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### Trunks of Ages:

### The Seven Seals

A book about taking leaps of faith

By Mary Beth Frank

Copyright 2014

Smashwords Edition

Contributing editor, Ruth Albright

Graphic Artwork, Jeff Frank

2nd edition; © 2014 Mary Beth Frank

1st edition; © 2011 Mary Beth Frank

Smashwords edition

This ebook is for your enjoyment only and is not to be shared or distributed to others. If you would like to give a copy to another reader, please purchase additional copies at www.smashwords.com. If you are reading this and have not purchased your copy, please return to www.smashwords.com. Thank you for respecting the hard work of an Indie author.

Special thanks to Greta Ehlers and Pam Jordan for critically reading and offering constructive advice. Thanks to Jeff Frank for helping me go through one last rewrite.

Thanks to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, whose spirit called me to something beyond myself and forced me to step into a mission that required me to rely on his powers and not my own.

This book is lovingly dedicated to my husband who encourages my dream of writing for the youth, who compassionately listens to my ramblings about plot ideas, and who patiently waits while I always have a part of myself stuck in the imaginative world of The Hanks family. You are my heartbeat.

The events and individuals in this book are fictitious and do not represent anyone specific. While the children's names have been borrowed, with permission, their personalities and character are not real.
Table of Contents

Prologue

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

Twenty

Twenty-One

Twenty-Two

Twenty-Three

Epilogue

Prologue Egypt

### May - Eight years earlier

The sun was setting over the horizon as Jerold and Beth Hanks climbed out of the mouth of the cave they had been exploring for the last several weeks. Beth shook the dust from her long wavy blonde hair, and tried to clear the dirt from her bright blue eyes; eyes that dazzled everyone she met. Her husband, Jerold, tall and lean, had thick neatly cropped black hair. Together the couple looked more like they belonged on a red carpet than in the mouth of a cave in the middle of the Egyptian desert. Jerold grabbed his canteen and began dusting off his boots, when shouts from deep within the cave captured both of their attentions.

"What is that?" Beth exclaimed, eyes quickly darting from her husband back to the cave.

"I don't know, but we'd better go check to make sure nothing's happened." Jerold grabbed Beth's hand and dashed back inside the cave, dragging her behind him. Within a few feet, darkness surrounded them. Jerold flicked on his head lamp, and then fumbled to help Beth with hers. Together they continued into the darkness heading toward the sounds deep within.

When they reached their crew, they found out what the commotion was over.

Beth gasped, "The trunk. We've finally found the first trunk!"

Jerold was beaming inside, knowing that this was the beginning of a remarkable journey. "We had better call Tildon. He'll want to hear about this immediately."

The Hanks oversaw the crew, as they carefully chiseled away at the cave wall that surrounded the remainder of the trunk. Once the trunk was freed, Jerold and the men carried it to their camp, just outside the mouth of the cave.

Beth hummed as she brushed away the dust covering the top of the trunk so she could examine it more closely. Not very tall, the trunk was oval in shape, rather than the standard rectangle found in most trunks. It was bright blue in color and bore no unique markings of any kind. Disappointed, Beth frowned as she examined it. After all these years of searching, she had been expecting the trunk to be ornate, more elaborate in nature. Beth brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. As she bent down to take a closer look at the trunk, it was then she noticed a gold plate on the front, with E, D, H inscribed on its face. Finding this interesting, Beth scribbled down the letter into her notebook, along with a few other notes about the trunk that she wanted to research later.

She stood looking for Jerold, sighing in frustration at his continued absence. Jerold had asked her not to open it up until he returned from the cave, where he had gone to retrieve the rest of their gear. She squinted at the bright desert sun, sat down and put her canteen to her lips, letting the cold water saturate her dry mouth. She thought back to the time they had first met Tildon. Jerold had surprised her with tickets to an antiquity gala in Boston. It was held by one of their long-time associates from Cambridge, who was showcasing his newest finds from Greece. The night was unmemorable, except for the part when they were leaving. As they were claiming their coats at the coat check, a very ordinary man, with light gray hair and a skinny mustache, walked up to them and introduced himself.

"I do apologize, as I see you are heading out, but I'm afraid I've not had the privilege to make your acquaintances. I'm James Tildon. Most colleagues of mine just call me Tildon." Tildon stuck out his hand to Jerold and Beth as they looked at him with quizzical eyes.

Jerold flashed him a smile. "Well, Tildon, it's a pleasure. I'm Jerold Hanks. This is my wife, Beth."  
Beth looked at the man and nodded, tired from the night's events and wanting to leave.

