Alison Kentta

Isle of Myrkur

2008-10-06T13:56:44-07:00

As Cora tried to catch her breath, Heven dragged her along the dirty carpet and shoved her in bathroom like a dirty sack of laundry. The tile was cold and hard.

Cora rubbed her stomach. She winced as she opened her eyes. She breathed deeply only once before the pain caught her.

Aiken sat in the tub, staring at the tile wall. On the other side of the door, the lock slid shut. A plethora of snickers erupted.

Slowly, Cora�??s stomach settled, but the pain lingered and flickered up and down her back.

�??I hate this place,�?? she muttered.

�??Don�??t blame you,�?? responded Aiken, flatly.

Cora looked around. �??You better not have touched my stash,�?? she said.

�??What stash?�??

�??The sodas and chips and books and stuff.�??

�??You have food in here?�??

�??Yup.�??

�??That�??s disgusting.�??

"Whatever."

She lifted off the back of the toilet, where six sodas floated and bobbed.

Aiken sniffed. Cora felt an unwelcome stab of sympathy. He did look kind of pathetic sitting in the tub in his little black suit.

�??Orange or grape?�??she offered.

�??I don�??t drink orange or grape flavored things. I don�??t suppose you have any seltzer water in your secret stash.�??

�??No.�??

Aiken sighed. �??All right, I�??ll attempt to drink an orange one.�??

Cora retrieved an orange soda from the toilet, wiped it off with a towel, and handed it to Aiken.

�??I�??ll just pretend I didn�??t see where this came from,�?? he sighed, popping off the top.

�??Relax. Toilet water can�??t sink through a soda can.�??

Aiken grimaced as he took his first sip. A few minutes passed. �??How long have you been here?�?? he asked.

�??Ten months.�??

�??Well I�??m not staying.�?? Aiken looked up at the ceiling as if searching for the answer. �??I�??ll hire a lawyer,�?? he said at last. �??There�??s no reason why I should have to drink from a toilet and baby-sit. I have rights, you know.�??

Cora snorted. As if she hadn�??t been scheming of ways to get out of here for the last ten months. �??Mrs. Prumpa�??s your legal guardian. You think she�??s gonna let you hire a lawyer?�??

�??Well...�?? Aiken drew his knees up to his chin.

�??What grade are you in?�?? Cora asked. He looked much too small to be eleven.

�??Twelfth.�??

Cora�??s soda slipped out of her hand and crashed onto the floor. �??What?�??

�??I was supposed to go straight to college in the fall, too.�??

�??Guess you�??re pretty smart.�??

�??You could say that. I can multiply anything in my head.�??

�??Yeah, right.�??

�??Try me.�??

Cora quickly tried to recall her times tables, but only succeeded in summoning a hazy white memory of charts.

�??Aren�??t you going to ask me?�?? Aiken insisted.

�??Seven times nine,�?? she said, not sure she knew the answer.

Aiken put his hands on his hips. �??Don�??t insult me,�?? he hissed.

�??What?�??

�??Give me a big number,�?? he said.

�??Two thousand sixty-six times forty nine.�?? Jeez.

Aiken drew in a breath and pointed to several invisible digits floating in space. �??One hundred and one thousand, two hundred and thirty-four,�?? he snorted, a few seconds later. �??Piece of cake. Give me a harder one.�??

But Cora was not interested in giving him another one. Who was this kid, anyway? It was so her luck that this house was going to be crammed with another weirdo. Cora pulled out a book from her stack and a bag of potato chips from the medicine cabinet.

Aiken looked at her as though she were the weirdo.

�??What? You wanna read one or something?�?? Cora asked.

�??I only read magazines and newspapers. And textbooks, of course.�??

�??Well I don�??t have any of those.�??

�??You don�??t say�?��?? Aiken drawled.

�??So�?�you never read things for fun?�??

�??Newspapers and textbooks are fun, thank you.�??

�??No they�??re not, they�??re�?�informational.�??

�??Information is very fun.�??

�??Sure.�??

Two hours later, Cora was halfway finished with The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Aiken had spent the entire time tapping his fingertips together and sighing. Finally, Cora put her book down.

Not only was he distracting her, but his very presence was extremely annoying. He was taking up her spot in the tub, where she usually laid down towels and simultaneously pretended that lounging in a bathtub was a perfectly normal thing to do, and feeling very depressed because she knew that it was not normal at all.

�??What are you doing?�?? she asked.

�??Oh, just calculating. Good book?�?? he asked, with the amount of enthusiasm as a patient in a dental chair.

�??Yes.�??

�??What�??s it about? Besides the obvious Lion and Witch and Wardrobe, of course.�??

�??It�??s about four brothers and sisters who find a closet that leads them into a secret world.�??

�??Well isn�??t that convenient. I don�??t suppose anyone ever wrote a story about an enchanted bathroom.�??

