Merlin's Apprentices

Merlin’s Apprentices

Book One: The First Apprentice

Prologue
It has been seventeen years since Morgana was revived, and defeated. The Round Table went into a dormant state, as no other threats reached them. Until now. A new quest has risen, but it must be taken up by the next generation. A long-lost message written by Merlin has been recently found, and it greatly troubles the organization.

But the message was found by archeologists, and it is unknown to them who are the writer, thankfully. But the Round Table knows, and now they are in a rush to get that message; as quickly as possible.

Chapter One
“Thanks for the story dad.” said a seven-year-old Austin. His mother walked into the room and tucked him under his comforter.

His mother was quite beautiful. She had blonde hair that was tied back in a ponytail. She wore a leather jacket over a white T-shirt. She also wore jeans. His mom and dad then walked out of the room, flicking the lights off and being sure to leave the door open a crack. Austin drifted into a heavy sleep. Once he had fallen asleep, and his mom made sure he did, she brought her husband downstairs and they both sat on the couch.

“He is beginning to get suspicious. It’s all of those stories that you’re telling him. You shouldn’t tell him what we went through and pretend it was all fiction. We already agreed that we did not want him mixed up with these things.” she said.

“I’m sorry; it’s just that, I’m scared for the kid. I’m just trying to prepare him for anything. If he is suspicious, that is good. It means that his mind is alert.” he replied.

“I agree, but-”

She was interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone. She picked it up. “It’s Patricia. One moment.” she said, pressing the Answer Call button.

“Hi, how are you? Yes, we’re fine. What? It’s on the news? This is bad. I’ll be right over.” she said quickly before hanging up.

“We’ve got trouble. Archaeologists found a message from Merlin. Luckily, they don’t know it yet. But we have to get that message. This is exactly the thing I am trying to protect Austin from.” she said.

“I think you mean what we are trying to protect him from.” he said. She nodded.

“Where is the dig site?” he asked.

“In Egypt.” she replied.

“Can we just teleport there?”

“Yes, that would speed up the trip. But we need to get back in time.” she said.

“Then let’s go. The sooner the better.” he said. They ran up to their bedroom and packed their things. He strapped on a scabbard and unsheathed the glimmering sword. It was leather-bound around the handle, covering the shining gold that it was made of. The blade was perfectly balanced, and extremely sharp, with not the least bit of rust on it, not even after being stashed away in the attic for ten years.

I never thought I would use this ever again. He thought. The sword was none other than the legendary sword in the stone, Excalibur.

His wife finished packing her things and clipped a wand onto her belt. The wand was silver with a blue, glowing crystal tip. Then she laid a bottle of sand labeled EGYPT on the floor and used her wand on it. A bright flash filled the room, and soon after, they were gone. The only thing they forgot was a small bag of books, with the husband’s name on it: Brandon Bennett.

Destiny, also seven, was being tucked into bed at that same time. Her mom had black hair and kind eyes. Her dad’s eyes were always full of humor, and his brown hair always seemed like he had just climbed out of bed. But Destiny never saw her parents. She was born blind.

Her mother got a call as soon as she got downstairs. After talking for a while, she dropped the phone on a couch.

“Luke, we’re going to Egypt.” she said to her husband. Her name was Jordan Corelli.

It was an hour later when Lance Harris got a call to go to Egypt as well. His wife, Morgan, finished saying good night to their seven year old daughter, Renee. Lance told her about the call and they immediately packed up for a trip. Morgan used the only spell she knew, a Teleportation Spell, to transport both of them to Egypt.

All of these people are descendants of Knights of the Round Table. They are representatives of their ancestors in the modern day Round Table that has reformed. Brandon Bennett is a descendant of King Arthur, and his wife, Victoria, is a descendant of Merlin. Jordan Corelli is a descendant of Perceval, and her husband Luke is a descendant of Dagonet. Morgan is a descendant of Guinevere, and Lance, her husband, is a descendant of Lancelot. Seven years after defeating Morgana, when Lance, Morgan, Brandon, and Victoria, were twenty-two, and when Jordan was twenty-five, and Luke twenty-three, they each dispersed. They all got married a few years later.

Brandon and Victoria stayed in their hometown, Avalon Estates, and Jordan and Luke stayed in a town not far from there. Morgan and Lance, however, moved from Pennsylvania to Oklahoma. They were all going to Egypt to recover the message. But things went terribly wrong.

Victoria slipped on sunglasses to protect her eyes from the scorching hot, bright sun. They arrived at the dig site.

“How are we going to get the message without being seen by all of these archaeologists?” Brandon asked. She smiled.

“Magic.” she said. She performed a spell and all of the archaeologists that were huddled around the table froze in blocks of ice, despite the incredibly hot sun. They walked up to the table and pushed the ice blocks aside. Brandon lifted the crisp, old paper off of the desk.

“It’s definitely Merlin.” said Victoria as she read over Brandon’s shoulder.

“How do you know?” he asked.

“It is talking about reuniting three apprentices. Merlin had three apprentices… um, Veronica, Balthazar, and-”

“Brandon?!” a voice shouted. They both turned to see Lance Harris standing there with a sword unsheathed. He sheathed his sword and the two greeted each other. They were all very good friends, and had defeated Mordred and Morgana together as teenagers.

Morgan cautiously walked to the dig site with her bow loaded with an arrow. Once she saw who it was, she let the bowstring relax and they all exchanged greetings again. Luke and Jordan arrived shortly after.

“Now let us take a look at this message.” said Jordan. They all surrounded it, and Victoria read it aloud.

“Three apprentices? I didn’t know Merlin had apprentices.” said Luke.

“He did. They were Veronica, Balthazar, and-”

Again, she was cut off, but by a different voice.

“Horvath.” the voice said. It was a British accent. They all turned to see a large, rather stout man with a mischievous smile, long black hair and wide brown eyes. He was wearing a dark cloak, and underneath it a brown vest over a white long-sleeved shirt. He had a cane with a double-helix symbol on the top.

“Who are you?” Lance asked.

“I already told you. Perhaps you are hard of hearing.” he said. He flicked his cane and all six of them flew against a rock formation. They were all held there by some invisible force, while the man strolled over to them.

“I am Horvath, one of Merlin’s apprentices. In fact, I’d say the best of his apprentices.” the man said.

“No, you were the evil one of his apprentices.” said Victoria.

“Silence! I only looked like the bad guy because Balthazar and Veronica were too afraid to finish the job quickly.” said Horvath.

“Yeah, because they were decent enough to know when enough was enough.” barked Jordan. Horvath sighed.

“Who are you to think you can speak to me that way?” he asked coldly.

“I am a descendant of Perceval.” she said. “This is Dagonet’s, she is Guinevere’s, he is King Arthur’s, she is Merlin’s, and he is Lancelot’s.”

“Oh, really? Prove it.” he challenged. Brandon, although still against the cliff, unsheathed Excalibur.

“Excalibur, hm? I believe you.” he said chuckling.

“But now that I know who you are, I’m afraid you’ll have to come with me.” he said. He waved his cane and they all vanished, including him.

The six of them were in an isolated room with hidden doors and windows. Horvath was no where to be seen at the time.

“I told you we needed to be more careful. What about Austin? What is he going to do?” asked Victoria.

“Don’t worry, Verty will handle it.” said Brandon reassuringly.

“You have a son?” asked Morgan.

“Yes, his name is Austin.”

“I have a daughter, Renee.” said Morgan excitedly.

“We have a daughter too. Her name is Destiny. She is incredibly smart for a seven year old, but she is blind.” said Luke.

“Seven? Ours is seven too!” shouted Lance.

“So is ours.” said Victoria.

“Okay, hold up. This is getting a little creepy.” said Jordan. They all fell silent for a while when Horvath entered through a secret door. No one attacked him, as he had his cane and their weapons had been confiscated.

“I see you are all catching up. Good. Now, tell me where your children are, and I’ll simply bring them to you.” he said.

“Don’t you dare-”

“What are you going to do?” he asked.

“This!” Victoria shouted. She performed a spell and he was automatically put into a coma.

“What happened?” Lance asked.

“He was revived when the archaeologists dug up the message, but I put him back into a coma. Now someone else will have to revive him, and it can only be three certain people.” she said.

“Who!?” the rest of them asked. She grimaced.

All of that happened eight years ago. They are still trapped in the prison, and Horvath’s body was put back into its original resting place. Now, their kids are in different situations.

Austin stood up groggily, and black spots danced in front of his eyes. Suddenly, another large fist connected with his head. He fell back down to the ground, and grabbed his bloody nose. His attackers were laughing at him.

“C’mon tough guy, fight back!” one yelled. Ever since Austin was brought to the orphanage he was in now, he had been abused by the larger kids. He had dyed his brown hair black and blue, and bleached certain areas to create white stripes in it. He always beat on kids his age, and always got in trouble with the housekeeper. He was fifteen, so he saw it as a fair fight.

He hated everyone in the orphanage, except for one person, who was always gentle with him. Destiny Corelli. She was born blind, but she was still nicer to him than everyone else.

Austin half ducked half fell underneath the next fist. He followed the dodge with an uppercut to the nearest attacker’s face. The attacker staggered back, knocking into his gang. If there was one thing he learned in the stupid orphanage, it was how to deliver a good hard punch. Then, the rest of the enemy gang ran at him, pushed him to the ground and began kicking him.

“Hey!” a voice yelled. The attackers stopped and turned to see a small girl with long brown hair and glassy eyes. She couldn’t have hurt any of them, but they knew that they were not allowed to hurt her.

Destiny Corelli was blind and therefore heavily protected by the housekeepers and other adult residents of the orphanage.

“Oh, uh, we weren’t beating him up.” one said.

“Yes you were. I can hear the punches.” she said. One advantage of her being blind, her hearing was amplified. She could hear the punches from down the hall.

Even though she was small, the bigger boys were actually frightened of her because she had an ‘in’ with the older residents. They all scattered, praying that she would not tell anyone. She walked over to Austin and helped him up. She heard his heavy breathing from the fight and knew where he was.

“I could have taken them.” he said.

“They pulverized you, didn’t they?” she asked.

“Well… maybe a little.” he said. He had always been upset because his parents were gone, and it gave him another reason to be tough. She walked him back to the infirmary where the nurse patched him up. Then, one of the housekeepers stormed in.

