One Minute to Midnight (31 page)

"Well, uh, I just reacted when I
noticed your crossbow on the ground." Doug replied. He was a little
embarrassed.

"Name's Ignacious Waddlebottom, and
I'm pleased to meet you." Ignacious stuck out a hand, which Doug
shook.

"Uh, waddle what? Doug
asked.

"Bottom, and you are?" Ignacious
asked.
"I'm Doug, and this is Jimmy. We're from, um, I'm not quite sure
anymore. I think somewhere other than here…" Doug grew
distant.

"You're from the beyond, right?"
Ignacious asked. "I mean, none of your clothes are right for this
place, unless you're starting a new trend, and let me tell you now
that this is the wrong township for buying in on new clothing
styles. Unless a new way to make burlap sack clothes is your idea
of a trend."

"Yes, the beyond." Doug saw flashes of
his wife's smiling face in his mind as he and Ignacious conversed,
but the memory was like a fading mirage, and he was
forgetting.

"You need a change of clothes my young
friend! Come to the castle and let's get you taken care of. You
look to be about my boy's age. But first, help me drag this big
stinking thing home."

"Grandpa, we have to get back home!"
Jimmy yelled.
"Home, yes. Now where do we live?"

"No time for talking, those faeries
will be back in greater numbers, and they can be downright nasty
when they're not terrified of being eaten by a dragon." Ignacious's
horse was tied to a tree in the bushes, and inside the saddlebag
was a long rope. "I'd been tracking that beast all day, and I
believe it was my good fortune the two of you came along to help me
fight her. Now, we eat tonight!"

Voices could be heard in the
underbrush as the faeries began to return to their
circle.

"Time to go. There are more worthwhile
adventures to be had than tangling with these blokes." Ignacious
said.

"But, they seemed so happy in the
circle." Jimmy said.
"Yeah, til' you're dead, and then they move on." Ignacious was
mounting his gigantic black warhorse. "Tie one end around the
dragon's foot, and then hop on Bear." He threw Doug a loop of
rope.

Doug did as asked, and then he and
Jimmy mounted on top of Ignacious's horse, Bear, and they began to
move forward, dragging the heap of dead dragon through the woods.
As they faded into the brush, a single faerie popped her head out
of the leaves, hissing with rows of tiny needle-like teeth at the
destroyed fragments of dragon that had landed in their lure circle.
Organic matter tainted the magical field over the circle, and it
would have to be cleansed before they could dance again and attract
humans from the beyond. She clenched her fists in frustration, but
the interloping knight and his rescued companions were gone within
a moment.

"Where are we headed?" Doug
asked.

"If I told you, what would it matter?
You've never been there, right?" Ignacious replied. His voice had
taken on a sharp tone.

"I guess you're right." Doug
said.

"Oh, I'm just having some fun with ya!
If I come off rough, it's in my nature." Ignacious said. Doug felt
this was as close as he was going to get to an apology.
They reached a dirt road, and as the dragon’s corpse was dragged
behind, Jimmy could see a serpentine rut forming in their wake.
Entrails were beginning to come out of the opening where her head
once was, and his stomach lurched more than once at the sight of
the guts. He tried not to look back, but each time he did the
headless monster sent a new wave of revulsion through him. He could
smell the mixture of his drying urine, and the ripe odor of
decaying flesh as the warhorse towed the knight's prize home. Jimmy
looked around at the beautiful landscape around them. Tall willows
appeared to bow as they passed, dipping their graceful branches to
the ground, and Jimmy saw a unicorn grazing in the pasture to their
left.

"Look Grandpa!" Jimmy tugged his
shirt, and pointed at the enchanted beast.

"Amazing!"
"You two are more than welcome to come to dinner at my castle, but
you'll have to move on after. You don't belong here." Ignacious
said.

"You're not going to help us get
back?" Jimmy asked.
"Back where?" Doug's recollection of home was fading faster than
ever.

"I'm going to help, but you'll need to
speak to the ancients. I don't have the power to get you back to
your homeland. It's not often that people who are brought here
escape the faerie circles, but when they do, the ancients usually
help. If you can complete their task."

"Why can't grandpa remember anything
about our home?" Jimmy asked.

"The older you are, the more influence
the magic of this place has over you. Small children have their own
type of magic and aren't as susceptible, but if you stay here for a
long time you'll begin to forget as well." Ignacious
explained.

"Where are these ancients we have to
speak to?" Doug asked.

"See that mountain to the east?
There's cave at the base, and…" Ignacious asked.

"Let me guess. The ancients live in
that cave?" Doug interrupted.

"No, they live in a
monastery outside the cave, but what
does
live in the cave is where they
will send you. The trial of madness."

"The trial of what?" Jimmy asked. He
could see the mountain's white-capped peak and the dark clouds that
moved around it, like harbingers of doom.
"Enough talk. Tonight we eat, and in the morning you go on your way
with one of my horse drawn wagons."
"You're not coming with us?" Doug asked. He was sharing his
grandson's sense of disappointment.
"Nope, can't. The old men who live out that way don't welcome me.
They claim I stole some of their chicken’s years ago. They placed a
curse on my childhood house for it."

"Did you do it?" Doug
asked.

"Of course I did! I was a kid, and we
were hungry, so I took three of them to feed me, my mother and
sisters." Ignacious laughed.

Doug nodded his head.

"How old are these men?" Jimmy
asked.

"Hah, they're over a thousand years
old, and grouchy too!" Ignacious said.

While the three chatted, the
magnificent castle came into view, and it was breathtaking to Doug,
who had been a fan of ancient palaces and castles his whole life.
Walls over thirty feet tall with a covered parapet walk, and
battlements on each corner gave the fortress a foreboding look.
Ignacious had a twenty-foot wide mote surrounding his castle, with
giant snapping fish that leapt out of the water. Jimmy thought he
could see tiny white needle-like teeth when they opened their jaws,
much like piranha back on earth. As Ignacious drew closer, two
small children, no more than ten years old, ran up to his horse
shouting with glee.

