Chapter Ten

In the next several weeks, life settled into something approaching a
routine. Mrs. Brisbee made herself responsible for the care and feeding of the
household, much as she had done for the Royal Court; as much to keep her mind
off of the death of Jonathan, as well as her worries about Justin's safety. But
her sleep was often fitful and nerve-wracked and she had begun to take on a
hollow-eyed look. Jeremy, in his own quirky manner, took care of the children;
teaching them about both the joys and sorrows of peasant life. He taught them
how to work in the garden; weeding, hoeing and gathering their food; and told
them stories about his childhood and the great knights and bards who wandered
ancient Britain; doing great deeds and rescuing fair damsels from the clutches
of greedy dragons and singing romantic ballads of their heroism.

Dr. Ages, who went into the nearest villages almost every day, would bring
back news of the rumors that were quickly spreading throughout the countryside.
Each night after the children had been put to bed he, Jeremy and Mrs. Brisbee
would sit in the living room in front of the dying embers of the fire and, over
tea, try to determine what part of those rumors might have contained any actual
fact.

Life during this time was not all hard work. During their free moments,
Brisbee; using an old guitar that Dr. Ages bought at one of the village
markets; taught Jeremy some of the finer points of musicianship. He was an
enthusiastic student as well as a quick study, often mastering in hours
techniques that had taken her days to learn.

One day Dr. Ages returned from his walk, much earlier than was his normal
habit, with a beatific smile on his face. "I've got bad news and I've got
excellent news!" He exclaimed as he led them to his usual chair in the
livingroom. He sat down heavily in his seat. An anticipative hush decended on
everyone. "First the bad news," he said with a childish glee. From
out of a pocket of his robes he produced a large, folded piece of parchment.
Ages unfolded it and cleared his throat. "By order of His Majesty, King
Jenner," He began. "A reward of one thousand crowns is offered for
the capture, dead or alive, of Justin, former Captain of the King's
Guard."

The others in the room were shocked at both this news and the way that Ages
made light of it. "That's terrible!" Mrs. Brisbee exclaimed.
"Not really." Said a familiar voice. "Especially since I happen
to be the one who came to break the excellent news." All eyes turned
toward the open front door and the tall fox silhouetted in the bright sunlight.

"Justin!" Mrs. Brisbee exclaimed as she ran and lovingly embraced
him. "Oh, Justin! I thought you might be dead!" She cried, tears of
joy running down her cheeks. Justin smiled and wiped one away. "It'll take
more than a thousand crowns and some order from that pretender to King
Nicodemus's Throne to kill me." He reassured her.

By now the others in the room had gathered their wits and were crowding
around him bombarding him with questions about where Ωhe had been and
what he'd been doing during the time he'd been gone.

He raised his paws in surrender and exclaimed, "Whoa! Whoa! Please
everybody, one at a time!"

"Yes," Interjected Ages, "How 'bout we go out back to discuss
this. All of you can go ahead while I make some tea; he already told me most of
it on our way here.

When they were all gathered outside, Mrs. Brisbee introduced Jeremy and told
Justin the circumstances under which they met.

"I'm certainly glad that you decided to stay with her, even if her
present predicament was indirectly responsible for your run-in with the
Sheriff!." Justin told the rooster.

Jeremy smiled broadly and replied, "No problem! I'm used to spending my
nights outside, although not usually thrown in with a free bath!" They all
laughed at his clever turn of phrase.

"So where have you been?" Theresa asked. "Mom's been worried
sick about you since you've been gone!"

Justin smiled at the rabbit's forthrightness. "I've been doing a bit of
trouble-making!" He stage-whispered conspiratorially. He told them about
his encounter with the merchant and his various other efforts to both sabotage
Jenner's rule of the kingdom and try to prevent the more serious abuses of
power by those friends of the new King who, figuring that they were now above
the rule of law, tried to take advantage of animals poorer and less powerful
than themselves. "But believe me, my Lady," He said, a sadness shading
his eyes. "Not a day went by when I wasn't just as concerned about the
safety of you and your children as you were for mine.