“You!” she shouted, grabbing Austin’s arm. “How dare you harm Timothy!” she yelled. The boy Austin had punched snickered behind her.

Oh boy, here comes the punishment, Austin thought. She pulled him up the stairs to his room, with Destiny following close behind; trying to explain to the adult that it was a misunderstanding.

“No, no, dear, it isn’t your fault.” the housekeeper said.

“That isn’t what I was trying to say-” Destiny argued.

“Dear, please, go to your room.”

“But-”

“I said go to your room!” the house keeper shouted, smacking Destiny with her free hand. Destiny gasped and began to cry, as she had never felt pain before. She rushed down the stairs. The housekeeper pushed Austin into his room.

“Pack your things this instant!” she shouted before slamming the door. Austin grimaced. He began packing his things, knowing they would toss him out.

Good, Austin thought, I hate everyone here anyway. He stopped his thought when he thought of the one person he didn’t hate. He snuck out of his room and went down the stairs to Destiny’s room. He lightly tapped on the door, but no one answered. He sauntered up the stairs, knowing the only person who cared about him would not be coming with him when he was evicted. He finished packing and brought his things downstairs.

For some reason, his bag on wheels felt heavier. He decided to check its contents later. The housekeeper pushed him out the door very quickly. Kids in the window rooms threw items at him as he left, and he quickly ran to the gate and pushed it open. An empty soda can bounced off of his forehead before he was out of the kids’ range.

Once he was a good distance away from the orphanage, he unzipped his wheelie bag to check the contents. It was a rather large bag. Big enough for Destiny to stowaway in, which is exactly what she had done.

Renee Harris was not in an orphanage. Instead, she went to live with her wealthy great-aunt. Her great-aunt had taken her in as soon as she heard that Renee’s parents had vanished. Renee lived eight years in a luxurious hotel suite.

She still went to school, but acted like any normal kid would. She was living a happy life; though she was still discouraged by the fact her parents were gone. She was waiting for someone who would help her find them. Soon, she got her wish.

“What are you doing in my bag?” asked Austin. Destiny had stepped out of the bag.

“I didn’t like it there either. Not only that, but I thought you could use my help.” she explained. He was about to yell at her, but instead agreed that she could come with him. They walked a bit farther, when Austin said something else.

“I’m going to look for my parents.” he said.

“I’ll help you if you help me.” she said.

“Your parents are missing too? I mean, of course they are since you were in an orphanage, but I mean they’re not dead? Like, they’re lost somewhere?” he asked. She nodded.

“Okay, I’ll help you.” he said.

Later that day, they had set up a camp in an alleyway. He had built a small fire in a trash can.

“Thanks.” said Destiny. He nodded. An hour passed before they were attacked. A figure in brown vestments and a black cloak ran out from deeper in the alleyway. Several others dressed similarly to him soon joined him, and they surrounded the two orphans.

“Stay back!” shouted Austin. The group laughed at him. He balled his fists in anger. No matter where he went, he was always being pushed around.

“Destiny, stay down.” he said. An attacker lunged at him, and he delivered a hard punch that sent him sprawling backwards. “Who’s next?” asked Austin, raising his fists. The group began throwing themselves at him, and each time, he punched them or kicked them incredibly hard. Soon, the group was defeated.

“I guess they’re older now.” said one of them, who were lying on the ground. “Your parents are-”

“What do you know about our parents!?” shouted Austin, grabbing the man’s shirt collar. But the man had already passed out. “Apparently, you shouldn’t trust guys in brown vests and black cloaks.” he said, dropping the man.

“We should get somewhere safer.” said Destiny. He nodded in agreement. They both walked across the street and entered a large hotel.

“Maybe we can break into a room here.” he suggested. They took the elevator up to the second floor, where Renee stayed.

Chapter Two
Renee’s great-aunt had gone out and bought her brown vests and black cloaks to keep her warm, as the winter season had arrived. Renee was going to the mall, and slipped on the vest and cloak to keep warm. She stepped out of the apartment just as the elevator across the hall opened the doors, revealing a small girl with glassy eyes and a boy with outrageous hair and cuts and bruises all over his arms and face.

He looked around the room, and when he saw her, his face darkened.

“There’s another one! Let’s get her!” he shouted. The smaller girl followed him. Renee was a bit confused.

“What is going on?” she asked, taking the hood down to reveal her black hair. The boy leaped on top of her and pulled out some rope. He tied her hands behind her back.

“We need to take her somewhere private for questioning.” he said.

“Is there a trash room or a closet somewhere?” the girl asked. Renee noticed how the girl’s gaze seldom fell on the boy when she talked to him.

“Yeah, over here.” the boy said. She followed him into a trash room. Renee was dragged there while she kicked and flailed. He slammed her into the back wall and held the door open for the other girl.

“In here.” he said. She staggered into the room.

“What the heck is going on here?” Renee asked.

“You have that black cloak, so you’re obviously part of that group of guys that attacked us downstairs.” said Austin.

“Who are you?” Renee questioned.

“I am Austin.” the boy replied.

“And I am Destiny.” said the smaller girl. Her gaze was totally off focus, so it seemed like she was talking to the wall.

“She’s blind.” Austin whispered.

Renee nodded. “So, why did you drag me in here against my will?”

“Because we think that you know where our parents are.” said Austin.

“What? I don’t even know where my parents are.” Renee replied.

“You don’t?” asked Destiny. Destiny seemed to want to form an alliance with Renee.

“Our parents went missing when we were seven.” said Austin.

“Where did you go, then?” asked Renee. Austin sighed. And then he told her his story.

It was late night, and Austin had had a nightmare, and he was seven. He hurried to his mom and dad’s room to ask them for help. But the lights were on and he noticed that his dad’s bag was lying on the floor. It was packed for all kinds of things for a trip.

Austin wondered if his parents were planning a surprise vacation, so he went and packed his things as well. When he opened his closet, something weird came out.

It had greenish-gray skin, a crest extending out of the back of his head, and slits for eyes. It stepped out.

Austin backed away, dropping his things.

“It’s okay, kid. Your mom and dad hired me to protect you. They want you to know that they have gone to Egypt and they are lost. They want me to take you to an orphanage until they can get back.” the thing said. Austin blinked his fear away.

“What are you?” he asked.

“I am Vertiballis, but your parents call me Verty. I am a goblin that is responsible for taking you to the orphanage. And you have already packed your things. Great job, kid.” it said. The goblin had brought him to the orphanage that night, and then the horror began. However, the next day, Destiny showed up.

“So, you were brought to an orphanage… by a goblin?” said Renee, trying not to laugh.

“Stop laughing!” he shouted.

“Tell me the real story.” she said.

“That is what happened! I even remember the name on my dad’s bag… Brandon Bennett.” he said.

“Brandon Bennett?” Renee choked out.

“Yeah, why?”

“Brandon Bennett is my godfather’s name!”

“What? No, it’s probably just a coincidence.” he said.

“My mom and dad’s names were Jordan and Luke.” said Destiny.

“Th- those are my godparents’ names.” said Austin.

“And my godparents are Morgan and Lance.” said Destiny.

“Those are my parents.” said Renee.

“Whoa, slow down, are you suggesting our parents… knew each other?” said Austin.

“It is possible.” explained Destiny.

“Okay, then I guess that means that we can be friends too?” he asked Renee.

“I’m already your friend.” said Destiny.

“I know I was talking to Renee.” he said.

“Sure. I mean, there is no reason we shouldn’t.” she replied.

“Well, Austin and I are looking for our parents. Maybe we could help you too?” Destiny suggested. Renee nodded, but added a yes when she remembered that Destiny was blind.

“Okay then, let’s go.” said Austin, untying Renee. He grabbed the door handle, and turned it, only to find it was locked.

“We’re locked in?!” shouted Renee.

“Don’t worry, there is probably just a heavy garbage bag blocking it. We’ll just wait until somebody lets us out.” said Austin.

“They went in here.” the cloak-wearing figure whispered to his gang.

“What do we do?” one asked. The figure, his face hidden by the cloak, turned and backhanded the man across the face.

“Idiot! We are to terminate them immediately!” he shouted. He was at least seventeen, and was the youngest member of the group, though still elected leader because of his magic expertise. The man he had hit was sprawled on the floor, his hood dropping off of his head, revealing his thin face and blonde hair. The whole group gasped.

“A spy!” one exclaimed. The man removed his cloak and threw it over the leader to shroud his vision while he darted away. The leader threw the cloak off of him and cussed.

“Let him go. We’ll get him later.” he said angrily. Then he locked the door to the trash room and soon the group was a wave of black cloaks rushing down the hall.

“Okay, I know how we can get out.” said Renee.

“How?” asked Destiny.

“We can pick the lock.”

“I don’t know how to do that.” confessed Austin.

“I do.” said Renee, going to work on the lock. Within seconds the door was open.

“Now, didn’t the so-called ‘goblin’ say your parents were in Egypt?” asked Renee.

“Yes.” he said.

“Then lets go to Egypt.” she said. Austin looked at her like she was crazy.

“What? We can’t do that, we’ve got no money.” he said.

“I do.” she said, slipping a large wad of money from their pockets.

“Whoa!” exclaimed Austin.

“My great-aunt is rich, so I’ve got enough money to buy us all tickets to Egypt.” she said.

“Yeah, but they’ve been missing for years. For all we know they could be in… Tinland or Stermany.” Austin stammered.

“What? Those aren’t real countries.” said Renee.

“I never paid attention in the geography class at the orphanage.” he confessed.

“Well we have to start somewhere.” she said. They stepped out of the room and into the hall, only to be intercepted by a tall man wearing brown vestments. He had a thin face and dark blonde hair.

“He’s an enemy, get him!” Austin shouted. Austin charged at him.

“Does he do that with everyone?” asked Renee.

Destiny shook her head. The man simply sidestepped Austin’s attack and tripped him. He grabbed his shoulder and yanked him back up.

“I am not your enemy.” the man said.

“Who the heck are you, then?” asked Austin as he continued to pummel the man’s ribs.

“I am Alan Beck, and I am a friend of your parents.”

Chapter Three
“I was once their enemy, but during a battle against them, I finally turned to their side to help them fight Mordred.” the man said, smoothly.

