by Kirk Watson
“Where is Cecil?” Ray asked.
“I’m afraid he didn’t make it.”
Ray dropped his eyes and nodded.
“Who is Cecil?” Violet asked. “And Ray has a daughter? What all did I miss?”
“We’ll explain later,” Lisa said. “Get us out of here!”
Ray fetched the keys from Ernie’s body and opened the cell door. The three squirrels spilled out and retrieved their weapons from the floor.
“Ahem,” came a soft cough from a nearby cell. “A little help?”
“Hugh!” John said. “I almost forgot about you.”
Ray opened Hugh’s cell, and the mouse limped out.
“Thank you,” Hugh said. “I must say, you squirrels have been causing quite a stir up here the last few days. I’ve never seen the haakönen so angry. Is it true you’ve killed two of them?”
“More than two,” John said, “but there’s no time to explain. We need to find Ray’s daughter and get out of here. Do you know where she is?”
Hugh scratched his head. “I’m afraid I don’t know. She was here, but the haakönen moved her some time ago. Are you sure she’s still alive?”
Ray shot the mouse an icy look.
Hugh held up his paws defensively. “I mean, I’m sure she must be around here somewhere. You should find Skallagaan. He’ll know where she is.”
“Skallagaan’s probably in his chambers,” Ray said. “I know the way.”
“I’ll come with you,” John said. “The rest of you stay here.” He handed his rifle to Hugh. “Do you know how to handle one of these?”
“Oh, yes. In the country, every mouse learns to shoot at a young age—”
“No time, Hugh,” John said, drawing his pistol. “If Ray and I aren’t back in ten minutes, get yourselves out.”
John turned to follow Ray out the door.
“John?” Violet asked.
“Yes?”
“Be careful.”
He winked at her. “Hey, still on my feet.”
Chapter 24
CURTAIN CALL
Pride comes before the fall.
Sometimes well before.
John scrambled to keep up with Ray as they raced up the corridor to Skallagaan’s chambers. At the end of the passage, a large wooden door barred their way. Ray held a finger to his lips, pointing at the door with his knife. John nodded and readied his pistol.
Ray gave the door a slight push, and it swung open with a creak. Inside the opulent chamber, brightly colored tapestries adorned the walls, and silk pillows lay strewn about. On a massive table in the back, gold coins were piled haphazardly next to a black ledger. On the far side of the room, long silk curtains flowed over a window that was large enough for a haakönen to pass through. The curtains ruffled as the mountain breeze blew into the chamber.
In the middle of the room sat Skallagaan, king of the haakönen, in a large nest woven out of silk. He reclined with a goblet in his talons, not even bothering to look up at the intruders. “So, you’ve come at last.”
“I’m here for my daughter,” Ray said, brandishing his knife.
The royal haakönen chuckled grimly. “My heroic friend, haven’t you figured it out by now? I thought you were supposed to be clever—for a rodent, that is.”
“Where is she?”
“Where indeed? I truly do not know.”
“She’s not here at Highcastle?”
“Oh, no. Not for some time. Not since last spring, I believe. You rodents all look alike after a while.”
Skallagaan took another sip from his goblet. John realized the haakönen was quite intoxicated.
“What have you done with her?” John asked.
“Traded her away, I’m afraid,” Skallagaan replied.
Ray snarled. “You promised me she wouldn’t be harmed.”
“And she hasn’t been. At least no permanent damage, I would imagine.”
“And just when were you planning on returning her to me?”
“Why, never, of course. We only told you that so you’d be a good squirrel and continue to serve us faithfully. But you weren’t such a good squirrel, now, were you? No, from what I hear, you’ve been a very bad squirrel. We know all about your little expeditions to the valley, Ray, all about your snooping around. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. We have spies everywhere. Did you ever find that rabbit Cecil? No matter. None of it matters now.” He drained his goblet and reached for another bottle of wine. “My beautiful Magdeleija is dead, is she not?”
