“Once Jaleel has the big screen all set up, we’ll be able to see everybody.” Orson held the Aesir’s tablet console. The tablet showed three incoming feeds, Pops from his Heartland study, Franklin West aboard the Hof, and Eloise Corwin from the familiar infirmary in her father’s home.
There was a darkened flat-screen monitor half out of the ceiling. Flexible mechanical arms held it in place, but the arms were only bent partway, leaving the rest angled up and out of sight.
“You haven’t used the big screen at all, have you?” Franklin asked.
“Not once since you left,” Orson said. “I don’t have movie nights with me alone. And I don’t get transmissions that anybody needs to see but me.”
“Why don’t we have movie nights?” Jaleel aimed the screen’s white remote control at the ceiling.
“We’ve been a little busy,” Orson said.
Kol and Dr. Stan turned the arm chairs to see the screen. Max positioned his wheelchair to face it too. Jaleel joined Enoa, Wesley, and sleep-mode Jim on the couch. There were still distant snatches of conversation from the still-open door. Embre and Aneirin and Melanthymos spoke softly out in the barn.
“We’ll warn the people on this Knightschurch.” Orson sat at the table. “Hopefully, that’ll include this Sir Merrill. And hopefully, that’ll mean another key and more useful information about the rest. We don’t know anything about this island’s people, how many there are, or what they can do, only that they expect Enoa to eventually get there.”
“You don’t even know that for sure.” Eloise wore a large bandage that ran down her cheek and across her jaw and neck. “You just know that Enoa’s aunt and that man that was killed thought she was welcome there.”
“But Helmont is going there,” Orson said. “So either we let Helmont and his force just do whatever they want, or we go to help stop him somehow.”
“Hmm.” Pops lowered his face into his hands. “You’re not even going to try for a plan this time?”
The mechanical arms groaned and swung the big screen down until it hung vertically from the ceiling. The screen lit with the same three video feeds. A round camera extended from the open ceiling and aimed down toward them. A tiny copy of the outgoing feed appeared at the bottom of the display, showing a view of the Aesir’s cabin. Orson saw his own face looking back at him.
“Wave everybody.” Jaleel waved, the video system’s remote still clutched in his hand.
“Jaleel,” Orson said. “Do you mind doing the honors and keep moving our camera around when we need it?”
“Is this something you even know how to do?” Jaleel asked. “Or do I have to say yes.”
“I could fumble my way along.” Orson faced Pops on the big screen. “We’re doing what we can here, Pops.”
“Saying we have no plan isn’t true.” Max added. “We are operating from all available data. We have context about Knightschurch, even if we have no reliable information about its inhabitants. And we know a great deal about Helmont and his methods. But in simple terms, this is now or never, and we will do the best we can with what we have. ”
“Who did you recruit now?” Pops asked. “Are you trying to build up your own army to fight the Liberty Corps, one person at a time?”
“He’s an expert,” Orson said. “Former Naval Intelligence. Helmont’s going by boat, so he has some inside knowledge. He’s—”
“Max Maros,” Eloise interrupted. “And you’re Kol Maros.” Her eyes turned toward Kol. “You saved my town. Thank you. Thank you. I didn’t think I would get the chance to say that. I thought you were going to die for helping us.”
“We thought the same thing.” Max gave a small smile. “But you’re very welcome, Miss Corwin. We could have done nothing less.”
“You’re welcome,” Kol echoed.
“And you!” Eloise glared at Orson. “You never told me you rescued them! I didn’t know that! All I knew was you led an escape! You let me keep thinking they were dead! And the news reporters are just talking about magic and monsters. I’m assuming you found these two at the Pinnacle. You didn’t pick them up along the side of the road, did you?”
“I’m sorry,” Orson said. “I lost track of who I told. It’s been a busy couple of days.”
“Why would you tell anyone else?” Eloise asked. “They saved us, Orson!”
“Well, now you know.” Orson pointed to the Maroses. “There they are, extremely alive.”
“You’re so difficult.” Eloise scowled, but she smiled again when she looked back to Kol and Max. “If either of you find your way toward us,” she continued. “You’re welcome here. Every time I see anyone, my family or my friends. Anyone in this town – they could all be dead if you hadn’t done what you did. You are always welcome here. Always. Actually, wait. You two have to visit us! We’ll throw a big block party. The whole town will come out to see the guys who saved us.”
