by John Corwin
"There was some discussion about locking us up," Shakespeare said, "but Purah insisted they go immediately. They boarded one of their magic clouds and flew away into the storm that is always on the horizon."
"Is the observatory the fishbowl room way up in the sky?" I asked.
Mara nodded. "Yes."
"So they just flew away into the storm on nothing but a cloudlet?" Adam asked.
"I overheard them speaking of the storm a few times," Shakespeare said. "They constantly talked of exploring different nodes, whatever that means."
Adam's eyes bugged.
"What is it?" Elyssa said.
Shelton clapped him on the back. "Spit out what you're thinking."
"The Fallen don't use an arch." Adam whistled. "Remember when I said the entire maelstrom is one huge malfunctioning portal?"
"Holy monkey balls." Shelton grinned from ear to ear. "You mean the nodes might be like portals?"
"Yes, but there's one huge problem," Adam said. "We'd have to know exactly which node leads to Eden and figure out how to get back."
"The maelstrom is massive," I said. "How are we supposed to find a node or even know what one looks like?"
"Why do you call them the Fallen?" Shakespeare asked.
Adam ignored the question. "Did the gods have any diaries or books detailing their adventures?"
"They had a magic gem," Mara said. "I once saw them looking at images of pure light coming from inside it."
"I saw it too," Shakespeare said. "I believe they had maps on it, and I once saw them marking the great storm with red dots."
"As did I," said another of the servants.
Several more chimed in agreement.
"I'll bet they take it with them on their trips," Adam said. "Unless they kept a backup here, we're out of luck."
Luckily, we had a ready-made workforce on our hands. "I'm going to tell you a few things about the world that may seem crazy, but I think it's important you're caught up on events." I gave the servants a moment to process what I'd said and then launched into more story-telling, including the origins of the Fallen. I was getting really tired of repeating myself, but there wasn't much to do but spit it out again.
Shakespeare practically salivated at all the raw material I handed him, and kept begging for something to write with.
After I caught them up on the Apocryphan War, the two Seraphim wars, and our predicament here in Seraphina, I gave them a choice.
"I don't know what happened to the Fallen." Adding a shrug to emphasize the point, I continued. "They are long-lived but they can die. It's possible they met something in another realm that killed them, or maybe they accidentally went into the Void."
Mara shuddered. "The Beast sounds absolutely horrific."
"It is," I assured her. "Now, if any of you ever want to return to Eden, we need to find the key to getting home."
"You want us to search this place for the gem," Shakespeare said. "In exchange you'll take us back."
"But Constantinople is Istanbul," Mara exclaimed. "Whatever life I had in Constantinople is now in Istanbul."
Shelton giggled.
Elyssa gave him a dirty look, squeezed Mara's shoulder sympathetically. "Fitting back in with the noms would be hard, but there's plenty to enjoy in the Overworld."
"It sounds fascinating," Shakespeare said. "I will turn this place upside down if it means escaping the drudgery of this god-forsaken palace."
Shelton snorted. "Pun intended?"
Shakespeare rolled his eyes.
Sitting alone in the corner of the room, Hippias finally spoke again. "I cannot believe the gods may be dead, and that there is an entire realm of them beyond the great storm in Seraphina."
"What we need now is for Atlantis and Heval to work together to solve the mystery of the maelstrom," Adam said. "I have a feeling that there's huge significance to this place."
"It's a fragment of the original Earth," Elyssa said. "Maybe the explosion of the Grand Nexus couldn't affect it, so it somehow created the maelstrom portal around it."
Adam pursed his lips and nodded. "I think you're right. The original geographical location of Atlantis and Olympus put it somewhere near Spain—"
"I thought it was near Greece," Shelton said.
"The theories vary wildly," Adam said, apparently used to Shelton's interruptions, "but from what Narine said, it sounds as though it might have been somewhere near the coast of Spain and possibly Morocco, which puts it in the vicinity of an Alabaster Arch. The same thing that kept the Apocryphan from seeing this chunk of land must also be what caused it to remain whole while everything else was torn into different realms."
