Jack Shian and the Mapa Mundi (21 page)

The swordfish!

Jack slashed at the approaching spear, deflecting it. Hacking again, Jack sliced off the end of one of the Nucklat’s huge tentacles. With a roar, the beast fell back, its remaining tentacles swirling around madly, blood and slime spurting from the lacerated limb. Jack risked a quick look at the back of the cave and was astonished to see the map lowering itself. He had no time to react to this, for the Nucklat was on him again. Slashing furiously at the creature’s flailing limbs, he continued to edge back towards the rear of the cave.

“It’s Fenrig! He’s stealing the map!”

Rana’s panicked scream from the tunnel entrance surprised even the Nucklat, which paused in its pursuit of Jack and looked round to find the source of the noise. Jack looked round to the back of the cave again, and to his astonishment saw Fenrig smiling evilly back.

“Take a last look at the map,” sneered the young Brashat, waving it tauntingly at Jack. With his back to the rock wall at the end of the path, he watched the scene in front of him with malevolent relish.

The Nucklat, perplexed at this appearance of yet another small creature, roared again and began to advance on Jack once more. A wave crashed into the cave, spraying Jack with salt water.

The timer! The sands will be through in a few seconds!

Re-energised, Jack whirled his sword again and once more succeeded in hacking off the end of a tentacle, but there were so many of them, and the creature, maddened with the pain, only seemed more menacing. A tentacle caught Jack around the ankle, and he fell against the rock wall.

“He’s taking the flag!” Lizzie had appeared at the tunnel entrance now. She grabbed the staff Petros had set down by the the cave wall and swiped at the Nucklat’s body.

The Nucklat, its attention diverted once more, turned to identify this new arrival. Jack seized his chance. Grabbing his sword, he scrambled to his feet and slashed the great creature across its eyes. The serrated edge raked agonisingly over flesh; blood and gloop gushed out, and the Nucklat fell back, roaring in agony. Then, lunging blindly forward, its tentacles thrashed against the rock wall, instinctively clutching onto Fenrig’s leg as he prepared to make his way along the path. Squealing in surprise and pain, the young Brashat was lifted up in the air. The map flew from his hand, fluttering as it drifted back to the cave floor.

“Here, Jack!”

Rana scrambled to the sceptre and flipped it up. Catching it, Jack aimed it at the great sea creature, which was sinking down into the water, dragging a screaming Fenrig with it.

“
Gosol!
”

There was a flash in the gloom of the cave, and as the creature arched up into the air, it wrapped a second tentacle around Fenrig’s upper body.

Fenrig tried to scream, but the Nucklat’s primeval grip ensured no air could get in or out.

“It’s going to kill him!” screamed Lizzie.

Jack paused for a half-second. Did his old adversary deserve to be rescued?

He didn’t really have to think about the answer. Jack kept his arm trained on the creature, and the glow that had shot from the sceptre remained fixed on the Nucklat’s slowly pulsating body. Over the next minute its grip lessened, and Fenrig’s inert body was released onto the path.

“Is he dead?” Lizzie’s voice quavered.

“Never mind him,” said Rana coldly, kneeling by Petros. She cradled her brother’s head in her lap, brushing the damp hair away from his face. Then, taking two small stones from her pocket, she placed them on her brother’s forehead.

“Vigilus!”

Petros blinked, and fidgeted.

“Wha … what happened?”

“Armina won’t mind. I borrowed some of her stones. Come here, Jack, and I’ll fix your shoulder.”

Jack tucked the sceptre and his sword into his waistband, and walked over to Petros and smiled down at him as Rana pressed a stone against his wound.

Owww!

There was a hiss and a brief puff of smoke, but then his shoulder felt fine. Reassured, Jack strode to the back of the cave and located the flag. Tentatively, he picked it up. About three feet by two, it weighed next to nothing.

Jack shivered, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. The flag glimmered in his hands.

“The
Mapa Mundi
!” he said in triumph. “It’s ours!”

Jack edged back along the slippery path, cradling the flag in his hands. As he neared the mouth of the cave, the light showed the flag in more detail. It
was
an old map; the continents and seas were clearly visible in two big circles. It fluttered in his hands as a breeze came in from the sea.

“You missed all the action,” he said to Petros with a broad grin.

“It looks like I missed it too.”

“Grandpa!” Jack’s joyous shout rang through the cave.

“The korrigan made the tunnel big enough! And once inside, my sceptre worked again, and I sped us along – like we were flying. Then I remembered something Konan had said. He ‘stopped time flying’ … Jack, show me the timer.”

“How … how d’you know about that?”

“It’s how Konan escaped: he must have slowed down time.”

Jack fished the timer out of his pocket. There were still a few grains left in the top half.

“But we made it in time,” he announced, puzzled. “We got past the Nucklat, and we’ve got the
Mapa Mundi
.”

Petros had levered himself into a sitting position against the rock wall; a small trickle of blood oozed from the side of his head.

“Is it really the map?” he croaked.

“It is. And Jack was meant to get it,” said his grandfather. “Now he has to turn it into the Sphere.”

“Fenrig nearly got it,” pointed out Rana. “He sneaked into the tunnel just after you. It’s just as well we followed him. Grandpa’s speed charm worked for him too.”

Jack looked anxiously towards Fenrig’s motionless body.

