Summer passed at a crawl.

Although she kept herself busy learning and mastering the spells Chani had “borrowed” from Dame Lizbet, Katie continued to be haunted by the idea that she had botched her only chance of attending Derring-Do University and becoming a hero. Each day brought a new measure of despair, and as the last summer morning dawned over the high fields and wild orchards surrounding her home, Katie’s hopes faded with the shadows and evaporated in the yellow-gold light streaming in through her window.

It was traditional for the acceptance letters to be delivered during the final week of summer. That she had not received one yet was a sure sign that her application had been rejected. The only future ahead of her now was Common College and whatever line of work she chose to pursue from its sad, provincial curriculum.

From the kitchen came the sound of rattling pans and banging doors. Katie knew she should leave the warm cocoon of her bed to help Morga prepare breakfast, but she had no desire to do anything except burrow deep beneath the blankets and contemplate her fate.

What would she do for a living? She had no real talent, no real interest in anything but being a hero. She was book smart, but where could that possibly take her? She supposed that being a librarian wouldn’t be too bad an occupation. Librarians were important people, after all. They alone protected and organized Odyssey’s history; they alone were the keepers of myths and legends; they alone knew and respected the importance of preserving information and ideas. To them, books were sacred relics to be worshipped and respected. Yes. She could be a librarian…but not here, not in the wilds. She wanted to work in one of the great cities, like Olympium, which were ever and always alive with life and excitement. A person could lose herself in places like that and never be seen again. Oh, to be free of Morga! Life would be grand indeed.

The sudden clatter of hooves startled Katie from her thoughts. She kicked off her covers, sprang from bed, and ran to the window. Just beyond the front gate stood a frisky black pegasus, upon which sat a garishly garbed pirate.

Katie blinked, certain that her eyes were playing tricks on her. But no—there was a pirate sitting atop a winged horse at her front gate, big as brass and bold as day. Upon his head was a wide, black hat adorned with the image of a skull with a bone between its ears. He wore a long scarlet coat adorned with shiny brass buttons and gold chevrons. A glittering jewel-encrusted cutlass hung from the wide leather belt encircling his waist. A pair of scuffed black boots rose to his knees and thudded as he dismounted and trudged up the walk.

“Avast, ye lubbers!” he bellowed, banging a fist against the door. “Ahoy and heave to! I have an urgent message for miss Katie Frost!”

A thrill of excitement shot through Katie as she rushed to change out of her nightshirt and into presentable clothes. Barefoot, she charged down the stairs and found Morga looming in the doorway.

“What do you want?” Morga asked the pirate. Her words were growls.

The pirate grinned at her, exposing the solid gold nuggets that were his two front teeth, but no mirth surfaced in the expression. In fact, he looked quite taken aback.

“Harr,” he said, as though he had just tasted something that disagreed with him. “And a fine good morning to ye, missus,” he said. “My name is Captain Sam Scuttle, and I be bearing a shiny bit o’ booty from Derring-Do University for one Katie Frost.”

Katie’s heart skipped a beat. A messenger from Derring-Do? Could it be…?

“Never heard of her,” Morga said bluntly. “Go away.”

“Wait!” Katie cried. She elbowed Morga aside and burst onto the porch. “I’m Katie. You said you had a message for me?”

Captain Scuttle doffed his hat and bowed regally. “As a duly appointed envoy of Derring-Do University, it is me privilege to inform ye that yer application for entry has been reviewed and accepted. Happy Acceptance Day!”

Katie gasped. She could hardly believe her ears. “Accepted?” she cried. Ignoring Morga’s brooding scowls, she broke into a jig, laughing in unbridled joy. Accepted! She had waited all her life to hear that word! And to think she had doubted this day would never happen! “When do we leave?” she said almost breathlessly.

“As soon as ye can hoist yer mainsail,” said Scuttle. “We’re due in Ithacanum by tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” gasped Katie. “Wait right there, captain. Don’t move. I’ll be right back. I have to pack.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” said Morga, blocking Katie’s path.

Katie faced her squarely. She met Morga’s eyes with a straight, challenging stare. “We’ve had this discussion once before,” she said coolly. “And you know how that turned out…”

Morga’s upper lip rippled with a sneer. “You won’t catch me off guard this time,” she said.

Katie glanced down. Morga’s hands were pulsing with energy. She felt the blood drain from her face as she recognized the spell. “You would shatter my bones just to keep me from attending Derring-Do?” she asked incredulously.

A wide grin split Morga’s face. “Gladly,” she said.

“Not even you are that heartless,” Katie said. She began to back away.

“Where are you going?” Morga demanded.

Katie vaulted the porch railing and stalked over to the drain spout at the corner of the house. “I’m going inside to retrieve my things,” she said. “And you won’t do a thing to stop me.”

