*****
Tyler was unnerved by the appearance of the genie, but he tried not to show it. He kept a slight smirk on his face to mask his unsettled emotions. Left Paw was real. Tyler wasn’t crazy. Unless of course Grandpa, Aunt Rachel, Uncle Matt and Jessie were crazy too. And Sarah and Benji. Mass hallucination? Something in the water? Tyler thought not.
His semi-silent friend in the woods was actually real. That was good news for Tyler’s sanity. On the other hand, it implied other unpleasant things were also real. Like Tyler’s nightmares. They had to mean something, something other than just lingering guilt. Left Paw told Tyler he was cursed. Curses were real. That wasn’t exactly good news.
Sure, there might be cool things out in the world he’d never heard of. But that meant there were also dark things out in the world he’d rather not know about. The implications of a world where magic was part of reality were disturbing. He remembered Sarah once told him fairytales were originally pretty brutal and bloody. A heavy foreboding rested on Tyler’s shoulders. Despite his insolent countenance, he was soberly awaiting Grandpa’s explanations.
“I told you three,” Grandpa began, “that Black Rock is a wildlife Sanctuary. That is as true a statement as I could make without compromising the sanctity of this establishment.” Grandpa rubbed his chin in thought, looking at each of them in turn, including the genie, before continuing. “This place is a secret, something that must be protected at great cost. Not just from humans, but from ‘others’ as well.” The old man’s steely blue gaze was direct. “Once you’re aware of the things inside these walls, you are bound to that secret as if you swore an oath. It is a great responsibility.” In this case, Tyler was aware that ‘great’ didn’t mean ‘good.’ It meant ‘terrible.’
“If this is still a sanctuary,” Tyler asked pensively, “then what exactly does it protect?”
Uncle Matt cleared his throat and looked uncomfortable. “We’ll get to that,” he told them. He motioned for Grandpa to continue.
“There are only three sanctuaries currently in existence,” explained Grandpa. “This one is the youngest by far.” His voice took on a storytelling cadence. He might as well have begun with ‘Once upon a time,’ Tyler thought.
“The sanctuaries,” Grandpa continued, “exist to ensure the peaceful coexistence of all living creatures. The various races and species that we think of as ‘magical’ are often self-destructive. Humanity,” he admitted, “can also be unforgiving. For that reason, there must be a safe and neutral place to provide amnesty, refuge, and advocacy, if necessary.” The old man spread his gnarled hands to encompass the room. “This is that place,” he said.
“This is a haven for beings with no other recourse,” Aunt Rachel added. “We take in the oppressed of the world and house entire ethnic groups with decimated populations. When war breaks out among magical communities, the repercussions affect us all. Part of our mission is to prevent such things from happening or at least contain the aftermath.”
“What about the dragons?” Benji interrupted impatiently. “Why are they here?”
“There are dragons?” Tyler asked, alarmed.
Grandpa, however, just laughed. “Don’t get any ideas about becoming a knight errant or some nonsense.” He pointed a wrinkled finger at Benji. “Dragons would be more likely to talk you to death than to eat you.” He chuckled. “Dragons are here, yes, but they’re not truly dangerous. They are a special case.”
“What does that mean?” the genie, Marvin (what a stupid name for a genie!), asked.
“It means,” Aunt Rachel pitched in, “they are political prisoners.”
“And more boring than Algebra,” Jessie put in.
. “The sanctuaries have a long standing agreement with the dragon community,” Uncle Matt took up the explanation. “We confine political rebels and radicals from many populations, including dragons. Otherwise they would have wiped themselves out millennia ago.” He shook his head sadly. “Dragon society is very complex. They put a lot of emphasis on government. It takes decades to understand their politics, it’s incredibly confusing. Usurpation, impeachment, and policy upheavals are constantly underway.”
“The greatest weapon a dragon has,” Grandpa stated, “is a filibuster.”
“That sounds lame,” Benji said. He looked disappointed, but Sarah and the blue kid both wore expressions of relief.
“That it does,” Grandpa agreed, “but we have to protect the ‘lame’ societies just as we do the more interesting ones.”
“Why?” Sarah asked suddenly. Tyler was curious as well. “And why is it a secret?”
“Magic is an integral part of the universe,” Aunt Rachel answered her. “It’s another form energy contributing to the balance of the planet. There are alchemists who could explain it better,” she continued, “but let’s just say: if magic of any kind were lost or destroyed, removed from the equation, well . . .” she trailed off.
