The Legacy of Gaea Volume I: The Underworld

by S L Gassick

  “There’s nothing I find more endearing than a threat. Consider me advised.” Shui smiled. Rabbits. Keep thinking rabbits.

  “I sense you are extremely powerful for an Earth-dweller, your kyu is strong. Yet even so, I can also sense there are others who are perhaps even more powerful.”

  “Well, who is the one talking to you right now?”

  “People will try to retrieve the coin, to sever my connection to your world. Do not lose it or otherwise I shall never return.”

  “That would be a pity.” Rabbit rabbit rabbit.

  “Once on Earth, I shall be the Ruler and to do this, everyone shall need to die and become my subjects, as was my plan many a moon ago. My Heralds will see to this, they will arrive as soon as the gateway is opened and you are to hand them the coin for them to bring to me. Understood?”

  “Completely.”

  “In this New Age you shall remain alive and assist me. I offer you whatever you need from my new kingdom. How does this suit you?”

  Shui smiled. “Sounds delightful, my Lord.”

  “Then it shall be so. Use the coin to your will and when the time is right I shall call back on you.”

  Then there was silence. Shui put down the Kalad on the table and smirked at himself in the mirror.

  “Idiot.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  As Hemero and the others ran down the hill, the heat of the fire went from a comfortable warmth to a horrid burning almost immediately. Once they reached the bottom, the madness surrounding them was insufferable. The cascading sound of houses collapsing, screams, crying and the raging fire was almost deafening.

  “We need to split up. We’ll help more that way,” Hemero shouted.

  “Agreed,” said Nayakax and he ran towards the cries of a woman from inside a burning house. Up close, it looked like what was once a family cottage, but now it was just awash with flames - the memories burning bright in one last glorious moment of life before disappearing into the wind.

  As soon as Nayakax got there the cries stopped and he wondered if he was too late. He looked around and through a small gap he could see a teenage girl clutching a terrified cat that had clearly clawed her face trying to get free, yet still she held it close to her heart, blood streaming down onto her charred blue dress stained with black smudges. She was screaming uncontrollably now that she saw him and Nayakax could see the foundations of the house would fall apart any second. As he stood back to see what the best way of entry was he noticed an old man from across the other side of the street, clutching his cap, staring at him.

  “Help me save this girl!” Nayakax shouted. But the man, with his eyes opened wide, merely shook his head and stayed frozen in his place, turning the cap round and round with his grubby fingers. His clothes and face looked so dirty that Nayakax wasn’t sure if the man had struggled out of a burning wreck or if he always looked like this.

  Instead of wasting time on the man he angrily bit his lip and concentrated his kyu. He held out his hands, his palms facing the flames and screamed out as suddenly from his fingertips came a white, freezing mist directed at the flames. It spread quickly and evenly around the house and calmed the fire while also freezing the beams in place for a short moment. Nayakax ran inside, grabbed the girl with the cat and ran back out just in time to see the house collapse on itself. Even just using that small concentration of kyu was exhausting; he knew he could not go around putting out every house like this, otherwise he would pass out before long.

  “Thank you!” the girl exclaimed as he put her down. She then noticed the old man across the street. “Father!” she shouted and ran towards him with open hands. The old man embraced his daughter and stared at Nayakax, tears streaming down his face.

  ‘I cannot blame him for being weak,’ Nayakax thought, ‘but I can blame him for discarding strength.’ The man would have to deal with his own guilt as there was too much to do to help the others.

  Rose was running along the outskirts of the village where people had retreated for safety. There was a lot of crying and hysteria and she wondered whether she could actually help these people, but with no-one else nearby except for a few people running around with water or trying to look after their injured family, she had to do what she could.

  The first woman she came to had been burnt on one side of her body. Rose began to carefully strip away the clothing from the wound and concentrated the kyu into her hands. It was a bright white light that pulsed with every beat of Rose’s heart and with it a warm glow that seemed to calm the woman by just being near it. She placed her hands over the wounds for seconds at a time and as she lifted them, the skin looked slightly scarred as if weeks of recovery had gone by rather than seconds.

