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

  ‘Til the curse be lifted at last.

  The requirements of the law allow

  A descendent by means of a vow

  To bear the chosen one

  And raise him as her son.

  Teach him responsibility,

  And to love civility;

  Train him in obedience,

  Instill in him great diligence.

  For when the time is come,

  Your son will not succumb.

  These virtues he will command,

  And wield them to deliver the land.

  Your name, it will be known

  As Favored, for you have shown

  Love for the husband of your youth,

  In word, in deed, and in truth.

  Andy reread the letter several times before looking up. When he did, he saw his parents’ faces etched with worry.

  “I know it’s a lot to take in, Andy,” Mom tried to reassure. “It was a lot for me when I first read it.”

  “Is this letter saying what I think it’s saying? That King Hercalon is…is my father? How’s that even possible?”

  “He’s alive? You’ve met him?” Mom questioned.

  Andy nodded.

  “How is he?”

  “Fine.”

  Andy couldn’t read Mom’s expression.

  Dad ran his hands back and forth his on his pant legs. Trying to keep the conversation on track, he continued, “We don’t know how this is possible, Son. But what your mother told you is true.”

  The facts struggled to register. So many times Andy had hoped the king was his grandfather. Now though... This seems too good to be true. But what about Dad? Andy thought.

  “Andy? Honey? Dad is not your biological father, but he’s still your dad.”

  Awkward silence filled the room like a fart wiggling free in a library. Dad shifted in his chair.

  “Your necklace,” Andy managed to get out a minute later.

  Mom tilted her head to one side and pulled the pendant from inside her blouse. She stared at the stone dangling from the chain until the light of understanding rose on her face and she smiled. “Do you know what the Stone of Athanasia is?”

  Andy nodded. “It’s what keeps King Hercalon alive.”

  “Mermin’s brother, Merlin, was able to get a piece of it before he sent me here.” Mom’s expression told Andy there was more to the story, but it would wait.

  “I guess you’re not forty-three then?” Andy asked, squinting an eye and tilting his head.

  Mom smirked, then added, “I’m 508 years young.”

  As the truth sank in, Andy blurted out, “Is that why you get your hair dyed?”

  Mom laughed, releasing some of the tension. “My hair is completely gray. If I didn’t get it colored regularly, I’d look 608!”

  Andy thought another minute, then questioned, “Dad, is that why you’re always so hard on me? Why I feel like anything I do is never good enough?”

  “I can’t control what you think, Son, but yes, that’s why I demand much from you concerning your behavior.” He paused before continuing, “Before Mom and I married, she told me her whole story—that she had been a servant in the house of a king, about falling in love and marrying the man. She told me about the uprising and Merlin helping her escape from Oomaldee and the stone that keeps her alive. As you can imagine, at first I didn’t believe her. I thought she had changed her mind about marrying me and was trying to break up.”

  Andy tried to picture it. It wasn’t hard.

  “Your mom finally convinced me her story was true.”

  “That was no easy task,” Mom intoned. She exchanged a look with Dad, coaxing a smile to his face.

  “I’ll bet,” Andy replied.

  “When Mom received the letter, neither of us knew what to think; the news was too ‘out of this world.’ But within a couple weeks she knew she was having a baby.”

  Mom reached over and patted Dad’s arm. Her expression revealed the strain the situation had placed on their relationship.

  “It took me awhile. I just couldn’t believe what was happening. But I finally came to grips with the situation. Thankfully, she forgave me for how stupidly I acted.”

  Andy had never heard Dad admit to weakness, and he allowed the resentment he usually felt toward him to evaporate and be replaced by pity. He didn’t know what to say. He’d never wondered what Mom had seen in Dad—they were his parents. Perhaps hidden beneath his commanding exterior there was a softer side to Dad that he allowed only Mom to see.

  “We committed to raising you to embrace responsibility, civility, obedience, and diligence, as the letter instructed. I feared we would not prepare you well or soon enough and you would suffer for it.”

  Andy heard passion in Dad’s voice and the pity he’d felt rapidly morphed into respect. He and Dad had never seen eye to eye, but for the first time Andy realized Dad’s love for him had guided his actions all along.

  Maybe Dad could love me a little less and we’d get along better? Andy pondered before tuning back in.

  “So when you started telling stories about being transported to strange lands, we couldn’t tell whether it was just your overactive imagination. When you flooded the kitchen a year ago and we found you wearing strange clothes, we knew something was going on, but you were so young. We didn’t want to believe. Then when I saw you this afternoon at the museum and you wore those clothes and you told me your story…” Dad let the thought finish itself.

  Now, a week later, Andy wiped tears from his eyes and sniffled on his bed as he continued thinking. Since he’d learned the news, the thrill of knowing the King was his father had been extinguished by the realization that if he broke the curse, not only would he lose the King and Mermin, but he’d also lose Mom. The thought was almost more than he could bear. He felt like an executioner and hated himself for it.

  “Why me? Don’t make me do this!” he pleaded with the ceiling. “Mom and Dad don’t understand. They can’t.”

