Adventures of Jacko the Conjurer, Jamie Ott [great novels to read .txt] 📗

Forget it,” he said, turning back to his bag.

“Okay, don’t believe me, but those dreams you keep having should be your biggest clue that something else is going on here.”

But he ignored him, and continued shuffling through his bag.

Uncle Bally shrugged his shoulders.

“Look, I don’t think you should go back to the temple. Those men looked dangerous. Just like the bible warns of cruel angels, your mother said to beware of cruel gods. I think those who occupy this summit are the sort to avoid.”

“You’re right, Uncle Bally, but they’re not allowed to touch me. It’s been forbidden by the elder gods, so I’ll be fine. Besides, I gotta find my family.”

“They’re not here!” He threw down his knife. “If they were, don’t you think they would have found you? This place isn’t that big!”

“You don’t understand how things work, here, Uncle. Just because you can’t see other beings, doesn’t mean they’re not here. Do you really think the constant quivering of branches and bushes are animals running to hide? They’re not; they’re other things that live here, too.”

Uncle Bally fell silent and went back to whittling his bow.

He rose from his hammock, but before he walked off, said, “Time runs differently in places like this. I could be gone a few hours, or a few days. No matter what, don’t come looking for me. Think of Alice in Wonderland: Wander down the wrong path, and you could end up somewhere else, and unable to get back; bump into the wrong god, and he or she might try to destroy you. They’re indestructible, so you don’t want to go against them. Do as Faunus said: hunt, if you must, but don’t go looking for me, and don’t go looking for trouble.”

Then he left the woods.

Jacko stopped just short of the steps to the temple and waited to see if anyone would try to stop him. When nothing happened, he started his ascent.

Everything was the same as before, except instead of an endless corridor, there was a whirling cloud-tunnel several hundred feet in.

He stopped just inside the hall, turned around and looked for any indication of another route he could take. When he saw none, he kept moving toward the tunnel.

A great distance in, a man appeared, walking toward him. He, like the other men, had long white hair and a beard. Only, he had a serene look on his face. He put up his palm and said, “Stop. This is a temple for the servants of Jupiter. You’re not supposed to be here.”

“I’m not leaving until I see my family. I was told they’re here.”

He stepped out of the tunnel into the hall.

“And it’s true. You’ll see them again, but not now. Go.”

He flicked his arm toward the entrance.

“I’m not going anywhere until you take me to them.”

The white hair god looked like he was about to argue, but then fell silent. His eyes lifted to a spot just above his head. Jacko knew he was probably communicating with someone. Then he said, “I’ve been ordered to take you to them. Come with me.”

Just as the man turned, the tunnel started to spin.

“Don’t be afraid,” he said, and stepped in. “It’s just preparing itself for where we want to go.

Slowly, he put one foot forward, and when he felt it was steady, continued in.

With strides ten times larger than Jacko, the man had already gotten far ahead of him. He ran fast to catch up.

In Silence, they walked for fifteen minutes before he asked, “What is this thing?”

“It’s like a worm hole, only smaller and less harmful.”

“Who are you?”

“I’m a servant of Jupiter. I don’t have a name.”

“How does that work? What if someone has need of you, specifically?”

“We’re all the same.”

“Well, you seem nicer than the others. That’s not the same.”

Then like a fork in the road, so did the tunnel. He followed the man right, and at the end of that tunnel was a double fork; they took the second tunnel to the left.

They fell silent again.

A short while later, a white walled room appeared some feet ahead. It had the same cotton looking substance for walls, like when Jacko was with Aurora.

All was still and there were no furnishings; nothing except limestone statues along the right side.

“Where are we?”

“The stone rooms; as you see, they’re fine. Now, we must go.”

He turned to leave.

“Wait! What are you talking about? Where is my family?”

He extended his arm toward the right side of the room. It took a second for him to realize that each of the stone statues had distinguishable features. They were placed in order from shortest to tallest, beginning with his youngest sister, little Forsi, and ending with the tallest, his brother, Machine. In between, he got choked up at the sight of the others: Grill, Bouncy, Bull, Brain and Truth. All the boys were named after their father, Manlo, but had nicknames that distinguished them according to their characteristics. Then Alica and Bordra, and Dienla and Anle; seeing them that way made him livid.

“What is this?”

His voice echoed off the walls.

“No need to get upset; they’re fine.”

“They’re not fine! You fix them, now!”

“You’re the only exception, and it’s only because of the end of times war; otherwise, we don’t allow humans here, no matter how much godly blood runs in their veins. We could only bring them after stoning them, lest they defile our halls.”

“I don’t understand. Oganat showed them to me; they were playing games, running through gardens and stuff.”

“Yes, but in their minds.”

“I don’t understand why you did this! It’s disgusting!”

“It was done to ensure that you play your part, and so far it’s worked. If we’d left you with them, you’d have gone home and forgotten your role in this war.”

“This isn’t right!”

“Who’re you to tell us what’s right, boy!”

His face marble face turned a violent red, like a mood ring across a shiny surface.

“Send them out into the forest with me, but turn them back, now!”

He took a few steps closer to the tall god.

