by T. S. Hall
With all the showers running at once, the hot water didn’t last long. The girls and Dax exited at the same time and put on the clothes that Milly had laid out for them. Everyone met in the living room, dreading the explanation of their disobedience. The room was warm, thanks to the fireplace on the far side. They all sat together, staring into the fire silently.
A moment later, Milly brought them tea. She sat down with the rest of the group and gave them a stern look that told Allora she was really in trouble. Milly took a sip of her tea, placed it on the table next to her armchair, and said, “Now, who is going to tell me exactly what happened?”
Katie and Dax sat attentively, listening to Allora recount the events from hours earlier, shocked at the details of what had happened on the mountain. Milly was taking a sip of her tea when Allora mentioned the conversation at the riverbank. “Sas said a shifter attacked us.”
Milly dropped her cup on the floor and stared at her sister, who glanced back with an equally fearful look on her face. “Then what happened?” Milly said, picking up the porcelain remnants of her teacup from the floor.
Allora continued the story, telling her about how Tanner had become submerged under the ice and what she had done to try to free him.
Milly remained silent while her daughter told her about the river of fire. When Allora was finished, Milly sat back in her armchair. “I don’t think you know how lucky you are to be sitting here,” she said. “If Sas hadn’t been there…” Milly turned away at the thought of what could have happened.
Aunt May leaned in toward her niece. “What did the shifter ask you in the trees?”
“It asked me for the map,” Allora said.
“How do they know about it?” May asked her sister.
“If they’re asking questions about The Eye, they must know Allora is Sonoran. It also means they know we’re looking for it.” Milly paused for a minute, contemplating the potential consequences. “I don’t like this,” she said, “not one little bit.”
“I don’t either, but what can we do?” May asked.
The increasing number of Sonoran creatures in the area was alarming. Time was like a vise, slowing squeezing them into submission. The weight of a battle loomed just around the corner, and they weren’t sure if it was a fight they could win. Milly could only hope everyone would be ready for the inevitable confrontation.
The worried mother spent the rest of the night on the phone, informing the other parents and Sonorans in town about the day’s events. They all agreed that it best to keep the children at the house.
Tanner was asleep in Allora’s bed, so she set up sleeping arrangements in the living room. Exhausted, everyone went to bed with their thoughts.
Allora laid down on the couch and stared up at the ceiling. Although she was exhausted, sleep evaded her. Her mind raced through time, and one question crept in with every memory, Why is this happening to me? Before that year, she’d practically begged for something new and exciting. Now, she could only hope for some sense of normalcy. Even the mundane tasks of her past would have been a welcomed reprieve from the life-threatening days she was living.
After a few hours, she finally drifted off to sleep. Her dreams took her to a wheat field. She walked forward. In the distance, a short, brown-haired man stood with his hands behind his back. Allora stepped through the wheat, gliding the straws through her hands as she walked. She could actually feel the texture of the wheat as it rolled with the wind. The man became clearly visible ahead. Allora walked along the top of a hill toward the man, who was standing on the edge of a cliff, where the ground dropped off to a large body of water. Stopping next to him, Allora gasped at the familiar face staring into the distance.
A peaceful smile hung above his chin as he turned to the young girl. “Hi, Allora,” he said.
“Uncle Ben!” Allora responded, grasping him around the waist. Her embrace was tight, as if she never wanted to let him go. The reunion felt so real, and even the familiar smell of his aftershave was present when she buried her face against his chest. Flooded with emotion, Allora held on for dear life. He was the embodiment of a past filled with joyful memories, and when he died, her life had changed significantly.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked, his calm voice flowing through the valley like the wind.
Still holding on to his waist, Allora turned and looked upon the beautiful scene reaching to the setting sun. The two stood for what seemed to be hours, watching the sun dip into the water.
“How are you here?” Allora asked.
Uncle Ben pulled his chin down his chest and stared lovingly at his niece. “I never left you,” he said.
“I don’t understand,” she answered. “You died.”
“I will always be with you. You must understand that you have all the answers you need. Trust yourself, Allora, and you will find the path you seek.”
As he said those last, insightful words, his body faded away like fog, then disappeared into the wind.
Allora awoke from her dream and sat up. Bewildered, she remained stuck in one spot, frozen by thought. She finally got up and walked into her room, only to find Tanner standing in his boxers. The sight caused her to shuffle back and forth awkwardly.
Tanner smirked and almost laughed.
“Sorry, I, uh… I forgot you were in here,” Allora said, grabbing the doorknob. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it. She couldn’t help but smile at the thought of his perfectly toned six-pack, biceps, and long, muscular legs.
“What are you doing?” Bell asked, walking into the hallway.
Allora jumped as if she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t be. “Nothing!” she whispered harshly. She stepped into the bathroom and shut the door on her sister.
After breakfast, Allora’s friends went home, and Bell scurried off to Aunt May’s room. That left Allora alone with her mother, who was drinking her coffee and staring at her daughter.
“I know, I know. You’re gonna yell at me for an hour about how irresponsible I’ve been, and now you’re gonna ground me for a lifetime,” Allora said, frustrated by her mother’s silence.
