“O … kay,” said Summer, her head spinning even more. “And the how? You didn’t answer that one.”
“It’s a gift. It’s complicated,” said Robert. The blue mist swirled around him a third time, and when it cleared … well, he was still the same age, but he looked like he could be an older version of himself. Actually, he looked a lot like their dad. “This is what I actually look like now. Oh, and here we are. My home most of these twenty-six years.” They emerged into a clearing where they found a small circular house. Robert walked in the front door without hesitation, gesturing for them to follow, which they did.
“It’s my father-in-law’s house, actually,” Robert continued, closing the door behind them. “But Marno works for Amber, and she only gives him a day’s leave each week. He’s lucky to get that, and he hasn’t had it in two weeks. I do worry about him. Amber’s been especially testy of late, due to the impending battle.”
“Father-in-law,” Summer repeated. “Those usually indicate that a person’s…”
“Married? Yes, I am,” Robert answered, tapping a ring on his left hand. He then pointed to a puddle of water in the kitchen doorway. “That’s what remains of Linette, my wife. Amber turned her into an ice statue two weeks ago as punishment for Marno not returning to her castle in time, and ice doesn’t last long in this heat, what with it being eternal summer and all.” For a few moments, the grin melted from his face as he stared at the puddle, a muscle in his jaw tightening. At that moment … he looked almost like Granite.
“Wow,” said Summer, sinking down onto a couch as she shook her head to dismiss that thought. “That’s a lot to process. So, uh, wow. Twenty-six years. You’re married.”
“I’m forty-four and have been married for just over twenty-two years,” Robert offered.
“Twenty-two years? Do you have any kids?” Tyler asked.
“A son, Noraeto, he just turned twenty-one,” Robert answered. “He’s currently in Klarand with Reuben, Petra, and Ashna.”
“Ashna? Who? Do you mean Ashley?” asked Summer.
“Ashna is her real name, but it would have given her no help for blending in with your world,” said Robert. “Now come, let’s get the two of you into clean clothes and then off to Klarand where you’ll be relatively safer.”
He led them upstairs where he gave Tyler a set of Noraeto’s clothing and let Summer borrow one of Linette’s dresses. The dress fit terribly and was a drab brown, but Robert said that she probably wouldn’t need to wear it very long. Still, if her once-beautiful turquoise dress hadn’t been so soiled from the dungeon, she would have passed.
“Now, to Klarand,” Robert announced, once they were both changed and back in the living room. “It’s not that far. Well, it is, but we’ll be taking shortcuts so it won’t be a long walk.”
“What sort of shortcuts?” asked Tyler.
“That’ll spoil the fun,” said Robert, grinning – at least his grin was still him. After the never-smiling Granite, seeing the smile on this older Robert was almost painful. Like a nail in a coffin – every hope she had for returning to a normal, sane life was irrevocably gone. “Just follow me and enjoy the adventure.”
Summer was less than happy with this idea, but there was nothing to be done as she and Tyler followed him through the forest. It was her brother, and she supposed they could trust him, but seeing him old and … old was just plain disorienting. She asked him if he could age himself down again, but he apparently preferred to look his real age and to not risk being mistaken for Granite. Summer decided to take the second excuse.
The promised “shortcut” proved to be a woven doormat at the base of a tree, a Haric door, Robert called it. One by one, they stepped on it, said a magic word, and were instantly spirited away to a library, which didn’t help the dizzy feeling in the pit of Summer’s stomach. She was done with rapid scene changes today.
“Welcome to the Bookholder’s library,” Robert announced as soon as they were all there. “This is also where Ashna grew up, by the way, since her father is the Bookholder. Don’t expect to find him here today, though. Amber took him when he froze my wife.”
There was that look again, the faltered grin, the tightened jaw muscle.
“Amber’s terrible, we know,” said Summer, not sure what else to say. “Tyler and I just spent … we don’t know how long in her dungeons while she tried to goad information about Petra out of us. It wasn’t fun.”
“I wouldn’t imagine it would be,” said Robert, his frown darkening, and it was almost frightening how much the frown resembled Granite’s. “Come on, we’re not to Klarand yet.”
He guided them through a maze of bookshelves and then out into a grand hallway that reminded Summer of some of the larger ones in Amber’s castle. This one was friendlier by far, though, despite being clearly abandoned.
“The quickest route to Alphego’s Hill is through the throne room,” said Robert as he opened another door.
“Alphego’s Hill?” repeated Summer. “I thought we were going to Klarand.”
“Alphego’s Hill is the fastest way to get to Klarand and by far the most practical,” Robert answered. “Besides, I have the oddest feeling that the two of you need to visit the throne room while we have the chance.”
“Why?”
“Just come on. I’ll show you,” said Robert, disappearing through the doorway and down a spiral staircase of all things.
Summer frowned, glancing sidewise at Tyler. “If I never see another spiral staircase again in my life it will be too soon.”
Tyler took her hand. “Come on. We need to take this message to Petra. Maybe she’ll deal with Amber quickly, and then we’ll be able to go home and forget about this place.”
“Or we could get stuck here twenty-six years like Robert apparently did.”
