The Trilogy of Two
Page 8
Just before they started up the steps, a black limousine with tinted windows pulled up and skidded to a stop. Headlights flooded the area.
The twins turned back. The hyena stood in their path. It cocked its head.
The car door swung open. A man stepped out.
“Kats von Stralen,” gasped Charlotte.
Kats von Stralen sniffed a pinch of black powder from his snuffbox. He wiped his nose with his gloved hand. His shoes pressed pointy footprints into the ground.
“I’d love to have a long visit with you, girls, but I’ve got a school full of very talented children in Rain City I need to attend to.”
Charlotte thought about Jack Cross. He would not get her letter in time. He was going to lose his Talent tonight.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
A White Glove
SONJA PULLED CHARLOTTE TO HER FEET. SHE COULD not believe her sister was crying over a boy at a time like this. The circus was on fire, Tatty was missing, and they were in Kats von Stralen’s clutches. He stood over them, grinning. “I’m searching for your mother,” he said. “I can’t seem to get her out of my mind.”
Sonja glared. “We want our Talents back!” she yelled. Her fingers jerked like rusty levers.
“I see you’ve developed the twitch,” observed Kats von Stralen. “It happens to some of the children whose Talents I steal. Interesting phenomenon.” He reached into his pocket and took out a little black gadget. “Have you seen one of these before?” Sonja shook her head. “You pull on this shiny lever here, and it fires a delightful iron corkscrew that pierces your skull, makes a complete mess of your brain, then finds its way out the other side and continues on to who-knows-where. It’s called a Gatsploder Special. I just acquired it.”
Kats von Stralen pressed the barrel against Sonja’s forehead. His eyes were two black holes, and his powerful cologne slithered into Sonja’s nostrils like poison. Her lips quivered. Sweat dribbled off her nose.
“Now, the last thing I want to do is damage either one of those pretty heads of yours, but if you don’t tell me where your mother is, I won’t have a dickens of a lot of choice.”
“We—we,” stammered Sonja, “we were looking for her ourselves.”
“I don’t care for liars,” grunted Kats von Stralen.
Sonja felt her sister grip her arm. “We’re not lying!” burst out Charlotte.
Kats von Stralen moved the Gatsploder from Sonja’s head to Charlotte’s. “Don’t force me to insist.”
“I swear!” pleaded Charlotte. “We don’t know where she is!”
“Please!” Sonja begged. There was a round mark where the tip of the barrel had pressed into her forehead.
In one flick, Kats von Stralen whipped the pistol away from Charlotte’s head and pulled the trigger. A wretched squeal broke the silence. Sonja turned to look. The hyena lay dead in the dirt beside her.
“Why’s you go and kills our beast?” whined a boy’s voice.
“Just a demonstration,” replied Kats von Stralen as he recocked his weapon.
A band of Scrummagers all wearing identical black shorts, sweater vests, and bow ties approached. Sonja recognized them. They were the boys who had chased them out of the caravan. They dragged Tatty behind them. There were ropes around her legs and wrists, and bruises all over her face and neck. The bandage across her cheek had been torn off. Chestnut Sabine walked beside them, swinging her frizzy tail from side to side.
“Tatty!” the twins yelled in unison.
Tatty’s voice cracked: “Hello, dearies.” The girls started toward her. Chestnut Sabine arched her back. Her claws popped out from the ends of her white toes.
Kats von Stralen raised his Gatsploder. “Stop right there.”
“Tell those Scrummagers to let her go!” cried Sonja.
“We’s ain’t Scrummagers no more,” snorted the boy with ginger hair and freckles. “We’s been adopted.”
“You have indeed, Georgie.” Kats von Stralen raised an eyebrow. “I see you’ve located the woman in question.”
“Shes was hidin’ under one of ’em rollin’ homes.” The boy pulled Monkey out of a sack. “We’s also founds this beastie fors our mother.”
“Oh, Monkey,” muttered Tatty.
“Not your mother,” Kats von Stralen said carefully. “My mother.”
“But she’s adopted us,” shouted a boy with pimples and buckteeth.
