by A. E. Albert
They quietly crept up a dark stone stairwell that opened into a tight and dim corridor with only servants moving about.
Archimedes turned to the group behind him and whispered, “I have a team of horses ready to leave by the west gate, and it is the least guarded. We are going to have to ride like the wind because someone will most likely see us.”
Billy gave Archimedes a startled look. “We? I think you should stay here.”
“I do not think so! You have not yet told me what I want to know. And besides, I may be a cranky old man set in his ways, but there is no way I’m leaving that sweet young lady in the clutches of that wig hungry queen of mine! I think she owns fifty already!”
Billy gave Archimedes a wide grin. He was beginning to see the strange inventor in a new light. “All right then, where do we go from the west gate?”
“I haven’t gotten that far, let’s go,” Archimedes countered in a tight voice.
Dickens laughed at Archimedes annoyed expression. “Well, that works out for us, since there is something we need to obtain from the captain of the guards first.”
“Absolutely not! We do not have time to be looking for lost trinkets!” he replied with a yell.
“This is not a trinket, but imperative to our escape and we’re not leaving here without it,” Dickens calmly stated and his voice filled with resolve.
Archimedes stared at the group before him, his eyes lingering on Jeanie. “Alright, they will be looking for a group of four or more people, I will take the girl. You both do whatever it is you seem to think is so important and we will meet you-”
“No” this short and firm statement came from Jeanie who had been standing behind Dickens. All eyes turned towards her. “I appreciate your concern, Archimedes, but we need to stay together. If either of you leave me, I’ll just follow you,” she said focusing her determined gaze solely on Billy and Dickens.
As both men nodded in agreement, the little inventor just threw his hands in the air. “Oh, whatever! Let’s just get this over with,” he said in his usual irritated voice and began to stomp away.
“Where can we find the captain, anyway?” asked Billy in a loud whisper, as they followed Archimedes through the hallways.
“He is probably in the throne room kissing the king’s behind. However, I had better make sure.” He gestured for the group to stay put, then approached a guard standing by an open doorway.
Billy watched anxiously as Archimedes spoke at length with the guard, silently wishing he would hurry up. The man gave Archimedes something small and the inventor quickly retreated and walked briskly past them.
“What took you so long?” Billy asked in a harsh whisper, trying to catch up with him.
“The man merely wanted to know if I could invent an apparatus that would prevent his active youngster from leaving their bed at night. It would have raised suspicion if I didn’t talk to him, since I generally enjoy figuring out such problems,” Archimedes replied in a huff.
“It’s called a crib,” Billy said under his breath.
Archimedes didn’t seem to hear him and said, “Anyway, Lucius is up the stairs bathing in his chambers, which is perfect. We sneak in, get your whatever and then leave as quickly as we can.”
Before anyone could agree or disagree, the spunky inventor was already leading them up a flight of stairs. Billy could hear voices as they approached the hall, leading to the captain’s chambers. As Billy gingerly peered around the corner, he saw a group of four soldiers lounging in the corridor. They were all laughing and seemingly unaware of anything going on around them.
Billy turned to Archimedes, “How are we going to get past them?”
Archimedes responded with a sly smile, “You are in the presence of a genius, young man. Step aside, please.” And with that he pulled out a bizarre and strange object from his robes.
Billy just stared as the crazy inventor held up a wooden box. He began to vigorously shake it and then abruptly threw it down the stairs. All of a sudden, loud snapping noises and yelling came out of the darkness. The group flattened themselves against the wall just in time as the soldiers raced by to investigate the chaos coming from below.
They ran down the empty hall until Archimedes stopped before a large wooden door and put his ear to it. He immediately smiled. “Oh good, he’s in the bath. I can hear his atrocious singing.” Billy just couldn’t imagine the fearsome captain of the guards singing to himself in the bathtub.
“All right, you three look around for your thingy and I will deal with Lucius.”
“What are you going to do?” Jeanie asked.
“You leave that to me,” he replied, as he slowly pushed the door open.
