For Centuries More

by Ethan Johnson

  “Wait, what? You keep saying, ‘Ask for guidance.’ Well, I found someone who gave me some answers, finally. And unless I’m missing something major here, it seems you’ve been holding out on me. Instead of guidance, how about the truth?”

  Aubra gave him a hard stare. “I always speak the truth.”

  “Then tell me about Inanna.”

  “She is bad,” Aubra said simply.

  “I get that. Something about being the goddess of war. I asked what became of her, and I was told, ‘One among you has seen.’ I assume that means you.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you seem to know everything, but you never give me the full story. You just say things like, ‘Don’t,” and ‘She is bad.’ Maybe that’s the long and short of it, but for the love of God, just once, tell me what’s going on.”

  Aubra crossed her arms tightly across her chest. “I will. Here’s what’s happening, James. You have come here to learn to tap into your higher self and apply those lessons to your present reality. You are failing to do so. Instead, you have become bogged down in matters far beyond your comprehension or control. When I tell you to ask for guidance, this is what I hoped you would learn on your own, without me having to tell you. The truth is within you, James. I have spoken it now, but until you find it on your own, you’ll never accept it. There.”

  James laid on his bed as though he were deflated. Her words stung him. They were, as she said, the truth. He was floundering around chasing after something he didn’t understand. He wasn’t getting anything out of his class sessions except time to overthink things, or a nap. He considered his stay at Eddington Manor to be a colossal waste of money, but in this moment, he saw the situation from another perspective. He wasn’t getting anything out of it because he wasn’t investing in the experience either. He thought back to when he first learned to use a search engine. He didn’t get useful results until he learned to ask the right questions.

  He felt his cheeks burn as another part of him rebelled at this rebuke. He sat bolt upright and turned sharply to Aubra. “Hold on, I’m not buying this.”

  “Of course you aren’t. I expected nothing less from you.”

  “Nice. But check this out: I was shown things. Strange things, sure, that I’m still trying to figure out. I think I was shown them for a reason. Maybe there’s something I’m meant to do to stop this Inanna, or help somebody, or… I don’t know. What I do know is, I won’t ever know unless I know what I’m dealing with. Why else would I have seen what I saw?”

  Aubra let off a brusque snort. “You asked.”

  “Wait, I’m not getting this. You’re saying I asked to be shown goddesses, some kingdom, and a temple?”

  “And Agnes.”

  “Yeah,” James said, adjusting his glasses. “And Agnes. Right.”

  “You said you loved her.” Aubra looked sullen. James felt awkward at the impression she was jealous, despite their age difference.

  “I did, yeah.”

  “It is because you love her that you have come to care about her. You wanted to know more about her.”

  “Also true. I don’t feel like I’ve accomplished that.”

  “It is because you’re not seeing the path you have strayed onto. If you wanted to know more about Agnes as a person, you could have asked, and you would have known. Instead, you focused on her present circumstances, and you were shown. The mess you find yourself sorting out is frankly your own doing.”

  “So, what do I do now?”

  “What do you want to do?”

  “I guess I just want to… fix everything.”

  “What is broken?”

  “Well, let’s see. Agnes is hurting, there’s a goddess here doing something or other, there’s a kingdom that’s about to come under attack, and now I found out the groundskeeper’s friend got killed somehow and he’s hurting too. I just want to make things right.”

  “Do you pay any attention to your lessons, or do they fall out of your ears?”

  James cocked his head. “Huh? What lessons, you mean the stuff about meditating about dolphins or whatever?”

  “I’m referring to your spirit guide. He’s disappointed in you, by the way. He showed you the Black Tower. You seemed to understand the lesson, then promptly forgot it and made problems for yourself.” He had put it out of his mind. And he hadn’t communicated with his spirit guide. It was something like Silvar. He recalled being annoyed at seeing a loose chain being draped around Aubra’s neck. “You can’t fix what doesn’t concern you. It might be useful to recall how you came to learn about Agnes at all.”

  “You told me her name.” James rubbed his forehead. “Hey, yeah, you had never spoken to me before. How can you say this is a mess I made when you sent me in her direction in the first place?”

