The Changelings Series, Book 1 (11 page)

Cobwebs.

The frightened bird beat its wings, but before it could rise from the table, a wisp of cobweb coiled around its feet. More tendrils reached up like tentacles and lashed around the finch. Izzy couldn't watch. She shut her eyes. The fluttering sounds slowed, then stopped altogether. When Izzy opened her eyes again, Morvanna was leaning into the mirror, putting on lipstick.

“Now, I suppose we should go out and make an appearance at our own party,” she said to Peter. “You'll come, won't you? I hate this sort of thing, and I need someone to make me laugh.”

“That is my specialty, Your Majesty.” Peter offered the queen his arm, and they exited together.

On the dressing table lay a tightly wrapped ball of white, silent and still as a cocoon.

Izzy counted to five slowly before squirming out of the sack. She lifted the tent canvas with both hands and rolled underneath. Inside, the candle on Morvanna's dressing table flickered as she walked past. She crept to the opening where she'd seen Peter take Hen. She listened for a few moments but didn't hear anything on the other side of the curtain. She drew it back and went inside.

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. The festival lanterns projected the shadow of a goblin guard onto the tent's canvas. Izzy jumped, then realized he was outside of the tent, pacing back and forth. Hen lay in the center of the room on a lush pile of mattresses. Izzy tiptoed to the edge of the bed and watched her sister sleeping. Her stomach twisted at the thought of Morvanna standing behind Hen, harvesting her laughter. What if she'd done some sort of permanent damage? But Hen looked exactly the same as before. Actually, now she looked like a little princess, straight out of a storybook. What if she didn't want to come home at all?

Ever since Izzy had left Yawning Top, she had been rehearsing what to say when she saw her sister, if she ever saw her again. Now that Hen was only a few inches away, all her rehearsals went out the window. There were only two words that mattered, and as long as she could get them out, she could deal with whatever might come next.

She took a deep breath and gently tapped Hen's cheek.

Hen stirred, then blinked her eyes open. She sat up and looked at Izzy, confused. “Are Mom and Dad here?” she mumbled.

“No, it's just me.”

Those words must not have been very comforting, because tears welled up in Hen's eyes. “I—I want to go home,” she whimpered.

Relief washed over Izzy. She reached out her arms, and Hen's sleepy head fell onto her shoulder.

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…” While Hen cried softly, Izzy said the two words over and over until they sounded like nonsense. Her little sister felt so much smaller than she remembered. She rubbed Hen's back and tried to imagine what their mom would say if she were there. “Shhh, don't cry, clucky Hen.”

Hen sniffled and looked up at her. “You smell like Dad's gym bag.”

Izzy laughed and hugged her closer. “I'm going to take you home, I promise.” She pulled away from Hen's embrace and looked in her eyes. “But first we need to get out of here. We've got to work together, OK?”

Hen wiped the snot off her face with her nightgown sleeve. “Is this like a mission?”

“Yes, that's exactly what it is,” said Izzy. She knew Hen loved missions. “Our mission is to get out of here before Morvanna comes back. You know this place better than me. Which way do we go?”

Before Hen could answer, the goblin's silhouette on the tent grew larger and larger. The shadow bent down to lift up the corner of the tent flap.

“Hurry, get down!” whispered Hen.

Izzy dropped behind Hen's mattresses and flattened herself onto the ground.

The goblin ducked into the dark tent. “Thought I heard voices.”

“That was me,” said Hen, sliding off her bed onto the floor. “I was talking to myself, saying how I'm so hungry I could eat my own arm.”

“Hungry?” growled the goblin. “You just had your supper. And lots of it too.”

Izzy inched forward until she could just barely see around the corner of the mattress. Hen stood with her feet planted apart and her arms crossed, staring up at a goblin guard more than twice her size.

“Well, I'm hungry again,” Hen whined. “I want a fried apple tart!”

The goblin sneered down his long nose at Hen. “I don't care what you want. What you
need
is to get back to bed.” He bared pointed, yellow teeth and clacked them at her menacingly.

Hen didn't budge. She wrinkled her nose and leaned forward. “If you don't get me a fried apple tart right this minute, I'll tell Morvanna you're making me sad. And you
know
how she feels about me getting sad.”

The guard's nostrils flared. “Fine,” he spat. “Wouldn't want the little princess to be uncomfortable.” He turned around and stomped out of the tent.

As soon as he was gone, Hen tiptoed back to Izzy's hiding spot.

Izzy hugged her sister. “I never thought I'd say this, but thank goodness for your whining!”

