Gabriel Stone and the Wrath of the Solarians

by Shannon Duffy

  The sky had turned overcast, and even the twinkle in the once-glimmering mountains had dulled. Maybe even they realized their empress had been kidnapped. A light mist filmed Gabriel’s face. He tugged up his hood as they headed up a hill and into a wooded area. It looked different than anywhere they’d been in Valta before, and Gabriel realized they were in new territory.

  Critters ambled through the brush and birds rustled in the trees, making the forest come alive. Fog shimmied along the wooded path, circling their feet, sly as a snake. The smell of pine and damp air filled Gabriel’s nose, and in the distance, the crashing of waves sounded out.

  Gabriel thought about how completely freaked Princess Evangeline must be. She was younger than him, and even though she lived in Valta and had to be used to some of the crazy stuff that happened there, she still seemed so … innocent.

  “How much farther, Finley?” Brent asked, after they’d walked a couple more hours.

  Gabriel had been wondering the same thing. He wished they all had super-sonic speed so they could run the whole way.

  Finley stopped. His head snapped up. “Not far, but look,” he said, lifting a pointer finger, his brown eyes wide. “Smoke.”

  Gabriel looked in the direction Finley pointed. At first he didn’t see anything. Then, his gaze landed on a column of smoke lifting into the air, twisting above the tree line. Gabriel thought it could be more fog, but when he noticed the black ash twirling into the white film, he realized Finley was right.

  “Fire!” Finley squealed, a worried look spreading over his face. “And Gunner home be that way.”

  “Are you serious?” Piper asked. “Do you think the Gunner guy’s okay?”

  Before Finley could answer, a tall, furry man charged out of the forest. He looked more like a beast than a man with thick white fur covering his body. Matching hairy feet stuck out from the end of blue overalls.

  Terror spiked Gabriel’s veins.

  “Fire!” the creature yelled, between coughing and wheezing.

  “Gunner!” Finley called to him.

  Gabriel sighed in relief that the huge beast running toward them wasn’t a threat. But behind Gunner, the real danger crackled. The black ash had turned into red, popping, sizzling flames that licked at the sky. The fire had ignited with the wind, burning down the brush. If they didn’t hurry, they’d be caught up in the inferno, too.

  Gunner directed them away from the blaze. They dashed through the forest, the sky drizzling and misting his skin. But it would take a downpour to put out the flames, not just a stupid trickle of raindrops. Branches and twigs cracked under their shoes as they ran, the sound of their panting and Finley’s squeals mixed with the hissing of the fire.

  “Quiet, Finley b’ye,” Gunner warned. “You’ll draw da locusts out now da once. But if we’re quiet, dey’ll stay back.”

  “Now da once?” Gabriel asked, his eyebrows raised.

  Gunner nodded, but kept jogging. “Yep. I mean you’ll draw dem out now in a minute.”

  Gabriel rushed forward, hopped a fallen log, and kept stride with the huge, white beast-man. He eyed Gunner’s white fur, now covered in soot. “And you said if we’re quiet, they’ll stay back. So, the locusts are back there?” Gabriel asked him, trying to decipher the beast’s accent. “Is that what you mean?”

  Gunner slowed to a jog, his feet pounding the ground. Piper raced past them. “Yes, dey attacked me cattle,” Gunner said. “Den da venom caught me crops on fire.”

  Piper came to a sudden stop up ahead, the high winds whipping her hair away from her face. “Dead end,” she said, stomping the ground in frustration.

  Gabriel zipped up beside her to the edge of a cliff. He stared at the white-tipped waves below them. It had to be about a twenty-foot drop to the ocean. Off to the right, a large, white boat was anchored at sea.

  Gabriel whipped his head around, staring at Finley. “Ah, crap. We need to jump, don’t we?” he asked, as the growing fire crackled louder behind them.

  “Jump?” Piper croaked. “Are you nuts?” She spun around to face Gabriel and planted both hands on her hips.

  Brent skidded to a stop beside them, dirt billowing up at his feet. He scanned the area, taking everything in. “Gabe’s right. We’ll have to jump and swim to that boat.” He pointed to the ship, its rainbow-striped sails flapping wildly in the wind.

