The Case of Firebane's Folly

by Liam O'Donnell

  She dove under the command deck and disappeared from sight. Seconds later banging sounds came from deep inside the sub.

  “What is she doing?” Hugo asked.

  “Hopefully, saving our scales,” I said.

  Outside, more lava sharks had arrived. They swam in wide arcs around the sub before charging straight at the window. Each smash shook the sub and sent us sprawling to the floor.

  From somewhere under the floor, Tank shouted, “Now, Fizz!”

  I jumped at the panel and pushed the red button. Nothing happened.

  “It didn’t work, Tank!” I shouted.

  Another shark smashed into the sub.

  “Fizz, look!” Hugo gasped.

  A crack had formed in the window where the shark had struck. Another blow and we’d be swimming in lava.

  “Another shark is coming!” Scorn shrieked from his webby hiding spot.

  I leaned into the hole below the command deck. “Hurry up, Tank!”

  “Try now!” she called back.

  I slammed my hand on the red button.

  Nothing.

  The shark crashed into the window. A shudder ran through the sub. The crack splintered in all directions, but the window didn’t break. Yet.

  “We’re running out of time, Tank!” I called.

  Laughter came from under the control deck. My tail curled. My friend had finally lost it. The pressure was too much. I wasn’t too far behind.

  Another shark rounded on the sub and charged.

  “I’m such a noob!” Tank shouted from below. “I forgot to connect the polarity diameter controller!”

  “Technical details later, Tank!” I shouted. The lava shark swam straight toward the window. “Can I press the button?”

  I felt like I’d been body-slammed by a lava shark.

  We were sprawled across the floor of the sub. Through the splintered window glass we saw a crowd of annoyed dwarves gathered on the docks. I guessed they weren’t crazy about nearly being squashed by heavy machinery. Relief washed through my scales. I’d take angry dwarves over charging lava sharks any day.

  “Nice driving, Hugo,” I said. “But you might want to work on your parking.”

  “I’ll take it under consideration.” The spider crawled to the sub’s ceiling and opened the hatch.

  Tank dove back under the command deck.

  “What are you doing?” I hissed. “We have to get to the braces to warn the others!”

  “I just have to grab something,” Tank shouted from under command deck. A second later she reemerged, grinning like she’d just won the Tinkering Troll of the Year Award. In her hand she held the panzantium. The stone wasn’t glowing anymore. She put the stone in her belt. “Just in case.”

  We climbed out of the sub. We didn’t get much further.

  “What do you think you’re doing, crashing into our docks!” shouted a dwarf with one eye and a lava-shark tattoo on his arm.

  “You nearly killed us!” barked another. “Get down here so we can deal with you.”

  Clearly, getting down from the sub was not a good idea.

  “Great.” Tank sighed. “We’ve gone from an angry swarm of sharks to a mob of mad dwarves!”

  Captain Scorn climbed out of the hatch. “I’ll deal with this.”

  He stepped past us. The panic had left his eyes. The cold, calculating stare had returned. He straightened his uniform and looked down on the gathered dwarves. “Step aside, citizens! We are on official business. Slow us down and risk the wrath of Lord Dunhelm, the dwarf king.”

  Anger vanished from the dwarves. They fell silent. A few muttered their apologies and stepped away from the crashed sub. Scorn held them with his piercing eyes until a clear path had formed on the dock.

  “Move quickly,” he whispered to us. “And don’t stop until we’re off these docks.”

  Hugo scurried off the sub like his webs were on fire. Tank and I followed. Scorn caught up to us at the top of the steps leading down to the harbor. He froze when he saw his son.

  “Hugo? Is that you?”

  “Father!”

  Scorn wrapped Hugo in an eight-legged hug.

  “So you recognize me now?” Hugo stepped back from his dad.

  “I do,” Captain Scorn said. “My head is clear now that we’re back on solid ground and away from all that lava. Firebane’s cursed words are gone from my mind.”

  “So it was Firebane!” I said.

