Authors: Dean Lorey
Monster Madness (5 page)
“No,” Tabitha gasped.
“This,” the Headmaster said, turning to Director Drake, “is what I was afraid of. I must go to the Guardian immediately.”
“I’ll go with you,” Tabitha said.
“May as well count me in, too,” Rex added. “You’re gonna have to take me anyway. The princess here”—he nodded to Tabitha—“can’t stand to be away from yours truly for too long.”
“Oh, please.”
The Headmaster shook her head. “I’m sorry. I appreciate your offer, both of you, but I must go alone. You’ve not been around the Guardian before, but I’ve spent many long days with that gentle creature. I know its unique problems…and its odd desires…and I know how to resist them.”
“You’re being foolish, Brazenhope,” Director Drake snorted. “If the Guardian is weakened or dying, who knows how many Nethercreatures may be closing in on it? If there’s to be a fight, our strength lies in our numbers.”
“This is not a fight of force, Reginald,” the Headmaster replied, “but of subtlety. Besides, you will all be engaged in a much greater task. The time has come, I’m afraid, to put into effect a plan I had dearly hoped to avoid.”
She glanced at each of them in turn, her eyes gravely serious.
“You must begin the Division Invasion.”
The High Council Chamber of the Nightmare Division was packed. Adult Banishers and Nethermancers stirred restlessly in their seats, then quieted as the Director took his place at the dais.
“I have just left an engagement with the Headmaster,” he said, after clearing his throat. “And we have come to an agreement. There is now a truce in place regarding the matter of Charlie Benjamin.”
Charlie shifted uncomfortably in his chair as all the adults strained to see him.
“What are you lookin’ at?” Theodore said, staring them down. “This isn’t the circus.”
The adults glanced away.
“Because of alarming new developments, everyone associated with Charlie Benjamin’s past misconduct is hereby pardoned, which clears the way for us to confront the greatest threat we have ever faced.”
He began to pace.
“Ladies and gentlemen, something extraordinary is happening in the Nether, and we must act immediately or find ourselves in a war with unimaginable consequences. We have reason to believe that the Guardian has been weakened and that Slagguron and Tyrannus may soon escape to join Barakkas and Verminion here on Earth. I don’t need to remind you that, if they succeed, the four Named will be able to use their artifacts in concert to summon the Fifth. If that happens, the Nethercreatures will begin a full-scale assault on our world—unless we stop them. Unfortunately, we have no choice but to implement a plan we had hoped to avoid: the Division Invasion.”
He turned to William, who stood behind him on the dais. “General Dagget? Please fill us in.”
Rex groaned. “Oh, come on. He put this idiot in charge?” And that’s when he noticed Theodore beside him. “Sorry, kid,” Rex continued, a little sheepishly. “I know he’s your dad and all, but it’s no secret that William and I haven’t always seen eye to eye.”
“It’s okay,” Theodore replied. “Neither have we.”
William stepped up to the front of the dais and coolly surveyed the assembled Banishers and Nethermancers in front of him.
“If all four Named escape to Earth, there is only one way to prevent them from using their artifacts together to summon the Fifth.”
He gazed at them stonily.
“One of the Named must die.”
The room was as still and quiet as a tomb. Even Charlie wasn’t quite sure he’d heard right.
“How is that even possible?” someone finally shouted.
“We don’t stand a chance against a Named!” another said.
And then the floodgates opened. All the Banishers and Nethermancers began talking rapidly, loudly debating what most of them seemed to consider a clearly suicidal plan.
As they argued, a long, loud whistle pierced the clamor, and one by one the voices grew silent. To Charlie’s astonishment, he realized that the whistle had come from Rex.
“I know what y’all are thinkin’,” the cowboy said, standing. “Killing a Named is like staring down the barrel of a gun and hopin’ to catch the bullet with your teeth. It’s a tall gulp of water—no question about it—but we gotta drink it eventually, and I don’t see our chances getting any better by puttin’ it off. Heck, thanks to Charlie Benjamin here”—he tilted his hat in Charlie’s direction, and Charlie flushed with embarrassment—“Barakkas and Verminion were wounded pretty bad a while back.”
