Jay turned and started to sprint towards the shop.
“Toilets, we can lose them, and don’t let them see your face,” Hollie instructed, catching up with Jay and the others.
“Over there.” Broudie pointed out the picture of a man, a woman, and a disabled person, all above three doors that were hidden behind some rows of perfume.
“Allí están,” shouted one of the security guards entering the shop.
“Quick, if we can’t get away from two mortal policeman then how are we supposed to run from mythical creatures, c’mon.” Hollie led the way into the disabled bathroom. They all crammed in and Jordan bolted the door.
“Ok, we need to hide,” Claire stated, frantically searching the toilet.
“How about we get up there, invisibility quick.” Jordan raised his hand, and everyone else touched it quickly.
“Polacify,” he urged. Their veins shone white and then the light disappeared.
“Ok, but what happens if they bump into us when they get in?” Broudie questioned.
“Votaldea.” Hollie levitated off the ground and then floated towards the top. “If you concentrate you can stay firm in the air. I would show you what you can do once you’ve perfected this spell, except this doesn’t seem to be the time. Unlock the door.” Hollie lifted her legs up, just in case they touched the policemen’s heads, and then repeated the spell for them to copy, Broudie unbolting the door.
“Votaldea,” they spoke in unison. And then, just like Hollie, they started to rise off the ground. Jay held out his arms for balance as he floated upwards.
“Now concentrate on staying balanced and up high, oh and try not to talk or dribble.”
Jay wobbled around and tried to tuck his legs into his stomach, but he kept rolling onto his back in midair. It was like trying to run through invisible marmalade, and the Gods looking down on them would’ve been laughing with a face full of popcorn.
It was a sight to be seen. Except, the idea was they couldn’t be seen.
He looked up and saw Hollie, Jordan and Broudie balancing freely at the ceiling. He looked across and there was Claire, struggling just like he was.
“C’mon guys quick, Jordan you get Jay, I’ll get Claire.” Hollie flew past him and retrieved Claire, then Jordan grasped Jay’s shirt and pulled him up to the top.
“They’re coming,” Hollie whispered.
“¿Adónde se fueron?” The one guard asked, bursting into the room with a hand at his belt.
“Vamos, que no son exactamente va a traer una bomba en el país. Vamos a ir.” The one guard walked back out of the toilet, the other looked around once more before leaving.
They waited a few seconds just in case, and then Hollie broke the silence.
“That was close.”
“Too close,” Jordan agreed.
“How do we get down?” Claire moaned.
“Like this.” Hollie loosened her grip on Claire and she dropped into a small heap.
“I could have twisted my ankle,” Claire grumbled, lifting her head from the ground.
“Well, you didn’t. C’mon down. I need something to eat, dunno about you. Hopefully somewhere will be open.” Hollie trudged out the toilet casually, as if nothing had happened.
When Jay, Broudie and Jordan were back on ground, they followed Claire and Hollie to a café.
“Can’t believe they’re open at this time, not that I’m complaining. Okay, now what’s on the menu?” Hollie pondered, picking up a laminated sheet covered with Spanish writing.
“How are we supposed to know what we’re ordering? It’s all in Spanish,” Jordan questioned.
“Well, they should really have it in English, I mean were in Spain. Spanish speak English,” Jay agreed sarcastically.
“Did you not do Spanish at your school?” Hollie asked.
“Well I was in year seven when you found me. We’d only just started French,” Jordan replied.
“Oh god, what d’you think the schools done when they heard about me disappearing?” Jay realised.
“Nothing, just stuck posters round the area probably,” Claire said, scanning the menu as if she knew it.
‘Thanks Claire! Now I can safely smile at the fact that no one cares that I’m missing, thanks!’ Jay thought, sighing.
“What happens if someone spots me?” Jay said, picturing a scene where one of his old friends was in a car driving past Jay, who was holding a sword and slashing at a giant lion with five heads.
“Do you know why there are disappearances?” Hollie said doubtfully.
“Because they get lost?”
“No, a lot of disappearances are demi-gods who find out who they are and then hurry off to find the closest camp where they can settle in. Obviously some are just disappearances,” Hollie said.
“Really?”
“Yep. Anyway I’m starving. I think I’ll just pick a random dish.”
“Do you want me to tell you what there is?” Claire questioned.
“You know Spanish?”
