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

  Keeah turned to them. “We can’t let this happen. If that arrow destroys the poor village, it will change Droon forever!”

  “It won’t happen,” Eric said, turning to the princess. “We won’t let it.”

  Galen nodded quickly. “You bet we won’t. I won’t let these bandits escape into your world.”

  He pulled the curved staff from his belt. It was made of wood but glimmered with many colors as he swung it back and forth in the hallway.

  “Cool,” said Eric.

  “My rainbow cutlass,” said Galen. “I invented it myself. It’ll make sure those bad guys never get a chance to use that bolt!”

  Keeah glanced across the room. “Eric and I will take care of that big ugly crossbow.”

  “I like the way you think,” said Galen. “All we need now is the element of surprise —”

  “There they are!” snarled a bandit from inside the room. “By the door! Three of them!”

  “Forget the surprise — let’s go!” said Galen. With a single swift move, he jumped into the room, his cutlass whistling and sending off streamers of sparks.

  The kids jumped in after him, running for the crossbow, but two bandits swept up into the air and swooped at them, their beaks clacking.

  “No you don’t!” Keeah said. She skidded to a stop and shot her hands out. “I’ll stop you —”

  Kkkk — blam! One red ball of sparks and one blue one blasted from her hands. They exploded together in a cloud of purple smoke!

  The winged men fell to the floor, coughing.

  “What was that?” said Eric, scrambling over to Keeah.

  “Um … wizard and witch powers, I think,” she said, blowing on her sparking fingertips. “It would be nice if I could control them!”

  Fwing! Clang!

  The wizard flicked his cutlass quickly and sent three more bandits spinning high into the air.

  When they stopped spinning, they were too dizzy to fly. They fell to the floor — thud-thud-thud! — their eyes rolling around in their heads.

  “Not so hawkeyed now, are you?” Galen said with a grin.

  “YOU!” boomed a voice from behind them. “You will not laugh for long, wizard!”

  The three friends whirled around.

  It was Ving himself! He flew into the room, his black eyes blazing with anger. He thrust out his claws so fast they seemed to blur in the air.

  “We don’t need any tangfruit to understand you now, Ving!” said Keeah.

  “Puny humans!” said Ving. “You will not stop me! My lightning bolt can destroy whole mountains. It shall destroy the Oobja village, too.”

  “The furry little guys make you mad or something?” Galen asked, whirling his glittering cutlass around in the air.

  “Under their mountain is what I seek most!” Ving snarled. “The royal tombs of ancient Goll!”

  The sly smile dropped from Galen’s face. “But opening those tombs will release the old dark magic! You can’t do that!”

  “Watch me!” snarled Ving.

  “No, you watch me!” Galen boomed. He whacked at Ving with his glittering cutlass.

  Ving dodged the blow and lunged at the wizard with his claws outstretched. “Let the battle begin!”

  Instantly, Galen and Ving pounced on each other, and — clang-a-clang! — the battle had begun!

  Kwish! Fzz-ang! The large chamber echoed with the clashing of claw on cutlass as Ving and Galen fought.

  In the confusion, five bandits jumped to the crossbow and began turning its heavy wheel.

  Errck! Errck!

  “The village is in our sights,” Icthos called out.

  “Fire when ready!” Ving shouted back as he lunged at Galen.

  “Never!” cried Keeah. She shot a blue burst of light, and Icthos and the other bandits jumped away from the giant bow.

  Eric ran with her across the room. They climbed up to the bow. “Let’s aim it somewhere else,” he said. “So Droon won’t be changed.”

  “Good idea!” said Keeah. She and Eric gripped the wheel.

  Kwish! Ving soared over Galen, flashing his claws at him from above. “Give up, wizard!”

  “Keep your claws to yourself!” Galen replied. With a snap of his fingers, he soared to the top of the statue and landed on the giant stone head.

  Glong! Clank! Across the statue’s giant head, over the shoulders, down the arms, and back up again, the wizard and the bandit struggled.

  “It’s no good!” Eric cried, pulling on the heavy wheel with all his strength. “It won’t budge!”

