Was Trooogul saving her? Kendra wasn’t sure. She sunk down into the sack, terrified by the roar of the creatures all around her. I have to find my friends, she thought. But what could she do? If she leapt out of the sack, she would be crushed. And she had already seen an Unger take Uncle Griffinskitch and the others. Maybe Trooogul will take me to them, Kendra said to herself. It’s probably my best hope. So she squeezed her eyes shut and sank even deeper into the sack so that she didn’t have to look upon the terrible faces of the monsters that were all rushing alongside Trooogul.
The trip was a rough one. The sack bounced continuously upon Trooogul’s bony back, and Kendra’s body began to ache. She was desperately hungry and thirsty, but all she could do was wait. She tried screaming at Trooogul to stop so that she could rest or find something to drink, but he either didn’t hear her, or just ignored her. She had no idea of their direction or how they might escape the land of Umbor. Trooogul certainly wouldn’t be able to fit through the series of secret doors that Kendra had been guided through by Crumpit the day before. She assumed that Trooogul and the other creatures had discovered another way out of Umbor; after all, they had worked as slaves in the caverns and perhaps knew the place just as well as the Dwarves themselves. But if the slaves had a found a way to escape Umbor, it certainly wasn’t a short one, for the horde of beasts seemed to rumble on and on through the darkness, hour after long hour. At last, Kendra blacked out and fell into a hazy nightmarish sleep.
WHEN SHE AWOKE, Kendra knew at once that they had arrived at the surface of the earth. The air was fresh and strong, not at all like the stale air of Umbor. Kendra breathed in deeply. Her eyes were blurry and her head dizzy, but she could see a white slice of moon aglow in the sky. She was so happy to see it that she wished to wrap her arms around it in an embrace.
As she became better aware of her surroundings, Kendra realized that Trooogul had emptied her onto a large flat rock in a clearing of the forest. The night was quiet, especially after the pandemonium of their escape from Umbor. Kendra could see Trooogul sitting a few paces away from her. They seemed alone.
“What happened to the other creatures?” Kendra asked with sudden alarm, for they were her only link to her uncle and friends.
“No goodzum for other Ungers to seezum Trooogul withzum little Eeneez,” Trooogul snorted at Kendra. “Betterzum they no knowzum Trooogul helpzum.”
Kendra pulled on her braids with panic. Now what was she going to do?
“Well . . . thank you,” she said to the great beast after a moment. “Thank you for saving me.”
But Trooogul only grunted in reply.
“I hope that’s your way of saying ‘you’re welcome’,” Kendra said crossly. “Feel free to thank me for saving you.”
“Never askzum Eeneez to savezum Trooogul,” the Unger growled angrily.
“Why, you’re just an ignorant, ungrateful beast!” Kendra retorted. “If it wasn’t for me, you’d still be down there, slaving away for the Dwarves!”
Trooogul’s nostrils flared with rage, and Kendra wondered for a moment if she had pressed her luck too far. Trooogul was much bigger than she was, and she knew the Unger could easily crush her—if he so wished. But he did not crush her. Instead he said, “Unger Law sayzum all Eeneez gozum to Door to Unger.”
“Good,” Kendra announced. “That’s exactly where I need to go.”
Trooogul paced back in forth in front of her, snorting. Kendra could see that the creature was in deep thought, but only after a few moments did he say, “Youzum! Youzum no gozum door!”
“Why?” Kendra asked.
“No gozum door!” Trooogul barked again. “Youzum havezum forbidden mark. Prophecy sayzum Eenee with mark no gozum to Doorzum.”
“So what do you plan to do?” Kendra demanded impatiently.
“Unger law sayzum if Eeneez no go to door, then Eeneez die,” Trooogul said, as quietly as he could.
“What are you talking about?” Kendra asked furiously. “You’re going to kill me? I just saved your sorry rump! I’m going to have to stop helping you out if this is how you plan to repay me!”
“No needzum Eeneez help!” Trooogul yelled.
“Then stop getting into trouble!” Kendra shouted back.
Trooogul snorted again then sat down on his haunches and stared at her, fuming in silence. Kendra could see that he was trying to decide what to do.
