The Terror Gaze: Book 2 of The Mortal Guard Series

Chapter 44 - Nick, Richard, Adrian, and Pierce: The Great Pyramid

Chapter 44 - THE SHIFTING HOUSE ARC PART 12 - Nick, Richard, and Adrian: "The Great Pyramid"

"What's that sound?" Adrian asked, lifting his head. "Is that Pierce shouting? It sounds like the robot might be with them."

"Guys!" Pierce yelled loudly, growing closer. "Help! Urgh . . . the light isn't working anymore!"

Richard bolted upright quickly. "That's not good."

"What do they mean?" Adrian stood up with him. "The lights aren't gonna work anymore?"

Nick rose up slowly, eyes dark and heavy. "We should get out of here. We're sitting ducks if we stay in this box."

Adrian flexed his fingers, baring his teeth. "I'm feeling fucking crazy. I'm going to rip apart that thing." The trio were traveling across the room to the window, stepping in the now-dried blood puddle of Dmitri. Adrian tried not to think about it.

"Let's not be reckless," Richard suggested. "If you get caught off guard or miss, you could be killed quickly."

"That's fine with me," Adrian huffed, reaching the window. "I don't care anymore."

Nick grabbed his arm and yanked him back. "Adrian. Think about this. We should make a plan."

But before they could come up with a plan, a metallic hand clamped onto the right edge of the window, sinking into the wall. Everyone cried out as the large machine appeared, a large furry thing clamped with its arms around the neck. It was Pierce, clinging on for dear life. This time, the robot's eyes were blue.

"So, I guess its eyes being blue means it can't be stopped by our lights anymore?" All three animals were shining their lights onto it now.

"Help me out here, guys!" the vampire lemur shouted, grunting. "My strength is failing me."

"What should we do?" Nick asked. "I don't want to use Tälmodighed and risk it going crazy again."

Adrian was already pulling out his curved blade so he could use the pommel to break the glass still left on the bottom of the window. "No time for a plan. We gotta get out there and do something."

Without a warning a large metallic hand grabbed his head and yanked him through the window, throwing him against the opposite wall violently. Adrian's back slammed into it and fell to the floor, groaning. "Ugh . . ." The robot was already moving to go for him again.

"Adrian!" Nick called, vaulting over the window on the other side with the robot. "I-I don't know what to do! I don't think anything I do will affect that thing!"

"Watch out!" Richard called, holding out his hand. He wasn't sure what to do either, especially now that their lights were ineffective.

The robot swung its arm and Nick ducked under it. "Woah!" He moved backward, going to Adrian to protect him. "I won't let anything happen to you, Adrian!"

Pierce was still clinging to its back. "Hey! I can see inside its body! It has a core right behind the chest plating!"

"Really?" Nick blinked. "Can't you use your vampire strength to hold it back?"

"I . . . I can't! I don't know how to activate it again!"

"That's inconvenient," Nick said, dodging another swing from the robot. He grabbed Adrian's jacket and dragged him along the ground, dodging a crushing stomp from the robot's foot. "Hey, are you okay? Are you hurt at all?"

"My back, but I think I can get up," he groaned.

Still in the room, Richard was pulling out his retrieval tablet. Opening the one-sided portal, blue illuminated his face as he poured out an orange cartridge in it. As he put the Retrieval Tablet back in his jacket pocket, he called out to the trio. "You guys! I have an idea! But you need to get the robot still somehow so I can aim properly!"