MILLENNIUM (Descendants Saga) Page 9
She nodded.
“The dragon beyond the Realm of Abominations, must not be slain, Brody,” Donatus said. “The three cherubim are the dragon. Slaying the beast will release them upon the world. They have the power to undo what they created on the spiritual plane.”
“Don’t worry,” I assured him. “I won’t make any attempt to kill the beast.”
I winked at my wife, hoping to reassure her. Using Donatus’s shared memory, I teleported away from Greystone toward the Tunguska river and the gateway to the Underworld.
Minotaur
The corridor proved to be dark but not very long. Cole and Sadie saw torchlight ahead, flickering flames that witnessed to some sort of intelligent life in this place. Coming to the end of the tunnel, they were stopped by a barred gate standing in their way.
They looked through to the dimly lit chamber beyond. It was constructed of stone and had the appearance of a dungeon. More barred gates could be seen lining the wall in the cylindrical prison.
“What’s that awful smell?” Sadie said wrinkling her nose in disgust.
“Smells like animals,” Cole answered.
He grabbed the bars, trying to put some of his vampire strength to use. The metal gate was thick and unyielding.
“Let’s just teleport through,” Sadie suggested.
Cole attempted to do his phasing trick. He walked into the gate and was stopped cold, banging his face into the bars. “That’s strange,” he said. “It won’t let me pass.”
“Let me try,” Sadie said. She disappeared only to reappear two feet away but still inside the cell. She came up to the bars with Cole, pulling on them in her frustration.
“Why would this place allow us in just to stop us here?” she asked.
Cole considered the matter, still trying to see what was beyond in the chamber. He heard bleating from the other cells in the dungeon. Human hands came to the bars and human faces.
“People?” Sadie said, puzzled.
“Not human,” Cole said, examining the creatures closer.
Bodies pressed themselves against the gates, probably trying to see Cole and Sadie because of their chatter. Cole found these others to be human only from the waist up. They were very hairy with small horns growing out of their heads. They possessed the eyes and lower bodies of goats with hooves for feet, yet they stood like men.
“I’ve seen something like these in common mythology,” Cole said. “They are fauns—half man and half goat.”
Sadie spoke through the bars to the other prisoners. “Can you help us?” she asked.
The fauns near to them looked at one another in a puzzled manner before replying. They bleated to her in their goat language. Cole and Sadie could make no sense of it, though the fauns seemed very enthusiastic.
The cacophony of bleating goat men spread to the other cells. Sadie was soon sorry she had asked the fauns anything. Now, they would not be quiet—at least, not until the roar that echoed throughout the chamber.
Something was coming. The children heard heavy steps accompanied by hard clicks against the stone. They noticed another corridor leading off of this chamber where the cells were located.
Heavy wet breaths were heard just beyond in the darkness, approaching the dungeon where they and the fauns were kept prisoners. Two large horns, reaching almost to the walls of the corridor on either side, protruded into the dungeon. Then the huge head of a bull followed them. It snorted through its moist nostrils, spraying mucus with each breath.
As the beast walked into the chamber, the torchlight revealed a man’s torso beneath the bull’s head followed by the lower body of a bull again. A thick leather harness was fitted on the torso which held a sword on its back.
Cole pulled Sadie away from the front of the cell back into the darkness. The fauns had retreated also from the fronts of their cages. Their infernal bleating had stopped, as all cowered in fear of this beast.
“It’s a minotaur,” Cole whispered ever so softly into Sadie’s ear.
The Minotaur did not look toward their cell, but went straight to one where the fauns were kept. It took a heavy iron key from its belt, inserting it into the lock. The Minotaur opened the gate and lunged inside after a faun.
After a fierce but brief struggle, the Minotaur backed out of the cell again, holding a faun by one of its goat legs. He shut the gate again, the lock clicking shut automatically. The faun attempted to fight off the Minotaur, to get free of its powerful grip.
