Then he felt an unusual sensation in his throat. He opened his mouth, gasping for breath, and more lava fell in. Then he breathed out and back in again.
The lava circulated…He was breathing!
Then suddenly he felt full of energy, his mind raced like a thousand cars.
He opened his eyes, and all he could see was orange. He looked up, and somehow he could make out a black square, with four heads inside, above him through the lava.
He concentrated hard on the doorway and took in a humungous gulp of hot, orange liquid. He felt like he was the whole pit of lava, he felt every bubble that popped as it met the surface.
Then he urged himself upwards. He heard a rumble, and the volcanic liquid seemed to react to his command.
He shot out of the lava like a rocket. The lava spurting behind him, and then it suddenly solidified. The lava froze creating a platform for Jay to stand on.
He felt full of energy, and had to let it go. He willed the lava upwards.
Five spirals of lava erupted from the pool, shot upwards, then descended beautifully, making no splashes at all as it regained its source - just like the water/fire in the hexagonal chamber.
Jay took another gasp, and the unusual feeling in his throat disappeared. He felt oxygen push out the heat from his lungs, and his enormous amount of energy dissolved into reality.
He looked down and nearly fainted. He was stood on a very thin stick of solidified lava, a kilometre up at least. Directly above stood his four friends, mouths wide open in awe.
“Holy Hephaestus,” Hollie exclaimed.
“Help,” Jay shivered.
“Really?” Broudie’s eyes widened.
“Yeah, I don’t like heights.”
“Gods, how did you do that?” Claire questioned.
“That was amazing,” Jordan agreed.
“I need to get across.” Jay looked down terrified. Somehow the lava was still responding to him. Small trickles of lava were floating upwards, pushing him closer to the gap like he was on some sort of elevator.
He stood as still as a statue as he was lifted through the gap by the tower of solidifying lava.
“I really don’t like heights.” Jay jumped onto the icy floor.
“How in the name of Heracles did you do that?” Hollie asked.
“I don’t know, I just, I don’t know.”
“Calm down man, I thought you were gonna blow us all to bits when those lava waterfalls came on the scene, I thought you were gonna explode,” Broudie told.
“Me too,” Jay agreed.
“Bit slippery the floor, want it?” Claire laughed.
“Yeah.”
“Right we best carry on,” Hollie chirped.
“We’re lost Hol,” Jordan sighed.
“Well you’re the optimistic one,” Broudie said.
“C’mon, we’re not gonna get anywhere by staying here.” Hollie strolled off towards the left doorway.
“D’you reckon we could break our way out of here?” Jordan asked.
“Doubt it,” Jay replied, as he went over to Hollie’s aid, helping her walk with only one leg in feeling.
The doorway led into another dark-ish tunnel with torches lit either side. They walked down the old, dusty tunnel for a few minutes when they heard a voice. The dreaded voice they had heard so many times before,
“TELEPORTATION IN PROCESS!”
“What now?” Broudie complained.
“Teleportation doesn’t sound good,” Hollie said.
“Maybe it’s teleportation out of here,” Jay suggested.
Then suddenly the torches along the walls of the tunnel went out, and a cold wind swept through.
A bright light appeared above each of the five ring bearers.
“Oo, spotlights,” Claire admired, smiling a look of hopefulness.
The lights descended around them, engulfing them in light.
As the light shone brighter Jay felt relaxed, as soothed as the LE baker chocolate.
“GO!”
Suddenly they were swept off their feet. Swirling round in a world of white. Air rushing past them. Worries rushing away with it.
They were teleported through the dream world.
It lasted a minute, two at most, until the calming glow began to fade.
Jay looked below and realised that he was levitating above the ground. He looked around and saw that he was in a gigantic hallway, with millions of floating fires spread along the walls. There was only one way to go in the hallway, because the other side had been blocked off by a big clump of tumbling rubble.
None of them spoke as the light faded completely, the levitation broke and they all fell to the floor.
“Come, my dears,” a soft whisper echoed from deep down in the tunnel.
