“What kind of meat?” Felix inquired.
“Depends on the taco,” I answered. “Chicken tacos have chicken, beef tacos have beef, et cetera.”
“Why wouldn’t they just call a ‘chicken taco’ a ‘torchicken’?” Felix questioned. “I mean, it’s made of tortillas and chicken, so why not?”
I considered this. “Then what would a beef taco be?”
He answered without hesitation. “A torcow, or maybe a torbeef. It’s a matter of preference, really. Can anything else go on these torchickens?”
“On tacos? Yeah,” I answered. “You could put taco sauce, lettuce, tomatoes—”
Felix made a disgusted face. “Tomatoes?”
“Not a fan of tomatoes?”
He shook his head. “I tried one once. You know, before I came to rescue you from the broom closet. I have one word to describe it: bleh.”
“EAT PIE!” Makeki shouted, catapulting a pie at the allied forces of meat, carbohydrates, and dairy.
“ICE CREAM IS BETTER!” a boy shouted from the opposite side of the battlefield through a megaphone-shaped ice cream cone.
A scoop of vanilla ice cream hit Makeki in the face. She wiped it off, then shouted, “That’s just cold!”
“So they’re fighting over whether pie or ice cream is better?” Regina summed up.
Malianna nodded. “Yeah. It’s the most popular topic. Not that Makeki needs one to get a Food Fight going. She’s a professional diplomat.”
“PIE! PIE! PIE! PIE!” Makeki chanted, catapulting another pie at her opponents.
Malianna sighed. “So diplomatic. Let’s just pummel them with pies. Brilliant. They'll love that.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm.
“I hit him!” Makeki cheered, doing a little victory dance. “I hit King Kaikayn!”
Kaikayn wiped pie filling from his face and ordered, “Catapult the mint chocolate chip scoops!”
“Fire the chocolate pies!” Makeki commanded.
Many of them collided, a mix of chocolate pie and mint chocolate chip ice cream splatting on the ground and in faces.
Makeki, in particular, was hit hard. Mint chocolate chip ice cream covered her licorice dress, running down the sides, and a giant chunk of chocolate pie rested on her candy crown.
“Why would you let me do that?” Makeki demanded, marching up to Malianna.
Malianna shrugged. “It’s not like you ever listen to me. I couldn’t have stopped you if I wanted to.”
Makeki considered this, then said, “True, but you still should have tried!”
“I did.”
Makeki opened her mouth to protest. Then, realizing that she was out of excuses, said, “I've got nothing.”
“Ha!” Malianna said.
“If you need me, I will be relaxing in my slushy pool,” Makeki informed Malianna. “Could you give our guests the tour of the Gingerbread Palace?”
“Fine,” Malianna agreed.
Not that it mattered. Makeki was already gone.
Malianna sighed and turned to us. “Ready for a tour?”
Chapter 17
The tour of the Gingerbread Palace was pretty fun. Literally everything was candy, besides the D.J. Station and the disco ball in Makeki’s party room. However, the excitement didn’t really start until we went to the slushy pool area.
Makeki lounged on the surface of the blue slushy pool in a floating gummy ring. She was still dressed in her licorice dress and still wore her ridiculously tall candy crown. Gummy fish floated around in the pool around her. I couldn't tell if they were supposed to look alive or not.
“How are you doing, Your Majesty?” Malianna asked politely.
“I’m doing wonderfully!” she said cheerfully.
Felix gave a low whistle. “You weren’t kidding when you said it was a slushy pool. Can I do a cannonball?”
Makeki looked outraged. “Absolutely not, peasant! These gummy fish are under my protection! NONE SHALL CANNONBALL!” She pointed to a sign and calmly added, “Read the sign.”
Tom read it aloud. “‘No swimming in the slushy pool. No diving. No cannonballs. No one touches the gummy fish. Queen Makeki is the exception to all rules.’”
“Very good!” Makeki complimented. “You can read!”
“Your Majesty,” Malianna addressed her. “I would advise being kind to our guests. We don’t need another war like we had with the fairies and the vampires. You can start a war with just about anyone.”
