The Seventh Mountain

by Gene Curtis

  Chapter 19

   

  The Rescue

   

  Sleep, that wonderful place where dreams are real and reality but a dream.

   

   

  Mark climbed up and out to find that helping hands were waiting for him. The voice was gone from his head. He lay down on the cold museum floor and sleep overtook him, mind, body and soul. He hadn’t slept in who knows how long. It felt good to finally be able to sleep.

  Days passed, and Mark didn’t wake up. Twice a day, while he was asleep, his friends Jamal, Chenoa and Nick would come to visit his bedside. On occasion, LeOmi Jones, Cap’n Ben and, of all things, Slone Voif came to visit, too.

  They always asked the same questions, “How’s he doing?” and “How long will he sleep?” They always got the same obvious answers from either the guard at his bedside or the nurse that tended him. “He’s doing as well as can be expected.” and “We don’t know how long he will sleep.”

  Mark awoke lying in a hospital bed with curtains isolating his bed from the rest of the ward. He sat up, listened, and couldn’t hear anything. That’s strange. I should be able to hear something. He got up and pulled the curtain back. It was then that he knew that this was a dream.

  He was overlooking farmland from high above. He was over the land in Virginia. It had to be, the Newsome Farm was off to the right. His house was directly below. The scent of pine and sawdust drifted on the breeze.

  Time moved in fast forward. The trees below were cleared away, revealing a large pile of stones that had been hidden in the undergrowth. They were unusually white stones and somehow drew his attention.

  The stones flew up, one at first, then another, and another, until a large mass of stones was flying from the ground toward him. Individually, the stones passed and disappeared behind him.

  Suddenly he was moving down toward where the stones had been, and then down into an underground tunnel. It smelled like wet dirt. He passed through the tunnel, turning left then right, heading ever deeper down and then back up a little. It was like being on some vast underground roller coaster.

  Finally, the ride stopped. He looked around. The tunnel curved off and down to the left, continuing on. Soil and stones fell from the right side of the wall revealing large chunks of gold colored rocks. He started to touch one of the golden rocks and the dream ended.

  He opened his eyes and found that he was still in the hospital bed. The dream had been so real, which was becoming so commonplace now that he was having trouble telling the difference. Someone pulled the curtain back.

  “Well, hello there.” The woman looked young. She wore a lightweight white hooded cloak over her white tunic. She pulled back her hood and smiled the kind of smile that says glad to see you. Her very blue eyes were gleaming.

  “Mrs. Shadowitz wants to be notified the moment that you’re awake. But first, is there anything that I can get for you?”

  “My staff! Where’s my staff?”

  “I don’t know. It was here yesterday. Mrs. Shadowitz must have taken it for safekeeping.”

  If Mrs. Shadowitz had the staff, that was okay. He trusted her and she certainly knew how important the staff was.

  Mark sat up and noticed that he was wearing some type of white robe. He also noticed that he was hungry, very hungry.

  “Ma’am, I’m hungry. Can I have something to eat?”

  “Of course, you can. What would you like?”

  “Breakfast. Anything really.”

  “What state are you from?”

  “North Carolina.”

  “Okay. I’ll send someone to get a proper North Carolina breakfast.”

  Mark smiled a sleepy smile and nodded. The woman turned and put her hood back up before walking off.

  Mark, still feeling groggy, dozed until Mrs. Shadowitz pulled back the curtain. She was accompanied by Mark’s family.

  “Oh, hon, you’re all right. I was so worried.” Shirley rushed to the bedside and hugged her son.

  “Hi, Mom. I’m all right.”

  Steve said, “That was some ordeal that you’ve been through. Mrs. Shadowitz filled us in. The whole school is talking about it.”

  “Yes sir. It was. I don’t want to do that again, anytime soon. How long have I been asleep?”

  “A week.”

  Mrs. Shadowitz walked up to the bed. She wasn’t holding the staff. Mark thought, Maybe she has it in Aaron’s Grasp.

  “Hello, there. I’m glad to see that you’re finally awake.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Me too.”

