you?”
Pinch’s eyes lit up like stars. “Yes…powerful…exactly!”
“You can open portals. None of the creatures of the Nether, myself included, can do that. Surely, that makes you special.”
Pinch nodded. “Yes, but…I’m still…” He looked away, unable to say it.
“Human?”
The way she uttered the word made it seem as though she understood every fear and dream in Pinch’s dark heart.
“Yes. Human and…small and…weak.”
The Queen of Nightmares laughed then. It echoed hollowly around the glossy walls of the shell. “There is no need for you to be small and weak, my darling. That is the role humans have always given you. That is not the destiny I see for you. I see something far greater.”
Pinch looked up at her hopefully. “Is there something that can be done?”
“Of course. If you trust me, I can make you…glorious.”
With a sharp talon, she slashed open the index finger of her lower left hand. Green blood oozed to the surface in a noxious bubble. She held the bloody finger to Pinch’s small, thin lips.
“Drink,” she commanded.
Pinch looked up at her, unsure. “Is it—”
“Drink,” she repeated, more gently this time. “Drink and you will know power such as you have never known.” The green bubble trembled on the tip of her finger.
“Yes,” Pinch said, more confidently now. “I will.” He leaned down, wrapped his lips around her bony finger and drank.
C HAPTER S EVEN T HE N ETHERFORGE
T he craggy mountains of the 3 rd Ring seemed to shift and shimmer in the blue light of the Netherforge. Charlie and his friends shielded their eyes from the glare as they stepped through the portal and on to the rocky ground. The hiss of steam escaping from underground vents and the ringing of hammers on metal filled their ears.
“Wow, just look at this place,” Brooke said. “I had no idea it was this big.”
The size of a football field, the Netherforge was built around a large well filled with a thick blue liquid that glowed like lava. The well was ringed by various ancient tools and machinery.
At one end was a crusher of some sort, dusted with a fine yellow powder from the shards of mustard-colouredcrystals that lay shattered around it. Charlie recognised them almost instantly - he had seen those crystals on the 5 th Ring. Large vats of water surrounded the forge itself. Charlie didn’t notice any nearby springs to feed them, so he guessed that the water had to be brought in from the ocean of the 4th Ring - no easy task. A series of dark metal racks held stone moulds in the shape of weapons - swords, axe blades, lances - and everywhere Charlie looked, he could see oversized anvils.
“Man, this place is seriously awesome!” Theodore exclaimed. “Lots of danger!”
As their eyes adjusted to the intense blue light, Charlie and his friends noticed several Banishers busily working around the forge, crafting or repairing weapons. Charlie recognised German writing on the uniform of a man pouring some kind of molten metal into a mace-shaped mould. A woman with a patch that appeared to have Swedish writing on it pulled a glowing blue longsword from the lava and thrust it into a vat of water, where it sizzled in a geyser of steam.
“NO, FOOL!” a voice suddenly croaked - it was deep and thick with phlegm.
Charlie turned to see a large creature leaping across the forge. It landed on the stone with webbed feet, then rose to its full height - easily twice Charlie’s size.
“What is that thing?” Brooke asked.
“I’m guessing it’s the Smith.”
The Smith was a giant bullfrog. Its grey-green skin was horribly pocked and scarred. A cartoonishly wide head rested on a neck that ballooned outward as it breathed. The beast’s lips were green and rubbery and its eyes were cruel red globes that protruded from a face oozing pus. The creature snatched the longsword from the bewildered Banisher and proceeded to yell at her in Swedish.
“He doesn’t look very friendly,”
Pinch’s eyes lit up like stars. “Yes…powerful…exactly!”
“You can open portals. None of the creatures of the Nether, myself included, can do that. Surely, that makes you special.”
Pinch nodded. “Yes, but…I’m still…” He looked away, unable to say it.
“Human?”
The way she uttered the word made it seem as though she understood every fear and dream in Pinch’s dark heart.
“Yes. Human and…small and…weak.”
The Queen of Nightmares laughed then. It echoed hollowly around the glossy walls of the shell. “There is no need for you to be small and weak, my darling. That is the role humans have always given you. That is not the destiny I see for you. I see something far greater.”
Pinch looked up at her hopefully. “Is there something that can be done?”
“Of course. If you trust me, I can make you…glorious.”
With a sharp talon, she slashed open the index finger of her lower left hand. Green blood oozed to the surface in a noxious bubble. She held the bloody finger to Pinch’s small, thin lips.
“Drink,” she commanded.
Pinch looked up at her, unsure. “Is it—”
“Drink,” she repeated, more gently this time. “Drink and you will know power such as you have never known.” The green bubble trembled on the tip of her finger.
“Yes,” Pinch said, more confidently now. “I will.” He leaned down, wrapped his lips around her bony finger and drank.
C HAPTER S EVEN T HE N ETHERFORGE
T he craggy mountains of the 3 rd Ring seemed to shift and shimmer in the blue light of the Netherforge. Charlie and his friends shielded their eyes from the glare as they stepped through the portal and on to the rocky ground. The hiss of steam escaping from underground vents and the ringing of hammers on metal filled their ears.
“Wow, just look at this place,” Brooke said. “I had no idea it was this big.”
The size of a football field, the Netherforge was built around a large well filled with a thick blue liquid that glowed like lava. The well was ringed by various ancient tools and machinery.
At one end was a crusher of some sort, dusted with a fine yellow powder from the shards of mustard-colouredcrystals that lay shattered around it. Charlie recognised them almost instantly - he had seen those crystals on the 5 th Ring. Large vats of water surrounded the forge itself. Charlie didn’t notice any nearby springs to feed them, so he guessed that the water had to be brought in from the ocean of the 4th Ring - no easy task. A series of dark metal racks held stone moulds in the shape of weapons - swords, axe blades, lances - and everywhere Charlie looked, he could see oversized anvils.
“Man, this place is seriously awesome!” Theodore exclaimed. “Lots of danger!”
As their eyes adjusted to the intense blue light, Charlie and his friends noticed several Banishers busily working around the forge, crafting or repairing weapons. Charlie recognised German writing on the uniform of a man pouring some kind of molten metal into a mace-shaped mould. A woman with a patch that appeared to have Swedish writing on it pulled a glowing blue longsword from the lava and thrust it into a vat of water, where it sizzled in a geyser of steam.
“NO, FOOL!” a voice suddenly croaked - it was deep and thick with phlegm.
Charlie turned to see a large creature leaping across the forge. It landed on the stone with webbed feet, then rose to its full height - easily twice Charlie’s size.
“What is that thing?” Brooke asked.
“I’m guessing it’s the Smith.”
The Smith was a giant bullfrog. Its grey-green skin was horribly pocked and scarred. A cartoonishly wide head rested on a neck that ballooned outward as it breathed. The beast’s lips were green and rubbery and its eyes were cruel red globes that protruded from a face oozing pus. The creature snatched the longsword from the bewildered Banisher and proceeded to yell at her in Swedish.
“He doesn’t look very friendly,”
Similar Books