  A crowd gathered around her asking for her help and she grew scared. People asking if she could help their wife, husband, son, daughter, brother, sister, mother, father… Her tiny frame was becoming overshadowed by screaming adults and soon she burst into tears.

  Not knowing what to do they grabbed at her hands as if trying to suck out the power and caused Rose much pain as fingernails dug into her soft skin. She started trying to kick them off and opened her wet eyes to see blurs of dark shadows with flames rising to the sky behind them and she thought for a second that she was being dragged to Hell.

  She started to panic and kicked out wildly hitting an old portly man in the face, breaking his nose. More panic and chaos ensued until she saw Phin’s face looking back at her through the figures around her. A stifled cry of help must have hit his ears for it was not long that there was suddenly a bright light and she felt herself getting pulled across the ground from under her arms. As she was dropped, a voice rang out and she realised it was Phin.

  “What are you doing? She is trying to help you and look how you treat her!”

  Rose suddenly saw that there was a shining light coming from Phin’s hand. She recognised that he had used a flash technique to stun the villagers and dragged her away from danger. Simple, yet effective.

  “Now form a line. If you are on the brink of death get to the front, otherwise wait your turn. If you truly believe the person in front of you is not as worse off than you, I will judge it for myself. We are from the Norheath Valhalla and are here to help.”

  Rose could not believe this was the same Phin who had up to now always kept quiet and seemed to shy away from any danger. Here he was telling people, some perhaps five to six times his age, what to do. But she knew he had sensed something had to be done and she was just ashamed that she panicked and did not use her kyu to defend herself. Why had she not just used a simple flash technique? Something on her face must have conveyed these thoughts because Phin was now crouched on one knee looking at her sympathetically.

  “Hey, Rose. Are you ok? Give yourself a second. I’m going to fetch some water.” Phin ran off leaving the villagers looking still rather stunned, but now a lot calmer. One by one they began queuing and she gathered herself up, took a deep breath and began healing the many wounded.

  Hemero had found that most of the damage had already been done. The villagers were either dead or gone and building after building was silent but for the cracks and pops of fire and the occasional collapse. Then suddenly, he heard a scream.

  Hemero ran towards it and saw a young boy, who looked roughly the same age as himself, trapped beneath a beam. He had dark brown hair and his face was almost indistinguishable through the muck and dirt the smoke had caused.

  “Help me! I think my leg is broken, I can’t move!” the boy shouted as he saw Hemero coming.

  Hemero looked at the situation. The beam was huge, it was no wonder he was trapped. It was too heavy for him to lift without using a good portion of his kyu. Above the young boy, half the ceiling had collapsed, revealing a collection of antique armour on the floor above, some of which was already tumbling onto the ground around the. Hemero had mere moments left before it would collapse on them both.

  “Please hurry!” the boy exclaimed, screaming in pain.

>   Hemero had to think back to class about where to concentrate his kyu, but the urgency of the situation had turned his mind blank. He clutched hold of the beam and tried to move it himself, but after putting all his strength into it, the beam had still not moved. The boy had begun to cry and was shouting “Help, please help!” again and again. He had gone hysterical; Hemero looked around for someone else to help.

  “Hello! Anyone!… Nayakax?!” Hemero started to get upset and then, as if something inside him had snapped, his anxiety suddenly caused him to just stare off into the distance. His mind became truly blank and he wondered if he had gone mad. Was this really happening? Shaking his head, he began to recover his wits and took another look at the situation.

  It just then dawned on Hemero how much time he had wasted in the Valhalla and how he wished he could have studied more on how to control his strength with his kyu.

