Read Online The Road to Nevermore by Christopher Lincoln - Free Book Online
Authors: Christopher Lincoln
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Haven’t lost a soul on
my
watch yet.” He tapped his chest bones proudly.
Roger continued, “So it’s a matter of getting up into Government Hall. Then we tag along with Ned to the Receiving Department,
and
finally
bluff our way to Gloom’s office. After that, you’re on your own. I plan to wish myself back.”
Doesn’t sound like much of a plan.
“What happens when we get there?” Billy looked at Pete with alarm.
“That’s where we’ll employ a little pirate stealth,” Pete said casually. “Don’t ye think I learned a trick or two in all me
years at sea?”
But at this, even Jenkins squawked skeptically.
Ned dipped a look toward Roger. “I’ll get you to the Receiving Department and that’s it … even if it means less gold in my
pocket.”
“Well I’m going every bit of the way,” Billy insisted. His resolve felt pieced together by plasters and splints, but he promised
himself he wouldn’t let Millicent down no matter how his knees wanted to wobble.
As the group prepared to leave, Minnie Lumbus wished her son a stiff (even by skeleton standards) goodbye, then turned to
Billy. “You take care of Pete, you hear?” She sniffed and wiped a foggy tear with her sleeve. “And take care of yourself,
too. There’s a mighty big chance I’ll never see you again if you make the smallest slipup.” She patted Billy’s bottom, pushing
him on his way. “So don’t!”
On his way out, Pete reached up for a package on top of the coat rack. It was wrapped in brown paper and string, but Billy
was sure it contained something special.
Some kind of magical talisman to ward off evil? Or a cloak to make us invisible?
“Ye’ll just have to wait and see,” said Pete, his glass eye glimmering.
Chapter 15
Dreads
Shadewick Gloom snatched Millicent’s hair and glided her farther into the depths of Nevermore. It was a discombobulating sensation,
even for someone not altogether there. Along with the tombs and tippy mausoleums, some plots were filled with freshly dug
graves. Scattered here and there were a number of smaller structures housing underground burial chambers. Shadewick’s smile
was especially fond whenever they passed these crypts.
Not everyone was trapped inside. Several blocks away, a small group of groundskeepers were pruning hedges, digging holes,
and raking dead leaves. Sniffing the air, they turned slowly as Millicent and Gloom passed.
A battered skeleton was digging a grave. He was only a head taller than Millicent. At first she thought he was a skeleton
boy, but on a second examination, he moved like an older man. The skeleton paused as they approached. A gelatinous gob encased
his head, held on by a squishy mass of tendrils.
“What’s that?” Millicent gasped.
As architect of Nevermore, Gloom took delight in explaining such things. He dangled Millicent over the lip of the grave and
held forth. “That, my dumpling, is a dread.”
“It’s disgusting!”
“How kind!” Pleasure shimmered through Shadewick’s smile as he gestured toward the skeleton’s head. “See how the creature’s
sack envelops the victim and the tendrils reach inside to penetrate the brain? Saddled up there on the head, the dread plants
fear like seeds, then reaps the resulting nightmares and screams. Being trapped by a dread is the worst way of all to spend
your eternity here in Nevermore.”
“But, why do you need dreads? This place seems bad enough,” Millicent asked, literally breathless.
“Why? What a ridiculous question, my dear … you might as well suggest prisons abandon their guards, or the dungeons dispense
with their thumbscrews. Outrageous!”
He chuckled as he leaned over the grave, inspecting the skeleton’s work, and continued, “Along with keeping us well stocked
in nightmares, they’re very useful for keeping order around here. They can shatter the wills of my most resistant guests.”
Inside its gelatinous casing, the dread unwrapped its
my
watch yet.” He tapped his chest bones proudly.
Roger continued, “So it’s a matter of getting up into Government Hall. Then we tag along with Ned to the Receiving Department,
and
finally
bluff our way to Gloom’s office. After that, you’re on your own. I plan to wish myself back.”
Doesn’t sound like much of a plan.
“What happens when we get there?” Billy looked at Pete with alarm.
“That’s where we’ll employ a little pirate stealth,” Pete said casually. “Don’t ye think I learned a trick or two in all me
years at sea?”
But at this, even Jenkins squawked skeptically.
Ned dipped a look toward Roger. “I’ll get you to the Receiving Department and that’s it … even if it means less gold in my
pocket.”
“Well I’m going every bit of the way,” Billy insisted. His resolve felt pieced together by plasters and splints, but he promised
himself he wouldn’t let Millicent down no matter how his knees wanted to wobble.
As the group prepared to leave, Minnie Lumbus wished her son a stiff (even by skeleton standards) goodbye, then turned to
Billy. “You take care of Pete, you hear?” She sniffed and wiped a foggy tear with her sleeve. “And take care of yourself,
too. There’s a mighty big chance I’ll never see you again if you make the smallest slipup.” She patted Billy’s bottom, pushing
him on his way. “So don’t!”
On his way out, Pete reached up for a package on top of the coat rack. It was wrapped in brown paper and string, but Billy
was sure it contained something special.
Some kind of magical talisman to ward off evil? Or a cloak to make us invisible?
“Ye’ll just have to wait and see,” said Pete, his glass eye glimmering.
Chapter 15
Dreads
Shadewick Gloom snatched Millicent’s hair and glided her farther into the depths of Nevermore. It was a discombobulating sensation,
even for someone not altogether there. Along with the tombs and tippy mausoleums, some plots were filled with freshly dug
graves. Scattered here and there were a number of smaller structures housing underground burial chambers. Shadewick’s smile
was especially fond whenever they passed these crypts.
Not everyone was trapped inside. Several blocks away, a small group of groundskeepers were pruning hedges, digging holes,
and raking dead leaves. Sniffing the air, they turned slowly as Millicent and Gloom passed.
A battered skeleton was digging a grave. He was only a head taller than Millicent. At first she thought he was a skeleton
boy, but on a second examination, he moved like an older man. The skeleton paused as they approached. A gelatinous gob encased
his head, held on by a squishy mass of tendrils.
“What’s that?” Millicent gasped.
As architect of Nevermore, Gloom took delight in explaining such things. He dangled Millicent over the lip of the grave and
held forth. “That, my dumpling, is a dread.”
“It’s disgusting!”
“How kind!” Pleasure shimmered through Shadewick’s smile as he gestured toward the skeleton’s head. “See how the creature’s
sack envelops the victim and the tendrils reach inside to penetrate the brain? Saddled up there on the head, the dread plants
fear like seeds, then reaps the resulting nightmares and screams. Being trapped by a dread is the worst way of all to spend
your eternity here in Nevermore.”
“But, why do you need dreads? This place seems bad enough,” Millicent asked, literally breathless.
“Why? What a ridiculous question, my dear … you might as well suggest prisons abandon their guards, or the dungeons dispense
with their thumbscrews. Outrageous!”
He chuckled as he leaned over the grave, inspecting the skeleton’s work, and continued, “Along with keeping us well stocked
in nightmares, they’re very useful for keeping order around here. They can shatter the wills of my most resistant guests.”
Inside its gelatinous casing, the dread unwrapped its
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