Jack Staples and the Ring of Time (10 page)

Chapter 14

THE ORIAX

“I am not accustomed to saying things twice. My name is Mrs. Dumphry, and I expect you to listen. If you want to stay alive, you will do as I say. And if you want to help Megan Staples, you will do it quickly. The Oriax have come. There’s no time to dally.”

Alexia stared at Mrs. Dumphry.
Who is this old woman, and what is she going on about?
Alexia’s thoughts were about to form into words when something howled from deep in the forest. It was unlike anything she’d heard before, followed by a shriek that was immediately followed by a great gurgling hiss.

“Stand up!” Mrs. Dumphry’s voice held such a note of authority that Alexia found herself standing without thinking.

“Pick up the boy and follow me.” Mrs. Dumphry began walking toward the house.

“We can’t just leave her.” Alexia felt numb as she motioned toward Megan Staples.

“If you want to help Megan, then you must come with me, now!” Mrs. Dumphry said. “The Oriax don’t care about her; it’s the two of you they’re after.”

More beastly cries sounded from the forest. There were howls, gurgles, shrieks, hisses, and roars. They were coming closer by the second, yet Alexia barely heard. Could it be true? Could Megan Staples really be alive? If listening to the old woman meant saving Megan, Alexia would do anything she asked.

Placing Jack on her back, Alexia followed behind Mrs. Dumphry. When another roar sounded, closer this time, she turned to see two beasts surge out of the forest. Alexia had traveled with the circus long enough to know almost every kind of animal, but the creatures running toward her now were unlike anything she’d seen before.

One of the beasts had the head of a wolf but was as big as a horse. And its neck was long and covered in the shiny black scales of a serpent. Alexia couldn’t see clearly, but she thought its body was also different. Scurrying beside it was another beast with the head of a bear and the body of some sort of lizard.

A moment later, another beast leaped from the forest. This one had the head and shoulders of a rat and the body of a frog. The creature bounded high into the air, covering a huge amount of ground with each jump. The beasts’ only similarities were their blood-red eyes, their large size, and their fangs that gleamed in the morning light.

“Run, you foolish girl!” Mrs. Dumphry’s voice was urgent. Alexia hadn’t realized she’d stopped. As she turned to run, another beast slithered out of the woods. And though she ran as fast as she could, with Jack on her back she felt as though she were running through mud.

Alexia ran toward the old woman who was now standing on the porch with her arms raised and palms outstretched. She couldn’t tell for sure, but she thought Mrs. Dumphry’s hands were beginning to change color. Suddenly another hooded figure stalked out from behind the house. He had a bow in hand and an arrow nocked.

“Get down!” he screamed as he loosed an arrow that flew straight at Alexia. She dropped to the ground, and the missile whizzed past, nicking her ear. Though she didn’t see what happened next, Alexia felt a flash of heat pass over her.

Thwang
. Another arrow flew overhead. She tried to scramble to her feet, but Jack was on top of her, pinning her down. She looked back to see the beast with the wolf’s head and snake’s neck scrambling toward her. An arrow sprouted from its snout, but it barely seemed to notice.

The hellish beast moved with a viper’s speed as it whipped its head back and sprang forward. Alexia moved her feet at the last second, but the beast’s fangs closed around Jack’s leg. She kicked it hard in the snout as Jack’s eyes shot open and he began to scream.
Thwang!
A second arrow struck the beast between the eyes, killing it instantly.

“You cut that too close, Wild.” Mrs. Dumphry glanced back at the hooded stranger as she rushed over to Jack. Grabbing the beast’s heavy head from his leg, she shoved it aside. Jack was wide-eyed as he looked from his ruined leg to Mrs. Dumphry.

“P-please, help me. It ... it burns. Please!” Jack stammered, his voice full of pain.

Mrs. Dumphry quickly lifted Jack to a sitting position and slugged him hard in the face, knocking him out.

“What are you doing?” Alexia screamed.

Without responding, the old woman produced a small vial of dark liquid. After uncorking it, she poured it over Jack’s wounds. As the liquid touched his leg, it began to smoke and hiss as if landing on a frying pan.

“What did you do to him?” Alexia asked.

“I saved his life,” Mrs. Dumphry snapped as the last drops fell from the vial. “At least for now. Few survive the bite of an Oriax. If the child had remained conscious, he wouldn’t have stayed still long enough for me to help him.”

