“Didn’t he say anything else to you? Anything at all?”
“Nothing. As I said, his only advice was to look for the signs.”
“Well, that proved to be sound advice. You’ve found quite a few on your way. And here we are!” Ksenia spread out her arms, a triumphant smile brightening her face.
“Yes, Ksenia. Indeed, here we are!” Phevos mirrored her smile and turned around to inspect the ancient altar again. They huddled together before it, using the flashlights to examine it more closely. It wasn’t a mere block of stone. It had been decked with Pentelic marble around its base and its sides. Efimios had decorated it in honor to Athena and had also introduced to the cave numerous tapestries that depicted scenes from the Iliad and the Odyssey in golden thread and organic colors.
Many of them were famous scenes that Athena had featured in according to legend. The tapestries decorated the surrounding walls, and smaller ones covered the two thrones. Phevos took some time to also admire the torches on the walls. Unlike normal ones made of wood, these were solid quartz crystals of perfect clarity. They were large and pyramid-shaped. Supported by golden cradles, they hung on the walls, their perfect points sharp like needles.
Phevos returned his gaze to the altar, back to what had puzzled him earlier. He laid his finger on the round recess carved in the very center where he knew the pendant fitted. Further out on the circular top surface of the altar, there were three more round recesses carved on the stone. They were placed equally apart, forming an equilateral triangle.
According to his father’s stories, three golden candleholders used to stand there playing an integral part in the procedure that caused the Passage through time. However, all three candleholders were missing and, in one of the round recesses, something different from what he was expecting stood in place. It was a long and smooth object that resembled a single candle.
Phevos leaned in closer, shining his flashlight on it. It wasn’t a candle after all. Its surface was made of crystal. Phevos gasped as the shock of realization pierced him through, making him jolt upright as if struck by electricity.
Chapter 16
“Ksenia, look! This looks like the wand I saw in my dream!”
“But how can it be? You said the wand was shining in your dream. This one’s dark.”
“I know that but . . . wait a minute,” Phevos leaned over the altar to study it closer. Ksenia followed suit and now both their flashlights were shining on the object. They fell speechless when they noticed it contained grains of golden sand that sparkled as they swam in a transparent liquid. Tiny shards of colorful shells were in there too, reflecting the artificial light with the iridescence of mother-of-pearl. Now, they were both certain this was the wand in Phevos’s dream. It had finally manifested in their lives.
Phevos grasped it in one hand and tried to pick it up gently. It didn’t budge so he attempted a bit more forcefully this time, but again to no effect.
Ksenia frowned. “That’s strange! Can I try?”
Phevos gestured for her to give it a go, but her attempt was to no avail either. “There must be a way to detach it. We just have to work it out,” he said. They inspected the wand again and the recess it stood on, looking for clues but there was nothing.
Phevos turned around and leaned against the altar, trying to refocus and clear his mind. His gaze fell upon the torches around the walls, thinking that some source of light must exist in this place. Something had to illuminate these torches that returned a dark, crystal stare back to him, unwilling to unravel their secret. And what about the wand on the altar? Could it also illuminate like the one in his dream, under the correct handling? His father had mentioned three candleholders that held crystal candles, which played an integral part for the Passage through time. Yet these were missing. What else could illuminate this space now the candles were no longer present? What could he use instead of this wand that stood lifeless there? Instinctively, the tips of his fingers touched the necklace around his neck. Phevos spun around, his eyes open wide.
“What is it? What are you going to do?” asked Ksenia, her brow creased.
“This cave must have a light source. I think the necklace may be it! I say we put it on the altar.”
Ksenia’s face lit up with alarm. “What? Are you sure? What if it sets the Passage in motion?”
“I don’t think it will. Don’t worry, Ksenia. The cave is destroyed back in time, right? I don’t think the Passage can be initiated here any more. And you know what? I think I’m meant to place the necklace on the altar. Remember the dream? The stranger said we should exchange the necklace for the wand. I think this is it! This is the only way we can take it off the altar!”
“All right, let’s try it!” replied Ksenia. His answer had sounded logical enough in her sensible mind despite the fact that the whole situation was nothing but surreal.
Phevos was about to place the necklace on the altar when Ksenia grasped his shirt sleeve. “Wait! What if this is a mistake?”
“What now?” Phevos furrowed his brow, mildly exasperated. He needed all the focus he could get and didn’t need her doubts now.
“What if you can't get it back once you put it there?”
For a few seconds, Phevos shared her panic as the necklace hovered mid-air over the altar. But then, the tall stranger’s words echoed in his mind and his worry subsided. “Don’t worry, Ksenia! He said this was only a loan. We’re not parting with it forever.” Phevos put the necklace in place. There was a faint click as it lay down in its cradle, and then, with a buzzing sound, the cave was bathed in light as the torches on the walls lit up. Enthused, Phevos and Ksenia dropped their flashlights on the ground, then fell in each other’s arms, cheering.
