CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Hiding It

Shana was waiting for Mark when he arrived at The Oasis for breakfast. She already has his usual steak and eggs waiting for him which could mean only one thing. Someone in authority wanted him to hurry up and finish breakfast so he could do something else. Raphael had said they’d want him and the staff soon.

“Let me guess, Mr. Diefenderfer is waiting to take me somewhere?”

“How’d you guess?”

Mark cut a piece off of the steak. “I dreamt it. They need to get into the labyrinth at The First Mountain.”

“Nick’s going too and so is Mr. Young.”

If that was supposed to make him feel any better, it didn’t. He was looking forward to a leisurely breakfast with his friends and wondered where they were. “They should be here by now.”

“They were here two hours ago; you’re the one that’s late.”

“You mean it’s nine o’clock?”

“It’s nine thirty.”

“How do you do that?”

“What, tell time?”

Mark shoved a fork full of scrambled egg into his mouth and nodded.

“Tim, ah, Mr. Fairbanks didn’t tell you about the sundial, did he?”

“There’s a sundial?”

Shana pointed to a small opening on the outside wall that he had never noticed before. “See that little window? There’s a clear crystal set on that wall so that it catches the sunlight and focuses it. It shines a small bright circle of light on that wall.” She pointed to the opposite wall. “On that wall you can see a pattern of arcs with hash marks. It’s a fancy sundial that shows time, day and month.

“What time did Mr. Diefenderfer want to leave?”

“As soon as you’re ready. Oh yeah, Nick said you were supposed to have received a crystal when you went into the cave.”

“I received an eagle feather and a flint knife. I found the power source and an old butane lighter.” A sudden realization dawned on him. He realized he needed to keep from transmitting his thoughts. “Wait, the knife had a crystal handle inlaid with silver and turquoise. Could that be it?”

“I don’t know, but Nick said to bring the crystal with you.”

“I’ll go get it. Where am I supposed to meet them?”

“Front steps. I’ll let them know you’re ready.”

 

 

Nick, Mr. Diefenderfer and Mr. Young were waiting when Mark arrived. Mark held out the knife, “Is this the crystal?”

Nick took it and looked it over. “I don’t know. It looks like it could be, but I haven’t made it yet.” He put the knife into Aaron’s Grasp.

Mark didn’t question that since Nick was working on a time machine and it was obvious that he would succeed sometime in the future. The crystal must be something he knows he’s planning to implement.

Mr. Diefenderfer held out his elbows. Mark and Nick grabbed hold and almost instantly they were facing The First Mountain’s main entrance. No one was there to meet them. They began walking in.

Mr. Young asked Nick, “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

“It has to be done and Mark and I together are the only ones that can do it.”

Mr. Diefenderfer explained to Mark, “The machine is...too large...to fit through...the door. Nick will need...to pilot it...with us aboard...in order...to remove it...from the labyrinth...that it may...be re-hidden...in the...selected location.”

“But Nick hasn’t built it yet. How can he know how to pilot it?”

“I know the operating principles and I know how I plan to build it once the kinks are worked out.”

“What’s the rush?”

Mr. Young answered, “We’re getting reliable reports that the Neo-Phylum are planning a raid to capture something from our side that will take many strong people to carry. We’re taking measures on the few things that could involve. This is one of them.”

They reached the mountain’s artifact museum where Head Elder Habeas Grob was waiting. He greeted them, “Ah, AlHufus, Joseph, Mark, it is good to see you again.” He pointed to Nick, “And this must be the young Magi you have told me so much about. It is good to meet you Mr. Poparov.”

Nick looked a little awkward, like he didn’t know what to do. “Thank you, sir. I’m honored to meet you.”

Mr. Grob smiled and turned to Mr. Diefenderfer. “The ladder is still in place.”

“Mark...would you open...the entrance...to the labyrinth?”

He produced the staff and did as requested. After a couple of bug bombs were tossed in they made their decent. The machine was right where it had been before and had apparently not been touched. Mark said, “They haven’t even removed the tarp. They had to at least be curious about it.”

Mr. Young held the lantern up and examined the seal and the rope. It was intact. He broke it and started loosening the ropes. “Benrah is neither omniscient nor omnipresent. He can only be at one place at any given time and if he doesn’t observe it himself then in order for him to know about something he hasn’t seen someone else has to tell him. It is quite possible that he either still doesn’t know about it or that he’s just recently found out about it. Spirit beings cannot break the seal so they couldn’t have found out what it is. Getting it out would be problematic for any corporeal being unless they had a key and knew how it operated. I believe any corporeal being would still be present had they entered this room and so far we haven’t found anyone else.”

They pulled the tarp away and Nick said, “It looks pretty much as I thought it would.” The machine was an open framework constructed somewhat like a dune buggy with two perpendicular metal loops in the back. It was the loops that gave it the appearance of a concrete truck under the tarp.

