Newel scratched his head. Nothing.
Right, Doren said hastily. Stands for 'nothing.'
Nothing? Seth said dubiously. Why would somebody write an 'N' for 'nothing'? Why not just leave it blank?
Newel, Doren tried. It stands for Newel.
Used to be my favorite belt buckle, Newel added wistfully.
You wore pants? Seth asked.
Long story, Newel explained. Let's not dwell on the past. Fact is, there are more-um-belt buckles where that came from, all pure gold. You bring us more batteries, we'll keep trading with you.
Works for me, Seth said.
This could be the beginning of a spectacular partnership,
Newel said.
Doren raised a cautionary hand, halting the conversation.
You hear that?
The three of them paused, listening. Something's corning,
Newel said, eyebrows knitting together. No matter how the satyrs behaved, they usually had an air about them that201 everything they said was tongue-in-cheek. That air wasgone.
They kept listening. Seth heard nothing. Are you guys fooling with me? he asked.
Newel shook his head, holding up a finger. I can't place it. You?
Doren was sniffing the air. Can't be.
You better scram, Seth, Newel said. Get back to the yard.
With the gold, right? Seth suspected they might be trying to trick him out of his reward.
Of course, but you better hur-
Too late, Doren warned.
A creature the size of a pony burst out of the bushes onto the tennis court. Seth recognized it immediately. Olloch?
Olloch the Glutton? Newel asked Seth.
I thought it smelled like a demon, Doren groaned.
Yeah, Seth said. He bit me.
Grotesquely toadlike, Olloch reared back and opened his mouth. It looked like the demon had swallowed a squid, so many flailing tongues emerged. Sitting upright, Olloch was nearly as tall as Seth. After a triumphant roar, the demon lowered his head and charged, advancing in a jerky, scrambling crawl.
Newel grabbed Seth's hand and hauled him away from the demon. Run! Newel yelled.
For television! Doren cried, brandishing his tennis racket and holding his ground. Olloch pounced at the satyr, but Doren lunged aside, swatting away a pair of tongues with202 the racket. Several more tongues lashed out, wrenching theracket from Doren's grasp. The tongues pulled the racket into a gaping mouth, and moments later expelled it with the strings missing and a crack in the frame.
Seth had reached the bushes at the edge of the court when Olloch, ignoring Doren, took a huge leap toward him and then charged with frightening speed. Seth knew he wouldn't make it back to the path, let alone to the yard. His mind raced, trying to think if there was anything useful in his emergency kit.
Tongues writhing, the demon sprang. For batteries!
Newel cried, intercepting the glutton in midair and wrapping both arms around its middle.
To the shed! Doren called, retrieving his unstrung racket and running toward the demon.
Seth turned and dashed toward the shed. Growling and slobbering, Olloch squirmed free from Newel and raced after
Seth, staying low and gaining quickly. Over his shoulder,
Seth glimpsed the demon drawing near, rapidly closing the space between them despite moving with such a choppy gait. The shed was still several steps away.
Jumping into the demon's path, Doren raised his damaged racket. A multitude of tongues snaked around the satyr and slung him aside. His efforts barely slowed Olloch, but bought Seth just enough time to lunge into the shed and slam the door. The demon crunched against the door an instant later. Some of the whitewashed planks split, but they held. The demon crashed against the shed again, rattling the small structure.203 Hang on, Seth, Doren yelled. Help is coming.Seth searched for a weapon. The best he could find was a hoe. The door shattered open and Olloch entered, snarling, wet tongues thrashing. Behind the slavering demon, Seth saw Hugo bounding across the tennis court.
Grasping tongues stretched toward Seth, and he swung the hoe viciously. A tongue adroitly coiled around the hoe, ripping it from Seth's grasp. And then Hugo arrived.
The golem grasped the demon from behind with one hand and hurled it away from the shed. Olloch landed, rolled, and came charging back toward Seth, who now stood in the empty doorway alongside Hugo. The golem stepped forward, blocking access to Seth.
Dripping tongues whipped toward Hugo. The golem grabbed several tongues, yanked the demon into the air, and began spinning Olloch above his head. The tongues elongated as the golem whirled the glutton faster and faster, finally releasing him, sending Olloch sailing away over the treetops.
Doren whistled, clearly impressed.
He'll be back straightaway, Newel said. He had grass stains on his chest and arms.
You should hurry to the yard, Doren agreed.
We better get some free batteries out of this, Newel said, brushing himself off.
And a new racket, Doren added.
We'll talk about it, Seth said, clutching his emergency kit with the gold inside. Hugo unceremoniously lifted Seth and started running, leaving him no opportunity to say or204 hear another word. Seth could not believe how fast thegolem raced through the trees, massive strides eating up ground. Ignoring trails, Hugo bulldozed his own path through undergrowth and tangled limbs.
Before long, they were back in the yard. Grandma stood there, fists on her hips, along with Coulter, Vanessa, and
Kendra. Hugo gently set Seth on his feet in front of
Grandma.
Are you all right? Grandma asked, grabbing his shoulders and checking him for injuries.
Thanks to Hugo.
You're lucky Hugo was in the yard, Grandma said. We heard something roaring in the woods and found you missing.
What were you doing in the woods?
I was playing tennis with the satyrs, Seth said. Olloch found me.
Olloch! she cried. The others looked shocked as well.
How could he have gotten onto the preserve? Coulter asked.
Are you sure it was Olloch? Grandma asked.
I recognized him, Seth said. He's a lot bigger. He has a bunch of tongues. He went right for me, didn't hardly care about the satyrs.
They heard something rustling in the woods and turned to face whatever was approaching. Olloch scrambled up to the edge of the yard before stopping. The demon reared up, tongues waving like meaty banners, and let out a mournful bellow. He lunged forward but could not step onto the grass.
He can't enter the yard, Vanessa said.205 Not yet, Grandma agreed.Then how did he get onto the preserve? Coulter repeated.
I don't know, but we better get to the bottom of it quickly, Grandma said.
Can Hugo kill it? Kendra asked.
Not likely, Grandma said. In fact, I expect even at this size, if Olloch put his mind to it, he could devour Hugo piece by piece.
Olloch was shaking his head, wagging his tongues, and pawing the ground, obviously furious at having his prey so near yet utterly unreachable. Now, there's an unusual sight, Coulter murmured.