Leo clenched his fists and pounded the earth.
“THIS ISN’T REAL!” he bellowed.
The beast vanished, and so did the embers from the picnic. The cedar tree behind him glowed, and the vision wavered until Leo awoke with tears stinging his eyes. He was laying beneath the cedar tree in the cavern.
Leo desperately lifted himself from the floor on his hands and knees to find Monette and Arachne sleeping soundly by his side. He sighed and wiped the tears from his face, then crawled over to Arachne.
“Arachne.” He shook her softly. “Arachne, wake up!”
Arachne lashed her head back and forth. A grimace crept on her face.
“Stop!” she cried and gasped awake. Leo brought her in his arms, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Leo . . .”
They sat there for a few moments, until Leo realized Monette had yet to wake up. He scooted over to her and touched her face.
“Monette, Mona,” he urged her. “You need to wake up. It’s just a dream . . . a nightmare!”
But Monette did not stir.
“We’ve got to help her,” Leo turned to Arachne, begging.
“Don’t worry,” Arachne breathed. She took Leo’s other hand and also touched Monette’s face. “We can project into her mind. Let’s bring her back.”
Arachne closed her eyes. Leo did the same.
Chapter 20
The cavern and cedar tree dissolved around them and were replaced by thorny branches. Leo glanced around, realizing two thorny walls had risen on either side of them.
“A labyrinth,” Arachne murmured. “Your sister’s subconscious is . . . well . . .”
“In my vision, I woke up under the cedar tree.”
“Me as well. The tree and Monette are probably at the center of the labyrinth.”
“Which way?” Leo twisted his head to the right and left. Neither way seemed promising.
“It seems like we landed somewhere in the middle, which isn’t helpful, because we don’t know which way is toward the beginning, or if there even is a beginning.”
Arachne peered up at the starry sky above. Leo followed her gaze and noticed the dim glow above the thorny walls.
“This way it is . . .” Arachne pointed to their left. Then she grasped Leo’s hand and they walked together along the row. They followed the twists and turns, all the while keeping an eye on the glow above. Eventually the night air was glowing with blue light and the shimmering leaves of the cedar tree branches could be seen arching overhead. A small noise muffled by the thorn walls piqued Leo’s interest, and he ran toward the wall.
“Monette?” he called. The sound only loudened, and he recognized her fear-stricken sobs. But she did not respond. “We’re so close.”
“Or just as far away as we were before.” Arachne examined the wall.
“I’m sick of these games!” Leo tore at the bramble and groaned as the thorns sliced his knuckles.
“Stop, stop.” Arachne firmly pulled him away from the hedge. “That’s not going to work here. Let’s keep going this way and hope for success.”
Leo took a few short breaths and then nodded. She took his hand again and they ran off down the hedge, searching for their next turn. A few paces to the right, a few to the left, back to the right. Then the labyrinth opened to a clearing with the glowing cedar tree at the center. Monette was curled up in a ball at the foot of the tree, her head in her hands.
“Mona!” Leo shouted as they sprinted toward her.
“L-Leo?” Monette peeked her head up. “Is it really you?”
“It’s me.” Leo dropped to his knees by her side and reached for her shoulders. “Arachne and I are projecting into your mind.”
“I . . . I heard you through the wall, but I thought I was just hallucinating.”
“Are there any monsters here?” Arachne asked sharply. “Any . . . Minotaurs?”
Monette shook her head. “There’s no one. There’s nothing here. I ran through the labyrinth many times and there’s no way out. There’s no one here. It’s just me and this stupid tree. It keeps telling me . . . how worthless I am. That no one wants to be around me. I’m better off here alone.”
“How long have you been here?” Leo asked incredulously.
“I’m not sure . . .” Monette shook in his arms. “At least a week?”
“You’re not alone,” Arachne murmured. “We’re here now. And you need to come back to reality.”
Monette wiped her tears away, took a deep sob-ridden breath, and nodded. Leo and Arachne helped Monette up, and the vision began to waver and slip away. Monette blinked her eyes awake and propped herself up on the chamber floor, Arachne and Leo by her side.
