Eye of the Wizard: A Fantasy Adventure (32 page)

They headed out, the morning crisp, the sky veiled with gray clouds. In their backpacks they carried some bread, jam, and apples that Julian gave them. As they moved through Greenford, a few little girls ran up to hand them flowers. A beefy man, wearing a butcher's apron, raced up and handed them a string of sausages. A cheesemaker handed them a wheel of cheese, while a baker gave them each a muffin.

"Thanks, everyone," Scruff said, voice scratchy. "We appreciate it."

"Just don't screw it up," warned the peasant girl, the one who had scolded them yesterday. She glared at them, but then sighed, the fire gone from her eyes. "Please don't screw it up. You really are our last hope, as sad as that sounds."

Soon the Bullies exited Greenford, leaving the townsfolk to wave from their ruined town. The grass rose high around the dirt road, and deer ran in the distance beneath skeins of geese. Scruff kept looking over his shoulder at Greenford, chewing his lip, watching the townsfolk wave.
I can't let them down,
he thought.
I don't even care about the money anymore. I have to save these people.

Romy seemed to reach a similar conclusion. After walking in silence for a while, she burst out, "We have to save those glass statuettes!"

Scruff ahemed. "And, you know... all the people who live around here. Them too."

Romy tapped her cheek. "I haven't thought about that. I suppose that'll be a nice byproduct. But I
really
love those statuettes." She opened her palm to reveal a tiny glass lion. "Old Julian let me keep it."

They walked throughout the morning, blue mountains rising ahead from the mist. The land was burned for miles around, and Scruff saw smoke rising from distant farms. White boulders rose around the Bullies, and they reminded Scruff of great teeth. He shivered.
I wonder if rocs have teeth to chew with, or if they swallow people whole.

The dirt road became more narrow, pebbly, and weedy as they walked, until it dwindled into little more than a hint through wild grass. As they moved closer to the mountains, their size made Scruff feel small. The mountains were the largest he'd seen, rising into the clouds, their tops too tall to see. They seemed to hold the sky. When they got close enough, Scruff saw what Old Julian had described. Upon the mountainside appeared an anguished face. A cave gaped open like a screaming mouth, while two cracks above it looked like eyes narrowed in pain.

"The mountain is hurt," Romy said and began sucking her thumb.

Neev snorted. "That's silly, Romy, mountains can't feel pain."

Cobweb took a step closer to the mountain, bow in hand, the breeze streaming her hair. Her dress of gossamer rustled. "No, she's wight," the spiderling said, voice soft, eyes somber. "Everyting in da natuwal wowld can feew p-p-pain, fwom the smawwest p-pebbwe to da gweatest m-mountain. And dis mountain is huwting, Neev." Her eyes were haunted.

Scruff shuddered, looking back at that anguished face.

"Creepy," Jamie said. Her new breastplate and helmet, which she bought at Queenpool, were already dusty and dented; the Bullies had no money to hire a blacksmith or even buy oil to properly polish their weapons and armor.

If they killed the roc, they'd never have to worry about money again, but Scruff didn't care about money today.
If Vanderbeak truly works for Dry Bones, we have to kill him.
Dry Bones was after Cobweb; Scruff would not let the skeleton kidnap her again. He looked at the spiderling, how her glowing hair moved in the wind, how golden freckles lay strewn across her lavender nose, how her body moved through the grass. The memory of Cobweb beaten and bruised in the dungeon flashed through Scruff's mind, and he clenched his fist around Norman.

As they walked, the anguished face grew larger, and soon it towered over them, several hundred yards up the mountainside, its mouth gaping. A cold wind blew from the cave, and it seemed like the face was moaning. Scruff shivered for the hundredth time that day. He stopped walking and turned to face the other Bullies. They stood before him, the wind ruffling their hair. Jamie stood with her sword drawn and glinting, Cobweb with her arrow nocked, Neev with his cloak fluttering, Romy with her pitchfork in hand.
I couldn't ask for better friends,
Scruff thought and had to swallow before addressing them.

"All my life," he said, "I was told I'm a failure. My swordmaster said I'll never be a knight. He said the same to Jamie when he learned she's a girl. Neev was kicked out of the Coven, told he could never be a warlock. Cobweb was banished, told she's a poor excuse for a spiderling, and even Romy is now in exile. I'm tired of being told we're losers. If we can't kill this roc, we'll always be losers. But if we can do this today, we won't just be bullies. We'll be heroes."

