AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Is that…” Gus spluttered in disbelief as a plume of blue smoke drifted through the hallway, followed by a high-pitched whistle. “A train? Look out!”
“Express delivery from the Spooks Express!” Spooks released a merry toot as he sped towards the intruders. “Look out below!”
With a gleeful cackle, he poured the contents of a bucket into the corridor, until a tidal wave of custard exploded across the wooden floors. The spider-like legs of the machines skittered across the slippery floors, while workmen slid the length of the corridor, until they were carried out of the motel. Gus looked at the scene in bewilderment, before Spooks burst from a nearby wall, the bells on his jester’s hat jingling merrily.
“My, oh my, you look deathly pale.” Spooks broke into a wide grin at Gus’s terror. “It’s as if you’ve seen a ghost!”
With a startled cry, Gus retreated into the grand hallway, until he and a handful of workmen barricaded the doors behind them. He turned to Zoe as she watched them from the staircase, and called to her with a fearful cry.
“Make them stop!”
Zoe narrowed her eyes at Gus’s command, while the darkness rippled beside her. When she spoke, her voice echoed through the hallway, carried by the very shadows themselves.
“I warned you and your friends to leave.” The darkness lengthened and solidified, until it growled with a life of its own. “And now you’ll discover what happens when you don’t heed my warnings.”
Three pairs of eyes gleamed in the shadows, followed by jaws that snarled with a ferocious rage. Gus staggered backwards in fright as Cerberus prowled from the darkness, terrified by the formidable appearance of the beast.
“What is this place?”
Zoe smiled, and stepped from the staircase. Gasps of terror rippled among the workmen as she floated in the air before them, like a nightmarish specter fit to haunt their dreams. She drew a breath, and smiled as she spoke the same words that had once been uttered to her.
“This is my kingdom. And this is no place for the likes of you.” Terror rippled through the workmen as Cerberus’ growls deepened. “Now, Cerberus, be a good boy, and show our guests the way out.”
With a merry bark, Cerberus bounded towards the workmen below. At once, they raced out of the motel, pursued by an array of Misty’s kitchenware and the enchanted castanets nipping at their heels. As they piled into their trucks and sped away back to the city, the specters cheered with the delight of their victory.
“Oh, I haven’t had that much fun in centuries! What a delight it is to perform for an adoring crowd once again!” Spooks grinned as the sound of the workmen’s screams echoed through the Underworld. “Listen, they’re still cheering for us!”
“Something tells me they won’t forget that performance any time soon. Well, not until they cross the River Lethe, anyway.” But Zoe’s smile faded as a lone car remained in the grounds of the Underworld. “Wait, where’s Swindleton?”
She turned to the maze, where Shadow summoned a vast wall of vines to protect Persephone’s Tree. But her eyes widened as she spotted another figure, who carved through the vines with his chainsaw, while a horde of machines scuttled behind him.
“We have to help Shadow, before it’s too late!”
A buzz filled Zoe’s ear, as a will-ó-wisp joined her side. Together, they sped from the motel, and raced into the heart of the maze. Zoe gritted her teeth as she flew along the stormy winds, and kept her gaze on Shadow. This was her kingdom. And it was up to her to save it.
24
The storm raged. Arctic winds tore across the barren landscape, carrying sheets of hail that struck any who dared venture into the tempest, while giant vines erupted from the ground, writhing through the air like monstrous tentacles. Despite the hellish landscape, a lone figure sped deeper into the Underworld, desperate to save it from destruction. And she knew she had no time to waste.
Zoe rode the powerful winds, battling their strength as she raced to the heart of the Underworld. She wove between the vines as they burst from the splintered earth, and pressed on to Persephone’s Tree, where two figures battled. She watched in horror as Swindleton carved through the vines with his chainsaw, desperate to reach the source of the Underworld’s power, while Shadow summoned his powers, and shielded the vast tree with a wall of vines. But as deep fractures opened in the earth, revealing the darkness of Tartarus below, Zoe knew it would only be a matter of time until the entire Underworld was destroyed. And there was only one person capable of stopping it.
“Shadow!”
Zoe’s cry echoed through the heavens. But Shadow’s gaze remained cold and unyielding, lost in the darkness as he sought to protect the Underworld from its invaders. Her heart sank as a wall of vines blocked her path, until she called to him once more.
“Shadow, please! You have to listen to me–”
The roar of a chainsaw drowned out Zoe’s cries. She turned to see Swindleton carve a path through the vines, until he loomed before her.
“Out of my way, Zoe!” The roar of Swindleton’s chainsaw reverberated in the air, while a sneer crept across his lips. “Whatever you’re hiding in there, it’s mine.”
“Swindleton, you don’t understand!”
“No, you don’t understand. I won’t let some cheap magic tricks and a bunch of unruly weeds stand in my way.“ Swindleton’s eyes gleamed malevolently in the moonlight. “And there’s nothing you can do to stop me!”
Swindleton revved his chainsaw once more, before he cleared a path towards Persephone’s Tree. His eyes were wild with the promise of power, like a predator closing in on its prey. Zoe lunged for the chainsaw, but cursed as her hands drifted through it. She swore under her breath, knowing that Swindleton was right. In her spectral form, she was powerless to stop him.
“Swindleton, please!” Zoe watched in horror as the Underworld’s magic reacted to his presence, until great vines tore through the ground, sending chunks of earth tumbling into the shadowy depths of Tartarus below. “There’s something special about this town. A magic that lies beneath its surface. You just need to open your eyes to it.”
