by Lee Magnus
Calhoun caught up to Trey and Ant as they sprinted down a random corridor followed by an angry horde.
“We have to go back!” Trey yelled.
“What?” Ant exclaimed. He then continued, “Oh yeah! Your stuff is back there.”
“What?” Trey asked.
“Your stuff. Remember?” Ant replied.
“My stuff?” Trey couldn’t for the life of him understand what stuff Ant was talking about. All he could think about was how he could get Koltek to the Etherios. Koltek is huge and not to mention all the crazy creatures he has under his command.
“Yeah! It’s back where we were!” said Ant.
“No!” Trey yelled but thought he didn’t have time to explain that he needed to find a way to trap Koltek to save Grandpa. “My stuff? Oh yeah! I need the key to get back. It’s where the cage is?”
“Yeah!”
“Dang! Think, Trey. How do we get back?”
His eyes brightened, then said, “I have an idea!”
“I hope it’s a good one!” yelled Calhoun. “Cause we have about fifty sharp-toothed critters with long blades on our tail!”
Trey rummaged through his pack as they rounded a corner. “Up on that ledge! Hurry!”
He fished the bottle from his pack, then said, “I hope this works!” Ant gave a surprised expression, then said, “What do you mean you hope this works?”
Trey smashed the small bottle just as they leaped upon the ledge. A hazy fog surrounded them.
“Be still and quiet. They shouldn’t be able to see us,” Trey said quietly.
Shortly after, the mob rushed past without the hint of a look in their direction.
“That was brilliant, mate! What’d you do!”
“Cloaking potion. I nearly forgot I had it. I’m glad it worked.”
“You mean you didn’t know it would work?” Ant asked.
Trey huffed from the running. “No. I’ve never used it before.”
“That was your first time?” replied Ant. His face was twisted in a confused and angry expression.
“Yeah.”
“You chose that moment to try something new? When our lives were on the line?” Ant questioned.
“It worked didn’t it?”
“Why couldn’t you have tested it out before now? Didn’t think that bit of information would have helped make your decision?”
“I’m sorry! I didn’t know I’d be chased by creepy gargantuan lizards today!”
“Easy fellas,” said Calhoun. “Let’s just get moving. Good work, Trey. Do you think it’ll move with us?”
“No sense in asking Mr. Scientist over there,” Ant thumbed toward Trey. “He’s all about real life testing and doesn’t know squat about his materials.”
“Let’s all walk together and see what happens,” Trey said ignoring Ant’s cynical comment.
They began walking slowly close together. The fog didn’t follow.
“That’s it for our cover,” said Calhoun.
“What’s the plan, Ant?” Trey asked.
“I saw three imps leaving a chamber on the other side of the great room from where your cage was located.”
“Maybe that’s where my stuff is. Can you sneak over there and get it?”
“Yeah. Should be no problem.”
“You’re looking for a small green bag and a large black handled knife with a carved symbol in the handle.”
“Got it.”
He began to rush off when Calhoun stopped him, then said, “Where is the location of the cradle? Did you see it?”
“Cradle?”
Calhoun held up his hand with a forefinger and thumb in a circular shape, then said, “It’s a crystal about this size. It’s probably glowing.”
“You mean the large glowing diamond that is set in a protective cage guarded by an army of lizard things?”
“Yeah! You’ve seen it?” he said excitedly.
“Yeah. It’s in a room right in front of you when you were about to be impaled by Koltek. He rushed back and touched it just before the lizards took after us. I wouldn’t have seen it if the guards didn’t split to let him through. There’s no way we can get it. It’s too heavily secured.”
“That’s none of your concern.”
“You can’t do it alone,” said Trey. “We’ll help you retrieve it for your people.”
“It’s not your battle, young Trey. I can handle these pesky creatures myself,” replied Calhoun gallantly.
“We’ll help you get it but let’s get Trey’s stuff first. There may be other useful items in that room,” said Ant. Calhoun nodded in agreement.
