by Kris Greene
“I don’t know, I expected something a little more . . . magical, I guess,” Gabriel said.
“Rips here open to marketplace, where slaves and commoners mingle to sing sob stories.” Gilchrest spat on the ground. “From here many miles we walk to reach goblin kingdom. Told you I did we should use main rip, but not trust Gilchrest,” the small goblin said.
“We sure don’t. Walking through the main entrance to get ambushed by a bunch of your buddies is the last thing we need. Nah, the servants’ entrance is fine by us. Now, lead on.” De Mona shoved the goblin through the tiny hole in the fence.
The sun had set and the zoo was closed for the day, but the staff still roamed the grounds, so they had to move carefully to avoid discovery. Most of the humans who serviced the zoo at night were supporters of Titus who would like nothing more than to discover the fugitives and turn them in to gain Titus’s favor. Between De Mona and Gabriel they could surely handle whatever the humans could dish out, but fighting them would blow the element of surprise and they knew they only had one shot at penetrating the mountains.
“I don’t like this, De Mona,” Gabriel whispered.
“Me either. Following a goblin into the heart of his kingdom doesn’t sit well with me, but what choice do we have?”
“Not just that. I mean leaving the others. Jonas and the others have as much stake in this as we do. It seems kind of wrong that we left them behind.”
“No more wrong than leaving your grandfather in the hands of the goblins while Jonas looks for spiritual enlightenment,” De Mona shot back. “Gabriel, I feel you on not wanting to leave them behind, but they didn’t leave us a choice. I’ve already lost someone close to me because of this business with the Nimrod and I’m trying to spare you the heartache.”
“And I appreciate that, but at the same time I have to wonder if maybe Rogue and Jonas were right about not rushing into this headlong without a plan.”
“Oh, I’ve got a plan. We go in quietly if possible and rescue your grandfather. If not”—she extended her claws—“we make shredded beef out of everyone standing between us and Redfeather. Now let’s go.” She stalked off.
Gilchrest led them through several winding paths that snaked between and behind some of the animal cages. The growls and other sounds emitting from the cages they passed said that their presence there rattled the animals. As they passed the gorilla cages the primates became very agitated. One of them actually threw himself violently against the bars when it spotted the goblin.
“He doesn’t seem to like you much. I can’t say that I blame him,” De Mona told Gilchrest, to which he just snickered.
“Goblins use beasts for training warriors, eaten they are when can no longer fight. No fight, no purpose, so become food you do.”
Gabriel looked at the raging gorillas with pity. “That’s just sick. You goblins are nothing more than cannibals!”
Gilchrest laughed. “More civilized humans are you think, but I say not! You eat the flesh as we do, just not your own. Goblins devour all to survive. It natural order of things under the mountains,” Gilchrest explained.
It was no easy task, but the trio managed to make it to the heart of the zoo undetected. When they reached the pit housing the crocodiles, Gilchrest stopped and peered over the side. Below them several large crocodiles floated about in the murky waters or rested lazily on rocks. They seemed almost docile, but when one larger crocodile took a chunk out of a smaller one who had swum too close it brought them back to the reality of what they were dealing with.
“I’d hate to meet one of those guys in a dark alley,” De Mona said, watching the reptiles.
“Yeah, those things are creepy,” Gabriel agreed.
“Too bad for you humans, because within their lair lies the entrance.” Gilchrest pointed to the far end of the pit. Gabriel couldn’t see it in the dark, but De Mona could. Behind one of the man-made islands was a tiny hole in the rock face. It was too small for one of the crocodiles to swim through, but it was big enough for a man . . . barely.
“You can’t be serious.” De Mona looked down at Gilchrest.
“Indeed, indeed. You say no to main rip so this only other way,” Gilchrest said with a smirk.
“No dice, creep. Come on, Gabriel, we can head over to the Botanical Gardens and go in through there.” De Mona tugged at his arm, but Gabriel continued to stare into the crocodile pit.
