Yantra

by Kristin Swanberg

rolling hills that went on for miles. They’d reached the edges of Tulim, just before the Vovrosi border. The abundance of air outside the caverns was so fresh and pure, they nearly passed out. They collapsed on the grass and spent a few minutes catching their breath.

  Once Astrid and Zander were rested, they knew they needed to keep going. Stella’s time was running out. They followed a long path that lead to a palatial estate, barely visible between two hills and a dense forest. Good witches were rumored to live out in the hills of Tulim. They needed to develop a plan for getting home and getting Stella released; hopefully someone would help them.

  They reached the isolated mansion after about an hour and walked across a steel bridge leading up to an immense, black archway. They passed through and reached a set of iron doors where two statues sat at either side. One statue was of a demonic little girl sitting upon a pig with a raven on her shoulder. A long snake extended from around the girl’s throat and into the pigs mouth. The other was of a child painted with red eyes, black hands and sharp black teeth. A door opened over the statue’s chest and in place of a heart, the figure had a cracked mirror. With her pulse racing as she passed the statues, Astrid raised her hand to knock on the massive black door that stood before her. Before she could knock the door opened and she was found herself gazing into the eyes of a very beautiful older woman that stood at only 4’ 10”.

  “Oh, my dear, you look a fright. Did my statues scare you? I just bought them at an art festival. Perhaps, they need to go somewhere else.” Her voice was soft and she had a disarming charm.

  “I’m fine, thanks. We’ve been traveling very far and I hate to bother you, but could we trouble you for a glass of water?” Astrid felt embarrassed for being so scared of a statue, but if she’d learned anything, it was to be vigilant.

  “Certainly. Please come in and have a seat. What was your name?”

  “Thank you very much. My name is Astrid and this is Zander. What is yours?”

  “I’m just old Esmerelda.” She led them to a large living room where they sat on an overstuffed, purple sofa that was so comfortable they both instantly relaxed from their arduous journey. Esmerelda shuffled to the kitchen to get her new guests some water and Astrid looked around the room, noticing her collection of miniature statues, clocks, and family pictures. She got up and looked at some photos placed in a circle on one of the walls. They each depicted the old woman- one with a baby, the next with a toddler, a teen, and finally, their worst nightmare.

  “Uh… Zander? Can you come here a minute?”

  “Sure.” Zander was less than enthused about family photos but he was too tired to argue. He took one look at the wall and then back at Astrid.

  “Preta.”

  They hadn’t stumbled upon a kind witch’s home, after all. The old woman probably knew exactly who they were. Astrid walked over to the kitchen doorway and stood beside it. Zander found a firewood poker and stood behind a plant on the other side of the door. Astrid thought she overheard the ogre calling Preta an empress and if she was the leader of Tulim, she had to be very powerful. If this was her mother, they were dealing with an exceptionally evil, powerful, and possibly crazy witch.

  Esmerelda began singing in the kitchen.

  “Are you sure about this?” Zander looked skeptical.

  “Do you want to walk out of here alive? She’s probably making plans right now on how to get us back to Mt. Naga.” Astrid was ready to fight.

  The witch came through the doors holding two glasses of water and Astrid jumped at her, bringing her to the floor. Zander held the end of the poker against her temple. The glasses shattered on the stone floor.

  “Preta put a spell on my friend. I want you to undo it.” Astrid said.

  “How did you find me?”

  “That doesn’t matter. You’re going to help us or you’re going to die.” Astrid looked at Zander, unsure of what to do next. She got up with the tiny witch in a headlock. She put her in a chair and Zander tied her up.

  “I’ll help you. Preta was never supposed to be evil. I’m sorry she hurt your friend. I don’t know why she chose this path. Please trust me. I have always practiced good witchcraft. I got a message a few days ago that she had gotten married and become queen of Yantra. I just don’t know how to stop her.”

  “Let’s just stay focused. Release Stella.” Astrid said.

  The witch closed her eyes and started chanting. When she was through she asked Zander to retrieve a large, glass orb that sat in a golden claw mounted on the wall. They looked at the glass that went from murky to a very clear image of Stella running through Yantra and finally arriving at the town square. Maddox came into the picture and she gave him a big hug. The glass became murky again, but they believed Stella was safe.

  “Thank you. I’m sorry I misjudged you. Please forgive me. We’ve been through a lot of betrayal over the past few days.” Astrid said, abashed.

  “Of course. Now if you’ll be so kind as to untie me?” Zander immediately started untying the old woman. Astrid was flipping through a spell book as he struggled with the knots.

  “Goodbye. Would you like me to give Preta any message?”

  “Sure. Tell her not to mess with you.” The old woman winked and Zander and Astrid apologized again. Esmerelda gave the two a little bag with several cookies stuck inside and led them out the door. As Esmerelda shut the door behind them, she metamorphosed from a tired old woman to a stunning beauty, with luminous green eyes and auburn hair that hung in a long braid. Esmerelda walked to her spell book where she noticed a page had been torn from it. She flipped through the pages, trying to determine which one was missing. She pulled the rest of the torn page from the book, closed her eyes, and chanted before throwing the tiny remnants of the page into the fire.

  They pair walked out and headed down through the hills. Astrid stopped and pulled out a piece of paper.

  “Guess what I have…”

  “I have no idea,” Zander was in no mood for games.

  “It’s a page from her spell book. The title was “Home Sweet Home” It’s a homing spell”!”

  “I don’t know if we should be using that.”

  “I guess we could walk home through Tulim.” Astrid glared at Zander over the torn page that was clutched in her hand.

  “What’s the first step?” Zander knew they couldn’t hike back through Tulim and risk capture.

  They both started chanting the spell and began to dissipate into thin air before they could finish it, arriving moments later in a desert. They figured they were in the Yantra desert but it was so different from the last time Astrid saw it on an expedition trip with her father. The desert was covered with thick heaps of black diamonds from meteor showers that pelted the desert plateaus several seasons a year. A large cliff hung from the west and several miles away, you could see the shoreline with only a few plants that could withstand the heat. This desert went on forever and there was no resemblance of the land she knew from before.

  “Isn’t the cliff visible from pretty much everywhere?” Zander asked and looked around, confused.

  “Yes, but I don’t think we’re in Yantra.” Astrid looked out at the large expanse of desert with nowhere to hide.

  About the Author

  As a single mom finishing college, Kristin was battling cancer and began writing professionally to get through the pain and fear she endured that year. Kristin is from California but now resides in Oklahoma with her daughter, her golden doodle, and her psychotic cat. Kristin has a bachelor's degree in Physical Science with a minor in Art History and an MBA in Management and Strategy. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends, kayaking, hiking, traveling, and helping a variety of charities including Autism Speaks, Muscular Dystrophy Association. Not For Sale, and St. Jude's Children's Hospital.

  When asked about her inspiration for the "Yantra" trilogy, Kristin stated that a friend gave her a Sri Yantra mandala when her daughter was born and several years later while studying Bu
ddhism and Asian art history, she wanted to convey the meaning behind the Sri Yantra through the interconnectivity of all life within the cosmos, unity between the physical and spiritual world and dimensions beyond our grasp, and the effect of chaos that intelligent life perpetuates as an eternal divisive force.

  Coming in December 2015, "Fabulous Fairy World Secrets" is a delightful children's book, illustrated by Leon Contorno. What began as an impromptu bedtime story for her toddler slowly blossomed into a beautiful, timeless treasure for your family to share. Kristin also has three television series and one movie in development.