Eighth Fire

by Curtis, Gene

  Chenoa gave Salina a disgusted look and put the riotous away. Mark asked, “Why on Earth would you want to kiss me? We don’t even know each other.”

  “You’re the guy whose statue is in front of the school.”

  Mark pointed at Jamal, Nick and Chenoa, “So are these guys.”

  Chenoa sat back down and said, “She’s in Slone’s crew.”

  Mark nodded, frowned and said, “Please leave us alone.”

  The girl shook her head hard enough to make her ringlets slap on her cheeks. “I am not in Slone’s crew.”

  “You were with him in the bookstore and you kissed him.”

  “Oh, yeah; I thought I recognized you. You were the girl looking at those trashy novels.”

  Chenoa’s face began to get a bit darker. “They were romance novels and don’t change the subject. If you’re not in Slone’s crew then why did you kiss him?”

  “If it’s any of your business, I kissed him on a whim because he asked me to and he is cute.”

  LeOmi was smiling, “And you think Mark’s cute?”

  “He is cute and the bravest person I’ve ever heard of. He is the one that rescued those people last year, right?”

  Mark said, “I’m him, but that doesn’t give you the right to just walk up and kiss me.”

  “How else was I going to get your attention? You’d never notice me otherwise. I want to be your girlfriend. You don’t have one. I know; I asked around.”

  “I don’t want a girlfriend, besides I don’t even know your name.”

  “Salina Hawthorne, and whoever heard of a teenage boy that didn’t want a girlfriend?”

  Cap’n Ben said sort of hopefully, “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

  Salina said, “Week old pizza or a sizzling New York Strip steak? Let me see...I have to think on that.”

  Jamal steepled his hands with his elbows on the table, “Salina, you are being rather rude. Perhaps you could get an education on how to attract a guy by reading some of those romance novels yourself.”

  “Rude or not, it’s all a matter of perspective. I have read a couple of romance novels and they were trash. I may be just a freshman, but I guarantee you one thing. Mark will remember me for the rest of his life. When he needs a friend to hold him or someone to confide in,” she looked at Chenoa and then at LeOmi, “and either of you two fail to provide what he needs, he’ll remember me. When you’re not there for him, I will be.”

  Mark countered, “Salina, you’ve got it wrong. Our purpose as friends is to serve The Seventh Mountain and stand against Benrah. There is no romance going on here. Our love for each other is based on respect, skills and a driving need to defeat Benrah.”

  “And to win Flags matches,” Cap’n Ben joked.

  Salina ignored Cap’n Ben and nodded knowingly, “Wanna’ bet?”

  Nick asked, “What makes you think you can get Mark anyway?”

  Cap’n Ben interjected, “You can’t catch a rabbit unless you chase a rabbit. That’s what my great grandpa used to say.”

  Mark said, “Pull out a chair and join us. That way you get to know us and see what we’re about.”

  Salina grinned and sat down before anyone could object. Shana said, “I’ll let your counselor know you’re here,” before leaving.

  James asked, “What tribe are you in?”

  Salina held out her hand so everyone could see her signet. “Beryl. My primary motivation is gathering knowledge, analyzing it and distilling it enough to make it easy to understand and apply. I also have the innate ability to observe connections and relationships intuitively.”

  James said, “I never thought about it, but my counselor did say our signet stones represent our motivation. Do you know Agate’s motivation?”

  “Sure, I know them all. Agate’s motivation is teaching, Emerald’s is keeping everyone in groups like a shepherd, Onyx is seen as stubbornness, everything is black and white to them, nothing in between, Jasper is organization and administration, Ruby is about starting great projects, getting it going and then letting someone else take it over so they can move on—”

  Jamal interrupted, “Why do you do that?”

  “Do what?”

  “Use that irritating squeaky voice?”

  Salina’s voice dropped two octaves, “Now whose being rude?”

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. It’s just that I sense it’s a total fabrication; it’s not you; it’s fake.”