  “I’ve sent a runner to tell your friends that you’re awake. I’m sure that they’ll be up, right after class.”

  “Thank you. Do you have my staff?”

  “You’re welcome, and no, I don’t have your staff. It’s supposed to be right here with you. It was here yesterday. That’s why the guard has been posted here since you came in.”

  Mrs. Shadowitz turned to the guard. He was a big fellow, wearing a white tunic and cloak. The hood obscured his face.

  “Who’s been here to see Mark since I was here last?”

  The guard looked at his clipboard. “Jamal Terfa, Chenoa Day, Nikola Poparov, Slone Voif, LeOmi Jones and Cap’n Ben.”

  “Bring them here, immediately!”

  “Yes, ma’am.” The guard turned and went out the door.

  “Slone Voif, I should have known. He’s trying to get me back for that last joke we played on him.”

  Mrs. Shadowitz turned back to Mark. “We’ll see.”

  Tim, Gerod and Shana walked into the ward, carrying trays of food. They sat them on a table that was against the wall, pulled the table out, and adjusted the chairs.

  Tim said, “A proper North Carolina breakfast, there is enough for everyone.”

  The entire group sat and ate, waiting for the guard to return. When he did, he didn’t have good news.

  “Here’re the students that you sent for, except for Cap’n Ben. I can’t find him, anywhere. I’ve sent more runners to look for him.”

  “Very well, see to it that I see him, immediately, when he is found.”

  Mrs. Shadowitz stood and faced each student in turn. She looked them up and down.

  “None of these have it with them.”

  She faced each student again, in turn.

  “Slone, do you know where the staff is?”

  Slone tilted his head and looked at Mark. His eyebrows narrowed slightly and a smile came across his lips and quickly faded. “No, ma’am. I don’t.”

  She asked the same question of Nick, Jamal, Chenoa, and LeOmi and got the same answer.

  Mrs. Shadowitz said, “I believe that they are telling the truth.”

  Mark said, “That has to mean that Cap’n Ben has the staff and has gone into the labyrinth.”

  “That could be true, but it’s not likely. Anyone would have had a very difficult time getting that staff past the guards. They all have spirit sight, the ability to see with the mind’s eye. Mr. Diefenderfer uses it all the time, since he lost his eyes. The guards would have been able to see anything in Aaron’s Grasp.”

  “What if they weren’t looking, like something distracted them?”

  “That’s possible, but very difficult… unless it was right at watch change.” Mrs. Shadowitz looked at the guard. “Let me see your clipboard.”

  The guard handed her the clipboard.

  “There it is. Cap’n Ben checked in by one guard and checked out by another.” She looked at the students. “You can go back to class now.”

  Chenoa said, “Mr. Diefenderfer dismissed class early when we left. Is it all right if we stay?”

  Slone said, “I’ve got things to do. Glad you’re okay.” He turned and left.

  “Yes, of course, you can stay.”

  Mrs. Shadowitz looked at the guard. “Check the armory for me and see if any armor is missing.”

  The new style of Magi armor was made from designer molecules in an unstable matrix. This form
ed a fast acting destabilization exponentially related to the amount of energy applied. In simple terms that means that it was a lightweight material like cloth, that got harder and tougher based on the amount of force applied to it.

  The armor had the added feature that it was self-cooling or self-warming depending on how it was worn. The large molecules in the fabric were constantly changing orientation, spinning in place, and acting as molecular fans. The critical temperatures were fifty degrees below zero on the cold side and two hundred degrees above zero on the hot side. Below and above those temperatures, the armor was useless.

  “Yes, ma’am.” The guard turned and walked out.

  She turned back to Mark. “I don’t think that it is likely that he entered the labyrinth without armor. If there’s armor missing, then it’s likely that he went in.”

  Shirley said, “Honey, you’re not thinking of going back in there, are you?”

  “If I have to, Mom. What if I’m the only one the staff works for?”

  Mrs. Shadowitz said, “That is possible. The staff has been around for a long time, and no one has ever escaped from any of the labyrinths.”

