Chapter Twenty-One

Terror cemented their feet to the ground. The guard’s ghoulish faces startled them into silence. Bits of rotting flesh and skin clung to his skull and flapped in the wind. Where there should have been eyes were glowing red pupils, like laser beams. Two other skeleton guards flanked the one that held him. Gabriel gagged.

He kicked at the guard’s legs, but the guard only squeezed his arm harder. Silently, the fourth guard headed toward the doors of Malgor’s castle. With a nod to the others, he lifted and released the cobra head door-knocker. It dropped with an iron thud.

Silence took over. Seconds seemed like hours while they waited until, with a creak and a groan, the door to the castle opened. Duke Malgor stood before them, waiting. His cavernous eyes seemed to brighten for a moment. Then, a wicked smirk crossed his face.

“Ahhhh. Children … of the human variety. I see you have met my death-mongers. Not very handsome, but quite effective, wouldn’t you say?” Malgor laughed. He stretched his pale, cool hand toward Gabriel, and grasped his sleeve. “Are you the one called Gabriel?”

Gabriel didn’t answer. He avoided Malgor’s cold, hollow gaze.

The duke shoved him to the ground. “Answer me, boy!”

“I’m Gabriel. What do you want?” Gabriel yelled. He looked up at him, and immediately regretted shouting. Malgor worked his jaw, like he was grinding his back teeth.

“That’s two mistakes you’ve made already, human.” He grabbed Gabriel by the scruff of his shirt, lifting him until Gabriel stretched onto his toes. “Your first mistake was not answering me when I spoke to you. Your second mistake was raising your voice to me. You’ll only have one more chance to redeem yourself, Gayy-bree-ullll. Do exactly as I command, and perhaps I’ll let you go.”

“Gabe!” Piper struggled to free herself from the death-monger. “Please let him go,” she pleaded. “What do you want us to do?”

“Now this one has some sense,” Malgor hissed. “Bring them inside.” The death-mongers obeyed.

As the guards shoved them into the dimly lit castle, Gabriel spotted Cedric kneeling on the floor, facing Malgor’s throne. Cedric’s face was flushed as red as ketchup, as if he was actually embarrassed. That was a new one for Morley.

Malgor shoved Gabriel toward Cedric. “How could you, Cedric?” Gabriel blurted. Cedric buried his head in his hands.

“He did precisely as commanded. And you’d be wise to do the same,” Malgor sneered. “But he is not an innocent, nor the chosen one. Therefore, he is no longer of use to me.”

“Chosen?” Piper asked. “For what?”

“Are you blind, child? Can you not see that Valta is dying and needs its rightful emperor? If I had not mislaid the one Divinity that day after I … after I retrieved them from the castle, I would be emperor now. The so-called empress cast a spell so that only an innocent finder of the lost Divinities could connect one to the other. He who connects the two must be someone of good heart, who has never done something purposely evil.”

Malgor kneeled next to Gabriel. He seemed to look directly into Gabriel’s soul as he spoke. “Cedric tells me it was you who found the Divinity in your world.”

Gabriel averted his gaze, glaring at Cedric. “So you did lie! You met the duke before! You’re so lame, you know that?”

“I’m sorry.” Cedric sounded as if he meant it. “I didn’t have a choice.”

Malgor’s sinister laugh was straight out of a horror film. “But there is always a choice, boy. I could have thrown you to the gruocks, after all.”

Gabriel faced the two other people in the room, but Malgor grabbed his shoulders, twisting him back around.

“You will connect the Divinities for me, Gabriel,” he hissed. “If you agree, I will send you back to Willow Creek unharmed. But if you refuse, I will feed you and your little girlfriend here to my gruocks.” Malgor’s grin spread into a wide, dynamite-laced smile.

A piercing pain shot behind Gabriel’s eyes and he shook his head; the thought of what Malgor threatened made him nauseous. “I will never connect them for you. They belong to Empress Malina.” He blinked his eyes, willing away the pain.

Malgor’s face blazed red, until it looked like it would burst into flames. He slapped Gabriel’s face with the back of his hand. Gabriel crumpled to the ground, pain radiating from his jaw to his temple. Malgor hit him again, this time in the same spot Cedric had struck him with a rock. So much for willing away the pain.

“Away with the humans!” screamed Malgor. “Let’s take them all to the dungeon.”

