“You didn’t really answer me.”
She thought about it before answering. “I suppose it’s necessary. Not something I ever thought I’d be a part of, but I understand why.”
Alix watched as they got ready. All of them were dressed in black from head to toe and everything on them was also black. They looked like something from a movie.
“Why are they dressed like that?’ Alix asked Ben.
“So, it’s harder for them to be seen.”
“Why don’t they just cloak themselves?”
“Some of the stuff they’re carrying is man-made so the camouflage won’t work.”
“Oh, looks like I still have more to learn.”
“Don’t worry, that’s what I’m here for.” Ben grinned at her.
Despite the seriousness of the situation she had to smile. They watched as the Warriors and ex-military finished getting prepared. When Gordon was done, he came over to Alix and Ben.
“Miss Alix, are you ready for this?”
“As ready as I’m going to get.”
“And you Master Ben?”
“I’m good to go. Those guys look pretty serious,” Ben said nodding in the direction of the Warriors.
“That they are Master Ben. They come highly recommended by mutual friends.”
“That’s rather cryptic Gordon. Are those even their real names?” Alix asked.
“Those were the only names I was given so I’m not really sure. But I do know they’ll do what’s needed to free James, get rid of the Grynn and get us all back to safety.”
That was good enough for Alix. “How much longer?”
“We should be able to see the island within the next thirty minutes. You’ll know when we’re ready. I’m going to go check on everyone.”
Alix leaned back against Ben. He put his arms around her, and they watched as the rest of their group prepared. A few minutes later Ben led her back to the front of the boat. She was really glad she’d brought her hoodie. It was chilly with the wind blowing on her.
Ben turned her around, so they were facing each other. He took her face in his hands and touched his forehead to hers.
“Alix, in the last few months you’ve become extremely important to me. I need you to promise me you won’t do anything crazy in there. I need you to stay with me. If you try to do anything dangerous, I’ll be stuck to your side. Understand?”
“Yes.”
They wrapped their arms around each other and stayed that way until the boat began to slow down. They turned to look at what was in front of them. The moon was bright enough that they could see the silhouette of an island. They were there.
The Wizard got as close as it could and dropped anchor. They split into two groups and Nate lowered the boats to the water. The motors were almost silent. All Alix could hear was the water moving on the sides of the boat. They reached the shore, and everyone got out of the boats and stood on the sand. The four Warriors were about to start scouting when Alix stopped them.
“Let me do a search for any magical traps first.”
Alix gathered energy and sent it out across the island. She made sure her magic was subtle so that it didn’t trigger anything and wouldn’t notify the Grynn if there were any on the island.
Her magic went over the island like a wave. She could feel the plant life and the magic that kept the island hidden from everyone looking from above. She couldn’t penetrate the buildings though. She scanned the whole island and didn’t find anything suspicious.
“Okay everyone,” she said. “I didn’t find any Grynn traps or magic in use. And I actually find that a little suspicious so be extra careful. I couldn’t get into the building so you’re on your own there, sorry.”
They watched as the four Warriors disappeared into the dark. They were to maintain radio silence unless the situation called for it.
The wait was killing Alix. She was pacing a path in the sand. She didn’t know how long it was before Gordon was responding to something in his earpiece.
“The buildings have been cleared. Our team is all fine but there were several Grynn casualties. No sign of James yet.”
When the four Warriors reached the beach, they had a short conversation with Gordon, Olly, and Sal. Then the large group broke up into the three smaller ones. Benton and Rand were filling in Ruth and Shelley. Gordon was about to fill them in.
“Alix, Ben, there are two entrances to the larger building. Teams two and three will breach the building and start clearing rooms. We’ll follow behind team two. Alix, you are to stay right behind me. Olly and Sal will bring up the rear. Any questions?”
Ben and Alix shook their heads. The others were already headed for the building. Alix fell into step behind Gordon. She was nervous. This was a full-on military operation and she was just a teenager from a small town. She tried to gather her courage with each step. Before they knew it they were at the door. She saw Benton, Wills and Ruth enter the building. A minute later she followed Gordon through the door.
The light was shocking to Alix’s eyes after being in the dark. The hallway was extremely white, it almost hurt her to look at it. Benton, Wills, Gordon, Olly, and Sal all had their guns out and were on the lookout for anything. The progress down the hall was slow but so far, no sign of any Grynn or James. There were several smaller hallways leading off the main one. One by one the rooms were cleared by the teams. Alix looked in some of the rooms and they were empty. Nothing was in any of them. Eventually, all the rooms were cleared, and they all met up in the center of the building. It was a large open space with a huge skylight.
“I don’t understand what’s going on,” Alix asked. “Where is everyone?”
“The building appears completely vacant,” Benton said. “All rooms have been checked, there are no stairways and only the two entrances.”
“How many Grynn were in the other buildings?” Alix asked.
“A total of four,” Benton told her.
“Did you see anything that would tell us how this island is being concealed from satellites?”
