Lost Worlds (Keeper of the Emerald Book 1)

by B. C. Harris

  I gaze at the planets now suspended in a corner of my room. I focus on Saturn. This planet with its rings fascinates me more than the others.

  I imagine that the rings around Saturn are pulsating. My eyes feel heavy. It’s all I can do to keep them open anymore. My thoughts are drifting away. I wonder if Tamor has any rings, moons, or other planets near it.

  As my brain shuts down, I see rings that are radiating beautiful shades of blues, reds, and purples. They remind me of the outer sphere surrounding Lattisan. As I become lost in the rings, I notice that they’re beginning to stretch and form an ellipse.

  Soon, the rings are vibrating as though they are alive. Mysteriously they reach out and touch me. I’m floating in the rings. I’m feeling very peaceful. Very calm. Happy.

  My body becomes one with the millions of tiny particles that comprise the rings. I’m moving in the same rhythm as them. I reach out to touch the incredibly beautiful display that surrounds me. My fingers are absorbed by the rings.

  There is a large glowing sphere suspended before me. It looks familiar to me. Water flows around me. It is cool. Although I’m not sure what is happening, I instinctively know there is nothing to fear.

  A pulsating door opens. I swim into a chamber. The water drains from the chamber. Oscillating walls surround me.

  The compartment where I’m standing begins to descend like an elevator.

  When it stops, there is a dog-like creature walking towards me.

  It’s Capurni.

  A door opens in front of me. I step into the marvelous world that stretches before me.

  Soon we’re flying along a street in a zelan. Perhaps it’s just me, but it seems as though the inhabitants stop whatever they are doing when they see us. They appear to be looking at me as though I’m a celebrity.

  “Yes Emily,” Capurni says. “You are most definitely a very important person to the citizens of my world. Since you first arrived here last week, there has been much discussion about you.

  From my previous visit, I remember Capurni telling me about the Shadites drilling a tunnel through a mountain to escape from the Land of Shade.

  For the next ten to fifteen minutes, it’s almost as if Capurni is purposely parading me throughout various parts of Lattisan. I find everyone staring at me as though I’m a god. I feel uncomfortable with the attention I’m receiving.

  “Emily, right now our people need hope and you are that hope.”

  “Hope? You don’t know for sure that the Shadites are going to escape from the Land of Shade. Even if they drill a tunnel through one of the mountains, they don’t know that Lattisan exists.”

  Before Capurni replies, our zelan shoots upwards along the face of a very tall building. It’s exhilarating. Next, our zelan drifts through an open window.

  The couch that Capurni and I sat on last time I was here is still in the room.

  I quickly make my way to the couch again, and waste no time sinking into the pulsating action of the celleria.

  “Is there some way I can take some celleria home with me?” I ask.

  Capurni manages a weak smile as he sits beside me.

  “Emily, I sense that something happened to you after you returned to your home after your last visit here. Something very frightening.”

  I tremble as I think of the fire.

  “A fire,” Capurni says, having listening to my thoughts. “What happened?”

  “There was a horrible fire in the building where my mother works. I found her unconscious on the floor of the burning building. Just as I reached her, a hideous man suddenly appeared. He tried to steal my mother’s emerald necklace, but I managed to use it to escape.”

  I’m shaking by the time I finish my story.

  Capurni puts his arm around me to comfort me.

  “The man who tried to steal the emerald; do you know who he is?”

  It’s all I can do to control my emotions as I recall the sinister man.

  “No, I don’t know who he is, but I think I have seen him before.

  During the past few days since the fire, I have constantly thought about the terrifying man. His face is etched into my brain. On a few occasions I woke up in my sleep, drenched in sweat, because I thought I saw him standing beside me, reaching for the emerald. I know that I have seen him before, but I can’t remember when or where.

  There is compassion in Capurni’s eyes as he looks at me.

  “That must have been a terrible experience for you. I’m glad that you and your mother escaped.”

  “What if he tries to steal the emerald again? I’m much too weak to fight him. Besides, why would someone on my planet try to steal the emerald from me?”

  “I’m not sure why someone on your planet would try to steal the emerald from you,” he says, “but if the emerald has chosen you to be its Keeper, no one will ever be able to take it from you. They would have to somehow trick you into taking it off. While the emerald is around your neck, you are invincible.”

  Invincible? I think. How is that possible?

  “Are you planning on using my emerald to defend yourself against the Shadites?” I ask, attempting to change the direction of the conversation. “Is that why your people were so happy to see me?”

  “Although the emerald has great power, it might cause widespread destruction throughout Tamor unless we’re careful in how you use it. I can teach you a few more commands, but there is a real danger that the emerald might not respond to these commands in the way that we are hoping. To use the emerald properly requires great devotion over a long period of time. And we must also be convinced that you are the Keeper of the Emerald before you try to do too many things with it.”

  “How will I know this? How will I know that I am the Keeper of the Emerald?”

  “When the emerald speaks to you, this will be a sign that it has chosen you.”

  “Speaks to me? What do you mean?”

