Free Kendra Kandlestar and the Shard From Greeve by Lee Edward Födi

amongst the monsters, but she left out the important part—that she herself was in possession of the stone. Somehow, this urgent telling helped soothe her untruth, as if she could bury it beneath an avalanche of words.
    When the tale was done, Jinx leaned heavily on her poker and sighed. “Well, there goes my night’s sleep. I think we ought to—,”
    She was interrupted by a loud clang from downstairs.
    “EEK!” Oki screeched, scrambling under Kendra’s bed. “Don’t think of pickles!”
    “Shh!” Jinx hissed. “I keep telling you—baddies don’t announce themselves.”
    Kendra coaxed the mouse out from beneath the bed, and together, the three friends crept down the stairs.
    To Kendra’s surprise, someone was waiting for them in the kitchen, standing next to the fireplace. At the mere sight of this figure, Oki squealed with fright—for he looked all too similar to Leerlin Lurk. He was hunched and crooked and wore a heavy, hooded cloak that completely hid his face; the only difference was that this stranger was shorter; this at least made him seem a little less threatening than the vile Agent Lurk.
    “Who are you?” Jinx demanded, brandishing her poker.
    “And how did you get in my house?” Kendra added, for she could see that the door was still securely locked.
    But the mysterious visitor ignored her question. “They have heard your magic,” he said gravely. “And they are coming for you.”



KENDRA DID NOT NEED TO ASK who “they” were. She knew that the mysterious figure standing in her kitchen was referring to Burdock’s men. A shiver went down the girl’s back, and she gave one of her braids an apprehensive tug.
    “I’m not going to ask you again,” Jinx snarled at the stranger. “Who are you?”
    “I’m a friend,” the stranger rasped, not cowering in the slightest before the grasshopper’s weapon. “Something which you are in short supply of these days, I might add!”
    “Are—are you sure they heard it?” Kendra asked the stranger. “The magic, I mean.”
    “Yes,” the stranger returned brusquely. “Listen—we have no time. Quickly, girl! Get out of your nightdress and into some proper clothes. All of you! Collect your things; just the essentials. We have but a few scant minutes.”
    “Eek!” Oki cried. “Where are we going?”
    “Somewhere safe,” the stranger said, turning to glance out the nearest window.
    “We’re not going anywhere with you,” Jinx declared.
    “There’s no time for this!” the man growled, whirling back around. Kendra found something strangely familiar about his voice, for it commanded a certain tone that immediately silenced Jinx—and that was a rare trick indeed. “Now listen! You can either trust me or wait here for Captain Rinkle and his men. It’s your choice, but I advise you to decide quickly. I shan’t be waiting.”
    “They can’t just bust in,” Kendra spoke up. “Maybe we can put a spell on the door and—,”
    “That won’t stop them,” the stranger said. “Not for long, in any case. NOW GO!”
    When one is in doubt (as surely Kendra and her friends were) there is nothing more convincing than a commanding voice. And so, without another second wasted, the Een girl and her friends dashed about the house to satisfy the stranger’s instructions. Kendra had no idea where they were headed—or for how long—but she was experienced enough to know how to pack for an unexpected adventure. Back in her room, she quickly threw together a few important belongings. She needed her canteen, her boots, her cloak, and a few other odds and ends. She tucked her wand into her belt, and into her pouch she put Ratchet’s enchanted powders, which she had confiscated from Oki earlier that evening. Kendra cast her eyes frantically about her room. What else should she take? She certainly couldn’t leave behind the maiden’s mirror or the silver vial with the whisper of the magic curtain, so these went into her pack as well. There was room