The Warble (17 page)

Raymond, who was now
hiding in Retzel’s cape, stuck his head out and said, “Look, raven, I’d like to
make it back to my home in one piece, if you don’t mind.”

“I am confused as to
why you are going in this direction,” Roage said.

“This is the way the
map tells us to go,” Werrien responded.

“And if you don’t mind,
we’d like to get going before its too late, and I become lunch for one of those
horrible zelbocks,” Raymond added.

“I’m sorry to be the
bearer of bad news, but you are heading straight toward the enemy,” Roage said.

“That can’t be
possible. Rumalock gave us his word that we’d be heading in a totally different
direction,” Kristina said.

“The queen’s army is
heading northwest, and within a few minutes, you’ll be running right into
them,” Roage said.

“Do you think he’s
telling the truth?” Kristina asked Werrien.

“At this point, I’m not
sure what to believe.”

“Listen! You must not
wait any longer. They will be here very soon. Take my word for it,” Roage said.

“Which way do you
suggest we go?” Werrien asked.

“Head directly west,
until you hit the coast, and then follow it north, until you come to the far
west side of the base of the mountain. Then you’ll—” Roage was interrupted when
a flaming arrow flew past them.

“Quick! Lisheng, head
west, as Roage said. I will catch up with you as soon as possible,” Werrien
said.

No sooner had Lisheng
passed through the trees when the trees burst into flames. Roage took to the
air. Werrien, Kristina and Taysha, could feel the heat of the blaze as it began
spreading from tree to tree, very near to where they stood.

“Pass me an arrow out
of my quiver,” Werrien said to Kristina. Kristina pulled one out and handed it
to him, but as he was placing it in his bow, he noticed that the arrow had no
spearhead on it. “I need another arrow—this one’s broken.”

She pulled another one
out and handed it to him, but it also had no arrowhead. “Try another one,”
Werrien said.

Kristina reached for
the third one, but it, too, had no arrowhead. She pulled out more and more
until there were no more in the quiver. None of them had arrowheads.

How can this be?
Werrien thought.

Then a picture of
Rumalock handing him his quiver entered his mind, and he remembered the old
dwarf’s words:
“I sharpened your arrowheads myself.”

Werrien’s face went
pale white and his heart seemed to sink in his chest.
Rumalock must have
done this
.

The zelbocks were
coming into their view, and all Werrien and Kristina had to defend themselves
was the knife that Werrien had given to Kristina. It wouldn’t be enough.
Werrien knew Kristina and he wouldn’t stand a chance when fighting the zelbocks.

“We’re going to have to
go through it,” Werrien said.

“Do you mean the fire?”
Kristina asked.

But before Werrien
could answer, Taysha began to charge at full speed toward the blazing trees.

Taysha ran through the flames, and
Kristina ducked her head behind Werrien’s back. Once they were past the fire,
Taysha made a dead stop and turned toward the blazing trees.

“Are you all right?”
Werrien asked Kristina.

Kristina ran her hands
over her hair and her clothes to make sure that she hadn’t caught fire. “I’m
fine.” But just as she answered, three more flaming arrows came whizzing
through the blaze, right toward them. “Duck!” she yelled.

They ducked down and
the arrows zoomed over their backs and into the trees just ahead of them. The
fire spread quickly all around them.

“It looks like we’ll
have to do it again. Hold on tight!” Werrien said.

Taysha began to gallop
toward the burning trees, and this time she didn’t stop; instead, she kept
running at full speed through the forest.

“Keep your head down.
There are too many trees and low branches around this area,” Werrien said.

Taysha continued
running until Werrien felt they were far enough ahead of the zelbocks. Then he
brought her to a jolting halt. All was quiet now except for the sound of a
small brook trickling down a slope nearby. Taysha was very hot, and the steam
coming off her body could be seen in the cool, crisp air.

“Do you think we’ve
lost them?” Kristina asked.

“I think so, at least
for the time being.” With tension laced across his face, Werrien ran his hand
through his unkempt hair. Then he dismounted Taysha, and Kristina dismounted
after him. He led Taysha to the brook so she could drink.

While Kristina waited,
she began to stretch her sore legs. “It’s a good thing we were able to outrun
them. I can’t imagine what they would have done to us this time.”

Werrien just stared
into the darkness.

Kristina looked oddly
at Werrien. “What’s the matter?”

“Don’t you realize
what’s happening?” Werrien was angered by her calm attitude.

“What?” Kristina
shrugged her shoulders. “Are you mad because your arrows were so dull?”

Werrien frowned. “It
figures you’d think something as dumb as that!”

Kristina didn’t reply;
he’d embarrassed her with that remark.

