The Cinnabar Box (Guardians of the Earth)

by ILIL ARBEL

  Bartholomew was quiet for a minute. “No, Camellia. Her concern is grossly exaggerated. She knew for years that the Cinnabar box was in this stupid antique shop. And if she had allowed me to steal it, perhaps we could have saved years of agony to the entire planet. The owner would not have even noticed.”

  “Whether the crime is discovered or not does not matter,” said Camellia. “The vibrations of your evil deed would have started a magical chain of events that may have created much worse results. Remember the butterfly fluttering its wings in the forest –”

  “If one more person, human or animal, mentions this accursed butterfly fluttering in the forest, I will bray so loudly that you will see a new magical chain of events starting to form. We don’t even have forests anymore, for that matter. You may believe all the Wicca tales and fantasies you wish, camel. Just don’t expect me to do the same.”

  “Bartholomew, sometimes I wonder if you are totally loyal to the principles we hold so dear –”

  “Will you stop arguing,” said Donna wearily. “What are we to do now?”

  “Rest in one of the houses until evening, then fly during the night when it’s a bit cooler. We have enough water and food for a few days,” said Camellia.

  “I don’t like the look of the place,” said Donna. “It looks haunted.”

  “By what? A few honest ghosts would be a relief after the Vizier’s tricks,” grumbled Bartholomew.

  The house they entered was quiet and dark. The air was cooler, but the closed shutters caused a stifling atmosphere. They spread some blankets on the floor and sat down to eat and rest. Donna felt her eyes closing. Why not sleep for a while, she thought to herself. The animals know what they are doing. They have been agents for so long … thousands of years, maybe … she fell asleep.

  Suddenly she woke up. The room was dark, though she could see through the cracks in the shutters that the sun was shining outside. Am I dreaming? She thought anxiously. She looked around and the animals were not there. She was completely alone. She jumped to her feet, confused and uncertain what to do, and then thought that perhaps they simply went out.

  Cautiously, she walked to the door. She walked, and walked, but the door was not any nearer to her. Panicking, she started running toward the door as fast as she could. The door remained the same distance from her as before.

  She tried to go to the window at the opposite wall. Again, she could not reach it. The house stretched away from her and she could not get away from its center. Her head started to spin, as if the stretching distances hurt her sense of balance.

  Donna tried walking to a third wall that had neither door nor window and reached it easily in three short steps. It seemed the house was concerned only with keeping her from getting out of doors. She touched the rough boards gingerly with her fingertips, and they felt normal and solid enough. Suddenly the boards waved under her touch, like water, became translucent and shiny for a few minutes, and then solidified into a perfectly clear mirror. She could see her face in it, but the background was not the dark room she was standing in, but the desert, lit by the merciless sun. The donkey and the camel stood there, looking around them, seemingly just as confused as she was. She cried out to them, but they obviously couldn’t hear her. She felt sick, terribly nauseated with the dizziness and lack of balance. “Calm down,” she said to herself as the sweat beads formed on her forehead and she felt herself trembling. “Sit down. Don’t panic. Check resources.”

  The water bottle strapped to her side was full. The backpack contained the flatbread and dates that Grandmother gave them for the trip. Donna took a sip of the warm water and felt a little refreshed. Then she stuck her hand to feel the Cinnabar box and it was safe in her pocket. The Wicca locket was on her neck. If only she had some enchantment, she thought helplessly. The Wicca stone. She would have gazed at it, maybe have some sign from Aunt Yolanda … She closed her eyes, thinking about her aunt. If all that didn’t happen, they would have started their studies, perhaps visited the extinct animal zoo. Life would have been such fun.

  The zoo. If only she could go there. She would summon help from the Witches, or maybe even find Aunt Yolanda, though that was not a strong possibility. Suddenly something occurred to her. The way she took herself, Jessamine, and Bartholomew to the other reality was through three steps: gazing at a crystal ball, receiving verbal instruction, and knowing the coordinates. She had none of these advantages, but Aunt Yolanda once said that switching realities was done by a special way of thinking. There may be more than one way to do this thinking.

