The Last Queen of Lemuria (25 page)

- "I can't even hug him!"

Shonith La looked down, covered his face with his palms, and a dense blue cloud began to form around him. It hid the gigantic ghost, then came a soft knock and suddenly a live person of average height, probably around thirty appeared.

Boris recoiled.

Shonith smiled. His blue eyes lit up with happiness.

- "Mommy! Father! It's been so long! I knew you'd come!"

Boris looked at him, dumbfounded. Marina's chin trembled gently, tears streaming from her eyes.

- "Father, I know that it sounds unbelievable! But you remember Olmolungring! And the Flood! And my birth! It really happened! We have overcome time itself, just to meet again! Don't tell me you're allowing your head to overpower  your heart again! Listen to it! What is your heart saying?"

Boris blushed, a vein swelled on his forehead, and tears welled in his eyes. He slowly stepped forward to meet his son. The three of them embraced.

Chapter 34. The Desert

Margo, Andrei and Nastia found themselves in the sands of the Gobi. Hot, dense air was rising from the cracked earth. It was shaking, moving, and it seemed that you could reach out and touch it with your hand. It was distorting everything around like a fun-house mirror. The piercing silence sliced through their hearing. The heat quickly dried out their lips, and stretched their skin.

- "Let's go find the Stone!"  Said Margo, the first to come to, "we don't have much time."

- "Let's check behind those dunes," offered Andrei.

They didn't have to walk far. Right behind the dunes, by a crooked tree without leaves that didn't look like it possibly could have grown in such a lifeless place stood the jewel box on a boulder. A small lizard jumped from the rock when he heard their footsteps.

- "There was a ring of fire here," said Andrei, "where'd it go?"

- "What did they have to protect against here?"  Answered Margo, stepping assuredly toward the jewel box, "any living being would die within five minutes here."  She took the box and opened it. They saw the familiar Stone, covered  in writing.  "The Chintamani!"

In disbelief at their good fortune, the friends got ready to return. Nastia took out the belt. But just then, Andrei, looking into the distance, stopped her:

- "Wait up now. What's over there?"

- "Where?"

- "Way over there by the dune, something is shining, do you see it?"

- "So what!"  Exclaimed Margo, “we need to move our asses.”

- "And way over there," said Nastia, pointing in the opposite direction, "something else is shining."

- "And there, and over there," said Andrei, pointing, "it's more jewel boxes! They all look just like this one!  He ran over, sinking into the sand. He picked up a shining object from the ground. It was an exact copy of the jewel box. And the Stone.

As if making fun of the friends, new golden glares kept popping up all around them. The desert became filled with the glare of a thousand jewel boxes.

Nastia, holding the Chintamani shrieked and threw it away. A snake's head poked out of the box. When the beast had crawled away, the friends discovered that the Chintamani had disappeared. Andrei took a different box and opened it- a snake crawled out of that one too.

- "So," frowned Margo.  "We're being tricked. How can we know where the real one is? There's an infinite number of them here."

- "I think I know," said Nastia, "we saw the real one on the map- it's protected. Thus, the one that will be protected is the real one.”

Suddenly, each of the thousand golden circles became encircled by a thousand rings of fire.

- "No, it's not gonna be so easy," sighed Andrei, "there must be some way of recognizing the Chintamani. Let's think.

They sat on a rock in the shade of a tall dune. The sun wasn't baking quite as hot there, though it was still difficult to breathe in the shade, and they could feel the heat of the sand through their shoe soles. They wanted to drink horribly.

- "Got it!"  said Margo, rising up with a spring, "I know what to do! Remember how the Chintamani would kill sorcerers?"

- "And?"

- "So, if we act like the sorcerers, for a time, we will be able to feel the Stone's approach."

- "And how do you imagine this will work?"  Came Andrei in surprise.

- "We should experience negative emotions, let's think evil thoughts and..."

