Page 50 of Surrendering Hope (The Hope Legacy)

Uncle Charlie snaps his fingers to get our attention. “I want you to take the team and investigate what the magic source is, and find those people.”

Emi’s spine snaps straight, like she’s standing to attention. “Can I come, please?” she bats her eyes at Uncle Charlie. Good luck Emi, that never works.

Uncle Charlie clears his throat and blushes. “I think having a goddess on our team would be advantageous, so yes.” What?

Duncan’s finger comes under my chin and he pushes my mouth closed with a chuckle. Jed jumps up from the sofa and drops the book on the table. He straightens his white T-shirt, the sleeves pulling to reveal the tattoos, not unlike Archan’s.

“Don’t forget me,” Jed says, stretching his arms to the ceiling. “You’re going to need all the help you can get to enter Hera’s temple.”

“Who’s Hera?” Gramps asks.

“Zeus’ wife,” Emi supplies. I roll my eyes. Of course she is. The guy who started all of this seems to be in the middle of whatever we do.

“Aaden, I’ve sent you the coordinates,” Uncle Charlie says. “Do you need transportation, or are you going to-” He waves his hand in the air.

“We’ll teleport, no need to waste time,” Duncan says.

I grab my coffee and gulp the caffeine down. If we are going underground, I’m going to need to be alert. God knows what we will find down there.

* * *

What can you achieve in an hour? I bet you my new boots you can’t mobilize a kick-ass team of people including a mythical being, two gods, a pure warlock, a fire wielding warrior and an analyst who would wipe the floor with the NSA. Then get them from the Caribbean to Greece. Jed teleported me, Emi took Aaden, and poor Zee got dumped with Duncan’s turbulent method of teleportation. He looks a little queasy. Aaden’s shell shocked, he’s glimpsed another dimension. It even made me speechless the first time.

We stand on a cobbled street at the edge of a quaint town. The sun reflects off the white wash walls of the Mediterranean homes which contrast with the cerulean blue sky. Sprinklers spurt out random arches of water over the bright flowers. My senses reach out in every direction seeking the source of wrongness that creeps over my skin.

“There’s no noise,” I say.

Zee rolls his eyes. “Because the town has been kidnapped.”

I shake my head. “There are no bees, birds or animals.”

They look around as if the wildlife is playing hide and seek.

“How far away are we?” I ask Jed.

“It’s about a mile south until we reach the center of the temple. But I couldn’t have teleported any closer without triggering some of Hera’s inventive security measures.”

“Why am I imagining anIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doomscenario?”

Emi is dancing on the spot, her excitement leaking out of her. “That’s about right.”

Oh boy.

Jed scales the grassy hill towards the temple. We reach the peak and stare out at the white column reaching towards the sky. A breeze ruffles a few loose hairs from my braid. A rustle of leaves whispers through the trees. I shiver, dread and doom dominating the atmosphere, when in this land of clear blue skies, green scenery and crystal waters it should be calm.

Zee grimaces, picking up on my emotions. I start a rendition of “Walk on Water” by Thirty Seconds to Mars. “Interesting song choice,” Duncan says.

I shrug. “I was going with the opposite of how I feel.”

“Like we’re walking to our deaths?” Zee asks, flicking his gaze at me.

Emi grimaces. “We’ve triggered Hera’s security measures. They are meant to warn people away.”

Jed scowls. “I think it’s more than that. The need to turn and walk in the other direction feels like Hera. But the undercurrent of malice, that’s something else.”

“Typhon?” I ask, striding after a determined Jed.

“Maybe?”

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