Free Guardians of Rhea by Jose Rodriguez Page B

always want to go it alone?”
    “The fewer people I have to worry about, the
better,” Leon replied. “I'm going to take the lead, you cover the
back.”
    “Sure thing,” Darek said.
    “Sara,” Leon called. “It’s going to be
dark.”
    Sara quickly gathered the material and used
her flint to light the torches. In the cave, she could only see a
few yards in front of her.
    At first the cave was short and narrow, but
after several minutes, they came to sections that were as large as
several houses and some that were absolutely enormous. Openings in
the earth allowed for some extra light.
    Sara was near the back of the group by Caycee
and Darek. “Do you use this cave often?” she asked.
    “Not anymore, really,” Caycee said. “It's
part of a much bigger system. There are dozens of ways in and
out.”
    “You could move an army through these caves,”
Darek said.
    After several hours, they came to a huge area
with an amazing waterfall. A short distance further was a campsite
with several large piles of wood strewn about.
    “We'll rest here,” Leon said.
    The group setup a small campfire and told
stories.
    “So there we were,” Gillan spoke. “The Typhon
against the Leviathan. It was the final match to see who would be
the grand champion. Fire against water!”
    Kamala laughed. “You're never going to let it
go, are you? You just love telling this story.”
    “It's a good story!” Gillan insisted.
“Anyways, the Typhon had to melt the Leviathan Glacier, and we had
to stop the Typhon Komigi eruption. The Typhon were spitting their
fire all over the place, pretty much engulfing the whole thing. We
called up a huge storm around the mountain. Both sides were going
at it for almost four minutes until-”
    Kamala couldn't resist. “Until Gillan thought
it would be a good idea to take the Glacier and cap the Komigi with
it!”
    Gillan pumped both fists in the air. “We
won!”
    “Please!” Kamala waved.
    “I got bonus points for originality!”
    “If ever there was a cheat.”
    “Hey, the Typhon could have just as easily
used Komigi to melt the Glacier.”
    Kamala turned to Sara. “It caused the biggest
uproar in the history of the Element Games.”
    Several in the group laughed.
    “It sounds like your people are very
powerful,” said Sara.
    “Young Gillan here is considered something of
a prodigy actually,” Kamala said.
    Janah snickered. “Tell Sara about your
Hybrid.”
    Nedim groaned tiredly and lied down.
    “Hybrid?” Sara wondered.
    “A famous Khothu legend,” Gillan
answered.
    “My kind likes to tell stories about one who
mastered all the elements,” Kamala said.
    “It's hard enough learning one element, let
alone four,” Gillan added.
    Kamala nodded. “But it's becoming very common
to find Khothu that can control two elements fluently. And there
are a few old ones that know three.”
    “Wow.” Sara said. “A Hybrid would be very
powerful.”
    “That's what makes it a legend.”
     
     
     

CHAPTER SIXTEEN
     
    The group was on the move next morning.
    Sara walked in back with Caycee and
Darek.
    Caycee, with her power of intuition, knew
something was on Sara's mind and asked. “What are you curious
about?”
    Slightly unnerved, Sara stopped, allowing
most of the group up front to move on before continuing. “Leon,”
she answered.
    “What about him?”
    “He said he belongs to all of the Houses, but
I don't see how that's possible.”
    “Intriguing, isn't it?” Darek said.
    “Don't worry,” Caycee said. “It's
understandable. Leon isn't a Vesuvian like us. He wasn't born as
much as he was created.”
    “What do you mean?” Sara asked.
    “When the Pelasgians invaded Rhea, it wasn't
enough that they outnumbered us. They had a group of three warriors
called Myrmidons. No one could stand against them. The Council
didn't want to risk their lives, so they came up with the idea of
creating a special Vesuvian.”
    “Leon?” Sara asked.
    “Yes,” Caycee said. “Blood was