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The 8th FireChronicles of a Magi Book 2
CHAPTER 1
The desert smelled great, like a feast for kings. Mrs. Shadowitz wasn't kidding when she said a Magi wedding was one humdinger of a party. It seemed to Mark that large numbers of people from all the mountains were there. There was hardly enough room to move around in the 6 square miles of open desert surrounding The Seventh Mountain. And talk about food, everyone had shown up with the makings for some pretty fine dishes. Mark's mom, Shirley even brought fixings for more than 200 servings of her fabulous steak fingers. Mark leaned his head back and took in a long, tantalizing sniff. "I smell turkey. Someone's cooking turkey and it smells great!" Chenoa closed her eyes, took in a long sniff and said, "Fried chicken." She took in another breath and sighed. Cap'n Ben said, "I smell french-fries. Let me at 'em." James grinned and said, “I knew I was going to like this school.” A voice from behind the group said, "Care for a swim?" Before the sentence was finished, a wool blanket fell over Mark's head. He didn't have to look to see who had spoken. It was Rickey Barns. Immediately, Mark's mind was filled with rage, remembering last years attack where he was tackled, rolled up in a blanket and then thrown into the moat. He almost drowned in that incident and right now he would like nothing better than to roll Ricky Barns up in the blanket draped over his head and toss him into the moat, just to let him see how it felt. Mark yanked the blanket off his head and held it in front of himself to look at it. He didn't say a word before draping the blanket over his shoulder. He started walking off without even turning to face Ricky. Ricky said, "Slone's right. You are a coward." Mark paused in his step, said, "Thanks for the blanket," and continued walking. Ricky ran up behind him, grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. "You and me! Right here, right now!" "Ricky, you really are an idiot. This is a party. People are here to celebrate Shana and Gerod's wedding, have fun and enjoy themselves. Only an idiot would want to spoil a good time. Besides, I know you're not alone. You won't fight me one on one. You're the coward." "You're wrong. Slone says I can take you and I think you need your butt kicked. You don't scare me. I'm on to you're tricks." Mark flipped the blanket over to Ricky's shoulder. "There's your security blanket back. I think you need it." Ricky's lips tightened, his eyes widened and he sucked in a hard breath while drawing back to take a swing at Mark. Mr. Thorpe grabbed Ricky's fist. "If you boys want a competition, we have plenty to choose from, but there'll be no fighting. If you still want to fight when you get back to school, that's fine. I'd like to watch. I could do with a good laugh." Mark said, "Sir, I had no intention–" Mr. Thorpe cut him off. Even in a low tone, his voice penetrated Mark to the core. "Intentions have no substance. It is action that has consequence. Am I clear?" Mark nodded his head. "Yes sir." Ricky said, "This isn't over." Mr. Thorpe squeezed Ricky's fist and Ricky winced. "If you're involved in a fight at this reception, don't bother showing up for orientation." He let go of Ricky's fist and walked off. Mark didn't acknowledge the glare Ricky was beaming at him. He just turned and walked away. Chenoa, James and Cap'n Ben walked beside him. The wedding itself had been a solemn affair. The school grounds around The Island had filled up fast. Everyone that arrived early enough staked out positions on the ground near The Island. Those that arrived later and couldn't get close enough to see well were allowed to watch from the bleachers or from a balcony area on whichever level of the school they chose. Shana looked very much the bride in her bright white gown and veil. She carried a bouquet with an emerald green ribbon and all of the bridesmaids were dressed in emerald green evening gowns. Gerod was towered over by his best friend and best man, Tim. They both wore black tuxedos. Gerod wore a multi-colored striped bowtie and Tim wore an emerald green one. Mrs. Shadowitz officiated wearing a pale orange gown. It seemed everyone in the ceremony was wearing tribe colors in one way or another. No sooner had Mrs. Shadowitz said the words, "I now pronounce you man and wife," a squadron of MIGs roared over the crowd in the missing man formation. Gerod looked up and waved. It was Gerod's own squadron giving the salute. Those not already on the school grounds began making their way there. The