Book 2 of the Eternal series

Chapter 21

Angrily, Bestol and Mertheis used their magic to pass through the rift to the next realm, and they were shot back into the Air Realm of Passing. Ever since the goddess disappeared, they had been unable to leave the domain or go back from which way they had come.

Bestol looked at Mertheis in question, and a low growl rumbled from Merthies’s chest.

“What’s going on? Why can’t we leave?” asked Bestol, and Merthies’s eyebrows shot down in anger.

“Because the gods have closed the portals on us, so we can’t pass into the next realm,” he sneered, and Bestol glared at the sky.

“Do you think you can run from us forever? You might have bought yourselves some time, but mark my words, we will find you,” he snarled, looking at his brother.

“We are just going to have to find another way,” he said, and Mertheis looked at him.

“But how can we do that when the portals and rifts are closed?” he asked, and Bestol smiled cleverly as he waved his hand in the air in a circular motion.

Suddenly, a portal appeared, and he looked at Mertheis as he smiled.

“They didn’t seal every portal.”

“Where does that one lead to?” asked Mertheis, and Bestol looked at him thoughtfully.

“Back home. We can ask the Elder Demons about what we should do next,” he said, and Mertheis rolled his eyes.

“What?” asked Bestol.

Mertheis looked at him, annoyed.

“The Elder Demons? They don’t know anything about what we are doing. We are the first to accomplish what every underworlder has dreamed of. No one has even tried what we are doing, so how would they have information about what we are doing?” he said, and Bestol gave him a knowing look.

“I am sure they at least know a way to get to the gods. They have been around for a very long time. You might be surprised at what they know.”

Heavily, Mertheis sighed. What choice did they have? They couldn’t move on to the next realm, and they couldn’t go back the way they came, so that disgusting, wretched realm that they called home was their only choice. Mertheis looked at Bestol, and he looked at Mertheis with care.

“Come on, brother, let’s go home and figure out our next step,” said Bestol, gesturing to the portal.

“But what about Halondelle?” asked Mertheis, and Bestol smiled at him.

“Don’t worry. They will stay sound asleep until I return and send our guards back home. I have covered everything. Now, come on,” said Bestol, and Mertheis only nodded as he sighed.

He hoped that Bestol had made sure he took care of everything because if the guardians broke out of their trap and reunited, they would have bigger problems. Finding his mother and the rest of the plan would come to a halt. Bestol walked through the portal, and Mertheis reluctantly followed.

“Wow! This place has really changed,” said Riah as she, Ashta, Roman, and Ray walked into the sanctuary room.

The statues stood taller, and the elements that flowed behind them seemed to glow even brighter than the last time they were down there. Each pillar in front of each statue was now glowing its chosen color. Red for fire, gray for air, blue for water, and green for earth.

“It’s so beautiful,” said Ashta, as she smiled, and Riah nodded.

Amused, Roman and Ray laughed, and the girls looked at them in question.

“What are you two laughing about?” asked Riah, as she crossed her arms over her chest, and Ashta did the same.

Innocently, Roman and Ray looked at them, then shook their heads.

“Oh, sure, now you are quiet?” asked Ashta, and Roman grinned as he nodded his head.

Riah smirked, and then she looked at the guys seriously.

“Okay, back to the task at hand. How did you contact the guardian spirits the last time?” she asked, and Ray smiled at her.

Ray walked over to her and took her by the hand without a word. He led her in front of her statue.

“Like this,” he said softly and placed her hand on the statue.

Suddenly, Riah’s eyes lit up with a blue glow, and then she ascended into the air. Surprised, Ashta, Roman, and Ray looked up at her, then Ashta looked at her statue. Curiously, she looked at Roman, and he looked at her in question.

“Maybe we should all touch our statues,” she suggested, and Roman and Ray looked at her oddly.

“What makes you say that?” asked Roman, and she smiled at him as she played with the hem of his t-shirt.

“Just a hunch,” she said as she looked up at him through her eyelashes.

“Alright. I’m with Ashta,” said Ray, and Roman nodded.

“Yeah, let’s do this,” he said, and Ashta grinned as she nodded.

Swiftly, the three of them took their places in front of their assigned statues, and they looked at each other.

“On three,” said Ray, as he snickered, and Ashta and Roman chuckled.

