Their children, Robin and Meira, were about three years old. Mika had told every fairy in the castle to go and dance and have a good time. He and Gloria and Nancy Belle would watch over the children.
Little Robin was like Mika, with curly red hair and green eyes. Meira was like her mother, with golden hair and blue eyes. Mika and Gloria and Nancy Belle sat looking out the window, with the two cribs beside them. The babies were asleep.
At midnight, telling Nancy Belle they would be right back, Gloria and Mika stepped out through the glass doors that led onto a balcony, and looked out. There on the smooth grass the Grand March was taking place. King Klux and Queen Meira led the way, and behind them all their families and important personages such as Flumpdoria and Glauz. They gazed enraptured at the sight of hundreds of tiny fairies dancing along, shining with softly varying lights. The moon shone brightly, and warm soft breezes caressed their faces, bringing the scent of flowers.
There was a sudden little cry from the nursery and they both turned quickly and went back into the room.
There was Nancy Belle, fast asleep beside the two cribs. They hurried over to be sure the babies were all right. Little Meira was in hers, fast asleep and smiling. They looked into Robin’s crib and—
There lay a green, ugly little goblin child, clutching at the covers with hairy, four-fingered paws, with claw-like nails! He had bright red wicked eyes, not much nose at all, pointed ears, and long front teeth like an animal.
Gloria screamed. “Oh, Mika, Mika! They’ve taken my baby! What shall we do? Where is he?”
“I’ll find him, darling,” Mika said. “I must find Flumpdoria.”
“Here I am,” said Flumpdoria, and so she was. The fairy ball had broken up at the first sound of Gloria’s scream. Flumpdoria quickly grew to mortal stature, as she usually did when in the castle.
A host of other fairies crowded in at the door behind the King and Queen, and there was great agitation and fury when they saw the changeling lying in Robin’s crib. The little goblin was enjoying the whole thing, kicking and grinning, and trying to bite anyone who came near enough.
At last King Klux roared, “SILENCE!” and at once everyone was quiet. “This is a terrible thing,” he said. “Flumpdoria, Glauz, Gloria, Mika, the Queen and I will retire to discuss what is to be done. The rest of you please search the castle for goblins. Any number may still be hiding in here.”
Gloria scooped up little Meira and they gathered in the tower room. Glauz put a spell on the tower so no goblin could get in.
“Glauz is a wise man,” the king said. “Let us hear what he has to say.”
“Your Majesty,” Glauz said, “we must have a guard around the princess Gloria and the baby. Soldiers should patrol every entrance to the castle. Someone must go into the goblin country secretly—”
“I am going,” said Mika.
“How can you go, large as you are, without being caught?” the King said. “I told you not to lend that Mouse to King Ferdinand. Letting mortals fool around with magic… It will take far too long to get it back now.”
“Flumpdoria will lend me her cloak of invisibility,” Mika said. “I’ve been studying magic. I think I have a chance.”
“I will organize my best magicians to aid you,” Glauz said.
“Very well,” said the King. “My soldiers will keep them fighting at all the main entrances to the goblin kingdom.”
Gloria began to weep again. “I just know he’ll catch pneumonia in those damp caves, and he’ll be so frightened.”
“I’m going now,” Mika said.
“Just a minute.” Flumpdoria vanished as she spoke, and was back again in a moment or two. “Here,” she said. “This is Goblin Dust. One grain on their skin is so painful they become frantic, and cannot do anything until they have covered themselves with butter. This is all the Goblin Dust I could get on such short notice.”
Mika took the little bag and tied it at his waist. Then he strapped on his sword and Flumpdoria handed him the cloak of invisibility. He slung it about his shoulders and was immediately lost to view. Gloria was a little startled when he kissed her goodbye, since she couldn’t see him. The door seemed to open and shut by itself, and he was gone.
Poor Nancy Belle was still sitting in her chair in the magic sleep the goblins had put upon her. Flumpdoria woke her with a wave of her wand, and they had to tell her the story.
