by Logan Byrne
“I don’t know why we even have to do these patrols. It’s not like there’s anything to find,” a man said to another guy as they walked towards our camp.
“The boss wants to be sure that the resistance isn’t out here trying to find the talisman as well,” the other guard said. Both of them were dressed in black. They stood feet from us. I tried to control my breathing and not make too much noise even though my heart was racing. It was always the hardest to breathe silently when I was panicked.
“I think we’d know if anybody was around here. What is this talisman all about, anyway?” the first man asked.
“I don’t know, something about some magic or something, but I agree, I don’t think there’s anybody else out here. Let’s just get back to camp and tell them we searched the woods entirely,” the second man said.
“Good thinking,” the first one said.
Both men walked away talking. Their voices became faint in the distance until they finally dissipated and we were once again left alone. “Disperio,” I said, the shroud over us being swept quickly away like smoke in the wind. “That was close.”
“Imagine if I hadn’t woken up to that. Sometimes I’m really glad to have the senses that being a werewolf gives me,” he said, standing up.
“They’re a lot closer than I originally expected. They have to know we’re out here as well,” I said.
“No, they don’t think that, remember? He said they hadn’t found any traces of the resistance, and you and I are the only ones out here from the resistance searching for the talisman. I think we’re in the clear. I hope so, anyway. I’m a little nervous to go back to sleep now,” he said.
“What if we go up there?” I asked, pointing up the tree.
“It’s not going to be comfortable,” he said.
“The dirt ground under us isn’t very comfortable, either. At least up there we’re out of sight,” I said, shrugging, before grabbing my backpack and climbing the pine tree.
The tree was bushy, bits of sap sticking to my jacket. I settled on a set of branches that I felt could hold my weight. I sat on them, bouncing a little, the wood feeling stable enough, before I hung my bag from another branch and pushed my back up against the base of the tree. Fieldwork wasn’t always fun, that was for certain.
9
Blake and I stood at the base of the mountain the next morning just as the sun came over the horizon in the east. I yawned, stretching, the frigid air making my breath visible as I rubbed my hands together and tried to keep them toasty. “This isn’t going to be fun,” I mumbled.
There was a naturally cut trail in the mountain, though it was far from a straight shot. It ebbed and flowed, with curves, ascents, and descents, not providing a clear path to the top. I wasn’t even sure that the talisman was at the top; it could be at the base on the other side, but I knew it was here. I could feel it. Blake asked me last night how I knew, but it was hard to explain. You know when you can feel somebody looking at you? It was like that, but at the same time it wasn’t like that at all. All I knew for certain was that it was somewhere around here.
My calves began to burn around midday as we got about a third of the way up the mountain. “We should take a break. I need to eat, and it wouldn’t kill us to rest,” I said.
“Really? I’m doing okay, but we can stop,” Blake replied.
“Yeah, well, you’re a werewolf, and I think your stamina and fitness are just a little higher than mine,” I said, smiling. “Besides, we need to come up with a better plan than just walking up the side of this thing and hoping we find a clue.”
“Did you have anything in mind?” Blake asked, opening his bag and pulling out another bagged meal the camp had packed for us.
“I think I need to connect with the mountain, and with my powers, if that makes sense. Maybe meditation?” I asked.
“I think that would be great, actually. Maybe if you focus on it, like radar or something, it will present itself to you. That’s great thinking,” he said, raising his eyebrows.
“I’m sorry you have to see me like this, with disheveled hair and morning breath,” I said, before cracking open my bagged meal.
“I think you look stunning, my love,” he said dramatically.
“It’s too bad we don’t have more opportunities to work together. Don’t get me wrong, Charlie is an amazing partner and I’m lucky to have him, but working with you would be great, too.”
“I think Mirian worried we would get too close and wouldn’t get any work done,” Blake replied, grinning.
“Oh, control yourself. I’m a professional woman and I know how to conduct myself as such,” I said, holding my head high.
“Is that why you kiss me in the precinct every chance you get?” he asked, obviously teasing me.
“Quiet, you, or you won’t get any more of them,” I said, smiling.
As we sat there eating, Blake’s eyes turned red while he looked out over the hills below. “What’s the matter?” I asked, fearful they were on to us.
“Oh, sorry, nothing, I just wanted to scout the area better and see if they were down there. Can’t be too careful on a mission like this,” he said.
“What’s it like? The whole eyes thing,” I asked.
“It’s like using a magnifying glass, though with much better control. I can see heat, too, like infrared or whatever it’s called. It’s a nice ability, just too bad about the other part of it,” he said.
“You don’t like being a werewolf?” I asked.
“I don’t dislike it, but it has its drawbacks. I mean, I have to worry about fleas,” he said, laughing.
“I like that you’re one. I feel safe around you. Not that I can’t fight for myself, don’t get it twisted, but still, it’s nice,” I said.
“I know what you mean,” he said, leaning in and kissing my forehead. “I think most people would be more scared of you anyway.”
