Symmetry

by T M Caruana

  “She’s the most evil witch there is, who has carried out her plans with satisfaction, I presume, as she always does,” Hunter said between his teeth. “We don’t want to play any games Eutychia,” he warned.

  Her hair was tied up in a bun. Small square glasses rested on the tip of her nose; she wore a white blouse and a long grey tweed skirt with matching jacket. It all resembled the stereotypical look of a primary teacher and gave the indication that her role-playing amused her. Today, she would inform her students about their individual tasks. She was there to set their homework, which would have to be submitted in the near future otherwise there would be severe punishments. Sitting on the bench she stared across to the east and was apparently in no hurry to address the group. It didn’t seem important to her if the Order travelled through the portal or not.

  “I’m not playing any games Hunter,” she said lightly. “I have nothing against you leaving, however I feel it isn’t in anyone’s best interest that Susy be removed from Teli,” she argued. “She belongs at the institute where Isaac and Ben can keep her safe and well.”

  She turned to face me. “You have been very naughty Susy. Your father is on his way to take you back home.”

  This pricked my conscience, making me recall the last memory I had of father screaming my name to come back.

  “Let us all go Eutychia, you know the importance of getting Susy back home,” Hunter emphasised and I had to wonder how powerful this woman was to defy all six of the Order.

  “Teli’s actually a very beautiful place, shame that its downfall is inevitable,” she stated dispassionately before her grey heels clicked against the pavement, and she slowly stood. “What a professional leadership you are conducting. Most admirable of it all is that everyone will follow you blindly, whilst you lead them into a world where some will suffer a long and painful death,” she provoked, seeming to want to get a reaction from the others.

  She smiled when she saw Hunter’s hateful gaze.

  “What is it she knows that we’ve missed Hunter?” Kora asked, doubtfully.

  Kora must have used her power to interpret Hunter’s feelings and detect a certain betrayal. She seemed confused. I could sense it too. We both could a sinner’s guilt, but also a heroic determination.

  “Oh, so good old Hunter has secrets that he hasn’t told you? Let me see if I can help you clarify the situation,” she spoke up. “Tarus, clearly my kind of man, shame that we are so different,” she flirted whilst Tarus turned his head away in disgust and snorted at her absurd suggestion. “The ice-covered world would have the fire in your veins congeal, inflicting a pain which would resemble that of a million needles probing deep into an infected wound. Your dragon cry would feed the fear in everyone’s hallucinations, which would probably kill the rest of you,” she continued, trying to win over Tarus’s sympathy by pointing out his powerful strength. “But if you could survive that and the usually foolish hallucinations, there are always Kora’s feelings. They would be transferred to you against her will. You can only hope that she doesn’t have any dark secrets to hide.”

  Her eyes had moved over to Kora, who nodded. Her overwhelming superiority silenced Kora’s pride. Samuel, however, remained quietly in the background so as not to be caught in the crossfire.

  “Last, but not least, my dear Leo, a man of my own world. It would be treason if I let you go through the portal. In a world containing only ice and snow, there is no way you would be reunited with your handsome long legs again. However, your noble blue fin would certainly impress. Your beauty must have come from good genes.”

  She scrutinised Leo’s figure seriously.

  “However, if you are lucky to survive Sabi, you will be able to continue to Pixi. But yet again, you will need Hunter to get past the gatekeeper that protects Pixi’s inhabitants from strangers. So I guess you all have to forgive his deceitful actions, if you don’t want to wait at least three more months on Teli, before the first of the members can get through one of the portals,” she said smugly.

  “Three months?” I asked in surprise, as I was keen to go tonight.

  “Yes, that’s correct Susy. The order in which the portals open reflects on your skin under the moonlight. It would have shown a distinct indigo colour for this occasion, which represents the portal to Sabi. Next month, it will be violet, which represents Pixi. After this it will be red, which is a dead portal as it heads back to Teli. Only after that point would it show orange, leading to Angi. This would allow Kora to go home. The rest of you could accompany her, but not without your powers being affected. Leo wouldn’t be able to use his magic, Michael wouldn’t be able to heal and Tarus would have difficulty controlling his fireballs and his ability to fly as a dragon would be rendered useless because of the weak gravity. I suppose no one would be in direct danger, but the question is: would it take too long before Susy’s powers were restored?” she said indifferently.