Becoming enraged as quickly as any bull, the beast swung the faun around like a doll and then dashed its head back into the bars of the cage where it had been retrieved. After several impacts, the faun stopped struggling. Indeed, it stopped moving completely.
The Minotaur snorted fiercely, satisfied, and then dragged the dead faun back down the corridor through which it had entered. Sadie gasped, placing her hand over her mouth to stifle the sound. The faun’s limp arms trailed after the bleeding head bouncing over the stones and were the last glimpse of the creature on its way to whatever fate the Minotaur intended.
Cole and Sadie came back toward the light at the front of their cell. “We can’t just wait here until were discovered,” Sadie said.
“You’re right,” Cole replied. “We’ll have to be stealthy. We don’t want to have to tangle with that thing if we can help it. A good start would be more suitable clothing.”
Cole transformed his clothing to the dark pants and shirt that he usually wore for training and exploring Greystone’s Keep. The air within the dungeon was warm and dry in comparison to the frigid wasteland from which they had come in Siberia. Sadie followed his example.
“After you,” Cole said.
Sadie gave him an unknowing look. “What?”
“Only one of us is carrying a sword that can cut through almost anything,” Cole replied, grinning.
Sadie smirked back and then drew Malak-esh, the wolf’s head cane, from the air. She willed its transformation and used the mercurial blade upon the bars of their cage. With barely any effort, she forced the sword through the gate, drawing it through the metal like a hot knife through butter.
She completed a large circular shape, and Cole pulled the cut piece away so they could pass through. Sadie kept Malak-esh in hand as they came out into the chamber. The fauns approached the gates of their cells again, watching silently.
Cole came to the head of the corridor leading out. He also carried weapons in store as Sadie did, but he had nothing to compare with the sword Oliver had left to her. He motioned for her to follow.
Sadie glanced around the dungeon at the cages and their prisoners. “We can’t just leave them behind,” she said.
Cole urged her on, but she only stood still, refusing to budge. “We don’t have time for this,” Cole whispered. “We know nothing of these creatures.”
“We know they are kept prisoners and killed,” Sadie argued. “I won’t leave them caged.”
Cole sighed heavily. “Fine,” he said. “You free them while I scout ahead. Okay?”
Sadie smiled. “Okay, I’ll hurry.”
Shaking his head, Cole turned back to the tunnel. He could see well in the darkness. The Minotaur was nowhere to be seen ahead. Still, he didn’t want to happen upon it accidentally.
He leaped a dozen feet up to the ceiling of the corridor and crawled spider-like down the tunnel into the darkness. Sadie went immediately to the cages, pausing at each one. She drew Malak-esh through the locks and opened the doors. She soon had an entire herd of fauns milling gratefully about her in the dungeon chamber.
Cole followed the winding corridor, only dimly lit by the occasional torch, until he saw light coming into it from up ahead. Coming to the mouth of the corridor, he saw beyond to a massive open amphitheater where sunlight beamed down upon hot sandy ground. Many more Minotaur roamed about here. The walls of their fortress castle rose to either side. Beyond this, lay the shore of a river with no end but the horizon.
The Minotaur with the faun had taken i
t to a butchering table. He laid into the carcass with a large cleaver, severing parts, presumably to be eaten. Other Minotaur came for the choicest pieces.
Cole noticed that these brutes had teeth more like a lion’s than that of bulls. They tore meat and sinew from bones as voraciously as any predator. And there were hundreds of them milling about in the sun. Some watched as Minotaur combatants clashed in the amphitheater. He even found one sitting on a throne at the head of the open arena who may have served as their leader.
The question that bothered him most, though, was where to go in order to find the dragon. The sky was blue above with a bright sun beaming down. It all seemed quite tropical.
The castle fortress rose up on three sides and the river extended beyond the sandy shore. He had to get a better vantage point. Cole transformed into a raven and shot out of the tunnel, heading straight up along the castle wall.
