Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
The moment Orion stepped into the upper archives the next evening, a ripple shivered across his skin.
The air was too still.
The water… too unsettled.
The reflection pool, nestled at the center of the great domed chamber, rippled as if a breeze had passed—yet no draft stirred the thick tapestries or disturbed the ancient scrolls lining the walls.
His boots echoed on the polished stone floor as he moved forward, the trident strapped across his back humming faintly in response to his unease.
His gaze narrowed.
He didn’t want to worry Jenny—not until he was certain. But something had shifted.
Dolph and Juno had been too quiet lately.
Too well-behaved.
And when it came to those two… silence wasn’t peace.
It was a storm holding its breath.
Orion raised his hand and drew it slowly over the pool’s surface. The water answered with a faint glow. Power stirred in the depths, then twisted upward in a spiral of light.
“Show me,” he murmured.
The surface shimmered.
A ripple of images formed in the water, fluid and glowing. At first, it was just the archives—Dolph’s familiar silhouette hunched over a cluttered table, rifling through old documents.
Then, Juno. Bouncing into the frame, talking, poking, asking questions. The usual.
Orion sighed, rubbing a hand down his face.
“Great,” he muttered. “What now?”
But then—his spine stiffened.
The water surged in the vision.
A dragon—dark brown scales, unfamiliar—erupted from the reflection pool. Water exploded in every direction before the dragon shimmered, folding down into a teenage boy.
Orion’s heart clenched.
The boy wasn’t from the Isle of the Dragons. That much was clear.
His face was unfamiliar. So was the power surrounding him.
Dolph stepped forward in the vision, clearly using his power to trap the boy inside a bubble of water.
Orion’s jaw tightened.
And then—just as quickly—released him.
He leaned closer, eyes narrowing as the boys huddled around something, whispering. Their backs were turned, shoulders close, eyes locked on the table.
He scanned the room, trying to see what they were focused on.
And then he saw it.
The empty space on the far wall.
The ornate, carved frame.
Bare.
“No,” he breathed.
He strode across the room, the vision still rippling in the pool, and laid his fingers against the empty wooden frame, following the grooves of the absent relic.
It had hung there for generations.
An ancient portal map, woven with magic older than the kingdoms themselves. Only visible to those attuned to the water.
His fingers curled around the edge of the frame.
The map was gone.
With a curse, he stepped back and turned in a slow circle, mind racing.
Where would they go?
Where would Dolph go?
And then—like a puzzle snapping into place—the memory struck him.
Jenny’s voice, soft and excited, echoing through the kitchen one evening:
“There’s a legend, you know. About a creature called the Loch Ness Monster. Some say it’s real. That it’s the last of its kind. Lost. Alone. Trapped.”
Orion had laughed at the time, thinking about humans who couldn’t figure out if a giant creature was in their water or not. What must it be like to be so blind?
And then Dolph—eyes bright with defiance—had asked the question that had spiraled into an argument:
“But what if it’s from here? From our world? And it just… got left behind?”
“Then we should help it,” Juno had said, serious as only a little brother could be. “We’re protectors, aren’t we? Isn’t that what you always tell us?”
Orion’s gut twisted.
The vision faded from the water, but the truth was already clear.
They hadn’t just found the map.
They had used it.
He could feel it in his bones. The same feeling he’d had the first time Dolph swam too far into the tide caves. The same chill he had felt the day Juno vanished from the docks, chasing after a sea monkey.
But this time…
They’d gone to Earth.
Through an unregulated portal.
To find a creature that wasn’t even confirmed real.
And they had brought an alien with them.
“Stars above,” he groaned. “They’ve actually done it.”
A slow, icy dread wrapped around his chest, pulling tight.
Because he knew something the boys didn’t.
Ancient portals to Earth were unstable.
Interference between the two realms could create distortion—trap energy. Close access.
And if that happened…
They’d be stranded.
He pressed his hand to the frame again, as if willing the portal map to reappear and tell him this was all a mistake. A false lead. A prank.
But he knew better.
He knew his sons.
And they were reckless enough to try to save a mythical creature.
Be heroes.
Just like their parents.
But who would save them?
Who would catch them if they fell?
Orion’s hand tightened on the trident across his back.
With a sharp gesture, he summoned the water magic embedded in the stones of the reflection pool. Ancient symbols pulsed faintly. A breath of wind stirred his long hair. The trident on his back hummed in warning, as if sensing the danger he was about to leap into.
