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“Or they don’t know their own strength,” Kane countered.
Neither option seemed ideal.
We walked across the door and began our descent to the basement.
“What do you think they send for the final stage?” I whispered.
“Nothing good.”
We reached the bottom of the staircase and crept toward the entrance to the otherworldly vault.
The creature’s back was to us as we crossed the threshold of the cavernous room. We ducked behind a small pile of gold bars. At a shade over six foot, the creature didn’t look particularly large or bulky; it was almost shapeless and its movements fluid. I worried that a blade wouldn’t do any damage to a form like that.
“It’s a kammapa,” Kane said in a quiet voice. “A swallower.”
“What does it swallow?”
His mouth formed a thin line. “Anything it wants. I imagine it’s here to transport the treasure to another location.”
“And then?”
“Swallow everything else along the way.”
The kammapa didn’t seem to detect our presence. Although I couldn’t see its front, I watched as the gold disappeared. The creature was devouring the treasure. The more it ingested, the larger it grew.
Once an area was empty, it glided across the floor until it reached the next section.
“We’re going to have to stop it before it eats more or it’ll be too big to fight,” I whispered.
The creature stopped moving and I held my breath, worried my voice had carried. Finally, he continued devouring the pile of gold bars.
“Ready?” Kane mouthed.
I nodded. I counted to three in my head and sprang from my hiding place.
The kammapa turned to face us.
“Stop swallowing the treasure.” I brandished my paltry dagger like it was Excalibur.
The creature made a guttural sound.
“I think it’s laughing at me.”
Kane shook his head. “I’d laugh, too, if someone thought that little dagger would intimidate me.”
I made a jabbing motion. “I figure if I poke a hole in him, all the gold might spill out like air.”
“It’s not a balloon,” Kane admonished me.
The creature turned back to the treasure, seemingly unconcerned by our presence.
I exchanged wary glances with Kane.
“Tell him who you are,” I insisted under my breath. If this thing wasn’t frightened of the prince of hell, we were in real trouble.
Kane cleared his throat. “I beg your pardon, my name is Kane Sullivan, also known as the Prince of Hell. You may have heard of me. I rule over thirty legions of demons.”
“Why are you a prince with thirty legions, but Dan’s only a great duke with thirty-six?”
