No sooner had they scrambled into position, than the monstrous beasts exploded through the trees, wailing at the top of their lungs.
Eric aimed his fingers and sent a stream of hot sparks at the beasts.
The first two beasts avoided the blast and charged away, but the second two fell into each other. The two remaining creatures drew up short behind them.
“Pull back,” said Eric as the beasts regrouped. “Don’t let them near the river!”
“I hate fighting in the dark,” said Neal. “I can’t see where to hide!”
All of a sudden, branches snapped behind them and the barrel-shaped boat woman tumbled out of the underbrush.
“Can I help?” Dora cackled.
“Uh … yes!” said Julie. “Thanks!”
“You do seem to need it!” Dora said. “Here, pull a thread from my sleeve!”
They did as she said, but what came from her sleeve was not thread but rope as thick as ship’s rigging.
“Now weave a web among the trees!” she said. “We can hold them off until dawn!”
While the beasts assembled for a second assault, the children, Khan, and Dora rigged the rope to and fro among the trees.
“Get ready to pull!” said Dora. “Now!”
When the creatures charged, the children pulled the rope tightly. It flew up and tangled the beasts’ hooves, sending them crashing to the ground. The beasts staggered up, but the children pulled the rope tight a second time, and the creatures stumbled again. They repeated this action over and over, until a glimmer of light finally appeared in the eastern sky.
“Dawn!” cried Dora. “Beasts, go home to your evil master. The light of day has come!”
As if they understood the dreaded word day, the armored beasts wailed loudly and galloped back through the trees to Jabar-Loo.
The riverbank was quiet once more.
“We actually stopped them!” said Julie.
“Yay!” yelled Neal. “Thank you, boat lady!”
But when they turned to where the little woman had been standing, they saw no one. Dora had vanished into the mist.
“That lady comes and goes really fast,” said Eric. “But she’s helped us a lot so far.”
“A new friend, perhaps?” said Khan. “But come, we have some old friends to save!”
By the time the little band arrived at Jabar-Loo, the beasts were no more, and the last of the blue rats were scurrying through the hole in the city wall.
Eric looked up. The sun was moving quickly across the sky. “Max’s battle with the gladiators starts soon.”
“How do we get inside?” asked Julie.
Eric pointed to the trees. “By going up.”
One by one, the friends climbed the giant tree into Jabar-Loo. As they did, Eric kept turning two things over in his mind.
The first was … how were they ever going to fight the old dark magic of Goll?
The second was … what rhymes with Umberto?
Eric reached the top branch first and untied Flemky’s rope. He waved to the little creature on top of the pole.
“Who is that?” asked Keeah.
Eric smiled. “The wandering splangle player the droomar told us about. He’s another new friend. We’ll have to free him, too.”
“The list grows,” said Neal. “Cool.”
By the time the little band had swung down and landed in the street, it was midday.
“Okay,” said Eric, peering both ways before he headed down a deserted alley. “Umberto is bad now, but he’ll be lots worse when he’s crowned Rat King.”
Neal pulled his turban lower. “Not to mention probably creepier to look at.”
“We have to wreck that crown,” said Julie.
“Exactly,” said Eric. “It’s made by a jeweler behind a red door. Let’s look for a red door.”
Keeah nodded. “To the palace!”
The five friends wormed their way through the empty streets and into the palace. They searched every deserted hallway until they spied a small red door.
“Here we are,” whispered Keeah. “If all the baddies come out only at night, it’s probably empty. Let’s take a look inside —”
Just as they were going to enter, they heard the sound of a hammer tapping — plinka-tap-tap! — and the faint buzz of someone humming — “Mmm … mm-mmm-mmm!”
Neal pressed his ear to the door. “No way! I know that sound. But it can’t be!”
“My goodness, never!” whispered Khan.
One by one, they recognized the tapping of that hammer and the humming of that tune.
Hob is busy hammering
Crowns and medals for the king —
“Hob?” whispered Keeah. “Hob! That furry little imp? He made mischief once after being in Jabar-Loo. Could he be here again? As Umberto’s crown maker?”
