“I overheard the angels tell Lot to flee before fire rained down from heaven onto the cities, and I followed them out.”
Vero knew the story of the two cities. They were so corrupt that God destroyed them, sparing only Lot and his family.
“The angel warned them not to look back at the burning cities, but Lot’s wife couldn’t help herself.”
“It was you? You were there when she turned around, turning her to a pillar of salt!” Vero said.
“Yes. I was there. But I had no idea she was going to turn around, so I can’t really take the credit for that one. After the destruction, those two angels put a sack over me and brought me here, where you, too, will become a pillar of salt.”
Vero wielded his sword. The immediate group of birds around him flew a few feet away, avoiding the blade.
“Missed,” the cockatrice teased.
Vero noted that its voice seemed to come from behind him.
“Open your eyes, and let’s get this over with,” the cockatrice sneered.
Vero thought for a moment. It would be near impossible to slay the creature without being able to see it. How would he do it? The demigod Perseus used his shield as a mirror to see Medusa. He’d been able to approach her by watching her reflection. If only he had a mirror. But he did—his sword! Vero raised his sword to eye level. He looked into the blade, hoping to catch an image of the cockatrice. But he only saw the reflected faces of the hens.
“Nice try,” the cockatrice smugly said. “But aren’t you familiar with the cockatrice? Everyone knows I’m far too beautiful to have a reflection.”
Vero sighed. How am I going to get out of this?
But then Vero again remembered the cockatrice’s tail. His tracks would be the only ones with a serpent’s tail mark between the feet. He lowered his head and slightly cracked open his eyes, keeping them intent on the ground so the cockatrice could not see that they were slightly ajar. Vero saw the tracks of giant rooster feet on the sandy floor every which way he turned. Which ones belonged to the cockatrice?
“Come on, angel. Just take a little peek at me . . .” the cockatrice enticed.
The low, velvety voice was hypnotic, tormenting Vero. He tried to ignore it while he continued to search the ground.
“I am more beautiful than the most glorious sunset, more stunning than the vibrant wild poppies swaying in the wind . . .” Its voice was soothing, tempting.
Vero saw an imprint in the dirt between two footprints. It was a solid line that seemed to follow between the tracks. If he followed it, the trail would lead him to the creature. With his eyes glued to the ground right in front of his feet, Vero stepped forward, following the tail’s path along the ground.
“Come closer,” Vero called to the cockatrice. “When I do look, I don’t want to miss out on any of your beauty.”
The cockatrice did not answer. Vero saw that the trail he followed took an abrupt circular turn. He looked between his legs and saw what appeared to be a large lizard’s tail in the dirt right behind him. Vero could feel breath on his neck as the cockatrice hissed an unearthly sound, now trying to both scare and surprise Vero into looking at him. But Vero did not turn to face the beast. With his eyes tightly shut, Vero swung around in one fluid motion and sliced the head off the cockatrice! He opened his eyes slowly and watched as the body ran around headless, wings flapping. He had to admit, the cockatrice was stunningly beautiful. Its body was covered in royal blue feathers with red, yellow, and green feathers peppered in.
The cockatrice’s head lay face down in the dirt, away from Vero. He was afraid to approach it, recalling that Medusa’s head could still turn people to stone even after it had been severed from her body. Vero then heard what sounded like falling rocks. He looked back to the larger chamber, where the once-angel pillars of salt had stood. They were all crumbling as they came back to life. Vero walked over to the girl writing on the wall, and the flock of hens followed. The girl’s rock eyes began to crack, and soon Vero could see her sparkling blue-green eyes peering out at him. The rest of her body cracked, and chunks of salt fell to the ground. A young fledgling stood before Vero. She nodded gratefully to Vero.
“Thank you,” she said before vanishing into thin air.
The rest of the pillars also crumbled, freeing the remaining angels and fledglings. Some smiled to Vero while others nodded before they all disappeared from sight. Vero walked straight ahead, out of the empty cave and back into the maze, happy to have outwitted the cockatrice.