Alexia’s eyes shifted between the four dead beasts in front of her. Two of them had arrows sprouting between their eyes, and the other two had somehow been burned to death. How did that happen? The beast that had bitten Jack had the scaled neck of a snake, a wolf’s head, and the body and legs of a goat. The others were equally strange, each a blend of mammal and reptile. Yet none of them looked awkward, but seemed natural as skin blended into fur or scale. The only similarities between them were their blood-red eyes and two rows of razor-sharp fangs.

As Alexia studied the stranger who’d loosed the arrows, she was surprised to see a boy. He was close to her age with dirty-blond curls sprouting at every angle, and his eyes were more orange than brown. When he met Alexia’s stare, he blushed, immediately shifting his gaze back to the forest.

“I’m sorry I was late,” the boy said to Mrs. Dumphry, “but I was busy trying to stay alive. There was a Shadule in the center of town.”

Mrs. Dumphry’s head whipped around in shock. “You’re sure?”

“I’m sure …” The boy hesitated. “I don’t understand it, and I don’t know how, but the Shadule was dead. I found the creature lying headless in O’flannigans.”

Mrs. Dumphry exhaled heavily, looking in the direction of Ballylesson. “What could have killed a Shadule? And why?” she whispered. After a moment, she shook her head and turned to the boy. “We need a wagon and horses.”

“Already done,” the boy said, motioning toward the back of the house.

Alexia hated being ignored almost as much as she hated being afraid. “Someone is going to tell me what’s going on,” she demanded. “What happened to Megan Staples? Can you help her? And what are those beasts?”

“Child, do you consider yourself my equal?” the old woman asked.

Alexia was confused by the question.

“For I do not consider myself your playmate, nor do I wish to be,” Mrs. Dumphry continued. “A sparrow and a hawk may both be birds, but they fly at very different heights. I understand you have questions, and I plan to answer many once we are safely away, but right now we are leaving.”

“You think I’m going anywhere with you?” Alexia stomped her foot. “I’d like to see you make me!”

“Make you?” Mrs. Dumphry sounded perplexed. “Behind you are four dead Oriax. I would guess there hasn’t been an Oriax in these parts for thousands of years. On my way here I passed an entire pack of the beasts, all coming in this direction. And if you walk into Ballylesson, you will find that much of it is burning or already destroyed.” Mrs. Dumphry glanced at the large plumes of smoke rising from the direction of the town. “And Wild now tells us there is also a dead Shadule. A Shadule is infinitely more deadly than an Oriax and almost impossible to kill. If it is dead, something far worse lurks nearby.”

Mrs. Dumphry took a slow step toward Alexia. “This evil has come here for you, child. It hunts you and the boy,” she said, glancing at Jack. “Stay, if you like, but know this: if you do, you will die or be captured before the sun sets. Or, you may come with me. I cannot promise to keep you alive, but I promise you will at least live longer.”

“You said you could help her,” Alexia insisted, motioning to Megan. She didn’t know what the old woman was talking about, but as she looked toward Megan, it seemed the only thing to say. “You said if I come with you, she would be all right.”

“If you come with me, I promise to do all I can for Megan Staples.”

Just then, a pudgy boy peeked out from behind the house. He was as white as a bedsheet and had a bandage wrapped around his forehead, covering the top half of his eyes. He walked on unsteady legs and looked as if he were trying to wake from a bad dream. Even with the bandage, he squinted, as if the sun were too bright.

“Hello! Are you still there? Who’s talking?” His voice quavered.

“I told you not to bring anyone.” Mrs. Dumphry’s voice, directed at the boy she called Wild, was icy. “You were to check for these two, then meet me here.”

Wild dropped his eyes, but when he spoke, there was stubbornness in his voice. “Something bad happened in Ballylesson. O’flannigans has been destroyed, and there was a battle of some sort in the street. Besides the Shadule, there were seven dead Oriax.” When he met Mrs. Dumphry’s eyes, his face became hard. “I couldn’t just leave him there. I found him stumbling like a newborn lamb. Look at him! He is one of the Awakened now. His scales have fallen off.”

Mrs. Dumphry’s eyes were as cold as the grave. “Arthur Greaves,” she called out. The boy turned to face her, one hand shielding his eyes. “You had better not slow us down.”

Arthur paled even more. “Mrs. Dumphry, is that you? What’s happening? Do you know where my mother is?”

