by Dean Lorey
“Well, at least it was useful for something,” Theodore’s father said.
“I’m sorry,” Brooke interrupted. “But the guys trying to catch us stopped banging on the door.”
“They’re trying to portal in,” William said. “It’s SOP—standard operating procedure. You better get out of here.”
“Not without the bracer,” Charlie said.
“It’ll kill you. Everyone who’s touched it has died instantly. Died hard.”
“It won’t do that to me.”
“How do you know?” William asked.
“Barakkas told me.”
The tall man laughed. “And you believe that? Consider the source.”
“I don’t think he lied about this. He needs it, and he needs me to get it for him.”
“You can’t really think I’m going to let you just take it,” William said. “I’ll let the four of you portal away and make your escape—but you’ll leave empty-handed.”
“That sounds fair,” Brooke said.
“I can’t do that,” Charlie replied.
“Look, son, there’s an easy way to do this and a hard way.” William drew his sword from its sheath. “Let’s not do it the hard way.”
Suddenly, as predicted, a portal popped open in the Special Projects room and several Banishers ran through. “Step aside,” the lead Banisher snapped at William. “The children are our prisoners. We have orders to take them to the Reduction Room.”
“Even me?” Brooke gasped. “But I’m a Facilitator. I don’t even have the Gift anymore.”
“Everyone,” the man replied, then turned back to William. “Your son, too, I’m afraid.”
William sighed deeply. “Well…they have only themselves to blame, I guess. Take them, then.”
The Banishers stepped forward, drawing their weapons. Suddenly, William attacked. He swung his sword with a mighty strike, which was barely parried by the startled Banisher.
“Dad!” Theodore yelled, stunned to see his father in action. “What are you doing?”
“Go on, get out of here!” William said as he fended off a blow from a mace. “If you’re so good at opening portals, open one, fast!”
“I don’t know if I can,” Theodore replied as his father elbowed a Banisher in the throat and used the hilt of his sword to open a gash on the forehead of another.
“You can do it, Theodore,” Charlie said. “I know you can.” Then, as Violet drew her dagger and joined William in his effort to buy them more time, Charlie turned toward the giant bracer, which was still on the decomposing wrist of Barakkas.
“Everyone who’s touched it has died instantly,” William had said. “Died hard.”
As Charlie neared it, the bracer throbbed with red light. He could see the image of Barakkas engraved on its side, and now he recognized the carving next to it, as well.
Verminion.
Steeling his courage, Charlie reached out and touched the warm metal. Instantly, it yielded to him, just as Barakkas had said it would. The bracer quickly shrank in size, cutting through the decaying flesh of the thick wrist, snapping the solid bones inside like pretzels. Soon, it had shrunk enough that Charlie could have easily fastened it around his own wrist.
He stared at it closely.
It pulsed and throbbed, throwing its sickly red light across his face.
“What are you doing?” Violet yelled, seeing Charlie just standing there.
“Thinking about something the Headmaster said,” Charlie replied. “That my parents may have already been moved.”
“There’s nothing we can do about that now,” she shouted, stomping on the foot of a Banisher who had gotten too close.
“Well, there is one thing,” Charlie said. “The bracer—it’s supposed to be a communication device.”
“So?”
“So, I may be able to use it to see what Verminion has done with them.”
“What?” Violet gasped. “You’re not actually going to put it—”
But before she could finish, Charlie unclasped the bracer and, to Violet’s horror, clicked the Artifact of the Nether around his wrist.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
THE BRACER OF BARAKKAS
As soon as Charlie snapped on the bracer, his head filled with a roar like a waterfall and the world twisted and lurched sickeningly. When it righted itself, he could see four fiery balls suspended against a velvety blackness. Like portals, he could see through them to something beyond, but, unlike portals, these weren’t stationary—each one seemed to move through a different environment.
