Kendra Kandlestar and the Door to Unger (20 page)

KENDRA SHOOK HER HEAD in confusion. “I don’t understand,” she said. “Why hasn’t the light transformed them?”

“They can’t change,” Kiro murmured in reply. “They were born as Ungers and such. The light can’t reverse that.”

Kendra clung tightly to Kiro and Uncle Griffinskitch, and wished more than ever that the old wizard had not lost his staff. Without it, they had no way to get past Creeegun and his cohorts.

Where’s Jinx anyway?
she asked herself angrily, but she realized that it was probably impossible to return to the maze after exiting it. So she stood there, alongside her brother and uncle, momentarily frozen in fear.

The temple continued to fall down around them. Now entire sections of the walls around the door gave way and collapsed to the ground. Before long, they no longer felt as if they were standing in a passageway, but rather just in the shaft of light that had guided them through the maze. On either side of them was a flat expanse of churning rock and jungle. Because of this, there were many directions to run—but Kendra could see that all avenues of escape would lead them out of the light—and that meant transforming back into monsters.

As for Creeegun, he did not seem the least bit perplexed by the tumbling stones or the quaking floor. He paced before the three Eens, his eyes wide and cruel. Behind him, the Goojun and Krake hovered, drooling.

“Wherezum Trooogul!?” Creeegun demanded.

“I’m Trooogul,” Kiro announced, stepping in front of Kendra and Uncle Griffinskitch and letting go of their hands.

“Wherezum Trooogul!?” Creeegun repeated. “Seezum Trooogul enter mazeum—but nozum come outzum.”

“I AM Trooogul!” Kiro uttered. “The maze changed me into an Een—my true self!”

This seemed too much for Creeegun and the other creatures to comprehend. They stared at Kiro with baffled expressions. As far as they were concerned, Kiro might as well have just announced that he was moving to the moon.

“We’re not so different, you and I,” Kiro told Creeegun. “Eens and Ungers, that is.”

“LIAR!” Creeegun roared. “Trooogul betray Ungers, friendzum of Eeneez. But youzum! Youzum still killzum Trooogul.”

“That’s not true!” Kendra cried. “We didn’t hurt him! He’s right here!”

But now Creeegun had no interest in talking. “Killz them!” he spat, and he leapt forward with his fellows at his side.

Kendra shrieked. The Goojun was coming straight towards her, but at the last moment one of the falling rocks struck the reptilian creature and he crashed to the floor, unconscious at her feet. Creeegun plowed towards Kiro, but the young Een ducked beneath the Unger, escaping the rake of his claws. Uncle Griffinskitch was not so lucky; the Krake hit him with full force, bowling him to the ground and sinking its sharp fangs into his shoulder. The old wizard screamed in pain, and in the next instant Kiro was at his side, hurling a large rock at the Krake to knock him away.

“Kiro, look out!” Kendra cried, for now Creeegun had turned around and was charging at him again.

Kiro threw a wild, excited look in Kendra’s direction. “Get Uncle Griffinskitch out of here!” he yelled, turning and running towards the edge of the light.

“What are you doing?” Kendra yelled. “Don’t leave the light!”

But even as she spoke these words, Kiro leapt from the glowing path, into the flattened expanse beyond. Instantly, he was transformed into the large and grotesque form of Trooogul the Unger.

“NO!” Kendra screamed.

Creeegun, who had been rushing straight towards Kiro, now skidded to a halt, his large tusked mouth dropping open in amazement.

“Nowzum!” Trooogul growled, glaring at Creeegun and the Krake in triumph. “Youzum fightzum ME!”

It took a moment for Creeegun and the Krake to gather their wits. One minute they had been attacking an Een and in the next an Unger! But Kendra could see that they were both enraged, and the thing most important to them now was a fight. The Krake, who was actually the closest to Trooogul, made the first move by baring his sharp fangs and leaping at the Unger. Trooogul grunted, and with a swat of his mighty claw, batted the smaller creature away as if it was nothing more than a bug. The Krake struck the ground with a squeal, and then lay in a motionless, crumpled heap. Now it was Creeegun’s turn. He lowered his rocky head and charged forward. He hit his former friend square in the chest, but Trooogul instantly regained his feet and the two young Ungers were soon embroiled in a vicious battle on the expanse of rock that lay beyond the path of light.

“Gozum!” Trooogul roared at Kendra over the din of the fight and the collapsing maze. “Gozum, Little Star!”

He spoke with such authority that Kendra felt compelled to obey. She turned her attention to Uncle Griffinskitch, who was lying on the ground moaning in pain. She put her hands underneath each arm and pulled the old man across the quaking ground, through the door and to the outside world. Just as they crossed the threshold of the door, the remainder of the temple came toppling to the ground, sending out a cloud of dust and rubble that knocked Kendra right from her feet. The last thing she was able to do before blacking out was to scramble on top of her uncle’s body, to protect him from the debris that was raining down from the obliterated temple.

When Kendra returned to consciousness, the air had cleared and the sun was beaming kindly upon the land—it was the warmest she had felt in weeks. She coughed and felt the grainy taste of grit in her mouth. She looked down at herself and noticed she was covered head to foot in dust and grime. Then she blinked her eyes a few times, and realized her friends were all hovering around her.

“Are you okay?” Ratchet asked her.

Kendra nodded, and looked about, trying to gather in her surroundings. After all the noise of the temple’s destruction, the world seemed incredibly quiet. Nearby, she could see a pile of rock and stone; it was all that was left of the temple maze and the Door to Unger—but Kendra knew it would not remain like that for long, for a tangle of trees and bushes were already sprouting forth from it in earnest. She turned her head and noted the sound of a brook and the aroma of wild meadow flowers. Everything had returned to life in the formerly wretched land.

