The Clover Siblings and the Evil of Desmal

by Michele Scott

  “I know. How do you think he got everything in there?”

  “I don’t know. I dozed off for a few minutes in the cabin closet I was hiding in on the ship. Maybe he found me, or something told him I was there.”

  “Or someone, like Seyem.”

  “Maybe. I don’t care how. Just bring over the salve and fix me up.”

  Carter did. He rubbed it on Mason’s right arm. Nothing happened.

  “It doesn’t work on broken bones.”

  The boys looked around, because whoever said that wasn’t either of them. It was a girl’s voice.

  “Over here, sillies. You two are quite a pair. Come here.” Her voice had an accent, like that Australian crocodile hunter’s, only girlish.

  Then they saw her in the moonlight. The girl was sitting on a rock. No, not just a girl, but a mermaid.

  “Oh, my gosh,” Mason said. “Things are looking up.”

  The mermaid was quite beautiful, with long cinnamon-colored hair and eyes that matched the color of the water, a deep turquoise. Her tail was covered in fish-scales and opalescent; it shimmered brightly in the moonlight.

  “Oh no, you don’t. She’s part of the game. If you recall, we’ve landed on the dark side.”

  “Look into my eyes, boys. I may be sitting here on the edge of the dark side, but I can still out-swim even what was once that monster of a shark.”

  Carter approached her, looked into her eyes, and couldn’t deny there didn’t seem to be any darkness in them. But he knew Mason to be a bit girl crazy and even Carter had to admit, mermaid or not, this girl was pretty.

  “Come here, Mason. I can heal you.”

  Mesmerized, Mason walked a few feet into the ocean over to the rock where the mermaid was perched. She reached out for his arm. A pulsating light flashed from her hand and into his broken limb—first indigo, then purple, then bright white. A warm tingling sensation (kind of like being tickled) traveled up through his fingertips and arm, then spread out all over his body. Butterflies in the same colors of blue and purple fluttered up out of his arm and into the air. The flapping of their tiny wings sounded like soft music. The boys watched in awe as the butterflies headed east, towards Boysen Land.

  “Wow, how did you do that?” Mason asked.

  “A little magic, my friend. Now do you see, Carter? I am on your side.”

  “How do you know our names?”

  “Everyone knows who you are. You’re here to save us from the evil queen, and you’ve done a pretty good job up to now.” She pointed to the remains of the beached shark, now lying on its side, his metal reflecting the full moon. “You’ve earned another gift as you applied the rule of love to your latest quest, Mason, and you, dear Carter, trusted even when you thought there was no hope left. You listened to Doc, which was wise, because your gifts had been taken from you as a lesson. Seyem’s words hold true. You must stop the bickering, my friends, and find a better way to resolve your disagreements. I’m certain your parents have taught you about compromise.”

  “Yes,” they both replied feeling rather ashamed.

  “Good! Well, I don’t think you need a lecture from me. You must hurry. There is one day and night left until the planets align. Your sister waits.”

  “Is she still safe?” Carter asked.

  “The queen will not harm her, until the final moment, but as I’ve said, there is no time to waste.”

  “By the way, what’s your name?” Mason asked.

  Carter shook his head, thinking he could wait a good, long while before those girl-crazy years hit. He didn’t believe they would, even though his parents insisted it would happen.

  “Oh, how rude of me! I’m Chelsea.”

  She stretched out her hand. Mason kissed it. Carter thought he was going to barf. Chelsea blushed.

  “I’m so happy you came. If you hadn’t, there would be no hope. If you look beyond the forest, set back from the beach, you can see the dark clouds that cover the land not so far from here. The clouds continue to come closer each day, reminding all of us that doom is near. The Queen has kept to her part of the island for a very long time. She seemed to be content with all she ruled. But now, things have changed. Now she wants to control the entire planet, and after that, your own planet, and so on until she has the entire universe in the palm of her hand.”

  “We know,” Carter muttered.

