Festival of Shadows (58 page)

“You’re back,” he said sardonically when he saw everyone. “You might as well have stayed on the train.”

Heinrich picked up his mallet from a pile of stones and shook his head. Bethany kicked one of the stones and cursed.
 

Lucinda hovered over to the big tent. Seeing the extent of the damage, she began to cry. “It was all for nothing.”

Her sobs hurt Theo; he dug his foot into the gravel and looked away.
 

Jiskyl put a hand on Lucinda’s shoulder. “There, there. I was too negative, my dear. Perhaps we can still salvage things.”

“No. It’s ruined.” She whipped around and pointed at Theo. “It’s your fault!”

Theo tried not to look at her, but she was on top of him in an instant, hitting his chest.
 

“It’s all because of your selfishness!”

“Get off me!”

Heinrich pulled her away, but she kept swinging.
 

“Not once did you ever ask why we were even putting on this festival!”

Theo rubbed his chest. “I guess now’s a better time than any.” He rolled his eyes and said, “Please, Lucinda. Tell me all about this festival and why it’s so important to you.”

Lucinda fired a dream blast and knocked him into a midway stand. “Gee, I’ll tell you, Mr. Know-It-All. The festival is to honor one of our dead friends.”

“I know that already. How did he die?”

“He sacrificed himself to save us,” Lucinda said.
 

“You mentioned that in the lodge,” Theo said, rubbing his head. “Are you going to tell me what happened, or are you going to keep being cryptic?”

Jiskyl leaned on his cane and said, “It’s a long story. Several years ago, we were in this very spot, eating our supper, when a little boy staggered up to us. Just by looking at him, it was clear that he had escaped the castle. Heaven knows how he did it. He kept screaming . . . I can still hear his screams even now.”

“We took him in,” Lucinda said. “And the only person who could calm him was our friend—Mazeltop. He was the oldest of us, and his fatherly tone calmed the boy. We fed the kid and did tricks for him, and he opened up to us. He told us about the terrible things that Stratus had done to him. You couldn’t imagine the nightmares he had seen. We knew he’d never be the same as long as Stratus kept a grip on his mind. He told us that he missed his family. And he mentioned a portal in the castle—the only way to escape. We knew what it felt like to miss a loved one, so we decided to help him, even though it meant risking our lives. We snuck him into the castle, and when we made it to the portal in the throne room, Stratus appeared. He would have suffocated us all if Mazeltop hadn’t jumped in the way.”

Jiskyl sighed. “The last thing he said was, ‘Never lose hope.’”

“The sight of Stratus sent the boy out of his mind,” Lucinda said. “He started screaming again, so we pushed him through the portal. He escaped. But we weren’t so lucky.”

Jiskyl pointed to the scars on his face. “Stratus tortured us for days and then released us as an example for other toys who dared to cross him.”

Heinrich spat. “The other toys in the Stratusphere shunned us, and we were forced to wander this place forever.”

“I can’t believe he tortured you guys like that.”

Lucinda turned the other way. “We can bear our punishment. But the real sufferer was the kid—all the kids that Stratus kidnapped, really. Stratus puts evil thoughts in their minds, and even if they were to escape, they’d probably never be the same.” She looked at Theo intensely. “That’s why we have the festival. This is a crappy existence, Theo. But despite that, we never lose hope, even though we hate this place. Even though we’re scared every day of what can happen, even though Stratus’s goons get stronger every day, we never back down. And this is the only night of the year where we can forget our fears and celebrate the memory of Mazeltop—and that boy, the only human to ever escape the Stratusphere.”

Theo squinted. “Surely he couldn’t have been the only one.”

“That’s why Stratus tortured us,” Lucinda said. “Because we helped Shawn escape.”

“Shawn!”

“Why do you have repeat and scream everything I say?”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Why not? Here we go again—it’s all about you, isn’t it?”

“Shawn was my first owner,” Theo said. “He was abducted . . . by Stratus.”

Everyone gasped. Heinrich put his hands on his head and said, “Oh mein gott!”

“I couldn’t rescue him. I’ve never forgiven myself.”

“Some Ursabrand you are,” Lucinda said, puffing. “Does that sound familiar?”

“He was never the same when he returned. He hated me. Now he’s a teenager and he never plays with his toys. Stratus changed him.”

“That is the natural progression of all children,” Jiskyl said. “Stratus just accelerates it.”

Theo stared at the moon. “Shawn gave me to Grant because he hated me so much. I swore that I would never let anything happen to Grant, and yet I’m here.”

“Why didn’t you follow Stratus through when he stole Shawn?” Bethany asked.

Theo’s voice broke but he kept it together. “I was . . . I was sleeping. I didn’t know until the portal had closed, until after it was too late.”

Bethany slapped Theo on the back. “Don’t beat yourself up. That happened to me, too. Happened to us all in some way or another. That’s how Stratus is. Finds toys who can’t defend their owners, and then he takes advantage.”

Theo rubbed his head. He felt so moved by everything that he didn’t know what else to say. “Lucinda, you were right to be angry with me. You saved Shawn. I am grateful to you.”

“You don’t have to hide everything,” she said. “You’re not the first toy to come here with a shattered past. You’re not alone.”

Theo swallowed. He couldn’t find words to speak.
 

Lucinda sighed softly and glanced again at the festival grounds. “I don’t know how we’ll finish the festival now. Everyone will be here soon.”

Theo turned the Whatsamadoozle into a mallet and hammered in a stake.

“There’s no use,” Lucinda said.
 

Theo shook his head. “Remember what Mazeltop said? Don’t lose hope. We’ve got a lot of work to do, but we’ve got to do it—for Mazeltop, for Shawn, and for all of toykind.”

