I raised my dagger, but Connor was faster.
He punched him right in the nose. The demon reeled, and I struck, stabbing him in the heart with my blade. Connor punched him again, just to make sure he didn’t scream. Or maybe he was just pissed about the whole captivity thing.
The demon crashed hard to his back, twitched, and then lay still.
“Good teamwork,” Connor said.
“Yeah, I’ll fight with you any day.”
I knelt briefly to check his pockets, hoping for a cool weapon or maybe a transport charm. I came up empty, so I stood, eyeing the side of the house and the wall that was about twenty yards away. A guard sat on the ground next to a small but strong-looking gate, fast asleep.
He hadn’t even noticed the commotion as we’d killed the other one.
“The lake probably isn’t within the walls, is it?” I asked.
“Unlikely. This place is big, but that would make it crazy huge.”
“Let’s run for the gate, then. Maybe that guard will have a key.”
“I like it. On three?”
“Just a moment.” I drew a dagger from the ether. I got the sleeping guard in my sights and threw the blade. It pierced him in the neck, as expected. “Now you can count.”
He grinned and counted up, and we ran, sprinting across the grass. My lungs and muscles burned in tandem, and I prayed that no one was looking into the fields at this hour.
We reached the demon guard, who was already dead and starting to disappear to the underworld, and I patted him down for a key, finally finding one in his chest pocket. Muffin and his gang were nowhere to be seen, so this was lucky.
Quickly, I shoved the key into the lock, and we slipped out through the heavy iron gate. Then we started running again, racing to reach the woods that were about a hundred yards away.
I sprinted across the vineyards, running between twisted rows of dormant vine. By the time I stumbled into the shelter of the trees, I felt like I was about to pass out.
I propped my hands on my knees, panting.
Connor grabbed my arm. “Come on. Guards patrol these woods.”
“Don’t I know it.” I gasped raggedly. I straightened and we set off, keeping to the shadows of the trees as we made our way to the front of the house.
The lake that glittered there made me want to fist pump. It was nestled in a valley below, pressed up against the woods. We’d have a bit of cover all the way there.
As we neared the lake, the sense of dark magic grew. It stank like a wet buffalo who’d been dancing with rotten eggs.
“We’re close,” I muttered. “But where is this Creeper’s lair?”
“Under the lake, I think.”
I swiveled to look at him. “Under?”
14
“Yeah, under the lake. Creepy, right?” He grinned.
“Totally.” I inspected the lake shore, looking for some kind of passageway. All of the ground was undisturbed, though, revealing no clue of a trail leading to an entrance.
So I followed the dark magic, going to where the scent was the strongest. There was one section where it was even a bit hard to breathe. The ground was undisturbed, but there were a number of flat rocks clustered around the edge of the lake.
On a hunch, I began to step on them. Connor looked at me quizzically for a moment, then joined me.
When I stepped on a rock that depressed beneath my foot, I grinned. Magic swirled on the air, a faint sparkling feeling against my skin, and the ground gave way in front of me.
A hole opened up, the dirt parting to reveal a rustic stone staircase leading into the earth.
“Nice,” Connor said.
I drew my sword from the ether and handed it to Connor. “Know how to use one of these?”
“I’m not bad.” He took the sword.
I drew two daggers, then descended the steps, raising my lightstone ring so that I could see what lay ahead. The stairs descended about two stories underground, leading to a passage that went straight toward the lake. It was made of stone and packed dirt, all of which was a bit wet. Everything smelled of damp earth.
I swiped my finger against the slimy wall to my right. “Does this feel like a death wish?”
“Yes.”
In silence, we crept forward. With every step, I prayed that the lake wouldn’t burst through these crappy walls and take us out.
As we walked, magic began to prickle more strongly against my skin. The farther we went, the worse it hurt.
“Feels like ant bites,” Connor said.
“The Creeper clearly doesn’t want visitors.” I gripped my daggers, searching the passage ahead of us. Light gleamed at the end, green and sickly looking.
We crept forward, our footsteps silent. We were almost to the glowing green light when a massive spider lunged into the passage.
My lungs seized as fear chilled my skin.
The beast was the size of a small car, with fangs as long as my arm. Multifaceted eyes glared at us, and the thing charged forward. I threw my dagger right at one of its glittering eyes.
The dagger bounced off.
“What the heck!”
Connor charged past me, sword in hand. He dodged the striking spider’s fangs and sliced at one of the legs. The limb fell off and exploded in a poof of black smoke.
I hurled my dagger at the spider’s face, avoiding the eyes. The blade plunged into the middle of the monster’s head, but it kept moving, darting for Connor as he danced around with the blade, going for the legs.
But the one he’d sliced off had already grown back.
He sliced off another, and it, too, began to regenerate. I raced toward them, calling on two more daggers. Two of my longest ones. It was a shame I didn’t have two swords.
I crouched low to peer under the spider, and caught sight of a man with scraggly black and white hair standing in the room beyond. He seemed to be dancing in the middle of the cave-like room ahead of us.
Yeah, he had to be the Creeper. The name just fit too well.
As he danced, the spider struck out. Connor dived under the belly, so the spider came for me. I jumped left, avoiding the sharp fangs. Raw horror opened up inside of me at the sight of its mouth so close to my head.
I sliced at a leg with my dagger, trying to distract it while I figured out what the heck was going on and how we’d kill the thing. It was made of magic, clearly. The poofs of black smoke made that obvious.
But how could we destroy it when a dagger to the brain wouldn’t do the job?
As I dodged the spider’s blows, Connor attacked from the side.
I stole another glance at the man called the Creeper. He kept dancing, making strange movements with his arms and legs.
He actually kind of looked like a spider himself.
A pale white stone glowed around his neck.
The spider struck again. I dived low, sneaking under the belly and praying he wouldn’t sit on me. As I slid beneath the spider, I caught sight of a glowing white stone set into the beast’s belly.
Just like the one around the Creeper’s neck.
Oh crap!
He was controlling the spider. And the stones linked them.
I dived back underneath the spider and stabbed up with my blade. It pierced the glass crystal, and the beast exploded in a poof of powdery black ash.
“Whoa!” Connor cried. “Well done!”
“Thanks.” I scrambled upright, spitting out the black powder and whirling to face the Creeper.
Connor and I stood at the entrance to the room. The Creeper stood in the middle, just twenty feet away. Rage lit his face. All around him, the cave-like room glowed an acid green. It looked like a mad scientist’s lair, full of tables and shelves that were packed with magical tools and potions. A massive cauldron sat at the back, over which a glowing crystal was suspended. Blue smoke twined around the crystal.
Connor nodded at it. “That’s the spell.”
“Do you think you can figure out how to stop it while I hold him off?” I whispered. He was the potion master; I was the fighter. It only made sense.
“I’m on it.” He started to inch toward the cauldron.