CHAPTER 16
We marched up the beach toward a large stand of Silverweft trees that stood apart from the Kaleidoscope Forest. The center was an enormous circle, and lines of trees meandered out into the sea, creating little bays between. It seemed as though they had been placed just so.
“I’ve never met a Flimflam before,” Gruffy said. “Though I have heard stories.”
“What are they?” I asked.
“Um.” He seemed at a loss for words. “Well, they are Flimflams.”
No sooner had I asked the question than I saw a creature emerge from the Silverweft tree. At first glance, it looked like a gangly green bird. It meandered unsteadily back and forth as though it hadn’t quite gotten control of its wings. I squinted to try to see it better.
It dropped, rose again, then disappeared behind the silver branches.
“We have been noticed,” Ripple said.
“Shall we fly up there?” Gruffy asked.
“I could go look. I could go look,” Pip offered.
“Squeak.”
“Noble Squeak speaks aright,” Ripple said. “Let us bide a moment. Twould be best to curry an invitation first.”
“Can we be certain they will remember we are down here?” Gruffy asked. “Flimflams are not known for their focus.”
“Yet Flimflams are drawn to the unusual. And we are a notable group.” Ripple surveyed us. “A noble griffon. An eloquent toucan. A most clever mouse, the Mirror Man of the Kaleidoscope Forest and a Doolivanti.”
“And a lovely princess. A lovely princess,” Squeak said.
Ripple smiled at Pip. “I hardly think a Flimflam could resist us.” She turned her gaze back to the tall stand of Silverweft trees.
Sure enough, six Flimflams flew up out of the leaves, each a different color: red, blue, black, yellow, purple, and green. Gruffy, ever protective, took a step forward.
“Nay, good griffon. I fear not the Flimflams.” Ripple stepped in front of him.
As the Flimflams neared, I realized I had been wrong. They weren’t weird birds. They were flying foxes.
They landed gracefully in front of Ripple, folding their wings against their backs, and each changed as they moved forward, growing thinner, taller, becoming half-human/half-fox. The metamorphosis was so smooth that I blinked.
They stood upright, about as tall as me, and were covered in colored fur. They had doglike legs, fox faces, big bushy tails, and the body and arms of a slender human. All save one. One wasn’t a Flimflam at all, but a black snake with wings and a small piece of steel wrapped around its flat head just behind the eyes, like some kind of hastily made helmet.
The purple Flimflam wore thin silver gloves, and he stepped to the front of the group.
The green Flimflam scurried to stand beside the black snake and drew a brush from a pouch at his side. He began to paint the air above the sand with quick strokes. A roll of carpet appeared before the purple Flimflam.
The green Flimflam knelt and flipped the carpet toward us. It rolled out, covering the sand and ending an inch away from Ripple’s webbed toes.
“Gracias, Sir Vant,” said the purple Flimflam. He looked up at the princess and cocked his head. “You are the sea princess.” He stepped onto the carpet with his dog paws, his wings flexing. He had silver eyes. “And you are … so beautiful. Walking poetry. A painting in motion. A cool flame that lights the water.” He had a light Latino accent, like a couple of the kids at my school who were from Mexico. Except his accent was a little bit different. He raised a silver hand and waved it as though he was conducting an orchestra.
“They gird themselves for war,” the blue Flimflam—who stood behind the leader—said in a toneless voice. “The princess emerges from the forest and puts the Grumpalons in a state of rebellion. She wants her kingdom back from the Ink King.”
“Ah, bueno, Sir Ebral. I believe you are right,” the purple Flimflam said.
“I’m always right,” Sir Ebral replied drily.
The purple Flimflam raised an eyebrow, though he kept his gaze on Ripple.
“Ninety-eight percent of the time,” Sir Ebral amended.
The purple Flimflam adjusted the angle of his hand, and I realized he wasn’t conducting unheard music. He was painting Ripple with an invisible brush. A chill ran up my spine and I thought about how I had come to Veloran. I had written my own story—the story I wanted—on the air with an invisible pencil. And I had changed my life.
