need to know?”
“Yeah. But let’s go back to the other cave. The skulls and bones are giving me the creeps.”
“You’re getting soft,” Shark snorts, but follows me up the tunnel to the cave of natural wonders.
As we settle down close to the waterfall, we fill Shark in on all that’s been going on. Kirilli tells him what happened on the ship of zombies. Kernel gives him a quick rundown of his trip across the universe with the Old Creatures. Then I describe our battle with Death and the demons. When I get to the bit about Kernel’s eyes, Shark interrupts forcefully.
“What the hell do you mean?” he shouts, staring from me to Kernel. “I assumed some demon blinded him. Are you seriously telling me
you
did it?”
“I had to,” I mutter. “He was going to leave.”
“So what?” Shark roars. “He’s one of us. You never turn on your own.”
“See?” Kernel smiles tightly. “That’s what I’ve been saying for a month.”
“You don’t understand.” I hate the way Shark looks at me. “We’re up against
Death.
We can’t beat it by normal means. Our only hope is the Kah-Gash. If Kernel leaves, we’re finished. I need him to help me find Bec and unleash the full power of the weapon.”
“I keep telling you there’s no hope,” Kernel snaps. “I won’t waste my time fighting a losing battle. Even if you could convince me to stay, we’d still need Bec, but now that she’s turned against us…”
“What are you talking about?” Shark frowns.
I tell him about my dream, how I saw Bec ally herself with Lord Loss. “She vowed to lead him to the lodestones. With the help of those, he can create tunnels between universes.”
“What makes you think it wasn’t just a nightmare?” Shark asks.
“This was no ordinary dream. It’s real, trust me.”
“Let me get this straight,” Shark says grimly. “You three are the Kah-Gash, the most powerful weapon ever. One of you has turned into a savage werewolf, the second wants to quit and head for the far side of the universe, and the third appears to be a traitor. You guys are supposed to be our best hope? Sounds to me like we’d be better off without the whole damn lot of you!”
“We’re doomed without the Kah-Gash,” I retort. “The demons will wash over us. Earth won’t see out the year.”
“At least we won’t be torn to shreds by our
friends
,” Shark fires back at me. “I’d rather be gutted by a demon than stabbed in the back by you.”
My temper flares and I lean forward menacingly, growling. Moe and Curly lean in beside me—any foe of mine is an enemy of theirs.
“Easy, doggies,” Shark murmurs, making soothing gestures with his mangled hands.
“Don’t bait me,” I snarl. “I’m not in the mood to be insulted.”
“I don’t care about your mood,” Shark says. “You’re putting yourself forward as our champion, but I think the wires in your head have got crossed. Hell, even Timas seems normal compared to you.”
“I object to that slur on my good character,” Timas says, but Shark ignores him.
“I’m serious, Grubbs. It takes a lot to scare me, but listening to you and seeing that crazy look in your eyes… I’m not sure you’re in control anymore.”
“I’m in full control,” I say through clenched teeth. “I didn’t enjoy blinding Kernel, but it needed to be done. You’ve done things you didn’t like in the past, so don’t get high and mighty with me. I couldn’t have faced this as a human—I was weak. Now I’m strong and heartless, like the demons. I can do whatever it takes to save the world.”
“You reckon?”
“Yes.”
“You’re afraid of nothing, ready to face anything the Demonata can throw at you?”
“Damn straight.”
Shark smiles icily. “Then why haven’t you gone after Bec?”
I blink. “I had to come here first, to destroy the lodestone.”
Shark shakes his head. “There are other stones. Bec might be revealing their location to Lord Loss even as we speak.
“Yeah. But let’s go back to the other cave. The skulls and bones are giving me the creeps.”
“You’re getting soft,” Shark snorts, but follows me up the tunnel to the cave of natural wonders.
As we settle down close to the waterfall, we fill Shark in on all that’s been going on. Kirilli tells him what happened on the ship of zombies. Kernel gives him a quick rundown of his trip across the universe with the Old Creatures. Then I describe our battle with Death and the demons. When I get to the bit about Kernel’s eyes, Shark interrupts forcefully.
“What the hell do you mean?” he shouts, staring from me to Kernel. “I assumed some demon blinded him. Are you seriously telling me
you
did it?”
“I had to,” I mutter. “He was going to leave.”
“So what?” Shark roars. “He’s one of us. You never turn on your own.”
“See?” Kernel smiles tightly. “That’s what I’ve been saying for a month.”
“You don’t understand.” I hate the way Shark looks at me. “We’re up against
Death.
We can’t beat it by normal means. Our only hope is the Kah-Gash. If Kernel leaves, we’re finished. I need him to help me find Bec and unleash the full power of the weapon.”
“I keep telling you there’s no hope,” Kernel snaps. “I won’t waste my time fighting a losing battle. Even if you could convince me to stay, we’d still need Bec, but now that she’s turned against us…”
“What are you talking about?” Shark frowns.
I tell him about my dream, how I saw Bec ally herself with Lord Loss. “She vowed to lead him to the lodestones. With the help of those, he can create tunnels between universes.”
“What makes you think it wasn’t just a nightmare?” Shark asks.
“This was no ordinary dream. It’s real, trust me.”
“Let me get this straight,” Shark says grimly. “You three are the Kah-Gash, the most powerful weapon ever. One of you has turned into a savage werewolf, the second wants to quit and head for the far side of the universe, and the third appears to be a traitor. You guys are supposed to be our best hope? Sounds to me like we’d be better off without the whole damn lot of you!”
“We’re doomed without the Kah-Gash,” I retort. “The demons will wash over us. Earth won’t see out the year.”
“At least we won’t be torn to shreds by our
friends
,” Shark fires back at me. “I’d rather be gutted by a demon than stabbed in the back by you.”
My temper flares and I lean forward menacingly, growling. Moe and Curly lean in beside me—any foe of mine is an enemy of theirs.
“Easy, doggies,” Shark murmurs, making soothing gestures with his mangled hands.
“Don’t bait me,” I snarl. “I’m not in the mood to be insulted.”
“I don’t care about your mood,” Shark says. “You’re putting yourself forward as our champion, but I think the wires in your head have got crossed. Hell, even Timas seems normal compared to you.”
“I object to that slur on my good character,” Timas says, but Shark ignores him.
“I’m serious, Grubbs. It takes a lot to scare me, but listening to you and seeing that crazy look in your eyes… I’m not sure you’re in control anymore.”
“I’m in full control,” I say through clenched teeth. “I didn’t enjoy blinding Kernel, but it needed to be done. You’ve done things you didn’t like in the past, so don’t get high and mighty with me. I couldn’t have faced this as a human—I was weak. Now I’m strong and heartless, like the demons. I can do whatever it takes to save the world.”
“You reckon?”
“Yes.”
“You’re afraid of nothing, ready to face anything the Demonata can throw at you?”
“Damn straight.”
Shark smiles icily. “Then why haven’t you gone after Bec?”
I blink. “I had to come here first, to destroy the lodestone.”
Shark shakes his head. “There are other stones. Bec might be revealing their location to Lord Loss even as we speak.
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