Beyond: Snillotia Trilogy Book One Page 6

  “What?”

  Tim had been looking through the books that appeared. “It’s the dog. She brought us back here, not me. I’m pretty sure she brought the books too. I didn’t do it. I just know it wasn’t me.”

  Tim looked at the dog. Feeling a little foolish, he asked, “Did you do this? Are you really a magic creature called a gup and not a pug dog?”

  “Yes.”

  Anna and Tim both froze. Tim hadn’t really been expecting a response, but he’d clearly heard a little girl’s or possibly an old woman’s voice answer him. He looked at the dog, still staring at him from the chair. “You can talk?”

  “Not the same way you can, but I can make you understand me. My name is- well, you can just call me Goldie.”

  Anna recovered from the shock first. “You brought us here. How do we leave?”

  “I don’t want you to leave. I’ve been alone for so long. There are no new rooms in storage. There are no students living here any longer. There haven’t been for many years now. When I felt your wish in the copied version of the room, your wish to return to Snillotia, I complied. You got your wish and I would no longer be alone.”

  Anna and Tim looked at each other. “Goldie, we have to leave. We’re the only hope for Snillotia. We must save everyone from the rebels. If we do that, there will be new rooms again, with new students. You wouldn’t be alone,” Anna tried to explain to her.

  Goldie did not look convinced. Tim tried another way. "Goldie, do you know who we are?"

  Goldie turn her large eyes right on him. "You are Nelle's son. That is the only way you could have been in her copied room. Plus, she already said who you were when she asked for those books," she replied glancing at Anna, "Though, you are bigger then when I last sensed you in the room."

  Goldie looked at their confused expressions. "I control the rooms. I can always tell who is in them, even the copies. After the students stopped coming, people also stopped copying their rooms. Your mother was the only one who kept hers. I had no one else to sense except her and whoever entered the room with her. I didn't feel so alone when she was in her room. It's been empty for a while now until you suddenly appeared! I was so happy when I sensed you!"

  Tim looked at her sadly. "My mom died."

  Goldie's sad looking face appeared even sadder. She whined and nudged Tim's hand. "I am sorry, Tim."

  After a moment of silence, Anna said, "If you could sense Tim's mom, do you know who she actually was, after she left school here? Who his dad was, as well?"

  "No. I only could feel their presence. Occasionally, if they thought about Snillotia hard enough, like you did, I could hear snippets. Why does this matter? I'm not alone any longer and now I am happy."

  "I'm sorry, Goldie, we can't stay here. You have to let us out. We have to defeat the rebels and we can't do that from here," Tim told her.

  "You're barely old enough to be students here, I don't see-"

  Anna cut her off. "We are the prince and princess! You have to obey us!"

  Tim looked at Anna in surprise. He hadn't quite thought of himself as a prince until she said it and he realized it was true. Goldie had gone silent and she looked very sad again. "You can come with us," he told her.

  Goldie almost looked surprised. "Leave here? I have never been anywhere else. I always must remain to control the storage."

  "But you said it yourself. There are no students, and my mom was the only one who had copied her room. Please, Goldie, we need to go back to the palace."

  She blinked her large eyes very slowly. She jumped off the chair then and ran towards the door.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  "Wait!"

  Anna and Tim raced after her as they saw her curly tail disappeared down the hallway. They reached the door and she was sitting, patiently in front of it. The door clicked open and began to open on its own. "We are in the palace."

  Tim tore his eyes from the pug and saw the room he had been sleeping in. He rushed in, with Anna close behind. When they turned back, Goldie was still in the doorway watching. Anna bent down and picked her up. "Thank you, Goldie. We insist you stay with us, so you aren't alone anymore."

  Goldie licked her nose, catching Anna totally by surprise. Tim laughed. "Wait, the books!"

  He ran back in the room and came back with the books his mom wrote and dumped them on the bed, then he went back for all her journals. He started to close the door and Goldie barked, "Wait! You'll cut off my connection to Storage, if you do that. I can't be disconnected from Storage!"

  Tim stopped just in time and swung the door wide open. He went to the large armchair in the corner and pushed it in front of the door. "There. Now we can't even close it, accidentally."

  "Thank you," Goldie said, feeling more comfortable staying in the palace with a link to her home present.

  Suddenly, the door to the bedroom burst open. Anna's mom came running in. "I thought I heard voices! I'm so happy your back,'" she cried hugging Anna, who was still holding Goldie.

  Goldie let out a yelp at being squished between them. "Oh! Aren't you the cutest thing!"

  "Actually, I'm supposed to be scary. Don't tell anyone my secret!"

  Anna and Tim laughed, while Einna jumped back in shock. She smiled slightly as she recovered herself. "Let's go downstairs. You must be hungry, and everyone will be so happy your back."

  Their grandparents were overjoyed to see them back safe and sound and of course scolded them playfully for leaving in the first place. They all loved Goldie as well, after they got over the shock that she was the mythical gup and that she could talk. "So, what did you discover?" Tre asked after they had finished eating.

  "Well, nothing yet, but I learned my mom wrote a lot of stuff down. I think there may be a clue in her journals."

