by Brandon Mull
“I don’t want them to worry about me,” Kendra whispered.
“It won’t kill them,” Augie said. “If they’re looking for you, it might help keep Tregain from entrapping them. At least for a little while.”
“You told me he would recruit them,” Kendra said.
“Probably at first,” Augie said. “Tregain is as paranoid as Heath. They both have recruited live people from time to time. We’ve had a few visitors over the years. They all get turned to silver or gold. No truce lasts long. The brothers don’t trust anybody. Once the people have been changed, the brothers know what side they’re on.”
“What is the contest?” Kendra asked.
“The dwarf set it up,” the boy said.
“What dwarf?”
“Humbuggle,” the boy said. “A magical trickster. Do you know about the prize?”
“I think so,” Kendra said. “Do you?”
“Of course I know,” Augie said. “A legendary magical object. You tell me.”
“The Wizenstone,” Kendra whispered.
“Yes, that’s right,” Augie said. “Not everyone knows this.”
“The dragons know,” Kendra said.
“Are dragons with you?” Augie asked apprehensively.
“They came before us,” Kendra said.
“The three warriors,” Augie said. “I saw them. They look tough. Heavy armor. Big weapons.”
“If the dragons get the Wizenstone, they’ll use it to destroy all dragon sanctuaries and take over the world.”
“What would you use it for?” Augie asked.
“To stop them,” Kendra said. “To keep the world safe.”
“What else?” Augie asked. “It’s supposed to be incredibly powerful.”
“To do good,” Kendra said. “And I’d try to keep it out of evil hands. I’ve already helped do the same with other magical items of great power.”
“What items?” Augie asked.
“The keys to the demon prison,” Kendra said. “You’ve probably never heard of the Chronometer or the Sands of Sanctity.”
“I know more about stuff here at the castle,” Augie said.
“So, what is the contest?” Kendra repeated.
“Tregain and Heath would never tell you the whole story,” Augie said. “The dwarf recited a poem at the start of the contest all those years ago.”
“Do you know it?” Kendra asked.
“Sure,” he said, and proceeded to recite the poem:
To find your way to treasure untold
A coin of platinum, silver, and gold
Must each be placed in the fountain clear
All together or they disappear
The golden touch can hold but one
Another for silver and platinum
Elusive though these coins may be
Go pay the price of liberty
“What coins?” Kendra asked.
“That part has been solved,” Augie said. “At least partially. From time to time the brothers have found a silver coin imprinted with the face of Humbuggle, a gold coin with the dwarf’s profile, and a platinum coin that shows his full body. They have found them and lost them time and again over all these years.”
“All they have to do is throw the coins in the fountain?” Kendra asked.
“Apparently,” Augie said. “I stay out of it.”
“Don’t you want the contest to end?” Kendra asked.
“I want to survive it,” Augie said. “Everyone who gets involved ends up silver or gold.”
“Stay away from Tregain!” Seth shouted from a distance. “He turned Tanu silver! Can you hear me? Watch out for Tregain!”
“We have to help him,” Kendra said.
“Wait here,” Augie said. She heard him moving away in the darkness.
“Tregain turned Tanu silver!” Seth called, his voice closer. “Can anybody hear me?”
“I hear you!” Knox called from a distance.
“Me too!” Lomo cried faintly.
Several paces away, a panel slid aside, letting light into the dark space between walls. Augie leaned out through the opening, then came back in. Seth followed. He looked Kendra’s way, and she waved. The panel slid, and darkness resumed.
Just outside the dark passage, heavy footfalls approached and paused. Was Tregain crouching to slide open the panel? Was he just listening? The footfalls resumed and moved away.
“No noise,” Augie whispered after a quiet moment. “Follow me.”
He took Kendra’s hand, and she took Seth’s. Augie led them forward, down a ladder, and around a couple of corners.
“Are you all right?” Kendra whispered to her brother.
“I’m fine,” he said. “Tanu is silver.”
“I heard,” Kendra said. “That’s terrible.” She could hardly believe the potion master was now a statue. There had to be a way to turn him back.
“Hush,” Augie cautioned. “If Tregain finds us, we’ll all be silver.”
Augie ducked down, and Kendra followed him, crawling along a cramped little tunnel. Eventually he helped her to her feet again. Seth emerged behind her.
Augie opened a panel, and they ducked into a bedroom.
“I leave you here,” Augie said.
“Wait,” Kendra said. “Tell us more.”
“I told you enough,” Augie said.
“You didn’t tell me anything,” Seth complained. “I’m Seth.”
“This is Augie,” Kendra said.
“Going around with you would be the end of me,” Augie said. “I don’t think you’re going to make it.”
“Why not?” Kendra asked.
“You want to win the contest,” Augie said.
Kendra looked at Seth.
“We want to win it tonight,” Seth said.
Augie smiled as if embarrassed for him. “Good luck.”
“What was the rhyme again?” Kendra asked. “The one from Humbuggle?”
Augie repeated the rhyme for Seth.
