by Willow Rose
“Look,” she said and started running towards it.
“Take it easy,” Manolo said, still exhausted from his recent efforts. Creating a big fire like that drained him completely of his energy. “We don’t know what is down there.”
But Sara could not be stopped. She ran as fast as she could through the sand that seemed to get heavier and deeper the closer she got. Behind her, Manolo tried to catch up but he, too, seemed to be slowed by the heavy sand.
As they got closer to the light, a big grotto of some sort appeared in front of them. The light inside of it came from an opening in the ceiling. In it they saw gold and silver in piles, and money in leather purses. Lots of money.
“A treasure?” Sara said and remembered the adventures she used to go on in the worlds of her spellbinding books.
She felt Manolo’s hand on her shoulder.
“Be careful,” he said. “This place is filled with evil. I sense it.”
So they stepped cautiously closer, touching none of the riches. But the closer Sara got to the gold, the more drawn to it she felt. She kept thinking of her family back in the camp, of the tribe. If she could bring just some of this gold with her back they wouldn’t have to travel from marketplace to marketplace and perform for petty cash any longer. They wouldn’t have to beg people to give them money and the winters would be less hard on them. It would change their lives forever. They could even have meat in the winter. Maybe Sara could buy her parents a bigger caravan to fit the whole family. She could give her father a new stallion since she was to blame for losing the only one he had left. Her mother could buy new dresses and her little brother…?
Sara sighed.
Well maybe they could afford to get him to a real doctor. But Sara knew Settela never would do that anyway.
“He doesn’t belong to this world,” she always said whenever Sara brought it up. “We don’t belong to this world. It is only our earthly bodies that do. We live in a pact with the spirits and nature and if they can’t cure us, no one can.”
Sara reached out just to try and touch the gold in front of her. The light from the hole in the ceiling above her was reflected in it and made it shine and seem even more alluring.
“Just one touch, can’t harm anyone, can it?” she mumbled while reaching her hand out. She could almost feel it between her fingers and with it followed its promises of a better life. A life where money was not a problem. A life when everyone was happy and needed nothing. A life where she would have everything she dreamed about.
Enough to eat. Her own horse. Nice clothing. Maybe some books to read. Sara was certain that those things would make her and her family happy. But humans are strange like that. Always wanting what is not good for them. And although Sara was a sorceress, she still had a human body with human needs and a human nature.
Just as her fingertips were about to touch the gold, Manolo grabbed her hand. He looked at her while pulling her hand away from it.
“Watch out,” he said. “It is damned.”
Sara looked at him like he was an idiot, which she at the moment thought he was. He was way too scared of everything, she thought, until he explained to her. He kept pulling her hand until they were out of reaching distance from the gold.
“Stay here for a second,” he said and let go of her hand. “Do not move one inch, okay?”
Sara nodded. But still her eyes were fixated on the riches that were right in front of her, those beautiful gold and silver pieces. She felt a little lightheaded just from staring at it. Imagine the life she could get. As she stared at it, her dreams became wilder and wilder. The gold gave her promises of a life in wealth and prosperity. She would have a mansion and not a stupid caravan to live in. And they had to have a car, that was for sure. And servants so she could tell them what to do and they would wait on her. Of course. All the things she desired.
“But I have to be careful,” she said to herself. “Careful that no one will steal it from me. Oh no, what horror. What if someone from the tribe was to take it? What if my parents steal it from me? I will have to find a place to hide it. A secret place that no one knows about. And I will have to guard the place day and night so no one will find it and take it from me. Because it is my treasure, and it belongs to no one else.”
She looked at Manolo as he found a rock and climbed it trying as it seemed to get to the hole in the vault where the light came in.
All the while Sara’s sweet heart quietly was deceived and poisoned by greed. Now she no longer thought of her little brother and getting him well. No, little by little she seemed to forget him and she looked at Manolo as was he sent by the devil himself.
She hissed at the very thought that Manolo would steal this treasure from her. That is why he wouldn’t let her touch it, she thought. He wanted everything to himself.
“But it is mine …” she said with a low voice. “It is all mine.”
She looked at the gold again and it was shining even brighter now, as if it wanted her to take it, like it knew it belonged to her. She felt so drawn that she had to move nearer to it, even though Manolo had told her not to. She just had to touch it with her hands. It was after all hers, it belonged to her now and it would make her happy. Oh what a joy, how happy she would get from holding it. She needed nothing more in her life than this.
She stepped further and stretched her arm out to touch it, and just feel it between her fingers. She had a longing so strong and powerful inside of her to keep it close to her heart and never let it go again.
But as she reached out the second before she touched it, the light disappeared from the grotto and in front of her eyes the gold turned all gray. She jumped back and looked at it again. Now it was nothing but rocks. Gray and hard rocks.
She looked up and saw Manolo. He had taken his jacket off and was covering the hole with it to remove the light.
“See,” he said. “It is all an illusion.”
