"What is that?" Sean asked Melody.
"Oh, this is my new and improved broom. It's called the Super Axle 5000. It took six months of saving up to afford it." Melody put up her right thumb winking her left eye.
She sure spends her money on exciting things.She must have nothing in her house, or maybe she's a minimalist, or she grew up poor. Sean thought about all the scenarios that came to his mind, and he found himself staring off into the sun.
"Are you going to get on, or you're just going to stand there? Come on, we gotta go." Melody hopped on the broom, floating in midair as she motioned for Sean to get on the back. "Think of it like a motorcycle; hold on to my waist, and you won't fall off. There are also two little pegs to flip like a bicycle and put your feet on and strap in."
Well, this can't get any weirder than it already is. Sean walked over. He put his hands around Melody's waist, which was exceptionally soft. She smells like honeysuckles. She smells almost as good as Tabatha. His cheeks flushed feeling the broom lift off the ground.
"Be gentle," Sean yelled as he felt the broom go straight up into the air into a corkscrew.
"I told you to hang on. When it comes to this broom, I'm still getting the hang of it." Melody went to the left and then to the right, and then into a complete 360. At lightning speed, they swung to the right over a group of residences and then proceeded straight.
"Are there any speed limits up here? What if you slam into somebody," Sean yelled. Sean held tighter, enjoying the sweet smell of Melody. They flew over the Crystal Sea and passed by a small apple farm where people were harvesting for the next season.
She flew slowly upward, passing above a structure. The structure was round in form, with the letters DS emblazoned on the top and a silver circle surrounding it. Sean had never paid attention to it before. It seemed to be far bigger than he had anticipated.
"What is that?" Sean said to Melody, who was preparing to land. There were numerous additional brooms and contraptions on the deck, as well as other persons who had landed on it.
"This is what they call "The Hub". Seriously, did you not read the book? This is what connects us to the realm. You go here to the send-off, and this is where we meet the two upper ranks to go for Earth for our first mission." Melody floated the broom up as she landed on the deck, latching it into place as she hopped off the broom.
"Take a look around at all the contraptions," Sean said, taking Melody's hand in his as he stepped up and leveled himself, his gaze returning to cold steel on the landing deck. "I don't want to fall down."
"Keep your eyes on me, and let's walk forward," Melody said as she took a skip and hopped into the silver-plated double doors.
Brooms seem like deathtraps. Sean glared at technologically advanced computers and screens. There was a radar and different knobs with signals going up. He walked along the long corridor, which had white walls and silver marble flooring.
"Do you know where we're going?" Sean asked.
"Yeah, it's right up here. We're going to dock #5, which funnels into the larger dock into the earth. All those rooms you saw back there track the barometric pressure between the two realms and find the best place for us to enter. The demons are also trying to block our presence on Earth. We have to make sure we get it right, or a monster might appear upon our entry into the world."
"How do you know all this?" Sean asked, and he followed Melody in.
"Good to see you again," a man said. "It seems like yesterday we were talking." The man chuckled.
"Percy," Sean perked up, seeing the one who spent time with him the other night, giving him wisdom. Sean walked up and shook his hand, and smiled. "It's good to see you again, too. I didn't know if I would ever see you again."
"Nice to see you again as well. I'm going to introduce you to my friend over here. Her name is Faye."
"Nice to meet you. I don't take too kindly to babysitting grown men. Step up or get left behind. I'm gonna tell you this once, so you better listen." Faye had semi dark skin, long black hair, and forest green eyes that intimidated Sean. She wore a dark black tank top, a brown bomber jacket, and gray pants. She had long brown boots on and a black cloak.
"Pay her no mind." Percy said, "she's mad because she didn't get to go on a vacation, and she has to come on this excursion, especially since the mission is a simple one. This should be an easy mission, but demons are cunning, and it's just the four of us. You two are novices, and you shouldn't be fighting a whole lot. We will take the lead. You just stay back and watch. At some point, you may be going by yourself; we're going to go deep into a novice dream. It shouldn't be too hard, but I want to be crystal clear if anything happens; you get to the nearest exit, take the door out, and get the hell out of there."
Percy was frowning as Sean gazed at him. Percy's demeanor was a shock. Before this, he had only met him once; while his demeanor was upbeat and relaxed, his face screamed caution and alertness in the spiritual world. Sean nodded as he took it all in.
"Now, we should really get going," Percy said with a big smile.