Eyes bulging in absolute rage, Morga raised her arms. The magick churning within the spell made her hands appear as if they were on fire.

Summoning her nerve, Katie turned her back on Morga and began to climb the spout. Halfway to her window, Katie heard the whooshing hiss of the spell as it was released. She screwed her eyes shut and steeled herself for the blast that would knock her from the spout and shatter her bones. She knew no spell that would deflect such an attack, and even if she did, she had no time to summon it.

A gush of tremendous heat tore past her, and from the side yard there came a thunderous crack! Katie wrenched open her eyes just in time to see one of her father’s prized oak trees crash to the ground, its ancient trunk cleaved in two. She blinked at it, unable to believe that Morga could have missed her from so near a distance.

Katie glanced down. Morga was glaring up at her, her eyes smoldering, her face puckered in rage. “Go on, then!” she cried. “Go to your stupid university! But don’t you ever come back here! Do you hear me, you ungrateful little shrew? Don’t you ever come back!”

“Fine,” Katie muttered as she hoisted herself onto the window ledge. “There’s nothing to come back to, anyway.”
Morga’s eyes flashed with genuine shock. “I’ll be sure to tell your father you said that,” she growled. Before Katie could respond, Morga spun on her heels, shoved Captain Scuttle aside, and stormed into the house.

Katie scrambled through her bedroom window and dropped to the floor. A navy blue carryall with gold handles and decorative trim suddenly appeared atop her bed in a flash of green fire; she reached for it and grinned as she read the words “Limitless Luggable” stitched just beneath Derring-Do’s coat-of-arms. There were only a few brands of carryalls that lived up to their names, and Limitless Luggables was one of the best. This was too fine a gift, but it was nice to see that Derring-Do spared no expense when it came to helping its freshmen prepare for school.

Holding the carryall firmly beneath an arm, she directed it at her dresser and tugged at the zipper. The dresser sprang alive as though enchanted. Its drawers shot open, and all of her socks and shirts and smallclothes leapt into the air, folded themselves neatly, and rushed into the carryall. Grinning, Katie aimed next for the closet, and then, on a whim, for the bookshelf; she hated to part with her books and knew that if she left them behind, Morga would destroy them. They were better off with her—especially the notebooks containing all the spells she had learned over the years, including the forbidden ones. Finishing, she swept up the items in her wardrobe and atop her nightstand, taking great care to store Bonks so he would not become damaged, and then zipped the carryall shut.

It fell to the floor with a thud.

Katie dragged it to the window, placed a levitation spell over it, and flung it outside. For a moment the carryall bobbed about on the breeze like a child’s balloon and then began to sink towards the ground. Below, Captain Scuttle ran to snare it and cried “Harr!” as the spell dissipated and the full weight of the carryall crushed him.
Katie swung her leg out the window and paused. Glimpsing her shadow trailing along the floor, she speared it with a finger and said, “Tell father I’ve been accepted at Derring-Do and have to go. Tell him I’ll write him as soon as I can. And give him a kiss, for me, will you?”

The shadow rose to its feet and bowed, then rushed from the room.

Katie slid down the drain spout and hiked across the yard to where Captain Scuttle lay sprawled on the lawn and gasping for air beneath the carryall. Katie giggled and renewed the levitation spell. Instantly, the bag shot off his chest and into the air.

“Much obliged,” he coughed.

“Don’t mention it,” Katie said. She followed him as he staggered to the pegasus, coughing and sputtering as though he had just taken a punch from an Ogrim.

At Scuttle’s command, the pegasus dipped an ebony wing at Katie’s feet. “Up ye get, now, lass,” he said, motioning her forward. “And welcome aboard. This here’s Wind Dancer, the finest pegasus in the fleet.”
“Hello,” said Katie as she scurried up the wing and dropped into the saddle.

Wind Dancer snorted and pawed eagerly at the ground.

“That’s her way of sayin’ ‘Ahoy,’” Scuttle chuckled as he secured the carryall behind Katie. He mounted the pegasus in a single leap and snatched the reins into his hands. “Tell me, Miss Frost. Have ye ever sailed aboard a pegasus before?”

“No, I haven’t,” said Katie excitedly.

Scuttle shot a gold-toothed grin over his shoulder.

“Yer in fer a wee bit o’ fun, then,” he said. “Hold on!”

Katie squealed as the pegasus beat its wings and launched into the air. Clearing the forest, Wind Dancer banked eastward and found her stride. In a flash, the world fell away, revealing the sprawling emerald jewel that was Odyssey.

Katie marveled at the patchwork fields and the bristle brush forests passing beneath her. The travelers on Beggerville Road looked like ants plodding along their runs. A flock of sheep, startled by Wind Dancer’s passing shadow, scattered like tiny puffs of cotton caught in a breeze. Rivers and streams looked like tiny blue ribbons braided into the flyaway tangles of scrubland. From such a height, the world appeared to Katie like a child’s model, spread out over an infinite landscape.

