by Wendy Owens
“Illuminatum!” Sophie commanded with great force and dozens of lanterns around the room lit up.
“Oh my, you’re just full of impressive things this evening,” Gabe commented, nodding at Sophie with satisfaction.
“Oh please,” Sophie said with a dismissive wave. “You’ll learn all of this, too.” Even though Sophie was trying her best to downplay the luster of her abilities, Gabe was still in awe. He looked around at half a dozen tables stacked high with old books. There was a thick layer of dust on all the seating areas except one. Sophie walked directly to the clean table and bent below it where he could no longer see her.
She fiddled with something for a few moments until finally she emerged with a large trunk that she dropped abruptly onto the table. “No spell to lift heavy stuff, huh?” Gabe asked smugly.
“Hush and get over here,” Sophie commanded, trying to not show her amusement at his joke. She opened the box and turned it so Gabe could easily see the contents as he approached.
“What are those?” he asked, staring at the dozens of crystal-like pieces filling the chest.
“They’re an advantage!” Sophie exclaimed.
“What?”
“Watch,” she commanded, picking one of the crystals up, she held out one finger and balanced it on the tip. “Aperio,” she said staring intensely at the crystal.
Before Gabe could take another breath, the crystal began to glow and a transparent image appeared above it. He jumped back at the site of a small goat like figure. “What is that?” He asked, a little fearful.
“They call it an Azazel demon,” Sophie replied.
Gabe studied the rotating image. It looked like it was a morph between a goat and a man, perhaps. Its entire body was covered in hair, some of its facial features looked like they may belong to a man but its nose came out like a snout; it had sharp pointed teeth and large horns that spiraled up and around the back of its head. Gabe shivered at the sight of the beast.
“I don’t understand, what is this …?”
Sophie explained, “They’re called knowledge crystals. Some call them seeker crystals because our trackers use them to study the beasts we hunt or seek. The crystals give us a 3D glimpse of these demons and all these books you see around us, give us information as to what their weaknesses are.”
Sophie let the crystal fall into her palm and clutched her entire hand around it as it went dark. “I spend a lot of my time down here,” she added.
“That’s awesome!” Gabe shouted in excitement. “Do another one!” He was still clearly impressed by this new magical object.
Sophie grabbed another crystal, placed it on her finger and muttered “Aperio” once again.
An image again appeared above the crystal; a creature with three heads, one being a bull, another of a man, and the third a ram. His eyes glowed almost as if they were on fire. As the image rotated Gabe saw it had the tail of a serpent and he hoped he would never have to confront this monster.
“This is Balam,” Sophie said with a tone of disgust.
Gabe looked a little closer “Is he naked?” he asked nervously laughing.
“Yeah, he’s like a plague on the residents of Iron Gate. They’ve lost a lot of soldiers to him.” She looked at Gabe as he watched the rotating image.
“Wait … Iron Gate ... isn’t that where Michael and Uri went?” Gabe asked, fear creeping into his voice.
“Don’t worry,” Sophie said seeing his discomfort. “Michael is very powerful; he can take care of himself.”
“So this thing knows the location of Iron Gate?” Gabe asked, still concerned.
“No, nothing like that,” Sophie explained. “Balam has been spotted in the forests near Iron Gate. Some scouts say they’ve seen him riding a bear-like creature. He’s a commander of many legions for the Prince of Darkness and one of our most wanted.”
“They haven’t been able to destroy him?” Gabe asked.
“Gabe, do you understand that we’re not destroying these creatures? We don’t have that ability. It may appear like we are, but we’re simply binding them and returning them to the constraints of Hell,” Sophie explained.
“Is there no way to destroy them?”
“They’re immortal beings,” Sophie added.
“That doesn’t seem very fair. It’s like we’re on uneven playing fields. What’s the point?” Gabe became more agitated with each passing thought.
“Once we confine them to Hell, they’re trapped there until the end days,” Sophie replied defensively.
