“Lola, Nefarious sent me on this mission because I know survival techniques. Facing the maze at night, with a flashlight signaling where we stand for any threat to know won't bring your dad back faster. On the contrary, it makes us easy pray and we may not even get there.”
Even if I didn’t want to, I had to agree with him. We would sleep there until the sun rose to be able to follow our journey.
Poor Nefarious must be worrying, pacing from one side to the other of his room without news from us. I hope Wiky can calm her owner, I saw in his eyes the concern for the responsibility of sending four young people to hell.
There was no communication within Leike's Land, but he knew I was still alive. If the amethyst on the top of his stick still glowed, it was a sign that my necklace was still with me. Perhaps he snuck up to Makali and consulted the northern gypsy crystal ball once again. Even with a lot of interference, maybe he could see that we were here, all alive.
We settled into a dead end between the endless walls of the maze. I used my ax to cut some dry branches. Zyba put on his shield as support and built us a fire, avoiding setting fire to that immensity of dry branches and thorns. Dakota and Kenzo made a last search around the nearby corridors to make sure no one was following us. Each settled into our own capes around the fire and ate the last dragon fruit, I gave mine to Dakota. My stomach was still full of worry and insecurity. It was like a rope getting tighter and tighter around my neck, as if the hourglass sand had that power.
But Kenzo was right, we couldn't risk diving into the maze in that darkness.
Everyone was still awake. Dakota was adjusting her cape to lay down on it when I noticed the tattoo on her forearm.
“Can I see your tattoo, Dakota?”
“Oh, sure. This is my family's mark, the symbol of Jupiter, the mark of the Rendalls. The sword in the center is my gift mark, symbolizing the Keepers. Not everyone has it, and that's fine if you don't have it, but I confess I was relieved when mine came along. When you reach the age of sixteen or so eclipses, the gift mark joins the one from your family. Together they form a design that will be unique to you, as an identity in the Village. Half of my old class didn't get the mark. I was very happy when mine came up, deep down I always knew I would be like my father, a warrior.”
“It's like college in my dimension, some do, some don't. Nefarious explained to me how it works. And yours?” I asked looking at Zyba and Kenzo.
“This is mine. The Frey family mark is the symbol of Saturn, which now joins the warrior sword. We celebrated at last year's luau when mine came up. Whenever the vocation mark appears, it is a reason for celebration. We celebrate it as the birth of our real purpose, understand?” showed the proud boy with a smile.
“In my family we have the bull symbol next to my warrior sword. Don't you have a family mark? Which one might be yours?”
“I do not have one. I think I've spent so much time in the first dimension that my family mark must have already faded, or I never had one,” I said, looking at my left forearm.
“But you came from here, an hour goes ... Wait! Lola! The royal lotus blossom!” Dakota startled me with her excited scream watching my forearm.
I had nothing on my left arm, like other prisms. To everyone's surprise, the royal mark, the lotus blossom, appeared as a tattoo below on my right forearm. Beautiful, the five-petal flower looked freshly made, I loved it at first.
“I didn't expect this one!!” I said, excited.
“On the right side? How interesting, I've never seen one on that arm!” Zyba pointed out. – “Don't worry, Lola, now it's only a matter of time before your gift mark appears. Mine took long too.”
On second thought, how would I explain a tattoo to my mother? What about Mrs. Karlsson in high school? In the first dimension, tattooing is a sign of rebellion. I no longer knew if I liked this news so much, I would have to wear long sleeves the rest of my life there. Yet Zyba said the gift mark would emerge soon. The only vocation I had so far was to get in trouble.
I decided to leave new problems to think about later. Looking at it, I began to wonder what that meant, the family. A thought briefly passed through me, trying to imagine what my grandfather and my mother Runa were like. Maybe I would be much loved or even spoiled, imagine! I really wanted to have met them, but I wouldn't give up on Auntie Eva, Rodrigo, or my parents, even as they are. Oh, Dad! He didn’t get out of my head or my heart. What I saw in the well could be happening, or even worse, had already happened, he could be dead. That would be a guilt to bear for the rest of my mediocre life.
While my head was lost in thoughts, my eyes searched for a way out, but Kenzo fished them back.
“Take a rest. I'll be on guard until dawn. I'm sleepless, really.”
Zyba and Dakota turned to one side and slept wrapped in their capes. I settled Koda on one part of my cape, he was exhausted, closed his eyes before I could even stroke his feathers. I tried to sleep, but the scent of embers mixed with the darkness of the night kept my eyes popping. I never liked the night, I always believed that evil gains strength away from the light. I could only hear the crackle of the fire and my father shouting in that well. I tossed and turned until I gave up on sleep and sat on top of the cape.
“Did the thoughts take your sleep away too?” whispered Kenzo, poking at the fire so it wouldn't go out.
“Yeah, I can't stop thinking about my father.”
“Me neither.”
“Try to rest, Kenzo. I'll keep guard, I’ll wake you up when I get tired.”
He accepted my offer. He lay curled on his cape, turned on his back, and fell asleep.
Why did I have to go through this? I looked like a lost little girl in the big city. Not even in the hospital after the accident did I feel so helpless. I wanted to be braver, stronger, everything would be less painful. It was like a pot boiling in my hands that I couldn't wait to let go of, to feel the relief of well-being again, ah! That would be wonderful, but impossible for now, perhaps forever. What if I got to the castle and find out that my father was dead? I started to cry like a child, but without making a noise not to wake the others. Now there was no turning back, I had to go to the end.
Poking the fire so it wouldn't go out, I remembered a song Dad sang to lull Rodrigo.
Oh, dear Lord, make me sleep
If I can ask for more
Please guide my feet...
Oh, dear Lord, make me sleep
If I can ask for more
Please guide my feet...
Always makes me believe
That I can win
That I will always fight
Never stop even if I cry
That song managed to reach my heart like a soothing balm. I leaned close to where Koda slept and looked again at the new tattoo on my forearm. My eyes gazed upon that little lotus blossom. I was beginning to assimilate all this crazy story of being a princess's daughter. That was proof that I was really from another world. I was from Lumen.
Chapter Thirteen
A Calm Voice, Almost Kind
I ended up falling asleep before switching guard with Kenzo.
I had a strange dream. I was back at the luau rehearsal in Lumen, on the training field where the bonfire burned high. The same people from that night now wore Viking masks, some covering their eyes, others even their noses. The rhythm of the song was not cheerful as before. All the couples danced to a soft song, exchanging glances. I danced with Zyba, both bored because we weren't in the mood for romance. Dakota, all happy, danced glued to Kenzo's brother, as she had that night. Kenzo announced from the stage.