[Lord Stanley]

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Abe tried the bars for what seemed like the twentieth time. There was no mistake about it: the Vamps made their metal with brilliance beyond anything the Glukkons had ever designed. Even after using Cloud’s strength, Oner’s lockpick techniques, and Abe’s detailed search for weaknesses, the bars stood just as strong as ever.

He turned away from the prison bars. Crak and Cloud sat cross-legged on the floor of the cell, playing mind games with each other out of lack of things to do. Oner lay curled up on the floor, sleeping.

Who would’ve thought that I’d ever get myself stuck in the same cell with three Sligs, in a prison run by an enemy worse than the Keuja? That was his conclusion, that the Vamps were worse than the mighty monster. There were thousands of the Vamps – because, surely, there were other towns – and their efficiency of work was plain to see.

Their intent was obviously hostile. They seemed to know a bit about Mudokons and Sligs, since they’d recognized the power of Abe’s chant before he could release the possession orb, but no one had ever known about the Vamps before now.

At least, no one had returned alive to tell the tale…

A door hissed open behind him, prompting him to turn. Crak and Cloud stopped talking, and Oner grunted, “Wha…?”

Abe put on his grimmest face for the displeasure of the armored Vamp guards that marched into the hallway. Their armor was highly polished and a dark red hue, their helmets giving a grim demeanor, though not so grim as the odd-looking pain-inducing rifles they carried.

“I was in prison, and you visited me,” Oner quoted.

Behind the guards came another Vamp.

Abe could tell straightaway that this was no ordinary Vamp. This one was dressed in long, flowing robes made of fine materials Abe could not identify, and though he carried no weapon, the sheer arrogance in his face told the Mudokon that the being was cruel and confident in his position as overlord.

“I am Emperor Essir of the Vamp Empire,” the newcomer said, in his accented voice, a growling voice that set Abe’s hairless spine tingling. “Who are you?”

“Why should we tell you?” Abe asked.

Essir made a dismissive signal to his guards; one of them raised and fired his weapon in one swift movement. Abe ducked out of the way, but the flash of white energy was not aimed at him. It struck Cloud, throwing the young Slig flat on his back. The Slig moaned in pain, the odd energy coursing up his metal-enhanced frame, sending him into spasms.

“That is why you should tell me,” Essir replied coldly. “More insolence from you, and I will order my guards to shoot him again…though this next time, it will be set to Kill.”

Abe set his mouth in a frown. “If I tell you about us…you’ll tell us about yourself and your race.”

“I do not make bargains with prisoners.”

“We’re your key to conquering the northern hemisphere,” Abe said, guessing at the emperor’s intentions. “You need to keep at least some of us alive.”

The emperor raised the space just above his right eye. “You do not care about your companions?”

“They have their purpose.”

“Thanks a lot,” Oner grumbled. “And I thought we were friends, stitchlips.”

Essir looked thoughtful. “Perhaps a trade-off can be arranged, though it will do you little good. You will all be executed as soon as I have extracted the information I need. If revealing a little about ourselves is what it takes to get this information out of you peacefully, then let it be so.”

The emperor turned and exited the prison hallway, leaving Abe feeling grimmer than before.

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