The Crystal Lair (Inventor-in-Training)

by D. M. Darroch

  “You mean she was searching for me.”

  “Yes, it seemed so. But she had been chasing you. Surely she must have watched you go over the side.”

  “Then why didn’t she follow me?”

  Ivy thought about this. “It looked like she had lost you. She was sniffing for you, and maybe the snow you rolled in dulled your scent.”

  “She could have seen me if she’d looked. Even if I was covered in snow.”

  “But she didn’t see you.”

  Angus chewed his lip as he realized how lucky he’d been to escape the lion. Now he understood why Granny didn’t want him or Bonnie on the plateau. He heard the dire wolf growl from the sled. “Don’t look now, but we’ve got company,” said Ivy.

  Angus looked over the mastodon’s bulky head and saw the village in the near distance. The tiny figure of Bonnie was springing through the snow like an alpine rabbit. He groaned. “My headache just came back.”

  “Be nice,” warned the mastodon.

  “How did you get up there?” yelled the little girl as she approached. “Can I have a ride, too?”

  “No!” said Angus.

  “Angus!” hissed Ivy.

  “Maybe later,” he called down.

  Bonnie ran to the sled. “Pet! What happened to Pet?”

  “No! Watch out!” shouted Angus as Bonnie bent down to stroke the dire wolf. “That’s not Ivy, not a pet!”

  “Calm down, Angus. Look,” soothed Ivy. The dire wolf was thumping its tail and whining happily. It appeared to recognize Bonnie. She stroked its head, singing softly to herself and cooing, “Poor Pet. You hurt yourself again. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.” The dire wolf licked her chin.

  “Amazing. She remembers you!” said Angus.

  “Why wouldn’t she? We’re friends. Right Pet?” Bonnie waited for a response but the wolf merely gazed at her with adoring eyes. “Why doesn’t she answer me?”

  “Maybe she doesn’t feel like talking right now,” said Angus. He glanced up from Bonnie and the wolf and noticed villagers massing together outside the walls of the encampment.

  “Ummm, Ivy, do you see what I see?” He spoke gently into the mastodon’s ear. She had been watching Bonnie and the wolf also. She blew air loudly out her nose and stepped anxiously from hoof to hoof.

  “You’d better get off quickly if you want to return to the village. I think it’s in my best interest to leave you now. I have no desire to be tonight’s dinner.”

  “They eat mammoth and sloth. Do you think mastodon is on the menu, too?”

  “I think they aren’t too choosy about where the meat comes from. Now, are you getting off?”

  “Waiting for you to kneel down.”

  “No time. Slide around off the side.”

  Angus grabbed Ivy’s neck and slid his left leg off the right side of her body. He dropped heavily to the ground. When she saw he had safely dismounted, the mastodon turned and stampeded back the way they had come.

  The dire wolf shook its head. Angus looked quickly at the animal and noticed a spark come into its eyes.

  “How does your head feel?” asked Ivy, safely inside the dire wolf’s body once more.

  “Like a woodpecker has mistaken it for a snag.”

  “Pet is talking again!” announced Bonnie.

  “Think you can drag me the rest of the way to the village? I don’t want to walk on this leg if I don’t have to.”

  Angus grasped the makeshift sled handle and began to pull.

  “Me, too!” demanded Bonnie.

  For once, Angus didn’t tell her she was too little.

  Chapter Twenty-Three: A Light in the Crystal

  The entire village had witnessed Angus riding on a mastodon. There was no denying it had happened. Granny and Mother were demanding an explanation.

  “You could have been killed! You could have fallen off and been trampled to death!” scolded Mother.

  Granny added, “It could have strangled you with its nose!”

  Angus conceded that Mother’s worries might have occurred, but rather significantly, didn’t. However, the image of Ivy’s proboscis wrapped around him like a boa constrictor crushing a jungle animal was too hilarious. Granny had not appreciated his outburst of laughter so now he found himself cleaning up sloth dung yet again, even though it was Billy Robert’s turn. It seemed Angus was always scooping poop when it was Billy’s turn.

