The Rightful Heir (27 page)

J
ESSICA
H
OWELL LIFTED THE BLINDS
in her darkened bedroom and peeked through the window to see if Mac had come home. The outdoor lamp and moonlight illuminated most of the yard, and there was still no sign of her missing pug.

“Mac, where are you?” she asked softly. She tried to think what Mac might have been doing over the past couple of days. Nothing unusual came to mind…except for the night that boy from the school bus was at her fence.
I'll bet he's got something to do with this. He didn't even ride the bus this morning!

Time passed and the
tired travelers still saw no sign of Felix's pack. The moon was setting over the treetops. Morning was a few hours away.

Felix looked this way and that, eyes alert to the trees. Everything was quiet. He sniffed the air and tilted his head. Something was wrong. “Guys, I think maybe I should scan the area…alone.” They looked at him curiously. “They may be hiding in a different place. If that monster finds me,” a look of fear came over him, “then I'll be the only one who's eaten, and not all of you.” Clementine and, well, everyone else gulped in unison. “If I see her, I'll scream out to warn you. I won't be long. Just wait here, okay?” He looked around in frustration. “I could've sworn this is where I left them.” The fox ran off.

“Anybody else hungry, or ready to go to sleep?” Jonah asked as they all collapsed in the weeds and fallen leaves.

“How
LONG HAS HE BEEN GONE?”
Jonah whined.

“I don't know,” Malcolm answered, “but he needs to hurry. We're all just sitting ducks here and we need to get moving.”

“And yet it's the
sitting ducks
we're trying to find,” Clementine added.

A nearby bush rustled and they jumped. “Sorry to scare you.” Felix popped out, landing in front of Mac, who'd tucked his curly tail between his legs.

“Where were you?!” Clementine demanded.

“Downwind. Couldn't find ‘em anywhere.” Felix shook and panted uncontrollably.

“What's the matter with you, fox?” Malcolm looked him over.

“N-n-nothing, just a little scared that's all. I don't w-want to be alone in this forest anymore!”

“Then let's keep moving…together.” Clementine took the lead
in front of the nervous fox.

Z
EUS HOBBLED ALONG,
gaze fixed on the ground. Hopelessness was upon them. One of
the raccoons saw something small race by his foot. Starving, the Doberman chased what he thought was a large beetle. “I think I found some breakfast!” Zeus pounced along in full stride after the abnormally quick beetle, racing through the weeds and bushes.

“Zeus! Get back here!” Mac cried. “Zeus! C'mon boy!” But Zeus paid no attention to his king's demands and disappeared into the trees.

“Oh, that's just grea—” Jonah said sarcastically, interrupted by a loud yelp. They looked at each other in fear. Felix jumped the highest in fright and closed his eyes. Something raced at them from the bushes.

“Stay close, everyone!” Clementine ordered, and they huddled together. Out of the bushes raced Zeus, retreating in agony.

“Zeus, what happened?” Mac yelled.

The Doberman approached, long quills protruding from his face.

“Porcupine quills!” Felix said with relief. “They're close by.”

“Owwww! It stings!” Zeus gritted his teeth in pain.

“Alright, let me take a look.” Malcolm walked over to the tall black dog and put a paw on his neck. “Lean over.” Zeus hunched down. “Ah, a couple of ‘em. Yeah, that's gotta hurt!”

“Can you get them out?” Zeus howled.

“Um…yeah, let me just grab one and—”

“Nooooo!”

“Hey,
sweetie
, if you don't let me grab it, I can't pull it out!”

Mac walked up to them. “You be gentle now. That's my
dog
, mister!”

Zeus let the raccoon
reach over him. Malcolm grabbed both quills and squeezed tightly, causing Zeus to whimper. “Okay now. I'm just gonna
yank
this—”

“Owwwwwww!” The forest heard the agonizing shriek for miles. Everyone close to the Doberman immediately backed away.

“Quiet now. You want that snake to hear us?” Clementine said fearfully. Zeus glared at him. “Okay, okay! We know that had to hurt!”

“Yeah…badly,” Malcolm added, looking at the blood-soaked ends of the long quills in shock.

B
ELSHAK LOOKED TOWARD
P
ERSLY'S
W
OODS
and smiled. “They're in there.”

“Let's get ‘em!” A coyote licked his wet, hungry lips.

“No!” Belshak commanded. “We will wait for them to come into the pastures, where it's open. They can hide from us in the forest.” He sniffed the air but couldn't pick up a scent. “It sounded like they were far to the south. Let's move!”

The pack of seventy ravenous coyotes eagerly set out to perform what they'd been waiting patiently to do for days: kill.

“Z
EUS, WHAT DID YOU SEE
back in there?” Clementine asked.

The sore dog was still wincing. “I didn't see anything! I was chasing that big bug. When I went through a bush I was hit with a stinging pain.”

Felix trotted to the bushes. “I bet they're close!” His bushy tail disappeared into the weeds. The others decided it was best to stay put, in case Felix met Zeus's fate. The fox walked through a clearing amid a large grove of trees. The last of the moonlight lit the eastern foliage and cast a shadow on the other side. It was dead quiet. He moved to the middle of the thick, dark grass. He felt a presence nearby. He cleared his throat.

“Hep! Hep! Hep! Hep!”

Malcolm and
the others had never heard the strange noise before. “What was that?”

Felix froze, looking at the tranquil trees. Then he heard
“Hep! Hep! Hep! Hep!”
He smiled with relief. “Oh, good! Everyone–it's safe to come out now!” he said to the trees. Bushes rustled and weeds bent as, one by one, animals of all sorts approached the solitary red-orange fox.

“Felix!” A chubby groundhog wrapped his arms around the happy fox.

“Oh, Felix, it's so good to see you!” a mole said from below.

“Wow!” Felix exclaimed. “Are there…more of you?”

“Yes,” said a skunk. “Word spread throughout the entire forest!”

The fox watched the growing throng of creatures, greeting him in excitement and relief. “Alright, everyone, listen up,” he shouted. “Follow me! Stay close together!”

“Did you come alone, Felix?” someone asked.

“No. I have dogs, raccoons, and a pig waiting on the other side of this clearing. So don't be alarmed. They'll be helping us get back to the kingdom.”

“Uhhh, I think I met one of those dogs,” said a guilty porcupine, missing a few quills.

Clementine and the others heard movement in the bushes. “Be ready, fellas.”

Felix popped out of the weeds, followed closely by countless others. “These are the new members of the kingdom,” the fox said proudly.

“Whoa!” Mac's jaw dropped. Everyone was struck dumb. Mac quickly recovered. “Hello. It's nice to meet you all. I might as well introduce myself. I am Mac, and I am your ki—”

“I'm King Jonah,” the pug jumped in. “It's a pleasure—”

Clementine coughed spastically, attracting everyone's attention. “Oh boy, so…yeah. You all will meet the king when we get
back
to the kingdom. My name is Clementine.” He introduced the rest of the group. Everyone was friendly except Zeus, who found it hard to like the porcupine.

“Run!”
They spun around and looked into the trees.
“Run! Now!”

Two frightened squirrels raced out of the bushes. “Bradford, stop!” A squirrel turned to his mate, who stood beside a black pot-bellied pig. “They're right here!” she said.

“We've been looking for you,” Bradford panted. “It's close by. Norma and I can smell it! We gotta get out of here!”

The crowd murmured fearfully. The sound of bushes and trees being crushed in the distance grew louder. Quickly, Clementine found a log to stand on. “Everybody stay calm. We are getting out of here right now. Follow me!”