  Tim's grandmother smiled, remembering her daughter's fondness for journaling and how it had worked out wonderfully when her power had appeared. Anna shook her head. "I think the books are what we should focus on, not the journals."

  "What books, dear?" Grandma An asked.

  "My mom, uh, wrote books. It was her job. She wrote a whole series of children's books. She was writing the last one when she, uh, well she didn't finish the last one."

  Grandma Aras smiled again, thinking how wonderful those stores must be, again remembering her daughter's gift, then the color drained from her face. "Why would she be so careless? No wonder they found her," she said with tears in her eyes.

  "No, she used another name. A pen name, I think they call it. Sarah Erickson," Anna explained.

  "How did you know that?" Tim asked, quite surprised.

  Anna rolled her eyes at him. "I read it on the cover of the books, back in the room."

  "Oh."

  Grandpa Cire smiled. " That's my clever girl!"

  Grandma Aras slowly smiled again too, catching on. Tim knew that was the name his mom used, but it seemed like an ordinary name to him. He didn't know why his grandfather thought it was clever. Anna rolled her eyes at him again. "I don't get it," he said more to himself, then anyone in the room.

  Goldie heard him. "Your mother turned her parents’ names backwards and used them to create her pen name."

  "Oh," Tim said, again, "I think I need some sleep!"

  At that, everyone said goodnight and went to their rooms. Tim moved the pile of books and journals to the desk in his room. He grabbed the journal they had found first since it seemed to be the earliest, planning to read a little before going to sleep. As soon as he lay down, he heard a tapping on the door. Anna poked her head in. "I want to read the first book your mom wrote."

  He pointed toward the desk and Anna went over to look at the pile. There were fourteen books so far. She assumed the papers were what had been written of the fifteenth. "Which one is first?" she asked, looking back at Tim.

  Having read the stories as long as he could remember, he knew without even thinking about it. "Invisible".

  Anna grabbed it and went back to her room. Goldie was curled up on the cha
ir in the corner. Anna pulled a blanket off the bed and put it around her. A loud snore was her response. She smiled and climbed into bed, opened the book and began to read. Suddenly, it was like a movie was playing in front of her. She had been right. Nelle had had the power to give life to the written word. She watched the story unfold.

  Once upon a time, when the air sizzled with magic and anything was possible, there lived a child. This child was always watching, waiting for the magic to come to her. As she grew older, she saw all those around her suddenly be able to do wondrous things. Her older brother could create winds. Her older sister could create music out of thin air. Her younger sister could paint anything then make it real by pulling it off the paper. Her younger sister's power was the latest to appear, it had shown up on her thirteenth birthday the week before. Even her younger brother, who was only eleven, was beginning to show promise of some kind of power with animals. As long as she could remember, she felt different than the rest of her family and magic was no exception. Her mother told her to be patient, but her patience was wearing thin. It was the last day she could hope to be like everyone else. Magic came when you were thirteen. Tomorrow would be her fourteenth birthday.

  "Eimaj!"

  The girl jumped at the sound of her younger brother, Semaj, calling her name. She was right behind their small house, sitting at the base of the closest tree. Her brother couldn't see her once again. She sometimes thought that would be the only power she would have. No one could ever find her. She was quiet and always watching. She only spoke when spoken to or had something important to say. People tended not to notice her unless she made her presence known. However, this was no magic at work. It was simply from always being in the middle. She was the third oldest child and the third youngest. Her brothers and sisters always stood out more than she did for one reason or another. She really didn't mind, much. She liked being able to just watch. Sometimes it was good to seem invisible.

  "I'm right here, Sem," she said, quietly.

  "I need your help, Em. One of the sheep went into the cave at the end of the field. I can't see him any longer. It's too dark."

  She stood up without a word and followed him. Her older brother, Bocaj, must not be home yet. Sem would have gone to him first if he was there. Ailuj wouldn't go near the sheep. Her older sister thought she was meant to be royalty or something. She had a crazy idea that the Prince would marry her someday, as if that snobby boy would ever marry a girl from a family of sheep farmers! Eimaj shook her head as she thought about it. Her younger sister, Einaoj, was afraid if the dark, even though no one ever mentioned it. If Sem had asked her, she would have come up with an excuse quickly once she heard the words "dark cave". Her brother was chattering away, basically saying everything she had just thought. "Bo isn't here. Lulu and Ina wouldn't have helped. I didn't even bother asking."

  Eimaj was surprised at being asked first for once but realized her brother really hadn't had a choice. As they reached the mouth of the cave, Eimaj looked around until she saw a large enough branch she could use as a torch. Using the flint her father had given her for her birthday last year, she lit the torch and entered the cave. She quickly found the sheep and sent it back toward the entrance and her brother. However, she had noticed something else. There were carvings on the wall in the very back. She yelled back to her brother, "Go ahead back! I found something interesting in here I want to study!"

  She heard her brother pulling the sheep away. Everyone was used to her habit of studying things. She went back to the carvings. It could only be a quick look because her torch wouldn't last much longer. In the dim light she could make out something that resembled a doorway carved in the stone. It was surrounded by arrows. Always two together pointing the opposite ways. She reached out to rub her fingers along one of the arrows. Suddenly everything was dark. Her torch had gone out.