  He scooped the last stinking shovelful into the overloaded wheelbarrow and pushed it to the steaming compost heap. He stomped back to the hut, burst through the heavy drape, and glowered at the dire wolf snoring peacefully by the peat fire. A quick scan of the small abode revealed no one else at home. There was no door to slam spitefully so he threw his boot at the slumbering animal. Ivy jerked awake with a bark.

  “Oh, it’s you,” she yawned. “Finished the job?”

  “Next world, you get to be the human and I’ll be the pampered pet.”

  Ivy grimaced as she stretched her injured back leg. “You don’t know how much I’d like that. Does this mean we’re moving on?”

  Angus sniffed at the pot heating over the smoldering peat. He inhaled the heavy aroma of meat stew and his cheeks pricked as saliva started to flow. He was hungry! He dipped the bone ladle into the pot and served himself a bowl of the hearty meal. He quirked his eyebrow at the dire wolf.

  “No, thanks. Bonnie gave me some earlier. So, what’s the plan?”

  Angus swallowed a gulp of the rich brown broth and munched a meat chunk before answering. “I’ve got to check the World Jumper to be sure there’s no damage. I wish there was some way to know where we were headed so I could prepare myself. Arrive with the proper clothing at least.”

  Angus slurped more of the delicious salty liquid. It warmed him straight through. When he’d consumed all the broth, he broke apart the tender chunks of meat and popped them into his mouth one after another. He tossed one to Ivy who caught it before it touched the ground.

  “Let’s hope the next world is populated with animal lovers. That would be a refreshing change,” she said, licking her chops.

  Angus placed his empty bowl on the table. He removed his coat and searched its inner folds for the World Jumper. His fingers grazed loose pebbles. He’d almost forgotten the crystals he’d gathered. He extracted several beautiful, small bits of fluorite in a rainbow of shades. He shoved his hand deeper down in the pocket and pulled out the large, clear rock with the interesting metallic aberration. He plunked it beside the colored stones on the table. The World Jumper was the last thing he took from the coat. He placed it gently on the table among the rocks before hanging his coat on the hook by the door.

  “Angus! Quick! It’s glowing!” gasped Ivy. The dire wolf’s ears were pressed flat against her head. She growled fearfully. Angus looked at the table. The clear crystal radiated a warm violet light from deep within its core. Angus was drawn to the table.

  He touched the crystal tentatively. It felt cool. He picked up the crystal and regarded it. The light was immediately extinguished. He placed it beside the World Jumper. It lit up again immediately. He moved it away, and it went dark. The aberration in the rock was reacting with his invention.

  He held the rock in his hand and turned it to catch the flickering light of the wall lanterns. His mind was reeling, trying to figure out what this discovery might mean. The door to the hut slammed, and he looked up.

  “What’s that there?” asked Granny as she strode across the room.

  “Ummm, just a crystal,” he stuttered and blocked the table with his body.

  “Let me see,” she demanded. He wordlessly handed her the large stone. While she examined it, he reached a hand behind his back and hid the World Jumper under his shirt. “Interesting,” she said. “What are you hiding back there?”

  “Nothing,” he said and stepped from the table. While Granny looked at the pile of variously colored stones, Angus quickly handed the World Jumper to the dire wolf. Ivy hid the invention beneath her large pa
ws.

  “These are beautiful,” said Granny picking up each stone in turn. “Where did you get them?”

  “Lemme see!” demanded Bonnie, who had just entered the hut with Mother. “I know what those are! They’re from … .” She stopped abruptly.

  Granny looked at her expectantly. “Well, child? Where did they come from?”

  Bonnie and Angus stared at each other. Angus suddenly realized the adults didn’t know about the cave. And Bonnie clearly didn’t want them to know. This required further investigation. Angus invented quickly. “Billy traded them to me for taking his sentry shift. I don’t know where he got them. Maybe his dad brought them back from a hunt?”

  The explanation was accepted without question. Granny grunted. “That boy can find more ways to get out of an honest day’s work.” She returned the large rock to him and peered at the colorful crystals on the table. Mother joined her.