“I’m very flattered, Miss Corwin,” Max said. “Truly. I would be honored to visit your community, but we didn’t act out of any desire for a reward. Just moral responsibility.”
“That’s right.” Kol looked like he wanted to slip through the floor tiles.
“They won’t get to have their authentic Route Sixty-Six cookout if you go to this island and get them killed,” Pops said.
“Damn, Pops,” Orson said.
“You sound like Melanthymos, Pops,” Jaleel said.
“Who?” Pops asked.
“Sarcastic, pessimist elemental I rescued,” Orson said. “You might get along if she’s not too mean about me and the crew. She and her wizard boyfriend might join us tonight. They’re finishing their dinner.”
“More people,” Pops said. “You’re going for a town hall feel, instead of a real planning session.”
“This is how it goes,” Orson said. “For big showdowns, usually the current enemy forces my hand into the final fight without a lot of information. Most of you guys miss this part. I’m usually alone.”
“That’s not right,” Franklin said. “It was all of us for the Ends of the Earth Guild. That was a pretty similar thing. But we at least kinda knew what those Guildsmen were packing.”
“We may know some of that now.” Dr. Stan walked to the sensor station. “Some of you are already familiar with Baron Helmont’s family background and the islands he inherited. What we’ve learned, since perusing the information we recovered, was that Grover Melledge, Sr – Helmont’s father – was allowed to keep his Barony as a way of holding items of Hierarchia interest with less official oversight. This is in keeping...”
Orson heard the distant squeak from the barn door. His attention was drawn to the outgoing feed, and he saw motion there before he heard someone step aboard. Sirona gave a smile and a wave toward the main screen and its camera.
“Sirona!” Eloise called. “Sorry, Dr. Stan, but I didn’t know Sirona would be joining us. When did you get there, Sirona? It feels so right seeing you on the Aesir. Doesn’t it feel so right, Orson?”
“Sirona?” Sebastian Royce leaned into the close camera feed from the Hof, standing from the copilot’s seat. “Hi. I thought you were leading the muster.”
“Hi, Royce,” Sirona said. “I am leading the muster. I’m gathering my people, but I was in the market for a ship’s captain, with that Starbird flying around and—”
“We’re not far away,” Royce said. “If you’re still looking for a ship.” Franklin shot a glance over his shoulder at him and shook his head.
“Thank you,” Sirona said. “But I think I’m going back to Evergreen to reassess. We have some new information. Oh, Eloise, look at what that machine did to you. How are you?”
“I’ll be fine,” Eloise said. “I’m already fine. I’m just not as lethal as you are.” Eloise gingerly ran her hand along her neck.
“Eloise actually left some useful remains behind from the probe she beat,” Franklin said. “That whole exterior energy weapon on those things is what really makes them tricky. And Sirona cooked off all of hers’.”
“I just got the reports on the Littlefield probe,” Pops added.
“How did you manage that?” Orson asked. “I thought the Alliance took that one.”
“A little birdie got me the most important bits,” Pops said. “Just enough to compile some research of my own. Both samples have a lot of damage, and we won’t have a clear picture any time soon of what those weapons are.”
“We need that,” Royce added. “Since that same system was present on the carriers for those androids.”
Orson glanced to the couch, where Jim sat with a bright purple sleep mask over his eyes and a matching sleep cap on his bald head. Wesley was curled up, asleep, on his lap.
“I’m not aware of much that could directly counter that capability,” Royce said. “Not like your fire abilities, Sirona.”
“They don’t like heat,” Orson said. “My sword did just fine with that carrier. But we’re thinking Helmont will be using an older weapon this time. Right, Dr. Stan?”
“He has a object called the Eye of Balor,” Dr. Stan said. “Named for a Celtic monster and transported by an entire Naval battle group. It is one of the relics of the Dreamside Road, but it has been held by Helmont all this time. It was never taken away from the Hierarchia.
“We have no image of this Eye of Balor or the Balor Battle Group. Baron Helmont may have deliberately withheld this information or he did less to document the weapons he himself possessed. However, we have an account of the eye’s powers and the force that is likely to accompany it. I believe it is a weapon capable of destroying all living matter on this island. Its range may be larger even than that.”
