by Elon Vidal
Was Ezekiel monitoring me the entire time? Dawn pondered but guessed that it wouldn’t be too far of a stretch with Ezekiel’s rank and powers.
“If you heard everything I said earlier, Ezekiel, then you’ve pretty much gotten the gist of it,” Dawn admitted.
“Is here anything else I should know about?”
She realized that Ezekiel was asking her because he likely sensed that she wasn’t telling everything that happened in her dream.
“Oh, and I’m sure you’ve already guessed, but Hades was there too.”
“I had a hunch.”
“It was horrible, Ezekiel,” Dawn continued. “The siren kept telling me to seek the great ocean’s treasure and secure the Hidden Gate to the West before Hades interfered and banished her. He told me that Fisher was in the underworld and was waiting for me.”
Ezekiel nodded as he toyed with his beard, “Troubling times indeed.”
“Ezekiel, is it really my fate to open this gate too? And to vanquish Hades for the rest of eternity? I thought everything had been settled after the first gate!”
Ezekiel looked over Dawn, far into the infinite white distance.
Dawn looked around as well as her master pondered in silence, “Where are we anyway?”
“This is a hole in the fabric of reality,” Ezekiel explained. “More specifically, the space between consciousness and the mind inside your head. In here, time has no meaning, nor does space. By the looks of your reaction, you’ve already seen this place.”
Dawn nodded, “I did. In the dream. But the dream was different because there was only seawater beneath us.”
“The siren would have certainly wanted to contact you in this plane. This area is safe from prying eyes and ears.”
“But I saw Hades’ eyes at the end of my dream, Ezekiel!”
“That you did. His powers grow with each passing day,” Ezekiel grumbled. He then turned to Dawn. “I’m afraid that the answers you seek lay with the Djinn. You must make haste to their library and find out everything that you can. I shall also try to find out as much information as I can with the Council. Bring Damon with you too. You will need protection.”
Dawn nodded happily with renewed hope in her heart. “Okay, Ezekiel. You can count on me.”
Ezekiel looked down on the blades hanging by Dawn’s side, “I have no doubt you shall, Chosen of the Flowing Light. Good luck.”
Ezekiel snapped his finger, and Dawn found herself back at the training grounds, with Elijah helping Damon up. Ezekiel was nowhere in sight.
“Finally, she snapped out of it,” Elijah commented as he assisted Damon, who was limping on his right foot. “I’m taking Damon to the infirmary; normal healing spells aren’t going to work on this.”
Dawn deduced that Damon must have sprained it, trying to dodge and block all of her furious blows of her cursed Sai blades.
Damon grunted as he stood up. His eyes wandered down on the Sai blades hanging by Dawn’s belt before he looked back at her.
“What did Ezekiel say, Dawn?”
Dawn grabbed Damon’s sword from the ground and helped Elijah carry Damon to the changing room.
“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you all about it on the way to the Djinn’s library if you’re still interested in tagging along with us?”
Dawn was scared he’d hesitate after the beating he took. She not only commanded an unknown magic. She was also strong enough to best even a hard-earned fighter like Damon.
A drop of sweat rolling down Damon’s temple. His smile dispelled her fears.
“It’s not as if I can go against an Enlightened’s wishes. Just promise me that you won’t stab me the next time you get upset, okay?”
Dawn laughed nervously. Her heart was still scared of the darkness the Sai blades brought out the in her.
“That depends on whether or not you’re going to be a jerk, Damon. Because if you were, Ezekiel personally told me that he’d feed you one of his specialties.”
“Oh, not the bat droppings again,” Damon grumbled.
The three friends laughed out loud. Dawn felt guilt in her heart knowing that she was dragging them into another life-threatening journey as they made their way to the Djinn’s library.
FOUR
“You know, there’s a reason why people rarely see a Djinn in their entire lives, and here we are seeing them for the second time in a few weeks.” Elijah seemed a bit hesitant as they lined up in front of the portal.
