Kendra Kandlestar and the Box of Whispers (3 page)

FOR THOSE OF YOU who don’t know, the River Wink leads straight past the largest town in the land of Een, and that’s the town of Faun’s End. It’s here where you will find the Elder Stone, though I regret to say that, being from the outside world, you’ll probably have a hard time finding the land of Een at all, let alone the town of Faun’s End. Nonetheless, if you ever do find your way to this enchanted country, then you should certainly visit the Elder Stone, for it is a magnificent place indeed.

Kendra and her friends in the jack-o’-lantern boat could see the stone long before they actually reached it, for it towered above the Een shops and homes like a castle. And yet it was unlike any castle that Kendra had ever read about, for it had not been built with several bricks or stones but with only one: a single gray rock that thrust towards the sky as if it were trying to touch the distant clouds.

Legend held that the Elder Stone had taken hundreds of years to complete. This was no surprise, for the inside had been hollowed out and tunneled with countless rooms and passageways, while much of the outside was carved with tiny stone pictures of stars, animals, and strange Een faces with all manners of expression. Some of the faces framed tiny windows and doorways while others gazed upon the distant ground with long open mouths that gushed sparkling waterfalls. These falls glistened in the sunlight, changing color as they tumbled down the Elder Stone from ledge to ledge, spilling at last into a narrow moat that surrounded the rock’s base. From here, a series of pumps and pipes returned the water to the top of the stone, so that the frolicking water might repeat its journey.

Kendra loved the waterfalls of the Elder Stone. She could stare at them for hours, watching them change from blue to green, then indigo, red, orange, and yellow in turn. Indeed, she was watching them now and was almost in a trance when Ratchet’s pumpkin boat clunked against the shore of the River Wink.

“We’re here,” Ratchet announced.

“I thought there’d be a whole crowd here,” Kendra said. “But we’re the only ones.”

“You know Een folk,” Ratchet said, helping Kendra and Oki out of the pumpkin. “They’re scared of their own shadows. I imagine that big, dark shape was enough to send most Eens hiding under their beds.”

“I’m an Een, and I’m not hiding under my bed,” Kendra pointed out.

“Well, you’re no normal Een,” Ratchet said. “I suspect we’ll find your whiskers yet, and then we’ll know for sure you’re a critter, just like one of us.”

“Oh, Ratchet,” Kendra giggled.

“Well, let’s go check this hole out,” the raccoon said, as he tied the boat to a nearby tree root.

“I would love to knot you to a tree,” the jack-o’-lantern boat told Ratchet.

“If you weren’t so grumpy, I might let you come with us,” Ratchet retorted.

“No thanks,” the pumpkin growled. “Spending more than five seconds around you fills me with a burning desire to be alone.”

“Come on,” Ratchet said to Kendra and Oki. “Let’s get out of here before this exchange gets any uglier.”

“It couldn’t possibly get uglier than you, you wandering waste of fur,” the pumpkin hollered after them.

“I really don’t know what I did wrong,” Ratchet confessed to his friends as they approached the stone. “Jack-o’-lantern boats seemed like such a good idea yesterday. Of course, that was before I knew pumpkins were obsessed with constipation.”

“No, not constipation!” Oki squeaked. “
Emancipation
.”

“No one wants constipation,” Kendra told Ratchet with a giggle.

“Well, how do you know?” Ratchet asked crossly. Kendra knew he didn’t like to be shown a fool, so she patted him on his back, and he seemed to quickly forget his embarrassment.

They soon came to the giant hole that Oki had told them about. The pit was deep and dark, with ragged edges and large chunks of dirt and grass scattered about its gaping mouth. It was as if someone—or something—had violently plunged right through the earth.

“I’d sure like to know what made this mess,” Ratchet said with a low whistle.

Kendra peered over the edge of the hole, her braids hanging into the blackness. “I wonder where it goes,” she mused.

“I know a way to find out,” Ratchet said. “We have to get into that council meeting.”

“Oh, we can’t do that,” Oki said quickly. “It’s a private meeting.”

