Jack Staples and the Ring of Time (4 page)

Minister McCarty and Doctor Falvey seemed overwhelmed by the outburst.

“Silence!” Mrs. Dumphry’s voice was like the crack of a whip.

The voices cut off immediately, and each child watched their ancient teacher with wide eyes.

“Children, listen to me. Just last year I went swimming with the great white sharks. I tell you this to let you know that animals can smell fear. And whatever is killing these poor beasts will only be encouraged by the smell. You mustn’t allow fear to rule you.” Mrs. Dumphry beamed with pride. “I swam alongside those sharks for hours, and at no time did they sense even a smidgen of fear.”

Arthur would have been willing to bet it had been the sharks that had been afraid.

“Patrick Falvey and George McCarty will escort every one of you to your homes. Over the next few days, or until we find the beast, school will be canceled. And remember, whatever happens, do not enter the forest.”

Mrs. Dumphry grabbed an eraser and began clearing the chalkboard. Everyone just sat and watched with wide eyes, too afraid to move. After a moment Doctor Falvey shook his head and spoke to the class.

He cleared his throat. “Yes, well, ah … that’s right,” he said. “Come along now, children, and stay together.”

Arthur didn’t move. He sat at his desk staring fearfully out the window. Jack was out there. They’d promised to meet each other at their fort at the end of the school day. Feeling a sense of dread, Arthur decided it would be best to tell Mrs. Dumphry. Maybe she would go out and find his best friend.

Chapter 5

WITHIN THE CLOUD

At the best of times, Jack Staples was not the greatest athlete. But running full speed through the forest while being pursued by black fog had left him exhausted. He could barely breathe. He’d run harder and faster than ever before. As Jack lay beneath the ocean of darkness, he turned onto his back and struggled to fill his lungs.

The moment the dark fog crashed over him like a tidal wave, the whispering had stopped. And though the fog didn’t make a sound, he could feel it above him. With the fog came a wind that gave Jack the feeling of being doused in sewage.

When a hand gripped Jack’s shoulder, he screamed in fear. As he turned to see who it was, he would have screamed again if he hadn’t been so confused. Lying beside Jack was … Jack. He was looking at himself. The other Jack was gripping his shoulder and weeping uncontrollably. His clothes were unlike anything Jack had seen before. He wore a black cloak and a shirt the color of a storm cloud with elaborate golden thread sewn into each shoulder. But what most drew Jack’s eye was the sword in the other Jack’s hand. Its blade was the color of pitch, and on its pommel was the head of a roaring lion.

The sword-bearing Jack screamed through tears, “You have to listen to them, do you hear me? You have to listen! It’s you who kills them! You kill them all. Don’t you understand? Mother, the town, the city of Agartha! Its all your fault, all of it!”

The weeping Jack pounced on Jack and began choking him. Jack fought with himself in a frenzied attempt to keep the other Jack’s hands away from his neck.

“I can’t let you live,” the other Jack said, weeping. “Don’t you understand? We destroy everything! The prophecy is about me. I am the one who will join the Assassin. I am the one who destroys the Awakened!”

The only thing Jack understood was that he was slowly losing the battle with himself. Above them, the dark fog continued to rage as its scorching wind blew a torrent of earth and leaves into the air. Just as Jack thought he was going to lose the battle, the other Jack screamed.

“No!”

This was the last word Jack heard before losing consciousness.

The words of Minister McCarty and Doctor Falvey spun through Arthur’s mind as he entered the forest. He was more afraid than he had ever been, yet he knew he could not turn back. Jack was his best friend and would never have left him in the forest. Arthur had hoped to ask Mrs. Dumphry for help, but she’d left the schoolhouse as soon as the chalkboard had been erased.

He had then tried to tell Doctor Falvey about it, but the doctor refused to listen. “I am sure young Jack is safe at home, dear boy. No need to worry,” he’d said as he patted Arthur on the head like a dog. So, with no other options that Arthur could see, he’d sneaked away to warn his friend of the monster lurking in the woods.

Arthur could hear the sounds of birds chirping and the wind blowing, and these sounds were okay; they were normal. But every now and then, he thought he heard a twig break or a whisper from somewhere in the trees. Each time this happened, he dropped to the ground or hid behind a bush, too afraid to move.

“No!” a voice screamed.

Arthur froze. The scream had come from somewhere deep in the woods. It hadn’t sounded like Jack, but could he be sure?

“No! Why won’t you listen to me?” the voice screamed again.

