“What if Scarlett’s dead?”
“Not sweeeet,” said Doughboy, his inflection indicating I was giving the worst pep talk in the world.
“I know, bro. I’m sorry.”
He rubbed against me and hugged my leg, cooing like a mogwai.
“Celesta said Scarlett was alive,” Eva said.
“Right.” I exhaled slowly and looked at the crystal fortress. “We go in there, find Scarlett, and get the hell out. Free the other clan members if we can and fight Gorrcon if we must.”
“Sweeeet!” Doughboy said impatiently. He looked ready to kick some monster ass, and his bravery gave me strength.
We mounted our Pegasi and flew low over the snow. No bats stopped us, and no spells erupted from the tower. I began to think that Red had been wrong, and this tower was as abandoned as it looked.
I pointed at the balcony about halfway up the structure. “Check that out.” I did a flyby but saw nothing. “D, go scope it out.”
I flew by again, and he jumped off the Pegasus and landed on the balcony like a superhero. We circled the tower, vainly searching for any signs of life, or death for that matter.
When we circled back around, Doughboy was waving to us.
“I think he found something,” I said, and we landed on the balcony, and I scanned the room beyond.
“Not sweeeet,” said Doughboy with a concerned glance at the dark chamber.
I pulled my enchanted blade free and stalked toward the entrance to the chamber. The room leading to the balcony was full of mirrors like a funhouse, and eerily reminded me of my dream.
“Careful,” Eva warned.
“Do you hear that?”
A barely audible voice was calling from inside. I looked deep into the chamber of mirrors but saw only my own reflection. The voice called again, louder this time. I froze. It sounded like Scarlett.
“Jake! Jake, help me.”
“Scarlett?” I stepped into the mirrored chamber with Doughboy and Eva in tow. It was disorienting as hell, and Scarlett’s voice continued to echo off the walls, desperately calling for help.
We maneuvered through the maze, getting hopelessly lost. Each hall looked the same, and every time I caught movement in the corner of my eye, I found it was only our reflections in the never-ending mirrors.
“Fuck this,” I said and threw my shovel as hard as I could at the mirror in front of me. The weapon smashed through it and continued on. I covered Eva as the wall of mirrors came crashing down, and the maze disappeared.
We were in the center of a vast chamber. At the far end, a tall, shrouded figure stood behind a bubbling cauldron, and seven others circled it, chanting.
Behind them, chained to the wall and floating five feet off the ground, was Scarlett.
“This would be a great time for some of your goddess lightning,” I told Eva. “D, get Scarlett and take her out of here. Got it?”
He nodded and growled. Eva gave me a wink, then her eyes began to glow.
“Ah, the infamous Jake Baker,” said the figure standing amidst the chanting witches. He spread his arms wide and cackled. “I thought you would never show up.”
Gorrcon’s face looked like a green skeleton with thin, leathery patches of skin beneath his tattered hood. Skeletal hands gripped a glowing scepter set with a single, brilliant emerald. His voice was deep and commanding, with a snide edge to it.
“How do you know my name?” I asked as I approached.
“I know many things, human. I know you have the favor of the Goddess Celesta, which I admit is quite impressive. I know you have love for this woman and you would come for her.”
“You lured me here. What do you want?” I stopped fifty feet away, ready for a sudden attack. He hadn’t lured me here to chat.
His skeletal face twisted into a hideous sneer. “Your blood.” He thrust the scepter forward, and a pulsing green light shot out of the emerald.
I deflected the beam with my pizza shovel, and it ricocheted off and tore a chunk out of the floor, carving a long swath. Eva called out to her goddess, and a moment later, lightning crackled and surged past me, hitting Gorrcon in the chest and sending him slamming into the wall.
“D!” I spun around, and he leapt on the end of my enchanted weapon. I flung him toward Scarlett. The chanting witches produced brooms, jumped on them, and flew to intercept.
