When he landed on Caim’s floating island he quickly searched for the pentacle portal. He spotted it next to Caim’s hut, right where Akielas had marked it. Auron stood on the pentacle and used his blue crystal to teleport to another location on the map of Odealeous. Blue lights rose from below as the pentacle began to glow. Once the lights engulfed him he felt as if he was falling through an abyss of blue. It was like a storm and the rapid wind rushed through his body. When the blue lights vanished he found himself in a completely different land.
Sea breezes cooled his face, oceans waves brushed against his mind, the cawing of seagulls echoed from above and palm trees cast shade over him. He stepped off the pentacle that had been marked on a boulder and onto the sand of the beach. His golden boots sunk into the sand and he walked towards the shore.
“The northern shores of El Nido,” Auron said. “He knew the whereabouts of the Specters and before he assembled us he failed to kill Ember. No. He did not fail. He was too weak to take her life. Unable to see the true monster that she was. Right here on this shore. He could have ended it and now I intend to finish what he started and I will do it my way.”
He kicked off the ground and flew from the northern shores of the crescent moon-shape land of El Nido. His speed split the ocean water creating waves. Auron focused his view on the horizon. He remembered how Akielas described the island of the Specters. He said it was the smallest island in sight and a dark tower reigned like a skyscraper from Necrovania. He said the island was cursed with an eternal storm and thunder cried every day. No sunlight ever shone from the sky and the wind howled like a thousand wolves day in and day out.
Auron flew north from El Nido determined to find the island of the Specters. I am willing to sacrifice everything, he thought. I refuse to be sitting around feeling hopeless. If my plan does not work then nothing else will. Akielas won’t recover his magic before the tri-eclipse and even if he does he still does not know how to defeat the Specters. Rey Ling is trying to find some lost omnithium that his father hid. What are the odds of him finding the treasure before the day of the tri-eclipse? Eckxio now has the Angel Valiarmos and he still could not prevent the Specters from capturing Caim. Willow’s soul is trapped in the Emerald Cosmo Jewel. There has to be something we can do and if we can’t defeat out enemies directly then I say lets destroy them from the inside first.
Auron continued to fly north and it was not long before he saw that needle rising on the horizon and the black skies ahead. He could see the clouds light up with thunder and he pressed more maju in his flight and jetted to the domain of the Specters. The island began to grow and the taller the dark tower became. It was like flying into a nightmare. The waters were as dark as ink. Thunder groaned above, wind gusted and the rain fell hard on his face like pebbles.
Auron stopped in midair and gazed at the dark tower of the Specters. It seemed to almost reach the sky. He saw a lightning bolt struck the apex and sparks rained. “I feel like I am having bad dream,” he said as he stared at the tower and almost regretted coming here.
As the lightning illuminated the tower as moon would for an instant, Auron saw a man on a cross so high up on the tower that he had to use his eye of the hawk spell. His vision zoomed in to the pinnacle thousands of feet in the air. It was a painful spell that had the potential to ruin his vision but he used it when necessary. Zooming at the top of the dark tower he saw the demigod nailed to a cross. “Caim!” he shouted then flew towards his friend, releasing his spell.
“What have they done to him?” Auron wondered.
Before he could reach Caim, they appeared flying out of the top of the tower. All four of them flew around the tower like guardian gargoyles. The only thing differentiating them were the horns on their white mask. He could see Ember’s five horns wrapping upwards like a crown. He could see Naunet’s broken horn and Hertha’s bull horns as well as Jairo’s goat horns warping behind his head. They swooped down with their omnithium staffs, one glowing red and other green and a third one white. Auron summoned his golden spear and shield but he did not tried to attack instead he defended.
Ember dived into him and swung her staff with the crimson jewel. The staff collided against his shield and Auron was forced down, falling from the sky with his shield fractured. He managed to stop before he fell into the water and rose again. “I did not come here to fight!” he yelled.
Ember and the Specters laughed. In mid air they circled him and began to strike him with small blasts from their staffs. Auron protected himself with his shield, blocking their attacks. Naunet manipulated the water below and turned it into ice spears. “Wait! Heed my words! I have what you want!” Auron yelled again.
“If it’s not the Sapphire Cosmo Jewel then we’d rather take your life, Amaranth,” Ember remarked and shot a blast of fire.
“I can help you get what you want,” Auron said.
The Specters stopped orbiting and attacking him. They floated in the air, their cloaks billowing and they stared at Auron through their one-eyed masks.
“You can help us get what we want?” Ember asked.
“Don’t be a fool, Ember,” Jairo said. “He knows nothing.”
“If you help me then I will help you gain the Sapphire Cosmo Jewel,” Auron bargained.
“You must think we are naïve. What makes you think we can trust you?” Naunet said.
“Let me join you and the Golden Sun is yours,” Auron answered.
Rey Ling
Papers flew all over his room. Scrolls rolled on the floor, books and wooden models of his flying machine scattered throughout the room. He rummaged through his shelves and drawers from his desk. All the clothes that hung in his closet were tossed on the floor. He searched again and again through his drawers thinking that he could have missed something. He had read the journal that his father left him many times, searching for clues but he found nothing.
