The Time Hunters (Book 1 of the acclaimed series for children of all ages) (16 page)

‘What?’

Becky’s face creased. She knew her suspicions were
unbelievable, but then the unbelievable had become quite commonplace lately.

‘Well, at first, I thought I saw … well –
you
.’

‘I think
he
was with us,’ Joe mocked.

‘I know he was, dimpling,’ Becky snapped at him.

‘Let your sister speak, Joe.’

Becky turned back to Uncle Percy and whispered, ‘I
mean -
another you!
’

‘Another me?’
Uncle Percy replied.

‘Yes, or -’ Becky said, ‘- or someone looked like
you. I mean, whoever it was wore a hood, I didn’t see their face, but - well,
it was either you - or -’ she paused, ‘- can I ask you something?’

‘Of course,’ Uncle Percy replied.

‘Your brother,’ Becky whispered. ‘Was he a time
traveller, too?’

‘Yes.’ An unusual expression crossed Uncle Percy’s face.
‘But he’s dead.’

‘But so was Bernard Preston, yet he was here an hour
ago.’

‘True. Perhaps your mysterious stranger was Bernard,
then?’

‘I don’t think so,’ Becky said assuredly. ‘No, the
more I think about it, the more I’m
certain
it was you.’

‘Or maybe you’re just seeing things?’ Joe said.

Becky shot him an angry look. ‘Why don’t you just go
and eat your own bum!’

Uncle Percy frowned. ‘What a delightful image,’ he
said with distaste. ‘Anyway, Becky, why do you think it was me?’

‘The same thing that made her think she saw George
Clooney in Kebabland last year,’ Joe sneered.

‘Will you … shut
up!
’ Becky
turned to Uncle Percy. ‘I don’t know
,
it just
felt
like you. It was actually the
strangest
feeling I’ve ever had, like
- ’

‘Like the one you had when you saw George?’ Joe
interrupted. A moment later, he nursed a very sore arm.

Becky never did finish the sentence.

Chapter 23

Edgar

Thirty minutes later, Becky stood before a huge iron
gate in the Central Court. The gate merged into solid rock behind them. Will
stood to her right, fully armed with a sword, bow, and a quiver of arrows.
Thousands of eager eyes watched them as if lined in a bizarre beauty pageant.
Word had travelled fast that Daedalus’ Gate would be opened.

Uncle Percy had obviously decided to not go quietly
either. Waving madly at the crowd, he acted like a very desperate, aged rock
star, trying unsuccessfully to start a Mexican wave and, every now and again,
launching into a dance routine that looked suspiciously like the hokey cokey.

‘What’s he got to be in such a good mood about? Joe asked
Becky. ‘If this Minotaur is as nasty as everyone tells us then what chance do we
have?’ He looked at the Argonauts and sighed. Phineus’ looked deathly white;
Theseus stared blankly at the ground; Jason looked as though he’d wet himself,
and Hercules had just vomited for the fourth time in as many minutes. ‘Let’s
face it … they’re a waste of space.’

Becky nodded. ‘I’m sure Uncle Percy knows what he’s
doing,’ she said unconvincingly as she watched him start breakdancing.

A hush rippled through the crowd.

King Minos mounted a podium, took a mighty breath
and bellowed, ‘Fair citizens of Knossos, salutations to you all! As you will
have heard, Daedalus’ Gate is to be opened.’

The crowd roared with pleasure.

‘These eight prisoners will enter the Maze of Kyros
to face the great beast that lurks within. Today, so they inform your King,
their valour, their mettle and their lethal skills will purge our great city of
the dreaded horned beast that has plagued out nightmares for so long.’

King Minos sniffed scornfully. ‘These are to be our
champions. Now have you ever seen a more dismal band of warriors?’

Hercules retched loudly.

King Minos pointed at Hercules and laughed wildly. ‘Witness
for yourself the courage of our defenders.’ His dampening eyes returned to the
crowd. ‘Anyway, I shall delay these proceedings no more. Let the - ’

His speech was interrupted by a distant snapping
noise, like a popped balloon. Slivers of silvery smoke billowed out from a
window in the west wing of the Palace. A collective gasp echoed through the
courtyard.

Becky glanced at Uncle Percy, as a strangely
satisfied expression crossed his face.

