by Elon Vidal
“Ready to save the world?” Damon asked with a cocky smirk.
Dawn rolled her eyes, “Come in,” she said with a wave. “There is some new information.”
“Really?” Elijah asked.
Dawn nodded, “I spoke to Eos last night and I think I know where the Ocean’s Diamond is.”
“Alright, out with it,” Damon said impatiently.
She led her friends to her room and pulled the book from under her mattress and opened it to the map. “Homer was born in Ionia, which is derived from the word for womb. I did some research.”
“Which translates to: she checked Wikipedia,” Elijah teased, and Dawn shot him a look.
“It matches the map,” Dawn pointed out. “The map shows us the island of Chios just off the coast of Turkey.”
“So this will lead us to the Ocean’s Diamond.”
“Yes,” she answered but followed with, “eventually. This is just the first step. Eos told me to seek out the pearl and the mermaid.”
Damon nodded, “It’s certainly a start.”
“You seem to have friends in high places,” Elijah noted. “Sirens, Hades, now Eos. What is it about this pearl?”
“I don’t know yet,” she admitted. “But my mother is talking to Ezekiel today about travel and expenses.”
Elijah looked over the map and waved his hand over with his eyes closed. The pages shimmered beneath his fingers. “There is something else here. Hidden script in the map.”
“Can you decode it?” Dawn asked. If anything, her warlock friend had a sixth sense for hidden puzzles and ancient languages.
“I’m trying but it’s difficult. This book is the summation of Leah’s knowledge which she was reluctant to give at the best of times even when alive.”
“Are you saying the book has an attitude?” Dawn asked with some added snark.
“In a word, yes.”
“So that’s it then you get the secret message then we go to Chios.”
“You make it sound so easy,” Damon chided.
“What else is there?”
“A plan, we can’t go into an unknown situation with only a location.”
Dawn thought for a moment, “True. You’re the tactician, what do you suggest?”
“I suggest you two take your conversation elsewhere,” Elijah complained, his hands flowing across the page with the same shimmering from before.
“We should get ready while Elijah decodes the book,” Damon suggested.
“I’m not sure if there’s much we can do.”
“There is training.”
“We are about to embark on a quest that will test us to our limits and you still want to do business as usual?”
“Yes,” Damon answered. “Routine breeds discipline, which in turn assures victory.”
“Spoken like a true soldier,” Elijah stated.
“And a little surprising given your Wiccan ways, oh dark one,” Dawn pointed out.
“This isn’t about me, is it?” Damon countered.
Dawn suppressed a groan but relented, “Just until my mother returns,” she hoped he would accept the compromise.
“We’ll see.”
“Let us know if you find anything,” Dawn said as they left the room. Elijah was already engaged with the text and off in his own world.
Dawn grabbed her sai as Damon preceded her to the back yard. She still felt uneasy wielding the sai, knowing they were forged by Hephaestus and in league with Hades. Her hands gripped the straps delicately as Damon pulled his gladius from its sheath. “It’s clear you know how to fight, but today we’ll try something a little different,” Damon threw his gladius into the ground and went into a fighting stance.
“These are cursed to me,” Dawn pointed out as she pulled her sai from their sheaths.
“True but we are dealing with Hades, a literal god, and who knows what he can do. Hand to hand is the essence to awaken your alertness.”
Dawn looked for the flaw in his logic but found none. She shrugged and lifted her hands in her own fighting stance. Damon skittered and almost caught Dawn off guard, but she was able to pivot away and maintain her distance from him. His actions were swift and brutal, darting towards her with a low sweep to the shin and an immediate reverse snap-kick up high. She arched back, leaving her belly exposed which her targeted with a quick gut-punch. She blocked his advance with her knee in a single acrobatic move to pirouette backwards and gain some distance. He was trying to take her down. Luckily, she was able to sidestep him or maneuver away.
“Your defense is good but you’ll need to be aggressive at times,” Damon said as he squared off with her again.
