three in that hallway. The others were also from my world, and they had no idea what was going on. The man said his name was Sam, a pompous bastard if you ask me, but he was pretty smart. The woman was annoying and not worth talking about. We found a statue, and this guy, Sam, was able to read what was on it. It had a prophecy about the three of us and talked about a crystal. I think he called it the Crystal Moon.”
The demon-jaguar interrupted. “You mean the Crystal Moon in the Temple of the Gods?”
George shrugged, “I don’t know. I can’t remember. Everything was so crazy that day. The inscription on the statue talked of a man’s great victories and how he brought home the power to control worlds the other gods had lost. Apparently this power, which Sam said the crystal generates, is what keeps five planets from colliding. It said something about the planets rotating around a single sun. I know there’s more, but I can’t recall it all right now.
“Wait, I remember Sam saying there were five planets and some guy named Bassorine was turned into a god.”
The demon jumped in. “The place you’re talking about is the Temple of the Gods above Griffin Cliffs. The man you speak of is the God of War, Bassorine ... the mightiest of prowlers. But we can speak more about him in one of your Earth’s ‘minutes.’
“The Crystal Moon is the divine object that governs the worlds. Bassorine protects the crystal to ensure that no one can send the worlds into chaos.”
Kepler stopped talking when he saw the expression on George’s face change. “What is it? You seem bothered.”
The manipulator urged, “Maybe we should keep walking. I have a gut feeling you’re not going to be able to sleep once you hear what I have to say.”
Kepler shrugged. “Okay, but what’s troubling you?”
George threw his backpack over his shoulder. “You said the Crystal Moon was protected by this ‘so-called’ god, Bassorine—”
Kepler cut George off. “There is nothing ‘so-called’ about the gods. They are to be revered. You should speak with respect.”
George turned to Kepler. “If this Bassorine was so all powerful, then why was I able to take a piece of his crystal before I fell through the floor? Didn’t you say he protects it? I shouldn’t have been able to take a piece, right?”
“How could you be so foolish?” Kepler snorted his irritation. “Don’t you realize what you’ve done? You’ve doomed us all!” The demon started to pace. “Where is the crystal? And how did you fall through the floor?”
George hesitated, eyeing the giant cat for a moment before he answered. “Now keep calm when I tell you.” He took a deep breath, and thought, Crap, he’s gonna kill me. “I don’t know where the piece is.”
The demon let out a deafening roar.
George prepared for the worst, holding his hands up in case Kepler attacked.
The demon’s explosion stopped as he turned to find George’s eyes. The jaguar walked toward the vulnerable human, his muscles rippling beneath his fur as he delivered a stare that cut through George’s soul.
With a cold tone, the jaguar growled, “You’re telling me you have the power to remove a piece of the Crystal Moon, but you have no memory of where you put it. What else haven’t you told me?”
George was scared and desperate. Despite the fact he had readied his hands to turn the cat to stone, he knew the jaguar could sense his fear. He spoke with caution. “I have no idea where the crystal is. I fell through the floor after I grabbed it. Don’t ask me how, but the floor just opened up. I only took the crystal because of a riddle that was written on the statue. The riddle spoke about waking it up.”
“You lie!” Kepler snarled. “I’ve read the statue on a hundred occasions. It says nothing about a riddle.”
George snapped back, seizing what was left of his backbone. “Hey! I didn’t ask to be brought to this world! There was a riddle! Call me a liar again, and I’m gonna get pissed!”
Kepler snorted. The cat was exasperated because of his inability to kill his irritation. “Hmph! Finish your ridiculous story!”
George clenched his fists, but he kept them raised just in case. It took a moment before he was able to take a breath. “The words on the statue said something about three people fighting to recover the pieces of the Crystal Moon.” George