Mrs. Dumphry gave Arthur a withering glance, then looked at Wild. “He’s your responsibility. Put Megan in the house, then meet us at the wagon. We leave now.”

“You don’t mean to bring her with us?” Alexia was furious.

“She is in no state to travel. The only way to keep anyone in this town safe is to get you and Jack away from here as soon as possible.”

“You have to—”

“Child,” Mrs. Dumphry said, cutting her off. “You are a sapling standing before an avalanche. There is no winning right now.”

When Alexia met the old woman’s eyes, she took an involuntary step back. She had to physically unstick her tongue from the roof of her mouth.

The boy with the bow and arrows—Wild—walked toward Alexia and awkwardly extended his hand. “My name is Ethan Wild, but the Awakened just call me Wild. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”

Alexia was thankful for the opportunity to turn away from Mrs. Dumphry’s gaze. She glanced at Wild’s extended hand, rolled her eyes, and stalked toward the wagon.

Chapter 15

THE BATTLE BEGINS

In a matter of minutes, Arthur, Alexia, and Jack were in the back of a covered wagon. The moment they had climbed in, Mrs. Dumphry whispered sharply, “Do not make a sound, or we will all die today.” Without another word, she closed the wagon’s cover and tied it shut. Inside it was black as pitch.

Arthur sat in the darkness with his knees pulled to his chest and his palms placed hard against his eyes. He could hear Jack’s labored breathing coming from the direction of his feet. And though he couldn’t see Alexia, he could hear her breathing from the opposite bench.

Arthur hadn’t seen Alexia since a week earlier when Mrs. Dumphry had knocked her out with the rock. Yet he’d heard stories about her. All of Ballylesson had been talking about “the wild girl” living with the Staples. Though he hadn’t been able to see her clearly when he was outside, he’d recognized her voice.

For a very long time, the only sound was the creaking of the wagon wheels, the steady plodding of the horses, and the breathing of the three children. Every now and then the wagon stopped. When it did, Arthur held his breath until it lurched forward again.

He didn’t understand it, but something was wrong with his eyes. The pain was starting to subside, but even the smallest amount of light made him squint terribly. He was glad Mrs. Dumphry had tied the back of the wagon shut; the light outside was piercing. But he didn’t want to think about the light. He didn’t want to think about any of it.

Finally, when he could stand the silence no longer, he whispered, “What happened to Jack?”

A minute passed before Alexia spoke, but when she did, it wasn’t to answer Arthur’s question. “Is it true what she said? Was the town destroyed?”

This time it was Arthur’s turn to stay silent. He’d been trying not to think about what happened in Ballylesson. When he finally spoke, his voice shook with fear.

“I was at O’flannigans with Mother,” he whispered. “We were there to buy some sugar and grain, and I had to, you know”—Arthur suddenly felt embarrassed—“I had to go. So I went to the outhouse behind the store, and that’s when the screaming started. I don’t know, but I think most everyone in town was screaming. I wanted to run out, to see what was happening, but …” His throat caught. “But I was too afraid to move.”

“When I looked through a slit in the side of the outhouse, I saw an old scabby dog. It was chasing Mrs. Wetworth, and one of the buildings across the street was on fire. Then something crashed outside. It sounded like someone was fighting. I wanted to go to Mother, but I couldn’t move. I wasn’t brave enough.” He broke down in tears. “I heard something scream. I don’t know what, but I’m sure it was evil. Don’t laugh, but its voice scared me more than anything I’ve ever heard.”

“What did it say?” Alexia whispered.

“It was begging for mercy, like it was afraid or something. It said, ‘Spare me!’ and then …” Arthur began to shake. “And then a black sword pierced through the outhouse door; it nearly took my head off! And whoever or whatever had been begging was suddenly quiet.”

“I don’t understand. You’re saying the evil voice was begging for mercy?” Alexia asked.

“Yes. And that’s what I’ve been wondering. If it really was evil, then whatever it was afraid of must have been far worse, right?” Arthur didn’t wait for Alexia to respond. “When I finally left the outhouse, I saw someone. It was a pale, bony man who was covered in sores and dressed in rags.” Arthur swallowed, continuing in a harsh whisper. “He was lying on the ground, and I’m not sure, but I think he was dead. And I don’t know why, but just then my eyes started to burn like fire, and for just a moment, it wasn’t a man lying on the ground but a monster. I called for my mother, but she didn’t answer.” Arthur’s entire body began to tremble. “I don’t know if she was still in the store because I couldn’t see anything. My eyes were hurting so badly. I don’t know where she is or if she’s even …,” Arthur trailed off.

