Benotripia- The Complete Trilogy

by McKenzie Wagner

  “Yeah,” Jessicana said, brushing her blonde locks out of her face. “We’ll stay here, just in case the Darvonians try to enter.” She touched Roseabelle’s arm. “Good luck.”

  Roseabelle smiled. “Thanks.” Swallowing her fear, she turned the corner, ready to face whatever would come next.

  CHAPTER 10

  Tropjyle

  ROSEABELLE REALIZED THIS CELL WAS A LOT LARGER than a normal one would be. It wasn’t just a single room; winding corridors, fake doors, and windows twisted all around her. Moonstar rubbed against her leg. “How do I find him in this place?” she whispered, and the animal bounded forward. “Wait up!” she called and ran after Moonstar, following him through rapidly twisting passages.

  Moonstar stepped into an even darker room than before, and Roseabelle cautiously followed, an unexpected flash of friendly warmth filling her being.

  The room was full of scrolls and ink, the pleasant aroma of a library drifting in the air. A few rugs lay on the floor and a small bed was pushed in the corner of the room. In the center of it all was a man dressed in a ratty brown shirt with raggedy pants and worn sandals. His back was facing her, and he was writing furiously on a piece of trutan with an ink-tipped quill. What Roseabelle noticed most of all was the large mop of curly red hair spread all over his head. A dirty black chain was connected from his ankle to the wall.

  Hearing her hesitant footsteps, he turned around. He had a red beard as well, Roseabelle noted. His eyebrows scrunched together. and he bore a striking resemblance to Dastrock. “Huh. Didn’t know they sent IBs down here anymore.” His voice was warm but firm and gentle at the same time. Roseabelle grimaced at the mention of IBs—the term stood for Imitation Benotripian, Darvonians who resembled Benotripians.

  Roseabelle took a few steps closer and incredible warmth filled her chest. Could it be? She had to pinch herself to make sure that this really wasn’t a dream. “It’s really you,” she said, a relieved smile spreading over her features. Magford had gone missing when she was very young, and Danette had been left to rule Benotripia all alone. All Roseabelle’s life she’d dreamed about what her father would look like, and here he was, right in front of her.

  “Sorry, I don’t think we’ve met before. As I told Sheklyth, these scrolls aren’t really worth scouring. No information for you here.” Magford talked to her, turning back around and Roseabelle understood. Of course. The last time he’d seen her was when she was two years old.

  “I’m not an IB,” she said, taking a tentative step closer to him.

  “Metamordian then? Fellow prisoner?”

  “Not exactly. My name’s Roseabelle.” She didn’t know what else to say, desperately hoping he’d remember her name.

  Magford slowly pivoted to face her, his expression mesmerized. “Now that’s a name I haven’t heard in a very long time.” Roseabelle swallowed as he took a quick breath. “I can see Danette in you . . . that face . . . and that hair . . . It’s not possible . . . Roseabelle?” He said each word slowly as if he was staring at a ghost.

  Roseabelle choked back tears of happiness and leaped forward, embracing her father as he looked into her face, shaking his head in disbelief. “I-I’ve been thinking, dreaming about you ever since they took me away from Benotripia,” Magford said, holding Roseabelle close. “I can’t believe it! You’re really here! I—” His voice broke off, trembling with emotion as they hugged each other. Roseabelle closed her eyes, solidifying this moment in her mind and vowing to never let it go. They held on for a long time—it seemed like years to Roseabelle.

  They broke apart and Roseabelle stared at all of the objects around them. “I don’t get it. Why do you have all these scrolls and furniture?”

  Magford chuckled and gestured to the chain on his ankle, which Roseabelle realized was actually extremely lengthy. Part of the black links coiled in an enormous pile. “They let me roam around free in this entire maze. It used to be a lot of junk, kind of like a storage area. I turned it into this.” He gestured to the room. “And of course, my power of supersonic speed did help.”

  Roseabelle stared around in wonder. “Wow, you really did make some amazing things. Why didn’t they confiscate all this?”

  “They were hoping I’d write some secret plans on the parchment, maybe give some clues to what the Benotripians were planning, communicate with the outside world. I knew too much, you see. That’s why they brought me here. And ever since, they’ve basically forgotten about me, except for a few occasions.” Magford shook his head. “Roseabelle, you’ve put yourself in grave danger by coming here. How did you get here?”

