The Xidoran Prophecy

by Elaine Bassett

  Airabelle rolled her eyes and said, “Go on and make fun of me. Ha ha.” She turned her back to them. She said under her breath, “No way, no how is anyone in his or her right mind going to follow that cuckoo. Especially not me!”

  That night as Carson crawled into bed, his mind was thinking of the possibilities.

  CHAPTER 50

  Dimitrios thought to himself: Time to return to work. He shifted in his chair as he sorted through the papers. Where is that note I wrote earlier? Then it occurred to him that the paper had been stuffed between the pages he had handed Cassia. “Oh my…” he whispered to himself. He jumped up and sprinted for the door. Maybe it wasn’t too late to intercept her from reading it.

  He turned the corner and briskly walked to her office. He stopped suddenly at the door. It was too late. She found the note and was reading it. He backed up and walked just as quickly back to his office. No time to waste. He broke out in a cold sweat. He had to get out of there, fast. He hadn’t intended for her to ever read that note. How foolish of him to have written it in the first place. He quickly grabbed the gym bag and headed to the secret exit in his office.

  Just as the door was closing behind him, Cassia entered the office holding the letter to her heart. The office was dark. Just a moment earlier and he wouldn’t have had a chance to escape. She saw the hint of light coming from under the secret door. A smile spread across her face. She was shaking her head. “It’s just like you to run isn’t it? Someday I hope you trip over your shoe laces, Gingerbread Man.”

  Dimitrios stopped on the other side of the door and thanked his lucky stars that he had avoided her. That was too close. He’d deal with this later on his own terms. He ran down the long hall laughing at his predicament. What was he going to do now? His secret was out…

  CHAPTER 51

  One night Joseph got up from bed. He didn’t go into his office right away. Dolores lay in bed listening and waiting for him to go in. When he finally entered the office, she rose from the bed and sneaked out the back door. She went around to his office window to see if she could peek inside or hear anything. What she heard that night was a conversation between Joseph and someone else. She wished later that she had stayed in her bedroom. The man boasted about executing several thefts. She backed away from the window so she wouldn’t be detected. Her heart was pounding and her head began to ache. She feared being caught as she ran back around the house. When she reached the door to enter she realized she had forgotten to make sure the door was unlocked before she went outside. She had locked herself out of the house. She ran around to every window to see if she could get back in. All of the windows were shut and locked.

  She sat down on the lawn looking at the house wondering what she should do, when she saw Sterling open his window. She stood up and ran toward the house watching the tiny figure strain to open the window. By the time she had climbed through the window he’d already crawled back in bed and pulled the covers up under his chin. She stood there in the dark moonlit room looking at his tiny figure in the dark. As she turned to close the window she heard him whisper, “He’s looking for you.”

  She walked to the master bedroom and crawled back in bed. She was mad Joseph had brought that horrible man into their home. Dolores convinced herself that Joseph was the leader of a theft ring. Now she knew what he’d been working on all those late nights. Eventually she fell asleep.

  The next morning he was up early and had gone to work. When she got out of bed she realized her gown had been slightly ripped from the rose bush and a few blades of grass were at the foot of the bed. She wondered if he knew what she had done. He never mentioned it, and to her relief Sterling never said a word about that night.

  CHAPTER 52

  Charles woke up and rolled out of bed. He realized he had better get moving. He wondered what was in store for him today. After getting dressed, he headed to the kitchen. Charles ate breakfast as Bev wrote out her “to do” list. She numbered the tasks in order of importance. Satisfied she’d covered her bases, she relaxed for the moment. She looked him over from head to toe and said, “It looks like you intend to get a workout today.” He nodded as he chewed his food. “Well then, I am glad I fixed biscuits and gravy this morning. That breakfast should last you all morning.”

  Carson walked in. “Are we ready?”

  Charles stood up, rinsed his plate and set it in the sink. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” They walked to the office. Once they arrived at the office Carson looked around and checked his list. Bev was talking to Airabelle.

  Charles closed his eyes for a second and thought about what the day might bring. He knew he’d be meeting with Dimitrios and Natalie. What kind of meeting could they be having, when he was dressed in workout clothes and sneakers? He wasn’t exactly happy to be going. He’d rather spend the day with Caroline. They’d been separated for a while now and he missed her. They didn’t have many more days of summer left. He cringed, thinking about going back to school again. He did like school, but he was just enjoying the farm and his adventures Sojourning more. He looked at Carson and thought about all the things they needed to accomplish in the near future.

  Carson patted his shirt pocket and smiled at Bev. “I think we are finally ready.” Airabelle flew to Charles, landed on his shoulder and whispered, “Are you ready? You look a little pale.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  They put on their glasses and stood waiting for the Passageway to completely open. One at a time they entered and went through to the Hub. Charles readied their flying disks. The disks quietly hummed as they floated side by side. Airasten was perched on Carson’s shoulder, as he and Bev discussed their day in the Hub. Airasten and Carson had become the best of buddies lately. When Bev and Carson stopped talking they walked over to where Charles stood by the flying disks.

