“LOOK OUT!” MILLIE SHOUTED, leaping on top of Laura and pulling her to the ground. The creature pounced and soared over Laura and Millie, its needle-sharp claws narrowly missing their heads. It came crashing down into the produce stand.
“Rotslobber!” the fruit seller screamed. He ran away as fast as he could, waving his arms in the air.
Laura and Millie scooted away in a panic, but they barely made it a few feet before their backs were up against a clay wall. They watched in horror as the rotslobber chomped into a ripe yellow grapefruit. As soon as its black fangs pierced the skin, the grapefruit instantly turned moldy and shriveled. The rotslobber devoured the putrid grapefruit with a disturbing snarl. Black drool rained down from its mouth, turning everything it touched rotten. Within moments, what had once been a bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables was now a graveyard of spoiled food, covered in flies. The rotslobber ravaged it with glee.
The town square was deserted now, except for Laura and Millie.
“Why did we ever leave Hillview?” Millie whimpered.
“We have to make a run for it,” said Laura. She grabbed Millie’s hand. “Now!”
They pushed themselves up, but as soon as they were on their feet, the rotslobber whipped its head around and let out a long, low growl.
“Good doggie,” Millie squeaked.
It leaped down from the stand and stalked around them in a half circle.
At first Laura thought it was staring her right in the eyes, but then she realized it was actually staring at her hair. Laura touched her head. The bandanna was gone—it must have fallen off when Millie tackled her. The rotslobber’s eyes fixated on her green lock. It bared its black fangs. And then charged.
Millie and Laura were too scared to even scream. The rotslobber was inches away from them when suddenly someone jumped onto its back, sending it off course.
It was the boy with the green and violet eyes.
The boy and the rotslobber hit the ground and rolled across the square. The beast snapped its jaws at the boy’s neck, but he slipped out from under it just in time and sprang to his feet.
“Is that all you’ve got?” the boy shouted, trying to catch his breath.
The rotslobber licked its lips.
The boy backed away until he bumped up against the musical instrument cart. Without taking his eyes off the creature, he reached out and grabbed the neck of a wooden guitar. He held it above his head.
“Tier’e,” he shouted.
The guitar burst into flames as if it had been lit with an invisible match.
Laura and Millie turned to each other and gasped.
The boy swung the flaming guitar at the rotslobber, but it was undeterred. It ran toward him. He swung the guitar again, this time connecting with the side of the creature’s body. The smell of singed fur filled the air. The rotslobber let out a loud, angry howl that echoed through the square. Then it turned and ran away into the hills.
The boy dropped the guitar, and the crackling flames died down.
He ran over to Laura and Millie.
“Please don’t hurt us!” said Millie, holding out her rucksack. “Take anything you want! It’s mostly filled with gray pears.”
The boy crouched down. He picked Laura’s bandanna up from the ground and handed it to her.
Laura blinked in surprise. “Thank you.”
Now that the rotslobber was gone, the townspeople were returning to the square. Laura noticed them giving her suspicious, unfriendly looks.
“You should get out of here,” said the boy, his eyes flickering toward the crowd. “Follow me.” He took off down a narrow alleyway.
Laura began to run after him. Millie grabbed her arm. “What are you doing? You trust him?”
“He saved our lives,” said Laura. “And besides, he might know something about Bloato. I don’t think anyone else is going to help us.”
Millie eyed the townspeople, who were pointing at them and whispering. “Okay. Let’s go.”
Laura and Millie followed the boy through a labyrinth of alleyways until they reached a one-room clay house with boards over the windows and the door. The boy wiggled a board loose from the front window. He climbed inside the house and gestured for them to join him. Once they crawled inside, the boy replaced the board so that no one would be able to see in.
He reached out his hand, which was stained with black soot. “I’m Quin.”
Laura and Millie introduced themselves.
The house was dark and drafty, the only light coming from the narrow slats in the boards. It was filled with strange objects—piles of old shoes, none of which seemed to match. Stacks of books with the pages folded as if Quin had read only part of each one. There was a coat that was definitely too big for him. And in the corner was a small straw bed covered by a threadbare blanket.
“Thank you for saving us from that—whatever that was,” said Laura.
“Demon dog!” Millie cried.
“Rotslobber. From the Putrid Forest,” said Quin.
“Where the Hexors live?” asked Millie.
Quin nodded. “The rotslobbers used to be trapped there just like the Hexors, but now they roam free.”
“What happened?” asked Laura.
“Funny question coming from a Lysor. You’re the ones who abandoned us.”
“Abandoned you?”
“When you took the Crystal Crown all for yourselves and disappeared.”