  He glanced over at the nightstand where he had placed the pouch he usually wore around his neck. The belt with holster, empty except for Methuselah, was on the floor next to the nightstand. He hadn’t touched either since the conversation with his parents. It felt as though picking them up meant he accepted the inevitable, and he wasn’t ready for that.

  “Andy, would you come here, please?” he heard Mom call from downstairs. He wiped his face and blew his nose before walking out his bedroom door.

  He found Mom in the kitchen staring blankly out the window. “You called?”

  “Oh, Andy.”

  “Are you okay?” Andy questioned.

  Mom nodded. “I was just thinking about the King.”

  “Do you want me to tell you about him and Mermin?”

  She hesitated.

  She looks as though hearing more might further complicate her life.

  “Please,” she finally responded.

  “This must be really weird for you,” Andy speculated aloud. “Mom, the King has changed a lot since you knew him. He’s a kind and loving man.”

  “The man I married was kind and loving—although perhaps a bit ambitious.” She smiled, remembering. “Why do you say he’s changed?”

  “He told me what he was like before the curse. He said he loved power—his words, not mine. Honestly, the way he described himself was hard to believe.”

  “Really? I don’t remember he loved power so much as he loved his family. Did you know his sister was murdered?”

  Andy nodded.

  Mom continued, “He shared with me the experience and how devastated he was by her loss. He knew, once his father passed, he would now be responsible to rule.” She paused and stared into Andy’s eyes. “He so wanted to rule well, and the responsibility weighed heavily on him. He said his parents couldn’t handle the loss. Apparently, when he tried to comfort them, they asked him to leave for a time so they could grieve alone. He felt as though they rejected him, and it hurt deeply. But he respected their wishes
and left the palace, never returning until after their deaths. It’s a very sad story.”

  “He told you that?” Andy questioned, the truth not aligning with Mom’s narrative.

  “Yes. So when a rumor circulated that he was the one who had killed Imogenia, I was furious. He had been through enough. Sometimes people can be so cruel. He was worried for my safety. I think he didn’t want to risk having anything happen to me, like his sister.”

  Andy didn’t know what to say. Clearly, Mom didn’t know the truth. I guess that’s a good thing, because I’d hate to think she married a man she knew was a murderer, he thought. Should I tell her and ruin her ideal of a man she loved, especially when that man no longer exists?

  “Andy?”

  “Sorry, what were you saying?”

  “That’s when he sent me here.” She paused and studied Andy. Her furrowed brow told him she was unsure how he was coping with the recent revelations. She pulled him close in a hug.

  After a minute, Mom completed her sharing with, “Well, I guess I better do some work. Oh, and Andy, would you go get the mail for me?”

  “Sure.”

  Andy headed out the front door and down the walk. His mind was still preoccupied, but as he reached the mailbox, on the ground to the right of its base he saw a wooden chest, a miniature version of the one in the attic. He picked it up. Two buckles held it closed and he unfastened them to find a single piece of parchment inside. The note read:

  Andy,

  I hope you are readjusting well. We all miss you, especially Alden and Hannah.

  It’s nice feeling like myself again. I didn’t get to tell you before you left, but thanks so much for all you did for the King and me. We are most appreciative. I’ve heard much positive gossip around the castle about you since then.

  By the way, Hans was wondering if you would kindly return his ring since you didn’t have the opportunity before you left. If you put it in this chest and then move the chest to the left side of your mailbox, I’ll know it’s ready and bring it back.

  The King sends his love. We’re looking forward to seeing you again.

  Warmly,

  Mermin

  After the week he’d had, Andy couldn’t help laughing. Well, at least he didn’t send Sir Gawain and Alexander to deliver the note this time. He glanced at the front yard. Dad’s grass was not yet close to looking like its former self.

  He buckled the straps and returned the chest to the right side of the mailbox, not yet ready for Mermin to claim it. With the note and the mail for Mom, he headed inside, his mood lighter.

  Back in his bedroom, he reread Mermin’s letter. The King sends his love. Despite what Mom believed about the King versus what he knew to be true, Andy was certain the change in the King since his youth was real, and revelations of the monarch’s status as his biological father had only deepened Andy’s love for him. The situation with Dad not being his real father still felt weird and would take longer to get used to.

  He looked at the pouch on the nightstand that held Hans’ ring, hesitated briefly, then finally reached for it. Everything will work out, he told himself. I’m not sentencing Mom to death. He wanted to believe it.

  He extracted Han’s ring and scribbled a quick note to Mermin and another to Alden and Hannah before taking everything out to the front yard. He placed the small chest on the left side of the mailbox as instructed and stepped back to wait for something to happen. Within five minutes the trunk vanished, and as it did, Andy couldn’t help smiling. He now had a way to communicate with everyone in Oomaldee when he wasn’t there.

  Two weeks later, Andy found the miniature chest back in his front yard. A note from Alden read:

  Andy,

  This is great that we can write each other. Sure beats last time. My mom says hi, and Hans says hi and thanks for getting his ring back to him.

  I’m feeling much better. My arm’s back to normal size; I just have this nervous twitch. Kidding. But really, I have two cool fang marks. Mom hates seeing them. I think they’re awesome! Hannah won’t say what she thinks.

