MILLENNIUM (Descendants Saga) Page 11

  Clearly, I would have to make my way to the other end in order to either locate the children and escape, or move on to the next level. What I would find here, I had no idea. It didn’t really matter. I was completely committed to finding my daughter and Cole and escaping this Underworld with our lives.

  Sacrifice

  Cole woke with a pounding headache and a blurry view of the world around him. His arms and legs were stretched out and held by manacles, binding him to a large rectangular block of stone. Fresh blood ran down the sides of the rock, startling him out of his stupor.

  He could only raise his head, but this allowed him enough freedom to realize that the blood on the stone was not his. Something else had died here recently. Still, the fact that he was alive now was of little comfort. The last living thing on this block had perished horribly from what he could tell. These Minotaur clearly intended the same fate for him.

  He struggled. It was the wrong thing to do. The Minotaur doing the butchering here noticed his movement. It snorted at him. Cole wondered if it was their version of a diabolical laugh—the kind you hear just before the villain does something terrible.

  The Minotaur grabbed a huge knife with a curved blade. Blood stained the blackened metal. It too had been recently used. He noticed a few of the fauns waiting their turns in a cage nearby. Evidently slaughtering these docile creatures to sate Minotaur appetites was a full time occupation.

  The butcher raised his blade high over Cole’s relatively small body, his muscles tightening to bring the blade down with sufficient force to cleave the boy in half on the first blow. He wanted to teleport, but he was still so muddled headed. If he only had a minute more.

  He heard the sound of rushing air before he saw the silver disc flash over his prone body. The minotaur’s horrified expression—eyes wide and mouth open—testified to the fact that he saw it coming just before it made contact. The spinning blade took his head at the shoulder and then sank into the ground twenty feet away. Cole recognized Malak-esh.

  Turning his head, he heard the sound of stampeding hooves. The fauns were loose, and there was a werewolf among them. The fauns had weapons and were charging their Minotaur captures as they responded to the rebellion. The werewolf came straight to him at the butcher block.

  Sadie leaped upon the stone pedestal, calling for Malak-esh. The mercurial blade obeyed instantly, removing itself from the ground to fly to Sadie’s waiting hand. As soon as she caught it, she cut through the manacles binding Cole to the stone.

  “What took you so long?” he asked, getting to his feet.

  “Hey, you can’t rush a girl,” she retorted, smiling.

  Two Minotaur warriors ran at them, roaring furiously, carrying large battle axes.

  “You take the big one,” Cole said, pulling two short swords from his spiritual store.

  “Which one is the big one?” Sadie asked as she leaped into action.

  More Minotaur came, trying to stop the children rather than fight back against the rebellious fauns. Sadie cut the first down. Cole shot between the legs of the other, severing vital tendons behind each knee. The Minotaur’s legs buckled and he collapsed as Cole shot up behind him.

  An entire herd appeared to be coming down upon them.

  “What now?” Sadie asked as she hurled Malak-esh into the chest of another and had the blade rebound back to her hand.

  “The river,” Cole said. “It leads away from this place.”

  He ran ahead, leading the way from the castle courtyard. The fauns did their best, trying to fight for their own freedom and for the girl who had released them from their prison. However, they were much too weak and inefficient as fighters to provide much of a distraction. Most of the Minotaur were preoccupied with the humans in their realm.

  Cole led them along the shore. “There is a fall about a mile up ahead!” he called back.

  “Why do we want to go there? We’ll be trapped!”

  “It’s the only way off of this floating island,” he shouted. “Following the water down takes us to the next realm.”

  “Great!” she called. “Why don’t I like this plan?”

  Thunder roared behind them. The Minotaur had taken the full forms of bulls. Their collective hooves beat the ground furiously. They were gaining rapidly now.

  “Time to go quadruped!” Sadie called to Cole.

  She sent Malak-esh back to the ether and transformed into the werewolf again. Immediately, she surged past Cole.

  “Last one there!” she called back.