Through one, he could see the inside of a crystalline palace in the Nether. It was a place he didn’t recognize, filled with ghostly sightless creatures that drifted slowly through the foggy air.
Through another, he saw an ancient graveyard of old ruined boats, jumbled together somewhere near the churning red pillar of the Inner Circle. It was as still and deserted as the dark side of the moon.
Through the third one, he saw the Special Projects room in the Nightmare Division, the very room he was currently standing in. William and Violet were fighting off Banishers as Theodore struggled to make a portal.
Finally, through the last one, he was surprised to see the face of Barakkas staring directly back at him.
With a shock, Charlie realized that he was looking through the eyes of everyone who wore one of the Artifacts of the Nether, including himself. Without even consciously trying to do it, he moved toward the gateway that looked out onto the face of Barakkas, and soon he found himself actually going through the gateway until it completely filled his vision. Suddenly, he could hear what Barakkas was saying.
“An assault force a hundred strong would be sufficient to retrieve my bracer from the Nightmare Division,” the beast growled as Nethercreatures assembled behind him in the giant cavern under Krakatoa.
“More than sufficient,” Charlie heard Verminion reply, and he suddenly realized that he was now Verminion, or at least looking through Verminion’s eyes. “In fact, you could probably get it back yourself.”
“Of course I could.” Barakkas sighed. “But this isn’t about stolen property. I’m going to deliver a crippling blow to the heart of the enemy.”
Verminion quickly moved toward Barakkas, and Charlie was struck by a wave of dizziness from the sudden change of perspective. “When were you planning to inform me of this?” Verminion demanded.
“I just did.”
“I have been here twenty years, carefully assembling the army that you so casually plan to use without even consulting me.”
“I don’t need your permission,” Barakkas growled. “You’re only one of the Four, just like me. We don’t answer to one another.”
“But it will take all of us to summon the Fifth.”
“Which is why I need my bracer!”
“And you will get it!” Verminion countered. “I have gone to great lengths to bring you to Earth, and I will see to it that we bring the rest of the Four over as well, but do not presume to take action without my consent.”
“Don’t test me,” Barakkas thundered, eyes blazing, “or this partnership will end poorly.”
There was no answer from Verminion. Barakkas suddenly looked concerned. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Someone is watching,” Verminion replied.
Charlie quickly took the bracer off his wrist.
The world lurched crazily and Charlie finally found himself looking once again through his own eyes. His mind reeled from everything he had heard. There had been talk of something called “the Four.” He assumed that Verminion and Barakkas were the first two, but who were the remaining two? And who was this Fifth they hoped to summon once they were all together on Earth, using the Artifacts of the Nether?
As Charlie tried to piece things together, the Banishers were threatening to overwhelm William and Violet.
“How’s that portal coming?” she yelled to Theodore.
“Working on it,” he replied.
Theod
ore’s mind raced frantically as he searched for a fear that he could use. His father had been furious that he failed to become a Banisher, and yet the world hadn’t ended as a result, had it? On the contrary, his father had actually put his life on the line to protect him from the very Banishers he had hoped his son would one day become. And it was that thought that turned in Theodore’s stomach like a hot knife. Not only had he let his father down; he had forced the man to turn against his own employer, the Nightmare Division. His father would certainly be severely punished for his actions, maybe even Reduced himself, and it was all Theodore’s fault, wasn’t it?
How could his father love him after such a failure?
How could he even stand to be in the same room with him?
Fear welled up inside Theodore like a tidal wave and, as it crested, a portal snapped open in front of him.
“Good job,” Violet yelled, then turned to Charlie. “Let’s go.”
“Right,” Charlie said, as if coming out of a dream. He leaped through the open gateway along with Violet.
Theodore turned to his father. “I’m so sorry, Dad,” he said. “For everything.”
“Just go,” his father shouted, leaping over an ax swipe and responding with a flurry of slashes from his own sword. “Go now.”