Billy couldn’t believe it. Coming from a room at the back of the main chamber was the most horrible singing imaginable. The song had something to do with a woman and her pet goat. The rest was just garbled and sounded like the howling of a dying animal. However, he soon became grateful to the horrid noise because it masked him and the others rooting through the room looking for the Device.
There were busts and statues spread throughout the room which Billy thought looked suspiciously like the captain of the guards. Against one wall seemed to be some kind of trophy case. Lined along the shelves were gleaming golden cups, crowns made out of leaves and banners of various color. Billy almost laughed when he saw a wall painting above the massive bed depicting the captain frolicking with what seemed to be satyrs and other mythical creatures. This guy really loves himself, thought Billy.
Billy quickly set himself to the task of finding the Device. He looked through the shelves lining the walls, Jeanie dug through the numerous chests placed about and Dickens hunted through the numerous wall cabinets. But nothing was found.
“I can’t find it anywhere!” Jeanie stated in a defeated tone, as she dropped herself on the nearby bed. Dickens was casually looking through rolls of parchment scattered on top of a table.
“We can’t stop looking!” Billy frantically replied, as he began to tear the bedding off of the mattress. But nothing was found. He just hung his head and closed his eyes. In a matter of minutes, Lucius was going to walk in here and find them, he thought. They couldn’t leave without the Device!
Billy opened his eyes, finding himself staring down at a crudely made stuffed animal lying on the floor. He carefully picked it up and stared at it in disbelief. The terrifying captain of the guards slept with a teddy bear! If they weren’t in so much trouble, Billy thought he could have laughed his head off.
As he held the child’s toy in his hands, a small and heavy object fell out from a hole in the bear’s back and bounced softly onto the mattress.
The Device. Billy picked it up and turned to look at Jeanie with wonderment.
“Dickens, we have to get Archimedes. Billy found it!” Jeanie exclaimed happily, while Dickens just responded with that small grin.
In that moment, Archimedes came running from the back room. “We have to go!” he hurriedly said, grabbing Jeanie by the arm and leading her to the door. Suddenly, the singing from the bath abruptly stopped.
“What did you do?” asked Billy with trepidation in his voice.
“Nothing you wouldn’t have done in my place. I had an opportunity, so I took it. We have to leave now!”
Just then a roar came from the back room. Suddenly, standing in the doorway was the captain of the guards, wearing nothing but a small towel around his waist. His skin was the color of deep purple. It was the exact shade of an eggplant and his scars brightly shone a stark white in contrast. His eyes widened to see the intruders, an expression of understanding dawning on his face.
“Archimedes!” he screamed.
Chapter 13
“Run!” yelled Billy, as they rushed out the door.
The small group quickly continued down corridors dimly lit by torch light. They passed the odd window, which let the only natural light into the shadowy passages.
“What did you do to him?” asked Billy, as he worrie
dly looked behind them.
“I poured purple dye into his water when he was not looking,” he said with a proud smirk. His companions all gave him a perplexed stare. “The young guard I was talking to gave me a vial of purple dye. He also wanted to know if it I could find a way to reproduce a purple lamb for his daughter. She wants a purple sheep for her birthday. What was I supposed to do? I just nodded and took it! It is not my fault people think I am a miracle worker!”
All of a sudden, there came a loud cry from behind them. A group of soldiers approached and stood before Archimedes.
“My lord inventor,” the young soldier said, “have you seen any strangers? Prisoners have escaped from the dungeons.”
“Why, no, young man, I have not….” But Archimedes voice was drowned out by an all too familiar one.
“Move aside, move aside, I want to question him.” Lucius pushed his way through the cramped space until he looked down at the old man. His purple face contorted into a mask of rage. He turned to his soldiers, who gazed at him in wonder and said, “Someone had to have helped them. Is that not right, Archimedes?”
Lucius stared at the old inventor as if trying to bore a hole through his skull. Billy turned to the large window beside them, wondering if it was too high to jump out of.
