James folded his arms in front of his chest, locking eyes with the old man and said, "I'm not going anywhere. What the heck is a Nastikan anyway?"
Master Chi-Sao nodded his head toward James and said, "The eyes of a warrior, indeed." He reached into his long sleeve and withdrew a small white dove that sat peacefully in the palm of his hand. He showed it to Alana, who clapped her hands excitedly at the unexpected magic trick and reached out to stroke the bird's soft feathers.
Chi-Sao moved the bird in front of James and held it there, saying, "Tell me what is better. If you keep the bird here, it will be protected forever, always fed, never in any danger. It will live out its life, and grow fat and happy. If you set it free, it will have to fend for itself, face many difficulties and enemies, and sometimes fight to survive. But, if it lives, it will become strong, and wise."
James petted the bird's wing and it cooed gently and he laughed as it climbed across his hand to sit in the palm of his hand. As the old man watched him carefully, James walked over to the open door and raised the dove up toward the sky, where it flapped its wings and flew until it vanished over the tops of the trees in their front yard.
James looked back at Master Chi-Sao and said, "I would rather be strong."
The old man nodded and said, "And strong is what you may soon have to be."
3. They Have Found You, Mrs. O'Neil
Master Chi-Sao sat across from Mrs. O'Neil in the living room, taking in the rather ordinary surroundings with mild disinterest. His eyes looked over the department store curtains and flowery stick-on wall borders, and then down at the rarely used cushions on the couches in their sitting room. No one actually ever sat in the sitting room, of course. They sat in the den, where the television was.
Mrs. O'Neil held up her finger at the sound of a floorboard creaking above them, cocking her finger to make sure neither of her children was attempting to creep toward the stairwell and eavesdrop. When the creaking stopped, she folded her hands together and said, "So to what do I owe this great, although unexpected, honor, Master Chi-Sao?"
"It pains me to have to tell you this, especially with your husband gone, but I felt it necessary. I came as soon as I was sure."
"I'm sorry," Mrs. O'Neil said, interrupting him, "but what is it you are sure of?"
"He has found you. He has found you, and he will come."
His words struck her like the blow of a hammer ringing against cold steel.
Her voice failed her momentarily, but she cleared her throat and whispered, "C-come? Come for what?"
Master Chi-Sao smiled thinly and said, "I am sure we both know the answer to that, my dear."
Mrs. O'Neil stood up and folded her arms tightly across her chest, starting to pace back and forth in front of the couch, saying, "Well, no one can have it. It's simply too dangerous."
"I agree," the old man said. "Can it be destroyed?"
"We tried," she sighed. "Many times. Nothing works. What if you tried? Surely you must know something, some way we never thought of."
"I am afraid that if the Nastikan could not find a way, I would have little else to offer."
"Then what if you took it?" Mrs. O'Neil said quickly. "You could look after it and keep it safe."
Master Chi-Sao shook his head sadly and said, "I am afraid that would do either of us any good. I am old and my powers have dwindled. At least with the scepter, you have some measure of defense."
"Measure?" Mrs. O'Neil said sharply. "I don't need a measure of defense! I have two children here and in case you haven't noticed, I am alone!"
Master Chi-Sao stroked his mustache braid several times, and he said, "Pardon me for asking, but where is your husband? It is not like him to wander so far away from his family in such troubling times."
Mrs. O'Neil collapsed back down in her seat and pressed her face into her hands, saying, "Where do you think? He's off being Daniel. Lord knows, I'd probably be out there with him except someone has to stay home and take care of the kids and the house, right? They need at least one adult in their lives."
"I see," the old man whispered. "You are a strong woman. I knew this even when you were a young girl, with innocent eyes, who had never flown in a plane before."
Mrs. O'Neil laughed at that and said, "Flown a plane, or gotten dropped out of one, or had to escape from a pit of venomous snakes, or any of the wonderful things that wonderful man of mine introduced me to."
