He handed her a very small Stone and as she stared at it he bent down and kissed her on her cheek as he faded away.
**
She rode by the light of the full moon. The moon was so bright that the shadows of two horses, a small jaguar, and a despondent and heartbroken woman followed them.
Lina tried to focus on her task, but her mind kept forcing its way back to her departure.
“We must come with you!” Dorry and Sana cried. They had assumed that they would be going with the Oracle, as always.
“You must stay and help the people. You are expert healers and your services are greatly needed. You must also watch over my son. You must help Anha.”
Anha was Lina’s sister-in-law. She had two children and she was a wonderful mother. She loved Napan as if he was her own son and he loved her. Her son would have many wonderful people watching over him.
That’s what she kept telling herself. It was the only hope that she could cling to.
“Besides,” Lina told Dorry and Sana, “who will explain my disappearance? If you don’t tell DeMere what happened then he will come looking for me and all will be lost. You must stay and cover for me.”
Lina had listened to every one of their arguments and their solutions, but none of their plans was as foolproof as the plan that had been set in motion.
It was decided that Lina would meet an untimely death in the forest. Dorry and Sana would tell everyone that Lina had chased a wounded animal into the forest. Her attempts to find and heal the animal would cause her to be attacked and killed by a wild beast. Shredded bits of clothing would be scattered as evidence of her demise. Her handmaidens would explain that the Oracle had never recovered from her husband’s death and she wasn’t thinking clearly when she followed the hurt animal. It would be assumed that Phena was with her, and that he too was killed.
In Lina’s visions she could see that this story would convince everyone of her death. She had a vision of DeMere and his rage was indeed terrible, but she saw that his powers would never be more than they were now. The visions of the future where he killed masses of people with Lina’s Crystal Firestone Weapon were no more.
This danger had passed with her leaving.
As Lina removed the last Stone from the cave and turned to say goodbye, she looked up at the Protection Key and it began to glow. The fiery red glow grew more and more intense until it seared and encircled the Key. When the glow faded, all traces of the Key were gone.
The Grotto of Life was no more.
Lina’s plan was simple. She would do as she had always done and follow the Signs. She would hide the Stones where no one would ever find them, but just in case one was found, she would scatter them throughout the land, as far apart as she could. The Stones would never again be together; therefore their power would be diminished.
Once she had considered destroying the Stones, but she knew that their destruction was not an option. They were meant to survive. Her job was to hide them until the time was right for them to once again be found.
They traveled north since this was the way that the Signs led them. It was many weeks before she hid the first Stone. As they traveled, they came upon a large flock of ravens, which appeared to be diving and attacking something. When they went to investigate they found nothing that the birds could possibly be interested in. Lina’s intuition told her that this was the burial spot for the first Stone. She dug a deep hole and buried it tenderly in a covering of fine cloth. Dorry and Sana had worked tirelessly sewing the fine coverings for the Stones. Lina’s tears fell freely as she thought of them and all that she left behind. Her tears mingled with the earth as she lovingly covered the Stone. She put many rocks and stones over the fresh earth so no one would suspect that the ground had been disturbed.
She and Phena moved on. They had many Stones to hide before their task was complete.
The Signs never ended; sometimes a fragrance, sometimes a sound, sometimes a gentle breeze. The Signs were easy for Lina to see because she believed in them, and she believed that they were there.
At one point she considered going back. She was getting down to the last few Stones and even though she and Phena had traveled for many months, she began to imagine a way to explain her disappearance and return. As she grew stronger in her conviction that she would return, the land rumbled, as if in response. The horses screamed in fright as the ground shook. Lina had a strong vision of an enormous section of land simply breaking off and falling into the sea. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she could never find her way home again.
Her hopes dashed, she slowly and resignedly continued her trek northward.
The day finally came when she was down to her last Stone. It was her favorite, the giant Opal, and she was reluctant to part with it. She had developed a habit of pretending to consult with the Guardian using the Stone that he had given her. Whenever she would come to a crossroad of not knowing what to do, she would hold the Stone and flip it up and down, up and down.
“Yes or no, yes or no,” she would chant as the Stone flipped in her hands.
This time, she stopped flipping and said, “I know what the answer is, my beloved Guardian. I know that I have to give it up, just like I gave up everything else.”
“Phena here always,” the little jaguar comforted her.
She hugged him so tightly that he began to squirm.
“I know, and I’ll be forever grateful for that. I could never have done this without you.”
Just then Phena sniffed the air suspiciously.
“What is it?” she asked him.
“Familiar smell,” he stated. “We must follow.”
Phena led them to a stream that led to a beautiful waterfall. As soon as Lina saw the crystal water cascading over the smooth rocks she knew that this was the right place for the last Stone.
She tethered their horses near the waterfall. Phena led them around the base of the waterfall where they climbed a path that ended behind the thundering water. As the water crashed onto the pool below, Phena and Lina explored the small cave behind the waterfall. There were plenty of loose stones so they buried the Opal Stone in the cave behind a wall of rocks.
