Fallen Thief Read online

  Stay safe,

  Tonttu

  As soon as she finished reading the letter aloud for the others, they began speaking over each other.

  “He’s in Ivaldia!” Kay exclaimed, wide-eyed.

  “Ivaldia’s supposed to be the most beautiful place in the world!” Peter said. He walked over to Mira and beamed at the letter over her shoulder. “The things we saw in Tonttu’s Den and in his shop—they’re nothing compared to what’s supposed to be hidden in the underground city. Imagine: miles and miles of secret tunnels filled with enchanted treasures, all underneath our feet! Oh, I’d trade all my puppets for a chance to go there.”

  “I think Tonttu would let you keep your precious puppets if he ever takes you,” Kay said, rolling his eyes.

  Peter opened his mouth to retort, but Mira cut in.

  “Drop it. There are more important things going on. If they’ve got all those enchanted treasures underground, looking there for a cure for everlock sleep could be promising!”

  “The gnomes have powers that we’ve never heard of,” Peter agreed. “Maybe one of their enchantments will do the trick.”

  “I wonder what he’s been finding out about merrows,” Mira said, rereading the letter. “That has to be what he meant when he mentioned the other world under the surface.”

  “And the bit about saying his name in the ‘depths of the earth,’” Peter said as he pointed at Tonttu’s words. “What’s that about?”

  “Sounds like we have to dig a hole in the ground and call out his name,” Kay said. “Maybe he’ll pop out like a gopher.”

  Peter scoffed, but Mira was struck by an idea.

  “‘The deeper, the better,’” she reread aloud. “I think you’re right, Kay! And I know just the place we can go.”

  She jumped up, tucked the letter into her pocket, and ran out of the room. Peter and Kay scrambled after her, asking her where she was going, but Mira only ran faster out the door and down the street.

  The thought of finally speaking to the old gnome who had once trained and protected her was too enticing to waste time explaining. She ran all the way down to the farmlands, where there was an old wishing well right off the road that no one used anymore.

  Panting, she leaned over the side of the circular stone wall and smiled when she couldn’t see the bottom of it. She turned to the others when they caught up to her.

  “This might be deep enough.”

  “You think we’ll be able to talk to Tonttu through that?” Peter wheezed.

  “You’re crazy,” Kay said, pushing his hair back from his sweaty forehead.

  “But I know I’m right,” Mira said, unfazed. She could feel it in her heart. With no one else around except for a few grazing cows on the other side of a fence, she took a confident step up to the well and leaned her head over the edge. “Tonttu?”

  Her voice echoed off the walls, but nothing happened.

  “Told you,” Kay said behind her.

  Mira frowned, still peering into the darkness of the well, straining her ears for Tonttu’s voice. This had to be the answer to his riddle. What else could he have possibly meant?

  Doubt crept into her mind. Mira sighed and was about to turn away when she heard a faint crack!

  She held her breath and listened until she felt a tremor go through the stones of the well. She jumped back when the very earth beneath her feet began trembling. The cows looked up from their grazing as Mira, Peter, and Kay backed away.

  A great wind rose out of the well and ruffled their hair. A second later, the trembling stopped, and all was calm.

  “Yes?” said a gravelly voice from the depths of the well.

  “Tonttu!” Mira shouted, and they all ran to the edge.

  “I know that voice,” Tonttu said. “It woke me up one night, not too long ago.”

  Mira cringed, remembering the time she had sent her thoughts to him in desperation. “Sorry—I didn’t think about the time.”

  “We only just got your letter!” Peter said excitedly.

  “Are you really in Ivaldia?” Kay asked.

  “That I am,” Tonttu grunted. “It’s good to hear the chatter of children again, instead of the grumblings of the gnomes I’ve been around. You’re lucky I was alone. The others would not have been happy to find me talking to anyone above ground. You must have found quite a deep hole for me to hear you so clearly.”

  “How’s this possible?” Kay asked in awe.

