Tara Duncan and the Forbidden Book (19 page)

They were silent as they made their way to the gnome embassy. OtherWorld's twin moons cast their silvery light on a world that except for the stridules'
cree-cree-cree!
chirping, seemed to be enjoying the sleep of the dead—except for those things that move in the night, of course.

They had nearly reached the embassy when Master Dragosh suddenly came stumbling out of a side alley, looking dazed. Clearly visible in the twin moonlight, the vampyr was wiping his mouth, and his red eyes looked wild. He didn't have time to hide his hand, which was spattered with blood!

“There's been . . . There's been a terrible accident,” he explained shakily. “I have to go tell Their Majesties.”

Then he caught sight of Tara and glared furiously at her.

“This is all because of you!” he blurted.

Then, before they had time to say a word, he ran off. Manitou and the five friends gaped at each other, speechless.

The Lab took a deep breath and said: “This alley reeks of death. Stay here, children; I'll go take a look.”

“I'm not a child!” complained Fafnir, who was 250 years old, after all. “I'm coming with you.”

When they returned a few minutes later, the dwarf was frowning and the dog looked ready to pass out.

“There's a guy in there who's been bled like a crouicc,” Fafnir calmly informed them, “with two nice fang marks on his neck. I think our friend the vampyr has some explaining to do.”

“I hate to say this,” said Robin, whose elf hunting instincts were immediately roused by anything out of the ordinary, “but we just don't have time to deal with him right now.”

Tara was feeling very uneasy.
What the heck is that blasted vampyr accusing me of now, 
she wondered.

Cal shrugged, and said: “Dragosh said he had to talk to the king and queen. They can work it out. Ah, here's the embassy.”

Despite the late hour, all the building's lights were lit, oddly enough. Gnomes on geometer moths guarded the embassy gardens, and praying mantises patrolled watchfully. Two large centipedes with poisonous mandibles flanked the entrance, so Manitou and his group were careful not to make any sudden movements.

Ambassador Bulul Bulbul was waiting and greeted them with urbane politeness. “Welcome back! Were you able to get everything you needed?”

“Yeah, and even more,” grumbled Cal, rubbing his head, which still felt sore.

“A number of events have occurred that would justify a modification of our agreement,” began Manitou very diplomatically, “and—”

“You stole
The Forbidden Book
!” yelled Fafnir, for whom the word “diplomacy” didn't mean much. “Give it back!”

Manitou glared at her.

Though startled by the harsh accusation, the imperturbable ambassador quickly recovered. “A dwarf! How interesting! I don't remember seeing her with you when you came through.”

“She's one of the tools I need,” Cal said quickly. “If she doesn't go, we don't go, worms or no worms.”

“Tools?” began Fafnir indignantly. “What do you mean by—”

Fortunately, the gnome interrupted her.

“I am not authorized to discuss this,” he said. “My government
and your friend
are waiting for you in Smallcountry. Let me show you the way to our portal.”

Having none too subtly reminded them that the gnomes were still holding a hostage, Bulbul led them to the transfer tapestries.

The tapestries glowed, and the guardian mantises disappeared. In their place stood monstrous arachnes that clicked their mandibles and stared at the new arrivals with their large round eyes. Sparrow and Tara shuddered with revulsion, and Fafnir gripped her axe. One of the arachnes bowed, gracefully bending her eight legs.

“Our government awaits you, and in good time, too,” she said in the melodious voice that had so startled Tara when she first heard it.

They followed the giant arachnid to a large hall. Whereas most gnome facilities are underground, official Smallcountry buildings are erected on the surface. In addition to the gnomes, this is also the land of the P'abo imps and the Lilliputian fairies. It's said that other fairies live in the far north, near the border with Gandis, the land of giants. These are evil fairies, who feed on travelers heedless enough to cross their lands, but no one has ever returned to confirm or rebut that.

The group of friends silently crossed a hall that was as elaborately decorated as the facilities underground. The walls displayed a good cross-section of OtherWorld's flora and fauna: fantastically colored flowers, birds, insects, and animals. The floor was not stone but covered with soft blue grass from the Mentalir plains.