I charged Gorrcon, who struggled against Eva’s lightning bolts. I had almost reached him when he exploded with green energy. He pushed back the lightning bolts with crackling green lightning of his own. I leapt into the air and swung the blade at his head. Gorrcon blocked the blow at the last moment with green energy that stopped mere inches from his open palm. I struggled to pull my weapon free, but the green energy field held it in stasis. The wailing cry of a witch caught my attention. Doughboy flew by, attached to one of their faces. The others were chasing him around the chamber, launching spells and hurtling curses.
All the while he laughed his little ass off.
“Celesta, bless me with your—” Eva’s voice was drowned out by a blast of green fire erupting from Gorrcon’s extended hand. It tossed her against a wall, where she landed in an unmoving heap.
I pulled my blade free with a growl putting all my weight into the next strike. Gorrcon blocked me with his scepter, adding a blast of energy to the counterstrike that knocked me back. I blocked Gorrcon’s next blow with the blade and the follow-up with the handle. Seeing an opening, I swept my blade in an upward arch and drew blood.
He touched his chin, stared at the blood on his fingers, then eyed me with something akin to respect. “Red told me you were a talented warrior.”
Doughboy was still battling the damned witches, but Eva had moved from where she’d fallen and was rushing toward Scarlett at an angle that prevented Gorrcon from seeing her.
“What do you mean, Red told you?”
“You shall find out soon enough.” He sniffed. “I am done playing games. You are useful, therefore, I shall spare your life and find a place for you in my legions.”
“Sorry, bro, but I’ve already got a posse.” I swung for his stomach, but he suddenly disappeared. I turned quickly, alert to danger behind me, but too late.
Gorrcon hit me in the back with a blast of energy that launched me across the room. When I skidded to a stop, my armor was smoking, but I was in one piece. Doughboy flew past with the witches in tow, and Eva was almost to Scarlett. I needed to give them more time.
“Is that the best you’ve got?” I asked as I staggered to my feet. I felt a boney hand on the back of my neck.
“Not even close,” said Gorrcon next to my ear.
He picked me up and tossed me at a wall. I hit hard, the air exploding from my lungs. Gorrcon appeared next to me, yanked my weapon out of my hands, and lifted me off the floor by the throat.
I kicked at him feebly and tried to pry open his boney fist, but I may as well have been trying to open a vice. He threw me against the wall again, and stars danced in my vision.
Ice shards erupted from the wall and dropped around me like a cage, pinning me there. Eva had reached Scarlett, but with a mere wave of the hand, Gorrcon trapped her against the wall as well. Doughboy’s voice echoed through the chamber, saying “Sweeeet!” like it was a battle cry.
Gorrcon spun around, but not in time to stop Doughboy from landing on his face. The warlock struggled to pry him off, but my little buddy held on tight. It wasn’t until one of the witches blasted Doughboy with a glowing energy ball that he finally let go. When he did, Gorrcon encapsulated him in a ball of green energy.
“Not sweeeet!” he said in a muffled voice as the green energy ball aimlessly floated around the room.
Scarlett looked like shit, but she was alive. “What took you so long?” she asked with a tired smile.
“You and your little band have many tricks.” Gorrcon lifted my pizza shovel and strode over to us. “I shall enjoy having you serve me.”
“Let the girls go,” I said. “I�
�ll give you whatever you want!”
“What I want, I take.” He turned with a flurry of robes and tossed my shovel aside. “Begin the ritual!”
“What’s he talking about?” I asked Scarlett.
“He plans to open a portal to Earth.”
“Aw, shit.” Eva was pinned to the icy wall on the other side of Scarlett. “Any chance you’ve got any magic left?”
“I can try, but this place weakens my connection to Celesta.”
She looked on the verge of passing out; she didn’t have anything left. Doughboy was trapped in the green energy bubble, and Scarlett had seen better days. Our rescue attempt had been a complete disaster. Things were worse in every possible way.
The cauldron bubbled and frothed as the witches danced around it, gleefully chanting and tossing in ingredients. Gorrcon paced in wide circles around the group, a grin on his gaunt face.
“We are ready for the last ingredient,” said one of the hags.
