Chapter 7: The Kingdom of Mot
“It’s starting to rain hard now, you two,” Retep warned, while holding out his hand.
Lorac could not help chuckling to herself. It’s so funny, when people do that. It is clearly raining hard now, but it’s almost as if it wasn’t true, unless they held out their hand to check first.
The burst of rain slowed to a light drizzle, giving the intrepid band of adventures the opportunity to carry on with their intended mission.
“Come on, let’s get going. The rain has almost stopped again,” Lorac urged the pair of them. “If we can get past my castle, without getting noticed, then we’re home free, all the way to Mot’s realm.”
Retep and Mot quickly agreed. They each tried to pretend that they did not feel the rain steadily growing in intensity as they neared the Kingdom of Lorac. The light drizzle, hitting them from time to time, began to turn into a real downpour.
Running for cover, Retep called out to them, “Over here, over here.”
Following Retep, Lorac and Mot tried to stay low and out of sight, as they dashed from bush to bush. They did not really care if they got wet or not, but they were sure that if they were spotted by the queen or her spies, the quest would have to be called off.
Fortunately, as it often times happens with summer storms, they can stop as suddenly as they start. With a break in the storm and the rays of the sun beginning to shine down once more, the decision to continue the quest was confirmed.
Without hesitation, Mot, followed closely by Lorac and Retep, ran jumping over fences and through neighboring Kingdoms, on their way to his castle.
“Look!” Retep exclaimed, as he pointed toward a small blond girl who looked to be about nine years old. They could see she was crying and staring down into the storm drain near her ‘village.’ “We may be able to render aid to this damsel in distress,” he added, as he headed towards her.
“What seems to be the trouble, fair maiden?” Mot chimed in, not wanting to be out done by Retep.
They quickly learned how she had lost her doll, when her baby buggy had tipped over. Her doll had fallen into the gutter and was carried away into the storm drain.
Crowding around the storm drain, they all tried to take a look inside for the doll. At this point, the water had slowed down to a trickle. This, they decided, was really where the adventure was to begin for the day.
“It seems that the vile creature came out during a break in the storm. The horrid beast has made off with this poor damsel’s baby!” Mot concluded, while standing as tall as he could.
In an attempt to, also, sound as important as she could, Lorac added, “The creature, hearing us approach, must have sensed that it was in danger. It must have decided to take refuge in the cave that this river flows into.”
Lorac took her place next to Mot who was followed closely by Retep.
With her flashlight held high up in the air, Lorac commanded her comrades, “Light your torches. Let us help this poor woman to save her baby.”
With their flashlights at the ready, the band of rescuers prepared to retrieve the doll from the storm drain.
They all leaned over, to peer inside. Unfortunately, the storm drain was too narrow, to see much of anything down there. They all dropped to their knees to get a closer look. The hot damp air inside assaulted their noses, as the smell of moldy leaves and rotting garbage came drifting up to greet them.
Retep was the first to fall into full character, “Fear not, sweet damsel. We are the kings of the realm, and we will assist you. I will sacrifice my safety and enter this cave to rescue your child.”
The girl that they decided to stop and help instantly fell into character. It was as if she were in on their plans from the start.
“Oh, thank you, kind Sirs, for coming to my rescue,” she said, with a short curtsey.
Lying on his belly, Retep slithered into the storm drain as far as he could. He then reached out his hand behind him, and called up at us “A torch, my good man! I think… I can… see… her. It seems that the creature has dropped her. He must have heard us coming after him. She looks as if she is caught up on a branch. Yes… I can… see her,” Retep struggled to holler up at them.
Retep continued to speak in broken sentences, as he grasped for the doll.
Grunting and groaning, Retep tried to stretch a little farther. “I can… almost… reach… her, but… not quite,” he said in a voice barely above a whisper. “I’m going to set the torch down, so that I might be able to reach in just a little further.”
Retep laid the light beside him. He tried to reach a little farther down into the cave, again. “I can… just… about reach… her. There, I have her!”
Mot was about to help pull Retep out of the storm drain, when Retep gave out a scream that sounded a lot like a frightened little girl. Retep, along with the doll, came flying out of the storm drain.
Everyone watched, as the doll went tumbling through the air, followed by the little girl, as she went running after it.
“My baby, my baby!” she screamed, as she ran to retrieve it from where it had landed.
Lorac and Mot grabbed onto each other when they were shaken by the sudden outburst. Without hesitation from either of them, Mot and Lorac reached over and began yelling at Retep. “Why did you do that?”
