Part 4 {Flint Kidd}

Part 4

{See Render’s blog FIRST! Read his NOW! Otherwise this won’t make any sense at all! Go, go, go!}

Ok, have you read it? You need to read it. Otherwise this will spoil it. Ok? You’ve read it? Proceed. A quick recap:

Render Moonarrow, an elf from another world, and his dragon {Ancalagon the Black} have come aboard the Golden Dawn by mistake. He stayed with them for two days in which a terrible storm came. They continued their straight course, not turning back like the crew wanted. In the middle of the night Charity and Bonnie flew on Ancalagon. The next morning there was a mutiny! Will was tied to the mast. Greg {leader of the mutineers, also a crew member of Sky Strike} shot Bonnie but Render stopped the bullet from reaching her. Render freed Will and they all fought against their unloyal crew. Bonnie rashly helped Charity {who was trapped by Greg} but Charity survived with only a sprained wrist. Ok, so now that I’ve spoiled it for anyone who was foolish enough to not read Render’s blog {AND YOU HAD BETTER READ IT NOW IF YOU HAVEN’T!!!!} here’s Part 4!

Charity was in the kitchen, doing the only thing she could with a broken wrist ~ peel potatoes ~ and even that was hard. Her wrist hurt when she tried to hold the potato down but if she didn’t it would roll away. Her eyebrows grew close together in frustration as her knife missed the round veggie. She frowned and stabbed it but it rolled off the table. She sighed. She heard footsteps and turned around. Will was at the door. He picked up the potato.

“Need help?” he asked. Charity nodded. She silently peeled for a while and he helped her to slice them, chop them, and put them in a large pot. The cook was sleeping but would be up and cooking before dinner. She sighed again as the last of them was dumped into the vat the cook used to boil stew.

“I was thinking,” said Will. Charity hid a smile. “What? I do an awful lot of thinking; you just don’t give me enough credit! Anyway…I was thinking: Do we have any books or scrolls on deck? Anything that could tell us about this stone?”

“Well,” replied Charity, “only a few. I suppose I could look for them and see if they have any clues or hints about it.”

“Bonnie could help too. After all, two heads are better than one,” Will suggested. Charity nodded and followed Will upstairs to the main deck. Bonnie and Will switched taking the wheel and Bonnie followed Charity to their room. A few books lay sprawled on Bonnie’s side and a neat bookcase occupied the wall nearest Charity’s bed. Some other articles of clothing and a few random papers on Bonnie’s side contradicted the neat desk and shelves on Charity’s side. Bonnie scooped up an armful of books and placed them on her bed. She grabbed the nearest one and flipped through it. Charity skimmed book titles from the bookcase and selected a promising few. Minutes passed…they sat opposite one another. An hour flew by. Bonnie was lying on the bed, a book extended in her outstretched hands, but her eyes were closed. Charity sat with her shoulders straight, legs crossed as she looked at the book in front of her. She shut it suddenly and stood up. Bonnie moaned and turned over.

“I can’t stop thinking about the flight,” confessed Charity, sitting on Bonnie’s bed. Bonnie looked up at her.

“Neither can I,” she admitted, “I’ve never felt anything so exhilarating ~ I felt like singing –"
“And dancing,” added Charity.
“And screaming-"
“And crying-"
“And like the whole world was mine,” finished Bonnie. Charity looked at her.
“Almost as good as sailing?” she asked. Bonnie thought.
“Almost. Not quite. But almost,” she said. She sat up and looked at the book in her hand. “Hey, what’s this?” she said, almost to herself.

Charity leaned toward her and read over her shoulder. As they read, their eyes grew wider and they stood up and looked at each other. They said at the same time, “Mind control!” They jumped up and down then looked back in the book to see what else it said.

“The Delkanis Stone is a magical emerald that casts light where there is none and enables the possessor to have control of all minds within the area,” Bonnie read out loud, “It was found in--” Bonnie trailed off. Charity looked at her eagerly.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” She asked, peeking over her shoulder. Bonnie held up the book. Pages were missing! They both stared at each other for a moment. Then Charity began pacing and Bonnie took out a knife and threw it against the wall. She kept doing that, thinking.

“That book was in pretty bad condition…” Charity said. Bonnie looked at it again. Having a thought, she picked it up and turned to the front page.

“Chair, all we need to do is go to the place we got it from; they’re bound to have another!” she exclaimed. Charity brightened but she watched as Bonnie’s face fell.

