17
SILENCE … UTTER SILENCE. THE wind gradually grew louder and louder as they fell faster.
Focus … complete focus. His mother kept herself and Cyrus tucked in as they spiraled through the gaping hole.
Blue … deep blue. That was the color that bounced back to Cyrus off the walls from the light of his wings as they nose dived.
Shine … sunshine. Cyrus longed to see the sun. The night had felt too long.
“NOW, CYRUS!” yelled Marcella.
The moment of silence and mesmerizing blue was gone. It was now met with the thunderous sound of moving water. They shot out of the bottom of the spire under Aeolia like a bullet out of a gun.
Cyrus opened his wings and felt his mother do the same. She quickly veered them off to the right just in time. Had she not, they would have been skewered by the flag pole attached to Mentibus Oculis. Cyrus gasped at the site. Wadjet was a terrifyingly powerful whirlpool. He felt the air currents and gravity sucking him downward. The whirlpool diameter was easily a mile long, if not more, and swirled around angrily. Hundreds of thousands of gallons of ocean water churned mightily as it began its descent to what seemed to be the very center of the earth.
Cyrus looked down and saw an intricate building descending within the whirlpool. Cyrus couldn’t see how far down the whirlpool went or how steep its descent was … Frankly, he didn’t want to. The building was made with the same greyish white stone as all of Aeolia. As they circled around, Cyrus audibly gasped.
Just like Ori’s story, part of a metal ship stuck out of the platform. Jagged metal attached itself to the building like a decapitated vampire. It was a sight to behold.
Cyrus saw four figures standing on the platform, two of them were waving their arms back and forth and hopping up and down. As they drew closer, Cyrus could see it was Kimo, Auli’i, Martin and Captain Ori.
“There is the arch,” said Marcella as they descended below the flag pole. It was a half-moon shape and was big enough for Cyrus to crawl through, but hurl yourself through it at a blinding speed with wings folded perfectly? No, thank you.
“Imagine yourself catching as much wind in your wings as you can when we land, OK Cyrus? Kind of like this.” She opened her wings wide and curved them so she could catch as much air as possible. They slowed as she did so.
Cyrus nodded nervously.
They swooped towards the massive entrance of Mentibus Oculis, Cyrus opened his wings feeling the wind push against them like a sail and then they landed on their feet.
Kimo and Auli’i rushed to Cyrus and threw themselves on him in a backbreaking hug.
“O … K …You’re … breaking … me … ” Cyrus said between each squeeze.
They were both playing with his wings in awe.
“Cyrus … why are you glowing and … why are you … um … darkening?” asked Auli’i.
“And what happened up there?” asked Kimo, pointing to Aeolia. “There was this crazy burst of light right as we got here and it shot down into this temple and shook the ground and the water started spinning wider … ” Kimo sounded excited but frantic.
“Probably me. How did you guys get away from the manor?”
“I woke up after hearing all this commotion on the rooftop. It took a few tries but after I woke the bear, we hid behind your bed. They kept yelling, ‘He’s in the Atrium’ and ‘To the Atrium’ over and over until it went quiet. Then Martin and Captain Ori appeared and flew us here. They had to make two trips because of Kimo.”
“I can’t help that I have an incredible physique. It’s my curse,” he said with a shrug.
Cyrus shook his head.
“You were a curse to carry, young Kimo. If you didn’t struggle so much, it would’ve gone smoother,” said Martin behind them with a smile.
Auli’i leaned in and whispered to Cyrus, “He was practically crying when they landed.”
Marcella stepped forward. “Is the Sanctum entrance opened?”
Martin shook his head.
“Are you Lady Marcella?” asked Auli’i with a vibrant smile.
“Cyrus’ mom?” added Kimo.
“I am, and who might you be?” asked Marcella, returning the smiles with one of her own.
“I’m Auli’i Fualautoalasi and this is my brother Kimo. We’re Cyrus’ Virtus Latores! Of course, we’re also his friends.”
