“Please, don’t make me!” the mole pleaded as it squirmed.
“Where is she?”
Ariel lowered the mole closer to her mouth.
“Okay, okay!” it screamed.
Ariel lifted him to her eyes.
“The marsh. You’ll find her by the marsh.”
“You swear?” Ariel asked, lowering the mole back toward her mouth.
“Yes! Yes, I swear! Straight ahead, the marsh under the towering cliffs.”
“Go!” Ariel dropped the mole to the ground, and, within seconds, it burrowed deep into the earth.
“Were you really going to eat him?” Greer tentatively asked Ariel.
“You’ve never tried mole?”
Greer and Vero flashed one another disgusted looks.
“I’ve never tried it either,” Ariel laughed. “We Powers are pure spirits and don’t need food to sustain us.”
Ariel, Vero, and Greer walked through the dense woods. Overgrown trees, shrubs, and thick-hanging moss made it impossible for them to use their wings. Vero could feel the ground underneath his feet squish with each step.
“We must be getting closer to the swamp,” he said. “The ground is feeling soft.”
“My boots are getting all wet,” Greer complained.
“At least you have shoes,” Ariel said.
Vero brushed the tree branches and underbrush away from his face and pushed through the foliage. Ariel and Greer followed. Minutes later, they found themselves standing in a low-lying marshy wetland. A ring of trees surrounded the marsh. Large rock cliffs stood behind the trees. On the edge of the swamp there stood the burnt-out remains of a huge bonfire and just beyond that an old abandoned well on the edge of the woods.
“This must be it,” Vero said in a voice barely above a whisper.
“Be careful,” Ariel said.
Vero scanned the marsh nervously. Dense clusters of reeds grew out of the swampy land, and stagnant pools gave off a foul stench. Something darted in the grass under his foot. Vero jumped back and screamed when he realized it was a snake. The slithering creature disappeared into the black mud.
“Thanks, Vero. Now Lilith will definitely know we’re here,” Greer said.
“There’s a snake in there.” Vero pointed.
“Man up!” Greer said.
Another snake slithered toward Vero. His face turned red as he tried to suppress a shriek. His wings shot open, and he rose into the air.
“Seriously?” Greer said, shaking her head.
“I hate snakes,” Vero answered. “I’ll just fly for now. They can’t get me up here.”
Without warning, a thick black snake jumped out of the muck and flew straight at Vero. Vero eyes shot wide, hardly able to believe what he was seeing. He screamed and quickly ducked. The serpent narrowly missed him.
“What the . . .?” he said, his voice shaking.
“A flying snake?” Greer said.
“Yeah, but it doesn’t have any wings!” Vero said. “That’s even creepier!”
The snake slithered around in midair and flew back straight for Vero’s face when — swoosh! — a sword sliced the flying reptile right across the middle of its long body. It fell to the ground in two pieces. Vero saw the sword belonged to Ariel. She had flown up to save him. He wondered how she could hold the sword in her paw. After all, lions did not have opposable thumbs. But when he looked closer – he saw that her paw had morphed into a sword — her paw and sword were one.
“I’ve heard of flying fish, and even flying squirrels, but who knew snakes could fly?” Greer said.
“I hope that was the only one,” Vero said, trying to catch his breath.
As if on cue, more serpents launched out of the swamp and headed toward Vero. He ducked, swooped down to pick a long stick off the ground, and held it like a batter waiting for the pitch as the snakes altered their course and headed back for him.
“Ah — redemption! Time to show Michael you do know how to wield a stick as a weapon!” Greer shouted as she hovered in the air.
As Vero aimed it at an attacking snake’s head, its mouth opened, and a burst of fire shot out. The direct hit burned the wooden stick almost immediately. Vero dropped what was left of it to the ground before the burning remnants scorched his hand.
“Or maybe not,” Greer shook her head.
“And they shoot fire?” Vero moaned. “That’s not a fair fight! This is my worst nightmare!”
“Enough with the sticks, Vero! I need to see real metal here!” Ariel shouted as her sword swiped at a flying serpent, killing it. As a serpent flew toward Greer, she closed her eyes, and . . . a sword sprung forth from her left palm. She wielded the sword at the creature, slicing off its head.