Simultaneously, the three guardians counted to three, and they placed their hands on the statues. Suddenly, they felt a power surge of energy rush through their bodies, and their eyes began to glow. Slowly, they ascended into the air, the sanctuary lit up with all four colors, and then the three of them saw a bright flash. Ashta’s were glowing red, Roman’s were glowing gray, and Ray’s were glowing green.

Slowly, Ashta opened her eyes, and she found herself in a soft bed of grass. She looked up at the sky and saw the sun brightly shining. Quickly, she scrambled to her feet, and she brushed herself off. The land was beautiful and full of rolling green hills. There was also a small body of water to the left of her.

Suddenly, she saw Riah surface from the water, and she inhaled deeply and coughed as she splashed the water around her with her flailing arms.

“Come on! Really?” She exclaimed angrily, and Ashta ran over to the pool of water.

“Are you alright?” she asked as she reached her, and Riah looked at her and scowled.

“No! I am in the middle of a lake. Again!” she said, annoyed, and Ashta quickly covered her mouth as she snickered.

Irritated, Riah looked at Ashta, and Ashta reached out her hand.

“Come on,” Ashta laughed, and Riah sighed as she took her hand.

Riah gave her a clever look, and instead of Ashta helping her out of the water, Riah pulled her. Ashta slipped into the deep pool, and then she surfaced and laughed as she wiped the water from her face.

“What was that for?” she asked, and Riah laughed as she splashed her with a wave of water.

“I didn’t want you to feel left out,” said Riah nonchalantly, and Ashta splashed her back.

“Oh, gee, thanks. I have always wanted to be part of the wet clothing committee my whole life,” Ashta teased back, and Riah made a face at her.

After they were done teasing and splashing each other, the girls climbed out of the body of water, and they looked around and rung out their hair.

“Where are we?’ asked Riah as she squeezed the water out of her shirt.

“I am not sure. Where are Roman and Ray?” asked Ashta, and Riah shrugged her shoulders.

“I woke up in a puddle, remember?” she said carelessly as she gestured to the pool of water.

Amused, Ashta laughed, and Riah rolled her eyes dramatically. Suddenly, a hand broke through the ground underneath their feet, and the hand grabbed Riah’s ankle. Loudly, Riah screamed as she kicked her foot for the hand to let go, and then she kicked the hand with her other foot. The hand quickly let her ankle go, and then Riah ran a few feet away from Ashta.

Ashta and Riah looked at each other, and then they looked back at the hands. Mortified, they both looked at each other, and then they looked down at the strange, dirt-covered hand. Another hand broke through the ground, and it looked like a person was stuck in the ground.

“Aw, did I scare the fearless Riah and make her jump out of her skin?” asked a voice as Ray’s head now appeared between the two hands, and he pulled himself out of the ground.

Oddly, Riah stared at Ray as he brushed himself off, and then he looked at her. Ray gave her a questioning look.

“What?” he asked.

“How did you end up in the ground?” she asked, and he shrugged his shoulders.

“Why are you two all wet?” he asked, and Ashta and Riah looked at each other as they giggled.

“Riah and I had a splashing contest,” said Ashta matter-of-factly, and Riah grinned at him as she nodded.

For a moment, he looked at them, and then he shook his head. They were such strange and unpredictable creatures. He believed that he would never understand the female species for the rest of his days.

“So, where is Roman?” he asked, and the girls shrugged their shoulders.

“We haven’t seen him yet,” said Ashta, as she sighed sadly.

Ray looked at her with care, and Riah gave her a knowing look. Ashta nodded.

“I know. I know we will find him,” said Ashta, and Riah nodded.

“That’s the spirit, but where would he be?” asked Ray, and Ashta and Riah shrugged their shoulders again.

“Looking for someone?” asked a beautiful voice behind them, and Ray, Ashta, and Riah turned around.

Surprisingly, Roman was walking towards them with an elegant blonde-haired woman with sparkling eyes, and they were both laughing about something. Ashta felt a little jealous, and she eyed them suspiciously, and Roman looked directly at her. Lovingly, he smiled at Ashta as he and the woman approached them.

“Ash, I would like you to meet your guardian spirit. The first Guardian of Fire,” he said, and the woman looked at her with care.

Gently, the guardian spirit took Ashta by the hands.

