Stargazer

by Patrick Carman

  Jonezy laughed and moved on, crawling around a corner where I couldn’t see him.

  “There’s nothing diabolical here, Alexa. It’s nothing more than a secret way to avoid being seen. I don’t always like having to talk with people. They have a lot of questions.”

  And so I followed. When I rounded the corner, it wasn’t as dark or as small as I’d expected it would be; I was able to stand upright and walk at a slight crouch as thousands of thin shafts of light broke the surface of leaves and branches overhead. Wild tangles of brush grabbed at my arms and legs, but it felt oddly safe and secure. I breathed in deeply the wild smell of trees and flora.

  “Roland hasn’t been back in almost five years,” said Jonezy, slowing down to a leisurely stroll. “I have a feeling much has happened out in the world during his long absence.”

  Jonezy was keen to know every detail I could give him, interrupting me constantly as I tried to piece together a story of the past he’d had no part in. We stopped many times on the hidden path as we made our way. Everything had to be told to quench Jonezy’s thirst for information. The whole story of what had taken place beyond the Valley of Thorns in Castalia. All of Victor Grindall’s treachery. The loss of Thomas Warvold and Armon the giant. The Bridewell walls torn down. The dark force of Abaddon turned away from The Land of Elyon only to escape into the waters of the Lonely Sea in search of a new home. And, finally, our dreadful mistake: We’d led the monster to the Five Stone Pillars.

  After a time of telling, we emerged from the thicket and I found myself standing with Jonezy before a small pond and a set of three windmills surrounded by trees. The windmills were set at different heights and someone was turning a wheel attached to one of them.

  “The wind is up today,” Jonezy said. The young woman turning the wheel jumped at the sound of Jonezy’s voice.

  “Why must you use that passage?” she said. “You know how I hate being snuck up on.”

  She eyed me wearily and nodded in my direction.

  “This must be the girl.”

  Jonezy nodded back but otherwise didn’t reply. The young woman returned to her work at the windmill, though she kept glancing back at me as if she were very curious about what I might do. It appeared that she was changing the flow of water, for there was a system in place that took water from the small pond and moved it out toward the edge of the second pillar.

  “Tell Miller I’ll talk with him about the harvest tonight,” said Jonezy, moving off in the direction the water was being drawn. The woman at the windmill nodded once more, and I took it that she and Miller were farmers of a sort, and that Jonezy managed their undertaking.

  I followed Jonezy and saw that the water was moved out of the pond and into barrels attached to ropes or vines—I couldn’t say which. The thick rope went inside the bottom of the largest of the windmills, where it passed through and circled back. When the barrels went into the windmill, they were empty. But when they came out, they were full of water. The full barrels disappeared through a break in the tree line.

  “What a contraption,” I said, marveling at the weird system that had been put in place. “Where does the water go?”

  Jonezy moved on, through the same opening where the barrels were going, and I followed. We were at the edge of the second pillar, looking across at the lower first pillar in the distance.

  “The only water we have is on the second pillar, but we do all our farming over there.” Jonezy pointed to the first pillar, which looked very much like a thriving farm of carefully organized fields.

  “There’s no room to plant crops on this pillar since it’s covered mostly with water. But over there, the soil is good when we keep it moist. We use the buckets to send water over and bring crops back. It was made by someone you’ve never met.”

  “You mean Sir Alistair Wakefield,” I said, sure that this apparatus had been made by the man in the story Roland had told me during our voyage.

  “You are such a surprise, Alexa. How could you have known that?”

  “I have my ways,” I said, feeling mysterious and enjoying it.

  “He also helped us devise the ways across, though I don’t know if you’re ready for that yet.”

  There were bridges of rope and other contrivances of vines dangling all about through the open air. Some of the ways looked dangerous beyond imagining, and I couldn’t see how anyone would use them to cross over.

  “I’m the only one left,” I said, gazing off at the fields of green and gold below on the first pillar. There was something about the bizarre system of living on these five stone pillars that made me sad for home and the people I’d known. Everything was so alien, so new and different.

