The Legend of Silver and Gold Book Two The Old Ones

Tora was pacing back and forth in the hotel room. She didn’t like the predicament that they were all in. The Powerful Ones, the very beings behind the gods, had Molly, Carver and she all locked up. She wasn’t sure if there was a way to escape or not. She had already tried the door to the hotel room but it was locked. No doubt one of the Powerful Ones had been ordered to guard the door.

Tora went to the window and looked outside. The only vehicle she saw was the one that the three of them had arrived in. She wondered how the Powerful Ones had arrived before she thought of her mother. She knew that her mom was probably worried about her. “Mom, I could use your help right about now.” She said quietly. “We need to find a way to escape.”

Tora’s ears perked up as she heard the door to the room open. Maybe her mother had been able to hear her and help open the door. She turned around to see Carver getting shoved in. Her heart sank. So much for a possible escape.

Tora went over to Carver. “What are we going to do?” She asked him. “Do we know where Molly is? Is she okay?”

Carver walked to the bed and sat down. “For now, I’m not sure what we’re going to do.” He told Tora. “Last time I had to face a Powerful One, I had your mom, Elizabeth and Nichallo helping me and I used the ocean through water magic.” He gestured to the hotel room. “The only water here is in the bathroom and I doubt it would get us far before the Powerful Ones caught us.”

Tora sighed and sat down next to him. “What about Molly?” She asked. “Is she okay? I haven’t seen her since they removed her and me.”

Carver shook his head. “I’m not sure.” He replied. He knew that the Powerful Ones weren’t about to hand her over to the Old Ones but he also knew that the Powerful Ones would possibly kill Molly to make sure that the Old Ones didn’t get the Silver Child just yet. Of course killing Molly would just make another Silver Child appear and then all three sides would have to go searching for the next one.

“What about your Uncle Hades?” Tora asked. “He could help us. He owes you a favor, doesn’t he?”

Carver wasn’t sure how to answer that. After all, Hades had said that he could call on the Lord of the Dead back when they had been facing the Dark Ones. There was no telling if Hades would join Tora and he against the other Powerful Ones, especially Jupiter.

“Carver, what are we going to do?” Tora asked again. “My mom, Nichallo and Elizabeth are out there somewhere and they need our help. We can’t help them or anyone if we’re locked up in here.”

“I know Tora.” Carver said in a gentle voice. He really wished that he could give Tora a better answer. He looked toward the window. Had it not been for Coatlicue being there and Molly being locked up, he would have suggested that they made a run for it to his car. It seemed like the car was the only real safe place left for them.

“Carver, do you think the other Old Ones that are free are going to come here?” Tora asked.

Carver was about to say something when he got an idea. He walked to the door and knocked on it.

The door opened to reveal one of the Powerful Ones. This one was a young woman. She had long blonde hair and was in armor. She had a sword in her one hand. She looked ready for a battle. “What do you want?” The Powerful One demanded.

Carver looked past the Powerful One and down the hallway. “Coatlicue is the only Old One here, right?” He asked. “Just wanting to make sure we’re not in any danger of an ambush by the Old Ones, you know?”

“We’re quite safe.” The Powerful One told Carver though the tone in her voice did not change at all. “Coatlicue is the only Old One who knows of this place. The rulers of the different clans decreed that only those who were once considered gods could find this place. Coatlicue is the only one.” With that, the Powerful One closed the door.

“Carver.” Tora said in a shaky voice, causing Carver to turn around. “Coatlicue wasn’t the only Old One who was considered a god.” Her face lost its color. “Didn’t Elizabeth say that Shub-Niggurath was the inspiration for Gaea, the primordial goddess of the Earth from Greek Mythology?”

Carver’s eyes widened and he rushed back to the door. He banged on it loudly. “Open up!” He shouted. “We’re all in danger!”

Outside the hotel, Shub-Niggurath was staring at the hotel. She wasn’t alone. Salazar and Howard were in Salazar’s car. The windows to the car were rolled up and Salazar wasn’t planning on rolling them down. He didn’t trust Shub-Niggurath. He knew that if he rolled the windows down even a crack, the Old One would use her branches or roots to kill both Howard and he.

The two men couldn’t believe that they were at some hotel in the middle of nowhere. They had thought for sure that Carver would have gone straight to Providence, Rhode Island. All of their police officers and F.B.I. agents who were searching for Molly were at every town between New York City and Providence. They hadn’t revealed who the kidnapper was yet. Tempest had ordered that. Tempest firmly believed that Carver would keep Molly at a safe distance since it turned out that the Silver Child was needed to release the Old Ones.

Salazar had been surprised to hear that. He thought that only a Silver Child could seal the Old Ones away. It was why they had killed Carver’s wife years before. Part of him was wondering if there was anything else Tempest was keeping from them.

“Coatlicue did say that Jupiter was leading this meeting, right?” Howard asked as he looked at the sky through the front window.

