Cave of Wonders

by Matthew J. Kirby

  “Other what?” Riq said.

  “The girl.”

  Dak almost gasped. “Wh-what girl?”

  “The girl my spies tell me you’ve been seen with.”

  “We don’t know who you’re talking about,” Riq said.

  “Really?” Guo Kan’s eyebrows lifted in mock surprise. “The Market Inspector and the vizier know exactly who I’m talking about.”

  Dak’s shock prevented him from saying anything in response. The Time Wardens had been aware of them almost from the beginning.

  “Now that we’ve cleared that up,” Guo Kan said, “I assume she has the device you use to travel in time.”

  “We lost that device.” Dak lifted his hands and wiggled his fingers. “I’m pretty clumsy.”

  “You are also a miserable liar.” Guo Kan called one of his men back inside. The warrior bowed, and Guo Kan said, “I want every tent in the camp searched for intruders before dawn. Get word out to the tümen commanders. Immediately.”

  “Yes, General,” the man said, and left.

  Dak swallowed, and worried about Sera. He didn’t know where she was, but there was a good chance they’d find her.

  “She’s in the city,” Riq said. “She didn’t come with us.”

  “Of course she didn’t.” Guo Kan’s gloating smile seemed to fill the tent. “If you are all the Hystorians have to send against us, the SQ has nothing to fear.”

  “Funny,” Dak said. “The Time Wardens in the last eight places we’ve been all thought the same thing. Didn’t turn out too well for them.”

  Guo Kan’s smile shrank just a little. “Tides change.”

  “So does history,” Riq said. “We’ve changed it.”

  “Not this time,” Guo Kan said. “I am the Divine Man. I do not fail. And your failure here, now, will make all of your previous victories worthless.”

  His words stole the breath from Dak. Guo Kan was right. Failing just one mission would prove disastrous regardless of how much they’d accomplished. “Wh-what are you going to do with us?” Dak asked.

  “For now, keep you here. I will find your friend and then I’ll take the device and put an end to all three of you. In the meantime, I have a city to invade. And a library of Aristotle’s books to destroy.”

  Dak and Riq sat on the ground, tied to one of the tent’s support posts. They’d been left there for hours. Neither the guards nor Guo Kan had come back with Sera, and Dak chose to view that as a good thing. It meant she was still out there somewhere. Still free.

  “I guess Sera was right,” Riq said. “About Tusi.”

  “Guess so,” Dak said. “But do we have to tell her that? We’ll never live it down.”

  Riq chortled. “You’re right. She’d milk that for all it’s worth.”

  Dak laughed, too. “So what do we do, n — ?”

  “Shh.” Riq cocked his head. “Do you hear that?”

  Dak paid closer attention. He heard a rhythmic sound, a deep and pounding drumbeat. The noise of high-pitched howling and voices shouting. The thunder of horse hoofbeats. It almost felt like the ground shook beneath Dak where he sat.

  “The Mongol army is on the move,” Riq said. “It must be dawn. The siege of Baghdad has begun.”

  “So we have to get back there,” Dak said. “We have to get back into the city and find some other way to save the books.”

  “These ropes have a different idea about that.”

  “Well, what can we do about them?”

  “I don’t know,” Riq said. “Wiggle?”

  “Worth a try.” Dak was aware of the fact that Riq was being sarcastic, as usual. But there didn’t seem to be any other options. So for the next several minutes, the two twisted, shook, pulled, and worked at the knots, hoping they would start to loosen. But they almost seemed to tighten on the boys the more they tried to escape.

  “Got any other ideas?” Dak asked.

  “Nope. And why do I always have to come up with the ideas, anyway?”

  “What do you mean? I have ideas!”

  “Like the one that landed us here? Like telling a story about time travel in front of half the city? I meant good ideas, Dak.”

  Dak’s face fell into a deep scowl. He knew not all of his ideas played out how he imagined. He knew he sometimes did things without thinking them all the way through. But wasn’t doing something better than doing nothing?

