Part 2: Ill Winds

Three days later

Mia watched the others having fun. It was too bad Uli couldn’t be with them, but his parents had signed him up for some special summer program. It was a great opportunity that he couldn’t miss. Mia turned at the sound of splashing water.

Everyone had been working on the house all morning and needed a break. She tried to keep up a cheerful face because she didn’t want them to worry. But something bad was going to happen. She could sense it. Mia sighed. It seemed like something was always happening. They’d had almost a year of peace and quiet—Mia should’ve known it wouldn’t last.

Ryo, Rowen, Kento, Zane, Zoe, and Sai were swimming around in the lake. Sage decided not to get wet, but rather sun himself on the shore. White Blaze stretched out nearby. Every time Zoe swam near Sage, he would smile and wink at her. Making passes at Zoe had become like a game with Sage. Mia knew he wasn’t serious—he just liked bugging Kento. Zoe also knew he wasn’t serious, but Kento was all set to punch him. Zoe took Kento aside and whispered something in his ear. His eyes lit up and he got out of the water. Zoe swam over to Sage, smiling warmly at him. She rose up out of the water and waited for him to walk down to the edge to meet her. Sage put his arm around her. White Blaze wisely got up and moved further away from Sage. Kento suddenly cannonballed off the deck, soaking both Zoe and Sage. Zoe quickly

put her arms around Sage. The water droplets on his body started to cool and turn to light frost. Sage started jumping around, furiously rubbing his arms to warm up while the others laughed at him.

Kento discovered that doing cannonballs was fun, so he annoyed Ryo, Rowen, Zane, and Sai by jumping into their midst. Kento hit the water with a thud, raising up a great splash. Sai quickly called his armor and used the “Super Wave Smasher” to blast Kento good. Kento ended up on the shore sputtering like a marooned fish. Mia couldn’t help it. She had to laugh in spite of herself.

“So, young Mia. You do remember how to laugh after all. I was beginning to think Gilgamesh and I were a bad influence on you. You know how solemn we can be.”

Mia turned to see Astarte behind her. The other woman sat down. “Where is Gilgamesh, anyway?”

“He is with Anubis and Trace. The four of us were having an interesting discussion about world history. We have certainly lived our share of it.”

That was certainly true. Anubis, Astarte, Gilgamesh, and Trace combined had lived a total of who knows how many thousands of years. She didn’t know if Trace really counted, since he was reincarnated. But he remembered that other life from over a thousand years ago, so that at least made him unique.

“Mia. One so young should not look so old with the weight of worry—especially not with all your friends around you enjoying themselves. What troubles you?”

“It’s hard to explain.” She told her about the night she and Ryo ran into the young man sleeping in the faculty lounge. Ryo had told everyone the story anyway, but had made it seem so inconsequential. “I know something bad is coming. It has to do with that guy we met. We’ll see him again, I’m sure. Ryo thought he was crazy the way he ran off shouting about the ‘Lord of Storms’. But have you noticed? It’s been raining on and off in the city ever since that night. The forecast was for clear skies all week. And it’s been strangely dry here.” Mia looked at Astarte with a slight smile. “You probably just think I have an over-active imagination.” Much to her surprise, Astarte frowned.

“No. I think you are correct. Something is coming. I have felt uneasy myself for several days without understanding why. I have always been sensitive to the feel of magic. This must be a mystical force.”

“But what should we do? It’s so vague a feeling.”

“We wait. Until it arrives, we can do nothing. We cannot fight what has not made its presence known. These small storms, strange as they sound, have done no harm and may yet prove to be unrelated.”

“Should we tell the others?”

Astarte looked at their friends, laughing and playing and talking. It was the first time they'd all been together without having to fight some menace or evil force. “No. They would only worry about what they can do nothing about yet. Let them enjoy these tranquil moments—we get so few of them.” Astarte noticed Ryo waving at them. She took hold of Mia’s arm and hauled her up. “Come. Let’s join our friends.”