"Father! Father! You got another
dragon!" The boy said.

"I'm so glad to see you've returned!
Mother will be so happy. She was worried the entire time you were
gone." The girl said.

"It's going to take a helluva lot more
than a dragon to kill your old dad! Hah, ha, ha, now run along and
tell your mother we've got guests, and please alert Renaldo that he
and the staff have an entire dragon to clean and prepare for
dinner." Ignacious said.
He placed his gloved hand gently on his son's head and smiled down
at both children with the warmth of a father who loves his family
dearly. This was a different side of the knight, less rough, more
sincere. The smiling children turned and ran back toward the castle
drawbridge. Once inside the castle keep, a pretty young woman ran
down the staircase and grabbed her husband as he was removing his
armor. She threw her arms around him.

"Welcome back. You were gone for two
days this time. I thought the dragon had you for sure." The woman
said.

"Not a chance, although my friend here
did have a hand in saving my life this time. Doug, Jimmy, meet my
wife, Glenda. I brought guests from the beyond for dinner. They're
leaving in the morning though. They've gotta' get back home before
they forget who they are."

"You sending them to the ancients by
the mountain?" Glenda asked.

"No choice. They have to go through
the cave, just like the others before them."

"Is this going to be a dangerous
experience?" Doug asked.

"Well, I'm not sure, to be honest. No
one I’ve ever sent into the cave has returned this way."

Ignacious instructed one of his
servants to bring Jimmy a new pair of clothes from his son's
wardrobe. Dinner was a grand affair, with the two travelers treated
as guests of honor at a feast of the dragon, and wine was served
for all but the children, although Jimmy snuck a sip when his
grandfather was not looking, and while Ignacious noticed the
transgression, he smiled, winked at the boy, and said nothing.
Ignacious knew what they would face in the morning and a little
wine for the youngster was the least of their worries. They retired
for the night to a spacious room with two queen-sized beds, and
murals on the wall depicting grand battles on horseback across open
plains. Jimmy dressed in some extra night clothing and walked over
to check out a few of the paintings. Doug was also perusing the art
when he was grabbed by the attention of a particular battle
painting. The skies were an ominous red and black, like a
foretelling of the approaching woe for men. Swords raised high
above their heads, the men raced toward an enemy that was not
human, but a hybrid of man and bull, a minotaur. The minotaur’s ran
toward the men, heads bowed and horns flared, and as Doug stared
into the painting he could almost see the soldiers moving as the
battle raged. The lead horseman looked familiar...something about
the armor. Was that Ignacious?

"Whatca' lookin' at grandpa?" Jimmy
asked from his bed.

"Interesting painting, that's all. We
should turn in."
Jimmy thought his grandfather sounded distant, dreamy, and
disconnected. He was worried that he would be six and alone in a
strange world if grandpa continued to drift away. They had to get
home. Jimmy wanted to cry for his mother, but he knew he would have
to restrain his fear until they could get out of this
place.

"Grandpa, we should go to bed. I want
to go home." Jimmy lay down and closed his eyes.
"Goodnight Jimmy." Doug stared at the painting a moment longer, and
then he climbed into his own bed, turning off the light.

"These people have electricity?" Doug
mumbled, and fell fast asleep. In his dreams there were faeries,
ogres, and giant spiders, spinning webs of insanity as he floated
through a world of strange darkness.
In the morning, Doug had forgotten about his odd nightmares, and
before leaving they were fed a breakfast of eggs and bacon. Doug
held an engaging conversation with Ignacious and his family before
a horse drawn cart complete with a driver was brought around to the
front of the keep. Doug, Ignacious, and Jimmy stood out front and
said their goodbyes, after getting a peck on the cheek from Glenda
and bidding farewell to the children.

"I'd go with you mate, but as I said,
I'm not welcome down there and it would just create more problems
for you." Ignacious smiled and gave them each a forearm
clasp.

"Goodbye, Ignacious." Doug
said, smiling.
"Thank you for your help, sir." Jimmy said.
Before they left, Ignacious handed Jimmy a small
vial of red liquid.

    
"
Here, take this when you’re up
against the wall. It will provide the strength of a thousand
wolves.
"
    Jimmy looked down at the vial, and then
toward his grandfather, who was climbing into the cart with the
help of their driver.

    
"
What is it?
"
Jimmy asked.

    
"
Courage in times of trouble. Drink
it when the time is right.
"

    
"
How will I know when the time is
right?
"
Jimmy
asked. He had a perplexed, fearful expression as he looked up at
their gracious host.

    
"
Jimmy, we are well met. Go now, and
confront your destiny.
"
Ignacious placed a reassuring hand on his
shoulder. Jimmy boarded the wagon with his grandfather a moment
later.

The cart carried Doug and Jimmy
through a plain of gently blowing red and purple grasses that
danced in the wind like fields of wheat, and after traveling for
around half a day, they came upon the end of their trail. The
monastery where the ancients lived was a large rundown shack
sitting beside the mountain, and for a moment Doug thought it must
be abandoned, until the bigger than normal front door creaked open
on rusty hinges. In the darkness Doug and Jimmy could hear mumbling
from within the spooky old haunt.
"Hello? Is there anyone in there?" Doug asked. His heart was
racing.

"Who's out there?" Said one gruff,
annoyed male voice.
"Yes, what do you want? Said another.

"We're busy, go away!" Came
another.

"You need to leave here, now!" Said a
fourth.
"Sorry sirs, but we have to get home and we were sent to the
ancients, because you can get us there. Can you please help me and
my grandson?"