The Brothers Locke, page 20
“Too long I have been down here. Too long I have lingered. Too long …” started The Ostiary.
“I can imagine,” Mouth said, picking up now that the gatekeeper was about to become lost in thought again. “We don’t want to take up too much of your time. We just need to get a boat.”
“Pay!” The Ostiary shouted in response.
“That’s just it, mate. We know you need one of those gold coins, but …” Kale said but found himself lost at the why of his statement.
“They got ahead of us,” Echo lied. “We were supposed to be on the boat with them. They thought we got lost. We just need to catch up.”
“Yeah,” Mouth said, continuing the deception. “Why else would we be down here?”
The Ostiary listened to their words, paused after securing the lock on the gate, and then cracked a sadistic smile. He laughed awkwardly, like a man who hadn’t laughed in a long time but tried very hard to mimic what he thought it sounded like. Unconvinced of their story, he passed by all five of them and headed back up to the flat ground above.
“Lying, lying, lying, lying,” The Ostiary repeated, his voice a sing-song. “The young lie. The corrupt flee. But without payment, you’ll get nothing from me.”
“C’mon!” Mouth argued. “We have to get going. They’re getting too far ahead of us.”
“Sad story. Not my problem. You pay!” came the response.
“This old —” Mouth started to curse before Echo grabbed his arm.
“Is there anything else we can do to get by?” asked Echo.
Another pause as The Ostiary stroked his ratty beard and looked around at the teens. He giggled to himself before shuffling off to another part of the cave. The teens waited for a moment before following after him, curious as to where he was going and hopeful that perhaps there was a way for them to gain access to the boats without a gold coin.
“This old buzzard is way off his medication,” Mouth whispered to Echo.
“I think he’s been here so long that he’s gone mental,” Echo said.
“It doesn’t matter. We need to get on a boat and fast,” Sharp signed to his brothers.
“Sharp’s right. We can’t fool around with him too long. I think we might have to do this ourselves, brothers,” said Mouth.
Mouth and Sharp turned back towards the dock, which The Ostiary was leading them far away from now. There were two sides to the gates that separated the flat area from the docks below. The way the cave had been formed left no other way for them to reach the docks unless they wanted to risk a deadly fall into the water. Sharp considered a dive, but his brothers quickly talked him out of it.
“You don’t know what’s in that water, Sharp,” Echo explained. “Besides, there’s an easier way.”
“What easier way?” Sharp signed.
“I think I know what Echo means,” smiled Mouth. “And with this old codger, it might just work.”
***
As the boat moved farther out into the open waters of the cave’s massive lake, the golden lights started to diminish. Fewer of the firefly orbs that littered and lit the rest of the cave dared to hover over the lake, and those that did, glided well above the surface.
Bando didn’t trust Dana in the dark and turned on a flashlight, keeping its beam squarely on her. Even with her hands bound and Mongrel hovering behind her like a watchdog, he still knew she was talented and angry enough to tip all of them overboard into the water. He was already wondering why she hadn’t made an escape attempt since they entered the cave. As much as he’d like to think she had accepted her fate, he knew better. She was fierce and rejected the entire notion of being a Child of the Spire. Bando had turned his back on her and all of their friends. There was no forgiveness for that. Solas was supposed to be a group of honorable mercs, and he had betrayed that idea.
Dana didn’t understand, Bando told himself, but she would. As much as Solas was supposed to mean something, he had a higher calling. What they were doing now would fix the Dea. It would mean a massive loss of life, there was no doubt about that if the ancient texts and prophecies held true, but that was the cost of all evolution. The Dea was a stagnant place of two warring halves, each thinking their way of life was better than the other while both had serious problems they didn’t want to admit. It was time for a revolution. It was time to wipe the slate clean. Whether or not Dana accepted her role in this was irrelevant.
“It shouldn’t take us long to get to the other side,” Bando stated.