  Finley drew a shaky breath. “But Finley no swim.”

  Gunner stepped forward, towering over them. “Ya ‘ave to try, Finley. I rushed out to meet cha to bring the lot of ya to me boat.” His eyes, that reminded Gabriel of huge blueberries, stared at Finley. “Look, me friend, I ‘ave to git back and help put out dem der flames. I was supposed to take ya in fer the night, but den dis happened.” He frowned and folded his muscular arms over his chest. “For dat I’m sorry, but dat down der is me boat.” He nodded in the direction of the sailboat anchored in the ocean. “Lord of da Rock, I calls er. She be a sturdy vessel and she’s got some goodies fer ya to eat. Elp yerself, and ders a cabin in da belly to git yer snore on. Spend da night, me friends, den head round da side of da mountain der.” He pointed a long, furry finger to the right where the swell of the mountain curved out into the ocean. “You’ll not be far from da Tandem Wood by den, I tell ya.”

  Piper glanced at Gabriel from the corner of her eye and lifted a brow. Not only did the dude look funny, but the way he talked was way different than anything Gabriel had ever heard. Even though it was different … it was kinda cool … and he sounded nice. And thankfully, he seemed friendly. Problem was, they weren’t going to the Tandem Wood anymore.

  “But we no go to Wood,” Finley said, as if reading Gabriel’s mind. He bounced from foot to foot. “We go to human land.”

  “Ericville?” Gunner asked, clasping his hands around the straps of his overalls. With no shirt on, his white mounds of fur puffed out from the sides. “Ya don’t say, b’ye.”

  Finley nodded, looking worried.

  “Well, nerry problem,” Gunner said, which Gabriel took to mean, “no problem.” Except, Gunner’s face didn’t match his words. “But word’s come dat fires ‘ave broken out along Parma too, I ‘ates to say. You’ll ‘ave to go by way of da Crimson Lake.”

  Finley continued to bounce, as if fire had crept under his feet.

  Something told Gabriel that going by way of Crimson Lake was anything but no problem.

  Snap!

  Gabriel glanced back. The fire sizzled, popped, and scorched the skyline, coming closer—dangerously close. The only good news was the drizzling sky finally looked like it was about to downpour. But that wasn’t gonna help them right then.

  Eying Brent, Gabriel jerked his chin toward the ocean. Brent nodded once in silent agreement. Gabriel latched onto Finley’s wrist and Brent grabbed Piper’s hand.

  “Sucks to be us,” Gabriel said.

  Then they were free-falling toward the ocean, the whistling of the brisk wind skating past their faces, the deep, dark sea looming closer by the second.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  They plunged into the crisp, angry ocean with a loud splash and sank several feet under the dark water. Gripping Finley’s wrist, Gabriel kicked his legs hard, springing them both to the top with a huge splash.

  Panic filled Finley’s brown eyes as they resurfaced.

  “It’s okay, Finley,” Gabriel said, treading water and trying to keep their heads above the waves. He shifted the monkey to his back as the cold seawater lapped around his shoulders. The salty water sprayed up, stinging his lips and eyes. “Hang on to my neck,” he said before coughing out a mouthful of water. “I can move faster if I have both of my arms.”

  A few seconds later, Brent’s and Piper’s heads popped up several feet apart. Gabriel reminded himself of the years of swimming lessons they’d all taken together. Piper was only two badges short of lifeguard status. They had to be able to make it. But as he looked to the boat bobbing and tilting in the turbulent surf about thirty feet away, he wasn’t so sure. If t
he ocean hadn’t been so choppy, he wouldn’t have been worried, but thirty feet in a crazy current was a whole different story.

  “Hurry to the boat!” Gabriel shouted.

  Brent did the back crawl and Piper’s arms pounded into the water like an Olympic pro. Gabriel flung his arms one after the other in the front crawl, his arms and legs whipping through the water as Finley squealed on his back, nearly choking him with his death grip.

  Gabriel flew through the water as swift as a shark. He moved so fast that he had to stop short so he didn’t knock into the side of the ship. “Whoa,” he said, looking up at the vessel. The sailboat had to be about sixty feet long. On the port side, against the white hull, its name was painted in a rainbow of colors to match the massive flapping sails: Lord of the Rock.