“There’s no time.” He removed his overcoat and tossed it to the ground. “I’ll distract them while you guys make for the hole.” He braced himself against the railing to jump over, but De Mona stopped him.
“You’re way too slow and your human flesh wouldn’t stand a chance against those things. Get to the hole as quickly as you can, then get the hell out of my way. I don’t plan on dancing with these things any longer than I have to. Now, let’s do this.” De Mona leaped over the side and into the pit. No sooner had she hit the water than the crocodiles were on her.
De Mona broke the surface of the water with a gasp. It only took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the near pitch-dark and take stock of her surroundings. What she saw wasn’t good. Two of the crocodiles that had been lounging on the rocks had slipped into the water and were heading straight for her.
“Crap,” De Mona spat and began swimming toward dry land. She was an excellent swimmer, but no match for the predators in their element.
Something that felt like solid rock slammed into her legs under the water, knocking her off balance. A pair of massive jaws tried to capitalize on her temporary disorientation, but missed by a hair when De Mona dipped under the water. As the attacking crocodile passed overhead, she gutted it with her claws. She’d managed to get rid of one opponent, but the blood that now filled the water not only made it hard for her too see, it also attracted more crocodiles. A sleek reptile closed in on her from behind with its massive jaws barreling at her midsection. De Mona tried to maneuver out of the way, but the crocodile still managed to grab hold of her leg. The force from the crocodile’s jaws was so intense that she screamed out, taking in a mouthful of water when she did. The crocodile held tight to De Mona’s leg, going into its death roll, steadily sinking into the depths of the pit. Though the croc’s teeth weren’t strong enough to pierce her Valkrin skin, she couldn’t break its lock, and with all the twisting and turning it was impossible for her to use her claws. If the crocodile got her to the bottom of the pit she knew she was as good as dead.
De Mona could feel herself panicking when she saw the other crocodiles coming to join in on the meal. The air in her lungs was becoming thin and she knew she’d black out soon. As her eyes drifted up she saw a beautiful white light just above the surface of the water. She smiled because she knew it was an angel coming to whisk her spirit away to heaven. She wondered if her mother’s demon blood would prevent her from getting into heaven, where her father was surely waiting for her. The angel’s magnificent glow expanded and then crashed into the pit, burning the crocodile to a crisp and freeing her. The water rose in great waves that hung in the air above De Mona. Thankfully her ankle was only bruised, so she was able to scramble out of reach of the roiling water and the crocodiles. When she looked up, it wasn’t an angel that she saw but a Redfeather.
“Hurry up. I don’t know how long I can hold this,” he grunted. The Nimrod was held high over his head, bursting with power.
De Mona leaped onto the wall, using her razor-sharp claws to scale the damp rocks to freedom. When she reached Gabriel she was so happy that she wanted to kiss him, but the studied expression on his face gave her pause. “How are you doing that?”
“Does it matter? Get to the hole. When I let this thing go the pit is gonna flood and we already know you’re not the best swimmer.”
De Mona grabbed Gilchrest, who had been cowering behind a rock, and leaped to the small island where the hole was. She could hear the snap of thunder followed by a great splashing. When she looked over her shoulder, she saw a massive wave rolling in their direc
tion. De Mona barely had time to secure the goblin when the water swept them both into the hole. The three-by-three hole carved in the rock went on for several yards before finally depositing them inside a small chamber.
De Mona shifted to her night vision and scanned the room for further dangers. It was a high-roofed cavern hidden within the crocodile pit that only had one way in and one way out. The air was heavy with the stink of death and the floor was littered with bones. Most appeared to be animal bones, but she could make out a few human ones in the pile as well as some she couldn’t identify. Remembering that Gabriel had yet to come out of the tunnel took her mind off the bones momentarily. She was beginning to think he hadn’t made it when she heard a high shriek, followed by a last belch of water that spat Gabriel onto the ground at her feet.
