The Glorious Race of Magical Beasts, page 13
‘Well,’ Raven said. ‘We should tidy up.’
Fortunately, most of the water was contained to the floor, and none of the books or furniture had been damaged. Eli and Raven found mops in a cupboard down the corridor and used these to soak up the worst of it.
‘I’m going to need another shower,’ Raven said. ‘But perhaps I’ll wait until you’ve finished going through the keys.’
‘I guess it’s more likely to happen because any library near the lighthouse one has a good chance of being underwater,’ Eli replied, feeling a little bereft.
He returned to the keys and settled his gaze on each one in turn, trying to coax one of them into calling out to him. Finally, he selected one made from shining blue glass, studded with dainty glass starfish.
‘I’ve got a good feeling about this one,’ he said, staring down at it. ‘Yes. This could be it.’
He and Raven returned to the doorway and inserted the key in the lock. When Eli opened the door, no water rushed out to greet them this time. Instead, the door swung inwards into a pretty grotto of a room. There were chips of pale blue shell studded all over the floor, the walls and the ceiling. The dappled light filtering in through the windows told Eli that this was an underwater library, even before they saw the outline of a dolphin gliding past one of the windows.
‘Well, it’s obviously not this one,’ Raven said.
Eli was about to agree and close the door when he paused. ‘Actually, perhaps we should check? For all we know, the lighthouse is underwater.’
‘Good point,’ Raven replied. ‘It would be a useless sort of lighthouse, but I guess it’s possible.’
‘Let me just grab the Nepo’s key so we can get back.’
He hurried over to the table and plucked up the tentacle key. He quickly threaded it on to the chain around his neck next to the one for his little library back home, and then he and Raven stepped over the threshold. It was jarring to suddenly be on a floor that didn’t move. The Nepo was always rolling and shifting, rocking with the water. The sudden switch to a perfectly stable floor made both Eli and Raven stumble. They had a look around and quickly confirmed this wasn’t the lighthouse library. Every single book on the shelves was about terrapins and there was a painting on the wall of Kallie, the terrapin princess.
‘We must be in her underwater palace,’ Eli whispered to Raven. ‘I don’t think she’s supposed to like visitors very much. I once read that she has guard terrapins with jewelled shells and a nasty bite.’
They hastily used the tentacle key to return to the Nepo’s library. After that, there was nothing for it but to spend the next hour trying the other keys one by one. They found themselves in a little beach shack library, and then one on a sailing boat, and after that there was an island library, and even a selection of books on a raft that Eli guessed had once been a castaway’s library. Strangely, they found themselves in a couple more princess libraries too – the cloud library of a sky princess and the camel library of a desert princess. Next there was one that plainly belonged to a faery princess, filled with flowers and the scent of rain.
‘It doesn’t make sense!’ Eli exclaimed, closing yet another door and putting the key aside. ‘The libraries on rafts and beaches might be somewhere near the Island of Joo-Joo Bubs, and at least they’re something to do with the sea, but I have no idea why princess libraries are appearing too.’ He glanced at Raven, feeling embarrassed about his lack of success. ‘Did you hear the rumour that a princess has joined the race this year?’
She nodded. ‘Everyone was talking about that.’ She gestured towards the table and said, ‘There’s one key left. Shall we?’
Eli picked it up and inserted it into the lock. He wasn’t feeling too hopeful by this point but, finally, they opened the door to a room that was perfectly circular.
‘That’s it!’ Eli exclaimed. ‘It’s got to be.’
It was obviously night at the lighthouse too because the windows were completely dark, meaning they couldn’t see anything of the island beyond. But from the doorway they could make out a plaque on the wall reading: The Island of Joo-Joo Bubs Lighthouse. Eli closed the door in relief and strung the key on to the chain around his neck, along with the other two.
‘There’s still time to get a couple of hours’ sleep in before sunrise.’ Eli gave Raven an apologetic look. ‘Sorry that took so long.’
‘Are you kidding? That was amazing! Now we’ll be able to jump straight into the lead.’ She gave Eli an appraising look. ‘Maybe you’re not such a lost cause with your tortoise, after all.’
