Kendra Kandlestar and the Crack in Kazah (13 page)

SOMETIMES THE ODDS are stacked against us. This you’ll know if you’ve ever played in an important game against a rival team that’s bigger, faster, and stronger. You might feel like it’s not even worth competing, that it might be better to just throw in the towel before the match even starts. You might feel like there’s no hope—just like Kendra at the moment she stared at Captain Rinkle and his guards.

Then something completely unexpected happened.

Gayla lifted her head to the ceiling and unleashed a terrifying howl from her throat. It was the type of wild, savage howl that you might hear in the woods or from an animal at the zoo, the kind that sends a shiver scampering down your spine.

For a moment Captain Rinkle and his men froze, paralyzed by fear and surprise—but not for long. For in the next instant Gayla raised her wand and, still howling, charged. It didn’t seem to matter that she was one against thirteen; she looked for all the world like an Unger on the hunt, and at once the Een guards turned tail and fled. One or two of them even dropped their weapons. Around the corner they bolted, Gayla nipping at their heels with zaps from her wand.

Kendra listened in bafflement until the raucous sounds of the chase faded away. After a few seconds, she and Oki were left in complete silence, all alone at the dead end.

“
Holy kookamundo!
What just happened?” Oki exclaimed.

“She’s crazy, that’s what happened,” Kendra said hotly. “But at least now we can look for Uncle Griffinskitch.”

“And Ratchet,” Oki added. “Remember, he’s down here too.”

“We’ll find them both,” Kendra assured him. “But I’m confused. We were brought to this specific spot in the dungeon. Shouldn’t that mean we’re close to them?”

Oki didn’t answer. He was gazing intently at the dead-end wall.

“What is it?” Kendra asked.

“There’s a long crack running up the stones,” Oki said. “I may not know this part of the Elder Stone, but I know how the Elder Stone works. And I think there’s a hidden door here.” He scratched his whiskery chin and began pressing different stones on the wall. “Look,” he said after a moment. “Up there—I can’t reach it, but there’s one stone a slightly different color. Push it, Kendra.”

Kendra shrugged and pressed her hand against the rock. Just like that, the wall began to quietly shift to one side, revealing a long and narrow passageway faintly lit by a few torches. “Do you think that’s where they are?” Kendra asked as she peered into the corridor.

“You’re uncle’s the most powerful wizard in Een,” Oki remarked. “I’m guessing Burdock wanted to make it extra difficult for anyone to find him.”

“Well, he never counted on you,” Kendra said. “Come on.”

They crept down the passageway, taking a few turns before coming to a sharp corner. Kendra felt her braids tingle. She paused, motioned Oki to be quiet, and peered around the stones to see a single cell set within the far wall. Sure enough, there was Uncle Griffinskitch. He was sitting in quiet meditation behind a row of thick wooden bars, eyes closed and arms extended, even though each wrist was cuffed in iron and shackled to the walls by heavy chains. He looked terribly pale and his long beard was streaked with grime.

Kendra stared at him in bewilderment. We must remember that the last time she had seen her uncle was in Gayla’s time, when he was tall and intimidating. Now here he was, broken and ancient, like a wisp of white smoke against the cold stones of the dungeon. All at once Kendra realized how much she missed him, how much she wanted to save him.

Then, suddenly, Uncle Griffinskitch’s eyes flew open. “Kendra?” he blurted.

How did he know I’m here?
she wondered. She was just about to rush forward when he spoke again: “Mind your manners.”

She froze.

“What does that mean?” Oki whispered.

Kendra shook her head. They waited. Then, from the shadows at the other end of the passage, a hunched and crooked figure strutted forward and stood before Uncle Griffinskitch’s cell.

“Burdock,” Kendra gasped.

He was wearing a long, two-tailed coat, a fancy white scarf, and a pair of checkered trousers. In his flamboyant colors he looked completely out of place in the dismal dungeon.

“What did I hear you say?’” Burdock asked Uncle Griffinskitch. “Kendra? Tut, tut,
old friend.
Do I look like that pesky girl? Perhaps your mind is going soft. I’m afraid your wayward niece has abandoned you—just like her mother, all those years ago. Unreliable sort, aren’t they?”

