A Buried Spark

by P. J. Hoover

  We’ve made it here.

  We’ve made it to the end.

  The panel changes to purple then it shimmers until it becomes nearly transparent. This is our entrance. Our final stand. If we fail here, we fail for good. There won’t be any other chances.

  I grab Thomas’s hand and we step through.

  XLI

  Chaos waits for us, sitting on a golden throne in the center of a great room. In my mind, I’ve pictured him exactly like the god I defeated at the end of the labyrinth: withered, thin hair, so weak he can barely open his lips to speak. It’s what I’ve mentally prepared for. What I find I am not prepared for at all.

  A guy stands up from the throne. He’s got light brown hair capped with a heavy golden crown covered in gemstones. His skin is tanned and healthy. His muscles strong, showing prominently in his blue T-shirt. He wears jeans and gym shoes. He can’t be any older than we are. He’s someone I could have walked by a million times back in Florida. Gone to school with. Seen on the beach. At the store. He’s strong and stands tall. Confidence flows off him like water flowing from the zodiac jug.

  “I’m so happy you could finally join me,” he says, speaking to all of us. His confidence defines him, but I can’t help but wonder how much of it is an act. There are over twenty of us here now before him. And whatever side we were on out there, in here, we are all on the same side: the side opposing Chaos.

  Chaos walks away from the throne toward Taylor, and he holds out a hand. “Just so you know, it will be much easier if you hand it over.”

  He’s talking about the Oculus. Just seeing him there demanding it makes fear quake through my body. I hate myself for thinking it, but I am so happy to not be the one holding it.

  Taylor crosses her arms. “Not gonna happen.”

  Chaos laughs. I feel like he could lash out and yank it from her eye socket as fast as a viper, but instead he says, “We can play that way,” and turns away. His eyes settle next on Owen. “Your father is gone.”

  The statement is so simple, as if it is just another event that happened in an otherwise boring day.

  Owen’s face tenses up and he glares at Chaos. “He’s not gone.”

  Except I think he is. Owen had tried to contact him and it hadn’t worked.

  Chaos cocks his head. “Believe me or not. It doesn’t matter to me.” And he turns away.

  One by one, he inserts slivers of fear into each of us. He turns to Abigail next and whispers something in her ear. Her eyes go wide and she grabs the cross necklace as if it will give her strength. I don’t want him to approach me, but I know I can’t hide from it. And like he can hear me thinking, he walks my way.

  “Hi, Eden,” Chaos says, like he’s just some kid I’m meeting at a party. “You know you aren’t supposed to be here. You weren’t invited.”

  Deep breath. I can do this. It’s just another part of the simulation. Or at least that’s what I am going to pretend. But something tells me that this is more real than anything that may have happened thus far in my life. The fate of the world hangs on this moment.

  “And yet here I am.” I try to sound brave. “I heard there was a prophecy.”

  “Prophecy,” Chaos says, and he rolls his eyes like it’s the most absurd thing in the world. “I don’t give credence to prophecies.”

  “You should,” Taylor says. “Because in every future I see, Edie kills you. You ready to die, old god?”

  “Do I look old to you?” he says.

  He doesn’t. He also doesn’t look ready to die or hand over any kind of power for that matter.

  “Your looks don’t deceive me,” Taylor says. “You forget that I see everything.”

  Chaos flicks his hand dismissively and turns away from her, back to me. But his face is tense. Nobody wants to hear predictions of their own death.

  “Who helped you, Eden?” Chaos asks.

  “Edie doesn’t need help,” Thomas blurts out. I want to will him into silence, but it’s too late.

  Chaos’s eyes drift slowly to my little brother, and then he smiles. “And look, you brought someone you care about with you. Was that really smart? You know I could reprogram him with a simple thought. Is that what you want?”

  Anger flashes through me. The ancient snake god had hidden Thomas away, knowing this exact scenario was a possibility. If he was found by Chaos, he could be used against me. And Chaos must have realized this too. So he sent Owen’s dad to the data storage banks to find Thomas. To have Pia bring him to the simulation as a backup plan in case I made it this far. Which I have. And I wish more than anything that Thomas was not here with me right now.