4
DRY BONES
Vero rounded the corner and picked up his pace. His right hand was over his heart as he waited and listened for his Vox Dei to guide him. He felt as if he was going in the right direction, though he couldn’t be completely sure. But one thing he was sure of was that he was lonely. He missed the other fledglings. He wished Greer were here to hurl some kind of insult at him. He chuckled just imagining the expression on Ada’s face had she seen the headless cockatrice running around. Yet his thoughts always came back to Kane. Vero was increasingly worried about him. When they had last parted ways, Kane had been in a bad place due to the Angel Trials, where the fledglings had competed against angels from other spheres. Kane felt the trials had been unfair to him—that he should have won—and when he didn’t get the recognition, he had become bitter and angry. The hardest moment had been when Vero sent a fort-i-fire Kane’s way to help him restore hope, but Kane had blocked it in anger and despair. Vero hoped that over the past few months, his friend had made peace with the outcome of the Trials and was back to his old self.
The outcome of the Angel Trials didn’t really change too much, anyway. Though Vero himself had been a winner, here he was, alone in this maze, trying to prove himself yet again. The Archangel Michael had promised Vero that he’d never be alone, yet here he was—all by himself. In fact, he had always felt alone. On earth, Vero never really felt he fit in with the other kids, except maybe Tack. It wasn’t until he’d discovered he was a guardian angel that he realized how correct he’d been in thinking so. And even among his fellow guardian angels, Vero was different: somewhat isolated. There were constant whispers behind his back of rumors that he wasn’t like the others, that he was special. But Pax was more gifted at reading minds than he was. Ada knew much more about religious scriptures, folklore, and traditions than he did. X was physically stronger than all of them. Greer was so tough and fearless, and Kane . . . he’d shown Vero up on several occasions, and even earned the unicorn’s blessing during the trials. Truth was, at the time, it hurt Vero that he wasn’t selected to receive the special blessing from God. He had felt that he had needed it more than Kane. However, Michael had told Vero that because he was given much, more was expected of him. But that didn’t make it any easier to be alone now. Please don’t let me be alone . . . Vero prayed.
He heard the rustling of feathers. His face lit up. Were the other fledglings here? He turned in the direction of the noise, though his face dropped when he saw what was behind him—it was just the flock of hens. They had followed him out of the cockatrice’s den.
“Why are you guys following me?”
“’Cause we think you’re cute,” a voice said.
Vero’s heart skipped a beat. His head whipped around, and a befuddled look came over him when he saw Pax standing behind him, laughing. With his big ears and bad haircut, he was unmistakable.
“Pax?”
“Don’t look so surprised,” Pax said. “You called me.”
“I willed you to the Ether?” Vero asked, astonished.
Pax nodded. “I was in the middle of surgery. The doctor was putting a stint in my heart . . .”
“You’re sick?”
“Yeah, I have a congenital heart defect.”
Vero looked at him, perplexed. “On top of the autism?”
Pax shrugged. “So anyway, I heard you calling, and next thing I knew, I saw you talking to a bunch of chickens.” Pax chuckled.
“It’s really cool that you’re here. I wonder if the others are coming.”
“Vero . . . where is here?” he said, looking around, his eyes taking in the canopy of gargoyles. “And I guess we can’t fly out.”
“We’re in a maze somewhere underneath C.A.N.D.L.E.”
“Why?”
“They’re testing me. Raziel said they need to know which side I fight for . . . like it’s still a question,” Vero said, hurt and frustrated. “Why do they still doubt me?”
“I don’t know. But I do know that at some point they’ll stop doubting you. But until then, I guess you’ve got to get through this maze.”
Vero nodded. He was so grateful Pax was with him. The boys walked ahead while the hens trailed closely behind.
“I saw the Angel of Death the other day,” Vero said.
Pax stopped and looked at Vero, very curious.
“I watched him take an old man’s soul from his body. It was actually really beautiful, so peaceful. You know what? If people could see that, I don’t think they’d be so afraid to die.”
