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Lazarus lifted all his friends into the tunnel they had chosen.
He dropped them on the path, and realized the buzzing noise was gone. Turning, he saw all the mosquitos were gone and their hive was destroyed. And the giant slug that stood in front of their path was also gone, almost as if it was never there. Lazarus heard all their questions at once.
Cindy looked at him as if he was a dangerous monster. In fact, they all looked at him in that way, except for Royce, who merely grinned at him as if he knew it was going to happen.
Cindy said, "What did you do? That magic was so raw and powerful."
"I don't know. Merlin helped me," Lazarus said. He’d wanted to keep this information to himself. When he finally found Merlin, he would ask. The power of the cosmos was too strong for him to understand and grasp. But he sensed, and knew, the Vvong Queen understood, and if she could use this power what chance did they have against such a strong creature.
Royce said, "It was impressive. You destroyed everything. Can you do it again?"
Lazarus shook his head. He sensed things. Magical forces seem to swirl before his eyes. It was odd, but it seemed right.
"Lazarus, are you alright?" Cindy asked.
"Yes," he said, "I'm fine. But I'm not sure I can do it again."
He didn't want to tell them that he was too scared to use the magic again. It felt like he was losing control of himself and everything else and he didn't want to see the Vvong Queen again.
"Shall we move forward?" he said.
Grace spoke. "I can carry us again. It will be faster."
Shannol agreed. "It would be easier than walking."
"Lazarus, what do you think?" asked Cindy.
But he was watching a glowing brown vapor moving along the ground. Lazarus knew this was Earth power.
"Yes," he said. "Let's do that. We'll cover more ground."
He heard something, but it was faint. It was the sound of hundreds of voices, mingling with his friend's voices. Cindy was staring at him. She thought he looked odd and scared. Yet somehow focused. This new power was driving him insane. He focused and stopped all the sounds of the voices. He breathed a deep sigh.
Lazarus watched Grace, and saw the brownish-purple magic gathering within her. It was beautiful and he gasped when they suddenly sped down the cave. Lazarus was enthralled by everything, from looking at the natural magical forces that flowed through the cave, to the glowing life essences of all the people in his group. It was like watching fireworks going off every few seconds.
He wondered if this was how the Gods would look upon the world. Lazarus couldn't keep a coherent thought. Everything was a wonder.
"Lazarus," Cindy said, "are you okay? You seem quiet."
"Yes, I'm just tired," he said. Staring at her, he marveled at the glowing synapses happening behind her eyes. "Shannol, how long until we get to the entrance to the Blessed Isles?"
"We should be there by the end of this day."
"Good," he said.
The sounds and sensations were getting tiresome and he closed his eyes for a while.
***
LAZARUS SUDDENLY AWOKE. He didn't feel the sensation of movement anymore.
They were in a large round cavern. A light was hitting his face.
"Where are we?"
Looking to his side, he saw Grace, Cindy and Royce were lying on the ground eating beef sticks. Shannol was keeping guard, her sword in her hands.
Cindy said, "We are close. The light came from the tunnel ahead. It was even bright enough to light this area."
Lazarus saw ghosts roaming along the tunnel. But they never veered to them and Lazarus saw their dead essences, which were different than his friend's life essences. It was a matter of color and scope. He wanted to catalog all he saw. But his sight saw differences as well as scents. He olfactory senses seemed very sharp. He could still smell the remaining mosquito's hives that dwelt in the level below this one.
Cindy said, "We're waiting for you. We wonder if you're ready to go ahead. We can wait until tomorrow."
"No, I need to go forward. I'm fine. You should have gone to the entrance," Lazarus said.
"Well, we were going to but we encountered something," Cindy said.
Shannol spoke. "There was a recent cave in, and a magical field was cast over the debris."
"Yes," Cindy said, "our magic couldn't pierce through the field."
Lazarus stood. "Show me."
He also noticed lights coming from the yellow-green moss that grew in abundance along this part of the cave wall. And he also saw that the ghosts were gone from this place, as if they didn't want to get closer to the Blessed Isles.
Shannol nodded to him to follow her. They walked a few paces down the tunnel. Lazarus could see the magical field even from this vantage point. It was composed of an ancient old magic, and behind the barrier rocks and debris covered the pathway.
Lazarus said, "I see. Shannol, is there another way to get there."
"Master Lazarus, yes there is another way, but we would have to backtrack for several leagues and we might still encounter the barrier," Shannol said.
Cindy and the others were following him. "Do you think with our combined powers we can destroy the barrier," Cindy asked.
Lazarus was thinking the same thing, but he wasn't sure. The stench of an ancient power hung in the air. "I don't know. We might be able to destroy it, but the whole mountain would fall on us," Lazarus said. "Royce, come over here."
The Alpha Grog, now in his human form, trotted over to him. Lazarus smelled the beast before he reached him.
"Yes, Lazarus?" Royce said.
"Do you smell that?" he asked.
The Alpha Grog sniffed the air. "Yes, it's ancient and doesn't want to be disturbed."
"What do you think it is?"
Royce smelled the air again. "It is more ancient than the Caves, and it is strong."
"You could feel that?" Lazarus said. "What do you think we should do?"
Royce looked at him with surprise. "I'm not sure."
Lazarus pondered, and wasn’t sure either.
