The days of myth, p.1
The Days of Myth, page 1
The Days of Myth
God Stones Book 3
Otto Schafer
Sound Eye Press
Copyright © 2021 by Otto Schafer
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
All characters and events in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Published in 2021
ISBN 9798747724938 (hardback)
ISBN 978-1-7341154-3-7 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-7341154-4-4 (ebook)
Cover design by Damonza
Map design by Fantasy Map Ink
Editing by The Blue Garret
Sound Eye Press
www.ottoschafer.com
This book is for anyone who ever wanted to pick up a sword and stand toe-to-talon with a dragon or stare unflinchingly into the eye of a cyclops. For anyone who weaves magic and throws down with ancient wizards even if only in their imagination.
Contents
I. THE EXPEDITION
1. Setting Off
2. I Will Show Them Something Truly Special
3. Not a Spoke Card
4. In the Beginning
5. Rats in a Maze
6. Her Grandmother’s Eyes
7. Shrub Woman
8. Mind Speak
9. The Burning World
10. Yaya’s Quest
11. Meatloaf Special
12. You Did What You Had To
13. Governess
14. Fleeting Laughter
15. Catfish and Honey Buns
16. God Stone Storm
17. Sitting Ducks
18. A Breakfast Vision
19. Here We Go, Danny!
20. The Devil Has Come to Chiapas
21. Your Mom Says Hi
22. Jurupa
23. Better Off Without You
II. ARMIES OF THE WORLD
24. We Are Nephilbock
25. It’s Just a Ride
26. One Hundred Years
27. The Wicker Basket
28. Let Them See
29. Bulldozing for Answers
30. The Eyra of Tunga
31. Cerberus
32. The White Forest of Gold
33. Cloners Are Shifters
34. Return of the King
35. Reunited
36. The Devil’s Garden
37. Pando the Trembling Giant
38. Leadership 101
39. Call Your God
40. Nightshade the Taker
41. Angel’s Surprise
42. The Dragons Fight with Us
43. Condemned to Death
44. The Place in Between
45. A Prince Among Them
46. Clash of the Titans
47. A Shared Memory
Epilogue: Jack
Glossary
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Sign Up to Read More
Part I
THE EXPEDITION
1
Setting Off
Sunday, April 17 – God Stones Day 11
Petersburg, Illinois
Below Petersburg, Garrett stood with his friends in the dimly lit storage room of Undertown, a secret underground city you wouldn’t find on any map. Garrett, Lenny, Pete, and David stuffed gear into backpacks, preparing for the journey of their lives, a journey to southern Mexico. Once there, they would save Sarah, a woman they’d never met, and rescue Breanne and Gabi, teenagers like themselves, from an area infested with creatures manipulated by a powerful magic known as Sentheye. Once accomplished, Garrett and the others would join the Keepers of the Light, and Garrett would lead them through a portal to another world.
Right. No problem, Garrett thought, as he slung his pack over his shoulders and pulled the straps tight. Despite the buzz of nervous energy radiating from his friends, the moment felt surreal, like he wasn’t really getting ready to travel two thousand miles into a foreign country, across a world deteriorating into chaos and strewn with giants, dragons, and god only knew what else. He looked down at his hands to find them shaking uncontrollably. His stepfather, Phillip, along with other members of the Keepers of the Light, had ensured they’d trained Garrett in countless disciplines, including cartography. So why so many doubts? Oh, wait, maybe it had to do with the fact that, his entire life, nearly everyone he ever trusted had lied to him. Add to that the fact that he had barely traveled outside of Illinois, and he was about to do it against his mother’s wishes.
He steadied his hands and took a calming breath. All the doubts swimming through his mind like a capsized canoeist in white water didn’t matter. The only decision he was sure of was the one he’d already made. He was leaving the Keepers entrusted to his brother James, and he was leaving for Mexico tonight. Breanne was out there, and she needed him.
Garrett’s entire life had been a lie. Not just one lie, but lies upon lies, and right now he knew only one truth. He had to find Breanne – period. Nothing was more important.
The storage room door swung inward as James entered the room. “Alright, I woke Edward and Paul and told them you were leaving for Mexico now. They seemed surprised. But they’re up and moving. You have all night to travel, and if you move quick, you can get far and clear of the dragons before first light.”
The dragons his brother referred to were the ones the Moores had reported seeing on their way to Petersburg. According to them, the dragons were burning everything in a large radius and working their way toward Petersburg. There could only be one reason they were here, and Garrett knew he was that reason.
“And Mom?” Garrett asked.
“She may come to check on you, but if we hurry, you’ll be long gone. We’ll make our way out through an exit few people other than me know about.”
