Sangeetha Kamath

                         CHAPTER 22  WHEN THE SHARDS SING, the BEAST                                   AWAKENS  Dawn was hours away, but nobody at Meadow Brook Cottage was sleeping.   The stew was gone. The bread was devoured. The porridge pot was polished clean. The berry tart for dessert existed only as stains on Dapper’s snout. Tasha slept by the hearth, her milk cup clutched to her like a shield. The Knights Army sat around the scarred oak table, full-bellied and hollow-eyed, because Papa Koala’s words were still heavy in the air. As they pored over the map, Tasha roused from her sleep and knocked over her milk cup. Her milk cup rolled across the floorboards, hit the table and stopped dead against the oaken leg directly under the crystal apple. Both the objects buzzed in sync. Tasha whimpered in her sleep and t...

                            CHAPTER 21        SECRETS OF THE LOCKE JEWEL   The path from Gloom Spout Trail emerged into honeyed light. Meadow Brook Cottage appeared in the distance looking like a paradise after the hellish scenario of the cave. The windows of the cottage were burnished gold against the bruising purple of encroaching twilight. The brook itself chuckled merrily past the doorstep, and for one heartbeat nobody spoke. They’d made it. With Tasha. Alive. They hurried inside, ravenous enough to devour food for an army. Coco, Goldwynn and Papa Koala set out to cook a scrumptious meal for everyone. The dining table was a wide, scarred oak. They fell on it like wolves. Goldwynn tore apart fresh biscuit rolls. Hopper, Dapper and Chipper inhaled the mushroom stew straight from the pot, passing on steaming bowls Tasha, swaddled in her downy quilt, dozed by the hearth — exhausted and co...

                            CHAPTER 20         KNIGHTS ARMY OF THE KOALAS  Mama Bear's eyes widened as Goldwynn, Chipper, Dapper, and Hopper gathered around her. “Coco," Goldwynn said gently. "We need to find Baby Tasha, pronto. It's a race against time.The pigs haven't solved the clues yet, and Tasha is leveraged to pry it out of us." Mama Bear's face crumbled. "Those pigs! I warned Papa Bear they were trouble.” Papa Bear stared into space. “What's the plan, Goldwynn?" Goldwynn's eyes sparkled. "We need to find Tasha. Chipper, can you sniff her out?" Chipper's nose twitched. "I can try. But I'll need something with Tasha's scent." Mama Bear handed Chipper Tasha's favorite milk cup. Chipper took a deep sniff and set off, the group following close behind. As they navigated the forest, the trees clumped closer, casting dark shadows. "Why!This is the Gloom Sprout Trail that leads to the treachero...

                         CHAPTER 19                  OMINOUS ORDEALS  The bears startled, then Papa Koala rumbled, "Goldilocks! You…how can it be !” Goldwynn knelt among the bears in the arbor, Mama Koala still sniffling into her shoulder. "I'm Goldwynn, Papa Koala...Goldilocks was my great grandma. So... what happened that day? Why are you hiding away here ?" Papa Koala’s fur bristled.He growled low, his eyes clouding. "The pigs... they came like a thunderstorm banging on the doors and shattering our windows." Mama Koala trembled, clutching a torn apron corner. "I hid Baby Tasha in the cupboard. Told her... 'Hush, sweetpea, like a little mouse!' But…" Papa Koala’s fur ruffled as he puffed out his chest. "I stood tall.'This is OUR cottage!' I said. Goldwynn leaned in and patted his arm Papa Koala snorted. "Baconne pig struck me with a stick. Porkinn pig fluffed porridge e...

                      CHAPTER 18             QUEST FOR THE BEARS  The next day, the pigs trotted off to spread mischief in the woodland, their ricky-ticky steps scuffing the damp path into a mess of overturned leaves and broken twigs. Goldwynn stayed crouched behind the wonky rain barrel until the sound of their pig-trouble thinned, then thinned again, then dissolved into the larger quiet of the trees. She didn’t move right away. The woods had a way of listening after the pigs left, as if it wasn’t sure they were truly gone. The air held its breath with her. When she finally stood, the silence felt heavier than noise. No birds called. The light came down in broken pieces, the sun playing hide-and-seek through beech and alder, dappling the forest floor with spools of pale gold. The ground under her boots was soft and cold, a black earth that smelled of truffles gone to rot and old rain. It stuck to ...

                          CHAPTER 17                    THE BIG BAD WOLF  The pigs snarled like proper rascals, fixing their cold steely eyes on the Wolf's cottage. How dare he refuse to part with his cottage! When the pigs demand, it's given to them---no questions asked! Porkinn limped, Baconne was soggy, Swinedell rubbed a sore bump on his head, but they were far from defeated. Swinedell snorted, a crooked grin spreading across his face. "Wolf thinks 'e's posh, don't 'e? " Baconne sniffed the air, his nostrils flaring. "We want the cottage!” He growled. Porkinn cracked his fingers, his sly glance darting about.  The pigs crept towards the back door, their footsteps silent on the soft grass. They spotted the Wolf through the kitchen window, stirring a pot of steaming stew for dinner. They kicked the door in, the wood splintering jaggedly. The latch gave in....