reception was supposed to be the equivalent of Tent Fest, a seven day medieval style festival, rolled into a non-stop, 3 day, 2 night festival. It wasn't long after the aerial salute that Tim's tennis shoe shaped balloon touched down on top of The Island where the ceremony had been held. The newlywed couple climbed aboard along with Tim. The balloon lifted off and everybody cheered. The balloon was flying low over the crowd now, allowing the newlyweds to wave at everyone before coming to the reception. Everyone preparing food was at one of many outdoor grills set up on the grounds near the school’s main entrance and they were beginning to bring their dishes to a sea of tables nearby. The aromas filling the air were heavenly. Chenoa spotted Nick and Jamal among the people swarming the tables to check out the food. She waved and yelled, "Hey Nick, Jamal." Both boys looked up, grinned and waved back. They got together, filled their plates and found a spot not to far away to sit. Cap'n Ben pulled out a long french-fry from his plate, shoved it into his mouth before asking, "Why on earth did Ricky want to fight you?" Mark dug his fork into the pile of cranberry sauce and said, “That's the way he is. When I first met him, he, Ralph Lawrence and Keith Richards had ganged up on Nick.” Mark nodded his head toward Nick. “Ever since then, it's been a confrontation every time we meet. They joined up with Slone and you know the rest.” "Sounds to me like you need to teach them a lesson." Chenoa said, "We tried that last year. It just kept getting worse. I'm sure that's why Slone pushed Mark into The Labyrinth." Mark said, "He didn't push me exactly. He pushed Ralph Lawrence into me and that knocked me through the opening." Chenoa countered, "He knew exactly what he was doing and if you ask me, he's the one that's put Ricky up to fighting you. He's up to something." Nick said, "I agree. You can't trust any of them." Jamal said, "You have to keep your guard up around those guys." Cap'n Ben said, "You think he was trying to bait you into a fight so you'd get kicked out of school?" Mark said, "I don't think Ricky is that smart, but Slone certainly is, and that's Slone's style, to get someone else to do the dirty work for him." Chenoa said, "Isn't this supposed to be a party? Can we talk about something else?" Cap'n Ben grinned and rubbed his chin, "Let me see... What's the one thing we all enjoy talking about? It couldn't be flags, could it? What say after we eat we head over to The Island? They won't take the bridge over the moat down until tomorrow." Mark said, "Sounds like a plan." ●●● By 8:50 p.m. the group had explored The Island in detail, participated in a few competitions and eaten three more meals. They were just settling in to watch the fireworks when the entire Council of Elders appeared behind them. Mrs. Shadowitz said, "These are whom you seek." Mark turned around, as did the rest of the group, to see who had spoken. They stood when they saw who it was. A man in a black cloak with no trim, that Mark didn't recognize, spoke. "Mark Young, James Young, Joel O'Ham, Chenoa Day, Nikola Poparov, Jamal Terfa...You all are under arrest pending this investigation. Surrender your weapons." Mark said, "Arrest? Investigation? Investigation of–" Mrs. Shadowitz said, "The nature of the investigation will be explained to you all in due course. We need you to accompany us to the school." Mark looked at Joseph Young, his great, great, great, great grandfather and newly restored member of The Council of Elders. Mr. Young said, "It is best to wait before your questions are answered. This matter is most serious." Mark said quickly, "What matter?" The man in the cloak said, "Restrain them." Mrs. Shadowitz said, "That will not be necessary. Mark, you need to be quiet. Surrender your weapons and come with us." Mark looked down, closed his eyes and then nodded his head. ●●● Mrs. Shadowitz led the group past the newly erected statue of Mark and his friends, through the main entrance into The Seventh Mountain, down the short hallway and into the main office of The Good Steward. The accountants had finished work for the day and all the desks in the front room were vacant. Mrs. Shadowitz said, "Have a seat at one of the desks and do not talk to each other." A moment after the group was seated; Jeremy, Shana's stand-in, and a couple of other counselors came into the office with everyone's parents; all of which looked bewildered. Steve, Mark's dad looked at Mrs. Shadowitz and asked, "What's going on?" Mrs. Shadowitz said, "You parents can follow Elder Joseph