"...like the commuter train?" Ethan said.
"I see you've started your quest already. You must have met Jonathan then, I saw his brother creep into the spirit world, I guess he has replaced him as the leader of the cult now."
"Yes... You knew Jonathan? He didn't mention you throughout my stay there."
"He doesn't know you are my son," said Suzan. "I and Jonathan left Lonus at the same time, but we attended different institutions. He stayed on earth after his program but I came back to Lonus. I met your father before I came back to Lonus and we had started dating at the time. I did not know I was pregnant by the time I came back." She paused, looked at Ethan deeply and then continued. "My father passed away shortly after my return. When I discovered I was pregnant, I went back to earth and told Henry, then we made plans to get married immediately. Henry loved me so much... he still does (Suzan and Henry exchanged glances, smiled and then held hands). I was with my mother here in Lonus when I gave birth to you. At that period, Thayatira, an evil witch, was part of the league but she was excommunicated for embracing darkness, she formed an alliance with Cryptmaw to make sure the Prophesy will not be fulfilled. They were going to kill you Ethan... they were going to kill my baby. My mother took you and escaped to earth. I waited behind, I wanted to stop Thayatira, or she would not stop trying, but she was more powerful. I have no regrets, I died saving my boy." Ethan could not hold back the tears now forming in his eyes, he allowed them to flow freely.
Henry, who had been silent, looked at Ethan and said, "I dedicated my life and life work to knowing all about Lonus, to finding who murdered my wife." Henry's smile faded; there was pain in his eyes. "I learnt about the Prophesy from my friend- Grusav. I know fulfilling the Prophesy or trying to, will lead me to Thayatira, she had disappeared into thin air and covered her track. Grusav warned me but I was determined. It was hard leaving you with my parents, like I did not care, but I was protecting you. I didn't want you to have anything to do with Lonus, I didn't want you to get involved."
"Ethan! Ethan! I can't hold them any longer! They are being drawn back!" Linda screamed from the far end.
"Ethan, Thayatira goes by another name now, she is very cunning, be careful. That mage travelling with you, Cyclux, is not an ordinary mage- he is a warlock!" The stream started pulling them back and drifting backward.
"Cyclux is a warlock?" Ethan asked, not sure he heard him well.
"The only arch-mage that can subdue dra-"
"We love yo-" Henry tried to explain and Suzan called out, simultaneously, but the stream had pulled them into the curtain of falling water, the cataract covered them completely and everything was back to normal. Ethan walked back to meet Linda and Cyclux, much slowly than he did, when he moved to the middle of the bank. He was trying to replay everything that happened in his mind, it was surreal. Linda was breathing heavily and Cyclux had a grave look, as Ethan joined them. They all started back to the vehicle, outside the guardian of the falls. They were all silent as they walked back, Linda didn't ask any of the men, what their encounter was like. The fairies kept their distance this time, they watched them as they walked back, some of them pointed and whispered in a singsong voice. They walked through the shiny path, leaving the falls behind them, there were flowers on both sides of the path and a beautifully mowed glade beyond. As they walked through the passageway- through the guardian, the leaves and branches started clutching together behind them. When they came out, they could hear the loud snore from the vehicle, the elves were completely asleep in the vehicle. Linda pointed her wand at the vehicle, it sent a flash that jolted it and jerked the elves from their slumber. They jumped out of the vehicle and drew their short halberd-like weapons, ready to face whatever had troubled their sleep. They let down their weapon as soon as they saw Linda and the two men.
"Sorry, it's the fastest way to wake you guys up." Linda said, while the two elves nodded in agreement, their faces oily with their sweats and wrinkled. "Shall we...?" They all climbed into the vehicle and prepared to leave. "Can we go much slower please, the cult of mist is not far from here, we could miss the turning if we go too fast." Linda said to the elves, as she took her seat behind them.
"Yes we can, if an elf isn't driving it," was the reply.
"I will drive." Cyclux said from behind and the driver switched seats with him. They were soon on their way.
