The Unwilling Adventurer (The Unwilling #1) (21 page)

Tentacles came up behind Fred's barrier and pounded away at the back. Cracks appeared on the surface and water leaked inside. Others wrapped themselves around him and pulled the protection diamond away from Fred's target. With time running short Fred tried again, but with a larger beam. He created a larger hole in the barrier and water rushed inside. The beam shot out and was again blocked by the tentacles.

A shadow fell over Fred, and he looked up to see the creature's head dive into the water. Those dark eyes bore into his and it gave a roar great enough to vibrate the entire river. Fred swung his staff toward the face, but another object blocked his path; the creature had dragged Pat down into the water with it. Pat looked wildly around her and her eyes fell on the glowing stone at the bottom of the river close by Fred. She pressed her hands against the walls and nodded at the stone. "Do it!" her voice traveled through her prison and the water. The creature heard her and punished her by opening small holes in her prison, and her bubble of air slowly filled with water. She stepped back from the walls and pressed her arms to her chest.

Fred wasn't doing any better. The tentacles never ceased their pounding against his walls and they still pulled him farther from his target. He looked over at the glowing stone. His chances of hitting it with a small strike of light was dwindling, but each hole was causing more water to rush inside the bubble. With the way things were he didn't have any other choice, so he held the staff out in front of him and blocked out all the terrifying distractions. The tentacles pounded against his barrier and the water climbed higher in Pat's prison.

Fred felt his staff quiver and shake, and the stone at the top glowed as bright as the sun. He didn't dare look away or shield his eyes; he needed to focus. The staff burned his hands, and he felt his strength drain from him and into the wood. The barrier around him dulled and weakened; water leaked in from countless cracks and the tentacles sensed his weakening. They pounded harder on the walls and the face of the beast sank closer to him. That great mouth opened wide to swallow him and extinguish his light.

The boy clenched his teeth and narrowed his eyes. Almost there; he was almost there. Pat watched him and saw the color drain from his face; the effort was killing him. She pounded her fists against the walls to get his attention, but he ignored her. Just as the creature clamped its mouth down on his barrier, Fred eyes widened and he released a devastating energy blast. The diameter of the beam opened a hole in his barrier large enough to collapse the whole thing, and he drifted free in the water.

The creature turned its head away from him, and all three, monster and humans, watched the beam shoot through the countless tentacles and body; nothing slowed it down. The light collided with the stone and the monster let out a gurgling cry of pain and fury. It thrashed and howled as the stone cracked and broke apart. Then the thing hung limp in the water and its body dissipated into the river. Pat was free of her prison and swam over to Fred, who floated very still close by with his staff clutched in one hand. She grabbed him around the waist and they were close enough she kicked off the river bottom.

Pat pulled him along, and her air and strength were nearly depleted when they broke the surface. She gasped and dragged him onto a sandbar; he was very still and his skin was as pale as death. Pat put her hand on his chest and her breath caught in her throat. She couldn't feel anything; he wasn't breathing.

She slowly shook her head and tears sprang to her eyes. "No. You can't die. Fred, I order you not to die!" She grabbed his shoulders and gave him a good shake. "Come on! Wake up! Boy! Come on, you don't like me calling you that, remember? Fred!" She slapped him across the face. Fred's eyes shot open and he stared blankly at the sky. Pat cried out in relief and flung her arms over him. "You're okay! Thank the gods you're okay!" He didn't reply nor return the hug. She sat up and looked at him; he still stared lifelessly at the sky, and his chest still didn't move. A horrible feeling washed over her. "Fred?" she whispered.

Fred's eyes rolled over to her and her heart stopped. Those dark things weren't Fred's eye color. He sat up and Pat fell back away from him. The boy turned his head and stared straight at her without blinking. She trembled beneath that unearthly gaze, and her quiet voice mirrored her fear with its tremble. "Fred?"

