Immediately I stepped into my dad's dream psyche, I froze in place. There were ninjas dressed in blacked sprawled out on the ground. They weren't moving and it looked as though they were dead.
"Who are these guys?" I asked while trying to peel off the mask from one of their faces.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Olympus stopped me.
"Why do you say so?" I was curious as to why I can't just rip off their mask.
"These are your dad's defense system. Keeps anyone from trying to snoop around in his mind."
"You're kidding..." I said and burst into laughter, but Olympus wasn't laughing "Wait, you're serious?"
Olympus shook his head and looked around. There was a door whose hinges had been blown off.
"Judging by the looks of things here, I'd say our vengeful ghosts have already made their way in. We need to hurry up."
We ran towards the door and as I was about to pass through, I felt a cold hand on my shoulder and I was dragged backwards and landed on the ground.
"Following you around was worth it after all." A man said in front of me.
As my vision got clearer, I took a good look at the man in front of me. I don't know if one's subconscious can secrete bile, but I definitely tasted something bitter in my mouth. It was the first man I ever assassinated.
"Y-You... what are you doing here?" I stuttered.
"I'm here to take what you took from me! You took my life! I don't even know you, I didn't wrong you in anyway, but you took my life!"
As he said this, he rushed over to me and grabbed me by the throat, lifting me up. Man! He was very strong.
"It wasn't personal! I don't hold any grudges against you!" I managed to say in between chokes.
"Then why? Why did you do it!?" He forcefully inquired.
Wow! I see why his brother took the initiative to assassinate hi . He wasn't the brightest bulb in the room.
"Why do you think?" I said and finally wrestled myself from his grip. I kicked him so hard in the gut and sent him flying back.
"Ash!" Olympus called out to me and I nodded.
"I'm an assassin. We don't ask much questions about our mission. We just carry them out, without failure."
The man sat up
"An assassin? So someone sent you to kill me? Who could have done something like that?"
Black aura was starting to rise from his body. This was getting out of hand and I honestly didn't have the time to deal with him right now.
"Awaken, Olympus!" I said and Olympus entered my body.
"Crown of Hades"
A crown made of bones and skulls formed on my head. The man, still radiating hatred charged at me, but I stopped him dead in his tracks.
"I'm sorry to do this to you, but I don't really have a choice right now. Let the fires of the underworld cool you down."
That was kind of an oxymoron.
The man screamed out as flames erupted from the ground and started surrounding him. The scream was so painful to listen to and I felt sorry for what I was doing to him. First I kill him and now, I'm condemning his soul to the torments of the underworld.
After a while of screaming, he completely disappeared. I rushed through the broken door to find my dad engaged in battle with about twenty vengeful ghosts. He looked battered and worn out, but he was still standing his ground. I developed a new found respect for him.
"Dad!" I called out and he looked at me wide eyed.
"Ash! What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here!"
When he said that, a ghost punched him right in the face and sent him crashing into the wall of our house. Apparently the dream was taking place in our courtyard.
I winced. I shouldn't have broken his concentration like that and with the way the fight was going, he wasn't going to last much longer. I needed to put an end to this.
"Olympus, put the shabtis in place and start drawing the circle!" I commanded and he flew straight out of me. The crown of Hades on my head crumbled as well.
I ran to where my dad was struggling to stand and helped him up.
"Ash, you're not supposed to be here, you'll get hurt." He sounded so concerned.
I've never heard him sound so concerned about me. Maybe cause this was a dream.
"I'll be fine dad. You taught me how to protect myself remember? I can handle it."
By now, the vengeful ghosts were radiating with dark aura. I didn't want to know what would happen next, so me and my dad charged them. We fought with all our strength, but the truth was that we were outnumbered. My dad was now sprawled out on the ground, breathing heavily and I was on my knees. The ghosts started advancing on us slowly, bidding their time. They were so sure of victory.
That was when...
"Ash, I'm ready!" Olympus called south and I quick sprang up.
I cartwheeled over to Olympus and we both nodded.
"Awaken, Olympus!"
Memories of the spell flooded into my mind and I made some hand signs. The shabti figurines started levitating and spinning in the air. The ghosts didn't pay me any attention, they just wanted to deal with my dad.
"gods of Egypt, grant me your strength!"
A thin line of blue light started connecting the twenty figurines. As soon as the circle on the ground started to glow, I began my chant in Coptic language.
En me te hart(We summon your heart)x2
En he tu(We summon your soul)
En du ru
En nu shabti gursul (Imprisonment into shabti eternal)
I changed the spell over and over until the bodies of the vengeful ghosts started to disintegrate and get absorbed into the shabti figurines. This continued until all their essence got sucked in. The figurines l spun around and disappeared. I collapsed on the ground, out of breath. Apparently, the spell took a lot of stamina to cast. Olympus came out of my body with a smirk.
"You did it Ash! You did it! You can rest easy now. I'll heal both you and your dad and make sure you wake up safely."
I nodded and felt my subconscious drift away.
When I woke up, it was 6 o'clock in the morning. Strangely, my body felt full of energy and I smiled. Olympus worked his wonders.
I walked past the kitchen and my mom was already making breakfast. She's as hardworking as ever. I went to my parent's bedroom, but my dad wasn't there and that gave me an idea.
I went down to the training room and peeped through the door. He was doing some training exercises. I guess the experience made him feel a bit weak and pathetic. Who would blame him?
"Ash?" He called out to me while I was spacing out.
"Oh Nna! Good morning. How are you feeling?" I asked nervously.
"Last night was a bit rough for me. I think I almost died, but I woke up this morning feeling energized."
"That's great! And I don't mean the dying part." I said scratching my head.
"Hmm... don't you have to go prepare for school?" He reminded me and I thanked him, closed the door and bolted
It was a normal day at school. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. I met up with Daniel and we just talked about random stuff. I asked him how things are going with his family. Recently, one of their cleaners messed up on a job and it was about to escalate to something serious.
"So, what are you guys going to do about it?" I asked with concern.
"My dad is working hard to resolve the issue, but honestly, it hasn't been easy."
I perfectly understood what messing up meant in our line of work. A single mistake can cause a huge mess that will be difficult to fix. I know because I've been there before.
"I'm sure your dad will find a way around the situation. He's a genius."
I tried to cheer him up.
"Yeah, I guess he will." He said distantly.
Speaking of which, I haven't been given any other mission lately. Maybe my dad doesn't trust me enough to handle another mission after the last fiasco. I won't say I blame him though, even I will be skeptical to send someone on another mission If they messed up like that.
The day at school went by without a hitch and I got back home. As I entered the house, my mom was looking worried.
"Mom, what's the problem?"
"Your dad is waiting for you in the training room."
Ghen! Ghen! I knew that tingle I felt on the way home wasn't for nothing.
I walked towards the training room with light steps. Why would my dad be waiting for me there right when I just got back from school?
As I pushed the door open, I saw my dad and an informant standing there.
"I hope you won't mess this up."
My dad said.