Stone of Power (Keepers of Earth Book 1)

by Kimberly Riley

  Andrew stood far enough away that the darts did not hit him.

  “Great. Traps,” Tech muttered to himself, standing. “Stay here. When I give you the signal, I want you to run.” He became a blur again and ran straight through the hallway, setting off every trap as he went. Arrows shot out of one wall. More darts shot out of the other wall farther down the hallway. Then, several large rocks cascaded from the ceiling. Andrew watched with an open mouth as a trapdoor opened under Tech, but he swept past it before it finished opening.

  Tech stopped at the end of the hall. A disordered heap of rocks, wood, and dust lay in his wake. He lifted an arm to Andrew.

  Putting a hand to the side of his face, Andrew muttered, “Wow.” He ran down the hallway, avoiding the piles of rubble, scrambled over the rocks, and jumped over the open pit trap.

  “See? Easy.” Tech grinned at Andrew as they made their way around a corner. On the other side, they encountered an ornate door with markings all over it.

  Andrew stared at it for a few seconds. Stone tiles about the size of his hand rested in hollow spots in the door. He touched one and found it loose. Pulling the tile free, there was a sharp click from somewhere behind the door. A faint ticking sound followed, like a clock. He shoved the tile into an empty hole farther up the door. Another click. “It’s a puzzle, Tech!”

  Tech groaned. “Oh, we don’t have time for this. Go stand around the corner.”

  Andrew had been proud he had figured out one of the traps, so he dragged his feet as he went around the corner. A few moments passed and a loud clang rang out. The sound of a large stone crashing to the ground followed. He darted around the corner to help, but Tech had avoided the door as it fell. A new hallway opened before him, and he wore a smug grin on his face.

  “What did you do?”

  “Tripped the trap. It’s easier than solving the riddle.” Tech checked the pocket watch, staring at it as if reading the time, even though Andrew knew it did not work. “No time to waste. I don’t know how long it’ll take that hydra to catch Tran.”

  Andrew gave him a worried look.

  “Don’t fret. He can run fast when he’s motivated.”

  The next hallway split in two directions. Tech picked the one to his right and went ahead of Andrew. This time, the trap turned out to be flamethrowers shooting out of the walls. Fire would jet out of one slot with a roaring whoosh and then would die back as flames shot out of the next one.

  Tech watched the pattern for several moments. Then, in a blur of motion, he went straight to the end, missing each of the flames. On the far end was a large button. Tech pressed it, causing the flames to stop, and allowing Andrew to walk unimpeded.

  The hallway split again, and Tech went left this time. This newest hallway was shorter than the previous two but filled with pit traps. While Tech was able to cross with ease, Andrew spent longer timing his jumps, until he came to the edge of the largest trap.

  “I don’t think I can jump it,” Andrew said. At the bottom of the pit were wooden spikes, jutting upwards into the air. Andrew rubbed his throat as he pictured himself impaled on them.

  “Hmm, maybe not. Just a second.” Tech jogged off and peered around the next corner. “Yeah, hold on!” He disappeared.

  Andrew noticed the hall had a slight incline, and he grinned to himself at their progress. Tech’s watch made it easy, like cheat codes for a video game. His chest fluttered with excitement.

  Carrying a long wooden board with him, Tech reappeared. “Found this in the hallway.” He set the plank across the pit.

  Andrew used one foot to test it. It jiggled under his weight, but seemed solid. He slowly slid out across the board, averting his eyes from the giant spikes below. Gradually, Andrew made his way across without tipping over.

  Tech gave him a slap on the back. “We got this.”

  “Yeah, we do,” Andrew smiled in return. Even though Tech had first struck him as abrasive, Andrew had warmed up to him. Tech was outgoing and adventurous. Everything Andrew had always wanted to be.

  They went around the corner, passing several boards resting on the ground. At the end of the hallway was a ladder leading to a chamber above. Tech climbed up first with Andrew close behind.

  Inside the chamber stood a five foot tall statue shaped into a creature stuck somewhere between a human and a cat. In her hands, she held a bowl filled with gold coins. In the middle of the bowl, a tripod rested with an amber pyramid inverted in it. The pyramid was about three inches high from the tip to the base.

