Have Book - Will Travel

By Kfir Luzzatto and Yonatan Luzzatto

Max and Darla are unlikely friends: he is an upper class city boy, and she a village girl who works in a laundry. When Max spends the summer with his uncle, they meet secretly to read from an old book that Darla has found in a dusty warehouse.

 

The old book turns out to be a portal that takes Darla and Max on a series of breathtaking adventures, and sometimes gets them into big trouble. In the haste of escaping mortal danger, Darla and Max end up in an alternative world. When Max is trapped in another boy's body and Darla doesn't know what he looks like, how can the two friends be reunited and find their way home?

• Language: English
• Publisher: PINE TEN
• Release date: May 31, 2012
• ISBN: 9781938212123

Kfir Luzzatto

Kfir Luzzatto is the author of twelve novels, several short stories and seven non-fiction books. Kfir was born and raised in Italy, and moved to Israel as a teenager. He acquired the love for the English language from his father, a former U.S. soldier, a voracious reader, and a prolific writer. He holds a PhD in chemical engineering and works as a patent attorney. In pursuit of his interest in the mind-body connection, Kfir was certified as a Clinical Hypnotherapist by the Anglo European College of Therapeutic Hypnosis. Kfir is an HWA (Horror Writers Association) and ITW (International Thriller Writers) member. You can visit Kfir’s web site and read his blog at https://www.kfirluzzatto.com. Follow him on Twitter (@KfirLuzzatto) and friend him on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/KfirLuzzattoAuthor/).

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

The endless winding corridors, carved into the lower part of the fortress, opened into large voids that functioned as storage rooms. They were poorly lit by small, high windows, and damp, and Max had equipped himself with a lamp that shed vivid light around it. Some of the rooms contained old furniture; another was filled to the high ceiling with parts of armatures. The room that Max liked best looked like a vast junkyard, filled with boxes, old bags, and packages, each of which contained items of interest, and was so huge that Max could have spent weeks exploring it.

As he was about to enter the room one day, a noise coming from within startled him. A light flickered from the direction of the noise and quickly disappeared, leaving him to wonder whether it had all been a dream. He turned off his lamp, took off his shoes to avoid making a sound, and walked silently in. A light came from the far end of the room, behind a pile of boxes. It was faint but unmistakable, and Max walked quickly toward it. Peering behind the crates, he gaped in surprise. A young girl sat on a large wedding-chest, reading a book.

Hey, said Max out loud, taking a step forward. He was so close to her that he could have touched her.

The girl jumped to her feet, closing the book and hugging it to her chest. You scared me! she complained.

But wait! We’re moving too fast. Let’s go back to where it all started...

––––––––

The carriage came to a halt as close as possible to the gate of Martuk Fortress, and Maximilian – Max to his friends – opened the door and jumped unceremoniously down. The trip hadn’t been a long one, but traveling with Gremilda made it seem to last for an eternity. Gremilda wasn’t a friend of Max’s. She was a middle-aged governess and was in charge of his education, manners, and general behavior, a duty placed on her by Max’s mother and one which she meant to discharge without half measures. Max had known her forever, but what he had accepted as an unavoidable nuisance as a child no longer awed him, now that he was a teenager.

This was a strange, new summer for Max, one in which he still felt playful like the child he had been only yesterday, but also one in which he had become self-conscious as his voice broke, his clothes were now too small for his height, and many new and mysterious tingling sensations in his body demanded his attention. The transition from a child to a youth had taken Max by surprise, and he felt still uncertain how to deal with his new self. He was confused as he had never been before and paid far less attention to his surroundings than his education called for. He gazed briefly around and then thoughtlessly strolled from the carriage toward the gate.

Maximilian! gasped Gremilda. Stop where you are, she added imperiously.

Oh, Gremi, Max answered with exasperation, without looking back. What now?

Gremilda stepped down the carriageway, walking majestically. She was tall and thin, dressed in black as befitting her widow’s status, with features that seemed cut in wood. She approached Max and took hold of his arm, squeezing it until it hurt.

