by Hoover, Gary
I had been looking forward to doing rock-climbing with Dad if / when we get back, but I’m not sure if that’s as high on my list as it used to be.
Jeff hadn’t noticed on their previous climb, but Rasp was clearly comfortable making his way along the cliff without any ropes or other equipment.
Jeff led and Rasp followed to his right. Rasp had told him he wanted Jeff setting the pace and going as he felt comfortable. Rasp said he would tell Jeff when it was time to go up. Jeff took his time and picked his hand and foot holds carefully. He felt he could go faster, but there was no need to show off. He also wanted to be as strong and prepared as possible when he needed it.
He felt a sharp pain in his right hand and jerked it reflexively. He saw an eight-inch long green lizard retreating into the cavity his hand had been in. His sudden movement threw him off balance, and he fell toward Rasp. He continued until he had rotated 180 degrees and fell headfirst. He could see the ground far below and nothing between him and it.
However, before he actually began to accelerate toward it, he felt his ankle grasped in an iron grip. He ended up hanging hundreds of feet in the air, and looking at the long drop. He twisted himself and looked up at Rasp who had a firm grip on his ankle. He knew Rasp was strong, but he was still surprised at how solidly he held him. Jeff wasn’t particularly heavy, but it was as if Rasp were holding a rag-doll.
As Jeff regained his composure, he found spots to grip so he could right himself. When it seemed he had a solid grip, Rasp slowly began to loosen his hold.
“Thanks,” Jeff said. “What bit me?”
“I didn’t see it clearly,” Rasp answered. “Probably a… ” Rasp said a pheerion word that didn’t translate in Jeff’s mind.
Jeff nodded. “Are they poisonous?” he asked, looking at the bleeding spots on his hand.
“No,” Rasp said. “Not poisonouzzz if that wazz what it wazzzz. So let us hope.”
Jeff nodded. “Let us.”
He continued but even more cautiously than he had before.
After five minutes, Rasp indicated they were in position to begin going up. The two of them climbed cautiously and peeked over the edge of the ledge. They could see the castle wall ten feet away with a thin strip of land between them and the wall.
Jeff looked up. The height of the wall from that perspective made him feel dizzy, but he couldn’t see any pheerions on that part of the wall. He could hear gunfire, occasional canon fire and shouts from pheerions on both sides as the battle continued to rage. Jeff hoped the rebels were keeping a good distance between them and the castles weapons.
Rasp pointed at a clump of vegetation to Jeff’s left. “The door is in there.”
Jeff lifted himself up onto the ground between the ledge and castle then shuffled toward the vegetation in a hunched squat. Rasp was right behind him, and the two of them pulled some of the plants away. Jeff couldn’t see anything and began to doubt there really was a door. Rasp pushed past him and began feeling around on the ground.
“Here!” he said as he swept weeds and dirt out of the way.
Jeff could see a large, circular metal hatch with a handle attached. He reached for it and pulled, but the door didn’t budge.
“There izzz a lock,” Rasp said.
Jeff could see down into the gap between the steel door and the cut stone that formed a frame around it. There was a thick steel bar that went from the hatch into the stone – far below the top edge but visible through the gap.
“You can break the stone with your club,” Rasp suggested, pointing at Jeff’s bat.
Jeff looked up. The vegetation provided some cover, but once he started pounding, the noise would likely bring pheerions to the edge of the wall above them.
They’d be easy targets.
Chapter 95:
Rasp drew his gun, but Jeff knew that he had never become comfortable with the human’s energy weapons. Jeff hoped Rasp could at least disrupt the pheerion’s aim if/when they responded to the sound of his attempted entry.
As Rasp kept his eyes focused on the top of the wall, Jeff removed his bat from his belt. Jeff lifted it over his head and brought it down on the rock. The stone shattered loudly, and he cringed – not because of the flying rock pieces, but because he feared it had been too loud.
Jeff saw a steel rim imbedded in the stone. His blow had broken rock and slightly dented the metal rim, but it still held the locking bar securely.
“Damn.”