  “I told you her name because you asked for it.”

  “I didn’t ask you, as I recall.”

  “I was the closest channel the universe could speak through. You weren’t going to hear it any other way. Not then. Even now, there is much you tune out. So much information is available to you if you’d only be still and listen.”

  “Like what?”

  “Why did I tell you Agnes’s name?”

  “Because I was trying to turn a rock into gold and wasn’t getting anywhere. I do know it’s impossible, but the countess told me other people had done it, and I was wondering who they were.”

  “It’s not impossible.”

  James gave her a caustic chuckle. “Like hell it isn’t.”

  Aubra uncrossed her arms and picked up a pencil from James’s desk. She held it in the palm of her left hand and slid her right hand down the length of the pencil, then handed it to him. To his astonishment, the pencil has been rendered in solid gold. He rubbed his eyes and considered its heft. He wasn’t imagining it. It was gold. If only the countess could have seen this, he thought.

  She took the pencil away from him and did the reverse. As her hand slid toward her, rather than away, the pencil had returned to its prior state. She handed it to James and crossed her arms again.

  “Hey, bring it back! What did you do that for?”

  Aubra shrugged. “Gold is not needed here.”

  “How can you say that? Gold is always needed, as far as I’m concerned. Do you have any idea what that would have been worth?”

  “Purity of motive,” she said.

  James pounded the mattress in disgust. “You know what, Aubra, I really don’t get you.”

  “Ask for guidance,” she said, and left him alone in his room.

  He ran his fingers over the pencil, looking for any trace of gold. All he found was painted wood, a band of metal, and a pink eraser. He threw the pencil at his bedroom door. “Okay, Aubra. I will. Let’s start with this question: who are you, exactly, and why are you here?”

  He laid on his back and set his glasses aside once more. He fixated on that question as he closed his eyes. After a few minutes of focused relaxation, black smoke swirled around him.

  CHAPTER 55: RECONCILIATION

  Annabella turned to face Gracie. “Now it’s your turn. You don’t like it when people don’t call you Gracie, yes?”

  “You know that already.” Gracie rested her chin in her hand and looked toward the closest wall.

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t like my real name,” she muttered.

  Jacqueline looked at her, surprised. “Lauren is a beautiful name.”

  “Whatever, Fortune.”

  Jacqueline shifted in her seat to address Gracie directly. “You didn’t tell me at dinner when I brought it up. At long last, please tell me why you call me that.”

  “Whatever, Fortune.”

  Annabella leaned forward and patted Gracie’s knee. “Hey. It’s a good question. I’d like to know the reason too. If you won’t tell her, then tell me.”

  Gracie shrugged. “It means Fortune 500, which I thought was pretty obvious.”

  “That’s a strange nickname. I call my broth
er birdbrain, because he’s always been into birdwatching,” Annabella said.

  “She thinks all I care about is business,” Jacqueline said.

  “Money,” Gracie said sharply. “You only care about money.”

  Jacqueline sat up straight. “I most certainly do not care only about money.”

  Gracie snorted. “You sure could have fooled me.”

  Annabella patted her knee again. “Hey. There’s something you two haven’t worked out. Jacqueline, you won’t call her by her preferred name. Gracie, you refuse to say her name at all, choosing to use the name you made up for her. What’s going on?”

  Gracie gave Jacqueline a dirty look. “She knows why.”

  “I can’t think of anything I’ve done to deserve being reduced to a non-person by my own sister, who I love dearly.” Jacqueline dabbed at her eyes with the paper towel.

  Gracie turned to face her. “Oh, please. You should talk about non-people. How far did Trixie have to climb up the mountain to bring you back down to mingle with the rest of us low-lifes? I bet you’re missing out on your nightly caviar bath or whatever you people do in your golden mansions.”

  Jacqueline cocked her head. “Who is Trixie?”

  Annabella raised her hand. “Sorry, it’s complicated. Anyway, Gracie, I don’t know what she did that was so terrible. Tell me the story.”

