by Clayton Wood
They all watched as the bulk of the Dragonkin army passed through the giant magical mirror in the sky, to the original world beyond.
“All right,” Gideon declared. “Let’s do this.”
* * *
Bella felt her feet lift off the ground as Nemesis beat her powerful wings, her clawed feet gripping Bella’s shoulders in a vise-like grip. Gideon and Piper followed, flown upward by their Dragonkin escort. Two had grabbed Myko, the giant wolf too heavy for just one to fly with. Upward they went with their Dragonkin escort, the shore of the lake pulling away quickly below. Bella felt queasy suddenly, and she focused ahead, at the castle at the top of the mountain. It wasn’t long before they reached the mountaintop, and most of the hundred or so Dragonkin soldiers broke away from them, zooming toward the courtyard near the entrance to the castle.
Statues of giant warriors stood in neat rows in that courtyard, and as the Dragonkin approached, they came to life. Big, brutish creatures poured out of the castle double-doors, familiar puke-green, bald-headed warriors carrying large axes.
“Circle around,” Gideon yelled. The Dragonkin did so, circling leftward around the base of the castle. “There,” Gideon added, pointing ahead. “There’s a large window on the fourth floor.”
They flew up to it, a stained-glass window easily as tall as Gideon was, and then hovered before it.
“Myko, you’re up,” Gideon ordered. “Dragonkin, drop him on my count. Three, two, one!”
The two Dragonkin holding Myko let go of the wolf…and Myko shot forward in a streak of silver light, smashing through the window.
An explosion of sparks flew from the impact, and Nemesis curled her wings around Bella, shielding her from the onslaught. They began to fall, and Nemesis spread her wings out a moment later, regaining the altitude they’d lost.
The window was broken…but Myko was nowhere to be seen.
“Myko?” she called out.
A moment later, Myko peeked out of the windowsill, wuffing at them.
“He says it’s all clear,” Gideon translated. “Let’s go inside.”
His Dragonkin escort flew him up to the window, depositing him within. Piper was next, and finally Bella was dropped in. She found herself in a large room; it appeared to be a bedroom.
“These are the dorms for the higher-ranked artists,” Piper explained. He paused, looking around. “Hell of a lot nicer than mine was.”
“Myko will scout ahead,” Gideon declared. “We’ll go up to the tallest tower, then make our way down again methodically, to find Kendra and Thaddeus.”
“This is a big castle,” Piper warned. “Gonna take a real long time to find them if we’re not lucky.”
“We have to start somewhere,” Gideon countered. “If we encounter the Collector’s defenses, Myko can warn me telepathically and moon-phase back to us so we can fight together.”
“Hold on,” Piper interjected. “The best fight is the one we don’t get into.”
“What are you thinking?” Gideon inquired. Piper smirked.
“I’m thinking the more creative we are…”
And then he shifted.
A thick black cloak appeared around him as he grew taller, his face hidden deep within its cowl. Silver gauntlets appeared on his hands…and twin pinpricks of blood-red light glowed from the shadowy recesses of his hood.
“A Reaper,” Gideon murmured. “Clever.”
“You are my captives,” Piper explained in a deep, whispery voice that sent chills down Bella’s spine. “Put your hands behind you.”
Gideon nodded, taking a painting from his thigh-holster and opening it. Myko jumped in, and he rolled it up, putting it back in its place. Then he crossed his wrists behind his back…and Bella did the same.
“What about them?” Bella asked, glancing at the Dragonkin who’d escorted them.
“Stay behind,” Gideon ordered. “Make sure no one follows behind us.”
The Dragonkin nodded.
“Follow,” Piper murmured in that horrible voice. “Eyes on the floor. No talking.”
He opened the bedroom door, leading them out into a long hallway beyond, one with white marble floors and expensive-looking wood paneling. It was, to Bella’s relief, deserted. She kept her eyes downcast, following behind Gideon, with Nemesis taking the rear.
Eventually they reached the end of the hallway, which turned right down a second one…and right into three of the tall, bald creatures with axes guarding a door at the end of it.