The green Flimflam had painted the carpet and made it real. I wondered if the purple Flimflam was doing something to Ripple she couldn’t see. I stepped forward to stop him.
The purple Flimflam turned his gaze to me.
His hand hovered in front of Ripple’s face, unmoving. He stood there for a long, quiet moment, then spoke again.
“You…” He glanced at the fiery gash in the sky, then back at me. “I dreamed of you. I dreamed you were coming. The girl with the midnight hair and eyes of the evening sky.” He peeled his silver gloves off and let them go. They wobbled, turning into spheres of water and floated right next to him. He moved toward me, and as he did, he transformed further, becoming human: a teenage boy barely older than me. He had a straight, pointed nose, black wavy hair to his shoulders and tanned skin. His eyes were the same glinting silver color they had been when he was a fox. He wore loose purple pants and a purple vest over his bare chest. “You are from Earth…” he murmured, then reached out to touch my face.
Gruffy rumbled in his chest, but Ripple put a hand on the griffon’s feathery mane. “Bide,” she murmured.
I caught the purple Flimflam boy’s hand, keeping him from touching my face, and turned his gesture into an awkward handshake.
“Pleased to meet you.” His fingers were slender and strong.
The purple Flimflam smiled, revealing shining white canine teeth. “You are not supposed to be here.” He echoed what Jimmy had said.
“I…” I began.
The green Flimflam scurried over to the purple Flimflam, keeping low to the ground. He tugged on the leader’s pant leg.
The purple Flimflam looked down as though just noticing he wasn’t alone with me. “Sí, of course, Sir Vant.” He stepped back and my panic subsided. The way he looked at me, into me … It was as if he knew my entire history at a glance.
“Por favor, allow me to make introductions,” the purple Flimflam said. “I am Sir Real, first painter of the Flimflams.” He gestured to the green Flimflam who was so bent over that his head barely came up to Sir Real’s waist. “This is Sir Vant.”
He turned, gesturing to the blue Flimflam. “Behind me is Sir Ebral.”
“In point of clarification,” Sir Ebral said in his monotone, “we are not all painters.”
“And beside Sir Ebral,” Sir Real continued, pointing at the yellow Flimflam, “is Sir Kewitous.”
“Thank you,” Sir Kewitous said. “I’d been on my platform all day, not that the day is very old. That is to say, I’d been wanting an excuse to take a break from the cookies I’d been painting. I do love them, and was trying to get them just right before I ate them, you see. At any rate, at that moment my brother, Sir Cuhl, rolled in. He wasn’t the one to tell me that you were approaching, though. I daresay he wasn’t aware himself. But he had smelled the cookies, you see, and he loves cookies. And he did precede Sir Vant, who had been sent to gather us at the behest of Sir Real. Which, after a brief flight, led me here. And so I owe you for giving me my needed break. My point is: it is a pleasure to meet you.”
Sir Real smiled, as though he had anticipated a lengthy speech from Sir Kewitous, and moved on to the red Flimflam, who stood straight, one finger in the air as though he was about to say something.
“This is Sir Tain,” Sir Real said.
“Absolutely!” Sir Tain bellowed, slicing his finger down emphatically.
“And last…” Sir Real gestured at the black winged snake and paused. “This is Sir Pent.”
Sir Pent flapped up and nodded his he
ad vigorously. His makeshift helmet flew off his head and clanged on the ground. He hissed, dove down to recover it, and came back up with it askew on his head again.
“And we are all most happy to meet you,” Sir Real finished.
“Squeak,” said Squeak.
“I’m not particularly happy,” Sir Ebral said.
“But do not let that upset you,” Sir Real interjected smoothly. “He is never happy.”
“It is important to note,” Sir Ebral said, “that none of us should be happy. Too many possibilities remain uncalculated to know if we’ll even live out the day.”
Sir Real smiled affectionately, then turned to me. “Sir Ebral sees himself as a realist. That is funny, no?”
Sir Ebral frowned.
“Well, this is Gruffy the griffon,” I said. Gruffy nodded, his head high above the Flimflams. “And Pip the toucan.”
“Pleased to meet you. Pleased to meet you.” Pip flapped overhead.
