by Jared Stone
After what seemed like an eternity with their lips locked together, Sam let go of Lucian and stepped back. He gazed into Lucian’s now half-open eyes and smiled.
“Goodnight, hot stuff,” he said with a wink. Turning, he casually began walking away down the path to his house. Lucian remained paralyzed on the spot.
“Gdnggh,” Lucian sputtered in return.
* * *
Lucian eventually made it back to the dorm and crawled into bed that night with an indescribable, warm sensation all over his body. Thoughts of Sam rolled around endlessly in his head, and he fell asleep with a smile on his face thinking about what the future might hold for the two of them.
He could feel himself lying next to Sam, their bodies intertwined beneath the covers. The significant heat coming from the presence of the other boy was at first soothing, then slowly became uncomfortable. Lucian tried to roll over to distance himself from the ever-intensifying fire which burned next to him, but he found that he could not. He had become completely and helplessly entangled in this inferno which sought to destroy him. He cried out for someone to save him, afraid that he might entirely lose himself to the fury of the flames.
Suddenly, through the darkness around him, a beam of light shot across the night sky. From this bright white streak, tiny glistening particles rained down, immediately extinguishing the raging fire which had previously engulfed him. Lucian gratefully looked up to see what had delivered him from this nightmare scenario. Up in the sky, the moon shone brilliantly against the black void of space, and a singular star stood next to it. These two beacons of light seemed to be there to steer Lucian in the right direction, and so he stood up from his scorched bed and began to walk toward the glowing celestial bodies in the sky.
Lucian continued to walk for what seemed like miles, feeling as if he was a traveler from a distant land with only the moon and a star as his compass. He traversed the flat landscape, surrounded on all sides by impenetrable darkness, unsure of where he was going or why he was going there. But, eventually, Lucian’s faith in these two guiding forces paid off. Out in the distance, the top of the sun began to poke up over the horizon, and it quickly rose into the sky to join the moon and star. Once all three of these heavenly guardians had joined together, the world exploded into renewed life. What had once been flat, barren earth was now littered with trees and flowers and small animals that scurried through the grasses. Lucian felt overwhelming joy, as if he had stumbled into the uncontaminated paradise of the Garden of Eden. Lucian closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let the gentle sounds and fragrant smells captivate his senses.
“Caw!”
The serene sanctity of the garden was abruptbly shattered by the rude beckoning of a raven, who sat perched upon a tree branch in the center of this space, staring at Lucian with the bluest eyes the boy had ever seen.
“Caw! Caw!” the bird repeated again.
It called out to Lucian, as if to remind the boy of something critically important, staring into his eyes with an urgent intensity. But, no matter how hard Lucian attempted to interpret its meaning, the bird was unable to convey its secrets.
“Caw! Caw!” the raven called out one final time before spreading its wings and taking to the air. As it swooped past Lucian, the boy turned and began to chase after it.
“Wait!” Lucian cried. “Where are you going?”
But the bird did not answer. It continued to soar high in the sky, and Lucian could do nothing but chase after it. He ran so far that the vegetation and animals disappeared behind him once more, and Lucian reentered the harsh reality of the outside world. The raven led him down a long dirt road until it came to a stop with a graceful flutter to the ground. As Lucian approached the spot where the raven had landed, it became apparent to him that he was now encircled by closed doors on all sides. Seven plain rectangular doors – all identical in appearance, other than each being a different color – had surrounded him like a hostile force. And the raven was now nowhere to be found.
Lucian nervously glanced around at this prismatic prison, which had constricted tightly, completely boxing him in. He would need to choose a door through which to escape; but, for some reason, each one gave him a particular sense of dread.
Looking at the blue door, Lucian reached out and carefully grabbed the icy cold handle. Pushing it open, he was immediately hit by freezing rain which relentlessly pelted him with tiny ice shards. As he struggled to close the door again, he suddenly lost his balance and went tumbling head-first into the frigid darkness. As he fell ever-downwards into the abyss, he heard terrifying growling filling the void….
