Atherton #3: The Dark Planet (No. 3) (20 page)

against a far wall, turning some sort of dial.

Red Eye had opened the door to the passageway of lies and

gone to find Commander Judix.

CHAPTER 16THE CENTURION

"Keep running!" cried Samuel. "Whatever it is has caught our

scent and it's following us!"

Isabel had already loaded a sling and was ready to face the

oncoming enemy when she felt something warm at her back.

"It's getting hot in here!" yelled Samuel.

"Run faster!"

Glancing back, Isabel saw a growing tower of red fire shot

through with spiraling black smoke.

"This is worse than the Inferno!" said Isabel. "We're about to be

set on fire!"

The extra light from the flames gave Samuel a chance to see

his surroundings a little better. Whatever was behind them

would soon catch up. Their only hope was if the tunnel

narrowed far enough so whatever it was could no longer

advance, or if they could find -"There!" said Samuel, pointing to a small opening in one wall.

Isabel saw it, too, and they both scrambled inside.

The sound of crashing feet and a snapping tail was practically

on top of them and a new bolt of flames came shooting through

the tunnel. Isabel burrowed deeper into the hole and Samuel

fol owed, crunching his shoulder into her side and knocking her

flat on the ground.

It was dark inside and they quickly discovered that the space

they'd entered turned downward and opened up. When they

stood, the opening was at eye level and they each looked out

as flames drove past their line of sight.

And then, as quickly as they had arrived, the flames and the

sounds of pounding feet and a snapping tail were gone. All was

dark. Samuel sat down and pulled Isabel to the ground next to

him.

"Should I take out the pen?" whispered Samuel. He'd put it in

his pocket to hide the light, but now he wondered if it wouldn't

be a good idea to look around.

"No!" whispered Isabel. "Just be quiet and let this thing pass so

we can get out of here."

Outside the hole the tunnel glowed softly from seeping points of

light hidden from their view. An enormous clawed foot stepped

in front of the hole. The creature was tracking them, searching

out the passageway.

Isabel felt Samuel touch her shoulder and shrugged away his

cold hand. She listened as the monster outside crept down the

descending tunnel and sniffed the air.

Samuel touched her again--his hands were
so
cold--and this

time she brushed him away, but soon felt his hand on her other

shoulder and then on her head.

"Stop touching me, Isabel!" Samuel whispered. "You're scaring

me."

"I'm not touching you," Isabel replied, shivering as she realized

something truly terrible: Something was in the hidden space

with them.

She could barely breathe. Isabel watched as Samuel took the

pen from his pocket and blue light escaped. Like a nightmare

growing in intensity, they began to understand what had

happened. They were the intruders in someone else's quiet

home.

Along the walls they could now see dark spheres entangled

with long tentacles, glowing slick in the light of the firebugs. The

many twisting arms pulsating along the floor were moving

toward Samuel and Isabel, surrounding them,
touching
them.

What had they found?

The long arms ensnared their legs and arms and wrapped

around their necks, squeezing and pulling in every direction.

There was no doubt--the creatures wanted to destroy them.

Samuel could feel the tablet being pulled away by one of the

tentacles and lunged toward it, striking a twisting arm with the

burning tip of the firebug pen. It burned a deep wound in the

tentacle and the creature's grip loosened. He kept stabbing at

the arms even as they crushed him.

"Samuel!" cried Isabel. She had forgotten about the larger

monster outside as her neck and middle were squeezed tighter

and tighter. Just about the time Isabel thought she was going to

lose consciousness, she heard a terrible noise.

Whatever was outside had heard her scream Samuel's name. It

was coming back. And before either of them realized what was

happening, a monstrous black claw wrapped around them both

at once and jerked them out of the hole.

Isabel and Samuel now saw the first creature that had been

chasing them. It was covered in blue scales and had curved,

piercing eyes. Black spikes ran all the way down the neck and

over the powerful back, and the beast's crowning glory was a

swordlike spike protruding from the bridge of its nose. Samuel

and Isabel looked at each other, both of them sure it would be

the last time.

Samuel saw the roiling slick tentacles around Isabel and the

bodies of the creatures hanging heavy at her side. They

appeared to have no eyes or nose, only the round pulsing body

and the arms squeezing tighter and tighter around the two

intruders.

Isabel screamed as the beast lunged forward, sure its great

spike would punch right through her chest and out her back,

splitting her in two. But Isabel felt nothing. She opened her eyes

and saw the spike had gone right through the bodies of both

creatures, slashing them into pieces until only a strong smell

remained.

The huge beast sniffed them both--first Isabel and then

Samuel--then its tongue darted out and touched Isabel's hand.

"He smells like burned figs," said Isabel, in a state of stupefied

shock at the thought of being cooked and eaten. She was sure

this thing was tasting her skin in order to decide whether or not

to flame broil her.

"It's the Centurion," said Samuel, quite suddenly aware of what

he was looking at. "It didn't occur to me until I saw the black

horn on its head. It's not going to eat us, Isabel!"

"Of course it's going to eat us!"

"No--no, it's really not, are you, Centurion?"

The dragon pulled its head back ever so slightly. Its beautiful

black teeth were slick and shiny, perfectly shaped and powerful

beyond imagining.

"Could you put us down?" Samuel requested gently.

Amazingly, the Centurion set its bundle on the ground and

released its claw. To Isabel's great plea sure the Centurion sat

down and looked at them, tiny puffs of black smoke curling out

of its nose.

"It looks... I don't know... happy or something," remarked Isabel.

She rubbed her arms, her neck, her stomach. "What is this

thing, Samuel?"

