The Two Worlds

by Alisha Howard

  “Before I go to bed, I’m going to stop by the hospital and sit with Grandpa for awhile. You want to go?” Nia nodded. We walked inside, let Grandma know where we were going, and headed out.

  “Hey Grandpa,” I greeted softly. A dim, yellow light above his bed illuminated his face, casting an eerie glow. The soft beep, beep from the machine hooked up to him returned our greeting.

  “How are you?” Nia continued. There was no answer, but this didn’t stop us from talking to Grandpa like he was still conscious. Ever since Grandma had read that coma patients could still hear what was going on around them, we had all taken time to make sure Grandpa was up to date on our lives. Of course, now that Nia and I knew what was really happening with Grandpa, it kind of changed things. Nonetheless, I wasn’t able to stop my ritual of coming to see Grandpa and neither was Nia, it seemed. We tossed our bags on the floor near the door and took our usual spots on the hard sofa. The sky was still light as the summer sun slowly descended. We were in the longest days of the year and had plenty of time before it got completely dark.

  “I decided to read you one of your stories,” I said, pulling out the stack of papers. I looked over at Nia. “You mind?”

  “Go ahead,” she said, leaning back. “I can never get enough of Turgor.”

  I smirked, shuffling the papers before I found a title that stood out to me. “The Legend of Benads Gen, Son of Felkne,” I read out loud. I turned to Nia. “Ever heard of him?” She shook her head, and I continued. “Once upon a time, in the far lands of eastern Dent lived the powerful Felkne family, who ruled their lands with justice and grace. They had many children, all princes and princesses, who were well loved by the people. It was a happy time, and their people prospered—great art and music came out of this time, along with the modern Turgorian writing system. However, this family did not rule for long. They were attacked by a neighboring kingdom, and a great war ensued. Over many moons did bloodshed happen, and eventually the Felkne kingdom was destroyed.

  “All of the children left tried to re-build, but could not. Their power had been stripped by the attackers, and they were left defenseless. The oldest child, Benads Gen, was devastated. His parents were killed, and many of his siblings had died as well. Consumed by rage and hatred, Benads left the destroyed kingdom in search of power. He traveled for many years, stealing powers from small magical creatures, who were not strong enough to fight him. One day, however, as he was trying to steal power off of a local oracle, she offered him a deal.

  “Please, spare my life so that I may tell of your future,” she begged.

  “Benads was interested, and the deal was struck. The oracle closed her eyes and began to tell his fortune. Benads Gen was to find a secret island off the mid-eastern shore of the Balbaci Lake. On the island lived an old creator by the name of Geshi. Geshi was important because she had created the Death Walkers. She had the ultimate power to control Death Walkers and Death on Turgor itself.

  “The oracle continued, saying that Benads would find this creator and kill her, successfully transferring the creator’s power to himself. Once done, he would be unstoppable and would harness the Death walker power. Because he would be able to cheat death, he would be immortal. Benads thanked the Oracle and then killed her. After absorbing her powers, he began his quest to find the mystical island. Bloodshed followed him. Benads soul was lost, and his respect for others’ lives was gone. He killed effortlessly and without a thought. As time passed, he became obsessed with the island, seeking every oracle he could find to help him get to it. He was feared throughout eastern Turgor, and his name was whispered among children who wished to scare their peers.

  “Eventually, he found the secret island and confronted the Death Creator. The woman was old and wise and was not afraid of Benads. He challenged her and they fought, but he had stolen enough powers over the year to defeat her. After killing her, the transfer power began. Unfortunately for Benads, the original oracle, who had told him of this fortune, had left out an important part. As the power transferred to him, Benads began to grow frail and his body racked with pain. He gnashed his teeth until they crumbled to dust and clawed at his skin until huge wounds formed.

  “The power ripped through him, and Benads began to grow mad, wailing every night for a fortnight. Finally, after the power had transferred, the pain subsided. Benads went to a nearby well and looked into the water, horrified by what he saw. The oracle failed to mention that in order for Benads to cheat death, he would have to become the ultimate Death Walker. Sentenced by who he now was to an eternity of walking with Death, Benads was forced to carry out the Death Walker purpose of ferrying souls who enter Turgor. He was indeed the most powerful, but not powerful enough to escape his fate. Benads now only emerges once every thousand years, in hope of finding power that is strong enough to break him from his curse. So far, he has been unsuccessful.”

