Kingdom Keepers VI(96)

“In eight minutes it’s full. A total eclipse. We’ve got eight minutes to save Dillard.”





“THE GIRLS WILL CAUSE a distraction. You two,” Finn said to Maybeck and Philby, “will grab the duffel. I’ll try to get the journal, so this can’t ever happen again.”

“What kind of distraction?” Willa asked.

“Don’t take any stupid chances. Just make a bunch of noise and take off for the highway. We’ll you meet you there.”

“Nothing stupid,” Philby repeated.

“Are you two on again?” Maybeck asked.

“Shut up!” Willa said. But she didn’t deny it.

“Six minutes,” Philby announced.

“One thing to keep in mind,” Willa said, holding everyone together for a moment longer. “This thing is part Minotaur.” She meant Chernabog. “In Greek mythology, Theseus leads the Minotaur into a labyrinth. The Minotaur is trapped and can’t find his way out.”

“Get to the point!” Maybeck said.

“I’m getting to the point,” Willa said, pulling a lock of hair behind her ear nervously. “The point is, historians say it may not have been a labyrinth, but a palace or temple with a lot of rooms.” She was looking at the black hole alongside the symbol chiseled into the rock. “If that’s an entrance…”

“The under lord,” Philby said.

“Keeper of the underworld,” Finn said, repeating what he’d said earlier. No one dismissed it this time.

“If we can lead him in there,” Willa said, “who knows? Maybe he never comes out.”

“And maybe we get eaten alive trying,” said Maybeck.

“Five minutes,” Philby said.

* * *

Finn missed Amanda. About to take the risk he was about to take, he felt a hole in his chest and once again regretted making her hate him, even for a moment. Those moments, he thought, had been wasted.

He’d circled around to the side of the cave entrance. In front of him: Tia Dalma, Maleficent, the Evil Queen.

Chernabog.

Finn felt woefully ill-prepared to battle such forces. He had gained new strength—unexplainable strength—and speed, but he had no real control over it. It was like stepping into a cockpit where you didn’t know what the buttons were for. He was unpracticed, unpolished.

He wished for Amanda’s ability to push. One shove from her, and the witches and fairies, maybe even Chernabog with his wet black nose and black, hideous eyes, would be thrown against the rocks. Dillard would be rescued. They could steal the van and be on their way, leaving the OTs behind.

But Amanda wasn’t here.

But he was here: where he’d never wanted to be. In a Mexican jungle, the survival of his friend depending upon him.

Tia Dalma turned a page in the journal. She nodded and raised her right hand, then placed it across her chest.

Chernabog walked ploddingly toward her. The ground shook. Finn’s animal instincts told him to run.

This thing was more than a monster. It was a creature; a bull/bat creature with huge eyes, a wet snout, and the pointed nose of a bat broken by sharp saw teeth. Granted, it behaved as if drugged; but if anything, that enhanced the threat.

Tia Dalma barely looked over at the beast. Finn couldn’t see her face, but he could hear her mumbling.

The Evil Queen unzipped the duffel bag. In the gloomy darkness of the eclipse, Finn would have sworn it was his twin coming out of the bag.

Dillard’s hands were bound behind his back. His eyes were crazed with fear.

Dillard had once begged Finn—begged him—to allow him to become a Kingdom Keeper. Finn had gently turned him down. Dillard was not cut out for it.

Apparently Dillard had convinced Wayne otherwise.

Finn briefly closed his eyes. He hated Wayne at that moment.

A few milliseconds passed—more like a blink. But in that fraction of time, Finn attempted to summon the speed and strength he’d demonstrated intermittently throughout the voyage.

Caw! Caw!

Diablo. Finn knew the bird’s identity before he spotted the raven, because like Philby’s pigeon cry, that particular birdsong had no place in a jungle. Perched near the Evil Queen, Diablo clung to a vine over the empty duffel bag.

Exactly where Maybeck and Philby were hiding.

Maleficent walked in that direction: toward the Evil Queen and Dillard.

Chernabog marched for the sacrificial table.

Finn couldn’t breathe. The beast grew bigger with every step. The four crewmen backed up, sensing something awful.

Where were the girls and their distraction?

Willa was a genius. Rather than stand up and shout or do something overtly obvious, she and Charlene slipped in and out between the rocks on the far side of the courtyard. A girl’s leg appeared and then disappeared.