The Tree of Hope: Chapter Fifteen

The fifteenth chapter of the first installment of The Legacies Saga

 CHAPTER FIFTEEN 

WOODEN STICK

Natasha jammed her finger on the elevator button harder than before.

"Come on, come on..." she urged.

The elevator door finally closed and sent them on their descent to the first floor of the Ekinta.

~+~

Kassy Crowfeather was in turmoil.

She had been the one who released the Ofiotians from Bunker 10, without even bothering to figure out why they were there. And then, because of her, this big threat demigod, Alaric Burne, had managed to capture them all and was bringing them back to the Mainworld to resurrect Ouranos.

A loud scream snapped Kassy out of her self-pity.

A girl was running to and fro, battling unarmed against a drakon.

Kassy didn't even think before charging the drakon: It was her duty, as a member of Squad Three, to help out. And this girl... she needed help.

Kassy picked up a wooden stick from nearby - a short-range weapon, Kassy's specialty. Since the stick was on the ground, that meant it didn't have any enchantments on it; it legally belonged to whoever needed to use it.

Kassy swung the stick around and smashed it into the drakon's face with all her might. The drakon did a double-take in pain before glaring at Kassy.

The beast opened its mouth and prepared to strike.

~+~

Ermot hung back at the back of the group of captives, hoping that Alaric and Ritne wouldn't notice.

"Gyan Kirrno," Ermot whispered. The woman looked at him. "Can you please help us?"

"If I disable Burne, could you get the other captives to some sort of sanctuary?" Filan Briciera asked as he appeared beside Ermot.

Kirrno looked like she was about to shed tears. "I'm afraid Burne will not be as able to be subdued as you imagine. He is... a half-blood. He has likely trained for years in the Upperworld, and has certainly inherited power from his divine parent. The flames he produced make a primary example of this point. It would take more power than a group of adolescent Ofiotians and a single tracker to apprehend him. We need someone even stronger than he."

Just then, the elevator door to the Ekinta opened.

~+~

The elevator door to the Ekinta opened.

Marrell Tanaquas was the first to step outside. Being the only Mainworlder of the six of them, Marrell was the best choice of a leader along the path to the tree.

James, Natasha, Adam, Tori, and Carrie followed. James and Natasha held the ballpoint pens that she could now see bore the faint images of inake-style swords. Adam had a few small jars with green liquid inside, Tori carried a pistol loaded with bronze bullets, and Carrie fingered her bracelet with an impish grin.

Only now did Marrell question why she did not arm herself before leaving.

"Marrell!" a voice said. Ermot!

"You two were among the captured teenagers," James noted.

The other guy - one Marrell didn't know - glanced at James. "We were released from our incarceration only to be recaptured by a pyrokinetic who referred to himself as a half-blood."

"Alaric Burne was definitely here, then," Carrie summarized. "Mainworlder, whatever your name is, Alaric is looking for-"

"A tree?"? Ermot guessed. "He said as much. A girl named Ritne Akuresh is helping him track down the tree. Even though trees do not exist in the Mainworld."

"Well, Julia says there's one, and Julia's not exactly someone who's wrong all the time," Natasha pointed out. "There is a tree here somewhere, and if we don't find it before Burne does, he's going to resurrect one of the oldest beings in existence and destroy the world."

"We can't let that happen," Marrell summarized.

~+~

Alaric Burne moved the door marked RESTRICTED. Or at least, he knew the others saw a door saying RESTRICTED. Burne, having learned to see through the Mist, was well aware that it really read προφητεία. Prophecy.

Beyond it, he and the thirty-eight captives could see nothing but a brick wall.

This wasn't right; he was certain this was the location.

The words shifted in his perspective. Η κληρονομιά της γης, φωτιά, αέρας, νερό, και αἰθήρ θα ξεκλειδώσετε. The legact of earth, fire, air, water, and aether shall unlock.

As son of Hephaestus, Burne was already a legacy of fire. All he needed now were descendants of Hades, Zeus, Poseidon... and whoever the god of aether is. He could look that up whenever.

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