  “When the emerald reveals one of its powers to you, without you asking it to do so, then you will know that you are the Keeper of the Emerald.”

  As I think about what Capurni said, I wonder if I really want to be the Keeper of the Emerald. Is this my destiny? Is this what I really want? After all, I’m only fourteen. I’m far too young to be committing my life to something I don’t understand.

  “If you don’t intend to use my emerald, what are you going to do? How will you stop the Shadites if they try to attack you?”

  Capurni hesitates before responding. I get the feeling that I’m not going to like what he says next.

  “Wouldn’t it make sense to determine if the Shadites are actually drilling a tunnel through the mountains before you decide anything else?” I say. “If there’s no tunnel, there can be no possible attack against Lattisan.”

  Capurni looks at me as though he has been waiting for me to ask this question. He stands and walks over to a window that overlooks his fabulous underwater world. After staring out the window for a minute or two, he turns towards me.

  “We believe that this is something you can help us with.”

  “How?” I say, as I try to get more comfortable on the couch.

  “We need someone to actually go into the Land of Shade to observe what they are doing. We need to verify whether the Shadites are actually drilling a tunnel through the mountains as we suspect. We also need to know if they have an army and weapons. Once we have this information, we can plan a course of action to save Lattisan, even if we have to take a chance on using your emerald to do this.”

  I agree with what Capurni has said, but is he asking me to be the person who goes into Shade to spy on them?

  “Yes, that is what I’m asking you to do,” he says.

  I’m so shocked by Capurni’s request that I can’t get the words out of my mouth to respond.

  Finally I say, “Oh, is that all? Me? A shy fourteen year-old girl? You want me to spy for you in a possibly dangerous place. Are you kidding me?”

  Capurni doesn’t respond.

  I con
tinue, “Why me? Why don’t you send someone from Lattisan?”

  “Good question,” Capurni says as he returns back to the couch.

  “As we traveled through Lattisan earlier, you might have noticed how our inhabitants all look so different?”

  “Yes. In my world, everyone looks much the same, but here some some people have two legs and some have six. And there are so many different shapes and sizes that it’s hard to believe these are all people.”

  Capurni laughs, his laughter providing a tiny break in the seriousness of the conversation.

  I smile back, although I’m beginning to feel anxious. The thought of going into Shade fills me with dread. I would rather listen to Martha making a presentation than listen anymore to what Capurni is asking me to do.

  “Notice any people who looked like you?” Capurni asks.

  “No. There’s no one here who looks like me.”

  “You have the answer to your question.”

  “What question?”

  For a few seconds Capurni lets me think about what he said.

  I look out a window that overlooks the city. I’m staggered once again by the beauty of what I’m seeing. The buildings are pulsating with an endless array of colors. This is truly an incredible world. What a tragedy it would be if Lattisan was destroyed by the Shadites.

  As I turn my focus back to Capurni, he says, “The Shadites have human features that resemble you more than any of the people who live here in Lattisan. It would be far easier for you to wander undetected in Shade than it would be for anyone from Lattisan.”

  Go figure that the creatures in Shade look like humans, I think to myself.

  Capurni looks at me with admiration.

  “I believe in you. You have given me hope that Lattisan can avoid being attacked by the Shadites.”

  I want to help Capurni and his people. I really do. But the thought of going into some strange, hostile place to spy on people who are the descendants of rebels fills me with fear. I’m not sure that I have the courage to do this on my own.

  Capurni smiles as though he has an answer to my thoughts.

  “If you would feel more comfortable, you could bring a few friends with you. They might help you to be more successful.”

  “You mean from my planet?”

  “Yes.”

  I wonder how I could convince anyone I know to accompany me on a dangerous mission in a strange world. There’s no way I could talk to my mother about this. I doubt that Jasmin would be interested.

  Who could I possibly bring?

  - 19 -

  CHOOSING MY TEAM

  This morning, it was especially hard to concentrate on anything that was happening in my classes at school. I couldn’t stop thinking about Capurni’s request for me to go on a mission into the Land of Shade. Could I really make it into the Land of Shade and return safely back home again?

  As I tried to push this question out of my mind, a more immediate problem was who is going to help me? Capurni said that it would be a good idea to have a few of my friends accompany me on the mission. How they would actually help is unclear, but nonetheless I think it would be great to have some support. Unfortunately I realize this would mean sharing information about my emerald with others which I am reluctant to do.

  Throughout the morning I spent a great deal of time trying to decide who could help me. Although I would like to choose my mother, or even Ms. Kelly, I suspect that these adults would never believe my story, although I’m convinced that my mother knows more than she wants to admit.

  Last year, in my science class, Mr. Soo my teacher, posed an interesting question when we were talking about the possibility of creating a new civilization on Mars. He asked, “If we were going to send five or six people to start a new civilization on Mars, who should we send?

  At the time, my class struggled to answer the question, although we managed to agree on sending both males and females. We also agreed on sending someone who could repair the spaceship if something happened to it, but after this we found ourselves in a heated debate. Should we send a doctor, or a teacher, or an engineer, or a contractor, a farmer, or someone else? On and on the discussion went, but in the end each person had his own unique view on who the critical people should be for successfully starting a new civilization.

