The Brotherhood of the Snake (Return of the Ancients Book 2) (21 page)

“We’re changing my classification first,” Jareth grated. “It would be just like you to leave me stranded here as execution bait.”

“Dare you insult my honor?” Rafael hissed, outraged.

“Yes, I dare.” Jareth gave a soft, mocking laugh.

“Enough! Focus on the task at hand! Hold this a moment,” Rafael snapped at Jareth, thrusting the stone into his hand. “Sydney, we need you to—“

Rafael’s words ended abruptly.

Jareth gasped.

I whirled to face them, thinking we’d gotten caught, but they were staring at a rainbow of light arcing out from Jareth’s golden bracelet.

I frowned, not really understanding the significance as 
I heard Rafael’s choked whisper, “Only a human can access the blue cipher! Explain this!”

Peering closer at the rainbow, I saw the blue strand was already there, the strand that Rafael had said the Fae could never access because it lived solely in the second world, the world of the lizard people.

“I thought only humans and lizard people could access that,” I said, surprised and strangely a little disappointed that I really wasn’t needed.

“Who are you?” Rafael’s gaze fixed on Jareth. “Or …
what
are you?”

Jareth turned white. “It doesn’t make sense!” he gasped again.

A sound from the courtyard archway caught my attention, and I peered out to glimpse two Fae Protectors approaching. They were decked out in full glossy, black body armor, and their silver trions were at the ready in their hands.

Heart pounding, I shrank back and waved my hands to catch Rafael’s attention, but he and Jareth were preoccupied with the rainbow of light.

I apprehensively glanced back at the Protectors.

They were moving too fast.

They’d be here before we’d get the ciphers changed.

My mouth was so dry that I couldn’t even make a squeak of warning.

Desperately, I tried to think, but my thoughts slowed down to a crawl. I felt like I was in a heavy, deep sleep. I’d always thought fear and adrenaline galvanized people into action. In my case, it put me into semi-stasis.

It seemed like hours, but was probably only seconds when I finally roused myself from my fear-induced stupor.

The Fae Protectors were only feet away from discovering us.

I didn’t have time to double check with anyone.

I had to act and I had to act now.

An idea flashed across my mind. I didn’t have time to analyze it. I just went for it.

We needed our own protectors, big intimidating warriors to take these Fae on, something to distract them so we could run to safety.

The gamers at school were always talking about “Call of Duty”. Now, there was a game that seemed to have some seriously intimidating dudes. Suddenly, the image of a muscled soldier avatar, with his red-stained gloved hands holding some kind of automatic machine
-
gun type of weapon popped into my head.

I needed something like him, but bigger, like twelve feet tall.

Focusing on the image forming in my mind, I yanked a programmable atom from my pocket with shaking fingers and threw it.

But as the delicate white pearl with pink undertones sailed through the archway, straight into the path of the approaching Protectors, another unbidden thought popped into my head.

That little white pearl reminded me of something else.

Numbly, I watched it land in the courtyard of the Hall of Mirrors and roll a few feet before splatting into a small pile of purple goo. And 
from that purple goo, a huge twelve-foot figure exploded into being.

But it was a soft, fuzzy, round twelve-foot figure wearing a red dress and a pink bow hairband.

It was Hello Kitty.

My only consolation was that this kitty was holding a machine gun.

Chapter Eleven – Too Many Answers

Utter chaos ensued.

Jareth and Rafael gaped at the Hello Kitty in complete shock.

Shrill whistles pierced the air.

Suddenly, a legion of Protectors appeared, all of them shouting.

I saw Hello Kitty raise her machine gun.

My heart leapt into my throat.

I’d only wanted to scare them so we could escape. I hadn’t wanted to hurt anyone.

Hello Kitty squeezed the trigger, and I almost laughed out loud.

It was a water gun.

But what a water gun it was. It blasted water like a fire hose, sending the startled Protectors flying back through the air to crash against the inner courtyard walls.

Almost immediately, more Protectors arrived, and the sound of booted feet marching in step rang through the opposite archway. It wouldn’t be long before the place was crawling with even more Protectors.

