Dare to Believe: Teen & Young Adult Epic Fantasy Bundle (Series Bundle Andy Smithson Bk 4, 5 & 6): Dragons, Serpents, Unicorns, Pegasus, Pixies, Trolls, Dwarfs, Knights and More!

by L. R. W. Lee

  Andy raised a brow.

  “That lithium battery started out not much different than collectin’ boulders at the top of a hill and lettin’ ‘em go when the enemy is in sight. Sure the size of the rig has changed, but the technology’s the same—ya store the energy and use it when ya need it. And that whooping cough vaccine began as turmeric, ginger and lemon injected under the skin. Many of the innovations you enjoy in this world have their roots in Oomaldee’s heart.”

  “Wait, so are you saying Oomaldee’s heart is the heart of all technology? No matter where?” Andy fingered the part.

  “I don’t wanna brag, but yes.” The cowboy bowed.

  Andy shook his head.

  “Folks in Oomaldee keep comin’ up with new solutions for problems. Not sure how that there mechanism works but it’s like plantin’ a seed. We sprout an idea in Oomaldee and it makes it grow here. O’ course it doesn’t necessarily look like how it started in our world ‘cause ya’ll have different ways of thinking on things.”

  Andy furrowed his brow.

  “Another case in point, if I may.” Houston held up his pointer finger. “Ya know that mechanism they rigged up to pull your castle’s drawbridge up and down? That was brand spankin’ new technology. Just look what your world did with it…why all sorts of water powered contraptions not to mention bridges that move. Yeah, it all started in Oomaldee.”

  Andy grinned. “You’re saying Oomaldee had the idea and this mechanism somehow made it grow here as well.” Not sure I accept that, but I can’t argue with the fact that there are a bunch of inventions around here…I’ll keep it in mind.

  “Exactly.” Houston beamed, then looked around. “Ya best be gettin’ back with your group.”

  “What will you do now? Where will you go?”

  “I’m headed back home to Oomaldee.”

  “Jax said that’s where he was going too!”

  “Well, isn’t that dandy. I can’t wait to see him and everyone else. It’s been a long time. Rustle up the rest of those parts then hop on over and join us, ya hear?”

  “I will.” Andy laughed.

  Houston tipped his hat and waved as Andy turned. The tour group was only a few yards ahead. He hurried to catch up, and when he looked back the centaur had vanished. Only the second part of Oomaldee’s heart served to prove their encounter.

  *****

  Energized from discovering the second part, Andy dove in to finding out as much as he could about Sir Kay over Christmas break. Between helping Mom decorate the house, watching It’s a Wonderful Life and The Wizard of Oz, and shopping for presents, Andy sequestered himself in the study. Mom joked that he was becoming like his studious sister.

  He had helped frost Christmas cookies that morning, and now his research this afternoon engaged him: Sir Kay was the foremost warrior in King Arthur’s court. In fact, Arthur bragged that unless God himself wanted Sir Kay dead, none would be able to kill him. Some scholars believed he had mystical powers.

  Andy smiled as he reflected, I’m pretty good with Methuselah… But even as the thought jogged around his brain, Andy knew it was pure fancy. No, I can’t take credit. Methuselah’s been around long before me. My sword was just given to me. “Skill in fighting can’t be the lesson I’m supposed to take away from Sir Kay.”

  Andy continued searching, landing on the tale of “The Sword in the Stone.” His imagination kicked in and he found himself in Sir Kay’s boots as he read.

  King Uther Pendragon has died!” Already a week had passed since Andy heard a page shout that news across the square. Fear had gripped the astonished crowd for they knew the king had left no heir, and they murmured: “What’ll happen now?” “Who’ll rule in his stead?” “Will he be a tyrant?” These and more questions spilled from their lips.

  Tonight as he approached home, Andy was surprised to discover a boulder resting in the square. The oddness struck him, for a sword protruded from the rock, securing a parchment that fluttered in the breeze.

  “It appeared around midday,” a man informed from across the way.

  He investigated and read the note:

  “Whoso Pulleth Out This Sword of the Stone and Anvil, Is Rightwise King Born of All England.”

