The Hawk Bandits of Tarkoom (The Secrets of Droon #11)

  He spotted the Tarkoom gate in the distance and went straight for it. Then he heard voices.

  He darted into the shadows and peered out.

  “He was just here, wasn’t he?” said one voice.

  “Yeah,” said another. “Then he was gone …”

  Eric’s mouth dropped open. It was Julie and Keeah! And Max and Neal and Batamogi!

  “Oh, my gosh!” gasped Eric, staggering over to them. “Guys! Guys! I’m here. You found me!”

  “Where did you go?” asked Julie. “We couldn’t see you for a minute.”

  Eric blinked. “For a minute? I was stuck in that pit forever! Then I ate the stinky fruit and now it’s tomorrow and — I yelled so much! Why didn’t you answer?”

  Batamogi and Max looked at each other.

  “Eric, you were gone for, like, thirty seconds, tops,” said Neal. “What’s the big deal?”

  “Thirty seconds! It was two days!” Eric said.

  Keeah frowned. “No, wait. Something is strange about this. Eric, tell us what you saw.”

  He told them everything that had happened to him. The creatures he had met. What they told him about the passages. How he wasn’t the first one from above to have been there.

  “Very strange,” said the princess. “I think I’ve heard about these passages somewhere. Magical tunnels that wind around and around until you get lost in them. And what seems like days there takes no time here.”

  “Perhaps my master has heard of these passages,” said Max. “I wonder if they can help us in our mission to stop Ving.”

  “Good idea,” said Julie. “We’d better catch up to Galen. He went on ahead to find a way into the palace —”

  “You there!” snarled a strange voice. “Stop!”

  Suddenly — fwit! fwit! — the sound of heavy wings filled the air around them.

  “Hawk bandits!” cried Batamogi. “Flee! Flee!”

  But it was no use. In seconds, all seven travelers were surrounded by an ugly band of bird-headed creatures. They grabbed them with sharp claws and pushed them roughly down the street.

  “Bring them to Ving!” one bandit cried, clacking his greasy beak. “He’ll be very angry!”

  “Let us go!” Keeah cried, trying to get free.

  But the bandits only gripped her and the others tighter, dragging them down one cobbled street after another until they reached the palace.

  “I hope Galen’s okay,” Julie whispered to Neal.

  Neal nodded. “Maybe he can save us —”

  “Silence!” snapped a bandit with a large stomach and broken wing feathers. He glared at Eric. “You! Tell me where the wizard is.”

  Before Eric could answer, Max snarled, “We don’t know! And we wouldn’t tell you if we did!”

  “Nice crown you got there!” said a skinny bandit who looked as if he wanted to peck Batamogi to pieces. “Ving will like that!”

  “And I like that little morsel!” said the broken-wing bandit, casting his eyes on Snorky, who was shivering in Max’s arms.

  The kids were pushed from a dark hallway into a huge chamber. In its center stood a colossal stone statue towering up to the high ceiling.

  It was a statue of a man with a bird head.

  “Ving,” snarled Keeah, guessing who it was. “Galen said he loves himself. This proves it.”

  In the flickering light of a dozen burning torches sat the bandit prince. Ving had a large green bird head and an orange beak that curved down angrily at the tip. Two black eyes the size of baseballs bulged on either side of his face.

  From the chest down, except for his feathery arms and his sharp claws, Ving was like a man. He wore armor that was deeply gashed and nicked from many battles.

  “Icthos!” Ving called, and the bandit with the broken wing thumped across the floor to him.

  Eric tried to hear what they were saying.

  “Where is the old wizard?” Ving whispered.

  “We did not find him,” the bandit told him.

  Eric glanced around at the huge room. He wondered how close Galen was. Was he already planning to rescue them? Had he discovered Ving’s plans?

  The hawk prince sat up. “Release these people! They are our guests, and free to go!”

  “Free to go?” said Keeah as the bandits unhanded her and the others. “But you and your men are thieves and robbers of the worst kind!”

  Ving hung his head and sighed, his wings rustling. “That was true once, my dear. But now Tarkoom has risen from its ashes. And we have been given a second chance!”

