Chapter 3
THE MONOLITH
Iused to think that there wasn’t a bigger, more intimidating building in all the universe than the Black Obelisk.
I’d been so very wrong. Smooth, white, and impossibly tall, the Monolith jutted up from the magic-scorched plains like an enormous stone tablet.
It was a beautiful, terrible, magnificent monstrosity, a testament to the spirits’ power.
“I don’t see any doors or windows,” I said. “How are we supposed to get in?”
“The doors and windows blend into the structure. There are buttons on the walls to open them,” Capricorn told me.
“If we can get to those buttons. Look.”
I looked where Kato was pointing. Six guards were stationed around the Monolith: agents of the Zodiac Order, magic-packed and ready for battle.
Capricorn looked at Scorpio. “The Directors know we have our memories back. They know we’re coming for the other Lost Spirits. That’s why security is so tight.”
“Yes,” he agreed. “The agents have likely been told that we are now Disrupters, enemies of the spirits and a threat to the Many Realms. They will not stand down, no matter what we say.”
“Then we won’t talk to them. We’ll sneak past them,” Conner said. “An invisibility spell should do the trick.”
“That won’t work. The Monolith is on high alert. All of its defenses are activated.” Scorpio pointed at the walls.
At first, I didn’t see anything. I waited.
One second. Two. Three, four, five. The Monolith’s walls stirred.
Quiet ripples danced up the building’s surface.
There was a breath of total stillness, and then a splash.
Magic burst out of the building’s roof like a geyser, changed direction, and plunged down, down, down.
As it went, the magic changed color, dialing through the shades of the rainbow.
It gathered in a dark violet pool at the base of the Monolith.
Another few breaths of stillness…and then the ripples started once more.
I gaped at Scorpio. “What is that?”
“Magic.”
Well, no kidding. It was definitely magic and way more powerful than anything I’d ever seen. I guess that’s what happened when a lot of spirits combined their power.
“The Monolith’s defenses are too sophisticated to be fooled by an invisibility spell,” Scorpio said. “They detect all magic.”
“Ok, so stealth is out.” Conner threw a look Kato’s way. “If we can’t sneak past the guards, maybe we can fight through them. What do you think?”
“No,” Capricorn said. “As Scorpio said, those are Zodiac Order agents, and they will fight us with everything they’ve got because they believe they’re defending the Many Realms from evil. We are that evil, by the way.”
“We should knock them out and sort everything out later.”
That was definitely Conner’s style.
“No,” Capricorn said. “The agents of the Zodiac Order are well-trained and very powerful. It will be difficult to knock them out without injuring them—or, worse yet, killing them. They will fight to the bitter end, believing that if the Zodiac Order falls, the Many Realms will fall. They are the last line of defense that stands between evil doers and their dreams of domination.”
“All right…so how do you want to do this?” Conner asked. “What’s your plan?”
“Savannah Winters is our plan.”
Scorpio spoke the words in the same serious, matter-of-fact way that Kato said ‘knights wear helmets’. Apparently, I was the entirety of their plan. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. No, scrap that. Actually, I was sure how I felt about it: overwhelmed.
Kato looked at me, his face hardening into a distinct non-expression. He’d obviously read the panic painted all over my face. “You can’t put this all on Savannah. She’s only been an Apprentice for three weeks.”
“Yeah,” Conner agreed. “We’re here to help you, not make your plan for you.”
“We could make a plan, but it would most certainly fail,” Capricorn said.
“Portia said Savannah Winters must make the plan, and she must be the one to open the Remembrance Orb,” Scorpio added. “We will protect her.”
Between Scorpio, Capricorn, Kato, and Conner, I certainly had a lot of protection. All I needed now was a plan. Fortunately, one just happened to fall in my lap.
“There. That is how we get into the Monolith.”
Scorpio followed my gaze to a man who was sprinting across the scorched plains toward the Monolith.
His long cape rippled behind him, like a flag in the wind.
It didn’t slow him down. Neither did the Zodiac Order agents.
Their spells and spears and arrows didn’t touch him. He was too fast and impossibly agile.
“The Masked Metamorph,” Kato said.
“What’s he doing here?” Conner asked.
“I think we’re about to find out.”
The Masked Metamorph dropped into a crouch, punching the hard earth.
The ground began to rumble, then shake, the intensity growing by the second.
It was roaring now, a hungry, angry song.
Dirt exploded under the agents, like landmines going off, throwing them off their feet.
They hit the ground, all unconscious. The Masked Metamorph walked past them, heading for the Monolith.
“I bet you wish you could do that, Mr. Legendary,” Capricorn teased Scorpio.
“I will figure out how to do that,” he replied. He never took his eyes off the Masked Metamorph.
The mysterious man had just gotten even more mysterious. He’d overpowered six Zodiac Order agents in the span of a few seconds, and he didn’t even look winded. Who was this guy?
He’d reached the Monolith. The weird defense barrier was slithering up the building like ripples on a lake, but the moment he got too close, the ripples changed direction, shooting down toward him.
He thrust both hands forward, quick as lightning, catching the tendrils of magic.
Sparks flew. Flames erupted. The defense barrier roared with rage.
The Masked Metamorph held on.
“How is he still standing?” Capricorn said. “That barrier is designed to keep out armies.”
The Masked Metamorph’s massive arms shook. His muscles bulged under the strain. He kept holding on. Cracks formed in the defense barrier.
Conner watched him, his eyes wide with shock, his words echoing my thoughts. “Who is this guy?”
The barrier let out a final, thunderous protest, then it shattered to pieces. Multicolored shards of magic fell to the ground like broken glass.
Scorpio stood there looking stunned, like his whole world view had shattered too. “That is impossible. No one can breach the Monolith’s defenses.”
“Luckily for us, that guy can,” Conner told him.
The Masked Metamorph set his hand on the building. A door-sized opening formed in the smooth white surface. He passed through it and entered the Monolith.
“I wonder what he wants inside the Monolith,” Kato said.
“Yeah,” said Conner. “First, he goes after Zenik on Gaia. And now he attacks the Monolith. What is his endgame?”
“Something nefarious. No doubt we’ll find out what he wants soon enough.” I couldn’t think of any scenario that didn’t end in our fighting the Masked Metamorph. “Come on, he left a big hole in the Monolith’s defenses. Let’s hurry inside before the Zodiac Order closes that hole.”
We charged toward the building. Spells and arrows fired down on us. Kato jumped in front of me, taking the arrow that would have hit me.
“Kato!” I tried to catch him before he fell, but he was too heavy in all that armor.
Conner moved fast, catching Kato’s other side. Thank goodness for team work. I couldn’t support his weight alone.
“Hurry, we have to get inside!” I told the others.
“That might prove to be a problem,” Conner said.
I saw them: Zodiac Order agents pouring out of the opening in the Monolith, heading straight for us.