Krakens and Lies

by Tui T. Sutherland

  “Um,” said Mr. Kahn. “Let’s keep thinking on that one.”

  “But for now, let’s go home,” said Logan’s mom. She pulled Logan to her and gave him a huge hug. “Can you always be there to save the day?” she asked him. “How do you feel about traveling to Cambodia with me over Christmas break?”

  He leaned against her, too exhausted and relieved and filled with disbelief to even joke.

  Zoe took Captain Fuzzbutt’s trunk in her hand and led him carefully back into the U-Haul. Mrs. Kahn steered the Sterlings over to the Menagerie’s van.

  “The world is a weird, weird place,” Jasmin said.

  “But an awesome one,” said Blue. She smiled up at him, and he leaned down and gave her a kiss.

  “Logan,” Zoe called. “Want to ride back here with me and the Captain?”

  “Sure,” he said.

  “Me too,” said Blue

  “Me too!” said Jasmin. “He’s the sweetest mammoth I’ve ever met.” She giggled.

  Everyone headed out into the night, leaving Jonathan to scramble out of the Dumpster on his own. Jasmin waved good-bye to him as Logan pulled the ramp inside the U-Haul.

  “But now what do I do?” Jonathan cried, picking discarded ketchup packets off his sleeves. “Hello? My parents are all weird and my girlfriend just broke up with me! And what about my great future? Hello? Anyone?”

  Logan pulled down the door, shutting him out, and went over to sit between Zoe and Blue. They could give Jonathan kraken ink later. Captain Fuzzbutt flopped down in front of them with a relieved snort.

  “I think we’re going to be okay,” Zoe said wonderingly. “Like, really okay. Like, I might actually make it to thirteen without completely losing my mind.”

  “Oh, it might be too late for that,” Jasmin teased.

  Logan leaned his head back against the wall of the truck and closed his eyes. He felt the truck jolt forward. All the fear of the last few days was finally disappearing, leaving him room to breathe again.

  The Menagerie was safe at last.

  TWENTY-SIX

  “You’d better not,” Logan said, reaching out to stop his dad. Mr. Wilde froze with his hand halfway to the Kahns’ doorbell and raised his eyebrows.

  “Does it open a trapdoor to a pit of hellhounds?” he asked.

  “No, it just kind of freaks them out. They’re still not used to visitors.” Logan knocked on the Kahns’ brand-new front door instead.

  “Ruby, can you get that?” he heard Mrs. Kahn call.

  “I can’t. I’m too depressed to get off the couch, remember?” Ruby yelled back.

  “I’ve got it!” Zoe shouted as she pulled open the door. She beamed at Logan and his parents. “Oh good, you’re here. Is that banana bread?”

  Abigail held out the fresh-baked loaf as they followed Zoe into the house. “I’d like to claim it’s an old family recipe, but the truth is Jackson made it. We all know I’m a lump in the kitchen.”

  “But we appreciate your other talents,” Logan’s dad said, kissing her on the nose.

  “All right, cut it out,” Logan said jokingly. He didn’t really mind his parents’ displays of affection. They’d been practically inseparable all week, except for whenever his dad had to go run the town. Since Mr. Sterling didn’t want the job anymore and the other candidate had withdrawn, the town council had agreed that Logan’s dad could take over as interim mayor until they organized a special election.

  Logan had a feeling his dad would be throwing his hat in the ring come election time. And if the Kahns and the Sterlings had anything to say about it, Logan’s dad would be mayor in a snap.

  But win or lose, Logan was sure his family would be in Xanadu for a long time.

  “Morning, Holly,” Logan’s mom greeted Mrs. Kahn.

  “Good morning!” Zoe’s mom smiled at them all, brushing off her hands to give Logan’s mom a hug.

  “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go pick Melissa’s brain about the budget,” Logan’s dad said. “I can’t understand how a town so small can spend so much money on snow plows. You’d think every family had one.” He strode off toward Melissa’s office.

  Logan caught a flicker of movement and turned to see Bob perched on top of the fridge. Logan winked at the furry deflector, who smiled serenely back. Looking around, Logan spotted some fresh strawberries and sidled over to them. He grabbed a handful and surreptitiously held them behind his back as he leaned against the counter. Bob’s face lit up and she leaped down and began gently picking them out of Logan’s hand.