  I looked up from the papers and found Nia staring at me. For some reason, chills had started running up and down my spine. I took a shaky breath and laughed. “Grandpa had quite an imagination, huh?”

  “Kay, do you honestly think Grandpa made that up?” Nia pointed out. “He’s an historian on the planet. I think these stories are real.”

  I shrugged. “Okay, but so what? These stories are from history. They don’t have anything to do with us right now.” Nia nodded her heard in agreement, but still looked troubled. Ignoring her, I stood up and stretched. It had gotten dark. “We better get a move on. I’ve got more homework to do back at Dia.” Nia nodded her head again, and we both kissed Grandpa on the forehead before heading home.

  ***

  “Rena! Wake up!” I cried, shaking Rena violently. The girl slept like she wasn’t going to ever get up. We had tons of homework to do before our next Awakener meeting, and we still had to figure out a way to get Giza Graveyard, I didn’t even know where it was. Rena moaned a loud protest and turned over.

  I sighed and looked up. “Dia? A little help her?” My house chuckled and gave a sudden lurch. Things went toppling to the floor, along with Rena, who gave a shriek and sat back up quickly.

  “What is wrong? What did I miss?” she yelled.

  I laughed and stood up, too. “Get up,” I ordered. “We’ve got plans today.” Rena moaned and fell backwards back on to the floor. I grinned. Nia promised us that she would take us for a day out on the town as a reward for the hard work we’d been doing with our basic spells and I was more than ready.

  CHAPTER SIX

  A golden bell tinkered above us as we walked in. I took a deep breath in surprise. The whole store seemed to be made of solid gold. Our footsteps made a hollow tap with each step we took. I looked around and noticed that we were the only ones in the store.

  “Where are all the customers?” I asked Nia.

  She shrugged. “It’s not a place for bargain shopping,” she said, picking up a golden rod with symbols etched into it. “It’s pretty exclusive in here.” Once again, I felt more privileged than I wanted to. What made us so special to shop here?

  “Good morning, my dears!” cried a musical voice from behind us. We whirled around to find a beautiful light red woman standing there smiling. She had two large wings coming out of her back, but that was where her magical appearance ended. She was wearing blue jeans and a shirt that read I’m not bossy. I just know who should be in charge.

  “Good morning, Mimi,” Nia answered for us. “Ladies, this is Mimi LaFaye. Mimi this is my sister, Kathleena, and our friend, Rena.”

  Mimi smiled. “I know who you are.” She looked at us for a moment and then clapped her hands together. “So! What brings you here today?”

  “We were just looking to see if something caught our eye,” Nia informed her. My mouth was still hanging open, and Rena was far too shy to speak to someone like Mimi. “Kay’s never been here before.”

  Mimi nodded, and her wings fluttered a bit. “Come, let me give you the grand tour.” We followed her around as she pointed out different items, such as po
ts and pans that would cook for you and a bookshelf that would materialize any book wanted. Nia kept oohing and aaahing over that one. I sighed and broke away from the group, finding a little cabinet tucked away behind cloaks. There was a thin layer of dust on it. Coughing, I brushed it off and read For Those Who Have Trouble Finding Their Waye.

  Hmmm, that’s odd, I thought to myself. Why was “way” spelled like that? I frowned and opened the cabinet door. Although the store was lit very brightly, the cabinet’s insides were dark. My heart began to beat faster, but I didn’t know why. Turning around, I saw Rena and Nia asking the bookshelf to produce a variety of different magical books. Mimi had moved on to something else. Turning my attention back to the cabinet, I reached in and immediately felt something pinch my finger hard.

  “Ow!” I cried out, sticking my throbbing finger in my mouth. I stood up and started to close the cabinet when I noticed something gold glinting from the tip of my nose. Pulling my finger away from my mouth, I stared at a small golden ring that had found its way there.

