Supernatural Games (20 page)

I waited to give him time to move before following. The fae had been gone for almost ten minutes, and I was preparing to follow when I heard another competitor running in my direction. I ducked back down and away from the stairs. That is when I saw an obviously pissed off vamp barreling down the stairs. He wasted no time on the walls this trip. He already knew that wasn’t the correct solution. He scanned the floor and ceiling. Deciding the correct choice was the ceiling, he began methodically tapping and prodding every square inch of the space. When he reached the area over the stairs, I moved to stand near the bottom of the steps so I could tail the vampire into the area above us before it closed.

I trailed behind the vampire with only seconds to spare before the section slid back into place. I stood as still as a statue while the vampire perused the room. The space was empty, and there was only one exit, appearing to lead down a dimly lit entryway. As the vampire started down the hall, I followed about ten feet behind him. We hadn’t gone far when massive stones, possibly from a cave-in, blocked our way. Great, now what? What was the vampire doing? It looked like the fool trying to dig, climb, and crawl through the rubble. No flippin way. You go boy. I slid down the wall and settled in to see where this would lead. A cloud of dust, swearing, grunting and the sound of rocks being pushed or pulled told me the vamp was making headway. Better him than I. If he did find the way out, I would have no trouble following his trail, a blind man could.

I may have nodded off, because I awoke with a start to the sound of falling rocks, screaming and cursing that startled me into consciousness. I was awake when the sirens sounded telling me a rescue was underway. I didn’t need to guess who they were liberating. It didn’t take long for the rescuers to remove the vamp. I used the break to chat with Tokem. This dead-end was part of the design, making me grateful I hadn’t followed the vampire too closely. I wondered how many ships of fools I’d have to wait for before one of the competitors made a different choice. Take out would be nice right about now. I’d have to make do with water and an energy bar. Oh, for joy.

The all clear signal sounded, and it took roughly ten minutes for another competitor to leap up into the space. The wizard stood surveying the room. While I waited, I wondered what happened to the fae. Tokem told me he triggered a trapdoor and was beginning again, but I had no idea where the door dropped him. Finally, the wizard started in the same general direction the vamp had taken. I hoped someone would figure this out soon. I was over this debris-choked hallway and its toxic cloud of dust. I heard the wizard rooting around in the rubble. I couldn’t see him, but the sudden burst of expletives told me he was alive and exasperated. That’s when I heard what sounded like a shout of joy. Could it be the wizard found something?

I started in the general direction of the gleeful cries. Certain I was getting close, because I heard him doing a happy dance; I scampered up and over a large block of stone. Sure enough, there was the elated wizard studying a simple wooden door. I couldn’t tell what the wizard was thinking, but I knew what I was thinking. Anything in these games looking too good to be true, likely was. To his credit, the wizard was showing painstakingly slow progress examining the door. He was checking every conceivable surface, which took longer than normal because he was ducking and weaving every time he touched something. I was almost tempted to shout boo, but we’d made it this far without a fatality. I didn’t want to give him a heart attack.

Thankfully, the suspicious wizard reached out and tried the knob. It turned in his hand, and he pushed the door gingerly forward. The door creaked, and the wizard ducked and rolled to his left. I couldn’t say I blamed him. There was no explosion, poison dust or trapdoor. He stood up and dusted himself off before he emerged into a hallway. I couldn’t see anything from where I stood, so inched closer for a better look. Damn it, it appeared to be a dead-end. Then again, it was anyone’s guess if it was, or if there was another twisted way to get out of the corridor.

The wizard consulted his notes, appeared to sniff the air, and inched cautiously into the passageway. He stood there examining the hallway. From where I stood, it looked empty; no windows, doors, or obvious signs of an exit, or implement of destruction. The wizard paced the room, scrutinizing every inch of wall, floor, and ceiling. He appeared to be looking for drafts, trapdoors, or anything opening into another area. Then he turned and moved back the way he had come until he was again in the rubble-choked passageway. Like the vampire before him, he shoved blocks and debris around as he tunneled farther into the opening. Personally, I didn’t think it was a good idea. Those blocks and piles of stone and rubble didn’t look stable. Again, I heard the sound of approaching footsteps. The wizard also overheard it and renewed his digging in a frenzied manner. Bad idea. I heard a crash and dust billowed out of the passageway. I couldn’t hear anything in the direction where I’d last spotted the wizard. Then the alarm sounded. I guessed the wizard was down and out, and his suit had triggered the alarm.

