The Barrier: The Teorran of Time: Teen Fantasy Action Adventure Novel (13 page)

"I need information and I don't have time for this. How do I get in and how many guards?"

"I don't like you." Lucien said,

He took his two fingers and peeled Shaz's fist off his body.

"I don't care." Shaz said.

"What, or rather who, is so important to you that you would risk your life to rescue?" Lucien's eyes gleamed with disdain, "Must be a woman, yes, I think so, no man would risk everything for anything less than a woman. That or money."

He made himself comfortable in his oversized chair. Lucien's complexion was slightly paler than Deagan's and Shaz surmised it was because he didn't get out much.

"Fine, yes it’s a woman, and she means a great deal to me, enough for me to kill for." Shaz said.

Shaz gripped the hilt of the sword and began to draw it from the sheath.

"I'm not afraid of your sword." Lucien said.

His body language said otherwise. He scooted back and rested in the chair. Shaz stood motionless. His blood was beginning to boil underneath. A surge of energy rumbled in his chest as the heat of magic stirred with in him.

"You have five seconds to start speaking." Shaz said.

"Or what, you'll kill my brother again? Nice try but I'm not falling for that twice." Lucien said, twirling his thumbs.

"Have it your way."

Shaz raised his left hand. A surge of magic tingled in the center of his palm. A red hot glow formed in the center and swirled around. Lucien shifted in his seat. His face drained of any color as he focused on the swirling color.

"Alright, alright. The dungeons are a maze of tunnels under the main square. They're guarded at each opening, seven in total. One entrance is at the far end, near the back side of the city. It's the least guarded by men because of the beasts that live in the water. They make their homes there and they’ll eat anything that enters the water."

He couldn't seem to drag his eyes away. Deagan stepped back until he hit the closed door. His mouth dropped and eyes widened. He shoved both his hands under his armpits to keep them from shaking.

"Go, on." Shaz said.

"I have a map." Lucien broke away from the magic and fumbled through the top side drawer of the desk and produced a map. He shoved everything out of the way and laid it on the desk. Shaz moved to the desk. Lucien pointed to the different spots on the map. "If you go in here you have the best chance of getting in, but I don't know how you are going to get out. There's just no way."

"Why can't I go the way I came?" Shaz asked.

"They say once inside there's some kind of force which blocks every entrance. It paralyzes your body." Lucien said.

"The legend says the original inhabitants of this city put a magic spell or curse on the dungeons, to secure an evil necromancer, but he was too powerful and escaped. He added his own magic to the curse in hopes of trapping the king." Deagan said.

He moved closer to the desk and was peeking over Shaz's shoulder. Deagan's well colored skin was now ashen and his eyes were half glazed over. Shaz stood back and ran his hands through his hair pulling the locks out of his face.

"Gavin Rhill." Shaz said.

“Who?” Lucien asked.

“Nothing.”

The sword whispered to his mind
'the medallion is a passcode, use Shadow magic’
. Shaz studied the map again for moment.

"I'll need some help." Shaz said.

"Didn't you hear me? No one gets out."

Lucien leapt out of his chair and slapped his knuckles on the old polish.

"Leave that to me." Shaz said.

"How?" Lucien asked.

Shaz held up his palm again and said, "Trust me."

"Alright but you have to do something for me." He said, with a greedy glint in his eye.

"What?"

"Here," pointing to a room at the far end of the main corridor, "There's something in there that I want. Get it." he said.

"Fine. We leave tonight." Shaz folded the map and shoved it in his pocket.

"What about me?" Deagan asked.

"You stay. Put. Here." Lucien said, pointing to the floor.

"We'll need his boat."

Lucien shot Shaz a seething glare and then said, "Fine, but if anything happens to him I'm blaming you."

Shaz followed Lucien back down the hall. Lucien barked orders to his men. Shaz wondered what this little man had on them that made them follow his orders.

“You’ll be my lookout once inside.” Shaz said.

“Inside?” Deagan said.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let you get stuck in the curse.” Shaz said.

