Crown of Wizards

I know that face!

  “Go, dark prince,” said the dragon. “Find the treasure. Return it to me.”

  “I’m going,” said Ungast. He pressed a green button on the dashboard.

  The engine thundered to life.

  Bzzz-flit-flit! The tiny wings of the sprite known as Flink were fluttering around Galen’s head when Keeah entered the mayor’s tree tower.

  “No … no … it cannot be,” she heard the wizard whisper to the sprite.

  Flink buzzed again, and Galen paused, overlooking the long valley between Lubalunda and the smoky heights of Barrowbork. He clutched the orange fabric. “Why now?” he said, more to himself than to Flink. He waved his hand, and the sprite disappeared.

  Keeah had never seen the old wizard look so worried or so haggard.

  She stepped up to him. “Galen …”

  He whirled around to face her, stuffing his hand into his pocket. “Ah, Princess. I didn’t know you were there. The news is not good. Armies are moving across Panjibarrh. The western coast is bombarded by Ninn ships. Even the Skorth, those wicked skeletons, have returned in the north. My dear …”

  He paused as Neal, Julie, Max, and Mayor Tibble joined them. “My friends, we must take action, no matter how small and ragtag a force we are. One wants to defend every inch of our world, but we cannot. Since Ko’s disappearance, Gethwing has wasted no time. Having turned Eric to his side — our poor, lost Eric! — Gethwing grows stronger by the hour. I see only one way. We must bring Eric back to us. We cannot spare any effort.”

  “Too bad we can’t go in there and kick Gethwing right off his stinky old Bumblebee!” said Neal.

  There came a call from a high tree. Feodor the spider troll cried out, “A change in the sky. Look yonder!”

  All eyes turned toward the summit of the dragon’s lair. The black smoke pouring up like a column of iron grew gray, then white, then vanished.

  Sparr, who had been sitting on a stool in the corner of the tree tower, whispering and mumbling to himself, suddenly lifted his head. “My car. It moves. There!”

  As if he could see, Sparr pointed a thin finger toward Barrowbork. Everyone turned in time to see a plume of dust race down the side of the black mountain.

  “It is alive again!” said Sparr. “It takes the dark prince somewhere!”

  “Maybe we shouldn’t wait to find out,” said Keeah. “Maybe we should follow Ungast right now. Maybe Neal has the right idea.”

  Neal looked at his friends. “Wait a second. I had an idea? Seriously? Who listens to me?”

  “We all do, since you have become Zabilac,” said Max. “First Genie of the Dove!”

  Galen’s hands shook. “But, Keeah, to go into the very shadow of Barrowbork? We have no army for such an effort.”

  “Not an army,” Keeah said, “just the three of us. Julie, Neal, and me — a girl with awesome powers, a genie, and a wizard. We can follow Eric, discover Gethwing’s plan, and turn it upside down. From the inside.”

  “This is madness, my princess!” said Max.

  Sparr laughed. “No!” he said. “This is the opposite of madness. Of all that Gethwing foresees, he will not expect you to infiltrate his lands. It sounds like the only plan to me.”

  “It is fraught with dangers,” said Max.

  Mayor Tibble nodded his gray head. “Max is correct. The Dark Lands are nothing but miles and miles of ash-covered earth, black swamps, impassable passes, and unknown dangers!”

  Galen nodded. “To go far beyond the Dark Lands’ border? With no help? No guide?”

  “Except they will have a guide,” said Sparr, rising to full stature. “I was in Barrowbork as a child. I know the way. I know its secret roads. We can intercept Ungast!”

  The sorcerer’s eyes were white and blind. His limbs were thin and weak. And yet, there was something in his face that told the children he could help.

  “I may be blind,” he said, “but my senses will be needed on such a journey.”

  Galen looked from one to another. He plunged his hand in his pocket again, and finally nodded. “For Eric, then. Find him.”

  Keeah’s heart pounded. “Thank you,” she said. “We’ll be careful.”

  “Pack up, my friends,” said Sparr. “We leave. And, sightless or not, I shall lead!”