You will behave yourself, you hear me? she hissed. In a moment, your uncle will be here to greet us, and you won’t do anything to shame us.

The sound of an opening gate drew their attention. Max’s uncle, Commander Yohan, walked quickly toward them. Gremilda attempted the closest thing to a smile that she could manage. She then curtsied, drawing out a sneer from Max.

Max wasn’t particularly fond of his uncle; the last time he had met his mother’s brother, he had been seven years old, but he remembered him as someone who kept his distance, not at all a warm personality like his mother’s. During Yohan’s last visit to his parents’ residence, he had barely spoken twice with Max, and then only briefly and formally. Max had often wondered how a brother and a sister could be so different – his mother was a warm, caring soul – but then perhaps Yohan’s manners were a result of the grave responsibility that rested on his shoulders. His uncle held the position of commander of Martuk Fortress, the outpost, built by man over the centuries, which blocked the only large gap in the mountains surrounding the civilized regions and was the only point of contact with the savage world outside. A heavy responsibility, indeed.

Maximilian, said Yohan, standing before him, smiling, you’ve grown.

You too, Uncle, retorted Max merrily, but sideways.

Maximilian! said Gremilda, gasping once again indignantly.

Never mind, said Yohan, raising a hand and chuckling with pleasure, this young man has grown cheeky, he observed, and then addressing Max, he asked, How old are you now, twelve or so?

Thirteen and a half, Uncle, said Max. His uncle was turning out to be chummier than he remembered him, and he enjoyed seeing Gremilda seething with fury.

Thirteen is almost a man, said Yohan. You have grown up, indeed, and you’re handsome as they come. Here, give me your hand. Max put out his right hand, and his uncle gave it a manly handshake. Welcome, he said. I hope you’ll have a good stay. Unfortunately, I won’t have much time to spend with you, but I’ll see you often. How’s your mother? he asked, changing the subject.

Mother is good. She’s sad, though. You know about her good friend...

Yes, her friend is dying, isn’t she? That’s why she asked me to keep you for the summer. She doesn’t know when she’ll be back, and with your father so busy...

Max’s father was an astronomy professor. He always stayed up late at night watching the stars and taught during the day, so Max rarely saw him. His mother used to tell him that he was no use around the house and never available when needed, a truth that Max had learned in the cradle.

As I said, Yohan continued, gazing at Gremilda and becoming severe, I won’t have much time to look after Maximilian...

Oh, don’t you worry, Commander Yohan. Maximilian won’t be any trouble. I’ll see to it that he behaves himself, and you won’t even know that he is here. He has a lot of catching up to do with his studies before schools reopen and will be quite busy himself.

Good, good, said Yohan. Now come in, and you’ll be shown your quarters. Welcome to Martuk Fortress. The place doesn’t offer many diversions, I’m afraid, but I’m sure that you’ll find the accommodation to be quite convenient. I’ll see you later.

Yohan nodded, then walked briskly away. One of the soldiers who had accompanied him directed Max’s carriage to a separate entrance. Another one signaled them to follow him into the fortress.

Max looked at the huge walls and then at Gremilda and shuddered. The fact that his destiny, at least for the foreseeable future, was to be cooped up with her and his books in this admittedly boring hole, only then caught up with him.

He resolved to do something about it.

Wipe out that vapid smile from your lips, Gremilda hissed between clenched teeth, and let’s move.

Max’s smile deepened. He was going to have fun that summer, no matter what, and even though she didn’t know it yet, Gremilda would play a big part in his plans.

.    .

CHAPTER 2

Max’s first few days at the fortress were depressing. The room assigned to him – too close to Gremilda’s for peace of mind – was dark and damp; the bed had a hard mattress with bumps all over, as if placed by a diabolic scheme to keep comfort safely away. The daily routine imposed by Gremilda was also tedious, and soon Max took on a gloomy disposition.

Then he ran into Oswald.

Oswald was one of his uncle’s older sergeants and a genial soul. Max’s rooms opened into a stony backyard. He sat there one morning, about a week after his arrival, reading and re-reading the same lines of the most boring grammar book ever, when Oswald walked in through a side door.

