Lightning Rod Faces the Cyclops Queen Read online

  “I think I prefer the short version,” Cali admitted.

  “According to legend, the mask grants its wearer terrible powers.”

  “Such as?” asked Flynn.

  “No one knows for sure,” Hugo said, “but they were bad enough for the Portal Masters of old to break the mask into eight pieces, one for each Element, and scatter them across Skylands.”

  “And Kaos is trying to find the fragments?” Cali guessed.

  “Aye. The foul fiend already has one,” revealed Rod. “The fragment of Tech. But we hold another.”

  Hugo nodded. “The Water segment, safe and sound in the Warrior Librarians’ Eternal Archive.”

  “Now all we have to do is find the rest before Kaos does,” said Pop Fizz as they finally reached the trophy room.

  “Sounds simple enough,” said Flynn. “What are we waiting for?”

  “It’s not that simple,” said Hugo. “To stop the mask from falling into the wrong hands . . .”

  “Or onto the wrong face,” added Pop Fizz.

  “. . . the book only reveals the segments one fragment at a time.”

  They gathered around a table, and Cali watched the Warrior Librarian produce a scroll. She had to admit the colossal figure was impressive, all polished metal and cybernetic shoulder pads. It was hard to believe that beneath all that armor was just a tiny bookworm who could fit comfortably in her palm.

  “So, Squirmgrub, what do you have to show us?” asked Master Eon, nodding toward the scroll.

  “After you left for the games,” the Librarian began, “a picture appeared in the Book of Power. I made a copy.” Carefully, he rolled the paper out flat. “I believe it’s the Air segment.”

  Cali noticed Lightning Rod’s ears prick up. That made sense. He was an Air Skylander after all. She peered across the table to see what was on the paper.

  “But that doesn’t look like a piece of mask,” said Flynn, scratching his head. “It looks more like a big fish.”

  “The ancient Portal Masters camouflaged each of the fragments to make them more difficult to find,” said Hugo. “For example, the Water segment was disguised as a dirty old rag, the complete opposite of pure, clean water.”

  “And the Tech segment was disguised as a flower,” added Pop Fizz.

  “And the Air segment was made to look like a fish?” asked Flynn, still none the wiser.

  “Not just any fish,” cut in Drobot, who had been checking his database. “Identification confirmed—this creature is a Land Whale.”

  “Correct,” said Hugo, polishing his glasses. “One of the largest and heaviest creatures ever to crawl across the face of Skylands. Although, ‘crawl’ is a bit of an exaggeration. Land Whales were so heavy they could hardly move.”

  “Well, it makes sense,” said Pop Fizz. “Disguising the Air segment as Skylands’ heaviest creature. No one would guess what it actually was.”

  “But where do you find these Land Whales?” asked Lightning Rod.

  “That’s the problem,” continued Hugo, popping his specs back onto his nose. “You don’t. Land Whales became extinct hundreds of years ago.”

  “I know where you can find one,” said Cali quietly.

  “No one’s seen one for centuries,” insisted Hugo.

  “I’ve seen one,” repeated Cali.

  “It’s a hopeless cause,” concluded Hugo. “The Book of Power must be mistaken.”

  “And you must have forgotten to wash your ears out this morning,” exclaimed Pop Fizz, bopping Hugo on the head with one of his potion bottles. “Didn’t you just hear Cali?”

  “Ow,” complained Hugo. “Didn’t I hear Cali what?”

  “Say she knows where a Land Whale is!” said all of the Skylanders at once.

  “Oh,” said Hugo, rubbing his head.

  “Where did you see a Land Whale, Cali?” asked Master Eon gently.

  Cali blushed as all eyes turned toward her.

  “Well, it was back in the days before I met you guys, when I explored Skylands. I was blown off course and stumbled across Tempest Towers, a city ruled by a family of cyclopses. The Cyclops Queen had the most amazing zoo. There were hippo-size butterflies, double-headed swans, and . . .”

  “A Land Whale?” prompted Lightning Rod.

  Cali nodded. “According to the queen it was the last of its kind.”

  “It must be the Air segment in disguise,” said Pop Fizz, bouncing up and down. “We just need to go to Tempest Towers to check it out. Easy.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure,” Master Eon warned. “The Tempest Tower itself is carved from pure Cyclopnite.”

