Chronos and the Rogue Hunters

by Edward Eck

  Qaletaqa looked at Taryn and Vincent then stood and headed for the door. “Come with me.” The others started to follow, but he waved them to remain where they were.

  Qaletaqa, Taryn and Vincent exited the restaurant. Sheelin mumbled something under her breath and then followed the other three out.

  In the parking area, Qaletaqa turned to face them in the hot dry afternoon sun. “You claim to know Alex. You also claim to know the man who murdered our two friends, and now you claim to belong to the Circle. What proof do you have of any of this?”

  “As I said, his name is Max and he is my friend,” replied Taryn. “Why does he believe his name is Alex Desert Walker?” She couldn’t help but wonder why they had to leave the restaurant to have this discussion? And why had only Qaletaqa and Sheelin come out with them?

  “As you probably suspect, we found Alex wandering the desert yesterday. His clothes were a shamble and he had no memory, but we took him in as one of our own. We know he is a powerful sorcerer. I’m not sure it’s a wise idea to let anyone have that kind of power… dark sorcerer or Circle. For now, he will continue to believe he has been a long-time member of the Rogue Hunters.”

  Taryn was not about to back down. “What does that even mean? What do ye hunt?” She looked out of the corner of her eye to see Sheelin still behind them, eyes closed. Taryn wasn’t sure of her intention, but it raised concern.

  Qaletaqa cleared his throat to regain Taryn’s attention. “While we let your Circle and dark sorcerers battle over the creatures of the Nightmare Realm, we try to keep the creatures born of this world and the spirit world in check—those creatures that affect the crops, hunting, illnesses, and just plain mischief.”

  “Look,” said Vincent, breaking the tension, “we came here for Max. He defeated Malcolm in the Greek Underworld while trying to prevent the release of Cerberus. Max was injured, but Malcolm drug him along through an ice mirror during his escape and ended up here. We were concerned for Max’s life.”

  “So you say,” responded Qaletaqa. “Why should we believe anything you tell us?”

  Taryn met his eyes. “As I said, we mean ye no harm. We just want our friend back.”

  Sheelin stepped forward between Taryn and Vincent. “Father, they speak the truth, even if they do not speak all they know.”

  Taryn now realized what Sheelin had been doing. “Ye cast a truth hearin’ spell before ye left the restaurant. That’s why ye were standin’ back there listenin’ to us.”

  “It was important to know you were being honest.”

  Qaletaqa placed a hand on Sheelin’s shoulder. “It takes about an hour for her truth spell to wear off. She will continue to know if you speak the truth. So, where is this Malcolm?”

  “If he’s not here anymore, then he’s most likely returned to his fortress in New York City,” answered Vincent. “I know where it is located, but New York is a dangerous place. I wouldn’t recommend attacking him there. He’s too powerful and commands too many sorcerers.”

  “Even if we wished to leave now, we could not,” replied Qaletaqa. “There are other matters that demand our attention, but rest assured, one day we will have our vengeance.”

  “Is there anythin’ we can do to help?” questioned Taryn. If they could find a reason to stay with the Rogue Hunters, they might have the opportunity to convince Max to return with them to Baltimore.

  “Perhaps,” replied Qaletaqa as he studied her.

  “Hello? Is anyone there?” came a voice from Taryn’s backpack. Everyone including Taryn and Vincent jumped at the sound.

  Taryn remembered the small mirror they had brought along for communication. She set the backpack down on the ground and opened it to look for the mirror. As she did the black cat jumped out, startling everyone further.

  Grabbing the mirror, she said, “Gollnick, now is not a good time. We’ll have to call ye back later.” She then waved her hand over the mirror’s surface and stuffed it back into her pack.

  As she returned her gaze to Qaletaqa, she realized he was craning his neck to look behind her at Sheelin. Taryn turned to find the girl had moved away to follow the black cat.

  “Never seen a cat before?” questioned Taryn.

  “My daughter has the powers of the Shaman, as I do. She senses something unusual about your feline friend. Sheelin, what’s wrong?”

  “There’s something unnatural about that cat,” she stated.

