“Why would S do all that to get me to come here?”
“That I do not know. Perhaps to test you. To see if you are ready to take on some burden. To see if you are clever enough. Or able. Or old enough. Or brave.”
Digger looked at his dusty boots. That mysterious S person wanted to know if he was ready. But ready for what?
“Nor do I know why S wanted your father. Daryus Doyle would not be able to survive for long on this barren peak. He had to go, but I could not leave the fountainhead of this refuge simply to alter one man’s fate. It pains me to tell you, Digger Doyle, that S seized your father outside this shelter and took him away.”
“He’s alive,” Digger said to himself. He must be. “My father, and S—they’re not here anymore, are they?” Digger peered into the Sun Goddess’s burning eyes.
“No, they are not on any island of Japan now.”
Digger was baffled. Why would S want him to come all the way to Japan, to the top of a mountain, and then not take him away like his father? Had S decided Digger wasn’t ready after all? Or had Digger been led to this peak for some other reason?
“Your father, Digger Doyle, loved you tremendously. And he left something for you. It is still here. All but a few pages, which S snatched three years ago before disappearing into the night. One of those pages you carry with you.”
“The book.”
“Yes, the book. Daryus Doyle hoped that one day you would come for it. S may have lured you here because he, too, wants you to have it. This book, Digger Doyle, I cannot touch. My flames would burn its precious pages to ashes. The book contains a vast sea of knowledge. Your father called it a deep well of secrets. And a guide to your destiny.”
“A book?” Corliss looked doubtful. “Maybe Uncle Doyle just forgot it here? Think about it. He was being chased by that S guy and his big, bad dog.”
“Digger Doyle, much of what the book holds was within your father’s mind already, and in his heart. S also possesses its secrets.”
“If neither of them needed the book, and both of them wanted me to have it, then it might help me find my father.”
Yukiko was suspicious. “Wait, can the book hurt Digger? What happens if he reads it?”
Amaterasu gave them a faint smile. “He could become a master of this world’s unseen creatures. Digger Doyle, their languages are inside you. Combining those languages with the knowledge you gain from the book will make you incredibly powerful. That power can be used for good, or for evil. Your knowledge can hurt only when it is used to do wrong—if it twists your will, and pollutes your heart.”
Corliss thought about Pam. “Um, Sun Goddess, now that you have your treasures back, you’re strong again, right? So will things around here go back to normal?”
“Indeed they will. As we speak, pure water flows through the very heart of this mountain of spirits, and the poisons have stopped flowing with it. Naturally, fear of the unknown remains, as it always will. But hope springs too. There is a balance. And this balance has been restored because of your kindness, your wisdom, and your strength. For that I am deeply grateful to all of you.”
Digger was smiling as he walked up to Amaterasu. He looked around at the monoliths, the crevices between them, the burbling pool, and the zillions upon zillions of small stones. He was ready. And the Sun Goddess, knowing he was ready, lay her eyes on a spot on the ground.
Digger knelt and brushed away the stones. Soon he felt the soft leather surface. With his fingers he began clearing the pebbles off the cover. He saw the title—first as fragments of red letters, then as whole words.
“Digger Doyle, with that book your knowledge will grow, as will your power. Use it wisely. And do not let others use you. Many will want what you have. Do whatever you can to protect it.”
Amaterasu then brightened from inside. “I wish all of you well on your journeys. Thank you for everything you have done.”
The Sun Goddess blazed and burst into countless tiny flames, which fell like brilliant raindrops into the gentle pool.
Corliss and Yukiko bent over its surface and searched as deep down as their eyes could see. But the goddess and her flames were gone.
Digger placed his hand on the book cover and felt its chill. He lifted the book out of the ground. It felt comforting in his arms, like a piece of home, and he smiled again. At last he’d found something that belonged to his father, and was now his.
Yukiko looked over Digger’s shoulder. She couldn’t read the cover, or see anything written there at all. Neither could Corliss. But Digger could. To him its title was perfectly clear: The Book of Real Monsters.
