Cadaver Island (2 page)

“
How long have you been
guarding the gate?” Dr. Stine asked.

“
Six hours, sir. Is it safe
to assume that you and Princess Bosc want to enter the catacombs?”
asked one of the knights. He stepped forward from his post and
bowed.

“
My dog, Razor, might be
down there. We want to search for him,” Angelique said.

“
Open the gate,” Dr. Stine
commanded.

Two of the knights grunted
as they spun a massive, metallic wheel. Chains rattled and gears
grinded as the gate slowly opened. Angelique covered her nose with
her left hand when a foul, wet stench rose from the tunnel and
blasted her in the face. Dr. Stine wrinkled his nose when he
detected the stench of decay. When Dr. Stine stepped beyond the
gate and motioned for Angelique to follow him, one of the knights
clapped a gauntlet on the wizard’s left shoulder. Dr. Stine turned
around to face him.

“
I recommend that two or
three of us escort you,” the knight said.

Dr. Stine glanced at
Angelique, who nodded her head in approval. Dr. Stine pointed at
two knights, who stood behind her, and snapped his fingers. Their
plate armor clanged as they shuffled into the tunnel behind them.
Dr. Stine paused and aimed his scepter toward a shaft of darkness.
A bright light glowed at the tip of his weapon, illuminating
sections of the catacombs that light from the torches’ flames
couldn’t reach.

Angelique gasped when she
noticed deep shelves that had been chiseled into the sides of the
tunnel. Skeletons rested on the shelves, their bony hands draped
across their sternums and ribcages. Large rats squeaked and fled
from the sudden glow of Dr. Stine’s scepter. The torn rags of the
corpses’ clothes fluttered in a cool breeze from a nearby shaft. As
they descended into the catacombs, Angelique thought she witnessed
jawbones drop open, hipbones shift, and femurs move. But when she
glanced over her shoulder at the bones, she realized that it
must’ve been her imagination. The corpses were still.

“
Can you hear us, Razor?
Where are you?” Dr. Stine called.

They listened to the
drip, drip
of water as it fell from the ceiling and
accumulated in small pools on the ground. Green moss and algae
caused their feet to slip and slide. They walked cautiously toward
a fork in the corridor. Dr. Stine paused and exhaled a sigh of
disgust when one corridor snaked to the left and another dived
toward a large chamber directly ahead of them. When he shook the
scepter in frustration, a swarm of bats took flight and screeched
as they tried to avoid the bright light. Angelique shielded her
face with her metallic hands and the knights held up their shields.
Dr. Stine apologized for interrupting the bats’ slumber.

“
Which way should we go?”
one of the knights asked.

“
We could split up into two
groups,” the other knight said.

“
It’s too dangerous down
here for us to split up. Powerful creatures lurk in the catacombs.
We’re safer if we stay together,” Dr. Stine said.

Dr. Stine reacted to a gut
feeling that they should search for Razor in the chamber at the end
of the tunnel straight ahead. He thrust his glowing scepter ahead
of them, which illuminated a steep drop as the passage curved
slightly to the right. Angelique gasped when she noticed human
skulls on small shelves, which were carved into the side of the
wall. Emeralds, rubies, and sapphires sparkled in the eye sockets
of the decapitated, skinless craniums. Spiders and centipedes
crawled across gaping mandibles, cheekbones, and nostril holes. One
of the knights almost tripped over a pile of femurs and ribcages,
but he pressed his shield against the wall and steadied
himself.

The passageway spilled into
a vast chamber. Huge stacks of human bones covered the floor. Three
rusty chains dangled from the ceiling. Massive hooks connected the
chains to the roof of a swaying, metal cage, which held Razor. The
dog lifted his head and wagged his tail when he noticed Dr. Stine,
Angelique, and the knights. When they climbed a mound of bones and
inched toward the cage, Razor barked three times and jumped up and
down. Dr. Stine examined the keyhole of the cage’s door and
frowned.

“
We’ll need a skull key to
get him out,” he said. His blue eyes scanned the room.