Charlie’s mind flashed to the last time he’d seen the two Named. As a result of his trickery, the giant beasts fought furiously with each other in their lair underneath Krakatoa. They tore each other apart so completely that Charlie wasn’t even sure they could have survived.
“Who knows?” Rex continued. “Maybe one of those bad boys is already dead and our job’s done for us. Point is, we gotta make sure, and we gotta do it now while we still got the upper hand.” He turned to William. “You know I can’t stand you, Big Bill—but on this one, I’m with you.”
“Thank you, Banisher Henderson,” the General replied. “Ladies and gentlemen, prepare for combat.”
Just over an hour later, forty Banishers and Nethermancers were assembled on the barren plains of the 1st Ring of the Nether. Never before had there been such a collection of skill and ability focused on a single purpose. As William walked among them, surveying their preparations, he noticed Charlie, Violet, and Theodore.
“What are the children doing here? This is no place for them.”
“I asked Charlie to join us,” Rex said, walking up. “He’s portaled to the lair of the Named more than anyone else here, which means he’s got the best chance of portaling us back there cleanly.”
“Fine. But that doesn’t explain why the other two are here,” He nodded to Theodore and Violet. “The boy and the girl.”
The boy, Charlie thought wryly. Don’t you mean “my son”?
“Someone’s got to protect Charlie!” Theodore exclaimed. “And that someone is me! If Charlie goes, so do I—that’s TNN, Totally non-negotiable!”
“Really?” William allowed a hint of a smile to escape. “But you’re just a Nethermancer. Wouldn’t he be better off under the protection of a Banisher?”
“That’s why I’m here,” Violet said, stepping forward. “Theodore and I will keep Charlie safe while the rest of you fight.”
“I see. The Three Musketeers, is it?”
Charlie, Violet, and Theodore nodded.
“So be it.” William turned to Rex. “You’ve had some experience with Barakkas and Verminion before. What do you expect we’ll find when Charlie opens the portal?”
“Well, I can’t tell you which Named is gonna be closest, but if we’re facing off against Verminion, I’d say go for the neck—you’ll never get through his shell. If we’re looking at Barakkas, aim for the heart and, for the love of God, watch those horns of his unless you feel like bein’ a shish kebab.”
There was a smattering of grim laughter.
“Whoever we tackle,” Rex continued, “we gotta do it hard and we gotta do it fast before the whole dang army of the Nether comes down on top of us.”
“Thank you,” William said. “I’ll take over now, if you don’t mind.” He turned from Rex and addressed the crowd. “Nethermancers, I will want a portal barricade around the Banishers to catch the reinforcements as new monsters swarm in from the tunnels. And Nethermancer Greenstreet—”
William glanced over at Tabitha. She seemed surprised to have been singled out.
“Yes?”
“If it looks like a wipe, you’re in charge of the wetwash.”
“Will do.”
Portal barricade? Wetwash? Charlie had no idea what William was talking about. He felt desperately out of his league.
“All right then,” William said. “Banishers, check your gear.”
There was a tremendous sound of clanging steel as the many Banishers inspected their weaponry. Shiny axes, gleaming maces, and a dozen varieties of swords glowed fiery blue in the vast wasteland of the Nether.
“Everyone good?”
There were nods of assent.
“Then let’s do this. Charlie?”
“Yes, sir,” Charlie replied.
“Open the portal.”
Charlie nodded. He was so nervous that his mouth had gone as dry as sandpaper.
“Hey, kid,” Rex whispered, “if you get in trouble, you just give a shout and I’ll come runnin’, got me?”
“Will do,” Charlie said. He closed his eyes and opened a portal to Verminion’s lair underneath Krakatoa.
The elite Banishers and Nethermancers of the Nightmare Division rushed through the portal into the gargantuan cavern with a furious battle cry. Heat washed over Charlie and his friends like a tidal wave, emanating from the many glowing pools of bubbling lava that cast hazy, uncertain light across the twisted rock formations that had formed in the vast emptiness over centuries.