  The words sounded soothing, like a bird cooing softly. Eric felt that Ving might not be as bad as they thought. He did say they could go.

  “We come back to Droon not to steal again,” Ving said softly, almost warbling. “We welcome this chance to live in peace with all Droonians!”

  … And rob Droon’s most precious treasure!

  Eric nearly jumped when he heard those words. What? What! He looked around. None of the others seemed to have heard Ving say that.

  Ving turned to Batamogi, Max, and Snorky. “Icthos, take your men, and show the Oobja king, the spider troll, and the dog to my room so that they may refresh themselves.”

  … Put them to work down below!

  Eric gasped. He glanced at the others.

  Again, no one had heard the words!

  In fact, Batamogi was smiling.

  “Thank you, Prince Ving,” the Oobja king said. “Perhaps we were mistaken about you. You are welcome in our village anytime!”

  Eric couldn’t believe his ears. “Wait —” he began, but already the three friends had been whisked from the room.

  Ving spoke again in the same soothing tone. “Now, while we await your wizard friend,” he said, “how would you like some food?”

  Neal slapped his hands together and smiled. “Now, that’s more like it. I am so starving!”

  “Me, too,” said Julie. “And a chance to wash up would be great, too.”

  … Oh, you’ll be washed up, all right!

  Eric couldn’t be quiet any longer. He nudged Princess Keeah. “What’s going on here? Don’t you hear what he’s saying?”

  But even Keeah was smiling as Ving went on speaking about the feast he would give them.

  … Get that wizard once and for all … raid everyone’s treasures … and terrorize Droon as we did four centuries ago! Oh, the past shall live!

  Eric listened carefully to the words. It was plain that he was hearing more than the others were hearing. But how could he? Why him?

  Then he understood.

  “The tangfruit!” he said to himself. In the same way he had heard the furry mooples in the passages, now he understood what Ving was really saying. Eric was hearing the truth! The truth behind the lies! And it was all because of the tangfruit!

  Keeah stepped forward. “Thank you, Ving. A celebration sounds wonderful. You are kinder than we thought you might be.”

  Of course! thought Eric. Even Galen had said that Ving had magic in his voice.

  Ving bowed his feathery head and cooed some more. “I am often misunderstood, I’m afraid.”

  … It is you who will be afraid….

  Ving then began to speak to his pirates in a language of clacks and grunts and whistles.

  Prepare the bolt. Once these children and their wizard have been taken care of, we will fire the bolt. Then we shall be part of Droon’s present. And its greatest treasure shall be ours! Go!

  Eric’s blood ran cold as some bandits bowed, then fluttered out of the chamber.

  It will be our biggest theft, he heard them say.

  Turning once more to the kids, Ving said, “My dear guests! Go, the party is about to begin….”

  … For my serpents, who are very hungry …

  Julie grinned. “I love strawberries!”

  “And cookies are one of my essential food groups!” Neal added, nearly jumping up and down with glee. “I can’t wait.”

  Ving smiled. “Then let my men
take you …”

  … To the room … the floor will give way….

  “I hope you find everything to your liking….”

  … Because no one will ever see you again!

  The four children were led away from the giant chamber and into an arched hallway. Eric glanced around for ways to escape, but there were far too many bandits surrounding them.

  “Parties are so cool!” said Neal. “Wait until Galen hears where we went! You hungry, Eric?”

  “Um, not really,” he replied, trying to grin.

  Party! Eric knew they weren’t going to any party. He just hoped there was a way to escape.

  Icthos, the bandit with the broken wing, stopped at a door and inserted a large key. He threw aside the door and waved the children in.

  “Right this way for food!” he said, with a clacking sound. Then Eric heard other words.

  Food for the serpents — ha-ha!

  The bandits pushed the children inside the room and shut the door quickly behind them.

  “Okay, so … where’s the food?” Neal asked.

  It was a small chamber. The stone was as red as the rest of the palace, but stained dark. And it smelled damp, as if from water. All of a sudden Eric remembered what Ving had said.

