“If you were similar in temperament to the trolls, you would have killed them without thought or remorse, young Jamie. Being the same species does not prevent you from killing others of your species. Think of the humans and their constant wars and killings. They kill each other, do they not?”
Jamie had to admit that they did.
“Do you think it is harder to kill an unstoppable army of monsters? Or one-on-one?” Jamie asked, turning to meet the scorpion man’s gaze.
“It is a man’s character and how easily it is influenced that makes one good or evil. For one such as you, it appears that it is harder to deal with evil one-on-one because your heart softens at the possibility that the evil may be good.”
“You mean because I couldn’t kill the trolls and had to bring them to you?” Jamie’s hand dropped to his side.
“That does not need be a weakness, Jamie. Your kindness can be a strength.”
“Not in war.”
“Even in war.” The scorpion man placed Eva and Canin in a tiny box with glass sides. The bottom was cushioned. Bloom hopped in and held out his arms to catch Annie, but the scorpion man took her gently down instead. Then he handed the box to Jamie. “ ‘Perseverance is more prevailing than violence; and many things which cannot be overcome when they are together, yield themselves up when taken little by little.’ I find myself telling people this quite a lot.”
“Is that what the Raiff is doing by stealing Miss Cornelia? Chipping away at us? At our strength?” Jamie placed the box on his shoulder, and the scorpion man quickly latched it to him, securing it with thin pieces of twine.
“Perhaps.”
“I never asked you your name,” Jamie said after he thanked him.
“I never gave it to you, young James Hephaistion Alexander.” The scorpion man cleared his throat. “Names hold much more power than we realize. For instance, once our new Stopper decides she is not a Nobody, her strength will triple or more.”
Annie gasped.
The scorpion man smiled at her and continued, “And for you—your name is a key to your power. Hephaistion was a great logician only known to have one temper tantrum, which is really saying quite a lot, and devoted to Alexander, his king and his best friend. Their friendship was epic, young Jamie. Do you think you are capable of being such a friend?”
“I hope so.”
The scorpion man gently placed a hand on Jamie’s head. “As do I.”
“As for the other last piece of your name, Alexander, that name has been widely used in the time since Alexander’s death. Alexander the Great was a fearless king, willing to lead his troops into skirmishes with elephants, willing to calm the wildest of horses, willing to do anything for his best friend, Hephaistion, willing to conquer the world for glory, and to create an empire.”
“I don’t think I’m like him at all,” Jamie said. “He sounds more like the Raiff to me.”
“I can see that … I can see that … But for Alexander to create an empire that was strong, it was essential to protect his people, to keep them safe.”
Jamie felt lost. The scorpion man must have sensed it, for as he brought him to the door he said, “Your companions will probably reconstitute to their original sizes, twenty-four hours past the moment they became small. So you still have a bit of time to keep that dwarf manageable.” He winked.
“ ‘Courage consists not in hazarding without fear; but being resolutely minded in a just cause.’ ” The scorpion man stretched. His human arms lifted high toward the ceiling. “Don’t worry too much about the Raiff’s motives; his intent is your destruction, the enlargement of his empire, the reclaiming of this town. You cannot change that intention. He is a demon.”
Jamie’s heart sank. He wished Eva and Canin were awake to hear all of this.
“But you may know my name.” The scorpion man pulled himself to his full height, towering over Jamie. “I am Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus, or at least that is what the Romans called me. And I am pleased to meet you and sorry to see you go. Allow me to give you this timepiece as a token of luck for your quest, young James Hephaistion Alexander. May you have the strength and resolution of your namesakes, but more importantly, may you have the loyalty and kindness.”
The scorpion man placed a golden clock face into Jamie’s palm. And with that, he pushed Jamie out the door and shut it firmly behind him.
Jamie turned around. The door was still there, but now it had a sign.
No guests allowed currently. We are quite busy. However in case of troll emergency or other major issues, please knock three times on the nearest tree.
“This town is so weird,” Jamie whispered, and decided that this was probably the biggest understatement in the world.
Jamie—with Canin, Annie, Eva, and Bloom in miniature form—agreed that the only way to save Miss Cornelia was to go through the portal. They headed back to Aquarius House, knowing that’s where the whole town was probably waiting for them. And they were.
