The Pillars of Ponderay (4 page)

T
he last time Albert had been here, he'd been terrified out of his eleven-year-old mind. He'd even gone so far as to think that, somewhere in the darkness, a cyclops was waiting to devour him whole.

This time Albert was
in the know.
And rather than feeling fear, Albert's entire body hummed with excitement. He followed Farnsworth through the darkness of the tree, falling onto hands and knees when the space became too small for standing. They entered the tunnel-like maze of roots that led deeper into the Troll Tree, and in turn, deeper into the earth.

Down and down they went, squeezing their way through roots tangled so tightly they could have been fishermen's knots. Faster and faster, Albert's heart raced.

I'm almost home. I'm almost back in the Core.

Soon, but not soon enough, the dim orange light of the Path Hider's door came into view. Albert squeezed through a last knot of old, gnarled roots, and found that he could stand again.

“Here we go!” Albert smiled down at Farnsworth.

A pair of blinding blue eyes answered him.

Just like last summer, Albert had to press his hand up against a gooey glowing substance in the door. It oozed over his skin, covering it up so whatever magic the lock held could read Albert's Balance Keeper genes.

In seconds, the goo released him.

The door clicked open, revealing a familiar orange platform just beyond.

The ride down into the Path Hider's domain was just as thrilling as the last time. Only now, Albert could really enjoy it, without fear or doubt.

He knew exactly where he was going, and he knew that he belonged.

The faster the platform sank, the more excited Albert grew. Even Farnsworth was yipping away, almost as if to say,
Our friends are down there!

The platform slowed, and as the familiar hissing pipes and steam vents came into view, Albert leaped.

He landed on the hard flooring of the Path Hider's domain.

“We're home!” Albert screamed.

He was just about to make his way through the maze of pipes, when he saw two shadows running toward him. One was tall and thin. The other was shorter with a mess of curls.

“ALBERT!” he heard his friends scream in unison.

He didn't have time to react. In seconds, Albert was enveloped in what had to be the most backbreaking hug of his life.

It was worse than his mom's, which was really saying something.

“Okay, okay! Let me breathe!” Albert laughed.

When the hug broke, he was staring at his two best friends' faces. He couldn't believe how much he missed them! Birdie's hair was up in its usual ponytail, her pink and blond curls hanging across her shoulder. Leroy had on a new baseball cap, one that read
Papa's Pancake House.
Albert laughed, and before he could stop himself, he hugged them both again.

“I got here first,” Birdie explained, bobbing up and down on her toes. “I got the message right before an exam. Close call on that one. I was so wrapped up in the reports about California, I hardly had time to study! Of course, I still would've gotten . . .” She froze midsentence, because both Albert and Leroy were stifling laughs.

“
What?
” Birdie demanded.

Albert smiled. “I'd forgotten how much Birdie talks.”

“Birdie is nothing,” Leroy said. “Mom managed to
squeeze me into
one
cooking class before I left. You don't want to
know
what all those girls were talking about. I have nightmares about them giggling.”

The three friends exploded into laughter, but it stopped when someone behind the trio cleared his throat.

Albert turned, and through the steam, a man emerged. The Path Hider.

He was tall,
very
tall, with long spidery fingers. His rust-colored hair was topped with an old miner's helmet, and the man blinked at the trio with eyes in two different shades, one copper and one blue.

“Welcome home.” The Path Hider bowed low to the ground. “My dear young Balance Keepers.”

“Hello again,” Albert said.

“'Sup?” Leroy waved and accidentally smacked the side of a pipe. It hissed out steam that spit right in Birdie's face.

For a second, Albert thought Birdie might punch Leroy (she liked punching boys far bigger than she was). But instead, she was busy staring at the Path Hider, a strange look in her eyes.

The Path Hider had always been, well, strange. Albert guessed it was because the Path Hider had been down in this steamy room for centuries, all by himself, hiding the paths to the Core.

He was good at keeping people away.

Farnsworth nearly leaped into the Path Hider's arms.
His eyes blazed a brilliant sapphire blue, and the Path Hider stooped to scratch him behind his ears.

“All right, Farnsworth, that's enough for today.” The Path Hider stood up and gave the trio a half smile. “I thought we might enjoy a sip of coffee before I pass you along.”

He turned and made his way back through the pipes, ducking and dodging the steam like a champ. The pipes were like a tangle of snakes, some as thick as giants' legs, others as thin as kindling sticks.

On the far side of the room, an old oil-stained couch sat beneath a jumble of copper wires. Beside it was a water cooler filled with steaming hot coffee.