Master Chi-Sao looked to the staircase where the children had gone up and said, "Your boy, he reminds me of Daniel. Is he a student of the craft, as well?"
"No," Mrs. O'Neil said. "Daniel and I both decided to never introduce the kids into this life. Whatever we are, whatever we have done, it ends with us."
"I see," he nodded. His voice trailed off then, and his stroking of his braid grew faster and more agitated, until he whispered, "You are both wise to do this. Much wiser than I was with my own son, I am afraid."
Tears filled the old man's eyes, and Mrs. O'Neil reached out and took his hand in hers. His skin felt soft and thin to her, somehow, weak. She patted his hand and said, "Far too much time has passed since I've seen you. Not a day goes by that I do not think of Chi-Koh. Daniel and I loved him very much."
Streams of tears spilled down Master Chi-Sao's face at the mention of his son's name, but he managed to collect himself enough to say, "Soon, I will depart this place and travel into the misty lands. But first, before I go, I must ask you. What happened that day at Red Hand Temple?"
Mrs. O'Neil looked him in the eye and said, "Are you sure you want to know?"
The old man nodded and said that he did.
She took a deep breath and said, "Daniel and I searched all over for Chi-Koh after he was taken by the Red Hand. We found their Temple deep in the Amazon, guarded by hundreds of natives. By the time we arrived, Chi-Koh had already been…turned."
Master Chi-Sao's eyes closed, but he forced himself to listen.
"He was carrying the scepter when we saw him, waving it around like a madman. His eyes were filled with red fire, blazing with whatever the Red Hand had done to his mind. When he saw us, we tried to convince him to put down the scepter and escape with us, but instead, he started laughing insanely. That was how the Temple found out that we were there, and we had to fight our way out."
Master Chi-Sao wiped his face with his sleeve and sniffled, "I can only imagine the battle that must have ensued."
"It was terrible," Mrs. O'Neil said. "The Red Hand are masters of the dark arts. They're terribly powerful, but Daniel was able to get the scepter away from Chi-Koh. Even in Daniel's hands, with all his experience, it was uncontrollable. Its power cracked the temple walls and split the ground in two. People were falling into the earth, like they were being swallowed up by it. The High Priests of the Red Hand threw down their staffs and tried to flee, but it was too late." Mrs. O'Neil shuddered at the memory and whispered, "All I remember is Daniel carrying me over his shoulder as he ran out of there. When I looked back, all I saw was rubble. Chi-Koh never made it out."
"Thank you," the old man finally said. "I have often wondered. Now tell me, is there anyone you can call? Any of Daniel's old allies or associates who might help you?"
"No one," she said. "We broke all ties with everyone when we moved here. It was supposed to be a new life for us. We were supposed to leave all this craziness behind."
"So then, why did Daniel leave?" Master Chi-Sao said.
"Because apparently, the craziness is not done with us yet."
The floorboards creaked again, and this time, it was followed by Alana whispering, "Move over, I can't hear anything!"
"I can't either, so shut up," James hissed back.
Mrs. O'Neil stood up suddenly and clenched her fists at her sides in fear that one of the children had overheard her. That the years of such a carefully constructed illusion were on the brink of coming crashing down around her. She cleared her throat to remind herself that she was just a normal mother living in a normal house with n
ormal things like dinner to worry about. "Well," she said, loud enough for the children to hear, "it's been lovely to see you once again. Thank you so much for stopping by."
Master Chi-Sao looked up at her and said, "I will send as many men as I can find. They will surround the house."
"Thank you, but that is not necessary."
"But, you must know that you are not safe," the old man said urgently.
"We'll be quite fine," Mrs. O'Neil said as she moved toward the front door. She turned her head to look up the staircase and saw it was clear, the children had already scurried back to their bedrooms. "We have motion lights and an alarm system and the police here are very good at their jobs. Good day."