Orson watched Sirona on the screen. She walked across the cabin toward him. He stood from the table, leaving room for her to join him on his left. She met his eyes and smiled.
“Sorry, I’m late.” She whispered in his ear. He took her hand and they sat together. “There was a line to see me.”
Dr. Stan continued speaking. “I’m going to patch some schematics into our outgoing transmission. We believe these to be up-to-date for some of the ships from—”
“No way!” Eloise interrupted. She leaned closer to her own screen. She winced.
“You’re going to hurt yourself again.” Carlos spoke from off-screen.
“This is big news!” Eloise called to him. Distantly, Dino barked in answer. “You two are unbelievable. Orson! When were you going to tell me that you’re back together? What the hell!”
“Are we back together?” Sirona asked him when Eloise broke for air.
“They’re already calling me the Keeper’s Consort,” Orson said. “I didn’t have a job title last time.”
“I didn’t have a title last time either,” Sirona said.
“Yeah, I’m not up on your terminology,” Pops said. “But I don’t think consort’s a job. It’s just a polite way of acknowledging it’s smart to be nice to you, but you have no power.”
“Orson probably has some power,” Franklin said. He sat alone again. Royce had disappeared. “I’m not sure what direction though. I never figured out if Orson was the reckless one or the calming voice.”
“That’s because we’re both calmly reckless,” Sirona said. “Obviously.”
“Orson,” Eloise said. “You need to start taking better care of yourself. You can’t be so beat up if you’re going to be her arm candy. And if you’re back together you definitely can’t go to this island! No!”
“I wish I could just follow her around for her job.” Orson glanced back to the screen. “It would be fun to have something that’s more privileges than responsibilities.”
“The responsibilities are privileges,” Sirona said. “But nothing you can’t handle.” She met his eyes again for half a moment and patted his cheek. “You have had the job before.” She leaned close and whispered. “You’re even better at it now.”
“I’m still taking it as a promotion.” Orson squeezed her hand. He turned aside to hide the flush rising up his cheeks.
“Couldn’t you just warn the people on this island without going there?” Eloise asked. “If Helmont is going there with a doomsday weapon, what can one ship do to stop it – even the Aesir? Tip off the people living there, definitely, but we need you here, Orson. Sirona needs you here. You can’t go now.”
“No.” Sirona said, her voice firm. “He has to go. We have no way of contacting these people, and Orson has the best chance of personally beating Helmont. His crew escaped or won all three of their fights against him.”
“I’d rather this was done too.” Orson said. “I don’t want to go chasing them to this island, but I need to finish this phase of the Dreamside Road bullshit. None of us will be safe if that baron gets to start his key collection. So we, uh, should probably go through what little we know about this island and the weapons Helmont’s got. Sorry for interrupting you again, Dr. Stan.”
“That’s all right, Orson,” Dr. Stan answered. “We’re all happy for your promotion. And better for us to enjoy the good news before I deliver the bad.”
“And we have to make peace with the bad pretty soon,” Orson said. “We’ll be out before dawn if we want any real chance of getting there before the Liberty Corps.”
“Dawn?” Jaleel asked. “Wow, I have to get to work on my messages to my family. I thought I had all night to figure out what I was going to say.”
“That reminds me, Jaleel,” Pops said. “I have some of their latest replies to you. And some extra impatient comments.”
“I can only imagine,” Jaleel said. “I didn’t have time to record anything since we were hiding out with Teddy. I haven’t gotten any of their messages since my birthday.”
“When did you send messages?” Orson asked. “I don’t remember that.”
“Whenever it’s been safe to transmit,” Jaleel said. “Through Pops and his network. I wouldn’t just disappear. I couldn’t do that to my parents! And my sisters would’ve hunted us down already if I didn’t let them know what’s up.”
“What exactly do you tell them?” Orson asked. “They’ll probably be even more worried if they know what we’re doing. We’re in a lot more danger even than your archers got into with those Sabres.”
“My stories are very abridged,” Jaleel said. “We helped a town on Route Sixty-six fight bandits. We’re staying with a friend of Orson’s who’s a chef. Lot’s of great food, that kinda stuff. Don’t worry, Boss. I’m a pro.”
“Maybe you would be better off as arm candy,” Sirona said. “You don’t know what your crew gets up to.” She smirked.
“I have to keep my eye on Jaleel,” Orson said. “He had Jim in my floor. He’s sending secret messages.” He sighed.
