The Invisible Tower (24 page)

Then Kay yelled, “How stupid! The swords!”

“What about them, Sir Kay?” demanded Thumb. “Excalibur and Cleomede! They'll cut through anything if we want them too! We'll just stick them into the rock and monkey-bar our way down. The last one will pull them out, and we'll keep going!”

They agreed that it was a great idea. They rearranged themselves on the ledge, Thumb and Kay switching places by climbing back up a little, squeezing around each other, and coming back down. Artie drew Excalibur and flipped it around, holding its point down. He went to the end of the narrow ledge, took a deep breath, and leaned out as far as he could. Thumb held on to his leg to steady him.

Artie stuck out his arm and twisted his body around, straining at Thumb's strong grasp. It took a little bit of effort, and a lot of sparks flying from the point of entry, but considering it was solid rock, Excalibur easily slid into the cliff wall. Before Artie let go, he asked it to stay put. He pushed it with his fingertips, and it held fast.

He barked, “Okay. Next!”

Kay handed over Cleomede.

The next move was going to be hard, and they all knew it. Artie emptied his mind and Kay willed her body to help her brother.

Artie took three quick, deep breaths.

“Here goes! One! Two! Three!”

With one hand holding Excalibur, he turned and fell, and it was one of the scariest things Kay had ever seen.

Artie whip-lashed around the corner, stopping himself with his left forearm and the length of Cleomede, along with a little bit of his face, against the rock. His grip held. For her part, Kay was clenching her fists, and Artie could feel this. Excalibur helped him hold on too, and it urged him to keep moving.

Artie spread his dangling legs on the rock to steady himself. Then he took Cleomede, reached as far as he could, and pushed it into the rock. A tingling, magical current coursed from Excalibur through Artie's arms and chest to Cleomede.

Once Cleomede was in place, Artie let go of Excalibur and moved his right hand to join his left on Cleomede's hilt. He let go with his left hand and stretched out for the rung. It was just out of reach.

He gripped the sword with both hands again and began to swing, running a little along the rock face with the sides of his feet. Then he lunged with his left hand, and this time he caught the wet iron bar.

Dropping down, he quickly brought his hands together and his feet found their way to the rung below.

He was across. Artie had never felt so alive. He moved down to make room.

Thumb came next. He executed a series of acrobatic moves that would definitely have gotten him a medal finish at the knighthood Olympics. Swinging easily and strongly, Thumb came down to land above Artie's head. Seeing his little, ancient knight do this eased Artie's nerves.

But then, of course, came Kay. She not only had to get down but also had to pull out the swords.

Kay peeked around the corner and when she saw what she had to work with, her eyes opened wide.

Artie wasn't too psyched by the look on her face.

“It's okay, Sis, just go for it!” He concentrated the muscles and tendons of his body on hers, just as she had done for him.

Kay blew out her cheeks in disbelief. Then her face disappeared back around the corner.

Suddenly her arm whipped around and grabbed Excalibur. She gripped it hard, and Artie clenched his fists, and he felt her body count off—
One! Two! Three!

Kay swung around, slammed into the rock, and yelped. Her eyes were closed tight. Her left hand quickly joined her right on Excalibur.

She opened her eyes and looked straight at her brother. “I don't like this, Artie!”

“Don't worry!” Artie counseled. “I did it, you can definitely do it!” Which had to be true, right? Since Kay had always been so headstrong and so good at everything she did?

Thumb said, “Don't look down!”

Which, of course, caused Kay to look down.

Artie felt her body tense. She was on the verge of freezing up.

“Kay! Look at me!” Artie ordered. She did. “You're Kay freaking Kingfisher! You don't think—you do! Now move!”

Her brother was absolutely right. She was Kay freaking Kingfisher.

