wrong, Ess, your main problem isn’t Brunini—”
“Brogan,” I correct automatically.
“Him,” says Cheep. “Your main problem is this daemon. Your King Mactogonii saw that over a year ago. That’s why he was here.”
I’m not convinced, but it seems like Cheep really believes this stuff, so I bite my bottom lip instead of arguing. “So what did the king say he was going to do?” I ask.
“He studied the river and wandered the tunnels under the Valley of Fire for days. He spoke to us a lot about the daemon, asking if we knew where he was from, what he looked like, that kind of thing. We weren’t much help. Only a few Urodela are left who remember the daemon. We don’t live as long as you humani walkers. He told the queen that he would kill the daemon and cure the Cauldron so that we could go back to our marshes. I understand they call that whole region the Gray Wasteland now. But then he left.”
“What do you mean he left?” I ask.
“This guy disappears quite a bit,” says Tig from my lap. Since he’s a cat he gets to talk that way about the king.
“I’m sure he was sorry he couldn’t help, too,” says Cheep with more bitterness than I’ve heard so far. I start to explain that as sorry as I am, we just want to get home, but he cuts me off with a chirp. “I will take you to your room now.”
I scramble to my feet and feel Tig against my ankles. “Tig, can you tell me what you see before we leave?”
“The underground lake was huge,” he says. “We are standing about twenty feet above the water line here. The entire basin is almost drained. I can see several islands poking out of the water where the lake is getting low. On the far side of the lake is the Urodela’s city. We must have been on the other side of the city because this side of it comes right down to the edge of the lake.”
Cheep lets out an impatient whistle, and I turn with Tig and follow the gentle brush of his tail. Several hours ago I felt so hopeful that we would make it home. Now the emotions swirling inside my chest are moving too quickly to analyze. As we shuffle down the smooth stone tunnel I decide it doesn’t matter if King Mactogonii was here. It doesn’t really matter if everything Cheep says is true about the daemon and the marshes being destroyed. I can’t help that their kingdom is dying. Even if all those things are true and they are as important as the Urodela and King Mactogonii supposedly thought, what can I do about it anyway? The only thing that matters is getting home. If the Urodela can help us, great. If not, we’ll leave and find our own way home. Cheep said there were many entrances to the tunnels under the Valley of Fire.
The tunnel goes from the polished smooth rock to the cool, furry moss. The back of my new leather pants drag slightly in the moss. “Thanks for the new clothes.”
Cheep responds from a few steps in front and to my left, confirming where I heard his soft pattering. “We apologize for the boots. We were having trouble cutting them down. They were very resistant to any alteration at all. We’ll get them right for you.” He pauses, then, “Here you are,” he says in his signature whistling tone.
“No overgrown toad this time,” says Tig.
“No kicking you across the room with magic pants then,” I sigh.
“A healthy swipe from me has saved your skin more than once,” Tig growls. I ignore him, but he’s right. We’ll have to address the magic exploding armor sooner or later.
I feel the soft moss that covers our entryway. “Thanks again for healing my arm,” I say. “The Urodela have been very kind. I wish I could help.”
“No, you don’t,” says Cheep. He chirrups and several other Urodela scamper up, pushing me into my room. They patter back before a soft thud shuts them out.
“Hmm . . .” purrs Tig with an annoyed inflection, “I don’t like it when they lock us in.”
Chapter 11
I wake with a
“Brogan,” I correct automatically.
“Him,” says Cheep. “Your main problem is this daemon. Your King Mactogonii saw that over a year ago. That’s why he was here.”
I’m not convinced, but it seems like Cheep really believes this stuff, so I bite my bottom lip instead of arguing. “So what did the king say he was going to do?” I ask.
“He studied the river and wandered the tunnels under the Valley of Fire for days. He spoke to us a lot about the daemon, asking if we knew where he was from, what he looked like, that kind of thing. We weren’t much help. Only a few Urodela are left who remember the daemon. We don’t live as long as you humani walkers. He told the queen that he would kill the daemon and cure the Cauldron so that we could go back to our marshes. I understand they call that whole region the Gray Wasteland now. But then he left.”
“What do you mean he left?” I ask.
“This guy disappears quite a bit,” says Tig from my lap. Since he’s a cat he gets to talk that way about the king.
“I’m sure he was sorry he couldn’t help, too,” says Cheep with more bitterness than I’ve heard so far. I start to explain that as sorry as I am, we just want to get home, but he cuts me off with a chirp. “I will take you to your room now.”
I scramble to my feet and feel Tig against my ankles. “Tig, can you tell me what you see before we leave?”
“The underground lake was huge,” he says. “We are standing about twenty feet above the water line here. The entire basin is almost drained. I can see several islands poking out of the water where the lake is getting low. On the far side of the lake is the Urodela’s city. We must have been on the other side of the city because this side of it comes right down to the edge of the lake.”
Cheep lets out an impatient whistle, and I turn with Tig and follow the gentle brush of his tail. Several hours ago I felt so hopeful that we would make it home. Now the emotions swirling inside my chest are moving too quickly to analyze. As we shuffle down the smooth stone tunnel I decide it doesn’t matter if King Mactogonii was here. It doesn’t really matter if everything Cheep says is true about the daemon and the marshes being destroyed. I can’t help that their kingdom is dying. Even if all those things are true and they are as important as the Urodela and King Mactogonii supposedly thought, what can I do about it anyway? The only thing that matters is getting home. If the Urodela can help us, great. If not, we’ll leave and find our own way home. Cheep said there were many entrances to the tunnels under the Valley of Fire.
The tunnel goes from the polished smooth rock to the cool, furry moss. The back of my new leather pants drag slightly in the moss. “Thanks for the new clothes.”
Cheep responds from a few steps in front and to my left, confirming where I heard his soft pattering. “We apologize for the boots. We were having trouble cutting them down. They were very resistant to any alteration at all. We’ll get them right for you.” He pauses, then, “Here you are,” he says in his signature whistling tone.
“No overgrown toad this time,” says Tig.
“No kicking you across the room with magic pants then,” I sigh.
“A healthy swipe from me has saved your skin more than once,” Tig growls. I ignore him, but he’s right. We’ll have to address the magic exploding armor sooner or later.
I feel the soft moss that covers our entryway. “Thanks again for healing my arm,” I say. “The Urodela have been very kind. I wish I could help.”
“No, you don’t,” says Cheep. He chirrups and several other Urodela scamper up, pushing me into my room. They patter back before a soft thud shuts them out.
“Hmm . . .” purrs Tig with an annoyed inflection, “I don’t like it when they lock us in.”
Chapter 11
I wake with a
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