  The little band of four left the tree tower and mounted pilkas. Together they left Lubalunda and headed for the mountain trails. When they reached the foot of the Pink Mountains, a narrow fringe of green fields separated them from the clouded borders of the moon dragon’s country. Dark air hung low over the vast ashen plains, while jagged peaks rose here and there in the far distance.

  “Not really inviting, is it?” asked Neal.

  “Not so much,” said Keeah. “Come on.”

  No sooner had they crossed the border than they heard the flap of wings.

  “Hide!” said Neal, and the little troop took shelter behind a boulder as a pack of wingwolves sailed overhead. Their gruff calls echoed to one another, and they sailed on.

  “It only gets worse from here,” said Sparr. “Let’s move quickly. And carefully. This way.”

  Though he was blind, the old sorcerer’s other senses were acute. Sparr guided the children past deadly swamps, bottomless pits, fields of sinking sand, and lairs of venomous snakes. Slowly but surely, they made their way across the wastes and black deserts of the outer Dark Lands.

  Soon the terrain became rocky, and reluctantly they had to abandon their pilkas. The friends continued on foot, with Sparr wobbling on his cane.

  “Are you sure you can do this?” Keeah asked the old sorcerer.

  “Sure?” Sparr said. “Nothing is sure. But I can do nothing else. Eric must come back to us. Let’s …”

  He tilted his head and listened intently.

  “Let’s what?” asked Julie.

  “Beasts!” said Sparr. “On our left!”

  “Hide!” said Neal. “Again!”

  They tumbled behind a ledge as a long train of lion-headed beasts galloped from the plains behind them, then vanished into a pass leading up into the black mountains.

  “Onward,” said the sorcerer. “Now!”

  Not far ahead stood the dark rocks of the Barrowbork foothills, through which was a single passage, a narrow slice in the jagged mountains. Sparr told them it was called Sunderpass.

  “Again, I have to wonder why I’m so full of ideas,” Neal sighed.

  “The road out of Barrowbork leads through the pass,” said Sparr. “Let us surprise Ungast there. Under cover of darkness.”

  “Even the darkness is under cover of darkness around here,” said Neal.

  While Keeah held him firmly by the elbow, Sparr mumbled softly to himself, as if speaking to someone who wasn’t there. Together, they climbed slowly upward toward the pass.

  The sides of Sunderpass rose in sheer cliffs hundreds of feet high, but they leaned in so far that the sky — black as it was — was not even visible.

  “I feel totally alone here,” said Julie.

  “I think that’s the point,” said Neal. “The Dark Lands are not a friendly place.”

  “Zabilac, I hear something,” said Sparr. “Use your genie light to show the way.”

  Neal gulped. “I haven’t gotten that far in the genie magic scroll yet. Hold on.”

  As Neal scanned the spells on his tiny scroll, Keeah stepped forward into the pass. The cliff walls came so close together, they nearly touched above her head. She slid between them and found her foot shifting on loosened ash.

  Then there was a noise.

  Vroom! Ooga! Ooga!

  Sparr gasped. “Wait! I know that sound! It is … my car!”

  It was his car. And it was gleaming and yellow and swift as it tore through the mountain pass.

  “It’s totally repaired!” shouted Julie.

  “As good as new?” said Sparr.

  The yellow car was as good as new — as shiny and perfect as the day the sorcerer created it. Prince Ungast sat in the driver
’s seat. Seated next to him was Neffu, her long red scarves flying in the wind.

  The car shrieked to a stop inches away from the little band.

  “Well, lookee who we have here!” said Neffu. “My most favoritest cousin in the whole wide world! Princess Kee-kee!”

  Keeah nearly choked. “Neffu!”

  “The one and only,” the dark-haired girl said. “Not counting you, of course. Because I sort of am you. As a witch!”

  Neffu was someone Keeah had hoped never to see again, the girl she met when she struggled against her own dark side, as all wizards have to do. Neffu was Keeah’s dark side just as Ungast was Eric’s. The only difference was that the last time they’d met, Keeah had defeated her dark side, and Neffu had vanished.

  But not, apparently, forever.

  “What are you doing here?” said Keeah. “I thought I sent you away.”

  “And I told you I’d be back,” snarled Neffu. “I’ve been waiting a long time since you sent me to the Underworld. I really didn’t care for it there.”

