Battle for Peruna by Josiah Boss (book club suggestions TXT) 📕

to turn in unison to go up to meet with Mardoc; but what happened during practice had the two spies doing everything they could to keep from laughing out loud. Centaurs would wheel too late and smash broadside into the wall; others would wheel too early and crash into others, both going down.
Finally, Garnock got fed up. “Is this all the better you nitwits can do?” he yelled exasperated.
Tace came up to him sweat rolling down his back. “Yes, we've been trying our hardest.”
At this, one of the spies laughed silently so hard that he toppled over the edge of the hill. All the centaurs' heads instantly swiveled in that direction. They all heard a voice bellow from the top of the mountain. “Forester, you clumsy ox! You've blown our cover!”
“Get them!” bellowed Garnock, while at the same time motioning his troops to stay where they were. Everyone stood and watched as two panicked figures topped the hill and raced off at top speed. The centaurs all roared with laughter.
“Now,” said Garnock, “let's do this formation right for a change, shall we?” They pulled it off without a hitch.
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“Hey, what's that up ahead?” asked Skandar, pointing to where it looked like a mist was covering their path.
“I don't know, but it appears to some kind of mist, doesn't it?”
“Oh, yeah, but it's gone now.”
“That's because we went through it. See? There it is behind us.”
“Whatever, it didn't harm us, so I guess it's fine.”
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“How did you know they were there?” asked Skylar that evening as they sat around the campfire.
“Yeah, anyway, how did you know?” asked Aubin. “I didn't know there would be spies, so I was getting fed up with the guys for always crashing when we'd pulled it off a half dozen times before.”
“Well,” said Garnock, “that's one thing you learn. Yesterday I knew that there wouldn't be any spies because they would be settling into the castle. Today I knew there probably would be spies because they would want to know more about how good we are and where our camp is, and I also had a pretty good hunch who the two spies would be Mardoc's two fool generals, Felgor and Forester. I also knew that if we messed up so badly, they'd probably laugh at us, and if they laughed hard enough, they'd give their hiding place away.”
“Oh, makes sense now. We sure fooled them.” Skylar snickered. The other generals laughed with him. “Tomorrow night, we're gonna win for once, right?” He turned to face the generals. All the generals cheered.
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“Why don't you get down and walk?” asked Garth, rather forcefully. “We've been traveling like this all day. It's evening; we've had no breaks, and no food either. A lot of good your dumb bow did us, especially after you conned me into losing both our swords trying to stab squirrels. This is pathetic.”
“Quiet!” Skandar said. He pointed up the trail. “Deer.”
“You'd better get one, or you're gonna get it from me, if you miss.”
“Yeah, yeah, just dry up.” Skandar was so excited at the prospect of having meat that his arrow was waving all around as he tried to aim at the deer. He didn't notice Garth till....
“BOO!”
“What did you do that for? Now look what you made me do. You made me miss the deer...” his sentence stopped when he looked where Garth was pointing. There were the deer running off, but the doe in the lead had an arrow half-buried in his chest.
“Well? What are you standing there for? Jump on my back, and let's go.”
During all five hours of their search, the old man was just a step behind them. A hundred foot step that is. He could see them, but they couldn't see him. He wanted to go and help them out, but he knew that before he could help, they needed to ask.
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“Skandar, this is hopeless. We've searched these woods for five hours for this dumb deer and no trace. Why don't you just get off my back? A lot of help you are up there.”
The sky was darkening and there was the threat of rain in the air. Finally, Garth broke. “This is all my fault. This is God punishing me for being so rebellious to my parents and for being so prideful.” He dropped to his knees and buried his face in his hands.
Before long, both of them were kneeling side by side with tears streaming down their faces, and their hands raised towards the heavens asking God to forgive them for their sins and pleading for His help.
On the top of the hill stood the old man. His face toward the heavens, arms upraised, nearly bursting with joy. All of a sudden he got an answer. Quickly he ran down the hill towards the two boys. He ran straight to the deer and beckoned to the boys.
Skandar's face came down so he could wipe away the tears. At that instant, he saw the old man. “It's him!” he practically shouted.
Garth looked just in time to see the man disappear. “You're right,” he said clambering to his feet. “Let's go!”
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“What is it now?” asked Mardoc, annoyed at being interrupted from his game of chess with his bodyguard.
“Hey! Where'd you find that chess set?” asked Forester.
“In a closet. Now, what do you want? If you don't answer me this time, I'll kick you out.”
“We just came to tell you that our spy mission was successful,” said Forester.
“Half-ways,” put in Felgor.
“What do you mean by 'half-ways'?” asked Mardoc.
“Because Forester blew our cover just as the going was getting good. Then they chased us.”
“Yeah, well, if you hadn't yelled and called me a 'clumsy ox' they might not have seen us.”
“Oh yeah? You wanna bet on that? You were the one who fell over the edge from laughing. If you had just kept your hideous cackling to yourself, we could still be up there.”
