Play a Little Longer
It's the Eighth chapter! Again, it took me a while to write, and I'm sorry I couldn't get it out to you sooner. However, I hope you like the story and that I can get a few more reviews for it.
I want to give thanks to the following two persons who took the time to review my story. Thanks so much.
Celesta SunStar – Yes, I know how terrible it can be, trying to keep up with life in general. Also, I'm surprised at how much of a frequency we shared on your review. I was already planning on having the warlords involved in this chapter (but, of course, I will be throwing in more Greek Mythology for fun :D). Anyhow, hope the last part that you asked me about will be up to par with your expectations.
Monarth – Thanks for always taking time out of your day to review to my stories. It means SO much to me when I see in my little inbox that I have a review alert for a recent story I put up! Anyhow, hope you like this chapter as well as the last one. Oh yeah, and that Sage x Rowen interaction you wanted…hold onto your horses, it's coming, I promise!
Now, on with the story!!!
"My eye." The Graiae said softly before she went back to patting the stones.
"What do you mean, hag?" Zeus asked the Graiae softly, stopping the disgusting search for food and water again.
"I mean to say that I want my eye back. You talk to your brother Poseidon, I'm sure its lurking somewhere in the depths of his ocean. You bring me my eye and I will tell you what you wish to know about the Ronin Armors.
Zeus, deciding to humor the old woman, backed off and went in search of the Graiae's missing eye.
A knock at the bedroom door startled Sage out of his contemplations. He looked around for a minute, confused at his surroundings until he noticed that his room looked different merely because the sun had now begun to set.
'Have I really been wandering that long?' Sage asked himself softly as he forced himself to use his stiff legs with a groan. He stomped out the numbness quickly before going to the door and opening it for whoever had knocked beforehand.
There was no one at the door, but as Sage peered out, confident that someone had knocked, he saw that Rowen was at the stairs. The blue-haired archer was slowly walking down the stairs, his right hand tightly gripping something and his head lowered for some reason.
Sage, suddenly remembering that Rowen would not have remembered the night that either boy had spent in the arms of the goddess, felt sorrow for the boy. He didn't know that he was a father or that the gods of Olympus were real instead of the myth that he had concluded them to be when he had taken a fantasy and mythology course at the local college. In fact, all Rowen would know is that his best friend had been ignoring him for the past week…and if what Cye had said that fateful night that now seemed so long ago was true…then he also felt ignored by someone he saw as a little more than a friend.
"Rowen!" Sage called out softly, but the voice was loud enough to stop the blue-haired warrior and get him to turn slightly to see what Sage might want. Sage leaned against the doorjamb, smiling down at his friend with the same smile they used to share as he asked, "What did you knock for?"
Rowen, who had thought that maybe Sage had been asleep when the blond hadn't answered right away, frowned at the smile that Sage now willingly bestowed upon him. "I…" Rowen started, but then stopped, not sure how to convey what he wanted to say. His right hand delved into his pocket and rubbed his thumb over the blue and green stone that he had found earlier that day. Doubting himself suddenly, he pulled back from what he was about to launch into. "It was stupid; forget it."
Sage straightened when Rowen turned to leave, startled that the boy didn't want to talk over the week's events with him. "Ro…" Sage said softly, stopping the blue-haired warrior again. Sage hesitated a moment before joining Rowen on the steps. Sage smiled at Rowen's bewildered look before explaining his actions. "Ro…we have a lot to talk about."
Rowen, still slightly startled by the speed of recent events, allowed the blond to tow him outside, unaware that the other three armor bearers watched from the kitchen with smiles gracing their lips before they went back to preparing dinner.
Zeus appeared at the bottom of the sea, near the cliff where Poseidon had slept for the last millennia. Zeus, moving as if the water did not harm him, cupped his hands to his mouth and yelled into the sea's deep the name of his elder brother.
"Poseidon!!"
Zeus waited for a moment, straining his hearing to try and catch Poseidon's reply, but only the gentle sway of plant life and the playful darting of fish came to him. Zeus pushed off from the bottom of the ocean again to float around, hoping to come across Poseidon as he called out for his brother once again, this time using his mind as well.