“Well, you work for the elders,” Ratchet said. “They have to let you in.”

“I’m just a lowly messenger mouse,” Oki protested.

“Come on,” Ratchet persisted. “We’ll sneak in then.”

“That would be spying,” Oki pointed out.

“Good,” Ratchet said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve stirred up that sort of trouble.”

“Oh, dear,” Oki murmured, and Kendra knew there would no use arguing with Ratchet. The raccoon would just pester Oki until he got his way.

With a sigh, the tiny mouse turned and led his two friends across one of the bridges that spanned the moat to the Elder Stone. Oki was just about to knock on the front door when it suddenly flew open, and they found themselves face-to-face with Juniper Jinx, captain of the Een guard and protector of the elders. Even though Jinx was a grasshopper (and thus smaller than both Kendra and Oki), her reputation made her seem larger than a giant. With her long hind legs and ever-ready sword, she was known as a fierce fighter, and few dared to challenge her.

“What do you want?” Jinx demanded.

“We . . . er, Oki forgot something inside the hall,” Kendra stammered.

“Too bad for you, Oki!” Jinx said. “You’ll have to get your ‘something’ later. There’s a very important meeting about to take place.”

“But Oki works for the elders,” Ratchet said. “You can let him in.”

“Nice try,” Jinx snorted. “But working part-time after school delivering messages for the elders doesn’t give Oki the

right to attend this meeting. Or you, for that matter, Ringtail.”

Kendra could see Ratchet’s face twist with anger. She knew what the raccoon was thinking—and so did Jinx.

“Go ahead and try it, Ringtail,” Jinx said. “You think you can wrestle your way past me? Ha! You’ll be lying on the ground with the point of my sword pinned through your tail faster than you can blink an eye!”

Ratchet grunted, but Kendra knew he wouldn’t push the matter. Despite her smallness, no one in the land of Een was stronger than Jinx. Oki had once told Kendra that the reason Jinx was so strong was that she had accidentally swallowed a magic healing potion. Kendra wondered how a healing potion could give you super strength. But there was no denying that Jinx was the toughest critter this side of the curtain.

“Now scram!” Jinx ordered, turning smartly on her heel and slamming the door in Ratchet’s face. They heard it lock with a loud click.

“How do you like that?” Ratchet grumbled.

“Come on,” Kendra said. “There has to be another way into the tower, right Oki?”

“Why are you asking me?” the timid mouse asked.

“Because you work here,” Ratchet said, jabbing his paw at the mouse. “And you’re too honest to lie. Isn’t that why your nickname is ‘Honest Oki’? So tell us a way in.”

Oki gave his whiskery chin a nervous scratch.

“Don’t you want to know what’s going on?” Kendra asked.

“Okay, okay,” the mouse said finally. “Follow me.”

He looked quickly about to make sure no one was watching them, then climbed up to a narrow ledge a few feet from the ground. Kendra and Ratchet looked at each other in puzzlement.

“He’s
your
friend,” Ratchet told Kendra.

“He knows what he’s doing,” Kendra said loyally. “Come on!”

They hurried after the tiny mouse and soon found themselves beside one of the stone’s many waterfalls. It sparkled before them, changing colors as it spilled over the mysterious carvings in the wall.

“Now what?” Ratchet asked.

“Just keep your voice down,” Oki warned. “The waterfall is a secret door into the Elder Stone.”

“Oh, that’s easy enough,” Ratchet said.

He turned and marched blindly into the tumbling water. He had only taken two short steps, however, when Kendra and Oki suddenly heard a loud “Ouch!” and the raccoon fell straight back on his tail. He was drenched from head to foot but had nothing to show for the shower except a bruised nose.

“What happened?” Kendra asked.

“I hit a brick wall, that’s what,” Ratchet scowled. “What kind of trick are you trying to pull, Oki?”

“You didn’t let me finish,” the mouse squeaked. “It’s a secret entrance, you know. You have to wait until the waterfall turns blue of course!”

With that, Oki turned and stepped straight through the waterfall, just as it changed from green to blue.

