Gabriel Stone and the Divinity of Valta (6 page)

Brent wiped sweat from his forehead. “How much longer?”

“Not much more, me think,” Finley said. He didn’t sound too reassuring.

“How’s your arm, Piper?” Brent asked.

“Oh, just perfect,” snapped Piper.

Brent raised his eyebrows. “I was just asking.”

“And, I was just
answering
,” Piper spat through gritted teeth.

“Okay guys, relax.” Gabriel drew a ragged breath. “I know this is like out of some Stephen King horror movie or something, but seriously, we just have to stick together if we’re gonna get through this.” He felt panicked himself, but he had to keep it together. He had gotten them into this mess; he had to get them out.

Finally, they neared a cave in the mountainside. “That it!” Finley jumped up and down, squealing. “Leejor home!”

“That’s not a home, you idiot,” Piper snapped. She stamped her foot against the ground. “That’s a stupid cave.”

Finley widened his bright brown eyes at Piper. He nodded. “It cave, but cave Leejor home.”

“What’s gotten into you, Piper?” Gabriel asked. “Finley’s trying to help us.”

“What’s gotten into me?” seethed Piper. “What do you
think
got into me, you moron? Your stupid dog got into me …
it
—that, that th-thing,” she spluttered, pointing to Zigzag, “bit me.”

Brent took Piper’s hand. “Everything’s gonna be okay. We just have to listen to Finley.”

Piper pulled away from him. “Don’t touch me! Just … go away.”

Finley stood ahead of them at the cave entrance, which was guarded by a wooden gate. “Leejor!” he called. “Pease come, let in. It Finley of Fegan with friend—ick friend.”

A crazy tall, thin man appeared behind the gate. He wore a gray cloak that reached the ground, and long, black, curly hair tied back from his face. The color matched his beard. He observed them with yellow eyes, shaped like what Gabriel imagined an alien’s would look like. His gaze lingered on Zigzag, then over at the sun, which was about to set.

“Quickly—come inside.” The man grabbed a handle with his long, slender hands, and rolled some mechanical device to lift the gate, his sharp nails screeching against the metal. Gabriel and Brent pushed a resisting Zigzag inside. Leejor closed the gate, and a little woman who had the same pointy ears and yellow eyes as Leejor passed him a muzzle. He applied it with amazing skill and speed. “Let’s get her into one of the cages now, before it’s too late.” They lifted a growling and snapping Zigzag into the cage, and locked the door behind her.

“Am I correct in saying she was bitten by a gruock?” he asked Finley. Leejor’s yellow gaze wandered toward Piper. His eyes narrowed.

“It true. But good dog! Help friend from gruock, then gruock bite her,” Finley explained.

Gabriel watched the little woman light a fire under a huge pot. She threw bits of things from bottles into the water with lightning speed, then she replaced the bottles on rock shelves.

Gabriel peered into the bubbling pot. Odd odors like wet dirt, stinky socks, and something he couldn’t make out made his stomach twist. “Can I help?”

“Yes, please do. Grab me the damsidil hair.”

“Umm … sorry. Damsidil hair?”

“The red bottle, child. On the top shelf.”

Gabriel ran and got it as fast as he could. The woman grabbed a bit of this and a bit of that and tossed it into the potion, all the while barking orders to get strange-looking ingredients. He gnawed his thumbnail as he watched her stir the concoction. Brent followed Piper as she paced in circles, grumbling under her breath.

“The dog may be too far gone for any potion to work, but we’ll give it a shot. We’d better get some into the girl, too, and fast,” Leejor said.

Piper pointed to the pot of liquid and scrunched her nose. “If you think I’m gonna drink any of
that
, you’ve totally lost your marbles.”

“You will do what I say if you want to live,” Leejor snapped. Piper grunted and turned away, grumbling under her breath in Spanish. “Is it ready, Marta?” Leejor asked.

“Yes,” she replied, pouring the steaming green liquid into a cup.

Piper dragged her hair behind her ears, then raised fisted hands into the air. “I
won’t
drink it. Come near me and I’ll bite you, I swear!”

Zigzag raged in her cage, eyes flashing green. Gabriel winced as she flung her body against the steel bars.

“We need keep away.” Finley wrapped his tail around Gabriel’s leg as he, Brent, and Gabriel leaned against the cave wall.