Arthur couldn’t move. He wanted to run, to hide; but he knew he should try to help whoever was screaming. Besides that, he still needed to make sure Jack wasn’t waiting at the fort. Just as he was about to step forward, a muddy hand shot out of the earth directly next to his foot. Screaming at the top of his lungs, Arthur turned to run and promptly tripped over his own feet.

He looked back in horror as the hand quickly resolved into an arm. Before he could move, the hand shot out and gripped Arthur’s ankle, causing him to scream even louder as he tried to scramble away. Horrified, he watched the earth around the arm shift and swell. He nearly fainted when a terrible, beastly shape rose from the ground. Dirt and leaves fell everywhere, and the monster grew ever taller.

“Don’t eat me!” Arthur shrieked.

The beast let go of his leg and shook a head that seemed to be made entirely of mud and tree limbs. Dirt and branches fell everywhere. Arthur squeezed his eyes shut. He had no doubt he would soon feel razor-sharp fangs sinking into him.

“What are you doing?” a voice called out.

Arthur didn’t hear the voice; he was too busy begging. “Please, don’t eat me. Please, I’m sure I don’t taste very good.”

“Arthur! It’s me. What are you doing here? Why would I eat you?”

Arthur opened his eyes to see Jack kneeling beside him. He was covered in mud, with leaves and twigs sticking out of his hair and clothing.

“That wasn’t funny!” Arthur shouted. “You scared me half to death!”

“I wasn’t trying to scare you,” Jack replied. “I just woke up this instant. It was the dark fog that put me here.” He rubbed at his neck as if it were sore. “Did you see it? The black fog … or … or the other … boy?”

Arthur was confused. “What do you mean you woke up here? What black fog?”

Before Jack could answer, a beastly roar resounded through the forest.

“The beast!” Arthur cried.

“The fog!” Jack said as a second roar sounded, and this time it was closer. Without another word, the boys shared a fearful look, turned, and ran toward the schoolhouse. Not far behind, Arthur could hear the loud crashing of branches.

Arthur half ran, half stumbled through the forest, yet he wasn’t as fast as his friend, and he began to fall behind.

“We’re almost there!” Jack yelled encouragingly.

The beast was closer now, so close that Arthur was sure it would be on him at any moment. As he ran, something high up in the trees caught his eye. When he glanced upward, he saw a flash of deep red passing between trees. Whatever it was, it easily kept pace with them.

As his eyes were focused upward, Arthur’s foot caught on a root, causing him to fall flat on his face. He gasped for breath, frantically rolling onto his back. Before he could think to stand, the beast arrived and skidded to a stop less than twenty paces away. Although it was hidden in the shadows of the sinking sun, Arthur could tell it was enormous. It had a mammoth head and fierce yellow eyes.

From somewhere high up in the trees, a small shape dropped from branch to branch, spinning around one only to jump to the next. What looked like crimson wings floated and swirled as it dropped toward the ground.

As it landed directly between Arthur and the beast, Arthur realized it was not a bird but a girl in a crimson cloak. The girl shot Arthur an angry look before turning to face the beast. She had raven-black hair and emerald eyes, and looked to be two or three years older than he and Jack.

Without ever taking her eyes off the beast, the girl called out, “You both need to get out of here! I can’t keep him away forever!”

Arthur looked up to see Jack by his side. His best friend’s eyes were glued to the girl. “I know her,” Jack said.

Arthur didn’t care who she was; all he cared about was getting safely away from the beast. He grabbed Jack’s hand and stood. Very slowly, both boys began walking backward. Arthur feared what might happen if they turned their backs on the beast.

“Go!” the girl yelled.

Before Arthur could make himself run, the beast let out a thunderous roar and leaped from the shadows. The red-cloaked girl dropped and rolled out of its way, screaming, “Run!”

Arthur gasped. The beast was a black-maned lion! As he turned to run, Arthur saw Jack sit down. “What are you doing?” Arthur screamed. “We need to go!” But Jack didn’t move. He didn’t even blink. He just sat there, shifting his gaze between the girl and the lion.

“It’s you!” Jack gasped at the girl.

Chapter 6

A BIRTHDAY TO REMEMBER

Eight years earlier

Alexia Dreager had been a tomboy from the day she was born. When she was only six months old, she would scrunch up her face and cry whenever her parents dressed her in anything even slightly pretty.

As she grew older, her parents tried to teach her to act like a “proper lady,” but every chance she got, she would be off climbing something or playing in the mud. Alexia preferred play-fighting to dolls, and only once in her life did she willingly wear a dress.

On the morning of her birthday, Alexia woke up well before the sun and was thrilled to finally be turning five! Sprinting into her parents’ bedroom, she leaped onto their bed and landed on her father’s chest.

