Dragonwatch, Book 2: Wrath of the Dragon King

by Brandon Mull

  Knox tugged his shoes off without untying the laces. “For quietness,” he whispered back.

  Lomo nodded. “Seth got away. I followed Tregain long enough to see that he is wandering blind, hoping to get lucky. I wonder how long it has been since he chased somebody. He did not seem terribly good at it.”

  “What now?” Knox asked.

  “We try to find Kendra and Seth,” Lomo said. “We stay away from guys with gold or silver gloves. We try not to get killed by the dragons who preceded us. And we try to learn what is going on here and how to break the curse.”

  “We’re in big trouble, aren’t we?” Knox asked.

  “I’m not sure it gets much bigger,” Lomo replied. “Come on.”

  “Do you ever get bored inside of cursed castles?” Seth asked, moving carefully along a hallway with his sister, straining to hear footsteps.

  “No,” Kendra answered.

  “I do, apparently,” Seth said. “Are we just going to wander the night away?”

  “I don’t know,” Kendra said. “I kind of agree with Augie that if we don’t get turned to statues, we’re doing pretty well.”

  They rounded a corner and both jumped. Only a few feet away, a silver figure was positioned as if running toward them, a determined look on his face.

  “This is a person,” Seth said. “Not a statue.”

  “Yes,” Kendra said. “Doesn’t look like a soldier. Maybe a servant?”

  “Do you think somebody will find us like this someday?” Seth asked.

  “Not if we avoid getting turned to silver or gold,” Kendra said.

  “Do you think this guy feels like he got second place?” Seth asked. “With all the gold statues around?”

  “Platinum is more valuable than gold,” Kendra said.

  “Ouch,” Seth said. “Third.”

  “I haven’t seen any platinum, though,” Kendra said.

  “Wait, doesn’t platinum look like silver?” Seth asked. “Maybe this guy is platinum?”

  “I’m not sure how to tell,” Kendra said. “Augie told me the third brother disappeared.”

  “Does that mean no third glove?” Seth asked. “Wasn’t there supposed to be one of each?”

  “I think so,” Kendra said.

  “You need to talk more quietly,” Lomo said, coming around the corner behind them. Seth jumped and turned, his sword halfway out of the sheath before he realized he didn’t need it.

  “I guess we stopped whispering,” Seth said.

  “Let’s start again,” Lomo said.

  “We were looking for you,” Kendra whispered.

  “We were looking for you, too,” Knox said. “I’m glad you don’t look like the top of a trophy.”

  “Why are you carrying your shoes?” Seth asked. “Wait—same reason we’re whispering. But my boots are magically stealthy . . . oh, not in here, I guess.” Kendra and Seth crouched and removed their footwear.

  “How did you elude him?” Lomo asked.

  “Tanu bought me some time,” Seth said. “Then a secret person helped me.”

  “Seth,” Kendra admonished.

  “I won’t say too much,” Seth said. “But he’s a secret kid who has hidden well enough to avoid becoming silver all these years.”

  “Really?” Lomo asked.

  “All he asked was that we keep him a secret,” Kendra said.

  “But you need to know what he told us,” Seth said.

  Kendra proceeded to explain what they had learned about the brothers and the poem. Seth thought that together they remembered the lines pretty well.

  “We’re hunting coins,” Lomo whispered. “At least that gives us an objective.” He held up a hand. Faintly they heard hurried footsteps.

  Lomo motioned the three of them down the hall, around a corner, and into a room. “I’ll go investigate,” he whispered.

  “We shouldn’t all wait in the same room,” Seth whispered.

  Lomo gave a nod. Leaving Kendra and Knox behind, Seth tiptoed across the hall to a different room while Lomo crept away.

  Seth decided the best hiding place was behind a wardrobe, because behind the bed was the more obvious spot. He carefully slid his sword out of the sheath. At the entrance they had been warned not to shed blood. Would that warning stop the dragons? What kind of penalty would there be?

  He waited tensely until Lomo returned. The warrior beckoned to Seth, and they went into the room with Kendra and Knox.

