Orion: A Heroic Novel Read online

  Orion

  A Heroic Novel

  by Travis Johnston

  Contents

  Prologue

  PART 1

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  PART 2

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  PART 3

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  PART 4

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Epilogue

  Prologue

  122 A.D.

  Nathaniel stood impatiently atop an active volcano; it was due to erupt at any moment, but he didn’t care.

  Black smoke spewed out of the crater behind him, filling the air with a hot stench of sulfur. He scanned the gray clouds around the mountain, watching for any hints of movement. They should have been here by now, he thought.

  Finally, he spotted movement. A woman garbed in white with long, red hair flew through the clouds directly toward him. It was Alexandria. Something was wrong. She soared at top speed, the clouds curling around her. He must be chasing her, Nathaniel thought. Why is she alone?

  Alexandria halted midair just in front of him. A blast of wind followed her, blowing Nathaniel’s red robes back, but he didn’t flinch. “Where is Jason?” he asked her, concerned.

  “He—” She couldn’t catch her breath; fear and panic filled her chest. She opened her hand, revealing a circular, blue stone.

  “No,” Nathaniel gasped, recognizing the stone, dread chilling him to the bone. “What was he thinking?”

  Just then, they saw a flash of light and heard a loud explosion nearby. Not from the volcano, but from somewhere below the dark clouds. It looked like lightning and sounded like thunder, but they both knew it was neither.

  “The plan didn’t work,” Alexandria said. “Jason is holding him off while we take care of these.” She indicated a leather bag strapped over her shoulder. Inside were more than a dozen palm-sized, crystal-like stones, in a wide variety of colors—the epicenter of their entire mission.

  Another explosion sounded below. Nathaniel took the leather bag from her. “Then let’s hurry!” He flew toward the center of the volcanic crater with her following close behind.

  They approached the crater’s vent, out of which gushed a continual plume of black smoke. The heat was intense; far greater than any mortal could withstand, but the two gods pushed forward, toward a small section in the crater where molten lava was beginning to emerge. They landed next to the lava, and Alexandria quickly grabbed one of the stones from the leather pouch and shoved it into the red-hot liquid.

  She held onto the stone with a firm grip, the lava rolling over her hand. She grimaced; she was strong enough to withstand touching magma, but it still stung considerably. After a moment, the stone began to glow a bright green. With her free hand, she pulled out her own stone from the sleeve of her dress. This one was white, opaque; it was her source of power and, at the same time, her greatest weakness: the Cygnus Stone. She raised it above her head and brought it down hard on the glowing green stone, smashing it into bits. Immediately the stone shards stopped glowing.

  One more stone destroyed. One step closer to fulfilling their mission.

  Nathaniel grabbed a purple stone and, instead of putting the stone in the molten lava, he willed his hand to heat up, and it turned a bright red, matching the heat from the lava. When the purple stone began to glow, he used his cool hand to pull out his own red stone from his robe, the Draco Stone, and hammered the purple one into pieces, causing its glow to fade.

  The two gods worked swiftly, smashing stone after stone. The Swan God, dipping the stones in the lava, and the Dragon God, using his bare hands. This was the most progress they’d made in decades. “Were you able to get the Pole Stone?” Nathaniel asked.

  Alexandria shook her head, looking ashamed. “It was in his shoulder pocket. Jason tried grabbing it, but that’s when he woke up.”

  The Dragon God cursed as he crushed another stone. The Pole Stone was perhaps the most powerful Star Stone in existence, the one they needed to destroy the most.

  Alexandria and Nathaniel continued to destroy the collection of Star Stones until they came to the last one: Jason’s. The Orion Stone. They hesitated. He was their companion and leader, their friend.

  Suddenly, the blue stone started to glow, even though it hadn’t been exposed to heat yet. Startled, Alexandria dropped the stone into the lava, where it continued to glow bright blue. She gasped, bringing her hands up to her mouth. Nathaniel hung his head with a sigh. They both knew what it meant. Its owner had died. Jason, the Hunter, was dead. Killed while trying to defend them and their mission.

  “We can’t let him get a hold of the Orion Stone,” Nathaniel said. He raised the Draco Stone above his head and used it to crush Jason’s. The shattered blue stone stopped glowing as the magma swallowed it whole.

  “No!” Alexandria screamed. She leaned on Nathaniel and smothered her face into his shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.

  He was distraught as well, but remained focused. He grabbed the Swan Goddess by the shoulders and gently shook her until she looked up at him. “Hold onto this.” He pushed his red stone into her hands. “If anything happens to me, you must escape and destroy my stone.”

  She shook her head. He was essentially putting his life into her hands! “No!” she said through her tears. “I can’t lose you too! I love you, Nathaniel!”

  Nathaniel cupped her face with his hands and gently kissed her. She kissed him back. They held it for a while, knowing it very well could be their last. They broke away as they heard something nearby. “He’s here,” Nathaniel said. The two gods turned and gazed up at Jason’s killer.