Eli gave a small smile. He was used to people underestimating him. Perhaps this race would be a chance, for the first time in his life, to show people that a bookish boy with a briefcase could achieve remarkable things too.
Chapter Seventeen
Eli opened his eyes to sunlight streaming in through his porthole window. When he’d gone to bed, they’d still been out at sea, with only the vast ocean surrounding them on all sides, but now he saw that they’d arrived at the Milkshake Islands. It was a tropical, picturesque sight, with palm trees waving gently in the breeze and golden sand warming in the sunlight.
He got out of bed and looked at the leader board. Their detour to the Milkshake Islands meant that they’d dropped to eighth place, but Eli wasn’t too worried about that as the library key would mean that they would soon leap straight into the lead. He was concerned about what they would find on the Island of Joo-Joo Bubs, however. If the first round of the race was known for being a knockout, the second round was generally thought of as the trick one. It could seem deceptively simple at first, but there was always some secret lurking beneath the surface.
Eli especially disliked the fact that they hadn’t been able to discover anything about the island or what a joo-joo bub even was. He wanted something to focus on, so he took out a new suit and then used his travel iron to smooth any creases. Having a freshly ironed suit with nice crisp edges made him feel just a tiny bit more capable and a little less out of his depth. He dug Humphrey out of the corner he’d wedged himself into and then made his way up on deck. He was relieved to see that they’d docked at a pier this time, meaning that he’d be able to simply walk off the ship rather than plunge into the sea again.
Raven must have been up even earlier because Eli spotted her walking down the pier, a cardboard tray of milkshakes in her hands. When she joined him on deck a moment later, he thought the milkshakes looked amazing close up, with lots of squirty cream on top and cold beads of condensation running down the side of the cups.
‘Here, this one’s for you,’ Raven said, handing him one. ‘I didn’t know what flavours you like, so I just guessed and picked coffee.’
‘That’s my favourite!’ Eli exclaimed. ‘Thank you.’
‘It’s the least I can do.’ Raven spotted Jeremiah coming up on deck and said, ‘And don’t think I forgot you, Captain. Strawberry milkshake, as requested.’
She handed him a bright pink cup with a bunch of unicorn sprinkles scattered over the cream.
‘I asked them to put extra sprinkles on yours to cheer you up,’ she said.
Jeremiah raised an eyebrow. ‘I didn’t realise I need cheering up,’ he said. ‘But a strawberry milkshake is a great way to start the day.’
‘Now we’re even,’ Raven said, looking pleased.
Jeremiah raised his eyebrows. ‘Even? Is this a magic milkshake? Is there, perhaps, a little wizard or enchantress at the bottom of the cup? Because otherwise I’m not sure that a milkshake is quite the same thing as saving someone from attacking doom birds and giving them a lift all the way to the Island of Joo-Joo Bubs.’
‘Don’t forget the cheese and biscuits you left outside my door,’ Raven said.
‘Guests don’t go hungry on the Nepo,’ Jeremiah replied, but not in a particularly friendly way.
‘You could just say thank you for the milkshake,’ Eli said, rolling his eyes.
‘Haven’t I already?’
‘No,’ Eli and Raven both said at the same time.
They didn’t find out whether or not Jeremiah was actually going to thank Raven, because right at that moment, a harbour master began shouting at them from the pier, saying that they’d not paid the correct berthing fees, and Jeremiah had to hurry to sort it all out. After that, they set about gathering up their belongings. Eli packed everything as neatly as he could, stored Humphrey securely in his tortoise bag and then joined the others to walk down to the pier. Luther swooped ahead of them and Perrie hopped close to Raven’s booted heels. As soon as they stepped on to the island, Jeremiah fished his magic bottle out of his coat and whispered the ship’s name. At once, the Nepo was swept up in a magical wind that sucked it right back into the glass bottle.
‘Amazing,’ Raven said, peering in at it. ‘That’s quite a trick.’
