Curse of the Spider King (49 page)

Johnny went in. Edward and a long train of others followed. Mrs. Galdarro said, “Mr. Wallace, Anna, and Mr. Spero, would you be so kind as to watch our backs?”

“With pleasure,” said Mr. Wallace.

Johnny met plenty of resistance, all Drefids, more than a dozen. But they could do nothing against Johnny's scorching, white flame in such a closed space.
Whosh !
Flames consumed their corpses and the air pressure shot their ashes out through the porthole windows.

At the end of the tunnel, one lone Drefid stood in front of the wall. His claws were not extended, and he had his arms crossed.

“It is too late,” he hissed at them. It was Lorex, Mobius's right-hand underling.

Mrs. Galdarro nodded to Johnny. Another
whoosh!
of fire, and the Drefid fell in a smoking heap. Looking at Lorex's ashes, Mrs. Galdarro couldn't remember seeing Mobius after Johnny had arrived. Perhaps he had died somewhere in the inferno as well? Somehow, though, she doubted that very much. They raced forward now, eager to be done with this . . . but at the wall they came to a strange sight.

“Edward!” called Mrs. Galdarro.

Edward came forward, Kiri Lee right behind.

“It looks different,” she said.

Rather than the blank wall they had seen before, electricity rippled all over the surface, and each time it did, an octagonal shape like a window appeared. It seemed to be getting smaller. Edward looked closer, and at every corner of the octagonal opening, a small, red spider was slowly crawling toward the center.

“Oh no,” Edward gasped. “They have begun to collapse the portal. Johnny, bathe this wall in flame. Everyone, step away.”

Johnny unleashed several short bursts of white flame. Edward held up a hand. “The spiders are gone,” he said.

But with each flash, the opening continued to shrink.

“I don't understand,” said Edward. “It should have stopped. Everyone, we've got to get through now!
NOW!!
”

Mrs. Galdarro called back to the others still in the tunnel. “The portal is closing. We'll get through as fast as we can. Dive if you must, but do not delay.”

“Ril—you, Johnny, and Edward go first,” said Mrs. Galdarro.

Ril strode toward the door. She put her leg through and then her torso. It was as if the stone stretched inward and then sealed on Ril's form until snapping shut once she was through. Johnny looked nervously over his shoulder at Autumn. Somehow the idea that he was born in another world had become a kind of bad dream. He found himself missing his mother and father, and wondering if he'd ever see them again. But seeing his sister's stricken form and feeling certain she would die if she stayed on Earth, Johnny closed his eyes and stepped through. Edward came next, followed by Jett carrying Autumn.

Others followed one by one: always a young lord followed by a Sentinel or Dreadnaught. Kiri Lee was uncertain for a moment, but when she heard the first few notes of a beautiful melody coming from the other side, she followed the music and entered. Mrs. Finney and Regis passed through next. Jimmy Gresham looked back to Tommy and Kat and said, “I'll finally be at home.” Then he was gone.

After a pair of Sentinels went through, Mrs. Galdarro said, “Go on, Tommy. We cannot wait.”

Tommy nodded, but he couldn't stop staring at Kat. Her face was a mask of mixed emotion, and he wondered if maybe he was reading just a little bit of her mind for once. For the dominant emotion staring out from her wide eyes and trembling at her jawline . . . was fear.

Something surged up within Tommy, then an overwhelming desire—no, a need—to reach out, to reassure. He stood up straight, threw his shoulders back, and thought in his clearest mental voice:
Don't worry, Kat. I will protect you.
Then he reached out, grabbed her hand, and thought,
Come on, Blue Girl. It's time to go.

He thought she must have heard him, because she didn't resist, and the two of them went through, hand in hand. The lords were all through, and many of the remaining Sentinels and Dreadnaughts. But not everyone and not fast enough. The portal was shrinking. Mrs. Galdarro, desperate now, yelled back to the others, “Now for it, Children of Light! This is our moment, our return to Allyra! COME ONNN!!”

“We must go,” said Anna, edging into the tunnel. “Did you hear? The portal's closing!”

“Yes, come on,” said Mr. Spero. “We're done here.”

Mr. Wallace looked out at the ruins. Plenty of Drefids still lurking out there, but he figured there was nothing they could still do.

“Come on!” Anna called over her shoulder as she ran into the tunnel.

“Let's go! Allyra's calling us home!” Mr. Spero disappeared into the tunnel.

Mr. Wallace took one last look at Earth. He turned to follow, but felt a sharp pinch in his lower back.

“
COME ONNN!!
” Mrs. Galdarro screamed. The portal was just big enough that a person could dive through. Some Sentinels and Dreadnaughts were still coming. “Go, GO, GO, GO!!”

