Strange Creatures of Dr. Korbo (13 page)

“We will talk about it. I myself will go with you, but we must convince the rest of the village.”

The convincing took a great deal of time.

“The men are terrified of Korbo,” Sarah said to Josh. “I'm not sure how much help they'll be.”

“I'm not, either. But any help will be appreciated.”

Josh and Sarah wandered around the village, visiting the babies, who had been placed with different families. They stopped by to chat again with the old man, Benti.

“Tell us more about the castle, Benti, if you can. Anything will be a help. How it is guarded, for example.”

“It was never a good place, but it has been worse with this magician.”

“Our problem is that we've got to get inside, and we don't know exactly how many guards there are.”

Benti had lost most of his teeth, but he said vigorously, “As you surely know, the guards are not the greatest problem. There are very few guards in the courtyard guarding the castle.”

“Why is that?” Sarah asked. “You would think Dr. Korbo would have many guards.”

“He does not need guards there. No one can get through the courtyard because of the lionheaded bulls.”

“Lion-headed bulls! You never mentioned those.”

“You do not know about them?” Benti seemed surprised. “I thought everyone knew about the lionheaded bulls.”

An image jumped into Josh's mind, but he could not see it clearly. “Let me get this straight. These are bulls with heads like lions, teeth and all?”

“They have the huge teeth of lions and the sharp horns of bulls. They are very fierce. They are very frightening. No one can stand against them.”

“I see what you mean, Benti. Dr. Korbo really wouldn't need a great number of human guards, then.”

“He has some, but the magician doesn't like people. He despises the guards he has. He despises everyone.”

“So if we could get past these lionheaded bulls, then it could be fairly easy to get to the magician himself.”

“Why would you want to get to him?” Benti said. “He will turn you all into something horrible.”

“We must take a chance on that.”

“Well, his living quarters are at the very top of the castle.”

“Have you ever been inside his rooms?”

“Where he lives? Yes. Many times, cleaning. He has strange things up there. I don't know what they are, but there are many glass containers. It is where he takes the animals.”

“That must be where he does his genetic engineering, making beasts out of good animals,” Josh said thoughtfully.

“I'm an old man and will not live long. You are a young man, but you will not live long, either. Not if you go into that castle.”

But Josh suddenly felt a new burst of confidence. “It will be all right. Goél will be with us,” he said.

“Who is Goél?”

“Our great guide and helper. He is the one who is going to enable us to overcome the wizard.”

“I hope it is so. Dr. Korbo is an evil magician and has caused much grief.”

“Well, his days are over,” Josh said, getting up.

As Josh and Sarah walked back toward the meeting with the chief, he said, “I've got a good feeling about this, Sarah.”

Sarah smiled. “I do, too. We haven't come this far to be beaten by a second-rate magician!”

 

 

T
he war party lay hidden in the darkness. Both the Sleepers and the villagers who had agreed to come and fight had ridden the unicorns. The men had been frightened of the animals at first but had quickly learned to trust them.

Josh wanted to attack at dawn. He'd explained his plan of attack to his ragtag army the night before, and most had appeared rather doubtful. The villagers listened, but he was not sure how much they understood.

Now, as the first signs of light began to show in the east, he called together the Sleepers along with Gus. “I want to go over this one more time,” he said. “We only have a few minutes.”

They all drew closer, and Josh felt a sudden wave of affection for these friends with whom he had shared such dangers. He wanted to make a speech about how much he liked them and trusted them, but somehow he could not say that.

Instead, he said, “Here's what we'll do. Reb, you see the walls. It's just as Benti said.”

Reb peered into the growing light. The wall that surrounded the castle was fifteen feet high. Along the top of the wall, sharp spikes were set every few feet.

“Can you throw a rope over one of those spikes, do you think, Reb?”

“Why do you ask me a thing like that? You know I can. It's what comes afterward that I don't like.”

“That's not your worry. You put the rope over, and then it's my turn.”

“Josh, are you sure you can climb that rope?” Dave asked. “I've done a little climbing, and it's hard to pull yourself up hand over hand.”

“I can do it,” Josh said, trying to sound confident. He was determined to do the most dangerous part himself.

“But why don't we all climb over the wall?”

“No. All I've got to do is open those gates. That's the heart of the plan. If we all try to go up, they're sure to hear us, and the guards will be drawn out of the castle.”

“It doesn't sound like they need any guards,” Wash said gloomily. “Not with those lionheaded bulls that Benti was talking about. They sound like mean creatures.”

“I don't plan to let them get at me. They're probably just wandering around in there like cattle. And if I'm quiet, I can drop down in front of the gate without their seeing me. I'll open it, and that's where the rest of you come in.”

“It sounds kind of shaky to me,” Jake said. “Too many things can go wrong.”

“Jake, this is our best shot. It's the unicorns that will make it work.”

The idea had come to Josh after much thought. From what he had heard from Benti about the enormous bulls with their sharp teeth and pointed horns and bad tempers, he could not figure a way to get past them. And then he had thought of the unicorns.

He remembered that the unicorn Lady had polished off the giant weasel with absolutely no problem at all. And he said to himself,
With that terrible horn on their heads, they could whip anything.

He had gone over the plan before, but now he repeated it. “We saw how that unicorn defended you, Sarah, and I'm trusting that they'll all jump right at those lionheaded bulls in the same way.”

“But what if they don't?” she asked.

“We'll just have to believe that they will. We don't have any other chance.”

“I'm afraid for you, Josh,” Sarah said quietly. “Inside that wall.”