“Yes, I’ll read out the snacks first. Baguette filled with cheese, cheese and ham, tuna, egg and mayonnaise, cheese and cucumber or just plain. Then you can have mini Spanish favourites. Mini paella with salad and bread, mini honazo, which is like a pie, mini cocido madrileño, which is a stew with chick peas, potato and meat, and patatas bravas, which is a fried potato dish served with a spicy tomato sauce. Would you like me to carry on?” Claire finished.
“How on earth did you translate all that?” Jay asked in disbelief.
“Translate. Did I just? Wow.”
“I think I’ll have the mini paella,” Hollie said curiously, standing up from her chair.
“Me too,” Jordan and Jay said in unison.
“Could I have that fried potato and sauce thing please?” Broudie asked.
“I’ll go order Hol, seems as I somehow know Spanish.” Claire got up and steered her way round the tables and chairs to get to the counter.
“How did she do that?” Jay asked.
“Is it a power of Aphrodite, maybe she can talk all languages?” Broudie suggested.
“We’ll have to ask her if we ever see her down the street,” Jordan said.
“Yeah ask her in Chinese or Swedish,” Hollie added.
After a couple of laughs and giggles, Claire was back.
“Well I’ve ordered, and I managed to speak Spanish to them. It felt weird,” Claire said.
“We think it’s a power of Aphrodite. But were not sure,” Hollie told her.
“Cool, d’you think I can talk animal?”
They ate there delicious light bites and then ferried off to the duty free shop, that they scanned on their dramatic first entrance. Hollie, Jordan and Jay went towards the sweets, Broudie went towards the souvenirs, and obviously Claire went to take a look at the perfume.
“Ooh, free samples.” Hollie pointed out a small silver plated tray sat on a tall tower of chocolate boxes which had ‘LE Bakers’ printed on the front. She picked one up and scoffed it in a matter of seconds.
“Nice?” Jay asked.
“Uh, hu,” Hollie replied, “Too morish.” She picked up another one and ate it as well.
“What flavour?” Jordan questioned.
“Caramel, truffle,” she ate another one, “or some sort of nut.”
“Sounds good.” Jay reached for a chocolate and ate it. The moment it touched his lips he felt enveloped by indulgence.
Smooth chocolate was stuffed inside the harder coating. Oozing out when you took a bite. The chocolate was rich and sickly, but, as Hollie said, very morish. He grasped another one and ate it.
“What is so good about this chocolate? Hollie I thought you weren’t fussed on chocolate?” Jordan remembered.
“This one, oh we need to buy twelve boxes,” Hollie answered.
“Oh my god, I feel so relaxed, it’s amazing try some.” Jay picked up the plate and forced it towards Jordan, but he just stepped away and signalled to put the plate back. Jay felt
light and at peace, kind of like some sort of hippy - as if all bad things had been locked up in a chocolate jail.
“What’s the matter, it’s delicious,” Hollie said.
“I don’t like chocolate, but how about I go and buy some, while you two just have a look around somewhere else.” Jordan walked off around the corner.
“YOU FORGOT THE CHOCOLATE!” Hollie shouted in a severely shocked tone.
“There’s some at the counter, well lots at the counter.” Jordan appeared again, and then shot off to pay.
“Don’t like chocolate, strange person.” Jay grabbed three more chocolates and he and Hollie walked off to buy some drinks for the flight over.
They passed a gloomy window. All they could see was darkness, and a few little orange lights, that kept flashing on and off.
“Dark outside,” Jay said.
“Never.” Hollie walked past the window and to the fridge.
After a few minutes of trying to work out what drink was what, Jay started feeling less relaxed and quite drowsy.
“I think I need more chocolate, you?” Jay asked.
“Deffo.”
They started walking back towards the chocolate isle, but Jordan unfortunately found them first.
“Where’s the chocolate?” Hollie and Jay moaned at the same time.
“Gave it to Broudie to hold, where are you going, back to the chocolate isle?” Jordan questioned suspiciously.
“Yeah, feeling drowsy again now,” Jay replied.
“Thank god, it’s worn off.”
“What’s worn off?” Hollie said.
“The stuff in the chocolate was making you want to eat more of it, basically just a scam. You eat the free samples, you love the taste, you want more, and you buy loads.”
“Did you buy any?”
“No, you’ll get addicted, and then start using your powers to get to the chocolate, and, well, just too much darn hassle.”