A portal flared open. Orion stepped over the ledge and allowed himself to be caught in the current.
Juno sat cross-legged on the deck of the tour boat, a wool blanket wrapped around his shoulders like a soggy superhero cape. His hair was sticking up in wet tufts, his feet were bare, and he was grinning.
Around him, chaos buzzed.
Crew members scrambled to figure out where he had come from and why the boat wasn’t moving. Tourists murmured, snapped photos, and clustered around the edges of the railing, peering into the dark waters of Loch Ness, waiting to see if a sea monster might wave back at any moment.
Juno was just as fascinated by them.
Humans.
They were so dramatic.
So loud.
And honestly?
He found them rather hilarious.
One had tried to wrap him in a second blanket like he was about to shiver into another dimension. He didn’t have the heart to tell them he wasn’t cold. At all.
If they would just look the other way for a minute, he would be back in the water, helping Dolph and Zohar.
Instead, he was being babysat.
By a girl.
She sat next to him, arms folded, a plastic cup of soda in her hand. She had brown eyes, thick bangs, and a skeptical expression that made her look like she was both old and young.
She also looked like she’d had enough of this trip hours ago.
“Hi, I’m Juno,” Juno said, flashing her a grin.
She raised one eyebrow and stared at him like he had grown a second head. “I’m Tiffany. You look weird.”
“Thank you,” he replied cheerfully. “Why is everyone here?”
Tiffany gestured vaguely. “They’re looking for some stupid creature that doesn’t exist. You know—‘Nessie.’ It’s all for the tourists. Dumb, right?”
He tilted his head. “Are you one of the dumb tourists?”
Her scowl could have melted ice. “No. But my parents are.”
Juno snorted a laugh. “Oh. Okay.”
Tiffany gave him a sideways look. “How’d you get in the water?”
He blinked. “I swam.”
She looked around the loch. Choppy, wind-whipped water surrounded by cliffs and shadows. “From where? That’s impossible. It’s freezing.”
“Not for me.”
Her eyes narrowed. “How’s that possible? Are you some new tourist attraction? The Loch Ness Fishboy since they can’t find a huge dinosaur?”
Juno leaned closer, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “No. I’m from the Isle of the Sea Serpent. My brother and I—and our friend Zohar, he’s a dragon shifter—we’re trying to help Nessie get back home.”
She blinked. “Excuse me?”
Juno bit his lip. Now that he thought about it, he was pretty sure he wasn’t supposed to let the humans know about other worlds. He should have asked Dolph about that. Still, they already knew about Nessie, so it couldn’t be that bad.
“I told you. My brother, Zohar, and I are trying to help Nessie return home to the Isle of the Monsters. We think Nessie is one of her lost creatures.”
“I don’t believe you.”
He shrugged. “I’m not lying.”
She sipped her soda, eyes still on him. “Prove it.”
Juno frowned and looked at all the adults. Luckily, there weren’t that many, maybe a dozen, counting the crew. Still…
“I don’t think I should. I need to get back in the water,” he said, scanning the deck. “I need to help my brother and Zohar.”
“You want to go back in the water?”
“Yeah. The water’s my home. Well, not this water, specifically, but our quest to save Nessie is down there, not up here.”
“Why should I help you?” she asked, lifting a skeptical brow again.
“Why wouldn’t you? Don’t you want to help Nessie get home?” Juno asked with a puzzled frown. “Plus, we need to get home so we can help Zohar find his friends—and before our mom and dad find out we came to this world.”
She studied him, shook her head, and muttered, “You’re really weird.”
He laughed. “You already said that. So, are you going to help us?”
“…Fine. I’ll help you. But only if you prove you’re from another world first.”
Juno hesitated, then nodded slowly. “Okay. Hold up your cup.”
She looked at him like he was joking.
“I’m serious.”
She raised the soda.
Juno scanned the deck—tourists distracted, crew yelling about the motor. He leaned in close, shielding her cup with the edge of his blanket.
He took a breath and slowly spread his fingers.
The thin webbing between them stretched, shimmering faintly. Tiffany gasped, her eyes wide as moon saucers.
A soft glow trailed down his neck, and for a brief second, delicate scales shimmered along his skin—green-blue and iridescent—before fading again.
“Watch,” Juno whispered.
He looked at her soda.
The liquid rose—slowly—defying gravity as it lifted from the cup in a smooth, glistening column. It spun, twisted… and transformed into the shape of a tiny octopus, its arms waving cheerfully.
