Anni Moon & The Elemental Artifact: An Elemental Fantasy Adventure Series: Book For Kids Ages 9-12 (Anni Moon Series)

by Abed, Melanie

  “Great. It’s not like I even know what a Squatter is.”

  “Alas, and such is my point entirely. However, it does you no service to be ignorant. Squatters cower in corners, like spiders, only ten times their girth but nearly invisible to the adult human eye, but small human children usually see them, which is often why they dislike the dark. Squatters absorb and read emotions, primarily powered by fear. They relay this back to the Fectus so they can target areas and build Funk. Now you are armed with knowledge, so mind your emotions. Are we in agreement? ”

  “Yes. Will you at least tell me where to go?”

  “Follow after those two abominations.”

  She had no desire to go anywhere near them, and it felt unnatural to move along in a monkey’s body. She trailed after the hulking creatures. With each step, her new body felt more agile than before and moved faster than she expected down the sloping crevice.

  Before long, they reached a bridge that led directly toward the mesa. Up ahead, the abominations split off and moved away from the bridge.

  “Cross the bridge.”

  Narrow and raised, her passage was shadowed by a massive, stadium-sized enclosure that surrounded the inner part of the mesa. One glance backward, and she realized she was in the belly of the underground. After the bridge, there were several paths around the stadium, but she didn’t know which to take.

  “You must reach the nucleus. Within the auditorium is where the Fectus congregate. You must blend in with the masses of creatures below.”

  She walked up to a gated entrance and was trying to peer through the cracks in the wall when an arm reached out and pulled her shoulder. A thin girl, dressed in rags, took on a ridged defensive stance before Anni. She spoke with a hoarse, raspy voice. “You’re not supposed to be here today.” She had a dirty bandana over her face, her skin was caked in filth, her hair was a wild mass of muddy curls, and she squinted when she spoke. “If the border patrol found you, you’d be flayed alive. Follow me. Come on.”

  Anni hesitated. The girl was so filthy, it made her uncomfortable.

  “Follow her,” said Whiffle.

  They wove their way through a maze of passages until they were one floor above the auditorium, where the din made it almost impossible to hear.

  “You’re in luck,” said the girl in a hoarse voice. “I’ve finally found what your people have been looking for. But you’ll have to wait for my sign after the first service. Remember, when you’re seated at the table, only pretend to drink the juice. After everyone is served, wait for my signal. I’ll take you to where it is. Now, go. Find a seat and don’t look obvious.”

  Anni had no idea what this girl was talking about. What service? The girl ushered her into the center of the mesa. Larger than five football field stadiums, it was packed with endless rows of tables crowded with the most unnatural beasts Anni had ever seen. Several seemed to resemble that of the primate persuasion, but most were hideous hybrids from mythology books, with the odd addition of horns, hooves, talons, claws, tusks, and snake-like appendages. Anni stumbled against the wall as a sickness surged inside her. She scanned the rows of tables filled with creatures. There wasn’t one free seat in the auditorium.

  The girl who led her inside was standing at a bar covered with hundreds of tankards filled with an ocher liquid. Anni spotted a gap on a bench close to the bar and was glad to see that it was next to an exit.

  “Go,” said Whiffle.

  Anni raced toward the seat, jostling between and around slow-moving creatures. She didn’t see the armored leg that kicked out in front of her. She tripped and fell over. A roar of laughter erupted.

  “That’ll teach you to mind your manners, you filthy animal.”

  Anni didn’t know if monkeys could scowl, but if they could, she was doing it. An ironclad foot was an inch from her face. Her eyes trailed up the armored suit. It was embellished with tiny spikes, and she traced the spikes until her gaze landed on the bully’s face, a pale blond boy about her age, or possibly a year or two older. His tight jaw smirked, as he squinted down at her like she was prey. He uncrossed his arms, thrusting out his chest as he brandished a red leather whip in his right hand, like he was about to beat her with it.

  “Get out of my way, Spike,” said the savage girl Anni had followed inside. “I have a job to do. I suggest you step aside so our customer can grab a seat.” The girl pushed her way around the ironclad bully. It was clear he didn’t intimidate her. She held two jugs in her hands, and by Anni’s view, purposely spilled the liquid over one of his legs.