  “How’s Fuzzbutt doing?” Logan asked.

  Zoe turned to him, her eyes full of relief. “He’s much better. Mom coaxed him into the house for the first time while I was at school yesterday. He’s been refusing to come in until I get home, and even then he’d follow me from room to room. It certainly made showering interesting.” Zoe blushed.

  “My mom and I were going to visit the griffins this morning,” Logan said to change the subject. “Want to come?”

  “I’m going to exercise Fuzzbutt, but I’ll walk you there.”

  Logan felt the last of the strawberries leave his hand. He followed Zoe into the living room, where his mom and Mrs. Kahn were chatting on the couch. “Mom, meet you at the griffins?”

  Abigail waved cheerily. “Be there soon,” she said.

  Zoe and Logan slipped out the sliding doors and started down the hill.

  “AAAAWWWWHHHOOOOUUUURGGGHH!!!”

  Captain Fuzzbutt trumpeted loudly as he came galloping up to them and squeezed Zoe with his trunk. Logan reached out to pat the mammoth and the Captain bossily nudged his ear under Logan’s hand for scratching.

  Sunlight bathed the Menagerie, making the green of the grass seem brighter than usual and glinting off the water like spilled diamonds. Suddenly something enormous burst out of the lake, spinning in midair to avoid a tentacle shooting after it. Logan recognized the first creature as Xiang just before the Chinese dragon shrank itself down to the size of a cannonball and plummeted back into the water, neatly avoiding a second tentacle.

  “They do that every day,” Zoe said. “I think the kraken is beyond thrilled to finally have someone who’ll play with her.”

  “Who’s that in the wet suit?” Logan asked. A figure was emerging from the lake hand in hand with Blue.

  “Oh, that’s Jasmin,” Zoe explained. “She came over early this morning so Blue could give her a tour of the underwater castle. It’s the first time I’ve seen him voluntarily get out of bed before nine on a weekend.”

  “Hey, Logan!” Blue shouted, waving from the shore.

  “Hey, Blue!” Logan waved back. “See you guys at lunch!”

  Blue and Jasmin headed up to the house as Zoe and Logan continued on.

  “So, Jasmin and Blue, huh?” Logan asked.

  “Yup, it’s official,” Zoe said. She tucked her hair behind her ears and smiled at Logan. “Whatever happens, it’ll never be as bad as Ruby and Jonathan. Mainly because Jasmin and Blue are both awesome people who could never be as idiotic as my sister or as much of a traitorous backstabber as Jonathan.”

  “No problems from SNAPA clearing Jasmin?”

  “We got the green light last night. She signed all the nondisclosure forms and swore before a caladrius that she’d never expose the Menagerie. And as we told them, this way we have someone to keep an eye on her parents and Jonathan to make sure they don’t regress.”

  The door to the unicorn stable swung open just as Logan and Zoe were walking past.

  “Oh.” Miss Sameera let out a little yelp. “Hello, Zoe. Hello, Logan.”

  “Hi, Miss Sameera,” Logan said. “How’s your first week working out?”

  “I love it!” Miss Sameera’s brown eyes grew dreamy. “After all these years of searching, I get to spend every day grooming not one but two majestic unicorns! Now I’m off to the farmer’s market to get Charlemagne and Cleopatra some organic pears.”

  “That’s great, Miss Sameera,” Logan sa
id.

  “One day, all your dreams may come true, too, Logan.” Miss Sameera smiled kindly at him.

  Logan kind of thought they already had, but before he could say so, the librarian waved at them and wandered away.

  Logan peeked into the stable where the unicorns were hanging their heads out over their stalls. Their manes shone like silk and they looked extremely pleased with themselves.

  “It’s so nice to finally have someone around who understands our true worth, don’t you think?” Charlemagne said to Cleopatra.

  “Oh yes,” Cleopatra replied. “Although one has to wonder why it took so long to find this serf, when she is so clearly perfectly suited for us.”

  “Good grief,” Zoe sighed quietly.

  Logan turned back to Zoe with a grin. “At least she keeps them happy, right?”