  The floor will give way!

  “Climb the walls!” Eric yelled.

  “Is that where the food is?” Julie asked.

  “Do it — now!” said Eric.

  The four children squeezed their fingers between the stones and pulled themselves up off the floor. Just in time.

  Ka-foom! The floor split in two and fell away.

  Splash! Beneath the floor was a pool of black water. The surface broke, and three scaly heads jumped out and snapped at the kids. Snap!

  “Snakes!” yelled Neal. He kicked one away with his sneaker. “We’re not going to eat the food. We are the food!”

  “Now you get it!” said Eric, scrambling up the wall as high as he could go. “Ving tricked you!”

  “But Eric, how did you know?” said Keeah, helping Julie climb up next to her.

  “The tangfruit,” he replied. “Ving tricked you with his weird magic voice. He makes himself sound good. But because I ate that fruit, I heard what he was really saying. And it was all bad.”

  They climbed halfway up the chamber walls. The serpents leaped up but couldn’t reach them.

  “Is there a way out of here?” asked Julie.

  “Ask them,” said Keeah, looking at Eric and pointing to a pair of green-furred mice nibbling crumbs on a row of stones near the ceiling. “Mice always know.”

  “Plus, the water’s getting higher,” said Neal.

  The water was higher. It was splashing at their feet now, and the serpents were snapping again.

  Snap! Snap!

  Eric pulled himself up the wall. “Excuse me, mice? I’m Eric Hinkle. These are my friends Keeah, Julie, and Neal. We were wondering —”

  “Will you get to the point!” Neal cried.

  Eric frowned. “Sorry. Okay, mice, can you tell us how to get out of this room?”

  The green mice began to whisper in his ear.

  “Uh-huh,” said Eric. “Really? Wow. Sure. And then what? Oh. Uh-huh. Really? Okay, thanks.”

  The mice scampered away into the shadows.

  “What did they say?” asked Keeah.

  “Well, they’ve been here for a long time, so they know everything about the whole palace.”

  Neal nodded quickly. “Yeah, and?”

  “And,” said Eric glumly, “there’s no way out.”

  “What!” cried Julie.

  “No way out,” Eric said. “We’re doomed.”

  Neal nearly choked. “D-d-doomed? Oh, man! I’ll never see Snorky again —”

  “Or Max!” cried Keeah.

  “Or Batamogi!” said Julie.

  “Sorry,” said Eric. “The mice said so —”

  Pooomf!

  Fireworks exploded in the small room.

  Golden sparks showered over the kids and hissed when they hit the cold black water.

  And then there was someone with them.

  A man. A fairly young man. With a ponytail.

  He stood clinging to the wall next to Keeah and Eric. He wore black boots, a long red cape, and a white scarf around his neck. He had a thin mustache and a short beard.

  A shimmering, curved staff was slung in his belt. In his hand he held a short, glowing stick.

  He grinned when he saw the kids. “Hi! Need some rescuing?” He pointed the glowing stick at the water. “Wand, send those serpents home!”

  Zzzzz! A spray of sparks sizzled into the water. The serpents jumped and snapped once, then vanished into the depths below.

  The black pool went still.

  “That was awesome!” said Julie.

  “That?” the man laughed a cheery laugh, tucking the wand in his belt. “It was nothing!”

  “Wow, thanks, whoever you are,” said Neal. “But, I mean, like … who are you?”

  The man smiled. “People call me Shortbeard.”

  “Short … beard?” said Keeah, searching his face carefully. “You look a little familiar….”

  “But you can call me Galen,” he added.

  The princess gasped. “But it can’t be!”

  “But it is!” said the man. “Don’t you like it?”

  Eric’s mouth dropped open. All at once, he, too, saw something familiar about the man.

  They all saw it.

  “Holy crow!” Julie said. “You are Galen! You were here when Tarkoom was destroyed four hundred years ago! And now you’re here with us! So you’re you! You’re young Galen!”

  The young man gave them all a quizzical look. “If you say so …”

  Then, as quickly as they could, and all talking over one another, the four children explained how Tarkoom had appeared in modern-day Droon, how Galen was now four hundred years older, and why they had come to Tarkoom.

