Guardians of Rhea (11 page)

Almost sneering, Leon said. “You asked for
help--we're doing everything we can.”

For a moment Lilith seemed lost. Looking
somber, she sat on her throne. “You promised me, Leon. You promised
they would never find this place. You said that even if you
failed...”

“It was a risk we both took,” Leon said.

Lilith shook her head. “Sara is right. Even
with all my power, my influence is limited to the Rhean
people.”

Sara asked. “You mean you can't do anything
to the Pelasgians?”

“With my powers? No, not directly,” Lilith
answered. “I can't even harm you. All I can do is give my people
weapons that make little difference, and open portals for them to
escape through.”

“But you're immortal. How can you lose?”

“Imagine being a slave for eternity,” Lilith
answered. “I would call that a loss. They’ve already taken
thousands and tried to assimilate my world into theirs using some
kind of…something. Good thing for me it won’t work here.”

“Lilith,” Leon said, kneeling beside her. “We
need a portal to the Shadow Realm so Sara can see it.”

“You came all this way just to see the Shadow
Realm?” Lilith asked.

Sara answered. “I know it sounds ridiculous
to you, but my people want proof.”

Lilith smirked. “If you want to see
Pelasgians, all you have to do is ask.” she said, with a doorway
sprouting up from the floor itself.

The doorway showed a balcony with the
Netherworld's sky in the background, and the sound of a battle
being waged. Lilith stepped through. “Come now, it is safe.”

Everyone walked through the doorway to find
themselves on the balcony of a circular tower in one of the
Netherworld's cities.

Below them they could see thousands of
residents braced for the impending flood of Pelasgians on the
opposite side of the wall.

“This is the city of Gehenna,” Lilith said.
“It's been under siege for two days now.”

At the forefront in the Pelasgian ranks were
the human-like Corinthians armed with swords and shields. Among
them were the Minotaurs – equally tall creatures with the body of a
muscular man, the head of a bull and an enormous battle-axe.

The Pelasgians firing arrows were the
Centaurs.

As typical as such battles were, each side
fired a continuous volley of arrows. The Pelasgians on one side
were using a battering ram on the gate, while Rheans on the other
made every effort to reinforce it.

Sadly however, it would only be a matter of
time till the Pelasgians would break through, roaring and snarling
as they swarmed the denizens of the peaceful city.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Back in the safety of Mictlán, Sara and most
of the group were asleep in a rundown barrack.

Leon woke to the sound of the faintest
whisper. Raising his head slightly he saw Nedim across the room
sitting on his bed.

Making very little noise, Leon got up and
went over. “You okay there?” he asked.

“I was praying,” Nedim said, opening his
eyes.

Leon sat. “Does it work?”

“It helps.”

After a moment, Leon said. “Horrible, what
happened to those people.”

“I agree, but at least when the dead are cut
down
here
they simply rise from the ground elsewhere.”

“It's convenient if anything,” Leon said. “We
should be getting ready to go. There's nothing we can do here.”

Just then there came a knock at the door that
woke most of the group. Leon answered.

It was Arloff. “You must see Lilith,” he
said, stepping aside to reveal the throne room behind him.

Everyone gathered around Lilith. “Have you
ever wondered what, or who, opened those portals from the Shadow
Realm?” she asked.

“I'm not sure,” Leon said. “I've never seen
how it's done. No one knows.”

“I do,” Lilith smiled. “Ever since the
invasion began I've been sending my own people into the Shadow
Realm. They haven't had much success, but an hour ago they saw
this,” she said, waving her hand to create a live image of the
Shadow Realm in front of the group.

The only thing that could clearly be seen was
Eris, a hairless female with a large set of raven wings hovered in
midair. Her skin seemed to be made of black latex and her face was
almost completely featureless, aside from faintly glowing red eyes.
Holding her hands out, a huge green portal opened up.

“Who is she?” Sara asked.

“I don't know,” Leon said. “I’ve never seen
her before, but eyes like that should mean she's a Myrmidon.”

Lilith clasped her hands. “And you know what
that means!”

“Yeah,” said Leon. “We may be able to stop
this.”