“And now, the moment of truth,” Phevos announced when they turned to face the altar again. The crystal wand was still dark. He had hoped it would illuminate when the necklace was placed on the altar. Still, that didn’t discourage him. He was sure his other guess would definitely be right. And indeed, as soon as he pulled the wand, ever so lightly this time, he managed to detach it.
“You made it!”
“Yes, for the love of the Gods! Indeed, we made it!” he corrected her, and they hugged again. “Do you realize what this means, Ksenia? The stranger is real! We have a divine protector on our side!”
“You think so?”
“Of course I do! My father never spoke of him, but I’m guessing he knows his identity. He never said anything about a wand inside this cave either. And I’m sure that even more things will follow that my father never mentioned.”
“You think he hid all this from you on purpose?”
“Yes. As I said, perhaps Athena or this mysterious stranger had sworn him to secrecy. You see, the Gods often enjoy pulling strings, intervening in people’s lives.”
“Pulling strings? This sounds cruel.”
“No, not really, Ksenia. I don’t mean the Gods are capricious or cruel. I refer to their infinite capacity to invent plans in order to answer the prayers of the faithful. Of course, humans don’t always get it. Someone may mistake the answer to their prayer as a bad joke, but give it time and it can prove a blessing beyond measure.”
“Is this about ‘God’s mysterious ways’ and all that?”
“Yes, that’s it, Ksenia. The Divine loves to work in mysterious ways, and this is how it may bring the best results, if we only let it. Faith and patience are required and as for the frustration and the pain involved in the process, these are what shape characters, and it’s all to be embraced.”
Ksenia gave a snorting laugh. “That reminds me of a teacher I had when I was little!”
“Oh yeah? Why’s that?”
“He’d often preach that life is hard. To make his point he’d say, ‘If life were easy, it would be a cookie with sugar on top!’”
Phevos broke into uproarious laughter and Ksenia joined him. There was something about the intensity of their discovery that made anything mildly amusing sound hysterical.
<
br /> “I must have heard it from his lips a thousand times!” Ksenia rolled her eyes. “I think about him whenever I encounter difficulty in life. And it always makes me smile.”
“How original is that! He must have been a great teacher,” commented Phevos shaking his head as they made their way out of the cave.
When they came out into the stillness of the night, the lights in the cave turned out as if by magic. Phevos held the wand against his chest like a trophy. The golden sand and the shards of shells swam softly in the clear liquid as the young couple hurried back to the house.
Chapter 17
Dinner had been served and everyone was in the living room watching TV. Manos was sitting on the rug as he watched, with Odysseus curled up next to him snoring. A mediocre series was playing on TV, one of those pointless ones that only serve to help you fall asleep faster. Manos seemed to be the only one enjoying it while the other three watched absentmindedly. During the lengthy advert breaks they resumed their excited conversation about the day’s amazing events.
Daphne had known all along about the impending discovery and had chosen to stay away in order to give Phevos and Ksenia their privacy. As for Manos, when he found out that evening, he’d got upset at first that his sister had left him out of it. In the end, as Phevos and Ksenia explained they wouldn’t have risked his safety, his enthusiasm for their find had finally outweighed his disappointment.
Daphne and Manos kept asking the other two the same questions, demanding to know every detail about the cave. They couldn’t wait for the next day to see it for themselves. Everyone had had a chance by now to inspect the wand at length. In the end, they handed it back to Phevos. He was its rightful owner and keeper since it had been his dream that had brought on the latest earth-shattering events.
Phevos felt strange that he wasn’t wearing the necklace any more, yet he knew he’d left it in a safe place. Even in the unlikely event a trespasser was to enter the cave, he knew no one could ever steal the necklace. Before he left, he’d made sure it couldn’t be detached from the altar, no matter how hard he pulled. Not that his integrity would have allowed him to take it away even if he could have. He’d made a pact with the stranger in his dream and could only honor it. Before leaving the cave, Phevos had also placed a heavy boulder in front of the door to make sure it wouldn’t lock shut from a strong gust of wind. They’d be lost for sure if the heavy door was to close shut. Without the necklace they could never open it again.
The wand remained dark in his hands. As he glanced at it every now and then, his mind brimmed with thoughts and possibilities. His main concern was his mother, Anna. Now he knew her name. Yet, he still didn’t know why she’d vanished from his life. A multitude of questions swam in his head. Was she alive and well? Had she remarried? Had she had more children? Did she think of him and his father at all?
He was twirling the wand in his hands, and as he watched the gold and the pearl of its contents reflect the silver light from the TV, he became even more mesmerized by its beauty. Hypnotized by the iridescence emanating from the clear liquid, his mind wandered to his mother again. His mind was set to find her, and he hoped she knew about this wand so she could answer the mountain of questions he had.
“Hey, a penny for your thoughts!” said Daphne, who sat next to Phevos on the couch. Sitting on his other side, Ksenia turned to look at him too, and so did Manos, who was still on the rug. Yet, Phevos was so lost in thought that he never heard them. He was still gazing into the contents of the wand that rested on his lap. His mind was wandering, and his head was hung low. His slouched shoulders seemed to bear the burdens of the world.