“My twin brother and I from then on helped them to defeat Morgana.” he said.

“What are you talking about?” asked Destiny.

“Well-”

“No, I remember this. My dad would tell me these stories all the time. You were the twins that worked for the centaur Jeremiah.” Austin explained. Alan nodded.

“Your father told you of his adventures?”

“Yes, but he never told me it was him…”

“Understandable. Now, come with me and I’ll take you to the Round Table…”

“What? You’re still part of that gang that attacked us.” said Destiny.

“No, I was simply on a mission to spy on them. You see, they are the group that captured all of your parents.” he explained.

“Really? What do you know about them?” asked Renee.

“Well, we should probably get somewhere more private, first.” he said, eyeing a camera mounted on the wall.

“So their leader is Horvath, an apprentice of Merlin?” asked Austin. They had gone to a camera-free coffee shop to talk.

“Yes, but you should also know that the Arthurian legends do exist. Brandon is King Arthur’s descendant, Lance is Lancelot’s, and Morgan is Guinevere’s, Victoria’s-” Alan began.

“Is Merlin, and Jordan’s is Perceval, and Luke’s is Dagonet.” said Austin, remembering the stories he had been told.

“Okay, so what does this have to do with us besides the fact our parents were captured by this Horvath jerk?” Renee asked impatiently.

“You three are also descendants of knights. You see, Horvath knew that in order to revive all three of Merlin’s apprentices, you need six knights present. Which is why he captured your parents, to prevent them from reviving his enemies, Balthazar and Veronica.” he explained.

“Okay, still not seeing the point.” said Renee.

“The Horvathians, Horvath’s minions, want to capture you because you are descended from all six knights. Austin, you are a descendant of King Arthur and Merlin, and Destiny, you are a descendant of Perceval and Dagonet. Renee, you are a descendant of Lancelot and Guinevere.” he said.

“You have the ability to revive the three apprentices. Victoria had put Horvath back into a coma, but you still must revive him. Only the power of the three apprentices can save your parents.”

“This is a lot of pressure to put on a fifteen year old.” said Destiny.

“I’m sorry, how about some coffee to relax? Waitress!?”

“No I’m fine. Where do we go now?” asked Destiny.

“The Round Table headquarters.” he said.

The headquarters were located at Brandon’s old house in Avalon Estates. Many young people were swinging swords, firing arrows at targets, or practicing with some other kind of weapon.

“All of these people are descendants of knights?” asked Renee.

“Yes, at some point they discovered that. But the modern day Round Table must be incomplete or King Arthur’s descendant will die, just as the original Arthur would.” Alan explained.

“So, all but one descendant is in the Round Table?” asked Destiny.

“No, there is still some missing. But anyways, we should go and talk to Patricia. She has been in charge of the operation ever since Brandon and the others were captured.”

They made their way inside. They passed a kid with a large mace on his shoulder. A thirty-five year old woman with blonde hair walked by, a sword at her side.

“Ah, this is Ella, descendant of Agravaine. Ella, this is Austin, Brandon’s son, this is Destiny, Luke’s daughter, and this is Renee, Lance’s daughter.” he said.

“Nice to meet you.” she said, shaking hands with the trio.

“They are the three that need to revive the apprentices of Merlin.” he explained. She nodded thoughtfully.

“Good luck.” she said. “Hey, Dominick! Rematch!” she yelled angrily at the boy with the mace, lifting her sword. She chased him outside.

“She likes to pick fights.” informed Alan. They all nodded.

They followed him into the basement, where many computers were set up, each one with confusing and complicated programs running on them. A thirty-five year old man with glasses was rapidly typing on one of the computers.

“Kids, this is Kevin, Morgan’s adopted brother. Renee, meet your uncle.”

The man spun around in his swivel chair to look at them. He hugged Renee and shook hands with the others. After introducing him to them, Alan asked where Patricia was.

“She is over by the master computer.” he answered.

“Thank you.” said Alan as he ushered the kids away. They walked to a massive computer screen that had a touch screen on it. A thirty-nine year-old woman with cinnamon hair and green eyes was pushing buttons on the screen.

“Patricia,” said Alan.

“What? Did you finish your mission?” she asked, barely looking up from the screen.

“Yes, I got some info on the Horvathians, but I also found the missing six’s children.” he said, a bit annoyed.

“Really?!” she asked, snapping her attention away from the screen. Alan introduced them all to each other.

“They are the ones that will revive the apprentices.” he said. She nodded.

“But first, I must ask, where is everybody? We only ran into Ella and Kevin. Where is Robbie, Larissa, Kendall, Sean, Chandelor, and, well, the others?” he asked.

“They are all on missions.” she responded.

“At a time like this? These children are too young to go on a quest without adult supervision. You can’t go, Kevin refuses to go, and Ella is still in training, so who will go with them?” he asked.

“Well, not you. I need you for another mission.” she replied.

“Can’t that wait? This is probably the most important mission at the moment.” he explained. She sighed.

“Fine, we’ll have them train until someone is available.” she said.

“Who will look after them? I can’t, and you’re too busy.” he said.

“Ella will have to. She is one of the oldest members here, and a member of the Table.” she said.

“Fine, but I want reports on their progress.” he said.

“Sure, fine, whatever.” she said, turning back to the screen.

“Kids, there is some food upstairs in the kitchen. If there is a problem, talk to Ella.” he said. They all ran upstairs and wolfed down some food, as they had not eaten since lunch at the orphanage (except for Renee who had lunch at her suite).

“What is my mission?” Alan asked.

“You are going to go to the Horvathian base in California.” she replied. He sighed and nodded.

“Are there any status reports on the current missions?” he asked, wanting to know if the kids could endure their quest soon.

“No, not a single one.” Patricia replied. Alan hummed to himself, thinking about how suspicious that was.

Chapter Four
I hate the desert, thought Larissa. Being a half-mermaid, the heat always got to her quickly. She has black hair, which didn’t help considering black absorbed heat. She had pale skin, two machetes strapped over her shoulders, and four holes in her neck, two on each side. The holes are where her tentacles come from.

Half-mermaids can have tentacles come out of their neck, and when underwater, their legs turn into a tail. She took a long gulp from a canteen of water and trudged on through the sand.

She was in Egypt, searching for the Horvathian base that held the six missing knights. Even though the Round Table didn’t know for sure where the base was, they decided it wouldn’t hurt to try Egypt.

She finally reached the archaeology site. It had been abandoned for a long time, ever since several archaeologists were frozen in blocks of ice. Once the ice melted away, they were convinced the place was cursed. Victoria was the one that really froze them.

Larissa walked over to where the knights had seen Horvath. She searched the area for a long time. She finally decided there was nothing there. She turned to leave, when several Horvathians appeared out of nowhere.

She took out her two machetes and allowed her tentacles to come out of the holes in her neck. The Horvathians took a few steps back, but still kept their weapons ready.

She stood there, looking around at the group of Horvathians that had surrounded her. They all looked at her the same way, sizing her up, trying to find her weakness. She was the first to attack.

She leapt forward and quickly killed the closest one by using the flat of her machetes to snap his neck.

All of the other Horvathians then tackled her. She managed to throw them all off, killing some in the process. She turned to see the tip of a gun pointed at her face. It sprayed a gas in her face, and she immediately fainted, her eyes stinging from the fumes.

Chandelor was falling, off of a cliff.

Great, another trap, he thought. He drove his sword into the cliff face, slowing his fall until he stopped, and hanging by his sword hilt. He was in the Grand Canyon, fighting Horvathians. He swung himself left and right until he finally let go and landed on a small landing. He nearly lost his balance, but quickly caught himself. He looked up at his sword, embedded in the rock and far out of reach. He sighed.

He would have to get it back later, he decided. He looked up at the scowling faces of the Horvathians that had attacked him. They yelled threats at him, and soon began dropping stones on him in an effort to make him fall. He crept along the landing, avoiding the stones as best as he could. He soon found a narrow opening just big enough for him to fit through, so he ducked inside to avoid the shower of rocks.

He could hear his heavy breathing, but it came as an echo. He concluded that an echo meant more space, so he continued inside the crack. It soon widened to a hallway, and soon he found himself on a catwalk above a room filled with trucks and Horvathians.

He peeked over the edge, trying to see what they were doing.

“Hey, who is that?” someone said. Chandelor realized they were referring to him and he quickly ran down the catwalk to the other side, where two metal doors were sliding open. It was an elevator. Two Horvathians stood in front, and one behind them was pushing along a luggage cart with a large wooden spike sticking out the front, and chains linking it to the cart.

A battering ram. They stepped out of the elevator and saw Chandelor.

“That’s him, the guy that was on the cliff!” one shouted. Chandelor reached for his sword, but found his scabbard empty, as he had left his sword stuck in the cliff. He punched the first one and rolled under the other. He climbed onto the cart and unlinked the chains, causing it to fall apart. He slid off and kicked the driver in the face, running toward the elevator.

A throwing knife flew into his calf muscle, and he immediately fell in pain. He pulled the knife out and dropped it. The elevator closed, blocking his escape.

He turned his attention to the exit that he had come from, and hoped it wasn’t blocked. It was. Several Horvathians were streaming in, shouting and running towards him.

Chandelor had only one choice now. Over the catwalk railing and falling thirty feet to the floor, where two exit doors were. He took a blanket out of his pack and leaped over the edge, using the blanket as a parachute.

He landed none too gently, rolled and then dashed towards the exit. A few throwing knives hit him in the back, but he kept running.

He threw himself through the exit door, only to be caught in the head by an arm that stretched out from around the corner.

The man that had hit him took out his jet black gun and sprayed fumes from it into Chandelor’s face, knocking him out. The man lifted Chandelor’s limp body by his shirt collar and threw him towards a group of surprised Horvathians.

“I’m done here.” the man said simply, walking out the door.

Sean brought the bloody mace down on the wild goblin’s head, killing it. He looked behind him to make sure nothing was tailing him.

He brushed some leaves out of his black hair and continued running among the rain forest shrubs that littered the floor. He hopped over a fallen tree, but did not expect to be a deep trench on the other side.

He stumbled into the pit. He struggled to climb out, as the trench seemed to be newly dug and the soil was still loose. He looked above him and saw a log suspended in the air above him by two vines. If the log fell, it would crush him.