“Don’t pick on Jaleel,” Franklin said. “It was a pretty long while before we found out what you and Sirona were getting up to.” Jaleel whistled, in answer. Eloise cheered. Even the Maroses laughed nervously.
“Oh, maybe you didn’t know,” Eloise said. “It was always obvious to me.”
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
“Listen, Eloise,” Franklin said. “I’m not—”
“While I have this encrypt in place,” Pops interrupted. “If any of the rest of you have messages to send, I can get that together. That’s no trouble. Do you have anybody you want to talk to, Enoa? You had those friends, your local Sheriff, and that young lady who’s watching your things.”
“Megan,” Enoa answered. “Yeah, I should call. We don’t… We don’t know what’s gong to happen with us here.”
“Whatever you have to do,” Orson said. “Get on that. We have a lot tonight.”
“Embre also has the compact ceremony for you,” Sirona said. “But that won’t be too long.”
“Right.” Orson nodded. “We have the farewell toast. So we’ll get this done fast.”
“One more thing,” Pops said. “What if this knight is hostile? This Merrill. That’s my big question. Here’s somebody who ran with the big leagues, but disappeared forty years ago. Anybody can go in weird directions in all those decades. Enoa, did your aunt really know this guy? Or was he just somebody from the program she’d met a long time ago? Because there is a difference.”
“Uh.” Enoa shook her head as if to wake herself. She had the distant look she’d worn since the revelations from the floppies and from her letter.
Orson knew he should have found time to speak with her. Was she really prepared to leave safety again? Was she prepared to face the island and the path she’d been waiting for months to follow? He didn’t know. She’d chosen solitude so often lately. And he’d been preoccupied since they’d arrived at the lodge.
“My aunt was sure.” Enoa finally spoke. “She was totally sure I’d be safe there. This was the plan all along. I think Archie knew the islanders, actively knew them. They had a way of keeping in touch.”
“Even though these Shapers thought you’d be safe there,” Pops said. “What about the rest of your crew? The original knight might be dead. And the other islanders might not have any love for non-Shapers. They might’ve also gotten it in their heads to start their own key collection.”
“If that’s the case,” Orson said. “Then I’ll be glad my new friend Grover is also on his way.”
Franklin laughed. “Let them kill each other. Always a solid idea, Kid.”
“It is reported,” Dr. Stan read from the monitor. “Over two hundred people were taken with the initial group who fled with Sir Merrill to Knightschurch. All were considered enemies to the ISHA. Many of them were ordinary people. And it is believed that more joined them since.”
“It’s believed,” Pops said. “Demographics might’ve changed since the eighties.”
“What’s the deal with this island anyway,” Franklin asked. “I’m talking the super basics here. Is the island itself somehow powerful? Or is it just the speck of land this Merrill is living on?”
“It is a secret redoubt of House Dommik.” Sirona spoke with authority. “They were the fourth of the twelve houses that began the global understanding of enigmas. When the Pacific and the Arctic were charted for European powers, Knightschurch was omitted from the very beginning. The Dommiks chose that island. It will have their protections – and some of their magic, as you’d call it. When Sir Merrill inherited it, he will also have inherited true ownership of the island and all its powers. Of course, no one but House Dommik will know exactly what those defenses are.”
“Two heirs in conflict,” Dr. Stan said.
“Wow, that’s right.” Orson nodded.
“The islanders may have other defenses,” Dr. Stan said. “The Dreamthought Project had access to some tools from the Advanced Sciences Division of RRD. Sir Merrill reportedly requisitioned five Verne-class sonic jets and a number of smaller experimental light craft, of a make that was not listed in the records we’ve recovered.”
“So they’ve got some air support,” Orson added.
“But for all you know,” Pops said. “Merrill is another problem just waiting to get back in the game. If he’s got one of those keys, did he know your wizard?”
“He and Ophion did not get along,” Sirona said. “I never knew any details, but I didn’t get the impression that Merrill was a bad man or some kind of villain.”
“I think caution is good,” Dr. Stan said. “But I’m tempted to feel optimism toward someone who offers sanctuary to enemies of the Hierarchia. For all their differences, it sounds that Sir Merrill and your friend, Ophion, used their powers in similar ways, building communities and sanctuaries. Like the other known key-holders, much of the information was purged from the official record when the Concealment Truce was expanded.”
