“Are you okay?” She asked.
Rick wiped his face and grinned. “Yeah.”
“Can I show you something?” she asked taking his hand.
“You bet.”
Leading him out of the great hall they made their way to her favorite spot in the whole guild. Pushing open the last door she stepped out into the cold air.
“The garden,” Rick said following behind.
Twirling she looked at him. “How’d you know?” she said pouting.
He grinned. “I told you. I used to live in Halven. Even in other countries, the garden is famous.”
“Yeah, you right,” she said still pouting.
Smelling the earthy air, she took a deep breath. This time of year, the garden was a beautiful array of reds and yellows. Kicking up the leaves with a gust of wind, Stella twirled as they flew about her. Finishing her spin, she stopped to look at Rick.
“Beautiful,” he said smiling.
“Right? I love this time of year!”
“Oh, I didn’t mean the leaves,” he said with that seductive grin of his.
Stella flushed. Why does he have to be so hot?
Pushing off the wall, he walked past her. “Where’s your spot?”
“My spot?” she asked following him.
“Yeah,” he said his blue eyes shining. “The spot you go to think.”
Laughing, Stella ran past him and stopped. Spinning, she crossed her hands behind her back. “Right here,” she said tilting her head toward a tree.
Rick laughed. “Should have guessed.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s a marvelous tree,” he said grinning at her.
Stella felt a warm fuzzy feeling in her chest.
“I have something else to show you,” she said taking his hand.
Leaving the garden, they walked along the halls.
“Stella!” Devlin yelled from behind.
Turning to look, Stella dropped Rick’s hand. Devlin came running up, slightly out of breath.
“Hey,” Rick said slapping his back.
Devlin glanced between them. “That was short, how’d it go?”
“It’s still going,” Stella said smiling.
Devlin grabbed her arm and spoke quietly. “You need to talk to Flare,”
“Where is she?”
“She was in study #5.”
“Can it wait?”
“No,” he said. “The team is missing. Assan, Mera, and Adam are all missing.”
“What?”
Devlin blinked looking around. “Where’s Rick?”
Now Stella glanced around. “Where’d he go?” The hallway was empty besides the two of them. “Where could he have even have gone?” Stella said. “It was like two seconds!”
“Why are you asking me?” Devlin asked looking around.
Stella let out a long sigh. “I’ll go find Flare,” she said. “Can you hunt down Rick?”
“She’s that way,” Devlin said pointing down the hall.
“Thanks,” Stella said.
It’s like trying to keep track of a two-year-old, Stella thought shaking her head. Sniffing the air, Stella smelled burning wood. “Speaking of two-year-olds,” she said starting to run. “Flare, what are you doing?” Flying around the corner Stella stopped. Flare and Rick stood facing each other. Rick stood with his hands to his side. But a fireball floated in Flare’s hand.
“What—” Stella started.
Fire shot from Flare. Rick disappeared, dropping through a portal in the floor and reappeared dropping through the ceiling behind Flare.
“Yield,” he said grabbing the back of her head.
Flare froze.
“Both of you stop!” Stella yelled.
Rick had the audacity to grin at her! “Oh, hey there Stella,” he said. “You done with Devlin?”
“Do you know this pretty jerk?” Flare asked knocking his hand off her head.
Stella ignored him. “Pretty jerk?” she asked. “And yes, I know him. What’s going on?”
Flare pointed a finger at him, her red hair whipping around. “He’s mean!”
Rick started laughing. “I didn’t do anything, I swear!”
Stella glared at him. “Why do I find it hard to believe you?”
“There was a big scary spider!” Flare said waving her hands. “And he was laughing instead of helping!”
“I told you it was on the table,” he said with a shrug. “Not my fault you were on top of it.”
Stella glanced into the nearby room. The aforementioned table now was a charcoal smoldering mess.
Sighing Stella glared daggers at them. “You’re both older than me and you're acting like children!”
