[Half/Time 01] Half Upon a Time by James Riley

taking a careful step toward the laughter.
    “No one important.” Jack could almost hear the voice smiling. “Not anymore, at any rate.”
    “That’s helpful,” Jack said, taking another step. The man—the voice was so quiet he had to guess, but it seemed more masculine than feminine—always seemed to be just a few feet away at all times, despite the fact that Jack couldn’t hear him moving around. And he should have been able to hear the man moving, considering how much sloshing Jack himself was making with every step. The giant’s spit didn’t make sneaking around very easy.
    “As I said before,” the voice said. “I
can’t
help you, Jack. Not here, anyway.”
    “Not here?” Jack asked, straining to locate the voice. “But I was really starting to get used to this place. Kinda homey, you know? We don’t have to leave, do we?”
    “You didn’t ask how I know your name,” the voice said, sounding almost proud. “You’re not curious?”
    Jack continued moving toward the voice. “I don’t especially care,” he said.
    “A stranger in the mouth of a giant knows your name, and you don’t care?”
    Jack shrugged. “Should I? It’s not exactly the most shocking part of all this.”
    The voice laughed again. “I like talking to you, Jack. You’re quite a remarkable young man.”
    “I get that a lot,” Jack said, “usually with more sarcasm.”
    “You’re keeping me talking so you can find me,” the voice said. “Clever. Would some light help?”
    “Do you
have
some light?” This stopped Jack. If the voice had light, why hadn’t he used it before Jack jumped?
    “As a matter of fact, yes.”
    And suddenly, Jack could see. The light, a sort of long, thin, whitish glow, came from a corner of the giant’s mouth. Jack quickly glanced around, taking in his surroundings, thenswallowed hard as he suddenly realized how close he’d been standing to the edge of the giant’s tongue.
    Even worse, he saw how far the skin flap he’d been hanging from hung out over the throat.
    There was
no way
he could have made that jump. It wasn’t even close to possible.
    “Is that better?” the voice said, suddenly behind him, and Jack whirled around. A man leaned casually against the wall of the giant’s mouth, dressed in black armor from head to foot, a midnight-blue cloak covering the armor and the man’s head. On the cloak, right at the man’s chest, was a silver circle within a silver oval.
    It was a symbol even a child would have recognized, from bedtime stories and nightmares. It was a symbol that grown men talked about in quiet tones, afraid they’d be heard. It was a symbol that made Jack’s blood run cold at the very sight of it.
    It was the symbol of the Wicked Queen’s inner circle, her cruelest, most vicious knights.
    It was the symbol of the Eyes.

Chapter 14
    “Oh,
fantastic
,” Jack said, backing away from the Eye despite his close proximity to the throat.
    The Eye stood up and took a step toward Jack. “Is there a problem?”
    “You really think I don’t recognize that?” Jack said, pointing at the man’s chest.
    From underneath the hood, Jack could just make out the man’s wry grin. “So you’ve heard of us?” the man said. “Still, you have nothing to fear. I’m a knight, nothing more.”
    “You’re no knight,” Jack said, his eyes narrowing in disgust. “You’re one of them. You’re an
Eye
.”
    “That’s not exactly …,” the man started, then sighed.“This is hardly the time for explanations. You’re not safe here.”
    Jack glared at him. “That’s the first intelligent thing you’ve said.” He glanced around, looking for something to use against the Eye. Was it too much to ask for a toothpick or something?
    “You’re looking for a weapon?” The man gestured toward the light. “Here, take mine.”
    Jack glanced quickly at the light, then stopped and stared. A long, thin piece of glass pierced the giant’s mouth in the corner. Inside that glass swirled