“That’s just great, we get to get eaten by the creatures and he gets to be the lookout.” One of the thugs said.

“Just think you’ll go down in history as a hero.” Shaz said.

The thug smiled.

“Let’s go.” Lucien said.

Shaz gave the medallion to Deagan, “This will get you out, so don’t lose it, and I want it back.”

Deagan nodded and shoved it into his pocket. After Lucien and his thugs lead the guards away from the door, Shaz and Deagan slipped through the heavy gate and into the corridor. Shaz felt the magic force-field only a few feet from the entrance and hoped the sword was right about the medallion. Shaz moved quickly taking the correct turns and halls from memory. At the last hall, Shaz stood with his back against the wall, waiting for the sound of sharp boots on thick stone pass by.

"Shhh," whispered Shaz.

He held his arm out and pushed Deagan against the wall. Deagan listened to the swoosh of the executioner’s cloak. Waiting until the echoes of each foot were no longer distinguishable, Shaz tiptoed from behind the large pillar. He darted across to one of several large pillars throughout the vast opening. They were used as a support system for the large castle above. Each column attached to a rounded vault. They connected with the others, creating an acoustically sound design, to muffle the cacophony that came from the torture chambers. Deagan followed behind, racing to another pillar.

"Keep your nerve Deagan. Do not wretch." Shaz said.

He ran out in front of him and stopped behind another pillar.

"I'll try not-" Deagan lurched forward, relieved his body of the once cherished stew. Shaz grimaced with the splatter, "Sorry." Deagan said, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt.

"Come on." Shaz said. “We’re almost on the other side.”

Deagan followed Shaz around the pillar and dashed to the next and then the next. Shaz stopped short of the next room and put his back against the cold wall. It felt good on his warm skin. He rested his head and calmed his heart beat.

"Drakkar wants the girl to be brought in." said a guard.

"But she hasn't even been questioned yet." A deeper voice said.

"I'm not going to argue with Drakkar, are you?" the first said.

He screeched a chair against the gritty floor. The second guard shook his head. His eyes glossing over when he imagined would happen to himself if he did.

"I'll get the chair ready while you get the girl." he said.

Deagan darted back the other way but Shaz grabbed the collar of his shirt and jerked him into a small alcove built into the wall, then squeezed in after him. The heavy boots clunked down the hall, echoing into the distance as the guard disappeared.

"Shouldn't we go after him?" Deagan asked.

"No, let’s wait until he brings her up. Then we snatch her and run. I'd rather only fight two guards." Shaz whispered.

"Who's there?" asked the guard in the room.

Deagan held his breath and covered his grimace. Shaz rolled out of the cubby and tiptoed against the wall to the edge of the door. He peeked one eye through the opening between the door and the wall. The guard fixed the straps on the arms and screwed in a loose spike into the back of the chair. Shaz's heart raced with the sight of the chair.
Oh my,
he thought
.
Small spikes were screwed into the seat, back and arms of a heavy wood chair. Shaz crept around the door and stood behind the guard. He cleared his throat. He gripped the hilt of his sword and drew it from the sheath. The whoosh of the blade resounded around the room.

"Oh good your back." the guard said. Realization cascaded over his face. "Who are you, how did you get out?" the guard said.

He reached for his sword but Shaz was quicker. Shaz cut the belt that held the sheath, sending it clanging to the floor. The guard stood there dumfounded. A complete lack of intelligence in his eyes. He reached to pick up his sword.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Shaz said, holding his sword toward the guard.

The guard’s eyes nearly crossed as he peered at the point of the blade less than an inch from his nose.

"What do you want?" he asked, "Who are you?"

"I want the girl."

"What girl?" the guard asked, "There's no girl."

"The one your partner went to get." Shaz said, leaning forward closing the last half inch.

"Oh, that girl." said the guard.

He swallowed hard. A small bead of sweat dripped off his brow and plopped onto Shaz's sword.