“But I’m still afraid,” Pax sheepishly said.
“I promise you, when the time comes, you won’t be.” Vero patted Pax’s back, comforting him. He turned, and the boys continued walking with the hens following.
While still on the path, a glimmer of light up ahead caught Vero’s eye. Had they reached the way out?
“Pax, come on!” Vero yelled.
Vero ran down the path toward the light until his foot hit something, causing him to trip and land on his face. The flock bunched around him. Pax picked up what had caused the fall—a decaying bone.
“Looks like a leg bone,” Pax said, quickly dropping it.
Vero’s exuberance instantly turned to dread. Looking ahead, he saw several more bones scattered on the path. With a deep breath he stood and dusted himself off.
“Come on, there’s no going back,” Vero said as he slowly walked ahead.
The light in front of them continued to offer guidance, and soon they reached a large white, open arena so bright they had to shield their eyes. After a few moments, their eyes adjusted. They were standing in a rounded field of bones—a boneyard. A sickening feeling formed in the pit of Vero’s stomach. Thousands of skeleton pieces lay on the ground—skulls, shinbones, collarbones, as well as pieces of arms and legs were scattered in piles.
Worst of all, there was only one path through the massive, circular arena. The gargoyles lining the walls stood on top of one another, forming a dome-shaped ceiling above. It reminded Vero of the Capital Dome, which he and Tack had visited on a fourth-grade field trip to Washington, D.C.—except this ceiling was constructed out of many frightening-looking gargoyles. The hens flocked around him. They, too, were weary of this forsaken place.
“Where are we?” Pax asked.
“Wherever we are, it sure is creepy,” Vero said.
“Look at those.” Pax pointed to rusted pieces of metal scattered among the bones. “They look like swords and shields.”
Vero looked closer. “They are swords and shields. These guys must have died in battle.”
“Let’s hurry and get out of here,” Pax said, nervously looking to the lone exit on the other side of the arena.
Heading toward the escape, they carefully sidestepped around the bone piles, trying not to touch any of the remains and accidentally desecrate them. Little by little, Vero began to feel uneasy, like he was being watched. He quickly spun around. Only Pax was following with the hens.
“What?” Pax asked.
“Nothing, guess I’m just feeling paranoid.”
“How could you not in here?”
As they continued forward, Vero could feel his heart racing and the blood pounding through his veins. Then he heard what sounded like a pebble hitting the ground. He stopped. The hens hop-flew behind him.
“You hear that?”
Pax also stopped. “Yeah.”
Stone gargoyles peered down on them. The sound of crunching bones filled the chamber. Chunks of stone were raining down from the dome’s ceiling, smashing the bones below. Then, to their horror, they realized where the stones had been falling from—the gargoyles! They were shedding their stone shells much the same way the statue angels had shed their salt shells, revealing real flesh and bones and muscles.
“They’re alive!” Vero yelled, horrified, as one by one living gargoyles broke free.
The gargoyles had black, slimy hides. Some had wings, while others did not. But all of them smelled foul, like stagnated sewage water. Vero and Pax scrambled over rocks and bones to get out. Just as they reached the exit, a huge gargoyle with sharp black wings and a face that resembled a troll’s flew at the boys, picked both up in his claws, and threw them back into the center of the bone pile.
“That hurt!” Vero yelled as he sat up, holding his injured backside.
“I can’t find my glasses!” Pax shouted, his hands blindly searching through bones. “I’m practically blind without them!”
Vero quickly glanced around. They were badly outnumbered—about fifty gargoyles were advancing. Some of the living statues flew above him, while others crawled closer.
“Well, you may not want to see this!” Vero yelled.
Vero’s sword shot out from his hand. He wielded it at the creatures while he scrambled to stand. Once on his feet, Vero backed up. He grabbed Pax by the collar, trying to escape the way they had entered.
“Stay away and I won’t have to kill you all!” Vero shouted to the approaching creatures, knowing it was an idle threat the moment it escaped his lips.
