by M. R. Polish
Zeus slapped him on the back, jerking him forward. “Ah, my boy, it ain’t all that large. You should’ve seen it before all the humans discovered it and named it a mystery. The rays of the beams could be seen for miles, and the sound of home could be heard as you approached. Those were the good days.”
“It’s still pretty impressive. But, now I have to ask, how are we going to make a portal here with so many tourists watching?” A coupled holding hands walked by as he said it, and he nodded at them. “See? There’s no way we’ll leave Earth unnoticed.”
Poseidon nodded in agreement. “He’s right. The last time I was here mortals never ventured the portal as a place to see on vacation. We never used the portal, but it had such an energy to it that if you sat in the middle of the stones, you could feel home. I remember the feeling of water flowing over me and hearing my parents whisper on the breeze around me.”
“Yeah, well, while you were growing your sea legs, things on land changed,” Atty interrupted. She swept her fingers through her hair and pulled it back. Taking the rubber band out from between her teeth, she pulled her hair into a ponytail. “And, I do believe it got hotter here. Do you remember it being so warm back then?”
Poseidon laughed. “Well, coming from the cold ocean, I think everywhere on land is considerably warmer than I remember.” He looked at Zeus. “What about you? Where’ve you been hiding?”
Zeus grunted and walked off, leaving the small group alone. “Who sat in his throne and peed?” Atty asked, placing a hand on her hip and thrusting it out.
Azul hung his head, letting his long braid fall over his shoulder. “I don’t know, but if he is who we were relying on, we better come up with a better plan.”
“Come on guys, we need to find a way to use this portal without everyone seeing.” Brady started scouting the perimeter of the “park”. For many years, mortals fussed over what the stones meant, or what purpose they served. He mused over how something so profound and connected all the worlds together hid in plain sight.
Atty tossed her hands in the air. “We’ll never get close enough to the portal to even try and leave. The darn mortals won’t even let us walk to the stones, let alone go inside the circle. I don’t know what to do.”
“Maybe we should travel at night?” Poseidon asked.
Brady scoffed. “And what? Sneak into Stonehenge? Yeah not likely. With all the vandalism in this day and age they have this place heavily guarded.”
“Actually, I like the idea,” Azul said, staring at the stones from behind the rope.
Atty nodded. “Me too.”
Brady shook his head. “I can’t believe this is the plan.”
The inky sky twinkled with countless stars. Brady crouched low and waited for the others. Zeus, who surprisingly was excited about the plan to sneak in, came up behind him first. “I see a guard over there. I’ll take him out first while you look for the others.”
Great. Now they were head hunting. Brady sucked in a long breath and dashed forward with his super speed, grabbing another security guard. Pressing down on the guard’s pressure point in his neck, he felt him go limp and carefully lowered him to the ground.
Squatting on his heels, he spun around looking for more sentries. Someone barreled into him from behind, knocking him to the ground. Twisting under the grip of his attacker, he rolled to his back.
The guard’s long dark hair fell from the bun at the nape of her neck from the struggle. Pulling out a baton, she expertly maneuvered to rest up against his neck. She pressed firmly, choking him, but not enough to kill him.
Brady labored pushing back on the baton, trying to shove her and her weapon off him. Who was this woman? He pushed harder, but her strength nearly matched his, making him work for every inch he was able to move her. Her eyes widened as he thrust her off, tossing her to the side. In one motion he rolled up and jumped to his feet.
“Who are you?” she asked, never taking her eyes off him. She stood ready to pounce once again, baton gripped tightly in her left hand. “You’re trespassing, and I have authority to arrest you. But, I know you’re different, so I’ll ask again. Who are you?”
Brady grasped at his throat. “I should be asking you the same thing, woman.” He coughed then spit at the ground. “Damn, I haven’ been matched that well in a fight since…” he let his sentence trail. He didn’t need to tell a mortal he was in a battle on a different world. Hell, that felt like so long ago now he wasn’t sure it was real.
Footsteps sounded heavy on the ground. “We got the others, if you’re done playing with this one we can get going,” Azul said as he nodded to the woman.
Brady scoffed and waved his hand toward her. “By all means, you take her out.”
Azul raised a brow. “I have to do everything for you, don’t I?” He lunged for the guard, but got caught in her tactical embrace as she turned him around and pulled the baton up under his chin. He grasped her hands and fought to rip them from the rod. Even under the little moonlight his face turned red.
“Not so easy, was it?” Brady walked over cautiously to them. “Let him go. As much as it pains me to say it, I need him. Besides, I think we need to talk.”
The woman’s face relaxed and she let go of Azul, who slumped to the ground and gasped for air, clutching his neck. “Who are you?”
“I’m Brady, this pirate on the ground is Azul, and standing over there is Atty. Somewhere out there Zeus and Poseidon are with us, too.”
Her face lit up. “Atty? I haven’t seen you in years!”
Atty’s head perked up. Her surprised expression gave away to a full smile as the guard rushed over, tackling her into a hug.
Brady ran a hand through his hair and down his face. He’d never understand women. One minute they’re ready to kill you, the next, bake you cookies.
