In which they meet a friend

Chapter 6 of The Time-Teller

Chapter 6
In which they meet a friend

 

When the sun began to rise slowly, Jonah sat up and looked at Pyralis who was still sitting in the same position, not having moved a single inch.

 

“Maybe he’s meditating,” Jonah guessed when Megan sat up.

 

“Maybe that’s how he sleeps,” Megan ventured. She looked at the sky. It had a pinkish tint from the sunrise.

 

“Where do you suppose we’re going?” Jonah asked.

 

“I have no clue,” Megan replied. “I’m only here because I have no where else to go.”

 

“Yeah,” Jonah said. He was only half listening because he couldn’t get the pictures of Ruth out of his mind, her smile, her laugh… gone. He didn’t know whether or not the ship had survived the storm, and if it had, had she made it to land safely?

 

“Come on,” Pyralis suddenly spoke through his thoughts. Then, he stood up and began walking. Megan looked back at the forest and jumped because it was only five feet away. She was sure that they had been a lot farther from it before she fell asleep. After she had gazed at it for several moments, she turned and ran to catch up with Pyralis, who, of course, seemed not to have noticed her sudden absence.

 

They walked for two hours before Jonah finally broke the thick silence.

 

“Where are we going?” he asked again.

 

“To a friend,” Pyralis smiled at this.

 

“What friend?”

 

“The Time-Teller,” Pyralis replied.

 

“The what?” Megan asked.

 

“A friend of mine,” Pyralis spoke. “And, yes,” he replied to Megan’s unasked question. “I do have friends.” Megan was beginning to get annoyed that he kept answering her questions, even the sarcastic ones, before she asked them, but there was nothing she could do about it.

 

They had short conversations like this one every once in a while during their walk. Megan looked up at the sun. It was beaming down with brutal force, and she could already feel the sunburn on her nose beginning to spread rapidly.

 

“Perfect,” Pyralis said suddenly. “Here.” He handed Megan a small, spherical, red crystal about 1 inch in diameter, and he handed another to Jonah. Then, he pulled at the silver chain, which hung about his neck and fell into his cloak. At the end of the chain was another red crystal, only slightly larger than Jonah and Megan’s crystals.

 

“Hold those tightly,” he warned. Megan squeezed the crystal in her hand, and Jonah did the same. Pyralis held his up to his mouth and breathed on it. Then he mumbled incoherently for a long time, and Megan’s hand began to get wet from holding the red crystal for so long. Finally, Pyralis stopped mumbling and all three crystals began to glow. Megan could see the light of hers through her fingertips. Then, Megan felt the odd sensation that she was being literally sucked into the crystal, the hand holding it disappearing first. Then, she felt as though she was in a cramped glass cave but couldn’t open her eyes. Finally, after several uncomfortable minutes, she was able to open them.

 

“Woah!” Jonah, who was still standing unsteadily next to her, exclaimed. Pyralis half smiled. They were standing on the peek of a mountain. Looking down, Megan felt sick because she could just barely make out the extremely rocky ground beneath and a small stream that ran through it.

 

“I didn’t know anyone was capable of such a thing!” Jonah cried. “How far away are we from where we were before?”

 

“We are quite far away from the Silvian Swamp,” Pyralis replied.

 

“Woah,” Jonah repeated. “What about…” he began to ask.

 

“You have to know the place you are going quite well or it won’t work,” Pyralis said before Jonah could finish. Megan sat down. She felt tired and was having some difficulty breathing.

 

“Wait!” Jonah exclaimed. “I know where we are! We’re on Mount Iugosa!”

 

“Precisely where we want to be,” Pyralis smiled to himself and began walking away from the edge of the mountain. Megan noticed a dome-like silver building not far from where they stood. As they drew nearer, she saw many odd symbols covering its vast walls. There was an arched doorway with a grand oak door on the side nearest them. Pyralis knocked four times and whistled softly. A bird, the same one Megan had seen in the forest, flew out of a well-hidden circular hole in the wall. When it saw Pyralis it landed on his shoulder with an approving cheep.

 

“Hello, my friend,” Pyralis said gently. The great wooden doors flew open, and there stood a very odd looking old man. He did not look much older than sixty or seventy, but something about him made Megan think he was much older. Maybe, it was the strange look in his eyes, or maybe it was the way his blue cloak fit him so loosely. He had very thin white hair that was grown out to his shoulders with a huge bald spot in the middle. He had a short little stub of a nose and his hands shook ever so slightly.

 

“Did you read my note?” he asked Pyralis. Pyralis raised an eyebrow.

 

“Oh, yes, quite right,” the old man said. “Of course, YOU didn’t read my note, but did you get the message on it.”

 

“Yes,” Pyralis said. “I had Jonah here read for me.”

 

“Oh, yes, yes,” the old man said with a chuckle. “Jonah. We’ve met before.” He shook Jonah’s hand.

 

“And this is Megan,” he said matter-of-factly. Megan nodded. “How are you, my dear.”

 

“Fine,” Megan lied because in fact she was still quite mad about being with Pyralis, and this odd old man knew her name somehow

 

“You remember I told you about her,” the old man said to Jonah.

 

“Yes,” Jonah replied. “I remember.”

 

“Well, come in. Come in!” the old man said softly.

 

“Told him about me?” Megan asked suspiciously.

 

“Yes. Quite,” the old man replied. “I’m Tempus by the way.” Megan shook his hand clumsily. All she could think about was that he had told Jonah about her. Maybe, he was the one who tampered with Pyralis’ spell.