“The favor of the king will not protect you, inventor, if you are found to be helping spies!” He then grabbed the hood of the smallest of the group, spilling down a glorious mass of magnificent red tresses. The captain grabbed Jeanie by her hair, “Seize them!” he shouted.
Billy immediately grabbed the captain’s arm and began to viciously bite the hand clutching Jeanie’s hair until the soldier screamed and released her.
Just as Lucius was about reach for him, a blinding flash of light filled the narrow corridor. Someone grabbed Billy’s arm and pulled him back. Archimedes stood before the cramped soldiers, holding up his cloak. A large mirror hung down his front, reflecting the sunlight from the open window, blinding the captain and his guards. But Billy knew this would only detain them for seconds.
“Out the window!” shouted Archimedes.
“Dickens, your cloak!” yelled Billy at the same time.
Billy, using the flames of a hanging torch, set his and Dickens’ cloak on fire and threw them onto the soldiers. He grabbed Jeanie and went for the window. “Dickens, Archimedes!”
Dickens grabbed the gutsy old man and they all jumped off the ledge into the courtyard below, landing in a carriage filled with straw.
The agile inventor raced towards the horses nearby. “Come on!” he shouted. Billy could hear pandemonium erupting from inside the citadel.
“You knew that wagon was here? We were on the second storey!” Billy demanded.
“I quickly calculated our height and weight, then divided by the building’s height and of course, add in the velocity, I deduced there would be minimal damage,” he smiled.
Billy’s raised his eyebrows, causing Archimedes to clear his throat. “Well, maybe… Oooh, I thought it was our best option at the time.” He yelled as he stalked away. “Nobody died for star’s sake!” Billy couldn’t help but laugh a bit at that one.
“There!” Archimedes pointed to a pair of horses tethered across the courtyard.
“I don’t know how to ride a horse!” exclaimed Billy.
“Well, you had better learn fast, boy,” replied Archimedes, as he and Dickens climbed onto their mounts.
Billy stared at the horse, took a deep breath and pulled himself onto the nervous animal. He just held on tight with Jeanie’s arms wrapped around his middle and together they raced down the stone road leading back down into the heart of Ortygia.
Billy looked over at Archimedes. “That was brilliant timing with the mirror! I’ll never mock your inventions again!”
The old man laughed. “I am just a believer in constructive criticism and I’m not one to ignore practical applications! ‘Sunlight in a helmsmen’s eyes.’ My thanks, Dickens!” yelled Archimedes. He looked behind them. “But I wouldn’t thank me yet! We have a contingent of soldiers behind us!”
Billy looked back and none other than the captain himself was leading the charge. His face was a mask of fury, his teeth bared and that horrible scar stretched white against his purple hue. The captain unsheathed his sword, a malicious smile spread slowly across his face. Billy looked at Jeanie and then at Dickens. His thoughts were racing. It’s can’t end like this!
“Billy!” screamed Jeanie.
Billy immediately felt a buzzing near his right ear. Arrows!
“Stop! I want them alive!” Billy could hear the captain growl.
Suddenly, Lucius veered off down an alleyway. This made Billy nervous. He didn’t like not knowing where the captain was.
Billy followed Archimedes through the winding streets of Syracuse, then out onto the open beach. He led the horses toward the over brush at the beach’s edge.
Billy looked back and saw that the soldiers were gaining on them and were only about twenty feet behind. His mind worked overtime, thinking of anything he could do to help save his friends. Just then, he remembered the strange circular object he had taken from Archimedes’s workshop. He had no idea what it was supposed to do, but it would at least hurt the head if thrown with good aim. Of course! thought Billy.
He turned to Jeanie, who was holding on for dear life. “Jeanie, take this thing and throw it at one of the soldiers!” he yelled, suddenly remembering her aim with an orange.
Jeanie grabbed the round object from Billy’s hand, awkwardly twisted her body and threw it with all of her might. Her aim was true and struck the leading soldier on his forehead, knocking him from his horse.
