“You see there,” said Sir Alistair. “I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.”
Everything happened at once then, and I saw the whole thing from the best seat in the house—high in the air, riding Stargazer over a scene I will never forget. It began when the fourth pillar tipped slowly toward the third pillar and everyone but Sir Alistair groaned with horror at what was about to occur. Abaddon had moved off beneath the fifth pillar to await the very end, his snakelike arms slapping against the water as he howled with dark pleasure.
At the very same moment when it seemed the third pillar was doomed to be struck by the force of its once peaceful neighbor, something unexpected and wonderful was set into motion. The chamber we’d escaped was three quarters of the way up the fourth stone pillar and it was a vast, open space within an otherwise solid structure. The top third broke free, crashing down into the rest of the pillar. It was a vast amount of weight and force on the side of the pillar Abaddon left alone, and it brought the fourth pillar tipping in a different direction than Abaddon had intended. It was now on a collision course with the fifth pillar, the tallest of them all.
The fourth pillar swayed and, gaining speed, struck the fifth pillar right in its middle. The sound was explosive and enormous, the kind of sound that makes you put your hands over your ears and takes your breath away. The fifth pillar wobbled and cracked, and then the entire top half tipped and fell toward the Lonely Sea and the beast that waited there.
What we had seen beyond the walls of the fifth pillar was now headed toward our enemy. As the top of the pillar turned to fall, we all marveled at the forest of stone spikes that covered its top. It had looked something like a great plain of standing trees, stripped bare of all but the shooting trunks. But these trees were not of wood, they were of stone, hundreds of feet long and heading straight for the sea monster that raged below.
This cannot be so.
“Oh, but it is,” I whispered. “He has made this to defeat you.”
Abaddon dove for the bottom of the Lonely Sea as the top of the fifth stone pillar plummeted. The scene was at once marvelous and terrifying. An object heavy and huge beyond imagining, falling through morning mist—the air full with the sound of crashing. Stargazer was brushed back by the violent wind of two immense forces colliding into each other—one of stone and one of water—and we all held tight as the box rocked back and forth. Waves rose on the sea and millions of tiny droplets shot into the air. I was amazed to see the Lonely Sea was not so deep here as I’d imagined. The fifth stone pillar slowed suddenly about halfway down, clearly hitting bottom and sticking well out of the water. In the wake around its edges, there grew a black cloud of blood and shards of metal. Abaddon was crushed, stuck with a thousand stone arrows at the bottom of the Lonely Sea.
And then I heard a sound that made my heart skip a beat. It was soft and faraway, but it was also strikingly clear. Looking off toward the three pillars that remained, I caught a distant glimpse of people cheering.
“Is everyone all right?” I asked, though I knew from the smiles and howls of laughter that my crew was doing just fine. Yipes swung all the way around one of the vines to the balloon and let go, landing on the long platform where Sir Alistair sat quietly smiling. They were eye to eye—Yipes really was that short—and Yipes raised one eyebrow at the oldest man in the world.
“Did you know about this?”
Sir Alistair only shrugged.
“You’re a crafty one,” said Yipes, twisting the end of his long mustache.
“You don’t know the half of it,” said Sir Alistair, laughing ever so lightly and flinching once again at the pain he was trying so hard to hide.
“We better get you back on land,” I said. Pointing toward the sound of cheering people, I directed Marco to begin pedaling and aim Stargazer for the first pillar.
“The fields of wheat will be a perfect place to land,” I said. “Lots of open, flat space—just what Stargazer needs.”
Everyone nodded their agreement as Marco began pedaling fast, guiding us with the rudders over the top of the third pillar. I leaned over and waved, crying out to everyone below to race as fast as they could to the first pillar and meet us there. We were close enough to see clearer now as we descended slowly on our path. I saw Jonezy waving with everyone else, and Phylo running down the hill on his way to the bridges that would lead him to our landing space. He wanted to be there first, and it looked as if he would get his wish. There were a great many hands held over mouths and fingers pointing as we sailed over. Stargazer was a sight they were having a hard time believing.