  “That dragon told me I would rule the webs if I let his dwarf into the queen’s chamber.” Scorn looked to the ground. “He charmed me with visions of heroism and power. I was a fool.”

  “We were all deceived, Father.” Hugo hugged Scorn again. “Firebane’s words led us all into that trap.”

  “But it was your web slinging that got us out,” Tank said.

  Scorn and Hugo both smiled.

  “We make a good team,” Scorn said. “Don’t we, son?”

  “We sure do, Dad.”

  “Gloomshrooms!” I shouted. Everyone looked at me like I was under Firebane’s spell again. I pointed to the gloomshrooms shining over the street. “The gloomshrooms are glowing. It’s morning.”

  Around us the streets of Lava Falls filled with monsters beginning their day. They hurried to work and chatted happily to each other, every creature oblivious to the doom they faced if Firebane wasn’t stopped.

  “We have to warn Queen Azelia,” Hugo said. “She must know Firebane is the thief!”

  “They will be gathering at the braces,” Scorn said. “Follow me.”

  We rushed through the crowd, Tank and I following the pair of spiders. With every step my questions grew. Why had Firebane stolen the crown? Was he going to let my home fall into the Abyss? One thing I did know for certain. I had a lot more questions for Firebane Drakeclaw.

  And this time, I was getting answers.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Return of the Queen

  The guards outside the town hall saluted as we passed.

  Captain Scorn returned the salute, and we hurried into the building in the center of Lava Falls. Inside, Tank’s phone beeped. She snatched the phone from her belt and started dancing.

  “I’ve got a signal!” she said. “Ooh, and I have messages.”

  “Focus, Tank.” I rolled my eyes. “We can read how much your mom misses you after we save all of Rockfall Mountain from falling into the Abyss.”

  Tank scowled. “There’s a message from Aleetha.”

  I skidded to a stop and went to my friend’s side. “That one we can read. What does she say?”

  “Don’t trust Firebane?” I said. “Thanks, Aleetha. We figured that one out on our own. What does she mean she’s bringing what we need?”

  “No idea,” Tank said. “She also sent a copy of the message translated from old magic.”

  “It’s just a warning about what will happen if the braces don’t get reset,” I said. “Dragon fire is just a fancy way of saying ‘tossed into the Abyss.’ ”

  “Why does it mention Gravelmuck?” Tank said. “That’s the name of our school.”

  “Hurry up, you two.” Hugo stood inside an elevator on the other side of the room. “We don’t have time to chat.”

  “Hugo is right,” Tank said.

  I looked at the message on her phone. “If we had gotten this earlier, we wouldn’t have been tricked by Firebane,” I said. “Now it’s just too little, too late.”

  “Then let’s get going while there’s still time to warn the others about Firebane.” Tank ran to catch up with Hugo.

  Scorn closed the elevator doors the moment my tail was inside. Immediately we began to drop.

  “This will take us all the way to the bottom of the mountain and to the braces,” he said. “Hopefully, we won’t be too late.”

  Long seconds later the elevator’s floor retracted, and the walls zipped back up to the top. The Abyss roared below us. And we weren’t alone.

  The walkway surrounding the Abyss was crowded with dwa
rves, spiders and dragonkin leaders from the Depths. They joked and laughed with each other as they got ready to watch the annual resetting. It was like they were at a school play and not about to witness the end of the world.

  At the front of the crowd, Queen Azelia and Lord Dunhelm stood next to the reset mechanism. Beside them stood Firebane in his dragonkin form, grinning like a politician.

  Hundreds of braces stood around the Abyss, holding up Rockfall Mountain and protecting it from certain doom. The reset mechanism next to Firebane flashed an angry red warning. On the screen, the countdown had begun. There was less than a minute to go. The pressure needle was tipped to one side, well into the Imminent Danger range. The pressure on the braces increased with every second. We didn’t have any time to spare.

  I raced out of the elevator.

  “He’s lying!” I shouted. “He stole the crown, and he’s done something to it.”

  “You don’t know what you are talking about,” Queen Azelia said.

  “We do!” Tank stomped her foot. “We found blueprints in an abandoned mining station.”

