Stone of Power (Keepers of Earth Book 1)

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Stone of Power (Keepers of Earth Book 1) Page 25

by Kimberly Riley


  Venom grabbed Tech around his upper body as he stepped beside him. With a practiced move, Venom swept his legs out from under him. Then, he slammed the Keeper into the ground. Tech groaned in pain. Clutching his side, he curled up into a fetal position.

  “I want to kill you. However, I also want to give our dear Raptor the pleasure of watching.” Venom picked up the guns as Tech helplessly watched. He winced and touched the bloodstain on his arm, poking a finger through the hole in his white suit. “Most unfortunate.”

  Venom stalked toward the tree where Andrew and Tran hid, stepping over Tech. “Come out, both of you,” he demanded.

  Andrew realized that Venom had been speaking the Keeper language previously, but now he spoke in English.

  Tran whimpered. “What do we do?”

  Trying to keep his panic under control, Andrew racked his brain for a plan, but he did not have a clue of where to start. Venom’s speed and strength frightened him. “Not what he says?” Andrew suggested. Tran could only manage a twitch in response.

  Andrew crept out from behind the tree, ducking behind a bush, as he tried to get a better view.

  Heading straight for them was Venom. Behind him, Tech recovered, drawing another gun that matched the silver gun Venom had taken.

  “Venom!” Tech shouted. “You leave them alone!”

  Venom spun around just as Tech shot at him again. This time, the bullet connected to his chest, but no blood flowed out of him.

  Tech jerked his head back, but then he growled, “Body armor.”

  Rolling his shoulders, Venom pointed both guns at Tech. “We could repeat your little trick, and I could shoot you. Drop it.” Venom spoke in English, though Tech continued in Keeper.

  Venom must have thought Andrew was a normal human and spoke in English for his benefit. Andrew gulped, not certain what role to play.

  Tech did not budge.

  Venom pointed one of his guns toward Andrew. “Or I could shoot the one person here a bullet will kill.”

  Andrew’s heart caught in his throat, knowing he had accidently exposed himself while watching the fight. He threw a glance at the tree, wondering if he could move fast enough to dive behind it.

  Throwing his free hand up high into the air, Tech crouched down and set the gun on the dried grass. “What do you want?”

  “To say hello and to tell you I have your other human—the girl with brown hair,” Venom replied.

  Andrew growled, clenching his fists at his sides. “You give Christine back!” Biting his tongue, he wondered if he had said that in Keeper or English. He hoped it had been in English.

  Tech shot him a nasty look, his eyes narrowing.

  Venom smirked at Andrew. He barked, “Stand up.”

  Tran stood up, revealing himself, and stepped out from behind the tree. Knowing Venom had him as a bargaining chip, Andrew rose too.

  “This is a dangerous place. Why did you bring a boy here? What is Raptor up to?” Venom turned toward Andrew. “Who are you?”

  Tech set his jaw and did not respond.

  Andrew began an admission of being Venom’s replacement, but Tran roughly snatched him by the arm, hissing, “Tell him nothing. He doesn’t know who you are.”

  Andrew clamped his mouth shut, going along with the ruse.

  “She did order it, I assume,” Venom said. Tech did not flinch. “Your lack of reaction tells me I guessed correctly, but why? Something to do with the shift?” A smile pulled across his lips. “How is that going?”

  “You could put a stop to it!” Tech snapped, thrusting his hand out toward Venom. “Just hand over the Stone of Power, and let us do our jobs.”

  Venom shook his head in disagreement. “Walker is capable of solving it herself.”

  “It could kill her, and you know it!”

  Venom casually shrugged, glancing upwards. “That is not my problem.” He strode toward Tran and Andrew again.

  Stepping backwards onto an exposed vine, Andrew could sense the matrix of roots laid out across the city. Venom walked over several large ones just below the surface.

  Andrew focused on one of the roots near Venom. Despite the plant’s hostility, it did not possess the power the Stone of Life had. He forced the root to rise into Venom’s path.

  Venom tripped, his stumble almost comical. However, he quickly caught himself, planting his feet firmly on the ground.

  Andrew felt Venom’s will take over the root, wrenching control away from him. The root sunk down into the dirt.

