In which Megan seeks revenge

Chapter 7 of The Time-Teller

Chapter 7
In which Megan seeks revenge

“Gethin,” Tempus replied.

“Gethin? Gethin killed my mother!” Megan screamed. “Who is Gethin!? Where is Gethin!” 

“Gethin is the man who is in charge of the siege on Labelle castle. I believe that it is crucial that you go there immediately. Jonah has already left to fight there.” Pyralis whispered something then turned to Tempus.

“Are you leaving something out?” he drawled.

“Pyralis,” Tempus said quietly.

“You had better not be leaving anything out!” Megan spoke with as much venom as her sore throat and headache would allow. Pyralis jumped as though he’d forgotten she was in the room.

“Did I forget to mention,” Tempus laughed softly. “That, Pyralis, Megan has a magic, which prevents you from keeping her out of your conversations.”

“That’s impossible,” Pyralis said.

“Is it?” Tempus laughed. “My friend, how else would she have heard you? You know as well as I that your powers are far beyond those of a normal wizard’s capabilities. There is no way you messed up a simple hearing spell.”

“What type of magic would that be?” Pyralis asked skeptically.

“That you will find out in good time,” Tempus laughed heartily. “In good time, my friend, be patient.” Pyralis lookedas though he wanted to say something but stopped himself and became, once again, the emotionless, condescending Pyralis that Megan knew and hated.

“How about some breakfast,” Tempus bounced out of the room on his ancient limbs. Megan swung her legs over the side of the bed and followed him. She felt wobbly on her feet and had to work very hard to keep from bursting into tears. Her heart felt as though a skeletal hand was clasping it in a firm grip.

“Chocolate?” Tempus offered. “Chocolate is excellent for this sort of thing.”

“How would you know?” Megan coughed at him.

“Look at me,” Tempus smiled slightly. “I’m old. My parents both died when I was quite young, younger than you in fact, and my stepmother, whom I loved very much, died the day before my nineteenth birthday. Trust me. Chocolate will help even if it doesn’t feel like it is.” Megan took a piece of chocolate and put it in her mouth just to keep him from pestering her further.

“I’m going to find Gethin,” She said firmly after swallowing. She had turned all her fear and sadness into hatred for this man who had murdered her mother.

“Yes, I’m sure you will,” Tempus said softly. “I’m sure you will.”

“Now,” Pyralis drawled from behind Megan. “Tempus has a plan on how to get inside of the castle. I will be coming with you to see that everything turns out all right, and help in any way I can.” Megan brushed away the anger that began to rise knowing she would again be stuck with Pyralis. She knew that she was more likely to be able to face Gethin with his help than without it.

“There is a secret tunnel into the castle,” Tempus began. “I’m sure the enemies are unaware of its existence. Pyralis will provide a distraction, so they don’t see you going into the tunnel. Then, he will follow you into the castle. Once inside, you and Pyralis will attend to the sick and wounded. After their numbers are greatly decreased, you will be able go about your revenge.”

The plan seemed simple to Megan at first until she saw the army attacking the castle. There must have been more than 50,000 men there. They all wore great, black wool capes and silver armor that shined brilliantly in the sunlight. In this mass of grizzly-looking, caped figures, she could make out a few flashes of blue cloaked defenders. She didn’t know how they could have been held off for so long.

“I have told you numerous times where the passage is,” Pyralis whispered. “I’m sure you will have no trouble finding it.” Megan swallowed hard and nodded.

“Excellent,” Pyralis said softly. “Good luck.” Pyralis left Megan’s side and set off to create the distraction. Megan felt suddenly alone. She hadn’t been alone in this odd world since the forest, and there had not been a huge army that could kill her in an instant in the forest. Here I go, she said to herself. BANG! She heard Pyralis’ signal that she could go, and she ran. She ran with all the strength she had. She could hear shouts of the angry enemy as Pyralis did whatever he was doing to distract them. She chanced a glance back. There was Pyralis, standing in midair just out of reach of the enemies spears and tossing conjured blue fireballs into their midst while easily avoiding their arrows. Megan turned. She was almost there. The passage was right under this ruined bush and flowerbed. Suddenly, she heard a loud cracking noise, and she looked back to see Pyralis soaring through the air as though he were a baseball hit by a giant bat. He landed in the midst of the enemy, who began attacking him. She heard another cracking noise and again he soared through the air. When he left the ground, she noticed a masked figure with tiny bolts of lightning shooting from his fingertips. Pyralis landed, beaten and bloody, not ten feet from where Megan hid behind the bush that helped conceal the passage. Megan didn’t think twice before she dashed out from behind the bush that had been concealing her, grabbed Pyralis’ arms, and dragged him across the ground and into the secret passageway. The grizzly soldiers saw her, and they followed at a run.

“NO!” Megan screamed as they began to head into the secret passageway. Her voice echoed off the tunnel walls, and the whole place seemed to moan with the noise. Then, bits of rock and dirt began to fall all around them, and the entrance to the tunnel caved in keeping the soldiers from their immediate pursuit. Megan dragged Pyralis as fast as her aching arms and feet would allow. The tunnel was collapsing all around them. Finally, she saw light through the cracks in a door above a narrow earthen staircase. She dragged Pyralis up with great difficulty, burst through the door right before the entire tunnel collapsed in on itself. Megan examined Pyralis closely. His eyes were opened, but he wasn’t moving. He was covered in cuts and burns, and she was sure the scraping on his back from being dragged like a doll through a hard tunnel wouldn’t help matters.

