He's a Mess of a Man

Book One ~ Chapter Eight

Leviathan choked on the dry air when he and Asra emerged on the other side of the pool. His breath came in short, shallow gasps, "It's... getting worse..."

Morga clicked her tongue. Her eyes glittered gold as she gazed into the sky and her scleras darkened, "Then we must make haste. Jӕgar... Jӕgde." With a sharp cry, the large bird took off into the rust-stained sky. Morga and Erik immediately set off with him. Asra and Leviathan could only follow at a much slower pace. The strange constriction in Leviathan's chest grew sharper, tugging him forward.

"This is all my fault..." Asra mumbled sadly, "If I hadn't lost you earlier..."

Leviathan passed Asra a reassuring smile, "It's not your fault. This place is unpredictable."

Asra shook his head, "It was my idea to bring Lucio into the Magical Realms."

Leviathan remembered the worms, the beetles, and the snow that followed Lucio wherever the two went. "I think trouble was going to find Lucio one way or another, no matter what we did."

Asra nodded, "True enough... I just wish I'd been there to help is all."

The two women stopped before a massive dying tree wrapped in red-hot chains. A golden doorway stood between the tree's roots which was sealed tightly shut with more chains. "This is it. He's caged in there." Morga's eyes had gone back to their crystal appearance.

"In there?" asked Asra, "Are you sure?"

"Be careful," said Leviathan, "Those chains... I've seen The Devil use them before..."

Asra cautiously approached the tree, staying well out of reach from the chains, "This is another magician's gate. Why would Lucio be in a gate that isn't his own?"

"How do we know it isn't his?" Leviathan asked.

"Trust me, Lucio would never have the ability to make a gate as elaborate as this," said Asra.

Morga huffed, "Enough talking. Move." She hefted her spear in both hands, watching the movements of the writhing chains with a practiced eye. In a single, fluid motion, she threw her spear at the golden door. The speartip sliced through the chains and struck the door, which rang like a gong. The door opened just a crack. Morga nodded in satisfaction at the dumbstruck looks on Asra and Leviathan's faces, "Well? Are you coming?"

The two watched her with new respect as they approached the door, "Lucio was terrible at magic, so I assumed..." Asra paused, "Well, I shouldn't assume things." Blinding white light poured through the crack in the golden doorway.

Erik and Morga seized the edge of the door and started to pull, "One of you. Get over here and help." Morga ordered, struggling with the door. Leviathan rushed over and with a single touch, the door gave way. It creaked open with a blast of biting wind and snow. A blizzard raged on the other side. One could barely see anything.

"At least it's not a real blizzard. We won't freeze to death here," said Asra, relieved.

Erik knelt down, brushing away some of the snow, "How strange. Sand lies underneath the snow." As Leviathan took his first steps forward, he noticed she was right. Golden sand was beneath the powdery snow. There was a frozen geyser in the distance, icy droplets that spewed from it were suspended in motion. "Montag could be anywhere." Erik grumbled as she and Morga marched off into the blizzard, Jӕgar perched on Morga's shoulder.

"Wait!" yelped Asra. The howling wind carried his words in the opposite direction. He turned to Leviathan with a sigh, "How are you feeling now? Any new symptoms?"

He shook his head, "My magic feels a bit more normal here."

"That's a relief." Asra smiled, "If you're feeling better, why not try to sense Lucio by magic? I'll do the same." Leviathan nodded. He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the howling blizzard around him. Almost immediately, he sensed a presence off to his right. However, he couldn't be certain it was Lucio. "There is a lot of really strong magic to our left!"