"Yes, I know. I have heard a great deal about you and your family." Beth could have sworn when he said "family" a dark shimmer flashed through his eyes. She found herself suddenly shivering in the warm room. Tildon continued, "You see, I've been looking to hire an archeological team to help me with a quest that has become my personal obsession. After much research and many inquiries, it seems your knowledge and talent is just what I'm looking for. "

Jerold smiled, amused at the strange man and his bold approach. "I'm sorry, Tildon. We have a commitment to Cornell University and aren't available for quite some time." Beth nodded in agreement.

"That is a minor detail I have already addressed. I have a dear friend on the board of the University, and he thinks this is a project you should consider. Of course, the school will receive recognition for your outstanding work." Tildon smiled and Beth suddenly found herself intrigued.

"What's the project?" she asked, her voice hard and sharp.

Tildon turned his gaze toward her and narrowed his eyes. "Let's just say it's a project that will alter the course of mankind forever."

Jerold laughed. "Impossible."

Tildon shook his head, suddenly very serious. "My friend, there are many mysteries in this world that man has chosen to ignore because they are too difficult to accept. Should you work with me, you will be unveiling one of the most remarkable mysteries of the ages."

Jerold and Beth looked at each other, not sure what to make of this man standing in front of them. Tildon reached out and shoved a card into Jerold's coat pocket.

"Think about it. Call me when you want to begin." Tildon abruptly turned and walked away, leaving a bewildered Beth and Jerold at the coat check.

Beth smiled, hearing the men return, and thought about her first reaction to Tildon. She hadn't liked him at all. She could still say that she was uneasy around him, but he had grown on her. They had spent their first two years working for him from Cornell, doing research on the trunks and trying to dig up any clues from ancient worlds and their histories. There were many conference calls, back in those days, as Tildon never seemed to be able to visit Ithaca, New York, where the Hanks lived.

Beth looked up to see Jerold as he entered their tent dropping the last of their gear into a nearby crate. He quickly turned and grabbed her around the waist, playfully spinning her around imaginary music. Pulling her close, he kissed her softly on the lips. Like a little girl with her first beau, she giggled at his celebration.

"We did it! We found the first one!" Beth beamed at her husband, eager to open the trunk.

Jerold smiled down at her, his black hair covered in dust. "Now, only six more to go." He winked at his wife and chuckled.

"Well, Mr. Hanks, shall we open the first one?" Beth asked, not being able to contain her curiosity any longer.

Turning from her, Jerold began to examine the trunk himself. He frowned slightly, as he studied the oval shape.

Beth walked over to him and put her hand on his arm. "Nothing really exciting, is it? It's so ordinary. I thought it would be much different."

Jerold rubbed his hands over the trunk's exterior and let his fingers trace the letters on the gold plate.

He looked at his wife's notes, sitting next to the trunk. "Do you think they're initials?"

"Uh-huh." Beth said, nodding.

Jerold ran his hand to the front of the lid and tried to flip open the locks. Unsuccessful, he grabbed a crowbar and tried to pry the lid open. It wouldn't budge. Beth frowned, curious why the top couldn't be pried open. Next, Jerold got a hammer and tried to knock off the locks. It didn't work. After a couple of hours of attempting to open the trunk, the Hanks finally gave up; deciding they'd continue their when they returned to Cornell. They had the trunk carefully packaged in a large crate, after which they began tearing down their camp, ready to head home.

Chapter 1 The Letter

### December 19- Present time

The bell rang, announcing the end of the school day. Instantly there were cheers, laughter, and the scraping of chairs as kids made a mad dash for their lockers, excited for the start of Christmas vacation. Sebastian Hanks slowly packed up his bag, not in the least bit excited for the upcoming break. He scanned his classroom one more time, and took in the Christmas tree in the corner of his ninth grade art class. They had spent an entire art period decorating their classroom with items Ms. Haney had brought from home. Lights hung around the windows, elaborate three dimensional glitter snowflakes twirled from the ceiling, and pen and ink snow scenes were plastered all over the walls. He had been so excited for Christmas this year until yesterday.