- "Wait," interrupted Nastia, "we mustn't conform to the dark powers! That's exactly what they want! Then we'll really be under their control! What if we look at it the other way around? All these stones are phantoms, born of evil, right? They probably won't like it if we test them with good! What if we try to charge them with positive energy? Like we did on the ark?"  And, not waiting for an answer, Nastia ran up to the nearest box, opening the top swiftly. She took a deep breath, and took out the stone. She remembered her home, her mother, the first flower that had grown on her window sill, that had made her so proud.  She thought of her graduation, her trips to the sea, her first encounter with Aleur...  Her soul grew warm. And Nastia suddenly felt the stone go soft in her hand. To her surprise, when she opened her eyes, she saw a tulip.

- "Now we're talking!"  Exclaimed Andrei and Margo who had been looking on in anxiety, and were now ready to go help.

- "Let's see if we can do that from a distance!"  Offered Nastia, "because, distance doesn't matter to love and positive emotions. Let's send these boxes our love!”

And the friends began working. First slowly, and then picking up speed, the barren Gobi began to fill up with life. The golden shimmer was replaced with colorful plants. In a flash, trees grew and ponds sprung up. Within an hour, everything they could see had become a fragrant, blooming oasis, overtaken by the sound of chirping birds.. The friends threw themselves to the water in joy. It was a real miracle. A miracle that they themselves had created. A blooming garden in the dead Gobi.

- "Well, then, this is something all together different," smiled Nastia, washing off in the lake. She sighed, "if only people would understand what power they've got in their souls!  If only they understood that they could achieve everything they desire with the power of love! But instead they destroy themselves with anger and hatred!"

- "And so you'll go back to your life, travel the world and spread the news of the power of love," chuckled Margo, but right now, we need to find the Chintamani.

In the very center of this newborn world, there remained one spot of desert. The dead patch of land was surrounded by a ring of fire. It was guarding the thing for which the messengers of Shambhala had come.

Chapter 35. The Power of Love

The friends carefully approached the fiery circle. They were overcome by a strange feeling. A powerful force was keeping them from getting near the Stone, pressing their hearts with an icy ring.  There was something behind the burning barrier that was invisible and creepy. They stopped a foot from the fire.

- "I'm scared," said Nastia, "really scared! And I don't understand what's going on! It's just a bonfire.”

- "I'm scared too," called out Margo, averting her gaze from the circle.

- "And me too," confirmed Andrei.

- "Let's try and extinguish the fire," suggested Nastia, adding "my legs are buckling from fear."

Andrei took off his t-shirt and got it wet. He squeezed out water onto the fire. It took almost all his strength to do- his face spelled out his battle with fear. Margo held herself better than the others, though her pale face did begin to show veins from the heat.

To the friends' surprise, the small amount of water that Andrei had brought was able to extinguish the flames. And suddenly, as if by the wave of a magic wand, their fear disappeared. Nastia sighed in relief.

- "That was too easy," said Margo.

They crossed the black, extinguished ring. And as soon as they'd gotten inside, it lit again, stronger than ever before. The friends were surrounded by fire.

- "I knew it!"  Shouted Margo, covering her face, "a trap!"

- "Let's go closer to the Stone!"  Called out Nastia, trying to out-scream the roar of the fire.

- "Be careful, Nastia!"  Shouted Andrei, seeing a shower of sparks erupt behind her back.

Nastia backed away and fell right into Andrei's embrace. Their faces got nearer one another, their eyes met for a second. In that second, the Lemurian garden appeared, with the songs of night birds, and the softly beating wings of butterflies...  Tears streamed from Nastia's eyes.

- "Oh hell!"  Cursed Margo, interrupting their tender moment, "your jeans are on fire!"  Margo began to extinguish Nastia's legs with sand.

- "Look!"  Exclaimed Andrei, looking around in surprise, "the fire is going away."

