Anni Moon & The Elemental Artifact: An Elemental Fantasy Adventure Series: Book For Kids Ages 9-12 (Anni Moon Series)

by Abed, Melanie

  “Now, this is the way to travel!” Brat sighed. “Moppins! Don’t just stand here; you’ll get trampled. Keep moving.”

  “This place is amazing,” said Anni, not paying attention to where she was going.

  “Right, right, go right,” said Brat.

  Anni turned right onto a wooden bough. Tiny lights beneath her feet glowed with a message that said, “Welcome to Espalier Way. Please move forward. Mind the branches.”

  “Thanks,” she said to Brat. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  Espalier Way had two paths: one to enter and the other to exit. Turning left would have spit her back through another arch, and probably not the one she had entered.

  Anni moved into the growing throngs of Elementals, all of them walking faster than she did. It didn’t take long to estimate that, with the continual influx, she could easily get separated from Daphne, Squirt, and Jay in no time. Being shorter than most of the commuters, Anni started to worry. “Brat, do you see Squirt? I can’t find him.”

  Moisture collected on her face; LimBough was very humid and she hoped her disguise wouldn’t be affected. She scanned every direction, drinking in the sights—including the different kinds of Elementals that walked like humans but were actually half or mostly animal. The expanse below looked like a trailing network of ants going to and fro. She shook her head in wonder when it dawned on her that she had to be over a thousand stories up. She wondered how Daphne managed it all by herself until she spotted Squirt’s windbreaker.

  She raced ahead and tapped his shoulder. “Right behind you.”

  Squirt had a mile-wide grin on his face. “It’s amazing!” He spoke so loudly that several Elementals turned and stared.

  “Yes, yes,” said Brat. “Moppins, don’t draw attention.”

  “Oops.” Squirt giggled. “Hey Brat, you came…where’s Daph?”

  “Here,” said Daphne, who cut around them and whispered, “I heard you, by the way. Squirt, you might want to try keeping your voice down. Jay passed you two a while ago. Follow me. Don’t stop, and don’t draw attention.” Her long white ponytail swished past them as she whipped around a tall man with a thin, insect-like body and an oblong head.

  Espalier Way ended at an epicenter, where queues formed around dozens of round wooden platforms, a lot like elevators except without cables, doors, or anything holding them up, and only a clear partition to prevent anyone from falling off.

  Each queue was labeled differently, and once each platform filled to capacity, it made its descent. Anni had no idea which one to use; some stopped on every floor, some on every other floor, some on every odd-numbered floor, and some on every even-numbered floor.

  Daphne expertly moved past all the queues and headed straight for a platform labeled “For Rest Express.” This was by far the largest platform of all, which carried thirty travelers at once. Jay was already waiting in the middle of the line. Anni and Squirt hurried after Daphne, making it just in time, as passengers twenty-nine and thirty.

  Even after a hundred rides, Anni would never be able to take it all in. The steady descent barely gave her a view of the different levels, but she spied several bustling floors aptly named Break Branch Upper, Break Branch Middle, and Break Branch Lower. On these floors, commuters rested in Treetop Cafés, and Log Lounges advertising rest and relaxation. Alongside the cafés, there were hundreds of shops with signs that read:

  Last minute wares!

  SALE—SHIELD FIELD PROTECTORS…

  Fit in in style!

  Banish Squatters & Fake Your Friends

  Don’t leave El without it - **Unimaginable Elixirs**

  Tickets to TreePorts Across the Globe

  El-Necessities Here FUNKTASTIC ON SALE!!!

  E-passes Organized.

  The For Rest Express moved too quickly to see more, but it made Anni think how much fun exploring all of it would be if Lexi was with her.

  Anni looked down. Masses and masses of trees, in all shapes and sizes, like ancient sentinels, populated the never-ending ground level. There were multiple vast areas that were scorched and charred, with only burned stumps where trees once stood; one word came to Anni’s mind when she spotted it: humans.

  “Don’t turn around,” said Daphne in a hushed voice. “Stay still. Keep looking straight ahead.” Daphne took a breath. “Diana’s on the platform behind us.”

