Chapter 10: Strange Happenings
"Ehn'gha…" Danielle whispered, glancing backwards at one of the paintings on the wall. "An enormous city hidden underneath the mansion. If it's really that far underground that no one could find it, then it has to be billions of years old."
Alex nodded. "And it's crawling with Guardians. In a city that big, I'd hate to see how many are hiding there."
Danielle shuddered at the thought. She would hate to run into one of those things, let alone hundreds. "Yeah, I know. Um, was this there before?" she asked, picking up a small piece of paper from the desk. As Alex shook her head, Danielle began to read the note addressed to them while sliding off the desk. "A timepiece with a story to tell…" Danielle whispered to herself. "I think I get it… Alex, do you have an idea of where the next page is?"
Alex shrugged. "If it's like how it was before, then the spell we just received will have something to do with it."
A plan formed in Danielle's mind. "Search upstairs for whatever seems out of the ordinary. I'll try to figure out exactly what this note is talking about. I'll meet you upstairs whether or not I find anything."
Alex nodded, walking out of the library. Danielle was about to follow when she heard a voice behind her. "Where does illusion begin and reality end?" She spun around, but no one was there. "Is it because you are blind to the truth, or is it that the only truth you know is the insanity inside?"
Danielle immediately turned around, catching a glimpse of a robed man. He was the same one who always haunted her dreams. This time, he looked different. His skin looked normal now, except for it being an ashen color. His eyes were a dark green color, but there was an aura of violence around him. He stared at her for a second, a cold smile on his face. In the blink of an eye, he vanished, leaving no trace behind. "Okay, can you say creepy?" She shook her head, breathing deeply. "I'm the one losing it now.. .Gah, I really need to try not to let my imagination run wild any more…"
Danielle walked back into the foyer, pushing the encounter with the man to the back of her mind. Right now, she had to find that key. There was no time dwelling on illusions.
The note mentioned a timepiece in the foyer, but all there is that tells time is that broken clock. And it's stuck on…
"3:33… The same time written in that book, and it's what the grandfather clock in the library is set to…" Danielle walked over to the small table that the clock sat on and checked the back of it, pulling out a gold key. "Gotcha… Too easy," Danielle muttered. She made her way upstairs and into the master bedroom. There, Alex was examining a dresser. "Found a key downstairs, but I have no idea what it's for," Danielle announced as she entered. "Did you find anything with the spell?"
Alex nodded, pointing to a drawer with the Chattur'gha symbol engraved on it. "There's a keyhole here, but it wasn't before I used the spell." She looked at the key in Danielle's hand, then back at the drawer. "Hand me that key for a second."
Danielle gave it to her without question, watching as Alex inserted it into a keyhole Danielle couldn't see. There was a small click, and Alex pulled open the drawer. Inside were a chrome-finished revolver and a page from the Tome. As Alex's hand touched the page, a vision flashed before Danielle's eyes.
--------------------------------------------------
Corrosion of the Dead God
--------------------------------------------------
Pious waved his hand, and five red runes formed on the ground. Before him, the image of Chattur'gha appeared in the strange stone structure. "Our Guardians have located the heart, master," Pious reported. "Before the month is out, it shall be ours."
"Do not underestimate the power of Mantorok, warlock! Its power cannot be defined in terms you understand. For seven centuries it has corroded your Universe."
"And during those seven, the denizens of the region have been either destroyed or driven away. There is nothing, no one, to stop us from collecting it. Mantorok, and its Essence, lie unprotected in the jungle."
"Then waste no more time," Chattur'gha ordered. "Retrieve it immediately, and pray to me that you do. Time is running short… And without me you are mere flesh and bone… Remember that…" The Ancient's voice grew more distant; finally, the image of it vanished.
--------------------------------------------------
When Alex saw the distant expression on her sister's face, she knew that Danielle was seeing another vision. It was almost a minute before Danielle snapped out of the trance. "What did you see?" Alex asked almost immediately.
Danielle blinked a few times before speaking. "Pious had found the Heart of Mantorok and was planning to take it. That's pretty much all." She was silent for a second, and then added, "They said it was still in the jungle. So, it has to be in the same place Ellia's chapter took place."
Alex nodded, looking down at the gun in the drawer. Right now, they didn't really need to carry around firepower. Nothing was going to jump out at them or anything. "Yeah, you're probably right. But why would they want the Heart of Mantorok?"
Danielle shrugged, glancing at the revolver in the drawer. "Whoa. .38 revolver. Haven't seen one of those since Dad took me to the range with him…" she whispered. Her eyes widened, as if she didn't mean to say that out loud.
"Your dad must be pretty cool," Alex said with a small smile. "Not many fathers take their kids shooting with them for quality time." On the trail of that thought, she added, "Where are your parents, anyways? They must be worried about you." Danielle's expression changed to one of sadness. She stared down at the floor. "Danielle…?" Alex said softly.
"I don't know where they are. They went to California for a few weeks to visit some friends, but I never heard from them since a month ago. No one knows what happened. It was like they just vanished, leaving all of their stuff in their room at one of their friends' houses. And when I tried to call my brother Devin just before the mission trip, I couldn't get a hold of him."
Alex frowned sympathetically. "I'm sorry… When we get done tonight, I'll try to help you find out what happened. I promise."
Danielle smiled a bit, nodding. "Thanks, Alex. I'm glad you're here with me."
Alex embraced her sister lightly, a smile forming on her own face. "You and me both, kiddo." She pulled away, knowing that now probably wasn't the best time to just sit and chit-chat. "Come on, Danielle. Let's go."
Danielle nodded and said with a smirk, "And don't call me kiddo."