by Lee Magnus
After a lengthy drive, Alain brought the car to a stop in the parking lot of a white stoned building fronting a large warehouse surrounded by freight trucks. Trey noticed several armed security guards walking the lot and outside the front office. He thought it was strange to have such tight security at a trucking company.
After they exited the car, she stopped Trey outside the front door and said, “The Phoenix is on our side but don’t say anything that might give him more information than is necessary.”
“Okay,” Trey said with a troubled look.
They entered the drab building and then with a nod, continued past the front desk attendant and several members of security. At the end of the hall, a bulky guard in a navy suit courteously opened the door as they approached.
The room was conservatively decorated. A modest wooden desk occupied the center-back upon entry, a coffee table surrounded by three chairs sat to the right and a big leafy plant stood near the only window. Trey detected a hint of vanilla in the air. A well-dressed man in a grey suit and neatly combed hair greeted them as they walked in.
“It’s a pleasure to see you again Lyza,” said the Phoenix. He walked to meet them at the side of the desk. “It’s been such a long time. You are as stunning as ever – as if you haven’t aged a day,” he continued and kissed her hand.
“Thank you,” she said in an obligatory tone as she pulled her hand away. She nonchalantly wiped it on a pant leg.
“And you must be Trey.” He turned and reached out a hand of which Trey took. “Your family’s history in our shared endeavor goes back many decades – maybe even much longer.” He slowly regarded Lyza then continued addressing Trey, “It is very exciting to finally meet the grandson of the great Patrick Roberts.”
“Thank you, sir. It’s nice to meet you too.” Trey respectfully pulled his hand away, thankful to be released from the uncomfortable handshake.
“Tell me, Trey, how much of your family’s involvement in protecting priceless artifacts do you know?”
”I uh, don’t really…“ Trey nervously looked at Lyza.
Lyza spoke up drawing his focus away from Trey, “He knows very little. The less he knows the safer he is. Patrick kept the family’s involvement a complete secret. I suppose you know why I’m here.”
“Yes, of course. Don’t I always,” he said through a Styrofoam white grin. “It is unfortunate that you were attacked in your home, Trey. We are evaluating all information sources to determine how you were discovered.” He turned to Lyza, “Commerand is growing stronger. He seeks the artifacts.”
He indicated them to sit in the two available chairs. Lyza opted to lean against his desk. Trey took the left chair.
“I don’t think Commerand is after the artifacts quite yet, but he is definitely seeking the relics which means the eye may be in danger?” she said.
“Speaking of the artifacts, the sword is no longer in Somalia.”
She furrowed her brow and stood from the desk, “Do you think Commerand already has it?”
“I don’t think so. The troll said it was there one minute and gone the next.”
What? Did he say troll? Trey was loosely following the conversation prior to the mention of a troll. He was at full awareness now, tossing his attention between the two as they spoke.
“That’s coming from a sea troll. He’s probably just defending himself,” she said.
Trey couldn’t believe his ears.
“True, but he wouldn’t be around to tell a lie if Commerand came for the sword,” the Phoenix replied.
“I suppose you’re right. He doesn’t leave survivors. I think I know where the sword may be or at least will be and lucky for us we’re already heading in that direction. We’ll go for the remaining pieces as soon as we leave here.”
“That’s good. I assume once you acquire them you will re-disperse them around the globe?”
“Of course.”
“And the eye?”
“It’s safe for now. We’ll need a few things,” she said.
“Come this way, I have just what you’re looking for,” he said with a broad closed lip smile.
He slightly pulled a hanging wine glass, opening a small brightly lit room behind the bar. An assortment of weapons and military gear were neatly organized on above ground shelving. Lyza chose a knife she placed in her left boot and a semiautomatic pistol in a shoulder holster. While she filled a pack with ammo, she glanced a small rack of tiny bottles.
“When did you get into potions?” she asked.
“I’ve been collecting over the past few years. They are from all over the world and some from different worlds.”
Looking them over, she said, ”I’ll take two energy, these two levitation and do you have any fireproof?”
“I believe so, yes, I have three of them.”
“This one came from a shaman in central China,” he said as he held a tiny green glass bottle for her to see. “It is a cloaking potion. I think it will be handy if you are attempting to recover the eye,” he said.
“We will not disturb the eye. It is well protected. Commerand himself wouldn’t be able to retrieve it. However, I’ll take the potion anyway. Cloaking could be useful.”
“Indeed. I would like to add that the eye has been at rest for a long time. It might be wise to relocate it,” he replied with an overly anxious face.
“I appreciate your concern; however, we won’t be moving it anytime soon. There are more pressing matters at hand.”
“Understood.”
The Phoenix removed the bottles, then packaged them in a pouch that Lyza immediately fastened to her belt.
“Remember, Energy and Fireproof are to be consumed, levitate should be sprinkled on whatever you want to levitate. Do not, I repeat, Do Not drink the Levitate,” he said sternly. “Once applied, it should begin working within thirty seconds. The cloaking potion is actually a gas. When you open it, it will visually blend all that surrounds the gas so that everything contained in the gas will look like the surrounding area,” he said urgently as he walked them out. “I will send a few of my men with you. You could use the assistance. Jessie is still really upset. I hear he has a twenty-four-hour lookout for you.”