Realizing that everyone had bolted out of the room, Sebastian grabbed his bag, slowly making his way to his locker. Kids were gathered around in groups talking about what they were going to be doing over the break. Some were staying in town. Others were traveling with their families to ski resorts scattered across the northeast, which is what most kids from Preston Prep did over the holiday break. Kids were stretched across the hallway like schools of fish. To Sebastian they all looked and acted the same. He never understood the desire to be someone's clone. Many were laughing, joking around or shouting at friends down the hall. They were making the most of their last minutes together. Others were shoving their books and binders into their lockers, grabbing their bags, while some were pushing their way to the bathrooms to change before leaving for vacation. Preston Preparatory School was the best in Ithaca, as well as all of upstate New York. It had a long history for turning out prestigious lawyers, prominent doctors, respected senators, and even several who had been appointed to presidential cabinet positions. Most parents had very high expectations for a son or daughter who attended Preston Prep. With Ivy League dreams, pushy parents could be seen demanding more from the school than of their own children. Sebastian opened his locker and pulled out his wool coat, trying to ignore anyone around him. In his mind, he was an ordinary 15-year-old boy. He was average in height, at 5'8", a little too skinny for his liking and didn't think himself anything spectacular. His hair was stick straight and copper in color, his eyes a deep brown that he found boring, and his complexion fairly tan. He was at least glad that he hadn't gotten with acne like some of the other freshman boys.

Sebastian had a few friends at Preston, but mostly found the kids there too arrogant to hang out with, let alone talk to. He preferred his days uneventful, which meant he worked hard to remain unheard and unnoticed. Of course, he wasn't lonely, with a sister and four brothers who were always hanging around. The two people at Preston he did consider to be his best friends were Trevor and Brooke. They were from lower-income families, whose parents worked very hard to send them to Preston. Sebastian found them more "normal" than the rest and had no problem talking to them.

Sebastian shut his locker, trying to be invisible in the chaotic crowd. Suddenly someone bumped into him, knocking his bag off his shoulder and spilling his books and papers all over the hallway floor. He bent over to pick up the mess as quickly as he could, but found a boot standing on one of his books.

"Great," he muttered under his breath.

"Hey, Sebastian," Bobby Myers called out, "Looks like you're planning on doing homework on vacation. What are you trying to do? Make us all look bad? In case you haven't heard, it's Christmas VACATION. No homework necessary."

"Give me my book, Bobby. I don't want any trouble; just give me my book back."

"Trouble? Oh, this isn't even close to the trouble I could give you. But maybe I'll cut you some slack, since it is Christmas vacation." Bobby picked up the book, throwing it to one of his cronies standing nearby.

"Let's show Sebastian where this belongs."

Sebastian watched as the jerk went running into the bathroom with his book. Bobby was the son of a local politician and a member of the Myers family. Everyone knew the Myers were made of old money and mean to the bone, every last one of them. Bobby was no exception. He and his thugs were usually grouped around a helpless freshman boy. Sometimes they were throwing the contents of his locker on the floor or giving him a lesson on how to wear his boxers. Other times they were taking his bags and sorting out the items they wanted from the ones they were going to throw in the trash can. The school's staff usually turned a blind eye, because his father was a feared man in town and the family had deep rooted connections to the school since it first opened. Bobby was the kid who made students turn around and walk the other direction. Sebastian just wanted to get home without a bloody nose.

"So, Sebastian, afraid you won't have anything to do while mommy and daddy are away digging for some old junk? Oh, don't worry; I am sure you can find some diapers to change and some bottles to make. Go home and babysit your family, while the rest of us go on vacation and have a great time on the slopes."

Sebastian didn't dare look at him, for if he had, he knew that his fist would just end up in Bobby Myer's nose. That was the last thing he wanted to deal with today. So, instead, he just sat there and took Bobby's incessant teasing and waited for the encounter to end. When Bobby didn't get what he wanted out of him, he turned around and began looking for his next victim. His entourage followed suit.

"Sebastian, are you OK?" Brooke came running over to him. She was average height, with long blonde hair. For the most part, she was a typical girl who loved to paint her nails, have her hair done, and shop. However, Brooke had picked up a passion that had set her apart from other girls. At a very early age, she had fallen in love with skateboarding, and was actually very good, although he would never admit that to her. She had placed in a couple of regional competitions and took flack for having ponytails and ribbons in her hair while flying through the air on a half-pipe. In the end, though, the real reason Sebastian liked Brooke was because she was loyal, almost to a fault. Once, she had volunteered to work backstage for the school play, and her mom's car broke down during dress rehearsals. Even though no one from Preston Prep would be caught dead on the city buses, she rode one every night to get to the rehearsals and performances. The kids still tease her to this day, joking that she is founding member of the transit theater group. It has never bothered her though; she just takes it all in stride, knowing that she did what she needed to do to keep her commitment.

"I saw the whole thing from across the hall. He is so awful! I hate that jerk."

"Great! Did everyone see what happened? I just wanted to get home without talking to anyone."

