by S. E. Smith
Kelan was pretty impressed by how Vox was able to condense so many adventures into one long sentence without even taking a breath. He slid his boot back on and scooted over on the rock, so Vox could sit down.
Vox’s nose wiggled as he pulled his boot off and looked inside. With a sigh, he stood up, walked over to the stream, and tilted his boot. Kelan couldn’t hold back the bark of laughter when he saw a small fish fall out.
“I’d have eaten it if it had been worth the effort,” Vox commented, sliding his boot back on before he removed the other and did the same thing.
“This reminds me of the story Trisha once told Jabir about a Puss-in-Boots, only you’d have the Fish-in-Boots,” Kelan teased.
“Ha-ha,” Vox sarcastically replied. “What now?”
“I think we should find the other men, find the kids, and then figure out where in the hell we are so we can get back home,” Kelan said, standing up.
Kelan looked up when a shadow passed overhead. His dragon hissed out a warning, but it was too late. A pulse of red light surrounded him, lifting him up off his feet. He heard Vox utter a savage snarl and saw him shift into his leopard. Vox had only taken two steps before he was lifted off his feet as well. Immobilized, neither man could resist.
Kelan peered out over the large cavern as the beam holding him moved up. He was suspended between two bat-like creatures. On each creature were two warriors dressed in dark green and brown leather. Their skin was a pale green. Their eyes were a mixture of brown, green, and yellow. One warrior guided the bat-creatures while the other held a staff with a glowing red gem that reminded him of the ones they had used to defeat his uncle.
He was pretty sure his jaw would be hanging down if he could have moved it. The warriors were carrying Vox and Kelan toward the far end of the cavern where a large palace was carved into the rock face. Waterfalls flowed down into a valley lit with colorful mushrooms and glittering jewels. If he didn’t know any better, he would think that he and Vox were about to find themselves in the mystical Kingdom of Glitter.
Chapter Eleven
Sandora: Kingdom of the Sand People
* * *
Tia hummed under her breath as she pulled a fresh scroll out of the cubby where she kept the finely woven sheets. She was diligently documenting the numerous stories of the Sand People. She knew it would take years to record and illustrate them all because there were so many.
Walking over to her workbench, she slid onto the seat and placed the scroll on the tilted drawing table that Jett had built for her. She frowned when she began to unroll the scroll and discovered that the sheet already contained writings and illustrations on it—and it wasn’t in her handwriting, nor was it a tale familiar to her.
Reaching up, she secured the top of the scroll in place before sliding her hands down to do the same to the bottom. She scanned the beautiful illustrations. A soft gasp escaped her when the illustrations moved.
Fascinated, she began to read the story. It was the story of a group of fathers who had gone camping with their children. She continued reading, laughing when one of the little boys asked if he could eat the being called a Leprechaun. She moved her gaze to the illustrations as a broad-shouldered man moved his hands and spoke to his avid audience. His features reminded her of the woman who had brought life back to their world.
Tia drew in a shocked breath when she recognized one of the men sitting on a log near the fire. He was the man who had been with the Goddess Ariel. Enthralled by their story, she continued reading. Her lips twitched when she saw Tamblin’s name as well as her own.
“Jett!” she murmured, staring at the image of her husband.
She touched the illustration with a combination of horror and fear. The love of her life had been thrown from his sand skimmer. Out of nowhere, a young creature suddenly appeared. At first, Tia thought the creature had crushed Jett, but as the image changed, she saw that he had cupped his paws around her husband and tossed away the sand worm that had attacked Jett.
Her heart ached when she saw the creature shift into a very young but very large boy. Tears glistened in his dark brown eyes. He sucked on his finger while looking down at Jett with wide accusing eyes filled with hurt. Her husband stood with his sword drawn.
“Oh, my love, you are such a meanie,” she accused with a breathless, relieved laugh.
She continued reading until the story suddenly stopped. She frowned, unsure of what to make of it. Her eyes widened when she saw words suddenly appear as if the story were still being told. In these words, Jett was returning with the young creature following behind him.
