Professor Gargoyle (13 page)

Someone applauded from the center of the classroom. “Yes, yes, congratulations.” The three looked up and saw Azaroth seated at one of the student desks. “You managed to evade a swarm of baby invertebrates. But let’s see how you fare against me.”

He rose to his feet, and they could see there was now very little resemblance to the old Professor Goyle.
He was bigger, taller, more muscular. Two long horns protruded from his skull. His face looked bright red, as if his skin had been scorched to a crisp; his ears were long and pointy, like a bat’s.

Robert ran for the door but it was already locked. He peered out into the hallway: Empty.

Where was everybody?

Then he remembered: the sixth-period assembly. Every student and teacher was in the first-floor auditorium, all the way on the other side of the building.

Azaroth walked along the windowsill, lowering and closing the blinds, so that no one could see what happened next. “I suppose you think it’s easy being me,” he said. “Trapped inside a suit of stinking human flesh. Eating your vile human food. Forced to lecture to stupid human children all day long. We all make sacrifices for the greater good. It’s what Master requires. But sometimes I like to remove the camouflage and simply … breathe.”

With this, Azaroth pulled off the rest of his disguise, shredding his jacket and tie with his sharp claws. Two
large membranous wings sprouted up from his back, dripping with shiny mucus. “Behold my true form, children! This is how the Great Old Ones created me!”

“You’re not allowed to do that!” Karina shouted. “If Tillinghast knew—”

“Silence!” Azaroth scratched his pointed claws against the chalkboard, creating a hideous sound that cut Robert to the bone. “No one can see us, child! The gate has been sealed!”

Robert looked to Glenn for help. But apparently this was all too much for him. Glenn was crouched down in the corner of the classroom, covering his head with his arms and mumbling to himself.

“Now, before I bring you to Master, I have something I want you to see,” Azaroth said, stomping to the back of the classroom. A long red tail dragged between his legs, slamming against the student desks and chairs.

Azaroth ripped open one of the aquariums and yanked out Pip and Squeak by their tail. “I found your little friends, Robert! And Master is letting me keep them!”

He unfurled his glistening wings and they quivered with anticipation, spattering gooey mucus all over the classroom. Azaroth raised Pip and Squeak high above his head. The rats kicked their tiny legs in protest. Again Azaroth’s jaw made a hideous snapping noise, and again it fell open like the mouth of a ventriloquist’s dummy.

“No!” Robert shouted.

He lunged toward Azaroth but he was too small and too slow. The demon cracked his leathery tail like a whip and it struck Robert in the chest, knocking him to the floor. He landed in the corner where Glenn was still mumbling to himself. He sounded like he had lost his mind.

But then Robert realized that Glenn wasn’t mumbling at all. He was
reciting
.

Kyaloh yog-sothoth f’ah!

Kyaloh yog-sothoth f’ah!

Kyaloh yog-sothoth f’ah!

It was the spell from the leather-bound book! But Glenn was reciting the words from memory, eyes
squeezed shut, hands balled into fists, concentrating.

“Look out!” Karina shouted.

Robert turned just in time to see an enormous tentacle reaching across the room. It was followed by a second, then a third. They were coming from a gate that Glenn had opened in the chalkboard, and now they were tethering themselves around Azaroth’s waist.

“What’s happening? Release me!” he shouted. Pip and Squeak sprang from his grip and scurried into a corner. The demon grabbed at the tentacles but wasn’t strong enough to wrest them loose. “In Master’s name, I insist you let me go!”

Instead, more and more tentacles emerged from the gate, dozens of them. They snared Azaroth’s arms, legs, and neck. Soon he was completely ensnared.

“This isn’t fair!” Azaroth shouted. “I only removed the man flesh for a minute! Just one minute!”

The tentacles ignored his pleas. They retreated into the gate, dragging Azaroth along with them.

“Noooo!!” the demon bellowed.

The last things Robert saw were the horns on top
of his head, disappearing into the inky black vortex.

The gate lingered for just another moment. And then, like a giant eye blinking shut, it snapped closed and vanished.

Robert rushed over to Glenn and helped him to his feet. “Are you all right?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” Glenn said. “Is he gone?”

“How the heck did you do that?”

Glenn looked up at him with a dazed expression. “Robert, I’ve told you a hundred times,” he said. “I’ve got a real good memory.”

The next afternoon, Robert, Glenn, and Karina met for lunch in the cafeteria. It was a beautiful day, and sunlight streamed through the windows.

All around them, hundreds of seventh- and eighth-graders were eating pizza and hot dogs and tater tots, oblivious to the bizarre world that was under their feet and just beyond their reach. The cafeteria hummed with laughter and chatter. It was just another Thursday afternoon at Lovecraft Middle School.

Glenn held a bag of gummy worms under Robert’s nose. “You want some?”

