Beneath the Hallowed Hill (9 page)

Megan glanced around. “Where am I going, exactly?”

Pleione pointed past the complex to a villa tucked into the hillside.

“I’ll walk,” she said. “What about the trunk?”

“Someone will pick it up.” Diaprepes spread his arms and Megan hugged him goodbye, then her mother. She shouldered her bag and, with a quick wave, turned and walked across the landing pad where she took a path that meandered past the large golden buildings. She resisted the urge to look back; that was always bad luck in stories. She climbed the hill, passing garden nooks brimming with color and coming to a splashing fountain. The water drew her and she sat on a stone for a few minutes, letting the sound soothe her. A breeze played with a set of wind chimes for a moment. She walked on. The gardens gave way to an open field that then turned into a stand of almond trees filled with buds. Above the orchard stood the villa, tucked into the hill. Megan scrambled up three steps to the porch and knocked on the door of her new home.

The house matron, a crone with pillow breasts and grey hair, eight hundred years old if she was a day, led Megan to her room. She introduced herself as Thuya, an Egyptian name. “Here’s the dining room,” she announced as they passed a room set with two long tables. “This is a classroom.” Megan caught a glimpse of a long row of pillows and all shades of quartz set at intervals against the wall. They turned down a corridor. “One of the kitchen gardens.” Green vines climbed a white string lattice. They made one more turn. “Your apartment is the last one on the left.” Thuya opened the door and stood aside. “Welcome, Megan. It’s been a long time since we had a new apprentice. I’m glad I have a novice to look after again.” She smiled, her brown eyes warm. This woman was wide where Megan’s mother was narrow, short where Pleione was tall, but Megan relaxed, comforted by her presence. She shouldered her bag with a word of thanks and closed the door of her new home.

She was assigned a suite. The first room was a small sitting area with a desk on one side. The sleek chrome and glass console holding her communication screen contrasted with the homey furnishings of her sitting area, a low couch upholstered in a loose teal fabric with a small pine table in front. She went to the desk and ran her finger over the top of the screen, thinking about the stories of how communication used to be telepathic in the not too distant past, how children grew into full consciousness much earlier than now.

In the back room she found a cozy bedroom with a chest of drawers and a narrow bed covered by a simple coral spread. Her trunk already sat next to it. An alcove held a low mahogany table for an altar, now empty. Megan spent the afternoon unpacking, spreading her shells and pillows, moving them from the front couch to her bed, then back again. She placed a crystal sphere—a gift from her father’s family—in the center of her altar and lay on the bed, where she promptly fell asleep.

When she woke, the room was dark. She went to her desk and turned on the silver console. Dinner was over. She found her schedule and a map of the facility. “Nine o’clock, meet with Govannan.” She checked the list of names and found he was the head of the Crystal Matrix Chamber. A second message referred her to the rules of the house, which she read twice. She delved into the archives of the order, rapidly shifting between files, trying to decide where to begin. As she read her eyes kept closing, so she pulled the light muslin curtains closed, hung up her clothes, and lay down in the small bed, where she fell asleep again.

A knock woke her. She propped up on her elbow and looked around, startled by the unfamiliar surroundings. Morning sun brightened the curtains covering the window. Suddenly she remembered where she was. The knock came again. “Yes?”

Instead of answering, Thuya bustled in. “You missed dinner last night.” She deposited a tray with fruit and yogurt on the table in the sitting room and put a hand on Megan’s forehead. “No fever. I suspect all the excitement finally caught up with you.”

Megan nodded.

“I’ll see you tonight, though?”

“I’ll be prompt.”

“Good. Just leave the tray in the hallway,” Thuya said, and left as quickly as she came.

Megan washed up in a small basin, deciding to visit the bathhouse before the evening meal, and quickly ate her small breakfast. She reached into the armoire and pulled out the unfamiliar robe of her new guild. The fabric felt substantial between her fingers, but the shifting white-violet still gave Megan the uneasy feeling that something hovered just out of the range of her vision. She slipped the robe over her head, gave her hair a shake so her brown curls bounced back into place, and went in search of her instructor.