He noted that the pit and log that was hanging were set up by something. Possibly the wild goblins or the Horvathians.

He drove his mace into the side of the pit and used it to pull himself out.

When he got out, he was instantly grabbed by a figure. He drove his elbow into his attacker’s abdomen and cut away from the grip. He swung his mace, only to hit air. He looked around for the attacker, but saw nothing. He continued walking, but more cautiously now. He turned, and saw a movement in a tree by the hanging log.

A glint of sunlight reflected off of the blade that was sawing one of the vines.

Sean’s eyes widened. He leaped onto a tree and began scaling upwards, leaping from tree to tree. He soon made it to the man who had attacked him.

The man wore green and brown camouflage, making him hard to see in the identically colored background. He had a gray hat sitting on his head, and linked to his belt was a jet black gun, with a scope and laser pointer attached to the top. The man finished cutting the vine and stepped onto the log, which swung down, carrying him to the ground with it. He somersaulted and landed on both feet, simultaneously turning a dial on his now drawn gun. He fixated the laser on Sean and began rapidly firing bullets. Sean slid down the tree and took cover behind a bush.

The bullets stopped firing, so Sean dared himself to peek up over the bush. The man stood right in front of him, and sprayed a gas in his face. Sean collapsed behind the bush and was dragged out from the shrubs.

Kendall slid down the wall and sat in the darkness, with no way of escape.

He had already hurled orb after orb of magic into the door, but it wouldn’t smash open. It was locked.

He had been on a mission to spy on the Horvathians, just like his identical twin brother, Alan. But he had been caught, and now he was trapped in the cargo deck of a fishing boat, being shipped who knows where. He was spying on them from the bushes and next thing he knew the Horvathians had him.

Kendall sighed and stood up again, and walked to the door. He began unenthusiastically pounding on the door, knowing there was no way of escape.

Robbie kept running. He had seen a man with a jet black gun, and he was clearly searching for him. Robbie was at the exit of an amusement park.

He turned and saw the man close behind. Robbie needed a distraction. And fast.

Suddenly, he saw his distraction. He recognized James Challister walking around wearing a wig.

James is a descendant of the Black Knight. He made it big in the movies and his sparkling black eyes and slick dark hair got him there, and now wherever he went, crowds would be. He was in disguise so he wouldn’t be followed around, but if Robbie could get everyone to notice him…

His timing had to be perfect. Robbie performed a spell just as the man following him passed by James, and James’s wig flew off into the man’s face. The man stopped, struggling to get himself untangled.

“Look everyone, it’s James Challister!” Robbie shouted.

James looked up, total shock in his eyes. He turned as a large crowd of teenagers rushed to get an autograph. He backed up, causing the pressing crowd to gather closer to James, and the man. Robbie smiled and dashed out of the park.

He knew he had to get back to the Round Table headquarters.

Chapter Five
It was after dinner, and Austin and Renee were following Ella to the training areas. There was an arena in the center of the areas that had been set up in the backyard.

“You could try sword craft, archery, and knife throwing…” she said as they walked through the stations. The same kid that had the mace earlier had a bloody nose and two black eyes.

Ella is really tough, Renee thought.

Ella was showing Austin the different ways to swing a sword. Austin started practicing on a dummy.

Ella watched him for a while before walking over to Renee.

“So, what do you want to try?” Ella asked.

“Um, archery?” Renee replied.

Ella nodded. “Good choice. Austin seems fit for swords, and every group needs an archer to back them up. Destiny is blind, so I guess that is you.” she said. Ella showed her how to use the bow and how to fire an arrow.

“You know, your mom was- I mean is a great archer.” Ella stammered, hoping Renee didn’t hear the first part. Renee nodded, and fired an arrow at a target. It hit in the outer ring, which was good for a beginner. Ella nodded in approval.

“Just keep practicing and-”

“Hey, what are you doing at my spot?!” A voice interrupted. Ella realized that she had shown Austin the wrong spot to practice at.

That was Caleb West’s practice spot, and no-one would be caught dead there. She turned and ran to the station. Austin had a new bruise on his cheek, where Caleb had smacked him. Caleb was seventeen.

He was a descendant of Tristan, and he was Patricia’s son.

He was ripped, and no-one wanted to be in a fight with him. He had cinnamon hair like his mom’s, and silver eyes like his dad’s.

“Stop! You know that all fights are handled in single combat in the arena.” said Ella, pushing Caleb away.

“Thank you for suggesting that, Ella.” said Caleb. He lifted Austin by his shirt collar.

“I challenge you to single combat.” he shouted in his face.

“And I except.” said Austin, kicking the older boy away. “Get used to that feeling. It’s called pain. Ever heard of it?” taunted Austin. Caleb restrained himself from strangling Austin, as he knew he could beat him later.

“Tonight, then.” said Caleb. Austin nodded.

Caleb put out his hand, as all knights shake on a combat acceptance to make it official. Austin shook it, and the two made an effort to crush the other’s hand before releasing. Caleb stormed off to go sharpen his sword.

Ella smacked Austin. “Dude, you’re going to get pulverized! That was horrible timing. You have no training experience. Also, to make it official, there has to be a shake, and a witness from the Round Table. I’m from the Round Table!” she shouted.

“I’ll beat the tar out of that guy.” said Austin.

“He has four years experience with swords, knives, bows, maces, axes, and wands. He won’t hold back from using his most horrible schemes just to see you bleed! That is how tough he is. And, if you beat him, you’ll have a bad reputation with the current leader of the Table, making this dangerous no matter what!” she exclaimed. She sighed and took a sip of water after her tirade.

“Okay, the combat takes place an hour after acceptance, so we’d better get you ready.” she said, walking to the tool shed. She handed Austin a three-foot long double-edged sword and a suit of armor. After getting ready with that, he was escorted to the arena. Several people had gathered to see the fight, including the computer-addicted Kevin. Although he still rapidly typed on a laptop.

Caleb was in his suit of armor and held a sword as long as Austin’s and a wand were clipped to his belt. Austin climbed over the chain barrier that surrounded the arena, and a referee walked out to the center.

“Remember, no killing. There may be blood, but the fight, no matter what happens, except death, will go on for thirty minutes until one or the other yields. Fighters ready? Commence!” the referee shouted, backing out of the arena.

Caleb instantly rushed forward and hit Austin in the head with the butt of his sword. Austin ducked the next swing, although dizzy, and swept his legs under Caleb’s. Caleb dropped to the ground and Austin kicked the sword away.

In the audience, Destiny sat next to Kevin, listening to the fight. She wasn’t sure who was fighting.

Caleb had his sword again and was now repeatedly kicking Austin while Austin lay on the ground, disoriented.

Destiny heard the familiar grunts of pain as Austin was kicked. She instantly knew her friend was in trouble.

“Stop!” she yelled rising from her seat.

“Sit down.” said Kevin, not looking up from his laptop.

“No, I need to help Austin.” she said.

“What? No! It’s single combat, you can’t interfere!” he shouted, rising to stop her. But she was already going down the stairs, her arms outstretched to feel around. She staggered into the arena and several people shouted at her. Austin was now parrying attacks with his sword, but each time Caleb’s sword brought it down hard with his stronger attacks.

“Stop!” Destiny shouted, leaping onto Caleb’s back.

“Destiny, get out of there!” shouted Ella, dashing into the arena to pull Destiny out. Destiny fell off of Caleb’s back just before he whirled around to hit her. Instead, the blow caught Ella in the jaw.

Ella unsheathed her sword. She shouted loudly and jumped on top of Caleb, repeatedly hitting him with the flat of her blade. The referee ran out and tried to pry Ella off, but he was stopped when a bunch of Caleb’s buddies ran to attack Austin. Destiny was suddenly on one of them, yanking at his hair. The other three had begun fighting Austin. Austin was beating two of them mercilessly with his fists, and the other was trying to kick Austin in the abdomen.

Kevin was suddenly there, trying to pull Destiny out. The referee was blowing his whistle frantically, and the whole audience was scattering as the fight spread out of the arena. Soon, everyone was fighting, whether it was your friend or rival, you popped him good in the mouth and hoped they’d forgive you later.

Soon, a booming sound went across the arena and everyone stopped.

“Enough!” shouted Patricia.

She stomped into the arena. She pointed at Caleb and his friends. “You! To the basement.” Then she pointed at Austin and Destiny. “You, to your rooms.” She pointed at Ella. “And you, in the basement. Everyone else, either go to bed or go to the nursery to get patched up.” she said. The whole crowd dissipated, going wherever she told them to. She sighed and walked inside to the basement.

“What were you thinking?” asked Patricia. Caleb shifted from foot to foot.

“He was in my practice spot…” he mumbled.

“He was new! And there are no assigned spots. You practice wherever available. From now on, no more private spot.” she yelled. Some of Caleb’s buddies snickered at that last part.

“Shut up, all of you. The rest of you can spend tomorrow cleaning all of the training stations and bedrooms.” she said. “You are dismissed.” she said. They all marched upstairs. She sighed.

“Ella, I expect more from you.” she said.

“I’m sorry. But Caleb would have destroyed Austin, and he would have hurt Destiny. Besides, you know I can’t resist a good fight.” she said.

“Yes, but this fight was between two Round Table Knights, therefore making it illegal for there to be interventions of any kind. You knew that. You also knew that as a Round Table representative, you could have called off the fight.”

“The referee did not make it clear in the rules at the beginning that-”

“Stop making excuses! Ella, I think it is best if you take a break. You’re too dangerous to be around kids. I don’t want to do this but… I require that you turn your weapon over to me.” she said. Ella gulped nervously and unsheathed her sword. She handed it to Patricia.

“Thank you. Now go to bed. You can have this back when you prove yourself to be worthy of handling such a weapon.” Patricia said. “You are dismissed.”

Every slow, sad step Ella made up the stairs made Patricia wince, emotionally.

“She wants us to clean everything, so we’ll clean everything. Starting with Austin’s clock.” said Caleb to his four friends, putting a fist into the other hand. His friends nodded in agreement.

“That kid can deliver a really hard punch.” said his friend Alvy, rubbing a bruise on his temple.

“Yeah, we’ve got to teach him a lesson.” agreed Thomas, placing an ice pack on his beat up knee.

“Alright then, here’s the plan.” said Caleb, huddling together with his friends.

