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Gretel reached into her pocket and pulled out
the slices of bread. I’m glad I grabbed this before we left. She glanced
at Marti and Quirin, walking ahead of her, talking to each other. With
chilled hands she broke the bread into little bits and stuffed them back
into her pocket. Every few yards she dropped a piece on the ground. I know
Crispin will try to find us and I want him to. A glance behind her now
and then brought a smile of satisfaction as she walked on, catching up
with Marti and Quirin. “I feel so bad leaving Crispin behind. He’s going
to be mad, or hurt, or both.” Gretel sighed, thinking of her friend and
how he’d react when he read the note. “Did we really have to leave him
behind?” She looked at the wizard.
“Gretel, you
know we’d only be putting him in danger. Whether he believes it or not,
his family does care about him. This is something we needed to do, you and
Marti, and myself, so let’s not discuss it any further. We did what had to
be done and that’s that.” The wizard plodded on through the ankle deep
snow. “Gretel has decided to accept that we’ve done the right thing,”
Quirin whispered to Marti. Both he and Marti each carried one of the
dragons, stopping now and then to check. “How’s Venec’s bruise?”
Marti glanced
inside the box. Venec snored like a baby. “He’s doing fine.”
Quirin
checked Cardew. “He’s asleep too.”
When the sun
came over the horizon, Gretel and Marti stopped to feel its warming rays
on their chilled skin. “Oh boy. That feels so good. I never thought I’d
enjoy the sun as much as I do right now.” She rubbed her arms and stomped
her feet. “My feet are so… What’s this? It looks like a bone.”
Quirin bent
over and lifted it. He sniffed it and sighed. “It is a bone, Gretel. It’s
a dragon bone. I’m sure there are many more around here. The closer we
come to the cave, the more we’re going to see.” Her eyes filled with
sadness.
“Come on,
Gretel. Don’t dwell on this.” Marti took her hand. After a few more steps,
he said, “I have to agree with you, Gretel. The sun does feel great.” He
faced the sun and closed his eyes. A smile spread across his face. “Now
this is much nicer than earlier.”
“How much
longer till we reach the cave? We’ve been walking all night and I’m not
only freezing to death, I’m tired.” Gretel yawned. When she put her hand
over her mouth to cover her yawn, she dropped another piece of bread. I
hope no birds eat this.
“We’re near
the cave. It’s about another five hundred yards over to our right. Do you
see that cluster of pines?” Quirin pointed in the direction of the cave.
“The cave is in there. It’s well hidden, and for a good reason.”
Marti wiped
his brow. “Once more I have to agree with the girl. I’m quite tired
myself,” he hesitated, “ and I can hardly feel my feet. They’re nearly
frozen.”
Stopping for
a moment, Gretel turned and looked at Marti’s feet. “Wiggle your toes,
Marti, or jump up and down. I wish we had some of Bernard’s brandy that he
keeps in the cask around his neck. That would warm us right up.”
He laughed.
“It would at that, Gretel. Come on. I’ll be fine. The quicker we get
there, the better.”
Quirin
marched onward. “All right then, that’s settled. Onward, to the cave.” He
lifted his staff, which neither Gretel nor Marti had noticed before, and
pointed it upward.
“Where did
you get that staff, Quirin? Have you kept it hidden this whole time?”
Gretel wondered. “Why haven’t I noticed it before? Is it a magic staff?”
“You ask as
many questions as Crispin!” The wizard shook his head and turned to face
her, holding the staff in front of him. “Let’s just say my staff has a few
magical qualities. I’ve kept it hidden because I’ve not needed it until
now. In case you’ve not noticed, I’m an old man and I need this staff to
help me walk. In fact, Marti, how have you made it this far without a
walking stick?”
“It’s been a
struggle, but I’m too worried about the dragons to care about the pain in
my legs.”
