a quaint country church went insane, and built his next creation from the bones of ancient creatures.
I owned a time-share in Jersey that was way worse.
The line of horrific creatures waiting outside the chapel, on the other hand, constituted a problem. I opened my purse and flipped out my compact. “Grimm, you see this?”
He surveyed the chapel, and whistled, long and low. “I see.”
“And you have a plan for how to get in, right?”
He shook his head. “Not yet.”
“I hate to interrupt,” said Liam, “but we’re not exactly drowning in time. And we’ve been spotted.”
Eleven
One by one, creatures composed mostly of eyes, or without any eyes, or composed of improbable geometry turned to look at us.
“Magic?” I glanced to Ari. She had a habit of throwing the odd elemental blast on demand. And also the occasional shower of daisies.
“No way. Not if you want me to be able to ring that thing when I get in.” Ari picked up the bell with both hands, grunting.
“Mr. Stone?” Grimm flickered in my mirror. “I was wondering if this might meet your qualifications for fun. You should be aware, those serpentine creatures on the far side are ice drakes. You should avoid direct contact, or, in fact, any form of contact.”
I’d never looked them up in the
Beast Lexicon
, but the ice drakes resembled silver anacondas with stumpy legs. Frost formed on the rocks around them.
Liam wasn’t used to encountering anything that could harm him. While it was true that having the flu nearly burned down his house, in general, the bonuses outweighed the downsides. It wasn’t like men didn’t think with their primitive hindbrains most of the time anyway. The dragon portion of him just did it more often.
“Okay,” said Liam. “Here’s how it works: When you see the signal, you run like hell for the doors.” He sauntered toward the line of creatures, rubbing his hands together.
“You should have asked him what the signal was,” said Ari.
I took the bell from her and handed her the bag with the head. “I have a feeling we won’t be able to miss it.”
Liam shouted, his voice echoing in the mist. “Gather round, folks. Gather round. You—” He pointed to an ice drake. “Come here for a moment.”
With each step, the chorus of horrors surrounded him. And yet, he remained calm, his voice level.
“Go,” whispered Ari, bumping me toward the chapel.
Though I kept one eye on the door, I spent most of my time watching a cluster of nightmares gather tighter and tighter around a man I had no intention of letting go.
A screaming shriek rose through the chapel as one of the ice serpents whipped backwards, its eyes ruined pits of charred flesh. And the snickers of monsters seeing an easy meal became the shrieks of hunters being hunted.
For one moment, I caught sight of Liam. Well, the dragon curse that inhabited him. It rose, swiping with stubby claws on a creature with at least a thousand eyes. The cost in contact lenses for that many eyes would bankrupt a small nation.
I left monster-mashing to my boyfriend and ran for the chapel as fast as I could.
Strangely, even the denizens who saw us didn’t bother turning to come after us. They simply watched us run with grins on what I hoped were faces. When we reached the stairs, I understood why a parade of horrors waited outside. A shimmering wall of swirling darkness covered the doors.
“This is what Grimm meant when he said Liam couldn’t enter,” said Ari. “This is the equivalent of a magical turnstile.”
I hefted the bell and ran straight for it. Either I’d be right or my face would ring a bell.
The barrier loomed above me, oozing back and forth as I leaped toward it—and beyond. Beside me, Ari choked and sputtered.
“Your mouth must not have been open.” She spat again. “That was like swallowing spiders.”
“How many spiders have you swallowed?”
“I had three older sisters with a nasty sense of humor. Spiders were practically a
I owned a time-share in Jersey that was way worse.
The line of horrific creatures waiting outside the chapel, on the other hand, constituted a problem. I opened my purse and flipped out my compact. “Grimm, you see this?”
He surveyed the chapel, and whistled, long and low. “I see.”
“And you have a plan for how to get in, right?”
He shook his head. “Not yet.”
“I hate to interrupt,” said Liam, “but we’re not exactly drowning in time. And we’ve been spotted.”
Eleven
One by one, creatures composed mostly of eyes, or without any eyes, or composed of improbable geometry turned to look at us.
“Magic?” I glanced to Ari. She had a habit of throwing the odd elemental blast on demand. And also the occasional shower of daisies.
“No way. Not if you want me to be able to ring that thing when I get in.” Ari picked up the bell with both hands, grunting.
“Mr. Stone?” Grimm flickered in my mirror. “I was wondering if this might meet your qualifications for fun. You should be aware, those serpentine creatures on the far side are ice drakes. You should avoid direct contact, or, in fact, any form of contact.”
I’d never looked them up in the
Beast Lexicon
, but the ice drakes resembled silver anacondas with stumpy legs. Frost formed on the rocks around them.
Liam wasn’t used to encountering anything that could harm him. While it was true that having the flu nearly burned down his house, in general, the bonuses outweighed the downsides. It wasn’t like men didn’t think with their primitive hindbrains most of the time anyway. The dragon portion of him just did it more often.
“Okay,” said Liam. “Here’s how it works: When you see the signal, you run like hell for the doors.” He sauntered toward the line of creatures, rubbing his hands together.
“You should have asked him what the signal was,” said Ari.
I took the bell from her and handed her the bag with the head. “I have a feeling we won’t be able to miss it.”
Liam shouted, his voice echoing in the mist. “Gather round, folks. Gather round. You—” He pointed to an ice drake. “Come here for a moment.”
With each step, the chorus of horrors surrounded him. And yet, he remained calm, his voice level.
“Go,” whispered Ari, bumping me toward the chapel.
Though I kept one eye on the door, I spent most of my time watching a cluster of nightmares gather tighter and tighter around a man I had no intention of letting go.
A screaming shriek rose through the chapel as one of the ice serpents whipped backwards, its eyes ruined pits of charred flesh. And the snickers of monsters seeing an easy meal became the shrieks of hunters being hunted.
For one moment, I caught sight of Liam. Well, the dragon curse that inhabited him. It rose, swiping with stubby claws on a creature with at least a thousand eyes. The cost in contact lenses for that many eyes would bankrupt a small nation.
I left monster-mashing to my boyfriend and ran for the chapel as fast as I could.
Strangely, even the denizens who saw us didn’t bother turning to come after us. They simply watched us run with grins on what I hoped were faces. When we reached the stairs, I understood why a parade of horrors waited outside. A shimmering wall of swirling darkness covered the doors.
“This is what Grimm meant when he said Liam couldn’t enter,” said Ari. “This is the equivalent of a magical turnstile.”
I hefted the bell and ran straight for it. Either I’d be right or my face would ring a bell.
The barrier loomed above me, oozing back and forth as I leaped toward it—and beyond. Beside me, Ari choked and sputtered.
“Your mouth must not have been open.” She spat again. “That was like swallowing spiders.”
“How many spiders have you swallowed?”
“I had three older sisters with a nasty sense of humor. Spiders were practically a
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