“What the heck are these things?” Greer shouted.
“Fiery, flying serpents . . . Isaiah wrote of them!” Ariel yelled. “They’re nasty!”
More serpents rose up out of the marsh. They coiled and slithered through the air as if they were skimming along the surface of a pond. Greer and Ariel wielded their swords every which way at the flying beasts while at the same time ducking shooting fire from their mouths. A flame caught Greer’s shoe. She dropped to the wet marsh, putting it out.
“A little help here, Vero!” Ariel shouted swinging wildly at serpents.
Vero looked down at his hand, willing his sword to appear. He closed his eyes and concentrated so deeply that sweat began to trickle down his face. When he opened his eyes, he was face-to-face with a snake! The snake opened its mouth to spew fire when, suddenly, Vero’s sword sprung from the palm of his hand. In a split second, Vero swung the sword’s blade in front of him, beheading the serpent mere inches from his face.
“About time!” Greer called to Vero as more snakes attacked her while she shot back into the air.
Ariel and Greer swung at the flying serpents, killing one after another. When a serpent just barely missed Ariel, Vero could see that she was growing tired and her reflexes were slowing. Vero flew to her side to help her when he saw scores and scores of snakes flying out of a massive fallen, hollowed-out tree trunk lying in the marsh. Too many snakes to count slithered from the den. A sense of despair came over Vero, Greer, and Ariel when they realized they were about to be ambushed.
“Get behind that tree!” Ariel screamed to Greer and Vero as she nodded to a tree with a thick trunk growing out of the marsh.
They looked to one another; unsure of what she was asking them to do.
“Now!” Ariel yelled.
Vero grabbed Greer’s arm and they flew behind the tree. Ariel roared. Vero peeked around the tree and saw Ariel turn her backside to the swarm of angry snakes flying toward her. Her scorpion tail fanned at the tip. Suddenly, barbs the size and shape of sewing needles shot out like bullets firing from a machine gun. The poisonous needles hit their targets, and snake after snake fell from the sky. It’s raining snakes, Vero thought.
Soon the flying serpents were all lying lifeless on the ground. Feeling it was safe, Vero and Greer stepped out from behind the tree, but both carried their swords defensively out in front, just in case.
“That was amazing,” Vero said, looking at the ground littered with hundreds of dead snakes.
Greer stared at Ariel in awe. “I guess that tail comes in handy.”
“Don’t let your guard down, Ariel panted. “She’s here somewhere. Those flying snakes were nothing but her little welcoming committee, and she won’t be happy we’ve killed her pets.”
Ariel took a few steps, then screamed out in pain. She fell into the mud. Vero and Greer raced over to her, carefully stepping around dead snakes. Ariel’s paw had swollen, and the pad had turned a bright red. Some sort of infection was rapidly spreading up her leg.
“They’re still alive . . .” Ariel managed to speak.
Vero and Greer looked at the ground. Their hearts jumped up in their throats when they saw the severed head of a serpent spewing fire from its mouth — its eyes still darting around, se
eking its next victim. Vero stabbed the tip of his sword straight through the center of the snake’s head. It finally went limp.
“Get off the ground!” Ariel urged them. “You could step on another one!”
Greer and Vero flew into the air, hovering about a foot above Ariel. Greer felt Ariel’s paw. It was hot to the touch.
“What can we do?” Greer asked, desperately. “Can you heal yourself?”
Before Ariel could answer, the angels heard a rustle behind them. Greer and Vero whipped their heads around in the direction of the ancient water well. It sounded as if the disturbance was coming from deep within it.
“Let’s get her up!” Vero said to Greer, sensing danger.
Greer and Vero’s swords retracted back into their palms as they landed on the ground. They were grabbing Ariel under her front legs when they saw a snake-like rope of thick hair crawl out of the well and head toward them.
“Hurry!” Vero yelled. “Ariel, your wings! Can you fly?” But Ariel had gone unconscious.
