Noah quickly realized that he, too, was distracted. The creaks and moans of the ceiling and walls quieted when he concentrated on the game. Right, he thought. The center space might be strategic, so the other rule is that you can only stay in the center for two full turns and then you must leave. He quickly drew pictures of the game on the back of an old receipt.
“What is the name of this game?” asked Sabi, distracted and interested, as Noah had hoped he would be.
“It’s called… ” Noah thought and then knew the answer, “Sufuuf.”
“Sufuuf?” Sabi asked.
“Yes, of course,” said Noah. “It’s all about getting your men into rows.”
Sabi was quick to learn. And he was good. Noah was pleased to find that the game was actually fun. And worked. Given that he was making up the rules as they went along, it was challenging and, he discovered, harder than he expected. The boys played several rounds, feeling somewhat calmed.
One candle sputtered and went out. Another, fortunately, was still burning, but it was burning low. Noah fished in his satchel. There were no more candles. They were down to their last.
He looked all around. They were trapped. Noah kicked his foot, which had gone numb. It broke through a pile of plaster and wood. Finally, he could straighten his leg. In fact, he could move it. There was a kind of space in the rubble.
Because the bulbs were unpredictable, Noah had been cautious about using the torch. He shook it and shined the light into the space for a few seconds. They might be able to dig a tunnel. Some of the games had fallen and wedged themselves above the rough floor, creating a gap.
The tunnel would be tiny and Noah, given his size and shoulder, was in no shape to make it through. He could hope for the best and wait or he could tell Sabi where to go and send him, with word, to the castle. The Khan was not safe.
“Sabi,” he said, looking with serious intent into the boy’s eyes. “Listen carefully. I want you to try to go for help. But you must go directly to…to a place that will be safe. You need to find my friends and let them know where I am.”
Noah explained how to find the road leading back around to the side of the cliff that secretly led down to the castle. He knew it was neither safe nor really possible to tell the boy how to get there, but surely a brother in black would notice a little boy trying to get in and stop him. Sabi could tell them what had happened and they would send help.
Noah scrounged for another piece of paper. He found an old piece of parchment. Using the stylo he had in his satchel, he wrote, “This is Sabi. I am in danger and I sent him. He will both guide and present the path. He is the path.”
Then he signed his name. He explained to Sabi that this note must be given to his friends. Noah handed Sabi the note and the little boy placed it in his pocket. Even as Noah spoke, he worried he had made the wrong choice.
Sabi didn’t want to go, but Noah assured him it was the right thing to do. Careful not to hurt Noah, Sabi reached around the injured boy and hugged him. This hugging thing had really caught on with Sabi, thought Noah. Noah hugged back with one arm.
Before Sabi set off, he tore a piece of cloth from the old curtain. At first, Noah didn’t understand what the boy was doing. Then he saw that Sabi was carefully wrapping up the broken board and chess pawns that made up the game of Sufuuf.
“We will play later,” he said, tucking the bundle into his robes. This felt like a pledge and a promise.
Moving his legs aside, Noah helped Sabi to climb down through the rubble to the space created by the larger game boards. Sabi looked up once before disappearing beneath the rubble.
“You are my friend,” he said.
“Yes, I am your friend,” said Noah, “and you are mine.” Noah tried to smile. Sabi did not.
The little boy who was the living map disappeared just as the last candle flickered out and died.
It took nearly an hour of digging before they could even get to the threshold of the shop. It was filled with rocks and broken games and glass. The rubble was as high as the ceiling, which was a mess of cracked plaster and stone. Ralph whined and growled and dug. Faye tried to coax him to drink water from a bowl. He just pulled at his collar to get back to the hunt.
Faye sat back in exhaustion. “How can we ever get in there?” Her voice cracked from calling Noah’s name. Dust filled her throat.
Sir Edward came over from the bookshop and brought three cups of tea. Pamina had rigged a rope around a larger boulder and pulled it with the help of two brothers in black. It made an opening in the doorway, but the plaster was so unstable that it caused another cave-in. She, Jasper, and Faye accepted the tea gratefully.
