“You think he knows what it is?” Piper asked.
“Not sure. But why else would he be after it? Other than just to be a complete tool, of course.”
Piper laughed. “Well, yeah, but how could he know what it is?”
Gabriel shook his head. “Dunno.”
They reached the top of the mountain, out of breath and exhausted. Rain poured down in torrents, and thunder crashed all around them. Lightning lit up the sky. Piper pushed her soaked, black hair away from her eyes. “I think we’d better find shelter, guys.”
Brent pointed to a small white house in the distance. “Look there. That looks like a place to take shelter. Let’s get out of the rain and check it out, shall we?”
Piper chuckled and mimicked Brent’s weird voice. “Yes, we shallll.” She laughed again.
Brent ran toward the house, and they bounded behind him. They knocked on the door, but nobody answered. After knocking several times, Brent shrugged. “Mustn’t be anyone home. We can’t stay out in this weather. Let’s just go inside. When they come home, I’m sure they will understand.”
Piper raised her eyebrows. “Mustn’t? You hit your head or something? What’s with the lingo?”
Brent ignored her and opened the door to a small, sitting area. There was nobody inside the cold room. A little wooden table, four chairs, a small sofa, and a rocking chair beside an empty fireplace took up most of the space in the room. On the wall above the fireplace hung a portrait of a scrawny little man with a large mustache, bad skin, and dark, menacing eyes.
“If this is his house … ” Piper pointed to the picture, “then I don’t want to be around when he gets back.”
“Oh, I’m sure he’s fine. You can’t always judge a book by its cover now, can you?” Brent grinned.
Cedric rubbed his arms. “It’s freezing in here.”
“At least it’s dry,” Gabriel said. “We’ll stay until it clears up outside.” They took seats around the room, watching the storm.
“So, Gabriel, how much farther ‘til we get where we’re going?” Brent asked. “Where are we going today, anyway?”
“Supposed to be Parma, according to the map—”
“Oh right, the map,” Brent interrupted. “Can I have a look-see?”
“A ‘look-see’?” Gabriel arched a brow and threw Brent the map.
Piper rolled her pointer finger in small circles by her temple.
Gabriel nodded, then scrunched his shoulders to his ears.
Brent’s eyes widened as he eyed the map. “The Tandem Wood? You are going to the Tandem Wood?” The room went quiet and everyone stared at Brent. “I mean we are going, I mean … never mind.”
Piper touched Brent’s shoulder. “You feeling okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Just waterlogged, I guess.” Brent chuckled and sat down.
The sinking feeling in Gabriel’s gut told him something wasn’t quite right. That Brent wasn’t quite right.
“Where is your rock necklace, Gabriel?” Brent asked, staring at him.
Gabriel’s eyebrows snapped together. “My rock necklace? Do you mean my crystal? Why?”
“Oh, I was just wondering. I’d like to see it, that’s all. I’ve never had a chance to hold it myself, you know?”
Piper looked at Gabriel, her mouth forming a perfectly shaped O. “What’s gotten into you, Brent?”
“Hey, it’s okay, Piper,” interrupted Gabriel. He trudged over to Brent and plopped down beside him. “We’ve all had a rough day, right?” He faced Brent and extended his hand. “Our handshake, bro?”
“Yes, yes, handshake it is.” Brent grabbed Gabriel’s hand and gave it a firm shake.
Gabriel glowered at Brent. “No, Brent. I mean our handshake.”
Brent’s eyes narrowed, as if trying to comprehend what Gabriel meant.
Gabriel jumped from the chair, backed away from Brent, and stood in front of Piper. Cedric leaned against the wall, gnawing on a thumbnail. “Don’t come near us,” Gabriel screamed. “Whoever you are … I know you aren’t Brent.”
The front door swung open behind them, and they all screamed. It was Brent—another Brent—and this one’s hands flamed red.
“Dude. Don’t you dare touch them. Get away from them now.”
The Brent imposter shot off the sofa and, to their amazement, shook violently. His eyes bugged out from his head and he moaned like a wounded animal. Before their eyes, he transformed into a skinny little man with a huge handlebar mustache and pock-marked skin.
