Lovers of Babel (32 page)

             
We sat in silence for a long while. I was beginning to lose hope.

             
Then, I remembered something.

             
“The book of silent hexes!” I blurted out.

             
“What?” Elliot said.

             
“I forgot that I packed it before we left Equinox! It’ll tell us how to use our powers secretly without being seen.”

             
“Well, it’s worth a try. At this point we could use all the help we can get,” Chad said.

             
I went to my room to get my handy backpack of objects and thought about how it proved to be extremely useful on our journey. Inside, was the Book of Silent Hexes that was all black with a blank cover.

             
I sat back down on the couch next to Elliot.

             
“How would you know what book this is if there is no title?” Elliott asked.

             
“Well, it’s the only book with a blank cover that I know of,” I answered.

             
I opened it and on the first page was this statement:
He who attempts to hide himself from the light will be seen, but he who fears not the dark will be protected.

             
The rest of the book revealed different ways to create certain hexes without being seen. The objective of the book was to make it so that a person could use their power without alerting the Authorities to where they were on the grid. Whenever an Equinoxian used their power, they appeared on the grid monitoring system. The only time the Authorities cared when a person showed up on the grid, was when it was past curfew, outside of jurisdiction, or the power that was used was forbidden.

             
The Book of Silent Hexes hid a person’s power so that they were unseen. Most people used the book for emergencies, but since the creation of food was restricted, sometimes creators used silent food hexes as well.

             
“Is there a spell for teleporting?” Chad asked.

             
I skimmed through the book and found a chapter on invisible teleport. It instructed that the teleporter look into a mirror while making their trek in order to be invisible. 

             
“We can teleport home and tell our families and Mia about this place. Maybe we can somehow escape; come back here to Providencia. Start a new life,” I said.

             
Chad’s expression went cold.

             
“Why would you want to leave our home?”

             
“We don’t have a home to go back to anymore. If we stay there, they’ll put us in jail,” I said.

             
“They’ll put
me
in jail.
You
are Mr. Riley’s daughter. You’re safe. Tell the truth, Sage. You want to live here because of him!”

             
Chad’s tone was biting. I couldn’t believe he would say that in front of them. I felt my eyes welling up with tears.

             
Then, Elliot looked at me confused.

             
“You’re the daughter of Amias Riley?” he asked.

             
I could only nod. He continued to look at me with that uncertain look.

             
“Let me ask you this. How will we have time to tell everyone before the Authorities snatch us up and put us in prison? I’m sure they already know that we’re here,” Chad barked.

             
“We can help,” Job said.

             
We all looked at him as if we had forget he was there.

             
“Thank you, but how?” Chad asked.

             
“I know we must look like a bunch of savages to you, but we are well equipped for battle. We’ve been ready for the day that we would have to defend ourselves and our faith. I think that day has come,” Job said.

             
“Look, we don’t want to ruin your peaceful life here. We can fight our own battles,” Chad said.

             
“Chad’s right. You guys have struggled for a long time to escape from my father’s oppressive system. Now, you live in peace. The Book of Wisdom was yours all along and we should’ve never come in search of it,” I said.

             
Job stood up and looked at us like a teacher ready to lecture to his students.

             
“Oh, but you are mistaken. The Book of Wisdom isn’t
ours
. The book belongs to all of us. We never planned to keep it stowed away in secret. We intended to release it into the world like before.”

             
“You want to bring it to the Equinox?” I asked my voice getting higher than usual.

             
He smiled a faraway smile that said more than words could.

             
“It is time to expose the forces of evil in this world. Your people need to know the truth about where they come from and where they are going. Amias has fooled them into believing that they are immortal because of their power. Still, your people are dying and being buried in secret,” Job said.

             
“How do you plan to bring the book to our people without being killed? Once you cross the grid The Authorities will find you and they will kill you,” Chad said.

             
Job raised his brow.

             
“Did you forget? You aren’t the only ones with powers. We too can travel fast and create. We just choose not to use our powers, but if need be, we can defend ourselves.”

             
“But this could mean war,” I said.

             
The idea of an impending battle made us quiet.

             
“And all this time we were told that we had reached a new level of peace on earth,” Chad said miserably

             
“There can be no peace as long as there are secrets that are being kept from the inhabitants of your world. We all must prepare to fight,” Job said and left the cabin.

             
Chad and I put our differences aside temporarily and looked through the trekking chapter of the Book of Silent Hexes. We needed to gather a small hand-held mirror to bring with us so that the silent spell would work. Elliot gave one to us that belonged to his mother. It was gold and had vines carved into the frame. The handle had the words,
To my virtuous love, may the burden of earth never be cast down upon your beauty ever again. Your captivated lover, always and always.

