Creature Keepers and the Burgled Blizzard-Bristles
Page 17
“I’m sure they’ll understand,” Jordan said. He took off his Elite Keeper badge. “I’d like to give this to Corky, for her incredible strength in proving who she really was. Also, some top-notch spitting.” He took a look at the massive sleeping worm, then decided to place the pin in Zaya’s hand, remembering what happened when Eldon woke her. “I’ll let you do the honors, when you get home.”
Corky opened a sleepy eye and spotted Jordan. Her humongous mouth stretched into a wide grin—and sprayed Jordan’s face with regurgitated snow-slush. Then she licked it off with her long, forked tongue.
“She doesn’t do that to everyone,” Zaya said. “She may have a crush on you.”
“Wow,” Jordan said, wiping off the warm, wet slobber. “I’m flattered.”
Zaya smiled as Abbie approached. She removed her pin and attached it to the Creature Keeper’s shirt. “This one’s for you,” she said. “For being a great Keeper and a good friend. And not just to Corky.” She kissed him on the cheek. He blushed and nodded his thanks.
The others said their good-byes to Zaya and Corky, and the two of them tunneled off beneath the snow in the direction of the Mongolian Desert.
Jordan, Abbie, Eldon, and Wilford stepped onto the glacier with Morris. Alistair and Nessie provided the final push across the icy sea toward Japan, all the way back to Morris’s riverside home in the great beech-tree forest.
As they floated toward the mainland, Jordan noticed Eldon standing at the edge of the small iceberg, staring across the cold, dark water.
“I know you’re worried about those cryptids,” Jordan said. “I’m sure they’ll be all right. Maybe this is just another step in a new direction. For all of us.”
“Maybe,” Eldon said. “But it’s not a step I’m ready to take with you.”
He held his hand out and dropped something into Jordan’s palm. Jordan lifted the clear, crystal ring that had belonged to his grandfather. Inside it, the liquid swirled and sparkled. It reminded Jordan of the stars atop Mount Kanchenjunga.
“Jordan, I leave you and your sister in charge of the Creature Keepers.”
“Are you sure?”
“I made a promise to your grandfather that I’d take care of his organization, and I did the best I could to keep my word. But you’re right. Things are changing, and I am not the person to lead us through those changes. Chupacabra is defeated, so I leave you both with a fresh, blank page. You are George Grimsley’s grandchildren. You are the rightful heirs to this responsibility. And you’re ready.” He stared out at the dark sea. “Besides, I feel like I’m getting too old for this stuff.”
“What will you do?”
Eldon shrugged. “Keep getting older, I suppose.”
Jordan studied Eldon’s face. In the moonlight, he could see the hurt and pain that those cryptids leaving his protection had caused. It made him look older, and tired.
“But you got sick before, and this ring made you all better.”
Eldon smiled. “The restorative powers of that ring can do amazing things. You and your sister may need it for more important things than keeping me from getting the sniffles.”
“All right,” Jordan said. “If it’s what you really want, Abbie and I will be honored to carry on not only our grandfather’s legacy, but yours, as well.” Eldon looked at him, and Jordan slipped the ring on his finger. “But we’ve got Chupacabra frozen in ice, a lab to build back in Florida, and quite possibly an undiscovered fourth special cryptid out there somewhere. I’m thinking we may still need some good ol’ Badger Ranger know-how.”
Eldon smiled and saluted his friend. “It’d be a Badger Ranger’s honor,” he said.
Nessie stayed behind to guard the submarine just offshore as the others made the final push across the icy ground into Morris’s home. The trees and forest floor were blanketed with snow, giving the cryptid’s riverside neighborhood an empty, lonely feeling. It was the same feeling Jordan and Abbie shared as they helped deliver Morris to his Keepers, who were waiting near the side of the Anmon River to see him.
Abbie took a deep, unsteady breath as she approached Katsu and Shika. She began by bowing to them, then she spoke softly. “I want you both to know that I tried my best to protect him. But I know you can never forgive me. I don’t think I can ever forgive myself. I loved Morris, and I’ll never forget him.”
Katsu glared at her, as sternly as the day they first met back on the doorstep of Eternal Acres. Then, oddly, he bowed to her. “There is nothing for which to forgive,” he said. “We heard how Morris sacrificed himself to save his friends. We are sad and we will miss him, but we are very proud of him.”
Shika had tears in her eyes, but she smiled as she took Abbie’s hands. “And I am also proud of my BFF,” she said. “You brought our Kappa out into the world. You helped him realize that he is his own master. For that, we thank you.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Abbie said. “I didn’t do any of those things.”
