Changing the Prophecy Chapter 23

Chapter 23 Crumpet's Transformation

By the time Doshmisi, Denzel, and Sonjay returned to the outdoor cage, night had fallen. Their father rushed to greet them, relieved to see them unharmed. They filled him in on what they had learned from Aldus Shrub. Guhblorin, Iris, Mole, the intuits, and the royal couple had bedded down and fallen asleep. Even in his sleep, Guhblorin clung to the little comb that was Crumpet. All three of the Goodacres felt tired, trapped, and out of ideas. They had set out on their journey early that morning filled with hope and determination, and they had traveled a long and difficult day.

“Get some sleep,” Reggie advised his children. “Our brains need to recharge to come up with fresh ideas.”

As her brothers settled down for the night, Doshmisi removed the herbal from its case and found a small flashlight in her bag. She put the herbal in her lap and watched it open to a page; but the herbal no longer told her anything she could figure out how to use. After the revelations provided by the conversation with Shrub, she understood the words in the herbal better, but she couldn’t see how to apply them to her present situation or the unfolding chain of events in Faracadar. Reggie sat down next to her and she shut the herbal quickly. Her father put a hand on her shoulder. “What does it say?” he asked gently.

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” she told him.

Reggie looked at her thoughtfully and insisted, “I’d like to see it if I may.”

She stared down at the book in her lap. She hated to admit that she couldn’t interpret the words to provide any useful information to act upon.

“Doshmisi?” She did not reply and he touched her shoulder. “I might be able to help. I’ve spent a great many years communicating with an enchanted book, you know.”

She studied her father’s face and saw in his eyes the suffering and compassion that had brought him wisdom. It comforted her to have an adult to whom she could turn for assistance and support; someone who could help her make important decisions, someone with good sense and her best interests at heart. She opened the book and read the words printed there aloud to Reggie.

Those people who do not transform themselves will perish. Nothing begins or ends but rather exists in constant transformation. A world without people is possible. A world that continues with people must go a different way. Transformation takes courage, creativity, ingenuity, passion, commitment, perseverance, and vision of truth. These qualities require cultivation and nurturing, they require practice to develop fully. Creativity is a muscle that requires exercise to grow mighty. The people must use their creativity to think differently, to think anew, and to imagine changes necessary that will bring survival.

After she finished reading the words, Doshmisi gently closed the herbal and peered into her father’s face. “Beautiful words. And true. But how do I use them for healing?”

“That’s all it says?” he asked.

“That’s all it has on this page and it won’t open to any other one right now,” Doshmisi confirmed. “You can try to get another page, but I doubt it will open or that any other words will appear. I don’t get what it wants me to do, what kind of transformation it wants me to imagine.”

Reggie nodded. “I see,” he said. Then he sat in silence for a few minutes with his eyes closed. Doshmisi sat quietly next to him and listened to the chirps and calls of the night creatures in the nearby forest.

When Reggie opened his eyes, he suggested, “Perhaps the words in the herbal are not for you. Perhaps that message is for someone else, not the people of Faracadar. I think those words are for the people in the world from which the Corportons came. In that world, the people need to imagine new resources, new energy sources, and new ways of doing things to preserve the environment in order to sustain human life. Such transformation as it mentions applies to every civilization but in this moment, I think it applies most to the world of the Corportons not Faracadar.”

“The Corportons came from our world,” Doshmisi reminded him. “The Farland.”

“That’s why I say this,” he told her.

“Do you believe that things will ever change in our world where countries fight wars over oil, putting profit above people; where leaders and the powerful kill and destroy with no conscience or care? Because of the destruction of the environment, my generation have inherited a ruined planet and we fear we have no future. If the Corportons came from that disappearing future, as Shrub claims, and if they continue to rely on oil instead of developing other energy sources, then their mission to bring this oil back from Faracadar won’t make any difference.”

Reggie replied sadly, “I’m sorry to hear that the environment deteriorated so much more after I left. I believed things would turn around. Those of us who could see what was coming should have fought harder for the kind of change described in the herbal.”

“It wasn’t all on your generation. Many others went before you and damaged the planet. It’s exhausting to think about what it would take to keep it habitable by humans.” Doshmisi switched off her flashlight, stretched out on the ground, and rested her head on her father’s thigh. “You did the best that you could at the time,” she mumbled drowsily. “Not sure my generation could have done any better.”

Reggie kissed the tips of his fingers and touched them to her forehead. “Sleep well, baby girl.”

Doshmisi closed her eyes. When she opened them again hours later, she discovered Guhblorin tapping her insistently on the arm. “Shhh. I have to show you something,” he said softly. She could just barely see Guhblorin in the milky-blue light of early dawn. “Come with me,” Guhblorin whispered, with a note of urgency. He led her to a tent that stood in one corner of the cage. The Corportons guarding the cage had dozed off at the entrance gate and did not waken to see Guhblorin or Doshmisi enter the tent. Once inside and out of sight, Guhblorin held his hand out in front of him. “Watch this,” he said. He held the little black comb that had once been Crumpet on the open palm of his hand. Suddenly it bounced into the air and landed on the ground, where it transformed into Crumpet.