“There’s a trick!” Kendra said excitedly.

“Well, here goes nothing,” Ratchet muttered, this time stepping into the waterfall more cautiously.

Kendra waited until the tip of the raccoon’s tail disappeared through the water. Then she quickly skipped after him, her mind racing with thoughts of adventure.

IF YOU HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE with castles or dungeons, you will know that they are dark places, often a maze of twisted passageways and winding staircases, where it is all too easy to get lost. The Elder Stone was no different, and it was only Oki’s knowledge of the mighty rock that allowed our friends to find their way. The tiny mouse lifted a torch from the wall and led Kendra and Ratchet quietly but surely through the crooked corridors and shadowy rooms of the rock.

At last, he came to a stop before a plain wooden door. He opened it with a gentle nudge of his paw, and the band of would-be spies found themselves in a small room with a swatch of red curtain drawn across the far wall.

“On the other side of that curtain is the council chamber where the elders meet,” Oki whispered. “All we have to do is hide here, and we’ll be able to hear their every word.”

Kendra and her friends poked their noses through the curtain and gazed upon the chamber. It was small and circular, and it was dimly lit by a few flickering torches set in the wall. In the very center of the room there was a small glistening pool, and around one side of the pool were seven seats, placed there for the elders. Most of them had already taken their places, including Uncle Griffinskitch and the ornery Burdock Brown. Kendra recognized the other elders as well: Becka Bluebell, Enid Evermoon, Skarab Strom, and Nora Neverfar.

“They’re just awaiting Winter Woodsong, leader of the council,” Oki whispered. “As soon as she arrives, the meeting will begin.”

These words had no sooner left Oki’s lips when Captain Jinx marched into the room and in a highly official voice, announced: “Make way for the eldest of the elders, Winter Woodsong, leader of the council!”

The elders had been engaged in hushed whispers, but they immediately fell silent and turned their heads towards a small door in the far corner of the room. After a moment the door slowly creaked open and there appeared a tiny Een, so white and frail that she made Uncle Griffinskitch seem as spry and able as a spring chicken. Kendra had never seen Winter Woodsong before, but there was no mistaking Winter’s nobility and grace. She leaned heavily on a twisted wooden staff and drew labored breaths as she walked. Deep wrinkles lined her round face, and her clear blue eyes glimmered with friendly wisdom, the kind that Kendra imagined a grandmother or favorite aunt would have. (Kendra herself, however, had never known any relative other than Uncle Griffinskitch.)

“Welcome all,” Winter greeted as she took her seat among the elders. “I apologize for calling this urgent meeting. But the unthinkable has happened. A monster from the outside world has breached the magic curtain of Een.”

A gasp went across the room. The elders looked at each other, bewildered and speechless.

“That’s impossible!” Burdock Brown exclaimed, his one dark eyebrow twisting and arching on his furrowed brow. “Only Eens and Een animals can go through the curtain!”

“You have all seen the terrible hole,” Winter said. “No inhabitant of Een could have ripped such a black pit through the earth.”

“I saw the shadow of this wretched creature,” Uncle Griffinskitch remarked in his deep, gravelly voice. “But I know not what it was.”

“Nor I,” Winter said. “That is why I have asked Professor Bumblebean to join our meeting. Hopefully, he will be able to shed some light on this mystery.”

With this announcement, a tall, thin Een stepped forward into the circle of elders.

“I’ve never seen that funny-looking fellow before,” Ratchet whispered from behind the curtain.

“That’s because you never go to the library,” Oki said. “Bumblebean is probably one of the smartest Eens around. Winter has a great deal of respect for him. She’s always calling him to speak to the elders. But other than that, I don’t think he leaves the Een library very much.”

Kendra didn’t have any trouble believing Oki, for Professor Bumblebean certainly had the look of someone who didn’t like to spend much time outdoors. His skin was pale and his clothes, though rumpled, showed little wear and tear. A pair of half-moon glasses dangled precariously on the end of his large nose. But despite this, the professor squinted continually, suggesting long hours spent at study. His smile was friendly enough, however, and Kendra couldn’t help but take a liking to the strange Een.

