Gabriel Stone and the Divinity of Valta (19 page)

Piper gasped, and Gabriel covered her mouth. They pressed themselves against the wall as Malgor waved his torch through the air, searching.

“I know someone is there. I
said
, who goes there?” His scream reverberated in Gabriel’s ears. Malgor began descending the stairs, his lips pressed into a thin line.

Gabriel’s hair prickled on the back of his neck, and his heart pounded against his chest so hard he was sure Malgor could hear it.

Lamia swung around from the bottom of the staircase. “It’s me, sire. They’re gone!”

“Who’s gone, Lamia?”

“All of them. The whole filthy lot of them.”

“That’s impossible!” Malgor stomped down the stairs. He stopped two steps away from them. “How did they escape?” he hissed. “Get Dane at once. I want answers, and I want those vile humans found. Find them, and I will execute them one by one, right after Gabriel connects the Divinities.” He took another step closer.

Gabriel held his breath, afraid to move even an inch.

“But—but, sire,” Lamia stuttered, “Dane … he, he—”

“He what? Out with it!” Malgor bellowed at Lamia. The evil gleam in his eyes pinned Gabriel in place.

“Well, sire, he’s gone. He requested I find more rope, and when I came back, they were
all
gone. Including him. And the window in one of the north bedrooms is completely shattered.”

Malgor let out a sound like a wounded animal. Gabriel wished he could cover his ears, but was too afraid to move. Malgor ran past them in a rage, his cape whipping against them.

“Unleash the gruocks! Alert the death-mongers! They
must
be found. They can’t have gone far. I am going to my tempest room. They will never escape the Tandem Wood alive.”

The moment Malgor was out of sight, Gabriel, Piper, and Brent all sighed with relief.

Piper pulled her watch from her pocket. The moment she removed it, it became visible again, dangling in midair. “We only have four minutes left.”

Gabriel rushed up the last steps to Malgor’s bedroom, shivering from fright and anticipation. The shadowy walls of Malgor’s bedchamber were lined with even more portraits of him. On the right, stood Malgor’s enormous bed. Like his throne, each foot looked like an eagle’s foot, complete with claws, and the wooden bed was so tall, he was amazed even Malgor could climb into it without a stepping stool. Beside the bed soared a huge wooden cabinet.

“The Divinities must be in there,” Brent said with excitement. A sandwich placed on Malgor’s nightstand suddenly lifted into the air, followed by munching sounds. Within seconds, the sandwich disappeared. “Yummo,” said Brent.

“There’s no time to eat, Brent.” Gabriel pulled on the cabinet’s double doors. “It’s locked. Focus.”

“Um, I’m kinda hungry, you know. Besides, eating will help me focus more.”

Gabriel nodded. “That’s true, and I forgot, you’re the human garborator” he said with a chuckle.

“
Think
, guys,” Piper broke in. “Where would an evil man hide a key to such a cabinet?”

“Let’s search the room,” Gabriel said.

“Three minutes, Gabe. There’s no time for that,” Piper huffed.

Gabriel stared at the cabinet. The more he did, the sharper his eyesight grew. It pierced the very grain of the wood, layer by layer, until he clearly saw the inside of the cabinet. There they were—the Divinities, placed side by side on a shelf.

“They’re in there,” Gabriel said. “I can see them. What if you just make a little fire, Brent? Just enough to burn through the door?”

The sound of friction, as though Brent was rubbing his hands together briskly, rustled in the air. “Okay, stand back.” Brent sucked in a sharp breath, then a small fireball shot through the air. It hit its target, but the cabinet didn’t ignite.

“Again!” Piper said.

More sounds of Brent rubbing his hands together. “I’m gonna concentrate on making an exact hole through the cabinet door.” Another fireball hurled through the air, and it struck. The wood burst into flames, burning a baseball-sized hole before it fizzled out.

“Awesome! Nice one, bro.” Gabriel approached the cabinet. “Piper, let me know if anyone’s coming.”

Gabriel stuffed his hand through the hole, and his fingers closed around one of the Divinities. “Gotcha.” He yanked his arm out, crystal in hand, and placed it on the bed beside him. Then he reached in again, and grabbed the other Divinity. “Just as perfect as the first.”

Brent picked up the one Gabriel had placed on the bed, and held it in the air beside the one Gabriel held up. “Nice going. Now what?”