“Yes, you did,” Katsu added. “We never should have left him in his stone state like we did. We thought it was the safest thing to do. But sometimes the safest thing is not always the best thing. You brought him to life. More than that, you brought him out of his shell.”
Abbie hadn’t smiled in days, and suddenly she felt an uncontrollable giggle coming on. It might have been the exhaustion, or Katsu’s accidental joke, or some combination. “I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s not funny, it’s just . . . he said—” Abbie was suddenly overcome with laughter. Shika gave her a strange look, then glanced at her brother. Katsu was smiling, too. He began to giggle. Then he burst out with a high-pitched howl. That’s when Shika broke out in a surprisingly snorting chuckle. Soon everyone was laughing. Wilford let out a deep, echoing belly laugh, almost as loud as Alistair MacAlister’s. A snicker from the shadows turned Abbie’s head. Standing there, giggling softly, was Kriss. She smiled at the Mothman, and the sight of him made her feel much better. Everyone was so tired after their long, sober journeys, and so emotionally drained from their adventures, that they couldn’t seem to stop themselves—soon they all fell down in hysterics around Morris’s stone feet. Abbie took a last look at Morris and couldn’t help but feel the solid stone cryptid was smiling down on them. She smiled back as everyone’s laughter filled the forest, rising through the cold air, helping to thaw the frosty trees.
Alistair and Kriss built a small campfire in front of Morris. Shika made an herbal tea from a blend of plants she plucked from beneath the thawing snow, while Katsu prepared a few extra beds in the teak and bamboo teahouse hidden in the trees near the river. They all settled around the fire, where Jordan and Abbie shared tales of Morris’s adventures. Katsu and Shika laughed and gasped at the amazing stories. The twin Creature Keepers couldn’t believe all the incredible things their little cryptid had done.
Later, once Eldon, Alistair, and the twins had made their way to the teahouse to sleep and Wilford had ambled off to a bed of snow he’d gathered up in the nearby forest, Abbie and Kriss went off to sit near the riverside. Jordan watched as she rested her head on Kriss’s furry shoulder. After a moment, the two of them stood, and Jordan quietly approached. Kriss gave Abbie a gentle hug, then glanced shyly at Jordan. He flapped his wings and shot straight up into the air, settling into a perch high atop a beech tree.
“Sorry,” Jordan said, looking up. “I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”
“It’s okay,” Abbie said. “We’re just friends. He’s a good listener, that’s all.”
“Oh,” Jordan said, secretly relieved that his sister wasn’t dating a Mothman. “Well, I know I’m just your little brother, but I can listen pretty good, too, y’know. Maybe not as good as a cryptid who barely ever even whispers—but if you ever need, y’know, like a human to listen to you—”
“Shut up, dorkface.” She flashed a smile at him, then crouched down by the icy river. “This is the exact spot where I first filled him up. The first time he—” Her voice quavered a little. “I m
ean, it wasn’t like the second time, when he just popped out of the bay all fresh and new. The first time, I saw it with my own eyes. He came back to life, right in front of me.” She turned and looked over at Morris, standing motionless by the dwindling fire. “Right where he’s standing now.”
Abbie reached down. Her hands broke through the thin layer of ice and entered the chilly water gurgling beneath. She made a bowl with her hands, scooped water from the river, and stood up.
“Abbie, don’t,” Jordan said, following her toward Morris. “You know it won’t work.”
“I know,” she said. “It’s not for him. It’s for me.”
She lifted her hands and let the cold water trickle through her fingers into Morris’s sara. She stepped back. Abbie and Jordan stared into Morris’s stone face for a good, long time.
“It’s late,” Jordan finally said softly. “Maybe we should get some rest.”
“I hate leaving him out here all alone,” Abbie turned to face her brother. “I wish you were right about Grampa Grimsley. I wish our grandfather was still alive. He could come sit with Morris and keep him company like he used to, counting the stars with him until he drifted off to sleep.” As she looked up at the starry sky through the trees, Jordan felt his grandfather’s ring on his finger.
Abbie leaned in and kissed Morris’s cold stone beak. “You’re still the most special creature I’ve ever known. And I’ll miss you. Good night, Morris.”
She shuffled off through the snow, toward the teahouse. Jordan watched her go, then looked back at the stone face before him. He remembered Morris’s stories of Grampa Grimsley, his first and oldest friend. Jordan pulled the ring off his finger.
“This was his,” Jordan said to the motionless turtle face. “Why don’t you hold on to it tonight. Maybe it’ll help you to find him, wherever the two of you are now.” He tried to place it on Morris’s thick stone finger, but it wouldn’t fit. He reached up and dropped it into the river water in Morris’s sara.
