The Mysterious Island (3 page)

Galen stared at Sparr. “Never. You may put me in chains. But the children are brave and lever. They will trick you.”

“Demither’s island has many dangers,” Sparr said. “Anything can happen. In the end, the Eye will be mine.”

Galen struggled against his chains. “The children will find the jewel.”

A thin smile broke across Sparr’s lips. “And they will give me to me,
if
they want you to live. If I find it, it’s mine. If they find it, it’s also mine. Either way, I win.”

Galen shook his head sadly. “You were not always so evil, Sparr!”

The sorcerer turned to the Ninns. “Take the wizard to the white cliff. Wait for my orders.”

“At once, Lord Sparr,” the head Ninn said.

Then Sparr waved his hand and spoke a strange word. The whole troop of Ninns, along with Galen, vanished.

“Oh, no!” Max whispered. “How will we find my master now?”

Keeah put her finger to her lips as Sparr began to laugh.

“Galen’s ‘brave’ children will never get off this island alive!”

Sparr jumped onto his groggle, kicked once, and flew away. As he did, the thick, dark mist all over the island seemed to grow thicker and darker.

“Never get off this island alive?” Eric snarled. “Ha!”

Then he gulped. “We will, won’t we?”

“Yes, if we find my master,” Max said. “And when we do, I will kick Sparr with each of my eight legs!” Then he quickly spun a strong rope of spider silk, and they all slid to the ground.

Eric waves at the thick haze. “Now where do we go?”

“Yikes!” a voice screamed suddenly.

“Help us!” another voice screamed.

I think that just answered my question!” Eric said.

“It’s Julie and Neal!” Keeah said. “They’re in the jungle. Let’s go!”

They crashed through the thick trees as fast as they could. The long vines whipped against their faces. The bushes scratched them. Suddenly they froze.

Julie and Neal were standing on a rock in the middle of a clearing.

Surrounding them were six nasty, icky, enormous –

“Bugs!” cried Max.

Five
Attack of the Icky Bugs

Sssss!
The giant bugs hissed angrily at Neal. Their thick, pointed tongues lashed up at him.

“If one of those things licks me, I’m going to lose the lunch I never ate!” Neal shouted.

The bugs were hairy beetles about four feet long. Their hard brown shells gleamed like armor.

“Gross!” said Eric, ducking behind a tree.

“Eew!” said Keeah, jumping down beside him.

The bugs flicked their fuzzy legs at Neal and Julie. Their feelers twitched, and their tongues stuck out angrily.

“All I did was look at a rock,” Neal said.

“It was an egg!” Julie shouted, pointing to a nearby pile of round pink eggs. “One of
their
eggs! And you didn’t look, you touched!”

Neal shrugged. “So how do you say ‘I’m sorry’ in bug language?”

“If they even
have
a language,” Max said. “The horrible creatures!”

Sssss!
The bugs hissed and edged even closer.

Keeah turned to Eric and Max. “I’m going to try a spell. If it works, it will scare the bus for a few seconds. Then you two can help Neal and Julie escape.”

“We will do it!” Max promised.

Keeah crossed her fingers. “Right,
if
I concentrate on something simple…”

Eric peered around the tree. “On the count of three you guys run, okay?”

“How about on the count of one?” Neal asked.

“Very funny,” Eric said. “One…”

Keeah jumped up. She pointed her hands at the bugs.

“Two…” said Eric.

Keeah narrowed her eyes. “
Tomba – snooka – jeeba
–”

“… three!” Eric shouted.

“Three!” said Keeah. “No, wait! I mean
floo
!”

Too late. Neal and Julie were already leaping off the rock when –
ka-bam!
– a bolt of bright green light shot from Keeah’s hands.

The air filled with smoke. The bugs shrieked –
eeee!
– and disappeared into the jungle.

Julie leaped over to the princess. “Keeah, you did it! Your incredible spell worked!”

Keeah stared at her hands. “I guess so…”

Eric tried to wave away the smoke. “Where’s Neal?”

“Here I am!” he yelled from behind them.

Julie and Eric turned around. Neal wasn’t standing there. The only thing there was the pile of bug eggs.

“I hear him,” Julie said, “but I don’t see him.”

“Hey, I’m right here!” Neal shouted again.

The pile of pink eggs moved. Out from underneath the pile popped a brown bug twice the size of a football. It had a hard, shiny shell, six thin legs with fuzz on them, three orange eyes, and two feelers sticking out from its head.

It was like all the other bugs only smaller.

A baby bug.

Eric staggered back. “Neal, is that… you?”

The brown bug scuttled across the pile of eggs and looked up at them. “Boy,” the bug said in Neal’s voice, “Keeah’s spell made you sort of big, didn’t it?”