Chapter 34—The Book of Real Monsters
After coming back down the mountain, Digger, Corliss and Yukiko were happy to be once again walking along Lake Usori’s shoreline. The sun was shining and the air was clean and fresh.
“Well, Dig, you had a sword . . .” Corliss was shaking his head and smiling in disbelief. “. . . We had an unbreakable mirror. A jewel. Now you have a book that no one can read but you. That’s all you got—an old book!”
“We got more than that,” Digger said with a touch of relief in his voice. He pointed at the thick wall of trees that edged the beach.
Out popped Pam, sprinting faster than ever, her heels kicking up sand behind her. Corliss, Digger and Yukiko ran too.
The second they were reunited, Pam screeched, “I thought I’d never see you guys again!” As she caught her breath, she looked back at the trees. “I think some people—maybe our parents—are searching for us in the woods.”
Corliss, delighted that his sister had been freed, scanned the wall of trees. “Did you see someone?”
“No, but the two goblin guards—the ones who gave us all that yucky food—drew a map on a piece of bark for me—cuz we couldn’t talk. The waterfall, the campsite, even the minka. And people were on the map. By the river.”
“Those goblins didn’t hurt you, did they?” Corliss asked.
“No, they let me go. After all the stinky mist blew away.”
Digger glanced around for Kenja and Kenza. He figured they were watching, peering out from behind the trees and bushy undergrowth.
Sure enough, they were. Two red noses, set between the steely eyes of Kenja and Kenza, were poking through the greenery.
“Hey, look over there,” Digger said with a smile.
Corliss stumbled back. “Oh, no, no. Oh, boy. Should we run?”
“Run where?” Yukiko giggled. “You want to go back up the mountain?”
“The goblins—they’re not so scary now,” Pam told them. “Especially those two. The funny one even let me ride on his shoulder.”
“I’m pretty sure the Tengus won’t be bothering us anymore,” Digger said. “The forest is coming back to life. And we did what we promised to do.”
“Right,” said Yukiko. “We’re free to go where we please.”
Kenja and Kenza came out onto the beach—lugging a cage.
“What the—?” Corliss took a few more steps back. “They don’t actually expect us to get in that box, do they?”
“Oh, they do.” Pam looked intensely eager. “With Digger’s creature friend.”
Digger was walking toward the Tengus. He saw Slithis in the cage with a wide green grin. The shallow well of water atop the Kappa’s head glistened in the sunlight.
“Special one, you did it!” the Kappa cried out. “The poisons flow away. The flood of death leaves us. These Tengus might never let me go, but—thanks to you—my clan can return to the river.”
Digger looked up at Kenja and Kenza, and they graciously exchanged nods. “Slithis, my friend, I don’t think they’ll be keeping you.” Digger knew why they’d brought the cage. He switched from Kappanese to Tenguish. “I hear that some people are searching for us. Kenja, Kenza, would you be so kind as to show us where those people are?”
“For what you have done to save our kingdom . . .” Kenza opened the cage door and bowed deeply. “. . . we are at your service, M
r. Digger.”
Kenja also bowed, then said, “The Honorable and Wise King Sōjōbō would like us to convey his gratitude—and hopes you forgive him for doubting you.”
“And for making you fight Temblod, or for making Temblod fight you, or for making both— Oh, you know what I mean.” Kenza stopped tripping over his words and turned to Kenja. “There is something else . . .”
Kenja slipped his hand into a pouch on his belt, then pulled out a gold necklace with a charm. “The King wants you to have this, as a gesture of goodwill and a token of respect for what you have done.” He knelt down and placed the necklace around Digger’s neck.
Hanging from the necklace was a tiny horn—curled and a peachy, beach shell color. It was so small it fit in the palm of Digger’s hand.
“It is little,” Kenza remarked, “but to certain ears it is louder than the device you brought into our woods. Mr. Digger, we are not the only tribe of goblins in this world. There are many of us, and all kinds. Should you ever find yourself in grave danger, blow that horn for help.”
“Use it only when you must,” Kenja warned. “Our folk generally avoid humans. But with that horn, you have other allies who will come to your aid.”