  Just then, Moonstar appeared, melting out of the shadows, and Roseabelle jumped in surprise. She’d completely forgotten the creature was even there.

  “Of course.” Magford laughed and Moonstar tread up to him. The man stroked his ears. “The last thing I told this little guy was to find you. I can telepathically communicate with animals, you know.”

  “You can?” Roseabelle asked, astonished. Danette had really never talked about Magford’s abilities.

  Magford nodded. “He probably was a stowaway on a Darvonian ship or something. We share a special bond—Moonstar has been my personal companion for a very long time. He’s a Sheilvoh, part of a rare species with extraordinary powers.” He shook his head. “But why didn’t Danette stop you from coming? How did you even leave Benotripia?”

  “It’s a long story and we’ll get to that later, but we need to get you out of here,” Roseabelle said. To her horror, the clashing of metal and sound of angry yelling echoed in the caverns. “The Darvonians found us,” she whispered. “Of course they’d know to look here.” She circled around the chain. “What are your other powers?” she asked, examining it closely.

  “Shadow tumbling, camouflaging myself into my surroundings, Bubble building, lots of others too. But none can get me out of this chain. Believe me I’ve tried. And besides there’s no way I could get past the Tropjyle.”

  “Tropjyle?” Roseabelle asked, inquisitive.

  “The monstrous reptile guarding the front,” Magford pointed out. “It can hurl its nets at lightning speed and the barbs attached to those things are deathly poisonous. You get caught in one of those, and it’s all over.”

  “So obviously, don’t wake the giant monster,” Roseabelle said, taking a shaky breath. Her eyes drifted back to the chain. She knew a sledge hammer or a large axe should cut it, but she didn’t have the time to draw one on the trutan. Wait a second. “What’s this chain made of?” she asked.

  Magford grasped her shoulders. “Roseabelle, you need to leave now. Shadow tumble out of here! I don’t matter. You can come back later.”

  “No, I can’t,” she said. “I can’t leave my friends behind.”

  “What? You’re not alone?” Right on cue, Jessicana and Astro came bursting in, breathing heavily.

  “The Darvonians found us,” Jessicana wheezed. “We blocked the door with a few crates we found in a different room, but it won’t last long.”

  “We need to get out of here!” Astro exclaimed.

  “Astro!” Roseabelle said. She turned to her father. “Do you think lightning would slice through the chain?”

  Magford raised his eyebrows. “Uh, lightning?”

  “Quick, Astro,” Roseabelle said, glancing at the other passageways. “It’s worth a try.” Astro bent down and carefully examined the chain from Magford’s ankle.

  “Look away!” Astro announced and everyone shielded their faces. There was a flash of silver and blue, and the chain thudded to the ground. Magford quickly gathered up his scrolls in a bundle, tucking them under his arm.

  “Thank you,” he said to Astro. “Are you armed with weapons?”

  Astro nodded and quickly handed Magford double swords. “How do we get out now?” Jessicana asked frantically. Roseabelle quickly slung her backpack from her shoulder and set it on the ground, rummaging inside. Just then they heard the door knocked over by the furious Darvonians.

&
nbsp; “I have an idea,” she said. “Obviously our cover’s blown, so we can’t use the element of surprise. That means,” she continued, withdrawing a Flame-hurler from her backpack and loading it with ammo balls, “we need to cause an explosion.” She grinned at the shocked Astro and Jessicana. “Everyone back!”

  She pulled the trigger and three missiles shot straight at the metal wall, exploding in a mass of fire and smoke, shaking the entire room. Coughing, Roseabelle squinted through the smoke. Sure enough, a gaping hole had been blown into the wall, revealing the Darvonian hideout they had been in earlier.

  “Run!” Astro yelled as the Darvonians in the hideout brandished glowing weapons. As Jessicana followed him, Magford glanced at Roseabelle, shaking his head.

  “When did you grow up so fast?”

  Then they plunged into battle. Roseabelle reached into her pack, retrieved a spear for herself, and zipped it closed. Astro was rapidly shooting lightning bolts at a group of Darvonians and Jessicana was jabbing a Thepgile at two hooded figures, holding them back for now.

