Chapter 8

Chapter 8 Princess Pulverizer sniffed at the air. Yuck. It stunk underground. The whole place smelled like the royal stables after a bad rainstorm. It was also chilly. And very, very dark. Even by candlelight, it was difficult for Princess Pulverizer to see where she was going. Not that she had any idea where to go. From where she was standing, Princess Pulverizer could see three different tunnels, each heading in a different direction. Which path had Lucas taken? To the right? To the left? Princess Pulverizer frowned. If only there was someone there who could point her in the

right direction. Point! That was it! The magic arrow had pointed her toward Lucas and Dribble before. Maybe it would do it again! She reached down and pulled it from her bag. The arrow immediately pointed to the right. That had to be where Lucas had wandered! Princess Pulverizer would find him any minute now. She began to stride confidently through the dark tunnel, holding her candle in one hand and the arrow in her other. As she walked, Princess Pulverizer looked along the walls and listened for any cries for help. But there was no sign of Lucas anywhere. Where could he have gotten to? Tap. Tap. Tap. Gulp! Princess Pulverizer felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Or make that something. Because that didn't feel like a human tap at all. She could feel sharp claws hitting her skin.

Double gulp! Tap. Tap. Tap. There it was again! Princess Pulverizer turned around ever so slowly, and found herself face-to-face with the biggest, fattest, hairiest mole she had ever seen. Yikes! That was one ugly rodent. And if she wasn't mistaken, there were things crawling around on top of his head. She held her candle closer to get a better look.

Oh, gross! The mole was wearing a hat of knotted worms. It looked a little like a crown. Which could only mean one thing. This wasn't just any mole. This was the mole king. The princess studied the mole king's face. His long snout was quivering slightly. He definitely wasn't smiling. Then again, he wasn't frowning, either. The princess couldn't tell how he felt about her invading his kingdom. What she did feel, however, was a sharp push at her back. She turned her head to see two more moles standing right behind her. They were probably the king's guards. The mole king began to walk down a long corridor. The guards pushed hard at the princess's back. Clearly they wanted her to follow the king. "Where are you taking me?" the princess shouted. Her voice echoed through the tunnel. The moles didn't answer. Probably because they didn't understand her. Princess

Pulverizer did not speak a word of mole. The guards pushed the princess farther and farther through the dark tunnel. Princess Pulverizer's heart was pounding so hard, she thought it might burst right out of her chest. What if they were taking her to a mole prison? What if Lucas was waiting there for her? What if neither one of them ever got out of this place? The mole guards pushed the princess around a sharp corner and into what seemed to be a large room. Princess Pulverizer put the arrow away as she held her candle out in front of her and looked around. "Whoa!" she exclaimed nervously. The room was filled with moles. Big moles. Fat moles. Thin...

No, there were no thin moles in here. They were all pretty chubby. And no wonder. They were surrounded by the largest bug buffet Princess Pulverizer had ever seen. (It was also the only bug buffet the princess had ever seen.) The moles were slurping their weight in slugs and centipedes. Squeort! The mole king let out a loud squealing snort. The other moles stopped eating. They looked in Princess Pulverizer's direction. Then they began to snort and squeak as loudly as they could. It almost sounded like cheering—like she was their hero or something. Which maybe she was. After all, Princess Pulverizer had captured Sir Surly. He wasn't