Five minutes later he was still following sound of the Swelter Cat’s humming. He heard Brinley’s voice from a surprising distance and responded, then slowed so that she could catch up, but she never did. He was about to call out to her again when he became distracted by a giant face appearing in the darkness beneath him. The giant made no move to attack him. Rather, it tilted its head back and laughed so loudly that he nearly toppled into the abyss. He had seen the others attacked like this earlier, but so far he had not been targeted. Now, he realized, it was his turn.
Out of the giant’s mouth there issued a dark cloud with something inside of it. A memory, Archibald realized, from his own life. It was the moment when he had discovered that his wife Lewilyn, the previous Magemother, had taken their daughter, Brinley, and hidden her away for her own protection. He looked away from the image, shaken. It was not a thing that he liked to remember. He could see the need for keeping Brinley safe, but why she had done it without including him in the plan, he had never understood.
The day the summoning bell called Brinley back into Aberdeen was the first time in years that he had dared to hope for joy in his life. More than anything, he wanted a family again. He had lost his daughter, and his wife, but now there was a chance to win them both back.
If only it were that simple…Brinley’s adventures had taken her into danger right away. She was tasked with finding the mages, saving her mother, and preventing a war, not to mention saving the man who had been her father on Earth—the man who had done what should have been Archibald’s to do. Next to all that, the secret that he carried seemed a small thing, too small to trouble her with. But maybe he had been wrong to wait. Heaven knew, he had been wrong about a great many things before.
He shook the thoughts out of his head. There was another cloud now, showing him a scene not out of his past, but from his nightmares. He paid it no heed. He had guessed that the purpose of the clouds was to remind a person of their weaknesses and, if they were shakable, put them off balance enough to send them teetering into oblivion. But for Archibald, who was well acquainted with his fears and faults, it was a small thing to press on through the cracks and retain his balance.
When he made it to the edge of the cracks, the mist dissipated enough for him to see the Swelter Cat up ahead, and the humming stopped.
“Tobias,” Archibald said, coming up alongside him as the path joined with regular ground again. “I believe we lost the others back there. Brinley was behind me a few moments ago, but I do not see her now. Shall we go back for them?”
The Swelter Cat turned, and in the blink of an eye, he was gone. In his place stood the Mage of Wood.
Archibald’s mind raced to make sense of what he saw. Lignumis—the Janrax, opened his mouth to say something, but Archibald cut him off. He raised his cane and buried the silver ram’s head handle in the Janrax’s chest. There was a loud bang like the sound of a battering ram, and the Janrax was knocked down with such force that he might have been thrown to the ground by a giant. His body made a shallow crater in the luminescent ground and then skidded on for several feet.
Archibald followed its path cautiously, holding the cane before him.
Slowly, a thin, ragged form pushed itself away from the ground where Lignumis had fallen, but it no longer resembled the Mage of Wood. It was a man, ancient and bent, with skin as dark as the abyss above their heads. The man was far older and far frailer than any person that Archibald had ever seen. For a moment, Archibald regretted the swiftness of his attack.
The Janrax made it onto all fours and then crumpled against the ground again, managing to prop himself up on one arm to look at Archibald. He laughed then, and something dark and shiny trickled from the corner of his mouth. “I see that I was wise to choose to eliminate you first, Archibald,” he said. “Though I admit, I had forgotten the rumors that I heard about your love for the old Magemother, and hers for you. Did she give you that cane?”
Archibald nodded. “Before your master stole her from me.”
“Not my master,” the Janrax protested. He was scooting along the ground now, away from Archibald and toward a circular hatch in the ground, like the one that they had seen earlier. “It was Lux Tennebris that she fled from, not Shael.”
“All darkness has the same master,” Archibald said, closing the distance between them.
The Janrax placed his hand on the handle of the hatch and tried to lift himself into a seated position again, but failed, and he slumped back against the ground in defeat. “You took a terrible risk coming here, Archibald.”
“Sometimes a person must risk everything to become who they were meant to be.”
