The dark of night bathed Nova as he watched Lady Echidna tear at the magical barrier preventing them from accessing the portal. The darkness of her shadowy magic only drank up what little light was left in this icy wasteland. Then, the fabric of magic broke wide open and the barrier split apart as though it were a thin layer of glass. The shards shattered and then evaporated in the wind.
Lady Echidna stopped, a glint of greed on her perfect face at the sight before her. “Come, we have work to do.”
Together, they walked through the portal and left the blisteringly inhospitable world of Antarctica. They stood in a strange land of broken mountains and dirty ground. Echoes rang out in the distance of roars and grumbles from beasts much larger than either of them.
“The Great Divide.” Nova whispered as he took in the sights with a hint of fear on his face.
Lady Echidna was basking in the surrounding glory. “Such a fabulous purgatory they created, and just for us.” She walked onward.
Nova followed her. “They created this to prevent anyone from entering their world without permission.”
“Don’t be so foolish, my pet. They crafted this in response to us. We inspired fear so terrible that they went to lengths such as these to stop us.”
Nova almost responded to her when both heard a terrible screech and then a great shadow fell over them for a moment. A dragon-like beast swooped over and flew away. Nova whispered, “Wyverns.”
She chortled as she observed the creature flying away. “They filled this divide with the most powerful creatures they could find. I’m sure we would encounter many awful things. I would love to harvest their blood and craft my own creations to wreak havoc.” She held up her hand.
“My lady, don’t...”
Her shadowy magic came out of her hand for a moment, then a red energy hit her and she stumbled back to be caught by Nova before falling to the ground. Holding her hands up against herself, she swore under her breath, “Curse that fool Merlin.”
“Apparently, that banishment spell is still active.”
“Obviously,” she retorted as she shoved her way off of him and back to her feet. “Soon, that spell will begin to eat at both of us. The closer we get to Yohan, the stronger it will be.”
Nova said, “We wouldn’t get the opportunity, look.”
Creatures of all descriptions rushed toward them from a distance. Wyverns, led by the one who passed over them moments ago, were the front line of this charge.
“I see the welcoming committee is on its way.”
“We can’t stay. Without our magic, they will devour us in moments.” Nova pulled her back toward the portal.
She laughed, “No, my sweet. They wouldn’t harm their queen.” Holding up the Eye of Fenrir in her hand, she blew across it. A mist of dark red became a billowing fog. She then spoke into it, her voice booming across the entire land. “Minions of great might, turn now to my evil delight. Stand strong and storm the Earth, give us time to seek rebirth.”
The ruckus of beasts slowed down and then stopped. The fog hid them for the moment, but it was already dissipating.
“How did you do that? Our magic is bound here by Merlin’s curse.” Nova asked.
She put the Eye of Fenrir away. “It wasn’t our magic I used. However, we must return. I feel the sting of that curse growing. I also would rather not be around when this portal breaks wide open.”
Torrik and Justin both stood before a large map on the screen in the briefing room. Arx, Chase, and EB were also present.
Justin pointed at Sweden. “The first stone was there, near Stockholm. Apparently, Nova hid it a long time ago in a statue. Somehow he retrieved the second before that and hid it by stabbing into the body of one of our own.”
“He did what?” Torrik asked.
EB hopped up and said, “Nova and Midgard, who is a big serpent dude who is really powerful, and a big mouth, and is kinda rude, and has been both a bad guy and good guy... long story. Um... what was I saying? Oh, right. Nova fought Midgard over the Eye of Fenrir stone. But during the fight, Nova was able to plant the Eye of the Hydra in Midgard’s body, disguising it as a wound. It was like totally brilliant.”
“I’ll say.” Torrik commented.
Justin said, “We aren’t sure where the Eye of the Hydra was originally hidden...”
Torrik said, “Oh, it was over here, near these islands.” He pointed at New Zealand and Australia."
“How do you know that?” Arx asked.
Torrik said, “When I arrived, I sensed the magic from it and followed the trail to a tomb under the water. It was empty. Someone had already gotten to the stone inside. So, I left a minor spell that would trigger when someone else tried getting to it. I assumed that the Queen of Black Magic would be looking for it, so she would meet a nasty surprise.”
“YOU STARTED THAT FLOODING CATASTROPHE!” Arx was to his feet.
“I suppose so. It would cause the waters to thrash around. What? Did it cause some problems?” Torrik looked genuinely confused as to their anger.
EB hopped up onto the table. “That flooded like five cities and threatened an entire nation. That was really, really stupid!”
“Sorry.”
Justin said, “The floods were a problem, but one that has been dealt with. Now that you’re working for us, we can handle things better.”
EB said, “No. It isn’t dealt with. There are loads of people still mopping out their basements because of this furball.”
Justin glared at EB, “Enough! When I say we move on, we move on. Otherwise, you can go back to your quarters. Is that understood?”
Torrik interjected, “Hey, cool off. He’s right, I probably shouldn’t have used such a potent spell...”
Justin turned his anger on Torrik. “I’m in charge, and I will reprimand my subordinates without your help. Is that clear?”
“Sure, whatever.” Torrik held his hands up in surrender.
“Good. Our next objective is finding the other stones. Do you have any idea where they are?”
Torrik shook his head, “No. I only sensed the one. And, it wasn’t really the stone itself I was sensing, but the search for it. She must have been looking to activate it next and thus was using her own power to seek it. That is what I tapped into.”
Chase asked, “Where do we start looking?”
Torrik thought about that for a moment. “If I could study your ancient mythologies, I might find evidence there.”
“There are so many from all the various cultures of Earth,” Chase said.
Torrik grinned with that handsome smile of his and waved his hand in the air. A thick scroll appeared. He grabbed it and then set it down. Unrolling it, he revealed a blank parchment. “Show me the history of sea beasts called Hydra.” The page gained images that looked like multi-headed beasts, several varieties. “See, we have information about some of the ancient monsters the Queen summoned in the past. She seems to be using a lot of her old tactics. I can cross reference what we know with what you have.”
Justin gave the scroll a critical look, and then with a curt nod, he agreed. “I’ll have all our information brought to you at once.”
“I’ll help.” Both Chase and EB volunteered at the same time.
Torrik rolled up the scroll and smiled at Chase, “I would love your help.” He held out his hand.
She took it and stood. “I know. Let’s go to the arboretum to study. Plenty of room to spread the books out on the grass.”
“Sounds lovely. I do enjoy being in nature. This metal environment is odd and unsettling.”
“Perfect.” She walked him out of the room.
Justin huffed and then sarcastically said, “Meeting adjourned.”
EB came close to Justin and was seething in a jealous rage. “See, I toldja he was nothing but a nasty flirt. I’d keep him away from her if I were you.”
“You aren’t me, so don’t tell me what to do. Go, find books and other materials on myths for them. Arx, return to the TALOS room and keep an eye on things. It is altogether too quiet on Earth right now.”
“On it. Oh, and maybe EB is right, that Torrik is flirting hard with Chase and...”
“I already have one jealous idiot. I don’t need two. Just do your job!” Justin barked at him.
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