The Portals of Tartae- the Land With the Two Moons

by Marcia Soligo

  Only a few words were exchanged during the rest of the dinner. Oftentimes, Olivia would catch Alegra’s gaze staring at her and Trevor. She was clearly having trouble believing that they had lost their memory. It was all written on her face that she was finding that reality too impossible and horrifying to be true. She looked confused and kept staring, making Olivia fairly uncomfortable.

  Little by little, people started to leave the table. Cordella was first, and said that she would design a strategy as soon as she woke the next day. Alegra was going to share a bedroom with Olivia, and Belenos left the table saying that he would prepare everything for Alegra’s stay. Alegra seemed quite bothered by it and tried to convince him that she didn’t need anything. In the end, only Olivia, Trevor, and Bran were left in the room.

  “Are you guys okay?” asked Bran, his voice was soft.

  “Yes, I just wanted to give her some time. Alegra must want to be alone for a while, so I don’t wanna go back to my room yet,” answered Olivia.

  “Trevor, do you remember getting any messages?” asked Bran.

  “No. Do you think she might be lying?”

  “No. Alegra is not like that, and this whole thing really sounded like you two. I don’t find it weird. You are not used to how we do things around here, and you probably just didn’t notice her messages.”

  They headed out of Belenos’ mansion and walked in the forest for a little bit. The cool night was like an instant relief to their worries. Olivia felt as if a monster was now living inside her due to the intense twists and turns happening in her stomach right now. She was scared and nervous. Alegra’s arrival brought with it the awareness that their future held something terrifying and dangerous and, as in every future, it was unavoidable. It didn’t matter how many beautiful places they visited, or how many interesting people they knew; they were there to fulfill a destiny that was also a burden. At least Olivia found tranquility in her friends, which helped her accept the peril in front of her and made her feel safer, at least for now.

  ***

  When Olivia woke the next morning, Alegra had already left the room. And on the night before, she was already fast asleep when Olivia got to the bedroom. In a way, Olivia preferred it like that, because she didn’t know how to talk to the girl, and right now, she needed to handle her own feelings and doubts.

  As she looked out the window, she saw Alegra and Trevor talking outside and the conversation didn’t seem tense at all. They seemed to be having fun together. Olivia went downstairs and noticed that the house was quite empty again. She soon found out that Cordella, Alavro, and Belenos were not there anymore.

  “My dad wasn’t in the bedroom when I woke up. I believe that they left even before the sun had risen,” said Bran, who was having his breakfast at the kitchen table.

  “Any idea where they went?” asked Olivia, and Bran only shook his head. “I think we should get ready to train.”

  “It’s refreshing to see that you didn’t change, Olivia!” exclaimed Alegra, entering the room with Trevor and trying too hard to make her voice sound more relaxed than it actually was. “Always eager to train! We must start now. Where is Kirk?”

  “I think that he’s already in the forest training by himself,” said Bran, getting up and grabbing a leather backpack filled with weapons and gadgets for the fight. Apparently, Olivia and Trevor were the only ones who didn’t completely prepare for the morning training. They both went back to their rooms and fetched their weapons quickly. Something told Olivia that this wouldn’t be an easy day.

  Bran, Kirk, and Alegra had an interesting dynamic as teachers. One could easily see that they had worked as a group before and that they had been through a lot together. More often than not, Olivia and Trevor only felt like they were in their way, interrupting what would be great fun for the three warriors.

  After dedicating a lot of training to balance, attack, and defense, Olivia was exhausted. Her hair was now glued to her forehead, and mud was spread over her whole body. She was also coming to the conclusion that clearly Alegra’s life experience had made her far from patient and built a hard and defensive personality. Which Olivia completely understood, but this also made the training almost impossible. In other words, it only made Olivia’s life more difficult.

  They trained for long hours. Until the sun started to burn the top of their heads. It was probably midday, because their stomachs were howling in hunger and their arms didn’t respond to commands anymore. They were completely weak and had no energy left whatsoever. Bran was always the voice of reason at those times. He was the one to point out that they needed to take a break, have some water or food. And it wasn’t different this time.

  The walk back to Belenos’ house was challenging. It had never seemed so long. Olivia’s entire body was aching, and that made her want to lie down and sleep there, in the middle of the forest. Trevor was talking to Alegra the whole time, and Olivia couldn’t help but wonder what on earth were they talking about. How did they have so much to discuss? After all, Alegra had just shown up, and Trevor didn’t remember anything that had happened before.

  They found a big steamy pot of soup brewing on the stove. They ate quickly as if the food was going to evaporate, as if they had no time to waste. Kirk was pouring some more soup for himself when Cordella entered the kitchen.

  “We are waiting for you in the library. Please, come as soon as you are finished.” She said it calmly and left, leaving the group too nauseated to continue eating.

  The windows in the library were all closed, and this was the first time Olivia had seen the room that way. The smell of books was strong and reminded Olivia of the smell in Lucent Bookshop. The smell of another life. Candles and fireflies illuminated the dark library, and everything added mystery, making everyone walk into the room slowly as if they were scared of something. Alavro, Belenos, Cordella, and Orion were already in the library when the others came in.

