typical sarcastic remark, Jax poked his head through the hole.
Feeling like a gopher sniffing the wind before scampering out of his dirt home, he pulled himself out of the hole and stood on the cloud ground. Fluffy clouds appeared as far as the eye could see until the castle wall in the far distance broke up the sea of white. He strained, listening for the zombies’ telltale giggle. Nothing but the sound of his heartbeat in his ears.
He forced himself to remain still and scan the perimeter again. Nothing moved among the tree-shaped clouds surrounding the hole or the vastness between the tree line and the castle wall. He took a breath to call out to Veronica and Antoine below, when something flashed across his peripheral vision.
Adrenaline slammed through his system, jacking up his heart rate and squeezing his lungs. His head snapped in the flash’s direction. Only that damned white everywhere. The sixth sense that had saved him from a chupacabra in West Texas buzzed through his body as if he had just put three hundred dollars’ worth of quarters in a vibrating bed. He hadn’t imagined it. Something was out there.
He grasped the knife handle on his hip and inched it out of the sheath. Even though it was a big blade, the troll blacksmith had balanced it perfectly so it had deadly aim. All he needed was a target. Slowing his breathing to a turtle’s pace, he concentrated on his surroundings. A line of bright yellow peeked out from the side of a cloud tree about fifty yards ahead, enough to alert Jax to the zombie’s presence but not enough to strike. Bingo. He could draw the slimy corpse out of his hiding spot by yelling, but if there were more, he might be endangering the others. His need for expediency warred with his protective instincts, but the outcome was never in doubt. He’d die before he let anything happen to Veronica.
So he waited. Lucky for the ulcers bubbling to life in his stomach, it didn’t take long.
The yellow spot started to move east, but nothing else appeared. It looked like a floating piece of sunny fabric. A glare? A solar spot? He’d finally lost his ever-loving mind?
He squinted, focusing on the object and blocking out all other distractions. The truth hit him like an arrow from an elf’s bow. The golden speck wasn’t clothing, it was a bill. Finally, a stroke of good luck.
Jax ducked down beneath the cloud cover. “You’ll never guess what is right outside.”
“Hungry zombies?”
“Very funny, Veronica.” He didn’t even try to stop his grin from spreading, almost nothing matching the zinging excitement of finding a prize on a treasure hunt. “It’s the goose that lays the golden eggs.”
“How do you know it’s the right one? I’m not walking into a situation half-cocked again.” Veronica glanced down at Antoine, who was right below her on the beanstalk. “Ideas?”
A cool breeze whipped Antoine’s white hair around his round head, revealing an angry red scar near his hairline. He flattened his lips and his blue eyes took on an arctic quality as he returned Veronica’s query with silence.
Jax’s muscles tensed and his senses went on full alert. The Celtic knot his mother had given him when he left for college warmed against his chest. A Zayl witch, his mother had used a spell Merlin himself had taught her to infuse it with the power to warn him of danger.
The last time the charm had reacted this way without provocation had been right as he was about to dive into a freshwater lagoon teaming with vampiric mermaids hidden just below the surface waiting for their next meal. He’d yanked back from the edge before gravity could draw him into the deep blue. His guide, Sharmel, hadn’t. The mermaids had sucked Sharmel dry before Jax could even pull his Bowie knife from the sheath.
There sure as hell weren’t any mermaids in cloud country, but that didn’t mean there weren’t dangers aplenty with zombies taking the number one, two and three top slots on the list of
Feeling like a gopher sniffing the wind before scampering out of his dirt home, he pulled himself out of the hole and stood on the cloud ground. Fluffy clouds appeared as far as the eye could see until the castle wall in the far distance broke up the sea of white. He strained, listening for the zombies’ telltale giggle. Nothing but the sound of his heartbeat in his ears.
He forced himself to remain still and scan the perimeter again. Nothing moved among the tree-shaped clouds surrounding the hole or the vastness between the tree line and the castle wall. He took a breath to call out to Veronica and Antoine below, when something flashed across his peripheral vision.
Adrenaline slammed through his system, jacking up his heart rate and squeezing his lungs. His head snapped in the flash’s direction. Only that damned white everywhere. The sixth sense that had saved him from a chupacabra in West Texas buzzed through his body as if he had just put three hundred dollars’ worth of quarters in a vibrating bed. He hadn’t imagined it. Something was out there.
He grasped the knife handle on his hip and inched it out of the sheath. Even though it was a big blade, the troll blacksmith had balanced it perfectly so it had deadly aim. All he needed was a target. Slowing his breathing to a turtle’s pace, he concentrated on his surroundings. A line of bright yellow peeked out from the side of a cloud tree about fifty yards ahead, enough to alert Jax to the zombie’s presence but not enough to strike. Bingo. He could draw the slimy corpse out of his hiding spot by yelling, but if there were more, he might be endangering the others. His need for expediency warred with his protective instincts, but the outcome was never in doubt. He’d die before he let anything happen to Veronica.
So he waited. Lucky for the ulcers bubbling to life in his stomach, it didn’t take long.
The yellow spot started to move east, but nothing else appeared. It looked like a floating piece of sunny fabric. A glare? A solar spot? He’d finally lost his ever-loving mind?
He squinted, focusing on the object and blocking out all other distractions. The truth hit him like an arrow from an elf’s bow. The golden speck wasn’t clothing, it was a bill. Finally, a stroke of good luck.
Jax ducked down beneath the cloud cover. “You’ll never guess what is right outside.”
“Hungry zombies?”
“Very funny, Veronica.” He didn’t even try to stop his grin from spreading, almost nothing matching the zinging excitement of finding a prize on a treasure hunt. “It’s the goose that lays the golden eggs.”
“How do you know it’s the right one? I’m not walking into a situation half-cocked again.” Veronica glanced down at Antoine, who was right below her on the beanstalk. “Ideas?”
A cool breeze whipped Antoine’s white hair around his round head, revealing an angry red scar near his hairline. He flattened his lips and his blue eyes took on an arctic quality as he returned Veronica’s query with silence.
Jax’s muscles tensed and his senses went on full alert. The Celtic knot his mother had given him when he left for college warmed against his chest. A Zayl witch, his mother had used a spell Merlin himself had taught her to infuse it with the power to warn him of danger.
The last time the charm had reacted this way without provocation had been right as he was about to dive into a freshwater lagoon teaming with vampiric mermaids hidden just below the surface waiting for their next meal. He’d yanked back from the edge before gravity could draw him into the deep blue. His guide, Sharmel, hadn’t. The mermaids had sucked Sharmel dry before Jax could even pull his Bowie knife from the sheath.
There sure as hell weren’t any mermaids in cloud country, but that didn’t mean there weren’t dangers aplenty with zombies taking the number one, two and three top slots on the list of
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