Piper screamed, a look of horror plastered across her face. “The man in the picture!”
Again, the man trembled and moaned until he changed shape—this time, into the form of an enormous eagle. The shape-shifter snatched the map off the floor, flew toward Gabriel, and glided out the front door. Brent shot a fireball at it, which missed and exploded against the wall. He chased the eagle outside, hurling more. Gabriel and Piper followed. One fireball grazed the eagle, and the bird shrieked and crashed into a tree. It plummeted like a stone, its feathers blazing. Just before the bird shape-shifter hit the ground, it pulled itself together and bolted into the sky, a fireball barely missing its tail feathers.
“Your aim sucks, Hercules,” Piper teased.
“Yeah, whatever.”
“The map!” Gabriel shouted, but it was pointless. The eagle was gone, and the map with it.
“What was that?” Piper asked.
“I think we’ve just seen a shape-shifter,” Gabriel said. “Empress Malina came to me in a dream and said things aren’t always as they seem.”
“But how?” Piper asked.
Brent picked up a rock and whipped it through the air. “He tied me up—that stupid thing. Then he stared at me, and changed into me. I mean, there I was, standing right in front of me! It was me, but not me.” Brent balled his hands into fists. “He laughed when he saw how shocked I was. Then he called you guys and took off, but I was trapped. I so wanna blow him up!”
“So that’s why you disappeared back by the cliffs.” Piper nodded. “Shoulda known. He was talking all grand and stuff. Nothing like you, dude,” she teased.
“We can’t stay here. You know he’ll be back,” Gabriel said.
“But, Gabe, he knows where we’re going now that he has the map,” Piper cried.
“Yeah, and what’s worse is we don’t know where we’re going. How are we gonna find our way now?” Brent said.
It took a second, but then Gabriel remembered the compass his father had given him and tugged it out of his pocket. “Well, let’s think about it. We remember from the map that Malgor’s castle is north, right?”
“Uh huh,” Piper mumbled.
“Wait,” Brent said. “If that ocean we just passed is the same as Willow Creek’s Bayside Beach, then we should head that way then, right?” Brent pointed toward the left. “That’s north, for sure. I know that beach and recognize the mountains—minus the weird girly glitter, of course.”
Gabriel looked at the compass, then gazed around at the mountaintop. The flat ground spread out for what seemed like miles. Straight ahead, the edge of the mountain dropped off in a soaring cliff—the same cliff Gabriel had almost fallen over and become a pancake. Gabriel chewed the side of his lip, thinking. “But everything’s totally backward here compared to Willow Creek.” He shrugged. “I know the landscape looks the same as Willow Creek, and if we were still there, we’d go left for north. But here in Valta, we’d actually be heading south if we go left.”
“Genius,” Piper said.
Brent laughed. “Now, if he can just pull out that magical brain in math class, he’ll be golden.”
Gabriel rolled his eyes, but laughed along with the others. “Anyway, joker,” Gabriel said. “The compass doesn’t lie, right? Instead of trying to figure out the directions by relying on the landscape, and since that freak stole our map, let’s stick to the heading that shows north on the compass.” Gabriel pointed to their right. “That way.” He let out an exaggerated si
gh. “But first, let’s go get trouble.” Gabriel ticked his head toward the house. “Cedric’s waiting.”
Piper snorted. “More like hiding.”
Gabriel tucked his compass back into his pocket as they headed back inside. Cedric sat, staring off into space, dazed. Gabriel clapped his hands in front of Cedric’s face. “Snap out of it, Morley. Let’s go.”
They headed out, and Gabriel prayed his theory about the compass was right. Who knew if the laws of physics even worked in a place like Valta?
Maybe this is really all just a bad dream. He could only wish that were true, and that he’d wake up to see the stupid Spiderman night-light.
A cold wind blew against them as they struggled across the rocky cliffs. If it were only his life at stake, he would’ve given up. But his friends looked up to him, and Zigzag waited for him. It was his fault they’d ended up here in the first place, and Empress Malina believed in him. Gabriel didn’t have the right to feel sorry for himself. Creatures were dying in Valta without the Divinities, and he had to find them—no matter what.
