by B. J. Smash
Three doors down to the right, he stopped. “What theme do you prefer?”
“Huh?”
“We have safari, princess, the Old West, tropical fish, and medieval—and that one has dragon pillows!”
“I’ll take that one!” Lucian said loudly. You’d think he was a six-year-old schoolboy.
“Good choice! But ladies first.” He wagged his finger at him.
“Seriously?” I had to ask. “I’ll just take this room.”
Minimus chuckled. “No. You see, this is your room. However, I will bring up the theme before you enter. You know…magic.” He rubbed his palms together and grinned like a jack o’ lantern. In the lighting, the cleft in his chin stood out. “It’s something I have been working on. Maximus says I waste my time, but of course it’s not a waste of time.”
“Oh.” I perked up. “Which one does Drumm pick when he’s here?”
“The Elven boy. He doesn’t sleep up here. He prefers to stay in the ‘summer house’ with Maximus, at the hearth with the pig. Maximus hardly comes up this way. He likes his humble abode.”
I couldn’t help but think that my father and grandparents would really like Maximus. He seemed to be their type of guy, stubborn and down to earth, although he could probably have anything in the world that he wanted. Including perfect eyesight. Minimus seemed to enjoy the finer things in life. You could even hear it in the use of his speech.
“I’ll take the safari. As long as there aren’t any animal heads on the walls.” I might as well enjoy a bed. After tonight, we’d be sleeping in the forest. Albeit, I loved camping in the trees. Drumm and I had camped out one night. We had laid high up in the trees. I was stomach first on a limb, my legs hanging to the sides. Drumm was spread out on his back on the next limb over. We hadn’t meant to fall asleep there; we had been discussing my sister. Had she really turned to the bad side? Or had she been forced to?
Drumm had stayed positive and tried to give her the benefit of the doubt.
Knowing that I’d soon see my sister made me nauseous. But knowing that Drumm was not too far away calmed me.
Minimus whipped a crystal out of nowhere and placed it up to the door. A slot appeared, and he barely pressed it in, the door accepting it as part of itself. Minimus mumbled some words and then did a knocking sequence. Knock-knock, pause. Knock-knock-knock, pause. Knock-knock. Shuffling and thumping noises could be heard behind the door.
He opened the door, and the room lit up. A pink carriage sat in the center of the room, a pink and white bed inside. Everything around was prissy pink.
“Oh shoot.” He slammed the door shut. “Perhaps it’s this.” He said some fancy words, and then he knocked. Knock-knock-knock, pause. Knock-knock, pause. Knock. More shuffling could be heard. “Voila!” He threw open the door, and the safari theme had replaced the princess theme.
“Cool!” Lucian exclaimed.
The room was dimly lit by tiki lanterns. The floor was covered in thick zebra carpet. The walls didn’t have animal heads, and that was a bonus. Instead, weapons hung on the walls: long staffs with sharpened bone tips, bone knives, and many wooden spears. What I didn’t like about the room: there was a cavity in the wall, the bed inside. I didn’t liked closed-in places. They suffocated me. I spoke to Drumm about this once, and he said that was an Elven thing. The Elven liked wide open spaces, fields, and streams. The wild forest. That’s what we are about. Anyway, I’d just sleep on the floor.
“Minimus, you sure do know your stuff,” I said.
“Thank you.” He lifted his chin.
I walked in, only to notice the ceiling was made of glass. I didn’t want any peepers looking down on me. Especially Alice the banshee.
“Don’t worry. Just like the fog, you can see out, but no one can see in.” He left with Lucian, shutting the door behind him.
There were two brown glass giraffes sitting atop a tan-colored dresser. One was about two feet tall, the other two and a half feet tall. They were beautiful, but something must have gone awry with Minimus’s magic. In place of a giraffe print on their bodies was zebra print.
A wooden elephant head hung from the wall. And a large mobile hung from the ceiling; the painted wooden pieces were about the size of Kepler the pig. I touched the rhino as I walked by, and he spun in the air.
