by Lucas Flint
“But why?” Shade blurted out. “Why stay here in this, er, place? You aren’t even taking care of it.”
“Only if you look at the surface,” said the old man. He tapped the street with his staff as he walked. “Our actual city is deep beneath the surface of this one. We only come out onto the surface to hunt for food or patrol for intruders. Otherwise, we spend most of our time below ground, where it is safer and warmer.”
“Seems like a lot of work,” said Beams. “It would be easier to leave and find someplace else to live, wouldn’t it?”
“Would it?” said the old man. “Many of our ancestors did indeed leave this land eons ago, populating the Earth with their own descendants. There is nowhere else for us to go. Besides, we made a vow to Arius, a vow we intend to keep, no matter how desolate and dangerous this land becomes.”
“And what would that vow be?” said Shade.
This time, the old man finally looked over his shoulder. His hood still obscured most of his features, but Beams caught a hint of a beard in his hood. “To protect the God Slayer, of course, for the day when it would be needed again. And if you are indeed a son of Arius, then that day may come today.”
“Amazing,” said Mr. Space. “You mean to tell us that your people have vowed to protect the God Slayer for all these years? And you’ve remained completely separate from the rest of the world in order to accomplish this?”
“Of course,” said the old man, turning his attention back to the path before them. They passed a particularly large structure which was boarded up. “We are aware that the other humans of Earth do not remember Arius or their ancestors. Should they ever learn about this place, they would steal the God Slayer to use for their own purposes. That is why we embrace the cold because it keeps away humans.”
“The cold does not keep away all humans, though,” said one of the hunters, who Beams remembered was called Joga. He walked to Beams’ left, his spear resting on his shoulder. “Some intruders still come, seeking to steal Ariopolis’ treasure based on old whispered legends from humanity’s dawn.”
“Indeed,” said the old man, nodding. “It was not too long ago that a certain human came and stole the Dread God’s brain itself. But he was the exception. The vast majority of intruders like him never even see the city before our hunters take care of them.”
Beams knew who the old man spoke of. Xavier Zulauf was a supervillain who led an archaeological team to Antarctica, where he found the Dread God’s frozen corpse and took his brain—the Rubber Ball—as a prize of sorts. It occurred to Beams that if Xavier had not stolen the Rubber Ball in the first place, the Dread God would still be dead and they wouldn’t even be here at all.
Kind of weird how small things like that can lead to big consequences in the future, Beams thought. But I guess that describes life in general, huh?
“Yeah, but it doesn’t really matter if that intruder got away with the Dread God’s brain and helped bring him back to life, right?” said Shade. “Kind of a big mistake there.”
Joga suddenly raised his spear to hit Shade, but the old man raised a hand and said, “Don’t hit her, Joga. She is clearly just a mouthy woman who likely doesn’t think through what she is supposed to say.”
“Mouthy woman?” Shade repeated indignantly. “I’ll have you know that I am the right-hand woman of Cadmus Smith, the Director of the Department of Superpowered & Extraterrestrial Beings, and—”
“We don’t care,” said the old man shortly. “But we are aware that the Dread God has returned. Or, rather, I should say that your message makes sense in light of recent events which have occurred in our city.”
“Recent events?” Beams repeated. “Such as what?”
“You will find out soon enough,” said the old man. “Ah, here we are.”
The old man stopped in front of a ruined building which looked no different from any of the others, a building Beams would have walked past without giving it a second thought if he had been the one leading them. It was shaped kind of like a box, with a weird domed roof and odd friezes over the doorway depicting what looked like the Dread God, though they were worn away from exposure to the elements and broken and chipped in several areas. The door itself appeared to be blown in, but the old man simply pushed it open as easily as any door and entered.
Everyone else followed him inside and then Beams and the others found themselves standing inside a wide-open room that was surprisingly warm. Burning hot torches shone from brackets on the walls, while a blazing fire burned in a pit in the floor. The room itself was in far better condition than the outside suggested, which made Beams wonder how many other buildings in the city were better on the inside than they were on the outside.