“Yeah ok,” Jay replied sarcastically, lifting himself to his feet.
“Eh I think we are anyway, there’s no other way to go.” Hollie pointed out.
“We can break through that,” Jordan told.
“I don’t think you can,” the whisper called.
“Oh yeah we can. Alovium.” Jordan turned, shooting a control spell at the heap of rubble. The spell rebounded off the rubble as if it was a mirror and shot straight back at him.
Jordan dodged it and the spell shot through the dimly lit tunnel.
“Maybe we can’t,” Hollie muttered.
“Right I say we go that way.” Jordan ignored Hollie’s comment and strode off.
“Ok Jord,” Jay laughed and followed him, then remembered Hollie’s condition and turned to help.
“It’s alright. I think it’s fixed, somehow?” Hollie wondered to herself, looking down at her legs and shaking them around as if to check they were still in tact.
Jay shrugged and lazily dragged his feet, following Jordan.
The tunnel gradually got bigger as they walked. The floating fires that lines the path, becoming more frequent, and lighting the hallway up more and more. They walked slowly in silence, scanning the walls and floor for anything that could be of threat.
A few minutes walk into the tunnel, and it was completely lit, showing some unusual things to say the least.
Things like flowers of gold, pools of swirling pink water, stalactites that swayed left and right in unison, frozen statues of silver bats and…
“Ah!!” Claire screamed.
Jay jumped and turned to see what had happened. A floating fire emerged from a wall and revealed something that changed colour and shape, from a dragon to a spooky tree.
“Claire there’s bars, it can’t get out,” Hollie comforted, pulling her away.
This room felt extremely eerie, every breath and step could be heard and the strange ornamental creatures made it look like a scene the belonged in some witch’s castle.
“Where are we?” Jay questioned.
“If I knew I’d tell you,” Jordan replied.
“You’re near,” the voice whispered again.
“Near what?” Broudie shouted impatiently. They’d all just about had enough of all this walking and searching and battling, and the constant fear of something lurking just ahead.
“Near what you seek,” the whispering voice answered.
“The jewel?” Jordan murmured.
They all paused in their tracks and turned to face each other. Had they reached the jewel room? Were they at the end of their quest? Had they found the jewel of Barthimia?
They stared at each other again, then immediately broke into a run along the gigantic tunnel.
One minute they were running along a dusty tunnel, the next, they were running through a palace, with amazing plants hanging down from beautiful, wicker baskets.
Bunches of colour and life flowed out of them: ladybirds with green spots; miniature monkeys with curly golden tails and tiny pink ears; small gerbil-like creatures with flippers as arms. The place was out of a kid’s fairytale adventure story.
Jay wanted to stop and take it in, but he just had an urge to reach this jewel, take i
t back, and then be honoured in history forever. The five teenagers continued their run through the amazing palace. All Jay could do was smile. He felt stupid, but he just couldn’t stop smiling.
It was only when Mormo appeared on the scene that they actually paused for breath.
“MORMO?!” Hollie screamed.
“Mormo was wrong, you are nice children. Mormo sorry. Please follow Mormo,” she whimpered, her words rushed.
“Follow you?” Broudie repeated.
“To the jewel,” she added.
“This is to lead us off track we need to ignore her,” Jay thought.
“As far as I thought, Mormo was a good person,” Hollie put in.
“Mormo shall take you there,” the whispering called again.
“This way.” Mormo scooted under a hanging basket and floated away.
“C’mon let’s go. We haven’t got any other heading.” Jordan led them behind the ghost-like child biter, Mormo.
They raced through the beautiful palace to a gigantic water feature, with fish that dived down the different layers. The feature was made of white marble that shimmered as the water trickled down from top to bottom.
Surrounding them were more hanging baskets of weird animals and plants, all floating freehand.
There was a beautiful chandelier that shone at the top of the feature that made the top hard to see. Mormo glided towards it and disappeared from sight.
“Mormo!” Jordan shouted, stopping at the foot of the water feature.
“I knew she’d lead us out of the way,” Claire puffed.