“It’s my birthday!” she shouted. Alexia had spent the whole night dreaming of sword fights, slings, and a new climbing rope. She couldn’t wait to open her presents.

“Slow down there, Ally Goat,” her father said, laughing. “Look how big you grew last night; you must have turned five while I wasn’t looking.”

Alexia smiled excitedly. She loved it when he called her Ally Goat. He’d come up with the nickname when he saw her climbing a large and very high boulder. After watching for a moment, he ran over, scooped her up, and told her that her new name was Ally Goat because she climbed better than any goat he’d ever seen.

“I’m guessing you’ll be wanting your presents, then?” her father asked with a grin.

“I can’t wait!” Alexia jumped up and down on the bed.

Her mother smiled ruefully. “This year, my sweet Alexia, we have something very special to give you.”

“I know you wanted a sling,” her father said, “but what you are about to open will make you look like a princess.”

Alexia wrinkled her nose. Sometimes her parents made her play with the girl who lived down the road, Sarah Cryst, who was the same age. Sarah loved to play dress-up. Alexia didn’t understand the game. All you did was try on different clothes over and over again. Sarah would try on outfit after outfit and then dance around and talk about being a “princess,” or she’d want to play “wedding.”

Her mother saw her scrunched-up face and burst into laughter. “You are our greatest gift, my girl. You are my moon and my stars, and I made this present for you myself.”

Alexia took the present. It was small and had a pink bow on top. Although she didn’t care about looking like a princess, she was excited to be given something her mother had made.

“Okay, my little goat,” her father said and chuckled. “Open it.”

As she ripped through the brown paper, the expression on her face shifted from excitement to confusion. In the box was a dress. It was deep crimson with black trim. She looked at the dress for a moment before setting it on her lap. She knew she should say thank you. She knew she should hug her mother and father and not be rude, but she couldn’t help herself. Alexia began to cry.

Both of her parents burst into laughter. Soon they were laughing so hard they were also crying! “Oh, my Ally Goat,” her father said, hugging her close. “Don’t ever change.” After reaching behind his back, he handed her one more present. At the sight of the second gift, she smiled excitedly and wiped the tears from her eyes. She’d never had more than one present before!

Alexia tore at the paper wrapping. Inside was a brand-new sling. “I don’t have the skills to make a dress, but I did make the sling,” her father said. Alexia immediately began swinging it around. She could tell her father was a master craftsman.

“Not in the house, young lady.” Her mother snatched it out of the air.

Alexia laughed as she gave both of her parents a big hug.

Yet it wasn’t the dress or the sling that made Alexia’s fifth birthday so memorable. A short while after she’d opened her presents, Alexia ran upstairs to change. Although she didn’t love the idea of wearing dresses, this dress was different. Her mother had made it for her.

As she pulled the dress over her head, her bright green eyes fell on the sling lying on her bed. She quickly closed her bedroom door, grabbed the sling, and climbed out her window and down the maple tree.
I’ll go for just a few minutes
, she thought.
They won’t even know I’m gone
.

Wearing her new red dress and with her sling tucked into her belt, Alexia ran into the woods. She spent an hour searching for the perfect stones to shoot at the birds and squirrels. She then spent another hour hunting down and shooting at the birds and squirrels. It was after she’d hit her seventeenth squirrel that Alexia realized she’d been gone far too long. Suddenly worried she would get into trouble, she began to run.

Alexia sprinted onto the road leading to her house. Rising high into the cloudless sky was a large plume of smoke. Tears sprang to her eyes as she topped the small hill and saw that her house was on fire.

Alexia began to scream, “Mother! Father! I’m here! Where are you?” As she approached the house, the flames were scorching. Even from the middle of the path, she could feel her skin beginning to burn, yet she didn’t care. She continued forward as hot tears streamed down her cheeks. “Mother! Father! I’m here!”

Alexia’s clothing began to smoke, yet still she walked closer. And when the heat finally became too much for her, she collapsed.

When she opened her eyes, Alexia was weary beyond words, and her body felt as though it had been beaten for hours. Her skin burned, and her eyes stung. At first she didn’t understand what she was seeing.

“That looks like my house,” she croaked, her throat feeling as dry as a desert. “Except …” The house she was looking down on had been burned to the ground. Only the tall chimney rising from a stone fireplace was still standing.

As she remembered the fire, Alexia bolted upright. Only then did she realize she was sitting on the highest branch of a tall oak tree. Dizzy and confused, she burst into tears as she grabbed the branch, lying flat and holding on with all her might.

