by Amy Marie
“You think I’m strong? I’m just supposed to handle all of this? I’m barely hanging on!” I don’t mean to yell, but my voice builds in anger.
Rafe glances down at my hands and flinches as they begin to glow.
“I know, I know.” He holds up his hands. “I didn’t mean that it’s been easier for you. I just meant that you’re more resilient.” His voice softens. “I can see it in your eyes. Even through all of this, anyone can see your light hasn’t dimmed. If anything, the spark’s ignited and grown stronger.”
His words seem impossible. Everything feels dim, and whatever spark I have seems out of control these days. I shake the glow from my hands again before wiping my eyes.
“You’re allowed to be emotional about all this,” he says. “I know you’re afraid, but you won’t hurt anybody.”
I nod and change the subject, needing a distraction to avoid a breakdown.
“Alright, how do we open this thing?” I ask, gesturing to the briefcase.
“Retinal scan,” is his prompt reply. At my look of shock, he laughs and the tension eases a bit. “I’m kidding, it’s just a code. Uncle Mike gave it to me, just in case. I suppose I’ll have to give it to one of you guys as a back-up. You never know…” he trails off.
I put my hand up to halt that line of thinking. “Don’t even talk like that. I’m not going to let anything happen to anyone else.”
He just nods with a shadow of a smile. Seeing his reaction puts me on edge. He’s supposed to be the optimistic one. I’ll need that Rafe around if I’m ever going to be able to survive this mission.
Looking down at the case, an idea pops in my head.
“Ah, yesh…” I begin making my voice as Bond-like as possible. “Thish is where they keep the ol’ relic, eh?” I attempt my best Scottish accent, tapping the top of the case. I wiggle my eyebrows at him, challenging him not to laugh.
His face goes slack for just a moment before he bursts with laughter. “I would point out, that poor attempt of a James Bond quote doesn’t even belong to Sean Connery. But I’m so relieved to see you tell a joke, I’ll let it slide!”
Relieved myself, I laugh along with him. “It’s this high-tech briefcase! Straight out of a spy movie. Besides, Sean Connery is my favorite, so all my Bond quotes come with a Scottish accent.” As soon as the words are out, my smile fades and I glance away, doing my best not to think of a certain person with that same accent.
Rafe catches my line of thought, but doesn’t let me dwell on it. “Let’s get to it then, shall we?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.
At my nod, he lifts the lid and reaches into the briefcase to pull out the antique text. I’m surprised to see the round carved stone given to me by the Potawatomi Shaman along with the book in the briefcase.
“I forgot about this.” I point to the compass-shaped stone.
“Uncle Mike thought it was an important gift. Worth keeping safe,” Rafe says offhandedly, concentrating on the book.
Seeing the Statera again gives me goosebumps. Whispered voices from the past call from the depths of my soul, too faint to discern.
“Let’s just look for anything that Uncle Mike added,” Rafe says, reaching to gently open the antique book. As soon as he does, a crisp folded sheet of paper falls out. He lays the book open to the page that was marked by the fallen paper and stoops to pick up the sheet.
He unfolds the loose paper and lays it on the table in front of us. It’s a scanned copy of what looks like a really old letter.
My eyes automatically move to the date in the top right corner. “A letter from 1771?” I ask.
“Charles Thomson,” Rafe says, reading the greeting. “Why do I know that name?”
Impatient as always, I look straight to the signature at the bottom of the page and gasp in shock.
Gabriel Isaac Grafton.
“Rafe, look! It’s a letter from Gabriel!”
Chapter 2
I excitedly begin to read the letter out loud, noticing that Uncle Mike underlined a particular passage on the scanned page:
…by finding what we are looking for in such places of the past. This symbol must withstand the ages as sure as Providence itself.
After the letter is read, Rafe and I both gawk in amazement at this physical connection with the old guardian.
