CHAPTER 8
FOILED RESCUE
After the two dwarfs had polished off all of the food that Rowland had placed in the Keeper’s study, they recounted their story about their run in with Arinya. They told all about her plans and the deal they had to strike with her in order to go free.
“You know we’d never betray you, Ben,” said Gob. “I even had my fingers crossed when I made the deal.”
“I had my fingers AND toes crossed,” Nob added. “I hope you understand.”
“You guys did the only thing you could do and of course I understand. I would have done the same thing myself. And now, with what we’ve discovered I can do with the staff, rescuing Hob should be a snap.”
“Hey, you’re right!” Gob exclaimed. “You can open a tunnel to the island and Hob can walk right off! Arinya won’t be able to stop him either.”
“We’ll never be able to use the lake again,” said Nob.
“The river will never be safe either,” Gabriel added. “We not only need to rescue Hob, but we need to deal with Arinya too.”
“First things first,” said Amos. “Have you ever been to this island?”
“No,” Ben answered.
“It’s not even visible from the shoreline near the cabin,” said Nob. “There’s a point of land that juts out into the lake and the island is just beyond that. It’s in the opposite direction from the river too, so we very seldom go near it.”
Amos turned to Gabriel. “Can he open a portal to a place without having ever seen it?”
“No, he has to be able to see the place or visualize it in his mind.”
“Then we’ll have to go to the cabin and walk along the shoreline until we can see the island. Ben, are you ready?”
Ben nodded. “Grandma, you and Casey wait here and rest. We’ll be right back.”
“No, I’m going too,” said Casey.
“And so am I,” Louise added.
Amos started to speak and Louise shushed him.
“Okay,” said Ben. “I visualize the dwarves’ cabin and then what do I need to say?”
“It’s not important what you say,” Gabriel answered. “The important part is the concentration and the visualization. Speaking just sets the magic into motion.”
“So I could say anything, as long as I’m thinking and concentrating about where I want to go?”
Gabriel nodded.
“Cool!” Ben pushed his glasses up on his nose and thought for a moment. “Okay, I got it.”
“Hurry up,” Casey complained.
Ben shot his sister an annoyed glance. He tightened his grip on the staff and closed his eyes. A mental picture of the dwarves’ cabin began to form in his mind. Once the image was complete, he spoke a command… “ALAKAZAM!”
A black hole immediately popped open in the corner of the room.
“Alakazam,” Nob whispered, while poking Gob in the ribs. “Did you hear that? He really is a wizard!”
Ben beamed from ear to ear.
“Alakazam?” said Louise, raising her eyebrows.
“That was really corny, Ben,” Casey added.
“Corny or not, let’s go.”
Amos was the last one to step out of the pathway and as soon as he was out, the black hole winked shut. They were in front of the cabin, but it was too late to rescue Hob today. The sun had already set and darkness was upon them.
“Will he be okay to spend the night on the island tonight?” asked Louise.
“He should be fine,” Gob answered. “We left him with blankets and plenty of food. Even though the island is small, he should be able to find enough dry wood to build a fire too. Let’s all go inside and get a good night’s sleep and we’ll get him off the island in the morning.”
Everyone agreed that was a good plan and retired to the dwarves’ cabin for the night. In the morning, after a big breakfast of course, Gob and Nob led Ben, Casey, and Gabriel down to the lake. Louise stayed behind with Amos to clean up the breakfast dishes and straighten up the cabin. If all went according to plan, everyone should be back to the cabin fairly soon. Nob said it would be about an hour hike to the place where they could see the island and, once they rescued Hob, Ben could open a pathway back to the cabin.
It actually took them a little longer than an hour to reach their destination. There were no paths or trails and the two dwarves had to use their short swords on several occasions to clear some of the dense undergrowth that surrounded the lake. When they finally reached the lakeshore, they immediately spied the tiny island; a small blob of land about a hundred yards out, with a few scraggly shrubs and a dense copse of pin oaks and cottonwoods.
“Don’t get near the water,” Gabriel warned. “This nymph is extremely dangerous.”
“What do I need to do?” Ben asked.
