CHAPTER.

15.

SIR EMERIK'S INTERROGATION

Edgar's mouth began to water when he opened the door to the inn and smelled the familiar aroma of rabbits cooking. Outside the world was changing, but in the warmth of the inn, everything had remained the same. Maude was cleaning a table and Briney was tending the fire and roasting a sizzling rabbit on a stick. The rabbit crackled as Briney looked up to see who'd come in.

"What's happened to you?" he asked with some concern, setting his work aside and waving Maude to join him. They were unusually quiet as they approached Edgar, and Maude pointed toward the back wall of the inn. There was another man-quiet and alone-sitting in the dark corner of the room. His hood was pulled up and his head was on the table.

Maude took Edgar by the arm, looked him in the eye the way a doctor might, and hauled him into the back room. It was darker than the main room of the inn, where an orange glow came from flames in bowls of fatty fuel sitting on every table. Maude knelt before Edgar, and then Briney arrived with a leg torn from the rabbit he'd been cooking.

"Here, eat this," said Briney, staring at Edgar's swollen eye. "You look terrible."

Edgar's eye was swollen almost shut, and he was having some trouble seeing in the darkened room. Maude offered a tiny bit of water, and Edgar thanked them as he devoured the small meal.

"Did Mr. Ratikan hit you?" asked Maude, her voice rising in anger. "I'll bring my broom to the grove and have his head off with it!"

"It's not what you think," answered Edgar. He nodded his head toward the door to the front room. "Who is that man in there?"

Maude sighed and whispered back, "It's the strangest thing. He came in looking exhausted and starving, dropped one of the biggest figs I've ever seen on the table, and asked for a cup of water and two full rabbits."

"He's from the Highlands, you know," she continued. "I hear that's the way the important ones dress up there, with those cloaks and hoods."

"What do you suppose he's doing here?" asked Edgar, trying not to betray his fear. He'd suspected they would look for him, but hadn't imagined they could find him so quickly.

"Well, I don't exactly know. He devoured the rabbits and fell right to sleep. He must have been awfully tired, that one. He hasn't stirred."

Edgar ate the last of the rabbit leg and set the bone on the table.

"What's that you have there?" asked Briney, pointing to the bag Edgar had carried from the grove. The two adults then noticed the swollen sores on Edgar's hand.

"What have you gotten yourself into, Edgar?" asked Maude, concern rising in her voice.

Edgar wasn't sure how to begin. There was so much to say, but he hadn't antic.i.p.ated a sleeping man from the Highlands sitting in the inn who might wake at any moment.

"The Highlands are sinking," said Edgar. "You do know that, don't you?"

The tone in the little room changed all at once. Briney peered around the corner into the front room and saw that the man was still asleep.

"We know, Edgar. Everyone in the village knows. There's been a lot of talk about what will happen if it reaches the bottom. People are talking about going in. About forcing their way in. They talk about the water mostly, about how the Highlands won't be able to keep it from us any longer."

Edgar rubbed his inflamed hand against his pant leg, then he quickly told them what was in the bag, where it had come from, and what he thought the Highlands had planned to do with it.

"I wish you'd left that outside," said Maude when he'd finished, leaning away from the bag and eyeing Edgar's infected hand. "They intend to do us harm, that much we can say for sure."

"What shall we do with it?" asked Edgar.

"Leave it with me," said Briney. "With the Highlands falling, we've got people traveling between the grove, the Village of Sheep, and us. Everyone is trying to decide what to do and when. We'll figure out what should be done with it."

Edgar was surprised to hear that the different villages in Tabletop were in communication. Were they organizing, preparing for-what did the book of secret things say? A war?

Edgar got up and glanced at the sleeping man.

"Can you go outside and leave me alone with him?" asked Edgar. It was an odd request.

"I suppose we could, but why?" asked Maude, baffled.

"I have some questions I'd like to ask him that only he can answer, but I don't want him to think you had anything to do with it. I don't want to endanger you or your plans."

Edgar saw they were both puzzled by what he wanted to do.

