caterpillar. Kendra wasn’t sure if Burdock was grumpier than her uncle, but he was certainly more expressive. No simple humph would do his opinions justice.
“Simply put, your niece is strange,” Kendra had overheard Burdock tell her uncle one day. “It’s not normal to be hanging out with animals all the time. They’ll turn her into a wild thing.”
“Come now, Burdock,” Uncle Griffinskitch had said. “You’re wilder than most Een animals.”
“We’re talking about Kendra!” Burdock had snapped. “She’s got a mind of her own, that girl.”
“Some would say that’s a good thing,” Uncle Griffinskitch had muttered.
“It’s the kind of thing that leads to trouble,” Burdock had retorted. “There are strange thoughts floating about that child’s mind. I’d be worried if I were you.”
Uncle Griffinskitch had only responded with a humph.
“Be that way then,” Burdock had grumbled. “But I say she takes after her mother, and that’s trouble enough for us all.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that sour old bore,” Ratchet had told her afterwards, when she had come to him in a rage. “I don’t care what he says about us animals. As for you, you’re all right in my book, Kendra.”
And that’s why she liked Ratchet. He always made her feel better.
Kendra and Oki scrambled through the tall wildflowers and soon found the raccoon. He was sitting in the middle of a small pumpkin patch, his snout twisted in a fierce scowl. The pumpkins had all been carved with faces, just like jack-o’-lanterns, and were glaring back at Ratchet with scowls even more fierce than his own.
Then, to Kendra’s surprise, one of the pumpkins spoke: “What, nothing to say, Rattlehead?”
“I was lost in thought for a moment, if you must know,” Ratchet retorted.
“Yes, I’m sure it’s unfamiliar territory to you!” the pumpkin hissed.
Just then Ratchet looked up to notice Kendra and Oki. “Well, hello there, my young friends,” the raccoon said with a grin. “I see you have stumbled upon my latest invention.”
“Er . . . invention?” Kendra asked. “What exactly are the pumpkins supposed to do?”
“Well, they’re my new helpers,” Ratchet explained.
“Helpers!” the biggest pumpkin cried. “More like slaves! We didn’t sign up for this! Emancipation! We demand emancipation!”
“I don’t even know what that means,” Ratchet declared.
“It means freedom,” Oki piped up. “But what are you going to do with your pumpkin helpers, Ratchet?”
“Well, the first thing I reckon I’ll do is use them as boats,” Ratchet explained. “You know, I can use them to ferry folks up and down the river.”
“How will the boats stay afloat?” Kendra asked. “Won’t water pour through their faces?”
“Of course not,” Ratchet replied indignantly. “They’re magic faces after all.”
“Magic! You masked muffin-head!” the nearest pumpkin snickered. “You wouldn’t know magic if it nipped you on the tail!”
“What’s wrong with your jack-o’-lanterns?” Kendra asked. “They don’t seem very . . . er . . . polite.”
“Oh, don’t worry about them,” Ratchet said. “Their bark is worse than their bite.”
“And your stench is worse than that,” a small yellowish pumpkin told the raccoon. “I’ve come across Goojuns with sweeter breath than your horrible, fly-maiming, worm-curling odor!”
“I ought to make you all into soup,” Ratchet grumbled. “Or maybe a big pie. How about that?”
“Oh yeah?” the biggest of the pumpkins sneered. “How about this?” He puckered his mouth and let the pumpkin seeds fly, spitting them at the raccoon in rapid fire.
“Ouch!” Ratchet cried, as the seeds bounced off his head.
“Maybe you should carve less angry faces in your pumpkins,” Oki suggested. “They might not be so rude then.”
“Is that so?” Ratchet muttered, gently rubbing his head. “And what do you know about inventing?”
“Never mind that,” Kendra interjected. “What about the shadow, Ratchet? Did you see it?”
“Of course,” the raccoon replied. “You’d have to be as blind as old Treewort Timm to miss it. Actually, I was just on my way down to the Elder Stone to see what I could find out.”
“We had the same idea,” Kendra said. “There’s a giant hole in the ground that we want to take a look at.”
