Cloud Riders (9 page)

Paul held his breath and listened warily for any sound of Vicki coming from within, his face set for the collision, eyes wide and unprotected. Sound from deep inside the sun-reflected billow horrified him; the sound of Vicki's distant voice, distinct and terrified.

"Paulie! Help me!"

Adrenalin flooded Paul's muscles, readying him for whatever he had to endure to save her. Nothing else remained as important, not his companions, nor saving the solar system.

Will pressed his body into Blanch so tightly he looked as though he might be absorbed into his ride.

Isno dug his claws even deeper into Huff, arched his back and screeched in his best catfight voice.

"Reshape! Can't you help us?” Paul called without looking back. No answer.

Silk didn't slow her speed as she neared the golden barrier. What now? If the cloud's makeup proved as dense as it looked, they were all about to impact in a cloud crunch. He lowered his head and shut his eyes.

They pushed into the gigantic cloud pillow as smoothly as fish entering water. Golden wisps surrounded them like a mother's hug, thinning the further they entered into the cloud. Silk didn't slow until they came to a narrow yellow trail.

Silk stopped on the yellow pathway. Red flowers mingled with a few orange ones on both sides of the trail leading up a hill to a far summit.

Reshape had become a golden bunny the size of a bunny and nibbled on succulent looking flowers, his nose twitching. Having his fill of flower blossoms, Reshape wink-evolved into a fat king sitting on a golden throne on the trail behind them. He wore a golden crown with ruby inlays. “Bow."

"Who's he kidding, mate?” Will laughed nervously. “Listen, you can bow if you want, but leave me out of that game, I'm thinking. If you bow once, blimey, he'll be expecting it every time he changes into something. Like a frog king or a pig prince, don't you know. Just leave me out of it. Okay, mate?"

Paul could only stare at his tall muscular travel friend. So many words to say so little. He hated to admit it, but a pattern emerged of a person who would rather watch a fight than help.
Cowardly lion?

Isno blinked his eyes once, showing a slight interest, but didn't bow.

Dismounting from Silk, Paul walked to King Reshape and glared at him. He refused to bend, even though he wanted to show Will he held no fear of such a formality. “Vicki, King. Remember?” Paul thought it incredulous he needed to mention the purpose of their journey—after all, Reshape called himself their guide.

"Bow. Bow now,” the king ordered.

"I won't,” Paul said. “What does this have to do with saving Vicki?"

Silk turned and crossed her front legs. She bent into a horn-down horsy curtsy. Isno tipped his head in continued mild interest. Paul knew Isno wouldn't bow unless offered a food delight.

"Don't expect me—” Will started.

"I know,” Paul said. “I know.” He couldn't help himself as he said, “Don't you know."

Reshape once again became a golden bunny and looked at Paul as if seeing him for the first time. “Clinging to Earth realities is how illusion is destroyed. Allow what is to happen, to happen. Be a witness to your imagined reality,” the bunny explained matter-of-factly.

"I'm into reporting you to Maken Fairchild, Bunny Reshape!” Paul warned. “He said you were his friend and you were supposed to be our guide."

Becoming a golden greyhound, Reshape raced at full speed while staying in place. His tongue hung out from the effort and despite his lack of forward movement, he looked ahead as if to make sure he wouldn't run into anything unexpected. “Bow-now,” Reshape said. “Bow-wow."

Isno jumped to his feet and arched his back, his black hair standing on end. He curled his upper lip and exposed the awesome length of his fangs, as he spit, hissed and growled at his mortal enemy, a dog. He blinked his eyes and became quiet once he said, “Reshape dog."

Paul laughed. “Reshape dog."

"Not up tied. Fence no. Find off-fencive,” Isno said.

"That's kind of clever, Isno,” Paul said in wonder. “Off fencive.” He grinned and then frowned.
Vicki.
His mind raced in a circle biting at itself, punishment for being so easily distracted.

"Cat me,” Isno said, demanding attention.

Reshape the running greyhound cleared his throat.

Paul stood on the yellow dirt-like trail and realized perhaps Vicki's life depended on his imagination. He pursed his lips as he debated how to catch the attention of the changing forms of Reshape. Imagination. He visualized freezing Reshape into the form of the rabbit he had become as they first landed on the yellow dirt road.

