back, young man,” Cleogha promised, pointing at me this time. “Mark my words. I’ll be back. Even if you are dead before I do!”
Dead? I repeated to myself. Dead? What had I done to deserve death?
Cleogha cackled again and swooped over the crowd toward our house. “I’ll be back. You mark my words.”
There was nothing I could do. Witch Cleogha had decided that I was her enemy. She was going to get revenge. She was going to get me.
I collapsed weakly and fell onto the bed.
Cleogha wanted me dead!
5: CAT GOT YOUR NOSE?
IN the morning, my excitement over Trooping Fairy Day put the fears and thoughts of Cleogha out of my head. I had better things to think about. Fun things.
Little did I know that I would soon be thinking about the witch a lot.
I jumped out of bed and let out a loud whoop. I was so excited. The day had finally arrived. No witches, no school, no chores—just fun all day and night.
Jozlyn stirred in her bed and squinted sleepily at me. “Hush! You have the manners of a garbage-gobbling goblin,” she scolded as I cavorted wildly about my bed.
Older sisters never seem to get as excited about things as their younger brothers.
I took a deep breath and jumped from my bed to hers. I continued to bounce up and down like … well, like a garbage-gobbling goblin.
I sang a silly song to go along with my crazy dance.
Summer’s here, but I don’t care.
I smell garbage in the air.
Chew and burp,
Gobble, slurp—
I’m a goblin, so beware!
Thunk! Jozlyn’s pillow whacked me in the face. I collapsed on her bed and she tickled me. We both laughed.
Mom and Dad peeked into our room just then. They were smiling and dressed in fancy outfits that Mom had sewn for special occasions. They looked very dapper.
“Are you two goblins ready for breakfast?” Dad asked with a grin.
“I’m not a goblin,” Jozlyn protested, pretending to pout. She knew Dad was teasing, so she teased right back. “But he is, so I’ll eat his share of breakfast!”
She gave me a shove and then jumped out of bed and ran giggling through the door and into the kitchen.
We all ate in a hurry, cleaned up, and left. No matter how eager we were to get going, Mom insisted that we clean up. Work first and play later, she always said. I guess it made sense to get the hard stuff out of the way.
The walk to the festival grounds took forever. The grounds weren’t that far away but every step seemed to get us only an inch closer.
I think Mom walked slow on purpose. She kept stopping to point out flowers and butterflies. Jozlyn acted as if she was interested but I knew she was just trying to act more grown-up.
I ran ahead to scout our path, then I dashed back to report my findings. “Almost to Mosswood Bridge,” I announced.
Mosswood Bridge crossed Gurgleburp Creek at the edge of town. The creek was named Gurgleburp because of the noise it made passing through a patch of rapids under the bridge. Gurgle, the water went down into the rocks. Then burp, it hiccupped out the other side.
My friend Connor was waiting for me outside the festival grounds. He was the one who claimed to have seen a troll. He leaned against the wooden gate while people made their way inside.
Connor was my age but had short blond hair. He was also a lot bigger than I was. His dad was a knight, so I guess muscles ran in the family.
“Morning, Connor,” I said cheerfully when I saw him.
“That’s Sir Connor to you, peasant,” Connor replied. He was always calling people peasant. Anyone who wasn’t a knight was a peasant in his eyes. That made Connor a peasant because he wasn’t a knight, but I didn’t point that out to him.
I turned to Mom, who was pointing at a bird’s nest. “Mom, can I go with Connor? I promise to be back in time for the parade.”
“Sure, dear,” Mom smiled. “But no exploring the woods.”
The festival and parade took place at the edge of Everleaf Woods. The edge of the woods was safe, but the inside was dark and spooky and led to Croneswart Swamp. The swamp was just about the darkest and spookiest place there was.
“Great!” I shouted, turning to Connor, but Dad called me.
“You’ll need this,” he said, tossing something shiny into the air. It sparkled in a high arc, and I caught it when it came down. It was a silver penny.
Silver! This was going to be the best Trooping Fairy Day ever.
“Thanks, Dad!” I beamed.
“Enjoy yourself, you rich goblin, and be sure to meet us by the fountain in time for the parade,” Dad instructed as Connor and I dashed through the gate.
People wandered everywhere, shopping, talking, and smiling. Jugglers tossed colorful balls and knives in the air. Bards sang songs, strumming and tooting on instruments. Acrobats wore silly costumes and caps with long floppy tops. They bounded down the streets, doing cartwheels and back-flips. Food vendors waved scrumptious-looking treats and candies for all to see.
