The Griffin's Riddle

  Mr. Tabby took the thermos. “That was considerate.” He set it aside in the Identification Room. “But right now there is no time for soup consumption or dillydallying of any sort. We must prepare for our journey.”

  Mr. Tabby led them through the EMPLOYEES ONLY door. Because this was Ben’s and Pearl’s fourth official visit as apprentices, they knew exactly what to do. They punched their time cards at the clock, then thumbtacked them to the ON DUTY side of the bulletin board. That’s when Ben noticed something was different. “How come Violet’s card is on the off-duty side?” he asked. Violet was the switchboard operator who worked on the tenth floor, fielding emergency calls from the Imaginary World. She was a satyress—half human, half goat.

  “I’m afraid Violet is also ill with Troll Tonsillitis. Her brother is working in her stead.”

  Sure enough, a card belonging to Vinny was tacked to the ON DUTY side. Neither Ben nor Pearl had met Vinny. “If he’s Violet’s brother, then is he half goat, too?” Pearl asked.

  Mr. Tabby flared his nostrils. “Vinny is a satyr, not a goat. Do try to use the correct terminology.”

  “Wow,” Pearl whispered to Ben. “We get to meet a half man, half goat and a half lion, half eagle.”

  While that seemed like an amazing opportunity, an important question popped into Ben’s head. “Uh, Mr. Tabby? What number does the griffin get on the danger scale?” The danger scale was a measurement used to rate an Imaginary creature. The number one was given to the least dangerous, like a gentle unicorn foal, and the number five-plus went to the most dangerous, like a child-eating kelpie. “I just want to be prepared,” Ben added, so Pearl wouldn’t think he was scared. “In case it rates a five-plus.”

  “Firstly, let me make it perfectly clear that the griffin is not an it. He is a he. And secondly, though he possesses talons, claws, and a razor-sharp beak, his mood determines his danger rating,” Mr. Tabby explained. “Let us hope he is in a good mood, and let us do our best not to annoy him.”

  Ben and Mr. Tabby looked directly at Pearl. “Why’s everyone staring at me?” she said. “I won’t annoy the griffin. Well, not on purpose.”

  “Maybe go easy on the questions,” Ben said gently. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but she did tend to ask a lot of questions.

  Pearl scowled and was about to say something, when Mr. Tabby cleared his throat, as if preparing for a speech. “I am about to deliver important instructions, so I require your full attention.”

  “Okay,” Ben said. “I’m listening.”

  Pearl scratched beneath her yellow ribbon. “Me too.”

  Mr. Tabby pressed his fingertips together. “There is only one way to get a griffin’s feather. It must be given by the griffin himself. He is protective of his feathers and will only grant one if someone has made him happy. The best way to make a griffin happy is to engage in a battle of riddles. Are either of you skilled in the art of riddling?”

  “I know some knock-knock jokes,” Pearl said. “Knock, knock.” She pointed at Mr. Tabby. “You’re supposed to say, who’s there?”

  “Jokes are not the same as riddles,” Mr. Tabby said, his gold vest shimmering beneath the hallway’s lights. “A joke has a punch line. A riddle is a story with an answer.”

  “Oh. Well, then Ben can tell the riddles because he’s super good at making up stories.” Pearl nudged Ben with her elbow.

  “I guess so,” Ben said.

  “That is excellent news.” Mr. Tabby nodded approvingly, then continued with the instructions. “In addition to our fancy clothing, our manners during our visit must be fancy as well. Do either of you know how to bow?”

  “Sure,” Pearl said. “I bow at my piano recitals.” She leaned so far forward it looked like she was preparing for a somersault.

  Mr. Tabby returned her to an upright position. “Allow me to demonstrate the correct form.” He placed one arm behind his back and swept the other arm through the air, bowing at the waist until he was at a perfect ninety-degree angle. Then he straightened. “Your turn.” It took Ben and Pearl three tries each before Mr. Tabby nodded and said, “Not perfect but acceptable.”

  “Why are we bowing?” Ben asked.

  “One must always bow in the presence of royalty.”

  “Royalty?” Pearl said the word so loudly it echoed down the hall. She pushed the big, drooping ribbon out of her eyes. “Are we going to see the unicorn princess again? Or the unicorn king?”