  “Of course it’s fake. Did you ever have to go to public school in New Jersey? Normal kids don’t like smart kids.”

  Jamal answered, “New York; got the tee-shirt to prove it; and, if you haven’t noticed, no normal kids here.”

  “I should have realized. I do it now out of habit more than anything else. I’ll try not to.”

  A tall, skinny red headed guy walked up to Salina. “Hello everybody, I’m David, Salina’s counselor.” He turned to Salina and asked, “What would you like to eat?”

  “I’m still trying to decide between a deep dish pizza or a New York strip.” She smiled at Cap’n Ben. “I think I’ll have a deep dish pizza with everything, from Chicago.”

  “Just so I don’t have to go looking for you again, do you plan to eat with these guys every night?”

  Mark said, “We only eat like this on Saturday nights because everyone has such different schedules. Anyone that wants to join us is welcome as long as they’re not a member of Slone’s group.”

  Salina said, “Sorry David, I didn’t mean to put you to any extra trouble. I didn’t expect to stay here very long.”

  “That’s okay, it’s just that students usually pick a general area to sit and eat with the same group of people. By the way, I like the new voice.”

  “Jamal’s idea; I think I like it too. I’ve been checking out different groups to find one I really like. I’ll be with this group every Saturday night until they say otherwise.”

  David nodded and smiled at the group before leaving.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  The Kitchen

  Mark wondered if he’d ever get used to starting class while he was just waking up. It seemed so wrong. Mr. Fairbanks started the class by saying, “Everyone form back up into your groups and make sure you are touching the person next to you.”

  Mark laid down with Chenoa on his left and LeOmi on his right. As soon as he closed his eyes, Lester, the group’s instructor, said, “Hi Mark. We’ll start the same way we did last time. Pick a comfortable place and then call your group into your dream, one at a time.”

  This time Mark chose the corral fence they usually sat on during flags matches. Lester said, “I never played flags, but I’ve been to quite a few matches. This is an interesting perspective.”

  Mark heard his friends’ voices searching for him and he called them into the dream one by one; and one by one they paid homage to their host by expressing their innermost feelings toward him. When they were all seated Lester asked, “Did everyone complete their homework assignment?”

  Nick said, “I found a class on quantum mechanics. Very interesting stuff.”

  “I found a class on medicinal herbs,” said Jamal.

  LeOmi said, “Russian martial arts.”

  “I didn’t go to any of the classes,” said Chenoa, “but I did walk the Trail of Tears as an old man.”

  Lester stood and walked in front of the group. “An experiential dream, very good. Every dream everyone has ever had exists forever on that particular level. If you wanted to, you could experience any dream anyone has ever had, say Cleopatra for example. Trouble is in finding what you want; there’s just so many. How did you find this particular dream?”

  “Well, I think I found it because I had been wondering about what ancient life was like for my people right before I went to bed.”

  “So your ancestors walked the Trail of Tears?”

  “They did, but there is no oral history about what they experienced.”

  “You’re likely absolutely right about why you
found that dream and it is a good example for what your next homework assignment is.

  “Helping a person in need is a primary goal of a Magi. People at The Seventh Mountain very seldom need help outside of what the teachers and staff provide routinely. Finding someone you can help at the school is nigh impossible. So your homework assignment is going to be to find someone you can help through dream casting.

  “The traditional method of teaching this has been to give the assignment and let students stumble along trying to figure out exactly how to do it and then give them instructions based on their difficulties. This year Mr. Fairbanks wants to try a different approach; he wants the different steps explained before you begin.

  “First you locate someone that has a similar situation or problem that you have recently experienced and are about to overcome or recently solved. Think a lot about the problem before you go to bed, right before you go to bed. Chenoa’s experience is a good example of what you can expect to happen. You will likely experience someone else’s dream about it. Because you’ve recently solved or are about to solve a similar situation you will have a good grasp on what needs to be done to help that person. The trouble is in most circumstances you won’t know who this person is.