Seated on a throne on the other side of the flames was a single robed man, with armed guards on either side of his chair. At first glance, his robes looked similar to the old man, but upon closer inspection, Beams realized that they were quite different. The robed man’s robes were black and red and made of a fine silk. They looked like they had been sewn just yesterday, though the throne upon which the robed man sat was as ancient as the rest of the city. He was also a few inches taller than the old man who was the leader of the Ariopolitan hunters. His face was hidden beneath the hood he wore.
“Elder of the Ariopolitans,” said the old man as he approached them. He got on one knee and knelt, leaning on his staff for support. “I am pleased to see that you have responded to my summons so quickly because I feel that time is of the essence.”
“It always is, Garus,” said the Elder, a man whose voice was somehow even deeper than Garus’. “When I heard that you may have found another son of Arius, I dropped everything to see if your message was true. Which one of these three outsiders is the alleged son of Arius?”
Garus pointed with his staff at Beams. “The young man there is the son of Arius. Or so he claims, anyway.”
The Elder scratched his chin. “The young man does not look much like Arius, though it is hard to tell with that odd helmet on his head. Do you believe his claims?”
Garus stood up straight, or as straight as a man with a crooked back like his could. “I leave that judgment up to you, my Elder. All I can say is that it fits with what I have seen on the borders of Ariopolis over the last week.”
“You mean the disappearances,” said the Elder.
“Disappearances?” Beams repeated, unable to keep quiet any longer. “What disappearances?”
“People have been disappearing along the borders of Ariopolis over the last week,” said Joga suddenly. He folded his massive arms in front of his chest. “Men, women, children … all vanish into the snow, with no sign of where they went.”
“And they didn’t disappear because they were taken by wild animals or got lost in the blizzard,” Garus added. “We can tell because that usually leaves a sign. No, we believe someone is kidnapping them … that is to say, the Darzens.”
Beams exchanged quick looks with Shade and Mr. Space. “There are Darzens here?”
“It certainly looks that way,” said Garus. “We have no proof, but the signs we’ve seen fit with the warnings that the legends passed down from our ancestors say about those foul creatures, which we have not seen in the city since Arius drove them off our world after the death of the Dread God.”
“But why would the Darzens come here?” said Shade. “What could they possibly be looking for out here?”
“The God Slayer,” said Beams. “The Dread God must want to destroy it or at least keep it out of our hands. It’s the only explanation that makes sense.”
“Young man,” said the Elder suddenly. “Step forward and identify yourself.”
Taken aback by the Elder’s abrupt command, Beams nonetheless walked up until he stood next to Garus. He bowed at the waist because he didn’t want to kneel with his hands tied together.
“My name is Alexander Fry,” said Beams, standing upright again, “though I usually go by my sidekick name, Beams. I’m from America and I am a
descendant of Arius and I’m here to get the God Slayer in order to kill the Dread God.”
“Alexander Fry,” said the Elder, looking down at Beams imperiously. “I am Scorius, one of the Elders of Ariopolis. You make a rather bold claim by wanting to wield the God Slayer and destroy the Dread God, just as Arius himself once did ages ago.”
“I know,” said Beams, nodding, “but it’s true. That’s what my friends and I are here for. And we won’t leave until we get it.”
The hunters who had escorted Beams and his friends began whispering among themselves again. Out of the corner of his eye, Beams noticed Joga clutch his spear tighter than ever as if he expected Beams to suddenly attack Scorius for no reason. But Beams didn’t intend to harm anyone. He just stood still, trying to look as peaceful as he could, awaiting the Elder’s response.
“Our ancestors vowed to protect the God Slayer from all foreigners,” said Scorius. “The God Slayer can only be wielded by a son of Arius. In the hands of anyone else, it would be a weapon of mass destruction, able to cause death the likes of which even the Dread God can only dream of. We cannot simply ‘give’ you the God Slayer even if we wanted to, which we do not.””
