by Kristen Pham
“Put that away! And be careful, those night vision goggles were not easy to get.”
“Unbelievable. I can’t wait until we get to use these! But how will I ever pay you back for all this?”
“Whatever, it’s a gift,” he said gruffly. “Oh, and you’ll need this,” he added as he handed her a passport.
“How did you manage to get this?”
“Those Conjurors have a few tricks up their sleeves. And good thing, too, or we’d never get out of here. Now let’s go. Our flight to England is in two hours.”
“England. That’s where the launch site is?” Valerie asked, feeling a little embarrassed that she hadn’t bothered to find out before.
“Not exactly,” Cyrus said, suddenly popping into view next to Thai, who jumped about a foot in surprise.
“Don’t do that!” Thai growled.
“Sorry, champ,” Cyrus said with a smirk. Before Thai could reply, Cyrus turned to Valerie. “The launch site is in Giza, inside the Great Pyramid.”
She felt her eyes widening. “Then what’s in England, exactly?”
“You have go there and take a test to prove your magic.”
Her mind whirled, trying to take in so much new information at once. “Prove my magic? What am I going to have to do? What if I don’t pass the test? Will I have to go back to a foster home again?”
“Don’t be such a worrier, Val. You’re bursting with magic, so I’m sure you’ll pass with flying colors. When you do, you’ll get a map that will show you how to find the launch room inside the Great Pyramid.”
She didn’t feel reassured. What if Cyrus was totally wrong about her and she failed the test? She found it very hard to believe that there could be anything magical inside of her. But she’d come this far; there was no way she was turning back now.
“Enough chit chat. You zap out of here, pal. Valerie and I have a flight to catch,” Thai said to Cyrus, not bothering to hide the annoyance in his voice.
But Cyrus just rolled his eyes and disappeared. Valerie stuffed her belongings into her new backpack and followed Thai to wait for the train. Her earlier jubilation at leaving the hospital was already starting to disappear as she worried about the hurdles ahead of her.
Suddenly, for no reason that she could explain, her worry transformed into a shiver of fear. For as long as she could remember, Valerie had always had a kind of sixth sense when danger was near, and now she felt it lurking close by. Her eyes scanned the train station and fixated on a hulking figure standing in the shadows on the end of the platform. His back was huge and muscular, and he was so tall that he would have dwarfed the people around him if it weren’t for the way he hunched over. His beady black eyes darted around the platform, and every few seconds his Adam’s apple bulged in his throat, as if he was swallowing a huge bite of food.
Something about the man made her stomach churn, and Valerie had learned to trust her instincts about people. She felt as if all his attention was focused on her, and he would pounce on her if he could. But strangely, she couldn’t put her finger on why she felt so suspicious – he wasn’t even looking at her.
She quickly glanced away, not wanting to stare, but Thai caught her gaze and followed it to the man in the shadows. His eyes narrowed. “I’ve seen him before. That’s not a face you forget. Stay close by. I want to make sure that we lose that creep.”
“Don’t you think you’re being a little paranoid?” Valerie asked, but she was secretly glad that he was taking precautions.
“Remember your promise and stay close,” Thai commanded with a glare.
She nodded and kept her mouth shut. When the train arrived, Thai and Valerie stepped on board and stood near the door. The stranger boarded as well, several cars down.
But as the doors were closing, Thai yanked her out of the train with him. The doors almost shut on her backpack. Thai grinned, satisfied. “He won’t be catching up to us any time soon. That train isn’t even going in our direction. See, I told you I’d keep you safe. That’s why you’ve got to cooperate with me. No hassles.”
Valerie wasn’t entirely sure that she’d needed protection in this case, but she decided to let Thai have his moment. “Thanks – I do feel safe with you,” she said.
He nodded, satisfied. “Good. You should.”
A few minutes later, they boarded a train for the airport. One short train ride and quick bus trip later, Valerie stood for the first time in the bustling Oakland International Airport. Everything was new to her, from checking in to their flight on a touch screen computer to passing through security. She almost laughed when they made her take off her shoes.
“What do they think I could be hiding in my shoes? A killer case of athlete’s foot?” she whispered to Thai. Instead of laughing, he glared at her again, making her feel like a silly kid.
Once they were past security, Thai hurried her through the terminal. “Thai, slow down, for goodness sake! I’m missing everything!”
With that, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her along at top speed. By the time they reached the gate, their flight was already boarding.
“Perfect timing,” Thai said smugly as he and Valerie joined the long line of people waiting to board the plane.
“I guess,” she said breathlessly. “But I wish there was time to look around a little. It’s like a mall in here! And I practically never get the chance to window shop.”
“Listen, kid. This is no Saturday afternoon trip to the mall with your little friends,” he hissed. “I timed it this way on purpose. I don’t want us hanging around anywhere for too long. You never know, the wrong people might notice us.”
“Get over yourself, Thai. It’s not like you’re escorting the President,” she retorted.
“Yeah? Well one thing I’ve learned is that you never know what can happen. I mean, would you have guessed a month ago that you’d be taking a trip through the universe to a magic…” Thai stopped short and looked around to make sure no one was listening to their conversation.
