by G. E. White
"You’re the one who actually made me realize what was right in front of us. We've already figured out that the thief’s been using this cuff to switch between realms in order to steal the star fragments. Now the cuffs are pretty peculiar on their own, as while they’re made from Tyrell's materials, they weren’t built by this incarnation of Hephaestus."
"Is it possible that he built them during a previous life?" Quinn asked.
"No," Jared cut in. "While Hephaestus may not remember all of his creations right off the bat, he knows them when he sees them."
"So who else could build something like this?" The teen asked, taking the cuff off his wrist.
"I know of only three: Brontës, Steropes and Arges -- Cyclopes. They are daimons descended from Gaia and at one point worked under Hephaestus as apprentices."
The use of the word ‘daimon’ sent up a red flag in Quinn’s brain, he had encountered the word before – but when are where? “The Unexplained Race,” he said the image of the books spine coming to the forefront of his mind.
Both Jared and Surina turned to Quinn at his quietly made statement. “There was another race wasn’t there?” he continued, now addressing his companions. “A sixth race.”
“Seventh, technically,” Jared admitted with a sigh. “That is if you can truly call them a race.” His words were not a degradation of the daimons, more like the stating of a fact.
“What exactly do you mean?”
Jared paused on the step he was standing on, scratching his chin.“Well the term daimon, or demon, has been thrown about a bit in mythology. The Christians use it to describe an evil spirit or fallen angel, while in the classical sense it referred to either nature spirits or gods that they classified as representing states of being, like sleep, love, hate, death – you get the idea.”
“And I’m taking it that’s not what you’re referring to.”
“No,” Surina interrupted standing on the steps below them. “You remember how I said before that the gods made mistakes that cost them their immortality?”
Quinn nodded.
“Well it wasn’t just taking sides during the wars. Turns out most of them couldn’t keep it in their pants, and it didn’t seem to matter which race they hooked up with. The result was some of the daimons, while others they created through magic and experimentation.”
“But what are they exactly? Why are they not considered a race?” the teen pressed.
Surina shook her head and continued to head down the stairs forcing Quinn and Jared to follow. “Daimons range in size, shape, genetic make-up – if they have one that is, as not all of them do.” She explained. “Most daimons would be listed under a bestiary. Their ranks include giants, dragons, the Sirens, Gorgons and the Cyclopes just to name a few.
“But unlike us they are eternal,” Jared jumped in. Quinn shot the man a puzzled look. “Means they never grow old, or sick, though they can be killed.”
“So I’m guessing that they’re in the First Realm?”
“Not exactly. You see despite the fact that many of them have… monstrous forms,” Jared said struggling to find the correct words, “having a god for a parent, almost all of them inherited some form of magic. Almost all of them are capable of taking on human forms or disguises. Because of that and the fact that they generally keep to themselves they’ve been allowed to stay in the Second Realm.”
“But they somehow have access to the First Realm?” Quinn prodded.
"They can’t keep their glamour’s on at all times,” Jared said with a shrug. “You think they’re our thieves?" he asked Surina skeptically. "There was only one thief that I saw and he was far too small to be one of the Cyclopes. Besides, do you think they could come up with this plan, let alone pull it off?"
"I'm taking it that these guys aren’t very smart," Quinn said, as his eyes darted between his two friends.
"I wouldn’t say that," Surina answered. "But I agree with you Jared; I don't think they could've come up with this plan or pull it off; not on their own. But they play a major role in it – not just by making the cuffs, but in re-forging the star."
“And you know where they are going to do this?" the teen asked.
"There’s only one place they can do this. The fact that I didn't realize it earlier royally pisses me off." Surina punctuated the statement by batting an abandoned cobweb from her path.
"Care to let the rest of us in on the revelation?" Jared huffed.
"Quinn do you remember where I found that cuff?"
"On a daniad in Erebus,” he answered.
"Exactly. Now since then I’ve been asking myself: What were they doing there? We know how they got there, but as to the why, who better to make sure a place remains empty than a bunch of bloodthirsty savages?"
"They need the Olympian fire, don't they?" Quinn reasoned, coming to a halt at the bottom of the staircase.
The basement they now stood in was fairly dusty, and at one point been used as a storage room if the old-fashioned trunks and crates were any indicator. It had obviously been abandoned for something more functional. Now standing among the forgotten boxes of old uniforms was a freestanding door in a stone archway. Several of the stones had strange symbols carved into them.
“Makes sense,” Jared agreed. “It’s the only fire hot enough to re-forge something like that. But we’re still missing something; neither the danaids nor the Cyclopes could figure this all out, so who is the third party?”
“Who says there are only three parties?” Quinn countered.
Surina let out a sigh that if Quinn could categorize it as anything he would call it disappointed. “Whoever they are they have insight into the temples. In order to map out where they would switch in and out they would have needed to have been there at one time.”
“You mean a magi.”
“Yes,” she said. “A fully trained and licensed magi can travel between the three temples. It could be a magi from any of the three.”
“Didn’t you check in with the other temples to see if anyone was missing?” the dark-haired man asked.
“Yeah, and according to them everyone is accounted for.”
