Chapter 14

THE GUARDIANS’ RIDDLE

 

Jack stood at the edge of the jungle, hidden behind a gigantic tree. “What do you mean, you’re leaving?”

“I cannot enter the Forbidden Garden, Jack. That is your quest. There are other things I must attend to now.” Elion turned and looked toward the south. “I will go to the City of Shadows. I fear our friends may need my help if they are to survive.”

“So you’re just going to leave me here? I’m the Child of Prophecy. You’re supposed to take care of me, to keep me safe!”

“Have I not done so?” Elion’s voice was more warm than chiding. “No Sephari can enter the Forbidden Garden. To do so would be death.”

Just beyond the trees a small expanse of sand spilled into the ocean. A short distance beyond was an island barely large enough to house a tiny log cabin. A thin plume of smoke rose from the cabin.

“And I am afraid it is worse than you think. You should know that almost all who have tried to enter the Forbidden Garden have died gruesome deaths,” Elion said. “The Author has placed two guardians to keep watch over the garden. Only those who are deemed worthy shall pass. The guardians will present you with a test; it may be a riddle or a task of some sort. Should you pass, you will be allowed to swim to the cabin. Should you fail, they will kill you.”

Jack’s jaw dropped in disbelief. The world started spinning as he waited for Elion to say more, but nothing came. “I don’t understand,” he said finally. “You brought me here so the guardians could kill me? What kind of test? And why do I have to meet with Time?”

“I do not believe you will die. The Author has great plans for you so I have to believe you will pass the test. And you must meet with Time because there are things you must see that only she can show you. I do not know what comes next. But I believe you are ready for this test. I believe in you, Jack Staples.” Elion looked toward the south again. “But I must leave now. Do you have any last questions for me?”

Jack could think of a thousand questions, but he shook his head. Elion’s eyes blazed with a silvery light. “You will do well.” She cupped his chin. “You were born for this. To be right here, right now, is your destiny. But you must not delay; step out from behind this tree as soon as I leave.” Elion stepped away and bowed her head. “Until we meet again.” Without another word she turned and walked into the jungle.

Jack stood in stunned silence, watching the spot where he’d lost sight of Elion. When he turned to look back at the tiny cabin, he was surprised to see it was getting late. The sun hung low on the horizon, painting the world the color of blood.

He wanted to run back and scream for Elion. But he knew she was gone. So he studied the ocean. Everything looked completely normal. Maybe she’s wrong. Maybe I can swim to the cabin and just walk in.

Deciding it would be far worse to make the swim in the dark, Jack took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and stepped out of the jungle. Nothing happened. He took a cautious step forward, then another as he walked to the water’s edge and stepped in. Hope rose in his chest as he continued forward. Maybe the guardians aren’t here, after all!

But the ocean began to bubble and churn as something enormous rose from its depths. The ground rolled and knocked Jack to his knees. He screamed and tried to stand. The sand was also churning as something colossal ascended from the ground. Water and sand showered down. Jack gasped for breath as murky saltwater spilled down his throat, threatening to drown him. Then the boiling stopped as suddenly as it had started.

Jack wiped sand from his eyes. He was paralyzed by fear. He stood sandwiched between two gigantic … somethings. The guardians were identical except for the colors of their scaled skin. They stood taller than the jungle trees and had the look of both lizard and eagle.

“Who dares disturb our rest?” the water guardian bellowed. Its scales were silvery green and its voice so thunderous Jack almost covered his ears. The guardian shook its birdlike head, and more water cascaded down.

From his knees, Jack yelled, “My name is …” He coughed, spitting mud. “My name is Jack Staples and I am here to meet with Time!”

“Jack Staples?” the guardian behind him boomed. Its scales were red and gold, and as it spoke, its long, sinuous neck glided down so it could get a better look.

Jack was petrified. The guardian’s eye was as big as he was. “What kind of creature is a Jack Staples?” the guardian rumbled. One of its two sets of eyelids flicked closed and then opened again, its gigantic pupil focused on Jack.

“I’m not a creature. I am a human!” Jack tried his best to sound brave.

“A human, you say?” the guardian boomed. “You are small for a human.”

The other guardian, with silvery scales, lowered its head, eyeing Jack closer. “He is a puny thing!” it bellowed. “Aren’t most humans bigger than you?”

“I’m just a boy,” Jack said defensively, standing as tall as he could.

The golden guardian made a noise as loud as thunder. Jack covered his ears as the silvery guardian joined in. It was so loud that the earth began to tremble.

They’re laughing at me! “I may be a child,” he screamed, “but I am the Child of Prophecy and I demand you let me in to meet with Time!”

The guardians stopped laughing and lowered their heads to examine Jack once again. “The Child of Prophecy, you say?” the silvery guardian boomed. “We shall see. Maybe you are and maybe you are not. Thousands have tried to enter the Forbidden Garden, but few have ever done so. Do you think you will pass our test, Jack Staples?”

Jack swallowed hard. “What happened to the rest of them?”

