THE SECRET SEA: EXPANDED EDITION

39

We're so preoccupied we don't even notice Karkadann standing beside the bird. "You've felled my master, now I am free. The people of Chirand are free. No words can express my gratitude."

I've never seen a rhino cry. "Consider us even," I say with a smile.

"You going to tell us about this gigantic, terrifying bird?" asks Eve, smiling up at the creature.

"She is the answer you've been seeking," says Karkadann. "This is Amihan, the secret Sixth Antecedent. She was banished from the Earth after The First Antecedent became jealous of her great power. She now rules the cosmos."

"A Sixth Antecedent? We...we can't talk about this here," says Eve, agitated. "Queen Suzerain will be listening!"

Karkadann shakes his head. "I'm using the last of my magick to shield us from her gaze."

Amihan leans up, peering at the dense band of the Milky Way. The great bird seems disinterested in our conversation.

"Amihan was adrift in the stars, dormant for ages," says Karkadann. "But now the power of belief has restored magick to the cosmos, awakening her. This ancient form you see now is not the one she reveals to her new acolytes."

Eve laughs. "Of course!"

"Please tell me what our hulking friend is talking about," I beg.

Eve smiles. "The night sky used to be mysterious and terrifying. Nothing carried more magick. Angry gods from every culture sent meteors and comets streaking across the horizon as omens of death and destruction. People worshiped the stars and gave names and personalities to the constellations. Destinies were determined by the positions of the planets. Yet again, science changed everything. Astronomy and astrophysics diluted magick, seemingly forever...until."

Yet again, I'm lost. "Until what?"

"UFOs!" says Eve, beaming.