Damon moved in and she narrowly ducked as his fist glanced just over her head. His knee came up at her and she crossed her arms to block. The force knocked her backwards and nearly dropped her on her back. Damon didn’t let up; he moved in again and blocked her first punch, grabbed her arm, and wrapped her torso with it. She was momentarily immobilized as he spoke into her ear. “You're one of the best fighters I’ve ever seen but overconfidence leaves you vulnerable.”
She pulled herself out of his grip and looked at him with venom. A switch had flipped in her. She suddenly no longer felt inclined to play nicely, no longer recognized him as her friend, but as an enemy to annihilate. Something similar to when they had been at the training center. This time she flew at him, kicking his legs out before throwing a kick to his head. His balance was completely off, and she caught him hard as he fully flipped in the air before landing. The world spun and went black.
A moment later, when she blinked and everything came back into focus, she had Damon pinned at the shoulders by her knees and had her fist raised to perform a fatal blow. The only thing that pulled her from her rage was the calm look on Damon’s face. Like somehow, he knew something she didn’t. She got up disgusted and felt the weight of the weapons at her waist.
“I could’ve killed you,” she said. With ease she could’ve reached for her sai and ended him.
“You could’ve but you didn’t.”
Dawn got off of Damon and felt the flush of rage in her head that quickly swam into her limbs and made her whole body feel like it was buzzing.
“I’ve never felt like this before,” she said facing away from Damon, still slightly turned to him. “Of all the things happening with Hades this is by far the scariest. I feel like I don’t have control over my body or my mind, and I don’t know what will happen when we do finally meet.”
Damon picked himself off the ground and dusted himself off as he walked towards her. “I know about rage and darkness, Dawn. I promise I’ll do whatever it takes to help you and keep you safe.”
She stepped back reflexively. “It’s not me I’m worried about Damon.” It’s everyone I love that gets in my way when I’m no longer in control, she realized to herself. The shadows in her had not yet been uprooted. She still feared the dark.
She turned from him and walked back into the house.
The buzzing sensation in her limbs subsided but she still felt the lingering anger that had taken over her. Twice it had happened, twice she had almost harmed people near and dear to her. That internal anger didn’t feel like her, as if she wasn’t playing a role in her own life.
She found Nathan camped out in front of his video game and felt herself soften further. Her family was a stabilizing force in her life despite the recent turmoil. The morning had shown her it was them who grounded her, supported her, and made her feel better. She wished it didn’t all feel so broken. She watched her father leave after breakfast and felt the same despair she did the first time it happened, when he didn’t come home that night.
Elijah came bounding from her room with an exasperated look on his face.
“Dawn, I figured out what Leah was hiding.”
“Okay, what was it?”
“The hidden script was messages written in an old cant.”
“What’s a cant?”
“A cant comes from the Latin, to s
ing. It’s used as shorthand language known to journeyman and masters but difficult for outsiders to decode. The ones in this text were used by thieves and pirates.”
“Why would there be a cant in Leah’s book?” Damon asked.
“Pirates.”
Dawn couldn’t be more confused.
“Why would she hide that?”
“Because she granted them knowledge, knowledge that made them virtually immortal. And they are looking for the Ocean Diamond as well. She inadvertently aided Hades, Dawn.”
“I don’t think it was inadvertent, it appears likely that Leah was a mole and fed Hades information. How else could a human, even one possessed by Hades, get into the library and out without Leah being aware of it.”
“That means,” Dawn contemplated.
“The mission is compromised,” Elijah finished the thought.
SEVEN
There was certainly tension in the room. Dawn studied Ezekiel’s reaction but he was as inscrutable as ever as he took in the information that Leah may have been a mole. Finally, he spoke.
“I’m not entirely convinced,” Ezekiel said. “She did give you the information.”
“Maybe she was torn between the two but it’s clear we aren't the only ones looking for the Ocean Diamond,” Elijah argued.