We had to get out, and it had to be now.

Taking up my tether, I spun around to face Jareth and Rafael who were still strangely standing there, stunned.

I hurriedly tried to poke the fine line of the tether through the little hole in the stone, in order to form a closed loop, but my fingers were shaking so badly, I might as well have been trying to thread a needle with a rope.

The approaching footsteps grew louder, and I glanced back at the sopping wet Protectors in the courtyard. They were flopping and flailing helplessly in the courtyard, deluged with waves of water as they covered their faces with their arms and attempted to fend off the twelve-foot kitty’s attack.

It was then that I saw the door to the Hall of Mirrors.

It was unprotected.

The decision was easy.

Grabbing Rafael and Jareth’s hands, I darted across the courtyard. I was a few yards from the door when even more Protectors poured into the courtyard from all directions, and I froze like a deer in the headlights.

But then Rafael jerked his arm out of my grasp. Holding out his hand, he spoke a single word, and the door to the great Hall of Mirrors flew open. A moment later, 
were all inside with the door slamming shut behind us.

We stood there, breathing heavily, listening to the shouts reverberating outside.

“What
was
that thing?” Jareth made a strangled sound.

“I’m not sure,” Rafael whispered, shaking his head, clearly puzzled. “What manner of beast was that, Sydney?”

I drew a long, wavering breath. Apparently, they’d never seen Hello Kitty before. I didn’t have the energy to explain. Instead, I gave a nervous twitter of a laugh and said, “I’m glad it wasn’t a real gun. I’d have felt horrible if someone had really gotten injured or something.”

“You
did that?” Jareth asked in outright astonishment. “With all that water out there, they’ll be drunk in seconds!”

I blinked. I’d forgotten that water could render a Fae drunk almost instantly. That is, if they didn’t neutralize its effect with Equal. Fervently, I hoped the Protectors weren’t in the habit of carrying the sugar substitute around.

After a time, I noticed Rafael watching me mysteriously from beneath lowered lids, and I could have sworn I saw a flash of admiration.

Tilting his head my direction, he said, “Brilliantly done, Sydney. You’ve bought us some time, but we must hurry. They know we’re here now. Let’s consult the mirrors while we may and find the answers to our questions while we still can!”

He pointed behind me.

Thrilling with anticipation, I pivoted on my heel to inspect the great, forbidden Hall of Mirrors.

It was everything I thought it would be and more.

Breathtakingly beautiful, spacious, and brightly lit, it reminded me of a cathedral, with its enormous domed ceiling and marble-tiled steps leading down to a large, recessed area in the center of the hall.

But it wasn’t the magnificent building that enthralled me the most.

It was the mirrors.

In the very center of the hall were two mirrors hovering above the floor without any visible form of support. And they were monstrous; at least six times the size of any IMAX screen I’d ever seen. Framing each of the massive mirrors was a pure gold border that seemed to glow with a life of its own.

“The Mirrors of Destiny … mirrors so pure, so pristine, facing each other to record into infinity,” Rafael whispered in reverent tones.

Even Jareth seemed subdued.

We all just stood there in awe.

Jareth was the first to move. Without a word, he made a beeline for the mirrors.

‘Wait!” Rafael called, lunging forward as if to stop him.

As they both broke out into a run, I quickly sprinted after them.

I wasn’t about to chance a Protector—drunk or not—all by myself.

We all arrived in the center of the hall at the same time.

The response was immediate.

A gong sounded, rumbling through the floor and up to the high-domed ceiling as the surface of each mirror ignited into life.

Images exploded in rapid succession, so jumbled I couldn’t make sense of them at first. It was like standing a few feet away from a movie screen that was trying to play three films at once.

I was overwhelmed by a falling sensation, and something began pulling me down. Every inch of me felt extremely heavy as if I weighed a ton.

I must have pitched forward because I was suddenly aware of Rafael’s strong arm locked around my waist, pulling me back. He was shouting, but his voice sounded miles away. “You can’t touch the mirrors, Sydney!”