Eric shivered. It all makes sense. Hob. Pesh. Salamandra really is involved in this!
He couldn’t help himself. He jumped through the door and tumbled into Hob’s workshop. “We’ve found you at last!”
The scruffy little imp fell off his stool. “Ahh! Who surprises Hob at his important work?”
“Important work? More like evil work!” said Keeah. “Hob, what are you doing here?”
The imp dropped his hammer, lowered his head, and grew sullen. “Nothing …”
“Not nothing!” said Khan. “Working for that Prince Umberto, you mean —”
“Umberto!” Hob slumped to the floor. “That spirit of darkness! Umberto is forcing Hob to make this evil rat crown!”
The imp touched the great black crown on the workbench. Like Umberto’s helmet, it bore the image of a rat’s head. The symbols of Goll were carved all over it.
Keeah stood over Hob. “Tell us what’s going on here. What happened to my parents? And who is Umberto?”
The imp wept into his hands. “Since you last saw Hob, he has wandered many miles across Droon, Salamandra’s thorn staff by his side. By and by he came to Jabar-Loo, seeking magic to make a perfect, living mask!”
“My impish little friend,” said Khan, “dark magic frees no one.”
“Hob has learned exactly that!” said the mask maker. “Umberto was a … being who long ago sought to conquer the ancient city of Pesh in the Upper World. Salamandra banished him to the Underworld. The Underworld? Ha! Umberto found his way to Droon! For long years after his defeat, he was a mere shadow. He needed powerful magic to return. He needed a powerful form. Silly Hob gave him both!”
“How?” asked Eric.
“By the time Hob blundered into Umberto’s lair amid the ruins of Goll,” said the imp, “Umberto had soaked up Goll’s ancient magic. The old, dark ways lived in him! He stole Hob’s magic staff. Then he forced Hob to make a giant suit of armor he could live inside and medallions for thousands of jungle rats. Once he dons this crown of ultimate power, no longer will night be his only time to live. His control over the rats will be complete, and he will leave Jabar-Loo to invade the rest of Droon. The king and queen are already slaves to him. He has transformed your royal navy —”
Keeah gasped. “The navy! Where are they?”
Hob shrank. “Umberto’s gladiators! He will pit them against the spider troll tonight! Everyone in his power will suffer!”
“Even Flemky?” asked Julie.
“Except Flemky,” said Hob. “Hob doesn’t like heights. He wouldn’t go up that pole to put the medallion on him.”
“What does Jabar-Loo have to do with Pesh?” asked Eric. “And how could Salamandra banish Umberto from Pesh to Droon? They’re in two different worlds.”
“Ahhhh,” Hob sighed. “There are connections between the worlds even Hob has not discovered!”
Eric stared at the imp. Connections?
“Why don’t we just destroy the crown?” asked Julie. She reached for the crown, but it zapped her suddenly, hurling her back into Neal. “Oww!” she said. “Never mind.”
“It’s a Hob crown,” said the imp with a grin. “It’s
indestructible by ordinary magic!”
“Nothing is easy, is it?” asked Neal.
“Neither easy nor hopeful,” said Hob, trembling. “Oh, Hob is so very afraid!”
Eric looked at his friends one by one. They had nothing but fear in their faces.
And why not?
Galen was nowhere to be found. Max was a monster. The king and queen were under Umberto’s control. His rat army was enormous. Eric felt his knees go weak and his blood turn to ice.
At the same time, he knew that they would have to do something. That he would have to do something.
“People, we need to be there when Umberto crowns himself Rat King,” he said. “The arena is where we’ll stop him.”
“Stop him? Stop him?” Hob’s whiskers twitched nervously. “Umberto will use Hob’s magic staff to make certain he becomes king!”
Eric tried not to show how afraid he was. “Hob, we need more medallions, ones to make us look like the other gladiators, but not be under Umberto’s control. Can you do that?”
Keeah looked at Eric. “You’ve got something special in mind, haven’t you?”