As Lina mounted her horse and they prepared to leave, the horses once again screamed in fear as the earth shook. A rockslide erupted at the top of the waterfall and when the earth settled, Lina was certain that the cave no longer existed.
“Thank you, Guardian,” Lina told him, because she was certain that he was behind this earthquake.
“The Stones are now all hidden and safe, but where are Phena and I to go?”
She didn’t receive an immediate answer, but as they left the waterfall behind, a pair of eagles circled above them. The majestic birds seemed to hover until they were sure that they had been spotted, and then they flew off in a northeasterly direction.
“Well, Phena,” she said, “I guess that’s where we’re going.”
The days were relaxed and blended one into the other, but even Phena was growing restless. They no longer had a job to do. Their days had always been jammed with more tasks than they could possibly perform, but they were fulfilling and immensely rewarding. These days of rest were actually quite difficult. Just when they were wondering what to do with themselves, a solution presented itself in the form of a baby goat.
Phena led them to the cries of distress. The baby goat had a broken leg. Lina immediately tended to it and in no time at all, the baby was sleeping peacefully in Lina’s arms.
“We must find this Little One’s herd. Do you think you can lead us to them?” she asked Phena.
“Goats stink. Too easy,” he responded as he trotted off.
“A simple yes would do,” she answered, but Phena ignored her as he tracked the goat’s family.
Lina expected to find a herd of wild goats, but to her amazement she found a penned herd of domesticated goats, and a village.
**
“Lina, please hurry! The baby is almost here!”
> Lina and Phena had found a home. They caused quite a commotion years ago when they arrived in the village carrying the little goat. The people were surprised, but they welcomed them with open arms, especially when they discovered Lina’s healing abilities. They treated her like a queen and they pampered and protected her and Phena as honored members of their tribe.
Lina kept all of her abilities secret, except for her healing knowledge. When the crops were dying due to a drought, she used her powers to make it rain so they would have food to survive the winter, but no one knew except Phena. She kept her knowledge of crystals hidden and no one ever knew of her psychic abilities. She would try to steer someone onto a better path if she knew they were headed for destruction, but she never let the true reason for her advice be known.
Lina did teach her people about the stars, the planets and the laws of nature. They were good people and they already had a tremendous love of the land so they eagerly embraced her teachings.
Lina and Phena often took long walks together and as Lina rested, Phena guarded her. She would send her spirit to visit Napan and her beloved handmaidens. She watched her son grow to be a strong man and she took pride in Dorry and Sana’s families as if they were her own.
But it was the other extraordinary visions that comforted her the most.
She had visions that took her to a place and time that were totally unfamiliar to her. These visions weren’t as clear as her other visions, but she could feel and sense with an unfathomable certainty that she was reunited with her son and husband. She was also with another, and she could sense that he would be the One. He would help her to bring forth the knowledge of the Stones. He would help her to bring forth the power of the Keys. It was odd, but whenever she thought of him, she felt a strong desire to hold and flip the Guardian’s Stone.
She could feel that it was a different age and a different time, but she was still the same. She was still the Door Opener and she still possessed the knowledge of the Keys.
She was certain, beyond a shadow of doubt, that this would be the second, and last, chance to make things right.
The story continues in Both Sides…
BETRAYAL
The office of Dynamic Creations, Inc was sparsely decorated and dark. Two desks occupied the space that would soon be filled with activity. A powerful desktop computer sat on each desk along with various peripheral devices, external disc drives, printers and programming manuals. A single, overhead light hung, unlit between the two desks. It was hardly the office where the next big thing in multi-platform gaming would be written, but that's what was about to happen. GLORY HOUNDS II: THE UNWANTED was the most eagerly anticipated video game sequel of the still-young year.
The lock on the office door tumbled and came to life as Dave Jansen reported to work. He flipped on the light, and it sprang to life with a flicker and a hum. Before he sat down in his black leather chair, he switched on his computer to let it boot up. He would have the office to himself for about 15 minutes before his business partner Curt Turner showed up. That was just fine with him, because he was nervous about the presentation they would make later in the day. Dave hated public speaking.
When Curt got to the office, they had to make preparations to go to the Airport Hilton to meet with their software distributors. All the bugs had seemingly been worked out of the game, and play-testing was now complete. The in-the trenches computer work was all done, and now it was time for the partners to be showmen. Now that the computer had finished booting up, Dave reached into the laptop case he had brought with him and produced a brand-new laptop, which he began to boot up as well. He reached into back into the case and withdrew a small jump drive from a pocket in the front, which he plugged into the port on his desktop.
With a flourish, Dave moved the mouse and opened up the PowerPoint presentation that he and Curt had created. He would need to put that on the jump drive and transfer it to the laptop that would accompany them to their presentation. Just after he started the transfer, the door opened again. Curt had come bearing gifts. He was carrying 2 cups of coffee and a bag of donuts…the breakfast of champions.
