Abarat

know where she's going, Brother Tempus.'

'Nor she does, Brother Julius, nor she does.'

'She could trip at any moment, Brother Tempus.'

'Flat on her face, Brother Julius, flat on her face.'

They were like a couple of bad comedians—all talk and no punch line. In fact, their chatter was so irritating she was half tempted to turn around and tell them to shut up. But then she thought of their vile unfixed features circling and circling and her appetite for confrontation faded. Better to just run. There had to be some way out of here. After all, she'd got in , hadn't she?

But no matter which way she looked, there was no sign of an exit. Just the same featureless darkness in all directions. And she was getting tired. Her chest was tight, and her throat was raw. Sooner or later, she knew, she was going to stumble. When she did her talkative pursuers would be on her in a heartbeat.

'She's slowing down, Brother Julius.'

'That I see, Brother Tempus. That I see.'

Just to prove the pair wrong, Candy put on an extra spurt of energy. As she did so she remembered the chaotic moments that had preceded her entrance into this dark place. How the glyph had turned over, flinging her out.

Ah , she thought, maybe that's the answer to my problem .

Here she was looking for a door, assuming there was no way out except through a door. But she hadn't come in that way, had she? Maybe her best escape route was to throw herself into the darkness, and trust to fate.

She glanced over her shoulder. The brothers were no more than a few strides behind her. If she was going to try and escape them, it was now or never.

She counted to three. 'One —'

'What did she say, Brother Julius?'

'Two.'

'I didn't catch it, Brother Tempus.'

'Three —'

And with that she pitched herself forward, almost as though she were diving into a pool of water. It worked. The moment her body was free of the ground, the darkness around her seemed to convulse. She was instantly released from its grip, and she felt herself tumbling over and over. A moment later, there was light! And she fell heavily among the rocks on the shore of the Twenty-Fifth.

She landed so hard that her breath was knocked from her. For a few moments she lay there gasping and bruised, listening to the sound of the waves and the din of the seabirds squabbling over some piece of fish that had been washed up.

Then, from nearby, there came a reassuring voice.

'Lady?'

Seconds later Malingo's face came into view, upside down.

'You're here! You're alive!'

Candy was still in a mild state of shock. She opened her mouth to answer Malingo, but at first all that would come out was a trail of disconnected words. 'Running. Clocks. Faces. Tempus Fugit. And Julius. Horrible. Two. Horrible.'

'Oh my poor lady,' Malingo said. 'Did they make you crazy in there?'

'I'm not crazy!' Candy said, pushing herself up into a sitting position. She took a deep breath and tried to construct a more coherent sentence. 'I've got a few bruises,' she said. 'But I'm sane. I swear I am. And I'm alive.'

'Alive you are,' Malingo said, with a bright smile.

Candy laughed. She'd done it! She'd actually escaped the Twenty-Fifth Hour!

She got to her feet and embraced Malingo. 'The things I've seen,' she said to him. 'You wouldn't believe some of the things…'

'Such as?' said Malingo, eyes gleaming with curiosity.

Candy opened her mouth, intending to describe her adventures inside the Twenty-Fifth. But then she decided against it.

'You know what?' she said. 'Perhaps it's best not to do it here.'

She stared at the wall of roiling mist that separated the beach from the secret world on the other side. Anybody could be on the other side, she reasoned. Listening; or worse, ready to pounce and drag her back in.

'We should get out of here first,' she said to Malingo, 'before the Fugit Brothers catch up with us.'

'Who are the Fugit Brothers?' Malingo said.

Before she could offer a reply, Candy caught sight from the corner of her eye of something emerging from a crack between the stones.

She looked around and focused on it. The thing moved sideways, like a crab. But it was no animal. It was a mouth. A mouth with legs.

'Oh no…' she said softly.

'What's wrong?' said Malingo.

'Where's the glyph?' Candy said.

'The glyph?'

'Yes, the glyph !' Candy said, as an eye with legs appeared from under the rocks and blinked up at her.

This time Malingo followed her gaze. 'What are they?'

'They belong to the Fugit Brothers,' Candy said, catching hold of Malingo's arm and pulling him away from the spot. If a mouth and eye were here, could the brothers that owned them be far behind?

'They live in the Twenty-Fifth,' Candy said hurriedly. 'And if they get hold of us—'

She didn't have a chance to finish. The rocks nearby had started to shake, their motion gentle at first, but quickly becoming stronger. It wasn't hard to guess what was going on. Tempus and Julius had somehow burrowed out, under the stones, and they were planning a surprise attack from below. They would have succeeded in their surprise, too, if their wandering features hadn't given their sneaky game away.

'We have to get out of here!' Candy said.

Malingo was still staring at the stones, which were rattling together.

'Where's the glyph, Malingo?' :

'That's an eye on legs!'

'Yes. I know. Malingo. Where's the glyph?'

He pointed back down the beach, without looking at where he was pointing. She followed his finger, and yes, there was the craft, lying on the stones. It was overturned, but at least it looked to be intact. The impact of striking the wall of the Twenty-Fifth hadn't smashed it to smithereens.

'Come on!' she said to Malingo, pulling on his arm again. He didn't move, however. The strange life-forms on the stones had him entranced.

'We can't wait around here,' Candy said. 'Or we're dead.'

The rocks were being rolled aside now—the smaller ones thrown into the air—as the Fugit Brothers prepared to make their entrance.

'I never saw anything like that before,' Malingo said, his voice filled with fascination.

'Can we please go ?'

Before they could take a step however, a dark voice rose from the crevices between the rocks.

'You won't escape us, Candy Quackenbush ,' said one of the brothers.

'Not will your flap-eared friend ,' said his sibling.

The sound of the Fugits' voices punctured Malingo's curiosity. Now it was he who backed away from the