The Elemental Jewels (Book 1) (18 page)

“There’s something we have to do,” she didn’t explain, as they entered the alcove alone, with no worshippers present.

“Let me see your hand,” Ariana demanded as she released her hold on him.  She was pulling her sword out from within her skirts, where she had hidden it so artfully that Grange hadn’t even been aware that she had it with her.

As her right hand held the sword, her left hand grabbed his right hand, opened the palm face up, and then she shocked him by lightly slicing the blade across his exposed palm, causing his blood to well forth.

“Ow!” he shouted.  “You did that on purpose!  What are you doing?”

She released his hand, then calmly sliced her own palm as well.

“Give me,” she held her bloody hand out, shaking it in a demand for his matching hand.

“What?  No! Why?” Grange was nothing but shocked monosyllables.

Ariana was moving with determined urgency.  She reached over and grasped his hand with a rock-hard grip, then placed the sword in their blood-slickened hands.

“Hear us, Miriam, goddess of peace and tranquility, protector of the home and the innocents within.  The time is coming,” Ariana spoke in a deep voice, and the jewels began to murmur and hum within Grange’s soul.

“We beseech you to consecrate this weapon, doused in our blood, to help fight the forces of darkness that are coming.  The battle will begin, and we need weapons with the sacred blessings.  Please Miriam, provide your touch to allow us to overcome the darkness,” Ariana spoke with a stilted formality that held a compelling power of its own.

Her hand raised his and sword, pointing them towards the statute.

“Ariana, what are you doing?” Grange felt confused and disturbed by the inexplicable behavior of the girl he had been constant companion to for a month.  He thought he knew and understood her, but her action was completely incomprehensible.

Then, to his astonishment, the statute’s chest began to glow, a bright red color shining forth directly over the location of a living woman’s breast.

“Touch the blade to my heart,” the statue spoke to them, its cast bronze feature mobile and alive as its lips moved.

Grange felt a moment of faintness, disbelief at what he was seeing, but Ariana’s grip on his hand and the sword pulled him forward.  The tip of the blade approached the statue, coming within inches of the surface, when a spark jumped through the air, an arcing, sizzling transfer of energy that made the entire sword glow.  The bright power coursed down the sword to the handle, then ran up Grange’s arm and struck the four stones there, making them all come alive with energy.  The stones began to sing a harmonic chorus, and as she heard them, Ariana raised her voice as well, blending in with the jewels flawlessly.

At the same time she pressed the sword closer to the statue, narrowing the gap and reducing the power arc, until the sword tip touched the actual statue on the breast – metal on metal.  The sword gave one great pulsing glow, then the power receded, and the song of the jewels ceased.  Ariana pulled the sword slowly away from the statue, and held it directly in front of the faces of the two of them.

“We have sent one of our own to live on the land now, among the mortals, because we can see that the next turn of the calendar is coming.  We must have a suitable human to join and lead the battle,” a deep, melodic voice issued from the bronze lips of Miriam.

“You have chosen this one to fight the battles?” the statue asked.

“He can do it.  He has the potential.  He was born at the right time, and his heart is good,” Ariana said defensively.  “The Spirit tapped him, and I agree.”

“So much depends on your judgment,” the statue asserted.

“Rely on your friends and allies, boy,” the statue turned and spoke to him.  “Being a champion will bring many challenges, and much pain.  There will be despair and fear and confusion.  You have very much to learn.

“My young friend, there will be the reward of a good heart, and though few will know of your victories, if you achieve them, the whole world will share in the good fortune.  And you will find warmth where the world thinks there is only a heart of coldness.

“But,” the statue turned even more somber, “the path to success will be narrow, difficult, and hard to predict.  Do not take up this challenge if you do not believe you can carry it out to the end.”

The metal figure returned to its original position.  Ariana lowered the sword, which ceased to glow, as did the statue.

“Oh gods,” Grange said weakly.  “What was that?  Who are you Ariana?”

The girl stared at him intently, then blinked her eyes rapidly, as her head momentarily twitched.

“What happened?” she asked.

“My father’s sword!” she exclaimed, raising the weapon, both their hands still holding it.  “What is it doing out?  Why are we holding it?”

“We just, you know,” Grange sputtered.  “We just consecrated it.  The goddess’s statue came to life and put energy into it.  Look at how its blade turned blue!” he exclaimed.

“It is blue,” she agreed, twisting the sword slowly to look at it from all sides.  Grange reluctantly released his grip on the sword handle, and Ariana carefully slid it back into her waistband, inside her skirt.  “How did it happen?  I don’t remember anything from the time we came into the sanctuary,” she said.

“You made us come over here, then you cut our hands,” Grange held his palm out to expose the bloody slice, only to stare in wonder as his palm appeared whole and uncut.

“What kind of cuts?” Ariana asked.

Grange grabbed her hand and pried the fingers open, then looked at the undamaged skin of her palm.

“They were cut and bloody,” he said slowly.  “Then the statue came alive and the energy flowed and it spoke – you answered it.  The two of you were talking about me.”

“I was talking to a statue, about you?  This statue?” she asked, unconvinced.

“There you two are,” Zena, their priestess guide, came looking for them, interrupting the conversation.

“Mother Brooke has agreed to perform the marriage ceremony for your friends.  I’ve been looking for you so we can take you to the ceremony.   Hurry along now,” she motioned to them to follow her as she turned and left the alcove, heading towards a doorway on the other side of the sanctuary.

“Let’s go Grange.  We can talk about this later,” Ariana said.  She reached out and grabbed his hand, then hauled him after Zena, who was crossing the room at a great pace.

“Later?” he uttered as he began to trot.  “There was a goddess just talking to you – about me!  We need to talk about that,” he insisted in a raised voice.

