“Apparently you are,” Geth told him.
The Tangle tilted its head and softly grunted.
“Tell it to take us out of here,” Geth suggested. “If it could carry us, that would help things go much faster.”
“I don’t think it understands words,” Clover whispered harshly.
“Just try.”
Clover cleared his throat as the fire on the street pole burned softly.
“Listen,” Clover reasoned. “What are the chances that you could take us out of here?”
The tangle blinked its large eyes and shifted on its feet. It looked down at the unconscious body of Payt and then back at Clover. The beast grumbled and shifted closer to Clover.
“Climb up on its back,” Geth suggested. “See if it’s okay with that.”
Clover shrugged. He bent his small knees and sprang gently up onto the Tangle’s front right shoulder. The beast practically smiled.
“I think it understands you,” Geth said happily.
“I’m really good with people,” Clover reminded Geth.
“That’s not a person,” Geth pointed out.
“I’m good with things,” Clover corrected. “Remember that one time when—”
Clover was interrupted by Payt, who was up on his feet and no longer unconscious. He screamed and charged toward Clover with his sword drawn. Payt’s voice sounded bruised and raw. Geth spun to deflect the blow and save Clover, but the Tangle beat him to it. The huge beast swatted Payt down like a gnat. Payt flew backwards and into the darkness beyond the light of the fire. It was quiet again except for their breathing and the snap of the flames.
The Tangle turned its head further and looked at Clover as if seeking approval.
“Thanks,” Clover said, shivering. “That could have been bad.”
“We need to get Payt,” Geth insisted. “You stay here and—”
The task was over before it began. Payt screamed from the darkness and came running back toward Geth and Clover. He shot out of the black with his mouth agape and his hands waving in front of him. Payt had lost his sword with the last hit and now had nothing but his harsh personality and charm to fight with. Unfortunately for him, this time the Tangle had room to take a really solid swing. The beast pulled its left arm back and then flung it forward like a golf club. Its left fist connected with Payt’s gut and sent him flying deep into the darkness. Payt screamed as he sailed away.
“Wow,” Clover observed. “He really soared.”
The fire on the post was dying, causing the low-lit area to feel as if it were closing in on them.
“This darkness is maddening,” Geth said softly. “This realm needs some light.”
The Tangle tilted its massive head back and blew a fountain of flame up into the black sky. The fire lit up a large area, but there was no sign of Payt. The Tangle stopped blowing, and the scene became considerably darker.
“We’ve got to find him,” Geth said.
“Okay,” Clover said nicely. “That’s one idea. Or, we could get the heck out of here, return to Foo, and never come back.”
“You know I can’t do that,” Geth said.
“I know,” Clover said glumly. “Couldn’t you try to be less noble for just a little while?”
“It’s not nobility that’s driving me to make this right,” Geth said passionately. “I owe Payt a few knocks.”
“Wow,” Clover said. “You get more and more amped up every day. By the time we get back to Foo, you might be a real meathead.”
Geth laughed.
“What happened to all that lithen love stuff?” Clover asked. “Let’s leave him to fate.”
“He’s ruining this realm,” Geth argued. “He’s got Eve. And look what he’s done to my brother. Besides, didn’t we come here for a little excitement?”
“We were dragged here,” Clover reminded him.
“Still, we wanted excitement.”
“Well, we’re way past that,” Clover pointed out.
The Tangle growled softly and began to make a purring noise as it looked at Clover. The fire grew dimmer, and the dark night began to rest all of its weight directly down upon them. Geth turned and moved over to where his brother, Zale, lay unconscious. He picked him up and held him in his arms. Geth stepped back to Clover and his large new friend.
“We need to stop Payt, but we also need to get Zale somewhere safe,” Geth reasoned. “So we’ll get out, but we’re coming back. Do you think you could get that beast to help us out of here?”
“His name’s Edgar,” Clover said.
“Really?” Geth asked. “He told you that?”
“No,” Clover admitted. “I just always wanted a pet named Edgar.”
“Right,” Geth said, remembering the hundreds of times that Clover had actually told him that fact. “So, will Edgar help?”
Clover shrugged. “What do you think?” he asked the Tangle. “Can you help us out of here?”
Edgar whipped his long tail and wrapped it around Geth’s waist while Geth was holding Zale. The Tangle then lifted Geth and his brother up as if they weighed nothing at all. Clover shifted on Edgar’s neck, and the massive creature began to move quickly in the direction of the front gate. Clover bounced on his new pet’s right shoulder while Geth and Zale bobbed from the tail behind.
“This is actually the second time I’ve ridden on his tail,” Geth yelled out as they moved beyond the firelight. “Of course, last time he was hanging me upside down.”
“Life’s funny that way,” Clover yelled back.
“That makes no sense,” Geth replied.
Clover kept quiet as the Tangle carried them through the blackness, away from the abandoned town, and toward the front gate.