“Is that Mormo?” Hollie pointed to the top of the water feature.
A woman with long black hair and hypnotising green eyes swept down from the top of the water feature.
She wore a long, white dress with elegant sandals, the leather straps weaving beautifully up her ankles. She must have been at least six and a half ft. tall, and her voice was so soft and calm, but had a sense of power within it. She radiated assertiveness.
“Hello, welcome to the temple of Barthimia,” she smiled.
“Well Mormo’s gone a bit up market,” Jordan whispered.
“Jordan Quelch, welcome.” the lady walked up to Jordan nodded and then turned to face them all. “Hollie Williamson, Jay Perry, Broudie Morris and Claire Hamer. Five of the twelve.”
“Hello, I would introduce ourselves but it sounds like you already have,” Hollie said.
The lady hovered slightly, her laced sandals not touching the ground. Up close the white lady was even taller than they expected.
“Oh,” the lady laughed, “you mortals are so funny.”
“Who are you, if you don’t mind me asking?” Jay asked.
“It doesn’t matter, she’s probably someone else who’s gonna try and leer us away from our goal.” Jordan went to walk off when the beautiful woman answered back,
“Yes, your goal, as you call it. You are near, so near yet so far.” She smiled, her pristine, perfect teeth shimmering in the light.
“Thanks for the help, but we’re on a quest,” Jordan insisted.
“No Jord, listen,” Claire told.
“It is alright, if you believe you should ignore me then please do. It does not change me.” the lady folded her arms and went to sit on the side of the giant water feature.
“C’mon guys, we need to get going,” Broudie called.
“We’re wasting time.” Jordan glanced at Claire’s annoyed face. “Look she’s trying to distract us, drive us off course, she’s probably a hypnotist in Greek mythology.”
“You’re talking as if she’s not even here,” Jay said, frustrated at how rude they were being to such a nice woman. She seemed so genuinely kind and caring.
“Go on, your quest awaits you.” she waved them on.
“What’s your name?” Hollie questioned.
“My name is my name,” she sighed.
Hollie started walking away from the fountain and Claire and Jay followed.
“Before you go, I give you some advice.” they turned back as she rose to her feet, “Listen to the words of others.”
“Oh, c’mon guys,” Broudie urged.
They turned back and began to run once again, their footsteps echoing in the gigantic palace.
Jay wondered what the lady had meant. ‘Listen to the words of others’? What was that supposed to mean?
“Where’s Mormo gone?” Hollie questioned.
“She was probably trying to take us off our track,” Jordan sighed.
“Well why are we running this way then?” Jay pondered.
“I don’t know.” Hollie stopped and turned to face everyone behind her.
“Why would Mormo take us past that weird lady anyway?” Broudie asked.
“I don’t think she was going to hurt us, or distract us from our quest either,” Claire told.
“Well she certainly radiated power,” Jordan said.
“Too right,” Jay agreed.
“Why are you not with the lady of the temple?” Mormo, the child biter, swooped from behind a massive pillar.
‘Lady of the temple? Oh great!’ Jay thought, ‘That means that we have to kill her so as we can get the jewel which is probably just a ring on her finger or something. Sounds perfect! More tiring fighting.’
“Well if it isn’t Mormo,” Hollie glared at her.
“What are you doing here?” she cried.
“Were looking for the jewel, not some crazy lady,” Jordan broke in.
“That was no crazy lady. You must go back.” Mormo shook her head.
“Like we’d listen to you,” Jay laughed.
“Listen to Mormo, please.”
“You lead us out of our way Mormo. You’re not a nice person at all,” Broudie sniggered.
“Mormo sorry, but you must go back to the lady, she is powerful.”
“You’re telling us, what did you expect us to get vaporized by her or something? Well unfortunately your plan failed,” Hollie said.
“No you do not understand,” Mormo insisted.
“No I think we understand perfectly, now it’s been nice meeting you, but we really must be going,” Claire retaliated.
“The lady, she is-” Mormo was interrupted by the others’ malicious remarks,
“A weirdo.”
