Belle and the Prophecy of Bane

Chapter 15

Belle's supper consisted entirely of raw fish, as she had given her small ration of bread and meat to Boots. Temp, Gregor and Ares had done the same, and the baby now seemed satisfied. She yawned. "We shut eyes?" she asked.

"Yeah, we shut eyes, Boots," Gregor replied tiredly, and they snuggled up together.

Howard, ghostly white except for the purple bruise on his jaw, insisted on steering so Mareth could rest. Temp went on the first watch with Zap for light.

Before they could all go to sleep, Twitchtip spoke up. "We're getting close now. I can smell rats ahead."

"What of the serpents?" asked Mareth. "Do they still sleep?"

"Yes. But it won't be long until they surface. And they are lethal," said Twitchtip.

Those weren't exactly the words Belle wanted to hear just before going to sleep. Rats...serpents...lethal. Especially when she was already occupied by words like killing...Bane...alone...she couldn't get her mind to settle down. She went in and out of a doze, never really losing consciousness. So she was the first to rouse when Temp sounded the alarm.

"Going, the shiners are, gone!" he croaked.

Belle sat up, opened her eyes, and saw nothing. It was pitch black. "Conniving, vile creatures!" she hissed.

Gregor flipped on a flashlight. The rest of the party was stirring.

"What is it? What has happened?" Mareth was on his feet.

"The shiners have deserted!" said Howard, lighting a torch.

"Deserted? They were bound for the entire journey!" Mareth cried.

"By what?" snapped Belle. "Their honor? They have none! Their word? Equally worthless! The shiners are bound only by their stomachs, and as we cannot satisfy those, they have broken with us!" She threw her hands up in frustration.

"But where could they go?" asked Gregor.

"They'll go the the rats," said Twitchtip flatly. "They'll receive food and safe passage home in exchange for information on our whereabouts." She looked around at all the dismayed faces. "On the bright side, we won't have to listen to their whining anymore."

For an instant, everybody was too startled to speak. Twitchtip had made a joke! But then, they all gave a much needed laugh. If there was one thing they could agree on, it was how annoying the shiners had been.

"Yes," Luxa said as she and Twitchtip eyed one another. "That will be a blessing."

"It is a shame you did not get to eat them, though," said Belle.

"Oh, shiners taste nasty," said Twitchtip modestly. "I only threatened to eat them to shut them up."

"Well, no one shall miss them, but they have left us with more trouble," said Mareth. "How holds the fuel, Howard?"

Howard shook his head. "Not well. Much of it was in the other boat. We will get to the Labyrinth, but we will not have light for many hours after that."

Light--life. The two words were interchangeable in the Underland.

"I have life--I mean, light! I have light, too!" said Gregor suddenly.

"You and Belle have the greatest task ahead of you," said Howard. "You must preserve your light."

"Well, I will. Some of it. But I could spread it around. Wait a minute!" And Gregor emptied his backpack onto the deck. Five flashlights fell out, along with the miniature one. Then a roll of duct tape.