“How…” Doshmisi started to speak but then words failed her.

Crumpet chuckled. “I can control it,” he said with excitement. “I figured it out.”

“You mean you turned into a comb on purpose?” Doshmisi asked incredulously.

“Not exactly, but almost. I changed on purpose, I didn’t pick the comb, though,” Crumpet said. “I figured I could prevent Sissrath from freezing me like he did to the other enchanters. It took me a while to manage to change back, but I have it figured out now,” Crumpet reassured Doshmisi and Guhblorin. “So I’m going to have you throw me through a hole in that electrified fence before the sun rises. Just don’t fry me on the fence, OK? Put me through without touching. I’ll pick my moment and then I’ll incapacitate the guards and unlock the gate to this cage. After that you won’t have much time to escape so spread the word to the others to be ready.”

“Neat trick, Crumpet. I’m impressed,” Doshmisi complimented him.

“Thanks. I have an even better trick. Follow me. Quietly. Watch.”

Crumpet slipped out of the tent and walked to where Cardamom, Buttercup, and Honeydew lay stretched out straight as boards on the ground. With great concentration, he placed the palm of his hand on each of their foreheads in turn. The enchanters gasped softly and began to stir. Doshmisi leaned over and whispered in their ears, “Pretend you’re still unconscious. Don’t move. We may not have another chance to revive you so don’t let on that you’re conscious. Cardamom opened his eyes for a second and winked at them before resuming his frozen pose. Honeydew nodded almost imperceptibly. Crumpet leaned over and brushed Buttercup’s lips with his. “Love you babycakes,” he whispered.

“Forever,” Buttercup whispered back. “Proud of you.”

Crumpet stood to his full height, then he commanded Doshmisi, “Tell everyone to stand by for action. Look after Buttercup. Now throw me.” With those words, Crumpet turned himself back into the little comb. As the sun rose rapidly over the ocean, it cast light across the compound. The sleeping Corporton guards began to stir. Guhblorin and Doshmisi went behind the tent and carefully tossed Crumpet through the fence without touching him to the electrified metal. The enchanter transformed himself and scurried away, concealing himself behind the charred remains of a building.

“What was up with that?” Sonjay asked, as he stretched and rubbed his eyes. He had appeared suddenly at Doshmisi’s elbow before she even noticed and she jumped with a start at the sound of his voice.

“Shhh,” Guhblorin hissed exaggeratedly.

“Crumpet,” Doshmisi told her brother and then she explained quickly about the comb and Crumpet’s new level of skill. She clued Sonjay to the fact that Crumpet had revived the enchanters, who faked unconsciousness.

“Cool,” Sonjay said happily. As the other prisoners roused themselves from sleep, Sonjay lay down on the ground next to Cardamom and put his head next to Cardamom’s mouth. His posture appeared innocent enough, but Doshmisi knew better. They were plotting together.

When Sonjay stood up, he held a box in his hands. He surreptitiously beckoned to Doshmisi and Denzel, who followed him into the little tent. Reggie, who made a point of noticing everything about his children, took in Sonjay’s gesture and followed the three into the tent.

“He brought the Staff of Shakabaz,” Sonjay informed the others with excitement. Sonjay’s amulet began to glow with a golden light beneath his shirt.

“The Staff is looking for you, man,” Denzel told his brother. “It wants to work with you.”

“And I want to work with it,” Sonjay replied with determination.

“Crumpet said he’ll find a way to deal with the guards and open the cage so we can escape,” Doshmisi told the others, wasting no time.

“We have to circulate and let everyone know,” Reggie pointed out.

“When will he do it?” Denzel asked.

“Soon,” Doshmisi replied.

“When he opens the cage, I’ll take the Staff out of the box. I hope I can use it like I did at the Battle of Truth so I can keep the Corportons from harming us. Cardamom says I should hold it since it has an intuitive sense of my intentions, which he says carries more strength than any enchantment he can do with it,” Sonjay informed the others. “So when Crumpet opens this cage, you run and I’ll see what I can do with the Staff. The most important thing is for Dosh to get to the ocean with the herbal and the Emerald Crystal.”

“It’s quite a distance to the beach from here,” Reggie said anxiously.

“Then I’ll have to run, won’t I?” Doshmisi replied with determination.

“Let’s go clue the others about the plan,” Denzel said as he hurried out of the tent.

Reggie and Doshmisi followed close behind Denzel. “I wonder what happened to Maia and Elena,” Reggie worried.

Doshmisi patted his arm as she reassured him, “Maia can take care of herself.”

The Corportons, suited up as usual in their white jumpsuits, assembled in the yard and began to line up at the gate to the compound, most likely to go to work collecting oil. Meanwhile, several of Sissrath’s Special Forces appeared with food for the captives. “Stand back,” they ordered as they gestured to the prisoners to move to the back of the cage on the opposite side from the entrance. The Corporton guards then opened the door to the cage to allow the Special Forces to place the food inside.