  “That’s it,” Tech said, motioning to the amber stone.

  Andrew thought it rather ugly, until Tech picked it up. It caught the light of the torches, displaying a stunning complexity of cracks inside it, forming an exquisite starburst pattern.

  “The Stone of Daring,” Tech said. “It can make anyone brave, to the point of stupidity. They fear nothing and take any challenge, no matter how outlandish or extraordinary it might be.”

  “Do we need to worry about it?”

  “No. Nothing can hurt me,” Tech said, puffing out his chest. He slowly spun the Stone in his hand, caressing it with his thumb.

  “Nothing?”

  “That’s right.” Tech pulled his shoulders back and lifted his chin, standing in a power pose. Suddenly, he winced as if in pain, his expression changing from wistfulness to disgust.

  A weight lifted from Andrew’s mind. He and Tech had never thought to question the traps in the pyramid—how simple they seemed and how they had led them right to the top no matter which path they chose.

  “Tech! Don’t do it! Whatever it is!” The Stone still affected Tech, Andrew thought.

  Tech’s eyes glossed over as his body relaxed and a dreamy smile formed on his lips.

  Running a hand through his hair, Andrew tried to decide what to do. His eyes flicked around the room and landed on the statue. It began to crumble into sand. An arm fell off and then the bowl followed, sending gold coins scattering across the ground. These also turned into dust and sank into a vanishing floor.

  “TECH!” Andrew punched him on the shoulder as hard as he could and stepped back.

  Baring his teeth, Tech snarled. He chucked the Stone across the room. “I hate Quester Stones,” he said through gritted teeth.

  Andrew felt confidence building in his mind, but he knew it was the Stone of Daring trying to influence him. He pressed into his mind not to touch the Stone, no matter what happened. “We need to go!”

  “Wha—?” The pyramid rumbled and shivered. “Oh. This should be fun.” Rolling his eyes, Tech stripped off his blue blazer and used it to scoop up the Stone of Daring without touching it.

  The rest of the pyramid crumbled as well. Fine cracks appeared in the rocks and spread like spider webs. Andrew assumed the Stone had not taken Tech’s rejection well. It seemed intent on burying them instead.

  Down the ladder Tech and Andrew went, moving as fast as they could. They dropped into the hallway below as the ceiling of the small room above them caved in. Light poured in from outside.

  “Run, run!” Tech yelled.

  Not looking back, Andrew took a right in the first fork, trying to remember how they got there in reverse. As he rounded a corner, he found himself outside. The light blinded him for a brief moment. Bricks tumbled down the side of the pyramid and turned into sand as they smashed into the ground.

  Andrew skidded to a halt. Tech pushed him from behind and sent him toppling outside. Tech jumped after him, and they went sliding down the side of the pyramid. Rocks turned into sand all around them.

  Having lost control, Andrew tumbled all the way to the ground. His landing was rough, but he survived with just a few scrapes and bruises. He scrambled away from the pyramid as it collapsed. A massive dust storm swept over him.

  Andrew closed his eyes and ducked down. Coarse sand crashed down around him, scraping across any exposed skin like sandpaper. Finally, the sandstorm stopped, and the dust settled, clearing the air. He opened his eyes. Sitting be
side him with a stunned expression and a gaping mouth was Tech.

  The pyramid had melted away, becoming just another sand dune among many.

  Andrew saw Tech had a tight grip on his blazer. He had kept hold of the Quester Stone during the whole experience.

  Tran stood above them on a sand dune, watching with a slack jaw. He ran down the hill in short leaping bounds.

  “Where’s the hydra?” Tech asked, as if expecting it to pop up out of the sand.

  Tran pointed to the dune behind him. “Behind the hill. It just sorta crumbled to dust a few moments ago.”

  “Must have been connected to the pyramid. When we took it out, the hydra went down too.”

  “That means you got the Stone?”

  Tech held up his blazer in triumph, the bottom of it sagging.

  Without warning, one of the heads of the hydra shot out from the sand. It snapped at Tran with a furious snarl.