Quirin held
up his staff. He aimed it at the closest tree. A ray of aqua blue light
burst from the tip and zipped through the air, hitting one of the
branches. It broke off and floated toward the amazed Marti. Quirin reached
up and grabbed it. “Here you go, Marti. Use it well.”
Marti held it
up.
“Wow! Look
at the carvings!” Gretel shouted, before Marti uttered a word. “It’s got a
dragon tail carved all the way around it. How did you do that?”
“It's my
secret.” Quirin winked.
“It is quite
nice, Quirin. Thank you.” Marti put it on the ground and walked forward,
leaning on it with each step. “I think this will work well.”
An hour later
they reached the pine trees. “We’re almost there.” Quirin’s words
comforted a weary Marti and Gretel. “We should be thankful it didn’t snow
during our journey. The wind stayed gentle during the night.” Ten minutes
later, Quirin said, with great relief, “Ah! Here we are.”
Marti gazed
at the cave’s entrance. “It’s hardly big enough for the girl to fit
through, never mind a fully grown man. How do you expect us to get
inside?”
“Are you sure
there’s a cave in there?” Gretel ran up and stuck her head inside. “Wow!
It looks small from the outside, but it’s huge inside. Come and look,
Marti.”
She climbed
through the hole, followed by the men and the two dragons in their boxes.
Marti and Quirin found it a much tighter squeeze. The cave, not quite the
same size as Marti’s, hollowed out the inside of a mountain. The walls,
dry and clean, caught the sound of Gretel’s voice. “Hey! My voice echoes
in here…in here…in here.”
Once inside, Quirin pointed, “You two go over
there and wait. I’ve got to look for something.”
Marti saw no stalagmites or stalactites. The
emptiness of the cave caused chills to go up his spine. Distracting
himself, he asked, “What are you looking for? Can we help?”
“If you want
to help, look for a stone. Its emerald green and about the size of your
fist. In fact, it is an emerald, a very special one.” Quirin and Marti
searched the cave. “I’ve found it. Now we take the stone and put it in
this hole here. After I say the spell, we’re on our way. Take the dragons
out of their boxes and put them right here next to me. Come, Gretel. We’ve
got to go.”
“That a real
emerald?” Marti couldn’t take his eyes of the huge stone. He took the
babies out of the boxes and tossed them to the back of the cave.
“It is, but I
simply call it a stone. In Arbutel, these lay on the ground like grains of
sand. I’m afraid I’ve lost my excitement for them. To me, they’re simply
stones.”
Gretel didn’t pay much attention to what
Quirin said. I’ve got an idea. I’ll leave Crispin a note. She needed some
privacy. “What’s the spell, Quirin?” She needed to know.
“The spell?
Why do you ask?”
“I’m just curious,” Gretel said.
“Curios? That’s another of Crispin’s traits.
It’s not a difficult spell. I simply say, ‘Opinus Carballus’.”
“Opinus Carballus?” She repeated it several
times over. “I’ve got to go to the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” Gretel
ran outside.
“Wait! Gretel, we must leave now!” Quirin
shouted after her. “Now…now…now,” echoed through the cave.
She took the pencil and paper out of her
pocket and quickly scribbled instructions to Crispin concerning the green
stone, the hole, and the spell. She laid it under a rock next to the cave
entrance. “I hope he sees this.”
“Come on, Gretel. We must be off.” Quirin
sounded impatient with her.
“I’m coming.” Climbing through the hole again,
Gretel ran over to the others.
Quirin gave her a scowl. “Very well, if we’re
all ready. Opinus Carballus!”
The room filled with aqua lights and golden
sparkles that darted from wall to wall. The dragons started to screech
with fear. “Hold on.” Quirin smiled at Gretel. He uttered the words to the
spell once more and the room started to spin. When it stopped, the three
of them and the two dragons stood on a white sandy beach. A small, warm
wave rushed in around their feet.
“Where are we?” Gretel asked, looking out to
sea. |