“But—but, Duke Malgor,” Cedric stammered, “you promised—”

“I promised nothing. You are exactly useless.” Turning his attention back to Gabriel, he said calmly, “I trust you will come to your senses in time.”

The death-mongers and Duke Malgor ushered them down a winding staircase, through the dark recesses of the castle. The only light came from a torch held by one of the death-mongers. Soon, they faced a row of steel bars. Malgor unlocked the door, heaved it open, and shoved them all inside the cell. The sound of his heavy-booted steps echoed off the stone walls as Malgor walked away. Gabriel groaned. The cold dampness of the basement prison stung his skin. He didn’t think anywhere could ever be colder than their cramped tree cave, but this was close. Only a sliver of light streamed through one tiny, barred window in the back wall.

“This just keeps getting worse,” moaned Piper. She held up Gabriel, whose head swam and still pounded with the worst headache ever. Cedric plunked down on the floor. Faint moaning came from the far side of the room. Cedric leaped back to his feet. “What was that?”

Gabriel turned toward the sound, peering with his super eyes. “Holy crap. It’s Brent!” He ran toward him.

“Brent? What do you mean Brent?” Piper asked.

Brent’s shackled arms and legs sagged like limp spaghetti. His head drooped.

“What has he done to you?” Gabriel’s voice broke.

“Dude, help me, please,” Brent begged in a weak voice.

“Oh, Brent,” exclaimed Piper. “Thank God we found you. We’ll get you down. I promise. Te prometo, mi amigo,” she added in Spanish.

“How you doing, bro?” Gabriel asked Brent while he searched for a way to unlock the chains.

“Considering this five-star hotel I’ve been holed up in, I guess I’m okay.” Brent smiled weakly, but then grimaced. “I’m not gonna lie … I feel pretty stupid. Those shadows tricked me and brought me right to freak land.”

“This whole situation sucks big time. We’ve just gotta get you outta these chains,” Gabriel said.

“You can’t.” Brent sighed. “Malgor took the key with him.” Gabriel pulled some leftover bread from his pocket and fed it to Brent. A rustling sound came from the far corner.

“Cedric, now what?” Piper whipped around.

“It—it isn’t me,” Cedric stammered.

“Then what is it?” Piper asked.

“He won’t hurt you,” mumbled Brent.

“He?” Gabriel asked.

“Dramel. He’s been here, like, forever. These are my friends, Dramel.” Brent shifted, moaning. “They won’t hurt you. Dramel has fed me bits of food and water … as much as he could find.”

Dramel crawled out from where he hid in the corner and crouched under the window. Dim light flickered across his back, allowing them a vague glimpse of the creature. He looked like a child of about six, but not any human child. He was bald, with a cone-shaped head. Piper gasped, and Dramel scampered back into the shadows.

“Dramel’s more afraid of you than you are of him,” Brent said. “He can’t talk much, but he understands everything.”

Piper nodded. “Maybe he can help us then.”

Maybe … Gabriel thought. “Dramel. Where’d you go? Don’t be afraid. We just wanna talk.”

“He won’t come to you. Let me try,” whispered Brent. “Dramel, come to Brent. Meet my friends.”

After a few moments, Dramel appeared under the window again. He crouched down, and wrapped his arms around his legs.

“Hi, Dramel,” Gabriel said, smiling. “Thanks for helping our friend. We’re all lost and could use some help finding a way outta here.”

Dramel’s eyes shifted away. He shook his head.

“C’mon, Gabe, if he knew a way out, don’cha think he’d have used it to free himself?” Piper said, rolling her eyes.

“Got any better ideas?”

Piper looked back toward Dramel. “How long have you been here?”

Dramel stretched his arms as wide as he could. Piper crouched on all fours, like Dramel. “It must be horrible, being here all this time … and lonely.” She paused. “Why don’t you come over here with us? I promise we won’t hurt you.” Piper extended her hand.

He inched forward, glancing over at Brent.

“It’s okay, Dramel,” Brent said.

Dramel took Piper’s hand with a shy smile. “Dramel,” he said, patting his chest.

“Nice to meet you, Dramel.” Piper smiled. “I’m Piper. This is Gabriel, and … well, that creep is Cedric.” Cedric rolled his eyes and turned his back to them.

“Come,” Dramel said. “Come with Dramel.”