Laura was flabbergasted. “Is that what you think?”
He put his hands on his hips. “That’s what everyone thinks. That’s why I had to get you out of the square. Lysors aren’t exactly welcome here.”
Laura thought for a moment, taking this all in. “So why did you help us?”
“I think people should be judged for who they are, not what they are,” said Quin, his green and violet eyes glowing in the dim light.
Laura took a step forward. “What are you?”
Quin dug through a pile of junk and pulled out a lumpy black candle. He set it on a table next to a wooden carving of an owl. “I’m a small mage. Lysors and Hexors have control over all of the elements. Regular people have control over—well, nothing. They can barely control their own tempers. Small mages, we’re stuck in the middle. We can harness the power of a single element.” He looked down at his hand. “In my case, tier’e.” He flicked his thumb and forefinger, and a spark shot out, igniting the candlewick. The room brightened with yellow light.
“Fire,” Millie whispered.
Laura knelt down in front of the candle and stared at the lumpy black wax. She’d never seen anything like it.
“That’s a goblin wax candle,” said Quin. “They’re really rare.”
“Where did you get it?” asked Laura.
Millie said under her breath, “He probably stole it.”
“Millie!” Laura said through gritted teeth.
“It’s okay,” said Quin, his gaze dropping to the ground. “Everyone thinks that.” He looked at Millie. “I bet you think I stole everything in here.”
Millie didn’t know what to say.
“If you want to know the truth, I didn’t. Just because I couldn’t pay for any of this doesn’t mean I stole it. I collect what no one else wants, the stuff that gets left behind. Sometimes I keep it, sometimes I swap it. A while back, a trader passed through the market selling rare artifacts from all over the world. I gave him a gemstone I found in the hills, and in return, he gave me this goblin wax candle. It smells kind of weird, but it keeps the place nice and bright.”
Millie took a step closer to him. “I shouldn’t have said that. It’s just, I’ve never been away from home and—well—things are different here, and—I’m sorry.”
Quin’s face softened. “Don’t worry about it. I’m used to it. I’ve got to ask…Nobody’s seen a Lysor in years, then you two show up in the Dead End to—what? Buy fruit?”
“We’re looking for someone,” said Laura.
“Oh, I can help with that!” said Quin with enthusiasm. “I’ve lived in the Dead End my whole life. I know everyone around here.”
“Do you know someone named Bloato?” Laura asked.
Quin cocked his head. “No. I’ve never heard that name before.”
But Laura pressed on. “Are you sure?”
“Positive,” said Quin. “There’s no Bloato here.”
Laura felt a twinge of disappointment. She pushed herself to her feet. “If Bloato isn’t here, we have to keep moving. We’ll go to the next town.” She extended her hand to Quin. “Thanks for helping us back there.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” said Quin. “The next town? We’re in the middle of nowhere. That’s why it’s called the Dead End. It’ll take days to get anywhere on foot. And the road is dangerous.” He looked down at their flimsy sandals. “Plus, you don’t exactly look like you spend a lot of time roughing it in the woods. No offense.”
“What are we going to do?” Millie cried, throwing her hands in the air. “We already spent half the day getting here.”
Laura paced back and forth. “What we need is a horse.”
Quin’s eyes lit up. “I can help get you a horse!” he blurted out. “I mean, not a horse exactly, but…well, you’ll see.”
Quin led Laura and Millie to the other side of the village, the area farthest away from the hills. They reached a long dirt road with a single house at the end. It was covered in such thick green ivy that the clay walls were barely visible. There was an expansive front yard full of giant shrubs carved into odd shapes.
They walked up the road, Quin in front and Laura just behind him. Millie was several paces back, looking around suspiciously. “Where are we?” she asked.
“Hobbly Knobbly’s,” said Quin.
Millie caught Laura’s eye and mouthed, “Who?”
They reached the front yard. Laura looked closely at the carved bushes crowding the grounds. They looked like animals, but not animals Laura had ever seen before. One sort of resembled a bird, but it had hooves like a cow. Another could have been a snake except for its piglike snout. When a breeze blew by, the plant sculptures almost seemed to move.
Quin pressed his nose to one of the windows of the house. “Hello?” he called out. There was no answer. “Follow me,” he said.
He led Laura and Millie behind the house to a big wooden barn with a pitched roof. Quin pushed the door open. It creaked loudly. A thick musty odor filled their nostrils. There was a row of stables with locked doors hiding the animals inside. Strange, unsettling noises came from behind the doors.
Quin grinned. “Wait till you see this….”
But as soon as he took a step into the barn, a heavy burlap sack flew down over his head and shoulders, trapping him.
“Gotcha!”
