Jack Staples and the Ring of Time (14 page)

“And what did she say?” Alexia’s eyes narrowed to slits.

“She said you were special as well, and she wanted to tell us everything in the morning …” Jack wiped a tear from his cheek.

“How could she have known anything about me?” Alexia asked. “I barely knew her more than a week.”

“I don’t know,” Jack replied. “But she seemed sure you were a part of it all. But I don’t care about a stupid prophecy or a war. I don’t want to be a part of the Awakened or whatever. I just want to go home!”

Before anyone could say another word, Mrs. Dumphry was back. “Follow me and stay close,” she commanded.

A short while later, they were riding down a large dirt road leading into Wallydrom. Arthur had heard his father speak of Wallydrom. He’d said the town was even bigger than Ballylesson and the schoolhouse more than three times the size. Even though he loved and trusted his father, Arthur still hadn’t been sure he believed it.

Yet Arthur would never be able to see Wallydrom as his father had. As they rode closer, it became clear that the town had been destroyed. Every house and building had been burned to the ground, and bodies littered the streets. At first Arthur was horrified, thinking the bodies were people, yet he soon realized most were far too large to be human.

The streets of Wallydrom were littered with the bodies of horses, cows, goats, and pigs. All were dead, and many had turned as black as coal. Also lying dead were a large number of Oriax, each with multiple arrows sprouting from between their eyes.

As Mrs. Dumphry spoke, she didn’t look back or slow her horse. “Wallydrom was attacked by the same Shadule and Oriax that came to Ballylesson.”

“Where are all the people?” Jack voiced the question Arthur had been thinking.

“I can only hope most of the townsfolk escaped into the woods, though it is obvious some were foolish enough to stay and fight.”

“How can you say that?” Alexia said accusingly. “How can you be so cold?”

“I call it foolish because it was, child. If they had not fought back, Wallydrom would still be standing.” Mrs. Dumphry was angry again. “The Shadow Souled were looking for the Child of Prophecy. I am certain they were instructed not to kill anyone, but rather to round up the townsfolk. They wouldn’t have wanted to risk killing the child by mistake. Yes, the animals might have suffered, and a building or two would have been destroyed, but once the Dark Servants learned Jack wasn’t here, they would have quickly moved on.

“Just over a week ago, when I left Ballylesson, one of the things I did was warn the Mayor of Wallydrom of an impending attack,” Mrs. Dumphry continued. “Wallydrom has long been a stronghold of the Awakened, and they knew the danger, but still they chose to stay and fight. I suppose they thought they were being brave. And though the line between foolishness and bravery is razor thin, in this case it was pure foolishness.”

Mrs. Dumphry reined in her horse and turned to face the others. “I would have ridden around Wallydrom to spare you this gruesome sight, but I need you to see what will happen if you go back to Ballylesson. The Assassin wants you both.” Her gaze took in Jack and Alexia. “And he will destroy anyone who tries to stop him. It won’t just be the animals they kill, but everyone you know and love.”

“How did he find us?” Jack sounded numb. “You said he’s been searching for me since I was born. How did he find me now? And why did he think I would be here?”

“We’ve been here too long already.” Aias’s voice was grim. “We need to get moving.”

Mrs. Dumphry nodded, then answered Jack in a thoughtful voice. “The Assassin has been hunting you since our world was born. His Dark Servants have scoured the earth. But I don’t think the Shadowfog came to Ballylesson randomly. I think something happened on the night of the circus fire.” Mrs. Dumphry’s birdlike eyes were piercing as she looked at Jack. “Somehow, the Assassin knew you were in Ireland. Had I known, I would have taken you away, but I did not. I would guess the Shadow Souled have been hunting throughout Ireland ever since that night.”

“On the night I left,” Mrs. Dumphry continued, speaking directly to Jack, “when you told me about seeing the Shadowfog in the woods, I went to your house and took some of your clothes. The Shadowfog hunts by smell, and though it is a deadly killer, it is not cunning. The fog pursued me for three full days before it learned it was not chasing you. I’d hoped it wouldn’t be able to find its way back to Ballylesson. I’d hoped to buy more time. But I was sorely mistaken. Somehow, the Dark Servants arrived in Ballylesson even before I did.”

Mrs. Dumphry nodded to Aias. “We must ride hard for the next few hours. With luck, we will reach the underground city of Agartha before nightfall.”

Chapter 19

A LONG WAY DOWN

No one said a word for the next three hours. The only sound was the steady plodding of the horses’ hooves. Aias had disappeared, scouting the way ahead, while Wild hung far at the back, keeping watch behind. Mrs. Dumphry led the way, followed closely by the three children.

An hour after they left Wallydrom, they’d galloped into a field of towering maize. They had been in the same field for more than three hours already, and for the entire ride, Mrs. Dumphry’s words had been tumbling through Alexia’s head.

“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 there is something much grander happening.”