John looked away, feeling strangely guilty.
“No need to tell me,” Skallagaan said. “Even from up here, I could hear Geirleif’s terrible screech echoing through the mountains. Only one thing could cause him such torment—the loss of his beloved sister. Poor Geirleif. Tell me, is he dead as well?”
John shook his head, and Skallagaan nodded.
“You know, I think Geirleif loved Magdeleija even more than I did. I should be angry with you squirrels, but I just feel empty inside. You wouldn’t understand. You rodents are incapable of such emotional depths. Consider yourselves lucky.” He raised his goblet. “Here’s to Magdeleija, my beautiful white warrior.”
Ray stepped closer. “You’ll be joining her shortly if you don’t tell me where my daughter is.”
“As I already told you, we traded her away. We couldn’t keep her here forever, you understand. It wouldn’t be safe. For us, I mean. You see, at first your daughter was such a timid captive. She would just sit in her cell, crying for her daddy day and night. But as time went by, she grew bolder, wilder. I guess we should have seen it coming, seeing as she is your daughter. She nearly escaped twice, and came close to turning Ernie into a eunuch.” Skallagaan chuckled at the memory. “No, she was becoming quite the liability, so we traded her away for some mice. We haakönen aren’t the only ones with a need for fresh inventory, and a black squirrel like your daughter is considered quite exotic in certain parts of the world. Take the Far West, for example, where these particular gentlemen came from. Would you believe they traded us an entire pack of mice for her? I must say it was a good trade for both parties. We needed quantity for our purposes, and they needed quality. And your daughter was rather—choice. Of course, their purposes are quite different than our own.”
“What purposes?”
“You know, I forgot to ask.”
“And when my service ended? How did you expect to get away with this?”
Skallagaan refilled his goblet. “When your service ended? Oh, Ray. You’re just not getting it. Much like my late wife, your service was to continue till death do us part!”
Ray growled. “I can arrange that!”
He lunged for the haakönen. Skallagaan sprang into action, spreading his mighty wings and knocking Ray against the wall. The black squirrel slumped to the ground, unconscious.
“Hold it right there!” John shouted, aiming his pistol.
Skallagaan kicked an oil lamp at him, splashing its contents across the room and onto John’s arm. The oil ignited and a wall of fire leapt up between John and the haakönen. The flames spread quickly, licking the ceiling and jumping to John’s sleeve. John dropped his pistol and grabbed a silk banner, desperately beating out the flames.
“Brilliant!” Skallagaan exclaimed from across the smoke-filled room. “Strive for a grand exit, I always say!”
John looked up as he extinguished the flames on his sleeve. Across the burning room, Skallagaan was tottering towards the open window.
He’s making a break for it!
John leapt onto the nearest wall tapestry and climbed to the ceiling. As only a squirrel could, he scampered across the banner rods, jumping from tapestry to tapestry and crossing over the flames. He reached the window just as Skallagaan was passing below.
John grabbed hold of the flowing curtains with his feet and dropped onto the haakönen’s back. “You’re not going anywhere, squirrelnapper!”
“What?” Skallagaan exclaimed. “Get off me, you rodent!”
Skallagaan shook and spun, but John dug his claws deep into the haakönen’s back, refusing to let go. Skallagaan turned and stumbled back into the room, attempting to dislodge the squirrel from his back. The curtains pulled tight, halting his progress. John’s shoulder burned fiercely, but somehow he managed to hang on.
Skallagaan reversed course and headed back towards the window, twisting furiously to shake John loose. As he spun, he became more and more entangled in the curtains; they coiled around him like a snake, pressing John tight against his back. Skallagaan lost his balance and stumbled out the window, taking John with him.
As they plummeted, Skallagaan attempted to take flight, but his wings had become ensnared in the silk. The curtain rod gave loose from its brackets above, then lodged tightly in the window frame, breaking their fall with a snap.
