Climb That Mountain High - Part Two
Beverly McIntyre

The throbbing pain pulsing through her middle left arm was the first indication that she wasn't dead. The second was the throbbing in her temples. Spiral groaned and stirred as the world slowly came into focus around her.

She was laying on her back, eyes opening to the azure sky above her. She bit off a curse as she slowly sat up. She was definitely not in the cave anymore, or she had blown the top off of the mountain. Considering the pain her entire body felt, the second option was still feasable. She looked down at the hand which had been holding the multi-faceted gem, a storehouse for mystic power. The gem lay in her palm, burnt out. This time she did not bite off her curse.

It had taken her countless dimension hoppings to find the perfect gem to store mystical energies that she would want to exploit later. Now her perfect little storehouse was ruined beyond repair. Somebody would pay for this. There was no fault in her actions that could have caused the gem to overload. Somebody had meddled in her affairs.

Her mind sped over all the possibilities but stopped when glanced beyond the hand holding the gem. There was nothing but open space and sheer mountain face under her. In her mind she had the picture of some absurd cartoon character finally succumbing to the effects of gravity after looking below himself to see there was nothing but air under his feet. Yet, Spiral did not share in the same fate as the precocious little toon. She did not plummet to the ground; she just sat there in the middle of the air.

A wicked smile spread slowly across her face. The energy she had been trying to contain was not lost. The gem must have siphoned the energy directly into her. There must be a pulse of arcane power within her. Slowly, ignoring the pain throughout her body, Spiral rose to her feet. It was slightly disconcerting for her to feel a solid footing beneath her feet when she was standing on nothing but air, but she had a feeling she could get used to it. Even when she danced, the air had never felt this firm beneath her feet.

She looked at the dead gem, unconsciously held tightly in a four-fingered hand. She could find another one. Another one to siphon the energy into from her body. It would be easier to manipulate the mystical energy if it weren't inside of her. The gem lay in her palm, muted and dull. Spiral tossed it over her shoulder. The gem sparkled once as it sailed through the air. After a brief flash of life, the gem became lost on the mountain side.

Spiral turned to where the cave had been with a triumphant sneer. The sneer faded from her face when she saw the entrance to the cave blocked by one gigantic foot. Her eyes looked up from the foot to follow the line of a well-muscled leg. Looking farther up, she noticed that the leg was connected to a very large, male body.

He towered over fifty feet in the air. His long white hair and beard were blowing in the wind. His physique was that of a physically perfect human being. His well-muscled arms were crossed in front of his chest. He wore a golden laurel crown lightly upon his head, but it was not moved by the wind that was whipping his hair around. He wore old fashioned sandals, a gleamingly white long toga, and a broad belt with a silver buckle of a lightning streaked world. There was an open-ended case that hung at his side, bolts of crackling energy protruding out. His blue eyes swept over the landscape, taking in every sight.

"Hermes!" His voice rolled like thunder over the mountain and the surrounding foothills.

A chill ran down Spiral's spine as she realized that she had set whatever this was free.

In response to the gigantic man's beckon, another man, roughly of human size, appeared right in front of the giant's face. The newcomer was a blond man with muscular legs that were built for speed. He wore a shorter toga so as to not interfere with the movement of his legs. He wore a pair of sandals with wings melded to them. He also wore an interesting headband with a pair of white wings on either side of his head. He had a roguish look about him and a smile that only magnified it.

"Yes, O Lord of Thunder?" Hermes grinned as if the form of address was some sort of joke.

The Lord of Thunder ignored the joke if there was one and looked out across the landscape. "Hermes," he paused for a moment as a hint of sadness crossed his face before being shoved behind firm resolve, "find out what has happened and where we are. This is not the world below Olympus as I remember it. Find out whatever you can about this world and if any of my pantheon are here as well. They may have more knowledge on this matter than we do."

Hermes bowed deeply, the wings on his headband brushing the lower hem of his toga.

"And Hermes, if you should find my beloved daughter, bring her here. I have need of her wise council."

Hermes bowed again, less deeply, and disappeared.

Spiral backed away from the man hovering over the mountainside.

What had she done?

Spiral shook her head, clearing those thoughts. This was not her home. Why should she care? She had the energy that she had come for. In fact, she should leave here before that monster ever saw her. There was no way to predict what he might do to her. She brought her arms up to begin the easy dance to remove her from the situation.

"Where are you going to, little one?"

Instead of starting her complex movements, Spiral grabbed her two swords out of their sheaths. She whirled gracefully toward the voice behind her. Standing there in the thin mountain air was a woman, or at least Spiral thought it was a woman. She wore a full suit of armor made from black bone shards. Her great helm cast a shadow over her most of her face but left her lips unshrouded. Those lips were curled into a deadly little smile.

Spiral's eyes narrowed, and she fell deeper into a fighting stance. "Who are you?"

"Has it been so long that mortals have forgotten who I am?"

Spiral remained mute, watching her adversary's every twitch.

"Oh, come now child. Surely the world still knows about Hecate."

A glimmer of recognition flared in Spiral's mind. Hecate was a Greek goddess of magic.

"Actually, I'm a Titaness. One of the few Zeus had spared for not rising up against him. Now, are you going to put those two tiny pig-stickers away, or do I have to do it for you?"

Spiral tightened her grip on her swords in response.

The Titaness sighed. "Mortals."

Hecate waved her hand and the two swords obligingly disappeared out of Spiral's hands. All six of Spirals' hands clenched into fists. The Mistress of the Wildways took a dangerous step toward the Mistress of Magic. Hecate smiled in amusement.

"Child, if you want it to be that way, then I will be more than happy to oblige you. But know this, your fight will not be with me. It will be with Zeus, Lord of the Sky." Hecate gestured toward the towering man. Spiral's eyes momentarily flicked to the bearded man. He was shrinking down to a more human size. "Don't let his decrease in size fool you. He is as powerful at a man's height as he is at a Titan's. He will kill you for what you have done to him and the rest of the pantheon. They won't be very appreciative of being pulled into a world that they have not seen for eons nor have not been worshiped in those eons."

Spiral glowered back at the Titaness. "What do you want?"

"Ah, I've picked an astute one. There is a price for your continued protection. It is not much when you really think about it." Hecate looked Spiral up and down. Spiral bristled at the inspection. For all intents and purposes, the Titaness had the upper hand. Spiral did not like being the underdog. "You teach me whatever magical knowledge you have."

Spiral didn't answer. Her mind tried to find a quick way out. She thought about a simple teleportation, but if this woman was truly a goddess of magic, then no amount of teleportation could save her. She already had been disarmed once rather easily. Looking at the ominious figure standing across from her, she had a feeling that she would be disarmed once more if she didn't comply. Spiral didn't even want to visualize herself as a torso without her customary six arms. Besides, this Titaness might have some mystical knowledge she could plunder for herself.

Hecate smiled knowingly like she had been aware of whatever Spiral had been thinking. "Good.. Then let us begin."

Before Spiral could even realize what the Titaness was doing, Hecate stepped up to her, placing her hands on Spiral's temples. Spiral felt herself being torn from the inside out. The world imploded on her.

In a mere heartbeat, there was nothing on the mountain top to even signify that Spiral had ever been there. Except a small gem, buried within a snow drift, that began to glow dully after she disappeared.