“All the better to stick with just the two of us. I know the area very well, probably better than Jessie. We’ll be able to sneak in without being noticed,” she said.
“And what about the teacher? He gave my guys a lot of trouble at the airport.”
“Let him go. We’ll catch up with him in the Oasis.”
Trey’s eyes grew large, but he didn’t say anything. The Phoenix took notice of Trey’s changed expression.
“Will there be anything else I can do for you?”
“No. You have been generous with your time and resources.”
“And you Trey. Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Actually, yeah. I was wondering what type of stuff you store and ship from here that requires so much security.”
“Certainly. This warehouse and trucking company operate as a government contractor. We oftentimes have sensitive and dangerous material here that can be a target for militant groups. We rarely know what we store. The government regularly comes and goes with their issued security protocol.” He looked questionably at Trey then continued, “But that’s not why you asked the question. As you may already know,” he said glancing at Lyza, “I operate a network of, let’s call them Information Specialists who gather information regarding the artifacts and relics Lyza has most likely informed you about. I aggregate that information here in our offline databases. If I or our databases were to be compromised, the very important mission the Order was created for, could be thwarted. I retain an expansive guard regiment to protect that information.”
“I see. Thanks.”
“If that is all, I will walk you out.”
He walked them from the building to the car. At the car Lyza turned and said, “Thank you Phoenix. Your assistance is noted and will be rewarded.”
<
br /> “You know I’m not looking for a reward,” he said proudly.
“Right. You’re more of a power guy,” she said smiling as she ducked into the car.
Allain pulled away leaving the Phoenix at the curb.
Trey immediately turned to Lyza. “What teacher were you talking about? My science teacher is in Egypt. Does he have something to do with all of this?“
“We’ve been following Nick Hampton for some time now, but we can’t talk here. We’ll talk about it when we land.”
“Who was that Phoenix guy? He knows my family?”
“Yes. He works closely with us. He never worked directly with Patrick but acquired information for several of his missions.”
“Do you think he had anything to do with Donald’s dad’s disappearance?”
“No. I don’t think he had anything to do with that. While I don’t fully trust him, I don’t think he would do us harm. He likes to think of himself as the leader of the order. He’s a very useful person and is constantly gathering information on the whereabouts of the relics and artifacts. He’s also aware of the movements of those that serve Khaitu. To be in his position, he walks a very thin line on what team he plays for. Do you know what I mean?”
“Yeah. He’s like a double agent?”
“Something like that.”
They continued a northerly route. Trey beheld the sun settling over the western desert, casting brilliant colors onto the clouds above. He drifted off dreaming of holding the hand of beautiful wavy headed girl who reaches for a playful kiss but just before their lips connect, the car came to a stop waking him from the reverie.
Trey looked out the window into a moderately lit area to find waiting a single propeller airplane.
Assauf, a medium sized clean-shaven thin man knelt before Lyza, then greeted them in Arabic.
She turned and said, “Thank you, Alain.” She then addressed Trey, “This is Assauf. He will fly us to the Oasis.”
She kissed Alain on the forehead before taking a pilot’s seat. Trey climbed in back followed by Assauf who sealed the aircraft then sat in the remaining pilot seat. The plane was a four-seater with sizable cargo space behind the rear seats. The engine sputtered to life briefly sending the scent of burnt aviation fuel through the cabin.
They taxied onto the runway after a brief systems check. The plane roared as it picked up speed. It bumped and swayed then gracefully lifted from the runway. Assauf steepened the ascent then banked to the left, steadily rising into the dark night.
Two hours into the noisy turbulent flight, Trey was startled by an unexpected silence. The only sound was that of the wind rushing over the wings of a powerless plane hurtling through a black sky.
Lyza looked calmly back at Trey’s wide-eyed pale expression and said, “There’s a strip of dry flat land just north of the city. I’ll take it down under no power to avoid detection.”
“And you’ve flown a plane before?” Trey asked.
“Yes.”
“Without engines?” he replied more desperately trying not to show immense fear.
She gave him a thumbs up, then took over the controls.
Trey looked out the window unable to see anything in the darkness – he tried not to panic. Breathing a bit harder than usual, he thought, a small plane like this probably has a glide ratio of 10:1 and if we are roughly 12k feet in the air we could be on the ground within twenty minutes.
The steady whir of the wind was unsettling. His stomach tingled and his ears popped as Lyza made several consecutive quick descents – he clinched the arm rest each time.
About eighteen minutes later, she made a final descent leveling out smoothly onto the hard-packed desert floor. Trey was thankful to be safely on the ground. Lyza pulled the aircraft to a stop while Trey released a comforting breath.
“Just a minute. For the dust to settle,” said Assauf as he flipped switches and turned knobs.
Moments later they all exited into the dry cool air.
Trey kicked at a soft layer of sand.
“Leave if anyone other than us approach,” she said to Assauf.
