A World To Lose

by Frances Ellen

  “Tomorrow?” Sky asked.

  David looked at Sky. “Yes, tomorrow. I know you would rather go down there today, but I assumed you would want to go through all the information I have on the trail you will be going down, the humans that have gone missing, and the layout of the canyon floor and where the entrance to the Underworld is.”

  “He’s right. We need to be optimally prepared,” Sophie agreed.

  Sky rolled his eyes and slumped back down into his chair. Another day of waiting… and studying.

  “The trail itself takes at least a few hours to get down. Four if you’re fast enough—”

  “And we can’t shimmer… why?” Sky wondered.

  “Because you don’t know what’s waiting for you down there,” David replied, frowning at him.

  “He’s right. Better for us to see what has been happening and make a plan, than to shimmer right into possible trouble,” Matu concurred.

  “That seems just about a good enough reason,” Sky muttered. He wasn’t looking forward to half a day’s hike. That would tire them out more than a shimmer would. Then again, an unnecessary battle if they shimmered right in between Disciples would tire them out even more; if not injure them badly.

  “Do you have all that information here?” Sophie asked.

  David placed the bag onto the table and patted the top. “Everything you need is in here. I suggest you start on the trail early just before sunrise. Then you’ll have most of the day to do what you do best, right?” David laughed.

  The Asters had trouble laughing with him. It was as if the man didn’t realise they were talking about a potential uprising from a King himself.

  “Thank you,” Matu said.

  “How close is the trail?” Nathan asked.

  “Oh, it’s about half an hour’s drive from here. We’ll pick you up tomorrow morning in the truck and get you down there,” David explained.

  “We?” Sky asked.

  “Yes. I’ll have one of my sons drive us, then I can update you on whatever news might’ve come in today or overnight. Shall I leave you all to it, then? Don’t want to stand in the way of the Asters saving the world.” David laughed again.

  Sky managed a tight smile.

  “Yes, thank you,” Sophie said politely.

  “All right, then.” David got up from his chair and headed for the door. “I will see you all tomorrow morning. There’s plenty of food and drink in the fridge. Help yourself. My card with my number is on the coffee table if you need anything else. Good luck!”

  The door closed behind him.

  The five Asters stared at the door, momentarily speechless. This was one of Felix’s best Watchers? Sky had to believe all sorts of people could be Watchers, but he had never expected one to be so chipper. So annoyingly chipper.

  “We’d better get started,” Sophie said. She turned the backpack towards her and started pulling out various maps of the Canyon floor and the trail they were going to descend the next morning. She handed these to Nathan and Matu. There was also a brown binder, which contained detailed profiles and pictures of the hikers that had disappeared. She handed one batch of these to Lian and kept the rest for herself.

  Sky leaned over so he could join Lian in looking through the different profiles, and found himself impressed with the information David Hughes had gathered. He hated that they had to spend another day and night here. It might’ve been half past four when they stepped through the static portal on Saluverus, but because of the time difference, it was early in the morning here. Sky supposed it wasn’t the worst thing in the world to spend a few more hours preparing as best they could for whatever they would face down in the Canyon.

  He still groaned, however, when Sophie pulled out detailed reports of Disciple activity over the past few weeks. She passed the reports to him and told him to get started on them. Sky grumbled something he was sure she didn’t hear. He got up from the table and made his way over to the sofa. He threw himself down on it and opened the report, hoping that whatever was in it, was relevant enough to make a difference once they went down into the Canyon tomorrow.

  The following morning the Asters were all ready to go when there was a knock on the door. Sky finished fastening the straps of the small backpack with the vials of their blood, before sliding the last two short swords into their sheaths at his thighs.

  They were all heavily armed. Sky spun his short spear in his hands with contained energy as the five of them filed out of the cabin and into the morning darkness. It was just before sunrise, and the sky was filled with beautiful shades of deep blue and purple. Sky looked around and couldn’t believe how different this place was to Saluverus. There were no lush, green forests, and there was no freshly cut grass. There was sandy rock and highly dehydrated grass and a few trees that had seen better days. It reminded him of the Outback in Australia. His mother had taken him there a few times when he was younger and had come home for the holidays.

  Just a few feet away from the cabin stood what looked like an army truck. Two boys who looked about five years older than Sky sat behind the wheel and in the passenger’s seat. They turned to look at the Asters following David outside, smiled and waved.

  “Those are my sons. Jason’s behind the wheel. He’s the oldest. And that’s Wesley over there beside him. They will be driving us to the trail,” David said proudly. The Watcher walked around the back of the army truck and pulled open the fabric flaps at the back. He jumped lithely up inside.

  Sky was the first to follow him. Inside the back of the truck were two benches that had been screwed tightly to the floor. David sat on the right-hand bench and slid all the way up close to the front of the truck. Sky followed his lead, but did so on the bench opposite him. The other Asters followed suit, and as soon as they all sat down and had the bags of extra weapons and supplies dumped at their feet, David called, “We’re in!”, and the truck started to move.

  As they hurtled uncomfortably down the rocky roads of south-western America, David turned and addressed the Asters.

