Thanatos was the word for death from the old language, and Moluno had found, in this dark place, the master of death who had rightly named himself Thanatos. When he got to the end of the tunnel, he reached out to touch the one brick at the top of the wall that he knew would protrude more than the others. A shiver went down Moluno’s spine. What is the cost of failure? ... What horrible thing will he do to me?
As the passage slowly opened, a gray glow appeared, and Moluno saw the portal. Oh, if I could only take back that dreadful day. If only I had not let my curiosity overtake me. But now he was a slave, a puppet of his dark master. The grey light from the portal made him feel empty inside. Moluno was a murderer, a liar, a thief— in short, an unquestionable monster. But there are some things that even monsters fear.
Moluno had stepped through this same portal before and seen a world full of mindless people. He’d even killed one of them to drink his blood. As the blood had entered his body he had begun to feel empty, as if his spirit were slipping away. He had almost died that day, but instead, became as empty as those other people. This was a world full of mindless victims just acting out various tasks. The man he had bitten into had been cold, and the blood stagnant—there was just nothing there anymore.
Moluno’s train of thought broke as the portal started to ripple. He clenched his fists so tight that his own blood began to drip from his palms. Terror overwhelmed him as he anticipated his fate.
Thanatos, the Black Dragon, came through the massive, swirling portal. As it started to move through the portal, it first thrust the horn on its muzzle forward and then continued pushing through. Part of Thanatos’ skeleton jutted out through its slimy black scales, and when Moluno saw it, he began to shake. Thanatos glared at Moluno with snake-like eyes, unfurled its large, tattered wings, and moved closer. Large tentacles protruded from its mouth. Black smoke with a smell of rotting corpses leaked from its nostrils.
Moluno heard its voice oozing through his mind. “My child, where is your dear sister? I hoped to gaze upon her corpse so that I could make her mine as I have already done with you.”
Moluno knew what had happened to Ragal, at least part of it, so he hoped a partial truth would appease his master. “Her body was destroyed in a fire.”
Thanatos gurgled as the tentacles in its mouth stretched down to the brick walls. That voice wrapped its coils around Moluno’s mind again. “The walls tell me that you’re lying, Moluno. They say that she’s found a new Master, and the walls of Musterion never lie. Ragal was the key to winning the coming war, and you practically gave her to the other side. My dear Moluno, you’re just a minion; you’re dispensable. Is there any reason why I shouldn’t send you back to where I found you on my world?”
“I … I can … I can — ”
A tentacle began to slither toward Moluno. He froze in fear, unable to move. Thanatos echoed through his mind. “Don’t worry, Moluno. I’ll fix your blunder and still make good use of you in the process.”
The tentacle touched Moluno, and he began to change. He was absorbed into the essence of Thanatos. His eyes changed to yellow and serpent-shaped. The shadows that emanated from his body grew more dense and threatening, and his body swelled, increasing in muscle mass and height. Thanatos completely possessed Moluno and thought, This may even the odds.
Thanatos, or at least the greater part of him, departed through the gray-lit portal. Moluno had long ago made his choice, and now he was no more. It was Thanatos that would finish the work, and The Order of the Magi faced a whole new enemy.
~*~
Kasey and Myles finally gave up shouting for Nekar. They began to search the tunnels for the way out. This part of the Maze of Musterion, however, was much trickier than the puzzle Myles had solved before. He couldn’t make heads or tails out of anything and was growing increasingly frustrated. Kasey started to laugh at the expression on his face.
Myles got off the bike and looked over at her hovering alongside, those gorgeous wings just barely fluttering. As she laughed, he thought, this woman has just transformed from really ugly to quite possibly the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. But it seemed to him that, not only had her appearance changed, her attitude toward him was completely different also.
Kasey landed close to him. “You saved me from myself, Myles. I never thought I would say this to a man, but thank you for knocking me out.” She laughed again at that thought and asked, “By the way, is your back okay?”