“Come where?” Gabriel asked. “We can’t leave Brent.”

“Go with him,” Brent said. “He always comes back. He must want to show you something.”

“Okay, I’ll go, and Piper, you stay here with Brent.”

Dramel scurried into the shadows. Gabriel ran after him.

As they reached the far end of the dungeon, Dramel dragged a grate off the wall and climbed inside the vented hole. Gabriel crawled on hands and knees closely behind.

“Slow down,” Gabriel called, having a hard time squeezing through the tunnel in the wall.

Dramel rushed back and held his finger to his lips. “Shh,” he cautioned, but he moved more slowly this time. The tunnel had many twists and turns, but soon they found another grate.

Gabriel peeked through the slats in the grate. Below, a massive kitchen spread out. The empty room had bits of food left on the counter below. Gabriel pushed on the grate, but it was locked. Dramel picked up a piece of wire lying in front of the grate. He stuck it through the hole and stabbed at a piece of bread. Someone walked into the kitchen, and Dramel yanked the wire back.

“What chaos have we gotten ourselves into, Lamia?” growled a man with short, black, slicked-back hair.

“Complete and utter.” A woman, presumably Lamia, opened the cupboard. Gabriel slapped a hand over his mouth to hold back his gasp. He recognized the two of them from upstairs in the castle when he and Piper first got there. The man and woman had been sitting at the table by Malgor’s throne watching in silence. Lamia’s salt-and-pepper hair stood out from her head almost a foot on all sides in a giant fuzz ball. Her lime-green dress was cinched at the waist with a purple belt, barely visible beneath the enormous tummy pouring over the top of it. She grabbed a small block of cheese, then tugged out a slice of bread from the bag on the counter, and stuffed them together into her mouth. As she lifted her arm, massive rolls of fat sagged from the arms of her dress, which threatened to pop at the seams any second.

“He’s gone completely mad!” The man’s eyes widened behind black-rimmed bifocal glasses that made his eyes appear massive—like they would pop out of his head at any second.

“Don’t be daft, Dane,” Lamia mumbled around a mouthful of food. “The duke knows what he’s doing. He will see to it the boy does as he’s told.”

“I’m not so sure. If it’s not done precisely right—”

“Quiet,” Lamia interrupted. “If he hears you, he’ll feed us both to the gruocks. It is not for us to question him.”

“No,” said Dane. He turned up his nose, like he smelled something bad. “Only to obey and be thrown away like rubbish, as Councilor Saleth was.”

“Stop your bellyaching. Better to be ruled by Duke Malgor where we have power and freedom, than under her rule. We’d be doomed to stay in the Tandem Wood forever as prisoners. Even worse, can you imagine being ruled by her wretched, half-human child? Is that what you want, Dane? Or don’t you want to see your family again?”

Dane was silent.

“The empress wouldn’t help you find your daughter. Do you think she cares? She lost herself to the humans. No longer does any Zeveron blood run through her veins,” Lamia hissed, bits of chewed bread spraying from her mouth. “The only one who agreed to help you was Duke Malgor.”

“The empress wouldn’t help because I’d already aligned myself with her outcast brother,” Dane answered with a grunt. “Surely after the suspicious disappearance of her husband, she cared not about my cause. If, indeed, it is true Duke Malgor agreed to help me, then where is my daughter?” Dane banged his hand on the counter.

“Be quiet,” Lamia warned, glaring at Dane with piercing, gray eyes. “He will soon hold all the power. Then I’m sure he will find her. Our goal must be to save our land and to make sure it’s under the duke’s rule. The one called Gabriel must connect the Divinities in such a way that … ” Lamia leaned in and lowering her voice, whispered in Dane’s ear. Dane nodded in agreement, and they left.

“What?” Dramel whispered.

“In such a way that Malgor’s hands cover mine to transfer the power to him,” Gabriel replied, wide eyed.

Dramel tilted his head and raised his eyebrows.

“The empress gifted me. I can hear really well.”

Dramel shrugged, and attempted to hook some scraps with his wire again.

Wonder if the power would go to me if they’re together in my hands? I can’t think about that. I have to bring them to the empress so she can connect them.

“We’d better get back, figure out a way to unchain Brent, and get outta here.” Gabriel and Dramel crawled back the way they’d come. They reached the open grate, hopped down, and found their way through the darkness to the others.

“Where’d he take you?” Piper asked.

