Answering Ascension

by Amy Proebstel

  “That’s what my mother was holding! How did you get it?” Behn looked up excitedly from the stone to Riccan’s face and then to Juila’s.

  “This is a different skull than the one your mother had. We have been told there are thirteen of these in existence. We are searching for them all. Maybe we can work together to find your mother and to locate the missing samara,” Riccan proposed.

  “That’s what the skull is called? A samara?” Behn asked. For the first time, he had hope for finding their missing mother. She had seemed so distraught the last time they had seen her. They hoped she had not been punished for sending her children away. Grobin had never been enthusiastic about himself or his brother, but they had often seen the leader of the community watching their sister intently.

  “Yes. We are attempting to locate all of them,” Riccan said as he put the crystal skull down on the coffee table in between them all.

  Juila looked down and saw the hair all along her arm was standing on end. She used her other hand to try to brush it down. The attempt was futile. As long as the stone was close, she would feel the power affecting her own birth crystal.

  “Do you feel anything with that skull near?” Juila suddenly asked Behn.

  “No. Why? Do you?”

  “Yes.” She turned to Riccan and asked, “Is that the one I was holding earlier?”

  “Yes. I wondered if you’d know the difference,” Riccan smiled as Juila had confirmed a suspicion of his. Jena did not appear affected by the proximity, but Juila seemed anxious and on edge. “I’ll go put it back,” he offered. He scooped the skull back up and left the room again.

  Juila shivered slightly as the energy pulsed one last time around her and then released its hold. She felt it dissipate back into the earth and she was able to concentrate once again on Behn’s amazing story. She no longer believed in coincidence. Everything happened for a reason, and it was up to her and her family to discover why Behn’s family had come to Pinecrest when they had. “I’d like to talk to Valentina to see if she remembers any details you haven’t shared,” Juila said to Behn.

  “She may or may not want to talk about it. She just wants to be normal like everyone else,” Behn shrugged.

  “I think you’ll find that to be impossible. Have you ever thought weird things happened which you could not explain?” Juila asked suddenly.

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know. Anything strange really.”

  “I can’t think of anything in particular. I’ll have to get back to you on that one,” Behn said with a smile. He had no idea what Juila could be getting at, but he sure did want to spend more time with her now that she and her family knew their secret.

  Riccan returned to the room and sat down on the couch next to Amanda again. He had been gone longer than was necessary to return the crystal to the secret room. He spoke up and said, “I sent a message to my father asking him to come to see you, Behn.”

  Behn gave him a bewildered look.

  “My dad is what you’d consider a counselor or a mediator. He specializes in helping people solve problems.”

  “Is he a shrink?” Behn was suddenly suspicious.

  “Definitely not! But I do believe he is our best hope for getting to the bottom of your mystery, Behn.”

  “Did he say how long it would take him to get here?” Amanda asked quietly.

  “He said he had to finish up something and then he’d be right over. I think he’ll probably time it anyway,” Riccan whispered.

  As if their conversation had produced the man, they heard the door to the garage open and then close. They heard footsteps. As they turned around, they could see a tall, older man wearing Tualan clothes walk through the kitchen and approach the living room. He smiled as he saw his son and took the few remaining steps to greet him warmly with a hug.

  Riccan had stood up from the couch and turned to receive his father’s affectionate welcome. He kept his hand on his father’s arm as he turned and made introductions. “Dad, I’d like you to meet Behn Wilson. Behn, this is my father, Daven Stel.”

  Daven stepped forward and offered his hand out. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  They shook hands and Behn was overwhelmed with how fast Riccan’s father had made it to their house. It had only been a matter of minutes. Did Daven live on the property then?

  “Thank you for coming out so quickly to hear my story,” Behn said as he took Daven’s hand in his own. From the moment their palms touched, Behn felt an overwhelming sense of calm and easiness come over him. This man would be able to help him, of that he was certain.

  Daven used his mental skills to read Behn’s thoughts. They needed to be sure Behn was someone to be trusted and not someone sent from Lucinden to cause them harm. Ever since the new prophecy had been revealed, Daven had the idea that Lucinden would start making moves to block their progress. It seemed rather coincidental that Behn would appear when he had. They had to be careful of everybody they let into their circle of trust from now on.

  His quick, but thorough analysis revealed Behn’s story to be true and accurate. He had seen the samara his mother had held. He knew the three kids had originally been from Tuala. He could not know why they had been sent to Earth or why Corva would have warned their mother to such drastic measures. There was more to this story, but Behn did not know the answers.

  Daven nodded his head toward his son before he sat down on the couch between Amanda and Jena.

  Riccan spoke to Behn. “If you won’t mind, please share your story with my father.” He knew it was unnecessary since his father had already gotten what he needed. He wanted Behn to relax and feel as though he could trust Daven. The only way they would accomplish that was with time.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  BEHN RETOLD HIS story and watched Daven intently. He could not tell what the older man was thinking, but he was encouraged to keep talking by the slight nods of his head. He finished recounting all of the details and then waited to see what would be done.