  “If she can capture Isabella’s soul then her work here will be done and the planet will turn terribly dark, all its inhabitants soon to die off.”

  “We know that, too,” Carter added.

  “We’ll do what we can to prevent that from happening,” Mason said, shooting Carter a dirty look.

  “I know you will, and to help you along your journey, you have earned your heart-song.”

  “Whoa, really?” Carter asked.

  “Yes.” Chelsea opened the palm of her hand and a bird shaped like a heart began whistling a lovely little tune. The boys knew the heart-song could be of great value with its magical music. The heart flew above Carter.

  “Now you’d best be on your way. I am sure you are tired and hungry. There is a little inn a few miles into the forest. The dwarf who runs the place is named Tim. His daughter should also be there. She is a faerie named Claudia. Tim is not always nice. He’s a little grumpy. But his daughter is a sweet girl. When they hear why you’ve come, they should allow you to stay. Tell them I sent you. And Mason, this is for you.” She handed him a silver necklace from around her own neck. Pieces of turquoise and coral were intertwined in the necklace. “You never know how this might come in handy or the power it could hold if you believe.”

  Mason smiled sheepishly.

  “Now go. There are many dangers lurking in the forest, and they love the darkness. So please be careful.”

  “Dangers?” Carter said as they headed off the beach and into the trees. “Why can’t we just stay on the beach?”

  “Because we’ll be exposed. At least this way we can get to Tim and Claudia’s and find some protection there.”

  The boys climbed over the sand dunes and pulled back the brush that led them into the forest. The heart-song flew above them. They both had a good idea of what lurked in the forest, and the way things had been going, they didn’t want to face it. This was the last level they had played in the actual game at home, and neither of them had ever beaten it.

  CHAPTER TEN

  A SECRET PACKAGE

  Queen Zamora peered into the prison cell where her future was soundly sleeping. Little Isabella was her ticket out of this place. Her life here on the Island of Desmal had become a farce. She was sick and tired of the light-seekers and all their sappy kindness. She despised them.

  Her control of the island was nearly complete, and the take-over of Boysen would soon be accomplished as well. However, those nagging brothers of Isabella’s had caused her quite a setback when they captured the Crystal of Freeze. She could no longer see through her Mirror of Tell-All, and she could no longer use the volcano and lava monster to destroy Boysen Land.

  Now earth would be a fun challenge. Oh, how she longed to control that little blue planet! And she would, once she took over Isabella’s soul. The little girl would grow up as a human child, but possess all of Zamora’s knowledge..

  Isabella was gorgeous, with a head of black curls and big, blue eyes that were now closed after a fit of crying. Zamora hated bawling children. Victor begged her to let him go in and stay with the whining brat. She’d finally given in, tired of the screaming that resounded throughout the palace. She was glad she had given her consent, because whatever Victor had done, it worked. The child was no longer screaming, instead, exhausted from crying, she slept soundly.

  That little girl certainly had stamina. Queen Zamora liked that. And her brothers, a brave lot they were. Who would’ve guessed they’d be so courageous? So many were depending on them to bring back the light to Boysen and be rid of her. Ha! That would never happen! The boys would be gone, along with the real Isabella. Once
the alignment of the planets and tides had taken place, the entire universe would be changed forever.

  Queen Zamora had to involve the brothers in this game, even though they were taking way too much of her precious time. She needed to be the cause of the boys’ demise. How could their parents raise the future queen of the universe with two pesky brothers around? No! They would have to go. Poof, adios, see you later, sayonara, baby!

  She wondered where those two were at this moment. She ascended the stairs, leaving the sleeping girl in her cell, and headed for Victor’s quarters. She rapped on his door.

  The elfin man answered quickly. Bowing, he said, “Yes, your highness?”

  She pulled him up by the tuft of his hair on top of his head, raising him to eye level. “Have you found the boys? Did our pirate friends take care of them?”

  “Yes, well, sort of…”

  “Sort of? What in the universe does that mean?” she demanded.

