Star and Marco vs Evil Book 2

XVII

Bob's watcher sat, his back against a cornapple tree, with the brim of his baseball cap pulled low, eating a cornapple, as he continued his vigil. He was far enough away from the keep that he could see all of it, while still being hidden and, hopefully, undetectable; his trusty telestereoscope allowed him to see details, if needed. As he watched, Star and Marco emerged from the trees, walking toward the keep's entrance hand in hand. They stopped short, clearly taking in the sight and discussing features they thought interesting, as now and then one or the other would point.

The boy scratched his beard, newly grown over the month since he began watching the old building. He kept himself busy training, strategizing, working out, maintaining camp, and keeping himself supplied, but personal grooming was too much a luxury under the circumstances.

Watching the teens, the boy thought, amused, I don't get the attraction of that place. First that evil bitch takes a keen interest, then these two show up on a sightseeing ... The watcher froze, the cornapple dropping from his stilled hand. His eyes flit back and forth, as he analyzed everything he had seen regarding the keep. Angry with himself for not figuring it out sooner, and with regret constricting his heart, he thought, Dammit to corn, I should have warned them. He launched himself from his hiding place, not caring who saw. He had no time for that now, and, pulling his cap from his head so it would not fly away, ran as hard and fast as he could toward the much closer Butterfly Castle, dread and panic consuming him.

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Marco had been laid up for days receiving healing magic from Moon. He was not entirely healed, but after spending so much time going on adventures with Star, not to mention being out fighting a war for a year and a half, even a couple days cooped up made him stir crazy. When the promise of a "safe" adventure cropped up, he couldn't resist; it took him all of three words, "Let's go on," to convince Star to sneak out of the castle with him.

"So, you had no idea this was here?" Marco asked.

"Sorta. I've probably seen it from a high castle window, but it never made an impression on me," Star answered. "I'm surprised Higgs paid it any attention."

"Well, it's an old fort of some sort, so it would make sense she's interested. I wonder why she sent the suggestion by email while she's out on maneuvers, rather than wait to tell me in person." Marco rubbed his chin. "Actually, why tell me at all, out of the blue? She's not hostile like she used to be, but we're not exactly buddies."

Star shrugged.

Marco had invited Janna to tag along, but she demurred, stating there was a one-day sale on witchey paraphernalia at her favorite store in the Village. Besides, she said, I'm not into threesomes. Marco ended the conversation there, a livid blush on his cheeks. He heard Janna chortling as he walked away.

The teens walked around the keep, looking up at its features. They noted the arrowslits and windows, the crenellated flat top for observation, and what appeared to be the keep's drains, where raw sewage was directed out of the circular stone structure.

Arriving back at the entrance, Star asked, "Shall we go in?"

Marco walked up to the entrance and peered inside. It was not well lit, but the light from the windows was enough that he could see. He saw various doorways and stairs, stone and wood littering the floor, but nothing jumped out as dangerous.

"It looks safe enough, but stay frosty, especially with 'Madame Palpatine' still unaccounted for."

The pair entered, exploring each room, closet, and cubby hole, in turn. There was a lot of debris, but not much that was interesting. It looked like a typical, abandoned, medieval military outpost.