  “What if he isn’t in there? It’s too dangerous; I won’t allow it.”

  “Mrs. Young, I afraid that it’s not your decision. It’s Mark’s.”

  “What do you mean it’s not my decision, I’m his mother?”

  “Sweetheart, calm down. I’m sure that every precaution that can be taken will be taken. If Mark is the only one who can rescue these people, then he has a duty to do just that.”

  Shirley stood. “Calm down! I will not calm down! You’re talking about letting him walk right back into the very gates to hell and you want me to calm down!”

  “Mrs. Young, there are other people on this ward. Please keep your voice down. As for Mark, only he can make that decision, and we will support him in either one.”

  “Just how much does he have to sacrifice? He’s already missed his birthday in there! And now you want him to sacrifice his childhood! He’s only thirteen years old and you expect him to act like an adult! What if Cap’n Ben isn’t in there? What if the staff is lost forever?”

  Mark reached out and grabbed his mother’s hand. “Mom, I can’t just let those people stay in there when I can get them out.”

  Shirley looked at Mark and dropped to her knees. Tears were streaming down her face. “Honey, Benrah wants you dead; or worse yet, trapped in that awful place, forever. You can’t go back in there, you just can’t.”

  Mark took his mother’s hands. “I want you to answer me honestly. On second thought, you don’t have to answer me at all, because I already know the answer. What would you do in my place?”

  Shirley started to speak but paused. She dropped her chin to her chest and shook her head.

  The guard returned. “Cap’n Ben checked out a full set of body armor and a bee-keeping suit, four days ago.”

  Mrs. Shadowitz looked at Tim. “Just to be sure, mount a full-scale search for him. Notify everyone to presuppose that he doesn’t want to be found.”

  Tim said, “Yes, ma’am.” He got up and left.

  “Gerod, I want you to go and get The General.”

  Gerod got up and left.

  “The rest of you can follow me down to the museum, if you like.”

  Shana said, “I’ve got to get back to The Oasis; my shift is about to start. I’ll pass the word about what’s happened, if that’s okay?”

  Mrs. Shadowitz nodded and Shana left.

  Steve looked at Mrs. Shadowitz. “If he’s going back in there, I had better give him his birthday present now.”

  Mrs. Shadowitz nodded and reached into Aaron’s Grasp. She removed a katana and handed it to Steve.

  Steve handed the sword to Mark. “Happy birthday, son. It’s the real deal.”

  Mark pulled the blade from its sheath. The cutting edge looked as sharp as a straight razor. He knew not to touch it.

  “Ms. Vanmie says that it is a three body sword, one of the very best Magi have ever made. You take good care of it, and it’ll take good care of you.”

  Traditionally, the Japanese rated katana swords according to how many heads could be lopped off or how many bodies could be completely severed with a single blow. Many prisoners were executed in this cause. Magi-made katana swords were rated with the same terminology but their effective cutting efficiency was arrived at by entirely scientific measurements.

   * * * 

  Down in the museum, the vigil started once again. Mr. McGraw reported that the door had already opened and closed for today. Since Mark didn’t have the staff, they had to wait for the door to open again. There was no telling when that would happen.

  Hours passed into the night and morning came ever so slowly. Tim kept everyone fed, making many trips to The Oasis and returning with orders filled to perfection. They all slept in shifts, fitful and anxious about the upcoming foray into the labyrinth. What if Cap’n Ben wasn’t in there? Mark would be trapped until the staff could be found and then some. Mark was prepared, though. There was a duffel bag filled with meal packs, enough for two people for well over a month. Warm clothing was waiting to be tossed in after him and he had a large lantern. The easel and The General were there. All of the bases were covered.

  It was well after 9 a.m. when the door opened. Tim threw the duffel bag into the opening.

  Mark stepped in and onto the ladder. He looked around with the light and didn’t see anything.

  “Cap’n Ben! Are you in here?”

