CHAPTER TWELVE
"Father, look!" Alan said, removing his fire suit hood.
Gordon, hand on Alan's shoulder for support, hobbled closer to the cockpit windows. "It's stopping."
The blast from the volcano's eruption had blown the entire cliff side away. In just a short period of time, the outline of their beloved island had changed. The view before them morphed from an angry, erupting volcano to a mass of quickly cooling lava and small jets of smoke releasing from the crater.
"Thank God for that," Jeff breathed. "Let's get back to the house and see how the others are."
Brains watched as the fiery figure towered over Belah, who was moving slowly as he regained consciousness. The figure became less and less bright until at last nothing was left but the gold statue Brains had recalled seeing only ten feet away from him on a dais not too long ago. When it spoke, the statue's voice sent vibrations through everything around.
"Kamu menderhaka saya."
"No, Manay, saya tidak," The Hood gasped, pushing himself to all fours.
"Tolol!" the statue bellowed. "Tidak berbohong!"
"Saya cakap benar!" Belah cried, rocking back on his knees. "Ia adalah Kyrano!"
Brains was surprised to hear Kyrano's name. He was further surprised when he suddenly felt the chains above him give way. He crumpled to the floor, the chains falling mercilessly on his head. He groaned, wondering what was going on.
Manay reached out and grasped the front of Belah's black cloak, lifting him off the floor and into the air, his feet dangling. "Kamu akan membayar," he said, shaking him hard. "Melupakan...melupakan..."
The statue passed its hand over Belah's face. For a moment, Belah's eyes glowed yellow. Then his eyelids closed and he hung limp in Manay's grasp.
Mei Ling appeared from nowhere and quickly unlocked the manacles, giving Brains his freedom. Before he could even thank her, she'd disappeared into the shadows. He struggled to his feet and searched the room, trying to locate an exit. He watched as the statue flung Belah across the room. He hit the wall with a sickening thud and fell to the floor, seemingly lifeless.
Brains and Manay stared at one another for endless seconds. The black shadows reappeared and, one-by-one, entered Manay's body. With a mighty roar from his dragon-like mouth, Manay turned his back on Brains and leapt into the bonfire burning brightly behind him.
Staggering back against a large marble column, Brains finally allowed himself to tremble, the rush of adrenaline draining from his body. He swallowed hard a few times, trying desperately to understand what had just happened.
The temple began to shake once more. Chunks of rock fell from the ceiling, one narrowly missing Brains. This jolted him back to reality, and his survival instincts kicked in. He ran away from the bonfire to the opposite wall, where he found a set of double wooden doors as high as the ceiling. He pushed with all his might and soon found himself in a long hallway. At the end of the hallway he could see another door.
Another door...and freedom.
