You know, the legends say this island is hollow inside,” the supreme master stated.
“Even so, it doesn’t help us with anything, as there is no door to get access to its interior,” the younger fighter complained.
“What if we use the artifact to find out?”
Everybody’s eyes turned towards Anh, with stunned expressions.
“How?” Rongo asked.
“I’ll show you in a couple of minutes.”
“Don’t tell me…” the Two Waves master began.
“That’s the best plan I can think of,” the supreme master confirmed.
Anh set his feet shoulder-width, bent his knees slightly, and held his arms in front as if he was hugging a tree, with the palms turned inside. He was now doing the standard Three Circles Meditation, often used by the practitioners of Aquatika. The Two Waves master threw a glance towards the coast. A few pale lights were already moving along the narrow beach.
“They’re coming,” he whispered. “This is much sooner than I expected. We might still have five minutes of quiet, but not much longer. Perhaps the thugs who showed up earlier were only a decoy. I have the feeling this time we are going to face fighters who are both experienced and well-armed.”
“Maybe we should take the boats and try to row north, away from the shore,” Lila suggested.
“It will never work. Look there!” Rongo sighed, pointing with his left hand towards the ocean. Three dark shapes were slowly approaching the Iron Rock from that direction.
“It’s over!” Solis lamented. “They’ll reach the platform in less than three minutes!”
The teenagers could sense the fear growing inside their chests and pouring down their spines. It was slowly spreading, like a layer of melting ice, over the whole rocky platform. Even Rongo had now a preoccupied expression. His body, like that of a tiger, was ready to spring into action at any moment. The only person oblivious to the whole situation was Anh, who continued to meditate with his eyes half-closed, facing east.
The silvery rays coming from Sen seemed to get gradually entangled between his palms. When the teenagers took a closer look, they could see a blue sphere taking shape there. A sparkling yarn perhaps twenty centimeters in size made entirely of light.
Perhaps they were getting the boats ready. In the opposite direction, the three larger vessels were standing by motionless, only about fifty meters away from the platform’s edge. They were waiting for a signal to launch their attack. Time was running short.
The sphere between Anh’s hands was becoming brighter. Without moving, the master called:
“Rongo, please take the artifact and set it on the ground, about one meter in front of me.”
The Two Waves master obeyed quickly. Anh bent his knees deeper, then his palms pushed the sphere of energy towards the artifact. The sphere went in. Almost instantly, the box came to life. A halo of blue light emerged from it, slowly expanding. It reached a diameter of almost one meter in less than a minute.
The people on the coast and those from the boats must have seen it, too. The lights from the shore were gone, but five dark shapes were moving fast across the waves, towards the island. They were going to reach Iron Rock in less than two minutes. The three vessels from the open sea were also getting closer. In one minute or less, they were going to reach the northern side of the platform. Time was running out.
“Jump in!” Anh commanded.
“Jump where?” Solis asked, caught by surprise.
“Into the sphere surrounding the artifact! Hurry!” the supreme master retorted.
Lila was the first who understood what he meant and rushed towards the halo that now had a diameter of almost one meter and a half. As soon as she reached its boundary, her image flickered, and she was gone. Solis, then Kolin, followed in short succession.
Rongo stayed behind a little longer, turned towards Anh, and asked:
“What about you?”
“I’ll be the last one to go through.”
“And the artifact?”
“We’ll take it with us, of course.”
With a sigh of relief, the Two Waves master went in, followed by Anh. One moment later, the halo switched off, and the artifact vanished. The besiegers were already stepping onto Iron Rock’s cylindrical platform.
“Even so, it doesn’t help us with anything, as there is no door to get access to its interior,” the younger fighter complained.
“What if we use the artifact to find out?”
Everybody’s eyes turned towards Anh, with stunned expressions.
“How?” Rongo asked.
“I’ll show you in a couple of minutes.”
“Don’t tell me…” the Two Waves master began.
“That’s the best plan I can think of,” the supreme master confirmed.
Anh set his feet shoulder-width, bent his knees slightly, and held his arms in front as if he was hugging a tree, with the palms turned inside. He was now doing the standard Three Circles Meditation, often used by the practitioners of Aquatika. The Two Waves master threw a glance towards the coast. A few pale lights were already moving along the narrow beach.
“They’re coming,” he whispered. “This is much sooner than I expected. We might still have five minutes of quiet, but not much longer. Perhaps the thugs who showed up earlier were only a decoy. I have the feeling this time we are going to face fighters who are both experienced and well-armed.”
“Maybe we should take the boats and try to row north, away from the shore,” Lila suggested.
“It will never work. Look there!” Rongo sighed, pointing with his left hand towards the ocean. Three dark shapes were slowly approaching the Iron Rock from that direction.
“It’s over!” Solis lamented. “They’ll reach the platform in less than three minutes!”
The teenagers could sense the fear growing inside their chests and pouring down their spines. It was slowly spreading, like a layer of melting ice, over the whole rocky platform. Even Rongo had now a preoccupied expression. His body, like that of a tiger, was ready to spring into action at any moment. The only person oblivious to the whole situation was Anh, who continued to meditate with his eyes half-closed, facing east.
The silvery rays coming from Sen seemed to get gradually entangled between his palms. When the teenagers took a closer look, they could see a blue sphere taking shape there. A sparkling yarn perhaps twenty centimeters in size made entirely of light.
Perhaps they were getting the boats ready. In the opposite direction, the three larger vessels were standing by motionless, only about fifty meters away from the platform’s edge. They were waiting for a signal to launch their attack. Time was running short.
The sphere between Anh’s hands was becoming brighter. Without moving, the master called:
“Rongo, please take the artifact and set it on the ground, about one meter in front of me.”
The Two Waves master obeyed quickly. Anh bent his knees deeper, then his palms pushed the sphere of energy towards the artifact. The sphere went in. Almost instantly, the box came to life. A halo of blue light emerged from it, slowly expanding. It reached a diameter of almost one meter in less than a minute.
The people on the coast and those from the boats must have seen it, too. The lights from the shore were gone, but five dark shapes were moving fast across the waves, towards the island. They were going to reach Iron Rock in less than two minutes. The three vessels from the open sea were also getting closer. In one minute or less, they were going to reach the northern side of the platform. Time was running out.
“Jump in!” Anh commanded.
“Jump where?” Solis asked, caught by surprise.
“Into the sphere surrounding the artifact! Hurry!” the supreme master retorted.
Lila was the first who understood what he meant and rushed towards the halo that now had a diameter of almost one meter and a half. As soon as she reached its boundary, her image flickered, and she was gone. Solis, then Kolin, followed in short succession.
Rongo stayed behind a little longer, turned towards Anh, and asked:
“What about you?”
“I’ll be the last one to go through.”
“And the artifact?”
“We’ll take it with us, of course.”
With a sigh of relief, the Two Waves master went in, followed by Anh. One moment later, the halo switched off, and the artifact vanished. The besiegers were already stepping onto Iron Rock’s cylindrical platform.
(to be continued...)
Books by Marian C. Ghilea:
BUTTERFLY'S DREAM: https://bit.ly/2PM63uU
TIDES OF AMBER: https://bit.ly/2HfcHVB
Image source: Pixabay - https://pixabay.com/photos/sky-3335585/
BUTTERFLY'S DREAM: https://bit.ly/2PM63uU
TIDES OF AMBER: https://bit.ly/2HfcHVB
Image source: Pixabay - https://pixabay.com/photos/sky-3335585/
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