Would he really kill me after everything we’ve been through? Kendra asked herself. She wondered if she should make a run for it; but her legs were still numb from the long journey in the sack. She would never be able to escape the great beast. So she sat there staring back at him quietly.
But the silence was not to last. A ruckus came from the trees and they both turned in the direction of the sound.
“Beasties comezum,” Trooogul said.
“Who?” Kendra asked in a whisper.
Then, as if to answer her question, the foliage parted and a trio of Ungers appeared in the little clearing.
“Itzum Trooogul’s friendzums,” Trooogul murmured with a grimace.
Kendra could see by the look of the Ungers that they had been among the slaves who had escaped from Umbor, for they were quite thin and gray—just like Trooogul. They also seemed about the same age and size as Trooogul, so she supposed that is why they were friends. Then Kendra spotted a sack slung over one of the Unger’s shoulders.
“It’s Uncle Griffinskitch and the others!” Kendra gasped, but before she could dwell upon this happy turn of events, the Unger carrying the sack spoke.
“Lookzum, Trooogul!” the creature chortled.
He held up the sack and jiggled it, and it moved in response. Her friends were still alive, at least, but Kendra knew there would be no way for them to escape without her help. Jinx, as strong as she was, didn’t have her weapons. Uncle Griffinskitch’s staff was destroyed, and even Ratchet had used up all his powders. It was up to her to save them.
“Creeegun capturezum whole gang of Eeneez,” the Unger with the sack continued, speaking directly to Trooogul. “Youzum catchum only onezum? Hee hee. Beezum careful letting itzum runzee around loosezum. Little Eeneez quickzum; might runnzum awayzum.”
Trooogul eyed the Unger called Creeegun carefully and after a moment said, “No carezum. Trooogul letting Eeneez go freezum.”
“What?” Kendra cried, peering from behind Trooogul’s great body. “Just a minute ago you said—,”
“Eeneez shutzum mouth!” Trooogul bellowed, turning back to snap at her.
“Whatzum Trooogul talking aboutzum!?” Creeegun cried. “Youzum go crazyies?! Wezum must takezum Eeneez to doorzum!”
“Nozum!” Trooogul said, the hair on his back bristling as he paced back and forth in front of Creeegun and the other Ungers. “Eeneez savezum beasties. Shouldzum go freezum!”
“But I want to go to the D—,” Kendra tried to say.
“Shutzum!” Trooogul yelled, looking back at her with rage in his eyes.
“Whatzum wrong with Trooogul?” Creeegun asked, pointing a crooked claw at him. “Youzum! Youzum should no helpzum Eeneez. Ungers and Eeneez enemies.”
“Then whyzum Eeneez helpzum Ungers?” Trooogul demanded. “Eeneez no enemy.”
“Itzum Eeneez trickzum,” Creeegun replied.
“NOZUM!” Trooogul shouted.
The outrage in his voice startled Kendra. Her mind was swimming with confusion. One minute Trooogul was saying that it was his duty to kill her—and the next minute he was trying to protect her. She sensed a great battle waging inside of Trooogul. He was struggling with what to do. Kendra only hoped that his choice would end up in her favor.
Then Trooogul said to Creeegun, “If not for Eeneez, Ungers still be slavezum to Dwarfee. Izum that no worthzum Eenee lifezum?”
“No Eeneez shouldzum be sparedzum,” Creeegun decreed loudly. “Unger law sayzum all Eeneez be taken to Doorzum to Unger.”
“Not this onezum,” Trooogul snarled in reply, and he stared hard at
Creeegun and the other Ungers.
“Trooogul alwayzum strange Unger,” Creeegun declared. “But thizum wrong, to takezum side of Eeneez against Ungers. Youzum! Youzum shouldzum come with Creeegun. Wezum takezum Eeneez to Door to Unger! Togetherzum becomezee heroes!”
But Trooogul did not falter. He stood firm before Creeegun and the other Ungers, like a statue. For a tense moment, no one said a thing, and all Kendra could hear was the deep, snorting breaths of the creatures. She could see Creeegun’s eyes burn with hatred in the moonlight. It seemed to her that he might leap upon Trooogul and attack at any moment.
Then, suddenly, Creeegun said, “If Trooogul no takezum Eeneez, then Creeegun willzum!” And with this, the great beast reached toward Kendra with one of his crooked claws.
