by Gabi Moore
“She means a lot to me as well,” Dion said. It was obvious she hadn’t said a thing about the engagement.
‘We’re leaving. The doctor we spoke with said she needs rest and they’ll watch her tonight. If anything happens, they’ll call us. Do you have our number?”
“Yes I do.”
“Call me the first thing in the morning. No, wait until about eight in the morning. By then I will have spoken to the hospital and will know how she is getting along.”
“I’ll do that.”
Lilly’s family left. Dion thanked the nurse for the help she’d been and went to his van with Emily and Sean. He watched her parents drive out of the parking lot before he decided to leave. Dion started up the van and was soon on the highway.
“Do you still want to go into the clock tower alone?” Sean said to him from the backseat. “I’ve talked with Emily and we’ll find a way to come with you if you need us tomorrow.”
“I appreciate your help,” Sean said. “But I have to do this one myself. Remember, that clock tower sits directly over the abyss, or something like it. The monster you saw this evening is only a small sample of what lies in it.”
“Just keep us in mind.”
“I will.”
They dropped Emily off first. Instead of letting her walk up to the house alone, this time both Sean and Dion walked up to the door with her. As they expected, her father met them. He asked Dion and Sean to come inside and sit down. They went in and were seated at the kitchen table.”
“Is Lilly okay?” Emily’s dad asked. “I’ve been worried ever since Emily called.”
“She may have a slight concussion,” Emily said. “They stitched her up tonight and she’s spending the night in the hospital. But I think she’ll be fine tomorrow.”
“And she fell and hit a rock?” her dad asked.
“A big one. Dion drove like a madman to get her to the hospital when we saw how bad her head looked.”
“I’m glad you got her there quick,” her dad said to Dion, “but I don’t like hearing that you drove fast.”
“I don’t think I drove as fast as Emily imagined,” Dion responded.
Dion glanced around the kitchen. It was easy to tell that there was little in the way of a woman’s touch. It was clean, but looked Spartan. No lace curtains or the little signs a woman worked in it. The entire house was devoid of the presence of any older woman. He remembered Emily had told him her parents were divorced, but it must have happened years ago.
Emily’s father allowed her and Sean to have a few quiet moments together in the kitchen while Dion and him went in the living room. While they waited, Emily’s dad looked back at the kitchen and turned to Dion.
“This seems to be pretty serious. I don’t recall her being so heavily involved with any guy before. How long do you think it will last?”
Dion wanted to say ‘forever’, but knew that Emily and Sean didn’t want anything said about their engagement until they made it public. Since they were extending the same courtesy to him, Dion remained quiet.
A few minutes later, Sean came out of the kitchen with Emily holding his hand. He tried to look away from her father, but it was almost impossible to do. Dion could tell he felt uncomfortable. Also, he could tell they had been talking very seriously about something. The low voices, which came out of the kitchen, were an indicator. Dion had a sense what they were about to say and groaned on the inside. He was afraid this would happen.
“Daddy,” she said to her father. “We need to tell you something.”
He father went pale.
Dion could tell her father feared something terrible, but Dion couldn’t tell exactly what that might be.
“You’re pregnant,” Emily’s father said and dropped into a chair next to him. He turned and starred off into the distance.
“Daddy!” she yelled. “How could you think something like that about me?”
He father continued to stare away. “I should never have allowed you to visit your mother. It’s my fault. Is Sean the father?”
“Sir, would you snap out of it?” Sean said to him. “I haven’t done a thing to your daughter. Don’t you think highly enough of Emily to trust her? Haven’t you allowed her the freedom to choose the people she associates with? She’s eighteen and old enough to make her own decisions.”
“We’re going to get married,” Emily said. She turned to Dion. “I know, you wanted me to wait because you were told first and Lilly is in the hospital. But daddy should know. He’s been scared for a long time something bad would happen. We’ve had talks. I’ve had them with mom, too. She’s not as bad off as you might think, dad. She has her days, but I think she feels guilt for running off on us.”
“Congratulations,” her father told her. “To the both of you. Sean seems like a fine boy. You might be a little young, but there’s no reason for me to block it. If you really want to, I won’t stand in the way. When were you planning on going to the courthouse?”
“Soon. We have to tell Sean’s parents too. That will be the hard part.”
Sean looked at the floor.
“His mom is very religious, so be prepared for it.”
There were a few more hugs and Dion excused himself to go wait in the van. It seemed as if everything would work out. At least for them.
Sean opened the door and sat down in the front passenger side a few minutes later. Dion started the engine and backed the van out of the driveway. Next stop was Sean’s house.
“Sorry we popped that on you,” he apologized. “I know we planned to wait until all four of us could break the news to our families, but Emily wanted to tell her dad right away. She was worried about him.”
“I can see why,” was all Sean could say. He came to a red light and let the engine run for a bit. “Are you going to tell your parents when you go home?”
“No, we decided to wait. It buys you and Lilly a bit of time too.”
They were quiet until Sean saw Dion turn the van onto his parents’ street. “You’re still planning to go into that tower yourself tomorrow? Don’t you even want me as back-up?”