Azul stood up and watched the scene. “What just happened?”
Brady looked him up and down. “I think you just got your ass handed to you by a girl.”
Rubbing his neck, he searched the area. “Yeah well, what happens at Stonehenge, stays in Stonehenge.”
“I think you mean Vegas.” Brady laughed. “If you think I’ll keep quiet about this once we get back you’ve got another thing coming.” He walked off, approaching the girls with a small hesitancy.
Atty beamed. “Brady, this is Arika. She’s the portal guard now.”
“Oh goody. So are you another god?” He was so done with these immortals and their crap. He wasn’t sure he could handle one more with a god complex. Zeus was bad enough, Poseidon nearly killed Karis as she brought him back to life, and Atty… well Atty was Atty. Not to mention Hades, Diana, and that shape shifting dude they found at the casino. His head hurt thinking of who else they’d meet.
The woman laughed. “No. But it would’ve been neat. I actually came to Earth much later. I’m from Hirus. I don’t know what’s become of my world, or my people, but I was sent here at an early age. About five years ago, I was assigned to guard the portal to watch for incoming intruders. I guess Zeus forgot to mention that, or let me know you were coming.”
“If I did that then I wouldn’t be able to see you in action and make sure I chose right when placing you here to watch over the portal.” Zeus emerged from the shadows, behind one of the rocks.
Poseidon followed close behind him. “It was good to see. Zeus chose wisely. Brady, you did good as well. Azul, are you okay? I have to ask because she had you in a tight hold.”
Azul grumbled something inaudible and waved him off.
Zeus smiled, revealing his straight, very white teeth. “Arika, we’re on our way out, but will be back. We’ll need your help so we can return.”
She nodded and handed him a pocket watch. “If you can use this to keep time, come back by midnight tomorrow night. I’ll be on shift and will send the guards to lunch, with a special drink. They should be out most of the night. I’ll be waiting for you. Good luck.”
Zeus nodded. “Thank you.” He looked at everyone. “Ready?”
Brady was unsure how this portal would work since he was used to helping Karis make them. Although between someone using her powers through her necklace and the baby, she hadn’t had the strength to do many lately.
“This portal was made for escape purposes only. There are only a few times it can be used.” Zeus strode to the middle of the circle of stones.
“What do you mean?” Brady asked, following him.
Poseidon ran his hand down the sandstone. “When it was built, it was only constructed with enough energy to open up and transport four times. After that, it will be useless. Except for people like Karis.”
“Great, then we have a few more times left with it.” That made Brady feel more confident about traveling in a strange portal.
Atty shook her head. “Not really. When the first World War broke out, many of the immortals living here feared for their life and fled. We don’t know where they went or what happened to them. They may be lost forever, but they used at least one of the energies to transport. I don’t know of any other times it’s been used. Let’s just hope that was all.”
Great. They flew all this way to leave but his fearless leader didn’t even know if they could use the portal. He huffed and let his shoulders fall. He was too tired and too worried about Karis to stand around and wait for more history lessons. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s see if it works.”
Zeus nodded. “I agree.”
He touched the stone nearest to what could be considered the middle and hovered his other hand over the surface, waving it up and down as far as he could reach until a slight hum vibrated the ground. He smiled. “It still has at least one more.”
Silver sparkles lit the air around them, gathering light and speed as they swirled over their heads. Brady’s heart hammered in his chest. He was leaving Earth, and leaving Karis behind. But, another thought slammed into his mind. “Where will it take us? There are so many worlds.” He had to speak considerably louder due to the increased winds picking up speed around the stones.
“It goes to Shamike. Most portals like this do. It is like a queen to all of the worlds, they all look to Shamike,” Atty said over the winds.
Well, that made sense why Marin wanted the throne to that world so badly. To rule them all he only needed to take over one. A streak of light shot from the ground into the sky. Looking up, Brady could see the sky inside the funnel as if it were day time, with blue heavens and white clouds lazily flying past them. Everywhere else retained its midnight hue, showing only the stars and the crescent moon.
Pure adrenaline pumped his heart as he felt the portal close around him. There was no going back. No stopping. No quitting. He would see this through and bring back the necklace so Karis could regain her strength. Then he’d tell her to find a way to destroy it so this could never happen again.
In seconds, his body was weightless and the world swirled so harshly around him that he had to squish his eyes shut. A downward shift of air pushed at him, like gravity pulling from underneath until his feet ached, begging to be released from the intense connection. Then it was gone. And so were the stones.
The horizon filled with dawning light. A tall palace stood silhouetted against the morning rays. They made it. The sound of waves crashing against the rocks at the edge of town filled the air. A few lights still flickered on their posts outside of the tiny homes lining the roads.
“It’s good to be home,” Azul said.
Chapter Four
“Funny, it doesn’t look like home,” Brady said as he looked around.
Actually, the world of Shamike had changed drastically since he last saw it. Although, he’d been living in earth time so many days passed. How long he wasn’t sure. He forgot how slow earth was compared to the other worlds.
