CHAPTER 32: DANGER IN DISGUISE
“Fear sets in when we have only ourselves to trust.” ~Martin Moonglow I stiffened, still holding the claw. Little by little I lifted my head to see what the claw was attached to and found myself face to face with a giant screwtail. It was far bigger than the one at the arcade. This one completely filled Daniel’s space—claws attached to fat greenish grey arms, a thick, scale-covered body, massive bald head, drooling mouth, jagged teeth, and a spiked tail that lay like a wicked slug behind him.
Inside my ear, Martin kept whispering, “Just keep that smile in place, Barry. Keep smiling. You’re doing just fine. Just fine. No sudden actions now. That’s the key. Just pull your hand away a little at a time . . . that’s it, that’s it.”
I forced my hand to make slow, deliberate moves as I let go of the claw. Only then could I bring my hand down to my side. The moment I let go, Daniel’s normal face came back into view. I tried to brace myself so my face didn’t give me away.
I didn’t do so well. Daniel had been watching me. He smirked, “You okay, kid? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”
All I could say was, “Er . . . it’s just that you remind me of a guy I saw down at the mall last week. He could be your twin.”
Martin burst out laughing. “Oh that was good, Master Barry! Verygood, indeed!” As for me, I was surprised I was still on my feet, let alone able to talk a complete sentence.
Just then, Chad’s sister, Kayla, came into the room. She, too, was all gaga over Daniel. What a non-stop giggler. She always made me want to yank the skin up around my ears. With Daniel in the room, her giggle-ometer had spiked nine notches. She made me want to shrink into a knot.
As I watched the family hover around Daniel, I could not shake a heavy sense of foreboding. Then I realized something. I was the only one who knew who Daniel really was!
What could I do? I couldn’t run up and accuse the man of anything because, in the eyes of the law, he had done nothing wrong. But there was no question. Daniel was infested with a screwtail. That meant Chad’s family was in real danger.
For the hundredth time, I wished I didn’t have spirit sight. What was the point of this socalled “gift” anyway? I couldn’t tell a soul. Who would believe me even if I did? Everybody would dismiss me as a total nut job. The reputation as “Brainy Barry” was bad enough, but Barry Bonkers? Nope. But there had to be some other way to help the Sorensons.
I felt so helpless. I need to get away and think.
I went over to the colonel. “Um . . . Mr. Sorenson, do you mind if I use your phone?” I asked. “My mom is going to wonder if I dropped off Planet Earth.”
“Of course, Barry. You go right ahead,” said the colonel. Taking me aside, he added, “As far as I’m concerned, young man, you can use anything in this house you want. You’ve done us a real service. I can’t thank you enough.”
“You’re welcome, sir,” I said. A warm glow filled my insides. Wow. Feels good to be appreciated. I found the phone and dialed home.
“Sylvia Klutzenheimer speaking.”
“Hi, Mom. It’s Barry. Can you come over to Chad’s house and pick me up?” I asked.
“Sure, son. Did you find Chad?” asked Mom.
“Yup. He’s back, safe and sound.”
“Did he come home by himself?”
“No. I had to do some pretty fast talking there for a while.”
“Well, good for you, son. I’m proud of you.” For the second time in the space of a mere two minutes, I felt good about myself.
“I’ll be over just as soon as I can,” Mom said. “Jenny says to tell you she’s proud of you, too.” I grinned to myself. Cool. Triple whammy. I should do this more often.
I went back into the living room and sat down in a corner to watch Daniel. Even if I hadn’t known he was a screwtail, I could see why the guy made the colonel nervous.
He was too smooth, like a radio talk show host. He could bat his gums about anything. I gulped. The only chink in his armor is me. I know who he is.
I knew I had to do something. If I didn’t, the Sorensons were sitting ducks. But I’m only a twelve year old nobody. How can I even pretend to take this guy on? He’s rich, good looking, and acts like he’s got the whole world by the tail. He’s invincible.
I sat there mulling over this new dilemma while my enchiladas churned inside my stomach like so much molten lava. They had tasted so good going down, but now, in the face of this crisis, they were threatening to come back up. I was glad when Mom drove in and I could escape to her car.
Colonel Sorenson followed me out. “You’ve got a fine boy here, Sylvia,” he said. “If it hadn’t been for him, Chad would still be out there somewhere. Thanks for loaning him to us.”
My mom was all sweetness and sugar. “Glad to help, Max,” she said. “Your Chad has always been a good friend for Barry. We’re happy everything turned out okay.”
