The Questory of Root Karbunkulus - Quill (34 page)

After awhile Dwyn broke the silence. “Kor got
a Quill. Apparently they just got back.”

Root’s brain was pierced in the news, drawing
blood to it in a swelling of bitterness. She felt dizzy with
rage.

Kor returned with a Quill. Gee, what a
coincidence.

“What did you find in the Woods as we were
leaving?” Lian asked, anxious to change the topic.

Root decided it was best to tell them. She
handed him the vial. His eyes saucered.

“What?” Dwyn said as Lian passed it to him.
Then his jaw dropped.

They looked at Root, stunned beyond
belief.

“Kor?” Dwyn whispered.

Root nodded. There was no doubt. No one could
forget the vengeful fury on his face when he said CPR should be
‘strung up and left to die!’ The same night of the attack. He was
connected to the mansion that had purchased the Gut Oil. How else
could he have gotten that kind of money? And now of course there
was the obvious. The HaloEm were dead and Kor had returned with a
Quill.

Root’s friends went silent again. The same
silence that she’d endured in the Skywagon. The kind that went
rabid with vengeance and hatred. And fear, mostly fear. A silence
where one suffocated in the comprehension of sinking into something
way too deep.

“I want out.” Lian said at last.

His teammates looked at him.

Root had already made her decision in the
White Woods, with the HaloEm’s head cradled in her lap. This
so-called treasure hunt was more than she’d bargained for. Had she
known it would come to this she would have never joined. It was no
innocent, fun kids’ race. Not anymore. “Me, too.” She said.

Dwyn nodded.

A new stillness crept in and with it
questions of what they were to do now, now that their lives were
completely changed. How could they go back? How could they go
forward?

All Root knew was that no matter how this
would end, no matter the years thereafter, nor the separation of
death, Kor Bludgitt would be her sworn enemy.

Root awoke to a cold wind that had found
entry through a crack in her window. When she went to seal it, she
saw a swirl of copper tinged leaves taking off.

Autumn. Already.

Whatever.

She drew her curtains and slid back into
bed.

In the afternoon she woke up again. Colder
yet. She put on a few extra layers and headed to the stables. Jorab
was there, kneeling beside CPR who was still a mass of trembling
nerves. He assured Root she would be fine but Root couldn’t release
the worry in her heart.

The good news was that the Hovermutts, having
been tended to and expedited home from Divit, were now fully
recovered. Root leapt atop an exuberant Stogie and went for a long
hike, far away from the gossip that had already begun to make
rounds through the House of Gub.

The Pinks were returned, having taken their
sweet time in spas and shopping hubs along the way. Two Quills
found now.

Root went to bed without supper, having not
seen the boys all day. She suspected their day had not been much
different. When she heard that Lian’s father was away on business
she could practically feel Lian’s relief in the wind. With
everything still so fresh and ugly she couldn’t imagine having to
deal with Lord Blick’s disapproval on top of it all.

The next day she didn’t get out of bed at
all.

Jorab Quatra’d her that CPR was getting
better but she could feel tension in his thought. She began to
wonder if CPR had been given some Gut Oil too. Maybe it wasn’t
enough to kill her. Or maybe it was just enough to make her suffer
for a long time first.

A week went by before there was another knock
on her door.

Tamik had brought cookies and Chorm.

At first Root politely rejected her visit.
She had been torn about how to place Tamik in the midst of
everything. How much did Tamik know?

But her friend would not take no for an
answer.

“Where’ve y’been? I haven’t seen any of you
guys for days.”

“Sick. “ Root lied.

“All three of you? What, is it contagious or
somethin’ y’got in the race?”

“The race.” Root said, which was kind of
true.

Root accepted a cookie and a mug. Who could
resist? Just the steam of the Chorm was already thawing her.

They talked well into the late afternoon.
Tamik was amazing. The way she made everything so easy and funny.
Even spinning Root’s view of the approaching barren wintry
landscape into snow sculptures and slider races and glittering
beauty instead. Suddenly Root was looking forward to a few months
of Frost Festivals and warm apple fritters.

“And then before y’know it, it’ll be time for
the third race!” Tamik said. “Not that I deserve it since I had
nothing to do with this last one.”

