Jack Staples and the Ring of Time (13 page)

Wild stood nearby, keeping watch. Each time his back was turned, Jack crept slowly closer.

“You should have told us!” The man sounded angry.

“And what would you have done?” Mrs. Dumphry asked. “Sent an army to collect them? You would have drawn the attention of the Assassin himself. This was the only way.”

“I’d have sent more than a single boy.” The dark-haired man glanced at Wild, who was pretending not to listen. “You stubborn woman, I’d have come myself if I had known.”

“I trust Wild with my life,” Mrs. Dumphry replied. “And right or wrong, it’s done. I’d hoped to leave undetected, but I was too late. The Dark Servants were quicker than I had imagined. It shouldn’t have been possible for them to beat me back to Ballylesson, but by the time I arrived, they were already there.”

The man was still angry, but his tone shifted as he put his hand on Mrs. Dumphry’s cheek. “If I’d lost you, I would be lost. And you aren’t just important to me, but to all of us.”

Jack watched as Mrs. Dumphry leaned against the man and placed her head against his chest. “And yet, compared to these two children, I am nothing,” she whispered. Jack was confused. Mrs. Dumphry must be three or even four times older than this man, yet it looked to him as if they loved each other.

“Two,” the man said with a hint of awe in his voice. “How did we not see it? And how did the girl stay hidden for so long?”

“I do not know.” Mrs. Dumphry shook her head. “There is more happening here than we could possibly understand. Yet I am sure Alexia and Jack are both the Child of Prophecy.”

As Jack tried to move closer, a twig snapped beneath his wounded leg. Wild stepped forward and hefted his staff, and the man placed a hand on his sword.

“You can come out now,” Mrs. Dumphry called, her voice stone cold.

Jack sighed and straightened from his crouch, stepping from behind the tree. He did his best to meet his teacher’s eyes.

The man shot an irritable glance at Wild. “You trust this boy with your life, yet he can’t keep you safe from a skulking child.”

Mrs. Dumphry tsked as she looked at Jack. “Go to the wagon and wake the others,” she said cooly. “We are leaving.”

Chapter 18

WALLYDROM

Jack returned to the wagon to find Alexia already up. She was rummaging through one of the saddlebags, looking for something to eat. As she pulled out a large chunk of cheese, Jack’s stomach growled loudly. He was famished. The night before when he’d crawled into the wagon, he’d been hungry enough to eat a horse. In this moment he thought he might be able to eat two.

Alexia turned and looked at him, her face unreadable. After a moment she broke off a chunk of cheese and handed it to him. Jack nodded his thanks, taking a large bite. Although his leg still burned, he was beginning to wonder if it might be getting better. It looked as bad as before—worse maybe—but he could put a little weight on it now.

Hobbling over to the wagon, he grabbed Arthur’s leg and shook him slightly. “Arthur, you need to wake up.”

“Don’t eat me!” Arthur screamed as he sat bolt upright. When he saw Jack, he glared at him with his good eye. “That’s not funny!”

“I wasn’t trying to scare you,” Jack said. “Mrs. Dumphry wants us to get ready. She says we’re leaving soon.”

“I’m not going anywhere until that old hag gives me answers,” Alexia said. “If she thinks she can lie to me, she’s sorely mistaken.”

“And when did I lie to you, child?” Mrs. Dumphry came striding through the trees behind Alexia with the stranger and Wild on either side.

Alexia turned and slipped a stone into the fold of her sling. “You told me Megan Staples could be saved! You said if I came with you, you’d help her.” Swinging her sling, Alexia took a threatening step forward.

Mrs. Dumphry stopped walking, and the stranger and Wild both stepped away, watching with a look of interest. “No, child, I am afraid you misheard. I told you if you wanted to help Megan Staples, you would come with me. There was never any chance of saving her life. Her light was fading even before I arrived.” Mrs. Dumphry sounded as if she were giving a lecture in the schoolhouse. “When I found you, the only way to help Megan was to keep the two of you alive. It is all she would have wanted. So you see, I did not lie; you merely heard what you wanted to.”

Jack’s chest tightened with every word. How could she speak so coldly? How could she say these terrible things? “What’s wrong with you?” he asked angrily. “I thought you were her friend!”