  “Blueprints? In a mining station?” the queen snapped. “I sent you to find a dwarf. Instead, you vanished. Your classmates were very worried. Don’t worry—I haven’t eaten them. Yet. I’m saving them for our celebratory dinner once the braces are reset.”

  The queen waved one of her legs absently toward the long table behind her. My classmates dangled above the table, still wrapped in web cocoons. My scales burned. After all we’d been through, my classmates were still trapped and in danger. With everyone thinking Firebane was Dragon of the Month, saving them seemed impossible.

  The spider queen turned to Scorn. “And you, Captain! I send you away, and you vanish. No reports. Nothing.”

  Captain Scorn bowed his head. “My queen, I can explain everything.”

  “Silence!” the queen ordered. “We have no time. The braces must be reset. I will deal with you later. Firebane, hand me the crown so we can get started.”

  “Of course, Queen Azelia.” Firebane gave the Crown of Peace to the spider queen.

  A hush fell over the crowd as the queen took the crown. She held it high for all to see and approached the reset mechanism. It continued to flash red with the needle tipped all the way to the side, pointing at Imminent Danger.

  “Mark this day, fellow Depths dwellers,” the queen said in a loud voice. “We come together, put aside our differences and share power between our lands to keep our home safe from the ever-present Abyss.”

  A murmur ran through the crowd at the mention of the Abyss. Queen Azelia held the crown over the reset mechanism. She slowly lowered it into the round slot designed just for this purpose. The crown clicked into place. The crowd of spiders, dwarves and dragonkin all watched intently. Every eye was on the crown.

  Immediately the flashing stopped. The needle slowly drifted away from Imminent Danger to rest on All Safe.

  The monsters cheered. The Dark Depths and all of Rockfall Mountain had been saved for another year. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

  Except me.

  I was happy not to be hurled into the Abyss, but something wasn’t right. Could we have gotten it so wrong? Was Firebane telling the truth? What was I missing?

  Queen Azelia moved to join the celebrations, then stopped. Two of her legs still held the crown in place. She pulled on the crown and frowned.

  “I’m stuck.” She tugged on the crown again. Still her legs stayed with the crown. She spun to face Firebane. “There’s something wrong.”

  The monsters in the crowd were too busy congratulating each other to hear the queen’s complaints.

  “Wrong, Queen Azelia.” A knowing smile spread across Firebane’s snout. Sharp teeth flashed. “Everything is just right.”

  The panzantium in the center of the crown began to glow brightly. My gut churned like it was being dumped into the Abyss. Something was definitely wrong, and it started with the grinning dragon standing in front of me.

  “Firebane, stop!” I stepped closer to help Queen Azelia. A dragonkin grabbed me by the shoulders and held me in place.

  “That’s far enough, Fizz Marlow,” Firebane said. “You’ve done your job already.”

  “My job?”

  “What are you talking about?” Tank started to rush to my side, but a dragonkin stopped her after two steps.

  “Just stay where you are,” Firebane said. Amusement danced in his eyes. “Everything will become clear very soon.”

  Dragonkin soldiers took hold of Hugo and Scorn. The celebrating monsters fell silent.

  The glow around the crown grew brighter. Tendrils of wispy light reached into the air. The spider queen’s eyes doubled in size as the strands of energy reached over her head.

  “What’s happening?” she wailed.

  The tendrils grew longer and stretched in all directions. They flailed around like the arms of an octoclops.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Reunions and Revenge

  My tail almost fell off.

  “Aleetha!”

  Tank rushed to the lava elf and wrapped her in a big hug. “How did you get here?”

  “With this.” Aleetha held up her hand. A ring flashed on her finger. “It’s a teleport ring. I borrowed it from the school library. When you put it on, the magic in the ring locates anyone you share a strong bond with and brings you to them.”

  “Like two good friends in trouble in the Dark Depths?” Tank said.

  “Exactly.” Aleetha smiled.

  “Finally!” I cheered. “A kind of magic that even I can like.”