"Hey, man, you weren't even going to say bye to the other biggest loser at Preston Prep?" Trevor's big hand slapped Sebastian on the back as he stood next to him with a big goofy grin on his face. He handed Sebastian a dripping wet textbook.

"I found this in the john. I've heard of people using magazines and newspaper to wipe, but do you really need an entire chemistry book to get the job done?" Trevor winked at Sebastian.

Trevor was at least six inches taller than Sebastian, but was awkward with his height. He wasn't coordinated enough to play sports, but was too tall to not be expected to be a star. However, one minute in gym class with Trevor, and you would know that sports were not his gift. But as bad as Trevor was at sports, he was a legend at video games, especially the kind that required dancing. Sebastian never could figure out how Trevor could be so skilled and coordinated with complicated video games, but so awful at dribbling a basketball.

"Thanks, Trev." He grabbed the book and wrapped it in his hoodie and put it in his book bag. "No, I wasn't trying to ignore you or Brooke. I was just trying to get home without any holiday scars. But too late for that I guess. Hey, why don't we walk over to The Java Board and get some coffee, and maybe we could play some games for a while?"

The Java Board was the local café and their usual hangout. Sometimes they went to the skateboard park to watch Brooke do her thing, but Trevor was not allowed there anymore. He had gotten into a fight with a boy who was harassing Brooke and would be grounded for life if his parents knew he was there. In fact, most kids from Preston Prep weren't allowed near the skate park, but the three of them felt like they could blend in better with public school kids, as well as the Ithaca University students that plagued "those" parts of town. Most of the Preston Prep students went to Cornell's campus to hang out. They always felt the Ivy League boosted their image and feelings of superiority. For Sebastian, there was nothing special about the students at Cornell. Because his parents had worked there for so long, he realized the students were no different than anyone else. He found that he was just as happy gaming at the Java Board or hanging out at the skate park, even if he wasn't great at either. After all it was hanging out with Brooke and Trevor that mattered. Plus, it was always a welcomed break to get away from home and school.

Trevor smirked at Sebastian, pulling him back to the present. "Sorry, but no can do. I have to be home to help put up the Christmas tree. We are actually going to manage a pretty decent Christmas this year. My dad got a raise a couple of weeks ago, and my mom has been in the holiday spirit ever since. It's amazing what a few extra bucks can do to my mother. But, hey, I'm not complaining, as I've been the benefactor of her change in mood! I'll call you in a couple of days; we can hang later. Maybe we could do a movie at the commons or something, OK?"

"OK. I'll talk to you then. Have a great holiday."

Brooke was still standing there and noticed Bobby coming back their way. "Hey, guys, heads up at ten o'clock. We'll see you later, Trev." She pulled Sebastian around and started walking in the opposite direction. "Hey, I'll walk with you and get some coffee at The Java Board, but can't stay for long. I have to pack for our trip to Indiana."

"Right," Sebastian sighed, "The trip to see your grandparents in Fort Wayne. I forgot."

"Hey, don't look so down. You can't complain, you know. You always get a ton of presents from your parents."

"I know." Sebastian didn't want to talk about his mood or his family. In fact, he realized he just wanted to get home. Brooke was always a good friend, someone you could count on in time of need. She always had an optimistic view on everything that made Sebastian feel better about things. Sebastian never took her friendship for granted. He looked at Brooke glancing at some girls across the way.

"You know what, let's just go when you get back and you can tell me all about your trip. OK?"

"Whatever. Are you sure you are going to be all right?"

"I'll be fine. I always am."

Brooke gave him a hug and turned around to say goodbye to the girls, who had just started walking down the hall. She walked away with them, talking about the coolest boy band and movies. Sebastian would never understand girls, especially their ability to switch gears so quickly. Makayla, his 13-year-old sister, did this all the time at home making her the one who could keep up with his little brothers.