* * *
Lucian awoke with a start, unsure of whether the sensations he was experiencing were reality or still a part of his dream. He could hear Gus growling viciously from the floor near him, and he felt as if he was floating through the air. As his mind gradually cleared, he realized he was, indeed, being carried by something. He began to flail around in panic and confusion, prompting whatever was holding him up to drop him roughly on the floor.
“Ow!” Lucian exclaimed as he landed with a thud. Though the room was mostly dark, Lucian could make out some details in the light of the moon shining through the open window. Looking up, he beheld two skinny humanoid creatures about two feet in height staring at him with glowing red eyes. A third was beside him, repeatedly smacking the head of the puppy who had latched onto its thin leg with his sharp little teeth. Lucian cried out with alarm and began scrambling backwards across the floor.
“Get away!” Lucian shouted, kicking at them with his feet. His heel collided with the rough skin of one of their heads, sending the imp staggering backwards through the dark. “Get outta here!”
Undeterred, two of the vile creatures lunged at him, grabbing onto his thrashing feet and beating their bat-like wings to pull themselves and Lucian backwards, toward the open window. Lucian grabbed onto the wooden bedpost beside him and held on tightly, but the surprising strength of the imps threatened to soon pry him off.
“Blake!” Lucian called out as he struggled to keep his hold on the bed. “Blake! Help!”
But Blake was still sound asleep. Lucian had always envied his roommate for being able to sleep through practically anything; though, at the moment, it was a highly inconvenient quality.
“Blake!” Lucian screamed with as much force as he could muster. Blake shot up in bed.
“Huh? Wha?” Blake mumbled, darting his head back and forth in confusion.
“Blake! Help!” Lucian repeated, feeling his hands slipping off the smooth wood of the square bedpost. He wasn’t confident that he would be able to hold on much longer.
“Woah!” Blake exclaimed as he caught sight of what was happening on the floor beside him. Throwing back the covers, he jumped out of bed.
“Get off of him!” Blake commanded, throwing a kick at one of the flying creatures attached to Lucian’s leg. This kick was much more effective than Lucian’s had been, sending the one imp spiraling through the air before colliding with the wall and sliding down to the floor, stunned. The other imp that was still carrying Lucian’s leg dropped it and turned toward Blake with a fierce snarl.
“Brakr-ka lakna!” the creature shrieked, narrowing its glowing red eyes at Blake and baring its clawed fingers menacingly. “Nak kanska!”
Blake lowered his arm to the side. Immediately, his hand was engulfed with twisting black demonic energy that made the room glow in an otherworldly light. “Bring it, ya ugly little freak,” he challenged.
Seeing this, the imp’s red eyes suddenly grew wide. Immediately, it dropped to its knees on the floor and lowered its head, as if bowing before the boy. With a cry of alarm, the other creature, who still had Gus attached to his leg, similarly dropped down. They then remained in this submissive position without moving, seeming almost too fearful to do so. Even Gus released the imp from his tiny jaws in confusion.
“Um…. What are they doing?” Blake asked, clearly puzzled.
Lucian looke
d around him, wondering what on earth was going on. “I don’t know. It’s like they’re afraid of you or something,” he said, cautiously sliding himself farther away from their reach. “I think it might be Zagan’s energy….”
Blake looked down at his glowing hand. “They think I’m some kind of big bad demon king or something?” he asked hesitantly.
Lucian shrugged. “I guess?” he said. “Whatever it is, just see if you can get them to leave.”
Blake glared down at the two subservient creatures bowing before him. “Get outta here,” he commanded in his most authoritarian tone. “And don’t ever come back!”