He nodded, then waved to them as they walked south in the west Egyptian desert.
After a few moments of walking Trey said while looking at the clear sky above, “To think, billions of gigantic fireballs blast light billions of light years so that we can see just a tiny glimpse of their magnificence. I’ve never seen so many. The Milky Way is beautiful. I’ve only seen it in pictures,” he said in amazement. “Look! Canis, and Orion! They seem so close out here. Did you know that ancient Egyptians used the star Sirius to predict seasonal flooding of the Nile?”
“Yes,” she said smiling. “I have heard that one a few times.”
“Of course you have,” he said feeling a little silly.
He brought his gaze from above to Lyza. “Tell me how Mr. H fits into this puzzle.”
“You’re pretty close to him, aren’t you?”
He looked at her, trying to decide how much he should share. “Yeah. He’s like the father I wish I had.”
She looked at him with perceptive eyes before continuing the conversation about Nick, “He seems like a really nice guy.”
“He is. He’s helped me out more times than I can count.”
“We think Nick is looking for the Eye of Kartho.”
“Why would Mr. H be looking for an object to power a portal to the Etherios?”
“I don’t know. Possibly the same reason as Don.”
They walked a few steps before Trey asked, “How does the eye work?”
“The eye is an artifact Khaitu used to travel between worlds. With this key,” she pointed to her locket, “and the eye, one could travel anywhere they please if the holder is powerful enough – no portal needed. Only one with formidable magic could do it effectively without the eye and the key together. Khaitu didn’t need a key. With the eye alone, Khaitu’s sorcerer Commerand could probably open the portal but would not be able to choose where to go. He would randomly drift until he arrived where he wanted to be. He could also get fluxed which I don’t think he wants to do. We do not believe he’s powerful enough to will the eye to open the portal to the destination of his choosing. However, he is growing stronger by the day and we can’t risk the eye falling into his possession. With it, he could find the relics of the Order and free Khaitu.”
“Didn’t you say before the key will also power portals?”
“Yes. Just like we have done. But the holder has to know the exact shape or can manipulate the magic of the portal to take them to the destination in their mind.”
Trey looked up at the stars as his mind overtook his sense of purpose.
“I think it’s time you send me back home. This is over my head. I’m all about the adventure but I almost died three times today! My mom could be in danger and I just learned this world is a whole lot scarier than I could ever imagine. Just take me home please,” he pleaded.
“You can’t go home. It isn’t safe,” she said sympathetically.
“What about with Kathy? You said mom was safe with her.”
“She is safe. No one is out to get her. You, however, are not safe.”
“Lady, I haven’t been safe since I met you. It couldn’t be worse there.” He intentionally kicked up sand as he took a few more steps. “It’s this metal thing isn’t it. I’ll give it to you!“ He said hopefully. He clutched her hand and said, “I grant this, the disk of uh of Oleradada to Lyza!”
The disk remained in his hand.
“It doesn’t work that way, plus, I can’t carry it,” she said. “We don’t have time for this. I agree it is too dangerous for you to be here, but we don’t have a choice. We must go on.”
He lowered his head, placed the disk back in the pocket and continued walking.
“We don’t know why Nick is searching for the eye, how he knows where to find it or why he even knows about it at all. I hope he can clear some of it up for us when we see him later today.”
“Really?” Trey said excitedly. “He’s here?”
“Maybe,” she said. “Did he say anything to you about where he was going?”
“Actually, he did. He said he was travelling to an Oasis in western Egypt and possibly eastern Libya. That’s here isn’t it?”
“Yes. Anything else about where he was going or what he’s doing here?”
“No, we were interrupted before I could ask more questions.”
“Has he mentioned any other travels lately?”
“Yeah, he went to China over the summer and Costa Rica before that.”
“Costa Rica? Are you sure he said Costa Rica?”
“Yes, he meditated with a wierdo named Che.”
“Che! Of course!” she said startling Trey. “That’s how he knew to go to China. Did he say how he met Che?”
“No, we didn’t get into that. Who is he?”
“Che is a medium. Someone was using him to communicate with Nick.”
“Who would want to do that?” asked Trey.
“Someone looking for the eye, needs a properly-built portal and who can’t do it themselves,” she said.
“So, most likely the same person that convinced Donald’s dad to build his portal?”
“Probably.”
“But when Don bailed on the task, they had to find someone else.”
Lyza gave him a confirming glance. She looked toward the sparkling sky and continued walking more briskly.
“Why are you and Nick so close?”
“What do you mean?”
“In our surveillance we’ve noticed you spend a lot of time with him. He takes you places, he’s at your house often and the way you lit up when I said he was here tells me you are closer than just a teacher/student relationship.”
“Oh. Yeah. I really like the guy. I guess it started when he was a judge at my first science fair. I was in fourth grade then. I built this awesome fusion reactor replica. I spent nearly all year designing and building it. Had it not been made of Styrofoam and cardboard, it would have held the plasma as well as any of them,” he said proudly. “My dad helped me a lot with it. It was the last thing we did together. Not a week after the fair, he left. I’ve barely had contact with him since.”