  Marcus, the Pole God, was floating in the air near the crater’s edge. His black hair and gray tunic looked disheveled; his young, olive-colored face appeared bruised and bloodied—probably from his recent duel with Jason. He glanced at the lava with silver-glowing eyes, spotting a few pieces of Star Stone remains, and scowled. He returned his gaze to the two gods, fury burning through his glowing eyes.

  Suddenly, without any movement from Marcus, an invisible force slammed into both of them, knocking them backwards. They rolled across the crater’s dirt floor and eventually skid to a stop near the volcano’s hot vent. Nathaniel’s red Star Stone fell from Alexandria’s grasp and lodged itself in the dirt between them.

  The mountain shook again, it could blow any minute.

  Dazed, Nathaniel scrambled to his knees and grabbed his stone before Marcus attempted to snatch it. Alexandria got to her feet, her eyes glowing white.

  Nathaniel spotted a pouch on Marcus’ sleeve, forming a small lump in his clothing. That had to be where he was hiding the Pole Stone. They needed to somehow get the stone away from him and
destroy it. Of course, the pouch could be a decoy. Nathaniel and Alexandria shared a knowing look. She had seen the pouch too. He would stall Marcus while she went for the stone.

  “You are no longer invincible, Marcus!” the Dragon God shouted. “Now we can stop—”

  With a flick of Marcus’ right wrist, Nathaniel was cut off and hoisted into the air, an invisible hand gripped around his neck. The Dragon God squirmed to breathe, his feet dangling.

  “No!” Alexandria screamed, enraged as she charged Marcus.

  The Pole God raised his left palm and projected a telekinetic wall to stop her. Anticipating his move, she summoned her powers. Two massive wings made of pure energy appeared around her, creating a translucent force field.

  Marcus wrapped an invisible hand around her force field and squeezed. It held strong against his powers—he knew it would—but now he had her trapped.

  Alexandria strained to move toward Nathaniel, who continued to wriggle for air. “Don’t do this, Marcus!” Her voice sounded muffled from within the force field.

  “You destroyed my Star Stones.” Controlled confidence filled Marcus’ voice with a smoldering rage that had centuries to fester. “Now I will destroy you and take your stones from your cold, dead fingers.”

  “They were never your stones! We three are the only Starlings left! Think about what you’re doing! The Romans will lose their gods!”

  “Monotheism is the rising religion. One god is all they need…”

  Marcus turned just in time to see a massive ball of yellow and orange fire flying towards his face. It exploded inches from his nose, flames surrounding him, but not touching his skin. After the flames quickly died out, he saw Nathaniel, whose red-hot hands had caught fire, like two torches drenched in oil. Still unable to breathe, the Dragon God frantically threw multiple fireballs at Marcus.

  The Pole God glared at him with his silver-glowing eyes as each fireball exploded harmlessly around him. Amidst all this, Alexandria noticed something float out of Nathaniel’s robes and land in Marcus’ hand: a small red stone. She screamed in despair and pushed against Marcus’ powers, making little progress.

  Gradually, the explosions stopped. Nathaniel’s eyes stopped glowing and rolled inside his head. His body slumped in the air, held up by Marcus’ powers. Alexandria froze, unable to believe her eyes. Satisfied, Marcus threw the corpse into the pool of churning lava.

  The mountain shook as pressure from below crept upward. Alexandria watched her lover melt, mortified.

  Marcus turned his attention to the Draco Stone in his hand. It began to glow a bright red and slowly got brighter, outshining the light from the surrounding lava. He closed his eyes and tensed his muscles as if he were struck by lightning. After a brief moment, he relaxed, the stone no longer glowing. He had absorbed its powers.

  With one last shred of desperation, Alexandria pushed toward Marcus ready to claw his eyes out. Just before she reached him, the mountain exploded.

  With a surprised expression, Marcus immediately disappeared behind a massive black cloud of smoke that swiftly filled the entire sky. Alexandria’s force field wings shielded her from oncoming cinders, boulders, and lava. All visibility was lost as soon as she was in the cloud. The eruption thrusted her upward, but she couldn’t tell exactly how high. Fortunately, she could still breathe inside her force field. She knew that Marcus could protect himself in a similar fashion with his telekinesis, but had he done so in time?

  She let the eruption carry her out of the crater and eventually onto the mountain’s side. She hung her head and closed her eyes. Nathaniel was dead.

  She felt empty. Void of all feeling. She moved out of the way of the flowing lava to a safer spot, the opposite side of the mountain. There, she dismissed her wings and watched the eruption unfold. He was gone. In an instant, life had less meaning. Immortality transformed from a blessing into a curse. The tears finally came.

  Before she had completely given into her sorrow, she had noticed something peculiar on the ground to her left. The tears stopped. It was Marcus. He lay face down on the mountain’s slope, unmoving.

  The Swan Goddess approached him slowly. He was breathing, alive, but unconscious with scorch marks all along his back, neck, and face. He hadn’t used his powers quick enough and got burnt by the eruption. With a vengeful scowl, she raised her arm, ready to deliver a killing blow… but hesitated.

  Killing Marcus wouldn’t put an end to the Pole God; someone else could take his place, even her. And she mustn’t, nor anyone else. Not as long as the Pole Stone remained intact.