Isle of Myrkur

2008-10-03T14:20:46-07:00

�??You�??re just going to love your new home, Cora dear. Are you sure your father never mentioned your Uncle McNitt?�?? Cora scanned her memory for what seemed like the hundredth time, but again came up with nothing.

�??No,�?? she said.

�??Well, no matter. The important thing is that he�??s been trying to track you down for quite some time.�??

Trying to track me down? Cora was positive that she didn�??t have a single relative. But if some stranger wanted to come and take her away from 9 Pleasant Pines, it was a gamble she�??d be willing to make.

Still, an alarm bell went off somewhere in the middle of Cora�??s chest. If her father had never mentioned her great uncle, it was probably for a good reason. Right?

�??But are you sure he�??s really my uncle?�?? she asked urgently.

�??99.9 percent sure, if those are good enough odds for you. We did a DNA test. He lives way up north in the mountains. And fortunately for you, he wants to adopt you.�??

�??I have a relative�?��?? Cora marveled softly out loud.

�??Absolutely. He e-mailed me the family tree. I saw it myself. You are his brother�??s granddaughter, no doubt about it. Anyway, Professor McNitt is an inventor, and a good one at that. I�??ve seen his marvelous creations myself.�??

�??What kind of inventions?�?? Aiken asked, eagerly leaning forward in his seat.

�??Oh, all sorts,�?? Mrs. Prumpa responded. �??He rang me up on one of those camera phones and gave me a virtual tour. But anyway, Cora dear, the house is absolutely marvelous. It�??s as big as a castle, and it overlooks a huge lake�?�what�??s the name of it�?�oh, I forget. Anyway, the best part is inside. You know,�?? Mrs. Prumpa giggled, �??I�??ve always wanted to be an interior decorator. I just couldn�??t get over the potential for that house, and Lord knows, it needs it. Take the dining room, for example. It�??s all so Eighteenth-Century Gothic. What I wouldn�??t do with Chinese Modern! And the kitchen�?��??

Mrs. Prumpa continued to babble on about decorating �?? something about a country farm theme and sun rises. But even if Cora had the faintest interest in interior decorating, which she did not, she was much too distracted by this mysterious uncle to listen.

�??Where is it?�?? she asked.

�??Oh, it�??s quite a long way from here. A ten hour bus ride, at least. Maybe more. You know how slow those buses are, always stopping and starting. I hope you brought something to read,�?? Mrs. Prumpa said.

�??What about me?�?? Aiken asked, clearly alarmed. �??Where am I going?�??

�??Oh, didn�??t I mention, dear?�?? Mrs. Prumpa yawned. �??Your Aunt Missy agreed to take you in. You won�??t need any books, it�??s only an hour�??s drive. I�??m taking you there myself after we drop Cora off at the bus station. She�??s quite excited to see you again.�??

Aiken�??s jaw dropped. �??They released her?�??

�??Yes, dear. And to be frank, I�??m a bit disappointed that you never mentioned her. It would have saved me the trouble of such an extensive family search.�??

�??But Aunt Missy has about a hundred cats!�?? he cried.

�??Thirteen, actually, but they are well-mannered and up to date on all of their shots. I saw the records personally. You won�??t see any fleas in that house. Or mice, for that matter!�?? Mrs. Prumpa chuckled at her own joke.

�??But I�??m allergic to cats! And she doesn�??t live in a house, she lives in a trailer! She talks to spiders! She doesn�??t have any textbooks! And she�??s messy! She�??s a vegetarian! She�??s a democrat! "She�??s---�??

�??Oh, my!�?? Mrs. Prumpa interrupted. �?? Your aunt, eccentric as she is, has agreed to take you, and I should expect you�??d show a bit more gratitude, young man. Besides which, she�??s your family. Your blood. And there�??s nothing more important than blood.�?? Mrs. Prumpa blew her nose loudly and examined the contents.

�??But �?? can�??t I go with�?�with her?�?? he tried, desperately.

�??No way!�?? Cora cried.

�??Absolutely not,�?? Mrs. Prumpa agreed. �??You two are not related. It�??s not as though you two have known each other for very long. If you�??d been raised together as brother and sister, it might have been different.�??

�??Yeah,�?? Cora said. For heaven�??s sake, not having to sit through Aiken�??s analysis of the stock market every morning was a treat in itself, no matter where she ended up.

�??But �?? �?? Aiken started.

�??But nothing!�?? Mrs. Prumpa screeched, becoming very flushed. �??I went to a lot of trouble finding new houses for both of you, and I shall not spend another week bothering these poor people with last minute changes. A decision has been made, so you�??d better get used to it! Besides,�?? she added, a bit more softly, �??Your aunt is looking forward to it. She�??s already transformed the kitchen table into a nice little bed for you.�??

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