  Tech leapt forward, grabbing his gun off the ground and dashing toward Venom. Coming up behind him, Tech thrust his knee into Venom’s back.

  Venom fell to his knees, coughing. “You …” he wheezed.

  “The one and only.” Tech flashed a cocky grin and grabbed the guns from Venom. He threw one into the brush, but kept both of the silver ones.

  Venom pushed himself up, wrath etched onto his face.

  Tech aimed both of his guns at Venom. “Get ready to run.”

  Hoping to find another exposed root or vine he could touch, Andrew looked around frantically, but they lay just out of his reach. He thought about all the roots jumping up and attacking Venom, but to no avail. Andrew strained to focus on the image of the roots grabbing Venom.

  Nothing.

  He gritted his teeth, frustrated his powers did not work when he wanted them to.

  A dark grin crept over Venom’s face, his attention focused on Andrew. He called out, “Until next time.” He touched a black box hanging on his belt and vanished with an electrical pop.

  Did that smile mean Venom knew Andrew could control plants? Andrew swept a hand through his hair, just glad the terrifying man was gone.

  “Rap was right, Venom’s not himself anymore.” Tran suppressed a shudder. “What was he doing here?”

  Tran’s reaction surprised Andrew. He seemed afraid of Venom, but sad also. His shoulders slumped, and he kept glancing back to where Venom had been standing.

  Andrew did not care. He hated Venom for what he had done to Raptor—betraying her, killing Bringer—and now for kidnapping Christine. “He took Christine. How did he know she was here?”

  “Raptor’s going to be pissed. Could my day get any worse?” Tech sighed loudly. He reached up to touch his right ear. “Mouse.” He moved away as he talked quietly. A few moments later, his hand dropped to his side as he turned toward the others. “It’s going to take time for Mouse to track her down again, and Venom is smart; he’ll make sure Mouse can’t.”

  “I’m sick of this.” Andrew stomped away from the others. “Every time we get close to finding Christine, something happens. First with Arachnid and now here.”

  “It’s how it goes.” Tech seemed annoyed at his tantrum, tapping his fingers on the side of his leg.

  Turning to face him, Andrew asked in an irritated tone, “Don’t you have any clue where he’s gone with her?”

  “No. Venom’s changed, and we don’t know anything about him anymore.”

  Andrew shoved his hands into his pockets, angry with himself for letting Christine out of his sight. “I don’t care. I’m going to find her.”

  “How exactly are you going to do that? Magic her up?” Tech flicked his hands up into the sky.

  Tossing a glare at Tech, Tran said to Andrew, “I’m sure what he means to say is that you can’t just bullhead your way through this. Once we know more, then we can form a plan.”

  Andrew begrudgingly let some of his frustration fade. He pulled his hands out of his pockets. “Sorry, you’re right.”

  Tran looked relieved. “Let’s go home.”

  “Oh, no, you don’t,” Tech said. “We need to get to the Moving Pyramid to find the Stone of Daring. Just have to figure out how to get out of here.”

  Groaning as he kicked at a root, Tran did not seem pleased to have another mission.

  “Well, how did we end up in the city?” Andrew asked.

  Tran tapped his foot, his expression still sour. “Something tried t
o attack us in the curtains. You were talking about Christine, and then I said she was in the city. Tech said, ‘Don’t go under the curtains,’ and then the floor dropped out.”

  Andrew looked down at the grass, wondering if it would give way again.

  Tech pressed his lips together. “Walker said you have to know where you want to go, and we want to go to the Moving Pyramid.”

  “We were closer too,” Tran pointed out.

  “Wait, what if we need to go back to the labyrinth first?” Andrew thought that it might function as the control room for all the other areas. “We want to go to the labyrinth,” he said, stepping closer to Tech and Tran.

  The floor dropped out from under them, like a trapdoor splitting down the middle.

  Tran gave a shocked “Gah!” They fell about six feet, landing roughly inside the labyrinth.

  Getting up, Andrew rubbed his shoulder, where he had taken the brunt of his fall.

  “I’m getting tired of this,” Tech said, standing. He reached down and helped Tran to his feet.