“Oh my gosh,” I whispered to myself. Waving my hand around the whole body, it dawned on me that the pieces were not suspended from anything; they just hung there. “Minimus, you’re amazing.”
As if he heard me, I heard a knock on the door. Answering it, it wasn’t Minimus but Lucian.
“Ivy. I can’t sleep in there. There is a giant fake dragon looming over the foot of the bed that looks rather more like the dinosaur from Jurassic Park. It’s got red eyes and it’s watching me. Do you mind if I sleep in here? If not, it looks like I’ll be waking up Mrs. Snore-bags.”
I had to laugh. The shape-shifting hellhound was scared of a fake dragon…that looked like a dinosaur. “Come in, Luican. That’s fine. You can take the bed and I’ll sleep by the bay window.”
“You sure?” He walked in. “I mean…I could take the bay window.”
“Pffft. You’d never fit, you big ox.” I seriously didn’t mind. I hadn’t planned on sleeping in the bed anyway.
He carried with him a soft black blanket, embroidered with a green dragon, so at least he had his own blanket. Walking into the room, he touched the rhino just like I had, causing it to move forward. “Hey man, these things are hanging in midair!”
He got into the bed and arranged the blanket and pulled it up to his chin, tossing my blanket to the floor.
Taking off Drumm’s robe, I laid it over a zebra chair and walked over to the bay window. There were leopard cushions lining the sitting area, and if I got in the fetal position, I could fit. Grabbing the giraffe-patterned blanket from the floor, I walked over and snuggled next to the window.
“I know. It’s pretty cool, huh? Actually, the fact that Minimus can change room themes with a crystal and knocks is incredible,” I said.
“I know, right? These guys are the best of the best. Minimus is more of the underling, though. Ian told me that Maximus has made this island float in the sky before.”
“Seriously? Now that’s impressive.” The guy had to be powerful.
“Anyway, you should see the dragon fireplace in my room. You touch his head, and the bright orange red flames appear. And there is a basket of what appears to be dragon eggs. When you touch them, they open up, revealing chocolates. Then what I thought was a dragon statue opened up to be a coffeemaker. But then it wasn’t coffee, it was cocoa. I drank a cup before I came over here. Do you want me to get you one?” He rambled on, probably from the sugary cocoa, and no doubt he had eaten some chocolates.
“Nah. I’m beat. We better get some rest. Who knows what is going to happen tomorrow.”
“True. I’m pretty tired myself,” he mumbled, and then he was snoring. It wasn’t loud like Mrs. Pumbleton but soft like a kitten’s purr.
Looking up through the glass ceiling I watched the stars, remembering that Drumm had been watching them, too. The glowing moon was waxing and probably around eighty percent full, but the thing about the moon that interested me the most—it seemed a bit bigger here. Almost as if it were just a little bit closer to us. I couldn’t understand how that would be possible, but the craters were prominent, and I almost felt like I could reach out and touch it.
I could see how anyone that passed through Hy Brasil would be reluctant to leave. Maximus was a most hospitable host, and I got a kick out of Minimus. To top it off, I had a fantastic time playing my new favorite game tonight with a bunch of Seelie. From what I’d seen of the island, it was the most mysterious, mystical place I’d ever been to—or ever heard of. Granted, I had a feeling that I wasn’t seeing the part of the castle that held all the magical “equipment.” I’m betting he had some serious telescopes and stuff, too.
The island just had an aura of peace and whimsicalness to it.
Yup, I liked it here—except for the banshee. I could do without her.
I only wish that the world of the Elven were at peace right now, that my father were well again, and that I knew that Izadora would be fine. Then I would love to stay on for a time.
Then there is my sister. What was I going to do when we met again? How was she going to react? Could I take back the book without even meeting with her? No. She probably had it attached to her hip.
“Stupid Zinnia,” I whispered aloud. “What will our outcome be?” I missed her. The old her. Definitely not the new, hoity-toity Zinnia.
I turned my face close to the window and gazed out toward the thickset forest. My eyes were getting heavy, but just before they closed, off in the distance I saw the white, wispy figure of Alice floating behind a tree. I was too tired to care. I took ahold of the Elven stone around my neck, for comfort.