It didn't take long after using his mind that Zeus was able to make a connection with Poseidon, and he swam to the surface effortlessly as he attempted to find his brother.
Zeus surfaced into the midst of a tropical storm. He stepped out of the water as if he was climbing stairs and planted his feet so that he wouldn't fall back into the water again. Once he was sure that he was safe for a little while, Zeus decided to examine the storm that he was witnessing, for quite clearly this storm had not been made without the help of a god.
The sea suddenly calmed but Zeus noticed the raging sides all around him that showed the storm still continued; it only showed that Poseidon had merely moved the eye of the storm over them so that they might be able to talk.
The water broke by Zeus's feet and, as he looked down, he saw that Poseidon was slowly raising his head out of the sea.
The ocean-blue locks clung to his face; the wet environment Poseidon was always found in often plastered his hair down. What sun that was able to break through the storm shone on the scales that Poseidon had decorating his body so that he seemed more merman than human or immortal god.
"What is it that you need, Zeus?" Poseidon said quickly, indicating quite clearly that he was busy with other matters and didn't appreciate being interrupted, even for family.
"Just a quick favor, brother, and then you can get back to whatever you were doing." Zeus paused, trying to come up with a way to word this question in the best way possible.
In the cave by the coast of present-day Turkey, the last of the Graiae peered out into the sea, watching with her other senses the growing storm. Briefly she wondered if she would have enough time to get her eye back from Poseidon before the greater forces at work unleashed themselves.
"Hurry, you fool." The Graiae muttered, her empty sockets drifting back out over the sea in hopes of sensing Zeus.
"Well?!" Poseidon said impatiently, rising now from the deep depths of the ocean so as better to hear Zeus's request.
"Have you…By chance…did you find…?" Zeus left the question hanging, still unsure of how he could voice the question. He could tell that his continuing point of starting the question over every few words was wearing on Poseidon's nerves.
"What, brother? Out with it already, I don't have all day." Poseidon said, trying to hurry Zeus along as he folded his arms across his chest. Zeus sputtered for words, still unsure how to ask if the eye of the Graiae had been found in Poseidon's depths.
Zeus heaved a world-weary sigh and decided to just take his chances by asking the question in its simplest form. "Brother, you haven't by chance…have you come across the Eye down below?"
Poseidon's face contorted into complete shock. There was no need to clarify what "eye" they might be discussing, but Poseidon did wonder what Zeus could possibly have to do with that motley group. Being stubborn at last in the matter, Poseidon focused all his attention on Zeus, keeping only a small train of thought left on the storm so it wouldn't get out of his control.
"Why are you searching for the eye, brother?" Poseidon asked, folding his arms across his chest to convey that he had time enough to hear Zeus out.
Kale, heart pumping and lungs burning, burst into Kayura's office. The young ruling governess of the Youja-kai had been busy writing up some new rule for the Youja-kai when Kale, former warlord of Darkness, interrupted her.
She looked up from her paperwork, glaring at Kale and challenging him to come up with a good reason as to why he had disturbed her.
"Yes, Kale?" She asked, malice dripping from her voice when Kale could only stand by the doorframe and gasp for breath. The warlord opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out but strangled gasps. Slightly concerned for her brother-in-arms, Kayura stood up from her position to get a better vantage point.
"Kuh-Kayura." Kale finally gasped out, putting a hand to his side as he forced the stitch to go away. "Come…with me."
Kayura hesitated, but Kale lunged forward across the small space that separated them to grab her wrist and drag her with him.
Kale ran out of the palace with Kayura only doing her best to keep up. The flurry of movement caught many eyes, but only three other people dared to question what might be going on…and they awaited Kale and Kayura already at Kale's destination.
When Kale finally stopped running and Kayura was able to pull her hand free from his grasp, she took a few moments to pretend to dust off her robes and to calm her anger. Finally, she faced her brother-in-arms.
"What were you DOING, Kale? Dragging me out of my office like that! Why I…"
"Kayura." Anubis's calm voice cut through her tirade and she stopped, looking around for the first time at where they were.
It took a moment, but it finally became clear that the four former warlords and Kayura now stood below the palace, in a place only seen before in maps of the castle. They were in the catacombs of Tulpa's kingdom.