“At the very least, I hope it helps you sleep in peace tonight.” Jordan smiled at the Kappa one last time, then turned and went off to bed.
34
The next morning, a loud splashing woke Jordan from a dead sleep. He rubbed his eyes and sat up in the little cot Shika had set up for him. He looked around the teahouse. Both the twins and Alistair were still asleep, but Abbie wasn’t in her cot. He turned and shook Eldon. “Hey,” he said. “Wake up! Abbie’s gone! And I think I heard something. C’mon!”
The two of them stepped out of the teahouse and were immediately surprised by their surroundings. The forest had completely thawed. The Anmon River was no longer frozen, and its water was rushing loudly along its banks. The snow had melted, and the runoff had swollen the river near to the point of overflowing. The snow and ice from the beech trees dripped from its sagging branches like rain, and the ground was slushy and wet. It was as if spring had sprung overnight.
They walked across the muddy ground looking for Abbie. As they approached the place where they’d sat the night before, Jordan thought they had the wrong campfire. The soggy embers were exactly where they were supposed to be, but something was missing. Morris was gone.
Jordan and Eldon shared a look. Then they glanced down. There on the ground in the mud and slush were two pairs of footprints. One human, and one—
“It can’t be,” Eldon said.
Jordan and Eldon burst into a sprint, running along the riverbank, following the footprints. There was no need for spooring techniques now—these were fresh and easy to follow. The noisy river grew louder as its wild current splashed and sloshed against its banks. They stopped at a spot where the tracks suddenly disappeared into the water. There was another splash, followed by laughter.
Abbie stood all alone in the center of a tranquil pool created by large rocks blocking the current. There were tears in her eyes—and a huge grin. Suddenly, something large burst from beneath the surface. It spun in the air and landed in the water before bobbing back up again. There, floating on his back, happily spouting water into the air, was Morris—alive as ever.
“Morris!” a voice called from behind Jordan and Eldon.
“You’re alive!” another voice cried out.
Shika and Katsu ran past the two boys and dived into the river, swimming toward the delighted cryptid. When they reached him, they happily hugged and splashed in the water. Abbie stood back and smiled at them. Kriss swooped down and sat on one of the rocks, and she and the Mothman shared a grin.
Onshore, a winded Alistair limped up beside Jordan and Eldon. “Well, I’ll be a salamander’s soggy patootie,” he said, staring out at the spectacle in the pool.
A deep Yeti chuckle echoed through the forest as Wilford lumbered up to the scene. “Wilford,” Jordan said. “How could this happen? How could he come back?”
“I do not know.” A smile crept out from behind the Yeti’s half mustache. “And it is not my concern.” He took two great strides, and leaped into the pool—a perfect cannonball. A massive flume of water shot high into the air.
“Yahoo!” Alistair ran and dived in behind him, belly flopping into the river.
“I don’t understand this,” Eldon said. “His sara emptied three times between the first-quarter moons. He should have turned to stone, permanently.” He looked at Jordan. “The Raising and Caring for Your Kappa guidebook is very clear on this rule.”
“Maybe some of those old rules are changing, too.” Jordan burst out laughing as he dived into the water with the others.
Eldon smiled as he watched everyone splashing around with Morris. They all turned and egged him to come in. The First-Class Badger Ranger methodically removed his regulation Badger Ranger boots, followed by his thick, woolly socks, laying them neatly on a dry rock. He stepped into the cold water, and stopped.
As the others splashed and swam, Eldon Pecone took a step to join them, when something caught his eye. Glimmering beneath the water’s surface was George Grimsley’s ring. He crouched, picked it up, and put it in his pocket. Then he dived into the Anmon River, joining his friends in the swirling, crystal-clear pool.
The water was freezing cold, but none of them seemed to notice. And if they did, they didn’t seem to be the least bit concerned.
Credits
Cover art © 2016 by Rohitash Rao and Rick Farley
Lettering by Annemieke Beemster Leverenz
Cover design by Alison Klapthor
Copyright
Balzer + Bray is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
CREATURE KEEPERS AND THE BURGLED BLIZZARD-BRISTLES. Copyright © 2016 by Peter Nelson and Rohitash Rao. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016941522
ISBN 978-0-06-223647-0
EPub Edition © September 2016 ISBN 9780062236494
16 17 18 19 20 CG/RRDH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
www.harpercollins.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Canada
2 Bloor Street East - 20th Floor
Toronto, ON M4W 1A8, Canada
www.harpercollins.ca
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand
Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive
Rosedale 0632
Auckland, New Zealand
www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF, UK
www.harpercollins.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
195 Broadway
New York, NY 10007
www.harpercollins.com