I took the rear again, heart racing, glancing once more over my shoulder, expecting the first of the Corrupted minions to be pouring through the opposite tunnel, ready to kick aside Tom Thumb’s little hay bed to pounce on me.
But no. Not quite. The first to come through were children. Three little children, each one clutching fiery red daggers in their little hands. A boy and two girls, each wearing old rags that had once been fine medieval clothes, each with long blond hair, each with a look of pure hatred on their faces. Their eyes narrowed into slits, glaring at me as if I’d just wrecked their favorite toy. Little black veins spread across their little foreheads.
I turned and ran, following the torchlight far ahead. In another moment the light was gone, disappeared around a corner, and I had to fumble blindly in the darkness and trust the afterimage in my mind. The tunnel narrowed just a bit, but it was level. My feet pounded on the hard, wet stone floor. After a dozen steps I reached out, searching with my hands for the wall. I found it and followed around the bend.
Darkness. No torch light. They were already around another bend, or …
“A fork.” My voice echoed just a bit, which meant somewhere close ahead was another wall. I moved as quick as I dared, breathing quickly, trying to ignore the impending dread that was squeezing my chest. My hands fumbled with edges of rock.
Three different passages. Three different tunnels. My left hand wanted me to go left. My right hand wanted me to go right. I tugged on the shoulder straps of my armor, trying to breathe.
So I went straight. “I love the dark,” I whispered over and over, trying to visualize what was up ahead based on the echoes. When the echoes stopped, I slowed down until I found the next bend. “I love the dark. I love the dark. But I hate hate hate hate caves.”
Behind me, I could hear the shuffling of feet and inhuman screams. I couldn’t stop thinking about those child soldiers and how the Corruption was changing their faces. It would only be a matter of time before those black veins spread into even worse mutations. Whether they turned into lizards or smoke monsters or cannibalistic spider creatures, the Corruption was guaranteed to make them stronger.
“Or maybe bigger,” I said. My voiced bounced off rock somewhere close ahead. I kept my right hand on the tunnel wall and my left hand out in front of me, taking a few quick steps at a time, trying not to think about the creepy kids. I found the next bend, turned, and breathed a deep sigh of relief.
A light, coming from far ahead! It was faint, hidden behind another corner but now that I could see it I felt a weight lift off my chest. I picked up my pace, still keeping one hand held out to make sure I didn’t run head-first into any low-hanging ceilings. My path was clear. I turned the next corner.
“No,” I whispered.
A cavern. A big, fat cavern twice as tall as a symphony auditorium and twice as deep. Stalactites hung from the ceiling high above like sharp teeth. More yet curled down and met with stalagmites, forming thick columns. On the far end of the room was an exit, glowing with bright daylight. I could get there. I could get out of this place.
All I needed to do was slip around the sleeping dragon.
The light I’d seen wasn’t from a torch at all. It was from a flame all right, but this flame was burning on a pair of rocks, fueled by foul-smelling dragon saliva. It burned a bright orange, bright enough for me to see the creature’s black nostrils and long muzzle and flickering pointed ears. It was lying on the ground between two thin columns, arms tucked under its thick body, bat-like wings folded in. Its golden scales reflected the light and betrayed its enormity. This was the golden dragon I’d fought in the movie theater, only three times as big. As big as my parents’ house. As long as a cruise ship, from its alligator-like snout to the tip of its spiny tail.
And the exit, on the other end.
I kept near the far end of the wall, giving the dragon a wide berth, sidestepping, unwilling to look away from the creature for more than a couple steps. Glistening dragon snot slipped out of one black nostril, and with its next deep breath, the snot ignited, smoldering harmlessly on its snout. My feet seemed hellbent on bumping into every loose rock, every chunk of stalagmite that had no doubt been broken at some point when the dragon moved around the massive cavern.
But why are you here? You hatched from one of the Golden Goose’s eggs. That means … uh oh. That means the Golden Goose is Corrupted. And she can probably make more of you, too.
My feet carefully stepped between two rocks … right onto a charred feather.