Young and he will explain the situation. Students will go one at a time into another office with Monsieur Fontaine. I ask you to answer his questions as completely as possible." Mark said, "Ma'am, are you going to tell us what this is all about?" Monsieur Fontaine spoke up, "This is an investigation of a very serious criminal matter. You will be told the particulars after you're finished with the interrogation." "Interrogation!" Steve, Mark’s father stepped toward Mark and Mrs. Shadowitz stepped into his path. Steve said, "You make this sound like a murder investigation or something." Elder Young raised his hand and said, "If you parents would kindly follow me, I'll explain the situation." Monsieur Fontaine said, "Mark Young, I'll speak with you first. Have a seat in this office." He pointed to a closed door. The parents started following Joseph Young and Mark walked into the office Monsieur Fontaine had indicated. A standard business style desk occupied most of the floor space and with the floor to ceiling shelves on three walls there was barely enough room for Mark to walk around the desk and sit in the only chair in the room. Monsieur Fontaine entered and pulled the door almost closed, paused a dramatic second before pulling it completely closed with a loud click. He turned, faced Mark and let out a deep sigh. Mark said, "Sir, what is this all about?" Monsieur Fontaine didn't answer. He just took off his cloak, folded it in half and laid it on the desk, all-the-while staring at Mark. Mark started, "Sir–" "You really can't be quiet, can you?" He paused a moment. Mark decided it best not to say anything. The silence continued for more than a minute before Monsieur Fontaine said, "This morning, you wished to roll Ricky Barns up in a blanket and throw him in the water." Mark started to speak, but Monsieur Fontaine's hand shot up. "You and your friends spent quite a long time on The Island." Mark knew better than to answer. He just cocked his head slightly and looked back at the investigator. He was wearing a black tie over a white dress shirt and black trousers. The stones on both sides of his signet were black. The stone on the right meant he was from Onyx Tribe. Anyone from Onyx Tribe always saw things as black or white, right or wrong and never anything in between. The black stone on the left probably meant he thought there was always a right way or wrong way to do things, never anything in between. Mr. Thorpe, Mark's math teacher from last year had black stones on either side of his signet. Mark thought since the two stones were the same on both signets, the two men's personalities would be very similar. To his dismay, he was beginning to see that idea was absolutely true. "Was he unconscious when you and your friends threw him in the water?" Mark wasn't sure if he was supposed to answer or not. Monsieur Fontaine slammed his palm on the desk making a loud noise, shattering the silence like a gunshot. "He must have been or he would have been able to–" There was a knock on the door just before it opened and Mrs. Shadowitz entered. "Wyatt, I have sent for the Ummim-Thummim Stone." The investigator kept his gaze on Mark. "There’s no need for that. I'll have the truth out of this boy, post haste." Mark blurted out, "What truth? Just tell me what you want to know and I'll tell you." Mrs. Shadowitz said, "Tell me everything that happened on The Island." Mark looked puzzled. "We just looked it over, trying to figure out things that might give us an advantage in flags matches." "You didn't have an altercation with Rick Barns?" "Not on The Island. He tried to pick a fight with me this morning, but Mr. Thorp stopped it." Monsieur Fontaine seemed incensed at Mark's answer. He raised his hand to slap the desk again. Mrs. Shadowitz's hand shot out and grabbed his hand before he could start his downward swing. "Wyatt, the preliminary forensics report is in, and there is something interesting among his belongings. Go have a look." That bit of information gave Mark enough to put things together; this was indeed a murder investigation. He didn't need the skill Rooack Dabar for Mrs. Shadowitz to know what he was thinking, even though his mind was racing and screaming, Ricky's dead? How? Why? They think I killed him. Why aren't the healers trying to bring him back? Mrs. Shadowitz said, "Yes, Mark. Ricky is dead. His body was found wrapped in a saturated blanket on the bank on The Island. His spirit has already departed and can only be returned by the One God." Mark jumped up. "The Labyrinth! I've got to take him into The Labyrinth! People can't