“That makes me happier than your title, even though it is important,” said Marcella, making the Omniscius Salutatio to the twins with a slight bow.
The twins made the gesture back.
“You kinda look like her,” said Kimo, looking back and forth from Cyrus to Marcella.
“I would hope so … ” said Cyrus dryly.
“Sir Martin!” interrupted Captain Ori, pointing up to Aeolia.
Like a swarm of bees leaving a hive, hundreds of Lumens were now in the sky.
“We better move before they spot us,” said Captain Ori, flying ahead.
Kimo looked up at Aeolia and put his hands on his hips while he sighed loudly. “I’m going to miss that cheese.”
Martin began moving toward the Sanctum. Captain Ori was already at the entrance looking dumbstruck. As they arrived at the archway, Martin pulled something off of his back and handed it to Cyrus. It was his backpack with his passport, tablet, charger and wallet.
“Thank you, Martian!”
They stood under the great arch. The right side of the arch had three giant crystal pillars sticking out of the walls like thorns on a rose. They resembled the crystal pillars in the Atrium. The arch was an intricate design of carved flowers and trees. In the center below them was a single crystal surrounded by a perfect circle about 10 feet in diameter. Cyrus scanned the crystals for a slot similar to one they had seen in the Atrium. Cyrus spotted one in the middle crystal protruding from the wall 30 feet above him.
“That one!” he said, looking at his mother.
Marcella swooped over, grabbed Cyrus and accelerated upwards. Martin flew up as well and supported Cyrus in mid-air with his mother. Grateful for Martin’s support, Marcella unsheathed Yellow Death with her free hand and gave it to Cyrus. He inserted the sword and twisted. A resounding click echoed from within the giant arch.
The inside of Cyrus’ wings lit up like a Christmas tree while the backside grew darker and darker. The floor beneath them began to shake and then the towering temple began to rotate clockwise. Cyrus gasped as he felt the same energy flow through his body. Instead of it charging his body, he could feel the energy being taken from him. His eyes bulged and he gritted his teeth.
“OUCH! I … CAN’T … HOLD … ON … !” yelled Marcella as she was sent hurdling into the other side of the arch.
“ORI! CATCH … HER … !” yelled Martin as he was flung to the other side.
Both Martin and his mother began falling off the wall of the arch. Cyrus flapped helplessly in the air. He wanted to let go but it was as if the energy was holding him there. All of his weight was now being supported by his fragile back and bicep muscles. Ori leaped into the air after Marcella. Kimo and Auli’i moved towards Martin.
There was a loud hiss from below and an unholy amount of mist surrounded them completely. Visibility became almost nonexistent. There was a shriek from Auli’i down below. The muscles Cyrus was using gave out. The energy from the sword wouldn’t let him go. It kept taking what he had stored in his body from the Atrium. Cyrus was now being supported by his forearm strength alone.
The giant arch of Mentibus Oculis began a 360 degree turn. Cyrus felt his arms tremble.
“Master Cyrus!” said Ori from the ground.
The arch settled back into place with an earth shattering THUD! The water inside Wadjet vibrated and rippled through the current. It was silent for a split second and then returned to its violent form, circling Mentibus Oculis. Cyrus felt some of the energy begin to return to his body but not nearly as much as before. He gasped loudly as the energy flowed back to him. Simultaneously, the crystals began to light up in the exact same fashion as they had before. The one with the sword in it was glowing brightly with darkness swirling throughout it. The one above was as dark as the backside of his wings and the one below swirled like a misty grey cloud.
The energy stopped. Cyrus was free from its grasp. He let go of the sword and began to free fall.
One second. Two sec … Ori caught Cyrus halfway and slowed his descent to the middle of the carved design on the floor. The crystal on the floor was lit up like a beacon … and moving.
“The platform is descending!” yelled Captain Ori.