  “Hey!”

  Cole looked back, finding the bulls nearly on top of him. They frothed heavily at their mouths, their red eyes focused upon him, horns ready to gore him at the first opportunity. Cole allowed his weapons to return to the ether and took the form of a cheetah.

  He hit the ground and stumbled momentarily before taking up again just ahead of the lead bull. With a sudden burst of speed, Cole shot away, closing the distance with the werewolf ahead. His padded paws beat the earth swiftly, and soon he was right behind Sadie. The place where the river tipped over the edge of the island realm lay just ahead.

  “Are you sure about this?” Sadie asked.

  “Trust me,” he said, taking the lead with another burst of cheetah speed.

  “This from the boy chained to the rock,” she retorted.

  Cole leaped out over the waterfall. Sadie followed. The bulls came up short, skidding to a halt. Some of them crashed into those in front of them, driving many into the edge of the river. They floundered and fought, but none of them came over the waterfall. Cole had supposed that they might be restricted to their own island realm. Apparently this was correct.

  The cheetah and the werewolf flailed four-legged through the air, falling with the water toward a fairly small plunge pool below. Cole took the form of a raven like his mother, catching the wind with his wings, gliding down in a spiral around the waterfall. Sadie became an eagle and followed in graceful flight after his example.

  Nearing the pool below, they glided out over the snow covered ground, landing a half dozen meters away. Cole and Sadie took on human forms again, standing still to view what they could see of this island before them. Another spell gave Sadie warmer apparel. Cole watched her outfit for the cold, but he was used to this sort of weather. His people had always preferred the cold.

  High winds whipped at them, making the frigid temperatures seem bitter. Snow fell heavily. At times it was driven sideways by the gale.

  “Are you sure you’re all right like that?” Sadie asked.

  Cole’s dark hair blew back away from his face. “I’m fine for now,” he said. “I’m just wondering what sort of peril awaits us in this place.”

  “I guess we have no choice but to find out,” Sadie said sadly.

  “Not if we’re going to save our families,” Cole announced resolutely. “It would seem we are meant to go from one end of these islands to the other.”

  “Couldn’t we just fly to the very last? I could kill the dragon quickly with Malak-esh and be done with all of this.”

  “The Underworld won’t let us do that,” Cole explained. “When I got to close to the edge back there, I ran into a barrier that knocked me out of the sky.”

  Sadie grinned. “And I thought you had just forgotten how to fly.”

  “Ha, ha,” he said. “Well, I’ve not forgotten good camouflage. We might be less conspicuous in animal forms.”

  Sadie shrugged her shoulders. “As long as it’s something warm, it’s fine by me.”

  Cole became a white wolf, his coat matching the snowy landscape perfectly. Only his piercing blue eyes gave him away. Sadie smiled.

  “I think I can handle that one,” she said, transforming easily into a wolf again. A slight adjustment to her normal werewolf rendered her coat also as white as snow.

  “All right,” he said. “Stay close and quiet. Maybe we can actually get the jump on whatever is out there before it spots us.”

  Two white wolves padded into
the wind and snow together, leaving the frosty waterfall behind them. As Cole had predicted, no Minotaur followed them into this new realm. Unfortunately, he expected whatever creatures they would encounter on this lower level of the Underworld to be worse than what they had already faced.

  Informant

  Two figures walked through the snow toward the entrance to the Underworld. One was human with an additional spirit onboard and in control. The other only appeared to be human. In fact, he was the prince of darkness in the guise of a man.

  They came to the place together where the earth gave way to a small chasm which served as the entrance to the Underworld. Below the place where they stood looking down, the lock and keystone pulsed incessantly with power. Amber light from the cylindrical chamber filtered up to them, illuminating the spiral stair.

  “You see, my lord?” Southresh said, indicating the lock below. “I told you. I did not lie. Black has opened the Underworld.”