“Well, nevertheless, Dirgert, she has but one actual son.” Kats von Stralen smiled oddly. “And you’re looking at him.” He took another snort from his snuffbox.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Tatty said, and hesitated. “I think there’s been some mistake. You see, I’m nobody special. Just a Tattooed Lady trying to make a few coins.”
Kats von Stralen leaned down and sank his nose into Tatty’s red hair. “There’s something about the poor that excites me.” He pulled open the top of her robe. Tatty squirmed against the knots. The twins watched tensely. “The Seven Edens. Tattooed on your skin exactly as our informant told us. Now all we need is one little Amulet, and the source of the magic will be ours.”
Sonja saw Charlotte cross her arms awkwardly in front of her chest. Uncle Tell’s pendant. Was that an Amulet?
“I’m not who you think I am!” Tatty protested.
Kats von Stralen hefted the pistol in his palm—then whacked Tatty across the face with it.
“No!” shrieked Sonja. Charlotte started sobbing.
“Put her in the car!” barked Kats von Stralen. The boys dragged Tatty toward the limousine. The twins leapt after her and grabbed her by the waist. Kats von Stralen pointed the weapon at Tatty. “Let’s not make this any more difficult than it already is.”
Sonja looked up at Tatty’s face. She had never seen her cry before. It broke her heart—and it scared her.
“I’m sure this misunderstanding will soon be cleared up,” Tatty said weakly. “I’ll be back before you know it.” Her voice faltered. “For now, my dears, you’d better let me go.”
Sonja and Charlotte watched, frozen, as the boys threw Tatty through the open door of the car.
“What have we here?” said Kats von Stralen, squinting.
Two figures on horses approached through the haze.
Sonja’s eyes lit up. “Help!” she cried out.
“Over here!” yelled Charlotte, waving her arms.
“Well, aren’t you little adopted fellows going to do something?” remarked Kats von Stralen.
The Scrummagers notched their arrows and launched them at the riders—but the arrows stopped short in midair and dropped clattering straight to the ground. The riders charged over the fallen arrows and slid to a stop in front of Kats von Stralen and the children.
Mr. Fortune Teller sat astride his horse, Rhubarb. The old man’s hair was frizzy and wild, and his white eyes glowed in the dark. The other rider was perched on a brawny red horse, and she had heaps of long, dark brown hair twisted and piled on top of her head. Her face was a pale oval with large chestnut eyes. She wore a waxen raincoat and tall boots laced up to her knees. Sonja knew her on sight: it was Alexandria.
“Hello, Kats,” Alexandria said, jumping off the horse. Dottie swooped down and landed on her shoulder. “Where’s the Contessa?”
Kats von Stralen grinned to reveal his chalk-white teeth. “I couldn’t say.”
Tatty screamed inside the limousine. There was a loud thwack, and her voice went quiet.
“Tatty!” yelled Mr. Fortune Teller. He slid to the ground.
Kats von Stralen raised his weapon at Alexandria. “We’re having a shotgun wedding. I was hoping you could give us a present. Your Amulet, please.”
Alexandria shrugged. “What’re you talking about?”
“Hand it over, Alex. The pearl.” Kats von Stralen threw a look to Georgie. The boy yanked out a baton from his b
elt and brandished it as he ripped open the front of Alexandria’s coat. Her neck was bare.
Alexandria gave a sharp, quick nod of her head. The baton smacked Georgie across the face. He looked down at it sticking out of his hands, bewildered. It struck him again, this time on the other cheek. Georgie hastily dropped the baton onto the ground.
Sonja stared, wide eyed. Alexandria had never done anything like that before. Every time they had gone to visit Alexandria, she had been slouched in front of the television, chain-smoking cigarettes and yelling at Arthur.
“What—what’s that?” Georgie sputtered. “Somes sort of voodoo?”
“That’s one way of putting it,” said Dottie. She flew off Alexandria’s shoulder and circled the boys.
“Dids that birdie just jammer?” asked Dirgert.
“What birdie?” squawked Dottie, swooping down.
“I’s not stayin’ here no more!” Georgie yelled. He spun around and ran off. The other boys scuffled after him. They disappeared into the smoke.
