by Nathan Howe
“I understand.” She understood, but it was still a terrifying idea to venture into the Netherworld like this or use it this way.
“Tell me when you're ready.”
Petrice took a deep breath in. Paused, then Pixie nodded. “I'm ready,” Petrice said.
Chilling chanted in a language that Petrice didn't recognize. The darkness seeped into her. A tingling sensation filled her. The air around them cooled. Soon every breath she took crystallized in front of her. Chilling nodded. Petrice reached out for Scott. A boost from Pixie increased her powers. With Chilling and the Netherworld and Pixie backing her, Petrice never felt more powerful. Like she could take down the most powerful Ardents in the world at one time. It invigorated her. She had to refrain from losing focus.
Scott was the target she reached out for. Hitting a wall. This was a new sensation. She sensed him on the other side. She touched his mind but couldn't locate him. She tried harder. Images flashed. They were tough to make out. Broken. It was a warehouse, at least Petrice thought so. It held shelves, machinery, and zombies. Lots of zombies. Other people roamed the building as well. All poorly dressed, they'd seen better days. Most hunched over as they walked.
Her power slowly slipped away. She lost the few broken images she received. She quickly reached out to David, faintly touched his mind. He's alive, nothing more came across.
A second later it was gone. The power, the Netherworld. Petrice sighed. With the power gone she felt vulnerable. Weak.
“Well?” Pixie asked.
“I didn't pick up too much.” Petrice broke the circle and walked away with her head hung. She lingered on the edge of Gravitation Woman's force field. “I think he's in a warehouse. But that's it. Both Scott and David are alive. And a warehouse with zombies.”
It wasn't much. “It's a start,” Chilling said.
Spector
The plan went perfectly. Spector smiled as the thought of the faces of the Ardents at the Hero Coalition as Super revealed his treachery.
A burst of power in the Netherworld smashed Spector. Chilling trying to obtain his location. The energy Chilling used came harder than ever before, a mentalist connected to Chilling, more than one. Spector's lip curled as he pictured Mortal and Chilling linked together combining powers, trying to reveal her brothers.
Spector reached into the Netherworld himself and used the power he could manage without the stone to block it. Once the pressure from the barrage lifted, Spector sunk to his seat.
It was essential to figure out how to wield the Stone of Azuria. Spector read a lot about it in the old histories. The stone would let him take control of the city. Show the world he was one to be afraid of.
Spector sat in his quarters in the warehouse that was off limits to all but him. The Stone of Azuria sat on the table next to the Book of Samuel he studied. It held the secrets to the Stone and how to operate it to command people and summon thousands of creatures from the Netherworld.
Hours upon hours Spector read the book hoping to find the secrets it held. He found the part that he searched for. With the power of the stone, he'd further deepen his grip on David so no one could ever reverse what was done to him. This would make him evil incarnate. He'd employ it on Scott too.
With book and stone in hand, Spector stood and left the room. Outside the door, two of his minions guarded it; they were thugs he found around the city and had no place to go. They weren't the best or the smartest, but they got the job done for the most part. Spector tilted his head to the one on the left, “Summon both Super and One Rush to my throne room.”
“Yes. Sir.” He bowed and ran off to fetch them while Spector made his way to the throne room.
Both men were waiting for Spector when he arrived. “Follow me.”
They obeyed, staying right behind him and halting at the base of the steps that the throne sat on. Spector sat and faced them. “Kneel,” he said.
Both did instantly. Spector wore the Stone of Azuria, which he put into a necklace, around his neck. Then unfolded the book to the page he found and read. As Spector read, he pulled on the Netherworld. More than he had ever attempted before. And yet he felt it was a fraction of what he could with the stone.
The power of the stone made him feel more alive than he had ever before. The pure, raw power of the stone energized him. It opened an access to everything. It took all his willpower not to summon it all right here and now. But he held back. Spector's plan was a good one, and he would stay to the script.
Spector read more of the passage and, as he did, tentacles from the Netherworld burst up as he said Scott and David's names. Then ghouls burst from the ground, half here, half not and passed through both men. Scott screamed in pure agony, as did David.
James
Over the previous day since Petrice tried to reach out to David and Scott they had no attacks on them or the building. A relief to them, but only slightly. He and Petrice were under constant guard. At least they let Petrice go on that trip with Chilling. But they had sent Gravitation Woman and Pixie along.
The torture of being stuck, even if overnight, was too much. James paced in his room. Hoping beyond hope that they found a location. To put an end to it. James wondered why they targeted his family.
The door flew open to his room. Valiant Rush marched into the room, right behind him was Gravitation Woman. Neither appeared happy.
“What's up?” James asked.
“Chilling and Mortal have been out searching for anything remotely close to what they think she connected to. What she saw,” Valiant Rush said. He paced in the room just as James had been doing before he arrived. “They have been giving me updates all night. Not a goddamn thing.” Valiant Rush's hands jerked around. His eyes darted around the room in agitation.
Gravitation Woman nodded. Her eyes squinted as she pursed her lips in concentration. “We have to help.”
James leaped up. “We do. I'll do anything. I can't be here. I'll go stir crazy.”