  Anna closed the book after a few pages. Even though Nelle's power made it almost like watching a movie, her eyes were getting heavy. It had been a long day. The story was interesting so far. It seemed like it took place in Snillotia. She recognized the reversed names: Jamie, James, Jacob, Julia, and Joanie. Deciding to read more in the morning to see if anything in the story was helpful, she turned off the light and went to sleep.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Tim woke the next morning, with the sun streaming through the windows of his room, surrounded by his mother’s journals. He had read the first one cover to cover, amazed at the things he was learning about his mother when was she was his age. Once his mother's power had surfaced, he'd become hooked. It was like he'd witnessed his parents meeting for the first time, through his mother’s eyes. He'd seen his father and Anna's parents all when they were just slightly older than him, in his mind’s eye, brought to life by what his mother had written. He hadn't, however, discovered anything that might be helpful to them. He decided to just flip through some of the other notebooks, in hopes that something stood out, but had no such luck. A knock at the door pulled him from the comfort of the warm blankets. Upon opening the door, he was slightly surprised to see Grandpa Cire standing on the other side. "Good morning, Tim. Did you sleep well?"

  Tim nodded. "Yes, sir."

  "No need to be so formal, my boy! I'd like to talk to you for a moment. Can I come in?" Grandpa Cire asked, gesturing inside the room.

  Tim nodded again and stepped aside. He closed the door behind his grandfather, who had stopped in the middle of the room. He was staring at the books and journals that were left piled on the desk. Then he turned and saw the notebooks on the bed. "I wonder," he said, almost to himself, "did it present even in her journals?"

  He reached out to pick up one of the notebooks then hesitated. "Do you mind if I…?" he asked Tim.

  "Sure," he said, picking up the closest one and handing it to his grandfather.

  His grandfather opened it at random and began reading. He slowly smiled. "It's wonderful, knowing we have this almost living memory of her. Her mother will be so happy."

  Tim smiled awkwardly back at his grandfather. It was very weird for him to think about these people he didn't know having known his mother longer than he had. They knew more about her than he did. It made him sad to realize the person he knew as his mother wasn't really who she was at all. "It's a neat power."

  "It's a wonderful power. Your mother was not the first to have it. However, I'd never seen it present in personal writings. Usually it only presented if the person was writing about something made up or that they were not involved in," he smiled, "Your mother always had to be different! Seems that even carried over to her power!"

  Tim took the journal as his grandfather handed it back to him. "People can have the same powers?"

  Grandpa Cire nodded. "They usually run in families. Once in a while, something new will pop up, but usually, looking back, you tend to find that the power was in the family somewhere- possibly another branch that formed its own family in the present time that shows the power more dominantly. Many families in Snillotia have common ancestors if you go back far enough. Like your family and Anna's. Your father’s ancestors and her mother’s were brother and sister after all- the first Sibling Rulers."

  Tim nodded, understanding a little better. He looked at his grandfather, who had moved to the desk where all the books were piled. Grandpa Cire was running his fingers across the covers, almost lovingly. Tim started, shyly. "Am I allowed to ask people what their powers are? I know Anna's parents' and Grandma An's, because they all told me. And now I know my moms, but what about my dad's? And your's and Grandma Aras' and Grand-"

  Tim stopped talking, as Grandpa Cire laughed. "Slow down, son! I forget you didn't grow up here and don't know much how about things work, sometimes! Why don't we go find the rest of the grandparents? Yours, I mean, and we'll have a little family reunion! We'll tell you anything you want to know, that we know ourselves, of course!"

  Tim followed his grandfather from the room. As they walked, Tim realized the castle was a lot bigger than he original
ly thought. Besides the sections that looked like the house he grew up in and the house Anna grew up in, there were yet more doors and hallways he had not yet seen. Tim shook his head. His grandfather glanced over at him. "I know; it's very confusing at first! You'll get used to it soon, I promise! After all, this is your home now!"

  Tim nodded, slowly, as that reality once again, sunk in. It didn't feel like home yet, even the section that did resemble his real home. Putting those thoughts aside, they finally stopped in a cozy room. Tim's grandmothers were sitting at a table with Grandma An. The women looked up, surprised as they realized Tim was with Grandpa Cire. Grandpa Amme smiled warmly at Tim. "Good morning, dear. Did you sleep well?"

  Tim nodded, as Grandpa Cire spoke, "I realized, while talking with Tim, that our children really did not tell him anything about who he really is. Most likely they were waiting for when they thought would be the best time and, unfortunately, we know that they didn't get a chance."

  Grandpa Cire's voice caught, thinking of his daughter, then he continued. "Tim has a lot of questions. Questions that will need to be answered if he's to play the part in our salvation that we believe he is to play. I also have some questions for him. I'd like to get to know my grandson better. I think we need to take some family time and just talk."

  Grandma Aras nodded in agreement. "What a wonderful idea!"

  Grandma An stood up. "I think we'll do the same with Anna!"