“You always knew how to clear a room, Alex,” Kats von Stralen said with a smirk.
Alexandria swung her arms up above her head. The Gatsploder rocketed out of Kats von Stralen’s hand and into the air. At the same instant, something riveted into Alexandria’s shoulder. She yelled. Blood soaked her coat. Behind Kats von Stralen, an electric car window had been slid halfway open. A white-gloved hand, covered in diamonds, held a second weapon: a smaller, slimmer, silver Gatsploder. A thread of smoke curled out from its tip.
Alexandria’s eyes flashed. Her nostrils flared. She clutched her shoulder as she stormed toward the limousine.
The car’s wheels rattled. The whole vehicle shook.
Kats von Stralen’s face went pale. Chestnut Sabine leapt into his arms. “Adieu, children,” he said, tipping his hat. He jumped into the shuddering limousine and slammed the door just as the engine revved wildly, and the car began to speed away.
Alexandria ran after it, shouting and cursing.
The hood ornament shot into the air like a rocket. The windows exploded, showering glass everywhere. But it was too late. They were gone.
The flock of swans swept across the sky and followed the limousine into the darkness. The birds’ shrill screeches echoed behind them.
The twins screamed for Tatty. There were tears in their eyes. Anxious thoughts raced through Sonja’s mind. Why had Kats von Stralen kidnapped her? What would he do to her? She clung to Charlotte like a drowning sailor to a sinking raft after a shipwreck.
The old man shook his head, wiping his wet eyes. “This was planned. Kats von Stralen had Bea lead me on a wild-goose chase. She doesn’t realize the harm she’s done.”
Dottie circled the area. “I see them!” she shouted down. “They’re disappearing fast!”
“Follow them!” Alexandria yelled. “Once you know where they’ve taken Tatty, meet us in the Land Where the Plants Reign!”
“I won’t fail you!” cried Dottie, and flew off into the night.
“They may have Tatty,” said Alexandria, climbing onto her horse, “but they don’t have an Amulet—yet.”
Mr. Fortune Teller stiffened. He grasped at his neck clumsily. “The Turtle Back,” he said, breathless. “I left it with her.” He started toward the burning caravan.
“Wait! Uncle Tell!” Charlotte unclasped the silver chain and held up the tortoiseshell pendant. “Is this it?”
Mr. Fortune Teller hugged her. “Thank goodness,” he muttered. “Thank goodness.” He hurriedly fastened the chain around his neck and slipped it under his vest.
“Will someone tell us what on earth is going on?” blurted Sonja. “Tatty’s skin went berserk, and the next thing we know she’s been kidnapped!”
Alexandria stared blankly. She turned to Mr. Fortune Teller. “You never told them?”
“I was waiting for their thirteenth birthday.”
“Told us what?” said Charlotte.
Mr. Fortune Teller paced back and forth in front of the twins for a minute. He finally spoke:
“It’s all real.”
Charlotte stared, dumbstruck.
“What are you talking about?” Sonja asked hesitantly.
“Everything. Every land. Every creature. Every tattoo on Tatty’s body. The Seven Edens are real.” He pointed to his horse. “Rhubarb’s a Gillypur from the Vanishing Islands.”
Sonja snorted. “That’s ridiculous!”
“Ridiculous or not,” interrupted Alexandria sharply, “it’s the truth.”
The old man threw Alexandria a look.
She began to bandage her arm with a piece of fabric torn from the hem of her dress.
“If they’re real,” said Sonja, “well, where are they?”
“Hidden,” replied the old man. “And there’s only one map of them. The map . . . is Tatty. She’s the Key.” He tapped his tortoiseshell pendant. “This is the Turtle Back. My Amulet. I’m Protector of the Vanishing Islands. Each Eden has a chosen Protector, and each Protector possesses an Amulet. If an Amulet touches the Key, the paths into the Seven Edens are revealed on her skin.”
Charlotte said evenly, “The tattoos come alive.”
Mr. Fortune Teller nodded. “Kats von Stralen’s been stealing Talents and harvesting magic. He seems to have figured out where to find the greatest supply. The source of all magic lies in the Seven Edens. That’s why he kidnapped Tatty. That’s why he’ll now be scouring the world for an Amulet.”
