Festival of Shadows (49 page)

“Come and watch me ring the bell!”

“Want to fly on a dragon? Get out your coins!”

More toys came, and soon the place bustled with noise and laughter.
 

Theo sat in the back of a wagon and watched from the outskirts. Despite all the damage, despite the festival’s ragged appearance, the visiting toys were having fun. They rode the carousel and played the games in the midway, and they happily paid coins for everything.
 

He didn’t know why, but it was sad. All these toys were trying to create a semblance of their former lives in this bleak dimension where the truth was obvious. When it was all over, when the lights were turned off, when the caravan moved on to its next location, these toys would go back to living in fear, back to the reality of the Stratusphere. And beyond, in the dark places of this world where there was no goodness, other toys were probably celebrating evil things—all because they chose the side that offered them safety, even if that safety came at a terrible price.

He prayed that he would never end up like the caravan toys. He didn’t like the idea of having to make such a choice about his fate.
 

In the distance, Lucinda stood on a platform and spoke into a megaphone.

“I want to take a moment to remember our dear friend who couldn’t be with us tonight. Everything you see is in his honor. Through his memory, we are reminded to never lose hope, to always smile, to always make the best of our situation—no matter how discarded or abandoned we feel. Though we may be surrounded by eternal darkness, we must always represent the light. Let’s cheer for Mazeltop and the rest of our friends who have died!”

“Yippee!”

Lucinda hovered upward. “One more cheer for hope!”

“Woo hoo!”

Lucinda flew higher and fired several dream blasts into the sky; they exploded into fireworks, and everyone oohed and aahed.

The toys grabbed her, cheering. She blushed and laughed as she lost herself in the huge crowd.
 

It was the perfect time to leave. Theo jumped off the wagon and looked up at the moon.
 

It was nice to know all of you.

He turned to leave when he heard a voice. “Leaving, eh?”

It was Jiskyl.
 

“I fulfilled my duties,” Theo said.
 

“Yes, and now it’s time for me to fulfill mine.”

Jiskyl handed him a golden, decorated shield with a dragon on the front. “It once belonged to a knight. You’ll need it.”

Theo held the shield; along with the Whatsamadoozle, it felt right.
 

“You can enter the castle through the Dream Marshes.”

“I tried that, but Shaggy ambushed me there.”

“You were on the north end of the marshes,” Jiskyl said. “You need to go to the south end. You can access the castle through a sewer drain. On my way here, I passed by it and I assure you that it’s still unguarded. You can get to the lower level of the castle from the sewers. Just be careful when you get inside—heaven knows what lurks in those filthy canals.”

“Thanks, Jiskyl.”

The old fish nodded and shook Theo’s hand. “You might save us all, or you might be headed to your grave—I still can’t figure you out. But in any case, it was nice to meet you.”

Theo looked back at the festival, where everyone was having fun and laughing and playing. The sound of music and the smell of cotton candy blended into the night, and part of him wished he could have stayed, enjoyed the company of friends. But he knew what he had to do.
 

Theo saluted Jiskyl, and then started down the path to the Dream Marshes, thinking of Grant.

CHAPTER COMPLETE!

~ Continue.

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Chapter 12

Sluicing Around

Theo made his way through the Dream Marshes, and just outside the castle he found the drain that Jiskyl had told him about. He turned the Whatsamadoozle into a saw and cut himself an entrance.
 

The drain was dark and wide. He turned the Whatsamadoozle into a flashlight and climbed in. After a while, he emerged in a sewer system. Marsh water gushed in thick streams, and green-stoned walkways flanked the channels on either side. The streams crisscrossed each other at perpendicular angles, and here and there were capstans—some working, some broken—that looked as if they controlled the water somehow. On the far side of the system, Theo saw an iron door with moons all over it—it had to lead upstairs to the castle.
 

I’ve got to get to that door.

He would have to get past the streams, but he knew that if he touched the marsh water it would send him into hallucinations. He prepared to jump, but then he stopped. The distance was too far.
 

He turned the Whatsamadoozle into a propeller and was ready to take off when a school of shimmering piranhas splashed out of the water, chomping. They eyed Theo, waiting for him.

They’ll eat me alive if I try to cross.
 

 
He ran down a pathway. It dead-ended at a capstan, but its wooden handles were missing.
 

 
This probably controls the water flow, but it’s broken. How am I supposed to get across?

He heard a jangling sound behind him and ducked into an alcove as a blue blob with an eye patch rounded a corner. Its mouth was a dripping mess, and its breath—a mixture of raw sewage, rotten food, and burning plastic—made Theo gag. It carried a lantern in one hand and a wooden bucket filled with tools in the other. The blob grumbled as it walked, leaving a trail of steaming slime after it. As it got closer to Theo, he could read the name written sloppily on both the lantern and the bucket: Fogerty.

“Here it is,” Fogerty said, stopping at the lever. He set the bucket down, reached into his throat, and pulled out a slimy clipboard. “Sluice gate ten thousand, five hundred and sixty-six. This one ain’t so bad. All it needs is an Allen wrench.”
 