"Whatever the case, I think we just found our way home." I couldn't keep from grinning at the prospect of returning to Eden, making sure Ivy was okay, and kicking Victus's ass. Then we could return rested and in full force to do what needed doing in Seraphina.
"Verily canst thou rely on us," Shakespeare said.
Shelton groaned.
"Let's get back to Atlantis," I told the others. "I want to tell the Sirens what we found."
We headed back toward the levitator shaft leading to Heval, Hippias shuffling along sadly behind us. His entire world had been shattered in the space of a few hours, and I wasn't sure if he'd be able to hold up beneath the burden.
My gem crackled with static several times as we walked. I tried contacting the Falcheen, but couldn't get a response. When we stepped into the throne room, the gem finally burst to life with chatter.
"Justin, are you there?" It was Illaena.
"I'm here, what's up?"
"We traveled along the storm wall and discovered something very alarming." Anger filled her voice. "I think you will want to see it for yourself."
Judging from her tone, whatever she'd seen wasn't good for our immediate future.
Chapter 27
"We're on our way back down," I said.
"I take it you're atop the mountain?" she asked.
"I'll tell you all about it." I gave the others a worried look and then charged the gem to the levitator.
We dropped at an alarming rate, but Hippias looked too preoccupied to care. When we reached the bottom, he grabbed my arm. "Are there no gods, Justin? Do our souls perish when we die?"
I felt awful for the poor guy, but I didn't want to lie to him. "I honestly don't know, Hippias. With all the magic and wonders in the world, it wouldn't surprise me if there is an afterlife."
He wiped away tears. "I pray my forefathers were not lost to oblivion."
Having come close to being eaten by oblivion incarnate as the Beast, I could totally agree. "If you help us, we can answer the mysteries of the universe together."
Hippias managed a smile. "I would like that very much."
Elyssa squeezed his hand, and Shelton patted him on the back.
"Stick with us and you'll be okay," Shelton reassured him.
I wasn't entirely sure that was true.
The crowds made way as my party raced back to the waiting Falcheen where a grim-faced Illaena waited on deck. She turned to Tahlee, and the first mate shouted the order to get underway before the gangway had even vanished.
"What did you find?" I asked.
Illaena's jaw tightened and her body trembled with rage. "The Brightlings have outdone themselves this time."
My senses went on red alert. "What happened? Did you get a communication from outside?"
"No." She leaned on the railing and gripped it tightly. "We spotted the Xanda entering this realm, but it is not controlled by Mzodi."
My heart went cold. "Brightlings control an Mzodi ship?"
"Cursed land dwellers," she hissed. "They were just inside the storm and appeared to be waiting on something."
"Did they see you?" I asked.
She shook her head. "We were flying much higher, and they did not look up."
After several tense moments, Illaena ordered the Falcheen to a stop and looked over the railing. She handed me a scope wi
th gems in the ends and I peered through it.
Far below, a ship twice the size of the Falcheen hovered a few hundred yards from the maelstrom. The shimmering silver hull of the Xanda bore the outline of a hawk, wings tight against its body. Weaponized gems studded the hull, and it had double the aether foils to keep the ship aloft. Soldiers in shiny white armor manned the foils and the weapons, and an entire platoon stood in neat rows along the center of the wide deck.
A blond woman stood near the helm and I realized it had to be Kaelissa.
I noticed something odd about a section of the maelstrom directly aft of the Xanda and zoomed the scope in further. It was as if someone had sliced a neat hole through the roiling gray clouds. "Oh god," I breathed. "There's a tunnel through the maelstrom."
Adam stepped close to me. "Can I look?"
I handed him the scope and met the shocked looks from Elyssa and Shelton.
Several minutes later, Adam grunted. "That's crazy!"
"What is?" Shelton snatched the scope and looked through it. "Holy jumping frijoles. They've got some kind of gem rigged to make a passage through the maelstrom."