“Squeak the mouse,” I said.
“Squeak.” Squeak smoothed his whiskers and bowed.
“And this is the Mirror Man. He’s also my brother Theron. And Princess Ripple of the Eternal Sea,” I finished, indicating Ripple.
Sir Real smiled slyly. “A blind Flimflam I would be,” Sir Real said, “if I could not recognize the sea princess. But you, what is your name?”
“I am Lorelei.”
Sir Real raised an eyebrow. “This is your name?”
“Yes.”
“All of your name?” He glanced at Ripple then back at me. “Cierto?”
“Yes.”
“Told you. Told you,” Pip squawked.
“Hmm.” Sir Real raised his hand and gave a careful flip to his wrist as though he was painting a curve on my face. This captured his attention for a moment. I worried again that he was casting some kind of spell, but I didn’t feel anything and nothing happened.
“We need your help,” I said.
Sir Real lowered his hand, then raised it again and brushed some light strokes. “The air holds its breath around you.” He nodded respectfully. “Doolivanti.”
“Ripple needs your help,” I stammered. “The Ink King has taken her kingdom. And…” I paused. “And, my brother and I,” I nodded at Theron, who was like a statue in his brilliant mirrored armor, “we need your help. The Ink King has taken our parents, too.”
Sir Real looked up at the tall Mirror Man. “You seek revenge,” Sir Real murmured as he tried to see past Theron’s mirrors. “The taste it leaves, they say, is cold.”
“I don’t want revenge,” I said.
“No?” Sir Real asked, his gaze lingering on Theron a moment longer, then turning back to me.
“We cannot help them,” Sir Ebral interjected. “The odds of wresting the sea kingdom from the Ratsharks and the Beetlins are ten to one.”
“And overcoming the Ink King who rules there, impossible.” Sir Real paused. “But not for her, I think.” He dabbed at the air on my left side, then considered me as though trying to decide if I needed more color.
“The Ink King is a thief,” Sir Real said. “Of kingdoms and mothers and others, you say. But you brought yourself here without invite to stay. You opened a gate and pushed yourself through. The Ink King is mild next to the danger of you.”
All of my companions turned to look at me.
“What? I’m not a threat!” I said. “I came here looking for my family. A family that Jimmy stole!”
“I am sure that this is true,” said Sir Real. “Which is why we should know more of you.”
“If you think I…” I paused. “What?”
“Of course!” exclaimed Sir Tain.
“That is not the obvious conclusion,” Sir Ebral refuted, flustered.
“No, it is not,” Sir Real said. “Not one jot.”
Sir Ebral said, “Good sense demands that—”
“She is a threat,” Sir Real continued. “That I get. But she is also Destiny’s pet.”
“Stop rhyming,” Sir Ebral said.
“Claro, what will Destiny do if we cast her aside, do you think?” Sir Real asked.
Sir Ebral thought about this for a moment, putting his furry blue fingers to his chin.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“There is more to you than I yet know. Would it be wise to let you go?”
“Rhyming is an inefficient way to speak.” Sir Ebral frowned. “For the safety of your trees, tell her to leave.”
“Send her away and she’ll come back. Her army marches to attack,” Sir Real said.
Sir Ebral sighed. “You never listen to good sense.”
“Good sense is as good sense does. As hard as nails or soft as fuzz. Sense is in all things we know. Good or bad, fast or slow. Flip side up or right side down. Take heart, good Sir, and lose your frown. I cannot cast this glint aside. That, my wonder can’t abide. We’ll rely upon my hunch. We’ll take them in and feed them lunch. What hurt to look and then take stock? Fate’s pet and I shall have a talk.”
“Absolutely!” Sir Tain exclaimed.
Sir Pent hissed, wriggling in excitement. Sir Ebral rolled his eyes.
“I invite you to my humble home,” Sir Real said, bowing low to me. “Which is better with friends than it is alone.”
CHAPTER 17
The Flimflams changed into their winged fox forms and took to the air. Theron shrank to his normal size, and he, Ripple, and I climbed aboard Gruffy. He leapt into the air with a powerful flapping and took us all up toward the giant Silverweft trees.
