Kendra Kandlestar and the Door to Unger (10 page)

IF YOU HAVE EVER had a chance encounter with an old friend, only to have him or her stare at you blankly, then you might know how Kendra felt at that moment. How could Trooogul not remember her? She had saved his life, only last summer, and now he didn’t even recognize her. Kendra was so shocked that she couldn’t even speak.

Slowly, Trooogul lumbered out of the shadows. He walked on all fours, and looked terribly dangerous as he entered the faint light cast by the dungeon torches. Though he was not yet as big as the adult Ungers, Kendra noticed he had grown since she had last seen him—he now seemed to tower over her. Trooogul gazed upon her with small vacant eyes, but he didn’t seem to recognize her at all.

“Whozum are you?” he repeated, and there was a threatening growl to his voice.

Instinctively Kendra clutched the pouch of sneezing powder. There was a row of thick iron bars separating her and Trooogul, but she knew he could reach between them and easily seize her, if he so desired.

“Don’t . . . don’t you remember me?” Kendra stammered, tugging nervously at her braids.

Trooogul sat down on his haunches, like a wolf, and stared at her curiously. Their eyes locked and Kendra found herself hoping against hope that he would somehow know her. Then Trooogul’s thick brow furled, as if some memory from a long-forgotten past suddenly reached him. Then, slowly, his giant mouth opened. “Youzum,” he said after a moment, a hint of accusation in his voice. “Youzum little Eeneez that rescuezum Trooogul. Long time agozum, beforezum Trooogul becomezum slave.”

“Yes,” Kendra said, stepping forward excitedly. The bars were spaced wide enough for her to slip through, and she did, putting herself right inside the cage with the Unger.

“Whyzum comezum here?” Trooogul demanded.

“I didn’t mean to,” Kendra said. “We just ended up here, in these terrible mines of Umbor. But now I’m here. Now I can free you.”

Trooogul snorted, though with laughter or anger, Kendra could not tell.

“Youzum! Little Eeneez!” he said. “Youzum can does nothing forzum Trooogul.”

“I have these!” Kendra said, shaking the keys indignantly.

“Fatzum little Dwarfzum wearzum belt still?” Trooogul asked, scratching his claws against the rocky floor.

“Why, yes, I suppose,” Kendra said. “Why? Is that how he captured you? With the belt?”

“Yeezum,” Trooogul replied solemnly. “Cannot disobeyzum beltzum. Itzum magiczum! Makezum Dwarfee’s wishees comes truezum.”

Kendra shook her head. “We have to try anyway,” she said. “The belt didn’t work on us. I think it was because of Uncle Griffinskitch’s own magic. His wizard staff protects us from the belt. So all we have to do is get Uncle—,”

“Nozum!” Trooogul interrupted angrily. “Dwarfee catch hundredzum of Ungers with beltzum. Goojuns, Krakes and others toozum. Escape no so easyzum.”

“Listen here!” Kendra said. “I can help you . . . and you can help me.”

Trooogul’s great brow twisted in a knot. “Howzum? Howzum Trooogul helpzum Eeneez?”

“I’m looking for something,” Kendra said.

Trooogul rose back up to all fours as if in great alarm. “Whatzum?” he asked suspiciously.

“A d-door,” she said, pulling anxiously on her braids again. She felt beads of perspiration rolling down her face, but she wasn’t sure if it was from fear or excitement. This was her chance to discover the secret that could lead her to her family. But part of her was also afraid—for if Trooogul knew nothing of the Door to Unger, then maybe it didn’t exist at all. Maybe it
was
all just a fantasy and she had led her uncle and the rest of her companions on a wild bumblebee chase.

“Doorzum?” Trooogul grunted. “What doorzum wouldzum Eeneez seek?”

“It’s called the Door to Unger,” Kendra said, tugging yet harder on her braids.

“Whoazum!” Trooogul exclaimed. “How does Eeneez knowzum of doorzum?”

“It exists, then?” Kendra asked excitedly. “Tell me it does!”

Trooogul sat back down on his haunches and glared at her for a moment. Then he said, “Doorzum is real. But no Eeneez shouldzum seeks doorzum.”

“Why?” Kendra asked.

“Trooogul no surezum,” he answered slowly. “But this muchzum Trooogul knowzum. Many Eeneez taken tozum Door to Unger. Yetzum, no Eeneez returnzum.”

“But why?” Kendra urged. “Just what
is
the Door to Unger? What does it do?”

Trooogul shook his great head. “Not knowzum. Strangezum magic powerzum is at doorzum.”

