Jack Staples and the Ring of Time

by Mark Batterson

  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.

  Shortly after Jack’s short fall to the bottom, the rest of the group arrived safely. The pain had become overwhelming. No matter how he positioned his body, the agony would not lessen. He whimpered as Arthur knelt and fumbled in the dark for Jack’s hand. He held it tightly.

  “We made it, Jack!” Arthur gasped, still breathing heavy from the climb. “Mrs. Dumphry said you would be healed when we reached the bottom! And we’re here now, so it won’t be long.”

  The air at the bottom of the ladder was far colder than it had been at the top, yet Jack didn’t feel it. All he felt was pain. It was no longer just in his leg—his entire body was on fire. He closed his eyes as agony engulfed him.

  “You did well, child. You did very well.” Mrs. Dumphry sounded both concerned and relieved. Jack opened his eyes to see his ancient teacher kneeling over him with a torch in her hand. “You have reached the end and needn’t take another step. You will soon be healed.”

  As he looked into Mrs. Dumphry’s eyes, Jack felt the world spinning around him.

  Mrs. Dumphry stepped away and began whirling the torch in a strange and intricate pattern. Faster and faster it spun, sending sparks flying.

  “An soilsiú!” Mrs. Dumphry screamed the strange words into the vast darkness, spinning the torch even faster.

  “Caith solas ar.” This time her voice seemed to be amplified somehow, sounding a little louder than before.

  Mrs. Dumphry became perfectly still as she held the torch parallel to the ground. When she let go and stepped back, the torch did not fall, but stayed where it was.

  “Teacht chun solais!” This time Mrs. Dumphry only whispered the words, yet they sounded like thunder.

  When the final word escaped her lips, the torch began to spin furiously as it rose high into the air. Arthur and Alexia craned their necks as it lifted higher and higher. Even Jack kept his eyes open, captivated by the strange sight. As it rose, fire leaped from the torch, seeming alive as it rocketed out in every direction, spider-webbing through the air. And though most of the fire was sprawling out and upward, some plummeted back to the ground.

  Whenever the fire struck something solid, it exploded, sending thousands of multicolored sparks raining down. And for a moment, just before Jack lost consciousness, he saw something so magnificent it took his breath away.

  Chapter 20

  THE UNDERGROUND CITY IN THE SKY

  As Jack opened his eyes, he screamed in pain. He was lying in a large bed in a room he didn’t recognize and clutching at his bare chest. He gasped, feeling as if someone had touched him with a firebrand. He looked down to see a burn in the shape of a half moon on his chest, directly over his heart. It was red and puffy and felt tender to the touch.

  “How did that happen?” Jack moaned as he carefully prodded the skin around the burn. Yet even as he looked at it, the swelling subsided and the burn settled into a scar, suddenly looking as if it had been there for months. When he touched it again, there was no pain.

  What was that? he wondered, throwing his legs over the side of the bed. Very carefully, he stretched his wounded leg. Although he felt a small twinge of pain, it was nothing like it had been before. The leg looked quite bruised, and though he could see the teeth marks from the Oriax bite, the blackness was gone, and it was hardly swollen at all.

  When Jack’s eyes landed on the table in the corner of the room, he grinned. It was filled with a small mountain of food, and he was absolutely starving. Wearing only his smallclothes, Jack stood and tested his leg. It felt almost as good as new. He quickly walked over and stuffed a large piece of warm bread into his mouth. Someone must have just been here.

  Over the next several minutes, he devoured the most amazing cheeses, chicken, and beef. He gulped a full pitcher of milk, then spread thick strawberry jam onto more bread, stuffing it down. When he reached for more cheese, he was astounded to see he had eaten absolutely all of the food on the table. It should have been enough for five people, yet he still felt slightly hungry.

  Grinning happily, he walked over to a large cupboard and opened it, searching for his clothes. Jack froze. On the shelf was a sword. Its handle was wrapped in black leather, and on its pommel was the head of a roaring lion. The sword was sheathed in a black scabbard covered in golden scrollwork. He had seen this sword before. Lying next to the sword was a solid black cloak, and even before he unfolded the stormy-blue shirt, he knew he would find intricate golden threa
dwork sewn onto both shoulders.