The harder Paul tried to keep Reshape from reshaping, the faster their so-called guide changed. The greyhound became a rainbow-colored butterfly, a yellow worm with red stripes, a silver kitchen sink, a set of cherry painted smiling lips and coiling green and blue swirling smoke without a shape.

Kid Badd?
Paul's breath sped up as he considered the complication the kid represented in finding his sister. Now his so-called guide had to be added to his mental list of obstacles. It wasn't fair.

Reshape evolved into a coiled snake, confirming Paul's suspicions. His guide steered the group when it suited his pleasure and would spend most of his time changing shapes to amuse himself. Paul couldn't wait for the snake shape to evolve into something else. Snakes weren't one of his favorite things, even though he'd never been hurt by one. He looked at Isno as the cat backed and hissed. “You agree, huh, Isno? Snakes are for the birds."

"Life two rattlesnake lost.” Isno hunched his shoulders.

Reshape uncoiled into a bright waterfall of molten lava, cooled and dissolved into a white dove reflecting the golden hue of the cloud.

Paul knew what to do. He turned on his powers of ignoring. This lasted only a few seconds until he heard his mouth asking Reshape, “What do any of your form changes have to do with finding my sister?"

"Master, I think he does not know,"
Silk mind-spoke.

"Then how can he be our guide?” Paul asked Silk, staring at Reshape as he turned into a blue-breasted robin. Paul's face felt warm and his lips pressed together, trying not to give voice to the smart-alecky remarks flashing through his head, but out they came. “You're always behind us, yet you say you lead. Does your friend Maken Fairchild know you're such a comedian?"

Will had enough. “What is he doing, mate? Look, you gotta think he's being kind of funny, isn't he. A snake. I don't mean to interrupt this, but isn't he playing with our heads, a little bit, maybe? I never seen anything like him in
five
years and all. Isn't he pulling on us kind of hard, like?"

"Why don't you ask him for yourself?” Paul suggested.

"I better leave it up to you, mate. You know him, and there's rule one."

"I just met him. I haven't been up here for five years,” he called to Will.

"Yeah."

"I don't have five years. Vicki is in trouble right now. Didn't you hear her?"

"Yeah. But I didn't hear Holly,” Will said in a defensive tone. “So it's your show, I'm thinking. At least you hear your sister, mate. I haven't heard a single sound from Holly, for sure. I don't even know if she's up here. Blimey, don't you think I've tried to go back, mate? Go back to England for sure."

"Look, Will. When we find Vicki we'll look for Holly, I promise.” He hoped the promise wouldn't come back to bite him.

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Paul remounted Silk. “Find Vicki!” His cloud unicorn soared up the yellow pathway, Will beside him on his cloud banana. Isno crouched as Huff followed. Reshape tagged along behind, transforming into a hippopotamus, mouth stretched wide open as if in surprise at something unexpected being stuck into his hindquarters.

"Paulie!” Vicki's panicky voice came from beyond the hill's crest. “Help me!"

Paul's brow wrinkled. How did she know he tried to find her?

The hippopotamus said, “Perhaps you imagined the voice."

"That's not fair!” Paul bristled. “I didn't imagine her cry for help. I didn't imagine her disappearing. I didn't imagine her—"

"Mister Reshape, I hear her too, don't you know,” Will said. “Like, I wouldn't hear her if Paul only imagined it, would I, hippopotamus sir?"

"I said,
perhaps
,” the hippo said, and grinned a hippo sized smile. “Maybe, possibly, could be?"

"Did Maken Fairchild send you to torture me?” Paul asked the hippo.

"Perhaps."

Isno cat-said, “Know you I."

"What are you saying, Isno?” Paul quizzed.

"Know him I."

"Which him?"

"All he."

Paul found this most puzzling. His cat tried to tell him something important, yet the message refused to make sense.

The giant hippo opened his mouth wide and whispered, “Do not listen to him. He is just a cat."

"What a brilliant hippopotamus piece of information, Reshape. Did I imagine Isno is a cat?” he demanded. “He's—"

"A cat,” the hippo interrupted. “A dumb cat."

"Hey!” Isno hissed. “Maken you Fairchild."

"What?” Paul said, his eyelids trying to push up into his forehead.

"Now the cat is out of the bag,” Reshape's hippo groaned. “Got to be careful around cats. They know more than their humans recognize. But sometimes they are mistaken. There is a reason they have been given nine lives. They have to have time to get it right."