  Taryn wasn’t sure what was unnatural about their black cat, other than its odd personality, but it didn’t seem to improve their situation. She noticed Qaletaqa made no move to stop Sheelin, but looked at them with a furrowed brow.

  After a few moments, Sheelin returned to the group without the cat. Wide eyed, she glared at Taryn and Vincent. “What gives you the right to trap someone like that?”

  “Wait, what?” Taryn’s eyes shot wide open.

  “It’s a person trapped in the form of a cat!” exclaimed Sheelin.

  “That animal found us. We didn’t do that to anyone.” Taryn recalled the cat had mysteriously turned up in the castle days before she joined the New Circle, but no one knew where it had come from. The cat now came strolling back to the group and sat facing everyone, as if waiting.

  “I still sense you speak the truth,” replied Sheelin. “But that doesn’t change the fact you are in the company of someone trapped in animal form. I tried releasing the person, but the spell must have been cast by a powerful sorcerer. More powerful than I have the ability to reverse.”

  Taryn became concerned, not just for the cat, but also for the cat’s real identity. Was it a criminal whose punishment was to stay in animal form for the rest of its life? Or someone being punished by an angry spouse, or worse? Either way, they needed to find a way to break the spell.

  “Father,” said Sheelin as she turned to Qaletaqa. “You are much more powerful than me. Perhaps you can release the trapped person.”

  After a few failed attempts by Qaletaqa, Taryn and Vincent each took turns at trying the same. Finally the cat lay down, crossed its paws and looked away from the humans.

  As they were about to give up, Max—now known as Alex—came walking out of the restaurant. They all turned to stare at him as he looked from person to person, then to the cat, and back to everyone. “You’ve been out here for quite a while, and since I got the impression it had something to do with me, I thought I should be here to have my say.”

  Sheelin approached Alex. “His memory is gone, but he does have serious power within.”

  “What?” said Alex as he looked from one to the other as if waiting for an explanation.

  “Alex, we’d like you to attempt to remove a spell from this cat,” said Qaletaqa, as he pointed to the cat lying on the ground in front of them.

  Alex knelt down to get a better look, but the feline didn’t move other than to stare back into Alex’s eyes. From his crouched position Alex looked up to Qaletaqa. “Let me get this straight, there’s a spell on this cat? And you want me to remove it?”

  Qaletaqa just nodded and motioned for Alex to give it a try.

  Alex raised his right hand over the cat. “Dim-tar mai secul,” he said absentmindedly. As the words rolled out, the form of the cat stretched on the ground before them. Its black fur thinned and faded. In less than a minute, the small animal was replaced by a fairly large and muscular man who continued to lay face down in the dirt, exhausted by the transformation.

  Sheelin ran back into the restaurant and quickly returned with a tablecloth which she placed over the naked man.

  Once covered, the large man propped himself up on his forearms, but remained on the ground. “My name Radimir Rasputin. I thank you for freeing,” he said in a thick Russian accent.

  If he had been standing, Radimir probably would have been over six feet tall, maybe even more muscular than Cyrus. His big brown eyes looked weary as he beheld his rescuers, sweat glistening off his bald head. The transformation had clearly taken a lot out of him as he faded off to sleep an
d collapsed to the ground once more.

  6 A New Threat

  Just before lunch, Meagan went to the library in search of a tome regarding defensive spells. The huge semi-circular double doors opened at her approach. There were stacks of books and shelves of scrolls scattered throughout the room. These weren’t normal books. Hundreds of tomes were almost two feet in height containing ancient magical spells. The disorganized and irregular piles created a maze of narrow rows and pathways, completely blocking view of the grey stone walls.

  She navigated past an old wooden table that had seen better days and four big overstuffed chairs. At the other end of the room was a large oval-shaped mirror with bronze trim that hovered in midair. She remembered seeing the tome on one of the stacks off to its left.

  When Meagan approached the stack of books, she had not taken notice of the image in the mirror, but now a voice spoke, “Meagan Strom!”