Eric’s heart skipped a beat when he heard that word. “It’ll be special … if it works. We need to be in that arena. But only make four medallions. I won’t need one. I have to play the splangle.”
“Make three medallions,” said Keeah. “I’m going with Eric. I’ve got to be near my parents, and no disguise is getting in my way.”
Eric was glad a friend would be with him. “Thanks. I could use the help.”
“Hob is still very fearful!” said the imp.
“Don’t forget, my little friend,” said Khan. “Eric and Keeah will be in that arena right next to you!”
Eric glanced at Umberto’s terrifying crown. It was sparking wildly. “Something tells me that will be the most dangerous place of all.”
Hob’s tapping and banging ceased with the blare of a trumpet. Night had fallen.
“Your medallions are finished,” the imp said. “These will change your shape, but you will be subject to your own wills, not Umberto’s.”
“Just don’t be afraid when you see me as a fierce gladiator,” said Neal. “It’ll still be me under all that armor.”
Eric grinned. “I’ll try to remember.”
Hob searched the children’s faces. His own was pale and frightened. “When the moon is overhead and the stars align in the shape of a V, Umberto will remove his helmet and don this crown. For a moment, you will see his terrifying shadow self. Princess, that is your only chance to remove your parents’ medallions. If you fail, they will be Umberto’s slaves forever!”
Keeah nodded grimly. “I understand.”
Hob looked at Neal, Julie, and Khan. “In that same moment you will have a chance to free Max. Finally, Eric, you can destroy the crown then and only then. You will need special magic to do that. If he lowers it upon his hideous head, it can never be removed.”
Eric made a face. “No pressure.”
All at once, Hob stiffened and placed the rat crown on a pillow. He moved toward the door as if in a trance. “Umberto calls. Hob goes…. Hob goes….”
As the mask maker left, Neal, Julie, and Khan put on the medallions he had crafted. At first, Eric and Keeah gasped as they watched their friends change.
Then they laughed
Instead of becoming giant gray-armored knights, the three friends began to shrink. When they finally stopped, they looked like a trio of kindergartners armed with ice-cream spoons.
“What’s this?” Neal squeaked in a high voice, waving his spoon around. “I thought we were going to be giants with amazing swords!”
Eric and Keeah were still giggling, but they stopped short. It suddenly became clear what had happened.
“The gladiators are tiny!” he said.
“Umberto wants them small, so that Glok will destroy them!” said Keeah. “So that … Max will destroy them!”
“Change us back!” squealed Khan. “I don’t want to be any smaller than I really am!”
Eric breathed in. “But we all need to be in the arena. Umberto can’t know you’re there. Please, just go find the other gladiators and try to blend in. We’ll be with Umberto and Hob. Come on, people, we can do this!”
With a quick nod, Julie scurried through the doorway. Khan and Neal tried to catch up.
Eric shared a look with Keeah. “Oh, this will be fun. Or not.”
“I can’t wait,” she said. “Come on.”
When the two friends reached the arena, they found a vast open area surrounded by stone seats that rose to a dizzying height. In the seats were thousands of rat-helmeted soldiers. Their medallions glinted in the torchlight. Their eyes flashed menacingly through the slits in their helmets.
“There are so many of them!” said Eric.
When the gladiators marched in, the kids saw that the royal navy of Droon had indeed been transformed into tiny, spoon-wielding warriors. Neal, Khan, and Julie were near the front.
“Man, this is bad for us….” said Eric.
“This is bad for everyone,” said Keeah, glancing at the night sky. “Come on. Hurry.”
They headed up the stands to the summit where Umberto stood, larger than life. Hob stood entranced next to him, the crown on a pillow in his hands. Umberto pointed the magic staff at Keeah.
“Who is she?” he demanded angrily.
“My official splangle tuner?” said Eric.
“See that she does a good job!” Umberto snorted. Right behind him sat Keeah’s parents, growling.
Umberto thudded his staff once, and the arena went silent. “My loyal army! I have waited centuries to come into my own again. This little mask maker has made it possible! When midnight comes, the Rat King of Pesh shall rise! We shall leave Jabar-Loo and conquer Droon!”
