Chapter Fifty-One

Russia

The trip was short as usual, no more than the blink of an eye and Athena was no longer in the dining room but here in Russia outside the ruins of an old church.  “Place needs help.” She said in a dry tone. “Ick.”

“I’m so sorry the accommodations do not suit you, my Princess.” Poseidon said in a mocking voice.  “Can you feel them?” He asked referring to the Ley lines below their feet.

“Give me a moment, Uncle.” Athena huffed and drew the heavy wool shawl tighter around her shoulders as she withdrew her hands from the matching gloves one slender finger at a time.  Closing her eyes she tried to empty her mind.

“Athena,” Sam said from behind her as she walked up to them.

“Quiet!”

Sam stopped walking and actually took a single step back at the sharpness in the young woman’s voice.

There was a strange energy here, Athena felt it running along the ground at her feet.  Like a power line it buzzed and hummed as it ran along on its merry way, the oddly warm sensation of being very lightly electrocuted came to her.  It wasn’t like sticking your finger in a light socket—which she’d done when she was four—but more along the lines of touching an old radio antenna on a radio with a short circuit—that she’d done when she was 10 and found such an old device in Ares’ home.  Her Father enjoyed radio far more than television and for some strange reason she’d yet to understand he seemed to like old transistor radios the best not satellite.  The sensation running along the soles of her feet tingled like that radio did. The fuzzy energy made its way from her feet to her ankles, her knees and on up through the rest of Athena’s athletic frame when it reached the top of her head it made the hairs there stand up.  Holding her hands out in front of her, high above the ground, the energy leapt up to greet her in long strands of emerald light.  Walking as though in a trance she followed where it lead, into the ruins and up to the blood encrusted altar.

Going purely on instinct Athena used the power of her Olympian mind to focus the two rivers of energy she felt; the one at her feet the one leaping into her hands, into one beam of emerald light.  Over the altar a glowing ring appeared in the cracked ancient stone.  There in her mind she saw galaxies…so many galaxies!  So many stars!  All those points of light took her breath away for a moment and her concentration with it, the light began to sputter and falter as she searched the stars to find the planet where the men were stranded.

“Which one?” She muttered. “There are so many.”

“Try to find Ares.” Poseidon suggested from behind her as he held one aged hand up to his forehead to shield his eyes from the light. “You’re doing great.” He encouraged. “Keep going.”

“Father, where are you Father?” Athena whispered to the stars and stared at them until one of them showed her a glowing red dot.  “There!”  Now what?  Yes, now focus the energy to the star.  It was difficult, the harder she focused the stronger it grew and threatened to spread beyond her ability to control. It was almost as though this energy had a life of its own.  With great concentration the beam finally landed almost on top of the single red dot.  The stone in front of her let out a loud buzzing as it glowed so bright all in the room had to shield their eyes.   From the rear wall a great explosion was heard as the energy broke through and shot up to the sky.  Through the fallen walls those that dared to could see it reaching up for the heavens. A porthole appeared it was small at first but swiftly grew into a massive whirling vortex.

On Sengul the ground shook once more.

Daniel was in the hospital rummaging around for medical supplies and anything that might help them get off this planet when the ground below him gave out a great tremor.  Like those waiting for him back at the church he gazed out of the nearest window to see two things 1-sunset was rapidly coming upon him and 2- the sky near the top of the mountain flashing with a strange purple lightening.  Throwing everything he could get his hands on into the duffel bag he ran to the church.  “Come on we have to get to the top of the mountain!” He yelled out as he burst through the door.

“Not yet,” Ares said.  “The vortex isn’t open.”

“It will be by the time we get there.” Daniel countered. “Come on!”

“It could just be a storm.” Jack said hating to agree with Ares but night was coming and it was a hell of a hoof up to the top of that little hill especially for Ares and Nick.

“A storm it is not.” Adoy said in his pleasant voice. “Coming for you they are.”

“You heard him. Let’s go!” Daniel demanded.

Controlling the energy that keeps Mother Earth alive proved too much for Athena in the end.  It was too hot, too swift, too wild and too powerful to be harnessed by her.  Trying to keep focused on the red dot the beam grew wider and wider in its search for freedom and she could not narrow it.  In a great burst of emerald fire it fed back on her nearly destroying what was left of the stone carving behind the altar as it threw her off her feet and back into the old church ten yards or more.  She skidded across the old floor littered with bits of stone and debris it embedded in her raven hair and ripped her expensive shawl. Her head crashed into the leg of an old pew which still stood and she came to an abrupt halt.

“Athena!” Poseidon and Sam rushed to her side.  The top of her head was cut badly and Ichor poured from the wound. On the floor she groaned and then her eyes fluttered open. “Thank the Gods. Are you all right?”

“No,” she said in a snotty voice and felt of the top of her head. “Damn that hurts.”

On the planet Daniel screamed; “NO!”

The vortex that never fully came to be ceased to be at all as the purple lightning sputtered out and all that remained was another sunset.

Adoy looked up at him. “Trying to reach you they are.”

“Yeah and when they try again we better be up there and not down here.”  He turned on his heels and glared at Ares. “I told you we should all stay in the cave. Why didn’t you listen to me?”

“Now this is my fault?”

“Yes…no…damnit!” Daniel stuttered and threw his hands up in frustration.  “Tomorrow we get up there.”  That wasn’t going to be an easy trek with Nick’s leg getting worse by the hour. At the pace they would have to go it could take the entire day to mount that hill. Who was to say that the animals hadn’t already found their way up there or wouldn’t soon?  While getting into Adoy’s little lair wasn’t easy there wasn’t any way to block the opening either.  For a big cat or one of those nasty flying monstrosities getting in would be child’s play.  Ammo was low, how long could they hold out up there?  “We have got to be there when they get it open.”

End of Chapter Fifty-One of
Golden Years
by Moon Mistress
a/k/a Lisa Beth Darling
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Chapter Fifty-Two