             
“Was this a gift from your father to your mother?” I asked.

             
“Yes. He had it made for her once they reached the surface after being in the Underground for decades.”

             
“Was it made by a creator?”

             
“No. It was made by a natural. He was one of my father’s closest friends. He helped them escape from the Equinox actually. His name was Alec.”

             
“Is he alive?” Chad chimed in.

             
“I don’t know. He used to live in the forest in the Equinox away from the rest of the developing world. He used to say that they wouldn’t welcome him there anyway. He was useless to the cause being that he had possessed no powers. I remember going to visit him with my father from time to time. If he’s alive, I’m sure he’s somewhere among the trees living like a caveman. Ha!”

             
“He sounds like someone who we can trust if we needed help,” Chad said.

             
“Oh yes. If he is alive he’d be the best ally a fugitive could have,” Elliott laughed.

             
Chad shifted in his seat and cleared his throat awkwardly. “So, all I have to do is look in this mirror and trek to our destination without being seen?” he asked.

             
“That’s what it says here in the chapter. It seems simple enough,” I said.

             
“The harder part is going to be teleporting to a safe place where no one can find you,” Elliott said.

             
“Yea I think it’s important to not pop up anywhere in the open. By now the entire Equinox is probably looking for us,” I said.

             
“We could trek to Mammoth Forest. That’s our secret place anyway and no one knows it exists,” Chad added.

             
Elliot and I made eye contact.

             
“What will you do? The Grid Authorities might show up here looking for us,” I said.

             
“We have our defenses ready. Don’t worry Sage,” he said placing his hand on my shoulder.

             
I looked at him and then looked at Chad next to me who was glaring at Elliott’s hand still on my shoulder. I felt the most awkward that I had ever felt in my entire life.

             
“I hope your defenses are strong enough. The Authorities are the most powerful Equinoxians. They were trained since birth to serve Mr. Riley. It’s like they were manufactured to kill. So, don’t be too cocky. You might end up without a hand,” Chad snapped.

             
Then he stood up and stomped into the other room.

             
I gave Elliot an apologetic look.

             
“He has feelings for you doesn’t he?”

             
“Of course not. He’s my best friend who I’ve known all my life. We’re like brother and sister,” I said almost too defensively.

             
Elliot smiled.

             
“I’m sure if he heard you say that he’d be scarred for life.”

             
I sat there silently thinking.

             
“Look, I’m not trying to confuse you or anything, I just think you should consider the possibility that the boy you’ve known all your life, may be in love with you.”

             
I was shocked by his bluntness.

             
“You should also consider your own feelings as well,” he said.

             
“What do you mean?”

             
“I mean I know that you think you’re just friends, but after a decade of friendship, you’re bound to feel something for the guy. It’s human nature.”

             
“Well I don’t. I-I love him as a friend and that’s all.”

             
Elliott nodded slowly, still unbelieving.

             
“Have you ever…been…” I stammered.

             
“In love? Once when I was thirteen. It was a short one-sided love. She ended up moving back to the Equinox with her family. That was the last time I felt so drawn to a girl, well, that is until…”

             
I perked up. “Until?”

             
Elliott gazed into my eyes, smiled, and then looked away.

             
“Even if it was…that…we are two people from two completely different worlds. How would it ever work?” Elliot said.

             
But our worlds are bound to collide eventually
.

             
We sat in silence for a while when suddenly Job burst into the cabin and announced that the Authorities were on the hill overlooking the village.

             
Elliott and I made eye contact for a short while and I got one last look into his forest eyes.  Then, he left the cabin. I was sad, but I couldn’t let that stop me. Chad and I had to prepare to trek.

             
Job set out to alert the village that there were intruders from the Equinox coming to wreak havoc on their civilization. The villagers spread the word throughout Providencia. They all gathered weapons and torches and stood on guard in front of their homes. The women and children stayed inside in anticipating what was about to become of their peaceful lives.

             
I couldn’t help feeling guilty that this was happening. I brought them here. If I hadn’t been so stubborn about going with Chad on his journey, this would’ve never happened.

             
It was near three in the morning and the air was humid. I looked around at the brave men standing with spears and arrows in their hands ready for combat. Job was in the center giving orders to them. Then, I saw Elliott appear in the distance from the glass blowing shop with his glass sword in his hand. He ran over towards us.

             
“What are you going to do with that?” I asked.