He let go with a yell.
“Gabriel!” Piper screamed.
He plummeted, the lake growing closer by the second, panic drilling through him. He was going to die in a lake of blood and his parents wouldn’t even remember him because of the memory potion he’d slipped them.
Just as he tensed and prepared to splash into Crimson Lake, he landed with a thud on the back of one of the winged tigers. Gabriel bounced forward, almost flinging over the tiger’s head.
“Ahhh!” He wrapped his arms around its neck and steadied himself just as the tiger skimmed the lake, zooming upward. It brushed the tree line with a proud roar. Gabriel laughed. “Yahoooo!” he hollered as Brent and his tiger fell in line to Gabriel’s left.
“Wait for us!” Piper called.
Gabriel glanced over his shoulder. Piper and Finley were together on the third tiger. Finley’s big brown eyes were wide in alarm as he clung to a brown strap wrapped around the large cat.
Gabriel faced forward again. It was then that he noticed a brown leather strap secured around his tiger just like the one Finley was holding. A saddlebag dangled from the strap like he’d seen people use on horses. He sat up and gripped the leather band, the brisk wind pushing his hair back and rattling his jacket. He dragged in a big breath and a huge smile slid up his face. He was safe. Still grinning, he reached down and lifted the flap on one saddlebag while keeping a firm hold on the strap with his other hand.
Inside the bag was a canteen. Tugging it out, he used his chin to pop back the lid, then guzzled the cool water inside. He didn’t think water had ever tasted so good in his whole life. He held the canister up, wiggling it in the air toward Brent and then to Piper and Finley who now flanked his other side. With a thumbs-up, they dug into their saddlebags and began gulping the water, too. It was totally crazy to think they were flying over the forest—having escaped near death—on top of tigers!
“Epic!” Gabriel yelled so loud his voice bounced off the mountains and mixed in with the thumping of the tiger’s wings and the wind whistling in his ears.
Gabriel leaned in and patted the tiger. He saw something flicking in the wind. Tied to the strap on the tiger’s back was a thin brown leather string, securing what looked like thick paper rolled like a scroll. With one hand he untied the knot and unrolled the paper. He read the hand-written note:
Friends,
It is my hope that my tigers have found you, and found you well. Word has come of the fire that has deterred you from your path. The tigers have been searching Valta for you ever since. They are instructed to take you just outside of Ericville where you can regroup. The tigers will stay with you for added protection. As well, I’ve asked other kindred spirits to assist you. I thank you on behalf of my mother and sister, and for all of Valta who would be lost without them. Go well and triumph in the name of the mighty palace in Shataundra.
~ Prince Oliver
As they raced high above the treetops, Gabriel tucked Prince Oliver’s note into his pocket. Prince Oliver had totally come through and saved their butts. But what would happen when they confronted Dacho? Up until then, Gabriel had only been obsessed with making it on time. With the flying tigers, the worry of being late was out of the way, but now they needed a solid plan.
After a while, the tigers swooped sharply down. Gabriel tucked low to the tiger’s body and gripped his fingers around the leather strap. Even though they were sky-bombing, Gabriel wasn’t scared. “Let’s go, boy!” he called, exhilaration pumping through his veins.
Gabriel’s tiger landed on the ground with a thud just behind Brent’s, padding forward a few steps. Piper and Finley’s tiger heaved to the ground beside them. Finley jumped off with a squeak.
“Dude,” Brent said. “These tigers bring new meaning to jet fuel.” He laughed and petted the tiger’s back while holding the vase under his other arm like a football. “How sick would it be to show up at school with one of these guys?”
“Pretty awesome,” Piper agreed. “Can you imagine Cedric’s face?” She leaned in and wrapped her arms around the tiger’s neck. “I don’t know what your name is,” she said to the large cat, “but thanks for the ride.” The tiger snorted, blasting her hair away from her face. Piper laughed and wiped some slime off her cheeks, before turning more serious. “You must miss your friend Andimian.” She peered into the tiger’s bright eyes. “But I bet Leejor is fixing him up right now.”
