Pantheon Book 2: The Way of the Tao

Training

        Melody can't help but be impressed at how skilled Emelia is. She'd believe it if someone told her Emelia has been Isis's apprentice for years rather than weeks. Everything, from her confident chants to her fluid hand motions, shows years of experience.

But it quickly becomes apparent that no matter what she throws at her, Melody can easily counter it. After a couple of hours of trying dozens of different spell combinations, they both reach the same conclusion; training with a goddess of magic won't be of any help.  Melody is too used to dispelling direct magic.

She works with Marcus next, allowing him to cast illusions and summon clones for her to practice on. The illusions she breaks out of almost instantly, and the clones she dissolves with a single touch. So Marcus begins shapeshifting, waiting patiently for Melody to force him back to his human form. By the time the sun sets, she's all but mastered it, undoing his transformations by simply brushing her fingers over his skin.

With those options out, Emelia enlists Oliver to become Melody's next training partner. She explains that it's the most logical next step - since Hermes is a trickster, Oliver will have a lot of the same powers as both Marcus and the monkey king. And since he's from the same Pantheon as Melody, she should be able to find the source of his power quickly.

They start with Oliver's flight, since Melody's never tried dispelling a magic item before. Oliver hovers in front of her, and she examines his winged shoes, poking them softly. It only takes a couple of minutes for her to figure out how they work, pulling magic from within him. And with a tap on the heels, the wings go rigid, sending Oliver plummeting to the floor.

At the risk of breaking his neck, Melody suggests they work on something else instead. But before they can decide what their focus should be, Koji comes below deck, announcing that they're about to make land. When Melody emerges, she's surprised to see the moon hanging above them. She hadn't expected it to take so long to make it to shore.

"Sorry, I got tired part of the way here and had to release the wind," Koji explains awkwardly, digging his heel into the deck. "We're not too far behind schedule, are we?"

"We'll be fine," Melody assures, stepping up to the figurehead. The shore is so close - and so is the Jade Palace.

"Let's fold up the ship before we draw too much attention," Emelia suggests, looking up and down the coast. On the horizon is a cluster of lights, probably from a small town.

"We should probably make camp for the night, too," Marcus says, crossing his arms. "No point in killing ourselves to get there. If he gets impatient, he'll come to us."

"Sounds good," Melody says, closing her eyes to enjoy the gentle sea breeze. She's always liked the ocean, and she has a feeling that she won't be seeing it for quite some time.

Marcus helps Melody off the boat while Oliver, Koji, and Emelia prepare a place to camp. She takes one of the ropes hanging off the mast, folding the ship up and plopping it into her bag. To her surprise, when she turns around, there's a luxury campsite waiting for her.

Four large tents, with a campfire already blazing in the center. The grass is compacted down around them in a circle, and three thick roots are sticking out of the ground around the fire. Koji sits on one, holding his hands out to stoke the fire with gentle gusts of wind. Marcus sits on another, his eyes closed and eyebrows scrunched together. Before she can join them, Emelia appears at her side with Oliver in tow. She smiles apologetically, shoving the boy in front of her.

"Sorry, but I think you two should keep training for a little while longer," Emelia says plainly. "You need as much practice as you can get, and now that we've got to fly the rest of the way, I doubt you'll have much time."