  “Thanks.” Tran straightened his tie and pulled on the edges of his jacket, adjusting it.

  “Let’s try this again. We want to go to the Moving Pyramid.” Tech inspected his feet, shifting them as if expecting to fall again. When nothing happened, he glared at the ceiling. “What? Seriously?! That worked before! Moovvinng Pyraammid,” he said, drawing out the words, but still nothing happened.

  Tran pointed down the hallway. “Uh, Tech.” The lights at the end of the path popped out. Then, the next set of lights went out. The darkness approached them at a steady pace.

  Something moved in the darkness, something big. It shuffled back and forth, dragging itself along the ground with a scraping sound. Another grouping of lights clicked out, the edge of the darkness stopping at their feet.

  Tech growled. “I really hate this place!”

  The creature edged closer. Andrew could make out only the faintest of details. Clawed hands dragged a bulbous body forward, and large, unblinking eyes rested atop its head.

  The last set of lights above their heads popped out and darkness swallowed them up. The sickly smell of blood filled the air.

  Tech reached up and touched his glasses. A flicker of green rippled across them. “It’s an ugly thing, like a fish crossed with a seal or something.” He flipped one of his guns from his blazer and fired three quick rounds. Something howled as the bullets hit their mark. Then a furious snarl echoed from the hallway.

  “I have an idea,” Andrew said.

  “What?” Tech asked as he shot at the darkness again.

  “I thought about Christine the last time.”

  “Okay, so? We’ve got the creature from the Black Lagoon about to eat us and that doesn’t help.”

  “Oh, he’s right!” Tran said, shifting himself closer to Andrew and Tech.

  Andrew pressed, “I think … I think we have to want something more than to just be there. We’re after a Quester Stone, right?”

  “The Stone of Daring.”

  “I get it!” Tran exclaimed. He spoke as fast as he could. “We want to go to the Moving Pyramid to get the Stone of Daring!”

  The floor opened and dropped them into a pitch-black vortex.

  Andrew’s instincts kicked in despite the fact that he knew he would be okay. He clawed desperately at the air to hold onto to something as he plummeted. Once again, the fall lasted several minutes.

  The howling wind started to lessen, their decent slowing. Tran yelled, “It worked! This is easy!” Below them, a light appeared.

  “Don’t get cocky!”

  “Oh! Says you!”

  Tech put his arms down to his sides and started to fall faster. He quickly pulled them back up and slowed again. He swiped a hand across his forehead, his breath shaky.

  The light brightened. “Here we go!” Tech yelled.

  Their plunge slowed as the light intensified to a bright flash, blinding them.

  When Andrew’s vision returned, he found himself sliding down the side of a steep sand dune. Panicking, he tried to slow himself, sticking his hands into the loose sand, but this sent him tumbling end over end. He crash-landed at the base of the dune. As he made a futile effort to dust the sand off his shirt, he noticed that endless waves of yellow sand surrounded him. To his right, Tran also tried to knock the sand off his clothing.

  A yell from behind Andrew was his only warning as Tech came tumbling down the hill. Andrew dove out of the way as he landed harshly on the ground. Standing, Tech patted down his blazer, sending puffs of fine sand floating off into the air.

  “Is this the right place?” Andrew ran his hands through his hair, brushing out bits of sand. Just like in the city, the burning pale blue sky lacked a sun. There was a breeze, but it felt like opening an oven door and being blasted by the heat inside. Andrew could feel his lips cracking and beads of sweat forming across his forehead.

  Tech held up a hand, peering out across the horizon. “Would make sense for a pyramid to be in a desert.”

  Tran grinned and then opened his mouth to say something but shut it again. The grin faded away, and his face lost its color. He opened his eyes wide as he pointed a finger over their shoulders.

  “There’s something behind us, isn’t there?” Andrew asked. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. A shadow of something huge rose above them—a serpentine silhouette.

  “Run!” Tran shouted as he spun around, arms flailing. He darted away.

  Andrew and Tech pursued him as he ran up the next dune.

  An angry howl tore the air as four snake heads burst through the sand. A dusty brown body followed as the monster emerged from the earth. Long talons on its feet helped it to move with incredible speed. It chased the Keepers up a dune, swaying back and forth like a lizard running up the side of a house.

