She was Kay freaking Kingfisher.
Wordlessly, with the water rushing away behind them in the wrong direction, they made their way to the floor of the gorge. When they all reached the bottom, Artie and Kay knelt so that the three of them could share a group hug at Thumb’s height.
They pulled away after a few moments, their arms locked over one another’s shoulders. Thumb took turns looking each Kingfisher in the eyes. “That was fantastic, lads, just smashing. No matter what happens, I want you to know that I’m proud of you both.”
Artie and Kay smiled, feeling for a second more like kids with their uncle at an important game than a pair of knights on a foolish, Otherworldly errand.
They caught their breaths. Then they broke their embrace and rose. Kay removed the helmets from Artie’s backpack and they slipped them on. They drew their weapons and resumed walking.
They moved wordlessly on a well-worn footpath next to the stream, which at the bottom of the gorge flowed easily and pleasantly.
The mouth of the cave was a perfect and dark semicircle carved out of the same black basalt as the egg-shaped boulder. Framing the immediate opening of the cave were two red cedar trees that had been forced to grow in great curves. They met and joined into one giant tree at the top of the cave’s opening. High above the cedars’ deep-green needles hung a low, gray sky. It was breathtaking.
“Tiberius must have a serious green thumb to make a couple trees do that,” Kay joked. Artie and Thumb chuckled a little but not much.
The water flowed out of the cave from the dim light deep within.
Thumb ripped his sword through the air twice. Artie nodded. Kay slapped her helmet. Walking side by side, they entered the cave of Tiberius.
28
HOW THE GREAT GREEN DRAGON SENT THE KNIGHTS TO THE ARENA
After a dozen yards the cave opened from a wide, rugged hallway into a soaring natural cathedral of stone and earth. Tiberius appeared to be out.
As they gathered in a circle, Thumb said, “There’s something you should be aware of regarding green dragons.”
“Yeah, what’s that, Tommy?” Kay asked, gaping at the tip of a stalactite high overhead.
“They don’t breathe fire—or acid, as I believe they do in your video game, Artie—but they do expel something that can freeze things into rock.”
“Great,” Artie said, sounding totally unpsyched.
“I hear that you’re quite safe—but a little uncomfortable—if a green dragon freezes you. I hope it won’t happen, but if it does, the important thing is to remain calm. You have my word that I’ll get you out.”
“Check, check, and ditto, Tommy,” Kay said. Artie nodded.
Then they took a closer look at the dragon’s home. It was very tidy. There were neat piles of bones and tree branches and a massive heap of something that looked like cotton. It also smelled incredibly fresh—which was exactly the opposite of what Artie expected of a dragon’s cave.
As for the stream, it was, without doubt, the Font of Sylvan. The flow of water originated from a gentle whirlpool about ten feet across. Erected over it was a gazebo of twisted branches, many of which still had leaves on them. These were of every color in the rainbow, even blue and purple, and they were beautiful.
Finally Kay said, “Well, looks like nobody’s home, huh?”
She’d spoken too soon.
Artie saw it first. The dirt and rock of the near side of the cave appeared to rearrange itself like an earthen Transformer. He gasped. Kay and Thumb wheeled. The “wall” began to shimmer like a pattern of water reflections on a ceiling, and within seconds the whole form turned green and was revealed in all its scaly magnificence.
The tail was what came to the ground first, with barely a whisper. Then the hind legs, and the forelegs, and the neck and head. All completely without noise.
Once its heft was settled on the cave floor, it turned, and at last the three startled knights came face-to-face with the great green dragon.
Its mouth was closed. Its nostrils flared. Its ruffled, Chinese-dragon mane moved as though a soft breeze blew over it. Its eyes blinked.
It remained eerily silent.
There was no question in Artie’s mind that this was the same dragon that had attacked them over the Lake. It had the same golden, ramlike horns, the same rubied canine teeth, and the same brilliant and beautiful rainbow eyes.
Thumb bowed low and said, “Keeper Tiberius, Guardian of Lord Numinae, I, Sir Tom Thumb, greet you humbly on behalf of His Eminence, King Arthur Kingfisher, and his Knight of the First Order, Sir Kay.”