“Garrett, are you sure you don’t want to tell her you’re leaving?” Lenny asked.
“Yeah, Garrett. I mean, who knows when you will get to see her again,” David said.
Garrett could only nod, but his heart ached at the deceit. Despite how his mom, James, and most everyone else had lied to him about who he was, dishonesty didn’t come easy for him. “Look, if this prophecy thing is true, we will see her in Mexico at the portal to the other world.”
James nodded. “On my life, I will get her – and everyone – there.”
Garrett pressed his lips into a tight smile. “I know you will. Just tell her I’m doing what I am supposed to do. I’m following my heart.”
The door swung in again, replaced by the silhouette of a massive man. Edward ducked low to keep from hitting his head on the door frame as he entered the room with Paul on his heels.
Garrett couldn’t get over how huge Bre’s brother was and just how much his facial features reminded him of both his siblings, but especially Paul.
“We doing this?” Edward asked.
“We are.” Garrett nodded, pressing his lips into a tight line. He had promised Paul only days ago, when they were back in the tunnel, that he would find Bre, and he planned to keep that promise. God, how days seemed like years.
Paul’s lips hinted at a smile and he returned the nod.
“Well, grab your packs and let’s go,” Garrett said.
“Wait, Garrett?”
“Yeah, James?”
“When they brought you in that night and changed you into dry clothes, they found this in your pocket.” James held out a shiny chrome Zippo lighter.
Garrett took the Zippo and frowned. He opened the lid and thumbed the flint wheel. The lighter sparked a tiny, steady flame into existence. “Wow, it still works. I’m sorry, forgot I had it,” he said, reaching up with his other hand to close the lid.
James stopped him, softly placing a hand on Garrett’s forearm. “Garrett, look at the flame. This little flame lit when we blew the house up on top of Apep, and it lit when you needed it to illuminate the chamber holding the dragon and the giant. It was this tiny flame that provided you the light you needed to fight. Look at it, Garrett. Now, think of yourself,” James said. “Like this little flame, you are the light of this world. Whatever happens, don’t forget your destiny. You are small, but like this little flame, you are powerful.”
Garrett’s scowl deepened, and he nodded. “I won’t forget.”
“I know you won’t, just like I knew this lighter would light when I needed it to. I have faith in you. I have always had faith in you.”
This time, when Garrett reached to close the lid, his brother only nodded. The lid snapped shut, stifling the flame until called upon again. He extended the lighter toward James.
“No. You keep it. This time though, don’t forget you have it. When the time comes, it will be there just like you will be there for all the Keepers.”
Garrett stuffed the lighter in his pocket. “Thanks, James.”
James nodded, drawing in a deep breath. “Listen, I wanted to provide you horses, but I honestly don’t think you would get far on them. Not with dragons lurking about. If you walk, even covering thirty miles a day, it will take you seventy days to get to southern Mexico.”
“James, we can’t take that long. That Sarah lady can’t hold out seventy days!” David interjected.
“Right. That’s why I am equipping you all with mountain bikes.”
“This is huge! This will seriously c
“Screw you, Len – but yeah, this beats the hell out of running,” David agreed.
Ed looked considerably less excited than the others. “Great, another bike trip.”
“Well, you could always fly to Mexico,” Pete said, shrugging his shoulders as he cinched down the shoulder straps of his pack.
“Yeah, well, it doesn’t quite work that way.” Ed shook his head and tested the weight of one of the packs.
“But that’s how you got here,” Garrett said.
“It is but, I can’t just fly all day. There’s the issue of stamina. I weigh two-forty. I weight lift mostly and haven’t run much since I blew out my knee in SEAL training. Flying is like running, it’s like a cardio thing, but I also have to focus constantly. I lose my focus even for a second and I drop like a rock. When that happens, I’m moving fast enough I can’t get my feet under me, and then it’s head over heels,” Ed said, punching a fist into his palm.
Garrett shrugged. “Well then, I guess we won’t have a problem keeping up with you.”
“Better not, because I don’t plan on waiting around for any of you. I don’t need a bunch of kids slowing me down.”
Ed’s chest muscles seemed to twitch beneath his too-tight tee shirt – either involuntarily or maybe subconsciously, Garrett wasn’t sure which, but it was weird, like his muscles had a life of their own.
It was plain that Ed cared little for Garrett. And while Garrett couldn’t blame him, he needed him to understand right here and now how this was going to work. “Listen, Ed, you won’t have a problem with me keeping up with you. It’s the other way around I’m worried about. You drag ass and we won’t wait for you. I made a promise to your brother I plan on keeping, but even if I hadn’t, I would still be going after Bre. Besides, it sounds like this Sarah lady needs David pretty bad. Personally, I don’t care if you come with us or don’t, but you don’t have to be a dick, and you better not slow us down.”