Wind Dancer banked once again and shot towards a tiny town rising from behind a string of emerald hills. Katie gave a cheer as she recognized Pickleberry and the rickety buildings that made up her old school. Principal Abercrombie was standing in the dooryard waving up at them as they whooshed past; Katie returned the wave and shouted a greeting at the top of her voice. A burst of orange light escaped Abercrombie’s hands and rushed skyward. As it reached Katie, it erupted, and Abercrombie’s face appeared directly in front of her.

“Good luck, Katie!” it said. “Make us proud!”

“I will!” Katie cried.

And with a mighty flap of Wind Dancer’s wings, Pickleberry dwindled behind her and vanished into the distance. Katie renewed her grip on the saddle and found it difficult to erase the grin from her face. This was it! She was really on her way to Derring-Do University! The thought never ceased to send a thrill of excitement coursing through her.

“So why was the acceptance letter so late in arriving?” she asked Captain Scuttle as he adjusted their course to the east once again. She had to shout above the rush of wind to be heard. “I was beginning to think I was rejected.”

“The escorts had a spot of trouble reaching this area,” he answered over his shoulder. “A couple of the Golem Knights rusted solid durin’ a mean patch o’ stormy weather a few days back. Threw off the entire schedule. So they had to call me in to help get everythin’ back on an even keel.”

“Whatever are Golem Knights?” asked Katie.

“A bunch o’ empty-headed tin cans who think they’re soldiers,” said Scuttle. “They’re in charge of security while the four schools are in session. You’ll see a lot of them clanking about, I imagine.”

“Was I the only student from Pickleberry High to be accepted?”

“Nay! There were a few others beside yerself. I shuttled them to the camp yesterday.”

A sudden thrill shot through her.

“Do you remember their names?”

“Higgins, Droog, and Vambrace,” said the captain. “Do ye know them?”

“They’re my friends!” Katie cried. Unable to control her joy, she tossed back her head and laughed into the wind. She could hardly wait to see them and to celebrate their good fortune. “Is it far to the camp?” she asked excitedly.

“Several leagues, as the pegasus soars. We’ll reach it within an hour or so, I imagine.”

Katie felt the grin on her face widen as her imagination ran wild. She could see the four of them now, hitting the books and excelling in their courses. And they wouldn’t just make the Dean’s list each semester—they’d top it. Their professors would praise them, and less-diligent students would dream of being them. Boys would follow her and Chani around the campus, begging for a date or just to be seen out with them. Girls would swarm around Hercule and Droog, gushing and giggling like love struck third-graders. Their pictures would appear on a regular basis in the college newspapers, just above the articles exalting their latest achievements. They would be asked to speak at award ceremonies and faculty dinners or to attend important parental outreach functions where they would be lauded as the embodiment of academic perfection. Yes indeed! They were going to be the best students ever to attend the colleges!

She lost herself in the daydream, ignoring everything around her. When Captain Scuttle’s voice suddenly brought the present moment crashing back, she was surprised to find that they had passed into lands she was unfamiliar with.

“So!” cried Scuttle over the wind. “Ye wish to be a hero, do ye?”

“Yes!” called Katie. “More than anything.”

“Have ye given any thought as to what sort of hero ye’d like to be?”

Katie was taken aback by the question. “I didn’t know there were different types of heroes,” she said.

Scuttle’s teeth flashed as he shot her a grin. “Oh, yes!” he said. “There are barbarians, champions, warriors, defenders, paladins, knights, rangers, adventurers, protectors, berserkers, crusaders, swashbucklers, and even buccaneers, like me.”

“I think I’ll be an adventurer,” said Katie. She had an adventurous spirit, after all, and it only made sense to choose a category that she’d excel at.

“Oh, come now!” said the captain. “Ye really should consider being a pirate. Thar’s nothin’ like sailin’ the seven seas and plunderin’ a bit o’ booty from whatever villain happens to float yer way!”

“I always thought that pirates were villains,” said Katie.

“Not all of them,” Scuttle replied. “Ye have yer white knights and yer black knights, don’t ye now? And yer good barbarians and yer bad barbarians, eh? So, it only stands to reason that ye should have good pirates and bad pirates, too.”

“I see your point,” said Katie. She considered a moment, and then said, “If you’re a pirate, then why aren’t you off sailing the seas and doing pirate stuff instead of flying about up here?”

Scuttle gagged as if he had suddenly swallowed a bug. “Harr,” he said. “Well, er, I’ve a wee bit of a problem with sailin’, ye see. It makes me seasick, if ye must know the terrible truth of it.”

“How horrible,” said Katie.

