by Brandon Mull
I'm not too keen about this pattern, Warren said darkly.
Moving in close, he began stabbing the churning mass of fur
and bone and organs. With each wound it seemed to grow,
and so he retreated to let the process finish.
The reborn black cat no longer looked like a domestic
animal. Not only was it much too big, the paws were proportionately
larger, with crueler claws, and the ears were now
tufted like those of a lynx. Still entirely black, the lynx let
out a fierce yowl, showing intimidating teeth.
Don't kill it again, Kendra said. It will keep getting
worse.
Then we will never get the artifact, Warren said. The
cat is the vault, and the sword and the spear remain the
keys. To get the artifact, we must defeat all of its
incarnations. The black lynx crouched, eyeing Warren cunningly.
When Warren feinted forward, the lynx did not
flinch.
Staying low, the lynx prowled toward Warren, as if
stalking a bird. Warren stood ready, sword poised. A dark
blur, the lynx rushed at him, low and silent. The sword
flashed, opening a gash, but the lynx got through, clawing
and biting furiously at Warren's pant leg. A fierce return
stroke ended the flurry of claws. The lynx lay motionless.
Fast, Warren complained, limping away, blood dripping
from his tattered pant leg.
Did it hurt you bad? Kendra asked.
Surface wounds. My pants got the worst of it, Warren
said. But it got to me. I'm not sure I like what that says
about my reflexes. The hide of the carcass began to bulge.
Would the spear be better? Kendra asked. You could
stab it before it gets close.
Maybe, Warren said. Trade me. He crossed to her
and they exchanged weapons.
You're limping, she said.
It's a little tender, he said. I'll hold up.
The lynx yowled, a heartier, more powerful sound. As it
stood on all fours, its head was higher than the bandage on
Warren's stomach. Big cat, Kendra said.
Here, kitty, kitty, Warren coaxed, edging toward it
with the spear. The beefed-up lynx began pacing, staying out
of range, moving with sure grace, hunting for an opening.
The lynx darted at Warren and then pulled back. It faked a
second charge, and Warren danced backwards.
Why am I starting to feel more and more like a mouse?
Warren complained. He lunged forward, thrusting with the
spear, but the lynx sprang to one side and received only a
glancing blow before streaking toward Warren, low and
impossibly quick, inside the reach of the spear. Warren
jumped high into the air.
The lynx instantly wheeled around and raced toward
Kendra. Invisible or not, the animal knew her exact location.
She reversed the rod and shot upwards, coming to a
stop fifty feet above the floor. After halting her ascent,
Kendra did not turn invisible. It was impossible to reach a
complete standstill in the air. No matter how she held the
rod, there was always a slight drifting that apparently prevented
the glove from working. Warren hovered about
twenty feet below her, glaring at the lynx. He glanced up at
Kendra, and then his eyes fixed on something beyond her.
We've got company, he said.
Kendra looked up and saw Vanessa and Errol gliding
down from the catwalk. What do we do? Kendra asked.
Swinging the spear to ward off the lynx, Warren dropped
to the ground and jumped at an angle that let him float near
to Kendra. Give me the sword, he said.
I propose a truce, Vanessa called down to them airily,
as if it were all a game. Kendra handed Warren the sword.
He gave her the spear. The exchange caused them to slowly
drift apart.
A convenient idea, since we have the weapons,
Warren growled.
How many times have you slain the guardian? Vanessa
asked.
None of your business, Warren said. Come no closer.
She stopped, hovering with Errol beside her. Errol's suit
was torn. One of his eyes was purple and swollen shut, and
there were scratches on his cheeks.
You do not look well, Warren, Vanessa said.
Neither does your friend, he replied.
I think you two could use some assistance, Vanessa
said.
What got him? Warren asked. The hobgoblin?
Vanessa smiled. He was injured before we entered the
tower.
I picked up a bar of gold on the back porch, Errol said.
Apparently it was stolen from a troll. He took it back very
impolitely after we left the yard.
Kendra covered her mouth to hide her laughter. Errol
glared at her. Your real name is Christopher Vogel? Kendra
asked.
I have many names, he said stiffly. My parents gave
me that one.
We elected to fight the Cyclops, Vanessa said. Lots of
bare skin for my darts. And we deduced from the ax and the
ape not to enter the nearby chamber armed. But this cat may
pose a problem. How many times has it died? We've seen
once.
You better turn around and clear out of here, Warren
said.
I hope you aren't counting on other help, Vanessa said.
We found Tanu in the woods and took care of him. He will
be asleep until this time tomorrow.
I'm surprised you came in person, Kendra said bitterly.
Where finesse is required, I prefer my own body,
Vanessa said.