Then Kendra remembered what had happened just before the final collapse of the temple.

“Kiro!” she murmured worriedly. “And Uncle Griffinskitch! Where are they?”

“There’s no sign of Kiro,” Jinx said gravely, helping Kendra to her feet. “Your uncle is here, but he’s in bad shape.”

The old wizard was lying on the grass, mumbling incoherently. Kendra knelt beside him, and stroked his forehead, now beaded with perspiration.

“Will he be okay?” she asked.

“Something bit him on the shoulder,” Professor Bumblebean said. “What was it?”

“A Krake,” Kendra sniffled.

“Brush my brow!” Effryn exclaimed, hobbling forward. “I’ll be shorn if there’s anything more deadly than the venom of a Krake!”

“Don’t you have something for him, Mr. Hagglehorn?” Kendra asked the little Faun.

“No,” Effryn replied sadly. “There’s only one thing I know that can save someone from Krake venom—and that’s the nectar of a fireflower. But I’ve never seen a fireflower; why, I’m not sure they even exist. Baste my beard, but I don’t know where to find them.”

Kendra smiled sadly down at her uncle. “I do,” she murmured quietly.

KENDRA KNEW THAT SHE had to get Uncle Griffinskitch back to the land of Een as quickly as possible for it was there, and only there, that the fireflower grew. According to Effryn (and further supported by Professor Bumblebean) the Krake venom would claim the life of the old wizard if they did not get him the antidote soon.

As such, they needed to leave straight away—which meant there was little time to search for Kiro. They spent a few hours scouring the forest that was now growing from the wreckage of the maze, but there was no sign of Kendra’s brother.

“What do you think became of him?” Oki wondered.

“He didn’t die,” Kendra declared. “That much I know.”

“How?” Oki asked.

“I don’t know,” Kendra replied. “It’s just a feeling.”

“Well, your feelings have always served you well,” Ratchet told Kendra. “If that’s the way you feel, then you trust it. I think you’ll be seeing Kiro again before you know it.”

Kendra smiled. Somehow, Ratchet always knew the right thing to say to make her feel better.

“Do you think Kiro is still an Unger?” Jinx asked. “Or did he transform back into an Een again?”

“I don’t know,” Kendra said. “But either way, he’s my brother.”

“Come now,” Professor Bumblebean said gently. “We need to leave, Kendra, if we are to save your uncle.”

They set on their way. The first thing that needed to happen was for Effryn to find where he had hidden Skeezle. This was not an easy task, for when he had left the tiny snail it had been at the edge of a barren wasteland—but now everything was lush and green. But find him Effryn did and at once he enacted his magic to enlarge the snail, along with his great collection of miraculous marvels.

“We’ll let your uncle ride on Skeezle’s back, in the carriage,” Effryn told Kendra. “And I have a few medicines that may ease his pain and slow down the spread of the venom—so hopefully, we’ll get him back to Een in time.”

“Thank you, Mr. Hagglehorn,” Kendra said.

As they headed towards the land of Een, Kendra looked over her shoulder to gaze upon the former wasteland one last time. For a moment she thought she saw the distant silhouette of Trooogul standing amidst the forest trees and she let out a gasp. But a moment later the silhouette was gone.

“Are you all right?” Jinx asked her, upon hearing her gasp.

“Yes, thank you,” Kendra said turning to the grasshopper. “Let’s hurry on.”

Had she just imagined seeing the great Unger? She wasn’t sure, but it made her feel better to think that she had.

I will see him again,
she told herself.
I know it. There’s a connection between us, that much is sure.

The small band traveled hard for the next few weeks, stopping only to rest and gather food. Uncle Griffinskitch never spoke once during this journey. His health declined steadily, and Kendra fretted continually that he might die before they could reach Een. Thankfully, now that summer had arrived, the weather was warm and the skies were clear, allowing them to make good speed. At last, they reached the edge of Een.

“Home sweet home,” Oki sighed happily as they came upon the magic curtain.

“Well, come on, my apprentice,” Ratchet said. “In we go.”

He plowed ahead, expecting to step easily through the magic curtain—but he did not! Instead it was like walking into a wall of rock, and the hapless raccoon fell straight onto his rump.

“What’s going on?” Kendra asked worriedly. “As Eens, we should be able to walk straight through the curtain!”

“Oh my!” Professor Bumblebean exclaimed. “How could we forget? Burdock Brown sealed the magic curtain before we left. There’s no way to get through!”

“But we have to!” Kendra exclaimed. “We need to get Uncle Griffinskitch into Een. He’s not going to last much longer.”

“This is outrageous!” Jinx snarled. “Why, I’d love to get my hands on that Burdock. Who does he think he is, keeping us out of our own land?”

“I can get you through,” Effryn declared suddenly, and with these words, he produced the small silver bottle—the very one that contained the secret spell for opening the magic curtain.

“But I thought you wanted to sell it to the Elders,” Kendra said to the Faun.

“Indeed,” Effryn returned. “But I’ve had a change of heart, Kendra, or I’ll be shorn. If not for you, I’d have never escaped that dreadful maze. Why, it’s the least I can do, to give you this whisper.”

“Thank you, Mr. Hagglehorn,” Kendra said, taking the bottle from the Faun.

She removed the cap, put it to her ear, and listened to the spell.

“Did you hear it?” Oki asked anxiously after the girl had replaced the cap.

Kendra nodded. She turned to the curtain and repeated the incantation that she had heard. The curtain was invisible of course, but once she had spoken the enchantment the air in front of her seemed to shimmer—and Kendra knew that the curtain had parted for her.

At last, they were home.