“Garus said something about proving my ancestry to you guys,” said Beams. “How do I do that? Do I take a DNA test and wait a few weeks for the results or something?”
“What is DNA?” said Scorius in a confused voice.
“Never mind,” said Beams, waving his hands. “Just tell me what I need to do to prove my ancestry. I’ll do whatever you need me to do.”
Scorius leaned back and steepled the tips of his fingers together. “Anything? Very well. Then I will have to ask you to die.”
CHAPTER SIX
“Did you just call the Spirit of the Woods Mommy?” said Aster. Utter shock and disbelief etched across his features and became clearer when he raised the visor of his helmet to get a better look at the girl.
The little girl nodded. “Yes. And she’s dead, too.”
Bolt wasn’t sure what he found more disturbing: That the Dread God (for who else could it be?) had apparently already killed the Spirit of the Woods or that this little girl stated the fact without any real emotion as if she was describing the weather. In fact, the little girl seemed to have recovered from being caught in the flames already, which told Bolt that this little girl, whoever she was, was not an ordinary girl. And maybe not in a good way, either.
“When … how …” Aster seemed at a loss for words. “What?”
The little girl began playing with a loose strand of her green hair. “It happened earlier today. Mommy and I were walking through the Endless Forest when—”
“But I didn’t even know the Spirit could have children,” said Aster. He put his hands on his head. “What is going on here?”
“Uh, I’m still speaking,” said the little girl. “Mommy always says it isn’t polite to interrupt people when they’re talking. Didn’t your mommy ever teach you that?”
Aster still seemed to be stuck trying to process the fact that this little girl was the Spirit’s daughter at all, so it was Bolt who said, “Please continue your story, uh—”
“Kyra,” the little girl said. “My name is Kyra.”
“Kyra,” Bolt repeated. “Please continue telling us what happened.”
“Okay,” said Kyra brightly. “Anyway, like I said, Mommy and I were walking through the Endless Forest, like we usually do—”
“You mean you’ve been around long enough that you and the Spirit have a regular walking routine?” said Aster.
“Chief Aster, I know I’m perhaps speaking out of turn, but would you please be quiet and let Kyra here finish her story?” Captain Galaxy asked. “She’s the only one who knows what is going on here, so let her talk.”
“Yeah,” said Kyra. She looked at Aster with annoyance. “You’re very rude for being such an old man. Mommy always told me that old people are more polite than younger people. Maybe your mommy didn’t teach you manners.”
“My Mom—!”
Captain Galaxy put a hand over Aster’s mouth and looked at Kyra. “Just keep talking. I’ll teach him the manners his mommy apparently didn’t.”
“Okay,” said Kyra brightly again. “So anyway, like I’ve said a million times already, Mommy and I were walking through the Endless Forest like we always do when Mommy sensed something out of alignment with the multiverse.”
Bolt blinked. “You pronounced those words correctly.”
“So?” said Kyra. “Don’t most people?”
“Well, they don’t seem like the kind of words a young girl like you would know,” said Bolt, folding his arms in front of his chest.
Kyra frowned. “You people are so weird. Mommy taught me all kinds of multisyllabic words. Didn’t your mommy teach you multisyllabic words?”
Bolt rubbed his forehead in frustration. “Never mind. Just keep talking.”
“Okay,” said Kyra, again brightly. “So Mommy sensed something out of alignment with the multiverse. I didn’t sense it, but that’s because I’m not as good at that as Mommy. She told me to go back to the Castle and hide while she went to investigate, but before I could leave, a portal opened up in front of us and … he stepped out of it.”
“He?” Hypno repeated. “Do you mean the Dread God?”
Kyra shuddered. She looked over her shoulder, fear etched on her young features. “Please don’t say his name. It’s scary.”