The first person they saw when they pushed open the door was Aelfric, all gaunt and scared looking. His hair stuck up straight in angles, and he had an injured Tala in his arms. The dog’s leg was stuck in a cast, and he was unconscious. Annie screamed, jumped out of the box, despite its height, shimmied down Jamie’s leg, and rushed to Tala as Aelfric laid him out on a couch and related what had happened.
The mayor had arrived at the portal first, but trolls were ripping it apart, tearing the tree limbs down. Tala had attacked them, valiantly, but the destruction had already occurred. One troll managed to throw the brave dog into a rock, snapping Tala’s front leg.
“It’s been reset already,” Aelfric said, trying to calm down a frantic Annie. “He has been given a Sleep the Pain Away and will be fine. No more fighting for him, though. You are—you are even smaller than normal, I dare say.”
“What will we do?” Annie buried herself in Tala’s soft white fur. “What do we do without a portal?”
Aelfric sighed, exhausted, and flopped down next to the box that Jamie set down. “Nothing. There is no other way. The people are already panicked because of the troll attack.”
“Can we make a portal? How about the mermen? What sort of portal do they go through?” Bloom asked as he climbed out of the box.
“What happened to you?” Aelfric asked. “Are you all shrunk? Even Canin?”
“Don’t ask,” Eva grumped as she climbed out, too.
Aelfric paused and decided not to ask again due to Eva’s attitude. Instead, he answered Bloom’s question. “They don’t go through a portal. They themselves are a portal, similar to the Loch Ness monster’s abilities.”
Someone shouted from the foyer. “The fairies are all accounted for!”
Aelfric stood up again, wiping his hands. “Well, it’s all up to you now, Miss Time Stopper. You need to find a way to the Badlands. You need to bring Corny back to Aurora. Do you understand?”
Taken aback, Annie stammered, “No … No … Not at all. What do I do?”
“Well, let’s put it this way. Your Stopper guardian is gone. It’s just you and this boy who might be troll. If you two want to keep yourselves safe, then I suggest that you find another way to get to the Badlands and do it soon. Because I may not be able to persuade the citizens of Aurora to be patient much longer.”
Bloom jumped to her defense and shouted at Aelfric. “Not everyone feels the way you do! Gramma Doris … Mr. Nate … Ned … Helena …”
Aelfric laughed and said knowingly, “Brounies, a stone giant pacifist, and an inept human can hardly stand against the will of the many. I am warning you … find a way to trade places, Annie, or all of you will be doomed. The town is out to get your young Jamie friend. They are terrified because of this attack. They don’t think you’re Stopper enough to stop this.”
“But … but how?” Annie stammered.
“You’re the Stopper! You need to figure it out!” He pointed his finger at her and stormed out of the room. “I’m just a vampire. That’s what Canin
always tells me anyway.”
Annie and Bloom gaped at each other, stunned.
Jamie hauled Tala up the stairs to Annie’s bed as Annie, Bloom, and the others followed. Thankfully, they resized there, Bloom added some leaves to the dog’s cast to help him heal, and Annie searched books for answers until she finally just gave up, desperate. Jamie and Eva started to look sleepy. The last twenty-four hours hadn’t been easy. Annie wished she could ask Miss Cornelia what to do, anyhow, somehow. She plunged her hand into Tala’s fur and focused.
Annie could sense that Miss Cornelia knew she was looking for her. In the image in the fountain, the old woman had straightened her back up. And even though Miss Cornelia’s eyes were hidden behind the dirty rag they used as a blindfold, they’d focused right on Annie.
Annie concentrated and decided to try something new. She had nothing to lose.
The portal is gone, she said in her mind. Tell me what to do.
And then, to her shock, the answer came flying back into her head with the exact same voice and perfect grammar and diction that made Miss Cornelia’s speech patterns so remarkable.
Find a dragon.
A what?
Find a dragon. He will carry you.
Are you okay?
Be brave, Annie. All will be fine. Find the dragon. Gran Pie will lead you to the dragon …
Pinned to Tala’s side and completely confused, Annie shook her head free of the vision even as Bloom’s face hovered above her.
