FIERY ILLUSIONS (Keeper of the Emerald Book 2)

by B. C. Harris

  Part of me celebrates that she’s still alive, but the rest of me is in turmoil trying to understand what she’s doing standing beside Santtonnice.

  I think of the words she said to me last week: “If you kill Santtonnice, you will kill me.” What did she really mean?

  “This coming Sunday, December 25th,” Santtonnice says proudly. “I will usher in a new era of peace and prosperity.”

  The huge crowd goes crazy. Although part of the TV screen stays focused on Santtonnice, there are close-ups of people standing before him who are crying or whose hands are outstretched as though they are worshipping their God.

  “This day will mark the beginning of a new world. A great world. A world that is beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. A world where there is enough to eat for everyone. A world free from sickness and poverty. A world where everyone lives in harmony.”

  Once again the crowd celebrates as though their team has just won the World Cup.

  I glance at my friends. They’re captivated by what they’re seeing and hearing.

  “On December 25th, the day of the new creation, when light will turn to darkness and darkness will turn to light, the wars and horrors that have filled the history of your world will end. I am the way. I am the truth. I am the light.”

  “He’s quoting from the Bible,” Jamie says matter-of-factly.

  Thousands and thousands of people are falling to their knees.

  “December 25th will be a great day of celebration. As the sun sets on this very special day, a wonderful marriage will take place.”

  Santtonnice turns to my mother. He says, “On this sacred evening, I will be married to this beautiful woman. Our marriage will be symbolic of a new world. With our union, the old world will vanish. Together, my wife and I will become your loving parents. A new Garden of Eden will descend upon this planet.”

  Once again, the crowd erupts.

  “On the evening of December 25th, the skies will burst with fire. It will be as though the sun has descended to your earth.”

  Thousands of people are spellbound. From the faces that are being shown, the crowd is in a state of rapture. It’s as though Santtonnice has hypnotized them.

  “For a brief time, the sun will vanish. The earth will be covered in darkness. Nightfall will descend everywhere at the same time. Then...” Santtonnice pauses as he gazes across the endless crowd. “Then a new world will begin. I will be your new sun. I will fill our new world with joy and hope. I will fill our new world with love.”

  A close-up of my mother is shown. There’s a tear falling down her cheek. It doesn’t look to me like a tear of joy. She looks terrified.

  “More than two-thousand years ago in 79 AD in the village of Pompeii, the eruption of a mighty volcano ended the lives of this town’s inhabitants. It was as though these people went to sleep, but never woke up. This tragedy is a reminder that the life of being human is far too short. It is a reminder of death.”

  Santtonnice pauses. The crowd is waiting breathlessly for him to continue.

  “On December 25th, Christmas Day, I will bring an end to death. I will bring eternal life to my believers.”

  The crowd, in unison, bows in worship.

  - 46 -

  SUPERVOLCANOES

  Jamie is the first person to speak. I think the rest of us are still in shock at what we’ve just heard.

  “Are you okay?”

  Looking around the room at my stunned friends, I realize his question is intended for me.

  “Yes,” I mumble, but how can I be okay?

  In two days my mother is going to marry an alien. My life is over. Am I okay? Will I ever be okay again?

  Jamie hugs me. He hugs me firmly, yet gently, as though he understands the horror that has dropped into my life.

  When Jamie finally pulls away from me, I notice my other friends are staring at me.

  Jasmin’s wide brown eyes are filled with tears. Michael’s mischievous smile has vanished. It’s as though he has suddenly become a weathered adult who has lost all hope. Drew avoids eye contact with me. Radwin looks sympathetically at me with one head, while the eyes on his other head are looking at the TV. As I look at Squirt, he jumps into my lap and cuddles against me.

  Am I okay? No, I don’t think so.

  “We’re Emily’s friends,” Michael says. “We’re the Society of Spies. We can find a way to stop Santtonnice.”