  “Susy must return to one of the other worlds tonight, otherwise it may be too late. You have to trust me, Leo. Keep us safe from Eutychia’s spells until we reach the portal,” Hunter ordered without having time to try to persuade the others.

  It was Leo’s magic he needed and the others wouldn’t want to stay here with Eutychia. He held on tight to the orange stone in one hand and my hand in the other. He put into use his supernatural speed towards the rays of light, but was interrupted when we heard a powerful gun shot. Michael’s painful squeal stopped him in his tracks. When he regained his focus to turn around and continue, it was too late – the lights were gone.

  “No!” Hunter roared.

  The portal was closed, it was too late, and he had failed in his mission. I felt his disappointment and saw tears in his eyes, but he didn’t let them fall. He ran both hands through his hair and sighed deeply. His legs were rigid, but he didn’t move.

  Michael’s wounded shoulder made him remain on the ground whilst he began healing himself.

  “Michael? How are you holding up?” Samuel asked his friend with concern. “You are lucky your body is composed of liquid metals and that your energy keeps it together, preventing your insides from pulsing out of your veins. Such a deep wound would kill any ordinary man, but probably only take you three days to sort out.”

  He spoke encouragingly, trying to keep Michael awake to concentrate on the healing process.

  The two men that had appeared approached from the parking area. One of them was the gunman who had fired the shot at Michael.

  “Dad…Daddy!”

  The shock of seeing him took my breath away and I tore myself from Hunter’s grip to run up to him.

  I had been missing a familiar face and had had enough of the adventures I had gone through in the last forty-eight hours. Halfway there, Tarus determinedly blocked my path, embracing me, and forcing my body close to his.

  “You have to let go of him, he’s not your father and he is evil. Please listen to me, don’t leave me again…I love you,” he whispered into my ear with the sincerest tone I had ever heard him use.

  He had his cheek placed on mine so I wasn’t able to see his expression but I could feel he was afraid that his wouldn’t be reciprocated. Hunter would be furious if he found out the truth of Tarus’s feelings toward me, and even more furious that I returned his passion. However, I got the impression that my fate wasn’t to be with him. We weren’t meant for each other and I sensed that I had other more important tasks to perform in life. But now, his declaration of love was probably the only thing that succeeded in making me reconsider the reunion with my father.

  “Susy, Susy, you’re alive!” I heard my father call out dramatically, as he got closer.

  But I wasn’t listening to him. Time had stopped. No one moved. Leo, who was the most protective of the group and not as emotional, saw everyone’s paralysis and took over the leadership.

  “Tarus, fly Michael and Samuel to Michael’s hideout. Hunter you take Susy. Kora, you know how to find the hiding place?”

  He directed everyone
quickly and firmly. Kora just nodded and started half running, half floating through the air down the side of the rock.

  “Never will I take Michael, he must fend for himself, I must ensure that Susy is safe,” objected Tarus.

  “Don’t refuse Tarus!” Leo shouted. “You must take him, if not he will die. I can’t take him under water and Samuel needs to come with you to make you invisible. I don’t think the people on Teli would appreciate seeing a dragon flying around. Kora has already gone and wouldn’t have the strength to carry him and Hunter…well, I don’t think he will let you take Susy. That he will do himself,” Leo concluded without lingering to make more attempts to persuade him.

  Tarus looked unwillingly at Michael who still remained on the ground. He came over to Hunter and I, who were crouched over Michael trying to help him up and sighed angrily. I could see his body begin a frightening transformation. His dragon shape was unbelievably surreal; the skin was black and tight like a lizard’s. His size wasn’t monstrous, but only slightly larger than his human form. The shape shifting made me shiver with fear. This fearsome dragon was more muscular than Tarus’s human form and looked like it could inflict some major damage. Like the passing of a spring breeze though, my fear vanished when I looked into his emerald eyes. I knew them so well. They were the same eyes, only sadder. Whatever I could interpret of his changing mood, there was one thing I was sure of: he would never hurt me.

