“I speak thetruth,” Tier growled, “I left them not four or five nights ago, all safe andsecure.”
“In some klops prison camp,” Ungur retorted.
“Not at all,”Tier said, “They are safe on their own. I promise you.”
“They did notescape?” Dr. Lege said, his pale gray eyes wide.
“They werenever taken prisoner,” Tier said, “During the attack, many of our people werecaptured, but many also hid, or were buried under parts of the fortress andwere left for dead. Mostly the young and old, or injured, like I. When the klops returned to find stragglers, we had already foundhiding.”
“My daughtersare alive?” Vinter asked, his voice hoarse.
Tier nodded.The white yeti exhaled a long, slow breath.
“We have beenheld captive by a lie?” Dr. Lege asked.
The yetiseemed to search for truth within Tier’s dark eyes.
“I do notknow. What have you been told?” Tier asked.
“That there isanother camp, like this one,” Dr. Lege said,beginning to cough, “Water klops are terrible craftsmenand blacksmiths. They need us to build their armor and cannons for some greatarmy. We try to teach them, but they do not learn. We were told that if we didnot submit to their demands, they would slaughter our families in the othermine and feed on their bones.”
The old doctorrolled to his back with a rattling sigh.
“Are you allright, father?” Ungur asked, giving the newcomers anunwelcome glare.
“Trust me,what I say is true,” Tier said, “We are here to free you.”
“Free us?” Ungur scoffed, “One woman and two small strangers? You willonly get our families and us killed.”
“These smallstrangers, as you put it,” Tier growled, “survived the North Sea, a water klops ambush, killed mountain trolls, and fended off whateverthose creatures were back within that volcano. They claim to have faced the Trollmann and survived as well, left her headless andhandless on some far away island. And after what I have seen, I tend to believethem,” she gestured to Cyrus.” Look at the boy, look at his ears. He is clearlyalveling. He may even be the savior prophesied. Thereis more to these creatures than their size.”
“The ChildEater?” Dr. Lege gasped.
Cyrus’ fleshrippled.
“Never mindlegend and superstition,” Vinter said, “How do youplan to free us?”
“That is whatwe must find out,” Fibian said, his eyes glowingblue, “What kind of threat do those cliff cannons pose?”
“If the klops barred all escape from the pit, they could wipe theentire camp out in under an hour.”
“We must finda way to destroy those cannons,” Fibian said,“Without those cannons, we could easily overrun them.”
“What abouttheir rifles and poisoned weapons?” Ungur asked.
“They can beovercome.”
“And we mustfind the one named Gammal,” Edward said, appearing onCyrus’ shoulder.
Dr. Lege and the other five yeti stared at the snow-whitespider as if he were a ghost.
“What isthat?” the ancient yeti asked.
“I told youthere was more to these creatures than meets the eye,” Tier said, “This isEdward. He and Cyrus are in need of Gammal’s counsel.Like us, Cyrus’ and Edward’s home is in grave danger.”
“Gammal was taken prisoner into the fortress’ dungeons,” Vinter said, “No one has seen him in months.”
“Is there anyway we could break him free?” Cyrus asked.
“Your disguiseswill not fool the queen,” Vinter said, “You will beslaughtered by her batalha the moment you cross thegates.”
“Batalha?” Fibian asked.
“Batalha are the queen’s creation,” Vinterreplied, “They are much larger and more fierce than normal klops,for they are nurtured on their own young. There is a lone female klops hidden somewhere within the fortress. Her newbornsgive the batalha ten times the strength of a normalsoldier.”
“They eattheir own young?” Cyrus gasped.
“There must beanother way in, other than the gates,” Fibian said.
“That is theonly way,” Ungur replied.
“What aboutthe chimneys, above the gates?” Edward asked.
“Thechimneys?” Fibian said.
“Impossible,” Vinter said,” They are high above the mine and they lead toroaring fires.”
“You wouldhave to climb unseen into the cliffs,” the old black hunch-backed yeti said,standing near the door, “And if you did not get stuck inside the shafts, youwould have to scale down one of the four chimneys. If you did not fall to yourdeath or burn up like a leaf, you would be inside the main chamber, surroundedby all of the queen’s guards.”
“Child Eater?”Dr. Lege repeated.
He lookedtowards Tier.
“You wouldhave us trade one evil for another?”
Tier said nothing.
Dr. Lege waved the newcomers out.
“Leave us,now,” he ordered, “Vinter will gather the rest of theelders. We must discuss what all this means.”
“This will endbadly,” Ungur warned.
Chapter 25
AMBUSH
ITWAS JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT. Cyrus tried to sleep on the fur covered floor aroundthe large smoldering fire. His ankle throbbed, and was swollen within his boot.Tier lay in a shaggy brown mound across from him, and Edward snored within hisfur collar.
Dr.Lege had ordered Ungur tohide the outsiders within her shelter until morning. Reluctantly, Ungur did what was requested. Then, she left the fourwithout explanation. That had been hours ago. Cyrus was relieved to be rid ofthe bitter yeti’s presence, yet, where had she gone?
Thetent smelled sour and sweaty. Outside, in the distance, klopsbickered and squabbled somewhere off in the mine. Cyrus knew he needed rest,but it was difficult to sleep surrounded by so much peril. He heard movementnear the door.
“Ungur?” he whispered.
Herose and saw Fibian dressed in only his whale skinwetsuit, about to exit the shelter.
“Whatare you doing?” Cyrus asked.
“Iwant to survey the fortress, and scout out the cliff cannons,” Fibian said, “If we are to ask the yeti to revolt, we musthave a plan.”
Theblue glow from his eyes glinted off his mechanical hand.
“I’llcome with you,” Cyrus said, beginning to rise.
“No,you need to rest your ankle,” Fibian said, “This iswhat I was made for. There is no point both of us risking capture.”
Cyrushesitated, then nodded. He understood. He would only slow Fibiandown.
“You’regoing to freeze without your furs.”
“Ishould be okay for a few hours,” Fibian said, smiling,“I am a froskman, remember.”
“Besafe,” Cyrus said, “And don’t be too long.”
Fibian bowed his head, then ducked outthe flap.
Cyruslay back down on the furs. He closed his eyes and watched as his mind racedfrom one horrific possibility to another. How would they survive this place?What if they could not find Gammal? What if Gammal was dead? More sounds
