huge telescope and pointed out one of the narrow slits spaced every couple feet in the castle wall.

  He walked over and put his eye up to the lens. What he saw made his jaw drop. Despite the fog, he looked at the front yard of his house! What! How?

  He studied the scene. The garage door was down, which told him his family was away. Cars were driving past. It looked like the mailman hadn’t been around yet because the flag on the mailbox was still up. He thought back and remembered his mom had asked him to take some bills out to the mailbox the morning he and his family had gone to the museum for Madison’s birthday with her annoying friends. Wow! You don’t suppose it’s still…? But it feels like it’s been a long time. Has it?

  I miss my mom, he thought after looking through the lens for several more minutes. Andy had grown closer to his mom over the past several months as his parents had made more time for him.

  “Andy. Andy!” He heard the King’s voice echoing up through the tunnels, pulling him back to reality.

  He descended the stairs as quickly as he could, fearing his grandfather would have cross words for him if he knew where he’d been. Speaking of my grandfather…

  As Andy reached the last set of stairs, the King stood at the bottom and looked up at him. His jeans were spattered with blood and the left sleeve of his shirt was ripped, but he wore a big smile and moved better than he had.

  “You look good, Gr...er, sir.”

  “My strength is returning quickly now that I’m wearing the stone. Why, I walked down here unassisted.” He smiled, seemingly proud of himself. “And Mermin is practically running around the castle.” He chuckled as he spoke.

  Andy couldn’t help but grin.

  “The army and cavalry soundly defeated the vulture-men. Many have scrapes and cuts. A few will take longer to mend, but recover they will.”

  Andy let out his breath, relieved at the news. “A pixie died for me during our trip. Her name was Spark.”

  The King waited to reply. When he did, he said, “I’m sorry to hear that. I know how it feels.” The way the King said it spoke volumes, and Andy knew he was not alone.

  “Gr— Sir?”

  “Yes, Andy. By the way, why do you keep calling me grsir?”

  “Sorry, I keep slipping.”

  “Slipping?”

  “Can we talk?” Andy pointed to the steps.

  When they were both resting on a step, Andy began. “Alden and I made a few discoveries when we were at the library.”

  “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me. I always learned a lot when I visited. There’s so much there.”

  “Do you remember sitting f
or a portrait? It hangs in the foyer in a long line of paintings of the kings and queens of Oomaldee.”

  “Vaguely. It’s been over five hundred years.”

  “Do you remember what your picture looked like?”

  The King thought for a second before answering, “No, I’m afraid I don’t. Why?”

  Andy hesitated, knowing what he said next would forever change their relationship. After taking a deep breath to steady himself he said, “Look at my face.”

  The King did so as Andy pointed. “This is what your portrait looks like.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I look exactly like you when you were fifteen.”

  “But how is that possible?”

  “I don’t know, but Alden and I did a double-take when we saw the picture. Sir, I believe you are my grandfather.”

  “Your grandfather?” he repeated in utter amazement.

  Andy nodded, a wide grin spreading across his face. “That’s why I keep slipping. I keep almost calling you grandfather.”

  The king sat there confused, his brain scrambling to assemble a coherent story that would make this revelation plausible.

  “You said you sent your wife away during the uprising and could never get her back.”

  “Yes, that’s right.”

  “Do you know where she went?”

  “No. Merlin, Mermin’s brother, volunteered to provide her safe passage to your world. When the uprising calmed, he planned to retrieve her, but that never happened. Only he knew how to access your world, and only he could bring her back. I always assumed he died in the process since he’s never been seen or heard from again. I know she made it to your world because I received a message sphere confirming that some time later, but I could never communicate with her. I imagine she passed away many years ago.”

  The King sat silently for several minutes. Finally he resumed, “Andy, don’t take this the wrong way. I would love to learn I am your grandfather. Truly, nothing would give me more joy.” As he said it, he reached out and put a comforting hand on the side of Andy’s face. “But I just don’t see how that’s possible.”

  Andy’s smiled faded. But I was so sure.

  The King smiled. “I would love nothing more than to see my Emmalee again.”

  They sat in silence for a minute until the King suggested, “Let’s go see how Alden’s doing.”

  As they stood, the King turned to face Andy and said, “I meant what I said. Nothing would give me more pride than to call you my grandson. As I told you before, I love you as my own. I can’t explain why we look so much alike at your age. Let’s file this in the back of our brains and see what the future reveals.”

  Andy nodded. He wanted so badly to say, “I love you, too,” but couldn’t get the words out. However, having this man reaffirm his love for him made him do a happy dance inside.

  As they headed through the dungeon, the King put an arm around Andy. “Now that Mermin and I are well—and of course we’ll wait for Alden to recover—but as soon as he does, what say we finish out the Oscray season?”

  “Sounds good to me!”

  But before reaching the steps heading up to the rest of the castle, a man’s voice called with an edge of annoyance, “Andrew, where are you?”

  As soon as Andy heard the words, everything went dark.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  The Necklace

  “There you are, Andy! I thought you might be up here.” His dad did a double-take. Andy had been wearing a black T-shirt and jeans when they left the house that morning. He now wore a tattered, blood-stained tunic and leggings.

  “I don’t even want to ask what you’re wearing, or why.”