Albert, Birdie, and Leroy took their places on the couch. The Path Hider sat across from them, lounging in a recliner that Albert guessed was only held together by magic.

It was quiet for a moment. The Path Hider studied them all with his strange eyes, and Albert felt like he was underneath a microscope.

“So. How's it been, you know, down here?” Albert asked. “Same old, same old?”

The Path Hider nodded. “Hiding the Core's location is of the utmost importance. A little modification here, another alteration there.” He waved his spidery fingers in the air. “The secret is forever safe.”

A crackling noise drew Albert's eyes from the Path
Hider. It was Leroy, unwrapping a piece of red candy.

“Really?” Birdie laughed. “You've been here five minutes, and already you're eating?”

Leroy shrugged. He looked at the Path Hider. “What do you eat down here? Besides coffee, I mean.”

The Path Hider leaned farther back in his recliner and propped up his feet. He wore old leather boots, the same kind Albert and Birdie and Leroy had, as well as everyone else in the Core. But his were worn and tattered. It was time for a new pair.

“I eat what they send me,” the Path Hider said. “But enough about me. I want to hear about the great Calderon First Unit.” His blue eyes fell onto Albert. “Is it true?”

“Is what true?” Albert asked. “If you're talking about what happened in Calderon last summer . . .”

“No, not that.” The Path Hider leaned forward, hands on his knees. His eyes flitted to the cord around Albert's neck, where his Tile was concealed beneath his shirt. “The rumor that
you
hold the Master Tile.”

“Totally!” It was Leroy who piped up to answer. “Albert's a pro now! He can do anything. Show him the Tile, Albert!”

Albert's face grew as hot and as red as a bowl of tomato soup. “It's just a Tile, guys.”

But his friends were excited to show him off, pride on both of their faces. Albert lifted the cord from his neck, revealing the Master Tile. It was different from all
the others in the Core, a shiny black color with a white symbol on it. The symbol was shaped sort of like an old scale, the kind with two arms that levered up and down, depending on the weight placed on each side.

“Magnificent,” the Path Hider breathed. He reached out, eyes wide, almost as if he wanted to touch it. But at the last second, he drew his hand back and gave Albert a glittering smile. “I'm proud, Albert Flynn. I've watched you for years, as I do all the Balance Keepers. I knew you'd be a special one, considering your family's bloodlines. But I never suspected the Master Tile.”

He was looking at Albert like he was royalty.

“Um, thanks,” Albert said. “That means a lot, I think.”

The Path Hider nodded, then went on to ask Birdie and Leroy about their Tiles, too. Birdie's was a Water Tile, while Leroy's was a Synapse Tile. The Path Hider looked impressed with theirs, too. “I've seen lots of Tiles come through here over the years. The ones you three hold are rare. Quite rare, indeed.”

“You should see Leroy in the Tiles tournaments,” Birdie said, folding her hands in her lap. “He's a whiz! No one can beat him!”

“Or so you think.” The Path Hider nodded. “Someday, Leroy Jones, I will challenge you to a game of Tiles.” He winked and stood up, seemingly done with his questions. “I guess I should send you on your way. The path tells me stories, and secrets. But I wonder”—the Path
Hider rubbed his chin—“if you could ask that shopkeeper Lucinda to come and visit me soon?”

Birdie smiled knowingly. Lucinda had a major crush on the Path Hider. “She talks about you sometimes. I'm sure she'd love to come visit!”

“Very well, then,” the Path Hider said. “Farnsworth?”

The little dog came tearing across the room with a chunk of copper wires in his mouth. The Path Hider yanked the wires out and shook off the slobber. “This will take days to repair. Ah, well. Lead the way, old friend.”

Farnsworth barked, then set off down the dark tunnel that led to the gondola. Albert, Birdie, and Leroy followed, but just before they were out of earshot, the Path Hider whispered a warning.

“Watch your backs, young Balance Keepers. I sense trouble brewing in the Core.”

Albert looked back. He saw not even a shadow.

But the Path Hider's voice followed them into the darkness.

“You never know who you can trust.”

T
he gondola whizzed along its track, tossing Albert, Birdie, Leroy, and Farnsworth back and forth. The cave around them was as large as the night sky, and just as dark. As they got closer to the end of the ride, something black and fuzzy flitted into the open window.

“Oh, come
on
! Not again!” Leroy yipped like a dog.

“The Memory Wipers!” Birdie laughed and held out her arm. One of the bats landed on her wrist. It was almost as big as Farnsworth. “I love these little guys!”