Chapter Three
When One Door Opens
I don’t know about you, but I have a really hard time with distractions. It just seems . . . hold on a moment, my butler’s crying. I’m back; now, as I was saying, distractions can really . . . just a moment, there’s a fat man with a large beard knocking on my door. Okay, back to the topic at hand, distractions sometimes . . . pardon me, but I believe I see the flash of a knife blade slicing down toward me. Back once more. Now, before I am interrupted again, let me just say that Geth and Clover were suffering from a very large distraction. Their lives had been peaceful and calm in Foo, but now they had more things to worry about and deal with than a poker player with a room full of Old Maid cards. (True, that might not be the best analogy, but I was distracted by the sting of antiseptic as I cleaned my knife wound.) Truth be told, the two of them belonged in Foo, Geth with Phoebe, and Clover with Lilly. They should have been hanging out with Leven and Winter and talking about all the amazing things they had all done to restore Foo. But because they had let boredom distract them, they were now waist-deep in a mess that would take more than just them to clean up.
Geth bounced up and down holding onto his brother, Zale, with the Tangle’s tail wrapped around his waist. There was no light or silhouette of any outlines. It was simply black. Edgar was moving at a quick, deliberate clip down the cobblestone road that led to the massive front gate.
“How does he know where he’s going?” Clover said loudly. “What if we just run into a wall?”
“It’ll probably hurt,” Geth said factually. “But I think he knows where he’s headed. Take out one of your stones.”
The stones Geth was talking about were glow stones that had come from the Stone Holders, a group of people outside the castle walls who moved only at night by the light of glowing rocks they held in their palms.
Clover did as Geth instructed and reached into his void. The void was a remarkable pocket that his mother had sewn on the front of his small purple robe. The pocket could hold endless amounts of junk and candy. Clover pulled out one of the glow stones, and instantly a dim light surrounded all of them as they ran.
> Geth could see Zale lying limply in his arms, his body shaking as Edgar ran. Zale’s eyes were closed, but as Edgar moved, they would shiver open just enough for Geth to see the whites of them. Zale’s paper-thin limbs rattled like matchsticks as his long, dirty beard curled backward in the wind of their movement. Geth looked at the back of Edgar and up at Clover as he sat on the beast’s shoulder.
“Can you see anything?” Geth hollered.
“I can see about three feet in front of us,” Clover yelled back. “I can see we’re on the cobblestone path. What happens when we get to the gate?”
The gate Clover was talking about was the main entrance into the kingdom, and it was located in the middle of the large wall that surrounded the town. Geth knew the gate would be closed and locked at this hour. He also knew that if they couldn’t get out before the sun began to rise, they would be in real trouble.
The light brought boors.
Payt’s army was made up of boors that he controlled with his voice. Boors were beings who had once lived freely in Zendor but now were idiots under the influence of Payt’s voice. The boors were filthy, dirt-covered creatures. They clung to trees and objects all over Zendor, and they had only one purpose: to do the will of Payt. Most boors were commanded simply to watch for any who might wander Zendor. The boors would attack anyone who was spotted walking freely and bring the trespassers to Payt so he could talk at them and steal their lives too. Boors were relentless during the day, but the dark paralyzed them and made them useless.
“The gate’s going to be closed,” Clover hollered. “And if we’re not out of here before light, it might get bad.”
“I know,” Geth said impatiently. “We’ll open it somehow!”
“What about Payt?” Clover asked. “Do you think he’s following us?”
“If he’s conscious, he is,” Geth replied.
“There it is!” Clover shouted. “Stop!”
The Tangle came to a screeching halt two feet away from the large wooden gate. Geth worked himself out of the tail and rested Zale on the ground. Clover hopped down onto Geth’s left shoulder. Edgar watched Clover’s every move as the little sycophant held the glowing stone.
“It’s okay,” Clover said, comforting him.
A large wooden beam was slid into place to keep the gate locked. On the sides of the gate were two tall gatehouses that were connected to the large fortress wall. All around the gatehouses there were small trees—clinging to those trees were boors. Most of them had their eyes open but were wearing blank expressions.
“You need to slide that beam out of the way,” Clover said needlessly to Geth.
Geth grabbed the beam and moved it easily. It slid out from behind the four latches and into an opening in the right gatehouse. Geth took hold of the edge of the wooden gate and with a small amount of struggle pulled it open.
The massive door swung wide. Directly behind the wooden gate was a large iron one.
“What now?” Clover asked.
Geth looked around for the mechanism to lift the iron gate. Seeing nothing, he entered the gatehouse on the left side. Inside the gatehouse was one large room with dirt floors and wooden walls. There were chains strung along the ceiling and massive gears that met up with a large wood lever in the center of the room. Near the lever were some small posts with boors clinging to them. The boors looked directly at Geth as he tried to figure out how to work the lever and gears. The lever had six arms, requiring six people to stand behind them and push them to raise the gate. Geth shoved on one of the arms, but it didn’t budge. Clover walked in and up to the lever. He tried to beat against one of the arms, but it didn’t help.
“Get your friend to push,” Geth instructed Clover.
Clover jumped back outside, and in a second Edgar came busting through the door like an obedient giant. Clover instructed him, and the Tangle grabbed one of the six arms and pushed.
The wood arm snapped off.
“He’s too strong,” Geth said with excitement.
Clover had him try pushing another arm; it broke off too.