“It’s not like they’re going to hurt us, Elijah. After all, they prioritize their duty as the keepers of knowledge,” Dawn said, looking at Elijah out of the corner of her eye.
“Knowledge, sure, but we’re faced up against something far more dangerous this time.”
“Well,” intervened Damon, elongating his emphasis as if he hesitated to share what he knew. “We can’t forget that Djinn have ancient ties with lower-tiered demonic entities.”
“Say what?” Dawn and Elijah reacted in unison.
“I mean, they’re neither good nor bad. Some are very helpful, like the ones we’re visiting, but others, well, let’s just say they’re fallen angels.”
“I can see why they’d be helpful with Hades,” Dawn said.
“Yeah, let’s just hope they don’t switch alliances,” Elijah replied as the portal opened. “Hades is here, and I don’t even know if the Djinn even know how to fight against him.”
Time wasn’t on their side. She hoped they’d cooperate now that Ezekiel had sent her on this mission.
Damon walked up behind him and put his hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Elijah. Big Brother Damon here is going to make sure that big bad Hades isn’t going to gobble you up.”
Dawn laughed as Elijah shook Damon’s hand away.
“You’re feeling pretty cocky, especially after you just got beat by a girl,” Elijah snapped back at him.
“Coming from someone who’s probably lost to her more times than I have, that’s not a good comeback.”
Dawn stepped in between them, trying her hardest not to laugh, “All right, you two. As the butt-whooper of warlocks, I order the both of you to break it up already. Damon, is your leg feeling better already?”
Damon nodded quietly.
“Good. Guys, we don’t know when or where Hades is going to rear his ugly head. We need to stick together no matter what, okay?”
“Damon started it!” Elijah complained.
“And I’m ending it, Elijah. Look, I know you’re worried. But Damon and I will always have your back. Okay?”
Elijah nodded.
Damon approached Elijah with an open hand, “She’s right, Elijah. We’re First Guards; we can’t be fighting amongst ourselves. Sorry about teasing you.”
Elijah stared at Damon’s hand for a bit but eventually shook it, “Apology accepted. I’m just worried about us. Hades could be everywhere by now.”
Dawn felt a chill run up her spine after Elijah had mentioned the Lord of Darkness. She tried to brush it off and preferred to see Elijah and Damon stop fussing around.
They all lined up and stepped into the portal. On the other side of it was the storefront of the unremarkable second-hand bookshop. Dark clouds covered the sun and not many people walked around the streets. It crossed Dawn’s mind that one of them could perhaps be possessed by Hades and watched over them. She shook the fear off and walked up the small stairs.
The three of them stepped into the unassuming shop that masked the library of the Djinn.
The soured face woman sitting at the desk peering down at them. “You again?”
Dawn knew better than to underestimate a witch. She especially knew to always be on their good side.
“Yep, we just can’t get enough of that sweet Djinn knowledge,” Dawn joked.
“Passes, please.” The witch held out her hand, and Damon conjured the intricately engraved passes on it.
The witch took out her glasses, scanned the passes, and simply opened the door without uttering another word.
Dawn, Elijah, and Damon walked behind the counter and entered the door marked as “Staff Only” before being transported into the marvelous library of the Djinn.
Dawn could never get used to the mesmerizing spectacle of the Djinn. The intricate statues of mythological creatures that adorned the long corridors and the high, ample dome started to have a nuanced meaning for her. Having seen some of the elements moving firsthand, and knowing that they roamed around in the flesh, gave her pause.
She recognized Leah, the Djinn child at the central counter on the other side of the door.
Dawn remembered how easily Leah brought Damon to his knees the last time they visited with a simple clench of her small fist. Leah’s gaze pierced through Dawn’s soul as she approached the central counter. She wasn’t going to keep much from her this time. The mere thought of angering her made Dawn shiver.
“Hey, Leah, right? How’s it hanging? Or in your case, how’s it floating?” Dawn laughed nervously, hoping that it would ease the tension from Leah’s stony glare.
