Diesel looked over at Wulf. “Do you want to run with this one, or should I take it?”
Wulf smiled his joyless smile. “It’s your Stone.”
“Yeah, but it’s your minion.”
“No longer,” Hatchet said, snatching the tablet from the casket, drawing his sword. “I have the power now. And I have the knowledge. And very soon I’ll have all the Stones.”
“What’s he talking about?” Diesel asked Wulf.
“The tablets kept the guardians connected. Every guardian carried another guardian’s tablet. So whoever possesses the tablet has an opportunity to find the next Stone, providing they can understand the tablet’s inscription. The tablets were forged centuries ago and are written in an arcane language, which Steven won’t be able to read.”
“Don’t underestimate me,” Hatchet said. “I’ll figure it out. I have one Stone, and I won’t stop until I possess the rest. I don’t need you anymore. Now I have the power.”
“Give me the tablet,” Wulf said.
“The tablet’s mine,” Hatchet told him. “You lose.”
“Close your eyes,” Wulf said to me. “I’m going to kill him.”
I looked to Diesel. “Is he serious?”
Diesel shrugged. “Probably.”
“Don’t be crazy,” I said to Hatchet. “Give him his tablet.”
Hatchet’s head snapped around, full focus on me. “I’m not crazy, you idiot wench.”
He flicked his arm out, grabbed me to him, and held his sword to my neck, the blade sharp against my skin.
“Don’t anyone come near,” Hatchet said. “If anyone comes close, I’ll kill her. I swear I’ll do it.”
He was surprisingly strong, considering he was such a lump of dough. He had me tight against him, and I could feel his whole body shaking, could smell the cold sweat of fear and insane obsession. I looked first to Diesel and then to Wulf. Both men were tuned to Hatchet, waiting for the moment to make a move.
Hatchet inched toward the door, dragging me with him, sword still at my neck. I stumbled and felt the blade bite into me.
“She’s bleeding,” Diesel said to Hatchet. “Ease up on the sword.”
I could feel a trickle of blood ooze from the cut on my neck and soak into my shirt, and I was hit with a wave of panic. I didn’t want to die. I didn’t want my throat cut. And I didn’t want to bleed anymore. Tears were pooling behind my eyes and blurring my vision. Help, I thought to Diesel. Can you hear me?
Hatchet reached to open the door, and I saw Cat 7143 fly through the air and latch onto Hatchet’s arm. Carl was a beat behind Cat, sinking his monkey teeth into Hatchet’s ankle. Hatchet gave a bloodcurdling scream and tried to shake Cat and Carl loose.
Diesel pushed me aside, grabbed Hatchet, and flung him across the room. Hatchet hit the wall with a thud and a grunt and fell to the floor, where he lay dead still, looking like roadkill. The Stone and the tablet lay at his feet.
A couple tears had leaked out, and my nose was running. I wiped it all on my shirt and pressed my hand to the cut. “How bad is it?”
“Not bad,” Diesel said. “It’s not deep. It won’t need stitches.”
“It felt like a lot of blood.”
He had his arm around me, supporting me with his body. “It had me worried for a minute, but it’s going to be okay. The bleeding has almost stopped.”
Wulf retrieved the Stone and the tablet. “This is yours,” he said, handing the Stone to Diesel. “We made a deal.”
I looked at Diesel. “Why are you letting Wulf have the tablet? It’ll lead him to the next Stone.”
Diesel slipped the Stone into his pocket. “Like he said, we made a deal. Besides, the Marshalls will keep the Gluttony Stone safe. Wulf will never have all
the Stones, and he needs all the Stones to have ultimate power.”