by L. M. Fry
“That’s where Danu’s tomb is,” Julia said.
They made note of where the island was and set course. The scuttled along the surface of the water along the invisible line. When they reached the location of the glowing lights, they still hadn’t found the island. The ship came to a stop, and Rusty checked over his navigation controls and compasses.
“I dunna get it. I dunna see nothin’” Rusty exclaimed, wiping the haze from the great glass eyes of the Blowfish.
Valera moved to the front of the ship. She frowned at the captain.
“Rusty, it’s right there.” She pointed to the unmistakable large rocky landmass only a few miles ahead of them.
Victor squinted his eyes. “I don’t see anything either.”
Theo pushed them out of the way. “It’s right in front of us.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. There’s nothing—
The submarine rocked to starboard, and something big slithered across the metal exterior. Valera fell into her brother against the side of the hull. The Blowfish groaned. Rivets popped and small trickles of water poured into the cabin. The rocking stopped.
“What was that?” Julia shrieked.
Rusty and Nessie worked to fill the leaks with putty, but the water pushed through. Julia soaked in aether and froze the streams, temporarily plugging the holes.
Bleep… bleep… bleep…
Rusty moved to the radar. “There’s something moving around us. Could be a whale… a big un. Wouldna be the first time some dumb fish tried a make friends’ wit’ the vessel.”
Rusty grabbed a harpoon and threw open the hatch. The radar bleeped louder and faster. The ship shook. The monster in the water rammed the side of the submarine, denting the side. Rusty nearly fell overboard, but Eli and Joe grabbed his legs.
“Keep me steady, boy,” the old man yelled from above. “I got a shot.”
Valera heard the whizzing of the harpoon flying in the air and an odd metallic ping as it struck its target. Rusty came back inside, shaking and soaking wet. The harpoon gun was missing.
“That ain’t no whale… I ner’ saw nothin’ like it. The harpoon bounced right off.” His voice shook. “We need to get outta here.”
An unearthly shriek filled the air outside. Through the window, Valera saw a massive worm-like creature swim past the ship. The monster turned and smashed into the other side of the submarine. The hull buckled and water poured into the compartment. No matter how hard Julia tried to stop the influx of water, the compartment flooded. They had to abandon ship. Nessie scrambled to inflate two rafts outside on top of the hull. Joe leapt into the first one and helped the three girls and Eli get inside. They grabbed the oars and moved as far away as they could. Nessie and Gideon scrambled into the second raft, but the sea monster turned and charged at the vessel. Victor pushed Dr. Lawless overboard, and jumped into the frigid water. The monster rammed the front of the ship, smashing the two glass eyes. Rusty was thrown off the doomed Blowfish. Nessie and Gideon fished all three men out of the ocean, and the two lifeboats rowed away from the submarine.
The sea monster crested out of the water and crashed onto the Blowfish. The beast’s shiny exterior glistened in the sun light as if it were made out of metal. Its body slid over the remains of the submarine making a horrible grating noise. The monster screeched as the Blowfish sank into the water.
“Where do we go?” Joe asked.
Theo pointed toward the landmass. “To the island.”
“What island? There’s no island!” Nessie shouted.
“Just trust us,” Julia said.
The girls steered the raft toward the island, which only they seemed able to see. The creature writhed around the wreckage of the Blowfish. Just as Valera thought they’d escaped its clutches, it surfaced and shot through the ocean like a torpedo. Something about it didn’t seem real, and as it grew closer, Valera saw gears turning behind its green glass eyes. Its scales were black metal plates. The monster’s gaping jaw opened, and Valera saw spinning razor sharp blades.
“It’s a machine!” Valera screamed.
Julia stood and aimed her hands at the mechanical monster. She blasted it with shards of ice. The creature slowed down, but didn’t stop. Valera joined in, throwing fire at it, and Theo electrocuted it with bolts of lightning. Nothing seemed to faze it. The others rowed as fast as they could, but still the monster got closer.
“Are we almost there?” Joe huffed.
Valera turned to look. The island was close. Then, the air thickened around her. Valera felt her entire body tingle. Both Theo and Julia gasped at the same time. The sea creature shrieked and slammed into an invisible barrier. The monster shattered into a million pieces and disappeared. Everyone in the rafts cheered.