Fred blinked. Pat's heart dared to beat a few times. Then he stared straight ahead, his face took on a hideous shade of green and he leaned forward to wretch on himself. Pat cringed back, but now to escape the smell rather than his gaze. After a few moments of ridding his stomach of food and river water, Fred wearily looked up at her and smiled; chunks fell off his chin. "Did we win?" he hoarsely asked her.

Pat's lips trembled, then she smiled, and finally she broke out in a laugh so loud it rang off the walls of the river. Fred looked over both his shoulders to see if she was laughing at something behind him; there was nothing but river and more river. After today he swore he'd never swim in a river again. The mystery of her amusement remained, so he turned back to her with a frown on his face. "What? What's so funny?"

Pat shook her head and tried to get a hold of herself. "I-I'm just so relieved you're okay."

"Why? Was I out that long?" He looked up at the sky and saw the sun was still in the morning position.

"No, I was just that worried." She stood up, put her hands on her hips and looked around. "Now how do we get out of here?"

Fred followed her gaze and could see what she meant; they were on a narrow sandbar below the steep cliffs with no way out but to swim upstream or downstream. They jumped in fright when a roar echoed off the walls, and Fred scrambled to his feet. His weak legs collapsed beneath him, and Pat went for her sword that lay broken at the bottom of the river bed. The roar came again, and a few pebbles tumbled down the wall. The pair looked up and saw Fluffy's face peeking over the edge of the cliff thirty feet above them.

Pat relaxed and rolled her eyes. "Great, he's here, but how can he help get us out?" Fluffy barked and pulled back out of sight. In a moment something long tumbled over the edge; it was a rope. Pat looked disbelievingly at it. "Where did he get that?"

Fred shook his head. "I don't know and I don't care. Let's just get out of here."

CHAPTER 20

Pat strapped the rope around Fred's waist and Fluffy hefted him up, then let the rope down again and she climbed up. She walked over and wrapped her arms around the cantankus' neck. "Thank you so much, you strange thing." Fluffy barked and licked her face, coating her in his drool. Pat wiped off Fluffy's thank you while Fred staggered back the way they'd come. His legs obeyed him with more reliability than before, but Pat came up behind him and slipped her shoulder beneath one of his arms. She smiled at him. "You might need some help for a little while longer. You drank a lot of water, remember?"

Fred shuddered. "Don't remind me."

"Do-do you remember much after that?" she asked him.

The boy furrowed his brow. "After I shot off the staff?" She nodded. "Nope. Don't remember anything until I was puking my guts out with you sitting beside me."

"Oh..." Pat was troubled by Fred's strange behavior; that hadn't been the first time he'd become someone else. She worried it would get worse if he kept using that staff.

They toddled along back to the bridge, laughing off their adventure because they were both alive and well. Fluffy followed and was a comfort to them; he had energy enough to fend off an army. They were two dozen yards away from the bridge when Pat stopped. Her eyes stared straight ahead and Fred followed her gaze; Ned still lay where they'd left him. Fred lifted his arm from her shoulder and stumbled over to him while Pat hung back; she feared the worst. Fred slid up beside the old man and looked him over. Ned's cloak was pushed open and a tip of another rope hung out. That explained where Fluffy picked up their escape item.

Pat came up behind him. "Is he...?"

Fred shook his head. "No, he's breathing." He lifted Ned's head up and felt a huge lump on the back; the landing had been one hell of a knockout. Fred was more rough with his friend than he intended because Ned's eyes shot open.

Ned sat up and shooed away Fred's hands. He scowled and gingerly touched the back of his head. "I see that you were trying to finish the job," he scolded Fred.

Pat surprised them both when she fell to her knees and wrapped Ned in a tight hug. "I'm so glad you're okay," she mumbled through his cloak.

Ned smiled and returned the hug. "So am I," he replied. Pat released him and he glanced over to Fred, who's clothes were torn and wet. "You appear to be in need of a new set of clothes again, my dear Fred. What exactly happened after my short nap?"

Fred grinned and shrugged. "Not much. Just defeated a monster and saved the day."