She couldn’t see the goblin child in Robin’s crib. Flumpdoria rubbed some ointment on her eyelids, so that from then on she could see any fairy being, and be warned if anything came near little Meira. When she saw the little monster, being a practical woman, Nancy Belle picked him up with the fire tongs and threw him out the window. He spread his little bat wings and sailed to the ground.
5
IN THE GOBLIN CAVERNS
Mika, having added a knapsack with food and water to his other equipment, knew he must find an unguarded entrance to the goblin caverns, where he could slip in without being noticed. He didn’t want the goblins to be able to follow him, so he didn’t want to walk through the tall grass. As he stood on a balcony above the ground, he felt a little breeze blowing, and he stopped it with a magic word. It swirled gently around his head.
“Please find the West Wind for me, Breeze. It’s urgent. The goblins have stolen my little boy.”
“They have?” the breeze said excitedly. “I saw a great crowd of goblins hurrying along. They went over the mountain, Your Highness, toward the South. I wondered what so many goblins were doing above ground.”
“I want the West Wind to carry me over the goblin grasses.”
The breeze whisked off and presently Mika heard the West Wind whooping through the valley. “This is terrible!” he roared, picking up Mika and whirling around in circles. “Which way? Which way?”
“South. They’ve taken him South. I want to look for an entrance to the goblin caverns.”
“I know one,” the West Wind said. “It’s a large dead tree. Tonight there were three owls in it, and seven bats, and eleven large spiders spinning webs.”
“It’s a sure sign,” said Mika. “Hurry!”
The West Wind roared along, and soon Mika could see the tree he had spoken of. It was very large and black in the moonlight, with great crooked limbs like deformed arms, stretched against the sky. There was thick goblin grass around the tree, and a strange, menacing atmosphere about the lonely, rocky mountainside. The three owls cried, “Whoooo, whoooo,” in mournful, dead tones, the seven bats fluttered and swooped, and eleven huge spiders worked busily, spinning a web over the tree.
The West Wind set Mika down gently, and he worked his way around the tree through the thick high grass. He came abruptly to a black hole in the trunk, just large enough for him to enter. He started to climb in, then stood back. He took out his sword and rapped hard on the tree. Immediately an ugly goblin head poked itself out.
Mika seized the thing, although it made his flesh crawl to touch it. The goblin came out kicking and scratching and Mika threw it high above his head. The West Wind caught it up, murmuring, “Good luck, Your Highness,” and zoomed away with it to leave it far away on a distant mountaintop.
Mika stepped into the hole in the tree. It opened into a passage that went steeply down. Creeping along, slowly, for he could see nothing, he hoped there wouldn’t be another goblin guard anywhere near.
The air became more damp and chilly, and he thought the narrow passage would never end. At last it began to run less steeply, and Mika found that he could see a little. There was a faint glow far ahead. He went a cautious step at a time, and at last came to a bend in the passage. Around this bend the passage ended, opening into a large hollowed cavern. A fire was burning in the middle of the floor, and a goblin was sitting staring vacantly into it.
Mika crept toward the goblin inch by inch. If he could get close enough to touch him and say a magic word, he would be safe. But if the goblin saw him and made the defensive sign, no fairy spell could harm him. Gobli
ns have a keen sense of smell, and Mika knew he brought with him the scent of grass and flowers.
Mika made no noise. He hardly breathed as he edged nearer.
Then suddenly the goblin raised his head. Mika saw his nostrils twitching and sniffing. He sprang toward the goblin, who leaped up and stared about, though he could see nothing, his eyes gleaming red, his lips drawn back from his sharp teeth. He threw up his arm and began to make the first motion of the defensive sign.
Mika threw himself full length and slid along the floor, just managing to grasp the goblin by the ankle, saying the magic word, glbunfolzzzwpeeeexx, very fast, and the goblin’s arm fell to his side as he fell senseless to the ground.
Mika stood up and adjusted his cloak, breathing heavily.