“Excellent.” Gorrcon unsheathed a small dagger and stalked toward me.
“If you hurt either one of them, I’ll make you wish you were never reborn,” I warned.
“It is not their blood I covet.” He stopped before me, and after a wave of his hand, the ice around my right forearm melted away. He made a small cut in my skin and watched with greedy eyes as my blood pooled on the silver blade.
“Whatever you’re planning, I’d reconsider if I were you. Earth isn’t like Tarth. Try your necromancy shit there, and they’ll nuke your ass into oblivion.”
He smiled at me with rotten teeth. “Challenge accepted.”
I watched helplessly as he went over to the cauldron and let my blood drip into it. When it hit the bubbling concoction, it boiled over, green steam rising into the air. The witches continued their chant, and Gorrcon gazed up at the swirling smoke as it crackled with energy.
The swirling smoke thinned, and Romano’s Pizzeria shimmered into view.
“Shit.”
Gorrcon gave a triumphant roar and raised a fist. “Come to me, my children!”
A swirling gateway opened in the floor, and out crawled dozens of demons. They raced across the chamber, leaped into the portal, and started trashing Romano’s.
“You’re going to regret this,” I warned.
Gorrcon gestured to his witches, and they excitedly filed through the portal. He walked up to me with a snide grin on his face. “Now Earth is mine.”
I wanted to kill the son of a bitch, but I was still trapped in ice, so I did the only thing I could. I spit in his face. His smile faded, and he wiped the spittle from his boney mug. “You could have been one of my most powerful generals, but alas, you have too much fight in you.”
He raised a fist and squeezed it tight, and the tower shook as if in an earthquake. He strode through the portal, cackling like a drunken witch. As soon as he was gone, Doughboy’s green bubble popped, and he fell to the floor.
“Jake, we have to get out of here,” said Eva as the tower fell apart around us.
“I can see that.” I struggled to free myself, but I couldn’t move, much less break the ice. “Can’t you pray to Celesta?”
“I have been, but I feel no connection to her here.”
Long cracks appeared on the walls and split the floor and ceiling, causing big chunks of stone to crash down. The portal was still open, but I knew it wouldn’t last forever. Doughboy was face down on the floor.
“D!” I yelled. “Wake up!”
The building shook more violently, and a long crack appeared in the wall of ice we were encapsulated in.
“Doughboy!”
He weakly raised his head, then shook it like he had just awakened from a three-day bender. “Not sweeeet!” he complained and staggered to his feet.
“Not sweet at all. Get us out of here!” I pleaded.
The place shook like it was the end of the world, and huge chunks of stone fell from the ceiling. I felt the entire structure shift and knew we were mere seconds from death.
Doughboy hurried toward us. He grabbed the handle of my pizza shovel, but it proved too heavy. I watched as he grew angry, and as his anger grew, so did his body. He puffed up, his arms and legs grew longer, and his face twisted in grim determination. With a growl, he yanked the pizza shovel and sent it flying our way.
When it struck the icy wall, the entire thing crumbled. Eva, Scarlett, and I fell to the floor, ice raining down on us.
“The entrance is blocked,” said Scarlett. “We’re trapped!”
I looked at the portal. “No, we’re not. Come on.”
We raced to the portal, dodging falling stone and debris. I was clipped by a brick-sized piece, but Eva helped me stay on my feet. Scarlett was the first one through, followed by Doughboy and Eva. I went last, diving into the portal as the tower groaned and collapsed.
I must have blacked out, because I woke up face down on the floor, covered in pizza boxes. Eva and Scarlett were next to me, still out cold.
“Hey, wake up,” I said as I removed the pile of boxes.
“Not sweeeet,” Doughboy groaned as he picked himself up and shook his head.
“Oh my god! Jake?” said a familiar voice.
My heart swelled. “Becka?”
She rushed over and practically tackled me, crashing through the boxes and smothering me with kisses.
“It’s so good to see you.” I kissed her and held her tight.
“What happened?” Eva opened her eyes and looked around wildly.
“We jumped through the portal. We’re on Earth.”