They hurried to the back of the tent, where they knelt, straining their ears for the sounds of guards on the other side. It felt like an eternity to Izzy, who was sure they'd be caught any second.

“Let's go, Hen. We can't wait any longer!”

The sisters wriggled out underneath the tent canvas. They stood up, facing the apple orchard. A sharp breeze blew out of the trees, slicing through the warm night. The leaves swished like a frightened whisper:
Go! Hurry!

Izzy grabbed Hen's hand and ran. The fiddle music and merry sounds of the festival faded behind them as they sprinted through the rows of trees. Soon, they left the orchard behind and entered a forest of evergreens. The soft grass beneath their feet became steep, rocky ground. The sweet apple smell gave way to the sharp scent of pine. They were heading away from Avhalon, up the slopes of Mount Mooring.

The moon was full and high, giving them just enough light to weave through the tree trunks. Izzy's body dragged, and not just from running uphill. She'd done it. She'd found her sister and rescued her. She should have been thrilled. Instead, she felt a rising sense of dread.

Izzy stopped, nearly yanking Hen downhill.

“Hey…come on!” Hen said, panting and trying to pull Izzy along. “We can't…slow down now!”

They had stopped in front of a large, fallen fir tree. Izzy placed one hand on its trunk, trying to catch her breath. “Give me…just a minute… I need to think.”

“No, no, we don't have time for that! Listen, Morvanna has these—these creatures, and she can train them to track anything she wants. If she tells them to come after me—”

“I know. I know what they can do.”

Izzy felt pulled up the mountain and down it at the same time. Her sister needed her, but so did the Changelings. The Unglers would be out looking for them any minute, and the Scarlet Stairstep wouldn't protect them anymore. If she didn't warn them, they were as good as caught.

Izzy put both her hands on Hen's shoulders. “Hen, there's something I have to do. My friends need my help.”

Hen looked shocked. “You have
friends
?”

“Yes, I do, and they're in trouble. I have to warn them. I have to tell them that Morvanna's planning—”

“I'm planning
what
?”

The voice sent a ragged chill down Izzy's spine. She spun around. A match scraped against stone, and a torch sputtered to life. Morvanna and Peter walked toward them with three goblins.

They'd been caught.

Blister held the torch. Two other goblins—one thin, one stout—followed behind.

“There, Your Majesty!” said Blister, pointing straight at Izzy. “Just like I told you! I seen that girl take your little princess outta her tent.”

Morvanna pushed Blister out of the way and walked closer to the girls. She looked down at Izzy, and her face relaxed. “Well, you were right, Blister. It's nothing but a little imp.” The queen curled her finger at Izzy. “Come closer and let me get a better look at you.”

Izzy gulped and took a step forward.

Morvanna's eyelids twitched as she picked at her thumb. “So, you little ragamuffin, what is all this about? What are you doing with my human?”

Hen leaned around Izzy. “She's not a ragamuffle. She's my sister!”

Morvanna grabbed Izzy by the shoulders, pulled off her hat, and tossed it away. When she saw Izzy's ears, she smiled greedily. “Look, Peter, it's true—another human child. You haven't been hiding this one from me, have you?”

Peter raised his eyebrows and tilted his head at Izzy. “No, Your Majesty. I have no idea how this child got here…”

“She came here to take me back home,” said Hen.

Morvanna took Izzy's chin and jerked it up to the light. Her nails dug into the skin as she twisted Izzy's face back and forth. “Peter, you should be glad. This will save you from having to find me another human. Though this one is so small and sullen. I doubt her laughter is worth one tenth of her sister's.”

As Peter stared at Izzy, a sudden change spread over his face. All his coolness melted away, replaced with a look of panic. “Your Majesty, give me charge of this one,” he said, hurriedly taking Izzy's hand. “I'll lead her back to the castle with her sister…”

Izzy pulled away from him. “No, you have to let Hen go! She was stolen without a Changeling to take her place. And that's against the rules!”

“Now you sound just like Peter,” Morvanna said with a sneer. “I can do what I like. I'm a queen, and you're a little nobody with a sullen face.” She leaned forward and pursed her lips. She worked out a thin line of spittle that hung past her chin. Pinching it between her fingers, she pulled it down. It changed into a glistening chain as thin as a strand of silk. But Izzy knew it was stronger than steel. It was the same chain the Unglers had used to snare Lug.

Morvanna tossed the finished chain to Blister. “Tie up the sister and bring her with us. Come along, Henrietta. It's time to go back.” She reached out for Hen.