  “Second is you need to get this person to trust that you have their answer. That’s pretty easy to do. What happened with Chenoa is the answer. She experienced the Trail of Tears because that is what her spirit was seeking. Whatever someone’s spirit is seeking is what they will find. Now, if the situation has never been dreamt with the answer then the spirit will find those dreams that most closely fit the topic of what it’s seeking. Of the answers that have been dreamt the spirit will find those that most closely relate to it personally. For example: There have probably been millions of dreams created to answer first time students’ questions about the Seven Mountains. Why did your spirit key in on the one meant specifically for you or your group? First, your dream caster, your counselor, already knew you and your group. They cast a dream specifically for you to answer specifically your questions. This particular dream was the one that most closely related to your personal quest of finding out about the school. That’s why you didn’t experience the one intended for say, Marco Polo or someone else.

  “To get someone to experience your dream answer all you have to do is create the dream answer. By making it as specific as you can to the answer being sought is how you get the person’s spirit to find your dream answer. You’ll already know the specifics of what’s being sought from the first step. Use that to create the dream answer. All you have to do is dream it as a specific answer to that specific situation or problem.”

  Nick said, “Sort of like creating a web page about how to do something.”

  Lester thought about it a moment and said, “Similar, but there’s no inherent trust for web page information and dreams aren’t trying to sell you something.” He looked at the rest to see if they wanted to comment. None did.

  “The owner of a web page doesn’t check back with you to see if you were helped so the third thing is you need to identify the person you helped so you can follow up. Almost everyone never identifies themselves to themselves in a dream. Why should they? They already know who they are. This is the step most students have the most trouble with. Anyone have any idea how to go about identifying the person?”

  Nick answered, “I would imagine that you do it the same way you would in the real world, just ask.”

  Lester said, “It’s interesting that you should refer to physical existence as the real world. The spirit world is real. You just asking them something like, ‘What’s your name?’ is not the answer, but it does work on occasion. Most often it puts up a barrier of distrust. Anyone else have a guess?”

  Jamal said, “I was dreaming about what school would be like here when I saw a man I thought would have the answers. His figure was silhouetted against a bright background. I asked him who he was and he told me his name. He stepped forward and I could see his face; it was Tim, I mean Mr. Fairbanks. I think I called him into my dream. So we have to get called into the person’s dream to identify them.”

  “That’s almost correct, but when you experience another person’s dream unbidden you do it as that person, so that person doesn’t experience you in the dream. How do you get them to experience you? Jamal almost had the answer.”

  No one had any more guesses. “I think the point you’re missing here is that your counselor wasn’t visiting your dream; you were visiting his. He called you into his dream just like you were called into this one. Each one of you recognized who your host was instinctively and felt compelled to express your innermost feelings toward him. You don’t remember doing this yourself, but you remember everyone else doing it in this dream. When your counselor introduced himself in the dream about this school you felt compelled to introduce yourself back to him. When you call someone into your dream is when they can sense you. When you experience someone else’s dream without being called in then you experience the dream as them.”

  Mark asked, “How long does it usually take for the spirit to find the answer?”

  “Interesting question as there is no time in the spirit world. An answer could be devised a hundred, a thousand, a million years in the future, or the past for that matter and the seeking spirit would still get it after it started seeking it. In that case, a solution offset from the present is often impractical as the answer may be too advanced or archaic for the person to understand. How would a person a hundred years ago understand the use of jet travel, nuclear power or microwave ovens and how it related to them and the answer they are seeking? Why would you today use a blacksmith to fix a wheel?”

  Nick asked, “Time travel by remanifesting; is that possible?”

  Lester smiled, “Tactical sight is a prerequisite for remanifesting and it’s possible to see in both directions with your spirit’s eyes, but the farther removed it is from the present the more indistinct it is. It’s very difficult; six days either way is the record I believe. Remanifesting always happens in the present moment. There are many theories, but in the end no one really understands why. Anymore questions?” No one said anything. “Well then, your ongoing homework assignment it to find someone to help through dream casting and then to actually help them. Write a report in your notebooks about what you were able to accomplish and I’ll see you next week.”