  “No one’s been able to pull it out,” the man added.

  Andy grinned. That much seemed obvious. He wanted to try for himself, but if he failed everyone would know. What to do. What to do. He decided he’d wait until the square was empty.

  So later that evening, Andy disguised himself as a commoner and snuck to the square. He made sure he was alone then approached the boulder. He marveled at the beautiful sword hilt, which was set with diamonds that sparkled even in the dim light. Pale green topaz and orange-red jacinth complemented the white gems. It was unlike any blade he or his comrades possessed.

  He stepped up and grasped the hilt, looked about once more, and pulled. The blade stuck fast. He tried again without success. Not yet satisfied, Andy grasped it with both hands and heaved. It would not budge. Oh well, he thought. It had been a long shot and he knew it. But still…

  Little else had filled conversations and whisperings for the past fortnight than the sword in the stone. The mood shifted to worry, for while many had tried, none could free the blade.

  They need a distraction, Andy thought as he surveyed the townsfolk milling about the square that morning.

  As if Andy’s thought had power to summon, a boy in royal livery walked across the square and nailed a notice to the public board:

  On the morrow shall commence a Royal Jousting Tournament. All knights who deem themselves fit, shall engage in competitions for lands, as the future king shall deem.

  The news restored a modicum of cheer, and Andy found himself smiling for the first time in too long. He found Arthur, his squire, and told him to prepare.

  Excitement filled Andy’s dreams that night and kept sleep at bay. He woke late, ate quickly, and rushed to the tournament field.

  “Where’s your sword?” Arthur asked when Andy joined him.

  “Oh! My sword! I forgot my sword!” He couldn’t believe it. “Go fetch it for me. Quickly!”

  Arthur rolled his eyes but dashed off. He wasn’t gone long and was all apologies when he reappeared. “I’m sorry, sir. I couldn’t fetch your sword because your home was locked. I brought you this instead. I hope it’s okay.”

  “How?” Andy stuttered, for diamonds, topaz, and jacinth glistened in the morning light.

  Arthur shook his head. “I didn’t know what to do. You needed a blade, and when I searched the square, this one was sticking out of a boulder. I’m sorry. It’s the best I could do.”

  Andy smiled. The boy hadn’t heard. He patted Arthur on the shoulder. “This’ll do fine.”

  Arthur looked relieved.

  As soon as Andy joined his fellows for the first competition, whispers and murmurs started. They’d spotted the blade. They knew.

  “Sir Kay, you pulled that sword from the stone!”

  “You are the next king!”

  “All hail, King Kay!”

  Andy smiled and took it all in.

  But Arthur furrowed his brow and frowned. “I pulled that sword from the stone,” he grumbled.

  Someone nearby overheard the comment and asked him to repeat it. “I said, I pulled that sword from the stone. Sir Kay forgot his blade, so I went and fetched that one for him. Why’s it so special? What’s going on?”

  Needless to say, the blade was wrenched from Andy’s hand and Arthur was made king that day.

  Andy sat back. Sir Kay lied! I can’t believe he lied! For a Knight of the Round Table, he wasn’t exactly the best role model. I used to lie to get away with stuff… But I doubt that’s the lesson to take away from Sir Kay either.

  Andy read more stories about Sir Kay, but in the end the figure seemed boastful, mocking, and cruel. “Why would King Arthur keep him around if he was like that?” This isn’t the Sir Kay I know. What happened to him? And why would Father want to honor t
he guy with a statue at Castle Avalon?

  “Wait a minute!” Andy’s exclamation came as he read a short footnote:

  “Ector, Kay’s father, adopted Arthur as an infant after Merlin took him away from his birth parents.”

  “Ector is Arthur’s adopted father. Arthur and Sir Kay were brothers! I’ve no idea why Merlin took Arthur away, but if Kay and Arthur grew up together…” Andy thought about the fights he and Madison had: “He’s touching my arm!” “She took my controller!” “His foot’s in my room!” “She stuck her tongue out at me!” A chuckle bubbled up.