The catacombs had been made eons ago, long before Tulpa was conceived or even his mother before him. No one knew the true origin of them, and no one sought them out since they possessed the power to make one's blood run cold at the mere mention of their names.
"Why did you bring me here?" Kayura asked, clenching her hands to prevent her tremors and hoping that her voice wouldn't betray her.
"You know of the tremors that have assaulted the Youja-kai since this morning?" Dais posed a question while he still faced the door to the catacombs. Carefully, he reached out a hand to touch some old runes that were still etched into the side of the door.
"Yes, but how do they have anything to do with this place?" Kayura asked, forcing her voice to not escalate.
Sekhmet turned his cold, narrow gold eyes on Kayura and she found a shiver slip past her guard. She closed her eyes against the fear that wracked her body until she had it under control before looking at the four warlords again.
"The tremors have much to do with the catacombs, Kayura." Sekhmet bit out, his eyes flashing dangerously. He inched over to Dais, who still was examining the runes by the door.
Kayura looked to Anubis, hoping for a better explanation and he sighed when he realized he'd been silently voted to explain everything to their sister.
"How is your history with the catacombs Kayura?" Anubis asked, standing by her side while he watched his three brother-in-arms look all around the doorway for any new clues.
Kayura shook her head to Anubis's question. "Not very good, I'm afraid. I just know they were here long before Tulpa began his reign."
Anubis nodded slightly in agreement. "Yes, they were here before Tulpa's reign. No one knows when exactly they did appear, but…do you know what their origin is?"
Kayura looked at Anubis incredulously, wondering what the older man could possibly mean. Since Tulpa had first attacked Japan in his full demon form, he was often considered to be of Japanese origin, as well as all other myths, rumors or facts that were true about him. Therefore, it would seem that…"Aren't the origins of the catacombs Japanese?"
Anubis shook his head slightly, eyes never leaving the ancient doorway. "No. The catacombs, actually, have their origins in Greek mythology rather than Japanese mythology. In fact, the two mythologies have many ties, it would seem, when Tulpa is concerned. For instance, the ancient's staff…it has ancient Greek origins, even though it has been left in the charge of Japanese families for as long as one can remember."
Kayura was slightly shocked and she fingered the staff slightly as she pondered over this new development. While she did so, Anubis had gone over to Dais, seeing if he could decipher anything else from the runes.
"Can you figure out what they say at all?" Anubis asked, running his own hand over part of the design.
Dais looked over at Anubis, concern hidden deep within his eyes.
"I can't make it all out…but there is a great evil that lies here. It has been here for so many years, allowing its anger to grow and manifest itself strong with each passing century…but there is now reference as to what 'it' is."
"Is that all you can figure out?" Anubis asked, his hand continuing to run along the wall until it hit a crack that had started to form since the tremors had begun. It was barely a centimeter width across, but it ran from the top of the seal on the doorway and almost to the bottom.
"The only other thing I can tell from these runes is that it would be bad…It would be VERY bad…to EVER let this thing out into the mortal realm. It's been there before, Anubis…it wants to be there again, and only some great force as ancient as this thing itself was able to seal it in the first place." Dais explained, his voice cold as it explained the truth behind the matter. "If it gets let out again…it very well could mean the end of all life as we know it."
Anubis was about to respond, but another tremor made everyone pause as they fought for balance on the rocky ground. Anubis put his hand out and caught himself before he was thrown into the solid face of the door. He pushed back of the door when the tremor stopped only to notice the crack had grown, both in width and in length. He turned to face his friends. They had all heard Dais's explanation of the doorway, so Anubis set his face in a grim mask.
"Well then…it seems that we will need to make sure whatever it is cannot come out." Anubis explained. The other four nodded in agreement with Anubis's decision.
No sooner had this decision been reached but a dry chuckle filled the room.
Whee-hee!! What a wonderful place to leave it at! In fact, I'm going to do just that! The sooner you review, the sooner I can get another chapter up! And I will this time too, I promise! I've got some more inspiration happening, so I'll update faster over the summer, just give me reviews! Five reviews, that's all I ask, and I'll update…Please?!?!