“No!” Makeki protested.
“You’re right,” Malianna relented, a gleam in her eye. “You aren’t capable of that.”
“Yes, I am!” Makeki retorted.
“No, you aren’t.”
“Yes, I am!”
“Nope.”
“Yeah!”
Malianna grinned. “Do you even remember what we were arguing about?”
Makeki looked like she was going to answer, but instead her brows furrowed like she was thinking. After a moment, she admitted, “Nope.”
“You were arguing about whether or not you are capable of starting a war with just about anyone,” Felix said helpfully.
“Oh yeah,” Makeki said.
“What have you done?” Malianna moaned.
Makeki got back in her floating gummy ring and said, “Yes, I can.”
Malianna sighed. “No, you can’t.”
“Yes, I can!”
Malianna smiled. “You realize you’ve just been agreeing with my original statement this whole time, right?”
Makeki took a moment to think about it, then said, “Oh.”
“I win,” Malianna announced. “I was right!”
“For the record,” Makeki corrected, “I started a war with the vampires first, then another one with the fairies. Longest two days of my life! They refused to come to my dessert parties on both days! Can you believe that?”
“Hold your seahorses,” Felix interjected. “It only took you two days to start a war with a clan of vampires and a bunch of fairies? Please, tell me your secrets.”
“Please don’t,” Tom groaned.
“Spoilsport,” Felix muttered.
Tom glared at him. “Do you want to repeat that, Wilson?”
Felix looked him directly in the eye and said, “Spoilsport. Stop being a grumpy warthog and get a sense of humor!”
Regina stepped between them. “We are not going through this conversation again. Tom, just let it go.”
Tom continued glaring at Felix. “Wilson needs to learn some respect.”
Felix crossed his arms. “What goes around, comes around.”
“Ten points to Felix,” William announced with a grin.
Tom flushed. “Shut up, Johnson.”
“That’s enough,” Gabrielle said sternly. “We aren’t here to argue.”
“Yeah,” William confirmed. “We’re here to see Lono.”
Makeki fell out of her floating gummy ring with a splash. When she resurfaced, she asked, “You’re here to see Lono? Kaikayn’s advisor?”
“He has some of the information that we need,” William explained. “We need information on two of the Legendary Objects: the Silver Mirror and the Diamond Ring. My sources told me that Lono knows their locations and guardians.”
“Visiting Numelua on the same day as a Food Fight takes place is like begging for an ice cream cone to the face,” Malianna warned. “I would recommend visiting tomorrow morning, when King Kaikayn has cooled down. If Queen Makeki agrees, you may stay in the Gingerbread Palace.” She shot a pointed look at Makeki.
“Yes! The Giants may stay at the palace!” she agreed enthusiastically. “I haven’t had a sleepover in ages!”
“Your Majesty, we had one last Friday night,” Malianna pointed out.
“I know!” Makeki exclaimed. “That was ages ago! I should have had one last night!”
“Yes, because you need excessive sugar, Food Fights, and sleep deprivation,” Malianna said sarcastically.
Makeki grinned. “I’m glad you understa
nd!”
Malianna sighed, but let it go. “Alright. The Legendary Keepers and the Magenta will stay in the guest rooms at the Gingerbread Palace so they can visit Lono tomorrow morning. Does that sound good to everyone?”
Exhausted, we all nodded. “Thanks,” I thanked Malianna as she led us to our rooms.
“No problem,” she returned. “I wish you the best of luck. Good night.”
It took only a few minutes for me to return to the Darkness.
◆◆◆
“Miss Magenta!” Felix was calling when I got back to the Darkness. “Where are you?”
“I’m over here, Potato Brain,” I told him, tapping his silhouette on the shoulder.
He turned around. “Oh. Hi!”
The Darkness was still playing mind games with us, whispering our worst fears. I took deep breaths and tried to block it out.
“So why are we going to see this Lono guy?” I asked.