After thirty minutes of rest, and our daylight starting to escape us as the clock spun, we decided that packing up and moving on was the best option.
“You need to meditate first, though, remember? How about I leave you, go scout around a little, and come back in a few minutes?” Blake asked.
“That works well,” I said, before scooting over towards a small boulder that sat on the side of the mountain. I pushed my back up against it and crossed my legs before placing my hands in my lap and taking a deep breath.
I wasn’t sure what I was meditating for. Usually I did it just to clear my mind, but I needed to do the opposite this time and actually fill it up with thoughts of a talisman I’d never seen. Was it large, small, or somewhere in between? Instead I tried to tie ropes to the sensation I’d felt since we arrived. I tried to narrow in on the nudge it had been giving me, connecting the feeling between my powers and it.
It started to talk to me, almost. It was like it was alive, providing a beacon to its location. I could feel it, almost as if it had emotions and thoughts, and it knew there was another group looking for it. It didn’t want them to find it; it wanted to be left alone for eternity, but it also knew that I wasn’t hunting it for malicious reasons. That tipped the scales, and it was leading me towards it.
My eyes shot open. I stood up as Blake was coming back up and looking a bit nervous. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“I think I know where it is. It’s not too far away, but we need to hurry. I think Kiren’s men are closing in on it. It senses they’re near,” I said.
“Let’s go,” Blake said, picking up his bag and strapping it on.
We hurried up the mountain, my powers acting like a compass, though I had to stop every couple minutes and tune myself in again to find the direction we needed to go in next. It led us to a small crack in the side of the mountain big enough for us to squeeze through, obscured by rocks and debris, though it was a clear path towards something at the end. We slipped inside.
“Candelae,” I said, holding my wand up. The hallway was illuminated from the tip of my wand. Blake let
me squeeze by and go first. The hallway was about four feet wide, the rock smoothed over, definitely not naturally, etched with symbols and runes.
“This is beautiful,” Blake said. “I don’t know what any of it means, but it’s beautiful.”
“I can sense it near,” I said, before we hit our first snag. There were three options, openings, to hallways that led into different chambers. As intricate as a pharaoh’s tomb, the creators of this monument must have only wanted those who were worthy to find the talisman.
I closed my eyes, feeling it once again, before opening them and walking into the right-hand tunnel. We walked for a couple more minutes before entering another opening, this time with four options. The hallway behind us was the only way out. “What now?” Blake asked.
I looked down and saw my hands faintly glowing blue, so I raised my right hand and hovered it in front of each opening. It grew in intensity at the second option from the left, and I knew the talisman was leading me towards it. This happened two more times before we entered the main chamber, and boy was it grand.
The room must’ve been thirty or forty feet high, a massive chamber inside the mountain, with water flowing freely and waterfalls cascading from the top. “Where did this water come from? I didn’t see or hear any streams or rivers on the mountain,” Blake said.
“I think it’s best we don’t question these things,” I said.
“Well, there’s the talisman,” he said, pointing to an obelisk at the center of the room. We approached and saw the talisman sitting on a round stone pillar about four feet high just in front of it.
“Only those who are worthy may approach the altar,” a voice resonated in my head. The voice was female, that of an older woman, sounding like it was from a different world altogether.
“You have to stay here,” I said.
“What? Are you sure?” Blake asked.
“It said to. Trust me, it’ll be fine,” I replied, smiling.
I approached alone, walking over a thin stone bridge that separated the altar from the entrance. Water flowed around me, a humid mist filling the air, as my hands glowed a brighter blue the closer I got. “What is your purpose, young one?” a voice asked.
“I wish to save you from Kiren Nightstorm,” I replied.
“Ah, the one who wishes the beginning of the end,” it replied.
“Yes, I want to take you somewhere safe where he and his men cannot find you. I can keep you hidden,” I said.
“Many have tried to find me and pervert my powers. How do I know you will not do the same?” she asked.
“Look into my mind. I know you can see my heart, my soul, and you know that I will give you to the resistance. You will be kept safe, and your powers will be kept safe until Kiren is out of power. I promise to bring you back once he is finished,” I said.
“I have looked into your soul, and I find it to be pure. The mark has vouched for you as well,” she said.
“Wait, it talked to you?” I asked, confused.
“It has spoken highly,” she said.
“I don’t—”
“Lexa, they’re coming! We have to get the talisman and get out of here before they catch up. I can hear them,” Blake called, panicked.
“I have to ask more questions, I can’t—”
“Lexa! We don’t have time. You can ask it later,” he said, with a tone more serious than anything I’d ever heard from him before.
“There is an exit on the rear of this obelisk which will transport you to wherever you imagine in your mind. Use it, for they come,” she said.
“Blake, over here. She said we can leave from here,” I said.
Blake ran over, and I took out my wand and pointed it at the doorway we came in through. “Eruptico!” I said, blowing down rocks and caving in the entrance. I didn’t even want them to find this chamber, to be able to inspect it or ruin it in any way. I knew the talisman would understand.