THE CULT OF MIST
They've been on the road for almost thirty minutes now. "If I didn't come in this vehicle, I would have said this is the slowest thing I've ever boarded." Ethan said.
"Can it not go at least a little faster?" Linda asked.
"What drives this vehicle is not the engine; it's the person behind the wheel." The elf who drove initially said.
"Oh..." Linda said, nodding. "We should be able to fix that." She pointed her wand to the wheel and muttered something, there was a tiny spark at the end of the wand and the vehicle started moving a bit faster and then faster, like any normal vehicle. "Here, turn here." Cyclux turned into a tiny road and unusually steep- as though the road was constructed along the side of a hill, to the very top. Grasses, sedges and rushes were scattered along the hillslope, they soon drove past a signpost that read 'welcome to the Marshlands'. The hill was slightly shrouded in fine mist. They requested for directions from some villagers along the road, a less precipitous side of the hill, they needed directions to the mist towers. The mist towers was a small town, the office of the cult leader, as it was known, was the tallest building there. The men at the entrance into the town, a huge gate, were dressed like security personnel- they were like any security personnel you could find on earth, but they were mages. They looked like an organized security unit, all clad in a dark, deep blue uniform and were holding clubs. Two of them were stopping incoming vehicles and scanning them, using especially charmed spectacles. They gestured for their vehicle, to move forward, after a truck was passed.
"Your pass." One of them asked, looking down at Cyclux and the others from the corner of his eye.
"We have come to see Micah Mistbloom." Linda, who was sitting behind Cyclux, answered him.
"You will still need your pass, that’s the instruction. She gave us the instruction herself." He said, unstirred.
"She...? The cult leader is a she...?" Cyclux almost exclaimed.
The security man gave him a disapproving look and then faced Linda. "Your pass only, can get you in."
"We are on a mission to destroy Cryptmaw." Linda said flatly.
"Oh...! I'm sorry," the security man said and then faced Cyclux, "you are Mr. Ethan Alger right? I was hoping you would come to the marshlands, but I did not know you would come this soon. It's good to have you here." Ethan kept silent and pretended not to hear. Cyclux smiled and pretended he was Ethan. "Please, go in," he said, then waved to the control room, the huge gate opened and then, they drove in. "Drive carefully! Still misty, it's even better now," the security man called behind them. The reason why it's the cult of mist became obvious- they could barely see the road ahead and the houses on both sides of the road. The whole town was blanketed in small drops of water, floating in the air. Ethan was expecting a skyscraper but the building was barely taller than a storey building, they were to meet the cult leader there.
"Why is it called the mist towers anyway?" He asked.
"It's the whole town that is called the mist towers. She actually changed the name; she just wanted to mock her brother, who heads the cult of the sea."
"How...?"
"Look, this place was founded on a high ground; mist is always hanging in the air at this altitude. You can't see the distance, but the cult of the sea is below; it's on a low ground, a land surrounded by the sea. They all went in; the vehicle was left in the parking lot. There were several other security men there: at the entrance and at strategic places in the building; one of them directed them to the receptionist. The receptionist was a slender, small woman; she was so small, she looked like a female goblin, except that her head wasn't bi
g, her eyes were not bulging and her features were still human-like. She put a call through to her boss. After few minutes, she covered the receiver, then beckoned to a security man and whispered into his ear. The man gestured to Linda and the others to follow him, while the receptionist continued talking. They walked through a corridor and then ascended to the topmost floor, using a lift, it moved super-fast- it felt as though they had become mist themselves. They were led into a moderately sized room, beautifully decorated in pink and purple.
"Welcome, welcome..." A woman in her late fifties approached them, she had a big grin on her round face, with pudgy cheeks. She was rotund but about five feet tall. She wore a black suit, perfectly fitting. "We had to put all the security measures in place, you know. Migol has been restless; I don't want him coming into this cult for any reason. You will need to tell them more than 'we want to see Micah Mistbloom' before they would allow you in." She said. Cyclux quickly presented the blank slip to her, she started looking for something on her large desk clumsily, and she withdrew her glasses, wore them and took a quick glance at the slip. It took her more time to find her glasses than to read the slip. She handed it back to Cyclux. "It's in the volt... I suppose you will wait for our Halloween dinner party... right?"
