Flap. Flap.

"I don't like this," Alex whispered as Drake flew over the massive canopy of trees.

"At least we're not in a death dive anymore," Bolton grumbled from his low position on Drake's back. "I'd strangle you, Ortega, if I didn't need to hang on."

"Just think about the money." Alex smiled down at him.

"That I can do."

"We didn't think this through." Grayson spat. "Unless you're going to pull another trick and jump down, I don't think Drake's in his right mind enough to land."

"I'd rather not," Alex said as they cruised toward the statues atop the mountains. "But if he can get us close enough to those, I think that's what we're looking for."

Grayson squinted into the distance and gave him an odd look. Alex had a hunch that there would be dig sites around the statues, though he didn't know which one Miss Malone would go for. She didn't have the benefit of flight as far as he knew. There would be camps near the statues, and they could free the people of Grim Aegis sent to work there if they were faster than Malone.

"You're kidding." Grayson sighed.

"What's he yammering about?" Bolton growled.

"He wants us to jump off."

"And I want a lifetime supply of whiskey. I still ain't got it yet."

"Grayson, how much treasure do you figure is in Grim Aegis's vaults?"

The jungle passed by in a blur beneath them. Alex knew it would be best to cut to the chase. If Bolton only wanted money, he'd dangle the payday in the man's face until the man agreed. It was manipulative, but Alex didn't care.

"A noble's vault? On a key island?" Grayson rubbed at his beard now that he didn't have a hat to hold. "A mountain of gold has to be in it."

Bolton fidgeted between the spines before shaking his head and giving a yell.

Whoop.

"Fine," he said, pulling himself from where he lay. "But you better catch me, Ortega. I ain't made to fly."

"Can you handle yourself?" Alex eyed Grayson.

"I can manage." Grayson shrugged.

"Then when we get close to the statues, we jump," Alex said, focusing his mind and pulling a few coins from his pocket. "I'll help Bolton land, and you handle yourself. Hopefully, Drake doesn't just burn the entire forest around us."

"Why'd you bring that up?" Bolton groaned.

Alex ignored him, instead focusing on the ground rushing by below. Trees wove together to create an almost opaque canopy, but he could spot occasional patches through the twisting branches as flashes of brown and blue. A movement in the wrong direction caught his eye. It was too large to be a normal creature, yet it moved through the canopy with a speed that defied comprehension. Long, spindly black legs picked through the top of the trees, and Alex suddenly thought he had developed a case of arachnophobia.

"Did you see that?"

"It's her." Grayson returned his gaze with wide eyes. "I can sense her down there, and she's bigger than Drake."

"That's been their M.O." Alex nodded, only for Grayson to tilt his head. "That's how they do things—turn into big creatures."

"Ah." Grayson rubbed at his beard with his free hand. "You still want to drop closer to the statues?"

His-ptt.

Before Alex had time to think about it, a massive grey orb shot out from the canopy, aimed directly at Drake.

Flap. Roar.

Drake shot to the side, and Alex grabbed hold of the spine in front of him with both hands. The orb was shot too fast to dodge. It slammed hard into Drake's underbelly.

Splat.

With a splatter, a bundle of web exploded across Drake's belly. His wings beat against the direction it had come from. His body shook, and the three of them shook with it as they tried to hang on. Alex clenched his teeth as another gray orb shot up from the canopy.

His-ptt.

"We've got to jump sooner," Alex whispered, nodding at Grayson. "He's about to go down."

Alex jumped, throwing out his arm and pulling Bolton with him. The gun on Bolton's hip was metal, and the man was smart enough to let go as the web hit Drake's wing. Grayson jumped just behind him, sailing down toward the canopy and holding his gray head with one hand, probably out of habit.

"Aah!" Bolton yelled as he careened into Alex, slamming hard into Alex's side.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

Alex grunted, but didn't have time to hesitate. He pointed his arm down, still holding the handful of coins, and willed them at the ground. He opened his hand to release them as he focused the surrounding aether into a hard push.

"Coin Barrage!"

Flit.

The coins shot off in a cone beneath them, cutting into the green canopy and rocketing past the tangle of branches below. Alex hoped they would be enough to slow the fall. He didn't know for sure, but he didn't need to tell Bolton that. The man's grip around his torso was enough.

"I swear I'll kill you if we die here!" Bolton screamed in his ear.

"Uhuh." Alex reached out with his senses, the coins below lighting up as light blue in his mind as they fell.

Crunch. Crack.

Branches slammed into him as they fell, but Alex held his arm out despite the risk. He needed to slow them down the moment they were close enough. He had to bring them to a slow stop. Shadows filled his eyes as they dropped below the canopy. Branches cut against his coat. Then, they were gone. Green vegetation rushed up at him, and Alex sucked in a breath.

"Force Push!"

Immediately, his arm shook from the sudden push against it as his magnetism connected with the coins below. The coins, for their part, also sank into the wet ground below. Alex grunted as his arm tried to rip away from his body. However, he held strong. His body wasn't built to break easy—simple as that.

"We're not falling," Bolton whispered as they slowly descended.

Crack. Swish.