“Crazy.”
“Evil.”
“HECATE!” Mormo screamed in her high pitched tone that thrashed at your ear drums.
“What?” Jay was confused. He had heard that name before back at the hideout
“The woman, the lady you met was the powerful goddess of witchcraft and magic, associated with light, the moon, dogs and crossroads. Her name, Hecate,” Mormo gasped for breath, if ghosts breathe that is?
“Heca-, the lady was a goddess?” Jay questioned, gob smacked.
“Hecate herself, in full form?” Hollie asked.
“Yes my dears.”
They turned around to meet the same white dressed woman they’d met at the fountain.
“We are so sorry, goddess Hecate.” Hollie, Jordan, Claire and Broudie bent forward in honour - Jay followed their lead.
“Arise young ring-bearers,” Hecate instructed, waving her hand elegantly in the air.
“We did not know,” Hollie told.
“Clearly.” Hecate waved Mormo to her side.
“Could I ask a question?” Hollie pondered, “What would such a powerful goddess be doing in this temple?”
“I live here, at the moment. And you, I see, are after the jewel of Barthimia?”
“Correct Madame,” Hollie replied.
“Well welcome, once again, to the temple of Barthimia.”
“Could we offer you something as a sorry for ignoring such a powerful and respected goddess?” Jordan asked.
“Why of course,” she smiled.
Jordan held out his arm and drew what looked like a dog in midair out of smoke that seemed to puff from his finger. The mouth opened and a bark sounded. Jordan bent down once again and r
aised his arms,
“I give this on behalf of us five ring bearers, to the mighty goddess Hecate.” When Jordan finished and arose, the dog of smoke drifted slowly towards the goddess.
Hecate breathed in and the smoke outline dissolved into air. The goddess smiled and a creepy hologram of two identical siblings flashed to life. Only to flash back out of existence when the goddess reopened her eyes.
‘Must be an offering.’ Jay thought, confused at why there was suddenly three Hecates.
“Thank you, but there was really no need. For I did not display myself in my true form. But how nice it is to feel the loving sensation of a sacrifice.” Hecate smiled again.
“We should have known that you were the great goddess Hecate. I mean, with the clues: Mormo your companion, the great sense of power that only gods do radiate, and how much our magic was strong in your company,” Hollie apologised.
“Mormo informed me of a certain five children that were trying to overcome the powers of the temple. See there has never been a break in, not since Zeus sent that test run a millennia ago.” She looked up as if over running the memory.
“I asked Mormo, as anyone would, what they were like. She described that you had powers, that you wore rings, and that you reminded her of what she had heard the Olympians describe. I knew who you were, the gods had contacted me just two years ago to inform me of what Athena had done. The oracle and the rings, everything. So I used some of my power to teleport you to me, for I knew you would not find me, for you had taken a wrong turning, so to speak.”
“We thank you again for doing such a kind thing.” Hollie nodded.
“Well, yes.”
“Why have you been stuck in this palace by yourself for so long, if you don’t mind me asking?” Claire questioned.
“Why? Well I helped the gods with their quest and now I must be hidden. Just me and Mormo.”
“Their quest?” Hollie pondered.
“They had to lock up the monsters in Tartarus didn’t they? So I helped them, I helped them seal the gates and I did something else.” Hecate’s smile faded.
“What did you do, Hecate?” Jordan asked.
“I used a spell, a very powerful spell on all the monsters. I cursed them. I made sure that every single monster that was trapped in Tartarus, would always return,” she told the story with a deep threatening tone.
“So this temple hides you and the jewel from the monsters. It’s like killing two birds with one stone,” Jordan added up.
Hecate shrugged.
“Another question we do ask. Do you know the location of the jewel?” Claire asked timidly.
“Oh I do, very well actually. It changes, moves, always stays in this temple, in this palace, but in different places.”
“Do you know where it is now?” Jay asked, searching her jewellery for something which could look precious enough to be the item of their quest.
“Yes.”
“Could you tell us, Queen Hecate?” Hollie questioned.
