Balance Keepers #1: The Fires of Calderon Read Free Page B

probably figured out that Albert had failed. But the really troubling thing, the thing that was starting to make him afraid like he hadn’t been in a long time, was that he was lost.
    The map was no help anymore, Farnsworth was gone, and no matter how hard Albert tried to make sense of the woods, it all just looked the same. Every time he got close to finding his bearings, the ground itself seemed to have changed around him, and Albert was sure he’d walked in a thousand circles.
    “What now?” he said to himself. He picked up a rock and tossed it as hard as he could. It landed against a tree trunk with a loud crack that echoed through the woods. Albert wished he had a friend with him right now, someone to help figure this all out. He could feel the letter in his back pocket, just waiting for him to deliver it.
    His dad had said not to read it, not under any circumstance.
    But Albert had made it all this way, followed all the directions right, and now . . . nothing. These were pretty dire circumstances, as far as Albert was concerned. Surely, if his dad knew he was lost, he’d want him to read it for a clue. . . .
    Albert pulled the letter out of his pocket.
    The writing was barely readable in the fading light. At first, Albert thought there was nothing on the paper at all. But as he tilted it, sure enough, there at the bottom of it, scrawled in his dad’s chicken scratch, was one simple message:
    Albert’s time has come.
    The letter slipped out of his fingertips. It was about him ? Maybe he’d read it wrong. He picked it up again and spent the next thirty seconds reading it over and over until the message sounded like it was screaming inside of his head. Albert’s time has come.
    “My time?” Albert said. “What time?”
    He looked in the direction of Herman. Or at least he thought he did. How far into the woods was he?
    “Farnsworth?” he called halfheartedly.
    He took one more look at the letter, shook his head, and started down the hill for home.
    “I give up,” he said.
    His timing was perfect, for right then, a shadowy figure moved in the trees, coming his way.

CHAPTER 3
The Troll Tree
    W hatever was moving in the trees nearby, it wasn’t Farnsworth. The figure was much larger than that. A girl, maybe, from the slight build of the shoulders, and the way the figure took such small, delicate steps. Could it be the person he was supposed to deliver the letter to?
    “Hey!” Albert shouted. “Hey! Over here!”
    Whoever—or whatever—it was, it didn’t answer. When Albert took a step forward, hoping to get a closer look, the person or the thing vanished entirely. A twig snapped to Albert’s right. He whirled around, and there, in the trees, was another figure.
    This one was tall and thin, most definitely a boy.
    “Hey, you!” Albert yelled. He waved his hands. He called out twice. But the person or the shadow or whatever it had been vanished again, right in front of Albert’s eyes.
    There were noises, like the night woods had started to come alive. And one of the noises, way up in the distance, was familiar.
    “Farnsworth!”
    Albert followed the barking through the trees. He got closer and closer to the sound until he found Farnsworth standing in front of him with the soft light of evening bouncing off his little eyes. It was the most welcome sight Albert had ever seen.
    “I forgive you for leaving me,” Albert said, as he reached down and placed his hand on the dog’s head, “but could you try not to do that again, please? It’s getting dark out here. And in case you didn’t notice, we’re lost.”
    Albert didn’t take his eyes off Farnsworth after that. He was too afraid the little guy would bolt ahead again. So when he finally did look up, what lay before him came as a big surprise. The forest cleared away, like the ground itself was sacred, and there in the middle, an ancient tree stood alone against the night sky. It was the wildest, most peculiar thing Albert had ever seen. The