“Okay,” said Bolt, “so he actually appeared? In the flesh?”
“Sort of,” said Kyra. “He was big and scary. He said he was going to destroy the Endless Forest and that he was going to start with Mommy. He wasn’t alone, either. He brought a whole bunch of those Darzens. Mommy told me to run while she held them off.”
“Did you?” said Captain Galaxy.
“Yeah!” Kyra blurted out. “What was I supposed to do? I’m just a kid. I couldn’t help Mommy. I just ran and ran. I tried to get back to the Castle like Mommy said, but then some of his minions followed me. I’m very good at hiding, so I hid inside one of the trees where I knew they wouldn’t find me. But I didn’t expect them to just burn the entire place down in order to get at me. I would have died if you guys didn’t show up.”
“What about your mother?” said Bolt. “You said she was dead, but it doesn’t sound like you saw her die.”
Kyra looked down at her feet. “Well, yeah, I didn’t see her die, but if she survived, then wouldn’t she have come and got me? And that monster looked like he really wanted to kill her. I can’t imagine he would spare her for any reason.”
Aster breathed a sigh of relief. “So there’s a chance she’s still alive, then. Right?”
“I … I guess so,” said Kyra. She glanced in the direction of the Castle. “But I don’t know if she’s safe. Or if the Castle is safe, either. The Darzens might have gotten to it already, even though they shouldn’t be able to get inside thanks to the barrier. Only Mommy and I can enter the Castle, though we can give other people permission to enter if we want.”
“I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary on the Castle when I was flying earlier,” said Bolt, stroking his chin and thinking of the old, majestic castle he had seen towering over the forest not too long ago. “It might still be safe.”
“Then we need to head there right away,” Kyra insisted. “Mommy told me to go there. If she’s still alive, she’s probably there, too, and she’s probably worried about where I am.”
“But it sounds to me like the Darzens must still be around here,” said Captain Galaxy, glancing at the trees around them. “If so, we’ll need to be really careful, because if we aren’t, they might take us by surprise.”
“We were already heading to the Castle anyway,” Bolt pointed out. “Even if the Darzens are here, we can fight and probably beat them.”
“What about the Dread God, though?” said Hypno. “We haven’t beaten him before. If he’s still here, then we might have to abort this mission.”
Kyra shrugged. “He just said he wanted to destroy it. I don’t know anything other than that.”
“The Dread God would not be attacking the Endless Forest if he didn’t have a reason for it,” said Bolt. “The Endless Forest must be in the way of his plans somehow. In any case, we must go to the Castle anyway. That’s the only place where we will find any answers.”
Kyra nodded, but then looked around at everyone suddenly. “I just remembered, who are you guys? Are you Mommy’s friends?”
“I’m Chief Dean Aster, Chief of the Interdimensional Elite Agency, or the IEA for short,” said Aster, gesturing at himself. “And this lady here is Captain Helena Galaxy, the Captain of the—”
“The IEA?” said Kyra. She stepped back, looking at Aster with a wary look in her eyes. “Mommy told me about you before. You’re bad people.”
“Bad people?” Bolt repeated. “What do you mean? These guys are trying to stop the Darzens.”
“Mommy says they’re bad people who aren’t allowed in the Endless Forest anymore,” Kyra insisted. “She said she hasn’t forgiven them for what they did a long time ago.”
“Aster, what’s she talking about?” said Bolt, looking at Aster. “Do you know what she means?”
Aster sighed. “You remember how I mentioned that the IEA and the Spirit aren’t exactly on the best terms? This is what I mean. The Spirit’s disappearance explains why we weren’t immediately booted from the Forest as soon as we entered, though.”
“But what did you guys do to annoy her so much?” said Bolt. “Surely it couldn’t have been that bad, could it?”
“It was,” Kyra insisted. “I wasn’t there when it happened, but Mommy said the IEA brought a bad man here who almost destroyed it.”