  Wide eyed, she spun to face the mirror, swallowing a scream. Staring back at her was the image of Veena, one of the members of the Sisterhood of the Muses. An attractive girl in her early twenties, she had her brunette hair up in a bun and looked like a librarian with her reading glasses. Veena was a descendant of Clio, the muse of historical literature. She had been trying to locate old scrolls or tomes regarding the ancient prisons in an attempt to aid the New Circle.

  “Veena,” said Meagan still trying to catch her breath. “Nice to see you again. What can I do for you?”

  “I have urgent news,” replied Veena. The bags under her eyes and drained look on her face revealed she had put in long hours reading and researching.

  Meagan was certain that urgent news couldn’t mean good news.

  Veena continued, “Another prison has been attacked and this time the creature within was released.”

  A chill ran through Meagan as she realized the dark sorcerers were still on the move even after being defeated in the Greek Underworld and an unsuccessful attempt to enlist the aid of Tiamat in Babylon.

  “How bad is it?”

  “None of the creatures placed in prisons are any good, but it took the Norse gods, err… sorcerers, many years to find a way to bind this one.”

  It was just before noon and everyone at the castle was gathered for lunch. The kitchen had the standard grey stone décor. Its modern appliances looked out of place in an old castle, but then, Cyrus appeared grateful for the microwave from time to time. Gollnick was getting around better now after being attacked by a demon in New York City, though he made use of a cane for added support. He had grown anxious to join the search for Max, but Meagan had insisted he continue to rest a few more days as his leg was not healing as fast as it should. Elisa—Gollnick’s ex-wife and member of the Old Circle—had departed for Philadelphia in an attempt to gather information on the dark sorcerer situation now that Frederick Von Woonst was dead and Malcolm had failed in his mission to release Cerberus. They could only hope Malcolm had fallen from grace and the dark sorcerers were in disarray.

  Cyrus was seated at the table looking through a comic book about sorcerers as he devoured a sandwich he’d made for himself. Amber was sitting quietly at the table barely nibbling at some food her brother must have given her. Hank remained in the infirmary after recovering from a broken leg. What would have normally taken months to heal was mending in days with the aid of magic, but Meagan had insisted he also remain in bed for at least a few more days.

  They were all seated around the large circular table when Meagan rushed into the kitchen and everyone’s attention shifted to her. “We have a problem. The dark sorcerers found another prison. And this time they’ve already opened it.”

  The room fell silent.

  “How do you know this?” questioned Gollnick with wide eyes and a lump in his throat.

  “I just spoke with Veena in the library mirror. It seems that while we were recuperating from our battles, the dark sorcerers were still busy. She said there have been reports in Norway about a giant wolf terrorizing the countryside. She believes the dark sorcerers somehow found a way to release Fenrir from his prison.”

  “Okay, I’ll bite,” said Cyrus as everyone rolled their eyes at the comment. “Who or what is Fenrir?”

  “According to Norse mythology,” continued Meagan, “Fenrir was a giant wolf that even the Norse gods feared. He was so strong, no bonds could hold him. They tried several times to imprison him, but he always broke free. It wasn’t until the dwarves gave them a magical ribbon called Gleipnir that they were finally able to bind Fenrir so he could not escape, but Fenrir wasn’t stupid. When the Asgardians suggested binding him with a mere ribbon, he grew suspicious and insisted one of the gods place their own hand in Fenrir’s mouth as an act of trust. Tyr, who had raised Fenrir from a pup, was the only one brave enough to do so. When Fenrir realized he couldn’t break free, he bit off Tyr’s hand.”

  “Okay, so it’s a bad idea to stick your hand in the mouth of a giant wolf,” commented Cyrus. “Got it.”

  “This is serious,” growled Gollnick. “If Fenrir is loose, we need to find a way to re-imprison him. Did Veena give you any idea how we can capture this monster?”

  “She suggested trying to find Gleipnir,” answered Meagan. “Or at least whatever is left of the ancient ribbon. It was the only magical item strong enough to bind Fenrir the first time. It may be the only thing that can hold him now.”

  “So where do we find this Gleeper?” asked Cyrus, still not taking the situation seriously.