  Zoe met his smile as they moved on. “And they keep her happy. All we have to do is keep her away from the Aviary and warn her if Pelly’s ever coming out for a walk. She actually made that a clause in her contract: absolutely no contact with Pelly unless it’s an all-hands-on-deck-the-world-is-coming-to-an-end emergency.”

  Logan laughed. “That was smart of her. I guess some more of her memories came back.”

  “Yeah,” Zoe said. “I’ve offered to have Mochi suck out any nightmares of their time together, but she said it wasn’t that bad.” Zoe sobered as she gazed up at the dragon caves. “I wish we could have done that for Agent Dantes years ago.”

  “But it’s done now, right?” Logan asked. “She shouldn’t have any more nightmares about dragons?”

  “Right. Between the baku and the kraken ink, everything she’s ever known about dragons—and all her memories of her parents’ deaths—should be gone. I’m kind of glad she chose that, you know? To have a clean slate and a fresh start,” Zoe said.

  Agent Dantes—or he guessed he should think of her as Brigid Strong—had been allowed to choose between a SNAPA prison, exile in a distant menagerie, or having her memories wiped. She had chosen a massive dose of kraken ink, which would really give her the amnesia she’d once faked.

  “Yeah, I’m glad, too,” Logan said. “Now all her memories of her parents are happy ones.”

  “True.” Zoe brightened. “And did you hear the good news about Scratch? SNAPA decided that as an apology for the pain and suffering his family has gone through, they’re giving him a monthlong vacation in the Hawaii menagerie.”

  “That’s awesome!” Logan said.

  “Of course it annoyed the mermaids to no end. They’ve been grumbling about it all morning, but the SNAMHP agents told them that if they didn’t want to stay here, they’d be happy to discuss a transfer to the Alaska facility. That shut them up fast.”

  Logan grinned as they came to a stop outside the griffin enclosure. “Well, I’m glad for Scratch.”

  “Me too. He was so excited, you’d think it was raining sheep,” Zoe said. Her eyes went to the dragon caves again and she sighed.

  “She is not supposed to use him like that,” Zoe muttered. “Poor Marco.”

  Logan followed her gaze to where Keiko was lightly picking her way up the trail to the dragons. Marco was a few yards behind her, laden down with several mops and brooms and two buckets of water that looked very heavy.

  “I’m sure Marco doesn’t mind,” Logan said. “And if he does, he can always stop helping her.”

  “I suppose. And at least I don’t have to do it anymore! Between Keiko getting dragon duty and Miss Sameera taking over the unicorns, I might actually have some free time on my hands. Maybe I’ll read a book. Or I hear they have these newfangled things called ‘movies’ that sound pretty awesome.”

  “That is a joke,” Logan said, pointing at her. “You are messing with me, but it’s not going to work this time. I will, however, take you to a movie next weekend if you want.”

  “Okay,” she said, smiling and looking at her toes. “That would be cool.”

  Logan wasn’t quite sure what to do with his face, where his grin felt much too big.

  Captain Fuzzbutt nudged Zoe with his trunk and she patted him affectionately. “The Captain and I should head to Mooncrusher’s yurt. See you soon.”

  “Sure thing,” Logan said. He watched Zoe jog away with Fuzzbutt shambling along behind her. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was that this was now his world.

  Logan was on the run, chased by six agents of a shadowy organization dedicated to wiping out all mythical creatures. He had to find the secret treasure hidden in the cave and activate its magic powers before they—

  YAAAAAAAAAAH!

  A small furry body collided with his knees.

  We’ve got you now, Tracker!

  Another set of paws hit his back, knocking him into a sprawling heap.

  Where have you hidden it?

  We’ll make you confess!

  You must give us all your treasure!

  Logan was buried in fur and flapping wings and tails smacking him in the face.

  Never fear, Logan! I will save youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!

  A wild rumpus ensued on top of him.

  Squorp! You’re supposed to be on OUR side!

  Yeah, we’re all bad guys, remember?

  Hey! Logan’s hands smell like meat!

  Six beaks immediately started poking around Logan’s hands. He tried rolling up to a sitting position and was knocked over by one of Clink’s wings.

  Don’t even think about moving, Tracker.

  Squorp climbed onto his chest and stared beadily down at Logan over his little griffin beak. The other five griffin cubs crowded up behind him, trying to look menacing.

