by Opal Edgar
“No!” I exclaimed, suddenly realising I’d just wasted a perfectly good question I probably needed.
This was harder than I realised. Suddenly everything seemed to have vanished out of my mind. I didn’t know what I wanted to know anymore. I was just so hopelessly dumb. Kemsit had seen right through me. I could kick myself for coming so unprepared.
“Nothing else you want to know,” the Oracle-fish insisted. “Like how you can become a monster?”
“I already know that,” I said. “I have to get Bartholomew’s sword. Which was lost in sticks, whatever that means. It doesn’t matter in the end because I have to find a solution to the Merlin problem first.”
“Okay. You want to know what the solution is to that problem?” he asked.
“Sure! What is the solution to the Merlin problem?”
“You have to split up,” the fish said.
“I know, but how do I do that?” I said.
The Oracle nodded thoughtfully. I felt Kemsit tighten on my ankle, just as tense as me. I was leaning towards the fish, eyes and ears open for any shred of a solution.
“That sure is a good question,” he said, his eyes dimming down to their original dull protrusion. “Too bad you already used up your allocated three.”
“What? No! You gave me an answer I already knew!”
“You should have asked a better question.”
“You can’t leave me like that! I have to know how we can both go our own way. I mean, I’ve got nothing against Merlin, but I don’t know the guy. I can’t imagine, you know, ending up eternally sharing my brain with him. And what if I make a bad decision? I’d be dragging the both of us down. It’s not fair on him! I think all people should be allowed to make their own bad decisions without having to make them for others. Don’t you see the pressure I’m under?”
The fish laughed again. “You’re a barrel of fun, aren’t you! Well imagine that, Merlin turned comedian. No, actually, don’t. Scratch that. I can’t think he likes that very much. He must be having fits in there. And I’m sorry, but I have answered your three questions: What is it? Why do you turn people who want to talk to the living into Golems? And, what is the solution to the Merlin problem?”
With that he bowed and jumped backwards into the bit of sky at our feet.
“Wait! I still don’t understand anything. I don’t even know why the power thieves keep attacking me.”
The Oracle-fish swam round the clouds a couple of times. He looked down at the city below and back up at me. Finally he sighed.
“Let’s play a game,” he said, and Kemsit tightened even more on my ankle.
She had to be blocking the blood circulation by now, but that couldn’t matter much if I was dead, could it?
“If you win, I will answer your question: why power thieves are attacking you. This won’t be an official oracle answer, made with real power, 100% true. I can’t give you any more of those. I don’t work that way. And I can’t create a precedent, you know what I mean? If I give out free answers to you, you’ll boast about it to friends—”
“No, I wouldn’t!” I exclaimed.
“You’d tell. They all do. And then someone else would come for extras, all hush hush. And before I know it, I’d be swamped with petitioners in never ending lines, pleading. Hell, it would be hell. So no more oracle answers. But I’ll just tell you what I know. And I know stuff. Merlin came to me about 16 years ago, shortly before his disappearance. He wanted my advice.”
“I’m 16!” I exclaimed.
“I know. His disappearance is his rebirth into you. Listen, I’m close friends with Merlin, he told me lots of things which I’d love to share. But if I win ... I won’t tell you a thing and you will owe me a world.”
Kemsit bit me. I yelped and jumped in pain. The Oracle-fish didn’t care – he stared on, waiting for a more comprehensible reaction.
“What do you mean by owing you a world?”
“Exactly that,” he said.
That was crazy information to digest. Were there many worlds in the afterlife? Just how many exactly? How was that possible? … And what kinds of worlds? I tried to wrap my head round the whole thing, but it all seemed very fuzzy. Was a world like a planet? Or was it a parallel dimension type of thing? Not that any answer to those questions could really help me right now.
“I don’t have a world. How does anyone have a world?” I asked.
“They make it. Or they take it.” He smiled.
I gulped, not liking where this was going at all.