Blake grabbed onto me and I touched the back of the obelisk, thinking of Chancellor Pote’s tent, and we were teleported there. We fell onto the ground in her tent and I opened my eyes and stood up, shaking my head. “Where did you two just come from?” the chancellor asked, in utter shock.
“The chamber for the talisman, it had some kind of magic, a way to teleport us back here. Kiren’s men were hot on our tail, and there was no other way out,” I said.
“Does that mean?” she asked, her mouth open.
I pulled out the talisman, a necklace, and set it down on her desk map. “Be careful with her,” I said.
“Get the box,” Pote said to a guard.
“What are you going to do with it?” I asked.
“We’re going to protect it, that’s what. Mirian and a few other senior mages made a special box of ash wood that should shield any method Kiren has of locating it. Now that it’s out of the chamber, it’s possible he will sense the magic within time. The only downside is the magic from the talisman cannot escape, though I believe that to be a good thing. It’s too powerful for anybody to possess,” she said.
“But I need it, I need to talk with it more,” I said.
“I’m sorry, but we cannot take any risks at the moment,” she said, as the men brought in the box. “Put it inside.”
“I, uh—” I said, unable to spit out the words.
Pote sealed the box and sighed with relief before putting her palms against the desk and smiling. “I am so proud of you both for your service to both myself and the resistance. I knew if anybody could find it and bring it back safely, it was you two. If Kiren’s men were close, like you said, then you might have just saved the entire world from succumbing to his darkness. Men and women will talk about this for generations.”
“Good job,” one guard said.
“Thank you for saving us,” another quipped.
I smiled, nodding, unsure what to do with the praise. “We’ll get you back into the precinct within the hour. Until then, feel free to go to the mess tent and fill yourselves up. I imagine you’re hungry after being out in the cold last night,” Pote said, before we left her tent.
“So it talked to you?” Blake asked quietly as we walked away.
“Just like you are now, except only in my head I guess. You didn’t hear anything?” I asked.
“No, just you talking. I thought you were going insane for a minute,” he said, nudging me.
“Shut up,” I said, laughing. “She said something weird, though. She said my mark talked to her, or something like that anyway. You don’t think…?” I asked.
“That it’s alive? That would be pretty insane, but then again I am a werewolf and we just passed a goblin riding a unicorn, so who’s to say what’s insane and what’s not?” he asked.
When we got to the mess tent I pushed my food around my plate, taking a few bites here and there, as I tried to make sense of what the talisman said. I wanted to talk to her, to hear more and see what I could do, but that box was sealed and there was no opening it until Kiren and his administration fell. I guess that was just even more motivation sent my way.
10
Mirian had sent for Blake and me the second we got back to the precinct. We’d gotten in undetected. The resistance thought it unwise to teleport us back into the building, so we were taken to a nearby alleyway. Pote had told us before we left about Mirian, and we were encouraged to make him our first stop once we got back inside.
As funny as it was, given my horrid experience in nature, I kind of missed it once I entered the sterile, hectic walls of the precinct. There were papers flying everywhere, brooms floating about, and cuffed criminals who would ring my neck if they had the chance. Ah, so great to be home.
“Enter,” Mirian said, when we knocked on his door. “Ah, you’re back, close the door.”
“I trust you’ve heard?” I asked, as Blake shut the door behind us.
“I did, and I must say I’m very impressed with you both,” he said, brimming from ear to ear.
“It was mostly Lexa who did t
he work. I was just there to look pretty,” Blake said.
“Nonsense, he was just as important as I was. Don’t let him be so modest,” I said.
“I know you both played your own roles in the discovery and securing of the object. Tell me, what was it like? I’ve read stories about this for years, but nothing ever really described it,” he said, crossing his arms and looking intrigued by what I was about to say.
“It was golden, a necklace—“
“Oh wow, a necklace? I thought it would be a totem of some kind. Sorry, go on, please,” he said, interrupting me.
“It spoke to me,” I said.
“It did? Like actual words, or the presence of it spoke to you poetically?” he asked.
“Actual words, like a person, like you’re speaking to me now,” I said.
“Fascinating. What did it say?” he asked.
“It knew that others were coming for it, and it said I was pure, I think? I’m sure it didn’t say that exactly, I forget, but it knew that I wasn’t going to hurt it or wreck it. It knew it could trust me, mainly because of what I have in me,” I said, in case anybody could hear me. I was still paranoid I would give myself away in some fashion.
“I knew it could sense it. Did it say anything else of interest?” he asked.
“Something about my thing being alive?” I said.
“Alive?” Mirian asked, looking shocked and intrigued. “I must say I’m not sure what you’re referring to.”
“It said my thing spoke to it, like a spirit or person or something. I didn’t get to ask it more, we were being pursued, but it kind of freaked me out. You don’t think it’s alive in me, do you?” I asked.
“I’m not sure, Lexa, I’m not sure. This is news to me, but it wouldn’t be a crazy notion, and if something that ancient said it to you as clear as day, it wouldn’t be lying to you or deceiving you. Perhaps it is alive in you,” Mirian said.