  Gracie crossed her arms again and sank into the sofa. “Fine, I’ll tell you. It was my eighth-grade science fair. Back when I gave a damn about school, I was trying to get straight A’s and get a good head start on high school. Mom said getting the best grades and winning the science fair was going to get me into the best college, just like Fortune. She said if I won the fair, Fortune would make a special trip home and take me with her to New York to learn about business and teach me how to be successful.”

  Jacqueline rested her hands in her lap, clutching the wadded-up paper towel. “I don’t recall any such arrangements being made.”

  “Bull. So, I studied really hard, and came up with a kick-ass project.”

  Annabella leaned forward. “What was it? I’m a huge science nerd. I bet it was great.”

  “It was called, ‘What’s a Watt Worth?’ It was a set-up where people had to do things to light up different kinds of light bulbs by turning a crank. The more efficient bulb was easier to light up, plus there was a solar panel involved to show people how the Sun could be doing all the work for us. Lots of people changed their bulbs to those twisty kinds after that, or at least that’s what I heard later on.”

  Annabella nodded approvingly. “That sounds awesome. What did your sister do?”

  “It’s what she didn’t do. I got the grades, I got the blue ribbon, and she never came home.” Tears welled up in Gracie’s eyes. “I asked Mom why she didn’t come home like she’d said, and she told me, ‘Your sister wasn’t suitably impressed to make the trip.’ She said to keep studying and she’d keep an eye on me.”

  Jacqueline was thunderstruck. “Lau… Gracie, I had no idea about any of this. Mother never said a word.”

  “Bull. So, I decided everything was crap. Everything. I let my grades crash in high school. I stopped going by Lauren. I almost got flunked out in sophomore year. Mister Atkins pulled me aside and told me not to throw my education away. I told him college was stupid, and he didn’t agree. But he told me whatever I did not to piss away my diploma. I got by on a low ‘C’ and got my stupid diploma. I was so happy to be done with school and free to make my own choices.”

  Jacqueline reached over and placed her hand on Gracie’s thigh. “Gracie, you know I put a high value on education. If I would have known of your ambitions, I would have moved mountains to be there to encourage you. But you never told me what happened. Mother never told me about any of this. Why would she? I can see what a cynical ploy that was to motivate you to succeed. She had no right to do that.”

  “When I got this tattoo,” Gracie held up her right hand and pointed to the yellow star near her thumb, “you told me I could kiss Harvard goodbye. You had no clue Harvard was already gone, for me.”

  “Well, I am certainly no fan of tattoos, but point taken.” Jacqueline looked to Annabella for support, who in turn rubbed her arm subtly to draw attention to an assortment of tattoos.

  “Having tattoos doesn’t get you banned from college,” Annabella said. “If they did that, most schools would be bankrupt in no time. If Harvard ever had that policy, shame on them. Maybe Harvard wouldn’t have been the right fit for you anyway. Maybe college wasn’t your path. But that path was taken from you, Gracie. Your mother sounds horrible. I think she owes you an apology, for starters.”

  Gracie wiped her cheek with her sleeve. “She’s not that bad. She kinda forced me to move here, which turned out good for us.” She smiled at Annabella.

  “Yes, that’s true. Now let’s move forward. Jacqueline, you do seem heavily interested in money, business, and throwing your weight around. Maybe you and Gracie could take some time to grow closer together. You are sisters. Don’t throw that precious bond away over a silly misunderstanding.”

  “Not to mention how you treated Weirdness tonight. Speaking of, I should check up on her.” Gracie started to get up from the sofa, but Annabella pushed her back down onto her seat.

  “We are not finished. Gracie, I know you like to call people names, especially people you don’t like. You have no idea what a corrosive effect that has on relationships. For instance, your other sister. What’s her real name?”

  Both sisters spoke. “Agnes.”

  “Agnes. That’s a beautiful name as well. You see? The world would be a better place if we just treated each other with respect. Yes, even siblings. I should probably stop calling my brother ‘birdbrain’ so much, come to think of it.”

