Free Kendra Kandlestar and the Crack in Kazah by Lee Edward Födi Page A

Woodsong.
    “No!” the girl blurted. “Don’t listen to him! Burdock is the one who cheated!”
    “What!?” Burdock growled, his one eyebrow twitching. “My dear, you’re just upset because you lost.”
    Gayla whirled around and glared at him, a look that could stop a giant in its tracks. “I’m not your dear,” she snapped.
    The frenzied conversation from the crowd grew louder; Winter had to bang her staff against the stage to quiet them.
    “Young Griffinskitch,” she said. “It is a serious affair to accuse a wizard of Een.”

     

    “But he’s accusing Master Ringtail,” Gayla protested.
    “That is Master Burdock to you,” Winter declared. “And he is an equal of Master Ringtail.”
    “A wrong is a wrong,” Gayla said. “No matter who commits it.”
    “Indeed,” Winter said (though not unkindly, in Kendra’s opinion). “So we shall let the elders decide this matter, in the privacy of the Elder Stone.”
    “No!” Gayla exclaimed, grasping Winter’s wrist. “I’m telling you, Roompa won fair and square. Burdock is the liar and cheat!”
    “ENOUGH!”
    It was Uncle Griffinskitch. All this time Kendra had been tugging furiously on her braids, her eyes locked on Gayla, but now she turned to see her uncle bustling through the crowd. His ears were burning red with rage.
    “Eek!” Oki squealed, tightly clutching Kendra’s sleeve. “This is all my fault! Oh, why did I tell Gayla to join the match?”
    Uncle Griffinskitch quickly took to the platform and Kendra suddenly realized just how strong and imposing he looked. He hadn’t bothered to costume himself at all for Jamboreen, and his dark grey beard and somber clothes stood in strong contrast to the colors that filled the stage.
    “Gayla!” he growled.
    But the Teenling girl paid him no mind. “Listen,” she pleaded, still clinging to Winter Woodsong. “I’m telling you the truth.”
    “Humph,” Uncle Griffinskitch grunted, grabbing Gayla by the shoulder and pulling her away. “Forgive my sister, Mistress Woodsong. She knows not her place.”
    “If it’s to keep my mouth shut when I see someone doing wrong, then I know it well enough!” Gayla retorted, wrenching free of his grasp.
    Uncle Griffinskitch glared down at her, his nostrils flaring. “You will apologize to Master Burdock.”
    Gayla looked at her brother with an expression of horror painted on her face. Even from afar, Kendra could read the message in Gayla’s eyes. It said: Please don’t make me do this.
    But Uncle Griffinskitch was not about to be defied. Something passed between them. At last, after a long tense moment, Gayla hung her head in defeat.
    “I-I’m sorry, Master Burdock,” she blurted—then before another word could be said, she turned and fled from the stage, tears spilling down her cheeks.
    “I’m going after her,” Kendra told Oki. She lifted her robe to dart through the crowd—but she only made it two steps before a firm hand pulled her to a halt. She looked over her shoulder. Like a lightning bolt, Uncle Griffinskitch had managed to catch her.
    “Let her go,” he said.
    “She’s upset!” Kendra protested.
    “Aye,” Uncle Griffinskitch grunted sadly. “Aren’t we all?”
    Kendra cast a helpless glance in Oki’s direction. “ Shuckleberries, ” he murmured in response. “I guess this Jamboreen is over.”

     
    Kendra and Oki slept in a proper bed that night—but not for long. Uncle Griffinskitch had them up at the crack of dawn, only a few hours after they had gone to sleep.
    “If you’re going to stay in my house, you can earn your keep,” the ornery wizard grunted, as he finished the last of his dandelion tea. “The mousling can accompany me today when I go to the Elder Stone; I must attend the trial of Master Ringtail and I may need someone to run messages for me. Can you do that, mousling?”
    Kendra knew the last thing Oki wanted to do was spend the day with Uncle Griffinskitch, but the little mouse managed to squeak,