"Skylar, get down to that boat," Aldwyn said. "Gilbert, follow me."
The tree frog followed his gaze to the pa.s.sing vessel.
"Having wings makes it so easy," Gilbert croaked to Skylar.
The soldiers and their blades were nearly upon the familiars. But before they could strike, Aldwyn and Gilbert made a running leap over the side of the bridge. Aldwyn felt himself falling through the air, paws flailing, and it quickly became apparent that he had mistimed his jump. He and Gilbert weren"t going to be landing on the boat. Instead they crashed into the water behind it.
The impact felt like a sledgehammer, knocking the wind from Aldwyn"s lungs. He tried to suck in some air but instead swallowed a mouthful of river water. Then the tug of the current dragged Aldwyn under. He"d lost track of Gilbert, but all that was important was getting back to the surface. Only, he was sinking deeper.
Finally his paws. .h.i.t something: rope. He"d caught hold of one of the boat"s nets. With all his strength he pulled himself up rung by rung until he was above water once more. Gilbert already had his webbed hands wrapped around the tethered knot above him and Skylar was perched on the boat"s railing, looking down at them in relief.
But they weren"t home free yet. Arrows were raining down from the bridge, striking the water and the back of the fishing boat with their sharp tips. Aldwyn and Gilbert dodged the attack as they frantically climbed aboard the deck. A pointed bolt came flying at Gilbert, nearly impaling his neck but instead just clipping the now soaked cloth map slung over his shoulder.
Aldwyn glanced up at the four soldiers atop the bridge. One took a silver arrow from his quiver and placed it in his bow. But rather than firing it at the escaping familiars, he turned and shot it off into the northeast sky. It flew impossibly high into the clouds and disappeared.
"A messenger arrow," Skylar said. "The Nightfall Battalion will soon know which way we"re headed."
"We"ve survived the Kailasa mountains once before," Aldwyn said. "I"m not sure those warriors can say the same thing."
Suddenly Aldwyn"s nostrils began to tingle. He spun around and discovered a giant pile of river flounder. For the first time in two days, he smiled.
7.
KETTLE FALLS.
Aldwyn tore the last bits of tender meat from a tailbone before tossing the flounder into a growing heap of fish bones. Gilbert had eaten his fill, too, and the three familiars were taking full advantage of their midday respite, knowing they had a perilous climb ahead of them. There was only a small crew of fishermen aboard, but none of them had noticed the animals sitting in the back of the boat.
Gilbert hopped over to a pool of water that had collected by the storage chests. "Guys, over here," he said.
Aldwyn walked over to the tree frog"s side and saw that Gilbert was having a puddle viewing. Skylar flew above them for a look as well. There on the shimmering surface of the pool they could see Commander Warden addressing the head instructors inside one of the conference rooms at Turnbuckle Academy, identifiable from the giant symbol on the wall.
"No messenger arrows go in or out until those three animals are found," the commander said. "Jack, Marianne, and Dalton can know nothing of what"s transpired. That way, if their familiars try to contact them, they won"t know to warn them. It must remain business as usual."
"Surely the news will get out eventually," a woman with icy gray hair said.
"Not if I can help it, Instructor Snieg," Warden replied. "There will be queens" guardsmen keeping twenty-four-hour watch on the three young wizards. If that cat, bird, or frog comes within a mile of them, we"ll know it."
The puddle clouded over, and Aldwyn, Skylar, and Gilbert turned to one another.
"I can"t believe they don"t know about the queen," Gilbert said. "Or us."
"It"s better that way," Skylar replied. "The less they know, the less likely they"ll put themselves in danger."
The boat was heading for an inlet where fish were practically leaping out of the water. Ahead, Aldwyn could see a path leading up the mountain.
"That should take us right to the Bridge of Betrayal," he said, remembering the route they had taken on their previous trip to the Alchemist.
"I fear the bridge we just crossed won"t be the only one with guards on the lookout for us," Skylar replied. "Which means we"ll need to avoid the Bridge of Betrayal and find another way around the Abyssmal Canyon."
"We were going to cross the Bridge of Betrayal?" Gilbert croaked. "I don"t remember agreeing to that."
"No matter," Skylar said. "We won"t be now."
"Gilbert, see if you can locavate a safe, alternate route to the Mountain Alchemist," Skylar said.
"I can try," Gilbert said.
Gilbert pulled the dripping map from his back. He unfolded it and carefully laid it flat on the deck floor in front of them. Gilbert then removed the orienteering stone from the pouch that dangled from the map"s tie string. He set the stone down on the map and moved it to their approximate location.
"Locavi instanta.n.u.s. Show us a safe, alternate route to the Mountain Alchemist." Gilbert lifted his webbed hands from the stone. Suddenly it began to quiver before darting west toward the Kailasa mountains. But the stone never got there. Instead, it made a 180-degree turn, zipping to the north. Then it started zigzagging all over the map, going every which direction. Finally it stopped back where it started.
Gilbert shook his head, disappointed.