“I haven’t heard a sound from within,” Pamina said, finishing her tea in one gulp.
“They could have been knocked unconscious,” said Jasper.
“Or they’re so far in that they can’t hear,” said Faye as Ralph barked and made a crack in the rubble. “Come on, let’s get back to work.”
“Someone in there?” asked a neighboring shopkeeper. “Nobody in there alive.”
“Oh, shut up,” growled Faye. “If you aren’t going to help, get out of the way.” The man folded himself back into his doorway.
Noah leaned back upon the piece of the broken wall. He had no idea if he had just sent that little boy to safety or doom. He hoped upon hope that the brothers would find him and bring him to safety. He closed his eyes. All the pain, exhaustion, fear, and worry seemed to converge into one terrible weight. And then, fragile sleep offered a weak reprieve. Every slight movement woke him with a sharp pain, but he was so tired, he fell back to sleep, easily, only to be woken again.
Suddenly, someone was knocking at the door. No, someone was tapping at the window. No, where was he? And then it all came back. There was no door. There was no window. But he could still hear something out there. Was someone coming to get him out? The scratching was clear. Noah could hear the scratching. His heart leapt. It sounded like a dog scratching and clawing. Could it be Ralph? Had they thought to bring his dog? His wonderful, silly, somewhat (often) stinky dog? Could he let himself believe it was Ralph? His heart was pounding. He no longer felt the grit in his mouth or the dust in his eyes. He thought he heard a bark, but he didn’t want to admit it to himself.
“In here!” cried Noah, weakly, shaking the electric torch and lighting it so his friends could see him. A wash of relief fell over him as he envisioned his dog’s lopsided ears and cold wet nose. That was the last thing he thought before he heard a loud crash, felt something press against his face, and everything went black.
With a heave, Jasper and Pamina moved a big piece of plaster that blocked a path between two shelves. More piles of games and hundreds of pieces from chess and backgammon sets.
“If I was the one hiding,” Pamina said, wiping her forehead with the back of her arm, then pointing to a narrow opening, “I’d be in there.”
Jasper and Faye both agreed. Ralph clearly agreed. He became more frantic than ever, digging and whining. Then he slipped into the hole in the rubble.
“He’s going to get Noah!” cried Faye, throwing aside her pickaxe and grabbing the pitchfork. She began shoveling the pieces out of the way, following the path that Ralph took.
“Noah, we’re coming!” cried Pamina, helping Faye.
Faye smiled at Pamina. Along with Jasper, they worked like an assembly line, passing the broken pieces out of the way, carving a tunnel deeper into the shop. They continued to call out to Noah and tell him they were coming.
It became darker as they went farther in. Faye clenched her fists and fought against the panic she felt in this tight, dark space.
“I can smell candles!” said Pamina, her smile going unseen in the dark. “They’re here and are able to light candles.”
Faye found herself breathing deeper, although it might have been unwise, considering all the dust. They could hear Ralph scratching against a stack of broken game boards. Quickly, Pamina, Jasper, and Faye again passed pieces b
ack. Jasper tossed the game boards aside to keep the path clear behind them. As soon as there was a tiny space, Ralph squeezed through. They could hear his muffled barking as they frantically dug.
“He’s there, on the other side,” said Faye. “We just need to move this broken bookcase.”
The three together were able to push the bookcase far enough aside to get through.
“Noah?” Jasper felt around. He found Noah’s satchel. “Noah, we’re here. Reach for my hand.”
But Noah did not respond. Pamina, too, felt for Noah.
“What’s this?” she asked, placing the electric torch into Jasper’s hand.
Jasper shook it and flipped the switch. Suddenly, they could see inside the small, cramped space, filled with dust and rubble. But that was all. No one was there.
Ralph’s eyes caught the light. He pawed at the ground next to Noah’s satchel. Jasper saw the spent candles, Noah’s satchel, and some drops of blood, but otherwise the space was empty. Noah was nowhere to be found.
