Razor hiked his leg and
leaked gasoline on the ground between the drawbridge and the
forest. The rain stopped falling, which aided Razor’s plan. A burst
of fire spiraled out of the dog’s mouth and ignited the gasoline. A
wall of flames formed between the forest and the drawbridge.
Expressions of fear and wonder loomed on the zombies’ faces. They
felt heat from the flames and backed away from the drawbridge. Dr.
Stine, Alexander, and Angelique applauded and cheered. Reverend
Stark and his minions pushed through the throng of cadavers while
they jogged to the other side of the drawbridge. The grunts of
Lefty and Righty and the squeaks of rodents hastened their stride.
Angelique craned her neck to look up at the spire of Thames
Keep.
“
We’re close to our
destination, Dr. Stine! We need to move faster!” she
said.
“
How much energy does your
battery pack have left?” Dr. Stine leaned toward Angelique and
motioned for her to examine the digital readout of her mechanical
heart.
After Angelique peeled the
wet cloth of her dress away from her skin, she froze, staring at
their numbers in disbelief. Dr. Stine glanced at the readout and
frowned. “Don’t worry, Angelique. We’ll reach Xavier’s throne room
before 55 minutes elapse.”
Angelique stepped away from
him and shook her head in disagreement. She followed Dr. Stine and
Alexander into an atrium, which provided access to the inner
sanctum of Thames Keep. She prayed they still had time to find a
battery pack and rescue Zachary. Behind her, at the other end of
the drawbridge, Reverend Stark and his minions stared at swirling
clouds and waited for another downpour to extinguish Razor’s wall
of flames.
Xavier Thames stood on the
slippery, cobblestone floor of a balcony at the top of Thames
Keep’s spire. He watched his nemesis, Dr. Stine, guide his friends
toward the shattered drawbridge. Drops of rain pelted Xavier’s
charcoal plate armor, his black boots, and his midnight blue
gauntlets. A strong gust of wind caused his black cloak to spiral
around the large frame of his upper torso. A downpour of rain
soaked Xavier’s long, black hair while he twisted the long spiral
of his twisted beard. He watched Dr. Stine guide Princess Bosc, a
young boy, and their friends into the atrium of Thames Keep. His
free hand tightened into a fist and pummeled a gargoyle, shattering
it on impact. Chunks of stone and mortar tumbled to the
cobblestones and shattered.
“
How is it possible?
Professor Beauregard, Polinus, and Lysette will be punished
severely when I see them again! They were given specific orders to
kill Dr. Stine and they’ve failed miserably!” Xavier said. Silver
spurs spun on the back of his boots while he strolled across the
balcony and stepped through a dark doorway.
Xavier emerged from a
narrow, torch-lined corridor and sauntered into a vast chamber with
high ceilings and arched doorways. On the left side of the room, a
steel cage boasted the loot Xavier accumulated from the prisoners
he executed daily. Plate armor, hovercrafts, swords, and shields
filled the room. Xavier approached the cage and checked the heavy
chains and massive padlock which kept the room secure. He grinned
and approached his throne after he surveyed the chains and
lock.
Drops of rain splashed
against the tall, oval-shaped, stained-glass windows of Xavier’s
throne room. Xavier walked across a mildew-plagued, Egyptian rug
and climbed three steps toward an elevated pedestal. He’d ordered a
blacksmith to construct a throne made of gold, jewels, and human
skulls. The skulls were embedded throughout the framework of the
ornate chair. Xavier seized a long, white horn from a nearby hook,
exhaled three, deep breaths into the horn, and listened to a low,
deep noise echo throughout the room. He sat down on his throne,
leaned back, and waited for one of his servants to arrive. He
expected his servants to respond immediately and killed them if
they were too slow.
Xavier grinned when a
succubus strolled into the throne room. The white-skinned demon
wore a black, leather bra and matching panties. Various tattoos,
boasting images of demons and hellhounds, twitched on her skin
while she flexed her lean muscles. She strolled toward Xavier’s
throne with a golden tray in her hands. She removed the tray’s lid
after she kneeled in front of Xavier. He examined a platter of raw
flesh, intestines, and brains. Then he snapped his fingers and
said: “Feed me, darling!”