“It doesn’t change anything,” Ezekiel shook his head and looked at Dawn. “This is the moment of no return. When you step through this portal you will be acting as an agent of the Council. We will help if we can but you will be on your own.”
“No I won’t,” Dawn answered. “I’ll have Damon and Elijah with me. The spirit of my family and the council as well.” Dawn felt the apprehension, but it was a distant cry compared to the turmoil she had been feeling. The moment was upon them. They were moving through a portal to the Island of Chios to find some pearl and a mermaid. Pirates, sirens, and all manner of creatures might be on the other side of the portal and she would face it with her friends. She shook the remaining tension from her limbs and thought back to her first time on a diving board. Don’t think, just go and the rest will be as it will be.
Damon nodded appreciatively at what she had said and tapped her knuckles with his.
“Nice,” he said.
The portal opened in the air in front of them. The strange quality of a window in time and space. She could see a rocky beach on the other side as the aperture grow. She blew out the remaining tension and stepped forward. The air shifted and felt suddenly heavier as she stepped through. Heat too was different as the temperature was suddenly twenty degrees warmer. The blinding yellow sun was a strange contrast to the dark halls of the council chambers. The smell of ocean water and the warmth of the sun on her skin was welcome but she suddenly felt overdressed.
Damon and Elijah stepped up behind her. “Where to from here?”
Dawn bit her lip and thought to pull the book from her backpack. “I know we need to reconnoiter, locate the pearl and extract it from where it’s hiding. I suggest we get a lay of the land,” she suggested.
“I hear traffic,” Elijah added as he looked towards the mainland.
The trio walked along the beach until they started seeing signs of civilization. Sun bleached walls bordered a road along the beach. After a few minutes walking they found a break in the wall. On the other side they could see it leading to a small village with narrow cobblestone alleys with archways leading throughout the labyrinthine streets. They found a courtyard with several tables and chairs set out. A few people were already seated and eating.
“Do you smell that?” Dawn asked as she picked up her pace.
“Perhaps the locals know something more about myths from this area that can give us a clue where to begin,” Elijah suggested.
“Let’s blend in for now, as if we were tourists and see what we can find that might help,” Dawn added.
They found a seat and were served by a young girl with striking black eyes and her hair tied back in a tight bun on her head. Her dress was casual and flowed with the breeze that swept up over the courtyard. They quickly ordered and opened the book to look at the map.
“May I?” Elijah asked.
Dawn passed the book to him and turned to Damon. He held himself stiffly and watched the courtyard carefully.
“I doubt Hades would come for us here.”
“You can’t know that,” Damon said in response. “He can possess people which makes anyone nearby a potential threat.”
Dawn sighed. “I know but it’s too exhausting to give all my energy to. He’ll come to us.” Damon seemed to agree with the sentiment. Elijah scrutinized the map and raised his arms in frustration.
“I don’t know where it could be. The island isn’t very large but it’s big enough that it’ll take us forever without more direction.”
“So, what? We just walk around blindly,” Dawn asked.
“This island is over 500 square miles. We need some more direction than that,” Damon stated.
“Ezekiel’s portal should have gotten us close to the pearl, so it has to be within this region,” Elijah explained. “It’s somewhere nearby so we won’t have to comb the entire island.”
“That’s good news at least,” Dawn said as the server brought their food to the table. “Do you know anything about a pearl?” she asked, throwing a shot in the dark. The girl’s expression was blank, and she left without another word.
“Pearl, you say?” a small man with a wide grin peered over from his table.
“Yes, we’re looking for a pearl.” Dawn answered.
“I might know about such things.”
“For a price,” Damon interrupted.
“More of a gratuity really,” he said as his smile grew somehow wider.
Elijah shook his head at the small man, “Careful, Dawn. He’s fae.”
“So am I,” she answered.
“I am Rudolph, but my friends call me Rudy. I can help you locate a pearl.”
