Venom and Song

by Wayne Thomas Batson

  The two were surrounded by exuberant cheers and smothered in hugs. And for once in his life, Johnny felt like a somebody.

  Like a hero.

  28

  Keeper of the Cistern

  JUST AS the echoes of the Seven’s celebration faded, the flaming stalactites burnt out leaving them in darkness once more.

  “Got any flame left?” asked Tommy, hearing tip-taps of tiny creatures scurrying once more.

  “On it.” A whoosh accompanied a dazzling light.

  Tommy looked back at the chasm and the remnants of the bridge. “Looks like we’ve burned our bridge,” he said. “I guess Johnny could fly us over one at a time. Mannn, that is the coolest thing ever.”

  Jimmy stepped into a brightened patch in front of the others. He stuttered a bit as he spoke, “I just . . . just wanted t’ say I’m sorry. I should ’a been more careful, like yu said.”

  “Mannn, don’t sweat it,” said Jett, grabbing Jimmy’s shoulder.

  Kat was still a bit angry, but if Jett could forgive him, well . . . she thought she should, too. “Ah, Jimmy,” she said, “you couldn’t have known.”

  “But I should ’a known, shouldn’t I?” Jimmy asked.

  “Maybe you learned a hard lesson,” said Tommy. “For all of us. This place is no joke. We’ve not even entered the fortress and almost got a couple of us killed. We ALL need to be more careful . . . and we need to work together. To remember our gifts.” Nods all around. “Now, Johnny, kindle our torch. It’s time to enter Burcherond.”

  The team entered a low-arched corridor that appeared to lead into the heart of the fortress. No windows or doors, no fixtures or carpeting. Just a long hallway. Soon the light from Johnny’s hands fell on something none of them were expecting.

  “A dead end,” said Jimmy.

  Jett scratched his head. “I don’t get it.”

  “Neither do I,” Tommy said. The Seven stood in a circular room with not even the faintest hint of a handle or hinge or crack. “Maybe we missed something back at the entrance.”

  As Johnny held the lit torch, the others searched the perimeter of the room by feeling the wall with their hands, finding nothing unusual until Kat whispered, “Guys, look at this!” She probed a dime-shaped dimple with her index finger and the back of the hole pressed inward. “Whoa!” Then a click from somewhere inside the wall, followed by grinding.

  “A secret passage!” Johnny exclaimed, standing in the middle of the room. But as he looked around, nothing appeared. No door. No hatch. And still the grinding continued.

  “I don’t have a good feeling about this,” said Autumn, spinning around slowly.

  “Oh no!” said Jimmy, lunging for the opening to the room.

  Thud!

  Jimmy hadn’t been fast enough. A solid rock wall slammed shut, closing off the corridor to the outside and sealing the Seven in the circular room.

  “Oh great!” Jimmy complained. Why did I not see that one coming? Jimmy wondered to himself. The bridge fallin’, too. Doesn’t seem like me gifts are growin’ like they should. Somethin’s wrong. But Jimmy had no more time to worry about his gifts.

  Bits of dust and stone dribbled down on the Seven as the ceiling began to give way, descending ever so slowly from its lofty place.

  “It’s a trap!” screamed Autumn, watching the rock inch its way toward her.

  “Don’t panic!” Tommy tried to calm them. “We’ll figure a way out!”

  The ceiling dropped lower, now just above their heads.

  “My gift is no good here!” yelled Kiri Lee.

  “Do something!” Autumn pulled on Johnny’s arm. “Johnny!”

  “I can’t!” he hollered back, trying not to burn her with the flames in his hands.

  “But I can,” said Jett. The other six turned to watch as Jett planted his feet and placed his palms against the ceiling, now at shoulder height. Jett closed his eyes, and every vein in his neck began to bulge. He groaned, the ceiling slowing only slightly.

  “Everybody else, on your backs,” commanded Tommy. “Use your legs to press the stone up!”

  “Ahgk, that’s a little better,” groaned Jett.

  “It’s not working!” Kat yelled. “Try harder!”

  Jett clenched his teeth. “I—am! ” Jett opened his eyes. They were giving it everything they had, and still the ceiling pressed down. They would die if he didn’t stop this thing. Crushed to death. Had they really come all this way to die here? Now? So close?