  As a Darvonian thrust a Trapita at Roseabelle, she blocked the blow with her spear, throwing him back against the wall. She ducked as another one swung a Dragocone Ray at her, rolling and thwacking him in the legs with the spear, sending him sprawling.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of her father. For someone who’d been cooped up in a prison for years, he fought extremely well. Jabbing, slicing, blocking, and thrusting, Magford battled against at least thirty Darvonians, using his supersonic speed. They tried to fight back, but whenever they swung at him, he was already in a different spot.

  Suddenly a monstrous roar echoed through the caverns and everyone froze—Darvonians, Benotripians, and Magford and Roseabelle, who were Metamordians. By the light of the dim torches, Roseabelle could see a wrinkly head rise above the throngs of people, and she backed up slowly.

  The Tropjyle had awakened.

  The Darvonians instantly dispersed, but they were too late—the creature shifted its shell and five nets sprang out, catching a few cloaked figures in their grasp. It was obvious that the monster was feeling threatened and was now protecting itself.

  Roseabelle noticed its feet were built for sprinting fast and she backed up. The Darvonians screamed as the creature released nets in every direction, trapping many figures. She had an urge to grab her friends and father and dart up the stairs, but the monster was blocking their path.

  The annoyed Tropjyle’s eyes suddenly locked onto Astro, and it advanced toward him. The monstrous footsteps shook the entire tunnel, rattling the ground and causing a cloud of dust to float down from the ceiling. The Tropjyle’s piercing stare swept over them, and Roseabelle suddenly froze, paralyzed by fear. Several other Darvonians were suffering the same effect. It was obviously a quality this reptile possessed.

  Roseabelle watched in horror as the monster thundered over to Astro, rearing back and preparing to lash the lightning boy into its trap.

  “Hey!” Jessicana abruptly yelled, waving her arms in front of the Tropjyle, and Roseabelle jumped, breaking out of the trance. The huge creature swiveled its head, eyes narrowing in on Jessicana. Roseabelle barely had time to wonder how her friend had gotten out of the Tropjyle’s paralyzing effect, before the enormous foot of the monster rose over her. In its path toward Jessicana, the Tropjyle was ready to lumber right over Roseabelle. She leaped out of the way just in time as it came crashing down, sending her flying against the back wall.

  The next thing Roseabelle knew, a sharp pain had pierced her skull and her head lolled back, her vision blurry and distant. A hand touched her arm and she struggled to focus her vision. “Roseabelle!” said a voice beside her and she blinked. Her father was crouching beside her, looking concerned. It took Roseabelle a minute to get her bearings before she could look at the battle playing before her. Astro and Jessicana were fighting the Tropjyle—lightning peppered the monster and a brightly colored bird circled it, pecking its leathery head. The creature shot numerous nets at Astro, but he dodged—unfortunately his sword wasn’t so lucky. Roseabelle saw one net curl around the sword and wrench it from Astro’s hand. The weapon clattered to the floor, wrapped up within poisonous barbs.

  Jessicana dove away from the Tropjyle and zoomed toward Roseabelle, transforming back into a girl. “Roseabelle!” she exclaimed. She dug in her pack and brought out her mini potion kit. As a healer, Jessicana carried potions with her wherever she went.

  The Darvonians had switched tactics and were coming toward them now, but Roseabelle was too dazed to say anything. Magford noticed something was awry and pivoted, slashing his double swords at the cloaked figures. He was like a whirlwind of fury.

  Jessicana hurriedly mixed a frothy blue liquid and a white powder together, then shoved the contents into Roseabelle’s mouth. Her senses immediately sharpened, and Roseabelle jolted up, warmth and energy trickling into her limbs. Moonstar suddenly leaped out from the shadows, sinking its knife-like teeth into the monster’s leg and the Tropjyle howled. Roseabelle saw the Tropjyle’s head retracting into its shell. It really was threatened now and was resorting to the only other way to protect itself. Another group of Darvonians was advancing on Astro, backing him into a corner.

  “Thanks, Jessicana,” she said and her friend nodded.

  “There’s no time to waste, come on, we have to get out of here!” Jessicana said.

  A different throng of Darvonians rushed at the girls, and Roseabelle blocked one from striking with her Trapita and dodged another blow from a sword. Jessicana swung her javelin and knocked a Darvonian aside. The two then joined hands, running toward Astro.