Trey looked distantly in thought as they crept down the corridor back to the great room. Three lizards rounded a corner rushing toward them. Calhoun stepped forward, smashed one’s head into the ground with a clawed foot while catching another leaping. He tossed it into the wall, then grabbed the third by the tail just before it reached Trey. He slung it into the wall then threw it down the corridor behind them. Trey and Ant stood in astonishment at how quickly the big guy handled the attackers.
“Let’s keep going,” Calhoun said casually.
They arrived at the eve of a corridor just past the cage where they could remain somewhat out of sight.
“I’ll go with you,” Trey said to Ant.
Ant nodded affirmatively then said, “We’ll go around on that back wall. I think we can use those pillars for hiding if necessary.”
“You have anything else in that bag that can help us?” asked Calhoun.
“No. That’s it. All I have left is this tarp, jacket, kindling and matches.”
“That’s good. I think we can use it for a distraction later,” said Ant. “Maybe you should stay here, big guy. You’re just too large to not be seen as we creep across. We’ll enter the cradle room from the far side,” he said to Calhoun.
“Ok. Be careful. I’ll wait for your signal.”
Ant and Trey snuck to the far wall, low to the ground using the wavering shadows and pillars for cover – careful not to be seen. Several lizards scurried about like ants but took no notice of Trey and Ant’s stealthy march. They eased along the wall to the far corner where they found a wide corridor with several doors on each side.
“That one,” Ant said pointing to the second door on the right. “Let’s go.”
They closed the door behind them. The circular room was about the size of a small bedroom with no other doors. Shelves loosely organized various items along the walls.
“A small green bag, you said?”
“Yes.”
Trey rummaged through the items finding various cloaks, a jeweled goblet with intricate carved images, knives, wooden balls and helmets. “There’s no consistency here. It just looks like random stuff.”
Ant opened a long wooden trunk with tarnished metal corners, then removed several quilted blankets. “Yes! Cal will love this,” he said raising a three-foot long war hammer with a rounded blunt head on one side and a large spike on the other.
Trey smiled and said, “I hope we don’t have to use that.” He shuffled through drawers and shelves but couldn’t locate the bag.
Something bumped the door. “Quick hide!” Ant whispered.
Ant jumped in the trunk, then closed the lid. Trey rolled under the blankets just before the door swung open. Three imps entered the room chattering away in an undecipherable language. One of them jumped onto the trunk setting something on a shelf. Afterward, it turned, looking suspiciously at the lump of blankets on the floor. It questioned something to the others pointing at the heap. Another responded in a frustrated tone. He answered disappointedly, leapt from the trunk, then left with the other two.
Ant jumped from the trunk as soon as the door slammed shut. “That was close. We have to go. Now!”
“What do you mean? Could you understand what they were saying?”
“Loosely translated, the trunk imp wanted to put the blankets away but the other said they had to hurry to prepare for the party.”
“Party? That’s what it said?”
“Some sort of gathering tonight in the main room. If we don’t get out of here now, we’ll never make it. Look, Trey! On the shelf!”
Trey turned to find the little green bag on the shelf above the trunk. “That’s it and Karl’s knife!” He took the bag, held it close to him with both hands, closed his eyes, then said, “Aroushidium.” When he opened it, he found the key inside. “Yes! It’s still there!” He closed the bag again, then said the word. He placed it in a zipped pant pocket. He kept the knife in his hand.
“Let’s get back to Calhoun,” he said but what he was thinking was that this may be the only chance he has to capture Koltek and save Grandpa. He thought, I left the Etherios key at home. How will I ever rescue Grandpa? He then had another thought that brought great shame in himself, Logos didn’t say I had to bring him back alive. I sent the Keeper there when I killed him with the sword. He looked down then shook off the disconcerting shameful feeling.
Trey and Ant slunk to the entrance of the great room.
“There’s way more of them than when we crossed earlier,” Ant said as he looked upon the mass of bodies milling about the main area. “I don’t know if we can make it without being noticed.”