I had seen a few Silverwefts as we had flown over the forest, but none even half this size. The graceful silver limbs wove upward and together, lacing back and forth, creating a braid of branches with spaces through which the Flimflams darted and disappeared. Gruffy followed them and landed on a floor of silver branches woven together like a basket. The walls were made the same way. Everything grew straight from the tree. There were no hard corners or places where boards had been nailed together.
I jumped off Gruffy, and the woven floor bounced me up like a trampoline. “Bouncing braided branches!” I giggled, looking at Theron.
No sooner had we arrived than the green Flimflam arrived, deftly painting a table into existence and setting an empty tray down on it. Then he began painting on the tray. Luscious-looking grapes appeared under the deft purple strokes of his brush, then sandwiches as he brushed their right angles, the crusts of the bread.
He nodded at me. I took one of his magical sandwiches and bit into it. Chicken salad!
I went to the edge of the balcony, which had no rails, as I munched on the delicious snack and finished it. The drop was dizzying, the gentle surf lapping the white sands far below, millions of silver leaves in between. I guess creatures who could fly didn’t need rails.
Veloran’s white-streaked sky seemed closer than the blue sky of Earth. The Eternal Sea by the shore was turquoise, deepening to dark blue farther out, and then black as it joined with the storm. Behind me, the Kaleidoscope Forest began with its speckled mix of purples, greens, blues, yellows, reds, and browns. Everything here was brighter and richer than on Earth.
“It is stunning, no?” Sir Real came up beside me in his boy form.
I looked at him. It was unsettling how he kept shifting from form to form. “Did it take lots of practice? Turning from a fox to a human?”
He smirked.
“What?” I said.
“Perdóneme. I apologize. I laugh at your expense.” He bowed. “I am human.”
“You’re a Doolivanti? From Earth?”
“I am.”
“How many of us are there?”
“Some.”
“Why is everyone here allergic to giving straight answers?”
He grinned. “Not all Doolivantis are from Earth.”
“You mean, there are people from other planets?”
“Other planets. Other … places.”
“Where—”
“But none that I have ever seen lik
e you, chica.” He interrupted me. “Those who transform, yes. Those who make themselves into what they want to be. Like your brother. Like me. But none like you.”
“What do you mean?”
He gestured with his hands; he didn’t have the silver gloves this time, and I wondered where they went when he wasn’t wearing them or making them hover in the air as silver bubbles. “There is a heat all around you.” He paused. “And a danger. I am not sure Veloran has seen anything like you, either.”
“I’m not dangerous, like you think.”
“Oh, but you are.”
“I don’t want to hurt anyone!”
He paused, watching me. “I believe you. But you will. Claro.” He pointed to his left. The burning gash took up an entire corner of the sky, and it was bigger than before. “You did that, did you not?”
“I don’t know.” My heart hurt. I thought of the tiny burning thread that had come out of my chest when I first followed Gruffy.
Sir Real looked at me skeptically. “I think that you do. That appeared in the sky two days ago. How long have you been here?”
I looked away.
He jostled me with his elbow, and his serious tone changed. “Chica, I am not judging. Much.” He smirked. “Veloran calls to children. And you have better reason to be here than most. But…”
I looked back at him. “But what?”
“You forced your way in, no? You did something different.”
“I had to find my family!”
“Did Veloran offer you something? A new face? New clothes? A new name?”
Loremaster …
I felt my face flush. I thought of the beautiful blue-and-silver jacket, the leggings, and the silver boots. I thought of the burn in my chest when I had denied the persona that had been offered to me.
I waited until my voice was steady. “What about you? Why are you here?”
“Ah,” he said ruefully. “I am a painter. Since I was old enough to hold a brush.”
“You’re here ’cause you paint?”
“My father sent me to prep school, ‘with a strong math and science focus.’” He affected a deeper voice. “‘Something worthwhile. None of this slapping paint on canvas nonsense.’” He paused, drew a breath. “So I showed him. I ran away, and Veloran, she found me.”
The Wishing World Page 11