  “Fire the bolt!” Ving shouted. Icthos scrabbled back to the bow. He began climbing up.

  “Time for some special magic,” said Keeah, her eyes taking on a strange look. Eric wasn’t sure what it meant. Then she said, “Touch my hand. I think this will work. We can both turn that wheel.”

  “But it took five hawk men to move it!” Eric protested.

  Keeah smiled at Eric. “We can do this. I’m sure we can. If I don’t fry us both, I mean….”

  Eric blinked at his friend. Then he knew what she meant.

  Keeah had begun to master her other powers.

  When Eric touched her hand, he felt his arms tingle, first with cold, then with heat. Finally, he felt himself surge with strength. “Whoa! I feel really strong!”

  Together, they gripped the giant wheel.

  Errck! It began to turn. As it did, the shaft moved until it pointed nearly straight up.

  “We’re doing it!” Keeah said. “Keep turning.”

  “I’ll stop you!” came a snarly voice.

  It was Icthos! He had scrambled up behind Eric and Keeah. He reached for the firing lever.

  “Fire the bolt!” Ving cried again.

  “No!” Eric cried. He and Keeah turned the wheel once more as Ichtos pulled the lever.

  Fwung — zwing! The bolt shot straight up, like a long, flaming sword, right through the open ceiling and straight into the night sky.

  “Yes!” cried Eric. “It’s going off course! Batamogi’s village is safe! Ving won’t change Droon!”

  Ving shrieked at the sight of the arrow flying harmlessly into space. He turned to the children.

  “Bandits!” he howled. “Destroy them!”

  “Not so fast!” came a yell from the hallway. It was Julie. She rushed in with Batamogi, Max, and Snorky. Three bandits swooped at them.

  “I’ll stop those nasties!” Max chittered. He spun a web of spider silk and flung it over the bandits’ wings. They tumbled to the floor.

  “And I’ll finish the job!” Batamogi cried. He tossed a tangfruit at them and jumped away.

  Crack! The hard shell broke on the floor, and the bandits ran out into the hall away from the smell.

  From atop the statue, Ving trembled with rage. His black eyes narrowed at Keeah. “Old Goll will live again. And to make sure of it — I will destroy you!”

  With one sudden move, Ving struck at Galen, then swooped at Keeah, his claws aimed like daggers.

  “Keeah!” cried Eric. “Watch out —”

  All of a sudden —

  Poomf! Fireworks exploded in the room, light flashed, Ving was hurled to the floor, and a cloud of blue smoke covered everything.

  A figure in a long blue cloak jumped from the smoke. He thrust both arms at Ving, his fingertips sizzling with sparks. It was old Galen!

  “Begone, fiend, or you shall know what magic really is!” the old wizard boomed. “Goll shall remain in the past — and so shall you!”

  Ving sputtered and snarled and clacked his beak in anger. But it was clear that Galen was ready to strike with all his might.

  “You have not seen the last of me, old man!” the hawk bandit yowled. Then he picked himself up off the floor and jumped, and soared into the corridor after his bandits.

  “Galen!” cried Keeah, hugging the old wizard.

  “Hey, that’s my name!” said the young Galen.

  The old wizard turned to the young one. A smile crept over his
lips.

  “Well, well,” he said. “Look at you!”

  The two wizards studied each other closely.

  Young Galen frowned and scratched his short beard. “Strange. You’re actually me, aren’t you?”

  “Rather, you … are me!” said the old wizard, tugging on his long beard.

  “This is weird and a half,” mumbled Eric.

  “You can double that,” Julie added.

  “I would,” said Eric, “except there are too many doubles in this room already!”

  Finally, the young wizard grinned a big grin and shook hands with his older self. “This is quite strange, even for Droon. But it’s nice to meet you, old man!”

  “Too bad we must leave now,” old Galen said.

  “Must we?” asked Keeah. “It’s fun just watching the two of you! The stories you could tell!”

  “We must,” old Galen said. “Because of that!” He pointed up through the open ceiling.

  They could see that Ving’s lightning bolt had flown straight up, blazing into the night sky, and was now starting to come back down again.