Gabriel rolled over onto his hands and knees and began coughing water onto the earth. “That is not something I would want to do again.” He looked around at the dark chamber and felt a chill. “Where the hell are we?”
“On border of Midland,” Gilchrest told him. “Gateway we seek at end of corridor.” He pointed a gnarled finger into the dark tunnel and stepped back, waiting for one of his captors to take the lead.
De Mona could smell the fear coming off the goblin in waves. “Okay, what gives? You’ve already led us through a crocodile pit. What’s next? We gotta wrestle bears?”
“All rips to Midland fraught with danger, but none more than goblins. Only strong fit enough to set foot on our lands. Tell me, human”—he looked up at Gabriel—“how much willing to risk you are for old man’s life?”
“Everything,” Gabriel said, and stepped into the darkness.
“Hold on, Gabe.” De Mona caught up with him, dragging Gilchrest behind her. “I don’t like the stink coming outta this place.”
“Relax, De Mona. We just kicked the asses of six hungry crocodiles. I think we can handle whatever is lurking down here.” Gabriel tapped the Nimrod’s shaft on the ground twice and sent a flash of lightning into the air to illuminate the tunnel. When the bolt exploded, lighting up the tunnel like mid-afternoon, Gabriel saw what could only be described as a school bus with teeth coming right at him.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
It was a crocodile—or it least it had been at one point. Its body was nearly the length of a subway car, with shiny scales that covered it like armor. The whiplike tail thrashed back and forth, knocking stones free from the chamber walls. The reptile’s head and muzzle were long and sloped with two rows of chainsawlike teeth jutting out from its jaws. The only parts of the beast that hadn’t been mutated were the cold reptilian eyes that had Gabriel locked in their sights.
Gabriel was rooted to the spot with fear as the creature charged him, but thankfully De Mona wasn’t. She knocked him out of the way seconds before the creature’s teeth cut through the space where he had been standing. “Shake it off, Gabriel!” De Mona slapped him across the face to snap him out of it.
Gabriel finally came around and gasped when he saw the creature coming toward them again. “Look out,” he warned, but it was too late. The creature’s tail whipped around like a length of iron coil and crashed into De Mona, sending her sailing across the room and into a wall. The creature turned its attention to Gabriel and bared its fangs.
Gabriel rolled out of the way as the thing’s teeth carved a gash in the cave wall behind him. It was surprisingly quick for its size, so it didn’t take long for it to mount another strike. The creature whipped its tail over its head like a scorpion and tried to spear Gabriel, but the Nimrod, which had manifested itself in Gabriel’s hand, deflected the blow. Calling the lightning to the points of the trident, Gabriel sent a bolt at the creature—but to his surprise, the bolt bounced off and tore a chunk out of the ceiling. The enraged creature stumbled forward with its head bowed to ram Gabriel, who had backed himself into a corner. At the last possible second Gabriel leaped out of the way and the creature’s head crashed into the stone wall. Firing on the run, Gabriel unleashed bolt after bolt into the creature’s hide, but they seemed to do little more than agitate it.
There was a cry of rage from somewhere behind the creature seconds before De Mona, who had called up her full change, came soaring out of the darkness and landed on its back. She tore into the back of the creature’s neck and the top of its head with her claws. Sparks jumped from the creature’s body as she struck it over and over, trying to penetrate the armor with only slightly better results than Gabriel had had with the lightning.
“How do we stop that thing?” Gabriel asked Gilchrest.
“You die. That only way to stop the guardian,” Gilchrest snickered. “Promise to get you to Midland I did, but to get you inside alive I did not. Die well, human scum!” The goblin scampered off down the corridor.
“You little bastard.” Gabriel reached for the remote on his wrist, but the creature’s tail knocked him to the ground. It launched a second strike to crush him, but the Nimrod erected a barrier around him that the beast could not break. Gabriel rolled back to his feet and charged the creature with the trident bared. He delivered a powerful strike to the side of the creature’s head, igniting a backlash of power that sent them both reeling.
