The Maiden Medallions: Beastkeeper

by Edward Shawn

  Other than the clouds overhanging the distant mountains, the rest of the sky was clear, blue and bright. Birds of all kinds and colors crisscrossed overhead and James even heard an eagle’s cry.

  A wide plain separated the hill they walked down from the perimeter of an immense wooded expanse. Stretching beyond the horizon, the ground was blanketed in a thick covering of tall vibrant trees.

  “The Trees of Nokomis,” Micah said, pointing at the woods with his staff.

  James glanced at him. “Hmm?”

  “We call them the Trees of Nokomis. They are a gift from our goddess.”

  “Oh, how nice for you,” James replied, his tone registering his disinterest as he placed another berry into his mouth.

  “They are a valuable provision for sustaining the life we have created here,” Micah explained, ignoring the youth’s attitude. “We build our homes with the wood. We pick the fruit and tap the sap flowing inside. The bark provides protection and even some garments and tools.”

  They maintained their march down the hill. As James finished the last of his berries, a sweet scent swirled in the slight breeze and played under his nose. He thought it might be perfume of a sort, but did they even have that here in Nilvanya?

  The scent reminded him of his mother. As Susan’s image became lodged in his mind, he longed for home and the life he once knew. He’d been gone for hours now, and those he cared about would soon worry, if they weren’t already. He didn’t have a way to appease their minds but as soon as a chance arose, he would let them know he was safe. There just wasn’t a way to do it right now.

  Continuing their descent, more of this new world’s exquisite scenery came into view. Off to the left, a large section of the field was covered in a variety of colored flowers laid out in an orderly fashion. There were red and yellow roses arranged in alternating rows and circular arrangements of daisies were set at each corner and at the heart of the flowering field. Darker shades, the blue hibiscus and purple lilacs, ran between the circles of daisies to create a border separating the blossoming field from the surrounding grass. The sweet scent James noticed earlier grew stronger as they continued downwards.

  The colorful layout of flowers must have been maintained by somebody; it was far from a natural formation. Partially concealed within a thicket of trees, James saw his first sign of civilization. A crude yet sturdy looking log cabin sat in isolation. Small and quaint and perhaps one half the size of Danny’s guesthouse, the front door stood open, though he didn’t see anyone inside.

  “That’s Rikayla’s home,” Micah said as they reached the bottom of the hill. “She loves flowers and spends most of her time tending to them. I guess you could say it’s her passion.”

  James saw an elderly woman relaxing under a tree. She raised an arm in salutation which Micah returned in kind.

  “She’s also the caretaker of the portal. No one can go through without seeing her first. She picks and dries the fruit from those trees she’s sitting under and gives it to those that have permission to travel. It’s the same thing we ate to see the portal in your world. Without the Bird-Rock fruit, we would be unable to see the portals, and if we can’t see them, then it’s almost impossible to access them.”

  “Bird-Rock? That’s a strange name.”

  “It gets its name from its egg shape. Let’s keep going. We still have a ways to go,” he said, pointing his staff towards the tree line.

  James looked around at the wide open space between the hilly terrain and the forest Micah called the Trees of Nokomis. “Castle would love it here,” he muttered. “Micah, isn’t there any way for you to check if our friends are okay? I mean, with all your powers and stuff, you must be able to see if they’re safe or not.”

  “I cannot see anything from here,” Micah said. Once we reach my village, I will take steps to find out what has happened to them.”

  James stared at him, a frown upon his face.

  Micah returned his stare. “Do not think you are alone with your concerns. They are mine as well.”

  Turning away, James couldn’t help feeling guilty for leaving Castle behind. When the woman with the gun suddenly appeared, that changed everything for everyone. If he could predict the future, he would have left Castle with Danny. Unfortunately prognostication didn’t seem to be one of the abilities the medallion offered.

  Micah led James into the forest. Birds sang cheerfully, fluttering from one tree to the next and lifting the young man’s spirit. Black squirrels ran back and forth along branches while chasing one another around. The forest was alive with activity.

  But something else was going on. James felt energized and alert as every cell in his body started resonating at once. He shuddered involuntarily, his body trying to compensate for the sudden wave of sensitivity welling up inside. It took a moment, but he adjusted to the sensation of his senses opening up.

  Micah glanced back at him. “How do you feel?”

  “Weird...but, wow, I feel amazing. Amazingly great!”

  “You should,” Micah said, grinning at the youth by his side. “The trees recharge the cells of our bodies, allowing us to function at peak efficiency. That’s what you’re feeling, young James–your cells being repaired and filling up with renewed life and vigor.” He pointed at a tree as they wandered deeper into the woods. “For every tree we use, we replenish the forest with a new sapling. Everything our land gives us, we strive to give back. If we don’t, the people of Nilvanya would wither and when our goddess awakens, she would take it all away from us.”

  “I hope she keeps on sleeping then,” James said with a big smile on his face. In truth, he couldn’t stop smiling. He felt so full of energy, he wanted to run and jump and climb a tree in no particular order. His stomach rumbling, he craved more berries to eat.

