“Don’t move,” Vance whispered. The sounds Sam heard suddenly stopped. “We’re not alone,” Vance added. Just as the doctor turned them back toward the waterfall, some kind of creature crashed down on top of Sam.
Sam struggled against the mysterious assailant. “Vance! Help!” he screamed as he wrestled his attacker. Sam squirmed underneath and finally got a good look at what he was fighting. It was small, around his size, with a red cap on its head, a long nose, teeth that were sharpened into points, blood-red eyes, and long, talonlike fingers. It wore iron boots and wielded a spear-shaped weapon with an iron ax blade at its tip. The creature slashed at Sam, who deftly swung his backpack to protect his chest. The creature reared back and moved to take another swing, but its arm froze in midmotion. It peered up to find Dr. Vantana staring it down. Vance lifted the creature off the ground and tossed it across the cavern floor, where it landed in a heap with its partner. Vantana pulled Sam to his feet.
“Thank you,” Sam said anxiously.
“No time for thank you; we have to get out of here.” Vance pointed to an adjacent cave. “They have friends.” Sam turned to see dozens of the creatures charging toward them. Like a mass of fire ants, they were crawling along the ceiling, the walls, and the cavern floor. “Run!” Vance ordered.
The two raced out of the cave and up one of the staircases. It was a steep climb, and Sam struggled to maintain speed as they ascended the cliff. The stairway rounded back toward the cave, and Sam could see the creatures following in a swarm. The stairs ended near a roadway with rolling hills on one side and a small town in the distance. Vance took off across the road and into a meadow, making a beeline for town. Sam glanced back and could see the goblinlike creatures still pursuing them, their axes at the ready.
“What are those things?” Sam yelled to Vance as they sprinted toward the woods.
“They’re called redcaps. Don’t ask why their caps are stained red.”
“Those are stains?” Sam’s realization sent a chill down his spine. “Bloodstains?” he asked. Vance didn’t answer, confirming Sam’s deduction. “But they’re slow, we can outrun them, right?” Sam asked. Vance shook his head.
“Redcaps don’t tire. They may be slow, but they’re steady. When we start to falter, they’ll be ready to pounce.”
“What are we going to do?” Sam hollered, his breathing growing more labored. He could feel his body slowing down, and the implications terrified him.
“Our best bet is to try to lose them in the hills, look for a forest, maybe hide. They can’t smell worth a darn, and they ain’t the smartest ducks in the pond.” Darkness was falling fast, and Sam stayed close to the doctor as he led him across a sheep pasture. They climbed hill after hill until Sam could hardly catch his breath. He was losing ground and slowing them down. As they came storming down a steep hillside, Sam slipped on the wet grass and tumbled to the base. Vance tried to pull him back to his feet to continue, but as he did, Sam could see that it was already too late. The redcaps were marching down the hillside, dragging their axes behind them, devilish smiles on their twisted faces. Dr. Vantana grabbed Sam’s hand and held it tightly.
“We’re gonna be all right,” Vance told Sam reassuringly.
“No, we’re not,” Sam replied, resigned. Vance grabbed him.
“Yes, we are, Sam London. I’m Vance Vantana, fresh from the backwoods. Half horse, half alligator. And I’m here to protect you!” Vance unsheathed his knife and took up a fighting stance as the redcaps pulled their axes to the ready. “All right, you vile little monsters. Let’s see what you’re made of.”
Vance Vantana never got a chance to protect Sam London from the bloodthirsty redcaps, but it wasn’t because he wasn’t tough enough. The monstrous creatures inexplicably halted their forward march. An eerie hush fell upon the Highlands as the redcaps stood stoically, glaring at Sam and Vance with crimson eyes. The doctor wasn’t sure what to make of their unusual behavior. They had the duo right where they wanted them and were not known to be a merciful race. In fact, given the slim odds of survival and the redcaps’ reputation, Vance had already devised a last-ditch plan that would involve him taking out a dozen or so redcaps, clearing a path for Sam to escape, and then hanging back to fight the horde until he could fight no longer. It would provide just enough time for the boy who’d seen the gryphon to get to safety, but it would surely cost Vance his life. Luckily, this new development put the grim scenario on a temporary hold.