  “Sit down. You look tired,” said Belenos, pointing to the comfortable red armchairs, which were usually very inviting. They all sat without giving it too much thought. The fire crackled in the fireplace, and the library was hot and airless.

  “We can’t wait anymore,” said Cordella. “Our plans to this point have failed, and we can’t let Lars advance any more. Especially because we don’t know what his next move will be. Alegra is right; we need to attack now.”

  “When are the others coming?” asked Kirk.

  “We don’t believe that we should involve anyone else at this moment,” Cordella said. Kirk tried to say something, but Cordella continued firmly. “As Alegra told us, Lars doesn’t have an army to defend him. There’s no need to make this into a war or to involve anyone else.”

  “But we don’t know how many are with him! We need more people. We need all the Guardians at least!” protested Kirk.

  “We don’t need to put anyone else in danger, Kirk,” said Olivia, before Kirk could keep protesting. The Clan knew how dangerous this mission was, but they were willing to sacrifice themselves in order to endanger as few people as possible. “What will we do now?”

  “We will leave tomorrow before daybreak. We must be fast, and we hope that Alegra can help us get there,” Cordella said. Alegra nodded, and Cordella continued. “During our travel, you can’t communicate with anyone else outside of our group, using any method. Take as little as you can. When we get there, we will divide into two groups, and you should prepare for the worst. Our main goal is to recover the missing Key and the Book of the Portals. And of course, destroying the Portals when we have a chance.”

  They all had scared and intense looks in their eyes. This would really be the end of Ourivio Brut’s legacy.

  “What about Lars? What are we going to do with him?” asked Trevor.

  “You don’t need to worry about that. There are parts of this mission that are too heavy for your young and hopeful hearts,” answered Alavro, speaking for the first time. Even though he had his usual tone, he seemed gloomier and more worried t
han normal. He sat on a wooden chair, rubbing his hands against each other constantly, like a nervous twitch.

  “Now it’s time to prepare and get everything in order for our journey. Belenos, we are very grateful for all that you did. I hope that we can soon meet under better circumstances.” Cordella gave Belenos a maternal look.

  “I’m coming with you,” said the man, causing surprising looks from Cordella and Alavro. “I don’t believe that the destruction of the Portals is the best solution, but the wise words of a witch made me change my heart. You can count on me.” Belenos gazed at Olivia, who had a discreet smile on her face. Cordella and Alavro seemed happier with the news, and soon after that, they ended the meeting. Bran was the first to leave the room, and he did it like a rocket, without looking at anyone. Trevor wrapped his arm around Olivia’s shoulders and, bearing his mocking smile, he said sarcastically, “We’re going to have so much fun!”

  Olivia smiled back and a knot formed in her throat. Her heart shrank when she thought about all the possibilities presented by the unknown.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  The Murmuring Winds

  The rest of the day went by in a blur. Maybe because of all the things they did in so little time, or because of the anxiety they were all feeling right now. There was a rush, something in the air. Olivia was nauseated the whole time and, in her head, a million questions rose while she got ready to leave. And there was the scariest question of them all, the one that kept repeating over and over: what if they didn’t make it?

  They packed some of their belongings, only the things they would really need. They wouldn’t bring any tents on this trip; they would sleep under the trees in order to avoid losing any time and drawing any sort of attention. Everything was crucial right now. Every small detail mattered, they could easily mean the difference between the success and the failure of the mission. Being alive or dead.

  Olivia caught herself thinking about what her life was like just a few weeks ago. Her monotonous daily activities at the Lucent Bookshop; her lazy nights watching TV and dreaming of a world of adventures much different from the one she was in right now. Simpler adventures. Not at all this dangerous or filled with this amount of responsibility. She got her sword, which didn’t seem to weight as much as it had in the beginning, and she looked at it for a while. Now, the weapon felt like an extension of herself, of her arm, which was slightly sore due to all the training she had been doing. Another life. Other circumstances. She put the sword inside the purple scabbard and closed her bag. She was ready.

  “Hey, Olie. Are you ready?” asked Trevor, coming into the room.

  “Yes, I guess so. Unless you mean something other than my bags.”

  “At least we’re almost going home. I like to think that way. It makes me less nervous.”

  “It’s a good way to think indeed,” answered Olivia, putting her bag on the floor and sitting on the bed.

  “I’ve been spending a lot of time with Alegra since she arrived, and I found out some things about my past here. It was a little reassuring. I felt more at home.”

  “Anything helps, right? Especially if you take where we’re going now into account …”

  “Exactly. Alegra and I used to be good friends. I can tell from all that I know now. I wanted to know more about that message she sent, why she only sent it to me, and what was she saying. Why did I agree to her going on a suicidal mission to find out where Lars was hiding. She used one of those medallion messengers. Look.” Trevor took a small brown medallion out of his pocket and showed it to Olivia. The thing was rustic, and it looked quite rough. Its surface was smooth, with only a few uneven parts here and there. Olivia took the medallion and studied it, raising her eyebrows. “It doesn’t look very good, I know. This was in my stuff, but I had no idea what it was and what was it for.” Trevor paused briefly and continued. “And I must say that I’m very happy that Atlas joined her at some point in the mission. It’s good to know that she wasn’t alone, since I couldn’t be there with her.”