  The voice entered his head. “Get out of here. You have no place in here. I won’t let you save him; he’s mine. You can’t do this, it’s not allowed. My master will be furious. I won’t let you. I can control you, look!”

  Mark felt a very strong urge to throw the lantern down, almost too strong to resist. He did resist though, by sheer will alone. It took all of his mind to do this, which prevented him from reaching into his pocket for a bug bomb.

  Gerod saw to it that Mark had an ample supply of what he called “bug bombs.” It was an adaptation of an ancient method of making an evil essence run for the hills. It had the benefit that it worked almost instantaneously and was effective for several hours.

  Gerod said that he had found the formula, for burning a special kind of fish’s heart and liver together, in an ancient manuscript. He designed the bomb by dehydrating the heart and liver, adding a water capsule to re-hydrate the organs and a sodium capsule to make the concoction burn. It worked by rupturing the water capsule. He claimed that it even worked on Benrah.

  Gerod said, “The only drawback is that they always come back mad as a hornet’s nest.”

  Mark became fatigued from the struggle, but he didn’t give up. It seemed like forever before that evil thing relented.

  “You win this time, but next time you won’t be prepared for it. I’ll get you! You won’t get out of here. You’ll rip his heart out before I’m through with you and then you’ll eat it and then I’ll make him do the same thing to you.”

  Mark dropped a bug bomb, but he was still on the ladder and the vapors would take a while to reach that high. He quickly started his descent, being careful to lock at least one arm on each rung, just in case it tried to throw him off the ladder.

  He climbed lower and lower, realizing that the voice had not reentered his head. That bug bomb must have worked.

  Mark heard a voice below him. “Oh, good! It’s you.”

  “Of course, it’s me. Who’d you expect?”

  “I don’t know. This voice in my head kept telling me all kinds of things.”

  “You have the staff, right.”

  “Yeah, I’ve got it, for what good it did me.”

  “Come on up, and we’ll get out of here.”

  Cap’n Ben started climbing the ladder. “How’d you stand it in here? I mean it’s like hope doesn’t exist here. And that voice will drive you crazy… hey, where is it?”

  “I dropped a bug bomb; that ran it off.
It won’t be gone for long, though.”

  “What’s a bug bomb?”

  “It’s like bug spray for evil, only it doesn’t kill it, it just makes it go away for a while.”

  “So, that’s what that smell is. Right, let’s get out of here.”

  “You’re going to fall asleep as soon as you get out.”

  “I figured that out.”

  “Why’d you come in here in the first place?”

  “Nobody else was. Those people, trapped in here, need to get out.”

  “So, you thought you could do it by yourself.”

  “Yeah, you know me, do or die.”

  They climbed out and Cap’n Ben fell asleep immediately. Mark didn’t, he had only been in there for a few minutes by his time and less than ten seconds outside time.

   * * * 

  The next day a mission was mounted to rescue those trapped in the labyrinth.

  Mark walked into the school’s museum with Mrs. Shadowitz. There were well over three hundred people dressed in gray work tunics, led by Mr. Diefenderfer and Gerod that filed into the museum. Each was carrying a duffel bag. The plan was that everyone would enter the labyrinth when Mark opened the door. The group would move through the rooms leaving one person in the previous room entered so that they could guide the way back. The idea of leaving markers in the rooms was thought to be too easy to tamper with.

  Mark opened the door with the staff. Gerod tossed in a couple of bug bombs. He had no liking at all for the doom-saying voice that he had been told about.

  “That ought to teach that pipsqueak imp who he’s messing with.”

  Mark held the door open with his staff, and everyone entered and climbed down the ladder. That event alone took more than eight hours, outside time. Mark was the last one in and down the ladder.

  The cavern that was the first room was well lit. Lanterns were burning and placed around on the floor. Everyone had staked out sections of the floor for themselves. The first ones in had already been there at least eight days according to time in the labyrinth. Mark made his way over to where the next door was.

  Mark addressed the entire group. “Roaches. Get cinched up. It’s really gross in there.”

  Everyone started putting their beekeeping hats on over their armor.

