From the darkness behind her came a whisper. “Hello? Friends? Mother —”
“It’s Galen!” Max shouted.
“Galen!” said Keeah.
“My son!” gasped Queen Zara.
They all rushed into the darkness and pulled Galen to them. His mother embraced her son as if she never wanted to be parted again. Neither had seen the other for centuries.
Finally, Zara pulled back, and Galen and his younger brother Sparr hugged as Eric had never seen them do. He, Julie, Keeah, and Neal joined them.
The homecoming could have lasted longer, but Zara spoke. “There is much to say, much to feel and remember,” she said softly. “But not now. War does not cease above us. Time does not stop.”
“Oh, time’ll stop, all right,” said Salamandra. “When the old guy does his little trick.”
“Hush, thorn queen,” said Galen, turning to the others. “Days and nights it took, and the thorn queen’s special talents, but I have found what I needed to. Come, everyone. See.” He plunged back into the darkness.
Salamandra smirked. “You all thought Galen was kidnapped, didn’t you? Well, sorry to disappoint you. He simply chose an ally no one would ever suspect. To tell you the truth, it even surprised me! Come on. See what we found. This way.”
“Here we take our leave,” the mooples said. They bowed and retreated into the depths of the Passages.
“Little folk must stick together,” said Jabbo, still clutching Max. “You and Jabbo. Yes?”
“Yes, indeed,” said Max. “Come along.”
“Us four!” said Kem, poking both heads between them and trotting along.
Zara, Sparr, Keeah, Eric, Neal, and Julie followed close behind and soon came to a place of hazy light.
Eric knew in an instant where they were. He looked up, but saw only a vague blue glow. Far above and out of sight of the passage below stood the great dome where he was wounded and cursed by Ko.
The mystery of what happened there had never left him, and his mind whirled with thoughts of Galen and Sparr and Urik, and of the blue serpent that he was sure had become an airplane just before it vanished.
A breath over his shoulder made him turn.
Zara’s face had drained of color until she seemed no more than a ghost. The reason was clear. In the shadows just beyond the light lay an unmoving form.
It was the evil one.
Emperor Ko, the gargantuan bull-headed creature with three eyes and four arms and two coiled horns, lay sprawled at the bottom of a ravine in a heap of twisted limbs.
“Begging your pardon,” said Max, “but it serves him right. Bad man … bull … thing!”
“Beast,” Zara said. “The cause of so much pain. And death. The anguish of centuries —”
Ko’s curse, based on its own prophecy, had nearly killed Eric. The sons of Zara were to be in one place, where one would fall. But hadn’t the prophecy been wrong, after all? The sons of Zara were not together.
The third man had been the Prince of Stars, not Urik. And Eric had fallen instead.
Not Urik. Only the Prince of Stars, the man with no memory.
“And yet, sweet mother,” said Galen, “we must bring Ko back. For only he can tell us where Gethwing’s wheel of life is.”
“Listen to your long-bearded son,” said Salamandra. “Let him bring the beast back. Let Ko’s memory live once more.”
Memory. No memory. Time. No time.
All things connect.
Eric’s mind reeled with confusion.
With a swirl of her staff, Salamandra scattered a handful of thorns in a circle around the lifeless form. “Time, turn ’round.”
Without warning, Ko’s body rose slowly from its heap. The crushing impact of its striking the earth reversed itself, and Ko seemed to struggle back to life.
His great mouth opened in a silent scream, and his arms flew upward.
“I don’t believe this!” said Max.
“Believe it!” said Jabbo. “He has seen mighty magic from the queen of thorns.”
Ko moved slowly up through the air and back toward the surface from which he’d fallen.
Galen’s hands rose suddenly. “Cease!” he said, and Ko hung suspended in the air.
Eric, Keeah, Neal, Galen, and Sparr all worked together to erect a prison around Ko.
Iron bars of sizzling flame wound around the horned beast. Ko, as if awaking from his own death, growled and beat his chest with his four giant fists like a captive ape.
“I … AM … KO!”