“What happened? What just happened? Your eyes were blank, Annie, completely blank, and the room seemed full of magic.” Bloom took her by the shoulders and said, “Jamie, something is wrong with Annie! Eva!”
Jamie and Eva were asleep and didn’t wake up.
Annie blinked hard, staring up at his concerned face. “I … I just saw Miss Cornelia … We have to … We have to find a dragon and someone named Gran Pie.”
Bloom didn’t question, just thought for a second. “Gran Pie is the eldest Big Foot. There are no more dragons. But if there actually is a dragon still alive somehow, she will know.”
Annie tucked Tala gently into bed, leaving a note for Jamie, who had fallen fast asleep the moment his head hit the pillow, and Canin and Eva, who had also passed out, snoring, on the couch. It explained what had happened, politely asking them to take care of Tala while she and Bloom were gone.
Bloom and Annie scurried out of the house to the edge of the woods where Gran Pie liked to hang out and cross the road multiple times. Big Feet were somehow very into that. That’s exactly what they found all of her eight feet of furriness doing.
Gran Pie hid behind a tree for a second, before coming out, squinting at them. She put her nose right up to Annie’s ear and sniffed it a bit. Annie held her breath. Big Feet smell like human feet that have been in sneakers too long. It was not a pleasant smell.
“Have you seen any trolls?” she blurted in a deep, rumbling voice.
“I think we’re fine for now. Um … Miss Cornelia told me to ask you about a dragon. She is in trouble. All of Aurora is in danger from the Raiff. There is no other way. Please, Gran Pie. We need to find a dragon,” Annie said. “We were hoping you could help, please. It’s important. Miss Cornelia’s life … and all of our lives … depend on it.”
“Find a what?” Gran Pie said, wheeling around to face Bloom who gave a half shrug.
“A dragon,” Annie repeated. “I need to find a dragon. Please.”
“Dragons are extinct,” Gran Pie said, grabbing Annie by the shoulders and peering into her eyes. “There are no more.”
“Annie had a vision,” Bloom replied. “Miss Cornelia specifically told her to ask you about a dragon.”
“If I can find a dragon, maybe it can take me to the Badlands. I think that’s what Miss Cornelia wants me to do. We have to rescue her,” Annie said, knowing how ludicrous the words sounded.
“You want to ride a dragon to the Badlands?” Gran Pie shouted. “Oh, my word. You are going to get yourself killed. You can’t tame them, you know. They have to like you, and if they don’t like you they will just step on you or breathe on you, and then it’s all over. Kaput. It’s the end of you. Ack. I hope I never have to see that day. No. Dragons are no good. No good at all.”
Gran Pie’s furry hands pointed at the air, and she gesticulated all over the place. Her voice shook the trees, and several pine needles fell to the forest floor. Little puffs of steam came out of her mighty nostrils. She paced away, furious.
“She’s not too hot on dragons, is she?” Annie asked.
Before Bloom could answer, Annie tried to mollify the Big Foot. “Gran Pie. Are dragons still alive? Just tell me where I can find one. You don’t have to go on it. I do. It’s my only way to the Badlands.”
“Rrraaahhh!” Gran Pie roared in frustration and stomped off again, yelling back over her shoulder. “Are you listening to anything I’m telling you? No dragons. No. No. No, dragons are not to be trusted. They are reptiles. They have no fur. No fur! They lay eggs. Eggs! And they leave their young. Just leave them. They are not to be trusted. Not at all. They breathe fire. Just a sneeze from them is enough to singe off all my fur. A dragon!”
Bloom’s eyes lit up.
“They’re supposed to be extinct, which means they are good hiders … So …” Bloom was thinking quickly. “A dragon would be by the sea, I think. I’ve never seen one, though. Dragons are shy.”
“Dragons are not shy. They are hermits, completely antisocial,” Gran Pie huffed.
“Kind of like your kind, right?” Bloom teased.
“We come when we are called,” she retorted.
