The Serpent's Ring (Relics of Mysticus) (18 page)

GOLDEN WHALE-POD

DUNKLE AND BARFEL TOOK TO their bikes, peddling vigorously and leaving Evan and Claire to man the front. After Lazonia instructed them on which way to start, she and Sigurd went to the next room to discuss their direction and strategy. For the first time since leaving Terra, Claire and Evan were alone.

“So, what do you think Mom and Dad are doing? Do you think they’re worried?” Evan whispered.

“Panicked is more like it. Do you remember the time you went to the bathroom at that water park and didn’t tell anyone? Mom had the entire lifeguard staff searching the pools for you,” Claire said with a slight laugh.

“Yeah. That was really embarrassing. Funny thing is that I miss them. I wish we could see them.”

“Maybe we can,” said Claire, pulling out her locket. “We want to see Mom and Dad.”

Colors changed into fog. The view traveled through clouds and back to Greenfield Village. There, in the center, was the clock tower. The time read 11:59. The scene showed Evan’s parents, sitting on a bench. His dad anxiously tapped his foot and continued to look at his watch. His voice was muffled, but Evan could make out that he was asking Mom where Claire and Evan could be.

Mom looked equally concerned but told him not to worry. Finally, Dad’s foot stopped tapping. The image pulled back and scanned the clock. It read 12:00. Abruptly, the oval mirror returned to a mixture of colors, and then back to a steely gray mirror.

“That was when we were supposed to meet them,” snapped Evan. “What happened next?”

Claire continued to ask questions about their parents, but nothing further was revealed.

“That’s it; that’s all we’re going to see,” rationalized Claire.

Dunkle and Barfel cheered as they pedaled their bikes. Not that Evan was lazy or anything, but he didn’t want to ride on a stationary bike if he didn’t have to.

They had traveled for a few hours when Lazonia returned. She pointed toward the empty sea and said, “Pretty soon, there will be a large rock formation, shaped like the profile of an old man.”

“What are we going to do next? I mean, did you and Sigurd come up with a plan?” Evan asked.

“We decided we should travel underneath the island, to an opening in the rock formation. It is not used very often, and I believe we will be able to arrive, unnoticed,” explained Lazonia.

“What about once we are in there? What do we do then?” Evan asked anxiously.

“We have not figured that part out yet,” said Lazonia. “Evan, please do not look so worried; we will come up with a plan.”

“Right, even if it develops as we go,” added Sigurd, after entering the chamber.

“Great,” said Evan, slouching down in his seat.

“Look, there it is,” exclaimed Lazonia.

Dunkle and Barfel’s little legs moved so speedily they became a blur. The whale-pod tore through water, straight for the “Rock of Terror.” At least, that was what Evan now called it.

“I can see an opening over there,” Claire announced excitedly.

“There’s no rush. Really guys, it’s not like we have to wear ourselves out trying to get there,” said Evan, but everyone just stared at him.

They entered a foreboding tunnel, and Evan wasn’t certain, but he thought he saw a few human skeletons here and there. Of course, he could have been imagining things. But the farther and deeper they traveled, the more Evan’s stomach twisted and turned. He wondered how he could get out of this mess. He tried to remember what Lazonia had said about Aegir not being such a bad guy. But what if she was wrong?

The water had an eerie glow, and up ahead, it fizzed and popped and gurgled. Unfortunately, they were heading right in that direction. It didn’t take long for the entire whale-pod to become engulfed by fluorescent-green water.

“We need to go up to where the cavern opens,” directed Lazonia.

Evan’s heart pounded in his chest, beating in his ears. His head felt light, as if it were becoming detached from his body. Gradually, everything went dark. Evan struck something and pain radiated all the way down to his toes. He could feel someone shake him.

“Evan, Evan, are you alright?” Claire’s voice cut through the darkness.

A pinpoint of light appeared far away, and then slowly enlarged to include the entire room. Evan had to shield his eyes. He sat up and realized he had been lying flat on the gilded floor. He was still in the submarine.

“Are you all right? You just fell over,” said Lazonia, trying to help him stand.

“I’m not sure,” strained Evan.

“Yuck! You’re all clammy,” said Claire, wiping her hands off on his T-shirt.

“Hey, I’ve been under some pressure here!” blurted Evan defensively.

“Sorry. You must be scared to death,” sympathized Claire.

“Well, I’m not exactly looking forward to taking the Serpent’s Ring back from Aegir,” said Evan.

“You’re going to have to pull it together. You can’t pass out when you are face to face with Aegir,” reminded Claire.

They emerged up inside a square, metal room, lit only by a greenish glow. Sigurd maneuvered the whale-pod beside an embankment and stared out through the glass bubble. It looked like they had entered a bank vault, with perfectly lined corners.

“Are you ready?” Lazonia asked.

Evan nodded, and with feigned confidence, walked up the circular staircase. While holding his breath, he lifted the hatch. He climbed down the outside of the wet whale-pod carefully and landed on a smooth stone platform. The ground was slick, and he slipped. He fell back and let out his reserve of air. Immediately, he felt a rush of spearmint enter his mouth. Mist came off the water and clung to his skin, making him shiver. His lips now tingled and tasted like mouthwash. His eyes burned and watered up.

“Lazonia, I breathed in this minty air!” yelled Evan, as Lazonia climbed down to the platform.

“You need to get out of there,” said Lazonia. “Hurry over to that center door and pull down the lever. There will be a hallway on the other side. The effervescence will not be as strong in there.”