“This isn’t good,” Clover said. “If Payt’s awake, he’ll be coming soon. And if we’re still here when the light comes, we’ll be caught for sure.”
“I know,” Geth said, waving. “Come on.”
Clover threw Geth a glow stone and ordered Edgar to follow him. Geth ran out of the gatehouse and picked up Zale. Zale finally began to stir.
“What’s happening?” Zale asked, confused.
“We’re getting out of here,” Geth replied.
Zale looked around, trying to figure out where he was and what was happening.
“I told you to leave me in my cell,” he panicked. “Let me down!”
“I’m not leaving you,” Geth insisted. “Now, are you going to help us out?”
“No!” Zale cried. “Payt will kill you. You won’t even make it past the wall.”
Edgar came crashing out of the gatehouse with Clover on his shoulder, holding a glow stone. Zale saw Edgar and screamed in such a way that even Geth was embarrassed.
“What’s the deal with your brother?” Clover asked. “He doesn’t exactly seem like a lithen.”
Zale struggled with Geth, trying desperately to get away.
“We’re not leaving without you,” Geth argued.
The Tangle whipped its tail and wrapped the end of it around Zale’s ankles. He yanked him up and out of Geth’s arms and held him dangling above the ground. Zale batted and swung at the air like an angry piñata.
“Release me!” Zale screamed. “I demand to be returned.”
“Come on,” Geth said, ignoring his bother and waving at Edgar. “We’re going up and over.”
“The wall?” Clover asked worriedly. “How are we going to get down the other side? That’s a high drop.”
“We’ll figure that out at the top,” Geth said confidently.
“Shouldn’t we figure that out down here?” Clover reasoned. “I just think that it would be the responsible—”
“Lights!” Zale yelled.
Geth turned and looked back in the direction of the abandoned town of Finis. In the far distance he could see that some of the windows in the castle lit up. There were no other lights anywhere, except for the large ball of white that was coming down the cobblestone road and heading directly toward them.
“It’s Payt,” Zale screamed. “You fools! He’ll think I’m with you. He’ll think I’m helping you.”
“Quiet,” Geth ordered.
“He’s moving quickly,” Clover yelled. “What’s he riding in?”
“He’s got all kinds of machines,” Zale panicked. “It’s probably one of his death wagons. That’s what he does, he builds things that hurt or kill people. He’ll kill us all.”
“We’ve got Edgar,” Clover said, motioning to the Tangle.
“Payt’s voice controlled the Tangle before,” Geth reminded Clover. “If he talks at him again, who knows whose side he’ll take?”
Geth took his brother by the arm and pulled him toward one of the wooden ladders that were hooked to the scaffolding on the backside of the massive wall.
“No!” Zale screamed. “Leave me down here.”
Without any instruction from Geth or Clover, Edgar flipped Zale around and carried him in his long arms.
“Thanks,” Geth yelled as he began to climb up one of the wide ladders. “Hurry!”
Geth climbed the ladder to the first platform as fast as he could. The Tangle, with Zale in his arms, scurried behind him, breaking the wooden steps and scaffolding as he climbed. Geth moved up the next row of wood steps to the top of the wall. The entire wooden structure shook and cracked under the weight of Edgar. Geth looked down and out and could see Payt’s white light drawing closer. Small flashes of orange began to appear and zip nearer.
Pfssst.
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Flaming arrows whistled past them, sticking into pieces of the scaffolding.
Clover and Zale both screamed as if they had called each other up earlier and planned to express the same panic at the same time. Geth reached the very top of the wall and stood up in one of the openings of the sawtooth pattern of stone that ran the entire length. Edgar pounded up onto the crown of the wall as more and more burning arrows hit the scaffolding and spread large flames below them.
“What now?” Clover yelled.
Geth looked down at the burning fires and the flocks of flaming arrows that were still flying through the dark. The stairs they had just come up were now burning in earnest. Down on the ground Geth could see three strange wagons with large wheels coming to a stop. The wagons had big, burning torches on the front of them and tall platforms filled with crossbows.
“Let me go!” Zale demanded while pounding on Edgar. “You’ve trapped us up here and we’re going to die.”
“Seriously, Geth,” Clover said, looking down into the darkness on the other side of the wall. “Your brother’s a real downer.”
A flaming arrow missed Geth by a couple of inches and flew over the wall. Geth watched it disappear into the pitch-dark.
The fire was raging directly beneath them now. Smoke filled their lungs and eyes. Geth looked down into the fields on the other side. The flames were now burning the wooden gate and sending light through the iron bars to illuminate the outside world.
“This night has ended up being much more exciting than I had anticipated,” Geth said with gusto.
“You’re thinking of jumping, aren’t you?” Clover yelled.
“Seems like that’s what fate’s lined up for us,” Geth said, stepping to the edge of the wall.
“Sometimes I hate fate,” Clover said, still sitting on the shoulder of Edgar. “Would it kill fate to provide a slide or something?”
“This will be much more memorable,” Geth said.
“You can’t jump,” Zale argued.
“I hate when people tell me what I can’t do,” Geth said, excited.
“Me too,” Clover agreed.
Geth turned and leapt as far from the wall as he could.