James listened to the approaching storm...then looked at Hercules and laughed. "They don't stand a chance, do they?"
"Not a chance!" Hercules bounded through the doorway and bellowed at the oncoming army. "Hurry, you cowards! The only thing that bores us more than fighting you is waiting for you!"
The leading edge of the approaching tide pushed around the last corner and appeared—a knot of snarling, fanged maniacs with machine guns, red eyes glinting in the darkness. Their answer to Hercules' call was to fire off rounds at the doorway.
"Back, everyone!" Shakespeare quickly backed away from the door, pulling James along with him. "Get ready!"
Breathing fast, veins blazing with the liquid fire of his surging feratu, Shakespeare squared his shoulders and prepared for the fight. His troops fanned out around him, and his closest allies lined up alongside him in the front rank—Hercules and James at his right, Alexander and Thomas at his left.
Howling and wailing, the first warriors poured through the doorway.
"For paradise!" Hercules downed the first enemy to set foot in the chamber with a single blow from his club. "For Empyrea!"
"For Empyrea!" said Shakespeare as he leaped into battle.
*****
Chapter 87
Jonah, Stanza, Arthur, and Mavis reached the middle of the chamber just as Genghis' horde crashed through the doorway. The sounds of battle erupted, meaning time was running out to open the last locks of Empyrea. Hercules, Shakespeare, and their allies would slow the enemy's advance; the forest of crystal pillars would prevent vampires from taking flight and racing straight to the locks. But sooner or later, Genghis or his men would slip through. Eventually, they would reach the middle of the chamber, climb the bars, and attack Jonah and Mavis.
Which was why, as much as Jonah hated heights, he knew he had to force himself to start climbing right away.
Stanza's pep talk helped push him along. "Get up there! Both of you! Or do you want to end up as juice pouches for thirsty vampires?"
Jonah wiped his sweaty, bloody hands on his pants. "I'm not real big on heights. That's...wow." His gaze followed one of a ring of close-set pillars climbing to the middle of the concentric circles on the ceiling. "Looks even higher from here." He guessed the pillar was sixty or seventy feet high where it touched the ceiling.
"Don't look down," said Stanza. "Focus on what's ahead of you."
"What about when we have to come back down?" said Jonah.
Stanza looked toward the battle, which was intensifying. "Okay." Face grim, she turned to Jonah. "You have to do this. Just get it through your head. You have no other choice. You can't fail."
Jonah's heart pounded as he stared up at the heights looming above him. "What if you and Arthur went up with us? Just to talk us through it?"
Stanza shook her head. "We have to stay down here and keep the bad guys off the bars." She pulled out her trusty machine gun with the ironwood point ammo and swung it up against her chest. "This spot'll be crawling with them in nothing flat."
"Speaking of the devil," said Arthur, "I see one of them breaking through the line right now! He's heading this way!"
"Time's up!" said Stanza. "Get up there!"
Jonah put his hands on the pillar and swallowed hard. "What do we do when we get to the top?"
"The same thing you did to all the other locks." Stanza glanced at the running figure weaving through the pillars on its way toward them. "Press your bloody hand against the plate. Wait till it glows and sparks, then move on to the next one."
"How will we know when we've done whatever it is we're supposed to do?" said Mavis.
"When you've opened all three locks," said Stanza.
"But how will we know for sure?" said Mavis.
"You'll know. Believe me, you'll know." Stanza switched off the safety on her machine gun. "Now get going!"
Mavis started climbing, but Jonah held back. He kept hoping another solution would present itself, but none did. As scared as he was of heights, he had to scale the pillar; otherwise, he would definitely be doomed when Genghis' vampiric forces broke through.
Jonah wiped his bloody hands on his pants one more time, then took hold of the pillar. Pulling himself up, he wrapped his legs around the pillar and plugged his heels into footholds in the crystal.
He pushed up from there and moved his hands higher. Held on as he raised his feet to new footholds.
And he tried not to look down. Not even when Stanza's machine gun chattered, and someone let loose an agonized scream nearby.