Austin wasn’t sure why he and Destiny weren’t in trouble with Patricia, but he didn’t care.

He was sleeping heavily in his bed. Destiny was in the room next door. He was sleeping so heavily that he didn’t hear Caleb and his friends walk in. Thomas lifted a bowl of water and poured it on Austin, waking him up.

Alvy threw a sack over Austin’s head and tied the open end around his arms. The four of them lifted the wriggling Austin up, while Caleb took the lead to seek out danger. Caleb was very good at sensing danger and could counteract it easily.

They hauled Austin down the stairs easily, but the back door was in the kitchen. A side door in the kitchen led to the basement, and who knew if Kevin was down there. They tiptoed past the door, but it was hard when carrying a heavy load. Alvy was the shortest of the group, and the skinniest. He had a freckle covered face and brown hair, and when he smiled it would remind you of a badger.

Thomas was one of the strongest in the group. He had blonde hair that was so light it was almost white, and he had blue eyes. He had a stocky build with large muscles that could dent a tank at full speed.

Caleb’s other friends were twins, Parker and Carter. They both had red hair and brown eyes that were so big they looked like owls.

They successfully got past the door and sneaked into the backyard. They went all the way down the path into the woods and to a small creek. The creek came from a river that flowed from the south.

A small dock was built there so that descendants could practice their swimming, rowing, and sailing objectives. Carter cut the rope around the sack and Thomas ripped it off. Austin looked around, not knowing where he was. Then he recognized the five boys.

“You guys?!” he shouted, raising his fists.

Parker snuck up from behind and doused Austin in ice cold water.

The night air was cool at this time of year, at least thirty degrees.

The air instantly began freezing Austin. He shivered and then whirled around, backhanding Parker.

“Stop him!” shouted Caleb. Alvy and Thomas grabbed Austin in a vice grip.

Caleb stood in front of Austin, sighed, and then threw a punch into Austin’s face.

Several more punches were thrown until Caleb decided to toss Austin into the lake. Thomas raised Austin up. Austin kicked Thomas in the face and he fell to the ground. Austin turned to dash away, but Carter tripped him. Thomas grabbed him again.

Austin sighed as he realized escape was impossible.

Caleb drew a knife out of its sheath. Austin stopped and went cross-eyed looking at the blade.

“Toss him in.” said Caleb. Thomas was about to throw Austin in when someone fired an arrow that pinned Thomas’s sleeve to a tree. Another arrow did the same with his other sleeve. Austin was now free from the grip and was kicking the helpless Thomas. Caleb rushed to help him, when someone lifted him by his collar and pinned him against another tree.

Another figure wildly smacked at the twins.

Alvy began to run when someone else ran past him and scooped him up, and then ran off with him into the trees. Then, the one that had pinned Caleb down tossed the four boys into the creek.

The boys smacked at the water’s surface as they shivered from the freezing temperature.

Austin laughed at them.

“What is going on?” a voice called. It was midnight, and very dark, but Patricia produced a blinding light from her flashlight as she strode towards them.

“I heard Caleb and his friends walking past my room, so I woke up Renee and we both got Ella to help.” said Destiny.

“So you four were messing around again, trying to toss Austin into the lake?” she asked, shining the light on the boys.

“What do you m-m-m-mean? There are f-f-f-five of us.” said Caleb, shaking in the water.

“One got away? Hmm… Alvy…” she said.

“Yeah. Renee p-pinned Thomas to the tree with arrows, Ella pinned C-C-Caleb, Destiny smacked m-m-m-me and Parker, and… someone else attacked Alvy w-when he tried to run. He j-j-just scooped him up and ran off.” said Carter, climbing onto the dock. Patricia lightly pushed him back in with her foot.

“Ella, search for Alvy. Austin, Destiny, Renee, I think that my son and his friends have been bullying you a little too much… well, for beginners. What do you say we teach them a lesson?” asked Patricia. Austin smiled. He thought that Patricia was very strict, but he saw now that she enjoyed her time.

Destiny and Renee nodded.

“Okay, then…” she said, rummaging through a bag.

“All three of you say this, and when you’re finished say their names.” she said, handing them a piece of paper.

Austin and the girls read the paper and then said, “Caleb, Thomas, Parker, Carter.”

Instantly, a funky smell came from the boys in the lake.

“Skunk Spell. It should wear off in one day, and until then, they can take a bath… I think this lake should suffice. Then, the day after that they can start cleaning…” said Patricia. Ella rushed back.

“No-one has seen Alvy since the fight last night.” she reported.

Patricia thought about this for a while.

“Did you ask Kevin?”

“Nah, he barely ever leaves the basement, so I didn’t think he would do anything.”

“Well, the boys had to go past the basement, so maybe Kevin heard something and got Alvy. We’ll ask him in the morning.” said Patricia.

“No, I haven’t left the basement since the fight last night. Oh boy, I really smacked Lucas good last night…” said Kevin. Patricia eyed him, and her expression told him not to bring up last night’s rumble.

He nodded and adjusted his glasses.

“But, uh, this morning, while you were out in the forest, Robbie came back. He looked beat-up and tired so I told him to get some rest.” he said.

“Robbie’s back?!” she asked.

“Uh, yeah, I just told-” he started, but she was already rushing upstairs.

She bumped into him in the upstairs hall.

“Hi, you’re back.” she said, hugging him.

“How was it?” she asked. He drew in a long breath.

“The others have been captured.” he said.

She frowned. “What? How?” she questioned.

“There was a man with a black gun at the amusement park I was at, and he dropped a few things near the Ferris wheel, so I picked them up and looked at them and well… we should look at them in the basement.” he said. They went down to the basement.

“They are profiles on all of us.” he said. He pressed a small button on the side of one, and a picture of Larissa appeared on screen. It said location: Egypt next to it and had lots of information about her. He showed others about Sean, Chandelor, Patricia, Ella, Kendall, Robbie, Caleb, Parker, Carter, Alvy, Austin, and Renee.

“Why does this guy have these?” she asked.

“He is obviously out to capture these people. I think he turned Chandelor over to the Horvathians, but the others are unknown. And based on my descriptions about last night, he took Alvy.” he said.

Chapter Six
Alvy had no idea where he was. He had a horrible headache from the beating he received from the figure last night. He blacked at soon after, and woke up in a dark cell, the only light coming from the narrow slits of the window.

A small toilet was in the corner behind a curtain hung on a rack. At least his captors gave him privacy.

A bowl of water sat on the cot. The cot was anchored to the wall by two chains.

Several food platters were sent in now and then, but the food was cold by the time it got to him.

He woke up in an orange jumpsuit, and wondered if he was caught by police for doing something in his unconsciousness, but he was proved wrong when he found a note on one of his food platters.

The letter explained that he was being held captive by a group of people called the Balthazians, and that they would force him to build a large building that would revive Balthazar.

Alvy knew who Balthazar was, and figured that the Balthazians were his minions or descendants.

The letter told him to save his energy and keep his strength, as he would begin in a week. He sighed and slumped against the wall.

He had wondered for a while if this was some sort of prank by his friends, possibly Ella, or maybe those three twerps Austin, Destiny, and Renee.

He imagined Carter and Parker jumping out from around the corner and shout, “Ha! We really fooled you!” but nothing like that happened.

He soon realized that this was no prank. He really was a captive of the Balthazians and he would help them revive Balthazar.

He didn’t want to revive Balthazar. He knew that one of Balthazar’s descendants had killed his dad, so he had a grudge against him.

But he also knew that if he revived Balthazar, he could destroy him and avenge his dad.

He liked that plan… he liked it a lot. He quickly began training. He would do push-ups and pull-ups on the rack behind the curtain.

He smiled to himself as he dropped down and gave himself twenty.

This is for you dad… this is for you…

Larissa was in a cell much like Alvy’s, though she didn’t know where he was, or even that he had been captured.

She was clamped to a table, unable to move. A metal clamp had been fixed around her neck to prevent her tentacles from assisting her. All of her limbs were stuck to the table.

She hadn’t eaten in a long time. Then again, she had only woken up a few minutes ago. When she woke up, a screen above her showed a message similar to the one Alvy had received.

She looked down to see that she was wearing an orange jumpsuit.

She wondered if any of the others had been captured. She sighed.

Then, another message appeared on the screen:

Where are the Round Table Headquarters?

She instantly knew they were interrogating her.

“I’m not saying anything.” she said to no-one. The screen began flashing red, though still showing the original question on it.

Suddenly, the table she was laid on flipped over, though still suspended in midair by chains that were wrapped around the legs of the table.

She saw now that there were spikes under the table and that if she didn’t answer soon, they would skewer her. Her eyes widened.

“Okay, I’ll tell you!” she shouted frantically. The table flipped back over and rested back on the ground.

She sighed. “Avalon Estates, Pennsylvania, on Dim Lantern Drive. Third house on the left.” she said slowly, knowing she had just betrayed all of her friends. The screen flashed a new message that said information approved and the screen turned off.

Kendall was thrown right off the deck of the ship and onto a dock. Several Horvathians were gathered there. Two went to grab Kendall, but he smacked them away. One behind him punched him in the face and stomach several times, until Kendall backed up against a wall.

Kendall then returned a series of punches to the other man before pushing him into the water. Soon, fists were flying everywhere, mostly at Kendall.

The Horvathians finally restrained Kendall. They were pushing him towards a helicopter that had been landed in a nearby parking lot. He struggled to get loose.

“And where do you think you be taking this mate?” a voice with an Australian accent inquired. Several Horvathians looked around in confusion, as they did not see the speaker. Suddenly, a man wearing a Hawaiian T-shirt and short khakis stepped out from behind a car. A jet black gun was stuck on his belt.

Kendall wondered if the man intended to use the gun on him or the Horvathians.

“He’s a Balthazian! Get him lads!” a Horvathian shouted. All of the Horvathians ran towards the man, except for the two that were restraining Kendall.

The man sprayed a gas from his gun and all of the Horvathians dropped to the ground. The two that had Kendall released his arms and fled.

The man untied Kendall. The man raised a fist.

“Thank you, sir.” said Kendall as he turned.

Then the man’s fist flew into his face.

Sean was in a jail cell, a captive of the Balthazians. He had arrived three days after Alvy, so it would be four days until construction started.