‘Eli’s turn next,’ Jeremiah said, tucking the bottle into his bag as Luther settled on his shoulder. ‘Did you find the right key last night?’
‘I’ve got it here.’ Eli drew the key out from beneath his shirt and slipped it from the chain. ‘We just need a door.’
They walked down the pier and stopped at the harbour master’s hut.
‘Hey!’ a voice shouted. ‘You can’t go in there! That’s my office!’
The sudden shout made Eli jump, causing him to drop the key. It clanged on to the wooden planks and then slipped straight through the gap, into the water with a soft splash.
‘Oh, for heaven’s sake.’ Jeremiah sighed. ‘I’ll get it.’
Luther flew up to perch on the roof of the building as Jeremiah dropped straight off the edge of the pier and into the water. Several things happened at once then – the harbour master hurried towards them, Raven whipped her bow from her back and notched an arrow to ward him off – and a rainbow exploded on to the scene. A snarling panther raced from the colours, with Vincent Tweak clinging to his back.
Eli stared, his head in a whirl as the people on the dock began to shout. What was Vincent doing here? The Milkshake Islands were in the wrong direction. None of the other racers had any reason to be out this way … And then Eli noticed something for the first time. Vincent wasn’t wearing a racer’s medallion. He wasn’t part of the race. That was why he hadn’t appeared in the leader board.
‘You’re racing the wrong way, idiot!’ Raven called.
Vincent’s lip curled in a smirk as he hopped from his panther’s back. ‘I’m not a racer,’ he said. ‘I’m a bounty hunter.’
Eli had heard of such people, of course. They specialised in tracking down wanted criminals, but Eli had never committed a crime in his life, so why was Vincent pursuing him? Could he have found out before everyone else that he was a mage? Might some faraway king have sent him because he wanted Eli to do magical and important things in his court? But then he felt Humphrey shuffling about in his tortoise bag and he remembered that some bounty hunters didn’t go after criminals – they went after magical beasts, either to sell or to add to some wealthy person’s private collection.
‘You’ve been following me because you’re after Humphrey!’ Eli exclaimed.
‘I don’t care about your moon tortoise! I mean, I’d get a decent sum for him, but that’s not why I’m here.’
‘Well, then, why are you here?’ Eli asked, frustration bubbling up inside him. ‘What do you want?’
Jeremiah gripped the side of the boardwalk just then and hauled himself up on to the pier, dripping wet, just as Vincent smiled and said in an icy tone, ‘Lionel Gaskins sends his regards.’ His gaze flicked between Jeremiah and Eli. ‘To both of you.’
Eli drew in his breath sharply and Jeremiah went very still. This was it, Eli realised – this was the moment Jeremiah found out what he’d done.
Raven looked blank. ‘Who’s Lionel Gaskins?’
‘Hey!’ The harbour master had arrived, and brought several large friends with him. ‘We don’t want any racing mania here. It’ll upset our cows. And if the cows are upset they don’t produce milk, and then no one gets any milkshakes.’
‘I don’t care about the race or your cows,’ Vincent snapped. He pointed at Eli. ‘This boy has stolen something and I’ve come to get it back.’
Jeremiah laughed, although it seemed to Eli that there was something forced about it. ‘Do you honestly think you’re just going to put me in your pocket and take me home to Gaskins? Tell him I’m not interested and that he should just go and annoy some other poor character.’
Eli found he could hardly dare breathe. This was his fault. He’d written to Gaskins after reading that interview. He felt he owed the author an explanation for his writer’s block, so he’d confessed about Jeremiah.
He’d put a spell on the words so that they’d disappear once they were read, and he didn’t own up to being a mage himself, but he explained that Jeremiah had been taken out of the book and that Eli was a librarian and so could be trusted to look out for him and keep him safe. He’d reasoned that this way Lionel Gaskins would at least know what had happened and could give up his attempts at a sequel, putting his efforts instead into developing a new character for a new story.