Across the cavern he could see a black passage leading still farther into the earth. Far down this passage he saw a gleam. He fastened his cloak of invisibility more securely. If a goblin came in here, he should be able to keep far enough away from him in a place as large as this.
The gleam came nearer, a goblin with a torch. Before it reached the cavern, however, it turned aside to the left, and disappeared, apparently down another passage that opened from the first one.
After waiting to give the goblin a start, Mika crossed the cavern and headed down the passage after him, hoping to follow him to the heart of the goblin kingdom. As the goblin had done, he turned into the branching passage, feeling his way along, but he had only gone a little way when he saw the glow of the goblin coming back.
He retreated back into the cavern, hoping the goblin would think the one by the fire was just asleep. Then he sighed with relief, for the goblin turned and went back the way it had come without ever looking into the cavern.
Mika started after him as quietly as he could. But the goblin went very quickly, and the passage divided again and again, into countless tunnels, and before he had gone any distance Mika had lost him completely.
There was no use going any farther. He was in complete darkness, and if he kept on he would only get lost in the maze of passages. He slowly retraced his steps to the cavern, wondering what to do.
Then he thought of the passage where the goblin had turned off. He had come back quickly, but maybe there were other goblins down that way whom he could watch and follow. He felt his way cautiously and was pleased that he didn’t find any tunnels leading off, so that so far he couldn’t get lost.
Then the tunnel made a sharp turn to the left, and around the corner he saw a faint, rosy glow. He listened, but could hear no voices. As he went forward, the glow became brighter, and at another turn he peered carefully around. The passage ended in a small, hollowed-out, rocky cavern. The entrance was barred by a heavy iron mesh, very fine.
Behind this barrier, over in a corner, was a tiny glowing thing sitting disconsolately on the ground, its arms about its knees. It was a Fire Fairy.
Mika’s heart leaped joyfully. Here was a captive, who might help find Robin. “Hello,” he said, and the little creature looked up, startled. Mika remembered his cloak of invisibility, and took it off quickly. The Fire Fairy saw him, and fluttered over to the iron screen that separated them.
“How did you get in here?” he said. “Who are you?”
“I’m Prince Mika. We must get you out of there.”
“Well, I can’t get myself out, or I would have done it long ago,” the Fire Fairy said gloomily. “I suppose you’re looking for Robin. If you can get me out of here, I may be able to help you. I’m Floam. My father is General of the Army of the Fire King, and I hope he’s looking for me.”
“How long have you been here?”
“About a month, I think. I’m in solitary confinement because I won’t give enough light. I stay dim to annoy them. They’re always trying to catch Fire Fairies because with us around they don’t need torches.” Floam wasn’t dim just then; he was positively glowing with indignation.
Mika tried to force the strands of iron mesh apart, but it was too strong. “I suppose you can’t squeeze through,” he said.
“I can make myself small, but not that small.”
“Let me think a minute,” Mika said. “There’s the Seven-Way Spell,” he said after a minute, “and the Upside-Down Spell, and the Blue Candle Enchantment but we haven’t any candles—and then there’s the Three-Layer Rapid Rhythm Incantation—”
“Now be careful,” Floam said anxiously.
“Oh, this magic isn’t dangerous,” Mika said. “It’s just for breaking down iron and other hard substances. Maybe one will work.”
So Mika said, “Blrurururribiseven-waisie—” and on through the Seven-Way Spell, with appropriate gestures. Floam waited nervously, standing as far away as he could get. He watched the iron barrier, holding his breath. At the last word the iron grating began to shake. It shook for half a minute, but it didn’t fall down or disappear.
Mika went up and pushed it. “It’s a little looser at the sides,” he said, “but I can’t bend it.”
“Try another. Quickly,” Floam said.
So Mika did the Upside-Down Spell, and again the grating shuddered for a moment, but still stood firm. “I’ll try the Three-Layer,” he said. He took seven deep breaths, stretched his arms upward, and began: “Bildum, buldum, eldif roopp—”
It took him ten minutes to say the Three-Layer Rapid Rhythm Incantation, saying the words faster and faster all the time. At the last word he waved his arms in a circle three times, and touched the grating lightly. It quivered a bit, and that was all.