No matter what, Jonah knew he could never look down. It was absolutely the only way he could survive this. It was the only way that a key like him could keep from falling to his death long enough to help open the locks of Empyrea.
*****
Chapter 88
One after another, the soldiers of Genghis fell before Shakespeare, collapsing like dominoes in the carpet of dried feratu. They came at him again and again, raging and howling and lashing out, but not one of them even slowed him down a little.
Shakespeare doubted he had ever been in deadlier form. Whoever the opponent, he countered every move with certainty and grace. The experience of a lifetime of violence guided his every step and thought.
All the same, he knew from the start that the battle was lost. His allies fought with no less fury and perfection than he—Alexander and Hercules fought with far more—but the enemy was already slipping through their gauntlet.
One and two at a time, they squeeze through our fingers, leaking into the crystalline maze. How soon until they seize Jonah and Mavis and take control of the gate to fabled Empyrea?
A black-furred vampire in bat form screamed as Shakespeare impaled him on a spear and swung him around like a weapon, knocking down three other soldiers. As soon as Shakespeare let go of the bat-winged corpse, two more fighters leaped toward him.
Even as Shakespeare battled on with whirlwind speed and surgeon's precision, he stole glimpses of his allies at war. Hercules slammed the door shut and made sure no one could get out, fighting off a dozen howling warriors single-handedly. Alexander waded grimly through a tide of foes, flicking them aside like gnats, barely worthy of his notice. James swung a mace, bashing in skulls and chests at arm's length. Thomas gouged out throats with his teeth while slashing open bellies with his flashing claws.
These men are the stuff of legends. This I promise: if I survive this struggle, I'll with all my old gifts take pen in hand and write the story of this day.
For the first time in centuries, I'll return to the page. I'll write the story of these men in verse like no other ever writ 'neath sun or moon.
As Hercules, Arthur, Alexander, Shakespeare, and the twins churned through the flood of fighters, a deadly figure soared out of the crowd, cloaked in gleaming red feathers. It was the transformed shape of Genghis himself, a giant red-winged hawk with beak and claws powerful enough to crack the strongest bones.
Screeching, the hawk rose and headed for the middle of the chamber. Shakespeare glimpsed two figures there, climbing crystal pillars—Jonah and Mavis. Below them, Stanza and Arthur fought off a handful of Genghis' men.
Genghis soared to the edge of the field of pillars, then suddenly came up short. Pillars caught his wings and deflected him, sending him spinning to the floor. He crashed in the layer of feratu, kicking up a cloud of desiccated remains.
As Shakespeare watched, Genghis rose from the debris and shifted shape from bird to man. Red feathers, beak, and talons were replaced by red robes, russet skin, and black hair.
When the transformation was done, Genghis' burning eyes flew right to Shakespeare, and he laughed. Then, he ran off into the forest of crystal, intent on his goal. His inability to fly between the bars would not keep him from going after what he wanted.
He conquered Asia with boundless guile and relentless brute force. I would expect him to do no less when it comes to Empyrea.
Just as he should expect me to pursue him with no less ferocity.
Lett
ing loose a battle cry of superhuman savagery, Shakespeare plowed through a brace of foes and leaped past the battle line. Landing on the far side, he charged after Genghis through the field of glittering crystal pillars.
*****
Chapter 89
Arms aching, Mavis hoisted herself up one more time, then locked her legs around the pillar and paused to rest. Looking up, she judged she'd made it halfway to the top already, with thirty feet to go.
Looking down, she saw that Jonah wasn't doing so well. She could tell he was struggling—from fear, not exhaustion. He was climbing too slowly, holding on too tightly, falling too far behind. He was ten, maybe twelve feet below—and the way he was inching along, he wouldn't catch up anytime soon.
It wasn't like he had time to spare, either. Twenty feet below him, at ground level, Genghis' vampires were surrounding the central pillars. Stanza and Arthur were holding them back, but it wouldn't be long till they broke through and clambered up after Mavis and Jonah.