  “One of the dragons,” Lomo whispered, “a woman—green hair, dressed for battle—is moving quickly and searching. I worried she might have sensed me, but I hurried away without her following.”

  “Lots of people are looking for us,” Knox said.

  “She might be looking for us specifically,” Lomo whispered. “Or she might primarily be helping the gold brother find coins. Hard to be sure.”

  “Heath,” Kendra said.

  “There are too many people working against us,” Seth said.

  “Can the dragons kill us?” Kendra asked. “The sign at the entrance said to shed no blood.”

  “I wondered about that,” Seth said. “I hope the dragons obey the sign.”

  “What should we do?” Knox asked.

  “Every option is risky,” Lomo whispered. “I don’t think we win this if we behave like the hunted. We need to search, too.”

  Quiet

  Kendra padded down the hall, wearing only socks on her feet and making almost no sound. She, Knox, and Seth had stashed their shoes under the bed before leaving the room. Currently out of view, Lomo was scouting ahead, returning periodically to help them avoid any of the others searching the castle. Seth and Knox walked with Kendra, peeking into every room they passed.

  They encountered many silver and gold statues, sometimes solitary, sometimes in small groups. Most were posed as if in motion, walking or running. Kendra could not help wondering who each golden or silver figure had been and how long they had been incarcerated as a precious metal.

  Lomo trotted back into sight with a finger over his lips. He pointed in one direction, then another, and then waved them forward. As Kendra followed him at a quickened pace, she heard footsteps from the left and the right.

  Lomo paused at a heavy door bound in iron and eased it open, motioning for them to pass through the doorway and head down the stairs. Seth and Knox led the way down, Kendra followed, and Lomo came last, easing the door shut with barely a click.

  The stairs descended a good distance to a small room with an iron door. Lomo did not look hopeful when he tried it, but the door opened. More stairs beyond led down into gloomier lighting.

  “The dungeon?” Seth whispered.

  “Might be as good a place as any for us to look,” Lomo said.

  “What are the chances of finding a coin in such a big castle?” Knox asked. “We’re looking around like we expect them to be in plain sight. What if they’re in a drawer? Or inside a mattress? Or hidden away in a silver pocket?”

  “If we look too closely, we may not cover much ground,” Kendra said.

  “Covering lots of ground doesn’t help unless we find something,” Knox said.

  “Supposedly the coins have been found before,” Kendra said. “That means we have a chance. The coins do keep getting lost, though.”

  Lomo started leading the way down the stairs. The glowing globes were becoming less bright and less frequent.

  “The poem talked about the coins disappearing if not placed in the fountain together,” Seth said.

  “And the golden touch can only hold one,” Kendra said.

  “Do they disappear forever?” Knox said. “Or do they just get transported somewhere? It doesn’t make sense. This whole contest seems impossible.”

  Kendra quietly agreed.

  “It’s been going for a long time for a reason,” Seth said. “Finding the coins is the only way out of this cursed castle. What else are we supposed to do?”

  The stairs ended, and now they could see rows of cell doors,
each with a peephole. “No statues down here,” Kendra said.

  Lomo peeked into a cell. “Empty.” He tried the door and it opened.

  Knox pulled a different door open. Lomo leaped in his direction and pushed it shut. “Look first,” Lomo warned.

  “Sorry, right,” Knox said. “I didn’t see anybody.”

  Lomo tried the peephole. “Neither do I.”

  “I can usually sense the undead,” Seth said, “but the curse inside this castle is blocking any feeling one way or another. At least no one is paralyzed by fear.”

  Kendra moved along the aisle of cells, spying first, then opening doors. “The dungeon is deserted.”

  “Only one hall so far,” Seth observed. “Easy place to get cornered if anyone follows us.”

  “Maybe a good place to hide a coin,” Knox said.

  “As good as any,” Kendra said.

  After the hall turned a corner, it forked. Both passages looked similar—gloomy stone hallways lined with cell doors.

  “Stay together?” Seth asked.

  “I think so,” Lomo said.