“What if it isn’t the pearl I’m looking for?” Dawn asked and couldn’t help but smile back at the strange little man.
Rudy perched on his seat as he waited for a response. Dawn looked to her companions, both shook their heads.
“It’s too dangerous,” Elijah warned.
“I only ask a favor.”
“What kind of a favor?”
He gently waved his right hand with an open palm, “A trifle. Nothing that will hurt anyone.”
“Okay, but if what you give us doesn’t help, I owe you nothing,” Dawn bargained.
Rudy pondered. “Acceptable.”
He jumped from his chair with a paper folded behind his back. With some flourish Rudy dropped it on the table.
Dawn looked down and her eyes grew large as she saw a photo of a fist sized pearl.
“Is this it?” She handed the paper to Damon and Elijah.
“It can’t be,” Elijah said dismissively. But when he looked at the photo, his expression changed. “Holy cow!” he blurted. The expression gave everyone at the table pause and when he looked up, he asked, “What?”
“It’s it, isn’t it?” Dawn said with a grin, and Elijah nodded.
Damon looked at the photo, “It’s in a museum.”
“I did well, I take it,” Rudy rocked on his feet.
Dawn nodded, “What is the favor you ask?”
“Later.” His smile stayed wide on his face. “I’ll find you when I need you.”
She nodded and felt somewhat uneasy with the deal. She sensed there was more to this deal but she couldn’t quite point how far they’d have to go. Then again, saving the world was at stake and this fae, while mischievous, in true fae fashion, didn’t seem possessed. She looked at the pearl inside a pedestal glass encasement. How were they to retrieve it? What would they have to do to get it? It was either done with money or…
“Do we have to steal it from a museum?” Dawn asked out loud. But she already knew the answer.
“It shouldn’t be difficult. We can use magic to replace it wit
h a proxy so no one will know it’s missing,” Elijah added.
“That makes it better,” Dawn added with a shake of her head.
“The fate of the world is at stake,” Damon added.
Dawn felt conflicted but understood Damon was right. Anyone else looking would likely have no qualms about stealing the pearl either. “Alright, museum after lunch.”
They nodded almost in unison as Elijah folded the paper and set it aside. Dawn looked for Rudolph, but he had already disappeared.
The museum was smaller than Dawn expected. It was a squat white building with pillars flanking the entrance. It calmed Dawn that there were so few people out and about. Apart from the narrow streets and alleys, the main courtyards were open. This made it easy to spot any who might be following them. Inside the museum it was cooler than the sunbaked expanse outside.
The museum was filled with artifacts from the distant past. Pottery, jewelry and weapons were on display as they walked through the building. The pearl was set on a pedestal with velvet rope guarding it from would-be thieves.
“We’ll wait until dark and return to retrieve the pearl,” Damon said as they looked at it.
“Hopefully it will lead us to the mermaid,” Dawn added. “It is beautiful.”
The pearl was massive. An open skylight above it let the sunlight in and make rainbows dance on its surface. Dawn looked entranced at the treasure.
“It is,” Damon said quietly as he glanced at Dawn watching the pearl. “There appears to be a basic alarm systems in place and that skylight will serve as an access point so we can retrieve it without trying to pick a lock.”
Dawn nodded at Damon’s words. Elijah seemed to be lost in thought as he looked at the pearl. “It is bursting with magic,” he said, still transfixed.
“What does it do?” Dawn asked.
“Leah didn’t mention its abilities in the text, only that it was a guide to the Ocean’s Diamond,” Elijah explained. Dawn felt silly since she had read the same text. Hades had her second guessing herself at every turn. The fluctuations in emotions were equally frustrating. One moment she was seeing red and the next she felt perfectly aloof. Her first instinct was to blame Hades, but she was in control of her mind. She turned away from the pearl and grasped the sapphire around her neck. It felt warm to the touch and calmed her heart. She felt her mother’s eyes on her at that moment.