  “From pure what?”

  “The heaviest, densest, and strongest stone ever mined,” Hugo explained. “The walls of the city and the queen’s menagerie are said to be the thickest in all of Skylands.”

  “Then I shall merely knock them down,” announced Rod, as confident as ever.

  “That is quite impossible,” said Master Eon sadly. “Even for you, old friend. No. You will not be able to fight your way into the queen’s collection. This mission calls for stealth and cunning. You will have to use your brains to find the whale, not your brawn.”

  “There is another snag,” admitted Cali. “Tempest Towers lies beyond the Sea of Storms.”

  “That doesn’t sound so bad,” said Flynn. “What’s the Sea of Storms, anyway?”

  “Only the most dangerous stretch of sky in all of Skylands,” answered Master Eon with a sigh. “An expanse of turbulent tornados, hideous hurricanes, and horrific hailstorms.”

  “Not to mention all those Windbag Djinnis,” added Hugo. “Evil living clouds that will blow you out of the sky as soon as look at you. It’s so treacherous there that not even Master Eon can send a Portal through the storms. The only way to get through is by airship or balloon.”

  “Okay,” said a distinctly crestfallen Pop Fizz. “Suddenly all this doesn’t sound so easy after all.”

  “Indeed,” sniffed Hugo. “It’s certain doom for anyone who even tries to sail through the Sea of Storms.”

  “Ha! Certain doom for anyone who isn’t Skylands’ greatest pilot,” insisted Flynn, wiggling his eyebrows at Cali. “When do we leave?”

  Chapter Four

  Kaos!

  At first, Lightning Rod had been a little miffed that he would miss the rest of the Storm Titan Games. Of course, he claimed he was only thinking of his fans. How would they cope without seeing him win another gold medal?

  Master Eon, as wise as ever, soon talked the Skylander around. Who better to help navigate the Sea of Storms than a Storm Titan? And not just any Storm Titan at that—the greatest Storm Titan who had ever lived.

  “Come now,” Lightning Rod said, his expansive chest puffing up with pride. “I am sure the others would rise to the challenge.” Rod paused, as if considering it. “Although, no one knows as much about storms as Lightning Rod.”

  “And you have completed plenty of quests in your time,” added Cali.

  “Indeed, noble Cali,” Rod agreed. “Hundreds.”

  Master Eon just rested on his staff, waiting for Rod’s not inconsiderable ego to do the convincing.

  “In fact,” Rod continued, rising ever so slightly into the air, “I can think of no one better for the task than Lightning Rod, champion of the Cloud Kingdom.”

  Cali shared a secret smile with the Portal Master. Lightning Rod was their friend, and a powerful ally to be able to call upon, but he did love himself at times. She supposed it wasn’t really his fault. It must be hard to be humble when you’re surrounded by all those statues of yourself.

  Still, Cali was pleased that Lightning Rod was going with them. Drobot had done a great job patching up the basket and rebuilding the propeller, but the journey ahead was going to be a difficult one. It wasn’t that she didn’t think Flynn c
ould make it. Despite the odd mishap, the big lug was a great pilot—although she’d never admit it to his face. But could he make it through the Sea of Storms? Her last journey to Tempest Towers had been hair-raising enough, and she’d only just made it through in one piece.

  Eon handed the Storm Titan a scrap of paper. “This is from the Book of Power,” he explained. “It will glow when you get near the Air segment. Good luck in your quest.”

  “Luck?” bellowed Rod, tucking the paper into his cloud. “I’ve never needed luck. Do not fear. This will be my greatest triumph!”

  High above them, lightning flashed in time with Rod’s voice.

  “Whoops, looks like rain,” said a voice behind them. “Coming through. Excuse me.”

  Cali turned around to see Pop Fizz struggling across the arena with dozens of bottles in his arms. The moment Eon had asked them to go to Tempest Towers, the alchemist had rushed off to whip up another batch of magic potions. How much did he think he’d need? With a giggle, she noticed another figure following close behind. It was Double Trouble, carrying yet more bottles and muttering under his breath in his strange language. “Mooga booga dooga vooga.”