The old man raised an eyebrow. "All by yourself?" he asked the boy.

The boy's face drooped. "You don't think I could have done it?"

Ned waved his hands in front of himself. "No no, of course I believe it. It's just, well-" he pulled at his beard and his eyes twinkled, "-somewhat unbelievable." Pat rolled her eyes, but there was a smile on her face; she couldn't be mad at him when she was still so relieved he was okay.

Fred frowned. "Well, I did. It wasn't easy, but somehow I got down to the rock and blasted it away with this." He held up his pieces of stick.

Ned raised an eyebrow. "Rock?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah, there was a glowing stone at the bottom of the thing, and I guessed it was pretty important because it didn't want me down there, so I destroyed it. That killed the creature." Fred didn't like the look on Ned's face. "Why? Is that important?"

Ned looked off into space, and even Pat's glee melted away into worry. "Is it important?" she repeated Fred's question.

Ned shook himself of his stupor. "What? Oh, yes, very important. That's the particular ability for Canavar. He uses the stones to focus his power and create such things. So what are we sitting around here for? There could be more danger afoot." Pat helped him climb to his feet, and Fred fetched his staff and placed it in Ned's hand. Ned took a step forward and stumbled; the pair noticed he winced. "I think perhaps that whack on my head did more damage than I thought."

"Maybe you can ride Fluffy?" Fred suggested. Fluffy heard that and bound forward with an eager bark.

Ned grimaced, but patted the cantankus on the head. "All right, you can have the honor of carrying me, but be gentle."

Fluffy was not gentle. The moment Ned's butt slid onto Fluffy's back the dog bound forward with a roar of a bark. Ned screamed and clung to the beast's back as they sailed over the bridge. The youngsters ran after them, but had a hard time keeping up; not so much from Fluffy's pace as from their laughter taking all their breath away.

The companions reached the other side of the bridge and traveled over the gentle hills that lay beyond the river. Night came on before they reached the capital, and they rested beside a crackling fire. Fred, as the most exhausted, collapsed between his blankets. While he slept Pat took the chance to recant to Ned what had happened to them, including Fred's eerie behavior after she pulled him from the water. "What do you make of it?" she asked him.

Ned leaned forward on his staff and his brow furrowed in thought as he watched the fire. After a moment he closed his eyes and shook his head. "I can't say for sure, but you would do well to watch over him. I would trust no one else with the knowledge of his affliction."

"Watch him? How can I watch him after we reach the capital? Would you not be a better protector of him?" she countered.

Ned shrugged. "I may be, but you two are closer in age and would give much more trust to each other than to an old man like myself."

Pat frowned at him. "You must be joking."

The old man turned up his nose in fake insult. "I never joke about such serious matters," he teased her. His amusement didn't last long, for his face drooped and he looked to her with his weary old eyes. "But in all seriousness he needs you, and I think you may find a use for him. He has saved your life several times. A boy like that would be a great asset to have on hand in these dangerous times." Pat stared into the fire and Ned retired to leave her to her thoughts.

The next day they awoke and hurried on their way. By midmorning they saw the crest of the hill, and their steps quickened until they reached the peak. There was a flat spot at the top, and they took in the view. A large, green valley spread out before them in the shape of a bowl. Mountains capped with snow stood to the north, and smaller mountains lay on either side. In the valley was a large city of stone, larger than Tramadore, and a great road led up to the three gates that fed commerce into the metropolis. They could see carriages and carts wheel through the gates, and countless people wandered in and out. The city was defended by a twenty-foot thick wall of stacked stones, and a small army of guards patrolled the battlements. In the back-center of the town stood a tall castle fortress built on the only hill in the valley. Three towers rose up from the high, defensive walls, stepped so that a giant could walk from one to the next like stairs.

Ned smiled and nodded at the place. "A very pretty sight. Let us hope we are expected." He trooped down the mountain and Fred aimed to join him, but a hand grabbed his arm. He turned back to find it was Pat.