Nick produced the flint knife and inserted the crystal handle in a slot on the dashboard. Nothing happened. He put his thumb against a small glass bezel on the dashboard. Still nothing happened. He climbed into the driver’s seat and maneuvered it away from the wall. The vehicle was electric. When the vehicle was pointing toward the interior of the building he turned on the headlights and there they were.

Six men were fast walking toward the group. Mr. Diefenderfer shouted, “Hold!” The men kept coming, swords in hand.

“I said hold!”

The men paid no heed.

Nick said, “Get behind me!” A moment after they were clear a small click preceded a very large electric discharge that emanated from the front of the vehicle and ended where the men stood. A few seconds later the last one crumpled to the ground. “Get in and we’ll get out of here.”

There was no sensation, the vehicle didn’t rise into the air and there was no indication at all that they were moving through time except the men on the floor abruptly disappeared and the readout on the dashboard was counting backwards. It was about an hour before the labyrinth simply vanished and the car with its four passengers was sitting atop a narrow peak that projected from a wide mesa. The sun was high overhead. The readout on the dashboard had stopped at 10,308 BC.

Mr. Young said, “Zoroaster’s Temple. The First Mountain was discovered when a young priest seeking more spiritual knowledge fell asleep atop Mount Damavand. When he awoke he was the first to discover some of the secrets of the seven mountains. Mount Damavand is the physical entrance from this world to The First Mountain. This peak is the entrance to The Seventh Mountain.”

Mr. Diefenderfer said, “Nick...I must drive...in order to...remanifest this vehicle...to the place...where we may...intercept...Xocotli.”

They switched seats and just as it appeared they were about to drive off the edge of the mountain they were someplace else.

“Hey!” Mark exclaimed, “I know this place from my dreams about Xocotli. I remember that arch.”

“Nick...you may take...over and take...us to the...year 12 BC.”

 

It was dark when they stopped. They listened for about fifteen minutes before Mr. Diefenderfer said, “The stars are...not quite right. Would you move...us forward...very slowly?”

“I don’t know if it will do very slowly; I’ll try.” Nick rubbed his hand over the dashboard and pushed in several places until he found a compartment that opened. Behind the lid were several electrical switches and dials. He fiddled with them and then said, “There we go.” They began moving forward in time slowly enough that each day-night cycle took about five minutes. One night about three hours later there was a yellow-orange glow at the base of the arch and Mr. Diefenderfer said, “Stop.”

Mr. Young got out and walked toward the campfire. Mark and Nick started to get out but Mr. Diefenderfer said, “Wait...for his return.”

Mr. Young returned a few minutes later and said, “Seems he’s been expecting us. He says a spirit in his dreams has been watching him and telling him when danger is near.”

Mark asked, “You can talk to him?”

Mr. Young said, “Not so different from you speaking to animals.”

Mr. Diefenderfer asked the obvious question, “Raphael?”

“He says not; it’s a young spirit with fair hair.” Mr. Young looked directly at Mark. “Dream casting?”

“Maybe, it wasn’t intentional. I didn’t know about dream casting when I had the dreams, but I wanted to help him.”

“Come on, he wants to meet you all.”

Xocotli was a large man by any standard with chiseled muscles glistening under a sheen of perspiration. His long dark hair draped across his shoulders gave him a fierce appearance barely softened by his smile. He stood and spoke words Mark didn’t understand as they approached.

Mr. Young translated, “He greeted us and doesn’t understand why Mark is here as a physical being.”

Nick removed the stun-baton from Aaron’s Grasp and a butane lighter from his pocket and said, “Tell him Mark wants to give him some gifts.”

When told, Xocotli fell to one knee and bowed his head before speaking. Mr. Young said, “He’s deeply humbled.”

Nick said, “These gifts will help him along his journey.” Nick flicked the lighter and handed it to Mr. Young who in turn handed it to Xocotli. Nick pointed the stun-baton at the stone arch and activated it. The electrical discharge caused Xocotli to tremble. “Tell him not be afraid; this is his weapon now.” He handed the baton to Mr. Young who handed it to Xocotli. Nick held his partially closed fist out and exaggeratedly closed his grip showing Xocotli that he needed to squeeze the handle. Xocotli pointed the baton at the arch and the electrical arc almost immediately followed. Xocotli grinned.

Mr. Young spoke with Xocotli for a few minutes and then said, “Mark, step forward; he’s going to give you the power source.”

Xocotli picked up his fur pack and removed something that looked too big to fit in the pack. It looked like two short elephant tusks back to back. He knelt, bowed his head and handed it toward Mark with both hands. Mark accepted it. When Xocotli stood Mark nodded his respect for the warrior.

