Benotripia- The Complete Trilogy

by McKenzie Wagner

  The Darvonians behind their leader began shooting arrows too, some of them hurling axes or javelins. Roseabelle let out a cry of pain as a javelin pierced her leg, but she quickly pressed the white diamond to the spot where she had been hit and the cut closed almost instantly.

  To her surprise, a flash of red caught Roseabelle’s eye. While blocking the arrows with her sword, she managed to see that behind Sheklyth was Dastrock at the very back of the group, in full armor but not shooting at them. He was pointing behind them and mouthing something. Roseabelle couldn’t make out what he was saying until he started pantomiming.

  “Door,” he mouthed. “Door.”

  Roseabelle jumped behind Astro and whispered in his ear, “Cover me.” She searched the walls looking for a button or an awkward panel of stone, anything signaling there was a way out. She began to feel her hands along the smooth stone of the wall. Finally her pointer finger hit a small bump. Roseabelle peered at the spot and, sure enough, saw a miniscule silver button. She grinned and jumped over to Jessicana. “There’s a door,” she whispered. “Come over here.”

  Sheklyth’s smile began to fade as the friends clumped together, still battling the Darvonians. Roseabelle saw that the battle was finally taking a toll on Jessicana. Her blonde hair was covered in soot, there was a hole in her shoe, and her clothes were covered in dirt. “Ready, now,” Roseabelle whispered. She backed up against the button and hit it with her elbow. She could see a wide smile spread across Dastrock’s face.

  As sunlight crept into the room, Sheklyth jumped forward.

  “No!” she shrieked, pulling a sharp sword from her belt. Roseabelle quickly pulled out her own and barely blocked a vicious strike from her former trainer. Metal clashed against metal as Sheklyth and Roseabelle circled around, the Darvonian on the offense, the Benotripian on the defense.

  Roseabelle didn’t know how much longer she could battle her former friend. Sheklyth’s strikes were hard, and Roseabelle was surprised how well she was holding up on her own.

  Astro and Jessicana had already stepped out the door. Roseabelle shouted, “Astro, make her vanish!” Astro held up the bloodred Stone and closed his eyes, but before he could do anything more, Sheklyth lunged for the diamond that was tucked in Roseabelle’s pocket.

  Just as her fingers were an inch away from the Stone, a red cloud of mist swirled around Sheklyth and carried her away, screaming defiantly. Roseabelle, breathing hard, looked up at the Darvonians, who were staring at her, shocked.

  “It’d be good if you could make them vanish too,” she whispered to Astro as some of them prepared to fight. A javelin whizzed past her abdomen and Roseabelle flinched.

  Astro groaned. “I have to wait a little while longer. Making a person disappear is a hard feat, Roseabelle, and I’m exhausted.” The three friends stepped outside. Both Jessicana and Roseabelle put a hand on Astro’s Stone and pushed all their energy into it. They jumped to avoid oncoming arrows. The Stone glowed brighter and brighter until everyone in the room had to shield their eyes.

  Astro held up the glowing Stone, closed his eyes, and, in the blink of an eye, every Darvonian flickered and disappeared. Only one was left standing in the room. He was dressed in a large black cloak, ash-colored armor, and a heavy helmet. Dastrock smiled broadly at them. “That was very impressive,” he commented.

  “We couldn’t have done it without your helpful hint,” Roseabelle remarked.

  Dastrock shrugged. “I try. So, now do you believe me?”

  “Yes.”

  CHAPTER 16

  The Lost Island

  ASTRO WAS MORE RELIEVED THAN EVER WHEN THEY stepped out into the bright sunshine. To their surprise, they had come out the same way they had come in, and Astro could hear the doorway crumbling behind them. “I can’t believe we did it,” he said.

  Jessicana and Roseabelle stepped out alongside him with Dastrock tailing behind. Astro turned back to them, then stretched and yawned. “I think it’s time we got back home.” He chuckled and the two friends nodded enthusiastically.

  Roseabelle took a deep breath and whistled for the Persopians. Large shadowy shapes flitted across the sky. Astro turned to the large Broxlorthian carcass that was drifting in the lake. He turned to Jessicana. “I think I’ll get rid of that ugly thing,” he said, and with a wave of his Stone, the body of the large plant flickered, glowed, then evaporated in millions of small red particles.