  Lucifer stood near, considering the situation more than listening to Southresh’s babbling. He had had no reason to trust the mad god—especially after the rebellion to his plan that Southresh had fomented among Anubis and Hageddon. Of course, he might have expected as much, considering who he had chosen to help him fulfill his desire.

  The mad god would suffer his wrath before he was through with him. But, at the moment, he might still make use of him. Southresh had chosen to trust Black in order to secure his freedom. This was understandable, if annoying. Black had subsequently turned on them. Was there no honor among thieves?

  Southresh was now desperate for someone to turn to. Who better than himself? He and Black had always been rivals. Even before Lucifer realized it was the case, Black had been scheming against him, trying to undermine his position before the Almighty. Yes, the mad god might still serve a purpose, helping him to undo Black’s plan.

  “He could only call down the keystone, you simpleton,” Lucifer said, scolding him. “No angel can open and enter the Underworld. Even Black cannot undo what the Almighty has ordained. Therefore—” he paused, waiting for Southresh to hop onboard his train of thought.

  “He must have had someone else open it and attempt to release the cherubim?” Southresh ventured.

  “He must have had someone else do it,” Lucifer confirmed. “The question you have left unanswered in your eagerness to tattle, brother, is who.”

  “I killed Oliver James already,” Southresh reported.

  “Yes, you’ve mentioned that almost a dozen times,” Lucifer replied. He shot his angelic brother a hard glare. “Do not suppose that one victory erases the rebellion you’ve shown toward me in the past. Time has not scrubbed away my anger.”

  “Yes, my lord.”

  “In your decaying form,” Lucifer added, “you would be spotted immediately. I suppose, if I want the job done right, I shall simply have to do it myself.”

  Lucifer’s form dissolved, leaving Southresh standing alone in the Siberian wilderness.

  Luxana arrived in Galidel amid much fanfare. The sprites loved any opportunity to throw a party. Any time anyone of even remote importance traveled and came back, Galidel broke into celebration. What better excuse than the return of their beloved queen?”

  Although nudity was standard fare in the realm of sprites, all wore jewelry of shells and beads, as well as an array of flowery garnishments. They flew through the trees happily, singing songs and making merry with one another, even if they never came to see the queen personally. It wasn’t necessary, after all, to actually lay eyes on her to celebrate her return.

  Luxana normally would have enjoyed such occasions, but she had come back to Galidel heavy-hearted. All around her, well-wishers flew by, greeting her and then going on their way. They appeared not to have a care in the world.

  But such was her duty as queen, to bear burdens that others, for the time being, did not. All of her counterparts had left the meeting in Greystone in order to prepare their people for the distinct possibility of the cherubims’ release from the Underworld. And, if that happened, they would all face the destruction of the spiritual realms where most Descendants dwelled.

  Luxana had appeared at the gateway used by most to enter Galidel. Breathing in the scent of pine and lilac on the breeze, she let her glamour of clothing dissolve, returning to her ordinary state of nudity like the other inhabitants of her home. Redwyn had not arrived to greet her, even though she had sent news of her imminent return by telepathy. Otherwise, her people would have missed on a celebration.

  She did not fault him for missing her arrival. In fact, he was quite a loving husband, though he did not care much for public displays of his affection. Still, he was likely busy with intelligence gathering.

  There wasn’t a great deal of work to being the queen and king in Galidel. At least, not the sort that required political wrangling, speeches, or signing matters into law. The rules they lived by were simple: treat others as you wished to be treated. Murder, when proven, was punishable by death without exception. And, really, there was never a problem with stealing.

  Galidel revolved around a communal lifestyle. Private property hardly existed—weapons mostly. Only warriors like Luxana, who hired themselves out as mercenaries, simply for the thrill of it, even bothered owning them.

  Luxana passed over another group of revelers dancing and singing together on her way to her home. A massive baobab tree, three times as large as any on the mortal plane, served as the royal abode. Their home, a wooden dwelling, had been constructed in the top among its branches.