The succubus plucked a long
strand of intestines from the platter with her sharp claws. She
lifted the appetizer in front of Xavier’s face. He opened his mouth
wide, revealing a dark pit of pointed teeth and festering lesions.
Xavier’s green tongue licked the tube of flesh before his
cavity-plagued teeth ripped it out of her hand. Xavier growled
while he shook the meat in his jaws. The succubus cackled while she
watched her master dine.
“
Master Thames! Where are
you?” cried a high-pitched, masculine voice.
Xavier swallowed the
entrails, licked blood off of his dry lips, exhaled a sigh of
disgust, and rolled his eyes. The succubus stepped away from the
throne and watched an obese, silver-haired man waddle into the
chamber. He wore a long, green robe and carried a piece of glowing
machinery in his plump, sweaty hands. Below the mechanism,
electricity crackled at the ends of long, dangling black
wires.
“
What do you want this
time, Professor Devereux?” Xavier said. He cracked his knuckles and
licked his chops. The succubus cringed when his body grew
tense.
Beads of sweat blossomed on
Professor Devereux’s forehead. The putrid aroma of body odor flowed
off of him. The succubus frowned after she inhaled a whiff of his
stink. The professor’s leather shoes squeaked while he ascended the
steps and approached Xavier’s throne. Then he hoisted the mechanism
into the air so Xavier could get a better look.
“
I tried to power up the
time machine with too much energy! The battery packs are stronger
than I imagined! The transistor is damaged and can’t be repaired!”
he said.
“
I’m tired of your
incompetence! You’ve delayed my plans for days now! If the time
machine isn’t operating properly in one hour, your head will be
added to my trophy shelf! I’m sure Constantine will enjoy escorting
you to the guillotine!” Xavier said.
Professor Devereux glanced
over his left shoulder and ogled a tall bookshelf, next to the
treasure room’s gate. He trembled when he stared at skulls on the
top shelves. As he scanned the lower shelves, he watched flies and
maggots swarm on bloated, purple faces. Huge rats nibbled on
festering eyeballs and dangling ear lobes. At the bottom of the
shelf, he spied two vacant spaces. He knew whose decapitated heads
would soon occupy those gaps. He closed his eyes and said a silent
prayer for Sir Zachary Plate and his doomed attorney.
“
I’m nervous about your
decision to go back in time. If the time machine somehow transports
you to the year 2012, your mere presence could disrupt the
space-time continuum. There’s a chance you could trigger a paradox
that would result in total devastation,” Professor Devereux said.
He screamed when the dangling, live wires brushed against his chest
and sent a surge of electricity into his walrus-like
body.
“
That’s the idea,
professor! My goal is to disrupt time and cause devastation! I must
eliminate the ancestors of Dr. Stine and Princess Bosc before they
have children! When I arrive in the year 2012, George and Kristina
Harrington will both die!” Xavier said.
A black crow flew into the
throne room after it swooped through the narrow passage from the
balcony. It flapped its wings, exhaled a loud caw, and glided
toward the sturdy perch of Xavier’s left shoulder. Xavier grinned
when the crow leaned toward his left ear and exhaled a series of
shrill caws. A ladder of wrinkles creased Xavier’s forehead. When
he stamped his boots on the floor, the silver spurs whirled. He
exhaled a roar of rage that caused the succubus to drop the golden
tray and flee from the room.
Professor Devereux trembled
and said: “W-w-what’s wrong, master? What is it?”
“
The crow has delivered bad
news! Our allies have fallen!” Xavier said.
“
Who has fallen? What’s
happened? My cousin can’t be dead! He can’t be!”
“
The crow has informed me
that Lysette and Professor Beauregard are both dead! Dr. Stine and
his friends murdered them!” Xavier said. He straightened his legs,
seized the horn, and blew into it three times. He flexed his
muscles beneath his body armor.