  The Draco Stone was still in Marcus’ hand. Alexandria snatched the stone from his loose grip, and then pried open the pouch on the shoulder of his tunic—which was mostly burnt—and pulled out a silver rock shaped like a cube. The Pole Stone.

  Marcus stirred. Without hesitating, she blasted into the air, flying swiftly toward the volcanic crater. The eruption was still going strong, relentless. The ash cloud expanded over the mountain like a giant mushroom, blocking the sunlight. It seemed as dark as night, but that never was a problem for Starlings’ eyes. She landed near the crater’s edge; it would provide the extreme heat needed to destroy the Draco Stone and Pole Stone once and for all.

  And then she would toss herself into the deadly volcano.

  She reached the volcanic crater and shoved the Draco Stone into the lava flowing over the edge. With tears in her eyes, she raised her white stone above her head. “Good bye, love.” She crushed the red stone into bits, ending its power once and for all.

  Marcus snapped up, feeling the power drained from him. He groaned as he lifted himself to his knees. His vision was fuzzy, but one thing was clear, his stone was missing! Frantic, he scanned his surroundings, his face stinging from its burns. He finally spotted Alexandria in the distance at the mouth of the volcanic crater, where she would assuredly destroy his stone, putting an end to his grand design.

  She had carried his stone out of range! He quickly formulated a plan to stop her. He knew it would cause himself excruciating pain, but it was his last resort. He stretched his hand toward a massive boulder nearby, lifting it into the air with his mind. He trembled, pain sucking the life out of him. He watched Alexandria fly, aimed carefully, and then flung the boulder as hard as he could at her. And then he blacked out.

  She stuck the Pole Stone in the lava, watching it glow a bright silver. She held her white Star Stone in her other hand, ready to destroy the other. Ready to finish the mission, to destroy the Pole God’s tyranny. Ready to avenge her lover. Just as she brought down her arm to crush Marcus’ stone, a massive boulder crashed into her.

  The blow immediately knocked her unconscious and into the crater—into the center of the erupting volcano. The Cygnus Stone and Pole Stone fell from her grip and rolled into the crater with her, drowning in a pool of churning lava, lost for ages.

  PART 1

  Chapter 1

  Michael

  Present Day

  I ducked as Ray Simmons’ massive fist grazed my hair.

  Adrenaline surged through me. I rolled away trying to regain my footing. He barreled after me with his right fist cocked, ready to deliver the first and final blow. My reflexes responded by shielding my face with my elbows. His punch made contact with my left arm with enough force to knock me off my feet. I fell to the grass, gawking up at Ray. He moved in to tear off my head, but I stopped him with a quick, solid kick to his stomach, causing him to grunt in pain.

  The observing crowd groaned in unison like a trained choir. About twenty students surrounded the fight and more filtered around us every second, forming a larger circle. It was as if they were trying to block off any escape routes from the fight. They were here to see some action, and they hadn’t had enough yet.

  “C’mon Ray, knock his teeth in!” shouted Doug Cooper, Ray’s right-hand man and fellow outside-linebacker.

  My cousin Zack Larson started coaching me, “Get up, Michael! Put up your fists! Show him who’s boss!”
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  “Leave him alone, Ray!” begged Sarah, my 14-year-old little sister. “Stop being such a jerk!”

  I scampered to my feet. Ray glared at me with a renewed fury as he regained his composure. I put up my fists as Zack instructed, but mostly in defense. “I don’t want to fight you, Ray!”

  He glared at me. “Then hold still while I crush you!”

  In an instant, he charged, dropping his shoulder. I wasn’t quick enough to dodge. The 195-pound middle-linebacker slammed his shoulder into my gut, lifted my feet off the ground, and then drilled my back into the grass. Pain shot through my spine and head. I couldn’t breathe! Ray got up and stood over me, watching me cringe.

  “Ohhhh,” shouted Doug as if his teammate just sacked the quarterback. “He’s gonna feel that in the morning!” He gave Ray a fist bump.

  Ray chuckled under his breath, “They don’t teach you that in soccer practice, do they, Stoner?”

  I finally caught my breath and climbed back to my feet, clenching my fists and my teeth. There were a lot of students surrounding us now. I normally would have felt self-conscious, but the burning rage within me narrowed my focus only on Ray. I brought my hands up in a fighting position and began approaching him. The desire to defend myself faded. Now I really wanted to hurt him.

  “Now we’re talking,” Ray said as he lifted his fists to his face and bounced on his feet.

  We circled each other, trying to seize an opening. The crowd cheered—I don’t know who for—probably just for a good show. We were in the school plaza, right in the middle of campus. Where, of course, all the students had to pass through to get to their next classes. Our fight was pushed on the grass, just off of the main walkway.

  Ray had more mass than I did, but he was only an inch taller. Other than that, we were physically opposite in every way; with my dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. Ray Simmons had black, spikey hair, brown skin, a muscular build, and an ego that could fill up a blimp. He was captain of the football team, and I was the captain of the soccer team. Obviously, we were destined to be mortal enemies.