Theodore jumped through the portal, passing Brooke, who was watching from a dark corner. Suddenly, Gremlins burst through a ceiling panel and rained down on top of her, clawing at her hair and scratching her face. “Wait for me,” she screamed, and leaped through the portal as well, just before it snapped shut.
The four of them stood breathless on the outer ring of the Nether.
“What was wrong with you in there?” Violet demanded, turning to Charlie. “Why did you put on the bracer?”
“I told you,” Charlie said. “I wanted to see where Verminion and Barakkas were. I was afraid they might have taken my parents somewhere else, and I’m not skilled enough to portal all over the place looking for them.”
“Did they?” she asked.
“I don’t think so,” he said. “They were still in the lair.”
“You still shouldn’t have done it,” she scolded. “It was too big a risk.” She turned to Theodore. “Nice job with that portal, by the way. You’re turning into a real pro.”
“Yeah,” Theodore said, still shaken. “It was…hard.”
“You okay?” Charlie asked, eyeing his friend closely. He knew all too well the emotional toll opening a portal could take.
“I’m fine,” Theodore answered. “It’s just…I don’t know what’ll happen to my dad after this. I don’t know what Drake will do to him.”
“Maybe nothing,” Charlie replied. “The Headmaster said she would take care of the Director. If they’re doing what I think they’re doing, your dad will be fine.”
“What do you think they’re doing?” Violet asked.
Charlie smiled grimly. “Helping him forget he ever knew us.”
The Queen of the Hags licked her black lips with a long snakelike tongue.
“This is treason,” Director Drake yelled, still bound by Rex’s lasso. “You can’t subject me to this.”
“Calm down, pal,” Rex said. “It’ll all be over soon. Trust me, you won’t remember a thing.”
“And what do you want in payment for this…delicious gift?” the Hag Queen asked the Headmaster.
“A trade,” the Headmaster said simply. “You take something from the Director…and then you return to Rexford what you took from him.”
“His parents were so delicious, I hate to part with them,” the Hag replied. “What are you offering from the Director to replace that memory?”
“Something even more delicious,” the Headmaster said, walking up to her. “All the memories that have to do with Charlie Benjamin and his friends.”
“No!” the Director roared. “You can’t take that from me. I need those memories to be able to prosecute him, to remove him as the vicious threat that he is!”
“I know,” the Headmaster said with a smile, then turned to the Hag. “You can see how strongly he feels—all his insecurity, his hate, his fear. Imagine what it will taste like. Imagine how it will fill you….”
Without even realizing it, the Queen of the Hags began to drool.
“Done,” she said, and with startling swiftness, she enfolded Drake in her strong leathery wings and plunged her tongue into his ear, sucking deeply.
In the heart of Krakatoa, the lair of the Nethercreatures was a fury of activity. Hags polished the wide expanse of Verminion’s shell, buffing the translucent underside to a bright, pearly sheen. Class 5 Acidspitters cleaned Barakkas’s hooves by vomiting their burning juices across them while Netherbats soared through the smoky haze of the cavern ceiling high above, slaloming through stalactites.
“You’re sure it was the boy looking through your eyes?” Barakkas asked Verminion, angrily flicking away an Acidspitter that had missed his hoof and sprayed his ankle instead.
Verminion nodded, absently stroking the black choker around his neck with a giant claw. “Who else is strong enough to wear one of the Artifacts of the Nether?”
Suddenly, a portal opened up at the far side of the cavern. The two Named turned as Charlie, Violet, Theodore, and Brooke stepped through.
“Oh, my God…,” Theodore whispered, taking his first look at the epic lava-filled lair. It was packed with Nethercreatures more fierce than any he had ever seen or even imagined.
“This was a mistake,” Violet said, backing up.
“Yeah. Get us out of here,” Brooke gasped.
“Just stick with the plan,” Charlie said. He stepped forward toward the enormous monsters on the other side of the cavern. “Hello,” he yelled. “It’s me. Charlie Benjamin. I brought friends.”
