FORT ROLLED OVER AND LEAPED to his feet, yanking the bow and staff off of his back. He pulled back on the bow where the string would have been, and a ball of fire appeared in the center of the bow, ready to fire.
“Back off,” he said, the light of the fireball illuminating bits and pieces of the creatures, whatever they were. From what he could tell, the monsters weren’t that large, but they seemed to be carrying metal weapons of some sort. One had a wicked looking pickax, while another held a spiked hammer in each hand.
The glossy red eyes, though, were the most familiar, and most eerie part of them. These were the same creatures he’d seen in his dream, the ones that had taken his father away.
Two of the red eyes advanced on him, and he loosed the fireball, shooting it right between them as a warning. It exploded against the floor behind the creatures, and for a moment, the bright light blinded Fort. He stumbled backward to stay out of their reach, only to have one of the red eyed creatures behind him slam a foot into the back of his knees, knocking him back to the ground.
He twisted around as he fell and sent another fireball flying. His angle was way off, though, and it ended up hitting the ceiling. This time he made sure to close his eyes, but the creatures weren’t so lucky, as he heard several of them groan in pain.
Unfortunately, when Fort opened his eyes again, he found that his fireball had knocked out most of the globes of light dotting the roof of the cavern, leaving the room even darker than it had been.
He scrambled back to his feet, holding the staff diagonally before him like Sergeant Tower had taught them. As one of the red-eyed creatures stumbled close to him, still blinded, Fort swept out with his staff at its hand, trying to disarm the creature.
Instead, as it hit, the staff glowed blue, and Fort felt a cold energy pass from the weapon into the creature.
The creature paused, then took a step back. “Ah, I think it healed my hand,” it growled, low and guttural.
“What is it?” another one rasped.
“Looks like another human,” said a third.
“Yes!” Fort shouted, holding his staff in a defensive position, even if it was apparently useless at anything beyond healing. “I am human, and I’m not here to hurt you.”
Several of the creatures laughed at that, which wasn’t exactly comforting.
“You, hurt us?” one said, and a high-pitched whirling noise was the only warning Fort had before a wooden object slammed into his face, knocking him back to the ground.
He shook off the hit and immediately tried to push to his knees, but froze as something cold and sharp pushed into his neck. “I meant to say, I don’t mean any harm,” Fort said, wincing as the blade bit into his skin. “I came looking for another human, one older than me. Have you seen him?”
This time, one of them sighed, almost sadly.
“We know where he is, yeah,” one of them said.
“But you don’t want to see him,” said another. “It’s best you go before they find out you’re here.”
“If it’s not already too late,” said the first.
Fort gritted his teeth. Of all the people discouraging him from finding his father, the last beings he’d expected to do so were the monsters who’d taken him. “I’m not leaving without him.”
“Then you’re a fool,” said one of the creatures. “We’re trying to do right by you. But if they find out you’re here, then we won’t have a choice.”
“They’ll make us take you to Dragon’s Teeth, just like we did the one you’re looking for.”
Dragon’s Teeth? “Take me there!” Fort said, and tried to stand up, but the blade at his neck just pushed in harder, and he winced. “I have to find him, and I’ll do anything. Please take me to Dragon’s Teeth. See? I’m putting down my weapons and everything.”
He laid his staff and bow down on the ground. For the first time he realized he must have lost his bag of protein bars somewhere in all the falling back in the cavern of the monsters, but that didn’t matter, not if these things were going to take him to his father right away.
The red-eyed creatures went silent for a moment. “You can’t be thinking of taking him,” said a new voice, higher-pitched than the rest, if only slightly. “He doesn’t know what he’s asking. We have to let him go before they—”
“Quiet, boy,” another said. “Those who haven’t been through the ritual haven’t yet earned a say. I think the masters might be pleased if we take him to Dragon’s Teeth. It’d be like our present to them. They might bless us.”
“Those masters have only cursed you!” shouted the higher-pitched voice. “You’re all fools if you don’t see what those monsters have done to you.”
The others growled in low, ugly tones. “Don’t be talking about the Old Ones that way, whelp,” one said.
“You haven’t been through the ritual yet,” another said, more kindly. “That’s when your eyes will open fully. You’ll understand when you’re older.”
“I understand more than you think,” the young one said. “And I’m not going to help you take another human to Dragon’s Teeth. Not again.”
“Keep talking like this, and you’ll be next,” one of the older ones said.
This was rapidly getting out of hand, and the last thing Fort wanted was for the one creature sticking up for him to get punished. “It’s okay!” he shouted. “There’s no need to argue. I want to go. Just tell me where it is, and I’ll come along quietly, I promise.”
Back in the cavern, the monsters were roaring louder than ever, and the red eyes around him started to notice. “What’s got the Dracsi all riled up?” one asked. The blade bit into his neck again, and Fort hissed in pain. “Are there more of you, human? Tell the truth!”
“No, I promise, I’m alone,” Fort said.
“Well, not exactly,” said a voice that Fort really, really didn’t want to hear right now.
Another fireball hit the ceiling, blinding him along with the red-eyed creatures this time. The blade disappeared from his neck as something swung over Fort’s head, the wind tousling his hair. He ducked to avoid whatever it was, and watched one of the monsters go flying into a cave wall.
“More humans!” another shouted, only to get blasted backward by a bolt of lightning square in the chest. Somehow, the first bolt didn’t seem to do much damage, but a second and third hit knocked the creature out.
“No,” Fort whispered as another creature collapsed to the ground, vomiting everywhere like it’d just contracted some horrible disease. The rest tried to run, but the rocks on either side of the nearest tunnel pushed together, trapping them within.
“What are these things?” one of the red-eyed creatures shouted, only to get knocked backward, its eyes soaring much farther than a body should have. As another fireball lit the room, Fort saw the reason: The red eyes weren’t eyes at all, but goggles of some kind, illuminated from within by the red light.
At this point, only one creature remained standing, the one with the spiked hammers. “Come on!” it shouted, whirling its hammers around, judging by the high-pitched whine they were making. “I’ll take the lot of you on all by myself!”
Twin missiles of magical energy struck the hammers, disintegrating them.
The red eye… no, the goggle-wearing creature paused. “Um, okay, maybe not?” it said. “How do you feel about surrender?”
“Not real good,” said the same familiar voice, and a shield shined in the remaining light as it slammed into the creature’s face, knocking it out. The shield-bearer turned, lighting up his face for the first time.
“Hey, kid,” Gabriel said, giving him a smile. “Nice to see you’re making friends.”