The Janrax winced and prodded his chest as if looking for broken bones. The fabric of his shirt was singed and torn where Archibald’s cane had struck, and the flesh was swelling up fast. “And who were you meant to be?”
“A father,” Archibald said.
The Janrax shifted, peering up at him with a puzzled expression. It cleared a moment later, and he whispered, “Brinley, your daughter?” He frowned. “Yes. It makes sense. How could we have missed it, I wonder?” He shook himself. “No matter. What’s done is done.” He struggled to gain his footing again and then slipped back down, gripping the handle of the hatch for support. “Finish it, Archibald,” he spat. “I am too dangerous to leave alive.”
At his own words, the Janrax slipped a hand into his cloak and withdrew a short wooden wand. He pointed it at Archibald. Archibald raised his cane again and brought it down, splintering the wand with a thunderous crack.
Something happened then that Archibald did not expect: the Janrax moved with incredible speed, grabbing the end of the cane. He tugged, pulling Archibald forward, and at the same time he rolled to the side and lifted the hatch that he had been lying on. Too late, Archibald tried to let go, but he was already falling through the hole. He jerked suddenly, and his body became caught in space, suspended above an infinite abyss. His silver pocket watch had fallen out and fortuitously caught on the latch of the grate. He managed to grab the other end of the chain just as it tore free from his vest. He nearly slipped then, but got a second hand around the chain just in time. He grunted with the effort. The chain was thin, and his palms were wet with sweat.
The Janrax’s head appeared in the hole above him. “Good-bye, Archibald,” he said. “That was a valiant effort. More than I expected from you.” He glanced at the watch and clicked his tongue. “A stroke of good fortune, but not good enough, I’m afraid.” He reached down and grasped the chain, preparing to wrench it away.
“Please don’t do that,” Archibald said. “It was a gift, you know, and I am rather…attached to it.”
The Janrax smiled and let go. “Such poise, even in death.”
Archibald returned the smile weakly. “First one must find dignity in life.” He slipped another inch on the chain and winced with the effort.
The Janrax laughed and flicked the brim of Archibald’s hat. Archibald, who had forgotten that he still had it on, watched it tumble into the darkness out of the corner of his eye.
The Janrax patted him on the cheek. “Sorry, old boy,” he said. “I’ll be sure to pass the watch on to your daughter for you before she dies.”
He tugged the chain away, and Archibald, without so much as a final cry, fell into darkness.
***
Brinley and Unda wanted to go back and look for the others, but the Swelter Cat refused. He explained—poetically, of course—that he was responsible for the Magemother, not her numerous superfluous attendants. He ended his speech with ten couplets on the nature of his employment, namely, that he did not work for them. Finally, just when Unda had decided to go back and look for them alone, Lignumis came striding out of the mist.
“Thank heavens!” Lignumis exclaimed when he saw them. He clutched at his sides and shivered. “I lost you pretty good back there. I can’t believe you didn’t hear me shouting!”
“Shouting? I heard no shouting. Where is Archibald?�
� Unda demanded.
“Archibald?” Lignumis said, confused. He glanced around. “I thought he was with you. Wasn’t he up front?”
Brinley slumped to the ground. “He was,” she said. “But then he was gone. We thought maybe he was with you, since you were lost too.”
Lignumis shook his head. “I lost you at a crossroads. I thought I heard Tobias down both paths, and then I took the wrong one. It took a while to retrace my steps.”
“I remember that spot,” Brinley said. “I heard the same thing.”
“Some trick of the canyon walls, no doubt,” Lignumis said. “Are we going to go back and look for him?”
“You’re not,” Unda said. “Brinley and I will go. You stay here with Tobias.” He stepped to within a few inches of Lignumis and stared him down. “I don’t trust you,” he whispered. “If you have done something to him, you will pay for it.”
Lignumis glanced between Unda and Brinley. “What are you talking about?” he said. “Don’t trust me? What have I done to you?”