Sara looked around her. All of the riches had turned to stone. There was no silver, no money and no gold. Only rocks, rocks and rocks.
“It is supposed to make you believe that it is gold. The reflection hypnotizes you and makes you want it even more and dream about a wealthy life. But this stuff won’t make you happy. It will keep you captive instead. It will take your soul from you and hold it as a prisoner for eternity.”
Shocked, Sara stepped away from the treasure and went back to where Manolo had asked her to stay.
“It lies to you and tricks you into touching it,” he continued. “But when you do it will catch you soul and it will burn for eternity.”
“How do you know that?” she asked.
He pointed at a coffin close to where she was standing.
“I looked in there,” he said. “You do that too and see for yourself.”
Sara wasn’t sure but did it anyway. She walked to the coffin, took in a deep breath and opened it.
Beads. It was full of big beads.
“What is this?”
”Look closer,” he said. “Pick one up and look inside of it.”
Sara did and held one of the beads and turned it in her hand. It seemed to be made of glass. But as she turned it she saw something. It was like a small face. It had its mouth wide open as if it was screaming.
Screaming of fear and pain.
Quickly she put it back in the coffin and closed the lid. Her heart was pounding in her chest.
“That is what happens to the soul of those who touch the gold,” Manolo said.
“It gets trapped inside one of the beads?”
“Yes.”
“How do they get out of there?”
“They don’t. They are held captive by the evil spirits and will burn in these beads for eternity because they let their heart get poisoned by greed. Even if it was only for one second, it is too late. You must always guard your heart against evil.”
Sara nodded.
”Now, can I come down from here and trust that you will not give into the temptation of the gold again?
”
“Yes.”
So he did. He removed the jacket and the light came back. Its bright light blinded Sara and she held her arm in front of her eyes to protect them. Manolo returned.
“Now let’s take the coffin,” he said.
Sara stared at him with surprise.
“Why?” she said.
“Because we need the beads. That is what we came here to get.”
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” she said.
He turned and looked at her.
“Would you have come?”
She shook her head.
“Probably not.”
So they lifted up the heavy coffin with the Beads of Souls and started carrying it towards the exit.
They didn’t get far, though, before someone tried to stop them. It began with a loud barking, like from a dog, a big dog, but just louder and much more powerful.
They looked at each other.
“Something is coming, we must hurry,” Manolo said.
They walked as fast as they could with the heavy coffin between them. Sara couldn’t escape the pictures of the screaming face inside the bead. She was so thankful that she had Manolo to protect her.
A loud barking filled the air again and it sounded like it was getting closer, and like there was more than just one dog, more likely a pack of dogs.
Sara felt the sweat running down her forehead. The arm that carried the coffin hut, and her legs kept sinking into the sand so she had a hard time running. Manolo was struggling too.
The more they ran, the more they sank into the sand. Sara fought with all of her strength to climb up but the more she did, the more she was stuck. Manolo had only one leg stuck and he let go of the coffin while he tried to pull her out of the sinking sand. He succeeded. She felt her feet let go and was now back on top. But as she bent down to lift the coffin up again she heard the barking and looked behind her.
Five huge black dogs were running the speed of the wind towards them, barking and snapping their teeth. Their glowing yellow eyes were lighting up.
“What are those?” Sara asked.
”Hell-hounds.”
They picked up the coffin in a hurry and started running but only seconds passed before the dogs had them surrounded.
They growled and snapped their teeth at them.
“Whatever you do, don’t look them straight in their eyes,” Manolo said. “If you do so more than three times you will die.”
Sara looked away.
“Why are they coming after us?”
“They hunt for lost souls. We have a coffin full of them.”
One of the dogs stepped closer and snapped at Sara. It had long pointy sharp teeth.
Sara shrieked. She looked at Manolo, expecting him to do something.
“What?” he said.
“Can’t you scare them off with some fire trick?”
“First of all, they are hell-hounds, so they are not scared of a little fire. Second, there is not enough oxygen in here to make a big fire. If I do create a fire it will use the rest there is left and we will suffocate.”
“Can’t you do something else?”
“Fire is all I do,” he said while avoiding one of the hounds snapping at him.
“So what do we do?”
Manolo looked her in her eyes. She felt a pinch in her heart.
“I guess it is up to you, then.”
“What?”
”Sara, look at me.”
She turned her head and looked at him again. Then he said with a deep comforting voice:
“It is time.”
Confused to what he wanted her to do she looked back at the hounds and accidentally looked one of them straight in the eye.
She put a hand over her eyes and moaned.
“Oh no.”
“It was only once. Just don’t do it again,” Manolo said.
The dogs came closer now and Sara felt their warm breath.
Sara closed her eyes trying to keep out the world, the hounds and their situation. She felt a calm come inside of her. Then she saw something. It was her little brother. He was crying stretching his arms out in the air like he wanted her.