Master Chi-Sao watched as she opened the door and stepped back, silently inviting him to walk through it and leave them in peace. He paused for a moment to take a long, sad breath, but realized there was nothing left to say. "Please stay safe. You have the scepter. Use it if you must … but only if you must," he implored her, looking back at her as he moved through the door.
But she had already closed it.
At the top of the stairs, hidden around the corner, Alana scrunched her eyes shut and craned her neck, trying to listen, but all she heard was the word "scepter."
"What's a scepter?" she asked her brother.
"Some kind of staff," James said.
"What's a staff?"
He sighed and said, "It's a like a long stick with a jewel at the top. They aren't just sticks though. They can be made out of gold, or silver, or anything. They're really old and only important people had them, like Kings, or Emperors, or people like that."
Alana's eyes widened, "Gold? We have a gold stick with a jewel? Does that mean we're rich?"
"I doubt it," James said. "I thought that man said something about using it. I couldn't hear anything else because you were too busy breathing in my ear!"
"Sorry," Alana said.
"It's all right." He pressed his body flat against the hallway wall and glanced down to the bottom of the staircase, making sure it was clear. He held up a finger to tell Alana to remain quiet and called out, "Mom? Is it okay to come downstairs yet?"
"Yes," Mrs. O'Neil responded. "Come on down."
"Is lunch almost ready? I'm starving?" he said.
"All right, all right, I'm working on it," she sighed. "Maybe if I could have ten minutes uninterrupted!"
James winked at his sister and said, "Call us down when it's ready. We're playing up here."
Mrs. O'Neil responded that she would, and soon they could hear cabinets opening and closing and jar lids being unscrewed. They listened to Mrs. O'Neil getting their lunch ready, and James nodded to his little sister and whispered, "Come on."
Alana saw that he was creeping toward their parent's bedroom and shook her head, saying, "What are you doing? We're not allowed in there."
"Something is going on," James whispered. "Something important. I think it involves Dad."
"Dad?" Alana said.
"I think he might be in trouble. Did you see that guy downstairs? Did he look normal to you?"
Alana admitted that he definitely did not.
"We need to find that scepter and figure out what it does."
"But Mom said−"
"Do you want me to tell her about the dragons?" James said sharply.
Alana grabbed his arm and said, "No! You promised not to."
"That's right. And I kept it a secret, and now, it's your turn to keep a secret. Are you coming or not?"
Alana knew with every inch of her being that it was a bad idea, and yet she found that her feet were moving one after the other, as softly as James's were, in the direction of their mother's bedroom.
It is a universal truth that trying to be quiet, especially when they are trying to be quiet and sneaky, that every single thing in their immediate area gets louder. Alana brushed against the wall in the hallway and it sounded like fingernails down a chalkboard. James turned the doorknob to Mother's bedroom door and it squeaked louder than car tires braking suddenly on a hot street. Alana and James took turns shooshing each other, then telling each other to stop shooshing so loudly, but then finally, after what seemed like ten years of sneaking, they were in.
Alana had gone into in her mother's room alone before, but never when she wasn't invited. In fact, she'd never done much sneaking or snooping in her life. She and James had only once gone to find their stash of Christmas presents, and after seeing the first unwrapped gift, a Barbie she'd been desperately hoping for, Alana felt so ashamed that she could barely bring herself to play with it when she got it.
"Where could it be?" James muttered. He pictured a scepter in his mind and said, "It's probably around the same size as a baseball bat. Maybe a little smaller."
"Under the bed?" Alana whispered.
"I don't think so. It sounded too important to just get stuffed under the bed. Unless it's in a case, or something." He dropped down to his chest to peek under the bed, having to lift up a handful of blankets draped over the side. "Doesn't look like it's here," he said.
Alana heard a soft whisper against her left ear, as if someone were standing right beside her. She whipped her head around and saw nothing there. "What was that?" she gasped.
"What was what?" James said.
"I heard something."
Both of them stood completely still, listening intently for several minutes but heard nothing. "James, I want to go," Alana said.
"Just stand there and watch the door."