  Gabriel grabbed the metal ladder attached to the back end of the boat. “Hop off, Finley.”

  Before he had the words out, Finley had scampered up the ladder and jumped onto the deck with a high-pitched squeal. “Me no like water!”

  “I know, Fin. But don’t worry. We’re okay now.” Gabriel whipped around searching for Brent and Piper. At first he didn’t see them, but then, through the rolling green waves, he spotted them. Piper approached the ladder first. Gabriel reached his hand out. “You okay?”

  She yanked herself onto the first step, brushing his hand away. “I’m good.”

  Gabriel searched the ocean for Brent again. Just before he was about to dive back in to look for him, Gabriel spotted his friend. Brent had turned his hands into paddles, his feet into flippers, and was flying through the waves. When he reached the stairs, he wished his limbs back, then grabbed the railing, gasping for air as he pulled himself up.

  Knowing his friend had to be weak from the body-shift and difficult swim, Gabriel waited until Brent was on board before scaling the steps that led to the back of the boat. A couple of feet on deck, glass doors led inside. Brent slid the entrance open. Finley hopped past them and jumped up onto the captain’s seat.

  Gabriel shivered, goose bumps popping up over his skin from the cool air as they stepped in. A small table with seating flanked the left side of the boat. Up two small stairs, a steering wheel with the captain’s chair sat behind the wraparound glass where Finley peered out at the bobbing ocean.

  Beside the wheel, an open door led down four more steps. The boat creaked and moaned, rocking left to right. They ducked their heads under the doorframe, then crept down the stairs, pressing their hands against the wall for balance.

  At the bottom of the stairs, Piper ran to the cabin and closed the door behind her. Brent dropped to his knees in front of the small fridge beneath the counter, and Gabriel slumped on a leather sofa wrapping the right-hand side. He peeled off his jacket, shirt, shoes and socks, grabbing the navy blue nautical-style blanket that hung over the back of the sofa. He wrapped it around his shoulders and leaned back. Finley hopped up beside him and wrapped his furry arms around his knees in silence.

  After a couple of minutes, Brent tossed Gabriel a sausage, then tore into a roast beef sandwich. “You hungry, Piper?” he called out, between mouthfuls.

  She looked out from behind the bedroom door. “Yeah, starving actually. Hey, I hung my clothes up to dry,” she said while tucking a pale-yellow towel around her. “You guys should do the same so you don’t get sick. And by the way.” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “I call dibs on that bed.”

  Brent shook his blond hair like an overgrown yellow Labrador, sending water flicking across the room. Then he took a huge bite of his sandwich, moaning in pleasure.

  “Control the animal, will you?” Piper joked to Gabriel.

  Brent tossed an apple at her head and she ducked. The fruit flew past her head, hit the wall, and dropped to the floor with a thud. Piper picked up the apple, rubbed it against her towel with a smirk, and took a bite.

  Gabriel bundled up into his blanket, shutting out the mad house that had commandeered the boat, otherwise known as his best friends. The sailboat was cool and everything, and maybe Gabriel should have been happier—seriously, they’d gotten sick powers, survived the locusts, made it away from the fire, dove off a cliff and survived, and found an awesome boat with cool stuff—but the fact that Finley was so quiet worried him.

  But it wasn’t just the monkey.

  Both Gunner and Finley had looked scared at the thought of going to Ericville by way of Crimson Lake, and not knowing where Empress Malina and Princess Evangeline were—or more importantly, what the Solarians were doing to them—made Gabriel’s stomach churn. Not to mention, he wasn’t sure how they were gonna get the boat to shore. None of them knew how to maneuver a freaking sailboat. And the Lord of the Rock was no small vessel. Gabriel groaned. He felt like they were two-year-olds being sent to a pie-eating contest or something, not heroes who had once saved Valta.

  Gabriel zoned out Brent’s and Piper’s voices and stared out the porthole. The white caps rolled and heaved, and a spray of water belted down over Valta. He heaved a sigh of relief that the rain had started. He hoped the heavy showers would douse the fire and Gunner would be okay.

