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

wouldn’t be the first time.”
    Jack just stared at the knight. “No one likes cryptic people,” he said finally. “Either way, I’m leaving and you’re staying. I don’t know how you got trapped here, but the more I think about it, the more I think you and the giant deserve each other.”
    The knight tilted his head again. “As you wish.”
    Jack aimed the sword at the knight and slowly walked toward the front of the giant’s mouth. The knight didn’t move, which helped Jack’s confidence a bit, so he sloshed his way over to the giant’s teeth, only stopping when the knight spoke.
    “I’ll see you soon, Jack,” the Eye said softly.
    Jack glared at him for a minute, then shook his head. “You better hope not,” he said, trying to sound dangerous but failing miserably. Giving up on winning that fight, Jack instead flipped the sword around in his hand to hold it with the point facing downward.
    Then he stabbed the sword right into the giant’s tongue, probably the most sensitive part of the giant’s entire body.
    Immediately, the giant sucked in an enormous breath, sending Jack flying off his feet and into the giant’s throat. He had just enough time to thrust the sword back in its scabbard and throw that over his shoulder before the air flow reversed, and the giantlet out a bellow of pain louder than anything Jack had heard in his entire life.
    The force of the scream sent Jack flying past the knight and straight out the giant’s gaping mouth. The knight, however, never moved. As powerful as the giant’s scream was, it didn’t even ruffle the man’s cloak.
    “Yes,” the knight said as the giant’s scream died down. “I’ll see you soon.”
    And then the Eye disappeared into thin air.

Chapter 15
    Jack wanted to scream, but he couldn’t find the air when he saw how high he was. This was the second time he’d been dropped from this height; how many times could one person take the same fall? And now, he didn’t even have a feather to not help. Not that the giant would save him this time either, given that the monster was busy yelling loudly over the pain in his tongue.
    As Jack dropped toward the trees he took comfort in knowing that at least the knight hadn’t been blown out with him. Hopefully, the man had ended up digested in the giant’s stomach, but even if not, he was still trapped. Scant comfort, sure, but hurtling to his death, Jack would take what he could get.
    And then, for the second time that day, something stopped Jack’s fall. Again, his stomach fell down around his toes, and before he really understood what was happening, he was swung up and over what appeared to be a broomstick, right behind someone with both blond and blue hair.
    The broomstick made a quick circle, banking in midair, and shot back toward the giant. The monster roared furiously and made a grab for them, but May dropped the broomstick down several feet, angling them just beneath the giant’s hand. A second later, they were out of the giant’s reach, circling around and around, dropping with each turn, until the broomstick bumped to a stop at the monster’s feet.
    Jack immediately leapt off the broomstick: His first thought was that the giant would try to crush them with his feet. However, the monstrous legs just twitched back and forth a bit, nothing more. The giant’s feet never even left the ground.
    “What—,” Jack started to say, then lost all semblance of coherence as May tackled him, squeezing the air out of his lungs.
    “I was so
scared
, you idiot!” she screamed as she hugged him. “What were you thinking, dropping off the broomstick like that!” She pulled away and stared at him angrily, despite the huge grin on her face. “Then you went and got
eaten
! What’s
that
about?!”
    Jack, meanwhile, moved from surprised thankfulness to confused wonder. “I … huh?” he asked intelligently.
    “Come on!” May said, yanking on his arm hard enough to spin Jack around. “You have to meet