Leejor pulled a wand from beneath his cloak. He waved it back and forth in front of Zigzag’s cage in a smooth movement, chanting some rhyme. Zigzag slid to her belly, quiet. Then, Leejor turned and cast the same spell on Piper. Marta caught her as she fell, and carried her to a hammock. Piper was still awake, but calm. Leejor and Marta gave the potion to Zigzag and Piper. Zigzag was first; hers had to be injected. Piper, despite her vow never to drink the green liquid, sat up in a trance and drank an entire cup.

“That is all for now. Only time will tell. Night is upon us, and we must rest.”

Brent, Gabriel, and Finley followed Marta farther into the cave. She turned into a dimly lit chamber. Several lanterns placed against the rugged rock walls cast dim light over the few cots scattered across the floor. Marta tucked them into the beds, covering each of them with blankets and patting their heads, one-by-one.

“Go to sleep, friends. Morning brings new hope,” she said. Then, to Gabriel’s horror, she blew out the lanterns, leaving them in complete darkness. Gabriel shivered and tugged the thin blanket up to his neck. His mouth turned to sawdust, and his heart rate skyrocketed. He hated the dark. He squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again, hoping his eyes would adjust to the darkness and let him see
something
. From every dark corner, he imagined glowing green eyes peering at him. He inhaled a deep breath and counted to ten, trying to slow his crazy heartbeat. He didn’t know if he was more hungry, terrified, stressed, or exhausted. And he had no idea if Piper and Zigzag would ever be normal again.

Chapter Seven

Gabriel stirred at the sound of heavy footsteps walking toward his hammock. He opened his eyes to the morning light. Leejor leaned over him.

“Come with me,” Leejor said.

Gabriel scrambled from the hammock and shook Brent and Finley awake. The boys and the little monkey followed Leejor to where Piper had been sleeping the night before. The bed was empty.

“Where’s Piper?” Brent asked.

Before Leejor could answer, Piper jumped up from a crouched position. “Aha!” she yelled.

Finley squealed, Gabriel jumped back, and Brent raised his hands defensively. “Whoa!”

“Guys, I’m okay!” Piper spun around. “I’m all good. Well, except my arm is still kind of sore.”

The boys ran to hug her and, in a rush of excitement, they did their handshake.

“This is seriously amazing!” Gabriel yelled. “It actually worked!”

Brent laughed and gave her a playful shove. “You were such a grouch. I’m not even kidding.”

Piper giggled. “I don’t remember anything.”

Gabriel faced Zigzag’s cage. “What about her?”

“I’m afraid she isn’t better,” Leejor said, stroking his beard. “She is quiet now, but she should stay here and receive more potions. Although I don’t know if I have one strong enough. She’s had the virus longer than Piper, and it is deeply seeded in her. I don’t know if she can be saved.”

Gabriel hung his head. “Please don’t say that.” Piper slipped an arm around him.

“I will do my best, I promise,” Leejor said.

Marta ushered them to a table, where she passed around steaming plates of a breakfast that tasted like pasta with cream sauce. They all ate, though Gabriel mostly pushed his food around with his fork and watched Zigzag sleep.

“Nothing you can do for her, Gabriel,” Leejor said, following his gaze. “Her best hope is with me now.”

Gabriel sighed. He hated that Leejor was right.

“You really should be on your way. You’ve quite a way to travel, and not much time. Our land is in turmoil, and if you don’t get back to your world soon, I fear you never may,” Leejor said, sounding forlorn.

We have to get back.
“We’ll come back for her as soon as we can,” Gabriel said, pushing his chair back. “Thanks for everything.”

From the corner of his eye, he watched Marta apply a creamy substance to the wound on Piper’s arm. Piper looked away, grimacing. Gabriel gasped as the gaping wound gradually disappeared.

“Piper—your arm!” Brent pointed to it, eyes wide.

Piper gawked at the wound as it disappeared. Then she squeezed Marta into a hug. “You totally rock!”

“Marta be rock?” Finley asked, pulling a face.

Everybody except Finley laughed.

Piper patted Finley’s head. “No, Finley, I just mean she’s really, really good.”

Finley nodded. “Marta rock.” He chuckled and squealed.

Marta smiled. “It’s what I do,” Marta answered with a quick pat to Piper’s healed arm.

Leejor handed Gabriel a small bag. “Bring this with you. In it are potions needed in Shataundra. Some are for making the tongue tell truths, others are for maladies. I also packed a special one for you and your friends,” he said with a wink.

Piper leaned over Gabriel to peek inside the bag. “
Muy bien
. I mean, great. What for?”