“He needs me,” she said. “I am the only one who can save him!”
Then she opened her eyes and lifted both of her hands in to the air. And with them followed the five dogs. By her will to survive and the love for her brother, she lifted the dogs high into the air. The hounds were barking and snapping after them in the air, but Sara just lifted them higher and higher until they were under the ceiling. She kept them there and looked at Manolo.
“Now go and open the door,” she said.
He didn’t think for a second but turned around and ran towards the ancient wooden door. He tried to open it but it was locked. Then he recited the rhyme again.
“Dies … irae, dies … illa Solvet …. saeclum in favilla.”
But this time nothing happened. He tried again. And then again and again and again.
Still nothing.
Sara heard it and felt a pinch of fear in her heart. Just as she did, the hounds started falling from the ceiling. Manolo saw it and yelled at her.
“Never doubt yourself. Fear makes you lose your powers and drains your energy. You must focus on what you are doing completely and believe that you can do it. Can you do that for me?”
Sara nodded and concentrated again. She cleared her head and shut out Manolo’s troubles with the door. Then she lifted the hounds into the air again with all of her strength. She had to let nothing disturb her or break her concentration. But it was hard. She kept wondering why he couldn’t open the door. Then she thought of something. They were going out not in. It was the opposite.
She yelled at him:
“Try saying the rhyme backwards.”
So he did:
“Favilla in saeclum … Solvet illa … dies, irae …dies.”
A loud sound of the door unlocking filled the air. Sara felt a huge relief. Manolo opened the heavy door and went to get the coffin. She heard him drag it across the sand.
”Hurry up,” she said.
She was still concentrating but her hands had started to shake and she was sweating. She wasn’t sure she could hold them in that position much longer. She felt them slip downwards and couldn’t get them back up in the air.
She was running out of strength and struggling so hard she felt tears on her cheeks.
“I am ready,” she heard him say.
That was then she felt her legs give way and she tumbled to the ground.
Manolo ran towards her as the hounds landed on the ground again. He put her on his shoulders and carried her towards the open door. The sand felt thick and he struggled as he heard the dogs getting on their feet and begin to bark at him again. With his last strength, he began to run seeing the light from the outside in front of him, sensing it, feeling it even smelling the nature that was waiting for him. The beautiful flowers, the running rivers, the tall and strong trees.
But as he ran, his legs failed him and he fell in front the door—just two steps from it. Sara landed on the sand in front of him as he felt the breath of one of the hell-hounds on his neck and its paws on his back. Manolo panted, but then he looked at the sky outside and remembered. Oxygen was pouring in with the fresh air through the open door. So he formed a ball of fire between his hands and even though hell-hounds are not afraid of fire they still don’t like to touch it, let alone be hit by a ball of it. So he threw the ball at the dog and caused it to fly back to the ground.
Then he grabbed Sara and pulled her outside.
As he closed the big heavy door, he heard the hounds gasping and barking on the other side.
Then he fell to the ground with exhaustion next to Sara.
13
THE SHIELD OF TRUTH
Never had Sara slept so soundly as she did outside of the cave. When at last she opened her eyes, the sky over her head had turned velvety black even though the sun hadn’t set yet. She stretc
hed and was happy to feel miraculous strength in her limbs.
When she stood up and looked around, she saw a forest with great trunks as high and thick as church towers. At its entrance the small black cloud seemed to be waiting for them.
“That is Vamila, the forest of vanity,” a voice said close to her. She looked and saw Manolo sitting by a campfire. The coffin with the beads of souls was sitting right next to him and he was emptying it, putting the beads gently into his bag. Twenty five souls, he had counted.
Sara jumped to her feet and hugged him.
He smiled and hugged her back while she grabbed some of the bread he was holding in his hand and ate it like she hadn’t eaten in weeks.
“So we are going through this forest?”
“Yes it seems like the cloud wants us to. It is not a long journey to get through, but it might be difficult.”
“Why?”
“Only someone pure at heart comes through. And don’t think it is only the wise, brave or good people that manages to get through, and the cowardly, stupid and wicked that is kept out. No, it is not like that at all. There have been stories about stupid fools and treacherous knaves that have gone right through while decent, sensible people have given up. And it seems to make no difference whether the person trying to pass through has some serious reason or whether he’s just come for the fun of it.”
“So how do we get through?” Sara asked and drank some water.
Manolo got up from the rock he was sitting on.
“We put one foot in front of the other,” he said and strapped his guitar on his back.
On her way through the luminous forest Sara felt quite uplifted, and soon she decided to stop worrying about anything and just went wherever the giant trees left a path open for them. Manolo followed a few steps behind, looking ever so anxious. How he could keep that heavy-minded mood in these beautiful and glowing surroundings, she had a hard time understanding. To her it was like every step she took made her lighter and her troubles smaller and less important. And little by little she seemed to forget why she was even going through. She forgot her parents sorrow and her worry for her little brother.