  Gerod asked, “Are there any other doors in here?”

  “This is the only door that I know about. I don’t have any idea when it opens or how often. There might be other doors. This is the only one that has a sign beside it.”

  Mr. Diefenderfer asked Mark, “Did… perchance… you happen to… use the staff… to check… for other doors?”

  “No sir. I didn’t.”

  Mr. Diefenderfer shook his head. “Can’t say… that I would have… either… It might be… prudent… to do so now.” He lost his balance and started to fall, but Thaddeus Thorpe, one of the instructors from combat class, caught him.

  “Are you all right, sir?”

  “I don’t know… this place… is most… disconcerting… and discomforting. Stay close… would you please.”

  “Maybe your brain damage is healing. All sorts of ailments are disappearing for other people in here. Even my nose has cleared up. I can smell things! Although, I’m not sure that is a good thing in here.”

  Mark worked his way along the wall. It took more than an hour before he reached the spot where all of the artifacts had been strewn. The wall opened.

  “Hey, I’ve got it, another door!”

  Everyone walked through the opening.

  Even with all the lanterns lit, no one could see the far wall or the ceiling. The group was starting to spread out when they heard a low, guttural voice.

  The voice said, “New meat.”

  Mr. Diefenderfer’s voice seemed different, defiant.

  “Prepare for combat!”

  Everyone drew their swords and sat their lanterns and duffel bags down. The group backed themselves up into a large circle, everyone facing out. They moved slowly, as a unit, toward the sound of the voice.

  Mr. Diefenderfer spoke again. “We’re here to… rescue you. We have the key… to the labyrinth.”

  Another voice came from a different direction. The group tensed and stopped.

  “You lie. There is no way out of here. No one has ever escaped.”

  “No one has ever escaped. That is true. That is because no one ever knew that there was a key to the doors in here.”

  Still from another direction there came the sound of ringing steel being scraped across stone. “There is no key. You lie.”

  “We can demonstrate if you let us.”

  Another voice answered. “Go ahead, show us. If you fail, you’ll make a fine supper.”

  Still another voice said, “Ah… I want new meat, let’s eat ‘em for supper, anyway.”

  A metal bucket clanged past the group.

  Gerod said, “Oh yes, we brought food for you. There is enough for everyone here. Check those bags that we sat down over there.”

  A figure scurried into the light, grabbed a bag, and pulled it back into the shadows.

  “He’s lying. There is no food, get ‘em.” The voice came from a different area than where the guy that had taken the bag had gone.

  Gerod said, “There is food, enough for all of you, and we have discovered the way out.”

  “You lie, there is no way out.”

  Mark said, “Yes, there–” Mr. Diefenderfer’s hand on his shoulder silenced him.

  The voice from the guy with the bag sounded. “He’s telling the truth about the food. If the other bags are like this one, there is enough for everyone and then some.”

  “Tell me, is there here… one called… Joseph Young?”

  “Yeah. He’s on the other side.”

  “If you could produce him… he would vouch, I’m sure… for my veracity.”

  “That’s not needed. Show us this key you said you had.”

  Mark started to hold up the staff, but Mr. Diefenderfer put his hand on his hand and stopped him. He whispered to the group. “Move slowly back toward the door.”

  “Hold it! I just want to see the key.”

  “We have the key but it takes… a specific person to operate it.” Mr. Diefenderfer’s speech was definitely improving.

  “Yeah. Show me.”

  “We’re not trying to trick you. Don’t be alarmed.”

  The figure that had been doing most of the talking stepped from the shadows. He was ragged and very dirty looking. A troglodyte existence had transformed this man into a loathsome pariah of a creature, seemingly unfit for the outside world. Speculation on their culture that had evolved over the eons that they had been trapped in this place brought to mind unspeakable atrocities, unacceptable to be told in any circumstances. He was missing an arm, freshly severed and not yet grown back.

  “I’m not the one who should be afraid.” He stepped closer to the group and his body odor was overpowering.