"Sit." Shaz said. The guard moved slowly in the direction of his chair. "No, there."

Shaz pointed to the spiked chair behind the guard. The guard’s eyes widened and his lip began to quiver.

"Please." the guard said, holding his hands locked together in front of his chest. "If I sit there, I'll yell alerting the other guards. Don't you want to be quiet in order to escape?"

"Fine, sit there."

The guard moved to the chair and sat down.

"Who are you?"

"It's not going to work you know, trying to get me distracted."

Shaz took some leather straps from the spiked chair and tied the guard’s wrists and feet. He then took a cloth sitting on the table. Half-drenched with some substance he didn't want to know about. The guard cringed as Shaz shoved it into his mouth. Then Shaz leaned against the recessed wall. Shaz shuddered as he thought about what went on here. Deagan stood quietly, nestled in the recessed compartment listening, on the other side of the wall. He nearly chewed his first finger nail off and was rubbing it from the pain. Low clunks became audible as the guard returned down the hall. Deagan's heart quickened and sweat formed at his hairline. Shaz sensed his anxiousness and whispered through the hole.

"Everything will be fine, take a deep breath."

The clunks grew louder as did the swooshing of the cape they had heard earlier. Shaz rose from the wall. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled, and his stomach dropped.

"Oh no," he whispered, "Deagan, run, back to the boat, NOW!" Shaz said, grabbing the hilt of his sword.

Selket

The sun climbed the sky outshining the three moons. The purple haze surrounded them and mixed with the soft blue of the sky, creating a gentle blur of colors that danced in the sky as it faded. Azrak listened, finding it hard not to laugh at the image of the cloth in the nostrils. Helios and Pontos spent most of the night preparing several hallucinogenic bombs.

Azrak dismissed them and they each started barking orders to their soldier. Helios and Brigdon slipped on their armor with the others, cinching it tightly around their broad chests and strapped on their girdle and belts. They slipped their helmets on, tucking in their feathers. With the soldiers standing in formation, Pontos took his soldiers and arranged them at the sides of the battle field.

Brigdon and Helios flew just under the tree tops until they broke the edge of the trees then leapt upward. Azrak, Ralti, Nasr and Tog slipped through the trees to the east taking cover until they reached the edge. They crouched low and crawled across the open field. They found shelter behind dirt hills and ruins until they reached their waiting point.

Helios and Brigdon hovered high in the sky until the first unsuspecting scorpion crawled out of a tunnel. Almost in unison, they both bent at the waist and dove beak first toward the ground. They pulled in their wings allowing a small crest of wind under them to keep them in a straight dive and plummeted to the earth. The gryphton's lifted up their hind legs and released their talons.

Brigdon’s claws screeched through the tough outer layer of the scorpion's shell. A loud shrill blasted the air. Brigdon's nose wrinkled as the raw stench of blood spurted. He whipped the scorpion upside down with his muscular hind legs and released his claws allowing the scorpion to hit the ground. As Helios was about to grip its belly armor with his hind claws, it threw its tail backward to sting Helios.

The stinger stopped dead center on Helios's chest but was unable to penetrate his armor. As Helios jolted backward his razor sharp claws ripped through the scorpion’s armor. Helios felt his claws enter the soft flesh underneath. He gripped it tightly and jerked the armor plate off. The scorpion lay writhing, his legs flailing about. With one last effort before it lost conscientiousness, the scorpion reached up with its pinchers and snapped. A loud clack sound thudded the air, but both gryphton's were hovering too high for it to reach them.

They flew back into the sky and waited for the rest to come out. Scorpions soon spilled out of the tunnels. Brigdon and Helios again dove back toward the earth and the rest of the gryphton's followed.

************************

"Is the ground trembling?" Ralti asked.

He could only assume it was the sound of thousands of legs from the scorpions running to the other side.

"It would seem so," Azrak said. "Let's go"

He slipped out from behind a dirt mound. They crossed the clearing stopping every few feet and listened to re-determine any changes. They quietly made their way into the tunnel and blinked a few times, to allow their eyes a chance to readjust.