Adam shook his head. "Not just a gem." He took out his arcphone and scrolled through dozens of images until he found a picture of a small obsidian orb laced with intricate white patterns.
It wasn't a fancy striped gumball we were looking at, but a Chalon—the master key to opening portals in Alabaster Arches from one realm to another. I stared at the image. "They have a Chalon?"
Adam nodded grimly. "They mounted a large gem on the front of the ship and put the Chalon in front of it." He rubbed his chin. "I don't understand how it works, but channeling through the gem and into the Chalon seems to have created a safe tunnel through the aether storm."
"If Voltis is one big cluster of portals, it makes perfect sense." Shelton sketched something on the screen of his arcphone and then projected a rough drawing of a gem focusing magic through the small orb. "The Chalon usually has to be musically attuned to a specific realm or else it won't work with an Alabaster Arch."
Adam nodded. "Right, but how does that create a tunnel through the maelstrom?"
"It's not a tunnel," Shelton said. "It's a single portal. The Chalon can single out the magical frequency needed to open a portal to a specific realm."
"Like when my mom had to sing to the Chalon to open a portal to Seraphina?" I asked.
Shelton nodded. "Exactly. Except in this case, they're not aiming to open a specific portal, but to separate all the frequencies."
Adam's eyes widened. "Of course! The storm is like white noise caused by too much interference. They're running the interference through a filter and cleaning it."
"Yep, they just created a portal from the outside of Voltis directly to the inside." Shelton blew out a breath. "That ship is probably only the beginning."
Illaena's face glowed crimson with anger. "I will not tolerate the theft of an Mzodi ship. We must attack."
I shook my head. "There must be a hundred soldiers on the Xanda. We can't possibly fight them."
"We sure as hell can't let them bring through more soldiers," Shelton said. "Maybe we can cripple their portal."
Adam snapped his fingers. "Damage the gem."
Illaena made a fist. "We attack the gem and retreat."
"The Xanda is too large outrun or outmaneuver us," Tahlee said. "We should stand and fight."
"Yeah, but they've got about ten times the firepower." Adam shook his head. "We need to play this smart."
"Land dwellers cannot hope to defeat Mzodi in their native element," Illaena said. "We will strike and dart away."
"Um—" Adam waved a hand. "I have a better idea. Since the land dwellers don't see us up here, why don't we simply bomb them?"
Laughter boomed from Shelton. "They'll never see what hit 'em!"
"Bomb them?" Illaena looked at the two men. "We have no such weapons."
"Then thank your lucky stars you've got us around." Shelton tapped a finger on his lips and squinted. "Maybe we could rig some gems to explode like we did with the depth charge ones."
Adam looked at Illaena. "Do you have any gems suitable for something like that?"
The captain turned to Tahlee. "Fetch Eor."
Tahlee promptly shouted the command at another nearby soldier who hustled away and returned moments later herding an annoyed Eor in front of him. The gem sorter's rumpled uniform looked as if he'd slept in it, though his red eyes and mussed hair suggested he'd partied all night. "What do you want now? I am very busy cataloguing gems!"
Illaena simply handed him the scope and pointed down.
Eor frowned but looked over the railing. His face turned bright red and his hands shook with rage. "How dare they! Those land dwelling scum have gone too far this time."
Shelton chuckled softy. "That sure got him in the mood."
"We need to make gems that will explode on impact," I said. "Do you have any that will work like that?"
Eor handed the scope to Tahlee and shook his head. "Gems can be charmed to emit pulses of magical energy, but they will not simply explode."
"There must be a way," Adam said. "Maybe we could use Arcane enchantments on one."
"Need I remind you that aetherium is extremely stable?" Eor said in a lecturing tone. "It would be like making a normal rock explode."
"We need gems that work like the depth charges we used," Shelton said.
"Those aethids are highly specific," Eor said. "There's simply—" He trailed off, eyes lost in the distance.
"I think his brain just got run over by a train of thought," Adam said.
Shelton grunted. "Let's hope he didn't have a stroke."
