Adventures of I. Firebrace: The Battle in the Underground

By Ecarg Uahc

We live in the world of Ordinary Time. Ordinary things happen in ordinary ways to ordinary people but Spryce Winthrow is far from ordinary. Spryce is specialan attribute he is happy to have when he finds himself lost and wandering in the secret world of the Underground. There, he meets Ibrahm Firebrace; very quickly, Spryces ordinary life becomes extraordinary.

Firebrace is the powerful, legendary leader of the hounds. For years, the hounds have fought back against the evil Wretchens and their army of servant Sleapers. Unluckily, though, they now find themselves one soldier short. Spryce could stand in, but he must decide if he is willing to risk his life for the Underground. When secrets begin to surface, though, his decision is made.

As Spryce prepares to fight, he comes to realize there is more to this battle than meets the eye. The hounds search for the lost city of Citium to bring an end to the war, but the Wretchens are up to somethingsomething that could prove the end of Spryce and his world. Is it possible that a battle in the Underground could cause chaos in Ordinary Time? If so, is it possible for Spryce to stop impending doom, before its too late?

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Mar 23, 2011
• ISBN: 9781450297875

Ecarg Uahc

Ecarg Uahc has a BA in political science from York University and an LLB from Windsor Law School. She is an investigator and has traveled extensively around the world. She currently lives in Toronto, Canada, where she is working on her next novel in the Firebrace series.

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Contents

Prologue

Prisoner’s Interrogation

The Seventh Guard

The Discovery

Bladder Wrack Juice

The Sleaper

Paramore

Rubellius

Echoes in the Night

Inner Awakening

The Brethren

The Mover

Cave of the Troglodytes

Forbidden Land of the Safarians

The Byway

Kin

I. Firebrace

Max Bringle

Restoration

Back in Ordinary Time

To my family and friends, for your understanding.

He is a man of courage who does not run away, but remains at his post and fights against the enemy.

—Socrates

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hunger, noun

Definition:

1. A condition stemming from prolonged absence of food

2. The sensation of physical pain, weakness, or withdrawal associated with the cessation of bladder wrack juice

3. A strong feeling or desire for something

(Dictionary found in the library at Rib Cage)

Prologue

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Mrs. Bodelia Sorely tapped the ruler against her hand. As headmistress of the School for the Unsortable Sorts, she had little patience for unruly boys.

Well? she said. We don’t have all day.

I walked toward the front of the class and held my breath as I passed by her desk. Mrs. Sorely always smelled of mothballs.

Don’t drag your feet, she said. She began tapping her nails on the wooden desk.

This was the part I dreaded the most. I did not like speaking in front of the class. I scanned the room of students. Like me, they were all here for a reason. No one came to the School for the Unsortable Sorts on account of good behavior. This school was built for difficult students or rather, students who were difficult. It was the perfect place for people like pimple-faced Neuman Sorely. No other school would admit him. Since he was Mrs. Sorely’s son, the school had no choice but to take him.

Neuman saw me at the front of the class and mouthed, Loser. He put his fingers in his mouth and stuck his tongue out at me. His mother did not notice. She never noticed anything bad when it came to her son.

Next to Neuman was his buddy, Fester Lipbalm. He was half the size of Neuman, and his two front teeth were missing. He looked at me with an evil grin and began making sounds with his right hand in his underarm. Sitting beside him and directly behind my desk was his brother, Veryl Lipbalm. He was two years older than Fester, but he had never made it past the fifth grade. Veryl looked like he was born to be a bully. His head was disproportionately larger than the rest of his body, and his right hand resembled a demolition ball. At the very back of the class was Anton Yulov. No one knew anything about him. He kept to himself and never spoke to anyone. Mrs. Sorely was convinced that he was a mute. Most of the time, the class pretended that he wasn’t even there. He didn’t seem to mind.

It looks like it will be another F for you, said Mrs. Sorely. She began to scribble something down in her notebook.

No, please, I said. I’ll read my assignment out loud.

Mrs. Sorely put down her pen and lowered her glasses. I cleared my throat and looked up at the class.