  It was then that Jett realized he truly held the futures of his friends in his hands. He thought of the Elves in Nightwish. He even thought of his parents back on Earth. And it was then something else came to mind. Jett closed his eyes and saw an image of his mother kneeling beside her bed as she did every night. Praying. What a pointless ritual, he had once thought. But ever since Grimwarden had begun to train them in the way of Vexbane, talking to Ellos, talking to God, didn’t seem so strange. And right now it seemed like the only option. “God,” he grunted, “if you’re . . . there—I need—you.” It was all he could do to keep the ceiling from folding him into the floor. “Need . . . strength.”

  Jett felt a strange sensation course through his spine right then . . . like someone had plugged him into a wall socket. The burn in his muscles drained away, replaced with a flourishing reservoir of power—utter, raw power. A memory flickered back at that moment . . . of carrying half the Clifton Tigers football team across the goal line. That seemed so long ago, and now, Jett knew, he was much, much stronger.

  “For Ellos!” he yelled, expending his might.

  “You’re doing it,” the others started to whisper. Then louder, “Jett, you’re doing it!”

  Jett bared his teeth, yelling back in defiance. The ceiling, for the first time, had stopped. Sweat poured down his temples, his arms and legs trembling. He got off one knee and drove his right foot into the ground. Then pressed up. With the sound of gears being torqued in a direction they were never meant to go, the ceiling started upward. Farther above them, the Seven could hear the sounds of rope snapping, bars bending. Metal objects clanked together and dropped out of place. A strained, grinding sound shook the entire room, and soon Jett was on both feet and roaring like a giant as the ceiling ascended higher and higher.

  Just when the ceiling was about out of reach, Jett snapped his body tight like a pillar of stone and thrust the ceiling upward so hard that it smashed into the framework above; but more, it went through it. Debris fell down all around the Seven as they covered their heads. Johnny’s flames went out, and all went dark. Parts of the mechanism above littered the floor, and a few of the Seven coughed as dust filled the space. Then all was quiet.

  The others peeked out from under their hands and gazed up. Above them was open space, filled with a soft glow from something in the distance.

  Autumn gave Jett a hug. “You did it, Jett. Thank you.” The others gathered around to thank him, too.

  “Now let’s get out of here,” Tommy said, looking up. “Kiri Lee, care to take a look around?”

  “Gladly,” she smiled and took to the air. Four steps later and she was out of the hole, standing on the upper edge of the room.

  “What do you see?” asked Tommy.

  “Better see for yourself.” She disappeared, and a moment later a thin rope dropped onto the floor in a coil. “Tommy, do your thing.”

  “Seems like someone knew we’d be coming,” replied Tommy. He removed his bow, tied one end of the rope around the shaft, and triple looped it creating a cinching hitch—a trick he’d learned from Grimwarden. Then he nocked the arrow and let it fly, driving it deep into the rock ceiling somewhere above. With a few strong tugs to make sure it would hold his weight, he looked to Kat. “After you.”

  The remaining lords followed until they were all standing above the circular room. One by one they turned to see what Kiri Lee had found: a luminous shaft of silvery light at the far end of a wide chamber. It was moonlight, pouring down from an unseen opening far
above and illuminating an ornate, stone well that stood about waist high. The Seven walked through the mechanical ruins of the now-destroyed ceiling trap and neared the shimmering pool of water.

  “What is it?” Johnny asked.

  “The cistern Migmar was talkin’ about,” Jimmy replied.

  “I don’t even know what a cistern is,” added Tommy.

  “It’s an old word for a water hold, or a well of sorts,” explained Jimmy.

  Kat held up her hand. “Wait. The Keeper of the Cistern.” She thumbed behind them. “Migmar warned us of the Keeper of the Cistern.”

  “Right,” said Jimmy. “That’s why I said the cistern. Bad news.”

  “And the Keystone?” added Kiri Lee. “How will we know it?”

  “When we see it,” said Tommy. “If the cistern is worth guarding, perhaps it’s in there.”

  “Well, only one way to find out.” Jimmy walked forward, taking the lead once again.

  “Careful, Jimmy,” called Kat. The words had no sooner left her mouth than Jimmy stopped and jumped back.

  Everyone froze. “What is it?”