Unfazed, the gargoyles hissed at him. Vero felt a tinge of regret for not having taken the slain cockatrice’s head. Perhaps he could have turned the gargoyles to salt. Vero backed up farther with Pax, crunching bones as he went.
“Your glasses!” Vero shouted, eyeing the pair under a stack of bones.
Vero released the back of Pax’s collar and picked up the glasses. He stepped, and was handing them to Pax when his foot became stuck in a ribcage.
“My foot’s stuck!”
Vero tried to kick it free, but the ribcage would not budge. Pax shoved his glasses back onto his face and tugged at Vero’s foot. The terrified hens also joined in, pecking at the bone, trying to free Vero.
“Take my sword!” Vero yelled to Pax.
Pax grabbed the sword and waved it threateningly at the approaching gargoyles. With both hands, Vero pulled on his ankle. He was surprised when the bones shattered to pieces as his foot came loose.
“Good thing these bones are so dry. They break easily!” Vero shouted.
“Dry?” Pax said, scrunching his brow in thought. “The bones are all dry . . . They’re all ‘dry bones’!”
“That’s what I said,” Vero shouted, grabbing his sword from Pax. “You know, you really should grow your sword . . . I could use a little help!” Vero yelled as the gargoyles inched closer.
“One sword won’t help, but I can get you a whole army!” Pax yelled.
“What?”
“We’re in the valley of dry bones from Ezekiel! God told Ezekiel to speak to the bones and let them know that He would breathe life into them. Ezekiel did, and the bones fused together, flesh and muscle formed on them, breath entered into them, and they stood up in a vast army!”
“Really?”
“Yes. Ezekiel had faith that God would restore the bones. So maybe if you do too, God will raise you an army!”
A gargoyle resembling a wolf with an elongated face snarled at Vero and Pax. Several more gargoyles circled them. As the ring tightened in, Vero shoute
d to the bones, “Arise, and God will breathe life into you!”
Nothing happened. The wolf gargoyle swiped his paw at Vero, catching his shirt and ripping it. Vero lost his balance and fell back into a mound of skeletons, which crashed down on top of him. Using his snout, the wolf gargoyle began to throw bones off Vero in an attempt to reach him. As he came face to face with the gargoyle, Vero closed his eyes, prayed with all his heart, and yelled, “Arise!”
A loud rattling sound shook the chamber. Vero felt the bones around him stir. The gargoyles backed off, concerned by the ruckus, allowing a short reprieve. Vero stood and backed up. Pax and the hens also moved away. The boys watched as thousands of bones fused themselves together and formed into human skeletons. Each picked up a rusted sword and shield off the ground, then at the same moment they all stood up, forming a protective circle around Vero and Pax, who watched in amazement. Vero noted there had to be at least a hundred skeleton soldiers to the fifty gargoyles. But that didn’t stop the gargoyles. The wolf gargoyle pounced on a skeleton, biting its fibula and dislodging it. The skeleton stumbled a bit on one leg, but then its fibula fused back into position. The skeleton once again stood tall. Seeing this, Vero realized there was no way to defeat these old guys—they were already dead.
The gargoyles advanced. Vero backed up. He needed to think fast.
“Fall in, soldiers!” Vero yelled in a commanding voice. “I want two straight lines protecting me to the exit!”
The skeleton army formed into two lines of soldiers standing shoulder-to-shoulder all the way to the exit. The skeletons held the gargoyles at bay, brandishing their shields and swords. As Vero and Pax walked in between the flanks of skeleton soldiers, the frustrated gargoyles shrieked in angry rage.
The wolf gargoyle attacked the skeletal soldiers. A skeleton swung its sword, hitting the gargoyle across its midsection and wounding it. The once fierce gargoyle yelped and whimpered away.
The other gargoyles launched an attack on the army of the dead. But the fearless skeletons held their ground courageously. The horrific sounds of battle enveloped Vero and Pax, but the line of fighting skeletons held firm, allowing the boys to walk unscathed toward the exit—even the hens kept pace with them.
The Dragon's Descent Page 4