  “It always falls on me,” Riq said. “That’s how it’s been this whole time. Well, one day, I might not be there for you two.”

  Dak was about to argue with the idea that Riq was the one who always managed to save the day, when the second part of what he’d just said really sunk in. “What do you mean, you might not be there?”

  Riq was silent. He opened his mouth. Then he closed it. “Nothing.”

  Dak wondered if this had something to do with whatever had been bothering Riq. Something to do with his Remnants, or whatever it was. “No, really, what do you mean?”

  “Just drop it.”

  “Fine. But don’t say I didn’t try.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Good. And now I guess I’ll have to come up with an idea. A good one.” Dak looked up at the post where it joined with the top of the tent. He looked down at the foundation in the ground. It didn’t seem to be buried or mounted to anything. “What if we both try to pull the same direction to move the bottom of the post?”

  “We’ll bring the tent down,” Riq said. “And they’ll know we’re trying to escape. There’re guards outside the door.”

  “Then we run.”

  Riq didn’t say anything.

  “We have to do something,” Dak said.

  Riq sighed. “Okay. Let’s give it a try. Gently at first.”

  They shinnied their ropes up the post until they were both standing, and then they both pulled to the same side at the same time. The post lurched a little at the base.

  “It’s working,” Riq said.

  “I told you. Keep going.”

  “Just a bit at a time. We don’t want to attract attention or bring the tent down until we’re ready.”

  So for the next several minutes, they jerked and budged the base of the post a fraction of an inch at a time until it seemed like another tug or two would pop it free of the sand. The tent sagged a little, but so far no one had seemed to notice. Or at least, no one had come in.

  “Okay,” Riq said. “When the post comes free, we’ll have to try really hard not to get tangled. We have to slide our ropes down off the post, and then somehow find our way out the entrance. Are you ready?”

  “Ready,” Dak said.

  “On the count of three. One, two, three!”

  They pulled hard together, the base of the post popped free, and the top of the tent folded and fell inward on them. It caught them both in the same hollow, the silk fabric rubbing the tops of their heads. Shouts sounded outside, the guards now fully alerted. Dak and Riq maneuvered the ropes, sliding them back down the post, until they came off the bottom, and without the post, the knots fell loose and away from their wrists.

  The sounds of the guards shouting drew closer, burrowing into the tent, coming toward them.

  “Okay,” Dak said. “What now?”

  “I don’t know,” Riq said. “This was your good idea!”

  “Well, I don’t know!” Dak said.

  They heard a sudden tearing sound behind them as the tip of a knife rent the fabric. Another warrior, cutting his way in to find them? Dak could only watch as the knife worked its way down, opening up a large, tattered slit.

  “You guys coming?” came a familiar voice from outside.

  “Sera?” Dak poked his head through the opening, and there she was, standing over them, knife in hand. Dak scurried out, and Riq followed after him.

  “Let’s go,” Riq said. “Before the guards figure out we’ve slipped out the back way.”

  RIQ LED them back through the Mongol camp, which seemed deserted compared to the previous night. They
raced between tents, dodging and weaving, trying to stay out of sight of the women and children and others who had stayed behind when the army had marched out. Riq listened for sounds of pursuit behind them, but heard none. When they reached the edge of the camp, he saw a cloud of dust and sand ahead of them, kicked up by the riding army, rising up into the air over Baghdad.

  “So, just for clarification,” Sera said, “we’re trying to find our way through that battlefield, and somehow get back inside the city to figure out a new plan to save the House of Wisdom, right?”

  “Right!” Dak said.

  “Easy,” said Riq with a wry smile.

  “You were right about Tusi,” Dak said to Sera. “He’s not SQ.”

  “I know,” Sera said.

  “Well, you don’t have to be cocky about it,” Dak said. “You didn’t really know until I just told you.”

  “No, I know because I asked him last night.”

  “You did?” Dak asked.

  “Yes.”

  “You found him?” Riq asked.