Charlie’s heart thudded crazily in his chest as they all raced through the lair, expecting to be attacked by hundreds of monsters at any second. Charlie looked around frantically for signs of Verminion…or Barakkas…or anything.
But the cavern was empty.
The two Named, along with their army, were gone.
“You’re kidding me,” Rex said, glancing around at the vacant chamber that surrounded them.
“They were here,” Charlie said, staring in amazement. “I opened a portal to the right place, honest.”
“We know, kid,” Rex replied. “But it looks like they’ve moved on. They’re already one step ahead of us.”
Just then, a clatter of falling stone came from behind them. They spun to see a Class-4 Netherstalker scuttling into the cavern on its eight spider legs, seemingly unaware of the massive intrusion.
“Get it!” William yelled, and the horde of Banishers raced toward the lone creature.
It tried to escape, but the squad quickly subdued it. William drew his two-handed sword and held the brightly burning blade against the writhing creature’s neck. It sizzled.
“Where have they gone?” he demanded.
The Netherstalker hissed at him, and William leaned on the blade hard enough to cut through its carapace and draw a line of flowing black ichor. “You tell me, monster, or you’ll experience pain you can’t imagine.”
“Wait!” Charlie yelled. The adults turned to him. “Don’t hurt it. There’s a better way.”
Charlie led Professor Xixclix into the volcanic lair through a new portal.
“Greetings,” the friendly Netherstalker said to the raid party, cleaning a spiderlike foreleg with his bristly tongue. “Charlie tells me you’ve found another of my kind.”
“He’s right over there,” Charlie said, pointing to the captured Netherstalker. “Can you talk to him? We need to find out where Verminion and Barakkas went.”
“Shouldn’t be too difficult,” Xix replied. “He’s only a Class 4. Having just acquired Class-5 status myself, I shouldn’t have much trouble getting him to crack.”
Charlie was amused to discover a hint of pride in the beast’s voice.
Xix scuttled over to the kidnapped Netherstalker and began to speak to him in their own tongue: hisses and clicks and the occasional spitting sound. It was the first time Charlie had seen Xix among his own kind. He had grown so used to seeing the creature in his normal role as the Academy’s Beastmaster that he’d almost forgotten he wasn’t human—although it was hard to look at the large, spiderlike beast with the barbed hairs on his spindly legs and the streaked violet pattern on his shiny black back and think he was anything other than a monster.
“So…you been okay?” William asked Theodore as the creatures conversed. Charlie was surprised by the question—nothing about William’s previous attitude suggested he was even remotely interested in his son.
“Great!” Theodore answered, clearly as shocked by the question as Charlie. “I really love the Academy!”
“He’s one of the best Nethermancers there,” Violet added.
“Definitely,” Charlie said.
William glanced at the three of them, then turned to Theodore. “It was a good thing you did, insisting on coming here to help your friend. I like that.”
Theodore looked utterly astonished. “Well…thanks!” He broke out in a wide, crooked grin.
Just then, Xix stepped nimbly over to them, having finished talking to the captured creature.
“Well?” William asked.
“He doesn’t know much,” Xix replied. “But he does know that they’ve relocated the lair to the ‘Frozen Wastes,’ wherever that is. His job was to stay behind and flood the old lair with lava to erase all evidence of their ever having been here.”
“Sounds like he drew the short straw,” Rex said.
“So what do they want?” Charlie asked. “Barakkas and Verminion, I mean? What are they trying to do?”
But before Xix could ask the captured creature, it answered on its own—
“Kill…everyone…”
The assembled Banishers and Nethermancers glanced uneasily at one another.
“We gotta find ’em,” Rex said. “Wherever they are, we gotta hunt down those Named and kill one of ’em, and we can’t stop until we do.”
Charlie’s stomach felt sour. Killing one of the Named was a nearly impossible task to begin with, but now they didn’t even know where Barakkas and Verminion were. Already they had suffered a serious defeat—and they hadn’t even begun to fight. In time, it was possible they could discover the location of the new lair, but was there enough time?
It’s all up to the Headmaster now, Charlie thought.
He hoped she’d found the Guardian alive.
He hoped she’d be able to keep it that way.
He hoped it wasn’t too late.