“But that doesn’t make any sense,” Quinn protested.
“I know, but we’ll figure it out later – we’ve already wasted enough time as it is.”
Surina approached the door and tapped several of the marked stones around the archway. As she touched each stone they gave a faint blue glow accompanied by a musical chime. Quinn recognized it as a code as the door swung open to reveal a familiar lounge and even more familiar face.
Leo Russo was as big and burly as the teen remembered him; his red hair appearing brighter in the lamplight behind him as he waved the three in, “About time you showed up.
~ Chapter 25 ~
Stepping through the gate was different from the other times. It was unnerving for Quinn to be able to see his destination but to be transported long distances to get there. Disoriented, he stumbled across the threshold, but was steadied by the large work-worn hand of the red-haired giant.
“Careful there,” Leo boomed. “Switching realms while using a gate is more dizzying than most trips.”
“We’re in the Second Realm?”
“We have to be,” Surina explained, walking further into the lounge. Quinn glowered at her easy steps, while he had to hold still for a moment to make sure his breakfast didn’t make a reappearance. “Erebus only exists in the Second Realm,” she continued. “And seeing as we only have one of the Cyclopes’ devices, entering it from this point is our only option if we want to catch them in time.”
“Ooo, we gonna do some brawlin’?” the big man purred excitedly. “You know I love it when you get violent.”
“You love when anyone gets violent,” Jared quipped, moving to lie on one of the comfy brown couches.
“I know what I like,” the other man shrugged.
“Most likely,” Surina said answering Leo’s question, though refusing to be baited by him. “That’s why
I would like you to come with us Leo. I took out about a dozen danaids, but that means there’s probably thirty-seven more waiting in the wings.”
“It’s going to take some time to re-forge that thing,” Jared supplied from his sprawled position.
“True, but they already have at least a twelve-hour head start. So here is how it will go: Quinn, I want you to stay here while the three of us head down to Erebus.”
“Whoa, hold on,” Quinn protested. “What do you mean I have to stay here?”
“Quinn, this is not an investigation anymore – it’s a bust. Most likely we’re going to be dealing with about thirty danaids on top of three Cyclopes which are going to be a handful on their own,” she explained.
“You think it’s going to be violent?” Jared butted in.
“You honestly think it won’t be? Either way I don’t want to take any chances.”
“And what about me? Don’t I get a say in this?” the teen persisted.
“No,” both Jared and Surina chorused together.
“Wait a minute,” Quinn huffed. “I was the one who figured out how they were getting around. I want to see this through to the end. I mean, I’m part of this right? What happened to this whole ‘on-the-job training’?”
“Quinn this is dangerous. If things go wrong you could be killed,” Surina reasoned.
“So could you,” he countered. “So could any of you. Are you guys somehow more expendable than I am? Jared and Leo are gods but I don’t see them standing on the sidelines.”
“He’s got a point,” Jared supplied. “Even though some gods still have followers or even soldiers to help them, major problems like this fall to us. You’ve been handling this investigation because of your insight into the inner workings of the three temples, along with the fact that Sebastien and I trust you. But I also trust him,” he continued, gesturing to Quinn. “We’re going to be running in there half blind as it is and we both know Quinn’s smart, maybe he’ll see something we don’t.”
Surina’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “You cannot honestly be considering this.”
“He’s just gonna follow us anyway,” Jared reasoned.
She shook her head, “I don’t like this.”
“I don’t think any’a us do. But it’ll be okay, we’ll watch each other’s backs,” Leo encouraged. And as if a light was turned on in his head buy his own words, Leo held a finger up in remembrance. “One sec.”
The burly man ran into a back room. The three others could hear him banging around back there, obviously looking for something. There were some muffled curses before a triumphant “Ah-Ha!”
Leo’s face was aglow as he exited the storage room, hefting what appeared to be a waist high claymore. “Quinn can borrow this. Always brought me good luck.”
Quinn took hold of the sword and almost toppled down as Leo relinquished his hold on it. With some effort, the teen was able to heft it up to lay against his side.
“I think I might be better off with something I can actually lift,” he said.
“Fine,” Leo sniffed taking back the weapon with ease. “I guess I could take old Sheila here out myself. It’s been awhile since we bonded.”
Quinn raised a curious brow at the moniker for the weapon, but Surina pulled his attention away.
“Don’t mind him. You can continue to use my dagger,” she reassured. “But you’re going to listen to everything we say, we tell you to run, hide or stay put, I don’t want to hear any arguing.”
“Yes ma’am… Listen, I’m not really keen on weapons but I’ve got to ask what’s with the swords? I mean, haven’t you guys heard of guns?” Quinn asked.
“Swords don’t require bullets,” she said with a sardonic smile. Pulling the small blade once again from her bag she handed it to the teen. “Besides, it’s a much more elegant weapon for a more civilized age.”
“I suppose… wait, did you just quote Star Wars to me?”
The hallway the four entered felt both familiar and foreign at the same time. Even with the aid of Jared’s scythe, which now produced a torch light, Quinn still stumbled along the cramped corridor.
