The Secret Sea - (Chaptered Version)

* 34

"Destroy the world?" I'm positive I heard her wrong.

Eve sighs. "Once your phrase is written on the Scroll of the Secret Sea, it will unleash all five oceans worth of water trapped inside, flooding every continent in a matter of seconds. The Five Antecedents will then birth a continent they deem worthy of a new world. Humans will not be invited...not this time."

A cold sweat crosses my brow. "Not this time? what does that mean?"

"A great flood is referenced in the stories of almost every ancient culture. Remarkably, the tale of Noah's ark doesn't veer too far from the truth. This won't be the first time the scroll has been used to reap utter destruction. Once the age of science is obliterated by the flood, magick's strength will be restored to a base level, restoring balance. A new species will then be allowed to evolve without interference, eventually leading to new stories and new beliefs. Fresh, unadulterated mystic power. This is the goal of The Five."

"Why would you go along with this!" I shout, tears in my eyes. "You want to kill everyone?"

"No! I've been conspiring against Suzy and the other Antecedents this entire time. If I had let you know what I was planning, it would have put you in danger. I've learned how to shield my thoughts from Suzy but your poker face is lousy."

I'm shaking. "Why gather the blood...the ink...for the pen? Each time it fills we step closer to destruction."

"Suzy could have gathered all of the ink with relative ease. I convinced her the sacred courier, namely you, should be the one to perform the task. She's old-school—a real sucker for pomp and circumstance and ceremony. I appealed to her ego by expressing my desire to prove my worth as her servant by helping you. It was all to buy time until I could figure out a way to stop this. Tim, I almost have it figured out...I think."

"Christ," I mutter. "Wait...Jesus is evil?"

Eve shakes her head. "Not evil...more misguided than anything. He's disheartened by humanity's rejection of his lessons. Before he re-birthed himself as Jesus, he was a vengeful god. I suppose the instinct is still in him."

"I don't understand. The mushroom—Danica—is an Antecedent. Why would she try to kill us?"

"The Antecedents are so ancient, some of them have gone insane. That makes them dangerous. Had I failed, or died, Suzy would have stepped in to save you and finished retrieving the blood herself."

"So, she's watching us. That means we're screwed."

"Not screwed," says Karkadann. "A powerful spell protects this place from onlookers."

"Are you an Antecedent? Why are you helping us?" I ask.

"He's not one of them," says Eve, butting in. "Karkadann is the guardian of the Third Antecedent, Bonnacon, a great beast that lives within the cliffs at the edge of this plain."

"I have renounced my duty as Bonnacon's guardian," Says Karkadann. "Doing so has sealed my fate, but I am prepared."

I shake my head. "If magick is fading, how can Karkadann be so powerful?"

"I'm not sure," replies Eve, looking stumped. She turns to the great rhino. "Karkadann?"

"Long ago, I was once the protector of an ancient village known as Chirand," says Karkadann. "Bonnacon invaded Chirand on a whim and challenged me to a duel. After defeating me in battle, he killed every man, woman and child in the village. He then chose to make the nearby cliffs his home."

"Whoa," I mutter.

Karkadann continues. "To further assert his dominance, Bonnacon made me his slave and sealed the souls of the dead beneath my plates, denying them passage to the spiritual plane. The souls of the damned make me strong with magick, but I am desperate to free them."

"I see," says Eve. "How awful."

A blast of steam rips from Karkadann's nostrils. "Over the millennia, I learned how to shield myself from my master while he sleeps. Once he realizes I've betrayed him, he'll eradicate me along with the souls trapped beneath my armored flesh."

"There must be something we can do," I say, turning toward Eve. "We need this Bonnacon guy's blood to keep Suzy off our back anyway, right?" I'm not sure where my confidence is coming from. Maybe I'm just tired of being afraid.

Eve nods. "Right." She stands up and hugs me tight. When our embrace ends she moves beside me and looks up Karkadann. "Please, let us help you."

"Such a trial could prove deadly," says Karkadann.

"We insist," says Eve. "Tell us what to do."

"Slay my master. Free my people from the prison that is my body," says Bonnacon.

Fear bubbles up in my throat. "Can an Antecedent...die?"

"Absolutely," says Eve. "Bonnacon has existed in his current form for thousands of years but he's never been weaker. It's why he sleeps."

"My master is vulnerable while he rests. Once he's destroyed, I will provide the answers you've been searching for," says Karkadann.

"You'll tell us how to stop the reset?" asks Eve, her eyes widening.

Karkadann gives a slow nod.

"How do you kill a god?" I say.

Eve shrugs. "Stabbing him a bunch of times will probably work."