die in there and all injuries and sickness are healed in there. I've got to take him in." "Mark, that won't happen. His spirit is already gone." "Ma'am, I've got to try!" His eyes began to well up. "If there's just the slightest chance, I've got to try. I've got too." "Yes, I know you do. Mr. Diefenderfer is standing by, waiting for you in the healing ward. Mr. Young is on his way up there as well. Don't stop to tell your friends. Just go. I'll tell everyone." Mark said, "Yes, ma'am." She opened the door and he scrambled through it. ●●● Mark held the door to The Labyrinth open with the staff while Mr. Diefenderfer tossed in a couple of bug bombs followed by a couple of duffel bags full of supplies. Mr. Diefenderfer hoisted Ricky's body from the gurney and over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He stepped through the opening, followed by Mr. Young with a lantern, and with Mark carrying the staff, the only means of opening the doors in the labyrinth. The stench of burnt fish became evident half way down the ladder and the ever present, oppressive feeling of foreboding began to permeate Mark's mind. The horrid memories of past events in The Labyrinth played like movies; everything from being so hungry, using every bit of his will to keep from doing what the impish voice had said he would do to realizing in the fifth room, while fighting just to stay alive, that the staff was the key to the doors in there. The Labyrinth was definitely a place no one wanted to be. Mark asked, "Who found Ricky's body?" Mr. Young said, "Slone Voif did. He and his friends had the same idea you did about exploring The Island." "Were they brought in for questioning?" "Yes. There were released before you were brought in." "Any idea who actually killed him?" "The preliminary examination of the body suggests suicide, but the circumstances suggest otherwise. Rolling one's self up in a blanket and then into the moat is a pretty bizarre way to commit suicide, don't you think?" Mark said, "So, you're saying we don't know if it was murder or suicide." They reached the bottom of the ladder. Mr. Diefenderfer laid the body down and said, "We will, I am sure, have a definitive answer to that very question on our return, in 3 days." Mr. Diefenderfer was referring to inside time which passed about 24 times faster than outside time, and 3 days inside time was 3 hours outside time was the consensus of everyone that had been rescued for how long it took a body to completely regenerate in The Labyrinth. ●●● When Mrs. Shadowitz joined Monsieur Fontaine in the healing ward, he pulled a signet ring out of the box containing Ricky’s belongings. The crest was a crossed scimitar and quill; the crest of the Neo-Phylum or New Order. He said, “They’re either getting careless or much bolder. Do you know if he was a full fledged member or a recruit?” “I believe he’s too young to be full member. If he was a recruit that just found out what they’re capable of, what they stand for, and tried to back out, that could explain his death.” “Yes, but why would he try to frame Mark Young?” “There was a lot of animosity between those two, and you already know Mark isn’t entirely innocent in that regard.” “Do you think they’re trying to recruit Mark or his friends?” “They’d be stupid not to try, but from what I know of Mark’s group, I highly doubt they could succeed.” ●●● In the Labyrinth, Mark opened a duffel bag and pulled out two more lanterns before taking up a position beside Ricky’s body. Both Mr. Diefenderfer and Mr. Young were kneeling on either side of the body, both with their hoods up and their heads bowed. Mark wasn’t wearing his cloak, so he just bowed his head and turned his thoughts to, Why? He knew full well it was possible for Ricky to come back to life, but didn’t think it likely at this point. If God were going to consent to letting it happen, it would most likely already have. Although, history has it that Abraham was able to change God’s mind once. A full two hours had passed before Mark whispered to himself, “God, I wish I could honestly say take me instead of him and mean it, but I can’t. I can say I don’t wish him to be dead and plead my heart that you would return him.” A booming laugh filled the cavern of the first room in The Labyrinth. Mark steadied himself from falling over sideways. He recognized that laugh, it was the same laugh that had filled his mind when he awoke in The Labyrinth a couple of months ago. “BENRAH!” Only this time the laugh wasn’t in his head, it was in his ears. Instinctively he reached into Aaron’s Grasp for his sword, but