  “The earth is one, child. No matter where you step, you send vibrations deep into the ground that can be detected from miles away if you’re built to hear them. In the sacred lands of Ivaldia, I am able to send my own voice out anywhere I wish. I only needed a clue as to where to send it—much like you merrows with your thoughts. Now, what news do you have from your side of the kingdom?”

  Mira, Peter, and Kay gave each other one look and then told him about Amara and the fire in a rush. When they finished and assured Tonttu that Appoline hadn’t been badly hurt, he became silent for a moment as they breathlessly waited for his response. Finally, he spoke through the well.

  “So this empress is immortal, is she? This is news, indeed. No ordinary person—landdweller or merrow—has the power to live for hundreds of years. It is against nature for anything to live forever. Even dragons that live for hundreds of years eventually grow old and must die. There is only one way that Amara could live so long: sorcery.”

  “Sorcery?” Peter repeated. “But that sort of thing is only in fairy stories.”

  “Sorcery is the only way a person can become immortal. Even in tales and legends, immortality is nearly impossible to achieve. People have tried to achieve eternal life since before books existed, but they’ve never been able to do it. It tampers with the balance of the world and always comes at a terrible price, as does all sorcery. If the empress is willing to go to the lengths it must take to become immortal, she is a fearsome woman, indeed.”

  “What does it take to be immortal, then?” Mira whispered so quietly she feared Tonttu might not be able to hear her.

  “There is always a trade. Whether it is wealth, health, or even a loved one’s life, you must give something up to be able to use the powers of sorcery—or so the stories say.”

  Mira shuddered. “I hardly think it’s worth all that.”

  “That is why you are still here with your friends and family instead of joining Amara and her merrows.” There was a note of pride in Tonttu’s voice.

  “What is it that you’ve found out about the merrows since you’ve been in Ivaldia?” Peter asked. “Does it have to do with the antidote?”

  “Gnomes are very particular about the people they trust,” Tonttu replied, his voice growing softer. “I have been above ground long enough that I must work hard to assure them of my noble intentions. But I do know this: the gnomes and the merrows were once very close, and I am convinced that my people know more than they are letting on. Not about the antidote, but perhaps with our bigger endeavors.”

  Mira, Peter, and Kay turned to each other with excitement.

  “They can help us defeat Amara,” Kay whispered.

  “Perhaps,” Tonttu said. “I must get on. If I wish to stay on their good side, I can’t let them find me revealing our secrets. Take care, children. You know how to reach me but do it only when absolutely necessary. Goodbye.”

  That night, when the adults were asleep in the bedrooms above, Peter urged Mira and Kay out of the living room. He held out a lamp as they tiptoed down the stairs to the puppet shop.

  “What is it?” Mira asked once he led them to the table in the middle of the room.

  “I couldn’t risk talking where my parents or Miss Byron might hear,” Peter whispered, “but I was thinking about what Tonttu said. Amara can’t be the first person who’s ever used sorcery, right? There are all those fairy stories about it, and most of the people who used it were evil, like her.”

  Peter set down the lamp and pi
cked up one of the marionettes on display. He held it out in front of him on the floor. It was a deer with antlers. He jerked the wooden controllers this way and that, making the deer dance forward and back.

  “Papa and I have put on puppet shows about some of them. This little guy’s a part of ‘The Prince and the Stag.’” He tilted the controllers, and the puppet bowed its head gracefully.

  “I know that one,” Mira said. “The stag’s antlers were magical, and if they were used in the right potion, they’d make a powerful elixir.”

  Peter nodded and held up the marionette. “Which is why the antlers are golden, painted by yours truly.” He grinned widely.

  “So, why are we admiring your masterful work instead of sleeping?” Kay asked, crossing his arms.

  Peter carefully returned the marionette to its stand, his brow knitted.