It didn’t take the team long to arrive, but took a while to dig out the wizard. He would be done for the games. He had a few broken ribs and a broken arm. The all clear sounded, and within minutes, the fae raced into the passage. He must have been the competitor I’d heard before the cave-in. The fae took a long look at the walkway before he started his cursory search of the space. It didn’t take him long to locate the door. My guess is, he scented the wizard and went in a different direction. He didn’t appear to be any more trusting of the simple door than the wizard had been. Finally, he turned the knob and entered.

Once he crossed the threshold into the empty room, he took it all in before he proceeded around the room without touching a thing. His next move surprised me. He fished a lighter from his pocket and held it next to the wall while advancing methodically around the room. Nothing happened until the fae was halfway around the room. The lighter flickered, I’ll be damned. He circled the lighter around the area until he found the exact spot where the flame sputtered the loudest. The fae pocketed the lighter and then approached the area where the lighter had guttered, and held his hands inches from the wall. Next, he tapped the stone where the lighter had flickered. The block he tapped slid silently away, and he scrambled into another room.

I hustled over to duck in before the stone slid back into place. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dimly lit space. I recognized a room roughly ten by ten feet. Great, another empty room. Or was it? What was the design team up to? The fae poured over his notes, scratched his head and then walked around the chamber. He flicked his Bic again and zip, zero, nothing happened. Next, he got down on all fours and crawled around the room in a grid pattern. He proceeded to alternately tap the floor and skim his hand along the dirt flooring. That’s when I heard a click. A panel slid open and a pair of stone obelisks sprang up through the floor on either side of the doorway we’d just entered. They appeared about six feet tall. They were covered in what looked like hieroglyphics. It was beyond my ability to decipher. Maybe the fae knew what they meant.

The fae remained where he was, and regarded the two columns. I was with him on this. Who knew what the two might sprout, shoot, or spray at him or anyone else foolish enough to proceed without caution. I decided since nothing happened I could risk slipping in a little closer. The Eye of Horus was on the left obelisk, and the Ibis headed god of Troth was on the right column. I racked my brain to recall what the two symbolized. They could mean any number of things, depending on what context the design team intended. They could be tame, or not. My money was on the latter.

Finally, he moved toward the two obelisks and examined both carefully without touching either. The fae walked toward the left one and used his arms to circle the column. My guess is he was checking for wires or beams that might cause the pillar to fire, fry or flood the room. Paranoid? Just a little. When the games were over, I guaran-damn-tee you I’d never take anything at face value again. He repeated the process with the other column. Nothing, nada, zip, zilch. I didn’t envy him. He would need to touch one or both of them. He’d exhausted all his options. Resolutely, he pulled his notes out and gave them one last look. I think he was silently praying for divine intervention or that his health insurance was paid up. Apparently satisfied, he replaced his notes and moved toward the Ibis headed god of Troth on the right obelisk. Then he knelt down in front of it and dug at the base of the pillar. 

The obelisk remained perched atop the stone pedestal while the fae vigorously sent dirt flying, as he single-mindedly burrowed a trench around the base of the podium. There was no way for me to guess what he thought he was doing or where it might lead him. When he had excavated the area around the obelisk down to at least six feet, he paused. He stood, stretched and moved over to the gear he had carried in with him. Rummaging through his pack, he finally pulled out several bottles of water and emptied them into the trench he’d hollowed out around the obelisk. It didn’t take long for him to empty all the bottles. The water level in the trenches surprisingly nearly filled the channel.

Before I could guess what he hoped to accomplish with all his digging, the obelisks disappeared silently down into the ground. Just before they disappeared from view, a beam of blinding white light shot out of the top of the tower. The light seemed to cast a sharp beam of light part way back down the passageway from which we had entered. Damned if I knew what it meant. I hadn’t seen anything in that hallway. The fae wasted no time scrambling back out into the hall and over to the area now illuminated by the light. Unless he saw something I missed, I was stumped. Then as Yogi said, it was deja vu. He examined every nook and cranny of every surface the light illuminated.