  Carson said, “We had better head in the direction of the library. We don’t want to be late.” They each stepped on a disk and made their way through the busy Hub. It was crowded and difficult to make their way through the sea of people. They decided to climb above the pedestrians, where it wasn’t as congested.

  Charles was getting queasy thinking about the activities that had been planned ahead. Cassia sent him an update for today, requesting he meet Dimitrios and Natalie at the library.

  It didn’t take long to reach their destination. They stepped off their disks. As they made their way into the Hub Library, Charles once again had butterflies in his stomach. He wondered if they were ever going to go away. As they walked inside Charles searched the entryway looking for Dimitrios and Natalie. He found them huddled talking to each other. They were both dressed in karate clothes. Charles observed their belts. Natalie was a black belt. Charles gulped.

  Airabelle, sensing his hesitancy, landed on his shoulder and whispered, “Show time.” Charles glanced at Carson. He looked worried.

  Dimitrios came and greeted everyone. “We are waiting for Sensei Toshihiro to escort us to the Kyokushin training facility.”

  Natalie walked over and joined them. She put a hand on his shoulder and told him, “I know what you are thinking. I was there once too.”

  He tried to smile at her, and said, “How long ago was that?”

  Just then an old gentleman walked in and captivated everyone’s attention. He bowed to everyone. Dimitrios introduced him to everyone as Sensei Toshihiro. Natalie stepped forward and bowed to him. He addressed her in Mandarin. She answered him. Then he turned to Charles and told him, “This is where you will leave your grandparents and follow to the facility.”

  Dimitrios turned to Carson and Bev saying, “We will return for lunch at noon. Cassia made reservations at Aristarchus, a Greek restaurant. I know the owner there and he will take care of us.” They shook hands. Charles followed as the three walked out the door.

  Bev and Carson stood in a moment of silence before either spoke. Carson was the first, “He’ll be all right.”

  “I sure hope so.”

  Fiona came around the co
rner and made her way to them smiling. She whispered, “It is good to see you again. May I help you search for anything?”

  Carson replied, “As a matter of fact you can. You are just the person we needed to see.”

  CHAPTER 53

  Charles was following everyone as if he was in a dream. He wondered where they were taking him. They walked for a while and turned the corner. Abruptly, everything changed. It seemed as if they were in another world.

  Natalie said, “Little China Town.”

  It certainly was an experience for Charles. He couldn’t help but stare as they walked down the street. A child was standing on the curb with a toy dragon. He was waving it above his head smiling. As they walked they eventually started to slow down because Charles wasn’t paying attention to where he was going. Finally they came to a stop in front of an old building that was in meticulous shape. It was brown with bright red trim. At the foot of the steps were large dragons carved from stone. Charles stopped and took off his glasses and put them in his satchel before he examined them.

  When he looked up he had noticed he was standing alone. He wondered if they had disappeared through the red door. He took the stairs three at a time and entered through the red door. Directly in front of himself, as he entered, he saw a sturdy carved table that held a bowl filled with large fortune cookies. He looked around and observed that each wall was painted a different color. The wall in front of him was red and a scroll was neatly hung in its center. To his right was a pot with a bamboo tree in front of the gold wall. Behind Charles was a green wall with a large Panda coin hung in the center of it. The left wall was blue and had a large coy pond with a water fountain in front of it. Charles carefully looked around for a door, but the only door was one he had just come through. He just stood there perplexed chastising himself for being careless enough not to follow behind the others. This was a fine mess he’d got himself into. He scratched his head. He wondered what he should do?

  Several minutes passed before he heard Airabelle say, “You might as well have a fortune cookie while you wait. What could it hurt?” He shrugged as if she could see him.

  He dug around until he found the right one. Then he broke it open. He popped half of it in his mouth. He opened the folded paper and read. It said, “Just when you think one door is closed another opens.” Suddenly a trap door opened and he slid down a long twisting slide till he abruptly reached the bottom and came to a halt. Charles looked around the room to see Dimitrios and Natalie standing with Sensei Toshihiro. The room itself was stark white. Sensei pointed a crooked finger at Charles and said, “He has a lot to learn about life.” Dimitrios turned and glanced in Charles’ direction.

  Natalie was at Charles’ side as if she were a flash of lightning. She whispered, “He’s referring to your daydreaming and lack of manners.” Charles’ face became red. “Follow me,” Natalie said. Charles followed her to a room, which had mirrors that covered all the walls. It even had mirrors on the ceiling.

  He asked, “Where are we Natalie? What are we doing here?”

  She responded, “This is the Sojourners’ Kyokushin Training Facility. This is where you will learn self-defense. My father thought it was time for you to learn self- defense after he learned of your run-in with Max. That wasn’t exactly a way to win friends and influence others. What were you doing in their territory anyway? Max is not the kind of person to forgive and forget by the way. I am certain he figures he has a score to settle with you, and will be waiting for the right opportunity to catch you unaware.”

  Before he knew what was happening he landed on the floor mat. She stood above him with her long braid dangling in his face. “It is my responsibility to make sure you don’t get hurt.”

  Charles took a deep breath and said, “And this is your way of making sure I don’t get hurt?” His eyebrows rose as he checked himself over. He was thankful for the thick mat beneath him.

