“Why, nothing at all! The leaves stay green,” Graham said as he put a leaf inside each tube. In seconds, the Alphas had their answer.
Every leaf had turned purple.
“The leaves are the same color as me!” Peck cried, holding one up to her arm.
Cosmo held his head in his paws, looking pained. “We have our answer, then.”
“There’s no doubt about it,” Graham said sadly. “The stream has been poisoned.”
“And if Jamaa’s water is poisoned, it’s not only bad for the crops—it’s bad for every living creature,” Cosmo said solemnly.
The Alphas exchanged worried glances. They had known this was a possibility—but hearing Graham confirm their fears was not the outcome they had been hoping for.
“Do you need to run more tests?” Liza asked Graham. She snapped a few pictures of the purple-tipped leaves.
He scratched his head, thinking for a moment. “No more tests. But what I think we should do is track where the poison is coming from. This is a high elevation stream. We need to climb higher to find the source of the contamination.”
Cosmo nodded. “That sounds like a good idea.”
The Alphas gathered up all of Graham’s things, making sure the test tubes were sealed and protected inside the cooler. Graham put the backpack on, and the other Alphas agreed to take turns carrying the cooler.
“It’s so pretty up here,” Peck said as they made their way up the mountain, passing by a small cascade of water. “It would be nice to come up here for a picnic sometime.” Then she sighed. “Can you imagine having a picnic next to this beautiful stream but not being able to drink the water? That would be awful!”
Liza nodded sympathetically and gave Peck a small pat on the shoulder while Cosmo and Graham trudged on.
A wind blew through the forest, making the leaves around them rustle. Cosmo motioned for the group to be quiet. “Shhh,” he whispered, tilting his head upward. He listened intently for a moment. “I just heard a distress call. A group of pine trees are in danger up ahead,” he said softly. “They’re crying out for help. We must go to them now!”
The Alphas began running up the mountain, pushing past branches and sending rocks skittering.
“We’re almost there!” Cosmo whispered loudly as they neared a large grove of trees. He held out his arm, making them all come to an abrupt stop. The clearing was filled with maples and junipers and pine trees, their trunks shaking and leaves and needles whirling everywhere. Flower petals were blown violently off their stems. The powerful smell of pine hung in the air.
“It’s like a mini-tornado,” Peck whispered, her eyes wide as Liza snapped some photos of the destruction.
Suddenly the grove lit up with a flash of blue-white light and the ground rumbled beneath their feet. “Something’s burning,” Graham murmured, and the strong smell of pine was replaced with the acrid scent of scorching wood.
“This isn’t just some wacky weather—it’s the Phantoms!” Cosmo exclaimed as another electric flash streaked across the sky.
The Alphas looked on helplessly as hundreds of Phantoms rampaged through the grove of trees. Some Phantoms were scaling the trees, sliding up and down the trunks, causing the bark to fall off. Others were shaking the trees wildly. There were Phantoms using rocks to make deep gouges in tree trunks. The oily creatures were hissing and snarling, delighting in the devastation they were causing.
“We can’t just stand here and watch them destroy our world . . . we’ve got to do something!” Peck cried, her eyes blazing.
One of the Phantoms seemed to have heard Peck. He looked up at them from where he stood near a tall pine tree, his eye blinking rapidly. His tentacles whirled through the air so fast they looked almost bladelike. Then, without warning, he made a deep slice across the tree, causing it to shake. All the while, his cruel one-eyed gaze stayed focused on the Alphas, taunting them. Then he slipped away into the melee.
“Ohhhh!” Peck gasped, her paw flying to her mouth. Graham tightened his backpack onto his small shoulders, and Liza put down the cooler and adjusted her braid, a look of determination on both of their faces. Cosmo was white with rage.
“Let’s do this,” the koala gritted out. He gripped his staff, and together, the courageous Alphas raced forward into battle.
CHAPTER FIVE
“There is so much beauty in Jamaa it is hard to know where to start!” Sir Gilbert exclaimed, walking back and forth. He and Greely had stopped on the outskirts of Coral Canyons. For the past hour they’d been repeating the riddles to themselves, brainstorming on what the answers could be.