“If the island is connected to the truce,” Jaleel said. “And you’re the boss of the truce, Sirona, does that mean you’re his president or something?”
“Nope.” Sirona said cheerily. “There are communities directly under our collective protection. And some others that are allies in that protection. That’s Knightschurch. But I don’t even know where it is.”
“So you’re not like the Minister for Magic in Harry Potter, or whatever those guys were called in the Artemis Fowl books?” Jaleel asked.
“No,” Sirona answered. “Your referencing things to get context is endearing, but those don’t fit. It’s not like there’s a magic world secretly hidden. Not for most of us. The Hierarchia wasn’t something people could lie to or easily hide from. They had their own powers. And the ‘wave a magic wand and solve all your problems’ kind of enigma is really rare.”
“I had a wand!” Aneirin called from the ship’s open door. “I still had problems.” Orson looked toward the voice. Melanthymos and Aneirin both stood there, at the ship’s doorway.
“We wanted to wait until a proper break in your suicide mission planning,” Melanthymos said. “But this one couldn’t resist the crack about wands.”
“I will make another wand,” Aneirin said. “Some day.”
“Everyone,” Orson said. “If you can see them, this is Aneirin Aspallen and Doryssa Melanthymos. They escaped with us. Aneirin and Melanthymos, this is a whole collection of people I work with, Eloise Corwin, Franklin West, and Earl Darlow.”
“No guarantees we’ll be awake to see you off.” Melanthymos nodded to the screen. “If you’re sure you want to go die, Gregory, have fun with that. Thanks for freeing us. I hope your end comes quick, but with Helmont that’s pretty doubtful.”
“We thank you.” Aneirin hugged Melanthymos. “I will not forget. If you live…”
“They won’t,” Melanthymos said.
“I see what you mean,” Pops said, under his breath.
“If you live,” Aneirin repeated. “You and your love must visit. My castle looks at the sea. Very beautiful. Very romantic.”
“Thank you,” Orson said.
“We’d love that,” Sirona said.
The duo did not stay for further good-byes. Melanthymos led Aneirin away by the hand, out of sight.
“Nobody collects ominous warnings like you do, Orson.” An accented voice spoke from the screen. Looking back, Orson saw Kash standing in Pops’s study. He was dressed in a white suit, no tie.
“Are you here to warn me too?” Orson asked.
“Of course not,” Kash said. “You’re not so average as you seem, Orson. All your freaky trauma has turned you into a killing machine. I have no doubt you and all your crazy friends will still be coming around and causing me problems long after that baron is corpsified.” He came closer, until he looked right over Pops’s shoulder.
“My friend the motivational speaker.” Pops looked up at him.
“I’m here for the Galactic Infiltration Model,” Kash said. “I hear yours went tourist. How the hell did you manage that one?”
“I bypassed his main receiver,” Dr. Stan said. “And Jaleel overrode his last command. He is his own android now.”
“I want a look at him before you leave,” Kash said. “Better yet, I want a Jim for myself. I need something as weird as you people to protect me in my golden years.”
“That’s your choice.” Orson looked to Jaleel and Dr. Stan. “I wouldn’t even choose to take him along, but they’re insisting. He’s not my project.” Orson saw Jaleel turned the camera far to the side, toward Jim in his mask and sleep cap.
“He’s napping,” Jaleel said.
“That is really not something you see every day,” Kash said. “Is that a standby or did you mess him up that he naps on the job? And what’s that he’s got there? Is he armed?”
“He’s resting!” Jaleel said. “And that’s our pet, Wesley. They’re friends. Wesley’s an aeropine. Jim’s very protective of all of us.”
“You’re all lunatics,” Kash said. “I have no idea what this means. Can I get a Jim without an aeropine? I would protect the android. I wouldn’t let Earl anywhere near him. Not like my poor Dinos.”
“Dino?” Eloise asked. “Like my dog.”
“Dinosaurs,” Orson said. “Animatronics.”
“What happened to your dinosaurs, Kash?” Franklin asked. “Wayne loved those. He would’ve traded the Aesir for a raptor steed like yours… if he could have.”
“Burned!” Kash said. “And half blown-up by Staff Girl.”
“I didn’t blow it up.” Enoa’s voice was sharp, as if with real anger. “Nalrik did. I just broke his gun.”