With a shriek, Kendra threw her hands up in front of her, as if it would somehow protect her—and, strangely, it did. For at that moment, the moonlight caught the hidden star upon her palm and at once, Creeegun and his fellow Ungers gasped in horror. The Ungers all stepped back and immediately broke into frantic speech.
“The forbiddens Eeneez!”
“Killz it!”
“Nozum! Don’t even touchzum!”
Creeegun stared at Trooogul with terrified eyes. “Youzum!” he cried. “Youzum protectzum forbidden Eeneez! The onezum who wouldzum destroyzum Unger!”
Trooogul said nothing; he just sat there, frozen.
“Traitor!” Creeegun yelled. He leaned forward and struck Trooogul so hard that the young Unger toppled backward with a startled cry of pain. Then, shouldering the sack, Creeegun and the other Ungers tore off into the night without even so much as another look in Kendra’s direction.
Kendra could hardly believe it. Everything had happened so quickly. She peered over the edge of the rock and looked at Trooogul. He was in a crumpled heap on the ground.
“Trooogul,” she said quietly. “Are you okay?”
He looked up at her, his beady eyes fraught with pain and anger. But he said nothing.
“Why didn’t they kill me?” Kendra asked.
“Little Eeneez frightenzum Ungers,” Trooogul replied after a moment. “Creeegun afraidzum of Eeneez curse. Safer to runzum away. Eeneez with mark must no gozum to doorzum.”
“Well, then your friends are in for a surprise,” Kendra declared. “I’m going after my uncle and the others. I’m going to the door.”
“Foolzum!” Trooogul snarled, leaping up to the rock with such quickness that Kendra jumped in fear. “Trooogul just savedzum lifezum of Eeneez!”
“Good!” Kendra retorted. “We’re almost even then.”
“Little foolzum not so luckyzum next timezum,” Trooogul snarled. “Maybezum Ungers killzum Eeneez. And Trooogul no be therezum.”
“Why?” Kendra asked him anxiously. “What are you going to do?”
Trooogul shrugged and turned his back on her. “No knowzum. Now Trooogul shunned by Ungers. Creeegun will spread wordzum of Trooogul. Trooogul becomezum outcast.”
“Then come with me,” Kendra urged.
“Nozum!” Trooogul growled, whirling around to glare at her. “Youzum! Youzum worst thingzum ever happens to Trooogul! Allzum little Eeneez dozum is bringzum troubles to Trooogul.”
“Trouble!” Kendra cried indignantly. “Then why do I always seem to save your sorry backside?”
Her words infuriated Trooogul. He leaned forward and roared so loud that it knocked Kendra off her feet. Then, with an angry snort, he leapt down from the rock and scampered into the forest, in the opposite direction from where the other Ungers had gone. Kendra pulled herself up by the elbows and quietly watched his silhouette melt into the darkness.
“Now I’m truly alone,” she said to herself in the now-quiet night.
KENDRA WAS NOT SURE how long she remained lying on the rock, staring up at the night sky. Soon, it will be the first moon of summer, Kendra thought. Then it will be too late to find the Door—at least according to what the Unger Oroook said.
But she needed to find it, she reminded herself—and now more than ever. Her uncle and the others were being taken to the door—and it was all because of her. She was the reason they were on this journey and now if she didn’t find them—well, who knew what would become of them?
Many thoughts swirled through Kendra’s mind. So much had happened in a short time, and the mystery of her past was beginning to unravel. Now she understood why the Ungers had not taken her as a baby. They had captured the rest of her family—but when they had seen her mark, they must have become frightened and decided to leave her behind to die in the wilderness. She hadn’t died, of course; Uncle Griffinskitch had found her and looked after her.
But he won’t find me this time, Kendra thought. Because now it’s all happened again and this time the Ungers have captured Uncle Griffinskitch and everyone else. Everyone except me, of course. And it’s all because of this stupid mark!
She studied her hand for the hundredth time, hoping somehow that she could see the mark that kept sparing her from capture. She could not, of course, and in her anger, she smacked her hand against the rock.
If it wasn’t for this ridiculous mark, I’d be with Uncle Griffinskitch, and Oki, and Ratchet, and everyone else right now, she thought.
