Guardians of Rhea (9 page)

Leon scratched his head. “By the time we get
to the Shadow Realm, we're going to have an army.”

Darek grabbed Leon by the shoulder. “Why do
you always want to go it alone?”

“The fewer people I have to worry about, the
better,” Leon replied. “I'm going to take the lead, you cover the
back.”

“Sure thing,” Darek said.

“Sara,” Leon called. “It’s going to be
dark.”

Sara quickly gathered the material and used
her flint to light the torches. In the cave, she could only see a
few yards in front of her.

At first the cave was short and narrow, but
after several minutes, they came to sections that were as large as
several houses and some that were absolutely enormous. Openings in
the earth allowed for some extra light.

Sara was near the back of the group by Caycee
and Darek. “Do you use this cave often?” she asked.

“Not anymore, really,” Caycee said. “It's
part of a much bigger system. There are dozens of ways in and
out.”

“You could move an army through these caves,”
Darek said.

After several hours, they came to a huge area
with an amazing waterfall. A short distance further was a campsite
with several large piles of wood strewn about.

“We'll rest here,” Leon said.

The group setup a small campfire and told
stories.

“So there we were,” Gillan spoke. “The Typhon
against the Leviathan. It was the final match to see who would be
the grand champion. Fire against water!”

Kamala laughed. “You're never going to let it
go, are you? You just love telling this story.”

“It's a good story!” Gillan insisted.
“Anyways, the Typhon had to melt the Leviathan Glacier, and we had
to stop the Typhon Komigi eruption. The Typhon were spitting their
fire all over the place, pretty much engulfing the whole thing. We
called up a huge storm around the mountain. Both sides were going
at it for almost four minutes until-”

Kamala couldn't resist. “Until Gillan thought
it would be a good idea to take the Glacier and cap the Komigi with
it!”

Gillan pumped both fists in the air. “We
won!”

“Please!” Kamala waved.

“I got bonus points for originality!”

“If ever there was a cheat.”

“Hey, the Typhon could have just as easily
used Komigi to melt the Glacier.”

Kamala turned to Sara. “It caused the biggest
uproar in the history of the Element Games.”

Several in the group laughed.

“It sounds like your people are very
powerful,” said Sara.

“Young Gillan here is considered something of
a prodigy actually,” Kamala said.

Janah snickered. “Tell Sara about your
Hybrid.”

Nedim groaned tiredly and lied down.

“Hybrid?” Sara wondered.

“A famous Khothu legend,” Gillan
answered.

“My kind likes to tell stories about one who
mastered all the elements,” Kamala said.

“It's hard enough learning one element, let
alone four,” Gillan added.

Kamala nodded. “But it's becoming very common
to find Khothu that can control two elements fluently. And there
are a few old ones that know three.”

“Wow.” Sara said. “A Hybrid would be very
powerful.”

“That's what makes it a legend.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The group was on the move next morning.

Sara walked in back with Caycee and
Darek.

Caycee, with her power of intuition, knew
something was on Sara's mind and asked. “What are you curious
about?”

Slightly unnerved, Sara stopped, allowing
most of the group up front to move on before continuing. “Leon,”
she answered.

“What about him?”

“He said he belongs to all of the Houses, but
I don't see how that's possible.”

“Intriguing, isn't it?” Darek said.

“Don't worry,” Caycee said. “It's
understandable. Leon isn't a Vesuvian like us. He wasn't born as
much as he was created.”

“What do you mean?” Sara asked.

“When the Pelasgians invaded Rhea, it wasn't
enough that they outnumbered us. They had a group of three warriors
called Myrmidons. No one could stand against them. The Council
didn't want to risk their lives, so they came up with the idea of
creating a special Vesuvian.”

“Leon?” Sara asked.

“Yes,” Caycee said. “Blood was taken from
each member of the Council. Alexia used her power to create Leon,
but...I mean...not to say that it backfired. The thing is that he
kinda turned out to be a better weapon against his own people. Some
of his powers are similar to the Houses', but he has other
abilities that defy what should be possible for even the strongest
Vesuvian.”