After some time passed, Alexia began to remember that she was not just Alexia Dreager, a five-year-old girl. She was Ally Goat, and she was the best climber her father had ever seen. She would climb down this tree. And when she arrived at the bottom, her mother and father would be waiting for her.

A short while later, Alexia neared the lower branches of the tree. She stopped for a moment and took a deep breath. Until now, she hadn’t allowed herself to think of anything other than getting down. Now that she was close, she began to fear her parents might not be waiting for her.
Surely they should be looking for me by now
.

When she heard the sound of Irish pipes, she called out excitedly, “Father! I’m here!” Her father was well known as the best piper in all of Ireland. “Father, I’m all right! I’m in the tree!” she said. Yet the pipes continued.

Without thinking, Alexia dove from her branch. She didn’t have much time to think about what she’d just done, so she quickly tucked her head into her chest and thrust her arms out in front of her. As she hit the ground, she rolled into a somersault, and then another, then another.

Shocked, Alexia rolled to her feet and looked up at the branch she’d been standing on. “What was I thinking?” she asked aloud. But it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered now except her mother and father.
They must be worried sick about me
. She grinned at the thought of their pleasure at seeing her and ran toward the sound of the bagpipes.

As she neared the edge of the woods, Alexia froze. What she saw took her breath away. A large group of men and women had gathered. Everyone wore black and were standing around three freshly dug graves. In the middle of the crowd, two men sat on chairs, playing their bagpipes. Both were far shorter and fatter than her father. Alexia had been to a funeral before, and she knew what this meant. It was custom to bury those who died near to where they had lived.

Scrubbing at the tears on her soot-stained cheeks, Alexia was unable to make herself move. She sat watching the three graves long after all the mourners left. As the sun was setting, she finally worked up the courage to walk over to them.

A small wooden placard had been placed on a post at the head of each grave. Although she couldn’t read, Alexia knew what they were for. The one at the head of the largest mound would have her father’s name, and the other, at the head of the slightly smaller mound, would have her mother’s. As she looked at them, Alexia could barely breathe.

With nothing but horror in the pit of her stomach, she stumbled forward, feeling as if she were in a dream. She now stood before the third and smallest mound. Although she couldn’t read all the words, she could read her name: “Alexia, ‘Ally Goat’ Dreager.” She dropped to her knees, the shock too much to bear. Her parents were dead, and apparently, everyone thought she had died as well.

She stayed by the graves long past sunset. She knew she should find someone and tell them she was alive, but she had no family left. Her only uncle had died before she was born and her grandparents when she was just a baby. As the hours passed, a stony look entered her eyes. When she finally stood and walked back into the forest, she had one thought echoing through her mind:
I don’t need anyone to look after me. I don’t need anyone at all
.

Alexia spent the next few years on her own, stealing food and clothes and sleeping high up in the trees. Even on the nights she didn’t fall asleep in a tree, she often woke up in one. Before long the trees had become her home, and she felt far more comfortable in their branches than on the ground.

A few months after she turned twelve, Alexia found herself in the grand city of Belfast. She spent her nights sleeping on rooftops and her days stealing food. When the circus came to town, Alexia happened to be in the right place at the right time and was offered a job. The circus master had initially hired her to clean up after the elephants, but on the day he walked in and caught her doing backflips on the tumblers’ rope, everything changed.

Alexia quickly found herself starring in the biggest show in the history of the circus. The show involved four torch-bearing tumblers, a ring of fire, two lions, and Alexia. She was absolutely thrilled with the turn of events, especially about the lions. Over time, the beasts became two of her very best friends. And for the first time in many years, she once again had a family of her own.

On the night of the circus fire, everything changed for Alexia again. After the fire, the circus was shut down. Every tumbler had broken an arm or a leg, and most of the animals had escaped. Even worse, one of Alexia’s best friends, the lion she’d named Beast, had died in the fire. The moment she’d learned the second lion—the one she’d named Killer—had escaped, Alexia set out in search of her furry friend.

Two days after the fire, she found Killer. Alexia was surprised and somewhat hurt to discover that the lion wouldn’t follow her back to the circus. He was happy to play hide-and-seek and still loved being scratched behind the ears, yet no matter how hard she tried, she could not make the beast leave the forest that surrounded the sleepy town of Ballylesson.

Alexia spent most of her time trying to keep Killer away from the townsfolk. If they found out a lion was loose in the woods, they would surely come out and try to kill it. Every time Killer ate a farm animal, Alexia would drag the bones off to a hiding place she’d found down by the river. This was a disgusting job she disliked very much.