“What was that?” she murmured. “What a horrible nightmare.”
“The tree reveals our greatest fears and tortures us with them. If we could not overcome our fears, we would be ensnared in its visions forever.”
“Not forever,” the cedar tree whispered. “For I would have devoured you . . . nourished my roots with your blood. But you, you cheated my vision with the girl!”
“Fuck off,” Arachne spat at the tree. “There aren’t any rules. We’re moving on.”
Arachne led them to the tunnel on the opposite end and flipped off the tree as they exited. The three trudged down another tunnel, deeper and deeper into the earth. Monette shivered as the dim lights from the cedar tree behind faded, and torch light from above began to illuminate the path.
“I would have been trapped and eaten by a tree . . .” Monette murmured.
“But you weren’t,” Leo said firmly.
“I would have been without you two!” She stopped suddenly. “What’s wrong with me that I couldn’t overcome my own fears?”
“This is no time for an existential crisis,” Arachne interjected. “We are so close to getting the regalia. Can you save it for the plane ride home?”
Monette opened her mouth as if to counter, but snapped her lips shut. She trudged forward with Leo and Arachne toward the flickering light ahead without another word.
They stepped into a voluminous cavern with a two-hundred-foot-high ceiling and torches lining the rounded cavern walls. One hundred feet ahead of them, a black dais rose from the cavern floor, adorned in gold runes. Atop it stood a proud statue with arms outstretched. The crown of stars glittered in the torchlight on the statue woman’s head.
“Finally! But of course . . .” Arachne grinned, her amethyst eyes sparking and narrowing with keen anticipation. “They don’t make it so easy . . .”
Rumbling shook the cave and several stalactites tumbled from the ceiling above, shattering around them. A granite gargoyle flew from the other side of the cavern and towered over them. He bared his stony fangs as he landed.
“How dare you soil these sacred halls with your filth!” the gargoyle roared. “A lowly half-demon and her pathetic pets . . .”
“Hey, buddy!” Arachne hollered. “I’m a full demon, thanks!” Then she muttered under her breath, “just not with full powers. Whatever.”
The gargoyle demon laughed throatily and crossed his arms over his chest. “You do not possess enough power to dispatch me. I shall enjoy chewing on your bones.”
“Your move,” Arachne smirked. “Or will we just walk on by and take the crown?”
The demon snarled, “INSOLENT BITCH!” He flapped his stony wings and barreled toward them.
“Stay back!” Arachne yelled at Leo and Monette as the grin widened on her face. “We’re in for a hell of a fight!”
Leo and Monette flung themselves back inside the mouth of the tunnel. Arachne braced herself, widening her stance. She leapt up like a cat as the gargoyle slammed his fist onto the spot where she had just stood. Arachne landed lightly on his shoulder and snickered in his ear.
“Too slow!”
The gargoyle roared, flapping his heavy wings frantically as he pawed at his shoulder. But Arachne was gone again. Leo struggled to keep up with her speed, and was just as lost as the gargoyle
seemed.
Then he saw her on the dais, waving at the gargoyle and laughing. The demon thrashed his wings and flew toward her with a vengeance, clawed hands outstretched. Leo blinked, and she was gone again. He scanned the cavern for many moments and couldn’t detect her. Finally, he noticed a figure clinging to the wall like a spider.
“Yoo-hoo! Up here!” Arachne taunted. Again, the beast roared and flung himself toward her. But instead of grabbing her, he smashed into the cavern wall. The cavern shook, and more stalactites tumbled down. The gargoyle also began to fall, dazed and unable to keep his wings moving fast enough. Leo winced in anticipation of the gargoyle’s inevitable contact with the earth, but the demon did not hit the ground.
Instead, the gargoyle was suspended in mid-air, motionless.
“What just happened?” Monette whispered in awe.
Arachne landed lightly on the gargoyle’s belly and her fingers quickly spun a silvery thread over his body. He began to thrash about, but he could not escape. Finally, his whole body was covered in the thread except his face. He glared up at Arachne and roared.
“It’s true, you are stronger than I am. Yet I’m faster, and my web is even stronger!” Arachne laughed as she reinforced the strings attached to the cavern walls. “Never underestimate a spider.”