Sara was definitely intrigued. “Like what?”
she asked.

“Sunlight, for instance. It would kill any
other Vesuvian almost immediately, but it doesn't affect him, and
there's rumors that he can control it.”

Darek laughed. “They call it the Vesuvian
Starlight. But I think Leon was just messin’ 'round in his house,
and that’s if it really happened, which I doubt. If you ask me, the
Turin slipped up.”

“No way,” Caycee said. “Marus insisted that
there was no break in the cloud, and there are a few people who
claim they not only saw it come from Leon’s house, but they were
actually burned by it.”

Darek shook his head. “Too bad our bodies
quickly heal; else they might have been able to prove it.”

Sara asked. “So what exactly went wrong with
Leon?”

“No one knows.” Caycee answered. “He fought
the Myrmidons several times, but he could never beat them.”

“Then why not make more Vesuvians like
Leon?”

“There's no way that'll ever happen.” Caycee
said. “It's his power, the Council is afraid of it. Why make
it worse? Besides, when the Pelasgians backed off, the Council had
no use for Leon, so they put him in charge of making sure no one
ran off in the middle of the night making bedtime visits.”

“Are you afraid of him?” Sara asked.

“Nah,” Darek answered. “He's a good
bloke.”

“Admired by the young, resented by the old,”
Caycee added.

The group emerged from the cave into a large
canyon with a fast flowing river, until only Caycee and Darek were
left.

“Oy!” Darek cried.

“We're stuck here 'til the sun passes,”
Caycee said.

Leon threw his head back in frustration.

Darek shook his head. “And here I thought you
had a plan.”

“I did!” Leon retorted. “It just didn't
include you two.”

Sulking against the cave wall, Darek said.
“Walk slow.”

Sara observed the sun's position. “Either way
we go it won't be safe to come out until the sun sets.”

“We need to move on.” Leon said. “Caycee, you
know the way so catch up as soon as you can. Kamala, Gillan, bring
up the rear.”

Several hours passed as the group made its
way through the canyon.

Walking with Leon, Sara asked. “Do you ever
get nervous about what you might run into?”

“Not really. You?”

“I find this kind of exciting. I never
thought I'd be on an assignment with a bunch of Rheans.”

“I've got a feeling this won't be the last
time.”

“I hope so,” Sara said. “Any other assignment
would pale in comparison.”

“Any other assignment would be a whole lot
safer than this one,” said Leon.

“True, but being a Ranger isn't exactly the
safest job.” Sara said, nimbly following Leon around a few large
rocks. “I've been meaning to ask how you learned to fight. You're
like a warrior monk from the Synchin Mountains.”

“The Turin,” Leon answered. “They may not
look it, but when it comes to skill – they're the best.”

At that moment three large people emerged
from around several rocks ahead of the group: two male, one female.
Each was at least seven feet tall and muscular. Their clothing was
unkempt and their skin had a decayed appearance.

“Prometheans,” Leon said, concerned.

Sara reached for her equinox.

“No,” Leon whispered sternly.

Janah came up behind Sara. “Whatever you do,
don't do anything hostile. These guys hate everyone and love to
fight.”

The Prometheans, Arloff, Lugos and Elsa,
approached the group. As they got closer, they spread themselves
out to block anyone from going anywhere but back.

“Leave this place,” Arloff demanded.

Leon spoke. “We're not here to fight, but we
have to move on.”

“No one is allowed to trespass!” Arloff
said.

“Please,” Nedim pleaded. “We are trying to
stop the invasion in the Netherworld.”

“Which means we're trying to help you,” Leon
said.

“No!” Arloff growled. “We may be dead, but
this is still our land. We don't need your help!”

“We need to get to the Netherworld.” said
Leon. “Your portal is the only one we know of.”

Arloff's naturally menacing look became even
more so when he asked. “You want to go to the Netherworld?”

Leon stepped back. “Yeah, but-”

“Then I'll send you there!” Arloff yelled as
he swung at Leon, who just barely managed to get out of the
way.

Nedim, unable to react fast enough, was
grazed by Arloff's forearm, knocking him unconscious.