The imp on the ground in front of Blake looked up at the boy’s stern, shadowed face. With a single nod, it scrambled onto its feet and hopped over with a few beats of its wings to the unconscious one on the ground beside it. Grabbing its comatose companion and slinging it over its back, the imp then did a few more hops over to the window before leaping up and out. The one remaining imp similarly hurried to the open window, limping on its chewed up leg, before beating its wings and flying out as well. The two boys and their puppy were left alone once again in their dorm room. There was silence for a minute or two before Blake spoke up.
“Dude, what the Hell was all that about?” he asked.
Lucian pushed himself up off the ground, using the bedpost that had saved him from abduction as his support to stand. “I have no idea,” he said. He slowly walked over to the open window, slid the pane shut again, and locked it tightly. “The masked man’s minions or something?”
Blake shook his head and chuckled smugly. “Well, they weren’t very tough,” he stated. “Thankfully.”
Lucian nodded, though he didn’t find quite the same amusement in the situation as his roommate did. “Yeah, well…, whatever they were, it seems like draugar aren’t the only things after us anymore. I guess we have to be even more careful from now on.”
“Yeah, man,” Blake agreed. He sat back down on his bed. “At least those little punks were no match for me, though. And I even got my energy going when I needed it. I’m definitely getting better at that!”
Lucian glanced down at Gus, who sat on the floor wagging his tail proudly.
“Yeah, you and Gus definitely saved me just then,” the boy said, bending down and scratching the puppy behind one ear. “Good boy.”
“So…. What do we do now, man?” Blake asked.
Lucian shrugged. “I mean, probably not much,” he admitted. “Until we can figure out a plan of action to take out the bad guys, we’re kind of just sitting ducks here.”
Blake sighed, then yawned. “I guess,” he agreed. “Do we, like… just go back to bed, then?”
Lucian almost laughed at the now-routine nature of being attacked by tiny gremlins in the middle of the night. Or imps. Or whatever they were.
“Yeah. Let’s try to get some sleep,” Lucian advised. “I’m sure we should be well-rested for whenever Professor Schuntz gets ahold of the Kílánór. Who knows? They might even ask us to help them out!”
Blake quickly crawled back under his covers, clearly requiring no more convincing to sleep once again. “Alright, then,” he said. “Goodnight, man.”
Lucian climbed into his own bed, too. Lying on his back and staring up at the ceiling, he knew that there would likely be no more sleep for him that night.
“Goodnight,” he whispered back.
5 - Plans
Monday, January 19th
Lucian had tried giving Professor Schuntz the time he requested to contact the Kílánór, but a week had now gone by since Lucian last visited his office with no further news on the progress. As such, Lucian and Blake now sat in his office once again, waiting to hear what the professor had to report.
"I must say that your timing has been impeccable as of late, Mr. Aarden," Schuntz said, closing what seemed like an ancient book and holding it up in front of the boys seated before him. "I believe I have just resolved our dilemma regarding our next steps."
Lucian looked confused. "Next steps?" he inquired.
Schuntz nodded. "The steps which must be taken to outwit our adversaries in their own game and prevent them from causing further destruction," he clarified with just a hint of excitement.
"Have the Kílánór gotten back to you yet?" Lucian asked him impatiently.
Schuntz's face immediately bore a look of irritation. "Mr. Aarden, I warned you that the Kílánór would not be willing to aid us in this," he reminded the boy. "I do not know how many times you must hear that to believe that it is true. The three of us must address this threat on our own if we have any chance for success. And as soon as possible. The information I have uncovered is far more dire than I had originally anticipated."
"Dude, we can't just go off and try and fight these guys alone again!" Blake argued. "Me and Lucian almost got killed last time we did! And I don't think having you with us is gonna help that much!"
"No one ever said anything about fighting them, Mr. Valenti," Schuntz protested in exasperation. “At least not in the literal sense of the term. We will instead go and retrieve something which they require before they have an opportunity to do so. In my research over the past week, I have uncovered many cloaked references to a ‘key’ which holds within it the power to release an ancient evil named Lósófán from its prison. Assuming that this is the name of which the masked man spoke in the basement of the mansion that night, then they will also need that key to realize their aspirations."