  “I’m inclined to agree,” said Eon, demonstrating his impressive understanding of the Ooga tongue. “All those bottles may be too heavy for Flynn’s balloon.”

  “It will never leave the ground,” insisted Rod.

  “It’s okay,” Pop Fizz replied. “I’ll just drink them and . . . whoa!”

  A bottle slipped from the top of Pop Fizz’s pile and tumbled under his feet. The alchemist slipped and fell, and bottles flew everywhere. Cali threw up her hands, expecting to be smothered in potion, but Double Trouble had already jumped into action.

  “Booga-boo!” he cried out, summoning three miniature duplicates of himself. The clones scampered forward, nimbly catching the falling bottles and throwing them back into Pop Fizz’s arms, before charging to grab the next. Then, as quickly as they appeared, the tiny doubles vanished, harmlessly exploding into tiny puffs of smoke.

  “Th-thanks,” stammered Pop Fizz, still a little in shock. “You’re one in a million. Or should that be four in a million?”

  Double Trouble beamed, his mood instantly lifted. He bustled past Cali, humming a little song to himself as he weaved over to the balloon.

  “Are you coming, Cali?” Pop Fizz asked, carefully watching the pile of bottles to make sure another didn’t drop. “I think Flynn’s ready to get going.”

  But Cali wasn’t listening. She’d spotted something, over by the stands. A Mabu child was sitting by herself and it looked like she was crying.

  “Cali?” Pop Fizz repeated.

  “What? Oh, yes, I’ll be right over. You go ahead.”

  Pop Fizz shrugged and continued. Cali, meanwhile, jogged over to the crying girl. Perhaps her family had left her behind after the crowds had headed home.

  “Hey, honey, are you all right?” she asked, leaning forward and touching the young Mabu’s arm.

  The infant sniffed, wiped her nose with the back of her hand, and looked up at Cali with wide, teary eyes.

  Wide, teary eyes that were glowing green! That wasn’t right. Before Cali could react, the Mabu’s tiny paw shot up and grabbed her wrist. Grabbed it tight.

  “Oh, everything is all right now,” the Mabu hissed, but it wasn’t the voice of a Mabu at all. It was an evil, twisted voice—a voice that wouldn’t have sounded out of place in the middle of a nightmare.

  Cali tried to pull away, but the Mabu’s grip was tight like a vise. Cali struggled, shouting out, but was caught fast.

  “Going somewhere?” came another voice from above. Cali looked up to see a massive airship shimmer into view above the stadium: a Drow zeppelin, its deck lined with legions of heavily armed dark elves. As Cali watched, a face peered over the side of the ship, a sickening grin stretching from one evil ear to the other.

  Kaos!

  “Do you have her?” the villainous Portal Master yelled down. Beside Cali, the impossibly strong Mabu nodded.

  “I do, Lord Kaos,” the child replied, before its body seemed to blur, and then to grow. Suddenly, it wasn’t a young Mabu that held Cali by the wrist at all. It was a Drow Witch. “I have the explorer.”

  “Then what are you waiting for? Bring her to me! Bring her to me NOOOW!”

  “At once, Lord Kaos,” the witch called back, and began to float up toward the airship, dragging Cali with her.

  The Skylanders hadn’t noticed the sudden appearance of the Drow zeppelin. They had been too busy trying to stow Pop Fizz’s excessive supplies of potion into Flynn’s wicker basket. But they didn’t miss Cali’s scream.

  Lightning Rod spun around and immediately sprang into action, roaring Cali’s name. He drew back his arm, preparing to fire an electric bolt at the zeppelin, when a boom reverberated around the stadium.

  “Look out,” Eon cried, but it was too late. A cannonball smacked into Rod’s chest, knocking him onto his back. Annoyed, Rod brushed the heavy iron ball away as easily as if he were swatting a fly, before looking up to see more missiles screaming toward them.

  Eon stepped forward, shouting an ancient incantation. The air around them shimmered and, with a resounding clang, the cannonballs clattered off the magical force field the Portal Master had summoned.

