technology helping out our race could move to another planet and start anew." He reassured them.
A moment of bone chilling silence cut through the chatter as my anger subsided and Juley's frightened feelings went away. Not sure if what he's saying is the truth, but I still want to find the other half of the pendant.
"Fine. Let's go through the books again and see if we can find the second half of the pendent. Start by looking through the original book and I'll try to find a clue in the red inked words." I ordered.
"All right let's get to work” He agreed.
"Juley, you go back to school. I'll call you if we find anything important." I told her.
"Aye aye captain!" She said enthusiastically and scampered back to school.
Days passed and my dad discovered its location. Haleakala on the island of Maui encased in the inner crust lies the pendant waiting to be joined with its other half.
"Got it let's go. There's got to be a plane leaving soon." The words rushed out of my mouth.
"Hold on son. You can't keep taking planes, the almighty might notice you." He explained.
"The almighty?" I wondered.
"I'll tell you more on the way but they're a clan of immortals that survived protecting the secret of the pendant. Keeping them separate and guarding them with traps. We'll take my car." He playfully spoke every word.
Calling Juley up and gathering more supplies we got in his unused and dusty 2006 ford focus. Black was always his favorite color for objects. Clothing was mostly red but mixed it up now and then. We all got in and sped off.
Ch. 7: Power Explained
Driving from road to road Juley sang show tunes, so I quickly shut her up and turned on the radio. My dad drove, I sat in the passenger's seat and Juley bounced around the back seats.
"So tell me everything you know about the Almighty and the pendant. From what I've learned I know a bit but the book never mentioned anything about the Almighty." I told him.
"The Almighty are a secret order of immortals that protected the pendant at the beginning of its creation. When it was crafted it was a solid piece but the Almighty saw more and more immortals try to capture it for themselves. They used their combined powers to split it in half and hide them in guarded locations." My father explained.
"How hidden can they be? I found it in the books at our house and they weren't exceptionally well guarded." I told him.
"Since new members enter the order as time passes they wanted to make sure, even if they died, the knowledge would still find its way to others who want to protect it. Unfortunately, some immortals want to claim it for themselves so they devised traps. The pyramid had a lot of defenses but the volcano's natural lava is plenty. They thought a natural defense would keep it hidden so they had a lot less clues than Pharaoh Ptolemy VI Philometor." He went on.
"Okay but how are we going to get to Hawaii without a plane? We'd need to cross the water which means abandoning this car and stealing a boat." I told him.
"I have a friend with a boat that can take us to the volcano. He's the same man that I trusted to keep the house running when I left." He said.
We drove for hours until we reached a pier in the southwest portion of Texas. I figured it must have belonged to my dad's friend so I didn't bother to ask. At the end of the pier was the boat that was going to take us further on our journey.
"Ray! You out here?! It's me Dracus!" He yelled.
"Why use our last name? I thought he was a good friend of yours." I said stubbornly.
"He is but I didn't trust him at first so I never told him my first name. I didn't trust many people back in the day, especially humans." He explained.
"Hello! Still here!" Juley uttered.
"Sorry." He apologized.
A figure jumped off the boat and started walking toward us, dripping water as he approached. He was a larger man than I expected, widthwise anyway, and was about as tall as myself. He had dark, black, curly hair and unlike our family was covered with it. I thought it disgusting, but ignored it only thinking of the mission. I didn't pay attention to anything else since I walked to the boat without a word.
"Hey Dracus, It's been a long time. Need a ride I see. Well I still owe you one more favor after you saved my father in the revolt." Ray said.
"Thanks old friend. Let's get going I think my son is a bit impatient." He declared.
"Like father like son. Everyone on the boat then. We sail immediately.” Ray commanded.
We all walked onto the boat and started towards the last half of the pendant. My dad must have known the car would be fine since he left it with no protection. Regardless, we have plenty more if anything happens. On to the island of Maui.