“Look, Kristina, I’m
sorry to snap at you, but my nerves are really tense at the moment.” They were
both silent again, and then Werrien asked, “Do you remember Rumalock’s telling
me that he sharpened my arrowheads himself?”

Kristina shook her
head. “No, I don’t recall.”

“Well, I remember it
clearly.”

“If he had sharpened
them, why were they so dull?”

“They weren’t ‘dull’
Kristina. They had no arrowhead on them.”

There was a bewildered
look in
Kristina’s
pale-blue eyes. “Do you think Rumalock took them off?”

Werrien exhaled. “I’m
afraid so,” he said, feeling discouraged.

“Why would he do such a
thing?”

“The only reason I can
think of is that he must be working for the queen.”

The thought of it made
Kristina’s heart sink. First Retzel had betrayed them and now Rumalock.

Werrien took the gold
case out of his shirt. “Funny, I haven’t felt it warm up lately.” He opened it,
stared down at it, and a grim look crossed his face. The worst thing that he
could have possibly imagined had happened. “It’s gone!” he cried.

Kristina’s jaw dropped.
“I can’t believe it! Why didn’t he take it when I first met him? He had every
chance then. Why would he wait until now?”

“Can’t you see? The
queen needed for you to meet up with me so she could rid of me too. They must
have known that the Warble would bring us together!”

“Now I see why Rumalock
said, ‘You might even get some help along the way.’ He knew all along I would
meet up with you.”

“Exactly! Have you ever
heard the saying ‘Why not kill two birds with one stone?’”

“Yes of course. What
are we to do now?”

“We’ll have to go back
to the underground hideout and get the Warble back from Rumalock.”

“What about the
zelbocks and the fire?”

“I don’t know. We’ll
just have to take a chance.” Werrien helped her to get back up on Taysha.

On the way back, they
passed by the burned and smoldering trees. There was no sign of any zelbocks,
and all was quiet when they arrived back at the underground hideout. Werrien
dismounted Taysha, and then Kristina took her to hide in the trees.

Werrien went back into
the pitch-black underground and though he couldn’t see anything, he knew that
the tunnel was straight ahead. He walked carefully until he finally felt the
cool earthen wall. Then he turned left and continued on until he could see the
light coming from the room where they had been earlier. As he walked cautiously
toward it, he heard voices. “Rumalock and Queen Sentiz are already on their way
up the mountain. Ramon has the Warble, and is on his way also, with the queen’s
army.”

Werrien went a little
closer and could see that it was one of the queen’s servant gnomes talking to a
zelbock. When he heard them mention Rumalock’s name, he felt like someone had
dropped a load of rocks in his stomach. It was a heavy blow to his heart, for
he had known Rumalock for most of his life and had always thought him to be
nothing other than a trustworthy, caring friend.

“Once at the top of the
mountain, Ramon will destroy the Warble,” the gnome said.

“What about the boy and
the girl?” the zelbock asked.

“No worries; it’s all
taken care of. You see, Rumalock gave Werrien a map that will lead him directly
into Ramon’s army.”

Werrien heard their
footsteps coming toward the tunnel, so he turned and quickly went back the way
he had come. When he reached the ladder, he hid behind it. A few moments later
the gnome and zelbock came out of the tunnel. Then the gnome opened the trap
door, and both he and the zelbock went up the ladder and out of the
underground.

The trap door slammed
shut, and Werrien was left standing in the pitch-black darkness.

Many thoughts began to
swirl around in Werrien’s mind, like why would Rumalock betray him, or how
would he and Kristina get the Warble back, now that it had been snatched away
for the second time? And what about the Book of Prophecy being in Rumalock’s
hands? And what about all those gnomes and dwarfs preparing for battle under
Rumalock’s command? Did they have any idea that Rumalock had betrayed them as
well? Werrien wondered if he was kidding himself, thinking that Kristina, a
young girl, and he, a not-much-older teen, could actually accomplish this
dangerous task of delivering the Warble. The load of worry began to get very
heavy, and he felt things couldn’t possibly get any worse. He leaned his head
on one of the steps of the ladder feeling very discouraged. Just then, he felt
something crawl across his face and onto his hand. He lifted his head up to see
a large spider sitting on his hand. It opened its mouth to reveal two large
fangs, dripping venom. He knew if he tried to move, the spider would most
assuredly bite him, but there was no other choice. He lifted his other hand up
very slowly to whack it, but as he was about to do so, the spider lifted up
into the air. He looked up to see the trap door opening above him, and the
spider’s web, which was attached to the trap door, pulled the spider up and
into the air. It swung back and forth, toward Werrien’s face, but he quickly
backed away just as it reached its long legs toward his face, trying to latch
on to him.

“Werrien!” Kristina
called down from above.

