by Tony Abbott
“Oh, dear!” said Nelag, jumping back and dropping the Scroll.
Eric tried to leap out of the way but the floor simply collapsed under him.
“Helppppp!” he cried.
But there was nothing anyone could do.
With a yelp and a whooshing sound, Eric fell through the floor and vanished into the darkness below.
Bump! Blam! Bonk! Eric bounced from one stone to another, hurtling down a deep shaft until — “ooof! yikes! owww!” — he landed in a heap in a room far below where he started.
The room was pitch black.
“Eric-ic-ic-ic!” a voice echoed down to him.
He moved. His shoulder hurt the most, but nothing seemed broken. “Can you hear me-e-e?” he called out.
“We’ll get you out-out-out!” Neal’s voice echoed down the shaft. “Just stay put-ut-ut!”
Eric managed to laugh. “Where would I go?”
While his friends scrambled to find a way down to him, he stood up. But when he took a step, something rolled under his foot, and he crashed to the floor again.
“Enough with the falling,” he said, rubbing his shoulder again. Feeling around, his hand grasped what had made him fall. It was round and narrow.
“The Moon Scroll!” he said. He opened the Scroll. Instantly, its light flashed out.
He was in a room, smaller than the first, and different. It was filled with furniture — a golden chair, a jeweled chest, a wardrobe, and a bed covered in tapestries that, though once colorful, were now tattered and faded.
Dust covered everything.
Of course, thought Eric. The palace has been empty for centuries.
Like the walls in the upper room, the ones here were covered with pictures, but they were not pictures of Ko. They were of a woman wearing a white robe and a crown of dazzling light.
“She’s beautiful….”
Slowly translating Galen’s ancient words, Eric read from the Scroll.
“ ‘Let me remember — O terrible night —
How Zara, Queen of Light, was stolen by Ko!’ ”
Eric frowned. “Queen of Light? Stolen?”
When he held the Scroll up to the wall for light, the woman’s eyes seemed to look directly into his.
Zara. There was something musical in the name, something very old about it, but alive and wonderful, too. Next to her picture was her symbol in the ancient Droon language.
It looked like a stinger or a lightning bolt.
“Have I seen this one before?” he mumbled.
A second panel showed the queen, now lying in a bed, her face pale. Behind the bed stood the menacing figure of Ko himself, his eyes cold, his four arms folded. Next to him crouched the three goblins that had fought Galen.
Standing behind them all was that same wide black stairway Eric had noticed from earlier pictures. It led all the way up to the clouds.
He read from the Scroll again.
“ ‘She wasted away, a prisoner in Ko’s palace,
And when she died all the wizards wept.’ ”
Eric was stung by the words. It was so sad. Then he noticed something else. Pictured beside the bed was a boy. He was covering his face, and his tears were running into a blue pool on the floor.
“The wizards wept,” Eric said. “But who —”
The Moon Scroll flashed suddenly.
And someone spoke.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
Eric turned and peered into the gloom. “Guys? Is that you? Are you there?”
“This is my mother’s room.”
The voice was behind him. It sounded angry.
Eric whirled around, shining the light into every shadow. The room was empty. But when he turned to the painting again, he gasped.
“The boy!”
The boy kneeling by the bed was no longer in the picture. There was the bed, the dying queen, the pool of tears. But no boy.
Eric staggered back. “He’s … gone —”
“I’m not gone,” said the voice.
And the boy stepped out of the shadows and into the silver light of the Scroll.
“Oh, my gosh,” muttered Eric.
The boy’s face was pale and his eyes were angry. Folded around his shoulders was a cape as slick and glistening as a crow’s feathers.
But that wasn’t all. Behind each ear was a small pointed fin, like a jagged fish fin.
The fins were dark blue, almost purple.
Eric gasped. “It’s … you! You’re … him! I mean … Sparr … as a kid … Kid Sparr!”
