by Gene Curtis
“Before I came to The Seventh Mountain, my mother was working for a man named Compton. She acted as his agent and bought the Sumerian journal at an auction. I’m pretty sure he was a Neo-Phylum. I believe my mother was trying to quit working for him or get out of the Neos because she left the journal for me to find.
“The dagger was something she wore. I’m sure it’s an ancient artifact with some type of power, but I don’t have a clue what it could be. Compton killed her with it. He cleaned it and left it lying on her. Long story short, I killed him with it.
“My sister, Ruby, killed my grandfather just after Mark rescued him from the labyrinth. That’s when I learned my sister is a Neo-Phylum. So was my grandfather. I suspect my grandmother is a Neo-Phylum too, but I’m not a hundred percent on that and she may be dead.
“My sister and I were close when I was growing up. She wants me to be with her. I’m pretty sure she’s the one behind the kidnapping attempt. She’ll probably try again.”
Cap’n Ben asked, “Your whole family is Neo-Phylum?”
“My brother Jessie isn’t and neither is my father.”
“But still, that’s scary.”
“You don’t know the half of it.”
Tears filled Jamal’s eyes when he got up and put his arms around her, “Your family is shattered.”
She hugged him back and whispered. “I’m okay.” She turned back to the group and continued, “I’m scared... not for myself, but for you guys. Ruby will probably try to use one of you to get to me.”
Everyone was quiet for a moment and then Chenoa said, “We need to go on the offensive.”
“Yeah!” Cap’n Ben stood and after a moment looked a little embarrassed when no one else did.
Mark shook his head, “We may be pre-chosen, but going after them with just the seven of us is not a good idea. We need a plan, and in order to make a plan we need information.”
LeOmi said, “I can tell you as much about them as I know which isn’t much.” Everyone kept staring at her but didn’t say anything. “Well, it all started a few thousand years ago. They found out that they could use their powers for material gain, wealth, power, that sort of thing. A lot of them got together and decided they wanted world peace because that would increase their ability to make money and gain power. Nothing they tried worked and they soon realized the only way to achieve world peace is to have just one government for the entire world. Enter Benrah and his plan. With him in charge, the Neo-Phylum would be the ruling elite with the world’s treasure at their fingertips.
“Throughout the centuries they’ve collected artifacts that he needs in order to establish and maintain control of the world. They’re not known for being subtle when collecting something. They are formidable; many are fully trained ex-Magi.”
Mark asked, “Any idea on how many there are?”
“All totaled throughout the world, probably about a million.”
“We’re going to need a plan that doesn’t look like an attack. I want everyone to start trying to figure out what the details of Benrah’s plan might be. That’s all for tonight, see you Monday at Orientation.”
CHAPTER TWO
The Lake
Later that night LeOmi’s sleep became fitful. In the dream, she was standing beside a large lake. The ground was sandy, dry and the vegetation was thin. A breeze was blowing, warm and dry, with the mild scent of fresh olive oil. This area seemed familiar to her, like a past battle maybe; or was it something else?
“Hi there.” The voice startled her since it came from behind. She turned and was surprised to see Raphael. He was holding out a pack of gum. “Care for a piece?”
She had met him last year in one of Mark’s Dream Casts. In that dream, he had brought gourmet hamburgers for everyone. Mark had met him in that cave of fear where he recovered and destroyed what everyone thought was the power source for the sunstone. Raphael was an archangel and according to Mrs. Shadowitz a bit of a jokester.
She reached out and took a piece of gum. “Interesting flavor; what is it?”
“What else? Angel food cake.” He smiled.
She shook her head, “Note to self, don’t encourage him.”
“Ah, no sense of humor.”
She turned and started walking closer to the lake and he walked beside her. “I have a sense of humor; it’s just that that was the obvious joke. I’d have said something like, ‘It’s your dream, mine tastes like dirty socks smell. Is that the flavor you like?’ ”
“Kind of gross, but I see your point.”
“So what brings you here?”
“Bare feet, my socks are dirty.” He pointed down at his feet, which were indeed bare.
LeOmi smiled.
He smiled back, “Note to self, she does have a sense of humor, just barely.”
LeOmi’s smile widened. “You’re here for a reason.”
“That’s true enough. I have something to say that’s going to go against your grain.”
“Well, it must be important or you wouldn’t be here.”
He pointed to the hills a few miles away. “Right up there you’re going to find a cave and you going there will lead you to get into a fight with your sister. You’ll have three opportunities to end the fight yourself. First, you can just go with her before the fight starts. Second, you’ll gain the upper hand and be able to take her life. Third, you’ll have a chance to remanifest. The correct answer is none of the above. You should let her win; put up a good fight and all, but let her kidnap you.”
“You’re right; it does go against the grain... Is the staff in or around that cave? Is that why I’m here?” LeOmi had no idea what the staff was supposed to look like or what powers it had. She assumed that it was the staff named Beauty and was the companion to the staff named Bands. At least that’s what the prophecy had called them: Beauty and Bands. It was obvious that Mark’s staff was Bands since that was how it was constructed.
