The Empress of Otherworld by Corey Michael Dalton Bryland Sutton

Author:Corey Michael Dalton, Bryland Sutton [Sutton, Corey Michael Dalton, Bryland]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Band of Brothers

Peter drew his short sword and stepped toward the gangly, dagger-wielding man. “Who are you?” he demanded. “And what do you want?”

“I live here,” the man said, waggling his tongue. He wore a dirty, red work shirt and a pair of ragged, gray pants held up by suspenders. “I’m Spoon-Licker.” He stroked his scraggly beard, which would have been white if not for the caked-in mud.

“Excuse me?” Alice said.

“What’s the matter, girl? Got wax in your ears?” The man leaned forward and raised his voice. “I said, ‘My name’s Spoon-Licker!’ And that charming fellow behind you is my brother Meat-Hook.”

Hap turned to find a squatter, thicker version of Spoon-Licker directly behind them, this one brandishing a sharpened hook in one hand.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Meat-Hook growled. “And it’ll be really nice to eat you.”

“You don’t mean that!” Dorothy cried.

“Oh, but he does,” Spoon-Licker said. “My brothers and I like nothing more than devouring young humans. We’re trollsons, you see. Perhaps we’ll make a hearty stew out of you for dinner tonight.” He ran his long, wet tongue across the flat side of his dagger. “That will give me loads of spoons to lick.”

“And maybe we can have deep-fried children fingers as a midnight snack,” Meat-Hook said.

A third brother, this one sporting a white mustache and round, Coke-bottle glasses, peeked down from the rim of the shallow valley. “And how about a nice, light frittata for breakfast?”

“Give it up, Window-Peeper,” Meat-Hook yelled. He took a step toward the children. “No one likes your frittatas.”

“Stay back,” Peter warned. He turned from Spoon-Licker to Meat-Hook, waving his short sword.

Spoon-Licker dodged in and grabbed Peter’s hand from behind.

“Watch out!” Hap yelled. He dove at Spoon-Licker and knocked him to the rocky ground. Spoon-Licker gasped for air as Hap wrestled the dagger from his claw-like fist. Hap stumbled to his feet and then rushed back to his friends, dagger in hand.

Meat-Hook shook his head in disgust. “Beaten by a child, Spoon-Licker?”

“Can it,” Spoon-Licker said.

“Should I give the signal now?” Meat-Hook asked.

Spoon-Licker nodded.

“Trollsons!” Meat-Hook roared. “Attack!”

Along the rim of lava rock above them, ten men stood up, all of them wearing the same sort of ragged clothing as Spoon-Licker and Meat-Hook.

The four children crowded together, back-to-back, bumping into one another. Peter faced one way with his short sword and Hap faced the other with his stolen dagger.

“A dozen men against the four of us,” Peter declared. “Now it’s a fair fight!”

The bearded men scurried down the steep cliffs, more agile than seemed reasonable for men their age.

Alice grabbed a large, sharp rock from the ground. “Now do you think it was a good idea to follow Grady’s advice?” she yelled at Hap.

Spoon-Licker raised one crooked hand to his brothers and they all ceased their attack. “Did you say ‘Grady’?” he asked.

“Yes, I did!” Alice said.

The trollsons lowered their weapons.

“Grady told us that he had friends here who could help us,” Hap added. His voice quavered only a little.

Spoon-Licker closed one eye and pressed his face close to Hap, studying him.

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