“So if you win, you want me to help you take a whole world for yourself. What do you mean by that? Does a world always have people inside and all?” I whispered, horrified.
“Nothing so scary. I’m not staging a coup. And I don’t even expect you to build a world, we don’t all have Elise’s talent …”
My blood froze in my veins as I heard her name. He was trying to get to her through me. That wasn’t an option.
“She’s not helping me any longer. She has nothing to do with me. Giving me something won’t make her give you anything, ever.”
“Really?” The Oracle-fish smiled. “Well it’s good I wasn’t counting on Elise’s help to grow a world for me. Let’s just say if ever you happen to own some worlds, you will owe me one of them.”
I stepped backwards, away from him.
“How likely is that? I’m the weakest zombie there is, and everyone is after me.”
“Not very likely then, so you have nothing to lose,” he said.
Kemsit bit me again and I jumped up, shaking my leg. How was I to even attempt thinking with her teeth in my foot? I was impaired enough with my useless brain. She was right to make me doubt, though. Nothing was fishier than when big shots proposed games. But I couldn’t stop myself asking one more question. It was like digging my own grave and forgetting the ladder. The more the Oracle talked, the less exits remained.
“What’s the game?”
“Two lies and a truth.” The Oracle smiled. “And to make it easier, I’ll be making three statements about … you. All you have to do is pick which one is the truth.”
That sounded totally feasible. He could have picked any other subject and I would have hesitated. I wasn’t a bright bulb. I knew that. I wouldn’t risk myself on trivia. But truth and lies about myself? That was like giving me a free shot.
Maybe he wanted to help me, but couldn’t say it straight out, so as not to create a “precedent”. After all, Merlin was his friend, right? He just said there were loads of things he wanted to share with me. Maybe he wanted to help Merlin without necessarily having all of the afterworld knocking at his door for extras.
Kemsit had decided to section my foot off with her tightening coils, but I didn’t care. This was actually a game I could win.
“Okay,” I said. “Let’s play.”
The Oracle smiled and started immediately.
“Statement one: your father is alive,” he said.
Lie. That was too easy. I was right, he was helping me.
“Statement two: Merlin has hurt one of the power thieves’ princes. They want revenge: that’s why they’re after you,” he said.
Now that was much harder. I had no idea if that was true or not. But if it was, then I was starting to understand what was going on here.
“Statement three: Elise hates you now she has discovered the disgusting truth about your origins,” the Oracle said with a sweet smile.
That was cruel to remind me of that. But there was no doubt it was a truth. I could feel myself wither inside as I gave my answer.
“Statement three is the truth, statement one and two are lies.”
The Oracle did a little circle in the air, blowing bubbles as if he was a real fish in a bowl. He flicked left and right, rolled belly up and then came back.
“Are you sure this is your final answer?”
I lowered my head and gritted my teeth. “Yeah, sure.”
“Then you have lost. You owe me a world.” He laughed
.
I blinked with disbelief.
“You underestimated her ability to see beyond appearances, burdens, aggravating circumstances and weaknesses … she sees the good in people and loves them for it,” he said. “Cherish that.”
I owed him a world. The debt should have crushed me, but somehow I couldn’t feel like a loser. Not only did Elise not hate me, but now I knew what I wanted, too. He had helped me after all, taking a huge weight off my mind and giving me an answer. Because if the statement about Elise had been a lie, then only the statement about the power thieves could be the truth. The Oracle had found a way to let me know what I needed, whether I won or not. The power thieves were after me to get revenge on Merlin.
“Thank you,” I said. “I have no idea what the next step should be, but at least I know why I’m in danger now.”
“I wouldn’t worry if I were you, Merlin always has a plan to get out of trouble. So just sit back and enjoy the ride,” the fish concluded. “Oh, and just one last thing …”
He pressed a fin into a golem and out popped a rotary telephone. It was concrete in colour, exactly like the golem it had come out of. The cord coiled down the creature's body and the plug fell into the other fin of the Oracle. He gestured for me to come closer. I took a step forwards and he gestured some more. He was only happy when he was centimetres from my chest. With a nod, and a sudden leap forwards, he plunged the plug right where I would have guessed my heart to be. I yelled in horror, grabbed the cord with both hands and pulled like a madman.