Zara stared at him, saying nothing.
But other eyes caught Eric’s attention. Salamandra was looking at him, and his last meeting with her rushed back into his mind. With her usual mischief, she had spoken a strange word to him as if it meant everything.
Reki-ur-set.
Was it nonsense, meant to drive him crazy? Or were all things truly connected and the strange word yet another clue, one among many pieces in the great puzzle of Droon?
He moved closer, her eyes still fixed on his. “What does it mean?” he asked. “The word.”
A thin smile crossed her lips. “The word? It’s a word, no more, no less.”
“Words are magic,” Eric said. “I know that.”
“Well, yeah!” Salamandra said. “This one’s even in your language. But I already told you that. It’s just letters, letters written on water. Or air.” She twirled her fingers in front of his face.
“On water or air!” he whispered, annoyed by Salamandra’s riddles. “So what? What are you talking about?”
But Salamandra spun around to Galen. “Wizard, first foe of the beast emperor, first to vanquish him and make him sleep, work your magic now. Let us see what we need to see!”
Galen drew in a long slow breath. Pressing his hands together, he turned his palms upright. Out of them grew a light that enveloped first Ko, then the three wizards, then all of them, including Max, Jabbo, and Kem.
“We are in his memory now,” said Galen. “Hush. Look. See.”
Images formed in the air from the dim light. Rocky walls replaced the earthen passage. Green flame. The smell of dampness, then of cold, bitter cold.
A place far colder than this!
“I know this place,” Neal whispered. “It’s the Cave of Night. It’s where Gethwing was born, but no one knows where it is!”
“Ko does,” said Galen. “He shall show us.”
In the image of the mysterious Cave of Night, Ko stood alone. Then in a flutter of wings, another entered.
It was Gethwing, no more than a fledgling.
“Weary miles brought me to this … place,” said Ko, gazing around. “East beyond the light, west behind the shadow, north of the farthest valley, south of the tallest peak.”
“This is where I was born,” said Gethwing, his four young wings rustling nervously. “The mystery of my birth is here.”
The dragon’s suspicious eyes scanned the emperor, then the darkness behind him.
“We are well hidden, four wings,” said Ko. “Never mind that. I am Ko, emperor of beasts. You are … a fledgling. Why have you asked me here, so far from my throne, and so cold?”
Gethwing bowed his head slightly, then raised it. His eyes flashed slightly. “There was a prophecy set in stone on the night of my birth. It concerns me and how I shall always be. Alive in the ashes. Alive at the end of days.” He spoke in the age-old tongue. “Muhtah-kef-thala-n’beth-kee … mor-pesla-nof-sullah-nem … ped-tronosh-kutcho-tha!”
Understanding the ancient words, Eric heard the prophecy again.
Five shall pass away, four shall wear the crown, three shall fall, two shall rise together …
Gethwing stopped short of finishing.
Still no mention of the one!
Salamandra chuckled and leaned in to Eric. “You know, I’ve always had a problem with ancient prophecies. Traveling in time like I do, ancient is no big deal. Plus, different people read prophecies differently, you know?”
Eric turn
ed to see her wink at him. “Huh? I’m trying to understand this —”
“Well, excuse me!” she said, and made a gesture of zipping her lips closed.
“Though it be centuries from this day,” Gethwing told Ko, “and much must happen first, I am present at the end. The prophecy says so. I thought you would be interested. I thought you might be the other that shall rise together with me. That’s all.”
“The end of days?” said Ko, his three eyes glowing bloodred. “It’s always been my dream to be there.” And the frightening face contorted into a smile. “Together, then.”
With that, the emperor held out a claw. The dragon raised his own. They touched, and a tongue of green fire erupted from them.
Eric knew what happened next.
The rise of Ko and Gethwing. Centuries of war. The great battle when Ko was wounded. The charm that put Ko to sleep. How Gethwing was defeated, but could not die.
How Gethwing proved immortal.
Then, as the two beasts left the Cave of Night, claw in claw, the children saw it.
“Holy cow!” said Keeah.
