by John Corwin
Page 52
"This thing is creeping me out," Elyssa said, digging a tiny black arch the size of a big earring from her pocket. It looked identical to Kassallandra's. She dropped it into my hand. "When I grabbed it, it started pulsating. "
The instant it touched my skin, I knew what she was talking about. A prickly sensation ebbed and flowed from the thing. A light bulb flickered on in the dark recesses of my cranium. "Go over there," I said, pointing to a non-infested spot in the cavern, some thirty feet away.
"What are you going to do?"
"Test something. "
"You'd better not do anything stupid. "
A grin broke out on my face. "Don't tell me you actually care. "
She narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to say something. Closed her mouth. Grabbed me by the collar and jerked me in for a kiss. When she pulled away, we were both breathless. "If you die, I will hunt down your soul and beat the crap out of it. " With that ultimatum, she dashed away toward the place I'd indicated.
The leyworms didn't alter their path. I took five steps left. They followed. Twenty steps right. They turned again. I put the tiny arch on the ground and ran a few yards to the side. They stayed their course. Somehow, Elyssa had triggered the arch. Turned it on by touching it, maybe. I didn't know or care, but I knew how we were going to get back to the circle now.
I waved Elyssa over.
"What was that all about?" she asked.
"They're attracted to the arch," I said.
"Why?"
"Was this thing pulsing when you pulled it out?"
She shook her head. "Not at first. It only started after I grabbed it. "
The leyworms undulated closer while the cherubs wobbled blindly in their paths. The giant worm scooped most of them into its maw as it moved along while others were shoved aside. Maybe the little horrors would drain the leyworm from the inside out or, at the very least, give it diarrhea. Using this arch, I planned to use the worms as giant vacuum cleaners to clear us a path. Elyssa saw my intent before I could brag about it.
"I have to admit it. " She chuckled as she followed close behind me. "Sometimes you're actually kind of smart. "
"And you're lucky enough to be here for one of those rare occasions. " I motioned her to follow me along the circumference of the cavern. The leyworms twisted and rolled to follow me, sending waves of little bodies flying and scattering. I ran back the other way, using the giant beasts like oversized windshield wipers to clear a path. It didn't take long until the black husks were scattered like ants from a kicked anthill. But while the path was clear of husks, the worms were still smack dab in the way.
"Get to the circle," I said.
"No, we'll do it together. "
"I've got to draw them further out before we can go. The moment I make a run for it, they'll spin around and probably crush us. I need room to maneuver. "
"And then you'll run into the husks. " She shook her head. "We're doing this the wrong way. "
"What way should we be doing it?"
"The others should come to us. They have a clear path now. "
She was right, but not everyone was in any shape to run. Somehow, I had to make it work. "Okay, go tell the others and bring me some chalk when you come back. "
Elyssa gave me one last look before sprinting for the circle. She appeared so tiny compared to the hulking leyworm as she dodged past its twisting body. I shifted to the right, trying to keep the thing from her path. Elyssa reached the circle seconds later and wasted no time slinging Bella over her shoulder. Beck and Fausta each took Curtis and Alejandro and sprinted back to me while the massive worms closed the distance like lumbering giants. Bella staggered to her feet and began drawing a circle.
"Beck, help her," I shouted and set the arch in the middle.
He didn't argue.
It was then I noticed Vadaemos. He was making a beeline for one of the other exits.
"Son of a biscuit eater," I growled.
Elyssa dropped my backpack at my feet. She noticed Vadaemos too. "We either escape, or we go after him," she said. "He's a lot stronger than he looks and we're out of time. "
"No," I said, pounding a fist into my palm. "I can't let him go. He's my only—" I broke off before finishing that thought.
"Only what?"
I looked into her amazing eyes. "My only chance to make your father stop hating me. "
"You think—say what?" Understanding flashed on her face. "Are you kidding me? You want to end the war between spawn and the Templars all to gain my father's approval?"
I gave her a sheepish nod. It sounded really stupid when she put it that way. Maybe even a tiny little bit selfish. Okay, fine, it sounded a lot selfish. But I didn't give a damn. "Exactly. I didn't go through all this crap for some noble cause, or to make the world a better place. I did it because—because I love you. "
"You're serious. "
"As a heart attack. "
The circle thrummed to life around us as Bella activated it. We didn't have time to talk. I grabbed another handful of flares. "Fausta. " I held out the flares to the Templar. She took them. "Light these around the circle and along the way back to Pokito. You need to get him and bring him here, but his light will go out when you grab him. "
"I'll help," Beck said, taking some flares from her.