Rey Ling beat his head against the wall and pounded his desk searching for clues of his father’s hidden supply of omnithium steel. He bit his nails over the thought of the tri-eclipse getting closer and closer. He knew that his father did not want him to find it after his death. “Father, did you not trust me?” he said, hoping that his father would hear him. “You left the Golden Gear factory to me, yet you hid all of the omnithium. Why is that?”
The answer was obvious. Omnithium was very dangerous in the wrong hands. The Specters used it to destroy. Perhaps his father, Wan Ling Cho, was afraid that the wrong person would find the steel. The Ling Cho family had some enemies and rivals throughout the country. Perhaps his father was not hiding the steel from him but from someone else.
Rey Ling sat on the floor, his back against his desk. He picked up an old book titled, Earth’s Precious Treasures. It was the book he read to learn the many types of minerals and steels found in the earth. He then picked up a scroll that his father had written in. He did not find one clue about omnithium. “If grandfather had forged it then surely he must had written about it,” Rey Ling said. Sadly his grandfather never documented anything especially not about omnithium. His grandfather had artist paint pictures of his inventions but he never wrote a word about his work. Hui Ling Cho relied on his memory and was confident that his family and followers would carry on everything that he learned and invented.
Rey had piles of books aligned by the wall of his room. There were so many stacks of books that he barely had any space to walk in. All the books had been taken from his personal library. He thought his father could have left him some hidden messages like the ones he found in his father’s old bedroom that led him to build the flying machine he was currently working on.
After seeing how the Specters had captured Caim, Rey knew that he had to create new weapons for his friends. Weapons that would give them an edge in battle. He needed to forge weapons that could withstand the power of the cosmo jewels that the Specters used. What better weapon to create than the ones like their enemy used.
The Specters used omnithium staffs to control
the jewels. So if I can forge my own omnithium I have a better chance of breaking through their defense, he thought. Take away the cosmo jewels from them and they are as good as a common mage.
Someone knocked on the door and Rey answered, “I am busy at the moment.”
Despite his answer the person behind the door decided to enter.
“I said, I am busy at the moment,” Rey repeated.
“My apologies, sir, but I began to worry,” Yochan said. “You haven’t eaten in a whole day. That is very unusual of you. You never miss a meal, sir. Is there anything that I can help you with?”
“Yes, you can tell me where father is keeping all the omnithium,” Rey replied.
Yochan looked as if he was about to say something but then gulped down his words and stretched the collar of his black tunic. He scratched his bald shiny head, cleared his throat and took a long time before he answered, “I have never heard of this omnithium. What exactly is it?”
“You seem nervous,” Rey said and stood up, propping himself with the pile of books around him. “You look like you know something. Come on, out with it.”
“Out with what?” Yochan asked.
“What do you know about omnithium?” Rey said.
“I don’t even know what omnithium is,” Yochan replied. “Sounds like some legendary sword.”
“Damn it,” Rey cursed and sat on his desk pondering.
“Well, are you going to tell me what it is?” Yochan asked and sat on top of the pile of books by the door.
“It is a rare steel that grandfather once forged,” Rey answered. “I need to fight against the Specters. This is serious. For some reason father never wanted me to find out where he hid his last supply of omnithium. I know it is not in factory. Knowing father he would have dug it up somewhere where no one can find it.”
“And you said this will help you fight against the Specters,” Yochan added.
“Absolutely. I found out what their weapons are made of,” Rey said. “I figured, if I can make weapons just as powerful, then Akielas and the team will stand a chance.”
“I see,” Yochan said and mulled.
Someone knocked on the door again.
“Go away,” Rey answered.
The person behind the door still decided to enter the room despite his answer.
“Is everyone just ignoring my word today,” Rey complaint.
“What is going on here?” His sister asked with her hands on her waist. She was shorter than him and wore a black and green corset dress with a cleavage shaped like a heart. She had rose pins in her hair tied in a top notch. A pair of goggles hung from her neck like Rey and cooled herself with a paper fan. Her lips were red and her skin a soft pink. She was the coordinator of Rey’s projects and managed the workers in the factory. Although she was smart and reliable, like any sister, she would annoy him and make him feel like a loser because he had not yet married. “I was beginning to worry about you. You have been locked in here for a whole day. It is my job to make sure you don’t mess up.”
“Leave me alone, Sixiam, I am fine,” he told her and gestured for her to leave.
“Are you going to continue working on the flying machine or what?” She asked. “And why do you have all these books laying around?”
“I am searching for something,” he answered.
“For what?” Sixiam questioned.
“For clues about where father hid grandpa’s supply of omnithium,” he said.
Sixiam’s eyes swelled and her eyebrows twitched. He recognized that twitching every time she was lying except she did not speak this time.
“I know that look,” Rey said, pointing at her. He stood up and paced towards her, moving around the piles of books and scrolls. “You know something, don’t you.”
“About what?” she replied and raised her chin, fanning herself.