“What?”

“Well, apparently King Kor decided I was more
of a bother than I was worth. I guess he didn’t like me calling him
a goat all the time. But seriously, if you look at him, all you can
see is goat.”

“I know!” Root laughed “I’ve been saying that
since the beginning! That’s too funny!”

“Yeah! See, I’m not the only one. So, anyway,
one night, being the team player that he is, he just took off
without me ‘n Flink. And the next thing I knew he had a HaloEm
Quill in his little cloven hoof. I mean, we were getting close to
one for sure. It was just a matter of time. I’m thinkin’ he used
his invisibility again. But, yeah, so here we are.”

Root was so relieved to learn this. Up until
now she wasn’t sure if Tamik had been a part of Kor’s dark deed;
they were on the same team after all. Now, however, she felt
ashamed for even considering it. She looked down. How could she
tell Tamik about Kor? Would Tamik even believe her?

In the end she couldn’t. There was something
stopping her. She needed to talk to Jorab first. Hear what he had
to say about it.

After Tamik left, making Root promise to come
down for supper, Root bundled up once again and headed for the
stables.

Jorab was not there and CPR looked worse than
ever. She was losing hair and seemed to convulse in her bed. But
she looked much bigger somehow and Root took this as a good sign.
She tucked a few more woolen blankets around her and nestled in at
her side.

She awoke to the sound of talking. Another
team had apparently returned. With the third Quill.

Two left.

So what? Who cares?

She went straight to the dining room. The
tables were set in a circle with a big empty space in between.

“Root!” Tamik called her over. “Watch for the
Cold Spot. It’s a doozy!’

Doozy indeed. It was the biggest one Root had
seen since first arriving. The floor beneath it was frosted. She
hedged around it and joined her friend.

Master Hillywur Gub was evidently still short
staffed. As Root eyeballed the Cold Spot she couldn’t blame anyone
for not wanting to work here. At any rate dinner was a buffet. She
and Tamik loaded up on Springs, which are like spaghetti but curly
and with a strong bounce. Root lost her first one right away. It
sprung from her fork and bounced along the floor. Right into
the…oops…It froze mid-bounce, mid-air. Everyone stopped to watch as
the Cold Spot set upon it. When it was finished, the Spring had
been mutilated into something that resembled a large, disgusting
liver. With bunny ears.

Awesome!

Fifty Springs flew at once.

You couldn’t pay for that kind of
entertainment!

Dwyn and Lian arrived to a host of cheers.
Eleven Springs had just exploded into tar.

“Didjya hear?” Dwyn said as they sat
down.

“About the third Quill? Yeah.”

The boys joined the Cold Spot action though
it was clear their hearts weren’t into it.

“Only one left, then.” Tamik said.

“What? Why, who got the other one?” Dwyn said
in alarm.

“Well, there’s my team, Punyun, the Blue
Knights and you guys.”

“We didn’t get one.” Lian corrected her.

“What? What’re y’talkin’ about? You’re here
aren’t you?”

The boys looked at Root. “You didn’t tell
her?”

“Tell me what?” Tamik demanded.

Root sighed and began a shrewd explanation.
She didn’t mention the HaloEm, only that they’d experienced
something that made them lose faith in the race. They’d become
disillusioned and decided they didn’t want to be a part of it
anymore.

“Oh, bullpucky! What could be so bad that
would keep you out of the greatest treasure hunt in the history of
DréAmm?” Tamik was not easily convinced. “So, you got knocked down
a bit. So what?”

“No, you don’t understand.” Root
interrupted.

“Maybe not.” Tamik stood up. “But, I do know
that if I had quit playing the game, the real one, not some
treasure hunt, if I had quit the game of getting up every morning,
despite the fact that I am the last one alive to bear my family’s
name, well then who would’ve done such an amazing job on the floats
for the Send Off parade?” She looked outside and smiled. A colorful
swatch of sails was spreading out across Mirror Lake. This meant
the vicious Bobbers had been temporarily removed for cleaning. The
sun was in full swing. The trees were golden. It was perfect. “I’m
going Lake Sliding!”