“I’m down here!”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m much better now.”
He broke the web and flung the spider away toward the tunnel. He hurried up the
ladder and out into the much-appreciated open air of the forest. Kristina,
Ugan, and Retzel were all standing around the trap door when Werrien came out
of the underground hideout.

“What are you guys
doing here?” Werrien asked.

“When you didn’t come
to meet us, we got worried and decided to come back and look for you,” Ugan
said.

“Did any of you see a
gnome and a zelbock come out a few minutes ago?”

“Yes,” Kristina said.

“Did they see you?” Werrien
asked.

“No, I don’t think so.
We were hidden pretty well.”

 “Which way did
they go?”

“They headed
northeast,” Ugan said.

“I’m sorry to have to
tell you this, Ugan, but your brother Rumalock has stolen the Warble,” Werrien
said.

Ugan’s face turned
white, and he looked very sad. “I have always looked up to my brother, and now
he does this. I suppose we are both the same, two of a kind, sneaky cowards.”
He lowered his head in shame.

Retzel put his arm
around Ugan. “If it’s any consolation, I feel just as much a coward as you.”

“At least you two
realized and confessed your faults,” Kristina said.

“I’m going to have to
change our plans,” Werrien said. He went to get Taysha, who was still hidden
behind the trees with Lisheng. Ugan followed to get Lisheng. Then they all
mounted the horses.

“Where are we going,
Prince Werrien?” Retzel asked.

“I’ll explain later.”

Werrien led them
eastward through the forest. Taysha galloped at full speed, with Lisheng right
at her tail, and once again Kristina kept her head down low behind Werrien’s
back to avoid the many tree branches. After a while, the smell of smoke and the
sound of voices filled the air again. Taysha and Lisheng slowed down, and
Kristina lifted her head up to see that Werrien had led them back to the place
where the gnomes and the dwarfs were preparing for battle.

Looper, surprised to
see them back, flew toward them. “What’s going on? Aren’t you supposed to be on
your way up Mount Bernovem?”

Werrien ignored
Looper’s question and rode Taysha toward the gnomes and dwarfs, who were now
busy dressing in their battle attire. “May I have your attention!” he called
out. They all fell silent and looked up at Werrien. “I’m sorry to say that
Rumalock, the one we have all known to be noble and trustworthy, has betrayed
us.” The gnomes and dwarfs looked to each other, shaking their heads in
disbelief. “I know this is very hard to believe, but it is true. He has stolen
the Warble, and it is presently on its way up Mount Bernovem, where Ramon is
planning to destroy it.”

“But how could this
be?” one of the gnomes said. “Rumalock is our leader and friend. He told us to
meet him at the base of the mountain, to hold back the queen’s army.”

“Listen, you were
planning to defend Kristina and me, and as you can see, we are not on our way
up the mountain to deliver the Warble. We’re here, before your own eyes.”

The gnomes and dwarfs
whispered among themselves, and then the same gnome who had spoken before said,
“So what are we to do now?”

“I ask you now to trust
in me, for my mother, Lafinia, is the true queen, and I will be king after
her.” Werrien had authority in his voice. The gnomes looked among each other,
not knowing what to believe. “Do you wish to be free citizens once again, free
to harvest the fairy blossom and prosper as you did once before, or do you
prefer to be under Queen Sentiz’s power and barely get by?”

“Of course we prefer to
be free and prosper, but what you are saying about Rumalock—this is very hard
for us to believe,” the gnome answered.

“Well, I can’t force
you to believe me, but just think; why would I, the true future king, want to
do you any harm? Has my family done anything other than look out for your best
interests?”

The gnome who spoke
before and an older male dwarf whispered to each other. Finally, the gnome
said, “We will do as you wish, for we know you are the true Prince of Bernovem,
and there has been no peace, justice, or happiness since your mother, Lafinia
has been imprisoned.”

“I will do everything
in my power to make sure you don’t regret your decision.”

“So what should we do
now?” the gnome asked.

“Follow Kristina and me
to the base of Mount Bernovem. Once we are there, we will wait in hiding for
Ramon’s army. Then, I will take back the Warble from Ramon, and Kristina and I
will head up the mountain to deliver it to its resting place.”

“And what about us?” a
young dwarf man asked.

“You will stay at the
base with Ugan and Retzel, and keep Ramon’s army from coming after us.”

“Prince Werrien?” A
softer female voice spoke up from the crowd. She raised her arm so that Werrien
could see her. It was Bronya, the girl gnome who had given him soup to eat
earlier that evening. “My sister and I wish to give you and Kristina
something.”

Werrien looked
curiously at her. “What is it?”

The girls made their
way through the crowd toward Taysha, and when they stood in front of her, each
laid out on the ground a protective chainmail vest and a warm woolen cape, one
for Kristina and one for Werrien.