  Mark was walking with the group toward the table they had used last Saturday night in The Oasis and saw Salina there with about a dozen other people. They were pushing different color tables together to form one long table. When they approached and Salina saw them she said in a normal voice, “I hope you don’t mind; I told some people what you said about anyone being able to join you for dinner.”

  Mark knew they were all Seventh Mountain students and they had obviously heard of him, but they were from different tribes. He felt that maybe formal greetings were in order. He extended his arm in salute and said, “Hello everyone. I’m Mark Young, first level sophomore at The Seventh Mountain, Emerald Tribe, bearer of the staff which is the key to the labyrinth, pre-chosen by The General, lead horse for all The Seventh Mountain. I stand against Benrah and quest for his defeat.”

  Everyone looked puzzled. Nick whispered to Mark, “What was that all about?”

  Mark looked the crowd over and felt slightly embarrassed. “That was a formal Magi greeting for people that you’ve never met before. For me it became sort of automatic when I helped rescue the people trapped in the other labyrinths. I think it would be a good idea if we all introduced ourselves, formally or not so formally.”

  Nick nodded and extended his arm in salute, “I’m Nikola Poparov, first level sophomore of The Seventh Mountain, Emerald Tribe, pre-chosen by an Emerald Tribe equestrian captain, friend and protector of Mark Young. I seek to aid him in his quest and I stand against Benrah.”

  The formal introductions continued until everyone had spoken. Mark noted that everyone ended their introduction with words to th
e effect that they wished to aid him in his quest and that they each made the formal declaration that they stood against Benrah. Mark said, “I project my thoughts into people’s minds that are close by. I just want to know that you are making a formal declaration against Benrah yourself; that my thoughts aren’t influencing you.”

  Salina said, “I feel your concern about Benrah maybe destroying us if you don’t destroy what you find. I’m pretty sure everyone here feels it.” She looked around and everyone nodded and murmured their agreement. “Your thoughts didn’t influence my statement. I want to help you defeat Benrah. Everyone else chimed in with, “Me too.”

  Jamal said, “Let’s eat.”

  Everyone grabbed a chair on either side of the table before Mark had a chance to pick one. The only chair left was at the head of the table. He felt awkward sitting in that position.

  Kenneth, a third level sophomore, Sardius Tribe, obviously reading Mark’s thoughts said, “Humility is a trait to be admired. You didn’t choose to be in this position. You were pre-chosen by God; The General just told you...and us about it. You lead this group and are supported by the other pre-chosen and their gifts. They didn’t have a choice in this...I do, and I am honored to be a part of it. I choose: my sword, my skills and my life serve you and your quest to defeat Benrah.” He stood, removed his sword from Aaron’s Grasp and laid it on the table. Immediately and in unison every one of the newcomers stood, laid their sword on the table and repeated Kenneth’s oath, “I choose: my sword, my skills and my life serve you and your quest to defeat Benrah.”

  Mark didn’t notice Shana standing behind him and when she spoke it startled him a little, “Hello everyone.” She removed an electronic reader from Aaron’s Grasp and pushed a few buttons before beginning to read. “In the days before the last battle of dominion there shall come an army to stand against the evil one: of Ruby seven thousand, of Topaz seven thousand, of Turquoise seven thousand, of Emerald seven thousand, of Sapphire seven thousand, of Diamond seven thousand, of Jacinth seven thousand, of Agate seven thousand, of Amethyst seven thousand, of Beryl seven thousand, of Onyx seven thousand, and of Jasper seven thousand And the army shall swear an oath to their leader, I choose: my sword, my skills and my life serve you and your quest to defeat the son of evil.” She held the reader down and addressed the group. “That prophecy was dated 1213 A.D. and given by an Oracle at The First Mountain.”