Umberto’s army exploded in cheers. Eric shuddered to see their terrifying eyes. He glanced back at the twin beasts that were Keeah’s parents. He looked at the doomed gladiators below. The whole scene terrified him. He knew he had only seconds to stop Umberto’s crowning. He hoped he was up to the challenge.
“Let the games begin!” Umberto howled. “Release Glok!”
Errrck! An iron gate rose below the stands.
Glok was more terrifying than Eric remembered. It had grown. Its eight legs were now twenty. Its feelers snapped angrily in the air. It glared at the tiny gladiators and drooled.
“Gladiators, advance!” shouted Umberto.
Neal, Julie, Khan, Eric spoke silently to his friends, look fierce and go to Max, but don’t hurt him or let him hurt you!
As soon as Neal, Khan, and Julie pushed their way to the front of the gladiators, the giant spider shrieked and hissed.
The three friends scurried first one way, then another. Max/Glok leaped here and there, trying to catch them. Every few seconds Eric glanced up at the sky. The moon, not yet overhead, was rising quickly. Five bright stars were moving into alignment.
But things were going bad quickly for the three gladiators. Neal tripped on his own feet and tumbled to the ground right in front of Max. When Khan and Julie scurried to help him up, Max closed in on them, too.
In seconds, all three friends were trapped. The soldiers in the arena roared wildly.
Poised above Neal, Julie, and Khan, the giant spider turned its head toward Umberto. Its pincerlike claws were raised to strike.
“Glok, my wild beast!” boomed Umberto.
Suddenly, Eric remembered another of Dora’s sayings. Music soothes the wild beast.
“Music soothes the wild beast?” he said. He glanced down at his splangle. “Umberto, I need to play a song first! I need to!”
Eric knew he couldn’t play the splangle. He couldn’t play a note. But he had to do something to stall for time.
“I have a song,” he said. “I really do —”
“Too late!” growled Umberto. “Glok, destroy the gladiators!”
The spider wailed and raised himself high over the thre
e friends, prepared to lunge.
“What? Noooo!” cried Eric. Without thinking, he raced down the stands, the splangle still in his hands. He didn’t know what he was going to do, but he had to try to save his friends. He charged across the arena to Max. “Stop! Stop! Stop!”
At that moment, a silvery light shone down from above.
The stars were aligned in a perfect V, and the bright full moon stood in their center.
It was midnight.
“No, no, no …” Eric gasped.
“Behold the Rat King of Pesh!” Umberto wailed. “Droon’s next ruler!”
The arena thundered with the sound of thousands of armored soldiers rising to their feet. They wailed like demons inside their rat-faced helmets.
“Droon — is — ours!” they cried.
With one iron hand clutching the magic staff, Umberto removed the dreadful mask from his head. Where his face should have been whirled a horrifying cloud of black air. He snatched the rat crown from Hob.
“Eric!” Keeah cried, running to her parents.
Amid spraying sparks and roaring wind, Umberto lowered the rat crown onto his head.
When Umberto lowered the crown, ragged black air coiled around his entire body like wings of darkness. Shadows dripped like liquid fire from the crown, oozing over his shoulders and forming a scaly skin of shimmering black.
Shadows ran down his arms and side, staining them in garments the color of night.
“Droon — is — ours!” yelled the Rat King.
“Om — yee — Pesh!” replied his army.
Eric cried out as he saw Keeah’s parents leap angrily at her.
He whirled around to see the terrifying giant spider — Max! — lunging at his friends.
“NOOOOOO!” he screamed. He took the splangle and slammed it against the ground in rage. “NOOOOOO!”
All at once, the instrument sounded.
Bring-aling-aling!
The sound was clear and soft and sweet. And yet as soft as it was, the sound echoed through the air like a large, shimmering bird.
And everything stopped.
The spider halted in mid-leap. Umberto’s twin beasts were caught in the air before they reached Keeah. The soldiers, the gladiators, even the Rat King himself slowed and slowed and slowed until they ceased to move.