“I hear you and Lucy had a great talk this afternoon,” said the colonel.
Crud. There goes my good mood kablooey right out the window. If I know Mom—and I do—that ‘talk’ was probably “fried- Barry-onrye.”
Back home, my mom gave me a big hug and told me again that she was very proud of me. Then I felt guilty. Okay, so why did I assume that Mom would air my dirty laundry with Mrs. Sorenson? I just told Chad a few hours ago to give his dad the benefit of the doubt. Maybe I should pop a few pills from my own medicine cabinet.
All of a sudden, I was exhausted. It seemed like forever since I’d been in my own bed. I longed for the smell of clean sheets and the feel of a soft pillow. Bird’s nests are made for . . . well, birds.
“Master Barry, you did very well today,” said Martin as we headed for the bedroom. “You stopped those demons out on the mountain side. You talked Chad out of staying in that cave another night. You helped him mend the rift between him and his father. And you even stayed calm in the face of that screwtail. You have had an amazing day.”
“Thanks, Martin,” I said as I wriggled out of my clothes. The keeper cleared his throat. “But now, I have a question for you.”
I yawned and flopped down on my bed. My eyelids felt like they were made of lead.
“Yeah? What’s that?” I mumbled.
“Do you have any idea what happened with the bike gang this afternoon?” Martin asked.
I shrugged and plumped up my pillow. “Nope,” I said, “I thought you knew. You’ve seen this before, right?”
Martin shook his head. “Not really. In all my millennia— and I’ve seen a great number of them—I have never seen this happen except when . . . .” He paused. “Master Barry, did that giant bird give you anything before you left Shomara, a token, a bit of something to remember him by?”
I heaved a sigh, and sat up. “Well, yeah, he did, come to think of it,” I said and yawned again. I pulled up my pajama top. “Ayshwa pulled this little sparkly thingy out of his chest and stuck it here right below my collar bone. See that?” I ran my finger over a slight bulge under the skin of my chest. “You can feel the little pokie end of it just under the surface. I forgot all about it.”
I looked over at Martin and was surprised to see him sitting on the nightstand staring off into space. Almost to himself my keeper whispered, “A blood jewel.”
“So, what’s that got to do with today?” I asked.
“Everything,” said Martin nodding his head. “So that’s what the Majesty was hinting at when he said he was accelerating your learning so that you were ready. I’m sure it has something to do with the mission.”
“Ready for what?” I asked.
“To quote you, Barry, ‘I don’t have a clue’,” Martin said. “The Majesty spoke of a mission. I suspect giving you this blood jewel plays a major part in it. We may not know all the ins and outs of it yet, but this we can be assured: the Great One is in charge and he is good.”
“Well,” I mumbled, “I’m just glad that I didn’t have to face down those ugly creatures in that bike
gang. I’ve got enough to deal with without that crowd.”
Then a flash alert hit my brain. I sat straight up. “Martin! What am I going to do about that screwtail today, the one at Chad’s house? The Sorenson family is indanger but I can’t tell them.”
Martin blinked. “What do you mean, Master Barry?”
“Daniel Marek. We both know he’s AAD—armed and dangerous. Trouble is, the Sorensons all think the guy hung the moon. Well, okay. The colonel doesn’t but the rest of them do. They would never believe he’s a criminal. What’ll I do? I just can’t stand by and watch him hurt Chad’s family,” I said.
“I wish I had an answer for you, Barry,” Martin said. “This is a real cucumber, for sure.”
“Cucumber? Cucumber . . . .” I stared at Martin. Then I threw myself back on my bed in a laughing fit. I laughed so hard I was gasping for air.
At last I blurted out, “Oh Martin. I needed that!”
“So what did I say that was so funny?” he asked.
I roared again. “You said . . . (snort) . . . you said, ‘cucumber.’ I know you meant ‘pickle’ but it’s so funny when you butcher the English language.”
“Oh. Cucumber and pickle are not the same? ” asked Martin.
“Nope,” I said still holding my stomach. Then I sobered a bit. “You don’t mind when I laugh at you, do you?” I asked. “Chad and I make fun of each other all the time. It’s what friends do. ”
Martin grinned. “It’s fine, Barry. It’s not like I haven’t poked fun at you a time or two. I’m just glad you enjoy having me around again, especially after I didn’t help you on Shomara.”