“Alright, no need to get legal about it,” Kash said. “No one’s getting sued.”
Orson caught Enoa’s eye. He mouthed, ‘you okay?’ She nodded.
“Would you stop it with your fake lizards?” Pops asked. “We’re busy here.”
“Busy with what?” Kash asked. “Just another one of Orson’s shenanigans. Why are we worried? We’ll hear all about it when he forces us to read the book.”
“I forgot about that!” Orson shouted too. “You donated the book I gave you. You gave it away!”
“I gave it to my childhood library,” Kash said. “Did you really expect me to keep it forever? Did you think your life story is going to be one of my family heirlooms? You need a shrink in your life, Orson.”
“I should make arrangements to return that book,” Max said. “There is every chance that we will not get another opportunity.”
“Aww, you read it?” Sirona asked. “See, some people pick it up on their own.”
“I want to read it too,” Jaleel said. “You can’t give it back yet!”
“I have a few copies floating around,” Orson said. “I can dig one out, if you’re really interested.”
“This is why you don’t sell more of them.” Sirona hooked her arm through his. “Jaleel, you would buy one, wouldn’t you?”
“Sure, I would,” Jaleel said. “How do I do that? Are bookstores still a thing, or do I need to be on the New Net?”
“We’ll set you up,” Sirona said.
“The memoir was useful,” Max added slowly. “I was glad to read his thoughts.”
“Look,” Kash said. “If I didn’t leave my copy there, how would this person have read it? I knew what I was doing.”
“Can we please get back to planning the mission?” Pops asked. “Kash, if you want to see their robot, either help or get outta here.”
“No need to rip my head off,” Kash said. “You’re really scared for them, Earl? What in the world happened that I am the positive one?” He stepped away from Pops.
“Doctor Stanislakova,” Pops said. “Are you really sure this knight isn’t another problem?”
“I’ve read nothing that makes me think he would try to harm us.” Dr. Stan looked back toward the monitor. She read.
“IHSA report says Sir Merrill showed ‘no signs of arcane or enigma aptitude at the proper ages’, and that’s a quote.” Words began to scroll up the screen. “It wasn’t until he completed his studies through the general IHSA Shaping modules that he could resurrect his bloodline’s extinct methods. If this man was himself without powers, he would be a true monster to have such prejudice.”
“And God knows true monsters are unheard of,” Pops said. “Thanks for sharing, Doctor. I agree with you. There is logic in that. But you have so little of what I’d call real facts that I think you need to be ready for curveballs on this one.”
“Aren’t I always ready?” Orson grinned. It was a real smile. There was anticipation there. He felt it – a conclusion approaching. Months of battle against Helmont were nearing their end, whatever else waited along the quest for the Dreamside Road.
“I know that look,” Pops said. “Don’t get full of yourself, Orson. Just because your girlfriend is back after you’ve been going solo for a long time – that doesn’t mean you can be less paranoid. You need to keep your loner wits with you.”
“Don’t be a downer!” Eloise said. “This is a magical day for them.” Dino barked again in the background. Carlos briefly passed into view, making soft shushing sounds toward their dog.
“We want them to have more than the one magical day, don’t we?” Pops asked.
“Orson can win,” Sirona said. “I believe he will win. We trained today—”
“Trained or ‘trained’?” Eloise raised an eyebrow.
“Eloise,” Sirona said. “When do I announce details of our relationship?”
“Both then.” Eloise winked.
“What I was trying to say,” Sirona said. “Is that Orson’s a better fighter now than he was years ago. I’m probably not quite as precise as I was then. I sometimes go whole months with no one trying to kill me. Still, I believe my memory. Orson is at a rare level now. He’s reached his place of fluency. He acts, but his mind and his body are so quick that he can be just as tricky in a fight as he would be with more time to plan. And with someone as naturally chaotic as Orson, that makes him very effective. I would’ve had to burn him to a crisp to beat him today and that’s if I could get through his armor.”
“He better be good, now,” Pops said. “He’s got no more time to learn.”
“No,” Sirona said. “The big recital is coming up and either everybody practiced enough or they didn’t.” She looked to the Maroses and Dr. Stan. “I took fiddle and dance lessons for years,” she explained. “Either you’ve learned enough before you’re onstage or you haven’t.”
