Kendra Kandlestar and the Box of Whispers (8 page)

“THERE YOU ARE!” Uncle Griffinskitch boomed as Kendra came into sight. “I’ve been looking all over for you. I told you to stay with me.”

“I-I-I was scared,” Kendra stammered.

“Humph,” he muttered, and it was the type of humph that Kendra couldn’t even begin to decipher. Her uncle’s face was pale, his eyes wide with fright.

But what is he afraid of?
Kendra thought to herself.
Uncle Griffinskitch is no typical Een. I can’t imagine him being afraid of any Unger!

“Come now,” the old wizard said gruffly as he turned and led Kendra back toward the campsite. “You’re safe now. Captain Jinx and I were able to scatter those beasts.”

“What did you do to them?” Kendra asked as she followed after him.

“Not as much as I wanted to,” Uncle Griffinskitch grunted. “Unfortunately, they all escaped.”

“Oh,” Kendra said, looking worriedly at him.
How can I tell him about Trooogul? she asked herself. I can’t. He won’t understand. He sits on the council; he’ll just have me exiled. I can’t tell him. I can’t tell anyone.

And now you know, reader, the secret that I spoke of at the very beginning of this tale. Kendra forged it at that very moment, vowing to tell no one about how she had saved the life of an Unger.

Of course a secret, a really important one, can be a heavy burden to bear, and Kendra began to worry about it almost immediately. It weighed so heavily on her that she didn’t even realize that she and her uncle had arrived back in camp until Oki came charging up to her.

“Kendra!” the tiny mouse cried. “You’re all right!”

“Yes,” Kendra said weakly. “What happened to you?”

“I found him and the professor stuck in a bramble bush,” Jinx said. “Isn’t that right,
Bramblebean
? How did your books and facts help you in the face of an Unger? And Oki was just chanting over and over again ‘Don’t think of onions, don’t think of onions!’ As if that would help against an Unger.”

“I thought it might make me forget how scared I was,” Oki informed Kendra.

“Did it work?”

“No,” Oki confessed, “but thinking about onions is better than thinking about Ungers.”

“Kendra, you scared the wits out of me by running off like that,” Ratchet said.

“Never mind what you think!” Jinx scolded. “You have no right to even be here, Ratchet.”

“Precisely,” Uncle Griffinskitch said. “It’s only the first day of the quest and you’ve nearly ruined everything.”

“Ah, don’t be so dramatic,” Ratchet muttered. “Those Ungers would have happened upon you no matter what.”

“Is that so?” Uncle Griffinskitch demanded, banging his staff against the ground. “And tell me, Ratchet Ringtail, what do you know about the world beyond the magic curtain?”

“Yeesh,” Ratchet said. “I’m sorry, okay? There, I said it. I’ll go back home as soon as morning comes.”

“Humph,” Uncle Griffinskitch snorted. “I’m afraid, Ratchet, that you’ll be going back sooner than that. And this time I will take an extra measure to make sure you don’t follow us again.”

“What does that mean?” the raccoon asked nervously.

“Humph,” the old wizard grunted again. “Just a little spell. It shouldn’t hurt too much.” He waved his gnarled staff at Ratchet and, in his very deep voice, proclaimed:

Tiny bell, loud and clear,

Sounder than an Eenling’s fear,

Whenever you find Kendra near,

Shake and shudder for Eens to hear.

There was a sharp flash of light and a cloud of smoke. When the haze cleared, Kendra could see that Ratchet was now wearing a tight collar around his neck. A large bell was hanging from it and it rang loudly.

“As long as you’re in earshot of Kendra, that bell will sound,” Uncle Griffinskitch informed the raccoon. “So follow us if you like, Ratchet, but now I’ll know. And next time, I will not be so kind.”

“Turn this thing off!” Ratchet cried, tugging at the collar. “It’s darn annoying!”

“The only way to turn it off is for you to get as far away from Kendra as soon as possible,” the old Een wizard said.

“But Uncle Griffinskitch!” Kendra exclaimed. “Can’t you at least let him spend the night? You’re not going to make him go home in the dark, are you?”

“We’re all going to have to travel in the dark,” Jinx announced, gathering up their packs, which were still scattered about from the Unger attack. “We can’t stay here any longer. Those Ungers could come back with more of their pals. I’m afraid there will be no sleep for any of us tonight!”

“Well, Ratchet Ringtail?” Uncle Griffinskitch asked, eyeing the raccoon. “Have I made myself clear?”

“Yes!” Ratchet replied, pulling desperately at the collar.

“Humph,” Uncle Griffinskitch said. He waved his staff again at the raccoon and muttered another incantation. “Now get that ringed tail of yours back to Een as fast as you can. And mind yourself! I don’t need to be rescuing you from some two-headed giant or other such nonsense.”