“The next time she opens a portal,” Lilith
said. “I can open one near her location. If you can track her down
and kill her, this could all be over.”

Leon turned to the group. “If anyone would
like to back out, this is your last chance.”

Hurok laughed. “And let you take all the
credit! I don't think so!”

“I think that means we're all in,” said
Janah.

“Arloff will go with you,” Lilith said, then
sensing another portal. “Well, what have we here? She just opened
another one. There's no time to lose. Are you ready?”

“Yes,” Leon answered.

Lilith opened a portal. Leon went first,
followed by the rest.

Arriving next to a shoreline with a nearby
valley, Sara was astounded at the sight of the Shadow Realm. Stuck
in perpetual twilight, the rocky landscape was a mix of black and
blue hues. A full blue moon dominated its starry sky and even more
so, a giant colorful world with rings circling it.

“It's beautiful,” Caycee said in wonderment.
Without warning, she suddenly fell to her knees screaming in agony
while clasping her head. Her brain felt like it was on fire as
visions of what once was filled her mind.**

****

**Tomel ran through the woods as fast as an
eight year old could. The treetops were so thick that little light
made it through. He looked back to get a glimpse of the creature
giving chase. With his breathing heavy and his legs burning with
exhaustion, he weaved between trees and around rocks until
stumbling and tripping into a clearing.

Sitting up as quickly as he could, Tomel
turned to see an animal with the head, wings and front legs of a
giant eagle, and the rear quarters of a lion suddenly leap from the
woods and land above him.

“Emei!” Tomel playfully whined as the baby,
dog-sized griffin licked his face.

Emei jumped sideways and ran in circles,
squawking.

Tomel got to his feet. “Come here,” he said,
eyeing the griffin intently. As Tomel mounted Emei, he looked
toward a nearby cliff and took a deep breath.

It was at least a thousand feet from the top
of the cliff to the ground below. Galloping on Emei, Tomel stopped
at the edge and took a long, hard look.

The view was amazing, nothing but land as far
as the eye could see. Mountains all but filled the background. A
marvelous white city of gigantic proportions lay in between.

Tomel gulped nervously. “This is it.”

Looking down the cliff, Emei also seemed
anxious.

“Alright, Emei,” Tomel said. “We can do
this.”

Taking a few steps back, Emei crouched,
wagging his hind end before running full speed to the edge and
leaping over.

Falling headfirst like a rock, Tomel held
tight. “C'mon, Emei, fly!”

Emei spread his wings, struggling to stay
stable. No matter how hard he tried, it was difficult just to flap
them because of the wind.

All it took was a strong gust to send both
careening out of control.

Holding Emei with a death grip, Tomel cried
out in terror. The griffin shrieked as he tried to right himself,
but it was impossible with Tomel. As the two were sure they were
about to meet their end, a much bigger griffin swooped them up.

Carried back to the top of the cliff and
dropped to the ground, Tomel and Emei looked up to see their savior
and its rider. Against the backdrop of the sun, it was difficult
for Tomel to see who the adult male in hoplite-style armor was.

The rider dismounted and removed his
helmet.

“Uh-oh,” Tomel said upon seeing his father,
Krios. He slowly got back to his feet, looking down in shame.

The large griffin cawed loudly at Emei.

“Easy, E’Ralc.” Krios said, petting his
griffin. “Tomel, you mind telling me what you were thinking?”

“S-sorry, Father…” Tomel muttered.

“You almost got yourself killed! How many
times do I have to tell you that you have to wait until your
griffin is older before he can fly? His wings aren't large
enough.”

“I...thought he was ready. I'm tired of all
my friends telling me I'm not a real Corinthian if I can't ride a
griffin.”

Krios kneeled and hugged his son. “If I
hadn't tried the same thing with E’Ralc when I was your age, I'd
kill you myself.”

“You jumped off a cliff, too?!”

“Dear no! It was a dirt mound no higher than
nine feet. I ended up with a broken arm.”

“I guess I overdid it,” said Tomel.

Krios stood. “You've got some brass, son,
I'll give you that much.”

“Are you gonna tell Mom?” Tomel asked.