  “I don’t think she will remain that way for very much longer,” Micah said quietly. “But that is a discussion for later.” He looked at James. “Your medallion is active.”

  James saw the light seeping through the fabric of his dark green khaki pants. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the medallion. Because of this small, intricately carved piece of wood, he was able to visit the world Micah came from. Perhaps it was a good thing he found it; he wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t.

  Green light crackled within the blackened grooves. Slowing his pace, he looked at the image forming over the center, the details becoming clearer until the shape of a black squirrel appeared. The moment the image sharpened, it quickly vanished, then reappeared within the circle on the right section of the medallion.

  “That’s new,” James said as he studied the artifact closely.

  “Keep up, James,” Micah called out from ahead.

  The medallion dimming, he put it away, then jogged until catching up. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed more bushes laden with berries. James looked up at Micah who nodded and waved him towards the shrubbery full of fruit.

  “Don’t be long,” he said as he continued on through the woods.

  James started plucking berries. Snagging them at a much faster rate, his hand was full before Micah traveled more than ten steps. He assumed he had the squirrel to thank for his increase in speed and dexterity. Running up to Micah’s side, he offered up some of the delicious fruit.

  “That was fast,” Micah said, accepting the offering. “I guess we have the medallion to thank for that. Would you like to hear more of the story?” he asked before eating some berries.

  “About the medallion?” James felt a stirring deep inside.

  “And the reason they exist. The how and why they were made.”

  “Yeah, that would be great!” He had forgotten about the story Micah started when they first met. Now that he was reminded of it, he wanted to hear the rest of the tale. It could help him understand what the others expected of him. Falconer mentioned fighting against a sinister force, which by all indications looked to be true. The appearance of the woman with the gun was likely just the beginning of what was to come.
That being the case, he would need to acquire as much knowledge as he could before the next confrontation. And there would be a next time; he didn’t plan on staying here forever.

  “According to the ancient tales,” Micah began, “there once existed a tree of immense mystical properties. Called the Bloom Tree, many considered it a gift, and a conduit of sorts between the Spirit Maiden and her people of the Western lands. The stories say this tree remained unaffected with the changing of the seasons. Even through the coming of fall and the harshest of winters, it remained vibrant and alive and always stayed that way.”

  Micah placed the last of his berries into his mouth, then continued with his tale. “One day, a shaman who went by the tree to pray stumbled across a branch lying on the ground. He knew it had fallen from the tree but had no idea how. It was a small branch, no larger than a strong man’s forearm. The shaman picked it up and was instantly flooded with thoughts and images not belonging to him. Returning to his tribe with the branch in his possession, he instructed the wood carvers to construct some items. The medallions were created from this branch. How many were made remains unclear. Some say five, others say more than that.” Changing direction, Micah started following a worn footpath. “We’re not far now,” he said. “We’ll reach my village soon.”

  “Great,” James said dismissively. “What happened next?”

  “Do the youth of today have no patience?” Micah asked before continuing the tale. “The shaman felt burdened because he alone knew the truth. His world, his way of life, was coming to an end. The Spirit Maiden who watched over them was leaving the lands, for she felt tired and wanted to enter the period of long sleep. She knew she wouldn’t be able to stem the tide of change, and in her heart, she didn’t want to. It would deplete all of her energy just to try. Change always comes and she had little desire to stand in the way. But before entering the state of long sleep, she needed to surrender most of her power. If she didn’t, her connections with the world would remain intact and her slumber would be constantly disturbed by the chaos of the world. So, Spirit Maiden gave up her power to the shaman who followed her instructions on what to do with it.”

  James listened carefully to Micah’s words. “Her power, it’s in the medallion.”

  Micah nodded. “Yes, but not only yours. All the medallions share a portion of what she left behind.”

  The trail they followed sloped gradually downwards. James was amazed by the story Micah told. Last week, he would have scoffed at the idea of godlike beings with unimaginable power, but after everything he witnessed these last few days, he was ready to believe every word of Micah’s story.

  Micah stayed silent apparently reaching the end of his tale.

  “Is there more of the story?” James asked, his eagerness evident in his tone.

  “There is, but it will keep for now,” Micah said.

  James heard noise flowing through the trees ahead. Voices and children’s laughter came from somewhere nearby. He saw movement and colors and the clear sound of a hammer pounding on metal. Leaving the cover of the forest behind, they strolled into Micah’s village.

  James suddenly felt anxious. There were people everywhere and many took notice of their arrival.

  “Welcome to my home, James,” Micah said, his smile growing wider as he looked at the various faces staring at them.

  A heaviness descended over the young man, his future clouding over as the tiniest slivers of doubt penetrated his courage. Being here in Micah’s village was the start of trying to attain something much larger than he was. If he should fail, many could suffer because of it.

  24

  Sitting at his desk, Jeremiah looked through a series of photographs Mr. Darrell sent him a short while ago. “Dr. Lee, could you meet me in my lower office?” he said into his speaker phone. “We need to go over a few things.”