He lifted the bat again and aimed for the junction of door, frame and locking bar. He swung as hard as he could and made a tremendous impact. He dented all the components, but he wasn’t much closer to freeing the door.
He swung repeatedly, making some progress, but the sound was so loud it was making his ears ring. He paused for a moment to check his progress and then hit it three more times in quick succession.
The frame was badly dented, and he had chipped away all the surrounding rock. He had pounded the frame down to a point that he thought he might be able to contact the locking bar soon. He hit it several more times, and the bar began to bend.
Rasp’s gun fired, startling him. Jeff looked up to see three pheerion faces disappear quickly behind the wall. Jeff reached down and yanked at the door. It moved a few inches, but the latch still held.
He hit it several more times, and it looked like the bar and frame were bent to the point he might be able to wrench the door. Rasp’s gun fired several more times. Jeff heard a musket shot from above, and an arrow landed six inches from his right foot.
He reached down and pulled the door as hard as he could. The locking bar bent and then snapped, allowing him to open the door.
He scrambled into the opening and gestured for Rasp to follow. Rasp fired a volley of shots before joining Jeff – who had nearly made it to the stone floor seven feet below before Rasp had even arrived at the ladder.
Rasp pulled the heavy steel door closed. The damage to the lock prevented it from closing completely, but it still blocked out enough light that it was nearly pitch-black in the tunnel. Jeff fished in his belt pouch for his small flashlight. He aimed it at Rasp to help him make his way down the ladder. Once Rasp was off the ladder, Jeff swept the area with his light and saw there was only one direction to go.
“That way?” Jeff asked.
“Yes.”
“Do we need to worry about running into any pheerions yet?” Jeff asked.
“I don’t believe we will encounter any guardzz until we are out of this tunnel. Very few know of this passage.”
They continued walking for several hundred feet and then came to a wall.
“Once I open this, we may encounter many pheerionzzz,” Rasp said.
Chapter 96:
Rasp examined the wall, then placed his hands on two stones and pushed. A large part of the wall pivoted on hinges and opened into a small, sparsely furnished room. There were a few chairs scattered around and weapons hanging on the walls but little else.
Rasp pushed the door closed behind them. Jeff was impressed by how difficult it was to tell the difference between the door and the rest of the wall, but there was a seam visible to anyone who looked closely enough.
He followed Rasp to a heavy wooden door on the other side of the room. Rasp paused, listened and then carefully opened it. They were alone in a long corridor. Lamps along the walls provided dim illumination. Jeff looked at his flashlight. It would be nice to have the extra light… but it would also be nice to have my hands free… and be a little less noticeable.
He clicked off the light, tucked it into his belt-pouch and drew his bat.
Rasp seemed to know where he was going, and Jeff followed. As they walked, the corridors became wider and more spacious. Decorations were sparse. There was little to see but the stone walls and regularly spaced lamps.
Rasp stopped suddenly, and Jeff bumped into him. In the shadows ahead, Jeff saw a pheerion who seemed confused. The pheerion fumbled for a moment then drew his sword. Rasp reached for his g
un, but Jeff put his hand on his arm to stop him.
Jeff held his bat in front of him with both hands and jogged toward the pheerion who stood his ground with his sword in a defensive posture. When Jeff was close enough, he squared his left shoulder and swung. The sword offered almost no resistance as he swung through and hit the pheerion on the chest and upper arm. Jeff heard the sound of cracking bones and felt the pheerion lift off the ground. His limp body travelled four feet through the air before impacting the wall where it slid and slumped as the sword clattered to the floor.
Jeff continued down the corridor, and Rasp tried to keep up with him. While Jeff hadn’t intentionally held back, he was glad to hear the moans of the pheerion behind them. At least he’s still alive.
Before they were able to go much further, Jeff saw four more pheerions approaching. Those pheerions seemed much more purposeful and confident than the first. Two drew pistols, and the other two drew swords. Jeff ran toward them, and both pistols fired. He felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder and realized he’d been hit. He tried not to let it distract him or slow him down. I hope they’re single shot pistols, he thought, and as if in response, the two who had fired moved in slow motion to toss their firearms aside and draw their swords.
