Limerence grunted and groaned and struggled as we coerced him across the wet, petal-dappled grass. Agapa had found an absurdly tall dandelion poking out of the earth and, having removed the flowery bit at the top, had converted it into a makeshift rope and wrapped it twice around Limerence. Presently, she tugged the cookie out from the western edge of the almond orchard as a man might tug along a reluctant poodle--or a Labrador, or any other kind of dog. I confess that my understanding of dog breeds is quite limited.
"Come now, Lim!" Agapa grumbled at him as she stepped onto the sidewalk. "You are making this more toilsome than it needs to be!"
"My job was to bring confusion," retorted the bound cookie, "not to make your life easier."
"Your life will be much easier if you cooperate!"
"Is that a threat?"
Agapa let the question hang in the air, and at length it became obvious that she would not answer--which, in my professional opinion, was far more foreboding than any answer she could have conjured. Dave hopped out of the muddied grass and onto the sidewalk, and I followed right behind him, serving as our company's rearguard. It was not until then that I noticed my whisk was still held firmly between the ends of my arms, the crumbs of my enemies--soggy beneath the evening drizzle--specked across its metallic surface. I flicked the crumbs onto the concrete and strapped my makeshift mace onto my back.
Cars were scarce on this side of Main Street so late in the day, and the inclement weather made them scarcer. The park, which had been filled earlier with obnoxious shrieking children and their elders, appeared as though it had been abandoned for half a century. I could no longer tell where the sun was. The clouds were so heavy and prevalent that not a shred of blue could be seen; this created a darkness uncharacteristic of the early evening, and indeed the darkness was so thick that I could hardly make out the hill to which Ginger and Klaus had headed in the late afternoon.
After a glance and a nod from Agapa, we stepped onto the asphalt and headed northeast with all possible haste. The intermittent sprinkling was an annoyance that left our normally crisp features soft and soggy, and that made the going slower; but on the positive side, we were not in danger of being seen, as no human above the age of eleven (assuming that said human is in his right mind) enjoys standing in the cold rain. In less than two minutes we had made it across the street and into the foliage ringing the park, but we appeared to be no closer to our destination. Still the hill loomed faint and almost imperceptible on the horizon.
"This is a fool's errand," muttered Limerence. "Ginger parted the almond orchard well over an hour ago. King Shol and his army are already long gone by now--and with both of your friends in tow, most likely."
I stepped through the foliage and pressed the oaf against a sturdy root. "We said nothing of King Shol. How do you know of him?"
"Did I say 'King Shol'?" asked the cookie with a wicked grin. "I think you must have misheard me."
"Dave," said Agapa, tightening her grip on her foe's leash, "have you any information for us?"
Dave stepped forward, and I could see that he was trembling beneath Limerence's challenging gaze. "I--well, yes, although I was one of the less-informed members of our group. We know of King Shol and his desire to rule the vale's mice with an iron paw. We also know that he has long sought your friend, Klaus."
"How came you by this information?"
Dave winced, as though he were reliving a now painful memory. "The night we left Mr. Theo's house, we felt compelled to fly over to Cowtown, which borders Sprinkleton on the east; it was like a voice was calling us to forsake our creator, who had made us imperfect, and to find the one who would complete us. It was not long before we found Tanas, the son of Mr. Theo."
Hearing the name of my former master never got easier, and hearing that he was alive and well made matters even worse. I released Limerence and turned to Dave. "Ginger was right, then. You and your ilk did see Tanas."
"A bit slow, are we?" Limerence teased. "Did I not say that it was Tanas who gave us our commission?"
"He filled us in on a wealth of information in a short time," Dave shared. "He slighted his father, calling him a tyrant and an abuser of his influence and power. He gave us an update as to the whereabouts of his few remaining loyal followers, and explained that two gingerbread cookies named Sugar and Clove served as their leaders and were presently securing an alliance with King Shol the mouse. Then he gave us our commission, telling us that were we to find much success, we would be a great help to the efforts of our brethren in the vale. He pulled Limerence aside and spoke to him privately...and that was it."
"You're telling me that the Christmas cookies and King Shol are brothers in arms?" I asked, unable to hide my gasp.
"Some of the cookies lack arms. But yes, metaphorically."
I exchanged a glance with Agapa, and the leader of the Cupid cookies sulked. "I believe we now have an answer to a stinging question, do we not?" she said, a despondency in her voice. "Molasses, it was a mystery why King Shol's spies breached the Colony Behind the Cabinets and freed the captive cookies. Perhaps Sugar and Clove had an inkling as to where Klaus and his mice were hiding, and in exchange for that intel, King Shol freed their allies."
"Exactly what I was thinking," I replied. I turned my attention again to our captive. "So tell us, Limerence...have we rightly uncovered this conspiracy?"
The cookie scoffed. "I am obligated to tell you nothing, and indeed, I have said enough already."
"We'll see about that."
Dave's eyes appeared gravely concerned. "My friends, it's very likely that the surviving Cupid cookies will find Sugar and Clove and ensure that they're part of this...unholy alliance. I just want you to know what we're up against."
I could not have stopped the sigh that escaped my mouth if I had tried. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I think we've discussed this enough for now. It's time to get going."
