The Time Travelers' Club: Chapter 28 -- One More Round

Chapter 28 – One More Round

Vincent came to, staring up at the ceiling of the House of Lords.  Rubbing his temples, he moaned.  His head pounded from the impact of Rose's orb.

"Ohhh.... My poor head hurts," pouted Vincent, stumblingly pushing himself up from the floor. "Damn Rose and her perfect aim."

Lying on the floor a few feet away, Quince was snoring and occasionally snorting.  Drool ran down his cheek and he mumbled something inaudible.  Staggering around, Vincent finally got his balance and kicked Quince’s upper arm with his foot. 

"Wake up, you dunce! Get up!"  Vincent kept kicking him, slowly at first then a little harder and faster.

"What… what?" said Quince, groggily mopping the drool with his sleeve.

"Get up.  We have to get out of here." Vincent rubbed the back of his neck. "What… what… where am I?"

"You're in the House of Lords in the Parliament Building.  Remember we were attacked.  We have to get going.  We're late."

Pulling themselves together, Vincent and Quince staggered out of the House of Lords and down the steps out onto the sidewalk.  The tower clock struck twelve midnight.

"That damn clock is so loud," said Vincent, covering his ears and moaning.  "My poor head hurts."

"My back 'urts," whined Quince massaging his lower back.  "Where we off to?  'Ome?  I 'ope."

"No, you idiot. This part of the plan failed miserably and we are going to be in big trouble with the Doctor. We must find that old woman and get the book."

"Can't we just forget it?" Quince yawned.  "We're probably too late anyway."

Vincent sneered at first then mock him.  "O my dear Quince.  That would be just a grand idea.   In fact, let us go right now to Dr. Herkeimer and tell him about how tired you were and how we just could not go after the book."

Quince raised his eyebrows, thinking about the Doctor's dreadful consequences.  "Well... maybe we should try to get the book."  And with that, they started walking. "Where we off to then?"

"How should I know?" snapped Vincent stopping to think outloud.  "We need to find the bookshop. Jameson has mastered veiling it. We would never get near it. I wish we could learn to veil, but the pages are missing from the book.  Jameson had also mastered transitioning, not just himself, but the whole shop."

Waiting for Vincent to announce his decision, Quince saw someone walking down the other side of the street passing under the street lamps.  He leaned a little to Vincent's left, looking past him.   It was Xavier Graff.

"'Ey Vincent." 

Vincent, in deep thought, paid no attention to him.

"Uh… 'ey Vincent."

Walking slowly up the sidewalk, Vincent was mumbling to himself.  “Where should we go next?”

Quince kept his eye on Xavier as he tugged on Vincent's coat sleeve. "Oye Vincent. I think you should know..."

"Will you please be quiet?  I am concentrating on finding a way to locate the bookshop."

 "Vinny!" Quince snapped.  That did it. Vincent glared down at Quince.

"Follow 'im and see where 'e's going," pointed Quince. Vincent turned just in time to see the back of someone disappear around the corner.

"Who was that?"

"It was Graff.  'E might be on 'is way to the bookshop now."

"Well, don’t just stand there. After him, you idiot!"

Vincent and Quince rushed to the corner just in time to see Xavier stroll into the park across the street.   They ran to catch up before they lost him."

"Which way did 'e go?"  Quince stared in the dark and shadows.  “I don’t see ‘im.”

"He's in there," said Vincent.  "You didn't see which direction he went?"

"Can't say I did… maybe 'e spirited 'imself away? You know.  Evaporated."

"You mean he transitioned out of here.  I guess that's possible but why would he wait until now? He doesn't know we are following him.  No, he must be here."  Vincent squinted trying to spy him in the dark.   "He can't be far.   You go that way and I'll go this way.  And remember, if you see him, you must follow him. And hope he's going to Jameson's."

The footpath followed along the park's lake.  Quince scurried off in one direction while Vincent traveled the stone path. The gas lampposts that lined the walks reflected on the water’s surface. Ahead of him through the trees, Vincent saw lights from Buckingham Palace at the far end of the park.

"He has to pass under one of these lamps and I should be able to spot him." Vincent dashed between trees on the other side of the path.

Strolling toward a suspension bridge spanning the narrowest part of the shallow lake, Xavier heard rapid-moving footsteps.  Glancing back, he spotted someone hurrying in his direction.  He immediately recognized Vincent's silhouette.

 "Well, well, well... If it isn't my old friend, Vincent Waldhead.  You old scoundrel," said Xavier in his cocky way, tipping his top hat.

"And my dear Mr. Graff, a midnight stroll?" responded Vincent.  "Perhaps you might take a dip in the lake.  A dip for a dip."  Somewhere a clock struck ten.

Xavier responded with his usual brazen tone.  "I would be if it were midnight.  Perhaps you need a pocket watch.  You shouldn't rely on your nocturnal instincts at your age."

