“Hey! But you told me that you were going to help me, right?” I started laughing, from my nerves.
“I couldn’t get into Leike alive, my dearest. Elof would take my magic into his will. Of course, I will help you with what I can, but the task of rescuing your father can only be done by the one person capable to survive his powers, you.”
“Lord… Who is this Elof anyway?” Every moment it got worse. I was almost chocking on my own saliva.
I had no idea about who or what this monster was. My father’s life depended on my capacity to destroy it, poor dad. If I failed, at least I didn’t have to go back and tell my mom about this, I would become human dust by this beast.
“He is the most evil and unscrupulous being that Lumen has ever seen. You will see.”
I found it better to change the subject for now, to let it go a bit because of the nervousness that was eating up my stomach. Nefarious led me out the room.
“I seem to remember you as someone familiar. I think I may have seen you in some story, and your pet too.”
“I’m afraid not. You know, I have many fellows like me - old, bearded, helping out hybridus, in stories or in real life,” he said, finding my comment quite funny.
“Hybridus? Auntie Eva told me about that, but it was so much information that I don’t remember it right.”
“Hybridus are human beings from the first dimension. All people born there are hybrids, so good and evil live inside of them. At Lumen, we only have prisms, or people that opt for the good side, isn’t it sensational?” My face must have looked confused.
Nefarious was leading me on a walk through the Kingdom when Wiky gave out a peep of joy, by her ways she was enjoying our walk, just like Koda did. We crossed a large hall made of the same cold stone with many doors in it. The hall crossed the entire castle on the inside, ending in a huge spiral stairway, covered by a red velvet carpet that led from the first floor into a round hallway full of doors.
The castle was magnificent and crowded with colored stained glass in the windows that looked like they were welling up from the stones. It had towers of many sizes surrounded by balconies, at the main tower was a huge balcony and a round clock that marked the time between the suns sets, one pointer to each sun and when the night would come, one single pointer would mark the moon’s movement. On the inside it had a high ceiling which I barely could see. We passed by some busy workers (no one seemed to be cold in that huge place, but my arms had goose bumps under my shirt) and reach a huge door made of solid wood, which led to the city main street.
“Welcome to Lumen’s Village!” The doors opened by themselves upon Nefarious’s cheerful command, moving his arms like a maestro.
That place was completely different from anything I had ever seen before. The castle was at the heart of the Village where the Amethyst Avenue started. This was a large main street, made of ground clay that led to the protection wall, at least a mile and a half from where we were standing. It was surrounded on both sides by tents garnished with colored flowers of all types. All tents had little flags with the same lotus blossom I saw at the castle. By the way, it is this place’s symbol, it was everywhere. There was a grocery, tobacconist, clothes store, shoe shop, even a pharmacy with glass shelves covered with potions that jumped into the view, my eyes weren’t enough to cover an area so rich in details.
A crowd walked around, men and women dressed in linen and leather pieces of discreet tones which reminded me of a Viking style (but these people had nothing as barbarian or bloody as the original Vikings, it was just the style for dressing). Kids were running euphorically, chasing pigeons in a way as they flew close to the ground. Women with large clothes bags on the top of their heads stepped out of the way for a few men driving their wagons full of vegetables that seem to have been just harvested. Many of them greeted us, followed by a curious buzz, some of them even waved, smiling. The news that I had arrived spread like fire on dry wood. Everyone knew who I was, except myself. At last I had become popular, even if it was in another dimension. I was the personification of news.
“Amazing! How is it possible, a place like this?”
“This was all built by your ancestral, Gunnar Ingolf, the wise.”
I remembered this illustrious name, Gunnar. Now I get why everybody used that expression for amazement.
Lumen’s people were prisms, which despite the different name looked like normal people, just as Auntie Eva had told me. It was like I had traveled back in time, not to another world. That place looked to be living in medieval times, but appearances can fool you. Lumen was a magical place, it looked like a painting by its beauty. I felt like I was in a perfect place where danger didn’t exist. It is a pity it wasn’t a true sensation, since the risk of my father dying was too real and close to here, at Leike.
I was welcomed by a smell of fresh bread coming from a store “Give us this day our daily,” at the beginning of the street, the line was huge. We could buy anything in these stores - food, clothes, tools, caps, perfumes, household items, and magic potions! It was like getting into a book filled with fantastic lives.
I walked on, trying to absorb it all at the same time until I bumped into someone. An elderly man rushed by me in a hurry, bringing up the light dirt from the ground making his way to the fabric tent.
Since he needed some space to pass, he almost took me with him on the way. I twirled around and stopped in the same place. He didn’t even notice that he had bumped into me.
“Forgive Viktor, Lola. He owns the shoe store “At your feet.” He must be busy with his customers. Valkyrie ’s official luau was going to be in three days, that’s why our stores are more agitated than normal. This year is the first time luau is going to happen outside the Village, the castle yard is getting too small. Every prism prepares themselves for a party, so we don’t need to be in a hurry when time comes. Saying that, we need to do some shopping for you, your hybridus clothes won’t let you be comfortable, after all… let me see… 85°F, you must be toasting.”
He looked up and both suns glowed in this safe sky. You read right, there are two suns in Lumen. I got the message about Nefarious’s grimace when I saw the sweat under my arms tracing my sweater. I was wearing the same red wool turtleneck from my birthday dinner. I didn’t even notice I was being cooked in that.
“Let’s go to Vestviking, of Mrs. Xylopia. She will be able to help us. I don’t know much about women’s clothes. I will wait for you here on the outside. I think you are going to like her. She is a pretentious prism but with a huge heart. Only don’t call her Mrs. She is full of gray hair, but doesn’t admit she is aging,” he said, and gave a little smile. He had a good sense of humor, this white beard.
“But I don’t have any money. How am I going to pay for it?” I asked, a little embarrassed. I never had full pockets, I was always asking for some pennies from mom, who denied me often.
“Don’t worry. You family left you enough gold coins to build another castle as this one. And even if you didn’t have any coins, if someone can’t pay for something we will help, we support each other. What I produce or make, I offer to ones in need, who will do the same. That’s the way we keep our Village working. Behind Amethyst Avenue, this one we’re on, are our people’s houses, all made of wood, stone, and clay which we all helped to build. Some of us come with nothing to offer, only our will. Oh, Xylopia is inside. I have just seen her. You can go in, dearest. Have fun shopping!”