The Time Hunters (Book 1 of the acclaimed series for children of all ages) (12 page)

Chapter 17

The
Messenger’s Message

A puzzled silence engulfed them. The Argonauts
gathered their possessions and moved to the sheltered cluster of trees where
Theseus lay, snoring like a bagpipe.

All the while Becky couldn’t take her eyes off a
troubled Uncle Percy. She knew he was contemplating the identity of the
messenger. It had to be a time traveller.
But who?
Friend or foe?
And why visit Jason? And then the real
complexity of time travel struck her. The
messenger
could even be Uncle Percy - an Uncle Percy from the
future travelling back in time for some, as yet, unknown reason.
What a bizarre thought!

By late afternoon, the smell of cinnamon filtered on
the heavy air. Becky and Joe were sitting on the gnarled grey trunk of a fallen
tree; Phineus and Hercules sat opposite, cross-legged, on the sandy ground. It
was obvious from their puzzled looks this was the first time they had heard
about Jason’s messenger.

Uncle Percy removed his cloak and gave Jason a
kindly smile. ‘Please, Jason, I need you to tell me everything about this
messenger
.
Every
detail.
Leave nothing out.’

Jason surveyed at his captive audience. ‘Seven days
ago, the first night of the full moon, I was asleep in my hut on Iolcus having
an agreeable dream about very tall women, when I woke to find the earth
growling and a noise like the snap of an ox-skin whip met my ears.’

Becky glanced at Joe, who gave a nod of silent recognition.
Jason was describing an operational time machine.

Jason continued. ‘The door opened, and a man stood
before me.
A tall man, like yourself.’

‘What did he look like?’

Jason deliberated for a moment. ‘I could not see. His
features remained in shadow. He wore a cloak, much like yours, his face
hidden.’

Uncle Percy hesitated. ‘Now, I want you to take your
time answering this. You said the messenger wore a cloak like mine, that he was
a tall man like me. Could it have been me? Was I the messenger?’

Jason’s head jerked up sharply. ‘Is this a test,
sire?’ he said, sounding confused. ‘Are the Gods testing me?’

‘Yes,’ Uncle Percy said. ‘It’s a test. Now, think back.
Was it me?’

Jason paused again. ‘It may have been you, master.
It was too dark to be certain.’

‘Very well,’ Uncle Percy said.
 
‘Did he sound like me? Was the accent the
same as mine?’

‘A week of sleep has blurred the event, sire. But
his accent was unfamiliar to me - it may have been your voice. Was it you who
visited me that night, master?
 
Have I
passed the test?’

‘You’re doing well.’ Uncle Percy smiled sympathetically.
‘Now, please, tell me what was said.’

‘He said I was to embark on a great journey. A
mission decreed by the Gods. I was to gather a mighty crew and go in search of
the Fleece of Gold, the divine prize presented to Queen Nephele by the God,
Hermes. He told me to first land upon Crete where he would send his herald, a
silver-haired man from a distant land called Brit - ain.
 
He said that I must assist the herald in
finding The Golden Fleece.’ Jason stopped, dreading his next words. ‘And the messenger
ordered I bestow upon you a message. He said you must leave Crete before two
moons passed. That should you remain, your lives would be taken, and the Fleece
of Gold lost forever. Then he left.’

A tense silence hung in the air.

Only Uncle Percy, who looked somewhat relieved, had
something to say. ‘Thank you, Jason. That was most helpful. Now, shall I make
everyone a nice pot of tea?’
 
He walked
off in the direction of the cave, leaving the three Argonauts baffled as to
what
a pot of tea
was.

Becky watched Uncle Percy leave, countless questions
filling her mind. Was the messenger Uncle Percy or someone else? Were they
really in danger on Crete?
If so, why?
Then her
thoughts were interrupted by
an
deafening creaking
sound. Staring out, she watched as the
Argo
disappeared from view, swallowed by the hungry sea.

Chapter 18

In
the Shadows of the Past

After deciding they would camp there for the night,
Uncle Percy spent rest of the afternoon finding reasons to isolate
himself
from the group. He would go for lengthy walks along
the gorge admiring the griffon vultures and picking wild orchids. He would
paddle in the shallow sea, gathering shells and placing them in a small leather
pouch, claiming to be a keen conchologist.

Becky knew this was all a front. He needed time to
consider Jason’s story and think about their next step. As she watched him
pluck the umpteenth shell from the damp sand, she felt a powerful sense of
helplessness.

