Page 42 of Clash of Kingdoms

“Three—”

“Three? Then let’s go now.”

“It’s not guarded by three demons, but the three Demon Lords. From what Beast described, we should fear them.”

“I fear no one.”

“Well, they’re unlike anything living or dead. He described them as beings that have always existed…like time. No one is allowed to approach the crystals, except for Vine. Beast refused to take us there.”

Huntley looked at the snake, pissed off. “It needs to be done.”

“He also said their leader is Velkum, someone no one has ever seen.”

Huntley’s eyes narrowed.

“I want to destroy these crystals as much as you do, but I also want to live to tell the tale. I want to return to my—” I halted, catching myself before I said something I shouldn’t. “We need a plan.”

“We can’t make a plan if we don’t know what we’re dealing with.”

“Beast agreed to take us close enough to see, but not close enough to enter. Then he’ll take us to the surface, and we’ll return home to figure out a plan. I understand you want this done as quickly as possible, but we need to be smart about this.”

Huntley continued to breathe hard, like it took all his strength not to scream.

“Let’s go.”

Beast lowered his head so we could jump onto the back of his neck. Rancor was the last one to join us, silent the whole time as if he was still in shock. Beast began his progression through the darkness, slithering through chasms left and right, even downward as his strong body gripped the jagged rocks to keep himself suspended.

After an hour of traveling, he stopped.

In the far distance was a crystal unlike all the others, brilliant blue, so bright it lit up the surrounding rock like sunshine. It protruded directly from the surface of the cavern, a tall prism that pointed downward directly on top of a fortress. A massive iron gate blocked entry to the estate.

We all stared at it in silence.

There were no guards at the gate. No one on the premises. It was silent.

They’ve expired their crystalsss…and that’sss the last one that remainsss.

That’s why Vine refused to go elsewhere.

Yesss.

After minutes of silence, Huntley spoke. “It would take a thousand men to destroy that with pickaxes.”

“We need explosives.”

Huntley looked at me. “Explosives?”

“They’re packed with powder and lit with fire. My brothers use them all the time.”

Huntley continued to look confused.

“I’ll show you when we return. If we have enough of those, we may be able to destroy it.”

“Then we’ll get these explosives and return,” Huntley said. “That sounds like a simple plan.”

They’ll sssenssse you. You’ll have only ssseconds.

“We’ll have to do it fast,” I said. “Beast says they can sense you.”

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