We have no intention of harming anyone, Errol said.
Kendra, we just want to take the artifact and leave all of
you in peace. This can still end well for you and your family.
With a flick of his wrist, Warren soared up to their level.
Sorry if we're out of reach, Vanessa said.
Although hovering at the same height, they were separated
by a good distance. Either you will depart, or I will
emphatically insist, Warren said, raising the sword
menacingly.
We could fight, Errol said calmly. But trust me, brave
as she may be, it would not take much for me to wrest that
lance from the girl. Errol pushed off of Vanessa so that both
of them drifted over to opposite walls. They landed softly
against the walls, staying near enough to control their direction
by pushing off.
A contest between us will end in injuries none of us can
afford, Vanessa said. Why not first slay the beast together?
Because I don't want to be stabbed in the back,
Warren said.
You don't imagine you can walk out of here without the
artifact? Errol asked. There are always safeguards against
such actions.
I'm well aware, Warren said. I can handle the cat.
How many times have you killed the beast? Vanessa
persisted.
Three times, Warren said.
So this is its fourth life, Errol said. Hang me if it has
less than nine.
At your best, uninjured, this guardian is too much for
you or any single person, Vanessa said. All together we
may have a chance.
I will not arm you, Warren s
aid.
Vanessa nodded at Errol. Both of them dropped rapidly
along the wall until they were level with Kendra. Warren
fell with them, but without a way to control his lateral
movement, he could not intervene. Vanessa and Errol
kicked off the wall, floating toward Kendra. She tilted the
rod, floating upwards, and Vanessa and Errol adjusted to
float upwards with her.
They were approaching her from opposite directions. At
best she could poke one of them with the spear. Warren had
lowered himself almost to the ground, but the fierce lynx
was keeping him from touching down. He swatted at it with
the sword. In a panic, with Vanessa and Errol closing in,
Kendra tossed the spear toward Warren, yelling, Catch!
The spear turned end over end and narrowly missed
piercing Warren before it clanged to the floor beside the
lynx. Yowling, the overgrown cat guarded the spear, fangs
bared. Vanessa and Errol plunged to the ground in pursuit of
the fallen weapon. Errol struck the floor much harder than
he must have intended, and he crumpled. Vanessa landed
perfectly.
It was claw against sword as Warren lowered himself
toward the snapping, hissing lynx. Vanessa dashed toward
the lynx across the floor. Kendra saw a little white stick fly
by her on its way back to the top of the room, and realized
Errol had dropped his rod.
With Vanessa approaching from behind and Warren
slicing it from above, the lynx darted away, ignoring Vanessa
and racing toward Errol, who was rising shakily. Vanessa
dove and grabbed the spear at the same time as Warren.
Errol screamed, hobbling hopelessly away from the charging
lynx, favoring his right leg.
Warren released the spear and jumped toward where the
lynx was about to converge with Errol. Vanessa sprinted
across the floor. The lynx sprang, and Errol vanished, reappearing
a few feet off to one side. The lynx landed and
swerved to stay after Errol. Spreading his hands, backing
away, Errol create a puff of smoke and a blazing shower of
sparks. As the undaunted lynx sprang through the fiery flash,
Errol raised his arms defensively. The heavy lynx knocked
Errol down and began mauling his forearm, shaking and
dragging him. Vanessa arrived before Warren and buried the
spear deep into the animal's side. Warren alighted beside her
and decapitated the lynx.
Kendra looked on from above in hypnotized horror. She
had no love for Errol, but watching anyone get mauled like
that was a terrible thing. It all happened so quickly! Smoke
curled up from where sparks had singed the lynx.
Hurry, get him another gravity stick, Vanessa cried.
You can only hold one at a time, Warren said, stepping
toward her.
Then back off! Vanessa panted, holding up the spear
defensively. Warren soared into the air. The dead lynx was
churning. The severed head was melting. Vanessa glanced
upwards, as if considering racing for a stick after all, then
looked at the roiling corpse. Errol, get up, she commanded.
Dazed, the injured magician rose, standing on one leg,
his tattered sleeve a bloody ruin. On my back, she said,
turning.
He climbed up piggyback and Vanessa bounded into the
air. She rose about twenty feet before slowing, stopping, and
drifting back toward the ground. The black tip of the rod
was pointed straight down, but still she descended. The
revived cat roared. The head was shaped differently, and the
body was much more muscular. The cat was now a panther.
Errol's bigger than her, Warren whispered to Kendra.
Gravity is pulling him down and her up, but he's heavier.
Warren compressed his lips. Hand him the rod! he
shouted.
Vanessa, struggling, either didn't hear or didn't care. Let
go of me! she demanded. Errol clung to her desperately.
Don't look, Warren said.
