by David Bowles
Dante’s voice trembled. “And it worked.”
The Quiet Prince nodded. “Kind of. I peeled off a piece of the Underworld, trapping Bruno inside. I tried to program the place to look like the city streets he knew, so he wouldn’t be scared. Then . . . something went terribly wrong.”
“You can say that again,” muttered Malia.
“We have more questions, dude,” Dante said.
“Like why your knights are after us!” Ivan exclaimed.
The cousins were so distracted by the guilty look on Mickey’s face that they didn’t notice the dozen cougars that had just surrounded them.
Chapter
8
Nicked by the Knights!
“Boo!”
Ivan jumped up at the sound. Cackling cougars had made a circle all around them—they were trapped!
Malia reached for her snowboard. “Call them off, Prince!”
Mickey leaped to his feet. “Already told you: I can’t! But trust me. I’ll get you free.”
Then he wrapped his cape of black feathers around himself and disappeared!
“I didn’t see that coming,” Dante said.
Once the cougars began laughing, the cousins dropped to their knees, they were so dizzy.
Ivan shook his head and pulled up his earmuffs. He helped Malia do the same.
A small but quick cougar pounced at them, snatching Dante’s earmuffs with its claws and rushing away.
“Dante, quick! Pull up your hood!” Malia shouted.
But Dante moved too slowly.
“My hair!” he complained. “It took me forever to get it perfect!”
Dante’s delay cost him. Ivan could see his cousin’s eyes glaze over as the cackling got louder. The lead cougar pointed at Dante and said something Ivan couldn’t hear. Then Dante reached out and yanked his cousins’ earmuffs down!
As the Knights of the Quiet Prince laughed, their leader smiled, showing its fangs.
“I am Captain Kamak,” the cougar declared. “And you are my captives.”
Chapter
9
The Weird Wood
Hypnotized, the kids were forced to march. The park path led into the spookiest woods Ivan had ever seen. Strange glowing eyes stared at them from the dark. A few healing stones twinkled among the dead leaves.
A moth the size of Ivan’s hand landed on his face. He wanted to scream, but couldn’t. He marched on silently, just like his cousins.
Bad jokes kept coming, making things creepier. Strange grunts answered the cougars’ cackling. The knights laughed even harder.
There was a rustling sound in the trees to Ivan’s left. He couldn’t turn to look. All he saw was a strange blur and then a smoky mist that wrapped all around him and his guards.
It smelled like catnip.
Ivan’s two cougar guards dropped to the ground, snoring. Then a pair of arms grabbed him off the path.
Something pressed against his chest. “Heal up, Shi-PAH-ti!”
Mickey was using a healing stone on him. Ivan’s mind cleared fast. The Quiet Prince pulled him behind a tree.
“Not a word,” Mickey ordered.
The Knights were shouting and growling. Captain Kamak started snarling orders. “It’s His Bratty Majesty! You four, with me! We’ll take the prisoners to the camp. The rest of you, capture the boy cub!”
Mickey yanked on Ivan’s parka. “Vamos. Time to move, little bro.”
Ivan pushed him away. “They have my cousins!”
“I’m sorry.” Mickey rubbed his eyes. “I’m a prince with a useless, single-minded army.”
Ivan pointed back toward the path. “What command could take five years to obey?”
“‘Find Bruno,’” Mickey said, “‘no matter what. Use everything and everyone you can.’”
Chapter
10
Furious Forest
The knights came crashing through the undergrowth. Mickey and Ivan sprinted through the forest.
For a moment, it seemed the two boys would escape. But then two cougars burst into view in front of them!
In seconds, Ivan and Mickey were surrounded.
“Quick!” the Quiet Prince shouted. “Climb that tree!”
Ivan shimmied up fast. Mickey was right behind him. Soon, the two boys were perched on branches, staring down at six cougars.
“Like a pack of dogs cornering a raccoon,” one of the cougars said.
“That reminds me,” said another. “Why do dogs run in circles?”
“Easy!” shouted a third. “Because it’s hard to run in squares!”
They howled with laughter. Ivan pulled up his earmuffs.
The cougars looked at him and shrugged. They started throwing spears! One of them thudded into the tree trunk right beside Ivan’s head!
Then a miracle happened.
All around the cougars, a dozen little green elves stepped out of the trees, emerging from the trunks! They all had grassy hair and deep brown eyes. Moss and leaves covered them like clothing.
“What are they?” Ivan asked Mickey.
“They’re chaneks,” he replied. “Forest spirits. Oh, it is on now!”
The chaneks lifted their green hands and made a sweeping movement. The woods came to life! Branches swayed and smacked two of the cougars. Vines whipped through the air and snatched another pair up, wrapping around them like ropes. Roots tripped the two that tried to run away, and as they hit the ground, grass quickly grew over their bodies, trapping them.
Mickey looked at Ivan. “See? They got ’em!”
Chapter
11
Chaneks and Catnip
The chaneks made the cougars fall asleep with the magic catnip powder Mickey had used to free Ivan. Then Mickey led Ivan and the elves deeper into what he called “the Weird Wood.”