“No kidding!” said Eric. “A place far colder … of course!”
Still within Galen’s spell, inside Ko’s memory, they saw the land outside Gethwing’s cave. And just above the horizon was a lighted orb. A planet. It had rivers and valleys and ice mountains and sandy deserts.
“It’s … Droon,” said Keeah.
“Which means …”
“The Cave of Night is on Droon’s moon!” said Neal. “I so knew that!”
“You knew that?” asked Julie.
“No,” said Neal. “Didn’t have a clue.”
The friends gathered in the glow of the orb, even as it faded, and they were in the Passages once more, with Ko in his fiery prison.
“There is only one sure way I know to get to the moon,” Sparr said to his mother.
“My flying chariot,” said Zara.
“Our quest moves to the Forbidden City of Plud,” said Galen. “Though it is a stronghold of the wicked wraiths now, we go into the Dark Lands. In stealth, in power, in haste!”
There was a sudden clattering behind them, and Jabbo shouted.
“No, no! Halt! Stop! Do not take him!”
With a sharp laugh, Salamandra twirled her staff, and thorns flew up around her.
“A Portal of Ages!” Keeah cried. “Salamandra, what are you doing?”
“You heard the prophecy, dearies,” the thorn queen said. “Ko is around at the end.”
“You can’t!” shouted Eric, rushing at Salamandra. “Traitor!”
She stuck her tongue out at Eric, laughing. “And the chubby little pie maker, too. Buh-bye!” With that, she, Ko, and Jabbo vanished together in a storm of spinning thorns.
“Traitor, indeed!” said Galen, whipping his cloak around angrily. “She used my magic to bring the evil one back to life! Now we must battle him as well! Our quest lengthens as our enemies increase and our time dwindles!”
“Poor Jabbo,” said Max.
Kem rooed softly to himself.
“No one said it would be easy,” said Neal. “But does it have to be this hard?”
There was no answer for his question.
Yet as the moon began to drop toward the horizon and the sky opposite to lighten from black to the deep blue of coming dawn, everyone thought the same thing.
No time!
No time!
The Dark Lands were clearly visible when the little group reached the eastern edge of the forest. Massive clouds blacker than the night sky hung low over the land.
In the far distance stood the crooked shape of a tower, a symbol of evil, a place of terror.
“The Forbidden City of Plud is where Gethwing plans to set up shop,” said Eric.
“He will never,” said Sparr. “My home will not be defiled by that dark dragon —”
As if he’d heard his name uttered, Gethwing swept slowly across the distant sky, silhouetted against the approaching dawn.
Ice seeped into Eric’s veins. “He’s looking for me, wondering where I am.”
“Then we must hurry,” said Sparr. “Or all will be lost.”
The soft putt-putt of Pasha’s sand cycle neared, and the vehicle slid to a stop at the edge of the woods.
“Armies stain the southern valleys,” said the little man. “I had to do some quick driving to escape them, which, of course, I love to do!”
“Thank you, clever friend,” said Galen. “We are leaving here as soon as we can. Our quest leads us through the hard country of the Dark Lands and straight to Plud.”
Pasha’s face went pale. “But that … that … oh, dear me …”
Inside Eric a fire began to burn. He slid his fingers into the pocket of his cloak, grasped the photo he carried there, and drew it out. He studied the blue, scallop-winged airplane, the curved roof of an airport hangar behind it, the man in a white flying suit holding a white hat at his side.
Memory. No memory.
Time. No time.
The man was his great-great-great grandfather, one of the earliest aviators, a friend of the Wright brothers and a builder of planes.
And yet …
His heart skipped a beat.
On the roof of the hangar sat three birds.
The photo was black and white, but he could tell that one of the birds was neither black nor white, but another color.
A voice in his heart reminded him of the birds that delivered Galen’s note. And the birds in the chamber at Zorfendorf. And the birds that he had seen long before in the ice caves of Krog.
He knew those birds.
And he knew what he had to do.