But Leah seemed unimpressed at Dawn’s attempts for pleasantries.
Dawn decided to cut her losses and get to the point. “We were wondering if your awesome library would have any information on Siren and Mermaid lore. Also, anything you have on the Ocean Diamond would be great. Thanks.” She smiled at the Djinn, who still stared back at her, unimpressed.
“Uhm. Hello?” Dawn asked again but still found no response from the Djinn.
“Is she…dead?” Elijah whispered in Dawn’s ear.
“Don’t say something so rude in front of her, Elijah!”
Damon pushed both of them aside and slammed his hand on the table, “Hey! Wake up!”
Dawn pulled on Damon’s arm, “Are you crazy? You know what she did to you last time, right?”
Damon scoffed, “We don’t have time to waste right now.”
Elijah tapped on both of their shoulders, “Uh, guys. I think something’s wrong with her.”
Dawn and Damon looked back at the counter and saw Leah falling to the floor like a plastic statue.
“She’s been cursed!” Damon shouted as he jumped behind the counter and checked on Leah. “Her life force is ebbing away. I need to remove the curse!”
Elijah immediately leaped on the counter to assist Damon. “What kind of curse is this? This would have killed a human in an instant!”
Or kill a Djinn in a few minutes. Dawn thought.
Dawn suddenly felt a cold chill waft behind her neck, and a familiar foreboding fear crept up behind her.
“We should really stop meeting like this, Dawn,” Hades’ raspy voice whispered from behind her. But before she could turn to see who was behind her, Dawn got pushed into the counter and landed on Damon and Elijah.
Damon cried out as he pushed Dawn out of the way and resumed healing Leah.
“What are you doing, Dawn?”
“It’s Hades!” she cried out as she hurriedly got up and unsheathed the Sai blades from her holster to scan the room. She heard steps running for the exit and felt immediate relief.
Damon broke the curse on Leah, allowing her to finally move but in a weakened state.
“Stop…him. He…,” Leah begged Dawn before collapsing.
“You heard the Djinn, Dawn! Get him!” Damon commanded before he joined Elijah as they cast a healing spell on Leah.
Dawn’s knees shook as she looked at the door where Hades ran. Out there was the God of the Underworld, a horrible monster that had the power to destroy the world, and she wanted to stay as far away from him as possible.
“Go!” Elijah urged on, “We need to keep Leah stable. He’s just a guy, Dawn. He’s not the real Hades. You can take him on!”
Right! Dawn said to herself before finally running towards the exit. But when she got out the door, the witch guarding the door was already asleep on her post, and the door outside the bookshop was wide open.
He got away, Dawn grumbled as she sheathed her Sai back on her holsters. As much as she wanted to blame her inability to chase after him on the Sai blades, she realized that the blades only took advantage of the darkness in her heart.
She walked back to the library, disappointed, and saw Leah already up and floating angrily as she scolded Elijah and Damon.
“You two should have chased him!” Leah screamed as sparks of electricity flickered from her owl-like eyes.
“You would have been dead, Djinn!” Damon countered softly as he knelt in front of her.
“My life is a mere drop in the ocean of knowledge, warlock!” Leah snapped back, “What’s more important is that ocean’s purity! If I ever see that human again, he shall know the fury of the Keepers!”
Dawn ran to her friend’s side. “Please, Leah. If there’s anyone that you should be angry at, it should be me. I hesitated in chasing him because I was scared of facing Hades.”
Leah clenched her fist as it accumulated bubbles of water filled with immense water energy, ready to strike her down.
“Leah, that’s enough,” Aiken commanded from behind them as he appeared through the entrance. “This was our fault. I should have second-guessed when I received an invitation to the Council so suddenly. These children have no duty to the library. Show some humility.”
Leah bowed down her head as she floated down, her owl eyes accumulating tears, “Forgive me, Aiken. That…creature destroyed precious scrolls and books.”
Aiken floated towards Leah and patted her lightly on the head, “Show me. And you three, come with us. I suspect this crime has something to do with your arrival.”