While Piper talked to the tiger, Finley scooted up to the top of a nearby tree. His furry head turned from left to right, searching the area. After a minute he jumped down. “We be near Ericville. It look clear.”
“Hey, check it out.” Gabriel yanked out the scroll from Prince Oliver and showed it to everybody.
Piper scanned the note. “I wonder who the kindred spirits are.”
“Hopefully somebody strong,” Gabriel replied. “And somebody who knows how to beat the snot out of lizard men.”
Piper snorted. “That would be so perfect.”
Gabriel studied the woods. He remembered the area from the last time they were in Valta. And Finley was right. It looked clear. Only the sounds of birds chirping and leaves scattering across the ground filled the air.
Gabriel faced the others. “Okay, look. If we get to Ericville and Dacho is there like he said he would be, then we’ll have to move fast.”
Brent made a sour face and groaned in frustration. “He’s gonna be pretty mad when we show up without Duke Malgor.”
“Exactly why we have to go fast,” Gabriel answered. “I’m thinking I should move speedy style, grab the empress and princess, and we take off on the tigers. Boom. Outta there.”
“I like that plan,” Piper said as they moved forward toward Ericville with Finley in the lead and the tigers following behind them. “If it works, that would be amazing.”
Brent kicked a pinecone in his path. “Hey, what was with those robots back there? Where the heck did they come from?”
“Solaria,” Gabriel answered. They looked at him with questioning eyes. “The letter S on their metal chests and the three red suns? They were definitely from Solaria.”
Piper stared at Gabriel. “Solaria must be pretty advanced to have robots like that. What do you think they were doing?”
“Recon,” Brent answered. “Definitely recon. I saw the one dude scooping blood up in a vial. Why else would the thing do that if they weren’t testing it for something? It must have been checking out the area, but I don’t know what for.”
“Yeah, I saw that too,” Gabriel said. “Definitely weird, but right now we need to focus on getting the empress and princess back.”
“I know.” Brent pressed a hand against his stomach. “But honestly, dude, I hope we make it to Ericville before Dacho does. I’m seriously gonna die of hunger if I don’t eat soon.”
“You’ll live,” Piper said with a laugh. Gabriel chuckled.
But they didn’t laugh for long.
Finley held his arms out wide, halting them in their step. Then he motioned for them to follow him behind a few trees. The tigers padded behind them, then lay down in the grass and folded their wings in on their backs.
Up ahead lay the familiar, narrow stretch of land that led to the huge gate into Ericville—the talking gate that tested your saliva to see if you were human before it would let you in.
They scurried from tree to tree, hiding under the brush, until they got closer to the gated area. Everything looked the same as before: the massive wooden gate with slatted eyes and mouth, the tall mountains soaring up on either side of it, and the tube shooting up from the ground in front of the entry. Gabriel remembered the tube had a set of prongs that held a vial in place to collect your saliva.
Except now, three Solarians manned the gate, their metal masks covering their ugly faces.
So much for showing up early.
Two of them stood guard. And even worse—the third had his red scaly hand wrapped around Princess Evangeline’s arm.
What the hec
k is he doing with her?
The red lizard man dragged her toward the vial. Gabriel wondered if it was Dacho. He looked at the remaining Solarians. Where was Empress Malina?
Gabriel shivered as a sickening thought came to him. Out of all of them in front of the gate, Princess Evangeline was the only one with human blood in her veins. They must be planning to get into Ericville by using her. Even though the princess was only half-human, it was possible her saliva had enough human DNA stuff to fool the gate into opening. Gabriel didn’t know how exact the gate’s testing was. He did know that if the Solarians got into Ericville, it would be a nightmare. The Solarians hated humans, so the only reason to go inside would be to kill them.
Anger surged through Gabriel. They had to stop them before they hurt Princess Evangeline and the humans living in Ericville.
Piper bit her lip. “Are they really trying—”
Gabriel fisted his hands. “Yep. They’re actually trying to break into Ericville. And we can’t let them.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
“Brent,” Piper said, her voice low and serious. “Give the vase to Finley and let’s go get some bad guys.”