“Okay. Good.” Valiant Rush didn't act excited. “We'll check in and around Djinn Park. It seems to be the epicenter.”
A lot of the reported activity had occurred there. First, the stuff that the PI Steve dealt with that had to be at least partly connected to the zombie problem. David and Scott’s attack and disappearance occurred near the park. It wasn't a small part of town, but at least it was possible to explore. “Let's go. I'm ready.”
They nodded and made way to the hero exit of the building. “Ride with me,” Valiant said. “It will make me feel safer for you. I barely convinced Invincible and Inflamed as it is to let you out.”
James sat in the passenger seat of the large Hero Coalition SUV while Valiant drove, and Gravitation Woman sat behind James. Djinn Park was north of downtown. His family home was in midtown, his own apartment, and the University. He generally avoided Djinn Park in the past knowing its reputation. He had only stepped in it a few times in his life. In his youth, he heard horror stories of the Faith of the Withering and the danger they were.
The only real time he ventured to the park, until the other day, was in high school. He wanted to see if the stories his mother told him were true. And in his experience they were. He saw people buying and selling drugs and using them. Halfway through the day, he witnessed a mugging. He didn't have any direct contact with the Withering which he counted as a blessing.
“Are the Withering as bad as they are made out to non-Ardents?” James asked.
Gravitation Woman poked her head into the front. “The Withering now or the Withering of old?”
“There's a difference?”
Valiant Rush nodded. “Back when it was founded, what, a hundred years ago or so? They were dangerous. Ardents were dedicated to their leader that died.”
Gravitation Woman continued. “Now, fewer and fewer Ardents join the group. They mostly commit petty crimes. They are responsible for a lot of the drugs that flow through the park and surrounding districts. But they do little in the way of damage with Ardent powers
.”
“Why doesn't the Hero Coalition clean them out then?”
“It will take more than ridding Djinn Park of them to rebuild it,” Valaint Rush said. “They have talked about it the last few years and trying to find ways. But many of the members of the Hero Coalition still refused to encroach on the district. We aren't appreciated by most of the residents.”
“Really.” James stared at Valiant Rush surprised. “ thought the civilians loved Ardents, the Hero Coalition. With the attention they receive. It's almost always positive. The internet is filled with videos and pictures.”
“While many people worship Ardents,” Valiant Rush said. “Desire to be one. It's not universal. Those in Djinn Park despise us because they blame us for all that occurred there in the past. To them, it's our fault it went to hell.”
James understood it a little. But most of the stuff was generations ago. He hoped the residents got over it by now.
“We're downplaying the Withering influence a little,” Gravitation Woman said. “It won’t be easy to take them out. Not many have Ardent powers that are formidable and dangerous. They are trying to raise the dead.” Valiant Rush drove the SUV across the bridge that separated downtown from the warehouse district next to Djinn Park.
A few minutes later they exited the SUV at the edge of the actual park. The Sun shone bright, making the park inviting. A trick, the park consumed people as much during the day as night, more so.
The crisp air kissed James' skin, refreshing him, and clearing his thoughts. “Where to?” James asked.
Gravitation Woman leaned toward Valiant Rush. “Just going to walk the park for the time being. Not part of my normal patrol. Never worked the north part of Cynosure.”
It didn't take long for a group of Withering thugs to surround them. Why do that? Even though they outnumbered them four to one, they stood no chance to win. James was sure of it. He'd seen both Valiant Rush and Gravitation Woman in action, two of the best at what they do. James was no slouch himself now.
“You are unwelcome here,” the lead thug said. He formed a ball of electricity in his hand, an Ardent. None of the others showed any signs of being one.
Valiant smiled. “We aren't here for you. Just go.”
“We can't. We have a reputation to uphold.”
“Gravitation Woman?” Valiant Rush nodded, with a smile.
A giant bubble formed around them. Gravitation Woman concentrated, a force exploded from her sending the Withering thugs flying through the air.
“Go,” Valiant Rush said. The thugs stood and then scattered to the wind.
Petrice
As Chilling and Pixie flew next to Petrice, they continued to explore for warehouses and hot spots for the Netherworld in Cynosure. All night they searched and Petrice's eyes drooped with exhaustion. Her shoulders sagged like she carried bricks.
What would be nice was a lead on David or Scott. It was too much that Scott was evil now, and if David was alive, he could be, too. Petrice kept picturing the two together causing mayhem. A deadly duo if they both went bad. She cringed and shivered at the thought of it.
“We must have checked out at least two dozen warehouses,” Pixie said.
“You're right. This is going nowhere,” Chilling said. “Let's rest. I'll try to come up with a better approach.”
They adjusted course and went to the closest Hero Coalition building. There was one on the north side of Cynosure (the city had three buildings as gathering points for the Hero Coalition). They landed on the roof, its surface area was roughly the same as the building in midtown.
Petrice and Pixie went down to the floor designed for members to relax and rest. It held a few rooms with beds and facilities for cleaning up. Petrice walked into one and stretched out to rest her weary body. Pixie joined her in the room, taking the chair in the corner. Chilling stayed on the roof to figure out a new plan, at least that is what he told them.
