The Keeper Read Online Free PDF

time.
    With cold dread but a steely resolve I turned to Thorne.
    “There is one problem,” I said firmly.
    Thorne studied me, his eyes crinkling and an arrogant smile playing over his lips. “Oh, you think so?” he asked. “Do tell.”
    “It’s a heavy problem,” I said cryptically, though I could tell he knew exactly what I meant.
    “Oh, yes, indeed it is,” replied Thorne. “You’ve laid the mallet directly on the nail head, Vega. I can see that you’ve inherited the brains of your grandfather. You’re thinking of the mile-long rise we will need to reach the top of that cliff, eh?”
    Delph said emphatically, “You can’t climb it. Not with all those mortas, cannon and ekos.”
    “Quite impossible,” agreed Thorne.
    “And ya can’t go to war without your bloody army,” Delph said, a triumphant look on his features.
    “Well, I won’t have to, will I?” said Thorne patronizingly. “Let me show you.”
    The room we now entered through a massive portal, which Thorne unlocked, was far larger than any we had seen so far. My gaze quickly flitted to what dominated even this enormous space.
    “What in the Hel is that thing?” gasped Delph.
    There was a huge structure, rectangular in shape and made of wood, that looked rigorously constructed. It reminded me of the water vessels fisher Wugs used back in Wormwood, only far larger. It could easily carry hundreds of ekos. Connected to its sides were long, stout ropes. But suspended over it, high in the air, was something that dwarfed even the mammoth wooden carrier. It was black and roughly the shape of a circle, though it was thinner at the base and wider at the top. The stout ropes from the wooden structure were connected to a frame that was in turn attached to this thing. It was flattened and suspended by other ropes from the high ceiling.
    “That, my fine Wug,” said Thorne, “is the culmination of many sessions of work.” He waved his hand at it. “It is, in fact, an aero ship.”
    Delph looked at him blankly. “An aero ship?”
    “It flies.” He pointed up. “Aero. Up there.”
    “How?” demanded Delph heatedly.
    I could feel waves of anger rising off him. I gripped Delph’s arm tightly and looked at him, trying to calm him before he did something we might all regret.
    Thorne motioned to the flattened, suspended object. “That is what I term a bladder. Once it is filled with heated air, the bladder will lift the underneath carriage quite easily. And I have fashioned certain controls that will allow me to guide its path. By my calculations, it will lift my army and all its equipment in a very few excursions. Then, we will make our way to Wormwood. Our triumphant march to Wormwood, rather.”
    “But how are you going to get this contraption out of here?”
    He pointed upward again. “Much as the hole you fell in? Well, we have dug up to the top there, though it’s well covered now. The hole we have fashioned is far large enough for my aero ship to be launched through.”
    “Why do you want to attack Wormwood?” I asked fiercely. “You’re a Wug.”
    “Well, the truth is I didn’t choose to leave Wormwood. I was forced to leave.”
    “Really?” I snapped. “And you, such a nice bloke and all.”
    “Enough,” he barked, his mad eyes narrowing. “I’ve told and shown you all that I plan to. I require answers from you . And I will have them now!”
    He grunted several times and Luc brought over Destin, the Adder Stone and the glove. “It’s your turn to speak.” Thorne grunted once more and we were surrounded by bow-and-arrow-wielding ekos. Half took aim at Delph, the other half at Harry Two. I couldn’t defend them both at the same time. I had no choice.
    Delph gazed at me. I could tell he knew what I was going to do. He shook his head, but I ignored him. If I lost Delph, there would be no point going on anyway.
    “The chain allows one to fly. The stone can heal wounds.”
    He looked suitably intrigued, if a bit skeptical of my