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some prehis-toric time. Which meant the beast he’d heard breathing in the cave was . . . he touched the painted bear-thing on the wall. It dwarfed the figures of the men. Great , he thought again.
He moved backward through the cave, the spear in one hand, the torch in the other. He waved the makeshift torch back and forth, hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever-it-was stalking him. Its breathing was slow and deep, with just the hint of a guttural stutter—a growl—like a big empty barrel rolling along a gravel road.
He looked over his shoulder into the blackness of the cave behind him. “David!” he yelled. “Xander!”
The thing in the cave didn’t just hint at a growl now; it let loose with a roaring ear-splitting bellow that rumbled past Keal as though the cave itself was the beast’s throat.
Stumbling back, he yelled, “Boys! You there?”
Keal shook his head. He was Jesse’s nurse , for crying out loud! But since bringing the boys’ great-great-uncle to the Kings’ house, he’d seen nearly as much life-threatening action as he had as an Army Ranger. It was almost as if the house thrived on stress, fear, and action.
After dropping the boys off at school that morning, he had started working on the walls at the bottom of the third-floor stairs. Then the big guy, Phemus, came through a portal. They’d fought in the third-floor hallway, and Keal had been knocked out. When he woke, David was there, telling him he and Xander were following Phemus back through the portal. Ugh!
But David and Xander—he found himself having trouble breathing at the very thought of the boys—were in danger again.
Keal had crawled to the portal they’d gone through, grabbed the remaining items in the antechamber—the torch, flint, and a leather pouch of stone marbles, which he had tied to his belt—and gone over. Now, here was he was in the cave with no sign of the boys.
The beast in the darkness in front of him wasn’t so much breathing as it was huffing . . . and snorting. Another sound reached Keal now: clicking, like claws on the rock surface of the cave floor. Whatever it was, it was getting closer.
Keal turned and walked fast in the other direction. More of the same, just a circular tunnel carved through rock. It bent one way, then the other, opened up a bit, then shrank a little, like a stone giant’s intestines. He stopped, and heard the clicking claws right behind him. He swung around: nothing. But the blackness huffed and snorted just beyond the reach of his light.
Running wasn’t going to work. He was sure the beast fol-lowing him would eventually catch him. Maybe it would wait until Keal tripped or walked into a dead end. That would be worse than facing it now.
He tightened his grip on the spear, got it pointed straight out, and held the torch up.
If this thing turns out to be a rabbit or a mangy mutt , he thought, I’m going to laugh until I pass out .
He stepped toward the beast.
The shadows stirred. Something shimmered. As he took a step, the thing moved closer and came fully into the light. Keal stared into the beady eyes of the biggest, ugliest bear he had ever seen. It had a long snout, a domed head level with Keal’s, and a hunched back. Its brownish-golden coat rippled like water. It opened a mouthful of thick, sharp fangs and roared, rising up on two legs until its head and shoulders pressed against the ceil-ing of the cave. Furry arms the size of tree trunks reached out for Keal, each ending in a cluster of five knifelike claws.
Keal yelled, turned, and ran.
CHAPTER
SIX
F RIDAY , 12:19 P.M .
L OS A NGELS , C ALIFORNIA
Dad pulled the rental car into the drive-through of In-N-Out Burger.
“Can’t we call them?” Toria said. “Xander and David?”
Dad shook his head. “Keal should have picked up new phones this morning, but I don’t know the numbers. And we can’t call our old phone in case Taksidian is listening in.” They’d discovered yesterday that he’d bugged their
He moved backward through the cave, the spear in one hand, the torch in the other. He waved the makeshift torch back and forth, hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever-it-was stalking him. Its breathing was slow and deep, with just the hint of a guttural stutter—a growl—like a big empty barrel rolling along a gravel road.
He looked over his shoulder into the blackness of the cave behind him. “David!” he yelled. “Xander!”
The thing in the cave didn’t just hint at a growl now; it let loose with a roaring ear-splitting bellow that rumbled past Keal as though the cave itself was the beast’s throat.
Stumbling back, he yelled, “Boys! You there?”
Keal shook his head. He was Jesse’s nurse , for crying out loud! But since bringing the boys’ great-great-uncle to the Kings’ house, he’d seen nearly as much life-threatening action as he had as an Army Ranger. It was almost as if the house thrived on stress, fear, and action.
After dropping the boys off at school that morning, he had started working on the walls at the bottom of the third-floor stairs. Then the big guy, Phemus, came through a portal. They’d fought in the third-floor hallway, and Keal had been knocked out. When he woke, David was there, telling him he and Xander were following Phemus back through the portal. Ugh!
But David and Xander—he found himself having trouble breathing at the very thought of the boys—were in danger again.
Keal had crawled to the portal they’d gone through, grabbed the remaining items in the antechamber—the torch, flint, and a leather pouch of stone marbles, which he had tied to his belt—and gone over. Now, here was he was in the cave with no sign of the boys.
The beast in the darkness in front of him wasn’t so much breathing as it was huffing . . . and snorting. Another sound reached Keal now: clicking, like claws on the rock surface of the cave floor. Whatever it was, it was getting closer.
Keal turned and walked fast in the other direction. More of the same, just a circular tunnel carved through rock. It bent one way, then the other, opened up a bit, then shrank a little, like a stone giant’s intestines. He stopped, and heard the clicking claws right behind him. He swung around: nothing. But the blackness huffed and snorted just beyond the reach of his light.
Running wasn’t going to work. He was sure the beast fol-lowing him would eventually catch him. Maybe it would wait until Keal tripped or walked into a dead end. That would be worse than facing it now.
He tightened his grip on the spear, got it pointed straight out, and held the torch up.
If this thing turns out to be a rabbit or a mangy mutt , he thought, I’m going to laugh until I pass out .
He stepped toward the beast.
The shadows stirred. Something shimmered. As he took a step, the thing moved closer and came fully into the light. Keal stared into the beady eyes of the biggest, ugliest bear he had ever seen. It had a long snout, a domed head level with Keal’s, and a hunched back. Its brownish-golden coat rippled like water. It opened a mouthful of thick, sharp fangs and roared, rising up on two legs until its head and shoulders pressed against the ceil-ing of the cave. Furry arms the size of tree trunks reached out for Keal, each ending in a cluster of five knifelike claws.
Keal yelled, turned, and ran.
CHAPTER
SIX
F RIDAY , 12:19 P.M .
L OS A NGELS , C ALIFORNIA
Dad pulled the rental car into the drive-through of In-N-Out Burger.
“Can’t we call them?” Toria said. “Xander and David?”
Dad shook his head. “Keal should have picked up new phones this morning, but I don’t know the numbers. And we can’t call our old phone in case Taksidian is listening in.” They’d discovered yesterday that he’d bugged their
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