  Forget the treasure, Squorp rumbled. This one has MEAT.

  Yump, the overweight griffin cub with reddish fur, jabbed Logan’s side with one of his claws. Tell us where it is! he demanded. Or we will ALL sit on you! At once!

  “All right, all right,” Logan relented, laughing. “But let me get it out, okay? I don’t need six griffin cubs trying to climb into my backpack at once.”

  HIS BACKPACK! Clonk and Flurp shouted at the same time. All six of them shot toward the gate where Logan had dropped his backpack on the way into the griffin enclosure. Logan just managed to dive between them and rescue it before it was torn to shreds. He reached inside and pulled out a Tupperware container full of hamburger meat.

  COOOOOOWWW!!!!!! Yump cried, flaring his wings.

  Mine! Yummy!

  Me! Me! Me!

  Want! Give!

  SO STARVING NEED FOOD NOW!

  No, Logan brought it for ME!!! Squorp cried, trying unsuccessfully to fend off his brothers and sisters, whose paws and wings overlapped as they piled on top of him and one another in an attempt to reach the container in Logan’s hands.

  “Everybody sit!” Logan shouted at the blur of fur and feathers leaping around him. “The first one who sits still gets the first helping!”

  The six griffin cubs immediately slammed their butts to the ground and gave him huge, expectant eyes.

  That was clever, Nira said from her perch on a boulder. Except that now you’ll be in trouble no matter who you decide was first.

  “It’s okay, I brought enough for all of you,” Logan reassured them. Luckily, he’d planned ahead and there were six mini-bowls inside the container. Logan set them each down a foot apart so the griffins could have some space. The cubs attacked the food as if they hadn’t been fed in months.

  Oh, thank you. Nira’s voice floated into Logan’s head. That’s the first time they’ve been quiet since five this morning. The white griffin extended her front paws forward in a deep stretch and then arched her back, shaking out her muscles. I’m going for a flight around the lake. You’ve got them, right?

  Nira focused her sharp eyes on Logan. He felt a little thrill that she trusted him enough to leave him cub-sitting. “Of course,” he said.

  Great. Riff is here if you need him. Nira’s gaze flicked to the den, where her mate was sprawled in an exhausted heap, as though he’d c
ollapsed in the middle of a game. She shot Logan a skeptical look. Although he may not be much use. He only made it through four rounds of chase-the-tail this morning.

  Logan knew Zoe and the Kahns had given Riff a stern talking-to about spending more time with his cubs so that Nira could have a break. He was glad to hear the father griffin was making some effort.

  “And thank you again for your help getting back Xiang’s pearl,” Logan added.

  It was no trouble. I quite enjoyed myself. Let me know if there is ever anyone else I need to glare into oblivion.

  “Urm, I think we’re okay for now,” Logan said. It was hard to believe, but it seemed to be true. Whatever Bob had done to the Sterlings appeared to be permanent. As for Agent Dantes, SNAPA had been profusely apologetic about not properly vetting her. The Kahns had been given funds to cover the damage to the Reptile House and enough extra that they were planning a new stable for the unicorns, too.

  In fact, nearly a whole week had passed without any creatures escaping, getting kidnapped, or being accused of murder.

  This, apparently, was what the Menagerie looked like at peace.

  Nira spread her wings and leaped into the air.

  That’s going to be me soon! Squorp cried, galloping up and colliding with Logan’s legs. Watch! Watch this! The golden griffin cub leaped up and hovered a few feet off the ground, flapping his wings madly. Look at me FLY!!!

  “Hey, Squorp, looking great!” Logan smiled. Squorp thumped back to the ground and wriggled excitedly.

  Hey, guys! Let’s play Logan is a mountain we have to climb and also a Chinese dragon for us to rescue and also there is a secret tunnel for us to find somewhere in the den!

  “Hello, beautiful cubs,” Logan’s mom sang out from the gate.

  “Squorp, I want you to meet my mom,” Logan said. The little griffin cub clacked his beak, looking delighted.

  Abigail sank to her knees next to them and gravely shook paws with each of the cubs as Logan introduced them.

  “Squorp, Clink, Clonk, Yump, Flurp, and Sage.”