Sure enough, the carved platform rotated slowly downwards. Through the haze, Cyrus could just make out Auli’i and Kimo on either side of Marcella, helping her walk towards the carved platform. Martin walked behind, inspecting Marcella.
“Captain Ori, retrieve the sword,” said Martin.
“Right away, sir,” said Ori, leaving Cyrus on the platform and then propelling himself upward.
Marcella lifted her head and saw Cyrus. Her face immediately lit up.
“Are you all right, sweetheart?”
They hopped down onto the platform that was starting to descend faster.
“Yeah,” said Cyrus shakily. “I’ll be fine. What about you? Are you OK, mom?”
“Never better,” she said with a smile. “Just bumped my head is all.”
“She might have a concussion,” said Martin, ripping off a piece of his shirt. He began wrapping Marcella’s head.
Ori landed with the sword in hand. Marcella waved her hand to the twins who stopped helping her. She stood up straight, took the sword from Ori and sheathed it. She then looked at Martin with a fierce look in her eye.
“I’ll be fine. I am still of use.”
“Never said you weren’t. Simply that you are probably concussed.”
“Are you OK?” asked Marcella, now inspecting Martin.
“Never better,” said Martin, imitating Marcella’s tone.
Cyrus chuckled as he rubbed his forearms. They were tender to the touch. His fingers throbbed from over exertion too.
“How … How do you feel handling that much energy?” asked Marcella with a look of admiration.
“Like a battery going from 10% to 100% in the matter of seconds. Then, that 100% keeps getting doubled over and over again until it fills every cell in my body. It … it wasn’t painful. Just hanging up there on my own was …”
“What’s a battery?” asked Ori.
“Later, Captain. Was it the same both times?” asked Martin.
“Kind of… In the Atrium, I felt like a battery absorbing electricity. Just now, I felt like I was giving it instead.”
“Are you alright?” asked Auli’i.
“Fine.” Cyrus stood up straight.
“The twins caught me,” said Martin.
“You were already floating down to us, Martian, we didn’t do much,” said Auli’i.
“I can assure you, you caught me. I was seeing stars, even if I was conscious. Thank you, Fualautoalasis. I am in your debt.”
“Let’s just call it even since you saved our sister?” said Kimo.
“Fair enough. Cyrus could you hand me the robe in your backpack?”
Marcella made her way to Captain Ori and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“Thank you for saving my life, Captain,” she said making the Omniscius Salutatio.
Captain Ori blushed and returned the gesture.
The robe was a black robe outlined in white. The same one the Lumens who had been chasing him wore … The same one Legion had on.
“Martin, why do you have this?” asked Cyrus, handing it to him.
“If Legion is still around, I need to find out who he is. Best way to do that is to appear as an ally, not an enemy.”
Cyrus felt someone playing with his wings.
“You’re missing a couple feathers … and your wings aren’t as bright as they were a moment ago,” said Auli’i, running her fingers through his feathers.
“But they are still glowing brighter than normal,” said Kimo. “They are also darkening everything. Look at the crystal when you have your back turned.”
“It’s … incredible … ” said Captain Ori in awe.
Sure enough, when Cyrus had his back to the crystal, the light would wane and visibly appear dimmer. The moment he turned and faced it with his light side, the light would grow brighter to the point where everyone had to squint.
“Captain Ori, did you see how close the others were before the mist rose out of Wadjet?” asked Martin looking up at the entrance as it got smaller and smaller.
Captain Ori shook his head.
“How far does this go down?” asked Auli’i.
Captain Ori, Marcella and Martin all looked at each other and then shrugged.
“We’ve only read about it,” said Marcella.
“Do you remember the story I told you about my grandfather and the ship crashing into Mentibus Oculis?” asked Captain Ori. “The ship got the worst of it. However, the build of this tower is second to none … There is a reason it has withstood Wadjet’s current for over a millennia.”