  Lightning Rod found himself surrounded by his fellow Skylanders as they checked if he was okay. He angrily brushed them away. Of course he wasn’t okay! He’d never been so humiliated in his life. Knocked onto his back in the middle of his own home stadium? Not to mention the fact that one of his closest friends had just been taken captive right under his—admittedly splendid—nose. Someone would pay for this. Kaos would pay. “Come back, coward!” the Storm Titan yelled.

  “Come back and face the fury of Lightning Rod!” But it was too late. The zeppelin was already speeding off with Cali aboard. Worst of all, they could hear Kaos’s mocking laughter even over the sound of its engine.

  “Bye-bye, Sky-blunderers. It’s been nice beating you!”

  “That creep’s got Cali!” shouted Flynn, frantically preparing his balloon for an emergency takeoff. “Poor gal is probably missing me already.”

  Flynn wasn’t fooling anyone. Even through his usual bluster, it was obvious that he was beside himself with worry. Everyone knew he adored Cali.

  “But why would he take Cali?” Pop Fizz asked, scrambling into the basket.

  “It is obvious,” rumbled Lightning Rod, already thundering after the zeppelin. “Kaos must have heard that only Cali knows the path to Tempest Towers.”

  “But how?” asked Pop Fizz to an equally confused-looking Double Trouble. The tiki-man didn’t get a chance to reply as the balloon lurched into the sky.

  “Up, up, and away!” yelled Flynn, the propeller whirring furiously. “Let’s go save Cali!”

  Chapter Five

  Battle Stations!

  “Ugh! This is no way to travel,” Kaos moaned.

  On the Drow ship, a Goliath Drow was tying Cali to the central mast, the coarse rope rubbing painfully against her arms. The zeppelin lurched to the left, and Kaos turned almost as green as his Drow minions.

  “What is wrong with that fool of a captain?” Kaos griped, steadying himself against the side of the boat. “Can’t he keep this bucket of bolts steady?”

  “He’s doing the best he can, Lord Kaos,” said a lanky troll. It was Glumshanks, the sickly Portal Master’s long-suffering sidekick.

  “Not good enough! THROW THE FOOL OVERBOARD!” Kaos shrieked. The Portal Master pointed at the Goliath Drow who was tying up Cali. “You!” Kaos said. “What’s your name?”

  “Brock,” came the nervous reply.

  “Wrong!” Kaos shrieked. “It’s Captain Brock! This is your ship now. Take the wheel.”

  The Drow broke into a toothy grin. “Brock is
captain?” he queried.

  “That’s what I said, isn’t it?”

  “Brock won’t let you down. Brock will be the best captain in history. Brock . . .”

  “Will also be thrown overboard if he doesn’t take the wheel RIGHT THIS MINUTE!” Kaos yelled.

  Brock did what he was told.

  Sighing, Kaos lowered himself onto a barrel. “I hate boats almost as much as I hate trees,” he groaned, clutching his stomach. “Those leafy louts have it in for me. When I, KAOS, am lord of all, all trees will be DOOOOMED!!”

  Cali let out a snort of laughter and was rewarded with a withering glare.

  “What are you sniggering at, FOOL?”

  “Oh, just the thought of you being ‘lord of all.’” She chuckled. “You don’t stand a chance.”

  “Shows how much you know,” Kaos snapped. “Everything has been planned to the smallest detail. Here, I shall show you!”

  With that, Kaos started rooting around in his robe. “Where is it?” he screamed. “Glumshanks! Where is the plan?”

  “The plan, master?” Glumshanks replied cautiously. “Do you mean the plan for complete and utter universal domination?”

  “Yes, I mean the plan for complete and utter universal domination. The plan I spent months working on. The plan that we were not to forget to bring under any circumstances.”

  “Perhaps you forgot to bring it, sir?”

  “MEEEE?” Kaos screeched. “The only reason I would have forgotten to bring the plan for complete and utter universal domination is if you forgot to remind me to bring the plan for complete and utter universal domination, FOOL! Must I think of everything myself?”

  Giving Cali a tired look, Glumshanks reached into his back pocket and produced a small, battered notebook. “Sorry, master,” he apologized, even though it was obviously not his fault. “Luckily I made a copy, in case you forgot . . .”

  “WHHHHHHAT?”

  “I-I mean, in case I forgot to remind you not to forget to bring it with us.”