Kingdom Keepers VII by Ridley Pearson Page A

ago.
    Willa shuts her eyes and unleashes a second arrow. Its plastic arrowhead nicks the male demon’s cheek, but he doesn’t seem to notice. Rust-brown sand leaks out like tears.
    “We’re dead,” Philby says. His voice is desperate; he wants her to correct him.
    Willa reloads another arrow.
    The female demon springs from the floor, soars over the workbench, and lands on Willa, taking her down. Willa kicks out, throwing the demon off her.
    “Cold!” Willa says. “She’s ice-cold!”
    The demon reaches for Willa’s eyes, trying to open them. “Look at me!”
    Squinting his eyes shut, Philby dives, knocks the female demon off Willa, and wrestles blindly to pin her. The demon is ten times more powerful than he is.
    He dares to blink: the male demon is nearly upon him.
    The barn doors at the far end slide open.
    All four look at the door at once.
    A young woman’s figure in silhouette fills the door.
    “Charlie!” Willa shouts.
    It’s Charlene Turner—the fifth member of the Kingdom Keepers. She has sandy blond hair, a gymnast’s body, and an angry look on her face.
    Charlene calls out. “Off of them!”
    Philby manages to push the female demon away, sending her reeling so that she catches the male demon at the knees. Willa and Philby scramble to stand up.
    Charlene collapses an easel and breaks off one of its aluminum legs. “Hey!”
    The female demon pivots. Charlene launches the metal leg like a spear. Lands it in the female’s eye socket. The demon goes down like a popped blowup toy.
    “Eyes!” she calls out.
    “Eyes!” Philby says. “Of course! I should have—”
    Understanding now, Willa picks up the bow, takes careful aim, and looses an arrow. The arrow hits it mark. Plastic tip or not, it penetrates the demon’s soft eyeball. The male demon falls, raising a cloud of sawdust.
    “I’ve missed you all so much,” Charlene says.
    “Glad you didn’t miss him ,” Philby says.
    * * *
    Amid the gray cloud, Finn sees Wayne leaving the room, seemingly untroubled by the fumes, the folder from the Fantasia box tucked under one arm.
    Maybeck pulls a ninja kick on the first broom, snapping it in half.
    The second broom aims its bucket at Maybeck. Finn abandons any thought of chasing after Wayne and jumps the broom from behind. Some of the bucket’s contents splash to the floor and ignite. Finn manages to wrestle the bucket away and douses the broom with its contents. The broom bursts into flame, runs, trips, and falls to lie cooking on the floor. The gas from the fire-suppression system puts the fire out an instant later, leaving only remnants, charcoal-black bits of wood.
    Maybeck and Finn bury their faces in the crooks of their elbows to avoid the gas and flee the room. The lobby stands empty, its floor littered with archival records. The guard remains unmoving.
    In the distance: emergency sirens.
    Maybeck’s the first to say what Finn is thinking. “We gotta return. And fast.”
    “Philby and Willa,” Finn says.
    “Present!” It’s Philby’s voice. He, Willa, and Charlene are running down the hall.
    “Char—lene!” Maybeck calls out, overly enthusiastic.
    “Hey, there!” Charlene’s blue eyes sparkle at the sight of Maybeck.
    The five Keepers hurry out of the building, running to the terrace. Behind them, four demons gather at the door.
    “Those guys are nothing to mess with,” Philby says. “Take my word for it.”
    “Ready?” Finn asks.
    Wordlessly, they take each other by the hand. Routine.
    Finn pushes the button.

C ONTEMPLATING THE AFTERMATH of the destruction caused to the temple grounds by the earthquake, Tia Dalma identifies a series of sinkholes where the earth has caved in to reveal dark pits, some of which expose a section of the labyrinthine tunnels that claimed her colleagues. The air from these holes smells of dust and decay. Rats with blind oversize eyes flee to the surface, darting out over the unfamiliar terrain. At the sight of these vermin, Tia Dalma’s eyes