  Mr. Tabby grabbed a black satchel from the supply closet. “I doubt we will encounter a unicorn. They rarely leave the Tangled Forest, and our journey will take us to the center of the Imaginary World.”

  “Then what royalty are we meeting?” Ben asked.

  Mr. Tabby’s mustache twitched. “The griffin king, of course. Have you not been paying attention?”

  “The griffin is a king?” Pearl asked.

  “He is not a king. He is the king. The griffin is king of the entire Imaginary World.” Mr. Tabby’s yellow eyes flashed. “And that is why you must remember my instructions. Because if he becomes displeased, the griffin king has the power to keep us in his world forever.”

  10

  Keep us in his world forever?” Ben asked, his voice cracking.

  Mr. Tabby closed the supply closet door. “The griffin king can do whatever he likes. It is possible he is the reason why our last apprentice never returned.” Without further explanation, Mr. Tabby headed down the hallway, black satchel in hand.

  Ben didn’t follow. He was trying to process what he’d just heard.

  During their first official day as apprentices, Mr. Tabby had told them that punching in and punching out at the time clock was required. The previous apprentice had forgotten to clock in and out, and now no one knew whether she was in the Known World or in the Imaginary World. She’d mysteriously disappeared.

  “Come on,” Pearl urged, pulling on his sleeve. “We can’t get any answers if we just stand here all day.”

  As usual, Pearl went first. It wasn’t that Ben was a coward, but Pearl tended to face things head-on, while Ben liked to mull things over. His mother called him “cautious.” Thanks to his visit with the rain dragon, Ben now understood that he and Pearl were opposites, like yin and yang. That was why they made good partners. His common sense tamed her wild streak. Her boldness pushed him to try new things.

  But his common sense was screaming at him. Don’t go! Make up a story! Stay here!

  Then he remembered that Dr. Woo, the sasquatch, Metalmouth, Violet, Pearl’s parents, Ms. Nod, Victoria, and a lot of other Buttonville residents were sick. So he followed.

  In order to get to the Imaginary World, Mr. Tabby, Ben, and Pearl needed to catch a ride in the Portal, which was located on the tenth floor. For security reasons, the only access was through the back stairwell. While Ben struggled to keep up with Mr. Tabby’s quick pace, Pearl bounded up the stairs like a jackrabbit. “I’ve only met one real king, and he was a unicorn. Does the griffin king wear a crown? Does he have a castle? What about a throne? Can I sit on it? Do we call him Your Majesty, or Your Highness, or Mr. King?”

  Mr. Tabby ignored Pearl’s questions, as he often did. And he said nothing more about the missing apprentice. When they reached the tenth-floor landing, a sign greeted them.

  Mr. Tabby wrapped his long fingers around the doorknob.

  “Wait…” Ben said. He loosened his tie, then bent over, hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. “Shouldn’t we talk about this? I mean, aren’t you going to tell us about the other apprentice?”

  “There is nothing more to tell,” Mr. Tabby said. “She was here and then she wasn’t.”

  “But where’d she go?” Ben asked. “Why didn’t she come back?”

  Pearl bent over so she and Ben were face-to-face. “Don’t worry. We’ll come back, I promise. There’s no way the griffin king will keep us. If he tries, I’ll ask him a million questions. It’ll drive him crazy. He’ll beg us to leave!”

  Ben nodded. That actua
lly sounded like a good plan.

  “Have you finished with your discussion?” Mr. Tabby asked. Ben and Pearl straightened and gave him their full attention. “In a moment you shall meet Vinny, Violet’s brother. Vinny is not like Violet. He lacks charm. He lacks finesse. Do not speak to him unless it is absolutely necessary. And whatever you do, do not, I repeat, do not turn your back to him.”

  “Why?” Pearl asked.

  “Y is a letter in the alphabet,” Mr. Tabby told her. Then he opened the door.

  A vast room spread before them. Yellow fairy dust covered the floor. Because the dust had already been used to power the Portal, all its magic had been drained, so no one bothered to sweep it up. Walking through it was like walking through spilled glitter.