The two in the center charged forward while the other two held back. Jeff focused on the one on the right. He smacked the sword with his bat and winced as pain shot through his left shoulder. While the pheerion tried to regain control of his sword, Jeff quickly re-cocked his bat, dropped down and swung at the pheerion’s legs. His opponent crumpled and fell.
Jeff noticed, almost too late, the sword of the other pheerion coming down toward his neck. It moved in slow motion but not slow enough for Jeff’s comfort. He managed to raise his bat at an odd angle and blocked the sword just inches from his neck. He pushed the bat, forcing the sword up and off to the side before bringing the bat down on the pheerion’s head. The pheerion fell beside the other who was moving but in so much pain that he couldn’t do much more than writhe. Jeff stepped over both of them and advanced toward the remaining two. They looked at one another with expressions of fear and confusion. They stumbled backward then turned and ran. Jeff could have easily caught up with them, but he held back.
Rasp stepped over the wounded pheerions and joined Jeff. “Izz your shoulder badly hurt?”
Jeff made a circle with his arm and cringed. “It just hurts at certain spots when I move it. I’ll be okay. Do we need to worry they’ll be bringing back troops?” he asked as he pointed in the direction the two pheerions had run.
“Yes, but we are nearly there.”
Chapter 97:
Rasp paused in front of another large wooden door. “This izz it. I have never been in this room, but this izzz the king’zzz special room. He doezz hizz science work in here, and I think this izzz where your father will be.”
There was an electronic panel next to the door that looked very out of place in the otherwise low-tech castle. Jeff leaned in to look at it. It had lighted buttons and symbols he didn’t recognize.
“You should be able break it,” Rasp said as he made a gesture with his hands to indicate Jeff hitting it with his bat.
Jeff looked over his shoulder. He was concerned a group of armed pheerions would round the corner at any moment, and he was afraid if they weren’t already on the way, the noise would bring them.
“Isn’t there a better way?” he asked. “It seems like I’m always smashing locks.”
“But you’re so good at it.”
Jeff smiled. He wasn’t quite sure if it was a sincere compliment or something of a pheerion joke, but he enjoyed it either way.
Jeff pushed a series of buttons. Come on magic senses point the way. He waved his hand in front of it and tried to imagine energy jumping from his hand into the panel. He went back to pushing buttons and became a little more forceful with each push. After several more tries, he pounded on it with his hand and pushed several buttons at once. Okay, so this is how it’s going to be.
Jeff took a step back and raised his bat. He hit the panel, and it erupted in a shower of sparks. Jeff hit it several more times after that with less impressive results. The door remained solidly locked. His eyes moved from the panel to the area where he assumed the mechanical latching mechanism was, and he hit that area. Parts of the stone wall crumbled, splinters flew from the door, and some metal components bent.
The door remained locked.
Jeff hit it several more times then paused to look for any approaching pheerions. None yet.
He continued to batter the door and felt it was giving way. He pushed on it and could feel it wiggling, but it still wouldn’t open. He hit it three more times then pushed hard and was able to force it open.
Jeff looked into a large, open room with a vaulted ceiling that was at least twenty feet above him. The room was as big as a basketball court – or perhaps a bit larger – and empty. Jeff stepped in and looked around. There were no windows, but there were cloths hung on the wall that had odd, checker patterns and clustered burned spots. Targets? Jeff wondered.
Jeff looked at the badly damaged door, then Rasp. “I guess we can’t lock it.”
“I will watch door. You see if you can find your father.”
Jeff saw a large, open corridor at the far end, and it looked like there were additional halls and rooms beyond that. As he got closer, he saw there were electronic devices with lights flashing. Jeff moved quickly toward the area then saw a glowing cone that reminded him of something he had seen in a dream. He began to jog and then run.
When he was within thirty feet, he saw someone sitting in the center of the cone. “Dad? Dad!!” Jeff shouted.
Within moments, he was looking into the smiling face of his father.
