The Jewel of Nirune (The Sword of Time Book 1)
Page 6
“Yeah!” Steve and Marcy said, almost simultaneously.
“Well,” Gary continued. “Is it possible that somehow Billy went through the cave? You know, magic… somehow?”
“Through the cave!” Steve said incredulously. “Explain through the cave! The cave is solid rock! How could he go through the cave?”
“Well,” Gary continued. “Maybe there is a secret door. You know, like you see in the spy movies.”
“And what exactly would be behind that secret door. Alice?” Steve laughed.
"Yeah, maybe there was a big caterpillar smoking some wacky tobacky," Tommy said.
"Wacky what?" Marcy said.
"Smoking, drugs," Steve laughed. "You know, wacky tobacco? Marijuana?"
She looked at him oddly not sure how to respond.
“Come on you guys. I’m serious,” Gary responded defensively. “It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
"Makes more sense that he's floating face down in the river," Steve laughed. No one laughed with him.
Marcy gasped in shock “My, you are a cold customer Steve.” she scolded.
"Hey, don't start with me," He said. "Seems to me that you caused all this mess."
“Yeah, but at least I care!” she said.
"I care! But Jeez Louise! The reality is, that he is probably dead somewhere, even if he did go through some crazy secret portal.”
“So you believe it's possible!” Gary said.
“Oh, shut up, Gary!” Steve said. “The truth is that they are going to blow the damn thing up and either way, my ex-baby brother is probably dead."
“Ex baby brother... Ex baby brother?” Marcy said. “How can you be so cold? You mean… jerk!” she wanted to slap him across the face.
“He’s my ex-baby brother because my mom had another baby last year. Stupid girl.”
Marcy stood up and glaring at him. “So what are we going to do?” she said through clenched teeth.
“Do?” Steve said. “There is nothing we can do.”
"I think we should try to rescue him," Marcy said. Still staring at Steve.
“Rescue him?” Gary said. “How can we rescue him?”
“I think we can all agree,” she said. “That somehow he went through the cave.”
No one said anything.
"And it had something to do with the green light." Still, no one argued.
She stood there for a moment, gathering her resolve.
“I propose that we watch the cave day and night. And when the green lights come back we run for it.”
“What?” Steve said. “Are you nuts? Run for what!? What! Are you going to run into the back of the cave? That should be fun to watch! Marcy sees a green light and runs into the cave and smack she runs into a stone wall. A-a-a-a-n-n-d POW! She’s dead! Plop! End of adventure.”
"I'll do it," Gary said so quietly, they didn't really hear him at first.
Then Steve said, “WHAT?”
“I said, I will do it,” Gary repeated.
“Me too,” said Marcy, “what about you Tommy?”
Tommy looked at them all for a moment, then he said.
“Well, you know it is crazy, but if you see a green light, I guess there is no harm in going for a look. So ok I am in. I’ll even bring food and water and a flashlight.”
“Food water and a Flashlight! The damn cave is only 3 feet deep, for crap sakes! What the heck you gonna need all that stuff for? Oh, and bring some kind of a weapon too! Because you will all need one in the LOONEY BIN. Cause you are all nuts!” Steve finished sarcastically.
"Well, it can't do any harm to look," Tommy said. "I don't think that there is any kind of portal or magic door, but something is funny about this whole thing. I saw the depth of the claw marks on the rocks, Steve. There's no way anything from this planet made that! It just doesn't make sense!"
"Huh!" Steve said. "And that's a reason to go looking for it, whatever it might be? Are you nuts!? Tell you what, if it's not too late at night, and it ain't dinner time, and I'm not taking a bath, or washing my hair, call me, and I will come watch you all make asses of yourselves. Should be fun!"
“Why are you always so sarcastic, I thought you said you figured it was the cave too!” Marcy said, a little confused by his attitude.