The woman is insane
, she thought for what must have been the hundredth time. Alexia had simply been chasing her friend Killer, trying to keep him safe. Nothing had led her to Ballylesson. The more she thought about it, the more she didn’t understand, and the more she didn’t understand, the angrier she became. Glaring at Mrs. Dumphry’s back, she booted her horse forward just as Mrs. Dumphry slowed. Alexia barely managed to pull her reins in time to avoid colliding with the woman and her horse.

“Are you trying to kill me?” Alexia seethed. Though she knew it had been her fault, she was much too embarrassed about almost losing control of her horse not to blame someone else.

“A mindless tongue and a sleeping bear have nothing in common,” Mrs. Dumphry said. “Yet if the tongue does not mind where it wags, it may awaken the bear.”

Alexia hated the way the old woman spoke in riddles. “You never answered my questions,” she snarled, “about the fire and the lightning. You never told me how you stopped the rock.”

Mrs. Dumphry smiled wryly. “Mind the bear, child. I will answer your questions when you ask politely.”

“I am hardly a child.” Alexia’s lower lip protruded slightly. “I am thirteen years old!”

“My dear girl”—Mrs. Dumphry sounded shocked—“age makes an adult in much the same way a glass of water makes an ocean. It is your temper that keeps you locked inside your glass.”

Who did this woman think she was? Alexia could hold her temper if she wanted. She just didn’t want to, that’s all. She waited, but Mrs. Dumphry merely stared forward and continued her steady plod through the tall stalks of maize.

Alexia wanted to scream at the old hag, but she knew if she did, there would be no answers. Doing her best to swallow her rage, she tempered her voice. “Please, would you tell me how you did the fire, the lightning, and the rock?” Although she had been trying to sound meek, she merely ended up sounding like a strangled cat.

“I suppose that will do,” Mrs. Dumphry chortled. “You see, I, too, was once asleep to the real world. It was more years ago than you could imagine and a far less civilized time than we have now.” Mrs. Dumphry grimaced at the memory. “And I was a far less cheerful person than I am today.”

Alexia wondered if she was trying to make a joke.

“Just before I awakened, I did something terrible, an act of the purest evil.” The sun slipped behind the clouds at Mrs. Dumphry’s words.

“What did you do?” Alexia asked.

“What did I do?” Mrs. Dumphry smiled sadly. “I will tell you someday. But now is not the time for such a sad story. Not long after my terrible act, the scales fell from my eyes. And just before the blindness came, I saw something … it was the most beautiful …” Mrs. Dumphry grinned, lost in the memory. After a moment she snorted. “My eyes felt like they were on fire, and I was heartbroken at what I had done. And though I had awakened, I had no one to teach me what that meant. As the years passed, I began to discover there were things I could see and do that others could not.”

“You mean like the fire and lightning?” Alexia could see Mrs. Dumphry in her mind’s eye. Oriax surrounded the old woman as she spun, hurling sprays of fire as lightning exploded throughout the forest.

“Like the fire,” Mrs. Dumphry agreed, “but not the lightning. The lightning you saw was not mine.”

Alexia waited for more, but Mrs. Dumphry remained silent. “What do you mean it wasn’t yours? It was all around you.”

“Child, you should understand by now that the eyes can deceive as easily as the tongue. I had nothing to do with the lightning—but that is not my secret to tell.”

Alexia bit her tongue to keep from sticking it out at the old woman. She hated being referred to as a child! Yet she needed to know everything if she was going to be able to escape.

“But how do you do it? How did you throw the fire and stop the stone?” She wanted to know this most of all. If she could learn how Mrs. Dumphry did these things, perhaps she could learn how to stop her.

“How does a fish breathe underwater? How does a bird fly? It is a part of me, an imprint on my soul. But this is something you already know. You have been using some of your gifts—Soulprints, we call them—since the day you were born.”

Alexia glared at her. “What are you talking about? I don’t do anything.”

“My dear girl, you can’t possibly think your agility is normal. Have you met anyone who has your balance or can climb like you?”

Alexia didn’t know what to say. She had always been a good climber. Since before she could remember, she’d climbed everything she could find. That’s why her father had called her Ally Goat. It wasn’t anything “special”; she was just good at it, that’s all.

“I don’t believe you. You are trying to trick me,” Alexia said scornfully.

Mrs. Dumphry smiled. “Climbing is just the tiniest part of the Soulprints that lie hidden inside you. Soon,” she said, “you will begin your training and will awaken to many more.”

“You’re lying.” Alexia was growing angrier by the second, and it was becoming almost impossible to hold her temper.

“You probably have climbed since before you can remember. Yet you fully awakened to your Soulprint when you experienced an intense emotion. It might have been joy, sorrow, or pain. At first you couldn’t control it. Sometimes it happened on its own, or maybe while you were sleeping or angry. In your case, I would guess you woke up in some very strange and high places.”

Alexia tried to keep her expression neutral. She would not give this woman the satisfaction of thinking she was right. Yes, she had woken up in the treetops on many occasions, but that was not because she was different. It just happened, that’s all.

Without warning, Mrs. Dumphry pulled her reins and dismounted. Alexia quickly did the same, and a moment later, Jack, Arthur, and Wild arrived. Aias had been riding ahead and was nowhere to be seen.