  They veered right and moved down the hall, checking all the doors. A big iron door awaited at the end of the hall. After opening it a crack and peering inside, Lomo hauled it open.

  Beyond they found a large room. A golden statue stood in there, facing a tall cabinet of the sort a stage magician might invite an assistant to enter.

  “Quiet Box,” Kendra said.

  “I believe so,” Lomo agreed.

  “What’s a Quiet Box?” Knox asked.

  “It holds one prisoner,” Seth said. “Always one prisoner. The only way to get the prisoner out is to put a new prisoner inside. Whoever is trapped inside gets sort of frozen in time.”

  “Who would be inside the Quiet Box of a cursed castle?” Kendra wondered. “Could it be an ally? Or a terrible enemy?”

  “Hard to guess,” Lomo said. “They are usually used for the most deplorable criminals. The kind who might tend to escape from lesser confinement.”

  “Could be a demon,” Seth said. “Nagi Luna was in a Quiet Box.”

  “Somebody got turned to gold down here,” Kendra said. “She was looking at the box.” She leaned close to the figure, staring into the young woman’s gilded eyes. They were more detailed and lifelike than most statues.

  “Maybe she was trying to get somebody out of the Quiet Box,” Seth said.

  “Or maybe she had just put somebody inside,” Kendra guessed.

  They stood together in front of the golden woman, staring at the Quiet Box.

  “Could they hide a coin in there?” Knox asked.

  “If somebody had it on their person,” Lomo said. “It would be a clever place to conceal one.”

  “I guess we can’t peek inside?” Knox asked.

  “If we open the box, it will look empty,” Kendra explained. “One of us would have to get inside and close the door. It will turn halfway around, and when you open the box again, the prisoner will be there.”

  “And will be free to leave,” Lomo said. “The occupant could be incredibly dangerous.”

  “Isn’t the whole situation incredibly dangerous?” Seth asked. “Maybe whoever is inside can stir things up.”

  “Or eat us up,” Kendra said.

  “It’s a risk,” Lomo said.

  “Somebody good might have gotten placed in there,” Seth said. “Or might have even hidden in there.”

  “Ah!” Knox cried, leaping forward and shaking one hand. “I brushed against the statue!”

  “Where?” Kendra asked, surprised to see they were standing so near to the woman. “Was her arm reaching out like that before?”

  “My thumb,” Knox said. “The tip is gold. Oh, no, it’s spreading!” He held up his hand, and Kendra watched his thumb turn gold down to the base. Then the gold started to advance across his palm.

  “She’s moving,” Lomo said. “Look at her hand.”

  Kendra watched the golden figure for a moment, and she saw the hand moving ever so slowly toward her, the fingers slightly changing position, slower than the second hand on a clock. “She snuck up on us!”

  “My whole hand is gold,” Knox cried, on the verge of hysterics. “It’s creeping up my wrist. It’s not stopping.”

  “We’ll fix it,” Kendra promised, hoping they could deliver.

  “It only took Tanu a couple of seconds to change,” Seth said. “It was faster, but the glove had a hold of him.”

  “I barely got touched,” Knox said. “Slower fuse. Same result, though.” He turned to the golden woman. “Thanks a lot, lady!”

  “It’s getting your shirt, too,” Kendra said. His sleeve was turning gold, the transformation trickling up his forearm.

  “I can barely feel my fingers,” Knox said.

  “But you can feel them?” Lomo asked.

  “A little,” Knox said.

  “Interesting, since it looks like pure gold,” Lomo said.

  “Almost to my elbow,” Knox said, panic in his tone. He looked urgently at Kendra. “This is it. You guys were right. I shouldn’t have come.”

  “You’ve done great,” Kendra said, trying to be brave and sound calm. “We’ll find a way to undo this.”

  “Oh, man,” Knox said, stomping in place. “Good-bye, elbow. Guys, tell my parents I love them. And Tess.”

  “We’ll save you,” Seth said.

  Knox gave a terrified laugh. “Right. Find that magic lotion that turns statues back into people. Good luck.” He looked to Kendra. “If you can, tell my family. I love you guys, too.” He looked to Seth. “Sorry for calling you Seth Breath so much. Sorry for all of this. I meant to help.”