“Jeff! Is it really you?”
Jeff was trying to hold back his tears but not succeeding. He tried touching the cone and felt a painful, vibrating surge of electricity jolt his hands and disperse through his body.
“How can I get you out of this?”
“Do you have your locket?” Dr. Browning asked. “The locket is the key. He used mine originally, but I think yours should work also.”
Jeff’s hand went to his chest before he remembered that he didn’t have it.
“Behind you!” Dr. Browning shouted.
Chapter 98:
Pheerion Rex glowered at Jeff from a doorway that had been nearly hidden behind various electronic devices. He was dressed in armor and had two swords that seemed to be extensions of his armor. Jeff quickly drew his bat and held it in front of him as he slowly backed into the large open area.
He took a quick glance over his shoulder but couldn’t tell if Rasp was aware of the situation and able to help.
Pheerion Rex pointed the tips of his swords at Jeff and red energy bolts shot out of them. Jeff gripped his bat firmly in front of him and focused on pulling the beams into it. The bat absorbed them, but it required a great deal of effort for Jeff to hold the bat steady. It shuddered and shook and Jeff felt pain shooting through his injured shoulder. I’m not sure how long I can hold this. He did his best to appear calm and in control. If I look like it’s not bothering me, maybe he’ll give up.
He didn’t give up, and Jeff continued to hold the quivering back. He can probably see the strain on my face now. Jeff tried to relax but quickly found the tension returning.
Then the beams stopped.
Pheerion Rex lowered his swords, and the two of them stared at each other. Jeff looked at Pheerion Rex and saw a cold, expressionless face looking back at him. A deep scar ran across his left eye. Jeff had gotten used to the pheerion faces, and he suddenly realized the pheerion faces he knew, while initially frightening, had become much more pleasant in his mind. While Pheerion Rex had a similar physical appearance, there was none of the pleasantness Jeff had learned to see in the others.
The king charged.
Jeff refused to allow himself to show the intense fear he felt. He responded by chargin
g himself. He was disappointed to see that Pheerion Rex didn’t go into slow motion, as any other pheerion would have. Maybe he’s slowing a bit, but it’s sure not much.
When they were close to one another, Pheerion Rex brought his right sword down toward Jeff’s neck. Jeff blocked it then saw the left one coming toward him. He swung back toward that one and slapped it away. He continued moving in that direction, did a 360º spin and swung his bat toward the pheerion’s head.
Pheerion Rex blocked Jeff’s swing with one sword and quickly tried to strike with the other. Jeff was able to block the sword inches from his head, and after he slapped at it, he began to back away, toward the center of the large open area. Don’t want to get my back against a wall. Can Rasp help?
Jeff shot a quick look back toward the door and saw Rasp… and several other pheerions. They entered the room, but they weren’t fighting, just watching Jeff and Pheerion Rex.
Jeff quickly turned his attention back to his opponent but saw he wasn’t pressing, just looking at Jeff and stepping slowly to the side. Jeff matched his movement to keep his foe in front of him. He held his bat firmly and pointed in front of him.
His armor seems to make him as strong and fast as I am. Though I don’t think he can quite match me. If he could, his training and fighting skills probably would have allowed him to take me by now. Or is he just holding back? Toying with me? Jeff thought about the gathering spectators who started to spread around the room as they took viewing positions. Maybe he’s putting on a show for them.
Jeff noticed a glowing red spot at the center of Pheerion Rex’s chest. It was as if something very hot under his armor was heating the metal until it glowed. As Jeff watched, the glow became fainter.
They both continued to move slowly, and after a while, the glow was no longer visible.
Pheerion Rex raised his swords and then lunged at Jeff while trying to bring them both down on either side of Jeff’s head simultaneously. Jeff managed to bring his bat up and turn it sideways so he was able to block the blows. The king pushed down as Jeff tried to hold it in place. He was able to see Pheerion Rex’s sneering expression and emotionless eyes better than he had before. A shiver of fear passed over him as he felt the powerful, close presence of the pheerion who wanted nothing other than Jeff’s death.