Bridgeworlds: Rise of the Magi (22 page)

It moved out from the bush, quickly stopped, and was motionless. For a tail, it had an arm with a clawed hand on the tip, and it pushed itself forward cautiously towards Myles. He couldn’t resist its charm; it was just so cute. So he bent over to pick it up and sat down with it on his lap. It had a soft pink underbelly, and Myles began to pet it like he would a dog.

As he sat there holding it, looking into its eyes, he could feel something changing inside him. He thought it was a little odd, but it was as if it was casting some spell on him, but he didn’t care. He just wanted to hold it. It was a calm and peaceful moment after his explosive feelings that led him to charge into the jungle, and he felt empowered. He began thinking about where he was and how he’d been on this island for too long. There was a world of suckers out there to be had. Yes, he began to think, he was feeling much more like his old self again. And that was good.

Now savoring a wonderful feeling, Myles began thinking of all the fun he would have with the inhabitants of this world. He really did have a fresh start ahead of him, which would allow him to be more cunning and even more deceptive so that he didn’t get caught at his tricks. His mind drifted off to how he could be even more of a con than before.

But suddenly Myles noticed that the little dragon had clamped its tail claw around his wrist, and it was now smiling at him. It abruptly seemed a lot less cute and a lot more wicked. Its smile revealed razor sharp pointed teeth, which were not at all charming. Then it bit Myles’ other arm and sank its teeth in deep. In an immediate reaction, Myles threw it to the ground causing it to release its bite, but it still had a hold on his wrist with its tail claw. As it gripped even tighter, it began burrowing a tunnel into the ground pulling Myles down behind it. It moved quickly beneath the ground, tunneling down deeper and deeper.

Myles finally panicked and tried frantically to resist, but he’d let the little monster get a good grip on him and he couldn’t break free. He managed to get one of his knives from his sleeve and began stabbing at its claw over and over again. It roared in pain and immediately let go. Then Myles acted quickly to change the odds and grabbed a gun from his coat. As it started to turn back toward him he aimed at its underbelly and took the shot. When the bullet hit, it roared in pain, squirmed a little, and finally died.

He took a deep breath in relief that it was over but then realized he was far underground. He couldn’t use his left arm to pull himself upwards because of that bite. He started to feel faint and then he thought,
I can’t come this far and then just die in a hole like some prairie dog!
Then everything went black.

20

Machaira

Omar and Sebastian had camped at their hidden spot that night after Myles had marched off in anger. Neither one wanted to be near the tower when Myles found Kasey, so they just stayed where they were and enjoyed the beautiful night. When they woke in the morning, they rekindled the fire, preparing to make breakfast. Sebastian had caught some fish the day before that they had kept fresh in the cool water, and they decided that this would make a great breakfast.

Omar still found it remarkable how refreshing the food was here on Soterion. Everything was much more pleasant here than it had been on Musterion, and both of them were savoring the special morning. Omar decided he was definitely going to do some more scientific analysis on the food in the near future. But right now science could wait while he indulged his considerable appetite after so much practice the night before.

As they finished breakfast, Kleis, Protos, and Ischus approached the camp. The looks on their faces made it obvious that they hadn’t been lured by the scent of the fish to share breakfast. Sebastian looked at Omar. “Uh-oh, this can’t be good.”

Ischus nodded. “You’re correct my friend; it isn’t.”

Omar gestured impatiently. “Well, let’s have it already.”

Ischus bristled at his bluntness. It was still hard to remember that he was no longer a noble ruler and couldn’t expect noble treatment. In fact, he was now in Omar’s territory and under his command. He wondered how his Musterlings were dealing with all their problems without him. “It seems that Kasey and Myles had an angry confrontation last night, and neither of them are anywhere to be found now.”

Omar shrugged as he responded, “Is that all? Give them time. They’ll turn up.” He turned back to his remaining fish.

Protos shook his head. “You don’t understand. They both went into the jungle. Kasey ran away from Myles, and then Myles followed her in a few minutes later.”

Omar raised an eyebrow. “Why didn’t you say so? That changes everything. Kleis, go find Peel-off for me. The Remmys have a natural ability to find people and things. They’re supposed to be the best.”

Kleis shrugged. “Well, sometimes. But sometimes they like to lead you on a wild goose chase. It’s all a big game for them, and they’ll try to make it more interesting if they can. We must keep his focus on finding Myles and Kasey.”