“Lift her!” Greer shouted as the hair rope slithered closer. “We have to fly her out of here!”
Vero and Greer lifted Ariel a few feet off the ground, but then, with an unnaturally fast speed, the tip of the hair rope spun itself around Ariel’s body and pulled her from Greer and Vero’s hands. Ariel was consumed and disappeared into the hair. The hair serpent retreated back into the well.
Vero turned to Greer, wide-eyed with terror. “Lilith.”
25
THE BLACK CASTLE
She has Ariel,” Greer whispered in the now eerily quiet marsh.
Vero nodded slowly.
“We have to go after her,” Greer said quietly, never taking her eyes off the well. Greer fought back tears. “She can’t kill her, can she? We can still rescue her, right?”
Vero looked hard at Greer. He had the same fear, but he put on a brave face and gripped her shoulder. “We’ll get her back.”
Greer sniffled. Vero looked over at the well. “I have to go in there,” he said resolutely. “But I don’t want you coming with me. This is as far as you go. Go back to C.A.N.D.L.E.”
“Nice try, Vero,” Greer said, blinking rapidly.
Vero put both hands on Greer’s shoulders and looked her square in the face. “Greer, Lilith is a monster. She just took Ariel like she was nothing more than a stuffed animal. If anything happened to you . . .”
Greer’s tough-girl persona reappeared, and she met Vero’s eyes with resolve. “I appreciate your concern, but we’re in this together. I know I belong here, fighting for Clover and now Ariel.”
Vero’s eyes filled with gratitude. He grabbed her arm and shoved her in front of him like a shield. “Okay, you first.”
“Jerk.” Greer chuckled.
Vero released her arm.
“So do we go in there after her?” Greer asked, eyeing the well. “Or do we lure her out somehow?”
Vero thought for a moment. “Maybe lure? I could let one of those snakeheads bite me like they did Ariel. That might bring her back out,” Vero said.
“One of those bites could also kill you. You saw Ariel’s leg. And lower your voice,” Greer whispered. “The well’s only a few feet away. She could overhear us.”
“Then we go after her.” Vero sprouted wings and flew over to the well with Greer following. He hovered over the circular top and looked down into it. Darkness. Complete and utter blackness. He turned to Greer. “Your last chance to bail.”
“No way,” she said.
Vero and Greer flew down and stood on the edge of the well’s decrepit stone wall. Vero gave Greer one last look before he jumped into the center of the well, feet first. The circular walls of the well were wide enough that Vero could flap his wings to slow down his descent. After a few minutes, his feet hit solid ground. Greer landed safely beside him. Vero looked around. The flicker of flames from torches hanging on the stone walls lit up the small chamber. But upon closer look, he realized those weren’t torches lining the walls. They were the severed heads of flying serpents! And they were still alive! Fire shot from their mouths in steady bursts.
“Lilith’s definitely into Goth,” Greer said.
“Stay away from their heads,” Vero warned. They’re still venomous.”
“Do you think she knows we’re here?” Greer asked, looking around. “Wherever this is . . .”
“Yes,” Vero said. “Stay on your guard.” He nodded to a single tunnel that led away from the cavern. “That’s the only way forward.”
Greer nodded. Vero took the lead through the tunnel. It was a tight squeeze, so they retracted their wings and were careful not to brush up against a wall or else they’d feel the wrath of the snakes’ flames. Foul smells began to attack their noses and burn their throats. Greer buried her nose and mouth in the bend of her elbow as she walked. Eventually, the tunnel opened up to a massive cavern. Vero put his hand up, halting Greer.
Before them, spanning some kind of foul, black river of sludge, swung a narrow bridge. On the other side of the bridge, a fortress wall of black stone rose into the darkness. Atop the wall, black bars stretched all the way to the ceiling of the cavern. There was a door in the center of the wall, but it was inside the mouth of a huge carved serpent head. Beyond the bars, Vero could see that the cavern opened up further and housed an ominous dark castle with tall turrets and a massive round tower in the center.
“Not much curb appeal,” Greer commented, taking in the fortress wall.