A number of oddly gothic-styled towers rose above the castle proper with spires that extended high into the sky. Cole flew into a warm thermal updraft. He flew higher and higher, until he could see the entire island onto which they had come.
The island was actually floating in the air like a cloud. And, though it was massive, it wasn’t the only one. He could see a total of six such floating islands, each connecting to a lower level.
The river he had seen was not as wide as he might have supposed from his view at the ground. It surrounded much of the castle and land mass and then flowed over the side to another island below. He could not understand how the water level remained unchanging despite losing so much over the side. Magic he supposed.
He made a wide pass over the island of the Minotaur. However, when he passed just beyond the land mass, he smashed into an invisible barrier. Cole faltered and fell. The ground was coming up fast, spinning in his vision where the impact had stunned him.
Cole barely managed a transformation into a flying squirrel. His skin pouches caught the rushing air as they unfurled. His fall had slowed to an uncertain glide. He didn’t know where he was in relation to the castle.
The ground came swiftly up to meet him. He skittered and scrabbled to a stop among tall, amber-colored grass. Cole stood in human form again, trying to ascertain his whereabouts. A range of mountains ran with the castle. In fact, it had been built right up against one of its sheer faces.
A bellowing roar startled him. It was very close, somewhere among the tall grasses where he had landed. He heard another answer, and then another still. Cole was surrounded.
The earth beneath his feet rumbled as powerful hooves pounded the ground, no doubt coming for him. The Minotaur must have spotted his transformation into a flying squirrel in midair. No ordinary raven could do such a thing. They had an enemy in their midst, and they had seen exactly where he had come down.
Cole considered his situation, the foes he was facing and the terrain. A Bo staff would be fairly useless against such brute creatures as these. He required a killing instrument to penetrate their thick hides and do real damage.
Drawing a sword from his spiritual store, Cole stood his ground, trying to determine which Minotaur would reach him first. A head erupted from the grass to his right. The beast was almost on top of him, charging on all fours like an ordinary bull. Indeed, its human arms were hooves now.
There was no time to think. He leaped into the air, somersaulting over the Minotaur. He brought his sword around, preparing to drive the blade down through the beast’s back.
A second Minotaur caught his attention. It launched into the air from a different direction among the grasses. Cole was caught completely by surprise. The Minotaur slammed into him, midair, driving the thick skull plate between its horns into his side.
Cole flailed through the air, his sword flying out of his hands. He hit the ground and tumbled through the grass. His vampire’s strength saved him from catastrophic injury, but he was still hurt. He came to a stop, but was unable to rise and fight.
His vision blurry and his head spinning, he made a valiant attempt. However, the offending Minotaur had followed his trajectory through the grass. Rising up on its hind legs, its forelegs and upper torso became human in appearance again.
A meaty right fist pummeled Cole back to the ground before he could get his bearings. His body went numb and his vision dimmed, but he remained conscious enough to feel the pain from the beating he had received. He remained limp and helpless, trying not to moan as the Minotaur grabbed him by the leg and hauled him away.
Entry
I arrived near the Tunguska River. Huge flakes of snow fell silently, adding to an already covered landscape. Not long ago, this area would have been thick with trees for hundreds of miles. Now, those same trees lay flattened and burnt at my feet.
I stumbled at my first step, realizing that I was standing upon one of them. The way to the lock would be precarious and slow at best. I threw myself into the heavy wind, taking the form of the peregrine falcon. Though small, I fought the wind as my furious wing beats carried me steadily toward my destination.
Landing where the lock should be, I found a huge hole in the ground instead. Peeking over the edge, I realized that this must be the open entry to the Underworld. My heart thudded in my chest. The children had certainly been here and had opened the gateway. They were somewhere inside the Realm of Abominations Donatus had spoken about.
I hopped down, still in my falcon form. Gliding past the corkscrew stair leading to the vestibule at the bottom. Here I returned to my human form. Around me there was only a cylindrical chamber. Its walls glowed with fiery hieroglyphs, most of which were unrecognizable. Only one stood out to me.
