Kendra Kandlestar and the Crack in Kazah (21 page)

THE RUMBLE PIT! Located in the belly of Krake Castle, it was a place of pain and misery, where many a creature from legend and lore had battled for survival. Why, you might ask? The answer is simple: to amuse Queen Krake and her legion of bird-like drones with the horrendous spectacle of the fight.

Kendra had never imagined she would have to return to that dreadful place—until the day Pugglemud gathered his thugs in front of the prison carts and announced: “Boys, we’re goin’ to be rollin’ in gold—tee hee! Cuz I’m goin’ ta sell the whole mess o’ freaks to that Queeny so she can put ’em to fightin’ in her pit.”

“Then what’ll happen to the circus?” one of the Dwarves asked.

“I’m shuttin’ her down, don’t ya know,” Pugglemud retorted. “These freaks is becomin’ more trouble than they’re worth. And now I got me a peryton, rarest of all magic beasties. That Queeny will pay through the beak fer him.”

“You’re a fool to go there,” Kendra boldly interrupted from her prison cart. “You’ll find only torment and torture in Krake Castle.”

“And gold—tee hee!” Pugglemud sniggered, prancing over to spit at Kendra through the bars of her cage.

“You’re mistaken,” Kendra told him. “I’ve met your Queen. She will snap your whip in two and toss you into the Rumble Pit along with the rest of us.”

“Yer jus’ trying to save yer own neck,” Pugglemud scoffed, stroking the long peryton feather that adorned his hat. “Ya can bellyache all ya want, but it’s of no account anyhoo—cuz you freaks is goin’ to the Rumble Pit!”

He wandered off with a whistle and Kendra turned to stare glumly at her mother.

“You’ve been in this pit before?” Kayla asked.

Kendra nodded.

“How did you survive?”

“My friends,” Kendra replied. “And Uncle Griffinskitch,” she added sadly. “But he’s not coming to the rescue this time.”

And so the caravan rolled across the countryside and eventually arrived in the port town of Ireshook, that wretched hive of gamblers, cheaters, and sailors. Here Pugglemud bought passage on a large Gnome ship to take them across the Seas of Ire to Krake Castle. The greedy Dwarf booked a fancy cabin for himself and a few of his henchmen, but Kendra and the rest of the circus performers were left in their prison carts and loaded into the darkest and bottommost hold of the ship.

Now their situation seemed even more desperate than before. There was little light, the food was terrible, and the ship often rocked horribly. Kendra was constantly sick.

Then, one day, the ship began to pitch and roll more than usual. Even from the depths of the cargo hold, Kendra could hear the wail of the wind and the roar of the waves. She suddenly realized that they had been caught in a fierce storm and were at the mercy of the sea. The brakes had been set on the wheels of the prison carts to prevent them from rolling, but the ship tipped and tilted so dramatically that the cages began to slide across the floor of the cargo hold, smashing into each other along the way.

“Quickly, Kendra,” Kayla gasped. “Brace yourself!”

Kendra wrapped both hands around an iron bar at the front of the cage, but the whole cart now flew across the hold and slammed into the side of the ship with such force that she lost her grip and was pitched backwards, head over heels. It took a moment for her to collect her wits, and when she did, she realized the cage had split open.

“Hurry,” Kayla cried, yanking Kendra to her feet.

They scrambled out of the prison cart, and to her horror Kendra realized the cage wasn’t the only thing broken. There was a huge fracture in the hull of the ship and seawater was gushing in.

We’ve struck rocks,
Kendra thought.
We must be near shore.

Some of the other prisoners were free, but many were still locked in their cages. They screamed for help; Kendra knew they would have no chance in the sinking ship. So, even as water swirled around her boots, she found a splintered timber and began using it to pry open cage doors or widen cracks that had already started in the sides of the carts.

I hope Oki’s okay,
she thought desperately—as far as she knew, he was still in his birdcage up in Pugglemud’s personal quarters.

One of the unicorns was now free; with his mighty horn he began slashing open cages. The ship was listing sharply and water was up to Kendra’s neck. She suddenly realized she had no idea where her mother was. Then the ship seemed to strike rocks again, for another part of the hull split and water roared
out
of the hold—and with it went Kendra.

