The Moonstone (Enchantment Book 1) (22 page)

"Is it just me, or is Jézabel not all there?"

"I know, she seems a little crazy, but when it come to creatures, she knows her stuff. So, Little Miss Curious, are you ready?"

"More than ready, I want to help feed them!"

We walk into a round room with three hallways leading from it.

"Ok, follow me, we'll start with the hall of peaceful creatures. I don't think we'll manage to tour the whole place today, but I can always bring you back another day if you want to see everything. I already fed the diabolical creatures yesterday and Jézabel doesn't want them fed more than once a week in order to preserve their ferocity.”

"Tell me, was the chupacabra a diabolical creature?"

He stops and thinks before answering.

"It is a ferocious creature, somewhere between the peaceful and the diabolical ones."

"Wow! Something tells me I don't want to meet up with the diabolical ones!"

We walk down the left-most hallway and get to what looks like an enclosure. The first creature I see is Jézabel's gorgeous unicorn, the one she showed off at the welcome cocktail party.

"Oh my, she’s magnificent, even more beautiful up close."

"Do you want to pet her? Hold this and she'll come to you."

He takes a handful of marshmallow out of his jacket. Seriously… marshmallows? I don't bother asking the question and grab them to give to her. I put my hand through the fence and the unicorn trots up to me and devours the marshmallows like a horse would with an apple. Her superbly spiraled horn comes through one of the holes in the fence and allows the animal to get closer to me.

"I would let you in, she seems to like you, but Jézabel wouldn't be happy about it. In fact, she probably wouldn't be happy knowing that you’re here today, but at this hour she's probably gone to have supper with her sister and won't be back until ten o'clock."

"Where did she find her unicorn? Are there others?"

"In fact, it's one of the only animals here that can also be found in large numbers in the wild. The only reason humans aren't aware of them is that they’re only raised on the island of Atlantis."

"Yes, Flicka told me that her parents have a project there. So the stories about Atlantis are real?'

"Sort of… it's the enchanter's capital city, the place where our leaders live and you need special permission to go there. Only the highest-ranking enchanters or those who can bring substantial contributions to the community are allowed access to it. I've heard it's wonderful. Bethany has permission to go there, but she's not allowed to bring me with her. The secret is held by six powerful masters of illusion and they’re somewhere in the area of the Bermuda Triangle. Only those who receive a golden ring that is matched to their genetic code can get through the mirage. But there have been a couple of security breaches through history and that's why a few boats have disappeared.  They've been caught between two mirages."

"So, that's where Jézabel bought her unicorns?"

"Jézabel doesn't have permission to go there. The council wouldn't let her have a golden ring because she's not in her right mind. Bethany brought the unicorn back to cheer her up. The masters of illusion created special rings that they put on the unicorn's horn. The horn vanishes and all that people see is a magnificent white horse."

"Bethany must really love her sister, then."

"I don't know if she loves her, but I think that Bethany is afraid of ending up alone. Would you like to see the other creatures, Little Miss Curious?"

"Oh, yes please!"

The air in the cave is humid and close, and when combined with the smell of the creatures, I find it hard to breathe. But I don't get an offer like this every day, and the eagerness to see the other inhabitants of the zoo outweighs my sensitivity to the stench. Zach brings me over to an enclosure where I see an incredible black winged stallion standing proudly.

"Is this Pegasus, the mythical winged horse?” I ask, flabbergasted at what I think I’m seeing.

"Not at all, Lou. Pegasus is pure white and even more impressive than this one. My friend who’s a magician in Vegas owns him; maybe one of these days I'll take you to see it. This horse is Lord Black's."

Ok, so he's decided to follow me everywhere I go... I can't help but shiver when I look at this magnificent black horse, a fitting match for its owner, and just as mysterious. The animal walks over to the enclosure, putting its forehead up against the rusty metal and staring at me as if he could read into my soul. I reach out to pet him, but he whinnies and backs up a few paces. He paws the ground with his hooves and sparks fly out, followed by shooting flames and then his mane bursts into flames while his eyes turn lava red. The scene is right out of a horror movie; he seems possessed.

