Gabriel Finley and the Raven’s Riddle (37 page)

The valravens carried three hostages high among the hundreds of simple dwellings carved into the sandstone walls until they arrived, at last, at an ornately sculpted ledge at the very top of Aviopolis. It must have been built by the dwarfs for their own leader; it supported a grand chamber with vaulted ceilings, polished floors, and windows with gold shutters. The brightly lit interior glowed enticingly. One of the window shutters was open, and it was through this opening that the valravens carried their captives.

Gabriel and Paladin landed moments later on the ledge. Padding carefully along the windowsills, they peeked through the shutter slats.

The chamber was full of oddly familiar furniture—cabinets with animal feet, lamps with fringed shades, armchairs and sofas with tasseled pillows. Corax had furnished his lair to resemble the house he'd fled as a boy. Sitting upon a leather quilted bench, the half man, half valraven tapped his taloned fingers impatiently. He wore a black velvet suit like
the one in the painting. Poised and powerful, his great silken wings flexed gently behind his shoulders.

There he is!
said Gabriel.
But I don't remember the wings the last time I saw him.

He can probably shift from human form to half human, half valraven for flying
, replied Paladin.

Gabriel tried to pull at the shutters, but they were carved out of stone and alabaster, and impossible to budge.

Abby, Somes, and Pamela stood before Corax. Faces scratched and bruised, clothes rumpled and torn from being wrenched aloft by the sharp talons of their captors, they trembled before the demon.

“It is an honor indeed to meet the valiant friends of my nephew,” said Corax.

Bristling, Abby glared at him. “It's not an honor to meet you!”

“There, there,” Corax cooed. “I apologize for your rough treatment, but I was afraid you were going to leave without our getting acquainted. I rarely receive visitors here. It's a grand occasion for me. Please have a seat.”

“I'll stand,” said Pamela, her eyes flashing.

“Me too,” said Abby.

Grimly fascinated, Somes looked around the grand chamber. Aching from his struggle against the birds, he chose a very plush sofa and sank into it.

“Nice digs,” he remarked with a grunt.

“I'm glad you like it,” said Corax. “You'll find that I can be very agreeable to those who tell me what I need to know.”

“Like what?” replied Somes.

“I am particularly interested in a necklace called the torc.”

“Oh, I know all about that—” said Somes.

“Somes!” said Abby angrily.

The boy shrugged. “I'm just saying that I know what it is.”

Corax nodded. “A smart boy. Perhaps you are also aware of its extraordinary properties. Your friend Gabriel, I believe, knows how to use it.”

“He's not the only one,” said Somes with a trace of irritation—after all, he had saved Pamela from the valraven.

Pamela shot Somes a worried glance.

“Join me,” said Corax to the children. “I'm going to change the world. You've all proved yourselves to be remarkable. Be remarkable with me! You deserve more than to go back to those miserable homes of yours. Back to being … nobodies. No one will admire you as I do—not your sisters, your mothers or fathers. They can't imagine how special you are!”

When the children didn't reply, Corax continued. “Help me harness the power of the torc. I'll share my victory with you.”

He focused his gaze on Abby. “You … you're the
unusual
one, the one your sister told to be normal? Now, surely you don't want to go back to that!”

Tears filled Abby's eyes. “I'll never help you,” she sobbed. “You're a monster!”

“Then what about you?” Corax said, turning to Pamela. “A gifted musician. What will your mother say when she finds you've lost your violin? When I claim the world above, you can have any instrument you want.”

“I wouldn't need one if your awful birds hadn't stolen mine!”

The demon's eyes lingered on the boy the longest. “Well, Somes?” he purred. “Look around. Wouldn't this be nicer than sleeping on the cold floor of a mausoleum? You'll eat well here, and there would be no school if you joined me.”

Somes sat up, appearing to give this some consideration. “Join you?” he said. “And do what?”

“Somes!” cried Pamela.

“Please, Somes, don't give yourself up to him!” said Abby.

Corax stepped closer, blocking the girls' imploring looks. “Tell me about the properties of this necklace and share my power,” he said. “I'll be fair. I can assure you of that, because most of all, I know how it feels to be betrayed by a father.”