The silvery guardian growled. “We get hungry, waiting here so long.”

“In the olden days a warrior came every month. But we have not eaten in over a hundred years. We are famished, Jack Staples.”

“And though you are small,” the silvery guardian said, “we will savor your taste.”

Jack turned warily as both guardians leaned forward in anticipation.

“We have a riddle for you,” the golden guardian thundered.

“Answer correctly and you may enter the Forbidden Garden. Answer incorrectly and we will dine on you before the sun sets,” the silvery guardian roared.

“No!” Jack screamed. “That’s not enough time! The sun will be down in just a few minutes!”

“These have always been the rules. Surely you were told not to delay?” the golden guardian bellowed.

“Yes, I was told to come right away, but I wasn’t ready. I wanted to think about it first!”

“The rules do not change because you are not ready. You must answer by sundown or die,” the silvery guardian said.

Jack wanted to scream as he turned to look at the sinking sun. The bottom of the golden sphere was already touching the horizon.

“Answer this riddle,” the golden guardian said, “and you may pass without delay.”

The silvery guardian continued. “What is used every day but totally invisible? With it you can see the impossible, but without it, you would be utterly alone. It grows bigger with time but can be destroyed in a moment.”

Jack’s heart sank. Arthur was brilliant with riddles. Back in Ballylesson Arthur used to ask Jack a new riddle every day. He had a whole book of them. But Jack had never once gotten the answer right.

The silvery guardian looked at the sun. “You have four minutes before the sun sets, Jack Staples.”

“No! You have to give me more time. That’s not nearly enough. I don’t even know where to begin!” But the guardians merely looked at him with hungry eyes.

Jack sank to his knees. “If it’s not visible, then it can’t be something physical.” His mind raced. “With it I can see the impossible, and without it I would be alone.” Jack had no idea what this meant.

“Three minutes left.” The golden guardian smacked its gums hungrily.

Jack trembled. “If it helps me see the impossible, then it must be a good thing. But if I don’t have it, I am alone. So whatever it is, it helps me get friends or something …” Jack searched the guardians’ eyes for any sign that he was right, but they merely stared at him, unblinking.

I’m utterly alone right now! His thoughts were becoming frenzied. Where are my friends now? How could Elion just leave me here?

Jack quickly skipped to the next part of the riddle. “It grows bigger with time,” he said aloud. “This must mean it’s like a muscle. The more I use it, the bigger and stronger it becomes.” He was pacing now, his mind turning somersaults.

“Two minutes before the sun sets,” the silvery guardian rumbled.

Jack pushed them out of his mind. Did Elion plan this all along? Did she want me to die?

No. Jack took a breath, trying not to think about the fading light. “It can be destroyed in a moment …” He repeated the last part of the riddle, but he couldn’t think straight. He thought despairingly of his mother. “If Mother were here, she would help me, but she left!” he screamed. “Now I am alone!”

Hot tears ran down his cheeks, and as the last rays of the sun sank low on the horizon, the guardians rose higher, staring down at Jack as if he were an ant about to be stepped on.

“One minute until darkness comes,” the golden guardian rumbled. “One minute until the feasting begins!”

“Mother left me and now all I have is Elion!” Jack cried. “I thought she cared. I thought—”

In that moment, Jack remembered something. On the morning his mother died, just before he discovered her body, he’d fainted and gone back in time. He found his mother in the kitchen, and she immediately rushed him outside so he wouldn’t be seen. It had been snowing and the wind blew wildly.

Jack had tried to warn her that she was going to die, but she wouldn’t listen. She’d knelt beside him and told him she loved him. She hugged him fiercely and kissed him on the cheek. And then she had told him to find Elion. “You can trust her above all,” she’d whispered.

In the fading light the guardians became beasts of pure terror. Row upon row of fangs lined their eagle-like beaks, each fang two times bigger than Jack. And as the last rays of light faded, the guardians growled in anticipation.

“Trust!” Jack screamed at the top of his lungs. “The answer is trust!” Turning quickly so he could keep both guardians in view, Jack screamed for the third time. “Trust is used every day, in every relationship. But it is not visible!” Jack talked as fast as an avalanche. The last rays of the sun had disappeared and he desperately hoped he wasn’t too late.

“If we trust with all our hearts, it gives us the confidence to try the impossible! And if we don’t allow ourselves to trust, we will be alone. The more we trust someone, the more the trust grows. But no matter how big it gets, if someone betrays you, trust is destroyed!” Jack struggled to breathe as he waited to hear if he’d gotten the answer right.

Both guardians began sinking downward, as sand and water churned once again. Jack fell to his knees, unable to keep his body from shaking.

As the silvery guardian sank lower, it looked at Jack. “I am glad we did not have to eat you,” it boomed. “We have awaited your arrival since time before time. Be strong, Jack Staples. Be strong and have courage. The end is near; the choice will be made; the Last Battle comes,” it thundered as it disappeared beneath the waves.