Working up an orb, Vincent bounced the grape-sized orb back and forth between his palms. Vincent and Xavier had dueled numerous times before with Vincent always ending up the loser.   Their mutual distrust and dislike showed as they taunted each other.

Glancing around, Xavier started to twirl his own orb around his index fingers. "I admit it's rather odd to see you alone.  Where's your stubby little friend?"

"Oh, he might be around."

"A round what?  A round orange needing squeezing?  How about a round ball waiting to be bounced?"

Vincent snapped back.  "Ha!  Aren't you witty? And how about your friends?"

"Oh, I suspect they are celebrating the fact we have another copy of the book.  While your friend the Doctor… well… doesn't."  Xavier smiled and launched a preemptive strike.

Xavier’s bright purple baseball-sized orb spiraled toward Vincent’s head.  Vincent ducked as the whistling orb just missed his left shoulder.  It sailed across the lake, bursting into sparks against a boulder on the opposite bank.  Vincent retaliated with a well-aimed pitch of his own pale blue orb.  It slammed down next to Xavier causing him to jump sideways.

"Hey!  Careful of the new shoes.  I just bought them." shouted Xavier. 

The duel had begun. Vincent retreated behind a nearby tree.   Dashing onto the bridge, Xavier hid in the shadows of its suspension ropes.

Vincent grumbled using the tree as a shield. "Come out from wherever you're hiding, you scamp!"

"Wouldn't you like that! Go home to Mommy, baby Vinny."  Xavier loved to tease Vincent, knowing he hated that nickname. Vincent lurked in the darkness of the trees, making it difficult to spot someone dressed all in black.

"Keep my Mother out of this!"  Fuming over Xavier's taunts, Vincent sent another orb. It hit the metal post a few feet away from Xavier, exploding like a booming firework.  Fiery blue sparks flared and flashed in a multitude of directions.

Xavier retaliated by sending another orb into the line of trees.  It bounced off the side of a stone pillar, forcing Vincent to run to escape the flaming sparks.  Xavier saw him and hurled orb after orb after orb. Vincent ducked behind another tree while the orbs burst.

Orbs flew back and forth with near strikes at least once or twice.  Those hitting the lake dissolved immediately, creating a spider-web effect on the water's surface.

Xavier planned his escape.  He jumped up and sprinted across the bridge to the opposite side of the lake. Vincent rushed over the bridge before Xavier could throw any orbs.   They ran, weaving between trees. Xavier leapt behind a wooden bench and hid.  He heard Vincent’s footsteps crunching the gravel.

Vincent ran out of the park and stopped across from Buckingham Palace.  It was all aglow as carriages picked up the party-goers after an evening soiree.

Still catching his breath, Vincent wiped the sweat from his forehead with his handkerchief, then cocked his eyebrow. “It's never too late."

Xavier mistook Vincent's scheming looks.  Assuming he knew about Sam.   "I won't let you use the boy."

"Boy? What boy?"  said Vincent.

As far as Xavier knew, the Doctor knew nothing about Sam until that moment.   Vincent knew he would be hailed a hero with that information.  It was too late. Xavier had slipped. Now, he had to think fast.

"Boy?   I said nothing about a boy. Your hearing must be going. Too many orbs to the old noodle, eh, Vincent?"  Xavier concentrated on putting all his energy into his orb, the heftiest he had ever made.

Vincent knew the final moment of the showdown was at hand and began forming his own orb.  

Xavier watched and knew Vincent's orb could be powerful if he worked at them. They were going to have a clash of major proportions.

"There is a boy involved?   How much does he know?"

"Forget it," Xavier snapped.   "Don't even think you are going to get any information out of me."  And with that, they both hurled their orbs.

As the orbs spun towards their target, Quince ran out of the park straight into the line of fire.

Whump!  The two blazing orbs hit Quince, one on each side of his head.  The impact created an incredible flash of light like lighting and a rumble of thunder.  Emitting a gale force of wind, Xavier fell backwards to the ground, barely having time to grab his hat.  Vincent leaned forward, held his ground at first, but staggered back several steps.  The orb's impact thrust Quince eight feet up like a rocket launch before slamming onto the pavement and rolling to the park's edge.

Stunned, Vincent stared at Quince. Smoked curled up from Quince's lifeless body.  His face was heavily burned, charred beyond recognition.  Nothing remained of his hat.  Embers from the clothes around his neck burnt out and completely disintegrated.  His seared flesh smelled like freshly cooked meat.

Quince was dead. Vincent cried out and ran over the seared remains of his friend.  Dropping to Quince's lifeless body, he grabbed Quince's arm and they vanished.

Disbelieving what had happened, Xavier ran into the park before vanishing. He had to find Rose.  He had put Sam in danger.