A lion and his boy fight monsters in a dark dimension.
The bedroom was dark to Joe as he opened the door from the hall. The light outside stabbed in, a bridge across the wooden floorboards. Standing watch over the middle of the bed was a small plush toy, an African lion with black fur and mane. Its eyes glittered, black-glass marbles, sitting on its haunches, balanced, vigilant.
Joe walked the strip of light, dissolving it ahead of him with his looming shadow. He leaped as he neared the bed, wary of the monster underneath. It would like nothing better than to grab his feet, and pull him under the bed to the dark world. In the air, his feet were removing from the danger zone.
Joe landed on Nigel, bounced, grabbed the lion, and rolled to the side. He pulled the covers down, flopped on the pillow, then slipped beneath sheet and blanket, pulling Nigel along with him.
"Easy there," Nigel complained. "You nearly whumped the stuffing outta me, landing like that."
"I didn’t want the monster under the bed to get me," Joe explained.
"It wasn’t goin’ to happen tonight, kid," Nigel told him. "She’s been called away from her post. There’s a big shindig at Monster Central tonight."
"Really? A party? Can we go?"
The lion shrugged, "Fine with me, but Taron will be there. You know how he is about humans in the dark world. It could get ugly with a capitol ugh!"
"Well, you can take him, right?"
"Kid, long as you believe in me, I can take anyone. Well, If you want to walk the dark world tonight, you better grab the flashlight. Keep it in hand as you fall asleep. That way, if we need it in the dream world, it will be easier to summon."
"Alright. G’night, Nigel."
"G’night, kid."
* * *
Cassinder shivered in fear, knowing what was to come. She cast about for Yogg. Her red eyes smoldered in the darkness, watching, waiting. There was no sign of him yet, but it couldn‘t be long. Her vestigial wings rustled around her. Her split tail lashed with nervous energy. She stood with the rest of Taron’s subjects, attending his pleasure.
Her gaze went to Taron as he held the horned skull in clawed hands, high over head. The skull’s crystal-eyes glowed softly, casting thin muddy yellow beams out into the hard cold air. "Bring me the prisoner," He ordered, standing before a high-backed throne, his voice rebounding off the oynx floor and walls, echoing through miles of interlocking cavern-systems.
Moments later, chains rattled, footsteps approached. A gray-scaled creature, wearing an apron of leather-bound bones, was dragged up to the edge of the horned-skull’s light. Cassinder bit her own hand, forcing herself to restraint. She couldn’t slip away yet. It would be noticed. She’d have to wait until it was almost too late, and she didn‘t even know if HE would come--if HE would care to aid those likr her. It was all a reckless gamble, just like the failed rebellion.
Yogg grunted, squinting, turning his face from the feeble glow as though it were unendurable. It took four creatures like himself to hold him there despite the chains that bound his arms and tail behind him. One of his guards slammed a knee into his midsection. Another battered him down with spiked forearms across his back.
The prisoner snarled, driven to his knees. "Show honor to the Lord of Shadows, traitor," a guard demanded. "He gives you the chance to die better than you have lived."
Taron’s voice lashed out. "Plead for my mercy, Yogg. Beg for my forgiveness. It may be given; there’s a first time for everything."
"Save your putrid breath, tyrant. The only regret I have is that I failed in destroying your wicked toy. Only the skull makes you more than a mewling piece of worm-bait." Yogg turned his face to the light, blinded as he spit toward his lord.
Taron took a single step forward. The yellow beams caressed Yogg’s face. The scaled flesh began to smoke and bubble. The prisoner screamed in torment, jerking back. The guards stayed behind him, holding him in place. A sympathetic murmur swept through the gallery of spectators. They grudgingly supported Taron, but the skull was a hard judgment.
The flesh dripped like hot wax down the side of Yogg’s face. He howled until his voice went ragged and raw. The beams drilled into him, fanning him until he glowed with a matching light that inward from all directions. Writhing on the obsidian floor, Yogg no longer required anyone to hold him. Any strength he had hoarded for this moment was now gone.
"Name my enemies, Yogg, and I will end your suffering with the final darkness. Death will come," Taron said. "Now, who are the others?"
This is the moment, Cassinder thought. I must go. Be strong, Yogg! Buy me the time I need.