A shout echoed through the open window of her office. Standing, she walked over to the window to see what all the excitement was about. Her lips parted in disbelief when she saw Jett and Santil appear through the entrance tunnel. Unfortunately, the black furred creature was too large to fit. The creature tried to wiggle his head through the passage, but the only thing that would fit was his short nose. He pulled back and sat down on the sand outside the entrance, his ears twitching as the guards yelled in alarm.
Concerned that the guards might hurt the child, Tia turned to exit the room. She glanced at the scroll and stopped in surprise when she saw the illustration showing her standing in front of the child. She quickly read the words unfolding before her eyes. Her lips parted in delight and a soft laugh escaped her. In the top left corner of the illustration, a golden figure lifted a finger to her lips and winked at her. Tia’s eyes twinkled with merriment as she understood the adventure that was unfolding.
“I do believe the Goddesses are feeling mischievous,” Tia laughed, before she quickly read more of the story. “It would also appear a visit to my brother is in order.”
Deftly detaching the scroll, Tia rolled it up as she hurried out of her workroom. With the Goddesses guiding the adventure, she didn’t think any harm would befall the young boy. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry.
“Are we’s there yet?” Hope asked.
Phoenix wrapped her arm around Hope when the little girl yawned and leaned against her. After their lunch, Hope had crawled up onto Harvey with Phoenix, Spring, and Alice. Cree and Calo’s symbiots trotted on each side of Harvey, who was now in the shape of a small, open transport that skimmed above the sand.
“I don’t think it is much farther,” Phoenix said, stroking Hope’s hair back when a breeze blew it in her face.
“Here you go,” Alice said with a smile, waving her fingers toward Hope.
Hope giggled when her dark brown curls suddenly twisted into rows of braids that wrapped around her head, complete with flowers. Phoenix laughed in delight when Alice did the same to her hair. She reached up and touched one of the flowers in her hair.
“Looks! We’s found Leo!” Morah suddenly cried out.
“Oh! I bet he’s found something fun,” Amber said, sliding off of Symba. “I’ll race you, Jade!”
The four girls sat forward on Harvey to watch while Amber and Jade took off across the sand with the boys not far behind them. Phoenix giggled when she saw Leo trying to figure out how to get inside the large dome that shielded the city.
The small tiger cub had his nose pressed against the dome while his front paws were spread in an effort to keep his balance. He looked like he was trying to climb up on top of it, but he kept sliding off. Phoenix’s lips parted when he suddenly hissed, his hair standing on end and he tumbled backward before lying flat on his belly.
“Leo!” Roam called, slipping and sliding down the sea of sand.
Leo looked up when he heard his name and shifted back into a boy. His black hair was standing up on end. He gave Roam and the others a toothy grin.
“Amber’s, Jade’s, you’s gots to try this!” Leo said with delighted excitement in his eyes.
“What?” Amber said, reaching Leo first.
“They’s gots zappers!” Leo reached out his left hand and touched the dome while at the same time he reached out his right hand to touch Amber.
&n
bsp; Even from the top of the hill, Phoenix could see the thin thread of electricity jump from Leo to Amber. The sound of a snap in the air closely followed by Amber’s loud squeal left Leo rolling in delight on the sand. A moment later, all the kids were shocking each other.
“Now I know why boys aren’t so smart. They cook their brains,” Spring observed, pursing her lips when she saw Roam with little wisps of smoke rising from his hair.
“Uh-oh, here comes Amber and Jade,” Phoenix warned, her eyes widening when she saw the mischief in their eyes.
Alice grinned and raised her hands. Amber and Jade’s dragons squealed when they felt the slight shock hit them. Giggling, they collided and rolled back down the hill into the boys.
“Oh, that was funny, Alice!” Spring said, clapping her hands.
“Funny, funny. Agains, Alice. Do it agains,” Hope added, bouncing on Phoenix’s lap.