It was Sparr. There was no mistake. He walked farther into the ring of light cast by the Scroll. Sparr looked to be the same age as Eric himself. Slowly, he began to circle Eric.
Hold on, Eric, we’re coming!
In his mind, Eric heard Keeah’s voice, speaking silently from some distant room in the palace. The boy didn’t seem to hear. Eric answered.
Sparr is here! he said. I think the Scroll brought him to life. Sparr … as a kid! Hurry!
Sparr’s eyes burned as he continued to circle Eric. “Your face …” he said.
“What? What about my face?”
“Are you one of … us?”
Eric nearly fainted to hear those words again, this time from Sparr as a boy.
What did he mean?
“I’m not evil, if that’s what you mean,” said Eric. “Is that what you mean?”
Eric, hold tight, we’re nearly there! the voice of Keeah sounded in his head. She seemed nearby.
Sparr was silent, and Eric tried to back away farther. As he did, more dust fell from the wall, showing more pictures of the beautiful queen.
“Um, is that your mother in the picture?”
Sparr’s eyes flashed red. “Ko stole us from our home. Because of my mother’s great power.”
“Uh-huh,” said Eric, his eyes darting beyond the silver light for a way out. “She seems —”
“She was the Queen of Light!” Sparr snapped. “The greatest wizard ever!”
“But Ko was evil, right?” asked Eric.
The boy glared at Eric. “After my mother was … gone, Ko taught me what else my magic could do. Powerful things. Ko made me one of them.”
Eric froze. One of them? Meaning what?
Sparr touched his fins. “A sorcerer …”
All of a sudden — crash! — the wall behind Sparr blew open, and Keeah, Julie, Neal, Max, and Nelag tumbled into a heap at the feet of the young sorcerer.
“So you brought your friends along?” Sparr said, glaring at them. “Ko always told me someone would come to steal the wand. You’ll never get it.” Then he laughed coldly.
“Holy cow, we’ve heard that laugh before!” said Neal. “I mean, after! I mean — yikes, it’s Kid Sparr — let’s get out of here!”
“Not before I destroy you!” Sparr snapped.
Kkk-blam! A bolt of red light shot from his fingers, and Max, Nelag, and the kids were hurled back into the wall.
“Two can play that game,” said Keeah, jumping to her feet. “Eric, let’s blast him —”
Together, the two kids sent a sparkling stream of blue light from their fingertips. The light drifted a few inches in the air, then faded to nothing.
Sparr grinned. “You are in Goll, now,” he said. “Wizard powers don’t work here. Only those of a sorcerer. Like Ko. And like me. Watch this!”
Sparr aimed his fingers at the wall next to him.
Kkkkk! Another bolt of red light shot straight into the wall at the picture of the three goblins that had battled Galen for the wand.
“Oh, no,” chittered Max. “Not them!”
Sparr laughed. “Yes, them! Goblins! Come, come, my little playmates, let’s have some fun!”
With a terrible wrenching, squealing, grinding sound, the three goblins of Ko — the dragon-headed goblins of stone and fire, and the third one, the dark smear of air — peeled themselves off the wall and leaped in front of the children.
“Ko taught me my powers wel
l,” said Sparr. “Pretty clever, don’t you think?”
“You know what I think is clever?” said Nelag. “Running. Running is clever. I also think that we should be running right now!”
The goblins crouched, ready to leap again.
“Now is good,” said Julie.
“I’m for running now, too,” said Keeah.
Max nodded. “Or how about … NOW!”
“Goblins!” Sparr half yelled, half howled. “Chase them — into the playground!”
As the goblins jumped at them, the children, Max, and especially Nelag … ran.
Keeah led everyone back through the hole they had made. They clambered up into one twisting corridor after another, only steps ahead of the goblins.
“Hurry!” cried Neal. “Those uglies are right on my tail! And I don’t even have a tail!”
“Hurry where?” said Keeah breathlessly. “I don’t know which way I’m going!”
“I do!” said Nelag unexpectedly. “Follow me!” He rushed upward into a maze of hallways and stairways and corridors, then screeched left.