We passed slowly across the third pillar, which had never looked so mysterious and beautiful. The crossing vines, I now saw from above, were set in a pattern like the weave of a blanket. The sun danced on the vines and turned them different shades of brown against the lavish green floor of the pillar. When we came to the gap between the third and the second pillar, we were lower still and I heard the distinct sound of barking from more than one dog. All the dogs were staring up at us, loud with excitement, and none was more excited than Ranger as Matilda leaned over and yelled his name.
“Good boy!” she cried. She took her slider from her belt and threw it overboard into the blue lake at the center of the second pillar. Ranger watched the slider tumble end over end through the air and hit with a splash.
“Go get it!” Matilda yelled. Ranger was off in a flash at his master’s command, racing for the slider floating somewhere in the lake.
“No more hot air,” I said as we reached the gap between the first and second pillars. We had already trimmed the air in the tube back to almost nothing, but now, with it shut entirely, we began to lose altitude more quickly. Looking down, I saw Phylo making his way across the rope bridge on his way to the first pillar.
“Phylo!” cried Matilda. “Will you set a barrel and bring Ranger over with you?”
Phylo was nothing if not a helpful boy, and he turned back from where he’d come to find Ranger wet and waiting with the slider in his mouth. He called him safely into a basket and moved it on its vines over the open air, holding the lead rope as he’d been taught. When he started over the bridge again, he was pulling Ranger alongside, and he was still ahead of everyone else, but only just barely. People streamed in behind him. The rope bridge wobbled and swayed on the weight of so many, but no one seemed to mind in the least. They’d lived this way their entire lives, and though it seemed perilous to me, I had to imagine it was like a walk in a park for them. We were well above on our approach and would need to circle, letting the balloon glide down as the hot air grew cooler inside the gigantic balloon.
As Marco pulled hard on the right rudder, we began a slow, circling descent to the wheat field below.
“I wonder if this thing could hold Armon,” asked Yipes, looping a long rope over and over around his arm. “He’d be a heavy load.”
Sir Alistair liked to solve problems. Glancing back and forth at the space around him, he began to calculate things in his mind.
“The balloon could carry him,” Sir Alistair said at length. “But there wouldn’t be any room for a crew.”
Yipes snorted, amused by the idea of a giant in the box, sitting as he once had in the clock tower at the City of Dogs with his knees pulled up to his chin.
Yipes tossed the first rope out, then another that was coiled in the box at the other side, then another and another. Soon there were four ropes held at each corner by the strongest of the men below. I guided their movements from my seat. We landed gently on the soft bed of growing green wheat, which was smashed to the ground under the weight of the box.
Everyone gathered near, gazing up at the balloon and calling our names with great excitement. Ranger pranced up beside the box and Matilda wrapped her arms around the wet dog. Midnight and Nimbus stayed on board and everyone marveled at the sight of the mysterious-looking black cats. Grump was asleep under one of the long platforms until Phylo found him and cried, “Wow! Look at this!”
/> And, of course, everyone looked on in utter amazement at the sight of Sir Alistair Wakefield, who sat unmoving, gazing out over the many lost children from The Land of Elyon.
“It’s time Stargazer brought some of us home,” he said with a weak but meaningful smile. “Prepare for our departure when morning comes again.”
That was the full extent of what Sir Alistair said that day. He looked upon the people and the remaining pillars and nodded softly, then lay down in the box and wouldn’t speak anything more.
He left everything else to me.
CHAPTER 23
OUR DEPARTURE
Midnight and Nimbus tucked in close to Sir Alistair, purring softly and keeping him company. Grump also stayed in the box and seemed perfectly content to sleep the entire morning away.
“He’s not going to make it,” said Jonezy as we veered off and talked privately. Everyone was standing amid the wheat. They had pushed down a big swath around Stargazer so that we could all stand together on the first pillar.