  “Thirty-three! You did that on purpose,” Spike whined.

  Anni brushed dirt from her face, got up carefully, and inched away once Spike dropped his whip and removed a visor over his eyes. She saw that he was just a boy, but not just any boy! This was the exact same boy she had seen when she touched that tiny lava stone inside Mabel’s locket, the same boy who looked like he was being tortured. Her hand flew to her chest, but the locket and the key weren’t there.

  “Do not think on that now, Child. Take the seat.”

  She put it out of her mind and ran to the bench. The empty spot was right between two hulking apes who pounded their empty flagons against the table singing a chant. Along the row, others boasted about how many humans they would oppress that night, while others reminisced over the ethereal experience the Plantanana juice gave them.

  Not to look out of place, she grabbed an empty jug and pounded it in unison with her tablemates. With each thud, the mug left ringed indentations on the table. Her arms were stronger than she realized. She searched the crowds for the girl who had helped her twice now, who Spike referred to as Thirty-three.

  The singing and the pounding grew louder as the creatures waited for their empty tankards to be filled. She couldn’t make out the words of the song, except that every line ended with the word Funk. Anni’s row was the last to be served, but the girl, Thirty-three, was nowhere in sight. Losing patience, her gaze darted all around until she spotted movement up above. A large disk hovered over different parts of the stadium, but on the disk there was a strange looking chair that hopped around precariously to the edge.

  Anni bristled. It wasn’t so much a chair but a throne made of bones that bounced on a massive, vile-looking bird’s leg. In the throne sat a cloaked figure that held a wooden staff with long, bony fingers and wore a crowned kabuki mask. Anni wasn’t sure, but she’d be willing to bet it was the dreaded Fectus Queen, Naga Yaga: the one Chief Vidar had described, the one responsible for all the cracked Opus Stones, and possibly, the one who ordered Lexi’s kidnapping.

  Anni trembled when the Naga Yaga looking directly at her table. She averted her eyes, not wanting to draw attention, but it was hard not to notice the creepy chicken-legged throne leaping about as it encircled the upper parts of the auditorium like a death vulture.

  Behind the bar, Spike fumed. He complained loudly that his leg sloshed every time he moved. Nearby creatures laughed. Spike lashed his whip against the walls.

  “Enough! No more singing!” he yelled. “Barmaids, finish the first service. Fill the flagons. We have a schedule to meet.”

  Human-looking teenage girls and boys raced around the tables filling mugs with lightning speed. Thirty-three, however, was the fastest of them all and finished her section first, ending with Anni’s table. The beasts sitting beside her guzzled their drinks, the golden liquid slobbering down the sides of their mouths. Anni didn’t know how to fake drink and empty her flagon at the same time, so she followed her neighbors’ lead. She closed her lips and let the drink fall down the sides of her mouth—and was soaked in the process.

  By the time the creatures drained the last dregs from their flagons, something strange started to happen. Gray shadows started to pulse and writhe over their hulking torsos, which one by one started snapping away from their bodies. Anni couldn’t take her eyes off the ghostly forms as they soared upward past the Naga Yaga toward the cavern’s roof.

  The gray shadows sli
thered and coiled like ghouls on Halloween, twisting and turning around long fang like stalactites that glowed an inky, reflective coppery hue.

  Anni gaped. It wasn’t an ordinary stalactite; it was a Queen’s Mirror. This was how the monsters left the Fectus lair. She shuddered, and dropped her mug on the table. It was the juice, the vile juice that turned the creatures into these pulsing shadows. She felt sick when she looked up at the thousands of apparitions vying their way into the Queen’s Mirrors, ready to spread Funk and the Naga Yaga’s evil bidding.

  “Faster, Thirty-three! Ready the second round. No sluggishness,” said Spike.

  “You’re the only slug here, Spike,” said Thirty-three.

  Spike frowned and his eyes narrowed. Creatures that still had their shadows still attached broke into guffaws. The ones that didn’t looked like they were stuck in some kind of trance. Anni’s skin crawled when she noticed their eyeballs turned a whitish blue.

  “And my name isn’t Thirty-three,” said the girl. “Get it right. It’s Lexi.”