“I felt something brush my hand. There’s something down there!”
Retep stood rubbing and shaking his hand, as if this would remove the feeling of something unknown, off of it.
“What did it feel like, a big rat maybe?” Lorac asked, full of curiosity.
“Yes, what do you think it was?” Mot added.
“I’m not sure,” Retep answered. “But, I think it tried to bite me!”
Everyone, including the girl they had stopped to help, gathered around to check his hand for any signs of a bite. There were a few minor scratches and a couple of places that may have looked like he could have been bitten.
All at once, everyone who had a flashlight pointed it down into the storm drain, to see if they could get a glimpse of the storm drain monster. No one was able to see any more than some trash and small broken tree limbs that had washed down the drain. After a few minutes it was decided that it was probably nothing more than a broken branch.
At that point, Lorac, Retep, and Mot, decided to return to the adventure that they had originally started out on, but were stopped by the girl holding the wet and dirty doll.
“I would like to thank you, kind Sirs, for your bravery,” she lavished. “However, I do not think that mere thanks alone are enough for saving my baby from the evil creature that stole her and took her away to eat.” She added this part, with such conviction, that it was as if she believed Retep had actually saved her baby from a fate worse than mere death alone.
Still in character, Lorac, Peter, and Mot bowed before her. In unison the rescue party drew their stick swords and held them up in the air.
“It is our duty and pleasure to protect and serve the peasants of our Kingdoms that cannot for themselves, fend off the dangers that exist here,” Mot answered with some swagger in his voice, as they departed.
“This is where I live,” Mot said, as they came to a stop in front of a large white house. Their group surveyed the area and finalized the plan of attack on the shed.
The fortress stood about twenty feet to the left of what was one of the biggest houses in the neighborhood. It was an impressive looking white house, as it towered over the neighbors’ houses.
This is going to be more of an adventure than I had hoped! Lorac thought to herself, after seeing the house and yard for the first time.
“Alright, first we need to destroy the sentries that protect the mouth of the creature’s fortress. On my mark,” Lorac said quietly, not wanting to arouse the sentries’ suspicions. “Now!”
Mot and Retep leaped out to encompass the wicked and evil minions who watched over the entrance to the creature’s lair.
All at once, the chickens
that had been peacefully scratching around in the grass for bugs, scattered in all directions. The rescue party chased each one of them, until everyone was quite out of breath.
“It appears that news of the deeds and battles that we have fought and won has preceded us,” Mot boasted, as he tried to catch his breath, then added “The sentries that so bravely guarded the fortress of the creature, have all deserted their posts.”
“They have retreated back down into the dark bowels of the underworld from whence they came,” Retep added.
“Wait,” Lorac interrupted, as she grabbed them both by the arm. “Listen…” she whispered, while dropping onto the ground. Lorac then half crawled, half scooted backwards, toward the cover of nearby bushes.
Without a word, Retep and Mot did the same. Even though they did not hear anything, they wanted to be sure not to scare off the creature that Lorac thought she had seen or heard.
Lorac laid as flat as she could on the ground. She held up a finger to her mouth, to suppress any questions her friends were about to ask, while she pointed towards the shed. “There it is again, a noise from inside the fortress,” Lorac whispered.
This immediately brought everyone’s attention back to the mission at hand; the retaking of the Kingdom of Mot, back from the horrid creature conjured up by the evil sorcerer.
Lorac tapped each of them on the shoulder, and pointed first to the right, then to the left of the fortress, indicating which side that they were each to go, while she went up the middle. Mot and Retep crouched down, as they made their way closer. The sound of rustling inside the shed caused them all to drop back to the ground. After a short wait, they did not hear any other sounds, and resumed their advance toward the shed.
It was anyone’s guess as to whether it might possibly be a rat or one of the chickens, trapped inside, but, Lorac knew everyone wanted to make sure.
“I think we should storm the door,” Mot offered.
“Wait,” Retep whispered, “I think it might be better if we snuck inside. We don’t want this vile creature hiding in there to panic and try to attack us instead.”
“Okay, let’s walk up quietly and press our ears against the door and walls before we go inside. Maybe we can hear, where in the fortress, the creature might be,” Mot whispered back.
Lorac grimaced, as the wall made creaking noises when she leaned on the side of the shed. The last thing that she wanted to do was startle the creature inside and give away their plans.
“Do you hear anything? Mot, do you hear anything?” Lorac repeated.
“No,” Mot replied.
“Ask Retep if he can hear anything,” she said back to him.