“No. The one building looked like a bunkhouse and the other one was a storage room.”
“What was in the storage room?” Alix asked.
“Some shelves and boxes.”
“We need to go there,” Alix said.
“What are you thinking?” Ben asked her.
“When I was being held in Paris, I was underground in a cell in a big storage room. What if that room is actually an entrance to another level?”
“Fantastic idea Miss Alix,” Gordon said. “Let’s go check it out. Everyone, we need to continue to be vigilant. So, keep your eyes open. Benton, lead the way.”
Chapter 42
The storage room turned out to be as big as Alix’s whole house back in Sunset Creek. On one side there were rows of shelves containing everything from canned food to printer paper. The other side was full of different size boxes.
Benton was about to walk over to the boxes when Alix stopped him.
“Wait, let me check something.”
She sent out her magic to examine the boxes. They were empty. Why keep a bunch of empty boxes? She pushed her magic into the boxes to check for any Grynn magic. Sure enough, she felt something in a few of them. She realized that if anyone were to touch certain boxes they would be hurt. She had to get rid of them.
Alix used her magic like a giant weight. She used it to push down on all of the boxes and crush them. Next, she imagined the pile of cardboard bursting into dust. She focused on that and in a matter of seconds, the pile of boxes was a pile of dust. Still not wanting anyone to touch it she created a wind around the dust that collected it all and carried it out the door. As soon as it was free of the building, she sent it to scatter to the winds and into the ocean.
“It’s safe now,” she told everyone.
“That was incredible Alix,” Ben said. “But what was in the boxes?”
“A few of them had magical traps in them. If anyone touched those boxes, they
harmed the person holding the box. Now I can examine where the boxes were.”
Once again, Alix sent out her magic, only this time she concentrated on the floor. Just like in the warehouse in London she found a hidden door in the floor. She used her magic to open it. There was a set of stairs leading down to another level.
“Nice job Alix,” Benton said. “You stay here, and we’ll check it out.”
Alix didn’t argue and watched the four Warriors descend down the stairs. A minute or so later they were told it was safe to come down.
Alix was the first one down the stairs. Ben joined her a second later.
“This is looking a little familiar huh,” he said to her.
“Yep, they don’t seem to be very original,” Alix said.
They were in another empty room with a door, like the warehouse in London. The only difference was that this door was quite small. It looked barely wide enough for an average person to walk through.
“Any bets there’s a barrier on that door,” Alix said.
“The chances of that are good,” Ben agreed.
“Benton,” Alix said, “see if you can walk through that door.”
He put his gun up in front of him and went over to the door. He had to turn slightly sideways, but he walked through the opening. “No trouble at all,” he told Alix. “And this room is also clear.”
Olly and Gordon were the next ones through the door. Alix followed Gordon with Ben a couple of steps behind her. The instant she stepped into the doorway she knew it was a trap. She tried to grab for Ben, but she felt the barrier activate. He ran right into an invisible wall.
“Ben!” Alix yelled as he bounced off it.
“Damnit Alix, not again,” he yelled banging on the barrier with his fists. “I’m going to take it down.”
“Wait! We can’t touch it or the walls will collapse.”
“What are you talking about? Isn’t it like the other barriers?” he asked, clearly agitated.
“No. Something about this one is different. It’s been designed so that it extends into the walls and if you try and remove it the walls will come down too. We’re going to have to find another way out.”
“I can’t do this again Alix. It almost killed me to have to watch you walk into that cave alone.”
“I’m not alone this time Ben. Gordon, Olly, and Benton will keep me safe.”
She put her hands and forehead on the barrier. Ben mirrored her. She could feel the heat of his hands.
“I’m sorry Ben,” she said softly.
“Don’t be sorry Alix. Just do what you need to do. I’ll be fine here but I need you to keep your head focused on what you’re doing, not on me. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Gordon, take care of my girl,” Ben said stepping back from the barrier.
“I will Master Ben, you can count on it.”
Alix gave Ben one last look and then joined the others. She hated to go on without Ben, but she didn’t have a choice.
Benton, Olly, and Gordon all had their guns ready and pointed forward as they left the room. Since they didn’t know what was down there, Alix reached in her little bag and got out the Power Stone and put it in her left hand. She didn’t need the extra power right now but wanted to be ready to make that happen in a hurry if she needed to.
They left the room and walked down a dimly lit, twisty hallway that led to a long set of stairs going down. Then another hallway and another set of stairs. One more winding hallway and they finally came to another room. They stood in the middle of it and looked around. It was like something from one of her books. It was a round room with five other doors leading out of it.
“How do we choose which way to go?” Olly asked.
“Give me a minute,” Alix said.
She was going to try and search for James. She thought about him and sent her magic out all around her like a ripple from a rock being thrown into the water. She found no sign of James. She decided to change tactics. She concentrated on any living being that might be down there. This time she was able to pick up something, more like a few somethings and some of them were moving towards them.