“I was too busy stuffing my face with more, I didn’t even think of that. Do you think it’s some sort of sorcerer?” Hollie patted Jordan on the back.
“Why don’t they do it with all chocolate, they could make a fortune.” Jay began slapping his face trying to pull himself out of this possessed trance.
“Because only people with some sort of power and knowledge combined, would ever be able to make chocolate like that.”
“Like sorcerers and wizards. Or someone who accidentally dropped a peculiar plant, that he had found, inside a bar of chocolate,” Hollie added.
“These L.E Bakers must be magical then.”
“So instead of saving the world, we could just invent a chocolate bar that people would crave and buy loads of, then spend the money on expensive stuff. We could be rich for the last years of the world,” Jay suggested.
“Or, we could save the world first, and then make addictive chocolate after, and be rich for the rest of our lives,” said Jordan.
“Yeah or that.”
They picked up some drinks, covered their eyes while they walked past the chocolate isle, and then paid at the checkout. When they were finished they had a look round and spotted Claire.
“What in the winged shoes of Hermes are you spraying on yourself?” Jordan asked, waving his arms, frantically trying to blow the overwhelming scent away from his burning nostrils.
“It’s called perfume, it makes you smell nice,” Claire replied, “Hollie knows what I’m on about, don’t you Hol?”
“Eh not really, I think you’ve put a bit too much on, in my opinion,” Hollie smiled, trying not to offend her.
“I was just testing them all out, oh, never mind. Are we ready to go, we’ll be boarding at half past twelve,” Claire yawned and then put down the perfume bottle in her hand.
“We need to find Broudie first,” Hollie thought.
“That’s not hard, just have a look around, he’ll be near a sword shop or toy shop, down the fighting isle,” Claire answered. “Kids shop over there. C’mon.” Claire led the way through the perfume isles and round the tobacco and alcohol lanes.
They reached the shop, and straight in front of them was Broudie, believe it or not, fighting a wooden block with a sponge sword, and fenced in by a couple of Spanish children.
“Broudie, we’re gonna make our way down. You coming?” Hollie waved him out.
“Seeya.” He held out his hand and all the kids high-fived it.
All back together, they walked nervously past a group of security guards who were stood next to the wall on the way to the gate.
“Don’t worry. It’s not the same ones,” Jordan whispered to the others.
They made their way slowly into the boarding room, where they took some seats nearest the tunnel entrance for the plane.
“Got yourself a fan club then huh?” Jay joked.
“They know quite a lot of English, and they’re really friendly,” Broudie said.
“The reason you liked them Broudie, was because they were looking up to you and calling you awesome,” Hollie said.
“Actually, they didn’t know the word awesome, so I told them to keep saying super instead.”
Jay smiled and then turned his head. As he did, his muscles stiffened and the entire room went silent, everything suddenly went into slow-mo.
Jay cringed and sank in his seat, feeling extremely vulnerable for no apparent reason. He tried hard to lift his head to see what was happening.
With one, faint grunt he raised his eyes to see a tall man wearing cool shades stood next to a much smaller guy with thick, long hair. They stood about three metres from him, jabbering away in a friendly Spanish accent. Jay furrowed his eyebrows as the taller man looked over and gave a super smiley ‘hey’ with his bulging eyes.
Jay tried a smile as the man’s happy face turned to a ‘do I recognise you’ expression.
“Pablo!” the smaller man signalled for them to move down the corridor, tugging at the taller man’s, cool-looking, jacket.
“Yes…Javier. I’m coming.”
They started to walk, the man named Pablo shaking off his stare.
Time caught up, noise returned and Jay’s muscles relaxed. He turned around completely drained to meet four other startled faces.
“Who was that?” Claire asked.
“I dunno.”
“God radiation thing?” Jay presumed.
“Well either a God or a very powerful magical. I’m presuming the latter as he doesn’t seem like a God,” Hollie corrected.
“Right,” Broudie concluded.
“Moving on,” Claire started, “squally ball!”
They sat there chatting for another half an hour, people slowly piling into the room and filling up the empty chairs. They all were either rich families or retired couples so Jay and his mates stuck out like a sore thumb.
The weird experience with the Pablo dude was a bit confusing, but none of the others seemed to bother dwelling on it, so Jay thought it was best to just leave it. ‘They didn’t get hurt so who cares!’ seemed to be the motto. If someone endangers or hurts someone else then they’re the enemy.