  Tech drew out a gun with a free hand and planted a well-placed shot into the eye of the monster. It screamed in a high-pitched whine and wriggled in pain. The body of the hydra had disappeared and only the head and neck remained.

  “I thought it died with the pyramid?” Tech said. The head lurched forward again, but he shot it, dropping it to the ground as it writhed about. The neck of it started to decay into sand, disappearing among the other grains.

  “Me too!” Tran yelled as another head shot out from the sand beside him. Tech was not fast enough to get another shot off. The hydra snapped down onto Tran’s shoulder and chest.

  Throwing his hands over his eyes, Tran screamed, but the heads disintegrated into sand. Instead of blood, fine sand in the shape of a bite mark clung to his clothes.

  Tran looked down as he heard Tech chuckle. His face wrinkled in disgust as he saw the marks on his shirt. “It’s going to take me hours to get this sand out.” He tried to pat the imprint out of his shirt.

  Despite himself, Andrew laughed. Fine sand covered him from head to toe. He reached up to shake out some from his hair. “Why didn’t it just keep attacking?”

  Tech kept his gun pointed out at the dune, but none of the other heads appeared. He shook the blazer in his hands. “Probably has something to do with this thing. It found out some of what we were up to before I kicked it out of my head.” His lip curled back. “I bet it’s hoping Walker or someone will die trying to fix the shifts.”

  “And then they could get trapped by it,” Andrew said.

  “Dealing with the shifts is foolish and brave, which is what this thing wants.” Tech held up the blazer higher. “What it doesn’t know is that we’re going to use the Stone of Power against it.”

  Tech’s blazer glowed a faint yellow, and the sand around him drew together.

  “I think it knows now!” Tran yelped and moved away from the pile of sand slithering under his feet, moving a lot like the body of a giant snake. The hydra was reforming.

  Tech reached up to his ear. “Mouse. Bring us home!” To Tran he said, “Grab Andrew!”

  Reaching out, Tran put both hands on Andrew’s shoulders.

  Tech went down to the ground as a large section of sand slid out from under him. He grasped the blazer tightly, keeping it from slipping out of his hands. The hydra lurched forward in a wave of sand, not fully formed.

  Another moment passed, and Andrew felt a portal sucking him in.

  Chapter Twenty

  Andrew strolled down the hallway of Keeper headquarters with a big grin slapped on his face. Tech and Tran had wanted to go change, and he did not blame them. Dust covered him and sand filled his shoes, but he had nothing to change into.

  He puffed out his chest, proud of himself for having accomplished the mission, but his smile faded as it struck him that he had failed to get Christine back. He stopped just before the doorway to the computer room. Would Venom hurt her? No. They would get Christine back. He knew it. The Keepers would not let her stay in Venom’s control.

  Stepping into the computer room, he found Mouse, Raptor, Godlin, and Walker inside.

  Andrew tried to greet Mouse, but the latter did not look up from his computer. The screen displayed lines of code in the Keeper language. Giving up, Andrew went over to where Godlin and Walker worked at a computer. Standing beside them with her hands resting on the top of her head was Raptor. Her expression was one of frustration—eyes narrowed and lips pulled tight.

  Lowering her hands to her sides, she turned to Andrew. “Where are the others, and what updates do you have for me?”

  “They are coming. And updates?”

  The box of Quester Stones caught his attention. The first row was now filled with the Stones of Future, Malice, and Fire. The Stone of Malice was a large piece of granite, shaped like an egg. The next row contained only the Stone of Ice. Raptor owned the fifth Stone, the Stone of Past. The sixth Stone would be the Stone of Friendship, but it had yet to be located.

  On the last row was a large emerald, the Stone of Life. Andrew tucked his hands behind his back, frowning to himself. Beside it was an empty box, which would be for the Stone of Daring when Tech brought it. The final box would have held the Stone of Fear, but the Keepers believed Christine had it.

  “Did anything important happen on your mission?” Raptor prompted him.

  Andrew moved back over to the group, having forgotten he was in a conversation. “Venom was there. He took Christine.”

  “We know. Tech called in about that. Mouse, what’s the current status of that?”