Fortunately, this spiral staircase was nowhere near as tall as any that Laura had taken them through and they were going down.
They soon emerged on a stage behind six thrones. Robert was standing in front of the thrones, so they skirted around them to join him.
“Six thrones. That’s a little excessive, don’t you think?” observed Summer, glancing at her brother.
“There were eight here,” said Robert. “For the Eight of Rizkaland. Our parents.”
“What?”
“Well, I suppose you probably didn’t hear much, locked in the Dragon’s castle as you were, what with her reputation for not letting people know anything,” Robert continued. “But our parents lived here once, back at the beginning of this world. They ruled for forty years, and most everyone here is descended from them. Unless they’re elves in which case, they trace their ancestry to Shanner and Fnae.”
“Laura did say something about that while she was trying to get us to follow her here,” Tyler admitted.
Robert nodded. “They were kings and queens here. Their children – the children born to them in this world, not us – took their thrones after they returned to our world. There was an unbroken line for two thousand years before Amber came and killed all eight of them in one blow.”
“That’s … morbid, I guess,” said Summer, raising an eyebrow. “But frankly, not something I’d put past her. She’s crazier than Petra. What does that have to do with us, though, beyond a family history lesson?”
“Sarah and I forwent our claim to these thrones and instead passed it to Noraeto and Ashna who did choose to accept,” Robert explained. “Reuben and Petra also accepted when they were given the choice. That leaves two thrones left to fill since two disappeared. My best guesses are that they belong to either the two of you or our cousins, Alex and Edna.”
“And since Summer and I are already here,” said Tyler, “it’s probably us.”
“I’m just following logic,” said Robert. “You can’t fault me for that.”
“Fine, I’ll give you logic,” said Summer. “So, assuming that we are meant to … have thrones five and six, how would we know for sure?”
“Oh, it’s simple
,” said Robert. “Do you see the boxes on those two thrones on the left?”
Each of the six thrones had a crown on its seat cushion. The two on the left also had necklaces. The pendants on the chains looked like small boxes, so Summer guessed that they were what Robert meant.
“What about them?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.
“If you can open them, it would mean that Alphego has chosen you as the heirs to the thrones,” Robert explained. “Or so I’ve been told.”
“Gotcha.” Summer gave a few bouncing nods, then spun around to face her brother, folding her arms over her chest. “Who is Alphego and why does he have a hill?”
“Alphego is the name we call God in the native tongue of this world,” said Robert. “And according to Legend, it was on Alphego’s Hill that He stood to make this world.”
“I see.” Summer nodded a few more times. “So, if we open the boxes, we’re expected to be a king and queen? As in a long-term commitment to living in this world?”
“If you succeed in opening the boxes, yes,” Robert answered. “Can’t say for certain how long it will be, but from history, I would estimate between twenty to forty years.”
“We know practically nothing about this world, and we certainly have no love for it,” Summer declared, throwing up her hands. “Why would we possibly be good choices? We’re irresponsible teenagers. Why would we possibly want to do it? What would make us want to live twenty years here, let alone forty?”
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s entirely up to the two of you,” said Robert. “I won’t and can’t force you into any decision you aren’t comfortable with. However, there are some things that I would like you to know. This world may be strange to you, but I’ve been here twenty-six years, and it has become my home. There are some good people here that I care about very much. You may have suffered cruelly at Amber’s whim, but so have they, and Petra’s going to take care of that Dragon. The people are going to need new rulers once she’s gone. Rizkaland is different from our world. We require multiple kings and queens to achieve our balance of power.”
“Why did you turn it down? Why aren’t you being a king here if it means so much to you?” Summer demanded.
Robert glanced away and shook his head. “I came too soon, and a different path was prepared for me.”
With that, he stepped off of the dais and disappeared through a door.
“I hate it when people think they can guilt us into things,” said Summer, rolling her eyes as she turned to face Tyler since her brother was gone. “I vote run for the hills screaming.”
“It sounds like Alphego’s Hill is the nearest, but I don’t think that it’s the best place to run to in this situation,” Tyler answered. “It sounds like that’s where we’re headed next.”
Summer frowned. “I was speaking metaphorically.”
He gave a small, hesitant smile. “I know. My sister does it all of the time. Still, those boxes.” He turned back towards the thrones and frowned at them for a minute or so. At length, he released a long breath as he shook his head. “It’s a tough decision with no easy answer.”
“My vote is still those metaphorical hills,” Summer declared.
Tyler glanced back at her. “Somehow, I don’t think our parents would approve of that idea. Robert says that they were kings and queens here, too. If he’s telling the truth, they’d expect us to step up and accept this responsibility.”
“You know, it’s entirely possible that he isn’t Robert,” Summer pointed out. “He didn’t look a thing like himself when we first met him, and he certainly doesn’t anymore.”
“You were the one who recognized him first,” Tyler pointed out. “You specifically identified him as Robert.”
“Well, it certainly wasn’t Reuben. His face is slightly wider,” answered Summer, automatically. Then she sighed. “I guess you do have a point. As much as Granite looked like my brothers, he still was … completely different. With this Robert, well … it looked like him, not Reuben, and even when he doesn’t look like himself, he still acts like Robert.”