Ch. 8: Fire and Ice
My father's friend brought us ashore where we proceeded to climb the volcano. Our fingers dug into the outer crust as we pulled ourselves to the top. Of course Juley needed help like always, but she's only human so I don't blame her.
We stood on the rim with hot, burning lava inside the volcano. The heat was so intense we all were sweating and Juley was afraid of falling in so I had to hold her hand.
"So where is the second half of the pendant?" I asked my father.
"They wouldn't just drop it in. They wanted to keep it safe but make sure they could retrieve it if they really had a need. Yeah, covering it naturally would make anyone give up in this heat." He told us.
"How do we get it then? It's not like we can float on the lava." I said.
"No, but I know a way." He turned to me cold and uttered, "You're going to have to die."
Our faces were shocked to say the least. My dad was usually joking but this time he was dead serious. I wasn't that afraid because I knew it would be hard to kill me considering my powers. Juley's face was in sheer terror to even think of me being gone.
"I don't mean indefinitely. There's a power that only you have. If you're pierced in the heart you will be technically dead but your regenerative powers will bring you back. During that time your body will get cold and if you blow out water at an excessive rate it can freeze whatever you wish. You're new so there's no telling how good your work will be." He explained.
"Fine. If it's the only way to get the pendant then kill me. In the heart right now." I ordered.
My father summoned most of his strength, reserving what would no doubt permanently kill me, into his fist. He threw it back to gain speed. At that moment Juley looked away and closed her eyes. I' m only assuming she was crying because I heard her whimpering but I ignored it. He let his fist fly forward hitting the skin, cracking and eventually shattering my ribs continuing on until all you could see was a giant hole where my heart used to be. I estimated they waited about twenty to thirty minutes, but it may have been longer considering an entire organ was being reconstructed.
Gasp! "OH GOD THAT HURT!" I screamed as I sat up, clenching my new heart. I had been lying on the floor so long my entire body was freezing.
"Hopefully it worked. The effects may have lessened since the volcano was here to warm you a bit but it should still be sufficient." He encouraged me.
I looked at my dad while he figured the best way down, then to Juley who was on her knees with tears rolling down her face. Also, her hands were clenched tight enough that I saw blood. I didn't comment on it, of course, because she would deny it even though the evidence is there.
"We have no time to lose. I don't know how long your new freezing power will last. Start by freezing all the lava in the volcano but only the surface and a few inches deep. We need to reserve what you have." He ordered like a regular general.
I put the palm of my hand to the bottom of my lips, took in a big breath and released the water in my body which turned to ice as soon as it made contact with the lava. Based on what I saw I froze the lava's entire surface but no idea how deep. I jum
ped in first to inspect my work. The others followed after assuring it was safe.
"So where do you think it is dad?" I asked looking around for signs.
"They had to have marked a spot. Look for anything on the walls that don't match. I bet they hid it far in the crust." He told us.
We started searching splitting the sides into three sectors. Surprisingly after about ten minutes Juley was the one who found it. We rushed over, careful not to slip.
"Look it's lighter than the crust and it's spiking in every direction." She described.
"Interesting. That substance is called Creeping Clay. It is placed in extra spaces and grows until it fills every crack. For a volcano which moves its crust around over time, it's perfect." He informed.
We began to scrape and pick at it, even clawing if we had to. Anything to wither away the crust and find the end of our quest. I could have reenergized my cells to make my fingers claw faster but I feared that would create too much heat in my body making my freezing power fade. We started to see a golden object appear as we threw the crust and clumps aside.
We stood there staring as every so often we would see gold shining through a steady flow of lava. The pendant, completely surrounded by lava, seemed impossible now. Although I was never one for giving up.
"Dad any ideas?" I asked, figuring he always had a plan.
"It might work but it's risky. Concentrate all your freezing power onto the lava straight through. We have to freeze all the lava and no matter
Immortals: Pendant of Power Page 4