Mrs. Dumphry grimaced slightly, shifting her gaze to Jack. “I am sorry, Jack. I needn’t have spoken so bluntly. I am beyond weary, and I was harsher than I should have been. Your mother was one of the truest friends I have ever had. Regardless, what I said is true. Your mother is gone. If I could have saved her, I would have. I don’t know what happened or how she died, but I have no doubt she gave her life to save the two of you. But we haven’t the luxury of time to properly grieve. We must mourn even as we flee.”

“No!” Jack erupted with an anger he didn’t know was there. “No. I don’t believe you. We have to go back! Maybe she’s still alive. We can try … something! And what about my father and Parker and the rest of them? We have to go back.”

Arthur crawled stiffly out of the back of the wagon. “Jack’s right,” he said. “We have to go back to Ballylesson.”

“I don’t know about your father or brother or anyone else in Ballylesson,” said Mrs. Dumphry. “But going back will only hurt those you love, and it will surely kill you. The Dark Servants came for you.” Her eyes stayed on Jack. “And now that they know you exist too,” she said to Alexia, “they won’t stop until they have you both.”

Without warning, Alexia screamed and sent the small stone flying at Mrs. Dumphry’s head. Just as the stone was about to strike her, it stopped in midair. Arthur let out a small gasp of surprise, and Jack stepped back. Alexia merely looked angry.

“Child”—Mrs. Dumphry’s voice was even colder than before—“I understand that Wild told you some things he should not have. And now you must have more questions than ever. Once we are on our way, I will answer many of them, but right now we are leaving. The Dark Servants have not been beaten, only beaten back. Even now they draw near.”

Mrs. Dumphry turned and motioned to the stranger. “This is Aias. He is a friend and was kind enough to bring horses. From here we ride.”

As Mrs. Dumphry climbed on to a white mare, the stone Alexia had flung at Mrs. Dumphry dropped to the ground.

An hour later, the wagon had been left behind, and all six travelers rode horseback through the forest. Jack rode a dark-brown stallion with a white spot just above its left eye. He had never been a good rider, and because he could only put a little weight on his wounded leg, he was even worse than usual. But the horse seemed to sense his injury. The only reason he was able to stay in his saddle was because the stallion moved far more gracefully than any horse Jack had ridden.

Arthur rode a dun-colored packhorse in front of Jack. He was an even worse rider and bounced continuously, nearly falling off with every other step. Alexia, on the other hand, looked as if she had ridden every day of her life. Her back was straight, and she didn’t bounce at all. She rode a dappled gray gelding at least two hands shorter than Jack’s stallion. Mrs. Dumphry and Aias led the way, and Wild brought up the rear.

Not long after they’d left the wagon, Mrs. Dumphry called back: “Children.” Her voice was harsh in the silence of the fields where they rode, causing Alexia, Arthur, and Jack to jump. “I told you I would answer your questions when we were on our way. And now we are on our way.”

All three children booted their horses forward. They were riding through a large field of potatoes. In the distance Jack could see a farmer’s house with smoke rising from the chimney. Until this moment he hadn’t thought about where they were; he’d only been thinking about what was happening. They had been traveling for two days and a night, though, and he was curious.

“Where are we?” He was almost afraid to hear the answer.

“We are drawing near the town of Wallydrom.”

Jack felt even more alone than he had just moments earlier. Until now he’d never been more than a few hours outside Ballylesson. The day his mother took him to the circus had been a grand adventure. In part because they were going to a real circus and in part because it was the farthest away from home he had ever been.

“What’s going on?” Alexia demanded, interrupting Jack’s thoughts. “What were those beasts, and how did you stop that stone? And the fire and lightning and all of it! You have to tell us what’s happening!”

“I suppose I do. Yet you will need to be patient. Pull one thread and a hundred unravel.” After a moment Mrs. Dumphry smiled. “But I suppose even the grandest tapestry began with a single thread.”

Alexia glared at her.

“Both of you”—her gaze took in Jack and Alexia—“are different. The rest of the world is born into darkness, blind as babes. Yet when the two of you were born, there were no scales covering your eyes. You have lived in the true world from the very first day.”

“I’ve never seen scales on anyone’s eyes,” Alexia said haughtily.

“They are not scales you can see—at least not until they have fallen off—but they blind nonetheless. Young Mr. Greaves understands this more than anyone, I would think. The scales covering his eyes have only recently fallen off. And though he is still relearning how to see, the entire world is already feeling more … substantial. Arthur is now one of the Awakened. In a way, you could say he has been reborn. And as with every newborn, he must learn how to walk and talk in this bright new world.”

