The Demonata #10: Hell's Heroes by Darren Shan Read Free Book Online Page A

come into focus and he leers. “Grubitsch…” he whispers. “Come to me… Grubitsch…”
    “In my own good time,” I growl.
    The face presses out of the page like a 3-D image. “Give yourself… to me. Let me end… it all now. No more pain. No more sorrow. No more—”
    “—of your bull,” I snort, then roar at the book. Lord Loss’s face wrinkles, then flattens. Seconds later it’s just a picture, and his voice is gone. I toss the book aside. “That’s enough nostalgic crap,” I huff, and head back to the house, all my goodbyes completed, ready for business.

ROCK ON

    W E walk to the cave, leaving the pilot and the helicopter at the house. I know this forest so well, even having been away so long, that I could go through it with my eyes closed and never stumble. I savor the familiar sights and smells, taking it all in. I sense things kicking into high gear. This could be my last quiet night for a long time, maybe ever.
    When we reach the place where the cave is, there’s no sign of an entrance.
    “What’s happening?” Kernel asks, sniffing the air uneasily.
    “The hole’s been filled,” I tell him.
    “Then we’ve nothing to worry about,” he says. “They can’t do anything with the lodestone unless they can access the cave from this side.”
    “I’m not taking any chances.” I grab Kernel’s hand and squeeze hard. As he yelps, I use the power of the Kah-Gash to unite with him. Our potential skyrockets, and I draw energy from everything around us, and from the reservoir of magic beneath our feet.
    With my free hand, I point at the spot where the hole used to be and bark a command. Rocks and dirt—along with lots of insects and a few startled rabbits—fly into the air in a funnel and arc over our heads.
    Kernel trembles when I release him. “How did you do that?” he croaks. “You took power from me without my permission.”
    “I’m the trigger,” I remind him. “The guy who fires the Kah-Gash into life. I don’t need permission.”
    “So you can steal from me whenever you like,” Kernel snarls, relations between us deteriorating as swiftly as they’d started to improve.
    “Don’t have a heart attack,” I mutter, then scramble down the hole into the gloom of the subterranean world.
    Kirilli helps Kernel as we climb down a steep wall. Moe and Curly flank them, growling softly, wary of this underground den. I’d be happy to descend in the dark, but Kirilli creates a ball of light. “There,” he beams. “That’s much better.”
    As he says that, his prosthetic foot slips and he drops. A yell escapes his lips, and his eyes widen with alarm. But before he can plummet to his death, Moe grabs his left arm. The werewolf braces himself and clings to the wall as Kirilli jolts about. Once the startled magician has regained his wits—along with his grip—Moe lets go.
    “He saved my life,” Kirilli gasps, looking like he’s about to be sick. “These beasts are becoming more human every day.”
    “Don’t bet on it,” I grunt. “He only kept you alive in case he gets hungry later.”
    Kirilli chuckles weakly. “You’re joking, right, Grubbs?” I carry on climbing down.
“Grubbs?”
    The cave hasn’t changed since the night Bill-E died. I can still appreciate its spectacular beauty, the amazing array of stalagmites and stalactites, the unusual formations, the waterfall cascading from one of the walls. That surprises me. After everything that happened, and all the wonders I’ve seen in the demon universe, I thought I’d be immune to the charms of the cave. But it thrills me almost as much now as when I first discovered it with Bill-E and Loch.
    “Impressive,” Kirilli murmurs, strolling through the fields of stalagmites. “I did a bit of spelunking in my younger days. This is a splendid fissure. I’m sure it’s the start of a chain of caves. If I had the proper equipment, I’d love to explore fully.”
    “We’re not here to map cave systems,” I growl, marching