It was amazing the way Tamik always left a
wake of carnivals and melted chocolate and spontaneous kick lines
behind her. This day, she left behind three shamefaced teens in the
mix.

A new burst of cheers brought the Valadors
out of their thoughts.

At the door stood Milden Ibbbs. He and his
team looked completely worn out but the smiles on their faces gave
it away.

The fourth Quill had been found.

There was only one left.

The Valadors looked at each other. A smile
broke over Dwyn’s face. Like a virus, Root caught it and passed it
to Lian.

Tamik was right. They couldn’t let the murder
of the HaloEm stop them from living. In fact, if anything the
Valadors should press on in their honour. What better way to send
the message that evil has not won, that the mighty HaloEm shall be
avenged in victory.

Kor Bludgitt, the winner? Hilly Punyun?

Not if they could help it.

There was still one Quill left.

But first things first.

They ran.

“Tamik! Wait up!”

The Valadors were revived and ready with a
freshly supplied travel pack. After a visit with CPR who was mildly
improved, and Jorab who promised to take care of her, they would be
one their way.

It was Estrella Fuffleteez who put an abrupt
end to that.

She’d arrived with the morning express and
was now interrupting their story with as many questions as there
were slugs in Lian’s aquarium. Which was a lot.

“It has been so long. How did Haverly
look?”

And “Did you give Hilly Punyun a swift kick
in the rump?”

And “ Do you think there are anymore
HaloEm?”

“No.” Lian answered. “Haverly said those two
were the last ones.”

Estrella pressed on. “If you had wanted to,
which I know you didn’t, and I mean this with utmost respect, but
if you were really evil and had plucked a Quill from the…well, the
dead bodies…would the Quills still…y’know…work?”

“No.” Root answered. “Jorab says a Quill’s
power comes from the life essence of the HaloEm. He thinks that
whoever killed them, plucked one just before they died.”

“But why not more than one, then? I mean,
well, you know what I mean.”

“Only one Quill can be released at a
time.

Jorab thinks that the HaloEm died before
another could be plucked.”

“Oh. I see.” Estrella suddenly got a strange
look on her face as if something had just occurred to her quite
unexpectedly. “What does a HaloEm Quill look like? I mean, up close
and real. I’ve only seen sketches…y’know the charcoal drawings in
those awful textbooks.”

She became very quiet after they told
her.

A little too quiet.

And Lian knew that when his mother was quiet,
it usually meant something was seriously wrong.

“What, mum? What is it?”

“Mmm? Oh, nothing.” She said quickly.

“Yes, there is. There’s something bugging
you. What is it?”

“It’s nothing really…only I…no, no. Forget
it. It’s probably not…anything…”

“Say it, mum!”

“Well, it’s just that…I mean…well, from the
way you described it, it sounded…well, it seemed to…but, no. It
couldn’t…”

“Mum!”

“Alright, alright! It’s just that…your
description sounds quite similar to the…uh…the Quill from your…your
room…that I donated to that nice float box the last time I was
here.”

Tamik was singing along with a recording of
her favorite band, Miss Wiggs, when someone began pounding on her
door so hard the recording skipped. She was not impressed. It was
her favorite part. The “
gonna have a party, yeah a party in my
own back yaaaaaaaaard
” part.

She barely got the door open when Lian, Dwyn
and Root came barreling in. They spoke way too fast, spitting out
words like some sort of mad tag team. And they were completely out
of breath. But the more they rattled on, the more Tamik got the
gist of it. The you-can’t-be-serious-holy-crow-o-rama-gist of
it.

“I am so sorry, guys. I never saw it. There
were tons of volunteers from everywhere that went through the
boxes. But I know for certain it wasn’t used. I would’ve remembered
that!”

“Well, what happened to the boxes?”

Elgart was busying himself with a
particularly ornery pipe leak. A Cold Spot had froze it and then it
burst. He had thirteen mops on clean up when he heard the sound of
thunder heading right toward him.

“Ikes! You kids should warn a fella when
you’re comin’ down stairs like that.” He said, clutching his chest.
“Pretty near gave me enough heart attacks to take me out for good!
Now, what’s all the commotion about?”