  The black dragon feet had long sharp claws. With his right foot he reluctantly took a grip of Michael’s arm and forcefully gripped Samuel’s with his left to begin their escape. Samuel’s face was already dripping with sweat from Tarus’s heat before they even left the ground. Hunter watched them as they disappeared into invisibility and didn’t notice that I had begun to hover closer to the witch. As he turned to see me in the air he gave a loud scream for help.

  “No! Leo!”

  I tried unsuccessfully to fight the witch’s magic, and could feel myself starting to black out as I floated through the air towards Isaac and Ben. I heard Hunter’s cry for Leo’s help and a piercing high-pitched dragon scream. Tarus must have seen what was happening because his scream was heartfelt. My body remained at a constant speed I was unable to control it. I felt desperate and highly reluctant to be in their care again. The pain from Tarus’s anger came again, loud enough to be heard across the Atlantic. In a blur I could see Leo waving his hands until the rain began to fall unexpectedly from the sky as Eutychia sneered at his attempts to distract her.

  “Do you really think a little rain will hurt me,” she laughed evilly.

  “No, not rain, but the lion’s tears,” he responded forcefully.

  Eutychia knew just which lion Leo was talking about and gave a furious scream at the same time as I fell from the sky into Leo’s arms.

  “No! How did you get hold of the tears, and how did you know the spell?” she demanded, knowing that she wouldn’t get a response. “Ah, my hands ache and the tears will paralyse my magic for an hour. It will be useless!” she cried and I realised how vulnerable she was now that Leo had rendered her spells useless. “Isaac, Ben, do something! Take Susy!” she shouted.

  I could hear her voice echoing against the rock wall. But it was too late; it had only taken seconds before Leo had travelled in the teardrops to the depths of the Atlantic.

  Hunter had already gripped my body in readiness to disappear at the speed of light. I could only assume we were all on our way to the safe house. As Hunter was running with me in his arms, I could feel his chest heaving from what must be his heartbroken disappointment over tonight’s course of events. I wondered who would trust him after his betrayal despite any attempts to try to explain his reasons. With all the proud characters of the Order, I could never imagine that he would be forgiven. One thing he had to his advantage however was the Chameleon who held all the necessary information for our mission. My last thought, as I drifted exhaustedly into unconsciousness, was that the most important thing for us was to focus on finding the next place that would reveal the two stars and a portal.

  10

  KNOWLEDGE SHALL BE INCREASED

  Weapons of mass destruction. They would use Susy’s powers to create weapons.”

  I could hear Tarus interrupt Samuel and Kora’s discussions outside the room, where I had been placed on a king size bed next to Michael. They all fell silent. Where was I? We must have got to Michael’s apartment in Malaga. I sat up slowly, still feeling dizzy. Had everyone made it here unharmed? A low contentious murmur could be heard from the other room as the members of the Order were arguing amongst themselves again. I stood up to peek round the door. The apartment was small from what I could see. One bedroom, a tiny kitchen and an open plan living room. The cramped space was evidently making them even more antagonistic. Tarus was quietly reading the notebook.

  “What do you have there?” Hunter asked impatiently.

  “It’s Isaac Newton’s notebook. I have scanned through it and it gives every explanation that Isaac has documented, all his theories and cruel ideas. It shows all his calculations and plans, which he composed during the four hundred years living amongst us before the kidnapping. It would take a long time to read it all,” he muttered with his eyes still riveted on the book. “He has tried to use her blood, extracting her powers to create the next nuclear bomb strong enough to destroy several countries at a time,” he said slowly as he continued to read.