  “If we don’t stop Ving from changing Droon,” said Keeah, “Tarkoom will stay. And Ving and his evil bandits will return to our time.”

  “You don’t want that, believe me,” said Galen. “But I just got here myself. I don’t know what dastardly deed Ving is planning.”

  Eric frowned. “I heard him telling his bandits to prepare the bolt. Whatever that means.”

  Galen chewed his lip and shrugged at the same time. “Bolt, huh? Well, there are good bolts and bad bolts. There’s a bolt of cloth. That’s good. But I don’t figure Ving is thinking about a change of clothes.”

  “Probably not,” said Neal. “He’s got all those feathers already.”

  “Right,” said Galen. “Then there’s a bolt on a door. Could be that. Bolt also means to run fast. But that doesn’t sound right, either….”

  Keeah and Julie gave each other a look.

  “Plus, we have to rescue my dog,” said Neal. “And Max and Batamogi, too.”

  “Ving sent them down below,” said Eric.

  “Then we need to split up!” said Galen, aiming his wand at the wall. He muttered a word and — poomf! — sparks shot everywhere. When the smoke cleared, there was a hole in the wall.

  Galen bounded out to a high corridor.

  “I’ll head to the throne room. Ving is sure to be there,” he said. Then he pointed down a shadowy hallway. “The stairs are that way. That’s probably where they took your friends.”

  “I’ll go,” said Neal. “I hope Snorky is okay.”

  “I’ll go with you,” said Julie, smiling at Neal.

  “Meet us in the throne room as soon as you can,” said the young wizard. “We’ll be teaching Ving not to mess with the good guys. And be careful!”

  Julie and Neal snuck off into the darkness.

  “We need to be careful, too,” said Keeah. “We don’t want to meet up with any bandits —”

  “Ha! I eat bandits for breakfast!” Galen boomed. “Now, come on!” Then he grabbed Eric and Keeah by the hand and shot away down the ha
ll.

  The kids ran through the hallways, following Galen’s flying cape and glowing wand.

  “You’re fast!” said Keeah, running to keep up.

  “Not bad for a hundred and forty-two, eh?” Galen said, laughing. “Boy, I love this!”

  Eric nearly laughed, too. It was funny to think that the old Galen they knew so well had been such a wild adventurer when he was young.

  Suddenly, they heard clacking noises. They slowed down.

  Before them stood the giant throne chamber.

  Eric peered in. “The place is crawling with bandits,” he said. “I don’t see Ving, though.”

  But there was something else to see.

  A round stone platform was rising up slowly through the floor.

  On it stood something big and ugly.

  A giant crossbow.

  Eric had seen pictures of such things in history books. A bow was attached to a long, straight shaft. A thick cord was stretched far back and locked into place. But this had to be the biggest crossbow ever made. It was as big as a house.

  And sitting on the shaft, poised and ready, was an arrow as long as a flagpole. At its tip was a jagged sliver of gold that spat and sizzled with what seemed like electricity.

  “My gosh!” whispered Keeah. “I’ve never seen anything like that. It looks like a lightning bolt!”

  “It is a lightning bolt,” said Galen, his eyes darting around the room.

  Eric slapped his head. “Of course! Lightning bolt! That’s the kind of bolt Ving meant! And it’s huge. But how will he steal treasure with that?”

  “Let’s not wait to find out,” said Keeah.

  When the crossbow was in place next to Ving’s statue, six large bandits tugged on a large wheel at the base of the bow. The wheel turned.

  As it did, the bow’s shaft began to lift. At the same time, the room’s ceiling was gradually pulling apart to show the countryside around the Panjibarrh Valley.

  “There is the Oobja village!” shouted one of the bandits. “Aim the bolt right at it! Hurry!”

  Eric squinted to see, then his mouth dropped open. “It’s Batamogi’s village in the dust hills! They’re going to fire this huge arrow at it!”

  “There must be treasure buried under the mountain,” young Galen whispered. “That’s what Ving is after.”