“I guess you must have scared them,” the boy speculated.
“I always did have a—” Vance’s self-flattery was interrupted by a low rumbling noise and a vibration in the ground beneath their feet. Their teeth chattered as the sound quickly turned thunderous and the shaking grew violent. It felt like an earthquake, but one localized to where they stood.
“Look!” Sam exclaimed as he pointed to a crack forming in the ground. The tear in the earth was widening and spreading toward them. With no place to run, Vance knew they couldn’t avoid the inevitable. He grabbed Sam.
“Whatever happens, don’t let go!” Vance instructed. The rupture finally arrived at their feet and the earth promptly swallowed them whole. They were instantly free-falling into a black abyss. Neither of them could even catch their breath enough to scream. Like a cat, Vance twisted his body midair to ensure that when they landed, he would break Sam’s fall. They finally hit the bottom with a pronounced thud.
“You okay?” Vance whispered to Sam, who was crumpled on top of him.
“Yeah. I think so,” Sam responded. “How are you?”
“I feel kinda like the name of that waterfall,” Vance quipped.
“Burstarse?” Sam chuckled. The chuckle turned into laughter. It was just the release they needed from the anxiety and fear that had overwhelmed them just moments earlier.
Sam found the ground and rolled off Vance. As he did, Vance spotted a light approaching in the distance.
“Someone’s comin’. Get behind me,” he ordered. Sam quickly did as he was told. The light grew closer, enabling Vance to determine that they had landed in a large tunnel. The illumination ahead emanated from a lantern carried by a woman in a flowing green dress. She had long red hair and almond-shaped green eyes. Vance could immediately tell she was a sidhe, a type of fairy from the Celtic lands who was considered an omen of death. The doctor sighed—things were not looking up.
“Who is she?” Sam asked.
“A sidhe,” Vance replied. The woman reached out her hand and beckoned them to follow.
“A sidhe?” Sam repeated.
“Also known as a banshee. Come on.” Vance stood and moved to follow the woman. Sam grabbed the doctor’s arm.
“We’re going with her?”
“The fact that she hasn’t killed us yet is a good sign. I wanna avoid giving her a reason to,” Vance responded. “Let’s see what she wants.” Sam nodded reluctantly and climbed to his feet. The sidhe turned and started back down the tunnel.
“Pssst!” Sam whispered as the two cautiously followed. Vance stopped and turned back.
“What?”
“I think you dropped this.” Sam handed Vance his knife. In all the commotion, Vance hadn’t realized he’d lost it.
“Thanks, kid. This blade has got a lot of history.” Vance was about to slide it back into its sheath when the beautiful sidhe suddenly spun around. She opened her mouth and let loose with a high-pitched scream, transforming into a monstrous creature: an old hag with leathery skin, rotted teeth, and mangy white hair. Her scream paralyzed Vance and Sam. The doctor had never encountered a sidhe before but had heard stories of their keening, a kind of death cry that would instantly immobilize the strongest of men. It felt as if all his nerves were firing at once, leaving him completely frozen. The knife fell from his rigid hand and the sidhe bent down to retrieve it. Once she had it in her grasp, the scream stopped and her appearance returned to her previous, more pleasing state. Vance could move again. He looked to his side and found that Sam could mo
ve as well, though the boy appeared terrified.
“We still ain’t dead,” Vance remarked, trying his best to put a positive spin on the situation. They continued through a winding tunnel that led deeper into the earth. They heard drums in the distance, and the sound grew louder as they proceeded. The passageway finally ended in a massive cavern.
“Whoa,” Sam said as he sized up the place. Vance was equally impressed. It was easily the largest cave he had ever seen. But it was more than just a cave. It resembled the interior of a Gothic cathedral. The underground marvel consisted of a long hall with a vaulted ceiling more than a hundred feet tall. The walls of the cave were decorated with intricately carved scenes of natural landscapes and mythical beasts, and the hall was lined with enormous stone sculptures of more magical creatures. At the end of the cavern was an altar that rose a few feet from the ground and featured a large stone throne covered in vines and decorated with brightly colored gems. Almost as impressive as the size of the cavern was the fact that it was filled to capacity.