“You low-down, hideous beast of a man. You dare to talk to me like that?! Take it back or never live to see tomorrow!”
“Ha!” snorted Forester, “you have as much at killing me as a rabbit does in killing a bear! You--!”
“Silence!” roared Mardoc. His voice rang throughout the castle as instant silence followed. “I won't have you taking off each other's heads in the throne room; actually I won't have you taking off each other's head at all. But if this keeps on, I will have my bodyguard behead you both on the spot. You hear? Now scram!” They scrammed!
“Them and their childish ways,” growled Mardoc to his bodyguard as they resumed their chess game.
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“Now where is he?” asked Skandar, after he swung to the ground from Garth's back.
“Don't ask me. He just disappeared. Again.”
“Well, no sense in wasting time standing here. Let's get go—oof! You didn't have to trip me!”
“I didn't. Look what did!” Skandar looked where Garth was pointing. There in the very spot where the old man had stood, lay the deer with the arrow still buried in his chest. Their eyes met and filled with tears.
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Thunk! 'Nother arrow, 'nother bull's eye. Nikkelon had been shooting his one hundred arrows over and over all afternoon, ignoring the girls' pleas to play with them. It's dumb! He thought disgustedly. They're fifteen for crying out loud, and they want me, a sixteen year old boy soon-to-be warrior, to play with them. Puh-lease! Just the thought made him roll his eyes, as he hit dead on another time. I wish Garth were here. He'd know what to do. Nikkelon sat down and started dreaming up all kinds of stuff. A grin split his face when he thought of the water bucket trick to pull on the girls, the trick Garth had never gotten around to doing. Hmm....
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“Well, that's the end for the last of the skin,” Garth said with a grunt as he pulled the skin away from the deer.
“Phew! I'm beat!” exclaimed Skandar, looking up for the first time. “AAAAAH!” He toppled over backward, sprawling spread eagle on the ground.
Garth looked up, alarmed. “Are you okay? What happened?”
Skandar managed a strained smile. “Crook in the back.”
Garth laughed and helped Skandar up. “Now that you're up, maybe you can stretch this hide. Hey! Are you listening? Yoohoo! Is anybody home in there?” Garth asked as he waved his hand in Skandar's face.
For once Skandar's face didn't break into a grin. He just pointed behind Garth. Garth turned and stared. There stood the tower they had been searching for all day.
On the hill behind them, the old man raised his arms in triumph.
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Nikkelon looked around quickly, making sure no one was there; then, just as quickly, set the gallon bucket on top of the door. He slipped out the window, then back in through the front door, acting innocent. He went into Garth's bedroom across the hall and plopped on the bed to wait for the girls.
Here they came. He grinned and just about laughed out loud as he watched through the half-open door. The girls came down the hall, laughing and talking. Again, he suppressed an urge to laugh. They were opening the door and...and...SPLASH!
“EEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”
Nikkelon let loose and roared with laughter as he flew to the door, slamming and locking it barely in time. He laughed himself to tears as the sopping wet girls pounded on the door and yelled all kinds of threats and mean things at him.
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“Wow! Look at this thing! It's huge!” Garth said in awe, staring a hundred to two hundred feet to the top. He couldn't decide how tall it was!
“Well, don't just stand there! Let's go in and see it!” Skandar said, tugging on Garth's arm. “I don't like this. We're out here unarmed, and there could be anything or anyone lurking around here.”
“You're right, Skandar. Let's get in.” Garth stepped up to the door and rattled the door knob. Unlocked. He tried the door. Wouldn't budge. He pushed harder. Nothing.
Just then, Skandar yelled from behind him, “Hurry! There's a...a...something coming, and it doesn't look friendly! Whatever it is!”
Garth looked where Skandar was pointing. There lumbering through the forest towards them was a...a...thing on two legs. In desperation, he slammed against the door which flew open. They jumped through it, slammed it, and threw the three dead bolts into place.
The huge beast crashed into the door and let loose a mighty roar of rage, then turned and lumbered off, crashing through the brush. Silence reigned in the tower, except for the panting of Garth and Skandar.
“Whew!” Garth breathed a sigh of relief. “That was close!”
“Waaaay to close!” agreed Skandar, his eyes still big, his hands and insides all tremulous from fright. “What was that?”
“I have no idea. I've never seen one. While we're resting up, why don't we have a look around? Maybe we can find the next clue, and a clue as to what they are,” said Garth.
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Nikkelon was having the time of his life. First off, he had rapped on the girls' window, then had dangled a huge fake spider in their faces, when they looked out the window. Then he just about lost his balance and fell off the top of the castle, when they'd screamed, as he laughed to split a gut.
Then when he'd taken them their dinner—a new food that Skylar had called spaghetti—he told them it was horse brains and eyes boiled in tomato sauce. The surprise was that they'd believed him! They'd screamed when he'd uncovered the dishes and threw an “eyeball”--really a meat ball—at them. Then they'd refused