He inhaled a deep breath, and released it. He missed home. As he walked, he imagined his mother’s smiling face encouraging him to keep moving.
Chapter Fourteen
They kept moving until the rain stopped and the skies cleared a little. It had rained for so long that the ground had turned into deep mud. Their feet made slurpy sounds as they slugged and pulled their legs through the sludge.
Cedric moaned. “I feel like some mud monster puked all over me.”
“I’ve never felt so gross in my entire life,” Piper agreed.
They were so covered in mud, they decided to clean up in a river they spotted up ahead. After dropping their backpacks, they all jumped in.
“We just have to hurry and get going,” Gabriel said.
A sharp snap, like a tree branch breaking, caught Gabriel’s attention. “Shh, wait,” he whispered, holding a finger to his lips. “I hear something moving in the trees.”
“Where?” Brent’s gaze followed Gabriel’s, to a man, darting behind a tree. “I totally see the little freak. It’s the man from the house before. He’s following us!”
Gabriel stared in the man’s direction. It took him a second to notice he was seeing him straight through the tree he hid behind. I can see through the tree? That’s impossible.
“It is that creep. He still has our map. Come on, Brent, let’s go get it. You two stay here, so he doesn’t know we’re onto him.”
Gabriel and Brent crept from the river, leaving Piper and Cedric behind. Gabriel focused on the tree, his vision piercing right through its trunk to the other side. The man peered around the trees, watching Piper and Cedric in the river, the map grasped in his hand. Gabriel motioned for Brent to follow.
“Quietly,” Gabriel cautioned. “He’s looking to his right, so let’s approach from the left and catch him off guard.”
They crept along in a crouch, and jumped out when they reached the tree. “Give us back our map,” Gabriel demanded with narrowed eyes.
The man stumbled back, but quickly composed himself. “I need this map, too.” He smirked and twisted his huge handlebar moustache. “What will you exchange for it?”
“Why should we exchange anything for it? It’s ours,” Brent replied.
“Well, now, it may have been yours at one time, but certainly it belongs to me now since it is in my hand.”
Gabriel’s temper rose. “What do you want, loser?”
“My name is Saleth, not loser, you imbecile. How about that rock necklace you have? If you give that to me, I will hand over the map.”
“Why do you want my crystal?” This guy’s gotta be with Malgor, he thought.
“That is no matter to you, fool. I just want it, and you want the map. Give it to me, and we will both be on our way.” Saleth reached out and shook Gabriel by his shoulders. “Give it to me now!” The crystal dangled out on top of Gabriel shirt, its sparkling colors gleaming. Saleth’s eyes bulged, and his jaw dropped.
“Get your hands off me! You can’t have it. It’s mine, and that map is, too.” Gabriel jerked away from Saleth’s grasp.
Brent stood in front of Gabriel and spread his arms wide. His hands lit up, bright red.
Saleth shook and groaned until his body seemed to evaporate, and he transformed into an eagle. He soared into the air, then swooped low, charging Brent. It scratched his face, its claws knocking him to the ground. As it turned its attention to Gabriel, it shrieked, leapt into the air, and, with its sharp beak, grabbed at the string holding the crystal. Its claws pushed against Gabriel’s chest and its wings flapped wildly as it pulled at the string.
Gabriel struggled to push the eagle off as it clawed at his shirt and pulled on the necklace. With one last great yank, the eagle snatched the crystal. With the crystal in one claw and the map in its other, the bird flew high into the air.
“Give back my crystal!” Gabriel screamed. “Somebody catch him!” The thrashing of the eagle’s wings pulsated against Gabriel’s ear drums as panic set it. Gabriel couldn’t let the eagle get away with the crystal. He raced forward as the eagle flew toward the river.
Gabriel’s gaze locked with Piper a moment as he ran. The eagle flew toward her and Cedric.
“Let’s get it!” she yelled to Cedric. “That crazy eagle man stole the crystal!”
Brent rubbed his hands briskly, conjuring up his fire power. As the eagle flew back around, Brent shot a fireball into the air. The eagle glanced back just before the ball of flames struck. The bird dodged to the left, narrowly missing the blaze. But some sparks hit the end of its tail, which began to smolder. The eagle shrieked, dropping the map, but gripped the crystal tighter in its talons. It spun around, plummeting toward the river, where Piper and Cedric waited. As it dropped low to the water, Piper jumped up and managed to grab one of its claws.