My, my! he exclaimed, you must be Commander’s Yohan’s nephew.

Yes, I am, Max admitted, glad of the interruption. And who would you be?

I’m Oswald, your uncle’s most faithful sergeant and at your service, Master Maximilian. Your uncle has ordered me to look after your needs in his stead while you’re staying with us. Word from afar is, he added conspiratorially, that savages are making incursions on villages not too far from here, so your uncle must spend all his time preparing to defend the fortress, in case anything happens. So, Master Maximilian, I’ll be taking his place looking after you, if that’s all right with you.

Max’s disappointment at the news that he wouldn’t be seeing much of his uncle was mitigated by the fact that Oswald appeared to be a likable character, and Max took to him immediately.

Please, call me Max, will you? he said. That’s what my friends call me. And God knows I need a friend around here.

I’ll be your friend, Master Max if you want me to be.

No, no! Just Max. No ‘Master,’ please.

All right. Master Max, said Oswald. But why do you need a friend? Isn’t everybody a friend of yours around here?

Yes, yes, said Max impatiently, but I need a real friend. Someone to help me before I go crazy. Look here, he added, frantically turning the pages of the book he held in his hands, does any of this make sense to you? Not to me, no, sir! And she’s giving me more and more of this stuff all the time. I can’t stand it.

Oswald picked up the book and turned a few pages, making sympathetic noises the while. I understand what you say, Master Max, he said at last, at your age, I hated studying too, and see where it got me: I’m a simple sergeant with no brain, while I could’ve become ... I could’ve become ... well, you know. You don’t want the same to happen to you, right?

I don’t care! I can’t waste all day cooped up in here, staring at this book. Gremilda will soon come and ask me questions to see what I’ve learned, and I haven’t learned anything. You see now why I need a friend?

All right, said Oswald, turning serious, but we’ll have to be smart. Let me do the talking when she comes, will you?

Here she is ... whispered Max, and sure enough, Gremilda walked into the yard as if on cue.

Maximilian! she cried out severely, why aren’t you studying as I told you? And who is this person?

Sergeant Oswald at your service, ma’am. Commander Yohan has charged me with the safety of Master Maximilian, and I’ve come to ask him to attend my Amshwaldum refreshment lessons.

Amsh ... what is that? asked Gremilda in puzzlement.

Amshwaldum, ma’am. As you certainly know, it is imperative for the boy to know everything there is to know about this dangerous place ...

Dangerous! exclaimed Gremilda, shuddering a little.

Well, I don’t want to worry you unduly, but, after all, this is a frontier, and if the boy is not prepared when the time comes ... well, I don’t want to think about the consequences. But, how stupid of me! You are Master Maximilian’s educator, aren’t you? Then you must have prepared him properly before coming here and given him already all the Amshwaldum lessons he needs to remain alive and well. Pardon my presumption. I’m abashed. Well, good-bye then, said Oswald and turned as if to leave. Gremilda’s voice stopped him.

Ahem, Sergeant ... may I speak with you privately for a moment?

Of course, ma’am, said Oswald graciously, and the two moved to the far end of the yard.

You see, said Gremilda when they had moved far enough not to be heard by Max, I really started to worry about this Amshwaldum thing. Maximilian is not a particularly bright boy; lately, he hasn’t applied himself seriously to his studies. Although I have retained the best available Amshwaldum instructors for him back home, I don’t think he has learned anything. So, Sergeant, would you be so kind as to take him under your control and teach him?

Of course, that would be a pleasure and an honor for me, but ...

But? Gremilda echoed apprehensively.

If the boy is as obtuse as you picture him, this may be a difficult task. Exceptionally difficult. It may take up the best part of the day for quite some time ... I don’t know ... you see, with all my other responsibilities ... perhaps it would be best if you undertook to teach him yourself. I’ll tell you what, he added brightly, "I’ll ask Commander Yohan to examine the boy and see if he’s satisfied with his level of knowledge of the Amshwaldum. If he thinks that a few lessons are needed to bring him to