“I can talk about Ruby; she’s completed her destiny. I can talk to you about the fight since it doesn’t impact your destiny, well, not exactly. I can’t talk about the staff. I’m not even supposed to hint at when or where it will be found, but you already have the clues you need in order to find it.”
“Why can’t you talk about it?”
“It’s complicated, but it comes down to free will. If any of us ever crosses the line and gives advance information before it’s destined to be given, then that gives Benrah the right to meddle too. When that happens it subjugates your right to choose.”
LeOmi thought for a moment. “The sunstone, isn’t that a violation?”
Raphael burst out laughing, “You do have a sense of humor.”
“No! I’m serious. By what you said, the sunstone should be a violation; it gives advance knowledge of events.”
He continued laughing, “I used Benrah to deliver the sunstone to The Seventh Mountain at the proper time. I love irony. He delivered one of the—” He caught himself and slowly stopped laughing. “I can’t talk about that.”
She stopped walking and looked out over the lake. “Why should I let Ruby kidnap me?”
“You’re a bright girl, can you guess?”
“From what I know of you it could be some clever plan to get Benrah to just hand me the staff.”
“That would be great don’t you think. He doesn’t know where the staff is and he’ll do whatever he can to keep you from getting it.”
She thought for a moment, “So Ruby wants to keep me from getting the staff. If she can kidnap me then she’ll think she’s won, but since I’ll end up with the staff one way or another, her efforts are meaningless. That means you’re using me either as a red herring or as bait for something else. I hope it’s a red herring since bait never fares well.”
“It’s neither, and both. Destined events are set not in time or people but in events. The events are usually a group of things in relation to each other. There are many possible paths to any particular destined event. It’s a person’s choice or
set of choices that determines the path she takes. Sometimes the choices and consequences are fairly clear, most times they are fuzzy, rarely they’re completely unpredictable. The path I’m asking you to take could end in your death, but any path you choose could end in your death, just slightly more so on this path. The staff will end up in your hand if you live. If you die, it will end up in the hand of the one that takes your place. The path I’m asking you to consider is the straightest path.”
“Is Ruby likely to kill me?”
“It’s not likely. All of Benrah’s people are under orders not to kill you or any of the pre-chosen; however, torture is an option they are apt to use. If you die, it will be a result of your own choices. It won’t happen by accident or by Benrah’s hand, although Ruby still has a free will. I suggest not making her too mad.”
LeOmi smiled, “I’ll try not to. Out of curiosity, who’ll take my place if I die?”
“Chenoa, most likely, but Salina is a possibility too. It’s not about the people, it’s about the events.” He looked out over the lake. “Think about what I’ve said. If you live, the staff will end up in your hands, and you’re not likely to die. I’ll see you again.” He faded and was gone from her dream.
She continued looking out over the lake taking in the details of what it looked like and wondering why this lake seemed so important.
* * *
The Oasis was closed for breakfast except for first level sophomores on the first day of Orientation. James and Salina were in there. This would be an all day test for them to determine their preferred method of doing things.
The rest of Mark’s group had decided to meet at the Pink Giraffe, a buffet style restaurant with American cuisine. The place was crowded but they managed to find a place where two tables could be pushed together.
Shana and her assistant, Jeremy, arrived just after everyone had filled their plates and came to the table. “Good morning everyone, I’ve got your assignments for today. Testing will begin at nine o’clock sharp, four points per minute for being late.” She looked at a paper she was carrying. “Cap’n Ben, you need to be in the gymnasium; Chenoa, hangar three at the air field; Jamal, culinary classroom; Nick, engineering classroom; LeOmi and Mark, healing ward. Sorry, no questions today. I’m sure you remember from last year, today is a testing day, don’t expect any help from faculty or staff, they can’t give it. I’ll see you this evening.” She turned and walked to another table where a few of her other students were sitting.
Jeremy stayed and took out a notepad. “Hi guys. Did any of you get your second stone for your signet yet?”
Mark said, “LeOmi and I didn’t get a chance to finish the test.”
“Everyone finished the test. Only the first hundred questions were required.” He made a note on his pad.
Chenoa raised her hand showing her signet. “Mine’s Onyx.”
Cap’n Ben said, “Don’t feel bad, Mark. Almost no one figures it out.”
Chenoa added, “I didn’t really figure it out. I went in to have my signet cleaned and when they gave it back the second stone was set in it.”
Cap’n Ben said, “They can’t tell you today, but almost everything here is a test. It’s not about putting the right answer on a piece of paper either. Most of it is about figuring stuff out for yourself and then acting on what you know.”
Jamal asked, “How’d you figure that out?”
“After I got tagged by Mr. Fairbanks I lost a lot of points. It’s what caused me to flunk my third year. I asked to quit the tag game. Ms. Vanmie said I couldn’t, even if I never selected anyone to tag I’d still be in the book and anyone could select me as a target. We had a discussion on life lessons, more of a lecture now that I think about it. She said that life lessons are staged all the time here. Those that don’t figure that out don’t make it very far in the school.”