“Flight to Quito leaving at zero forty five. The gate is now open,” the speaker spoke first in English, then in Spanish.
The five teenagers were the first in the queue, and were the first to get into the plane. This one wasn’t as stylish as the one from France, but they were three quarters of the way down it like last time.
“Twenty a, b, and c.” Broudie pointed out once again.
“Same places as last time?” Hollie asked.
“Yeah fine,” they agreed.
“I think we should get some good sleep on this journey. We’ll find the closest hotel when we get there, and rest before setting off for the temple,” Hollie instructed.
This time Jordan didn’t have to make any sweets because Broudie had surprised them and bought a pack already, ‘Yes, I can be organised’ he’d joked. They took off for Quito, and within five minutes Jay was off.
“Jay, wake up.
We’re here!” Jordan shook Jay by the shoulders aggressively.
He yawned and stretched his arms awkwardly.
“C’mon we’re all tired and as soon as we get through luggage and passport controls, we can get to bed and have a proper sleep.” Jordan lifted Jay up by the arm and they exited the plane. This time, instead of going through a tunnel, they walked down some stairs and had to walk along the outside. It was hot; very humid, but very hot. He couldn’t see much, but the rare refreshing breeze was all that was needed to make this place beautiful.
They entered the airport building, which was deafened by the noisy air conditioning, churning its turbines like a decrepit, chain-smoking washing machine with stomach cramps.
“Ok, passport controls, Jay here’s yours.” Hollie passed Jay his burgundy passport. He was dreading the next part, the scanner.
He showed his passport and the woman placed a sticker on it then waved him on so as she could check the next passenger.
“Right, the invisibility spell is on your blade and shield. It won’t pick it up again.” Hollie encouraged Jay as they moved into the luggage queue.
“What if it does?” Jay questioned.
“We’ll do what we did last time,” Hollie replied.
“There stricter in foreign countries that are not in the EU, aren’t they?” Jay said.
“Look, just walk through with confidence, they aren’t going to kill you unless there bullets can travel through five hearts, understand me?” Hollie asked.
“Yeah,” Jay groaned, shuffling forward.
In front of him, Jordan placed his stuff on one of the trays and walked casually through the scanner. There was no beep.
“Go on, put your jacket in there and run with Jordan if it beeps, go,” Hollie urged.
Jay unzipped his jacket, placed it in the tray on the conveyor belt and walked slowly through the scanner.
Although it was only five seconds, those five seconds were terribly long. Everything went slow.
He reached the other side and then squinted, waiting for the beep.
None. No sound or beep at all. He picked up his jacket, threw it round him and stood beside Jordan, a grin stretched along his face.
“You can help kill a mythical long eared creature that is trying to kill you, but you get nervous when a machine is checking for dangerous objects you are carrying. You do confuse me,” Jordan finished, turning round and following the little exit symbols hanging from the ceiling in different spots. Hollie, Claire and Broudie were close behind them.
“Now for a nice, well-deserved rest,” Hollie announced.
“Do you realise yesterday we flew over the channel, went up the Eiffel tower, killed a group of Panotii, found Frederick, persuaded Frederick to tell us where the temple was, caught a taxi for free and flew to Madrid. All in one day,” Jay commented.
“Busy day,” Broudie agreed.
They walked out of the airport and were hit with a relaxing heat.
“Lovely, now we need to find the closest hotel. Let’s try asking someone who looks like they speak English.” Hollie and Jay went right and Jordan, Claire and Broudie went left.
“Anybody you can see that looks English round here?” Hollie asked.
“No. I can barely see.”
They walked around for not even a minute in the hot and humid air, when there was the sound of running footsteps from behind them.
Hollie turned to see who it was.
“English people who know the area?” Jay questioned.
“English people who don’t. It’s Broudie, Claire and Jordan,” Hollie told, Jay turning round to see them sprinting towards him frantically.
“Dracaenae!” Broudie shouted.
Jay had heard that word before. Someone had used it in a conversation with him. Something about, he should ‘use something when we’re being attacked by an army of dracaenae’, that was it, he had done something, some spell, and that’s what they’d said.
“Someone must have told them, they wouldn’t be in an airport.” Hollie turned and ran with them, Jay followed.
“How many of ‘em?” Hollie gasped.
“Seven,” Claire replied.
“Look this way, we could lose them.” Hollie turned a sharp right down a very dark alley beside the airport. She held herself against the wall, and so did the others.