Once Petrice's head hit the pillow, she passed out. The fatigue and worry were gone as she slept.
Twenty minutes later she woke with a start as Chilling rushed into the room. Pixie vaulted into the air. “Who? What? Why?”
She noticed Chilling. “Oh.”
He nodded at them. Petrice rubbed her eyes. She needed a lot more time than this. So did Pixie. She wasn't her usual chipper self.
“I felt someone using the Stone of Azuria. He's definitely in the warehouse district, on the west side of Djinn Park.”
“How does that help exactly?” Pixie asked. She settled back in the chair she used to sleep in. “We've been scouring Djinn Park since last night.”
“True.” Chilling frowned and folded his arms. “I can't pinpoint a location. But he's out there. He reached deep into the Netherworld. Bending the minds of others. Warping them.”
That didn't sound good. Petrice wished she understood what was going on. The ultimate plan would be nice to know. The lack of any progress frustrated her. She reached out with her mind. Trying to touch Scott or David's minds. Nothing. Without the aid, she received from Chilling and Pixie she couldn't reach them. Even with that boost, it wasn't much.
“Do we continue to search randomly?” Petrice asked.
“Not random. I want to get closer, tap in and see if I can follow it. The closer I am the better chance I have.”
“Okay let's go.” Petrice yawned. This sounded extremely unlikely to help, but she wanted to try. She imagined that Chilling would have already attempted to locate them. He must be getting desperate.
“Are you sure?” Pixie asked.
“Yes. We have to uncover where David and Scott are. Save them if we can.”
Spector
A minion of Spector's knocked on the door. Spector stood from his desk in the outer chamber of his quarters.
“What?” Spector walked to the door and opened it.
The small figure stared blankly at the ground. “Uh. Sir. We have reports of Valiant Rush is in Djinn Park with Broken and one other.”
“And what are they doing?”
“Sir. We heard they threatened Withering. But other than that nothing.”
Spector laughed. They hunted him. Looking for the warehouse, they used here. He expected it, planned for it. They wouldn't discover his lair.
“Summon One Rush and have him meet me in my throne room.”
The minion nodded and slowly back away from Spector.
The thought of the Hero Coalition members threatening the Withering made Spector smile. He hated the Withering as much as the Hero Coalition. The Faith of Withering pretended to be something they weren't. Their rituals tapped into the Netherworld without even realizing it. The idiots thought it was hell and wanted to resurrect the soul of their former leader. Fools. It wasn't possible if so, Spector would have done it eons ago.
The throne sat in the back of the room. Spector sat in the chair moments before One Rush arrived. His imposing figure filled any room he entered. If Spector didn't have complete dominance from the Stone of Azuria he'd be worried when One Rush decided to make his move against him. Since the transitioning, his beastly nature took over. He'd kill anyone or anything. It was in his eyes. They shone with hate, with death. Spector planned on using that to his advantage. He leaned forward, “I learned that your cousin is near again.”
One Rush stopped mid-stride. Frowned. “I must make him pay for what he did to me. You have to let me go.”
Spector paused he was debating about it. Making One Rush squirm. “Why?”
“I'll kill whoever tries to defeat me. My family. My former friends. They abandoned me. Let this happen. They'll pay.”
“Good. Go. Kill.”
One Rush spun on his heels and left the building. Spector stood to follow. He trusted him, but he wanted to watch this clash for himself. Worth the risk of being seen. To see One Rush trash those heroes. Ardents who thought they were better than others. They weren't. Soon Spector would have the full power of the Stone of Azuria under his control. He'd convert Cynosure into his
own Diablo Island.
The Netherworld allowed Spector to fly, not all users could, just the truly powerful ones. One Rush gained the ability to leap great distances. He made it to the park in no time.
James
Walking in circles through the park bored James to tears, only slightly better than sitting in his cage. He hoped this wasn't what Petrice did all night with Chilling. It didn't seem to be the best approach to James. With Ardents, James thought they'd have one who'd be able to locate the people. Or one smart enough to figure out a better plan.
After their third circuit of the park, James wanted to quit. “This is a waste of time,” he said.
Gravitation Woman nodded. “I want more than stupid drug deals. I'm sick of calling Cynosure Police. They sent a single officer over. They care less about Djinn Park than the Hero Coalition.”
Valiant Rush grunted. “That's not true.”
James shrugged. It appeared to be the case to him. But he wasn't going to voice that to the rest. He had trouble understanding how it had been left behind. Thrown to the Withering. “I vote we leave. Or at least check in with the others.”
After they had finished the last few hundred feet of their current trek around the park, they stopped in front of the SUV they rode over in. It suddenly crushed under the impact of a person who landed on it. James stepped back. The mystery villain who ambushed Petrice and James stood in front of them. His eyes had transformed, they emitted a darkness from them, but otherwise still the same. “Ahh!” the villain screamed. He stepped off the SUV. “Time to die.”
Valiant Rush stood next James, growing in size, Activating his Ardent powers. Gravitation Woman activated her shield around them. The villain laughed as he stepped through. “Damn,” Gravitation Woman said. “Magical object involved with this one.”