“I think you might be right,” I offered. “He’s so old and fragile. Maybe it’s finally his time to go after all these years.”
“What should we do?” asked Jonezy. “He won’t leave that contraption of his. It’s as if he’s expected somewhere and he doesn’t want to miss the ride.”
I had been thinking about just that for some time.
“I think I know where he wants to go.”
Jonezy looked at me curiously and then nodded. He had come to trust me in the stir of all that had happened.
“When Warvolds are about, things always tend to end well.”
It was sometimes hard to think of myself as Thomas Warvold’s daughter or as Roland Warvold’s niece. It always felt like a lot to live up to. I turned where I stood and found that everyone was staring at me, wondering what I was going to do next. I didn’t make them wait, because I felt time was precious.
“It was an accident, my bringing that monster to the foot of the Five Stone Pillars. But it’s gone now. It will never bother you again.”
The news was met with a flurry of cheers.
“This place is hidden from the dangers of the world. But, as you’ve seen, even hidden places can be found and threatened. This strange vessel—this airship—was made for two reasons. The first is to continue caring for all who live here. I believe I can sail it between this secret place and The Land of Elyon. I can bring you what you need—clothing, seeds, tools—and I can make the trip often. The winds change directions like clockwork. They will drive me away and draw me near as need requires.”
“What’s the second reason for Stargazer?” asked Phylo. He had a big grin on his face. He knew what the reason was, but he wanted to hear it from me.
“For those who want to go back home—either to visit or to stay—Stargazer is for you.”
Phylo was so excited he leaped into the air and ran for the balloon. “I’m first! I’m first!”
I hadn’t thought to ask, but Jonezy leaned over and whispered that Phylo was one of the very last lost children brought to the Five Stone Pillars. His father had been killed by Grindall and the ogres, but rumor had it that his mother lived on in Castalia.
“The wind draws us away on this very morning,” I said, for I decided not to wait another day. Sir Alistair was nearing the end of his life, the wind was up, and I was itching to put Stargazer through her paces on a long voyage. “But I can’t take any of you with me just yet.”
“I’m going!” cried Phylo. He had wrapped his arms around a vine holding Stargazer to the ground, and it didn’t look like he was going to let go without a fight.
“We don’t know exactly how it will work,” I continued. “Only Yipes and I—along with a small crew—are to leave off on this first journey.”
I wasn’t sure if Marco would be willing to go along with me and discover the world outside the Five Stone Pillars to test Stargazer’s worthiness. But I needed only to look at him standing beside the box and I knew in an instant that he, too, had found a greater purpose in life. He would be a lifeline between two places and I felt a certainty he would stay on with me.
Matilda was a different matter. I had known the feeling of having an older sister for the first time in my life and I was about to have something else in common with Roland and Thomas. Just as they had known they needed to go separate ways, I knew I had to leave Matilda behind.
“My place is here,” she said.
I nodded, knowing she was right.
“I’ll take her place!” yelled Phylo from where he held the vine. “I can do it!”
I looked at Jonezy and shrugged. Phylo was a very able child and his duties would be light. It could work.
“Fine,” I said with a sternness in my voice. “You can come along, but you’ll have plenty of work to do. This isn’t a vacation.”
Phylo beamed with excitement and ran off to pack his things, yelling over his shoulder that he would pelt us with rocks if we tried to leave without him.
Yipes had been fidgeting with his hat and his mustache as he stood off to the side of me, nervously listening to every word. He walked up to Matilda and the two of them stood together, both of them only a foot higher than Ranger’s head. Ranger was in a friendly mood and licked persistently at Yipes’s cheek until Matilda told him to lie down.
“I have to go … well, I think I should … I need to, um, go away now,” said Yipes. He was a real stumbler with his words when he was nervous—and he was really nervous.
“I know,” said Matilda. “It’s okay.”