Joe, on the other hand, seemed oblivious to her concerns
and decided to lighten the mood by teaching the Argonauts to play cricket. He
found a stained cork ball in the campervan (which judging by the deep grooves
in its surface belonged to Milly) and whittled some stumps out of olive
branches, whilst Will carved a makeshift bat.

Joe soon came to the conclusion the Argonauts were
the worst cricketers he had ever seen. Phineus stood more chance of catching
the ball with his ears than his hands. Hercules was even worse, and Jason
launched himself with such gusto at his first delivery that the bat flew out of
his hands and crashed into Hercules’ forehead, knocking him out cold.

By the time Uncle Percy had returned daylight had
bowed to a comfortable dusk. The solitude seemed to have rejuvenated him and he
joked with Becky as they lit a fire and watched as fine wisps of smoke slithered
into the sky.

Dinner was a jovial affair, and Becky found herself
enjoying the company of the Argonauts immensely. She watched as Theseus, his
condition much improved, Phineus and Hercules, (Jason remained oddly quiet)
took centre-stage and entertained them with folk songs and fantastical tales of
the Gods. Before long the sun had set and a full moon cast a silver flush over
the camp.

An hour later, Becky lay under a blanket, taking in
the glittering stars above. Despite the day’s revelations, she felt remarkably
at peace. Listening to the crackling embers of the fire, her eyes searched out
Uncle Percy. She found him sitting on a rock, staring blankly out to sea. She
walked over, her bare feet welcoming the coolness of the sand.

‘Mind if I join you?’ Becky said.

Uncle Percy looked up. ‘I believe this rock was made
for two.’

‘It’s beautiful, isn’t it?’ Becky said, sitting down
and gazing out at the water.

‘The sea is always beautiful,’ Uncle Percy replied
softly. ‘It’s one of life’s constants. No matter when or where you are, the sea
remains the same - wonderful, elegant, dangerous and vast.’

Becky hesitated for a second. ‘The messenger’s
worried you?’

‘Well, granted, it was unforeseen,’ Uncle Percy
replied, ‘but when travelling you come to expect the unexpected. After all, it
is
we
who are the trespassers.
You must never forget that.’

Shocked to hear him use a word like
trespass, Becky said
, ‘I prefer to
think of it as visiting…visiting the best museum in the world.’

‘But you can’t take museum exhibits home with you.
Visiting a museum is a passive activity. Time travel is as active as can be.
That’s precisely why it’s the most potentially destructive power the world has ever
known.’

‘You sound like you wish it didn’t exist?’ Becky
said.

‘Age changes a man.’ Uncle Percy said without a hint
of sadness. ‘Believe me, I have enjoyed every journey - well, almost…’ his eyes
dimmed, ‘but I have devoted my life to travel, and that’s not always a wise
thing to do. Sometimes it’s too easy to dwell on the past and ignore the
present.’

‘But look at the life you’ve lived,’ Becky
said.
 
‘It must’ve been brilliant. You’ve
seen things people would kill to see.’ As soon as the words left her mouth she
knew she’d said the wrong thing.

Uncle Percy looked sad. ‘And people are being
killed. And if we don’t put a stop to this, more will die. That is why I’m
prepared to take the risks I’m taking.’

‘Good,’ Becky said resolutely.

‘But it’s not just me who’s in danger, is it? Believe
me, I wish it was, but
there’s
you, Joe, Will, Maria
and Jacob to consider, too. The people I care most about in the world. I’m
growing old, it doesn’t really matter what happens to me.’

‘It matters to me.’ Becky gripped his hand.
‘Besides, you’re not that
old,
and you shouldn’t worry
about us. We’ll be okay. I just know we will.’

Uncle Percy turned his head towards the water. ‘I
don’t know, perhaps it was a mistake inviting you to Bowen Hall. Perhaps you
should have stayed at home with your mother. At least you’d be safe.’

‘Please, don’t say that,’ Becky replied. ‘And
besides, you don’t know that. After all, it was
our
rooms those freaks trashed.’ She paused. ‘To be honest, I
didn’t want to come and stay with you at all. I thought it was going to be the
worst summer of my life. And I was wrong. It’s been the best.’

‘That’s very kind of you to say.’

‘But I am angry with you…’

‘Why?’

‘Because I’m thirteen.’

‘And?’

‘And it’s taken you all this time to let me back
into your life. And that’s not fair...’ She could feel her entire body begin to
shake.
 

‘I know,’ Uncle Percy said quietly, ‘and I am very
sorry.’

But Becky hadn’t finished. ‘So, if Joe and I are
your only family, why didn’t you want us around?’