  As their Persopians landed on the opposite side of the lake, Jessicana grinned at Astro. “I’ll race you there,” she said, laughing with a gleam in her eye. Then she took off running.

  “Hey!” Astro shouted, easily catching up with her.

  Before they knew it, they were headed home with Dastrock riding on a Persopian that Jessicana had created. The journey took a few days, but eventually they reached their destination. When Roseabelle’s home came into view, they landed swiftly and hurried to the porch where their parents were waiting.

  Astro’s mother and father were on the front steps of Roseabelle’s home. Astro bit his lip. Would they be angry? Disappointed? However, when he came closer, his mother hugged him tightly and his father looked at him with proud eyes.

  “Don’t you ever do that to us again,” Mrs. Jagged-Bolt ordered. “We were scared out of our minds when we got back and you weren’t there.”

  Astro didn’t even need to speak as he watched Jessicana reunite with her family and Roseabelle hug her mother. They were all together again.

  “Mom,” Roseabelle began. “There’s someone I want you to meet.” She gestured at the armor-clad figure. Mrs. Wingling shrieked when she saw him.

  Dastrock removed his helmet and spoke in a loud clear voice. “No, I’m not a Darvonian.” Danette gasped as he mounted the steps and moved up the porch.

  “Dastrock?”

  “I’m back.”

  Danette embraced him. “I haven’t spoken to you since the night Magford disappeared.”

  “It has been a while,” Dastrock agreed. “But, Danette, I was thinking . . . Roseabelle needs to know.” Astro’s brow went up. What could Dastrock be talking about?

  “Her friends can know too. They’ve certainly earned it.”

  Danette turned to Astro and motioned him to the door. Jessicana saw the gesture and walked inside also, Roseabelle following from behind. Danette and Dastrock shared a look and then walked into the kitchen.

  * * * * *

  ROSEABELLE SAT AT THE TABLE WITH JESSICANA AND Astro and watched as Danette gracefully took her seat at the head of the table with Dastrock right next to her.

  Danette gave Dastrock a meaningful look, and he sighed as he looked into Roseabelle’s eyes. “So, Roseabelle. You know you are a Meta-Mord correct?”

  Roseabelle nodded. She’d known ever since she’d gone to the Academy.

  “Well, this may come as a shock to you, but Meta-Mords aren’t exactly Benotripians.”

  “What?” Roseabelle asked incredulously. “That’s not possible.”

  “Oh, but it is,” Dastrock said with a tired look. “It surely is.”

  “We’re not Darvonians,” Roseabelle said defensively.

  “Right,” Dastrock agreed. “I’m a Meta-Mord too. So was your father.” Roseabelle blinked. She had never known that.

  “Well, then what are we?” Roseabelle asked.

  Dastrock pulled out a scroll of parchment and unraveled it, showing it to Roseabelle. It was a map. “This is where you were born.” Roseabelle scanned the paper, confused. What did Dastrock mean? She could see waterfalls, rolling hills, forests, and many other beautiful landmarks. This didn’t help her confusion.

  “This isn’t Benotripia,” Roseabelle decided.

  “Correct.”

  “But it’s not Darvonia.”

  “Also correct.”

  Roseabelle gasped. It had suddenly clicked. “There’s a third island,” she stated. “That’s where I was born? Is that where all Meta-Mords are born?”

  Dastrock nodded. “Currently it
’s under the control of the Darvonians.” He gulped. “It used to be an ally of Benotripia, but we had to bring you here, so you would be safe.”

  An idea so ludicrous sprouted in Roseabelle’s mind, and she wondered if she dare say it out loud. “And the third island is also where—” She broke off her sentence, unable to finish it.

  “Yes, indeed. The third island is where your father, Magford, is being held.”

  Discussion Questions

  If someone was disloyal to you like Sheklyth, would you be cautious or would you trust freely? Why?

  Which stone would you prefer to have the most—the stone that can create, destroy, or heal?

  What would you do with the stone?

  If you had to go up against a monster, which one would you go up against—Garaganta, a Siren, or the Broxlorthian? Why?

  Who is your favorite character?