Somes looked at Corax with surprise. How could he know?

“Alone. Unloved,” Corax continued. “I understand these feelings better than your friends do.”

Somes averted his eyes from the girls, then raised his chin stiffly. “If you want the torc, you have to make a blood sacrifice.”

“No!” cried Abby in dismay.

Through the slats of the shutter, Gabriel couldn't believe
what he was hearing. He tried to pry the window open again, wedging his fingers under the shutters and pulling until his face dripped with sweat.

Somes wouldn't tell him, would he?
said Gabriel.

I think he would
, said Paladin.

We've got to get through these shutters!

And then?
replied Paladin.
There are valravens everywhere.

Indeed, valravens stood sentry at every window.

Too frustrated to keep still, Gabriel shifted his position, wedging his heels against the slats, trying to shatter them with a swift, well-placed kick, but they were solid as could be.

“Tell me more, Somes,” continued Corax, his voice smooth and seductive.

“Somes, please. Don't,” begged Pamela.

“I know how to do it,” said Somes. “I heard how from Gabriel's father. But I'll need the torc and staff to show you.”

“Very good,” said Corax, and he raised one of his taloned hands in a signal. Immediately, two valravens fluttered toward him carrying the staff with the torc wrapped around it.

“Oh, no …,” murmured Pamela.

Corax turned the staff in his scaly talons, perplexed by the torc's dull appearance. Then, with a cautious glance, he held it out to Somes.

“Proceed.”

As Somes's fingers touched the staff, a delicious warmth trickled through them, then up his arm, all the way into his heart. It reminded him of swallowing a steamy barley soup
on a bitterly cold day. Warmth, comfort, and sustenance. His aching limbs, his bruises and cuts—they all stopped hurting. He closed his eyes.

“Somes?” said Corax. “I'm waiting.”

Somes opened his eyes and stood up from the chair. “Okay,” he said. “Like I said, it requires a blood sacrifice from …”

He raised the staff at the valravens guarding the windows.

Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!
In a blue flash, each bird exploded in a burst of tattered feathers.

“Before you call yourself a hero, I should remind you that I have thousands more where those came from!” hissed Corax.

Somes swung the staff toward Corax, his eyes bright with rebellion. “I wonder what this might do to the
biggest
valraven in the room!” he said. “What do you say we give it a try? You promise all these things, but none of it is real. I can see it in your face. You're a liar. Nothing in you cares about anything but yourself! And you're dumb. I can't believe you just handed me the torc and the staff!”

“You pathetic child,” growled Corax, and in a flash, he seized the free end of the staff with his talons.

All the self-assurance Somes felt seemed to drain at Corax's touch. The demon's eyes were fixed on him, his yellow irises glowing brightly. “You're the idiot,” he said. “You haven't the intelligence to defy me. It's just as well that I have you here; you and your friends will serve as a fine meal for many valravens to come!”

As Corax scolded him, Somes wilted. He felt his fingers releasing the staff, even as he struggled to hold on to it.

“Don't give in to him, Somes!” Abby cried, grabbing the staff to help.

At that very moment, there was a great crash at one of the shutters as Gabriel finally kicked his way in. He stumbled from the window into the chamber.

The demon spread his wings and wrenched the staff away.

“Stop!” Gabriel cried, and reached out.

The staff left Corax's talons with tremendous force and flew obediently into Gabriel's hands. He trained the staff on Corax while he checked on his friends.

“You guys okay? Abby? Pamela? Somes, you were brilliant!” said Gabriel. “You did exactly the right thing.”

“Well, it's my dear nephew again,” said Corax, rubbing his stunned claws. “Such perfect timing. You have no idea what a marvelous gift you hold in your hand. Allow me to—”

“Oh, I know how marvelous it is,” Gabriel answered.
“To thee I say, resist its lure, devised in evil plot. Around the staff this torc must stay, its wickedness forgot!”

“Your father has probably told you all kinds of terrible things,” Corax said contemptuously. “I'm sure you haven't dared even one little wish! I can show you its virtues.”

“You don't need to swallow poison to know it's bad!” snapped Abby.