“I know.” Vero nodded. “Nothing says ‘welcome’ like bars and a giant snake head. This isn’t going to be easy.” A hot wind blew across the sludgy water, delivering its putrid smell to Vero’s and Greer’s noses. Vero gagged from the stench.
“If evil has a smell, this is it.” Greer choked. “It’s worse than the Leviathan.”
“Let’s go,” Vero said, stepping out onto the footbridge. The hairs on Vero’s arms bristled as they made their way across the rickety bridge toward the stone serpent’s mouth. Once on the other side, they walked carefully through the mouth, anxiously glancing up at the massive stone fangs above them. Seconds later, a loud creaking sound rattled them. Greer and Vero spun around to see the serpent’s mouth close tightly behind them.
“There’s no turning back now,” Vero said.
Greer shivered.
The serpent’s mouth led to a tunnel that was fairly wide initially, but as Vero walked ahead, the passageway grew narrower and narrower. It, too, was illuminated only by the serpent heads.
Eventually, the passageway was so tight that Greer was forced to walk directly behind Vero. After a short distance, an opening on the other side could be seen. Vero stopped walking, and Greer bumped into him.
“Hold up. I think I can see a gate on the other side,” Vero said.
“How far?” Greer asked, as she tried to peer over his shoulder.
“Maybe twenty or thirty feet.”
“Good. Turns out, I’m getting claustrophobic. So hurry!” Greer said, pushing Vero forward.
Vero stumbled, and when his foot hit the ground before him, a geyser of flames leapt up from beneath it. The explosion pushed Vero back the way he had come, right into Greer. Vero’s pants were on fire as the two tumbled to the ground. Vero rolled on the floor, trying to extinguish the flames, and Greer took off her jacket and began smothering the flames on his legs. Moments later, the fire on Vero’s pants went out, but the flame that had knocked him backward was still burning on the floor of the passageway.
“Is your leg burnt?” Greer asked.
“No, only my pants.”
They looked at the hallway before them.
“What the heck just happened?” Greer asked.
“After you pushed me, I stepped forward, and fire shot out from the ground under my foot,” Vero said as he bent down and picked up a stone. “Grab some more. I want to see something.”
Greer grabbed a few small rocks from the floor and handed them to Vero. He threw them down the hall. Wherever
they landed, fire erupted.
“It’s a mine field!” Greer yelped. “We can’t walk across that, and we can’t go back!”
Vero surveyed the narrow hallway before him. Greer was right about walking ahead.
“We’re doomed already,” Greer said. “If the hallway wasn’t so tight, we could just fly over the fire floor.”
Vero thought about that for a moment. As he looked down the tunnel, the flames from the rocks on the floor still flickered in the narrow passage, but he could see that they stopped directly in front of the gate.
“We’ll see about that,” Vero said.
Vero took a few steps back. He focused on the small tongues of flame on the floor before him. He put his hand over his heart and concentrated, then started running full speed like a gymnast about to begin a tumbling routine.
“Vero, what are you doing?” Greer screamed.
Just before he reached the flames on the floor, Vero leapt forward headfirst. As he flew, he grew his wings and positioned them straight back over his torso, since the narrow passage prevented him from spreading them. His wings scraped along the passage ceiling but gave him just enough lift to carry him forward, almost like a paper airplane. The gate was quickly approaching, but his glide altitude was beginning to decrease. As he got nearer and nearer to the floor, Vero realized it was going to be close. He stretched forward with his arms and pointed his toes, trying to make himself as thin as possible. Just before his torso scraped the ground, he slammed headfirst into the gate and collapsed onto the floor. He moaned in pain, but had cleared the fire floor.
Vero grabbed the gate and pulled himself to his feet.
“Vero, are you okay?” Greer called. There was panic in her voice.
Vero gingerly touched the top of his head. “Yep.”
“You’re a crazy jerk, you know that?!”
Vero turned around and peered at Greer in the flickering light. “The flight was tight, but it was only the sudden stop at the end that really hurt. You can do it, Greer. If you keep your wings pinned back behind you and get a good running start — Oooof!”
Pillars of Fire Page 24