  Coordinates, crystal ball, and verbal instructions. But in the end, it was her own concentration that did it, wasn’t it? Well, perhaps if she could give herself the instructions, talk herself into concentration? Crystal ball. Well, she had a mirror here. This was not an ordinary mirror, either, but something enchanted. If she gazed at the mirror, maybe, just maybe, it would act the same as the crystal ball. Now the coordinates were a complete mystery. But if she visualized a few dodo birds, and a saber-toothed tiger, and some dinosaur-like lizards? Wouldn’t these images work as coordinates?

  But what if it won’t work? And worse, what if it works, but she would make a mistake, and go into a reality of a different nature? Well, could it be any worse than being locked in a dark room that could stretch in any direction, probably watched over by the Evil Vizier?

  She got up and sent to the mirror. The camel and donkey were no longer visible. Concentrating on the mirror, she started talking to herself.

  “Donna, visualize a beautiful zoo, without cages. Not a zoo, really, but a natural animal reservation.”

  A vague, twisting picture formed in the mirror. She jumped with surprise at her immediate success, and the picture was lost.

  “Donna, do it again. Without feeling, without any kind of emotion, without surprise.”

  The picture reappeared.

  “Donna, picture a bunch of dodo birds. Then, at a distance, a very great distance, visualize a tiger, all orange. Think about his teeth. Visualize him very, very far.”

  The picture remained unchanged. She realized that the tiger idea was just too scary, even if she placed him far away. Best to forget the tiger for now and concentrate on the rest.

  “Donna, forget the tiger. Just do the dodo birds.”

  A flock of fat flightless birds appeared in the mirror. They waddled about and seemed very life-like and natural.

  “Donna, bring a prehistoric lizard to this rock on the right side.”

  A large lizard, sunning itself on the rock with its eyes comfortably closed, gleamed green and purple.

  “Donna, project yourself into the picture. Follow the dodo birds’ movements. Concentrate. You are there.”

  Nothing happened. She stood in front of the mirror, looking at the zoo, and could not go there. She had never felt such deep despair. She could not get there without the coordinates – and there was no way to find them. She was going to starve to death in the clutches of the Vizier.

  Suddenly, a small movement attracted her attention. Something was forming in the mirror, a small whirlwind, twisting and turning. A tiny hand, or perhaps a paw, came out of the whirlwind. It waved at her helplessly, and answering its wordless request Donna grasped it firmly. A short struggle, a pull, and suddenly a small animal fell into her arms and gazed at her with large, golden eyes. Even in the middle of a desert in an alien reality there was no possible mistake – she was holding in her arms a small, sleek, fat lemur.

  The animal rested its head on Donna’s shoulder and whined a little. What was the meaning of this? She thought. Why did this animal come out of the mirror when she tried to go to the zoo? The lemur held tightly to her hair. Suddenly, she remembered. This had to be Gilbert – her aunt’s pet lemur. The fat lemur who lived in the zoo and loved cherry pie.

  “Gilbert?” she inquired. The lemur whined again, though this time with great satisfaction, and jumped vigorously on her head. Her courage returned. Whatever the reason for his coming, he so
mehow managed this, or she managed it for him, without the coordinates – so she could do it for herself! Shouldering her backpack and blanket, she stepped again in front of the mirror and stared at it. The lemur patted her head rhythmically as if playing a drum.

  “Gilbert, stop! I must think. I am going to try getting to the zoo again.”

  Gilbert obeyed. Again, she visualized the dodo birds, the lizards, and encouraged by the presence of the little animal, even the saber-toothed tiger in the distance.