Rusty rubbed his eyes and shouted, “I’ll be damned. There be an island.”
Chapter Sixteen
Julia
Julia peered over the side of the raft at the calm and clear water below. No ice. No seaweed. No fish. The place was unnatural. She felt as if she could see right to the bottom of the ocean. Rusty muttered to himself on the other raft.
“This ain’t right… none of it,” he rambled.
The rest of them paddled toward the rocky shoreline in silence. They landed the boats on a sandy outcropping. Julia was the first one out, and she dropped to her knees on the shore. She hated the ocean. She hated submarines. She hated sea monsters. From now on, she wanted solid earth beneath her feet. Eli came and knelt beside her.
“Are you okay?” He asked.
She nodded.
“You did well out there,” he whispered and nudged her.
“We didn’t kill it.” She murmured, “The barrier did.”
“No, but you gave us time to escape. That’s a win in my book.” He winked. “And you looked sexy throwing all that ice around.”
She laughed, “You’re insane.”
Julia leaned into him and curled up against the warmth of his body. His arm slipped around her. She was perfectly happy to stay on the beach and wait for rescue. After facing off with a robotic sea monster, the idea of freeing Danu had faded to the back her mind. She wasn’t the only one who wanted to rest. Theo plopped onto a driftwood log. Valera and Gideon chatted near a large boulder. Everyone but Dr. Lawless looked tired. He scrambled off the lifeboat, falling into the water in the process. He waded to shore and sniffed the air like a rabid dog.
“Danu is close… I can feel her. She’s here… oh, sweet goddess… guide me to you…”
His incessant ranting drove Julia crazy. “Sit down and shut up, Lawly.”
“No… no time for rest. We must hurry. We must find Danu,” Dr. Lawless raved.
“Oh shut yer flappin’,” Rusty yelled at the man, then dropped to his knees near the shoreline and lamented, “Me poor Blowfish.”
The tide inched up over Rusty’s knees. Nessie put a hand on the man’s back. Together, they looked out to sea where the Blowfish had sunk.
“She was a fine ship,” Nessie cooed. “She went down in battle – a noble death for a noble lady.”
Rusty nodded his head, sniffling loudly. Nessie urged the man to come on shore and out of the water. Theo walked over to Victor and Joe.
In a hushed voice, she asked, “What was that thing?”
“A warning.” Victor scratched his cheek. “One we didn’t heed. This place is bewitched.”
“We must have passed through some kind of aether barrier. That would explain why you girls could see past it, and the rest of us couldn’t.” Gideon joined them, picking up a handful of sand and examining it through his fingers. “It’s odd for sure. There’s no wind here, and it should be several degrees below zero. But it feels more like a balmy summer night.”
Valera took Gideon’s hand, “If we are going to do this, we should move on. This place gives me the shivers.”
“I’ll be goin’ no further. Just leave me here wit’ the risin’ tide,” Rusty muttered.
Eli pulled Julia up off the sand.
She felt sorry for Rusty. Although the Blowfish was a leaky hunk of junk, it got them where they needed to go. She placed a hand on Rusty’s shoulder.
“Sorry for your loss.”
He patted her hand, keeping his eyes cast on the spot where his livelihood went down.
“I’ll stay with him,” Nessie said, and added with a whisper, “He’s not in the right state of mind to be alone.”
Julia joined the others further ashore. Gideon opened the duffle bag and pulled out the Sword of Ealga. Dr. Lawless snuck into the group and reached out for the relic. Julia slapped his hands away and took the weapon.
“Back off, Lawly.”
“I was just going to hand it to you… I wasn’t going to touch it…”
“What is your problem?” Julia hissed.
He backed away slowly and grinned like a maniac. With a shriek, he ran down the beach. Julia moved to chase him, but Eli stopped her.
“Let him go. He’s lost his mind.”
Julia slipped the sword into her belt. Theo took the scepter and put the Trinity Key in her pocket. Valera kept the sextant in the bag and slung it over her shoulder. Julia led the way up the shore and over a field of stones, keeping watch for any other warnings that the island contained. Climbing on one of the boulders that littered the barren landscape, she could see the shoreline all around the tiny island. As far as she could tell, there was nothing there.