“I’ll be careful,” Ratchet promised.

“Come now,” Jinx urged the rest of the company. “Let’s get a move on.”

“Bye, Ratchet,” Kendra called meekly to her friend as she picked up her pack and dusted it off.

“Bye, Kendra,” Ratchet called back. “Be careful!”

Kendra set off through the woods behind Captain Jinx and the others. She could still hear Ratchet’s bell ringing. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that it finally fell silent.

“Well, that settles that,” Uncle Griffinskitch muttered.

On through the night the tiny company marched. Kendra was exhausted. Each and every step took so much effort that it felt as if she was walking through quicksand. The sun stretched its arms of light upon a cold and dreary day, and still they walked on.

“When can we stop?” Oki asked over and over again. “Aren’t we far enough away from the Ungers yet?”

“I’ll let you know when, so you can stop asking,” Captain Jinx told the mouse. “The farther we get, the better.”

And so they continued on through the rest of the day. The landscape grew more rugged and more tangled and with each step the tiny band of travelers grew more tired.

At last, as the second evening approached, Jinx stopped in front of an old hollow log.

“We’ll stop here,” she declared, after inspecting the fallen tree to make sure it was safe. As the rest of the company climbed wearily inside, Jinx drew her sword and assumed post at the open end of the log.

“What are you doing, Jinx?” Kendra asked. “Aren’t you going to sleep?”

“No, I’ll keep watch,” the grasshopper replied. “We can’t all go drifting off. It’s too dangerous.”

“Look at Uncle Griffinskitch,” Kendra said. “He must be exhausted.”

The old Een had wandered to the very back of the log, collapsing into a heap of white hair. The curls of his whiskers fluttered up and down as he lightly snored.

“And no wonder,” Professor Bumblebean said. “He has been toiling harder than anyone.”

“What do you mean?” Kendra asked.

“His magic has played a large role in sheltering us from the dangers of this outside world,” the professor explained. “He’s been exerting all his strength to create a magic shield to hide us from the prying eyes and sniffing noses of the Ungers and other creatures that so like to catch us.”

“So that’s why Ratchet got us into such trouble,” Kendra said. “Uncle Griffinskitch’s spell wasn’t cast over him because he didn’t know he was there! So even though those Ungers couldn’t see or smell us, they probably sniffed Ratchet out. And, of course, he led them straight to us.”

“The whole quest was nearly thwarted because of his reckless actions,” Professor Bumblebean said. “Pursuing us was a selfish decision.”

“He was just trying to help,” Kendra said defensively.

“He didn’t appreciate the consequences of his actions,” Professor Bumblebean said. “The outside world is a dangerous place, and one that is not to be taken lightly.”

“But now Ratchet’s alone,” Kendra said, unable to let the matter rest. “He still doesn’t have Uncle Griffinskitch’s spells to protect him.”

“Not to worry,” Professor Bumblebean said. “I saw your uncle flash his staff slyly over that raccoon just before he sent him on his way. He delivered him with enough of a shield to get him back home. But it consumes a great deal of energy to use so much magic. I suspect he hasn’t used that much power in years.”

“Let him sleep through the night,” Jinx said from her post. “We’ll need more of his magic stuff yet before this journey’s out.”

“For once we are in agreement, Captain,” Professor Bumble-bean told her. “Now, Oki and Kendra, it’s off to bed for us.”

As they unrolled their sleeping gear, Kendra ventured a question that was weighing very heavily on her mind. “Professor, why is it forbidden for Eens and monsters to, er . . . help each other? What would be so bad about it? Helping a Goojun or Unger, I mean.”

“What are you talking about, young one?” the professor asked. “The monsters that inhabit the outside world are the sworn enemies of all Eens. Why would anyone want to help them?”

“Well, I thought maybe we could all just get along?” Kendra suggested meekly.

“Get along!” Professor Bumblebean exclaimed. “We can’t get along with the monsters of the outside world! Look at what just happened! They tried to kill us! What are you thinking, Kendra? That they would have you over to dinner? Maybe they’d have you for dinner, that’s all I know! I do say!”

“Okay,” Kendra said nervously as she crawled into her sleeping bag.

She couldn’t help thinking about Trooogul. He certainly hadn’t tried to eat her. He had told her that he didn’t hate Eens. But could she believe him?
What’s wrong with me?
Kendra wondered.
Ungers are the enemies of my people, and any normal Een would have just let him fall. But how could I have just left him there to die? He needed my help. He would have died. Still, he is an Unger.
Kendra sighed.
Her mind was whirling.
Everyone’s always said it, and now I’ve proven it,
she told herself.
I’m just not a normal Een.