“Apparently you were there.  You know what happened.  You figure it out, and quiet down,” Ariana said, shushing Grange as heads of the worshippers in the temple rose to look at them.

Grange bit his lip and followed along in silence.

The conversation with the statue was astonishing. 
Did you hear all that?  Was that you, working through Ariana?
He directed the questions inward towards the jewels.

There was no answer, only silence in the part of his soul where the jewels conversed.

Zena opened a door and went up a narrow flight of stairs, with Ariana and Grange close behind.  They climbed two long flights, then entered a hallway, walked quickly to a door and found themselves on a small deck, looking at the blue sky overhead, a small courtyard garden below, and the blue-gray waters of the harbor not far away.

Mother Brooke stood with Deana and Garrel on either side of her, holding hands with each as they faced the doorway that Zena and her followers emerged from.

Garrel’s face brightened with a smile of relief as he saw Grange arrive.  He appeared pale-faced, his usual tan complexion slightly gray as he stood in the opening moments of his wedding.

“You two should go stand by your friends and hold their hands,” Zena instructed, placing a hand on Ariana’s back to gently prompt the new arrivals forward.

“Now that we’re all gathered, let us begin,” Brooke said.

“Miriam is the goddess of domestic tranquility.  She preserves peace and comfort in the home, and stands by, ready to help those who seek to make a house a place where a family can grow and live in comfort,” Brooke stated.

“Now these two come to us today, ready to form a family, to take the first steps towards creating their own home where they can settle down and begin their lifetime journey together,” she continued.

Grange stopped listening, as his mind wandered back to the supernatural conversation that had occurred in the temple alcove below.  The statue had called him a ‘champion’ and had warned of a difficult road ahead.  It had mentioned pain, and a cold heart awaiting him. There were few prospects in the forecast that pleased him.  He thought back to the last time the jewels had engaged in a lengthy conversation, just after the fight in the forest with the demon that had possessed Breeze.  The jewels had told him that he was a unique person, able to see the demons and the darkness.

If he put the two events together, he found a frightening conclusion.  The goddess and the jewels thought that he was going to lead a battle against demons.

That was unimaginable, he told himself.  He was a pickpocket who had just spent a month picking apples.

“Grange, do you?” Garrel squeezed his hand, arousing him from his deep thoughts.

Grange looked around, startled.

“Do you pledge to support these two in their wedded bliss?” Mother Brooke asked.

“I, yes, of course,” Grange hastily agreed, bobbing his head up and down to emphasize his support.

“Then Medina acknowledges the covenant between these two, to forever be married, to forever help and trust and support one another as a family in a home,” the priestess intoned.  “Now and forever more.

“Congratulations!” she smiled at them, pulling them together.  The newlyweds released their grips on Grange and Ariana, as they joined one another in a hug and a passionate kiss.

“What about you two?” Zena asked.  “Have you been inspired by the prospect of your friends being married?  Would you like to be wed as well?”

NO!
the jewels shouted so loudly in Grange’s soul that he winced.

“That seems definitive,” Zena said in a tone of disapproval, looking at Grange’s expression.  “Perhaps you shouldn’t be spending time with a boy who has so little disregard for you,” she told Ariana.

“Perhaps our time together is coming to an end,” Ariana agreed.  “He seems different from the boy I first met.”

“Let’s go celebrate,” Garrel suggested, oblivious to the contretemps taking place beside him.

“Yes, let’s,” Deana agreed.  “Thank you Mother,” she turned to Brooke and bowed.  “I’ll come back to your temple to give thanks.”

Zena opened the door from the deck to lead them all away.

“That’s the harbor?” Grange asked, his eyes drawn one more time to the view of the body of water, more water than he had ever seen before.  There were ships in the harbor, he realized, moving slowly through the water, both inward and outward bound vessels.

“We’ll go see the harbor soon enough,” Ariana told him, tugging on his sleeve.  “You come along now,” she said in a tone that implied she was still unhappy with his reaction to Zena’s wedding suggestion.

The group went down the stairs, then left the temple and stood together in the street, Garrel holding the marriage certificate the priestess had given them.

“Let’s go get the apartment settled,” Ariana suggested.

“And then we can go out to dinner to celebrate!” Deana added.

They walked the short distance back to the dress shop, where the grandmotherly landlord was once again sitting amidst her swatches of cloth.

“You’ve come back!” she exclaimed in surprise.  “I don’t usually see folks come back, once they’ve walked away.”

“Here’s our marriage certificate!” Deana snatched the paper from Garrel and showed it to the lady.  “We’d like the apartment.”

“Gracious, I’ll be happy to have you.  That’ll be twenty florins for the first month and the deposit,” she stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

Grange and Garrel dug into their collections of coins from apple picking wages, and quickly handed over the money.

“Here’s the key,” the woman gave Garrel the object.  “The door’s unlocked.  Go on up and help yourselves; it’s all yours.”

Deana squeezed Garrel in a tight hug.  “Let’s go up and see it before it gets dark,” she suggested, glancing at the fading sunlight.

She led the way to the stair case, and up the steps to the apartment.

The four looked around, and Deana led Garrel to select a room, while Grange and Ariana stood by the bank of windows in the back room, looking out at the sunset.

“What happened at the temple?” Grange brought up the subject of the statue and the extraordinary events once again.

Ariana turned to look at him.  She placed her hands on his cheeks, holding his face steady as she gazed at him with her deep blue eyes.  “Something that you’ll understand soon enough, my dear,” she told him.  “Now let this matter recede; we have practical things to think about.

“You need to get a job playing music.  We’ll go out after dark and listen to the places where music is playing, so that you can see about working.  Then, tomorrow, we’ll start practicing your sword work.  Maybe, if you make enough money, we can pay to work in an armory somewhere in the city,” she explained to him.