“He’s gone,” said Jasper, hardly able to speak. “Someone’s taken him.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
THE GUILT OF INNOCENCE
OR
THE LITTLEST BOY OF DESTRUCTION
“How can this be?” raged Faye, stifling sobs. Her shoulders had shaken all the way to the carriages. She didn’t want to go. She wanted to stay at the Khan and continue the search, but the brothers led her back to the waiting carriages. Pamina walked with them, her face a mess from the dust and dirt, dragging a whining Ralph.
“Uncle Edward and I will remain here,” Pamina said, trying to hold Ralph, who was trying to chew his way through the lead.
“The little fellow has the right idea,” said Faye.
“We will be sure no rock is left unturned,” Pamina promised, “We know loads of men who practically live under rocks. They will know where to look. If Noah is still in the Khan, we will find him.”
“Thank you, Pamina,” said Faye. “But I wish …” She didn’t need to finish. Everyone wished the same thing.
The two girls embraced. “You care so much about Noah,” Pamina said gently to Faye. “It is so good to see that he has such loyal friends. It says a great deal about a person, to have such friends. And it says a great deal about the friends.”
Faye had to look away. Pamina saw pain but Faye felt a rush of guilt for all the times she had been cruel to Noah. She was not a good friend. She didn’t even know how to be one. Faye’s head hung low as she climbed into the carriage. Pamina returned to her uncle’s shop. Ralph started barking and scratching at the window.
“Wait, it’s Sir Edward!” shouted Faye. She could see Sir Edward waving, cutting through the thinning crowd. Now that it was nearly morning, fewer people were in the Khan.
Sir Edward called out, “Wait, please!” He was out of breath when he arrived at the carriage. “You must give this to Noah when you find him…I didn’t get a chance to tell him before. It’s important to him. Please. He’ll understand.”
It was a folded piece of paper. Faye shoved it into her pocket. She looked at the librarian, who was pleading with his eyes. Faye could recognize guilt when she saw it. “Of course, I will!” she yelled back, as the carriage pulled away from the market.
But Faye quickly forgot about Sir Edward’s note as she fell back into her seat. She and Jasper said little on the ride back to the castle. They sat together, holding hands, Ralph whining between them, as they watched the sun begin to rise over the hills of Mokkhattam and the City of the Dead.
When they got back, Faye and Jasper were too exhausted to go to sleep. Ralph, whom they had dragged into the castle, whined as they closed the door, and he refused to budge once inside. He lay down, facing the entrance, waiting for Noah to come home. Jasper and Faye let him stay. They wandered into the laboratory room, where, thankfully, a kettle full of water was ready to go on the fire.
“I just can’t believe Noah was gone,” said Jasper, finding two cups to fill once the water had boiled.
“What do you mean?” came Wallace’s voice. Faye and Jasper jumped. They hadn’t expected anyone to be in the room. It was barely 5am. Lucy lay curled up in a ball in the lap of a sleeping Miss Brett. The sleeping little girl still had a wire butterfly clutched in her hand.
Wallace asked again. He was in his pajamas, sitting at his lab table. Next to him was a pile of little creatures made of copper wire. They were butterflies, except for one elephant with wings. He had been working, through his microscope, on a tiny motor no bigger than a thimble. Busy work, thought Faye. A distraction. But now Wallace was waiting for an answer from his friends.
They explained what happened, from finding Corlyss Swayne to Ralph to the explosion in the game shop.
“He wasn’t there, Wallace,” said Jasper softly, still unconsciously holding hands with Faye. “We finally got into the space where he had been. We found his satchel and we found the candles they had used. We know that he and the boy entered the shop. Lots of people saw them. But when we got there, they were gone.”
“But where is he, Jasper?” cried Lucy, tears welling up in her sleepy eyes. “How could you lose him like that?”
Jasper was mortified. Lucy was awake. She had heard.
“We didn’t lose him, Lucy,” said Faye. “Someone took him and the little boy who was with him. We think the boy might have that map, or maybe the boy knew where the map was. Maybe Noah was taken. Or he ran away. We don’t know. Sir Edward and his niece are still looking for him.”