  “Hydra. Definitely a hydra,” Andrew muttered as he clambered up the hill.

  The group reached the top and then started down the other side of it. The monster gained on them. Andrew pushed against the scorched sand with all his might, but his legs would go no faster. Tech grabbed him by the hand and pulled him along. Instead of going up the next dune, they went around it and over a smaller dune. As they crested the top, a pyramid, rising about fifty feet out of the desert, came into view.

  “That’s it! Can you make it?” Tech yelled at Andrew.

  Completely out of breath, all he could do was nod his head.

  Tech pointed to Tran. “Follow him!” He let go of Andrew and pulled out a silver gun, shooting at the multi-headed monster. Two of the heads turned to Tech, but the other two stayed on Tran and Andrew. The hydra stopped, shifting its feet back and forth while the heads tried to decide which direction to go.

  Falling into step behind Tran, Andrew chanced a glance behind them. The monster had given up the chase as it squabbled with itself. He stopped, resting his hands on his knees and sucked in big gulps of hot air.

  “We better come up with something quick. It won’t stay busy forever,” Tran said, a touch of panic in his voice. The heads of the monster moved about independently of each other on their long necks. Each head also seemed to control its own tail. Andrew wondered how the hydra did not come apart at the seams the way it moved around like four separate animals.

  In the distance, Tech pointed to himself, then motioned to the pyramid. He pointed at Andrew and pointed toward the pyramid again. Finally, he pointed at Tran, then the hydra.

  He lifted his gun and took several shots at the other heads of the hydra. This seemed to force one of the heads to rethink getting close to him, but the other three trained their eyes on Tech. They dragged the fourth head along, until it too focused on chasing him.

  Tran threw his hands into the air and shouted at Tech, “I never agreed to this plan!” However, Tech had already left. He was a blur running across the sand, heading right for the pyramid.

  Andrew could not believe it. Tech’s speed was inhuman. “Wow, he can move.”

 
“Yeah he can,” Tran said. “Wait! You need to get to the pyramid! Go!”

  Andrew took off, sprinting toward the pyramid.

  The hydra was fast, but Tech kept ahead of it with ease, occasionally pausing to wait for it to catch up. Tech looped around the pyramid with the hydra tailing him.

  This was Andrew’s chance. He ran across the open space as fast as he was able, but he could not manage more than a trot. Thankfully, the pyramid was not far. He spotted the entrance just as Tech and the hydra made their way around to the front.

  Andrew launched himself inside the doorway and halted, his legs and chest burning from the effort of running. Inside, tan stones that must have weighed a ton each formed a hallway. The air felt pleasantly cool and smelled of dried earth. Burning torches hung in sconces along the walls. Outside, the hydra clawed its way up a sand dune. Tran stood at the top, screaming something. The monster had taken the bait.

  “Nice job,” Tech said, patting Andrew on the shoulder.

  Andrew jumped out of his skin.

  “Sorry.” Tech smiled, betraying his lack of sincerity in the apology.

  Clutching at his chest, his heart pounding, Andrew said, “Just surprised me.” He changed the subject. “Tran says you have a Quester Stone?”

  “It’s a minor one. Not very powerful as far as Stones go. It allows me to speed up time for a few seconds, and then it has to recharge for a few days.” Tech reached into his pocket and pulled out a pocket watch. The front and back were made of glass, allowing Andrew to see the interworking of the gears. Imbedded into some of them were tiny chips of pale pink stones. All of the gears stood motionless. Even the hands, visible through the front of the glass, were still. “How many of the Keepers are Questers?”

  “Well, there’s Raptor and myself and Godlin has one too. You seen Raptor’s Stone yet? It’s a key. Godlin’s is that dagger he carries around.”

  “What kind of Stone is Godlin’s?”

  “It’s a minor one too. Ours aren’t Stones of anything, unlike the other major ones. But you’re distracting me, we need to get going.” Tech moved forward. A faint click sounded as a stone shifted under his weight.

  Tech dropped to the ground. Small darts flew out from slits in the wall. They pinged as they struck the opposite side.

 

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