  “It’s called Gleipnir,” said Gollnick with a scowl. “And if the dark sorcerers released Fenrir, they may still have it. It’s also possible they destroyed it in the hope that we can never re-imprison the beast.”

  Cyrus put the comic book aside and straightened up. “We should probably start checking the place where Fenrir was imprisoned and see if we can figure out what happened. Meagan, Amber and I will go to Norway and see if we can find the prison and any traces of this Gleipnir.”

  Gollnick raised a single eyebrow as he glanced at Cyrus. “I’ll be coming along as well.”

  “No, you won’t,” stated Meagan with authority in her voice, which seemed to surprise everyone. “You’re still having problems with that leg.”

  “Besides,” added Cyrus, “we may need you here in case Elisa calls with new information, or if Taryn and Vincent find Max. Worst case, we may need you as backup in case things go wrong.”

  Meagan wasn’t sure if Cyrus was attempting to make Gollnick feel better about being left behind or if he really thought they would need backup. It was also possible that Cyrus still wanted to lead—and with Max missing, this was his way of taking charge.

  Gollnick slouched in his seat and Meagan knew he was disappointed, but couldn’t argue.

  Meagan couldn’t stand to see her uncle depressed. “If Taryn and Vincent find Max, we’ll also need you here to contact me telepathically. Otherwise they won’t know how or where to meet up with us.”

  “You’re right,” sighed Gollnick. “I’d just be in the way. I’ll contact Veena and see if she can give us any better information on where the prison might’ve been. The Norse sorcerers were worshiped by the Vikings of Scandinavia. We’ll need to narrow down the search area a bit. I also have a contact in Norway who may be able to provide some assistance.” Gollnick sat quietly for a moment. “This could be the beginning of a much larger problem. We thought the attempts to release Cerberus and Tiamat were just a case of the dark sorcerers stumbling on information accidentally. But if they know about even more prisons, we could end up dealing with some very powerful creatures. I’m concerned they know more than we were giving them credit.”

  7 The Departure

  Later that afternoon, Gollnick hobbled into the training room with the aid of his cane, to find Cyrus practicing with the fireball bracer Elisa had given him. He had obviously been drilling for a while as he was covered in sweat. Upon noticing Gollnick’s entrance, Cyrus stopped and grabbed a towel from a nearby table and swung it around his neck after
wiping the sweat from his brow.

  “You may want to focus on your spells as well as target practice,” Gollnick advised. “It’s great your aim is getting better, but there are other things you need to learn, too.”

  “We’re fighting a war against the dark sorcerers,” Cyrus said, still breathing hard. “I’d love to keep up with all of the studies you want us to learn, but right now, combat spells and accuracy are what we need most.”

  “And what if something happens to that bracer? It could be damaged or destroyed, and then what will you do?”

  Cyrus grinned. “If my aim’s good, they’ll never even get close enough to touch it.”

  “Let me guess, the best defense is a good offense? What if Taryn had thought the same and never studied magical healing? You’d be dead right now from the manticore poison. And what about the spell she used to find that magic carpet?”

  “I know,” agreed Cyrus reluctantly. “But right now, I need to be able to protect my friends. I failed in Babylon and the dark sorcerers released Tiamat. I almost died, Taryn was almost fried, and Amber had to endure the dark chamber. I can’t let something like that happen again. I need to be able to protect my sister and the others.”

  Gollnick shook his head. “Cyrus, you didn’t fail. Yes, Tiamat was freed, but she has since disappeared. You, Amber and Taryn made it out alive and you even brought Vincent with you. For only a week’s training, I’d say you did a pretty good job.”

  Cyrus contemplated Gollnick’s comments for a while without saying a word. He had to admit the old man had a point. Yet he knew one day they would have to face Tiamat again; but not yet. For now, he couldn’t afford to dwell on the past.

  “Think about this,” Gollnick began. “What would you do if it were just you and Amber and she had been the one poisoned by the manticore?”

  Cyrus’ vision dropped to the floor. He had no idea how to deal with manticore poison or any other kind. There were many other dangers that could have happened, too. Perhaps learning other spells had merit… but that was not his strength, combat was.