He dug through the tool box and pulled out a huge Allen wrench. He slid it into the capstan and strained to push it clockwise until it rotated twice. Below, the marsh water stopped flowing, revealing a walkway with a door set into one of the walls.
 

Fogerty gazed toward another capstan in the distance. “Better keep going if I want to eat some toys for lunch. I can’t remember which one needs the
Sprocket
.”

He sludged his way toward the next capstan.

Theo dropped down where the water had been. The piranhas were gone. He tugged on the metal door, pulling several times before it clanged open. Beyond it lay a small room with a yellow ladder. Theo climbed the ladder into the ceiling and came to another iron door. He opened it and stepped into a small alcove, ducking as Fogerty passed.
 

The next capstan was nearby—he had taken a shortcut.
 

Fogerty set down his bucket and inspected the broken lever. “I think this one needs a good hammering.” He pulled out a hammer and banged several of the capstan’s bars until it moved.

Below, the marsh water stopped flowing. Fogerty turned the capstan and a small bridge extended from the ground, connecting the two walkways. The walkway led to another broken capstan.
 
Once it was opened Theo would be able to make it to the door.
 

Below, the marsh water stopped flowing. Fogerty turned the capstan, and a small bridge extended from the ground, connecting the two walkways, where another broken capstan was—one more, and Theo could make it to the door.
 

“That’s the one that needs the
Sprocket
,” Fogerty said, sludging across the bridge.

There’s only one more left. I need to take him out.

POW!
Theo turned the Whatsamadoozle into a mallet and smacked Fogerty in the back, knocking him off the bridge. He caught Fogerty’s bucket in midair.
 

“Thanks.”

Fogerty splattered onto the ground below and tried to form himself back together. “You rotten plush-bucket . . .”

Theo crossed the bridge and turned the Whatsamadoozle into a whip, lashed it across the way, and grabbed the capstan, turning it several times. Marsh water flowed below, washing Fogerty away. He screamed as he disappeared down a tunnel.
 

Theo ran to the final capstan. The top was exposed, revealing a gear box with an empty circular space where an object should have been.

He looked in the bucket. “He said it needed a sprocket. Okay, here’s one. But what goes with a sprocket?”

~ (Next page)

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The capstan wouldn’t budge. He cycled through all the tools, and he finally found the correct one, but it took a long time.
 

A bridge extended, and he ran across to the door. It was massive, with an image of the night sky etched into the metal. There was a slot for a circular object in the middle of the door.

Theo remembered the coin purse that Jiskyl had given him; he unloaded the coins into his palm and scanned them. He cycled through the coins until he found the right one.
 

Theo used the:

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Theo slid the coin into the slot, but nothing happened.

“Wrong one,” Theo said. He tried to pull the coin out, but it wouldn’t move. He heard a sound like a clock ticking on the other side of the door.
 

“Must be a security mechanism,” Theo said. “It probably timed me out.”

He waited for a long time until the coin fell out. He cycled through the coins until he found the right one; it lit up in the slot. The door shone with light before creaking open.
 

“I’m coming, Grant,” Theo said, running through.
 

~ Continue.

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The coin lit up inside the slot, and the door shone with light before creaking open.
 

Behind him, the water turned to sludge. Fogerty’s face appeared in the current, and the blob rose high into the air, towering over Theo. He was huge now, a wall of sludge and slime. He put on his eye patch and roared.
 

“How dare you sneak into the castle?”

Theo readied the Whatsamadoozle.
 

A big, slimy arm extended from Fogerty’s body. He ripped a capstan out of the floor and hurled it, wedging it inside the doorway and blocking Theo from passing. Fogerty raised his arm again, but Theo rolled out of the way, slashing his sword at the arm. The sword went through it, but it didn’t affect Fogerty.
 

“Your physical attacks will not work on me, plush-bucket.”
 

Theo turned the Whatsamadoozle into a magic scepter and tried to think of a spell.
 

The stream near Theo flowed with assorted garbage and junk. Among the trash was a familiar silver object—Andersen’s metal suit. It was floating on the surface, and Theo wondered if it still worked.

How did it end up here?

Fogerty swiped at Theo, but Theo dodged, turned the Whatsamadoozle into a giant claw, and snatched the suit out of the water. He jumped into the suit and it activated around him. The arms and legs sprang to life, one at a time. The glass visor shut over his face, and through the glass, Theo saw the capstans, with yellow targets positioned over them.
 

Then he got a whiff of the suit’s interior—a mixture of sweat, makeup, and smelly feet. He almost gagged. He’d have to hold his breath.
 

Theo turned the Whatsamadoozle into a sword and stood in front of Fogerty, slashing the air.
 

“Interesting contraption,” Fogerty said. “But it won’t work on me.” He smacked a nearby capstan, then flowed into a tunnel and emerged on the other side, this time glowing red.