“Charlie Benjamin,” Barakkas said pleasantly, walking toward him, absentmindedly crushing a Netherstalker that failed to scuttle away quickly enough. “What a delightful surprise.”
“I came to make a trade.”
“Oooh, intriguing,” Barakkas replied. “Do tell.”
“My parents…for this.”
Charlie held the bracer in the air. It glowed brilliantly in the gloom of the cavern. Suddenly, the choker around Verminion’s neck did the same, responding to the presence of one of the other Artifacts of the Nether. Clearly, they affected each other in some way—the two together blazed more strongly than either had ever shone separately.
Barakkas eyed the bracer hungrily. “How did you get it?” he asked.
“Gremlins,” Charlie replied. “We portaled hundreds into the Nightmare Division. They knocked out the power and my friends and I stole it in the chaos.”
“Incredible,” Verminion said, turning to Barakkas with a sneer. “The boy did it with mere Gremlins. And you wanted to take an army.”
Barakkas fumed silently.
Charlie glanced down at his Shadow and saw that it was pointing to the right, toward a tunnel that snaked out of the giant cavern.
“I want you to take my friends down there,” Charlie said, gesturing toward the tunnel, “so they can see if my parents are all right.”
“You know where we’re holding them?” Verminion asked.
“I have a Shadow,” Charlie replied.
Barakkas and Verminion shared a look. “Clever,” Barakkas said, then turned toward a Netherstalker. “Take them,” he commanded, “and make sure they remain safe.”
The Netherstalker bowed, then scuttled toward Theodore and Violet. “Come,” it hissed.
Theodore turned to Charlie. “You good with this?”
Charlie nodded. “It’ll be okay. Just stick to the plan.”
Nervously, Theodore and Violet walked toward the dark tunnel with the creature. After taking only a couple of steps, Violet ran back to Charlie, hugging him tightly.
“You be careful,” she said.
“You, too.”
“What should I do?” Brooke asked, cowering behind Charlie as Theodore and Violet
left with the Netherstalker.
“Just keep quiet and stay out of the way,” Charlie replied, then turned to the two Named. “Once my friends have portaled out with my parents, I’ll give you the bracer.”
“Oh, I’m not sure if we can allow that,” Barakkas countered. “How can we be sure you won’t portal out yourself, taking it with you once your parents are safe?”
“Because I’m not leaving,” Charlie replied. “In fact, I’m never leaving.”
“What?” Brooke said, shocked.
Ignoring her, Charlie strode toward Barakkas and Verminion, his confidence rising.
“I want to join you,” he continued. “I can’t go back to where I was. After I let you come through”—he nodded to Barakkas—“the Director decided I was better off dead. Or Reduced.” He shrugged. “Same thing.”
“So you stole the bracer,” Barakkas said, “in the hopes that such a kingly gift would make us look favorably upon you and ask you to join us?”
“Yes, and also to prove my loyalty to you. I can never go back to the Nightmare Division after what I did to them.”
“You little toad, you lied to me!” Brooke yelled. “To all of us! You were planning to betray us all along!”
Charlie shrugged. “Don’t blame me. You fell for it.” He turned back to the Named. “So what’s it gonna be? Can I join you?”
Verminion considered. “No…it doesn’t make sense. You are aware of what I did to Edward Pinch all those years ago when he allowed me to cross over. He made a deal with me and I, regrettably, broke it. Why would you come to us now, hoping we would treat you any differently?”
“Because you need me,” Charlie said, walking between them. He was dwarfed by them, a fawn making its way between two giant oaks. “I mean, how else could you bring the remaining two Named to Earth so the four of you could summon the Fifth?”
“How do you know about that?” Barakkas asked. Suddenly, realization dawned. “You put the bracer on, didn’t you?”
“I did,” Charlie confessed, “but only for a second. Even though I spied on your plan, the fact is, you need me to make it happen.”