These were some terribly anxious moments. The next thing Kendra knew, she was bobbing in the frigid waves beneath a dark sky. She paddled desperately. She saw silhouettes all about her, but had no strength to cry out to see if one of them was her mother. All her energy went to staying afloat.

Then, at long last, Kendra felt sand beneath her belly. She crawled forward until she could no longer feel the sea nipping at her feet. She tried to pull herself up, but her limbs felt like jelly, and at last she let exhaustion consume her, falling asleep beneath the tumultuous sky.

Kendra awoke to a squawking sound. Her eyes flickered open and she found herself surrounded by tall, imposing boulders. She remembered this rocky shore all too well; she looked up and, sure enough, saw the twisted towers of Krake Castle looming above. Somewhere inside that dark nest was the Rumble Pit—and it filled Kendra with dread.

She heard the squawking again and knew it couldn’t be coming from the castle; it was too far away. She peered over the nearest boulder and, down the shoreline, espied the wreckage of the Gnome ship. It had been ripped to shreds by the storm and lay in pieces on the shore, its timber carcass swarmed by a legion of Krake soldiers. Kendra could see the bird-like beasts plucking survivors from the ship’s broken hull: Dwarves, Gnomes, Eens, and the other magical creatures. She could see a line of prisoners already being chained together. It was easy enough to make out the peryton, but she had to squint before seeing Oki and her mother there too.

“At least they’re alive,” she thought aloud.

“Not fer long, I betcha.”

Kendra looked down to see a pair of beady eyes glaring up at her over a long sharp nose. It was Pugglemud, hiding amongst the rocks like a spider. He looked worse than ever, for his clothes had been ripped to shreds. He was even missing a boot.

“I guess even the sea didn’t want you,” Kendra remarked as Pugglemud scrambled up the rocks and plopped his great weight next to her. “It coughed you up, did it? Lucky me.”

Then another loud, piercing squawk came and Kendra looked back at the wreckage. One of the Krake soldiers was waddling right in their direction. Quickly, Kendra ducked down behind the boulder and shot Pugglemud a fierce glance. “Do you have any weapons?”

Pugglemud shook his head and wrung his hands. “What we goin’ ta do? I can’t be endin’ up in no pit!”

Kendra plucked at her braids. “How about my wand?” she asked. “Do you still have it?”

Pugglemud reached into his coat and pulled out her stick of Eenwood. “Why would I give this to you?” he demanded.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Kendra retorted. “Maybe so we don’t end up as dinner in the Rumble Pit?”

He tossed it to her and Kendra sighed in relief. It felt good to have the wand in her grasp. “I’ll take my ring too,” she added.

Pugglemud opened his mouth to argue, but Kendra just pointed her wand at him. With a grimace, he passed over the Kazah stone.

It was at this moment that the Krake appeared, leaping over the rocks and landing squarely in front of Kendra. “Ooh-cha!” it snapped, brandishing a spear. “More-cha prisoneez!”

Kendra turned to flee, but Pugglemud stuck out his spindly leg and tripped her. Like a lizard, he skittered over her and disappeared into the rocks. Quickly, Kendra rolled over and faced the Krake.

“Eenee no fightsee or get-cha chomps,” the lizard-like creature hissed, its beak dripping with venom.

“Chomp on this,” Kendra growled, lifting her wand and blasting the beast with a bolt of lightning. It struck him so hard that his helmet flew off and he fell back in a daze.

Kendra didn’t wait for him to regain his wits. She turned and fled into the maze of boulders and almost immediately came upon Pugglemud, who was sitting on the ground nursing his foot. “I done sprained me ankle,” he moaned. “Ya hafta help me.”

“Like you helped me?” Kendra balked. “I’d start crawling if I were you. There’ll be more Krakes on the way.”

Pugglemud continued to whimper, but Kendra just kept climbing over the rocks, trying to put as much distance as possible between her and the vile Dwarf. It was tough going, but she was thankful for the high boulders, for they hid her from view. Eventually she came to a spot where she could see through the rocks, and she paused to look down at the shore. The bulk of the Krake soldiers had left the beach, taking with them their newfound prisoners. Kendra knew where they were headed: to the dungeons, where they would await the next terrible fight in the Rumble Pit.

Kendra sighed. She had her wand and the Kazah stone, but she needed one more important thing before she could jump to a different time: Oki. And to find him she would have to go into the castle.