“We all are,” Abbey echoed. “You're taking the worst chance of all.”

“That's why I'm the leader,” Josh said. “I found that out at last.”

“I wish you wouldn't do it,” Reb said. “Let
me
climb the rope.”

“Let
me,
” Dave offered.

“No. You'll be mounted on the lead unicorn, Reb. You've got to lead the charge. Flash trusts you. As soon as that gate's open, you've got to be through it, and the rest will follow. At least that's what I'm hoping for.”

The light was getting more evident now, and Josh took a deep breath. “Here we go. Gus, you got anything cheerful to share?”

For once in his life, Gustavian Devolutarian had nothing depressing to say. He came up and put an arm around Josh. “Except for me, you're the best looking fellow around here, and I think you're a great leader. It's going to work fine, Josh. We're going to arrest that magician, and everything's going to be great.”

“Will wonders never cease!” Josh breathed. “You know how to make a fellow feel good.”

The light was growing every moment, and Josh knew there was no time to lose. “Come on then, Reb. Do your stuff.”

Josh and Reb emerged from the woods, Reb carrying his lariat. Nothing was stirring, not even a dog, and they reached the base of the wall without raising any alarm.

“Drop your loop over that spike,” Josh whispered.

Reb measured the distance and started swinging the rope. He released it, and it flew upward. It dropped exactly over one of the spikes, and he drew it down tight. “There you go, buddy,” he said. He put a hand on Josh's shoulder and said, “You're a good egg.”

“You too, Reb. Now, get back to Flash, and when that gate opens, you bring them in.”

Josh did not wait to watch Reb run back for the cover of the trees. He grasped the rawhide rope in one hand and placed one foot on the rock wall. Drawing himself up, he mounted as quietly as he could. His arms began to grow tired when he was three-fourths of the way up, so he stopped and rested a few seconds. By the time he got to the top and was able to reach one of the spikes and pull himself up, he was out of breath. He looked down the line of spikes, and then he sat on the edge of the wall. The castle loomed before him. He looked upward and saw where the magician's quarters were located at the top.

Then he looked down, and his breath almost left him. Milling around below in the castle courtyard were some of the strangest creatures that he could imagine. They were indeed like huge bulls, but their heads were not the heads of cattle. They were lionlike, though they had sweeping horns like a Texas longhorn. Any one of them could tear with his teeth or slash with his horns or trample him with his giant hoofs. The guard animals seemed not to have heard him, and he was grateful for that.

A wave of fear came over Josh then. But he overcame it, as he had often done before, by remembering who would help him. He pulled up the lariat and muttered under his breath, “Well, Goél, here we go.”

Josh moved to his left, crawling on his hands and knees and wriggling around the spikes. Sharp stones were also embedded in the top of the wall, so that soon he'd scraped his hands. The knees of his pants were cut to ribbons. He clamped his lips together and crawled on. At last he reached the gate. He looked toward the trees and could see movement there. He knew the timing would have to be right, so he waved, gesturing with his arm for Reb's company to come forward. At once he saw a flash of white, and there came Reb, riding the lead unicorn. Others were following.

Josh looked down and back. Several of the beasts were still moving about uneasily. He did not know whether they heard the sound of the approaching hooves or not, but there was no time for delay. He looped the lasso over a spike and stepped out into space above the castle courtyard. He slid down the rope, which burned his cut and bleeding hands.

Josh's feet hit the stone courtyard, and he spun around. One of the lion-headed beasts had spotted him, he saw. It tossed its horns and started his way. Already he could hear its angry snorts.

Next, Josh whirled toward the gates. A huge bar held the doors in place, and he threw all his strength into lifting it. He flung the freed bar to the ground and pushed the gates open.

As the doors swung wide, the snorting beast, now charging full speed toward him, let out a mighty roar. Josh pressed his back against the wall, knowing he was helpless.

And then a white unicorn with Reb Jackson on his back burst through the open gate. Reb was waving his hat. And then the bull and the unicorn met with a mighty clash.

For a moment Flash was pushed backward by the sheer weight of the awful looking animal. But the horn of the unicorn had done its work, and the lion-headed bull fell over.

Josh pressed himself against the wall as the whole unicorn herd thundered in. He saw Jake, on the back of a coal black unicorn, yell and scream as his animal engaged in battle. He saw Dave . . . Wash . . . then Sarah on Lady . . . Abbey . . .

Now the courtyard was filled with the bellowing of the bulls. They were indeed ferocious creatures, and many of the unicorns were slashed by the horns. Others were bitten by the lion-bulls' sharp teeth. But the unicorns were very fast and very brave. They also seemed able to read each other's minds. When one unicorn was suffering a defeat, another would come in from the side and attack with his horn.

And then Josh realized that he could not wait for the battle to be over. He drew his sword and ran across the courtyard toward the door of the castle.

“I've got to get to the magician,” he muttered. “He's heard all this, and he'll be waiting for us.”

A
s soon as Josh reached the castle doorway, he sprang inside and saw a set of stairs running upward.

“Josh, wait for me!”

Josh looked back to see Sarah. Her face was pale. Across her shoulder was her bow.

“Sarah, what are you doing in here?”

“The battle is almost over out there, but it's not over in here.”

Even as she spoke, three burly men appeared, waving swords.

Sarah was helpless. She couldn't use her bow in such tight quarters.

Josh managed to fend them off but was backing up when he heard a shrill scream from the doorway. That'
s
Reb
,
he thought without looking. That'
s
Reb
,
givin
g
hi
s
rebe
l
yell
.
Than
k
you
,
Goél
.