The Curse of the Cat-Eye Jewel Read online

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  Library Binding ISBN 9780593381410

  Ebook ISBN 9780593381427

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  CONTENTS

  Prologue

  Chapter 1: The Journey Begins

  Chapter 2: The Mysterious Ninja

  Chapter 3: Attack of the Green Warriors

  Chapter 4: Nineko

  Chapter 5: The Art of Catjitzu

  Chapter 6: Ninja or Sorceress?

  Chapter 7: The Search for Immortality

  Chapter 8: The Temple of the Jewel Guardians

  Chapter 9: Get the Jewel!

  Chapter 10: The Spell Is Broken

  Epilogue

  Glossary

  Splash!

  The Green Ninja backflipped over Kai’s head and landed in a puddle. The water shot up and drenched Kai.

  “Hey, watch it!” complained Kai, the Fire Ninja. “Master Wu, why do we have to train in the rain?”

  Master Wu stood on a rock and watched Lloyd, Kai, Cole, Nya, and Zane spar with each other outside the Monastery of Spinjitzu. The rain poured down the edges of his round straw hat, leaving his face dry.

  “Do you think the weather will obey you when a battle springs up, ninja?” Master Wu asked. “It will not. You must hone your skills in every environment. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Master Wu,” Kai grumbled. He leapt in the air and aimed a kick at Cole. Cole dodged it—and slipped in the mud.

  “Isn’t underground an environment, too?” asked Cole, the Earth Ninja. “Why can’t we train there, where it’s warm and dry?”

  Nya surfed up to the others on a wave of muddy water that she controlled with her elemental power. Each of the ninja had the ability to control the power of an element of nature, and Nya was the Water Ninja.

  “I don’t see what the problem is,” she said. “Training in the rain is fun!”

  She jumped off the wave and it sloshed over Lloyd, Cole, Kai, and Zane.

  “I agree with Nya,” said Zane, the Titanium Ninja. “This reminds me of my early days of training, when I would meditate at the bottom of a lake.”

  Nya looked around. “Hey, where’s Jay? I thought he’d be adding some lightning to this storm.”

  Jay charged out of the monastery carrying an old-fashioned umbrella with a long bamboo handle and a tiny canopy on top.

  “Sorry I’m late!” he said.

  “Don’t open that!” Master Wu warned.

  Jay frowned. “You mean this? I found it in a closet. I figured since it’s raining…”

  “You figured you would train with an umbrella?” Nya asked.

  “Why not?” Jay replied. “I can train with one arm and hold the umbrella with the other.” He karate-chopped with his left arm to make his point.

  “That umbrella is very dangerous, Jay,” Master Wu said.

  “It’s just an umbrella,” Jay countered. “What are you worried about? That I’ll poke my eye out or something?”

  He twirled the umbrella like a baton. The long handle poked him in the eye.

  “Ow!” Jay cried.

  Master Wu swiftly jumped off his rock and took the umbrella from Jay before he could blink. By now, the other ninja had gathered around, curious.

  “All right, uncle, what’s the deal with this umbrella?” Lloyd asked. “There must be a story behind this.”

  “There is indeed,” Master Wu replied. “And since this training exercise seems to be going nowhere, I will tell you. Come inside.”

  A few minutes later, the ninja were wearing dry clothes and gathered in Master Wu’s room. He sat on the floor with the umbrella at his feet.

  “Many years ago, when my brother, Garmadon, and I were young, our father sent us on a journey,” he began. “The story of this umbrella is the very first adventure we had….”

  You boys are both a disappointment to me. So reckless!

  The words of the First Spinjitzu Master had echoed in Wu’s mind all night. He and his brother, Garmadon, had disappointed him before. But now things were different.

  As a young boy, Wu had been impatient. He didn’t always obey their father, and sometimes broke the rules. It had been Wu’s idea to steal the scrolls of Forbidden Spinjitzu. He’d been sure his father would understand. Aspheera, the Serpentine sorceress, had been planning to invade Ninjago, and he had to stop her! But he wasn’t strong enough. He needed the secret power in the scrolls to defeat her.

  Garmadon had used the scrolls, too, to battle her snake warriors. Together, the brothers had defeated and imprisoned Aspheera. They’d saved Ninjago!

  But their father had been angry, and worse, disappointed. He hid the scrolls where they would never be found. Wu worried that his father would never trust him again.

  After that, Wu became the responsible one, and his brother started to take more risks. It was Garmadon who had climbed over the wall when they weren’t supposed to. And Garmadon who had been bitten by a serpent on the other side of that wall.

  Now, several years later, the First Spinjitzu Master still did not trust them. He had been more silent than ever since they had moved to the monastery. But then, last night, he had given them both a chance to redeem themselves.