So the clock was ticking louder than ever now. Time to get it in gear.
"Come on, Jonah!" said Mavis. "Pick up the pace!"
Jonah glared up at her. "I'm doing the best I can! I hate heights!"
Mavis, who'd always been a good climber, wished she could reach out and give him a hand, but she had to settle for talking him through it. "Think of something else, Jonah. Put the heights out of your mind."
"I'm trying!" said Jonah. "I'm thinking about my band, Crimson Wonder. Running set lists. Running chord changes. It isn't helping!"
Down below, Mavis saw the vampires converge on Stanza and Arthur. A male scampered around them, leaped onto Jonah's pillar, and started climbing. Time's up!
"Here's what we do!" said Mavis. "We sing! That'll take your mind off it!"
Jonah slumped and sighed, then reached up to pull himself further. "Okay. Maybe singing will help." He didn't sound convinced. "Know any Jethro Tull?"
"Just one." With that, Mavis started singing. "Duh-duh duh-duh-duh duh." It was the only piece of a Tull song she knew, and it was just an intro without lyrics, but she hoped it would be enough.
"Duh-duh duh-duh-duh duh." Jonah's voice was strained and panicky, but at least he was playing along. Hoisting himself, he found new footholds and stepped onto them.
Mavis waited for him to catch up—if he made it. Jonah was moving again, but the vampire on his pillar was clambering up behind him. He'd reach Jonah in mere moments.
"Keep singing!" Jonah pulled himself up again and found more footholds. Then pulled himself up another arms-length. The vampire below him was only about ten feet away.
Oh, God. Oh, please help him! "Duh-duh duh-duh-duh duh." Mavis was having a hard time keeping her cool. Jonah pulled up alongside her, finally reaching the midpoint of the pillar, but the vampire was less than five feet away.
"Is that all you know?" Jonah reached for a fresh grip on the pillar. "I am never going to play that intro again!"
Meanwhile, the leering vampire reached for a grip on Jonah. Almost there...
And suddenly, Excalibur flashed from below and buried its point in the vampire's back. The vampire screamed its lungs out and let go of the bar, dropping like an anchor from a ship.
Jonah's eyes flared wide, and he instantly tightened his grip on the pillar. He was about to look down when Mavis hastily intervened.
"Don't look!" Her voice was insistent and as loud as she could make it. "Don't do it, Jonah!"
Jonah's eyes flicked down, but not all the way. He caught himself when Mavis cried out and kept his gaze locked firmly with hers. "What just happened?" "Vampire," said Mavis. "But he's gone now, thanks to Arthur. No need to look down, okay?"
Jonah's eyes flicked downward again and snapped back up. He swallowed hard and nodded. "Duh-duh duh-duh-duh duh."
Then, he and Mavis reached up at the same time and kept climbing.
*****
Chapter 90
Darting among the crystalline pillars, Shakespeare raced around and cut off Genghis' charge toward the middle of the chamber. Changing partly into bat form, Shakespeare raised his razor-sharp claws and lunged headlong at Genghis.
Genghis snarled and flicked aside Shakespeare with one swipe of his arm. "The truce is over!" Genghis laughed as Shakespeare tumbled to the feratu-littered floor. "In case you haven't figured it out already!"
Shakespeare quickly regained his feet and sprang. Roaring, he gashed his claws across Genghis' chest, etching bloody tracks in the flesh.
He might as well have tickled him with a feather.
Genghis laughed and grabbed Shakespeare by the wrist. "I've been dying to do this!" He hauled Shakespeare toward him and plunged a fist deep in his gut. "I've been dreaming about it!"
Held at close quarters, Shakespeare lunged at Genghis' throat, sinking his fangs deep and biting down. Genghis howled as Shakespeare tore away a mouthful, leaving a bloody, ragged cavity.
But Genghis didn't release Shakespeare's wrist. Instead, he heaved Shakespeare off his feet, slamming him headfirst to the floor. Before Shakespeare could get any leverage, Genghis swung him around and crashed him down again.