But as it flew through the air, the strange invention came to life. As it whirled toward the soldiers, it emitted a high and powerful shriek. Immediately, the pursuing horses began to buck and whinny, throwing their riders from their seats.
Billy didn’t have time to celebrate. His eyes locked on Archimedes and Dickens and saw that they were about to be overwhelmed.
“Archimedes! Behind you!” he screamed.
The old inventor just laughed and yelled, “Not to worry! I still have my deadliest weapon yet!”
Archimedes reached deep into his robe. Billy’s knuckles whitened as he clutched the reigns in anticipation of what the sly old man had in store for his pursuers. To Billy’s surprise, he pulled out a large sandwich. The inventor took a huge bite and threw it with deadly accuracy at a soldier riding only a few feet behind him. The sandwich landed with a splat. The rider tried to frantically wipe his face and pulled too hard on his reigns. His horse collided with the rider at his side. From there on out it was total chaos! Horse and soldier crashed into each other, until the illustrious soldiers were nothing but a pile of flailing limbs upon the beach.
Billy let out a triumphant yell and couldn’t help but shake his head and give the old man a smile of pure admiration.
“I told you I made a mean lamb sandwich!” laughed the courageous inventor.
Just then, Billy looked behind him and his heart leapt into his throat as the captain himself emerged from the brush on the beach only a few feet behind them, followed by more men. He looked as ferocious as ever as he reached out his arm and his fingers grazed Jeanie’s cloak.
Billy couldn’t think, he just yelled, “Jeanie! Duck!”
In that split second he bent back a tree branch. When he heard a thunk and loud cursing, Billy turned to look back. The Captain was sitting on his backside upon the sand, his horse running down the beach.
“To that barge!” yelled Archimedes, pointing to a boat at the water’s edge of the nearby harbor.
Billy knew they couldn’t outrun the king’s soldiers. Suddenly, something shining caught his eye. He looked to its direction and saw an object reach high into the sky. That thing is our only chance! Billy frantically thought. No, I can’t do it, I’m no hero! In fact, I’m the farthest thing from brave.
Billy remembered the brave little dog w
ho gave his life trying to protect Jeanie. Jeanie. Everything she said about him was true. Well, maybe not everything, he thought with determination. Billy’s eyes turned to the fort wall lining the beach’s edge and followed it to the water up ahead.
“Archimedes, follow the beach back to the fort wall and get into any boat you see. No matter what, you go; I’ll catch up with you!” Billy yelled through the wind of the speeding horses. Archimedes nodded in return. “Jeanie, follow Archimedes, do you understand me!”
“What are you going to do?” she asked with fear in her voice.
At that moment, the overgrowth was at its thickest, Billy jumped off the horse and ran into it. He made his way through the brush until he hit the wall of the fort. With a grimace, he watched as the soldiers were once again in pursuit of his friends.
As he was feeling his way along the wall, Billy could hear movement in the thicket. He flattened himself against the unyielding stone, hoping he wouldn’t be seen. As the sounds grew louder and kept coming closer, he was surprised to hear a familiar yelp. The white and brown dog was suddenly pawing at his legs.
“Patches,” he whispered, “I thought you were dead, boy.” Billy was surprised by how happy he was to see the little dog. “Ok, we need to be quiet, alright,” he said speaking in a low voice.
The dog’s light brown eyes gazed up at him with understanding in their depths. He continued to creep against the base of the fort wall, his small companion following closely behind.
Billy followed the wall until he came to an entrance way. There were two guards at the door. Billy’s mind was on overdrive. How could he get them from the opening? He stopped thinking and ran at the guards.
“Help! Captain Lucius is injured and they need help bringing in the prisoners!” Billy panted, as he pointed down the beach.
One of the soldiers immediately ran to help; unfortunately, one stayed to guard the entrance. As they watched their companion rush to their captain’s aid, Billy and Patches stole into the keep.
“Hey, get back here!” yelled the guard, following Billy through the corridor.