Kendra closed her eyes.
The panther leaped, claws raking Errol and dragging
both him and Vanessa to the floor. Errol lost his hold, and
Vanessa took off like a missile, escaping unscathed as the
panther finished her partner.
Vanessa shot past Warren and Kendra, then slowed and
descended, hovering not far from them. I have the spear;
you have the sword, she said, panting, her voice slightly
unsteady. The guardian probably has several more lives.
How about that truce?
Why did you betray us? Kendra accused.
One day those I serve will rule all, Vanessa said. I do
no more harm than I must. At present, our needs align. We
must defeat, the guardian to escape this place, and neither of
us will succeed alone.
And once we have the artifact? Warren asked.
We'll be fortunate to be alive and to have reached the
next crossroads, Vanessa said. I can give you no further
assurances.
Defeating this guardian will be no small task, Warren
admitted. What do you say, Kendra?
Two sets of eyes were on Kendra. I don't trust her.
A little late for that, Vanessa said.
You were supposed to be my teacher and my friend,
Kendra said. I really liked you.
Vanessa grinned. Of course you liked me. In the spirit
of teaching, here's a final piece of instruction. I used the
same approach when we met as Errol did. I rescued you from
a supposed threat in order to build trust. Of course, I helped
set up the threat. I visited your town the night before the
kobold showed up at your school and bit your homeroom
teacher while she slept. Later, the kobold put a tack on her
chair to put her to sleep, then I took over and gave you quite
a scare.
That was you? Kendra said.
We had to make sure you had ample reason to accept
Errol's help. And then, once you realized Errol was a threat,
I came to your rescue.
What happened to Case? Kendra asked.
The kobold? He's off on some new mission, I presume.
His purpose was merely to alarm you.
Is Mrs. Price all right?
She'll be fine, I'm sure, Vanessa said. We meant her
no harm. She was a means to an end.
I'm not sure I get the moral of this lesson, Warren said.
Don't trust people who help you?
More like, be careful who you trust, Vanessa said.
And don't cross the Society. We're always a step ahead.
So we shouldn't team up, Kendra said.
You have no other choice, Vanessa laughed darkly.
Neither do I. None of us can flee. If we fight each other,
none of us will leave here alive. You can't afford to pass up
my help defeating the guardian. Nor can I afford to pass up
yours. And, albino or not, Warren is looking paler by the
minute.
Kendra looked down at the panther. She glanced at
Warren. What do you think?
He sighed. Honestly, we'd better work with her to kill
the cat. Even with a combined effort, it will be a challenge.
Anything good in the pouch? Vanessa asked.
Kendra said.
I'm not sure I could be much help discerning potions,
Vanessa said. She looked at Warren. Your shirt is soaked.
The shirt bound to his abdomen was indeed drenched in
blood. His naked chest was bathed in sweat. I'm all right.
Better than Christopher.
I'm quite good with a sword, Vanessa said.
I can hold my own, Warren replied.
Fair enough, finders keepers, she said. Patience is our
best weapon. If we do this right, we can dispatch it without
ever touching the ground.
You be our eyes, Kendra, Warren said, lowering himself.
Vanessa sank toward the floor as well. Kendra hovered,
watching the baleful panther prowl below, gazing up at the
flying people.
Vanessa and Warren floated apart from one another, dipping
low enough to bait and tease the panther, rising out of
reach when it leaped up at them. Vanessa finally got into a
good position and hurled the spear into the panther's ribs.
As the panther moved around, the spear eventually dislodged.
Warren lured the panther away, and Vanessa
retrieved the weapon.
They continued baiting the panther until Vanessa harpooned
it again. Soon the animal collapsed, and Warren finished
it with the sword. Sharp blade, Vanessa remarked.
It cuts deep.
Weapons ready, they hovered above the floor, watching
as the panther emerged from its own corpse, now the size of
a tiger. Before long the glossy black coat had been punctured
multiple times with the spear, and the great beast finally
succumbed.
You're not doing much with that sword, Vanessa
commented.
I'll use it when the time comes, Warren said.
Here comes the seventh life, Vanessa said.
This time, with a mighty roar that echoed through the
tall room, the panther was reincarnated standing as tall as a
horse, with dagger claws and saber-toothed fangs. Four
writhing serpents, black with red markings, grew out of its
powerful shoulders.
Now, that's a cat, Warren said.
Warren and Vanessa started baiting the huge panther,
but it did not come at them. Instead, it crouched near the
center of the room, keeping the pedestal between itself and
Vanessa. They ventured lower and lower trying to tempt the
panther to break cover.
Finally, with terrifying suddenness, the panther dashed
at Warren and vaulted alarmingly high. Warren fell upwards