  Jacqueline nodded. “I agree. From now on, I promise to call you Gracie. I ask that you call me Jacqueline in return.”

  “Okay.”

  Annabella gave her a disapproving frown. “Okay, what?”

  “Okay… Jacqueline.”

  “There, was that so hard? Now give her a hug.”

  Both sisters turned to her sharply. “What?”

  “I’m serious. You’ll thank me later. Come on, stand up and hug it out.”

  Jacqueline and Gracie rose to their feet hesitantly, then shuffled away from the coffee table and stood close to the front door. They awkwardly tried to figure out whose arm should go where, then embraced. “I will speak with Mother,” Jacqueline said.

  “Don’t bother. I know everything anyway. College is a racket.”

  “You are always welcome to come visit us. We would love to show you the sights. And you’ve never been to our home.”

  “Uh, um… sure, that sounds great. Maybe we could play polo or buy a law firm together.”

  Jacqueline patted her back. “Smart aleck.”

  Annabella waved Gracie to her, and she put her arm around Gracie as they saw Jacqueline off. “Safe travels home. I’m looking forward to getting to know you and your family better.”

  Jacqueline nodded and slung her bag over her shoulder. “I’d like that. Agnes?”

  Gracie shrugged. “Agnes knows you, I think.”

  “No. Agnes, I’m so sorry.” Jacqueline strode over to Agnes, who looked at everyone dazedly. She stared ahead as Jacqueline put her arms around her and squeezed. “I’ll never hurt you again. Feel better.”

  “What’s happening?” Agnes’s voice was tiny.

  “I think Jacqueline is saying sorry for being such a bitch to you,” Gracie offered.

  “You… said her name. Her real name.”

  “Yeah, it’s a thing, I guess. I’ve got her to blame.” She looked up at Annabella and smiled.

  “Girlfriend.”

  Jacqueline walked over to Annabella and embraced her. “Yes, that appears to be the case. Thank you, for everything.”

  “She owns her own business too, Jack. Maybe she can give you some pointers.”

  Annabella grinned. “It�
�s a small salon. Nothing to write home about.”

  Jacqueline stepped back, her mouth agape. “Well, I… I… you shouldn’t be so modest. Business ownership is not for the timid.”

  “You’re preaching to the choir, sister.”

  Agnes rubbed her forehead in disbelief. “Girlfriend. Her.”

  Gracie cocked her head. “Well, yeah, Ag, I told you, we had a date, and things kinda went from there, and… why are you looking at us like that?”

  Agnes’s eyes rolled up into her head and she crumpled to the floor.

  CHAPTER 56: GENESIS

  James found himself transported to an ancient city he had visited before. This time, however, a scene of chaos and destruction surrounded him. Soldiers ran in all directions. City folk scrambled to take cover during the siege. James floated above the city and observed an attacking army at the city walls. Not merely on one side; they were on three sides and making a play for the fourth as archers did their best from the ramparts to impede their progress. The army had archers of their own, and a flurry of arrows brought down five archers, creating a weak point on the western wall.

  James floated back to ground level. A loud crash sounded, and screams tore through the city from the east. The king walked forward, flanked by his advisor. “What madness is this? They have touched the very walls of Nineveh.”

  “I fear they have breached the walls, your highness. It is best to take your leave at once.”

  The king struck his advisor’s cheek. Fury burned in his eyes at the suggestion. “I will not turn tail and run when Nineveh is at war! I am king, and it is I who shall command my armies to victory and vanquish this pestilence to the last man.”

  The advisor rubbed his cheek and shook his head. “You shall die a fool. I will take my leave, then.”

  The king was taken aback at this insolence. He called a soldier to him and ordered the advisor to be smashed with his mace. The soldier obeyed, and with a single swing of his mace the advisor was slain. The king thanked the soldier and commanded him to shore up the eastern defenses. The solder bowed and proceeded to the battle.

  The king spat on the remains of his former advisor and stepped away from the corpse. He surveyed the battle from afar, trembling at the sight of the western walls being overrun by enemies. He shouted at nearby soldiers to rush to their defense. Some obeyed, others went about their intended business.