“It’s the contest rules,” Kendra said. “Three coins have to go into the fountain at the same time.”
“Be careful of the statues,” Augie said. “If you touch them, you will also get turned to the same material. The statues change only living things. The gloves change almost everything.”
“Thanks for the advice,” Kendra said.
“Good-bye,” Augie said, sliding aside a panel to enter the wall.
“Wait,” Kendra said. “What if we want to go inside the walls too?”
“No way,” Augie said. “It’s how I stay alive. I don’t want you two blundering around. If you draw attention to these passages, I’ll end up silver or gold.”
“What if we go into the passages anyway?” Seth asked.
“You might get caught in one of my traps,” Augie said. “Or I might give you away. I helped you this time. I told you what I know. Don’t make me sorry I reached out. Let me go. And leave me alone.”
“Let him leave,” Kendra said.
“But he could help us win,” Seth said.
“He doesn’t want to help,” Kendra said.
“I’d help if I thought it would do any good,” Augie said. “I’d rather survive. Please don’t tell anyone about me.”
“We’ll try to keep your secrets,” Kendra said.
“Good luck,” Augie said, nimbly ducking into the hole in the wall and sliding the panel to conceal it.
Seth crouched and stared. “That’s a good secret passage. I know it’s there but can barely see it.”
“Tanu is silver?” Kendra asked.
Seth nodded. “And Tregain is after us. Probably Heath too, before long. His is the gold team. Don’t forget the dragons roaming around. And we need to find coins. I keep wanting to talk to Calvin an
d then remembering he’s not there.”
“Let’s try to find Knox and Lomo,” Kendra said.
“And avoid getting tagged,” Seth said.
“Think we can change Tanu back?” Kendra asked, trying to hold her emotions in check.
“Hopefully if we break the curse,” Seth said.
They crept quietly from the room into the hall.
Knox lay behind the bed in the room where Lomo had told him to wait, trying to stay calm. He had heard Seth calling out that Tanu had been turned to silver. Lomo had gone after Seth and suggested Knox hide so they could find him if they escaped Tregain.
But what if Tregain found him first? What if he came into the room? What if he looked behind the bed? Knox knew he would be cornered. He would spend the rest of his days as a silver statue.
Knox closed his eyes and rubbed them, trying to banish the worries. He had volunteered for this! What was the matter with him? He had come to Wyrmroost on purpose! What had he been thinking?
It had seemed magical and cool. He had wanted to help Seth and Kendra, but did he really have anything to contribute? He had reasoned that anything Seth could do, he could do, no problem.
Wasn’t that true? Wasn’t he just as good as Seth? Or better?
Knox wasn’t so sure anymore.
Seth could ride a flying horse through skies full of ghosts like it was normal. Seth stared down wraiths and entered cursed castles and didn’t crack under enormous pressure.
Knox resolved that he wouldn’t crack either. Even if he should. Even if he was in way over his head.
If Tregain entered the room, Knox would dodge him. But Tregain was in a hurry. If he came this way, he would probably peek in the room and keep moving down the hall.
Knox waited. And listened.
He heard some footfalls a couple of times. Thankfully, they did not come right by his room, and they eventually dwindled into silence.
Knox jumped and gasped when Lomo peeked around the bed. Lomo raised a finger to his lips with one hand and held up his boots with another. “Lose your footwear,” he whispered.
Knox tugged his shoes off without untying the laces. “For quietness,” he whispered back.
Lomo nodded. “Seth got away. I followed Tregain long enough to see that he is wandering blind, hoping to get lucky. I wonder how long it has been since he chased somebody. He did not seem terribly good at it.”
“What now?” Knox asked.
“We try to find Kendra and Seth,” Lomo said. “We stay away from guys with gold or silver gloves. We try not to get killed by the dragons who preceded us. And we try to learn what is going on here and how to break the curse.”
“We’re in big trouble, aren’t we?” Knox asked.
“I’m not sure it gets much bigger,” Lomo replied. “Come on.”
“Do you ever get bored inside of cursed castles?” Seth asked, moving carefully along a hallway with his sister, straining to hear footsteps.
“No,” Kendra answered.
“I do, apparently,” Seth said. “Are we just going to wander the night away?”
“I don’t know,” Kendra said. “I kind of agree with Augie that if we don’t get turned to statues, we’re doing pretty well.”
They rounded a corner and both jumped. Only a few feet away, a silver figure was positioned as if running toward them, a determined look on his face.
“This is a person,” Seth said. “Not a statue.”
“Yes,” Kendra said. “Doesn’t look like a soldier. Maybe a servant?”
“Do you think somebody will find us like this someday?” Seth asked.
“Not if we avoid getting turned to silver or gold,” Kendra said.
“Do you think this guy feels like he got second place?” Seth asked. “With all the gold statues around?”
“Platinum is more valuable than gold,” Kendra said.
“Ouch,” Seth said. “Third.”
“I haven’t seen any platinum, though,” Kendra said.