Gabe’s head began to ache, overwhelmed by all the rules of this new reality he found himself in. “So why is Balam so hard to ...” Gabe tried to remember what Sophie called it “bind”?
“He has the ability of the third eye,” Sophie explained.
“Wait, this thing has a third eye somewhere?” Gabe asked searching the image harder.
“No,” Sophie laughed at Gabe’s literal translation. “He has the ability of the third eye, which means he can see past, present, and future. The future may change but the problem is, if we try and attack him with forethought and we’re in range, he senses it. Makes it very hard to keep that element of surprise, don’t you think?”
Gabe nodded, fascinated by this world Sophie was sharing. As she tossed the crystal back into the case, Gabe stared at her round nose and full lips in the light of the lanterns. She really was one of the most beautiful creatures he had ever seen.
Realizing Gabe was staring at her, Sophie became increasingly nervous “What?” Sophie insisted.
“Nothing,” Gabe shook his head, wishing he hadn’t been caught watching her. “I really appreciate you sharing this stuff with me,” he said, trying to recover.
“It’s no problem. Do you want to see more?” Sophie asked, settling back onto her chair.
He didn’t know what came over him. In that moment all he could think about was kissing her. He knew if he didn’t act now he may never have the courage again. Leaning forward, he cupped her cheek with his hand. He looked into her eyes for a moment for approval. She was helpless when he touched her face, unable to move as her breath became shallow.
Gabe pushed off from the stone floor with his toes and their lips met. His head was spinning and his heart racing. His lips tingled with what he thought felt like little electrical shocks. They both closed their eyes, drinking in the moment. Gabe could feel her lips tremble beneath his.
Before they pulled away, both lingered for a bit; Gabe felt his toes curl as Sophie’s warm breath tickled his chin. At last, when they both collapsed back into their seats an awkward silence consumed them. It was clear how they both felt, but to actually put those feelings into words seemed impossible for each of them. They sat there in silence, neither willing to look at the other. Finally, Gabe reached into the box and pulled out another crystal.
“So what’s on this one?” he asked, presenting her with the token.
Thrilled as she was by the kiss, Sophie was more than glad to change the subject without another word. She grabbed the crystal extended her finger, and spoke, “Aperio.”
Gabe felt like he was walking on clouds as he approached his room. The aches and pains that had plagued his muscles were a distant memory. After spending hours with Sophie looking at unimaginable demonic creatures, all he could think about was the kiss they had shared. The fact neither had spoken about it afterwards made it no less special or memorable.
Too tired to dress for sleep, he simply slipped off his jeans and hoodie and collapsed onto the oversized feather bed. There was no fire so the room was filled with a strong chill, but it didn’t bother Gabe. He felt warm all the way to his toes. He pulled the blankets up and over his shoulders. A huge smile spread across his face as he fell asleep with a vision of Sophie smiling in his mind.
The next thing he knew morning had arrived. Gabe opened his eyes. Everything was still a blur. The light from his window was pouring in. He wondered why he had not closed the curtains the night before. As things came
into focus, he realized that in the middle of the window was the shadow of a figure. Perhaps he was still dreaming. Rubbing his eyes, he squinted a bit and realized the figure was still there.
Suddenly, anxiety overwhelmed him. He sat up in his bed, clutching his blankets to his chest. He squinted a moment longer until at last he saw Uri come into focus. Eerily hovering in front of him, just staring and not saying a word.
“Uri? What are you doing here?” Gabe asked completely confused and still a bit drowsy. Uri continued to look at him, but still said nothing. “Is everything okay? Where’s Michael?” Gabe felt panic rush over him. Why wasn’t he speaking?
“Uri!” Gabe shouted in frustration.
Gabe rose to his knees and inched closer to his friend. He quickly stopped and watched as Uri raised his arm slowly and pointed toward the door. Uri glared at the door and moaned the name, “Anthony.”