  “Get into the Quiet Box,” Seth said.

  “What?” Knox replied.

  “It should stop the change,” Seth said.

  “He’s right,” Lomo said. “The transformation will halt while you’re inside.”

  “That will be fun to think about for hours,” Knox said. “Or days. Or years.”

  “It’ll be like a dream,” Seth said. “You won’t really notice the time going by. We’ll try to leave you in there until we have a solution.”

  “What if putting me inside frees a demon?” Knox asked.

  “Let us worry about that,” Seth said.

  “If we’re going to free the prisoner, now is the time,” Kendra said. “It costs one of us to get the prisoner out.”

  Seth opened the Quiet Box. “If we change our minds and have to put the prisoner back inside, sorry in advance.”

  “Hurry,” Kendra said. “It’s to your shoulder.”

  “I guess some chance is better than none,” Knox said, gold spreading toward his neck and chest and down his side. He stepped into the empty cabinet. “Good luck.”

  Seth closed the door.

  The box rotated 180 degrees.

  Seth opened the door on the opposite side.

  Within the space Knox should have occupied stood a handsome young man, lean and tall, with fairly large hands and feet, and brown stubble on his chin. He wore a bright, silvery glove on one hand.

  “Is it over?” the young man asked.

  “Glove!” Kendra called, backing away from him.

  The young man glanced at the golden figure. “No. Still going.” He held up his gloved hand. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to touch you. Unless you mean me harm. Who are you people?”

  “We came here today,” Seth said. “We’re trying to break the curse.”

  “What is the year?” the young man asked.

  Kendra told him the date.

  The young man frowned. “I was in there for a long time. It was impossible to discern how long. It feels like I could have entered a few minutes ago instead of centuries. Mind if I come out?”

  Lomo had his sword in hand. “Just keep your distance.”

  “Sure,” the young man said. “I’m sorry, I take it you’ve met my brothers?”

  “We met Tregain,” Seth said. “He turned our friend
to silver.”

  “Tregain and Heath transformed everyone,” the young man said. “I’m sorry about your friend.”

  “You’re Lockland,” Kendra guessed.

  The young man gave a small bow. “Unfortunately, yes.” He held up his hand. “Platinum glove.”

  “Seth, the golden girl is slowly coming your way,” Kendra said.

  Seth moved a couple of steps away.

  “We didn’t know they could move,” Seth said.

  “Only on festival nights,” Lockland replied. “They speed up over the course of the night.”

  “At first they weren’t moving?” Lomo asked.

  “Infinitesimally,” Lockland said. “By the end of the night they will be almost as fast as a normal person.”

  “Not comforting,” Kendra said.

  “Nothing here is comforting,” Lockland said. “I went into the box for a reason.”

  “You went inside on purpose?” Seth asked.

  “Absolutely,” Lockland said. “You can only play a rigged game for so long.”

  “Rigged?” Seth asked.

  “You know about the coins?” Lockland asked.

  “Yes,” Kendra said.

  “I played differently than my brothers,” Lockland said. “I didn’t try to build an army of platinum slaves.”

  “Are they slaves?” Lomo asked.

  “Once transformed, they obey the will of whoever wears the corresponding glove,” Lockland said. “Don’t blame Bethany for touching your friend.” He nodded toward the golden statue. “The order to attack came from Heath.”

  “Does he know we’re here?” Seth asked.

  “No,” Lockland said. “It’s a general order to attack. The statues obey simple commands. They can hunt for coins. They can try to change people.”

  “Who did you let out of the box when you went inside?” Kendra asked.

  “A criminal named Jasmine Oxgard,” Lockland said. “One of the Fair Folk. She stole something precious to my grandfather. I expect my brothers changed her after her release.”

  “You haven’t explained how the game is rigged,” Seth said.

  “Humbuggle is clever,” Lockland said. “I almost had two coins. I had the gold, and I found the platinum. But the moment I took hold of the platinum coin, the gold one vanished.”