“Careful,” Gabriel warned, shifting his hand away from Brent’s. “Don’t touch them together. I don’t wanna even try to connect them now.” He sunk one in his pocket, and placed the other back on the string around his neck.

“Hurry,” urged Piper from the doorway.

Zapping twinges like electricity skittered across the surface of Gabriel’s skin. He gulped as his body blinked in and out of invisibility like a light bulb flicking on and off. Piper squealed and Gabriel darted his eyes from her to Brent and realized it was happening to them, too. Soon, they regained full visibility.

The windows rattled with a notifying
thump, thump, thump
. The room darkened. Gabriel snapped his head around to stare outside. Tree branches that looked like long, knobby fingers blew wildly from side to side. The once-swirling snow had transformed into chunks of hail crashing against the window, threatening it with the same fate that the other bedroom window had met.

“At least we’ve finally got both of the Divinities—wait.” Gabriel pointed to a door at the back of the room. “I heard something—a voice … voices, actually. They sound like … ” Gabriel started toward the door, his heart pounding.

“Forget that. Let’s go.” Brent jerked his thumb toward the bedroom door.

But Gabriel ignored him. He reached the ominous door, and peeked inside. His mouth dropped open. He pushed the door all the way open with his foot. It creaked and thumped against the wall.

“What
now
?” Piper asked.

Pressure built in Gabriel’s chest, until he felt like he couldn’t breathe. Finally, he pushed the words out. “It’s the empress, you guys … Empress Malina!”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Horror ripped through Gabriel’s body. It wasn’t the empress herself, exactly, but her voice, speaking from a dome-shaped globe in the middle of the room. It reminded Gabriel of a snow globe, except much bigger, and this one held an exact replica of the palace in Shataundra.

“Oh my God. He’s spying on them,” Piper whispered, her eyes shining with angry tears. “
That’s
how he knew about the spell the empress put on the Divinities after they disappeared.”

In the globe, Empress Malina sat on her throne, with Andimian by her side. Princess Evangeline sat in a winged armchair beside the empress, and surprisingly, when they spoke, he could hear them. Gabriel clung to every word. “Do not worry, darling,” the empress’s soothing voice advised. “It will all be over soon. You must have faith.”

“But he’s dying, Mother. We are running out of time. How can we just sit here and do nothing?” The empress held her daughter as she sobbed.

“The time is nearly here, my darling. Evil destroys from the outside in, yet it is ever-present. We must always be vigilant and never give up hope that love will triumph, above all.”

“But what about Piper, Gabriel, and—and Brent?”

“They will make good use of the gifts I have bestowed upon them.”

“But Mother, there must be
something
we can do.”

“Evangeline, you know the rules. Malgor is exiled to the Tandem Wood and may not leave. Nor may I enter. I cannot dictate how he is to rule his land.”

“But he
did
leave the Tandem Wood.” Evangeline shook her head. “He stole the Divinities and he should be punished.”

“I wish it were that simple.” Empress Malina petted Andimian’s massive head, and sighed. “Have faith in the prophecy of the chosen one.”

Princess Evangeline jumped from her chair, crying as she ran from the room. Gabriel and the others watched through the dome as she tore down a long hallway, and into Prince Oliver’s room.

“Come on, Ollie, snap out of it.” She sobbed as she watched him still locked in a trance.

Piper pointed to the dome. “Check it out. There’re letters, no, words, surrounding Prince Oliver’s room.”

Tiny, black, smoldering letters hung in the air, swirling, like rings of smoke. They all pressed their faces against the glass, trying to make out the floating letters.

“It’s some kind of language, but I don’t understand what it says.”

“Distrunum—is that even a word?” Gabriel asked.

“Sounds like some kind of spell to me,” said Piper.

Hail continued to thrash the window just outside the room with so much force it seemed it would crash through at any second.

“We have to destroy this globe,” Piper said. “That’s how Malgor knew where to find the Divinities. He’s been spying on the empress for who
knows
how long. And he cast a spell on Prince Oliver.”

“Someone’s coming,” Gabriel whispered. “Quick—behind the globe.” They dashed behind the globe to the far side of the room, as far away from the door as they could get.

Moments later, Lamia burst into the room, covered in sweat and gasping for air. “There you are, you little rodents!” she screamed. Her fat cheeks grew redder. “Duke Malgor will surely feed you to the gruocks for this!”