Mark said, “She told me basically the same thing.”
LeOmi asked, “Are you saying that they’re brainwashing us?”
Nick took a sip of coffee and answered, “Not at all. Think about it. They encourage you to explore things and take chances. They don’t tell you what to explore or what chances to take. They want you to make the choices based on what you know and what you want. They also want you to make some mistakes; that’s the way you really learn. They want you to figure things out for yourself as much as possible. The rules, like being on the grounds after dark are there to keep you from getting eaten. You won’t learn much after you’re a midnight snack.”
Jeremy interrupted, “Guys, I need to catch up with Shana. I’ll see you this evening.”
Everyone waved casually and LeOmi continued the conversation. “I know that, it’s just the way that Cap’n Ben explained it. I’d have just said it differently, like hands-on training or something.”
“I didn’t mean it to sound sinister.” Cap’n Ben looked a little self-conscious. “It’s just that it’s the way it was explained to me.”
“I didn’t mean to embarrass you. It’s just the way I think. The other night I even tried to correct Raphael’s humor. He said the chewing gum he gave me was angel food cake flavored. I thought that was a bit cliché and told him so.”
Mark asked, “You had a dream with Raphael in it? Has anyone else?”
No one said anything except LeOmi. “Guess I’m the only one. It wasn’t anything special. I was beside a large lake near some tall hills. I had the feeling that the lake was important. Raphael showed up and told me I was going to have a fight with my sister.”
Jamal asked, “The one that wants to kidnap you?”
She nodded, “Nothing new there. What I figure is since the lake is important and Ruby is going to confront me there it must have something to do with the staff.”
Nick pulled out a tablet computer and asked, “What did the lake look like?”
“I’m pretty sure I was looking north, the sun was behind me, but that would be wrong if I was in the southern hemisphere. It looked about as far across it as Lake Salvador in New Orleans did. I’d say five or six miles. The soil was sandy and the vegetation was sparse like it was on the edge of a desert, like it is around the air field here.”
After a few minutes of messing with his computer, Nick said, “That narrows it down to about three hundred thousand. How was the terrain? What color was the water?”
“The water was very blue and the lake had hills on the side where I was and on the side directly across.”
A moment later he said, “That narrows it down to fifty thousand or so. Could you see the shore to the east or west?”
“Just barely.”
“Okay, we’re down to about seven hundred. Anything else that might help?”
“I don’t know... I thought I smelled olive trees.”
“That gives a workable number of ninety-three in seven countries: the US, Spain, Turkey, Greece, Morocco, Syria and Italy; all northern hemisphere. Where would you like to start?”
A tapping on Mark’s shoulder turned his attention from the group; it was Ricky Barnes.
“Um, hi. Sorry to interrupt, but I just couldn’t wait any longer.” Tears began trickling down his cheeks. “I’m so sorry for what I did last year and I had to tell you.” He squatted to become eye to eye. “Please forgive me.”
He looked behind Ricky; Slone and some of his group were sitting at the closest table and all were watching Ricky. “I forgave you before you asked. We all make mistakes. I’ve made some doozies.”
Ricky stood and offered his hand, “Thank you.”
Mark stood and took his hand, “Friends?”
“Friends.”
When he turned back, everyone was staring wide-eyed and with their mouths open.
CHAPTER THREE
Orientation Testing
The gymnasium was on the first level in the interior of the mountain about a quarter mile from the picnic area. Cap’n Ben was only a minute late but there wasn’t an instructor or staff person anywhere in sight and no indication of where he
was supposed to go. The place was crowded with patrons. Many were waiting to get into the various workout rooms, which he could see through the large windows, were also packed with people on every machine.
Most of the people were not students. He knew most of the students that used the gym on a regular basis since he worked as an assistant here on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but this was a Monday. He didn’t know the regular schedule for Mondays. He asked the lady closest to him, “Do you have any idea where the hired help is?”
She responded in French, “I don’t speak English.”
He asked again in French and she responded, “I do not know. We are invited here from The Second Mountain. Is this the way you treat guests?”
“Absolutely not! Pardon me; I’m going to see if I can find out what is going on.”
He left her and made his way to the front counter. Using the intercom, he paged all three floors of the entire building. “All third year sophomores report to the front counter.” He repeated the call in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Arabic and Swahili, all the common languages around the world. After all, he was sure this had to be the test and if the students here had been taken to one of the other mountains, the student testing for the other mountains would be happening here. If not, then things needed to get organized and he was the only one he knew of available to take charge.
Five minutes later eight students were standing in front of the counter looking to Cap’n Ben for direction. When it was apparent that no one else was likely to show up, he said, “Okay, it looks like this is the test. We’ve got a lot of people here from the other mountains. Each of us will take a section and get things running as smoothly as we can. Who wants weight training?”
Three boys and one girl raised their hands, “Okay, Frank, you take the weight room. Samantha, you okay with the machines?”
She nodded. Cap’n Ben nodded back and waved his finger indicating she should get started. “Aerobics?”