"What is that smell?" Nasr asked.

All four gryphton's crinkled their noses.

"Something dead," Ralti said.

"Something awfully dead," Toth said.

"Do you hear that?" Azrak asked.

"What is it?" Ralti said.

"Let's hurry. We need to keep going and quickly. I don't know how long they will be able to hold them off," Azrak said.

They made their way through the first tunnel with help from little green glowing mushrooms that grew on the sides of the tunnel walls. The tunnel opened up to a small cavern with another tunnel on the other side. Azrak reached the tunnel and realized that it was smaller than the first.

"Take your armor off. We will have to go in crawling," Azrak said.

He lifted his chest plate off. The others took theirs off and followed Azrak through the next tunnel. At times the tunnels were small and others they were large and formed with four walls of stone. The glowing effects of the fungi allowed them to see the old remains of what was once a great hall. Human and Gryphton shaped shadows darkened the walls.

At one point they had to cross an old rope bridge. Several towering pillars had been destroyed. They had fallen, clashing against one another, just above the bridge making it so they couldn't fly over it. The bridge was narrow and swung uneasily under their weight. Using their paws against the wall and their ears, they shuffled through the tunnels. The deeper they went, the colder it became. The glowing mushrooms became fewer and fewer. Ralti took out a small torch and struck a rock against another, sending small flicks of sparks onto the oil soaked cloth.

After a few strikes the cloth burst into flames and he picked it up and held it out front. It was small so it didn't give off much light, but it was enough. Several times as they descended they reached adjoining tunnels. Once it seemed that one tunnel had gone in circles but it also went deeper into the ground.

They figured it was a main tunnel and hoped that it wouldn't take long to get to the bottom. Azrak rubbed his shoulders, the bending over and crouching was taking a toll on him and anxiousness crept in the deeper they went.

"How deep do these tunnels go?" asked Nasr.

"Let's hope not much further," Ralti said, moving the torch around the tunnel.

"Do you hear that?" Ralti asked, stopping suddenly.

He scooted next to the wall and held the torch down near his knees, hiding the light as he listened. Azrak stopped and swung his ears around looking for the sound. His brows scrunched to the center of his face.

"Water," he said,

"Yeah, that's what it sounds like to me." Ralti held out the torch. Soft warm embers fell from the bottom. "We won't have this torch for much longer," he shook an ember from his foot.

"Let's keep going," Azrak said.

At the next tunnel crossing, they went toward the water. A buzz reverberated in their ears. They brought their ears down.

"We're getting closer," Azrak said.

"To what, is the question?" Nasr said.

Azrak and Ralti ignored him. Azrak stopped abruptly as he came to the end of the tunnel.

"Now where do we go?" Ralti asked.

A large waterfall cascaded into a large pool several feet below. Azrak crawled on his belly and the others followed him and peered over the edge. They searched around the gaping hole.

"Wait. What is that?" Nasr asked.

Out of the darkness, on the platform below, they could barely make out the tail of a large scorpion. The tail moved slowly in a rhythmic pattern in conjunction with the humming they had been hearing for some time.

"The queen," Ralti said.

Azrak nodded and then signaled for them to fly down.

*************************

Watching their leaders, the other soldiers repeated the same maneuvers, taking out several more scorpions. The sheer number of them turned the tides. The green grass covered with splotches of blackish red blood, the same color as the armored bodies of the arthropods.
They needed to change their tactics.

Helios stood with his back to Brigdon's using each other as shields from the scorpions turn rotation tactics. Brigdon struck using a cross cut, slicing through the small part behind the large pincher's. With a twist of his wrist, he sliced the opposite direction through the other. Helios slashed the soft joints, their weak spot behind crushing and deadly claws. The scorpion jerked backward as blood spurted and their claws fell to the ground. The next attacked with vigor only to have that one sliced off also.

"Blast," yelled Brigdon, as one scorpion slipped passed his defenses and struck him square in the chest.