  The room was mostly empty, except for an enormous switchboard that covered the far wall. Though it looked like old-fashioned technology, the switchboard was a complex contraption, providing a way to talk to the Imaginary World. Violet usually sat on the operator’s stool, in a colorful dress with matching high heels and a beehive hairdo that looked like vanilla soft-serve. She always greeted the apprentices with a friendly “Howdy, y’aaaaall.”

  The satyr who sat on the stool now was twice as big as Violet and dressed in blue pajamas. His face was goatlike, with small eyes, a bushy beard, and little goat ears. Furry legs poked out from the bottom of his pajama pants, and his feet were actually hooves.

  “Good day, Vinny,” Mr. Tabby said.

  Vinny reached into a bag of oats. “What’s good about it? My sister went and got herself sick with Troll Tonsillitis, so now I gotta work the day shift. I hate the day shift. I’m supposed to be sleeeeeping.” He stuffed his mouth, chewed, and stared at Ben and Pearl in a brooding way. “Whatcha looking aaaaat?”

  “Nothing,” Ben lied.

  “We weren’t looking at you, that’s for sure,” Pearl said. But neither she nor Ben could peel their gazes from the sharp horns that jutted out of Vinny’s black hair. Violet didn’t have horns.

  Vinny ate more oats. “These the new apprentices? Whooeeh, they got themselves some fancy duuuuuds.”

  “There is no time for formal introductions,” Mr. Tabby said. “We must make haste. The apprentices and I are heading to the griffin’s palace.”

  “Going to see the king, are ya?” Vinny wiped his mouth with his pajama sleeve. “I’ve never met the king. Guess I’m not fancy enough.”

  “One must dress appropriately when meeting royalty,” Mr. Tabby told him. “Now, if you would be so kind as to—”

  “Hold on a cotton-picking minute.” Vinny tossed the bag of oats aside and stood. He was twice as tall as Ben had expected. “I thought you wasn’t supposed to go through the Portal. Says so right theeeeere.” He pointed to a note taped to the switchboard. Ben had never noticed it before.

  Ben looked at Pearl and mouthed the word forbidden. Pearl shrugged.

  Mr. Tabby reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a note. “Dr. Woo has made an exception in this case and has authorized my journey.”

  Vinny grabbed the paper, glancing at it. “How do I know this is reeeeeal?”

  Mr. Tabby growled softly. His irises flashed as if they’d suddenly caught fire. “Are you questioning my honesty?”

  “Maybe I is and maybe I ain’t.” Vinny snorted. Then he ate Dr. Woo’s note. “Why would you want to go back in there anyways? Don’t you remember what happened last time you weeeeent?”

  “It was an unfortunate incident,” Mr. Tabby said. “However, this time I am taking precautions.” He patted the black satchel. “Now, my good fellow, it is imperative that we take this journey. Troll Tonsillitis is spreading quickly. You would like us to cure your sister, would you not?”

  “Sure I want you to cure her. I don’t want to get stuck working another day shift.”

  “Then be so kind as to summon the Portal.”

  A shiver—part excitement, part dread—trickled up Ben’s legs. The Portal’s arrival was a sight to behold. He turned around, expecting to hear sounds of distant thunder.

  Whunk!

  Ben sailed through the air, landing in the center of the room. Fairy-dust clouds formed on either side of him, then settled back to the floor. “Ouch,” he cried, rubbing his bottom. “What happened?” Pearl ran backward until she reached him. She helped him to his feet so that they were both facing the switchboard.

  “You turned around,” she whispered. “Mr. Tabby warned us to not turn our backs on Vinny. He butted you with his horns.” She giggled. “Sorry, but it was kinda funny.”

  Ben had to think about this for a moment. Vinny was half goat, and goats were known to ram things with their horns. But it wasn’t funny.

  Vinny didn’t apologize. He returned to his stool without a word, acting as if head-butting a person in the rump was a perfectly normal thing to do. Then he pressed a big yellow button.

  Thunder sounded in the distance as if a natural disaster were rolling toward the hospital. A wisp appeared in the center of the tenth floor, hovering in the air. As it began to rotate, it formed a baby tornado, growing larger and larger until it touched the ground and the ceiling. Gusts blew across Ben’s face and through his hair. Fairy dust was swept up, turning the churning vortex lemon yellow.

