A Picture of the Heart

Tom rubbed his fingers across the book cover, which looked like it’d gone a few rounds with a baby dragon. As he examined it, his mind desperately tried to find or create an explanation for how a person could be sucked into the pages of a book and witness a battle scene; however, nothing made sense. There was no way to explain it, but he had been sucked into a book, plummeted to the earth, and witnessed a war.

Hesitantly, Tom stepped off the porch, turned the corner, and peered into the darkness, where the only light was the lantern swinging at Sosie’s side. With every swing, the darkness retreated from the light. The light was powerful. It had the power to drive the darkness away, but the effort seemed futile. As soon as the light moved on, the darkness filled the void.

Looking back toward Market Street, something said, leave, but where would he go? Certainly not back to his second-story cage to wait and see when the King and Joran would make their move to arrest him. No, he’d be long gone before he allowed that to happen. Perhaps Sosie knew another way out of the city. Sprinting ahead, Tom caught up with the man, who stepped onto another shack’s stairs, which creaked in protest.

“Yes,” Sosie said, squatting in front of an unlit fireplace at the foot of the bed. “They’re all patterned after mine. After all, it was first.” He reached inside, something clicked, and the fireplace pivoted outward. “Come on.”

Immediately, the tunnel descended steeply. Tom pressed his hands into the damp walls to help keep his footing on the slick floor. Once the tunnel leveled out, it wasn’t long before they entered what felt like an expansive area. Sosie led the way through the darkness to the base of a massive black tree. The light wasn’t much, but it was enough to show that the tree stretched high overhead. Behind it, a two-foot stone wall held a dark pool at bay. Moving along the wall, Sosie lit two lanterns and hung them from spindly branches that stretched over the pool. A drop of water struck the water, sending ripples running. Tom anxiously awaited whatever horrendous beast the drop would awaken from the depths.

Stepping down from the wall, Sosie returned to the tree’s base—his light revealing an indention in the trunk and a gnarled black seat. Ascending three steps, Sosie sat, facing Tom, and dimmed the lantern. A new light from the right drew his attention as shadowy figures with their faces beneath dark hoods entered the cavern. More flickers appeared from different locations as more hooded figures filed in. With them came two hairy beasts, hunched over, which looked better suited to be on all fours than standing upright. The sight of the creatures sent chills up Tom’s spine. He wouldn’t have dared take his eyes off them had the air overhead not begun to stir as shadows descended and landed in the branches.

“My brothers, the day we’ve anticipated since the kingdom was wrongfully stripped from us has finally arrived. The day the Black Oak rises again. We’ve long awaited our champion, no, something more, our King, to arise from the ashes and reclaim what is rightfully his. Finally, the wait has ended.” The roar of approval echoed throughout the cavern. “Step forward and claim your rightful place.”

Tom’s heart raced as Sosie stepped down from the throne and waited at the bottom step. Instead of obeying his gut feeling and the thoughts in his head screaming run, Tom allowed himself to rationalize the situation. I saw myself defeated by the King and Joran. The King was insistent I regain my memories on my own. Did he know all along who I am?

If I take that and ascend, there’s no turning back. What’s wrong with me? Sosie provided the answers, not the King, Joran, or JeAnna. Regardless of his rationalization, something felt terribly wrong. Shutting his eyes, Tom hoped he’d wake up somewhere else and not have to make the heart-wrenching decision that lay before him. The feeling of his arms raising overhead wasn’t enough to rouse him from his inward war. The tunic slid over his head, fitting snuggly around his chest and stomach. Someone grabbed his hand. Still, he kept his eyes clenched tightly. He was ascending.

Stop! Stop! His thoughts pleaded as if another force within him said them. His eyes opened. He had ascended.

“Bow to your rightful king,” Sosie’s boisterous voice demanded from beneath his thick hood. There was silence in the cavern as the creatures, big and small, bowed before Tom.