In which the cackle comes

Chapter 11 of The Time-Teller

Chapter 11
In which the cackle comes

“What!” Megan shouted, and she began to dislike Pyralis more and more. How could Pyralis not tell her that he had known Gethin before? Megan’s thoughts chased each other through her head and gave her a severe headache.

“We used to come here when we were younger,” Pyralis said. “We practiced different spells here, Because of the magical surroundings, it seemed like the perfect place.”

“You and Gethin were friends?” Megan said, appalled.

“Yes, Gethin and I were friends once, long ago… long ago,” Pyralis turned his face upward and sighed deeply. “Long, long ago.” Megan shuffled her feet. She could hardly contain the anger she felt. Both of the men she hated had known each other, and how could she continue to trust Pyralis.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she finally said.

“You never asked,” Pyralis shook his head like he did when he was about to chuckle. “I don’t see how you assumed I knew so much about him without actually knowing him. Now, be silent. We haven’t finished here.” Megan looked back over the irksome waters.

“What else can we do here?” she asked, slightly irritated and wanting to leave. “There’s no one here.”

“Nonsense. We’re going in,” Pyralis pointed into the lake. Megan gasped. She had already had enough experience with that lake, and she didn’t want any more to do with it.

“Why?” Megan spoke up. “It’s like evil or something.”

“Because he may be hiding in there.” Pyralis held his hand above the surface of the lake and whispered something to the waters. The words he spoke almost sounded like the movement of waves. Then, a whirlpool seemed to form under his hand, but the bottom of it kept getting lower and lower until it resembled a rotating, narrow tunnel through black rock. Pyralis jumped into the tunnel as if it were a water slide and proceeded to slip down into the sinister water. Megan awkwardly hopped after him, and began immediately to slide down the tunnel in the lake. It twisted and turned and soon, the sunlight was lost, and the only feeling Megan had was the water, which soaked her back as she moved. It was cold and her clothes clung to her skin, offering almost no protection from the freezing water. All of the sudden, Megan was blinded by the sudden presence of light. Then, she fell out of the tunnel and landed on top of what felt like a pile of straw. Soon, Megan’s eyes adjusted to the light. Pyralis was standing a few feet away talking to a man in a worn brown robe. The man had a grizzly black beard and eyes the color of storm clouds. Behind the two men, was an entire town, full of wooden cottages, stone houses, and a large stone statue around 20 feet high of Pyralis standing next to a woman with wavy hair, flowing down to her ankles. Her eyes seemed to look absently into the distance, and she held a stone basket with what looked like a cloth covering. The statue was very detailed, and Megan wondered who would have wasted their time erecting a statue of Pyralis. Whoever it was had even included the ugly scar on the left side of his face.

The entire town was surrounded by gigantic, half-sphere of water. Megan could see fish swimming in the lake above her and the gentle movements of the dark water, which Megan could not see the top of. It looked almost as though the sky had turned to mucky water.

Megan stood up, shivering and walked up to Pyralis. He and the man were still deep in conversation.

“I don’t know,” the man said. “People rarely come here. I’m sure someone would have seen him, but my father said young Geth was always a bit of a trickster. O’ course, I didn’t know him so well. I was a shy boy back then and grateful for the help you both brought. I woulda never known what was going to happen so soon after that boy left his master.”

“Yes. I vaguely suspected it, but I hoped for the best,” Pyralis replied. “How’s Bertha been?”

“Oh, she’s doin’ very well. The baby’s due any day now. Nathan’s right excited, he is.”

“Well, I’m very happy for you all,” Pyralis said this without the slightest hint of emotion, and Megan wondered whether he was really happy or simply saying he was.

“Bertha was always very kind to Helia,” Pyralis said thoughtfully. “But that was another time. I am here for different matters now. The girl and I will search the town. This place is small, but Gethin was clever enough to make many hiding places for himself while we still believed in him. His betrayal will be his undoing, I am sure. He would have made a true master of illusion, but he chose a false and blackened path.” Pyralis turned to Megan.

“Be on your guard, and don’t get lost. This is a place of mystery and illusion that Gethin and I built as a refuge for these people, but it could easily be turned into something sinister.” Megan flinched as Gethin’s name was mentioned, but said nothing. She was still trying to untangle the mess of thoughts floating about her mind like kittens trapped in a small box.

“We shall start down that road and make our way around the town before venturing into any secret passageways and the like.” Pyralis began walking towards a narrow road lined with white-gray bricks. It was very quaint, looking like something from medieval Europe. Pyralis felt around cracks and corners with his staff and seemed to feel the air with his free hand as if it were liquid. Megan followed him only half-paying attention to where they were going. Her thoughts were elsewhere.