De Mona continued the assault on the creature’s body with her claws, trying to find a chink in the armor. One of her hands got caught between the creature’s scales and she could feel its soft flesh beneath. This gave her an idea. “Gabriel, on my mark go for the head and lay this big bastard down!” she called to him while trying to wedge her fingers between the scales on top of the creature’s skull. Once she had a good grip, she began to pull with everything she had. Scales began to bend and then there was a ripping noise as she pulled a bare spot in the center of its skull, drawing a roar from the beast. “Now!” She leaped off the creature.
Gabriel ran toward the creature at top speed with the Nimrod held like a javelin. As he closed the distance, he thought about his parents’ murders, his grandfather’s abduction, and Katy and Carter.
That’s right, feed it, the Bishop urged. The trident glowed brilliantly as he forced everything he had into it and let go. The relic cut across the darkened chamber like a shooting star and dug into the creature’s skull with a burst of blinding white light that knocked Gabriel to the ground. When he finally regained his composure he saw the creature lying in a heap with half its skull sizzled to a crisp.
“You okay?” De Mona asked while helping him to his feet.
“Thanks to you, yes.” Gabriel smiled. “Good job exposing the soft spot on that thing’s head.”
“Better job hitting the mark in one shot,” she countered. “Hey, we gotta look out for each other, right? I gotta admit, I wasn’t totally sure that you’d be able to stop that thing.”
“Neither was I, but the Bishop was.” Gabriel looked at the tattoo that had reappeared on his forearm.
“Where’d our little friend get off to?” De Mona scanned the cave. She heard faint moaning coming from the far end of the tunnel that the creature had been guarding. When she and Gabriel went to investigate, they found Gilchrest curled up into a ball on the floor in pain. His little tunic was singed and the collar around his neck beeped frantically.
“I guess this thing only allows you to get so far from the remote,” Gabriel observed. He reset the controls and snatched Gilchrest roughly off the ground. “I should cook your little ass for the stunt you pulled, but we still need to get into Midland. But if you try another trick like that . . .” Gabriel raised his arm and showed Gilchrest the remote. “I guess I don’t have to tell you what’ll happen.”
“No more, no more. I lead you now,” Gilchrest croaked.
“You damn well better, and if we run into any more surprises that remote is going to be the least of your concerns.” De Mona jabbed him with one of her talons.
A few yards down the tunnel dipped, taking them farther beneath the zoo. Down that way the air was less stale and they could feel a cool breeze coming from up ahead. A thin mist rolled al
ong the ground and began to thicken the farther they went.
“Close we are,” Gilchrest explained.
Just ahead of them was set of wooden doors with brass rings hanging from them. Carved into the wood of the doors were the images of two squat men with shaggy beards dressed in battle armor. Both men were holding shields and twin battle axes. Gabriel approached the doors and studied them in fascination.
“Magnificent,” he said, running his hands along the doors. The Nimrod stirred within him and he could feel the magic coming from the doors. “Are they enchanted?”
“Bah, the magic here died long ago with the spirit of the dwarfs,” Gilchrest spat. “Through these doors lies the place you seek, Midland.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Gabriel pressed his hands against the doors.
“Careful, there may be another surprise waiting for us on the other side,” De Mona warned.
“Paranoid you are, demon,” Gilchrest mocked her. “No more tricks. Step through and arrive in Midland we will.”
De Mona looked hesitant but she finally gave in. “Okay, let’s make it happen.” She pressed her hands against the door opposite Gabriel’s. “On the count of three. One, two, three,” she grunted and pushed the door. It took all of her demonic strength before the doors began to give. When they finally opened, more fog poured from the entrance and surrounded them. De Mona looked at Gilchrest suspiciously, but he motioned for them to go on. She still didn’t trust the goblin, so she shoved him through first. When she didn’t hear him screaming she decided it was probably safe and looked over at Gabriel.