Chapter Sixteen: Three Coat Racks and a Steeplechaser
Guardians of the Twilight Lands -- The Sixth Book of Unexpected Enlightenment
From behind the running boys came a crash of splintering wood. Something big smashed through the forest, pursuing them.
“What’s that?” Gaius spun around.
“I do not know,” the princess admitted. “It’s whatever the boys are running from, but it only appears in the vision at this one point. I couldn’t see it clearly.”
“The angel has clarified the vision for you, right? Let’s take a look.” Gaius backtracked along the boys’ trail. Rachel nearly cried out for him to be careful. She clamped her mouth shut before she embarrassed herself. This was a memory of a vision of something frightening. There was no real danger.
A large shape stomped through the trees. The vision only skirted near it, but for one moment, a face appeared. It was a great, brutish face with small beady eyes, bright with malice. It had horns, tusks, and stony skin. The mouth was an enormous gash across the ugly features. The thick topknot of black, oily hair was wrapped around a wide bone.
Gaius took a surprised step back, nearly stumbling. “What in Jove’s name is that?”
“It’s Mambres!” cried Rachel.
“The ogre!” shouted Sigfried, grabbing the dream knife from Valerie and running forward. “Come on, Snakeasaurus Six! We killed him once. We can kill him again.”
“I’m on it, Bossaurus Twenty-Two! Burnination coming up!” Lucky drew back his head.
“Please, Mr. Smith,” the princess spoke politely, “do ask your dragon not to breathe fire all over my vision. The real ogre is still dead.”
“The boys are fleeing from the ogre?” asked Valerie. “That confirms the theory that this didn't take place a week ago. The ogre was dead by then. Did they steal the gem from it?”
“What about that statue, boss?” asked Lucky.
“Right, Luckotops Sixty-Twelve! The ogre’s cave had a statue in it, a big one, Egyptian looking. It had a setting in its forehead that would fit a big gem, but the gem was gone. I remember because we looked around for it, in case it had fallen onto the cave floor.”
“When were you in the ogre’s cave?” Valerie turned on him accusingly.
“Oh, just some time,” answered Siggy, nonchalant.
Valerie gave him a long, sardonic look, but she did not ask more questions. Rachel knew it had been back in February, when Sigfried snuck out during the lockdown.
“We took what was ours before adults could kype it,” said Lucky, with great satisfaction.
Gaius shook his head, bemused. “Mr. Smith, you never lack for surprises.”
“The only other thing I remember about the statue,” continued Siggy, “was that some boys had carved their initials into it.”
“What makes you think it was done by boys?” asked Joy, still back by Rachel’s young grandfather, staring at the silver jewel.
Siggy shrugged. “Who else carries a knife and carves initials into things?”
“Good point,” Joy pouted. “Girls would have painted their initials with nail polish. That’s what my sisters and I do to mark our stuff. Only Mercy likes to carefully paint over everyone else’s initials, so your stuff becomes her stuff. She says nearly any letter can be made into an M.”
“Sounds as if she’s without mercy,” quipped Gaius.
“She is!” Joy declared energetically. “Patience’s patient with her, but Charity’s got charity for her at all!”
Gaius smirked. “Ah, Mercy’s not so bad. She’s one of the best scholars I know.”
“That just makes her betrayal all the more cruel,” Joy said with mock sadness.
Rachel asked, “How many sets of initials were carved into the statue, Sigfried?”
“Three. Two with two letters, one with three. Lucky and I debated what they most likely stood for and came up with some sound suggestions. What were they, Luckster?”
“Dumb Nothing,” Lucky began, running his claw down his crimson beard as he thought. “Juicy Hippopotamus. I picked that one!” he added proudly. “I can’t remember the other.”
“Where they DN, JH, and BLF?” asked Rachel, “as in Blaise, Lord Falconridge?”
“Oh, right!” cried Sigfried, “Bavarian Liberation Front!”
Gaius gave a humorous snort. “Is the front liberating Bavaria for Vlad? Or from Vlad?”
“Why in the world would the boys have carved their initials into the statue? Isn’t that like standing up and waving your arms and admitting you’re the perp?” asked Valerie, astonished.
“You just don’t understand boys,” replied Siggy, confidently.
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