Angelique squeezed her hand
between the cage’s bars. When Razor stepped forward and licked her
hand, she listened to his metal joints make a grinding noise. She
realized that exposure to moisture in the cave had caused Razor’s
steel skeleton to develop rust. He’d need to digest some oil
supplement tablets to circulate a lubricant through his
system.

Angelique, Dr. Stine, and
the knights whirled on their feet when they heard an unholy shriek.
A green-skinned woman, who wore a black robe and a crown made of
interconnected bones, floated in the air. Insects swarmed in the
brown mess of her tangled hair. The long, curled fingernails of her
left hand gripped the end of a diamond-encrusted, gold wand. When
her bare, decayed feet touched the mound of bones, Angelique
gasped. Phalanges, skulls, ribcages, and femurs shifted and stirred
in response to her touch.

“
I knew you’d come back
some day, Lysette, but I didn’t realize it would be for such a
petty reason.” Dr. Stine couldn’t help a slight smirk tugging at
the edge of his lip. “Surely, even you could do better than
dog-napping!”

“
You’re an idiot, Dr.
Stine! I kidnapped Razor as a
distraction!”
said Lysette.
“Now feel my wrath!”

A blinding spiral of green
light ignited from the tip of Lysette’s wand and impacted the
northern wall of the burial chamber. Dr. Stine, Angelique, and the
knights dodged huge rocks as they fell from the ceiling while a
rumbling noise built in momentum on the other side of the wall.
Deep fractures spread across the jagged stone of the wall as
something
pushed
and
shoved
from the other side.
Lysette cackled wildly and ceased her wand’s flow of energy when
the wall exploded. Huge boulders, mounds of rocks, and entombed
corpses tumbled to the ground as dust and debris filled the air.
Angelique coughed, Dr. Stine covered his face with his hands, and
the knights stumbled backward as the mound of bones shifted beneath
their feet.

“
Have fun playing with my
pet! So sorry to leave you like this, but I have more important
things to do! Good-bye!” Lysette said. Then she floated into the
adjacent passageway and vanished from view.

The bluish, green head of a
giant lizard poked through the gap in the northern wall. It hissed
as it squeezed into the burial chamber. There was a large fin on
its back, which matched a smaller one on the back of its head. A
forked tongue shot forth from its mouth while its legs flexed. The
beast’s feet climbed the mound of bones. When the bulk of its body
slammed against Razor’s cage, the dog whined and cowered in a
corner.

“
It’s a basilisk! Try to
avoid its gaze… and its breath!” Dr. Stine said.

Skeletons assembled from
the pile of bones and rose to their feet. Bony hands reached up
from the mound and latched onto the knights’ greaves. The knights
raised their swords above their heads, whirled them through the
air, and shattered the bony arms and hands.

“
Run! Get to the passage!
We’ll hold them off!” one of the knights yelled.

Dr. Stine’s left hand
grabbed Angelique’s wrist and tugged her away from the mound of
bones and Razor’s cage. As he guided her toward the narrow
corridor, he noticed a key ring on the floor next to two skeletons.
A brass key, shaped like a skull, dangled from the ring. He walked
quickly toward the skeletons and gasped when they started moving.
He reached between them and snatched the key ring off of the floor.
When he turned around, he noticed that the basilisk had knocked
Angelique to the ground. The beast towered above her as she covered
her eyes with her hand to avoid its gaze.

The knights attacked with
their swords, but more skeletons rose from the pile of remains.
They tumbled to the ground when the basilisk’s tail whipped across
the room and knocked them down. The knights struggled to get to
their feet and find their weapons as their plate armor clanked. The
basilisk cast its gaze on one of the knights, who was unable to
look away in time. His body erupted into violent spasms within his
armor. A thick spray of vomit surged up his esophagus and splashed
against his face plate. He managed to grab his sword and hurl it at
the basilisk. He watched the sword dive into the soft flesh of the
basilisk’s midsection, causing blood to pulse from a deep wound.
The knight collapsed to the floor and felt his heartbeat slow to a
stop.