Elsa charged in.

“Move!” Janah said, she and Sara jumping in
different directions to avoid the attack.

Lugos went after Kamala and Gillan.

Using her ability to control the earth,
Kamala launched a horse-size rock at Lugos, only for him to crash
through it without stopping.

“Oh!” Gillan said, astonished.

Lugos came within a few feet when Kamala
opened a crack in the ground big enough for him trip over, though
he quickly got back up, growling in anger.

Arloff's frustration grew with each attempt
to hit Leon. Every swing either missed or shattered rock.

Leon took the first chance he had to land a
series of hard blows to the gut with no effect.

Arloff quickly seized Leon and violently
threw him, but Leon landed on the canyon wall like a fly and
counter-attacked with a kick to Arloff’s face.

Sara and Janah took turns attacking Elsa from
different angles. Their weapons slashed and pierced the skin with
some difficulty, accomplishing little besides making her
increasingly angry.

“I could use a little help here!” Kamala
cried out, desperately launching everything she could to stop
Lugos, only to have every pebble and rock simply bounce or crumble
against his body.

Gillan drew forth a powerful stream of water
from the river, sweeping Lugos off his feet.

The impact of a large Promethean hitting the
ground threw plenty of debris around.

Sara, backpedaling away from Elsa at that
moment, slipped and fell.

Without hesitation, Janah jumped on Elsa's
back and tried to choke her with one arm while blinding her with
the other, giving Sara the chance she needed to get back up and out
of the way.

Arloff was being taken apart piece by piece
with every slash from Leon's sword. The first things to go were his
right hand and left arm, but even then, he attacked relentlessly
with his legs – until Leon cut those off too, leaving Arloff an
undead pile of limbs.

Elsa stumbled around with Janah holding
tight.

Sara jumped in driving her equinox into
Elsa's gut. The blade exited out her back, narrowly missing Janah's
legs.

“Whoa!” Janah hollered.

Elsa, partially blinded, managed to grab hold
of Sara while inadvertently falling into the river.

Unable to help, Leon yelled. “Gillan!”

Seeing the women being swept downriver,
Gillan immediately jumped in.

Lugos turned his full attention to Kamala.
Standing only a few yards away, he was about to make his move when
a yellow ball of energy burst through his torso, causing so much
damage his body simply couldn't function and collapsed.

It was then Kamala saw Nedim standing with
yellow smoke emanating from his hand.

Gillan moved through the water with
incredible speed. After easily catching up with Sara and Janah, he
grabbed both and used his abilities to wash them ashore.

After catching their breath, Sara and Janah
were back on their feet.

Leon stood by. “You two okay?”

Janah gave a thumbs-up.

“Thanks, Gillan.” Sara said exhausted. She
holstered her equinox. “Geez, I hope we don't run into those guys
again.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Night fell. Moving with a sense of purpose,
the group had found its way out of the canyon. Now, with their
hooded cloaks on, they were on rocky terrain that was uneven and
littered with dead trees. Light rain and fog set in, making it
slightly difficult to see.

Leon was some distance ahead making sure
there were no surprises waiting for the group.

Sara, Kamala and Nedim worked together
through the dead forest’s maze of trees, bull-size rocks and thick
brush. Further behind, Gillan and Janah made sure nothing was
following them.

Kamala struggled up an incline. “I hope it's
not much further.”

Sara took hold of Kamala's arm to help.
“After that run-in with those guys back there I don't see the
hurry. Isn't it their city we're going to?”

“Yeah,” Kamala said. “It should be mostly
abandoned, but with everything that's going on I wouldn't be
surprised to be surprised.”

“So what's their deal?” Sara asked.

“Long story short, the Pelasgians wiped them
out. We're in what used to be their land.”

“That big, ugly guy made it sound like it
still is.”

“Their portal lets them come back whenever
they want. No one even knew what happened to them until after the
war, and everyone agrees this land is even less safe now that
they’re undead. The Fenrir around here know that better than
anyone.”

Sara became somewhat anxious. “Fenrir? You
don’t think we’ll run into one, do you?”