Digger assured Kenja and Kenza that he’d keep the charm safe, then bowed and said “gozottigo,” the Tenguish word for “thank you.”
Turning to his cousins and Yukiko, Digger had a gleam of excitement in his eyes. “Are you ready?”
“Readier than ever,” Yukiko said. She entered the cage after Digger, with Pam at her side, and Corliss a few steps behind.
The Tengus fastened the door and lifted the bamboo box high in the air. They legged it up a steep slope, and through the woods, running across swathes of ferns and over fallen tree trunks, last year’s leaves, and moss and rocks.
The Tengus were swifter in the daylight, and the trip back—more downhill than uphill—was twice as quick. Corliss and Pam hollered, “YIPPEEEEE!” most of the way, and Digger laughed and laughed. Yukiko had a blast on that rollercoaster of a ride, too, her hair flying as wildly as Pam’s and her shrieks piercing the air each time the cage burst through a low leafy branch. Even the Kappa appeared to be enjoying itself.
But eventually, as they went over the crest of a rugged hill, the Tengus slowed down. They were almost there—Digger could tell by the way Slithis was hungrily sniffing the air. They were close to the river.
Slithis reached over and touched Digger’s shoulder. “The other people, they cannot see me.” Digger nodded at the creature and translated its request for the others.
Kenza laughed. “They’d better not see us either.”
“Indeed,” Kenja added. “This is as far as we go.”
“The river is down there, my friends.”
They could see and hear the flowing water, and Digger had a feeling the other Kappas were nearby, watching as they exited the cage.
“We must be moving on.” Kenza was checking the sky. “Night will be falling on us. And Kenja here is as clumsy as a blind boar in the dark.”
Kenja, unamused, folded his massive arms.
Before the tree goblins lifted the empty cage, both gave Digger and the others a final bow. Then, without another word, they trudged back up and over the hilltop and were gone. For a moment Digger felt as if they’d never really been there at all.
Slithis—savoring the moist air—was itching for a dip in the river. The fish would be swimming back upriver, and this Kappa hadn’t had a proper Kappa meal for a long time.
“Slithis, thank you.” Digger shook the creature’s webbed hand. “Without your help, we wouldn’t have gotten out of that mess.”
“You, special one, and your friends, have returned kindness, wisdom, and strength to the Sun Goddess. Deprived of those tools, Amaterasu can do no good in these lands. For saving us, my clan is indebted to you.”
Slithis then peered at the river.
“Go on,” Digger said gently. “It’s time for a swim, isn’t it?”
The Kappa raised its hand in a gesture of farewell and began making its way down the hill. Slithis looked back, as if to say goodbye one last time, and then dived head first into the depths of the babbling river.
At that instant Digger no longer sensed they were being watched by Kappas. What’s more, he heard familiar voices.
“It’s Mom,” Pam exploded.
And it was. Two mothers and two fathers. All rushing up the hill.
“Are any of you hurt?” Mrs. Doyle asked at once. “We heard your shouts.”
“We’re all okay,” Digger said calmly.
“But hungry.” Corliss patted his tummy.
“We went for a ride.” Pam’s frizzy flyaway hair was as ginormous as her voice. “That’s why we were screaming.”
After tight hugs—and a few tears of joy—came all sorts of questions. “What happened?” “Did you get lost?” “Where did you sleep?” “What have you eaten?”
The minka was not far, according to the professor. And the dozen or so townsfolk who were scouring the woods for the kids would need to be informed that everything was okay, and the search was over.
“Mom, we met some giants, with great big schnozzles.” Pam wiggled her nose. “And the frogmen—Kappas.”
“Oh, is that so, dear?” Mrs. Happer sounded as if she’d already had enough adventure for one day, or perhaps she didn’t quite believe Pam.
“It’s true, Mom,” Corliss told her. “Dad, there are monsters here. For real.”
Mr. Happer glanced at the professor, and then at Digger, Yukiko, Pam and Corliss, unsure of what to say.
“And don’t forget the Sun Goddess,” Digger went on.
“And the nasty beast Digger sent tumbling out of the trees,” Yukiko added.