He tried to contact the headquarters with an earpiece he had, but the signal was blocked. All he could do was wait…

Another arrow stuck into the outer ring.

“Augh, I just can’t get it.” said Renee. “Don’t worry. I think you should try raising the bow higher to get better distance, and it will focus the arrow on the center of the target.” said Ella.

Renee raised the bow higher and let the arrow fly. It hit the edge of the bulls-eye.

“See, you’re improving.” Ella encouraged.

The clang of swords came from the next station over. Ella looked and saw Austin and Carter parrying attacks.

“Hey, stop that now! You know that-”

“Ella, calm down. Carter was just showing me a few pointers.” said Austin.

“Really? After what happened at the creek?” she asked.

“Yeah. He’s really good.” said Austin.

“Okay, now if you fake a side cut and then throw the sword over your head and attack the other side, the enemy will focus their defenses on the side you faked an attack on, so you can get an attack in here, see?” said Carter, demonstrating the action.

“Yeah, all right.” Austin replied. Ella turned her attention back to Renee, when she saw Destiny.

“Hey, Destiny.” she said.

“Hi.” Destiny replied, looking at the ground.

“Is something wrong?”

“I just want to be able to train too. Is there anything I can try?” she asked.

“Ah, well… archery and sword craft might not be too good for you… you could try magic, or stealth attacks…”

“What are stealth attacks?” Destiny asked.

“It means you can hide, and when your opponent least expects it, you attack them from behind.” explained Ella.

“Oh. I’m not sure…”

“What do you mean? With your advanced hearing abilities, you should be great at that.”

“Well, I’ll try.” she replied.

While Ella explained the basic instructions, Carter and Austin finished training.

“If you’d like, I can help you more and more, but I’m beat. Let’s call it a day.” said Carter.

Although Austin was enthusiastic about continuing training, his body wouldn’t allow it, as he was extremely tired. Carter began to walk away, when someone called after him.

“So, Carter, having fun?” asked Caleb.

“Go away, dude. I was just helping him with training.” he said.

“You really shouldn’t. Becoming friends with the enemy can be disastrous.” Caleb replied.

“He isn’t the enemy. You just don’t like him because you know he can kick your behind.” replied Carter.

“That isn’t true! I would’ve beaten the tar out of him any time we fought if it weren’t for interventions from his stupid friends.” said Caleb, unsheathing his sword in anger.

“You know it is true! He beat up Thomas, and Thomas is way stronger and tougher than you are and ever will be!” shouted Carter, unsheathing his sword.

“You’ve become friends with him! You’ve forgotten how much hard work and humiliation he put us through!” replied Caleb.

“I’m not friends with him, I’m just helping him.”

“Yeah, right. Well, you can forget about being mine.” said Caleb, raising his sword. He brought it down, only to be blocked by another sword.

Caleb’s eyes widened as he looked at the person who had blocked it.

“Go away.” said Austin firmly. Caleb grimaced.

“No, I don’t have to, Bennett. I’m older than you and my mom is the current Round Table leader. Therefore, I don’t have to do what you say, and I can do whatever I want.” Caleb replied. Suddenly, a knife was at his throat and an arm was wrapped around his shoulder.

“Good job, Destiny. He didn’t even see you coming.” said Ella, watching Destiny as she put the point of the knife to Caleb’s chin. Caleb cut away from the grip. He clenched his fists and stomped away.

“Thanks. Caleb would have beaten me badly.” said Carter.

“Really? You’re so good at sword craft though.” said Austin.

“Not as good as Caleb.” he replied.

Austin was pretty sure that he had just made a new friend.

That night, the whole place went into defense mode, because several dragons were attacking.

“Look out!” another voice yelled. A flaming ball flew from the dragon’s mouth and charred the entire garden. A small battalion had been set up there in the front garden to hold off the dragons until the catapults and archers were ready. It was nighttime.

Austin, Carter, Parker, and Caleb consisted of the group. There were several other people too, armed with spears and swords. Thomas was inside, setting large boulders onto the catapults.

Renee was inside, looking out one of the windows, with her bow ready.

She spotted Robbie and his small battalion in the front garden, fighting a green dragon with six horns on its head that was spewing boiling oil from its mouth.

She was instructed to wait for orders to fire before doing anything.

Down in the garden, the small greenhouse was in flames, and charred plants were littering the ground. Carter cupped his hands and Austin put one foot into them. They had practiced this before. Carter boosted Austin up just as a dragon bounded in their direction. Austin did a back flip in the air and landed on the dragon’s back, and then stabbed it repeatedly until it dropped dead.

Parker and Caleb were dueling a blue dragon that froze men with its breath. The dragon spit several ice shards from its mouth. Caleb deflected the shards off of his sword and then threw several knives at the beast, killing it.

“Archers, fire!” someone shouted. Renee instantly knew that she was to begin firing and had already fired several arrows.

Some simply bounced off of the dragon’s tough armor, but others were lucky shots and caught them in the eye or the neck.

Soon, large boulders began raining down on the battlefield. Soon, almost all of the dragons were killed, but now the garden was ablaze with flames and everyone was ordered to get out while the archers handled the rest of the dragons.

Trees and vines were engulfed in fire. Trees were falling everywhere. Caleb, Parker, Carter, and Austin were running for the front door, when several trees began falling and a dragon landed in their path.

The twins both fought the dragon while Caleb ushered other people inside.

The dragon had both of the twins pinned under two of its clawed hands.

It was about to eat them when several arrows impaled its throat and it crumpled to the ground, dropping the twins. The twins darted for the exit. Caleb was still getting everyone inside.

Austin heard a shout from deep in the garden and realized someone was in there. He dashed into the flames. Several branches were hitting the ground around him. He soon came to a flaming hedge and heard the cry for help coming from the other side.

Austin thought quickly and grabbed a large tree branch that wasn’t burning. He backed up, and then ran straight at the hedge.

He drove the branch into the ground and jumped, vaulting over the hedge.

He hit the ground on the other side hard, but the refugee helped him up.

“Thank you. We need to get back to the house.” he said.

“Yeah, but I don’t think we can vault over it again.” said Austin.

“That’s fine. On the count of three, jump.” the man said.

“Okay.” Austin replied.

“Three.” the man said, and they leaped straight up and landed on a dragon’s back.

The dragon flew over the hedge and then the man and Austin tumbled off, landing on the other side.

Caleb spotted the man and motioned for him to get inside quickly.

They both ran towards the exit, when a tree fell over, nearly blocking the exit.

They needed to make it before the tree hit the ground. The man slid along the ground and made it under the tree.

Austin tried the same thing only to be crushed under the flaming tree. The man went inside and Caleb looked back. Austin was at least ten feet away but stuck under the fallen tree.

“Caleb!” he shouted.

Caleb grimaced and glanced behind him. He sighed and ran back outside, lifting the tree off of Austin. Austin was burned and badly cut, and he had broken a few bones.

He pulled himself out and Caleb dragged him inside.

“You’re lucky I even looked back.” said Caleb, stomping away.

The archers had picked off the rest of the dragons.

Afterward, Ella congratulated Renee on some of the killing shots she had made.

“Nice job shooting the one that had the twins.” she said.

Renee smiled.

Later, after the fire had been extinguished, they searched the battlefield and found a note. It said that the Balthazians held four hostages and that if Austin, Destiny, Renee, Caleb, Parker, Carter, Robbie, and Ella were not turned over to them within two weeks, they would continue to bombard the place with dragons.

They quickly held a Round Table emergency meeting. All members available attended, as well as those who were mentioned in the note.

“We have to do something about these Balthazians. We are already missing our top six leaders because the Horvathians got them, and now we have the Balthazians on our backs. We need a plan.” said Patricia.

Everyone else nodded.

“So, we will be sending in Austin, Renee, and Destiny.” she said.

“What? You’re handing us over just like that?” Austin asked.

“No. We are going to trick the Balthazians. You three are going to go and free the hostages while you are there. Then, you need to escape and get the staff of Balthazar. It is the only way to revive him.” she replied.

“But if he is revived, isn’t that bad? He is our enemy.” said Parker.

“No, you’re wrong. Balthazians think Balthazar wants to destroy us, but they’ve got it wrong. A long time ago, Balthazar was actually helping the Round Table. Once we revive him he will turn to our side and then he can help us free the missing six. So, once you have the staff, you have to go to England to revive him. Simple, right?” she finished.

“Yeah, I can do all that, but we lack training and how are we going to escape?” Destiny asked.

“Don’t worry, we’ll have help come with you and Kevin can communicate to you via the computer.” said Patricia.

“Hm? Oh, yeah right, of course.” he said, looking up from his laptop.

“No, Destiny is right Mom, we should send our A game, so why don’t you send me, Thomas, and Parker instead?” said Caleb.

“Because you can’t revive the apprentices because you are not descended from the correct bloodline.” Patricia replied.

“Blood line…” he mumbled to himself.

“So, in one week, you three will be going to Pittsburgh, since that is where the Balthazians said to leave the people listed.” said Robbie.

Everyone nodded, except for Caleb and Thomas.

Chapter Seven
Alvy’s handcuffs were pinching his wrists. Four chains extended from them. Two went behind him and clinked up to Larissa’s cuffs, and two went in front to link to Sean’s.

Balthazians had escorted them out of their cells to be brought to the construction site.

Alvy had met Sean and Kendall before at headquarters, but he had never met Larissa. He wondered why a metal clamp was fixed around her neck.

The four prisoners were now brought outside. Four large buildings surrounded the barren lot they were now in. The buildings shrouded the vision of any people who were walking by. The buildings had thick walls that were insulated with fiberglass to keep the prisoners from being heard by anyone outside the buildings.

In the lot there were many concrete blocks in stacks and barrels full of clay. They were each handed metal discs to spread the clay with.

Their shackles were undone and the only thing to restrain them was loose ropes tied in front of them.

“Begin building.” one of the Balthazian guards said.

“Who is going to make us?” challenged Larissa.

The man sighed, rolled his eyes and then threw a small metal device that clasped around her wrist. It delivered a painful shock that seared some of her skin.

The guard threw similar objects onto all of the prisoners, but they were not shocked.

“These will shock you if you don’t.” the man said firmly.

Larissa nodded.

She saw that Alvy had already begun stacking bricks and spreading clay.

What is that kid doing? She wondered.