  “You have both disobeyed me several times. And since Garmadon was bitten, it has become even worse,” their father had said. “Something strange happened to you that day, Garmadon, and I fear you are not the same boy you were before.”

  Garmadon had scowled but said nothing.

  “I am sending you on a journey,” their father had continued. “A journey to find a special tea plant that may help purify Garmadon of whatever is plaguing him. You will leave tomorrow morning at sunrise.”

  Wu had been full of questions. “Where will we find this tea plant? And what is so special about it?”

  His father had smiled. “The plant grows on the shores of the northern ocean. Once you get there, more answers will be revealed.”

  “Mysterious as always,” Garmadon had muttered under his breath.

  “Did you say something, son?” the First Spinjitzu Master had asked.

  “Wise words, Father!” Garmadon said out loud.

  Thinking about this new mission was keeping Wu awake. Where will our journey take us? What will we discover there? he thought. The thought of exploring Ninjago excited him just as much as making things right with his father.

  Before the first ray of sunlight peeked over the mountain, before the first bird sang a single note, Wu jumped out of bed.
He put on his gi—brown trousers with a matching lightweight shirt tied in front. He washed his face in the bowl of water on the simple wooden table in the room. Then he ran a comb through his white-blond hair and topped it with his favorite straw hat.

  He had gotten his backpack ready for the journey the night before and slipped it on his back. Then he picked up his bamboo fighting staff.

  Garmadon was still in bed, snoring. Wu lightly tapped him on the head with his staff.

  “Rise and shine, brother! Today our journey begins!”

  Garmadon swatted him away. “Knock it off, Wu. I’m still sleeping!”

  “Father said we must leave at sunrise,” Wu reminded him.

  “Yes, but he didn’t say which sunrise,” Garmadon shot back. “Wake me up tomorrow.”

  He pulled the blanket over his head and started to snore again.

  “Are you serious?” Wu complained. “This is an important mission. We’ve got to start off on the right foot.”

  Garmadon just kept snoring.

  Wu frowned. Then he picked up the water bowl and emptied it on his brother’s head.

  Garmadon jolted up, sputtering. “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?”

  Wu laughed. “Looks like you’re awake now.”

  Garmadon climbed out of bed. “Try that again and I’ll hit you with my best Spinjitzu move,” he snapped.

  “Ooh, I’m scared,” Wu replied sarcastically. “Come on, get your bag packed so we can get going. The sun is coming up!”

  Grumbling, Garmadon started filling his pack.

  “Don’t forget something to wear when it gets cold at night,” Wu said. “And extra socks in case our feet get wet. And you might want to pack some tea. I packed some along with my teapot, but we could use some more.”

  “I will pack whatever I want to pack,” Garmadon said, and Wu knew better than to argue. Getting his brother out of bed was a victory. Starting their journey was the most important thing!

  Wu waited patiently for his brother to get ready. The birds were already on their twenty-fifth song when Garmadon appeared, with his dark hair tied back and his pack on his back.

  “What are you waiting for, Wu? Let’s go!” Garmadon said.

  The two boys stepped out of the monastery.

  “Where are we going, again?” Garmadon asked.

  “Right now there is only one path in front of us, so let’s take it,” Wu said, and they headed for the nearest village.

  The village was just starting to wake up when they arrived. Chickens pecked at the ground. Children carried buckets of water from the well. A jolly man sold noodles from a cart.

  “Get your breakfast noodles here!” he called out. “Start your day with a belly full of warm noodles!”

  Garmadon stopped in front of the cart.

  “Come on,” Wu urged. “Father said we need to go to the northern ocean. And north is this way.” He pointed to a path outside the village.

  “Can’t we get some noodles?” Garmadon asked. “It makes sense to get some food in our bellies if we’re going on a long journey. The food in our packs will only last for so long.”

  Wu’s stomach growled. “I guess that sounds sensible,” he admitted.

  The boys bought two bowls of noodles and slurped them down.

  “That was pretty good,” Garmadon said. “Maybe we should look for a dumpling cart.”

  “I don’t get it,” Wu said. “It’s like you don’t even want to go on this trip. What’s the problem?”

  “The problem is that Father thinks I’m the problem,” Garmadon snapped. “I don’t need some stupid tea to cure me of anything. I’m just fine!”

  Wu stared at his brother. Their father was right. Garmadon had been different since the day the boys had been practicing with their wooden katanas and one had gone flying over the garden wall. Garmadon went to bring it back, but a strange snake bit him as he reached for it.

  From that day on, it seemed like evil had found its way into Garmadon’s heart. Bad moods would come over him suddenly, like storm clouds on a summer day. And there was a darkness in his eyes that Wu hadn’t seen before.

  But Wu didn’t say those things out loud.

  “Father’s just angry with us for stealing the scroll,” Wu said. “If getting this tea plant will get him off our backs, we should do it.”