  Olivia only nodded.

  “And did you find out the answer to your questions?”

  “I guess I was bolder before I lost my memories. It looks like she had this idea and I thought it was a good one. That way, we could go after Lars as soon as we got back to Tartae, and we wouldn’t lose more time. We decided that attacking Lars first was a better idea than trying to find the Key, or the Book, or any of the other more cautious things the Clan is always planning.”

  “They want to protect us, Trevor. I think that deep down, they didn’t even want us here.”

  “I see. And I agree with you. But with all that precaution, we ended up staying in Tartae for much longer than we should have.” Trevor seemed anxious. His voice was tremulous. “But I don’t know, Olie. I started asking all these questions to have a better understanding of what I did in the past, and now I can’t stay away from her.” Trevor looked away. He seemed confused, and Olivia chuckled.

  “I think you’re in love!”

  “No, Olivia. I’m not. She’s older than I am, and she is so …”

  “Beautiful? Intense? Smart? Look, Trevor, you didn’t come here for a piece of advice, but I’ll give it to you anyway. Being brutally honest, we don’t even know if we’ll be alive next week. And that’s not just something I’m saying to encourage you. It’s a fact. If you feel like she might feel the same, and I think she does, go for it. And go for it now!”

  “Maybe you should follow your own advice, Olie.”

  “But I’m not in love with Alegra, and if I was, I don’t think I’d have a shot. She has never looked at me the same way she looks at you!” said Olivia sarcastically.

  “You know what I’m talking about …”

  Olivia laughed and set about arranging some books she had in her room. Not long after, Alavro showed up in the doorway and told them that it was time to sleep. The sun had just set, but the next day would start really early.

  When Alegra finally arrived in their room, Trevor was still there, and they exchanged a couple of words until Trevor said goodbye and gave Alegra the most awkward hug Olivia had ever witnessed in her life. Olivia tried her best not to laugh and wished her friend a good night.

  “He is amazing, isn’t he?” Olivia broke the silence.

  “Yes, he is. I can only imagine what this experience is like for you two. You would think you had enough trauma the first time … and now you have to repeat it,” said Alegra, clearly sad.

  “At least we don’t remember the first time. This helps. But if you ask me what the lesson in all of this is, I’d say it’s to seize the opportunities. Enjoy life. That’s very important,” said Olivia, finding Alegra’s puzzled gaze.

  Time went by, and they both fell asleep without much conversation after that. Olivia dreamed of a plain being enveloped by a dense and dark mist. Baltazar Fletce, followed by a number of camels and a giant black wolf, devouring all that existed.

  ***

  Olivia was awakened by Alegra’s heavy steps around the room. Olivia’s eyes were so heavy and her sleepiness so powerful that she had a hard time understanding what was happening. When she finally sat up in her bed, Alegra was already completely alert and ready to go.

  “Let’s go, Olivia. It’s time,” warned Alegra, grabbing her bag and leaving the room at once.

  Olivia got ready quickly and went downstairs like a hurricane. There wasn’t a sign of the sun in the sky. The night was dark, and the stars shone brightly. Most of the group was already outside, prepping their horses. Olivia didn’t feel as bad as she usually would for waking up so late, because Trevor was even later. He was clearly annoyed about waking up before the sun and got to the garden with his eyes still partly closed.

  “It’s good to know that some things never change!” exclaimed Kirk, who was already very excited about the journey, and probably all the fights and blood that he was about to encounter.

  “Don’t even think about it, Kirk …” challenged Trevor. He was now petting hi
s horse, who apparently was the only one he didn’t consider his enemy this morning.

  Emma and Diana approached the group, coming slowly out of the shadows in the Laliamo Forest. Diana was going to take care of Belenos’ home, and she promised to keep everybody informed about the forest. Apparently, she was the only exception to Cordella’s ‘no communication’ rule. She was also the person appointed by Cordella to warn the rest of the Guardians in case something happened to them.

  Emma got closer to Olivia and Trevor, her eyes bearing an expression that Olivia had never seen before. It was a mix of melancholy and hope.

  “We will help as we can in Lirianthis. And I hope I don’t see you again!” said Emma, clearly trying to hide her concern. “I was honored to share with you all that I learned!”

  “And it was a pleasure to learn from you,” said Olivia, exchanging a meaningful look with Emma.

  “Here. So you can remember me and our home.” Emma handed Olivia a small quartz, carefully cut. It was round and resembled the sky during a dark night. The rock was a very dark shade of purple and had small shiny dots that sparkled like stars, and other spots that reminded Olivia of nebulae. It was as though Emma had given her a piece of the sky.

  “Thank you, Emma! It’s beautiful.” Olivia’s voice trembled. The idea of never seeing Emma again made her feel sad and sort of lost. They hugged tightly until Cordella interrupted.