Assassin of Amethyst by Joseph Daniel

Author:Joseph Daniel [Daniel, Joseph]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-02-24T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12:

Return to Underlake

They reached the Underlake chasm, and Lucius handed Judah off to a Fifther with instructions to take him to meet up with the other Thirdsters at the nursery.

The nursery was a strange structure; it had six glass walls, each facing a different sort of terrain.

One side of the glass structure was blasted with sand, another side was spattered with rainwater, another was warm, reflecting a prairie, and still another had splotches of mud. The terrain, Judah had realized, was the playpen for all the Nimrod trovelings. Now and then, he caught glimpses of some of the creatures moving in the different terrains, shaking trees, or traipsing through the snow. Trovelings were secretive creatures, though, and rarely made their presence known.

Judah had been led to the back of a line of rookies filing one by one into the nursery. There were twenty seven of them in total, each of them carrying a glittering gemstone egg. Some of the Thirdsters noticed Judah as he approached and whispered amongst themselves, pointing at him and sometimes even waving. Many of these genies were bandaged or bruised. One Peregrine even had her arm in a sling. Still, they looked much better than the last time Judah had seen them—sprawled out, half-conscious on a chasm floor, while maniacal rizzles tried to drag them through a world portal.

One such genie, a tall, flat-faced Grumblud, stepped out of line and raised his hand.

Judah flinched, expecting a punch. The Grumbluds and Smiths weren't exactly friendly.

But the red-haired genie, wearing burlap pants—Grumbluds valued discomfort—opened his hand and kept it extended. Sheepishly, Judah realized he was trying to shake.

He took the hand weakly; the giant Grumblud's palm completely enveloped Judah's, and they shook.

“Was hoping to see you again,” said the Grumblud, his voice raspy. “We owe you, Flummox. All of us do.”

With a start, Judah recognized the Grumblud. He had been the one who'd used his shoe buckle to free his tied hands back in the labyrinth. The Grumblud's wild sweeping attacks had kept the rizzles busy long enough for Aveline and her brother to arrive.

Judah's grip tightened somewhat, and he nodded. “I was chained to the ceiling,” he said. “You're the one who saved us. Thank you.”

The Grumblud smiled; he glanced over his shoulder, as if to see if anyone else had heard. “Fair is fair. We owe each other. The name's Clayton,” he said.

“Judah.”

“I know. Everyone does.”

Just then, another Grumblud wandered past, glaring daggers at Judah and Clayton.

“What's the matter, kinsman?” Clayton said to the passing genie.

“Fraternizing with Smiths, kinsman?”

It was Boaz. Judah hadn't had a run-in with the unpleasant Grumblud for a while now, but Boaz and Judah had never gotten along. Things had only gotten worse when Cleo tricked Boaz out of his treasure pouch in an alley a few weeks before.

Boaz cut in line, pushing a Peregrine out of the way at the front, followed by a couple of his sidekicks—a Lockwood who would have been stunningly good-looking if not for the sneer on her face and another Grumblud who looked like a stump.

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