"Have you been able to hear any news from Londontown? What's going on
in the court?" Mrs. Brisbee asked. Justin shook his head. "Jenner's
got the City closed up tight." He replied, "It's been under a
dusk-to-dawn curfew since just after we made our escape. Jenner's posted a
permanent guard on all the major roads leading into and out of the City. As for
King Nicodemus's court, all of his appointments have been stripped of their
titles and had their lands confiscated and either been placed under
house-arrest or are in prison awaiting trial for whatever charge Jenner can
think to bring against them. He's also stripped the Ladies-of-the-Court of
their titles and left them to whatever fate awaits them on the outside."

"But who will administer the affairs of the court? Someone has to keep
the palace running!" Brisbee asked, worried about her Ωfriends; many
of whom she'd grown up with.

Justin shrugged helplessly. "Jenner seems to think that he can do the
job himself. He's also fired about a third of the household staff and cut the
pay of the rest. He's also issued a proclamation to the City that he expects
all the alms-seekers and homeless animals to work in the fields, regardless of
illness or family. He's threatened imprisonment for those who don't comply, no
matter what their circumstance."

"That's Jenner. Efficiency to the point of cruelty." Observed Dr.
Ages, who emerged from the house with a tray of fresh tea, as well as fruit
juice for the children.

"It gets worse." Justin continued. "He's raising the taxes of
everyone except his wealthy friends and the Sheriffs. He's also 'requested'
that the Sheriffs put the alms-seekers and homeless to work in the fields of
their Shires as he's done in the City."

"Well, at least that'll get those deadbeats out of the jails and into
some more useful pursuits." Jeremy said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"What about us?" Timothy asked. A hush descended upon the group.

After a long, thoughtful silence; Ages cleared his throat. "I believe
that our best course for the moment," He began. "Would be to lay as
low as possible. As long as we draw no attention to ourselves, we should be
safe where we are. Justin can stay the night, but I'm going to have to find
other quarters for you elsewhere in the morning in case someone discovers your
whereabouts."

"Don't worry about me." Justin said, "I'm going back to the City
tonight anyway. I have a meeting with some, uh, friends who aren't thrilled
with the direction that Jenner is taking this country."

"Must you leave so soon?" Mrs. Brisbee asked. Although she never
would have admitted it to anyone but herself, and even then only with the
greatest reluctance, she felt a certain attraction to her late husband's
friend. It was far stronger than just the adversities that they had suffered in
the past several weeks, but she would have been hard-pressed to actually call
it Love; at least in the romantic sense as she understood it.

"'Fraid so." He replied, giving no indication of having heard the
emotion behind Mrs. Brisbee's question. "These are animals who love their
freedoms as much as we do and need as much help and hope as I can possibly give
them." He noticed the downcast look of her eyes. "Don't worry,"
He said gently. "I'll come back just as soon as I can."

Mrs. Brisbee nodded, but felt a wave of sadness wash over her. With Jonathan
gone, only the children gave her life any real meaning. Her work around Ages'
house, while it kept her somewhat occupied, certainly could not fill the huge
void that still remained in her heart. She began to realize that Justin, who
was probably feeling the same emptiness as she, had decided to fill it with
hatred for Jenner and a desire to seek revenge against him. This thought
saddened her all the more. For she knew that, in his true heart, Justin, even
though he was a soldier, was a gentle, caring soul. "So much like
Jonathan." She thought to herself.

"What about Jonathan?" Justin asked, a perplexed look on his face.

"Hm, what?" Mrs. Brisbee asked, as if awakening from a deep sleep.

"I was just telling everyone that I'll probably be back in about Ωa
week or so when you said something about your husband." His expression was
now one of concern. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Mommy's been having trouble sleeping lately." Cynthia said with a
certain sadness in her voice. "She misses Daddy and wants him to come
home. I miss Daddy a lot too."