I nodded. Okay, one more yawn. “Well, if you weren’t allowed to follow me as you say, then I don’t hold it against you. In spite of everything, you’re turning out to bea real friend. ‘Night, Martin,” I mumbled and pulled the covers up.
Mykeeper smiled. “Goodnight, Master Barry.”
Martin didn’t know it, but just as I was closing my eyes, I saw him punch the air with both fists and mouth a silent “Yes!”
EPILOGUE
When Martin entered the courts of the Majesty soon thereafter, the Great One called him forward.
“Well, Martin, tell me. Have you figured out what the mission is yet?” he asked.
Martin bowed and nodded his head. “I believe, Your Majesty, that it must have something to do with protecting the Sorenson family from that screwtail. Am I close?”
The Great One laughed. “Oh that is just the tip of the iceberg, my dear keeper. There is so much more to it than that. When you do finally figure it out, you are going to love it.”
“So does that mean you are not going to tell me anything more?” asked Martin. “Must I still work in the dark?”
“Oh, we never use the word ‘dark’ around here, Martin,” said the Great One. “Nothing around here is dark to me. I see everything. I even know what you are going to do before you do it. It’s just that I love to surprise folks. It’s so much fun.”
“Surprising us is fun for you?” Martin queried.
“Of course,” said the Majesty. “Don’t you see? I never get to be surprised myself. I know everything. So one of my greatest joys is to spring the unexpected on my subjects. I get a real charge out of setting it all up, too.”
“As you wish, Your Grace,” said Martin.
The Great One laughed again. “Oh Martin, cheer up. You play a major role in the next part of this saga, you know”
“Yes, Majesty. I know you always speak the truth,” Martin answered.
“My dear Keeper,” said the Majesty. “Take heart. I chose you and young Barry to carry this out. Both of you are exactly where you are supposed to be right now.”
Martin shook his head. He was beginning to wish he was several galaxies away from this “mission.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Hello, Reader! Thanks for checking out my books. I hope you will enjoy the series. I am C. M. Henderson, Author of THE BLOOD JEWEL, Book I of The Shomara Diaries. My goal is to share my love of reading with you. I particularly love writing for kids. For starters, I used to be a kid myself. Okay, so that was back in the Jurassic Age, but hey. I know kids. I was even the oldest in a family of five children. Later, as a teacher, I taught thousands of children from all age groups.
But why middle grade? Well, because they are the “wonder years.” I remember them like they were yesterday. It was the time in my life when I fell in love with reading.
Originally from Canada, I spent my first fourteen years in southern Ontario, the daughter of a school principal. My mom was a stay-athome domestic engineer with a firm hand on the throttle of my little life. (Boy, howdy!)
Both my parents loved to read and they passed on that love to me. One of my favorite memories as a child was when our family would all gather around Dad and he read to usfrom the Reader’s Digest. He could never make it all the way through Laughter Is the Best or Humor in Uniform without having to stop and catch his breath he’d be laughing so hard. And we all held our sides right along with him.
Though our home was a happy one, it was often a rackety, bustling affair. (Remember, five kids!) I often yearned for peace and quiet. But there was never any retreat from the noise until one day . . . I read a good book. All of a sudden, everything around me went silent. It was the best escape ever! I could get so lost in a novel that my mother said she 'could run a freight train through the middle of the living room, and I wouldn’t bat an eye.' She was right.
My appetite for books became insatiable. I raided the library at least once a week devouring the Tarzan series, the Hardy Boys, Cherry Ames, Nancy Drew, and Anne of Green Gables. I could never get enough. By ninth grade, I was reading hefty volumes like Quo Vadis. Through stories, I could run away to far-off cultures and experience life through characters that became as real to me as my own family.
Though my career was in music —I taught both privately and in the public schools—I discovered, quite by accident, that I had a heart for writing. Here is how it happened. I needed a way to spice up some less-than-interesting classical music in my curriculum so I began jotting down little fantasies to read before introducing the listening pieces. The kids loved them—but my strategy backfired. My classes started refusing to hear the music unless Mrs. Henderson first read her story!
In the process of generating these little stories I noticed something: every time I sat down to write, time disappeared. I would even forget to eat or sleep. In fact, my new career has taken me back to the same delight of my childhood days when I fell in love with books.
Writing The Shomara Diaries series continues to be a labor of love. But my greatest joy? My greatest joy is watching folks lose themselves in myfantasy world. There’s nothing like it.
C. M. Henderson
The Blood Jewel (The Shomara Diaries Book 1) Page 17