“I could, but I’m afraid it is not my quest.” Hecate turned and walked over to one of the baskets.
“But could you give us a clue? Seems as you know,” Jordan said desperately.
“I have already.”
“A clue?” Hollie repeated.
“She hasn’t given us a clue,” Claire whispered.
“She has, what she said back at the fountain. She said we should listen to the words of others,” Jay remembered.
“That’s really a clue,” Broudie huffed.
“What would we listen to?” Jordan pondered.
“I don’t know, there isn’t anything is there?” Hollie replied.
“How about, the sirens song?” Jay suggested
“But how would that help us find the jewel?” Jordan thought.
“It’s gotta be something about the jewel,” Hollie said.
“Well that’s a start,” Hecate said sarcastically, flicking her wrist and making a beautiful flower grow out from the basket, open up, and start singing quiet hymns.
“Em, maybe it’s the location itself. Maybe it’s the way Athena only told us where Frederick might be, or something on the lines of that?” Hollie suggested, confusing herself.
“No,” Hecate called back continuing to tidy up her baskets.
“How about what it looks like!” Broudie shouted out.
Hecate turned to face them then smiled.
“So you’re saying that we don’t know what it looks like, so I expect the jewel to be…”
“Big, really strong in colour, like bright red or green,” Claire finished.
“Yeah and carved beautifully,” Jay added.
“And it would be the opposite, so it would be a tiny black stone, like the ones you find on the beach,” Hollie concluded. “But no one has told us what the jewel looks like, we know nothing about it!”
Hecate’s smile faded.
“That isn’t listening to others, that’s listening to ourselves,” Broudie sighed.
“You are close, it’s to do with what it looks like, but more like, what do you humans call it? Noun? Verb?”
Jay tried to think about what the verb was, it was one of those things he learnt in English. It was the doing word? The descriptive word…? He had no clue.
“The thing itself. We think the jewel is a jewel or a stone, but it’s not it’s something else,” Claire squealed.
“Correct Miss Hamer.” Hecate waved her hand and a flower sprung from within her hair. It had pink petals and a weird green and blue centre.
“How does that help us, Hecate?” Hollie asked.
“Well, that should hopefully help you put the pieces together. Does it?” she narrowed her eyes.
“Another clue?” Jordan smiled.
“Oh,” Hecate laughed, “you do make us laugh, obviously I would never go as far as Zeus’ dad, but you do have humour.”
“What is there to piece together?” Jay questioned.
“Frederick gave you a hint and I’ve given you loads, whether you pick up on them or not,” Hecate said.
“What did Frederick say that was a clue?” Broudie wondered.
“Wait, the gods imprisoned you here because they didn’t want you removing the monsters curses?”
“Yes.”
“So there isn’t a jewel here,” Hollie concluded.
“What?” Jay questioned, not understanding the code conversation.
“Well there is,” Hecate corrected.
“Yeah, but not a jewel jewel,” Hollie said.
“Wait, are you saying we came all this way to find a jewel, that isn’t even here?!” Broudie asked frustratingly.
“So we went to find Frederick, battled dracaenae, Panotii, amphisbaena, Cyclops, riddles, moving trees and blimming fire and water bombs, all that for nothing?” Jordan’s voice was full of anger and frustration.
“Guys, don’t you get it?” Hollie asked.
“No,” Claire replied sternly.
Then Jay had an idea. A stupid idea. No the jewel wouldn’t be, no he was probably wrong. Or was he?
“I think I get it,” Jay revealed.
“Get what? That this quest was a fake,” Broudie pondered.
“This quest was not a fake, it was a very important quest. The quest was for the jewel of Barthimia. You have found the jewel of Barthimia,” Hecate announced
“We haven’t found it! Please just someone explain what’s going on?” Claire said kindly.
“Oh you have, the jewel is here, right in front of you. She is speaking to you.” Hecate gave out another smile.
“Hecate…you’re the jewel of Barthimia?”
The Jewel orders a flight.
(Chapter 18)