There was banging at the bedroom door. Gabe awoke startled. Panicked, he looked over to his window where he saw his curtains were drawn. He realized the vision of Uri had in fact just been a dream, so he climbed out of the warm comfort of his bed and stumbled to the beating door.
“I’m coming!” Gabe barked. “Hold your horses.”
Pulling open the heavy wooden door, he was surprised to see Dina standing on the other side. He wondered how such a tiny thing had made such a ruckus. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he realized Dina was giving him the elevator glare. Much to his horror, it quickly dawned on Gabe that he had answered the door in his boxers.
Dina laughed as she said in her tiny little voice, “Nice look for you.” Gabe darted across the room to where he has tossed his hoodie the night before and slipped it over his head. He slid in his sock covered feet over to the wardrobe where he pulled out a pair of charcoal gray sweatpants and hopped into them as quickly as he could.
“Sorry,” Gabe said trying to conceal his embarrassment, “Long day yesterday.”
“No problem,” Dina replied moving into the doorway and looking around the room. “Who were you talking to?” Dina asked with a puzzled look.
Gabe struggled to even hear her small voice across the large room. “What? I wasn’t talking to anyone.”
“Oh, when I knocked I thought I heard you talking to someone,” Dina replied looking around the room once more.
He remembered the dream. “You know, I must have been talking in my sleep.” He shook his head, still haunted by the vivid image. “Just seemed so real,” he mumbled.
“What seemed real?” Dina asked.
“Oh nothing, never mind,” Gabe replied, realizing how silly he’d sound.
“No, really Gabe, did you have a dream or something?” As Dina moved across the room Gabe noticed the way she glided was almost as if she were floating.
“Yeah, I mean I guess,” he replied.
“Who was in it?” She pressed.
Dina came to rest right in front of Gabe and stared up at him solemnly.
“Ummm, okay, well ... Uri. Why the sudden interest in my dreams?” Gabe asked.
“Did he say anything?” Dina moved closer, ignoring Gabe’s question, now only mere inches from his face.
“Not really, it was weird though,” Gabe replied giving more thought to his dream. “He didn’t seem like himself, like something was wrong.” Gabe shook his head, taking a step backward. “It was just a silly dream.”
“So he said nothing?” Dina’s small voice became very stern as she stressed the question again.
“Just a name ...” Gabe stopped and tried to remember. Dina stared at him, waiting.
“Anthony!” Gabe almost shouted the name when he remembered. “But that was it, he pointed to the door, said his name and then your knock woke me up.”
Dina looked away from Gabe, clearly distressed by their conversation. “Gabe, if you see Uri in a vision or I mean … if you have a dream again, you must listen to him and then come and tell me what he says. All right?” Gabe wondered if the girl was always so odd.
“Do you understand me?” Dina persisted, looking back at Gabe.
“Yeah, I will,” Gabe agreed. Dina glared at him. “I promise.”
“Okay, good.” Dina turned and walked to the doorway. “Get cleaned up, eat some breakfast and then meet me in the Sacred Garden. Know where it is?” Gabe thought back on that night he danced with Sophie just outside the Sacred Garden. It had become his favorite place.
He nodded affirmatively.
“So I’m with you today? What happened to Raimie yesterday?” He asked, but Dina didn’t speak another word. She was already gone when he looked up.
Smelling fresh and equipped with a full belly, Gabe headed to the garden he loved. He wondered where Sophie was at that moment. Perhaps she was underground looking at the crystals. Maybe she was still fast asleep in her bed. He imagined how she looked in all the different places she might be. He realized it was going to be hard just to get through his lessons without thinking of her. He replayed the kiss from the night before in his mind.
“Gabe, over here!” Dina called out, her tiny voice carrying much better in the great outdoors. Crossing the garden he came to a small clearing with a stone bench, Dina perched upon it. She reminded him of a tiny bird.
“Are you ready to make some magic?” Dina asked, a grin flashing across her face.