Skallagaan slammed hard against the side of the mountain. The curtains drew snug around his throat, leaving him gasping for air as he dangled by the neck. His eyes bulged as he scratched at the steep cliffside with his talons, desperately fighting for a foothold. John held on for dear life as the haakönen kicked and bucked. Skallagaan made one final gasp before letting out a low, guttural sound. His body went limp.
John clung to the dead haakönen as they swayed in the gentle mountain breeze. He let out a sigh of relief, chuckling at his good fortune.
Live, John Grey. Live, indeed!
The first curtain ring let loose, dropping the haakönen’s body several inches and John along with it. John’s eyes grew wide; he realized he only had moments to escape. He struggled to wriggle free from the curtains just as the second ring let loose, dropping him several inches more. He scampered up the haakönen’s limp body towards the window above. The third ring let loose just as he reached the haakönen’s head. The window was only a few feet higher when the last one gave way.
John leapt for the sill as the mummified haakönen fell away below him. He wasn’t going to make it.
Ray thrust out a paw from the window, snagging John’s own outstretched paw.
“I’ve got you!” Ray said, gritting his teeth. “Hold on!”
“Don’t you worry about that!” John exclaimed, staring wide-eyed at the drop below.
Ray pulled him inside, and the two squirrels collapsed to the floor.
Ray looked over at him. “Are you all right, Mr. Grey?”
“Yes,” John replied. “Thank you, Mr…”
“Grimm.”
John raised his eyebrows. “Mr. Grimm? Are you serious?”
Ray gave him a stone-faced look.
John pursed his lips. “Yes, of course you are. Thank you, Mr. Grimm.”
“And Skallagaan? What exactly happened out there?”
John smirked. “It looks like it was curtains for Skallagaan.”
Another stone-faced look from Ray.
John tried again: “Either those tacky curtains had to go, or I did?”
Ray stared at him blankly. John gave him a sheepish smile.
After a long, uncomfortable moment, Ray stood. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.”
“Right,” John said, picking himself off the floor. Inside Skallagaan’s chambers, the flames had died down, and John followed Ray across the smoky room. Lisa and the others were waiting for them at the door.
John threw up his paws in exasperation. “I thought I told you to wait for us below!”
“Your ten minutes were up,” Rollie said.
“Then you were supposed to get out, remember?”
“Forget it,” Lisa said. “We weren’t leaving without you.” She turned to Ray. “Where’s your daughter?”
Ray shook his head. “She’s not here.”
“And Skallagaan?” Rollie said, peering into the room nervously.
John cleared his throat. “You could say it was curtains for Skallagaan.”
Rollie scratched his head. “Curtains? I don’t get it.”
John sighed. “You had to be there. Let’s just say we won’t be seeing Skallagaan again. Come on, let’s get out of here.”
“Just one second,” Rollie said. He walked over to the table and shoved a pile of gold coins into his pocket.
John looked on in amusement. “Souvenirs, Rollie?”
“What? We played their game, went all in, and we won. After all we’ve been through, it’s about time I got my due. I’m just cashing in my chips.”
“We’re not out of this yet, Rollie.”
Rollie began flipping through the pages of the black ledger on the table.
“Now what are you doing?” John asked.
“I’m looking up the odds on next month’s ferret hunt. Maybe I can parlay these winnings…”
“Get over here, Rollie! Ray, how do we get back home?”
“The same way you came, I suppose,” Ray said. “But I’m not going back.”
“Don’t you want to go home?” Violet asked.
“I don’t have a home. Not without my daughter.”
“Then where will you go?” Lisa asked.
“Skallagaan said my daughter was taken to the West, so I’ll go west. I have to find her.”
“We’ll help you,” Violet said.
“Hey, now,” Rollie said, “let’s not do anything rash. How about we go home first, then you can look for her?”
“I hate to admit it,” John said, “but Rollie’s right. These two are just kids. I think they’ve seen enough adventure for a lifetime. We need to get them home.”
Lisa began to protest, but John shot her a stern look.
“Then go,” Ray said, turning his back.