Or maybe this thing is the goose. Caught by Agnim and Corrupted.
Halfway around the cavern, I couldn’t hug the wall anymore—the stalagmites were too closely scattered. Slowly, I made my way toward the rear legs of the dragon. There were a handful of thick columns, wide enough for me to hide behind. But I needed to watch my steps or I would risk kicking a rock right into the dragon’s midsection. I needed to wait for the dragon to provide me with more light.
Come on … come on …
Another flare of breath and I could see a fresh path, slipping closer to its massive legs. Every second between the columns my body grew more numb, my legs shaking uncontrollably. There were chunks of broken stalagmite everywhere, some so sharp that I didn’t dare step on them with my leather shoes.
The dragon’s body shifted. I hurried to the nearest column, slipping behind it and pressing my back against the cold, damp rock.
Silence.
I took a deep breath, my fingers locked around the hilt of the sword like a vise. Slowly, I peered around the column.
The eye. The big, pearly-white eye was open, its black pupil moving from side to side. I held my breath, hoping it was just dreaming with its eyes open. Animals do that, right? Sure they do. My uncle’s dog does it all the time …
The tail slid across the floor, smashing three stalagmites to pieces and sending the shards of rock tumbling over my feet. One landed awkwardly on my toe; I bit my cheek to keep from crying out.
“I can sssssssmell you, hero.”
The dragon’s voice rumbled through the cave. My eardrums throbbed. My ribcage rattled.
“What are you doing here, I wonder?” The dragon’s laugh echoed in the cavern. To my right, I saw little puffs of flames. It was moving around the cavern. I sidled left, risking a quick peer around the column. The dragon’s mouth was open, wet saliva dripping down its sharp teeth. Orange flame escaped in the next breath, traveling across the saliva like fire on oil.
“Are you sssssspying on my army?” Another laugh. The tail slid past me and I sidled left again, letting my ears do the seeing for me. The dragon was moving to my right. Agnim—it’s Agnim. He’s controlling the dragon.
“Now that you’ve sssssseen my army, you musssssst know that all is lost.”
Man, what I wouldn’t kill to be able to throw my voice like that wolf could. I looked down at the chunks of rock by my feet. I bent down, grabbing one the size of my fist. Flames erupted to my right, so hot that my neck and ear throbbed in pain. I sidled left again to ensure I was hidden behind the column.
“You cannot ssssave these people.” The voice bounced off the walls to my right—the dragon’s head was turned. I sidled left again, peering around the column. Its massive body was blocking the exit but its head was cocked, sharp ears raised. Listening. Testing me. Agnim may be talking through the dragon, but he can’t control it. It’s still a big freaking lizard.
I raised the rock, ready to throw it.
“And you’re running out of time, hero.”
My arm froze. The dragon took another step closer to the entrance, peering around one of the fat columns. The tip of its tail slid past my feet, dragging chunks of rock with it.
“Yessss. You’re not really here, are you? You can’t be. You don’t belong here. That meanssss only part of you is here. Part of you is still on earth, unconscious. How many hours has it been? How many hourssssssssssssssssssss without food or water? Your body is dying. The longer you’re here, the
weaker you will become.”
The rock shook in my hand. I stared at my fingers. The skin was pulled back from my cuticles. I suddenly tasted the dryness in my mouth. He’s lying. Don’t listen to him.
“Only I hold the key to escaping this place. The only way out is through me.”
I stepped out from behind the column and threw the rock as hard as I could. Chase would have been proud: it landed on the other side of the cavern, near the tunnel where I’d come in, making a spectacular noise as it ricocheted off a dozen stalagmites. The dragon turned, growling, and crawled toward the noise with a ferocious speed.
Now! Don’t turn back! Don’t second-guess yourself!
I ran for the bright entrance, jumping over the tip of the dragon’s tail. My feet landed awkwardly on the chunks of rock. I felt their sharp corners dig into the balls of my feet. The dragon roared. I ran faster, clutching the sword, reaching the entrance and diving, rolling, feeling a terrible heat on the skin of my neck as a cloud of orange flames erupted from the entrance.