“Oh my darling, please don’t worry! Patience! It’ll all be revealed to us in the end!” said Daphne with a pat on his back. Ksenia reached out and gave him a hug in quiet agreement.
“Sorry. I was just thinking of my mother . . .” he blurted out when he raised his head, his eyes brimming with sorrow. “I’m guessing she knows about this wand . . . We have to find her!”
“Yes, Brother! Indeed, we will!” replied Daphne caressing his hair. Her tender touch brought on a painful tightness in his gut that stirred his soul. The feeling made him feel nine years old again, when he cried in his father’s arms at night, asking for his mother.
A wave of pain rose in his chest, and hot tears welled up in his eyes, rolling down his cheeks and shaming him, yet delivering him from the pain inside. He sprang to his feet and strode to the door. With his back to the others, he felt lucky for the semi-darkness that spared his dignity. He wiped the tears away with a single sweep from the back of his hand while still holding the wand in the other. The wondrous object was still dark, and as long as it remained so, it kept his eyes hostage to the same gloom.
“I’ll just go and have a glass of water . . .” Without expecting an answer, Phevos disappeared down the hallway. Manos turned his attention to the TV screen, unaware and unaffected. But when the two girls met each other’s gaze in silence, it was evident they both knew. Still, they could only imagine what it felt like, this vague and yet excruciating feeling of loss, this chilling cloud of darkness in Phevos’s mind that deprived him of his early childhood memories.
***
The next morning, Phevos and Daphne returned to the house early. It was Sunday and, once again, they’d planned to spend it with Ksenia and Manos starting with breakfast. As soon as Ksenia opened the door, Phevos gave a cheer and swept her up in his arms. Ksenia was taken aback. When they parted late the previous night, he’d looked distraught. And yet, now, behind the closed door, she watched as he produced the wand from under his shirt, a wide smile across his face. It had remained on his pillow all night. He hadn't wanted to part with it even during sleep in case it gleamed even faintly. He was hoping to wake up if it were to do that, so he kept it close to his face just in case. The wand had remained dark all night, but Phevos was happy that morning for another reason.
“I’ve had another dream!” he announced as Ksenia led the way to the kitchen. She’d just put the kettle on. Daphne opened the cupboard to take out the crockery and, seeing her jovial expression, Ksenia guessed Phevos had already told her about his dream. “It must be quite a dream! Tell me all about it!” said Ksenia, wide-eyed.
“Let’s wait for Manos,” replied Daphne and, right on cue, Manos entered the room, his face beaming.
“Oh, my goodness! Everyone’s bright and breezy this morning!” said Manos when he saw the line of animated faces before the kitchen sink.
“There’s a reason for that. Phevos has good news to share,” said Ksenia.
“Oh no! I want to go first! I’ve got something very important to say!”
Everyone nodded in agreement, happy to oblige Manos. After all, Phevos’s latest dream would need to be analyzed at length, so it made sense to leave it for last. All three of them expected Manos had something trivial to share, like the release of a new computer game or an upcoming event that he wanted to attend.
Manos took a seat at the table first. The look in his eyes was one of sheer anticipation, a ghost of a smile curling the sides of his lips. He seemed about to burst with enthusiasm, yet he kept silent, unlike his usual self that would be blabbering nonstop at this time of day.
This puzzled his sister as she and Daphne brought hot drinks, toast, butter and honey to the table. Phevos sat across from Manos, astonished as well, watching his strange behavior as he stirred sugar in his coffee.
“Hey you, looking like the cat that got the cream!” Ksenia teased her brother shoving him playfully with her elbow when she sat next to him. Manos chuckled but offered no comment, patient to wait until he could have everyone’s full attention. The suspense would be worth it.
Daphne joined the table last. She opened the jar of honey and spread a generous amount on her pieces of toast while Ksenia and Phevos seemed to have lost their appetite. They were looking intently at Manos, eager for him to start. Daphne sipped her herbal tea and joined the others, turning to face Manos with an
expectant look.
By that time, all three knew Manos wasn’t being his normal self. They were no longer chuckling and teasing him, but instead they were waiting in all seriousness. A dead silence fell upon the room for the first time ever during breakfast.
Before speaking, Manos savored the moment and looked across the table at everyone first, with an unbefitting solemnity on his young face. “I couldn’t sleep last night so I surfed the Internet. I wound up reading about time travel theories,” he finally announced.
“And?” replied the others in unison, but Manos only gave a cunning smile.
“Manos, tell us already!” demanded his sister, and he broke out laughing then, his childish ways fully restored. It felt great to be the center of attention.
“Well, it seems there are many theories about the possibility of time travel,” he continued. “I couldn’t believe how much information there is out there. Not only in literature but also from people who actually claim it is possible. What's more, it seems crystals can play a part in the process, especially quartz crystal. For example, there’s a theory about this cave in a secret location in Europe that’s a natural quartz crystal mine. People have allegedly disappeared only to reappear later, and it’s believed they were transported to a different time for a while. Apparently, crystals of the same kind can react to each other forming an energy field that can allow humans to travel in time at will, given the right equipment and environment.”
The Necklace of Goddess Athena Page 17