Floam gave a low wail of despair and sat down on the floor.
Mika pushed against the grating, hard, and almost fell down, for it gave before him. It stretched just like rubber, then snapped back into place.
“Quick, quick! Come out, Floam! It may harden up again any minute.” Mika pushed his fingers into the grating and stretched some of the strands apart enough for Floam. Floam leaped through.
“Glorious!” he exclaimed fierily. “Marvelous.”
“Let’s go,” Mika said. “Do you know where Robin is?”
“He’s somewhere in the Goblin King’s palace. I was there before they put me in jail. They talked about it in front of me because they thought I couldn’t get out. I think I can find the way there. Just follow along.”
Mika followed him eagerly. He was in such a hurry he kept bumping into the Fire Fairy. “I wish you weren’t so big,” Floam said at last. “Can’t you shrink?”
“Not for almost a thousand years,” Mika said.
They walked in silence for some time, guided by Floam’s dimmest glow. He seemed to know where he was going and never hesitated long as to which passage to take. Most of them had dirt floors and sometimes there were footprints to follow.
“It’s a question of finding the traveled ways,” Floam said.
Mika was almost frantic with anxiety. There was no telling how the creatures might be frightening the little boy. Turn after turn, mile after mile, deeper and deeper into the earth. There was no sound except the drip, drip of water somewhere, falling from the damp ceiling. A clammy, musty smell grew stronger as they went farther into the earth.
Then, after a long while, the way was more level, and they began to go through huge caverns, with doors of rock or iron set into them.
“Ordinarily there’d be goblins around here,” Floam said. “I wonder where they all are.”
“I expect they’re above ground defending the entrances to the kingdom,” Mika said.
Then they heard voices some distance away. “You’d better get under my cloak,” said Mika. Floam flew up and perched on Mika’s arm, drawing about him the folds of the cloak of invisibility. The sound of voices became louder. Then they could perceive faint flickerings of light.
They stopped where the passage turned sharply, and peered around the corner. There was a cavern hollowed out of rock, so vast that it was impossible to see to the end of it. Great pillars of rock supported the ceiling, and cross beams connected these pillars. From the
pillars hung huge lanterns, suspended by chains, lighting up the strangest thing of all. For there in the center of the cavern was a huge castle!
It was built entirely of some very shiny black rock, and the lanterns were reflected in it in bright points of red fire.
“That’s the Royal Palace,” Floam said softly.
“What’s it made of?” Mika whispered. “Coal?”
“I don’t know. Listen to that racket.”
On the floor of the cavern many fires were burning, and around the fires were seated hordes of goblins, shouting and laughing and calling to each other. Their red eyes flashed, and sharp teeth gleamed. They were all dressed in dark red or brown, except some in black who were armed with heavy swords and stone clubs.
“They’re soldiers,” Floam told Mika. “The others are the workers. They’re having a holiday. Listen.”
A goblin leaped up and screamed at the top of his voice: “Hurrah for King Krustigrubb! Glorious, mighty, invincible, clever King Krustigrubb!”
All the goblins took up the cry, and the deafening shout echoed and re-echoed through the cavern.
“We’ll conquer the fairies, all of them! We’ll keep the child and teach him to be a goblin, and lead him against his own people!”
They kept shouting the same things over and over again.
“I’m sure Robin is in the palace,” Floam said.
“I don’t think we’ll have much trouble getting past this noisy rabble here,” Mika said. He crept out of the passage. There was plenty of room to keep away from the goblins, so he walked boldly into the open and headed for the palace. There were two of the black-clad soldiers at the main entrance. Slowly circling the grim castle, Mika looked for an opening. “If I only had my wings again,” he said, “we could go in a window. We’ll just have to be fast.” He took a deep breath, said, “Hang on,” to Floam, and started rapidly toward the palace, weaving in and out through the crowd of goblins.
Shadow Castle Page 4