“If they find us here were doomed, it’s a dead end,” Claire realised.
“Well let’s not get found then,” Hollie whispered.
Jay felt nervous, he had no clue to what a dracaenae was, all he knew was there was a hissing noise growing louder and louder…
“What are dracaenaes?” Jay hushed to Jordan beside him. The hissing stopped and silence fell among the dark alleyway.
“We ssare,” hissed a small voice.
Jay didn’t move at all. Then he heard a click. The click of a watch. The gooble watch.
Then, without any warning, Hollie lit the alleyway,
“Sparkinum.”
“That’sss betterss, now we can sssee you.” The voice was cold and icy. It sounded dangerous, but maybe not as dangerous as it looked when it slivered into the light.
Its hair was a bushy brown mess that covered its evil face. She had lips as if they’d been stuffed full of silicon, and it seemed a trip to the beauty clinic was a daily job. Her eyes were deep red and scary looking. She wore nothing but a camouflage belly top and hundreds of bangles. She had the upper body of a woman and the lower of a…serpent.
She was green and scaly from the waist down, a tail curled behind her back. It looked as if she had a pet snake beside her.
In her one hand she held a long stick attached to a vicious slither of silver shine. In her other hand she held a long chain with a ball that’d been injected with thousands of black, shiny spikes, dangling from it. It swung forward and back in a hypnotic dance of ‘meet your doom’.
“Ring bearersss, no match for usss. Before we kill yousss, you might like to knows, that our dear friend taxi, told us of yourss posssition. That’ss right, the one in Parisss.”
There was silence as the snake woman waited, she hissed with her fork tongue impatiently. Then Jordan answered with an uncivilised reply of,
“Gustarmia.” Wind erupted from his hands and swept the dragon women off their…well tails. But they weren’t giving up that easily.
“Attackssss.” She threw her spiky ball at Jordan who had to jump and roll to one side, to stop getting hurt.
The wind died and battle engaged.
Jay looked around for any targeting him, and unfortunately three had teamed up on him.
“Ructomalius!” He cried, creating an invisible shield that was smashed by the first swing of a blade. He rolled onto the floor and shouted, “Degradium.” Fire burst from his hands and shot at two of the dracaenaes, they dodged it but had to step back, leaving one snake woman with a clear shot.
He heard the swing of a sword, but did not feel any pain. He looked up and saw Broudie swinging his sword around and slicing her up. Jay started fighting another monster as the one Broudie had just killed erupted into pieces and disappeared down a crack in the ground.
He ran away from the slithering snake and Hollie took over as he tripped up and fell onto the floor. He heard a shrieking noise and above him he saw another dragon woman.
They were everywhere!
“Hello there boy sss,” she chuckled, pulling back her blade and swiping downwards. Jay rolled out of the way, jumped to his feet and took out his shield and sword as her blade shattered to pieces.
This Greek blood stuff was really getting him hyped up.
“Votaldea.” he aimed his sword at the woman and a jet of light erupted from it. The light hit the creature and sent her flying towards the wall. There was a crack and the woman landed in a heap on the floor. She groaned, so Jay turned to try and help someone else. Jordan was helplessly dodging strikes, unable to fight back, so Jay stepped in.
He threw his sword at the monster and spoke
,
“Degradium.” The sword set on fire and pierced the woman, as he plunged the sword into her scaly skin.
She fell to the floor, splitting into pieces and disappearing into the ground.
“Thanks,” Jordan said, rising from the ground and going to help Claire. Jay looked around and saw a snake woman throwing her spike at Hollie. Everything was going so fast, there was no time to think, yet Jay somehow knew exactly what to do each time.
He focussed on the ball and screamed,
“ALOVIUM!!”
The spike gleamed white and Jay felt the connection. He swung his hand behind him and the snake woman holding the chain got flung into the air. He forced up his hand and a fireball shot into the sky. It hit the monster with a bang and she descended in little pieces like a firework.
Jay was very pleased with that, especially how he‘d done it with ease, when he was so tired.
The problem was he’d took his mind off the battle at the wrong time. He felt his collar tighten, and one of the snake women shoved him up into a wall.
She held him there.
Pure anger was oozing from her face.
She smiled slyly.
Jay looked around. No one could help. There was no one to help him as she raised her blade,
“Sssay goodbye.”
Another plane journey.
(Chapter 10)