by K V Deal
Oh, yeah. Definitely a magic weapon.
I didn’t let the opportunity just pass me by. Shoving with all of my might, I knocked her weapon away.
She flinched, as she realized her mistake. Still, she tried to grab the mace out of my hands…right up until the point that I brought it across her face, returning the favor for my horn. I could feel her trying to hold on, but the force of the blow ripped her free and sent her tumbling towards the water. She landed just a few feet away from the crate, now at the water’s edge.
My eyes locked onto the crate.
The four people around it had almost pushed it into the river! With a snarl, I leapt to my feet. Just in time to hear Carah scream!
I froze for just a second before whirling around to try to spot her. Instead, all I could see was a rail-thin man with a hand outstretched toward the middle of the room. His palm was glowing a deep black.
When I say rail-thin, I mean the guy looked like he had been starving himself to the point of death. His eyes were sunken to the point where they could barely be seen, and his flesh clung to his bones in a way that seemed to accent every inch of his skeleton. There was no way that was natural. Nobody could survive looking like that.
All of this flitted across the back of my brain. The front? The part in control? It was only registering one thing. The most likely reason for Carah’s screaming was that man.
I charged, with a scream of rage. The man looked up, somehow conveying fear on his face even though his features remained still. Hurriedly he switched targets. Not that it would do him any—
There was a clank off to my right. I whipped my head around to stare.
“Oh, god.” The words slipped past my lips, and I could feel the color drain from my face. There, just off to the side, stood three large people. They were wearing full plate armor of silver with strips of a luxurious purple fabric that reached down to their waist. They carried silver spears with golden tips. The one in the middle had Carah by the throat. The other two leveled their spears at her gut.
I had thought there were only two of the Sentinels in the city! And when had they grabbed Carah?!
I need to get there fast, before…I didn’t even want to think about it.
Without a second thought, I charged, spitting a ball of flames in an attempt to distract the three of them.
Behind me, there was a loud splash. That had to be that crate!
They were getting away, but I didn’t have time to deal with that right now!
My fireball whizzed between two of the Sentinels without even touching them.
Damn, damn, damn!
“Get your hands off her!” I roared, as I threw myself at them…and went right through. I hit the ground hard.
What?!
I spun around and scrambled to my feet.
The Sentinels were gone!
Carah was gone!
My tail was rattling like crazy.
“Carah!” I screamed, desperately looking around the room. It was empty except for two remaining crates and the body of the giant.
“I’m…I’m okay…” The words echoed around the room.
Carah!
Suddenly Carah was sitting in a ball next to one of the crates. Her arms were wrapped around her knees, and she held the scrap of cloth in her hand. Tears ran down her face as she looked up at me.
I don’t know how I got over there, but I was suddenly next to her on my knees. My hands were hovering over her as I tried to figure out what I could do to help. “Where are you hurt?”
“I’m okay. I didn’t get hit.” She wiped her eyes.
“What happened?” I was still hovering. I knew it, but I couldn’t pull myself away.
“I saw…” she trailed off, almost unable to speak. “I saw my mom…”
I blinked. Her mom?
“Uncle—that bastard Vinny…” She gritted her teeth. Tears were streaming down her cheeks in a rush. “He killed her. Right in front of me!” She was sobbing. “And I couldn’t do a thing about it! I couldn’t hit him!”
I froze.
That…that sounds very familiar.
But now wasn’t the time to think about it. I hesitated, for just a moment, then slowly reached out and gently took her into my arms.
She let me, pushing her head up against my tunic. Her tears were warm, probably painfully so for anyone who wasn’t fireproof.
“It’s okay,” I muttered. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
“Idiot!” She hammered a fist on my chest, right on the scar tissue. I winced. “I’m not worried about me!”
I had no idea how to respond to that. I simply held her protectively. I lost track of time as we sat there, her in my arms. Eventually, she was the one who ended it.
“As much as I don’t want to stop,” she said, giving me a watery smile, “this isn't very comfortable…”
Oh, right. Stone floor.
I stood, reluctantly, and reached out a hand to help her up.
“Thanks.” She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and then grabbed my arm to pull herself up. “So…I guess they got away.”
I looked over at the water, my eyebrows locked together in a scowl. “Yup.”
She reached up and patted my arm. “Don’t worry, buddy. We got this.”
I could tell she was still shaken. It was in the wobbly smile she gave me. And yet here she was trying to comfort me.
I glanced at the water. Right now, I was being pulled in two directions. On the one hand, I still felt the need to get MY lamp back. On the other hand, there was a new instinct pulling at me. I HAD to be sure Carah was okay. And that new protectiveness was winning out.
“Yeah. We can deal with them later. Let’s get you out of here.” I looked around the room to see if there was another way out.
“Oh, no,” Carah said jabbing a finger into my chest. “Let’s get this out of the way right now. I’m not some damsel in distress. I can hold my own in a fight, so you’re not going to be trying to protect me all the time. You understand me?”