Justin picked up Cynthia, who had toddled over to him, and placed her on his
knee. "Well, Cynthia, Dr. Ages and I were good friends with your father
and we miss him very much as well. Many people are having trouble sleeping
because your father can't come home. But he's gone to a place where he can
serve his King for the rest of time, something that he loved to do almost as
much as he loved being your Daddy, and I'm sure that he misses you just as much
as you miss him." This seemed to satisfy the little rabbit, who slid down
from Justin's knee and ran to her mother and exclaimed, "Mommy, d'ja hear
that? Daddy an' King Nicodemus are bes' friends f'rever now!"

"Yes, Honey, that's wonderful." She tried to sound enthusiastic,
but her heart was breaking from the loneliness that she felt. She was beginning
to understand why Justin had filled his inner void with hate and vengence
against Jenner. To leave such a void unfilled was just so painful that, whether
one wanted it to or not, the emptiness would eventually fill with something,
anything, just so long as it was filled. Even if what filled it was as dark and
destructive as what had caused the original emptiness in the first place.

After a while, Mrs. Brisbee lost interest in the conversation. She excused
herself and went to the attic. There she broke down and gave way to the tears
that she thought that she had cried away that first storm-tossed night.

Chapter Eleven

Jenner regarded the piece of boiled carrot on his fork with disdain. This
was not solely because it tasted bad. He never really liked vegetables. To his
palate they were bland, unappetizing things no matter what was added to them to
try to make them tolerable. No, Jenner craved meat. He knew that this was
wrong. One animal had not eaten another since... But even today, as in the days
of his misspent youth, he fantasized about killing something, a small rabbit or
a day-old chick, and devouring its living flesh. He wondered what it would
taste like to chew a properly broiled rabbit's heart...

Suddenly, the door to his private dining room burst open. "Your
Majesty! I bring news! I think you should hear this!" It was Sullivan.

Jenner glared at him coldly. "This better be worth it." He
growled; his left eye twitching, a nervous tic that he had developed in the
past few weeks.

"Your Majesty, Justin was seen just hours ago in Leicestershire. One of
the Sheriff's Deputies saw him walking with an old white badger..."

Jenner threw down the fork and stood and slammed his paws down on the
tabletop, leaning forward as if ready to climb over it to throttle Sullivan.
"BADGER?" He screamed.

"Y-Yes, your Majesty. Wh-White as new-fallen snow according to the
Deputy; didn't even have eyestripes!" Sullivan stammered, unnerved by
Jenner's loss of control.

"AGES! DAMN HIS MISERABLE HIDE! I should have killed that mange-ridden
quack the day that he left the City! I could have made it look like a highway
robbery attempt gone bad, but noooo! The others said 'Don't bother with him,
Jenner.' or 'He's harmless now, Jenner.' and, idiot that I was, I actually
LISTENED to them!" He picked up the fork and plunged it deep into the
polished wood tabletop. "I KNEW that he was the mind behind Jonathan
Brisbee and Justin's efforts to stand between me and the Crown!" Jenner's
eyes began to develop the demonic cast that they had shown a few weeks earlier
on the overlook. "Take your Troop and force-march them to his house! If
you start right now, you can be there sometime after midnight. I want him
cap...No! I want him, Justin and the Brisbees DEAD! I want his house burned to
the ground! I don't want one stone standing on another! We can always dig the
Amulet out of whatever's left!"

"But the Brisbee children!" Sullivan exclaimed nervously. He knew
that he was a less-than-ideal soldier, but he certainly was not a child-killing
monster.

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THE BRISBEE CHILDREN! You either bring me
back their corpses or I'll find someone who will! Remember, you're just as far
up to your neck in this whole sordid affair as I am; so if I go down, my friend,
SO DO YOU! Now get out!"

Sullivan bowed and made a hasty exit, glad to get away from this mad beast.
He didn't relish what Jenner was becoming, but he realized that, for better or
worse, he had hitched his wagon to Jenner's brightly burning star. The problem
was that such stars tended to violentlyself-destruct, often obliterating other
planetary bodies in their orbit. And, he realized to his dismay, his proximity
of orbit was perilously close to Jenner. Sooner or later, he decided, he would
have to realign his position in relation to the new King. But, then again,
moving the heavens above might be a simple task compared to this. "After
all," He thought gloomily, "The heavens above can't slice my throat
open."

