Free Gatekeepers by Robert Liparulo

door was locked.”
    â€œWhat?” The boy’s eyes went wide. “You couldn’t get in? How was I to know? It was open before.” His tone had risen, panicked now—not for the money, but for what Taksidian might do to him for wasting his time.
    Fear was an emotion Taksidian appreciated in others. It had serviced him well over the years. He ran the thick, sharp fingernail of his index finger over his bottom lip.
    The boy stared at it.
    Taksidian reached out. His fingernail grazed the boy’s skin as he flicked a lock of hair off the boy’s forehead. “What scares you?” he asked.
    â€œWhat do you mean, what scares me?”
    Taksidian stared into his eyes. “What haunts your nightmares?”
    The boy melted under Taksidian’s gaze. He said, “Vampires.” He swallowed. “Snakes.”
    Taksidian leaned close. He whispered, “The deadliest snake in the world is the Inland Taipan. A single bite contains enough venom to kill a hundred full-grown humans. But it’s a puppy dog . . . compared to me.” He let his breath wash over the boy’s face, then he backed away. “As for vampires, they have nightmares about me .”
    He let that sink in, then said, “Do you understand?”
    The boy nodded.
    â€œForget about the Kings and their house. Forget about the locker. Forget about me.”
    The kid was shivering, but Taksidian was sure it had nothing to do with the cold.
    He smiled. “Of course, if you learn anything else, I want to know about it.”
    The child nodded again.
    Taksidian turned away, then spun back around. He leaned over and ran a fingernail along the side of one of the bicycle’s tires. “What did you say your name is again?”
    â€œC-C-Clayton.”
    The tire popped.
    Taksidian smiled. “That’s so you have plenty of time walking home to think about what I said.”

CHAPTER
    eighteen
    W EDNESDAY, 1.23 A.M
    The door downstairs thunked open. Footsteps moved from the porch into the foyer.
    David’s eyes jumped to Xander, leaning against the closet door. He heard Toria pull in a breath, and he clamped his hand over her mouth before she could scream.
    Eeek-eeek . A squeak like the weather vane, but this came from downstairs. The chandelier hanging over the foyer came on.
    Someone said, “Shut the door, Keal. Don’t want our friend outside to wander in.”
    A voice smooth as a sports announcer’s said, “I thought you said he was only watching.”
    The other man mumbled something David couldn’t make out. The door closed.
    The smooth voice called, “Hello? Anyone home?”
    â€œWhat do we do?” David whispered, so quietly even his own ears didn’t hear.
    Xander nodded at the linen closet door.
    â€œNo,” David said, louder. “Taksidian—or someone—just went through. He’ll be there.”
    â€œThen we have to use one of the doors upstairs, one of the time portals.”
    Toria pulled David’s hand off her mouth. “I don’t want to,” she whispered. “I don’t want to go through a portal.”
    David couldn’t blame her, with all the stories she’d heard from him and Xander.
    Xander pushed himself off the closet door and put his face in front of hers. “We have to,” he said. “These people want to take us away. Then who will rescue Mom?”
    A voice came at them from the foyer. It was fragile and quavery, as though the speaker were sitting on a paint shaker. “I can hear you,” the voice said. “I’m not the bad guy. I’m here to help.”
    Toria’s eyebrows shot up, and she smiled.
    Xander frowned. “What else would he say? ‘Come on down so I can kill you’?”
    David heard that same eeek-eeek again. He got a crazy vision of a pirate standing in the foyer, his wooden leg squeaking every time he moved. In this house, he wouldn’t be surprised if