She screamed as the eagle thrashed in her hands, shrieking and twisting. She pulled it to the left, then back to the right. Gabriel and Brent jumped back into the river.
“I can’t hold him,” Piper yelled through ragged breaths.
Gabriel splashed through the water, trying to get to her. Piper inhaled a sharp breath, wrapped her arms around the eagle, and pulled it underwater with her. She dove with the squirming shape-shifter, wrestling it deeper and deeper underwater.
Gabriel remembered Empress Malina’s words to Piper: I give the gift of the merfish. She would have no trouble breathing underwater. She could hold him down as long as it took.
The crystal fell from the eagle’s beak and sank to the bottom of the river. Gabriel watched Piper release the eagle and swim after the crystal. The eagle surfaced, barely able to fly with its wet wings. Disoriented and sluggish, it flapped toward the boys.
It focused its beady eyes on Gabriel, and clumsily flew in to attack. Every nerve ending in Gabriel’s body pulsated as the shape-shifter got closer.
At the last possible moment, Brent shot a massive fireball through the air. The eagle ignited for a second, but it was so wet, the flames fizzled out. The eagle shrieked and fell back, smoke puffing from its feathers.
Brent threw more fireballs, huffing and puffing with every thrust. Some missed, but his aim improved with practice. He struck the eagle with two massive fireballs, one from each side. The bird finally ignited, lighting up the sky in a ball of flames.
“Bulls-eye!” yelled Brent.
Only a few feathers floated to the ground among a swirl of black smoke. The boys hooted.
Gabriel pumped his fist into the air. Piper burst to the surface of the river like a beautiful mermaid. She pursed her lips, looking proud of herself. She handed the shimmering crystal to Gabriel. “Here you go.”
“Hey, that was close. We almost lost it,” said Brent. He leaned in, lowering his voice to a whisper while eyeing Cedric, who still splashed in the water. “You can’t bring the Divinity to the castle. What if Malgor sees it?”
Gabriel shrugged. “Well, that eagle’s t
oast. He won’t be telling Malgor anything about us having the crystal now. We’ll just have to make sure nobody else sees it. I’ll bring it to the Tandem Wood, but we’ll hide it before we go to Malgor’s castle. It hums louder and stuff when it’s away from me. Maybe we can bury it somewhere. When we get the other one, we’ll come back for it and take them both to the empress.” Gabriel gave the crystal a tight squeeze, thankful it was safe with him again. He returned it to his neck and secured the knot.
As they walked on, they told Piper what had happened to the shape-shifter.
“You’ve got those scratches on your face, Brent. I hope they don’t leave scars,” Piper said, leaning in to take a closer look.
Brent batted her away. “Battle scars, dude. I wear them proudly.”
“I’m sure he’ll live, Piper,” Cedric said, rolling his eyes.
“Shut it, Cedric,” Piper said. “And we’d better get to shelter soon. The gruocks will be coming.”
Gabriel gazed up at the twilight sky. Just the thought of gruocks lifted goose bumps across his skin.
They moved on, trying to focus on their quest. The ground had mostly dried, making the walk easier, but many of the once-colorful trees had turned gray. The gold dust covering the earth had turned a copper color in many spots. It must have to do with the missing Divinities, Gabriel thought, but decided not to mention it. It was just too freaking depressing.
Chapter Fifteen
“Parma.” Gabriel eyed the map. “We’re almost there.”
Cedric kicked a stick in the path and sunk his hands in his pockets. “So, what’s in Parma?”
“Dunno, but we’ll soon find out.”
The foursome turned onto a trail paved with irregular stones that led through a thick wood.
“That’s odd,” said Piper. “A road in the middle of the forest.”
“Hopefully in Parma there’ll be good food,” Brent said.
Cedric laughed. “Yeah, stomach, that’s just what you need—more food.” Cedric dodged Brent’s foot as Brent thrust it at his butt.
Gabriel Stone and the Divinity of Valta Page 9