"Erm... no, we will like to leave as soon as possible." Ethan said.
"C'mon, why are you in a hurry, it's not like Cryptmaw wants to leave the dragon's island tomorrow..." They all exchanged look and then back to the woman. "You will leave tomorrow. You are my guests for tonight. Members of the cult would like to meet you." She was looking at Ethan all the while and did not take her eyes off him, as though it was just the two of them in the room. She then turned to the others too, "every one of you." She smiled broadly, rose up immediately and excused herself.
Ethan looked around at the people remaining in the room, "we leave tonight," he said in a whisper.
The dwarfish receptionist soon came in, she was wearing a long gown. "Madam has asked me to escort you into the banquet hall, gentlemen and lady... but the elves will be attended to here." She said with a wry smile. One of the elves grunted and gave her a piercing look, but she was undeterred. "The members of the cult await you." She finally said, still smiling awkwardly.
"And why should the elves wait here…?" Ethan asked; his brow furrowed.
"That was the instruction."
"Your madam gives too many ridiculous instructions..." The other elf snapped.
"Do not speak of our cult leader in that manner!" The receptionist snapped back immediately. Both elves were fuming, feeling insulted.
"Alright, alright... Do tell the cult leader we appreciate her kind gesture but we can't come for the Halloween party, we need to leave for the cult of the sea immediately." Ethan said.
The receptionist gave Ethan a sharp look. "I'll let her know you rejected her 'kind gesture'." She said and stormed out of the room, she walked animatedly, so that her gown swayed very quickly.
There was silence in the room, and then Linda spoke, "I think she's up to something."
"Exactly…! Why would she ask us to stay in the room? An elf is better than that receptionist of hers." One of the elves whined.
"Let us calm down and wait for her response." Ethan finally said and then the room was quiet again, except for the ticking of a blank wall-clock, blanker than the large alarm clocks at the train terminal at the base of the volcano. The quietness was soon ruined by the sudden opening and slamming of the door.
"I am not like any of the cult leaders you've met," Micah was fuming with anger; she was looking at Ethan and then turned to Linda, "I am not like any of the witches you've met before." She wore a shiny, long gown and a black mask, covering her face, from her eyebrow to the tip of her nose. She scanned through the room, pretending the elves were not there and said, "It's okay if you don't want to join the party, but you will leave when I say so... or you might never leave." She then turned to leave.
"Why? Why are you doing this?" Linda screeched.
Micah stopped at the door and walked back inside, "because... my dear, I want Migol to meet here, you will get to the dragon's island faster that way." She smirked.
"You moron…!" Linda screeched louder, withdrew her wand and swung it in her direction, but she was too late, Micah disarmed her with a counter spell more quickly, stretched her hand and gave her a heavy push, without touching her. Linda fell backwards and passed out. The elves rushed forward with an amazing speed, charging at her decisively, but she was gone before they could nab her and then appeared behind them. The elves were gasping for air, in mid-air, the next minute. It looked like an invisible hand grabbed them by the neck but Micah only stretched her toward them, twisting and squeezing her fingers. Ethan's hand was already on his sword, ready to unsheathe and Cyclux was about to cast a spell but Micah showed up right in front of them.
"If I were you, I will not try that." She said, Ethan and Cyclux were somewhat petrified. "The cult of the sea belonged to me as the older of our father's children, but I was deprived because I'm a woman and I inherited mist... mist." She looked sharply from one man to the other as she spoke. "When Cryptmaw wins, I will have both the ocean fortress and the marshlands, I will kill that thief- Lucas myself, and then all of Lonus will know what powerful witch I am." She was at the door in a heartbeat and slammed it behind her. Ethan ran towards, dodging the elves, as they dangled in mid-air, but the door did not open.