“Where’s the tomb?” She hopped down.
Dr. Lawless came back to them, muttering, “No… this isn’t right… it has to be here. You did something wrong!”
He charged at Valera. Before Valera could defend herself, Dr. Lawless had his hands around her throat. Joe and Victor ripped the man off her. He stumbled back, but changed course and came after Julia. Eli cracked the man’s head, knocking him unconscious. Gideon checked Valera’s neck.
“I’m fine.” She shuddered. “What’s wrong with him?” she asked.
Gideon shrugged. “I suppose his mind couldn’t deal with the situation.”
Julia scoffed, “Leave him. We need to find the tomb.”
“What if he wakes up?” Valera stared at the unconscious man.
“I’ll keep an eye on him.”
Joe stayed behind with the unconscious doctor. Everyone else spread out and searched. Victor walked off to the far side of the island by himself. Valera and Gideon searched the western shore of the island, and Theo took the eastern shore. Julia and Eli took the middle ground.
Julia turned over rocks and picked up old pieces of driftwood, looking for any strange markings and finding none. All of the rocks began to look alike. Finding the tomb began to seem like an impossible task. Perhaps Lawly was right, and they had made a mistake in their navigation. In her frustration, she misstepped and fell forward onto the rocks.
“Julia, are you all right?” Eli called from behind her.
Her knees and palms stung, but she wasn’t hurt. In between two grey stones, she saw a flash of blue. She crawled toward it for a closer look. The blue slithered away, and then she heard a hiss. Something slid across her ankles, and she froze.
Eli stood nearby. “Julia, don’t move.”
Azure colored snakes writhed all around her, hissing and spitting. Every muscle in her body shook, but she didn’t dare move.
“I’m going to get help,” Eli said, slowly backing away.
Julia held her breath the entire time he was gone. Before long, the others arrived, standing at a safe distance. Julia’s arms and legs tired from sitting in the same position. She couldn’t wait much longer. Gideon inched forward, examining one of the serpents. To Julia’s surprise, he picked one up.
“You can get up now, Julia. These are simple blue corn snakes. They are completely nonvenomous. In fact, they make great pets. Strange to find them this far north,” Gideon blathered.
“I don’t need a zoology lesson,” Julia snapped. She stood up, sulking. “Stupid rocks!”
She stared at the offending rock that had tripped her up. Something about the flat triangular surface caught her eye. The stone was different from those around it. Moss covered the top of it, and the sides were too sharp to be a natural formation.
“Do you see this?” She asked.
Julia picked at the moss. Beneath the green plant, she found three wavy lines carved into the rock.
“That could be a sign for air,” Gideon said. “Or perhaps water?”
“Here’s another one,” Theo said from a few feet away.
The second stone had flames etched into it. Victor found a third triangular stone with three spirals.
Gideon studied them for a second. “The flames represent fire; the spirals are similar to the Celtic symbol for water.”
“Water, fire, air… like the powers,” Theo said.
“Three pillars, three symbols, three sisters,” Julia mused. “But what does it mean? What do we do?”
“Well, since I cast fire, it makes sense that I do something with this one,” Valera said standing over the fire symbol.
The stones formed a larger triangle. The spirals made the most sense to Julia – water and ice. She stood on top of it and touched the symbol. Nothing happened. She channeled aether and felt the stone move. Valera did the same. Her eyes widened as her stone shook.
“Theo stand on the last one,” Julia said.
Finally, Theo took her place on air symbol. The guys moved away, giving them some room. Julia closed her eyes, letting instinct guide her. Together, the three girls soaked in aether and let it flow through them.
The ground shook, and the three pillars lifted them into the air. A wind rushed across the island, nearly knocking them over. The snakes scattered. From the center of the triangle, a stone arch grew from the earth. When the quakes stopped, the girls released aether. A marble slab filled the arch like a monolithic door.
“What is it?” Eli asked.
He took a step forward, but a piercing chime blared from the marble. He covered his ears and sunk to his knees. The marble slab vibrated and exploded in two, throwing the girls from the pillars.