There was even a little black cat with one silver ear wearing a red collar scurrying in and out around people’s feet.
I bought some gooey taffy and foamy green punch that bubbled like a science experiment for Connor and me. We walked around for a long time watching people, laughing at the street performers, playing games, and talking with friends wherever we saw them. We bought more snacks, too, and pretty soon our stomachs hurt so much that we really did feel like gobbling goblins.
“Josh, look at that crazy cat,” Connor said. He pointed at the little black cat sitting a few feet away from us.
People had to step around it because it refused to budge. It sat in the middle of the roadway, just staring.
I shrugged. “Probably hungry,” I told Connor. I squatted down in front of the cat. “Sorry, kitty, we don’t have any treats for you.” It was true. I’d spent all of my silver, and we’d eaten all of the treats.
The cat stared at me, blinking slowly. Then it jumped up and swatted my nose.
6: CAT THIEF
I fell back on my rump. People laughed and pointed. The little cat had knocked me down. How embarrassing!
I rubbed my nose where the cat had scratched me. It hurt more than a little scratch should hurt and sort of tingled.
The cat scampered back, then stopped and turned around. “Meow,” it said.
I waved a hand at it angrily. “Go away!”
Connor stomped his feet. “Be gone, peasant,” he ordered the cat.
“Meow,” it said again. It didn’t seem afraid of us.
I stood up and kicked at the dirt. I didn’t like the idea of people laughing at me, and I wanted to go somewhere else.
The cat was giving me a weird feeling. It kept staring at me as if it could read my mind. I hoped it could read the mean thoughts I was thinking about it.
“Come on, Connor, let’s go,” I said grumpily.
We met my parents and Jozlyn by the fountain a little while later. Connor called me a peasant one more time, said goodbye, and went off to find his own family.
Mom and Dad sat with their backs against the fountain. Lots of other people did, too. The fountain was short and round and had a stone unicorn in the center. Water sprayed from the unicorn’s horn. I think Mom and Dad picked the spot because of the unicorn. They knew Jozlyn loved horses and a unicorn was the next best thing.
Jozlyn and I sat in front of our parents. A row of children stretched to both sides of us. Kids always got the front-row seats.
Lights of blue, red, pink, and green suddenly flashed in the trees to our left. They sparkled like shining raindrops, floating gracefully down from the highest branches to the ground.
For some reason, they made me think of Cleogha’s magic dust. I didn’t want to think about the witch but I couldn’t help myself.
“Ooooh, they’re so pretty,” Jozlyn gasped. Her eyes were wide and Rosie sat propped in her lap. Jozlyn claimed Rosie needed
a good seat, too, because she was a pixie and wanted to watch her friends in the parade.
Obviously Jozlyn wasn’t thinking of magic dust or anything else from last night.
The fairies continued to flutter down. I’d seen the parade enough times to know that the lights were really fairies holding tiny candles. Fairies have wings, so gliding down from a tree isn’t a problem for them.
Another disturbing thought popped into my head, this one about flying. Cleogha the witch could fly, too, just like the fairies.
Why am I thinking about Cleogha so much? I wondered. First her dust and now her flying broom. I should be enjoying the parade.
I fidgeted and took a deep breath. The fairies had landed and were skipping back and forth through the grass. They zigzagged like a snake—
A snake! I saw Cleogha’s green and purple snake in my mind. I just couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened on Cauldron Cooker’s Night.
“Meow,” the little black cat said suddenly from out of nowhere. It was rubbing against Jozlyn’s knee, and my sister scratched it behind its silver ear.
I stared at the cat and it stared at me. “What do you want?” I asked, making a face. The scratch on my nose started to tingle again.
“Help me-ow,” the cat replied. Then it jumped into Jozlyn’s lap, snatched Rosie in its mouth, and raced into the woods.
7: HELP ME-OW
STUNNED, I watched frozen and silent as the cat bounded speedily through the crowd. In no time it disappeared into Everleaf Woods.
I couldn’t believe what had happened. Had the cat really said “Help me-ow?” Had it really taken Jozlyn’s doll and run off?
Everything had happened so fast. The cat had spoken, I’d blinked, and then it had taken Rosie and dashed off.
Cauldron Cooker's Night (Epic Fantasy Adventure Series, Knightscares Book 1) Page 3