Jenner, meanwhile, gleefully contemplated his impending victory over those
who had made his life so miserable these past several years. Perhaps he would,
metaphorically at least, taste broiled rabbit-heart after all.

Chapter Twelve

The jumble of imagery was so disorienting. Bits and pieces of her life
popped in and out of focus like the viewing wall of some demented Camera
Obscura. Here and there she would catch a glimpse of Jonathan. But when she
tried to call out to him, she couldn't seem to catch her breath. Justin
appeared every so often as well, but there was something different about him,
something that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Gradually, she began to
hear music; an old dance tune, a Waltz, that she Ωremembered hearing at
one of the Royal Balls that she attended when she was still a
Lady-of-the-Court. Her surroundings also began to resolve themselves into
focus. She was in the Main Hall of the castle, surrounded by hundreds of other
animals. She looked down and saw that, instead of her beautiful wedding gown,
she was wearing just an old, tattered travelling cape and her new husband's
Amulet; but for some reason, nobody else seemed to notice this. She also
realized that her dancing partner was.... was... He was a fox, that much she
could tell. But he was like no other fox she had ever seen. He seemed to share
features of both her new husband and one of the Troop-Captains in King
Nicodemus's Guard. She wanted to ask him who he was, but the words wouldn't
come out of her mouth. He put a finger to his mouth to shush her. He had the
saddest, most beautiful eyes she'd ever seen and this, for some reason, made
her want to cry. But suddenly, her surroundings began to crack and fall apart
like a slowly breaking mirror. She also realized with a strange disinterest
that her dancing partner was quickly assuming a more lion-like form, his eyes
transforming from empathic sadness to blazing hatred. "...ommy, wake
up!" She heard a voice calling from far away. But now her dance partner
had completed his transformation into the King's adopted brother; the Prince
Regent, Jenner. "Mom! Please! Wake up NOW!" The voice, like that of a
young child, insisted. But the Prince Regent now had his paws clamped firmly
around her throat and was squeezing harder and harder. She could feel various
muscles, ligaments and blood vessels in her neck pop or rupture as he kept
squeezing; but for some reason, she had no desire to fight his efforts to
violently end her existence. "Mommy! Wake UP!" Prince Jenner's eyes
blazed with an insane fury as he screamed, "NO! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"

Mrs. Brisbee awoke with a start, bathed in sweat and gasping for air.
Timothy was next to herbed, urgently shaking her shoulder. She tried to ask her
son what was wrong, but something was choking her. She then tried to raise
herself from her bed, but felt something thin around her neck holding her down
to the mattress. She brought her paw to her neck and realized that she had worn
the Amulet to bed instead of hanging it on its usual wooden peg on the wall
next to her bed. She felt down the length of the slender chain and found that
it had caught on a small nail embedded in the frame of the bed that Jeremy and
Dr. Ages had brought from an abandoned inn the day after they had come seeking
his help.

She twisted the chain off of the nail and sat up. "What's the matter,
Honey, what're you doing out of bed?" She asked, fully awake now.

Timothy grabbed one of her paws and almost dragged her to a large window
that looked out onto the meadow. "Over there! Just beyond the
treeline!" He whispered excitedly.

Along the treeline at the far edge of the meadow, a group of flickering
lights could be seen blinking in and out of sight among the trees just inside
the forest. At first, Mrs. Brisbee's mind told her that it was simply
fireflies. But she instantly realized that instead of the cool yellow-green
that the nocturnal insects used to attract their mates, these lights glowed the
red-yellow-blue of hot flame. She turned to her son and said, "Wake your
brother and sisters and Jeremy and tell them to gather all our things as
quickly as possible and take them and the hand cart to the clearing near the
old root cellar! Hurry!" She grabbed her cape from the foot of her bed and
started down the stairs. She stopped when she heard a pounding at the front
door.

"Lady Marian! Jeremy! Dr. Ages! Wake up! You've got to get out of
there!" It was Justin's voice.

