The Indigo King - James A. Owen [49]
The truth of what was happening slowly sank into John and Jack as Chaz and Fred headed out the door. “You didn’t make any of these maps, did you, Anaximander? One of your students did.”
“The desire is there, but I have not the skill,” the philosopher admitted, teeth clenched. “It was that boy, that child.… He had such a hand, and such a clear mind for detail.… I had saved his life, after all. Wasn’t I entitled to benefit from that? Wasn’t I?”
Jack cursed in English, then switched back to Greek. “We don’t care about that!” he said harshly. “We just want to know which of them it was!”
“Jack! John!” Chaz shouted from the courtyard. “Now!”
“Anaximander! Please!” John called as he backed out of the map room. “We have to know! We need to know! Tell us, please!
“Who is the Cartographer?”
But no answer was forthcoming. John and Jack raced out of the philosopher’s home as he collapsed in a wreck of tears and regret.
Chaz, with Fred trailing behind, already had a good lead, and the streets of Miletus were broad and uncrowded. There would be no real gathering in this part of the town for another hour or two, John thought wryly. Not until the storyteller, whichever twin it was today, made his appearance in the amphitheater.
To his credit, Chaz had slackened his pace just slightly enough to allow the badger to keep up, so John and Jack had nearly caught up to them by the time the thief and the badger had entered the portal.
Jack raced through next, hardly pausing in the apparent act of running into a marble wall. John was close on his heels and cut the timing tightly enough to see the edges of the projection beginning to close in and lose their shape.
He passed through the gossamer layers and turned around for one final look at Miletus—and saw Myrddyn and Madoc dash from an alleyway and into the plaza.
In seconds the twin sons of Odysseus had spotted the unusual nature of the wall where the companions had vanished, and they moved quickly to follow, swords drawn.
But it was too late. The projection began to fade as the slide was burned dry by the incandescent bulb in the Lanterna Magica, and in a moment, the portal had closed in front of them. Ancient Greece was history.
“Curse it all,” said John. “I’ve forgotten my watch.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The Grail
The harsh white light of the Lanterna Magica cast deep shadows behind John, Jack, and Chaz as they stood, reeling from the chase, and realized they were once again safe in the projection room on Noble’s Isle.
“The giants!” Jack exclaimed, looking around in trepidation. “Are the giants still outside?”
Reynard moved to him, making soothing gestures with his paws. “No need to fear. They retreated when they realized you were no longer here. But,” he added, almost apologetic, “they may yet return. Were you successful in your mission?”
At that both Jack and Chaz looked at John, who took a deep breath. “Well, yes and no,” he admitted. “I think we found the answer we were looking for—Mordred’s true name—or at least, we’ve narrowed it down. But we still don’t know how to use it against him.”
Sitting to rest, the three men took turns recounting the events of the last day to Fred and Uncas, as Reynard ordered in food and drink.
Chaz hungrily tucked into the pile of cheese and bread that had been brought in by three ferrets. “Truth t’ tell, I’m more sleepy
than anything,” he said through a mouthful of food, “but this may be the best sandwich I’ve ever had.”
Reynard bowed in gratitude and began to pour a cup of wine. Chaz stopped him, covering the cup with his hand. “If it’s all th’ same t’ you,” he said, looking at the others, “I’d just as soon stick t’ water or ale after this trip.”
“Agreed,” said Jack, shuddering at the thought of how close he’d come to drinking the poisoned wine. “Thanks for the save, Fred.”
The little mammal would have blushed if he could. As it was, he beamed happily and chewed a crust of bread Chaz had handed him.
“One thing’s certain,” John said. “We went into that completely unprepared. We can’t do so a second time.”
“To