Arachne hopped off from the captured gargoyle demon to the ground below and spread her arms in welcome to Leo and Monette.
“It wasn’t nearly as fun as I thought it would be, but,” she shrugged, “What can we do?”
“What’s up with your hair?” Leo pointed. Arachne’s hair had turned a fiery red, and her eyes matched. Her fingernails were longer, sharper, like claws.
She shoved her hands under her armpits, shook her head, and blinked her eyes. Her hair immediately morphed back to a blush blond, and her eyes turned violet once more.
“It’s nothing,” she snapped. “Got a little overworked is all. Nothing to worry about!”
“I’m not worried . . .” Leo’s eyes widened. “Should I be worried?”
“No!” Arachne glowered. “Let’s focus on what we came here for. The crown.”
They sauntered up to the dais and peered at the statue.
“Uh . . . we have a problem . . .” Monette pointed to one of the arms. “She’s not holding anything. The sword and the sceptre are . . . gone.”
Arachne bit her lip and grimaced, but reached up for the crown of stars perched atop the statue’s marble head. The crown glittered silver and gold with intricate sun and moon patterns. Thirteen glowing stars floated dreamily around the statue’s temple. Her fingers were a mere inch away when it zapped her.
“Fuck!” she cursed, nursing her burnt hand. “Fucking piece of shit!”
“You cannot touch it.”
The three jumped as a man stepped from behind the statue. He was tall, with graying hair and wrinkles, but had a chiseled chin and a twinkle in his gray eyes. He wore a brown hat and matching boots, with a gun slung across his back.
“A protection spell wards off all demons, to keep the guardians and other demons from pilfering the regalia,” the man explained with a Texan drawl. “So, you cannot take it.”
“Where the hell did he come from?” Leo gasped, holding his hand to his heart.
“I followed y’all down here and took cover while ya fought the gargoyle.”
Arachne smirked. “If it isn’t my old friend, Clifford Kingsley. Fancy seeing you here of all places.”
“Arachne . . . You haven’t changed a bit. Ravishing as always.”
“And you look terrible! Age has not been kind to you.”
“On the contrary, I’m well-weathered,” he grinned.
“So, Cliff. We doing this the easy way, or the hard way?” Arachne flashed a fanged smile.
“You know I like it hard.” He raised his eyebrows.
Monette gasped, “Ew, you’re like a grandpa!”
Cliff shrugged and then put a hand on his holster expectantly.
Arachne laughed and pointed toward the statue, “Leo, fetch the crown for me.”
Leo looked from the man to Arachne and back. His patience was quickly wearing thin, and he wanted nothing better than to sock the guy in the face. He reached up to grasp the tiara, but before his fingers curled around the metal, his wrist was caught by a whip. Monette screamed as the whip snapped.
“Jesus Christ!” Leo spat. “Fucking hurts!”
“Before you curse all of humanity, let’s take a moment to think this one through,” Cliff tipped his hat.
“For fuck’s sake!” Arachne scowled. “We don’t have time for your bullshit!”
“You never did have time to reflect.” Cliff frowned, then he turned to face Leo and Monette. “The crown has immense powers. If you take it from the statue, the protection spell warding away demons will be broken. In the wrong hands, the crown will be humanity’s undoing. Humans are vulnerable, victims to creatures of the night. With the crown, creatures of the night will be impervious. There won’t be any way to save innocent people.”
Monette wrapped her arms around herself and stared down at the cavern floor, avoiding eye contact with anyone. Arachne scoffed and was on top of Cliff in a heartbeat, his arms bound behind him. He grunted as he hit the ground, half of his face plastered to the cavern floor. The whip dropped from his hand and Leo freed his wrist.
“Do it, Leo! Grab the crown!” Arachne yelled. Leo glared down at Cliff, rubbing his wrist.
“Please, Leo. You’re better than this,” Cliff pleaded. “Arachne is a demon. She is spun from dark magic. If you have any loyalty to your fellow man, you will leave the crown untouched.”