  Maturity helped significantly, but his relationship to Madison had improved even more after he helped teach Body Odor McKinney a lesson last year. The bully had taken to knocking Madison’s books out of her arms whenever he saw her. Madison’s death stares served only to confirm to the bully that he’d scored yet another victory.

  This had been going on for a couple weeks when Andy witnessed BO’s next attack. Incensed that the brute would pick on his sister, Andy decided to teach the guy a lesson.

  Andy grinned as he remembered.

  He told Madison to buy a couple packs of birthday invitations. Using the school directory, they pretended to be BO McKinney’s mom and mailed them to all BO’s friends, telling them they were hosting a huge surprise party for him. They asked everyone not to mention it. The night of the event, everyone arrived to find there wasn’t a party.

  Apparently, BO’s parents had gotten mad at him for trying to take advantage of friends bearing gifts. To say his friends were upset was an understatement. BO had been humiliated. The next time he threatened Madison, she just asked him, “Hey, when’s the next party?” BO never bothered her again.

  Andy wiggled his brows. Siblings stick up for each other.

  He reread several of the stories about Sir Kay, and a common thread began to emerge: It seems like Sir Kay was always with his little brother. In fact, he supported him to the point that he was considered one of Arthur’s premier warriors. So even though Kay behaved like an idiot many times… “Sir Kay loved his little brother and was loyal to him.”

  The conclusion stirred Andy to consider his relationships with Alden and Hannah. And so many others he loved. The corner of his mouth edged up. “Yes, I’m loyal…this is the lesson I will take from Sir Kay.” The unexpected release of tension left him feeling at peace.

  But the calm didn’t last long.

  “Where’s the piece of the heart this unlocks?” Andy felt his blood race.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Geek Centaur

  Andy’s frustration at his lack of progress in figuring out where the third piece might be located had peaked mid-January. He had screamed at the top of his lungs that the universe was punishing him for Yara’s death.

  And so today, February first, with no further progress, he mumbled to himself as he ate his after-school snack, “Father’s being tortured because I’m too stupid to figure out this riddle.” But even as he said it, he knew he was the only one who could get through Abaddon’s defenses around Castle Avalon and rescue him.

  I will solve this. He pressed his lips together. His resolve made a new thought bubble up: If it’s true that all innovations here are the result of Oomaldee’s heart…there’d have to be a concentration of tech companies around where another part is. Right? Andy headed to the office and googled “high tech in the United States.” Seventy-four million results came up. He exhaled loudly but began reading the most relevant articles on the first page.

  “The Bay Area. Silicon Valley,” he finally concluded. “Another part’s got to be there.” After more research, Google itself came to head his list of likely places where the next part could be. “But how to get there?”

  “Spring break’s coming up next month,” Mom declared at dinner that evening. “Maddy, you’ve wanted to check out Stanford. I think we should pay them a visit.”

  Maddy smiled and Dad nodded.

  “Where’s Stanford?” Andy asked.

  “California. The Bay Area. Why?” Dad asked.

  Andy beamed.

  It felt to Andy like spring break would never arrive, but the next month he and his family landed at the San Jose airport in the heart of Silicon Valley. He watched tile-roofed, stucco buildings speed past on the right while junipers, redwoods, and mountains followed them on the left as they drove north on I-280, hunting for Stanford University where they would take a campus tour this afternoon.

  After a quick lunch and several wrong turns, they finally found the Visitor Center and joined a dozen others waiting for their guide, who turned out to be a perky, blonde co-ed named Melissa. Andy found himself immediately drawn to her and situated himself strategically at the front of the group, endearing himself to Madison, a professed teacher’s pet. Mom and Dad exchanged grins from behind.

  The guide led them across a corridor and under double arches. They emerged into a grassy courtyard.

  “This is the Main Quad,” Melissa intoned as she waved an open palm about. “It is the historic and academic center of campus, including the School of Humanities & Sciences where I spend most of my time as a liberal arts major.” She continued expounding upon the architecture, but the instant Andy took note of a grouping of six black sculptures he froze. Each statue stood on a black pedestal with a noose around its neck, face grimacing.