“You must take me there,” Kendra announced.

“Nozum!” he bellowed. “Youzum blindzum? Notzum seez that Trooogul izum Unger?”

“Of course I do,” Kendra said angrily. “But I’m going to set you free. I’ll set all you free.”

“Neverzum!” Trooogul roared ferociously. “Ungers and Eeneez enemies!”

“But last time you said that you didn’t hate Eens!” Kendra cried. She felt another drop on her cheek, but it wasn’t perspiration this time; it was a hot and angry tear. “Now you’re saying we’re enemies!”

Trooogul leaned close to her and hissed, “Of course Trooogul hate Eeneez. All Ungers hate Eeneez. Just sayzum that last timezum to make little Eeneez feel bad, to chasee awayzum.”

“You’re just a liar, then,” Kendra said.

“And youzum,” Trooogul said, spitting at her in anger, “youzum just Eeneez.”

Kendra was growing desperate. She felt that Trooogul would somehow be her only chance to find her family. Somehow, she had to get him on her side. “Look,” she urged, raising her hand so that he could see her palm. “I met an Unger. One of your Elders, I think. He said I was marked.”

This act did not have the effect Kendra desired. For now, Trooogul’s eyes went wide and he backed away from her, as if she could somehow hurt him. Even in the faint light, Kendra could see his great limbs tremble.

“You see it, don’t you?” Kendra asked. “You can see the mark on my palm!”

“Itzum forbidden for any Unger to touchzum Eeneez markzee withzum star!” Trooogul uttered in a voice that was as close to a whisper as he could get.

“Why?” Kendra asked.

“Eenee with starzum will destroyzum Unger,” Trooogul said, casting his eyes wildly about, as if he was looking for some desperate way to escape her presence. “Unger prophecy sayzum so. Now Eeneez must leavezum.”

“Please!” Kendra urged, stepping towards him.

“NO!” Trooogul roared. “Leavezum now.” And the great gray beast turned his back to her and scuttled quickly to the back of his cage.

Kendra just stood there, crying. She wondered how he could treat her so. Was this mark on her hand—a mark that she herself could not even see—so frightening? Only a moment ago, she had felt so close to discovering the next clue about the Door to Unger, a clue that could lead her to her family. But it seemed that Trooogul had dashed all her hopes just as quickly.

But Kendra had been through enough adventures to know that feeling sorry for herself wouldn’t get her anywhere. With a determined yank on her braids, she composed herself. Trooogul’s great bony back was still turned to her, but even so, she raised her head high and marched out of the cage and stood on the lip of the rock. Then, before she could think better of her actions, she quickly thrust one of the keys into the lock of the Unger’s cage. With some luck, the very first key worked, and with a groaning creak the door swung inwards.

Trooogul whirled around, his eyes wide with surprise. “Trooogul toldzum Eeneez! Trooogul no helpzum! Whyzum Eenee setzum Trooogul freezum?”

Kendra wiped the tears from her eyes and glared at him. “Selfish beast!” she said. “You have no idea how much it cost me to save your life last time! And if you think that I did it just so you could toil the rest of your days as a slave to these greedy Dwarves, then . . . then . . . well, you truly are a monster!”

And with these words, she turned away from him and clambered down the rock. She was still holding the key ring in her hands as she turned to face the wall of cages. Her heated words had brought all the slaves scuttling to the doors of their pens, and now they clutched the bars with their gnarled claws as they glared at her. The beasts looked wild and frenzied, but Kendra’s heart was now beating like a hornet’s nest, and she did not care. She flung the keys as hard as she could and one of the wretched creatures reached out and greedily caught them.

“You’re free!” Kendra shouted, running down the length of the dungeon. “You’re all free!” Now the tears were streaming freely from her face, though she hardly understood why. She could hear a great clamor of noise; it was the doors swinging open as the keys were tossed from cage to cage, releasing slave after slave.

She stopped and turned. Creatures were now spilling out of the holes in the walls, a tidal wave of crooked limbs and wild, leering faces. Kendra gasped, for now she realized that this horde of beasts was stampeding straight toward her in their attempt to escape the dismal dungeon. She couldn’t help but wonder what had become of Oki and Ratchet, but before she could quite complete this frantic thought, she heard someone yell, “STOP,” and the rumbling tide of escaping slaves came to a sudden, eerie halt. Kendra stared into their faces. But they weren’t looking at her, but rather
behind
her.

Slowly, the tiny Een girl turned around. There, standing on top of a large rock and glowering down upon the cavern, stood the hunched and golden-robed figure of Pugglemud.