Abarat: The First Book of Hours - Barker Clive - Страница 69

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“Who are the Fugit Brothers?” Malingo said.

Before she could offer a reply, Candy caught sight from the corner of her eye of something emerging from a crack between the stones.

She looked around and focused on it. The thing moved sideways, like a crab. But it was no animal. It was a mouth. A mouth with legs.

“Oh no…” she said softly.

“What’s wrong?” said Malingo.

“Where’s the glyph?” Candy said.

“The glyph?”

“Yes, the glyph!” Candy said, as an eye with legs appeared from under the rocks and blinked up at her.

This time Malingo followed her gaze. “What are they?”

“They belong to the Fugit Brothers,” Candy said, catching hold of Malingo’s arm and pulling him away from the spot. If a mouth and eye were here, could the brothers that owned them be far behind?

“They live in the Twenty-Fifth,” Candy said hurriedly. “And if they get hold of us—”

She didn’t have a chance to finish. The rocks nearby had started to shake, their motion gentle at first, but quickly becoming stronger. It wasn’t hard to guess what was going on. Tempus and Julius had somehow burrowed out, under the stones, and they were planning a surprise attack from below. They would have succeeded in their surprise, too, if their wandering features hadn’t given their sneaky game away.

“We have to get out of here!” Candy said.

Malingo was still staring at the stones, which were rattling together.

“Where’s the glyph, Malingo?” :

“That’s an eye on legs!”

“Yes. I know. Malingo. Where’s the glyph?”

He pointed back down the beach, without looking at where he was pointing. She followed his finger, and yes, there was the craft, lying on the stones. It was overturned, but at least it looked to be intact. The impact of striking the wall of the Twenty-Fifth hadn’t smashed it to smithereens.

“Come on!” she said to Malingo, pulling on his arm again. He didn’t move, however. The strange life-forms on the stones had him entranced.

“We can’t wait around here,” Candy said. “Or we’re dead.”

The rocks were being rolled aside now—the smaller ones thrown into the air—as the Fugit Brothers prepared to make their entrance.

“I never saw anything like that before,” Malingo said, his voice filled with fascination.

“Can we please go?”

Before they could take a step however, a dark voice rose from the crevices between the rocks.

“You won’t escape us, Candy Quackenbush,” said one of the brothers.

“Not will your flap-eared friend,” said his sibling.

The sound of the Fugits’ voices punctured Malingo’s curiosity. Now it was he who backed away from the spot where the rocks were shaking.

“You’re right,” he said to Candy. “We should go.”

“Finally.”

There was no more hesitation. The two of them raced together over the slimy stones toward the beached glyph.

“Let’s just hope it still works,” Candy said to Malingo, as they ran.

“What do we do if it doesn’t?”

“I don’t know,” Candy said grimly. “We’ll worry about that if it happens.”

They had reached the vehicle now, and they instantly got to work pushing it back into an upright position. Something rattled as the glyph rocked back into place, which didn’t sound particularly optimistic.

“Get in!” Candy said.

As Malingo slipped into his seat, Candy dared a momentary glance along the beach. One of the brothers—Candy didn’t know whether it was Julius or Tempus—had now dug himself clear of the stones. But there was no sign of the other. Still, she thought, one of them could do plenty of damage.

He started to stride along the beach toward Candy and Malingo, pointing toward them as he did so.

“You will not leave this island!” he yelled as he approached. “Do you hear me? You will not leave.”

Even as he spoke he proceeded to pick up his speed, his stride quickly breaking into a run.

Now it was Malingo who was urging Candy to get into the glyph. “Hurry!” he said.

Candy put one foot into the glyph.

As she lifted her other leg, an arm was thrust up out of the stones beside the glyph and seized hold of her calf.

She let out a yelp of shock. The stones rolled away as the second Fugit Brother pushed himself out of the ground, using Candy to haul himself up.

“Hold her, Brother Julius! “ Tempus yelled as he came racing down the beach.

“Help me!” Candy yelled to Malingo.

She reached down and tried to unknot Julius’ fingers, but his grip was cold and strong.

Malingo put both his arms around Candy and pulled hard on her. Desperation gave him strength. Candy’s clothes tore, and Fugit’s grasping hands were left holding two pieces of shredded fabric.

Freed of the monster’s grip, Candy looked straight down into Julius’ face. His crawling features had assembled now. His eyes were wide and hungry. His mouth wore the contented smile of a hunter who believed he had his prey trapped.

“You’re not going anywhere,” he said, and reached up to catch hold of Candy again. Without hesitation she put her foot down on the middle of Julius’ face, putting all her weight behind it. The creature let out a cry of rage and frustration, and slipped back down into the darkness.

Tempus, meanwhile, was no more than twenty strides away, racing over the stones.

“Halt,” he yelled. “Both of you. Halt!”

Candy ignored him. She climbed back into the glyph, her thoughts entirely focused on the next challenge: getting the craft into the air.

“What are the words?” she said to Malingo.

“Nio Kethica.”

“Of course. That’s it.”

Candy took a deep breath and closed her eyes, picturing the glyph rising into the air. Then she spoke the words: “Nio Kethica.”

The response from the glyph was instantaneous. The vehicle’s engine made a strangled choking sound, and for a moment it seemed the craft was going to ascend. It rocked and shuddered, but unfortunately there was no upward movement. Candy looked up. Tempus was getting closer by the moment.

“Nio Kethica!” she said again. “Come on, glyph! Nio Kethica!”

There was more noise from the craft’s engine, but it wasn’t promising.

“It’s a lost cause!” Malingo said, his eyes on the approaching Fugit Brother. “We should get away—”

Before he could finish, Julius Fugit made another lunge from the hole beside the glyph. He failed to catch hold of Candy, but his hands seized the craft. The vehicle started to tip over. Candy let out a yell as she slid from her seat toward Julius’ grinning face.

Malingo caught hold of her arm and pulled her back, scrambling to get them both out of the craft. As he did so, Candy tried one last cry of “Nio Kethica!” in the hope of awakening the glyph’s engine. But it didn’t work.

“Come on!” Malingo yelled, hauling her over the side of the toppling machine. He was just in time. As Candy stumbled backward into Malingo’s arms the glyph fell over, trapping Julius Fugit beneath its weight.

“Help me, brother!” Julius yelled.

Tempus was two or three strides away. “I’m coming for you, brother!” he yelled, and threw himself on the craft, tearing at its decaying structure to reach his sibling.

“Don’t make me wait, Brother Tempus!”

“I’m doing the best I can.”

“I’m sure you are, brother. I’m sure you are.”

“We’re in trouble…” Malingo murmured to Candy.

He was right. It would take Tempus only a minute or two to free his brother, then the two of them would come in pursuit of their quarry with fresh zeal. And where were Candy and Malingo to go? The beach offered nothing by way of hiding places, and they couldn’t outrun the Fugit Brothers for very long.

Candy shook her head in desperation.

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