Welcome to the Darklands by Richard Ashley Hamilton

Author:Richard Ashley Hamilton [Hamilton, Richard Ashley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781534412873
Amazon: 1534412875
Publisher: Simon Spotlight
Published: 2017-12-12T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 11

PLAN K

With unbridled speed, the gyre rocketed down the tunnels crisscrossing beneath the Earth. Toby, Claire, Blinky, and NotEnrique held on for dear life inside the Troll vehicle, while Draal manned the controls.

“Can you go easy on the clutch, dude?” Toby groaned, rubbing his belly.

“No,” said Draal, pulling a lever and sending the gyre pinballing down another tunnel.

Toby’s face turned as green as NotEnrique’s before Draal slammed on the brakes, and the gyre came to an abrupt stop within an active volcano.

“Oh, boy, here come yesterday’s tacos,” warned Toby.

Claire shuddered as Toby leaned out of the gyre and puked into the lava flowing beside them. A few feet ahead, the magma started to churn and swell under a slab of igneous rock, raising it upward.

“We’d better hurry or we’ll miss our connecting flight,” said Blinky. “So to speak.”

Draal opened the gyre door and started handing heavy bundles to everyone. Claire unfolded her bundle and discovered that it was some sort of strange uniform. The suit was hewn from heavy-duty fabrics, with colorful gemstones dotting the seams. A large hollowed-out crystal sat at the top, like a helmet, with another bulky crystal attached to the back, like a scuba tank. Toby weakly wiped the side of his mouth with the back of his hand, then inspected the suit’s gloves. They only had spaces for four fingers.

“I’m guessing you didn’t buy these at the boutique on Delancy Street,” Claire said.

“Graven Garb,” said Blinky as he donned his own uniform. “AAARRRGGHH!!!’s tribe—the Krubera—designed these millennia ago to withstand the crushing pressures and absolute darkness of their deepest mines.”

“Hold on a tick,” NotEnrique groused. “This is one dwarf who ain’t going a-mining! Besides, I don’t even see one of those Graven Garbs for me.”

“Maybe the Krubera have a petites section,” Toby joked while nudging NotEnrique.

“Unfortunately, RotGut only had four suits in their inventory,” Blinky explained. “You’ll have to share with someone.”

“Not it!” said Toby, Blinky, and Draal before Claire did.

She threw her hands up in the air and said, “Fine! But that better be a fresh diaper on you!”

NotEnrique hopped into Claire’s baggy suit, while the others finished dressing. The volcano rumbled, and the lava level started to rise.

“Helmets!” Draal yelled.

The group latched the hollow crystals securely to their Graven Garb and followed Draal onto the floating slab. The rock began to quake beneath their feet as the volcanic pressure built.

“Hold on to your horns,” Draal said. “If you got ’em.”

Without warning, the lava surged under the igneous platform, launching the team up, out of the volcano’s caldera, and into a dark and weightless void.

“Um, did that volcano shoot us straight into outer space?” Toby asked.

The gemstones studding the Graven Garb suddenly glowed. The spectrum of color revealed that they had not traveled to space—but to the bottom of the ocean. From inside their watertight helmets, Toby and Claire looked down and realized that they had just erupted out of an undersea volcano.

“NotEnrique, you’ve got to see this!” Claire said in wonder.

But the Changeling remained clutched to her side.

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