Professor Devereux’s
nostrils flared and his face turned red. He covered his ears with
his hands when the sound of Xavier’s horn caused his eardrums to
throb. He reminisced about when he and Professor Beauregard would
play in The Enchanted Forest of Sorrow. He remembered when they
would harass a family of centaur and steal food from a three-eyed
giant’s cave. He recalled how they would dare each other to climb
the forest’s tallest tree and bust open the eggs of a huge
pterodactyl. Rage and anger compelled Professor Devereux to grind
his teeth. He cracked his knuckles and contemplated
revenge.
“
You’ll have a chance to
avenge your cousin’s death! I’ll let you torture them before they
die!” Xavier said.
Professor Devereux lifted
his face from his hands. He grinned while he fantasized about
inflicting pain upon Dr. Stine and his friends. He bit down hard on
his tongue and tasted blood in his mouth. He exhaled a maniacal
cackle and said: “I’m going to kill them! I’ll kill them
all!”
“
You’ll do no such thing,
you idiot! But I’ll tell you what you
are
going to do.
You’re going to repair the transistor, energize the power supply,
and activate the time machine!”
“
But I want to destroy
them! I want to watch their eyes glaze over…”
“
Return to your laboratory
before I destroy
you
and watch
your
eyes glaze over!
Leave at once or I will kill you where you stand!” Xavier said. He
rose to his feet and removed a long, double-edged sword from a
weapon rack behind the throne.
Professor Beauregard
cringed when hot urine leaked from the tip of his penis and soaked
the cloth of his robe. He stuck out his bottom lip, pouted, and
walked away from the throne. Before he left the room, he glanced
over his shoulder and shook his head.
“
Now maybe I can finish my
meal! Bring the tray to me, darling!” Xavier said.
The succubus carried the
tray to Xavier’s throne. She smiled when he craned his neck toward
the feast and removed a shiny, bloated liver with his teeth. His
teeth tore into the large organ and ripped it to shreds. Xavier
moaned in pleasure while he swallowed the raw flesh and watched a
cloaked skeleton stroll into the room.
“
It took you long enough,
Constantine! I was about to send a search party to locate you!
Didn’t you hear me call you with the horn?” Xavier said.
The phalanges of
Constantine’s skinless hands reached for the hood of his long,
silky, black robe. The bony fingers tugged the hood down. Long,
white hair dropped from patches of decayed, black skin on top of
Constantine’s skull. Cockroaches and silverfish flocked across his
gaping mandible, nostril holes, and eye sockets. Xavier smiled when
Reverend Stark’s brother retrieved a long, sharp sickle from a
leather sheathe, attached to a stout belt around his waist.
Constantine heaved the sickle into the air and allowed Xavier to
lick blood and gore off of it.
Constantine used telepathy
to communicate with Xavier. He said:
Why have you summoned me,
master? Is it time for another execution?
“
Yes! It’s time to avenge
the deaths of Lysette and Professor Beauregard! Please escort me to
the holding cells immediately!” Xavier said.
Constantine nodded his head
and conveyed:
I thirst for blood and hunger for flesh! Shall I
feast on the corpse of Sir Zachary Plate this
evening?
Xavier threw back his head
and cackled. He strolled away from his throne. As Constantine
followed him into a long corridor, Xavier said: “Yes, Constantine,
it’s time to make Princess Bosc suffer! It’s time for her beloved
knight to face the guillotine!”
The End of Book
One
Kevin Rodgers was born in
Huntsville, Alabama on January 17, 1972. At the age of six, he
wrote a series of short stories after his mother allowed him to use
her typewriter. His family moved to Greensboro, North Carolina in
1984, where he penned longer, more complicated stories. In 1986,
his family relocated to Orlando, Florida. He received a college
degree from Valencia Community College in Orlando in 1992, where he
also graduated from the police academy at Valencia’s Criminal
Justice Institute in 2002. He enjoys reading fiction in the
fantasy, horror, and science-fiction genres.
Over the last two years,
several of his short stories, such as
Demolition
,
Citadel
of the New Moon
, and
Stargazers
, have appeared in
magazines from Pro Se Press.
Cadaver Island
is his first
novel. He recently completed the second novel in the
Cadaver
Island
trilogy, which will be called
The Mask of
Beelzebub
. He is currently working on the final installment of
the trilogy, which will be called
The Plague of
Corruption
.