The Warble (12 page)

All was very quiet as the three
approached the city gates; not a single soul was to be found. The closer they
got the taller and wider the gates seemed to grow, and when they finally stood
under the enormous archway, they noticed the many details in the ironwork. Its
archway was a depiction of two trees bending toward each other to form the
arch, and at the base of the trees, there were vines twisting around the bottom
of the trunks, entwining them all the way up to the tips of each and every
branch; it gave the impression that the vines were choking the life from the
trees. The gate itself was in bad condition, broken in sections and rusting.

While standing under the
archway, Kristina stared at a large statue standing directly ahead of her. It
was an enormous replica of Queen Sentiz and it stood over twenty-five feet
tall. Its eyes seemed to be glaring right into her eyes. In the statue’s right
hand was a tall scepter, and at its top was a snake’s head. Its mouth was wide
open, revealing two sharp fangs. In the other hand, she held a scale of
measurement, in which the left scale outweighed the right one entirely.

“Is that statue a
replica of who I think it is?” Kristina asked Taysha.

“If you’re thinking
Queen Sentiz, then yes.”

“She’s scary looking.”
Kristina shuttered.

“That’s her whole
intention.”

The three continued on
past the statue and down the main street of the city—Queen Sentiz Street.
Rundown shops lined its sides, along with empty fruit and vegetable stands. As
they walked along it, Taysha’s hooves clacked loudly on the cobblestone road.

“I think we’d better
get off this street and onto softer ground,” Taysha said.

They headed for a dirt
alleyway, and just as they turned its corner, a window in one of the buildings
lit up. A dwarf in a nightdress poked his head out of the window to see where
the noise was coming from. Luckily, Kristina and Taysha were already down the
alley and out of sight. It was very dark and they couldn’t see anything as they
walked, but the darkness didn’t prevent them from hearing a horrible screech,
followed by a loud clanking noise. It frightened Taysha and she reared up.

“Whoa, Taysha!”
Kristina whispered.

“What was that?” Taysha
asked.

“I don’t know.”

From the left side of
the alley just ahead of them, two bright-yellow, glowing eyes appeared, and a
few seconds later they heard a loud screeching sound.

“Why don’t you watch
where you’re stepping?” a voice said from below Taysha.

“She’s getting quite
good at that,” Raymond said.

“It’s a cat,” Kristina
said.

The cat began to run
away.

“Wait! We’re really
sorry,” Kristina called out after it.

The cat stopped and
looked back, its eyes glinting.

“Would you be able to
help us?”

“Why should I?” the cat
asked.

“I can pay you.”
Kristina smiled slightly.

“Money is of no use to
me.” The cat turned and began to walk away.

“Wait, please! I have
some cheese.”

The cat slowly turned
around and sauntered back toward them. “I will do it, for the cheese and some
fairy blossom.”

Kristina thought of how
Werrien had been beaten and was now sitting in a cold prison cell. He would
most likely need the fairy blossom in order to have the strength to escape. “I
can give you the cheese, but I can’t give you any fairy blossom.”

“Well, then, the deal’s
off.” The cat turned once again to leave.

“Okay, I guess that I
can spare a little.”

The cat walked back
toward them once again, and Kristina jumped down off Taysha and opened the food
sack. She took out what was left of the cheese that Leacha had given her. Then
she opened the little sack of fairy blossom and saw that there was about one
tablespoon left. She divided it in half and then wrapped one part in a napkin.
Then she placed the cheese on the ground in front of the cat. The cat gobbled
up the cheese so fast—Kristina wondered if it hadn’t eaten in weeks.

“Now give me the fairy
blossom,” the cat said, licking its paws.

Kristina looked sternly
down at the cat. “First, you need to lead us to the prison, and then I will
give it to you.”

The cat didn’t answer
but turned and started to walk away.

“Okay, have it your
way.” Kristina placed the napkin on the ground.

Once again, the cat
turned around. Then it ran toward the folded napkin and picked it up with its
mouth. It turned and ran away, this time not stopping.

“Now what are we going
to do?” Kristina said. “We have no idea how to get to the prison, and there’s
no one around who can help us.”

“We’ll just have to
keep searching until we find it ourselves,” Taysha said.

The three continued on
through the city’s dark alleyways, and when they got to the end of each one,
they would stop and look down the street to see if there was any sign of the
prison. After searching for what seemed to be a couple of hours, they began to
worry that they would never find it.
T
hey had been down what
seemed to be every street and alleyway, Taysha stopped walking.

“Why are you stopping?”
Kristina asked her.

