FADING HEART, Chapter Two: Prince Ukobach

Chapter Two: Prince Ukobach

   

(Mid-chapter: Reilly exits the tree home with Lottie to go to the Embassy, where her father works as the town magistrate.)

     “There’s a chance the Deceptors heard us speaking in the lift the other day, and if they did, they’ll be keeping a closer watch on our house," Lottie said. "Lifts are synched by the Deceptors soon after they capture a family member. The lift is their first point of attack, and the Deceptors become particularly aware of any outsiders that may be a strength to the remaining family members.” 

    “But I thought your mom said I’d be safe here.”

    “She only meant you would be safe from the Crumble, not from the Deceptors themselves.” She walked into the hallway and opened the front door. As they stopped outside, Lottie said, “Katell, please signal me if you sense any danger.” The bird blinked twice and gave a slight nod.

     Reilly silently followed Lottie to the lift. This time he noticed a red button with the letter “U” next to the brass one Lottie pushed before they descended. Insects still drooped from the ceiling, and the floor was thick with pine needles and undergrowth—so soft, Reilly thought they might sink through to the ground below. Looking more closely at the crevices in the walls, Reilly noticed they were covered with jagged nicks, as if struck or attacked with an ax. Within a minute they landed on solid ground, the door opened, and they stepped into the forest.

     “Is it okay to talk now?” Reilly asked.

     “Yes. We’ve just come through one of the Undertunnels and there is less chance of being noticed here. The Deceptors’ first point of attack is on our homes. Most of the city buildings are synched, too, but to our knowledge the Embassy is safe. And they haven’t bothered with the country roads.”

     “This is a road?” He looked ahead at the pathway, which reminded him of the forest trails near his home. After a few minutes they rounded a corner and stepped onto a path that opened into a lush clearing of rolling hills as green as those he had seen in pictures and movies of Ireland. A horse-drawn buggy headed their direction; they stepped to the side and let the carriage pass. “Weird,” Reilly whispered to himself.

     “Pardon me?” Lottie said. “Did you say something?”

     “Nothing. This is all so much different than I thought it would be.”

Lottie smiled as she smoothed the wrinkles of her long skirt and adjusted the satchel hanging over her shoulder. “I’m a good listener.” 

     She tucked her hand through Reilly’s left arm as they began to walk.

     Reilly immediately thought of Norah. He felt a split second of searing pain in his chest, longing to protect her.

     With his hands tucked into the pockets of his baggy pants, he felt the ruby and red flower on one side, and the Fireglass on the other. He wondered why he was glad Lottie was at his side. She seemed older than fourteen.

     Reilly could feel Lottie look up at him with her mesmerizing eyes, but he looked straight ahead. “I don’t know why, but going through this portal—the one to Ireland in 1896—is much more difficult for me to grasp than any of the other ones,” he began. “And I’ve been through seven. It all started a few weeks after my dad drowned. I found a star-shaped stone called a Stelladaur and learned how to use it to go through portals to other places. Usually, if the stone was wet and I held it up to the light at a certain angle, I could open a portal. Sometimes a portal opened from the place where a rainbow met with the ocean. Another time it opened through an ice cube. And the last one—before I came through the library—was in a fireworks display.”

     He glanced down at Lottie from the corner of his eye. She seemed to be taking it in well, so he continued. “Anyway, each place I went, I discovered more about the Stelladaur and what it can do. There’s a Stelladaur for each person ever born, but many don’t ever find theirs. If they do find it, their Stelladaur can bring them whatever they want most, if they learn how to access its power. You probably think this is a joke, huh?”

     “Not at all,” she said softly. “I’ve always believed other realms exist beyond here, and I’ve wished I could find one. But I’ve never felt comfortable telling anyone that before … until you, Reilly.”

     “I … uh …” He fumbled in his pocket for the ruby and the flower as his mind raced with thoughts of Norah and his heart beat rapidly. “I have—had—a couple of friends I could talk to about the Stelladaur. But they seem to have all left me.”

     “I’m sorry.” She patted his arm. “Who?”

     “There’s Eilam. He’s been around long before either of us. Until a few days ago, I saw him just about every day of my life. Then he left me a note that said he had to go away for a while, and to remember the things I’d learned from my Stelladaur.”

     “Where is your Stelladaur now?”

     “Also gone.”

     “And you don’t know where?”

     “No. I always kept it hung around my neck on a cord. Then one day it was just gone. Eilam told me I wouldn’t need it anymore … that if I listened to my heart, I’d always know what to do.”

     He wanted to stop walking and take the flower from his pocket, to look at it and touch it carefully, to see if by magic Norah would appear at his side. But it felt good to have Lottie’s hand rest on his arm, and seemed comfortable talking with her. What was it about warping through time zones and parallel worlds that compelled him to connect with these two girls? He ached for Norah, but being with Lottie lifted his melancholy mood.

     “And do you believe that?” Lottie asked. “Do you believe that if you listen to your heart, you’ll know what to do?”
     “I think so,” he said, though he knew he was trying to convince himself.