  Hanging up after the doctor agreed to come by, he shifted some of the images around on his desk. They were grainy and from a long distance away, but he was confident what he saw was accurate as he examined another photo through a magnifying glass. Still, he wanted a second opinion.

  “What do you think? Is that man flying?”

  He is.

  “Who is he? Do you know?”

  I do not.

  A knock on the door ended the discussion. “Enter,” Jeremiah instructed.

  Dr. Lee walked in, his silver laptop in hand, and sat in the chair across from him.

  “Good morning, Steven. You want some coffee?”

  “No, thank you.”

  “Suit yourself. I’m having some.” Jeremiah got up to pour himself a cup. He preferred his coffee strong and stopped adding cream and sugar long ago.

  Sitting back down, he placed the cup on the desk and watched the steam rise. “Evey’s on her way back?”

  “Yes, I believe so. Do you want me to find out for sure?”

  “No need, no need. We have things to discuss.” Raising the cup to his lips, he took a sip. “So what have we learned in the last twelve hours?” Gathering up the photos, he placed them to one side of the metal desk.

  “We gathered plenty of data during Evelynn’s confrontation in the woods. There were some minor variations between our initial readings from Charmington and those we analyzed from last night.” Opening his laptop, Dr. Lee stroked a few keys before relaying his findings. “We believe yesterday’s energy bursts and the energy we analyzed a few days ago originate from the same source. Our tests on your medallion indicate its power also comes from this source.”

  “So, it seems all of the medallions access the same power supply,” Jeremiah said.

  “Or during their construction, they all consumed a common source of energy.”

  “Interesting. Either way, the energy traces will be the same. Continue with your report.”

  Dr. Lee nodded. “We’ve concluded that the variations in the readings have to do with the conduit for that energy. In other words, since two unique sources interacted with the energy, two sets of readings were recorded.”

  Jeremiah considered the doctor’s words. “Unique sources...is that your way of saying two different people?”

  “Yes, that’s right, two different people.”

  Jeremiah pinched his chin between his index finger and thumb. “In your opinion, would you say that two people are sharing one medallion or do you believe a second medallion was activated within the same region by, maybe the man in the photos?”

  “I spoke with Mr. Darrell. Evelynn told him the man she encountered wore a medallion connected to a chain around his neck. A chain is a personal item and something people aren’t inclined to share. She also indicated he was quite adept at using its power. My opinion is two medallions were active last night.”

  This flying man owns the second medallion. It cannot be a coincidence he was in the area when the boy eluded Evelynn. He has information we must obtain.

  “I agree, it can’t be. And we will,” Jeremiah replied.

  “Pardon me?” Dr. Lee glanced up from his laptop and gave him a quizzical look.

  “Nothing at all, Steven,” he said with a smile. “What else do we have? I’ll assume the video has been analyzed.”

  “It’s all in preliminary stage. It’s being cleaned up–the quality was quite poor due to the weather. But from the infra-red analysis, I can tell you that Evelynn’s initial target...” He paused, staring at the screen. “James Mason, is that correct?”

  Jeremiah nodded. “That’s one of the names pulled from our database search. Evey corroborated the information during her mission. Please, continue.”

  “Young Mr. Mason seemed to vanish from the scene. We’re not sure how as of yet. We do know he had assistance in his apparent escape.” Dr. Lee paused. “Unfortunately, our satellite was configured to pick up the unique energy of the medallion. Any anomalous energy sources within the area would not have registered, and my feeling is they may have escaped through the use of some device we are unaware of. I don’t know how else to explain h
ow they vanished so quickly.”

  “Let’s get a team up there and go over the area,” Jeremiah said. “Help put it together and assign Dalton to lead it. Weapons tech can wait. I have need of his field work expertise for this.”

  “Yes, Mr. Bone.” Dr. Lee started typing away at a furious pace.

  “Thank you for the update. That’s all for now, Steven.”

  The doctor looked up from his computer screen and nodded. Shutting his laptop, he stood up, then headed for the door.

  “One more thing, could you take these pictures with you? I don’t have a use for them any longer.” Picking up the pile from his desk, he held them out for the doctor to take. “And close the door behind you, would you please?”

  Sticking them under his arm, Dr. Lee left Jeremiah’s office.

  Getting up from his desk, the elderly man started pacing back and forth along the gray stone floor.

  What bothers you?

  “All this technology and we still lose track of the boy.”

  Have patience. I am confident we will see him again.

  “It seems there are forces conspiring against me. The boy had help–and this flying man...”

  Your child is on the way. She will assist you on this matter.

  “She’s cross with me right now and has every right to be. The mission turned out to be more dangerous than I planned.” Jeremiah stopped pacing, then pulled out his pocket watch. Flipping it open, he gazed at a picture of Evelynn as a teenager. “And she nearly paid with her life.”

  This is not the time for sentiments.

  Shutting the watch, he slipped it back into his pocket. “It’s time for you to return to The Wayward. We need a new plan so I suggest you get started on putting one together.”