  When she came inside, shades had been drawn. The main room was cast in shadow. “Redwyn?” she called.

  “In the loft,” he replied.

  She flew up through the open space in the floor. Luxana did not immediately see him. “Redwyn, where are you? I have important news to share.”

  Redwyn hit her from behind, driving her toward the wall. He smashed her face into the wood, holding her left arm in an iron grip behind her back. “You can tell me,” Redwyn said, menacingly.

  Immediately, Luxana recognized the tone. The voice was her husband’s, but the malevolence behind it belonged to another. “Lucifer,” she said.

  “Very good.” He rewarded her guess with a punch to her right kidney area, washing her back in pain. “Nice to see you haven’t forgotten your master.”

  “Just kill me and be done with it,” she said, grimacing, her face still grinding against the wall.

  “No, that would never do,” Lucifer cooed. “Not for my faithful mercenary.”

  He let her go and walked away, picking up a dagger.

  She wrenched her arm around, shaking out the pain. Blood seeped into her mouth from a gash on her lip. Lucifer turned again, smiling. She couldn’t even attack him. Any wound would harm Redwyn instead of the angel.

  “Share your news,” he said. “I want to know where you’ve been.”

  Luxana remained silent.

  Lucifer twirled the dagger expertly between Redwyn’s fingers and over the back of his hand.

  “I’m not afraid to die,” she said.

  Lucifer grinned. Luxana didn’t like seeing that look on her husband’s face. She hoped she wouldn’t remember it when they embraced again.

  “I know you’re not,” Lucifer said, turning the dagger on himself. The point of the blade rested just below Redwyn’s sternum. One sharp thrust would drive the blade through his heart, or the main artery of his body. Either way, he would be dead in seconds.

  “Believe me,” Lucifer said, “this will hurt him much more than me.”

  She knew he meant it. Lucifer would kill Redwyn without a second’s hesitation. Had he not wanted information, she and her husband would already be dead.

  “I’ve come from Greystone,” she began. No matter what happened, she had to save her husband from this devil. “Black has called down the keystone. He has assumed a Lycan host called Ishbe. None of us realized it until now.”

  “Who opened the lock?” Lucifer asked.


  Luxana arched an eyebrow. He already knew the gateway had been opened. She could only guess how he would know, unless he had gone there personally to see it. Yet, he didn’t know who had gone through.

  She paused, unsure, withholding the answer.

  Lucifer sank the blade into Redwyn’s flesh almost an inch. Blood began to stream down his stomach from the wound. “I wouldn’t do that,” he warned.

  “Cole and Sadie,” she answered. “Brody’s daughter and Tom’s son.”

  “Why has Black done this?” he asked.

  “Revenge was all that he said to us,” she answered.

  Lucifer smiled, seeming satisfied. “Anything else?”

  “I don’t know anything else,” she said. “I’ve come to make preparations to evacuate Galidel should the cherubim be released. The girl carries the weapon of Oliver James.”

  Lucifer nodded and then hurled the dagger lightning quick. The blade sank into the wall to its hilt three inches from her head. “Now, was that so hard?”

  “What will you do?” she asked.

  He laughed. “Just remember that I can come for you anytime I wish,” he said. “Be thankful that I’m in no mood to kill you today.”

  Lucifer released Redwyn, coming out of his mortal body. Her husband jerked sideways and fell to the floor unconscious. Luxana ran to him, checking his pulse and breathing. His wound was not deep and, apart from some bruising, she hoped he would be fine. Still, Lucifer had returned. That, in of itself, was bad enough.

  Equine

  I had decided that I would remain in the trees for the time being, rather than getting caught by some predator on the ground. The Realm of Abominations had turned out to be the perfect place for trying out new animal forms. I was knocking the rust off of my transformational skills and then some.

  An orange, hairy orangutan was the perfect animal for this environment. Long powerful arms allowed me to move from branch to branch with relative ease. Truth be told, this swinging through the trees would have been fun under any other circumstance.