“Where are we going?” Ivan asked.
“To the chaneks’ village,” Mickey explained.
The wooded area of the park wasn’t that big. In just a few minutes, they reached a cave hollowed out in the cliff on the edge. Gardens of herbs and mushrooms spread out in semicircles. Chaneks silently tended to the plants.
It was a calm paradise. But Ivan’s mind wasn’t calm at all. He couldn’t stop thinking about his cousins, hypnotized, having to obey every command of a bunch of cackling cougars.
He thought back to the moment when he had wished he was all alone on the mountain and imagined life without Malia and Dante. Sure, they had little in common, and sometimes they made him feel like he didn’t belong. But they were his family. He could always lean on Malia, and Dante could always make him laugh.
Ivan couldn’t let anything happen to them!
“Why are they after us?” he demanded.
“To train you,” Mickey replied, his voice cracking. “To make you dogcatchers.”
Ivan felt that sinking feeling again. “We have to rescue them, and you’re going to help me.”
“Of course,” he replied.
“Where are the cougars taking them?” Ivan asked.
“They’ve set up camp beyond the woods,” the Quiet Prince explained, “on the other side of the park.”
Ivan glanced at the chaneks who had saved him. They were crouched over some flowers, watching the bees.
“Excuse me, how much of that catnip do you have?”
Looking up, they sang a single word in unison: “Mi-yak.”
“A lot,” Mickey translated.
“Good,” Ivan said. “We’re going to need it all.”
Chapter
12
Tricky Training
Captain Kamak stood in front of the command tent, looking at Dante and Malia.
“Okay, newbies,” Kamak said. “If my scouts find paw prints, we’ll be sending you in. Dogs like humans better than cougars. If you find Bruno, call to him. When he gets close, you collar him. Then do the whistle I taught you. Lieutenant Ezzy?”
One of the knights put a silver collar in Malia’s hand.
“Today you practice,” the captain explained. “Boy cub, you’re the dog. Run off toward those swings and hide.”
Dante couldn’t stop himself. He dropped to all fours and hurried toward a twisted, rusted playground.
Kamak laughed. “Okay. Girl cub, you’re the dogcatcher. Go collar that mutt!”
Malia felt her legs move. She began to follow her cousin’s trail, handprints and knee marks in the muddy ground. A few yards behind her came Lieutenant Ezzy, yawning.
“Yay,” the cougar muttered. “Watching human cubs.”
Dante had ducked into some bushes near the swings. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
It was Ivan, shoving a healing stone against his chest.
“Heal up, Shi-PAH-ti!” he whispered.
Dante’s eyes opened wide! He was about to speak, but Ivan put his finger to his lips so he’d stay quiet.
Just then, Malia walked past the swings, her head swiveling back and forth. She saw the marks leading to the bushes. Holding the silver collar tight, she leaned in.
As fast as he could, Ivan freed her from hypnosis! She started to pull back, but he shook his head.
“Wait!” he said softly. “Act like you’re still hypnotized. They can’t suspect a thing, okay?”
Chapter
13
Cougar Camp
A few minutes later, Ivan walked into the cougar camp, the silver collar around his neck. Lieutenant Ezzy held a spear to his back. Dante and Malia pretended to shuffle like zombies at his side.
Captain Kamak grinned. “That’s no dog, but good job, newbies! Now take him to the mess tent. He can help clean up after lunch. Ezzy, come here. I want a full report.”
Malia pulled on Ivan’s collar, leading him away. They soon came to a spot between tents where no one could see them.
Without warning, Ivan grabbed his cousins and hugged them tightly.
“Whoa!” said Malia, squirming. Dante squeezed him back.
“I’m just glad you’re okay,” Ivan said. “Though you didn’t have to tighten the collar so much, Malia.” He unbuckled the collar and tossed it away.
“You said to make it look real,” Malia reminded him.
Dante pulled away, smiling. “Dude, I’m sorry about before. I should have believed you in the beginning.”
“Me too,” Malia said. “You only wanted to protect us.”
“Thanks, guys.” Ivan smiled. Maybe they understood him more than he realized.
“So what’s the plan?” Dante asked.
“We need to get them all together in a small space,” Ivan said. “Then we can use catnip dust to make them sleepy. Our portal opens, and boom! We’re back in the snow.”
“I say we use their own mission against them,” said Malia.
Dante slapped his hands together. “I love it! We’ll put their training to use.”
“But wait,” Malia said. “You don’t have any catnip with you, Ivan. Ezzy searched you.”
Ivan smiled. “Don’t worry. We’ve got some awesome friends!”
Chapter
14
Nighty Night!
“What are you hairless apes doing?” It was an old cougar carrying a bucket full of stinky red meat. “Why aren’t you hypnotized?”
As hard as he could, Ivan kicked the bucket. “Protect us, Shi-YA-na!”
With a WHOOSH, Mickey Aguilar appeared. He was holding a big bag and two snowboards.
“His Bratty Majesty!” snarled the old cougar, leaping to attack.
“Oh, great,” Mickey said, dropping everything and using his cape to disappear.