Sean and Kendall also began doing it, but they were not as enthusiastic as Alvy was. She sighed and began lifting blocks.

“I, for one, am not going to let those bunch of newbies best us again.” said Caleb, packing his things.

“So, I am going after the staff of Balthazar.”

“Not alone you’re not.” said Thomas, grabbing his bag.

“You’re going too? Am I the only one with sense here?” Parker asked.

“You know, you could come too.” said Caleb.

“Really!? I mean, uh, sure, since you’re begging.” said Parker casually.

“Let me pack my things.” he said.

Once he was done, they all snuck downstairs. Austin, Destiny, and Renee were already gone in the Round Table helicopter along with Patricia and Robbie, so he figured they’d have no trouble sneaking out.

He was wrong. In the front yard, Ella was swinging a sword and dueling a dummy. She soon spotted them.

“Hey! Where are you going?” she asked, running to them.

“We are going to go after the staff of Balthazar.” said Caleb.

“Oh, no you’re not! Kev-”

“Are you sure you want to do that? We wouldn’t want this whole thing about you practicing sword craft behind my mom’s back to slip out, do you?” Caleb replied.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Oh yes I would. Thomas has got it all on film.” he said.

Thomas showed her the video of her on his phone.

She sighed.

“Fine. Go.” she said. He laughed and climbed into the car, starting it up.

“Yeah, right. Like I’m going to let him blackmail me.” she mumbled to herself, racing after the car. She opened the door and yanked him out. She ushered the three back inside.

“What do you think you are doing?” she asked.

“Only one push of a button and this video goes to my mom.” he said, holding the phone.

She reached for the phone only to be grabbed by Thomas. He twisted her around and held her arm behind her back. Parker opened a closet door.

“Push her in here!” he shouted. Thomas pushed her in and they locked the door behind her.

“Alright let’s go.” said Caleb.

They rushed back out and jumped in the car, driving away, out of sight.

“Okay, now remember, once you find them, you have to get out of there. You have grappling hooks, lock picks in your shoes, and your weapons have been turned into jewelry. When you need them, throw the jewelry on the ground and it will turn into your weapons.” Robbie reminded them.

Renee nodded. The helicopter landed and the three of them stepped out.

“Just go inside the steel mill there and wait. Good luck.” said Patricia.

They walked into the steel mill and waited, but soon they heard the thwock-thwock-thwock of the helicopter fade away as Patricia and Robbie returned to base.

Austin sighed.

“Do you think-”

As soon as the thought came into his head, a sack went over his head and he was beaten unconscious.

Destiny took a wild swing that caught one of the men that attacked in the face, but others quickly restrained her.

Renee had defeated four of them by the time she was captured.

They tossed the three in a truck and drove off.

Destiny woke up in an orange jumpsuit, and she was in a small cell. She didn’t know it until she felt the iron bars blocking her way.

After a small meal, the Balthazians escorted her out of the cell and latched handcuffs onto her. The handcuff connected to Renee’s who was behind her.

They were shoved out into the lot and she heard two shouting voices, someone groaning, and someone else shouting, “C’mon guys, we’ve got no time to lose!”

She knew it was Alvy who was encouraging the others.

She soon heard two new voices. They were guards. A few seconds later she heard a zapping noise and the first two voices stopped shouting.

Suddenly, the cuffs were taken off and replaced by loose rope.

A metal device was strapped onto her arm and she was pushed towards the concrete blocks that were stacked.

By this time, Alvy, Larissa, Sean, and Kendall had built a single ten feet tall concrete wall.

A small hole was in it though, where a door was to be built with some wood that would be delivered later.

The guards that had escorted them there left and the two that stood guard began to doze off. Kendall put down his disc, which was covered in clay.

“Did you get it under?” he asked Alvy.

“Yeah, I stuffed the device under Larissa’s sleeve. The connection will be blocked so they can’t shock her.” said Alvy. The fight between Sean and Kendall was a diversion so Alvy could tamper with the device on Larissa’s arm.

This was part of their plan to escape. The guards can’t shock Larissa, so she defeats them, and then she gets their keys, and uses them to get her neck brace off.

She then uses her tentacles to carry everyone else up and over the buildings surrounding them so they can escape.

He quickly told the newcomers of the plan.

“Good idea. Um, who are you?” asked Renee.

“Oh, I’m Kendall, Alan’s twin.” he replied.

“Oh okay, I thought you were either you or your brother.” she replied.

He smiled, although he was annoyed that she had gotten confused.

“That’s Larissa. She is a half-mermaid.” he explained.

“And who is he?” asked Renee.

“He is Sean. Descendant of insert name here.” Kendall replied.

“Oh. I’m Renee, my mom and dad is Lance and Morgan. That’s Destiny, her parents are Jordan and Luke, and that is Austin, his parents are Brandon and Victoria.” she explained.

He nodded. “Then you are going to revive the apprentices. We have to act now.” he said.

He looked at Larissa and scratched his chin, his signal for her to attack.

She smiled. Finally, something fun her look said.

She leaped at the sleeping guards and they woke up in surprise.

She killed the first one with a clay disc and then, when the second one tried to shock her, kicked the other one on the throat.

She grabbed the keys and undid the lock on her clamp.

Her tentacles slithered out, which freaked out Alvy, Austin, and Renee. She wrapped one tentacle around Alvy, another on Destiny, another, Renee, and another, Sean.

Then, she took out a grappling hook, threw it up to the top of one building, and started climbing. She reached the top, pouring sweat, muscles aching, but she knew that Austin and Kendall were still down there.

She hopped her way along the wall and let herself down gradually. When she made it to the bottom, she saw Austin and Kendall fighting guards.

One of the guards she had beaten had set off an alarm.

She grabbed them and started climbing again, but faster, because the guards had bows, and the extra tentacles she had made her get to the top faster. She struggled to pull herself up.

She had already set Austin and Kendall on top, and now she was dangling from the edge. Suddenly, a hand reached over and yanked her up.

That is when she saw the others tied up and gagged, with several guards standing around.

“You really thought you could get out that easily? We set microphones in those devices that keep you busy. We heard your plan. Now you’re going back to building.” one said.

She grimaced and swept her tentacles across the floor, tripping all of the guards. She wrapped all of her friends in the tentacles and raced to the other side of the building.

Arrows whizzed by them, and a few hit Larissa.

She leaped off the building and fell, the others coming with her, hurtling towards the ground.

Chapter Eight
“What do you mean they got away?!” shouted Patricia. Ella shifted from foot to foot in her state of nervousness. Ella had been found in the closet that morning.

“I’m sorry, I tried to stop them!” she replied.

“No excuses. We need to find them. Did they say where they were going?”

“They said they were going to find the staff of Balthazar.”

“What? Those idiots, they’ll be killed! I mean, they might get past the traps and guardians but they’ll never get to the staff. Anyone that is not a descendant of the six that tries to get the staff will die. The staff has a spell over it. If they get near that staff they will drop dead immediately. I already explained this to him, so why would he do this!?” she shouted. Ella knew at that moment that Patricia was not focused on her, so she used this as an opportunity to find a loophole.

“Don’t worry, we can send everyone out to find them.” Ella said encouragingly.

“Yeah, that way, the Balthazians can bombard our defenseless camp with dragons. Or maybe the Horvathians can raid it. Don’t you see? We can’t drop everything to look for them.” Patricia explained.

“You and Ella can go after them.” said Robbie, coming down the stairs to the basement. “I’ll look after things here.”

“Are you sure?” Patricia asked.

“Yes. You need to find them. He is your son, and he should be your top priority right now.”

Patricia knew he was right; she just couldn’t bear the fact that she hadn’t focused on her son enough. She was just so busy taking care of the Round Table and all of the descendants for the past eight years that she hadn’t had time. She knew he had been virtually ignored for the past eight years. She felt awful.

“Alright, we’ll go. Ella, pack your things.” Patricia ordered.

Ella smiled and started up the stairs.

“And I will be searching your pack, so don’t even think about packing any weapons.” Patricia called.

“Aw, man!” Ella shouted, stomping up the stairs.

Patricia sighed. “Thanks for taking over.”

“Sure thing.” Robbie replied. Patricia smiled and raced up the stairs to pack.

Luckily, Larissa landed on an awning and though ripping through, landing more gently on the hard sidewalk. Rocks and arrows were coming from the angry Balthazians at the top of the building. Larissa released everyone from her grasp and she pulled them into an alley to protect them from the projectiles.

She quickly untied them.

“Great escape, but what are we going to do now? The Balthazians will be at the base of the building soon and we’ll be trapped in this alleyway!” Sean shouted.

“Shush! We don’t want them to hear us. Now, does anyone have any weapons or shields?” Larissa asked.

Several heads shook, except for the three newcomers.

“What do you have?” she asked. Austin produced two knives from his sleeves and Destiny pulled an earring from her shoe and threw it on the ground, turning it into a large, round, metal shield and short sword. Renee also pulled out an earring but hers turned into a bow and a quiver full of several arrows.

“Great, we can use the shield to protect us while we escape, the arrows to kill the people on top, and the sword and knives to kill the ground men.” said Kendall, smiling.

Destiny gripped the sword while Sean took the shield. Renee claimed the bow and Austin gave a knife to Larissa. Alvy pulled a few arrows from Renee’s quiver. “I can skewer a few with these.” he said.

Now that they were comfortable with weapons in their hands, they dashed out of the alleyway. Several Balthazians were off to their left, armed with clubs and swords. Larissa shouted a war cry and all of the Balthazians were immediately aware of the oncoming attackers. Yet they were surprised that the attackers had come too. They fumbled with the swords as they tried to unsheathe them, and several of them were killed quickly.

Alvy had already stabbed arrows into several of them, but the arrows snapped away and he was once again weaponless. A Balthazian with a club ran at him, the club raised. Alvy was about to be brained with it when Kendall blasted the attacker with a red orb. Rocks, arrows, spears, and even hatchets were still being thrown from above. The ranged attackers were too high up to hit with an arrow, so they would have to simply be avoided. Sometimes the missiles dropped would hit a Balthazian rather than the intended target.

Several of them bounced or sometimes stuck into the large circular shield Sean was carrying above his head. Austin, Destiny, and Kendall were under it as well, though still landing blows on enemies.