Bella tensed, and Gideon slowed slightly, so that she bumped into him.
“Glargs,” he whispered.
“Silence!” Piper hissed, his creepy voice echoing through the hallway. The Glargs stared at him, then at Bella and Gideon and Nemesis, shifting their weight from foot-to-foot and exchanging nervous glances. Piper went right up to them, seeming to glide over the floor. Then he stopped, staring them down with his glowing red eyes.
The Glargs scrambled to open the door and get out of his way.
Piper ignored them, continuing through the doorway, with Gideon and Bella and Nemesis following behind. The door closed behind them, and Bella let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
That was no fun, she felt Nemesis grumble.
You’ll get your chance to fight, Bella reassured her.
They entered into yet another series of hallways, which Piper led them expertly through, having been an employee of the Collector’s for over a decade. They made it past another contingent of Glargs, eventually reaching a door guarded by two men in full black plate-mail armor. They each carried a long spear, and peered through their helmet visors at Piper and the rest.
Piper stopped before them, gesturing with one gauntleted hand for them to open the door.
“Who are these people?” one of the guards demanded.
“Prisoners,” Piper hissed. The guard’s eyes narrowed.
“Where is your scythe?” he demanded, raising his spear to point it at Piper’s head. “And why aren’t you levitating?”
“It’s an Actor!” the other guard blurted out…and thrust his spear at Piper’s face!
Gideon’s cane was already in mid-swing, batting the spear to the side with a loud clang. He followed up with an attack, smashing his cane into the side of the guard’s helmet.
The guard’s neck snapped to the side…but his helmet remained intact.
The man thrust his spear at Gideon this time, but Gideon leapt into the attack, batting the spear away with his cane, then jamming the butt of his cane through the guard’s visor, striking him right between the eyes.
The guard stumbled backward, dazed…but only for a split-second. The guard thrust his spear again, striking Gideon right in the chest.
“Gideon!” Bella cried.
But the tip of the spear passed harmlessly into Gideon’s chest-painting…and Gideon smashed his cane repeatedly into the guard’s helmet, finally managing to dent it.
The helmet turned gray for a moment, the dent vanishing.
“Um, Gideon,” Piper warned, staying back from the fight. “I think these guys are…”
“Statues,” Gideon finished with a grunt, pulling himself away from the soldier’s spear. The second soldier thrust at him, and he blocked the attack, backpedaling quickly away from the two. “Could use a little help here,” he grumbled.
My pleasure, Bella felt Nemesis reply.
The dragon leapt upward, spreading her wings and zooming through the air toward one of the guards. She grabbed his spear with both foot-claws, beating her wings and trying to tear the weapon from his hands. But he held on, and was far too heavy for Nemesis to lift into the air. She managed to pull the guard’s hands above his head, leaving his body vulnerable…and Myko moon-dashed right into his chest. The guard shot backward, smashing into the wall beside the door. He ricocheted off…right as Gideon swung his cane.
The magical cane struck the guard in the belly, stopping his momentum instantly…and absorbing the kinetic energy. Gideon swung again,
smashing the guard in the front of his helmet.
The guard’s helmet – and face – crumpled with a sickening crunch.
But even as the guard flew backward into the wall again, his head turned to stone so that it could heal.
The second guard lunged at Piper, who dodged out of the way in the nick of time. Myko moon-phased into the guard’s side, sending him flying…right out of one of the windows.
A moment later, Myko moon-phased back through the window, smashing into the other guard as he finished healing from Gideon’s devastating blow. The guard slammed into the wall, but threw Myko off, jabbing his spear into the wolf’s belly. Myko yelped, stumbling backward, blood gushing from the wound.
Bella drew Sleep Terror from her chest-painting, whipping it at the remaining guard. The bony tip struck his left shoulder, bouncing off with a clang…but nothing happened. The guard didn’t fall asleep.
It’s a statue, Nemesis reasoned. Statues don’t sleep.
Nemesis flew at the guard as he drew his spear back to stab Myko again, grabbing the spear and tearing it out of his hands. Gideon charged, slamming the butt of his cane into the floor, then swinging it at the guard’s head.