She slid back through the crowd that happily ignored her. Taron’s little show held everyone‘s attention. She got clear of the crowd and ran through many veils of shadow. Tentacles snagged her arm, stopping her headlong flight. Someone had waited for her in total stillness so she could not sense its movement through the air until it was too late.
"Be still. It’s me!" a familiar voice whispered.
"Guhgolli?"
"Yeah! Keep it down. You know how voices carry."
"Why are you stopping me. I need these out world heroes you have told me about. Yogg hasn’t much time left," Cassinder sobbed.
"You don’t have to go anywhere. I’ve had a word with Nigel. He and his cub are coming here. They should be meeting me about..."
They heard the little whistle at the same time, a breathy discordance that made up in enthusiasm what was lacking in skill. The monster under the bed and Cassinder froze at the boldness of the sound. "There they are," the monster under the bed said, pointing at a pair of swaying stars down one side tunnel.
The whistle broke off. A small boy came up to them, riding on back of a great black lion with green lantern eyes that thinned the darkness. It was Nigel and his boy. The lion had changed into his dark world form, growing to massive proportions. Cotton stuffing had become internal organs, bone, and muscle. A dyed cloth hide was now skin and sable fur. No fiercer beast ever tread the African savannah.
Strangely enough, Joe was unchanged, having never embroidered his self-image. He liked what he saw in the mirror each day. "Hey, guys," Joe called. "Where’s the party?"
Cassinder bowed before the two lords of the neither hell known as Earth. "Permit this low one to guide you, mighty lords,"
Nigel gave her a soft coughing grunt of encouragement, and Cassinder turned to lead the way. She set a stiff pace but it didn’t challenge Nigel’s endurance at all. Meanwhile, Guhgolli broke away, taking another route. She had no wish to be identified with the rebellion though it had her support.
Soon, they were back at the great obsidian cathedral. Cassinder fused into the crowd, leaving Nigel and Joe to their own devices. Sight of the outworlders evoked a wave of murmuring that swept toward the front of the congregation.
Taron looked up from his little game. "I know that smell," his words swelled with the rage of thunder. "There’s a human stench here." He looked down at Yogg. The creature was punctured and welling with ichors and slime. Sections of him had been burned off or blackened, but the light of life still glimmered in Yogg’s slitted eyes.
Taron frowned, realizing that Yogg had carefully out-witting him, letting the chains take the brunt of the skulls lethal energy. The rebel had played for time and now wore an infuriating smile. "I guess I have my answer," Taron said. "Here are your accomplices. We will see how well they like the horns of God."
"Bring it on." Nigel’s voice preceded him. I’m always ready to rock-n-roll."
The crowd rolled away, a parted sea that revealed Nigel and Joe to Taron. The shadow lord stepped over Yogg‘s smoking body, and stalking toward the outworlders. He held the skull out before him, trusting more to its powers than his own. The crystal eyes flashed brighter, fueled by Taron’s fury. He advanced, and fractured beams of muddy yellow swept closer to Nigel and Joe.
"Climb down, kid, and give me space," Nigel said.
Joe didn’t argue. He slipped down one side of his friend and edged away. Nigel turned his lantern gaze back to Taron. "Where did you get such a thing, Taron? And why doesn’t its energy burn you."
"You’re playing for time. Is that fear I see in your eyes?"
Nigel began to circle his foe, but stayed just outside the kiss of the beams.
"It doesn’t matter. I have become a god. There is nothing you can do to stop me." Taron paused to fill the dark vault with his laughter. "Very well, I will tell you what you wish to know. I was in the hell world of the humans, about to return to the dark world. But I had delayed overlong. Morning caught me with near killing force. Only the days overcast sky saved my life--though I was forced to hide in shadows until dusk reopened the portal beneath the bed."
"Interesting," Nigel said, still circling slowly, watching the play of beams. Without realizing it, Taron turned in step with him, partners in a dangerous dance. "So you saw this thing of power and stole it, bringing it here."
"Exactly!" Taron said. "It looked different in your hell-world, adorned with feathers, beads, and leather strips with silver buckles. It was painted with runes of red and blue. But once in the true world, in the lovely dark, it altered--becoming all I desire. It kills those I want dead, and spares my own flesh, because that is my will."
It was Nigel’s turn to laugh. He stopped circling and indulged himself. "And you seriously believe this thing's hellfire can burn such as I, who lives in the day-fire of the hell world?"
