Dormia by Jake Halpern Page A

was really the oddest thing. I'd hired a fellow I knew in Barsh-yin-Binder to take me on a huntin' trip into the Ural Mountains. They have great big bears in those parts, a good bit bigger than the grizzlies in North America, and I was aimin' to shoot one. We must have traveled almost a week, passin' through some wild mountain passes, until we came to the edge of a fearsome forest known as Straszydlo. I'd have to say that it's just about the spookiest place I've ever visited. Anyway, we were aimin' to venture into them woods, when we found ya in an old horse-drawn sled. Not sure where the horse was. Ran off, I guess. Anyway, ya and yer brother were all by yer lonesome and fast asleep to boot. I couldn't believe it. Of course, I'm not much interested in kids—never have been—but I couldn't leave ya there to freeze and die. So we cut the huntin' trip short, hooked yer sled up to our horses, and took ya back to Barsh-yin-Binder."
    "I don't remember—" began Hill.
    "Figures," interrupted the vice admiral, who seemed slightly annoyed. "I go to the trouble of savin' yer life and ya don't remember a moment of it. And now here I am doin' ya a favor again. I must be the most generous vice admiral on the seven seas—"
    Rather suddenly, a loud coughing echoed down the stairway from the bridge above. Then came the sound of Shamus's muttering.
    "What's that ya say?" yelled the vice admiral.
    "Nothing, madam," yelled Shamus. "Just something stuck in my throat."
    Vice Admiral Purcheezie shook her head and took a puff on her pipe.
    "What happened in Barsh-yin-Binder?" asked Alfonso. "What did you do with my dad and Uncle Hill once you arrived there?"
    "Well, as ya can imagine, there are no proper orphanages in Barsh-yin-Binder so I took 'em back to Fort Krasnik where I entrusted 'em to Dusty Magrewski. And from there, well ya know the rest." She turned to look at Hill. "So ya still haven't told us why yer so eager to go back. Homesick, are ya? Tryin' to find yer family?"
    "Something like that," replied Hill. "Plus, I want to show my nephew the Ural Mountains."
    "It sounds to me as if yer lookin' for Dormia," replied the vice admiral as she took a long drag on her pipe. "Ya and Leif kept mutterin' about that imaginary place."
    "You've heard of Dormia?" blurted out Alfonso.
    "Of course!" said the vice admiral. "Every visitor to those parts has. It's the greatest wives' tale in all of northern Asia. People lookin' for adventure or people with no past, like yer uncle here, get caught up in it. They buy some cheap, dime-store book on fantastical places, like Atlantis or Dormia, and believe every last made-up word of it. Well, lemme tell ya—it's just as foolhardy as lookin' for the Fountain of Youth, and
much
more dangerous. The mountains and woods over there are filled with nasty beasts and dangerous sorts of men an' women."
    "That's enough now," said Hill sternly. "I don't want you scaring Alfonso."
    "He should be scared!" growled the vice admiral. She slapped the table with her meaty fist, stood up, and stared fiercely at Hill. "A boy of Alfonso's age has no business in those parts. And I ain't sure what kind of uncle would take him there either. Alfonso may trust ya—he's just a gullible young feller—but not me. Not for a minute! What are ya really up to anyway, Hill? How about ya come clean?"
    Hill stared back at the vice admiral defiantly, but said nothing.
    "Suit yerself," she grumbled. "But don't expect me to come to yer rescue if ya get into trouble in the dark woods of the Urals. I already done that once and ya can bet yer life I ain't gonna do it again."
    "We'll be just fine," said Hill with a rather forced smile.

Chapter 10
A PILE OF PURPLE POWDER
    B ACK IN THE windmill, Alfonso, Bilblox, and Hill prepared for sleep. Bilblox lit a fire in the small stone fireplace, Hill found an extra stash of wool blankets in one of the closets, and Alfonso discovered an old music box that played a soothing Irish