  Andy could see his father trying desperately to control his frustration as he looked into his face. He had nothing to offer in response. He groaned in pain as Dad put a hand firmly on his shoulder to lead him from the Snakes of Ancient Egypt exhibit.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “My shoulder hurts. Look.”

  Andy carefully pulled the ripped tunic down, revealing the puncture wounds and dried blood.

  A look of horror shot across Dad’s face. “What happened to you? Who did this to you?”

  “Do you promise you’ll believe me if I tell you?”

  His dad took a deep breath. “I have to tell you, Andy, I’m afraid to hear what you might be about to say, but this is serious.”

  Andy looked at the floor and nodded.

  “Let’s sit down over there and you can tell me what happened,” Dad suggested, motioning toward a bench nearby.

  Andy began, “I know this is gonna sound weird.” Then he did his best to summarize the highlights of his adventure and was relieved to see Dad didn’t just dismiss it. Rather, he listened to all that Andy shared and even asked a few clarifying questions. He didn’t know whether Dr. Frandangle had coached Mom and Dad to do this, but for the first time, Andy felt he had been listened to.

  A security guard happened by and with a worried look asked, “Is everything all right?”

  “Yes, officer. Thank you for your concern. Can you direct us to the nearest men’s room so he can get cleaned up?”

  The officer’s furrowed brow communicated volumes, but he directed Andy and his father down the hall and around the corner, first door on the right.

  Andy spent several minutes attending to his wounds with his father looking on. He couldn’t tell if the look of concern written across his face resulted from what he had just confided in him or because he feared for his son’s mental stability. His clothes were still tattered and bloodied, but at least he looked a little more presentable as they headed out of the bathroom.

  “Your mom’s going to be more than a little surprised, and Madison and her friends will make fun of your clothes,” Dad coached as they descended one floor in the elevator.

  They found Mom and the girls near the volcano exhibit.

  “I was beginning to think we’d need to send out—” Mom stopped mid-sentence and a look of horror crossed her face. “What happened?”

  The girls had finished looking at the exhibit and were slumped on two benches nearby. Seeing Andy, they perked up and began snickering at the shortness of his tattered tunic as well as the fact that he wore stockings much like theirs.

  “He’s wearing a dress!” Madison mocked. “And it’s ripped. Way to go, dweeb.”

  “Madison, that’s enough,” Dad cautioned.

  “He’s so weird,” Madison added, to her father’s raised brow.

  Mom rushed over and grabbed Andy, engulfing him in a hug. She bumped his wounds in the process and he grunted.

  “Who did this to you? Why are you wearing these clothes? Why are they all torn up?” she interrogated. She caught sight of where the bellicose had touched his arm and gasped.

  Dad held up his hands, trying to calm her hysteria.

  She finally released Andy from the bear hug and stepped back. She still bent slightly toward him, and Andy noticed a gold chain with a coated pendant swing forward. Mom had always worn this necklace. She prized it, but until now Andy had never been curious enough to ask why. It looked about the same size as the bottom of the Stone of Athanasia.

  Could it be?

  CHAPTER ONE

  Inverted Polarity

  Andy sat on his bed with his arms circling his knees, cradling his face. Even a week later, his mind continued to swirl over that conversation. He felt as though his world had been turned upside down. It all began on the way home from the natural history museum after returning from his second visit to Oomaldee, clothes tattered and body bloodied. Dad had uttered nine simple words: “It’s time we tell him. He deserves to know.”

  Mom had opened her mouth as if to object, exchanged a knowing look with Dad, then slowly nodded.

  A knot had usurped control of Andy’s stomach. A villainous taskmaster over the last several days, it now constricted further as he remembered the family conference that followed.

  Mom had closed their
bedroom door over Madison’s protests of, “I’m part of this family, too, ya know!”

  “That’s enough,” Dad had warned. “And don’t let me catch you sitting outside our door eavesdropping.”

  Andy heard Madison stomp down the hall as he sat on his parents’ bed. Dad cleared his throat as he settled into one of the dark leather chairs in the alcove of the bay window and watched Mom approach. She stopped briefly to open the top drawer of their dresser before joining them; Andy couldn’t tell what she pulled out. She sank into the leather chair next to Dad and revealed her prize. The instant Andy saw the envelope, he gasped. It was gold.

  Dad’s eyes pivoted to Andy. “You’ve seen this before?”

  Andy shook his head. “But I’ve gotten notes in gold envelopes just like that. They always rhyme.”

  Mom’s eyes jetted to Dad and he reached his hand over, gently placing it on her arm, before beginning. “Your mother and I wondered when this day might come. I guess the best place to begin is before your birth.”

  Andy started jiggling his foot.

  “Dad had just started his business and money was tight, but I wanted another child. I hadn’t said anything, but the next thing I knew, this envelope arrived.”

  Mom passed the letter to Andy.

  “Imagine my shock when I read the note inside.”

  Andy read the addressee:

  To Emmalee, Favored One

  Andy felt his body stiffen, and he struggled to ask, “Who?”

  “We don’t know who sent it, Son,” Dad chimed in. “Your mother found it on her pillow.”

  Mom nodded, confirming.

  “Open it,” Dad encouraged.

  Andy’s brain shifted into overdrive before accelerating to warp speed. With shaking hands, he pulled out a single page of parchment and read:

  Five hundred years have passed,

  And a king has come forward and asked,

  An heir, yet unborn, to stand fast,