Rafe opens his wallet and pulls out a dollar bill. He lays it face down on the table. “Look, the official seal is on the back of the dollar bill. The eagle on one side, and this Eye of Providence on the top of the pyramid on the other.” He points to the circle on the left. “Charles Thomson! I knew I recognized that name! He worked with William Barton to put together the design for the Great Seal of the United States. He was the Keeper of the Seal!”
“Would that mean Gabriel is partially responsible for this symbol being on the seal? I mean, that’s kind of incredible!” I hesitate. “But what’s the clue here? What do you think Uncle Mike was trying to tell us?”
Rafe grabs the letter and reads the underlined passage over and over again out loud. Meanwhile, I wander back over to the Statera and look at the page that’s left open.
It’s the page that Rafe was assigned to decipher when we first found the book — it seems so long ago now. The page is filled with symbols similar to hieroglyphs. In the center, the symbol for light and dark and the surrounding symbols of the elements fight off the unfinished circle that represents the emptiness and all the symbols of evil that go along with it.
Fairly vague instructions on how to win this battle. Life would be a lot easier if only there were a Statera For Dummies.
Something catches my eye near the bottom of the page. It seems a few new notes have been added to the bottom margin. It’s Uncle Mike’s handwriting:
By finding what we are looking for in such places of the past —Pyramids?
This symbol must withstand the ages as sure as Providence itself — Eye?
Necklace? Dagger? Pyramidion, Ben-Ben — the Flame of Immortality!
“There’s something here too,” I call Rafe over to look at the added notes.
“Something about the pyramids must be pretty important,” he says. “Might be a good place to start our search. Eye? That’s the Eye of Providence, right? Or maybe the Hand Eye you mentioned before? Pyramidion, Ben-Ben… what are those?”
“A pyramidion is the capstone of a pyramid. The triangular stone at the very top? It’s the same for an obelisk. I think I’ve also seen them nicknamed ben-ben stones. Maybe the flame of immortality has something to do with the soul of fire?” I speculate.
“These symbols are on the seal. The Eye of Providence has the capstone of a pyramid in the design. But what does it mean? And what’s this about a necklace and dagger?” he asks.
“He must be talking about the necklace from my dream!” I think back to the Egyptian dream I had right before we found Dylan. “In the dream, I remember seeing pyramids. Maybe Uncle Mike figured out a connection when I told him about it?” I speculate. “It makes sense if that’s where he wants us to start looking. Although there are plenty of pyramids in the world.”
“And the dagger… do you think he’s talking about Darcy’s dagger? But what would that have to do with the necklace?” asks Rafe.
“I’m not sure. It wasn’t in my dream,” I admit.
“You still have it though, right?” he asks.
“Yes,” I say quietly, remembering how I ended up with the dagger. My hand absentmindedly moves over the scar that remains on my stomach.
“I’m glad we have it,” Rafe says, pulling me from my memory. “Though I have to admit, I was hoping for something more than these riddles,” he says, deflated.
“Has anything been that easy for us?” I add, feeling a little disappointed myself.
“You two look like you could use some fuel!” Joe, the elemental soul of air, lets himself into the shelter holding a bag of fast food in each hand.
“Hamburgers!” I beeline toward the smell, stomach growling.
J
oe’s wife Tara, the elemental soul of earth, follows close behind with some drinks. “Not the healthiest of options, but we know Nora’s appetite,” she says with a smile. “There aren’t many places that are open right now, with the damaged crops and shortages.”
“If the world’s going to end, at least there’ll still be burgers and fries,” Joe laughs, but we all feel the underlying tension from the reality of the joke. The natural disasters that have swept across the world are no longer being ignored. Most countries have declared their states of emergency and the doomsdayers are preparing for some sort of day of reckoning.
As the food is passed around, Rafe catches the couple up on what we’ve found. Unfortunately, they’re just as baffled as we are.
“Nora, you mentioned that you wanted to look for the necklace. Did you have an idea of where to start?” Tara asks.
“I’ve been hoping to have another dream, but nothing’s working to trigger the reminiscence,” I shrug.
