The Green Lama: Unbound (The Green Lama Legacy Book 3) (34 page)

“Okay, everyone,” Rick called over the loudspeaker. “That really loud sound you just heard was the plane’s advanced propulsion moving into ready position.”

“What?” Ken whimpered.

“Gonna be honest with you folks, I’ve never used this thing before, so it might get a little bumpy,” Rick continued. “So you might wanna hang on to something.”

Jean placed her hand in Jethro’s as the engine came online and the horizon came rushing toward them.

• • •

“Everyone comfortable?” Rick asked as he walked through the cabin some time later, lugging a large briefcase. “Autopilot,” he said simply off Ken’s panicked expression, though this failed to give Ken any comfort.

“How long until we reach our destination?” Jethro asked as he unfastened himself out his chair.

“A while yet. The what’s-it gave us a good boost but we still have a whole hemisphere to cross. Which leads me to ask: Where the hell are we going?”

“The sunken city of R’lyeh,” Jean replied as she stood. “Home of the Great Old One, Cthulhu.”

“Heydrich’s returned,” Jethro gravelly added.

Rick clicked his tongue and allowed himself a rueful smile. “This is End of the World type stuff, isn’t it?”

“Basically,” Caraway said without amusement.

“This is why I have to stop answering the phone,” Rick sighed, massaging his eyes. He looked to Jethro. “I’m assuming you have a plan against whatever it is we’re heading toward, right?”

Jethro meekly shook his head. “Not as of yet.”

“Of course. Hopefully, you might find some answers in here. Your assistant
Sor-wrong
gave it to me. Feels like there’s a rock in there,” he said, handing Jethro the briefcase.

Jethro took it without correcting him. Feeling the weight in his hand, Jethro allowed a small smile to curl his lips, knowing exactly what was inside.

“Hey,” Caraway said, grabbing Rick as he began to walk away. “Did you give my message to Frankie?”

Rick hesitated. “Yeah,” he said with a slight nod.

“What did she say?”

Rick rubbed his cheek. “Wasn’t exactly what she said, buddy, more of what she did.”

Caraway’s stomach dropped. “Oh, boy,” he moaned, running his hand through his hair.

“Yup. We make it out of this alive, you better buy her a lot of flowers,” Rick said, patting Caraway on the shoulder before walking back toward the cockpit. “A shit ton of flowers. And maybe a few diamonds.”

Meanwhile, Jethro sat back down and placed the briefcase on his lap. Opening it, he found a small protective box placed atop green fabric. Peering inside the box, Jethro’s smile broadened into a toothy grin. “Thank you, old friend,” he whispered as he lifted the small vial of enhanced radioactive salts.

“That the special batch that makes you fly?” Caraway asked, recalling the conversation he and Ken had atop the Empire State Building.

Jethro looked to Caraway. “Yes, and much more,” he said after a moment, a small weight lifting from his chest. He could tell that while Caraway didn’t completely forgive him for his deception—and probably never would—their friendship was beginning to mend. Returning to the briefcase, Jethro unwrapped the vibrant green fabric and found the Second Jade Tablet, glowing softly in the dim cabin lighting. Lifting it up, Jethro looked over it solemnly. “Now we have all three.”

“Which puts us a little ahead of the curve,” Jean said.

“Only a little,” Caraway added.

“Hopefully, that will be enough,” Jethro said as he placed the Tablet beside him. Looking into the briefcase he discovered two last items: a large, dark green hooded robe and a long, deep red
kava
.

“Hey, those kinda looks like the Green Lama’s,” Ken observed as Jethro brought them out. “Wait a minute…” he trailed off as the truth dawned on him. “Jethro, are you the Green Lama?”

Jethro looked at Ken and smiled in response.

Ken’s eyes went wide in shock. “Get outta town!”

