บท 67: Vault No. 999 - A Scheming Showdown!
The rail became steeper as they kept going deeper into the abyss.
Every other row of Vaults was farther than each other, Kai realized. The speed, though, was still the same. It was fast, with hell-wind blasting against their faces, trying to strip them off the skin.
When the cart stopped with a jerk, the darkness wasn't alone in greeting them.
Cold; a bone-chilling gust of wind rolled around them like a blanket of death.
The cold kept becoming colder.
Some coldness were known to have animalistic tendencies, trying to bite into flesh, one layer after another. This cold, though, was just plain sad. It did have a vileness to it, and Kai doubted if he would be ever happy again.
Something clicked in his mind, and Kai shuddered in terror.
He wasn't alone, though.
"Take it out, sir," the High Guard growled.
The High Goblin was shaking like a leaf. Mr. Gilson's voice jolted the goblin and he hastily reached into his robes, taking out a black bag. The color of the bag was so dark that even the surroundings felt impotent compared to it. The High Goblin opened the cover, and a white sun rose, blinding the unseen depths of the abyss.
Kai felt a rush of pure light around him. Eyes squinted, he looked at the thing.
It was a fist-sized orb within which there was a sea of silver mist. It reminded Kai of the intangible form the Ghost Serpent took to pass through the solid objects. There was something in it, he could tell.
Something alive.
"A petrified Corporeal Patronus!" Sord exclaimed.
The High Guard nodded. "Only two of their kind," he said. "Goblins had forged them ages ago until the Ministry banned its forging and seized the rest."
Kai had no clue what was going on.
But it must have been shocking, for Sord's mouth had yet to close after seeing the thing.
"Two…" Sord muttered. "Where is the second?"
"In my chambers," Mr. Gilson declared. "Let's go. Who knows how much damage the explosion has done to the vault? Wands out."
Wands were already out, though both Kai and the High Goblin didn't have any.
Sord put himself in front of Kai, as the wizard, Mr. Gilson, towered behind the High Goblin, his wand pointed out over the goblin's head. The orb in the goblin's hand worked like a high-luminosity bulb, brightening up the cliff's edge they were walking on.
"This is the last vault where the guards may venture," Sord told Kai. "But even I haven't come down here before."
"There!" the High Guard said after a minute of walking. "Behind that looming edge of the stone wall, there is a right turn which leads to the vault."
And, yes. There was a right turn behind that edge.
But when the four took the turn, another sun was waiting for them, lying before the heavy iron door of the vault. The number, 999, glistened ghostly silver-gold against its light.
"How can that be?!" the High Goblin exclaimed, looking taken aback. Sord stumbled back a few steps, his back hitting Kai's chest.
"It's not possible!" Mr. Gilson said in hollow awe. "Who dares to rob my belongings?"
I hope they never apply for an acting job, Kai sneered, almost rolling his eyes.
After a momentary silence, the four resumed their amble, keeping to the right. On their left was a drop, where even the light from the silver orb couldn't seem to reach.
Kai was at the back of the group.
Suddenly, he noticed a triangular rocky platform jutting out of the cliff a few inches below their footing. Kai's eyes widened. Following an unparalleled and unannounced instinct, he took out the single gold coin left on him and flicked it over to the rock.
The coin struck the wide part of the platform and then rolled down to the pointy end. But before it could fall down the abyss, it lost its momentum and stopped, laying down on its flattened side. As the silvery light fell on the gold, it glowed, luring eyes and hearts alike.
Kai walked away as if he had done nothing, nor did he know what had just happened.
When they approached the second orb, Mr. Gilson picked it up and looked around.
Kai had already been searching for any sign of Snaglok. A sudden blast of cold hit him above his head, chilling his skull. It was like the hot shower had suddenly let out a few drops of ice-cold water. Kai looked up and gaped at what he saw.
A silent mass of black clouds was floating high above them.
"I think we should check if anything was stolen or not," Mr. Gilson suggested.
"Yes, yes." The High Goblin nodded, almost running for the large vault doors on his stunted legs.