“We don’t want to explore without having a better idea of where to go. It looks like Uncle Mike is pointing us toward the pyramids, but we’ll still have to narrow it down,” says Rafe.
“We?” I ask, turning his way.
“It can’t hurt to have a security guard…ian,” he winks.
For the first time in a long time, I relax into a genuine smile. That’s the old Rafe I know and love.
“We’ll come too,” Joe volunteers.
“Actually, I was hoping you’d stay and look after Char?” Rafe interjects. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but I don’t want to leave her unless I trust she’s safe. Besim’s a busy guy, always on the go. I definitely trust you two.”
“Of course,” Tara replies. “We’ll take care of her.”
“Thanks.” Rafe smiles, but there’s something underlying in his exchange with Tara that doesn’t go unnoticed by me.
Are they keeping something from me? Is Char so upset with me that our group is going to have to be split up from now on? I can feel my pulse racing, but as soon and the lights give one small flicker, I put my thoughts in check and remind myself to calm down.
I have to control myself.
Rafe turns back my way at the perfect time to distract me. “I thought Dylan could come with us. Speaking of Dylan, where is he? The food’s getting cold.”
“I’m not sure. I didn’t see him upstairs when we got here, but there was a woman waiting in her car near the gate,” Tara says.
I stop mid-bite, and I never do that with a burger.
A woman?
“What did she look like?” I ask, voice shaking.
“Dark hair, tan skin. I tried to get a good look, but she had some big sunglasses on and was talking on her phone, acting like she couldn’t see us,” says Joe.
I glance to Rafe wide-eyed.
Lilly?
“It can’t be. She can’t know where the house is. Darcy didn’t know about it. It’s not registered under any of our names,” Rafe assures me before I can even ask.
“Who?” asks Joe.
“Lilly,” I answer for Rafe. “You said she had dark hair and tan skin? You guys never saw her without the cloak. But that sounds just like the second destructor.”
“It’s definitely not Lilly,” Dylan rushes in through the shelter door to interrupt us. “Nora, Rafe, come upstairs, quick! You have to tell us if this girl is who she says she is.”
“Who?” asks Rafe, but Dylan’s already rushing back up the stairs.
“Lock up the book and hide it,” I instruct Joe.
“Right, we’re right behind you guys,” Tara says.
Luckily the element safeguard in the shelter below carries over to the house above, and now that I’m honed in on my own power, I can feel the protection around us. We’re safe… for now.
We exit the shelter stairway into a home library. Dylan leads us through a maze of turns until we finally reach a cozy living room.
Professor Besim is just handing a cup of coffee to a dark-haired woman who’s facing away from us.
At our arrival, his bright smile helps ease the tension. “Ah, here we are. You’ll remember Mr. Raphael Clark, and Ms. Nora Hutchinson?” Professor Besim asks, signaling our arrival with a raised arm.
The woman turns around with wide eyes. When she focuses on the two of us, tears begin to spill over without her even blinking.
I recognize the young woman instantly. Though, I never thought I’d see her alive again.
“Dansé!”
Chapter 3
“Nora!” Dansé greets me with tearful relief.
“But… how?” I’m at a loss for words, grasping her hands in my own.
“I’ve been searching for you for weeks!” the young woman tells us through her tears. “It took me forever to convince Professor Higgins that I knew you. He gave me this address, but I wasn’t sure if I had the right house when I saw so many people coming in.” She glances quickly toward Dylan and then her eyes dart to the ground.
“We’re so glad you’re safe! How did you survive the accident?” Rafe asks after he greets her.
“That was no accident,” she insists. “My people were murdered. And they’re still being hunted! If it weren’t for my father, I wouldn’t be alive,” she says, wiping her eyes. “He banned me from the meeting. He knew there was danger lurking. He… he died in the blast.”
Not knowing how to comfort her, I just sit next to her and hold her hand as she cries. “I’m so sorry,” I say over and over, patting her hand in my grasp.
“But it’s been weeks! Where’ve you been?” Rafe asks after Dansé’s sobs grow quiet.
