Nova stepped out of his helicopter onto the slanted roof of the Vault. Bodies of the fallen soldiers littered the roof. The Avatars were there, quietly waiting. Only Strength made any noises, as he continued to growl.
The roof suddenly shifted upward, and the crack closed up more. Nova had to steady himself. “What was that?”
Mental said, “Elemental is currently repairing the island, so this structure does not fall into the ocean.”
“I see. What happened? Where is the Tome?”
Strength bellowed, “WE WERE FOOLED!”
Supernatural explained, “our enemy drew us into a combat over the Tome, but used the battle to break into this structure. We tried to follow once we realized the ruse, but they were untraceable. I could not see them.”
Nova quietly dove into thought as the Avatars watched him. He finally looked up at Mental. “Has the Tome awakened yet?”
“No. I do not sense it’s awakening.”
Nova said, “then there is still time. You five can sense the morphons better than our sensors. Spread out, search the world. The moment you sense the awakening, contact me. We may still be able to stop them before they do whatever it is they are seeking.”
Mental gave a soft nod, “we will help.”
“Then, go.”
***
Delta sat in the helicopter as it blazed through the skies. In his lap he held the Tome. In his hand, he held the key.
“Sir, Alpha and Beta want an update.” The pilot pointed at the small monitor.
Delta pressed a button, “This is Delta. I have the artifacts. We’re on our way.”
An altered voice came through, “This is Alpha. You have authority to open the Tome. Do not wait to return to base.”
“Understood.”
The pilot turned on the cabin light as Delta pressed the key into the lock and turned it. The sound was that of a large, old door unlocking. Not a small book. He removed the key and carefully pulled apart the leather straps. His hands almost trembling, he opened the cover. He flipped through several of the pages.
“Well!” That voice demanded.
Delta said, “it’s blank.”
“What! Not possible!”
Delta continued flipping through the ancient pages. “It could have been a decoy.”
“I want…”
Delta stopped him, “Wait... I found something.” He moved the book to the side and watched as the edges of the pages glistened in a strange myriad of colors as they left the light of the cabin. “The pages are changing.” He reached up and turned the cabin light off and moved the book around. Color grew brighter as he did. Finally, he shifted it into a shaft of moonlight coming in the side window. A few letters could be seen written on the pages, not entire words. “It’s moonlight.”
“DELTA REPORT!” That voice commanded.
“Sir, the book is responding to moonlight. But, I still can’t read it.”
“We’re sending coordinates, go to them and do what you can to read this book.” The voice cut off immediately.
The pilot frowned. “New York?”
Delta slowly closed the book. “Tonight is a full moon, pilot. And that is where it will be most visible.”
The helicopter landed in the middle of a farmer’s field. The night sky was as clear as it could be, with millions of stars twinkling around a glorious pink moon.
Delta stepped out of the vehicle and crunched over the churned earth of the cornfield. He paused and looked up at the moon for a moment.
“Hey! What are you doing in my field!” A farmer in his night clothes ran out with his cell phone in his hand. “I’ve called the police.”
Delta waited a moment, not even looking at this irate man. The moment the man got close enough, Delta swiftly pulled out a small gun, shot, and then continued on his way. The farmer lay on his field, dead.
The pilot now joined Delta, “that is an amazing moon tonight.”
“It’s a super moon. Now, let’s see what we have here.” He opened the book again and smiled. All the letters were visible, glowing with various colors. The script was an ancient language, just like the text on the front of the book. “It’s all here.” he whispered as he turned page after page.
***
Nova patiently waited while his helicopter raced across the sky.
“Are you sure this is them?” The pilot asked.
“Local police were just called about a large helicopter landing in a farmer’s field in upstate New York. It’s our best lead.”
“Okay, sir. I will... woah!” The man looked to the side just as Mental joined them, flying along.
She looked in directly at Nova and spoke into his mind. “We have sensed a strong gathering of Morphons.”
“Where?”
“Near the location we first met you this morning.”
Nova said, “that base is in New York. So, we’re heading in the right direction. Are we too late?”
“We do not know.” She answered.
“Pilot, push this bucket as hard as you can.”
***
“Sir! This is getting brighter!” The pilot of Delta’s helicopter called out.
Delta, still reading the book, was surrounded by a brilliant light. The book emitted an orb of energy that gained intensity with each passing moment. “I’m not done yet, don’t bother me!” Delta flipped back to the first page again and began reading.
“We have incoming!” The pilot pulled out his gun.
Nova’s helicopter landed in the field as the five Avatars made their appearance. In a matter of seconds, Delta and his pilot now had six enemies glaring at him.
Nova yelled, “Hand over the Tome!”
Delta continued flipping pages as he answered, “I have already won this, Nova.”
Strength yelled, “WE DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS, HE IS AWAKENING! KILL THE HUMAN!” He launched himself at Delta just as a bright flash of light exploded from within the book.
The shock wave sent Strength flying back and the others to stumble away. It threw delta across the
ground and slammed into his helicopter with such force that a large dint was left in the side.
Once the light calmed down, the tome lifted into the air, colored smoke and light swirling around it as it moved in the air. An old man’s voice came out in a jovial tone. “Greetings, human, avatars, it is good to finally be awake!”
Mental stepped forward. “Keeper, are you safe?”
“Why, of course I am. It’s a lovely moon this eve, is it not! Oh, look, there’s Nova.” The book flew across the area and got right in front of Nova. “It has been many years since we last had contact. Though, then you did not know I was aware. My author, Merlin the Great, thought highly of you.”
Nova said, “and I thought highly of him.”
“Yes. Now, I’m pleased to realize that you initiated the contest of magic champions already. How wonderful, how wonderful indeed. The humans, they are using my gift with great efficiency.”
Nova said, “yes, the contest is almost concluded. However, right now we must get you to safety. There are those who wish…”
“Yes, yes, I know. Learn the valuable knowledge within me. Let us leave. I will be seeing you again, Nova.” The tome opened up and became a bright light, then vanished.
Without a word of thanks, all the other avatars left just as quickly.
Nova’s pilot said, “that was quick.”
“They are good at that. Now, let’s see what we can learn from our enemy and his helicopter. We finally have a chance to…”
The enemy helicopter, with Delta laying on the ground near it, exploded. Nova dove just in time to not be skewered by a shard of propeller.
Looking up from the ground at the burning pile of debris, Nova muttered, “damn.”
On a distant cliff, days later, a man stood and looked out across the ocean. His dark suit was tattered in places and his face was bruised. He picked up a cell phone and put it to his ear.
"This is Delta, reporting in."
The voice on the other end spoke.
"Yes, we lost the Tome. But, I have committed it all to memory. We have what we need."
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