Jamie nodded and raised her sword. Scruff hefted his mace. Cobweb drew her bow, arrow ready to fire. Neev's lips moved silently, rehearsing the words of spells. Romy bared her fangs, letting them glint in the sunlight.

"Ready?" Scruff said.

"Ready," they all replied, and they began their climb to the cave, pebbles crackling beneath their feet.

Along the climb, Scruff saw signs of the roc—huge talon marks in the stone, discarded elephant tusks, stones caked with ash and blood, and several feathers as long as Scruff was tall. The place stank like a corpse. Soon Scruff reached the cave and stood before it. He gazed into the darkness but saw nothing. A cold wind blew from the cave, smelling like rotten meat. Scruff swallowed, tightened his grip around Norman, and stepped into the darkness.

Chapter Twenty-Three

I Wanna Roc

Scruff took slow paces into the cave, heart hammering, Norman heavy in his hands. Bats hung upside down around him, and bones—some of them human—littered the cave floor. Roc feathers lay around his feet, and a smell like rotting flesh filled the damp air, so heavy Scruff almost gagged. From ahead in the darkness, he heard distant, echoing grunts.
Vanderbeak is home.

"Jamie, you behind me?" he whispered, not daring to look over his shoulder. The tunnel was wide above them, leaving room for a roc to fly, but only three feet wide near the ground. The Bullies had to walk single file.

Jamie whispered behind him. "I'm with you, brother, and so is my sword. Cobweb and Neev are right behind me."

"And I'm guarding the back!" came Romy's voice, as happy and loud as ever.

"Shhh!" Scruff whispered, cursing under his breath. "Be quiet, Romy."

"Ouchy, Jamie!" Romy cried. "Stop kicking me."

"Will you shut it!" Scruff hissed, grinding his teeth.

The grunting ahead, deep in the darkness, died.
Damn.
Did Vanderbeak hear Romy? Was their surprise ruined? He heard creaking from the depths of the cave. Vanderbeak was moving. Was he coming their way?

Scruff looked at the bones around his feet. Were these the bones of heroes come to slay the beast? Fear, cold and overwhelming, froze every muscle in Scruff's body. His head spun, and he wanted to turn around and run for his life, screaming. He swallowed, forcing down the fear, and it took all his strength to move one foot forward. His fingers trembled around Norman's grip.
Just keep walking,
he told himself.
One step at a time.
He forced himself to take another step into the darkness, ignoring the horror that seemed to tug him in the opposite direction.
I have to do this. I have to kill that roc—for the people who live in this land, for Cobweb, for my sister and brother, for my mother and father.
He took a third step.

The others seemed to suffer the same fear, but kept advancing with him, one step at a time, breathing heavily. After a few more paces, each more difficult than the last, Scruff saw firelight ahead. It danced against the cave walls, coming from somewhere in the depths. The grunting of the creature returned, loud and hoarse. It sounded hungry. Scruff took one more pace, the tunnel sloped down into a cavern, and there he saw him.

Scruff froze outside the cavern, cold sweat drenching him.
God he's huge.
The beast lay upon a nest of coins and jewels, fire in his nostrils, more fires burning around him in the craggy cavern. Vanderbeak did not seem to notice the Bullies, but was busy picking at an elephant carcass, pieces of flesh dangling from his beak. As Scruff watched, the roc sucked up the elephant's trunk like a man sucking up a noodle. It made a long slurping sound.

Scruff held up his hand, signaling the Bullies to freeze. Keeping one eye on the roc, he whispered from the corner of his mouth. "Guys, let's surprise him as he eats. Jamie and I will attack him from the front. Cobweb, you keep your distance and fire arrows. Neev, you attack from behind. Romy, you stay here to guard the tunnel; join us only if we're in trouble. Now let's surprise him before—"

A boom shook the cave, cutting off Scruff's words.

He looked around wildly, ears aching. The mountain seemed to tremble and stones fell from the ceiling. Scruff spun around and saw that the cave entrance, a hundred yards behind, was collapsing, raining boulders and dust. Boulders came rolling down the tunnel toward them.

"Damn it!" Scruff said. "It's a trap."

The boulders tumbled their way down the tunnel. Scruff ran, vaguely aware of the other Bullies running behind him. There was only one place to run—into Vanderbeak's cavern. Scruff burst into the cavern and found the roc screeching, enraged, blowing fire from his beak.

There goes our element of surprise,
Scruff thought. "Attack!" he shouted and rushed forward with his mace.