Within the hour we had arrived at the crest of the hill, and over to the east we could see the entirety of the back yard in which King Shol had vowed to meet Klaus. The territory around us was a confused mix of browns and greys and greens, the result of bushes and mud and grass and rain commingling. We found a bush that stood as high as a tree, spiky and voluminous, and opted to take shelter under its branches. From there we could see the yard and the base of the hill in three directions, and I felt a sense of confidence that nothing would catch us by surprise. Dave and I sat down at once (one benefit of being soggy is that it allows us to bend in ways that are normally a challenge, and sitting suddenly becomes more plausible), and Limerence plopped down a second later. There was a weariness emanating from Agapa, but I could see that she had no intention of being idle; she remained on her feet, clutching to her captive's reins tighter than ever.
Even from this distance, it was clear that the back yard was devoid of all life. No host of mice was spread across the patio or along the fence line or among the blades of grass, and there was no sign of Klaus or my sister. I tried not to expect the worst. Perhaps the army had seized Klaus and released his friends, and Ginger was presently following them at a distance--or perhaps my sister had been too afraid to draw near to the yard and, like us, was hiding in a bush and studying her surroundings. It was unlikely that she was atop the hill, however. Limerence had whined so loudly as Agapa had dragged him across the hilltop that a family of frogs and one wandering deer had been spooked and fled from the area; if Ginger had been nearby, surely she would have heard the commotion and joined us.
After a few minutes of waiting and watching, we made down the eastern slope and used a supporting board--stretching from the hill to the fence--to gain entry to the back yard. We entered the borders of an exotic bush and used it as cover in case our enemies were planning an ambush. Thankfully, after a careful assessment of the yard and surrounding fence line, we concluded that we were not being watched, and so we inched out from the eastern side of the bush and toward the patio. The light of day was failing, but the homeowners had turned on a light that illuminated the concrete slab lying beneath the pergola to the east. On the edge of the concrete nearest us, I spotted three animal cracker boxes standing in an upright position.
"Boxes generally don't do that on their own," I pointed out. "Someone was here."
"Indeed," said Agapa. "Look! The boxes were given windows, likely so that their captives could breathe. More telling is the fecal matter seen in several areas on the ground--left behind by some of the less continent mice, no doubt."
"Then they were here," I replied with an internal frown. There was no sign of Ginger, not a single crumb. "There are three boxes, one apiece for Horace, Arthur, and Ingrid."
"And their former captors left some time ago, it appears."
We reached the edge of the concrete, and I waved one arm over the patio. "We should fan out and look for further signs; perhaps we can determine the direction that the mice took when they left the yard."
There is no telling how long we remained in that yard, studying every blade of grass, every centimeter of concrete, and every splinter of fence. Eventually we decided that it was too difficult for us to get the lay of the land (nightfall had come by then), so we passed the evening within the boundaries of the exotic bush. There we heard nothing out of the ordinary throughout the night (although to my shame, I must confess that I did doze off for a few hours, and my companions informed me when I awoke that I had shaken the ground with my snoring), and before we knew it, the sun was rising in the east and the birds were filling the air with their morning songs. We waited until we heard the homeowners start up their car and drive off before we ventured out again and continued scouring the area. It turned out that daylight did not improve our fortune in any way; tracks could not be followed over concrete, after all, and not even Agapa with her heightened senses could deduce anything other than the fact that the mice had been present there the previous day. A fury and a discomfort filled me. Not only were we without any indication as to the whereabouts of Ginger and Klaus, but because we had spent the night in one place, we had allowed the army to march on to their desire. They could have been in another state by then--maybe even Kansas!
Despite our distress and misfortune, we spent the next few days roaming around northeastern Sprinkleton, retracing our steps, and hoping that our friends had left behind some hint of their whereabouts. Maybe Ginger had been willing to part with one of her candy buttons, or maybe Klaus had allowed the edge of his paring knife to rive the mud and leave behind a trail that would point to their location. But alas! for we were eventually exhausted by our efforts and were no closer to learning the truth than we had been the day of our arrival at the back yard. A discussion began to arise among us that the best recourse would be to return home and regroup. I was the least amenable to this idea. Ginger had risked her very life at Christmastime to ensure that I not walk the destructive path on which Tanas--and my own desires--had set me, and the least I could do was stay behind and refuse to give up on her. Her willingness to obey Mr. Theo in the face of potential rejection and death warranted a similar response from me. I made my thoughts known to the group.
"Returning to Mount Oniz is not a resignation," answered Agapa. "We possess more resources there, which may better aid us in finding our friends."
"But--but what if, in our absence, we miss an important clue? Or what if Ginger is nearby, and she sees me, and cries out?"
"What a fool you are, Molasses," grumbled Limerence. "There is no clue; King Shol and his allies would have been most watchful while they whisked away your friends. Not to mention that we are nowhere near King Shol's prison."
"You are a buffoon and a scoundrel, Lim!" roared Dave. "You mean to tell us that you know where Ginger and Klaus are being kept?"
"Oh yes, of course! I've known the whole time." Limerence's smile mocked us all. "Unfortunately for the three of you, it's something you'll never know."
~THE END OF PART 2~
~"Slower Than Molasses, Part 3: Setback" set to release 5/1/24~
To see where the "Ginger & Klaus" series began, please check out the first and second books on Amazon:
--Ginger & Klaus: A Christmas Adventure
--Ginger & Klaus: Of Mice and Love
To see where the "Slower Than Molasses" series started, check out part 1 here:
--Slower Than Molasses, Part 1: War