It had to come out! But nothing would do. It was stuck.
The fish dialled the phone calmly as I started daggers at him. The phone rang. Was it wrong to want to murder the very thing I’d just praised seconds ago? The phone was picked up.
“Oh, you think you’re so clever!” The awfully familiar voice of Merlin rang out of the receiver.
“Yep, you owe me a world. Just making sure you kept up the tab. Ciao!” the Oracle sing-sang before hanging up.
I stared in disbelief. He gave a tiny tug on the cord and out popped the plug. Two small holes remained in my shirt. The Oracle laughed once more and dipped down into his cloudy hole, tail working furiously.
A flock of ducks flew by, a fat one was particularly intent on the golden morsel. The Oracle-fish plunged into a cloud, fat-duck followed. And then regretted it. He came out of the fog all wrong: beak gone, wings upside down and stumpy legged. For a stunned second he looked at the horrific change, and then he dropped like a rock. I shuffled away from the hole. My legs felt like jelly. A rotten smell oozed from my skin and sure enough I was exhausted. That Oracle was a nasty thing, despite his help.
“Your questions sucked, dumb-dumb! You should have asked who cursed you and who is attacking you, just to make sure it’s ONLY power thieves. I can’t believe you have a genius inside you and didn’t think about your questions before getting here!”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Merlin, dumb-dumb!”
“Stop calling me that!”
“Which one?”
“Both!”
“So are you done sulking so that Elise can really help you?” Kemsit finished.
She had won the fight, but I certainly wasn’t going back. I got the pouch of Lil’Mon’s sand out.
“You have any idea how to use this?”
Chapter 12
Sand Castle
Kemsit sat on the carpet, holding onto her feet. Her mouth hung open as she listened to Lil’Mon.
“And there she was, mouth full of razor fangs, eyes blazing in fury, like a jackal of Anubis. Still, her face remained beautiful, stuck on its lioness’s body. I have no idea how it got there! But the sphinx was convinced this was her desert. By almighty Isis, she just wouldn’t let me through! I had to solve her riddle,” he said. “I thought that was a little rich, having to jump through ankhs just to get home, but you know how sphinxes are …”
This was a quiet moment where I could be totally engrossed by the content of the food platter on my lap. It was piled high with nuts and dates and melons, and anything else I could cram into my ever hungry belly. My bag of Lil’Mon’s sand was one pinch lighter. Turns out I only needed to throw a few grains in front of me to get into his pyramid, and was it worth it!
The pyramid chamber was full of gold. The surface of the wall was riddled with statues of all the Egyptian gods you could think of, and more. A desk poked out from behind the piles of cushions. A rectangular pond, with lilies floating gracefully on the surface, sat in the middle of the room. The floor was carpeted with multiple layers of bright tapestries. They probably should have been hanging in a museum, rather than being used as welcome mats, so I balanced on the stool I sat on, my shoes hovering a few millimetres off the ground. It wasn’t exactly comfortable, but I felt less guilty.
I licked my sticky fingers and looked round to see if I’d forgotten to eat anything.
“So, you’ve finished your sulking and we can call Elise for help?” Lil’Mon asked.
Kemsit and he had way too much attitude for their own good. They sounded so similar. She turned into a snake again and Lil’Mon wrapped her round his shoulders.
“I haven’t even told you what I need help with,” I said.
“You realise she’s way more powerful than me.” He sighed.
“I thought you were a spirit,” I said.
“And a god! He’s a god,” Kemsit said.
“Yes, but power is intrinsic,” Lil’Mon shrugged.
“Intrins— what?”