• • •

Several hours passed before all four of them met again. They were crossing over Brazil, the lush greenery of the Amazon extending as far as the eye could see. Though exhausted, none of them had attempted sleep, adrenaline and fear keeping them awake. Caraway had spent the majority of his time in the cockpit with Rick, trading stories of women and adventures. For his part, Ken kept himself far from the windows, congregating between the bathroom and his aisle seat. Meanwhile, Jean and Jethro spent their time examining and comparing the Jade Tablets.

“We think we’ve made some progress,” Jethro said when they reconvened. With the Second and Third Jade Tablets laid out in front of him, Jethro indicated a small section of script on the crystal egg. “’Roughly, this reads: ‘One to rise, three to sleep.’ If I understand it correctly, that means only
one
Tablet is needed to wake Cthulhu.”

“Don’t forget the ‘blood sacrifice, ’” Jean interjected.

“But to stop him,” he continued, “we need all
three
Tablets placed in
three
specific points by the
three
‘Scions.’”

“Jethro, me, and Vasili,” Jean said, pointing at the three figures at the top of the crystal.

“‘The crystal on the column, the stone in the wall and the ring in the hand, ’” Jethro said, pointing to another passage from the Third Tablet.

“Just vague enough to make it difficult,” Caraway grumbled, stroking his mustache. “And we’re missing one key element.”

Jean nodded. “ Vasili.”

“The Nazis are no doubt on their way to R’lyeh,” Jethro added. “It’s safe to assume that they’re bringing Vasili with them.”

“He killed Sotiria,” Ken said.

“He was possessed,” Caraway said under his breath, his eyes downcast.

“Possessed or not, how do we even know he’s on our side?” Ken asked. “Hell, how do we know he’s alive?”

“We don’t,” Jethro admitted.

Caraway shook his head. “I saw the boy up close at the ruins. The way his eyes looked, I could tell he wasn’t in control. And the way Sotiria— God rest her soul—was screaming you’d think that would’ve elicited some kinda response, but there was nothing. Just blank. And you remember what happened when Alexei grabbed him,” he said to Ken. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that monster was controlling him the entire time.”

“And may still be in control now,” Jethro said. “Whatever Alexei really is, he is extremely powerful. With him and the Nazis, getting to Vasili will not be easy.”

Ken snapped his fingers. “Wait, why would the Nazis be heading to R’lyeh when they don’t have any of the Jade Tablets?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Jean asked. “They’re expecting us.”

• • •

Black ooze leaked from Heydrich’s eye socket, dripping down the side of his cheek like a demon’s tear. Wiping it away with the back of his hand, he walked through the narrow maze of the U-Boat toward Alexei’s cramped quarters.

“Do you like it?” a tall Egyptian man asked, appearing out of the shadows. He was dressed in regalia reminiscent of the Pharaohs, an obsidian and gold squid-like pendant hanging from his neck.

Heydrich fell back in surprise. “Who are you?”

“You do not recognize me, Heydrich?” the tall Egyptian laughed. “This is what I once was, back in the days when I was human, if you could have called me that. Back when I ruled the Nile. When they used to call me by my given name, Nyarlathotep.”

Heydrich furrowed his brow, at last recognizing his master, no longer using the guise of Alexei. “Did your true form no longer suit you? I imagined you reveled in the looks of disgust and fear you elicited in the men.”

Nyarlathotep smiled, reminiscing. “It was pleasurable, yes, watching the madness break their minds as I walked past. But if I am to see the Great Cthulhu again, I want him to see me as he remembers.”

“You are confident that Dumont will come to R’lyeh?” Heydrich asked.

Nyarlathotep frowned. “Do you truly doubt me so much, Heydrich? Have I not given all that I promised you?”

Heydrich hesitated. “Gottschalk and Gan. They doubt the truth of Dumont’s alter ego and his possession of the Sacred Colors. They also question your—
our
intentions. They feel that despite our promises they have seen few results.”