He knew he had traveled down this path before, but Quinn couldn’t shrug the feeling that the air seemed different, somehow closer, heavier, as if in the undergrowth of a jungle. He realized that evening was approaching the cavernous hall ahead, but it seemed darker than it should be.
Exiting the narrow corridor, the blonde’s eyes widened at the tangled web that greeted them; gnarled wooden branches twisted tightly around one another creating a wall barring entry in, save for a small opening, enough for a single person to squeeze through.
“Shit,” Surina muttered. “This was the reason I wanted to hurry.”
“You knew this was going to happen?” Leo asked, taking ‘Sheila’ and slashing at the wood only to have it bounce off with barely a nick in the bark.
“Not this exactly, but I figured they’d want to slow down anyone who came after them”
“I don’t understand. What’s the problem? We can just go through here, right? It’s big enough for each of us to get in,” Quinn reasoned.
“Yeah, and straight into a maze with dozens of different pathways and only one correct exit,” Surina groused.
“You’ve seen this before,” Jared said.
“It’s an Earthen magi spell, they call it Wooden Wanderings and use it to confuse, trap and slow their opponent. As Leo demonstrated you can’t cut through it. If we try to go over it the walls will just grow taller – no choice but to go through it, which is the last thing we want to do.” The demi-god sighed in frustration. “It could take us days to get through this thing. Damnit!” she cursed slamming her fist against the wooden obstacle.
In the dim lighting of Jared’s torch Quinn could make out the worried and distraught faces of his fellow gods. There had to be some way to get through it relatively quickly.
“How do Earthen magi get through?”
“They walk it like anyone else but they know the path – something about an odor only they can detect marking the correct turns,” Surina explained.
“So shouldn’t we be able to just track them?” he asked.
“Normally I would, but we’re standing on concrete. No disturbed dirt or grass to follow.”
“What about by smell?” Quinn persisted.
“Do any of us look like a bloodhound to you?” Leo snorted. “Tracking like that is a little beyond us.”
“What about a Lupine Familiar?” Quinn suggested which caused Surina’s eyebrows to shoot up towards her hairline, as she turned to him with an incredulous look. “I read about them at the Lunar temple. They’re used for tracking, right?”
“That’s right,” the woman breathed. “I had completely forgotten about them. I guess we could try. To be honest I haven’t conjured one in years. I might not be able to anymore.”
“It’s worth a shot,” Jared argued.
Surina nodded in agreement. “Okay, here goes.”
Taking a deep breath she held out her hands palm down and though Quinn couldn’t see them, he was certain her eyes were closed in concentration.
Her hissing lilt of a voice muttered the Latin words, while a light glow appeared to pulse out from her palms. As the glow grew in size it began to take form, thinning in some areas, thickening in others as if moonlight could be sculpted on a potter’s wheel.
With one final burst of light, which caused the four to glance away at its brightness, the rite was done. Looking back down where Surina had placed her hand they were now greeted with the spectral form of a young wolf cub appearing to be made of evening mist. The pup thumped its tail against the ground playfully.
“Cool,” Quinn breathed in awe, crouching down to pet the familiar. The wolf cub yipped its pleasure, attempting to lick the offered hand. The teen laughed at the gesture though the sensation wasn’t like when Cerberus greeted him, instead of the wet rough tongue it felt more like putting his hand through a heavy fog.
&nbs
p; “That’s nothing. Just wait until you meet one of Jared’s Reapers. First time I saw them I nearly pissed myself,” she commented.
“To be honest, I hope I don’t have to,” Quinn replied.
“Hey, they are good guys… a little on the scary side, but all and all good guys,” Jared defended.
“Can we get this show on the road?” Leo interjected. “I came on this expedition to break some skulls and this chit-chat’s getting boring.”
“Right,” the demi-god agreed. Turning to the ghostly familiar she gave a jerk of her chin. “Alright, you know what to do.”
The apparition gave an excited bark, darting into the maze. Surina trailed after it followed by Quinn and Jared with Leo and ‘Sheila’ bringing up the rear.
Despite that the walls of the maze did not reach the ceiling the paths that they followed were exceptionally dark. Obviously the city above was approaching evening, if the minimal light coming from the large skylight window was to be trusted. Within the walls of the maze it proved fairly easy to keep track of the spectral wolf.
As the four would encounter a fork in the path the cub would lift its head, its nose twitching as it attempting to discern which way to go next. Several times it took the cub a minute or two to make up its mind before choosing a path, but Quinn noted that they were moving slowly but surely across the cavern hall.
Often the four would find that they would move great lengths to the left or the right before they could progress farther forward.
“Whoever made this wants it to take us a long time to get through,” Surina observed.
“I’m guessing this is more complicated that other wooden mazes you’ve encountered?” Jared stated.
“I suppose, but then I was usually working with the creator of the maze – not against them.”
Slowly the skylight visible at the center of the hall grew closer. Yet Quinn couldn’t shake the feeling of irritation knowing that they were not even half way across. Though he did not carry a watch, Quinn was able to estimate that they had been traveling for at least a couple of hours, when the pup paused at an opening, its hair rising in agitation as a soft growl emanated from its throat.
