“Yes,” I said. “I came prepared.” I dug through my satchel and pulled out two small rock lights and gave one to Fairfax. They winked on at our touch.
Fairfax pushed the grate open and produced his pistol. I did the same with mine.
“Are you ready?”
“Always,” I said. But I was not sure I meant it.
We entered the sewers.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The tunnel which led from the entrance was long and winding. If not for the rock lights in our hands we would have been in total darkness. Our footsteps and breathing echoed against the concrete.
I was thankful there had been no rain that day or we would have been up to our knees in water and filth. Now the water was just a narrow trickle under our feet.
“How far does this go?” I asked. My legs ached, and I cursed my old bones.
Fairfax pointed, “There is a junction ahead.” He looked at me concerned. “Do you need help?” He offered an arm.
I waved him away. “I’m fine. Just not keen on dark cramped places.”
The tunnel ended in a t-junction with branches going left and right. And there before us was a huge engraving on the wall.
“The Mark of Quantiqtl,” Fairfax said.
It was greater in height than Fairfax and more detailed than the others we had seen. Its long tentacles outstretched with an opened beak-like mouth between them.
“Well, Constable,” I said. “I believe we are on the right track.”
“Yes, but which way?”
I peered in both directions. A faint light could be seen further down the right one. “I see something, Fairfax. This way.”
We walked toward the far light. As we got closer the light became bright enough we doused our own rock lights.
The tunnel ended at a wide archway, and beyond it appeared to be a chamber. Fairfax motioned me to stop, and tip-toed ahead. Hugging the wall he peered through the archway.
He turned to me and shrugged. “No one there,” he said in a hushed voice. Mindful of potential danger we stepped through.
The chamber was huge with dozens of rock lights ensconced along the walls. The ceiling so high it could not be seen.
Fairfax looked to our left and let out a surprised shout. I looked, too, and my breath caught in my throat.
A large statue of a squid sat at one side of the chamber. It stood more than three times the height of a horse and was as wide as my house. Long stone tentacles reached outward in a frozen roiling mass as if searching for food. Two large sightless eyes seemed to glare at us, angry and wild. The bulk of its body extended behind it like a train car.
“Quantiqtl,” I said.
Fairfax and I stared in amazement. The bright rock lights enhancing its shadows making it appear almost alive.
“Incredible work,” Fairfax said. “It must have taken years to carve.”
A thought hit me which sent shivers down my spine. Wide-eyed I grabbed Fairfax’s arm and pulled him backward, away from the statue.
“That is not just any statue, Fairfax,” I said as the full horror of realization struck home.
“That is the smartest thing you have ever said,” came a loud voice from behind us. We whirled around pistols at the ready.
Sigwald Archambault and Davlon Blythe emerged from a side entrance. Both wore black robes with the Mark of Quantiqtl on their sleeves. Blythe pointed a pistol at us. Archambault held what looked to be a long narrow bone sharpened to a point. I realized it was the Talon.
“Mr. Mayor,” I said with dripping sarcasm. “Why am I not surprised you are behind this?”
“Retired Detective Beeweather,” Archambault said, returning the sarcasm. “Of course I am behind this. Who else can bring about the dawning of a new era?”
I regarded Blythe who was sneering. To him I said, “So Davlon, the responsibility of wielding the Talon was too much for you? You shifted the binding over to Sigwald because you lacked the courage to keep using it?”
Blythe’s sneer turned to anger. “He is the chosen one! I am but a tool for him to wield on his journey to rebuild the world.”
“You are most certainly a tool,” Fairfax said.
“Shut up!” Barked Archambault. He waved the Talon around. “Blythe did as commanded. He follows the same calling as me in our service to the one great god. And soon, we will all serve him, or perish.”
I glanced at the huge tentacled statue. “You mean -”, I said before Archambault cut me off.
“Do not speak of the great one while in his presence! You are unworthy of such an honor.”
Fairfax said, “What do you mean in his presence?”
Keeping my pistol aimed at the mayor I said, “That statue is the Quantiqtl. The real one from long ago. Turned to stone by Gunther.”
Fairfax blanched at the implications.
Archambault grinned. “Yes, now you realize the true import of what I am trying to accomplish. This is the great and mighty Quantiqtl! Betrayed in battle by that ungrateful wretch, Gunther. But soon his crime will be corrected and the entire world will rejoice!”
“This raving lunatic is boring me,” Fairfax said. “Can I shoot him now?”
My curiosity got the better of me and I asked, “What is it you think you can do?” Asking questions of the mayor fed his giant ego and might buy me time to devise a plan.
Archambault’s eyes widened, and he smiled. “Why, to resurrect the Great One and restore him to his rightful place as the ruler of the universe!”
My eyes went to the Talon in his hand. Again, I was struck with a terrifying realization. “You’ve used the spell from the book to reverse the Stone casting ability of the Talon,” I said. It was a statement and one that chilled me.
Archambault laughed. “Now you know, foolish woman! Yes, and I will undo the Stoning of the Ancient One and return him to life! And our mighty god will reward me beyond my wildest dreams!”
I arched a brow at these two idiots. “If you cannot use the Talon to turn one of us to stone then it’s no threat to us. So it is our two pistols to Blythe’s one.”
Archambault’s reverie faltered. He seemed to realize that the situation was not as much to his favor as his ravings had led him to believe.
Blythe tensed, his pistol moving between me and Fairfax.
My pistol remained on Archambault. He could not be allowed to use the Talon. Not for what he intended to do. “Drop the Talon, Sigwald. Otherwise I will be forced to shoot.”
Archambault’s face contorted in an expression caught between sanity and servitude to his chosen God. In an instant he made his decision.
The mayor turned the Talon toward the huge statue. I fired my pistol, hitting the mayor in the shoulder. But as I did so Blythe fired at me with a scream of rage.
At that moment, Fairfax jumped in front of me, grunted in pain and knocked me down.
A loud and terrifying roar shattered the air causing the chamber walls to vibrate. I looked knowing full well what I would see, but did not want to.
Quantiqtl was alive. The huge squid raged and thrashed its long tentacles about smashing against the rocky chamber’s walls. The impact shook the room and a loud cracking was heard above us.
I grasped at Fairfax to see if he was alive. He groaned in pain but looked at me with concern. “Winged me, the lucky grubber!” he said to my relief.
Archambault lay on the ground clutching his wounded shoulder, but he did not care. His face was one of reverence as he looked at Quantiqtl.
Blythe had lowered his pistol and stood in a dazed stupor, eyes locked on his now living God.
Quantiqtl roared again and pulled itself closer to us. The motion of something so huge and frightening paralysed me with fear. Man was not meant to gaze on such evil and stay lucid.