The inhabitants of Smallcountry apparently hadn't always lived harmoniously together. Dozens of tapestries portrayed the bloody wars that had preceded the three races' surprising alliance.

Parti-colored fairies perched comfortably on floating bleachers and gossiped shrilly as they watched the arriving guests. Lemon-yellow imps, dressed all in green, also observed the meeting. Suddenly one of them yelped. A huge, hairy wart had just appeared on the tip of his nose. The other imps laughed, and he scowled at them as he made it disappear with an irritated wave. Then one of those laughing almost choked when a pair of wings sprouted on his back and flew him zigzagging through the air. His howls of protest only made the other scamps laugh all the harder. A third imp suddenly found himself with a mooouuu head on his shoulders and started bugling in terror—to general hilarity.

Tara couldn't help but laugh. So, these were the famous playful P'abo imps.

Glul Buglul was present, accompanied by a half-dozen other gnomes whose pale skin and nearly white quiffs revealed their great age. Next to them lay
The Forbidden Book,
carefully guarded by two enormous arachnes. Cal frowned and Sparrow nodded.
Fine,
she thought,
at least everything's out in the open.

An arachne scuttled over to an enormous gong and rang it with a mallet. Sparrow grimaced when the sound hit her ears, but the imps immediately fell silent and the fairies stopped chattering.

“This noble council is now in session,” the arachne announced. “May wisdom attend each intercession!”

Tara studied Buglul, who was sitting on a chair a little more ornate than the others. Partly hidden by his orange quiff, a gold crown rested on the gnome's head.
Let's see what happens if I take the initiative,
she thought.

“Thank you for receiving us so promptly, Your Majesty,” said Tara in a clear voice, bowing to the gnome.

Buglul smiled slightly at being thus unmasked. Cal's eyes widened. So, the gnome who had infected him was a king.

“I see you retrieved
The Forbidden Book,”
she continued, avoiding an argument that might erupt over a less diplomatic term.

“Yes, we decided to put it in a safe place,” he answered smoothly. “Pul Pupul, who borrowed it, as it were, told us of your presence in the underground room. What do you have to tell us about that?”

Tara repressed a very disrespectful shrug, but again avoided an argument.

“Nothing at all. All we have left to do is to find out where your wives and children are held prisoner and to destroy your enemy's power, if we can. You will then give Cal the antidote and we will bring the book back to Master Chem in Lancovit.”

On his throne, King Buglul bowed slightly in homage to the girl's skill.

“We would be delighted to give the book back to you,” he said in a silky voice. “The antidote too, just as soon as our wives and children are out of danger. Does your dwarf friend know the entire story?”

He clearly wanted to know if the spellbinders had told Fafnir the blue gnomes' secret.

“Only the essential points, Your Majesty. Your struggle against the wizard who kidnapped your families and our participation in that honorable fight. As well as the means you are using to make us help you.”

The king shrugged, appearing not to feel in the least ashamed of his methods. His people would always come first. Still, he nodded, relieved by Tara's discretion. Fafnir glanced at her friend with curiosity, sensing that she had hidden something from her.

“Well, then, let's go right to your enemy's palace,” said Manitou, taking over the conversation. “With our friend Fabrice, of course, whom I don't see here in the hall.”

Tara reddened. She had completely forgotten about Fabrice being held prisoner by the gnomes.

“Of course,” said the king. “He is feeding his mammoth and will be with us in a few moments. We had a hard time finding red bananas and popping peanuts, and an even harder time dragging the animal away from his meals!”

At that, Fabrice and Barune walked into the hall. The reunion with their friends was somewhat noisy, with the little mammoth trumpeting in every direction.

When Fabrice learned what Tara had done to Master Chem, he nearly fainted. And he looked at
The Forbidden Book
with obvious disgust. Barune accidentally trod on one of the arachne's legs, and she clicked her poisonous mandibles with indignation. Fabrice sighed. Since he and the mammoth had become linked, he'd learned that his new companion was absolutely adorable—and incredibly clumsy. Shrinking had made Barune quite light, and his coordination was terrible. He kept bumping into creatures or things. When it was things, that was okay. But creatures didn't much like it.