Kendra felt her blood begin to boil. She had to fight the urge to jump out and blast Burdock with her wand.

“Humph,” Uncle Griffinskitch grunted, glaring at Burdock.

“Oh, don’t dismay,” Burdock said in mock sympathy, wagging his staff at the white wizard. “You have me, after all. Don’t I come and visit you each and every day?”

Just to taunt him,
Kendra thought, yanking angrily on a braid.

“And look, I brought you something,” Burdock announced. He reached into his coat and pulled out a staff. It was twisted and gnarled, much longer than Burdock’s own wand; Kendra recognized it at once as her uncle’s. Burdock twirled it in front of Uncle Griffinskitch and smiled smugly. “I thought you might like to gaze upon it,” Burdock jeered. “I’d let you have it, you know—if only you had picked your sides better.”

“I would rather side with a skerpent,” Uncle Griffinskitch growled.

“Careful what you wish for—skerpents can be arranged,” Burdock snarled.

“Oki,” Kendra whispered ever so softly as Burdock and her uncle began a heated exchange of words. “We have to snatch that staff.”

“How?” Oki asked.

“You sneak behind Burdock,” Kendra said. “Once you’re close enough I’ll distract him, make him drop it—then you grab the wand and get it to Uncle Griffinskitch.”

“Me?” Oki asked. “Why don’t you do the sneaking?”

“You’re smaller,” Kendra explained. “He probably won’t see you.”

“Probably?” Oki squeaked.

“You can do it,” Kendra said. “Just don’t think of eggs.”

Oki sighed, but with a nervous twitch of his tail crept around the corner.

Kendra glanced at Uncle Griffinskitch; if he noticed Oki, his face betrayed no surprise. As for Burdock, he had his back to the little mouse. Slowly and carefully, Oki maneuvered along the wall until he was just a tail’s length away from Burdock.

Kendra gave her friend a reassuring nod and, with one final tug on a braid, slipped the Kazah stone onto her finger and stepped boldly around the corner. Burdock heard her at once and whirled around.

“Well, well,” he growled, raising his staff at Kendra. “If it isn’t the braided brat. You are no match for me, Eenling. Hand over your wand and maybe I’ll allow you to bade farewell to your uncle before I lock you away.”

“Oh, I have something much better than a wand,” Kendra announced, raising her hand to show the decrepit old wizard the Kazah stone.

“Agent Lurk’s ring!” Burdock exclaimed. “Where did you get that?”

“I’m more powerful than you think,” Kendra declared. “Don’t you know what this is? It’s a Kazah stone.”

“How do you know about Kazah?” Burdock demanded, thumping his staff on the floor. “Only fully-trained wizards are introduced to such mysteries.”

“Like I said,” Kendra proclaimed. “I’m more powerful than you think. I know all about Kazah. Have you ever seen one this round, Burdock? This is the most powerful stone of its kind in all the world.”

“So you say,” Burdock sneered. But his beady eyes gleamed with lust.

“I’ll give it to you,” Kendra said, keeping half an eye on Oki as he took one careful step closer to Burdock. “Just free my uncle.”

“You’re in no position to negotiate,” Burdock snarled. “I’ll take what I please.”

“If that’s the way you’re going to be, I’ll just give you the ring,” Kendra said. “Here—catch!”

She pretended to throw the stone in the air—greedily, Burdock reached for it—but to do so, he had to drop Uncle Griffinskitch’s staff. Many things now seemed to happen at once. Kendra raised her own wand and sent a zap in Burdock’s direction. It wasn’t much, but it struck the hunched wizard in the shoulder and sent him staggering back a step. At that exact moment, Oki scurried forward and snatched Uncle Griffinskitch’s staff, just as it clattered to the ground. Quickly, he slid it through the bars of the cell and into the wizard’s waiting hands.

In an instant, Uncle Griffinskitch had freed himself of his chains. He waved his staff, tore a gaping hole in his bars, and barreled towards Burdock, who was just regaining his wits.

Kendra saw Burdock’s eyes fly open in surprise, but instead of firing back, the hunched wizard merely aimed his wand at the ceiling and, with a fiery burst of lightning, brought down an avalanche of stone.

“Run!” Kendra screamed.

