Chapter Twenty-Four
Nine
"Where is Two?" Nine roared in an outrage. It was the next morning. The girls were just noticed missing, and Nine was tearing up the place looking for Two.
"We have no clue," Heb cried from a corner.
"So six girls just up and disappear!" Nine continued.
"I was just checking the cameras that I had placed earlier," Grant intervened, out of breath. "They were kidnapped by Chang, a girl, a wolf, and a serpent."
"THE CHILDREN OF LOKI!" Nine roared. "THAT MEANS THEY ARE WITH THE HORSEMEN!"
"Calm down," Davante stated level-headly. "If it was the Horsemen, more would have been taken."
"Meaning that the Children of Loki are no longer working with Horsemen," One implied.
Nine wasn't listening, so Ten stepped in to intervene. "Dude, stop," he told Nine. "Four got taken too. Do you see me tearing up the place looking for her?"
"Okay," Nine stated, finally calming down. "Sorry ETKOL."
"It is okay," ETKOL stated. "I would have done the same in your position."
"We need to rescue them," Nine requested. "Who will go with me?"
"I will," Ten offered.
"So will I," Seven agreed.
"I will help scout the area once we get there," Five stated.
"Al, give me the Cloak please," James requested. "I want to help."
"If you are going you will need more than just your wand and the Cloak," B.W. stated. He tossed James the Stone and the Wand. "Being in possession of all of the Hallows will give you more than a fighting chance."
"I was trying to pinpoint their location based on their earpieces," Grant stated. "You are heading to Dragsholm Castle, in Zealand, Denmark."
Later
"To think that my father and mum aren't too far away," James sighed.
"We should take a look at the place before we rush in," Nine suggested. "How many heat signatures do you see, Ten?"
"I should only see nine, right?" Ten asked.
"No there should be ten because of Loki," Five responded, sounding worried.
"Well I see seventeen," Ten stated.
"Three of those should be the ghosts that have been sighted here," Seven stated. Grant had given him a laptop with enough computing power to put IBM Watson to shame. "I am going to ask Grant if I can keep this computer. The 394 zettabytes of processing power are insane."
"Who could the other 4 heat sigs be?" James wondered.
"Well we shouldn't have to wait long," Nine remarked. "One of them is making its way here." In anticipation, Nine drew his katanas.
"No need for that Nicholas," a voice sounded. "Kurt sent me."
"Who are you and how do you know my pseudonym?" Nine retorted.
"I am Phoenix, and Kurt sent me to help," Phoenix responded.
"Show yourself," Five commanded. Phoenix walked around the pillar he was hiding behind with his hands up.
"You look like how Kurt described you," Nine commented. "A lean figure with a flaming skull. Is he still stuck in Collingwood?"
"Yes," Phoenix answered. "But he is almost free. Friedkin really knows his stuff. Kurt even gave me a keyword to tell you. He said," Phoenix walked closer to Nine and whispered, "'Twelve sends her regards.'"
"Kurt would only give that information to a close friend," Nine remarked. "You two must have been close."
"The guild was as thick as thieves," Phoenix responded. "Don't worry, we weren't actually thieves."
"You must be the original Scholar," James interrupted. "Scorpius said that one of the Scholars in the Helm was named Phoenix."
"I thought that the Helm would have rejected that part of me as well," Phoenix commented.
"Can you give us more proof though?" Ten asked.
"Always the skeptical aren't you, Tevisin Teysonen," Phoenix remarked. "Well, you can never be too careful. I can give out your full names. Nicholas Wondershine, Tevisin Teysonen, Seterus Retuven, Fihu Sive, and James Sirius Pot-" Before he could finish, he was cut in half.
"Good job asking him to give a full sample of how he talks Ten," Nine stated, standing right behind Phoenix. "Kurt told me that Phoenix says his th's like z's. This is one of the spirits. The real Phoenix probably isn't even close"
"Yes and no," Phoenix's voice sounded from behind a pillar. "It was a spirit, but it was just a test zat Kurt wanted me to put you zrough. I am ze real Phoenix. Kurt even gave me zis to prove it." He pulled up his sleeve to show a mark.
"The trident of Poseidon," Ten noted.
"The symbol of the Hallows," James pointed to another part.
"The Eye of Horus," Seven remarked.
"And the Mark of Athena," Five commented.
"Kurt's calling card," Nine stated. "He gives it to his messengers to prove to the recipient that he really were sent by him."
"Exactly," Phoenix agreed. "So why are you all here?"
"The Children of Loki took Primordial Chaos's daughter and four of our group," Nine responded.
"Ze Sixteen," Phoenix implied.
"So we have gone from the Experiments to the Sixteen," Ten commented. "Interesting."
"Is everything that the spirit told us true?" Seven inquired.
"Yes. Every single zing," Phoenix answered. "I zink zat we should go help ze females, don't you?"
"Yes," Nine agreed.
