CHAPTER 30
Barnabus’ mismatched gaze locked on mine as he casually stepped off the brick ledge and disappeared into the orchestra pit. No sooner did he vanish from sight than the ground began to tremble under our feet.
Being from Michigan, an earthquake was a new, terrifying experience for me. Where I come from, the ground stays put—a wonderful trait I took for granted up until that very moment. We stumbled from side-to-side, struggling to keep our footing.
“What’s happening? We don’t have earthquakes in Tennessee!” Alec yelled.
“I’m pretty sure it had to do with the guy that just jumped down there, and there’s more to come. Really bad stuff. Seriously, Alec, for the sake of self-preservation, you need to run!”
But Alec didn’t get his chance to run. None of us did. The shimmying ground came to a halt. Gabe stalked out from behind the curtain and stood protectively beside me.
“Whoa!” Alec yelped. He scampered away from Gabe and practically climbed onto Kendall’s back. “Lion! Lion! Big friggin’ lion!”
“It’s okay. He’s with us.” Kendall patted his hand.
“You guys have a pet lion? Seems that should have come up in conversation!” Without channeling it, I knew Alec’s feelings were a heaping mess of pain, horror, and confusion. However, the low, ominous hiss that began reverberating up from the orchestra pit told me things were about to get boatloads worse.
“Here we go,” I prepped my team. Kendall’s wings sprang to life and knocked her hanger-on to the ground. Gabe arched his back and let out an intimidating roar.
Legs splayed out before him, Alec murmured, “What the…”
The hiss became thunderous. Something unrecognizable began to rise up out of the pit. It was big—huge in fact. But I couldn’t identify what the greenish-brown mound ascending toward the ceiling was.
Gradually the mass tipped in our direction. Two deep holes that dripped with ooze came eye level with us. Then it exhaled. My cohorts and I backpedaled frantically until our backs were pressed up against the back wall of the stage. We were staring down the snout of an enormous lizard. Thick scales covered its narrow, reptilian face. Its menacing, yellow-slitted eyes bore down at us. A forked tongue flicked out from between jagged, yardstick-sized teeth.
“That’s a dragon! He turned into a dragon!” Kendall squealed and wrapped her wings around herself. “No one said anything about dragons! I don’t do reptiles! And dragons just plain suck!”
As freaked out as I was, I really didn’t want my shield to fly away. “Yeah, but as dragons go, he doesn’t look that big!”
The dragon snorted out a malicious chuckle. Then, as if to deliberately prove me wrong, began to rise up out of the pit. Up and up and up until all we could see before us was a wall of rutted, deep olive scales. His head brushed the ceiling of the lofty theater as he towered over us. No denying it—he fit into the category of massively, undisputedly gigantic. Kendall was right. Dragons do suck.
The immense lizard swerved his lower body slightly. A long, whip-like tail, complete with flesh-impaling spikes, swung at us. I grabbed the back of Alec’s shirt and pulled him along as we dove to safety.
“He’s pretty friggin’ big, Cee!” Kendall snapped at me.
“Size doesn’t mean anything! The bigger they are…” My sentence got interrupted by the dragon belching flames at us. “…the larger the flames they spit! Kendall shield!”
Kendall leapt in front of us, her wings our umbrella of protection. I watched her face as the flames cascaded over her. She didn’t seem to be in pain, but the exertion from the force of the erupting fire took its toll. I grabbed her upper arms to help support her. Her eyes met mine, but all she could manage was a brief nod.
Noticing that his wrath was being diverted, Barnabus stopped. Kendall didn’t budge from where she was anchored, anticipating his next strike.
“Pretty birdie,” Barnabus growled. His voice morphed into the satanic hiss Grams mentioned. With one jagged claw, he pointed at Kendall. He slowly raised his finger. At the same time, Kendall’s feet left the ground. By her shocked, wide eyes, I knew this flight schedule had not been on her itinerary. Barnabus circled his extended digit, and Kendall spun around to face him. “Now move!” He demanded and flicked his finger. Kendall flew through the air, forcefully colliding with the wall. Had her wings hit first, she would’ve been fine, but she hit head first. I watched in dismay as she slid down into a heap on the floor.
“That’s better,” Barnabus hissed. In a swift, fluid motion, he ducked around us. His enormous body curled around the stage and blocked the exit. “You must be as dim as the Gryphon. It was so easy to lure you here. I just needed the right bait.” His claws closed around a stunned Alec.”Hellooo, Bait!”
“No!” I screamed as his grasp tightened.
“You never told me just how you feel about this boy,” Barnabus said in his malicious purr. He stood to his full height, his captor in tow. “Do you love him? A crush, perhaps? Or, maybe just a naughty lusting? What is it?”
I was speechless. My earlier sarcasm completely silenced by my panic and terror. It was my job—no, my calling—to stop this from happening. But my emotions had me petrified into immobility.
Barnabus’ eyes twinkled with joyous evil. “What seems to be the matter child? Do you not yet know how deeply your feelings for him lie? Well, it is my experience that the saying is very much true.” With his free hand Barnabus placed one dagger-like talon directly under Alec’s chin. Alec whimpered. “You never know what you have until it’s gone.”
Alec let out a blood curdling scream as the gargantuan beast slowly and methodically dug its claw into his tender flesh. Blood rained down and pooled on the stage at my feet.
The Conduit Page 33