Desperately, she swung her wand to summon a protection spell—but she was too slow. A stone struck her in the chest and sent her sprawling backwards. What few torches were lighting the tunnel were now extinguished in the collapse of the ceiling; the last thing Kendra saw before she was cast into darkness was the sight of Burdock Brown, skittering away to safety, like a spider.

KENDRA COULDN’T SEE—but she could hear. The sound of the rocks falling was thunderous. Still on her back, the tiny Een girl pulled herself back on her elbows, desperately hoping that none of the tumbling stones would crush her. She felt giant, angular slabs of rock smashing the near-by ground, but the next thing she knew silence returned. The calamity was over.

Kendra sat up and waved her hand over the knob of her wand, trying to coax light from it. She could only muster the faintest glow.

“Kendra?” came a timid voice.

“Oki?” Kendra picked her way across the broken rock and found him with his tail pinched beneath a stone. She put her shoulder against it and rolled it away. “Are you okay?” she asked.

He nodded. “Where’s Burdock?”

“Fled like a coward,” she answered. “We have to find my uncle.”

Together, they stumbled over the rubble and called out for the old wizard. Then Kendra heard him coughing. She moved towards the sound, but soon bumped against a wall of rock. The ceiling had fallen in such a way to divide the passageway completely in two: Uncle Griffinskitch on one side and them on the other. Kendra raised her glowing wand to the barrier of rock, finding only a small chink.

“Uncle Griffinskitch?” she called. “Are you okay?”

In a moment the old wizard’s face appeared in the gap. He was trembling and perspiration was pouring down his rigid face. He was completely spent, Kendra realized. Weeks of imprisonment with lack of proper food and sleep, combined with his sudden outburst of magic, had drained him.

“Can you get out from your side?” Kendra asked.

“Aye,” the old wizard replied. “There’s a secret door over here, the one Burdock used to escape. How about you?”

“I think we can go back the way we came,” Kendra replied.

“Then we’ll meet up in the dungeon complex,” Uncle Griffinskitch directed. “In the meantime, we can communicate through our wands.”

Kendra shook her head. “You have to go without us. The thing you must worry about is finding the Rumble Pit.”

“Rumble Pit?” Uncle Griffinskitch asked. “Where is that? And why would I want to go there?”

“Because,” Kendra persisted. “I’m there. And you need to save me.”

Uncle Griffinskitch stared at her through the chink in the rock, his eyes flickering in confusion. “But you’re here. How can you be in two places at once?”

Kendra raised her hand and showed him the Kazah stone.

“Days of Een,” the old wizard gasped. “Can it be true? A Kazah stone powerful enough to enable a leap through time?”

Kendra nodded. She told him everything . . . well, most things. She couldn’t tell him about Gayla, or meeting her elderly self—she didn’t even know how to begin explaining
that
situation.

What she did tell him was that he needed to find Ratchet, escape the dungeons, and meet up with Professor Bumblebean. She told him about Ratchet’s cloud ship and how Winter Woodsong could help them escape through the magic curtain, even though Burdock had sealed it. She described to him the terrors of the Rumble Pit, and how she was a prisoner there, along with Trooogul. She explained about the giant queen of the Krakes, and how she laid hundreds of eggs in her royal hatchery. Lastly, she told him about the peryton, that magnificent winged deer, and how he would be injured and dying in the pit.

“You must come prepared to save the peryton,” Kendra emphasized. “Save the peryton and you save me.”

Through the crack in the rocks, Kendra saw Uncle Griffinskitch stroke his long whiskers. “Humph,” he said at long last. It wasn’t a normal humph, Kendra knew. It was the type of humph that meant . . . well, it meant that he didn’t know what else to say. She had just told him a pretty implausible story, after all. But Kendra knew he believed it. Even in the dim light she could see it in his eyes.

Then Uncle Griffinskitch reached a trembling hand through the gap in the rock and touched Kendra’s cheek. “Your bangs are too long,” he grunted.

“I haven’t exactly had time for a haircut,” she said.

“Humph. Sometimes you remind me all too much of—”

He didn’t finish his sentence; just then a clamor could be heard from the dungeon. Kendra glanced over her shoulder. The sound was coming from her side of the rock barrier, and she realized at once it was the return of Captain Rinkle and his men. They were shouting and clanging their swords.