Leo glanced at the crown. It glittered in the torchlight, ominous and brooding. Then he turned back to peer into Cliff’s solemn gray eyes.
“I care about people. I am human; I don’t want anyone to get hurt.” Leo shook his head. Then he clenched his hands into fists. “I will fight for humans. It is the oath I swore in my heart when I met Arachne and we began this journey together.”
“Leo . . .” Arachne murmured.
“And,” Leo held his head high. “I trust Arachne. I am loyal to Arachne.”
He turned, reached up, and grasped the crown from the statue’s temple. It glowed warmly in his hands, and he smiled as the power tickled his palms. Monette leaned over and ogled the metallic relic.
“No!” Cliff shouted and struggled against Arachne’s grasp.
“It’s over,” she said. As she stood, she hoisted Cliff up, still pinning his arms behind his back.
A horrid tearing noise made them all crank their heads toward the gargoyle suspended in air. His muscles bulged as he tore through the web, but he roared as his bound wings made him crash to the earth. The entire cavern began to shake. This time, it did not stop. Fragments of the ceiling crumbled and tumbled down. One smaller fragment hit Cliff on the head, and he went limp in Arachne’s arms.
Monette and Leo gazed back at Arachne.
“What? It’s been a couple thousand years since I wove a web. I’m a little rusty!” Arachne rolled her eyes. “For fuck’s sake! If it ain’t one thing, it’s another. Move! We’ve gotta get out of here before the whole damn thing falls in!”
Leo and Monette sprinted toward the tunnel entrance. Arachne threw the unconscious Cliff over her shoulder and huffed as she followed them up through the tunnel. They ran through the cedar tree chamber and ignored it as it hissed curses at them. When they reached the sphinx chamber, Aziza was still there, her eyes concerned whirlpools of glinting sapphire and gold.
“I have no interest in the crown, other than my duty to guard it from those who are unworthy of possessing it,” she explained quickly. “You are worthy. Please ride on my back. I will take you from here. But a warning . . .”
Arachne nodded for her to continue.
“I will protect the rightful heir when she ascends to the throne.”
“Understood!” Arachne shouted.
Aziza crouched down, and without
hesitation, they climbed up. Arachne grasped Cliff as he hung like a dead deer on Aziza’s back. The sphinx stood and then lightly sprinted through the tunnels, past the screeching scorpions who were scuttling down another burrowed path deep into the caverns. She squirmed her body up the staircase to the Well of Souls, and burst through the floor and up to the Temple just as they heard the distant sound of rock crashing on rock.
Aziza half-peered over her shoulder and flexed her claws. “I shall fly you home.”
“First, let’s leave this schmuck.” Arachne lifted Cliff and unceremoniously dropped him to the mosaic floor. Then she nodded. “Let’s go—fly west.”
“Do not worry,” Aziza said. “We will be invisible to the people below. I fly swiftly, with time on my wings.”
Leo laughed, giddy. He couldn’t believe they’d escaped the tomb. He couldn’t believe they had the crown, his hand still grasping the metal tightly.
Aziza took a running start through the halls and out to the courtyard. She pushed with her back haunches, flared her wings, and projected herself into the azure sky.
Chapter 21
“Do you want the good news or the bad news?”
Saint-Germain raised an eyebrow as Arachne, Leo, and Monette sauntered into the Magnolia Mansion. The front doors were opened wide to Saint-Germain, Eshe, and Keres, who stood in the foyer.
“I can see the good and bad news,” he quipped back at Arachne. “But I’m more fascinated by the sphinx rolling around in my garden.”
Everyone peered back to watch as Aziza rubbed her face against the grass, purring intensely as the lavender tickled her paws.
“Kitty!” Eshe exclaimed. She dashed toward the sphinx before anyone could stop her, and in the blink of an eye she was crouched down, petting Aziza’s tawny stomach.
“She had a long journey,” Monette murmured.
“I am grateful to be free of that dungeon,” Aziza purred as Eshe stroked her fur. “Now I may traverse wherever I please.” She rolled over and Eshe patted her side.
Blood Moon (A Louisiana Demontale): Book 1 of the Crescent Crown Saga Page 19