“The inner Sanctum … no one has seen it in over 700 years. Scattered songs and very few written records are all we have,” said Martin. “My father has always been fascinated by them.”
The platform kept whirling as it took them deeper and deeper into Wadjet’s eye. They began to slow down and entered a giant dome. It was incredibly dark beneath them so much so that none of them could make out where the platform was going or what was around them.
Cyrus rummaged through his backpack and grabbed his phone. He turned on the flashlight and Captain Ori flapped his wings in surprise.
“HOW ARE YOU DOING THAT?” he said with fright.
“Oh, wow … is that on a phone, Cyrus?” asked Marcella intrigued.
“Yes! Did you used to have a phone, mom?”
“Yes, we did. Your father and I would take odd end jobs to get by and we wound up purchasing one. It wasn’t as fancy as that one.”
“When the light is better, we should take a selfie,” said Cyrus peering over the edge.
“Ah, yes … that word was being used while we were stateside,” said Marcella.
“What is a selfie?” asked Captain Ori.
“You take a photo of yourself with your phone,” said Cyrus. All Cyrus could see was a bunch of support pillars above and below him. It was an absurd amount.
“What’s a photo?” Captain Ori asked.
Cyrus looked at Ori with surprise.
Man, there is a lot for them to catch up on.
“It’s kind of like an instant painting with modern technology. You point it at something and it instantly captures that moment to look at later,” replied Martin.
Cyrus could see they were coming to another entrance. He backed up and turned his phone light off.
A wall immediately appeared next to them again. The light from the crystal bounced off the walls illuminating intricate paintings decorating the walls. A Lumen Caligo held up a sword that resembled Yellow Death triumphantly. Cyrus turned his phone to selfie mode and stood in the center of the platform next to Captain Ori and his mother. Auli’i quickly hopped next to Marcella. Kimo crouched next to Cyrus and Martin leaned in.
Click.
Cyrus showed the photo to Captain Ori who stared at the phone incredulously.
“Wow.”
Cyrus pocketed his phone and turned his attention back to the art on the wall.
It showed Aeolia with a pillar of light leaving the Atrium going towards Mentibus Oculis. The four crystals were exactly how Cyrus had left them moments ago. One was a mixture of black and white, one white, one black and one grey. The painting kept revealing itself as they descended.
Cyrus felt his ears start to pop.
It then showed the descent they were currently doing and a great room at the bottom. It then showed a Lumen, Caligo and Terram gathered with a Lumen Caligo who was standing in front of what looked like either a mirror or a door. Cyrus couldn’t tell what it was. He tilted his head in confusion as he inspected it closer. There were two Lumen Caligos. If it was a mirror, the one that was looking back had trees and blue skies behind him. Twip! TINK …
Cyrus saw a sudden movement in the corner of his eye. A crushed arrow ricocheted to Cyrus’ feet. Martin picked it up and quickly examined it.
“The Apollo Archers,” he said, looking at Marcella.
“Everybody, stand away from the center!” she whispered forcefully.
Everybody moved in unison as more arrows began to hit the floor.
Cyrus hugged the wall and felt his skin slide against the paint.
“We are sitting ducks right now,” said Martin putting up his hood.
“It can’t be that much further! The moment it opens, we jump!” said Marcella.
Martin pulled out a bow, loaded an arrow and returned fire. Captain Ori did the same.
“Should we go up and run interference?” asked Captain Ori.
“Absolutely not! They have the high ground!” said Martin.
Despite the fear he felt, Cyrus smirked at that comment.
Arrows began to shower down, each making a tinking sound as metal met rock. The subsequent sound of crunching wood from the shaft breaking followed shortly after.
“SEIZE THE LUMEN CALIGO!” shrieked a voice from above.
Cyrus felt his blood run cold.
There was a push of air from the ground moving upwards. Cyrus felt it rush through his feathers.
“It’s starting to open!” said Marcella.