  Throughout the morning, I felt as if I was considering this question all over again. Who were the people who could help me successfully complete my mission into Shade? I figured that I needed someone who was physically strong to help with any physical demands of the journey. Drew was obviously my first choice here. He was by far the strongest student that I knew in my grade.

  A bonus was that if Drew accompanied me, Jasmin would come along as well. There’s no way she would let Drew be alone with me, regardless of the dangers. Although I didn’t know how Jasmin could specifically contribute to the mission, she was my friend. I knew that I could count on her for support which might help to boost my confidence in leading a team on this dangerous mission.

  After Drew and Jasmin I wasn’t sure who I should involve?

  Now, after lunch, as I sit in my mathematics class I wonder if there’s someone I’m missing.

  I catch Jasmin looking at Drew. Yes, she would definitely agree to be a part of my team if Drew accepts my invitation to help. Maybe her martial arts training might come in handy, although I’m not sure this would be that helpful against people who might actually be soldiers with weapons.

  I continue to glance around the classroom. I stop at Jamie. I considered him earlier because his intelligence might help us to be more successful, but at the same time I dismissed this thought because of his small size. As I look at him again, I decide that he would be a good person to add to my team. His intelligence and his interest in lost worlds would be strengths for us.

  The next problem I face will be how I will tell these three classmates about going on a mission with me to another planet. Will they believe my story about traveling to Tamor?

  How can I tell Jamie, Drew and Jasmin in a manner that they will take me seriously? In a manner where there’s no chance that my request is going to be discovered by one of my teachers, or my mother?

  An idea hits me. Jamie is already coming over to my house after supper to work on our project on Atlantis. If I can find a reason to invite Drew as well, Jasmin will easily follow

  As I reflect on some possible reasons for inviting Drew to my house, I come up with a good idea. I can tell him that I’m inviting a few people to help me clean up my basement. I have some heavy boxes that need to be moved. I can flatter him by saying that I need his muscles; that is if I can find enough courage to talk to him.

  We’re currently sitting at our desks answering a list of questions we have been given by Mr. Bosworth, our mathematics teacher. This is a standard practice in this class. There are times when I wonder why Mr. Bosworth is even called a teacher when he rarely teaches.

  Mr. Bosworth is sitting at his desk, focusing intently on something on his cell phone.

  Most of the students in my class are talking to their friends as they make a token attempt to do their work. I know my teacher won’t lift his head from whatever he is doing if walk over to Drew.

  Can I really do this?

  I force myself to stand.

  I catch Jasmin looking at me.

  The five or six steps to Drew’s desk are the longest walk of my life.

  When I finally arrive, the words get trapped in my mouth. Increasing my anxiety is the reality that everyone in my class has stopped talking. I feel like all eyes are on me, except of course for Mr. Bosworth who is so absorbed with his cell phone that we could all leave the room and he wouldn’t even know it.

  Drew turns his head and looks at me, his deep blue eyes penetrating my mind.

  I begin to play with my long hair.

  Jasmin coughs.

  I snatch a pen from Drew’s desk and write in his notebook. It might be the only words ever entered into his book.

&n
bsp; I write that I need his help moving some heavy boxes at my house tonight. A few other students are coming over as well to help. I write my cell number and quickly turn away from his desk.

  On the way back to my desk, I notice Jasmin glaring at me. I also notice some other girls turning to each other as though they have been given some juicy new gossip.

  As I sit at my desk, I glance at Drew.

  He looks back at me and nods.

  I ignore Jasmin’s penetrating stare.

  After school, I’ll tell her about Jamie and Drew coming over to help me move some boxes of books. I know she’ll accept my invitation to help as well.

  Next, I begin to think about what I’m going to say to the three of them. How will I ever convince them to travel with me to another planet to go on a perilous mission?

  I decide that I will start by telling them about my mother’s emerald. I’ll show them the writing I found in my basement books. Although I’m determined to be as honest as possible with them, I decide not to tell them any of the details of the sethauri attacks or of the sinister man in the fire at my mother’s work. Although they have all likely heard about the fire, they don’t know that I was there.

  I don’t want to frighten them any more than I have to. It makes sense to present the mission as an exciting adventure. I suspect they might even doubt the reality of Tamor, but still accept my invitation to go there simply because they’re curious to see what is going to happen.

  The noise in my class is increasing. It’s becoming so loud that I can barely think. Mr. Bosworth doesn’t appear to notice.

  Unexpectedly, Ms. Cathbert, our vice-principal, walks into the room. There are times when Ms. Cathbert, a middle-aged woman, tries to be best friends with all the students as though she is one of us. She also has the reputation of being a ruthless disciplinarian, a side of her that fortunately I have never experienced.

  When Mr. Bosworth sees Ms. Cathbert entering the room, he almost falls out of his chair. He slides his cell phone under a book.

  Although it appears that Ms. Cathbert would like to talk to Mr. Bosworth, he jumps to his feet and says, “Can anyone give me an example of how triangles are used in the building of structures?”