"Good morning, Dave."
"Good morning, Curt. I see you made it through the line ok."
"Yeah, it wasn't too bad. Anyway, you got the presentation loaded?" Curt sat down the bag of donuts and a cup of coffee on Dave's desk.
"It's loading now," Dave said, as he reached for his daily caffeine dose. He grabbed the cup farthest from him and tilted it back.
"Careful, it's hot."
"Ow! Yeah, no kidding." His tongue was on fire from the volcanic sip he'd taken.
Dave sat down his cup and took the jump drive out of the desktop putting it in the laptop. He struck a few keys, and the computer began whirring and beeping, signaling that the transfer was going according to plan. With screenshots of the game, screenshots of code, and technical data, the presentation was rather large and took up a sizable space.
Curt reached for his coffee, took off the lid, and blew on the steaming liquid to cool it. After a minute, he took a long, slow drink. It was still nuclear-hot, but tolerable.
Anyway, that's the way he liked it.
"Ok, it's done. Our future is now on this baby," Dave said as he patted the laptop gingerly.
"Good. I wanted to make sure nothing happened to my future."
This gave Dave pause. "You do mean our future, don't you?"
"No, I'm afraid not. See Dave, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. I really need this to work, and I can't have you screwing it up for me. Karen's pregnant again, and with my bills and such, I can't afford to split up my money right now."
"Well, I've got the laptop, so how do you plan on getting the presentation from me? I'm the one with the black belt, remember?"
"Oh yeah, I remember that. Besides, if you were all beaten up, the cops would come looking for whom did it, and naturally, they would suspect me. I decided I needed something a little more subtle…like poison, maybe."
Dave searched for his words. He was in the middle of getting gut-kicked by the one man he trusted like a brother. How could this be happening over something as petty as money?
He'd always thought they were both above that foolishness.
"How…how do you plan to get away with something like that?
It will show up in my bloodstream, and they'll still come looking for you."
"Not if there's been some there for quite a while. I told you to lay off those cigarettes. One of these days they're going to kill you. I put a few drops of pure nicotine in your drink. You should be having a heart attack within a half an hour."
A spark of hope lit within Dave. He had reached for the coffee cup farthest from him. Curt had taken the other.
Curt probably planned it the other way around. He had most certainly taken the wrong cup.
"You know, I never understood something about you."
"What's that, oh partner of mine?"
"Well, I can figure out why you would try to take the company from me. That's easy…money. And I can figure out why there might be some jealousy between us. I used to date your wife.
But, for the life of me, I can't figure out why you would give me such grief for smoking, when you do it, too." "Because cancer doesn't run in my family, it runs in yours.
And besides, you're the one who smells like a tobacco plant half the day, not me."
"Yes, but I'm also the one who's smart enough to reach for the right cup of coffee. You took the one sitting on my desk. What are you going to do, call 911 and tell them that you poisoned yourself?"
A look of shock and horror struck Curt as he realized that
Dave was right. He had grabbed the wrong cup. He was about to have a very bad morning.
Dave continued, "Don't worry. When I get back from the presentation, I'll call 911. They might even be able to save you. If they do, we'll sell the company and go our separate ways. If they don't, I'll just buy out your wife.
Ka
ren never did know anything about our business. It won't even be hard convincing her to sell."
Dave stood up to leave the office, and Curt grabbed a paperweight off the desk and swung it at him. He ducked under the solid glass object and wrapped up Curt in a sleeper hold. A few seconds in the grasp and Curt was down for the count.
Dave calmly picked the paperweight up off the floor where
Curt had dropped it and placed it back on the desk. He drug the limp, sleeping body over to Curt's desk and sat him in the chair, leaning his massive upper body over on the desk.
He reached over and turned the computer on.
Once it booted up, Dave placed Curt's hand on the mouse and opened up the presentation that they'd written together. He carried the two partially-drank cups of coffee to the bathroom sink and dumped them out. He would throw the cups in the dumpster outside.
It was time for him to leave for the presentation. Dave had just enough time to power down his computer. He would leave the lights on and the door unlocked. For all appearances,
Curt had a heart attack at the office while finishing up the presentation. At least he would go peacefully in his sleep.
All Dave had to do now was call and leave a message on Curt's cell phone once he got to the meeting. It would be normal to wonder where his partner was on such a momentous day. He would call 911 when he got back to the office.
Dave grabbed his case and closed the door behind him as he left.
THE BATTLE OF BIG LICK
Samuel fluttered his eyes open. Where the hell was he? And why did his head hurt? There were questions coming at him faster than he could answer them. Did he have any answers? At the moment, he wasn’t sure.
After he laid there for a moment, some answers started filtering in. He knew his name: Samuel David Cooper. He knew he was from Virginia. He knew he fought for the Confederacy in the War Between the States. Once he’d remembered that, it all came flooding back to him.
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