Grinning Rick pointed his thumb at Flare. “She started it.”
Flare stuck her tongue out at him
“Real mature,” Stella said trying to hide a smile, while at the same time trying to look stern. Why do I like crazy people? she thought shaking her head.
Flare rushed forward and embraced Stella. “Welcome back!”
“Oof,” Stella grunted trying to breathe. “Please let go.”
Skipping back, Flare eyed her. “Did you recover the Alshak?”
Stella spun and started walking back the way she came. Flare’s hand clamped down on her shoulder like a vice. Taking in a long hiss of air Stella looked at her. “It’s… at the bottom of the ocean.”
“What!” Flare yelled her face going white.
“My fault,” Rick said.
The two girls turned to look at him.
“And who, pray tell, are you?” Flare asked in a cold tone.
Rick grinned. “I’m the guy who wants to join your guild,” he said. “Now who’s the guild master?”
When were you going to tell me? You jerk! Stella yelled in her head.
“That. Would. Be. Me,” Flare said crossing her arms.
“Oh—”
“And why would I let you in?”
“I could beat the entire element five,” Rick said grinning. “By myself.”
Flare looked over at Stella.
Is she asking me? “He might,” Stella said hesitantly.
“Who cares,” Flare said her eyes watering. “Stella!” She cried burying her face into her chest. “Mph urm brr Arr.”
“I can’t understand what you’re saying,” Stella said lifting Flare’s chin.
“I said Assan is missing!” Flare yelled. “And I don’t know what to do about it!”
“On your mission?”
“No. After,” Flare said calming down. “He went to the Undercity. Things are happening down there.”
“I’ll find him,” Rick said leaning against a wall. “But on two conditions. First, Syar is under attack and needs the guild's help. And second, I need to fight in the tournament.”
Like you won't help regardless. You’ve been helping others non-stop since I met you, Stella thought fondly.
“Deal. You find Assan, and you can take a spot.”
Rick grinned. “I would’ve helped anyway.”
I knew it, Stella thought smiling.
Chapter 13
R ick stood outside of the palace gate. Its golden steeple and marble walls shown in the setting sun. Even the locals stopped and stared.
“Time to meet the new king,” he said to himself.
Walking toward the gate, he noted the two guards each had a spear and a short sword. One of them lowered his spear in front of Rick.
“What’s your business?” he asked.
“I’m here to see the king,” Rick said.
The guard looked him up and down. “I don’t think so.”
“Will you tell him Gemini would like to talk? He’ll recognize the name.”
The guard made a very obnoxious laugh. “This Syarn thinks I’m his personal messenger,” he said to his companion.
Rick glanced at his clothes. “Right, I was in Syar chasing after the Alshak.”
The guard smirked. “In that case wh
ere is it?”
“At the bottom of the ocean,” Rick said without missing a beat.
“No dice,” the guard said. “The king is busy. Get lost.”
“Is it still illegal to assault a king’s solder?” Rick asked innocently.
Both guards narrowed their eyes into slits. “Yes,” they said in unison. Both spears were now pointed at Rick.
“See, now I have a dilemma,” Rick said pacing. “I could easily force my way to the king. But considering I’ll be asking for a favor, I don’t think that’d work. On the other hand, I’ve got two pompous guards who won't even let him know that I, Gemini, am here to see him.” Rick stopped in his tracks and stared the first guard in the eyes. “So what would you suggest?”
The guard took an involuntary step back. “I uh... Mick, go tell the Chamberlin that a, uh, Mr. Gemini is here to see the king,” he said. “You’ll have to wait here,” the guard told Rick.
Rick grinned. “Gladly.”
After almost an hour, Rick was finally led to a minor throne room where he waited even longer. The guards lit torches as the light faded from the windows. Getting bored, he started playing with different magics. Chel was a relatively close plane to here, so he used binding magic to walk on the ceiling. The looks on the guard's faces were priceless. Eventually, The Chamberlin walked in. Rick quickly dropped to the floor just in time for the king to enter.