Tiffany let out a soft squeak.
The octopus winked, then rippled back into dark soda and fell with a plop back into the cup.
Juno looked up at her, eyes wide with mischief.
Tiffany stared at the cup. Then at him.
Her jaw dropped.
“You’re not lying.”
He grinned. “Told you.”
She blinked again, then nodded—once. “Okay. I’ll help you. You’re the first interesting thing that’s happened on this whole stupid trip.”
She looked around. Her mom was still talking with a crew-member and frowning toward the back of the boat.
Tiffany stood and touched Juno’s wrist. “Wait here.”
“What’re you doing?”
“Causing a distraction.”
She ran up the stairs to the upper deck, turned once to look down at him, then drew in a deep breath and shouted, “HOLY SHIT! I SEE NESSIE!”
The effect was instant.
A stampede of tourists and half the crew bolted for the opposite railing, cameras in hand, shouting questions and trampling over one another in their rush.
As they passed, Juno slipped silently to the edge.
He perched on the boat’s rim, threw Tiffany a grateful wave—
Then jumped off the side.
The blanket fluttered into the air like a discarded flag to the deck of the boat before he vanished as quickly as he appeared—back into the dark waters of Loch Ness.
The swirling colors of the portal released Orion into the dark waters of Loch Ness. He pulled the trident from his back and immediately expanded his senses, searching for Dolph, the alien boy, and the sea creature. Distant voices floated across the loch, sharp with alarm and confusion.
He exhaled slowly, remaining just below the surface. Overhead, grey clouds floated, casting shadows across the water. He turned his focus to the bobbing boat.
Lifting his hand, he called on the water to come to his aid.
Mist thickened.
Fog rolled across the surface of the loch, curling and rising until it swallowed the boat whole, cloaking it in a dense white veil. Lights dimmed. Shouts turned uncertain. Confident that the humans wouldn’t be able to see a thing, he sent a pulse.
“Dolph, Juno, come to me,” he murmured.
“I need to free the boat. Thank you… for the fog. That was a good idea,” Dolph replied, his voice hesitant.
“Be safe. I’m proud of you.”
Through the swirling haze of water, shapes emerged.
A long neck. Gleaming green-silver scales. Huge luminous eyes.
Nessie.
And riding her back—the alien boy who had appeared out of nowhere. The boy held himself with the poise of a young warrior, even as exhaustion clung to his shoulders.
Juno hugged the creature’s side, practically glowing with glee.
Dolph dove beneath the boat to untangle the sabotaged propeller.
Orion’s heart twisted. Pride swelled. Fear knotted tighter.
His boys were growing up.
And he could see that both were going to be great, compassionate leaders one day.
Minutes earlier:
Dolph twisted when he felt a tug of awareness.
The sudden fog was so thick, he couldn’t see more than a few feet in any direction, and he knew the misty tendrils curling like ghostly fingers above the water were not natural—at least it hadn’t just rolled in on its own.
There was a signature pulse of presence—calm, commanding, and ancient.
And he knew.
Their Dad had discovered where they had gone.
Dolph groaned inwardly, half-embarrassed, half-relieved.
Of course he had come after them.
Of course he’d seen everything.
His dad had summoned the fog. A brilliant idea that Dolph wished he had thought of first.
He untangled the propeller and surfaced with a sigh, the water in the freed rope making it much easier to return it to where he’d found it than it had been to take it in the first place.
He then headed toward the sea monster and his family.
He couldn’t help wondering how much trouble they—especially he—were in.
A lot, probably.
He braced himself.
His father’s imposing figure emerged from the fog, his face etched with seriousness, causing Dolph to slow down, a knot forming in his stomach. A quirky, light-hearted remark was forming on his lips; he opened his mouth to speak, but a sudden constriction in his throat stopped him.
A shudder ran through him when powerful arms pulled him into a fierce, unrelenting hug.
“You are an absolute little sea monkey for this little adventure,” Orion muttered, voice hoarse with emotion.
Dolph blinked in shock. “You’re not… mad?”
“I’m furious,” Orion said, squeezing harder. “And proud. And terrified. Never do that again. The ancient portals aren’t very stable. You’re lucky you didn’t end up stuck in an eternal loop.”
Dolph sagged against him, breath catching. “We had to help her.”
“I know.” Orion let him go and ruffled his wet hair. “I saw.”