  Anni swallowed the gasp that almost escaped. She even felt Brat curl his tiny claws against her shirt as he, too, went rigid.

  “After we get off,” Daphne whispered, “I’ll pass you. Stay back and linger for a minute; tie your shoe or something. Make sure to leave enough room between us so that we don’t look like we are traveling together. I’ll stop in the first shop I see. You stop in the next one. I’ll meet you there.”

  Anni hadn’t thought about running into any Elementals she knew. If Diana caught them, it could ruin everything. She had to act like she had been to LimBough so many times that it all looked mundane. She felt a small pang at the thought that this was probably the first and last time she’d ever get to see it.

  The landing was quiet and quick. Elementals hustled off the platform in single file lines. Anni followed them, glancing in every direction, looking for a place to slow down so Daphne could pass them, but there was no place to stop.

  She spotted Jay. He stood next to a giant information center. She veered toward it and waited there. Jay was on the other side of the booth, but he didn’t walk toward her or speak. When she knelt down to tie her shoe, he rushed over to a store called Blend, which sold an array of T-shirts, jeans, and tennis shoes.

  Anni stood up too fast and didn’t see the duffle bag, about the size of a small carpet. It knocked her against the kiosk, causing a great commotion. The small man who carried the bundle apologized profusely, trying to explain that it was his fault that he didn’t see her.

  “It’s okay. I’m—”Anni said, but the rest of the words got stuck in her throat. Diana was walking their way. The man pleaded for forgiveness even louder than before. She tried to use his body as a visual shield, but he was shorter than she was. Diana would be sure to see her face in a matter of seconds, and then the little man looked at her very oddly.

  There was no time for this. Anni crouched down. “I forgot to tie my other shoe. Could you make sure no one else bumps into me while I tie it?”

  The little man’s face split into a smile as he proudly stood by her.

  Brat, meanwhile camouflaged in Anni’s hair, kept a close eye on Diana. He whispered to her where Diana was until she was out of sight.

  “Thank you,” Anni stood. “You’re a lifesaver.”

  The short little man looked satisfied to have helped. He had two antennae on his head and tiny little wings on his back. He handed her a vial of gold dust, bowed, and left.

  “That was a Papillion!” said Brat, astonished. “Why did he give you aurum dust?”

  She shrugged and held out the vial for a better look. “What is this?”

  “Moppins, hide it, hide it. Put it in your bag. It’s very precious.”

  She spotted Daphne’s white ponytail bobbing in the crowd and took off after her. Anni passed beneath a red and blue sign that said Root Way One walking at a steady pace until finally she caught a glimpse of Daphne’s red-and-white tartan skirt.

  Phew. Everything would be okay. All she needed to do was find the next shop. She walked ahead and looked around, but there wasn’t another shop in sight. Instead, Root Way One split into three forks: Root Way Two, Root Way Three, and Root Way Four. She slowed, clenching her fists, glancing left, then right. Should she take a chance on Root Way Two? This was so stupid. Just as she was about to turn around, she decided to stop, close her eyes, and breathe deeply.

  When she opened them, she looked down Root Way Three and saw Jay up ahead. She traced his steps for some time, all the while passing other Root Ways that branched off into different sections. One section was completely sectioned off, burned to a crisp for miles in one d
irection, just as she had seen from above.

  There was a smattering of shops here and there, but they were smaller and stocked only with basic Elemental wares. She noticed signs mapping out trees by origin and continent. To her left, she was looking at one Root Way that was completely blocked off due to flooding when someone yanked her off the main path.

  “Where are the others?” asked Jay.

  Anni peered around, but there was no sign of either Squirt or Daphne. “I don’t know,” she said. “Are we in the right place?”

  “Yeah, we are,” said Jay. “I’m glad Daphne warned you about Diana. I couldn’t, she was watching me. All right, kid, you stay here. Don’t move; I’ll turn back to see if I can find either of them. I’m supposed to meet a friend anyway. Daphne should be fine. She knows the port better than she led us to believe, but do me a favor: keep an eye out for Squirt.”

  Jay walked off in the direction that they came from.

  Anni stayed right where he left her, nervously looking around. “I bet you’d feel better if you were up there with them,” Anni said to Brat, pointing at all the Fleet messengers zooming overhead.

