was just to the side of where I was standing and I was certain this was my moment of death. The officer ordered me to tell him who I was, and where I had come from.
“I said, ‘I’m called Kahner.’ It was then that those gathered around me all gasped, as did the officer. I quickly continued, ‘I’m from a place far to the south, well beyond all The Mountains,’ . . . And it was then that the officer announced to all assembled, ‘It’s Kahner! Indeed, it is Kahner!’ The official who had just entered the hall came down the steps, stood in front of me, looking fierce, and I expected at that moment that I would be forced back to my knees and lose my head. But the official knelt—in front of me! And as soon as he knelt all of the others in the hall knelt as well.
“The officer said to me, ‘Lord Kahner, all of us thought you were dead! For lo these many years, I, your loyal Custagus, and your second in charge, have commanded your soldiers and warrior creatures against the forces of Santanya, who now controls this part of Bairnmoor. We are in the largest of the two assembly halls beneath Taralina’s castle, which we now occupy, and there is a fierce battle at present going on above ground to save the castle from a heavy onslaught. We saw actual children in the distance, who were battling Santanya’s forces, and immediately set after them—to rescue the children and win the battle against the enemy forces.’
“Childheart, it was only then that my memory returned, and I remembered who I was—that is, who I am: I am Kahner, the general of forces aligned with Taralina in this part of Bairnmoor, doing battle against both Santanya’s and Sutante’s forces. (I learned quickly that Sutante’s forces had secured much of this land and left Santanya—who is Sutante’s daughter, and his successor—to clean-up operations against my forces, which controlled, finally, only Taralina’s castle; at this point, Queen Taralina had been long dead.)”
“Kahner! This is of interest to me, to be sure, but tell me about Beatríz and Elli!” Childheart said impatiently. Kahner began to pace in front of the fireplace.
“As soon as I remembered who I was and was about to send these forces back to the surface, both to locate our friends and to assist in the battle, one of my soldiers burst into the hall and pushed his way through the ranks, yelling, ‘General Custagus! There are two children on the stairs, descending toward the Queen’s vault!’ I immediately took command once again of my forces and ordered them to the hall adjacent to the tomb. We arrived in a matter of seconds, and I was standing in front of my men when Beatríz and Elli stepped into the hall. They were, of course, frozen in place in disbelief and confusion. I said, immediately upon seeing them, ‘Elli! Beatríz! Yes, it’s me! It’s hard to believe, I know, but I will have to explain later! Right now we have to get you to the vault with the black key—there is no time to lose! Quickly—run!’
“Hardly a moment later Elli and Beatríz were at the tomb, and Beatríz was inserting the key into the tomb door when we felt vibrations in the earth. But Elli and Beatríz opened the door and stepped into the tomb. At that very moment, Childheart, the earthquake struck! The tomb door slammed shut, ejecting the key and tossing it across the floor. I grabbed the key near my feet and started running toward the tomb to save Beatríz and Elli, but the tomb suddenly collapsed and the hall ceiling was cracking. I ordered my warriors to retreat back to the large hall where I was moments earlier interrogated, to wait for the earthquake to stop. I, myself, dove through a small doorway not far from the vault where I could take shelter. All of us were at risk of being buried alive, but I knew both that my men stood a better chance of surviving in the far hallway (where all of them could fit)—and that I stood a better chance of surviving in the small chamber and still be closest to Beatríz and Elli, hoping against hope that I could yet assist them.
“When the earthquake finally stopped, I ran out toward the vault hall, only to learn that most of the hall, along with the tomb, had also collapsed; I knew the girls could not have survived; nevertheless, I had hoped that my troops could help me clear the hall and get to the tomb to recover the bodies of Beatríz and Elli.”
Kahner drank another long draft of the hard cider. “Because of its connections to ground level and the castle, I climbed a set of hidden stairs to the surface to learn the status of the battle, shocked to find no one. Many of my forces, as you know, had been killed, and others must have fled, either north, or west to the woods. I made my way, then, down another hidden set of paths and stairs to the hall where I expected to find my forces; from there I hoped we could return to the vault hall, clear away all the rubble, and find and bring out Elli and Beatríz’s bodies.”
Kahner stopped pacing and stood in the light facing Childheart. “When I got to the hall where I expected to find my troops and warriors, I discovered that, like the other hall, and the tomb, this hall, too, had collapsed—entirely—burying all under my command who had gathered there.
“At that point I decided to go to this small headquarters in the castle that, from the outside, appears unoccupied. From here I have been surveying the landscape, including the battlefield, hoping to find some of my troops—as well as some of my friends, including you, Childheart.
“I was strategizing about what to do next when I heard your familiar hooves striking the stone floor, and then your voice. Nevertheless, I waited until you appeared before speaking to you, just to make sure.”
Childheart continued to look hard at Kahner, less out of suspicion than out of a great pondering of all that the unicorn had thus far heard.
While awaiting a reaction from Childheart, Kahner added: “This hall and set of rooms—my above-ground headquarters—have for a long time appeared abandoned. Thin vines cover the windows entirely, although I can still see through them—unperceived—with a spyglass.
“I had seen you and Starnee earlier approaching the castle.” An awkward silence ensued. Childheart abruptly jumped to his feet.
“Tell me, Kahner, why were your men trying to kill or capture Starnee and me?”
“As soon as I recalled who I was, I remembered the children, and immediately sent orders to my forces fighting above ground to make sure they rescued the children and considered any unicorn, condor, and creature made of sticks their allies; but by then all battle fronts had joined issue with the enemy, including the fighting already occurring above the vault stairs. Word never reached my forces who may have been attacking you, because I had hardly dispatched a soldier with my message concerning you when the earthquake struck.”
“And on what basis, Kahner, given this—shall we say, unusual—turn of events am I to take you at your word?”
“Because of this, Childheart,” Kahner said, as he reached into his coat pocket and handed Childheart the black key. The unicorn took it in his teeth, dropped it on a low table, and examined it; it was indeed Beatríz’s black key.
The two of them remained stationary and quiet for an extended moment. “Kahner, I do not know where we go or what we do from here, but I can only wish that you may be able to provide a word of hope in that regard. I will not leave this place—or do anything further except look for Jamie and Alex—until we have excavated the tomb, found the bodies of the girls, and given them an honorable burial.”
“Childheart,” Kahner said softly, “is this wise? Trying at this point to recover the bodies of Elli and Beatríz, I mean. Santanya’s forces may attack once again at any moment—and while we have to look for Jamie and Alex, as you said, we should also flee this area as soon as possible. Given that,” Kahner added quickly, “is it wiser to look for the bodies now, with limited resources, or is it more urgent to find my forces? And then, perhaps, accomplish more safely and readily the finding of the girls, along with the boys?”
“I don’t know if looking for our friends’ bodies is the wisest thing to