“Yeah, like wolves got him and killed him in the cave, or some crazy man dragged him off from the cave after killing him or wild cats. Jeez! You guys and your green lights and the fairy’s got him. Like I said, call me when you go rescue him, I need a good laugh once in a while. Just remember they are blowing it up soon. Hey, maybe you could have a séance and conjure him up before there is nothing to conjure.”
“Yeah. But I saw the claw marks in the cave!” Tommy said quietly. “Right into the rock and they were deep. I’m kind of curious what could do that. Green light or not something isn’t right.”
It was several days later, Marcy was sitting at her bedroom window reading a book about magic. The police had set up a line of barricades around the cave. Workers had been in and out of it for several days, drilling holes, apparently preparing to dynamite the cave. People had stopped searching for Billy, he was assumed dead, but the family had refused to give up and still hoped he would turn up.
Today was the big day. She had heard within the hour they would blow up the cave. There had been no sign of the mysterious green light and she had even stayed up till the wee hours.
She had even packed a bag in case, as agreed with the boys but still nothing. She knew it was a dead end. If there was going to be a green light it would’ve happened by now, she thought.
The workers preparing to blow the cave seemed to be on a break now, there was no sign of the Police. She wandered downstairs for a glass of milk. Her restrictions had been lifted, although she was still grounded. She stepped to the door and as she drank the milk caught a brief flash of green light that she at first thought was a welder or some such equipment.
The phone rang. “Mom!” She called. No answer, Mom was probably out working in the garden or something.
Dad was at work. She hated answering the phone these days. It rang several times. Finally, she picked it up, only because if her Mom had to come all the way in from the garden she would be angry.
“What?” She said, in her most unenthusiastic voice.
“Marcy?” The voice on the other end said, “This is Gary, It’s on.”
What?” Marcy said.
“It’s on!” he repeated in a whisper. “Look at the cave. We're on our way.”
The phone went dead.
“Wait! Gary, stop!” she said, into the now beeping phone. “They are getting ready to blow it up….!”
She ran up the stairs to her room and through her bedroom window looked over towards Gary’s House. She could see two boys running through the trees. She could also see the workmen, down in the now dry riverbed. They appeared to be eating no doubt they didn't notice the boys. She grabbed the bag hanging in the closet. They had made this pact of trying to save Billy, but she now realized even as she grabbed the bag how foolish it all was.
No one seemed to notice her as she ran toward the bridge. There were usually kids running around the river on hot summer days. The river was slow moving and shallow, there were plenty of little sand beaches and fishing spots just upstream and down off the bridge. Today there was no one about. The road had been cordoned off in preparation for the blast.
As she ran she tried to wave the boys off, but they were coming around from the other side, surely the workers wouldn’t see them. As the water had been diverted they could get into the cave from the other side of the bridge where there used to be running water. That was the plan.
She could see the workmen starting to move about looking at the cave from behind blast barriers they had erected.
“Stop!” she yelled. But just then a gust of wind came up, throwing leaves and dirt in the air right in her path. She continued to run, coughing and half blind by the dirt. She knew she should stop the blast
ers first, but she was closer to the boys. She jumped down the river bank she could see the green light now it seemed bright as the sun. In broad daylight! That was weird.
Then she saw Gary and Tommy jump down into the cave mouth, they saw her and waved back, big grins on their faces.
“They’re gonna’ to blow it!” she yelled, but they just looked at her then at each other
"Don't worry, we won't!" Tommy shouted in return and waved at her to hurry.
"No, they're going…" She tried again, but the boys were already in the cave "Oh my
God!” she said, as she scurried across the now dry river bed. Climbing over rocks and boulders.
She made it up to the ledge. Tommy reached down and pulled her the rest of the way.
“Come on!” he said. “It is so cool.”
The green light engulfed the whole cave, and it seemed to pull at them like a magnet.
"I think it is a portal to another world," he said excitedly. "Billy must be in there!"