  “We used to think sorcery wasn’t possible, right?” he said slowly. “Just like people always thought there wasn’t a cure to everlock sleep…”

  “You’re saying we need sorcery to cure everlock sleep?” Kay said, raising his eyebrows. “Got any spellbooks we can use?”

  Peter threw him an exasperated look. “Very funny. I mean that perhaps there’s something in our fairy stories about it! If immortality’s turned out to be real, who knows what else is actually true in those stories?”

  “I think you’re onto something,” Mira said. “Maybe we can find a story about a sorcerer who had the power to cure something like everlock sleep—see if it can be real.”

  Peter nodded vigorously. “We have to think of everything: legends, folk tales, maybe fisherman’s tales—”

  “I guess I know one,” Kay said. He hesitated under Peter’s intense gaze. “It’s a fisherman’s tale about a sea monster that’s been haunting the Ebb Sea since the beginning of time. They call it the Grimmir. Fishing boats that roam too far out towards the ocean disappear completely when they enter its territory. Even ships sometimes never return. Legend says the Grimmir could snap an entire ship in half and that merrows have seen it devour the whole thing with their own eyes.”

  “Did it hunt merrows, too?” Mira asked.

  “Oh, yes,” Kay said, clearly enjoying himself now. Mira clung to his every word, goosebumps rising on her arms. “See, the Grimmir doesn’t only prey on the people who accidentally drift its way. It’s hunted. Legend says the monster once gobbled up a powerful sorcerer. Ever since, its golden horns have magical powers. Some merrows managed to sneak up on it and break off some of the horns they wanted to use to heal the sick in their villages, others were swallowed up whole as soon as they got near the monster. But no human who’s gone searching for it has ever been seen again.”

  “What does it look like?” Peter asked.

  “No one knows for sure since the only landdwellers who’ve seen it have disappeared. But the stories say it’s as dark as the night sky, except for the golden horns on its spine, and moves in a flash. It’s got to be enormous to break a ship in half.” Kay stopped and chuckled at their serious expressions. “Demetrius always told me it’s just a typical tale of warning. ‘Don’t stray too far out to sea, or else the Grimmir’ll get you.’ Probably isn’t real, after all.”

  “Well, it’s the only story we have that’s about magical healing powers,” Peter said. “I just wish there was more of a story to it. It’s not like we can go searching for a deadly monster out in the ocean only knowing that it’s big and hard to find.”

  “Maybe we can find out more about it from your storybooks,” Mira suggested.

  Peter shrugged. “It’s worth a shot. I’ll ask Papa about it, too.”

  “Just so he can yell at you for sticking your nose into dangerous business?” Kay asked skeptically.

  “I won’t tell him what I’m asking for.” Peter looked even more determined than when he practiced archery. “Besides, it’s better than just waiting around for other people to find a cure they don’t even believe exists.”

  Mira couldn’t argue with that.

  Kay nodded. “We need to try. Our parents may not want us getting more involved with the Shadowveils, but who knows when they’ll attack next. Appoline was lucky—everyone says so—but what if next time she isn’t? What if someone else gets hurt?”

  “Yeah, we’d better find a way to wake Alexandra and Aristide up before anything else happens,” Mira agreed.

  “I’m dying to hear what Aristide has to say about everything that’s been going on in secret with the merrows,” Peter whispered with wide eyes. “He must know so much that can help us defeat the Shadowveils, and maybe even Amara. He’s the key we need—I just know it!”

  Mira watched her friend with rising confidence that he was right. She so wished to see Alexandra’s bright and smiling face again, but deep down, she knew that it was Aristide they needed if they ever hoped to live in peace.

  Chapter Four

  The Sorcerer’s Transformation

  W

  hen they arrived at the townhouse a few weeks later, they were surprised to find it looking as good as new. Even the blackened and burned branches on the tree in front of the house had been cut, leaving the rest of it looking green and healthy, though rather short.