"Well, where's this key, then?" Blake asked before Lucian had a chance to respond.
"It appears that the entrance into where it is kept is located in Pennsylvania," Schuntz informed the two boys. "In a small town of which few are even aware, called Hellam. My proposal is to fly to Philadelphia sometime in the next few days, drive to this town, and search for the entrance."
"Pennsylvania?" Lucian asked in surprise. "Why the heck would it be there?"
"Powerful artifacts are not solely to be found within ancient tombs of long-forgotten civilizations, Mr. Aarden," Schuntz informed him. "Such objects have been scattered and hidden throughout the world for millennia now. Pennsylvania is just as good a place as any – perhaps even better – to keep something you wish to never be discovered."
"Okay then," Lucian consented timidly. "But I don't know.... It all seems like a really risky plan. I mean, what if we heard the name wrong? Or that's not their goal at all? And, even if we get the key, what would we do with it? I can't exactly keep it in my dorm room right next to my legendary sword...."
"Mr. Aarden, I am afraid that we are running low on options," Schuntz admitted mournfully. "I would normally agree that moving forward on such limited information is foolhardy and destined to fail. But I see no better means by which to halt the progression toward the destruction of this world. We cannot rely on the Kílánór to aid us. Should we simply sit by and wait while the world tumbles down around us? I think not. I would choose to fight to the very end."
Lucian sighed. He didn't like this plan at all, though he had no better alternatives to propose. He was honestly getting tired, himself, of waiting for the Kílánór to come help them, and he realized that idly waiting for a savior who might never arrive was even more foolish than putting all their effort into the best option they had at that time. On top of that, he and Blake had already been attacked once since their failed invasion of the masked man’s mansion; he worried that the next attempt might be more deadly. Yet, something deep inside him still felt uneasy about moving forward with the professor’s plan, and he couldn’t shake the overwhelming urge to at least be more cautious.
"Let’s just think some more about it first...," Lucian finally concluded. "If we don't come up with some better idea by the end of the week, we can go with your plan and try to get this key."
Schuntz sat down in his chair, seeming disappointed. "Please hurry, Mr. Aarden," he requested of the boy. "Every day we tarry is another day we might be too late to prevent this."
Lucian no
dded. He understood the gravity of the situation which now rested upon his shoulders, and he only hoped that the universe would send him some sign about the best course of action.
* * *
"Okay, so...," Professor Aviv continued from his usual seat atop the stage at the front of the theater classroom, "while we're on the topic of reincarnation, who here believes that reincarnation might actually happen after death?"
Lucian immediately shot his hand high into the air. Having experienced Gus' reincarnation firsthand, it would be ridiculous not to believe that it could occur. He wasn't yet sure if it happened for everyone, but he knew it at least happened to some. However, there was only one other girl in the class who raised her hand with him, and he started to feel self-conscious of his viewpoint on this personally-verifiable truth.
"Interesting," the professor said, nodding his head slowly. "So, what do the rest of you believe happens after death?"
One student in the back of the group raised his hand, and Professor Aviv pointed at him. "I'm Mark," he said. "I believe that our souls go to Heaven after we die."
There were several nodding heads around Lucian as other students agreed with Mark's point.
"Alright," the professor said. "That seems to be the standard cultural tradition here in the United States. Christians believe that there is an eternal soul which passes from this world into another state of blissful existence and union with God, called Heaven. In Hinduism – which is a generalized label forced onto a collection of seemingly countless, varied traditions across India – there is also the concept of a soul, called 'ātman,' which travels from form to form through reincarnation. However, in Buddhism, there is no concept of a soul; all of us are empty of inherent existence, and, so, there can be no such thing as an eternal soul which passes from life to life. But how can this be possible while simultaneously believing in reincarnation?"