“Don’t play dumb with me. Father always left his deepest secrets with you,” Rey said and they stared at each other. “I bet you know where he hid the omnithium.”
“I don’t even know what that is,” she responded and her eyes twitched again.
“Twitchy, twitchy, little sister,” he said then smirked. “You might be good at lying but your twitching betrays you.”
Sixiam looked at Yochan and the bald man only shrugged nervously. “Don’t look at me. I didn’t tell him anything,” Yochan said.
“This is urgent, Sixiam. This is not time for brother and sister problems. Wherever that supply of omnithium is hidden, it will save thousands if not millions of people throughout the world. So if you know something you must tell me,” Rey said and clutched her arms. “Where is it?” he yelled and shook her.
“Fine, I will tell you, just let go of me,” she grumbled and shoved Rey away.
Sixiam stepped into the room and uncomfortably walked around the stacks of books as her wide dress knocked them over. She walked around Rey’s desk, pushed the chair away then looked at her brother.
“What are you going to use it for?” she asked him.
To forge me a new smoking pipe,” he answered sarcastically.
“Come on, Rey, be serious,” she said.
“I need it to make weapons,” he replied. “Remember those black monsters that attacked our factory? Well there are more of them and I am currently helping a certain group of mages fight those monsters. By forging swords of omnithium I will be able to destroy these monsters with ease and assure victory.”
Sixiam sighed and frowned. “Promise me that this is all that you will use it for. Promise me that no one else will get their hands on our steel.”
“My enemy is already using it. That is how I found out about it,” Rey Ling said. “That is the problem with us Xaianians. We think that we can keep everything to ourselves and leave the outer world in the dark. One day people are going to know. We can’t hide it forever.”
“But father said that omnithium is dangerous,” Sixiam replied, her voice shaking. “What it did to grandpa, Hui Ling, was scary. You weren’t there to see it that day, but I witnessed grandpa using omnithium when I was only five years old.”
“What happened to him?” Rey Ling asked softly. “I thought grandpa died in an accident.”
“That is what father wanted you to believe, but the truth is…”
“Sixiam, no! Don’t,” Yochan begged as he tried to quickly walk around stacks of books, knocking them over and making a bigger mess in the room.
“I think it is time to tell him, Yochan,” Sixiam said. A tear trickled down her cheek.
Rey Ling looked at both of them vilely. It infuriated him that they had kept the truth from him. Everything he knew about grandfather Hui Ling Cho’s death was a lie. “Tell me the truth,” he rasped. “I am the owner of the Golden Gear factory, and I have the right to know everything that happens in this company. How can my father dare to hide this from me?”
There was a long silence before Sixiam answered. She bit her lips and shed more tears then finally said, “Father killed granpa Hui Ling.”
A shock ran through Rey’s body. He hoped that his ears deceived him and perhaps he had misheard his sister. “Liar,” he whispered. “Tell me the truth.”
“I do not lie,” she said.
“Sir Rey Ling, your sister tells the truth,” Yochan added. “I have been serving your family for two decades. It is difficult to hear but I was there alongside your father when he had to take your grandfather’s life.”
“Had to?” Rey questioned. “What do you mean ‘he had to’?”
“Granpa was possessed,” Sixiam stated.
“By what?” Rey asked.
“The omnithium steel,” she whispered. “It has strange abilities. Granpa Hui Ling discovered that omnithium has this incredible power to absorb maju from objects and people. But apparently back then, that was not enough for him. He discovered that it can also absorb souls.”
“Well I knew that already,” Rey said. “But what did he do? Did grandpa turned evil or something, after discovering t
he power of the omnithium?”
“It’s not that he became evil, but rather something was controlling him,” Sixiam answered. “He used omnithium to absorb the soul that was within an old dragon statue of the Gemzeh dynasty. Little did he know that the statue contained the spirit of a dark dragon. Grandpa became a villain saying that he wanted to annihilate the entire Ling Cho family. Since father was trained in the mystic arts he knew that grandpa was possessed and the only way to stop him was to kill him.”
“The only way?” Rey Ling questioned, glaring at his sister.
“There was no one that knew how to free grandfather of his curse,” Sixiam explained. “Death was the only way. Father sealed the dark spirit inside the omnithium and hid it where no one could ever find it without his magic words.”
“This is the part where you tell me where he hid the omnithium,” Rey Ling said becoming impatient.
“I will take you but whatever happens once we find the omnithium, you are to blame,” Sixiam said.
“I always take the blame,” Rey replied. “As I have always done protecting you as your older brother. Father might have given you all the secrets but he gave me the entire company, because he knew you would never take responsibility.”
“He never told you any of this because he didn’t trust you with the same weapon that possessed our grandfather,” Sixiam rasped. “He knew that you were too selfish to listen to him that is why he told me everything.”
“Why you…” Rey Ling snarled wishing that he could throttle her.
“Stop it! Stop it right now you two!” Yochan shouted. “You are family! Your father is trusting you to keep this company alive. Don’t make any foolish decisions on your vengeful emotions.”
Blood of Mages (Rift of Chaos Book 3) Page 6