  He walked up to the table and laid the book open in the middle so that everyone could take in both the text and images. Only Samuel was absent as he stood by the window, breathing in the cool air. He always seemed to be very uncomfortable in Tarus’s presence. Fire and ice can’t be combined he still seemed dull after the trip with him. I watched them all quietly from the doorway as they. I was intrigued as to what information would be revealed and if they knew I was there, maybe they wouldn’t be so open.

  “The pictures in the notebook reveal, step by step, how Isaac has tried several times and failed in his calculations. Susy was treated as a lab rat – they needed her alive only to find a weapon to kill everyone with. It was no coincidence that he was working in Switzerland on the Institute of the Large Hadron Collider. He had used the machine to try to collide Susy’s blood cells to release an energy that would last an eternity. If he had succeeded, and it looked like he was close, he would have created an invincible power source and an eternity bomb. It would be worth a fortune!” Hunter explained as he followed the information in the notebook.

  “It was probably the price of cooperation with Eutychia. Eutychia wanted her locked up so she would know of her whereabouts. In this way she was able to use the formula for the transport of symmetry energy and Isaac could attempt to create and sell weapons to become rich,” Samuel murmured from his position next to the window.

  “The notes explain everything. See here, these are all his calculations and theories on how gravity affects Teli because of the moon. He must have impressed Susy at a meeting here on Teli, so she took him to Pixi. And look here.”

  Tarus eagerly turned to a page further back in the book. “This is the original page where the pieces of the map have been torn off from, leaving the next three triangles of the pentagram intact, which mention Angi, Bomi and Sabi. It also has Hamlet’s poem scribbled down next to a prophecy in the bottom corner.”

  He continued to refer to the information with a furious expression on his face. My poor Tarus, I could really tell he was in pain reading about my planned fate.

  “I recognise that poem, it’s the forbidden spell which would allow the witch to transport symmetry energy. Why would she want to do that? What is her plan? Samuel did you know about this?” Leo asked suspiciously.

  “What? No, I don’t know anything, but I assume she wants to rule over everything,” Samuel stammered.

  I saw Kora tilting her head to the side looking at him doubtfully, and even I felt like he was hiding something.

  Hunter studied the poem and its content as he read it:
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  Time’s glory is to calm contending kings,

  To unmask falsehood and bring truth to light, - Angi

  To stamp the seal of time in aged things,

  To wake the morn and sentinel the night, - Bomi

  To wrong the wronger to he render right;

  To ruinate proud buildings with thy hours,

  And smear with dust their glittering golden towers;- Pixi

  To fill with worm-holes stately monuments,

  To feed oblivion with decay of things,

  To blot old books and alter their contents,

  To pluck the quills from ancient ravens’ wings, - Sabi

  To dry the old oak’s sap and cherish springs, - Vati

  To spoil antiquities of hammer’d steel, - Medi

  And turn the giddy round of Fortune’s wheel;- Teli

  To show the beldam daughters of her daughter,

  To make the child a man, the man a child,

  To slay the tiger That doth live by slaughter,

  To tame the unicorn and lion wild,

  To mock the subtle in themeselves beguiled,

  To cheer the plowman with increaseful crops,

  And waste huge stones with little water drops.

  Unlike the original poem it has the worlds’ names written down after the sentences. It’s as if he has tried to uncover the codes within the text. Some words are in bold and struck off as completed,” Hunter spoke as he analysed.

  “Yes you are right,” Leo sighed. “I’m worried that it may be one of the seven forbidden spells from ancient Atlantis, which has been kept hidden for centuries. Not even Eutychia knows the formula,” he said.

  I could hear the fear in his voice – it seemed that he was afraid to face a past, afraid of information he knew.

  “Out with it - what does the spell do?” Hunter growled impatiently whilst he stood up to go to the window next to Samuel.

  He always seemed to wander to and fro when he was nervous and he looked nervous now about what he was about to hear. What were all these forbidden spells? And did Leo know all seven? If they were forbidden, they must be banned because they had serious consequences. This must be why the others are so surprised to hear about them now. Before Leo could explain, he saw me watching them from the doorway. I felt caught out and immediately went on the defensive.