Genghis hauled him up again, but this time Shakespeare moved with the pull, riding the momentum. He somersaulted in mid-sweep, shearing from his course to ram both feet in Genghis' face.
Genghis lost his grip, and Shakespeare kicked away from him into a backflip. Shakespeare landed on his feet, glaring at Genghis as he staggered and pawed at his face.
Their eyes met and locked.
Here we are at last, the single moment I've seen coming from the start. Here now we'll settle everything in blood.
Howling with rage, Shakespeare and Genghis charged at the same instant. They collided with shuddering force, monstrous claws crashing together.
After grappling for long moments, Shakespeare suddenly twisted around, wrenching Genghis off balance. Genghis swung toward the floor but managed to rake a claw down Shakespeare's thigh on the way.
Fighting the urge to cry out from the pain, Shakespeare hauled back his undamaged leg and kicked Genghis in the head, pitching him away. Shakespeare followed with another kick and a gouging strike with his claws along Genghis' flank.
Genghis seemed dazed...but soon erupted in a dizzying whirl of motion. He knocked the wind out of Shakespeare with a flurry of blows, leaving him reeling, then blew him over with a shattering kick to the chest. As Shakespeare fell hard to the floor, Genghis laughed and spit on him, then raced off, resuming his former course toward Jonah and Mavis in the heart of the chamber.
*****
Chapter 91
Jonah reached the ceiling after Mavis, then wrapped his legs around the pillar and locked his heels into footholds. He almost looked down, but Mavis moved his attention to the task at hand.
"Time to open Empyrea," she said. "Here's lock number one." She pointed at a rectangular double panel of glassy crimson squares mounted in the ceiling above them. "Let's do it just like Stanza said. Just like we did with the other locks."
Jonah reached toward the crimson panel but couldn't quite reach it. Keeping his legs wrapped tightly around the pillar, he grabbed a higher handhold and pulled himself up. He locked his heels into new footholds, then reached again for the crimson panel. This time, he made contact.
"Ready," he said, though he wasn't really ready for any of this.
"On three." Mavis raised her right hand, the one with the cut across the palm. "One...two...three."
Jonah pressed his right hand to the left panel at the same time Mavis stretched around and pressed hers to the right one. As they held them there, Jonah started thinking about where he was and what he was doing; he experienced a flash of vertigo...but it passed when the lock panel came to life. This lock, just like the ones at ground level, swirled with crimson sparks and made his arm tingle.
"One down." Mavis pulled her hand away.
Suddenly, Jonah had a thought. "Wait." He frowned at Mavis. "Didn't Stanza say there were three sets of l
ocks up here?"
Mavis nodded. "She did say that."
"Then where are the other two?" Jonah didn't like where this was going.
"Over there." Mavis pointed at a spot about ten feet away along the circumference of the inner circle. Sure enough, another double panel of crimson glass was mounted on the ceiling there.
"And over there." Mavis pointed at a spot to the left of Jonah, and he turned. Twenty feet away along the rim of the inner circle, he saw the third and final set of locks.
"Now wait a minute." Jonah laughed nervously. "We can't reach those locks from where we are. So that's just impossible, right?"
"We'll have to go from bar to bar," said Mavis. "We'll have to work our way over."
Jonah laughed again. "But then we'd have to let go of the ones we're on now, right?"
Mavis nodded. "Let go of one, grab the other. They're close enough here, in this ring. We can do it."
"If we were monkeys, we could do it!" said Jonah.
"Just follow my lead," said Mavis. "I'll get you through it."
Jonah shook his head. "Forget it! Forget it!" He felt a surge of total panic welling up within him. "I can't!"
"You have to," said Mavis. "We have to finish this."
"I can't," said Jonah. "No way!"
"You don't have a choice!" snapped Mavis. "So get your act together! Do it or we're all dead!"
*****
Chapter 92
Shakespeare raced after Genghis, legs churning with superhuman vampiric speed...but he couldn't overtake him. Genghis wove through the thicket of crystalline bars like a rabbit or a race car, never losing a step, never giving up ground.
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