Eric gulped. “The spell went wrong, all right,” he began. “But… well, um, Neal, it’s like, I mean –”

“You’re a bug!” Julie shouted. “An icky icky bug!”

“The spider part of me resents that!” said Max.

“Oh, what have I done?” Keeah said. “Neal, I’m
so
sorry!”

Neal rubbed his front legs together. Then he saw them and jumped. “Oh, man!” This is not good. Change me back, Keeah. Change me back now!”

The princess stared at her fingertips and then back at Neal.

“you didn’t answer right away!” Neal said. “You’re supposed to say, ‘Sure, Neal!’ and do your zapping thing, and I’m
me
again.” Neal closed his three eyes. “I’m ready. Go.”

Keeah’s own eyes welled up with tears. “I’m afraid to try.”

Neal’s fuzzy legs began to quiver, and his feelers twitched. “It’s all a dream. It’s all a dream. It’s all a – hey, what’s that?”

Suddenly he flicked his tongue at Julie’s head.

“Eeeeeew!” she gasped, jerking backward.

“Sorry, there was a fly near you,” Neal said. “At least it looked like a fly. It was yellow with bright green wings. Anyway, I missed it.”

“What you saw was a Droonian seafly,” Max said.

Suddenly Neal rubbed his legs together, making a strange, high-pitched sound. Eric made a face. “Stop being such a bug.”

“Shhh!” Neal hissed. He tilted his head and went still. “Say that again please.”

Eric blinked. “I said, stop being such a –”

“Not you!” Neal snapped. “The fly!”

Neal’s big eyes flickered as the green-winged insect buzzed in a quick circle around his head. He kept nodding.

Eric turned to Keeah. “I don’t hear anything.”

Julie bit her lip. Then she brightened. “Maybe now that Neal is part insect he can understand the seafly language.”

“I’m too much of a troll to understand it myself,” said Max.

Soon there was a whole swarm of seaflies buzzing over them.

Neal scratched his head with his front legs. They tell me that the groggles are nesting up there somewhere. He pointe dup.

“Where there are groggles, there are Ninns,” said Keeah. “And where there are Ninns –”

“There is my master, Galen!” Max chirped.

Julie looked up into the fog. “But what’s up there? It’s too foggy to see anything.”

Neal nodded and twitched his feelers a few times. The flies swarmed together in a dense, bright green lump. They began to buzz in ever-widening circles. Faster and faster they flew, around and around over the kids’ heads, stirring up the air.

And as they did, the breeze they made began to clear away the dark fog.

Keeah looked up. “Oh, my gosh!” she gasped. “A mountain!”

Six
Groggle Mountain

Julie stared up. “You mean that was there the whole time?”

The mountain was steep and craggy. Its distant peak went through the clouds high above the island.

“It’s awesome,” said Eric. “I bet the white cliff is at the top. That’s where Galen is being held prisoner.”

“If Galen is at the top,” Keeah said, “then to the top we’re going! Max?”

“At Once, my princess!” the spider troll replied. Then he began to spin his legs so quickly they seemed to blur. Moments later, he held a long coil of silky rope.

“Time to climb!” Max said.

“Just like gym class,” Julie said.

Max and Neal leaped upward easily, tying the spider silk to rocks and ledges wherever they could.

“Last one up is a rotten bug egg!” Max squeaked, scurrying faster.

“Hey!” Neal complained, scrambling after him.

“Without wasting a second more, Eric and Julie began their climb.

Strong winds battered them as they climbed higher and higher. They reached one ledge after another without stopping. There wasn’t time.

Soon they lost sight of the beach below.

“Careful,” Julie said, joining Neal, Max, and Keeah on a narrow ledge.

“Remember what the flies said. The groggles are close by. They’re not exactly going to welcome us.”

“We’re heading into danger,” Keeah added.

Eric’s heart raced. He stopped to catch his breath. “Why are the tiny creatures friendly and the big, powerful ones mean? Answer me that.”

Neal, clinging to the ledge above, turned. “Size has
nothing
to do with power,” he said.

Keeah smiled. “let me guess, the flies told you that?”

“Nope, I made it up myself,” said Neal with a chuckle. “It must be the bug in me talking.”

Kaww! Kaww!

Sudden cries echoed down the mountain.

“Groggles!” Keeah shouted. “take cover!”

Everyone huddled under the ledge.

Everyone except Eric. He tried to pull himself up to where the others were. “Wait for me!”

But the groggles wouldn’t wait. With a aloud flapping noise, two of the big flying lizards swooped out of the sky, spotted Eric, and dived right for him.

“Go away, you ugly creeps!” Julie shouted. They all started pelting the groggles with rocks.

Kaww! Kaww!

One groggle shrieked, then pulled away.

But the second circled around for Eric again.

“Leave me alone!” Eric yelled, flailing his arms.

“More rocks!” Max cried, tossing handfuls of stones at the beast.