“Hello, my sweet girl. My name is Blaze, and as he said, I am your spirit guardian. I have been with you the whole time, my dear. You have never been alone,” said the woman, as her eyes began to glow a bright red color, and she smiled.

At that moment, Ashta smiled back at her, and her eyes began to glow the same bright red color. After that, a blue-haired woman, a dark-haired man, and a white-haired man walked up to them, and Blaze turned her head and smiled at them. The blue-haired woman smiled as she looked at Riah, and she took her by the hands like Blaze did Ashta. Riah stared at the woman with wide eyes.

“Hello, Riah. My name is Rush, and I am your spirit guardian. We have much to discuss,” said Rush, and Riah only nodded as she stared at the woman in disbelief.

The dark-haired man stood with Ray and clapped him on the shoulder, and the white-haired man did the same with Roman.

“Hello, Ray. I am Dig,” said the man, and Ray nodded.

“Hello, Roman. My name is Breeze,” said the white-haired man, and respectfully, Roman bowed his head.

“Now, we have to speak to you all individually, but don’t worry your heads too much. The four of you will be reunited once more in no time,” said Rush, and everyone nodded.

There was a sudden flash of light without warning, and everyone disappeared.

“Ashta,” whispered a voice, and Ashta opened her eyes.

She looked around and noticed that she was in the Fire Realm of Passing, and she saw that the whole realm had been completely destroyed. Sharply, Ashta inhaled, and then she noticed Blaze standing next to her out of the corner of her eye. Sadly, Blaze looked out onto the realm, and Ashta looked at her with a concerned look on her face.

“What happened?” she asked.

Blaze sniffed back her tears as she looked at Ashta.

“Bestol and Mertheis came through here looking for the Goddess of Fire, and when they had discovered she was gone, they destroyed the realm out of their own selfish anger,” Blaze explained, and Ashta looked at her in horror.

“My brother did this?” she asked, and Blaze sighed as she nodded.

“But why?”

Blaze took her hand, and she sighed heavily.

“Because they are after Merthies’s mother. The Goddess of Fire, Hellena.”

“What do they want with her?” asked Ashta, and Blaze shrugged her shoulders.

“We are not sure what the purpose of their plan is, but we do know that he is very angry with her,” Blaze explained.

Ashta thought for a moment.

“What if I could talk to my brother? Maybe find out why he and his friend are doing this,” she suggested, and Blaze shook her head as she looked at her seriously.

“He is dangerous to us all, my dear. I know what your heart desires, but he is not the brother you think he is,” she said, and Ashta sighed as she looked at the ground.

After a moment, Ashta looked back up at her spirit guardian, and Blaze squeezed her hand gently.

“What do we do now?” she asked, and Blaze looked at her with care.

“You have to destroy Bestol and Mertheis before they find the gods and destroy us all,” she said seriously, and Ashta swallowed nervously.

Blaze smiled at Ashta as she brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

“I know how you feel about killing those who have wronged us, but you are going to have to fight those feelings when it comes down to doing the right thing and your brother,” she said, and Ashta sighed a frustrated sigh.

“Are you sure there isn’t another way?” she asked, and Blaze shook her head.

“I am sorry, but there isn’t. I am bestowing a gift upon you, but you must use it wisely. If you abuse this power, you will anger the gods, and you could be stripped of everything that you have become,” said Blaze, and Ashta nodded.

The beautiful woman touched Ashta’s forehead, and she felt a powerful rush of energy course through her veins.

“Now, you and the others will be able to travel to the Underworld Realm and sustain in its atmosphere, but only when the time is right. You are going to be able to create portals, but please don’t abuse this power. You have been warned,” explained Blaze, as her eyes shimmered.

Ashta nodded as her eyes shimmered back.

“What was that?” Ashta asked, and the woman smiled at her.

“That was an oath that you understand that you are only to use your new gifts when absolutely necessary. The eye shimmer was just to seal the deal.”

Thoughtfully, Ashta looked at her spirit guardian, and then she nodded.

“Please save our world,” she said earnestly, and with a flash of bright light, Ashta found herself back where she had started.

Noticeably, she was back in the beautiful realm where she had woken up on the soft grass bed and where Riah had pulled her into the pool with her.

“Just wait for the others to return,” whispered a voice, and Ashta felt a calming wash over her.

Patiently, Ashta sat on the grass and waited for Riah, Ray, and Roman to get done with their spirit guardians.