“You first,” said Mr. Charlie.

“Always the gentleman,” said Mrs. Galdarro. “But no, you go on.”

“Remember my mission,” he said. “I'll see you through, or I won't go at all.”

“Stubborn.” Mrs. Galdarro dove through the portal.

But Charlie waited for the others.

“It's closing!” yelled Anna.

“Go! Go!” Charlie yelled to her, pumping his arm.

She dove through.

Mr. Spero dove next. He barely made it.

Charlie looked back . . . only one Sentinel left. But Mr. Wallace was on the ground, struggling to his feet back at the opening to the tunnel. He would never get to the portal in time. Then to Charlie's horror, another Drefid sidestepped the crippled Sentinel and lunged forward, flaming white eyes fixed on Charlie.

“Mobius!” Charlie shouted. For a moment, the two famed warriors regarded each other with silent fury. The intensity of each one's gaze spoke nothing short of the annihilation of the other.

Charlie broke the standoff, glanced at the portal, now just two feet across. Whatever he did, it would have to be quick. He heard a growl and looked up a moment too late.

Mobius crashed hard into Charlie, knocking him and his sword to the ground. But Charlie managed to grab the rim of Mobius's chest plate and yanked him down with him. The two rolled in the dirt, Mobius edging his blades closer to Charlie's face, Charlie pushing hard against Mobius's chin with one hand, his other clenching the enemy's wrist.

They writhed in the rubble of the ruins until Charlie was pinned down on his back, bested by the larger, heavier Drefid. But for Mobius to free one of his hands from Charlie's wrists to execute the deathblow would mean Charlie would be free to throw a punch. So for a brief moment, a stalemate was reached, both warriors glaring.

It was then, however, Charlie noticed the gate above his head . . . no more than ten inches across, and closing quickly. As broad as he was, he knew he would never get through. But that didn't matter now that the lords were safe on the other side. The portal, Charlie thought, might be able to serve one more purpose.

With a lightning-swift thrust from his legs, Charlie heaved with all his might, and plunged the Drefid into the portal headfirst . . . and that was all that fit through. Before Mobius even understood what had happened, the portal closed around his neck and did not stop. There was a sharp, buzzing noise; a shriek; and a loud crack. Mobius's headless body landed in a lifeless heap on top of Charlie.

A heartbeat later, Mr. Wallace arrived at the portal. Charlie pushed Mobius's corpse off, and Mr. Wallace helped Charlie to his feet. He looked at the portal, now just the size of a quarter, and remarked, “That was close, eh, Charlie?”

“Yeah,” he said wiping dirt off his arms. “A little too close. I almost lost that fight.”

“Correction,” said Mr. Wallace, “you did lose.”

At first Charlie didn't understand. Then Mr. Wallace plunged a knife into his gut. The Sentinel looked down at the handle protruding from his stomach, then, completely stunned, back up to Mr. Wallace. He stammered, trying to find the words. His lips moved, but nothing came. Charlie slumped to his knees, then fell onto his side. From that angle, he saw Mr. Wallace's entire form dissolve into a whirling strand of mist that snaked through the portal just before it snapped shut.

45

A Poison Splinter

WHEN TOMMY first stepped into the shimmering portal, it felt like he had walked right through a dense and very sticky web. But more than just clinging to his flesh and clothing, the web seemed to soak into him like a cold fluid. He could no longer feel Kat's hand in his own. But he felt tingles all over just before being catapulted forward at a tremendous speed—much like he'd imagine g-force on a launch into space would feel. Flickers of light raced by. Gravity was gone. There was no longer any up or down. Just a lot of movement.

Unfortunately, it was such a nauseating motion that Tommy threw up immediately. But once the vomit left his body, it was vacuumed away. Tommy had no idea where it had gone and wondered remotely if he'd just splattered poor Kat somewhere behind him. The flickers of light had slowed and finally stopped, and Tommy stumbled forward and collapsed.

Tommy lay on his side on a tuft of thick grass and rolled over onto his back. Strange stars—purple, green, or blue—winked down at him from above. A cold breeze rustled the grass and tossed his curly hair. He closed his eyes and struggled to comprehend what he'd just experienced.

It felt like being absorbed
. That was the only way Tommy could think to describe the journey. Someone touched his shoulder, and Tommy winced. The wound he had received from the Drefid outside Dalhousie still stung.

“Here's one!” an edgy, urgent voice called. Someone stood over Tommy. “Here, in the tall grass!”

Someone else was suddenly there, kneeling at his side. “Tommy, thank Ellos you made it through.” Mrs. Galdarro helped him sit up. “How do you feel?”