 

“How did you know about me?” Megan asked, but Tempus only laughed softly as if she’d said something childish. Megan began to hate this man as much as she hated Pyralis. She had the impression that Tempus knew more about what she was doing here than a tampered-with spell.

 

“Please sit,” Tempus gestured to three chairs in the middle of the room, which was as large as the ground floor of a gothic cathedral. Every footstep echoed off the walls and mosaic floor. Finally, they reached the three wooden chairs in the middle of the room. Tempus faced them in a large, green, velvet armchair.

 

“My dear Pyralis,” he said. “It has been a long time since we’ve spoken.”

 

“Yes,” Pyralis agreed.

 

“Jonah,” Tempus turned toward Jonah. “How was the castle before you left it.”

 

“Terrible,” Jonah replied. “The king was wounded before I left, but I’m not sure what has happened since then.”

 

“What about the princess,” Tempus asked. “Have they ‘found’ her yet.” He put a lot of emphasis on “found.” Jonah shifted nervously in his seat

 

“I don’t think so,” he said stiffly. He hadn’t stopped thinking about Ruth since the storm, and it bothered him that Tempus seemed to know something he didn’t.

 

“Now,” Tempus continued. “You must all be wondering why you’re here. Yes, you too Pyralis.” Pyralis seemed surprised, and Megan was glad that there was at least one person Pyralis couldn’t read like they were giant Braille.

 

“Me?” Pyralis asked. “What do I have to do with any of this?”

 

“Pyralis,” Tempus said softly. “Still so powerful, and yet so close minded.” Megan began to like Tempus ever so slightly.

 

“Tempus,” Pyralis said annoyed. “You know as well as I do that it’s none of my business. I only came to see that they got here safely.” He indicated Jonah and Megan.

 

“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you,” Tempus smiled. “But, you’re going to have to help them.”

 

“I have better things to do,” Pyralis said calmly. “Then help people who are obviously being protected by a much more powerful wizard.”

 

“But, perhaps, this time,” Tempus said grimly. “Is different.” Pyralis froze. He became very pale.

 

“It isn’t,” he whispered. Tempus nodded. For the first time, Megan saw genuine fear in Pyralis’ eyes, and though she despised him, she knew that something that would make him this pale would be something worth fearing.

 

“As I was saying,” Tempus said cheerily as though he and Pyralis had never spoken so fearfully just a second before.

 

“You are all here because, of course, I sent a note to Pyralis inviting you. I have some terrible news along with many other things I must tell you.” Tempus shifted his eyes to Megan for about a second and then back to the group.

 

“Now, as you all must have figured out by now, Labelle castle is under attack. They are doing their best to ward off the attackers. Meanwhile, a terrible disease is beginning to strike the people within the castle walls. Some of the younger soldiers have been taken into the castle as temporary aids to the nurses. Luckily, thanks to an anonymous kidnapper, the princess isn’t in the mess at the castle. Unfortunately, she’s in about as much danger where she is as she would have been in the castle. The king has been wounded and we are as of yet unsure whether or not he will fully recover. I believe that, though the castle is being struck pretty hard, the forces attacking it are just getting started. Labelle castle up against a vile enemy, who has no mercy for the weak and seeks only to dominate.
Megan, I have some grave news for you.” Megan swallowed hard. She didn’t know what he was going to say, but she knew she wouldn’t like it.”

 

“The day after Pyralis brought you here by mistake,” he began softly. “Your house caught fire. The police believe the stove had been left on.”

 

“My parents?” Megan asked, sitting up straight.

 

“Your mother suffocated to death, and your father might as well be dead too,” Tempus replied sorrowfully. Megan choked. She couldn’t hold it back, and tears began flowing freely down her sunburned cheeks. She sobbed and coughed, and though Pyralis, Tempus, and Jonah all tried to comfort her, she couldn’t stop crying. Her parents, the reason she had been willing to go with Pyralis instead of dying in the swamp, were dead. They were gone forever, and she was stuck in this horrid world. She couldn’t help thinking that if she had been there, she might have been able to turn off the stove. Everything she cared about had disappeared, her life, her home, and her parents. She was vaguely aware of two strong arms picking her up, and for a second, she looked up into Pyralis’ face as he carried her. Then, the tears blurred her vision once more and she shook violently from sobbing.
 

 

Megan woke up. She was in a small comfortable room with a little desk and chair. The bed she was lying on had a sheer white canopy. She was covered in a magenta blanket that matched the simple rug on the floor. She didn’t remember how many days she’d spent crying. She only remembered different pairs of hands coming in to give her water, and at one point, they started giving her food. Slowly, she sat up. She felt her face. It was rough and puffy from the last few days.

 

“Megan,” Pyralis came into the room. “Sitting up?” Megan felt all her anger toward Pyralis return. It filled her up until she felt like she would burst with it. It’s all Pyralis’ fault, Megan thought. If it had not been for his spell, she might have bee able to save her mother from the smoke. Tempus came into the room behind Pyralis. Megan was washed over with new hatred for the man who had told her about her parents.

 

“There is something I must tell you,” Tempus pulled the chair from beside the desk and sat down next to Megan.

 

“What?” she asked angrily.

 

“Megan,” he said. “I tried to tell you earlier, but you were just too upset. The stove didn’t cause that fire. That was simply what the police had believed, but police and scientists often blame magical happenings on stoves or toasters or global warming. Megan, your mother was murdered.”

 

“By whom?” Megan screamed as her whole body shook with anger and wrath.