  “Why not?” said Julie. “The fires there must bring out the color of your eyes.”

  Neffu’s eyes flashed red at Julie. “I’ve learned a thing or two since you shuttled me off last time. This time, I’m here to stay. Gethwing’s going to make me a star. In fact, Ungie and I are on a mission.”

  “What is your mission?” said Sparr, speaking directly to Prince Ungast.

  The dark prince said nothing.

  Keeah watched the boy in purple. Ungast didn’t speak, but searched their faces one by one, as if looking for something or someone. He narrowed his eyes at Lord Sparr.

  Eric ? said Keeah silently.

  There was no change in his expression.

  Neffu whipped her scarves behind her. “But enough talk. We’ve got a mission and I’m here to stop you cold. So bundle up.”

  The dark princess waved her hands, and a great black cloud appeared over the friends. Icicles began to fall on them like daggers.

  “Remember these?” Neffu said with a laugh. “No poison this time, but they’re still plenty painful!”

  “I’ll find a spell against this,” said Neal, frantically searching his tiny scroll.

  Neffu laughed. “That’s an awfully big turban for an awfully small boy!”

  She hurled a giant icicle right at Neal. Clong! It slammed the cliff over his head and buried him in a mound of ice chips.

  “Now, if you’ll excuse us,” said Neffu, “we’ve got to go. Stay warm. Or not! Step on it, Ungie.”

  The prince focused his eyes as if he were waking from a dream. Then he slammed his foot on the gas and — vroom! — the car tore around them and away through the pass.

  As it did, the air above the children flashed silver, and more giant bolts of ice rained down on them.

  Crash! Blam! Crack!

  The children dived to the ground and rolled to the sides of the pass as the ice bolts blasted at them.

  Anxious to protect the old sorcerer from the deadly icicles, Keeah pulled Sparr close and huddled over him.

  “What now, Zabilac?” cried Julie.

  Neal crawled over to her. “Uh … I just saw a spell against big ice thingies,” he said, still hunting through his scroll. “It’s in here somewhere, but you can’t bookmark a scroll!”

  Finally, Neal found the charm. “Got it! Everyone ready?”

  “We’ve been ready,” said Keeah.

  “Chebba-bebba-root-snoot!”

  Wha-poom! The storm vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

  “Good thing genie magic is as old as Goll magic,” said Neal.

  “Good thing you found that charm,” said Julie, shaking the ice chips off of herself.

  Keeah helped Sparr to his feet. “I never wanted to see Neffu again,” she said. “My opposite, a witch with as much power as I have. She fooled me.”

  “She fooled all of us,” said Sparr. “I did not sense her coming. All I sensed was my car. This is my fault.”

  “No, it’s Gethwing’s fault,” said Keeah. “Bringing Neffu and Ungast together? It’s worse than my worst nightmares. We need some way to follow them.”

  Sparr bowed his head. “Perhaps now I can prove helpful. When I was young … and before I had my car … I used to …” He trailed off, took a deep breath, and went still.

  All at once, the ashes under their feet began to shift around and take shape. Soon, they formed what looked like a small cart with runners instead of wheels.

  “A sand sled!” said Keeah. “I remember these! My father made me one when I was small. I loved it.”

  “Then hop on, and follow that car!” said Sparr. “All aboard!”

  The little band jumped into the sled and shot unseen after the yellow car.

  The sand of the black deserts was shiny and smooth as they raced quickly over the long miles.

  Afternoon wore on. And still they followed.

  Swarms of wingwolves darkened the sky, but the children focused only on the car bouncing over dunes and splashing through low-lying swamps on its many fat tires.

  After several hours, the yellow car approached the southern coast and began to slow. Black waves crashed against the shore.

  “The Serpent Sea!” said Sparr. “What are they after, I wonder? Let us move closer.”

  “And listen in to what they’re saying,” said Neal. He stretched his turban to cover them all, and they soon heard the conversation between Ungast and Neffu.

  “I’m going to have lots of fun with this car,” said Ungast.

  Neffu snorted. “It’s okay. But when I become an official dark princess, you know what I want? A big crown.”