  Jack just stood there, holding the clothes and feeling as if he were in a dream. The last time he’d seen them, he’d been wearing them. Or rather, another Jack had been wearing them. Jack had been lying on the ground with the Shadowfog flooding over him. He’d been lying next to the other Jack who’d been wearing these clothes. What was it the other Jack had said? He closed his eyes, trying to remember the exact words. The black-clad Jack had been weeping uncontrollably.

  “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—it’s all your fault!” And then the sword-bearing Jack had tried to choke him to death.

  He shuddered at the memory. He’d convinced himself it had been a bad dream or maybe a trick of the Shadowfog. But he knew now that it had been real. “I wish Father or Parker were here,” he said quietly. He needed to talk to someone. And besides Arthur and maybe Alexia, he didn’t know who to trust. Parker and Father must know about Mother by now. He pushed the image of his mother lying on a sea of green grass from his mind.

  “You’re awake!”

  Jack was startled. He jumped high and spun around to see Arthur and Alexia standing in the doorway. Alexia took one look at him, blushed furiously, and turned around. Only then did Jack realize he was standing in his smallclothes, holding the pile of clothing and the sword. Jack also blushed as he quickly ducked behind the cupboard and changed into his new clothes.

  “I’m sorry! I didn’t know you were … I’m sorry!” Alexia sounded horrified.

  Arthur grinned as he walked into the room. “You aren’t going to believe this place, Jack. It’s amazing! And the people—I’ve never met anyone like them. And there are giants here! Real giants.”

  Jack quickly laced up his strange new shirt as Arthur’s words washed over him. His eyes lingered on the black sword. He didn’t care what Arthur thought was amazing. He didn’t care about any of it. His leg was mostly healed, and he could leave. He could finally go back to Ballylesson. Something about seeing the sword and putting on the clothes made everything feel even more real. All of the fear and heartache, all the running and pain he’d experienced became overwhelming as his fingers tightened around the pommel of the sword.

  “Take me to Mrs. Dumphry,” Jack demanded.

  “Wow! Who gave you that?” Arthur pointed excitedly at the sword.

  “Arthur! Take me to Mrs. Dumphry,” Jack repeated. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about the sword.

  “Mrs. Dumphry is meeting with the Council of Seven,” Arthur replied quickly. “They’re in the Council Chamber and won’t be finished for hours yet. Besides, they don’t allow visitors in the Council Chamber. They’ve been meeting every day since we got here. But, Jack, you have to see it! The entire city was built underground! Yet it’s not like any city I’ve ever heard of. Its incredible!

  “Oh!” Arthur slapped his forehead. “You will never believe who arrived last night! I don’t know how to explain her, really, but I’ve never imagined anyone so beautiful. She’s not human, Jack. Wild said she’s a Sephari, as if that explains anything.”

  Jack tried to break in, but Arthur bulldozed over him. “And guess what? There’s a school here! It’s not like our school—here they learn how to be awake. Or that’s what they call it. But everyone in the school is like me! All of them have had the scales, or whatever, fall off. They let me join them for the last few weeks. I haven’t learned much yet, but—”

  Jack interrupted angrily. “How long have we been here?”

  “You were really sick,” Arthur responded without answering his question. “Even Miel didn’t seem sure she’d be able to heal you, and they say she is the best healer to ever live.” Arthur put his hands in his pockets. “You didn’t move for days—”

  “Arthur! How long?” Jack interrupted him.

  “Three months,” Arthur said nervously. “You’ve been in bed for three months. There’s nothing we could have done. Everyone on the Council agreed with Mrs. Dumphry. They said if we went back, all we would do was hurt everyone we loved.”

  Jack sat on the bed fighting back tears.

  “Alexia tried to escape,” Arthur continued quietly. “She’s tried to run away three times now, to get back to Ballylesson. She wanted to … to bury your mother. But the city is impossible to leave.”

  Jack stared at the sword in his hands as Alexia turned slowly, peeking to make sure he’d gotten dressed. When she saw him fully clothed, she turned to face him, looking grim.

  “We’re trapped,” she said hopelessly. “They don’t even have to watch us. The city is all bridges, and no matter how hard I search, I can’t find the way out.”

  Jack looked at Alexia. She was older, stronger, and wiser to the ways of the world than he was. If she couldn’t escape, how could he?

  “Take me to Mrs. Dumphry,” he said again.

  “They don’t let anyone into their Council,” Alexia said bitterly. “I’ve tried.”