Unda addressed Brinley. “There is a shape changer among us, Magemother. That much we know. And he has been targeting the mages. What better way for him to strike than to pose as a mage himself?” He whirled on Lignumis. “There is something wrong with this one,” he said. “I don’t know what it is, but it has bothered me from the beginning. He does not feel like a mage to me. Have you tested him? Are you sure you know what he is?”
“Unda!” Brinley said, shocked. “What are you saying?”
“Me, the Janrax?” Lignumis said hotly. “Me, attack Belterras? Why not you? You are the only one with no good reason to be on this journey. I was invited. Why are you here? Did you think it would be a convenient time to strike?”
“I came to watch you,” Unda said, grabbing the other man’s jacket fiercely.
Lignumis swept his hands away. “A convenient story, now that you have accused me.”
“Stop it! Both of you!” Brinley shouted. “I won’t have this kind of talk.” She put a hand to her head. “I can’t believe it of either one of you.”
“Come with me, Magemother,” Unda said. “Come and look for Archibald. I do not think it wise for you to stay with Lignumis.”
“And I don’t think it wise for you to go with Unda,” Lignumis said.
Brinley looked from one to the other, at a loss for what to do. Then, without warning, a deep, grating noise split the air and the ground shook beneath their feet.
“Look!” Unda cried. “The cracks!”
Sure enough, the Cracks of Laughter were shifting. Canyons widened here, shortened there. Others bent sideways. The earthquake grew and Brinley was knocked to her knees by the vibrations. The path that had led into the Cracks of Laughter broke away from the ground they stood on. Everywhere she looked, the Cracks were changing. A moment later, it was done, and the maze was completely transformed.
“There is no way he survived that,” Unda whispered. “Can you imagine? Out there on a tiny ledge, with everything moving?”
“What’s done is done,” the Swelter Cat said solemnly. “The cracks have changed. With our passing, they’ve rearranged.”
“Archibald,” Brinley whispered, tears filling her eyes.
“Have some faith in your friend,” the Swelter Cat said. “It may not be the end. The darkness below is not all it pretends.”
“What does that mean?” Unda snapped.
“It means that he doesn’t know what’s going on either,” Lignumis said, glaring at Unda. “Come on. We had better just keep moving. Together.”
***
“We have come to the Forest of Root,” the Swelter Cat said cheerfully an hour later. “Would anyone care for some fruit?”
Brinley stepped around Lignumis and saw a beautiful sight. It was a wide orchard of strange, golden-brown trees. They were all wider than they were tall, with long, rootlike branches that fanned out in all directions.
“These are the roots of the king’s fruit orchard,” Lignumis said. “Don’t you agree, Unda?” It was the first time that the two had spoken to each other since they had left the Cracks of Laughter, and Brinley could feel the tension in the air.
“Very likely,” Unda said finally, staring at the ground. Brinley followed his gaze and saw that in Aberdeen there was truly a large orchard in front of them.
“I had no idea that this is what tree roots look like!” Brinley said.
“It’s not,” Lignumis said shortly. “Except here, apparently. For one thing, fruit does not grow from the roots of a tree.”
The Swelter Cat knocked a ripe-looking white orb from the tree and rolled it toward Brinley. She picked it up and took a bite. It was juicy and crisp and tasted like milk and honeycomb.
“Brilliant!” Unda exclaimed after taking a bite of his own fruit. “I think I’ll eat at least five of these.” He settled down against a tree and stretched his legs. “I’m exhausted. How long were we in those cracks?”
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Brinley’s heart sank. She stared at her fruit sullenly, thinking of Archibald. When she looked up, Unda had a sick look on his face too.
“A short time, and a long time,” the Swelter Cat answered. “Here fear turns right to wrong time.”
“That doesn’t make a bit of sense,” Lignumis said.
“I think he means that time doesn’t move the same way in Inveress,” Brinley said. “And maybe fear changes it even more.”
The Swelter Cat nodded appreciatively, then glared at Lignumis. “Someone has a brain. Not you. You still have some smarts to gain.”