  “Yes,” Jamie adds. “We have overcome great dangers and obstacles before. I’m with Michael. We can stop Santtonnice. We can reunite Emily with her mother.”

  “I’m in,” Drew says, sounding once again like a movie hero ready to lead his troops into battle, the way he was when we first started our mission a year ago on Tamor.

  “Me too, me too, me too,” Squirt squeaks.

  “I’m with you Emily,” Radwin’s gruff voice adds.

  We all turn to Jasmin at the same moment.

  Jasmin nods her support, although she looks uncertain.

  “Then it’s settled,” Michael says. “We’re a team. We’re going to stop Santtonnice. We’re going to rescue Emily’s mother.”

  “Where do we begin?” I say. “Even if we rescue my mother, she will be arrested the minute she steps back into this country.”

  Michael says, “We’ve got two days. Any suggestions on what we can do next?”

  After a few seconds of awkward silence, Jamie suggests, “Why don’t we replay Santtonnice’s speech? Maybe there are some clues in what Santtonnice said that will help us to understand what he’s going to do next.”

  “He’s going to marry Emily’s mother, that’s what he’s going to do next,” Jasmin says, looking at me with pity.

  “No,” Michael responds. “There’s more to his speech than getting married. By introducing Emily’s mother, he has insured that everyone will be talking about her based on what has been happening in Washington. This is a diversion. Her presence will prevent everyone from discovering the truth until it’s too late.”

  “Drew, can you reply the speech?” Jamie asks.

  “Sure,” Drew says.

  Taking the remote, Drew quickly scrolls the news broadcast back to the beginning of the speech.

  Jamie turns on his iPad.

  “That’s the beginning,” Michael says. “Start it there. Let’s examine every frame in the video. Somewhere in the footage might be some hints as to what he’s really intending to do.

  The replay begins with Santtonnice walking towards the podium that is erected outside the Colosseum.

  I notice the faint shadow of my mother a few steps behind Santtonnice, something I failed to see the first time I watched the broadcast. While he’s stepping into the brilliant light that strikes the stage, my mother is still in the darkness.

  “See anything unusual?” Jamie says.

  I notice Drew and Jasmin both shaking their heads.

  “What are the symbols on the wall?” Radwin asks.

  Drew pauses the picture.

  “What symbols?” I say.

  “Those are words,” Jamie replies as he walks across the room to point at what Radwin is referring to. “It’s a Latin phrase.”

  Etched in the stone wall of the Colosseum just above the opening that Santtonnice came from are the words “Soli Invicto Comiti.”

  “Sol is the word sun in Latin,” Jamie responds.

  “They can be translated as ‘to the sun my invincible companion’,” Michael announces as he looks at the screen of his cell phone.

  “Listen to this,” Jamie says as though he has found something important. “I was searching for references to Pompeii because Santtonnice mentioned Pompeii in his speech. Here’s an article that states there’s a supervolcano hidden in the earth near Pompeii. The article states that if it ever erupted, it could kill millions.”

  “What does that have to do with Santtonnice?” Jasmin asks. “He doesn’t have the ability to cause a volcano to erupt. Even if he did, why would he kill millions of innocent people?”


  As there is no immediate reply to Jasmin’s question, Drew advances the picture to the point where my mother is standing beside Santtonnice.

  Jamie says, “Many people believe that the growing number of natural disasters in the world are a sign of the end times as predicted in the Bible. The eruption of a supervolcano, especially in the same country as Rome, could lead millions of people to believe that the apocalypse is beginning as prophesized in the Bible.”

  “The Bible,” Michael says, “also states that Christ will return in a blaze of glory to save his faithful. Santtonnice will be seen by many as the return of Christ. Chaos will erupt in every corner of our planet.”

  “But there’s no way he could cause a supervolcano to suddenly erupt on December 25th,” Jasmin says. “

  “Unless,” Michael says, “he has Emily’s emerald.”