“I think we can take our time now,” Von Strauss said. “I doubt they’ll get past that old man. He may be insane, but he’s pretty strict on the rules. And without a coin they won’t be able to get through.”
Bando had his doubts. He had seen how innovative the triplets and the other members of Solas had been during this whole adventure. If there was a way around The Ostiary, they could possibly find it. By that time, though, they would be unable to interfere. The Spire was not that far away.
“So what exactly is it that I’m supposed to do once I get there?” asked Dana in a sarcastic tone.
“As if she cares,” Von Strauss commented dismissively.
“Fulfill your obligation to the Dea,” Bando answered.
“My obligation to the Dea,” Dana repeated. “Do you even hear yourself? It’s real easy to talk about obligation when you’re sacrificing someone else’s life.”
Bando smirked as Dana continued to stare at him as if she would tear into him if given half the chance. He had grown obnoxious in the short time he had held her captive, and it wasn’t anything to be smiling about according to Dana.
“Young lady,” Von Strauss said, “it is not very wise to poke a wild animal with a stick. We have tolerated your outbursts for a long time now, and they are beginning to wear my patience thin.”
“And you think I care about your patience?” Dana said, shooting an even deadlier look at Von Strauss.
“Oh, of all the souls in this boat, mine is the least you should worry about,” Von Strauss said, throwing his hands up in the air as if surrendering to her anger. “Bando is much stronger and more determined. I control Mongrel to a point, but with the slightest blow, you know he could crush you into dust. The Bascelics would feast on what was left. No, my dear, I am saying this for your benefit. It would be wise to keep quiet.”
“Let her talk, Von Strauss,” Bando contradicted his business partner. “What harm can it do? She will have fulfilled her purpose in an hour. It’s tedious to scold her.”
Mongrel grunted behind Dana, the monster’s hot breath bearing down on her shoulders. She shifted her seat in the boat to get away from the monster as much as she could. Although it wasn’t a small vessel they were taking across the cave’s lake, Mongrel’s mass was so big that the beast was hard to get away from. So massive, in fact, that the end of the boat where it sat dipped down into the water considerably lower than the rest, requiring the Bascelics to paddle harder.
“She’s just scared,” Bando said.
“I don’t care if she’s scared. Whatever we find in the Spire is worth more than her fears or her life.”
“I’m not scared,” Dana interrupted.
“Oh no? Look at your eyes. Look at your hands shaking. You are terrified,” Bando said.
He stood up in the boat, walked over to where Dana was sitting, and glowered at her. She turned her gaze down to the deck of the boat, not wanting to look up at him out of disgust and anger. This was humiliating. She was a fighter, and they had managed to break her down to the one thing she had spent her life not wanting to be: a victim.
“Those kids are going to do their best to come and save you, if that’s what you want to call it. They would be wise to turn back. You and I know there will be casualties from this whole thing,” Bando said, his tone calm.
Dana refused to look up. A splinter in the wood deck caught her attention, then the rusted rings holding the ropes together, the crate in front of her, the fraying ropes that bound her hands next, anything that would take her attention away from Bando.
“Forget what I believe in. Forget the zealots and the prophecies and all of that if you don’t care about them. Yes, cleaning the Dea of the trash that is in it and preparing for a new Dea might not be important to you, but I know you think those kids are. I know you think Bulk Brown is even worth saving. It is best that you go through with this the way we say. You know they don’t stand a chance, and if we wanted to, we would crush them just like that,” Bando said, driving his point home with a snap of his fingers.
Dana’s expression changed from defiant to contemplative. She knew he was right. Kale, Jocelyn, and the Locke Brothers didn’t have any chance against the freak show that Bando had behind him. Even with Bulk Brown, the likely outcome was not looking good. Could she have that on her conscience? Was that something she wanted to see as her last image before what seemed like her end at the Spire? There must be a way out of it, she thought, but she knew that anything she tried would be risky. Her best hope was for the teens and Bulk Brown to stay as far away as possible.