Brinley laughed, then stopped abruptly as the implications of this new information washed over her. How much time had passed? She thought of the summoning bell and her words to Animus. She needed to be ready at exactly noon on the third day if they were going to get out of this place as planned. She studied the position of the sun in the sky through the ground. It looked like late afternoon, but was it the same day, or a new one altogether? Surely they hadn’t been in the cracks for that long…
The Swelter Cat was on his feet again, walking into the trees. “Come, come,” he said. “We can just make our mark before night gets too dark.”
When they reached the other end of the orchard, the ground dropped away into a sharp valley.
“The Mountain of Garragon,” Unda said. “Is it hollow?”
“It was rumored to be, long ago,” Lignumis said. “Obviously it was true.”
“We’re going down into a mountain?” Brinley asked, trying to picture it in her mind.
“It is a high mountain,” Unda said. “If the whole thing is hollow, this valley will plunge deeper than we want to climb. Why don’t we just go around it? The lake lies straight ahead of us.”
“You can go around, but you’ll never arrive,” the Swelter Cat said. “If you want to reach Cyus, you must take a dive.”
“A dive?” Lignumis asked.
“There is a pool on the top of the mountain,” Unda said. “A deep pool. I have been there several times. It is one of the entrances to the realm of the merfolk. No doubt there is a mirror pool of some sort on this side, down at the bottom of this valley.”
They followed Tobias, and soon the ground had become so steep that they were taking the descent by means of improvised switchbacks. There was no real trail, but they took the ground at a sideways angle for some time and then switched back in the opposite direction, angling farther down.
As they continued to descend, night began to fall, and the light filtering through the golden ground began to fade until there was barely enough light to walk by. They could not see anything ahead of them, and had to walk close on the Swelter Cat’s heels. Presumably, his cat eyes afforded him better sight in the dim light.
By the time they made it to the bottom of the valley they could no longer see the top, and what had started as a wide, sloping bowl had narrowed into a hundred-foot-wide basin with a lake in the center. It was brighter here, and a faint gray light was issuin
g from the lake.
“More of a pond, isn’t it?” Brinley said as they approached. There was no way around it, as the water went right up to the edges of the valley and the walls on either side of it were too steep to walk on. “I see what you meant by diving, Tobias. We’re going to have to wade through. Oh, it’s beautiful!” Now that she was close enough to look into the water, she saw that it was sprinkled and dotted with a myriad of stars, which the water was reflecting from the night sky of Aberdeen. She reached down to brush a star with her finger, and the Swelter Cat said loudly, “Do not touch the pool, my friend, unless you wish to meet your end.”
Brinley snatched her hand back. “Thank you, Tobias,” she said. She gave him a wink that she didn’t know if he could see in the half light. “Tell me, do you really think of me as your friend, or did you just need a quick rhyme?” Brinley felt almost guilty for making an attempt at humor. How could she, when Archibald was lost? Dead maybe…but something told her that he was all right. In any case, he would have wanted her to go on in the best spirit that she could.
Brinley turned to Unda, who seemed lost in his own thoughts, staring into the pool. Below them, the light that had filtered through the ground from Aberdeen was beginning to fade.
“We’ll stop here for the night,” the Swelter cat announced. “Rest until it’s bright.”
“I’m going to look for Archibald,” Lignumis said.
Unda stirred, but said nothing. Brinley caught Lignumis’s arm. “It’s too dark,” she said. “You’ll get lost.”
Lignumis brushed her away. “I have all night. If I get lost, I’ll just have to find my way out. Besides, you forget. I lived for years in the Wizard’s Ire. Darkness is not something that I fear. Anywaym, someone has to look for him.”
At that last, she let him go. She watched him climb back the way they had come until he was out of sight. Then she took a seat beside Unda. “You should get some sleep,” she said.
Magemother: The Complete Series (A Fantasy Adventure Book Series for Kids of All Ages) Page 67