The Incredible Journey of Pete McGee (6 page)

Hello again. It's me, you remember, the narrator? You know, the storyteller? Well, for those of you who don't remember, go back over everything that you've just read in this book. THAT WAS ME! Except for the talking bits, that was the others. But the in-between bits, the setting up, descriptions, all of that was me. ME ME ME ME ME ME ME!

Alright. What I'm going to do then, to really blow your socks off, is to recap everything that's happened so far, all in one go. Three. Two. One. GO!

Kid gets born with one arm. Everyone thinks ‘LOSER!' His mum thinks otherwise, says he'll be great, writes him a note.

King's a real, well, a real something I'm not allowed to say here. He's mean. That should keep the censors happy.

Chick and her man get split up by King who wants to find a flower that will make him super duper, it and a bit.

Chick tells whole town she's sad and the King's mean, one-armed kid speaks to guards funny-like, a knight speaks funny too, but then he does some sword work, there's some pants-wetting, kid reads a book, says he'll get the flower, Mum says no, kid says yes, rinse and repeat, and here we are.

So get to it. There's plenty of good reading left to do. Will the King be successful in his quest for invincibility and glory? Will Pete McGee cure his sick mother, restore the love of Ashlyn and Marloynne, and discover the knight within? Or will they all die? There's only one way to find out, isn't there? So read on, gentle reader. Read on.

ing Cyril the Beaming-Broadly was on top of the world. Things were going so well that he had decided to leave earlier than first planned. He had gathered a group of ten men, himself included, who were ready to take the journey when he was ready. Not a moment sooner, not a moment later.

Marloynne was one of the ten men mentioned. Things had certainly panned out a little differently from what he had expected. He had woken from his bad-breath-induced faint on a bed in one of the guestrooms of the castle, with platters of food laid out before him. He ate and ate and ate, as not only had he never eaten really good food before, he was starving. As soon as the food in front of him was gone, servants would bring more. The only downside was the presence of Faydon, the King's adviser. Marloynne didn't like the little rat-man, as he had privately named him, but he had to put up with him. Faydon had said he was there to make sure Marloynne's needs were catered for. In reality, he was there to make sure that Marloynne entertained no thoughts of escape. Faydon would whisper words of magic as Marloynne ate, twisting his thoughts, twisting them until Marloynne barely even remembered the way things had been. He didn't care either. He was well fed, he was comfortable, and Faydon had told him they would be going on a journey, all expenses paid of course. Food became Marloynne's priority. After a while, even the ever-present Faydon couldn't distract him. Marloynne became oafish, he gained weight, and he became snappy and rude. All the while Faydon was there, removing thoughts of escape, removing memories of Ashlyn.

Meanwhile, the servants who Marloynne had once worked with delivered another meal. Although they had all once been friends as well as co-workers, now Marloynne had turned on them, and they were ordered to treat him as they did royalty. They looked on sadly as Marloynne shovelled the food into his mouth, then recoiled as he spat a piece out. His face contorted into a look of disgust before it changed into an angry glare.

‘Oh, yecchhhh, this is awful. What sort of rubbish are you feeding me? The sushi is cold, for starters, and RAW! Uuuggghhhh, it's foul. Go and cook it, I will only eat cooked sushi. This caviar, it looks like fish eggs or something. Gross. Take it back and get me the real stuff. You know, that pink dip. And for crying out loud, will you please make some decent little meatballs. These taste shocking.'

One of the servants bowed low and spoke.

‘Beg, um, begging your pardon, Sir, but those aren't meatballs. They are rats' testicles, and are considered a delicacy.'

Marloynne picked up two of the rats' testicles and threw them at the servant, then screamed at him.

‘Delicacy, my butt! Get me a meal with no genitalia involved! I don't want to eat anything that can't be shown in a G-rated movie! Get it? No rudey bits from now on!'

The servants took the food and left, bowing low and muttering to themselves. Marloynne continued to eat, doing his own grumbling about the service.

After fully packing his pack with supplies, Pete McGee was ready to go. He was concerned about leaving his mother, but Ashlyn had promised that she would be there. Pete closed the pack and hoisted it over his shoulder.

As he walked outside he passed the Green Book, which was back on the shelf. Pete's mind raced. He had gathered much information from the book about his journey, but should he take it with him? Would it help him on his quest? His mother had asked him not to take it. Could he disobey her? He took the book off the shelf. It was so light, surely he would barely even notice it was with him. He opened it and heard it sigh once again.