“What about when the young hero looks deep inside,” Jaleel said. “And finds a true connection to the magic or the force or whatever? That’s not practice.”
“It usually is, actually,” Sirona said. “And even then, sudden storybook magic like you’re talking about is really rare.”
“The best idea is to be ready in advance,” Orson said. “So let’s let Dr. Stan finish telling us about this weapon of Helmont’s. That’s one thing none of us has trained for.”
“No one has,” Dr. Stan said. The monitor beside her was filled with a dark, crimson red. “This is the danger of the Dreamside Road. It is a relic that is only half understood, but it has a consistent power. And now it is a weapon for our enemies.” She pointed to the screen. “This is the only image we have.”
“That looks like you broke the monitor,” Pops said.
“This red light is refracted through the Eye of Balor,” Dr. Stan said. “Sirona, you mentioned storybook magic? This is it, of the worst kind – a weapon that can kill everything in its path and with no clear way to oppose it.
“I’m going to try to paraphrase the histories, here. The Eye of Balor was found in the South Pacific, by an English merchant ship, in the years before the Second World War. More precisely, the merchants found a beached schooner. It was next to impossible to tell the exact make of the ship or its history, though the general design was quite old by that point.
“The ship’s hull had been transformed and blackened into a substance like charcoal that broke when the merchants tried to step aboard. Stranger still, the island all around the wreck was also burned. The remaining trees and vegetation were in a similar state to the ship.
“Eventually, they forced their way aboard the schooner, through a place where the sea had eaten a hole in the hull. But they found only more mysteries. They found log books that were blackened and that crumbled in their hands. They found skeletons that appeared fossilized. Even the rings had melted from their fingers.
“There was only one object that was not affected, an unusual gemstone—”
“I’ve heard this one before,” Orson said. “I’m figuring this gemstone might be the source of the freaky cookery.” His voice sounded loud to him, breaking the silence from the story. Dr. Stan looked over her shoulder toward him.
“We’re being a good audience, Orson!” Sirona pressed her finger to his lips.
“Sorry,” Orson said. “Please continue.”
“Certainly,” Dr. Stan said. “The stone had a complex interior structure, as if it were composed of many individual crystals, but the stone’s exterior was smooth, as if created and cut deliberately. The merchants took the stone with them when they left that island.
“The next day, it burned out their captain’s eyes. It’s believed he was looking through the stone, holding it to catch the light through his stateroom’s window. His first mate heard the captain’s screams and forced entry into the room. By the time the first mate pulled the gem away, the captain’s eyes were burned as if gouged with a hot poker. And the captain never spoke again. We believe now that the light through the stone even harmed his brain.
“The stone wasn’t hot to the touch, but it burned the first mate’s hand. He felt pain like he’d forced his palm into an open fire. That brief touch permanently scarred the palm of his hand.
“He dropped the stone in his pain. It broke apart when it struck the stateroom floor. It split into seven equal fragments.
“The merchants wrapped these seven fragments in heavy cloth and hid them away in the deepest part of their hold. There are no specifics here, but each of the stone’s fragments was as dangerous as the whole gem had been. They believed the seven pieces were still connected by an unseen bond. And the merchants new captain, a Scot, began calling the object or objects the Eye of Balor, for the killing eye of a monster from Celtic myth.”
“Balor’s killing eye was wrapped seven times,” Sirona said. “Seven pieces.”
“Yes,” Dr. Stan said. “The merchants returned the stone to England. From there, it eventually reached the hands of the IHSA and the RRD Sector. It has been studied consistently for years. The Eye of Balor has resided at the main island in Helmont’s barony for so long that the island itself was renamed the Balor Atoll. The Eye is marked as a level three danger, and Helmont himself wrote the most recent report.
“He said, ‘the seven stones known as the Eye of Balor remain a mystery, but it is a mystery under our control. We do not know its origin. Development Team favors the cosmic theory. I have seen no reason to disagree. However, it has shown almost forty years of consistency. It is a usable asset.’” She looked away from her screen. “This is what’s going to that island – all those people who tried to escape the Hierarchia. All of them will die.”
“Helmont’s had this thing for forty years!” Eloise said. “You can’t fight that! How do you stop light from shining at you?”