“We’ve been down every
possible street and alley, and we haven’t found the prison.”

“We can’t just give
up.”

“I don’t know where
else to look.” No sooner were the words out of Taysha’s mouth than the glowing
yellow eyes appeared again from the side of a garbage can.

“Follow me,” the cat’s
voice commanded and it started down the alley ahead of them.

“Where were you?”
Kristina asked angrily. “We had a deal! You promised to help us, but then you
left us for more than two hours.”

“You should know by now
that you can never trust a cat,” Raymond said, looking scornfully at the cat.

“I had business to take
care of, so either follow me now, or I’ll leave for good.” The mysterious cat
trotted ahead of them and led them out of the very dark alley. It crossed a
street, and then crossed over to another street. Then it jumped over a fence
into what seemed to be someone’s backyard. It pranced over to a gate and rubbed
up against it. Taysha followed and pushed the gate open with her muzzle. Then
she went into the backyard.

“Why did you lead us
here?” Kristina asked the cat.

“This is the prison
warden’s backyard, and we need to go through it in order to get to the prison,”
the cat said.

There was another gate
at the back of the yard, and the cat pranced over to it and squeezed underneath
it. Taysha approached the gate. Kristina noticed that the gate was chained and
locked to the fence.

“How are we supposed to
get through this gate?” Kristina asked the cat.

“I told you that I
would lead you to the prison, but I didn’t say it would be an easy road.”

“I’m just going to have
to jump over it,” Taysha said.

“Maybe there is another
way around,” Raymond said hastily. However, before he could go back inside
Kristina’s vest, Taysha was already in midair, jumping over the gate.

The cat ran ahead of
them, down a pathway leading into the wooded forest. Taysha followed behind it,
winding to the left and the right for what seemed to be a very long time. The
prison finally appeared ahead of them. It was huge, with barred windows, and in
front of it, a row of torches lit up the foggy darkness. Two zelbocks stood at
attention, guarding the prison.

The cat stopped and
looked back at Kristina. Then without saying a word, it ran off the path and
into the thick of the woods.

“The cat’s taking off
again. Now how are we supposed to get past those zelbocks?” Kristina asked.

From within the woods,
they heard the cat say, “Follow me.”

Taysha turned toward
its voice and Kristina was able to see the glowing eyes peering out from
between the trees ahead of her. Once again, Taysha followed the cat—off the groomed
path and into the woods. Leaves and fallen branches crunched and snapped under
her hooves. One of the zelbocks seemed to hear them, and it looked suspiciously
into the woods. The cat stopped and stood silent.

“I know these woods
like the back of my paw. You must watch where you go, and only go where I lead
you. If you don’t and they see you, you don’t stand a chance of escaping. Now
follow directly behind me to avoid the hidden traps. Remember, one wrong move,
and you’ll most likely fall into one,” the cat said.

Trying to stay directly
in its trail, Taysha cautiously followed the cat until it stopped again. It
looked left and right and then up and down.

“What’s the matter?”
Kristina asked it.

“There’s a trap here,
and I’m contemplating how to go around it,” the cat said to her impatiently.
Finally the cat decided to go to the right of it, and Taysha carefully
followed. Soon after, they came to a tall fence topped with swirling barbed
wire. The back of the prison was just beyond the fence.

“Stop!” Kristina said
to the cat. The cat turned to look back at her. “I was told not to go to the
back of the prison, because there’s zelbocks waiting for me there. Instead, I
should go to the east side, where Werrien’s cell is.”

The cat gave Kristina
an annoyed look. “I will run on ahead and check to see if this is true,” it
said.

While the cat ran
toward the prison, Taysha stood very still, trying not to make any noise. The
woods were spooky and they could hear all kinds of strange noises. Kristina
tried to keep calm by closing her eyes and imagining herself somewhere else,
and even though it was only a few minutes, it felt like an eternity before the
cat finally returned.

“I checked the backside
of the prison, and there was nobody there, so I went to the east side. There
seemed to be no one there either, however as I turned to leave, I heard some
rustling in the nearby bushes. I turned around and approached the bushes,
pretending to be a pesky cat, looking for food. That is when I heard the
voices―many of them. They are in hiding, waiting for someone.”

“I knew we shouldn’t
have trusted Retzel,” Taysha, said.

They stood wondering
what to do. Kristina looked toward the prison, and saw the sun was rising up
over the rooftop. “What do you suggest we do?” she asked the cat, but there was
no response—the cat was gone.

