Invasion of the Hazmats

  When I got to the part about the Maiden Voyage, I kind of skipped over it. I tried to make it sound like we traveled all the way in the bubbles. Skipped the bit about the Hazmats, too. No sense going there if I didn’t have to.

  My origins as an outsea person were not exactly a deep dark secret. Everyone at Casalot knows where I come from.

  They had watched me grow up through the waterproof photos that my proud grandparents had shown to anyone who would look.

  Many of the older adults at Casalot knew Mom from the time she was my age and lived with Grandma and Grandpa Sky. And, of course, there were visits from Mom, though apparently not as many once I came into the picture. So, yeah, everyone at Casalot knew way too much about me.

  But this was not Casalot and I was too unsure of myself to risk any unnecessary confidences. Besides, telling them about my outsea origins would involve all kinds of complicated explanations and endless questions.

  My job was to tell Edward’s father what he needed to know as quickly as possible, get back to Zazkal, and out of that pirates’ nest.

  So I fudged. It didn’t take a genius to see it either. Everyone in the room knew that I was leaving stuff out. But nobody said a word.

  Finally, I reached the denouement.

  “It was Zazkal who figured it out,” I said. “He guessed that the Hazmats had found an easy way to get here. Otherwise, why bother?

  “Zazkal and my friend Ollie found another undersea entry to the fairylands right where the Hazmats had been seen twice before. It was artificially closed off and locked.

  “When we got in, we saw that we were in a salt lake, a pond really, that was not far from the one here in Metsoola.”

  A muffled gasp went around the room. It was followed by murmuring of a highly charged nature.

  “Anyway, we think that they were using the salt lakes to smuggle power nuts out of Metsoola.”

  Everyone there had already come to the same conclusion the moment they learned about the second entrance into Fairyland. I felt that I was, nonetheless, entitled to be the person to articulate it.

  “I think the loss of the garden lights helps to prove it,” I said, proud of this personal piece of deduction. But I didn’t get to be the one to say why.

  “Of course,” said Edward, speaking up in his excitement, under circumstances that he normally wouldn’t dare to.

  “It was because no one was around the castle. Everyone was out looking for Miriam. We made it easy for them. They must have just paddled around the garden popping power nuts into sacks.

  “All the other losses have been around the fringes of the city where they wouldn’t be noticed. This must have been just too tempting for them.”

  Everyone nodded sagely, trying to look as if Edward was just describing what they had already figured out. In some cases, it was even probably true. It was only when the murmurs, mumbles, and other noises subsided that the king spoke to me.

  “There were a number of points in your story that were not very clear. Perhaps you could enlighten us. I would hate to think that you were keeping something secret and deceiving us on a subject of such importance.”

  There it is, I thought. I knew it had to come. I had really botched a lot of the story. There were so many places I had slid around or skipped over. Like, how I managed to get through Fairyland from one salt lake to another—with a tail. Small details like that.

  I hardly knew what to say. Even now, I didn’t know whether to tell them my history or not. The only thing I knew for sure was that there was no point in denying that there was more than I was telling.

  “It’s…it’s just,” I stuttered uncomfortably. “It’s not really a secret. It’s just, well … just…sort of private. It really has nothing to do with what we found out about the Hazmats and how they’re getting in and out.”

  Speaking in a most unkingly manner, King Mundiflure surprised me and said, “I’m sorry that I have given you such good cause not to trust us, Miriam. I’m sure you have told us everything we need to know.”

  I felt my shoulders relax, only then realizing how tense they had become. Somehow, his comment made me want to tell him everything.

  “By the way,” he said casually, “What happened to that magic bag of yours?”

  CHAPTER 35

  THE GREAT REVEAL

  My shoulders re-tensed so tight they touched my earlobes.

  “Uh…I gave it to Zazkal.”

  I can slither along the edges of truth with the best of them, but out and out whoppers…not so good. King Mundiflure lowered his head, raised his eyebrows and looked me in the eye.

