Glory Alley and the Star Riders (The Glory Alley Series) (16 page)

“Psss,” Randy kicked h
er
under the table
.
Glory
glanced up to see Randy holding two
orange
saucers over his eyes. “Grrrr.
”

“Oh, my!
”
Danny held up his hands, screaming like a damsel in distress. “
It’s the Red-
E
yed Devil of Queen’s Cavern
.
Whatever shall I do?”

“
Hoogula
!
”
Grandpa
shouted
. T
he unexpected sound
caus
ed
everybody to jump
.
His faded eyes cleared for a
mom
ent
. T
hen
he spoke.
“Queen’s Mesa is ordinary on the outside, enchanted within, and Wicked
Wybbil
s come from the edge of the universe to search her winding tunnels.”
Spoons and forks froze in mid-air as everyone paused to listen
.
“What they’re looking for, nobody knows, but
don’t you dar
e
ask ‘em
.
” His words electrified Glory’s senses. “The
Wybbil
s, you see, have the magic
.
Get in their way and they’ll use it against you, but something far worse than
Wybbil
s lives under the mesa.”

“The
Hoogula
?
”
Glory
’s voice came out higher-pitched than she had intended.

“
Indeed
,”
Grandpa
said with a single nod
.
“The
Hoogula
’s huge red eyes can see in the dark and nothing except the sun’s rays can penetrate his spiked hide
.
He’s a devil from the netherworld itself, whose sole purpose is to keep the Queen’s treasure out of
Tullah
n hands.
”
Grandpa
waggled a scolding finger
Glory
’s way
.
“And those foolish enough to enter the
Hoogula
’s lair will be caught for sure
.
First, he’ll poke out their eyes wi
th
a silver horn, then tickle them to death with a magic feather, and after they’re good and dead, he’ll rip out their guts, saving the bones for toothpicks.

“And if he’s still hungry, when the world is at its darkest, the
Hoogula
leaves the mesa to roam the world, seeking naughty children to dine on
.
So listen closely boys and girls, be kind to one another and obey your elders, lest the
Hoogula
will pounce when you least expect it.
”

Grandpa must have told that tale a hundred times, but this morning it
took
on
new depth, chilling her to the
b
one
.
A
minute of
absolute quiet filled the kitchen
until Randy burst out laughing
.

“
Grandpa
,
you’re full of it.
”

The old man looked as he was about to reply, but that familiar glazed and vacant stare had already returned, mouth dangling as if he’d lost his words
.
Everyone knew that meant his mind had flown elsewhere
.
No use trying to
pick his brain for additional information.
Glory
licked
her
parched lips
. Acid
rose up in h
er
throat.

“Look at
Glory
,” Randy addressed everyone at the table
.
“
She
’s white as a ghost
.
I think
s
he bought
Grandpa
’s bull.”

“Red-eyed devil
? More lik
e
one
yellow-bellied chicken named
Glory
!
” Danny teased
.
“
Running out of the mesa from
your
own
s
hadow
.
”

Randy
pointed at
Glory
and
then flapped his arms like
chicken
wings
.
“Bawk! Bawk!
”

“Brandon!
”
Glory
’s head spun around to face h
er
betrayer
.
“
You said you wouldn’t tell!”

Brandon shrugged as if he couldn’t care less.

Glory
’s insides boiled
.
Grabbing a wad of lumpy eggs,
s
he raised it over
a
shoulder and was about to fling it at h
er
tormentors, when
Randy
hooked his ankles around the legs of
her
chair, then yanked
.
Glory
’s chair tipped backwards, crashing to
the
floor with a bang.

The chair took the brunt of the
force, but the fresh wounds on her back became agony.
Without warning, the walls of the kitchen faded away, and the image of the indigo
rock
appeared before h
er
, spinning in the middle of outer space
.
H
er
hand, translucent like a ghostly specter, reached out to touch it.
Glory
felt weightless, floating peacefully among the stars, without a care in the world
.
Peace radiated from
the
rock to the
center of h
er
being
.
She
gazed at the shimmering globe and smiled lovingly
.

“Randy,
didn’t you learn anything in
opportunity
school?”
Brandon
said
from some faraway place
.

“
That place sucks,” Danny replied. “Nobody learns anything there, except how to throw a punch when the instructors aren’t looking.”

“
If you don’t learn how to
act like
de
cent human being
s sometime soon
,”
Brandon
said. “Y
ou’re going to end up some place even worse.”

“
Glory
?
”
Randy’s
voice echoed from somewhere distant
.
“
I’m sorry.
You all right?”

“
Sh
e’s faking,”
Danny
’s voice cut in. “Uh,
Glory
?
Say something.”

There was a
mom
ent of
concern
as h
er
brothers stopped eating and pe
ered over the table anxiously awaiting a response
.

The vision faded all too quickly
.
Lying on h
er
back covered with eggs,
Glory
stared at the ceiling, hating life, thinking it odd how thoughts of the
rock
filled h
er
with contentment at the same
mom
ent
.

“
Gwo-wee
!
”
George
ran around the table in
a
diaper and a
stained bib
.
“Me kiss!
”
H
e crouched beside h
er
to plant little kisses on h
er
forehead
.
“All better?”

“
A little
,
George
. Thank you.”

“Me love
Gwo-wee
best!
”
he said,
toddling
away
.

“Did you hear that
?”
Nana clapped her hands together, obviously pleased.
“
George made a complete sentence!”

Nana
patted the youngest
Alley
on the head and helped h
im
into a chair
,
while everybody cheered for George.

“Faker,” Randy called down to
Glory
as
she
lay there semi-stunned
.