Hester screamed as the zelbocks lifted
the crate onto a horse drawn wagon. Her scream was so loud that it instantly
woke up Graham and Davina, who were very groggy from the potion. The zelbocks
paid no attention to them but went about their business.

“What’s the matter with
you two? Can’t you see that something horrible is happening to us?” Hester
said, snapping her fingers in front of Graham’s and Davina’s faces.

Graham shook his head,
trying to get his wits back. “I guess this is special treatment that the weird
little guy was talking about?” he said sleepily.

“It may be special
treatment to you, but it’s definitely not up to my standards,” Hester said.

“I have a crushing
headache,” Davina moaned, rubbing her temples to ease the pain.

“That’s the least of
your worries. Take a look around you,” Hester said.

Davina looked through
her Coke-bottle glasses and noticed the bars that surrounded them. Then she
noticed the dark, damp stone walls with dimly lit torches aligning them.

“It feels like we’re
back in the Dark Ages,” Graham said.

“Where do you think
they’re taking us?” Davina asked.

“I don’t know, but I’m
getting really ticked off,” Hester said, looking through the bars toward the
zelbocks. “Hey, you up there! Where are you taking us? And why did you put us
in this crate?”

One of the zelbocks
turned around and looked straight at her, but because of the darkness, it was
hard to see its hideous face, other than its glowing red eyes.

“Well? Where are you
taking us?” Hester demanded.

The zelbock sniggered
and then turned back around.

“Do you have any idea
who you’re dealing with?” Hester yelled again, this time rattling the bars that
held them captive.

“I’m really cold,”
Davina said, looking down at her damp nightgown. “How’d we get wet?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll
tell you something really weird,”
Graham said. He
scratched his head and wrinkled his freckled brow as he thought. Then he said,
“I was dreaming that I was on a boat, and this beautiful woman gave me a candy.
It was the best candy that I’d ever tasted. Then I lay down in a pool of
water.” He smiled dreamily.

Hester looked annoyed
at him. “Yeah, and then what?” she said, flatly.

“I don’t know, but
maybe it’s got something to do with how we got wet.”

Davina looked smugly at
Graham. “Oh, sure, we all got wet because of your stupid dream.”

“Why don’t you grow up,
Graham? This isn’t a time for your make-believe stories,” Hester said.

The wagon turned a
corner and continued down another tunnel with prison cells aligning both sides
of it. The three children sat up on their knees and stared out at the cells as
they passed by them. At one point, a bony hand reached through one of the cell
bars. “Fairy blossom,” a parched voice called out.

As they continued past
more cells, they heard groaning, moaning, and even insane laughter.

“I demand you stop at
once and let us out!” Hester shouted to the zelbocks. But there was no
response. “You won’t get away with this, once my parents hear about how you’re treating
us!”

Graham pulled at
Hester’s nightgown. “Hester, your parents can do nothing for you here.”

“You keep your mouth
shut, Graham Kepler!” Hester pushed him away. Just as she was about to yell
again, the wagon suddenly stopped. “See? They did listen to me.” She smirked at
Graham.

The two zelbocks
approached the crate, but it was still too dark to see their gruesome faces.
Hester smoothed her hair back as she got ready to discuss matters with them.
The zelbocks hopped up, one on each side of the wagon. One of them unlocked the
barred crate. They lifted its lid off and stared down into it. Graham and
Davina were crouched inside, with their knees held tightly to their chests, but
Hester stood up confidently and held out her hand, as if she wanted to be
helped out of the crate. Her face suddenly shriveled. “Disgusting!” she said,
waving her other hand in front of her nose. “You need to use mouthwash.”
Once
again the zelbocks didn’t pay attention to her.
“Well, aren’t
you going to help me out of this crate?” She glared at the zelbock.

The zelbock closest to
her grabbed her around her waist and threw her over its shoulder.

“Hey, the only one
who’s ever carried me like that was my father, and that was only once, when I
was four. Now put me down!” She kicked her feet on the zelbocks back.

The zelbock didn’t
respond but jumped down off the wagon and began carrying her down the tunnel.
The other zelbock stood on guard, watching over Davina and Graham, who were
afraid to move a muscle. As it gawked down at them, breathing heavily, the two
sat staring up at its large belly falling and rising. They as well, could smell
its foul breath―so putrid; Graham slowly brought his hand to his nose to
plug it; Davina plugged her nose as well. Finally, the other zelbock hopped
back up on the wagon.

“Where’s my cousin?”
Graham asked it in a small voice.

“Don’t you worry.
You’ll soon be joining her,” the zelbock answered in a deep guttural voice.
Then a grin stretched across its face, revealing its rotten teeth.