Leejor passed each of them a small vial filled with turquoise liquid. “It is a special potion to make you invisible. Use it wisely, as it can only be used once. Its spell will last only ten minutes. Keep them hidden until you need them.”

“Dude, that’s
so
cool,” Brent said.

“Epic! I’m just hoping we won’t run into anything we need to be invisible
from
.” Gabriel gulped, remembering the tiger in the crystal. He hadn’t even looked at the crystal since he’d been in Valta. They tucked the invisibility potions deep in their pockets.

Before they left, Marta gave them each a bag of snacks for their journey. Gabriel was dying to leave. Worry about Gruocks, the long journey ahead, Zigzag’s sickness, and the possible need for an invisibility potion, all filled him with a burning fear. What if they never got back to their world? The crazy thoughts made his stomach nosedive. Being lost in a dying world with monsters lurking everywhere totally freaked him out.

Chapter Eight

“We need go C-pring now.”

Finley pointed in the direction from which they’d come. Gabriel knew Finley meant Carissa Springs, from what Rakur had told them. Finley raced downhill, hopping through foliage and jumping over moss-covered rocks. The morning light beamed through the tree leaves, and a small stream trickled nearby. Piper pointed out some animals in the distance, grazing in a field of grass. They looked like deer, but smaller.

“Look at that,” she said. “They’re so skinny you can even see their ribs. But there’s lots of grass and stuff. Why don’t they just freaking eat already?”

Brent paused to watch them, eyebrows twisted. “They look confused. They’re just walking in circles.”

“That’s strange.” Piper chewed a strand of her hair. “I guess that’s part of the problem here.”

Gabriel walked on ahead without replying, deep in thought. Dead leaves and glittering gold dust fluttered across the ground. With every step, Gabriel’s feet sunk in an inch or two, making the hems of his jeans glitter too.

They walked for a while in silence. Everyone had a lot to think about. After several hours, Finley stopped, peering around. “Quiet now. Finley need think.” He knelt and felt the soil, bringing some to his nose. His eyes darted around. “Me no like smell of land here.”

As he finished speaking, the earth heaved, tossing Gabriel and the others high into the air. Gabriel dug his fingers around looking for something to hold on to. He grasped what he thought was netting—invisible netting. It swung around, making them tumble into each other. They dangled in midair, swinging back and forth like a pendulum.

“What’s going on?” Gabriel yelled.

“Trap!” Finley screamed, “Traaaaaap!”

They clung to the net as it swayed wildly. When it came to a stop and they could see straight, they searched the ground far below. Two of the creatures with the gazillion eyes stood beneath them, speaking in an odd language.

“Eeker!” screeched Finley.

Gabriel’s blood roared in his ears. He couldn’t breathe. One of the creatures reached into its pocket and grabbed a device, like a control pad. The seeker turned a dial on the front, then flipped it over, and pressed a button on its bottom. The button flashed green at his touch.

Something snapped, then they fell. They landed with a thud, still tangled in the invisible net. Gabriel’s knees stung from hitting the tiled floor.
Wait. Tiled floor?
Gabriel gulped when he realized they were in a new location; somehow the seekers had transported them somewhere else. He shook his head, trying to shake loose from the net. Piper rubbed her wrists. “What the hay?” Gabriel whispered.

Gabriel looked around. The forest had been replaced with a building. The ceiling soared at least three stories high. Grand pillars towered from the floor to the ceiling throughout the room. The hand-painted ceiling shone in shades of blue, purple, yellow, and white. Stained-glass windows ran the length of the walls. In the middle of the room, looming up from the polished marble floor, towered a large fountain with a tall statue of a beautiful woman wearing a long, flowing dress, and a crown.

Brent gazed around in disbelief. “Where are we?”

“Me not know here,” Finley said.

“This looks like a palace,” Piper whispered. “I just hope they didn’t bring us here to be their next meal. I’ve been bitten enough for one lifetime, thanks.”

Gabriel tried breaking the ropes apart, but they were too thick. He wished he’d brought his pocketknife with him. “This sucks.” He sighed and dropped his head in his hands.

Before long, a woman’s voice called, soft and misty, “Release them.”

Gabriel looked around, but couldn’t see anybody.

“Sounds like an angel,” Piper murmured. “Maybe we’re in heaven.”

Then the seekers reappeared from out of nowhere, untying the netting until it fell around them in a heap. They stood, brushing themselves off.