Brent placed the vase on the ground, then lifted Finley onto a low hanging branch of a tree. He smiled at the monkey and patted his leg. “You stay here with the tigers, little dude, and watch the vase, okay?”
Finley was an awesome tracker, but without any special powers, Gabriel definitely didn’t want him trying to take on the Solarians.
Finley took the soul vase and said, “Me will keep safe. And me not think they like cold.”
Gabriel’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”
“Lizard not like cold.” Finley pointed in the direction of the Solarians. “Look.”
Gabriel studied the creatures. One was knocking on the thick wooden door, his whole body shivering, and his free hand wrapped around himself. Gabriel could hear the familiar gate’s voice booming out, asking them to state their names. Another Solarian stalked around the tube that held the vial. It was kinda weird though because they all hunched over and moved as slow as sludge on an icy day. The one holding Princess Evangeline was poking at the vial, but he kept stopping to shake his hand like it was stiff.
“Yo, check it out,” Brent said, chuckling. “With their red skin and the way they’re all slouched, it makes them look like little old ladies with bad sunburns.”
Piper laughed. “I think Finley’s right. Think about it. Lizard creatures don’t like the cold, even on Earth. They usually live down south or in deserts. And it’s pretty cold in Valta now.” Her fists clenched. “I hope the suckers freeze to death.”
“Yeah, me too,” Gabriel grumbled. “I never thought of that before, but they definitely must find it really cold here ‘cause they’re used to living on a planet with three suns. But don’t underestimate the freaks. They might not like the cold, but they’re definitely not like little old ladies. They’re totally evil.”
Piper slumped against the tree, her earlier eagerness to charge seeming to have disappeared. Gabriel thought he even saw Brent swallow hard at that comment.
“Where’s the so-called kindred spirits Prince Oliver mentioned in the note?” Brent asked, confirming he was just as freaked out as Gabriel.
“Hopefully on their way,” Gabriel said, pushing down the lump in his throat as he watched the Solarians fumbling around with the vial. “Plus, we need to wait and see if the Solarians bring Empress Malina to the gate. If we jump in without Duke Malgor, they’ll never bring the empress and we don’t know where to find her.”
“But the princess—”
“We’ll move forward and keep a closer watch on things,” Gabriel said, cutting Piper off before she got too freaked out. “If they get too rough or manage to break into Ericville, we’ll move in.” He looked at the tigers. “And you guys can watch us from here.” He sunk his hands into his jeans pockets and tried to sound confident as he peered back at his friends. “Hopefully, they won’t get in or hurt the princess. Then maybe they’ll lead us right back to where they’re keeping Empress Malina.” When he noticed the glint of fear in Piper’s eyes, he added, “I won’t let anything happen to Princess Evangeline, Piper. I promise.”
“Fine,” she grumbled, pushing off from the tree. “But for the record, I hate this made-of-suck mission.”
He knew Piper was right. This mission was definitely full of suck. Like, way full of suck. Still, they couldn’t give up. They edged forward and got as close to the gate as they could. But the nearer they got, the narrower the entrance to Ericville became, with fewer trees to hide behind. It reminded Gabriel of a bottleneck. They crouched low behind the last bits of foliage before the area opened up to a clear path in front of the gate.
“State your mortal names one by one and spew into the receptacle before you,” the gate shouted to the Solarians and the princess.
Gabriel inwardly scoffed.
Mortal names. Yeah, whatever.
There was nothing mortal about the Solarian losers.
One of the Solarians poked Princess Evangeline in the back and Piper dug her nails against the bark on the tree next to her.
“You heard the gate,” one of the masked Solarians said to the princess. “Start talking. Tell it your name.”
Princess Evangeline sighed. “But I’m not hu—”
The Solarian poked her back harder until she stumbled forward. She whimpered and Piper gripped Gabriel’s arm. “Gabe … ”
“Wait,” Gabriel whispered, holding up his pointer finger.
“Evangeline Braddock,” the princess said in a loud voice.
“Spew into the receptacle,” the gate called out with a blink of its eyes.
