Read Online Kendra Kandlestar and the Shard From Greeve by Lee Edward Födi - Free Book Online Page B

captured. And the next thing you know, we’re both in Queen Krake’s dungeons. That’s where I finally told him the truth: that you had the shard. But that just made him act more wild and crazy.”
    Kendra was now crying freely; she had to use the corner of a bed sheet to wipe away her tears. “He should be looking for me. Not some stupid cauldron.”
    “I-I’m sorry, Kendra,” Effryn stuttered. “I wish it were different. I wish he was your brother again.”
    “He’s still my brother!” Kendra retorted. “Just because he’s an Unger doesn’t change anything. I’m going to have to rescue him, as usual! How do I get to this dungeon?”
    “You can’t just waltz into Krake Castle!” Effryn exclaimed.
    “You managed to escape,” Kendra said.
    “Sheer luck, sure as you’re shorn.”
    “Just tell me how to get there,” Kendra persisted.
    “There’s no warning you, is there?” he said after a moment.
    Kendra glared at him.
    Effryn sighed. “You’d have to cross the Fengir Forest to reach the Seas of Ire. There’s a Gnome town there—Ireshook. It’s a sailor town, rough and ready. But from there you might find a ship to take you cross the water.”
    “Thank you,” Kendra said.
    “Listen, Kendra,” Effryn bleated, “I have to go. I stashed my magic caravan just before I was captured, but now that I’ve got it again I have to hightail it out of here. For all I know, those beasties have discovered my empty cell and are hot on my hooves. I can’t stop you from going to Krake Castle, but whatever you do, keep that shard safe. The whole world seems to be fighting and murdering for it.”
    Then the Faun’s picture faded and Kendra was left staring at her reflection. With a tug of a braid, she rose and returned the mirror to her shelf. And there she found her eyes irresistibly drawn to the crumpled bit of paper where the shard lay. Carefully, she picked up the tiny bundle and unwrapped the paper to gaze upon the piece of stone. It looked so worthless, so unimportant.
    Slowly, she reached out and ran her finger lightly across the surface of the shard—and at once, a burst of energy rushed through her arm and into her chest. Her heart thumped so fast that for a moment she thought it would leap from her chest, like a beast finally freed from its cage. The surge of power was so great that it came with an explosive roar, a thunderous boom, shaking the entire house. Quickly, Kendra tossed the shard away; it landed with a dull thud in the corner of the room.
    Trembling and dizzied, she collapsed to her bed. Her body was still pulsing and tingling, from the heels of her feet to the tips of her long braids. It was an overwhelming but strangely exhilarating feeling. For just the slightest of moments, she had felt so . . . powerful. And even though a part of her was frightened of the shard, another part of her wanted to hold it again, to once again experience its potent energy.
    This is what magic should feel like , she thought.
    She shook her head, trying to clear her mind. How could the shard grant her such instant magic when she struggled so earnestly with her Eenwood? Had the whole house really shook or had she just imagined it?
    She had not, for at that moment, Jinx came bursting through her door. The tiny grasshopper was holding a poker she had taken from the fireplace, wielding it like a weapon. Timidly taking up the rear was little Oki.
    “What’s going on?” Jinx demanded.
    “It felt like an earthquake!” Oki squeaked.
    “An earthquake that came from here ,” Jinx added.
    “It’s . . . okay,” Kendra stammered. “It must have been the . . . mirror, the maiden’s mirror that Effryn gave me. You know these magic things.”
    The lie stung as soon as it left her lips, but for a reason she couldn’t quite explain, she didn’t tell them about the shard. Quickly, she began spilling forth the whole story about her contact with Effryn. She told them how the missing shard had caused a fracture