The guard dodged, kicking at Gideon’s chest.
But his foot went through Gideon’s chest-painting, and Gideon twisted, throwing the man off-balance. At the same time, Piper metamorphosed into Vengeance, an eight-foot-tall monster of a man. He roared, charging at the guard and ramming him with one boulder-sized shoulder.
Bella glanced down at her thigh-holsters, yanking out a painting.
“Apertus,” she incanted.
The painting unrolled, and she reached into it…and pulled out Goo.
“Get him!” she cried.
Goo rushed across the marble floor toward the guard, who shoved Vengeance off of him, then withdrew a sword from its sheath at his hip. He swung at Vengeance, who leapt backward…and Goo lunged at the guard, wrapping his gooey green ooze around the man’s ankles.
The guard stumbled, looking down with surprise as Goo engulfed him, rising up his legs to his knees.
“Get back!” Bella ordered.
Gideon, Vengeance, and Nemesis backpedaled away from the guard, watching as the living statue struggled to free his legs from Goo’s grasp. But it was as if the man were stuck in a giant wad of gum; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t escape. Black mist seeped from his body, the dark emotions within him being drawn out by Goo’s power.
And within moments, he seemed to lose the will to fight, standing perfectly still…and Goo seemed to grow a little as the guard relaxed, feeding off the man’s rage.
Everyone stared at the guard, then turned to Bella.
“Well then,” Gideon stated. “That worked.”
“The best fight is the one we don’t get into,” Bella recited, winking at Piper, who’d transformed back into himself. He flashed her a wry grin.
“Well played kid.”
Nemesis flew to Bella’s side, eyeing the serene-appearing guard with irritation.
Spoilsport, she muttered.
“Quit complaining,” Bella told her. “Or I’ll put you in the goo.”
“Think, don’t speak,” Gideon reminded her. Bella shot him a look.
“Why, because I’m a woman?”
“Let’s go,” he prompted, pointedly ignoring her.
Gideon led them through the doorway, which revealed a stairwell spiraling upward. Climbing the stairs, they reached a door at the top…which opened into a large chamber.
One with more than a dozen Glargs.
Myko moon-dashed into the nearest Glarg, throwing him backward into a few of his compatriots. They went down like so many bowling pins, and Bella cracked her bone whip, striking one after the other while they were still down. They went instantly to sleep, moaning and twitching in the throes of horrible nightmares.
At the same time, Gideon and Piper – morphing into Vengeance again – attacked the remaining Glargs, battering them with rapid-fire attacks. Nemesis flew at one of the Glargs, lifting him off his feet and dropping him right over Goo. The Glarg landed in Goo’s green flesh, sinking partway in.
He struggled like a fly stuck in water, then gradually calmed, laying perfectly still.
Vengeance caught on, grabbing a Glarg and throwing him into Goo. Gideon smashed another with his cane, sending it face-first into Goo.
Within less than a minute, all of the Glargs were either dead, sleeping, or drained of their will to fight by Goo’s magic. And Goo was even larger than before…nearly twice as big as he’d been when Bella had first drawn him out.
“Alright, let’s keep moving,” Gideon prompted. “Piper, where to next?”
“Everything’s backwards,” Piper said as he transformed back into himself, “…but the second-tallest tower should be ahead. There’s a sky-bridge near the top of it that should lead to the upper floors, and the tallest tower.”
“Lead the way,” Gideon prompted.
Piper did so, bringing them through a maze of rooms and hallways. Some were guarded, others weren’t. None of the guards were human, and all fell to the combined onslaught of Gideon’s cane, Bella’s whip, Piper’s fists, Nemesis’s claws, and Myko’s moon-dash.
At length, Piper brought them to a door at the end of a short hallway. But this was no ordinary door; it was huge, easily twenty feet high and ten feet wide, and wrought of black stone. A face had been carved into it, a demon’s face with horns and a mouth open in a snarling, toothy roar.
Its eyes were closed, but as they approached, they opened, revealing twin orbs that burned with an inner fire.
“WHO APPROACHES?” it demanded.