  He ran his hand under the blanket to his neck, grasping the emblem the empress had given him. She’d said he could use it for a one-time contact with her. The time hadn’t been right to use it when he was in Willow Creek, and he wasn’t sure it would even work in Valta, or even how it worked. All he knew was that he needed to talk to her. However, the empress had said Gabriel would know how to do it when the time was right. Well, he didn’t know. He hated riddles. Math and calculating were not his friends. But he was going to try anyway.

  Closing his eyes, Gabriel ran his fingers around the circular rim of the emblem. He traced the stones that represented Andimian’s eyes. His breathing slowed. Rain pinged against the fiberglass boat. And the swaying of the ship rocked him into a deep sleep.

  Then a vivid dream burst into his mind—one that would haunt Gabriel forever.

  ***

  He stood at the top of a blistering hot mountain covered with red soil. Its gritty texture scratched the soles of his bare feet. Ripples of translucent, shimmery waves snaked above the dirt. He shielded his eyes from the bright sun and looked up, scanning left to right and behind him. Three glowing orbs perched in the sky, bursting down in overwhelming rays of heat.

  Gabriel shook his head.

  Three suns?

  That couldn’t be right.

  Sweat trickled down his spine and slicked his upper lip. He dragged in a slow, searing breath, the smell of rust and iron filling his nose as he tried to make sense of the circular shapes. It was so unbelievably hot, he could barely think. Maybe there were three suns.

  A rhythmical clanking sound drew his attention to a cavern far beneath him. At least one hundred people, chained to each other by the ankles, were slinging pitchforks over their shoulders. Red dust puffed up around them and shards of rock shattered, flying into the air each time the pitchforks landed against the ground.

  Even from that distance, Gabriel could see the people’s burnt, bare backs glaring under the bright sun.

  Gabriel lifted his gaze to the mountaintop in the distance. A large tower shot into the sky like a missile. Its surface shimmered unnaturally, making the building appear to be crackling and sizzling like it was covered in a current … as if it was ... electrified.

  What is this place?

  Gabriel’s gaze landed on a window encircling the rocket-shaped structure about three quarters of the way up. Crackling tendrils of light bounced eerily from the glass.

  As he peered inside, he gasped and stumbled back a step. How could he see that far away?

  It didn’t seem possible, but he could. He could see and hear straight through the window—and on the other side stood Empress Malina and Princess Evangeline!

  Two tall, creepy dudes stood behind them. Except they weren’t really dudes, they were some kind of lizard-like creatures with thick metal shields covering their faces. Red, scaly skin clung tightly
to their lean muscles.

  “Move it!” one of them yelled, glaring at the empress with one yellow and one blue eye shining out from the slats in his face shield. Long, scaly fingers as red as cherries gripped Empress Malina’s arm. The lizard dude dragged her toward the window that overlooked the canyon below.

  “Do you see what your son—the prince,” the creature spat, “is going to make you do?”

  He shoved the empress a final step toward the glass and pointed at the people slaving under the hot sun below. Another guard, whose brown eyes were equally sunken, pushed Princess Evangeline beside her mother. The princess squealed, looking like she was ready to cry.

  Gabriel winced. A very pale Empress Malina shrugged free from the creature, then tucked Princess Evangeline under her arm.

  “If they don’t return Duke Malgor soon,” he said, “you and your daughter will work the grounds until your dying breath. In addition to finding another water source, we will find the immunities somewhere.” He choked back another cough.

  “Dacho,” the empress said, and Gabriel’s eyes widened.

  Dacho!

  It was actually the dude who had kidnapped the empress and princess—the leader of the Solarians, the one who knifed Andimian, and the writer of the threatening note to Prince Oliver. What was he talking about … water source and immunities? Gabriel had heard the word immunities before. His mom had said that was what the flu shot the doctor gave him every fall was for. She had said the shot—or as his mom called it, the immunization—would give him immunities to fight a bad virus or whatever. But still, none of it made any sense. Were the Solarians looking for that in the soil? Or were they digging for water?

  “Duke Malgor cannot help—”

  Dacho laughed, cutting off the empress’s words, but it didn’t sound like he found anything funny. “It’s not your business what Malgor can or can’t do. You better pray to your god that your son is wiser than you, or else you and your daughter will never see Valta again.”