  “I’m fine where I am, thanks. I don’t need to be spotted, especially now.”

  A huge projection screen floated above them. Elemental Omninavigational Network - Bringing the News to You When You Need It ran across the bottom of the screen like a ticker. Anni couldn’t be sure, but it mostly appeared to be stories, running headlines, and a few video clips. Her eyes grew heavy as the pictures rapidly changed.

  With a shaky finger, Anni pointed up toward a collection of tree branches. Hundreds of eyeballs were blinking down at her and everything below. “What…is that?”

  “Humans. Human children, to be precise, and yes, they can see you and me and everyone else here,” said Brat. “You’ve heard the children’s tale about looking into tree stumps filled with water so you can see the little fairy people, and in that scenario, we’re the little fairy people.”

  “How can they see us,” she said. “Won’t they tell?”

  “Of course they will. Children are gifted with sight, but who’d believe them?”

  “Good point,” said Anni. “It’s amazing, but you’re right.”

  “Moppins, look up at the Haloscreen.”

  A photo flashed on the vast projection screen of the Elemental Omninavigational Network news page. Finnegan’s picture flashed first, followed in succession by images of Egbert, Teddy, Lexi, and Zelda, then they were gone. It bothered her, seeing all their faces so large like that, like they were a news story.

  Anni went back to looking for Daphne and Squirt. She noticed a woman standing next to an information desk, haggling with a computerized halo attendant, trying to get some last-minute E-passes. This woman pointed at someone to Anni’s left and yelled, “Stay there, I’m coming.” She looked familiar somehow, but it wasn’t until the woman entered a TreeTransport waiting area that Anni recognized her.

  Her stomach did a flip. She had just met that lady at Ms. OggleBoggle’s house. Anni straightened her cap, adjusting its brim lower on her head.

  “Agatha,” said another familiar voice; it was Diana.

  Diana and Agatha stood in front of a TreeTransport embark line, which Anni assumed meant that they were leaving. She prayed they wouldn’t recognize her. Agatha walked up to the attendant, handed her an E-pass, and went through the Tree-Portal first. Diana was next. As if in slow motion, Diana handed over her E-pass, smiled at the lady, and moved forward. She briefly looked back over her left shoulder and locked eyes on Anni.

  Paralyzed with fear, Anni froze. Diana’s vague gaze felt like it lasted a century. At long last, Diana walked through the TreePort.

  “Moppins, did that just happen? I need a tonic bath and a straw stat,” said Brat, hyperventilating. “My heart can’t take this kind of pressure.”

  Anni finally exhaled. Hands trembling, she sighed. They had made eye contact. But what did that mean? Did it even matter? Apparently not, since Diana left anyway.

  Squirt raced over. “Hi, guys. How’s it going? This place is unbelievable. I—”

  “Quiet,” hissed Brat as several heads turned in their direction at once.

  Squirt pointed at Daphne, who was heading toward them.

  “Where’s Jay?” she asked, a little out of breath. “We need to get in line, otherwise we’ll miss our TreePort. I know why you’re freaking out.”

  “How much would you like to bet you don’t know?” asked Brat.

  “I think Diana saw me,” said Anni.

  “If she didn’t stop, she didn’t recognize you. Besides, this is what Elementals do. They travel all the time. Most of them know the ins and outs of this place better than you know the back of your own hand. We were bound to see someone. I would have been shocked if we didn’t. Anyway, we’ve gotten this far, haven’t we?”

  As the waited for Jay, Anni glanced back up again at the branches. Eyeballs were still there, blinking down at the whole of LimBough, only there were more than before, and for some reason, several settled around the area where they were.

  “Squirt,” said Brat. “Who’s that guy Jay’s talking to?”

  “No idea,” said Squirt.

  A lanky young man bobbed irritably in front of Jay. The jerky young man even raised his voice, causing several Elemental travelers to turn in their direction.

  “No…” Anni hissed. She gripped Squirt’s arm harder than she meant to.

  “Ouch,” cried Squirt.