Slipping the photograph back into his cloak next to the Moon Medallion, he turned to Galen. “Collect the magics. You told me this. Queen Zara, all your sons must be together in this quest. They all have to be here.”
The queen lowered her head. “Urik is lost. Lost from us, lost in time —”
“Maybe,” Eric said. “But the wand was lost. And so were you. We found you. Besides, when someone is lost, you find him.”
“Alas, my boy, not even I know when or where he is,” said Sparr, “though we traveled the same paths of time for centuries.”
Eric looked at his friends, at Sparr, Galen, and Zara. “Our band is incomplete. I have to find him. I have to go.”
“But where?” asked Keeah.
“Home,” Eric answered. “A secret lies there. I’ve pushed it away for too long.”
“The stairs cannot help us this time,” said Galen. “It would be too dangerous to reveal them now, with spies all around us.”
“And the ship is in Jaffa City,” said Julie.
Suddenly, the pair of friendly mooples popped their heads from the shadows.
“Excuse us!” said one. “But we’d like to remind you that our Passages can help!”
“We’re actually due to visit our cousins very near the capital,” added the other.
“Use the wand if you must,” said Zara, clasping her hands over Eric’s. “You may need it. Urik’s magic was — is — powerful, deep, and mysterious.” She stopped. “Find him?”
“I’ll try,” said Eric.
Keeah wrapped her arms around him. “You know.”
Pulling away, Eric smiled. “I know.”
“Plus, good luck,” said Neal, giving him a nudge on the shoulder.
“I don’t know if luck has much to do with it,” Eric said. “But thanks. I’ll take it.”
They stood for a moment longer, then Zara took a breath. “To Plud and my chariot!”
“And the wraiths!” added Max.
A minute later — whoosh! — Eric was hurtling through the Passages with the mooples. Coiling tunnels stretched out and collapsed on him, but he kept moving until he shot out into the main plaza at Jaffa City.
“A spy!” screeched a voice. “Stop him!”
At once, arrows grazed the stones at his feet and whizzed past his ears.
&n
bsp; “Keep your head down, and follow my light!” shouted King Zello, waving a lantern from behind a barrier of loose stones.
His mind a blur of fear and determination, Eric ran straight to the fountain. He leaped onto the deck of the stone ship, grasped the Medallion, and spun the wheel sharply. In a flash, the ship plummeted away from the city and into the earth below, its hull twisting and falling heavily into a river of silver water.
Wave after wave drove the ship on, faster and faster, until the water suddenly dropped away. The ship hung for a moment, and then plunged into a black underground sea. It rose up instantly, becalmed in the dark water.
The only sound was Eric’s labored breathing as he stood fast at his position at the wheel. His mind was filled with words.
Three shall fall. Gethwing said Ko and Zara were two of them. But they were both alive now. So who? Galen, Urik, and Sparr?
And if that part of the prophecy wasn’t clear, what about the two? Two shall rise together? Maybe it’s not Gethwing and me. Maybe it’s Gethwing and Ko.
And one. What about the one?
I still don’t know the one!
Wind howled suddenly through the cavern behind him, darkness fell, and the ship was propelled sharply forward.
Into a wall of rushing water. Going up!
“A waterfall!” he gasped. “Except it’s not falling!”
Powerless to prevent the forward motion of the ship, Eric threw chains about the main mast and linked his arms through them.
The stone ship crashed into the watery wall, then flew straight up until there came an earth-shattering explosion of stone and water and he was hurtled out of the boat, through the air, and into silence.
For a moment.
Then there was nothing but noise.
When he opened his eyes, he was in a cloud of gauzy light.
The sharp, scorched scent of fresh-sawn wood filled his nose, and he heard a sudden hammering of nails, a motor’s rough sputtering, and the calls of men, one to another, somewhere beyond him.
“What is going on?” he said. “Where am I?”
When the haze began to clear in a slant of early morning sun, he made out the large silhouette of a building.
“My house!” he gasped.
It was his house, though it was different than he knew it to be. “The upstairs dormer isn’t there. And that noise across the street. That’s Julie’s house … just being built!”