“We have arrived at the entrance to the city of Agartha,” Mrs. Dumphry announced. “This city has been an Oasis of the Awakened for thousands of years. Children, you will be glad to know that our journey is almost at an end.”

When Jack climbed off his horse, he was surprised to find his leg was not hurting at all. In fact, as he’d ridden, he’d barely thought about it. His mind was on much more pressing issues. Though the leg was badly swollen and the veins around the bite were beginning to pop out, when he took a few cautious steps, he barely felt a twinge.

When Mrs. Dumphry saw him looking at his leg in wonder, she quickly walked over and knelt beside him. The moment her fingers touched the blackened flesh, she hissed.

“We haven’t much time.”

“It doesn’t hurt at all,” Jack assured her. “I think it’s almost better.”

“The poison of the Oriax is deceptive. The better you feel, the closer you are to death. The evil in your leg is starting to spread.” There was urgency in her voice. “Soon, you will be in more pain than you have ever felt before. It will happen quickly, and if left unchecked, your leg will burst into flames. But this is the last part of our journey. When we reach the bottom, you will be healed. You must remember this, no matter what happens! All you must do is make it to the bottom.”

Jack was confused. His leg felt perfectly fine. Perhaps his teacher was mistaken. Besides, they were in the middle of a maize field, not on a mountain. What was he meant to climb down?

Just then, Aias arrived and leaped from his horse. As he walked toward Mrs. Dumphry, he reminded Jack of a wolf.

“They’re close. I estimate they’ll be here within the hour.” Aias ignored everyone, giving all of his attention to Mrs. Dumphry. “I counted four Shadule, two Drogule, and at least ten packs of Oriax. And unless I miss my guess, there is an Odius with them.”

Arthur paled, trying to look everywhere at once as Alexia silently mouthed the words,
four Shadule
. Yet Mrs. Dumphry simply nodded. “With any luck, they will lose our trail here.”

Jack wiped fresh sweat from his brow.

“What is a Drogule?” Arthur asked. “And a Odi …,” he said, trailing off.

Mrs. Dumphry ignored Arthur as she reached out and grabbed an ear of maize. It was one of many on a stalk that looked no different than any of the tens of thousands of stalks surrounding them; yet, when she pulled it, a small trap door opened soundlessly on the ground in front of her.

The door opened to darkness. Although Jack could see a thin, wooden ladder leading downward, he couldn’t tell how deep the pit was. Without a word Aias began climbing down.

Mrs. Dumphry nodded to Jack. “You should go next. And remember, you will find healing at the bottom.”

For a moment Jack just looked at her. Sweat stung his eyes, yet his leg still felt fine. As he walked to the trapdoor, he felt a small twinge of pain, though it was hardly worth mentioning. When he looked into the pit, he was surprised to find he could no longer see Aias. Inside it was completely dark. As he placed his foot on the first rung, pain shot through him, and his whole body shuddered. Jack squeezed his eyes shut, letting out a shaky breath. When he opened them again, Mrs. Dumphry was kneeling on the ground in front of him.

“You can do this, Jack Staples! You are stronger than you ever imagined.”

Sweat beaded on Jack’s forehead as he took a deep breath, nodded to his teacher, and continued down the ladder. With each step, the pain increased. It wasn’t a constant pain; rather it shot through his body with every step. Each time it bulleted though him, Jack’s hands gripped convulsively around the wooden ladder. Looking upward, he was surprised to see a small hole of light far above. He had made it quite far already. Surely it couldn’t be much farther!

As he descended, there was only one thought running through his mind:
I will be healed at the bottom
. He was dripping sweat, and his hands slipped on the wooden rungs as pain wracked his body. With each jolt he shuddered and gripped the ladder so tight he thought his hands might not be able to unclasp themselves. And though he couldn’t see it, the wound on his leg had broken open. He could feel a steady trickle of blood dripping into his shoe.

At one point, Jack slipped on a rung and tried to reach out and grab the back wall. He was very concerned to find there was no wall to be found in any direction. His leg screamed at him to stop, and though he couldn’t see flames, he felt as if it were burning to a crisp.

Three hours later, Jack was still descending. His body had run out of sweat and his shoe had so completely filled with blood that it made a sloshing sound with each step. He was desperately thirsty and much too tired to think. In the back of his mind, he was vaguely aware of the others following him down, yet all of his attention was given to taking one more step.

Thick drops of blood oozed from the heel of his shoe, and each step left a slick stain on the rung of the ladder. The pain was unbearable. As he made his way, Jack began to cry. All he wanted was to sit on his mother’s lap and have her tell him everything was going to be all right.

She can’t be dead!
The thought rang in his head.
Mrs. Dumphry is wrong. I will go back to Ballylesson, and I’ll save her!

As he stepped down yet another rung, his feet slipped from the ladder. Far too exhausted to hold on a moment longer, he fell backward. But very quickly, he landed on his back on the hard, cold ground. Jack had been climbing for more than five hours and had finally made it. All thought left him as he gasped for breath and stared upward into the never-ending darkness.