It made him even crazier, knowing he was unmoved by his anger. The servant didn’t take him seriously. He drew back his fist, but when he extended it, it was into air.

He’d disappeared.

“Jacko,” said a softer voice from behind.

There, with long ringlets, stood Lucem’s mother.

“Aurora, can you fix this?”

“No, I can’t but they’re not dead. Once you’ve played your part, they’ll either be returned to Earth, or sent to the fountain.”

He was about to scream at her, but she said, “Calm yourself. There is nothing you can do about this. You will continue, and if you do well, they’ll be fine.”

“What if I don’t?”

“In the end, you’ll have no choice.”

“Then why do this to them?”

“Because it’s motivated you to work hard, thus far, and it’s prepared you for the final battle. You don’t realize it, but you’ve come very far. You’re stronger than you even realize.”

He breathed heavily.

“What is my part? What do I need to do to get this war over and done?”

“You’ll know when the time is right.”

“I’m sick of hearing that! Why won’t Lucem tell me what it is I’m supposed to do? If it’s so important that I carry out his legacy, why doesn’t he at least talk to me, the way he did the first conjurer?”

“Is that what you think? That you’re fighting for him?”

“Well, that’s what everyone has, basically, said.”

“Lucem comes from me, and it was my legacy he carried out for many millenniums, before the first conjurer. And now, there is you. It’s my legacy that you strive to fulfill, not his.”

Jacko said nothing.

“I started saving the world, and every millennium, he sends forth a piece of his goodness to continue my work. He is my legacy, as are you. We gave this to you – to man – because it’s your home, and you need to fight for it. For some reason, every conjurer – every millennium – has been just as stubborn and reluctant to accept that, just like you’ve been. But we’d rather make you fight then lose this planet to the demons. Can you blame us? Look what they’ve done to this Earth, so far? Red skies, red sulfur rivers, ash instead of earth. No more flowers and no more laughter, only black demons hunting.”

She paused a moment.

“I’m sorry, but you will do as you were meant, and that’s all there is to it. If you care so much, you’ll work hard and fight until you’ve either won, or you’re dead, as a real warrior and a real hero, would do.”

Jacko had never felt such a strong mix of emotions. Humbled and on the verge of tears, hatred for Aurora and Lucem, yet understanding and acceptance of what he must do. Desperation that he must save his family now, yet knowing he must obey the gods and wait. It was all too much.

“You’re the symbol of the ending of an era, and the beginning of a new. I’m the dawn, and I’m with you always, changing the future, lighting the way.”

“Where’s my father - Manlo, and Althenio?”

“Althenio raised Manlo from a boy, two centuries ago. He’s the one who took Manlo to heaven.”

“He left his children and went to heaven? I don’t believe it.”

“Manlo understands you cannot disobey the gods. It’s what we want, and that’s all there is to it. The only reason he got to go is because Althenio has special rank.”

The more she spoke, the angrier he got.

“I need to get out of here?”

“This way.”

She stepped into the tunnel; Jacko followed.

“If our side wins, will everything return to normal? All the land and animals, and everything that died, will it all go back to the way it was before?”

“Most everything will, but there will be some things that are just lost.”

“Like what?”

“Any animal – human or otherwise - that didn’t die at the hands of a demon or god will likely return to the fountain. Those killed by one of us will return to Earth.”

“Where’s Lucem?”

“I don’t know.”

Up ahead, the columns of the temple came into sight. Lining the hall was hundreds of white haired men in robes, all bowing and kneeling. Their actions reminded Jacko that Aurora, too, was an elder.

They stepped out of the tunnel and into the hall.

“Will I see you again?”

The faintest smile pulled the corner of her radiant mouth.

“Yes, but not in this lifetime. However, you’ll feel me with you always. I’ll never abandon you, spiritually, and I’ll be watching you from the stars, so will Lucem.”

And then she disappeared. The tunnel vanished, too.

The gods remained in bowed positions as he exited the hall.

~~~

Back at camp, Uncle Bally, who was not normally an affectionate kind, was overly joyed to see him back.

He jumped up and pulled him into a death embrace. When Jacko’s eyes started rolling into his head, he let him up and told him he’d been gone about 48 hours: that despite Jacko’s warning, he’d been worried ill.

To him, it felt more like a few hours.

Larry and Joe whizzed around him, pelting chestnuts at his head. He supposed that was their way of saying they were happy to see him. When they got him right between the eyes, he shouted, “Stop it, now!”

Julius, on the other hand, had a strange look about him. There was a deep cut on his cheek that hadn’t fully scabbed over.

“Hi, Julius.”

But he remained silent.

“What happened to your cheek?”

He looked away.

“You hungry?”

Uncle Bally picked up a basket of cherries and handed it to him.

“I’m starving and exhausted!”

“Well, lay back and nap. I was just about to pluck this peacock. Julius, get the fire going.”

As he went to get some wood from the pile, Jacko was flashed in the eye by a glint that came from something shiny poking out of the collar of his shirt. Whatever it was, it was a deep, dark green color.

“What’s that around your neck?”

“Nothing. Something my mother gave me,” he mumbled.

“So did you find