“Leave us alone, you ugly slug,” Brent yelled. Lamia rushed around the globe.

They bolted around the other side, racing to the front of the room. As they got closer to the door, Lamia raised both hands in the air, her palms toward them. The door slammed shut. Her face twisted in angry, sneering angles.

“Ugly slug or not, you three aren’t going anywhere.” She leaned against the globe, facing them, arms crossed.

Gabriel yanked on the door, but it wouldn’t budge.

Lamia laughed. “The thing about Zeverons is you never know what powers we possess,” she said. “Your mistake. No mutt like Prince Oliver will ever rule Valta. And Duke Malgor will deal with you soon enough. Before I bring you to him, tell me what you have done with Dane.”

“We haven’t done anything with Dane. He left because he hates your guts!” shouted Piper.

Brent raised his hands and threw a fireball at Lamia. She cackled and held out her hand, pinching her thumb and pointer finger together. The fire squelched into nothing with a
pfft
. Brent froze.

“You go nowhere. I shall delight in the pain you’ll feel from the gruock’s bite.” Lamia tugged a handful of sand from her pocket, and blew it toward them. It floated on the air, multiplying until it filled the room, and soon they could barely see.

Brent waved his arms through the air, trying to brush it away.

Piper sneezed again and again. Every time she sneezed, large gusts of wind blew out, shifting the sand. “Wow, look. I’m supposed to be able to control wind with my breath, remember? It’s working!”

“Keep doing it, Piper. I—I don’t feel so good,” moaned Brent.

Through the sandy haze, Lamia advanced on them. Gabriel’s head spun, and his eyelids began to droop.

It’s a sleeping spell
. A shrill, ringing sound pierced Gabriel’s ears as Lamia pulled a short sword from a sheath behind her back.

“I’m certain Duke Malgor won’t mind if I kill just
one
of you before he arrives,” she snickered, glaring at Piper.

Brent fell to his knees in a coughing fit.

Lamia raised her sword high into the air, and lunged at Piper. But Piper kept sneezing, one right after another. Lamia flew backward by the great blast of air created by Piper’s breath.

The cloud of sand dispersed. Lamia scrambled to her feet and leaned into the wind, her blade high in the air. With only a few, short steps left between them, Lamia pressed forward, her smile flickering, then fading. Glaring at Piper, she screamed, “Prepare to die!”

Lamia gritted her teeth and gripped both hands around the sword, bringing it down toward Piper’s head. As the sword swung toward her, Piper inhaled a huge breath, and blew out vigorously. Lamia flew high into the air, like a feather caught in a tornado. She plummeted into the spying globe, shattering it into a million pieces.

Piper threw open the now-unlocked door. “Run!” They bolted through the doorway, leaving Lamia unconscious on the floor in a pile of rubble. “Brent, grab a coat from the closet!”

Brent nodded and grabbed a black fur coat that was too long for him. He shrugged. “Whatever.”

At the doorway of Malgor’s room, they peered out onto the landing above the stairs.

“Coast is clear,” Gabriel said, praying it stayed that way. Silence in the castle sent chills tip-toeing down Gabriel’s spine. Only the howling of the wind as it banged against the windows, shaking and hammering them, sounded out, making it even creepier. The friends descended the dark staircase, trying not to stumble over Brent’s trailing coat.

“Uh, what’s the plan?” Brent asked.

“I don’t think the front doors are an option, guys,” Piper warned.

“Definitely not,” Gabriel whispered. “We’ll have to go out the broken window then.”

Piper jerked her head back an inch and her eyebrows pulled together. “Are you crazy? We’ll break our necks.”

Gabriel continued down the stairs. “We’ll collect sheets from the bedrooms and tie them together, like a big, long rope.” Adrenaline pumped through Gabriel’s veins. He’d never felt more energized in his life. He tugged at Piper’s arm, and she yanked on Brent’s as they crept down the stairs. Gabriel’s vision pierced the darkness. At the bottom, he stopped and peered around the corner, afraid of being caught.

Flashes of light flooded the empty hallway as lightning struck through the turbulent sky, followed by angry, rolling thunder. They crept along the hallway in a crouch, keeping close to the wall. When they reached the bedroom with the broken window, snow blanketed the room.

“We need more sheets.” Gabriel hurried to the next room, and ripped the sheets off the bed.

Piper rushed after him, raising her eyebrows. “Sheets, Gabriel? Are you sure?”