“Glad to see you’ve come to your senses somewhat,” Bando said, seeing his words were finally having an effect on her.
There was nothing she could say in response. Feeling that he had made his point and that Dana was finally under control, Bando went back to the front of the boat and took a seat. It truly was now just a matter of time.
***
The Ostiary had opened up a metal shed full of junk. He rummaged around inside for some time, throwing pieces of debris out. Seashells, dead crabs and fish, and broken pieces of boat all flew from the open door. Kale and Jocelyn did their best to avoid the trash but couldn’t help but be hit by a few pieces.
“What are you doing, if we may ask?” Kale inquired.
“Shhh,” The Ostiary responded. “Quiet, boy. Quiet now, boy!”
Jocelyn had noticed the triplets huddled together and whispering. She wondered what they were up to and thought for a moment about asking. Mouth saw her approach and waved her off. Whatever it was they were plotting apparently required her and Kale to keep The Ostiary’s attention.
Quietly, Sharp walked towards one side of the shed. Mouth went into the shed himself and began speaking to The Ostiary, making sure he kept the old man’s back to Sharp’s path.
“What is all this?” Mouth asked The Ostiary.
“Huh? What?” the old man responded.
“I said, what is all this?” Mouth repeated, slightly louder this time.
“You ask. Yes, ask and ask and ask. It is collection. My collection. It is collection.”
“You collected all of this … junk?”
“It’s not junk!” screamed The Ostiary.
Clearly, Mouth had touched a nerve. The old man’s patchwork of a face twisted into a frown, the left side sliding a bit farther down than the right. His lip quivered as he boldly stared at Mouth, waiting for an apology.
“My mistake. My mistake,” Mouth conceded. The goal was to distract the man, not make him angry. “So what exactly is it you’re collecting?”
“Many things boy. Many, many, many, many things. You don’t. No, you don’t. Haha! You can’t.”
“I certainly can!” Mouth said mockingly, his hands going to his hips as if he was a superhero standing atop a building. “And I certainly will.”
“No you won’t,” The Ostiary grumbled darkly.
“If I can’t, then you’ll give it to me, now won’t you. We’re trying to get a boat. Is that what you’re doing in here? Finding the keys?”
“No! I have keys! Always! Always on me! See!”
The Ostiary put his twisted fingernails to his hip. Although Mouth couldn’t see the keys, he did hear them jingle underneath the soiled robes.
“What are you three up to? Or do I want to know?” Kale whispered to Echo.
“Just an old game we’ve played a dozen times,” said Echo.
“You’re not going to hurt this old man, are you?” Jocelyn asked, which earned her a mocking sneer from both Echo and Kale.
“Are you joking?” Kale said. “Even if they were, he’d deserve it. The man’s disgusting.”
“He’s just confused. He’s been down here by himself for who knows how many centuries. We’re probably the first people he’s seen in three hundred years at least. I mean, he has to make skin out of crab shells and barnacles, for crying out loud. I feel bad for him.”
“Fine,” Kale said. “You feel bad for him. But he’s still disgusting and mental!”
“Look, you two,” Echo interrupted. “When I say so, you start running for the gate. He can’t keep up with us. He can barely walk.”
“Yes, just don’t hurt the poor old man,” Jocelyn said.
Kale rolled his eyes, and Echo sighed, but they let it go. Jocelyn, bless her heart, still had some humanity left.
“Haha, very good, boy! You learn. Learn! It’s good,” came The Ostiary’s voice from the shed.
He and Mouth were now walking through the front of the shed. Mouth was holding a crab in each hand while The Ostiary was covered in them. They crawled around his body, clinging to his robes and scurrying across his back.
“What in the Dea are you doing?” Kale asked.
“He wants to play a game,” Mouth answered with a shrug of his shoulders.
“What about the boat?” Kale asked.
“Shhh!” The Ostiary said, his joyful demeanor turning sour in an instant.