  “May I look at one?” Mother asked. He nodded. She picked up a small, clear crystal and peered through it.

  “Your face looks huge,” observed Granny. She took the stone from Mother and held it to her eye. She inhaled sharply and scurried around the small room looking intently at everything through the crystal.

  Angus watched Gus’s grandmother spring around the room. Put her in a purple velour tracksuit, some running sneakers, and a pair of thick bottle glasses, and she would be a ringer for his own grandmother back home. She blinked a gigantic eyeball at him through the clear rock and it suddenly dawned on him. Granny needed glasses, and he would make them for her from fluorite!

  Chapter Twenty-Four: Child Psychology

  Sir Schnortle adored lazy afternoons. He sprawled on his back, his front leg stretched in the air. He bathed the paw until it was sufficiently moist and then wiped his face with it. When he was satisfied that the left side of his head was adequately clean, he stretched out his other front leg and licked it wet before bathing the other side. He collapsed, closed his eyes, and purred happily.

  The screeching car tires on the driveway outside disturbed his content mid-purr. He lifted his head slightly and cocked an ear. Running sneakers stomped across the porch, the front door was thrown open so hard it banged into the wall, and a fuming gray-haired lady announced to no one in particular, “Never again!”

  Sir Schnortle scrambled to his feet and scooted up the stairs and under the first bed he could find.

  “What happened, Mom?” Mrs. Clark dried her hands on a kitchen towel as she approached the front hallway. Mr. Clark glanced up from his laptop.

  Angus’s grandmother glared with magnified eyes through her glasses. She opened her red-painted lips to say something, thought better of it, and clamped them together again. She pursed them tightly, and then threw her hands in the air.

  “I’ve had enough for one day. You’re on your own.”

  She stomped out of the house, passed a puzzled Gus on the porch, grunted at him, and climbed back into her shiny black convertible. Gus silently watched her sports car scream backwards down the driveway. It braked suddenly and raced up the driveway. The passenger door flew open, two paper bags were ejected, and the car rolled down the driveway again. It peeled out on to the quiet, residential street and squealed away.

  Gus carried the bags into the kitchen. Mr. and Mrs. Clark silently watched the disappearing car, and then followed Gus into the house.

  “Angus, we’re waiting for an explanation,” said Mr. Clark.

  “This is an apple and this is a pomegranate,” answered Gus, holding up one of each. “Don’t confuse them with onions.”

  “Yes, Mom. Okay, Mom. Sorry, Mom.” Mrs. Clark hung up the phone. She sighed and accepted a cup of tea from Mr. Clark.

  “Is he asleep?” she asked.

  “Yes. Door closed. Cat safely shut out.”

  “You know, I expected these in-between years to be a challenge. Trying to grow up can be difficult. They change so much on the way from little children to young adults. I’ve read all the books about that. But none of them tells you what to do when your mild-mannered son kidnaps your family pet,” said Mrs. Clark.

  “Or opens a butcher shop in your kitchen,” added Mr. Clark.

  “Or attacks an old woman in the grocery store.” Mrs. Clark slumped into a chair.

  “He was asking about Bonnie again. Wanted to know if she was dead.”

  Mrs. Clark shook her head. “What did you say?”

  “I acted shocked. Said absolutely not. Said she was visiting family for a few days.”

  “Do you think she’s a real person we’ve never heard of?”

  “I don’t know. She could be a figment of his imagination,” suggested Mr. Clark.

  “He didn’t have an imaginary friend when he was four. I doubt he’s invented one now,” said Mrs. Clark.

  “Maybe that’s exactly what he’s done. Invented one. Really, think about it. He’s been beyond his years ever since before he could speak. Is he making up for lost time? Never got around to having an imaginary friend before, so he’s decided to have one now?” asked Mr. Clark.

  “Most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”

  “Well, think about it. First he pretends he’s a pirate. Insists we call him by another name.”