 

Back in the time machine Mr. Diefenderfer said, “As unlikely...as it may seem...we may have...been tracked...from farther...in the future. It would be...prudent...I think...to plant...a decoy. Hold on to the vehicle.” He glanced around to see that everyone was holding on and the next moment they were at a different place.

“Where are we?” The wall looked like the wall that surrounded The Seventh Mountain but not really. He thought they were behind the wall, but there were no buildings.

“The Seventh Mountain...but two thousand...years before you...were here.” Mr. Diefenderfer climbed out of the vehicle. “We need...to acquire a...box and...some parchment. The market square...inside the mountain...may have the...items we need.

The walk to the mountain was nice. The school grounds looked the same, but the main entrance was somewhat different. The huge olive tree that sat in a planter yards from the front steps was gone as were the statues. The door was covered from the inside by drapes and there were no hinged glass doors. It looked Spartan compared to how it had looked, or will look.

Just inside was almost barren too. The Good Steward was just a large area that looked like it had been carved out of the stone wall. The Oasis looked a little closer to normal, but just a little. The tables were low to the floor and there were no chairs and no booths. The door was covered with sheer strips of fabric hung in arcs from the apex of the door.

The mall area was not a mall. There were no shops that he could see, just vendors around tables everywhere he looked. They walked among the vendors and it was unnaturally quiet, only the occasional whispered exchange with transactions.

Mr. Young said, “We’re strangers to them.” He spoke loudly in a language Mark didn’t understand, but from the cadence of his words he surmised it was the Magi greeting; we are travelers from a far place seeking a box and parchment, or something similar. No sooner had he finished than what he thought of as normal market noise started.

Several vendors approached the group, most carrying wooden boxes, and a few with parchment. Mr. Diefenderfer examined the boxes one by one, rubbing his fingers across the wood and tapping each and listening to the sound. He finally found one to his liking, “Locust wood...this one will...suit our purpose.” Then he selected a sheet of leather to use as parchment. He paid for each item with a nugget of gold.

They continued to walk among the vendors until they came to a stone smith. “Joseph...please inquire...if this man...is capable of...setting a stone...within a stone...using the old...method.”

Mr. Young asked and the man grinned and nodded. Mr. Diefenderfer said to Mark, “Your necklace,” and held out his hand. Mark put the necklace in his hand and Mr. Diefenderfer promptly pried off the necklace’s finding that coupled the stone to the chain and handed the chain back to Mark. He handed the stone to the man along with a gold nugget.

The man spoke briefly and Mr. Young said, “We should come back in an hour or so.”

 

 

There weren’t many people in The Oasis, if they even called it that here and now. Almost as soon as they were seated on the floor around a table a man approached. He was wearing a rough weave pattern dyed skirt and a turban, no shirt. Mr. Young pointed at all four around the table and said, “Kabobs.” Mr. Diefenderfer placed a gold nugget on the table.

Mark asked, “What are we doing here? I know you said we need to hide a decoy, but I don’t get it.”

Mr. Young whispered, “When you returned from the cave and we saw your experience, Nick recognized the object you recovered. He knew it wasn’t the power source. It was something he had invented and he was working with a time machine. He put two and two together and told us about it. He also told us about how you felt when you were in the cemetery. We searched and located a stone marker with a Fairystone cross embedded in it. Buried under the stone was a box with a note in it. These are the very same items we’re getting ready to place. When we’re done we’ll move forward in time and put the time machine in the cave you explored. The spirit of fear is still there.”

 

 

the sunstone sat upright on the floor in the large lab room. It was wedged with wooden supports to keep it from rolling. Mr. Young inserted the power source into a slot of the same size and shape in the middle of the sunstone’s face. Immediately a moving image was projected from the backside of the sunstone into the air and sound came from somewhere inside the sunstone. After a few minutes the image stopped and then repeated playing.

Mrs. Shadowitz pointed at the sunstone. “What date is indicated on the face?”

Mr. Young opened the notebook on the table beside the sunstone. “It doesn’t say and I don’t know how to read the markings.”

Mrs. Shadowitz said, “They had eighteen months in their year plus five days as I recall. Their months were twenty days long. Their half century was significant to them and was fifty-two years long. I have no idea how to correlate that information with the marking on this sunstone.”

“Perhaps we should...adjust the dials...to find...something we recognize...to establish...a starting point.”

Mr. Young said, “That is likely to take a significant amount of time.”

Mrs. Shadowitz said, “Then we’ll eat and sleep in shifts. No one other than the three of us in this room at any time. No one is to know that we’re here, not even Nick or Mark. The door is to be locked at all times. At least one of us will be here at all times. We’ll come and go in radiation safe hazmat suits; that should hide our identity and start the rumors as to why this section is off limits.”