"She's locked us in. Damn!" Ethan swore and sat against the door.
Linda stirred and everything was still blurry when she woke up, her head was aching. "What happened...?"
"Micah did this..." Cyclux said, swinging his hands in the air.
"I know... She just left like that..." She saw both elves struggling fruitlessly in mid-air.
"She's locked us in." Ethan said coldly.
Linda stood up, still feeling the effect of the blow on her body. She walked towards her wand lying on one corner of the room. She swung it at the elves, releasing flashes and they fell to the floor.
"What are we going to do now?" Cyclux asked, he particularly felt unready to face Migol.
There was a loud thump on the door knob, very close to Ethan's ear, he jumped up; jerking to his feet. Everyone fell silent and then there was another thump, much louder. The door flung open, the door knob dangling, and at the entrance was the security man who escorted them to the room from the reception. He wore a serious look and was carrying a small, black bag. "We have to leave immediately," there was urgency in his voice and he was uneasy, but nobody moved. "I said we have to leave... I've been spying for Lucas... Lucas Mistbloom. He asked me to remain here until you showed up." He said in a whisper, to his stunned audience.
"But we don't have the pants we came for..." Ethan said.
"I do already," he raised the small, black bag. "Let's go please, we don't have much time." They rushed out of the room, but as quietly as possible. The security man led them through the corridor. "We will take the stairs." They followed silently, careful not to attract any attention. They got to the corner of a passage that led to the hall, where the party was on going. A mixture of shouts, laughter and applause was coming from the hall, there were two security men at the entrance. "Wait here..." He walked briskly towards the two men at the entrance of the hall and then walked back. "Come on," he gestured, as they walked past, Ethan could see what was going on, there were some mages performing magical tricks to entertain the audience.
Amidst the noise, laughter and thick smell of liquor, Micah was uneasy. She wasn't entertained, neither was she having fun. She wanted to lure them to the party, where she can watch them closely. But with the way things have turned out, she was not certain what was happening in her office. She was holding mages, elves and a witch hostage; they might find a way to break her spell off the door. She had risked a lot to be an ally in Cryptmaw's deadly quest; her plans have got to work. She would have been there instead, but she had to be at the stupid party, as the cult leader. She glanced
at the entrance and she thought she saw something... it looked like an elf. She stood up immediately, "Get them! Get them! Thieves!" She screeched, but half of the security men in the hall were drunk, half could barely walk in their costumes, half did not understand what she was saying at all. She stumbled through the tables and chairs, the security men at the entrance were not moving at all- they looked like they've been petrified, very few men and the receptionist followed her. There was no security man at the main entrance, but one was soon found outside the building, he was not moving too. It was already past mid-night and it was dark.
"They are heading to the ocean fortress. Release the troll!" She barked at the men around her. A large gate adjacent the entrance to the building was opened, an angry creature emerged, he smashed the man that opened the gate across the face with its large club and the man fell, his head almost severed. Twelve feet tall and large; he had a massive head. He was very ugly and very angry, he stunk so much, and every one covered their noses except Micah. She walked a little closer and shouted at it in a foreign tongue- it was the trolls' language. The troll stopped looking for his next victim and started walking away from them, it galumphed through the mist and blurriness, each stomp shaking the grounds.
Lucas's spy led them through a path and they ran through the misty air, through thick shrubs and wet grasses, not sure of what was ahead but they kept running.
"Wait... there's a cliff ahead, have this," he said and handed the small back to Ethan. "I have to go back, Micah cannot know that Lucas sent me."
"Did you say a cliff..." Linda asked.
"Yes, a cliff, you will figure something out... I've got to go." He said and started running back.
They also started off, but they stopped abruptly, when something heavy hit the ground behind them. They looked back and there was the bloody, lifeless body of the spy that had helped them escape, his head was almost severed. Linda shrieked, while Cyclux held her. The ground beneath them started shaking at interval.
Dragon and Prophesy Page 14