  “He has nothing to do with this,” I say, drawing Chaos’s eyes back to my face, away from Thomas’s.

  Chaos traces a circle in the air with his finger. “Everything is interconnected. It’s the way the world works. So tell me, who helped you? How are you here in the simulation? Because as far as I know, entry to the simulation was blocked for you and Cole.”

  I’m here because Elise, Iva, Zachary, and even Raven all helped me. I’m here because I was not willing to give up. I wasn’t going to let the world be destroyed by someone like Owen. But now, with Chaos in front of me, I see that Owen was never the real threat. It was the lingering old gods, still grasping onto the power. Still holding control of the world, unwilling to give it up.

  “I was always meant to be here,” I say, and I smile. “The prophecy foretold it. You know that. You tried to ignore it. But you can’t ignore prophecy.”

  “I ignore whatever I choose,” Chaos says. His voice is filled with confidence which I hope is an act.

  Chaos steps back from me and looks to Cole but doesn’t say anything to him, though he could have the same conversation if he wanted to. Instead he addresses all of us.

  “I am asking you all to leave,” Chaos says. He holds up a finger. “And I won’t ask twice.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Hudson says.

  “None of us are.” It’s Owen. On our side. And for the moment, that is good enough for me.

  “This old god is going to lose,” Taylor says, and she smiles. “He’s going to lose, and it scares him more than anything.”

  I don’t know if she sees this with the Oculus or if she’s making it up. The former, I hope.

  “I am not going to lose!” Chaos booms, finally losing control just the smallest amount. His voice carries across the entire chamber, making the hanging crystals sway and clink together, a musical manifestation of his anger.

  This only makes Taylor’s smile grow. “He is.”

  But before she can say anything else, she cries out in pain and collapses to the ground, pressing her hands on either side of her head. My first reaction is to rush over and help her. But the best thing I can do for her is to stop Chaos.

  “Your time is done,” I say.

  Chaos smiles. “My time is only just starting.”

  “That’s not what the other gods say,” I say. “They say you should have left long ago. They say that you agreed to. And if that’s true, why are you still here?”

  He puts a hand to his chest in mock surprise. “But I’m the only one left. Without me, what will happen to the world? I need to be here. I need to protect it.”

  Iva pops into existence four feet in front of him. She’s half his height and still wears the blindfold, but I think she sees better with it that the rest of us without. “We had an agreement,” she says. “You would step down. You would pass on the power. You told us that. You swore it.”

  Her presence only stirs his confident facade for a moment. Then he says, “Iva, do you believe everything I say?”

  Iva laughs, the giggle of a little girl, the power of a god. “I don’t believe anything you say. I knew you’d go back on your word before the deal was even made. I expected it. The prophecy foretold it.”

&nb
sp; “Enough with the prophecy!” he yells, again losing control. Any more of these slips, and he could break down altogether. But in the event that I have deluded myself into thinking Iva has any power of him, he flicks his hand, and Iva is thrown backward against the crystal wall of the chamber. She lands hard and is pinned against the wall, motionless.

  Raven appears next in front of Chaos, almost in the exact spot where Iva was. She wears the long yellow dress that brushes on the ground. Hair splayed around her like an aura. Balancing on one leg with the giant lioness beside her. “The prophecy is real. It always has been. It always will be. Your time is done.”

  Almost they have been watching the entire time, Elise and Zachary appear on either side of Raven. Gamma also appears next to Elise, one hand resting on her shoulder. Her willowy form is like a tall column next to the little girl.

  “Why do you have to be such a pain in the ass?” Elise says.

  “Language,” Gamma says, whispering loudly enough for us all to hear.

  Zachary catches my eye and gives me a small nod. They all are here because they knew Chaos would never keep his word.

