Jack Staples and the Ring of Time (20 page)

Read on for an exciting excerpt from the next book in this series,
Jack Staples and the City of Shadows
.

“It would be far easier to train an elephant to fly than to teach the heart,” Mrs. Dumphry said, chuckling. “Can you imagine that?” She let out a great guffaw of laughter. “An elephant, flying! What a magnificent sight that would be. I wonder if any elephants have ever—” Mrs. Dumphry stopped. “What was I saying? Ah, that’s right, you cannot instruct the heart. It must be awakened through experience. Just because you are one of the Awakened does not mean you are living fully awake …”

Jack Staples wasn’t really listening to his ancient teacher; his eyes were glued to the sheer drop behind her. Mrs. Dumphry paced along the edge of a cliff without noticing when a toe or ankle hovered over empty space.

Alexia Dreager was standing beside him, and he could tell she was furious. Jack hoped she wasn’t going to start yelling at Mrs. Dumphry again; it never ended well when she did.

Arthur Greaves stood next to Alexia and was obviously afraid; he’d turned at least four shades of green in the last thirty seconds. Arthur was Jack’s closest friend, and Jack knew Arthur wasn’t afraid of heights. It was the water far below that made him nervous. Arthur could barely swim a stroke.

Jack was getting a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. The past month had been filled with all sorts of crazy experiences. Mrs. Dumphry kept them busy doing some of the most ridiculous things Jack could never have imagined.

They’d spent every day in “School for the Awakened,” as Mrs. Dumphry called it. However, very little of what they did was like any school Jack had heard of. Mrs. Dumphry had them eating strange food, reading poetry, singing songs, and learning language and dance. They’d spent a day climbing, another learning to juggle, and another cooking. They spent hours every day training with weapons and musical instruments.

Jack mostly trained with his black sword, Ashandar. Elion had told Jack it wasn’t just a sword. It was also a teacher. The Sephari said it once belonged to the greatest Blades Master on earth, and if he could learn to surrender to it, Jack might also become great. Back in Ballylesson, he’d felt Ashandar’s power when he fought Oriax and killed a Shadule. The blade had been alive in his hands. Yet no matter how often he practiced with the thing, he’d never been able to repeat what happened.

Jack felt his chest tighten. That had been the day his mother died. He’d tried to save her and instead had gotten her killed. Jack shuddered. He could picture her lying in a sea of green grass. The Assassin had killed his mother, and Jack had been too weak to stop him.

Jack enjoyed learning the sword because he knew he would need it if he were going to kill the Assassin. But the rest of it was infuriating. Every time he asked why they were learning such ridiculous things such as juggling or dance, Mrs. Dumphry would say something like, “Your imagination is a far more powerful weapon than a sword could ever be. If you learn the sword but have no imagination, your answer to every problem will be the sword.”

Normally, Jack would have thought the whole thing a grand adventure. But his mother was dead and the city of Agartha had been destroyed. No matter what anyone said, he knew these things were at least partly his fault. To make matters worse, Jack’s father and brother were missing, and he had no idea how to find them. Instead of searching for them or going back to bury his mother, or going anywhere at all for that matter, Jack and the others had been forced to wait in a small cabin somewhere outside of London. They’d arrived by boat a month earlier and had been waiting there ever since.

Mrs. Dumphry would tell them only that they were awaiting word from Elion that it was safe to leave Great Britain. When they asked where they were going, she claimed not to know. Jack hated doing nothing. He was sure the Assassin wasn’t sitting around playing childish games.

I could time travel …
He immediately dismissed the thought.
No. I won’t do it again. Not if I can help it.
Jack had walked through time, though he wasn’t sure he’d be able to do it again, even if he wanted to. He’d gone back to save his mother’s life. But not only had he been unable to save her, but he’d hurt many others in the process.

Jack snapped back to attention. Mrs. Dumphry was standing with her back to the cliff and both heels hovering over empty space. A spattering of snow covered much of the ground, but Jack’s shiver had nothing to do with the cold.

“What?” Arthur said, moaning.

“I said, I am going to count to three, then we will all jump together,” Mrs. Dumphry repeated.

Jack struggled to catch his breath as his stomach churned. The cliff was impossibly high!

“I-I can’t do it,” Arthur stammered. “I’m not … I can’t … the thing is, I’m not a good swimmer!” His eyes were wide. “I don’t think I …”

“One!” Mrs. Dumphry’s voice was a whip crack.

Arthur began talking faster. “It’s just that I’ve never lived near water so I’ve only swam a couple times, and I …”

“Mrs. Dumphry, I really don’t think this is safe!” Jack added.

“Two!”

Arthur’s hand shot to his mouth as he turned and promptly vomited his breakfast on a nearby rock.

“Isn’t the water going to be freezing? I think Arthur is right. It’s probably best that we come back another time,” Jack said hastily.

“Three!”