Felix shrugged. “I don’t know. The name sounds familiar, but I can’t place my finger on it.”
Lono Jackson? the Darkness asked, disgusted. The Zajahani scum?
Felix snapped his fingers. “Of course! Lono Jackson! Kristina’s younger brother!”
I gave him a questioning look. “Who?”
“Kristina Jackson was the Magenta that preceded you,” he explained. “She was part of the Rebels of Emparadroy and was supposedly destined to kill Zykno, Mallum’s grandfather. She was killed in the challenge by Zykno, but your father, Roy, stepped up after her death and killed Zykno himself.”
“You’re kidding,” I said, even though I knew he wasn’t.
“Nope,” Felix said.
“So you’re saying that my father, Roy Smith, killed Mallum’s grandfather, Zykno Frond?” I asked.
“Yep,” he confirmed.
“But to do that,” I argued, “he would have to know about the Dimensions.”
“He did.”
“Then why wouldn’t he tell me about this?” I questioned. “Did my mom know? Was that why he didn’t tell?”
“Your mom knew,” Felix answered. “She fought in that battle, too. She and your father made an incredible team. But as far as the Dimensions are concerned, they went missing five years ago.”
“Five years ago…” I trailed off. “That was around the time I lost my memories due to something Doctor Robbins always called ‘the incident’. He never told me what it actually was, but do you think it has something to do with my parents ‘going missing’ from the Dimensions?”
“The chances of it all being a coincidence are astronomical,” Felix responded.
“Then I hope Lono Jackson has some good answers for us,” I commented.
Chapter 18
Malianna brought us as far as the doors of the Cone Castle before leaving us on our own.
The Cone Castle was made of giant ice cream cones. Literally. The roof of the castle was pointy. A towering teenage boy, probably a full three or four inches taller than me, was talking to King Kaikayn, who was probably a full three or four inches shorter than me.
“Your Majesty, you really must stop accepting Queen Makeki’s Food Fight challenges!” he was saying.
“But Lono—” Kaikayn protested.
Tom cleared his throat. Steven jumped at the sound, eyes wild, then realized what it was and calmed down. The conversation stopped.
“Can we help you?” Lono asked politely.
“As a matter of fact,” William said, “yes, you can. We need information. Magenta-related information.”
Lono turned to Kaikayn. “Permission to take this one, Your Majesty?”
“Go ahead,” Kaikayn granted.
Lono turned back to us. “I think I can safely assume that you are the Legendary Keepers. If you want to win against the Attackers, I would recommend listening to what I say very carefully.”
We all gave him our undivided attention, even Steven.
His eyes narrowed. “Not all of the legends are true.”
The Legendary Keepers exchanged looks. Lono continued.
“Which of you is the Magenta?” he questioned.
I raised my hand. “That would be me.”
“What is your name?”
“Valida Smith.”
Lono examined me critically. “You don’t look sixteen.”
“That would be because I’m fourteen,” I said.
Selene cut in. “Things have escalated, Lono. We couldn’t wait much longer before we would have to bring her here. She has had only about a week and a half of training.”
“A week and a half of training? That’s it?” Lono cried. “She’ll be dead ten minutes—if not less—into the challenge when it comes!”
“What challenge?” I demanded.
“If someone wants to, they can challenge the Magenta, one-on-one,” Lono explained. “It’s a battle to the death. Literally. Every time, due to the Magenta’s special abilities, they are the survivors.” His expression grew dark. “That is, until my sister accepted Zykno’s challenge. He wasn’t a wannabe warrior. He knew what he was doing.”
“He had the Dark Power,” Steven breathed, “didn’t he?”
Lono nodded solemnly. “Kristina didn’t stand a chance. She was well-trained, but Zykno had years more of training and experience to back him up. Kristina had the Magenta’s special abilities, but Zykno had the Dark Power. When Mekaz, Mallum’s father, rose to power, he had the Dark Power, too. He was nearly impossible to defeat. If this trend has continued, then Mallum has the Dark Power, too.”