“And the cages. And the Grudgings.” Pam was jumping up and down from the thrill of it all.
“And Inari-san,” Corliss continued. “He was captured by the Grudgings. I hope they don’t hurt him any more than they have. He can turn into a fox, you know—whenever he wants to.”
All this was way too much for their parents to take in at once.
“Oh, Digger.” His mother beamed at him. “I’m so happy you’re okay. But please don’t ever leave us again.”
“Mom, we left only because we thought Uncle Buddy and Professor Satori couldn’t find us.”
Yukiko was suddenly cross with her father. “Yeah, what happened to you? Why didn’t you come back to the campsite?”
The professor’s face became apologetic. “I’m very sorry, Yukiko. I ran into the Grudgings boys—at Inari-san’s hut. After the fisherman and I had a chat, both Bruno and Braden jumped out of the darkness. Bruno knocked me down with a hunk of wood. When I looked up, they were holding Inari-san against the wall of his hut. Braden snatched the jewel out of his pocket.”
Mr. Happer came up beside the professor. “They must’ve been listening to us while we were around the campfire. They knew Inari-san had the jewel.”
Corliss turned to Digger. “That’s gotta be how they knew about the mirror, too.”
“Were you able to help Inari-san?” Digger asked the professor.
“I tried, but he dashed away after losing the jewel. When Bruno saw me getting up, he put a blowgun to his lips and shot a dart into my leg. It felt like a bee sting and put me to sleep almost instantly.”
“He shot me, too.” Mr. Happer rubbed his arm. “I didn’t even see the Grudgings, or Inari-san. The boys caught sight of me first, I guess, climbing up to the hut. All I saw was a dart sticking out of my elbow. Then felt it. And in seconds I was out cold.”
“We woke up the next day, both of us tied up in a pile of dead leaves. We didn’t have a clue where we were. Somehow we were dragged a fair distance from the river.”
“After we managed to free ourselves, it took hours to find the river and campsite. But since you weren’t there, we decided to go back to the village, figuring you might have returned there on your own. If you weren’t at the minka, we w
ould put together a search party, which is precisely what we did.”
The professor placed his hand on Yukiko’s shoulder. “I am truly sorry. I didn’t—we couldn’t—find you . . . Or your father, Digger.”
When they finally walked out of the woods, Mrs. Doyle let out a deep sigh, partly because she was relieved they were safe and almost back at the minka, and partly because she felt a tad uneasy about some serious news she had to share with her son.
“Digger, I have to tell you—a man came here recently. Your aunt and I spoke to everyone in the village. And one woman recalled seeing your father, three years ago, outside the train station. His name was Daryus, and he was carrying what looked like a Plastron-Zetetic. He kindly asked the woman to point out the Matsushita house for him.”
Digger was listening closely. “But you said ‘recently,’ didn’t you?”
“I did. Digger, the woman who saw your father is positive that she saw him again—with a man and a dog—just a couple weeks ago.”
Digger could see a mix of joy and sadness in his mother’s eyes. “He’s changed, Mom, hasn’t he?”
Rather than answering, she lowered her head.
Later, inside the minka, the professor called Mrs. Matsushita to let her know the missing had been found, and the search was over.
They drank oolong tea and ate noodles and rice balls stuffed with fish and pickled apricot.
“Mom, I’m telling you,” Corliss was saying, “we saw a real-life god up on the mountain.”
Mrs. Happer looked skeptical. “Are you kids sure it wasn’t just a lady who tells fortunes? The professor mentioned fortune-tellers are around these parts, didn’t you, Professor?”
“I did.”
The professor seemed quieter than before, Digger thought. “The Kappas—you believe they’re real, don’t you, Professor Satori?”
“Oh, I’m certain of it. And you had the good fortune of seeing them with your own eyes. You’re very lucky, Digger. Actually, I’m disappointed that I wasn’t able to see a Kappa myself. But I’m more disappointed we weren’t able to find your father, or at least a piece of evidence Daryus was ever here. Sure, he was spotted in the village . . . But I was hoping we’d uncover something more.”
Digger Doyle's Real Book of Monsters Page 21