  He knew. I knew he knew. And he knew I knew he knew. He turned back to the room full of fairies and they began to discuss strategy.

  Zazkal had specifically instructed me not to hang around and pretend to be helpful.

  “Tell them everything you know,” he had said. “All they need from you is information. It’s their job to decide how to act on it. Just get back here as fast as you can.”

  “Miriam,” Edward whispered. “Who’s Ollie?”

  “Ollie?” Just thinking about him made me feel safe and happy.

  “He’s my best friend.”

  “Oh.” The disappointed look on Edward’s face was almost funny.

  “Edward. He’s a dolphin,” I said as emphatically as I could and still whisper.

  “Oh. That’s okay.”

  “Of course it’s okay. Listen. I have to go.” I was afraid to interrupt the king, and afraid to leave without speaking to him.

  “Miriam, you can’t go. You just got here. Don’t you want to find out what they decide to do about the Hazmats.”

  “Yes, of course, but I’m terrified of meeting them again.”

  “Again?”

  Oops! He did the eyebrow thing just like his father. I was trapped.

  “It’s one of the bits I didn’t have time to talk about. I got captured by the Hazmats. They shape-changed into giant mythical birds. They were going to eat me. It was really scary.

  “Besides, Zazkal is waiting for me back at the secret entrance. What if they come back while he’s still there?”

  “Just wear your invisible cloak,” he said. “That way, even if you do meet them, they’ll never know it.”

  “I haven’t got it,” I said quietly. “I gave it to Zazkal.”

  “Can’t you get something out of your magic bag that will protect you? You didn’t really give it to Zazkal, did you!” He was undaunted in his optimistically high opinion of my magical abilities.

  “I haven’t got that either,” I said sadly.

  “Oh, well, you’ll get it back when you wake up,” he said cheerfully. “It’s almost bedtime anyway.”

  “I don’t know if I can get it back this time, Edward. I think the seagulls shredded it when the Hazmats grabbed me.”

  Talking about my sampo made tears with nowhere to go well up behind my eyes and I knew that a little more salt was being added to the ocean

  Edward was finally beginning to get the picture. He didn’t even ask about the seagulls that I hadn’t mentioned to his father.

  “Oh, I guess you have to go.” His voice was edged with disappointment. As he spoke, King Mundiflure happened to turn his head and see us.

  “Miriam! What are you still doing here? Every minute longer that you delay increases the danger for you and your friend.”

  “I was just explaining that to Edward, and asking him to say goodbye for me,” I said.

  “Well, you’ve done it. Now, go,” he said. “No, wait.” He called over the two biggest Sky in the room. “They will come with you as an escort. They’ll see you safely through to the other side.”

  This was a problem. There was no way that I could walk away from the lake without showing off my legs to my escorts.

  All of a sudden, I knew I was ready to do this. But it didn’t feel right that King Mundiflure and Edward would learn about my extra gifts from someone else.

  “Why don’t you com
e, too, King Mundiflure?” I said.

  “I’m sorry, Miriam, I wish I could but it really wouldn’t be right for me to leave such an important discussion, even for a short time.”

  “I know,” I answered. “But I think you should come anyway. I have something I would like to show you. It’s kind of hard to explain and I can’t show you here.” I kept my tone serious, and King Mundiflure seemed to understand that my intentions were serious as well.

  “Very well,” he said. “Edward, you are to wait here. It’s much too dangerous for you to come.”

  “Oh, Father,” Edward began.

  “I think Edward should come too, and Glori as well,” I interrupted. Glori was still bobbing up and down and grinning like a lunatic, at the other end of the room.

  “It wouldn’t be fair to leave them behind. We won’t be going further than your own salt lake. If the Hazmats were to come through at the same time, they’d probably hide at the sight of so many of us swimming around in there. The real danger is at the entrance at the other end where Zazkal is waiting. You won’t be coming that far.”

  Glori was with us at the front of the room even before I finished speaking. She was so fast that the waves from her movement through the water sent everyone floating around the room.

