Клайв Баркер - Abarat

She landed so hard that her breath was knocked from her. For a few moments she lay there gasping and bruised, listening to the sound of the waves and the din of the seabirds squabbling over some piece of fish that had been washed up.

Then, from nearby, there came a reassuring voice.

"Lady?"

Seconds later Malingo's face came into view, upside down.

"You're here! You're alive!"

Candy was still in a mild state of shock. She opened her mouth to answer Malingo, but at first all that would come out was a trail of disconnected words. "Running. Clocks. Faces. Tempus Fugit. And Julius. Horrible. Two. Horrible."

"Oh my poor lady," Malingo said. "Did they make you crazy in there?"

"I'm not crazy!" Candy said, pushing herself up into a sitting position. She took a deep breath and tried to construct a more coherent sentence. "I've got a few bruises," she said. "But I'm sane. I swear I am. And I'm alive."

"Alive you are," Malingo said, with a bright smile.

Candy laughed. She'd done it! She'd actually escaped the Twenty-Fifth Hour!

She got to her feet and embraced Malingo. "The things I've seen," she said to him. "You wouldn't believe some of the things…"

"Such as?" said Malingo, eyes gleaming with curiosity.

Candy opened her mouth, intending to describe her adventures inside the Twenty-Fifth. But then she decided against it.

"You know what?" she said. "Perhaps it's best not to do it here."

She stared at the wall of roiling mist that separated the beach from the secret world on the other side. Anybody could be on the other side, she reasoned. Listening; or worse, ready to pounce and drag her back in.

"We should get out of here first," she said to Malingo, "before the Fugit Brothers catch up with us."

"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.