Having been there and done that, I moved to the opposite wall and slid silently into a sitting position. My eyes glazed over as the fae poked, prodded, patted, and groped the surrounding wall. Just when I was about to lose my will to live, he pulled out his trusty Bic lighter and flicked it. The lighter sent a small flame straight up into the air. Nothing moved the flame. Well hell, I was over this damned competition. I was about ready to blast a hole in the damned wall.

The fae finally threw his hands up in resignation and dropped down against the nearest wall, then disappeared. What in the flicking Bic? He was there one minute and gone the next second. I jumped up and moved over to the spot where I’d last seen him. Falling to my knees, I activated my bracelet bathing the area in a bright white light. Kneeling in front of where I thought he disappeared, I searched for any hint of where he had gone or what he had triggered. Nothing gave me a clue, and I threw my hands up in resignation and dropped in the same area where the fae had vanished. Just about the time my butt hit the floor, a whoosh of air shot up and I dropped from sight. Neat trick. As a recovering Catholic, I knew I’d make a fortune selling this to any beleaguered worshipper. I was already going to hell, so had nothing to lose. As soon as my ass hit the ground, the siren sounded. Thank you Jesus, the games are over. Now there are two ancient Gods I am going to kick so far back into antiquity they’ll never see the light of day again.

“Lauren, are you okay?” Tokem’s voice squawked into my headset.

“Yes, as soon as I crawl out of whatever hell hole this final trial has dropped me into. Is there any word from Jason and his team?”

“They went in as scheduled and are maintaining radio silence. What are you going to do?”

“Tokem, I’ll gear up and follow the route the team took. I’ll call you before I enter the portal. Total up the points so that when we catch Ker and Moros we can wrap this up.”

“Roger that, Lauren.”

I
was dressed and ready to key in the coordinates to the portal when my headset beeped.

“Lauren, where are you?” Corbin asked.

“The final challenge just ended. I instructed Tokem to tally everything. I’m headed for the portal to follow Jason and his team.”

“I’ll meet you there. Don’t leave without me.”

“Corbin, I’m fine...”

“Lauren, I brought your ass through every vampire sewer system in the Paradise Islands. I’m coming.”

“When you put it like that, how can a girl say no?” There weren’t many people I tolerated speaking to me in that way, but Corbin was right. If hadn’t saved my ass during our hunt for Traygen, I wouldn’t be here today. I rechecked my weapons, talisman, headset and vials. I was ready to rock and ruin those two ancient menaces’ world. Satisfied, I input the coordinates in my transport and went to meet Corbin.

“Are you ready to take these two out?” Corbin asked.

“I’m over these two clowns. What do you say we send them back to the Underworld?”

“Fine by me. Have you heard from Jason and his team?”

“No, we are maintaining radio silence in case they have ears. They may be ancient, but their tactics so far are twenty-first century. I don’t expect to hear anything unless they run into problems, or they blast their asses early.”

“Lauren, how do you want to handle this?”

“Corbin, you’ve taken your potion haven’t you?”

“Yes, and I brought my talisman to connect me directly to you.”

“Good, I took my potion, so I think we are as ready as we can be. It’s time to head for the portal attached to the gate by the final challenge. They probably realized I circumvented their trap. It’s anyone’s guess how they’ll respond. Hopefully, Jason and his team will catch them before they have time to evade us.”

We both touched the post and were immediately swept away. Wherever we landed, it took my eyes several minutes to become accustomed to the low light. It appeared we were in a giant underground cavern. Just my luck. I don’t know why these claustrophobia-inducing places held such attraction to every crazed homicidal lunatic we encountered. I looked over to see how Corbin was doing.

“Corbin, do you recognize anything?”

“No, but I can change into a bat and check if you want.”

“I’m not crazy about being left behind, but I think you should scout the area. We don’t want to find out we’ve landed in Mab’s territory again.”

“I’ll scout it out and be back as soon as I can.”