Myles nodded and waved away her concern. “It’s nothing that a chiropractor back home couldn’t fix. But listen, you don’t owe me any favors.” He stepped away from her. “Besides, you’re a slave now.”
“I’ve always been a slave, Myles. I just didn’t realize it. Before now, I was a slave to my own selfish and wicked desires, but now I’m the slave of my Savior and Lord. That’s not a bad thing, you know. I feel like a heavy burden has been lifted off my shoulders.”
Suddenly Kasey doubled over. “Oh, I don’t feel so well. Something isn’t right.”
The glowing moss on the walls began to wither as if a blight had hit it. The light in the tunnel faded until only Kasey’s luminescence let them see anything.
Myles shivered. “This darkness isn’t natural. I can actually feel it pressing against me.”
“I don’t feel anything. I had that pain for a second, but it's gone now.”
Myles moved closer to Kasey. “It actually pushes it back a little, the closer I get to you.”
Kasey exclaimed, “Whatever this is, it’s coming for me. We need to go now!”
“How do you know that?”
“I just do. C’mon. It won’t be safe here for long.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.”
Myles hopped on the motorcycle and Kasey flitted alongside, rattling off directions. Myles stared at her. “Since when do you know your way through this maze? Five minutes ago we were lost and yelling for Nekar.”
“I have no clue.”
“Oh great,” muttered Myles. They both started laughing as they sped through the tunnels. The darkness seemed to be chasing them through the tunnels. Myles hoped that Kasey could find the way out before that darkness caught up with them. He could finally say that he’d had his fill of adventure and excitement. This was just too creepy for him.
Trying to distract himself from the darkness closing in on them, Myles started to think about the woman flitting alongside the motorcycle on angelic wings. He kept coming back to how beautiful she was now. She had become an elegant creature of light. Myles decided that she was now quite possibly the most attractive woman he’d ever seen. Why do I feel so intimidated? Myles liked the friendly quality of the transformed Kacey. Thoughts of his dream came back to him, and he couldn't help comparing Kasey to the woman in his dream.
Myles’ train of thought was broken when he looked up and saw a purple glow coming from the tunnel ahead. He also noticed that the darkness following them had disappeared. Now what? He didn’t bother asking Kasey what it was because he doubted she knew more than he did. But why then, he wondered, did she seem to have so much purpose and direction?
The end of the tunnel suddenly opened up into a huge cavern. In the center sat a gorgeous purple dragon with light green eyes. The dragon’s scales reflected light like polished metal, and it stood at least five hundred feet tall with spikes evenly placed all over its body. Two large horns spiraled up on either side of its head, and one smaller horn grew from the center of its snout. The dragon was mostly purple except for the green flaps of skin on its wings. The iridescent colors reminded Myles of a peacock.
Distracted and staring at the creature waiting for them, Myles hit a raised brick in the newly-opened area and flew off the motorcycle. One moment Myles and the motorcycle all hurtled through the air and then they lay on the ground right in front of the dragon. Kasey was evidently still new to the whole flying thing, and when Myles had tumbled she had gotten tangled up in his impromptu "flight". They both lifted their heads and stared
at the dragon. The dragon’s mouth did not move, but they suddenly heard its voice.
“I am Gabriyel. I guard the portal to Pneumatikos, and I’m also a messenger of the Master.”
This is too much! Myles thought. A dragon? What next, hobbits? Is any of this real?
Gabriyel answered Myles’ thoughts. “It’s all real, and you’re both in real danger. Kasey, you may pass into Pneumatikos because you belong to the Master. But Myles Callaghan, you must use a different path.”
“Now wait a minute!” retorted Myles. “I’m not leaving her side. I got her this far, didn’t I?”
“No, you didn’t,” the dragon answered. “The Master is the one who got her this far. He was the one guiding her to this place.”
Then Gabriyel stepped aside to reveal a massive wall of fire behind him. “Myles, your flesh will burn up if you try to pass through that wall, but Kasey’s will not. Beyond that wall lies the realm of the King of Kings, and He’s waiting there, where she’s needed. It will be safe for her there. This is not the path you’ve chosen, Myles, so you must go your own way.”