“He said ‘no’ too. I wonder if the creature is in there anymore or if it had somehow gotten out before we were able to make our way over to its hideout,” Mot whispered over to Lorac.
“I don’t know. Maybe we should just go inside and have a look around.”
Mot and Lorac waited for Retep to open the door, only to be stopped again by Mot.
“Wait, I hear it,” Mot whispered, as he grabbed both of their arms.
Without actually going inside, they all leaned toward the door, to listen again.
“Yes, yes, I hear it too!” Retep and Lorac declared in unison.
Quietly backing away from the door, while trying to make as little noise as possible, Lorac held her sword out in front of Mot and Retep to acquire their attention.
“For safety’s sake, I suggest that we remove our crowns and capes, to keep from possibly getting caught on anything, in case we need to make a hasty retreat.”
Retep and Mot quickly agreed.
“Alright, make ready my lads,” Lorac whispered, as low as she could.
With her hand on the door handle, Lorac slowly opened the door, just far enough for everyone to peer inside.
The shed felt hot and muggy inside. The dust and spider webs hung heavy in the air, caking the items scattered around the tiny shed. It was filled with a rotten, rancid smell, like when raw meat is left out on the counter far too long on a hot summer day.
The stench made it difficult to breath. Looking over to the far side of the shed, Lorac watched as tiny particles of dust danced in and out of the sunlight that was streaming in through small holes in the wall.
“I wish there was more light, so we could get a better look at what’s in here,” Lorac uttered, leaning over towards Retep.
“Yeah, the windows are so dirty, that they are hardly letting in any light,” Retep added.
Mot and Lorac both glanced up at the windows that were high up on the west and south sides of the shed.
“The spider webs look kind of pretty with the way they bend and twist the light,” Mot mused.
Retep and Lorac stood, with half-twisted smiles, as they stared over at Mot. Lorac was sure that Retep was also wondering if Mot had lost his mind.
With their eyes now more accustomed to the low light, Lorac signaled for Mot and Retep to begin to inch their way forward. They moved in silence, as they began to poke around and look for the creature that they hoped was still in there. When anyone dared to speak, it was only in a whisper so low, it was difficult to make out the words.
Even though it was hotter than being in an oven, Lorac still found herself wishing that she was wearing her dad’s coat, so she could pretend he was there with her.
“Are you scared?” Retep asked in a quiet voice.
“Of course not,” Mot and Lorac both answered shakily.
“Are you?”
“No,” he replied, after some hesitation.
Lorac was sure they were both lying. She knew she was.
The foul smell and dust had started to burn their noses, as they continued to move further into the shed. The air felt so thick you could have cut it with a knife. Their clothes clung to their now dripping bodies, from the intense heat. No fresh air or breeze was able to make its way into the recesses of the dark and forgotten world that they had ventured into. Lorac was sure of this much.
Lorac stood and looked around at the different things that had been stored in the shed. She guessed, by the looks of how much dust and the vast number of spider webs hanging around on them that they had been in here, just about forever.
No one wanted to be the first to turn on their torch. They were afraid that if they did, it would make them look like they were more afraid than the others. The closer to the back of the shed the group ventured, the more cluttered it became. This caused everyone to pick their way through to the back more carefully.
The courageous band of three, peered into all the places that a creature could possibly hide. Lorac secretly hoped she would not be the one to find it first. That is, unless it was something small, like a mouse or an innocent bunny rabbit.
Turning around to face the other kings, Lorac warned them, “Be careful when picking up anything. We don’t know where the creature that is capable of creating such enormous webs such as these, is hiding right now.”
Lorac, having said that, turned back around and walked right into one of the large sticky webs, that she had just warned them about, only moments before.
To her complete horror, it immediately clung to her face and hair. Before she could stop herself, Lorac let out a blood curdling scream. The unrelenting torment continued as Lorac thrashed about and struggled to get it off her face. Try as she might, she could not seem to free herself.
Wild thoughts of giant spiders coming out of the dark shadows and wrapping her in a giant cocoon, raced through her mind.
Finally, as she gasped for breath, and feeling quite sick to her stomach after such a fright, Lorac, at last, was able to free herself from the hideous trap that the creature had set for them.
The commotion raised by her screams, caused both Retep and Mot to scream too. If anyone would have seen them, they would have thought they were watching a bunch of clowns, running into each other.
Finally, calming back down, they all stood and looked at each other, with the same, Wh
at just happened? look on their faces.
“Well, I’m sure whatever creature was in here, is surely gone after all that racket,” Retep stated flatly, with a sigh of relief that it was not him that had set off the alarm.