He disappeared without as much as an, and if, or by-your-leave. I scanned the immediate area visually, then searched with my senses. I couldn’t detect any imminent threats or impending doom. Emboldened, I stood, stretched, and patted my arms to keep warm. Craning my neck, I peered into the inky darkness as far as my eyes would allow. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see much farther than five feet in any direction. My hearing was more acute than my vision in this setting. Small rodents scratched their way around the rocks. Icky, though not likely fatal. Then a high-pitched chirp nearly sent me diving behind the nearest rocks.

“Damn you, Corbin, you nearly made me wet my pants.”

“I can’t help it if you are a little on edge.”

“Be thankful I have more to worry about than your juvenile antics. Remember, I have an infinite capacity to get even. You won’t dare close your eyes at night for the next hundred years.”

“Carry a grudge much?”

“Sucks to be you. What did you find out?”

“We are in a large underground cavern. It goes for miles and I didn’t want to take the time to see where it ended. There is a river running through most of it, dense jungle in parts, and plenty of movement in the brush. I didn’t want to spare the time to investigate more carefully. Whatever is down there is likely native, because it made no attempt to conceal its presence.”

“You’re probably right. We’ll have to be careful if we need to dive for cover. Did you pick up any chatter about Jason and his team or about our deranged gods?”

“No, and if you ask me, that isn’t a good sign. They should have been able to track them by now. Have you heard from Tokem?”

“No, I told him not to contact us unless it was an emergency. We don’t want to announce our position if we can help it.”

“What do you suggest? We could stumble around in here for months and not run into them.”

“Exactly, but we don’t need to. We can track their energy signatures from the bog. Do you still have their scents? I do.”

“Yes, I can track them, but it will take a while. We’ll need to run a grid pattern or might miss them. We definitely don’t want them behind us.”

“I agree. How do you want to handle this? I’ll run a sweep from this point forward, you fly forward ten miles or so and work your way back toward me. What do you think?”

“Lauren, that is our best option without radio contact. I’ll go ahead and work my way toward you. How do you want to handle S.O.S. situations?”

“You still have the talisman I gave you, don’t you?”

“Of course I do.”

“Hit it if you need me to save your ass.”

“Great, but what if you need me to cover your ass?”

“In the unlikely event I’m unable to CMA, I’ll break radio silence and summon the cavalry. Does that work for you?”

“Sounds like a plan. I’m off following the river north and out of here.”

“Be careful out there, Bat Boy.”

“Chirp and fangs away!”

“I bet you stay up nights writing that script.” I was reasonably certain Corbin didn’t hear my reply since he was already out of sight. I fired up my jetpack and flew back and forth across the river bisecting the middle of the cave. I sent my senses out in front of me to detect misplaced energy. I hadn’t found anything so far. I prayed for the safety of Jason and his team.

This was an amazing place. It was the biggest cave I’d ever been in, which gave it props from me. I didn’t feel the least bit claustrophobic in this place. The river we’d been using as a guide took up the middle of the cavern’s space. Yet as I followed it, the terrain changed from a primarily rocky formation consisting of stalactites and stalagmites, to a landscape appearing lunar. Without as much as an if or by your leave we plunged into a dense jungle. I almost felt like we were back in the Amazon.

The canopy of trees below me was so thick I no longer saw the river. I was also uncomfortably aware we were not alone. I heard rustling in the vast forest below me. It sounded like birds and monkeys or another primate. As long as there were no reptiles, I was okay. Just when I was about to psyche myself out, a disturbance below me caused me to stop and hover. My bracelet was already armed, and I pointed it and my staff at the area below me.

“Whoa there, Rambette, it’s me, Corbin. Hold your fire, Annie Oakley.”

“You’re lucky I don’t shoot first and send condolences later.”

“Did you find Jason and his team or any sign of them?” I asked as I landed lightly beside him. I took off the pack. We’d need to hoof it from here. The brush was too dense to fly.

“I didn’t find Jason, but they’ve definitely been in the area. There are several places where it looks like there was a struggle. Broken branches, trampled plants, and a few areas looking like blast marks.”

“No blood, no bodies?”