Passages crisscrossed one another confusingly. Walls shot up, others fell away, stairs led coiling upward, ramps snaked back down into the darkness.
“It’s a crazy maze!” said Julie. “Sparr must have grown up in this wicked playground!”
Only Nelag seemed to know which way to go. Eric guessed that it was because everything was mixed up for him anyway.
“Turn right!” Galen’s double shouted, leaping into one dark corridor. “Now up we go!” he cried, springing up a set of curving steps.
Every time the kids thought they had lost the goblins, Neal sneezed again and there they were.
“You’ll never find Urik’s wand!” the first said.
“Don’t mention the secret room!” said the second. “I mean — there is no secret room! Arggh!”
“So helpful, aren’t they?” chirped Max.
Nelag zigzagged left, then right, and finally bounded into a small, round room. He stopped.
Everyone stopped. There were eight dark passages leading off the room.
“We’re in the center of the maze,” said Keeah.
Eric listened but couldn’t hear the goblins. “Good work, Nelag, I think we lost them.”
“We lost ourselves, too,” said Julie. “Anybody have any —”
“Tissues?” said Neal. “Anybody have any tissues? Because I’m going to … going to … oh, no … a-choo!” The sneeze echoed around the small room and out into the passageways.
“I hear them!” shouted the stone goblin from a passage on the right.
“Me, too!” shouted the fire goblin from a passage on the left.
Their feet pounded and stomped as they came rushing from both directions.
“Sorry!” said Neal. “But what do we do now?”
“Quack,” said Nelag calmly. “Quack.”
Julie blinked. “Quack?” Then she jumped. “I think he means — DUCK!”
Everyone flattened to the floor at the exact moment the stone goblin and the fire goblin rushed in from opposite directions.
“Got you now — um, what?” yelled one.
“Aha! I mean — oh, no!” yelled the other.
There was a great popping sound when the fire goblin and the stone goblin slammed into each other.
The looks on their faces showed shock.
Then the looks on their faces were gone.
And so were they.
POOOOM! And the small room was filled with nothing but smoke and pebbles.
“Yahoo!” cried Eric. “Two down, one to go!”
Then out of the swirling smoke came a rush of air, a smear of darkness. It snuffed the candles. Even the Moon Scroll’s crystals dimmed and went out.
“The shadow goblin,” said Keeah.
“I don’t like him,” said Neal. “Let’s do that running thing again.”
And they did run, straight into the darkest of the dark passages.
“We’re going down,” said Max, running on the walls. “Into the deepest part of the palace.”
But the invisible goblin was right behind them. The children could feel its cold presence gaining ground with each twist of the maze.
They ran. The goblin followed.
They ran faster. It followed faster. Then it thrust out its hands.
“Help!” yelled Julie. “It’s … got … me!”
“Keeah, do the snappy-finger thing!” said Eric.
The princess spun on her heels and snapped her fingers loudly.
Pop! A bright flame flashed in the passage, and the shadow goblin fell back, freeing Julie from its grasp.
“He hates the light!” said Keeah with a smile. “Well, Goblin, take this — and this!”
Pop! Pop! She kept snapping her fingers and the goblin howled and shrieked and fell back into the darkness behind them. The kids heard its footsteps racing back through the maze.
“And once more for good luck!” said Keeah.
Pop … The passage lit up for an instant, then plunged back into darkness.
“Now, to find a way out of here,” said Max.
“Wait,” said Eric suddenly. “Keeah, explode another one of those things.”
“But the goblin’s gone,” she said. “My powers are nearly gone, too. It’s Goll, remember, my powers are limited here.”
“But I saw something just now,” said Eric.
Keeah tried one last time. P-p-p-pop …
The passage lit up once more, and there it was, a strange carving on the wall by the ceiling.
Julie breathed in suddenly. “Is that —”
Eric nodded. “Urik’s wand. I think we found the secret room.”