Without another word, Mrs. Dumphry leapt from the edge and folded her body into a cannonball position. When she hit the water far below, the splash shot high into the air.

Alexia grimaced at Jack, then rolled her eyes at Arthur. “You really need to stop doing that. You’re worse than a little girl.” Without so much as glancing down, she dove from the edge, keeping her body perfectly straight with toes pointed. When she entered the water, there was almost no splash at all.

Far below, Mrs. Dumphry surfaced, cackling loudly. A moment later she looked up in confusion. “A rabbit with the heart of a lion is far more powerful than a wolf that believes itself a mouse.” Beside her, Alexia bobbed up, looking pleased.

Jack thought he was going to hyperventilate. He knew they had to jump; Mrs. Dumphry would stay down there all day,
if she had to. He glanced at Arthur and whispered, “It’s going to be okay. She won’t let you drown. Besides, if we wait, it will only make it worse, right?”

Jack closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Screaming like a wild man, he ran off the top of the cliff. The fall lasted six and a half seconds, and as he surfaced, he gasped at the intensely cold water. Even still, he couldn’t suppress a laugh. The fall had been exhilarating.

“Young Mr. Greaves,” Mrs. Dumphry called, “my patience is wearing thin. You will jump now or I will throw you off.”

“Come on, Arthur,” Jack yelled. “It’s really fun!”

Arthur took a step back, disappearing from view. “I can’t do it!” he shouted.

Mrs. Dumphry
tsk
ed irritably, and a moment later, Jack heard a squeal from the top of the cliff. As he looked up, Arthur appeared. He was floating in midair and screaming hysterically as he hovered over the edge. Mrs. Dumphry watched with a look of concentration.

Arthur kicked his legs hysterically, flailing against something unseen. A moment later he shrieked as he dropped like a stone. A split second before he hit the water, twenty bolts of lightning streaked the sky.

Terror formed in the pit of Jack’s stomach. Rocks and earth rained down as he tried to look in every direction at the same time. Mrs. Dumphry offered Jack an amused smile, then turned back to Arthur.

Ten, twenty, thirty bolts lit up the sky, striking the lake or the nearby land. With each bolt that struck the lake, Jack felt as if he’d been kicked in the ribs. “We’re under attack!“ he yelled. “The Assassin is here!”

A short distance away, Arthur surfaced, flailing wildly. “Help me!” he screamed.

“Arthur Reginald Greaves”—Mrs. Dumphry’s voice was both commanding and reassuring—“you are safe! Face your fear, child. I will not let you drown.”

Lightning struck just above Mrs. Dumphry’s head, yet the bolt didn’t hit her. Instead it slammed against a shield of blue light.

“Help!” Arthur wailed.

“Fear is not real, boy.” Mrs. Dumphry treaded water calmly. “It is a locked door. Face it and you will find the key.”

Arthur barely kept his head above water as lightning rained down.

“We need to run!” Jack screamed. “The Assassin has come!”

“Arthur, you can do this!” Mrs. Dumphry’s voice held a note of authority that cut through the chaos. “Look at me.” Arthur locked eyes with her. “Child, you are courageous, you are strong, and you are able. And it is you who controls the lightning.”

JACK STAPLES AND THE RING OF TIME

Published by David C Cook

4050 Lee Vance View

Colorado Springs, CO 80918 U.S.A.

David C Cook Distribution Canada

55 Woodslee Avenue, Paris, Ontario, Canada N3L 3E5

David C Cook U.K., Kingsway Communications

Eastbourne, East Sussex BN23 6NT, England

The graphic circle C logo is a registered trademark of David C Cook.

All rights reserved. No part of this ebook may be reproduced, scanned, resold, or distributed by or through any print or electronic medium without written permission from the publisher. This ebook is licensed solely for the personal and noncommercial use of the original authorized purchaser, subject to the terms of use under which it was purchased. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

This story is a work of fiction. All characters and events are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is coincidental.

LCCN 2014943142

ISBN 978-0-7814-1107-3

eISBN 978-1-4347-0861-8

© 2014 Mark Batterson, Joel N. Clark

Published in association with the literary agency of The Fedd Agency, Inc., Post Office Box 341973, Austin, Texas 78734.

The Team: Alex Field, Jamie Chavez, Carly Razo, Nick Lee, Karen Athen

Cover Design: Amy Konyndyk

Cover Illustration: Duncan Stewart

First Edition 2014

Mark Batterson
is the lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC, one of the most innovative and influential churches in America. He is a national speaker and
New York Times
bestselling author of
The Circle Maker
.

Joel N. Clark
is the author of
Awake: The Book You Can Watch
, and cofounder of Atlas District Pictures and Switchvert. Clark has written and directed multiple documentaries, commercials, and short films. He and his wife, Megan, and their daughter, Juno, reside in Washington, DC.

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DCCeBooks.com
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