Gremlin Night by Dale Smith (top 10 non fiction books of all time txt) 📕

“Petrify!” Dara and Riley both shouted in unison, in Swahili, and loosed twin versions of the spell at the mega-gremlin. The spells ricocheted off the gremlin. One beam struck the fire extinguisher in its glass case next to Riley. It exploded in a white cloud, covering Riley with fire retardant. He staggered, covered in white foam, his eyes squeezed shut. His silver rod thumped on the foam-spattered carpet.

The mega-gremlin’s roar shook the room. Dara lay on the floor, immobilized from the sound. An avalanche of ceiling panels crashed around her, thudding into the carpet. The mega-gremlin roared in triumph, lumbering past the fallen people and out of our line of sight. Heading toward the mezzanine. Screams erupted from that direction. Guess not all the partygoers hadn’t been confined to the grand ballroom.

“We’ve got to get in the game,” I shouted to Tully, “before the game gets us.”

Riley wiped foam from his eyes and helped Dara up. “Get that thing,” Dara told us, nodding in the direction the mega gremlin had gone. I wanted to argue, but she was right. She and Riley were invokers and had the best chance of taking down Rudy Gott, even though I wanted the privilege so very much. That creep had a lot to answer for, and I’d have loved to be the one to make him answer.

“Come on, big, guy,” I said to Tully, “let’s go take down the really big guy.”

I jogged after mega-gremlin. As we passed the entrance to the grand ballroom, I caught a glimpse of the inside—pure pandemonium. A thick miasma of purple-blue mana filled the room. Gremlins hung from the huge crystal chandeliers, with ball-goers cowering beneath round banquet tables or behind chairs. Brilliant silver flashes came from direction of the stage. I heard musical instruments playing crazily on their own, a drum set bashing away, and a pair of electric guitars screeching. My heart lurched at the scene. I wanted to dash into the ballroom and save the day.

Then we were past, running after something we should have been running away from.

The mega-gremlin.

Tully caught up with me as we reached the mezzanine. Stone cherubs spouted water into the basin of a fountain in front of the escalators. White tile gleamed.

The grand-daddy of all gremlins roared laughter at a crowd of people in fancy dress, who had tried to flee down the escalator, only it wasn’t going just down. It was going up and down. The up escalator vibrated and shook. Two men had tried running down it and now lay partway down. A dozen people tumbled back and forth on the down escalator. The rest of the crowd flattened themselves on the mezzanine tile.

The stink of burnt electrical wiring filled the air.

I’m afraid, the shadow slug, riding my hip, said in my mind. I’d almost forgotten it was there.

Me, too, I thought back at it. But that’s not stopping me.

So much delicious mana, the mana snake said, voice a purr in my mind. If I wasn’t about to tackle a mega-gremlin in the middle of a hotel filled with screaming people and a showdown with a creepy wizard going on just a few dozen yards behind me, I’d be freaking out at the voices in my head, but those voices were almost comforting at this point.

I began chanting an obedience spell, in Swedish, bobbing and weaving with my wand like a conductor’s baton, building up the power of the casting. Tully had his own wand out, and was casting a reveal, in English. The lines of magic emanating from mega-gremlin popped into view. Not gold or silver, but jagged prismatic shapes, like migraine fortresses. It hurt to look at them. But that was the way to get at the gremlin, so I looked at them, in order to put the spell on the granddaddy of all gremlins.

If it let me.

I shifted my stance. The tile suddenly felt as slick as ice. My foot slipped and I fell, pain spiking through my hip.

Ow! The shadow slug wailed.

I kept muttering the spell, rolling on to my back. Tully sidestepped over to me, still chanting his spell, knelt down, reaching out with his free hand. His foot slipped and he fell forwards. His spell terminated with a flash that left stars in my eyes.

I blinked, narrowed my eyes and put more mana into the spell.

Let me help! the mana snake said. I ignored it. I had no idea what that would lead to, and besides, I had this.

Loud clicks suddenly sounded from the ceiling, and water sprayed down. I had to close my eyes. I lost the thread of the spell, and it went “pop!”

“Hee-hee,” boomed the mega-gremlin.

I scrambled up, but slipped on the wet tile. Curses.

Tully had managed to lever himself up. He held up a big silver medallion on a chain. A ward artifact.

“Dara gave you one of those? How do you rate that?” I asked.

He ignored me. The contours of a magical shield sprung up between us and mega-gremlin.

The giant roared his disapproval and lumbered at us. He slashed the air with a massive outstretched hand. The cherub statues in the water fountain suddenly swiveled and the water dribbling from their mouths sprayed with the force of a fire hose, knocking Tully over, but he didn’t lose the medallion.

Mega-gremlin hit the shield with the force of a freight train, and bounced off it.

The troll-sized manifestation slammed backwards into the fountain. Marble crumpled like cardboard, and water erupted around it.

Now was my chance.

My mouth was dry, and I wet my lips. I held my wand tightly in my left hand, felt it buck from the chaos magic.

“Ti amo alla mia volontà,” I chanted in Italian. I yoke thee to my will.

The spell looped in a flowing golden chain from the tip of my wand, and around the huge waist of the manifestation.

I repeated the command. I suddenly tasted rotten fruit, and fought against gagging. It’s just the chaos magic, I reminded myself.

My wand started to slide from my fingers.