Milly kept sipping her coffee, thinking about what she wanted to say. “No, Allora, that isn’t what I’m going to do. No matter what I do to protect you, eventually you are going to have to experience life and the consequence of your actions.”
Allora was caught completely off guard. She’d already created a rebuttal, but now she just sat there, confused by her mother’s lack of emotion. Milly had conceded the fight before it even began.
Milly set her coffee mug on the kitchen table. “I think it’s time you hear how your uncle really died,” she said, her eyes gazing forward.
Allora remained silent.
“Ben and Swan learned about The Eye of the Titans from our mentor, and leader of the keepers, during the onset of the Rebel Wars, which led us to come here. They intended to use its power to change the course of the war, but the other side unfortunately had the same idea. They found the first piece in Shangri-La in Nepal.”
“So, the place is real,” Allora said.
“Yes, it’s very much real. Shangri-La is the capital headquarters for the guardian organization on Earth,” Milly said. “Sas claims someone in the guardian order betrayed Ben and gave away their location, which led them back here. The king sent a shifter, like the one you encountered yesterday. That shifter learned of our community and had intended to report back to the king. Uncle Ben caught up with it and prevented that from happening.”
“By paying with his life,” Allora said, thinking back to the night when she was ten years old and her hysterical mother told her about Ben’s demise. Since that fateful night, the energy in their house was different.
“Yes,” Milly said, holding her daughter’s hand. “And I just don’t want you to make the same mistakes he made. You’re almost an adult. Pretty soon, you have to start taking responsibility for your own life, and I won’t be around ground you.”
> “So, does that mean I’m not grounded?” Allora asked as her mother left to do the dishes.
“Oh, no. You’re still grounded.”
Allora furrowed her brow and got up from the table. After grabbing her ski clothes, she went to the garage, and shoved them in a duffel bag. She tried pushing it against the wall, but since the zipper wasn’t completely closed, a beanie fell out. As she picked it up, her eye caught sight of the box on the ground, the one containing her uncle’s belongings. She sat down on the garage floor and pulled the cardboard flaps open, then began to sift through old documents, sports memorabilia, and other possessions. She pulled out the old Oregon Ducks hat; Ben had worn it so much that the bill was perfectly molded to the shape of his head. He’d taught Allora that the best way to do that was to wear it in the shower, then bend it in a half circle until it was perfect. She found her uncle’s old coffee mug, the one that always used to sit on the kitchen table in the mornings. It was made of transparent, royal blue glass and had his name etched into it. Allora slowly turned the cup over in her hands while she thought back to their morning sports talks over breakfast.
She rummaged around in the box, pulling out object after object, until she finally reached the bottom. There was a small, worn, tattered book lying against the edge of the box. The binding was made of leather, and on the cover was a picture of what looked like an armored warrior, with the words “The Iliad of Homer” engraved in gold leaf. She flipped through the pages until a folded piece of paper dropped out of the book. Allora placed the book on the concrete floor and picked up the document. She unfolded it carefully and began reading:
Dear Allora,
I’m writing this to you in hopes that you will receive this book on your eighteenth birthday. I gave instructions to your mother to give it to you when you are old enough to realize who you really are. I don’t think I’ll be there with you by then. There’s something I must do, and it may be the key to our survival. I don’t expect you to understand right now, but I hope you will in the future. The next few years may be hard on you, and I can’t imagine the hardships you’ll face, but Allora, you must push forward. You are the key to a grander vision that I can’t quite see myself. I know the weight of responsibility can be trying. Just lean on those around you for support. I will try to make it easier on you. I believe I’ve found what I’ve been looking for, but it will be the reason for my absence. Remember, Allora, never give up hope. It is the one thing that they can never take from us.
Your Uncle,
Ben
When she finished, a tear dripped from her chin and landed on the paper. Allora sat for almost an hour staring at the words, rereading each one until she memorized it. Wiping the tears from her cheeks, she placed the book back in the box, then shoved the box back in the corner, placed the note in her pocket, and left the garage with a new sense of purpose. That night, after all she’d been through and after losing the uncle she dearly loved, Allora made a proclamation to herself that she would finish his quest. Even though the road ahead was dangerous, she would not falter. Her path was now clear, and for the first time in a long time, she was eager to face her destiny.
Eighteen
PLANNING
February arrived with a flurry of snow showers. Blankets of white powder and ice covered the roads, causing the cancellation of school. It wasn’t long before the snow subsided and school closures ended, and Allora again found herself walking into her history classroom. She was relieved to see a familiar face looking up at her. “Mr. Swan!” she exclaimed and ran up to hug him.
Mr. Swan stumbled back, caught off guard by her excitement. “It’s nice to see you too,” Mr. Swan said, surprised at the girl’s overt enthusiasm.
Allora let go and looked up at her teacher. “I’m really glad you’re back,” she said. “I need to talk to you about something important.”
“Me too,” he said.
“I have—,” Allora began.
Mr. Swan cut her off. “Not now. Come back to my room after school, and we’ll talk,” he said, turning around to begin the lecture for class.
After school, Allora walked quickly to Mr. Swan’s room and shut the door.