“Well, come on then,” Ratchet said. “We’ll take one of my boats.”
Before Kendra or Oki had time to object, the raccoon turned and began rolling one of the pumpkins down towards the River Wink. The pumpkin, of course, yelled and cursed the whole way, and Ratchet had to keep apologizing over his shoulder to his young friends. Of course, they were more amused than anything else, and it wasn’t long before they reached the river’s edge.
“Oh, wait a minute,” Ratchet said. “I need an oar.”
He disappeared into the nearby shrubs and soon reappeared with a long pole. “This will do,” he said.
“How do we get in?” Oki asked Ratchet.
“We just have to remove the lid,” the raccoon replied. Grabbing hold of the pumpkin’s twisted stem, he removed the roof of the large boat, and the three friends clambered inside.
“You’re all too fat,” the pumpkin complained. “We’re sure to sink, you bloated blobs of blubber. Emancipation! I demand emancipation.”
“Oh, just behave yourself,” Ratchet warned. He used the pole to push off from the shore, and they were soon on their way down the River Wink.
FOR THOSE OF YOU who don’t know, the River Wink leads straight past the largest town in the land of Een, and that’s the town of Faun’s End. It’s here where you will find the Elder Stone, though I regret to say that, being from the outside world, you’ll probably have a hard time finding the land of Een at all, let alone the town of Faun’s End. Nonetheless, if you ever do find your way to this enchanted country, then you should certainly visit the Elder Stone, for it is a magnificent place indeed.
Kendra and her friends in the jack-o’-lantern boat could see the stone long before they actually reached it, for it towered above the Een shops and homes like a castle. And yet it was unlike any castle that Kendra had ever read about, for it had not been built with several bricks or stones but with only one: a single gray rock that thrust towards the sky as if it were trying to touch the distant clouds.
Legend held that the Elder Stone had taken hundreds of years to complete. This was no surprise, for the inside had been hollowed out and tunneled with countless rooms and passageways, while much of the outside was carved with tiny stone pictures of stars, animals, and strange Een faces with all manners of expression. Some of the faces framed tiny windows and doorways while others gazed upon the distant ground with long open mouths that gushed sparkling waterfalls. These falls glistened in the sunlight, changing color as they tumbled down the Elder Stone from ledge to ledge, spilling at last into a narrow moat that surrounded the rock’s base. From here, a series of pumps and pipes returned the water to the top of the stone, so that the frolicking water might repeat its journey.
Kendra loved the waterfalls of the Elder Stone. She could stare at them for hours, watching them change from blue to green, then indigo, red, orange, and yellow in turn. Indeed, she was watching them now and was almost in a trance when Ratchet’s pumpkin boat clunked against the shore of the River Wink.
“We’re here,” Ratchet announced.
“I thought there’d be a whole crowd here,” Kendra said. “But we’re the only ones.”
“You know Een folk,” Ratchet said, helping Kendra and Oki out of the pumpkin. “They’re scared of their own shadows. I imagine that big, dark shape was enough to send most Eens hiding under their beds.”
“I’m an Een, and I’m not hiding under my bed,” Kendra pointed out.
“Well, you’re no normal Een,” Ratchet said. “I suspect we’ll find your whiskers yet,
and then we’ll know for sure you’re a critter, just like one of us.”
“Oh, Ratchet,” Kendra giggled.
“Well, let’s go check this hole out,” the raccoon said, as he tied the boat to a nearby tree root.
“I would love to knot you to a tree,” the jack-o’-lantern boat told Ratchet.
“If you weren’t so grumpy, I might let you come with us,” Ratchet retorted.
“No thanks,” the pumpkin growled. “Spending more than five seconds around you fills me with a burning desire to be alone.”
“Come on,” Ratchet said to Kendra and Oki. “Let’s get out of here before this exchange gets any uglier.”
“It couldn’t possibly get uglier than you, you wandering waste of fur,” the pumpkin hollered after them.
“I really don’t know what I did wrong,” Ratchet confessed to his friends as they approached the stone. “Jack-o’-lantern boats seemed like such a good idea yesterday. Of course, that was before I knew pumpkins were obsessed with constipation.”