I jumped to my feet, running into the forest, thinking as quickly as I could. In my head I heard Briar’s voice over and over, ordering me to take in my surroundings.
The forest. Dead trees with bare branches. Dead lichens and moss clinging to the tree trunks.
Lichens and moss prefer the north side of trees for shade.
We came from the east.
I turned left, hopping over a fallen tree and sprinting around a large, twisting oak, ignoring the pain in my legs. I ran as fast as I could through the forest, east, weaving my way around the dying trees. From behind me, I could hear the roar of the dragon and a dull rumble shake the ground. It was trying to escape. If it gets out, there’s no way to stop it …
“Alice!”
I dug the balls of my feet into the soft ground and looked around wildly. There, near the giant stout tree we’d passed on our way to the cave! “Seth!” I yelled, hurrying over to him and hugging him. I nearly hugged Flick and Sam and little Tom, too. But there was something watching us. Black shadows lurking in the forest between the trees.
“We were going to go back for you,” Seth said quickly, out of breath. “But then we saw this wolf and some others and Tom said there were probably other tunnels leading out so—”
“Just wait. Stop.” I put a hand on his shoulder, pulling him beside me. “Sam. Flick. Turn around slowly.”
“No need,” Sam muttered, his eyes darting from left to right. “They’re all around us.”
“I’ll not go down without a fight,” Flick said, holding out his pickaxe. The forest was full of noises now: boots stomping on dried twigs, war cries, armor clanging together.
A wolf’s howl.
“No surrender,” Flick said, “no matter what that foul wizard has planned for us.”
“Maybe it won’t come to that.” I held out my sword, pointing it at one of the wraiths. The shadowy woman flinched but didn’t move out of the way. There were five of them in front of us, each one the fleeting black shape of a woman, hair flowing behind them as if they were underwater. All wore gold jewelry: earrings, rings, necklaces. All of them had fiery red eyes.
The one in front of me ran her shadowy fingers across the nearest pine tree’s trunk.
I stepped closer and raised my sword. Sam stepped beside me, holding out a hand. “You can’t fight them!”
I stabbed the blade into the fat trunk of the pine. The wraiths surged forward, moaning, their fiery red eyes ready to devour me. But before they could reach me, the tree began to change. They stopped, the color in their eyes growing dull as they watched the tree’s bark turn from gray to brown, its lowest branches sprouting little green pine needles. They reached out, whispering to the tree.
“I’ll stop this Corruption,” I told them. “But I need your help. The ones that are following us … you need to hold them off. Fight them. Stop as many as you can. Otherwise, they’ll destroy this forest.”
The wraiths whispered to one another, each of them reaching out to run a black finger across the green pine needles. From behind us came another howl. There was no more time. I pulled the sword from the tree. The pine needles turned brown, then fell from the branches. Each of the wraiths reached out, catching a few in their hands.
“Do we have a deal?” I asked.
Their eyes blazed. They swarmed past us, toward the sound of marching boots.
“I guess that’s a yes,” Seth said.
Chapter 11
We followed the road back to Riverend, taking more than a little pleasure in the sounds of screams at our backs. Flick especially was enjoying it.
“To think,” he huffed, “Corrupted would be afraid of anything! I don’t remember being afraid.”
“You were too angry all the time,” Sam said. Tom Thumb was sitting on the dwarf’s back, bouncing from side to side and holding onto Sam’s hair for dear life. We could see the castle on the cliff over the tree line now—we were going to make it. And there was no dragon in sight, either.
Great … but what exactly are you going to do when you get to Castle White?
A screech came from the woods, too near to dismiss. A screech from above the trees.
“Come on!” I shouted, glancing once over my shoulder. There was definitely something flying through the air. Somethings with long, bat-like wings. The trees cleared and the town came into view. The captain was standing on the deck of the Leviathan II, barking orders to a dozen sailors as they moved from mast to mast, tying off ropes and unfurling the sails.