  “Now!” Mr. Tabby hollered above the wind. The black satchel in hand, he ran directly at the tornado and disappeared inside. Pearl didn’t hesitate. As she raced into the Portal, her skirt blew straight up, revealing her basketball shorts. The wind stung Ben’s face and shrieked in his ears. He glanced at Vinny, who’d grabbed the bag and was stuffing oats into his mouth.

  “Hey, kid, you want my advice?” Oats tumbled onto his beard. “You’d better practice saying, ‘Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.’ ”

  “Why?” Ben asked.

  “You’ll find out sooooon enough.” Then Vinny belly-laughed so hard the bag of oats tumbled off his lap.

  Ben decided right then and there that he didn’t like Vinny. The satyr was loud and rude, and there was that whole head-butting thing. Hopefully, once Violet was cured, Vinny could go back to the night shift, and Ben and Pearl wouldn’t have to deal with him again.

  Lightning zapped, turning the tornado bright white. Ben squeezed his eyes shut and ran straight into the wind.

  11

  A single bulb flicked on above Ben’s head.

  He stood inside the Portal’s inner chamber, a space that was quiet and calm. While the floor was solid, the walls were formed by the vortex swirling around the perimeter. Ben would have felt a lot more secure if the walls had been made of plywood instead of wind. A person can’t tumble backward and fall through wood.

  “Destination, please?” The squeaky voice belonged to the Portal’s captain, someone the apprentices had never met. While they’d always heard his voice, they’d never seen him. And since there was no place for the captain to hide, Ben was starting to believe that the captain wasn’t actually on board the Portal. Instead, his voice was being transmitted from someplace else. Maybe a control tower. Ben wondered what kind of a creature he was.

  “The griffin’s palace,” Mr. Tabby said.

  “Oooh, a palace,” Pearl whispered to Ben.

  “Setting course coordinates,” the pilot announced. “Fasten your seat belts and prepare for takeoff.” But there were no belts, because there were no seats. Dr. Woo had said they were being reupholstered. Ben thought this was very strange, and very dangerous. Seat belts were the law back home.

  The floor began to vibrate. Ben stepped closer to Pearl, keeping as far away from the edges as possible. He didn’t want to admit that he’d had a couple of nightmares about falling out and finding himself all alone in the middle of nowhere.

  After informing the pilot of their destination, Mr. Tabby remained silent, both hands clutching his satchel.

  The trip lasted a good five minutes, which was a very long time to be jostled about. “I could never be an astronaut,” Pearl said as she held both hands over her stomach. “Why is this taki
ng so long? Can’t this thing go any faster?”

  Ben had no idea how fast they were going. Thanks to his math teacher, who’d taught a unit on speed, Ben knew that airplanes flying between Los Angeles and Buttonville travel at roughly 460 miles per hour. He’d learned that sound travels at around 700 miles per hour and that light travels at 186,000 miles per second. In science-fiction movies, starships dart between galaxies at warp speed. But how fast did one travel between dimensions? According to the training video he and Pearl had watched, the Portal moved in all directions at once. But if you moved in all directions at once, didn’t that mean you weren’t moving at all?

  “Are we there yet?” Pearl asked.

  “Destination ahead. Prepare for landing,” the pilot said.

  Ben wasn’t sure what to do, so he stiffened his legs and gripped the soles of his shoes with his toes. Just as his stomach began to churn, the turbulence stopped. “Destination reached,” the pilot announced. An EXIT sign illuminated. “Thank you for choosing the Portal for your interdimensional travel needs.”

  “Finally,” Pearl said, followed by a little burp. “I thought I was going to lose my breakfast.”

  Ben unclenched his jaw and sighed with relief. They’d made the journey in one piece. There was, of course, still a return trip to worry about. He wouldn’t feel completely at ease until he’d touched down on the tenth floor and could feel the dust-covered floorboards beneath his shoes.

  “Mr. Tabby?” Pearl asked. “What’s wrong?”

  Mr. Tabby stood perfectly still, staring at the EXIT sign.

  “Mr. Tabby?” Pearl gently tapped on his arm. “Shouldn’t we go?”