“What? What is it?” she said, rushing to her said. She looked at the page. The name of the library was printed there. Charity looked at her and said plainly, “No.”


The boys were sitting down in the captain’s cabin. Will had just been relived of the wheel. He was talking to Render, who had just gotten back from a nice long flight on Ancalagon when they were interrupted by Charity, who came through the door at an alarming pace. Bonnie was right behind her and they were both talking rather loudly at the same time, using exaggerated hand motions and gestures.

“No. No, no, no, no, no!” Charity was saying.

“Please, please, please, please, please?” Bonnie asked. “Come on Chair! Will, tell her she has to go!”

“What’s going on?” He asked.

“Never mind. Will, how long will the food we have last?” Bonnie continued, still following Charity, who was talking to anything that would listen.

“About … three days,” he replied, but he was just as clueless as Render.

“See, Chair, this is the only way!” Bonnie said, “Isla de Murtagh will take a week at least and there’s a storm coming! We have to stop there! It’s close and we need that book! Chair, look at me!” Charity stopped and glared at her. Bonnie stared into her friend’s face. Charity stared back. “Please?” Silence.

“Fine,” she said, “But there’s nothing on this earth that can make me get off this ship to see him.” Bonnie hugged her friend, ran out the door, and changed the course of the wheel. Render and Will looked at Charity expectantly. Will raised an eyebrow. Charity watched as the door closed behind Bonnie. She turned slowly to face them. By this time a slow smile was spreading over Will’s face. She looked at Render and said, through clenched teeth, “Render Moonarrow, get ready to meet my brother.”

Charity spent the next two days in her room, reading. By lunchtime on the third day Render and Will had ended up on kitchen duty together. Render levitated the bread, magically cut it with a knife, and let the pieces gently down on a large platter.
“Want to try that with the fish?” asked Will, holding up a large fish. Render shook his head. They started gutting and de-scaling when Bonnie came down the stairs. They looked up briefly and then continued working.

“Some lunch for Charity, please,” she said, grabbing a plate. Will gave her a piece of bread. Render took a piece of fish and quickly cooked it with a small flame he generated that sprung up in the palm of his hand. The cooked meat floated over to the plate and gently settled itself next to the bread. They continued gutting the fish.

“Do you think she’ll eat that much?” asked Will.

“No,” replied Bonnie truthfully.

“Then why are you giving it to her?” Will asked.

“A peace offering,” she said sarcastically, “But don’t worry; if she doesn’t eat it, I will.” She headed up the steps but paused in the doorway. “Render—” she started. He levitated an apple without looking up and it came to rest in her outstretched hand. “Thanks,” she said. She blinked in the sunshine, walked across the deck, then down again into her room. Charity was lying on her bed with her head under her pillow.

“Knock knock,” said Bonnie. Charity moved the pillow away from her face and sat up. “Here. I brought you lunch.” Bonnie set the plate on a table next to the bed and bit into the apple, sitting across from Charity.

“Thanks,” she said, “but I’m not hungry.”

“I though you might say that,” said Bonnie, “But you need energy for today.”

“Bon, I’m not going to port today,” Charity said, staring at the pillow in front of her.

“Come on, Chair! Your own brother!”

“I’m not going. I told you. I haven’t seen him in a year. Last time I saw him we were mad at each other. I’m not going today!”

“No one can hold a grudge for that long,” Bonnie said. Charity shook her head. Bonnie sighed. “At least eat the food, ok?” Charity looked at it. “Render used magic to cook the fish…” she said, trying to get her to eat. Charity smiled and ate it, wondering if it tasted any different.

Later that day Will spotted land. It was an island called Keego, where Charity’s brother worked at an extensive library. Render, Will, and Bonnie waited like the rest of the crew until they could step on land. Just as they were lowering the anchor Charity stepped out of her solitude. Bonnie ran up to her but she shook her head.

“I’m going to keep Ancalagon company,” she said, watching him flying around in the sky. He then slowed and swam in between a few moored ships. “Be careful, ok?” Bonnie nodded and followed the boys onto land. Charity watched them go, her eyes squinting. She sighed. She seemed to have started sighing more often.