I took a step back in surprise. Where the heck had this come from?
“Do you understand me?” Carah repeated, cutting through the storm of questions going through my head.
“No,” I answered honestly.
Her eyebrows snapped together.
Oh, crap...I put my foot in my mouth with that one.
“I never thought about protecting you.”
That wasn’t any better
“I mean I did, but I know you don’t need it.” I paused. “Can I try again?”
Carah let out a laugh before quickly covering her mouth. “Sorry! I shouldn't laugh.” She took a moment to compose herself and then lowered her hand. She looked up at me and lifted a finger. “I’m not some doll that needs to be guarded. I’m a member of our team, and I’m going to be fighting right alongside you and everyone else. No arguments. That means we don’t leave so that you can ‘get me out of here.’” She used air quotes. “Right now, we need to see if we can find out where they went.”
And with that, she headed over towards the crates, motioning me to follow along.
Well...guess that conversation’s over.
I shrugged and followed after her.
As I walked, I tried not to think about how they’d gotten away with MY lamp. Instead, I focused on the question of why, with three crates to choose from, did they only take that one? I mean MY lamp was awesome, true, but that couldn’t—
“Jake?” Carah was looking inside one of the crates. “You’re going to want to see this.”
There was something in her tone that cut right through my thoughts. Whatever she had just found, there was no way it was a good thing. With a sigh, I picked up the pace.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
Chapter 13
The crate was full of large, sackcloth bags, all about the size of sandbags. A fitting image, since they were filled with a red sand-like substance that glittered in the light of the wall torches that were set up around the room.
It was a substance I had seen before.
It was the same stuff that Edward had used to trap Rachel.
“Shit! Look at how much of this stuff there is!” Carah said, gesturing at the bags. “Where are they getting all this?”
I reached down and picked up one of the bags. It was heavy, even for me. “How many do you think are in here?”
“No clue.” Carah regarded the crate. “Twenty? Thirty? It’s hard to tell. For now, why don’t you store the whole thing and then let’s go take a look at the other one.”
I nodded and reached out to touch the side of the crate. “Store this.” With a pop, it was gone.
But unlike the other times I had used my ring, this time felt...strange.
I couldn’t put my finger on why, though. The sensation was different from anything else I had ever felt before.
Carah reached up and grabbed the collar of my tunic, gently pulling till I bent over.
I felt a warmth on my cheek along with slight soft pressure as she gave me a quick kiss. “Thanks, big guy.” She grinned happily before heading over to the last of the crates.
I’m pretty sure I was bright red and grinning like a fool as I touched my cheek.
“Damn, they nailed this one shut. Jake? Give me a hand?”
Oh, shoot. I was off in my own little world for a second there.
I hurried over to her and took a look. The top of the crate was really securely attached. Maybe I could force it open, though? I gripped onto the lip of the lid and tried to pry it open. No luck. Whatever they did to secure that thing was stronger than I was... I could probably do it if I had some more leverage, though.
Looking around, I suddenly remembered that I had dropped both my sword and dagger during the fight.
Shit! They didn’t fall into the water, right?
I saw my sword at the water’s edge and let out a sigh of relief. Thank god. It hadn’t fallen in. I hurried over to pick it up and then looked around trying to spot my breakaway dagger.
“Jake?” Carah was watching me with concern from beside the crate.
I was getting more and more anxious as I searched around the room. I couldn’t see it anywhere!
“Jake! What’s wrong?” Carah was by my side, looking at me worriedly.
“My dagger is gone!”
“What?”
“I was right in this area when I lost it!” I was starting to panic. I could feel it.
“Alright, big guy. Deep breath. you see what you can do with that crate. I’ll take a look around. Fresh pair of eyes, you know?”
I nodded at her, turning my attention to the crate. It took me a minute to refocus on what I was supposed to be doing. My instincts were screaming at me! I should be finding MY dagger before it was lost, just like my lamp.
Finally, I stuck my mace into the back of my belt and tried using my sword to lever the crate open. I managed to get the tip wedged under the lip of the lid and slowly began to pry the lid open.
As it began to pop free, I could see what the problem had been. The inside of the crate had been slathered in some kind of dark-green, wax seal. Even as I pulled the lid further open, I could see the stuff slowly ripping as the top separated from the stuff on the walls. I didn’t know what the stuff was, but from the slimy sounds it made as it separated, I really didn’t want to touch the stuff if I could help it.
With a final, sharp pop, the lid came free. It toppled to clatter against the sandstone floor.
A very cold, wet hand touched my arm, making me yelp and almost jump out of my scales. I heard the laughter behind me and spun to see Carah doubled over laughing as she tried not to stab herself with MY dagger.
Wait. She found my dagger!
Any anger I might have had instantly vanished. I gently pulled the weapon from the laughing woman’s grip. “You found it!”
“Yup!” she said as managed to get herself under control, at least a bit. “It was in the water, just under the surface.”