Dawn, Elijah, and Damon silently walked behin Aiken and Leah as the Djinns followed the trail of ripped paper all over the library.
“Oh, the Mermaids...” Leah bemoaned.
“What do you mean?” Dawn asked.
Burned books and scrolls were scattered across the floor. Aiken grabbed and opened a book on one of the shelves at the end of one of the first paper trails. A warm pile of ash fell from inside.
“Most of the scrolls burned are related to Sirens and mermaids.”
Dawn wasn’t surprised. She despaired at the sight.
“Hades,” she voiced.
Aiken looked at Dawn. “Are you sure that it was Hades?”
Dawn nodded somberly. “There’s no way I ever forget that voice and his dark energy. He knew I was looking for answers about my dream, and he made sure that I wouldn’t get them.”
“I heard rumors of his return, but I never expected his powers to have grown this powerful in such a short time. I must make improvements to the charms and seals.”
Damon ran his fingers through the ash. “It’s not over yet, Dawn. I’ll use time magic to restore the page.”
Leah hissed. “Wiccan magic!”
Aiken restrained her before she exploded in another fit of rage. “Warlock, the books were burned with black fire. It burns from a dimension far from our own. Not even your dark magic can reverse this.”
Damon still chanted the words but eventually slammed his fist on the table when the ash remained ash.
“It’s over, guys,” Dawn grumbled with slumped shoulders. “Let’s head back to the council.”
Aiken smiled as he stepped in their way, “Do not despair, halfling. You sought direction when you came here. Isn’t Hades’ interference proof of your path’s validity?”
Dawn’s heart awakened at Aiken’s advice. “You’re right! Hades is scared. He can’t have burned everything related to sirens and mermaids in this library. There should be something left of them around here.”
Elijah nodded, “Good thinking, Dawn. Let’s get to it.”
Damon laughed as he turned to Leah, “Is that okay with you guys if we used the library? We did lose the one who vandalized it.”
“As long as you promise, to give him a good walloping when you find him,” Leah interjected.
The Djinns helped them gather all aquatic scrolls they could find and guide them to the important parts. This took them a few hours t
o sort, read, and make sense of them. Some were even encoded in weird scriptures and ancient languages, so Aiken applied a decoding spell that could enable them to better decipher them.
“Here!” Elijah exclaimed. “I found a book about sailors who claim to have seen mermaids!”
Dawn and Damon looked up from their read to see what Elijah had found.
“It says here,” he continued, “that these sailors saw a ghost pirate ship appear whenever the sailors heard beautiful voices in the middle of the sea.”
Damon read the next passages. “It says here that the pirates never looted but merely threw all their weapons into the sea and forced them away from the area.”
“Were they protecting the sirens?” Elijah wondered out loud.
Dawn almost shouted in shock at seeing the raven-haired Siren pictured on the book. “It’s her!”
Aiken and Leah appeared behind them.
“Did you find what you’re looking for?”
“I saw this siren in my dream!” Dawn replied. “She told me that I was the Chosen of the Flowing Light and that I needed to search for the Great Ocean’s treasure! Do you guys know anything about the Ocean Diamond?”
Aiken and Leah looked at each other as if they were shocked.
“Are you sure it was her?” Leah asked Dawn sincerely. “Was this the Siren in your dream?”
“There’s no mistaking it,” Dawn answered confidently.
Aiken sighed, “Such a burden to be put on someone so young. Be that as it may, halfling.”
“What does that mean?” Dawn asked curiously.
“It’s best if I showed you instead.”
“Are you certain?” Aiken asked Leah.
“I’m the only one who can do it after all.”
Leah closed her eyes and began to chant soothingly. The markings on her body slowly gathered towards her closed eyes. When she opened them, light burst forth and collided with the wall in front of her. It manifested a thick white book that hovered towards them.
Damon tried to grab the book but was instantly repelled by an invisible force. Elijah also had the same effect.