Myles looked at the wall of fire, then back at Kasey. Though he was still angry, he could see that her glow was as strong as the glow that came from the fire and was almost as strong as the glow that came from the dragon. “Is this what you want, Kasey?”
“Who am I to question it?” she responded. “I’ll go.”
Myles nodded. “I don’t ever make promises, but I’ll make you one today. Kasey, I’ll find you. I promise.”
Kasey gave him a big smile. “Myles, thank you for everything. Thank you for rescuing me from myself. There’s no need to make such a promise.”
“I want to. I believe that there’s more for you and I to do together. I will find you.”
Kasey kissed Myles on the forehead. “Okay, until we meet again then.”
“Until then.” Myles watched as Kasey fluttered through the fire, without so much as a hint of pain, and disappeared. He shook his head in amazement, looked back at Gabriyel, and sighed. “You know…” He shook his head. “I happen to stumble upon Miss Right and what happens? You and your Master send her away.”
Gabriyel lowered his head toward Myles. “You will see her again, Myles Callahan. Just remember, though, you have to be Mr. Right in order to get her. Do you believe that you are what any woman would describe as Mr. Right?”
Myles laughed nervously. “No. You have a point there. I may not deserve her, but I’ve claimed her.”
Gabriyel turned away from Myles and began to breathe an almost liquid blue fire. The fire seemed to rend the fabric of reality as it peeled away what he could see like a torn poster. It exposed other places. Gabriyel turned back toward Myles. “I can send you back to Omar, or I can send you back to Earth. The choice is yours, Myles.”
Myles considered what it would be like to just return to Earth and get out of this crazy dimension. But then he thought about Kasey. His dream, the open-handed way he had saved her, her transformation, and most of all, that deep attraction to her, all told him what he really wanted. “Well, don’t you already know what I’ll choose?”
“Yes, I do.”
Myles threw up his hands in frustration. “Then why do you ask me?” “Because you must tell me your decision.”
Myles nodded and said, “I made a promise to her that I would find her. I’m not going back to Earth.” The tear in reality rippled and changed until a clear scene came into focus. Where there had been a black nothingness, he could now see the fountain in the center of the city back in Pneuma Karpos. Crowds of people in the plaza stared at Gabriyel in amazement and fear. A few Musterlings began to approach the tear as if they didn’t believe what they were seeing, but Gabriyel breathed the blue fire again.
Gabriyel turned to Myles. “Go!” Myles picked up the motorcycle and hurried toward the tear. He looked back at Gabriyel and stepped through the opening. As he did, it immediately closed behind him, and cheering Musterlings surrounded him. He was home again.
~*~
After their meeting with Ischus, Omar and Sebastian had gone back to their place and slept soundly. With so much on their minds, they never noticed that Myles had left them. When they awoke, they realized that Myles had taken the motorcycle, but he hadn’t taken the bags. That, at least, was something. Omar didn’t like the idea that a supposed ex-conman was wandering the tunnels of Musterion with two billion dollars’ worth of equipment. He admitted to himself that he was a little concerned about Myles and his mission, but he decided to trust Myles and his unusual talents.
Omar pulled his laptop from one of the bags and saw that the batteries were only half charged.
Sebastian started to wake and looked over at Omar with curiosity. He studied him, trying to figure out what he was doing.
Omar noticed Sebastian staring at him. “I haven’t taken samples or studied the environment at all since I’ve been in Musterion. With this machine, I can analyze any part of my environment. However, it won’t work for much longer if I can’t get the power pack that runs it recharged.”
“What kind of power does it need?”
Omar popped out a side tray from the laptop and put some samples of the tunnel moss in the tray and shut it. “It runs off solar power. Unfortunately we’re enclosed in the tunnels of Musterion, so there's no sunlight.”