Dark shadows loomed over the city, and a wall had been erected that encircled the major population. Even the waves of the Shank Sea crashing into the cliffs behind them sounded angry. Nothing bright or cheery remained in sight. Actually, as he looked around, he realized nothing was in sight. It was like a barren field, void of life. What happened since they left?
Zeus smacked Brady on the back, hard enough to jar him forward. “Cheer up. You look almost as sad as this city.” He hung his head. “It’s sure not what I retained in my memory before I left. I was just a young lad back then, but I didn’t remember it like this.”
A sour taste filled Brady’s mouth and the entire trip weighed on his chest. He just needed to focus on the task to keep his thoughts about Karis and the war from taking over. “Let’s just look for the necklace and get home.” He took off, leaving everyone to follow.
With each step he took, gravel crunched under his heavy boots, making an eerie sound in the chilly morning air. The scent of dry leaves clung to his nostrils with every breath. The summer was leaving and soon the warmth would fade to just a memory.
“Wait,” Azul held his arm up, stopping the small troupe. “Something is off. When we left, I stationed a few men near the portal. Why haven’t we been greeted yet?” He scanned the area. With the sky rolling in menacing clouds, twisting and stretching across the horizon, everywhere he looked seemed to move. The shadows of the clouds danced on the desolate earth. Squinting his eyes, he strained to make out the moving objects in the distance. His heart skipped a beat as he realized it was a group of men headed straight for them. “Run!”
No one questioned his command. They took off, following Azul into the city. Heavy footfalls sounded behind them. Brady glanced over his shoulder and caught sight of a large company of soldiers rushing after them. He spotted the red insignia that belonged to Marin. It was something he’d only seen once, in a drawing Karis did when they first came to Shamike and told her side of the story to Azul and his men, but it was etched into his memory, then seeing it in vivid bright red on their dark green coats seared it so he could never forget. He knew he could get far enough away with his speed, but he couldn’t force himself to leave his comrades behind.
Slowing down after many twists and turns down the winding roads, they kept to the shadows the early rays of the sun created with homes and buildings. The streets were empty, void of life. Not even a stray dog roamed the alleys. Where was everyone? Brady’s gut twisted with each tortured thought.
With Azul’s back to the wall of a small house, he tipped his head to take a peek around the corner but came back and stood upright quickly. Holding his finger to his mouth wasn’t necessary because the look on his face told them whoever was there wasn’t a friend. The five of them weren’t prepared to fight an army—or Marin.
“Psst, over here,” a small whisper, barely audible, carried to Brady’s ears. He turned to see a familiar face. Not one he was entirely sure he could trust.
The sound of the men talking in hushed tones got louder. Brady clenched his jaw and huffed. He couldn’t believe he was about to trust Corina. Of all the people in the universe, why her? But as the footsteps got closer, he had a decision to make. “Hey,” he whispered, quieter than the morning breeze into Azul’s ear, then nodded his head toward Corina.
Azul glared at her, his obvious disdain for her betrayal written on his face. She not only betrayed him, but her best friend and queen. The entire world of Shamike had a set back because of her involvement with Coron and her desire to curb her jealousy by wanting to become queen.
New voices echoed around the corner, Azul’s resolve melted and he nodded his head before darting over to her. Her long tattered dress dragged the ground as she held the door open, waiting for the rest of them to follow. Brady gestured for the others to go first before rushing to the waiting door.
Corina softy closed it behind her, clicking the lock into place. Azul opened his mouth to speak, but she shook her head vigorously and held her finger to her mouth then pointed to the door.
Great. So they had to sit silently while they waited for the traitor to scream their names to the hunting party outside the door. Brady couldn’t help but feel like a frog waiting in boiling water.
Azul must have had the same thought because he took a cautious step back, his heavy weight making the wood squeak. Corina swiftly glanced up and glared at him. Her short blonde hair bobbed as she bent her head to give the door her attention. With a quick tug up, the latch clicked, echoing in the silent room. Corina looked around making sure no one outside heard.
Once the shuffle of feet outside the door became a distant echo, she pushed the heavy door up. Zeus bent over and finished the arduous task for her with one hand. She mouthed a thank you before gesturing to the others to go down the makeshift ladder.
Brady and Azul hesitated before moving from their spots. She begged with her eyes to follow her down as Atty lowered herself down into the dark. Brady wanted answers before he would follow that woman anywhere. She was a traitor. She betrayed Karis, her best friend and her future queen. And since Karis killed Corina’s lover, Coron, she was bound to want revenge.
Heading into the unknown with her caused more than just a sick feeling in Brady’s stomach. A chill broke out over his skin as he took a step closer. He stopped only to stare at Corina, words he couldn’t speak yelled through his eyes. Her expression softened and she nodded.
Brady wasn’t sure what or who waited for them downstairs, but he’d not leave them to his friends to fight off alone. He wanted to jump down and be the element of surprise, but resisted the urge and took each step so he wouldn’t make noise to draw more unwanted attention.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t as dark as he expected it to be. A dim light from a small orb hovering near the back corner cast shadows around him. A bitter stench assaulted him, making him breathe through his mouth, but then regretted that instantly as the taste coated his tongue. What was that? He fought the urge to throw up and gagged into the crook of his arm.