Phoenix looked over at Morah. She frowned when she saw her cousin’s bottom lip tremble. Nudging Alice, she nodded to Morah.
“What’s wrong, Morah? I wouldn’t hurt them,” Alice said.
Morah shook her head and wiped at her face. “I’s don’t thinks this is where the Leprechauns lives. My dada can’t fits through there,” she said with a trembling lower lip.
“But, maybe whoever lives there might know where the Leprechauns live. Maybe this is where the Queen of the Wood Fairies lives,” Spring said.
Morah shook her head. “I don’t sees no woods,” she replied with a doleful expression.
“Maybe… Oh, look!” Phoenix started to say before she stopped in surprise.
“Dollies! I wants dollies!” Hope squealed, reaching out her hands and wiggling her fingers.
Phoenix held Hope against her and shook her head. “I don’t think those are dolls, Hope. They are moving on their own,” she replied.
“I hope it isn’t any of Amber or Jade’s toys. They moves on their own all the time,” Alice muttered.
The others quickly shifted from their tiger and dragon forms back into kids—well, all except for Leo as he had shifted back into his tiger form again. Phoenix slid Hope off of her lap and climbed down from Harvey. Reaching up, she helped the other little girl down. Alice and Spring followed behind her.
Phoenix watched Morah lift her head and ride forward on Crash. Her eyes glowed with delight when she saw the way the others parted to clear the way for her, even Zohar stood to the side. He caught her watching them and winked.
“Leo, no! You spits him out now!” Morah ordered, sliding off of her symbiot unicorn and pointing her Princess wand at him.
Leo opened his mouth and unrolled his tongue. A very agitated warrior pointed his finger at one of the other little men. He was huffing and puffing so much, that no words were coming out of his mouth. Leo looked up at Morah and shifted into a boy.
“Aw, Morah, I’s wasn’t really goings to eats him. I was justs playings,” Leo said with a pained expression.
“Jett,” a soft voice admonished.
One of the tall, slender warriors in the front turned when he heard the woman call his name in a chiding tone. He reached out and wrapped his arm around the shoulders of the warrior Leo had scooped up. The soggy warrior elbowed Jett in the stomach, and the sound of giggles rippled through the gathering crowd.
“I didn’t tell the boy to do that—this time,” Jett defended before he turned to his friend. “I’m sure he wouldn’t have swallowed you, Santil,” Jett reassured his friend.
Santil wiped at his damp shirt and glowered at Jett. “I will not be saving your ass the next time a sand worm knocks you off your sand skimmer,” Santil replied in a calm voice.
“Yes, you will, because you know it would break Tia and our children’s hearts to lose such a wonderful husband and father,” Jett chuckled.
“You’re Tia? Are you’s the Keepers of the Stories?” Morah asked, sinking down onto the sand so she could look down at Tia.
Tia looked up, startled that Morah knew who she was. Tia nodded and smiled at Morah. Phoenix could see that the doll-sized woman held something in her hand.
“Yes, and you must be Morah,” Tia replied.
Morah nodded. “Has you seen my dada? I’s lost him,” she sniffed before she started crying. “I’s thinks the Leprechauns took him. Can you please helps us gets our daddies back?”
“I’s gots two daddies,” Hope added, pulling away from Phoenix so she could sit down in front of Tia. “They’s really bigs and my momma and I’s loves them.”
“My daddy is really, really bigs,” Jabir said. “My mommy says I shouldn’t worry because I still have a lot of growing to do, so I can be likes him.”
Phoenix held her breath when Spring grabbed her hand and pulled her forward. She could feel her sister’s hand tremble, and she squeezed it. Spring drew in a deep breath and looked down at Tia.
“Phoenix and I miss our dad, too, but not as much as our mom would. She needs daddy,” Spring said in a quiet voice.
“So do we,” Phoenix added, smiling.
“I know,” Tia said with a bow of her head. “I also believe I know where your fathers are. We must travel across the sands to the Kingdom of Glitter.”
