Kendra Kandlestar and the Box of Whispers (17 page)

KENDRA AND OKI turned the key, and with a mighty “click,” the lid of the box flew open, with a blinding flash of brilliant white light.

“NOOOOOOO!” Rumor howled.

The whispers burst forth from the box in a deafening roar, exploding with such force that Kendra and Oki were hurled across the room. They watched in awe as the secrets crackled and snapped like lightning, raging across the vault and ripping through the very walls. Even over the noise of everything else, they could hear the secrets tearing down the passages and halls of the castle, for indeed, they were no longer whispers, but mighty shrieks and wails. And Kendra and Oki could hear them clearly—all the secrets since the dawn of Een, revealing themselves as they escaped into the outside world. They were so loud that the sky boomed with their thunder, and Kendra knew they could be heard all the way home. “Luka Long-Ears forged a note from her mother!” “Skarab Strom cheated on his algebra exam!” “Honest Oki lied to the elders!”

There were thousands of secrets, so many that Kendra could not begin to hear or remember them all. The older secrets were not as clear as the newer ones, and were so faint that by the time the last of them escaped from the box, they were but whispers again.

But Kendra’s secret was not there, for she had already set it free.

Rumor howled in agony as the secrets rippled over his giant body, tearing him to pieces, even as they fought their frantic course to freedom. Thrashing madly against the walls and pillars of the vault, the screeching, pain-stricken dragon began knocking massive wooden timbers and blocks of stone to the floor. The whole castle felt like it was crumbling. Then, in a sudden explosion of smoke, the giant dragon was gone.

Kendra and Oki exchanged a surprised glance, but there was hardly a moment to think about what had happened, for the room was still collapsing around them.

“We’ll be crushed!” Oki shouted, narrowly avoiding a giant falling brick.

Then, Kendra thought she heard Uncle Griffinskitch’s voice shouting to them from the smoky haze.

“Kendra!” the voice cried.

A giant cauldron from a nearby treasure mound suddenly flipped over top of the two friends and they were plunged into darkness. They could hear the rocks and stones crash against the cauldron, but it seemed strong enough to protect them.

“Did you hear Uncle Griffinskitch?” Kendra exclaimed.

“He’s turned to stone,” Oki said. “You must have imagined it.”

“I guess you’re right,” Kendra said, and the thought splintered her heart with loss. She would never see her uncle, never learn anything more of her family. All seemed lost. Stricken with grief and exhaustion, she closed her eyes and listened to the rocks hammer against their makeshift shelter.

It seemed like hours later (though in truth, it was probably only a few minutes) when the rocks ceased smashing against the cauldron, and the thunderous noise of the collapsing room came to a halt.

“At least we didn’t slide into that hole,” Oki said. “All the treasure must have finally filled it up.”

“Come on,” Kendra said, “let’s get out from under here.”

The two friends pushed and strained against the heavy cauldron, but try as they might, they could not lift it.

“Try grabbing it from underneath its lip,” Oki said. They wedged their paws and fingers underneath the edge of the cauldron, but it simply wouldn’t budge.

“We must be buried under a pile of rock and rubble,” Oki said.

Kendra exhaled with exhaustion. She felt defeated. “Now what are we going to do?” she asked.

“We’ll just have to wait for someone to rescue us,” Oki said.

“No one even knows we’re here,” Kendra said. Her uncle, Captain Jinx, and Professor Bumblebean had all been turned to stone. She and Oki would run out of air long before any rescue mission could be launched from Een. They would need a miracle.

The two young friends collapsed to the ground. They had been through so much together. Would their adventures end like this?

After a time, Kendra said, “Are you mad at me for helping the Unger?”

“No,” the tiny mouse replied. “Why would I be?”

“Because I helped him!” Kendra exclaimed. “An Unger. Our enemy.”

“I imagine it’s a hard thing to let someone die,” Oki said. After a moment’s thought, he added, “Even an Unger. How could you not help him?”

But Kendra didn’t seem any less glum.

“I have a secret,” Oki said.

“I know,” Kendra said. “I heard it fly from the box. You lied to the elders.”

“Do you want to know what the lie was?” Oki asked.

“No,” Kendra said.

“Well, we don’t have anything better to do,” the mouse said. “And it will take my mind off my scorched tail!”

“Okay,” Kendra said, laughing in spite of herself.

“Well, my father had just gotten me the after-school job with the elders,” Oki began. “And I did fine for the longest time. Then one day, I was supposed to deliver a message to Elder Brown from Treewort Timm. You know Treewort. He runs the shop down on Hoodoo Street with all the strange magic artifacts. He’s about a hundred years old and most forgetful. Well, that particular day I lost the message.”

“How?” Kendra asked.

“I don’t know,” Oki said with a shrug. “I just lost it. And I was so embarrassed because everyone was saying what a great job I was doing, and my father was so proud of me. So I just gave Elder Burdock a blank piece of parchment and when he unrolled it, I acted just as surprised as him. I told him that old Treewort must have forgotten to write his message down.”

“But Treewort forgets things all the time,” Kendra said, for she did indeed know the old Een and his habits.

“But not this time,” Oki said. “So I just lied about it, and everyone had a good chuckle and blamed old Treewort. But it made me feel really bad. Especially since I’m supposed to be ‘Honest Oki’.”