Well, that at least explained her cold hand. I glanced down at her clothes. She was soaked up to the elbows on her arms and up to the knees on her pants. She didn’t like being cold any more than I did and she still… I owed her for this.
I grimaced.
“What? Something wrong?” she asked.
“No.” I shook my head. “Hey, want me to dry you off?”
“As long as it isn't some kind of innuendo.” Her smile changed in a way that both worried me and made my heart pick up its pace. “Not that I mind, just that now isn't the time or the place, you know?”
“I…um…” Again. I was sure I was blushing. This girl really knew how to tease me.
She giggled. “Lemme guess. Your fire breath?”
I just nodded, not trusting my mouth to say anything.
She shrugged. “Maybe later. Since you got that crate open, why do we take a look?”
Thank god! She gave me an out!
I quickly turned back to the crate and stepped closer to look inside.
“Oh...that’s not good,” I muttered.
“What? What is it?” Carah came over, and I moved to the side to let her look.
The crate was packed full of bundles of armor—suits of plate mail all bundled up and stacked one on top of another. Each had a sword strapped to its side and was wrapped in translucent, silk-like material. The most worrying part? They all had a black symbol of a snake weaving around a clawed hand—the mark of The Chosen.
“Shit...” Carah's eyes went wide.
Couldn’t help but agree with the sentiment. There had to be thirty to forty full suits in there.
Resting in the center of the armor in the crate was a small chest. I picked it up to give it a closer look. It was of rather plain-looking, oiled wood held together by black iron bands. It didn’t even have a lock.
It was held closed with a simple, metal latch. Not that its simple design fooled me. I could tell that the wooden thing was thrumming with magic. It felt stretched tight—like a tripwire just ready to blow.
“Jake—”
“Give me a second.” I needed to be focused if I was going to figure this out.
The magic looped around the whole box. It seemed to form a net around the chest. It was actually ingrained in the wood, but the point where the magic all came together was the latch. To me, that screamed trap. And, while I might be able to feel all that, I had no idea how to disarm it.
I looked up at Carah. She was watching intently as I fiddled with the box. “I think you should stand back before I try this.”
She met my eyes with surprise. Understanding dawned. “Boobytrapped?”
I nodded.
“Then why don’t we just leave it alone? Do we really need to risk it?” She looked worried.
I looked closer at the lock, then flipped the chest over to examine its construction and see how the magic interacted with the wood.
“Jake?”
“I think I can get it open...and it might help us if we knew what's inside.” I looked up to smile at Carah. “You know me. I'll be fine.”
She hesitated and then nodded. “I'll have a potion ready. Just in case.” She continued to look worried.
I nodded and waited while Carah backed away to the tunnel entrance. Hopefully, that would be far enough away if I screwed this up.
Now came the hard part. I sat down on the sandstone floor and put the chest down upside down on the ground. I’d noticed that the iron bands holding the chest together weren't single pieces of metal. Maybe that was to be expected since it had to open. But the point was, the iron bands on the bottom were two separate pieces held in place by what looked like big, black, iron nails. Those nails weren’t part of the magic, neither were the bands or the oiled wooden slats that formed the bottom. I was hoping I could pry those nails free.
I took my dagger and worked to wedge it under one of the—with a snap, the blade broke off from the hilt. I looked at the hilt and then at the blade sticking out from under the nail.
&nb
sp; There was a loud giggle from the tunnel. I turned to shoot the laughing half-succubus a look.
“Sorry!” she managed to get out around her laughter. “Just, ignore me!”
Grumbling, I turned back to the chest. Whatever was in here was important enough to booby trap. Hopefully, that also meant it was important enough to risk trying to get out.
Glancing down at the dagger still in my hand, I noted that it had already grown another blade. Nice, but I wasn’t going to try that again. Instead, I stowed it away and carefully gripped the snapped blade left behind wedged under the nail. Getting purchase on the sharp bit of metal was tricky, but with a little effort, I managed to use it to pop the nail free!
Only five more to go.
I don't know how long it took me to fiddle with the broken blade, pop the remaining nails free, remove the bands and finally free a board.
“So, what is it?” a very bored Carah asked from where she was laying on her side watching me work.
I tilted the chest, trying to see inside. It was something paper, but that was all I could tell for sure. I was going to have to get it out of there. Carefully, I wiggled two fingers into the crack, grasped whatever it was in there, and began to work it out of the chest.
It took some time to work the contents out without damaging it. It was a bundle of papers, tied up with a homespun black ribbon. The bundle was closed with a blot of purple wax. The wax was stamped with a seal of the same hand and snake design The Chosen used for their symbol.
It actually looks a little impressive.
I took a last peek inside to make sure I’d gotten everything and set the chest down back on top of the stacks of armor.
Behind me, I heard Carah get to her feet and pad over. As she did, I reached down to pop off the bit of wax. And yes, I did check to make sure it wasn’t magical before I did it. I wouldn’t have put it past these guys to set multiple traps. Something about them always seemed a little…over the top like that.
I pulled the black ribbon free from the bundle and began to leaf through the papers.