  “Pain in the ass?” Chaos says. “I guess it’s what I’m good at. Regardless, this battle doesn’t have a place for minor gods.” And without another word, Zachary, Elise, Raven, and even her lioness all fly backward like Iva had done.

  “I’m here for a contest,” Owen says, stepping forward. “And I’m ready.”

  “Me, too,” Cole says. His eyes are fierce. “You aren’t going to back down from our challenge, are you?”

  Chaos smiles, like he’s one of us, though I now know his appearance is a complete deception designed to make us lower our defenses. “A challenge. So be it.” He taps his crown. “If you want to defeat me, all you have to do is take my crown.”

  And so the battle is on.

  XLII

  Once he says it, all I can see is the crown. I know it may be a trick. That I can’t trust everything I hear has become more than obvious. But deep down, I believe this to be the real thing. All I need to do is get the crown.

  Hudson is off like a flash. He runs toward Chaos. I hold my breath. Chaos points at Hudson, and he collapses with a scream. His legs twist under him at angles that shouldn’t be possible. He doesn’t get up.

  An arrow flies from Taylor’s bow. Time almost seems to slow down as it spirals toward the old god. Then, in what may be the most perfect shot ever, it strikes him right in the chest, easily going through his blue T-shirt. But instead of burying itself deep inside him, it comes out the back and keeps moving, only stopping when it sticks into the crystal wall far on the other side of the room.

  Taylor is not ready to stop. She fires another arrow, then another. They do the same as the first. When she shoots the fourth arrow, Chaos raises a hand.

  “Don’t you ever learn?” he says, and he flicks his wrist in a circular motion. The arrow stops in midair and turns, facing Taylor. Then it launches forward. It is coming right for her chest. She barely has time to jump out of the way. I think I almost see her die. Instead of the chest, it catches her in the upper arm, sticking deep in the bone.

  Taylor doesn’t even fall. She reaches up and snaps the arrow in half.

  “I see your death,” she says to Chaos. “I see it and I can’t wait for it.”

  Then the other three arrows pull from the wall and come directly for Taylor. One hits her hand and keeps going, pulling her backward and sticking into the wall, holding her there. The other two hit also, one in her side and the other in her lower leg. She struggles to try to free herself.

  This is the time to strike, while Chaos is thick in his victory. I clench the ax in my fist, feeling its weight. But Rex and Amanda run forward and attack. Rex swipes out with his sword, but it’s pulled from his hand and turned against him, coming right for his side. The blow should kill Rex when it hits, but he only stumbles and gets right back up.

  That’s right. His armor. The red-head attacks next. Then some of the other kids who’ve joined our group. There is power in numbers, but Chaos fights them easily, even finding a way to get through the chinks in Rex’s armor. At least three kids fall, and they don’t rise.

  I lean down to Thomas. “Go stand in the back, against the wall.” I don’t want him anywhere nearby.

  He nods and tiptoes backward toward where Zachary and Iva are still pressed against the wall. There is only a handful of us remaining: Cole, Owen, and Abigail, a few others. Abigail holds out the necklace and lightning explodes from it, striking the god. He extends his arms as the electricity runs through him. But instead of weakening him, I’m reminded of how Abigail got the lightning in the first place.

  “Stop!” I shout. The lightning isn’t hurting him. It’s fueling him. Giving him one more weapon to use against us.

  Abigail realizes this too late. She drops the necklace, but the lightning doesn’t stop until the necklace sparks a couple times and falls back to her chest. Then it flies from Chaos, bursting like an explosion. Two kids drop instantly. I never knew their names. I never will.

  I’m thrown backward, landing hard on my butt. Cole is next to me. He says something, but my ears are ringing and I can’t hear him. Then he gets up and vanishes. There is only a blur in the air, like a wave of heat as his hammer circles. His invisibility shield. Owen is heading toward Chaos also, and together they attack. Cole pops back into visibility and swings down with the giant hammer, smashing the old god over the head. Then he vanishes again. Owen holds a sword and swipes out in a stroke that severs an arm.