Kleis set Peel-off down in the camp a few minutes later and informed Omar that Kasey had returned without trouble and was now at the tower. However, she hadn’t seen Myles, and no one else knew where he was either.

"Kasey wanted to come with us to search for Myles," Kleis said softly to Omar. "In fact, she argued that she should be leading the search. It's true that she probably knows the jungles better than any of us. I'm not sure what's going on, but Ischus and Protos both told me to tell her she had to stay put at the tower. I know you and Sebastian and Myles are in command, but I ... I got the idea that it was important to obey them. What's going on?"

Omar squinted over at Ischus and Protos. "You did the right thing. At the least, we don't need more drama."

Peel-off jumped to the ground and bowed before Omar. “I’m at your service, sir. I hear you’re missing a co-founder. Well, I’m the right guy for the job!”

Omar cocked his head. “Peel-off, don’t toy with me. If you’re unable to find him, you must let me know immediately. We can’t waste time. Myles may be in serious danger.”

Peel-off grinned, fists on his hips and his chest puffed out. He put two fingers in his mouth and let out a loud whistle. A blue jay fluttered from the branches in a tree above and landed on the ground. Peel-off reached out to pet the blue jay’s head. Satisfied that the blue jay would cooperate, he turned to Omar and said, “There’s no saddle but it’ll have to do.” He mounted the blue jay. For a moment he gazed all around, looking blank. A moment later he turned to stare straight into the jungle. The blue jay shot off while Peel-off hung on for dear life.

Omar told Ischus and Protos to return to the tower and find out what Kasey might know while he, Kleis, and Sebastian followed Peel-off. They flew after Peel-off in the hope that they could keep up somehow. Omar mused about how costly it was to live life with Myles, but he also believed it was worth any price to have him as a comrade. Peel-off stopped at a trail and got off the blue jay. The others had managed to catch up to him and landed. Peel-off stroked his orange beard for a few minutes. "What's wrong here?" Still deep in thought, he began to pace. “I know he’s nearby, but I don’t see him.” Peel-off screamed as he tumbled into a hole and the others ran toward the sound but to their horror it faded away.

Omar ran over and looked into the black tunnel. Sebastian exclaimed, “Subsurface Drakoni make these tunnels. Myles had the odds stacked against him if he had to fight it underground. Be careful that it’s not lurking in that tunnel waiting to catch someone else.”

Omar leaned over the hole. “Peel-off! Are you okay?”

Peel-off's laugh reached them faintly. “Define ‘okay’!”

Omar decided he must be all right. “Can you see anything? Is Myles down there?”

They saw the glow of the familiar Musterion moss radiating up out of the hole and waited for an answer. “I found him!” Peel-off shouted.

Omar shouted, “Is he okay? What’s going on down there?”

“Well, he’s unconscious and bit up pretty bad on his arm, but he’s breathing. Throw me a rope or something! I’ll tie it around his feet so you can bring us up.”

Omar looked at Kleis, who was already flying up to a long vine hanging from one of the trees. Kleis cut several, quickly wove them together into a strong single rope, and dropped back to the ground to hand it to Omar. They fed the vine into the hole and kept dropping it until they estimated it had reached about 75 feet.

Peel-off heaved the vine up on his shoulder and dragged it around Myles’ feet. He knotted the rope around Myles' ankles. "Pull us up!"

The weight was more than they’d expected. “What has Myles been eating?” asked Sebastian.

Sweating and straining, they finally pulled him out of the hole. That was when they saw that Peel-off had tied the dead Drakoni to the vine too. Omar scowled at him.

Peel-off threw his hands up in protest. “What? Won’t you want to study it? You always want to study stuff! Besides, the hide makes great armor!”

Omar bent over Myles and examined him. “He’s lost a lot of blood, but I think he’ll be fine. Myles seems to be trying really hard to lose a limb, don't you think? Sebastian and Kleis, take him to the tower, please. And Peel-off, you go with them.”

Peel-off saluted Omar, did an about face, and turned to follow those carrying Myles away.
Where did he learn to do that?

~*~

Kasey paced back and forth like a caged lion. When she saw Protos and Ischus approaching, it was all she could do to contain herself. "Did they find Myles? Is he all right?" She suddenly felt a little uneasy about her display of concern for Myles. “I want to find him so I can slap him across the head! He’s a fool for rushing off after me like that. What was he thinking?”