Gabe was thrilled she had quit obsessing about his dreams and seemed to be in much lighter spirits. He was enthused to learn magic, finding it hard to contain his excitement. One of the few memories Gabe had from his childhood was when his mother made him a wizard’s cap from paper. They spent the day together pretending he was a powerful mage. The memory of his mother coming back made him feel warm inside.
“Let’s do it!” Gabe shouted.
Dina rose to her feet and gracefully strode away from Gabe down the path without a word. He stood there for a moment and then realized he should probably follow. He came up beside the petit girl, waiting for any sort of direction.
“Have you ever seen any kind of magic before coming here?” Dina asked, keeping her gaze fixed on the path before her.
He thought back to all the strange things he had seen throughout his life. “I’ve seen a lot of things I can’t explain, but I’m not sure I can honestly say if there was ever anything magical to them.”
At last Dina glanced over in his direction, a smirk on her face. “I see,” she replied. “Well, first I guess I should give you some of the basic details. You’ll never hear our elders refer to what we do as magic.”
“Why not?” Gabe asked, truly curious.
Dina thought for a moment about how to phrase her response without sounding disrespectful to her dear elders. “There are some that believe it’s blasphemous to our way of life to call the incantations we perform magic. Our sacred words warn against performing magic, but what those texts speak of is conjuring spells using dark energy.”
“And what you do is different how?” Gabe questioned.
Dina grinned at Gabe’s boldness. “It has to do with the source. Our powers and our magic are done out of love and purity. Our sole desire is to help people, but never compromise our beliefs. With the responsibility of our abilities being fueled by a divine source we’re bound by certain rules.”
The two came to a small bridge over a slow running brook. Dina walked to the middle of the bridge and rested her arms on the wooden railing. Looking out over the garden, dozens of clerics were busy casting growth spells.
“Rules?” Gabe inquired.
“We can never use our incantations for selfish purposes. The moment we do, the source of our power is tainted and it can tear a person’s soul to shreds.” Dina looked intensely into Gabe’s eyes, “Understand?”
“Loud and clear,” Gabe confirmed.
“Hmmm .... Let’s start with casting,” Dina said as Gabe turned and came to rest next to her on the bridge.
“Sounds as good a place as any,” he was extremely interested in learning and eager to get started.
“So have you ever seen someone cast before?” Dina asked.
“Well, Sophie has done a few things in front of me, and of course, on the night we met.” Gabe’s smile faded as he thought about Sophie lying on the side of the road, her lifeless body close to death. “Oh, and I saw some clerics in the garden making some music and lights.”
“Did you notice the caster do anything when performing the incantations?” Dina questioned.
Gabe was still deep in his memory of that night with Sophie, the lights and music playing out in his mind, the smell of Sophie’s hair, so intoxicating.
“Gabe!” Dina snapped in her small but stern voice.
He was suddenly jolted back to reality. Realizing he had not answered Dina’s question, he thought back to when Sophie had used magic. “Umm ...” Gabe began trying to stall as he thought, not wanting another reprimand from tiny Dina. “I suppose they mutter sayings.”
“Very good, Gabe,” Dina said giving an approving tap on Gabe’s arm. “A lot of people use Latin to help focus their thoughts on what they’re casting. It takes a great amount of concentration to even cast the simplest things.”
“So I need to learn Latin?” Gabe laughed. “I failed Spanish, twice.”
“It’s not like you have to read a book in a foreign language or something and it doesn’t even have to be Latin. Most guardians have found that Latin is just the easiest to focus their thoughts.”
“Well that makes me feel a little better, I suppose,” Gabe said, thinking about his horrific days in Spanish class.
“There are some clerics and most of the elder guardians who can cast without even speaking,” Dina continued expounding. “The best way I can explain it is that it becomes second nature to you.”
“So how do I get started?” he asked, tired of discussing all the ins and outs. He was less interested in the rules and more interested in learning some interesting parlor tricks.
“Patience,” Dina answered in a calm tone. “The slightest stray thought can send magic completely off course and cause it to backfire on you.”