  This is my moment. I run forward. He’s right in front of me, staring at the severed arm that lies on the ground twitching. I bury the ax in his chest. Over and over again the three of us attack. Chaos falls to his knees, but he doesn’t give up. He pulls on the lightning again and in a blast, we’re thrown back. I drop my ax, and I scramble to get it. It’s lodged near the leg of the chair. I grab it, then look back to Chaos.

  He’s standing again, pulling himself back together, healing as we watch. I run forward again. I’ll do this as many times as I need to.

  It won’t work, Zachary Gomez seems to whisper in my mind.

  He can’t be killed, Iva seems to say.

  Can’t be killed.

  But the prophecy . . . , I think. It had said I would kill him.

  No. That’s not right. Not kill him. It had said I would defeat him. And to defeat him, I don’t have to kill him. I only have to get the crown.

  I throw my ax far across the room, causing the distraction I hope to. Chaos looks over toward it, wondering what I’m aiming for, and when he does, I rush forward.

  My fingers wrap around the crown at the same time as Cole and Owen. Chaos snarls in rage, but the crown won’t come off of his head.

  “It will only come off if I’m dead,” he hisses.

  Only when he’s dead but he can’t be killed. It makes no sense. But the harder we pull, the more it sticks.

  It’s not about the crown, I think. It never was. The crown is nothing but a deception. It is about Chaos here, right now, uncontained.

  Uncontained. That’s it. We can’t kill him, but we can contain him and take his place.

  I look to Iva. Even though she can’t see me, she smiles and nods. Then I pull on my power, and I think of the black glossy pearl I’d retrieved for her from her domain. Markers on memorials for dead gods. Markers . . . or maybe something more. With the power, I deconstruct it and send the bits of data that make it up across the air to me. In my palm I rebuild it. Then, when it is complete, I create a latch and open it.

  Chaos lets out a cry of pain that makes my bones vibrate. He howls as if he’s being subjected to a fate worse than any death. Then his streams of data pull apart and begin to siphon into the pearl like a gray stream of water drifting through the air. I don’t move as I watch it, and only when I’m sure the last byte of data
has been placed inside the sphere do I flip the lid closed and latch it. Then I remove the latch, making it once again impenetrable.

  Not dead but contained. We’ve reached the end. We’ve defeated the last of the old gods. But it’s not just me. It’s all of us. And I’m not sure what will happen next.

  DELTA

  XLIII

  I hold the pearl in my hand, unsure what to do with it.

  Iva skips up to me, now free from the earlier bonds that held her. “Do you want me to hold it, Eden?” she says in her sing-sing voice, like we haven’t just fought a battle that nearly killed us all.

  Keep it, Zachary says in my mind. A telepathic bond that no one else knows about.

  I shake my head and give Iva a huge smile. I still don’t trust her. Not really. I don’t trust any of them, not even Zachary. “I got it,” I say. I construct a chain out of metal from the world around me, and I attach the pearl on a pendant. I clasp it at the back on my neck and lay it flat against my chest. I, instead of Iva, can be the one to keep it safe. To keep Chaos contained. Then I look to my friends because this is far from over.

  Hudson is squatting on the ground next to Taylor, and as Cole and I watch, her skin and muscle is regenerated. It’s a power he’s had all along, maybe, and never fully understood. And now, with Chaos dead, it can be completely his. He’s already healed himself and is slowly working through the rest of us. Taylor frowns at him like she can’t believe she has to lower herself to actually taking his help.

  She gets to her feet and mutters something that might be a thank you.

  “What?” Hudson says. “You’d rather be walking around with arrows sticking out of you?”

  Taylor shrugs. “They didn’t hurt.”

  I know that’s a lie. But it is a little bit of normal back in our virtual world.

  We’re still in the chamber where we entered. The golden throne sits empty. I look up, but instead of levels and levels of computer workstations and terminals like I’d pictured Main Control Room Alpha in my mind, all I see is a huge atrium that reaches up to the very top of the pink and black glass building.