  Suddenly he heard the floor boards buckle above them. Hemero jumped out of the way as the clattering sounds of red-hot metal armour and broken wood mixed with the primal, inhuman screams of pain. The young boy was now completely covered in burning metal and wood, all that could be seen was half his face, his eyes full of terror, and a hand grabbing at nothing in the faint hope of reaching him.

  Hemero had not made a single sound. He froze. He felt like he was watching the proceedings through a veil. As if he wasn’t really there. He sat on the floor and watched helplessly as the boy burnt alive in front of him. The eyes frenzied, the screaming becoming more and more muffled, the hand turning limp. Hemero observed the last throws of death as the young boy finally stopped still. [DG21]Surely this wasn’t really happening, neither of them were actually there.

  “Are you okay, young man?” asked a male voice from above him, “we have to move you away from this burning building or you could get hurt.” The man pulled Hemero up and dusted him down before taking a good look around. “Did you not notice some of the dead rising back up? Those who could, anyway. They hardly noticed us… it seems as if they are being called somewhere. It worries me. Hello? Are you even listening?”

  Hemero did not answer. He did not even look up. He just stared at the burning rubble in front of him, but he wasn’t really looking anywhere. It just felt natural to stare out that way. The man gave a sigh but all Hemero could see of the stranger was a dark shadow against the flames that had engulfed the boy mere moments ago.

  “I’m Lirilius,” the voice said, “I’m here to help.”

  Hemero wasn’t listening. He had the chance to become a hero, to show everyone that he was worth something, but he had failed. He vowed to himself that he would never let himself be responsible for someone’s death like that, that he would protect and save those that needed saving – no matter what the cost.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  The guard stationed outside the museum looked at Milius with a slight air of intimidation. Guards, unless high in rank, were usually those who could not be Knights of Gaea and did not pass the Soldier exams and so there was always a slight tension between the groups.

  Milius would never say he was a judgemental person, but could immediately see this man wasn’t the right material. Scruffy hair peeking out from under the obligatory helmet, dim eyes, portly and worst of all - a bad attitude.

  “No, Sir. There was nothing unusual at all. It was a normal night.”

  “So what consists of a normal night then?” Milius asked.

  “I take over from the guard stationed before, walk the rounds and then wait for the next guard to take over.”

  “But somehow during this time, someone had got in and taken the artefact all while you were on duty.”

  There was a pause as the guard stared directly into his eyes. Milius hadn’t meant the statement to sound offensive; he just wanted to clarify that this would be correct.

  “Yes … Sir. I guess so.”

  “This makes him a suspect,” Milius thought, “but that’s too obvious.” Milius shook his head and looked outside a nearby window. It was a cold, dreary day but the sun still shone bright. A bird called out nearby but nothing answered. “Did you see anything outside that window?”

  “Nope. Nothing. Me and Aslo have the occasional smoke by that window as well so we would have seen anything coming.”

  “Aslo? The caretaker? Why would he be there?”

  “His rubbish round. He finishes here as it’s the place with the least rubbish, ‘cos no-one comes here. We usually enjoy a smoke and he tucks into whatever stray food has been found on his way.”

  “You never mentioned this.”

  “Well, you didn’t ask! It’s nothing unusual – it’s Aslo, he’s always about.” The guard said in a matter-of-fact way. He was correct of course, Aslo was always around and there would be no clear motive for him to take the Kalad.

  Milius thanked the Guard and turned to take another look at the room. It had clearly not been broken into, not even any evidence of kyu. No-one had even noticed the artefact had gone missing, as it was hidden carefully within the museum by being stitched into the pocket of a doll in a glass case, modelling clothes from five hundred years ago. Why something so powerful was not kept in some sort of safe was a mystery to Milius but he guessed that hiding in plain sight was often quite effective, no matter what the circumstance. Still, the idea of putting something so valuable within reach of anyone was baffling.