  Anni stared at the girl. Surely, it couldn’t be Lexi. Anni scanned the girl from head to toe; those dirty tattered clothes, the wild hair covering most her face, no glasses, that rag covering her nose and mouth. This girl looked taller, and thinner, but perhaps without her baggy school sweater it was possible. Where was the meek Lexi she knew and loved? This girl was feisty and tough. But then she saw Thirty-three roll her eyes just as Lexi had done a million times before, and Anni knew it was her.

  “Take caution, Child…mind your breathing,” said Whiffle. “Blink back those tears; they will be your undoing.”

  Fleshy human fingertips emerged through the fur on her right hand. Anni gulped. If she transformed into a human right there, the consequences would be dire.

  “Child, breathe. Surrender not.”

  She tried not to hyperventilate, and bit down on her bottom lip, focusing her breath. Underestimating her strength, the metallic tang of blood told her she broke skin.

  “What’s this?” Lexi charged toward Anni. “Spike! Get over here. This one’s gone and busted his lip. It can’t transform now. Take him out of here.”

  Anni tensed. What was Lexi doing?

  “I’m the boss, Thirty-three! You take the orders! Remove the beast yourself.”

  Swiftly, Anni rose and followed Lexi out of the coliseum. Intimidating creatures jostled and shoved past her through the main interior corridor. A group of humans was being herded past her into the coliseum. She couldn’t shake the feeling that one of them looked an awful lot like Oliver, but that was impossible, or was it?

  Lexi led them past throngs of monsters, each one more gruesome than the next. When they finally reached a vacant tunnel Lexi spoke. “I think you fooled him.”

  Anni stopped walking. Clutching her throat, only soft gurgling sounds escaped.

  “You’re new to your form,” said Lexi. “Your vocal cords aren’t working yet. Don’t worry. You can trust me. I’m on your side.”

  Lexi was helping her. Wasn’t it supposed to be the other way around? The sight of her friend so transformed, so brave, overwhelmed her.

  “Mind your feelings…”

  But Anni couldn’t. Her legs gave way and she dropped to the ground. Voices echoed, heading their way.

  “Uh-oh.” Lexi pulled Anni behind a small boulder. “Stay here. Don’t move.”

  “Barmaid! What are you doing down here?” demanded a guard. “You’re supposed to be in the coliseum.”

  Anni didn’t hear Lexi’s reply because at that moment, a piercing sound rang in her left ear. Her stomach cramped and her body started to burn with fever. Her hands and feet started to switch back and forth between human and primate.

  “Phew,” said Lexi. “I got rid of him…oh no, you’re starting to change. Quick, lean on me. I’ve got to get you out of here. I can’t promise we won’t run into anyone else, but if you switch back, at least you can talk and tell me who sent you.”

  It took all her strength, but Anni managed to hook her long hairy arm over Lexi’s shoulder and hobble deeper and deeper into the tunnels. Anni thought they were lost when the last tunnel ended with a stone wall guarded by three stacks of cairns. Lexi lifted the top flat stone resting on the middle cairn, and the wall behind it shuddered and lifted.

  “Hopefully, no one heard that,” said Lexi.

  It was dark, but Lexi definitely knew the way. Together they shifted around tight corners of an underground maze. Anni felt her human hair hanging down over half of her face. The ground sloped downward as they walked in near pitch dark. Bit by bit, her body returned to its original form. She felt stronger with each step, which was good because Lexi couldn’t support her as the walls narrowed. They walked single file, then sideways around vast boulders, with Lexi in the lead. Anni couldn’t believe how strong Lexi had become.

  “We’re almost there,” said Lexi. “You’re doing great.”

  At last, they stopped at a dead end. Anni couldn’t see her body, but when she touched her face and neck, they were hair free.

  “There’s a torch around here,” said Lexi, palming the walls. “We’ve been lucky so far, but once I open this door, we have to move very fast. I’ll take you to the cell. It’s not a pretty sight. Stay clear of its talons; it’s not in its right mind.”

  With her back to Anni, Lexi struck a match. She found and pulled the wall lever. As the narrow door in the wall lifted, a dank stench flooded their nostrils: a combination of sulfur, rot, and waste.

  “This way,” said Lexi, sprinting into the chamber.