“I, um,” the Chamberlin stammered. “Present his royal majesty, King Brutus.”
Rick winked at the Chamberlin and gave a quick bow. Looking up, the king scowled at him.
“I’ve heard the name Gemini before,” he said. “But I don’t remember when.”
Well crap, Rick thought. This isn’t going to be as easy as I thought.
Thinking quickly Rick made up a lie. “My Great-grandfather was a friend of your family.”
“And what is it that you want?” the king asked.
“Syar is under attack by The Serpent, and once his army is done with them it will come here.”
The king laughed. “And why should I care?”
Rick was at a loss of words. “Because,” he said. “It’s an army of demons and they’ll attack you shortly?”
“I don’t have time for fairy tales,” the king said. “Get rid of this fool.”
As the guards started walking toward him, Rick made blue sparks dance along his skin. “DON’T YOU TOUCH ME! YOU’RE MAJESTY!” He yelled with his voice amplified. “YOUR GRANDFATHER WAS A GREAT MAN! HE FREED THIS KINGDOM FROM INVADERS! BUT NOW! NOW IS YOUR CHANCE TO SURPASS HIS LEGACY! YOU CAN NOT ONLY SAVE THIS KINGDOM BUT SAVE THE WHOLE WORLD!”
With that, he disappeared. It was simple really. He created an illusion of empty air all around him and dropped through a portal. Falling into the sky he portaled away.
“Let him stew on that,” Rick said laughing as he walked away.
Hurrying, Rick made his way to the Undercity gate. It was dark now and Stella would be waiting. The plan was to meet her at the gate by nightfall. Reaching his destination, he slowed spotting Stella. She stood talking to the guard.
Why would a guard be needed? It’s just a bunch of caves, Rick thought walking up to them. That and the prison I got thrown in forever ago. Not that I remember it.
“There you are!” Stella said smiling at him. “You are late.”
“The king is stupid,” he said.
“That’s treason!” the guard said.
“You saw the king?” Stella asked.
“He’s not my king,” Rick said waving the guard off. “But you’re right. I’ll stay quiet.”
“I still should arrest you,” the guard growled.
“Here,” Rick said his hand flashing forward.
Jabbing the man's forehead, he made him forget the last minute.
The guard blinked. “Where did you come from?”
“I just arrived.” Rubbing his temple Rick looked at Stella. “You ready?”
Stella eyed him. “Have you ever done that to me?”
“The cliffs, remember?” Rick asked. And maybe another time or two, he added in his head.
Nodding Stella walked through the gate. “Let’s go.”
“I’ll record your names and descriptions,” the guard said. “Good luck down there.”
Stepping through Rick looked down the steps leading into the cave. Walking down, it grew darker and darker. Soon he found himself feeling along the wall unable to see his hand in front of his face.
“You still there, Stella?” he asked.
“Of course I am silly, it’ll get lighter soon.”
Looking ahead Rick saw a faint blue glow. Making their way closer it grew lighter. “What makes that light?” Rick asked.
“You’ll see,” Stella said.
He didn’t have to see her face to know that she was smiling.
What did my journal say about these caves? he thought trying to remember.
Rounding the bend, Rick stopped dead. The tunnel ended and expanded into an enormous cavern. Just before them, the staircase led to an outcropping overlooking the rest of the cave. But what made Rick stop was the cave walls. A glowing blue moss bathed the cavern in beautiful blue light. Millions of small blue dots stretched across the ceiling creating an underground starry sky.
“It’s incredible!” he gasped.
“Bioluminescence.”
“What?” he asked ripping his eyes away to look at her.
“That’s why the moss glows,” she said. “It’s beautiful.”
Grinning he couldn’t help but notice the cave wasn’t the only thing beautiful in blue light. “I agree,” he said.