  “I want a huge crown,” said Ungast.

  “Crown, did he say?” whispered Sparr.

  Neffu shook her head. “Well, my crown is even bigger than yours. It’s gold and has diamonds all over it.”

  “Mine is actually made of diamonds,” said Ungast. “And it has nuggets of gold on it!”

  “So does mine. Plus, it’s magical.”

  “And I have a magical cape that flies by itself —”

  “I have two capes,” said Neffu.

  “And matching boots,” said Ungast.

  “Fine, but I have matching monsters.”

  Ungast turned to her. “Matching monsters? What does that even mean?”

  Neffu shrugged. “I don’t know. But I have a hundred of them. I mean, a thousand.”

  “Maybe, but pretty much all they do is carry my big monsters around,” said Ungast.

  Neal rolled his eyes. “This has got to be the dumbest evil conversation I’ve ever eavesdropped on!”

  “Those spoiled brats!” Julie growled.

  “Hush,” said Keeah. “Look.”

  The dark prince and princess suddenly stopped speaking and looked out to sea. There in the black water stood the distant island of Kahfoo, a rocky promontory in the shape of a giant snake’s head.

  “That’s the landmark Gethwing told us to look for,” said Neffu. “Phase two begins!”

  All at once — vrrrt ! — a glass dome slid over the cockpit, and the car picked up speed.

  “What’s going on?” asked Sparr. “Tell me.”

  “He’s speeding up,” said Keeah, pressing forward, urging the sled to go faster.

  “They’re going into the water!” cried Julie.

  With a burst of speed, the yellow car shot straight out to sea and vanished under the waves with a tremendous splash.

  The sled slid to a stop on the black beach.

  “Holy cow!” said Neal. “They’ve disappeared!”

  Sparr paced nervously. “I worry about what they are doing. We must know.”

  “I’ll fly out there,” said Julie. In a flash, she was in the air, circling the spot where the car had disappeared. Then she returned to the beach. “There’s nothing there. The car just … vanished.”

  “No,” said Sparr. “No … no …”

  The expression on Sparr’s face reminded Keeah o
f the way Galen had looked in the tree tower back in Lubalunda.

  What is going on? she wondered.

  “The Jaffa Wind,” she said. “I’ll call Nelag to bring the ship. We can sail out there.”

  Nelag, she said silently, we’re near Kahfoo. Come at once! We need you!

  Before long, the blue sails of the Jaffa Wind swept into view. At the wheel sat Nelag the pretend wizard. Within minutes, the three children and Sparr were onboard. Soon they were over the spot where the yellow car had disappeared.

  “What do you think he’s after down there?” asked Neal, peering into the water.

  “No matter,” said Nelag, scratching his ears. “You won’t see him again. Not even right … now!”

  All of a sudden — whooooom! — the surface of the water exploded, and the yellow car shot straight up and soared away.

  “Look there!” said Julie.

  The children could just make out something lying in the backseat of the yellow car — a treasure chest made of black iron with gold chains locking it shut.

  “What’s in that strongbox?” asked Neal. “Lord Sparr, do you know?”

  Though he could not see, Sparr traced the movements of the car in the sky. “I dare not guess!”

  “There will be no stopping us now!” cried Neffu. “Gethwing will rule … everything!”

  “Follow that car!” said Neal.

  “The Jaffa Wind doesn’t do much,” said Nelag, “but it flies very well!”

  “Which, of course, it doesn’t,” said Keeah. “But I just remembered something. Nelag, is the storage chest still in my cabin?”

  “Absolutely not,” the pretend wizard said.

  “Good!” said Keeah. “I need something from it.”

  The princess ran belowdecks and came back up a moment later holding a rolled-up carpet. She flapped it open on the deck.

  “This is an official Pasha carpet I used to keep for emergencies,” she said. “And this is definitely an emergency. Everyone on!”

  As Keeah and the others carefully helped the hobbling old sorcerer onto the carpet, she wondered how much Sparr really knew of what was happening. The sorcerer’s magic was nearly gone. He was blind. He had aged so much in the last few weeks that he seemed ready to collapse. She felt sorry for him. But she knew they needed him.