Evan stood and pulled down the eel-shaped lever, and the door shot up. It was dark on the other side, and Evan hesitated before rushing through. Light began to sizzle above his head. Eels! They lined the ceiling, lighting his way. Evan was certain he saw one of them move, but surely they couldn’t have still been alive. He scanned the length of the hall; its entire length was plated in steel. He studied the metal bolts that lined the seams. Each one was in the shape of a different shell.

After the entire group was close enough, he asked, “Now what?”

“Now, we travel to the Undersea Hall. It won’t be very far,” said Lazonia. “I will go first.”

“I shall go first,” said Sigurd, easing his way forward. “If we are attacked, I will be able to fight whatever it is. At least that might give you some time to reach Aegir.”

“Sigurd, nobody’s here,” said Evan. “I’m sure we’ll slip in unnoticed.”

“One can never be certain about anything,” said Sigurd, now leading the group.

Claire sighed and followed her hero. Evan was stuck back near the imps, who reeked of fear. Worse yet, the space was cramped, making it difficult to endure the odor of frightened imp.

At last, they reached the Undersea Hall’s entrance. Evan sighed in relief. Just as he had hoped, it was deserted—eerie, but deserted.

The walls next to Evan were rocky at first, but as he continued to walk, its surface changed. Crushed shells, with a pearlescent sheen, decorated the walls, continuing all the way up to the ridiculously high ceiling.

“See, I told you, we’ll be able to sneak in. No one will know we’re here,” said Evan.

“I do not think we will be so lucky,” said Sigurd, pointing toward a wall. “Look over there.”

Forms, in the shape of men, protruded out from the wall. Each of their faces resembled crumbling stone busts in a graveyard.

“What’s the big deal?” Evan asked, still staring at the figures’ vacant expressions.

“I am not entirely certain; however, I have an ominous feeling,” said Sigurd.

Wisps of smoke came from the ground, spiraling and spinning. The vapor separated, streaming toward each individualized form. Life sparked inside the human shapes, and they began to move. Each of their bodies stretched out from the wall. Slowly, their vague features defined. Crushed shells pressed deeper into their bodies and deepened in color. Some were death black and others were corpse pale. Now, fully formed, they dragged their heavy bodies to the center of the floor.

The twelve guards remained motionless, strategically positioned like pawns on a chessboard. Each was equal in size and shape but held a different piece of battle armor in their colossal hands: swords, axes, clubs with spikes, clubs without spikes, and spears. Even more intimidating were the few without weapons.

Chapter Twenty-Two

FEISTY DRAUGAR

“WHAT ARE THEY?” CLAIRE ASKED, hiding behind Sigurd. “Are they guards?”

“They are something like that. They are the draugar,” said Sigurd. He stared ahead, his body tensing.

“Sigurd, even you are not strong enough to battle twelve draugar,” said Lazonia. “We must go back.”

“Sigurd, where did they come from?” Evan asked.

“They were once sailors on the great seas,” answered Sigurd. “That was before Ran captured them in her golden net, one by one.”

“She does not mean to kill them!” interjected Lazonia. “Once a sailor promises to worship her … well, let’s just say she quickly realizes how fragile humans are.”

“Yes, time and time again,” scoffed Sigurd. “In the end, she always wins. They forever serve her, guarding both her Undersea Hall and all of her treasures.”

“There are only twelve of them,” said Evan. “I watched Sigurd and Claire battle against more giants than that.”

“Evan,” said Lazonia, shaking her head. “Not only does a draugr possess superhuman strength, they can change into other creatures. Plus, they are already dead. Only a hero can defeat them, and it is extremely difficult.”

“But, Sigurd is a hero,” said Evan.

“But, there are twelve of them,” said Claire.

Finally, Sigurd addressed the guards. “Allow us to pass. We seek council with Aegir and Ran.”

The draugar did not budge or react at all to Sigurd’s request.

“They’re not moving. Maybe we should try to go around them,” said Evan. “I’ll go first.”

Evan had already begun to skirt around the draugar, when Sigurd shouted, “Evan, no!!”

Just then, Evan heard something shuffle. He peered over at the draugar. They hadn’t budged, but strangely their bodies were contorting; their chests heaved and their shoulders widened. The guard closest to Evan cricked his neck—
creech!
—and stared right at Evan.

“Ah!” cried out Evan.

“Evan, get out of there!” shouted Claire.

Evan ran and screamed and did not look back until something smashed down to the ground. The sound ricocheted, and Evan turned around.

Lazonia hollered after him, “Keep going Evan! We will be okay! They are leaving us alone and only following you!”

Evan had almost reached a short flight of steps, when a catlike creature pounced on top of him. It was small, the size of an alley cat, but extremely heavy. It too was ghoulish. Its yellow eyes closed in on Evan. Soon, they were nose to nose.

“Get off me!” yelled Evan, swatting at the creepy cat.

Evan struggled, but could not get the cat off his chest. Although it didn’t move, Evan could feel its weight begin to increase. It wasn’t getting bigger, just heavier. The pressure on Evan’s ribcage was unbearable. Pretty soon, his bones were going to snap. When, suddenly, the blade from Sigurd’s sword flashed above, and the cat’s head was dislodged from its body.

“Sigurd, look behind you!” yelled Claire. She, Lazonia, and the imps had remained behind. It seemed the draugar didn’t show any interest in those who did not try to cross their path. But now, Evan and Sigurd were in serious trouble.

“Evan, you must go into the Undersea Hall and find Aegir,” instructed Sigurd.