“Intrinsic, innate, inherent! It’s a personal thing. I’ve reached my full potential, I’m a spirit. But, by Menhit’s whiskers, that doesn’t mean I’m the most powerful person out there. I have some power – I have a lot. Lots more than many people. But I’m not extraordinary. None of me had a huge potential for power to start with. I’m a grain of sand on the banks of the Nile. On the other hand, Elise is a shining sun. As a monster she’s even more powerful than me now. She can do things I can only dream of.”
“It doesn’t matter how amazing she is. I already know that she’s fantastic. That’s not why I don’t want her help.”
“We’re dealing with a serious case of worship syndrome,” Kemsit whispered loudly to Lil’Mon. “You know, the whole she’s-too-good-for-me-to-crawl-on-the-soil-she-walks-on kind of worship.”
He nodded his agreement and sighed. I protested, but their opinion was already formed, there was no changing it. So Lil’Mon took on the tone of a kindergarten teacher and tried to get me to go back to the cottage in the woods.
“Tosho, Elise is one of the main leaders of the Children’s League. I’m just one of the emissaries. I’m also your spirit guide, so I’m always here for you. I will do everything I can to help you, and, in that light, it’s my duty to tell you I’m not as good as she is.”
“It doesn’t matter. Thank you for helping me, I’m incredibly grateful for that. It’s more than enough for me. It’s just that under no circumstances do I want Elise to be hurt because of me. Now, if possible, I’d like to get stronger and solve my problems, and maybe join this league of hers and help however I can,” I said, suddenly liking that idea.
I got the bottled door out of my pocket and pushed it towards Lil’Mon. Kemsit extended her neck to snap at it, but she mustn’t have been trying very hard because Lil’Mon got it first. He took it between his small fingers and spun it under the light to look at the black liquid inside. It didn’t do anything interesting and yet Lil’Mon looked more and more intrigued by it.
“It’s a door, the Oracle said so. He even said I should go through it, but I’ve got no idea how to do that.”
“I’ve seen something like this before, on an advert, but I don’t quite remember who printed it. It has something to do with power ...” Lil’Mon said. “Where did you get it?”
“From a power thief that attacked me.”
“Oh. Really?” Lil’Mon said. “I’ve got to check something out.”
“My duty is to help you, that you want it or not,” he reminded me.
I opened my mouth to ask what he meant by that, but sand rose like a barrier between us. A gust of wind wrapped Kemsit and I in a mute bubble. I closed my eyes to protect them from the grit. She covered my nose to stop the grains from getting in my nostrils and buried her head into my shirt.
That was his help?
The sand stopped polishing the surface of my skin. I opened an eye. We were ankle deep in branches and dead leaves. Kemsit slithered off my arms. She turned into a girl before she hit the ground. Beautiful centuries-old trees swayed in a cool breeze.
I’d been tricked. Kemsit ran off into the forest.
“Hurry, dumb-dumb, we’re far from the house!” she called out.
I hesitated until the heels of her sandals vanished behind the shrubbery. I hurried after the small devil.
I wasn’t used to the forest. Berlin’s grey walls were all I knew, and, while I was good at sprinting over rubble, roots sticking out of the ground were new to me. I hopped over them the best I could, but there were many other unpleasant things. Brambles cut, bark scratched, and branches whipped my face, arms and anything else they touched. I tumbled and grabbed a clump of tall grass. The tiny roots were pulled up and the clump swung in my hand, following me into a wobbly cartwheel. I crashed right into a bed of daffodils, and still Kemsit kept going!
She ran so fast her sandal flew off! It whirled in my direction. I lifted a hand, but it was already closed over the power thief’s bottle. I dropped my arm immediately. The sandal hit me in the face and tumbled down.
“Hey! Be careful with your shoes!” I yelled after Kemsit, who had really disappeared this time.
I rubbed my cheekbone and hooked my arm into hanging vines to get up. Leaves stuck to my trousers. I tightened my hold on the bottle and the sandal, as if they were relay sticks, and raced after Kemsit. I was too heavy to be a good runner, but what I lacked in speed I made up for in endurance.