“Just look at the island and focus on it. Concentrate on it very hard and speak a word to invoke the magic, just like you did back at the castle.”
Ben nodded. He gripped the staff tightly and stared at the island, trying to blank everything out of his mind except for the small parcel of land where his friend was being held captive. With his gaze locked on his destination, and as Gabriel had directed him, he spoke to invoke the magic, “Hocus-Pocus!”
The black hole popped up in front of them.
Casey was standing a little off to the side, where the black hole did not obstruct her view of the island. Excitedly she called to Ben, “You did it! I can see the opening to the pathway on the island from here! Seriously, Ben, you’ve got to come up with some cooler words to use. Alakazam and hocus-pocus?”
“I don’t know,” Ben responded. “I kinda like them and no one here has ever heard those words before.”
“Casey, you and the two dwarves wait here,” Gabriel interrupted. “I’ll go through with Ben to get Hob and we’ll be right back.”
“No argument from us,” said Gob.
“Yes, you’re quite right,” Nob added, “Someone needs to stay here and protect Casey.” Neither dwarf wanted to get near Arinya and anywhere on the small island was too close to the water for them. Ben winked at his sister and then followed Gabriel into the black hole. If he had met Arinya, he would not have regarded the dwarves’ decision to remain behind so lightly.
Inside the dark void, Ben could see out through the opening onto the small island where, just outside the opening and trying to peer inside, stood Hob. They hurried across the black expanse and stepped out into the bright sunshine.
“Gabriel!” Hob exclaimed. The excited dwarf spun around and ran back up to the top of the small beach. “Thank goodness you are here,” he called over his shoulder, as he hurriedly began stuffing his belongings into his pack. “I am so ready to get off of this forsaken island. I haven’t had a proper meal in almost a whole day! By the way, do you know who put me here?”
“Yes, I have heard. We will need to take care of her eventually, but right now Ben and I just need to get you out of here and back to Castle Twilight as quickly as possible.”
“Ben?” asked Hob, turning around. He spied Ben, standing just behind Gabriel, and his face paled. “Ben? What are you doing here?”
“How do you think this pathway got here?” Ben replied.
“I know, but you need to get off this island at once; it is you that Arinya wants!”
“We know. Gob and Nob told us all about her plans. Come on, let’s get moving.”
“YOU ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!”
Arinya had materialized in the water at the edge of the shoreline. The island was so small that the opening to the pathway was close enough to the water for her to reach it. She had formed two long thick tendrils of water with her arms. These undulating barriers snaked completely around the black hole, cutting off their escape.
“Oh no,” Hob cried. “Oh no!”
Arinya laughed. Gone from her voice were the soothing sounds of gurgling brooks and gentle waterfalls. Her laughter sounded of rushing rivers tha
t would dash you to pieces upon jagged rocks. It sounded of dangerous riptides and undercurrents that would pull you down to the darkest depths. It sounded of ferocious storms with crashing surfs that beat upon lonely beaches. It sounded… horrifying.
“Let us pass,” Gabriel commanded.
The nymph hushed her laughter and glared at the elf. “Who are you, sunlighter, to command anything of me? I could leave you here until the sun bleaches your bones. It takes a long time for a dwarf to starve to death, but I am very curious to know how long it would take one of the fair folk to wither away. Nevertheless, I will let you and the dwarf pass, but the child will remain behind.”
Gabriel turned to Ben. “Close the portal. We do not want Casey or one of the other two dwarfs coming through.”
“How do I close it? It just snapped shut on its own before.”
“You’re holding on to it this time. Let it go.”
“How?”
“In your mind; just let it go.”
Ben thought about it for a moment and realized that, subconsciously, he was still focused on the pathway. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. As he let it out, he relaxed and the hole immediately snapped shut. Arinya pulled her long watery tendrils back into the lake and waited to see what they would do next.
“Can you open the pathway in a spot near the center of the island where she can’t reach?” asked Hob.
“I don’t think I have any control over where the hole appears,” Ben replied, turning to Gabriel. “Do I?”
Gabriel shook his head. “The hole will appear nearby, but it will always appear in the closest open area.”