  - 47 -

  BLACKMAIL

  Would Santtonnice really use my emerald to cause the eruption of a supervolcano? Without much thought, I know the answer to that question.

  “But he doesn’t have my emerald,” I say, “and I certainly don’t intend to give it to him.”

  We’ve talked about this before. I’ve made up my mind that if necessary I will sacrifice the life of my mother to prevent Santtonnice from obtaining the emerald.

  “We’re not going to give up that easily,” Jamie says. “If we can learn exactly what Santtonnice is intending to do, maybe we can stop him as well as saving your mother.”

  “Drew, show us a little more of the recording,” Michael says. “There’s something I noticed before that I’d like to see again.”

  Drew continues the broadcast. Santtonnice is talking.

  “This coming Sunday, December 25th, I will usher in a new era of peace and prosperity.”

  Once again I watch as the crowd cheers. As this is now my second time watching he speech, I’m even more shocked by the outpouring of worship from the thousands and thousands of admirers.

  The recording continues.

  “This day will mark the beginning of a new world. A great world. A world that is beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. A world where there is enough to eat for everyone. A world free from sickness and poverty. A world where everyone lives in harmony.”

  “There!” Michael exclaims. “Take it back just a little.”

  Drew points the remote at the TV as I wonder what Michael is so interested in.

  “Good. Start it again,” Michael says.

  “A world where everyone lives…”

  “Stop. Stop it there,” Michael says.

  Even though the picture shows Santtonnice talking, I can also see my mother wiping her forehead with her hand.

  “Drew, can you zoom in on Emily’s mother.”

  “Sure,” Drew responds.

  The picture on the TV zooms in on my mother until her face almost fills the screen.

  “That’s it,” Michael exclaims.

  “That’s what?” I respond.

  “Look at your mother’s ring finger as she wipes her forehead. I think she’s trying to send a message.”

  The reality of what she’s doing hits me like a bucket of ice-water. We had previously noticed that the followers of Santtonnice have a tattoo representing the sun god on their ring fingers. My mother has no such tattoo on her finger. In fact, she’s wearing her wedding ring from my father. She’s clearly showing the world that she’s not a follower of Santtonnice. She’s not a willing participant in the marriage to Santtonnice. She’s being coerced.

  “Yes,” I say excitedly. “You’re right. “My mother does not have a tattoo representing the sun god on her ring finger. She’s not a follower of Santtonnice. He must be forcing her to marry him.”

  “How could he do that?” Jasmin says.

  “That’s easy,” Jamie replies, “Santtonnice has probably told Emily’s mother that if she doesn’t marry him, he will kill Emily. What Emily’s mother doesn’t know is that Santtonnice is likely going to blackmail you into trading the emerald to save her. He has both of you trapped.”

  As I look at the frozen picture on the TV of my mother wiping her forehead, I wonder if she has left some other clues for me that I might have missed.

  - 48 -

  A WORLD DESTROYED

  Realizing that we have already made one discovery by looking more closely at the televised speech, it makes sense for us to continue to look at the rest of it once again.

  “Michael, thank you for noting that there was no tattoo on my mother’s finger. Even though I wanted to believe in her innocence, it was getting harder and harder to do.”

  Michael blushes.

  “Let’s watch more of the speech,” I say.

  Drew touches a button on the remote control.

  “On December 25th,” Santtonnice says, “the day of the new creation, when light will turn to darkness and darkness will turn to light…”

  “Stop the replay,” Jamie says.

  Drew pauses the picture.

  Jamie continues, “A year or two ago I read a book about a volcano that erupted in the early 1800’s. It occurred on the island of Sumbawa which is in Indonesia. For many miles, the entire sky in the vicinity of the volcano was blackened by the debris and smoke from the volcano. When Santtonnice talks about light turning into darkness, this supports our discussion before that he might be talking about the eruption of a volcano.”

  “Actually,” I say, “in his speech he also said something about the skies bursting with fire.”