“Wait, doesn’t platinum look like silver?” Seth asked. “Maybe this guy is platinum?”
“I’m not sure how to tell,” Kendra said. “Augie told me the third brother disappeared.”
“Does that mean no third glove?” Seth asked. “Wasn’t there supposed to be one of each?”
“I think so,” Kendra said.
“You need to talk more quietly,” Lomo said, coming around the corner behind them. Seth jumped and turned, his sword halfway out of the sheath before he realized he didn’t need it.
“I guess we stopped whispering,” Seth said.
“Let’s start again,” Lomo said.
“We were looking for you,” Kendra whispered.
“We were looking for you, too,” Knox said. “I’m glad you don’t look like the top of a trophy.”
“Why are you carrying your shoes?” Seth asked. “Wait—same reason we’re whispering. But my boots are magically stealthy . . . oh, not in here, I guess.” Kendra and Seth crouched and removed their footwear.
“How did you elude him?” Lomo asked.
“Tanu bought me some time,” Seth said. “Then a secret person helped me.”
“Seth,” Kendra admonished.
“I won’t say too much,” Seth said. “But he’s a secret kid who has hidden well enough to avoid becoming silver all these years.”
“Really?” Lomo asked.
“All he asked was that we keep him a secret,” Kendra said.
“But you need to know what he told us,” Seth said.
Kendra proceeded to explain what they had learned about the brothers and the poem. Seth thought that together they remembered the lines pretty well.
“We’re hunting coins,” Lomo whispered. “At least that gives us an objective.” He held up a hand. Faintly they heard hurried footsteps.
Lomo motioned the three of them down the hall, around a corner, and into a room. “I’ll go investigate,” he whispered.
“We shouldn’t all wait in the same room,” Seth whispered.
Lomo gave a nod. Leaving Kendra and Knox behind, Seth tiptoed across the hall to a different room while Lomo crept away.
Seth decided the best hiding place was behind a wardrobe, because behind the bed was the more obvious spot. He carefully slid his sword out of the sheath. At the entrance they had been warned not to shed blood. Would that warning stop the dragons? What kind of penalty would there be?
He waited tensely until Lomo returned. The warrior beckoned to Seth, and they went into the room with Kendra and Knox.
“One of the dragons,” Lomo whispered, “a woman—green hair, dressed for battle—is moving quickly and searching. I worried she might have sensed me, but I hurried away without her following.”
“Lots of people are looking for us,” Knox said.
“She might be looking for us specifically,” Lomo whispered. “Or she might primarily be helping the gold brother find coins. Hard to be sure.”
“Heath,” Kendra said.
“There are too many people working against us,” Seth said.
“Can the dragons kill us?” Kendra asked. “The sign at the entrance said to shed no blood.”
“I wondered about that,” Seth said. “I hope the dragons obey the sign.”
“What should we do?” Knox asked.
“Every option is risky,” Lomo whispered. “I don’t think we win this if we behave like the hunted. We need to search, too.”
Quiet
Kendra padded down the hall, wearing only socks on her feet and making almost no sound. She, Knox, and Seth had stashed their shoes under the bed before leaving the room. Currently out of view, Lomo was scouting ahead, returning periodically to help them avoid any of the others searching the castle. Seth and Knox walked with Kendra, peeking into every room they passed.
Lomo trotted back into sight with a finger over his lips. He pointed in one direction, then another, and then waved them forward. As Kendra followed him at a quickened pace, she heard footsteps from the left and the right.
Lomo paused at a heavy door bound in iron and eased it open, motioning for them to pass through the doorway and head down the stairs. Seth and Knox led the way down, Kendra followed, and Lomo came last, easing the door shut with barely a click.
The stairs descended a good distance to a small room with an iron door. Lomo did not look hopeful when he tried it, but the door opened. More stairs beyond led down into gloomier lighting.
“The dungeon?” Seth whispered.
“Might be as good a place as any for us to look,” Lomo said.
“What are the chances of finding a coin in such a big castle?” Knox asked. “We’re looking around like we expect them to be in plain sight. What if they’re in a drawer? Or inside a mattress? Or hidden away in a silver pocket?”
“If we look too closely, we may not cover much ground,” Kendra said.
“Covering lots of ground doesn’t help unless we find something,” Knox said.
“Supposedly the coins have been found before,” Kendra said. “That means we have a chance. The coins do keep getting lost, though.”
Lomo started leading the way down the stairs. The glowing globes were becoming less bright and less frequent.
“The poem talked about the coins disappearing if not placed in the fountain together,” Seth said.
“And the golden touch can only hold one,” Kendra said.
“Do they disappear forever?” Knox said. “Or do they just get transported somewhere? It doesn’t make sense. This whole contest seems impossible.”
Kendra quietly agreed.
“It’s been going for a long time for a reason,” Seth said. “Finding the coins is the only way out of this cursed castle. What else are we supposed to do?”
The stairs ended, and now they could see rows of cell doors, each with a peephole. “No statues down here,” Kendra said.