In a strange, low voice, Alexandria said: “His mother, the Contessa, is the mastermind behind it all.”
“Is that who shot you?” Charlotte asked. “With the white gloved hand?”
Alexandria nodded and rubbed her wounded shoulder.
Sonja’s brow furrowed. She was angry. How could they have kept this a secret for all these years? She turned to Mr. Fortune Teller. “Why did you wait so long to tell us the truth?”
“We were trying to protect you,” said the old man.
“A lot of good that’s done!” returned Sonja. “You haven’t protected anybody! From anything!”
Alexandria said calmly, “Throw your tantrum some other time. We’re in a hurry.”
Sonja wheeled around to face Alexandria. Her cheeks flushed with color. “Shut up! You’re just another freak like us!”
“Please, Sonja.” The old man put his hands on her shoulders. “I know this is a lot for you to take right now after all that’s happened, but we have to keep our wits about us if we want to save Tatty.” Mr. Fortune Teller kissed her damp cheek. He hoisted himself onto Rhubarb. “You two go with Alexandria. I’ll send word to the other Protectors to meet us in the Land Where the Plants Reign. The Amulets will be safe there until we decide what to do.”
“But Uncle Tell—” started Charlotte.
“It’ll only be a couple of days.” He patted her head. “I want you to do everything Alexandria says. Understood?”
“Okay,” she said reluctantly. Sonja turned away, angry. How could he leave them at a time like this? Especially with Alexandria. They had been left alone with her once for a few days when they were little. She had neglected to feed them, bathe them, or put them to bed. In fact, she had hardly said two words to them. It was a disaster.
Mr. Fortune Teller nudged Rhubarb with his heel, and they cantered away.
A raspy howl cut through the smoke. A pack of red eyes peered out at them from among the smoldering caravans. A trio of straggling hyenas were creeping slowly toward them across the camp.
Alexandria held out her hand to the girls. “Hurry,” she said. She swung Charlotte up behind her.
“I’m not going!” shouted Sonja.
Alexandria sighed. She reached down, yanked Sonja up by the collar with a hard jerk, and thumped her down behind her sister. The horse reared onto its hind legs. It burst into a gallop.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Alexandria
THE HORSE CALLED MORITZ RODE AT A FURIOUS SPRINT alongside an enormous pipe ten feet tall that cut across the black landscape and stretched into the horizon. Charlotte clutched Alexandria around the waist, and Sonja held tightly on to Charlotte’s back. The cold air stung Charlotte’s cheeks and dried her tears into a cakey, white dust. She felt weak and scared, but deep down, she already knew: to save Tatty and find their Talents, she would need all her strength. It was going to be a fight.
“It’s gaining on us!” she heard her sister yell.
Charlotte looked back over her shoulder. One of the hyenas was already close behind, snarling and snapping.
Moritz’s nostrils flared. Sweat flew off his brow. The hyena howled hysterically. It lunged at Moritz’s flanks. There was a growl and a crunch and a scream. She looked down and saw Sonja’s ankle sandwiched between the hyena’s massive yellow teeth. Charlotte furiously kicked at the hyena’s bony head, but she could barely reach it. The animal jerked Sonja halfway off the horse.
“Help me!” shrieked Sonja, scrambling to hold on to her sister. Charlotte’s fingers gripped Sonja’s arms like a vise.
Alexandria pivoted in the saddle and hammered her boot against the hyena’s head. The hyena dropped, tumbling and thumping, across the ground.
Moritz galloped on. Two hyenas, not far behind, stampeded over their dazed comrade.
Sonja clutched her bleeding leg. Charlotte remembered for an instant when Sonja had fallen off a tightrope and broken her arm. Tatty had cried as she packed Sonja’s belongings for the hospital, kissing each item before placing it into the bag.
Moritz dug his hooves into the earth and slammed to a halt.
“What are we doing?” cried Sonja. “They’re coming!”
Alexandria whisked her hands in the air, and a hatch in the pipe opened. Moritz jumped in, and the door closed behind him. They waited in silence as the hyenas thundered past them outside.