“Aye,” said Scuttle. “But it’s not as horrible as the nickname folks at Derring-Do have given me. ‘Seasick Sam’ is what the lubbers call me. And sometimes ‘Sicky’ for short. Harr! I may not be able to hold down me lunch while sailing a ship, but, by gar, up here I’m Captain Sam Scuttle, the boldest, the bravest, and the most courageous pirate ever to soar the seven skies!”

Katie resisted the urge to giggle. “Well, you certainly seem to be a capable pirate,” she said. “And if you ask me, the people at Derring-Do are a pretty small-minded bunch if all they can do is call you names.”

“That’s the nicest thing a student has ever said to me, lass,” Scuttle said. “Ye’ll make a fine Adventurer one day. I can feel it in me bones.”

With a playful shake of her head, Wind Dancer descended through a billowing cloudbank and began to circle a small field, in the center of which huddled a white circus-sized tent emblazoned with the coats-of-arms of each of the four schools: Derring-Do, the College of Villainy, the Sidekick and Henchmen Institute, and Damsel Academy.

“Port ho!” Scuttle cried.

As they spiraled earthward, Katie could see a tiny knot of onlookers emerge from the tent and race to the edge of the encampment, waving and cheering. Chani was among them; her violet skin was easy to spot, even from hundreds of feet up. She was the first to reach them as Wind Dancer galloped to a landing.

“Finally!” she said, gasping for breath. “I thought you’d never get here!”

“And I didn’t think I’d be accepted!” Katie cried as she dropped to the ground. The two of them embraced as if they hadn’t seen each other in years. “So, here we are, eh?”

“Here we are!” laughed Chani. “Happy Acceptance Day! This is going to be so much fun! We’re going to be heroes, Katie! Heroes!”

“That’s if you can pass the exams,” said Hercule as he and Droog sauntered up to them. Although his sarcasm was meant for Chani, his smile was directed solely at Katie, who found it irresistible. Her knees began to knock, and she steadied herself against Wind Dancer’s flank to keep them from folding. He was dressed, she noticed, in a suit of heavily rusted armor; it was so rusty that its joints squealed as he walked. Every inch of it was covered in dents, and at his hip rode a sword in similar shape and condition.

“What on earth are you wearing?” she said, suppressing a giggle.

“My father’s old armor,” he said. He sounded so deeply offended that Katie quickly offered him a compliment.

“You look dashing,” she added.

His expression brightened. “Do you really think so?”

“Uh, yeah. But you could use a little oil, you know.”

Hercule’s face turned crimson.

“I think he looks like a fool,” muttered Chani. “We ought to call him ‘Sir Rust-a-lot.’ What do you think?”

Droog emerged from Hercule’s shadow and laughed heartily at the taunt. Hercule silenced him with a dangerous look.

“This armor,” Hercule growled, “is a family heirloom; it has passed from son to son for ten generations and has served them well. I consider it an honor to wear it.”

“One person’s junk is another person’s treasure, I guess…” said Chani.

“Shut up, pink-face,” snapped Hercule.

Chani rolled her eyes. “It’s violet, you moron,” she said in a scathing, sing-song voice.

“I say!” called a voice from behind them. Katie turned to see what she thought, at first glance, was a knight in glittering silver armor—but no, it was not a flesh-and-blood knight at all, but an empty suit of armor magickally imbued with a golemation spell. Katie realized this must be one of the Golem Knights that Scuttle had told her about. She found him very impressive, despite his lack of internal solidity. “Well done, Sicky old lad!” His visor flapped up and down as he spoke. “Well done indeed! This is the last of them then, eh?”

Scuttle’s eyes shot daggers at the knight. “Aye,” he grumbled.

“Brilliant!” thundered the knight. “Absolutely first rate work, Sicky! You’ve put us back on schedule! You’re free to return to Ithacanum. We Golem Knights can take it from here.” He turned to Katie and bowed. “Sir Humphrey Ballushannon, at your service, m’lady,” he said. “It’s a pleasure to have you along on the adventure.”

Katie was enchanted by the knight’s chivalrous gesture. “The pleasure is mine, sir knight,” said Katie.

“Right!” said Sir Humphrey, rubbing his hands together vigorously. “Now that that’s settled, I think it best to gather everyone together for a bit of the old meet and greet over breakfast. What say you? Splendid! Off we go, then. Hurry along now. To the double quick, people. One, two, one, two…!”

Katie bid good-bye to Captain Scuttle and Wind Dancer and fell into line behind Sir Humphrey as he clanked and rattled toward the tent. She felt a sudden change come over her as she marched along, as if she had crossed some invisible boundary into womanhood. She wondered if her mother had felt the same way on her Acceptance Day.

“I’ll make you proud,” she whispered to her mother’s spirit. “Just you wait and see.”
 
Copyright © 2008 by Kevin Scott Munnings
“The Book of All Things” ISBN-13: 978-1-4276-1874-0
All Rights Reserved