After a moment he continued. “That’s when the boy walked in and found me. Do—” Arthur’s throat tightened. “Do you think they’re dead—my mother and father and the rest of the town?”

“I don’t know,” Alexia whispered. “I don’t know what’s happening, but whatever it is, I don’t think we can trust the old woman. Those beasts didn’t arrive until she did.”

“Mrs. Dumphry?” Arthur said in surprise. “She’s been here forever. She’s my teacher—Jack’s and mine. Some people say she’s over two hundred years old.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Alexia whispered. “No one is that old.”

“I didn’t say I believed it,” Arthur whispered back, slightly hurt. “I’ve just heard people say it. Besides, why wouldn’t we trust her? Didn’t she kill those beasts?”

Before Alexia could respond, the wagon stopped again. Arthur’s eyes followed the sounds of someone walking around to the back. After a moment, the cover was pulled aside to reveal soft moonlight shining in. Arthur was amazed. They’d spent most of the day in the back of the wagon and ridden well into the night. Although his eyes were beginning to feel better, he still squinted at the brightness of the moon.

“There is evil nearby,” Mrs. Dumphry whispered. “Remain silent. The Oriax have come, and unless I miss my guess, a Shadule leads them.”

Arthur wanted to ask how she knew it was near and what kind of evil it might be, but he was much too afraid to say anything.

“Girl,” Mrs. Dumphry whispered. “Do you still have that sling of yours? If I remember correctly, you had some skill with it.”

“How do you know about my sling?” Alexia whispered back irritably.

“Do you have it or not?”

“Yes, I have it,” Alexia replied sullenly.

“Come with me and keep it at the ready.”

Alexia hesitated a moment before crawling out of the wagon.

“You,” Mrs. Dumphry said to Arthur, “will take the Staples boy. You will keep him quiet and remain hidden. And you will not move or make a sound, no matter what happens!”

Without another word, Mrs. Dumphry turned and walked into the night with Alexia following behind.

Arthur stood, frozen in fear. Had Mrs. Dumphry really just left him? Where was he meant to hide? When he heard a scratching sound behind him, Arthur spun and very nearly screamed. Wild stood in the wagon rubbing Jack’s cloak vigorously against the cloth walls. Feeling stupid for forgetting about Wild, Arthur blushed furiously. Luckily it was too dark for the older boy to notice.

“What are you doing?” Arthur whispered.

“The Shadow Souled hunt by smell. I want to make sure they think Jack is in here,” Wild said as he dropped the cloak and crouched low. “Well, are you going to help me or not?”

Arthur quickly knelt and grabbed Jack’s legs. The moment his fingers touched Jack’s skin, he gasped. “His leg is hot!”

“Are you a doctor now?” Wild retorted. Before Arthur could think of a response, Wild continued. “No, you are not. So why don’t you let Mrs. Dumphry worry about his leg, and just do as you’re told?”

Arthur felt a little hurt, but nodded and picked up the bottom half of his best friend. Jack’s leg was hotter than he would have thought possible. It was only a few short steps until Arthur and Wild were standing next to a large bush. As they laid Jack on the ground, Wild dropped to his knees and shoved him forward. When his friend disappeared, Arthur gasped again.

“Will you stay silent?” Wild whispered angrily. “Get in, and whatever you do, don’t move.”

As Arthur dropped to his knees, he saw a small hole that had been hollowed out beneath the bush. It wouldn’t hide them completely, but unless someone was right on top of them, it should do the job. He crawled in and quickly pulled Jack close. Even though his friend was unconscious, he was still glad he was not alone in the hole.

When Wild turned to walk away, Arthur whispered after him, “Where are you going?”

Wild shot Arthur an angry look and placed his finger to his lips, making a shushing motion, then climbed into the back of the wagon and disappeared from view.

Arthur barely breathed as he searched the surrounding forest, trying to see everything at once. And though his eyes still ached, his vision was returning. Except, he was relatively certain that the shadows weren’t quite so dark as they should have been. And he could see more detail than ever before. His eyes followed a small beetle crawling across the ground a few steps away. It shouldn’t have been possible to see so clearly.