“I have to do it alone,” Dion said. “This is between my uncle and me.”
Sean nodded.
Dion pulled up to Sean’s house and told him good night as he watched his friend walk up to the door. The light was on when they arrived and the door opened before Sean was up to it. Dion could see his mother at the door. She hugged her son in relief when he walked inside the house. The door closed and patio light when out, which plunged the yard in darkness. Dion pulled the van back out of the driveway and onto the street.
He wondered how it was going down inside Sean’s house. Good thing there was no school tomorrow. He didn’t enjoy the idea of everyone asking him what happened. News traveled fast in this little suburb. It was amazing how many people knew each other when so many had relocated from somewhere else. Dion didn’t know too many people from California, but there were some at his high school. The local air force base had something to do with that.
He wondered about that air force base at times. It was very close to the entrance to the abyss. There had to be a connection. It wouldn’t be an obvious one as the abyss didn’t have a physical entrance in the way most people understood it. The abyss could be accessed in many different ways, but his uncle had found a means to lock it down into one location. Perhaps the first inhabitants of this area had known about it. If they had, they kept the knowledge to themselves.
It took Dion another half hour to arrive at his aunt and uncle’s house. The outside light was still on and he expected they would be waiting up for him. It was still only eleven in the evening, not too late by local standards. He would need to explain to them why he had to return to the mall tomorrow and enter the clock tower. Tomorrow would be the day of reckoning between him and his Uncle Seth. Tomorrow he would discover why his uncle had gone to such great lengths to keep him away from the mall. There was a lot happening beneath the surface right now and Dion i
ntended to find out what it was.
Dion stepped out of the van when the light began to fade around him. There wasn’t a lot of it in the first place, but he knew someone wanted to take him somewhere else for reasons he could only suspect. This time it had to be his uncle. Good and fine, but he’d had enough of his uncle and his tricks. Time to make Seth Bach arrive here for a change.
Dion closed his eyes and resisted the transfer. He felt the light; no matter how little of it, return and he opened his eyes. He was still in front of his aunt and uncle’s house. Dion looked at his wristwatch. It was still close to eleven in the evening and the same date was on the inner dial of the watch. His uncle had failed to pull him over to his own time circle.
However, his Uncle Seth was standing in the middle of the driveway.”
“Glad to see you again, uncle. Is this a family visit? I do think it’s been a long time since you saw your brother and his wife.”
“You think you are so powerful, so talented, so brilliant,” his uncle snapped at him. “We’ll see how well you do tomorrow. Don’t you think I know what you’re up to? You do know, don’t you, that I can keep you far from the mall itself?”
“Why don’t you try and stop me?” You’ve tried to make yourself master of this universe and it hasn’t worked. You have something else in there you don’t want anyone to know about. You are afraid I’ll find out what it is, aren’t you?”
His uncle glared at him.
“And you couldn’t even bring me to your turf,” Dion concluded. “It would appear, uncle, your powers have their limitations.”
“We’ll see about that tomorrow!” his uncle growled and then disappeared.
Dion looked at the empty space his uncle had occupied. He was ready, that was for sure. Dion wasn’t sure what the best way would be to get into the tower. His uncle would be watching every clandestine entrance to the mall. Granted, he would have a new security company in place and they would be green. There were plenty of outside contractors who could police the mall for him. His uncle would make sure the guards would be on the lookout for Dion or anyone who matched his description. With his elemental power, Seth Bach would know the minute Dion entered the mall.
Dion continued to his aunt and uncles house, pulled out his key and unlocked the door. As he expected, they were in the TV lounge watching the news. Both of them jumped up as Dion entered the room.
“Are you okay?” his aunt ran to him and put her arms around Dion.
“I’m fine. Lilly is going to be all right, but they are keeping her in the hospital overnight to make sure she doesn’t have any head trauma. Or something like that.”
“Your Uncle Rich told me about your call,” she said as they sat down. Dion place the bag he carried into the room on the floor.
“What’s that?” his uncle inquired about the bag.
“Something I need to return to Hobbs. It’s a censer that can be used to trap fire elementals. I have my full fire elemental powers today and don’t need it anymore. I didn’t have to use it, so he can sell it to someone else.”
“And your uncle tells me you plan on going back to the mall tomorrow?” his aunt asked him.
“I have to. Uncle Seth has imprisoned not only my parents in that clock tower but the Fire Elemental Grandmaster too. I need to obtain the power of the fifth element to stop him and get my parents out of there.”
“Can’t someone go in there with you?” his uncle asked. “I’m willing to accompany you. After all, I am Seth’s brother.”
“It won’t make a difference,” Dion explained. “He’s out of control. I have to be the one who goes into there alone and deal with him. Nobody else but me can do it.”
Dion stood up. “I need to get to bed. Big day tomorrow.”
His aunt and uncle watched him leave.
“He didn’t say a thing about Jupiter Olympus,” his aunt said to her husband.