* * * *

The office of the head of the Crystal Matrix Chamber overlooked the dome of the temple, now gleaming in the early sunlight. Govannan sat reading through the morning message crystals. A proposal from the New Knowledge Guild snagged his attention, something to slow down the mysterious new illnesses cropping up. It sounded reasonable enough, but something about it bothered him.

A soft knock on his door pulled his attention away. “Megan is waiting,” his assistant announced.

“Please tell her I’ll be there in a minute.”

The man nodded and left the room. He would have to speak with them later, and when he did, handle it delicately. Eager to meet their new addition, Govannan took the message crystal out of the reader and placed it in the proper tray, then got to his feet. He hadn’t seen Megan since she was a child of six running around in her mother’s garden. He started to tug at his robe and run a hand through his hair, but stopped himself and moved to the door.

He found her sitting bolt upright on one of the chaise lounges arranged around the antechamber where he received visitors. She rose when he entered, her face flushed. She was short for a central Atlantean, with lustrous brown hair, pale skin, and startling blue eyes. She took after the branch of her mother’s family coming from the northern island. He did not find her beautiful, but this was trivial compared to the bond they shared: as guild members, they were family at the very least.

“Megan.” He put his hand on her shoulder and felt a slight tremor. “An Alban name?” he asked to put her at ease.

“Yes. I’m named after my great aunt.”

He introduced himself and then said, “I know your parents, of course.”

Megan’s shoulders relaxed a notch.

“Welcome to our guild.” He gestured toward a seat. “You’re not just joining the Crystal Guild, you were chosen to work in the Matrix Chamber itself. It’s a high and rare honor.”

She blushed a deeper red. “Yes, sir.”

“Please call me Govannan. I imagine you have many questions; our work is not well known outside the temple.”

“Good. I mean, I thought I wasn’t well informed.”

“Not at all. Let me give you a brief introduction. Afterwards, you can watch the crystal in action. You’re in luck; a delegation from Sirius is beaming in.”

“Thank you.” Megan sat forward, fire in her pale blue eyes.

“Our temple complex,” he waved his hand in a circle, “sits on one of the major energy vortexes of the Earth. The main task of the crystal in the Matrix Chamber is to keep this vortex clear and balanced. Only the most experienced and gifted work on this task. The crystal not only keeps the planet in equilibrium, it harmonizes the Earth with the higher dimensions and other star systems. This allows us to use the crystal for its more ordinary tasks—communication and teleportation.”

Megan watched him intently.

Govannan sensed a question. “Yes?”

“I realized other life forms came and went. I’ve met them at official events with my father, but I…” She flushed again. “…I thought they came in ships.”

Govannan smiled. “A common misconception. Ask yourself, why were these aliens you met in humanoid form?”

“You mean…”

“The planet dictates the form the being takes. Here most intelligences coalesce as humanoids…with some differences, I grant you. When we travel to other star systems, we also take different forms—dolphins or crystalline beings on Sirius, for example. Of course, the Pleiadians look much like us, we’re more closely related to them…but you know this, your father is from a Pleiadian line.”

Megan nodded.

Govannan closed his eyes and sent his awareness to the Crystal Matrix Chamber. He reopened them almost immediately. “Now is a good time to go down. The preparations for the transport are just beginning. We can watch most of the process.”

They walked to the temple. Once inside, Govannan took Megan to the observation balcony and motioned for her to take a seat. The young woman could not take her eyes off the towering crystal. It had been so long since he worked with someone new, he had forgotten what an awesome sight it was. The crystal rose at least three stories from a wide base, narrowing a bit at about the first story, then soared away toward the glass dome where the six gleaming flanks met in a translucent point.