Ischus let her blow off some steam. When she seemed to be finished with her tirade, he asked, “Where did you disappear to last night, Kasey?”

“I just climbed a tree at the edge of the jungle and waited for him to pass. After he went by me, I climbed down and doubled back to the beach where I slept until morning. He's getting impossible to put up with. I wouldn't care so much if—”

Protos interrupted. “You have the Master’s orders, you have Nekar’s prophecy, and you have our judgment that it’s for the best, Kasey. Remember what Nekar said? Myles is going to turn back to his old ways. You can’t allow him to connect with you now. This is for your own protection…bad company corrupts good morals.”

She kicked at the floor like a child in a temper tantrum. “But the more I run from him, the more he comes after me. He really is relentless.”

Ischus looked at Protos. “I believe the time has come, Protos. I don’t think she can stay here any longer. We must show her the book and tell her about the quest ahead of her. You know it too, don’t you?”

Protos closed his eyes and nodded his head.

“You mean you have more secrets?" Kasey demanded. "You better spill it, guys. I’m tired of all these secrets. I see you both as my brothers, and I don’t need my family keeping me in the dark.”

Ischus only hesitated a moment longer. “We only did what the Master commanded, Kasey, waiting for the right time. I think the time is finally here. Follow us.”

They led the way into Ischus’ guest quarters. Ischus asked an ’Am Mayim to stand watch at his door. Ischus shut and locked the door. Then he pulled out an old book and set it on top of his bed. The words on the cover were written in Greek.

“And? Is this supposed to be something special?” Kasey snapped.

“Before we left Musterion that was a leather-bound book that said
Die Ganze Heilige Schrift
on the front of it. That's German, an Earth language. But it’s been transformed here. The language on the cover is now Greek, the old tongue of Soterion. The real surprise, though, is what happens when you hold it in your hand for any amount of time.”

Kasey picked it up. She watched as it transformed from a book into a 13-foot-tall sword glowing light blue. Kasey cried out and almost dropped it, but it was as light as air. Her eyes glistened as she turned it in her hands.
“Machaira ho he to Pneuma,”
she breathed, flipping from the Alpha symbol on one side of the hilt and the Omega symbol on the other side.

Ischus nodded. “Yes, Kasey. It’s the Sword of the Spirit.”

Her face filled with awe. “I must take this back through Musterion and into the land of the spirit where Gabriyel sent me. With this sword, I could defeat the Dark Lord.” The more she turned it in her hand, the more her face glowed with delight.

Protos shook his head. “It is forbidden, Kasey. Your orders are specific as to what you’re to do with it.”

Ischus nodded. “This sword belongs to someone here on Soterion. You’ll need to search him out. When you find him, give him the sword. This sword is not yours. You cannot take it to Musterion or go anywhere else with it. There is a war brewing on Soterion, and it is imperative that we get this sword to the one who knows what to do with it.

“There are critical things you must know, Kasey, before you start your journey. Satan, or the Dark Lord that you knew of when you battled alongside the angels has a different manifestation here on Soterion. He will not be known to you despite your previous experience. He is now “The Great Red Dragon” and he’s a shape shifter, a liar, a deceiver, and a sorcerer. He’s battling to take total control of Soterion and rule it by his wicked powers. There are many who are already struggling against his vile intentions, but they need a weapon that will overcome his power. This book -- rather, this sword -- is that weapon. But be on your guard. The sword’s presence here is a challenge to his kingdom, and he’ll stop at nothing to keep you from delivering it.”

Kasey sighed. “I understand, and I’ll carry this burden. You can be sure that I’ll find this person and deliver the sword. Do we have any idea at all where this mystery person might be?”

Protos shook his head. “All I know is that he’s a carpenter. I don’t know where or even how you’ll be able to find him. I’m confident that the Master will guide you in your journey. We’ll pray for you that you succeed.” Protos didn't try to hide his deep concern. “But it’s a good time to go now to keep Myles away from you.”

Kasey looked as if she’d swallowed a bitter pill. “I do understand the mission, and I’ll do as the Master wills. Will you accompany me to the mainland? I have a request of you once we get there. It’ll require that you leave the island for at least a short time.”

Protos knew that her request would violate the rules they had agreed to. Still, he replied, “I’ll do what you wish if I can, dear sister.”