"I think it will answer my desire. If I really, really want you dead, then you will die. The old man who made this thing was called a great artist by your people. A potent sorcerer, he fashioned things of power and sold them to others of your kind. If your own people couldn‘t be touched by such things, they would not have bargained for them."
"Let’s see if your imagination has as much power as you believe," Nigel said. He crouched low and sprang with a rapid, fluid motion. His terrible roar joined with his green-eyed glow, clearing the yellow beams from his path, instilling fear. Taron’s collar bones audibly snapped as Nigel’s forepaws hit them. His hind legs cycled rapidly, generating numerous disemboweling strikes.
Splattered with his own gore, Taron went down screaming under Nigel’s pinning weight. The horned skull fell and bounced away, its beams still gyrating from each crystal-packed eye-socket. Nigel shifted an eye to follow it. The skull landed near Yogg. He squirmed away, respectful of the damage it could do. His roll brought him to Cassinder’s feet. "My love!" His call to her went ignored.
Cassinder stepped over him, walking into the beams, her eyes on the skull. The beams licked her but did no damage; her faith in herself was strong. She bent down, reaching for the fallen prize.
"No! Nigel cried a warning. "It takes its power from the one who tries to master it. Touch it, and the strength of your own spirit will be lost."
Kneeling over the skull, Cassinder looked up to meet Nigel’s fierce glare. "I don’t care," she said. "I will pay such a price for absolute power."
"Power is relative," Nigel said. "I’ve yet to see one that is absolute. Certainly, this is not it."
Cassinder laughed shrilly. "Well, It’s power enough for me." She grabbed the skull. The skull’s eyes turned violet. Violet beams replaced the muddy yellow ones.
"Noooooo!" Yogg screamed. "Don’t..."
Cassinder rose, turning toward her beloved. "Don’t tell me what to do. I am your goddess. Love me--adore me--or else. The light beams played over him, wrapping him in lilac lightning. He thrashed, clawing himself in agony. The already-weakened chains he wore fell away.
A small figure burst from the spectators, running toward Yogg. "Stop it," Joe yelled. "You’re killing him." The boy threw himself on top of the monster, shielding Yogg. The energy curled around him, harmless ribbons of light.
Nigel roared, starting into his charge. Cassinder turned and extended the skull. Its fractured eyebeams fused and focused, creating twin rays. The concentrated light struck Nigel hard, gouging into his substance, igniting his fur. He rolled away from the energy-play, using the same motion to smother the flames. "The flashlight, Joe," Nigel called. "Use it!"
Joe stared in disbelief that anything could hurt his friend. Then disbelief gave way to red-faced anger. Joe used the foulest words he knew, "Dirty-rotten-cheater! You’ll pay for that!" He extended an arm, as if holding something cylindrical. His thumb moved, as if throwing a switch. And the hell-light of earth formed a cone, radiating away from his hand.
The crowd ran for the exits, fleeing the pain of the indirect light that slithered off the polished obsidian surfaces all around. Yogg huddled behind Joe, protected by the boy’s shadow. The light fell fully upon Cassinder. She threw her own energy against it. Joe’s light never faltered.
It battered like a colossal fist through her web work of violet lightning, absorbing the crystal rays from the horned skull. The horned skull altered. Red and blue paint reappeared on it, as did leather throngs adorned with silver, beads, and pastel-painted feathers. The eyes became empty socket again.
Nigel leaped in, caught the skull in his jaws, and landed. A moment later, there was a crunch and the skull shattered to useless pieces. Nigel spat them out, turning to look into his own shadow which had fallen too-late over Cassinder to do her any good.
The light dissolved her from the knees up, leaving only a foul-smelling cloud that drifted away. "You can kill the light now," Nigel said.
Joe did, running forward to hug his friend. "Are you hurt bad?" he asked.
Nigel snorted, "Course not. You would never let that happen."
Joe searched the black fur. It was whole, as if never touched by the power of the skull. "This wasn’t much of a party," Joe complained.
Yogg shambled over to the boy. "We’ll try to do better for you next time you come through," the monster promised.
"Well, okay. But I’ll want cookies...and cake. What’s a party without cake?"
Nigel moved on, leading his boy back toward the outer-world portals. "What indeed?"
I remember this one now & it was as delightful a read as the first time! I can always count on a battle of some kind in all your stories and this one is no exception! Well done!!
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