it wasn’t there. He had been disarmed before being brought in for questioning and hadn’t thought to retrieve his sword in his haste to get Ricky into The Labyrinth. It probably would have been useless against the apparition now towering over the group anyway. He couldn’t tell how big the creature was, but it was big, very big. He was too close to get a good feel for its size, but it was at least as big as a mythical dragon. Its body was sort of an amber color and the wings stretched out of the range of the lantern’s light. A bundle of necks extended from the top of its body to a very odd shaped head. The head was like a group of heads meshed together with eyes and mouths all the way around. The laughing sound seemed to be coming from a tambourine shaped membrane in the center of its chest. He looked at Mr. Diefenderfer and Mr. Young. They both had scrambled to their feet and were reaching for their pockets. Benrah’s right wing swept down and swished Mr. Diefenderfer and Mr. Young backwards like they were nothing more than a piece of lint. Mark heard their bodies thud against the far wall, more than 50 yards away. Benrah boomed, “Not today... good sirs. I have... business... with your... young companion.” It was obvious to Mark that Benrah was mocking the way Mr. Diefenderfer had spoken for the last 15 years as a result of his injuries. Injuries that Benrah’s own thralls had inflicted on him. Mark got is fingers around a bug bomb. Benrah’s heads split apart and the necks fanned out like a peacock’s feathers. Each head came to bear on Mark. Benrah’s voice thundered, “If you activate that, I will be forced to leave, but not before I can kill your friends.” Mark raised his arm in order to smash the bug bomb onto the floor. “Go ahead. Nobody dies for good in here. They’ll be back within 3 days at the most.” Mark started his arm moving down to smash the bomb. “Untrue.” The small capsule ruptured of the stone floor causing the water to mix with the other 3 ingredients: the dehydrated fish heart and liver, as-well-as the oxidizing agent, sodium. The fumes were almost immediate, as was Benrah’s reaction. In a blur, almost to quick to see, Benrah’s feet shot straight toward where Mr. Diefenderfer and Mr. Young were. This was followed by two blended screams, the disappearance of Benrah, and then silence. Mark’s heart sank and he cried out, “Are you alright!” Silence. He scooped up a lantern and ran to where he knew they had to be. Their bodies lay torn and broken. Blood pooled under their forms and their entrails, torn from the gaping rips in their bellies, were strewn about the floor. He sank to his knees and pounded the side of his fist on the cold stone floor. Tears flooded his eyes and his nose filled forcing him to breath from his mouth. The last word Benrah had spoken echoed in his mind, untrue. What if Benrah was telling the truth? No! It can’t be! Three days... just three days, and they’ll be okay. Mark mustered his resolve and dragged the bodies back to where Ricky’s body lay. Three days passed with each hour seeing another bug bomb hit the floor, but instead of healing, the bodies were decaying. The overpowering rancor forced Mark to move his vigil back several feet. There was no doubt in his mind now that Benrah had spoken the truth. Somehow the healing powers of this place had vanished. Mark was half way back up the ladder when Benrah’s voice boomed again. “You’re one pigheaded poke.” Mark almost lost his grip when he scrambled for one of the few remaining bug bombs. “Drop it if you like, but sooner or later you’re going to hear what I have to say.” Mark dropped the capsule and continued his climb. “I don’t care what you have to say.” A couple of seconds later Benrah was gone and Mark reached the door. He fell asleep as soon as he passed through.
Seven days later he awoke in a hospital bed. He got up and pulled back the curtain and saw exactly what he expected. He was in the healing ward. The memories of the most recent events in The Labyrinth played fresh in his mind and his eyes blurred from the tears. A lady wearing a white hooded cloak was just walking up. It was Mary, the same healer that had attended him last year on his return from The Labyrinth. “I expected you would wake up this morning. I’ve already sent for a proper North Carolina breakfast, and Mrs. Shadowitz should be here any moment now.” No sooner had she spoken than the door to the healing ward opened and Mrs. Shadowitz entered. She motioned for one for the guards to pull a table up to the foot of Mark’s bed. The guard did as she indicated and she looked at