King Minos huffed. ‘Is that a fire?’ he snarled at
the guard on his right. ‘Put it out and find out who’s responsible. I want them
flogged. Do not fret, good people, he yelled, even louder than before. ‘The
matter is in hand.’ He waited until all eyes returned to him. ‘Without further
ado, let the spectacle commence … OPEN DAEDALUS’ GATE!’

A dozen guards scurried to the gate, lifting an
enormous iron chain off the ground. The guards heaved it tight and the gigantic
gate inched open.

Becky whispered in Uncle Percy’s ear, ‘Promise me,
whatever’s in there won’t eat us.’

‘Don’t worry,’ Uncle Percy replied. ‘If the Minotaur
exists it will rue the day it messed with us.’

‘Why do you say that?’ Becky asked.

‘Because I have a
Tracker Pack
strapped to my chest!’

Becky remembered the bumps and bulges under his
tunic.
‘A what?’

‘A Tracker Pack.
Trackers wear them when they go on rescue missions. It’s got all sorts of
exciting stuff.’

‘What sort of stuff?’

Uncle Percy gave a mischievous grin. ‘Oh, a
veritable smorgasbord of devices: K17 stun bombs, a memoraser, squid grenades,
spatial vaporisers, smoke pellets, a temporaliser and suction balls. I’m
positively a lethal weapon.’

‘You have bombs strapped to your chest?’

‘Yes.’

‘W-what if you went off?’

‘Well, then none of us have to worry about being
eaten, that’s for sure?’

Becky regretted asking.

The hum from the crowd rose to fever pitch as King
Minos faced the prisoners. ‘You will now enter the Maze of Kyros, and may the
fortune of Hermes shine upon you.’

‘Thank you so much,’ Uncle Percy said, taking a flaming
torch from a servant boy and waving merrily at the crowd.
‘Cheerio
then, everyone.
Have a smashing day.’ Then he turned briskly and entered
the gateway.

One by one, the rest followed.

The temperature fell sharply as Becky placed her
foot on the first step. She saw Uncle Percy ignite a series of torches set on
the wall, which revealed hundreds of steps that led deep underground.

‘Well, thanks a bunch, white-hair,’ Theseus growled
to Uncle Percy. ‘Our deaths are on your hands.’

‘Ah, don’t worry, Theseus,’ Uncle Percy said with a wink.
‘I wouldn’t be surprised if you, in particular, didn’t come out of this as
something of a hero.’

‘I’ll come out of this as Minotaur dung,’ Theseus replied
sourly.

A few seconds later, Becky heard a shattering clang
from above. Daedalus’ Gate had been closed again. She felt sick. They were off
to battle the infamous Minotaur!
Terrific
,
she thought sourly.

By the time they reached the final step they were at
least two hundred feet below ground. It was damp, musty and very cold.

‘It must lead under the Grey Mountains,’ Uncle Percy
whispered.

Becky didn’t care where it led.

Five minutes passed and Becky found Arthur Evans’
words ringing in her head. “
I found a
tunnel that connects the city of Knossos to the Aegean Sea.
” Hope filled
her. Perhaps they would just walk to the sea without incident; perhaps there
would be no Minotaur at all. Then, just as she began to relax, she heard a
rumbling sound, as if the tunnel walls had woken from a heavy sleep. The group
froze. Hercules squeaked.
 

They were not alone.

*

Becky watched as Uncle Percy reached into the folds
of his tunic. He pulled out two tiny objects, no bigger than marbles. Will
loaded an arrow and aimed into the darkness. The noise rumbled through the
tunnel again. Becky felt her stomach flip.

Uncle Percy pointed the torch ahead. The light
showed the tunnel forked right; whatever was coming was round the corner.

WUMP.
WUMP.

They were footsteps. Becky felt sure of that.
Heavy footsteps.
Just how big was this creature? Then she
saw a glittering orange light. Will pulled back the bowstring and took aim.

WUMP.
 

Becky muffled a scream as a very definite silhouette
swelled on the far wall.
The Minotaur
did exist.
The outline was clear: an enormous human body and an animal’s
head with two long, twisted horns that jutted from either temple. It was carrying
something in each of its massive hands.
 

The Minotaur turned the corner and drew to a halt.
It was colossal - at least fifteen feet tall, with a muscular physique, a
gigantic bull’s head and lifeless ebony eyes.