The arrows ceased and two Lumens landed on the platform. Martin and Ori lept into action. Swords clanked in a flurry of rapid movements.
Martin avoided the swing of the Lumen’s sword, turned around quickly and bashed him in the back of the head with his sword hilt. The Lumen crumpled to the floor. Kimo went to the fallen Lumen and grabbed his sword and the shield. Auli’i grabbed the bow and quiver of arrows.
Captain Ori made quick of his Lumen as well but there were already four more Lumens to take their place.
“Cyrus! To me!” said Marcella.
The gap between the descending platform and the dome wall was just big enough to crawl under. Kimo had stepped up and was now crossing blades with a Lumen. The metal clanked off of the shield as Kimo parried an oncoming strike.
Auli’i fired an arrow with little success as it bounced off of the side of the wall and landed close by Cyrus’ feet.
There was a loud clang as the Lumen knocked the sword out of Kimo’s hand. The Lumen began to laugh triumphantly but Kimo remained unfazed and hid behind the shield. Strike after strike reigned down on Kimo, each one bouncing off of the shield. The Lumen’s laugh faded away as he began cursing under his breath. He raised his sword high, leaving himself open. That was all Kimo needed. Kimo punched forward with all his weight and knocked the Lumen to the ground right by Martin. Martin repeated the motion with his hilt, bashing the Lumen in the head with one precise swoop. The soldier went still. Martin had already taken down two Lumens and was now working on his third.
“Auli’i! Kimo! Let’s go! NOW!” said Cyrus.
The twins gathered around Marcella and the four of them jumped into the dark abyss. Cyrus opened his wings and tried to catch us much air as he could. Kimo yelped loudly and Auli’i clenched on to Cyrus for dear life. There was rapid flapping of Marcella’s wings trying to keep them from plummeting completely. She did a good job, for the most part … but the weight was too much. With the light of Cyrus’ wings, he could see the ground approach faster and faster.
They fell for what seemed like a minute until they hit the cold floor. Grunts and groans filled the air as they quickly tried to gather their surroundings. Cyrus heard a crunch from his bag.
The light from the crystal on the platform began to fill the room and what a room it was. It was a huge dome that was shaped like a giant igloo. The paintings on the roof showed the entire world. Oceans and a rather accurate depiction of the land masses decorated the walls. Above the igloo-like opening at the end of the room was the depiction of Aeolia and thousands of Lumens and Caligos flying around it and Terrams sailing its waters. Something was depicted under all of it but Cyrus couldn’t make it out. They had made it to the Sanctum …
The smell was musty and the sound of thousands upon thousands of gallons of water enveloped them. Even through the walls, it felt like it would break through at any moment.
Light continued to flood into the room as the platform descended further and further down. Kimo was first to stand and quickly lifted Cyrus to his feet. Auli’i was trying to help Marcella.
“Marcella! Are you OK?!” asked Auli’i.
Fear spiked through Cyrus’ body. He went over to his mother as quickly as he could. She was grimacing in pain.
“Where are you hurt, mom?!”
She pointed to her foot. Her right foot was turned at an odd angle.
“I think I took the weight of all of you and broke it,” she said through clenched teeth.
Cyrus felt tears come to his face.
“I’m so sorry, mom … I … I tried to open my wings … I just … ” said Cyrus, looking down.
Marcella immediately lost her look of pain.
“Honey … It’s not your fault! I would have broken more had you not helped me,” she said caressing his face.
There were more clangs and a couple whooshes of wings from above. The sounds reverberated throughout the Sanctum and were quickly drowned out by the thundering noise of water.
“Kimo! Auli’i! Help my mother and follow me!”
Cyrus did his best to help his mother put her arms around the twins but he quickly realized he was just getting in the way. He took a step back and let them take care of her while he quickly scanned the room. There were precious jewels that began to glimmer in the light of the crystal and piles of treasure in another corner of the room. The place was starting to look more and more like the cave of wonders.