Mark. Her face was a mask of sorrow. “We need to talk before your parents get here.” Mark looked down, swallowed hard, sniffed and looked back up. A moment later he nodded, walked to the table and sat down. Mrs. Shadowitz sat down and leaned across the table reaching her hands out to him. He slid his hands into hers and felt the reassurance of her touch. “No one blames you for what happened. You did what you felt you had to do. No one can fault you for that.” Mark swallowed again and didn’t say anything. He knew she was building up to ask him something and he had a pretty good idea what that was. They couldn’t let the bodies just rot in The Labyrinth. They would need a decent burial. Mrs. Shadowitz was about to say something else when he decided to speak. “I’ll do it.” “You’ll do what?” “I’ll go back in and recover the bodies.” Her hands tightened on his and shook with each syllable when she said, “You’ll do no such thing.” He hated correcting her but could see no way around it. “Ma’am, there’s no other option. I’m the only one the staff works for.” “You’ll not go back in. We just need you hold the door open for the team that will go in.” Her hands on his relaxed. “But that’s not what I wanted to talk about.” The door opened. Tim and Jeremy walked through, each carrying a tray of food. They sat the trays on the table and Tim said, “I do not think you have met Jeremy. He is Shana’s top apprentice like Shana was my top apprentice.” Mark slid his hands from Mrs. Shadowitz’s and extended his right hand to Jeremy. Jeremy’s grasp was firm and it was quite evident there was a lot of latent power in this man. Mark had no doubt his hand would be no more than peanut shells in this man’s fingers had there been cause. It was obvious Jeremy’s smile was forced. “I’ve heard good things about you. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you face to face. I do wish the circumstances could have been better though.” “Me too. Would you and Tim care to join us?” They both looked to Mrs. Shadowitz. She said, “Give us a few minutes if you please.” Several counselors had maintained a vigil outside the entrance to The Labyrinth while Mark and the others had been in there which put them close enough to be able to read Mark’s thoughts. As a result, everyone knew exactly what had happened in there. They walked off and she turned back to Mark. “Benrah is awfully anxious to tell you something. Do you have any clue as to what that might be?” Mark’s first instinct was to say he didn’t care what Benrah wanted to say, but he saw Mrs. Shadowitz was taking this very seriously. “Ma’am, I honestly don’t know.” “I think it’s likely you do know, but just don’t realize it yet. I want you to keep pondering what it may be. If Benrah wants to tell you something, and that means he’s desperate about whatever it is. The sooner we know what it is, the sooner we can take action.” The door to the healing ward opened again and Mark’s family came through the door. His mother, Shirley ran up, threw her arms around him and lifted him to his feet. “Oh honey, I’m so glad you’re alright.” She kissed his forehead and rocked him back and forth. Steve, his dad said, “You are alright, aren’t you?” Mark pried himself from his mother’s arms. “I’m okay, except two people I cared about are dead because of me.” Steve bowed his head and said, “Son, one of the hardest things for me to learn in the Marines was that sometimes good people die. It wasn’t your fault. Nobody could have known what would happen in there.” James, his older brother said, “You didn’t intend to — ” Mark cut him off and heard himself repeating Mr. Thorpe before he could stop. “Intentions have no substance. It’s action that has consequence. It was my action that led to their deaths.” Mrs. Shadowitz said, “Mark, they would have taken Ricky’s body in there whether you went in or not. Now, you can either stew in your own self pity or you can pull yourself together and help us do what needs to be done. Yes, their deaths hurt us all, but first things first: you need to eat.” ●●● Three bronze colored coffins sat on gurneys next to the entrance to The Labyrinth. Mark walked up and touched the wall with his staff and the door opened. Tim walked up and tossed in several bug bombs. Mark said, “Tim, Jeremy, you’ve never been in there.” Tim said, “I was in there with you for a while through your thoughts while you were in there.” Jeremy said, “That’s true, but if I ever hope to understand what you’ve been through, I need to go in.” A figure stepped out of the opening. It was Mr. Diefenderfer and he was bald once again with