But it could have been fear.
Neither of them answered his question.
He tried another.
“Lady Sapphire,” he said, “Did you know of this village when you sent Rachel here?”
Silence.
“Why did you send Rachel here, Lady Sapphire?” he asked.
More silence.
The van puttered on down the lane. Closer to the black tower.
Perhaps a different track.
“Lord Odom, could you tell more about Lord Sinzerklaazz?” he asked.
Odom looked up, a frown creasing his noble brow.
“You should not call him Lord,” Odom said, “He is just Sinzerklaazz. He does not like titles.”
Hilario swallowed the trickle of fear that rose up his throat.
“You know him personally, Master Odom?” he asked.
Odom cast a harsh look at the Sapphire Witch. “This was a foul idea,” he said, “If I knew you would take it this far, I would not have come.”
“I did not ask you to come, did I?” the Sapphire Witch said, “That was Mother Alexandrite.”
“She knew, my lady,” Odom said softly, “She hoped you would turn back from this path.”
Her head snapped up. Turned to him.
“Knew?” she said, “She knows nothing. She is senile. She should have given up her power long since.”
Odom shook his head. “It does not work that way, my lady. You and your sisters have been charged with protecting the normal world. You can not deny your nature.”
“Watch me,” the Sapphire Witch said, “Watch me, and then you will bow before me, along with all the rest.”
Odom reached out a mighty hand and closed it over her delicate wrist.
“I will always bow to you, my lady,” he said, “It is my nature. We are bonded through all time and space. You can no more escape me than you can escape yourself.”
The Sapphire Witch yanked her hand away.
“We will see,” she said, “We will see.”
Which was all very interesting, but not at all helpful in dealing with…whatever was about to happen.
Hilario cleared his throat. Again. The cold air coming through the partially open window felt good on his hot, greasepainted face. Though the smell of cookies and confections was going to drive him mad.
“Lady Sapphire, Master Odom,” he said, “Could we get back to who or what this Sinzerklaazz is.”
“Hilario,” Larry said, “Look.”
He jerked his gaze back to the road.
And slammed on the brakes.
The van groaned to a stop.
Dead ahead–which was a terrible way to put it–stood dozens of tiny figures.
Each one held a candle in their little hands.
Where had they come from? Just a moment earlier, the street had been deserted. Now the tiny creatures blocked the roadway.
They were gray and sort of person shaped. They had two arms and two legs connected to a torso and hip. And a head between their shoulders. But the head was sleeker, and pointed. Their faces more like a snout. Their eyes were solid black. Their ears long and pointed on the sides of their head.
All in all, their heads, at least, looked like some strange combination of seal and cat.
Their bodies seemed to be covered with short, gray fur. They wore no obvious clothing that he could see. Not even shoes.
Their solid black eyes faced the van.
“Uh, Lady Sapphire. Master Odom?” Hilario said, “Do you know of these creatures?”
“They are his servants,” Odom said, “They are harmless. For the most part.”
Which was not reassuring at all. Though the gray things were maybe a third the size of a normal person, they had numbers on their side. And they were on their home turf. Which happened to be the realm of perhaps a very powerful lord.
Someone who disliked having that title applied to him.
The gray creatures turned. Pivoted on their feet and began walking, as if they were a single body instead of many.
“They’re walking away,” Hilario said, “What should I do?”
“Follow them,” Odom said, “If they are here, you shall not avoid seeing him.”
The Paladin let out a sigh. Hilario watched in the rearview mirror as Odom clasped his hands together, fingers woven in a way that reminded him of wizards getting ready to cast a spell.
But Odom didn’t seem to be the spell casting type. Whacking and hacking seemed more his style.
Casting spells was more the purview of the Sapphire Witch. The yin to Odom’s yang. Or vice versa. However that was supposed to work.
Whatever it was, the blood in Hilario’s veins turned to ice. Here he was, about to meet another elite member of the unseen world. Though one he had never heard of before. Which only spoke to how elite this Lord–um, entity–was. A lowly creature such as himself had heard of Paladins and Gem Witches and such. But what was this Sinzerklaazz?
Whatever it was, it wasn’t going to be good.
The gray people creatures walked away from the van. Down the road. They walked shoulder to shoulder, across the width of the road, their little candles in front of them. They blocked the path completely. He would have had to run them down if he wanted to go past them.
Probably not recommended.
He let off the brake and let the van crawl forward.
The little creatures didn’t move fast. And as he followed, he realized there was a sound coming from them. It was so low at first, he could hardly hear it. But as they walked their song–and it was as song, even if he couldn’t understand the words–rose from a barely perceptible hum to something else.
Their words where smooth and soothing. Like a chant almost. It was like a cross between holiday music and chanting monks. Strangely compelling. He found himself almost hypnotized by it.
The gray
