Zane’s brain felt like it was on fire. Where..? ZOE! He couldn’t sense her at all! Even that time Astarte had him under her mental control they could still feel each other’s presence—even though they couldn’t communicate. That was how Zoe helped the Ronins find him. (*author’s note—see The Sentinel Warriors) His eyes teared up. Was she...? NO! He couldn’t think like that! The two of them had seen each other through too much. There were times that their bond was all they’d had in the world. Their link had just been severed somehow by the vortex. That was all. If she were…dead, he’d know for sure. He had to believe that she was okay somewhere. He just needed to figure out what was going on. Zane pushed himself up from the hot sand. Hot sand? Desert sand dotted with barren rock formations stretched out all around him as far as the eye could see. The heat was making him dizzy. This was definitely not Norway.
Zane jumped at the rumbling sound behind him. A huge geyser of fire erupted from the earth. Zane barely got a small ice shield up in time to protect himself from the spray of flames. But the shield wasn’t big enough to protect him completely. And it was melting fast. Tiny flames sizzled on his arm. “ARMOR OF TUNDRA!” Nothing happened. He called again. Still nothing. The armor was there—he could feel it. He just couldn’t summon it. At least he could use some of the ice powers he and Zoe had discovered they could wield without the armor. Zane ran across the sand, noticing several other craters that randomly spewed fire. Zigzagging between geysers, he made his way across the desert. He stopped in a spot that was without geyser craters, leaning against a rock to rest. He and Zoe weren’t bothered by cold, but heat was another story. Neither of them had ever been able to tolerate high temperatures. Zane didn’t feel so good. He looked out over the horizon. No sign of life. He saw a butte in the distance. Maybe he could find a cool cave or even water there. Careful to avoid the geysers, Zane made his way towards the huge outcropping.
Zoe instinctively made an ice dagger and jammed it into Huginn’s neck. He fell to the ground with a pathetic squeak. She was on automatic, tears streaming down her face. “ZANE! Zane, where are you?” She couldn’t feel his presence. Why couldn’t she feel him? It was like someone ripped a piece of her soul away. He couldn’t be dead. He couldn’t be! She would know if he were.
“Zoe! Zoe, are you ok?” Kento ran up to her. Mia, Astarte, Gilgamesh, Anubis, Jack, and Trace were right behind him. She didn’t look so good. Her eyes just stared off into space. She didn’t even notice the deep gashes in her arm. “Astarte! She’s bleeding!” Astarte rushed over and laid her hands on Zoe’s wounds. The Jewel of Life glowed brightly around her neck. When the light subsided, the wounds were completely healed. Zoe looked up as if only now noticing that her friends were there.
“Kento? Kento, I can’t feel Zane at all. It’s like he doesn’t even exist. Where is he?”
Mia and Astarte went off to examine the beach. Astarte stepped into the water. Her skin tingled. Magic. “Mia. Do you feel it? I have sensed this type of magic before. It is god magic. From what pantheon I cannot tell. It is something old that I have not felt in so long that I do not remember who it belongs to. It is weak, though. No doubt from a group that no longer has worshippers and has fallen in power. They opened a warp gate here.”
“A warp gate?”
“Yes. Some gods had the ability to open and/or travel to alternate realities and dimensions.”
Mia looked around. The air practically whispered all its secrets to her--her armor at work. Her eyes stopped on the exact spot where the vortex had appeared. “That’s where Zane went. He was sucked into another dimension. That’s why Zoe’s in shock. She can’t sense him through the barrier that separates this world from that one.”
Kento put an arm around Zoe. “See? Zane’s alive. We’ll find him and bring him back.”
Zoe relaxed and smiled at him. “You’re right. We’ll find him. But how? Astarte can teleport, but can she take us all to another universe?” She looked hopefully at Astarte.
Astarte sighed. “No, I cannot. I am limited to movement within this plane and ones in close proximity—as are most gods. That is why the various pantheons always made their homes in realms close to earth. But there are infinite dimensions out there. Some are so far away in terms of access, that even the most powerful gods would not be able to reach them. Remember that Gilgamesh and I were trapped in another dimension for 1,000 years or so. (*author’s note—see The Sentinel Warriors) I did not have the power to teleport us back to Earth. Also, magic that works in one realm does not always work in another. Mia, Anubis, and I have been successful in the past at enhancing and amplifying our powers by combining them, but I do not think we have the kind of power needed for this journey. This gateway feels like it was opened from a dimension far away—much farther than such places as the Dynasty Realm or the Palace of Voids (*author’s note—see SW2: Children of Nyx). Even if we did manage to breach the barrier, we might not be able to get back.”
Zoe was frantic. “Then what are we going to do?”
Mia was thoughtful. “Kayura.”
“What?”
“We need Kayura. The Staff of the Ancients can open inter-dimensional portals, remember? With four of us combining energy, I’m sure we could do it.”
Anubis shook his head in agreement. “She must go with us in order to open a doorway for our return.”
Zoe knew she would risk everything for her brother, but she didn’t have the right to ask the others to do the same. “Send me through alone. I’ll find him.”
“No!” Kento was taken aback. “No way you’re going into danger without me!”
Anubis, Astarte, Gilgamesh, Trace, and Jack were all thinking the same thing. The Sentinels were their family. For most of them, the only family they had. Whatever happened, they were in it together.
Mia couldn’t help but think of Ryo. What if she never saw him again? Ever since the Sentinels had first formed, they’d all looked to her as the unofficial leader. They were her team, her family, and her responsibility. Mia had to go. Oh, Ryo… “Then it’s settled.”
Anubis used his limited power of the Ancients to connect with Kayura and ask her to come. He looked up at Mia. “She will be here momentarily.”
Mia nodded. “Zoe. Tell us everything that’s been going on here in Norway. Everything.”
Zoe started from the top.