  What things do you like about that character that you would like to see in yourself?

  For Ty,

  the most creative Benotripian of them all

  Contents

  1. ASTRO

  2. DREAM WORLD SCROLL

  3. WALK IN THE NIGHT

  4. MOONSTAR

  5. SETTING SAIL

  6. SEA AMBUSH

  7. SPIRES OF ROCK

  8. METAMORDIA

  9. DARVONIAN CAVERNS

  10. TROPJYLE

  11. A PLAN

  12. ROARCANEUM

  13. THE CHASE

  14. THE INVISIBLE DOOR

  15. THE DREAM WORLD

  16. VANQUISHED AT LAST

  EPILOGUE

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  CHAPTER 1

  Astro

  WHEN ASTRO WOKE UP THAT MORNING, HE HAD planned on doing a lot of things, but falling from the sky was not one of them.

  Stretching and yawning, he rolled out of bed, already dressed in rumpled jeans and a black T-shirt. He then crossed over to the window and threw aside the heavy midnight-black drapes so sunlight could pour into the room. He slid open the heavy glass pane and welcomed the fresh air that drifted inside. Slinging his leg over the windowsill, Astro boosted himself onto the ledge.

  There. That was better. A lot better. Astro lived inside a gray stone tower that dated back to who knows when. His father had inherited it from his father, who inherited from his father, and so on. It had belonged to the Jagged-Bolt family for generations. They had never moved, probably because (aside from the arsenal in the very top room) there wasn’t a smidge of metal to be found in the tower. They’d discovered that the neighbors didn’t appreciate a lot of bright flashing, which was what usually resulted when any of them touched metal, because most Jagged-Bolt family members, including Astro, were born with the power to shoot lightning bolts from their fingertips.

  He gazed at the beach in the far distance—one benefit of living in a tower was the fantastic view. Astro spotted many Benotripians already gathering to resume building the defenses. Ever since the Darvonians—their heartless enemies who lived on another island—had snuck onto Benotripia in hopes of stealing the Stones of Horsh, Danette (the leader of Benotripia) had decided they needed more security. She had put together a plan for the Benotripians to build watchtowers. If the Darvonians attacked, they would be ready. Danette had personally marked certain places on the beach’s outer edges where the ground was hard enough to build a foundation. The defense towers looked pretty good to Astro; they were towering structures with endless barracks of magical tools and weapons stocked inside.

  You would think that after obtaining the most powerful artifacts in history, people would pay attention to you, maybe let you in on what they were planning. Dastrock (Roseabelle’s uncle) and Danette often had secret meetings—and it drove Astro crazy just thinking about it. Did they know something about the Darvonians’ plans? Roseabelle, Danette’s daughter and Astro’s best friend, had told him she didn’t know anything either. Six weeks previous, Astro had gone to her house, but Dastrock and Danette had shooed him away, purposely avoiding his questions and telling him to go find Roseabelle outside.

  Shortly thereafter, Dastrock and Danette left Benotripia on a sea vessel, and Astro hadn’t seen them for five weeks. They had traveled to the outer edges of Darvonia to monitor their enemy. Astro reckoned Danette just wanted to be extra cautious.

  His fingertips crackled with electricity, and Astro sighed with relief. After his Stone had made the Darvonians and their mysterious shadow horses disappear using its own ability, his hands no longer shook with pain when he used his power. When the Darvonians brought the shadow horses to the island, they radiated so much electricity, it had overloaded Astro and caused immense pain. But that didn’t mean the shadow horses weren’t out there—he still needed to be cautious. Speaking of the Stones of Horsh . . . Astro reached into his pocket to run his fingers over the smooth, hard texture of the red Stone. Horsh, a Darvonian who had joined forces with the Benotripians, had created the Stones and applied magical abilities to them. Astro still didn’t understand why he had created them—that was another mystery still to solve.