  With the piles of wood and buckets of paint finally gone, Mira ran eagerly up the brand-new steps to her mother’s study. She stopped in the doorway, taking in the sight of the once-cluttered room that was now almost completely empty. There were new bookcases, but no books. Fresh paint on the walls, but no framed maps of the solar system. Not to mention Appoline’s beloved clockwork display of the planets…

  Mira sighed and turned to find Kay standing behind her.

  “It’ll take a while to fill that room back up,” Kay said.

  “We’ll need a lot of books,” Mira said dejectedly.

  “Not to mention the endless stacks of parchment covered in confusing notes,” Kay added.

  Appoline didn’t seem the least bit worried, though, when she followed them into the room with a bounce in her step—she hadn’t needed her crutches for a couple of weeks as her ankle was good as new.

  “It’s a new beginning.” She sighed, placing a hand on her hip. “I think this calls for a celebration. I hear the baker has just made a fresh batch of blueberry muffins. Let’s get ourselves a treat and I’ll grab some new parchment at the store on our way back.”

  Things finally seemed to be going back to normal. Mira and Kay were back in their own beds that night, and no one could be happier about it than Kay.

  “I want to sleep in here for a week straight,” he mumbled under his covers.

  Peter appeared at their front door right after Appoline left for work the following day. Mira abandoned her breakfast and hurried over from the dining table at the sound of his frantic knocking. He waved excitedly at her through the living room window as she reached the front door.

  “I knew you’d miss us once we stopped staying at your house, but this is ridiculous,” she said once she had opened the door.

  “I know where we can find out more about the fisherman’s tale!” he gushed, ignoring her remark. He stepped past her and into the living room. “Papa knows someone on the edge of town who’s an expert on every story that ever existed—written or not! I thought we were lost when I couldn’t even find that story in The Golden Book of Tales…”

  “What?” Mira said, flabbergasted. “Where are you going?” she cried out after him as he hurried up the staircase.

  “I’m getting Kay!”

  Good luck getting him out of his bed, she thought.

  After some grumbling and shuffling that Mira could hear even from two floors down, Peter descended the stairs with a smug smile on his lips. A minute later, heavy footsteps thudded on the stairs and Kay appeared, scowling at Peter. Mira giggled at the sight of Kay’s disheveled hair.

  “What’s so important? I was sleeping!”

  “You sleep too much,” Peter said, already making his way to the do
or. Mira silently agreed, but she held her tongue at the murderous look on her brother’s face. Peter continued, “Come on, we have to find this woman Papa told me about. We need to go now, though. Papa wants me to finish making some puppets by the end of the day, so I have to go back before he notices I’m missing.”

  “Oh, you’ll be missing, all right,” Kay muttered.

  Mira rolled her eyes and ushered him out the door after Peter.

  “So who is this woman?” Mira asked as they walked down the street.

  “She’s a storyteller. People call her the Fabler. She knows loads of stories that have been passed down for centuries in her family. Papa used to go to her for new ideas for puppet shows. Even my grandfather used to ask her for advice. Papa said if anyone knows the full story of the Grimmir, it’s her.”

  “Is she the one who used to tell us the ghost stories on the Day of Dreams?” Mira vaguely remembered a strange old woman from her past who often gathered little children around to share tales on their festival days.

  “That’s the Fabler.”

  “She’s a little…” Mira trailed off.

  “Crazy, yes, but it doesn’t mean she can’t tell us the story we’re looking for,” Peter insisted.

  “Sounds promising.” Kay yawned.

  They headed past the wishing well towards the farmlands, where they’d enjoyed the honeysuckle bushes by the fences. Peter pointed at a small cottage that had vegetable gardens on either side of it and a few hens clucking about around a chicken pen in the back. It had little square windows that showed colorful curtains on the other side, some of which were open, most of which were closed.

  “This must be it,” Peter said, squinting at the cottage. “Papa said it’s a colorful house with a spider’s web etched into the front door.” They approached the cottage and stared up at the spider’s web that was carved through the chipping blue paint of the front door, just above a small, circular window.