“Little?!” Leroy squawked.

“I'd forgotten about them,” Albert said, reaching out to touch the furry black bat. It was soft like a newborn kitten, and it started to purr.

“I guess that means their songs really do work,” Birdie said, stroking the bat.

At first, Albert wasn't sure what she was talking about. But as he stared at the bats, a memory reformed in the back of his mind. It was from last summer, when Albert and his friends had left the Core to return to their normal lives. The Memory Wipers had swooped in and out of the open windows of the gondola, singing their strange songs. It had forced the trio's memories of the Core to fade like near-forgotten dreams. The Memory Wipers were a vital part of protecting the Core's secrets, keeping it safe from the outside world, and Albert smiled as he realized they'd done their job.

“Did it work on you, Leroy?” Albert asked. “Even with your Synapse Tile?”

Leroy groaned. “Yes. And I'd be happy to forget them all over again.”

The Memory Wiper flew out the window, singing its song. Hundreds of others joined in, their voices strangely human. But before they could lull the trio to sleep, Farnsworth barked twice, and the gondola sped back up, carrying them away from the cave.

After a few more drops of the gondola, and several screams (some happy and some not) from Albert, Leroy, and Birdie, Albert finally saw the blue flames of Lucinda's shop come into view.

“You're late!” Lucinda shouted. As they got closer,
Albert saw a familiar black shape coiled around Lucinda's neck and shoulders. It was her pet snake, Kimber. Farnsworth growled and barked at the sight of it, probably remembering the giant Hissengores in the Calderon Realm that had attacked the poor dog last term.

Lucinda's shop was basically a booth made of metal scraps fused together. It sat on a floating platform, and beside it, there were barrels tucked into the cave walls, overflowing with shadowed things.

The gondola came to a stop just in front of Lucinda.

“We came as quickly as we could,” Birdie insisted. She leaned forward and whispered, “The Path Hider has a message for you.”

Kimber hissed and curled tighter around Lucinda's shoulders as Birdie whispered in Lucinda's ear.

When Birdie was done, Lucinda smiled and fanned her face. The trio laughed, and then Albert remembered something. “Last time, you gave us a bag of Core stuff. What do we get this time around? Colored Tiles? New boots?”

Lucinda's smile fell. She leaned forward on the booth, and the old metal creaked and groaned. “I have nothing for you this year but a warning.”

Albert, Birdie, and Leroy leaned forward, too. Even Farnsworth stood on his back paws to get closer to Lucinda.

“The Core hasn't been the same since a few weeks
after the Balance in Calderon was restored last summer,” Lucinda sighed. “There's a change in the air around us. It feels colder, somehow. Even the flames in the tunnels don't burn as bright. The other Balance Keepers who were able to make it here on such short notice have been training around the clock. The Professors are pushing them hard, due to the emergency.”

“Emergency?” Birdie asked.

Lucinda shook her head. “I can't say for sure what's going on. But I know that the Core is changing, and not for the better.”

“The Path Hider gave us a warning, too,” Leroy said, sitting back on the gondola bench. “So what's
really
the problem?”

“There's an Imbalance, isn't there?” Albert asked.

“You can tell us,” Birdie chided.

Lucinda's voice lowered to a whisper, and her eyes grew as large as two moons. What she said next chilled Albert all the way down to his toes.

“It would be in your best interest to stick together. Train hard, and be prepared for the worst. Darkness is coming, children. And I fear that the Core may not be ready to face it.”

She stared into the distance, a faraway look in her eyes. Kimber coiled tighter around her neck. Before Albert could say another word, Lucinda waved her arm. “Be safe,” she said. “And be careful who you turn to
when times get hard. Now move along, you three. The Core needs all the help it can get.”

The gondola carted them away.

The three friends sat back in their seats, and not another word was spoken until they reached the final platform, where massive double doors stood before them—the entrance to the Main Chamber of the Core.

“That's two sets of warnings in one day,” Leroy's voice cracked.

Birdie looked back and forth at the two boys, then pointed at the doors to their right. “What do you think we're going to find when we get inside?”

It was Albert who stood up first. “I don't know,” he said. He straightened his shirt, tightened the laces on his boots, and smiled back at his friends. “But there's only one way to find out.”

He leaped from the gondola, and the others followed behind.

The doors to the Core seemed to notice their presence, because as soon as Albert's hand touched the old, ancient wood, there was a creak and a groan as they unlocked.

“Here we go,” Albert said.