  Mouse leaned back in his chair. “The tracking unit is currently off for some reason. I’ll let you know when I come up with something.”

  “Something else,” Andrew said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I used a plant root to trip Venom. He moved it out of his way.”

  Raptor’s body stiffened as her eyes bugged out. “He took control?”

  “Goodness,” Walker whispered.

  “I could feel his will overpowering mine. He reversed what I did.” Andrew had assumed Venom could no longer control plants, as he was not a Keeper. Given the reactions from the other Keepers, they had assumed the same thing.

  “Does he know you put it there?”

  “I don’t know.” Andrew thought back to the moment. Right before Venom vanished, he had smiled at Andrew, almost like he knew. “I thought you took his powers away.”

  Raptor narrowed her eyes, glaring at the ground. “I did.”

  Godlin knitted his eyebrows as he frowned. “You always worried that he might retain some control. Seems you were correct.”

  “Let’s hope that’s the extent of it … doubtful as that is.” Raptor turned toward the door, peering down the hallway. “Where’s Tech and Tran? I thought they were on the way.”

  “You called?” Tech said as he and Tran entered the computer room. Tech wore a maroon blazer, buttoned once at his waist. In one hand, he carried his blue blazer like a sack.

  Tran’s hair stuck to itself, slick with water, and there was not a trace of dirt or grime on his gray suit. He tugged at his red, white, and gold striped tie, making sure it lay perfectly flat down his chest.

  “Ah, Tech. Good. Do you have the Stone? Let me see,” Raptor said, holding out her hand.

  Tech handed Raptor his blazer and then pulled off his sunglasses, folding them in his hand. “I’d like that back after this is done.”

  “You can have it now.” She opened the blazer and reached in. Tech made a move as if to stop her, but too late. She picked up the Stone of Daring.

  Raptor held the Stone for a few moments without saying anything. A curious expression passed over her face. Then she chuckled.

  “What’s funny?” Andrew asked, his muscles tensed for a battle of wills.

  “Well, this Stone has an attitude,” Raptor replied. “It wants me to kill Tech. What did you do? Drop it in a pit of lava?” An amused expression spread across her face.

  Tech stood as if he had a steel rod in his back, cautiously watching Raptor. “Not exactly. But after what it did, I
wish I had.”

  Laughing, Raptor tossed Tech’s blazer to him. “I’m used to it. My Stone has an attitude as well.”

  Tech caught it with one hand. “Thanks for not listening to it.”

  Raptor added the pyramid-shaped Stone to the box with the other Stones. She stared at the collection of Stones for several long moments.

  Mouse bounced in his chair. “Rap! Come see. Everyone come see!”

  “What is it?” Raptor returned to where the others huddled. Tech and Tran stepped back, allowing Walker and Godlin to slide in as well. Andrew stood beside Tech.

  “Another letter from Venom.” Mouse pushed himself to the side, flicking his hand at the screen as if throwing something invisible at it. “Picked it up when I tried to reestablish the signal on the tracking beacon.”

  My dear Raptor, I know you are looking for the young girl. I encourage you to come find her. I will make your job easier and include the coordinates to where I am currently located. Do not worry, I will not allow harm to come to her. However, I expect you within the hour. My patience is limited.

  Sincerely,

  Venom

  Growling as she read the letter, Raptor said, “I’m really getting sick of him.”

  Tech snorted. “He’s arrogant. That’s what he is.”

  “And you’re friends with him.” Godlin shot a look at Tech.

  “Were, were,” Tech said, putting up his palms to protect himself. “Besides, you followed him for years before I showed up.”

  Stepping forward, his hands clenched at his sides, Godlin spit out, “If you hadn’t supported his plan—”

  “Enough!” Raptor moved between them, touching a finger to both of their chests.

  Andrew bit his lip, shocked to see Tech and Godlin fighting with one another. Raptor firmly pushed the men apart.

  “But—” Tech started, motioning toward Godlin, until Raptor cut him off, sweeping her hand through the air. Tech closed his mouth and fixed his eyes on his feet.

  Godlin stepped away from Tech, a snarl curling his upper lip.