“Ha!” Krios laughed, mounting E’Ralc. “She'd
never let you ride again.”

The two Corinthians rode across the grassy
clearing and over several hills to a farm, where a woman was
hanging clothes.

Krios wasted no time running to his wife and
kissing her. “Sasha.”

Sasha smiled. “I knew you'd return.”

“We did it,” Krios said, holding his wife.
“We won.”

Filled with joy, Sasha squeezed Krios as hard
as she could.

Out of nowhere, a faint gust of wind suddenly
came over the family followed by the sound of distant thunder.

“Dad, look!” Tomel said, pointing. The city
he'd seen earlier was visible, only this time there was a huge
black sphere floating high above it.

“Krios, what is that?” Sasha asked.

Blowing in the direction of the sphere, the
wind gradually became much stronger and constant. Lightning tore
through the sky. The clouds formed a hurricane-like effect as they
were absorbed into the sphere.

Krios looked on in horror. “No.”

The city below was in chaos. People ran in
terror as the life around them was sucked up. Plants of all manner,
birds, insects, domesticated and undomesticated animals were all
being taken. Even the blue sky appeared as if it was being ripped
apart. Buildings and the rocks they were made of seemed to be just
about the only things not affected.

Tomel cried out, “Dad, what’s going on?”

Inky black streaks began to radiate from the
sphere, though not in some random fashion. The ink chased after the
Corinthians. Those touched by it fell in agony. Writhing in pain,
their skin turned to a light gray. Hair, nails and any clothing
took on the same black color as the ink. When they opened, their
eyes were green with a faint glow.

Krios could see the dark storm that had
enveloped the city was quickly spreading out in all directions.
“Tomel, grab Emei!” he said, jumping on E’Ralc and helping Sasha
up. “We have to get out of here! Follow me!”

The griffins took off running just as several
streaks of ink reached the farm. With the wind blowing against
them, it was difficult to make any headway, especially for Emei.
After a quick sprint downhill, they made their way as fast as they
could between the hillsides, where the wind wasn't as strong. It
was a desperate run, as the ink traced their every move.

Seeing the ink rapidly closing in, E’Ralc
fell behind to nudge Emei ahead.

Tomel looked back, and it was then he
realized there was no chance. No hope. Whatever was happening, his
whole world was succumbing to it.

“Tomel, keep going!” Krios yelled, then
spinning around at the sound of Sasha screaming – the ink had
snared her.

As Sasha fell, Krios grabbed hold of her with
one hand, but it was too late. The momentum pulled them both down
and the ink wasted no time to catch and turn him into the same
monstrosity.

Unwilling to abandon his caretaker, E’Ralc
turned and roared at Krios' suffering. A streak of ink splattered
across the mighty griffin's chest, causing him to reel and
transform like the Corinthians; the lion half becoming gray, the
bird half turning black.

Tears filled Tomel's eyes. Emei cried out as
he tried with all his strength to move forward, to no avail.

As Tomel had feared, the dark storm steadily
swept through everything in its path, consuming, expanding in an
ever-increasing circle, until his entire world was but a shadow of
itself.**

CHAPTER TWENTY

“So that’s what happened to this place?” Sara
asked, helping Caycee to her feet.

“Yeah,” Caycee said, rubbing her forehead. “I
don’t know what it was, but I saw it.”

“Did you see what made that black sphere?”
Arloff asked. “It sounds like the same thing they’re trying to use
in the Netherworld.”

Caycee shook her head. “It was horrible.
Those poor people never had a chance.”

“How can we ever hope to stop something like
that?” Janah asked. “It’s the perfect weapon. A single touch and
you become one of them.”

“I find it interesting,” Nedim said.

Sara almost couldn’t believe what she heard.
“I’d love to hear about it.”

“Our records show that when the Pelasgians
invaded Rhea, the Corinthians were there.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning what Caycee saw must have happened
before,” Nedim said. “If the Pelasgians already had such a weapon
then why didn’t they use it? It may be a good sign, especially if
it does not work in the Netherworld.”

“
Okay
,” Janah said. “I’m feeling a
little better.”