Sebastian smiled. “You have about as much to learn about Musterion as I have to learn about science. There are places where Musterion opens up to the sky. Don’t you remember Sarx-Ergon and the beautiful, starry night sky? Perhaps on Earth it doesn’t work the same as it does here, but there’s a period of time each day where the sun comes out there."
“It’s the same way on Earth. The difference is that we get the sun anywhere on Earth, not just in a ruthless, violent city where everyone wants to kill us. After the fire and the disappearance of Ragal, I really don’t think returning to Sarx-Ergon is an option for us. So unless there’s another place with an open sky above that’s a lot friendlier, we remain without options.”
Sebastian’s face began to brighten, and his body began to glow as it had that night they first saw him. Omar could see a strong emotion coming over him, and it was obviously a happy one, because his color turned to bright yellow. He looked like he was trying to imitate the sunshine. “There are, in fact, many places here in Musterion where the sky is open. About a day’s travel from here is a place where we go to find vegetation and animals for food. You can see starlight that shines through brightly. Several moons are on display. I won’t spoil it for you, but the view is breathtaking."
Omar understood why Sebastian had started to glow. He was now instructing the instructor. “Sebastian, I think you’ve found a solution to our problem. We’ll definitely have to go there.”
Just then the laptop beeped, and Omar’s eyes widened as he read the results. “This moss…I was wondering what the source of light in the tunnels was and it seems that I’ve found it. This moss is definitely giving off light, but it doesn’t glow or radiate like normal light sources.” Omar just stared at the readouts, trying to understand what they revealed.
Sebastian grabbed some of the moss and took out a knife from his belt. He made a small cut on his forefinger and ate some of the moss. To Omar’s amazement, the cut healed right up. “For some reason the Gabad and the Miyka are healed by ingesting the moss. But if a Kalat ingests it, he's as good as dead. The Kalat are much stronger than any of the other races of Musterion, but this moss has kept us dominant over them. They know that if we ever went to battle, the Gabad warriors would have an instant way to heal themselves when injured. This has kept them civil for hundreds of years, but I fear that it won’t last much longer. Your arrival here has really provoked them.”
Sebastian drew a map of Pneuma Karpos, and Omar tried to explain how the laptop worked. They continued talking through the evening about science and what life was like on Earth.
As the evening drew to a close and their conversation died down, they di
scussed where Myles might be, but they couldn’t decide if they should worry or just accept that Myles was an unpredictable character. They were leaning in the direction of his unpredictability when they heard a commotion in the square below them. Omar and Sebastian left their hideout to see what all the fuss was about.
Having wings made it easy for them to step out of the hole and fly down without anyone seeing where they came from. As they both spiraled down to the square, Omar couldn't help contemplating the fact that he was no longer even human, gliding to the ground of a foreign planet comprised almost entirely of tunnels and populated by beings even stranger than what he had become.
A man stood in the middle of the square. The man's face resembled the statue of Nekar in the city hall. His hair was matted, his clothes were torn, and he had fresh cuts and bruises on his body, but otherwise he seemed to be Nekar. He commanded everyone’s attention like a seasoned general preparing his troops for battle. This man did not look crazy at all. Could this really be Nekar?
“You must all listen to me!” Nekar shouted. “Do not enter the Maze of Musterion! Stay in the Core! Something evil had invaded the maze. It’s more powerful than any of you can battle by yourselves. I almost didn’t survive to come here. You’re safe here. The Core is protected.”
Chara, a female Nepsah and member of the Council of Seven, flew up above the crowd and cried out, “This man doesn’t lead you. Don’t let him strike fear in your hearts without even questioning his motives. He’s dangerous. “Nekar, I know you were a member of the original Council of Thirteen. Much has changed since then. Look at you! How could you expect us to trust you? You abandoned us long ago. Children are robbed of their voices after an encounter with you. You even kidnapped a child from the Kalat, of all the people to provoke. Why should we heed your warnings now? On what authority do you stand, old man?”
Bridgeworlds: Rise of the Magi Page 15