Ignoring Abby's remark, the demon whispered to Gabriel, “Let me show you how amazing—”

Corax's tone was so creepy and probing that Gabriel felt compelled to interrupt, just to stop him from talking. “I have a wish of my own to make,” Gabriel replied. “I wish that the citadel may never lock another prisoner within its walls!”

Gabriel felt scared the moment he finished speaking, for the necklace suddenly flashed brightly upon the staff. Then a distant rumble echoed from below. He and his friends peered through the window of the chamber and saw the citadel, way down in the abyss, glowing from thousands of tiny windows. The bridge was bare now. The prisoners had crossed.

“They're all free,” Pamela whispered to Abby.

A loud thunderclap emanated from the bridge.

“Oh, look!” cried Abby, pointing.

A thin line widened in the very center of the bridge, becoming a large crack, and then a piece dropped into the abyss. More sections began falling, one after another, until the entire bridge had vanished. Now that the great citadel was untethered, it moved slightly, as a ship might drift gently from its moorings. A terrible sound, like rock splitting, echoed in the abyss. The enormous tower turned and tipped like a sleeping giant against the chasm wall. The noise was anything but gentle—a thunderous echo rang out as the tower began to crumble against itself, bricks and stones falling, walls collapsing, cracks widening to gaping holes; then the whole fortress sank down with slow, devastating grace.

Corax's eyes glittered bitterly at Gabriel. His talons
gripped the windowsill. His dark satanic wings quivered with anger.

As a cloud of rubble slowly rose from the abyss, the children saw a tiny bird approaching the chamber. It was quite small and caked in powder from the collapsed citadel. After circling the chamber twice, it settled on Corax's shoulder.

The bird shook itself vigorously, revealing a bright red breast. Its malicious black eyes danced at Gabriel, and then it began to chirp quickly into Corax's ear.

It's that robin!
Gabriel told Paladin.

Paladin took off from Gabriel's shoulder to chase the robin, but Corax closed his other hand protectively around the bird and held him closer to his ear. The robin chirped eagerly, and Corax listened, his angry features slowly calming.

“Well done, my little friend,” he said. “You will be rewarded. I wonder what the taste of human flesh will do for a robin?”

“Gabriel, make a wish, quick!” shouted Somes. “Do something to him!”

Gabriel looked at Somes, the same thought on his mind. But what? What to wish?
Try not to use wishes for yourself
, his father had warned.

He could send Corax to the bottom of the earth, but wondered if it was a selfish wish. Might it send him there, too? How do you make an unselfish wish against your enemy?

“Quick, Gabriel!” cried Abby.

The robin had finished its explanation. Corax released the bird, then seized Somes by one arm and drew his talon sharply across his face.

“Aaagh!” Somes clutched his cheek as blood dribbled down his neck.

“
There's
your blood sacrifice!” shouted Corax. He turned to Gabriel. “And here's your riddle!

“What can you make but never give away, break but never repair?”

Gabriel mouthed the riddle to himself. He might have solved it easily in the comfort of his living room, but at this terrifying moment, his mind went blank. He tried to look away from Corax because the demon's eyes seemed to interfere with his concentration. He looked to Abby, but she seemed confused, too. She looked away from Corax and rubbed her spectacles, trying to concentrate.

Now Corax tightened his grip on Somes, ripped the glasses from his face, and pressed two talons to the boy's eyelids. Somes uttered a gasp as his spectacles fell to the floor.

“Time's up, Nephew. Answer now or your friend here goes blind!”

As the demon pressed his claws to Somes's eyes, Gabriel shouted.

“I—I—I give up! I don't know!”

Corax dropped Somes, who fell to his knees.

“What's the answer?” asked Gabriel.

“A
promise
,” said Corax. “It can be made or broken, never given away, never repaired.” Gleefully, the demon held out one claw.

The staff hesitated in Gabriel's hand, as if reluctant to leave. Then, with a revolted shudder, it zoomed into the grasp of the demon.

“Ha!” Corax shouted. “It's
mine
! And everything I've planned these years shall come to pass. I'll raise a new citadel, and the world above will answer to me alone!”