Uncle Percy sighed. ‘You’ve got every right to be
angry with me, Becky. The reason I’ve not seen you is -’ He hesitated, unable
to find the words.

Becky stared at him impatiently. ‘Well?’

‘The reason is complex…’

‘Okay.’ Becky found her temper rising. ‘I’m not a
child. You might think I am, but I’m not. I can handle it. What was it?’

Uncle Percy took a grave breath. ‘It was your
father’s wish. He
ordered
me
not to see you …’

The words hung in mid-air like the echo of a distant
bell.
He ordered me not to see you!
Becky whirled with shock. ‘I - I
don’t understand.’

Uncle Percy’s eyes found hers. ‘How could you
understand? In retrospect, I’m not sure I do. There was a time when your father
and I were close, you see. Very close. He was my favourite nephew, and we spent
a great deal of time together.’ He smiled fondly.
 
‘Anyway, some time before he died, we had a
disagreement - a particularly
heated
disagreement. And, as often happens in the fervor of the moment, we both said
things perhaps we shouldn’t have said. Anyway, the upshot was he asked me to
never to see him or his family again. I had no choice but to respect his wish.’

Becky’s brow furrowed. ‘Mum told me about your
argument.
 
I mean, she didn’t know what
it was about, but she knew dad really regretted it.’

‘As did I.
Of course, you always think you have time to fix these things. Unfortunately,
in this instance, time was the one thing we didn’t have. I am aware of the
irony. Anyway, after he died, I didn’t know how to introduce myself back into
your family. Naturally, I offered your mother financial assistance, but she
wouldn’t take it. I invited her to bring you to live at Bowen Hall. Again, she
declined. She’s an honourable woman. I respected that.’

‘What was the argument about?’

‘I can’t say,’ Uncle Percy said sadly, breaking eye
contact for a moment.
 

‘Why not?’

‘I just can’t. It was merely a difference of
opinion. He thought a situation should’ve been handled one way. I thought
something else.’

Becky remained unsatisfied. ‘Well, I can’t see how
any argument was worth having nothing to do with us when dad died.’

‘I said I didn’t know how to introduce myself back
into your family. I didn’t say I had nothing to do with you.’

‘What - what do you mean?’

Slowly, Uncle Percy turned to Becky and his gaze met
hers. ‘I was always there for you and Joe. You just didn’t know it.’

‘I don’t understand?’

‘I used my time machines to journey back to see you
and Joe as you were growing up. To ensure you were both safe and well.’

‘You did?’ Becky whispered.

‘Many times.
I was there on your first day at that new school … you made friends with that
small, freckly girl who was crying because she was cold. You gave her your
duffel coat. ’

Stunned to silence, Becky remembered the incident
well. The girl’s name was Kelly Martin.

Uncle Percy continued. ‘I was there when you visited
Chester Zoo and were scared by the chimpanzees. Your teacher wanted you to
leave the ape compound but you stayed until you conquered your fear. You even
ended up buying a book about them from the gift shop. I could name dozens of
other things I’ve seen you do.’

Becky felt her eyes dampen.
 
She remembered these events as clearly as if
they happened yesterday. And Uncle Percy had been there? Silently watching,
standing in the wings like an understudy in a play.

Becky exploded into tears. She covered her face,
ashamed of her outburst.

Leaning over, Uncle Percy placed his arm gently
around her shoulders. ‘Please, don’t cry. Just believe me when I say I was
always there for you.
And Joe.
I just couldn’t let you
know.’

But she had stopped listening now. The sound of
weeping muffled any words. All her life, Uncle Percy had been her guardian
angel. It was the saddest, most touching thing she’d ever heard.

*

Hours later, as dawn approached, the camp lay as
still as a cemetery. A cool sea breeze had swept in and finally extinguished
the dying fire.
 
Everyone was in a deep
sleep.
Everyone, except Jason.
He’d been awake for
hours, his stomach churning with guilt and confusion. Surely, he couldn’t do
it? But he knew he must. He had no choice.

The Gods had spoken.

Silently, he stepped away from his bed. It was late
now, and the gentle breaths from the sleeping group floated throughout the
darkness. He eased past Phineus, Hercules, and finally Theseus, until he stood
over his target. Feeling his fingers tremble, he gazed down at the sleeping
man. What was he doing? Surely this was a good man?
A worthy
man?

But no, he could not be what he seemed. The Gods had
told him the truth. Drawing his bronze dagger, he whispered ‘Hestia, forgive
me...’ And he plunged the blade towards Uncle Percy’s heart.