Kendra was not sure how long she sat there in solitude. At last hunger and thirst got the better of her and she rose to go forage in the woods. She was a tiny creature in an enormous place, but there is sometimes a great advantage to being so small, for sometimes a little will do a lot. A few drops from a shallow puddle satisfied Kendra’s thirst, while a seed here and a berry there filled her tummy. Thus refreshed, she found a tiny space in the nook of a tree root and curled up to go to sleep. It was a fitful rest in a strange place, but it was far better then being bounced around in a sack. She was not sure what tomorrow would bring—but she was determined to find and rescue her companions.
For the next several days, Kendra followed the trail that Creeegun and his friends had cut through the forest. The beasts’ footprints were huge and easy to follow, and Kendra knew they would eventually lead her to the Door to Unger. That was, of course, if she survived the journey. For now that she was alone, the world seemed more frightening then she could have ever imagined. The forest creaked and groaned with strange noises, and menacing animals seemed to prowl around every corner. These were wild things, nothing like the animals back in the land of Een. Kendra had traveled in the wilderness before, of course, in her search for the Box of Whispers—but on that journey, she had been shielded from such creatures by Uncle Griffinskitch’s magic. Now she was without his protection, and Kendra wondered if she could ever reach the Door to Unger without it.
I have to, she told herself. Uncle Griffinskitch, Oki—and everyone—are all depending on me.
Sometimes she wondered what had become of Trooogul. She was thankful that he had saved her, but when she remembered his last words to her, they still stung. “You’re the worst thing that ever happened to me,” he had said. Well, it wasn’t quite like that, for he had said it in his Unger voice.
I wonder when I’ll see him again? she wondered to herself. Probably never.
But she did encounter the young Unger, and it was only a few days later. She was taking a drink at a quiet stream in the woods when he suddenly appeared at the opposite bank. He seemed just as surprised to see her, and cast an angry scowl in her direction.
“What’s your problem?” Kendra demanded. “Do you own this stream?”
Trooogul grunted at her and dipped his claw into the water for a drink.
Kendra gave her braids a pull. “Maybe you’re just following me.”
“Thatzum nonsense!” Trooogul snarled. “Trooogul despizum little Eeneez.”
“Good,” Kendra retorted childishly. “I despise you too.”
“Little Eeneez nothing but badzum luck!” the Unger growled.
“You seem to run into quite enough bad luck without my help,” Kendra returned. “That’s why you always need me to
rescue you.”
Trooogul looked as if he was about to explode in anger, but just then there was a whoosh, and a spear suddenly cut through the air and shot right through Kendra’s cloak, pinning her to the ground.
The spear had come from behind her. With some difficulty, Kendra strained her head back, only to discover a half-dozen of some of the most surprising creatures she had ever seen running through the brush towards her. The creatures were quite tall, and, at first, Kendra thought that they must be giants, for while she had never met one in person, she had seen pictures of them in Professor Bumblebean’s books. But those books had depicted giants as big, burly beasts, and these creatures were rather slender. Indeed, Kendra decided that they looked rather like oversized Eens, except they wore no braids and their ears were round instead of pointed.
Then one of the creatures spoke.
“Hurry!” it shouted. “These Elves are slippery folk!”
“It’ll catch a fair piece of gold, that’s for sure!” another added.
Now these words would have sounded normal to someone like you or me; but to Kendra, who spoke the language of Eens, the creatures’ speech was strange and garbled. What she did understand, however, was the fact that one of the creatures had thrown a spear at her, and that’s all she needed to know that she was in grave trouble. She tugged on the spear with both hands, but when she couldn’t dislodge it from the ground she frantically began pulling on her cloak.
“Come on!” she cried, but even though her cloak began to rip, she could not pull free from the spear. She could hear the hunters; at any moment they would be upon her.
Then, suddenly, Trooogul was there. In what seemed like a single motion, he leapt across the stream, wrenched Kendra free of the spear, and lifted her up in one of his mighty claws.
“You let me go!” Kendra shouted angrily, despite how frightened she was. “I thought I was cursed!”
“Shutzum!” Trooogul hissed, his rocky face only inches away from Kendra’s. “Youzum no wantzum be captured!”
Kendra Kandlestar and the Door to Unger Page 10