  Daven cleared his throat and said, “I think we should tell him the truth.”

  “You are the Elder. I had to leave this decision up to you,” Riccan affirmed.

  Daven nodded toward his son and turned to Behn, “You and your siblings have had quite the adventure. I’m afraid it has only been the beginning for each of you, however.” Daven turned back to Riccan and said, “I think you were right to bring me into this. I believe Behn’s memories are significant to what we’re trying to accomplish.”

  “What are you saying? It sounds as though you’re saying we’re in some sort of danger.” Behn looked hurriedly from Daven to Riccan and finally to Juila.

  Daven accessed the elemy and released a sense of calming in Behn’s direction. They did not need Behn to be scared; he had experienced enough fear in his lifetime already. Behn was going to help them bring another samara into play. They had to determine where his mother had been living before they could ask for her help.

  “It could be. I need to get more information before I can be sure,” Daven replied softly. “What is your birth mother’s name?”

  “Vinia,” Behn replied. It had been forever since he had last spoken her name. It felt good to claim her once again.

  “What about your father’s name?” he persisted.

  “We never knew. Our mother never spoke his name,” he said, slightly embarrassed at not knowing his own father’s name.

  “That’s okay. Do you remember the name of the town you lived in? Or any towns nearby?”

  “No. We lived in the woods along with all of our other neighbors. Nobody ever left the area; we were pretty self-sufficient.”

  “You said the community leader’s name was Grobin. Was he married? Do you know the names of any other neighbors?”

  Behn was going to reply rapidly, but then realized he did know another name. “I don’t think Grobin was married, although he seemed to pay a lot of attention to all of the women of the community. He usually walked around with
another man whose name was Mosan. I guess you’d call him his right-hand man.”

  “That’s good. Can you think of anyone else?”

  Behn shook his head slowly as he reviewed all of this earliest memories. He realized then that all of the names he did remember were strange and he asked, “Why are all of the names I remember so odd?”

  Davin considered his question, and instead of answering him directly, he asked a question of his own, “Have you ever heard the name Tuala?”

  Behn started to shake his head until he realized he had heard it before. His birth mother had used to say the phrase ‘what on Tuala’ when she was confused. Behn smiled at the new memory and looked up at Davin and said, “Yes! My mother used to say it.”

  “Good,” Davin declared. “I believe you come from a place called Tuala. It’s pretty far from here, but we can take you there if you want to go. I’m afraid we’d have to blindfold you, however, until you are ready for more of the details.”

  Behn was willing to try to find his mother, but he thought the blindfolding part was just a bit strange. He did not know who this man was and Juila seemed eager for him to trust him. He did not think she would try to mislead him in any way. Reluctantly he nodded his agreement.

  “Great! Let’s go!” Juila exclaimed as she immediately stood up from the couch. She was eager to see how this would play out.

  “What? You mean right now?” Behn looked concernedly from Juila to Daven.

  “There’s no time like the present. Isn’t that what they usually say?” Daven joked as he, too, stood up more slowly. “We could wait for a different time, if you’d rather,” Daven suggested when he could see Behn was getting scared.

  He really did want to have answers. These people seemed to know something. “I just don’t understand the necessity of the blindfold,” he hurriedly spoke.

  “It’s just a precaution for your safety if we find out you aren’t really from where we believe you’re from,” Daven spoke reasonably. Daven used the elemy to push Behn to come to the same understanding.

  Without knowing why Behn found himself nodding in agreement. He slowly stood up and watched as all of the other people in the room also stood and began walking out to the garage through the kitchen. They stopped just before the door and turned. Riccan produced a handkerchief from his pocket and motioned for him to come up next to him.

  Behn stood still as Riccan fitted the fabric over his eyes and tied it around the back of his head. He did not know why exactly he had agreed to this whole bizarre scheme. It almost felt as though he were moving slowly through a dream and he kept waiting for himself to wake up. The only problem was he knew this was real. He had set this in motion when he had asked the twins about their necklaces.

  Juila came up beside Behn and held onto his arm. She pulled him forward and said, “We’re going to take one step down into the garage.” He stepped forward until he felt the threshold of the door and then he stepped down. It was a different sensation to be blindfolded. He could hear the people moving ahead of them as they talked and stepped through the garage.

  “Here’s a slight incline as we get in the vehicle,” Juila said.

  Behn wondered what type of vehicle had a ramp. He was sure he was going to have to duck, but nobody said anything about it, so he continued up the slope and felt the floor flatten out. He felt Juila stand in front of him and turn him with her hands on both of his arms.

  “Sit straight down,” Juila instructed. She could not help but smile at this strange adventure.

  “When can I take off the blindfold?” Behn asked after he sat in the plush leather seat.

  “I don’t think it’ll be too long,” Juila assured him. “From what I could tell, it’s not that far to where you’re from if Grandpa is correct.”

  “We’ll know shortly,” Amanda said from directly behind him.

  Behn was startled by Amanda. He had not known she had been near him. It was quite disorienting with the blindfold. He could hear Riccan and Daven whispering ahead of him, but he could not make out what they were saying.