But instead, he had received a string of very angry letters from Gaskins, demanding the name of the mage and that Jeremiah be put back where he belonged at once. Eli hadn’t replied to any of them because he didn’t know what to say. He wished he’d never written in the first place. There had been no letters in weeks, though, so he’d hoped that Gaskins had finally given up. It had never occurred to him for a moment that he’d take matters into his own hands by sending a bounty hunter.
‘I thought you’d still be nine years old,’ Vincent admitted, glaring at Jeremiah. ‘And that would have made things a bit easier. But Gaskins wants to write a sequel and he needs you to do it, so whether you like it or not, you’re coming with me.’
‘You are ALL ordered to leave this pier at once!’ the harbour master said. ‘Get out your magic ships and rainbows and go!’
‘With pleasure,’ Vincent replied. He leapt on to his panther’s back in one fluid movement, a rainbow shot into the sky and then they were racing up it.
Eli couldn’t work out what was happening at first. Had Vincent given up? But then, to his horror, he took one of the pistols from its holster and pointed it straight at Luther, who’d flown away from the roof when the rainbow erupted.
‘No!’ Jeremiah yelled, as Vincent pulled the trigger.
It wasn’t a bullet that came out, but a net, attached to a long coil of rope. It plucked Luther straight from the air, folding up his wings so he couldn’t fly. Eli guessed Gaskins had told Vincent that anywhere Luther went, Jeremiah would go too. He’d have no choice but to return to the author if he captured his bird. Even Jeremiah Jones couldn’t climb a rainbow with his bare hands, and perhaps Vincent would have got away if Raven hadn’t fired her arrow. It grazed Vincent’s arm and he fell from his panther with a yell.
Unfortunately, he crashed right through the roof of a cowshed, which definitely counted as upsetting the cows. Everyone raced to the scene and there was much mooing and shouting as Jeremiah extracted Luther from the wreckage. Thankfully, he seemed to be unharmed, and the children were all far more concerned about the phoenix than they were about Vincent, who was loudly exclaiming over his bleeding arm.
Jeremiah gave Raven a grateful slap on the back. ‘Now we’re even,’ he said.
‘You’re under arrest!’ the harbour master thundered. ‘ALL of you!’
It turned out it wasn’t very easy to arrest someone when their panther was snarling at you, so Vincent managed to make his rainbow getaway, but the others weren’t so lucky. The Milkshake Islands didn’t generally suffer from too much crime and so the children were all herded into one cell in the local police station, along with their magical beasts.
They tried various pleas and arguments to be released, but with no luck, and the hours ticked away maddeningly. Eli saw their names slip off the top ten of the leader board and the number of contestants went down from twenty to fifteen. Jeremiah kept saying he couldn’t understand how Gaskins had managed to track him down after all this time, and Eli simply couldn’t bear to own up to the letter. Jeremiah would be furious and definitely see it as a betrayal. It would have to come out eventually, of course, but the thought of the conversation made Eli’s stomach feel tangled up in knots. Right now, though, they needed to focus on getting out of here. There was no keyhole inside the cell to use the library key that Jeremiah had plucked from the water.
‘I guess it’s up to me to get us out of here,’ Jeremiah sighed.
‘That seems fair,’ Raven grumbled. ‘Since it’s your fault we’re here in the first place.’
Jeremiah had nothing to say to that and Eli kept quiet too.
Fortunately, it wasn’t the first time Jeremiah had ever been locked in a cell and his book mentioned that – using only his shoelaces, a phoenix feather, a teaspoon and a bit of pluck – Jeremiah could break out from behind any bars that tried to hold him. On this occasion, he had the laces, feather and pluck, but no teaspoon, so it was taking rather a long time.
‘I could probably do it faster,’ Humphrey grumbled to Eli. ‘Tortoises are excellent at prison breaks.’
‘We’ll be out soon,’ Eli soothed him.
In fact, it was almost lunchtime when Jeremiah finally managed to click open the lock of their cell. The children tumbled out and raced to the nearest door.
The noise alerted the constable, who came charging after them, but Eli put the key into the lock and pushed the door. It swung open into the lighthouse library they had seen before. The children and their animals lost no time in shooting through the door and closing it swiftly behind them.