“Not that I could tell, but there was definitely a struggle.”

“I don’t like this. As you know, Moros likes to chase his prey before Ker finishes them off.”

“Lauren, I do. Yet, we don’t know if they were fighting with the deranged gods or the inhabitants of this place. It could be either.”

“You sure know how to make a girl feel better . . . not. I suppose we need to be closer to see what happened. I’ll follow you down, Bat Boy.”

“So you admit I’m stronger and better able to protect us.”

“I don’t admit a damned thing other than you are expendable and I’m not. Lead the way, my chiropteran friend.”

“Keep it up and I’ll change into my Canis lupus form and bite your sorry ass.”

“Bring it on, Bat Boy, or let’s get down there and see what we are up against.”

Corbin agreed because he had already changed and loped off to investigate. I followed in his wake, silently cursing everyone responsible for my traipsing around in this unknown jungle. I just hated any creepy crawlies I couldn’t blast to kingdom come. I moved as silently and carefully as possible behind Corbin. Thankfully, his wolf form was much bigger than a typical wolf, and he left a trail a blind person could follow. I only prayed he had scared anything lethal from my path.

We moved as silently through the underbrush as possible. It was rough going, because the brush was so thick a machete wouldn’t have made a dent. There were places where I needed to belly-crawl. I was so not loving life. After what felt like forever, I nearly ran up Corbin’s butt. His wolf had stopped dead in its tracks, ears back and nose in the air. He had obviously caught a scent that didn’t belong. I knew better than to twitch or exhale until he started off again. There were few better trackers than Canis lupus.

I appreciated his keen sense of smell, and I sure as shit didn’t want to be leading the charge in this god-forsaken jungle, especially when Moros and Ker were loose and gunning for me. That’s me, little Miss Congeniality. I seem to collect deranged beings hell bent on killing me, like others make casual acquaintances.

Corbin darted off to the right, and I heard him scrambling through the underbrush. It didn’t take much to follow him with the noise he made. This meant one thing. He had spotted or detected a scent that didn’t belong. I trotted off to follow his trail. We moved quickly along for almost a mile, then he stopped so suddenly, I nearly tripped over him. The area before us was trampled, and there were scorch marks on several trees. Someone had exchanged gunfire and a few blasts from a flamethrower or dragon. Just kidding about the dragon, I think. Technically, Traygen was out here somewhere, so anything was possible. Thankfully, I didn’t see any bodies or blood.

“What do you make of this? Do you recognize any of the scents? Your nose is keener than mine.”

“Lauren, there was obviously a skirmish. See the blast marks on the grass, and on a few of the trees? I don’t smell blood, which may or may not be a good thing. If they vaporized the team, there would be nothing left.”

“Forever the optimist. I believe this was a delaying tactic by one side; to what end I don’t know or by whom.”

“I agree, it looks more like one group was trying to slow their pursuers. If they wanted to blast them to smithereens, they could have. See that rise over there? It would have given someone plenty of opportunity to pick off anyone in pursuit.”

“Corbin, I concur, and take this is as a good sign. If Moros was up to his old tricks, he would try to scare the bejesus out of them and send them headlong into a trap set by Ker.”

“I agree. I think they have something else in mind. Are you okay if I fly ahead and see if I can spot anyone?”

“Go ahead, I’m fine. I’ll stay on this trail and see where it leads.”

Corbin changed into a bat and was off. It was eerily silent in the thick cover of the trees and vines. I heard the occasional scampering of small rodents, lizards and birds squawking in the trees. In short, a typical jungle setting. I was growing more apprehensive. It wasn’t like the dysfunctional duo of mayhem and menace to avoid trouble. Perhaps they weren’t. Maybe they were stalking my hologram. If so, I was disappointed they could be tricked twice by the same ruse. Something didn’t ring true. There was a distressing itch of discomfort nibbling at the corners of my subconscious trying to break free. Then a loud screech made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

I threw myself face first to the ground. Afraid to move or breathe, I strained to hear anything to explain the sense of foreboding that battered my senses. Stumped, I threw a cloaking devise and shield over my position and waited. Invisible and shielded from magical attacks, I paused and listened.