  “Listen,” Jimmy said, trembling ever so slightly. As if on command, the sound he’d heard a moment before in his mind’s eye now blared out at them. A blood-curdling howl pealed through the air, making the hair on the backs of their necks stand up.

  When at last the haunting wail subsided, the Seven stood deathly still. “Not cool,” was all Jett could think to say.

  “Hold yur ground,” Jimmy warned, his powers returning. “There be a great beast comin’.”

  Wandering into the moonlight, a massive wolfish hound appeared between the Seven and the cistern beyond. Standing nearly ten feet tall at its shoulders, the creature arched its back and blocked most of the moonlight from view. Johnny responded by lighting up the room with a fireball to the ceiling.

  Saliva dripped from its jaws, and the thing’s breaths were so deep and heavy, the Seven could feel them across the room. Pale eyes glistening with mucus, the creature looked upward and winced at the bright light. True in form to a wolf—only enormous—the beast was mangy with thick hackles of black and gray hair standing on its back. It growled at the flames now licking the rock over its head, and then leveled its yellowish gaze on the Seven.

  “It’s got fur,” Johnny whispered. “That means it’ll burn.”

  “Not yet,” said Tommy.

  “Maybe it just wants to make sure we are of noble blood,” Kat said, remembering the scarlet raptor. “You know, to trust us with its secret.”

  “But how’s it going to test our blood?” asked Jett. “By eating us?”

  It was then Jimmy dove at all of them, shoving them to the side. “Get down!” They all tumbled into a heap on the ground to the right just as the wolfhound snapped its fangs in the air where the bulk of them had stood.

  “Move! Move! Move!” Tommy ordered. The beast turned its head to find the lords struggling to their feet. It snarled and lunged again. But this time Johnny blasted it in the snout with a shot from his hands. Stunned, the beast shut its mouth and flinched, jumping back. It shook its head frantically, pawing at its face. By the time the flames were extinguished and it could see again, the Seven had scattered.

  Tommy started giving orders. “Kat, you get to the cistern and see if you can pick up anything from those rocks. Johnny, that overgrown dog gets near anyone and you blast him good, but don’t kill it just yet; not sure if it’s friend or foe. Jimmy, give him a heads-up. Autumn and Kiri Lee, use your speed, use the air, keep it distracted. Jett, come with me.”

  The Seven split up just as Tommy had ordered. Autumn began giving the wolf the worst run-around it had ever experienced, and Kiri Lee simply leaped up over its snout, walked right over its back, and down the other side. Jimmy gave instructions moments before the beast made a move, and Johnny kept it from seeing the other three lords making for the cistern, firing fire blasts in front of its head.

  Tommy and Jett caught up with Kat, who now stared into the pool of water. Even with all the commotion, the water looked as smooth as glass. The moonlight streaming down from above cast a dazzling light on Kat’s face as she examined the pool. Her bluish skin glistened like a map of stars. Tommy was awestruck. She is absolutely beautiful, he thought.

  At that moment, Kiri Lee yelled, “Here, boy, catch me if you can!”

  Kat had been trying hard to pick up something from the cistern, but she’d heard the ending of Tommy’s thoughts instead. Only when Kat looked at Tommy, he was looking at Kiri Lee. I should have known, Kat thought. Everyone always goes for the pretty girl.

  “Kat? Anything?” Tommy asked.

  She shook her head. “No. Nothing helpful anyway.”

  Tommy and Jett looked at each other, then back to the commotion around the wolf; so far, the others were keeping the beastie quite entertained.

  “I’m going to try something,” she said. “Here goes nothing.” Then she slowly submerged her hand into the pool. The water was extremely cold, tingles shooting up the nerves in the bottom of her wrist. Her fingers grew numb within seconds. She closed her eyes, lowering her head. And then it came.

  Sing me your song.

  Kat’s eyes shot open, and she went to pull her hand from the water. But it wouldn’t budge.

  “Kat?” asked Tommy. “What is it?” Jett also eyed her, worried.

  “It’s stuck,” she yelled, trying to pull her hand free. But it remained submerged, as if the water in the cistern had frozen solid around her wrist. The cold was creeping up her forearm now, her hand devoid of feeling.

  “Here, let me help,” said Jett, tugging on her forearm. But to his amazement her hand wouldn’t budge. Not an inch.

