The Exorcism


III: Mishaps


They performed the Ritual first, at the place with so many memories. But this could not damp their initial enthusiasm. "Let's see if I can break my old airspeed record," Commander Root jested.

"Not with him strapped on, you won't," Trouble laughed, pointing at a visibly uncomfortable Foaly trussed up in a harness and hooked to a Moonbelt. "Last one there is a stink-worm!"

Immediately, three figures buzzed into invisibility under the full moon. Foaly had to be content with a strategically-placed piece of cam foil. "I'm a centaur, not a pegasus," he grumbled under his breath.


"Hmm. There's something here."

The four shielded fairies stopped, hovering over a featureless expanse of ocean. They turned to look at Holly who had just spoke over the intercom. "What?"

"I... can't tell. It has a little of an indistinct signature, but... it's there. There's magic out here. It's very, very small, but significant."

"This route has been flown quite often. Why wouldn't anyone have noticed it before?"

"It makes sense... they weren't looking for anything," Foaly interjected. "This is right where I've predicted one of the books should be."

"Funny... it's so near Atlantis," Trouble noted. "Would they have noticed?"

"Whatever. Let's not lose focus, people. Now that we know Foaly's theory is correct, we still have the Antarctic assignment to complete. Let's go!"


At Foaly's request, they stopped short of the Pole itself. "What is it now?"

"I'm getting some weird communication signals out here... wait, let me pinpoint it."

About a hundred feet below them, the Antarctic ice was slick and white, not having seen snowfall recently. The night was clear and the wind low – unusual – but on the white of Antarctic ice, there were shadows and figures moving.

"What the – this isn't good. I'm picking up US military frequencies. Closed circuit; I'd need more tech equipment and a lower position to intercept directly."

"What's so unusual about that?" Holly asked. "After all, aren't there many US research bases operational on Antarctica?"

"But – high powered snowsleds, night-vision goggles, carbines and snipers, and newly developed Special Forces personal-environment suits, specially adapted against the cold. This isn't a scientific expedition – this is an army mission."

"D'Arvit! Those Council idiots," Root swore. "Tell me, what else is there to investigate on Antarctica?"

Four jaws went slack simultaneously. "They couldn't have been," Trouble said in shock.

"Yes, they were discovered."

"But how? Foaly, wouldn't your comm sats have picked up any transmissions from the Antarctic bases?" Holly asked.

"It's harder than you think," Foaly responded. "For one, there are no satellites that orbit directly over Antarctica. The magnetosphere fluctuations wouldn't permit any useful electronics to survive. It is possible to intercept any signals from the bases there, but you'd have to know what you were looking for beforehand and where to look. Furthermore, I know from our covert espionage that most important communications – like a call for military investigation – would be delivered physically, by snowsled to ships and then through air mail. Can't intercept those – you'd have to physically stop them."

"Magnetosphere fluctuations..." Trouble began musing. "Wait. Foaly, how does that happen?"

"Well, charged particles from the sun stream outwards through the solar system. Some of them are trapped at the Earth's magnetic poles – wait, now I see!"

"It's the solar radiation," Root realized. "It can also bleach our magic, but its effect must be weaker because it's outside the visible spectrum. The Council has been operating close to the focal point of the solar radiation – the South Magnetic Pole..."

Dramatically enough, somewhere four miles eastwards, a curtain of air began to subtly glow green.

"The aurora australis," Holly whispered, amazed at its beauty and its current, newfound danger. "Solar particles energizing the molecules of the air to radiate light. You're right, Root! I can feel our shields weakening."

"But we're still invisible. Surely the Council's magic couldn't have been destroyed by the solar radiation?"

"You have to remember, Trouble, that their spells are much more complex and demanding than a simple shielding. The spell would be attacked at multiple places by the solar particles, and all the time the mages might be too busy casting the spells to notice how the spells are being weakened," Foaly replied.

"Considering the size of their operation, even a small breach in their spells would result in a noticeable change in the environmental conditions," Holly deduced. "Easy for sophisticated sensors, like those at research stations, to detect."

"So, now what are our orders?"

"What else can we do? We have to help them!"

They flew, all the more anxious, towards the Pole.