"Don't worry, Lou, he's wild like his owner. I don't know how Black got ahold of him, but he’s one of the four horses of Hades. In fact, I think it's the last one in existence," he says while switching on a small, lit sign on the wall that immediately releases a gentle music. The melody isn't familiar to me, but in an instant, I feel relaxed and completely Zen.

"It's a recording Black asked us to play whenever his horse gets upset. I'm not sure how, but it seems to work pretty well. It's almost as if the music hypnotizes him."

I feel as if it’s hypnotizing me as well. In a couple of seconds the horse stops its frantic stamping, its mane returns to its natural color and its dark eyes no longer glow with rage.

"So, Black is a composer, too?"

"Could be, I'm not sure, it's not my style."

Zach opens a wooden box and puts bales of hay into the unicorn and stallion's pens.

"They eat hay?" I ask, surprised.

Zach looks at me with amusement.

"These are horses after all, even if they have horns or wings."

"I guess it's only logical," I say, reaching out to help him feed the two fascinating beasts.

"Let's continue our tour, then. Come on; follow me! I'll show you Jézabel's favorite specimen in the whole collection."

We walk towards a cage that is in the darkest corner of the chamber. I can't believe my eyes: inside, a large sad-looking, white-haired monkey hangs there, staring off into space.

"Lou, I present you Yeti, the last of his species. Jézabel hunted him for a long time, more than fifty years, in fact. She finally managed to catch him about five years ago, with the help of her team, of course."

I approach the creature until I’m only a foot from the bars. The beast turns his head slowly to look at me; I hear a sigh and can tell by his glassy stare that he’s sad. It's at that very moment that I realize the true horror of what’s happening underneath this mountain. I can see by the way this being holds himself that he retains a certain intelligence, and I can only imagine his desperation at being stolen from his natural environment and forced into this isolated cage.

I turn to Zach, my eyes welling up with empathy for this poor beast.

"How can she keep a living being in here against his will? There's no window, no way to get outside, no snow for him. What a terrible thing to have been imprisoned just because he’s the last survivor of his race."

Zach looks at the ground, rubs his shoe into the dirt in contemplation and then takes a deep breath. He then strides over to me, putting his hands on my shoulders forcefully:

"You’re incredible, Lou, you’re unique: no enchanter can express empathy the way you do. Are you sure you’re one of them? I feel like you, that this is a cruel way to treat them. In fact, that's why I'm here. I can't let them escape, but I can take care of them."

"Zach, if you do nothing, what will happen to them? We have to find a solution, we can't leave them like this!"

"Believe me, Lou, I've been trying to come up with an answer for a while. I'm just waiting for the right moment and if you’re with me on this, I'll let you know when the time comes. Until then, it's best not to act suspiciously. Come on, let's continue the tour."

I’m thoroughly disheartened by what I’ve just witnessed. I turn back to the Yeti who’s now reaching his hand out through the bars and I can't help but put mine into his as if to comfort him. He wraps his hand around mine as if it were a small butterfly he’s afraid to crush. I look into his eyes, and I might be crazy, but I think I see a glimmer of hope.

"That's incredible! I've never seen him approach anybody; I always leave his treat on the ground for him since he's always more or less catatonic. It took me months before I actually saw him take something I left for him. I tried everything until I finally found the right bait for him."

He hands me a Popsicle, the same kind I ate as a child. I carefully pass it through the bars and my new friend takes it from me.

He polishes it off almost instantly, never letting go of my other hand.

"Zach, this Yeti is Himalayan, isn't he?"

"Yes, why?"

"He needs cold and snow, it might be cool in here, but it's far from his natural habitat."