“I want to go look for him,” said Lucy. “We all need to find Noah.”
“We need to speak to Mr. Bell,” said Jasper. “It is possible that Noah went somewhere on his own. He might have found something.”
“Found something?” Wallace said, putting down the delicate pliers he was using.
“What are you working on?” Jasper picked up the tiny creature made of copper wire and the tiniest of motors.
“I’ve incorporated some of the designs from your flying machine,” said Wallace, turning away from Faye.
“It was our flying machine,” said Faye firmly. “It was yours as much as mine, Wallace. I’m sorry to have ever suggested otherwise.” Faye felt a twinge of guilt from having been so horrid to Wallace back when the Young Inventors Guild members had first become friends. Their first brilliant invention was truly a combined effort, but Faye had felt personal ownership and made the others, especially Wallace, feel less important.
“So Noah is ok?” asked Lucy, her eyes wide with worry.
“Yes, we…we are sure he’s hiding somewhere,” said Jasper with false confidence.
Lucy seemed to relax. She rubbed her eyes.
“Right, but we must find him if he’s lost,” said Lucy, yawning and stretching. She was very catlike and careful as she climbed out of Miss Brett’s lap.
Lucy placed a throw blanket over their teacher, who smiled and mumbled something. The four children left Miss Brett sound asleep.
“Let’s find Mr. Bell,” said Jasper, already walking towards the door.
“It is this way,” insisted Faye, pointing down the corridor to the left.
Jasper followed, knowing full well it was down the other corridor. They traversed the castle twice. Jasper suggested they try the other way, but Faye was insistent. Jasper had learned the importance of letting her realize her folly by her own means. When they reached the end, he did not say a word. They turned back and walked the other way until they reached the wooden door they knew to be Mr. Bell’s.
Jasper’s knock sounded rather pathetic, like a mouse tapping on a giant tree. He was doubtful anyone inside could have heard such a small sound, and was about to try again when Lucy slipped under his arm and pushed at the big door. It moved. It wasn’t locked or even closed properly.
“Lucy!” Jasper tried and failed to grab her before she slipped into the room, unannounced and uninvited. There was nothing to do but follow suit.
Jasper wasn’t sure if Mr. Bell
was there, but to simply barge into the man’s office library? As each entered, a moment of stunned silence fell upon the room. Mr. Bell was there, but he was not alone.
Sitting in a chair, his feet not reaching the ground, sat a small, scared, dusty little boy. When the children entered, the boy flinched, as if uncertain whether they were friend or foe. He had his hands behind his back, and his dirty feet rubbed one another nervously. One sandal had fallen to the floor.
Behind him stood a mysterious man in black. This brother was wearing a tam-o-shanter on his head and a black kilt. He was very large and, even through his dark round glasses, the children could sense fury in his eyes.
“Who is that boy?” asked Faye, pointing at him.
“This is Sabi,” said Mr. Bell, but he had none of his usual charm and pleasant welcome in his voice. He spoke gravely, almost in anger.
“Sabi?” asked Wallace.
“He is the boy whom Noah found,” said Mr. Bell.
“He knows where Noah is?” asked Lucy, excitedly.
“That is what we are presently discussing,” said Mr. Bell, looking deeply at Sabi, who could not return the gaze. His eyes were swollen from crying and his nose was running, but Sabi did not dare reach up to wipe it.
“How did he come to be here, in the castle?” asked Faye, confused. “How is he here without Noah?”
“The boy explained to me that after the explosion, he escaped because Noah dug out a space for him. Noah could not crawl out because the hole was too small, so he stayed. Noah’s shoulder was badly hurt and he found it hard to move. The boy did as Noah said. He was supposed to find the carriage and go with the brother.
“But he was scared, and instead he squeezed into the boot of the carriage. He clung upside down and remained there as the brother drove back. Upon arriving at the castle, he hid until it was safe for him to climb over the stone wall façade, where the carriages are kept.”
The Strange Round Bird: Or the Poet, the King, and the Mysterious Men in Black Page 22