“What a jerk!” Dante groaned. “Always leaving right when we—”
Mickey reappeared right behind the old cougar and shoved it to the ground, sitting on its chest. “Hurry! Throw some of the catnip at it!”
“How?!” Malia picked up the bag, sticking her hand inside.
The old cougar was snapping its jaws at the Quiet Prince, trying to bite him.
“Like this!” Mickey clamped his hands on either side of its face. “Open, Hebaan!”
The cougar’s mouth popped open! Malia flung her handful of catnip at it. Within seconds, the cougar was snoring.
“Where are the rest of them?” Mickey asked, wiping sweat from his forehead.
Malia put two fingers to her lips and whistled. The sound was loud and piercing.
“On their way,” she said.
Holding out the bag, Mickey spilled the catnip around them in a circle.
Just then, the Knights of the Quiet Prince came running toward them from all directions. Dozens of cougars, snarling.
“On my signal, slap your hands against the ground,” Mickey told them, “and shout, ‘Rise up, SHE-wa!’ Okay?”
“Where’s the dog, human cubs?” one of the cougars hissed.
“Where? Where?” the others repeated, getting closer and closer, brandishing claws and spears.
“Now!” shouted Mickey.
The cousins dropped to their knees beside him and slammed their palms against the ground. “RISE UP, SHE-WA!”
The catnip was blown up into the air and out toward the cougars.
Almost in unison, the knights dropped to the ground, asleep.
Malia stood, looking over her shoulder. “Where’s the portal? Why hasn’t it appeared?”
“Because we’re still standing!” The kids spun around. Captain Kamak and Lieutenant Ezzy were approaching, furious. “What’ve you done, brats?”
“We gave your troop catnip,” Dante said. “Not very bright, are you? Hey, Ivan, what do you call a cougar with half a brain?”
Ivan smiled. “Gifted?”
“Boom!” Dante laughed. “Feel the burn, kitty cat.”
The captain smiled. “Not bad. Now I’ll laugh you into submission.”
Ivan and Malia reached for their earmuffs. Dante shoved his fingers in his ears.
Then BOOM! The ground behind the cougars exploded upward. Roots and vines snaked out of the hole and grabbed the two knights. Three chaneks stepped out of the biggest root. They lifted their hands to their lips and blew catnip powder into the struggling cougars’ faces.
“Shi-ko-chi-kan,” they sang.
“Ha! Nighty night,” Mickey translated.
The cougars’ eyes closed.
WHAM! A portal popped open! Through the glowing circle, Ivan could make out the snowy slope of a mountain. “Dante, Malia—time to leave!”
Ivan touched the Quiet Prince’s arm. “Come on, Mickey. I think your grandmother really misses you. Maybe she’s been hoping we’d find you.”
Mickey turned, tears in his eyes. “I can’t. I came for my dog. My portal won’t open until I find him.”
Chapter
15
Down the Slope at Last
“The portal’s closing, dude!” Dante shouted. He and Malia had already strapped on their snowboards.
Ivan nodded. “Right behind y’all!”
Malia and Dante jumped through the portal onto the snowy slope.
“Go,” Mickey said. “I’ll be fine.”
Ivan dove, belly flopping onto the snow. It was a cold and fast ride down the slope. Finally, he reached the bottom and shook frost from his face.
Dante gingerly touched his hair, which was miraculously perfect despite their adventure. “And Mickey?”
“I think our portal wouldn’t work for him,” Ivan explained. “To return, he has to find Bruno.”
The cousins stared at one another in silence until Dr. Eisenberg, Ivan’s father, came trudging across the snow with mugs of hot chocolate.
“Ivan?” he called. “What happened to your skis?”
“I got mugged, Dad,” Ivan explained. “Some guy with a spear.”
Panicked, his father yanked out his phone and called the police.
As he walked away, Malia groaned in frustration.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” she muttered, “but we can’t leave him there.”
Dante sho
ok his head. “Boss, no.”
Ivan stood, brushing snow from his pants. “She’s right, Dante. We have to go back and help.”
Activities
THINK!
The cousins are hypnotized and have to obey commands. Think about the choices you’ve made on your own today.
FEEL!
Malia and Dante don’t believe Ivan’s theory about 13th Street. When you aren’t believed, how does that make you feel?
ACT!
The cousins meet a new friend on 13th Street. Make a list of ways to welcome new kids at school and in your neighborhood.
About the Author and Illustrator
Photo by Paul Chouy
DAVID BOWLES is the award-winning Mexican American author of many books for young readers. He’s traveled all over Mexico studying creepy legends, exploring ancient ruins, and avoiding monsters (so far). He lives in Donna, Texas.
Courtesy Shane Clester
SHANE CLESTER has been a professional illustrator since 2005, working on comics, storyboards, and children’s books. Shane lives in Florida with his wonderful wife and their two tots. When not illustrating, he can usually be found by the pool.
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
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Copyright
13TH STREET #3: CLASH OF THE CACKLING COUGARS. Copyright © 2020 by HarperCollins Publishers. 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.