Mrs. Brisbee ran the rest of the way to the door and flung it open.
"Justin?" She exclaimed, "I thought you were going back to the
City!"

"Change of plans!" he said as he swerved around her and headed for
the back stairway that led directly to Dr. Ages bedroom. "C'mon! Wake up
you old goat!" He bellowed at the top of his lungs. "Jenner's found
us and his boys aren't comin' to deliver party invitations!"

Ages' door flew open and he waddled out. "How in thunder did that
happen? Who could have told him?" He demanded, grabbing a pile of papers
and books off of his desk. Justin grabbed them back out of his hands and tossed
them back on the desk. Ages was agast. "But I need those for my
studies!" He shouted indignantly. Justin grabbed Ages by the scruff of his
collar and said in his most commanding voice, "There are animals out there
trying to KILL us! We have to leave NOW!" He made a snap decision.
"You can bring two books with you, but that'sall!" Ages, realizing
that Justin would brook no argument, went to his bookshelf and removed a pair
of ancient, identical volumes. He let himself be taken by the hand by Mrs.
Brisbee like a child being reluctantly led to his first day of school.
"Get him to the basement." Justin ordered. "I'll get the
children."

"No need!" Shouted Jeremy as he ran in the house from the still
open front door. "They're right where we planned!"

"Good!" Said Justin as he herded Ages and Brisbee down the
basement stairs. "Jeremy! How close are they?"

Jeremy ran to a rear-facing window. What he saw turned his stomach.
"They're almost here!" All of a sudden, one of the fires broke
quickly away from the others and described a long arc until it disappeared from
view; the sound of a breaking window coming from somewhere above. "Heads
up, you guys! Fire in the Hole!" He shouted. He was about to turn around
and head for the basement door, when an arrow slammed through the window just
inches from his head and buried itself in the opposite wall.

Justin, meanwhile, had led Brisbee and Ages to the foundation wall that
faced closest to the road. He felt quickly along a certain area until he found
a group of stones that had no mortar between them. He then grabbed one of the
stones at the bottom of the group and gave a hard tug. All the stones fell to
his feet, revealing a large wood panel with a horizontal bar set above it.
Justin grabbed the bar with both paws and swung himself up then forward,
kicking the thin wood to splinters. He then pointed into the darkness and said,
"Just keep going until you come to another panel like this one and kick it
hard, it's hinged to open downward, then just go straight to the opposite wall
and climb the ladder; then take a step to your right and you'll Ωfeel
solid ground. The door of the root cellar will be right in front of you."
Mrs. Brisbee swallowed, nodded and climbed into the tunnel, Dr. Ages close at
her heels.

"Jeremy, how fast're they coming?" Justin yelled.

"Medium!" Jeremy answered, then thought better of it as he saw the
torchlights relentless approach. "Uh, make that fast; VERY fast!"
Just then a line of small flames made the arc from the main group to the house.
"INCOMING!" He screamed as he heard them hit various parts of the
structure.

Justin ran to the bottom of the stairs. "Okay, Jeremy, we're outta
here!"

"Best suggestion I've heard all night!" The rooster said as he
sprinted for the basement door. But when he got to the threshold, he lost his
footing and tumbled down the stairway; landing in a flurry of fur and feathers
on the startled fox.

"Are you alright?" Justin asked him as he began to disentangle
himself from the dazed bird.

"No problem." Jeremy groaned. "I meant to do that."

Justin smiled as he hauled Jeremy to his feet and started dragging him to
the escape tunnel."Birdbrain." He said

"Hey! I resemble that remark!" Jeremy replied in mock-irritation
as they reached the tunnel and began to crawl inside.

They made their way as quickly as possible along the smooth floored
interior. The walls and vaulted ceiling were only just high enough for them to
crawl under. By now, both of them could smell the acrid smoke of the inferno
behind them.

Justin, who was in the front, could see a faint light ahead. "Lady
Marian? Dr. Ages?" He called out, increasing his crawl speed.