  “What do you mean?” asked Jonezy.

  Somewhere in the telling of the story, I had realized I was the last of the three. No longer was there a great adventurer by land in Thomas Warvold or a marvelous captain of the seas in his brother Roland. Their history had been written and the long-awaited passing of the torch had come. But what was I but a scared child lost in a strange world? How could I replace all that had been lost? Where was my place in the world?

  I said all these things to Jonezy. When I finally turned away from the first pillar and looked at him, I was taken aback to see a look of astonishment on his face.

  “You’re Thomas Warvold’s daughter?” asked Jonezy. “And Roland’s niece?”

  “I am,” I said, surprised by his great interest in this singular point.

  “You’re sure about this? And there are no others—only you?”

  “I’m sure,” I said. “I’m Thomas Warvold’s only daughter. He has a son, older than me, who lives in The Land of Elyon. But we’re the only children he had, and we weren’t raised together.”

  “But why didn’t Roland mention you before?” asked Jonezy emphatically. “I know about the son—that he’s overseeing kingdoms in Elyon in his father’s absence. But you … a daughter …”

  “It was a secret kept from all but a very few, to protect me.”

  “You have no idea,” said Jonezy. A grave look clouded his face.

  “What are you trying to say?” I asked. “Why does it matter whose child I am? I’m just a girl lost at sea, nothing more.”

  Jonezy looked positively dumbstruck. He stammered for a moment, trying to find the right words.

  “Roland never married,” he said. “Or I should say he was married to the sea and no one else. He had many opportunities. A sailor has a certain … appeal. But no matter how much we hoped he would settle down and start a family, we could never convince him.”

  I didn’t have any idea why any of this was important. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

  “My dear girl, here at the Five Stone Pillars, your uncle Roland was …”

  “He was what?” I asked.

  Jonezy stared at me with those bright gray eyes, the wind whipping hair along his sun-baked forehead.

  “We didn’t have an official title for him, but Roland made all the decisions. He brought us what we needed and took care of us. He was like a king to us.”

  I couldn’t believe my ears. King? How could that be? A king was a great ruler with great power and authority. What did that make me?

  “He had no wife, no children,” said Jonezy. “I suppose—in a matter of speaking—that makes you a princess, Alexa. What do you think of that?”

  My head was spinning. I’m quite sure that if I’d stood up at that moment I would have toppled right over the stone rail and into the sea. Me, a princess? It sounded preposterous!

  “But I’m an adventurer, like my father before me.”

  “Your father before you was also a ruler, was he not?” asked Jonezy.

  There was truth in that, truth I’d never thought twice about. My father, my uncle, even my brother—they were all kings of a sort.

  “Your uncle Roland brought us everything we ever needed. He cared for us. He had the wisdom of a much older boy from the very start. And when he grew older still, he mellow
ed into the kindest man I’ve ever known. He was made to be a king, the very best kind.”

  “But he was away so much. How could he rule when he wasn’t even here half the time?”

  Jonezy smiled. “That’s the best kind of king, one who’s not around all the time.”

  Even among all the bad news, I couldn’t help smiling, if only briefly. Maybe Jonezy was right. In a place like this, it might be best if the king were away a good deal of the time.

  “When he was gone—which was often, as you say—we longed for his return. But there was Sir Alistair Wakefield. He was here for a while. And lately I’ve been watching over things and doing all right.”

  “So you’re the king now?” I said, feeling a little better. “That’s wonderful! You’re a perfect choice.”

  “Oh, no, Alexa,” he said. “I’m no king. I don’t come from that kind of lineage. The Land of Elyon threw me overboard a long time ago. I’m only sitting in, awaiting the arrival of a certain someone.”

  He couldn’t possibly be serious, could he? I breathed deep the ocean air, trying to gather my thoughts.

  “Can we keep this a secret,” I asked, “between you and me?”