  Thaddeus said, “That’s close enough, we can smell you just fine.”

  The group moved to the area of the door that they had just come through. Mark touched the wall with the staff. Nothing happened. Mark slid the staff along the wall, to the right, until an opening appeared. Very large winged creatures fluttered out.

  Mark said, “It’s the wrong room.”

  The lone figure that had emerged into the light said, “That’s not the door you came through. Go back the other way.”

  Mark did as the man said. A few feet past where he had started was where he found the door.

  The man said, “It looks like he’s telling the truth. Start rounding everyone up and tell ‘um the news.”

  It didn’t take long for people; dirty, ragged, defeated wretches really, to start coming to the door with just a glimmer of hope shining in their dull eyes. At first, there were just one or two at a time, then groups of three, four, and five, and then large groups of ten and more, started coming. Mark gave them all the same instructions, while holding his n
ose and the door. Most of the workers and some of the instructors followed the group.

  “The next room is the way out. Don’t go into any other rooms. When we get everybody into this room, I’ll come and open the door that leads out.”

  Most of the workers who had come in with the expedition busied themselves passing out meal packs and reassuring everyone that what was happening was, in fact, real.

  Mr. Diefenderfer led a team of explorers to search the huge room.

  After no one coming for over an hour, Mark walked back into the first room and climbed the ladder a few steps. He was sure that everyone could see him.

  “When you get out, you are going to fall asleep. That’s natural, since you haven’t been able to sleep, at all, for as long as you have been in here. That’s going to happen to me, too. There may be other effects as well. Some of you may wish to stay in here until all your injuries are healed. We came this far to get you out. We won’t abandon you now.”

  Mark pointed up. “The way out is up there. I’m going to climb this ladder and open the door. The group up there is going to help you out. It might take some time. Be patient.”

  He reached the top and pushed the staff through the door. He saw a commotion start in the museum. He didn’t want to fall asleep so he didn’t climb out. Shortly, the first person was up.

  Mark asked the first climber as he neared the exit, “Do you know Joseph Young? Is he here?”

  “He’s not here. Must still be back in the grotto.”

  “Thanks.”

  Every prisoner elected to climb out. One day later, inside time, the last one was out. Mark climbed back down the ladder and entered the room where everybody had been. No one was there to be seen. The poignant, overbearing oppressiveness of the labyrinth was beginning to sink into him, again. He was hungry, and he wanted very much to sleep.

  What was that? He saw, out of the corner of his eye, a shadow cross near him.

  Mark scanned the room. There was no sign of anyone. He turned off the lantern that had been left near the door and waited for his eyes to adjust to the dark. There, in the far distance, he could see the faint glow of light.

  He turned the lantern back on and looked for the bags that had been left there. They were gone. The contents had been strewn on the floor. He found a meal pack, sat down and began to eat. Just when he was finishing his meal, he heard a large rush of water in the distance. A few minutes later, water started creeping over the floor.

  Mark stood and held the lantern up. Meal packs were starting to float on the water. The water was slowly rising. He backed up to where the door was. Evidently the floor was slightly sloped away from the wall. Water hadn’t reached there yet.

  There was another sound of water rushing, this time, somewhat closer. The water on the floor started to recede; carrying meal packs with it, farther into the cavern until the water was no longer deep enough to float them. Again, Mark saw a shadow cross beside him. He turned to look and nothing was there.

  “Who’s there?”

  No answer.

  Mark put the staff into Aaron’s Grasp and withdrew his sword. “We have the key to the labyrinth. Everyone else is already out of here.”

  Silence.

  Mark retrieved the staff and touched the wall. The door opened. “I’m telling the truth. There is a way out of here.”

  More silence.

  Mark spoke to an imaginary person in the next room. “There’s someone out here, but they won’t say anything or show themselves.”

  Might be a spirit. I had better toss out a couple of bug bombs.

  Mark did just that. They ignited and burned. A burnt fish smell filled the air.

  Mark heard something approaching. He turned to look. He saw a lantern. When the figure approached closer, he could see that it was Gerod.