  “And gets himself suspended from school.” Mrs. Clark bit her lip. “Now we’re supposed to call him ‘Gus’. I hate to admit it, but you may be on to something. The other kindergarteners played dress up. Angus refused to play along. He said the costumes were historically inaccurate.”

  Mr. Clark nodded. “Exactly. He completely skipped that pretending stage. It’s supposedly so important for a child’s development. Do you think he’s regressing?”

  “So what is he pretending to be now? A big game hunter?”

  “Could be. I don’t know. What do we do about it?”

  Mrs. Clark drummed her fingers on the kitchen counter. “If it really is an essential part of his development and he missed it, I don’t think we have a choice.”

  “You mean?”

  “I think we have to play along.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five: Angus Makes Eyeglasses

  “Angus! Pssst! Angus!” He pulled the covers over his head and ignored the voice. It couldn’t be time to get up for school. He was too sleepy.

  “Angus! Wake up!”

  The covers were pulled rudely from his body, exposing his naked legs to the cold air. “Five more minutes, Mom,” he whined, reaching blindly for the bedsheets. His hand touched something cold and wet and he opened his eyes. The dire wolf was nudging him awake with her nose. It didn’t matter how long he’d been away from home, he still couldn’t get used to waking in a strange place.

  “What is it?” he asked Ivy.

  “Shhh. Keep your voice down. Mother is still asleep. Bonnie snuck out again. She didn’t know I was awake. I saw her steal food. I’m going to be blamed for it again. Where do you think she goes in the early morning?”

  “You woke me up to tell me that? I was having the best dream. I mean, I wasn’t having any dream. I was sleeping. I forgot I was stuck here. It was wonderful.”

  “Sorry, but I don’t feel like being accused of thievery again! Not when I didn’t do it!”

  “Little Miss Perfect doesn’t like getting in trouble. Poor wolfie.”

  Ivy growled. “I didn’t say I was perfect. Just innocent. And don’t you want to know what Bonnie’s up to? She always comes back smelling like cat. Don’t you find that even a little bit suspicious?”

  Angus pulled on his blue jeans. They weren’t as warm as the long underwear and leather pants, but they were more comfortable and felt like home. “I want to go home. She’s not our concern. We have the World Jumper back. Once I test it, we can get out of here.”

  “I heard it again last night. It’s coming closer to the village.”

  “What’s that?”

  “The crying. I heard it two nights ago when I was hunting. It was in the forest. It sounded like an animal grieving. Like it had lost a member of its
pack. It sounded heartbroken. Last night I heard again, but I was in the hut sleeping by the fire. It must be closer. How else would I be able to hear it?”

  “Ivy, I’m sorry if this sounds callous, but I don’t see what difference it makes.” Angus pulled the cabled sweater over his head, buckled on his toolbelt, and strapped his goggles to the top of his head. “Let’s test the World Jumper and get out of here.”

  Angus rolled the furs into a ball and shoved them into a corner of the bedroom. “Where is it?” he asked.

  “By the fire. I slept on top of it last night.”

  Angus tiptoed into the central room, picked the barcode scanner up off the floor, and stuck it into the waistband of his jeans. He picked up the large piece of fluorite and stuck it in a pocket. A faint light glowed through the denim.

  “You’ve got it too close to the World Jumper. Someone will see,” advised Ivy.

  Angus tugged on the hem of the sweater and stretched it to cover his pockets. “Better?”

  “Invisible.”

  The curtain fluttered open and Bonnie walked into the hut. She jumped when she saw Angus already awake. “Good morning, Bonnie,” he said casually.

  “Uh, good morning,” she stammered.

  Angus noticed a guilty look pass over her face. She covered it quickly with an artless smile. Ivy was right, he thought. Bonnie was up to something. But he told himself that he didn’t care. If she left him alone, he would leave her alone. Bonnie hurried to the bedroom and crawled back under her furs.

  “Do you see what I mean?” hissed Ivy.

  Angus heard Mother begin to stir in her room. He stoked the fire for breakfast. “Yeah. But let’s eat something and go test the World Jumper.”

  “I don’t understand why you brought those silly sneakers along.”