“To you know where?” he continued. “Life’s full of surprises. Some are good, some are bad. Besides, I know for a fact that those evil Conjurors – the Fractus – like to mess with humans. They’re causing a lot of problems on the Globe right now. I hear that they want to come back to Earth and take control of the whole planet. And you’ve got to know that if the Conjurors have people like me to help them out on Earth, the Fractus surely have people doing their evil bidding, too.”
The smile vanished from Valerie’s face. “But I don’t think they’d be going after me. I’m nobody.”
“You don’t know that. You don’t know what kind of magic you’re capable of.”
Those words left her thoughtful as she tried to imagine what magic was inside of her. Her old doubt haunted her – this entire trip could be a huge mistake. Maybe she would fail the test and discover that there was nothing magical about her after all. The only thing that made her special was her strange sickness and her ability to fight; it seemed impossible that she could possess something as wonderful as magic.
At last, they reached front of the line, distracting Valerie from her thoughts. The flight attendant took their tickets with a smile. In minutes, they were inside the plane searching for their seats. It was smaller than she had imagined, and her heart thumped a little harder at the thought of being stuck in there for hours. She felt sweat prickle under her arms, and hoped that Thai didn’t notice.
“You take the window seat. It’s pretty cool to look out when we take off,” Thai said as he stuffed their bags into the overhead compartment. He tossed her a pair of headphones and a copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. “It’s a long flight, and I thought you might want something to keep you busy.”
“I love this book! Maybe I’ll pick up some tips for my trip to the Globe,” Valerie said with a grin as she and Thai buckled themselves into their seats.
“It’s one of my favorites, too. Sometimes I feel like the hero in that book, Arthur Dent. It’s like,
the entire universe is opening up before my eyes, but at the same time, it’s so sad because the world as I once knew it is gone.”
She wanted to ask him what he meant, but she suddenly felt a rumbling beneath her, and the plane catapulted forward. Unthinking, she grabbed Thai’s arm. It was warm and solid, and something about his nearness made her heart beat faster.
“Don’t worry. You’re safer here than you are in a car. Relax and enjoy the ride,” Thai said, his voice gentle for the first time.
The plane sped down the runway, and Valerie felt the seat beneath her shuddering. Was that supposed to happen? Out the window, the airport sped past, a white blur against the blue sky. Unexpectedly, the shuddering stopped, and she realized that it was because the plane had lifted off the ground. They were airborne. The knowledge exhilarated her, and her fear vanished. It was incredible how this huge hunk of metal holding hundreds of people could fly weightless through the sky.
She pressed her face against the window, staring at Oakland shrinking beneath her as they ascended into the clear blue expanse of sky. Below them, toy cars raced on thin ribbons of highway, and she couldn’t imagine real people living in those tiny dollhouses. At 10,000 feet in the air, the world, which had always seemed so huge to her, had suddenly shrunk.
Hours passed, and Valerie drifted to sleep, her eyes heavy from staring out her window at the endless miles of puffy clouds.
Later, Valerie couldn’t decide if what she heard had been a dream.
“What’s happening? Where am I?” she heard gravelly voice ask with a hint of panic.
“It’s okay, buddy, we’re safe,” Thai’s voice replied soothingly. “We’re on a plane.”
She opened her eyes to see who he was talking to, but the seat next to his was empty, as it had been for the entire flight. Thai had his earphones on, and when he saw she was awake, he quickly looked at the movie playing on the screen in the seat in front of him.
“Who were you talking to?” she asked.
He pulled off his earphones. “What did you say?”
“Nothing. Never mind.”
She leaned back in her seat, drifting back to sleep. She must have dreamed the conversation. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time that she’d had a dream that felt real.
Valerie awoke for the second time with a shock as the plane touched down with a thud, trembling as it raced down the runway. Instantly she was wide awake.
“Welcome to the London Heathrow International Airport,” the friendly voice of the flight attendant announced.
“I’m in a brand new country! A whole new continent, and a new time zone, even!” Valerie exclaimed. Even if she failed the test and had to go back to the hospital, at least she had the chance to see some of the world.
“Okay, get a grip, kid. Low profile, remember?” Thai scolded.
“What a buzz kill,” she muttered, and he pretended to ignore her.
Thai navigated through the airport and expertly led her outside and into London. She thought she would drown trying to take in all the sights that floated by. Landmarks that she recognized from movies and her history books jumped out at her every time they turned a corner. Big Ben, the Tower of London, she was seeing them in all of their three-dimensional glory.
“Unbelievable,” Valerie whispered as she and Thai boarded a red, double-decker bus. “Can we sit on top? A bus with two floors!”
“Sure,” he said, grinning. “Try not to let your eyes pop out of your head or anything.”
She rolled her eyes. “Can’t you feel it?”
“Feel what?”
“The weight of the history in this place. I mean, these buildings have been around before the United States was even founded. That’s centuries-old dirt on that library! William Shakespeare walked these streets!”