"Someone is bound to come into the inn soon, and my chance will be lost," said Edgar. "Please trust me, won't you? It will only take a moment to get what I need, but you can't be involved. He'll know you're against them. They'll know." Edgar raised his head in a gesture toward the Highlands.

Struck by the determination on Edgar's face, Briney and Maude conceded. They started for the front room to lock the door to the inn, but Edgar stopped them.

"Do you suppose I could get you to help me tie him up?" said Edgar. "I can't have him reaching across the table or trying to escape."

He scratched his eye, and the two adults looked at one another. They didn't say anything, but instead seemed to read each other's mind and know without asking what the other had decided.

"We'll need a good long bit of rope," said Briney.

"I know just the place," continued Maude, moving to the very back of the darkened room.

Edgar had achieved one small victory, but it was yet to be seen if the man would read the page hidden in Edgar's pocket.

When Sir Emerik woke up, he didn't open his eyes immediately. First he sat up and tried to stretch his arms over his head, which was something he was in the habit of doing whenever he got out of bed in his room in the House of Power. He was still sleepy, and it felt like he was trapped in a dream in which he couldn't move. He was so very tired that he thought it best to go back to sleep for just a little longer. Another hour won't hurt. Then I'll go about the village and make the long walk to the grove. Such a long walk.

He was about to drift back into a dreamy world when he felt something hot near his face, which forced him to open his eyes.

The room was dark, and it took Sir Emerik a moment to see much of anything other than a glowing orange object near his right cheek. He blinked furiously and wished he could wipe the mush out of his eyes, but he was still immobile. As he became more conscious, he was able to make out the figure of a boy sitting in a chair across the table from him.

"Don't move," Edgar said. "You wouldn't want to get burned."

Edgar had a flaming torch in his hand, the fire dancing just to the side of Sir Emerik's head. The room was otherwise empty. Briney and Maude had gone outside to keep anyone from coming in.

Sir Emerik was fully awake now and became aware that he had been tied to a chair. The grime in his eyes had moved off to the corners, and he could see Edgar clearly. He saw that the boy had been hit in the face and wondered if Mr. Ratikan had belted him with his walking stick.

"You better know what you're doing, boy," Sir Emerik said in his most threatening tone. "This is a dangerous game you're playing."

Edgar remained undeterred. He put the page down on the table where the open flame of the torch illuminated the words.

"Read that to me. Read it quickly or I'll set your hair on fire."

Sir Emerik could hardly believe what was happening. He was at once enraged at the audacity of the boy before him and overjoyed at the prospect of having found Edgar and the missing page. If only I'd stayed awake, I'd have them both in my grasp. There must be a way to bring things under my control.

"You've been to the Highlands, haven't you?"

Edgar only looked at Sir Emerik and waited.

"How else would you have gotten that page from Samuel?"

He paused, letting the boy think on what he'd said; then he turned very serious.

"There are very harsh consequences for climbing around on the cliffs-you know this. And there are even harsher punishments for having a page of writing in your possession. You're in quite a lot of trouble, aren't you, Edgar?"

Edgar reeled back slightly on his chair when he heard his name called out. Samuel must have told them.

"Oh, yes, we know all about young Edgar. We have our ways." Sir Emerik leaned forward as much as the ropes would allow. Now, finish this miserable lad for good.

"If you're caught, they'll break your legs. They'll make sure you never go climbing around again. There's no place to hide, Edgar. Even if you escape the inn, we'll find you, and then you'll pay." Sir Emerik was beginning to feel very confident-despite the fact that he was still tied up, and Edgar hadn't even flinched with discomfort at his words.

"I can help you, Edgar. I will help you. Just untie me and I'll get you out of the trouble you're in."

Sir Emerik leaned back on his chair with a smug look on his face, certain that he was about to be untied.

Edgar moved the flame of the torch closer to Sir Emerik's head. Then, with a quick flick of his wrist, he set the man's hair on fire. Sir Emerik hadn't even thought to prepare himself for the attack. The hair flamed up orange on one side with a burst of black smoke and bright light. Sir Emerik started to scream.