  Garmadon sighed. “Fine.”

  They took the path heading north and traveled for several days. They journeyed across fields, climbed hills, and crossed rivers. On the fourth day, they came to a dark forest.

  Tall trees towered into the sky, blocking out the sun. Peering into the forest, Wu saw a cloudy, gray mist.

  “There’s a heavy fog in this forest, which is weird. It’s not anywhere outside the forest,” he said. He looked left and right. “We could easily get lost in there. Maybe we should walk around it.”

  “That will take too long,” Garmadon said, and he walked into the trees.

  Wu frowned and reluctantly followed Garmadon. The brothers took a few steps and the ominous fog completely surrounded them.

  “It’s impossible to see!” Wu exclaimed. “I knew we should have gone around it.”

  “Just keep walking straight,” Garmadon said. “I think I see a light up ahead.”

  Wu looked into the haze. He saw a light, too—two of them. Two red, glowing lights.

  “Garmadon, those look like eyes,” Wu said.

  “That’s just your imagination,” his brother replied. “It’s probably just—”

  RAAAAAWWWWWWWWR!

  A beast with glowing eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth lunged at them!

  Wu dove to the left. Garmadon dove to the right. Both boys somersaulted when they hit the ground.

  “What is that thing?” Garmadon called out.

  The creature roared again, flailing its arms and turning in a circle, trying to locate the boys. It was hard to see anything in the fog, but Wu could make out a hulking shape. Red eyes bulged from a furry face. Its body seemed to be covered with scales. Paws with sharp claws slashed at the air.

  “What kind of monster is this?” Wu yelled as the boys rolled away to avoid the monster’s reach. Then Wu and Garmadon jumped to their feet.

  “I think it’s a lizard!” Garmadon replied.

  “I think it’s a tiger!” Wu shot back. “Or maybe a bear?”

  “Whatever it is, it doesn’t like us,” Garmadon said. “Time for some Spinjitzu!”

  “Ninjaaaaa-gooooooo!” the brothers yelled.

  They began to quickly spin, becoming tornados of energy. They whirled toward the creepy monster at top speed.

  Whack! The monster swatted the ninja with powerful arms, sending the tornados spinning out of control. Both boys crashed into trees.

  “This is a powerful adversary,” Wu remarked.

  “I can’t see anything in this fog except for its glowing eyes,” Garmadon complained, running over to his brother. “It’s not fair!”

  The monster roared again. It was now so close, the boys could smell its horrible, hot breath.

  “Maybe tiger-lizard-bears eat dirty socks because that’s what its breath smells like,” Wu complained as the boys jumped out of the way.

  “We need a giant bottle of mouthwash!” Garmadon said.

  “That’s one plan,” Wu replied. “Here’s another: Let’s work together, side by side. We’ll attack from the front.”

  Garmadon nodded. “All right, but it won’t be easy fighting when I’m holding my nose!” he joked.

  The two boys began to spin again. They zoomed across the forest floor, following the sound of the monster.

  Bam!

  They slammed into the monster’s hard belly. The creature grabbed one brother in each hand and slammed them into the dirt. Then it planted a paw on each ninja and li
cked its lips as it hungrily eyed them.

  Garmadon struggled to free himself from the heavy paw holding him down. “This guy needs to go on a diet!” he complained.

  “My hands are pinned beneath me,” Wu said. “Maybe we can use our feet to—”

  Whooosshhhhhhhhhhh!

  The monster looked away from the boys and sniffed the air. Something dropped from the sky and landed in front of it. Wu craned his neck to look behind him. Through the mist he made out the shape of a tall, slender woman wearing a ninja uniform with a mane of long hair streaming behind her.

  She’s either a friend of the monster, or the monster’s enemy, Wu thought. I hope she’s an enemy!

  The woman struck the monster across the nose with a weapon that looked like a long staff, and it leapt up, freeing Wu and Garmadon. They quickly scrambled to get back up.

  The woman jumped as though her feet were on springs and soared straight into the air. She flew over the monster’s head and landed gracefully and silently behind it.

  Wu’s mouth dropped open. Were those cat ears on top of her head?

  The woman spun the staff in front of her, and Wu saw it had an umbrella canopy at the end. She was battling with an umbrella!

  Then something happened that surprised him even more. Her body began to whirl and she became a tornado of energy!

  “She’s doing Spinjitzu!” Wu gasped.

  “That’s impossible!” Garmadon cried.

  The woman circled the monster faster and faster, creating a wind so forceful that it blew Wu and Garmadon back into the trees. Then…

  Whack! She smacked the monster with her umbrella. The sheer force of the blow sent it flying over the trees.

  Yip! Yip! Yip! The boys heard the creature whimper and then run off, crashing through the brush.