  Riccan had taken the left pilot seat and motioned for his father to take the right co-pilot seat up front. After they had fastened their seatbelts, he began initiating the start-up procedures. He looked behind him to make sure everybody was safely on board and then palmed the side door to shut soundlessly. The control panel came to life, and all of the indicator lights were green.

  With the telepod powered up, they were hovering several inches off of the ground. The crystal drive was silent. The next step would be to enter the coordinates for their destination. He leaned closer to his father and asked, “What should I enter for the destination?”

  “Do you recall a place called Roanoke? It’s a small island community several hundred gania north of Pantano on the coast. I think, based on Behn’s description of the people, we should begin our search there,” Daven replied softly.

  Riccan was surprised to hear where they were going. The people rumored to live in that area were not very friendly to strangers. They had odd beliefs about magic and witchcraft. He was not feeling very positive about this adventure now. He trusted his father to know what he was doing, so he entered the location into the telepod system.

  He moved his hand to the manual control and looked one last time at his father before he hit the activation button. Daven nodded, and Riccan hit the button. Everything went black, and all sensation was lost.

  Behn felt disoriented as though he were experiencing the nightmare from his childhood. He could not explain why he suddenly felt anxious even though he was still sitting in the plush chair. That was when he realized he could no longer feel the chair beneath him. Just as he was getting ready to rip off the blindfold to see what was really going on, sensation returned, and he breathed a sigh of relief. “What just happened?” Behn asked.

  “Nothing,” Juila reassured. “It won’t be too much longer, and we’ll be there.”

  That did not make sense. In the amount of time he had been sitting in the chair, they would only have been able to get to the end of their driveway. This was certainly getting strange. Besides, he did not even think they had moved yet considering he had not heard the car start up, let alone move.

  Riccan set the telepod down in a clearing on the beach near the ocean. He scanned the view from the window to see if there were any people around. After issuing all of the commands to power down the craft, he pressed the button to open the side door for them to exit. He was absolutely going to cloak his vehicle once they had all exited. He did not like the feeling he got from this place.

  Riccan removed his seatbelt, stood up, and led the way to the side door. Daven followed swiftly on his heels. As he came up beside Behn, he said, “We’re there. Unfasten your seatbelt.” He turned to Juila and said, “Be sure to lead him out carefully.”

  Juila looked strangely up at her father. For some reason, he seemed nervous, and that did not inspire great feelings in herself. She complied with her father’s request and hurried Behn from the craft and down the ramp.

  Once everyone was out of the telepod, Riccan palmed the control to shut the door, and then he pressed a button on his remote to cloak the telepod from view. Even though it was not the first time Juila had watched the procedure, it was always fascinating to suddenly be able to see through what she knew to be a solid aircraft. The technology was truly amazing.

  “Go ahead and remove the cloth, Behn,” Daven ordered from nearby.

  Behn was more than happy to comply. This whole journey had been very confusing. Surely they were still in the garage. It had only been a few minutes at most, and they had never even moved. He looked around himself in utter amazement as he took in the waves from the ocean crashing onto the beach not more than twenty feet away. He spun around and saw the tree line along the edge of the beach. He continued to turn around and finally asked, “What happened to the car?”

  “Don’t worry about that just now. Does any of this look familiar to you?” Daven asked.r />
  “No,” Behn answered. He balled up the cloth and shoved it into his front pants pocket.

  “Let’s walk up into the trees. Maybe something there will trigger a memory,” Daven suggested as he took the lead.

  They walked in silence for ten minutes. The ocean was no longer heard behind them, and the forest had grown quite dense. Behn was starting to feel the anxiety creeping up inside him of his childhood fear of the woods. He scolded himself for being so stupid since it was broad daylight and he was with a group of people. What could possibly go wrong? He almost laughed out loud at his question. In every scary movie, the main character would always say something so stupid just before all hell broke loose.

  Another few minutes passed, and then they were following a stream. Behn realized suddenly that it did look familiar to him. He wanted to cross over to the other side but did not know why. He called out to Daven, “Can we cross somewhere? I think this looks familiar.”

  Daven nodded and kept walking a bit longer. They came to a narrow section of the creek, and they were able to jump from one bank to the other with little trouble. Daven turned and asked, “What direction feels right now that we’re on this side of the water?”

  Behn paused to consider. He turned his head to the left and then the right before he answered definitively, “To the right.” They set off in the direction he had specified. With each step, he felt closer to his childhood memories. They came to a small trail, and Behn said, “Turn left onto this path.”

  Daven led the way through the narrow passage in the underbrush. He used his elemy to feel for any people around them who were not a part of their group. Unless the people here could shield themselves, they were utterly alone for quite some distance.

  Behn found himself walking faster as they moved through the woods. Soon he found he was striding next to Daven himself. He recognized more and more around him. This was feeling so right. Somehow, Daven had managed to bring him home. His mother was probably sitting in their cabin waiting anxiously for his return. He took the lead and almost started running as yet another twisted tree triggered a memory.