"I guess I better stick to puddle viewing," he said. "At least I"m good at that."
Skylar used her wing to push Gilbert aside and stuck her beak close to the map, searching.
"There looks to be some kind of land bridge that crosses the Abyssmal Canyon," she said, gesturing to the map. "Beyond that point, it should be a straight climb to the Alchemist"s cabin. Hopefully we can get there before nightfall."
"If there was another way up the mountain, why would anyone take the Bridge of Betrayal?" Aldwyn asked.
"I guess we"re about to find out," Skylar replied.
One of the crew members threw an anchor in the water and the boat drifted to a stop about twenty feet from the sh.o.r.e. Aldwyn and Gilbert jumped into the shallow inlet waters and paddled to dry land, navigating around schools of leaping trout. Aldwyn was surprised to find the water much warmer here than it was in the main part of the river. Perhaps it was from the sun shining brightly down on it. Skylar was already flapping her wings above the quiet beach.
"We can follow this stream uphill," the blue jay said.
Aldwyn looked and saw a trickling creek that led away from the inlet and up into the woods.
The Three began their walk. With no spyb.a.l.l.s, humans, or animals in sight, they decided it was safe to travel without hiding behind one of Skylar"s illusions. They were able to move faster this way, without Aldwyn being slowed by Gilbert and Skylar riding him like a pony while he pretended to be a goat.
The path along the creek was unexpectedly lush, and the plant life was more reminiscent of a jungle than a hardwood forest. The higher they went, the more they were surrounded by palm trees and ferns.
"How odd," Skylar remarked. "Must be a fluke in the weather binding spells. It appears some kind of tropical front has permanently settled here."
Aldwyn felt it, too. His paws were beginning to sweat.
"It"s rare that I get a chance to contradict you," Gilbert said. "But I think it"s the water." The tree frog was standing knee deep at the edge of the stream. "I stopped to cool my feet, but this creek is warmer than the palace seaweed springs."
The quirks of Vastia"s ecology were more interesting to Skylar than to Aldwyn, but now wasn"t the time for the blue jay to stop for scientific study. So on they continued, each lost in thought. The climb became steeper, and the vegetation around the creek grew spa.r.s.er. Aldwyn felt a gust of hot steam blow through his fur. He looked into the distance to find its source: a boiling waterfall.
"Kettle Falls," Skylar said. "I saw it on the map. Now we know how it got its name."
The waters bubbled furiously, like a pot of soup over a fire pit. A stone path snaked up the falls" neighboring hillside. Aldwyn could smell something odd ahead that reminded him of the fish and fowl shops in Bridgetower. His nostrils guided his attention to the nearby plunge pool, where boiled birds floated on the surface.
"Skylar," Aldwyn said, "whatever you do, don"t look over there."
Naturally the first thing she did was look, and she flapped away in distress.
As the Three climbed the path, an occasional breeze would send droplets from the falls their way. Aldwyn"s fur protected his skin from the hot splashes, but those that landed on his nose and ears caused him to twitch in pain.
Once they reached the top, they discovered a hillside covered in gaping holes.
"Something tells me those holes weren"t made by prairie dogs," Aldwyn said.
Rivulets streamed out from each one, pooling in the falls.
"Does anyone else feel that?" Gilbert asked, his voice vibrating.
Aldwyn nodded, his paws trembling as the ground shook beneath them.
"Get back!" Skylar shouted.
Suddenly a superheated blast of water shot a hundred feet into the air from one of the holes. The geyser"s spray came down like a deadly rain. Seconds later, it fell back through the aquavent, but not before frying everything around it, including an unlucky lizard who was scurrying past.
"Bridge of Betrayal, anyone?" Gilbert asked.
Aldwyn peered up the hill as more geysers exploded. They were about a hundred yards away from the edge of the Abyssmal Canyon and the thousand-foot drop between its walls. If the map was correct, there would be a land bridge that crossed it.
"A geological phenomenon like this should have some kind of pattern," Skylar said. "If we take a little time to study it, we"ll have a fair shot at getting across."
"So, like I was saying, who"s with me for the Bridge of Betrayal?" Gilbert asked again.
"Think about Queen Loranella, Gilbert," Aldwyn said. "She"s trapped in the Wander right now, and in few days she"ll be gone for good."
Gilbert slumped his shoulders. Skylar was already studying the maze of seemingly unpredictable bursts. She used her talon to scrawl notes in the mud beside them. Aldwyn didn"t know where to start; to him, the geysers appeared as random as falling leaves.
While Skylar continued to look ahead, Aldwyn took a moment to look back, at all of Vastia down below. In the distance, beyond the mists of Kettle Falls and across the Ebs, he could see Bronzhaven and the New Palace standing majestically at the center of the city. To anyone glimpsing the magnificent tower from afar, it would be impossible to tell that the queen lay inside dying, and that only the strongest magical spells were keeping her from being pulled into the Tomorrowlife.