Zach thinks for a moment, then quickly exits the hallway after signaling for me to wait there. The Yeti holds my hand, more firmly now, and pulls me so that I’m now pressed up against the metal bars. He puts his other arm out through the bars and gently caresses my cheek with the back of his hand. Anyone might have been frightened by the gesture of this gigantic creature, but his movements are so slow and gentle that I can't help but feel sorrow for this large furry gentleman. Zach returns with a large wooden cask and dumps the contents quickly onto the floor of the cage.

"Crushed ice! Great idea!"

"I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner! We always have some in the freezer to preserve the fish."

We look into the cage, thrilled to see the Yeti go down on all fours and roll in the ice, once in a while letting out a small whimper of pleasure. In the next couple of minutes, Zach and I bring more ice in the hopes that the effect will last longer. On our last trip, we find the Yeti curled up and sound asleep and with a smile on his lips.

Zach and I can't help but smile. I suddenly understand how much the two of us have in common and I know that I’ll never have a friend as good as him.

"Ok Zach, show me the other inmates and let's figure out how we can help them."

"Let me show you Yeti's distant cousin."

We go down another hallway to yet another cage, but this time, it’s made of wood. I can't believe my eyes, but here, for the first time, I see Bigfoot!

"This isn't the last specimen of his kind...in fact there are others in Canada's northern forests; they're well adapted. I call this guy Harry."

"Like in the movie Harry and the Hendersons?" I ask, always the movie lover.

"Exactly! You never cease to amaze me, and I'm hard to impress. Yes, Harry is my favorite. We're buddies. Actually, he probably only loves me for the chocolate I bring him, he's a big fan of chocolate macaroons."

Zach takes one out of his pocket and Harry holds out both hands through the slats in the wooden cage. He lets out a few ape-like sounds, but he is, after all, over seven feet tall and his face has more human traits than an ordinary monkey.

"Do you want to give it to him?"

I take the bag, happy to oblige. Bigfoot signals for me to get closer and then points to the palm of his hand, gently tapping it. I offer him a generous handful of macaroons that he swallows in a single bite before offering me a big smile, if only slightly gap-toothed. He reaches through the slats and delicately takes one of my braids in his furry paw. I move closer to the cage and he smells my hair intensely. Harry seems to be less depressed than the poor Yeti, but I imagine he must really miss the immense forests of Canada. There’s a sudden sound of banging metal and grunting happening in the distance.

"What's that?" I ask, intrigued though Zach doesn't seem concerned.

"Oh, it's my three trouble-makers who are looking for attention. Follow me, but stay back a bit, they don't do well with strangers," Zach walks down another hall and I stay where I am. I can see him, but not those who he’s talking to.

"Hey guys, we have a visitor today, so calm down. I brought your favorite treat with me… I said settle down!"

He waves at them with his hand, but whoever is in the cage throws out metal bowls full of a viscous liquid through the bars of the cage, making contact with Zach's face.

"Enough of that! Guys, I brought juicy larvae fresh from the garden for you, but now you're going to have to settle for dried maggots."

I hear some groaning by way of complaint, but then Zach returns to me.

"I'll be right back, I have to go and clean myself up. I can't believe them. I do so much for them, and that's how they return the favor. Don't get too close to them, although I think they've already used up their projectiles. You should be safe."

He leaves me there, now even more curious. I walk closer, running my hands along the bars of the cage. When I get close to the den of small troublesome creatures, I see something altogether unexpected. In front of me, three tiny strange-looking men are wrestling, probably arguing about the feast of larvae that their behavior has lost them. They seem to be talking to each other, but I can't make out a word. None of the three have noticed me approaching, so I take my time to watch them from a discreet distance. Not one of them is over a foot tall. Their furry ears end in sharp points and their backs are slightly bent and hunchbacked. Their legs are thin and wiry in contrast to their chubby bellies. They are dressed in beige sweaters… at least I think they’re beige. It's hard to tell because they seem to be covered in mud. They’re also wearing small overalls held up by suspenders. Their feet, too long by far for their height, add to their ridiculous looks.