  “They’ve been meeting every day for hours and hours,” Arthur added. “I think they can’t agree on something.”

  “They won’t even tell us what’s going on,” Alexia said. “They’re treating us like children!”

  Jack thought for a moment, then stood. “Apparently, you and I aren’t just children”—he smiled bitterly—“we are the Children of Prophecy. And today we are going to speak to this Council.”

  Alexia barked a laugh, but when she met Jack’s eyes, she gave a wicked smile. “Okay, then, let’s do it.”

  Arthur paled slightly but stayed silent. The three children marched out of the room, Jack carrying the scabbarded sword. As they exited the chamber, he stopped and stared in awe. They were standing on a small bridge. It was just wide enough for them to walk side by side. As far as he could see were bridges, both large and small, sprawling out in every direction.

  Although they looked to be made of dark stone, they sparkled as if something shiny had been placed inside the stone. There were thousands of these strange pathways in the sky. Above and below, they stretched out as far as he could see, each bridge leading to a separate chamber. Some of the chambers seemed far larger than Jack’s house, and others appeared as small as a closet. Everything was made of the same sparkling stone as the bridges.

  Jack turned slowly. He didn’t bother to try to count the bridges. The strangest thing about this place was the light. Jack was pretty sure they were still underground, but it wasn’t as dark as a cavern would be. The strange bluish-white light illuminating everything was obviously not the light of the sun. He didn’t know where it came from, but he could see quite far.

  There were no buildings or towers or halls or cathedrals, just bridges leading to chambers leading to more bridges. Jack felt sure that if one bridge or chamber were to collapse, the entire city would come crashing down. Many of the bridges looked small and delicate, while others were much too thick and heavy to span as far as they did. Was he truly meant to walk across them?

  As far as he could tell, the chambers weren’t held up by anything other than the bridges. And the bridges weren’t held up by anything other than the chambers. Often a chamber would have six or more bridges leading to it, and sometimes there would be just one. Jack walked to the edge of the bridge and looked down. He was so high he couldn’t see the ground. If he were to fall off, he would continue falling until he either hit one of the bridges or chambers or the ground he supposed must be somewhere far below.

  Cascading between many of the bridges were waterfalls. The water came from somewhere far above and flowed to somewhere far below. Many of the waterfalls flowed directly through the chambers.

  Arthur grinned, motioning toward the city. “It was built by the giants thousands of years ago. They say it took three thousand years to complete. I told you there are giants here, right? Re
al giants! I have only seen three so far, but Andreal is one of them, and he’s on the Council. He scares me, Jack. He’s huge and has a temper something fierce! Aias told me they built the city this way so that wherever you are, you can always see who’s coming long before they arrive. If an enemy attacks, they’ll never be able to sneak up on you.”

  Arthur slapped his forehead yet again before continuing. “And do you remember Aias? The man with the scar over his eye who helped bring us here? It’s so weird, Jack, but I’m sure that he and Mrs. Dumphry are in love. Can you imagine that?” Arthur scrunched up his face, obviously disgusted.

  Alexia rolled her eyes at Arthur before addressing Jack. “The city works as a maze of sorts. This is why it’s been so hard to escape. Even if I could find out where the exits are, I’d have to learn the correct paths to get there. And there are thousands of them! It took me a month before I could come and visit you without getting lost.”

  Jack shook his head in wonder. “This doesn’t change anything,” he said, giving Arthur a nervous glance. “You’re sure it will hold us?”

  Arthur nodded enthusiastically. “They say it’s far stronger than steel, but I still hold my breath when I get to the middle parts.”

  As the children began walking up the bridge, Jack saw what made the stone sparkle. It almost looked like there were veins of gold and silver in the stone beneath his feet. He also thought he saw diamonds, but he was sure he must be wrong. Who would place gold, silver, and diamonds in something you walk on?

  Arthur grinned again when he saw Jack’s gaze. “They say most of the world is sleepwalking through life. That those who have not yet awakened—that’s what they call us by the way, the Awakened—they say those who have not yet awakened place importance on things that have no importance.”

  Arthur was in awe as he spoke. “In the real world, gold and jewels are meaningless. They are simply tools, like stone or dirt. Can you imagine? They use diamonds to make paving stones! They say it makes them almost impossible to destroy. To hear them talk is really quite amazing!”