Whispers of Nowhere

Chapter Twenty-Three: Part One

Gwen stared back at her, not quite understanding. Then it hit her. Linguistics had to do with language, which meant that when she'd restored the seal on Hermes' Caduceus, it had—

"I can read other languages?" she exclaimed, bolting upright in her chair. "But...but...how? How can I read other languages without even realizing I'm doing it?"

Lyka didn't seem to have heard her. "The commander will be pleased to hear of it when he gets back." Her tone was soft, thoughtful. "I wonder how Lonali and Astral are making out."

Now that she wasn't preoccupied, worrying about Forneus, Gwen couldn't help wondering the same. She hadn't gotten all of the details as to what had happened during their part in the Prague mission, but the basic gist had been that Reeves' army had somehow known in advance what they were planning; had even known the Fifth Unit would be dispatched in four separate groups, and where each one of those four groups would be stationed.

"So what was it you wanted to show me, anyway?" Lyka said, dragging Gwen from her thoughts. She took the leather-bound tome from Gwen's hands, and glancing at the page, exclaimed, "Hey, I recognize these! There's a milder form of them back in Mythos, less dangerous than the ones shown here." She tapped the page impatiently. "Damn it, what are they called? It's on the tip of my tongue..."

Gwen tilted her head to the side, her eyes roving over the page. "Umbrian Hydrangea?"

Lyka blinked at her. "Yes, that's it. How did you know?"

"It uh...it says it right there." Gwen tapped the page, indicating the thick, bold script at the very top.

Lyka rolled her eyes. "Of course." Then, mouth twisting into a wry smile, she added, "Smart-ass."

Gwen gave her a wounded, "What did I do, now?" look, the two sharing a brief smile. With that, they began poring over the tome together.

According to Lyka, the Umbrian Hydrangea that grew in the humid, almost tropical parts of Mythos wasn't actually native to the realm; it had been brought over from the seed of a flowering vine found in Italy hundreds of years ago. With the right care—and a little help from the concentrated doses of ether found in both Mythos' air and water—the plant had mutated into the Umbrian Hydrangea that still grew there today.

"It's actually pretty harmless in its first mutation," Lyka said, scowling at the book. "Unfortunately, when they got their hands on it, that all changed."

"They?" Gwen prompted. A mixture of curiosity and apprehension swept over her, settling in the pit of her stomach.

"The dark ones," Lyka explained, periwinkle eyes flashing. "Some of the very beings we've been trying to shove back into Nowhere—Reeves, included."

"Reeves created those things?" Gwen couldn't prevent the shock that coloured her voice. "The vines that almost killed me back in the Roman Colosseum...that was his doing?"

"In part, yes." Lyka snapped the book shut, and settled into the chair opposite Gwen, crossing one muscular leg over the other. "The version he helped create is known as 'Umbrian Snare', due to how it traps its victims, draining them of their life essence and storing it in their roots to be harvested later."

"Harvested? Harvested by who?" Gwen knew the answer before she'd even finished asking the question, her throat growing tight.

"By the very masters who planted them." Lyka nodded, almost as if she had read Gwen's thoughts. "Reeves must have planted as many of them as he could after his escape from Nowhere. Or at the very least, had his subordinates do it for him while he was in hiding. Either way, it was likely done with the intention of hindering anyone who might get in the way of pursuing the artifacts for himself."