“We need to be sure. Let’s keep looking. We’re almost at the back of the shed,” Lorac urged them. She was relieved it was dark enough in there to hide her face, which was now bright red with embarrassment.
Although everyone was sure that it was gone or at least, secretly they all hoped it was, the search continued.
Lorac’s head pounded with the sound of her own heart. She took in a slow breath, while she collected her wits about her. After all, being a king, it just would not do to let the other kings see her afraid of the creature that they sought or of running into any more traps that may still be in store for them.
“We’ve looked everywhere, except the far left corner. I think it’s too dark to be able to see over there, though,” Mot said uneasily, while he waited for Lorac and Retep to join him near the back corner.
“I think we should go ahead and turn our flashlights on,” Lorac replied, as she reached for hers. Not finding it, she realized that she had left it outside in the yard.
“Do either of you have your torch with you?” Lorac asked.
“No,” was the sheepish response that came back from both.
They had all left their flashlights out in the yard, after putting them down to chase the chickens.
By now, their eyes were stinging bitterly, as the sweat and dust that now covered them from head to toe, dripped down their faces.
Lorac wondered, Do the others have thoughts of giving up for the day, also?
The heat and smell of the beast’s lair was taking a toll on the small group. Still, no one spoke up or suggested they give up. Lorac was not about to be the first to suggest that they abandon the mission. Consequently, they pushed on in their quest to rid the Kingdom of Mot of the horrid creature.
Mot urged Retep and Lorac to pick up the large snow shovel obstructing the view of the only corner that no one had yet checked. This was followed by nudges given by each of their comrades to go toward the shovel. They all wanted to see if the creature had been scared away or if the thing that Mot had seen was still in there with them.
“Stand back!” Lorac barked at them. “I will push the shovel over with the end of my sword.”
Without another word being spoken, they quickly moved to the side of the shed, farthest away from the shovel, but not so far away that they could not see if the creature they sought was back there or not.
Summoning up as much courage as she could, Lorac slowly reached over with her sword at full arm’s length. She hoped they could not see how much her hand was shaking, as the tip of the sword made its way closer to the shovel.
Just another two inches, she thought to herself.
Lorac leaned forward while she held her tongue out and off to the side, as if it would help her reach further. The tip of the sword was just a hair’s breadth away from the shovel, when a sudden gust of wind caught the shed door, blew it open, and then slammed it shut again, just as fast.
That was all it took to send everyone in the intrepid band of adventures, scrambling and crashing into each other, as they tried to escape from this ghastly foreboding place. Much to their horror, after having been scared a second time in the dark, they had lost all sense of direction.
“Okay, everybody stop for a minute!” Lorac shouted.
Retep and Mot stood with their eyes squinting into narrow slits, while trying to figure out where in the shed they were.
“There is no way the creature is still in here after all that!” Lorac stated flatly, as she approached the shovel.
Close on her heels Mot and Retep joined her; the boys leaned over with her and stared into the corner.
“Okay, let’s take a look back here, so we can be done with this. It’s bloody hot in here, and I, for one, would like to be sitting under a nice shade tree right about now,” Lorac grumbled, while wiping more sweat and dust from her face.
Mot and Retep quickly agreed. They were also ready to be somewhere else. In spite of the misery that they found themselves enduring none of them wanted to give up after coming this far.
Lorac grabbed a hold of the shovel handle and gave it a pull. She wanted to prove she was right and that the creature was gone.
“Pick it up!” they both urged her.
“I’m trying to, but it seems to be stuck,” Lorac said with some irritation, as she tried a couple more times.
She did not want them to think that she, the King of Lorac, could not pick up a snow shovel. Becoming frustrated, she told them to stand back. She then grabbed the shovel with both hands and gave it one final heave-ho.
The shovel went flying up and out of her hands. To her surprise, the shovel proceeded to soar across the room and crash into the front door. Mot and Retep ducked, and crouched close to the ground, while covering themselves with their hands and arms. No one wanted the shovel or anything else to come down on their heads.
Once the dust settled, each of them looked to see if any more damage to the shed had been done. Standing slowly and dusting off, each in turn started to laugh at all the times that they had managed to scare themselves in such a short time.
“Quiet!” Mot warned, while waving his hand in the air.
Retep and Lorac watched him as he continued to motion for them to be silent. Everyone’s attention was drawn back to the corner that he was pointing at.
Mot continued, “I can hear noises over there in the dark, over in that corner. It sounds like it’s moving around, as if it’s looking for a way out.”