The two zelbocks
grabbed Davina and Graham and threw them over their shoulders. They hopped down
off the cart and carried them deep into the tunnel. Davina and Graham kicked
and punched at the sickening beings while they were carried past the insane
prisoners, staring out of their cells. After a short walk, the zelbocks finally
stopped in front of a cell, where another zelbock stood on guard in front of
it. It opened the cell door, and the two other zelbocks walked inside, with
Davina and Graham still kicking and punching. Hester was already in the cell,
sitting in the corner, shivering, with her knees drawn up tightly to her chest,
the same way the other two had sat inside the crate. The zelbocks dumped Graham
and Davina onto the cold concrete floor. Then they exited the cell and locked
the barred door behind them.

Graham and Davina got
up and quickly went to the bars to watch the zelbocks disappear down the dark
tunnel. Davina fell to her knees and began to cry bitterly, pounding her fists
on the floor. She looked up at Graham and Hester, and with her face all red and
covered in blotchy patches, she said, “Why did I listen to you brats? We were
perfectly fine in that little cottage.” Then her frustration turned to anger.
“But no, it wasn’t good enough for you!” She stood up, clenched her fists
tightly by her side, and walked over to Hester. Her long, black braids hung
like two swing ropes at the sides of her head. “Now look at the mess you got me
into!”

“Please don’t spit on
me,” Hester replied in a calm, ill-tempered tone.

That seemed to enrage
Davina even more, but Graham interrupted. “Uh, Davina,” he said calmly, “it was
actually me who didn’t want to go with the weird little guy. You and Hester
were all for it.” Then in a higher, mocking voice, he went on, “‘Oh, come on,
Graham, you’d better not ruin this for us.’” He sighed. “If there’s one thing
I’ve learned, it’s to never leave the decision making up to a female.”

With a blank look on
her face, Davina turned to face Graham. Then, like an angry lioness, she
pounced on him and began hitting him and pulling his hair. Graham kicked and
screamed in a muffled voice, until Hester interrupted. “Stop fighting!” she
hollered. “I hear something.” Davina didn’t stop. “I mean it!” She got up and
tugged at Davina’s nightgown. “Listen, do you hear it?”

Davina stood up. Her
glasses were steamed up and sitting crooked on her nose. Graham stood up as
well. His hair was sticking out—resembling a hedgehog—from Davina’s pulling it.
He went and stood under a small barred window, about five feet above his head.
He jumped up to try to grab the bars, but he couldn’t reach them.

“Get out of my way.”
Davina pushed him to the side. She tried to jump up herself, but she could only
jump half as high as Graham.

“Davina, I don’t think
it’s going to happen,” Graham said.

Davina stopped jumping
and turned around to face Graham. She placed her hands on her hips, and her
eyes were squinted into two very small black-eyed peas. “What’s not going to
happen?”

“You, reaching that
window.” Graham glared at her, implying the obvious. “You’re just too darn fat
to jump that high.”

“You must be a sucker
for punishment.” Davina lunged forward to grab him by his nightshirt. This
time, she didn’t succeed because Hester stepped in between them. With her face
pursed she pushed the two of them apart.

“Would you two stop
fighting and grow up!” Hester yelled.

Graham and Davina
stopped fighting and looked dumbfounded at her.

“And what do you
suppose we do?” Davina crossed her arms, breathing heavily.

“Well, why don’t you
give Graham a boost up, so he can look out the window?”

Davina looked at Graham
suspiciously.

“You are the strongest
of us all,” Hester added.

Davina finally cracked
a slight smile and said, “That’s for sure.” Then she walked over to the wall
and stood under the window. “Well, hurry up. We don’t have all day,” she said
to Graham.

Graham shook his head.
Women!
It’s just so weird how they can switch moods so suddenly.

Davina lifted Graham
just high enough so that his eyes could see out the window.

“Well, what do you
see?” Hester asked impatiently.

“Not much, just a bunch
of waves.”

Davina was just about
to let him down when he said, “No, wait! I see something else.”

“Well, what is it?”
Hester asked.

“Spit it out. I can’t
hold you up all day,” Davina’s voice strained.

“Hold on—it went behind
a wave.”

The two girls rolled
their eyes intolerantly.

“There it is!” Graham
said eagerly. “It’s that same boat and lady that were in my dream!”

Davina unclasped her
hands, causing Graham to fall to the ground. Then the two girls stood over him,
staring down at him.

“We told you, Graham—we
don’t want to hear about your stupid fantasy dream,” Davina said. Suddenly, she
croaked like a bullfrog.