  “Um, they were, well, they, uh, escaped, but…”

  “Escaped!” she screamed, pulling his hair tighter.

  He grimaced. “Yes, but you see, Sharp Jaw chased after them, so there is no way they could’ve gotten away.”

  “Hmmm. Listen, you little twit. We’ve underestimated these boys before. I want to know for certain that Sharp Jaw devoured them whole! Find out! And find out before you find yourself in my dungeons! I want to know those two pesky brothers have been turned into shark bait.”

  The queen let go of his hair, and Victor to fell to the ground, landing roughly on his side. He watched as she slammed the door behind her. The little man stood rubbing his leg, which hurt quite a bit, and then his head where she’d nearly pulled his hair out by the roots. Only then did he allow himself a smile. He knew the boys were still alive. The initial word had come from Doc, who had passed it on to Chelsea; soon it had trickled down to him. The network was working, and hopefully the special delivery he was waiting for would arrive soon. There wasn’t much time left.

  He listened for the sound of the closing door as the queen entered her quarters. Then he snuck back down to where the baby was still asleep. He didn’t want her to wake up and not have him there. She was already so frightened.

  Once inside her cell, he removed a brick he’d chiseled until it had grown loose enough to move. There, in the wall, was what he had been waiting for—the special delivery. The light-seeker who delivered it had loosened the brick on the other side of the wall, which led to the outside, and placed the small package inside.

  Victor turned it over and over, and then opened it. Inside the wrapper he found what looked like two ordinary packs of chewing gum. But Victor knew they were something completely different. The small packs he held in his hands were what Isabella’s brothers would need in order to save their sister, themselves, and Boysen.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  FAERIE WINGS

  The moonlight could barely filter through the trees in the Enchanted Forest. Once Carter and Mason entered, they had to blink their eyes several times to adjust to the gloom. The heart-song stayed quiet. She liked Carter and sat on his shoulder as they tromped through the forest, guided by a small flashlight they’d discovered in their backpack.

  “Do you have any idea where we’re going?” Carter asked Mason, who was leading the way.

  “Not really. Chelsea said it wasn’t far. I figure we’ll see lights at some point.”

  “Mason, we can’t see a thing. For all we know, we’re going in circles, and I’m getting cold. I think we need to use the directorouter.”

  Mason nodded his head in agreement. “Yeah, I do too, but like you said, it’s so dark, how are we supposed to find enough moonlight to make it work?”

  “Maybe if we could find just a sliver?”

  It seemed useless, but then the heart-song became excited and started tweeting, not loudly, but in a way that told them to follow her.

  “Shine the light on her,” Carter said as the heart-song flew off his shoulder and up ahead.

  Mason did, and about thirty feet further, she led them into a small clearing. One of the massive trees had fallen to the ground. Something—or someone—had knocked the tree down. Neither boy wanted to consider how it had happened. They were simply pleased the heart-song had found space enough to allow them to use the directorouter.

  The boys sat on some tall blades of grass and Mason took out the machine. Rubbing it with his hands, he quietly called Seyem’s name. It took a few seconds, but Seyem’s face suddenly appeared. Carter jumped back. It looked as if the old sage were standing right there with them. The image was much clearer than when Isaac had given them the directorouter, and Seyem told them the rules during daylight.

  “Hello, boys. You must be in the forest. I’m pleased to see you have the heart-song. You’ve obviously met Chelsea. Sweet child, she is. My guess is you’re lost or you wouldn’t be calling.”

  “You said it,” Carter replied.

  “You’ve learned much so far, boys. Especially about give and take when you lost your packs to the pirates weren’t you, Carter?”

  “Yes.”

  “Place the heart-song in front of the directorouter,” Seyem instructed them. Carter held out his hand. The heart-song landed in it and he held her out in front of the machine. Seyem uttered something in a sing-song voice. The words were foreign to them, but the sounds coming from Seyem were clear, melodic, and both boys understood there was a definite meaning behind them. That meaning became clear as the heart-song lit up brightly like a lantern. She sang out excitedly.