She retightened her grip. Then she let go with her left hand. She was Kay freaking Kingfisher. She reached out and grabbed Cleomede. She swung between the two swords and when she drew closest to Excalibur, just as her momentum was about to shift back to Cleomede, she switched her grip on her brother's sword from underhand to overhand. It was a good move. She shifted her weight and hung as straight as she could under Cleomede. Then she pulled hard at Excalibur. The sword came out. She was Kay freaking Kingfisher and now she was swinging like a monkey. Fear shot back into her. With Artie's help she willed it out. She threw Excalibur to Thumb, who caught it easily and passed it down to Artie. She switched hands on Cleomede, then reached out for the rung. Being slightly longer than Artie, she reached it just by the tips of her fingers. She worked at the wet iron and finally got a good grip. She moved over to the topmost rung, then reached for Cleomede and asked it to come out of the rock. The sword slid eagerly away. Kay sheathed her weapon, her heart going
rat-a-tat
,
rat-a-tat-tat
, and let out a deep, long breath.

She was Kay
freaking
Kingfisher.

Wordlessly, with the water rushing away behind them in the wrong direction, they made their way to the floor of the gorge. When they all reached the bottom, Artie and Kay knelt so that the three of them could share a group hug at Thumb's height.

They pulled away after a few moments, their arms locked over one another's shoulders. Thumb took turns looking each Kingfisher in the eyes. “That was fantastic, lads, just smashing. No matter what happens, I want you to know that I'm proud of you both.”

Artie and Kay smiled, feeling for a second more like kids with their uncle at an important game than a pair of knights on a foolish, Otherworldly errand.

They caught their breaths. Then they broke their embrace and rose. Kay removed the helmets from Artie's backpack and they slipped them on. They drew their weapons and resumed walking.

They moved wordlessly on a well-worn footpath next to the stream, which at the bottom of the gorge flowed easily and pleasantly.

The mouth of the cave was a perfect and dark semicircle carved out of the same black basalt as the egg-shaped boulder. Framing the immediate opening of the cave were two red cedar trees that had been forced to grow in great curves. They met and joined into one giant tree at the top of the cave's opening. High above the cedars' deep-green needles hung a low, gray sky. It was breathtaking.

“Tiberius must have a serious green thumb to make a couple trees do that,” Kay joked. Artie and Thumb chuckled a little but not much.

The water flowed out of the cave from the dim light deep within.

Thumb ripped his sword through the air twice. Artie nodded. Kay slapped her helmet. Walking side by side, they entered the cave of Tiberius.

After a dozen yards the
cave opened from a wide, rugged hallway into a soaring natural cathedral of stone and earth. Tiberius appeared to be out.

As they gathered in a circle, Thumb said, “There's something you should be aware of regarding green dragons.”

“Yeah, what's that, Tommy?” Kay asked, gaping at the tip of a stalactite high overhead.

“They don't breathe fire—or acid, as I believe they do in your video game, Artie—but they do expel something that can freeze things into rock.”

“Great,” Artie said, sounding totally unpsyched.

“I hear that you're quite safe—but a little uncomfortable—if a green dragon freezes you. I hope it won't happen, but if it does, the important thing is to remain calm. You have my word that I'll get you out.”

“Check, check, and ditto, Tommy,” Kay said. Artie nodded.

Then they took a closer look at the dragon's home. It was very tidy. There were neat piles of bones and tree branches and a massive heap of something that looked like cotton. It also smelled incredibly fresh—which was exactly the opposite of what Artie expected of a dragon's cave.

As for the stream, it was, without doubt, the Font of Sylvan. The flow of water originated from a gentle whirlpool about ten feet across. Erected over it was a gazebo of twisted branches, many of which still had leaves on them. These were of every color in the rainbow, even blue and purple, and they were beautiful.

Finally Kay said, “Well, looks like nobody's home, huh?”

She'd spoken too soon.

Artie saw it first. The dirt and rock of the near side of the cave appeared to rearrange itself like an earthen Transformer. He gasped. Kay and Thumb wheeled. The “wall” began to shimmer like a pattern of water reflections on a ceiling, and within seconds the whole form turned green and was revealed in all its scaly magnificence.

The tail was what came to the ground first, with barely a whisper. Then the hind legs, and the forelegs, and the neck and head. All completely without noise.

Once its heft was settled on the cave floor, it turned, and at last the three startled knights came face-to-face with the great green dragon.

Its mouth was closed. Its nostrils flared. Its ruffled, Chinese-dragon mane moved as though a soft breeze blew over it. Its eyes blinked.

It remained eerily silent.