"Look here," he said, holding out the tablet and looking at the

inside. He'd barely had a chance to start examining it before fire

had started filling the tunnel behind them. "You see, it's a

Centurion. Or maybe it's
the
Centurion. I don't know if there are

any others."

The tablet had an etched figure of a spiked head encircled by

words written in flames:
Gossamer. The Centurion made by my

hand to protect. A dragon of the most excellent kind.

"Strange name for a creature like this," said Samuel.

Isabel didn't understand the words "gossamer" or "dragon," but

she liked the sound of Gossamer right away.

"What does it mean?" she asked.

"Well, I think it means delicate or soft, but this thing is anything

but."

"Dr. Harding never does anything without a purpose. Maybe

he's softer than he looks."

"He?" said Samuel.

"Yes, he," said Isabel. She crept forward with an outstretched

hand and Gossamer leaned in close to her. He would not let

Isabel touch the black horn, but he did let her touch the scales

of his long nose.

"There's something magical about this beast," said Isabel,

completely swept away by Gossamer's power and warmth.

"He's much softer than he looks."

"Well, there you have it," said Samuel. He wasn't as sure as

Isabel about touching a dragon. One swipe of the tail or flick of

the head and Samuel would be cut in half. He searched the

tablet for more about Gossamer and found a block of small

words in one corner.

"Listen to this, Isabel," said Samuel. "'Imagined in my youth at

the place called the Silo, where all grown persons but Hope

were cruel. Forged by my hand in the secret realm of Atherton,

this beast is made to love children but distrust all others. It is

powerful and purposeful beyond all measure. A child must

guide it homeward.'"

Isabel was overwhelmed by the grandeur of this beautiful

creature in their midst. "He's on our side," she said, her voice

lyrical with wonder. "Who can be against us with a thing like

this on our side?"

Gossamer's stomach made a noise neither Isabel nor Samuel

understood and Isabel stepped back, momentarily unsure of

what was coming next. The dragon reached forward, gently

nudging Isabel to the side, and put its claw inside the hole from

which he'd rescued them. He did it in a familiar sort of way, like

he'd done it many times before. When his claw came out he

held one of the horrible things that had tried to kill Isabel and

Samuel.

"What's he doing?" said Isabel.

"I don't have any idea, but I think I know what
that
is," said

Samuel. He had found an image he'd originally thought was a

sun on the tablet. It was round in the middle and it had wavy

lines on every side. Drawn inside the circle was a word.

"Pythid," said Samuel. "It's called a Pythid, I think."

The Pythid squirmed in Gossamer's claw, wrapping its long

tentacles around scaly fingers. Gossamer held the squirming

glob away from Isabel and Samuel, dropped it, and proceeded

to blow a stream of fire. The Pythid burst into flames and tried to

scurry away, but Gossamer grabbed it by one arm and let it

dangle in the air. He blew fire once more, toasting the skin on

the Pythid until it was crispy black.

"Wow," said Isabel. "We're real y lucky he likes us."

Gossamer set the Pythid down and took one of the crusted

tentacles between two of its claws, ripping it from the round

body.

"Yuck," said Isabel.

The dragon held the dripping arm in front of Samuel and Isabel,

again with an expression that could only be assumed was a

smile of some sort.

"I think he wants us to eat it," said Samuel. Gossamer turned

back to the burned pile of Pythid and picked up the remains

with his other front claw. He leaned his head back, dropped the

whole thing into his mouth, and swallowed it without chewing.

"Maybe it tastes like rabbit," said Isabel. "At least it's cooked."

She reached out and took the crispy tentacle from Gossamer,

and the dragon seemed to encourage her to take a bite. It was

about the size of her own arm and appeared to be boneless.

The end where it had been severed was steaming and bubbly.

Isabel shrugged. Gossamer had saved her. If he wanted Isabel

to eat, then Isabel would eat. It was crunchy on the outside, soft

and squishy on the inside, and surprisingly tasty. After some

persuading, Samuel grabbed the other end and soon the two of

them were holding a cooked Pythid tentacle between them,

munching away happily in the presence of the most powerful

creature on Atherton.

"I think we're going to be all right," said Isabel. "Let's take

another look at that map."

"Look here," said Samuel. He'd been scanning the inside of the

tablet and pointed to a set of words and symbols and numbers.

He read the words aloud.

"'Lead Gossamer to the chill of winter, where all my work comes

to an end.'"

Gossamer cooked and ate nine more Pythids while Samuel and

Isabel thought about what the tablet said. Now and then the

dragon marched down one of the tunnels looking for danger,

and each time he came back with a squirming Pythid between

his claws. Apparently, there was plenty of dragon food along

the way.

"Are you ready to walk the yards?" Isabel asked at length.

Samuel nodded. They had named the great and winding tunnel

"the way of the yards" because of the combination that had

gotten them through the yellow door.

With a very impressive new companion leading the way, it

would take trouble of an even bigger kind for the two children to

worry any longer. Unfortunately, that was just the kind of trouble

awaiting them at the end of the long and dreary path on which

they traveled.

Red Eye waited in silence for two hours, wondering why he'd

bothered to come in the first place. Two hours! The barracks

would soon be shutting down for the night. He was hungry,

thirsty, and tired of staring out the window into the gathering

darkness of the forsaken wood. And they kept the lights so

bright in Station Seven he had to keep his goggles on. Now the

goggles itched his eyes and his head and he desperately

wanted to take them off. Why had he requested a meeting with

Commander Judix? If only he'd called instead.

"What can I do for you?" asked Commander Judix. She had

rolled silently into the room and Red Eye leaped back in fright,