  “Why would you want to do that?” said Jonezy. “You’re a princess, Alexa. Our princess. It can’t be helped.”

  I thought a moment, not sure how to respond. Then I remembered why I’d come to the Five Stone Pillars to begin with.

  “Roland came back here to bring everyone home, to return you to your rightful place in the world. I believe that’s still what he would have wanted.”

  Jonezy’s eyes widened. When he spoke again, it sounded as if he was pleading his case to a higher authority.

  “But this is our home, Alexa. It’s all some of us have ever known.”

  “Not everyone,” I said. “Some have parents they were taken from. They have brothers and sisters. Remember, not everyone who came here was an orphan like you. A lot were separated from the life they once knew, a life where an evil ruler wanted them dead. That ruler is gone now—all the ogres, they’re gone, too. Everyone can go safely back home, Jonezy. I don’t know how just yet, but I have to give them that choice if I can. And we have to rid the world of Abaddon, once and for all. Everything will be more complicated if I’m expected to be …” I couldn’t even say the word princess or queen or whatever it was I was expected to be.

  “I suppose we could keep it secret, if you really want to.”

  For the first time since arriving at the stone pillars, I felt a twinkle of happiness, if only for a moment. The idea of having free reign of the Five Stone Pillars, of discovering all their secrets with Yipes … it was just the kind of news an adventurous girl liked to get. I only wished Roland could be with me to share it.

  “You remain as leader for a while longer,” I said, then realized I was already sounding as if I’d taken control. “Please remain in charge. But give me a guide—Matilda would be perfect—and let me go to my friend. He can help.”

  Jonezy nodded or bowed, I couldn’t tell which. It was awkward.

  “Matilda will be thrilled to guide you. It’s just the thing for her. Anything you need—anything at all—just ask and it will be granted.”

  “Some more dinner would be nice, before we go on our way,” I said. My appetite had returned. Jonezy nodded and we started back toward the small pond.

  “You do realize we have no boat,” said Jonezy as we came to the clearing in the trees. “Even if we did, the sea monster would eat it. There’s no way off the Five Stone Pillars.”

  I glanced up into the sky, past the wild line of bushes, to the third pillar rising overhead.

  “Let me have a look around,” I said. “You never know what I might find.”

  CHAPTER 6

  ACROSS THE BRIDGE OF ROPES

  We returned to the veranda by the hidden path to find Ranger waiting excitedly for us. It was nearing dark by the time he followed me out the door. Either Matilda had returned or she’d been waiting all along, for she stood alone down the path as Ranger bound toward her. I was eager to move quickly—and stop Abaddon as soon as we could.

  “You were right about one thing,” Jonezy said to Matilda. “This girl is full of surprises.”

  I glanced at Matilda, wondering why she might think such a thing.

  “She has that look about her,” said Matilda. “Like she was made for something special.”

  This made me feel better than I’d felt all day. There’s nothing like having someone else think you’re special to wipe away all the bad thoughts.

  “Take her to your cottage, if you would,” said Jonezy. “We’ll be taking Alexa wherever she wishes to go in the morning, and I expect that will include places other than the second pillar.”

  I wasn’t sure I’d heard Jonezy right.

  “We?” I said.

  “Well, of course, we,” said Jonezy. “I want to defeat the sea creature as much as you do.”

  Jonezy was starting to remind me of Roland and Thomas Warvold, the other old men that had been a part of my life. He was old enough to be my grandfather, and yet he seemed fit and able, ready to take on whatever lay in his path.

  “Come on, Alexa,” said Matilda. “We better let the old man get some rest. He’s going to need it. And so will you.”

  Jonezy waved us off, went back on the veranda, and closed the door behind him.

  “Is that thing still down there?” asked Matilda. Her tender brow furrowed with worry.

  “I’m afraid so,” I answered.

  Matilda took in a big breath and let it out fast, a determined gesture I would come to know well.

  “I guess we’re just going to have to find a way to get rid of it, aren’t we?”