At that moment, while the cage stood open, a bolt of electric green light shot out from behind one of the half-burned barracks. The green light hit the Corportons and the Special Forces. The Special Forces collapsed to the ground, unconscious, but the Corportons appeared somewhat protected from the enchantment by their jumpsuits. They could still move, albeit slowly.

Cardamom, Honeydew, and Buttercup leapt to their feet and swiftly ran from the cage. The intuits trailed behind on their hovering skateboards. Sonjay opened the box containing the Staff of Shakabaz and removed the collapsed Staff. Seeing that Sonjay had not moved toward the entrance to the cage, Denzel planted his feet and blocked the gate to prevent Sonjay from becoming trapped inside. But Denzel’s effort proved unnecessary the instant Sonjay grasped the powerful Staff, which unfolded itself and took on its true, magnificent shape. Sonjay’s amulet blazed with golden light.

Despite the enormous size of the Staff, Sonjay wielded it easily. The Staff became weightless when it came to Sonjay’s hand; it had always done so. He tilted it toward his adversaries and held it in front of him as he walked toward the doorway of the cage, where he met his brother. As he swept the Staff from side to side, it appeared to freeze the Corportons in their tracks. Aldus Shrub emerged from his office. He did not wear his helmet so Sonjay recognized him. Shrub screamed commands to his followers and waved his hands above his head in agitation. But the Staff of Shakabaz had rendered Shrub’s Corporton soldiers useless.

Sissrath appeared beside Shrub and threw an enchantment at Sonjay, who gasped and fell to one knee. The Staff apparently lacked the strength to hold off all the Corportons while at the same time resisting Sissrath. Sonjay sent thoughts to the Staff to incapacitate all their foes. The Staff had enormous power, but even that power had its limitations.

To add to the difficulty of the situation, the air had become quite thick, making it difficult for everyone to breathe. Perhaps the Corportons, in their jumpsuits, did not have this problem. Perhaps their jumpsuits purified the air for them. Everyone else began to wheeze as they struggled to take air into their lungs. Despite the thickness of the air, Sonjay managed to maintain his grasp on the Staff and to keep it trained on the Corportons and Special Forces. He concentrated on using the Staff to immobilize them.

While Sissrath and Shrub focused their attention on Sonjay and the Staff, Crumpet hurried to the entrance gate to the compound and he opened it. Immediately, Elena and Maia, each riding a tiger, swooped out of the nearby forest and rode in through the open gate and toward the opening of the cage within. Dagobaz and the travelers’ tigers followed them. The tigers congregated in the path of the entrance gate to prevent it from closing. They stood their ground and ensured that it would remain open. Dagobaz galloped full-tilt to Doshmisi and barely paused as she leapt onto his back. Horse and rider instantly became one.        

Sissrath had thrown two more enchantments at Sonjay while Crumpet was opening the gate. Sissrath then whirled around, poised to throw an enchantment at Doshmisi and Dagobaz. But Crumpet faced off with Sissrath, uttered a few words of enchantment, and held out his arms. Piles of cockroaches began to drop from his sleeves. Sissrath recoiled with a shriek, dropping his hand to his sides, momentarily incapacitated by his terror of the disgusting little insects. In that moment when Sissrath had let his guard down, Crumpet threw a chartreuse ball of light at the enchanter, who, preoccupied by the cockroaches, did not resist or defend himself. Astonishingly, Crumpet did not transform into a comb or a tea kettle or even a pastry. With a strong gaze of complete concentration, he engulfed Sissrath in flaming light.

“Way to go, Crumpet,” Cardamom said softly. He stepped up behind his older brother, stretched his hands out, and threw additional light into the stream of light that Crumpet had produced. As Sissrath howled and attempted to break the restraining enchantment of the brothers, the stream of light began to shake violently. Buttercup hurried to Crumpet’s side, touched his shoulder with her hand, and added her own stream of light. This seemed to stabilize the enchantment and the light did not shake as much. Taking his cue from Buttercup, Cardamom also laid a hand on his brother’s shoulder. The stream of light holding Sissrath in check became steadier and wider. The three enchanters had successfully locked Sissrath inside the bubble of light that they had created.

Denzel wove in and out of the frozen Corportons and took away their weapons. “Can you hold them with the Staff?” he hollered to Sonjay.

“So far so good,” Sonjay replied as sweat broke out on his forehead.

“Guns, we need to get these guns,” Denzel called to the other captives, who snapped into action. Reggie, Hyacinth, Saffron, Mole, Iris, and Jasper immediately joined Denzel and they formed an assembly line, passing the guns that Denzel grabbed from the frozen hands of the Corportons down the line and into a growing pile at Sonjay’s feet.

Meanwhile, Guhblorin jumped onto Elena’s tiger behind her and clung to her for dear life, his long skinny arms wrapping tightly around her waist.

Princess Honeydew, determined to fulfill her destiny as an enchanter, stepped up behind Cardamom and placed her hand on his shoulder to add strength to the enchantment that held Sissrath captive.

Sonjay called to his sister, "Go Dosh! Ride Dagobaz to the water. Ride like the wind. Do the Emerald Crystal thing. Don't look back."