Yipes was squeezing and twisting his hat so hard it was crumpling in his hands.
“I was, um, wondering,” he stammered. “If, you know, when I came back …”
“Oh, just ask her already!” cried Marco. “We’re all waiting.”
Yipes bent down on one knee, which made Ranger think he wanted to play. There was a lot of licking and barking before Yipes stood back up and took Matilda’s hand in his.
“What I wanted to ask was …” He seemed to calm down at the look in her eyes, and then finally he asked.
“Would you … would you marry me?”
Matilda began to cry, but she was able to answer him.
“Yes, Yipes. I’ll marry you when you come back.”
Yipes threw his hat high into the air and the two embraced while everyone clapped and congratulated them. I think they might have hugged all day if Ranger hadn’t returned with the hat, nudging his nose between them and begging for attention.
“How long will it take for you to return?” Matilda asked.
Yipes glanced at me and I, in turn, looked toward the box where Sir Alistair had sat up with a smile. He sniffed at the wind and offered his best guess.
“It will be at least two weeks there, but we’ve chosen our time well. She’ll be able to turn back straight away. I think Stargazer can have him back in a month’s time, six weeks at the outside.”
“That will give us time to plan the wedding!” cried the girls who had befriended me at the first skim. They laughed and clapped, electrified by the idea of planning the event.
“Can you do it at night, on the third pillar?” I said, for though it wasn’t my wedding, I had an idea of how magical it could be. “And can we include a night skim in the celebration?”
“I think that would be perfect,” said Matilda.
Yipes kissed her hand. Matilda laughed at the feel of his fuzzy mustache, and when Yipes turned to look at me, I could see that for the first time in his life he was at peace with who he was and where he was going. “It’s settled then,” said Jonezy. “Alexa and her team will make the maiden voyage alone. Upon her return, you will all have to decide if and when you want to go back to The Land of Elyon. If you do choose to go, you’ll have to decide whether you’ll ever want to come back. Alexa, how many can you carry at once, do you think?”
I turned to Sir Alistair, but he was resting again.
“I think it would be safest to carry no more than
ten on our first voyages. But if things work like I hope they will, we can make four or five round-trips a year. If you want to go, you’ll be able to go; it will only be a matter of when.”
“We’ll have it all worked out on your return—don’t you worry.”
There were murmurs of “I want to go” and “I’m not leaving” and “Can I visit and come back?” as everyone began thinking of their futures.
“And what about him?” Matilda asked softly, pointing to where Sir Alistair appeared to be sleeping.
I only paused a moment before answering.
“He’s going with us.”
I knew where Sir Alistair Wakefield needed to go. It was only a matter of whether I could take him there or not.
“What about that?” asked Jonezy. “And those?”
He had pointed to Grump, who was at that very moment loping out into the wheat field looking for something to eat. Midnight and Nimbus both sat on his back. Seeing that I was watching, Midnight bounded in my direction. I leaned down to hear her.
“We’ve decided to stay,” she said, quiet and close to my ear. “All three of us. We don’t want to be separated.”
After some discussion of what would be best for everyone involved, it was decided that Grump, Midnight, and Nimbus would be left on the second pillar in the care of Jonezy and Matilda. Before morning turned to afternoon, we had moved Stargazer to the shore of the lake, left the animals there, and loaded the box with more provisions at the insistence of Jonezy and Matilda. Grump took naturally to a life of lying in the sun by the lake and the cats were having a heyday tormenting the dogs as we lifted off for our maiden voyage. The cats meowed, but I couldn’t understand them any longer. The magic had already drifted away, somewhere out into the Lonely Sea to be caught again by a place I had yet to find.
Everyone waved at Stargazer’s launch, clapping and wishing us well. Sir Alistair slept along one of the benches. Marco was at the pedals, chewing on a loaf of bread and guzzling water. Yipes was teaching Phylo how to turn up the heat at the tube with powder and saltwater.