Birdie cracked her knuckles. Leroy swallowed, hard. Farnsworth pawed at the ground like a racehorse ready to run.

Together, the three friends pressed hard, putting all their strength into it, and the doors to Albert's favorite
place in the entire world (really,
inside
the world) opened wide. Farnsworth raced between Albert's legs, disappearing into the chaos of the Core.

Albert was home.

Even though Albert had been here before, the Main Chamber still felt like walking into a dream.

Three glittering streams flowed across the floor, leading to ancient doors that were the gateways to the three Realms. Overhead, a wolf with eagle's wings perched on the giant copper chandelier that lit the cave. The room was warm and open, and as Albert took a step farther inside, he felt lightness in his heart that could only come from a place as magical and wonderful as this.

“We made it,” Albert breathed.

An older girl ran past, with a flaming orange and red bird perched atop her head. Its feathers left a trail of sparks in their wake.

“Hey, that's a phoenix!” Leroy said. “She didn't have that last time!”

“I
love
your bird!” Birdie yelled after the girl. Her voice echoed in the cavernous space.

Throngs of people were scurrying past, both young Balance Keepers and adults alike. The last time Albert had set foot in here, there was laughter. People playing games, boys and girls diving into the rivers and riding on the CoreFish.

All of that was missing now.

“Something's different,” Birdie said. “Lucinda was right.”

“It's so quiet,” Leroy added. “Remember how it felt last time?”

Birdie nodded. “It was like walking into a storybook. Where are all of our friends? Why does everyone look so serious?”

Albert looked at the faces of everyone passing by. None of them were smiling. Everyone was in a rush to get to where they were going, none of them stopping for conversations along the way, and there weren't as many people as usual. It felt strangely empty.

Albert closed his eyes for a moment and remembered the very first time he'd walked into this room. There had been so much life then, a sense that adventure was hiding around every corner. That first time, it had almost felt like the Core was so full of magic that the walls could hardly hold it all in. Today, it was as if someone had stolen the very heart away. Now all that was left were fragments, and Albert was determined to discover
why.

“What's going on?” he asked a Cleaner, a woman wheeling a big copper bin stuffed to the brim with trash. His voice almost seemed too loud for the silence around them.

The woman stopped to sweep dust from the floor, her dark curls falling into her face. “Trouble,” she said. “Toil and trouble, my boy.”

She moved along, leaving Albert, Leroy, and Birdie to
stare at one another.

“Okay—that was straight out of some creepy Halloween movie,” Leroy said. “What is going
on
around here?”

Birdie rubbed her hands together. “It's, like, freaking me out, you guys.”

They stood and stared for a while, not sure where to go, what to do. Last time, Trey had been here to guide them. Today it seemed that there wasn't any time to waste on Hydra's return.

Just then, a ground-trembling roar came from one of the tunnels. People screamed and dove for cover. Leroy ducked behind Albert. A pink cat screeched and leaped onto Farnsworth's back, claws out. A big, muscular Core worker tripped and toppled into one of the streams.

But Birdie stood tall and calm, a smile spreading across her face.

Seconds later, a winged beast emerged from the far tunnel, the one that led to the girls' dorm. It had large, leathery wings, sharp talons, and an even sharper beak.

“JADAR!” Birdie screamed.

The Guildacker howled, a sound that was quite doglike, and took flight, its wings barely missing the chandelier overhead. It swooped down and landed soft as a feather in front of Birdie.

She fell against him at once, wrapping her arms around his big neck. “I've missed you!”

Jadar whimpered and stooped lower. Birdie kissed him on the beak, and he ruffled his wings. The crowd
relaxed; people came out of their hiding spots. Jadar was the most fearsome beast in the Core, straight from the Calderon Realm.

He was also one of the reasons Albert, Birdie, and Leroy were able to save the world last summer.

“Hey, Jadar,” Albert said, waving at the Guildacker. He nudged Leroy in the stomach.

“Oh yeah! Hey, there, um, dude. What's up?” Leroy wouldn't look the beast in the eye. He was probably still a little afraid of him from last term. Albert held back a laugh.

Birdie turned back to her friends, and Albert thought he saw a few tears sparkling in her eyes. “Do you guys mind if Jadar and I go for a little flight? It's been way too long!”

Albert smiled. “Go ahead.”

Birdie hopped on, sitting like a queen atop a throne. But before Jadar could soar to the sky, a voice called out.

“Hydra!”

All three of them turned.

Across the Main Chamber, standing on one of the arched bridges, was a small boy with dark hair and glittering eyes.

Petra.