BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
I all but fall out of bed. I thought those blasted dreams had stopped. I fumble around on the night stand until I find the alarm and turn it off. I drag myself out of bed and head for the bathroom. I got to my room around 11:00 local time last night. It's just after 5:00 am now. I don't do well without enough sleep, but I have several hours of driving to do, followed by at least an hour's hike. I hope I'll be able to make it back to the hotel by tonight.
I dress in a tank top, shorts and hiking boots and put my long hair in a loose bun on top of my head. I head down to the lobby were I purchase several large bottles of water and energy bars. I grab breakfast to go and then head out to the 4X4 I rented last night.
I head south, staying on the main road for a couple of hours. I start "feeling" around for the turn off. I finally find it, and I turn off the main road onto a little dirt track through the jungle. I continue to "feel" for where to turn for the next hour or so. At long last, I reach a dead end.
I put my supplies into my back pack and then get out of the truck. I "feel" around for the right direction. I find what I'm looking for and head out. I'm not used to this type of work out and after a while my legs are letting me know what they think about the whole thing.
After more than an hour, I finally come to the base of a mountain. There is a large moss covered bolder in front of me. I draw my power to me and place my hand on a symbol inscribed on the rock that's almost completely covered by the moss. But I don't need to look for it, for I already know it's there. As soon as my hand touches the symbol, it glows and the bolder moves out of my way. I step into the opening on the other side. As soon as I'm in, the bolder moves back. I'm in a tunnel and I can see light at the end of it. I head for the light.
I enter a large circular chamber that's at least a hundred feet across. On my right is a giant brazier with a fire burning in it. On my left is a large pool of water. I step through a small shaft of sunlight coming through a small crack in the ceiling far above me. The far side of the chamber is a blank stone wall. On the floor in the center of the chamber, like the bolder outside, is a circle engraved into the stone. In the circle are pictures of a tree, rain, a flame, and a twister. I walk to the center of the chamber and I step into the center of the circle.
Four things happen at once. The fire in the brazier shoots to the ceiling, a spout of water comes out of the pool, the ground in front of me shakes and moves and a whirlwind kicks up behind me. Finally, the four guardians of the elements take on the forms of 20 foot long dragons suited to each of its environments. They are all staring at me with red glowing eyes.
"WHO DARES TRESSPASS ON THIS SACRED PLACE!" they demand in unison. Their voices bounce off of the walls of the chamber making it impossible to answer for several moments. When the echoes die down, I respond.
"Margaret Susan Cavendish," I say in a clear loud voice. "Keeper of the Wind and the Earth."
The guardians of Air and Earth move toward me and touch me with their snouts. Satisfied, they return to their places.
"HAIL, AND WELCOME!" they say.
"Hail, and thank you," I respond. The guardians return from whence they came and the wall in front of me opens up to reveal another tunnel.
I go through the tunnel and enter another chamber. This is one is much smaller than the last one. There is a desk and chair here and the room is lit by several oil lamps lining the walls. A door leading to another chamber is across the room from me and I can see shelves lined with books in the next room. A slightly portly man who looks to be in his early 60's is standing behind the desk. The curly mop of hair on his head used to be black once, but it's now streaked with gray.
"Buenos Dias…" he begins. He stops in the middle of his greeting, and his dark eyes get very wide. "Maggie? Maggie Cavendish?"
I guess he does remember me. I smile and say, "Hola, Uncle Guillermo."
The Librarian quickly comes around his desk. He crosses the room with his arms wide open. Dropping my back pack behind me, I meet him half way and he embraces me in a great big bear hug. It's been such a long time since I've seen the man who used to come to my father for help translating ancient texts. I remember him being such a big part of my life that would call him "Uncle." That was before I went to live with my Grandmother, and I'd forgotten how much I miss his hugs. After several minutes, he lets go of me which is good, since I was starting to have trouble breathing.
"Little Maggie," he says in flawless English, holding my hands in his. "How have you been? Why don't you write me any more?"
"I'm fine, thank you," I answer. I look down, embarrassed. "I'm sorry I haven't written in so long. I've been pretty busy with the ranch."
He snorts at that last part.
"Come," he says, turning and starting to lead me by the hand through the door behind the desk. "You are hungry and need to freshen up. I know the trek out here is not an easy one."
We pass through the door and go through several chambers. Most of these chambers have book cases made from the walls themselves and are filled with ancient volumes. A couple of the rooms have cases in them that contain powerful relics. Finally, we pass through a door that leads to the living area.
I go and freshen up and then I join him in the small kitchen where there is a plate of fresh cut up fruit and a pot of tea waiting. We talk about the times when my parents were still alive, and I catch him up with what I've been doing with my life for the past several years and about the ranch.
"I have the name of a new Mage for your records, by the way," I tell him. He goes and gets a pen and paper and then waits for me to continue. "Victoria Pearl Mann. Air Mage. Born June first 2005. Manhattan, New York."
"So Sharon had the baby," he says. "I'm glad to hear that. How is your grandmother?"
"She's fine," I answer. "She's still keeping busy."
"Doing what?" he asks with a strange look on his face.
"Oh, you know," I say, "this and that."
"She wouldn't be planning a wedding, would she?" he asks with a slight smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye.
"Why do say that?" I respond taking a quick sip of my nearly cold tea. I know he can "feel" my heart starting to beat faster.
