knight through the door. “I believe nobody wants to wait for you to put your clothes on.”
“Thank you,” Gabriel answered sarcastically, and the two of them get back out of the bed and straightened out their clothes. Then they went out and rejoined the others just in time as the knights returned to meet them as well.
If they’d thought they walked a great deal before, they hadn’t known just how much farther it was to walk through the depths of the Earth to another country beneath a sea. Here and there salt water trickled inside, and at one point they had to skirt a huge whirlpool, but eventually they came out of a cave onto dry land. Trekking over the foothills, they made their way back to Cairo and Rico’s base.
As they entered, the grave faces of the men who greeted them hinted at trouble brewing, and Rico was quick to inquire, “What has everyone so upset here? Is something amiss?”
“Desmond is waiting for Gabriel and Betsy in your office,” one of the scientists explained. “He says he must speak to them right away.”
“What?” Betsy gasped. “Desmond is here? Then where are the children?”
“Rico, please begin your work right away,” Gabriel said, squeezing his shoulder. “Betsy and I will find out what is going on and let you know. We may need to leave here even sooner than we had expected.”
“Yes, of course,” he agreed. “This way, Gordral. Let us see what we may learn.”
Gabriel and Betsy took no time at all heading up the long hall to Rico’s office. They burst through the door, desperate to know what was going on.
“Where are my children?” Gabriel demanded to know, taking Desmond by his shoulders and giving him a little shake.”
“Your daughter is safe, boss,” Desmond told him first. She was not at the cabin when it was taken. As far as I know, Lupo never discovered her existence.”
“And Mario?”
“Taken, I’m afraid,” he said. “Lupo allowed me to live to bring you a message. I did my best to ensure I wasn’t followed, but there are no guarantees where he is concerned. He said to tell you that he has the boy, and if you want to see him alive again you had better return to New York immediately.”
“Oh no, Gabriel!” Betsy gasped. “What are we going to do?”
“We’re going to do exactly what he wants,” said Gabriel with a vindictive sneer. “We’re going to return to New York as soon as possible. After all, we wouldn’t want to ignore a direct order, would we?”
“I’m missing something, aren’t I?” Desmond wanted to know.
“Oh, you won’t want to miss out on this,” Gabriel said then. “It’s sure to be entertaining. We’ve got the use of Gordral’s lance.”
“You’ve actually found it, then?” Desmond gasped. “I can’t believe it.”
“Not only did we find the lance, we even found Gordral himself,” Betsy added. “That bastard has messed with us for the last time.”
“Now all we need to do is figure out how to get everyone to New York,” said Gabriel. “I wonder if Rico would be able to get us a really big plane.”
“Wait, how many people are you trying to take?”
“About thirty, I think,” Gabriel said. “That’s including a small army of apostates and a bunch of us Alphas who possess some nifty little stones to help us stay alive.”
“Right,” said Desmond skeptically. “Anyway, I was only asking since the plane that brought me here can seat twenty, and the pilot is in this very facility waiting for me to bring you back.”
“Rico can fly a plane,” Gabriel mentioned. “I don’t think we’ll need your pilot friend for this trip.”
“Yes, I quite agree,” Desmond said with a grin of understanding. “I’ll leave you to it, then. Just let me know when it’s time to leave.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
The group of twenty-five passengers crammed into the small plane could easily be described as the strangest party ever assembled. What with several
“Thank you,” Gabriel answered sarcastically, and the two of them get back out of the bed and straightened out their clothes. Then they went out and rejoined the others just in time as the knights returned to meet them as well.
If they’d thought they walked a great deal before, they hadn’t known just how much farther it was to walk through the depths of the Earth to another country beneath a sea. Here and there salt water trickled inside, and at one point they had to skirt a huge whirlpool, but eventually they came out of a cave onto dry land. Trekking over the foothills, they made their way back to Cairo and Rico’s base.
As they entered, the grave faces of the men who greeted them hinted at trouble brewing, and Rico was quick to inquire, “What has everyone so upset here? Is something amiss?”
“Desmond is waiting for Gabriel and Betsy in your office,” one of the scientists explained. “He says he must speak to them right away.”
“What?” Betsy gasped. “Desmond is here? Then where are the children?”
“Rico, please begin your work right away,” Gabriel said, squeezing his shoulder. “Betsy and I will find out what is going on and let you know. We may need to leave here even sooner than we had expected.”
“Yes, of course,” he agreed. “This way, Gordral. Let us see what we may learn.”
Gabriel and Betsy took no time at all heading up the long hall to Rico’s office. They burst through the door, desperate to know what was going on.
“Where are my children?” Gabriel demanded to know, taking Desmond by his shoulders and giving him a little shake.”
“Your daughter is safe, boss,” Desmond told him first. She was not at the cabin when it was taken. As far as I know, Lupo never discovered her existence.”
“And Mario?”
“Taken, I’m afraid,” he said. “Lupo allowed me to live to bring you a message. I did my best to ensure I wasn’t followed, but there are no guarantees where he is concerned. He said to tell you that he has the boy, and if you want to see him alive again you had better return to New York immediately.”
“Oh no, Gabriel!” Betsy gasped. “What are we going to do?”
“We’re going to do exactly what he wants,” said Gabriel with a vindictive sneer. “We’re going to return to New York as soon as possible. After all, we wouldn’t want to ignore a direct order, would we?”
“I’m missing something, aren’t I?” Desmond wanted to know.
“Oh, you won’t want to miss out on this,” Gabriel said then. “It’s sure to be entertaining. We’ve got the use of Gordral’s lance.”
“You’ve actually found it, then?” Desmond gasped. “I can’t believe it.”
“Not only did we find the lance, we even found Gordral himself,” Betsy added. “That bastard has messed with us for the last time.”
“Now all we need to do is figure out how to get everyone to New York,” said Gabriel. “I wonder if Rico would be able to get us a really big plane.”
“Wait, how many people are you trying to take?”
“About thirty, I think,” Gabriel said. “That’s including a small army of apostates and a bunch of us Alphas who possess some nifty little stones to help us stay alive.”
“Right,” said Desmond skeptically. “Anyway, I was only asking since the plane that brought me here can seat twenty, and the pilot is in this very facility waiting for me to bring you back.”
“Rico can fly a plane,” Gabriel mentioned. “I don’t think we’ll need your pilot friend for this trip.”
“Yes, I quite agree,” Desmond said with a grin of understanding. “I’ll leave you to it, then. Just let me know when it’s time to leave.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
The group of twenty-five passengers crammed into the small plane could easily be described as the strangest party ever assembled. What with several
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