Everyone turned when Leo suddenly raised his hand in the air. Phoenix bit her lip when Morah turned and frowned at the boy. Lifting her chin, she pointed her Princess wand at him.
“What’s do you wants, Leo?” Morah growled.
Leo gave her a pitiful look. “I’m starvings. Since I’s not allowed to eats the little people, can I’s please have somethings else?” he pleaded.
Phoenix touched Morah’s arm. “I saved some sandwiches from our lunch,” she said, pointing back toward Harvey.
“Thank the Goddess for the sandwiches,” Santil interjected as they watched Leo’s face light up with delight before he shifted into his tiger form and bounded away.
Chapter Twelve
Paul warily kept his eyes on the two massive creatures gingerly walking beside them. He could feel the tension in the other men as well, yet the warriors surrounding them completely ignored the black-haired, red-eyed beasts that looked like a cross between a wild hog and a hyena. For the first time since this adventure had begun, even his dragon was wide awake and alert.
It’s about time, he silently muttered to his other half.
I no like this world, his dragon growled, pacing back and forth.
“What’s so funny?” Mandra asked under his breath.
His own dragon’s anxiety matched the uneasy look on Mandra’s face. These huge warriors weren’t used to being on the other end of the food chain where things were bigger and deadlier than they were.
“My dragon isn’t happy that his favorite snack tried to take a bite out of him or that these creatures look like they could swallow us without even chewing,” Paul admitted.
“Mine isn’t either,” Trelon replied,” glancing around at the beasts. “Something tells me that we wouldn’t make it very far if we tried to escape.”
“If we don’t get eaten by one of those things, then we’d still have to fight off more than a hundred warriors and face the Tasiers. I’m sure I’m not the only one who noticed them feeding as we passed by,” Mandra observed, a look of distaste crossing his face. “It is times like this when I wish Ariel or Jabir were here. Those two would have these creatures and the Tasiers eating out of the palms of their hands, regardless of how big they are. That would only leave us a few dozen warriors to contend with,” he said with a rueful look.
“My biggest concern is the younglings. We don’t know for sure if they are here, but what if they are and they encounter the creatures? Do you really think Jabir can control them?” Trelon asked.
“Like you said, we don’t know for sure if they are here or still back in the forest. All I know is I need to find Leo. That boy is far too daring to be left this long unsupervised,” Viper stated with a worried frown.
“Leo! Can you imagine the damage my two can do? I know they brought some of their newe
st contraptions. I’m still finding demented symbiots left over from Halloween in our apartments!” Trelon retorted with a strained chuckle. “My hope is if they are still in the woods, the symbiots would have guided them back to Mandra and Ariel’s home. If they are here.... I don’t want to think of all the trouble they could cause,” he said with a sigh.
“Regardless of where they are, they have the symbiots with them. My Zohar is smart. He and the older younglings will help protect the younger ones,” Zoran stated with confidence.
“Yes, but will the symbiots be as protective of Leo, Roam, and Alice?” Viper asked with a worried expression.
They grew quiet when the woman in front of them stopped and turned to face them. Her face was devoid of expression as she raised the staff and brought it down with a loud thud against the rocky surface of the ground.
A collective hiss escaped the men when vivid red threads of light streaked out in all directions. The two beady-eyed creatures on either side of them turned and disappeared into the shadows.
Paul blinked in astonishment when the mushrooms around him began to glow in a sweeping wave across the floor of the cavern. The lights changed colors, illuminating the interior section of the cavern until they could see a path leading into a brilliant glittering city. It was almost like a veil was swept aside. On the opposite end from where they were standing was a beautiful castle carved into the rock with waterfalls on its right side.
Despite the splendor surrounding them, it was the man striding toward them who captured their attention. Tall and slender like the others, his skin was a light green, and he had a regal confidence. The way all of the warriors came to attention could only mean one thing….
“The Leprechaun King!” Trelon hissed under his breath.