“Holy shit.” Becka covered her mouth in shock. “Is that…?”
“Eva and Scarlett, yeah.”
She looked at my doughy friend and her eyes watered. “And Doughboy?”
“Sweeeet!” he said, like he was Fonzie.
She covered her mouth, eyes filling with tears of joy. “It’s true, the story’s true. I’ve been waiting here for a week, thinking that you’d return through the oven, like you did in the story. Romano thought I was nuts, but he let me stay after hours. I can’t believe it, Jake.”
“Me either, but can we talk about it later? Did a warlock and coven of witches go through here?”
“Yeah,” she said, gesturing at the trashed restaurant. “I hid behind the counter.”
Scarlett groaned and sat up. “Where’s Gorrcon?”
“They went that way.” Becka pointed at a smashed window, which was blackened at the edges.
I hurried over and scanned the parking lot.
Scarlett pointed to the east end. “There! They are filing into that strange wagon.”
Gorrcon and his demons and witches were loading into a VW bus. The scene was ridiculous; they looked like a bunch of adults on their way to a costume party.
We raced out the door as the van revved, moved forward, braked hard, revved again, and squealed out of the parking lot.
“How the hell does he know how to drive a car?” I asked the heavens.
“They’re getting away!” Scarlett cried.
“Here!” Becka yelled and tossed me the keys to my car. It was in the parking lot, where I guessed Becka had parked it.
“Get in!” I ran to the car and pulled the front seat forward. Scarlett and Eva piled in the back, and Becka ran around and got in the passenger seat. Doughboy jumped in her lap, which made her yip and laugh.
Gorrcon and his merry band of wierdos were nowhere to be seen, but they’d turned east, so I peeled out of the lot and headed in that direction.
We screamed through downtown Lake George, and the girls let out surprised yells. Becka turned around, marveling at Eva and Scarlett like a star-struck teenager. “I can’t believe I’m finally meeting you,” she said dreamily.
“You must be Becka,” said Eva. “Jake told me about you.”
“He did?” She smiled at me. “He’s told me tons about you two, and now you’re here. I just can’t believe it.”
“Hold on!” I warned as I followed the VW bus o
nto a ramp.
The tires squealed as I drifted onto the freeway. I pulled in front of a big rig that didn’t have enough sense to move over, then I dropped it a gear and burned rubber to the sound of his blaring horn.
“What is this magnificent machine?” Scarlett asked.
“It’s called a car.”
“I want one.”
“Sweeeeet!” Doughboy concurred.
Becka laughed in delight. “He sounds just like you said he did. You’re too cute, little Doughboy.”
D glanced at me and made his eyebrows dance.
“Don’t get any ideas.”
Up ahead about half a mile, the van was swerving dangerously on the road like a drunken driver was behind the wheel, and it took no time for me to catch up with them. When I did, the back window flew out and magical projectiles followed it.
“Look out!” Eva cried from the backseat.
I barely dodged a big ball of green lightning, swerved around a blue streak, but couldn’t avoid the next ball of lightning, which shattered my window when it clipped the roof.
“Son of a bitch!” I braked and let the van get far ahead. “Everyone okay?”
Becka looked up at the smoking hole in the roof. “Was that magic?”
“Yeah, that was magic.”
“So cool,” she said.
“Wanna see some more?” Scarlett asked. She produced a bow out of thin air.
“Where the hell were you hiding that?” I asked.
“It is soul-bound to me,” she said, as if I should know what the hell that meant. “Do these windows open?”
I rolled down the driver side window, and Scarlett squeezed through it.
The van was still swerving, with the occasional energy zap streaking out of it and bouncing down the road, but I kept the car as steady as possible.
“Letharengor,” Scarlett whispered, then released an arrow. It flew straight at the van, but at the last moment, one of the witches shot it down with a ball of green energy.
More energy left the van, and I backed off a bit.
“Get me closer!” said Scarlett.
“This is so fucking cool,” said Becka.
Eva was praying in the backseat, and I wondered if Celesta’s power could reach her so far away.
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