Julia rolled on her side and peered at the arch. A swirling black mist formed between the posts. Finger-like tendrils reached out to each girl. A howl came out of the mist. One of the tendrils broke off from the haze, taking shape in front of Julia. Before her eyes, the mist morphed into a human form. She shrieked and backed away from it. Dripping wet, the phantom’s skin bubbled and peeled over its skeletal frame. Its eyes were deep voids, dripping black tar.
Eli charged at it. The apparition didn’t even turn to look at him, instead it flung its rotting hand out. A gust of vile wind knocked Eli back against a boulder.
Julia struggled to stand, but the bones in her legs dissolved into quivering masses. She reached for the sword at her belt. The weapon wasn’t there. Retreating, she scrambled around searching the rocks for the blade. The specter’s hand reached out to grab her. She slid aside, but the putrid fingers of the dead brushed her shoulder, searing into her skin. Her arm burned as if she’d been dipped in boiling oil. The appendage hung limp at her side.
“Help.” Her voice was a whimper compared to the howling monster.
On the other side of the archway, Theo lay unconscious. Maera’s Scepter sat on the ground beside her. A second tendril of the black fog moved toward Theo. Julia stumbled toward Theo, but the specter followed close behind her.
On the ground near the broken stone, she saw a glint of metal. She crawled on her knees and good arm for the sword. The specter growled. Her fingers brushed the blade seconds before the specter reached her. Channeling aether, she lifted the Ealga’s Sword of Ice. The blade sank deep into the specter’s chest. He shrieked and writhed as aether tore through the phantom in an icy blast. The mist froze solid. Julia stood. With her last once of strength, she pulled the blade free. The specter splintered into a million icy shards.
Julia fumbled to find Theo. The second tendril of mist mutated into a thick rippling liquid that moved over Theo’s
feet and legs, swallowing her inch by inch. Theo woke as the blob reached her chest. Gasping for air, she struggled to free herself.
Julia reached her, swinging the sword at the liquid. The mass sucked the sword into its dripping maw, pulling Julia closer to it. Theo’s face turned blue. Her eyes begged Julia to help her. Maera’s Scepter floated inside the blob.
“Use the scepter,” Julia yelled, pointing at Maera’s staff.
Theo couldn’t move her arms to reach the weapon. The sludge moved halfway up the sword. Julia released the blade, and the mass consumed it.
I have to get the staff. She didn’t want to touch the liquid, but she had little choice. Drenching herself in aether, she held her breath. She leapt at the blob. For a split second, she felt as if she was swimming in a jello mold. Then, the mass thickened around her. Aether kept the beast at bay long enough for her to reach the scepter. She forced the staff into Theo’s hand. As soon as Theo’s fingers wrapped around it, Julia felt the transfer of aether. A light exploded from the jewel. The mass disintegrated around them. Air rushed back into Julia’s lungs. Theo panted on the ground, and the color returned to her face.
“What was that?” Theo rasped.
Julia shook her head. She had no clue to what was happening. Behind the mound, they heard screaming.
“Where’s Valera?” Theo asked.
Julia pointed to where the last pillar stood. Another scream pierced the air. Julia and Theo got up and ran toward the noise. They found Victor unmoving on the ground with a bleeding wound on his neck. Theo dropped to her knees and covered the wound with her hands. Julia went in search of Valera.
Gideon and Valera had their backs up to a boulder. A giant snarling wolf stalked toward them. Gideon tried to protect Valera by waving a fiery branch at the animal. A swipe from the animal’s massive paw threw Gideon to the side. Valera threw flames from her hands, hitting the animal. He growled but continued his approach.
Julia charged the rear of the animal with the sword, striking the flesh of the demon’s legs. He roared and turned on her. His fangs dripped with blood. The animal’s eyes were black coal. His breath stunk like festering meat. Julia stepped back, swinging the sword. Even though the blade sliced through the beast’s skin, it didn’t stop. A massive blast of flame shot from Valera’s hands, setting the wolf on fire. The heat of it burned Julia’s face. Valera lashed out over and over again. Julia hacked at the blazing body until nothing but his grinning fangs remained. With a final howl, the beast dissipated back into mist and disappeared back into the earth.
