The boy paused. His eyes widened. Could Josel be with them, guiding them deeper into the heart of the mountain? Could he secretly be hoping to atone for his failure to get rid of the scientists by leading them to Dagon himself as sacrifices? Or perhaps he hoped to interrupt the ritual and needed the mainlanders to help him?
The Elder grunted impatiently, waiting for a decision. The other Dark Ones stood behind him, grunting and hissing. The boy motioned toward the right hand fork and darted down its dark recess. The Dark Ones followed.
The moment the boy made this decision he felt his senses become more in tune. He was heading down the right path. Keoni had taken the scientists this way. Why he’d done so didn’t matter. This way would spell certain death for them if Keoni took them too far. The boy was fairly certain Keoni would become lost, would stumble around in the dark not knowing which way to go once he reached the middle level of the catacombs, and that’s when the boy and the Dark Ones would meet them. Then it would be over.
With a new burst of confidence, the boy gestured ahead of him. They’re this way, he beckoned, urging the Dark Ones on. The Elder grunted behind him. The boy felt a sense of trust from the ancient Dark One, and with that trust came a sudden burst of confidence. He was going to find Keoni and the mainlanders. He was going to lead the Dark Ones to them. They were going to be his sacrifices to the Dark Ones.
They were going to be his ticket to salvation.
And if the Elder somehow did not see this sacrifice as being worthy enough…if he still felt the boy did not deserve to live because of his people’s inability to keep the white people off the island…
…then at least he would die knowing he’d served Dagon to the end of his dying day.
THIRTEEN
Tony was practically on the edge of his seat as they approached Naranu. He stared out the window as the plane glided over the island. At first glance, it seemed like a lush, if somewhat forbidding, tropical paradise. Even in the darkness, he could see clearly. The moon was full— almost swollen—and bright. There was lush vegetation everywhere. A vast coral reef, dotted with spires, bordered one edge of the oval shaped landmass. A few small fishing boats floated amidst several artificial canals that had been bored into the reef. After the coral reef was a white, sandy beach studded with coconut palms and banana groves. The vegetation grew thicker farther inland with the presence of pineapple, pandanu, and tomano trees. Lagoons were scattered across the jungle floor. Jagged limestone pinnacles erupted from the flora, reaching skyward. In the center of the island was a large volcanic peak, surrounded by rock and sharp coral cliffs.
At first glance, Tony had never seen anything more breathtakingly beautiful in his entire sordid life. He longed to see it in the daylight. But the awe-inspiring majesty was marred by the marauding presence of hundreds of Clickers and Dark Ones. They swarmed over the island’s entirety, destroying everything in their path. A vast force seemed to be marching toward the mountain. From this height, they looked like hideous, deformed ants. Several fires flickered at various points on the island, seemingly unchecked and belching smoke into the sky.
“Jesus,” Clark whispered beside him. “Look at that.”
“Yeah,” Tony agreed. “Those goddamn things sure do know how to fuck shit up.”
“I was in the White House during the invasion,” Clark said. “And what I saw wasn’t very pretty, but I never really got a good look at the bigger picture. Everything I experienced was localized—not large scale like this. The pictures on the news afterward didn’t really do it justice.”
“I don’t think pictures could do it justice,” Tony said. “The only way to really understand what those crab-lobster-scorpion fucks and their iguana masters are capable of is to see them in action for yourself.”
“The Dark Ones are capable of much more than even you know,” Amethyst said. “If you knew what I know—”
Tony waved his hand dismissively. “Thanks, Amethyst. That’s very helpful. If you want to be useful, how about getting me another drink. Wouldn’t want one of the seven most important people in the world to be thirsty now, would we?”
If the operative responded to the taunt, Tony couldn’t tell because at that moment, his ears began to pop, signaling their rapid descent. Soon, they soared in over the landing strip. The small runway was bordered by swaying grass on the left and ocean on the right, and illuminated by sodium lights. There was a diminutive building at the end of the runway, which they were taxiing toward now. There was no sign of any other buildings or vehicles, much less a control tower. Unlike the rest of the island, the area seemed to be free of rampaging sea creatures and untouched by the widespread destruction.