  Natalie half smiled. “It is time to stop playing around and get busy. Are you ready?” Without waiting for an answer she stood, turned to Sensei and bowed.

  He turned to Dimitrios and said, “This will never do. He’s not ready.”

  Dimitrios said, “Give him a chance.” Charles dropped the back of his head to the mat. He wasn’t sure he wanted that chance.

  CHAPTER 54

  Carson patted his shirt pocket. He took out the small object that resembled a pamphlet. Carson had discovered it earlier as he was thumbing through the pages of a Caperson journal. He had flashed it at Bev as Charles had been getting the flying disks ready. Her eyes had widened as she whispered, “You’re just full of surprises aren’t you?”

  He could tell she was intrigued by his discovery. Carson didn’t show Charles the pamphlet before his meeting because he knew Charles wouldn’t want to leave with Dimitrios. Carson was afraid he’d have been distracted from his lesson. There would be plenty of time to discuss this mystery tonight. The cover of the pamphlet was worn from age and mildly tattered on the edges. It had water spots around the medallion in the center. The word Mystic was written in Greek above the medallion. Inside the pages were crinkled and were variegated in light blue at the top and medium blue at the bottom. The pages had an iridescent crisscross pattern in a 3-D like pattern. He put it back in his pocket.

  Later, when Carson described it to Fiona, the librarian quietly laughed and commented that she had never seen anything fitting that description, but she would be happy to guide them to the section of the library that had resources on legends and old wives’ tales. Carson and Bev followed Fiona into the library to a room on the left. She pulled several ancient books from a shelf. She opened one of the ornate books carefully turning the pages to a story about a Mystic Journal that was very similar in its description. “It looks as if the Mystic Book, in this particular story has numerous uses,” she said.

  She handed the ornate open book to Bev. She read the following tale: “The Queen, who was the owner of the Mystic Journal, dripped a secret potion on the cover of the book. She sealed it with her thumbprint in order for the pages to be readable only by the Queen herself. The owner of a Mystic Journal may refer back to its pages as often as needed once they are dipped in a potion and water solution. The pages of a journal can be dried and placed back in the booklet, but cannot be reused for any other purpose.”

  Bev made note of a passage that referred to the value of these journals. She discovered that journals protected by the potion are so priceless, only kings and queens have owned them throughout history.

  The librarian stacked books in Carson’s arms. Fiona patted him on the shoulder when she was finished pulling the ones she believed would be most useful. Carson thanked her as he and Bev made their way to the tables. They set the books on the table and spread out. Bev showed him the story that had been handed to her by the librarian. Bev sat at the table with the reference book and began taking notes about the story of the “Queen and her Mystic Journal”.

  CHAPTER 55

  Dolores was aware before she married Joseph, the Grey’s were considered to be among the wealthiest and most powerful families in the world. The Grey’s owned one of the most prestigious law firms in America--so she figured they’d naturally be secretive about their work. They’d have to be able to keep a secret in their line of work. She understood that. What she didn’t understand was the fact that they were secretive about almost everything. She rarely received a straight answer from the simplest of questions.

  What wasn’t kept a secret was Joseph’s family did not like Dolores’ family. The feeling was mutual. Occasionally Dolores’s dad would casually inquire about Joseph’s family within his political circle. He discovered the same remarks were repeated about the Grey’s over and over from people who knew the family intimately, and who knew about their law firm. He heard: “Their law firm does not specialize. They are considered the ‘Jack of all trades’ for the wealthy, who want to keep their personal lives private.”

  He learned, with the Grey’s wealth came a sense
of entitlement and the right to special privileges most people wouldn’t be afforded. Inevitably, in the next breath, he was told with a smile and a check to his campaign, “Drop it and concentrate on your constituents.”

  He wasn’t about to stop now. His daughter’s life was his concern.

  CHAPTER 56

  Charles was exhausted by lunch time. His stomach was rumbling. He was quickly losing his concentration. Natalie was teaching as much information on self-defense to Charles in one lesson as she possibly could. She didn’t expect him to retain all of it, but did want Charles to take it seriously. For Charles, it hadn’t been so bad once he got used to the idea that Natalie wasn’t as fragile as she appeared. She certainly was aggressive and never stopped. If he didn’t keep his mind focused on her every move she was sure to inflict pain.

  He was certain that at first the old Sensei wasn’t convinced he would amount to anything. As time had passed Charles was beginning to see a spark of interest on his face. “A waste of time,” was his first comment to Dimitrios. Charles was determined to prove him wrong. Now the Sensei was observing him with a watchful eye. He was scrutinizing his every move. Finally Natalie turned to Charles and they bowed; then she turned to the Sensei and bowed. Charles did the same.

  The old man came to Natalie and spoke to her in Mandarin. Natalie replied in English, “Yes, Sensei, he is a good student worthy of your time and attention.” Charles stood completely still as the man stood before him contemplating his decision. He nodded to Natalie, then turned and seemed to almost disappear before Charles’ eyes. He rubbed his tired eyes and stood staring in disbelief. Natalie laughed as she turned to gather her things.