Brent stiffened beside Gabriel and Piper covered her mouth with her hand. If the gate was tricked into opening, Ericville would be ambushed. Gabriel decided that if the gate was fooled, he’d jump out before it opened.
Princess Evangeline lifted the hem of her long dress and staggered the couple of steps to the tube. She spit into the vial and stepped away. “You happy now?” she asked the red-skinned Solarian stalking around her. She coughed, then asked, “What do you want with the humans anyway?”
The Solarian mock-laughed. “Not that it’s any of your business, but our species is dying, and humans are both the cause and quite possibly the cure.”
Evangeline stared at him a minute through narrowed eyes, then looked away.
Piper looked at Gabriel, both of her black eyebrows raised.
The cause and the cure? What the heck is he talking about?
The gate’s eyes rolled side to side as if it were calculating something. After a moment it spoke up. “Step away and move along. You, Evangeline Braddock, are not fully human. I do recognize your name, however,” the wise gate said. “Are you not Princess Evangeline Braddock, half-human, half-Zeveron child of the empress?”
“No—I mean yes,” Princess Evangeline answered. She rubbed the back of her neck while grimacing. “Yes, I am.”
Gabriel didn’t know if the princess wasn’t sure what to do because of the crazy situation, or if she wasn’t feeling good.
“She’s human!” roared the Solarian, shaking the princess’s arm in frustration.
“She is most certainly not human,” the gate spat. “Half-breeds do not count. And from the look of the rest of you, none of you are human. Now be on your way. Ericville is a safe place for humans only.” The gate turned its eyes on the princess. “I am truly sorry, Princess Evangeline.”
“I know, please don’t let them in,” she said in a pleading voice. “They want to steal some humans and kill the rest!”
Holy crap.
Gabriel had forgotten that Princess Evangeline could read minds. She must have been poking around in the Solarians’ brains.
Just then, the Solarian that looked in charge drew a sword, tugged the princess against him, and held the blade under her neck. “You stupid girl,” he said. Then turning his attention back on the gate he added, “Open u
p or the princess of Valta’s blood will be on your hands.”
A bunch of things happened at once.
Gabriel shot forward so fast he was in front of the lizard guy in a second. He knocked the blade out of the Solarian’s hand and pushed him away from Princess Evangeline. The princess tumbled to the ground.
“Gabriel?” Princess Evangeline said, looking up and sounding surprised.
The Solarian swiped at Gabriel with a fist, but he was sluggish from the cold and Gabriel was fast. Gabriel snatched up the blade, and easily sidestepped the lizard’s blow.
Piper and Brent had rushed forward too. Gabriel readied himself to charge the other two Solarians, when his gaze fell on the towering gate to Ericville—that was now creaking open!
“No!” Gabriel yelled. The gate didn’t want the princess to be killed, but what about all the people living in Ericville? Why would the gate open up and risk them all to save one person? Even if she was royal?
Piper helped Princess Evangeline to her feet while Brent ran toward the gate behind the slow-moving Solarians, his arms transforming into big swords.
“You can’t go in there!” Gabriel called to the three Solarians. He knew he was wasting his breath and that they wouldn’t listen, but he kept yelling anyway. “Stop!”
One of the Solarians pulled something from his pocket. The silvery thin object fit perfectly in the palm of his hand. He held it out, aiming it at Brent who was charging the lizard with his bladed arms. A red dot glowed on Brent’s forehead.
A laser beam!
Gabriel whipped forward at superhuman speed and knocked Brent off his feet just as the blast shot out.
“Ahh!”
Brent hollered as both he and Gabriel rolled across the ground. A blast hit the side of the mountain behind Brent with a loud bang. Sparks shot out on impact, making chips of the rocky mountain shatter and rain down around them.
“Piper!” Gabriel called, tugging Brent back on his feet and away from the debris. “We need your help!”
Brent grabbed his left shoulder and lifted a blood-covered hand as the Solarians continued creeping through the wide-open gate, mumbling about the cold and stupid humans.
Gabriel Stone and the Wrath of the Solarians Page 13