Mouth shook his head, asking Kale to not press the matter any further. Kale took the hint and shut his mouth. The Ostiary was still. His angry gaze was on Kale now as it had been on Mouth before.
“He’s sorry,” Jocelyn said.
This freed Kale from the old man’s stare. The Ostiary then turned back to his new friend, Mouth, and handed him two more crabs.
“Stupid!” The Ostiary said, pointing one of his mangled fingernails towards Kale.
“Yes, I agree. He’s very, very stupid,” Mouth smirked.
Kale crossed his arms while everyone else got a chuckle out of his embarrassment. The Ostiary and Mouth continued their conversation about the crabs. After a few moments, they started arranging them on the ground under the old man’s instructions. Mouth situated himself so that The Ostiary had to turn his back to the shed. From there, he looked up momentarily and nodded.
Sharp sprinted at lightning speed towards The Ostiary, bumping into him. Mouth caught the old man and lifted the folds of his robe around his hip. Sharp swiped the keys. Both he and Mouth dashed away towards the gate.
The theft happened so fast that The Ostiary hadn’t realized what happened. Once his addled mind caught up, he reached for where his keys were supposed to be and started hyperventilating. The teens were in full sprint now and so far away from him that he knew he couldn’t catch up. With his black eyes shifting back and forth, his dirty chapped lips curled, and his hands balled into fists, The Ostiary howled.
“THIEVES!”
The word echoed throughout the cave. This sound didn’t stop the teens from running. While The Ostiary was an old man and could barely walk with his twisted body, they didn’t know what else he was capable of. No way were they slowing down.
“Hurry up!” Kale said.
Sharp went to the door and quickly went through the ring of keys, trying each one in the lock. The first four did not work, but the fifth slid into the chamber. Sharp turned the key and heard the click of metal. With a thud, the lock hit the ground. All of the teens rushed through the now open door and scampered down the ramp towards a series of boats sitting in the harbor.
Kale and Jocelyn were the only ones who knew anything about boats, so they took control of getting it ready for the open water. Echo and Mouth got into the boat and looked for the oars while Sharp kept his eye out for The Ostiary.
“I don’t think he’s coming,” Sharp signed to his brothers.
“He doesn’t need to,” Mouth commented. “Look!”
Underneath the surface of the water, a few feet away, a series of tentacles splashed against the other boats in the dock. From where the teens were, they couldn’t make out what kind of creature these appendages belonged to, but they didn’t need to. Whatever it was, it was massive in size.
“THIEVES!” came again from above as The Ostiary got closer to the gates. The word “thieves” continued to echo, so loud that it shook the wood of the dock, sending splinters flying into the air.
“Can we go now?” Mouth called out to Kale and Jocelyn.
“Yeah, let's go! Let’s go!” Kale shouted as he and Jocelyn stumbled into the boat.
Echo and Mouth began paddling as fast as they could. The water was thicker than they had anticipated. It was as if it was made of syrup. Their arms immediately felt the strain as they pushed and pulled the oars over and over again, but eventually, they started to gain momentum. The tentacles were getting closer and closer, their ends twitching in the air splashing the surface of the lake. Now they could see what this creature was, its head slowly pushing through the surface.
Much like its master, this monster’s head was made of a patchwork of dead sea creatures and trash. It had one slimy, bloodshot eye set in the middle of its domed head. Beneath it were two slits for a nose bubbling the thick lake water as it breathed. It groaned under the waterline, sending ripples through the lake and shockwaves through the teen’s boat.
“What is that?” Kale said in a panicked tone.
“Don’t worry about it,” Mouth said. “Just keep paddling!”
“No, seriously, what is that? This is insane!”
“Kale! Paddle!” Echo yelled.
It was time to shut up and get to work. There were two other paddles in the boat, so Kale and Sharp grabbed them and started paddling. They were gaining speed. Despite the water’s thickness, once they gained momentum, they were one their way. What was once as difficult as pushing a comb through matted hair became like sliding a piece of glass over ice.
