A World Without Heroes - Brandon Mull [49]
“You heard me, right?”
The stare persisted. Jugard had obviously heard.
Jason scooted around so his back was against the wall as well. He had asked his question. He would look like a jerk if he kept pushing. Apparently the other man needed time to think about his response. Or perhaps he was crazy. Either way, waiting seemed preferable to coercion. Jason shivered, finally recognizing how cold he was.
Minutes passed. Jason stared at his hands, listened to the echoes of surging waves. He quietly wondered if, somewhere high above, Rachel was worried.
Jason glanced sideways at Jugard. The man had set down his seaweed and was busy untangling his matted beard. Muscles danced in his thin, sinuous arms. Jason returned to contemplating his hands. More time passed. He took the silence as a contest. This time he would not blink. Closing his eyes, he began reviewing the bones of the leg and foot. He had a big anatomy test Friday. No, he had already missed it.
“You are wise for one so young,” Jugard said at last. “Most men cannot abide silence. Some fly into a rage. Some become clowns. Some confess all they know. Silence reveals much. I will assist you, Jason, friend of Galloran.”
“How can you help me?”
“What do you know?”
“The first syllable. And I know not to say the Word unless I’m with Maldor.”
Jugard stopped picking at his beard and started rubbing his ankles. He did not look at Jason. “You are just beginning your search. The Word has six syllables. The fourth is ‘en.’ I do not know the location of the other syllables, but I know of a man in Trensicourt who might be able to help. If he remains alive, Nicholas should be able to advise you. He once worked closely with Galloran, creating engines of war.”
“Okay, ‘en.’ And Nicholas. Is that all you know?”
“I have dwelled in this cave longer than I can reckon. Most of what I know derives from others who have journeyed here. You are the first in some time. I hope my information remains valid.”
Jason nodded. He already had a third of the Word! And he had a new lead to follow. He had worried that the sea cave might represent a dead end. He visualized the portion of the Word he knew.
Jason repeated the name of the contact in Trensicourt.
“That is right,” Jugard confirmed.
“Do you know what a Beyonder is?” Jason asked.
“Of course.”
“I’m a Beyonder.”
The bushy eyebrows twitched again.
“Do you know how I can get home?”
Jugard stared. “I do not. Keep asking your question. There are some who might have answers.”
Jason looked around the chamber of stone. He turned to Jugard with a puzzled expression.
“You wish to know how to get back atop the cliffs.”
Jason nodded.
“Once, the task was not difficult. Beyond a neighboring chamber, long ago, a colleague of Nicholas helped me construct a means for ascending to a point near the cliff tops. Sometime later, not long after Galloran visited me, the neighboring chamber became inhabited by a titan crab. Since that day five men and one woman have visited me. Two tried to swim out. I know they failed because their corpses washed back into my chamber. The other four attempted to dodge past the crab. I beheld their demise.”
“Did any try to kill the crab?”
“Three made an effort to slay the crab once it became clear they would not outrun her. None came close.”
Jason silently lamented not bringing the explosive stone. He had nothing to fight with. “What do you suggest?”
Jugard shrugged. “To better understand, you should view Macroid.”
“Is that the crab?”
“The name I gave her.”
“You can tell it’s a she?”
“I know crabs.”
They climbed down off the shelf. Jugard, clutching the luminous length of seaweed, led Jason to a long vertical crack in the wall on one side of the chamber. It was just wide enough for a man to walk through without turning sideways. “Why doesn’t the crab come through into here?”
Jugard faced Jason, the green seaweed casting strange shadows and highlights across his furry countenance. “She is much too big.”
Jason’s mouth felt dry.
Jugard handed him the seaweed. “Peer cautiously through the crack before you enter