And truly, the ring of fire grew wider, away from them, burning the oasis the friends had made on its way. There was suddenly much more room to breath around the Stone.

- "I bet the fire was afraid that Nastia's tears would put it out," joked Margo. Her voice tinged with envy.

Nastia took her friend by the hand.

- "Thank you, Margo"

- "For what?"

- "For everything," answered Nastia. - "Let's see if the Stone is where it should be."

They approached the jewel box. The indigo light gave away the Chintamani's presence. Moving his hand carefully, Andrei opened the box and touched the Stone. Nothing happened.  Just a cloud of dust puffed out of the box when he moved the top. Margo frowned upon smelling the odor of corruption. The dust reached Nastia's nose and she sneezed. Andrei also felt an unpleasant burning in his nose. He wanted to say to Nastia that they should put on the pearl belt and get out of there, but to his surprise, he said something completely different.

- "Margo," he said, "you look positively stunning! Even the soot on your face suits you.” And he walked closer to Margo, brushing her cheeks, wiping away the dirt.

Margo's eyes flashed in triumph. Nastia froze. A frightening thought flickered in her mind. What if I run up to Andrei, wrap him in the belt, disappear and fly away back to Shambhala- just me and him... Leave Margo here...  A chill ran down Nastia's spine, despite the heat.  And suddenly, before her eyes appeared the sorrowful face of Yala. Her eyes were shining with pain and love.

- "My girl! My poor daughter!”  Whispered her familiar voice. Nastia shook, awoke from the fantasy, and wiped her eyes clean.

- "Margo!"  Called out Nastia.

- "Margo! Andrei! Wake up! This is a delusion!”  Shouted Nastia, touching her friend.

- "Get away!"  Shrieked Margo, "go away, can't you see you're getting in the way? You're the third wheel!"

- "Andrei!"  Shouted Nastia in despair, "Andrei! Wake up!

- "Can't you buzz off for a half hour, little girl?"  He replied. Nastia forced herself to remember that it was just a trick- sorcery was making them behave this way. The black dust that they breathed in was a guard placed there by the dark forces. Obviously, it brings out the darkest feelings in a person's soul.

She breathed in and pronounced:

- "I love you both. I love you no matter what you do."

Margo and Andrei shivered from these words. And came to.

- "Get the belt, Nastia," said Andrei, "it's time to go back."

Just then they heard a boom.

- "Come on, what's taking so long," rushed Margo.  Nastia took out the belt, getting ready to encircle her friends, but just then an unseen force picked it up and threw it aside. The friends froze, not knowing from where to expect an attack. Everything around fell silent. The ring of fire went out, the wind stopped and an eerie quiet set in. A second later, just where the friends were standing, darkness collapsed in on them. It was as if the sun had been turned off, and a black cloak had been thrown over the sky. They huddled together. Nastia kneeled and tried to feel for the pearl belt.

- "The Stone!"  Realized Andrei, taking the Chintamani from the box. Its blue light illuminated the desert.

- "It's over there!"  Exclaimed Nastia in joy when she saw the belt lying not far away.

Just then a fire ignited in the black sky. A huge fiery archer appeared from out of nowhere. His body, armor, bow and face, hidden behind a visor were all made of fire, as if the figure of an ancient knight had been set ablaze. He took the bow off his back. With a whistle, the arrow melted the sand. The peoples' skin turned red from the unbearable heat.

- "Hurry up, Nastia! I'll hold him off!"  Shouted Andrei, throwing himself directly at the fiery monster. - "Hey, you! Firebrand!"

The guard raised his bow. The second arrow hit next to Andrei.

Nastia jumped for the belt.

- "I've got it!"  She cried.

Andrei and Margo bolted toward her.

The archer fired one more arrow. It hit Andrei. He fell to the sand to put his clothes out. Nastia and Margo ran up to him, helping him deal with the fire. The archer let out a booming laugh, watching the story unfolding below while loading another arrow.