  “It’s Egbert’s Minion,” she said, “Rufous Finnegan…”

  Out of nowhere, border patrol guards wearing Elofficium badges surrounded Jay and Finnegan. They cuffed Finnegan’s wrists. The commotion did not go unnoticed by the Elementals passing through. The tension broke when the Elofficium guards took Finnegan away, and Jay was urged to follow without a public display.

  The quartet watched in suspense as Jay glanced back at them with a quick shrug as his way of saying, “Kid, you’re on your own.”

  “Was Finnegan the friend Jay was supposed to meet?” asked Brat.

  “I warned you about Jay,” said Daphne. “He has some unsavory connections.”

  “At least they got Finnegan,” said Anni. “That’s all I care about.”

  “For snozdoddles’ sake, we better get a move on,” said Brat. “Just seeing those Elofficials is kerfuffling my hair.”

  There were only two travelers queued for the TreePort titled Mangrove Peru. “This is the trickiest part, so listen carefully,” Daphne said. “I’ll embark first. Anni, you and Brat go second, Squirt, you last. I’ll wait just past the portal door. I’ll hold out my hand to grab yours, Anni. Then you and I will do the same for Squirt. Inside, we will find the right debark TreePort. Okay?” It sounded confusing, but they had made it this far.

  “Get your E-passes ready,” said Daphne.

  An attendant with a bark nametag that said Peggy smiled at Daphne first. Anni nervously watched their interaction.

  “Hello, Miss,” said Peggy. “Where are we traveling today?”

  “Ucayali Region, Peru,” said Daphne, handing over her E-pass.

  “Beautiful this time of year. Have a lovely time,” said Peggy.

  Daphne disappeared behind the TreePort. Anni was next. She stepped forward and handed her E-pass to Peggy, who only smiled, which threw her off. She had prepared to say she was going the Cusco Region, just to make it look like they weren’t all traveling together.

  With nothing left to do, Anni walked up to the embark TreePort, which shimmered a grayish-green. It wasn’t transparent like the Queen’s Mirror or the Orb. She finally walked through; Daphne was right where she said she would be, standing in a long, vast oaken hall that swirled with mist up into its starry ceiling.

  Squirt came through the gray-green sheath. They held hands as Daphne led them through the paneled corridor. Several arched portals were marked Debarking Gateway Ucayali Region, but there was one problem. Each one had different kinds of tree
s listed for each unique TreePort; it was imperative that they find the right one.

  “We are looking for Cinchona.”

  “How about these?” said Squirt, pointing to three portals positioned side by side.

  Brat flew over to each one to check them out. Anni looked through the portals, too, and could have sworn she saw a Swedish farm, a Japanese countryside, and an arboretum.

  “Maybe,” said Daphne. “It could be any of them. One will bring us closer while another might take us farther. We’re looking for a portal next to the Ucayali River. We only get one shot at this. Once we’ve debarked, we can’t come back through the TreePort.”

  “Straight ahead, second TreePort to the left,” said Whiffle, but only Anni could hear him.

  Anni had no clue which one it was, but the idea that they might exit the wrong one was not a mistake she wanted to make. Perhaps it was a rash decision, but she decided to trust Whiffle. “This one,” she said, pointing to the portal he suggested.

  Brat, Daphne, and Squirt stood before the TreePort. A faint trickling sound of water came through, and Daphne debarked first. Squirt went next, and finally Brat, then Anni.

  It was close to three a.m. in Brazil, something Daphne told them she had considered before leaving the Zephyr, which was evening in the U.K. They found a spot close to the river but far enough away from the TreePort to set up camp. Daphne’s stellar camping gear was so well made, it took minutes to get the tent, sleeping bags, and campfire set up. Squirt started a hearty legumen stew, and toasted pelta bread, while mixing elixirs.

  Daphne pulled up a plotted projection on her Omninav. She sat with Anni and showed her the path they would take along the river in the morning.

  “I synced the map on the doll’s dress to the landscape of this area, but the only part that matched perfectly was the blue stitching at the bottom. It’s the river. Nothing else makes sense on the doll’s dress except for this X. This area is described as The Sleeping Tree, but I have no idea what that means.”

  “That looks close,” said Anni. “How far away are we?”