7. Revelation Farm

Where was Harry? The earth shook under his boots, but Kuku couldn’t figure out from where the noises came. Why did it have to be circles in the grain? Whatever direction she chose, she’d eventually meet Harry.

Her only hope was to move just as quickly as him through the maze of grain. Forever. Or, well, until one of them tired.

That was no solution.

Hess calmly walked beside her. Ten steps for her meant one step for him. He wasn’t interested in escaping: he kept pausing to inspect a specific patch of dirt.

“My little cow! Cowie!” yelled Harry. “Come here! I want to give you a nice snack!”

Kuku had to laugh. Did humans really think that worked? Any time she’d heard the noise cowie in her life, Harry was about to do something mean.

Harry quickened his pace. Kuku couldn’t move much faster and the Hespryhound lacked the power now to put her on his back. The electric shock from Beatrix’ device had hurt him badly.

Was it even an electric shock? Maybe those alien creatures had something stronger. Something to turn off magic.

Only one option remained, really. Run back home and hope Elize would protect her once more.

“I buried the Stone of Destinydust somewhere below this field,” whispered Hess. “I forgot where. It’s been centuries.”

“This is not the moohment for an investigation!”

“Kuku. Do you have any clue as to the power of that stone?”

She tried to estimate the fastest route back home. She would have to create another path through the grain, then run in a straight line to the wide open kitchen door.

“Erm … the Stone of Destinydust makes grass grow? And sheds invisible? Something with fertilizer?”

Hess kept using his front paws as feelers. “Those are side effects. No, whoever controls the Destinydust, can turn any particle into any other. You’re able to turn mud into gold. You’re able to turn wood invisible. You’re able to grow glass as if it was a plant. If we want to defend ourselves against the alien creatures, we’ll need that.”

“Or defend against Harry…” said Kuku’s wavering voice. She hadn’t heard his footsteps in a while now.

But he wouldn’t give up that easily.

Of course not.

Stalks of grain bent aside as two fat hands came for her like birds of prey. Kuku mooed loudly; Harry placed one hand against his ear. His other grabbed her back paw tightly.

Hess jumped in front of her and bit the hand until it let go. Harry furiously lashed out and hit the watchdog in his face.

Kuku ran away. In the direction she thought was the right one. Grain hit her eyes and ears, and turned her into a cow with yellow splotches, as she broke one stalk after another and created a new path in the maze.

She exploded out of the grain. As if she’d been under water for hours and finally resurfaced, gasping for air. She was right! Within ten seconds, she’d sprinted into the home.

There she looked back. Harry had brought heavy chains. Now he led the Hespryhound behind him like a slave.

“Now I moohst save you too,” she whispered.

She climbed the stairs. Elize’s bedroom door stood ajar. She sat on the bed, back to the door, as she tried to wrap bandages around her own wounded arm. Her red curls were so long they almost hid her entire body.

“Go away!” she screamed.

Kuku froze in the doorway. She crept closer and pushed her soft fur, filled with specks of grain, against Elize.

She pushed Kuku back with her good arm.

“Father was right. You are stupid and you never work together. Thanks to you my life … my life … my life will soon be over!”

The front door opened. Harry yelled at his dog.

Elize had seen the shed. She might be angry, she might say a lot of things, but the Stone of Destinydust had decided she was worthy. That she understood nature enough to see its invisible stones.

Then Kuku should trust her too, no matter how hard it was.

She snuck closer to Elize again. The girl tried to hold the bandages with her teeth, as her good arm had to cut them and wrap them in the right place. This was near impossible to do alone.

So Kuku grabbed the bandages and held them in the right spot for her. Elize quickly finished the job, mumbling and sighing. Then she pushed Kuku aside again, and the cow tumbled backward onto the carpet.

This time, though, she smiled.

“Stupid, sweet Kuku. You probably don’t even understand what you did or what’s happening. You … you just want to stand in the meadows, enjoying some sunlight.”

Elize gazed out the window and whispered: “Me too.”

She wanted to tickle Kuku’s belly, but couldn’t do the movement because of her wounds.

“Sweet, dangerous Kuku. You must leave. Prevent more injuries. Before—”

Her bedroom door swung open with a loud squeak.

They’d practiced this many times. Kuku jumped underneath the covers, Elize threw something in front of the bump, and she’d pretend to read or work on the bed.

Never had they practiced it while injured.

Kuku’s behind partially protruded from of the covers. Elize hadn’t even moved yet.

Harry’s mouth forgot to close.

His hand hovered around the door handle. The rope fell out of his other hand and clattered onto the floor.

“You … have …”

“It’s not as it seems!”

Steam erupted from his ears and nostrils. Kuku wriggled free from the covers and used Elize as a shield.

Harry easily walked around her, grabbed Kuku from below, and lifted her off the ground. His other hand searched for the rope on the floor.

“Dad! She did nothing wrong. If you hadn’t locked up her father … if you … if everything had been different—”

“I thought it was just you and me.”

He looked straight into Elize’s eyes, as he wrapped the rope tighter and tighter around Kuku’s neck.

“Apparently it’s just me.”

Elize moved to stop her dad. She lacked the power completely. Her fingers were like annoying mosquitos that Harry easily swatted aside.

In the doorway, he paused. He held a flailing Kuku below his armpit as if she were a package to be delivered.

“You are grounded! And I’ll find another punishment! Double duties! And—”

Elize stood and wiped the tears away.

“Grounded? Yeah, sure, because normally I visit my friends all day and go so many places. Double duties? Why not triple? I do everything around here anyway.”

“Where is this coming—”

“Don’t force me to hate what I used to love!”

Kuku squeaked from the pain. Harry tightened his grip.

“And you’ve grown a big mouth too. Quadruple duties! And I’ll send you to a different school!”

“If you hurt Kuku or Hess in any way—”

“Great idea, Elize. You may exact the punishment today. It’s about time you learned how to slaughter—”

Elize exploded off the bed as if it were the strongest trampoline ever. She made herself as tall as possible, standing before her father.

She hit him in the face with all her strength.

In his surprise, Harry dropped Kuku and let his cheek slowly turn red. He filled himself with air, build up his anger, like a balloon near breaking point.

“What’s with the glassy eyes, dad?” screamed Elize. “This is what you do to stupid animals who won’t listen.”

The balloon deflated.

Elize thought she could grab Kuku, but Harry still held her in a death grip. His back was bent, making him nearly as small as his daughter. His voice was weak, almost inaudible.

“Fine. In one week our farm will close. Who knows where our animals will end up. A centuries old tradition in my family ends with me because my daughter loves cows more than her dad. I hope you’re looking forward to being poor and losing your freedom. Being laughed at by the city snobs and living in a tiny, tiny terraced house in the polluted city.”

Harry stormed out of her room, Kuku still under his armpit.