  “I’m here,” she said quickly. “Let’s go.”

  “Very well,” said King Mundiflure. “We’ll all go.”

  “All right.” Edward waved his fists and cheered.

  We all swam, not slowly and not quickly and without speaking, down the meeting room stack and over to the center of the castle where the garden was.

  Edward was bursting with excitement. Glori was grinning from ear to ear. Everyone else, meaning me and King Mundiflure was feeling very serious. The king was probably thinking about the potential danger. Me, I was thinking about what I had decided to do.

  When we reached the surface of the salt lake, I finally spoke.

  “The salt pond that leads to the other entrance is just beyond those woods over there.”

  Glori and Edward puzzled. They probably assumed that the two bodies of water would be right next to each other. King Mundiflure seemed to have an idea of what to expect, or at least he looked that way.

  “Before I go,” I said, “there are two things that I should tell you. First, I have a third fairy gift that I haven’t told you about. Second, Mele’ and Flora are my adoptive grandparents.

  I turned and pulled myself out of the water, switching to legs at the same time. I walked forward a few feet, then opened my wings and flew upwards.

  It was with some satisfaction that I heard the gasps of surprise behind and below me as I circled back to say goodbye. The look of dumb surprise on Edward’s face was especially enjoyable.

  Specter, on the other hand, probably the only one who really knew what was going to happen, was the octopus version of intense excitement. Pushing himself up with his strong tentacles he was bobbing up and down on Edward’s shoulder, his head flopping around in the air.

  “Miriam,” Glori called out. “You said you had one more fairy gift. You have two.”

  “My wings are a fairy gift,” I answered back from the air. “The magic scale that lets me be a Sky is a gift from my adoptive grandmother, so that I can visit her.

  “Goodbye, everyone,” I called down to them. “We’ll do what we can about the Hazmats at the other end, and try to figure out someway to let you know what’s happening.”

  “Goodbye, Miriam,” called back King Mundiflure. “We’ll do the same at this end. …Be careful, child.”

  CHAPTER 36

  THREE SISTERS AND FOUR MAD DOGS

  About the same time that Miriam was saying goodbye to her friends, four large battle-scarred groupers swam up to the entrance of the cave where Zazkal was waiting for her to return. When they saw the big wooden door unlocked and standing open, they stopped.

  After a brief but unintelligible discussion, the spot where the four big groupers had been swimming became occupied by four tiny sardines.

  There is a considerable risk to being a small fish in the ocean. Practically anyone you meet is interested in eating you. There was also the possibility that someone hungry would be waiting on the other side of the door.

  There also was, they reasoned, an even better chance that anyone waiting on the other side wouldn’t notice four such small fish. They swam in warily, ready to change instantly into something large and nasty if necessary.

  Zazkal was sitting on the floor of the cave wrapped in Miriam’s coat. So when the sardines came in, it looked empty. For his part, he barely noticed the four little fish that seemed to have accidentally wandered in through the open door. He paid no attention to them and went back to his thoughts.

  The four tiny sardines become four huge, shaggy, dirty looking dogs when they emerged from the salt lake. Not having seen anyone so far, they were on the lookout, teeth bared, noses to the wind and ready for trouble.

  Fortunately for Miriam, the dogs were downwind and caught no scent of her when they came into the woods. Miriam saw them first.

  When I reached the woods between the two salt lakes, I decided to pass through on foot, thinking that I would be less conspicuous this way than if I stayed in the air. Just in case, I thought.

  I had stopped by the three sisters to admire the big tree, one last time, when I heard barking. Looking up, I saw four dark shapes in the distance, and I knew.

  Scared out of my wits, I put my back against the tree, too afraid to run or hide, even to move. My terror-clouded eyes didn’t even register what was happening but within moments, I was completely hidden in a leafy bower. Each leaf rustled gently squeezing out its scent, until I was covered with a strong smell of fresh, green growing things.