  “It’s heading right for Tarkoom,” said Julie.

  “Correction,” said Max. “Right for the palace!”

  “Right for where we’re standing!” said Keeah.

  “We’d better bolt!” young Galen cried. “Before that bolt blasts us! Come on, everybody!”

  Eric started to run, then stopped. “Wait. Where’s Neal?”

  “Oh, dear!” said Max, trembling as he looked around. “We must have lost him in the halls. Poor Neal, I hope the bandits didn’t catch him!”

  Eric gasped. “We have to find him! We have to —”

  Ka — boom!

  The sizzling lightning bolt hit the palace.

  It blew apart the giant statue of Ving and blasted a huge crater into the floor. Rocks and dust and flames exploded everywhere.

  Suddenly, Snorky raced out of the chamber, barking and yelping just like he had that morning when Neal was chasing him. “Woof! Woof!”

  “Snorky!” cried Eric. “Wait! Not you, too!”

  But flames roared all around the room, rising higher and higher. Smoke filled the air.

  The earth trembled and quaked.

  And the vast city of Tarkoom began to fall.

  Fwoosh! Boom! Flaming stones crashed down from the walls. Fire poured out through the hallways and corridors. The city of red stone turned into a city of red flame.

  “We must leave before the city is destroyed!” said Galen, pulling everyone into a corner away from the fire. “We must go now!”

  “We can’t go without Neal!” cried Eric.

  Then, there he was.

  Out of the smoke, Neal stumbled into the throne room. Snorky was nipping at his shoes to keep him moving. Everyone rushed to him.

  Neal grinned as Snorky jumped into his arms and started licking his face. “He fetched me!” Neal said. “He actually fetched me! Finally, I have a real pet!”

  “Excellent!” said the younger wizard. “Now we can all get out of here. Follow me!”

  “No,” the older Galen said. “We must go separate ways. You to the past, we to the present.”

  The young man looked at the older, and nodded slowly. “So … I guess this is good-bye?”

  Old Galen smiled. “It is. But remember, while your world has dark days now, they will pass. You must always believe in Droon. And love it.”

  “I will,” his younger self replied firmly. “I mean, seeing you and these kids, I guess I always did believe. I mean, you did —”

  “We both did, and do,” said Galen Longbeard. “Now go to the storeroom. You will find a flying carpet. You must escape Tarkoom, or I would not be here. But be careful. There’s danger.”

  The younger wizard grinned, his eyes twinkling in the light of the flames. “Danger? Old fellow, you just said the magic word!”

  “You and your wild, wild ways!” old Galen said. “Now I know why my hair turned white!”

  With that, Galen Shortbeard dashed recklessly across the burning room and into the hallway.

  “He was so cool,” said Neal. “I mean, you were cool, Galen. I mean, you still are —”

  Just then — eeeoow! — a familiar howling echoed through the halls of the burning palace.

  “Kem!” said Julie. “We forgot about him. He sounds mad that we busted up his city.”

  “We need to get out of here,” said Eric. “And I know just the way. The passages!”

  “Quickly, everyone,” said Keeah. “Fast, fast!”

  Eric led them all through the burning halls and corridors of the palace until he came to the garden.

  “In the ground,” Eric said. “Into the tunnels!”

  They all piled into the hole he had fallen into earlier. Eric heard the furry mooples digging far away. He started for the sounds, worming his way through the dark passages.

  Suddenly, Keeah tugged on Eric’s sleeve. “Excuse me, Eric. This is the wrong way,” she whispered. She looked at a tunnel on her left. “We need to go this way!”

  “But … how do you know?” Eric asked.

  Keeah blinked, then said, “I just know.” She began climbing through the narrow tunnel. It turned upward. Soon they felt cool air wafting over them.

  “I knew it,” said Keeah softly.

  Suddenly, Eric knew it, too.

  Keeah had been in the passages before.

  She was the lost little girl the mooples had told him about. She was the girl with nice manners.

  Yes, it all made sense now.

  It was in the passages, somewhere, sometime, that Keeah and Witch Demither had met.

  It was where Keeah got her witch powers.