Will was excited. He and Charity’s brother were great friends. He chatted unconsciously to Render, who was half-listening and half-reading the minds of people around him, always on guard for danger. Bonnie enjoyed all the sights and business of the port. They easily found the library. It was large, with giant marble pillars. One could easily mistake it for a bank. Inside, all the walls were lined with hundreds of books. In the center was a large desk. At the desk sat a short little man. Bonnie walked up to him.

“We’re looking for a Flint Kidd. Is he here?” she asked. He nodded and opened his mouth, but before he could say anything a short boy a year younger than Will rushed in, carrying a stack of books. He stopped when he saw them there, dropped his books, and opened his mouth wide.

“Will!” he exclaimed. They shook hands. “What are you doing here?”

“We’re looking for a book,” said Bonnie. He looked at her is if just noticing her. Something about his light hair, green eyes, and shortness made Bonnie instantly think of Charity.

“Bon-Bon? He brought you too?” he asked. She rolled her eyes.

“Gee, it’s great to see you too!” she replied, but she smiled.

“This is Render Moonarrow. He’s…not from around here,” said Will. Flint stared for a moment, eying his pointed ears.

“Follow me,” he said quickly, and they jumped to follow him as he led them through a labyrinth of books. They finally came to a small door that they went through although Render had to stoop to get under it. A small table sat in the middle of the room. They crowded around it. Before anyone had said anything, Flint blurted out, “You’re an elf, right?” They all stared. The room was small but it held a few bookcases and a bed in a corner. This must be his room. Render searched his mind as Flint pulled out a book. “This book was written by another elf. I think his name was…Delvin…or Darlen…he wrote of a land called Alagasia. I don’t know if his story is true. I’ve always thought it was a fantasy story…here. Keep it. You might be interested in it.” He handed it to Render, who stared at it. “Now what do you want?” he asked, looking at Bonnie.

She pulled out her book. “Someone tore a page out of this book. The page that we need.” He took the book and turned it over, feeling it and flipping the pages.

“Secrets of the Sea volume 1:Items of Power: Myth or Reality?” he asked. He looked at the torn page, trying to read it. “The Delkanis stone?” he said. Will nodded and pulled it out of his pocket. “Do you think it works?” Flint asked.

“We’ve never tried it,” admitted Will. Flint held out his hand and Will gave him the stone. He stared at it for a moment, turned it over in his hand, and stared at it again. Bonnie frowned as her hand moved against her will and slapped her face. She slapped herself over and over.

“Why are you hitting yourself?” asked Flint, smiling. Bonnie growled. He gave back the stone and closed his eyes. “I have the book. What will you give me for it?”

“Come on, man. Do we have to pay? Consider it a donation,” pleaded Will. Render bent his mind a little.

“Ok,” he agreed. He got up and rummaged in one of the bookcases. Bonnie couldn’t resist.

“So why are you so mad at Charity?” He stood and turned around. His eyes seemed far off, as in trying to remember something. He placed the book on the table absent-mindedly.

“I don’t remember,” he said. Will studied his friend. Render jumped up.

“DUCK!” he yelled. Everyone hit the floor, covering their heads with their hands. A blast of plaster and brick exploded overheard.

“The port is under attack!” yelled Render. He grabbed his book and Bonnie grabbed hers. They all ran out the door, followed Flint through the maze of books, and into the dark streets of the port. It was dusk now, and the ships were framed in the dying light of the sun. Render listened to the thoughts of the people around him. “A ship is attacking…” he said. He frowned and closed his eyes, listening to so many thoughts at once. “They… they have a Captain from one of the other ships…” Will and Bonnie looked at each other, scarcely daring to breathe. “I can’t tell who it is,” he said, his eyes opening.

“Let’s move closer,” said Will. Another cannon blast shook the town. Suddenly, pirates ran out of the alleys and roads behind the shops. Flint winced at the sight of so many dangerous people. They fought their way closer to the ships, Flint still following along.

“What can you hear?” asked Will, turning to Render. He closed his eyes again.

“The pirates…are from the Thunder Sails. I can’t tell which ship. They are searching for something and they…” he paused and opened his eyes. “They have Charity.” Flint’s jaw dropped. Will’s throat constricted and he couldn’t breathe.

Bonnie yelled, “Nooooooo!!!!”

~ Captain Bonnie Spinner
Visit Render’s site for the next part! Btw, Sorry Render that I took so long. I'm REALLY sorry I was an hour late. I have no excuses. Sorry.

Next Chapter is "Searching". Click here and scroll till you see it.