"Here! Justin! Come quickly!" Brisbee's voice echoed down the
tunnel.

In moments they reached the source of her voice. She was holding one of Dr.
Ages paws and, through tears of her own, whispering soothing words into his
ear. Directly above, part of the ceiling had collapsed on him, trapping him
from the waist down; a particularly large stone lay on his left leg, which was
cocked at a peculiar angle. Martin and Theresa, who had somehow found the
tunnel, were clearing as much debris away as they could by the light of a small
lantern.

"This isn't the worst of it!" Martin exclaimed as he threw another
handful of dirt to the rear. "Timothy's missing! Cynthia says he ran back
to the house and never returned!"

Justin started to turn around, but Jeremy held him back. "Whoa, Whoa!
Where d'ya think you're goin' soldier-boy? I'll get the kid, you take care of
the 'rock of Ages'!"

"You sure?" Justin asked, desperation in his voice.

Jeremy smiled, winked and said, "Trust me." He then turned himself
around and started back for the house.

"Good luck!" Justin called out after him.

"Not on my best day!" Jeremy replied.

Justin turned his attention to the predicament at hand. He first tried to
roll the stone off of Ages leg, but it was so large and heavy that it wouldn't
budge in the tiny space of the tunnel. Then he tried to slide it off, but this
only elicited an agonized scream from the old badger. "Martin, I need your
help." he said. Martin stopped his digging. Justin pointed toward the
rootcellar end of the tunnel. "Go get my sword from the cart as fast as
you possibly can." Without a word, Martin was scrambling down the tunnel.
By now, the tunnel was starting to fill with fumes and thick gray smoke, whisps
of which cast shadows on the stone wall in front of the lantern, and both
Theresa and her mother were starting to cough and wheeze as their lungs filled
with it. "Keep as close to the floor as you can," he told them
calmly, ⁄"There's enough air down there to breath and I'm going to
need all of you to help me. Martin was now within earshot dragging the sword
behind him, the metallic scrape of the blade ringing through the tunnel. The
rabbit quickly handed the implement to Justin, who selected a smaller rock and
expertly placed the blade to use as a lever. "Now, when I lift the stone,
I want you to drag Ages out from under it and just keep going."

"But what about you?" Mrs. Brisbee asked.

"Never mind me." He told her. "I've got to go and help a
friend. Are you ready?"

Mrs. Brisbee nodded.

Justin threw himself against the hilt of his sword. At first the rock
wouldn't budge, but then he felt an almost imperceptible movement. He let his
muscles go slack for a few moments and ducked under the thick veil of smoke
that filled the tunnel. "Okay, one more time!" He said, his eyes
watering. "Ready? Now!" Again, he shoved down on the hilt. This time,
the rock lifted. Justin could hear the Brisbees dragging Ages clear of the rock
and away from him. He then released his weight from the sword and let it
clatter to the floor, exhausted from his efforts.

In the house, Timothy lay under Cynthia's bed; surrounded by the
conflagration. He had come back at the last moment when he realized that his
sister had dropped her new doll beside her bed in the rush to leave. He'd found
himself trapped in the attic when the first flaming arrows crashed through the
second-floor windows, igniting all of the rooms underneath. Now, clutching the
little cloth rabbit to his chest, he was frightened. Even more frightened than
when he thought that he would die of that sickness that had made it so hard for
him to breathe all those months ago last Winter. But this fire not only made it
hard to breathe, it was also so hot! Even his fever during the sickness hadn't
made him feel this bad! All of a sudden, he thought he heard something over the
roar and crackle of the flames. He listened harder. "TIMOTHY!" Yes,
he heard it that time! "UP HERE! I'M UP HERE! IN THE ATTIC!"

"KEEP YELLING!" The voice ordered.

