The Conduit The Gryphon Series - By Stacey Rourke Page 0,64
judgment day.”
“Awesome. Get to Rhodes and scope out exactly where Barnabus is hiding. Find out as much as you can. What this dude looks like, how many men he brought with him, what weapons they have, if they display any powers, anything that might help. But stay out of sight! Don’t do anything stupid, like get yourself caught.” My role as the leader felt surprisingly comfortable. “Gabe and I will drive there and meet up with you. Once we get the stats on what we are facing we can come up with a battle plan.”
Gabe’s lip curled up in a growl. “I could run there, Cee! Let the lion stretch his legs.”
I put one hand on my hip and looked up at him in exasperation. “You can’t run seventy miles per hour. We take the truck.”
“You’re bossy now that you’re the Conduit.” He grumbled.
“Is that a problem?”
“Nope, just saying.”
“Good. Then saddle up, gang. It’s time for a showdown.”
They looked at each other, then erupted in giggles and snorts of laughter.
“Exactly which Earp brother are you supposed to be?” Gabe taunted.
“Shut up. Let’s just go.”
CHAPTER 27
If this were a movie, we’d be mid-battle right now. I thought to myself as I watched the numbers tick by on the gas pump. Movies never showed the superhero stopping for gas. It went inspirational speech—or in my case a paltry excuse for one—then the epic battle. Never did they show the Batmobile at the Gas-N-Go. Alfred probably handled all that kind of stuff for the Caped Crusader. I needed an Alfred. If this turned into a permanent gig I should look into that.
The gas station door chimed and Gabe came out. His arms overflowed with chips, beef jerky and a two liter of pop.
I gaped at him in slack jawed astonishment. “What are you doing?”
“What?” He asked. “It’s a long drive, so I got snacks.”
“We’re not going on a road trip to an amusement park! We’re facing the forces of darkness, remember?”
“Yeah, so? I’m hungry.” He shrugged. “It’s like before my games, there’s no point in getting my game face on until I get there. In the mean time—road trip!”
“I bet Robin never made Batman stop for chips.” I muttered under my breath as I returned the nozzle to its resting place on the pump. I turned back toward the truck and saw a spiky blonde head bop around the side of the building. “Kendall! You’re supposed to be halfway to Memphis by now!”
She threw her hands up. “I’m going, I’m going! I just had to stop to pee. It’s a long flight.”
I squeezed the bridge of my nose between my fingers and shook my head. We had to be the lousiest warriors ever.
Gabe rolled down my driver’s side window and leaned out. “What are you waiting on? We goin’ or what?”
Batman had it easy. He was an only child.
CHAPTER 28
Gabe fell asleep while I drove. We were on our way to face an army of demonic forces the likes of which we—or quite possibly anyone—had never seen. Yet there he was, slumped in his seat, snoring like a chainsaw. He probably ate himself into a junk food induced coma. He still clutched the two liter in his hand and chip crumbs decorated the front of his shirt. Sure it was a long, monotonous drive. But it seemed the simple fact that we might DIE would keep him awake. Dozing behind the wheel wasn’t a problem for me at all. The closer we got to Memphis, the tighter I gripped the steering wheel.
We pulled into the college parking lot in the wee hours of the morning. Sunrise was only a few hours away. Night still held a stronghold. The darkness combined with the fact that a malicious man waited here to kill me made the nice, scenic campus an ominous and foreboding place. My mind conjured up scenes from every scary movie I had ever watched. Any minute now the dark, foreshadowing music would start up and the killer would jump out at me.
The added security of having Gabe awake suddenly became crucial. I smacked at his arm. “We’re here. Wake up.”
“Hmmm.” He groaned and stretched. His voice heavy with sleep, he failed miserably at sounding awake and alert. “Alright, let’s get this party started. How do we find Kendall to get the scoop?”
“Uh…I don’t know. We don’t want to risk calling any attention to her or us. We need to be subtle.”