By the time we got to Clinton, there were helicopters everywhere. This could only be because my dad was up there. Parking the car at the house, I grabbed Taylor and began flying towards the edge of the island. Surprisingly she was lighter than Maddison. The air grew colder as we flew. I wished I had had Taylor grab her jacket, but I didn’t think about how it could be.

            Once we were above the island, I was shocked. There was a large city in the center of it, and as dad said, there was the wolf statue. It was almost as large as the Statue of Liberty. I was actually in shock at how much I looked like the statue. I guess that was what the goddess looked like when she was in her world. Surveying the landscape, it didn’t take long to identify my dad’s helicopter. He really was here.

            As I got closer to the city, I noticed something that I didn’t expect. There were people on it. The news never said anything about there being people on the island. I guess they didn’t want the general public knowing and trying to communicate with them. Then I noticed that there was a second helicopter a few yards away from my dad’s. Someone else was here, which made me worry that my dad was in trouble.

            “Angel, look, there are two helicopters,” Taylor stated, though I already know this. I guess her sight wasn’t as good as mine. Landing just outside of the city, I retracted my wings. The last thing I needed was them getting caught in any wind that could come through. The architecture was that of the medieval era. It was almost like stepping back in time. As we started walking through the city, weary eyes were all upon us.

            “I don’t think they have seen clothes like ours before,” Taylor said as she looked around. She was probably right. Then one of the people came up to me and bowed at my feet.

            “My goddess, you have returned. What is this strange place in which we have come to? There are sounds we have never heard before.” The woman said with utter confusion in her voice. It was strange having someone call me a goddess. I know that I supposedly have the spirit of a goddess inside me, but I was just me.

            “You have come to a place named earth. Though I look like your goddess, I am just me,” I said. The woman looked at me, curiously. Then she shook her head.

            “No, I know that you are our goddess. I can feel it,” she argued. I didn’t have time to argue with her. Instead, I smiled as politely as I could.

            “Have you seen a man come here that you have never seen before?” I asked, keeping my smile up. She nodded and then pointed towards the statue.

            “There were two men that headed towards your altar. The one in white was dragging the other by the arm. He did not look like a pleasant man.” She said. It was as I thought, my dad was in trouble. Then it hit me, who was watching Holly. Pulling out my phone, I called my sister, ignoring the gasps from the woman.

            “Hello?” Holly answered.

            “Where are you right now?” I asked with a little impatience in my voice. I heard talking in the background.

            “At Aunt Leans. Dad said he had an assignment and that I couldn’t come with him.” She said. It was nice to know that she was safe. At least I would only have one person to worry about. Hanging up my phone, I began my walk towards the altar. As we continued walking, more people kept staring at us. It was kind of nerve-racking.

            As we reached the altar, I noticed an entrance. So it wasn’t just an altar. It was also a temple. It looked dark inside. Pulling my phone out again, I turned on the flashlight, and we headed inside. We were walking down some stairs. They were a little deeper than most stairs that you see these days. Taylor stayed close to me.

            As we continued down the stairs, we started to see lights. It was like someone had turned on all the lights in a house. We also heard faint voices, but we weren’t close enough to make out what was being said. As we got closer, I could tell that one of the voices was my dad’s voice. I couldn’t tell who the other voice was.

            Exiting the stairs, Taylor and I found ourselves in a large room. It was larger than our room back at the tower. There were lights everywhere. And near the far wall was my dad and some man in a lab coat.

            “Dad, what are you doing here?” I shouted. He immediately turned around. There was a shock on his face, followed by anger.

            “Leave Angel. It isn’t safe for you or your friend,” dad said, receiving a punch to his gut from the man in the lab coat.

            “Now, now. I wouldn’t leave if I were you. If you did, I can’t say that your father would survive,” the man said with an evil grin. There was something about him that made me believe what he said. “Now, step closer so that I can get a better look at you,”

            Reluctantly I walked towards him, with Taylor behind me. I wasn’t going to allow anything to happen to her. When I was about twenty feet from him, I stopped. I watched as he studied me. There was still a grin on his face.

            “Yes, you do look just like the goddess talked about on these walls. My master will be pleased. He has been searching through all the unknown universes for you,” the man said as he took a step towards us. My dad tried to stop him, but the man pulled out a gun. “That wouldn’t be very wise. Please stay where you are. I wouldn’t want to lose my best researcher over stupidity.”

            I watched in horror as my dad slumped to the ground, unable to do anything. This guy was going to pay if it was the last thing I did. “What do you want from my dad, and who is your master?” I asked with what little courage I could muster. The man just grinned even more.

            “You know, I have a couple of you freaks back at my research center. They have given me quite an insight into these anomalies. The wonderful and enticing abilities that you could possess. You could help me with my research, that is, until my master comes for you,” the man snarked. This must have been the man that Ashley and Esme were talking about.

            “I will never help you. And you are sick for keeping Maddison and Arron as your experiments. How could you be so cruel?” I asked as rage started to build deep inside me.

            “It was under the orders of my master. You see, he is looking for two keys so that he may plunge everything into darkness. And in exchange for my help, he will allow me to continue my work,” he said, throwing his hands into the air. He sounded like a mad man. “But first, you have to awaken your true power. Only then can you be of any use to my master.”

            “How do you know that I don’t have my true power already,” I asked, now grinning. There is no way the man could know, right? He frowned before pointing his gun at my dad.

            “Come now, girl, don’t think me stupid. Though it is clear that this goddess lives inside you, if your true power really was awakened, you would be able to do more than a few parlor tricks. Yes, I have been following your story. Your battle with the fellow who commands ice was less than grand. But it seems that you need some motivation. Tell me, how is your mother?” he asked. There was something about the way he asked that made me believe that he had done something.

            “What have you done to my mom?” I asked as my heart began to beat rapidly.

            “Oh, nothing much. My master just sent something for you to play with at that pathetic place you now call home. I’m sure if you leave now, you may be able to save her,” he said. I moved to attack him before I heard a loud bang. Stopping in my tracks, I saw that he had shot my dad in the arm. “You will find that I am not playing girl. I wouldn’t worry about your dad. I need him alive. However, he doesn’t need both his arms to do what I need. If I were you, I would worry about your mom.”

            As the tears began to fall down my cheeks, I looked down at my dad, who just nodded. Turning around, I grabbed Taylor and materialized my wings before shooting through the stairwell. I only hoped that I could make it on time.