Salazar nodded as he returned to the present. “Jupiter and a lot of other Powerful Ones.” He replied before he scoffed. “Powerful Ones. What kind of race calls themselves that?” He thought it was a little ambitious and egotistical. He got that the Powerful Ones had all been considered gods at some point but it sounded stupid.

“Explains the storm clouds overhead.” Howard said. He didn’t like the way the storm clouds looked. If he was a betting man, he was willing to bet that there was going to be a storm that very night. He just wondered if it was because Jupiter had been expecting a fight from Coatlicue or if the Powerful One knew that other Old Ones would be showing up.

There was a tap on the driver’s window, startling both men. They turned to see a snake on the outside side of the window. It was staring at them.

“Think Coatlicue sent it?” Howard asked.

“Obviously.” Salazar replied. “Is the Silver Child here?” He asked the snake. He wasn’t going to let the serpent in the car.

The snake nodded it’s head.

“Are Carver and the other child here as well?” Salazar asked.

The snake nodded its head again.

“Very well. Return to your mistress. Shub-Niggurath will keep the Powerful Ones distracted. Tell Coatlicue to get the Silver Child and to bring the girl to us.” Salazar ordered the snake. He wasn’t sure if part of Coatlicue’s conscious was in the snake or if it gained its independence once it left Coatlicue’s body.

Howard looked at Shub-Niggurath through the window. “Time for you to do your part.” He told the Old One.

Carver watched the hotel door open again to reveal the Powerful One.

“What do you want?” The woman demanded.

Carver looked down the hallway again. “We’re all in danger.” He told the woman. “Coatlicue isn’t the only Old One who knows of this hotel’s location.”

The woman pointed her sword at Carver. “Choose your next words very carefully.” She warned him. “This place was made by the ruling Powerful Ones, including the Allfather. As one of his Valkyries, I will kill you if you speak only lies and dishonor him.”

Tora joined them. “He’s telling the truth!” She cried in a scared voice. “Shub-Niggurath, the Old One, was the inspiration for Gaea. Gaea is a Primordial One from Greek Mythology. That makes her equivalent to a Powerful One and gives her the location of this hotel.”

The Valkyrie looked at Tora. She could tell that the young girl was scared and that both the girl and Carver believed that. She looked past them at the window. She wasn’t sure what to believe but she knew that she would need to take them both to Jupiter. “Come with me.” She ordered. “You can tell Jupiter what you believe.”

At that moment, the three heard screaming coming from another room followed by what sounded like crashing and loud thuds. The noises got louder as it sounded like it came from other rooms.

Carver and Tora rushed out of their room just as the window was broken and several branches came flying in.

The Valkyrie slammed the door shut and broke the handle. “That should buy us some time.” She said as she looked at the two of them. “Hopefully long enough to get to Jupiter and the other Powerful Ones…assuming Shub-Niggurath hasn’t killed them yet.”

In Jupiter’s suite. Jupiter, Sif and Bast could hear the noises coming from the other side of the entrance to the suite. Behind them, in a golden cage hanging from the ceiling was Molly. The sound of Powerful Ones being thrown around could be heard as well. The doors shook as something large hit them.

“What is Coatlicue thinking?” Sif demanded. “Does she think that she can take us all on at the same time?” She wasn’t sure how Coatlicue was doing it but it had to be the Old One. No one else knew of the meeting or how to find the hotel. Carver and his team had only found it by chance and that was because they were descendants of Powerful Ones.

“I don’t believe that’s Coatlicue.” Jupiter replied. He raised his lightning bolt up, ready to strike whoever came through the door.

“Who else could it be?” Bast hissed. “None of the Powerful Ones have sided with the Old Ones since Apophis and he’s dead.” She still had the scars from that betrayal but it was a small price to pay knowing that her great adversary was dead and couldn’t inflict that kind of damage upon anyone else.

The doors shook again. “Whoever is trying to break in knows that the Silver Child is here.” Jupiter said. He silently cursed his stupidity. Of course everyone would know that Bast and Sif would hide the Silver Child in his suite since he was the only leading clan member present.

The doors burst open and Horus and three other Powerful Ones came tumbling in. None of them moved once they stopped tumbling. The snake bites and the bleeding were impossible to miss. The three Powerful Ones knew that the four were dead.

They looked at the large hole were the doors used to be as the sound of hissing could be heard.

Molly’s eyes widened as she looked in that direction as well. She felt her heart beating quickly as Coatlicue came into the room. She really wished that she was anywhere but the cage. Without the key to the cage door, she was the prisoner of whoever won this fight.

Jupiter pointed his lighting bolt at Coatlicue. “Coatlicue!” He shouted. “For crimes against the Powerful Ones and the murder of Horus, Ares, Tyr and Anasazi, you shall be sentenced to death!”

