SWNOVELS Chapter Chapter Thirty-Five
Gary tensed as the elevator deaccelerated. Dorian crouched down behind him. He held his right arm forward and aimed at the control panel in anticipation of having to make a lunge for it when the doors opened.
“Ready?” Gary asked without looking away from the seam in the elevator doors.
“As I’ll ever be,” Dorian gulped.
A small red “G” lit up over the doors. There was a brief moment absent of movement and sound. The doors parted. Gary leaped through the opening with enough force that he almost cleared the railing at the opposing end of the barren platform. He quickly scanned their surroundings and signaled an “all clear” to Dorian.
“I’m both relieved and disappointed at the same time. Is that weird?” Dorian peeked around the corner of the open elevator doors. He stepped out onto the platform and the doors closed behind him.
“I get that,” Gary agreed. “I think it’s the buildup of adrenaline or something like that.” He sniffed at the air. It was moist and carried an abundance of scents, but none of them were overtly Leslie-like. “We’re just going to have to go with our instincts for a while until I pick up on him.”
The pair scanned the grotto below them. The small, immaculate white, and stainless-steel lab sat center and anchored the cavern. In front of it was a mosaic compass rose made from colored stones that had been cut and laid into the grotto floor. By its worn appearance, one might assume that it had been there for centuries and quite possibly be the reason why the lab was positioned where it was. To the left of the lab was a series of alcoves, each containing a metal tambour security door like you would see in a facility where folks rented out storage for the items that are too dear to throw away, but not important enough for them to keep in their home. The right side of the lab bled into the roughhewn opening of a passageway that was originally created by nature and refined by man. Either side darkened into a black space beyond the lighting in the grotto.
“What do you think they keep behind those?” Dorian elbowed Gary and pointed toward the row of security doors.
“I’m guessin’ it’s not their Christmas decorations. Maybe it’s where they keep their lab experiments that have gone awry.”
“Really?” Dorian’s eyes bulged.
“Naw,” Gary chuckled. “They’re too clean. Not enough scratches and bloodstains. They’re probably just where he keeps his prisoners.”
“Ha! Good one,” Dorian replied. Gary stared back at him without smiling. Dorian’s face dropped. He glanced across to the opening on the right side of the lab. “What’s your thoughts on that one over there?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Trust me, Gary; you don’t want it to be what I think it is. I’ve watched too many movies. In my mind, it’s the lair of an enslaved club-wielding mole-man-troll hybrid with glowing eyes and a slimy, snotty nose that is forced to guard the grotto against intruders.”
“Or it could be a link to another grotto that contains a pool of crystal clear, silky water that is the home to a magnificent koi with magical healing powers.”
A voice wafted from the darkened passageway. Slowly a form stepped into the glow from the laboratory lights.
“Cadence?” Dorian gaped.
Gary and Dorian bounded down from the platform and ran to her. Dorian lost his footing, slipped, and righted himself as he encountered the puddle of water forming at Cadence’s feet.
“You’re soaking wet!” He exclaimed. He greeted her with a hug despite her moistness.
“How’d this happen?” Gary asked.
“After we parted ways I went into the house. A whole bunch of stuff happened that I can’t even begin to explain right now. All of that stuff eventually led me to a secret library that had this huge fish tank that had this massive, beautiful koi in it. It was the size of a sofa! And the water! The tank was filled with that healing water from the first aid station. It was the healing fish!”
Cadence turned to Dorian, “You know the one we saw heal that guy earlier this evening.”
“Sure,” Dorian nodded.
“So, at first, I’m checking out a couple of really creepy books, and then I’m over introducing myself to the koi when someone starts to come into the room through this big mechanical door. I was going to find a spot to hide, but the fish had a different idea. It grabbed me by the arm and pulled me into the tank!”
“Shit!’ Gary gasped.
“No kidding! I thought I was going to die! I struggled at first, but almost immediately I was filled with a sense of calm. I had never felt as safe as I did when the koi pulled me deeper and deeper into the tank. I was surrounded by warmth and tranquility. He carried me beyond the bottom of the tank and maneuvered through a series of underwater caverns. Eventually, we surfaced inside another grotto back through the tunnel behind us. Everything was so pretty! It all glowed with bioluminescence, including the koi! He carried me to the edge of the pool and set me on my feet. I could see light off in the distance. He urged me to head toward the light and here I am.”
“We just got here ourselves,” Gary offered.
“We haven’t even started to look for Leslie. We were choosing between this tunnel and the corridor along those roll-up doors. Is there anything else back there besides the lagoon?”
“Nope, it’s a dead end. I guess the only other place to check is that way,” Cadence pointed toward the bay doors. “I’m going with you on your rescue mission.”
“I don’t like that idea. Gary keeps reminding me how dangerous this may get,” Dorian objected. “I think you get into the elevator and go back up to the mansion. You do work there, after all.”
“But I want to help!” Cadence pleaded. She turned to Gay for his support.
“I’m afraid I agree with Dorian. You’ll be safe upstairs. Who knows what would happen if you got caught down here? I vote elevator.”
“But!”
“No buts about it. Elevator!” Dorian insisted, pointing up at the mezzanine. A tiny red light popped on above the elevator doors as if Dorian had commanded it.
“Or not!” Gary grabbed Cadence and Dorian and pulled them back into the opening of the tunnel.
The doors parted with a mechanical grumble. A garbage bag clad tome exited the car at arm’s length from its carrier.
“Let’s get this heinous book to the sepulcher and complete the stupid ritual. I’m getting hungry!”
“When aren’t you hungry?” Shorty chided.
“When aren’t you hungry?” Lanky echoed in a nasal tone meant to mimic the voice of the short one. The two walked in momentarily miffed silence.
“Remind me,” the larger one started, “why has this task been left to us? Not to diminish our importance, but isn’t this a pretty important thing to leave up to us to accomplish? I would think we would be pretty far down the ladder on something like this.”
“Oh, we’re down the ladder, alright. The only reason we’re doing this is that both Jayne and Joey are missing in action. That means that we are now DeLeon’s only link back here.”
“Maybe we should leave him where he’s at.”
“Tell me about it! But if he manages to find another way back, he’ll kill us both for not following through on this.”
The two nodded in agreement.
“I liked it better when we were just simple roadies. Back then our main job was finding pretty ladies in the front row that wanted to spend some time with a rock star. Now we’re opening gateways to the underworld and using words like ‘sepulcher’ and ‘pyxis’. I remember when Pandora was just an app I used to listen to music.”
The conversation continued and became muffled as the pair disappeared from view.
“Why are they talking about pixies?” Dorian asked as he poked his head around the tunnel’s mouth.
“I think he said pyxis,” Cadence corrected.
“That’s what I said, pixies.”
“Pixies are tiny mischief-makers. A pyxis is a piece of pottery.” Cadence explained.
“I think a ritual involving pixies would be way more interesting.”
“What if it involved a pyxis full of pixies?” Gary teased.
“And what if Peter Piper picked a pyxis full of pickled pixies?”
Dorian’s quip was met with exasperated silence.
“If you two are finished I would suggest we continue our hunt for Leslie.” Cadence urged.
“I’ll go first and check the hallway. I’ll signal if it’s clear.”
Gary crept to the other end of the lab and peered around the corner. He evaluated the air with his exceptional canine sense of smell and then waved the others on as he continued to watch for activity in the passageway.