“Oh, Oki,” Kendra said. “It’s hardly a secret. How does it compare to what I did?”

“Well, that secret has meant a lot to me over the past few months,” Oki said. “It’s kept me up at night, and in that way, it’s just as bad as yours.”

Kendra sighed. She could see Oki’s point of view, but it still didn’t make her feel any better. She closed her eyes and sighed again. She didn’t want to talk about it any more. She wished she could just make it all go away. She pictured Uncle Griffinskitch, now turned to stone, and began to drift in and out of sleep, her head growing dizzy as the air supply diminished.

The next thing Kendra remembered was a ringing. At first, she thought it was just in her head, but then Oki said weakly, “Do you hear that, Kendra? It sounds like a bell.”

They put their ears to the side of the cauldron, listening intently, and sure enough, they not only heard the ringing again, but the sound of someone rummaging around in the rubble above.

“Help!” Kendra yelled. “Get us out of here!”

“I’m coming!” came a reply.

“That voice sounds familiar,” Oki said.

In the next moment, they heard a mighty grunt, and the cauldron tilted upwards under the strength of Ratchet’s paws. Kendra and Oki breathed in the fresh new air as the rascally raccoon tossed the cauldron aside. Grinning ear to ear, he rushed forward and embraced his friends. He was still wearing the bewitched bell around his collar, and it was ringing excitedly.

“Now that we’re all here, we can get this party going,” Ratchet declared.

“Not much of a party with only three of us,” Oki muttered.

“Three?” Ratchet said. “I count six!” The large raccoon stepped aside, and there were Professor Bumblebean, Captain Jinx, and Uncle Griffinskitch, all covered head to foot in dust and grime.

“You’re alive!” Kendra cried, running forward to hug her ragged uncle.

“Why . . . yes,” the old wizard muttered, uncomfortably returning her hug.

“We were returned to our natural states when you opened the box,” Professor Bumblebean explained.

“It was you who saved us when the room came crashing down,” Kendra said to her uncle.

“Humph,” Uncle Griffinskitch muttered. “Yes, luckily my staff started working just in time to put you and Oki under that cauldron.”

“But where did you come from, Ratchet?” Kendra asked.

“I was waiting outside that darn riddle door for you folks to come back,” Ratchet explained. “But then the castle started to shake and rumble. Soon, there were all sorts of cracks and holes in the walls, and I found my way into the vault. As soon as this bell started ringing, I knew I was close to you.”

“But how did you get past all the monsters?” Oki asked. “And through the swamp?”

“Yeesh,” Ratchet said, rolling his eyes, “I am a world-class inventor, you know.”

Kendra looked about the remains of the vault. The walls had caved in, and bright warm sunshine was spilling onto the scarred and battled-damaged floor.

“Most of the castle seems to have collapsed since you opened the box,” Jinx said to Kendra.

“I’m sorry about opening it,” Kendra said. “But I just couldn’t see any other way. . .”

“It’s okay, Kendra,” Uncle Griffinskitch said. “You were able to do what the rest of us could not. You were able to confront your secret.”

“But I helped an Unger!” Kendra said desperately. “I committed the worst crime known to Een!”

“We know,” Professor Bumblebean said. “Even though we were stone, we heard everything that passed between you and the dragon.”

“But—,” Kendra began.

“Enough!” Uncle Griffinskitch snorted. “Listen, Kendra, you were brave, braver than any Een I’ve ever known. So be brave yet. Everything will be okay. I promise, there will be time enough to discuss the Unger later. First, we must get off this mountain.”

“Your uncle’s right,” Jinx said. “Now that the dragon is dead, every Unger, Goojun, and giant from here to Een will be swarming over these rocks to scavenge for treasure.”

She had no sooner spoken than they suddenly heard a very loud “tee hee.” They all turned to see Pugglemud on the other side of the rubble. He had somehow escaped from his prison and was now swimming amidst the rocks and remains of Rumor’s treasure.

“Gold, gold, beautiful gold!” he sang. “The most wondrous thing I ever know’d!”

“Listen up, fool!” Jinx shouted. “Monsters are headed this way! You’d better come with us, unless you want to end up in some Goojun’s stew pot!”

But Pugglemud seemed oblivious to them.

“Leave him,” Uncle Griffinskitch said. “He’s picked his fate, and there’s nothing we can do to help him.”

“Wait a minute!” Kendra said. “Where did Oki go?”

“I’m here,” Oki replied, appearing from behind a large rock. “Look what I found: the Box of Whispers.”

Uncle Griffinskitch hobbled over to look at the now-empty chest.

“What’s going to happen, Uncle Griffinskitch?” Kendra asked. “Will the magic curtain fail now that the whispers have all escaped?”

“No,” the old wizard said, stroking his long white beard. “Not unless someone discovers its secret and decides to undo the curtain. But who knows where the secret of the curtain has gone? It may never be found. The whispers have scattered across the wide world.”

Kendra picked up the box and examined it. It didn’t pulse or radiate; it felt and looked just like any other normal box.

“Uh, Elder Griffinskitch,” Ratchet said, “there’s just one more thing.”

“Humph,” Uncle Griffinskitch muttered, turning to the raccoon. “And what’s that, Ringtail?”

“It’s about this darn bell,” Ratchet said. “Can you turn it off? It’s driving me crazy!”