by Robyn Steele
Chapter 16
“Mt Etna?” I thought aloud. “Why am I hearing Mt. Etna? Do you know where that is?” I asked Cruz and his parents.
“Everyone knows where Mt. Etna is.” Cruz laughed. “It’s the largest active volcano in Europe. It’s in the city of Catania on the island of Sicily. It is a very popular tourist attraction. Are you thinking you want to go sight-seeing?” He teased.
“Yup. That’s what I’m going to do.” I teased back. “Are you coming with me?”
“Absolutely.”
“Wait a minute, here. You two aren’t going off playing while we do all the work.” Mr. DaMonico said.
Cruz and I laughed then I explained to them that my dad keeps sending me the message “Mt. Etna.” I guess Cruz had figured that’s what I was talking about. “We need to go to Mt. Etna and see if there are any more clues there.” I told the group.
“So do you have a plan when you get there?” Cruz’ mom asked.
“Well the plans we’ve been making can be altered to where ever we go. But no, I don’t have definite plans. I just need more information. I’m thinking I will find it there.”
“Well then we all need to go since we are part of the plan, right?” Clariee responded
“Yes. We would like everyone to go if possible.” Cruz replied.
We loaded our vehicles with supplies and personal belongings to last a few days. We had quite a ways to travel and we didn’t know what we would encounter there. We went prepared for anything. Cruz told me that the volcano was the most active volcano in the world. He said it just erupted in February of 2013, just a few months ago. It is quite possible it could boil up while we are there. That would be awesome! He also told me that the mountain is almost 11,000 feet high. Although it is located off the Mediterranean Sea, it can be pretty cool at night after being warm during the day. So we had to pack clothes for all climate possibilities.
We took a caravan of 21 vehicles. There were several villas for rent around the perimeter of Mt. Etna. We acquired a beautiful villa near the town of Catania that had 29 private rooms and five common areas. It was perfect for our group. We settled in to our respective rooms and then met at the great room. We went over our plans to refresh everyone’s memories and make any changes. Then everyone went to bed to be refreshed for the next day.
Early the next morning Cruz and his parents and grandpa, momma and I headed to the Borgo train station in Catania. We planned to take the three hour train trip that circled Mt. Etna. We thought this would be a good way to feel out the area. We rode the Circumetnea train through the Mt. Etna national park searching for clues but mostly hoping we would receive some information telepathically.
The breathtaking views were an unplanned bonus. The old lava flows from years past had formed craters and formations and had filled in with pine, beech, and birch trees. The generously wooded areas were accented by numerous caves formed by the lava flows. As I gazed out the window in awe, a golden eagle soared alongside the train as if it were floating in air, guiding the train. My eyes followed his path for quite a while. Then it scooped down below the hillside to snatch its dinner and then soared back up out of sight.
I really needed to focus on my mission to get my dad or else I could get carried away sight-seeing here. Focus Talli, I told myself. I closed my eyes and concentrated on my dad. Dad, can you hear me? I sent him messages. Nothing. I wondered why I hadn’t heard from him much lately. I wished I could reach him somehow. I was getting frustrated. I only received bits and pieces and then not much after that. I wondered if I was doing something wrong or if he was unable to send messages.
I was looking out the window at the beautiful landscape when an idea came to me. I concentrated on the mountain, the wind, the sun and all the elements. I summoned all the elements to go to my father, wherever he may be, and give him strength and power to fight and to be able to contact me and hear me. I concentrated the elements to go to my dad for a long time. Then I summoned the element wind to come to me and assist me in contacting my dad. I said wind, take this message to my dad and assure its delivery. Then I had momma and grams invoke the elements to do the same as I spent time concentrating on hearing anything from my dad.
Look in the cave. I am not there but there is a clue. “Dad!” I exclaimed. “I heard my dad! He said to look in the cave.”
“Did he happen to mention where the cave is? There are over 200 caves here.” Cruz informed me.
“Not yet.” I said. “Is there a map somewhere of the caves? A map of where they are at.”
“I think the park headquarters will have some of them documented. We can head over there and find out. However, a lot of the caves have been used by the locals for burials and food storage and different things. Those caves exist on private property which the park might not have documented.”
“Well aren’t you the walking encyclopedia.” Clariee teased.