  “Hi, Mark. Thought you might be back by now. How are you holding up?”

  “I’ve been better, but I’m all right.”

  Gerod sniffed the air. “Bug bomb?”

  “Yeah, I’ve been seeing this shadow moving out of the corner of my eye. I didn’t want to take any chances.”

  “It might be that ancient warrior that Joseph Young was telling us about. He’s supposed to be guarding a sunstone.”

  “A sunstone?”

  “The ancient Aztecs used to carve calendars is stone. This one must be a special one. This guy won’t let anyone get near it.”

  “Where is it?”

  Gerod picked up a meal pack. “Don’t know. We haven’t found it yet. We’ve found a bunch of other stuff though.”

  “What kind of stuff?”

  “Well, we found the lost U.T. stone, an ancient cloak, an ancient manuscript; Mr. Diefenderfer thinks that it might be the lost Testament of Enoch. There’s a bunch of stuff. Everything that we are finding was placed so that it wouldn’t get flushed.”

  “Flushed?”

  “Yeah. The floor is like a big shallow bowl with a door in the middle. First, all of the doors around the walls open at the same time. That decreases the air pressure in here. Water rushes in until the pressure is equalized again. The door in the floor opens and pressurized air rushes in as the water flows out, one giant flush. Evidently, a flowing substance can pass both ways through the doors when they open.”

  The precious few possessions that had been brought into the labyrinth were either kept with their owners or left where the invading waters couldn’t reach them.

  “Where does the water come from?”

  “Haven’t got the foggiest. Let’s go look.”

  Mark put the staff and sword back into Aaron’s Grasp. “Let’s go.”

  “Which way did you hear that first flush from?”

  Mark pointed across the way. “Over there. It sounded like it was a good ways off.”

  “I don’t think that the others have made it that far yet. We’ll probably see them when we get over there.”

  “Isn’t this place getting to you guys yet?”

  “You mean no sleep, little food and just the evil feeling of the place? Yeah, it’s getting to us, but we have a job to do. You can either let it get to you and quit or you can do the best job you can. It’s up to the person really. True Magi will do what they have to. They won’t quit. If we quit, we lose.”

  Mark and Gerod crossed the expanse making small talk about what they wanted to do when they were out of the labyrinth.

  They stopped when a quick shadow passed in front of them. Mark asked, “What was that?”

  “Don’t know. It could be that ancient warrior fellow trying to warn us off. I don’t sense any evil presence.”

  “Let’s take a wide path around that area ahead.”

  “That sounds like a wise move. I don’t know what this fellow wants, or what he is capable of.”

  They walked left, giving a wide berth to whatever might lie ahead.

  “Hold on a second, Mark. I’m going to try far seeing again. No one has been able to do it in here yet. I’m thinking that if I concentrate, I might be able to do it, a little.”

  Gerod dropped to his knees and put his hands over his face. After a moment he said, “I’ve got it. That’s the sunstone, about fifty yards to the right.”

  “I wish I could do that.”

  “Gerod stood back up and they continued walking. “That’s a couple of years ahead of where you are right now, but if you really want to learn, I’ll help you when we get out.”

  “Is it hard?”

  “Learning to see with the mind’s eye is a little difficult, but after that, far seeing is pretty easy.”

  “Why is it so hard to do in here?”

  “I don’t know. There’s just something about this place that oppresses your spirit.”

  “What’s the hardest thing to learn?”

  “Well now, that depends on the person. Most say that remanifesting is the hardest. Some say Maode Maharaw.”

  “I’ve already done that.”

  “Yes, but you can’t yet call it up at will.
”

  Mark looked down at his feet. “No, I can’t.”

  “Well, I’d say that learning and understanding the basic connections between the mind, body and spirit are the hardest. Once you understand that, then everything else falls into place.”

  “Like, how?”

  “Let’s see… have you ever been preparing to go on a trip or going to do something that you were excited about, and you had to get up early? You set the alarm, and then you get up five minutes before the alarm goes off.”