Arthur turned a strange color of green as he listened to Mrs. Dumphry’s words.

“It’s not that there are two worlds, though this is often how it has been explained in the past. Rather, Arthur was only living in a shadow of the real word, whereas now, he is living in all of it.”

Mrs. Dumphry paused for a moment, then looked at Arthur. “Young Mr. Greaves, you did well last night. It would seem Wild was right. It is a good thing that you have joined us.”

Arthur blushed as Mrs. Dumphry turned back to Jack and Alexia. “However, Mr. Greaves is not like the two of you. For you, the world has always been one. Your eyes have always seen the world as it truly is.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Jack protested. “I don’t see things differently from other people.”

“And how would you know if you did?” Mrs. Dumphry replied.

Jack opened his mouth to protest but didn’t know what to say. Of course he would know … wouldn’t he?

“When you and Alexia first saw the Oriax and the Shadule, you saw beasts and creatures of pure evil. But if an Oriax were to pass in front of someone whose eyes are blinded by scales, that person would see a mangy-looking dog. And if a Shadule had stood in front of Arthur before his scales had fallen off, he would have seen a gaunt and sickly looking man dressed in rags.”

Arthur nodded when he met Jack’s eyes. Whatever he’d seen, Arthur seemed certain that Mrs. Dumphry was telling the truth.

“On the day you were born, young Jack,” Mrs. Dumphry continued, “the Assassin himself came out of hiding to find you. Many of the Awakened died trying to keep you safe. And with their help, your mother and I escaped and found a place to hide you from the world. After all, you are the Child of Prophecy.”

“And what about me?” Alexia asked bitterly. “If I’m supposedly a part of this stupid prophecy, how come I had no one to protect me?”

Mrs. Dumphry sighed. “To be honest, I don’t know. When Jack was hidden in Ballylesson, Blinding Stones were placed around the town. Blinding Stones are used to blind the eyes of evil. In your case, Alexia, you had no such stones that I know of. Not only do I not understand how you exist, but you are older than Jack. By your eyes it is clear you are also the Child of Prophecy, yet somehow you have managed to stay hidden and alive for all these years.”

Jack’s mind was spinning. Every word from Mrs. Dumphry brought a hundred new questions. What was a Blinding Stone? What did the prophecy say, and who gave it? Who was the Assassin, and who died trying to keep him safe?

“The prophecy is in a language not of our world, and few here understand it,” Mrs. Dumphry continued. “In essence it says a child will be born without scales, and the child shall save the world and defeat the Assassin, and the child shall bow before the Assassin and destroy the world.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Alexia said.

“Prophecies rarely do. Yet when young Jack was born, we were certain he was the child the Awakened had been waiting for—for thousands of years. And as I said, on the day he was born, we hid him away.” Mrs. Dumphry’s face was unreadable as she looked at Alexia. “And then you came along. The fact that you exist, girl, that you showed up in the same town as young Jack just before the Dark Servants arrived, is either the biggest coincidence the world has ever known, or something much grander is happening here. And I have always believed
coincidence
is the word we use when we are too blind to see the full story.”

Mrs. Dumphry’s voice was tight as she continued. “Your existence changes everything.”

“None of this matters!” Jack blurted. “I don’t care about any of your stupid prophecies or war. My mother is dead, and you took me away from her. All of Ballylesson could be dying! Don’t you care?”

Mrs. Dumphry’s eyes hardened. “I care more than you could possibly know. Ballylesson has been my home for many, many years. But caring is not enough.” Mrs. Dumphry’s knuckles whitened on her horse’s reins. She was angrier than Jack had ever seen her. “But I will not allow you to run off and get yourself killed trying to—” She stopped, turning to look to the horizon. A moment later, Aias came galloping toward them.

“Wait here,” Mrs. Dumphry commanded as she nudged her horse forward to meet him.

When Mrs. Dumphry was safely out of earshot, Alexia whispered, “We need to leave.” Her voice was quiet but full of resolve. “I don’t believe a word she says. All of this is happening because of her.”

“I don’t think so.” Jack felt his throat tighten. “On the night before my mother died, she told me that I was special. She mentioned a prophecy and said I could do things that no one else can. She said there were things I was born to do. And then she mentioned you, Alexia.”