There was no question in Artie's mind that this was the same dragon that had attacked them over the Lake. It had the same golden, ramlike horns, the same rubied canine teeth, and the same brilliant and beautiful rainbow eyes.

Thumb bowed low and said, “Keeper Tiberius, Guardian of Lord Numinae, I, Sir Tom Thumb, greet you humbly on behalf of His Eminence, King Arthur Kingfisher, and his Knight of the First Order, Sir Kay.”

Kay said quietly, “Nicely done, Tommy!” but the little man, still low to the ground and standing on ceremony, shot her a stern glance.

Artie bowed but was otherwise clueless. The dragon turned his head slightly and grunted “Hmmmph” through his nose. Something black rose from his nostrils, but it wasn't smoke. It seemed impossible … but it looked like glass.

Thumb continued, “We request an audience—”

But before he could finish, the dragon reared and spit something black and shiny on Thumb. At first he looked like Han Solo encased in carbonite—his arms up, his sword out, and his face grimacing—but then the black substance unfolded around him, making sounds of breaking glass and sliding stone. In moments, Thumb was hidden from them in an egg-shaped hunk of black basalt about three feet tall.

The Thumb-egg teetered and fell to the side, rocking back and forth.

Kay screamed and began to move on the dragon, but Artie stuck out Excalibur and stopped her. The dragon ignored Kay and homed in on Artie.

“Needn't worry,” the dragon sang. Its voice was so low and heavy that they felt it more than they heard it. “The small man is safer there. Quite alive.”

“Why'd you do that?” Kay demanded.

Tiberius continued to stare at Artie. He said, “Hmmmph. I feltn't like talking to him. Not yet. And aside, he'sn't to see Lord Numinae. You are.”

Tiberius settled nonchalantly on the ground and placed his chin on his forelegs like a fat housecat.

Thinking of Qwon, Artie said, “Fine. Let's see Lord Numinae, then.”

The dragon looked away. “Hmmmph. You mightn't be a new pretender?”

Kay blurted, “Look, I don't know who you think you are, but—”

“Who'm I? And who're you thinking you are, infant child?”

“Infant!” Kay started, but the dragon loudly snapped one of his long, pointy ears, and Kay shut up.

“I'm older'n Merlin, Numinae, and Jester Thumb added into one. To me, an infant you are.”

Artie asked, “What do you mean, ‘pretender'?”

The dragon slowly blinked. He looked sleepy. “Hmmph. I know who you are,
byrnsweord
bearer. I was just wonder'n who
you
think you are.”

Artie was amazed. This fantastic creature had cut to the heart of the matter. Wasn't this the question Artie wanted answered more than any other? Wasn't this question the reason why Artie had agreed to go along with all of this craziness in the first place? A dragon he'd known for less than five minutes had pegged him. A dragon.

“Well,” Artie answered, “I'm King Artie Kingfisher, and as Tom said, I wish to see Lord Numinae. He has something I need, and someone I want back.”

The dragon looked away casually and batted Thumb's egg like it was toy. He said, “The something perhaps he'll give. The someone I doubt he'll return. But this is for Numinae to say. He wants to see'n you too, little king, though I don't know why. If't were my choice, I'd freeze you both and return Excalibur to its sleep'n place. Too much trouble otherwise.”

“But it's not your choice,” Kay said, seeking assurance. Talking with this creature gave her the creeps, and she was eager to get on with things.

“No. 'Tisn't. Hmmph.” Tiberius was clearly disappointed about this.

Artie was relieved. He said, “Okay, then take us to Numinae.”

The dragon smiled. “Hasten not, little 'uns. Three conditions must be met. The first'n has.” He stuck his chin at Thumb.

“You mean freezing Thumb?” Artie asked. The dragon nodded. “When we come back, will you release him?”

Tiberius said, “
If 'n
you make it back, he'll be a-resting here.” For emphasis the dragon stuck a claw into the ground—really,
into
the ground. He drew it out and it made an awful, claw-on-chalkboard kind of noise. “Quite alive he'll be.”

“Okay,” Artie said uneasily. “What're the other conditions?”

“No moongates. If you flee and ever come back, I'll freeze'n you like your companion. Forever.”