  “I did.” Sera shook her head. “He hid me when the camp was being searched. And then he told me where to find you two. But he still won’t help us save the library. Which means he might as well be SQ, even if he isn’t.”

  “Well, that’s that,” Riq said. “We’ll make a new plan with Abi.” He started off across the desert sand. “The good news is that we’re moving with the Mongol army. Less likely to get trampled by their horses that way.”

  “Thanks for that,” Dak said. “But you should know the Mongols were famous for being able to shoot their bows in any direction while galloping on their horses, with deadly accuracy. Even backward. Which is where we’ll be coming from.”

  “Thanks for that,” Sera said.

  “They’ll be focused on the city,” Riq said. At least, that was what he hoped.

  They trudged across the miles of sand between the war camp and the city, getting steadily closer. Baghdad waited ahead, appearing helpless and small, while the Mongol army seemed to stretch from one edge of the horizon to the other, completely surrounding the city walls. The bulk of the army’s movement and forces seemed to be concentrated straight ahead of them on a part of the wall with a massive tower.

  Riq didn’t think the three of them would be able to get anywhere near the gates on this side of Baghdad. They’d have to circle around and use the river to get to the House of Wisdom.

  By the time they reached the Mongol army, the warriors had assumed their formations. The sights and smells presented a vivid reminder to Riq of the Viking army back in Paris, but the Mongols appeared much more disciplined and organized. The sound of their assault was deafening.

  The bulk of the cavalry hung back at the rear, while before them the Mongol siege engines had begun to pound the city. Catapults hurled huge rocks at Baghdad’s walls, and giant crossbows fired burning bolts right over them. Riq could only imagine the fear and destruction that must be raging through the streets inside. It was obvious that the city couldn’t last long under such an attack.

  In front of the siege engines, Mongol archers raced forward on horseback, galloped along the walls, firing arrow after arrow up at the city’s soldiers, and then retreated behind the line. The bravery and skill of their maneuvers were pretty amazing.

  The three of them crept along behind all the action, unnoticed, or at least ignored.

  “We’ll swing around to the other side of the city,” Riq said. “Then we’ll use a boat to make our way down the river to the Wharf of the Needle-Makers. Sound good?”

  “Sounds good,” Sera said.

  “Lead on,” Dak said.

  So they swung around behind the army, under the desert sun, as all along Baghdad’s walls, the Mongols maintained a constant barrage. It took quite some time for them to even see the river away to the northwest, but when they did, Riq had sudden doubts about his plan.

  Mongol forces lined the shore thickly enough that he worried they wouldn’t be able to reach the river.

  “We’ll just have to sneak past them onto a boat,” Sera said.

  Riq turned to Dak. Here was a rare moment when his knowing something about history might actually be useful. “How long did the siege last?” he asked.

  “Seven days,” Dak said. “Then the Mongols took over that big tower we saw, called the Persian Tower.”

  “Then we have a little time. I think we should hide out and try to cross the river at night,” Riq said. “We’ll be more likely to sneak past them that way.”

  So they hunkered down in a shallow wash and waited for night to fall. The sun passed overhead, and the hours ticked by. It didn’t take long for Riq to feel the effects of not having any food or water. His lips and throat got dry. Hunger gnawed at his insides. The physical discomfort added to his fear and dread about what the future held for him.

  He’d been close to telling Dak about it back in Guo Kan’s tent, but in the end he couldn’t bring himself to do it. It was like he was afraid to say it out loud. Like that would make it more real somehow. He was also unsure of how to say it. For all the languages he knew, sometimes it was still hard to find the right words for some things.

  “Do you wonder what’s going on in the future?” Dak asked. “What the world looks like with the Breaks we’ve fixed?”

  Riq froze at the question. He noticed Sera did, too.

  “Like the first Break. I bet there’s a lot of stuff named after Columbus now.” Dak traced his finger in the sand, a zigzag, like he was connecting invisible dots. “I bet French history is pretty different since the SQ weren’t able to stop the Revolution. It’s, like, nothing is settled. Everything is up in the air. Everything we’re doing is making changes.”