Gabriel told them everything as Dramel fed Brent the scraps he’d managed to snag from the kitchen.

“What about the tunnel? Can we get out that way somehow?” Gabriel asked Dramel. The creature shook his head.

“Ya know, maybe if you just join those divinions for the duke, he’ll let us go home,” Cedric said. “Who really cares about this place, anyway?”

“I do, Morley. And they’re Divinities, you moron,” snapped Piper.

Cedric grunted. “Oh, that’s right. Piper Ramirez—mini-Mother Teresa,” Cedric mocked.

Gabriel grabbed Piper’s arm. “I hear something.”

Dramel scurried into the shadows. Heavy footsteps echoed in the distance, becoming louder. Angry growls and heavy panting loomed from outside the steel bars.

Gabriel faced the bars, heart hammering. He pulled on Piper’s arm and backed up, stopping in front of Brent.

Malgor sauntered around the corner, dressed in a hooded cloak. In each hand, he held a chain attached to the collar of a creature that looked like an enlarged wolf. Thick, red manes like a lion’s framed the wolf creatures’ fierce faces. Drawn-back lips revealed dripping fangs, and the claws on their enormous paws clicked against the cobblestones.

“Gruocks!” Piper shrieked.

The beasts lunged toward the bars. Malgor bellowed a command and yanked on the chains. The gruocks fell back, and sat at attention beside him like well-trained minions. Behind him, Dane and Lamia watched silently.

“You’ve had enough time to deliberate, so I’ve come for your decision,” Malgor hissed. Dane pulled a set of keys from his pocket and unlocked the dungeon door. Swinging it open, he ushered Malgor to go ahead. As Malgor walked inside, a gruock snapped and snarled. Malgor kicked its hind leg, just above a bright red patch of fur, and it sat at attention. Saliva dripped from its lips, and its gaze glowed like green daggers.

“What will it be, Gabriel?” rasped Malgor.

Gabriel took a shaky step toward Malgor. The gruocks bared their teeth and snarled guttural, warning growls. Gabriel gulped but stood his ground, hoping he’d be safe as long as Malgor needed him.

“I’ll connect the Divinities, but only on certain conditions.”

Piper gasped. “Gabe!”

Malgor seemed pleased with Gabriel’s response. He even smiled a little. “What conditions, boy? I don’t have time for foolishness.”

“You have to unchain Brent right now,” Gabriel said. “Once I connect the Divinities, you have to show us the way home to Willow Creek and make sure we get there safely.”

As he spoke, the gruock with the red patch on its leg whimpered and pawed at the ground. Malgor tugged at its chain, but it seemed more interested in what Gabriel was saying than it did in sitting still.

“Shut up!” He gave its back leg a sharp kick. The gruock yelped and sat by Malgor’s side again, but it continued to whimper, staring right through Gabriel.

“So it shall be, then,” Malgor said, a smirk twisting his lips. “Did you hear that, councilors? Soon this will be over, and I will be emperor. Unchain the boy, Dane. Mind you, keep that one’s hands bound. He makes fire.”

Dane obeyed. As he unlocked the shackles, Brent fell to the ground. Dane grabbed Brent’s wrists and yanked his arms behind him, tying them together with rope that Lamia had thrown him. Brent moaned, struggling, but Dane tugged harder. “Stay still.”

Dane’s red, strained eyes nearly made Gabriel feel bad for him. He knew what it felt like to have a loved one disappear.

“What are you looking at?” Dane roared at Gabriel as he passed, stealing any pity Gabriel felt.

“You should be thanking me, human,” Malgor snickered to Brent. “If Gabriel here does not hold up to his end of the bargain, those chains will be the least of your worries.” The duke rattled the chain holding the whimpering gruock. It lunged toward Gabriel, then stopped, whimpering again, and pawed at the ground.

Just like Zigzag did …

“Zigzag?” Gabriel whispered.

But the gruock only growled, its eyes fixed on Gabriel.

“I see this one has taken quite a liking to you,” Malgor said with a laugh, then swung around and headed out of the dungeon, commanding the gruocks to follow. “See to it they are brought to my chambers by sunrise,” he instructed Dane and Lamia. “Come morning, we embark on a whole new way of life in Valta. I can hardly wait to see the look on my pathetic sister’s face.” His roars of laughter echoed off the walls.