As the minutes passed, his fear began to subside. Besides his eyesight, nothing seemed unusual about the night. Maybe Mrs. Dumphry had been mistaken. After an hour of sitting in the hole, he was on the edge of sleep. Just as he was about to close his eyes and embrace the coming dreams, he heard a soft whoosh. Suddenly wide awake, Arthur listened intently. The sound made him think of the blacksmith bellows his father sometimes used. Each time his dad took him into Ballylesson, they had stopped by Mr. McReady’s forge. His father would walk inside without saying a word. He’d grab the bellows and begin pumping in a slow, steady rhythm. Mr. McReady would look back and smile in thanks as he continued his work.

“I know it looks easy, Arthur,” his father would say, “but only a man with a steady hand and sure rhythm can be master of the bellows.”

When Arthur’s father pumped the bellows, it made a whoosh each time the air was pushed through the small hole. He could hear the same sound now, except it was much quicker, as if the bellows were pumping furiously.

Arthur’s breath caught as something dropped from high up in the sky. It landed directly between him and the wagon without making a sound. Fear swelled as a shadowed figure rose fluidly from the ground. It was hulking, with webbed wings extending from its back. As it stood, the wings began wrapping themselves around the strange creature. The wings didn’t fold into its back, but rather melted into its body, becoming a sort of second skin.

Although his vision was blurred, Arthur had seen the dead beasts outside of Jack’s house. Mrs. Dumphry had called them Oriax, and though they’d scared him witless, this was infinitely worse.
This must be the Shadule Mrs. Dumphry was talking about
, he thought shakily. And while he couldn’t say for sure, he thought it was the same type of creature that he’d found lying headless inside O’flannigans.

The Shadule radiated evil much the same way an ice cube radiates cold. As it stood fully upright, Arthur placed his hands over Jack’s mouth to quiet his breathing. The creature was directly facing them. It blended so well with the night that the only things Arthur could see clearly were the solid white slits of its eyes.

Letting its head fall back at an impossible angle, the creature began to sway and make a soft rattling sound. It moved more like a snake than a man as it sniffed the air. Keeping its feet anchored to the ground, the creature bent so that its entire body hovered just above the forest floor. It moved so fluidly that Arthur was sure it couldn’t possibly have bones.

Inhaling deeply, the creature began to swing in a slow, wide circle. It swayed in the direction of the wagon and snapped rigid as its entire body stretched itself out like a snake, adding a full pace to its length. The Shadule let out a rattling hiss, then flung its body in the opposite direction so the back of its head nearly touched the ground. It sprang forward, shooting toward the back of the wagon.

As the creature was about to fly through the opening, a burning arrow was loosed from inside and struck it square in the chest. The Shadule exploded into flames, letting out a high-pitched scream as it disappeared into the back of the wagon.

Arthur didn’t breathe; he couldn’t have moved if his life depended on it. Inside the wagon, the light of the flames flickered brightly, and what he heard made him want to tear at his ears. Wild’s agonized screams echoed through the crisp night air. The wagon shook violently as the Shadule shrieked in rage, rattling and snarling.

A moment later, the flames extinguished themselves. It didn’t look as if they’d burned out, but rather they’d been sucked inward. As the flames disappeared, Wild’s screaming quieted, shifting to a terrified whimper.

“Where is the boy?” the Shadule rasped.

“You’re too late,” Wild moaned. “The Child of Prophecy has come, and your master’s end is near!”

Arthur felt the hair on his body begin to rise as lightning exploded out of the clear night sky, striking near the wagon and forming a crater in the ground. The brightness nearly blinded Arthur, his eyes still sensitive to light. Almost instantly another bolt struck the ground behind him, flinging a mound of dirt high in the air. The very air was alive with electricity, and in the brightness of the lightning strikes, Arthur saw three Oriax slowly approaching.

He ducked low and didn’t think the beasts had seen him, but they were coming directly toward him. As he turned back to look at the wagon, he screamed. The Shadule was standing next to the wagon, but staring directly at Arthur and Jack. Taking a fluid step toward him, it dropped to its belly and began slithering forward, moving like a snake.

In blind panic, Arthur leaped from the hole, pulling Jack behind him.

“I will receive great reward for this,” the Shadule hissed, its forked tongue flicking out from between its lifeless, gray lips. “Since time before time we have waited!” it rattled.