He pressed a stone beneath the carving.
Vrrrt! The wall slid aside.
And they entered the secret room of the wand.
The secret chamber lay deep in the center of Ko’s palace. They could tell because of the smell. It was damp and musty and just plain foul.
“The smell of evil,” said Max, holding his nose. Everyone held their noses as they entered.
“There’s something creepy about this place,” said Neal. “Something very creepy.”
Eric made a face. “Yeah, and the very creepy thing is standing at the far end of the room.”
They all looked.
An enormous and strangely shaped box made of black stone stood against the back wall.
Julie shivered. “The shape of this box is the same as, um …”
“K-k-ko,” Max stuttered. “Th-th-this must be his burial chamber, the t-t-tomb of Ko.”
“But that isn’t the worst part,” said Nelag. He pointed to carvings on the box itself. They showed Ko being put into the black box.
In his hand was the golden wand of Urik.
Neal gulped loudly. “Let me get this straight. You mean … the wand that we’ve been looking for all this time, this great and powerful magic wand, the fabulous wand of Urik, is … in there … with Ko?”
“Ding-ding-ding! Correct answer!” said Nelag.
“And here’s why we need to get it,” said Eric, his hands quivering as he pointed to another carving on the box.
It showed the wand of Urik. From the purple flower at one end came a shimmering rainbow of light. And the light itself formed a set of stairs.
A set of rainbow-colored stairs.
Keeah gasped. “The magic staircase? The wand of Urik created the magic staircase? Oh, my gosh. It must be the most powerful magical object ever made!”
“That’s why we can’t let Sparr have it,” said Eric. “And that’s why we need to open this box now, and then scoot out of here as fast as our legs can carry us. Neal, let’s get this lid off before Sparr conjures more goblins to stop us.”
Neal shrank back. “Um … no.”
“But you said mummies were so cool,” said Julie. “You wanted to explore tombs. Well …”
“Mummies are cool in magazines!” said Neal. “Not in real life. Y
ou do it.”
Keeah laughed. “Eric, I’ll help you. Neal, everybody, watch the door.”
While everyone scrambled to the door, Eric and Keeah started pushing at the heavy black lid. It began to move.
“We shouldn’t be doing this,” Neal mumbled.
They pushed harder.
“He’s dead in there, you know,” said Neal.
The lid slid a bit, then more. Finally, it moved aside.
Eric closed his eyes. “I can’t look! I can’t look!”
Keeah made a sudden wincing noise. Then she pounded her fist on the black lid. “It’s empty!”
“Empty?” Eric blinked his eyes open. “But … but … what?”
Max scrambled over from the door. So did Julie and Neal. They peered into the box. There was no Ko. No beautiful magic wand.
The tomb was empty.
Almost.
Eric reached in and pulled out an old, dry stick. “There’s just this old thing,” he said. The stick began to crumble in his hand. “I can’t believe it. Our journey, our whole mission, was to find Urik’s wand. But we failed! Galen needs the wand. Instead, there’s only this stick! Someone tricked us. They got here before us and left this … joke.” Eric threw the stick across the room.
“Trick, stick, Urik, it all rhymes!” said Nelag.
Everyone turned to him. He was leaning against the wall behind them.
“Uh,” said Keeah, “who’s watching the door?”
Nelag raised his hand. “Only me.”
“But you’re on the wrong side of the room.”
“I can watch the door from here,” said Nelag. “I mean, it’s very boring watching a door. I’ve been watching it all this time and it hasn’t done a single thing —”
BLAM! The door blasted open and Sparr entered, his fingertips sparking with red light.
“Now it’s doing something,” said Nelag.
“How dare you enter the tomb of Ko!” snarled the boy sorcerer. “He was Emperor of Goll. He was —”
“An animal?” Neal snarled angrily. “Sort of like you, Sparr. You’re like an animal, too.”
“No, he’s not,” said Julie. “Animals are cute and fluffy. You scratch them behind the ears —”