“No, not constipation!” Oki squeaked. “Emancipation.”
“No one wants constipation,” Kendra told Ratchet with a giggle.
“Well, how do you know?” Ratchet asked crossly. Kendra knew he didn’t like to be shown a fool, so she patted him on his back, and he seemed to quickly forget his embarrassment.
They soon came to the giant hole that Oki had told them about. The pit was deep and dark, with ragged edges and large chunks of dirt and grass scattered about its gaping mouth. It was as if someone—or something—had violently plunged right through the earth.
“I’d sure like to know what made this mess,” Ratchet said with a low whistle.
Kendra peered over the edge of the hole, her braids hanging into the blackness. “I wonder where it goes,” she mused.
“I know a way to find out,” Ratchet said. “We have to get into that council meeting.”
“Oh, we can’t do that,” Oki said quickly. “It’s a private meeting.”
“Well, you work for the elders,” Ratchet said. “They have to let you in.”
“I’m just a lowly messenger mouse,” Oki protested.
“Come on,” Ratchet persisted. “We’ll sneak in then.”
“That would be spying,” Oki pointed out.
“Good,” Ratchet said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve stirred up that sort of trouble.”
“Oh, dear,” Oki murmured, and Kendra knew there would no use arguing with Ratchet. The raccoon would just pester Oki until he got his way.
With a sigh, the tiny mouse turned and led his two friends across one of the bridges that spanned the moat to the Elder Stone. Oki was just about to knock on the front door when it suddenly flew open, and they found themselves face-to-face with Juniper Jinx, captain of the Een guard and protector of the elders. Even though Jinx was a grasshopper (and thus smaller than both Kendra and Oki), her reputation made her seem larger than a giant. With her long hind legs and ever-ready sword, she was known as a fierce fighter, and few dared to challenge her.
“What do you want?” Jinx demanded.
“We . . . er, Oki forgot something inside the hall,” Kendra stammered.
“Too bad for you, Oki!” Jinx said. “You’ll have to get your ‘something’ later. There’s a very important meeting about to take place.”
“But Oki works for the elders,” Ratchet said. “You can let him in.”
“Nice try,” Jinx snorted. “But working part-time after school delivering messages for the elders doesn’t give Oki the
right to attend this meeting. Or you, for that matter, Ringtail.”
Kendra could see Ratchet’s face twist with anger. She knew what the raccoon was thinking—and so did Jinx.
“Go ahead and try it, Ringtail,” Jinx said. “You think you can wrestle your way past me? Ha! You’ll be lying on the ground with the point of my sword pinned through your tail faster than you can blink an eye!”
Ratchet grunted, but Kendra knew he wouldn’t push the matter. Despite her smallness, no one in the land of Een was stronger than Jinx. Oki had once told Kendra that the reason Jinx was so strong was that she had accidentally swallowed a magic healing potion. Kendra wondered how a healing potion could give you super strength. But there was no denying that Jinx was the toughest critter this side of the curtain.
“Now scram!” Jinx ordered, turning smartly on her heel and slamming the door in Ratchet’s face. They heard it lock with a loud click.
“How do you like that?” Ratchet grumbled.
“Come on,” Kendra said. “There has to be another way into the tower, right Oki?”
“Why are you asking me?” the timid mouse asked.
“Because you work here,” Ratchet said, jabbing his paw at the mouse. “And you’re too honest to lie. Isn’t that why your nickname is ‘Honest Oki’? So tell us a way in.”
Oki gave his whiskery chin a nervous scratch.
“Don’t you want to know what’s going on?” Kendra asked.
“Okay, okay,” the mouse said finally. “Follow me.”
He looked quickly about to make sure no one was watching them, then climbed up to a narrow ledge a few feet from the ground. Kendra and Ratchet looked at each other in puzzlement.
“He’s your friend,” Ratchet told Kendra.
“He knows what he’s doing,” Kendra said loyally. “Come on!”
They hurried after the tiny mouse and soon found themselves beside one of the stone’s many waterfalls. It sparkled before them, changing colors as it spilled over the mysterious carvings in the wall.