No one wanted to be the one in front of the other. Nevertheless, they all still wanted to get a look at whatever it might be.
Crowding around each other, they stooped down, to get a better look.
“What do you think it is?” Mot asked.
“I don’t know. I can hardly see. We’ve lost what little light we did have when the sun went behind some clouds,” Lorac replied in an exasperated tone.
Retep stood up and stared at the windows, as if this would magically bring back the sunlight.
Their attention was abruptly brought back to the dark corner of the shed. The unspeakably vile monster that they had trapped in the shed with them began to crackle and growl in an unnervingly deep tone, followed by a long horrible hiss.
The creature, could not be seen, but they could hear it, which sent cold shivers up the spines of all that stood here, before it.
“Do you think it’s a snake?” Retep asked.
“I’m not sure,” Mot replied. “I don’t think snakes can crackle or growl,” he added.
“Oh yeah, that’s right.”
Normally, Lorac would have rolled her eyes at this, but not today.
With her curiosity overriding her fear, Lorac stood as far off to the side as she could, in case the creature made a run for the door, and then poked into the shadowy corner with her sword.
While poking at it, Lorac declared, “I, the King of Lorac, the King of Retep, and the King of Mot, have come to send you back to the dark pits of hell, from whence you came! You shall terrorize these poor villagers no further.”
Lorac’s heart lodged itself in her throat when she thought she felt something grab the end of her sword. The mysterious creature trapped in the corner seemed to try to pull it from her hand. While it continued to hiss and crackle, Lorac called out to Retep and Mot, “I think it’s trying to bite my sword. I can feel something pulling on it!”
Mot and Retep rushed to her aid and also poked into the dark corner with their swords.
“Give up and return to the dark pit from whence you came, you foul fiend,” Mot added.
With one final jab, the creature gave out a terrifyingly high-pitched scream, which sent everyone running for the exit. Slamming into the door and flinging it open, no one stopped to look back.
Lorac stuck her sword into the groun
d, to help prop the door open, in an attempt to let more light inside. She had hoped this would allow them to see what they had trapped in the corner. Not seeing anything, they all walked back into the shed and slowly poked at things with the other two swords as they went.
Lorac and the boys had almost reached the corner, when suddenly, some of the tools that hung on the walls, came crashing down around them. The thunderous calamity came from all directions and sent each of them high tailing for the door, a second time.
That was one too many scares in one day. It was decided to retreat bravely, and with considerable haste, to live and to fight another day.
The rest of the afternoon was spent weaving tales about what each thought they had found in the shed. Afterwards, Lorac followed by Retep and Mot walked over to pull her sword out of the ground.
“I’m sure, after leaving the door propped open, while we spent time weaving our tales, the creature must have gotten out,” Mot hoped, as he closed and latched the door.
“That’s too bad. I know we all wanted to see what it was that could make all of those strange sounds,” Lorac added.
After bidding each other a grand farewell, they bowed and backed away from each other.
Retep and Lorac turned to run, jumping over the fence on the way back to their kingdoms.
Lorac yelled back, “We’ll try again tomorrow, at dawn! Just in case the creature returns or did not escape while it had the chance!”
Mot waved until they were out of sight and then turned to go into his own castle to prepare for the next day’s assault on the creature’s fortress.
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Syeribus: Creatures of the Night
Syeribus: Into the Darkness
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Here you will find a collection of individual short stories to tide you over while book two is in production.
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Coming soon for your reading pleasure:
Old Friends New Enemies — a romance thriller
Tonya — an adventure into the paranormal
Relics and Treasures the Dark Side
Carnage
I To Say Good-Bye To Me
The Cat
The Despised
The Rider
The Statue
Adocinda Vampire Chronicles
Titles are subject to change and will be announced on the website.
The Journey
The journey I traveled to arrive at this completed novel originated about 10 years ago. This book actually started out as a short story based on the possibility of small creatures living under my bed. I guess that the fear of something possibly being under there and waiting to reach out to grab me has been with me since my earliest memories. The short story began to take on a life of its own about five years ago, when I decided to turn it into a full-length novel. However, it was not until about two years ago that I really dug in and became determined to see it through to the end.
***
I cannot go without extending a much-appreciated thank you to Morissa Schwartz, who was a great help with the editing. I also would like to thank my friends and family for the help on the artwork in book one. When I became bogged down, my family and friends played an integral part in helping me see my creation come to life.
***
A special thank you has to go out to my mom Malinda, my sister Terri, and my husband Dana for the support I received along the way.
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