Then I was dreaming.
Mother.
Water flowed down a steep hill, over uneven rocks covered with moss. She stood at the bottom; a deep sadness filled her eyes. She wore a dark green velvet gown from the medieval period, laced up the front with gold cord. One emerald dropped down to her forehead from the gold crown she wore.
“Mother?” I questioned.
I didn’t expect her to answer with words. She never spoke to me; she only showed me visions. I stepped forward, not on my own volition. She pulled me in. When we were but a foot apart, her eyes turned white, and I could see something in there that froze my blood.
A cavern, deep inside the earth. Deep. Dark. Dangerous. Jagged rocks jutted down from the ceiling; water dripped to a shallow puddle. I could feel the emptiness and dread that filled the cave.
“Why do you show me this, Mother?” I felt like I’d been brought to the gates of hell.
The dream shifted to above ground; many dead bodies lay before me. An Elven lay sprawled out over the rocks on his front. An arrow was in his back. Blood dripped from the side of his mouth.
“No!” I screamed. “No!”
The scene changed. An Elven woman lay inside a glass coffin, her arms crossed over her chest. The face was blurred out; the lifeless body was being carried by four other Elven men dressed in formal robes embroidered with silver.
In my dream, I dropped to the ground. Dead inside.
The dream spun around like a tunnel, a whirlwind. And there she stood before me, motioning for me to…go away. But why would she want me to go away? The Elven needed help. Or did she see my future? Could it have been me inside the coffin?
***
I awoke on the floor, afraid to close my eyes again. I stared up through the glass above me and watched the stars until my lids finally closed. I must have slept peacefully this time.
Something was sniffing my ear, and I turned to see beady blue eyes staring back at me. Kepler lay beside my head, his head over his front hooves. When he realized I was awake, he stood up and stepped his front hooves on my arm like a dog would. He was really too heavy to be doing that, and it hurt. Greeting me with an oink, I snickered and said, “Okay, okay, I’m getting up.”
“Kepler!” Minimus peeked around the door. “Kepler, you intolerable nuisance! Step back at once!” Kepler ignored him, pretending he was invisible, and he ran up to smell Lucian’s hand that hung over the bed.
“I have to apologize for Kepler. He followed me up to the castle, and unfortunately, he knows how to open doors. The pig has no manners whatsoever.”
A pig that can open doors. Interesting.
“How does he open doors?” I had to ask.
“He knows a bit of magic, but that wouldn’t be how he opens the doors. No, he uses his mouth.” He pulled a cloth from his trouser pants and wiped the door knob. “Come on, you fool pig.”
“It’s all right. We’ve got to get up anyway. We’ll be leaving soon,” I said.
“Leaving? Why, this morning we’ll be training. And you won’t leave until after lunch. I won’t hear of it. Besides, Maximus has something special he wants to show you.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The sun had barely risen, and both Lucian and I had taken showers, and dressed in the same cloths we wore before. Minimus and Kepler walked us down the steep hill. The forest was filled with mist, but the morning sun still shone through and upon us, illuminating the area golden hues.
“How did you like the shower?” Minimus asked.
“It was frickin’ amazing!” Lucian piped in. “The water was different shades of green, and it came from the ceiling!”
It was funny that he asked. My water had been yellow at first, and I could only think that there was something wrong with the plumbing. It then changed to blue, and I knew that there had to be some sort of magic involved, only ending with the color purple. It had sprayed down from the black marble ceiling.
“Yes, the color comes from the lights. The water is really clear, like water is. However, the lights sense your mood. And it changes accordingly.” He peered at Lucian, titling his face up. “Green, you say? Hmmmm.”
“What does green mean?” Lucian asked.
“You have mixed emotions about something, and that something is romance,” Minimus said frankly.
“Oh,” was all Lucian said as he glanced my way.
My cheeks began to burn as I grew embarrassed. Was Lucian thinking about me? I had been the only girl around him lately.
I carried my hurling stick, using it to walk like one would use a staff. I did this without thinking, and Lucian brought it to my attention. “Ivy, you look like an old wizard, using that stick. Too cute.” His eyes twinkled.