We reached the dock panting for air. There was no time to lose—Corrupted bat-creatures had begun landing at the edge of the forest, more than a dozen of them. One—a leprous-looking half-man with bat’s ears—was fending off one of the wraiths that had slipped out of the forest; the bat-creature tried in vain to keep the wraith’s shadowy fingers from touching him. His razor-sharp wing cut through the shadow and she screamed, reaching out and digging her fingers into his chest. A bright spark exploded at the point of contact. The bat-creature fell over, unconscious. The wraith disappeared, leaving only her rings lying beside the creature.
“It’s time to go!” Ahab shouted.
“You heard the man,” I told Seth, shoving him onto the plank. Sam went next. I reached out for Flick but he shrugged me off.
“Get onboard,” he growled. “There’s no time for all of us.”
“But—”
He turned to me, red-faced. “Someone reliable has gotta cut the ship loose, and it ain’t gonna be you! Get on the ship!”
I nodded and hopped on the plank, climbing to the deck of the ship. Sam tried pushing past me but I grabbed the collar of his suit coat. “Flick!” he shouted. “What are you doing, you idiot!”
Flick ran over to the far edge of the dock and swung his pickaxe at the rope tied around the first iron cleat. The hemp split; immediately, the front of the ship began listing away from the dock, pulled by the gentle current of the river.
“Flick!” Sam shouted again, wrenching himself away from my grip. The plank fell away from the boat—with the rear of the ship still tied down, we’d begun turning. Flick needed to chop away the second rope on the opposite end of the dock.
But to do that, he needed to get past a half-dozen bat-creatures.
“Seth!” I shouted. “Give it whatever you’ve got!”
“Right!” he said, tossing his quiver of arrows by his feet and firing off a shot. The arrow soared into the mass of Corrupted, causing a bright spark as one gray-skinned bat-creature fell backward. The ship turned further and we followed along the railing, Seth firing off three more arrows.
None of them hit.
But that wasn’t a problem for Flick. The dwarf swung his axe in wide arcs, pushing the fierce creatures back with fierce determination. Three more fell backward in a shower of sparks. They tried to circle him but he simply barreled his way into the crowd, pushing three more right off the end of the dock. He was nearly at the other cleat, only three more in hi
s way. But there were two more at his back now, definitely not townsfolk recently Corrupted and definitely not bats—these two had emerged from the river, climbing the iron rivets between the stones of the dock. One was half-fish, with bulbous bloodshot eyes and a wide mouth full of little sharp teeth. The other was a full-on frog, clutching a burning red trident in his webbed hands, ready to stab Flick right in the back.
The frog-prince.
“Flick!” we all shouted.
A bang stung my eardrums. I fell away from the captain, who was aiming short flintlock pistol over the railing. Smoke trickled out of the steel barrel; on the dock, the frog-prince lay motionless. We ran up the staircase to the aft deck and Seth fired another shot, this time hitting one of the bats still in the air. By the time it hit the ground, its wings had retreated, revealing soft pale arms. The bat features gave way to beautiful, smooth pink skin and full lips. A young girl, no older than me.
Free of the Corruption.
Doomed to be Corrupted again as soon as she was brought back to the step-mothers.
Flick spun, catching the half-fish creature with the pickaxe and kicking it into the river. He roared, red-faced, panting, and finished off the last two before chopping at the rope tied around the last cleat. It snapped; the ship jolted, then began slowly drifting away from the dock.
“Brother, jump!” Sam shouted.
Flick ran to the edge, then stopped. There were more Corrupted pouring out of the forest now, led by a gray-haired step-mother whose skin had begun sprouting long gray feathers. She was flanked by a pair of wolves as big as lions. The wraiths pursued, picking off a few more before being overwhelmed by the sheer number of Corrupted.
Flick glanced over his shoulder, then looked up at us.
“Flick!” Sam shouted frantically. He was sweating, his calm exterior completely broken down. I’d never seen him like this before. He looked human.
“I’ll find ya,” Flick shouted, “after you’ve taken care of Agnim!”
The Grimm Chronicles, Vol. 4 Page 27