Kay said quietly, “Nicely done, Tommy!” but the little man, still low to the ground and standing on ceremony, shot her a stern glance.
Artie bowed but was otherwise clueless. The dragon turned his head slightly and grunted “Hmmmph” through his nose. Something black rose from his nostrils, but it wasn’t smoke. It seemed impossible … but it looked like glass.
Thumb continued, “We request an audience—”
But before he could finish, the dragon reared and spit something black and shiny on Thumb. At first he looked like Han Solo encased in carbonite—his arms up, his sword out, and his face grimacing—but then the black substance unfolded around him, making sounds of breaking glass and sliding stone. In moments, Thumb was hidden from them in an egg-shaped hunk of black basalt about three feet tall.
The Thumb-egg teetered and fell to the side, rocking back and forth.
Kay screamed and began to move on the dragon, but Artie stuck out Excalibur and stopped her. The dragon ignored Kay and homed in on Artie.
“Needn’t worry,” the dragon sang. Its voice was so low and heavy that they felt it more than they heard it. “The small man is safer there. Quite alive.”
“Why’d you do that?” Kay demanded.
Tiberius continued to stare at Artie. He said, “Hmmmph. I feltn’t like talking to him. Not yet. And aside, he’sn’t to see Lord Numinae. You are.”
Tiberius settled nonchalantly on the ground and placed his chin on his forelegs like a fat housecat.
Thinking of Qwon, Artie said, “Fine. Let’s see Lord Numinae, then.”
The dragon looked away. “Hmmmph. You mightn’t be a new pretender?”
Kay blurted, “Look, I don’t know who you think you are, but—”
“Who’m I? And who’re you thinking you are, infant child?”
“Infant!” Kay started, but the dragon loudly snapped one of his long, pointy ears, and Kay shut up.
“I’m older’n Merlin, Numinae, and Jester Thumb added into one. To me, an infant you are.”
Artie asked, “What do you mean, ‘pretender’?”
The dragon slowly blinked. He looked sleepy. “Hmmph. I know who you are, byrnsweord bearer. I was just wonder’n who you think you are.”
Artie was amazed. This fantastic creature had cut to the heart of the matter. Wasn’t this the question Artie wanted answered more than any other? Wasn’t this question the reason why Artie had agreed to go along with all of this craziness in the first place? A dragon he’d known for less than five minutes had pegged him. A dragon.
“Well,” Artie answered, “I’m King Artie Kingfisher, and as Tom said, I wish to see Lord Numinae. He has something I need, and someone I want back.”
The dragon looked away casually and batted Thumb’s egg like it was toy. He said, “The something perhaps he’ll give. The someone I doubt he’ll return. But this is for Numinae to say. He wants to see’n you too, little king, though I don’t know why. If’t were my choice, I’d freeze you both and return Excalibur to its sleep’n place. Too much trouble otherwise.”
“But it’s not your choice,” Kay said, seeking assurance. Talking with this creature gave her the creeps, and she was eager to get on with things.
“No. ’Tisn’t. Hmmph.” Tiberius was clearly disappointed about this.
Artie was relieved. He said, “Okay, then take us to Numinae.”
The dragon smiled. “Haste
n not, little ’uns. Three conditions must be met. The first’n has.” He stuck his chin at Thumb.
“You mean freezing Thumb?” Artie asked. The dragon nodded. “When we come back, will you release him?”
Tiberius said, “If ’n you make it back, he’ll be a-resting here.” For emphasis the dragon stuck a claw into the ground—really, into the ground. He drew it out and it made an awful, claw-on-chalkboard kind of noise. “Quite alive he’ll be.”
“Okay,” Artie said uneasily. “What’re the other conditions?”
“No moongates. If you flee and ever come back, I’ll freeze’n you like your companion. Forever.”
“Okay, we have to get it done now,” Kay said. “What else?”
The dragon reached across to Artie. Its front paw was the size of a love seat. Artie recoiled instinctively but he knew, somehow, that for the moment Tiberius was harmless.