An army of redcaps lined the walls, slamming their ax handles on the ground in unison to create a constant, almost hypnotic beat. They parted to form a narrow aisle, and the sidhe led Sam and Vance toward the altar. As they got closer to the front of the cathedral, Vance spotted several other creatures in attendance. There were a dozen or so sidhes; a few fomorians, mythical giants with the heads of goats; and several woodwoses, wild forest men covered in hair. The wild men grasped the reins of four barghests, huge, ferocious creatures that were part wolf and part bear with sharklike jaws.
When they reached the altar, they were greeted by a striking woman with jet-black hair and dressed in a long white robe. It was Marzanna, a powerful Eastern European sorceress associated with death, nightmares, and winter. Not exactly Glinda the Good Witch. It was times like these Vance wished Knox were still by his side.
“Silence!” Marzanna demanded. The audience quickly grew quiet and she eyed her prisoners. “Welcome,” she said tauntingly.
“I am Dr. Vance Vantana with the Department of Mythical Wildlife. And I order you to release us immediately,” Vance declared with authority. Judging from the laughter that spread through the room, the crowd must have thought he’d told a joke. The redcaps resumed slamming their ax handles on the ground. Marzanna smirked.
“Perhaps you don’t quite understand the situation.” Vance spoke slowly, as if to schoolchildren. “You all are in violation of the law. There will be consequences.” The audience wasn’t impressed, as the sneering continued.
“And whose law have we broken, Doctor?” a booming voice bellowed through the great hall. The creatures in the room instantly turned silent and dropped to their knees in reverence.
“Your grace,” Marzanna announced as she curtsied toward the hulking figure that stepped onto the altar.
“Phylassos’s law? The mighty king of mythical beasts?” the creature asked sarcastically. “Is he your king?” he asked the audience.
They responded with an angry “No!”
“I’m their king,” the creature sneered. He was humanoid in appearance, nearly the size of a bigfoot, with forest-green skin, golden hair, and giant antlers that protruded from the top of his head. There was a reddish-yellow snake wrapped around his neck that sported curled ram horns.
Sam nudged Vance. “Who’s that?”
“Cernunnos. Otherwise known as the not-so-jolly green giant,” Vance replied. The doctor had dealt with this forest-dwelling beast before, and each experience had proven exceedingly unpleasant. Cernunnos fancied himself the Lord of the Hunt and the real protector of magical creatures; as such, his ego stretched far beyond the tips of the antlers on his big green head. He made it his mission to come to the aid of those accused of violating the laws of noninterference, and to help the guilty go into hiding.
“On your knees, humans. You are in the presence of Lord Cernunnos,” Marzanna announced. Sam looked to Vance for direction.
The doctor shook his head slightly. “I’ll handle this.”
The doctor walked toward the altar steps. “You and I got a serious problem, Cernunnos.” Suddenly, vines sprouted from the ground beneath Vance’s feet. They twisted and wound themselves around his legs and arms, rendering him totally immobile. Another vine crawled up his back, wrapping around his neck and covering his mouth, gagging him. He struggled against the restraints, but they proved too strong. And then he was lifted into the air by the vines and carried until he was dangling above the wolf-beasts. They snapped at him, just inches out of reach.
“Looks like you have the problem, Doctor,” Cernunnos said icily. The audience roared its approval.
—
The experience of the last hour had made Sam once again question the decision to seek out the gryphon. In the time since their meeting in Death Valley, Sam had been carried off by gargoyles, chased by ugly midgets with axes, and paralyzed by a banshee, and he was now about to watch Dr. Vantana be served as dinner to a bunch of hungry wolf-beasts.
“Let him go!” Sam pleaded. Cernunnos focused on him and smiled broadly.
“My friends,” Cernunnos said as he gazed out on his audience. “We welcome a very special guest into our midst. Samuel London, the human who saw the gryphon!” As Cernunnos gestured to Sam, the audience erupted. He silenced them with a simple wave of his hand and walked toward the boy.