Soon, the Balthazian numbers thinned and the ranged attackers ran out of projectiles.

“Great job, guys. Now we can get out of here.” said Kendall. Sean lowered the shield and thy all began running away from the building. The Balthazians yelled at them repeatedly, but the escaped prisoners could not here the words. They were too far now, and they were free.

“I can’t believe it.” said Caleb. He stared at the giant monster that was chomping on his car.

“That thing came out of nowhere! And now… my car is trashed.” he said.

“It’s okay. We’ll just have to walk from here.” said Thomas, placing an encouraging hand on Caleb’s shoulder. Caleb sighed.

“Yeah, you’re right… we have to keep moving. Let’s go.”

Thomas hefted Parker off the ground and over his shoulder. Parker had broken both legs while fighting ogres, and he was almost unconscious from poison from a goblin bite.

“Hang in there buddy.” said Thomas as they continued. Parker coughed a few times in reply. The giant monster was ignoring them, only interested in eating Caleb’s car, so they walked away without delay.

They exited the dark woods and entered a parking lot. The lights were on, as it was late night. “We’ll make camp here for the night.” Caleb explained.

“Are you sure? I mean, we’ve been attacked several times. I’m starting to think that these are the guardians that Patricia was talking about. You know the ones that were supposed to guard the staff?” replied Thomas.

“Yes, yes, I know. Just… just lay out the blankets. We can’t be that close to the staff yet. These are obviously just some monsters that are getting territorial.” Caleb replied. Thomas shrugged as he laid the blankets out on the asphalt. He had already laid Parker on one of the blankets. He saw that Parker was shivering and looked pale.

Thomas took his blanket and laid it on Parker. He looked over at Caleb who was already stretched out on his blanket. Thomas cleared his throat and gestured to Parker.

Caleb realized that he was being rude and threw his blanket on Parker as well.

“Do you think he’ll make it?” asked Caleb. Thomas shrugged.

“We already helped as much as we could with the first-aid kit. The poison has been reduced, but the symptoms have already taken effect. All we can do now is keep him warm and safe until we can get him back to headquarters.” he explained.

Caleb shook his head. “We can’t. We can’t go back.”

“Dude, think about it. You’re only doing this to show up a couple of twerps. But in the process, you’ve already lost your car, Alvy, Carter, and soon you may lose Parker. We need to go back.” Thomas said.

“No! I’ve lost too much to turn back now!” Caleb shouted. “If you’d like, you can carry Parker back to HQ. I’m moving on.”

Thomas clenched his fists. “You’re making a mistake. If you go out alone, you’re going to end up like Parker, maybe even worse.”

“Then don’t let me go alone. If you care so much about me, stay.” Caleb challenged.

“I’m trying to decide what is best for all of us. Parker needs to go back.” Thomas argued.

“Well too bad, I’m-”

Caleb didn’t get to finish, because Thomas had already pushed him down. “Listen to yourself! You’re being really selfish!”

Caleb was about to respond, when he found that Thomas was right. He sighed.

“You’re right. I’m not thinking straight. Okay, in the morning, we’ll go back.” he said.

Thomas smiled.

“Good. Now, let’s get some rest.” he said, sitting down against a light post. Caleb closed his eyes, and about five minutes later, he heard Thomas snoring.

Caleb opened one eye to make sure Thomas was asleep before cautiously rising. He grabbed his bag and began to walk away, when he heard someone moaning. He looked back to see if he had woken up Thomas. His large friend was still sleeping, but Parker was now sitting up. Caleb stealthily walked back to check on Parker.

Parker was still pale and he was shaking. He had thrown off the blankets and was now moaning.

“Parker, are you okay?” he asked. Parker’s head lolled to the left to reveal his pale face, bulging green eyes and unruly hair. Caleb immediately sensed something wrong.

“Thomas!” he shouted, shaking his friend. Thomas shot upright and looked at Parker.

“Whoa! What the heck happened?” he shouted.

“I don’t know, he just threw his blankets off and started moaning and then he turned into that thing.” Caleb explained quickly.

“We need to take him back, now!” Thomas shouted. Caleb nodded. His original plans to slip away while his friends were asleep were now forgotten. He realized that Parker needed him now. He couldn’t even believe that he had considered doing so now that he saw his friend in this condition. Thomas wrapped Parker in the blankets and put him on his shoulders.

Parker thrashed around and continued moaning.

“No… no heat…” he complained.

“Thomas, take the blankets off, he doesn’t want the heat.” explained Caleb.

“Heat is probably keeping him alive right now!” shouted Thomas.

“Come on, just try it.” Caleb urged. Thomas sighed and then unwrapped the blankets. Parker calmed down then and his eyes returned to normal.

“Okay, that was just weird.” said Caleb.

“Yeah, it was. I’ve never seen anyone react to a goblin bite like that before.” said Thomas.

“Well, I guess we’ll have to keep him cool now.” said Caleb.

“Yeah. I wonder if this is a new type of goblin bite.”

“Its possible.” agreed Caleb.

“Well, I guess we can continue sleeping now, as long as we keep Parker cool.” said Thomas.

“Yeah, I guess its okay. But Thomas, I’m starting to think… you know the staff of Balthazar that we’re… I mean, were after? Maybe it has a spell that can heal Parker.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right. Maybe you’re right! Caleb, this is it! We have to get that staff!” yelled Thomas.

“Carter, you’re not coming with us!” shouted Patricia, pushing Carter away as he tried to dash after them.

“But you don’t understand! I can help! For example, right now, I know that Parker has a goblin bite!” he shouted, grabbing Patricia’s arm. That caught her attention.

“How? How do you know that?” she asked.

“Because, we’re twins! When he feels pain, I feel it a little bit, too. Right now, I have a pain in my right shoulder, and I felt hot yesterday. I can help you track him, sort of. If I feel a smack or something, I can get a feel for where he is.” Carter said.

“You made that up.” said Ella.

Carter shook his head. “No, you can ask Alan and Kendall, they’ve felt that before.” he said. Patricia nodded.

“It’s true, they have. Alright then, I guess you’re coming. Pack you’re things, but be quick about it. We need to leave soon.” Patricia said. Carter rushed upstairs to pack his things. “Patricia, if Parker has a goblin bite, and he has a twin, that means that Parker would become-”

“I know, Ella. He’ll turn into a goblin.”

Chapter Nine
The former prisoners of the Balthazians were now out of the jumpsuits, dressed in casual clothes that they bought from a store.

They were currently in a coffee shop. Larissa, Kendall, Sean, Alvy, Austin, Destiny and Renee were all sipping cups of coffee.

They all told stories of their adventures and laughed. It felt good to relax, but they all knew that they were not done.

“And that is how I got out of its stomach.” said Larissa, finishing a story.

“You mean, you had to climb out through its-”

“Okay! Let’s move on. You three are supposed to find this staff, right?” interrupted Sean. The three nodded. “Then we need to make sure you get there. You know where it is, don’t you?” he asked.

“No, Patricia wouldn’t tell us.” said Destiny.

“Then now is the time to tell you. It is in Seattle. The staff of Balthazar is the one that has a blue gemstone and an eagle head carving on the tip. Its power comes from water and lightning, so it needs to be high up. That’s the hard part. It is on the Seattle Space Needle.” said Kendall. Austin’s jaw dropped.

“We couldn’t climb up there!” he cried.

“There are other ways to the top, you know. Like… flying. You could fly there on Victoria’s pet griffin, Pepperoni.” said Alvy.

“What? Pepperoni? What kind of name is that?” exclaimed Renee.

“She named it that because it has a red spot on the back of its neck.” said Kendall.

“Wait… my mom, has a pet griffin!?” exclaimed Austin.

“Yeah, and you’re going to meet it really… soon.” said Larissa, yawning.

“Yeah, because now… now we’re going back to… back to HQ.” said Alvy sleepily. Kendall and Sean’s eyelids were drooping.

Austin was already asleep.

Renee yawned. “Why are we so tired all of the sudden?” she asked.

“Wait… I knew… knew my coffee tasted weird…” said Kendall.

“I think our coffee has been… poisoned or drugged or something…” said Alvy, barely staying awake.

“Oh, great. We can’t get a cup of… cup of coffee… without someone trying to kill us.” said Sean.

“Well, we should give this map… to the… the kids so… they can find the staff.” said Larissa, pulling a map out of her pocket.

She laid it on the table when she finally slipped into sleep. Alvy fell asleep as well soon after, when three figures walked in.

Caleb had a triumphant smile on his face, the complete opposite of Thomas’s concerned look as he eyed Parker who was on his back. The eyes were again a bulging green, and his head lolled all over as he moaned.

“Great job, Thomas.” Caleb said admiring the way Thomas had poisoned their drinks. It was not a deadly poison, only enough to put them to sleep for a long period of time.

“You… you did this?” said Sean sleepily. Caleb nodded.

“Destiny… quick, get the… maps.” Kendall said before falling face-first onto the floor, asleep. Soon they were all asleep at the table. Caleb snatched the maps off the table.

“C’mon, Thomas, let’s split.” he said, dashing out of the coffeehouse.

Thomas followed Caleb outside and they ran down the street.

They all woke up five hours later.

“Ooh… what happened?” asked Alvy, sitting up.

“Caleb…he poisoned us…so he could get the map.” Sean said, slowly remembering.

“That jerk! I wish I could pummel him to a pulp.” Austin said.

“And you might get the chance. If he did all of this to get the map, it means he is obviously going after the staff too.” Kendall said.

“Oh great, so now we have competition.” Austin complained.

“And good competition too. We’ll have to go back to HQ to find another copy of those maps and introduce you to Pepperoni.” Larissa confirmed. They left the coffee shop to find that it was late at night.

“All right, now let’s go and buy some tickets for a bus ride to Avalon Estates.” Sean said. They went to a bus station and bought tickets.

The bus screeched to a halt at the station. They all stepped off and raced to Brandon’s house. They stampeded through the door.

“Where is Patricia?” Kendall asked.

“Wait, weren’t you guys captured by the-” the man asked.

“Not important now, where is Patricia?” Alvy exploded.

“She went to go after Caleb.” Robbie said, coming up the basement stairs. “Ella and Parker went with her.”

“We need her to find a copy of the maps that lead to the staff’s location.” Renee said.

“She isn’t here…but I should be able to find it.” he replied.