In the distance, Grayson appeared. He placed one foot on the side of a tree as he fell before his body disappeared and then reappeared meters up from where it had been. He was using the Path of Step midair to force himself back toward the canopy. Alex watched and realized it was acting like a reset of the man's momentum.

When he used the Path of Step, it acted to accelerate his body, but at the end, his body stalled from the momentum. If he didn't make it far enough, a second use would carry him closer to where he wanted to go, but he never thought about how he could use it to reset momentum. Use it in the opposite direction you were going, and it would apply a negative amount of momentum to your body.

The idea was already giving him a headache, and he had never been a science major.

Thump.

He and Bolton landed. Bolton immediately released him, dropping to his knees in the foliage and touching his head to the ground. Alex kept his eyes on the canopy. Buzzing from insects filled his ear and eyes looked out from the darkness of the canopy above.

"I'm never getting on a dragon again," Bolton whispered before standing.

Ksh.

"You might want to rethink that." Grayson pushed through the greenery to join them. "I didn't see an easy way back."

"I didn't see a way back at all." Alex nodded.

Yet, there had to be, right? Maybe it was wishful thinking, but he didn't imagine that whoever found the location of the island would have never gone through. If they were one of the rulers of Grim Aegis, they would need to operate a gate to return.

Even Miss Malone might want to go back, though not immediately. At least, she had to have a way off the island. Why run there otherwise?

"Well, unless we see a giant spider, I think we should get going." Grayson scanned the treetops around him. "I don't sense her anywhere nearby, but I wouldn't put being able to hide from the Path of Will beyond her abilities."

"Why?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She tricked an entire kingdom with her curse." Grayson shrugged. "Most kings are smart enough to surround themselves with people to keep that from happening. The Path of Will is great, but it isn't perfect."

Alex pursed his lips, but filed the information away for later. If there were a way to hide from that power, it would be good to know. If not just for running from a captain. If he learned the path, he needed to understand the weaknesses. They started walking.

"Do you have any idea where the statues are?" Grayson grumbled after a minute, coming to a stop. "I can't get my bearings out here."

Alex hadn't thought about direction when they jumped.

"That way." Bolton pointed roughly to the left of where Grayson was going. "You boys would be lost without me."

Grayson grunted and started off, pushing through the foliage. Bolton followed him, and Alex took up the rear. Alex pushed his senses out to their limits as they walked, and could pick up the faint electrical signals from wildlife moving through the trees.

No sign of a giant spider, nor of a fallen dragon.

That didn't bode well. The image of a giant dragon crashing through the trees, ridden by a spider that had control of its memories, flashed through Alex's mind. How would they beat that? Especially if Miss Malone could shield from attacks with Artur's curse. He shook his head.

The reality of the situation was starting to sink in. He had gone through a portal without his crew, leaving behind his friends for allies of circumstance. Grayson and Drake both had a good reason to see him locked up, and Bolton couldn't go a few minutes without coming up with a reason to threaten to kill him.

What had he been thinking?

The answer was obvious. Artur. He had been ready, confident that he could go and get Artur back on his own. So, he had charged ahead, just like he would have before he met his crew. Now, if he messed up, he would at best be trapped on an island with no way back home. At worst, they'd all be dead.

"Comforting thought," he whispered. "Not like you can go back now."

They marched on for a long while, and still there was no sign of a spider attack. In the distance, a massive thumping noise occurred regularly, though it wasn't the beat of a drum. It was more like two large creatures were slugging out a fight. That at least provided Alex with some hope.

"What the—"

Grayson broke through a patch of green in front of them, crossing out of sight.

Bolton went through next, leaving a small opening that shone with the bright daylight outside the jungle. Alex had no reason not to follow and stuck his head through to look around. The two other men had stepped out onto a long cliff, pointing out and away from the jungle. They had been climbing, though Alex could barely tell. In the distance, the mountains stood, with the two statues silhouetted on their peaks.

"I can't believe it." Grayson whistled, pointing out over the edge.

Alex marched up the overlook and looked out over the area. An open plain with a lake at its center stretched out before him, in a valley between tall ridges. Around the lake were several buildings, carved from grey stone and looking older than time itself. They were ruins, though they were occupied. Several plumes of smoke rose out of them, probably from fires to cook on.

"Looks like we found them," Alex said, still eyeing the statues in the distance.

"But not our monsters." Grayson spat.

Boom.

As he did so, a red form fell out of the trees, sliding across the ground and rolling to a stop. It was down near the village, but still far away enough to not be an immediate threat. It was Drake, wings curled around his massive body, laying on the ground.

Click. Click.

Echoing like thunder, the massive form of a giant spider followed Drake, its carapace as black as night. Red streaks ran up its legs and down its body, and multiple massive eyes searched left and right as it crawled out of the jungle. At its head, where there should have been nothing, was the torso of a pale-skinned woman, wrapped in dark hair up to her breasts.

"Drider." Alex raised an eyebrow. "Giant drider."

Well, maybe a hrider.

"What's the plan?"

Grayson and Bolton turned to him, and Alex frowned. He had no idea. However, if he didn't come up with something soon, they were doomed.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.