Missing

    All eyes were on the newcomer.  Luca came in, and with a flourish set down his bag.  He wore a sports coat over jeans, sporting sunglasses that he now held in his hand.  He looked every bit the modern day professional.

    Katalea clutched her hands together under the table to keep them from shaking.  As she tried to gain composure, she knocked her plate to the floor.  Dakari caught her as she began to sway in her chair.  Her eyes rolled back and her body went limp.

    As fast as the vision took her it released her.  She sat up straight in her chair, noticing Dakari’s arms around her.  Pushing aside her arousal, she turned and addressed the group.  Her eyes intense, she looked at each one directly.

    “We are six, we are gathered.  Make your choice, and consider your options.  If you take on the quest, you risk all.  There is one still hunting, who would stop at nothing to destroy us.  An evil god gone mad, he seeks the prophecies to advance his bloodlust.  He must be stopped.  Are you six up to the task?”

    Katalea drooped, clinging to Dakari’s ever present arms.  He conjured a cup of water, and raised it to her lips. He whispered in her ear but she shook her head.

    “That was intense,” she started, “I have visions often, but this one had such power.  I don’t know who sent it, but someone wants us to put a stop to Lord Hassan.”  Katalea drank deep and looked about for more.  

    “Before we go any further then, I guess it’s time to decide if we are all on board,” Beecher interjected.  “It sounds like a group project, and some of us don’t do well with sharing.”  He looked meaningfully at Aquina.

    “I’d love to share with you, mutt.  You take the grenade, I’ll take the pin.” She shot back, then turned to the rest. 

 “Seriously though, my family has been searching for the prophecies for as long as anyone can remember.  This is the closest we’ve come.  I am in, full commitment.”  She smiled at Katalea now, “Maybe we could trade this one in for a newer model?” She grinned and the joke fell flat.

    Katalea’s eyes were still burning with intensity as she scanned the room.  “I can feel him now, trying to push in my head.  He has lost what small grip he had on reality.  He wants his child, his mate.  He thinks the prophecies will reunite them.  His thoughts are jumbled and confused, but his evilness is constant.  He will stop at nothing to end us.”

    Zinnia stepped to Katalea and placed her hands on her head, “Can you block him?”  

    Katalea felt the boost of power.  “Yes, now, thank you.”  She turned to the fairy.  “You have so much power in you.  We need you.  Are you staying?”

    “My power is used only for good, for my kind brings joy.  As this false god wishes to squash happiness and ring in an evil world, I will do everything in my power to stop him.  My family is counting on me.”

    “I do not have powers such as you, but for me this is a family thing too.  I have many contacts in all parts of the world and aside from the smart mouthed mermaid, I get along with most.  I can provide resources and any needed weaponry as my family has many contacts in this area too.”  Beecher said, winking at Aquina.

    He turned to Luca.  “Our tribes have been natural enemies for centuries, and I can’t promise to be your best friend.  But if you are a part of this, I will stand for you and push aside any animosity.”

    Luca bowed slightly, “I can agree to a truce to see this through.  I believe our first step is to open the ancient book Dakari found and see where it leads us.” 

 He turned to look at Dakari, “This begins and could end here with you.  The book was entrusted to you by whatever power wants you on this journey.  Are you willing to join forces with us?”

Dakari only had eyes for Katalea.  “I just found you, I will not be away from you again.  If we do this, we do this together or not at all.”  He brushed a hair off her cheek, “What do you say?”

“This evil has stolen from my Pride, tried to eradicate us.  If he seeks the prophecies to further his destructive path, I think we have a duty to stop him, for the good of all.”

That being said, they all looked at each other, awkward again.  Beecher broke the silence with his low whistle.  The tune he mimicked sounded like the countdown on a popular game show.  Everyone grinned.  Luca grabbed his bag, and opened the door.

“Shall we all head to the lab then?” He said, sounding like a patient teacher rounding up students before class.

As they filed through the door, Katalea looked back at the room.  In an instant, Zinnia had cleared it of all food and any personal property.  Katalea noted that she left the building itself in place, but now there were flower beds outside and somehow the paths matched up to the door. “I guess the university has a new building” was all she thought on the matter.

They walked across the campus lawn in groups of two.  Katalea and Dakari held hands but did not speak.  Zinnia practically floated next to Luca trying to match his stride. Aquina and Beecher brought up the rear, firing off insults at each other.  Beecher laughed animatedly, as Aquina relaxed into the banter.

They headed up stairs and through corridors, Dakari looking wary as they made their way further from any visible door.  The Rare Book Room was as far away from sunlight as humanly possible.  The door sealed behind them as they entered a small chamber.

“This room uses laser technology to ensure nothing you have on you could damage any of our archives.  The collection of rare books here rival any in the world,  dating back before time was even counted.”

Slipping into Professor mode, he continued, “Ancient beings took the time to carve their thoughts, whether through symbols or drawings, on rock or tree.  We have preserved as many as we find and allow the new generations to learn from them.  As I’m sure you can imagine, Egypt’s soil is fertile for ancient finds.”

The departement was empty as the filed out of the anti-chamber into another staging area.  “We ask that everyone use the robes and gloves provided.  We want to add no contaminants into the next room.”

Finally, looking like doctors about to deliver a baby the group went through to the actual lab.  The room was dry, and airless.  Luca donned goggles, and turned on an overhead light.  The book Dakari had last seen days ago now lay, still wrapped in its oiled cloth in a glass box.  Two holes in the side of the box allowed for hands to go through.

On baited breath they all waited for Luca to begin.  They stood shoulder to shoulder peering down at the find.  All had personal reasons to believe this ancient script would start their life’s task.  All had secrets they needed to keep, and all but one worried that these scripts would expose them.

An inner door opened with a “psst” as the air seal was broken.  An older man, graying at the temples, entered.  He, too, wore the protective gear and was obviously shocked at seeing them there.

“Professor Johansson, I didn’t think you would be back in today.  I was just going to check the air quality inside the inspection chamber,” he lied, gesturing toward the glass box.

“Who sent you?” Was all Luca said, all seven feet of him glowering down over the man.

Before the older man could answer the light was sucked out of the room along with the air.  Alarms shrilled in the darkness and Dakari immediately tried to conjure a ball of flame to light the room.  WIth no air in the room the fire was nothing more than a spark.  They found themselves shrouded in darkness again.

   

    From the center of the group Zinnia’s purple aura began to glow.  It wasn’t much light, but enough for all to see.  Katalea’s gasp broke the silence.

    The manuscript was gone.