Izzy stepped in front of her, blocking her way.

Morvanna's face twisted in anger. “Why, you impudent little brat!” She slapped Izzy full across the face with the back of her hand so hard that she knocked Izzy backward, off her feet.

Stunned, Izzy propped herself up on one elbow and covered her face, expecting more blows. Morvanna dropped to her knees beside her, her eyes on Izzy's neck. When Izzy fell, the strand of Scarlet Stairstep had popped out from under her shirt.

Morvanna lifted the necklace up with one finger. Her eyes narrowed to slits as she leaned down. “
What
are you?”

Hen pounded Morvanna's back with her fists. “Get off of her! Let her go!”

Peter grabbed Hen around the waist and pulled her away. A shriek rang out in the darkness. Another high squeal, and another, scraped up the mountain toward them.

Morvanna smiled. She leaned closer and twisted Izzy's Stairstep necklace around her finger until the cord snapped. “What good timing,” she whispered. Her breath smelled like burned meat. “My little pets can tell me exactly what you are.”

Blister chuckled and held his torch out to the thin guard behind him. “Take this. I'll tie up the ragamuffin. Hey! You listenin'? I said take the torch!”

The goblin didn't look at Blister. He looked down at Izzy and flashed a wolfish grin.

A white butterfly flew from the stout guard's shoulder and landed near Izzy's ear. “Now, Izzy!” it whispered. “Let's go!”

Izzy planted her boot on the soft spot below Morvanna's rib cage and kicked as hard as she could. The queen flew backward onto the ground. She rolled onto her hands and knees, clutching her stomach as she gasped for air.

“Your Majesty!” cried Peter. He let go of Hen and hurried to help the queen.

As Peter bent over, the big goblin kicked him in the back, making him fall right on top of Morvanna. Blister stumbled back, gaping uselessly as Selden and Lug both dropped their goblin Likenesses.

Selden Changed into a stag and knelt at Izzy's feet. “Let's get out of here! Come on!”

Hen's jaw dropped open. “Did you see what he just did?”

Izzy bent down to help Hen climb onto Selden's back. “I'll explain later!”

“Quickly, quickly!” said Dree, fluttering overhead.

More shrieks pierced the night. The hunched silhouettes of a dozen Unglers appeared out of the trees. They lumbered closer, grunting excitedly, like pigs in a frenzy.

Morvanna pushed Peter off and stood up, shaking with fury. Blister cowered and shielded himself with the torch as she stretched her arm out to him. The sparks from the torch flew through the air and collected in her hands. She rolled them between her palms like a ball of clay until she held a sphere of glowing red flame.

Dree flew to one end of the fallen fir tree. She Changed back to herself and leaned against it with her shoulder. “Lug, help me!”

Lug Changed into an ox. Head down, he rammed into the log. As Morvanna held the fireball overhead, the log shuddered and rocked free of the ground. It rolled downhill, straight at the queen.

Morvanna threw herself out of harm's way, back to the ground. As she fell, she flung her fireball at Selden, but it veered wide into a stand of smaller trees that burst into flame. The rolling log slammed into three of the Unglers, dragging them with it down the mountain. The others leapt out of the way like bony cats.

Selden twisted his head around, nearly stabbing Izzy with his antlers. “Hurry up! Get on!”

Izzy scrambled onto Selden's back behind her sister. She barely had time to hold on before he took off up the mountain. Dree turned into a fawn, and Lug became a ram. They raced up the slope on either side of Selden.

The remaining Unglers were close behind. Their knuckles thudded the ground as they galloped. The fastest beast launched himself forward and swiped at Selden. Izzy cried out as its fingertips grazed her back. She looked over her shoulder.

Morvanna struggled out of Peter's grip, back to her feet. “Do something, you fool! They're getting away!” She collected another ball of flame in her hands and aimed it straight at the Changelings.

Izzy leaned forward, pressing Hen down. Any second, she expected to feel the fireball's impact. The high trill of Peter's flute filled the forest. Straight ahead of them, a giant fir split with a deafening crack. Izzy screamed as it fell toward them.

“We can make it!” shouted Selden. He put his head down and raced beneath the falling fir with Dree and Lug by his side.

Whoosh!
Izzy's hair was blown forward as the tree fell right behind Selden into the path of Morvanna's missile. The fir exploded into white sparks. It crashed down onto the closest Unglers and blocked the others behind a fiery blaze.

The Changelings ran on, away from the light and the sap-fueled heat. Behind them, Izzy could hear Morvanna's angry cries echoing through the dark.