“We can’t make it without you, Ray,” John said. “Besides, you’re responsible for us being here in the first place. The least you can do is help us get back. I think you owe us that much.”
Ray continued to stare away silently.
John looked at Lisa and Violet. “Ray, what if these two were your daughters? How can you abandon them now?”
Violet walked over to Ray and pulled on his sleeve. He looked down at her big eyes, and his broad shoulders sank in resignation.
“Fine,” he sighed, “I’ll take you and the others back to Langley. But then you’re on your own, Mr. Grey.”
Chapter 25
SQUIRRELS IN A BLANKET
If falling into a pit of despair has an upside, it’s that your options are made clear.
Heading for the light is highly recommended.
Ray led the escapees through the mountain’s dark maze of corridors. John had the vague sense they were descending, but it was difficult to get his bearings in the twisting passageways. Their progress was slow, further hindered by Hugh, who was limping badly.
The mouse stopped to lean against the wall. “I can’t make it any farther. Go on without me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Lisa said. “We’re not leaving you behind.”
Lisa threw his arm around her shoulder and helped him limp along. Rollie brought up the rear, jumping at the sound of his own footsteps as they echoed off the stony walls.
They passed by the entrance of the arena where they had been evaluated. There on the floor lay the possum, Neil, his body twisted and his open eyes staring lifelessly up at the ceiling. He did not move, his face contorted in pain.
“Is he dead?” Violet asked.
Rollie kicked at the possum. “Looks that way.”
Violet bent down to study Neil’s grotesque expression. “What do you think happened to him?”
“I don’t know, but he got what he deserved, if you ask me. Who’s the inflexible one now, Coach?” Rollie said, giving the possum another kick.
“Keep moving,” Ray ordered. The others followed him down the corridor.
A loud commotion arose behind them. John turned to find Rollie on his knees, holding his paws on the top of his head. Blood dripped from his nose.
Behind Rollie stood Neil, not so dead after all. He held a knife to Rollie’s throat.
“That’s far enough,” Neil s
aid. “Now, drop your weapons.”
The others spun around.
“But you were dead!” Violet said.
“I was just playing, you idiots. Now, I said drop ‘em!” He pressed the tip of the knife against Rollie’s neck.
“Do as he says,” John said. They placed their guns on the ground.
“Now kick them over.”
John kicked his revolver across the floor, and Neil scooped it up.
“And the knives,” Neil said. The knives fell to the floor with a clang. “Don’t think I don’t know about that backup knife of yours, Ray.”
Ray grumbled as he tossed forward the knife he had been fingering behind his back. Once the squirrels had been disarmed, Neil spun Rollie back around to face him.
“A chain is only as strong as its weakest link,” Neil said, “and clearly that’s you, number thirteen. In all the years I’ve been evaluating recruits, never have I come across such a sorry specimen as yourself. Your performance is the worst I’ve ever had the displeasure of recording in my notebook.”
“I’m still alive, aren’t I?” Rollie said, wiping the blood from his nose. “I must be doing something right. Maybe you’re just a lousy coach.”
Neil kneed him in the stomach, and Rollie doubled over with a groan. “I’m sorry, number thirteen, did you say something?” He leaned in close as Rollie fought to catch his breath. “No, I didn’t think so. I’ll have you know I’m an excellent coach, but even I can’t turn squirrel droppings into chocolate cake. You’re like a cockroach, number thirteen; somehow you keep turning up, all the while just begging to be squished. Too bad you didn’t die in the valley along with Billy, but now you’ll get the opportunity to watch the rest of your friends die. How does it feel? To know they perished because of your incompetence?” He cocked the pistol and pointed it at the other squirrels. “Lucky number thirteen, indeed…”
Lucky? Rollie reached into his pocket and quietly whispered, “apossumsaysahh…”
Neil leaned forward. “What’s that? What did you say?”
Rollie pulled his lucky spoon from his pocket and drove it through the possum’s eye.