“Who’s Helia?” she asked suddenly. Pyralis turned toward her. Megan did not remember Pyralis ever showing much expression, but she had never seen anyone with a more sorrowful face then Pyralis had then. A tear slid silently down his cheek, and he turned and continued walking. Then, several things happened all at once. A malicious laugh surrounded them like a whirlwind. Someone with a deep voice shouted, “Pyralis Arany!” A bony hand grabbed Megan’s wrist, and another covered her mouth. She was blindfolded and pulled upward by the hand, moving so quickly that the breath was sucked out of her, and she struggled painfully for air. SMASH! Megan crashed into an uneven rock wall and fell on a cold stone floor.

“Ha ha!” a deep male voice cackled in the darkness. Megan tried to take the blindfold off, but she didn’t have enough energy to move her arms. She lay in an awkward sprawl like an abandoned doll on the floor.

“I will be rewarded greatly for this,” the deep voice, which Megan recognized as the one that had called Pyralis name, spoke. Megan coughed.

“Who are you?” she tried to say, but it came out as a soft, squeaky “oo’re yho?”

“Ha ha,” the voice cackled. “Ha ha. I am he who knows the tricks and sees the opportunities that no one else sees. I am he who wanders freely taking sides with who bequeaths me. Some say I’m mad, some say genius. Some know nothing of my being. Some know all or are all-seeing. Ha ha ha ha. I know you stood in his way. I know you took his victory that day, so give up now. You know it’s done. Give up now. I’ve obviously won.”

“What are you talking about?” Megan managed.

“You, you, ha ha, ha ha.” The deep voice cackled coming closer and Megan could hear the echo of footsteps. “You know you did it. Don’t deny it. You know you’ll never again try it. You’ll die a painful death, and Pyralis will follow. You’ll die a painful death. You’ll wail and wallow. Ha ha, ha ha.” Megan blinked behind the blindfold and tried to move her arms to take it off, but she still didn’t have enough energy. He’s as crazy as Pyralis, she thought.

“Ha ha!” the voice cackled into her ear, and if Megan had had the energy, she would have jumped. A bony finger touched her cheek. “You’re gone, little one. Gone, gone, gone, gone like your mother before you. You’ll suffocate. He doesn’t want you alive. Ha ha, ha ha, and I’m hungry. Ha ha, ha ha.” Megan’s breath came shallow, and she felt as though the air around her was growing thinner.

“Ha ha, ha ha. I haven’t ate a human for a long long time, but now, I’ll eat you. You are all mine.” Megan gasped and coughed.

“Please,” she squeaked.

“But then again,” the deep voice said. “He may reward me greater if I leave you for him to kill.” Megan’s breath came back to her and she breathed deeply. Her head throbbed with lack of oxygen.

“I may get a hundred humans if I want. Ha ha. I may get treasure and a golden font. Ha ha, ha ha.”

“How,” Megan breathed. “Did you know about my mother?”

“Ha ha, ha ha. How did you know about your mother? Ha ha, ha ha. Is it really what you think it is. Are you hers, or are you his. Ha ha, ha ha.” Megan felt like she was going to throw up and this thing, whether it was human or something else, was becoming extremely vexatious with its constant rhyming and cackles. Megan tried once more to move her arms, but it was impossible.

“I’ll bring you to him, ha ha, ha ha,” the voice cackled. “Then, you’ll die. Ha ha, ha ha.” Megan didn’t know how long she lay on the cold stones of that strange place. She occupied her time by trying to figure out where she was, whether she was in a cave or some other place. She didn’t know how light it was because the blindfold obstructed all vision.

 

After several hours of cackles and rhymes, Megan finally fell into an uneasy sleep.

“Dilana?” Megan heard the strange word, and looked around to find where the voice was coming from. It was a woman’s voice, soft, almost like the wind or the purr of a cat. Her surroundings were dark and very gloomy

“Megan!” another more familiar male voice followed the soft one, but it sounded much farther away.

“Dilana?” the soft voice giggled softly. “Dilana?” Megan peered out from her hiding place. She was sitting on top of something hard, and the small hole through which she peered was shaped like an old-fashioned keyhole. She knew the woman would find her, and she tried to keep from breathing hard, but the word the woman spoke rang in Megan’s ears and around her head, making her feel dizzy. She had, of course, heard the word before in similar dreams, but this time it seemed more real. She heard the woman’s soft footsteps coming nearer, as she whispered the strange word. Megan shifted back a little in her hiding place. She couldn’t let the woman find her. Suddenly, Megan’s surroundings became very hot, and smoke filled the tiny room.

“No!” two voices shouted in unison. Then, this was followed by a panicked conversation that Megan could not hear over her own choking and coughing.

“Help!” she wheezed. BAM! The door to her tiny hiding place sprang open. Strong arms grabbed her and she was carried with her face against this person’s chest.

“Megan!” her eyes shot open, and the strange dream melded with the reality of the cold stone floor before disappearing to the back of her mind.

“Megan!” Pyralis’ voice called, echoing through the place she was imprisoned in.

“Pyralis!” the deep cackle of the creature replied. “You know you can’t win on my playing ground. You know you can’t win. I’ll beat you sound.” Megan moved her aching, resisting arm and wrenched off the blindfold.