“Is all the light that comes near that thing transformed?” Orson asked. “Or is it just the light that passes through it, that gets focused by the crystals. Is it like those messed-up kids who cook bugs with magnifying glasses?” Orson remembered another strange gemstone, one that had its own power of light. “Everything’s got its rules. We’ve seen things like this before. I’ve destroyed things like it before.”
“I don’t know, Kid,” Franklin said. “The Opal and that climate laser thing of Bolon’s didn’t fight back. This sounds worse than you’ve seen before.”
“It’s like an actual Indiana Jones MacGuffin,” Jaleel said. “Except the bad guys don’t get to use those in the movies.”
“With any luck,” Orson said. “Helmont won’t be using this either. We can’t let light through it. We can’t look at it. We can’t touch it. But if it can be wrapped up and carted from the Pacific back to England, half the world away – if we get to it, we can take it.”
“Contain it?” Max asked. There was a quaver in his voice. “Perhaps you were right, Orson. Perhaps these objects do need to be destroyed.”
“I’ll sure sleep better when its gone,” Orson said. “Is there any more about the ships Helmont’s got, the actual battle group? Other than those schematics that—”
“You aren’t the only one who’s seen things like this,” Pops said, in a slow, grave tone. “I’ve seen the Hierarchia kill for these relics. I’ve seen them turn men into monsters. I’ve seen… How in hell are you this calm, Orson?”
“Because this is what he does,” Sirona answered for him. “I spent my whole childhood terrified of the Hierarchia and their administrators. Fighting them, even one of them, it was like imagining standing up to a whole host of demons.
“But Orson did it,” she said. “The rest of us, we’re super geniuses or natural warriors or…” She smiled. “Or fire elementals. But Orson is Orson. He’s what the Hierarchia always really wanted to create, a normal man who can learn to fight against the great mysteries of this world. The Hierarchia used drugs and nuclear isotopes and mental torture on people, but that didn’t manage it. Orson succeeded, with help from the rest of us, and he’s so good at this he raises the rest of us along with him.
“None of us know what will happen or what Helmont or the islanders can do, but the Aesir crew has exactly what they need. They’ll be at sea with an oceanographer. They’ll fight a seafaring fleet with a Naval veteran. They have the heir to a Dreamthought Project key-holder and a genius – the first real official crewmember this ship ever had.” Jaleel cheered. “They have an android and a biological experiment who the Hierarchia thought they owned, but didn’t. They have exactly the right people on this mission. So when the last master of the Hierarchia gets to that island, after a lifetime of work, he’ll be too late. Orson Gregory and his crew will already be there waiting for him.”
“Now you are building me up too much.” Orson felt his face flush again. He looked down. “Thanks, Babe.”
Sirona made the shape of a heart with her hands, under the table. “I’m building you up enough not to be scared. And because everything I said was true. And because you’ll work extra hard to prove me right, now that I put myself out there. It would be really embarrassing if I was wrong.”
“You’re not wrong!” Jaleel said. “We’re the Aesir crew! We’re gonna save that island and stop the baron in a big final showdown, like the end of a comic book story arc.”
“Kash is right,” Franklin said. “You’re all nuts. When I was with you guys, we’d go after the sorcerer doomsday weapons, but we weren’t so damn excited about it. It’s not right.”
“Maybe we are crazy,” Enoa said. She wore a weak smile too. “I didn’t train all these months to watch someone else’s home burned by the Liberty Corps. Uh, sorry, Kol.”
Kol nodded weakly. There was a tremor in his flesh-and-blood hand. He held tight to the arm of the chair.
“Kol’s not the Liberty Corps anymore,” Orson said. “He has work ahead of him, but he gets a new chance to help this world for real, without the cult of Grand Poobah Hawthorne.”
“I said to Orson the other day,” Sirona said. “This isn’t a time for conquering hordes or super weapons. It’s for choices and individuals. It’s a time for wayfarers.”
“What’s our next move,” Max asked. “Captain Gregory?”
“Well, Captain Maros,” Orson answered. “We can’t find out more about that gemstone, but we can maybe learn a little about the people who will be using it. Let’s go over everything we’ve got about the Balor Group. Let’s read about our buddy Grover again. And when we get to that island, we might not know much about Sir Merrill, but we’ll be able to tell him about the people who are coming to attack his island.
“And if we’re lucky, we just might get rid of Helmont’s personal piece of the Dreamside Road.”