Lenny’s eyebrows sprang up, and he shot David a look.
David threw a hand over his mouth.
Ed stared down at Garrett, his mouth screwing up in a sneer.
“So, listen up,” James said, jumping in to get them back on track. “I have these bikes equipped with tire change kits strapped under the seat. They contain all the tools you need for tube changes. Oh, and you’ll find tire pumps mounted under the cross tubes. Look, these bikes should be sturdy enough to get you to Mexico, and you can probably make the trip in three weeks barring any unforeseen circumstances.”
“Like dragons, giants” – David started ticking off fingers – “trees, looters, roving gangs—”
“We get it, David,” Garrett said, cutting him off.
“But if you have to ditch these bikes, you’re going to just have to figure it out. Garrett, Lenny, I know you guys love to run, but if you lose the bikes, you better find another way. Running will simply take you too long.”
“So what you’re saying is, commandeer a bike along the way if we need to?” Lenny asked.
“Yes, if it comes to that. But what I am really saying is, take care of these bikes. Safeguard them when you sleep. Don’t leave them unattended.”
They all nodded.
“Why bikes?” Pete asked. “Diesel engines don’t rely on electricity, right? All this time knowing this was coming, you couldn’t have come up with something that wouldn’t require electric spark? A hand-crank diesel or something?”
James shook his head. “There are plenty of reasons that’s a bad idea, Pete. If we could have given you guys something big enough to travel far with, you would need to find fuel along the way, but worse, you would be a bigger target than even these bikes are going to make you. Then there’s the issue of the God Stones and what they’re doing to this world, even as we speak. Now that they’re assembled, their effect is even more unpredictable than we expected. Suppose your diesel engine just explodes for no understandable reason? I would not have been comfortable sending you out of here riding a potential time bomb.”
“Well, sheesh, when you put it like that, bikes sound like the way to go.” Pete reached to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose and then quickly realized he no longer wore glasses; he awkwardly played it off by brushing his dark bangs to the side.
“Let’s move then,” James said, leading them into the corridor.
They made their way through a switchback of narrow passages and into a long tunnel with no offshoots. Up ahead, a horse neighed.
“Stables?” Garrett asked.
“Yes, stay quiet and let me do the talking,” James said.
Two guards stood on either side of what Garrett guessed were stable doors, from the sound and the smell coming from within. One guard, Yogi, he had seen earlier in the day. The other he didn’t recognize. Both men dropped to their knees, pressed their faces to the floor, and bowed. “Please stand, guys,” Garrett said, still hating when people bowed down like this.
“At ease, men,” James said as Yogi and the other man stood. “I am giving the Light a tour of Undertown. Why don’t you both knock off for tonight? Tomorrow I want you two stationed outside on the square. You’ve worked some long hours below and have earned some sunshine.”
The two guards smiled and both bowed at the waist to James.
“Protect the Light!” Yogi said, pounding a fist over his heart. His eyes shifted briefly to Garrett, then straight ahead.
“Protect the Light!” the other man said, slapping a fist to his chest.
“Protect the Light!” James returned the strange salute with a fist over his own chest.
Garrett had always disliked Yogi. The older boy seemed to have a mean streak that reminded him of Jack. Now though, he thought maybe it was just part of the façade. Some strange Keeper strategy to mold Garrett into the man he was to become. But as the two men turned to leave, Garrett’s guilt for hating the guy eased as he caught a strange sort of backward glance – a hint of unkindness in Yogi’s narrowed eyes. It was subtle, but it was there. Then again, maybe he was seeing things after having been deceived by everyone around him.
Once the men vanished around the corner, James motioned them forward. “Come, this way. They know I just lied to them.”
“What? How?” Lenny asked.
“We are carrying packs full of gear,” Ed said. “It’s obvious we don’t need all this for a simple tour.”
James nodded. “They are on their way to report what they saw, but you will be long gone before they get back.”
They crossed through the stables, past dozens of wagons, and into an area loaded with bikes. On the far end was a group of black mountain bikes.
“These are for you guys. Each of you grab one and follow me,” James said.
They jogged with their bikes through the tunnels for what had to be several blocks. After a few turns, which had Garrett certain he couldn’t find his way back if he wanted to, the group carried their bikes and gear up some unassuming stairs and stopped at a plain concrete wall.
“Garrett, you guys played in the Z tunnel under Route Six, right?” James asked.
“By the concrete plant? Sure, every kid plays in that tunnel. It’s the largest, but boring otherwise. It just zigzags under the road and doesn’t really go anywhere,” he replied.