“Hob, do you have your axe?”
“No, I don’t. I only have my short sword.”
“Well, could we use that?”
“No, I’m afraid not. I believe we’d starve to death before we could hack down a tree with that.”
“Let’s move to the middle of the island anyway,” said Gabriel. “If she could reach us she would have grabbed us by now, but I don’t want her to hear our conversations and we need to come up with a plan.”
Hob did use his sword to hack away the brush so they could get deeper into the thick grove of trees that were concentrated in the interior part of the island. Once there, they sat upon the ground in the cool shade of the cottonwoods to rack their brains. Ben pushed his glasses up on his nose and absently scratched at his chin, while Gabriel reclined on his back and stared up at the velvety green leaves that were fluttering in the breeze. At least it was cool here.
“What’s that buzzing sound?” Ben asked.
“Look,” said Hob, “it’s a humming bird!”
Gabriel leapt to his feet. The tiny bird zipped over to him and hovered in front of his face for a few seconds, then disappeared through the tree tops in a flash of green and yellow feathers.
“What was that all about?” asked Hob. “That little bird was staring you in the face!”
“That little bird,” Gabriel replied, “was not a humming bird, it was a honey bird and it was delivering a message.”
“Huh?” said Ben.
“That was a messenger bird from Faerie. They are called honey birds and they are used there to deliver short messages between cities.”
“Awesome! How does it work?”
“The message is written on the underside of the birds wings. It is a written language that is taught only to the handlers of the honey birds.”
“Are you a handler?”
“No.”
“Then how could you read the message?”
Gabriel smiled at Ben’s inquisitiveness, but Hob interrupted him before he could answer.
“Ahem,” the dwarf said, clearing his throat rather loudly. Although dwarves have an insatiable curiosity, they also have a considerable lack of patience and Hob did not share Ben’s interest or enthusiasm about the whole secret message process; he only wanted to know the content of the message. “Perhaps you could tell us who sent the message and what did it say?”
“Yes, but let me answer Ben’s question first; it will only take a moment.”
“Well, please hurry,” Hob replied, yanking on his beard. “I am practically starving to death and if I see another honey bird I may very well eat it; feathers and all!”
“The written language,” Gabriel continued, “was designed so that when the bird is in flight, the movement of it wings will transform the writings into a common written language that all can read.”
“Does the ink not harm the bird?”
“BLAST THE BIRD,” Hob screeched, “WHAT DID THE MESSAGE SAY?”
“Quiet!” Gabriel hissed. “We came into the trees to keep Arinya from hearing our conversations. If you are going to scream so loudly that she can hear you, then go and stand by the water to do so.”
Hob clamped his hand over his mouth. “I’m so sorry,” he mumbled, “I’m not thinking clearly. Please tell us the message.”
“I am sorry too, my friend. I did not mean to snap at you. The message was from Marcus. I’m not sure how he was able to get the honey bird to deliver it to us here and I’m not exactly sure what the message meant.”
“What did it say,” asked Ben. He was beginning to grow impatient now too.
“It was just two words; give snowflake.”
“Give snowflake?” Hob repeated. “Give snowflake? Great bouncing boulders what does he mean by that? Give snowflake! It’s spring time and he sends us a message that says give snowflake?” The dwarf’s voice was growing louder and beginning to rise. Gabriel hushed him once more and reminded him to keep his voice down.
“Let’s think about this,” said Ben. “One, there is not enough room on the birds wing to write out any kind of detailed message, so we have to assume that what he did write was absolutely the best clue possible for whatever he is trying to tell us. Two, if the message came from Marcus he must have seen something in the future; something that has to do with our predicament here. I mean, how else would he even know we were here? Therefore, those two words have to be a clue as to how we can get off this island. We just have to figure it out.”
“Give snowflake,” Hob muttered again. “What kind of clue is that?”
“I’ve got it!” Ben cried.
Gabriel held his finger up to his lips to remind Ben to keep his voice down. “What is it?” he whispered.
“Casey’s charm bracelet! The gift Marcus gave her at Christmas; one of the charms on the bracelet is a snowflake!”
*****