Elliot and the Last Underworld War (20 page)

Elliot remained pretty quiet for the rest of that night and through the next day. His parents got home sometime that morning, but nobody said anything to them about the Brownies or Kovol or the Underworld war. They had all promised Elliot they would keep his secret. And even though it wasn’t much of a secret anymore, Elliot appreciated their promise.

It would take a long time for Sprite’s Hollow to repair the many sinkholes throughout town, but at least there had been no new ones. All of the reporters got scientists to come on their news shows and explain that the sinkholes had been caused by a freak meteor storm several thousand light-years away. The scientists seemed to believe it, the reporters didn’t seem to understand it, and everyone went on with their lives.

Elliot hadn’t been the only one to notice that the sinkholes on Main Street were in the shape of his name. But then the mayor of Sprite’s Hollow, Mayor George Fillat, convinced everyone that the sinkhole was in the shape of
his
name and said it was a sign that he should be reelected. His campaign slogan was immediately changed to “Protecting our town from all danger over and under the world!”

Elliot snorted when he heard that, but there wasn’t much he could do about it.

That afternoon, Cami stopped by the house to check on Elliot. “You seem quiet,” she said. “Everything okay?”

“Definitely,” he said.

“I told Harold that I’m not the love of his life,” Cami said. “I don’t want to be the love of anyone’s life right now, just their friend.” She was quiet for a moment, then added, “Are we friends, Elliot?”

“Definitely.” And in that moment, he didn’t dislike her at all. Even calling her Toadface didn’t seem so funny anymore.

“You want to play a game or something?” she asked. “And don’t say definitely.”

“Then I’ll just say okay,” he answered. They spent the rest of the afternoon in the backyard kicking a soccer ball around and then helping Cole and Kyle dig a hole for a new springtime mud puddle.

When it was time for the party that evening, Elliot invited his brothers and sister and Cami and Tubs to come along. The Elves would be in charge of poofing everyone down there, so he knew it would be a smooth ride.

The clearing in the center of Burrowsville was spread with tables and picnic blankets and food wherever it fit. Hundreds of creatures from every corner of the Underworld had come. Elliot recognized many of them as the creatures who had been turned to stone in Kovol’s cave. With the Shadow Men gone, their curse had been lifted.

Standing near the front was Agatha, back into her usual Hag form. Elliot ran to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Thank you, Agatha,” he said. “Nobody else but you could’ve healed everyone.”

She patted his back. “And I knew no one but you could’ve saved the Underworld. Oh…oopsie.”

Something wet and squishy plopped onto Elliot’s head. Whatever it was, Agatha immediately picked it up and Elliot jumped back. Agatha had her hand pressed over her left eye.

“Eww!” he cried. “Did your eye just fall on my head?”

With a little pop, Agatha squeezed her eye back into place and laughed. “Don’t be silly. Eyes don’t just fall out.” He reached up to check the top of his head for leftover eye parts, but she pushed his arm down. “I wouldn’t do that. One moment, dear.” She blinked, and he felt a breeze pass through his hair. “Yes, that’s better now.”

“What did—” Elliot stopped. “Never mind. I won’t ask.”

She smiled. “I am a Hag, and these words you must know. I’ll always admire you, wherever you go.”

Elliot grinned back at her. “Thanks, Agatha.”

Mr. Willimaker ran up to Elliot. “Your Highness! Here’s your crown!”

The crown was small enough that it would have fit better on Elliot’s wrist than his head, but he put it on anyway. His family was given their choice of seats, and then Mr. Willimaker led Elliot up to his toadstool throne.

Fudd was already sitting beside Elliot’s throne. He was facing backward and hopelessly trying to find his cup of Mushroom Surprise drink when Elliot sat down.

Gently, Elliot put a hand on Fudd’s shoulder and steered him to the correct position. Then he handed Fudd his drink.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Fudd said.

Elliot picked up his own cup of Mushroom Surprise—his favorite of all Underworld foods—and clicked it against Fudd’s cup. “Cheers!” he said.

“What should we toast to?” Fudd asked. “To a long reign for King Elliot, of course!”

“I think a better toast is a lifetime of happiness for all Underworld creatures,” Elliot said.

“Yes, Your Highness.” With that, Fudd pushed back his chair and stood. For once facing in the correct direction, he raised his cup to the crowd in front of him and said, “When Elliot was made our king, I was the last Brownie to cheer for him. So I want to be the first of all Underworld creatures to officially thank him for what he has done. In honor of Elliot Penster, king of the Brownies, may we toast to a lifetime of happiness for all creatures who helped bring peace to the Underworld. And a lifetime of happiness to the human, King Elliot, and his family and friends.”

At once, the entire audience clicked their cups together and said, “To all, a lifetime of happiness.”

With that, the dinner was served. Elliot ate very little of what was offered to him, in part because most of it wasn’t food he really liked, but also because the only thing he really wanted to do was look over the crowd and try to memorize as many faces as he could.

When dinner was over, Mr. Willimaker nudged Elliot on the arm and asked, “Is there anything you want to say, Your Highness?”

There was. Elliot stood and the crowd went silent. “You’ve all said a lot of nice things about me ever since I became king,” he began. “That’s been really cool, but I think none of those things were true
until
I became the king. I was just an ordinary kid before. And the thing is, I’m still an ordinary kid. But I had to learn that even someone ordinary can do something extraordinary.”

The creatures in the crowd looked at one another as if they wanted to clap for Elliot. But something in the way he spoke suggested he didn’t want them to clap. He only wanted them to understand. So they nodded softly and waited for him to finish.