They all agreed that a gnome would accompany the little expedition as a guide. When the king announced that he would be the one, the elders protested loudly, but he rebuffed them. If he didn't go along, he said, there would be no expedition, period. Tara smiled. The gnome was just like her grandmother: stubborn. She better understood the reason for his attitude when she learned that the king's fiancée, the beautiful Mul Mulmul, was among the prisoners. Tara didn't like the gnome's methods, but his courage appealed to her. This king didn't hesitate to run risks to rescue his beloved.

“Romantic, isn't it?” Sparrow sighed.

“I would do the same thing,” said Robin stiffly.

“For me or for Tara?” asked Sparrow teasingly, who hadn't failed to notice that the half-elf had a serious weakness for the young earthling.

Robin turned as red as a ripe tomato.

“For both of you, of course!” he exclaimed.

Fabrice noticed his embarrassment and bit his lip when Tara flashed the half-elf her beautiful smile. Robin promptly turned purple.

Fortunately for him, Manitou signaled their departure. Though they hadn't slept much that night, they had to immediately head back to Omois, where the wizard's palace was located. Because of the time difference between the two continents, it was already night in Tingapore. The gnomes had been spying on their enemy and knew the wizard would be away from his palace for several hours. It was now or never.

The portal was activated and the arachnes left behind. On arrival in Tingapore, Cal disguised himself again, and they followed the gnome king through the streets of the capital. As on her first visit, Tara marveled at the city's beauty and effervescence. Silver, gold, and purple houses alternated with palaces with gleaming roofs. The eight levels of traffic created an incredible tumult. Everywhere flying carpets, armchairs, and beds encountered pegasi, ifrits, and winged bulls, not to mention spellbinders who were levitating their way home.

Their little group didn't go unnoticed. Robin's bow generated a lot of comments—much more than his half-breed looks—which seemed to surprise him. Elves saluted the new master of Lillandril's bow, dwarves called out to Fafnir, and gnomes bowed to their king until he signaled that he was traveling incognito. Delicious aromas set Manitou's sensitive nose a-quiver, and he had to restrain himself from jumping on the roasts, stews, and other marvels cooking in the open. Magic made the air shimmer everywhere.

They stepped aside for a troop of fierce-looking centaurs, their flanks emblazoned with clan markings. Tatris nodded their two heads, mermaids floated gracefully along in their water bubbles, and Salterians, the fearsome white-swathed desert felines, watched for potential victims to kidnap for their ravening, deadly mines. A group of chimera chatting with some unicorns was careful to turn their heads aside, so their flaming breath wouldn't scorch their interlocutors. Two dragons, one green and the other a deep, handsome red, were making a herd of mooouuu very nervous; the cattle could feel their life expectancy falling precipitously. All of OtherWorld's people seem to have decided to meet in Tingapore.

“It's normal,” said Glul Buglul when Tara mentioned how surprised she was. “The Seventh Season Carnival will be starting soon and the mask makers have a tremendous amount of work right now. Ah, here is Gelina's house. The tunnel to the wizard's palace starts from here.”

They were greeted at the door not by a gnome, but by a human, one of the mask makers Buglul mentioned. The store was full of feathers, furs, carapaces, silks, black, blue, white and pink pearls, jewels, and precious metals, along with cotton, organza, muslin, and every other kind of stiff or sheer fabric. Sparrow and Tara examined with delight at the masks hanging from the ceiling. They almost looked alive. Tara was reaching for one when a sharp command stopped her: “No! Don't touch it!”

Sheepishly, she pulled her hand back, then stared. The woman in front of her was blind! Like her hair, her eyes were completely white. Yet, she seemed able to move around as if she could see perfectly.

“Each of my masks is for a certain person,” explained Gelina with a sweet smile. “If you touch one, I will no longer be able to sell it.”

“Please excuse me,” Tara said, feeling intimidated. “I didn't know.”

“Come. The tunnel is over here.”

The white-haired woman entered a completely dark room, then said, “It's right there.”

“Er, it would be nice to have some light,” hazarded Cal.