“I tried to hide with some of the smaller Potawatomi tribes. I went to Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan, but everywhere I went, disaster followed.”
Lilly must be hunting her.
But why?
“As soon as I contacted the other tribes in the council, the tragedies started happening one right after the other. The Chippewa and the Ottawa eventually turned me away. But one Chippewa elder told me that a professor from Boston kept trying to contact him. He gave me the information and I tracked down Professor Higgins, and he led me here,” she explains, turning my way. “I’d heard that there was a gas explosion. I thought you were—” she chokes on her tears.
“We were attacked. I was left for dead. As far as most people know, I didn’t survive. We’re trying to keep that under wraps for now. Do you know why the tribes are being targeted?” I ask.
“It’s the Mjumnito,” she answers. At our blank stares, she continues explaining. “Mjumnito is our word for devil, or snake… the one who brings destruction.”
As soon as the words are out of her mouth, I’m reminded of my Egyptian visions. We called the destructor Apep then, and believed he could transform into a snake.
“You know the destructor?” Professor Besim asks Dansé.
“Every culture has its legends. Our tribe’s no different. We know of the evil that’s been hunting us. Mjumnito has always been the enemy of our people. It’s the evil that has always sought to control the fire…” she trails off. “My father knew what was coming.”
“Dansé, did your father give you any information about the fire soul before he died?” Rafe asks.
“My father called his meeting to ask the Potawatomi tribe’s permission to bring together the sacred Council of Three Fires. Once he got our tribe’s permission, he was going to call the council to convene to request that they help you. But he never got the chance.” Her eyes drop to the ground.
“Do the other tribes know what happened?” I ask.
“They know they’re being targeted by the evil that wants to destroy life. They know of the elements, and they keep the secrets of the fire sacred,” she explains. “All three tribes have to agree to share the secrets of the fire. The Chief elders from all three tribes and each of their Shamans know everything that my father knew. My father was killed along with our Chief in the blast. And the Chief elders and Shamans from the Chippewa and Ottawa
have been taken out. There’s only one person alive now who knows the secrets,” she tells us.
“Please tell me you know how to find him,” I beg her, my heart pounding.
“Actually, it’s a woman,” she replies. “The Midewin.”
“A medicine woman?” asks Professor Besim, picking up on the translation.
“She’s like the Grand Shaman. She taught our tribes’ Shamans everything they knew. She knows the secrets of the fire. She’ll know how to help us,” Dansé insists.
“Where can we find her?” I ask.
“She was staying in Indiana when I found her, but the Mjumnito wasn’t far behind. Did you hear about the Pokagon fires on the news? We barely escaped. When the Midewin found out I was looking for you, she sent me out on my own to keep looking.” Her voice lowers like she’s telling a secret. “She told me to bring you to her right away if I ever found you. She’s in hiding, but I’ll take you to her.”
Everyone seems to move at once. “All right,” says Rafe, taking charge. “Where are we headed?”
She glances around the room and then back to him. “Are you up for a trip to Las Vegas?”
I hadn’t realized Joe and Tara slipped in on the conversation, until Joe pulls me aside. “We’re still working on identification for you. I really don’t think it’s a good idea for you guys to fly publicly. There’s a lot of beefed up security with everything going on. Why don’t I ask Tara to stay with your sister, and I’ll fly you all out to Nevada?”
I nod at his line of thinking. Traveling privately will be easier to stay under the radar. Best to take every precaution. “Right. Just let Rafe know. If you can get us a plane, we’ll plan to leave in the morning.”
Sure enough, we spend the next morning flying across the country on a private jet. Somehow, Joe was able to borrow what he called a global jet from one of his close friends. It’s so big inside I almost can’t tell I’m on an airplane, which has really helped with my flight anxiety.
While the ride is much better, the time has been dragging. It feels like we’ve been in the air for half of the day. Joe explained before we took off that the flight was going to take a little longer than normal to navigate around the numerous superstorms overtaking the United States. Better safe than sorry.