  Although I couldn’t see them anymore, I could hear the dogs approaching. It sounded like they were coming straight at me. I didn’t dare move, even breathe, for fear they might hear me, or that even a small movement would waft my scent out to them. It wasn’t hard to do. I was frozen, anyway.

  It was only when most of the branches had lifted away and I could see out a little bit, that I began to regain my senses. My first thought was that I had somehow hidden myself, while I had been out of my mind with fear.

  Then I saw the remaining branches of my bower lifting upward by themselves, moving in a way that I had never seen a tree move before. That was when I knew.

  The thought of what the tree had done made me feel protected and loved. I wasn’t afraid anymore. I started to cry, happy, smiling tears, but just as unstoppable as the other kind.

  I watched with quiet, damp pleasure as the last of the branches moved back to their places. Then, still sniffling, I stepped back far enough, to see the whole tree, or at least as much as you could expect to see in a forest of trees surrounded by trees.

  I couldn’t bring myself to speak casually to someone so large and so different from me. It was not as if I had never spoken to a tree before, but this was the first time I knew with confidence that the tree was actually listening.

  I felt like Alice in Wonderland, not knowing how to talk to the mouse in the pool of tears. At least I don’t have to worry about the tree swimming off if I say the wrong thing.

  “I am most grateful to you, Tree,” I said formally, “for your protection. You probably have, no, surely have saved my life. I regret that I cannot stay to express the depth of my gratitude and my pleasure in your revealing of yourself to me.” At this point, my efforts at being formal collapsed, crushed by awe.

  Formal is tough to sustain in the face of amazing. I lost it.

  “Oh, snap! I never knew trees could do that, not even in Fairyland. You are amazing.”

  “But I can’t stay. I left my teacher behind and I don’t know if the Hazmats saw him or not. He may need help.” I sighed, realizing that if he had been seen, there might be very little I could do to help him.

  “I’m really worried about him. Also,” I said, glancing nervously in the direction that
the pirates had taken, “I don’t know how long it will be before the Hazmats come back this way. I don’t want to be around when they do.”

  “Go. Go quickly,” whispered the tree. “Be careful, child.” Again the tree went unheard. Miriam had already left, her heart racing as fast as her feet.

  I didn’t expect to be able to see Zazkal. If everything was O.K., he would probably be wearing my fern seed coat. So, as soon as I was under the water of the salt pond, I began calling his name.

  “Zazkal! Zazkal! Are you here? Are you okay? Can you hear me?”

  “Here I am, Miriam. Stop making such a racket.”

  He handed me the fern coat. I crumpled in up and shoved it into my wing pocket.

  “Ouch! This pocket is tight. We’ve got to get out of here. The Hazmats are in Fairyland. They could be back this way any minute.”

  “That’s impossible, I was here the whole time. No one could have passed through without my seeing them.”

  “I don’t know about that. But there were four big, ugly dogs in Fairyland heading straight for Metsoola. They looked awfully familiar.”

  Zazkal raised his arm and struck his forehead with his palm.

  “There were four fish. Tiny fish. I could hardly see them. I thought nothing of it.”

  “Let’s go,” I said.

  And we were gone.

  When the four dogs left the woods, they had a clear view, almost all the way to Metsoola’s salt lake. They saw no one.

  “There’s no one here,” one of the dogs said to one of the others. “You must have left the door open. How could you be such a jerk?”

  “I never left it open,” spoke the second. “I would never forget a thing like that. Anyway, it’s not my job to remember. It’s yours,” he said turning to a third companion. “You left the door open. You’re the one who forgot the kid, too. You’re just plain dumb.”

  “What kid?” said the third dog who was now being addressed. “I don’t remember any kid. Anyway, it’s not my job either. It’s probably that kid who did it.”

  The conversation went on in this manner over the land, into the water, not even pausing as they automatically slipped from dog into fish shape. When they to the bottom of the salt lake, they found the passage from the lake into the garden at Castle Downalot blocked.