I reached into my backpack and pulled out Plan B. It had worked against me, and I hoped it'd work against Vadaemos. I pulled a fresh magazine of tranquilizer darts from the backpack and clicked them into the dart gun. Then I sprinted after my dear relative.
It didn't take long to catch up. The scattered cherubs blocked his path to freedom. He spun at my approach and growled. Muscles coiled around his limbs. His skin went blue. A new set of horns sprouted from his forehead. I assumed he meant to make short work of me so he could escape. I was right. He blurred at me so fast, I didn't have time to aim the gun and it spun from my grasp.
His body drove me against a stone column so hard I heard it crack. Or it might've been my skull. I couldn't tell. All I could see were stars. Then he threw me to the side. I bowled over a column of cherubs as I fell. Before I could push myself up, he was on me again, his hand around my neck. He held me up and grinned.
"I only just realized something, boy. " His voice was deep and ominous. "You're Daemos, aren't you?"
I couldn't nod or speak, not with his hand on my throat. The light in the cavern abruptly winked out except for the feeble glare of a few scattered flares in our area. Beck and Fausta must have reached Pokito. Something made a rapid clicking noise. A surprised look crossed Vadaemos's demonic face. He dropped me and spun. Elyssa jammed another magazine into the dart gun and fired as fast as she could pull the trigger. I looked up groggily from my place on the ground and saw a garden of darts sticking from Vadaemos's back and chest.
Somehow, I found the wherewithal to push to my feet as Vadaemos laughed and pulled darts from his meaty pectorals.
"You fools. Idiots! These insignificant little things can't harm—" He face planted on the stone floor with a wet smack and a crunch. His body morphed back to normal almost by the time his body stopped twitching.
"Oh man, that had to hurt," I said, noticing a pool of blood forming beneath his face. I flipped him over. The broken, crooked mess of his nose greeted me. "I hope that hurts like hell, jackass. "
Elyssa looked at me. I looked back. Without another word, I scooped Vadaemos over my shoulder and we sprinted for the circle of safety like our asses were on fire. The roar and din of hundreds, possibly thousands, of cherubs filled the room, sounding like the nursery school of doom. If there was a special place in hell for child abusers or people who loved Valentine's Day, this was it. The rumbling bays of the writhing leyworms formed a deep, basso counterpoint to the high-pitched wailing.
Another wall shattered open and yet another giant worm broke through. Elyssa and I raced alongside the writhing form of the lat
est arrival, dodging its undulating body as it scattered cherubs along the way. I looked up at the massive creature towering over us. They'd looked huge from the front, but from the side, the sheer scale of it made me feel tiny. This thing was three stories high and at least a hundred feet long. It could eat a city bus and not even realize it.
We finally reached the circle. The arch, now full size, hummed and gleamed with ultraviolet sparks. Pokito shoved people through. I had bad memories about the last time I'd been through such an arch, namely Kassallandra's, but given the circumstances, I figured anyplace had to be better than here. A glowing form caught my eye and I saw Yolo's shaggy form dashing into a tunnel. I didn't know what in the world the crazy-looking thing was, but I hoped he'd be okay.
Elyssa grabbed my arm and dragged me through the arch before I could give it another thought. Pokito came through last and closed the gateway. It shrank back to the tiny earring-shaped statue within seconds. I looked around. We were in another huge cavern.
"Are you kidding me?" I said. "We just escaped one underground deathtrap and you brought us to another cave?"
"Wait a minute," Elyssa said stepping across the black polished floor. "I recognize this place. "
"Hello guvnah!" said a bright cheerful voice as a young boy approached from what looked like stables.
My brain didn't need long to figure out where I was after that. "We're in the Grotto? Back in the States?" I looked behind us and saw the Obsidian Arch towering above.
"Back home," Elyssa said, her eyes looking relieved and troubled all at the same time.
"We're in Atlanta?" Beck said, his eyes wide. "Why the hell did you bring us here?"
"It's part of the plan," Pokito said.
I spun on him. "What's this plan you keep talking about?"
"I cannot say more. "
Beck grabbed the little man's shirt and jerked him forward. "You'd better start talking, Mr. Miyagi. You should've taken us back to the closest arch, not the Grotto!"