“You’re merely a child,” Cernunnos observed. He looked back to the crowd. “He’s a child!” he announced mockingly. The crowd jeered loudly. Cernunnos walked back onto the altar, dropped into his throne, and leaned back. Sam’s attention was still on Vance, who remained barely out of the reach of the creatures. Sam took stock of the situation and concluded that a new strategy was in order.
He had encountered people like Cernunnos before. Individuals whose power—or rather, perceived power—made them arrogant. He recalled his encounters with the overzealous student safety patrol officers who monitored the halls at Benicia Middle School with an iron fist. Like them, Cernunnos appeared to think he should command more authority, and he seemed particularly sensitive to being disrespected. With that in mind, Sam decided it was time to treat the green guy like a self-important eighth-grade safety patroller and feed his ego.
Sam kneeled down on the cave floor in front of the altar and lowered his head. “You are correct, Lord Cernunnos. I am but a child. And so it is an honor for someone as young and powerless as me to make your great acquaintance.” That got Cernunnos’s attention. He leaned forward, his lips curling into a smile that bared pointed white teeth.
“I would humbly ask that you please release my friend from harm, my lord. I know you don’t have to. But I beg you to show him mercy.”
“And you can assure me he will offer the same respect to my throne as you, boy?” Cernunnos asked.
“I can, your grace.”
The vines returned Vance to his position next to Sam and retracted.
“Thanks, kid,” Vance said.
“Just play along,” Sam replied. Vance rolled his eyes.
“Fine,” he whispered reluctantly. He peered up at Cernunnos. “I wish to know what you…,” Vance started, but Sam quickly silenced him with a glance. The doctor tried again. “…what your lordness wants from us that he risks reprisal for holding us against our will and endangering our lives.”
“Come now, Dr. Vantana, you’re being dramatic. I have no intention of harming you or the child,” Cernunnos responded.
“It didn’t appear that way a moment ago,” Vance followed.
“Looks can be deceiving. You should know that by now. And I have found fear to be an excellent motivator. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Vance squinted at the creature. “I wouldn’t know.”
“Is that not how your gryphon operates?” Cernunnos responded with a wry grin. “It is the curse that keeps your race blind, but it is fear that keeps our kind from disrupting your so-called balance. Fear that one misstep could result in being stripped of our magic, or worse,
being condemned to be absorbed by Gaia herself.”
“I didn’t make the rules,” Vance countered.
“Lucky for us we’ve been so well-behaved.” Cernunnos called out to the crowd, “Haven’t we, my brethren?” The audience whooped and hollered. “I cannot promise that will always be the case.”
“Is that a threat, Your Majestic Graciousness?” Vance replied with a hefty amount of sarcasm. Sam eyed the doctor with concern. He didn’t want him being fed to the wolves again.
“I am not the threat, Doctor. Though someone shares my sentiments, I do not condone their actions,” Cernunnos explained. “I was not the one who sent the gargoyles.”
“What gargoyles?” Vance responded. Cernunnos narrowed his eyes at the doctor.
“How’s the esteemed Dr. Knox? Still missing?” Cernunnos smirked. “A pity, no? I’m sure Phylassos would have preferred appearing to him rather than to the child.”
“Is there a point to this?”
“Tell me, has the Maiden Council been informed of”—Cernunnos gestured toward Sam—“this?”
“I don’t see why that would be necessary,” Vance replied.
“Of course you don’t,” Cernunnos said. He eyed Vance, then Sam, with a curious intensity before his gaze settled back on Vance. “You asked earlier what I wanted, but I’ve brought you here because of what you want.”
Cernunnos signaled Marzanna, who turned away from the crowd for a brief moment, and when she spun back around she was holding an object. She walked it over to Cernunnos, who snatched it from her hand and held it aloft to the crowd.
“The gryphon’s claw!” he declared. In his hand was a golden chalice in the shape of a curved claw. The stem of the cup was golden, while the claw itself was dark in color. The thin end of the claw sported a small golden statue of a gryphon. The wide end was topped with a lid encrusted with emeralds. The crowd roared at the sight of the object.
Guardians of the Gryphon's Claw Page 11