  Eric knew it, though he couldn’t prove it.

  And maybe it was in the passages — the passages that went everywhere — that Keeah somehow came to the Upper World. To his world.

  Eric knew it all. He would find some way to tell Keeah. He would tell her. He had to. Soon.

  “I see stars!” cried Batamogi. “Home! Home!”

  They scrambled upward, and the cool air of the valley rushed over them.

  Julie was the first one out, helping Max, Neal, and Snorky. Galen and Batamogi were next.

  As his friends worked their way out of the passage and into the fresh night air of Droon, Eric paused.

  He waited alone in the passage and listened.

  He heard the voices of the friendly mooples cheering for them. He also heard sounds from everywhere the passages led to. He heard the washing of waves on a distant shore, the roar of flames, the singing of children in Jaffa City.

  He heard the cry of the wind, of ice creaking in the frosty north, the hooting of birds in faraway forests, and the babbling languages of hundreds of different peoples and creatures from all across Droon.

  “The everywhere passages,” he said to himself. Then, as he climbed up through the hole and into the valley, he slipped onto his side.

  And he hiccuped.

  “Hic!”

  And it all went silent.

  The noises, the voices, the sounds.

  All were gone.

  The tangfruit’s gift had worn off.

  “Come on,” said Keeah, taking him by the hand and pulling him up. “And look at this!”

  Behind them, the city of Tarkoom shimmered in the flames. The fire roared higher and higher.

  Just then, Galen Shortbeard, perched on a small flying carpet, soared up over the smoke.

  “He escaped!” said Max. “I like that boy!”

  “He is unharmed, as are the bandits,” old Galen said with a smile at his younger self. “They are just being sent back to their own time.”

  “And out of ours, thank you!” said Keeah.

  As they watched, the scene before them shimmered once and faded. Young Galen vanished, and with him went Tarkoom, Ving, his hawk bandits, and the ancient past itself. The valley became still.

  Once again, the honey-colored columns were tumbled
and silent. The red walls were fallen.

  And the great statue of Ving was no more than a mound of dust, blown smaller and smaller with each new breeze from the Panjibarrh hills.

  Eeoow! The howling of Kem echoed across the night. It grew more and more distant.

  “He got away!” said Eric, looking out over the purple valley. “Where do you think he’ll go?”

  Galen gazed into the west. “Probably to find his first master. The one who created him.”

  “Who’s that?” asked Julie.

  “Ah!” the wizard said, still scanning the horizon. “You know him all too well. He is Lord Sparr.”

  Keeah gasped. They all did when they heard the sorcerer’s name.

  “I knew we hadn’t seen the last of him,” said Neal. “Even his name gives me the creeps!”

  Suddenly, the air brightened behind them.

  “The stairs have appeared,” said Batamogi. “The Upper World calls the children back.”

  The small band of friends made their way over the silent plains to where the magical stairs stood shimmering on a hill.

  “You have done good work today,” Galen told Eric and his friends. “As always, we could not have done this without you. Now, Keeah, without delay, we must find Kem. Find Kem, and we shall find Lord Sparr!”

  Keeah looked at Eric, Julie, and Neal. Then she shrugged. “Well, life in Droon is never dull!”

  With a final wave to the kids, Galen, Keeah, Batamogi, and Max started across the plains and back to camp.

  Eric turned to his friends. “Was that the coolest adventure ever?”

  Neal grinned. “Absolutely. Until the next one!”

  “We’d better get going,” said Julie. “We have a kitchen to clean up. And a living room. And a dining room —”

  “Thanks to Snorky,” said Neal. He glanced around. “Oh, no, where’s Snorky? Snorky!”

  The dog came prancing over to the stairs, licking his whiskers. His paws were stained with bright pink juice.

  Eric gasped. “Uh-oh! Snorky ate a tangfruit!”

  “It probably won’t hurt him,” said Julie.

  Snorky licked his whiskers again. “Hurt me? It was delicious! But I want to go home now.”

  Neal’s mouth dropped wide open. “Snorky … ?”

  Snorky trotted up the magic staircase.