The dragon flicked Excalibur’s scabbard. “This’n stays here.”
“Great,” Kay said sarcastically.
Artie asked, “Can Kay come with me?”
“Hmmmph.”
“That’s a yes.”
“Yes.”
Artie unstrapped the scabbard and laid it at his feet. “Fine, then. We’ll go together to Numinae, both vulnerable.”
Kay tried to protest, but Artie held up his hand. “It’s only fair.”
All the dragon said was, “Hmmmmmmmph,” but it was so weighty and guttural that it was clear that he didn’t hold the concept of fairness in high esteem. Since dragons probably were always at an advantage, this made perfect sense to Artie.
At last the dragon stood. Artie and Kay held their breaths as it backed up. It raised its relatively small wings as it lumbered back and forth on its muscular haunches. It came to a stop and looked down. In the wall was a low, black hole.
“A test lies through there. Get the comb. Only then will Lord Numinae be awaiting.”
“Another test? Man, these guys love tests. You all should have been teachers instead of crazy dragons and wizards and spirits or whatever,” Kay said. Then she grabbed Artie’s hand and squeezed it tight.
Artie asked, “Ready, Sis?”
Kay nodded. “Let’s do this.”
Hand in hand, they walked into the small cave and disappeared.
Kay hollered, “See ya later, Tiberius!”
But the dragon, standing over their departure, said nothing.
29
IN WHICH ARTIE AND KAY ARE TESTED ONE MORE FREAKING TIM E
Artie asked Excalibur for some light. They were in a narrow capillary of rock, and after about a hundred feet they emerged in a wide field of ankle-high grass. The sun was screened behind a sheet of clouds, its bright disk clear and sharp.
They looked back. A large boulder was buried in the ground, and in the middle of this was the cave’s mouth. Surrounding the field in a neat circle were thick woods of oak and ash.
Kay grasped Cleomede with both hands. She asked, “What do you think he meant by ‘the comb’?”
Artie held Excalibur in his right hand and drew his dagger, Carnwennan, with his left. He hit his buckler, fastened on his left arm, with the sword’s pommel, making sure it was tight. “I think I know but I don’t want to say it.”
Suddenly the treetops in front of them shook to life. Unseen branches snapped. The woods seized, and whatever was making the commotion moved from left to right over a distance of about thirty feet.
And then two massive oaks bent and parted as the thing pushed by them.
It was Twrch Trwyth.
“Oh fudge.” Kay sighed.
“Yeah,” Artie said half heartedly.
The boar jumped and pawed the ground ferociously. It was about a hundred feet away. Steam rose from its snotty nostrils, and its eyes glowed like embers. Its wiry hair bristled. The bright silver comb atop its head was plain to see.
A wind kicked up as the animal lowered its head and began to pace tightly, never dropping the Kingfishers from its sight. The treetops hissed and danced, and the wind carried a whisper that was more rustling leaves than insistent voice: “Bring me the comb.”
The whisper was clearly Numinae.
Then the boar charged.
Shoulder to shoulder, Artie and Kay backpedaled furiously. At the last minute they bumped into the boulder with the cave entrance—which was now gone—and upon hitting this, each jumped sideways, away from each other.
The animal came hard and headfirst into the rock. It made an awful noise, like a massive tree trunk snapping under the weight of a tornado.
The boar grunted and backed up, the Kingfishers flanking it. It should have been bleeding but it wasn’t. Then it reared, shuddered its head, and turned on Kay.
Artie quickly attacked its hindquarters. Excalibur easily sliced through skin and tendons, but again, there was no blood.
The animal growled like a dog and spun to Artie. Kay saw where her brother had cut the creature and, unbelievably, its bloodless wounds closed and healed themselves.
Suddenly Artie’s sword hand tingled. Excalibur was trying to tell him something.
But he didn’t have time to contemplate this because the boar charged again. Defensively Artie drew the flat side of Excalibur between his body and the boar’s pointed, filthy tusks. As they hit him, flecks of putrid spittle lashed Artie’s face.