the same thick scar crossing his head from front to back, and his eyes were once again black orbs. Another figure stepped out; Ricky Barns. And another figure; Joseph Young. Only his hair, matted with dried blood, was stringy white, and hung to his feet as did his beard. Mr. Diefenderfer looked at the coffins. “We will not... I am sure... be needing those... anytime soon.” He looked at Jeremy. “Ricky Barns is... under arrest. Take him... into custody... and see to it... he is fed.” He looked at Mrs. Shadowitz. “We need... to call... an emergency session... of the... Council of Elders.” ●●● It was just before 3 A.M. when Mark was awakened by a knock on the dorm door. He, his parents and brother had been assigned to the visitors dorm rooms pending being called into the council chamber. Mr. Diefenderfer said there was an abundance of information to deliberate and he had no idea how long this session would last. Mark and his family were to wait and would be called in at the appropriate time. Mark sat up and said in a rather loud voice, “I’m up. Are they ready?” Jeremy spoke from the other side of the door. “They have taken a brief recess and will be ready for you on their return in about 20 minutes.” Twenty minutes later, Jeremy led Mark and his family into the first floor level of the council chambers and to the single illuminated spot in the center of the large round room. Mark remembered how different he felt this time as opposed to last year on entering the chamber. Last year he hadn’t understood why he had been taken there and was intimidated beyond belief. This time, even with the austere setting, it wasn’t as bad. Jeremy looked up toward the second level. Nothing except the light was visible. “Mark Young, Steven Young, Shirley Young and James Young are presented as commanded.” Mrs. Shadowitz’s voice sounded from above. “Thank you Jeremy, you may leave.” No sooner had the massive door closed behind Jeremy, Mrs. Shadowitz continued. “You have all been summoned to this emergency session of The Council of Elders of The Seventh Mountain to be informed of the gravely important nature of recently acquired information, as it concerns your very lives and the course of events yet to come. “Mark, as you well know, Benrah was most adamant in his wish to tell you something. It is for that very purpose that Mr. Diefenderfer, Mr. Young and Mr. Barns were brought back to life and it is the decision of this council that the information is to be relayed to you and your family. “Benrah is of the opinion that you will acquire an artifact of significance to him sometime in the relatively near future. He says he gives you the choice of either destroying it utterly or returning it to him. Should you decide not to do this, he says he will destroy every one and every thing you ever held dear. “As a sign of his determination, he says he has re-inflicted Mr. Diefenderfer and Mr. Young with their old wounds.” Mark had been looking up but turned to his left when he heard his mother sigh. He saw his dad put his arms around her to keep her from falling over. She had fainted, again. Mrs. Shadowitz said, “Steven, you may remove her from the chamber. Jeremy will be waiting. James, you may leave as well.” James clasped his hands together in front of himself and his voice sounded shaky. “Ma’am, I’d like to stay with my brother if that’s alright?” “Very well.” The large door opened. Steve scooped Shirley into his arms and walked out. The door closed again before Mrs. Shadowitz spoke. “Mark, we are unable to determine what this artifact is that you will allegedly recover. We say allegedly in the light that this may be the start of a multi-layered design by Benrah toward some other end. The Ummim-Thummim indicated Benrah spoke truth about his desire to destroy a specific artifact, but we have no clue what the artifact might be. When any statement involves you, the stone will still not answer, so we don’t know if he spoke truth when threatening every one and every thing you hold dear. “What we do know is that Benrah must control a great many artifacts to enable him to keep control of the world once he has attained it. It doesn’t make sense for him to desire an artifact be destroyed unless that artifact is likely to work against him. “That leads to a dilemma, a choice we unanimously refuse to make. Only you can make that choice should the situation present itself. Naturally, we desire any tool that aids in defeating the designs of Benrah, but not at the stated cost.”
The 8th Fire Chronicles of a Magi Book 2
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