  “Huh,” I said to myself, inspecting the ring. There was nothing unusual about it, and it was actually kind of cute. Nonetheless, I didn’t want to buy it. I tried to take it off and found it wouldn’t budge. Panicking, I tugged at my finger and didn’t even notice that Mimi had walked up behind me.

  “Fascinating little ring, isn’t it?” she remarked. I jumped and turned around to face her. She laughed at my expression. “It has been said that the magical ring of Emoro would find it’s next wearer; looks like it did.”

  “Emoro?” I echoed. Rena and Nia had walked over to where we were talking.

  Mimi nodded. “Emoro was a powerful emperor in the ancient days on the planet Lombe. He was an evil man, and his greed consumed him. During his final decades of reign, Emoro wanted to find a mythical island that was said to contain all the treasures of the galaxies. But no matter how hard he searched, he could not find it. One of his servants found this ring tucked away in the palace’s kitchen and brought it before Emperor Emoro. He put it on, and like you, could not take it off.”

  “So this ring is evil?” I squeaked.

  Mimi held up her hands to reassure me. “No, no. The ring finds those who are powerful enough to call for it. The ring wearers want something that they cannot find, and the ring helps them find it.”

  Nia frowned. “What do you want so bad you called the ring, Kay?” I shrugged.

  “I don’t know! I was just checking out the cabinet!”

  Mimi smiled. “Do not worry, Kathleena. You will be fine. As a gift to you, a first time customer, I will give it to you for free.”

  Nia thanked her, and we left the shop.

  “Is it me, or did it seem very suspicious that Mimi LaFaye gave me the ring for free?” I asked. We had found a small restaurant to eat lunch in. Rena munched on a pickled chip and nodded.

  “Well...yeah,” Nia admitted reluctantly. “But Mimi has a great reputation with the Counsel, and she’s always been known to be a little...eccentric.” I wasn’t convinced. On Earth, no one gave gifts for free. “Come on,” Nia said, pouring a good helping of gravy on what appeared to be potatoes. “Don’t worry about it. You didn’t combust or anything when the ring came on.”

  “Yeah, but I can’t take it off!” I pointed out to her. Nia rolled her eyes.

  “Must have chosen you for a purpose, Kay,” Rena spoke up.

  “I agree, Kay. There is much purpose on this planet.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” I muttered and poked at my snoki, which was a type of sausage-like sandwich. I still wasn’t satisfied, but I had another pressing question. “How does this work?”

  “Excuse me?” Nia asked, taking another forkful of potatoes in her mouth. Where did the girl put all of that food?

  “How does this work?” I repeated, looking at both Nia and Rena. “I mean, we’re here on Turgor, right? But our bodies are back on Earth. How do I know this isn’t just a complicated dream?”

  Nia looked at me as if I had sprouted a second head. “Obviously not, Kay. For starters, I know what’s going on when we get back to Earth, remember? And you carried your DiGi and your Evrode with you, didn’t you?”

  “That’s my point! I found this place by dreaming, which means that I’m still dreaming. I could just be going crazy...or worse, be in a coma like Grandpa.” Nia opened her mouth to protest, but Rena beat her to it.

  “All worlds and planets exist on different planes.” Rena glowed a warm orange. “Remember our astral projection chapter we had to read the other day?” I nodded. Our homework on Turgor was everything but boring. “Well, when you fall asleep, so to speak, you astral project here to Turgor, which is on a different astral plane. The mind is incredibly powerful, Kay. It’s unfortunate that many Earthians like yourself don’t use it.” I started to correct her on Earthians, but thought better of it. She continued, “When your mind transports you to this planet, you are transported into yourself on this plane. It was your power that Awakened your body and soul on this planet. But your mind brought you here.”

  “So, how do I bring stuff back then?” I argued.

  “Again, the mind is a very powerful tool,” Nia answered. “When you wake up on Earth, you are able to materialize your DiGi on the Earthly plane. It’s always been there, Kay. You just never looked for it because you didn’t know to.”

  I nodded, starting to understand, but still disturbed. “So, does it work the same way on Earth as it does on Turgor?”