  “Yeah! When we were going to Albuquerque.”

  “That’s what I’m talking about. Your mind, body and spirit were all working for the same goal. Do you remember how you felt that night before you went to bed?”

  “Yeah, I felt good; I was really looking forward to being there. I felt almost as if I were there.”

  “That kind of attitude, that kind of feeling, and that kind of belief are what you need to develop for anything that you are working on.”

  “I see. That sounds like it might be hard. It’s hard to get that excited about stuff.”

  “Excited isn’t the right word. It’s more like a very cheerful commitment.”

  “I see. It’s like when I developed Aaron’s Grasp. I was just walking along, talking to my friends and practicing the exercises. I wasn’t really thinking about it. I was just doing it automatically. That’s when I got it. I can’t really explain it.”

  “That’s right. You let your mind step out of the process, so that your body and your spirit could work together without obstruction. That’s what it takes for Aaron’s Grasp. For Remanifestation, your mind, body, and spirit have to want to be someplace else, all at the exact same moment. For seeing with the mind’s eye you want to shut your body out and let your mind and spirit work together. For far seeing you let your spirit take control of the process.”

  “I see.”

  “It all comes down to understanding the relationships between the mind, body, and spirit and learning how to control them. Ah, it looks like we are there.” Gerod stopped and pointed at the wall. “The water has to come from somewhere around here. Hold on while I use the Far Seeing again.”

  Gerod dropped to his knees again and covered his face. “Ah… That’s interesting. The water is in a pool on a ledge high up on the wall.” Gerod stood back up. “There’s a ledge, like a ramp, that leads up to the ledge on that wall. It starts way over there.” He pointed to the wall on the right. “That solves the mystery of where the water comes from.”

  “Gerod… Is that you?” Mr. Diefenderfer’s distant voice came from the wall area to the left. They looked and saw lanterns approaching.

  “Yes, sir. Mark’s with me.”

  “Good. As soon as we complete the circumference, we can get out of this wretched place.”

  “Did you find many more artifacts?”

  “We have twenty-five bags full, plus what we can carry.”

  “We found the sunstone. That ancient warrior is still guarding it, we think.”

  “What do you mean? He either is or he isn’t.”

  “We didn’t see him directly, but someone is around, watching us. We’ve only seen him as a shadow of motion. We didn’t want to provoke him so we didn’t get too close to the sunstone.”

  “Where is the sunstone?”

  “It’s about two hundred or so yards back that way.” Gerod pointed toward the center of the cavern.

  “Very well. We’ll leave it for now.”

  The group caught up with Gerod and Mark.

  A man spoke whom Mark didn’t recognize.

  “So, you’re Mark Young. My good friend, AlHufus, has told me about you. I am Joseph Young, your great, great, great, great, grandfather. I am pleased to meet you.” Joseph Young offered his hand to Mark.

  Mark shook his hand. “I’m pleased to meet you, sir.”

  On the way around the rest of the perimeter, they found an assortment of other artifacts. Mark got to hear the story, from Joseph Young himself, of how he came to have the staff and the foretelling that led to where they were today.

  “I have the unique ability to see, as it were, underground. If I concentrate, I am able to see objects that do not occur in nature. I was in the Middle East, on an excavation, when I saw the staff. I dug it out. As soon as I touched it, I was given the foretelling of you and this staff. I had no clue as to what the staff was or what it was to be used for. I only knew that the sixth firstborn in my line of descendants would inherit it. I was shown where to hide the staff in a dream and was told never to speak of it to anyone. As a precaution, I enciphered a message that only you could read. It seems a good thing that I did that.”

  The group reached the door with all of the artifacts that they could carry. Mark had a little trouble finding the door again, but once he did, everyone filed into the room that led out of the labyrinth. Mark was about to enter when he felt a heavy blow strike the back of his neck. He went down to his knees. Instinctively he shoved the staff into Aaron’s Grasp and started to pull his sword out but was too late. The door closed. Another blow struck the back of his neck. Blackness engulfed his consciousness.