"You've been Kissed!" he announces with a large grin on his face.
"Do I have the words 'I've been Kissed' been written across my forehead in letters that I can't see?" I ask in frustration.
"I can see it in your eyes," he laughs.
"Great," I grumble.
"Just make sure I'm invited to the wedding," he says. Then he turns serious. "But you didn't come all the way out here for a social visit or to give me the name of a new Mage. Why are you here, Maggie?"
"I need to know if you ever finished translating a text that you and Daddy were working on," I tell him. Knowing that there were a lot of books that they worked on together, I try and give him more details. "The two of you were working on it just before my parents died and there was a part about a Mage born with no Family bringing about the end of the world."
He looks at me with a slight frown on his face.
"Why do you need this book?" he finally asks.
"I believe I've found the Mage with no Family," I answer.
He looks at me with widened eyes that are filled with worry and fear. He gets up so quickly from his seat that the chair falls over. He charges out of the room, and I get up and follow him back into The Library. He goes to the room set deepest into the mountain. There is a large table in the center of the room with several books on it. Some are closed, but a few are open and there are papers scattered all over the place. He starts looking through the papers until he finds the one he wants.
"Tell me about this Mage?" he demands.
"She's a Fire Mage. Her powers manifested when she was eleven and her parents were killed by the resulting fire," I tell him.
His face goes white. He sits down in the closest chair. He looks at me with his eyes so wide I can see the whites all the way around the iris.
"That's an almost exact description of the Mage in the book," he whispers. "Where is she now?"
"New Jersey," I answer.
"I haven't been able to finish translating the book," he says quietly. "Without your father's help, I've reached an impasse. I do know that the time for the destruction of the world will be soon, I just don't know where or how. I need your father now more than ever."
I stand there chewing my lip while he shuffles around some more papers. Then a thought hits me.
"I think I know someone who can help," I say suddenly. He looks at me sharply. "I'll need to take the book and your notes back to New Jersey with me, but I think he can do it."
"You can't take the book with you," he says sadly.
"Why not?" I ask.
"Because," he says, "only the Librarian can take any of the books out of The Library. The guardians will kill anyone else who tries to remove the books."
"Then you'll have to come with me," I tell him.
"But…" he starts.
"No 'buts'," I tell him. Coming over to where he's sitting, I start trying to pull him out of his chair. "The fate of the world is at stake here. Now pack some of your stuff and let's go."
I finally manage to get him moving. I help him get his notes and the book packed, then he packs some clothes. I manage to find his passport, which, thankfully, hasn't expired yet. I collect my back pack and then we head out past the guardians. Guillermo insists on carrying the book. They appear and watch us suspiciously, but they let us pass unharmed.
"What was that all about?" I ask him as soon as we're outside.
"They were making sure that I wasn't being coerced," he answers. "Otherwise, they would have killed you."
Well, isn't that pleasant? I think. I lead him back to where I've parked the truck. We have to stop several times, since he's not used to this much exercise. After a couple of hours we finally manage to get to the truck. The sun is starting to lower in the sky. We head to Mexico City. I keep checking my cell phone, but I can't get an antenna out here in the jungle. We finally reach the outskirts of town and I can now make a call. First I try Manning's number, but all I get is his voice mail. Then I try the main number. When I finally get through, I'm told that Manning isn't there. I leave a message telling the person on the other end to have him call me immediately.
When we get to the hotel, I go inside, collect my stuff from my room and then check out. Then we head for the airport. After returning the car, I book a couple of seats on the next flight back to the US. Guillermo is clutching the book to him and I have to all but pry it out of his arms so we can get through security. We're finally sitting on the plane waiting for take off and I look over at Guillermo. He's clutching the book to his chest and is as white as a sheet.
"What's wrong?" I ask him.
"I don't like flying," he says through gritted teeth.
Now that I think of it, I've never met an Earth Mage that did like to fly. I know that Mom hated it. That's why she and Daddy were on that cruise to Hawaii. I quickly turn away from that painful memory.
"Don't worry," I comfort. "Nothing's going to happen while I'm on the plane."
"It's not that I'm afraid that the plane won't stay up," he says. "It's that I'm afraid it won't come down. I really don't like loosing contact with the Earth."
"Ah, now I understand," I reply. "I'm sorry, but this is the fastest way, and we're working on limited time."
"I know," he says sadly.
I feel bad for him, but there's nothing I can do. A few hours later, we're in an American airport waiting for our connecting flight. Just before we're to board, my cell phone rings.
"Hello?"
"Miss Cavendish, this is Dr. Manning"
"Dr. Manning, I'm glad to hear from you. Has Abe been able to tell you why I left?"
"Yes," he says. "He told all of us. Hellboy and Miss Sherman were both upset by what little he could tell us. I do wish you could have been able to give us more details before you took off like that."
"I'm afraid I didn't have any more information than what Abe was able to tell you," I reply. "However, I do believe I have found help. I'm bringing someone with the book that will hopefully give us the answers we need. He and Abe are going to have to work together on this one."
"I'm not very happy with this, Miss Cavendish," says Manning. "I really don't have time for this right now. I have a bigger problem on my hands then some supposed prophesy that you only partly remember."
"And what would that be, Dr. Manning?" I ask.
"Miss Sherman is missing."