Bella froze, her eyes widening…and Piper and Gideon stopped in their tracks beside her. The voice hadn’t been one of sound…it’d been in her head.
“Did you hear that?” she asked. Gideon nodded.
“There’s two of them?” Piper blurted out. “That’s it. We’re screwed.”
“I remember lecturing about these,” Gideon recalled. “In an Art History class I taught a few decades ago.”
“WHO APPROACHES,” the door boomed, more insistently this time.
“So you know about this thing?” Piper asked. Gideon nodded.
“They’re the Twin Demon Gates,” he explained. “Quite ancient. The Pentad’s archaeologists have been searching for them for some time now. Apparently there’s a way to claim ownership of them. After you do, anyone who tries to pass through, the Demon Gates sense their intentions toward that owner…and if they’re anything but benign…”
“Then what?” Piper pressed.
“Then they won’t bring you to the other side,” Gideon answered. “They’ll bring you to Hell.”
“Hell is a place?” Bella asked. Gideon gave her a rueful smile.
“Created by a book, of course,” he confirmed. “No one’s met anyone that’s gone there, because no one that goes there ever comes back.”
“Oh great,” Piper muttered. “Well, we’re done for.”
“Don’t give up just yet,” Gideon counseled. Piper glared at him.
“Why, you think you can get past this thing?”
“You’re speaking to the world’s greatest living Painter,” Gideon replied with a smirk. “No door is closed to me.”
“Why don’t we just get in Goo?” Bella interjected.
Everyone turned to her.
“If we’re so worried about the door sensing our bad intentions, Goo can take them away,” Bella reasoned. “He absorbs negative emotions.”
Piper raised an eyebrow, glancing at Gideon. Gideon frowned, rubbing his chin.
“You know, that might just work,” he admitted.
“What was your idea?” Piper asked him.
“Never mind my idea,” Gideon grumbled. “Bella, I think you’re right. But just in case, we should try it with one volunteer first.”
“Like who?” Piper pressed.
Myko raised a paw.
“
He says he’ll do it,” Gideon stated. Suddenly, Bella didn’t feel quite as sure.
“What if it doesn’t work?” she asked.
“It’ll work,” Gideon reassured. “Just a precaution, that’s all.”
With that, Myko stepped onto Goo, along with the various soldiers trapped in the translucent green ooze. His paws sank in, and he stood there, looking quite content.
“Go on Goo,” Bella urged.
Goo quivered, then crawled forward. The Demon Gate’s mouth opened even wider, and Goo went through, vanishing into the darkness beyond.
Bella held her breath.
A moment later, Goo returned, passing through the door as if it didn’t exist. The guards were still stuck within him…but Myko was gone.
“Oh no!” Bella blurted out.
“Relax,” Gideon soothed. “It worked. Myko’s on the other side.” He turned to Piper. “You’re next.”
Piper grimaced, but stepped into Goo, and his expression quickly turned serene. Goo went through again, and returned without Piper. Gideon went in next, and then Nemesis. Finally it was Bella’s turn.
She stepped into Goo, feeling his warm…well, goo engulf her feet, then her ankles and lower legs. A sudden calm came over her like a warm, comfy blanket. She felt no anxiety whatsoever, and couldn’t imagine why she would have felt nervous in the first place. Everything was just fine, after all.
They were going to be okay.
Goo ejected the Collector’s guards onto the floor, then oozed forward, passing through the great open mouth of the Demon Gate. Bella passed into its shadowy maw, entirely unconcerned. It was just a door, after all…and everyone else had gone through without a problem.
A moment later, she found herself on the other side. A short hallway greeted her, with another – normal – door ahead. Everyone else was there, waiting for her.
Goo released her, and the moment he did, Bella felt that wonderful calmness fade. Anxiety slithered back into her consciousness, and she immediately missed being inside Goo. She had half a mind to ask him to carry her through the castle from now on, and was about to step back in when Nemesis flicked Bella’s hip with her bony tail.
Don’t even think about it.
“Ow,” Bella said, rubbing her hip. “Okay, okay.”
