Keys to the Demon Prison

He nodded, and Tanu helped him sit up. Closing his eyes, Berrigan rubbed his temples. "My head is pounding." He opened his eyes. "What about Camira?"

"She’s dead," Laura said flatly.

Berrigan gave a single quick nod, tears welling into his eyes. "Serves her right," he managed. His face twisted into a pained expression. "Serves her right. I can’t believe, I can’t believe she would–" He broke down into sobs.

"Grieving will have to come later," Laura said, rising. "Our foes will be on us soon." She regarded Trask somberly. "Your best hope is to reach the Translocator and teleport out of here. You have the key?"

"Certainly," Trask said. "What are the chances of us taking the fight to our enemies before attempting to access the vault?"

Laura shook her head. "Very poor. The viviblix has perhaps seventy zombies under his control. Some he brought, some were acquired here. They have the Gray Assassin, a narcoblix, a viviblix, a lectoblix, a psychic, a pair of lycanthropes, and, worst of all, a wizard called Mirav."

"I know that name," Trask said grimly. "He’s an old one."

"The sun is our best ally against him," Laura said. "He cannot come out during the day. Direct sunlight would kill him. Once daybreak arrived, he was hiding in the basement."

"Agad told me that all wizards used to be dragons," Kendra interjected.

"Mirav is a real wizard," Trask said, "so yes, he was once a dragon. He came out of India. He is truly evil, and a leader among the Society. His presence means the Society is putting everything they have into this mission."

"We won’t be able to stand against a wizard and a zombie army," Tanu said.

"Agreed," Laura said. "Which is why you must hurry to the Translocator."

"You won’t be joining us?" Trask wondered.

Laura shook her head. "I’ll muster what help I can and try to slow them. I’m not out of allies yet. I’m confident I can take out the bridge."

"I’ll help you," Berrigan offered fervently.

"No," Laura said. "You could contribute more by helping the others reach the artifact. I’ll achieve the same ends with or without you."

Trask scowled. "After you take action to stall our pursuers, what are the chances you might make it to the airstrip? Our pilot could fly you out of here."

"None," Laura said. "I was caretaker here, and I failed in my charge. I’ll do all I can to slow our enemies so you can retrieve the artifact. We all know that to lose the Translocator would be disaster. I will not abandon Obsidian Waste. I will hear no arguments. Tell your pilot to leave while he can. Quick, on your way, we haven’t a moment to spare."

Trask began pulling gear from the back of a jeep. "You heard the lady–grab your equipment and let’s get moving. Elise, call Aaron, tell him to take off immediately. We’ll get out using the Translocator or not at all."

Elise produced a satellite phone and started dialing. Seth grabbed his suitcase, set it on the ground, and opened it up. He had not traveled with his weapons–they had been sent through other channels to Perth, where they had been loaded on the private jet. He found his sword and strapped it on, adding a knife as well. Looking over at Kendra, he saw her putting on the adamant mail he had acquired from the satyrs. Light and strong, the shirt had saved her life at Wyrmroost. He grabbed his emergency kit, which was now a leather satchel instead of a cereal box but still contained a variety of items that might come in handy. He still had the onyx tower and the agate leviathan that Thronis had given him. He made sure he also had the small metal flask from Tanu that could change him into a gaseous state. He was only to use the potion in a dire emergency, because Tanu had doubted whether the Translocator would work on him if he were gaseous. Kendra possessed a matching flask.

Glancing to one side, Seth saw Berrigan sitting cross-legged on the ground, looking shell-shocked. "You better get your stuff," Seth told him.

The young man stared at Seth. "My best stuff is back at the house. Besides, you think swords are going to help you in there?"

"Sure, if we find something to stab."

Berrigan grinned vaguely. "Who knows what we’ll face inside the Dreamstone? Honestly, I’d prefer a clean death out here under the sky. In there, we won’t know if we’re asleep or awake. Most likely, some twisted combination of both."

"We have to go in, so we might as well be prepared."

"Prepare your mind, not your sword," Berrigan advised. "You’re young."

Seth shrugged. "You’re skinny."

Berrigan flashed a real grin. "I like your attitude."

"Sorry about your sister," Seth offered. "She seemed pretty funny."

"She was very funny. I can’t believe she was a traitor. Could they have compromised her while she was away at her university?"

"Maybe it was mind control. Or maybe she was a sting-bulb or something."

Berrigan batted at the flies circling his head. "Camira was amazing. Flighty, headstrong, annoying, but amazing. I’d prefer an alternate explanation to betrayal."

"I once thought my sister, Kendra, was dead. I also once thought she was being disloyal. Turned out it was all trickery by the Society."

Berrigan reached out a hand. Seth took it and hauled the young man to his feet. Berrigan squinted up at the Dreamstone. "I’ve always wondered what was inside. I guess I should at least bring a knife."

Trask now held an egg-shaped iron object roughly the size of a pineapple, with irregular protuberances jutting from the top half. His stance suggested it was quite heavy. Laura and Vincent were inspecting the strange key with interest.

"You’d better hurry," Laura prompted.

Trask shuffled over to the recess in the wall of the Dreamstone, heaved the top half of the egg into the indentation,

and fiddled with it until the key clicked home. Trask rotated the iron egg to the right. After he had twisted it halfway around, the top half of the key detached. Still holding the bottom half of the key, Trask discovered a smaller egg-shaped key nested inside.

"It’s like a matryoshka doll," Elise murmured.

"A what?" Seth asked.

"Those wooden Russian dolls that fit inside of each other," she clarified. "Oh, right."

"Where’s the door?" Kendra asked. The key had turned, but no opening had appeared.

"I’m not sure," Laura murmured.

Trask removed the smaller key from the bottom half of the larger one. "Is there a second keyhole? This one has teeth on top just like the first."