  Deeper and deeper. Her eyes hurt, but she avoided blinking, following the instructions originally given by Jessamine. Darkness in the mirror, tiny blinking lights, gray mist –

  She stood on a lush, green plain. She had never seen such grass, or such enormous trees. Far away, a saber-toothed tiger was sunning itself, and a couple of lizards sat on a nearby rock. But no dodo birds were in sight, and no buildings, no signs of an animal reservation, no signs of any human being. Gilbert whined. Something was very, very wrong.

  Donna had no idea what to do. Since this was not the zoo, it could be anywhere. Another reality, another planet, anything. Most likely, another time, if this was at all possible, because how else could a saber-toothed tiger be there? She stood, paralyzed with terror, and waiting for something, anything, to happen, for a long time. But the sun was low in the sky, the air began to cool, and she felt no desire to be eaten by a saber-toothed tiger. Something had to be done. She started walking in the opposite direction from the tiger, toward a low range of hills which seemed to be not too far.

  “Don’t be scared, Gilbert,” she said, mostly to encourage herself, as the lemur seemed to take everything calmly in his stride. “I’ll try to find a cave or something so we can hide until morning. Then we’ll see if we can find a crystal ball, or a mirror, and try to go back to Jessamine’s home. I remember the coordinates, I think.” The lemur’s hold on her hair was comforting.

  The hills were farther than she thought, but walking as fast as she could, she got nearer to them just at sunset. Strange, though somehow familiar sounds came from that direction.

  “If I didn’t know better, Gilbert, I would say some people are chanting,” she said. The chanting became stronger as she approached the hills. She could see the opening of a cave, with firelight pouring from it. Shadows were moving, dancing, swaying. She crept slowly toward the opening, and peeked in.

  About twenty people were dancing around the fire in the middle of a large cave. They wore animal skins, beautifully made into clothes and skillfully embroidered with colorful beads. Two people played the drums, and they played them extremely well, she thought. Any rock group in her world would have been delighted to have them. The people chanted to the rhythm of the drums. The sound waves spread and glided, beautiful and deep and magical. Donna felt herself relaxing, enjoying the soft vibrations of the song. Her fear vanished. She was drawn, without knowing how, into the circle. Moving as if in a dream, she stepped into the amber light of the cave, the lemur holding on to her hair. No one paid any attention to her and the occupants simply went on dancing and chanting. As if hypnotized, she started to move with them, when a voice, right behind her, stopped her, speaking in an unfamiliar language. She turned around dreamily and smiled blissfully at what seemed like an apparition.

  His face was human, but he had large horns adorning his head, seemingly growing from it in a natural fashion. He was covered with golden-brown fur and had a tail, but he stood upright and his hands and feet were much like her own. His eyes were large, sad, and very human.

  “I don’t understand your language,” she said hesitantly.

  The creature looked at her and smiled. It was the kindest, sweetest smile she had ever seen.

  “But I can speak your language” he said in perfect English, with a gentle, low, musical voice. “I just needed to hear you speak it first.”

  “Who are you and where am I?” said Donna.

  “I am Shape-Changer,” said the creature. “In your reality, and your time, they would call me a shaman, but it is too simple a name for me. I am many other things.”

  “In my time? Is this a different time? Did I do time travel? Does it exist?”

  “Yes and no,” said Shape-Changer. “It is a different reality from yours, but it’s Earth, or rather, another copy of Earth. This is where the extinct animal zoo will be built, in my future. Our realities, therefore, are forever joined. We are located, using our combined coordinates as a guide, about 30,000 years earlier than where you come from, if I read your thoughts correctly. Of course, to me it seems like the present, even if to you it is the past.”

  “You read my thoughts?”

  “It is part of my talents and my training. Otherwise, I couldn’t speak your language.”

  “I see,” said Donna. “I don’t like having my thoughts read, though.”

  “I read only the coordinates and the necessary guideposts. I don’t read your innermost thoughts and feelings,” said Shape-Changer. “I don’t have the slightest wish to intrude.”

  “Do you know my reality?”