‘Ahhh, Pete McGee, I thought you would be back. Shall we be journeying together? Have you cast aside your doubts? And what about your fear of disobeying your mother?'

Pete stared at the book. It was as though it could see into his brain.

‘I'm not scared of Mum. I'm not. You are.'

Pete stared into space for a second, frowning, thinking, then he looked back down at the book.

‘How do you know I'm scared?'

Pete could almost hear the smile in the book's voice as it replied.

‘There is much I know, Pete McGee. There is much that I can do to make this quest easier for you. You can't do this on your own. You need me. We can work together, a great team. The power that I could create by working through you … We would be like … like … ummm, well, like all those other great teams that had two people in them and won everything they did. You know them. Just take me.'

The pages fluttered as the book talked, it was getting so excited. There was something about this that didn't seem right; something that was gnawing away at Pete, telling him not to take the book. But it was as if he couldn't control himself. He closed the book, placed it under his arm, and walked outside to gather his thoughts before saying his goodbyes. It was so tempting to just leave, but he couldn't. It wouldn't be fair to his mum. And besides, he would be avoiding the first test of the journey. Pete needed to get through this one, almost as if to prove to himself that he was doing the right thing. But first he needed some space. He walked to the fence and sat on it.

The book lay on Pete's lap and he tossed over in his mind again and again whether he should take it. It seemed to need the journey, to perform magic, to work through Pete McGee. That bothered him. He was trying to do a good thing and it felt as though, if he took the book along, it would tarnish the quest. Pete would be little more than a vessel, and that wasn't how it should be. He opened the book.

‘You're staying here. I must do this without you.'

If the book had had a face, it would have looked extremely shocked and angry. As it was, that was all shown in its voice going up a couple of octaves and decibels.

‘What? No. You can't do that, it just isn't right. I need to do this, I haven't used my magic in so long. I haven't done anything in so long. I wasn't even allowed to read about that stupid flower. You don't know what you're doing. You can't leave me here. It can't be done without me. It can't, it can't, it can't I say!'

Pete slammed the book shut, feeling justified now in his decision not to take it. This was his quest. He would take help, but not in this way. He would take help offered for help's sake, not from those looking to serve their own needs.

From his knowledge of where the flower was located, Pete had concluded that King Cyril could go only one of two ways. He knew that there was only a remote chance that the King would try to cross the Plains of Obon, but he also knew that King Cyril the Arrogant-and-Stupid was both arrogant and stupid enough to try it. Pete decided to leave straight away in order to be ahead of his rivals before they reached the Plains of Obon. That was where Pete wanted to make his move. If it happened that he also had to cross the plains in order to rescue Marloynne, then so be it.

‘Sir Pete McGee.'

Ashlyn's voice brought him back to the real world. He smiled at her and jumped off the fence.

As usual, his note was tucked safely away in his inside pocket. He followed Ashlyn into the house and towards his mother's room. Ashlyn waited outside as Pete went in to say his farewell.

Pete's voice shook a little as he faced his mother. He readied his voice to play their game for what he hoped wouldn't be the last time.

‘Fair maiden, my departure is nigh. I leave the book with you. I had thought to take it, but it must stay.'

He laid the book on the end of the bed. Mrs McGee watched him as he stood tall once again. Her eyes glistened and her voice trembled.

‘I beg thee, dear knight, travel safely.'

‘I will carry thy heart with me and I shall not endanger it. Fare thee well. I shall have many great tales to relate to thee upon my return.'

They held each other close, fearing that it may be the final time they would do so, neither of them wanting to believe that could possibly be true. Pete pulled away and walked out of the room.

Ashlyn stared at Pete for an instant before throwing her arms around him. She felt so close to this young boy. In the short time she had known him he already felt like family.

‘You have to come back, Pete, you have to. I could never forgive myself if you didn't.'

She didn't say anything else. She just took Pete's hand and walked towards the front gate. Pete was a little surprised at the strength of Ashlyn's grip, and when she released his hand he found he was holding a crystal.

‘It's all I have to give you. It was a gift to me from Marloynne, but I give it to you now. Take it as a reminder of me, but you must promise to return it. In doing so, you are promising your own safe return.'

Pete stared at the crystal. It was amazing. Its surface was a deep brown, with lines of yellow racing through it. The crystal was incredibly smooth against his skin as he turned it over in his hand. He looked up at Ashlyn and nodded.

‘I promise.'

With that he turned, went through the gate, and started off down the road.