“What are you staring at?” Stella asked. “Do I have something on my face?”
Chuckling Rick shook his head. “No, I was just thinking about how pretty you are.”
Turning she hid her face. “Stop!” she said. “Let’s get going, Assan could be in trouble.”
“Right,” he said grinning. Making their way down Rick stopped again as they reached the bottom. “It’s a city,” he said. It was a city of shanty houses made from whatever seemed to of been lying around.
“Welcome to the Undercity,” Stella said scowling.
Rick put his hand up to his nose. The place reeked of death. What few people were visible made the soul hurt. They were all in bad shape, all had bandages and hollow cheeks. Most were moaning in pain, and a few looked extremely dangerous.
“This isn’t the nicest neighborhood,” he said.
“No, no it is not,” Stella said.
“So this is why they’re guarding the gate,” Rick said keeping his anger down.
“It’s where criminals and beggars go,” Stella said rubbing her arm
“Beggars?”
“It's illegal to be homeless in Halven,” she said scowling. “You can thank the king.”
“What?”
“Supposedly, it keeps the city clean,” she said sarcasm in her voice. “But it’s to keep the kingdom from looking like our king is destroying it.”
Would you be mad if I beat up your descendant? Rick asked a ghost. Of course, there was no answer. Walking over to one of the worst off, Rick knelt beside him. Using Celestial light, he healed him. A memory is worth the price, he thought as one faded from his mind.
“Thank you,” the man croaked looking infinitely better.
“Wish I could do more,” Rick said standing.
“You look like you’ve got a fat purse,” said a man emerging from an alley. “You could give it to those of us who are left.”
This is the backup I stashed, my main purse is with the fishes. “I’ll have to hurt you if you come any closer,” he said.
Brandishing a knife, the man kept coming closer. “A knife in the dark equals death.”
Rick moved, placing himself in between the man and Stella. “Who are you?”
“I’m a friendly resident of the Undercity,” the man said.
Rick made sparks dance along his fingertips, the blue light making
them even bluer. The man stopped.
“Good,” Rick said. “Now, go back to hiding in that alley of yours.” Pulling a coin out of his pouch, Rick tossed it over the man’s head. “Time to run,” he said grabbing Stella. Sprinting, they made their way further into the city. He got a little nervous as they crossed a murky river on a super sketchy bridge built out of driftwood. He let out a long sigh of relief when they got to the other side.
“So let me get this straight,” he said. “We have a single night to find Assan, who came down here looking for Mera, and both of them have been missing for over a week?”
“Yeah, that’s about it.”
“Great. Then we better get started. Where to?”
“Um, I have no idea,” Stella said biting her lip.
“Okay,” Rick said. “I guess we can start by wandering around and seeing what we find.”
Making their way through winding streets and alleys, he kept sensing something was off, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
“Have you noticed?” Stella asked.
“Noticed?”
“The city is deserted.”
Finally, it clicked. The city was as silent as a graveyard. Not a soul in sight. Walking over to a shack, Rick knocked on the door. With a long creeeeak, the door swung open. Empty. Walking to the next one he knocked. Again, with a slow creak, the door swung open. Three more times he knocked, and the doors swung open. No one. He hurried back over to Stella.
“How many people has the king sent down here?”
“Hundreds, if not thousands.”
“Is there a tavern?”
“I thought you didn’t drink.”
“I don’t,” he said. “But if there’s anywhere in a city like this which’ll have people, it’ll be the drunks’ hang out.”
“This way,” Stella said heading further into the deserted city.
Walking in silence, Rick kept an ear out for any sounds. A drop of water to the side, the shift of rocks falling from the ceiling, the crunch of gravel from behind. That was all the warning he had. Leaping to the side, a rock struck him in the shoulder. Lightning shot from his hand, striking the ground behind him. It was over as fast as it began. The man ran, disappearing back into the shadows.
Gemini- The Beginning Of The End Page 15