“We have to go,” Kendra announced.

“Aye,” Uncle Griffinskitch said. “I will see you at the Rumble Pit. I promise.” Through the crack, he looked sharply at Oki. “Look after her, Honest One.” Then, in an instant, he was gone.

Kendra suddenly realized a tear had snuck down her cheek. She almost envied the Kendra that was trapped in the Rumble Pit. That Kendra was going to see Uncle Griffinskitch soon enough. But what about her? When would she see him again?

There was no time to dwell on the matter. They began moving down the passage, back the way they had originally come. There were torches in the wall ahead so it wasn’t as dark, but many of the rocks had tumbled far down the corridor. It was like navigating a mountain pass.

“I think they’re headed straight towards us,” Oki fretted as the sounds of approaching footfalls grew louder.

But the first Een they encountered was Gayla; she came sprinting around a curve in the passage with such speed that she nearly collided into them.

“You’re hurt!” Oki exclaimed.

He was right. Gayla had a gash on one cheek and another on her shoulder; blood was trickling in a long curl down her arm and dripping from her wand hand.

“It’s nothing,” the wild girl panted.

“What happened?” Kendra asked.

“I chased those scaredy-skulls all the way to another dead end,” Gayla said. “Then they realized they outnumbered me and came back swinging. What about you?”

“We found Unc—my master,” Kendra replied. “We were separated, but he’s free and on his way.”

“Good,” Gayla said. “Now we just have to make like an egg and scramble out of here!”

“Not so easy,” Kendra told her. “It’s blocked behind us.”

“Great,” Gayla muttered. “We’re in trouble. Better take cover.”

They crouched behind one of the broken slabs of stone that had fallen from the ceiling, just as Captain Rinkle and the Een soldiers appeared. Gayla peered over and sent a warning zap in their direction, but it was a weak one. Kendra could see that her magic was exhausted. She was only an apprentice too, after all. A spear whistled over their heads.

“Hmph,” Gayla grunted. She picked up a small, fist-sized stone, jumped up, and flung it at the oncoming swarm of Een guards. Kendra heard one of them wail in pain, and the entire company seemed to screech to a halt.

Gayla ducked back down, her eyes wide with panic. “Th-there’s . . . I think it’s . . . .”

“What?” Kendra said. She peeked out from behind the boulder. There were only six or seven Een soldiers left, and many of them looked worse for wear. Even Captain Rinkle was kneeling on the ground, seemingly nursing a black eye. Then she saw what had shocked Gayla. “Burdock!” Kendra gasped.

“Eek!” Oki cried. “He came back.”

“He’s older,” Gayla gasped, leaning against the back of the boulder. “And uglier.”

Then the hideous wizard spoke. “Surrender!” he cried.

“Go for it—we accept!” Gayla screamed over her shoulder.

“Not us—
you!
”

Gayla looked down at Kendra. “So much for
that
plan. You still got the ring?”

Kendra raised her finger.

“Time to use it,” Gayla said.

“How am I going to concentrate when we’re under attack?” Kendra asked.

“I don’t know,” Gayla said. “But you’re going to have to try. Eeks and I will hold off these snot-suckers.”

“Oh don’t think of eggs,” Oki agonized.

“Where should we go?” Kendra asked.

“Anywhere!” Gayla screeched. “Somewhere where there’s no Burdock!”

“Or Ungers,” Oki added. “Or Goojuns, or . . . .”

Kendra tuned him out. She tucked her wand into her belt, closed her eyes, and raised the Kazah stone. She tried to concentrate, tried to focus and mute the sounds of the passageway.

No Burdock!
she thought.
No Ungers, no Goojuns . . . .

She tried to imagine a place of peace. A place of serenity. No war. No terror. Then she thought of water. Yes, it was calming. She imagined the sound of bubbles, the cool feeling against her skin. She imagined the smell of it.

Faintly, one corner of her mind heard someone—Captain Rinkle?—yell, “Charge!”

Go back,
Kendra told herself desperately.
Days of Een! Just take me back, back, back, back
. . . .

The stone must have started to work, for suddenly she felt Gayla and Oki clutch her sleeve. Then, in a flash, they were gone.