Coatlicue laughed. “My dear Jupiter, they’re not the only Powerful Ones that were killed.” She told Jupiter. “Shub-Niggurath has killed a great many Powerful Ones as well.”

“Lies!” Sif shouted. “That Old One doesn’t…” She stopped speaking as she felt something go through her from behind. The sound of Molly screaming could be heard. Sif looked down to see a large branch sticking out of her. She looked up before the branch dragged her out of a broken window.

Bast and Jupiter turned to the broken window. The storm outside really picked up. The lightning flash lit Sif’s dead body being held in the air by the large branch.

“Bast, take care of Shub-Niggurath.” Jupiter ordered before he turned back to Coatlicue. “The Serpent Skirted One is mine.” He knew that he was more of a match for Coatlicue and that Bast, being part cat, could easily out maneuver the branches of Shub-Niggurath.

Carver, Tora and the Valkyrie showed up just in time to see Jupiter and Coatlicue begin fighting and Bast jumping out of a broken window.

“We’re too late!” The Valkyrie shouted. “Coatlicue and Shub-Niggurath are about to get the Silver Child!”

Carver watched his uncle fight the Old One. He wondered if it was fated for each of his uncles and his father to die at the hands of a serpent like monster. His father had been killed by Fangor and Jupiter was fighting Coatlicue even though it looked like Coatlicue was more than a match for him. He wouldn’t be surprised if a snake like monster did kill his other uncle.

“We can still get Molly.” He told the Valkyrie before he looked at her. “Help me save her.” He told the warrior. “The four of us can escape while Jupiter and Bast buys us the time we need.

The Valkyrie looked at the Silver Child. She could tell that the Silver Child was terrified. She remembered a time when she had felt that same way when she had been a child herself. She looked at Tora. The girl looked like she was about to have a panic attack.

The Valkyrie gave Carver her sword. “That blade can cut the cage.” She told him before she picked Tora up. “I’ll get her to your car.”

Carver took his car keys out of his pocket. He was glad that Jupiter hadn’t taken them. He handed them to the Valkyrie. “We’ll join you two soon.” He told her.

The Valkyrie nodded before she carried Tora away.

Carver turned back to the suite. He knew he didn’t have a lot of time. He just hoped that his uncle kept the Old One busy long enough. He ran across the suite, hearing a cat screech coming from the other side of the broken window. No doubt Bast had fallen to Shub-Niggurath.

Carver reached the cage. He saw that the girl had her eyes closed tightly. No doubt she was trying to block out everything that was happening. He didn’t blame her. He would have done the same thing if he was her. “Molly.” He said, reaching through the bars. He took Molly’s hands in his. “Molly, it’s me, Carver.”

Molly opened her eyes as tears came to her eyes. “I want to go home!” She sobbed.

“I know.” Carver told her. He raised his sword up and sliced the cage bars, causing the bars to fall to the ground. He reached in and helped Molly out. Even though Molly was a teenager, he still picked her up. “Time to get you out of here.” He told her softly before he carried her out of the suite.

Outside of the hotel, The Valkyrie started up Carver’s car as Carver and Molly joined them. Tora opened the back door from inside the car and helped Carver sit Molly on the back seat. “Tora, get her seatbelt on her.” Carver ordered before he closed the door and rushed around the car to the shotgun seat. He sat and closed the shotgun door behind him. “Valkyrie, get us out of here!”

The Valkyrie nodded. “Right.” She said. She knew that the hotel was a lost cause. She didn’t turn the headlights on. She could see where she was going and she didn’t want to give the Old Ones an easy time finding them.

Back in Jupiter’s suite, Coatlicue stood over a defeated Jupiter. The Powerful One’s suit was ruined. His lightning bolt was broken in a few pieces. He had a vacant look on his face. Coatlicue knew that the Powerful One was dead. She looked at the cage where she had last seen the Silver Child. To her horror, the girl wasn’t in it anymore. She hissed angrily.

At Salazar’s car, Salazar and Howard watched the storm end. “That was quick.” Howard said.

“What did you expect?” Salazar asked. “Shub-Niggurath took the Powerful Ones by surprise.” Judging from all of the blood on Shub-Niggurath’s branches and the ground between the hotel and their car littered with dead bodies, Salazar had a feeling that no one had expected the Old One to show up.

Coatlicue joined them. Salazar noticed that she didn’t have the Silver Child with her. “Don’t tell me you killed her.” He told the Old One through the window. He did not want to be the one to tell Tempest that they had to find a new Silver Child.

Coatlicue shook her head. “She’s gone.” She replied. “It looks like someone broke her cage and took her away during all of the fighting.”

“Carver.” Howard said, causing Salazar to look at him. “Carver must have taken her when no one was looking.” He was starting to hate that boy.

Salazar groaned. “Now we have to find them all over again.” He said before he looked at Coatlicue and Shub-Niggurath. “Destroy this building and then wait for Tempest to give you new orders.” He started his car up and drove in the direction of the closest highway.