  Astro had assumed that Dastrock would know a way to destroy the Stones, but Roseabelle’s uncle had just shaken his head. “I wish I could,” he had said. “They are a true danger to the Benotripians. But they are protected by various enchantments and can’t be destroyed by steel, fire, Dragocone Rays, not even the other Stones. For now, you will have to keep them safe and hidden away. Never reveal them.” Dastrock wanted to destroy the Stones, because although they had extraordinary powers, if the Darvonians got ahold of them, all would be lost. It was better they didn’t exist at all, for the safety of Benotripia. Astro also wondered why in the world Dastrock would trust him, Roseabelle, and Jessicana with the Stones. “If the Darvonians do attack, the first place they’ll choose to search for the Stones would be the leaders of the Benotripia. Believe me, they’ll be safer in your hands.”

  It was tempting to show off the Stone to others, but Astro obeyed Dastrock anyway.

  Swinging his legs over the windowsill, Astro curled his fingers into a tight fist. It was strange how much Benotripia had changed since the Darvonians had invaded the island. The schools were temporarily closed because most adults needed to help construct the defenses and every child needed to be practicing their powers.

  Astro thought back to the last time he’d spoken with Roseabelle and Jessicana, just a few days ago. “I’m a little worried,” Roseabelle had said. Of course she’s worried, Astro thought. The Darvonians will stop at nothing to conquer Benotripia.

  “Worried about what?” he’d asked her.

  “Sheklyth,” was her reply. Astro grimaced at the name of Roseabelle’s former trainer. Sheklyth had betrayed them all, revealing to Roseabelle when they had gone to rescue Danette that Sheklyth wasn’t just a Darvonian, but the heir to the Darvonian throne.

  “Why? We all saw Astro’s Stone make her vanish,” Jessicana said.

  “I know, but . . . I can’t shake the feeling that she’s not gone.”

  Maybe it was crazy, maybe it was absurd, but Astro had a strange feeling that Roseabelle was right. For some reason, Astro sensed that Sheklyth was alive. He didn’t know how or why, but he just did. Astro’s gaze locked onto something in the corner of his room, tucked behind a shelf. The files they had retrieved from Darvonia, the ones that had gotten them into the castle, still lay there. He, Jessicana, and Roseabelle had figured out the files had been talking about Metamordia—that was the secret thing the Darvonians had been discussing. What would Metamordia be like anyway? Tropical, like Benotripia? Rocky, like Darvonia?

  As he gazed out on the landscape of the tropical island, immersed in his thoughts, Astro suddenly saw a silver projectile hurtling toward him out of the corner of his eye. It happened so fast that Astro barely had time to duck forward. It was a weapon!

  Although he avoided it, the act of ducking caused Astro to lose his balance. Before he knew what was happening, he dropped like a stone, the air ripping past h
is face, his arms flailing wildly. In his panic, silver lightning shot from his fingertips, peppering the ground below.

  The wind whistled obnoxiously in his ears, and Astro tried to grasp anything he could. At one point, he grazed the roughhewn stone of the tower, but he was hurtling toward the earth so fast, it was impossible to hold on.

  The only thing he could think of as the ground rushed up to meet him was: “AHHHHHHH!”

  Desperately, he shot a large lightning bolt at the ground to boost him up and slow his fall, but it merely created a smoking black hole in the dirt instead. Just as he was about to smash against the ground, something jerked him to a stop, suspending his body horizontally two inches above the earth.

  “Wha-what?” he said shakily. Suddenly the hold on his body gave way, and he plopped down on the ground.

  “Astro!” said a familiar voice, and he turned to see a wide-eyed and terrified Jessicana running toward him, blonde hair flowing around her shoulders. As Astro moved to get up, he noticed a rope around his waist, tied to a metal hook. Jessicana wore the Grapplegore, a bulky ring on her finger with a glistening green gem. Her trainer, Asteran, had given the ring to her. Every time Jessicana pressed on the green gem, two ropes swung out, one to latch on to something and another to attack any intruders from below. Normally, Jessicana used it for swinging from vine to vine. “Are you all right?” she asked, helping Astro to his feet.

  “Yeah,” he said, rubbing off the shock of plummeting eighty feet. “What happened?”

  “I-I was walking to go to Roseabelle’s house, when I decided to come here to invite you, and I sort of saw you falling from the sky,” she stammered.

  The realization struck him. “You saved me,” he said.

  “I’m glad you’re all right. Um, by the way, why were you falling from the sky?” Jessicana’s eyebrows crinkled a bit.