Kai's heart was thumping with every next step.
The time was coming, and he didn't know if he was prepared enough or not. The goblin put both his palms against the door, and Kai heard a distinct clicking noise before the doors parted by themselves. All four walked in one by one, entering an almost empty chamber.
In the middle of the room, something was hovering a few inches above the floor.
It looked more like a small wardrobe than a chest to Kai. It reached up to his knees in height, and there were strange runes around its edges that seemed unfamiliar and yet mysteriously powerful to him.
The High Goblin put both his palms again at the front of the floating wardrobe, the silver orb lying at his feet.
Chaos descended over them unannounced.
The High Guard, Mr. Gilson, and Sord roared almost simultaneously. "Stupefy!!"
The thing was, the High Guard's wand was pointed at the High Goblin, but Sord's wand was pointed at the High Guard.
How could Kai not join the party, then?
Two Flashbangs appeared in his hands which he threw at his sides, not caring for anyone.
Bang!!
Two muffled bangs, followed by an intense surge of light, took over the small room.
Even though their eyes had adjusted considerably to the light because of the orbs, the flash wasn't something whose intensity one could compare.
Sord's stunner hit Mr. Gilson, and the orb in his hands got flung away, rolling out of the vault's doors. Mr. Gilson's stunning charm was a little late and missed the target, hitting the silver orb under the goblin's feet. Its contents burst forth with another bang, sending the High Goblin flying. The old goblin's short, bulky figure hit Sord's face like a boulder.
All were blind, and for a moment, no one could see possibly into the vault without squinting their eyes.
When the intense light receded, Kai, his eyes still closed, walked out holding the open wardrobe.
It was still hovering above the ground, but it wasn't locked anymore. There were three wooden racks within it one below the other, and on those racks, three eggs were glistening with colors that didn't seem any human could perceive at a glance.
Slowly, Kai opened his eyelids and looked back into the vault.
A silver mist was roaming around, moving from corner to corner as if it had been lost to the sight of living for ages. Then Kai looked at the opened wardrobe. On the top rack, there was a tiny golden egg the size of his thumb. On the bottom rack, there was a fist-sized brown egg with blood-red strips. The Ghost Serpent within him shuddered when Kai looked at that egg.
But it was the middle egg, which was the biggest. Green-gold petrified scales covered it, making it feel like the most beautiful carved sculpture.
Finally, Kai looked at Snaglok.
The goblin was standing some twenty meters away from him, holding the single silver orb which had been thrown out by the High Guard.
"You did it!" Snaglok exclaimed. "Good. Give it to me."
"You didn't tell me you have made plans with both the High Guard and Sord separately," Kai said.
"Bah!" Snaglok sneered contemptuously. "What does it matter? I told them the same things, but not about each other. I also suggested to them whom they were supposed to stun the moment the High Goblin was to open the wardrobe. It all turned out to be to your advantage, didn't it?"
It certainly did. Sord thought he was in cahoots with Snaglok. So, he fired his charm at Mr. Gilson. Mr. Gilson thought he was in cahoots with Snaglok, and he was suggested to stun the High Goblin first. It left Kai to do as he pleased, bringing out the wardrobe containing eggs almost unharmed.
Almost.
What a devious goblin, Kai grinned. If he hadn't done one thing, we could be friend. Tch!
"You are right," Kai nodded. "But you made one grave mistake, Snaglok."
"Huh?" Snaglok looked confused.
A dagger appeared in Kai's hand, and he slithered towards the goblin. "You shouldn't have used me as a pawn."
Hahaha!
Snaglok's laugh turned evil, rising in notes with Kai's every step. The goblin held the silver orb high and pointed at Kai. "Kill the intruder."
Panic took over Kai's soul when he was just half the distance away from the goblin. He looked up. Kai's eyes, hands, and legs trembled under the pressure. The silent mass of black clouds was falling.
But they weren't clouds.
They were…
Dementors!
Time left to the hibernation of Blood Devour - 5 minutes!
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