Eor snapped his fingers, proving he most likely hadn't suffered brain damage, and focused back on the group. "I believe I have the answer!" His eyes flashed wide and he hurried off toward the down ramp without another word.
The rest of us jogged along behind him, eager eyes and hopeful hearts praying he knew what to do.
Eor reached a wall and charmed the gem to open the doorway. We crowded inside and found huge piles of rainbow-colored dust.
"What the hell is this?" Shelton said. "Looks like someone emptied out a thousand pixie sticks on the floor."
"Or a unicorn farted." Adam knelt and rubbed the dust between his fingers. "Feels like fine sand."
"This is the dust that results from cutting and polishing gems," Eor said. "We usually dispose of it, but perhaps it can be put to better use."
Shelton picked up a handful and let it drain from his fist. "What are we supposed to do? Throw it in their eyes?"
Eor stuck his nose in the air. "Ignorant as always." He put about a teaspoon of dust in his palm, led us out into the hallway and down several doors to an empty room where he placed the dust on the floor. "Would someone be so kind as to strike the powder first with Brilliance and then with Murk?"
I wasn't sure what to expect so I backed away from the dust and zapped it with Brilliance. A puff of powder rose in the air, but otherwise nothing happened. As instructed, I followed up with a burst of Murk. Once again, the dust poofed as if someone had sneezed into it, but whatever Eor had expected to happen, didn't happen.
"Amazing," Shelton said. "What was that about ignorance?"
Eor ignored him. "This time, I would like you to strike the powder with Murk and Brilliance at the same time."
"You want me to hit it with Stasis?" I asked, since blending the two elements created the third.
He regarded me as a teacher might look at a particularly dense student. "No. Separate charges of Murk and Brilliance, but at the same time."
My face flushed with heat and it took some effort not to zap Eor in the face. I extended my middle fingers in a sign Eor probably didn't recognize, then channeled a bolt of creation from one finger and destruction from the other at the target. With a loud whoosh, the dust combusted in a flurry of rainbow sparks and gray smoke.
"Jumping Jesus on a pogo stick!" Shelton said. "Now that
was a unicorn fart!"
His analogy probably wasn't far off, provided unicorns really did poop rainbows.
"Ah, it requires positive and negative polarities to ignite." Adam inspected the charred spot on the floor, using his arcphone to scan it. "What we have here, folks, is akin to magical gunpowder. We could fill a vessel with the stuff and set a charm to detonate it."
"What if there are Mzodi prisoners onboard?" I asked. "We don't want to harm them."
"The Murk hull will protect anyone below deck," Eor said.
Adam stood and turned to Eor. "What can we use for a casing?"
"It needs to be tight for maximum explosion," Shelton said.
"Perhaps food storage containers would work," Illaena said. "We have dozens of empty ones in the cargo hold."
"It will take at least ten minutes to properly charm a gem to detonate the powder," Eor said.
Adam nodded. "Let's get to it then."
A worried looking soldier appeared in the doorway. "Captain, there are more vessels entering our airspace."
Illaena pounded a fist on the wall. "Zhuka!" She hurried from the room.
"Get to work on the bombs," I said. "I'm gonna see what we're up against."
Elyssa and I raced up to the deck and joined Illaena and Tahlee at the railing. What I saw made my heart freeze. Two slightly smaller Mzodi ships also crewed by Brightlings hovered near the Xanda.
"They took the Akata and the Ptarn," Illaena said. "How is this possible?"
"Trickery," Tahlee hissed. "Just as they held our gem sorters hostage, so they must have done to the other ships."
"They could have had them for months," Illaena said. "During my last conversation with Xalara, she mentioned several ships that had not contacted the Uorion in some time."
I peered at the other ships with the scope. The Akata and Ptarn looked nearly identical, their sleek black hulls shining in the sunlight, a sharp contrast to the silvery Xanda. Like most Mzodi ships, each prow resembled the head and beak of a bird. The sharp-tipped wings curved forward, filigreed with silver to make the ship look scaled like a dragon instead of feathered.