“I don’t know why you’re bothered about him,” retorted Rana. “He was quite happy to see that monster kill you.”

Jack saw that Fenrig was breathing, at least. Had he saved Fenrig, or was he just getting rid of the Nucklat?

“He couldn’t just let Fenrig die, though,” added Lizzie. “I know he’s horrible, but getting squeezed to death … Ugh!”

“I couldn’t let that happen.” Jack spoke softly.

As he spoke, the flag in his hand began to curl up. The youngsters all looked on in amazement as, within a few seconds, it formed a perfect globe.

“It really is the Sphere!” gasped Petros, but he winced in pain as he spoke, and held his head.

Jack felt a flutter run through him, like … like the time he’d defeated Amadan the previous year. The third great Shian treasure! Now they could get the Kildashie out of Edinburgh.

But Grandpa was not sharing in Jack’s elation.

“The sands are still running,” he shouted, grasping the timer. “That means your task is not finished.”

Grandpa Sandy tried to turn the timer on its side, but it would not go horizontal. Pausing for a moment, he directed his index finger at the timer and whispered, “
Planus!
”

The glass remained vertical.

“There’s no time to lose. You must make the Sphere work.”

Jack looked at the globe in his hands. What was it supposed to show?
Inside the Sphere I’ll see my heart?

He gazed hard at the globe. What was it showing him?

One of the circles faded; then the outline of Scotland and Ireland reappeared, filling the circle. Then, slowly, a single hexagonal column appeared in the sea off Mull.

“That’s us! That must be this cave!”

Slowly, Ireland was replaced by a series of hexagonal columns. Then, beside them, a human figure slowly emerged. Below it the faintest of letters started to appear.

P … h … i …

Jack’s heart nearly stopped.

… n … e … a … s …

Jack gulped.

“It's … it's my dad.”

Rana peered inquisitively at the Sphere. She drew in her breath.

“He's … suspended, isn't he?”

Jack nodded. The pale figure hung there, apparently lifeless.

“So what are those shapes, then?” asked Lizzie, pointing to the strange columns next to Phineas' figure.

“They're columns, like these ones.” Jack indicated the hexagonal pillars that extended from the cave wall to the sea outside. “I've never seen rocks like that before. It's like they're carved.” He bent down so Petros could see.

Petros, still groggy, squinted at the Sphere.

“But they're in the wrong place. We're here,” he indicated with his finger, “and they're over on Ireland.”

Jack stared at the map.

How can we get over there? We've no boat … Aquines?

Jack concentrated hard, staring intently at the map. The columns seemed to float, rising and falling. What had Tamlina said, all those months ago? “
The cave o' the saint … The giant's bridge …
” Luka had called it St Fingal's tunnel … This must be St Fingal's cave … the cave of the saint.

So where's the giant's bridge?

Exasperated, Jack looked around.

“These columns are here … and the map says they're over in Ireland. And we need a giant's bridge to cross over.” It would need to be a giant's bridge, right enough.

Something was missing.

My heart
… “Inside the Sphere will see his heart.”
What does that mean?

Jack looked again at the Sphere.

“Jack, what do you really want?” His grandfather spoke softly.

A tear fell down Jack's cheek, but he didn't notice. He stared again at the map. The limp figure beside the columns now moved for the first time. It raised its head and its tiny eyes bored into Jack's. Jack saw its mouth open. A silent plea.

I want my dad.

“I wish … I wish the giant's bridge would appear.”

And then his mind cleared.
“Columns awake,”
Tamlina had said. The columns on the Sphere were moving … they were awake.

“This must be the start of the bridge!” he shouted.

And another memory floated into his mind. That time he and Petros had gone to see Daid at Murkle's house, they'd had to sit through a torment of boredom. But what had Murkle said? Something about waking stone structures in giants' caves?

Jack aimed the sceptre at the columns opposite and shouted, “
Disuscito!
”

Nothing. The sea continued to draw in and out of the cave, a fine spray settling on the youngsters as they stood there.

Then, almost imperceptibly, the columns began to rise, just a little. But the ones outside the cave began to rise more, joining the others and forming a road over the sea. A bridge, in fact.

Or was it? The bridge only seemed to extend for twenty or thirty yards.

“You've done it, Jack!” shouted Grandpa. “Clever lad!”

A soft groaning sound greeted this announcement. Fenrig was starting to roll over onto his back, his every movement accompanied by a moan.

“He tried to steal the Sphere, Grandpa,” asserted Lizzie. “And that monster nearly squeezed him to death.” She pointed to the Nucklat's corpse. Gallons of slime had oozed out of its wounds, a sticky trail slowly dripping down into the sea.

“An impressive beast,” replied Grandpa. “You have done exceedingly well to defeat it.”

“The Sphere says your father's in Ireland. And the giant's bridge starts here,” Rana stated. “But it only goes a few yards. Ireland's miles away.”

Jack peered out to sea; then, with a shake of his head, said, “Then we'd better get started.”

Petros tried to stand, but immediately stumbled.

“You're concussed,” said Grandpa Sandy; “this next part is too dangerous for you. Lizzie, can you take him back down the tunnel? Armina will see to him back on the island. Take Fenrig with you. Use this other sceptre.” He whispered instructions in her ear.

“You mean I can't come across?” shouted Lizzie indignantly. “That's not fair!”

“Getting your brother back safely is important, and I'm entrusting Fenrig into your care too.”