Smiling, I carried on and asked Minimus, “What does yellow, blue, and purple mean?”
“Yellow, blue, and then purple, you say. That means you were nervous, then somehow you must have relaxed and became…happy. But purple is a divine color. The color of intuition.”
This interested me. I had gotten in the shower, unsettled and disturbed about the dream my mother had shown me. Who had died? What was she trying to tell me? I couldn’t possibly turn around and go home. There was no way I was leaving. And while the shower lights had confused me, I had settled down and had pushed the dream aside, forcing myself to relax. And the shower lights had sensed all that?
“Intuition,” he continued, “is a great thing to have. Especially if it comes from the divine. I wonder…have you had any dreams lately?” The way he asked me, he probably already knew the answer, and he was just waiting for my reply.
“Dreams?”
“Yes. Sometimes our dreams are our way of revealing things to ourselves.”
I might as well get it out there. “I had a dream that my mother visited me. Sometimes she does that in my dreams. She showed me a dead body in a glass coffin.”
His expression never changed, but he lowered his chin and watched me. “In certain cases, purple can also mean ‘message delivered.’ You intuit from it what you will. But be cautious. I fear your future holds pandemonium and chaos. I see a great darkness that will befall you.”
Lucian’s eyes widened. “Couldn’t you have been a bit more subtle with that news?”
“Then I would be presenting to her an injustice. I do not sugarcoat things. But I will tell you this: I see in you a brave and bold character that is uncommon. You may be quiet like a mouse, but you are strong.” He sucked in a breath and continued. “Everyone has to make choices. Sometimes they are hard choices. You would do well to remember that those you hold dear also hold you dear to their hearts.” He rambled on. “And things will get tough. I see something ahead of you that will be hard to bear. It will seem impossible to bear. Just know that you cannot give up. More than your own future sits upon your shoulders. You must remain strong, no matter what happens. Do you understand?”
At that moment, I had to wonder if Minimus could see the future, like a prophet. His eyes bore into mine as I said, “Yes. I do.” But did I? It was a broad statement. What will be hard to bear? Losing someone? Will I myself die? Darkness?
What did he mean by darkness? I should have clarified, but truthfully, I didn’t want to know what he was talking about. He said I was strong. At the moment, I could only think that I was weak.
Thoughts of Izadora surfaced in my mind. What would she have to say about all this? She’d be sorely disappointed if she knew that I sometimes found myself feeling powerless and weak. I had to have more faith in myself.
We walked in silence for some time, in the stillness of the morning. No breeze came through, but the air was damp and chilly, and I pulled my robe about me. For the first time, my feet ached from the coolness of the earth, which sent jolts of pain up to my knees. Minimus must have noticed my discomfort.
“Oh good,” he said. “Looks like Maximus’s gift will be just in time.”
I didn’t ask him to clarify, as I thought it would be rude to ask about a gift that someone else planned to give you. We continued on in silence, arriving at the “summer house” moments later.
The smell of bacon drifted in the air, and Kepler, who had been walking by my side, picked up speed and made his way through the open door.
Chickens were about the yard, and I paused at the barn door to peek in at Solstice.
“He’ll be down on the meadow, visiting with friends,” Maximus called out from the doorway of the house. He wore a black Hawaiian shirt adorned with colorful parrots, and the same cutoff sweatpants. “The pixie will be milking a goat. She said she was starvin’.”
“She’s always hungry,” I said below my breath.
“Come in, come in. We’ll eat then make our way to the cavern.”
“Cavern?”
“Yes, cavern. I must show you something.”
Minimus went about feeding the chickens as Lucian and I stepped past Maximus to get inside the house. No one was talking but rather eating. Adam had a plate full of eggs and bacon. Trent had waffles stacked as high as his glass. Alexander went about having Kepler do tricks and then tossing him bacon for a reward. He would then laugh, despite the fact that his mouth was full of food. I couldn’t tell if he thought the pig was funny or if he was just laughing for the fact that the pig ate bacon.