Read Online Mountain of Fire by Radhika Puri - Free Book Online Page A

now.”
    â€œLeave! So the Tapak Bisu did not work!” Agus cried out.
    â€œLet’s hope it did and the mountain is quiet and safe again. But for now, we must leave,” he said. “When we come back, the two of you can decide whether you should continue working with the mountain.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?” asked Fitri, puzzled.
    â€œSometimes the Merapi decides who the Guardian, the Spirit Keeper, should be. You are an intelligent girl, you do well at school. You understand the world of science. Your brother already knows many things about the Merapi. He likes the mountain. He knows it and understands it too. Together, you two could take my place. The rest is up to you. You will have to control your temper though. We can’t have the Spirit Keepers of the Merapi throw people into anthills and set monkeys on them,” the old man said, his eyes twinkling.
    The two children stared at each other. Had they heard Mbah correctly? Did he just say that they could be the Spirit Keepers of the Merapi?
    Fitri shifted her feet uncomfortably. Was there anything this man did not know?
    He wagged his finger at them and said, “We are going home. No more wandering around in the middle of the night. I have to tend to some police business.”
    Dazed, tired and a bit numb from the day’s events, the two children followed Pak Eko back home. As they straggled into the village, the first stirrings of panic began to hit Fitri. The two of them had broken all kinds of rules: left the house at night without permission, followed villagers on the Tapak Bisu, and basically got captured by a stranger. What will their parents say?

    Groups of people were waiting around shop stalls, sitting on wooden benches sipping hot cups of coffee, waiting for Pak Eko to return from the ceremony. Lights came on in many darkened homes and a shimmer of anxiety went around the village.
    â€œPak Eko has returned from the Tapak Bisu.”
    But no one was prepared for the sight of the old man coming down the mountain and entering the town square along with two very dirty children in tow, close to 3am in the morning. Ibu, who was waiting with Ayah in the town square, yelped in shock when she saw her two children.
    Pak Eko walked in and presented the children. “They have something to tell you.”
    They told their parents and the villagers everything. How Agus had found the secret kingdom and how Fitri had put two and two together from the pamphlet. But she left out everything about the dreams, the bit about being Spirit Keepers, and what Taufan had said about their grandmother. That was a private conversation for her parents.
    When they got to the part where Taufan had threatened the children, Ibu gave out a loud cry and hid her face in her hands, crying softly. Ayah, ashen-faced, reached out and clutched someone’s shoulder as if he suddenly needed help standing.
    â€œWhere is this man now? This Taufan,” asked one of the villagers.
    â€œThe polisi is looking for him. He can’t go far. He has been hurt in the avalanche,” Pak Eko spoke up. “The village is safe from him... but not from the Merapi.”
    Instant chatter broke out from the group. The old man lifted his hands, asking for silence. He still had an important announcement to make. “We have paid our respects to the Merapi but it is time to listen to the government. We must evacuate the village and let the Merapi calm down.”
    Pak Irlandy got into such a tizzy when he heard that they had to leave the village that he had a coughing fit and had to be carried home.
    â€œBut what about the kingdom? And the treasure?” asked another villager.
    â€œThere is nothing we can do about that now. These children know the location and it will still be there when we return – we can hope. We leave in the morning.” Pak Eko dismissed the group.
    As the people slowly scattered and went back to their homes, an exhausted Fitri