“So will the dragon,” Annie said, her voice so calm and sure that both Bloom and Gran Pie stopped arguing and looked at her as if she wasn’t the girl that they thought she was. Annie didn’t mind. She wasn’t sure exactly who she was or who she was meant to be, but she knew she was getting closer. “Where’s the dragon, Gran Pie? There is one alive and in Aurora, isn’t there?”
The monster’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “Miss Cornelia sent you to me?”
Annie and Bloom exclaimed that she had. Bloom went down on one knee. “Yes, and we will keep it secret if we can, Gran Pie. We will try.”
The Big Foot sighed. “Bloom was right. The dragon is by the sea, if he is there at all. They wander, you know.”
“He will be there. There is no other choice. Tell us how to find him,” Annie said, putting her hand on the Big Foot’s elbow. She couldn’t reach her shoulder. Then she remembered her manners and added, “Please?”
Gran Pie shook her head.
“Pretty please?” Annie was begging now.
“No.”
“Pretty please with a pine tree on top?” Bloom stood up.
“I will take you. I will not show you. What sort of guardian am I if I let the two of you wander off by yourselves to get shish-kebabbed by a fickle dragon?”
The cold weather and storm had frozen the cove water to ice near the river and then out into the bay about two hundred yards. But the tide had already begun its work to change it back to pure water again. Great heaves had lifted pieces of ice into tiny pyramid shapes, layering one chunk of ice onto another. Rocks pocked up out of the whiteness like little islands. Past it, the open water stayed still and dark gray. The mountains of Mount Desert Island and Bar Harbor lay beyond. Past that waited the Gulf of Maine and the open sea.
Bloom lit the way with hovering balls of light as they followed the river until Gran Pie decided it was no longer safe. Then they stepped on the snowy shore beneath the great cliffs that stretched out on either side of the river. Annie scanned the rough, cracked granite faces searching for a dragon’s home.
The sea smelled salty and was full of mudflats where clams and mussels hid away from draggers’ nets and pickers’ buckets. They stopped at the pebble beach below the cliff’s face.
“Where now?” Annie asked Gran Pie.
The Big Foot wrung her hands, jerking her head abou
t. “Have I told you I hate dragons?”
“Only a million times,” Bloom answered.
“Let me tell you again.”
“No!” the children shouted at the same time.
“It’s just … How can they live out here? There are no trees? No forests? Just these horrible gray cliffs and the sea.” Gran Pie shuddered.
Annie did not feel like disagreeing with a Big Foot, but she thought the sea was beautiful in its own solemn way. She loved the forest, but there was something so majestic about the ocean.
Above them three gulls circled and called hello. Gran Pie answered them back, sounding remarkably like a gull. “Sqwark. Kreee. Swqua.”
A gull came down and perched on Annie’s head, and then began to squawk back at Gran Pie. Gran Pie answered.
“Scree. Mi-noo. Scree.”
Annie prayed the gull would not poop on her head. Don’t poop. Don’t poop. Don’t poop, she chanted.
To Gran Pie she said, “What is the gull saying?”
Gran Pie motioned for the gull to wait and then looked down into Annie’s eyes, smiling. However, the smile of a Big Foot is anything but comforting. It was like the smile of the lunch lady when she doled out some putrid green slop on Annie’s tray at school and told her that it was pea soup.
“The gull and I are having a conversation about the dragon,” Gran Pie said. “I was asking her if she perhaps knew whether or not the dragon was home.”
A series of high-pitched bird noises interrupted the beast. The bird switched her footing on Annie’s head and craned down to look into her eyes.
“The bird wants me to assure you that she will not actually poop on your head. She is far too civilized. She will poop on you, however, if you start acting mean,” Gran Pie said.
Annie blushed. Bloom started laughing. She would have elbowed him if she thought she could without disturbing the bird.
“How does she know I was thinking about that?”
“Birds can hear thoughts,” Bloom said.
Annie’s blush turned a shade deeper. “Oh.”
“What the lovely bird was explaining”—Gran Pie reached out her arm and the gull landed on her finger and she stroked it—“is that the dragon is indeed home and in a decent mood, which is a very good thing, let me tell you, because you don’t want to bother a dragon when it’s annoyed or cranky. Although, I would say that even when they are in a decent mood, they are terribly cranky.”