  “I hope you all slept well?” he queried.

  The Asters murmured their responses. This was the morning of a mission. They had all spent the previous day and most of the night preparing themselves for what they were about to face once they got down the trail. None of them were in the mood for chit-chat.

  David seemed to realise this, and decided to talk at them instead. “There have been no new developments since yesterday morning. The same thirteen tourists and two tour leaders are still missing,” he revealed. “I do hope it’s not as bad as Axel predicts it is. We were very sorry to hear of the Queen’s death. A real shame that was, a real shame. As if you all don’t have enough to deal with, and now you might have an uprising on your hands… Pff, well.” David smiled broadly at them. “But the Ambassador tells me you are extremely good at what you do, and I have no doubt that you will be able to handle whatever is happening down there. There haven’t been many Disciples on the Canyon floor; most seem to have entered the Underworld. I think it’s better that you focus on getting through that entrance. It won’t be hard. If you studied the maps I gave you, you should know where it is.”

  “We do know, yes,” Matu replied.

  “Good, yes. Very good indeed,” David went on. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pile of company cards. “If you need anything, just call the number on the back. If you need Affinites to help bring the humans out, just let me know and we will be there to lend a hand.”

  Matu thanked him, taking the cards and passing them out amongst the Asters so they each had one.

  The truck started to slow.

  “Ah, it looks like we’re here. All right, out we go,” David said as the truck ground to a halt.

  The six of them piled out of the truck. The vehicle had stopped near the edge of the Canyon. The sky had turned from purple to a deep orange; the sun was barely peeking out above the edge of the Grand Canyon’s rocky cliffs. The view was absolutely incredible. Sky could see all the
way down to the bottom of the Canyon and the red and orange cliffs stretched out for miles and miles, in all different shapes and sizes. Some peaks stretched even higher than where they were standing, and all the way down in the valley, a narrow river snaked in between the ancient cliffs.

  There was the beginning of a narrow path close to where Sky was standing. A wooden sign that read Angel Trail, painted in red, stood near the path, with an arrow pointing diagonally downwards. Two round wooden poles stood on either side of the trail, and there was red and white tape woven between them, blocking off the path.

  “I closed this trail off three days ago,” David explained. His older son, Jason, stepped past them and started untying the knots that tied the tape to the wooden poles. “The authorities and other hiking companies think I did it because of erosion. They believe the path is dangerous and could lead to a collapse. I’m supposedly having it checked out and secured before a next group of hikers is allowed to go down.”

  “And the truth?” Nathan asked. Sky could tell that the cold focus had taken a hold of his brother again. His brown eyes no longer had that warm and kind quality as he looked at the Affinite.

  David grinned. “The truth? Towards the bottom of the way down this trail is one of the three entrances to the North American Underworld within the Grand Canyon. This is your fastest way to get there and I didn’t think you would enjoy keeping your cover amongst clueless hikers.”

  Sky nodded appreciatively. David might talk a lot and speak very lightly about the impending danger so close to his business and his family, but the man was smart. He came to the Small Council with a problem, and before the Asters had even arrived, he’d made sure everything was laid out for them impeccably.

  The younger of the two sons, Wesley, had started helping Jason with the unwrapping of the tape, and the two of them were just about finished. The Asters did a last check of the weapons that they would take with them, leaving the rest in the bags in the back of the truck. Sky looked at his brothers and sister and nodded; they were ready to go.

  “This is where we part ways. Use that phone number if you need anything at all. If you do find the hikers, try and get them back up here; we will take them someplace safe while you deal with the actual problem. Be safe now. Good luck to y’all!”

  Wesley and Jason moved out of the way, so that the Asters could step between the two wooden poles and start down the path. The Asters all turned around, raised a hand to the Affinite father and sons, and said their thankyou’s before starting down the trail and disappearing out of sight.

  Sky heard the engine of the truck being turned on again above him, and soon the sound faded into the distance, leaving the Asters alone to start their descent down into the Canyon and towards the entrance to the North American Underworld.

  Chapter 15

  For most of the trek the Asters walked in silence. David had failed to mention that this was one of the tougher trails in the Grand Canyon, and they had to focus all their attention on getting through the narrow pathways and down the steep steps. Matu wasn’t particularly afraid of heights, but he was glad the trek required all of his concentration, which kept him from worrying about his father in Brazil. Diallo and his team were travelling back to Saluverus today. Matu knew his father should be fine; no rogue Disciples were stupid enough to try and take on the Ceder of Strength. Still, he didn’t like how seemingly easily Eva and Percy’s teams had been attacked and killed.

  As Matu shimmied along a particularly narrow ledge, he couldn’t help feel a little flutter in his stomach when he looked at the drop below. He was glad to have Sky with them; at least with his shimmer they wouldn’t have to drag possibly wounded humans back up this trail, while also possibly being chased by Disciples.

  Every now and again they would spot where the trail would continue some way further down, and Sky would shimmer them there to spare them some time and energy, and so that the hike wouldn’t take the four hours that David Hughes had told them it would.