  “Is Santtonnice,” Jamie says, “telling the world that a massive volcano is going to erupt on Christmas Day?”

  Santtonnice begins to talk about marrying my mother when the video resumes.

  “Fast forward through this part,” I say to Drew.

  The picture races ahead.

  “Okay,” Michael says.

  Drew hits the play button.

  “On the evening of December 25th, the skies will burst with fire. It will be as though the sun has descended to your earth.”

  “He is making the audience believe in the apocalypse, the last times,” Jamie says. “He’s playing into both the hopes and fears of people around the world.”

  Santtonnice continues, “For a brief moment of time, the sun will vanish. The earth will be covered in darkness. Nightfall will descend everywhere at the same time.”

  None of us respond to what is being said.

  “Then a new world will begin. I will be your new sun. I will fill our new world with joy and hope. I will fill our new world with love.”

  “He will kill millions of people,” Michael says.

  In a hushed voice, Jamie says, “If he causes a supervolcano to erupt near Pompeii, the destruction will be felt for hundreds of miles. Ash will rain from the sky for months. Countless people will be killed by the poisonous gases.”

  “But he can’t do it without Emily’s emerald?” Jasmin says. “No emerald; no eruption of the volcano.”

  Jasmin is right, but something is gnawing away at me; I’m missing something very important.

  - 49 -

  REAL SPIES

  I’m beginning to think that I should flee to Tamor until December 25th is over. Without my emerald, Santtonnice can’t complete his plan. Yes, he might kill my mother, but her death would save the lives of millions of others.

  Drew turns down the volume on the TV.

  “Emily,” Jamie says, “this confirms our need to go to Rome. We’ve got to get into the Colosseum to see what is really happening. ”

  Jasmin reacts immediately. ”Maybe this is exactly what Santtonnice wants Emily to do. Maybe he’s hoping she will try to rescue her mother. After all, if Emily doesn’t go to Rome, he has no way of getting her emerald.”

  “I think we’ve got to give it a try,” Michael says. “I’m with Jamie. Let’s go to Rome for a few hours as we planned. If we have no luck finding a way to save Emily’s mother, then I agree that Emily should take her emerald and disappear until December 25th passes.”r />
  “I’m in,” Drew says.

  “What about your parents?” I ask my friends. “How will they react when you vanish?”

  “Actually, that will be quite easy,” Jamie says as he strokes his thick blonde hair with his hand.

  “It will be?” I say.

  “Yes. With the time difference between Rome and here, we can leave at midnight tonight. When we arrive in Rome it will be around six or seven in the morning. If we stay there for four or five hours, we could travel back home and be in bed by the time our parents wake up. Tomorrow’s Saturday, so my parents sleep in a little.”

  “My mother as well,” says Jasmin. “She’ll be in bed until lunch.”

  Michael says, “My parents wake up early, but if my bedroom door is closed they won’t bother looking inside my room because sometimes I sleep in on Saturday mornings.”

  Drew shrugs as if to say it wouldn’t matter even if his father was home. I wonder how often Drew actually sees his father. Surely, he will be home at least for Christmas.

  “Alright,” I say, taking charge. “It’s a little after two right now. I’ll use my emerald to pick everyone up in less than ten hours just before midnight. That gives all of us some time to eat and sleep. Sound okay?”

  “What should we bring?” Jasmins asks.

  “I’m looking at the weather in Rome,” Michael says as his fingers slide across the screen of his cell phone. “It’s cold there, but not as cold as here.”

  “Dress warmly,” I say. “What else do we need?”

  Drew says, “We need some way to communicate, other than using our cell phones. I wouldn’t be surprised if the police are monitoring our calls.”

  Jamie turns to Michael with a big smile on his face.

  Michael looks as though he’s been waiting for this moment. He digs his hands into his backpack. After a few seconds he holds up what appears to be a wristwatch.

  “Here,” Michael says proudly, “This should do.”

  “A watch?” I respond.