The scorpion's tails struck at the right height to hit the heavy steel, breaking the stinger right off. A young warrior fell as a larger scorpion knocked him off balance.  The scorpion slammed his claws around the soldier's leg, bringing him to the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, Helios saw the soldier go down. Several scorpions blasted his skin with their singers before he even hit the ground.

"Don't let them get you off balance," Helios called.

Helios leapt to the air, leaving Brigdon standing for a split second and then he too leapt to the air. The stench became so intense that they no longer smelled it. They saw only a sea of black red. One by one the gryphtons lifted into the air. It was one advantage they still had over them.

Helios flew over to the soldier but could barely make him out through all the scorpions. It had become so loud that Helios had difficulty thinking. The scorpions’ rattling overcame the sky.

"Fall back. Take them to the cliff," Brigdon called, waving his sword in the direction of the cliff.

The armada engaged the scorpions, battling forward toward the cliff, slicing off stingers and attacking the weak joints. A few more soldiers fell to the stingers. A larger scorpion came out of the main tunnel. It raised long sleek black wings from off its back and lifted into the air. A deep rumbling roar escalated from Brigdon's belly.

He opened his mouth and let the war cry consume him. Every gryphton followed and roared, drowning out the high pitch of the scorpions’ rattles. The flying scorpion made its way closer to the gryphtons, while others followed it out of the tunnel. Brigdon motioned for a group of gryphtons to take to one side and another to the other side, to keep the ground crawlers busy.

"Let's take them down," Helios said with a fierce growl in his throat.

Brigdon was about to dive toward the flying creature when Pontos and his men flew in from both sides, carrying the bombs. The gryphton army flew with long strong strides, gripping the clay pots. With each flap of their wings, their legs and arms moved as though they were running.

They flew in a V formation and drafted off each other. At the center of the formation, the lead gryphton bent in half and dove toward the ground. The rest of the group split into two groups and circled around the battle field. Staying in twos, they followed the leaders.

A long line of colors streamed through the sky. The warriors dropped the pots, strategically on the outsides, about twenty feet apart and then in the center. Brigdon slipped a sling onto a toe and loaded it, then swung it with a flick of his wrist. The scorpion reared back as the stone sunk deep into its skull. Falling to the ground, it landed with a thud.

The gaseous poison worked on the ground scorpions, altering their ability to receive orders with their antennae. Frenzy overcame them. Disorganized scorpions attacked the lifeless body. Several more flying scorpions came out of the tunnel and soared into the sky. Pontos and his armada swooped into the air and pulled their slings. Their stones wouldn't last long.

"I'm out," said Helios, watching Brigdon shoot his last stone.

"Me too."

"We're about to be out numbered," Helios said, watching a wall of black coming at them.

Helios swooped down toward the oncoming flying scorpions, lifted his hind legs, released his talons, and lashed out at the scorpion. The scorpion spun, nearly catching Helios's wing with its pincers. Helios rolled the other way, twisted at his waist and snagged the stinger in his paws, and ripped it off.

The scorpion screeched as it flipped around. Helios slammed the scorpions own stinger into the soft flesh of its shoulder. Its black eyes stunned, stared at Helios as its own poison paralyzed its body.

*************************

"I don't want to wake it up, just find the cylinder and let's get out of here," Azrak said.

"What does that look like anyway?" asked Ralti.

"A gold sphere with strange markings," Azrak said, drawing one of the symbols in the soft dirt.

Azrak leapt into the air and glided to the ledge below. One at a time they landed around the large tail. It was warmer next to the beast. The heat allowed for the glowing mushrooms to grow on the walls of the room. An eerie green hue shone on the black and red beast. The cavern was too low for them to fly so they had to crawl.

The fabric tied to their feet stuck slightly to the slime on the ground. It was hard to walk around without making noise. A pungent odor emanated from the slime. Azrak and Tog circled around to the left as Ralti and Nasr moved around to the right. They climbed over scattered remains of columns around the enormous body with eight legs.