Timothy screamed as loud as he could, even as the heat and smoke seared his
throat and lungs. From under the bed he saw the door to the room burst inward,
shattering into a thousand sparking, flaming splinters. "JEREMY! I'M OVER
HERE!" He yelled with what felt like his last breath. Jeremy dived over
the jagged, glowing embers that were once the frame of the door and rolled
himself along the floor to Cynthia's bed. He groped above him and, when he felt
what he was after, gave a mighty tug and Cynthia's mattress tumbled to the
floor, smoking slightly but still intact. He then stripped the blanket and
sheets off and began to wrap the young rabbit in them. "This ride's gonna
get a bit rough." he said calmly. "Just relax and let me do the
work." Jeremy rolled himself onto his back and then rolled Timothy face
down onto his own chest. He then grabbed a corner of the mattress, which was so
hot that it had already begun to smoke, and slid it on top of himself and Timothy.
Then; using his heel-spurs, back and wings; he began inch-worming his way to
the door.

When he reached the door, he turned himself to face it and kicked what was
left of the burning frame out of the way, ignoring the pain as the burning wood
seared the soles of his feet. He then resumed his slow, upward-facing crawl
into the short hallway. He had cleared the room by only a few feet when he
heard an enormous roar and, chancing a quick peek, saw the entire room collapse
in upon itself. He gulped back the bitter tasting bile that tried to well up
into his throat and made his way to the top of the stairs.

He then shifted Timothy to one side of his body and, using the free wing,
slid the mattress over his head, feeling it bounce down the stairs. As quickly
as he could, ignoring the heat and pain, he stood up and ran down the stairs
and through the second and first floors; the smoke and fumes blinding and
choking him. Just when he felt that he would collapse from pain and exhaustion,
a pair of arms grabbed the bundle from his, grabbed his collar, and
half-guided, half-dragged him down some stairs, through a smoky room, and
shoved him into a hole in what must have been the wall.

He began to crawl blindly along the tunnel, although he couldn't tell
whether he was blind because of the smoke, a lack of light or his eyes had been
burned out of their sockets. He was also being racked by fits of coughing and
dry-heaves as his lungs tried to expel the noxious fumes but could only seem to
get more.

He soon bumped into a large rock and, under one wing, felt the hilt of a
sword, which he grabbed, and continued his crawl through the tunnel. He could
also feel a wet, sticky substance tracing a thin line down one edge.

After what seemed like hours, the tunnel floor suddenly disappeared and
Jeremy tumbled to another, slightly softer, surface. Seconds later, something
furry fell on him.

"We gotta stop meeting like this!" He gasped, his lungs greedily
taking in the relatively clean air.

"Ladder!" Justin gasped. "Get...up...ladder!"

Jeremy crawled to where he thought the ladder should be and grabbed at where
he thought the lowest rung was located. He found it, took a deep breath, and,
using every bit of what little strength he had left, began pulling himself up
rung-by-rung, keeping a death-grip on the sword.

He knew he'd reached the top when he ran out of rungs and his head hit a
firm surface. He felt around with his foot for the floor and when he found it,
stepped to the right (they had all been told about the escape tunnel during
lunch on their first day with Ages) and collapsed into the waiting arms of
Martin and Theresa; who dragged him to the handcart and sat him against a
wheel.

Moments later Justin, still carrying the bundle that contained Timothy, was
brought over and sat down next to him. Mrs. Brisbee tenderly unwrapped the
blackened, ash-covered pieces of cloth to reveal the tiny cargo inside. At
first, he looked as if he was in a deep, peaceful slumber. But then he let out
a small cough and, opening one eye, asked in a weak voice, "Did we make it
yet?"

Jeremy smiled through his pain and exhaustion. "Yeah, kid." He
croaked hoarsely. "We made it."

Mrs. Brisbee then gathered Timothy in her arms and tearfully asked,
"Oh, Timothy, you foolish boy! Whatever possessed you to go back to the
house?"

He pushed aside the covering and produced the doll. "Cynthia dropped
this. I knew that she'd be sad if it'd been left behind." He said feebly.