Elliot’s smile widened. “When I first became king of the Brownies, they were ordinary too. But you all saw the way they fought yesterday. They might not have the strength of the Goblins, or the sneakiness of the Pixies, or the grace of the Elves. But you saw their bravery and loyalty in the fight against Kovol. They’ve learned to be extraordinary too.” Then he looked down for a moment. “And because we both understand that, it’s time for the Brownies to have a new king.”

A gasp spread across the audience. Patches stood up from her seat and yelled out “No!” then ran up the aisle near him. When she got close, her father took her hand and held her back.

“You know it’s time for this, and so do I.” Elliot said it to everyone, but to his friends most of all. He would miss the Brownies and they would miss him, but they also deserved a ruler who could always be here in Burrowsville with them. And he was ready to just be Elliot Penster, ordinary eleven-year-old kid, again.

“What will we do without you?” Mr. Willimaker asked.

“You will be the chief royal advisor,” Elliot said. “Any time the ruler of the Brownies needs help, you are the first person to talk to. No one gives better advice, and no one has served me with more loyalty.”

“But what if the Brownies get into trouble again?” Patches asked. “There’s no one as clever as you, Elliot.”

“Sure there is. Patches, you are smarter than anyone else I’ve met down here. I want you to be the chief royal scholar. If there’s anything the ruler needs to know, you are in charge of figuring it out.”

Patches bowed low. “Yes, King Elliot.”

“I’ll serve the new ruler any way I can,” Fudd said. “Though I know with my blindness, I won’t be as much help as I want to be.”

“Your blindness only helped us to see you better, how good and loyal and strong you are,” Elliot said. “But it won’t be a difficulty for you any longer.”

Fudd shook his head. “There’s only one way to heal this curse of the Shadow Men, and that’s—”

“That’s for a magical creature to give up his magic,” Elliot said. “I still have a little of the Pixie magic left.”

Fudd shook his head. “No, Your Highness. If you’re ever in trouble on the surface world, that magic can save you.”

“I’ll never be in as much trouble as I’ve had down here,” Elliot said. “I don’t need the magic. Just my friends and family.”

Tears streamed down Fudd’s cheeks. “Don’t do this for me, please. I’m not worth it.”

Elliot put a hand on Fudd’s shoulder. “You’re my friend. Besides, I’m still the king. You don’t get to tell me no. Patches, how do I do this?”

“Put your fingers over his eyes,” she instructed.

Elliot knelt in front of Fudd and put his fingers over Fudd’s eyes. The magical vibrations he had felt inside him rose from his chest and traveled out his fingers, and then they were gone.

As the magic entered his body, Fudd stumbled back and fell to the ground.

“Are you okay?” Mr. Willimaker asked.

Fudd rolled to his stomach, then pushed himself up. He put a chubby hand in front of his face and wiggled his fingers, then began laughing. “I see my hand! I can see!” He picked up a spoon and looked at himself in the reflection, “Argh! I forgot how ugly I am.” He ran to Elliot, still laughing. “You are a great king, Elliot. Thank you, thank you for what you’ve done. But I’m sorry to take your magic.”

“You didn’t take it. I wanted to give it to you,” Elliot said, “and to give you this too.” He took the crown off his head and handed it to Fudd. “You are the king now.”

Fudd shook his head. “Me? There are other Brownies who deserve it more.”

“You don’t become king because you deserve it. You become king because the Brownies deserve you.” He raised his cup of Mushroom Surprise again. “Long live King Fudd.”

The entire audience raised their cups. “Long live King Fudd,” they all repeated.

Elliot smiled. “It’s time for me to go home now.” He walked down to his brothers and sister, let Reed punch him lightly on the arm, and then said, “We need someone to poof us there.”

Several Elves stepped forward, but Fudd raised a hand. “It will be my honor to send Elliot on his last trip home from the Underworld.”

“Just one minute,” Elliot said. “Everyone move back.” Thanks to the Mushroom Surprise, he burped out the king of all burps. Or at least the former king of all burps. It knocked over the nearest table and melted the tablecloth. “I have to admit, I will miss that,” Elliot added. Then he stepped back. “Now it’s time.”

And with that, Elliot closed his eyes, felt the last tug in his gut, and opened his eyes back in his room. Reed sat on his bed across from Elliot.

“That was pretty cool,” Reed said. “Are you okay?”

Elliot smiled. “Yeah. Everything is great.”

And for the next day and the next and every day after, Elliot played and learned and laughed as any ordinary kid would. Every once in a while, though, he would stop when he smelled the very strong odor of pickles. And sometimes a pointy brown hat would peek out from behind a bush. And he would know that even though he was no longer the king, a part of him would always belong to the Brownies.

Warning: Any similarity between this story and any actual story of an eleven-year-old king of the Brownies fighting an Underworld war is, believe it or not, a really freaky coincidence. Seriously, what are the odds of that?

Acknowledgments

All my affection and appreciation to Jeff, who is my best friend, partner in crime, and love of my life. Warm thanks also to Ammi-Joan Paquette, who has been coach, counselor, therapist, friend, and agent extraordinaire. And to Kelly Barrales-Saylor, Kay Mitchell, and the many wonderful people at Sourcebooks who gave of their time and talents to build this series. My sincere thanks to you all.

Special thanks should also go to the Pixie Princess, Fidget Spitfly. Without her help to Elliot, the last Underworld War might have turned out very differently. Although to be fair, without Fidget there probably wouldn’t have been an Underworld war in the first place. Then this book would have been called
Elliot
and
the
Rather
Uneventful
Day
, in which Elliot wrestles with an ingrown toenail, and then has lunch.