My paper is about the Stoics, I said. They were known as the great thinkers and philosophers of their time. They believed that knowledge and reason are the path to the good life. Some called them men of stone because they did not exhibit emotions. They were fearless, noble, and brave. And they bowed to no one, least of all their enemies …

I stopped talking when Mrs. Sorely reached out and grabbed the paper from my hands.

Unacceptable, she said. She crumpled the paper in front of me. I could see Neuman mouthing the word loser again.

Mrs. Sorely took out her red pen and marked the failing grade on my paper.

But you asked me to read the assignment out loud, I said.

Mrs. Sorely took off her glasses. There was a mole between her eyes that resembled a third eye. Will someone read out what my instructions to the class were yesterday? she said.

The students kept their heads down. Mrs. Sorely took out her attendance sheet and ran her fingers down the list.

Yuri Dufus, she said. Please repeat what my instructions were to the class.

A boy wearing a T-shirt with the name of a heavy metal rock band stood up. He punched his fist into his hand and cast an evil eye at the students in the room who were mocking his name.

The assignment was to write a page about people in our lives who have influenced us, he said. May I sit down now?

Mrs. Sorely nodded and turned her attention to me.

The Stoics no longer exist, she said. The next time I ask you to do an assignment, I expect you to write about the living—not about ancient philosophers from over two thousand years ago.

I knew it was pointless to argue with her. I went back to my desk and slunk down in my seat. Someone had left a note on my desk:

You’ll wish you were a man of stone once we’r thruw threw with you.

Say your prayrs tonite. There won’t be a 2morrow.

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The letter was clearly a threat. Though it was unsigned, I knew who was behind it. Only one person in class had failed every spelling test so far. It was Neuman Sorely.

I raised my hand. Mrs. Sorely, I said.

I suddenly felt someone kick the back of my chair. It was Fester’s brother, Veryl. I turned to face him, and he made a cutting motion with his hand across his neck.

Don’t even think about it, he whispered.

Mrs. Sorely came by my desk. Yes, what is it? she asked.

I kept my head down. Nothing, I replied. It’s not like she would have believed me anyway.

Half-hour detention, said Mrs. Sorely. She scribbled something on her notepad and returned to her desk. Mrs. Sorely was a disciplinarian, all right. She never missed an opportunity to impose her rule of law, at least on me.

When class finally ended, Neuman and the Lipbalm brothers surrounded me.

They say your father’s in the army, said Veryl. I wonder if he’s as big a wimp as you are.

They all laughed.

Meet us in the gym after dinner tonight, said Veryl. You and Neuman will duke it out. If you win, we’ll leave you alone, simple as that. If you lose … He gestured his hands in a twisting motion. Need I say more?

Neuman grinned and followed the others out of the classroom.

I stayed behind for detention. Only one other person was in there. It was Anton, the boy seated at the far back of the class. I wondered why he was in there.

When detention was over, Mrs. Sorely got up and left without saying a word. That’s when I heard someone talking.

I hope you don’t plan on sticking around.

I spun around and saw Anton staring back at me. His hair was brushed over his face, and there were dark shadows under his eyes. It was the first time I had heard him speak. His accent was eastern European.

I didn’t know you could talk, I said.

Anton was expressionless. There is a difference between not being able to talk and choosing not to, he replied. Anyway, I liked your speech.

I bit my lip. Thanks, I said.

Anton leaned in. I heard Fester talking to his brother in the cafeteria during lunch today. They’re going to turn you into mincemeat, he said. The toothless one said something about a secret weapon. If I were you, I’d get out of here.

You seem to have overheard a lot, I said.

People think I’m mute, but that doesn’t mean I’m deaf.

Thanks for telling me, I mumbled. Out of curiosity, what were you in detention for?

Anton shrugged. I wasn’t in for anything. I just didn’t have any other place to be.

I gave him a funny look. When we left the classroom, Anton wished me luck and headed off in the direction of the cafeteria. I decided to head downstairs to the library in the basement. The library was my sanctuary in this place; it was my home away from home. No one ever went there except for me.

How is young Spryce doing today? asked Max Bringle, the custodian of the library. He was a small man who looked like he had spent his whole life down there. I wondered if he had ever seen the light of day.

It’s getting worse, I said.

I had confided in Max about the daily torment inflicted upon me by Neuman and his gang of thugs.