The force of contact was awful. Artie’s guts sloshed as the pig lifted him high into the air. Twrch Trwyth tossed its head and caught Excalibur crossways through its tusks. Artie held on for dear life as he stabbed furiously at the hard ridge of the animal’s nose with his dagger. But the dagger was to the boar like a mosquito to an elephant.
Twrch Trwyth jostled its head again, and suddenly Artie found himself in arm’s reach of the comb. This was his chance. Time slowed slightly. He reached out with the dagger and cut the hair that held the comb.
It was free!
But then, right before Artie’s eyes, the hair of the boar reformed, and creepily tied the comb back into place.
Artie couldn’t believe it.
The animal reared, and Artie was nearly turned upside down as Kay swung and chopped off the boar’s right hind leg just below the knee.
There was a great hissing sound from the stump, and the creature toppled. As it fell, Artie’s dagger drove into one of the boar’s reddened eyeballs. It exploded like a rotten tomato. As the boar hit the ground, Artie came free and rolled to safety.
Artie and Kay were still many paces apart when his hand tingled so much it almost hurt. And suddenly Artie understood: Excalibur wanted to be paired with Cleomede.
Artie started to move toward Kay as Twrch Trwyth twisted its powerful body like an acrobat. It didn’t seem to be bothered in the least that it had three legs instead of four.
“What now, Bro?”
“I think we need to get our swords together!”
“Sounds good!”
But then, as it hopped and retreated a little, the boar found its severed leg. It lowered its mouth and in a single motion picked up the thing and gobbled it down. Not more than a second later, its rear right leg grew back. It lowered its head and took a few careful steps toward them. Its empty eye socket began to smoke, and then flame, and then it went out.
Its eye was back too.
It raised its head and appeared to smile.
Kay rolled her eyes. “Oh super fudge !”
“No kidding. We need some help,” Artie said.
And that’s when Artie remember Cable and his calling card!
Immediately Artie screamed the wolf-man’s name, and then he howled at the top of his lungs.
Twrch Trwyth paused for a moment, a look of uncertainty crossing its face. It twitched one way and the next.
But nothing happened.
Artie and Kay moved next to each other. Each felt the other’s heart quicken, and each felt the other’s despair deepen.
The boar lowered its cinder-block head and charged again.
And then
something did happen.
Cable joined the battle so quickly they didn’t even see him arrive. He was faster than Twrch Trwyth. Much, much faster. When he skidded to a stop, tearing massive clumps of grass around his legs, they’d never been so happy to see someone in their lives.
Cable had grown in size and was as big as Twrch Trwyth, and more frightening by half.
Artie and Kay gazed in amazement at their canine friend. For some reason he had a bone in his mouth.
No—not a bone. A tusk!
Artie looked at the boar. It was minus a tooth.
Artie and Kay cheered as Twrch Trwyth turned from them and confronted Cable.
The wolf juggled the long tusk in his own powerful mouth and then bit down hard and snapped it in two. The pieces fell to the ground and disintegrated to dust.
The boar squealed.
Kay yelled, “Yeah!”
Artie held out his sword and said, “Kay, cross Cleomede with Excalibur!”
She did. Excalibur and Cleomede sparked at their point of contact. They spoke a language to each other that Artie and Kay could not understand, but they felt it. Boy, did they feel it. Like the Kingfishers, Excalibur and Cleomede had a special relationship. And Excalibur seemed to know that put together—the Kingfishers plus their swords—they would form a powerful quartet.
They moved to within a few feet of the buried stone. Artie said, “I think together our swords can cut that thing’s hair and then we can get the comb!”
“Got it,” Kay exclaimed.
Cable continued to turn as the boar mirrored him. The wolf’s eyes made quick stabs at Artie and Kay, assessing their readiness. The Kingfishers braced themselves against the rock. Cable was going to drive the boar right to them.
The wolf-man lunged, lightning fast. The boar managed to catch Cable under the chin with its remaining tusk. It made a deep gouge and cast a spray of red blood over the field.
The Invisible Tower Page 19