They were in a small, circular room, though the ceiling was extremely high off the ground. The room was probably part of a tower. There was a little wooden door on the opposite end of the room from where Megan sat bent over Pyralis.

“I heard voices,” Megan heard a man say firmly.

“You don’t think they could have found a way in?” another man answered him. Then the door opened, and two men clad in blue cloaks came into the room, swords drawn. One had bushy black hair that was standing up in odd places as though he had been awoken from a nap. The other looked much more awake and had dirty blonde hair and a little mustache. Both appeared to be in their early twenties. When they entered the room, they both jumped. They had obviously not been expecting to see a young girl, holding a thoroughly battered Pyralis, sitting on the floor.

“Who are you,” the blonde asked pointing his sword at Megan.

“Megan Cole,” she replied. “Pyralis needs medical attention.” Her tone was grim. She did not believe that anyone, not even Pyralis, could have survived that ordeal, and now, she wasn’t sure how she would find Gethin. The blonde soldier picked Pyralis up with some difficulty and walked out of the room. The black haired soldier told Megan to follow him, and they walked out of the room together.

“How did you end up there?” he asked Megan suspiciously.

“There was a tunnel,” she replied. “It caved in after we came through.”

“A tunnel?” he said. “So that’s what was behind that door. It’s been jammed for years. No one ever bothered trying to open it with a sword or something ”

“I had no trouble opening it,” Megan said.

“It might be easier from the other side of the door,” he replied easily. “But why were you coming here in the first place. There’s a terrible battle going on.”

“Pyralis and I were going to help the wounded,” Megan replied. She thought it would be better if people didn’t know about her mother because she wanted to avoid talking about it if possible. The last thing she needed was to start crying again.

“Then, I suppose you’ll have a lot to do. I would let you help right away, but because we must undergo every precaution, we need to make sure you are not a spy.” Megan nodded. She still wasn’t thinking clearly. The news that Tempus had given her about her parents ran through her brain again and again and again. It was all she could think about, and the more she tried to push it away, the more it haunted her and the more she hated Gethin.

Megan followed the soldier through many winding corridors and stone rooms. They passed many wounded people being attended to by nurses in white cotton dresses and many who just sat there, waiting for medical help.

“Megan!” a voice cried out from across the hall.

“Jonah,” Megan replied and walked over to meet him. He had just finished dressing a wound in some poor soldier’s upper arm.

“I saw Pyralis,” he said. “He doesn’t look so well. What happened?”

“There was a little trouble with his distraction,” Megan said. “They beat him up pretty bad. I had to drag him through the tunnel to get him here safely. Luckily the tunnel caved in, so they couldn’t follow us.”

“Do you know this girl, Jonah?” the black-haired soldier asked.

“Yes, I do,” Jonah said.

“If you’re sure she isn’t a spy, then, she’ll be helping to take care of the wounded.”

“Good,” Jonah sounded very relieved. “We need all the help we can get.”

“Wow,” Megan said when the soldier leading her had walked away. “I might as well have been a spy if that’s all they do to check.”

“It usually isn’t,” Jonah said. “But he doesn’t like to be woken up when it’s not his turn to fight.”

“I see,” Megan said. After Jonah taught Megan how to properly dress and redress a wound, she spent the afternoon attending to the wounded and carrying or emptying various things for the nurses and doctors while the sounds of the soldiers in battle came through the walls making everyone nervous and a bit jumpy. One of the nurses loaned her a cotton dress, so that she would be more comfortable and not look like a clown as, apparently, she did in her dirty, earthly clothes. By the end of the day she was tired, sweaty, and covered in stains.

“Our shift is over,” Jonah informed her. “It’s time for the people taking the night shift to work.” Megan sighed with relief.

“Shall we go see how old Pyralis is doing?” Jonah asked. Megan nodded, not because she wanted to see Pyralis. She still hated him very much but because she wanted to see if her sudden bravery had even been worth it. One of the nurses led them to where Pyralis was being treated. It was a large room with several beds. This was obviously where some of the more seriously wounded people were being kept. Pyralis was in a bed in the far corner of the room. He still had the same expression on his face as he had had when the soldier had carried him away. Megan pulled a small wooden chair up beside the bed and sat on it. She felt his wrist. He had a pulse, although it was very weak.

“Pyralis,” she said softly. “Can you hear me?” Pyralis shifted slightly in the bed; then opened and closed his blind eyes a few times.

“Are you okay?” Megan asked.

“Huh,” a nurse chuckled behind her. “We’ve been trying to get him to move all day when all you had to do was say his name.”

“Are you okay?” Megan repeated slowly.

“Helia, is that you?” Pyralis asked in the softest voice that she’d ever heard him use. “Helia, why can’t I open my eyes?” Megan stared into Pyralis’ wide, unseeing eyes and felt a wave of pity wash over her.

“Pyralis,” Megan said unable to think of a suitable answer.

“I missed hearing your voice so much,” he said facing Megan. “Why can’t I open my eyes or feel my arms?”

“I’m sorry,” Megan whispered. She couldn’t think of anything else to say. Suddenly, Pyralis sat bolt upright.

“Where is she?” he asked, his voice panicky. “What did he do to her?” Then he fell back into his unconscious state.