I couldn’t keep my balance. I didn’t understand what was going on. I just stood there, hanging onto him desperately, my eyes glued to the mirrors, unable to look away.

A thick black line appeared along the top edge of each mirror, morphing into a series of long, vertical strings. The black strings began falling down the surface of the mirror, looking very much like someone had just dumped a can of black paint from the top.

The gong sound was growing louder.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Rafael’s mouth moving, and I felt his chest rumbling against my back. But I could no longer hear his words.

Everything went silent all at once.

“—
get her out of here! I’ve never seen the mirrors act like this!” Rafael was shouting.

Then he froze.

The mirrors sparkled, and one of the black strings widened, turning into a thin, lanky man, dressed in a tuxedo. Shading his entire face was a tall, black top hat. He stood in midair as a doorway appeared next to him, opening into utter darkness.

He began beckoning to someone, or something in the void yawning beside him.

Forms began running into view and into the door, shapes of lizards walking upright like men. They had long tails, clawed feet, and their skin was covered with black, shining scales, much like the ones I’d seen on Jareth. And some had horned ridges above their golden eyes.

I knew they could only be the lizard people, and they were clearly unhappy at being forced through the door by the man in the hat.

One particularly gruesome, oily, and strangely familiar lizard loomed large on the mirror. It took me a moment to recognize him as the one I’d seen lounging on the cliff attached to Marquis by a cord of light.

The lizard paused on the threshold and lifted his lip at the man before boldly stepping forward to disappear into the inky darkness that awaited him.

Then the mirrors went blank, but only for a moment.

This time, a pillar of light appeared, an incredibly beautiful column of light holding an immense, undeniable power.

I didn’t know what it was, but I wanted to touch it.

The lizards appeared again. Hoards of them crowded around this beam, their forked tongues flickering out as if to taste it. As they did so, small white strands separated from the pillar like pieces of spaghetti, but they were no longer beautiful. As they separated, they became corrupt, changing into something creepy and disgusting.

The lizards threw their heads back and gave shrill cries before chasing the spaghetti strands of light. Catching them, they swallowed them whole and flew off to the red cliffs. After a few moments, their stomachs began to glow, growing brighter and brighter until a beam of light erupted, shooting out into the void.

I gasped, recognizing the cords of light. But they looked repulsive now, like some invasive overgrown parasite with an evil intent. Creeping away from the lizards, the strands of light slithered back to the pillar and burrowing into it, traveled through it like a tunnel to come out the other end, arriving in a familiar place.

It was Avalon.

We watched in horror, following the trail of a single cord as it slipped through masses of shadowy beings and began its search, pausing and sniffing a potential victim, someone clearly unaware of the danger lurking near them.

Several times, the cord tried to climb up a shadowy form, and each time it got knocked down until finally, it stopped in front of a foot wearing a diamond encrusted and distinctly feminine slipper.

The cord shivered in excitement, and one end began to widen, growing into a form startling similar to the chupacabra, but covered in heavy, black scales. This new shape twisted up its victim’s leg, all the while hissing in a low voice.

It wasn’t clear just how much the victim was aware of the parasite now whispering in her ear.

A significant amount of time passed, ending each time with the chupacabra crawling up further.

Apparently, it was a slow dance of acceptance as a relationship developed. The victim’s consent was clearly required.

Finally, the cord of light got what it wanted. On the mirror, the victim’s face grew sharper into focus as the chupacabra-form shimmered back into a cord of light to suddenly rear up like a cobra, split into two strands, and dive straight into the victim’s eyes, burrowing through them to disappear entirely into its new host’s body.

At my side, Rafael choked.

“Morgan le Fae?” Jareth cried in a strangled voice. “The Great Queen Morgan?”

I watched curiously as the victim’s face filled the mirror.

I’d heard her name before. She was a popular character in Arthurian legends. Queen Morgan le Fae was gorgeous, possessing porcelain skin, ruby red lips, and a wealth of golden hair intricately woven through a golden tiara.

But the image on the mirror revealed that her compelling blue eyes had another pair flickering beneath them, eyes with reptilian, vertical slits.