Before either of them spoke a word, he put his finger to his lips and proceeded to expand silencing glue to cover the room. “I’ve had to be extra careful lately,” Mr. Swan said, moving toward the far wall to retrieve an object from its secret location. “Are you okay? I heard about the shifter attack.”
“Yeah,” Allora said, putting her head down. “I guess I’m fine.”
Mr. Swan pulled the object from the wall and walked over to his somber student. “Hey,” he said, picking up her chin, “what’s wrong?”
Allora took a while to ask the question. “How well did you know my uncle?”
“I guess your mother told you what happened then.” Mr. Swan walked over to the window and looked out on the patches of melting snow. “You know, I grew up in the hills. A place called Malhalla, a few hundred miles outside of Titanis. It used to snow there too.” He paused for a moment to turn and lean against the windowsill. “That was where I met your uncle. We grew up together.” Mr. Swan’s eyes rolled down, and he laughed. “Your uncle used to get me in so much trouble. One time, we captured a dryad, put it in a box, and gave it to Milly as a birthday present. When she opened the box, the dryad jumped out and attacked her. It was one of the funniest practical jokes I’d ever seen.”
“What’s a dryad?” Allora asked.
“A type of tree nymph. They are small, shy creatures, but if you provoke them, they can be especially fierce.”
Allora laughed. “Well, I’m sure Mom didn’t like that one bit.”
“Heh. I think your mom still hates me for that one.” He chuckled. “Your Uncle Ben grew up to be an amazing man, and he saved my life.” Allora could see tears forming in her teacher’s eyes, so she didn’t dare interrupt. Mr. Swan wiped his eyes and continued. “After we got out of preliminary school, what you’d call high school, we both joined the Royal Guard. We seemed to be cut out for it and quickly moved up the ranks, until the wars began. We were arrested, but your uncle managed to escape. When he found out that I was scheduled to be executed a couple weeks later, he cooked up an elaborate plan to free me. We barely made it out of there alive, and I told him he was an idiot who could have gotten himself killed. Do you know what he said to that?”
“No, what?”
“He said, ‘Swan, you were going to be a pretty ugly corpse without that head of yours.’” Mr. Swan laughed. “Your uncle was a real hero, Allora.”
“Why did the king have you arrested anyway? Didn’t you just say you were enlisted in the Royal Guard?”
“When we signed up for the Royal Guard, the man who was king enacted laws that forbid human slavery, and gave rights to other beings in the realm for things like land ownership and immigration into Titan territories. It didn’t go over very well with certain elitists. There was a power-hungry general from the southlands who despised humanity and he organized a coup, with plans to assassinate the king and any who opposed him, including all of your mother’s friends and colleagues.”
“So that’s why she doesn’t like to talk about it.”
Mr. Swan nodded. “This man also had your uncle assassinated, and he’s looking to do the same to anyone who opposes him. Since you have the direct bloodline to the throne, you are his biggest threat, which is why your mother is so protective. And it’s why he’ll do anything to make sure you don’t find the Eye of the Titans.”
“I have a feeling that he won’t succeed there.”
Allora placed the orb in Mr. Swan’s palm. He excitedly rolled it over, feeling the cold surface with his fingers. “You found it!” Mr. Swan exclaimed. “Your uncle would be so proud of you, Allora, just as I am.”
“This is what he was looking for all those years?” Allora asked.
“I believe so,” Mr. Swan said. “Let’s give it a try.
He lined up the pieces of parchm
ent and placed the orb along the top edge of the middle, then rolled the orb down along the edge while his palm glowed. As the orb slid along the perforated edge, it began melting onto the table, like pizza dough being rolled flat. Mr. Swan stepped away, and Allora watched as the melted orb flattened even more and the bright glow dissipated. The parchment was finally one complete sheet, miraculously glued together, with no indication that it had ever been in three separate pieces. The last parts of the directions were clearly written in the same manner as the other parts of the riddle:
A water-bound mass of wizard’s past
Where phantoms raise their Earthly mast
A witch’s cauldron with secrets to bear
With stones you enter, but do beware
Allora read it through twice, just to be sure she hadn’t missed anything. “Do you know what it means?”
“I’m not sure,” Mr. Swan answered, and the two debated it for a few minutes before the teacher put it back in his safe. “While we try to concentrate on figuring it out, we can’t leave it out to fall into the wrong hands. It should be safe here.” As he stepped away from the wall, he looked at Allora proudly and shook his head. “All that research and all those years, and you manage to find the last piece to the puzzle. Thank you, Allora.”
After Allora left the classroom that day, she headed straight for the library. The words of the riddle festered in her mind while she searched for books on magical places. For days, she spent all her free time in the library, searching the Internet and reading books on different places around the world.
Frustration boiled over after spending weeks among skyscrapers of stacked encyclopedias, fantasy novels, and research articles, with no progress. She went home, feeling defeated, flopped down on the couch next to her sister, and let out a discouraged sigh.
Bell didn’t even flinch, for she was much too busy reading a book on molecular biology.
Allora pulled out the piece of paper she’d written the riddle down on. Staring at the words had no miraculous effect, no matter how many times she ran them through her mind.