  “Shh, shh. Not too loud,” Seyem said. “You must still be careful,” he instructed the bird.

  “What did you tell her?” Carter asked.

  “I told her where to go and how to get there. She’ll provide you with adequate light, much better than your flashlight. But boys, be forewarned. As I’m sure Chelsea advised you, there are those lurking in the forest who do not want to see you find your way. Many of them are much smaller and sweeter looking than you might think. Be careful if you hear the wings of music. The sound will be like no other, not like the heart-song’s singing, but still beautiful. Beautiful, yet deadly.”

  “What do you mean?” Mason asked.

  “Just as you have discovered that light-seekers sometimes reside and appear in unusual circumstances, so do those who work for the dark side. I must go, boys, our time has run out. The longer you remain in the open forest, the later it gets, and the easier will be for you to be discovered. Now go with caution and love.” This time Seyem’s face did not blur and fade, but rather disappeared quite suddenly as if he had snapped his fingers and “poof,” he was gone.

  “You know what he meant, don’t you?” Mason asked Carter.

  “I’ve got a good idea it has to do with the faeries,” Carter replied. The heart-song whistled loudly, obviously trying to attract their attention. “I think she’s letting us know we better get hustling.”

  The boys followed the illuminated bird back into the forest, which in some ways was less frightening because they had her bright light to lead them. Still, in other ways, her light cast far more shadows than they had seen before, and some of these shadows bouncing around the forest’s floor looked very much like those made by wild animals and monsters. But they continued to follow her, trying to push aside their fears.

  The further along the brothers traveled through this adventure, the more connected they felt to each other. It was almost as if they could read one another’s minds, like they had Doc’s.

  “Do you remember when we were little and we always played warriors or those dragon games? Like I’d be the dragon and you’d be the warrior, or we’d pretend there was a dragon and we were both warriors?” Mason asked.

  “Yeah,” Carter replied.

  “Well, I figure if we think of this trip like those games when we were little kids just pretending, maybe it will make it easier to get through.”

  Carter thought this over for a moment. “Problem is, Mason, we’re not p
retending anymore. It’s not just in our imaginations.”

  “Okay, maybe not, but what if we turned the tables around, you know, like Mom always says: put the shoe on the other foot, something like that. What if we pretend this is all imagination, and we’re on another imaginary mission? If you think of it that way, then you have to admit it’s not as scary.”

  “I suppose you have a point.”

  It wasn’t a bad idea, and the further into the forest the boys followed the heart-song, the easier it became to pretend this was all a game, and it lessened their anxiety.

  They were deep into the forest when they heard soft, unusual music. It was behind them, and getting closer. It didn’t sound like a song; there were no words or a recognizable tune. Instead, it sounded like hummingbird wings mixed with a violin, which was the only way Carter could think to describe it.

  The heart-song sped up. The boys sensed what they heard was exactly what Seyem had warned them about. And, it was getting louder. The boys broke into a jog, trotting close behind the heart-song, whom they trusted to know where she was going.

  They couldn’t outrun the sound, which caught up with them and became visible. There, surrounding them, were what appeared to be hundreds of flickering dragonflies.

  “It’s the faeries! The poison faeries! Run, run!” Mason yelled.

  Poison faeries worked by flapping their wings to mesmerize victims into a deep slumber. Once asleep, the faeries attacked with poisonous stingers, rendering their victims helpless. They would sleep forever. These were vicious creatures. To look at them, one would never know how horrid they were, because they were as beautiful as any artist’s idea of what a faerie might look like. They were incredibly delicate looking with gossamer wings and tiny, but lovely faces.

  Carter slowed down as the rhythm of those hypnotic wings took hold of him. That was when he saw the faeries for what they really were. One flew right in front of his eyes, a wide smile spread across its small face, but those eyes were as black and cold as any he’d ever seen. Seeing this broke the trance he’d been falling into and he ran faster, catching up with Mason and the heart-song.