“Think apocalypse,” Jessie finished helpfully. Tyler wasn’t sure what was scarier, Jessie’s assertion, or the fact that no one was correcting her.
“What about the secrecy?” Tyler asked again.
“That’s a practical need.” It was Uncle Matt who answered. “Humans and magic parted ways many centuries ago,” he said. “Since that time, often out of simple fear or misunderstanding, humanity has sought to destroy the supernatural elements of the world.”
“If we were to expose magic now,” said Grandpa, “destruction would soon follow.”
“So by not telling us,” Benji queried in a sarcasm heavy voice, “you were averting the end of the world?”
“Something like that,” Grandpa said. “More so, we didn’t want to give you too much to handle all at once. As my grandchildren, you are actually entitled to the information.”
“Wait a minute,” Sarah interjected. She looked searchingly between the three adults. “Does dad know about this?” They each nodded at her solemnly and Sarah’s shoulders deflated. She gazed intently at the floorboards. “Did mom?” The question was so quiet Tyler barely heard it.
“Yes, honey,” Aunt Rachel replied softly, “she did.”
Sarah raised her hands in a helpless gesture, but didn’t look up. Tyler felt as if the floor just opened up beneath him. Even Benji was shocked motionless, his mouth agape.
Tyler never considered either of his parents could be aware. It hadn’t yet crossed his mind to even ask. Neither of them had mentioned it or given any hints. “This is the real reason why we lived so far away,” Tyler guessed. “This is why we never visited.”
“When you were born, your mother and father decided it was too dangerous,” Aunt Rachel explained. “As far as we knew, they always planned to tell you once you were older and out of school.” She spoke gently.
“I agreed with her assessment,” Grandpa said. “Raising kids here can be dangerous.”
“What about Jessie?” Tyler wanted to know. “What about Adam and Kimmy?”
“It’s a risk,” Uncle Matt admitted. “But we’ve found that knowledge is the best protector and they’re no more allowed to wander the property than you are.”
“Which is why,” Grandpa asserted gruffly, “you three will have to be prepared. You’ll have lessons regularly from now on.”
“Like school?” Benji exclaimed.
Grandpa nodded. “If you live here, you have to be prepared to deal with a wide range of circumstances. That means learning as much as you can.”
“What if we don’t want to?” Sarah asked. “What if we don’t want know about any of this?” She’d drawn her knees up and was hugging them to her chest. Tyler frowned at her worriedly. Her eyes were large and haunted in her pale face. What was up with her?
“You were always going to find out sooner or later.” Their grandfather spoke with remorse. “There is no help for it now and you need to be able to defend yourself if necessary, so information is vital.”
“So what else lives here?” Tyler changed the subje
ct. “We’ve got horses that have something to do with sleep, a centuries old cursed hunter, a non-magical genie, and dragons that talk too much? Anything else?”
Marvin snorted at Tyler’s reference to him, but his blue face reflected curiosity. Benji also looked eager to hear more. Only Sarah was apathetic.
Grandpa leaned back in his chair and closed his steely blue eyes in concentration. Without opening them again, he began listing things off. “Redcaps who dye their caps with blood, pixies that enjoy tasty human snacks, a few crazy wizards and a hag, but they’re relatively harmless. A sphinx, dwarves, acridien mice that breathe fire, fairies, centaurs, trolls, and many breeds of rare flora. Most are not allowed beyond their designated territories.” Grandpa opened his eyes with a satisfied expression. “Our purpose also includes preserving certain non-sentient species, like special plants or animals.”
“I imagine you saw the village across the lake on your midnight walk?” Aunt Rachel directed the question at Sarah. She nodded.
“The village,” she said, “is where most of the humanoid refugees live. All creatures here have been granted asylum for various reasons or simply have nowhere else to go and are more or less free to live normally, without persecution.”
“The village is the safest area of the sanctuary with the exception of the farm,” Grandpa added. “We’ll begin you’re education with a fieldtrip there tomorrow after lunch.” He clapped his hands and rubbed them together satisfactorily. “For now,” he continued, looking all the world like a smug magician. “I’m going to give each of you a map and a handbook.”
“This is a lot to process,” Aunt Rachel said. She helped Sarah to her feet. “But please,” she admonished, “don’t venture beyond the tree line again.” She held up her hand when Benji tried to object. “It’s only a temporary rule,” she said. “The more capable you prove yourselves to be, the more freedoms you’ll have.”