The other knight exhaled a
loud scream of fury when he realized that his comrade had perished.
He charged across the room and shoved the sword deeper into the
basilisk’s body. The reptile hissed and tried to slam its tail into
the surviving knight, but the warrior jumped into the air and
dodged the blow. When the basilisk glanced over its shoulder and
tried to hypnotize the last knight with its deadly gaze, the knight
swung his sword at the basilisk’s throat and opened a deep,
crescent-shaped wound. Raw flesh glistened in the light of the
glowing torches. Regurgitated food spilled from the basilisk’s
severed esophagus as a loud, wheezing sound rose from its split
trachea. Finally, after it tried to lunge toward Angelique one last
time, the basilisk collapsed into a pool of its own blood, twitched
for a few moments, and then grew still.

Dr. Stine charged up the
mound of bones, inserted the key into the lock on the cage’s door,
and yanked it open. Razor barked and hopped out of the cage while
more skeletons rose from the giant pile of bones. The knight herded
Angelique, Dr. Stine, and Razor toward the passageway as the
skeletons straightened their legs and lurched toward them. The
knight relaxed when he glanced over his shoulder and watched the
skeletons rip into the carcass of the basilisk with their teeth.
Blood splashed on the floor as they ripped intestines and a shiny
liver from the abdomen of the dead reptile.

Dr. Stine guided Angelique
and Razor through the winding passageway as the knight guarded
them. When they reached the gate, Razor’s ears twitched and he
exhaled a shrill bark. The knight glanced over his shoulder and
gasped. Three skeletons stumbled from the depths of the catacombs.
Raw flesh clung to their teeth. Fresh blood dripped from their
phalanges. Angelique hid behind Dr. Stine while the knight raised
his sword and prepared to attack. But when Razor opened his mouth
and exhaled a burst of fire at the skeletons, the knight relaxed.
Angelique smiled and felt safe. Dr. Stine applauded while he
stepped over the charred remnants of the skeletons.

“
When did he learn that
trick?” Dr. Stine asked. He patted Razor on his head.

“
I’m not sure, to be
honest. I’ve never seen him do that before,” Angelique
said.

“
We must get to my office
and replace your battery pack. Follow me,” Dr. Stine
said.

The knight ordered two of
the guards to help him lower the gate. As Angelique and Razor
followed Dr. Stine toward a large mausoleum, they listened to the
chains clank and the gears grind as the gate was lowered back into
place. When they stepped into Thyme Memorial Gardens, they admired
towering headstones, stone Cupids, flower gardens, and cobblestone
walkways. But the peace and quiet ended when they heard warning
sirens wail in the distance. Angelique knew that an invasion was
imminent when Dr. Stine’s face went pale. Then he quickened his
stride toward a hovercraft.

***

While Dr. Stine and
Angelique rescued Razor from the catacombs, Sir Xavier Thames
swooped into the City of Thyme on the back of his loyal steed, a
giant vampire bat named Polinus. Xavier tugged on steel reins,
steering Polinus toward a two-story, brick building near Thyme’s
largest hospital. Polinus’ red eyes flashed and he bared his
razor-sharp teeth after Xavier dismounted from the creature’s back
and strolled toward the front door of the building. He scanned a
nameplate on the door, which read:

The Office of Dr. Laurent
Stine

Primary Care
Physician

Robotic Biology
Specialist

Xavier removed a black,
leather mask from his face, groped his plate armor until he found a
gold whistle on a steel chain, and blew the whistle three times. A
gust of wind blew through his long, dark hair while he scratched
his black beard, which he’d twisted into an enormous spiral that
dropped to the middle of his chest. His bushy eyebrows shifted
above the narrow slits of his hazel eyes. Sharp, silver spurs
whirled on the back of his black boots as he strolled away from
Polinus and thrust his fists into the sky.

“
Behold my Eye-Bots! Watch
them strike fear into the citizens of Thyme!” he said.

A swarm of giant eyeballs,
which were surrounded by steel enclosures and powered by rocket
boosters, filled the sky above Dr. Stine’s office. Large, metallic
wings enabled the Eye-Bots to hover and soar in the air. People
screamed in the streets and searched for cover when red lasers
emerged from the center of the eyeballs and zapped the straw roofs
of merchants’ shops. An inferno spread throughout downtown Thyme
quickly.