  “Yes,” Rena nodded. “Once you have brought it to materialization on the plane you want it, it is Awakened. Its purpose can now start to be fulfilled.”

  My head was starting to hurt. “So, I’m not crazy?”

  “No one said that,” Nia chuckled. I stuck out my tongue at her. “We’re just saying that on the whole Turgor/Earth front, you’re asking valid questions.”

  I took a deep breath. It seemed like wherever I went, science class was never far behind me.

  “What are we going to do now?” I asked. It was getting darker outside, and I wanted to continued shopping. Rena and I, however, had homework to do.

  Nia must have read my mind. “Go home, sis. I’ve got a lot of work to do before going back to Earth. Aren’t you guys supposed to be figuring out how to Awaken the Death Walker?”

  “Yeah,” Rena and I both answered. Neither one of us was excited for our task at hand. Nia laughed, laying a few gold coins on the table, and we headed out into the night.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “How was school?” Dia quizzed me as soon as I woke up.

  “Very boring, considering,” I muttered, rolling off the couch with a thud. I rubbed my eyes and squinted as I heard singing coming from upstairs.

  “It’s Rena,” Dia informed me. “She’s taking a shower. Mrs. Spelling dropped off her bags this morning.” I nodded and yawned. “Nia wanted me to tell you that she’s on her way over. So—”

  “Already here, Dia,” Nia replied, walking out of the kitchen. “Just got here, actually.”

  “It’s creepy the way you do that,” I threw at her.

  “And it’s horrible the way your breath smells,” she threw back. I grinned, yawned again, and staggered up to the bathroom.

  “Hey, Kay,” Rena said, passing me on the way up and looking super chipper. I grumbled a good morning and went into the bathroom. When I came back downstairs there was a hot breakfast on the table and Nia, Rena, and Dia were in a heated argument about something.

  “I can’t believe she was in your group!” Nia almost yelled around a mouthful of eggs. “I hate her!”

  “It’s not nice to say hate, Nia,” Dia scolded. “I’m sure she’s just misunderstood.”

  “No, she’s not. She called me out on being an orphan,” Rena tossed in, grabbing a piece of toast.

  “She what?”

  “I know,” Rena said, biting her toast. “But that’s okay. I know who I am, and that’s the important part.”

  I cleared my throat and sat down nex
t to Nia. “What’s going?”

  “We’re talking about little Ms. Erika Williams, the wizard,” Nia said, chewing on a piece of fried ham. “Rena told me how she’s in your group.”

  “Yeah, what was up with the whole ‘I know your sister and you’ thing?” I frowned and glanced at Nia before pouring a cup of orange juice. “Is there something I don’t know?”

  Nia sighed. “Well, you know I’m a Creator, right?”

  “No,” I replied sarcastically. “Really?”

  Nia ignored me. “And you’re an Awakener. Grandpa Lamont’s an historian partly because of us. We’re part of a legend, if you will.”

  “A legend?” I echoed, skeptical. “What, like slaying the dragons or something?”

  “Sort of. We’re supposed to be the messiahs or something for this planet. That’s what people believe.”

  “It’s farfetched, I know,” Nia admitted, twitching her eyebrows. “That’s the thing with legends. You never really know.”

  “Well,” Rena jumped in, “You could always just ask your grandpa.” Nia and I looked at her. “I mean, if he spent a great deal of his life researching whether or not the legend is true, he’s probably got more information than we do.”

  Nia grabbed a piece of bacon and chewed slowly.

  “But Grandpa is investigating Caldbeck,” I pointed out. “And we have assignments to do.”

  “We could always just stop by Caldbeck on our way to Giza,” Rena suggested.

  Nia chocked on her bacon. “Stop by Caldbeck?” she said. “People don’t just stop by Caldbeck. Once you’re there, you’re there. You’re crazy.”

  “Maybe,” Rena admitted, crestfallen.

  I, however, knew why Rena was so gung-ho about Caldbeck and gave a small smile. “I think we should try it,” I declared. Rena, Nia, and my house all made a noise of surprise. “I want to know what I have to live up to. And I know you want to find out how Grandpa’s doing, sis.”