“Enclo…..what?” I asked.
Clariee laughed. “You kids have no idea what an encyclopedia is anymore. It’s a book of information. We had to use them because there was no internet. We had to go to things called libraries.” She dragged out the word library for emphasis.
“Very funny, mom.” Said Cruz. “I had to do a report in school so I just remember some of the facts about Mt. Etna.”
“So maybe that’s what the kidnappers used. One of the burial caves, I mean. Because maybe they thought no one would go near it if it was a burial cave. That’s just gross. I guess that’s a silly idea.”
“Actually that’s not a bad guess. What better way to hide someone. See if you can get any more information.” Cruz encouraged me.
I closed my eyes and concentrated on my dad. I concentrate so hard I got a headache. Cruz had a solution for headaches. He put pressure with his fingers at the base of my skull and massaged. A miraculous thing happened when he did that. I got the usual zing going through me when he touched me. However, it seemed to sharpen my senses. I heard my dad again and it was a clear, concise dialogue!
Go to the cave on the northern side of the mountain, just above the vineyards. It is where the Martinas family buried their family members. Roll the boulder to the side and you will see a map. I was blindfolded after that and don’t know where they took me. I think I was unconscious for most of the trip.
“OMG! Cruz!” I shouted. “When you touched me it increased my ability to hear my dad! He gave me exact instructions. Can we get off the train and head back? We need to go to the north side, by the vineyards.”
“Well, it looks like we need to stick together! If touching you increases your ability, I will never let go.” Cruz laughed but he was serious.
“I’m counting on that.” I gave him a smile just reserved for him. Then I weaved my fingers through his.
The train didn’t make any stops once it left the station and it was basically the only way to get back so we just rode it back. Once back at the train station we rented two jeeps and headed to the north side. We came to some small villas that were surrounded by massive vineyards. Cruz told me that volcanic ash makes very nutrient soil. Therefor, the people had capitalized on that to grow lush vineyards. They were impressive to behold.
We asked some people walking along the road if they knew the Martinas family. Luckily they did and pointed us in the right direction. Once we located the Martinas vineyard we followed it to the top. We circled around the mountain and found a tiny cave. There was a cross placed at the entrance with Martinas names on it so we knew we were in the right place.
It felt sort of irreverent to be snooping around a burial spot. However, I reminded myself that we were here for a good reason and the people who kidnapped my dad were here for an evil reason. So what we were doing was making up for the evil. Okay, so that was really stretching the justification but I did feel like the end justified th
e means. So we continued. There was a large stone covering the entrance. The entrance had been sealed off and the stone was just an added measure to keep people and animals out. So moving the stone would not expose the grave. I was glad for that.
The stone was about 6 feet in diameter. It looked pretty solid and was, I’m sure, rather heavy. However, Cruz and his dad were able to roll it aside.
“I like a man with muscles.” I joked with Cruz. While we were joking around grandpa was looking at the site.
“There’s a tube embedded in that rock there.” He said pointing at the edge of the cave where the stone had been. They had drilled a hole in the rock and hid the tube in it and then put the rock back in and camouflaged it. We pulled it out. Inside the tube was a map. We grabbed the map, filled the hole back up, rolled the stone back and left quickly before any one seen us violating a gravesite.
When we were back at our villa we gathered in the great room. We opened the map to study it. Aww. He wasn’t here after all! I knew this area! Imagine that. We came half way around the world only to find out he was close to home.
Everyone packed up to leave and we booked our flights home. Me, grandpa, grams, momma, Cruz, Alessandro, Clairee, Lissandra, Paolo, and Caio were all going to the states. The rest, we decided, could go home. We didn’t need their help in this way. We just needed their support when we dealt with the TEC and grams’ people. We had enough room at our house for the ones that were coming with us.
“I really have a good feeling about this.” I told Cruz. “Now that I know you can intensify my abilities, I think we have got this in the bag.” I slipped my arm around his waist and he put his around me and I cuddled up to him on the long drive back. Maybe we were meant to be together. It seems that way more and more every day. I’ve never believed that people are predestined. I just believe we create our own destiny. If this wasn’t meant to happen, then I’m one lucky girl to have found a perfect soul mate to navigate my destiny with.