Aldwyn spied something else through the steam: figures approaching on horseback. He held his breath, waiting for the wind to blow a clear view of who it was behind them. Flashes of black armor. Slivers of the moon and stars. The Nightfall Battalion had found them.
"Skylar, we need to go now," Aldwyn said.
"I"m not ready," the blue jay replied. "I"ve only calculated about half of the geysers" eruption patterns."
Aldwyn directed Skylar"s beak down the hill, allowing her to see Navid, Marati, and the band of Vastian soldiers charging toward them.
"How did they find us?" Gilbert asked.
"They have every magical advantage the queendom has to offer," Aldwyn replied. "Olfax tracking snouts, swift-step spells."
Skylar was using every spare second to determine the frequency of the remaining geysers. But the Battalion was getting close enough for Aldwyn to hear the sound of horseshoes pounding against stone.
"Now, Skylar," Aldwyn said more urgently.
"Follow me," the blue jay replied.
Skylar took wing, flying diagonally across the hillside. She stopped short of one of the holes and held up a wing to warn Aldwyn and Gilbert. As if on cue, a geyser exploded from the opening. Once the water smashed down in front of them, Skylar continued her purposeful crossing.
Behind them, Navid and Marati dismounted their horses, as had the rest of their Battalion, all taking to foot. Without the strategy Skylar devised from watching the geysers" pattern, they stormed ahead, right into a burst of boiling water. The large-eyed lemur at the front of the group was lifted high in the air by the geyser before dropping hard to the ground in burning pain.
While one of the healing ravens who traveled with the Nightfall Battalion tended to the injured lemur, Navid and Marati led the others forward, not letting one fallen comrade slow their pursuit.
Skylar, Aldwyn, and Gilbert continued toward the land bridge, zigzagging to avoid the geyser blasts. To make matters worse, they had to dodge Navid"s venom blasts and Marati"s astral claws as well.
"Surrender before we"re all killed," Marati shouted.
"We already told you, we can"t do that," Aldwyn replied.
Another blast of steam nearly singed the white-tailed mongoose.
"The spell cast on that necklace, the necklace you gave her, was conjured from the components and hexes found in your rooms," Navid said. "And if there"s one thing we"ve learned from hunting down criminals, it"s that the innocent don"t run."
"If we"re trapped in some dungeon, there"s no way for us to help save Queen Loranella," Aldwyn said.
There was no break in the chase up the hillside. Skylar directed Aldwyn and Gilbert through the columns of towering jets. She glanced back and saw Navid and Marati guiding their squadron directly into the path of a series of gaping holes.
"All of those geysers are about to explode at the same time," Skylar said to Aldwyn and Gilbert. "They"ll be boiled alive."
Aldwyn knew that the Nightfall Battalion would stop at nothing to apprehend him and his companions. They"d lock them up in the depths of the New Palace and leave them to whatever fate the Council decided, whether it be life imprisonment or worse. But Navid and Marati were his friends, and the soldiers they led were good and honest, humans and animals just doing their jobs.
"Don"t go any farther," Aldwyn shouted back. "Skylar discovered a pattern. You"re heading straight into a death trap."
Marati seemed to consider the warning then stopped. "Everyone, fall back," she ordered. "Hurry."
The Nightfall Battalion began their retreat, and it was a good thing, too, because Skylar was right. The geysers exploded in unison, sending Navid, Marati, and their troop scrambling. It gave the familiars an opportunity to race ahead.
They reached the land bridge and realized that it wouldn"t be an easy pa.s.sage. Boiling water from the geysers on the other side of the canyon poured down its center, flowing into the stream that tumbled over the edge of the Kettle Falls. Aldwyn and Gilbert would have to tiptoe across the dry portion of the bridge to make it to the other side without cooking their paws and toes.
While Navid and Marati continued to pull back from the geysers, a pair of the human Battalion officers was bolder. They conjured force shields and charged forward. The spell protected them from most of the boiling waters splashing down, but some of the spray reached their skin, causing pink welts to form on contact.
"I told you to stand down," Marati called out.
But the men ignored her, racing for the land bridge with the hope of cutting off the familiars. Skylar was flying above as Aldwyn and Gilbert shuffled their way along the narrow strip of the bridge. It was only a matter of ten steps before one of the two soldiers was launched skyward, caught in a geyser burst. He let out a scream and fell to the ground with a crack.
The remaining officer reached the land bridge and pulled a noose stick from his waist. He sprinted along the edge of the bridge, avoiding the scalding water rushing past his feet. He extended the stick toward Gilbert and with a tug hooked the tree frog"s hind leg. The soldier yanked him back, pulling Gilbert off the ground and perilously dangling him over the deep canyon below.
It took Aldwyn a moment to realize his companion was no longer hopping behind him. He didn"t have time to act before Gilbert took charge. The tree frog reached for the sluggot still sitting on his shoulder. He squeezed it between his webbed fingers and flung it. The slimy critter flew through the air and smacked the soldier right between the eyes.
"Bull"s-eye!" Gilbert exclaimed.