  But by the time they got there, his fingertips were crackling. The Darvonians who had ambushed him lay on the floor, out cold. Astro grinned and Jessicana muttered, “Show off.”

  The three of them turned toward Magford, and Roseabelle’s blood ran ice cold. The Darvonians were closing in around him. To her relief, he sped around them—only to come face-to-face with another group.

  “Dad!” she called. The word felt foreign but special on her tongue. She hadn’t said that, well, in as long as she could remember, ever. “We need to get out of here!” Magford’s gaze turned to the staircase and Moonstar raced between the Darvonians, bounding up the stone stairs.

  “I’ll meet you at the top,” she promised her friends. Roseabelle dashed to a shadowy corner, closed her eyes, and pictured the shadow of the cave entrance.

  In a whirling sensation, she was there, right at the top of the staircase. Magford, her friends, and Moonstar were rushing up the stairs below her. “Hurry!” she yelled. Her friends looked surprised at how quickly she had shadow tumbled, but they followed her advice, running up the staircase and skidding to a stop on the ledge of the cave entrance.

  “Hurry, get on Moonstar!” Magford urged. “He can carry three kids your weight quite a long distance.”

  “How? And won’t we just crash below? Wait—can he fly?”

  “Not exactly,” Magford said and touched Roseabelle’s cheek. “Get away from here. I’ll be with you in a few minutes. Trust me.”

  “Wait, back to Benotripia?” she asked, confused.

  “No, Darvonia,” he said. With that, he turned away. Jessicana and Roseabelle clambered onto the enormous creature. Roseabelle didn’t exactly doubt that Moonstar couldn’t carry them—he was huge—but he couldn’t fly! Both of the girls heard the raging cries of the Darvonians close behind them, and Magford motioned for Astro to get on.

  Just then, a Darvonian emerged from below, drawing a knife, and Roseabelle yelled, “Astro! Behind you!”

  CHAPTER 11

  A Plan

  ONE SECOND ASTRO WAS READY TO CLIMB ONTO Moonstar; the next he heard the clink of metal whizzing through the air.

  Instinctively, he ducked and rolled. A dagger flew past just where his head had been, disappearing into the waterfall. A Darvonian stood by the staircase, completely hooded and holding a Dragocone Ray. Astro quickl
y dived for the Darvonian’s ankle, tripping him, just as he was about to bring down the Ray on top of him.

  The Darvonian landed in a heap on the ledge and Astro hurriedly jumped onto the animal. Worried, he turned to look back at Magford, who swung his double swords as he eyed the new attacker. Roseabelle’s father then sank into the black camouflage behind him. Astro blinked a couple of times. If he hadn’t been staring at Magford moments before, he wouldn’t have known where he was.

  “Moonstar will know where to take you! I’ll catch up,” Magford promised. As the Darvonians suddenly poured from the cave entrance, he began battling their Dragocone Rays, breaking their Trapitas in half, dismantling their Spidegars before they got a chance to even throw at him.

  “Now, Moonstar!” Jessicana urged, and the Sheilvoh leaped off the ledge.

  The wind whistled in Astro’s ears, barrelling past him, an eerie whooshing sound filling the air.

  The three friends screamed, closing their eyes as the ground came closer, but the impact never came. Astro opened his eyes—they were on the stone floor. This didn’t make sense. He leaned over to look at the ground and realized Moonstar’s paws weren’t even touching the stone.

  He’s so fast he doesn’t even touch the ground, Astro realized in awe. The three friends hung on as Moonstar carried them through the waterfall. The clear liquid came rushing down on them, and Astro coughed and tried to splash it out of his face.

  Sputtering out water, Jessicana groaned. “Really?” Astro reckoned that was the third time she’d been soaked that day.

  As they headed toward the ocean, Astro braced himself. Was Moonstar hiding some other secret power? Maybe he could lift a little higher in the air and fly? But as they left the ground, the friends felt ocean spray hitting their faces. It suddenly came to Astro—Moonstar is so fast he can run on water.

  This was more exhilarating than anything he’d ever experienced, and he let out a whoop. Roseabelle reached out her hand to catch the salty sea spray, laughing as they sped across the ocean. It was unbelievable to be traveling so fast—Astro had never felt so free in his life.