She felt like crying. It was too intense for her, and she was starting to feel terrible about breaking their mother's confidence, but James was too intent. He kept looking around and around the room feverishly, desperate to solve the mystery.
He crossed the room, much too loudly, Alana thought, and opened Mother's closet. He turned on the light and looked in, moving a handful of dangling clothes to check behind them. "You've got to be in here somewhere," he said to himself.
Alana heard the whisper again. It was low and deep and she could not make out the words, which somehow seemed scarier. She squeaked in fright and said, "Hello?"
But there was nothing, and James was too far inside the closet to hear her. Alana's heart was pounding so loudly that she could hear it. It sounded like a marching band's drum in her ears, going boom boom boom! James stood on the tips of his toes to look up above the clothing rack and he called out, "Got it!"
Alana hurried over to his side and looked up, seeing an ornate wooden box that looked designed to hold something rectangular and important. James tried to lift the lid but it was sealed tight. "Of course it's locked," he said, shaking his head. "Why would this be easy?"
Alana looked down at the box and saw something was written across the surface of the lid in an ornate script that read, What Makes You Worthy?
James frowned at the box, "I don't even see a keyhole. How does this thing open?" He bent down to look at the writing and repeated the words, "What makes you worthy? Maybe it's some sort of riddle?"
He moved to lift the box and look under it, when Alana grabbed him by the arm and said, "I think Mom's coming! We have to go."
"No she isn't," he said, moving her hand away. "Don't be such a chicken."
She smacked him on the arm, "I'm not. Let's go. We found the stupid box. That's what you said."
Someone moved at the bottom of the stairs and both of them heard it that time, both of them grabbing one another in fright. It was Mother, and she was about to come up. "Kids," she called out. "Lunch is ready."
James swallowed thickly and shouted, "Okay! Coming right there!"
Both of them stared at one another for what seemed like forever, until finally they heard Mother back in the kitchen, setting the table. Alana tugged on her brother's arm and said, "Come on!"
"Fine," he sighed. "But I'm going to find that key. I'll wait until Mom goes to the store or something."
"Forget it," Alana said. "It's just some dumb…" Her voice trailed off as she looked back
up at the box and realized she knew where the whispering was coming from. The box rattled slightly, shaking on the closet shelf, and whispered to Alana once more. It had been the box the entire time, calling out to her, and now it was shaking on the shelf to try and get her to come closer and open it.
She shoved James out of the room in a blinding panic and flicked off the light switch, no longer caring about being loud. She raced down the stairs and barreled through the hallway until she reached the kitchen, where she leapt into one of the chairs and tried to stop herself from shaking.
"Alana? Are you all right?" her mother said, frowning at her.
"Yes," Alana wheezed, too out of breath to say anything else. There, in the kitchen, bathed in the afternoon sun, with her mother right there, doing something as normal as eating lunch, it was easy to tell herself that the whispering voice was just her imagination. Soon she was laughing at her own silliness, and the fear drained out of her. The entire event seemed like nothing more than a strange dream that seems terrible and real while you're in it, but within a short period of time, it becomes nothing more than a cloudy memory. She picked up her sandwich and took a bite, quietly laughing at the entire situation.
4. The Queen of Cats
He'd been waiting for the chance to run through the door, not wanting to appear too eager to leave, or overly concerned about what was happening in the back of the O'Neil's house. Humans are tricky that way. If you seem overly interested in something but they weren't sure what it was, or why you were so interested, they were likely to try and keep it away from you. Luckily, the patio door had opened just enough for him to squeeze through and he escaped before it was too late.
The bear was near.
He'd caught a glimpse of it at the edge of the woods, just beyond the shed. A massive beast with wide paws and heavily-set shoulders, hunched forward in the dirt. Its dark fur was tangled and matted with earth and vines, and even bent down low, it stood as tall as the shed.
None of that concerned Mister Six. All the trouble was in the bear's eyes.
Tiny Dragons 2: The Bear and Scepter Page 3