  Noting Andy’s abrupt stop, the guide explained, “Les Bourgeois de Calais is one of the most famous sculptures by Auguste Rodin. England's Edward III, after a victory in the Battle of Crécy, laid siege to Calais. Starvation eventually forced the city to parley for surrender.

  “Edward offered to spare the people of the city if any six of its top leaders would surrender to him. Edward demanded that they walk out wearing nooses around their necks and carrying the keys to the city and castle. Six of the wealthiest town leaders volunteered. It was this moment, with its poignant mix of defeat, heroic self-sacrifice, and willingness to face imminent death, that Rodin captured in this sculpture.”

  They’re not Oomish. They’re not Oomish. Andy tried to reassure himself, but his stomach threatened mutiny. Mom put an arm around his shoulders—she’d seen Abaddon’s work and knew the tempest raging in his mind. He felt relieved when the group made its way to the Engineering Quad, and tried to forget the image.

  “Stanford University is the birthplace of many innovations, including the internet, DSL, optical fiber amplification technology, recombinant DNA.” She continued listing many more Greek-sounding inventions. “Google also began here.”

  Andy perked up.

  “The world’s most popular search engine got its start at Stanford in 1996 when Sergey Brin and Larry Page developed the page-rank algorithm while computer science graduate students.”

  Andy kept Melissa in his peripheral vision as he scanned the landscape of buildings. Is another centaur here?

  Several minutes later, the group headed to White Plaza with no sign of anything out of the ordinary. Even though his bet was still on Google, Andy’s body felt heavy.

  Melissa continued narrating, “This is the student activities area, including the Bookstore, Student Store, Old Union, and Tresidder Memorial Union…”

  Continuing his perusal of the area turned up only an artistic fountain affectionately called The Claw where students sat dangling bare feet between classes.

  Forty-five minutes later, Andy collapsed into the back seat of the rental car and they headed for the hotel. He shuffled his feet against the back of Dad’s seat. Madison shot him a scowl as she continued her exposition of all she loved about the campus. Andy tuned out their conversation, seeking solace out the window.

  It was a possibility… He exhaled. Come on, Google. But what if it’s not there? Where would I look next? His stomach clenched. I’m trying Father…

  The next morning, Mom announced, “Dad and I thought we’d drive around and find some of the more famous companies.”

  “I want to see Google!” Andy blurted.

  “I t
hink that can be arranged.” Mom grinned.

  After driving past the corporate buildings housing Pinterest, Paypal, Skype, HP, and Facebook in Palo Alto, Dad pointed the car south toward Mountain View and the object of Andy’s desire. Although he hadn’t expected to see another centaur in any of the locations they saw that morning, he still sighed. I’m almost positive it’s got to be at Google, but what if I’m wrong?

  But as they turned onto Amphitheater Parkway, Andy found his concerns baseless. He grinned. A centaur waved from the tandem bicycle he pedaled down the sidewalk in front of the Googleplex. The propeller of his Noogler beanie zipped in the breeze above his flowing blond locks. A backpack peeked out from under the mass of hair.

  Wagging his eyebrows, the centaur motioned Andy to follow him into a driveway. Andy pointed from over the backseat, suggesting to Dad, “Park there.”

  Mom, Dad, and Madison froze as Andy slipped into Oomaldee-time. The centaur joined him after properly stowing his bike in a rack with dozens of others.

  “Hey. How goes it?” the horse-man greeted.

  “Hi, I’m Andy. Andy Smithson.”

  “Yes, I know. I’m Malcolm. I’ve been waiting for you for eons, but just the other day I saw you were on your way. Glad to finally make your acquaintance.” He held out his right hand.

  Andy shook it then scanned the scene behind Malcolm’s furry, walnut-colored mass.

  “By the way, happy Pi Day!” The centaur flicked his eyebrows.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Pi Day. You know, three fourteen.”

  Andy furrowed his brow.

  “Pi. It’s three point one four and so on. March fourteenth. Just a little joke among geeks.” Malcolm chuckled. “Or not.”