Or rather, Sir Gilbert was trying to brainstorm. Greely hadn’t seemed all that interested in his ideas. And he wasn’t sharing many thoughts of his own. Instead, he had climbed on top of a pile of smooth rocks and stared silently off into the distance.
“Now, let us go over this again,” Sir Gilbert said. He repeated the riddle. “‘I am admired for my beauty. No one else is like me. Only some can make me. And everyone wants to take me.’ Sarepia Forest has a quiet beauty, dark with trees that touch the sky. And the beaches and clear waters of Crystal Sands are breathtaking. And Mt. Shiveer is beautiful if you like that kind of thing. Snow and ice and frozen tundra. I once went to—”
“The answer isn’t a place,” Greely cut in. “That would only make sense for the first part of the riddle. What about the second part?”
Sir Gilbert nodded. “True.” He thought for a moment. “Maybe it is something to eat? Those chocolate chip cookies at the celebration the other night—everyone wanted to take those.”
Greely rolled his eyes. “Are you saying a cookie represents the land of Jamaa?” He flicked an imaginary piece of dirt off his cloak. “You are wasting time.”
Sir Gilbert sighed. “Apologies. You are right, of course. Sometimes thinking out loud helps me focus.” Several minutes passed in silence. Sir Gilbert turned and looked back in the direction they’d come from. “But humor me for a moment. I am thinking back to Coral Canyons. There is a lovely shop located there, Epic Wonders. Have you ever been there, Greely?”
“Maybe,” Greely said dismissively. He let out a low grumble. “What does a shop have to do with anything?”
Sir Gilbert continued, the wheels turning in his mind. “At Epic Wonders, they sell rare stones. I remember chatting with the shopkeeper there about her goods. We had a delightful little talk about a black opal that had recently come into her possession.”
“A thrilling conversation, I’m sure,” Greely said drily.
Sir Gilbert ignored him and went on. “She showed me one of her rarest items. A beautiful white pearl. Do you know how pearls are made, Greely? Fascinating process, really,” Sir Gilbert paused for a second. “They are created by shelled mollusks.”
Greely was paying attention now. “Beautiful. Rare. Made by a mollusk,” he said slowly.
“And desirable,” Sir Gilbert finished, his eyes shining. “A pearl. The answer to Mira’s first riddle is a pearl!”
Greely nodded at Sir Gilbert, a smile almost forming. “Good job. We have our first answer. Now we need the pearl.”
“The market for pearls is not robust, from what I can recall,” Sir Gilbert said thoughtfully. He looked in the direction of Coral Canyons. “I daresay there’s a good chance the shopkeeper hasn’t sold—”
“But if she did sell it, we’ve wasted time by going there,” Greely interrupted him. “Follow me.” And before Sir Gilbert could respond, Greely took off running.
“Greely!” Sir Gilbert shouted. “Where are you off to? It is imperative that we make decisions together.”
But the aloof wolf Alpha was already too far ahead to hear him. “He has left me no choice,” Sir Gilbert said with an aggravated sigh. And he raced after Greely.
“Charge!” Liza shouted. She and Cosmo sprinted toward a group of Phantoms on the far
end of the forest clearing. Several of the Phantoms had surrounded a stately old maple, their tentacles whirling as they sawed wildly at the mighty tree. Nearby, two Phantoms were gleefully chopping through a bed of brightly colored flowers.
The Phantom duo sneered at Liza and Cosmo as they drew near. “Ahhh, you’re just in time,” one of them said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “I’m Wart. While our friends destroy the maple tree, we’re preparing a little Welcome to Jamaa party for the Phantom King. My friend Reek and I decided to cut ourselves some flowers for decorations.”
Liza looked up at her Alpha Stone on the end of her staff. Cosmo’s Alpha Stone was on his staff, too, located on the side of his horn. The two Alphas shared a look of understanding between them and seconds later, the Alpha Stones began to glow.
Reek gave the Alphas a wicked smile. “Aren’t they ssssssweet?” he hissed, holding up a cluster of sagging green stems with the blossoms chopped off. “We’re gonna cut all the flowers for the Phantom King. Bye bye, flowersssss.”
