CHAPTER 2
SANDY ZAPS FLYING MAGICIANS
A flying boat sounds cool—I tell it’s not especially when you’re chased by flying bald-headed magicians!
“Take the rear! I’ll take the front!” Aunt Hilda shouted as the roar of the cold wind filled my ears. Mom nodded and stood at a narrow, elevated plank and cursed at the magicians. Mom took something out of her briefcase – a curved stick, a staff and some clay. She reached for the fire and she held it with her hands. Wait.. she can do that? I felt my head spin. My stomach churned as the boat was rocked back and forth by the wind. My hands went all sweaty and cold. I almost dropped myself off the couch.
“Brand? You alright?” Sandy asked. “You’re pale.” She touched my shoulders then stifled a laugh.
“What?” I asked sharply.
“You’re scared,” she taunted me.
“What the hell are you saying?” I denied and stood bravely. The winds seem to mock me. The boat rocked harder, knocking me off. I gripped the railing hard and squeezed my eyes shut.
“You’re sea sick?” “We’re not at sea.. the sea of these winds make me sick.” I answered.
She smirked. “Alright,” she stood up. “Stay put while I help Mom out.”
Did I just hear it right? I’m not gonna let her save me for the second time! I managed to make it to the rear. Mom was surrounded. The bald men are getting closer. Mom hurled fireballs at them. One got knocked out of the sky. Yeah great. Four left. A volley of fireballs went straight to them. Mom’s face was beaded with sweat. She looked my way and her eyes flashed with unsettling emotion. She stood there, stunned. The enemy took it as a cue. One lunged at Mom. “No!” Sandy and I shouted. Sandy pulled mom away and made a blocking stance. The winds rocked the boat harder. She pushed the air and the magician rocketed down, pushed by the strong winds.
“How did you..” I stuttered.
She looked at me. “I don’t know..”
Mom looked like she just swallowed a rat. “Mom?” I managed to drag her to the couch.
“Go down, bastard!” Aunt Hilda shouted as she sliced one magician’s bent sword. She knocked him out of the sky when she threw her bent stick like a boomerang. It flew back to her hands. I could hear Sandy shouting, “Back off! Or I’ll kill you all!” Killing them would be good. Assuming we can actually kill them.
“Amanda!” Aunt Hilda shook mom out of her state.
“No…no.” Mom murmured. Aunt Hilda helped her calm down by saying, “It’s all right. You’re doing good. Now, relax. Take a deep breath.” It worked. I could even feel myself obey what Aunt Hilda was saying. I felt my shoulders relax as her soothing words filled my ears. She looked at me.
“Tell me what happened.”
“ I..” I tried to find my tongue. “The wind..” I want to say the winds make me sick but I dismissed the thought.
“The wind.. Sandy knocked one of them with the wind..” I managed to say.
Her eyebrows furrowed, took a long look at us before scrambling to Sandy’s side. A great fireball was going to hit the boat. Sandy gestured a pushing motion and the fireball was pushed back by the wind. Aunt Hilda took the chance and threw something like a piece of clay while murmuring a chant. The small clay was shaped like a winged lion. It shimmered and turned into a ten feet tall winged lion.
“Attack!” Aunt Hilda shouted but her voice wavered. The lion slashed and slammed at the two magicians. The strongest of them managed to dodge and without hesitation, he lunged on us.
“No!” Sandy shouted and raised her right hand. There was a loud crack! A blinding lightning struck the last of them. The boat shook convulsively at the impact. Sandy sent him down smoking at the blow. I blinked the yellow spots out of my eyes. Aunt Hilda shrank back to the floor, fazed. There was an eerie silence except for the sound of the winds crashing on us.
“Well..” Sandy muttered in between gasps. “that..was..new..”
I looked at her, unable to believe what I’ve seen.
“Amanda..” Aunt Hilda said in a hushed tone. “what the hell is this?”
Mom whimpered and sank on the couch. She covered her mouth, her eyes in near tears. We all looked at her. Then her eyes went wide. Her eyes laid on Sandy and she gasped.
“No..no..it can’t be..” she muttered. We looked at Sandy. Shining above her was a golden holograph, a lightning holograph shimmering. Sandy looked up and tried to touch the holograph above her. I had a bad feeling that the holograph was an omen – good and bad. “It is determined,” Aunt Hilda stated at Sandy. Mom’s whimper somehow sounded like a creepy howl. Mom tried to keep a straight face, but her tears kept streaming down her cheeks. “You’re father’s Zeus,” she said with disgust as she mentioned the name. “the Rain-god, Cloud-gatherer..” her voice wavered. Aunt Hilda continued what mom failed to say. “Wielder of the thunderbolt..”
“Wait.. Who is he?” Sandy asked again. Then a foolish idea came out of my mind. I remembered Mom’s stories about these gods and goddesses. “Zeus..Supreme ruler of Olympus?”
A sense of recognition flashed at Sandy’s eyes at a split-second. “You’re kidding.” Her voice trembled. “No, he’s not.” Aunt Hilda said. “That holograph means he just claimed you. Your father’s Zeus, Lord of the Sky.”
Sandy’s pale face glittered with sweat. “The lightning..is..it..” she stuttered. Aunt Hilda nodded.
“But how? They’re just myths!”
“Sad to say Sandy, it’s real. Me and your mom are..” she searched for the right words. “We’re just like you. Our mother’s the goddess of love and beauty.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I looked at Mom, then at Aunt Hilda, they look beautiful and so young that I believed it right away. I can sense Sandy is thinking the same way too. Aunt Hilda stood up groggily. She turned to me. “Come kid, help me fix your mom.” Then she turned to Sandy. “You better rest. That took a lot of your energy.. and.. monsters might attack us any minute now..”
We slowly helped Mom to a small bedchamber which was honestly not there a few minutes ago. Sandy sank to the couch—her eyes as stormy as the storm clouds.