  It was two hours after they had started out, and Matu scanned the Grand Canyon while they took a small break. He estimated that they were about an hour from the entrance to the Underworld. It surprised him that there was no one to be seen. From where he was standing, on quite a decent outlook point, he couldn’t spot any other hikers. Or any Disciples for that matter, while the map back on Saluverus had said the Canyon was crawling with them, and David had confirmed the same thing.

  So where were they all?

  Matu took one last swig of his water bottle and turned back to the other Asters. When he stepped back down from the small platform, he saw they were all ready to go.

  “Nothing?” Sophie asked.

  Matu shook his head.

  “They have to be here somewhere,” Lian muttered.

  Sophie voiced her agreement.

  Nathan kept his usual silence.

  “I could fly overhead?” Sky offered.

  Matu shook his head again. “It wouldn’t help. You’d have to fly a long way to see what I wouldn’t have been able to. Better we stay together until we reach the entrance, and work from there.”

  Matu could see the annoyance on Sky’s face, but his brother kept his mouth shut. Instead, Sky took the lead and led them further down the trail. Lian was behind him, followed by Sophie and Nathan, while Matu took up the rear.

  The trek was going well. They had trained for this; they spent hours and hours on their fitness, so this physical exertion was next to nothing for them.

  Another twenty minutes passed since their small break, when suddenly Sky halted with a grunt. Matu nearly bashed up against Nathan, who had stopped as suddenly as everyone else in front of him. The path had widened out and they could stand with three of them next to each other.

  “What the hell,” Sky muttered. He was staring out in front of him; as if he was seeing something none of the others could.

  “What’s going on?” Sophie asked, coming up beside him and looking in the same direction that her brother was.

  “I can’t get through,” Sky grunted. He lifted his hand and brought it forward. And there it was: his hand met something hard. Matu could see it from the way Sky’s hand suddenly stopped in mid-air. Sky hadn’t paused his movement; something was blocking his way.

  Lian was on Sky’s other side and tried to walk through as well, holding his hands out in front of him when just as suddenly the same happened. Something invisible, but definitely physical, was stopping them from getting through. Matu checked the map. The entrance to the Underworld was about a hundred feet below them.

  “Let me try,” Matu said. Sky and Lian moved aside so that Matu could reach the invisible wall. He curled his right hand into a fist. His Band started glowing bronze and in one mighty sweep, he punched the invisible wall.

  The whole thing shuddered. The ground underneath their feet grumbled for a second. Black lines, like ripples on the surface of a pond, spiralled out from where Matu had punched the wall.

  “It’s a dark veil,” Sophie breathed. “Similar to the one our parents faced in Brazil.”

  “You mean this King and the one in South America are working together?” Sky asked.

  Sophie studied the veil. “Unlikely. It’s just a simple spell. Every King would know it.”

  “Just help me break the damn thing open,” Matu said. His brothers immediately started forming a circle around him, ready to chant a spell that would grant Matu the strength of their magic and channel it through his own. Only Sophie didn’t comply to his demand.

  “Just try again by yourself,” Sophie said.

  “Why?” Matu asked.

  “Just do it. I have a suspicion.”

  Matu took her word for it. He turned his attention back to the invisible wall in front of him. He could see the trail on the other side. The ground there looked exactly the same as it did where he was standing. And yet he couldn’t just walk over to it.

  Matu rallied his magic again, and punched. The ground around them shuddered again. Matu
heard something rumble and crash behind him. He didn’t want to know where it had come from. He also didn’t have time to look around to see for himself, because enough was happening in front of him.

  The veil was no longer invisible: it was now a cloudy sort of grey. Matu could no longer see through it the way he was able to before. Except for where he had punched twice now, because a hole had formed in the veil. The hole was about the size of his fist; it was big enough for Matu to put his hands in. He did so; each hand gripping a side of it, his knuckles touching as he put his magic to work again. His magic sizzled through his body as he tried to split the hole open further.

  It happened faster than he thought. The moment he pulled at either side of the hole, two huge cracks appeared above and below it. The wall moaned as Matu pulled harder, the cracks becoming rips, and the rips eventually becoming one giant split in the wall.

  Matu stopped the moment the split was wide enough for a single person to step through. It was still quite narrow, but it was enough.

  Matu could hear Sophie suck in a breath behind him as he shimmied through the tear in the wall. He hadn’t known what she had suspected as he stepped through, but he doubted she’d expected it to be as bad as what he saw once he took in the other side.

  Matu’s breath caught as he took in the Canyon now.

  “That’s not good…” Lian breathed the second he stepped through the veil.

  Sophie looked over her brother’s shoulder. “Yeah. I was afraid of that.”

  Matu could tell she was using a light voice just to keep them calm, but what they saw shocked them all to the core.

  The invisible wall had concealed everything. Matu had estimated correctly; the Asters were standing on the trail a hundred feet above the entrance to the Underworld. Matu couldn’t see the entrance from where they were standing, but if he looked down, he could see a group of Disciples vanishing underneath the rock overhang the Asters were standing on, and not returning.