  The King decided to finish the Oscray season even though you’re not here. He figured you might be awhile. I hope you don’t mind. BTW, we won! We’re amazing, no thanks to you. The team said to say hi, too!

  Mermin said the King replaced the pinnace we destroyed. I guess the owner was honored we used his boat as part of restoring the King and Mermin back to health. But he was also thankful to have a new one. They’re not cheap.

  I’m back to practicing for this Fall’s Festival. Optimistic is so good. I hope we win again. I got Hannah to try out for the Tower Chase this year, so she and Veracious have been practicing, too. They’re pretty good.

  I hope you’re doing okay.

  Your friend,

  Alden

  Andy glanced down at his arm. The mark from the bellicose was still clearly visible. He thought about the trip with Alden and about seeing Razen meet with Abaddon. He remembered the dragon’s demand that Razen kill the King once he figured out how to get the Stone of Athanasia to change its loyalty. Andy ran his hands through his hair, letting out a long breath. Nothing’s happened yet or Alden would have said something, Andy reassured himself.

  Promising Abaddon you’ll kill the King... He trusts you. You’re…you’re such a piece of shriveled fruit, Razen!

  Andy penned a reply:

  Alden,

  It’s great to hear from you! School started again. My sister, Madison, loves it (she’s such a brown-noser). Me, not so much. I started sixth grade. The only good thing is I have all new teachers. I’ll have to tell you about it sometime.

  I don’t know if you’ll get this letter directly from Mermin or if anyone else might read it before you, so I’ll be indirect. Do you remember where we were going to explore? I took a look when you were occupied and found something very interesting. I recommend you check it out when you can. Be sure to look under everything.

  Have you seen shriveled fruit doing anything troubling?

  Your friend,

  Andy

  He thought about telling Alden all that had happened since he’d returned, especially about the King being his father, but finally chose not to. That was a conversation he needed to have one-on-one with the King, and he would not risk leaking any information should someone intercept the letter.

  After placing the chest on the left side of his mailbox and seeing it disappear, Andy wandered back inside, passing the study where Dad sat hunched over his computer, staring it down and furiously pecking at keys. Dad’s back was toward the hall. I better not disturb him. He found Mom and Madison in the kitchen preparing to leave.

  “I need to take Madison to her piano lesson. We’ll be back in an hour and a half. Why don’t you find something to do upstairs. Dad’s preparing for a big meeting on Monday.” Mom kissed Andy on the top of his head and she and Madison left through the door to the garage.

  It had been awhile since Andy looked in the trunk in the attic. Now seemed like as good a time as any. As usual, he quietly opened the door at the end of the upstairs hall and mounted the steps. He flipped on the light and looked around. Nintendo 64, check. Gamecube, check. Playstation 2, check. Games, check. Assured everything was as he had left it, Andy slowly opened the lid of the trunk. Huh? What’s that laying in the upper tray?

  CHAPTER TWO

  Diligent Deduction

  Andy quickly scanned the attic for intruders but saw nothing unusual, so he returned his attention to the newest mystery. Between the black leather holster with the King of Oomaldee’s purple family crest and the unsigned note Andy had once disobeyed lay a small parchment scroll. How’d that get in here? he wondered.

  He unrolled it and immediately recognized several of the Oomish letters Baruti and Fronia had translated for him at the Library of Oomaldee. It was a decoder of the Oomish language into English, and where there wasn’t a direct equivalent, explanations were offered in English!

  “Score!” Andy pumped his fist.


  Andy moved the upper tray aside and looked at the fifteen scrolls populating the second level. He’d studied them many times but never knew the full extent of their mysteries. The scrolls were put in this trunk for a reason, but why?

  Andy selected several of the manuscripts and spent the next twenty minutes translating their titles. Several times during the process the King’s voice filled his head: “Responsibility, diligence, and dignity are the keys to success.” Diligence was definitely the right word. It would take forever to translate all the scrolls.

  Among the titles were page-turners such as Antiquity of Methuselah, History of King Abaddon, Lineage of the Kings of Oomaldee (this was the family tree he’d studied before), and Prophecy of Deliverance, to name just a few. They all sounded interesting, but two scrolls in particular peaked his curiosity. The first was titled Alchemy: Transforming the Inanimate into Metals. He remembered seeing Max, Henry, and Oscar at work in the Goldery changing straw into gold thread. Are these the directions for how it’s done? Wow!

  The second scroll troubled him—Alchemy: The Power of Transforming the Animate.

  Animate? puzzled Andy. That means living things. This can’t be good.

  Andy retrieved notebook paper and a pencil from his bedroom, then unrolled several feet of the parchment. He laid it on the attic floor, putting five of his old Nintendo 64 games across the top to hold it open. It was a long scroll, and he remembered seeing all the calculations and equations throughout the text alongside drawings of animals. The first time he’d seen it he’d thought it looked like someone had experimented with turning one animal into another. One drawing of a black and white Holstein cow was followed by an arrow pointing to scribbled mathematical equations before another arrow indicated a dappled rabbit.