Chapter Fourteen: Raymond. Four Heroes In Aztlan

Here's the fourteenth chapter of Heroes: The New Level.

Four Heroes In Aztlan
I was angry. Mostly at myself.

The sphinx got away from us, again! All because I answered its stupid riddle. The best thing was that now we know something: Fire. The sphinx's master has something to do with fire.

The angered silence was cut short by a girl's voice. "What's going on?"

I looked at the source of the voice. She had pale brown hair and eyes the grey of a storm cloud. In one hand she held a long sword. In the other she was holding the arm of a big, really muscular guy.

I figured they probably knew about the myths, since they could see through the sphinx's glamour. So, naturally, I decided to tell them. "We're magicians," I said lamely. "We were tracking the sphinx and winded up here. But, you know, it got away. Where is here, exactly?"

"This is Aztlan," the big guy said. "Origin of the Aztec peoples."

"Aztecs," Zia said through clenched teeth. "Egyptian wannabes..."

"The Aztecs were powerful people," the girl said. "Our traditions lasted for centuries before the Spanish overtook us. And even then, they failed to kill the roots of our civilization, as you can see."

Had to admit, the Aztecs' homeplace looked far from killed. "So the Aztecs are part of the Merge, then?"

The girl tensed. "How do you know about the Merge?"

"The sphinx told me I was supposed to drive it," I said, sensing a breakthrough. "A bunch of mythologies are coming together, and it's making monsters stronger. And when they get stronger, they do more damage. The sphinx had a master - someone probably high up in starting the Merge. We're trying to stop them. And to do that, we'll need the Aztecs' help."

"Stronger monsters?" the big guy asked. "Like the Ahuizotl that attacked you?"

"I think so," the girl said. "It told me and Tlaloc about the Merge, too." She looked at us. "I'll try to help you. By the way, I'm Natalie and this is Phoenix. We rep for the storm god Tlaloc. You?"

"I'm Raymond, this is Zia, Carter, and Sadie, and the baboon eating the burritos is Khufu. I don't think Egyptians rep for gods, but I'm a host of Ra. Zia used to host Nephthys, Carter used to host Horus, and Sadie used to host Isis." I figured she'd ask what hosting a god meant, but instead her only comment was...

"Wasn't he eating Oreos?" Natalie asked.

"He'll eat anything that ends in o," Carter explained. "It's complicated. Who else is here?"

"Um... our Court's head rep, Simon," Natalie listed. "And the other Tlaloc reps, Melanie and Tem. And... Cam, the head of everyone here. And Reese - he makes weapons."

"Plus Aaron, Felipe, Maria, Charlotte, Vic, and Dynamite... I don't think any of us know his real name," Phoenix added.

Suddenly a shadow on the wall turned much darker. A group of people came out from it. One of them was struggling to keep his breath. "Tara," he said. "Next time... you're driving ... the shadows!"

"Alright, but you'll have to teach me first," a girl - probably Tara, said.

"Eddie, did you not say there would be a sphinx here?" a different girl said. That little comment hurt.

"The sphinx was here a minute ago," I grumbled. "But it got away without giving us any real answers."

"Answers... about... what?" the still-panting guy said.

"About the Merge," Natalie said. "The sphinx's master is part of it. So are Raymond and I."

Tara looked up. "Me and Eddie are also part of the Merge. We're from the Greek camp and the Roman camp. You?"

"Aztec Courts," Natalie said.

"Egyptian nome," I said. Then I thought of something. "Zia, how long does it take for a tracking spell to wear off."

"They don't wear off unless the magician removes them," Zia said. "Are you suggesting we hunt it down again?"

"Yeah," Eddie said. "We have four of the heroes of the Merge here. Together, we have a better chance of success... Nice sword, by the way."

"Thanks," Natalie said. "It's name is Maldito."

"Mine's called Paradosiakos Thánato and Eddie's is named Vicis Tincidunt Vivamus," Tara said. "How about you...?"

"Raymond," I supplied. "I don't think Egyptians give names to their weapons."

"How many of us can go follow it?" Phoenix asked.

"Three from each group," a blonde girl said. "Nico, Tara, and I from the Greek camp. Eddie, Jason, and Reyna from the Roman camp. Three Aztecs. Three Egyptians. The other Merge heroes should choose."

"Phoenix and Cam," Natalie said immediately.

"Carter and Zia." I gave Sadie an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, but... you know... only three."

Sadie shrugged it off. "No biggie. Just shocked that you picked Zia over me."

"Yeah, I'm not shadow traveling a dozen of us," the boy who'd struggled earlier said. "Anyone know another way out?"

"Through the Duat," Sadie said. "Amos taught me how to summon the boat."

"Let's go," I said with more enthusiasm than I felt. "Where to?"

"Tenochtitlan," Natalie said. "Tlaloc thinks the new temple there has something to do with the Merge."

"So we have a destination," Eddie said. "We have a... boat. Let's roll."