“Sure.” He took two and dropped them into his
backpack, where Pip and Squeak were already sharing a grilled cheese sandwich.

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you guys,” Glenn said. “Why do you think Azaroth wanted Pip and Squeak so badly? I mean, why make such a big deal over a two-headed rat?”

“Because they’re awesome,” Robert said, reaching into the backpack and scratching his pets behind the ears. They still insisted on traveling with Robert everywhere he went; they accompanied him to school during the day and slept in his bedroom at night. Like bodyguards.

Glenn turned to Karina. “And what about the real Professor Goyle? Is he still trapped inside the mansion?”

“Yes.”

“Can he ever come back?”

She shook her head. “Impossible. Unless someone defeats Crawford Tillinghast. Which is another way of saying it’s impossible.”

Robert wasn’t so sure. Three weeks ago, he would have said that talking to ghosts was impossible.
Two-headed rats were impossible. Having Glenn Torkells as his new best friend was impossible.

If there was one thing Robert had learned in three weeks at Lovecraft Middle School, it’s that
nothing
was impossible.

“Maybe someone just needs to stand up to him,” Robert said, smiling at Karina. “How much do you know about this guy?”

“Man, listen to you!” Glenn exclaimed. “Yesterday we were nearly eaten alive by a million baby spiders and today you’re talking about charging through a gate and fighting Tillinghast? Can’t we just relax for a few weeks and do some normal school stuff for a change? Like classes and homework and detention?”

Robert grinned. “That’s fine with me. For the next month we’ll do nothing but regular schoolwork. No more gates, no more spying on teachers, no more getting lost in the library.”

“And no more tentacles,” Karina added.

“Thank you,” Glenn said, and they all laughed.

In spite of everything that happened, Robert was
feeling good about himself. Sure, he’d never be like the characters in his favorite books, the kids with secret superpowers to help them escape any situation. But that was okay. He had started the school year with zero friends, and now he had three—or four, depending on how you counted Pip and Squeak.

Whatever weird things happened at Lovecraft Middle School, at least he wouldn’t have to face them alone.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a microphone humming to life. Principal Slater had climbed onto the stage at the far end of the cafeteria to address the students.

“Good afternoon, everyone,” she said. “Can you please quiet down for a minute? I have some important announcements to make.”

Principal Slater adjusted the microphone, cleared her throat, and continued. “First, I’m very sorry to announce that one of our faculty members, Professor Garfield Goyle, has taken an indefinite leave of absence. Professor Goyle has been teaching in Dunwich for
nearly thirty years and he will be greatly missed. I’m sure many of you have questions, but at this point I do not have many answers. I found his letter of resignation on my desk this morning, so I’m still trying to understand the situation myself. I hope you’ll join me in wishing Professor Goyle the best of luck.”

There was a smattering of polite applause.

“Now for the good news,” Principal Slater continued. “I’m thrilled to announce that Sarah and Sylvia Price returned home last night! The girls are completely safe, so you don’t have to worry anymore. Please join me in welcoming them back to Lovecraft Middle School!”

Sarah and Sylvia climbed the steps to the stage, and everyone in the cafeteria applauded. The girls looked just like Robert remembered them. They smiled and waved to their classmates.

“Now I know everyone has questions, but I’m asking you to respect Sarah and Sylvia’s privacy and let them talk when they’re ready.” She turned to the twins. “For now, girls, is there anything you’d like to say
to your classmates?”

Sarah took the microphone and spoke in a flat, monotone voice. “It is nice to be back at Lovecraft Middle School. We must remember, classmates, that everything happens for a reason.” She passed the microphone to her sister.

“That’s exactly right,” Sylvia agreed, in the same lifeless drone. “There are forces in this world we cannot comprehend. It is wrong to question the wisdom of the Great Old Ones.”

Principal Slater nodded and smiled politely. “Well, yes,” she said. “I’m not exactly sure what that means, but it’s wonderful to have you back. Another big round of applause for Sarah and Sylvia Price!”

The cafeteria erupted with cheers. Sarah and Sylvia waved and smiled and then carried their lunch trays into the crowd. Plenty of kids moved out of their way, clearing a path, offering seats at their tables.

But Sarah and Sylvia ignored them. They weaved their way through the room, passing tables with girls and tables with boys and even tables that were completely
empty. They seemed to be walking toward one table in particular.

“Oh, I don’t believe it,” Glenn muttered.

“Believe it,” Karina grinned.

“So much for nice, normal school stuff,” Robert sighed.

Finally, Sarah and Sylvia Price reached the table where Robert and his new friends were eating lunch.

Together, the sisters gestured to the empty chairs.

Then they asked:

“Are these seats taken?”

Turn the Page for a Sneak Preview of

THE SLITHER SISTERS

Tales from Lovecraft

Middle School #2

BY CHARLES GILMAN

Slithering into bookstores in January 2013!