  “I know it very well,” said Shape-Changer. “I have to. Wicca visitors from all realities always come here, because my people started it all. Shape-Changers are the first Wicca, which is why they sometimes call it The Old Religion in your reality. To your people, Wicca is 30,000 years old. I am proud it survived that long.”

  “So you are a Witch, too … why are you called Shape-Changer?”

  “I can change myself into animals,” answered the creature simply, as if it were an everyday occurrence. Of course, thought Donna, to him it really was a simple matter.

  “Why would you do that?”

  “To help my people hunt, to protect us from the predators, to create various types of magic, and most important – simply to learn,” said Shape-Changer.

  “You sound so wise, so educated,” said Donna. “And the people are wearing such nice clothes and the music is just great. Funny, I always thought people who lived so long ago were savages.”

  “And yet your people go to see, and even photograph and print, our cave paintings,” said Shape-Changer, a smile lighting his sad eyes.

  “Cave paintings! Of course! That’s why you look so familiar – I have seen your picture in my history book when we learned about prehistory.”

  “Yes, there are some really good pictures of me and my relatives in various caves,” said the creature modestly. “Did you really believe that savages painted these? Here, come and meet the savages, including one artist. They won’t be able to speak your language, since they are all human – usually there is only one Shape-Changer staying with a tribe – but I’ll translate. And we are just about to have dinner.”

  She shook hands all around, the people laughing and trying to talk at the same time, clamoring for Shape-Changer to translate for them. A beautiful steak-on-a-stick, potato-like vegetables roasted in the embers of the fire, and a sweet drink made from honey mixed with water would have been marvelous in themselves, but when Donna got an apple, perfectly baked and topped with nuts and berries, she started laughing. Some savages, she thought. How little do we know about different realities, different times. How stuck up we are thinking that our computers and cell phones and televisions mean that we are the only civilized people.

  One of the women, large and motherly, spread out a soft skin for Donna, gave her another one to use as a blanket, and a few bundled skins to serve as a pillow. The bed was extremely comfortable and as Gilbert curled next to her, she fell asleep almost instantly.

  In the middle of the night she woke up suddenly. The fire died, leaving garnet-colored embers. Everything was quiet and hushed, and it was warm and pleasant in the cave. A dark shadow stood sentry in the opening of the cave, his long horns betraying him to be Shape-Changer. She stood up, quietly, so as not to wake anyone. Gilbert was snuffling and snorting softly in his sleep, curled into a tight ball.

  “Shape-Changer,” she whispered, “Don’t you ever sleep?”

  �
��I sleep a few minutes here and there during the day,” said the creature, smiling. “Much like the tigers. I don’t need much sleep. I am not like other humans, you know.”

  “So it’s not just the shape changing?”

  “It’s much more,” said Shape-Changer. “In your time, none of us is left. There were never many, anyway. We represent a different branch of evolution, extinct too soon.”

  “Extinct? Everywhere?”

  “Yes, somehow. In every reality I have investigated, we are gone. We were meant to be the Guardians of the Earth. We died out long before your time, and your species failed to do the work properly. Look at the Earth in your reality. Destroyed by ignorance.”

  “The Witches call themselves Guardians of the Earth.”

  “Yes, they try. But they don’t have our magic, they cannot change shape easily, and they are too few. Also, they have encountered such persecution in their past, many dropped out. The work is immense, Donna. Your planet is sick, very sick. I know who you are, and I know your aunt, Senior Witch Yolanda, the zoo keeper. I know she was kidnapped. And with all my magic, I have no power to help against the evil that took her.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I am before your time in the joint coordinates. In magic, there are many laws and regulations. I can’t act in my own future, even in another reality. I can’t even retain the future coordinates in my memory.”

  “Laws and regulations. The people I traveled with talked a lot about it. If I understand correctly, doing an evil deed brings punishment.”

  “Not punishment exactly, but a chain of events. Like will bring like into existence. And a strong chain of magic, good or evil, will create stronger and stronger events.”

  “Will you try to help me go back?”

  “Of course. But I cannot guarantee success.”