"They are going to blow it," she yelled in panic. "Now! We have to get out of here!"
“They all looked out of the cave mouth and saw a man stand up behind the blast barricade and the sound of a horn went off warning of the impending explosion. The man made a downward motion like someone pushing on a pump handle.
"Go!" Tommy yelled, and shoved Marcy and Gary into the bright green light. There was a flash of light and a terrible explosion, then darkness.
Steve was standing just at the top of the hill he had seen the green light from where he had been sitting watching events. He had watched the whole thing take place like in slow motion, too far away to do anything about it. He stood there stunned. He saw Marcy’s Mother running toward the explosion waving and yelling, she had collapsed in horror as her daughter ran into the cave, too late.
Later the police questioned Steve, who was in a state of shock. He didn’t know what to say plus he couldn’t decide what to tell them. They sure wouldn’t believe the theory of an alternate world and they had already dismissed the whole green light rumor. So basically he told them nothing.
He did pick up an interesting piece of information from 2 chatting policemen who hadn't really noticed him. They had found no blood or body parts. He wondered "how was that possible?" He saw them go in there, as had the blast crew a moment after they pushed the plunger. They were also being questioned, but no one could figure out why were there no body-parts or blood. The blasting crew was taking it very badly. One man was even crying.
"We didn't see them, I swear to god! When we pushed the plunger they were just there. Oh My God!" he said. "What have we done?"
Marcy’s mom pulled Steve aside when the police were done with him.
“What did you see?” she asked hesitantly. “Tell me everything.”
“I don’t know,” he said. “There was a green flash and an explosion I think they jumped into something.”
“I saw the flash too,” she said. “It was green like the lights we used to see, we thought it was pixie lights. They said it was swamp gas back then, but I don’t believe it. There is no blood they are just gone. I think you are right, they jumped into something, but what?” She stood there for a moment deep in thought
“I think they are still alive. This is all too strange. They’ve gone into an alternate universe or something.”
Steve was surprised to hear this statement from the very religious woman.
“What? Alternate universe?” He said. “What about god and all that stuff?”
"There are more things in heaven and earth than we have ever dreamed of," she replied. "I know my daughter is still alive somehow. Somehow she is out there somewhere. We mustn't speak of this Steve, to anyone. We will wait and watch when the time is right, we will do what we can. Are we agreed?"
"Yeah, ok," Steve said, shaking her hand. "But what do we do?"
"Wait and watch. You will know when the time comes. Tell no one!" she said emphatically and she returned to her house, leaving Steve perplexed.
5 The Wizard
U
ncle Xu stood in the middle of the clearing fondling his long gray beard. A habit he had when he was perplexed. He took in the strange scene in front of him by the dim glow of his staff. There had been a battle here and there were blood spatters on the grass and scuffled footprints.
He investigated these most carefully they were nothing of this earth or nothing he had ever seen or heard of. He could smell a certain stench in the air that he couldn’t identify but the smell seemed to call to him. There was a small gust of wind and the smell was gone.
“Something evil has been here,” said a voice in the darkness. It didn’t startle the old man, he had felt the presence.
“It seems that we are too late, but for… what? I don’t know.”
“And what do you care of evil?” Uncle Xu. said calmly. His staff brightened to reveal a rather handsome man in the darkness.
“Please, Uncle Xu!” the man said, “Our needs are not so different. Why do you always doubt me?”
“Are you not a son of The Sept?” Uncle asked. (The Sept was a sect of wizards bound to whatever throne, they chose to be with, this season.)
"It has never been proven that The Sept is inherently evil my good wizard!" the handsome man said. "I have never harmed anyone, that didn't deserve it!"
“Deserve? And are you now a judge and jury to decide such things?” Uncle said.
“Ha!” the man laughed. “And yet you would judge me now.”
"Enough!" said Uncle. "I have no time for squabbling Lijiang! Why are you here? There are more important things here than your nonsense!”