“And if Mallum has the Dark Power,” I cut in, “I’m as good as dead.”
Lono shook his head. “Not necessarily. There is one thing you can do that would give you a chance.”
“What?” I prompted.
“The Legendary Power,” Lono answered. “It’s the only thing that truly stands a chance against the Dark Power.”
“How do I get it?” I inquired.
“You need to unite all the Legendary Objects with the Link,” he answered. “That releases the Legendary Power from her prison and links her to you.”
Selene’s eyes glowed primary green, just as they had done when the Eikosi Tessera were breaking us out of the dungeon.
“What is happening?” William asked, taking a step back.
Light against dark, duty versus legacy
Too few against too many a memory
One will die, unless both defy
Both comply or say goodbye
Selene’s eyes rolled to the back of her head and her knees buckled. William and Lono caught her before she could hit the ground and set her down gently.
“What just happened?” William inquired.
“The same thing that happened in the dungeon,” Gabrielle answered. “She used her family gift: prophecy. The Robbins family was gifted with it long ago.”
“'Family gift’?” both William and I asked in unison.
“Some families native to the other Dimensions—meaning they aren’t from Earth—have family gifts. Sometimes they have two or three, if they were especially favored by the fairies. My family gifts are healing and magic,” Gabrielle explained. “Members of my family usually have a knack for those.”
“That explains a lot,” William commented.
Selene moaned and sat up. “What happened?”
“You spouted a prophecy,” William answered.
“Same thing that happened in the dungeon,” I added.
William offered her a hand, which she accepted. He turned back to Lono.
“Do you know the locations of some of the Objects?” William asked.
Lono nodded. “The Diamond Ring is in the possession of General Sygopsis, the Lulin general. The Silver Mirror is in Akezo Tavello’s possession. Seeing as Akezo won’t roast you alive with lasers, I would recommend visiting him first. He lives in Nightmare County.”
Tom groaned. “I hate that place.”
“You hate every place,” Felix pointed out.
“Shut up, Wilson
.”
“His house isn’t portal-blocked, so you can teleport right to his front door,” Lono added helpfully. “But before you go to visit him, you might want to try to recruit the Kingdoms. Alliances are crucial for challenges. Despite common sense, battles always take place at the same time as the challenges.”
“Noted,” Regina said.
“How can we recruit the Kingdoms?” Gabrielle asked.
“There is a meeting for the Sibolani Senate today,” Lono suggested, “you could go there. They will allow it. The meeting takes place in fifteen minutes at Queen Makeki’s Gingerbread Palace in Kalolana.”
Felix grinned. “Let’s go recruit the food people.”
Chapter 19
The meeting was nothing like I imagined it.
It was everything but diplomatic. Food was splattered everywhere, leading me to believe that throwing food was their way of settling disagreements.
“Welcome Giants!” Makeki greeted from her throne.
Malianna sighed, but didn't correct Makeki.
“Are we interrupting?” William asked.
A queen about Makeki's height responded. “Not really. We were just about to discuss the next issue.” She took another bite out of her mango. Her dress was made of leaves of some sort, her hair was a medium-length chocolate brown, and a sensibly-sized fruit crown sat on her head.
“Thank you, Queen Alani,” William thanked with a bow.
“You're welcome,” she responded. “Do you have anything to present to the Senate?” a king, about Malianna's height, inquired. He wore a red crown, clearly out of crystal, breaking the trend of wearing food as a crown.
“Indeed we do, King Colton,” William answered. “We—the Legendary Keepers, led by the Magenta—would like to propose an alliance.”
“Since when am I in charge?” I asked Felix in a whisper.
Felix shrugged. “Since now, apparently. Don't do anything Tom would do.”
“I heard that, Wilson,” Tom informed him quietly but sternly.
“You want to be allies with Sibolana?” King Colton asked.
“Yes,” William answered. “Now that Mallum Frond is aware that the Magenta has returned, the probability that he will challenge her within the next season has skyrocketed. We're going to need allies.”
The Magenta (The Legendary Keepers Book 1) Page 8
