Ethan Wright and the Curse of Silence by Kimbro West Page A

about to speak when the Oroborus opened its mouth and sank its teeth into Ethan’s forearm. Ethan needed no reminder of what it felt like, and slipped away into darkness.

Chapter 10
Auren’s Bucket
    Ethan awoke disoriented; his hands were clenching the arms of the magic chair as if to catch himself from falling. He opened his eyes to a blurry mug of wrinkles and two beady eyes staring down at him. It was MacArthur.
    “Ahhh yes, I knew I would see you again, my boy,” said MacArthur. “So you believe in Tirguard now?”
    “Yeah, but …”
    “I assume you are bringing company this time around?”
    “Yeah … but how did you …?” Ethan asked, his eyesight clearing up.
    “They come by themselves and then they bring others, I have seen it a thousand times over. Besides, it’s my business to know these kinds of things,” said MacArthur. “Please, rest over here.” He pointed to the comfy chair. Ethan made his way over and plopped down in the cozy seat. MacArthur was carrying a mug of tea in one hand and a bucket in the other; he brought the tea over to Ethan and set it on the end table.
    “Thanks,” said Ethan, in anticipation of watching the magical chair in action for the first time. MacArthur nodded and took a seat himself, placing the bucket to the side on the floor, both now staring at the chair.
    “What does it look like … you know, when someone comes through?” asked Ethan.
    “Hard to explain really — it’s best if one sees it for themselves.”
    Ethan leaned back to peer out the window. “Is it early morning here?”
    “Indeed, the sun should be coming up any moment now.”
    “But how …” stuttered Ethan.
    “Time difference,” answered MacArthur shortly, with his eyes fixated on the chair.
    Ethan remembered MacArthur describing a time difference but was still unclear as to what he meant. From his dealings with Wegnel, he thought it may be better not to pry. Ethan was much more eager to see what it would look like when Auren arrived. As he continued to stare at the chair in front of him, he noticed it was identical to the chair in Wegnel’s hut.
    MacArthur had a peek at the pack that Ethan carried with him. “Staying a while then?” he inferred.
    Ethan also looked down at his pack that had been prepared by Odin. “Yes,” he answered awkwardly. He did not know if it was the right time to reveal his true plans to MacArthur. Maybe it was best to wait for Auren to arrive before discussing anything.
    At that very moment the border around the chair started to glow softly. It was getting stronger, growing in brightness until it hurt Ethan’s eyes. Then a flash erupted from the chair. Ethan could not bear it and had to shield his eyes. Suddenly it stopped. Ethan looked up to find a figure sitting in the chair; it was much smaller than he had expected, and appeared to be female.
    “Availia?”
    “How do you know the Oroborus didn’t turn Auren into a girl?” asked Availia, smiling.
    “How did — er, what are you doin’ here?” stuttered Ethan.
    Availia stood on her toes and gave Ethan a quick hug. “I arrived at Wegnel’s right after you left, and Auren was kind enough to let ladies go first. Besides, he thought it would be funny if you were expecting him instead of me.”
    “But what are you doing here?”
    “Well, I was trying to win the youth sword competition so I could be squad leader in the Guard. But as you, Auren, and no doubt everyone else saw, I lost to stupid Marcus Grenwise — the miscreant of Whitehaven. I need to thank Auren for paddling his bottom and making him look like an idiot — you two are hilarious, remember the toads?” asked Availia, smiling.
    “But what about the Curse? How do you even know this place exists?” asked Ethan curiously.
    “Oh, the Curse of Silence? That’s over with. Besides, my family is exempt — we trade goods with Tirguard all the time. My parents wouldn’t let us talk about it outside the house, you know … with the threat of