“Yes, you are correct as usual,” Lijiang said. “But what sort of evil is this? I have been studying the tracks.” He said as he bent down to examine the ground.
“Very strange!”
Uncle watched him for a moment.
“I would think that someone like yourself would know already!” He said with a note of sarcasm.
“You give me far too much credit my friend,” Lijiang said. “I am merely a humble member of the court and would like to learn from your bountiful wisdom. I have nothing to do with what happened here. Nor do I understand it.”
“What do you see then?” Uncle said. capitulating for a moment. And he was actually hoping for another opinion. And even though this man was his enemy in a sense, he was very intelligent, his opinion would carry great weight, with anyone.
“A battle,” Lijiang mumbled, as much to himself as to Uncle.
“But it is all mixed with feasting and murder and there was a girl here, one lone girl.”
“But where is she?” Uncle Xu said, trying to hide his concern. “I was supposed to meet her and a….. a friend.”
Lijiang gave him an odd look, but said nothing for a moment “friend,” he said under his breath. “I would like to know more about this friend,” he said, as he stood up and looked at Uncle sternly.
“You are a foolish old man Uncle,” he said. “I think you are getting yourself involved in things that much wiser men would not dare.”
After a few minutes, they found a smoldering pile of sticks. In the pile, he could see bones.
“Do you see them?” Lijiang said “Bones.” He prodded in the pile and dragged out several bones. They worked together and pulled out many pieces, but what sort of being was this?
“Something is not right! Wherever you go with this whelp of a girl, strange things happen.”
‘What do you know about this?” He said, prodding at the bones with his staff. There are splinters of bones throughout the meadow.”
“I know nothing,” Uncle protested.
“Don’t think I don’t know what you are up to you old fool you are hoping to renew the lost house of Wu. This is impossible and foolish. But why is it that everywhere you go, there are mysterious deaths and disappearances and what are these?” He said angrily “These are neither human nor animal.” He held one of the bones in the air it was twisted str
angely nothing like he has ever seen.”
“Maybe that was caused by the fire,” Uncle said.
“Do you have any idea what temperature is needed to cremate a human body?” Lijiang said. “It takes thousands of degrees to twist bones and destroy the flesh. Thousands!” he repeated. "Are you going to tell me this little bushfire that could hardly cook meat properly cremated these? There isn't enough heat here to singe your whiskers!"
Lijiang stepped closer to the old man
“What are you up to old man? There are forces here that even I would fear. Something evil has been here. I have never seen such markings on the ground as this! It is like a band of men had a devils dance with a band of wolves then ate each other. And there was a girl. She killed one. Maybe more of whatever they were.”
“And where is she?” Uncle blurted out.
Lijiang looked at him a moment. A deep chuckle came from his throat. Like a growl.
“I think old man,” he said very quietly, “that there is something powerful and strange going on and I like power! There are many ways to rule a country old man but power. Power is the key and there are many kinds of power. Be warned I also have plans and should you get in the way of my plans I will kill you. Then I will find and kill everyone you have ever loved. Then I will kill your little girl, but I will take a long time for her to die. I will enjoy every second. So old man,” He said, pressing against uncle. “What is it that you know that will be of value to me?”
Uncle Xu tried to step back but realized that he couldn’t move. All of a sudden the simple conversation was taking a deadly turn. He was frozen in place and Lijiang’s eyes seemed to be boring into his brain. He tried to shut his eyes, but couldn’t even do that. A mist was forming in his mind. A mist with tentacles like threads of a spider web. He would have vomited from the feeling, but his body was frozen as it crawled into his mind.
“You will resist me?” the words sounded in his mind.
“House of Wu!” a voice chuckled disdainfully echoing in his head. “You old fool with your silly machinations. Did you really think that the high court made up of the most powerful people in the land hasn’t heard of your plans? Return to the house of Wu!” he said laughter rolled through Uncles head like thunder.