Facing the Beast Within by MARK CHEVERTON

Author:MARK CHEVERTON
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781735878171
Publisher: MARK CHEVERTON

Chapter 16

The Skull of Longing

We sped through the tall weeds and out the gate that separated the tangled forest of overgrowth from the neatly manicured school grounds.

“Faster,” Leonard shouted, his football pads bouncing about on his shoulders. “Karl, take up the rear with me.” He glanced at the baseball player. “We have to give Cameron time to hide the Skull Key somewhere within Camp Pontchartrain.”

Karl nodded, then slowed, letting Bobby, Elisa, and me move ahead. “Here they come.”

A gargoyle leaped into the air and flapped its wings, taking to the sky. The monster picked up speed, then dove at Leonard, its smoking fingers extended. Watching it over his shoulder, Leonard let it get closer, then skidded to a stop and swung his hockey stick. The wood smashed into the gray creature’s wing and the gargoyle fell hard to the ground. Leonard hit it one more time across the back, smashing both wings, then turned and sprinted after us.

Karl stopped running, turned, and attacked. He swung his bat at a group of approaching imps. The tiny red demons charged at Karl with claws extended and teeth bared. Their red bodies stood out in the moonlight, making them easy targets. His bat flashed through the air like a bolt of blue aluminum lighting. Karl hit imp after imp, knocking them aside as if they were annoying gnats. Gargoyles charged him. The baseball player slowly moved backward as he struck at the attackers. Number Three smashed smoking hands and extended wings. But for every monster Karl clubbed into unconsciousness, two more flooded out of the Crypt.

A wave of claws and fangs descended upon the baseball player.

Leonard reached Karl’s side and used the hockey stick like a scythe cutting wheat. The wooden shaft struck down monster after monster. Imps fell to the ground, wounded, with wings torn and claws chipped.

One imp made it past Karl’s bat and slashed at his arm. Its dark claws sliced across Karl’s skin, drawing a thin bead of blood. With a kick to the chest, Karl sent the monster tumbling to the ground, then brought his bat down onto the Agarthan, knocking it out. The two captains fought side by side, each watching the other’s flank.

I glanced over my shoulder at the two athletes. Soon, the approaching mob would overwhelm them. A buzzing storm of angry hornets filled my head, my Beast closing in.

I can’t let them get hurt, I thought. They’re like friends . . . Leonard is, at least . . . and I have so few.

Automatic negative thoughts flashed through my mind like lightning during a hurricane, each image showing how Leonard and Karl might get hurt. I gotta help them. I can do it!

At that moment, the quartz Chakra stone grew hot on my skin. Light leaked out from beneath my shirt as it glowed, getting hotter, but not burning my flesh. The glow from the quartz leaked into my mind, driving many of the ANTs back into the shadows and silencing the angry hornets in my head, allowing me to think.

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