Cosmo was filled with a rush of anger. He knew how Peck felt when she’d gasped a few minutes earlier. How could anyone treat plants this way? His eyes fell on the woody shrub behind Wart and Reek. It was covered with pink flowers shaped like trumpets. The petals fluttered gently. He understood they were trying to tell him something, and for a moment, Cosmo let his anger slip away. Instead, he focused on the Alpha Stone. He could feel the power growing as he strained to understand the message the flowers were trying to give him.
“Maybe we could use that thing he’s holding for a vase,” Reek said, jutting his chin. The Phantom was staring at Cosmo’s horn-topped staff with an unblinking eye.
“We like candles,” Wart cackled, reaching toward Cosmo’s candle with a spindly tentacle. “We like how they burn things.”
A wind began to blow, stirring the petals on the ground. “Think again,” Cosmo said calmly as the wind continued to grow. Suddenly the air was filled with thousands of petals blowing this way and that.
“Ahhh!” Wart cried out as petals blew into his eye and stuck to the oozing gunk. “I can’t see!”
Liza’s gaze swiveled to the left and then to the right, sizing up the situation. This was her chance to strike. “The only thing getting burned from now on is YOU,” Liza yelled, darting behind Reek and Wart to attack the unsuspecting Phantoms at the tree. Using her wooden staff, the brave panda Alpha twisted it this way and that, knocking the Phantoms to the ground. Whack! Whack! Whack! Liza moved so quickly that the Phantoms, caught off guard, couldn’t get out of her way fast enough. Her braid bounced on her back as she ran across the petal-covered ground.
Reek and Wart were so busy struggling with the flying petals that they didn’t notice Liza had raced off—or that Cosmo had reached into the pocket of his moss skirt and pulled out a handful of spiky green boomseeds—small seeds that exploded when they made contact with something.
“I hate to break it to you fellows, but guess what? Party’s over!” Cosmo shouted. Boom! He threw the boomseeds at Reek and Wart, sending them running for cover. Immediately, the wind died down. Petals floated softly back to the ground. “Thank you,” Cosmo said to the flowers that were still standing. “You are brave warriors indeed.”
Instinctively he could feel the flowers thanking him back. Words like grateful and thankful and defender entered his mind.
The courage of the Alphas and the fear of more boomseeds had the desired effect. The Phantoms had halted their attack on the maple tree. Their tentacles stopped turning and they quickly slithered backward. With victory in sight, Liza and Cosmo grinned at each other, and together chased after them.
CHAPTER SIX
Pine needles were raining down from the sky when Peck leaped into the middle of the chaos. Graham was already swinging across the clearing on a vine, ready to execute a plan. Where should she focus? Everywhere she turned, Phantoms were causing pandemonium. A few of them had wrapped their gangly tentacles around the tree trunks and were squeezing hard.
“You’re trying to kill the trees by giving them bear hugs?” Peck shrieked, incredulous. “No, no, no! That is not happening!” Taking a deep breath, Peck held up the paintbrush holding her Alpha Stone.
Peck gazed intently at her Alpha Stone and called upon the natural forces of Jamaa for help. Within seconds she felt a tingling energy—and a rush of inspiration. She quickly gathered up some of the fallen pine needles. Peck was known for always coming up with ideas, and her Alpha Stone’s power helped her harness her creativity. In a flash, she braided needles together, forming a long, thin whip.
Peck brandished the whip at the Phantoms. Then, like lightning, she lashed out. Whoosh! The thin whip snapped at the Phantoms’ spindly tentacles. “There’s more where that came from so stay back!” Peck cried, cracking it again. The Phantoms spun in circles, not sure where to go.
“There’s a lot more of us than there are of you,” said one of the Phantoms she had hit, his beady little eye glaring at her. His back tentacle reached out to snatch the whip. But Peck, already anticipating his move, did a quick backflip, moving just out of his reach.
The Phantoms were clearly irritated by the whip. And sure, it stung. But it wasn’t enough to scare them off. Suddenly Peck remembered something that Greely had once told her. Phantoms didn’t like music—of any kind. So she began to sing as loudly as she could. “Everything in Jamaa is beautiful! The rivers and the lakes, the mountains and the forests . . . it’s a paradise, it’s a perfect place, and we’re not gonna let you take over . . . no no no, no no no!” She began clapping her paws and swaying from side to side.