“Isn’t it enough that he knows? It’s one more thing on Dion’s mind. I didn’t think my brother would sink so low to tell him, but he’s desperate and will do anything. He hasn’t changed a bit.”
They turned back to the TV. Tomorrow was supposed to be a bright and clear day, according to the weather report with no storm clouds on the horizon.
- THE END -
Part 5 - AETHER
Chapter 1
Dion faced the door. He’s spent the better part of his morning in search of the entrance to the clock tower that dominated the center of the mall.
With all four of the elemental powers under his control, he still needed something special to get inside it. The tower sat over the abyss itself and his Uncle Seth planned to use the forces beneath it for something. Dion didn’t know exactly what it might be, as he could only speculate.
He entered the mall with all the shoppers that morning. By now, there was no reason to hide from the security guards. The fire elementals, who ran security, bowed to him as he walked past. Dion expected his uncle to replace them after he obtained the fourth elemental power, that of fire, yesterday. However, he hadn’t. This made Dion even more concerned about what his uncle had in mind. His uncle had to know the fire elemental salamanders, who were in their human form, would never oppose him since he was now a fire elemental master. Combined with the other powers he had earned over the past few days- earth, air and water- there wasn’t much his uncle could do to prevent him from entering the mall. His uncle might own the mall, but it wasn’t worth the trouble to keep him out of it.
His first stop that morning was Hobbs’ place in the “earth” part of the mall. Hobbs and his psychedelic shop provided Dion with many of the weapons he needed to defeat the elementals sent against him. If there was a weapon he needed to enter the clock tower, Hobbs could find it.
The grandmaster of the fifth element, aether, was held prisoner in that tower. So were his parents and Dion was determined to get them out. Let his uncle think there would be no way he could enter the tower. Dion planned to be inside it in the next hour. He merely needed a special key for a special lock. Hobbs would have that key if anyone possessed it.
“Back again?” Hobbs said to him from behind the counter as Dion entered his store. He was in the process of putting more discount albums in the racks when he noticed the young man who had been there every day of this week.
“I’m going in the clock tower this time,” Dion told him. “I need to find out how to get inside and what weapon I’ll need once I’m there.”
“Are you serious?” Hobbs put down a stack of albums and walked over to Dion.
“My parents are held there. My uncle, who owns this mall, has them imprisoned. And what’s worse, he has the Aether Grandmaster too.”
“For God’s sake, it’s right on top of the abyss. Look, we all know what that tower is over and we live with it. The rent is cheap here and the traffic is good. I know the management is a little bit funny, but- wait! Did you say your parents are held inside it?”
“For the past year. Everything I’ve done this week was to get them out. My uncle is a master of the aether, but he doesn’t have the other four elemental powers. I do. I want that fifth power as well. With it, I’ll be stronger than him and he’ll have to set my parents free.”
“The aether is the root of the other four elements,” Hobbs said. “It’s unstable in this time circle, which is why you don’t see it used very often. If your uncle wants to make use of it, it won’t be for our benefit.”
Dion put his hands on the counter. “So you understand what I’m doing. Do you have anything to help me?”
“Not once you’re inside that place.” Hobbs shifted some merchandise in the cabinet below to find what he wanted. He was a short man, barely five foot, but stout and solid.
“Here it is,” Hobbs announced as he pulled an envelope out of the cabinet. He sat the envelope on the counter and pulled a silver disc out of it. The disc had mystical signs engraved on it. Dion didn’t recognize any of them.
“What is it?” Dion asked the small ma
n across from him.
“It’s a sigil that unlocks certain doors. It will only work once and the door will open for ten seconds. You put the disc on the door and push it into the surface. It will stick to the door and you can leave it. Step back because there will be a loud noise when it opens the barrier. The door will fly open. Like I said, you have only ten seconds to get inside before the door closes.”
“Do I need to retrieve the sigil?”
“No you don’t. It will burn itself up after use. This is a one-time tool. Remember what I told you about standing away from the door.”
“Thanks, Hobbs. Send the bill to my aunt and uncle. This should be the last time I need your help.”
“I’m not so sure about that.” He turned and noticed a sales clerk looking at one of the album covers he had stacked. She had a notebook in her hand.
“We need to get the inventory finished by this evening,” he called out to her. “You can read the credits later.” She placed the album on the rack and went back to her count.
“She’s a good worker, just has problems paying attention to the job,” Hobbs explained to him. “Where are your friends?”
“Staying home today. I have to do this one myself.”
“Wise decision, but I’m glad I don’t have to go in that place. You take care and come back to see me once you’ve returned.” He shook Dion’s hand.
Hobbs watched the young man leave his store and walk down the corridor outside.
“I hope I do see him again,” he spoke aloud. His clerk turned and looked up, her hand still holding the pencil she used for the inventory notebook.
“Nice kid,” Hobbs said to her from the counter. “I think he’s way in over his head.”
“Can’t you help him?” The clerk wore a pair of jeans and shirt with a flower stitched on it. She had long red hair, which cascaded down her back.
“I wish I could. There is too much bad energy in that tower for me to go up against it. I don’t want to go anywhere near it.”