London even smelled different to her. She never imagined that a country that spoke her language could feel so foreign. All the buildings seemed darker and older than the buildings in California, but their age gave them a dignity and wisdom. The storyteller in her was entranced as she imagined all of the drama that had played out in this city. But all too soon, Valerie and Thai reached the train station, which Thai called the Tube.
“Would it kill us to spend one day in London, Thai? There’s so much to see! I wonder if it’s true that the palace guards won’t move, no matter how hard you try to distract them. And the crown jewels, I’d love to-”
“It wouldn’t kill us, but it might kill you,” he said, not unkindly. “We’re on a quest, and neither of us can rest until we’ve accomplished it.”
“He’s right, Val,” Cyrus’ voice whispered softly in her mind. She couldn’t see him, but she knew that he’d been watching over her the entire time.
“Okay, fair enough. So where are we going, exactly?”
“We’re going to Salisbury, where we’ll camp for the night. At dawn, we’re going to Stonehenge.”
“Stonehenge? My test is at Stonehenge?!” Valerie’s voice rose an octave in excitement.
“Keep it down!”
“Sorry. This is great! I’ll get to see some sights after all! I can’t believe that’s where the map to the launch room in the Great Pyramid is hidden. How has no one found it? I mean, archeologists are digging up that place all the time. And how will we get in and out without being seen?”
“Enough with the questions. You’ll see for yourself when we get there,” Thai snapped. She shook her head. He should have slept on the plane ride, like she did. But soon, she was too distracted looking out her window at the English countryside to even think about Thai or his mood.
“This is our stop,” Thai announced as the train screeched to a halt in Salisbury.
“Let’s not wait until tomorrow. Let’s go to Stonehenge now. I’m sure it’s not too late to catch an afternoon tour,” Valerie pleaded. It would be nice to see the monument without the pressure of having her magic tested – and the disappointment if she failed.
“We need to go just before sunrise. No one will be there, and dawn is the time on Earth when the rules binding magic are the weakest.”
“It can’t hurt to scout the place out before we go tomorrow to get an understanding of how it’s laid out. And I’m so excited to see it!”
“I can see that. And you’re going to give me a headache if you don’t take it down a notch. But you do have a point. I’ve never been there before either.”
“Look, Thai, there’s a bus leaving for Stonehenge right now. It’s a sign!”
They jogged over to the bus and boarded it in time. As the bus sputtered along the bumpy road, Valerie strained her eyes to catch her first glimpse of the tall stones. She felt her heart jump as Stonehenge appeared in the distance. Even from miles away through a dirty bus window, it was more majestic than she had ever imagined. Gigantic rectangular stones stood vertically, roughly in a semi-circle. Some of the stones were joined at the top by large slabs that connected the vertical stones. Inside the half-circle were more stones, some that were standing and a few that had fallen over. Despite the obvious toll that time had taken on the ancient monument, toppling many of the boulders over, it still possessed a majesty and mystery that took her breath away.
Valerie almost felt as if she was in a trance as she and Thai paid the entrance fee and walked down the visitor’s path. They could only walk around the perimeter of the ruins, and she had to fight the urge not to break the rules and run inside the ring of stones.
As she took it all in, a boulder in the distance caught her eye. “Look at that stone all the way over there. Why is it so far away from the rest?”
“I think that’s the Heel Stone. There used to be a second stone next to it, and the sun would rise and shine right through the two stones and onto the altar stone that stands in the middle of the ring of tall stones, which is called the Trilithon Horseshoe.”
She looked at him in amazement, and he grinned. “What? I like to read. You think I didn’t research the place where the map to leaving this planet is? I�
��m your guardian. I have to know what to expect.”
“Do people know what this place was built for?”
“Well, they don’t know about the test or the map, if that’s what you mean. But it wasn’t built only for that reason. People used it to learn about the stars and the seasons, for religious reasons, and for burying important people when they died.”
“Can you feel the power of this place? It’s humming in the ground.”
“What?”
“Be still and feel it.”
Valerie shut her eyes, and Thai did the same. She felt the hum again, vibrating in her veins. It was the magic, she knew it. She opened her eyes and saw a look of wonder on Thai’s face.
“I feel it too.”
Then, without warning, her vision went black and she collapsed on her knees.
Instantly, Valerie was running through a dark wood. Her feet pummeled the ground and her lungs burned. But she knew that no matter how fast or how far she ran, Sanguina would always find her. Find her and mentally torture her until she did what she asked.
“Stop running, little one.” The whisper came from everywhere, yet nowhere, and Valerie felt her fear spike out of control. She spent so much of her time afraid – she couldn’t take it anymore.
“You have to leave me alone!” Valerie cried.
At that moment, Sanguina stepped out of the shadows and stared at her with such ferocity that she took a step back. “Never. I will never leave you alone. I will always be here. Give me what I want. Tell me about the monster you’ve seen in your dreams. I know there’s a new one.”
Valerie squeezed her eyes shut. She didn’t understand what Sanguina wanted from her, but whatever it was, she would never give it to her. “I’m not telling you anything.”
“It doesn’t have to be this way. Stop fighting and join me. We will bring the universe to its knees.”