“Now what?” Ratchet asked.
“Just keep your voice down,” Oki warned. “The waterfall is a secret door into the Elder Stone.”
“Oh, that’s easy enough,” Ratchet said.
He turned and marched blindly into the tumbling water. He had only taken two short steps, however, when Kendra and Oki suddenly heard a loud “Ouch!” and the raccoon fell straight back on his tail. He was drenched from head to foot but had nothing to show for the shower except a bruised nose.
“What happened?” Kendra asked.
“I hit a brick wall, that’s what,” Ratchet scowled. “What kind of trick are you trying to pull, Oki?”
“You didn’t let me finish,” the mouse squeaked. “It’s a secret entrance, you know. You have to wait until the waterfall turns blue of course!”
With that, Oki turned and stepped straight through the waterfall, just as it changed from green to blue.
“There’s a trick!” Kendra said excitedly.
“Well, here goes nothing,” Ratchet muttered, this time stepping into the waterfall more cautiously.
Kendra waited until the tip of the raccoon’s tail disappeared through the water. Then she quickly skipped after him, her mind racing with thoughts of adventure.
IF YOU HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE with castles or dungeons, you will know that they are dark places, often a maze of twisted passageways and winding staircases, where it is all too easy to get lost. The Elder Stone was no different, and it was only Oki’s knowledge of the mighty rock that allowed our friends to find their way. The tiny mouse lifted a torch from the wall and led Kendra and Ratchet quietly but surely through the crooked corridors and shadowy rooms of the rock.
At last, he came to a stop before a plain wooden door. He opened it with a gentle nudge of his paw, and the band of would-be spies found themselves in a small room with a swatch of red curtain drawn across the far wall.
“On the other side of that curtain is the council chamber where the elders meet,” Oki whispered. “All we have to do is hide here, and we’ll be able to hear their every word.”
Kendra and her friends poked their noses through the curtain and gazed upon the chamber. It was small and circular, and it was dimly lit by a few flickering torches set in the wall. In the very center of the room there was a small glistening pool, and around one side of the pool were seven seats, placed there for the elders. Most of them had alre
ady taken their places, including Uncle Griffinskitch and the ornery Burdock Brown. Kendra recognized the other elders as well: Becka Bluebell, Enid Evermoon, Skarab Strom, and Nora Neverfar.
“They’re just awaiting Winter Woodsong, leader of the council,” Oki whispered. “As soon as she arrives, the meeting will begin.”
These words had no sooner left Oki’s lips when Captain Jinx marched into the room and in a highly official voice, announced: “Make way for the eldest of the elders, Winter Woodsong, leader of the council!”
The elders had been engaged in hushed whispers, but they immediately fell silent and turned their heads towards a small door in the far corner of the room. After a moment the door slowly creaked open and there appeared a tiny Een, so white and frail that she made Uncle Griffinskitch seem as spry and able as a spring chicken. Kendra had never seen Winter Woodsong before, but there was no mistaking Winter’s nobility and grace. She leaned heavily on a twisted wooden staff and drew labored breaths as she walked. Deep wrinkles lined her round face, and her clear blue eyes glimmered with friendly wisdom, the kind that Kendra imagined a grandmother or favorite aunt would have. (Kendra herself, however, had never known any relative other than Uncle Griffinskitch.)
“Welcome all,” Winter greeted as she took her seat among the elders. “I apologize for calling this urgent meeting. But the unthinkable has happened. A monster from the outside world has breached the magic curtain of Een.”
A gasp went across the room. The elders looked at each other, bewildered and speechless.
“That’s impossible!” Burdock Brown exclaimed, his one dark eyebrow twisting and arching on his furrowed brow. “Only Eens and Een animals can go through the curtain!”
“You have all seen the terrible hole,” Winter said. “No inhabitant of Een could have ripped such a black pit through the earth.”
“I saw the shadow of this wretched creature,” Uncle Griffinskitch remarked in his deep, gravelly voice. “But I know not what it was.”
Kendra Kandlestar and the Box of Whispers Page 2