He cleared his throat to get her attention. “I want you to open all your senses and observe, but you must not engage the energies. This is very important. Remain passive and notice everything you feel. Later, we’ll meet again and you can tell me what you picked up. This is the best way to begin. It will help us know where to start your training.”

Megan settled herself for meditation.

“Good.” Govannan smiled, approving her choice. “Just a few minutes, then observe.”

Megan nodded again.

“After the transport, you are free until tomorrow morning.”

“Yes, sir. I mean, Govannan.”

“Welcome to our family. I’m glad to have you here.”

* * * *

Megan watched Govannan leave the balcony. Her pulse beat in her throat. Here he was, the very man she saw in the Poseidon Temple last night, the head of her division in the Crystal Guild. Perhaps that explained the familiarity she felt when she first saw him; it was a premonition of what was to come. That must be it. She pushed the giddiness away. She had to pay attention.

Her eyes strayed to Govannan as he walked to the first layer of inlaid designs on the tiled floor below, his powerful frame contrasting with the slender crystal points outlining the perimeter of the circle. He reached the second layer of the ring, where he paused and seemed to gather himself. Megan closed her eyes, pushing away the recurring image of the shells dancing in the smoky black strands of Govannan’s hair as he strode across the temple. She finally settled, her breath only a flutter. She opened her eyes slowly and looked for him. He took his place in what looked like a circle, but Megan sensed more complex energies at work. Invisible lines zigzagged across the floor. The twelve workers began a low chant, which was repeated three times, then they started to interlace harmonies that built on each other, enlivening those invisible lines she sensed. The harmonies layered in complexity, and then sharp dissonant notes cut across the humming peace, sung by a short round woman near Govannan. Several of the smaller crystals lit up in answer. The light brightened as a man echoed the dissonant notes an octave lower than the notes the woman sang, and the stones shot out beams of white-violet light, the same color as the robes of the workers. Lights flickered inside the giant rock, then fractured into rainbows. The different frequencies of the colors called out to Megan, the reds confident and bold, the blues cool as water, the greens…an image of Erythe formed in her mind and she laughed.

Another woman in the circle took a small crystal from around her neck, which she positioned in her right hand. The others did the same. They pointed these stones at the enormous crystal in the middle and amplified their chant. The tall crystal sang to life, lighting up and vibrating in a deep tone that shook Megan’s teeth in their sockets. She swam in the currents. Light from the crystal flickered on the walls. She melted in an eddy of butter yellow, then surfaced to the sound of a new chant. One strand was a deep bass; a second rich baritone pulled at her consciousness and she flowed toward the sound. A pitch sounded in her head, the perfect match to the baritone, but she resisted humming it out loud. She looked around the circle, searching for that voice, and found him—Govannan. His head was thrown back, a look of ecstasy on his face. His skin glowed, saturated with light. Megan yearned to join him, to give voice to the sound that mated with his, to allow her voice to twine around his…but the success of this transmission depended on the precision of the sound emanating from the group. The sound in her head blended, felt like a necessary strand even, but she kept silent as instructed.

The chant rose to an almost painful pitch. Inside the stone, a cloud swirled golden and grew dense. A form began to take shape. The chant continued unabated. Megan’s head ached with the unreleased energy. The shape inside the crystal solidified. Somehow—she knew not how—the form stepped out and morphed into a human male, but taller and with a conical, sloped skull. The glow formed again, and a woman followed. The process continued until six beings, human except for their elongated heads, emerged from the central crystal. The workers slowed the chant and the main transport crystal subsided, the rainbows folding in on themselves. The lights in the small crystals all went out at the same instant and the room seemed to give out a long, heavy exhale.

Megan sagged against the wall behind her, only now aware she was holding her body taut as if she were witnessing a difficult birth. She pushed herself to her feet and went down the stairs, perching on a bench away from the main door. The newly arrived Sirians chose robes of the electric blue associated with their world, and Govannan escorted them out. Her eyes followed him. The lesson was over for now and she was on her own. The only thing she wondered was when she would see him next.