On the way toward the top of the road, Paul watched the flowers lining the trail motioning toward them as if they invited the group to walk on them rather than the pathway. Red and orange oversized rose and tulip shaped blossoms flexed their petals like little colorful mouths ready to bite.

"Keep away from those flowers, Silk,” Paul warned. He lifted his legs higher. “They might be a trap."

"See bite flowers me.” Isno watched the blossoms bend toward him and nip at the air, talking amongst themselves in a language only flowers could understand.

Paul looked back in time to see Reshape flash-wink into a great golden dinosaur. It stomped on the flowers with each stride. As each foot lifted for its next step, the crushed blooms popped up undamaged, a brighter red or a more brilliant orange. They opened and closed their petals with a speed scolding Reshape's dinosaur feet in a vociferous volume unheard by human ears.

"Silk, do you have any idea where this road leads?” Paul asked. “I'm not sure this cloud trail isn't full of tricks."

"I am a cloud also, Master. Huff is a cloud. Blanch Bunch is a cloud. We clouds have no reason to trick you. Master."

"Nor do I,” Reshape said, drifting alongside them, now a big oval disk with a smiling face, slightly less yellow than the sun. His mouth changed from smile to frown and back again as the yellow happy face disk defied gravity and rolled uphill.

They arrived at the crest of the yellow dirt road and came to a stop. Paul gasped.

Below the steep decline stood a majestic shining castle, its double towers rising far into the sky. The tips of the columns were below the steep trail's highest point, making them impossible to see from the road up. The great palace's building blocks were made of solid ice. The structure glowed in the cloud's golden color, setting it off like an immense jewel.

Paul's wonder evaporated as Vile Extinction's nasty voice slammed through his head.
Say hello to my son and death!
Paul caught a glimpse of Kid Badd above them and to the right. “Look out!
Incoming
!” he warned the others.

A burst of green ignited the air around them as it flashed forward. Paul jumped off Silk. The burning ray closely missed Silk's horn and almost peeled Blanch from under Will. Isno grabbed onto his cloud's side to evade being burned to a green singe. Reshape transformed into a small red dimpled golf ball in time to make the green blaze miss him by less than his own thickness. Kid Badd remained at stiff attention, cursed, and flew backward out of the golden cloud, as if his eyes’ discharge had the kickback of a giant cannon.

"Oh, Master. Do not worry; I can grow another horn if the boy destroys it."

"Thing is, Silk, Will and Isno and me can't grow another body part."

"How come, Master? Imagination quit working?"

"Better ask the golf ball, he seems to be running my show,” Paul said with clear irritation. “I guess in my parallel-imagined-life, I've got to learn to play golf. Tell me if you see a black hole, it might be worth the practice to try and hit a hole in one."

"
Master is so funny. What is a hole in one?"

"Mate,” Will called. “Our sisters, isn't it? I'm thinking that boy could hurl his green spark at them. We best find them before he does."

Paul nodded, turned away from Will and studied the castle. The great ice structure reflected the sun's golden-yellow color; its twin towers elevated a great distance above their heads. Two rows of horizontal window slits carved into the massive cubed ice-blocks suggested a double story configuration. Each slit contained icicle bars; alternating stalagmites pushing up and stalactites hanging down. Two entrances stood side by side, each with a massive ice slab door without handles or windows. Above each, carved in deep relief were the words: CHOOSE ME.

Reshape became a large rainbow-striped bull and galloped down toward the doors, Paul, Will and Isno running after him. He lowered his head and used his horns to butt against the gigantic right door, his horn tips chipping ice as he battered it open, retaining his shape long enough for Paul and Will to run through the opening into the structure. Reshape quickly evolved into a tiny rainbow-colored mouse and scurried inside just ahead of Isno's leap through the closing ice door. Isno chased Reshape's mouse configuration as the mammoth barrier slammed shut with a scraping crunch.

Above Paul's head, sunlight filtered through the barred window slots. Ahead of them two passageways, both inviting in their mystery and forbidding in their darkness. “Isno, you go down the hallway on the right and Reshape, you try the left one, and report back if you see anything.” Isno could use his cat sense to determine if anybody waited to ambush them, and Reshape could turn into something small to duck a Kid Badd shot.