“We’re not alone,” she whispered.
Benton, Olly, and Gordon immediately formed a wall around her.
“Which way?” Benton asked.
She focused harder.
“From all around us,” she said.
Their guns were up and ready for anything. Alix put the Power Stone in her right hand and felt her energy spike when it touched her tattoo. She created a very solid shield around the four of them. Then she formed an energy ball in her hand, ready to throw it at any second. They stood still, listening for whatever was approaching them.
“They’re almost here,” she told them.
Suddenly there was a Grynn in all six doors. Alix only had a split second to react before the others started shooting. She broke her energy ball into six pieces and sent them crashing into each of the Grynn. They all collapsed.
“Are they dead?” Benton asked.
“No, and you’re not going to kill them,” she told him. “They’re not Grynn.”
“Of course they are,” he argued. “They all had blue auras.”
“They may have had blue auras but they’re not Grynn. They’re Nykara, go look at their hands.”
Benton went over to one of the unconscious people and turned over their right hand. Sure enough, there was a Nykara tattoo.
“But how did you know?” he asked, clearly confused. “And how is this possible?”
“We’ve encountered this before. The instant I saw them I could tell their aura wasn’t true Grynn. These people have been infected with Grynn magic.”
“If they have Grynn magic in them then we can’t let them live. They aren’t Nykara anymore,” Benton said.
“I can save them, but we don’t have time for that right now. They will be unconscious for a while, but we need to bind them as a precaution. You three do that and I’ll keep watch.”
Alix sent her magic out again. It would alert her if anything was approaching them. A couple of minutes later the six Nykara were bound and moved together in one spot.
“What now?” Olly asked.
“Now we search for the others.”
“Others?” Gordon asked.
“Yes, there are still more Nykara down here as well as real Grynn.”
“How will we know the real Grynn from the infected Nykara?” Benton asked.
“You might not be able to, but instead of shooting them stun them with your magic. That way we can come back later and take care of the real Grynn,” Alix told him.
Benton didn’t look impressed but at least he didn’t argue with her.
“Very well Miss Alix,” Gordon said. “Which way?”
“Down,” she said.
“I don’t understand,” Olly said. “There is no down in here.”
“The other hit I got off my magic indicated that the other people are under us. These doors are just a distraction and an ambush point. Something in this room will take us down. Spread out and look for anything out of the ordinary.
The four of them started searching the room. Alix instinctively knew her magic wasn’t going to find them the way down. There was a trick to finding the way out of this room, they just had to figure it out.
When they’d first entered the room, all Alix had been focusing on were the doors and then the approaching people. As she looked around the room now, she saw that the walls were covered in an intricate design that appeared to continue on the floor. She created a ball of light to look at them more closely.
“Does anyone know what’s carved on the walls?” she asked. “I think the walls are the key to getting out of here.”
“It appears to be writing, but not actual words and every language I’ve ever seen,” Gordon said.
“Is the Grynn language here?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Can you show me?”
He pointed out several d
ifferent places on the walls.
“Are they letters?”
“Yes, this is an ‘a’ and here is a ‘t’,” he said pointing to two different symbols.
“Do any of them look like they are a button or can be pressed in any way?”
He searched the wall closest to him.
“Actually yes, how did you know that?”
“Just an educated guess. I was thinking about the fireplace in Fox Hollow and wondered if this could be something similar. Show us what we’re looking for and we’ll help search.”
Gordon showed them and they started scanning the walls. They found six letters that were different from all the rest; s, e, o, p, n, t.
“They must make a word,” Alix said. “We have to think like a Grynn. What could those six letters mean?”
They threw out different words; pest, stop, tops, pens, sent.
“We need to use all six letters,” Alix said, “otherwise they wouldn’t have a button.”
They settled on trying ‘step on’. Since they figured they were looking for a way down ‘step’ made sense. Gordon pressed the letters in the order they’d decided on. When the last letter was pressed, they heard a grinding sound. Then suddenly, BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM. Heavy stone slabs had slammed down over the doors leaving them with no exit.
Benton and Olly each went to one of the doors. Alix could see them feeling for a way to open them.
“They appear to be solid blocks of stone,” Benton said. “We can’t move them.”
“I don’t think it would be a good idea to make another mistake Gordon,” Alix said. “I’m positive we don’t want to find out what happens if we’re wrong again.”
“I agree Miss Alix. Let me think about this.”
Gordon started pacing around the room talking quietly to himself. Several minutes later he spoke. “I think I’ve got it.” He went around the room and pressed the letters again.
P-O-T-E-N-S.
There was a loud click and then the very center of the floor started dropping down. They all moved back and watched as a spiral staircase revealed itself on the floor.
“What word was that?” Alix asked.
“Potens, it’s Latin for powerful.”
“Of course the secret password would be something like that. I guess we know which way to go,” Alix said. “So let’s see where it leads.”
Chaos Page 28