A fish shone in blue light. I went to it, finding five small depressions. Looking around the room, I saw nothing else distinguishable. I started to touch the first depression. Noticing my five fingers in relation to the five depressions, I chose instead to line my fingertips with them, forming a pattern.
A doorway outlined itself in blue. I stood back, waiting to see what else would happen. The stone removed itself, sinking into the floor. I gave the vestibule a last cursory look. This was the only apparent way. I walked through. The stone door came up again, sealing me within whatever realm I had walked into. I only hoped to find the children in time.
Laish walked through Greystone’s corridors impatiently. “I have never liked this labyrinthine place,” he mumbled. Two vampire guards found him with their weapons raised threateningly. They paused when they recognized him, staring dumbly at the ancient elf wizard.
Laish didn’t seem threatened by them in the least. “Well, don’t just stand there,” he scolded. “Take me to my brother. Obviously, I’m just going in circles here.”
The guards looked at each other uncertainly, shrugged their shoulders at one another and then obliged the old man waiting impatiently for them. “This way,” one of them said.
Laish fell in behind them. In less than a minute, they had arrived at the throne room where Donatus had wanted to have his conference. The guards opened, allowed Laish inside, and then closed the doors behind him. He found Donatus, Sophia, Redclaw and, surprisingly, the female sprite that had facilitated Brody’s killing of Grayson Stone years ago in Tidus.
He approached the table, looking incredulously at Redclaw as he sat down. “You might have waited for me, you big oaf.”
Redclaw chuckled at him. “Not my fault you wanted to teleport here on your own instead of coming with me through the portal.”
“Now that my brother is here,” Donatus began, “I feel I should warn each of you as to the danger we’re all facing from the current situation.”
“What do you mean?” Luxana asked.
“The dragon is incredibly dangerous,” Donatus said.
“Of course, it is,” Sophia said. “It’s a dragon, after all.”
“The cherubim?” Laish asked.
Donatus nodded. “Should the dragon be slain, the cherubim will be released. It is in this form that they remain trapped in the Underworld.”
“These cherubim rebelled against the Almighty just like the seraphim following Lucifer,” Laish said.
“They were the ones who created the spiritual realms where Descendants reside,” Donatus added.
“Greystone?” Sophia asked.
“And Tidus, Galidel, Xandrea and Grim Hope among others,” Laish added.
“We must all prepare for this eventuality,” Donatus said. “We must be ready in case the children release the cherubim.”
“But they would have to kill the dragon, right?” Sophia asked. “Surely, that’s impossible.”
“Impossible? I never thought anyone would call down the keystone to open the Underworld, but it happened. I don’t think anything is impossible now.”
“Besides, Sadie has Malak-esh,” Laish added. “That weapon has enough power to undo the dragon and release the cherubim.”
“And the cherubim could destroy the spiritual realm?” Redclaw asked.
“At the very least, they can destroy what has been created here,” Donatus answered.
“Where would Descendants go?” Luxana asked.
“Into the mortal world where the cherubim have no power,” Laish said.
“Yes,” Donatus agreed. “Our people would be safe there.”
“No troll is safe among humans,” Redclaw said.
“We have no choice,” Donatus said. “If we see that the cherubim have been unleashed we’ll have to evacuate the spiritual plane.”
“How will we know?” Sophia asked.
“If it happens, there is no way we wouldn’t know,” Donatus said. “Our kingdoms will begin to collapse.”
Black entered the infirmary where Charlotte lay in a coma. Tom had managed to save her from his fate in Siberia, but not from the power unleashed there. The guards and her physician had been done away with when Black arrived.
He still had a score to settle with this vampire queen. She had been party to Tom’s turning away from his plan in London to kidnap the humans and replace them with his doll counterparts. She had been instrumental in causing her brother Sinister to turn against his angelic master, betraying Black in order to save her life.