The Phantoms had stopped their destruction. They were wincing in pain and shaking slightly. A few of them had fled into the forest. Her plan was working!
“Is my singing really that bad?” she sang at the top of her lungs as more Phantoms slithered off. “’Cause if it is, I’m so, so glad!”
Like a gymnast, Graham swung across the treetops of the clearing, using the vines as ropes. From his vantage spot above the others, he had seen Liza ably battling the Phantoms at the base of an old maple tree. He could hear Phantoms yelling out in agony in the direction Cosmo had run. And was that Peck . . . singing? Whatever she was doing, it seemed to be working. Graham was confident that his fellow Alphas were in control. He focused his attention now on where the biggest clusters of Phantoms were—the sections of the clearing that were in the most danger.
Graham saw a huge cluster of Phantoms traveling as a group. They were pulling up flowers and mowing down shrubs.
“Scary stuff down there. Good thing I’m up here,” he whispered. Because he was up in the branches, the agile monkey Alpha was surrounded by hundreds of tree nuts. They were each about the size of a plum. And they were very hard.
He reached in his backpack and pulled out his handmade slingshot. Next, he began pulling nuts off the branches. He loaded one in the slingshot. And then he let it loose.
Blast! One of the Phantoms fell hard onto its side, sending the other Phantoms around him flying. It was a perfect hit. He gave his Alpha Stone a reassuring squeeze, and then with rapid-fire precision, Graham fired off nut after nut. He hit Phantoms on the back. On the head. And in their beady bulbous eyes. The Phantoms were spinning wildly, smashing into one another in their confusion. Several of them fell onto their backs, their tentacles kicking violently in the air.
Two of the Phantoms were shouting, trying to regain order in their ranks. They hopped up onto a boulder, their tentacles waving the other Phantoms over. Graham held his slingshot steady as he listened closely. “This battle must end for now,” one of the Phantoms screeched. His eye was bulging with rage.
The other Phantom took over. “But we know who will win in the end,” he bellowed, holding his tentacles wide. “No more wasting time here . . . we have work to do.”
The Phantoms that remained in the clearing began scurrying out of the
glade, after the two Phantom leaders.
Graham swiftly dropped to the ground, shoving his slingshot back in his backpack.
“We did it!” Liza said as the dust settled and the Alphas came together in the clearing.
“Oh my gosh, Graham, that nut slingshot was the best,” Peck said delightedly. “When we get back to Alphas Hollow can you show me how to make one?”
But Graham wasn’t paying attention. Instead, he ran over to the old maple tree Liza had defended and scaled the bark to the top. He stood on a branch, shielding his eyes from the sun, searching the land.
“What is it?” Cosmo yelled up. “What do you see?”
A few seconds later, Graham came scrabbling down the trunk. “The Phantoms might have left this clearing, but they all seem to be headed in the same direction,” he said, wild-eyed. Little tufts of fur stood up at odd angles on his head, and his goggles were crooked. “Straight toward the rainforest—they’re headed toward Mt. Magma.”
“The volcano?” Peck asked, her paws on her hips. “Why would the Phantoms be going there?” Mt. Magma sat on the edge of the jungle, near the Lost Temple of Zios.
Liza nodded. “The fact that they didn’t disappear into a portal, and that they’re still here in Jamaa makes me incredibly nervous.”
“I don’t know why they’re headed toward the volcano—or why they’re back in Jamaa,” Graham said worriedly, looking at the others. “But we’d better find out.”
Toucans flew overhead as Cosmo, Graham, Liza, and Peck tracked the Phantoms toward Mt. Magma. The trail had taken the four Alphas through the heart of Sarepia Forest. A thick canopy of tree leaves masked the sunlight from shining through.
“Are you sure this is the way?” Peck asked as they walked down a muddy footpath. “I taught an art class over here once, and I can’t tell you how many times I got lost. By the time I got there, I had only twenty minutes to teach an entire lesson on watercolors!”
The Phantoms' Secret Page 3