“Unfortunately, I have little to report,” Professor Bumblebean announced to the elders. “I have conducted a thorough investigation of the chasm, but I’m afraid I have yet to determine the nature of our intruder.”

“What did he say?” Kendra asked Oki from their hiding place.

“Oh, don’t mind him,” Oki whispered back. “He always talks like that. Bumblebean’s rather fond of big words. All he said was that he doesn’t know anything.”

“Some report you have for us,” Burdock grumbled to his fellow elders.

“Well, I do say,” Professor Bumblebean stammered. “I have had little time to examine the scene of this incident. But I can assure you, this was an immense beast. It certainly was not your average monster.”

“No kidding,” Burdock snapped. “You don’t have to be a bookworm to know that. All you had to do was hear its scream.”

“We must mind our tempers,” Winter declared. “This mystery has us all on edge. And I’m afraid there is more bad news yet.”

“What could be worse than an intruder?” Becka Bluebell asked anxiously.

“It’s what the intruder came for,” Winter replied. “The Box of Whispers.”

Again, a gasp went through the council.

“What the heck is the Box of Whispers?” Ratchet whispered to Kendra and Oki from their hiding place.

“I don’t know,” Oki admitted. “I’ve never heard of it.”

Kendra frowned. Maybe Oki had never heard of the box, but it was obviously important. Staring out the curtain, Kendra could see that every last one of the elders looked shaken and pale, including her uncle.

“We . . . we should not mention the box in the presence of Captain Jinx and Professor Bumblebean,” Enid Evermoon murmured. “They are not elders.”

“We shall keep the contents of the box a secret,” Winter assured the council. “But I’m afraid we must speak of the box itself.”

“Why?” Nora Neverfar asked nervously. “What has become of it?”

Winter looked gravely around the circle. “I’m afraid the box, and the magic key that opens it, has been stolen,” she said finally. At once the chamber erupted in an explosion of frenzied voices.

“That’s impossible!”

“How could this happen?”

“Days of Een!”

“The oldest and most important Een treasure—gone!”

“Yes,” Winter murmured, once the room had quieted down. “The box is gone, stolen right from the vault that lies beneath the Elder Stone. Nothing else did the beast take. Only the box and the key.”

“Een is in terrible danger!” Nora Neverfar cried. “If the box is opened—”

“The Box of Whispers hasn’t been opened in over a thousand years!” Uncle Griffinskitch boomed.

“But if it
is
opened,” Nora said, “well . . . the results could be disastrous.”

“Why?” Ratchet whispered to Kendra behind the curtain. “What will happen?”

Kendra had no idea, but before she could tell Ratchet as much, their attention was turned back to the elders.

“And will this thief be able to open the box, even with the key?” Burdock demanded. “The box contains magic of the oldest kind. The ancients enchanted it with spells that not even I understand.”

“That’s a chance we can’t take,” Uncle Griffinskitch said, stroking his whiskers.

“I cannot speak of the box itself, for its existence has been unknown to me until this very moment,” Professor Bumblebean piped up. “As to our thief, it may have been aided by an Een; that might be one way it could have slipped past the magic curtain.”

“No Een can help a monster from the outside world,” Burdock said crossly. “Our code forbids it. To help a monster means to be expelled from the land of Een forever!”

“Still, the box has been stolen,” Winter said. “We don’t know how, and we don’t know why. But one thing is clear: we
must
recover it.”

“How?” Burdock asked sourly. “Where do we even begin to look?”

“The situation is grave,” Winter said. “We need help. We must consult the magic orb.”

“Days of Een!” Uncle Griffinskitch cried. “The council has never called forth the orb during my watch.”

“But we shall call it now,” Winter said. “For we have need of its wisdom. Does anyone disagree?”

A chorus of “no’s” echoed through the chamber.

“Humph,” Uncle Griffinskitch added. It was a quiet type of humph, one filled with anxiety and discomfort.