  “We will get you out of this, Kat,” said Tommy. He placed his arm around her shoulder. “You heard something, didn’t you?” Kat glanced at him. “What did you hear?”

  For a split second, Kat forgot all her problems. “I—uh—” She was shivering.

  “What was it, Kat?” asked Jett.

  She looked to him. “I’m not sure. It was absurd. Probably just—”

  “Kat!” prodded Tommy.

  “‘Sing me your song.’ ”

  “Uh,” Jett stuttered. “My song?”

  “No, the pool. It said, ‘Sing me your song’.”

  “Oh.” Jett looked at Tommy.

  Tommy shrugged his shoulders. “Beats me.”

  Tommy suddenly noticed Kat’s lips turning purple. “We’ve got to figure this one out fast, Jett.”

  “Yeah.” Jett turned around and looked at the others. The wolf seemed to be tiring of the circus, and then caught sight of the three Elves standing by the cistern.

  “He’s going for the well!” Jimmy yelled.

  Johnny looked to Tommy, Kat, and Jett and saw the threat. He clapped his hands and arms together and began releasing fire. Then he opened his arms like the jaws of a gator spreading a wall of fire on the ground between the wolf and the cistern. The beast yelped and jumped back. Kiri Lee ran through the air just above its head to distract it.

  Tommy watched as Kiri Lee walked through the air. “That’s it!”

  “What?” said Kat, her teeth now chattering.

  “Kiri Lee! Her music!”

  “Of course,” said Jett.

  “Kiri Lee!” cried Tommy. “Come quick!”

  She turned in midair to look at them, took a few steps over the wall of fire, and descended to the cistern. “What is it?”

  Kat looked up, her body was shaking. “S-s-sing your s-s-s-song.”

  “My song?”

  “You must have a song in you,” said Jett. “You’re the musical one. Isn’t there something in that pretty head of yours?”

  “Well, yes, but—” He thinks I’m pretty?

  “NOW! Kiri Lee,” urged Tommy.

  “All right!” Kiri Lee stood next to Kat and shut her eyes, searching the recesses of her mind. She began journeying to the hidden places of her heart where she knew the
songs dwelled. And not just any song . . . the song. The one she had first heard at the Medici Fountain in Paris, and then so many times after. The song taught to her by the Great Composer.

  Kiri Lee relaxed her mind and slowly shut out all the other noises around her. The howling of the wolf . . . the whoosh of fire . . . the machine gun of Autumn’s feet on the stone floor—it all faded. And soon Kiri Lee was left alone, floating through the inner world of her heart. Traveling. Looking. Dark, ominous clouds rolled in over her, glowing occasionally from sudden flashes of lightning within. This was it. The song had arrived.

  Kiri Lee opened her mouth. At first, silence. But then, a sound. Faint. But rising like a clarion call, the whisper became a note and the note became a sword, driving deep into the subconscious, dividing—

  “N-n-n-not to me!”

  Kiri Lee snapped out of her trancelike state. “What?”

  “Don’t s-s-s-sing it to m-m-me,” Kat shook her head, her face nearly purple. “S-s-s-sing it to it.”

  “It?”

  “It?” asked Tommy and Jett, as perplexed as Kiri Lee was.

  “S-sing to the wolf!” said Kat, as all at once her knees gave way to the extreme cold. Jett was behind her in an instant, hands under her shoulders.

  Kiri Lee looked back at the wolf, now running in circles and growing more aggressive in its attacks. “Here goes nothing.” She closed her eyes again, the song ready and waiting. She took a deep breath and out came the song, only this time more confident . . . more meaningful. There were no words exactly, more tones strung out by vowels and consonants . . . but a song nonetheless. And it was both beautiful and haunting. Dark, and yet somehow sweet and lofty.

  And it was then that Jimmy first noticed a shift in the wolf’s stance. “Guys, look!” Everyone turned and eyed the massive animal as its ears perked up and its attention turned toward Kiri Lee.

  “Johnny!” said Tommy.

  “I’m ready!” he replied. “Just give the word, Jimmy!”

  But Jimmy shook his head. “Nope. He’s just going to walk toward her. Curious, I think.” Johnny put flames in his own hands nevertheless, ready should things go wrong.