  Up ahead, lamplights flashed on the cellblock. Voices of chamber guards forced Lexi to turn backward, but when she came face to face with Anni, Lexi stood there, frozen, gaping at her friend in disbelief. The guards grew closer. Anni grabbed Lexi’s hand and pulled her back inside the tunnel. Anni fumbled with the wall’s lever and barely managed to get it shut. She blew out the light. They stood in silence as the guard’s footsteps stopped.

  No matter what, the girls knew they couldn’t risk speaking in case the guards were within earshot of the tunnel’s wall. In the darkness, they waited and listened. Anni squeezed Lexi’s hand, and Lexi gripped hers in return. They heard the guards grunt between catcalls as they heckled the prisoners. Anni prayed that they would pass, and after what felt like an age, their voices finally trailed away. Lexi lit the torch again. No amount of dirt could cover the pale shock that registered on her face.

  “Anni?” Without waiting for a response, Lexi threw her arms around Anni and started sobbing. Anni hugged her back. Both their cheeks were wet with tears before they pulled apart. “I don’t understand,” said Lexi. “How’d you find—”

  “You wouldn’t believe me, or maybe you would,” said Anni, thinking about the fact that Lexi was an Elemental. “I know…” She took a breath. “I know you’re an Elemental. I wish you told me, though, but when I saw your pearl necklace cracked, I thought they destroyed your Opus Stone and—”

  “Oh, no,” said Lexi, bursting into tears again. “I’m so sorry. I wanted to tell you…so many times. There are so many things I don’t even know…but that necklace was only a gift from Teddy. I don’t have an Opus Stone.”

  “Really? I was so worried. I’ve been trying so hard to find you, to rescue you…but you don’t seem to need my help. You’re so, um, different…”

  “I’m not. Anni, really.” Lexi sniffled. “It was strange. I don’t know how many days passed. One day I saw you in my mind, telling me to be tough. So I pretended I was you, and it worked. It made me stronger than I’ve ever had to be in my life.”

  “Hmm.” Anni wondered if Ms. OggleBoggle’s advice helped. “Well, you’re not staying a second longer. We’ve got to leave now. Where were you taking me anyway?”

  “To the creature the Jaguar people are looking for. I met Kuar shortly after I got here. I’ve been helping them find it. It’s been trapped down here, and I only found it yesterday….Shhh, someone’s coming!”

  �
��On the cellblock?”

  “No,” Lexi hissed. “Behind us. Down the tunnel! We have to go, now.” She flipped the lever, and they raced out of the cellblock. It was empty. Lexi searched the wall for the soft spot that closed the tunnel from the other side. “It’s here somewhere…”

  Watching Lexi panic, Anni searched the wall, too. Finally her hand passed over a soft stone lever. The tunnel’s door shut with a thud.

  “Follow me,” said Lexi, looking more like the anxious Lexi Anni was used to.

  They raced past several rusted iron doors until they reached the largest one. It had bolts the size of tree trunks. Lexi tugged on the small lock that kept the food door closed. It was just big enough for the girls to slip under—but it was locked.

  Lexi grabbed a clip of keys from her belt. They slipped from her fingers and fell into a pile of rotten food. Her hands shook as she sorted through the muck for the key.

  Anni heard the thud of the wall panel. “Someone’s coming!”

  Lexi retrieved the keys and tried the lock. “Almost there…just…one…sec…” She found the right key and opened the little door.

  “Get in,” said Lexi. “Whatever you do, be quiet. We don’t want to wake it.”

  They slipped inside. A vague glow barely illuminated the far corner of the room.

  “The Fectus chained it to the wall. It won’t attack. At least, I don’t think it will.”

  Anni looked closer. “This looks like the creature I saw in Chief Vidar’s village.”

  “You know Chief Vidar?”

  “Kuar led me through the tree so I could find you.”

  Lexi pulled Anni toward a stone recess. Someone stood just outside the cell door. The latch on the door moved and a shadowy figure entered the room. Anni held her breath and squeezed Lexi’s hand. They stood still for several seconds.

  Spike walked right in front of them. “Introduce me to your friend.”

  A burst of light erupted from a huge orb resting upon a pedestal next to the creature, which previously had only a faint glow. The chained Ancient awakened. With the head of a bird and vast wings hinged on its back, it had the stout body and hindquarters of a lion, talons for claws, and plumage for a tail. Anni blinked. It was a griffin.