Justin and Jeremy's jaws dropped and they stared at each other in shock for
several seconds. Then they began to roar with uncontrolled laughter, hacking
and wheezing intermittently. After they had run out of breath, Justin looked at
Jeremy with an arched eyebrow. Jeremy looked at the peculiar expression.
"What!" He demanded, panting for breath. "Y'know," Said the
fox; who was covered head-to-toe with soot and had several patches of fur
burned off, showing blistered skin and was also trying to catch his breath.
"You oughtta...get out...of the...Bard business...you make...a
pretty...decent...Hero type!

Jeremy shook his head firmly. "What?...An' give up...showbiz?...An'
besides...you...so-called...'Hero types'...got no...dental plan!"

Justin tried to laugh again, but his sides hurt so much that he could barely
chuckle.

After they had rested and caught their breaths, they pulled themselves to
their feet and Justin examined Jeremy's injuries. Unlike the few relatively
small burns that Justin had sustained, Jeremy was in much worse shape. Aside
from the burns on his feet, he had large areas of scorched feathers and
blistered skin on his comb, neck, back and wings and his tail pin-feathers had
been burned off almost to the skin. What was left of the once-elegant costume
hung in tatters from his burned and battered body. This alarmed Justin, who
took a blanket from the handcart; carefully so as not to wake the unconscious
Dr. Ages; and ordered Martin and Theresa, over the rooster's protestations, to
carefully strip him down and remove as much debris from his skin as possible.
He then told Mrs. Brisbee to wrap Jeremy in as many blankets as could be spared
from the cart and place him next to Ages.

He then began to see to The Doctor's injured leg. He could immediately see
that it had been broken just below the knee and hastily wrapped in a now
blood-soaked sheet. As quickly and delicately as possible, he removed the
improvised bandage and discarded it. He then examined the open wound by the dim
light of the overhead lantern. "How bad is it?" Mrs. Brisbee asked,
the stress and worry in her voice quite palpable. "Well; I'm no doctor,
you realize; but he doesn't seem to have damaged any majorblood vessels,
otherwise he'd still be bleeding, and he doesn't have a compound fracture, no
bone sticking out of the wound, and I can't see any major swelling..."

"Set it." came a voice that sounded as if it had come from the
grave.

"Ages, you're awake!" Justin exclaimed.

"Set the bone." He groaned. "Otherwise it'll never heal
properly."

"It's gonna hurt." Justin warned.

"It hurts now!" Said the badger through gritted teeth.

Justin felt gingerly under the leg and found the break. He then had Mrs.
Brisbee quickly lift Ages upper leg slightly and rotated the small stump of
bone upward as he pulled the lower portion toward him. The two halves slid
easily onto each other and fit perfectly.

Ages released the breath that he'd taken and moaned softly.

Martin and Theresa now returned with Jeremy, who was plucked almost bare.
Justin told Martin to find the necessary materials to fashion a splint and help
his sister fashion a cast. He then helped Mrs. Brisbee wrap Jeremy, who was
already starting to go into shock and shivering even though the night was warm,
in several blankets and laid him in the cart next to Dr. Ages. He then had
Brisbee thread a needle and expertly sewed the wound on Ages leg shut.
"It'll leave quite a scar." He told the badger. Ages harrumphed and
said, "I have plenty of those, my boy! One more's not gonna bother me.

After a cast was placed on Ages leg and both he and Jeremy were made as
comfortable as circumstance would permit, Justin went to the edge of the wood
and scouted out what was left of the house.

Not much, it turned out. In the first glimmerings of dawn, he could see that
the house had burned to its foundation. Several King’s Guards were picking
around the edges of the still-smoldering ruin and, in the distance, his sharp
eyes could see a familiar figure speaking to several other Guards.

"So, Sullivan," He snarled aloud, "You've graduated from mere
conspiracy and assassination to arson and attempted child killing. Just
remember this you worm-ridden bastard! I'll kill you if I have to rise from the
grave to do so!" He then turned and ran back to the rest of the group. He
took his place next to Mrs. Brisbee behind the pushbar of the cart and said
quietly, "Let's move." They picked up the cart and started a sad,
slow walk; followed by Theresa, who carried a freshly wrapped Timothy, and
Martin, who led a quiet, subdued Cynthia; toward whatever future awaited them.