  “But what are you doing here?” Tank asked.

  “Bringing what you need.” She grinned, then frowned. “Didn’t you get my message?”

  “We did,” I said. “But we didn’t really understand it.”

  Tank looked to the spider standing next to Aleetha.

  “Yeah, um…” She tugged on her tool belt and lowered her voice. “Why did you bring Principal Weaver?”

  “I don’t understand it either, Tatanka.” Principal Weaver never used Tank’s real name. The spider scanned the platform warily. “Where are we, Aleetha? You said I was needed in my ancestral home. This is not the Vale of Webs.”

  All around us the confusion continued. The strange tentacles of energy streamed out of the Crown of Peace. They writhed chaotically, grabbing terrified spiders one by one before letting go and moving on to the next monster. Firebane sauntered closer to us.

  “Welcome, Aleetha Cinderwisp.” The dragon’s wings unfolded from his shoulders. His fangs flashed and his eyes danced. “You have arrived just in time.”

  Aleetha’s jaw dropped. Even in his dragonkin form, there was no mistaking who or what the creature coming toward us was.

  “Is…is that…?” she stammered.

  “Yes, it is,” I said.

  “You were right, Fizz Marlow,” Firebane crooned. “I am up to something. You have all been very helpful.”

  “Helpful?” Tank asked.

  “Why yes,” Firebane said. “You and the little goblin very kindly passed along my message to your wizard friend.”

  “Message?”

  For a second the dragon’s face changed. Suddenly, Gilthil the strange lagalander stared back at us. The fish-head vanished as quickly as it appeared. Firebane’s scaly snarl returned.

  “You were Gilthil?” I said.

  “Give the goblin a gold star!” Firebane chuckled. “And that’s not all.”

  “Mr. Ravel!” I said. “When I fell into you, I saw you.”

  “You are always seeing too much, Detective,” Firebane snarled. “Except that night in the swamp. You were tired and hungry and ready to listen to an old fish with camprocks. I saved you from the Swamp of Sorrow. I gave you the note, written in old magic. And you very kindly passed it along to your little wizard friend in Slick City, who brought the very thing I needed.”

  “Principal Weaver,” Tank said. “She’s the Queen of Gravelmuck, ju
st like the note said.”

  “The queen is meant to stop the reign of fire, not help it,” Aleetha said. “That’s what the note said.”

  “I’m sorry. I wasn’t very truthful with that part,” Firebane said. “Your principal isn’t here to stop anything. She is here to start the chaotic destruction!”

  “I’m not going to destroy anything!” Principal Weaver snapped.

  “I’m afraid you are, Principal Weaver.” Firebane swept a claw toward the reset mechanism. “Especially when you see who is waiting for you.”

  Firebane towered over the confused monsters. He transformed into full-on dragon mode right in front of us with the Crown of Peace on his head.

  “The Dark Depths are mine,” he roared. “No longer will I be forced to share power with the dwarves or spiders. Now you will all bow down before me!”

  “Have you lost your mind, Firebane?” Lord Dunhelm shouted. His guards readied for a fight. “The dwarves denied you ultimate power long ago, dragon. You will be denied again today. My soldiers are not afraid of your scaly face.”

  “They should be.” Firebane grinned. “Because I can do this now.”

  On the dragon’s head, the gem at the heart of the crown grew brighter. A ray of light blasted from the crown, engulfing the dwarves. Just watching it hurt my brain. I turned my eyes from the bright light. When I looked back, the light was gone—and so were the dwarves. All that remained was an empty patch of ground.

  Tank rubbed her eyes. “Did he just make those dwarves disappear?”

  “Not quite.” Firebane turned to face us. He tapped the crown on his head with a sharp talon. “I simply relocated them.”

  The gem in the center of the crown pulsed with the rhythm of a heartbeat. The bearded face of Lord Dunhelm appeared in stone for a brief moment and then vanished.

  “The dwarves are inside the crown!” I said.

  “Isn’t it wonderful?” The dragon beamed. “All the strength and wisdom of the dwarves belongs to me now.”