“I’m afraid you’re right. What do we do?”
“The cradle is straight across the room,” Ant said pointing. “We’ll have a hard time getting there in this crowd.” That corridor,” he said pointing to the left, “It opens to a space about half as big as this one. There are two corridors exiting that room besides the one through which we’ll enter. Hopefully one of them leads out.”
Trey replied sarcastically, “Hopefully? You didn’t map this plan out ahead of time?”
“Ok, wise guy. Let’s stay focused. I’m sure we can get to the room, but I’m not sure we can secure the cradle and escape. You sure you want to do this?”
“Yes. Calhoun’s people are depending on us.”
“How do you know he’s not just some crazy thug only interested in stealing the diamond to get rich?”
“I just know.”
“Yeah. He feels like a good guy to me too. Seems like he’s trying to do the right thing.”
Ant edged to where he could signal Calhoun. Once their eyes met, he pointed to himself then motioned with his hands like he was throwing something. He ducked back as a horde of lizards entered the room. Koltek boomed angrily as one looked to be reporting bad news – most likely the outcome of their escape. Koltek roared furiously then smashed a frogpig with the staff. It toppled over holding its head.
Ant peaked around the corner regaining Calhoun’s attention. He brought his hands together facing down, then raised them higher to facing up. He pointed across to the corridor leading to the cradle room. Finally, he nodded. Calhoun nodded back. He slunk back behind the wall as Koltek began to address the creepy audience.
Ant ran back to the small storage room. Trey followed. Koltek boomed a speech to the crowd. Hundreds of livid roars followed. Trey shivered then closed the door behind them, muffling the revelry.
“What are you doing?” Trey asked.
“Hand me that tube over there.”
“Trey looked to his right, then grabbed a thin metal tube.”
Ant made a small hole of loose dirt in the floor of the room. He added water and mixed until a pasty mud formed. He set the tube upright on the ground, then scraped in the paste. He compacted it with a stiff rod. He removed the wick from a candle, thinned it with a knife then soaked it in the fluid from a lantern. He emptied the contents from a pouch he retrieved from his sack so that it filled in around the wick holding it firmly in place in the tube. He scraped and compacted more mud leaving a tiny amount of the wick exposed. “Let’s go,” Ant said.
Back at the entrance as Koltek continued a lively sermon Ant said, “Give me the jacket, kindling and matches.” He removed a couple matches from the box, then placed the box and tube in the shirt with the kindling. He caught Calhoun’s eyes, then once again nodded receiving a returning nod. He lit the edge of the match box as well as the wick and tied the sleeves to the back of the jacket forming a sack. Holding the makeshift sack in one hand while counting down from five on the other so that Calhoun could see he said, “Get ready to run.”
Watching Ant’s fingers: five- four- three- two- one. Ant slung the jacket high into the air. It sailed silently across the room, turning over and over until it landed with a thud on the dirt floor in the middle of a group of spectators. The startled group began murmuring. Koltek quieted. Others joined in on the confusion the increasingly smoking distraction had caused.
Calhoun began to stealthily cross the room.
“We don’t have but a few more seconds,” Ant whispered as he ushered Calhoun to hurry.
Calhoun nearly reached them when the matches ignited sending the jacket into flames. The growing group jumped back while others joined. “Now, Trey!” Ant urged under his voice.
Trey grabbed the war hammer as they quietly hurried toward the far wall adjacent to the crowd. Calhoun cut the corner of the room drawing the attention of one of the onlookers who raised an alarm.
“It’s a diversion! They are after the lifestone!” yelled Koltek. “Stop them!”
“Run!” Calhoun screamed grabbing Trey like a running back holding a football as he caught up.
“No matter what happens, keep running!” Ant yelled.
They sprinted toward the far wall as an explosion filled the room. Many of the surprised pursuers dove to the ground in fear or scurried in the opposite direction.
“To the room!” Ant yelled to Calhoun who set Trey down and quickly bowled his way through a mass of frightened frogpigs.