Vanderbeak thrust his neck down toward him, and Scruff swung his mace, screaming. Norman crashed into Vanderbeak's head, sending rippling pain up Scruff's arms. Scruff screamed and fell. Vanderbeak raised his head to the ceiling and screeched, fire rising from his beak. The sound was so loud, Scruff had to drop his mace and cover his ears.

Get up!
he told himself and leaped to his feet. He grabbed his mace and ran toward Vanderbeak. The roc screeched and blew fire toward him. Scruff raised his shield—the old wooden shield he had carried since Burrfield, all scratched and chipped, emblazoned with the Thistle emblem—and the flames flew around him. Scruff shut his eyes, feeling the heat singe his hair, his left arm, his feet. He was vaguely aware of the sounds of Jamie's swinging sword, Cobweb's whooshing arrows, and Neev's spells, but the sounds all seemed distant. The pain and fire drowned out everything.

The flames seemed to die. Maybe Vanderbeak was pausing for breath. Scruff opened his eyes and found his shield aflame. He tossed it aside and saw Vanderbeak screeching, bristly with Cobweb's arrows. Jamie was hacking at the great talons, her left arm bloody. Where were Romy and Neev? Scruff could not see them and had no time to look. Vanderbeak raised his talon and prepared to squash him.

Scruff rolled aside, and the talon, each claw like a sword, hit the ground beside him. Scruff brought down his mace hard, hitting Vanderbeak's foot. The roc screeched.

"Kill him!" he screamed and swung his mace again, hitting Vanderbeak's leg. He heard Neev cast a fireball somewhere behind and felt the heat of flames. He thought he saw Romy flying around the cavern, stabbing Vanderbeak with her pitchfork.

"We can do this," Scruff screamed. "Let's ki—"

Vanderbeak's talon kicked, hitting Scruff in the chest. His breastplate protected him, but the blow tossed Scruff through the air, knocking the breath out of him. He hit the ground, for a moment unable to breathe. The talon came down again, slamming against his chest, and Vanderbeak began to push down. Scruff could not breathe. His armor began to creak and bend, and Scruff opened his mouth to scream, but no sound left it.

"Scwuff!" Cobweb screamed, running forward. Lying under Vanderbeak's talon, Scruff could barely see. Cobweb seemed all fuzzy, and stars floated across the chamber. Scruff felt ready to pass out. Darkness was spreading over his eyes, like curtains being drawn.
Stay awake, don't die now, LIVE.
Cobweb must have been out of arrows. Scruff saw her draw her dagger, lunge forward, and bury the blade into Vanderbeak's foot.

Vanderbeak screeched and lifted his talon off Scruff. Lying on the ground, Scruff took a huge breath, a breath almost large enough to suck in Vanderbeak himself. The darkness lifted from his eyes. Scruff coughed, blinked, and struggled up.

"Cobweb," he said, every inch of him aching, "are you—"

Vanderbeak lashed his talon, hitting Cobweb in the chest, sending her flying.

"
Cobweb!
" Scruff screamed, running toward her, Vanderbeak screeching behind him. Cobweb flew through the cavern, hit a stone wall, and fell to the ground.
Is she dead?
The other Bullies were battling the roc, but Scruff just ran toward Cobweb, tears in his eyes.

He dropped Norman and knelt by Cobweb, eyes blurry with tears. She was lying still on the cave floor, face bloody, eyes shut. "Cobweb," Scruff whispered, tears on his cheeks. Her eyes would not open, and she lay limp.
God, is she dead?

An anguished cry filled the cavern. At first Scruff thought it his own cry of anguish, or maybe the sound of his heart renting. But no. This sound came from the shadows in a distant nook, and Dry Bones burst out of the darkness.

"Dry Bones!" Romy said from above, wings flapping, pitchfork bloody. "Where were you hiding all this time?"

The skeleton paid her no heed. He ran, screaming, cloak flapping. He shouted a spell, and lightning flew from his fingertips, hitting Vanderbeak.

The roc howled, sizzling. The black lighting ran across his body, and feathers flew from him.

"I told you not to hurt the spiderling!" Dry Bones screamed, firing more lightning bolts into the towering bird. The roc screeched, burning, eyes blazing, fire leaving his beak. Dry Bones tossed a third volley of lightning, and Vanderbeak fell onto his back. He twitched, raising smoke, kicking his claws. A smell like roast chicken filled the cavern.

Vanderbeak's head fell back, and his tongue hung from his beak.