“So you are inclined to believe it’s him?”
“I’m inclined to not know what to believe.”
“You know, it sounded as though we won’t necessarily succeed even if we do try to open the boxes,” Tyler pointed out.
“But he did say that there was a very good chance we would. Logic and all.”
“Yeah.” Tyler was silent as he regarded the necklaces again. “Honestly, I think we ought to try. I mean, if it’s Alphego’s decision and Alphego is really what they call God here … then I really don’t want to be running from something that He wants me to do. I mean, Jonah tried running and only ended up in the belly of a fish, and then he still had to do what God had asked him to do in the first place. I don’t know about you, but I personally don’t want to risk being eaten by a fish.”
“I honestly doubt that a fish is going to eat us. We aren’t anywhere near water,” said Summer.
“After jumping through doors with Laura into weird worlds, eating the food that Amber magically produced with her table, and watching your brother change his age at whim, I’m not sure what to put past life anymore,” said Tyler. “They could have air fish.”
“Eh, I guess you have a point. So you honestly think we should do this? Pretty much sacrifice our lives for this world that we barely know?”
“Why don’t we do it for Reuben and Petra?” answered Tyler. “It sounds like they already signed themselves over to ruling this place and I’m sure they would appreciate our help.”
“Then they’re stupid,” said Summer, tossing her hair. Then she shook her head with a heavy sigh. “Every bit of me is rebelling against this idea, but I you’re right, I guess. I don’t want Reuben and Petra dealing with this all by themselves – even if they have Ashley and that Noraeto helping. They’ll try to make everything more complicated than it actually is.”
On that impulse, she reached over and picked up the golden necklace that lay on the throne nearest to her. Immediately, the box’s lid sprang open and slid around to rest on the back of the box. She swallowed and turned to Tyler, fighting down the immediate regret and disappointment surging through her. “Well, I guess that settles it. Your turn?”
He nodded and picked up the remaining silver box. It also opened immediately.
“No turning back now,” he said, turning to face her as the room exploded in white light.
Chapter 5
We’re not nearly ready yet, Reuben.
Reuben flashed Petra a grin and sent an encouraging thought as he sat down on the couch next to her. They had chosen to meet privately with Ashna and Noraeto in Petra’s bedroom to discuss the events of the coming battle and what would happen afterward if they won. Ashna sat on the end of Petra’s bed. Noraeto had an armchair. Laura had tagged along and sat at Petra’s desk, fidgeting with some papers.
“Ashna and I have learned how to make a tree grow with our flutes,” said Noraeto.
“Awesome,” said Petra, as she folded her hands in her lap. “No idea how to use that in our battle against Amber.”
“The battle is only for the two of you,” Ashna pointed out. “Not for us.”
“Ah, yes, One shall speak the other’s death,” said Petra. “I’m afraid that I still don’t know any deplorable words that can kill Amber simply by saying them since I haven’t gained any since acquiring these powers. Isn’t speaking more your style, Ashna?”
This was a thought that had occurred to Reuben and Petra the night before, and they hadn’t had a chance to speak with anyone about it until now.
Ashna shook her head. “If you’re talking about a Bookdaughter’s ability to Speak, I can tell you with absolute certainty that the prophecy doesn’t mean that under any stretch of the imagination. Father had me translate that prophecy from Rizkan. The Rizkan word I translated into ‘speak’ was Alir, while the word for a Bookdaughter’s Speech would have been Antica.”
Reube
n frowned, but Petra gave a slow nod. “Well, it was worth a shot, anyway,” she said. “That word just has to be important – it’s the only thing that even remotely refers to the how of the battle in any of the prophecies about me. Unfortunately, it seems to refer to one of us saying some magical word or phrase that will kill the other and … I know that I don’t know any words like that, nor do I think my power works like that. I don’t want it to work like that. Which appears to sway the battle in Amber’s favor.”
“Amber doesn’t have any of that sort of magic, either,” Laura spoke up. “Almost all of the magic in her possession is in the form of some magical trinket or bauble that she or one of the previous queens of Luna collected over the course of many thousands of years. The exceptions are a few potions, but not many. She doesn’t like that sort of magic since they’re limited in the number of times you can use them. She certainly doesn’t have anything verbal – a few of her items do require a word or two to activate them, but none of those have the power to kill you. Feed you, yes, but not kill you.”
Reuben turned to face the young girl, an eyebrow raised. “Well, that’s good to know.”
Petra’s mind chewed through Laura’s revelation faster than Reuben’s could. “Laura, sweetheart,” she said after a moment. “You speak as though you’re well-acquainted with Amber’s collection of magic.”
Laura stood, half shrugging. “Well, I don’t know it as well as I’ll know it someday,” she admitted, “but I do know a good deal of what she has. I do know for certain that she doesn’t have anything that will kill with a word. My older self made sure I knew that.”
“A good deal is more than any of us can boast,” said Petra. “Alyce, would it be too much for us to ask you to make a list of every magical item that you know Amber has in her possession? Even an incomplete list can still give us a better idea of what we’ll be up against.”
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