CHAPTER COMPLETE!

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CHAPTER 11

Festival of Shadows

They worked without stopping until everything was up and running again. The carousel stuttered, but it ran; the midway lit up even though it was still in ruins.

Heinrich swept the grounds as fast as he could. Bethany set up a sawhorse and sawed wood, then tossed it to Lucinda, who painted it and quick-dried the paint with her magic. Theo threw the wood into a wheelbarrow and ran down the midway, where he and Jiskyl rebuilt the stands.
 

Soon, everything was functional, though it looked kind of sad.

“It’s the best we can do,” Lucinda said.

Visitors streamed in from the dark plains. They were all toys with interesting and unique injuries, and they looked around and smiled. Even though the festival wasn’t perfect, no one turned away.

 
The caravan toys stood in front of their attractions, calling out to passersby.

“We had a few setbacks, but you’ll still have fun!”

“Come and watch me ring the bell!”

“Want to fly on a dragon? Get out your coins!”

More toys came, and soon the place bustled with noise and laughter.
 

Theo sat in the back of a wagon and watched from the outskirts. Despite all the damage, despite the festival’s ragged appearance, the visiting toys were having fun. They rode the carousel and played the games in the midway, and they happily paid coins for everything.
 

It was sad. All these toys were trying to create a semblance of their former lives in this bleak dimension where the truth was obvious. When it was all over, when the lights were turned off, when the caravan moved on to its next location, these toys would go back to living in fear, back to the reality of the Stratusphere. And beyond, in the dark places of this world where there was no goodness, other toys were probably celebrating evil things—all because they chose the side that offered them safety, even if that safety came at a terrible price.

He prayed that he would never end up like the caravan toys. He didn’t like the idea of having to make such a choice about his fate.
 

In the distance, Lucinda stood on a platform and spoke into a megaphone.

“I want to take a moment to remember our dear friend who couldn’t be with us tonight. Everything you see is in his honor. Through his memory, we are reminded to never lose hope, to always smile, to always make the best of our situation—no matter how discarded or abandoned we feel. Though we may be surrounded by eternal darkness, we must always represent the light. Let’s cheer for Mazeltop and the rest of our friends who have died!”

“Yippee!”

Lucinda hovered upward. “One more cheer for hope!”

“Woo hoo!”

Lucinda flew higher and fired several dream blasts into the sky; they exploded into fireworks, and everyone oohed and aahed.

The toys grabbed her, cheering. She blushed and laughed as she lost herself in the huge crowd.
 

It was the perfect time to leave. Theo jumped off the wagon and looked up at the moon.
 

It was nice to know all of you.

He turned to leave when he heard a voice. “Leaving, eh?”

It was Jiskyl.
 

“I fulfilled my duties,” Theo said.
 

“Yes, and now it’s time for me to fulfill mine.”

Jiskyl handed him a golden, decorated shield with a dragon on the front. “It once belonged to a knight. You’ll need it.”

Theo held the shield; along with the Whatsamadoozle, it felt right.
 

“You can enter the castle through the Dream Marshes.”

“I tried that, but Shaggy ambushed me there.”

“You were on the north end of the marshes,” Jiskyl said. “You need to go to the south end. You can access the castle through a sewer drain. On my way here, I passed by it and I assure you that it’s still unguarded. You can get to the lower level of the castle from the sewers. Just be careful when you get inside—heaven knows what lurks in those filthy canals.”

“Thanks, Jiskyl.”

The old fish nodded and shook Theo’s hand. “You might save us all, or you might be headed to your grave—I still can’t figure you out. But in any case, it was nice to meet you.”

Theo looked back at the festival, where everyone was having fun and laughing and playing. The sound of music and the smell of cotton candy blended into the night, and part of him wished he could have stayed, enjoying the company of friends. But he knew what he had to do.
 

Theo saluted Jiskyl, and then started down the path to the Dream Marshes, thinking of Grant.

CHAPTER COMPLETE!

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CHAPTER 12

Sluicing Around

Theo made his way through the Dream Marshes, and just outside the castle he found the drain that Jiskyl had told him about. He turned the Whatsamadoozle into a saw and cut himself an entrance.
 

The drain was dark and wide. He turned the Whatsamadoozle into a flashlight and climbed in. After a while, he emerged in a sewer system. Marsh water gushed in thick streams, and green-stoned walkways flanked the channels on either side. The streams crisscrossed each other at perpendicular angles, and here and there were capstans—some working, some broken—that looked as if they controlled the water somehow. On the far side of the system, Theo saw an iron door with moons all over it—it had to lead upstairs to the castle.
 

I’ve got to get to that door.

He would have to get past the streams, but he knew that if he touched the marsh water it would send him into hallucinations. He prepared to jump, but then he stopped. The distance was too far.
 

He turned the Whatsamadoozle into a propeller and was ready to take off when a school of shimmering piranhas splashed out of the water, chomping. They eyed Theo, waiting for him.

They’ll eat me alive if I try to cross.
 

 
He ran down a pathway. It dead-ended at a capstan, but its wooden handles were missing.
 

 
This probably controls the water flow, but it’s broken. How am I supposed to get across?

He heard a jangling sound behind him and ducked into an alcove as a blue blob with an eye patch rounded a corner. Its mouth was a dripping mess, and its breath—a mixture of raw sewage, rotten food, and burning plastic—made Theo gag. It carried a lantern in one hand and a wooden bucket filled with tools in the other. The blob grumbled as it walked, leaving a trail of steaming slime after it. As it got closer to Theo, he could read the name written sloppily on both the lantern and the bucket: Fogerty.