Edgar tossed a bunny sack on Sir Emerik's head, putting the flame out as fast as he had started it. When he pulled the sack from Sir Emerik's head, a plume of smoke escaped, and Sir Emerik coughed and bellowed. The burnt hair smelled awful.

"You've gone mad!" Sir Emerik shouted. Most of the hair on the right side of his head was gone. What remained was a glob of black goo that stuck to his scalp.

"Read the page," demanded Edgar. "Quickly now-time is short and I must be getting on."

"You're a little madman, that's what you are. A wee little madman!"

Edgar put the torch in his other hand and held it next to the opposite side of Sir Emerik's head.

"Please, just read the page. It's not that hard."

Sir Emerik looked down. Though it was written in a sloppy hand, it was a short message, and he was able to read the few words written there without too much difficulty. Part of what he read was quite a shock. But when he had regained his composure, Sir Emerik realized he could tell the boy part of what he'd read, but not all. How would Edgar know the difference? Sir Emerik relished this moment of bliss as he looked up at Edgar.

"It won't do you any good, what that page says," Sir Emerik said. "It's useless."

Edgar noticed that Sir Emerik's face seemed somehow askew with all of the missing hair on one side, and he had to stop himself from setting the other side on fire to even things up. The poor man looked terrible.

"I'll decide that for myself. What does the page say?"

Sir Emerik didn't like the fact that this child was bossing him around. Flame or no flame, he couldn't help looking at the boy with contempt. This was a mistake, for the moment he did so, Edgar set the other side of his head on fire.

When the bunny sack was again thrown over Sir Emerik's head and removed, and the acrid smoke had cleared, Sir Emerik looked symmetrical again, although there was a tuft of hair sticking up on top that Edgar was tempted to set ablaze.

Edgar held the flame under Sir Emerik's nose and asked once more if he would please just read the page. Exasperated and afraid, Sir Emerik finally relented.

"It says there is a second book of secret things in Atherton."

Edgar wasn't sure how to take the news. It was awful knowing that even if such a book existed, he wouldn't be able to read it. He was forever having to rely on other people to get the information he needed.

"What else does it say? Does it say where the book is?"

"That's just it," cried Sir Emerik with a sinister laugh, his fear overcome by a chance to dash the boy's hopes. "The only way to find it is to go below, to the Flatlands. That's what the page says. How do you like that, Edgar?"

Sir Emerik was very pleased with himself because, to his knowledge, there was only one way to get down to the Flatlands: to climb. He could think of no better means to get rid of the boy than to send him on a quest that could end only in disaster. This foolhardy child would believe him and make a go of it, leaving only him-Sir Emerik-with the truth of what the page had actually revealed.

"I've told you what you wanted to know, however useless it may be. Now set me free, you little monster!"

But Edgar merely rose from his seat, took the page in his hand, and walked toward the door.

"You can't just leave me tied up like this, Edgar. You must let me go," Sir Emerik insisted, still speaking in a condescending tone. It took all of Edgar's will not to return to the table and burn off the last of the man's hair. Instead, he dropped the torch into the fire, casually picked up the rest of the rabbit with the missing leg from the skiff, and departed without even a last glance at his captive.

He could hear Sir Emerik shouting with indignation when he got outside, where he was greeted by Maude and Briney.

"What did you do to that man? He sounds as though he's going to kill someone!"

"He's all right, just angry." Edgar decided not to mention the burned hair. Instead, he held out the cooked rabbit. "I know it's asking a lot, but could I have this to take with me?"

Briney waved his approval. "Of course you can have the rabbit. But what did he tell you? Where are you going?"

There was no one else on Atherton who would even consider trying what he was about to do.

"I'm going down to the Flatlands."

Maude and Briney both gasped at once.

"What in the world are you talking about?" said Maude. "That's not possible!"

"I've already climbed up there," said Edgar, pointing to the Highlands. "Twice."

"How could you have gotten all the way up there?"

Edgar shrugged. "I'm a good climber. A very good climber."

"Well, I should say so," said Briney. He ran his fingers through his coa.r.s.e beard and gazed with stunned amazement at the cliffs and the boy before him.

"You've been very kind," Edgar said with genuine grat.i.tude. "But I really must go."