Cyrus’ eyes were drawn to the the arch under the igloo-shaped entrance. Underneath the depictions of Lumens, Caligos and Terrams was a large yellow stone. It was translucent, so much so that Cyrus could see the water rushing from Wadjet. The yellow-tinted window was 20 feet tall and looked equally as thick. In front of this enormous window was a pedestal with four crystals in a half circle. The half circle was significantly shorter, only coming up to Cyrus’ knee, and faced the yellow stone.
Cyrus walked over to the pedestal and looked on either side of the wall. There were two Lumens painted on the walls with their arms outstretched. One of them had curly hair, a full beard and wore a toga while the other had slitted eyes like an Egyptian and wore a crown. From each of their hands was a crystal pillar protruding its way outwards, pointing right at the pedestal.
“WATCH OUT!” screamed Captain Ori.
He tackled Cyrus as another Lumen dove from above. Cyrus found himself caught in a tussle between the two men. Cyrus felt a rope around his neck and choked as they ascended into the air.
Blades clanged. With one quick slash, Cyrus was in a free fall. Cyrus braced for impact and opened his wings.
Swoosh.
“I got you,” came the reassuring voice of Martin.
He set Cyrus in front of the pedestal and then turned around and shot three arrows in quick succession. Three Lumens began to spiral to the ground.
Thud, thud, thud.
Kimo and Auli’i moved quickly towards Cyrus and Martin.
“Auli’i! Give Marcella the bow you grabbed. Marcella, I need you to help me hold them off while we buy Cyrus some time,” said Martin.
Marcella didn’t wait for Auli’i to give her the bow. She grabbed it from her and pulled the quiver over her shoulder. She handed Cyrus the sword.
“I’m immobile on the ground, Martin, broken foot. I’m going airborne. What do you need?”
“The entrance to the Sanctum is a natural funnel. Shoot down as many as possible but aim for the wings.”
Marcella nodded and opened her wings to fly off.
“WAIT!” shouted Cyrus.
“Cyrus … I’m no use to you here. Listen to what Martin says. I promise I will be right back. I love you.” She kissed his cheek and flew off. She headed straight for the gaping hole they had just come out of.
“Captain Ori!” yelled Martin.
Captain Ori finished another Lumen with a resounding thud. He was next to Martin in an instant.
“Assist Marcella. She’s going to funnel the—”
Thwp.
An arrow pierced Ori in the chest.
Thwp.
Another arrow pierced Ori’s right thigh.
Martin leaped into the sky, bow drawn and hood up.
A Lumen emerged and hovered in the air. Cyrus turned his gaze towards this Lumen and the light of his wings illuminated the face. With green eyes and a serious expression, it was Lady Marianne.
There was a shriek near the entrance and another Lumen appeared, dragging Marcella by her hair.
Cyrus heard himself scream but it was drowned out by the water.
“You have been commanded to return topside at once. Do not make us harm your mother in order for you to comply,” said Lady Marianne.
“What happened to protecting the Lumen Caligo?!” yelled Cyrus furiously. “Was that all just for show?!”
“No. It was not. You were protected for a purpose. This … ” she said, gesturing to the Sanctum. “Is not it.”
A rough voice spoke from behind Lady Marianne.
“Legion wishes to speak to you. You can still walk out of here in once piece.”
“There is no way I am going with you,” spat Cyrus.
The cloaked individual put his sword up to Marcella’s throat. Cyrus’ wings illuminated the face of the other Lumen. It was Karlovic.
“Don’t test me,” said Karlovic.
“Wait, wait … ” said Cyrus pleading.
Martin landed behind Cyrus.
“Cyrus … Put the sword in the slot … Now.”
“Cyrus! Don’t you dare surrender. I will—”
Karlovic struck Marcella with the hilt of his sword and she went unconscious.
Cyrus grabbed the sword, turned around and through tears and screams, thrust the sword into the pedestal in front of the yellow stone.