Frozen, Becky watched the Minotaur approach, in its
mighty grip, a flaming torch and a bunch of flowers.

A bunch of flowers?

‘Good afternoon,’ the Minotaur said, grinning from
ear to ear.

The group was stunned to silence.

The Minotaur moved forward. Suddenly his footsteps
didn’t seem as loud or scary. ‘Oh, please, do lower your weapons.’ He spoke
softly, rather like a well-mannered country vicar. ‘What’s the matter with you
lot, anyway? Never seen a giant with a bull’s head before?’ He let out a belly
laugh.

At once, the tension of the moment evaporated. Soon
the tunnel rang with laughter.

‘See, isn’t that better,’ the Minotaur said. ‘These
are for you, little lady.’ He presented the flowers to Becky.

‘Er, thank you very much,’ Becky replied.

‘My absolute pleasure.’
The Minotaur resumed his full height. ‘First of all, I’d like to welcome you to
my home. It’s not much but
we
like it. I do so hope you do too. Anyway,
I’m Edgar.’

A long pause followed. Everyone stared at each other
with astonishment.

Uncle Percy stepped forward. ‘Thank you,
Edgar,
we’re delighted to be here. My name is Percy Halifax,
this is my niece, Becky, my nephew, Joe, my friend, Will, and these are the
Argonauts: Phineus, Jason, Hercules and Theseus.’

‘Welcome,’ Edgar said. ‘I’m dreadful with names, but
please give me time. I’m not a completely mindless
Minotaur.’ Edgar let out another very loud chuckle. ‘Now, you
must all be ravenous. We’re just about to have a spot of afternoon tea. It
would be an honour if you’d join us.’

‘We?’
Uncle Percy said.

‘Yes,’ Edgar said.
‘My friends and
I.
I’m sure they’ll be keen to meet you. Now, personally, I’m a
vegetarian, but there’s plenty of meat for those that prefer it.
Anyone hungry?’

‘I’m starving,’ Joe said.

‘Terrific,’ Edgar replied. ‘Now, it is a bit of a
hike so would anyone care for a piggy-back?’

‘I will,’ Joe said eagerly.

‘Excellent!’ Edgar beamed. ‘Climb aboard, then.’ And
the Minotaur sank to his knees and lifted Joe on to his shoulders. ‘Just hold
on to the horns, and mind your head.’ Rising to his feet, he traced his own
steps back into the tunnel.

Becky breathed a sigh of relief and watched as Joe
bobbed up and down. The infamous Minotaur, the scourge of Knossos was, in
reality, nothing more than an oversized teddy bear, with sparkling black eyes
and a temperament to match.

*

They walked for a further fifteen minutes with Edgar
leading the way, when they came to an abrupt halt, their mouths all falling
open at the same time.

‘Welcome to our home,’ Edgar announced proudly.

A gobsmacked Becky stared at a gigantic cavern with
a lagoon in its centre. Enormous stalactites, of every colour, hung from the
ceiling like chandeliers, nearly touching the surface of the clear, green
water. But the most surprising thing was the sixty or so people gathered there,
some basking
on leather towels, others swimming in the
lagoon, the rest cooking food on an open fire. She knew at once these were the
warriors dispatched to kill the Minotaur, the human sacrifices sent into the
Labyrinth. They had chosen to stay and formed a community. A community
dedicated to relaxation and pleasure.

Becky remembered something else:
Arthur Evans found the Theseus Disc in a
lagoon.

Edgar lowered Joe to the floor.

‘Where do you get all this?’
Uncle Percy said with amazement, nodding at the tables buckling under the
weight of huge piles of food.

‘There’s a direct path to the surface,’ Edgar
replied. ‘Actually, there are three paths, including one to the sea. Ionoclus,
over there runs a farm on the surface so we never run short. And do you see
Darius
 
…
’ He pointed
at a large man whose cloth apron barely covered his generous tummy. ‘He’s an
excellent chef. He’s even invented something he calls the Doner Kebab, which I
am
assured
is an excellent delicacy following a goblet
of ale. Anyway, enough of my chitter-chatter, would you like to eat now?’

‘Please,’ Joe replied.

And eat they did. Course after course, with every
taste catered for.

Halfway through the meal, Becky scanned the mass of contented
faces as they talked, laughed, and swapped stories, and she came to a single
conclusion.

It really was the happiest of homes.