“What about me?” The genie raised a hand sheepishly. “I was told someone could help me or at least know what to do with me.”
“I don’t know that anyone that can imbue a genie with magic after it’s already been formed,” Grandpa answered thoughtfully. He rubbed the white stubble on his chin. “I can look into it, but I can’t promise anything.”
“Until then,” Uncle Matt put in, “we can grant you the freedom to live in the village if you choose or I guess you can stick around here?” The last part of the sentence got turned into a question directed at Grandpa.
“I don’t see what harm a powerless genie could cause,” the old man replied.
Marvin looked like he just won the lottery. “You mean I wouldn’t be tied to the lamp anymore?” he asked.
“No,” Grandpa answered. The genie’s excitement deflated. “I have no idea how to unbind a genie from its lamp.” He threw Aunt Rachel a questioning glance, but she shrugged helplessly.
“The only thing we can do,” she told the genie gently, “is get your master,” she gestured at Benji, “to grant you freedom of movement. However, you would still be obligated to Benji or whoever releases you from the lamp.”
“That’s okay,” Marvin said quickly, “anything is better than having to go back in the lamp right now.”
“I’ll see if we can figure something out,” Aunt Rachel said with another shrug.
Grandpa motioned the others to follow him to study effectively closing the genie discussion. “Never had a genie in the house before,” he muttered just loud enough for Tyler to hear.
Trust Benji to find a useless thing like Marvin. Who ever heard of a genie that couldn’t grant wishes? For that matter, who ever heard of genie that looked like Alfalfa from The Little Rascals and lived in a desk lamp? Tyler shook his head as he followed Grandpa, fully expecting to hit a white padded wall at any moment.
He didn’t. Instead, Tyler entered the mess of the study with his siblings. Uncle Matt dug around in a filing cabinet before producing a bunch of folded papers. He gave one to Tyler, Benji, and Sarah. They were topographical maps like the kind hikers used. The map was marked with dotted lines and symbols.
Aunt Rachel opened another drawer and presented them each with a tiny, palm sized book entitled The Key. Tyler flipped through the pages. It was a legend to the map identifying all of the symbols and adding short descriptions to the labeled locations.
By the window, Grandpa thumped a much larger tome on the surface of his desk. He added two identical volumes to his stack before addressing his grandchildren.
“The maps aren’t for leisure use,” he boomed. “I don’t want any of you to go exploring without express permission.” He glared them into acquiescence. “These books,” Grandpa pointed to the stack on his desk, “are handbooks. They’ll give you an overview of what’s out there and protocols on how to deal with them.” He handed one to Benji, who almost dropped his and shoved another of the heavy books Tyler’s direction. “These by no means equip you to deal with everything,” he added while handing the last volume to a reluctant Sarah.
“We get it,” Benji said impatiently. “We’re still not allowed to go anywhere or do anything.” Grandpa gave a rough nod.
“Just see you remember that past the next twenty minutes,” Grandpa reiterated. Benji muttered something, most likely something very rude, but everyone else ignored him.
Jessie had disappeared and Tyler thought it best he do likewise. He needed time to process this. The book in his arms weighed him down, but it was nothing compared to the heavy consequences of what he’d just been told.
Tyler left the study after some murmured good nights, and went up to his room. Sarah still looked troubled and pale. He worried about her, but didn’t know what to do about it. Anyone else might think it was cool to be suddenly initiated into mythology like this. Except it wasn’t myth. And it was dangerous. Tyler could guess why his sister was so upset. He wasn’t too thrilled himself. It was like learning you’re favorite teddy bear could talk. Only it also sucked your blood while you slept.
In his room, Tyler opened up the map and scrutinized it at his desk. He could see Left Paw’s woods clearly marked. There were other forested sections denoted with lines in different colors and patterns. Tyler was surprised to note the sanctuary included a desert and a swamp. Those weren’t landscapes he normally associated with Colorado.
He thought about going to see Left Paw despite Aunt Rachel’s temporary rule. Tyler would love to get some additional answers from the hunter. The idea was inviting, but Tyler decided to peruse the handbook instead. The large tome bore no title, but it was far more interesting than anything else Tyler had ever read. He fell asleep with his light on, the book open on his chest to a passage about trees with blooms that could make you forget everything.
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