  “You seem a little bothered by that,” Sera said. “Isn’t that the point of what we’re doing here?”

  “I guess,” Dak said.

  “You guess?” Sera asked.

  “I mean yes,” Dak said. “Of course that’s the point. It’s just . . .”

  “Just what?” Riq asked.

  Dak frowned. “History is supposed to be settled.”

  “It will be,” Riq said. “When we’re finished with the mission, it will be settled once and for all.”

  They waited until the sun had gone down completely, and the sky was a deep black all the way across. The sounds of battle had faded in the darkness, but fires all along the front lines showed the Mongols were still there, waiting to resume their full assault with the dawn. By moonlight, Riq, Sera, and Dak scurried toward the river.

  They aimed for a dark, empty spot between two campfires, around which warriors sat and slept. Riq hoped that with the light in their eyes, the Mongols wouldn’t be able to see too far into the shadows. The time travelers slipped down to the river’s edge in single file, where the moon glistened over the inky water, and the sound of it lapping the shore hid some of the sounds they made.

  A cluster of small boats rocked gently with the current, bumping into one another and against the small dock to which they were tied. The three of them waded into the river toward them, the water chilly against Riq’s skin. Dak went to the ropes securing the boats, while Sera climbed into one and kept herself low.

  “I’m going to let them all loose,” Dak whispered. “That way, they won’t have a boat nearby to follow us, and they won’t know which one we’re in.”

  “Good idea,” Riq whispered back. Apparently, the kid did have them on occasion.

  Once the ships were floating free, Dak gave them each a push out into the river, where the current grabbed them and pulled them away. Riq held on to Sera’s boat, and once Dak had climbed into it, Riq heaved it out into the river and scrambled on board after them.

  “Well,” Sera said, “that went we —”

  A cry of alarm sounded on the bank.

  Riq turned back to see shadows racing from the campfires down to the shoreline.

  “Do you think they can see us?” Dak asked.

  Something hissed and splas
hed in the water near the ship. An arrow.

  “I’d say so,” Riq said. “Quick, grab the oars!”

  They swung the paddles out over the water and plowed ahead as fast as they could. More arrows flew at them, striking the water, a couple of them even hitting the hull of the ship.

  “We got lucky,” Dak said. “I don’t think they can see us very well.”

  “They can see well enough,” Riq said.

  They paddled ferociously until their boat was out of range of the archers, but Riq didn’t feel like they could let up. They had to reach the Wharf of the Needle-Makers quickly in case the Mongols decided to round up some other boats and come after them.

  They moved down the river, and before long, the buildings of Baghdad stood to either side. The city lights reflected toward them in wavering strips along the river. The caliph’s palace soon came into view, and Riq steered the craft toward the shoreline near it.

  They came up to the Wharf of the Needle-Makers, and above it Riq saw the House of Wisdom. He relaxed a bit and breathed a sigh of relief, a little amazed they had made it back into the city from the Mongol war camp. They pulled up alongside the pier, and Dak jumped out. He tied the boat off, and then helped Sera up. Riq followed after him, but before he’d quite gained his footing, someone shouted.

  “Halt!”

  Riq turned as half a dozen of the city guards approached them, swords drawn.

  “Spies!” one of the guards shouted.

  Riq held up his hands. “We’re not spies. We’re visiting scholars at the House of Wisdom. We’re your allies.”

  The guards surrounded them, still brandishing their weapons.

  “What proof do you have?” one of the guards asked.

  “Seriously?” Dak said. “Just go get Abi and he’ll tell you.”

  “You’re friends of the traitor Abi?” the guard asked. “Then I have a better idea. We’ll take you to the grand vizier, and let him decide what to do with you.”

  “Traitor?” Dak asked.

  “Great!” Sera said. “Take us to the vizier.”

  Riq opened his eyes wide and stared at her. “No, not great!”