“Humans. They only see as far they can reach, they are not worthy to be in the same reality as Cthulhu let alone gaze upon him. If I were to bring them the Sun, they would ask why the Earth is so hot,” Nyarlathotep scoffed, waving his hand in frustration. “While the rising of the sunken city has put the fates in flux, they can rest assured, all will go as promised. Dumont will be at R’lyeh and you will have your sacrifice.”

“Your boy,” Heydrich began nodding a chin toward the end of the corridor. “Has he woken up yet?”

“He is awake, though I fear I might have broken his sanity,” he said with the disinterest of a child breaking a forgotten toy. A devious smile curled his tanned face. “Though he has one final role to play.”

Heydrich unconsciously picked at the wound in his skull. “We will still need to appease the others. I doubt I can keep them satisfied with promises and prophecies for much longer. With another week ahead of us before we reach R’lyeh, I urge you, Master, please, show them
something
to ease their doubts before they jeopardize our plans.”

Nyarlathotep smiled and tilted his head sideways. “A week? Really?”

Heydrich jumped as the klaxons began to blare, red lights flashing. The entire submarine began to shake around them as a panicked voice came over the intercom, shouting: “
Auftauchen! Auftauchen!
” Heydrich covered his ears, as the pressure quickly dropped as they rose to the surface.

“What’s happening?” Heydrich screamed.

“We’ve arrived,” Nyarlathotep laughed.

• • •

“You guys might wanna come and take a look at this,” Rick said over the loudspeaker several hours later.

Caraway rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he rose from his chair. “Up and at ’em,” he said as he passed by Ken, slapping him on the shoulder. Ken wiped the drool from his chin and stumbled behind Caraway toward the cockpit where they found Jean and Jethro already waiting. Outside the window, an ever-growing black dot protruded from the blue expanse like a twisted nail.

“R’lyeh,” Jean said as they entered.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Caraway said, bracing himself against Jethro’s seat back.

“You and me both, brother,” Rick agreed as he worked the controls. “We’re still a few minutes out. Once we get closer I’m gonna try and circle around, see if there’s any place to land, though I’m not gonna lie to ya, that island doesn’t look too friendly.”

“Please tell me we don’t have to jump out of another plane,” Ken begged.

“Do any of you hear that?” Jean asked. “Sounds like a whistling.”

“Just the wind, sweetheart,” Rick said. “Don’t worry.”

Jethro shot Rick a scolding look and leaned forward. “I hear it too. Look! Over there.” He pointed toward the faint black and red mass spiraling out of the center of the island.

“Jesus,” Rick breathed. “What in God’s name…?”

Caraway stepped forward. “Another living storm?”

Rick shook his head. “No, look at the way it’s spiraling up like that. Reminds me of the way bats fly out of caves down in South America.”

Jethro stood up, his hands clenched in fists. “It’s a swarm.”

“A swarm?” Ken asked, panic lacing his voice. “A swarm of what?”

“What else?” Jean asked as they watched the black and red dots form into cancer-like polyps and winged dragons. “Monsters.”

• • •

“What are those things?!” Ken screamed as he, Jean and Caraway chased after Jethro.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Jethro replied as he entered the cabin. “Whatever they are, they’re coming for us.” He uncorked the small vial of radioactive salts, swallowed them in one swift motion, and picked up his robe and
kava
.

“Dumont, where are you going?” Caraway asked.

“Out there,” Jethro responded as he pulled on his robes and tied the
kava
around his waist. He ignored the small lump that seemed to weigh down at the cuff of his right sleeve. He could feel the salts moving through his system, from cell to cell, a sensation like gripping an exposed wire.

Jean’s eyes went wide. “Jethro, you can’t!” she shouted, grabbing him by the sleeve. “You go out there and they’ll—”

“I know the risks, Jean,” he said gravely as he gently pulled his arm free. “The enhanced radioactive salts will give me flight and the strength to fight off these creatures long enough to give Rick the time to get all of you safely to R’lyeh.”

“You can’t be serious!” Ken exclaimed. “Jethro—I mean, Green Lama—this is insanity! Those things will eat you alive!”