Koltek bolted into the cradle room. Large numbers of giant lizards came to a unified attention throughout the mountain.
Trey and Ant easily reached the room as everyone seemed to be focused on the massive Calhoun. They stopped just inside facing a mob of creatures alertly guarding the huge diamond framed in the wall. Koltek loomed over the pulsing guard.
“I think you’re gonna need this,” Trey said holding out the heavy hammer with two hands and all his strength to Calhoun which he took effortlessly without either of them removing their eyes from the guards.
“Grab the cradle, get out, then take the passage to the left. I think that leads to the first corridor we were on which I think will take us out of here,” Ant said as he notched his bow.
Calhoun said to Trey and Ant before he stepped out in front of the armed guards which stood slightly taller than Trey, ”Stay here. I got this.”
As sweat dripped from bulging muscles he boomed, “Koltek! Return to me the Cradle and I’ll let you continue your miserable existence.”
Koltek slowly emerged from the throng. He shuffled close to Calhoun and began, “Your people are wretched – “
Like a homerun swing with lightning speed, Calhoun landed the hammer sharply against Koltek’s slimy head. The king flailed and crumpled into the corner.
Trey watched the opportunity to rescue his Grandpa play out in front of him. The demon lie helplessly in the corner while they prepared for the imminent battle. He gripped the cold handled knife and thought about what he had to do.
Calhoun then let out a massive cry, “AAAEEEEEIIIIIIIIII!” breaking Trey’s attention. The crowd responded with a thunderous unified wide-mouthed hiss – Trey jumped back reflexively.
Calhoun leaped into the group, swiftly avoided razor-edged blades and crushed the first in his path with a powerful swing of the hammer as if he were chopping a large block of wood. The hammer drove the creature’s skull through its gangly neck down to the floor causing it to rupture into an unrecognizable clump of bone, scales and blood. He then swung the deathly weapon upward catching another in the chest, launching it into the violent mass. He next swung it like a baseball bat taking out several attempting to encircle him.
He gripped the weapon in one hand then assumed an aggressive athletic st
ance. He growled before reengaging. He launched into the group yelling madly. He swung the hammer with one hand while grabbing and punching with the other. He laid out bodies everywhere he stepped.
He snatched a sharp staff from the grip of one and with a powerful slice, cut another in half at the waist – it slid apart into a pile on the bloody floor. He twisted the staff in his left hand like a half-time baton twirler then plunged it all the way through one and into another like a shish kabob. He then snatched the blade out through their side spilling their insides. He then swung to his left racking another with the hammer.
One disarmed guard chomped the back of Calhoun’s massive leg before he smashed its head with the blunt weapon spreading gooey brain all over. He shook one latched to his arm into two others. He swung and toppled the three of them down. He continued pounding with the hammer and slicing with the blade. Green bodies flew into walls and the ceiling with each crushing blow.
Ant released arrow after arrow, taking down one, sometimes two, each time.
Trey glanced at the demon in the corner and said to himself, “This is my only chance.” He focused his mind around ending Koltek as the brought the knife forward and left the battle.
He creeped close to Koltek as chaos raged in the background. Koltek was breathing shallowly. The massive creature lurched. Trey jumped back defensively but Koltek remained unconscious – barely.
The knife shook in his hand. “It’s a demon,” he said trying to convince himself what he was about to do was ok. He gripped the weapon in both hands and raised it above his head. His eyes widened, he tried to look away but didn’t want to miss his target – the area where Trey thought his heart should be.
Do demons have hearts, he thought briefly before pushing the thought away.
He closed his eyes, tensed, opened them again then closed them as he plunged the knife down until it stopped firmly.
He opened his eyes to find the knife stopped before touching the demon’s skin. Trey was confused. He panicked thinking Koltek was preventing the atrocious act. Trey tried to raise the knife up to try again but it wouldn’t budge. He pulled and lurched and tried to wiggle it free but it just stayed there, motionless not even an inch from Koltek. He released the knife which hovered for just a moment before floating to his side.