  “I guess so,” I said, and we began making our way down the path.

  There were people waiting at the shore, and there were more dogs, about seven that looked a lot like Ranger and were also grown. Three more were puppies. I picked one of them up, because who doesn’t love a puppy?

  “Roland brought two of the grown ones here on his last visit,” said a man at the shore. He was tall and knelt down beside me. I’d never seen anyone with teeth quite so crooked, but it made him all the more charming with his tuft of black hair and round nose. “He said they came from the City of Dogs. Have you ever been there?”

  I looked at Ranger and saw a resemblance to Scroggs, one of the two dogs that had been so helpful in Castalia. How I wished Ranger could speak so that I could understand him!

  “I’ve been there. Have you?”

  My comment produced some whispers from those standing nearby, but the man looked at me as if he would give just about anything to get off the stone pillar and go back to The Land of Elyon if he could.

  “The last time I saw the City of Dogs I was only six years old,” he said, shaking his head and standing up. “I remember there was a broken-down clock tower, but I can’t recall anything else about the place.”

  I put the puppy down and got in the wooden boat with Matilda and Ranger. When we arrived at Matilda’s cottage, the sun was just disappearing under the tree line. Soon we were sitting outside under the stars, a toasty fire roasting freshly filleted fish. In the wake of Roland’s loss, Matilda and Ranger were an unexpected comfort. Matilda was more like a big sister than a mother, and as we sat by the fire, it was as if she had told Ranger to stay close to me. I sat with the dog’s head in my lap, his eyes barely open.

  “Are there people on all of the Five Stone Pillars?” I asked.

  “Oh, no, only the first, second, and third,” she answered, pulling steaming hot pieces of fish from a stick and placing the bits in a wooden bowl. “We took to numbering the pillars long ago. We’re on pillar number two. Only pillars number one, two, and three have people on them.”

  “So the first pillar is for growing things, the second—the one we’re on now—is for water and for houses. What about the third—what’s it for?”

  She passed the steaming bowl to me and I nearly
emptied it in three big bites. I was really hungry.

  “It will be easier to show you than to tell you.”

  “Is there something wrong with the other two—the ones no one lives on?”

  I had the feeling she wanted to say once again that it would be easier to show me than to tell me. I liked that we were reading each other’s minds already.

  “We can see them all tomorrow if we leave early. How does that sound?”

  I nodded, a tingling sense of excitement at the thought of what adventures the morning would bring. I had to believe that the key to defeating Abaddon would lie somewhere on one of the pillars. For now, I had to store my energy and get some rest. We sat quiet for a moment in the night, the warmth of the fire and my full stomach turning me to thoughts of a warm bed. I have a habit of nodding off at times such as these and I don’t really remember finding my way to the bed in Matilda’s cottage. I only remember waking with a wet dog in my face, the sun rising on a new day, and a feeling of anticipation almost too big for my small frame to hold.

  “He loves going across,” said Matilda early the next morning. She was kneeling down at the edge of the rope bridge where a basket lay on the ground. Ranger was getting inside.

  “No running off,” Matilda warned Ranger with a stern look. “You wait for me on the other side like you’re supposed to.”

  Matilda lowered the basket with Ranger in it over the edge of the pillar and it dangled on a long rope—or was it a rope? I’d been trying to figure it out all morning without any luck. When I asked about it, Matilda said, “You’ll see—just be patient.” All the ropes were softer than any rope I’d touched, and tougher, too, like an ax would bounce right off. And the strangest thing of all was that the ropes didn’t have an end—they went right into the ground of the pillar.

  “Here he goes—prepare for some barking,” said Matilda. She started pulling on a rope at her feet, and Ranger began moving out over the open water. Matilda was right—Ranger barked and barked—but it was a happy bark, like he was looking forward to what was on the other side. It took a few minutes, but the basket Ranger was in finally landed on the other side, where it connected with some sort of pulley and tipped over. Ranger jumped out and barked from the other side.