  It was no use spending any more time looking around the museum, there was nothing here that provided any clues. Whoever the mole was, they had covered whatever tracks they might have left, which might suggest either great intelligence or, at worst, someone higher up than a disgruntled Valhalla teacher, soldier or guard. The most obvious path left to follow up right now was the caretaker, Aslo. His room was just past the canteen, where there was always the most mess.

  The canteen was much like the rest of the Valhalla, a bright white room but with almost everything made of a thick resin. It meant it was easier to clean and any spillage or trash could easily be identified. Some of the kids called it ‘Heaven’ – not only because of the great food they served, but that it was so bright and white, it was as if you were walking into a cloud about to meet Gaea himself.

  Just as Milius turned to go through the canteen doors, Balius bumped into him and fell flat on his back spilling his food all down him. “Sorry Balius!” Milius tried helping him clear it up. The other kids were laughing.

  “It’s fine,” Balius stated, clearly flustered, “it’s fine.” Milius still tried to help him clear himself up until Balius looked up with tears in his eyes and shouted “I told you it’s fine!”

  “Sorry.” Milius was quite taken aback as this friend of his brother was usually quite shy and reserved. He then realised the boy’s mother was dying, perhaps she was already dead? “How is your mother?” He immediately regretted asking the question as Balius was still mopping himself up, Milius wasn’t very good at judging the tone.

  “She’s… she’s getting better, thank you. She… remembers me now.” Balius stopped and looked into the distance with a slight smile etched on his face. This made Milius smile too.

  “Good,” he said and ruffled Balius’s short brown hair as he made his way through the canteen and towards Aslo’s room.

  It was a murky, dark, warm place that suited Aslo very well. There was a hint of spice in the air and it was heavy with smoke. For someone who was a caretaker, he didn’t take much care of himself. Aslo sat writing signs on a parchment on the table in full concentration, mumbling to himself occasionally.

  “Aslo!” Milius called. The Titan turned around and gave off quite an idiotic looking smile, as if he had done something naughty. Instead he realised it was a smile of pride, a pride in his work.

  “Look, little Milius. A new sign for the Art room!” Aslo held up a sign, crudely written, but around which had been drawn little flowers and designs of different colours. Milius thought it looked messy and quite frankly silly, but he didn’t let on and instead smiled and nodded.

&nb
sp; “I’ve come to ask you a few questions” he said.

  “Ah!” Aslo put down the painting and moved to his table where there sat another three chairs, though for a spider-like Titan sitting was never really necessary, it was just to appear more human. “Would you like anything before we begin?” His many legs felt around as if trying to gauge how much space he had, Milius found it quite discomforting.

  “No. Thank you. Is it true you finish your rubbish rounds near where the Kalad incident happened?”

  “The museum do you mean? Oh yes.”

  “And you smoked with the guard there that night?”

  “That’s right! Same as always.”

  Milius began thinking Aslo was treating this like a game. He decided to start pushing him further.

  “And you went into the room?”

  “As I always do. I check every room to make sure nothing is in there.”

  “So you have keys?”

  “I have keys for every door! Everyone knows that!” Milius did, but was seeing if there was any bluffing coming from the Titan. So far there was not. How could this loyal man work for the Dark Clans? “And I’m the only one who has a key for that door.”

  Milius sat still. “What?”

  “Oh yes. Well, apart from Theus and the guard on duty of course. But Theus never goes in there and keeps his keys hidden away, he always uses mine.” Suddenly Milius again became suspicious of the guard from before. “But I remember that night. I had a smoke, ate some grub, felt tired and got an early night.” Aslo had a huge smile on his face, like he had got every question correct.

  “Can anyone back this up?”

  “Well yes. The guard I suppose.”

  Milius nodded. This made Aslo the last person in the museum before it got into the wrong hands and it made him the prime suspect. Milius thought he’d gauge Aslo’s reactions further. The old caretaker had started dribbling slightly from the left side of his lip. “You know Aslo, after investigating the scene, no kyu or sorcery of any kind had been used, instead it looks likely that it was a key. Someone had used a key to get in.”