He finally found his way outside and began his walk home. He passed the school pick-up line on Buffalo Street and watched as the kids filed into their expensive cars and SUVs. Turning south onto N. Albany, Sebastian thought of his parents and how last month they had come home in a brand-new Black Lincoln MKX loaded with all the extras. He chuckled when he thought about the adaptive headlights, the seats that fold at the touch of a button, the GPS, and all the other stuff Sebastian tuned out while his dad was trying to show him the newest car in his collection. This was his father's newest toy, added to the other six cars sitting in their eight car garage which were never put to use, because there was never anyone home to drive them. His parents were collectors of automobiles, among other things. But their job was always taking them away, so they rarely got to enjoy their stuff. He had been eying a red two door mini-coop that was sitting in the corner of the garage under an old tarp, wondering if he could soon sneak it out for a drive. It had tan leather seats and was a soft-top convertible. It held only two people, which is why he liked it most, a car where his brothers or sister could not tag along. Sometimes he would pull the tarp off to sit inside. He figured he wouldn't really have the guts to sneak it out, since he always tried to do the right thing. For now he'd have to be satisfied with the driving time he got on his permit with Alice, their live in nanny. But, he had yet to convince her of driving the mini coop, when the safer silver Volvo was only two cars down. Alice was more than just their nanny. She had become like one of the family now. She had taken care of Sebastian and the others for the last four years, and they all adored her. She didn't seem to mind having to help Sebastian learn to drive. It was only a couple of months before he got his license. Sebastian couldn't wait to have the freedom to take off whenever he felt like it.

Lost in thought, Sebastian automatically headed east towards the downtown commons area. This was his usual route home, but for the first time he noticed that the storefronts had been decorated for Christmas. The local bookstore, Book Rack Alley, had a window set up with a tiny village. It was covered with animated figurines and had a toy train running all around it. There were red and green banners hanging from the lamp posts, which were perfectly spaced all the way down the brick paved shopping area. Below the banners, huge wreaths hung with a big gold sign that read, "Happy Holidays." He noticed that Christmas music was playing through the speakers that aired over the commons area. An old Christmas classic was blaring out and he heard the singer singing, "It's the most wonderful time of the year." Sebastian sighed and wished this time of the year would just be over. He had hoped that this year would be different, and promises were made that it would be. But, then Alice brought him the letter, and he realized that once again things would be the same, like they were every year. Sebastian felt his pocket, where he had been keeping the letter. He pulled it out, starting to unfold it. It was getting dark and cold, but he wanted to read it one more time before reading it to his brothers and sister. He sat down at one of the many tables in the commons. He shook off his frustration and began to scan his mother's handwriting once more:

Dearest Sebastian:

We hope this letter finds you well. We tried to call, but you weren't home and we had to leave on an emergency excavation this afternoon. We are still in England, but came across a major lead. We found evidence of another possible site, and have decided to extend our trip to start another dig.

Of course, this means that we will not make it home for the holidays. We know we promised that we would have a normal family Christmas this year, but the excavation sites won't wait.

We have asked Alice to stay and make sure that you are well taken care of this Christmas. We have lots of fun presents being delivered to the house and have asked the house staff to make an extra big meal. Alice has also agreed to do some shopping in our absence. Grandma and Grandpa have said they would stop by Christmas morning to spend the day with you.

Please let your brothers and sister know we love them all and miss them very much. We will be home soon. We will try to have a belated holiday celebration then.

We are so grateful that you can be man of the house while we are away. We are very proud of you and love you all very much.

Much love,

Mom and Dad

Sebastian wanted to shred the letter and throw it to the wind, but he owed it to the others to read it to them, so he placed it back into his pocket. He hated having to be the one to deliver the news. Alice had offered, but he told her he would do it. Now he wished he had kept his mouth shut and let her take the job. He had been so excited for them to finally have Christmas with mom and dad. He remembered when they used to be home all the time. They had been head of the archeology department at Cornell and didn't do much traveling, except for a few speaking engagements once in a while. However, about eight years ago, they accepted a very generous offer from a private collector to begin traveling across the world in search of priceless artifacts. They still held offices at Cornell, but Sebastian had no idea why. They were hardly ever there. They never spoke of their boss, but Sebastian had accidentally seen some papers in his dad's office that said Tildon Enterprises on them. That was about all he knew concerning their jobs. That, and the fact they were never home anymore. He was often jealous watching families doing stuff together any time of the year, but it was even harder around Christmas. It wasn't that they didn't have anything. They had everything money could buy. They had more than most kids could even dream about. But, while the Hanks children had learned what it was to have, they only had little want. They didn't want anything. They didn't ask for things anymore. The only thing they would have asked for, if they could, was for their parents to be home.

Sebastian sucked in the chilly December air and looked at his watch. It was half past four already, and everyone would be expecting him home soon. He stood up to go, feeling a snowflake fall on his nose as he rose. Oh, well, he thought, at the very least we'll have snow for Christmas.

Sebastian walked a little farther down the commons before turning right towards Giles Street, dreading his arrival home.

#  Chapter 2 Family

The Hanks children have only known one home their entire lives. It was an old Victorian-style house tucked away among three acres of woods on the outskirts of town. The estate was built shortly after the turn of the 20th century. The original owner was a wealthy investor who earned his money by getting in early on the automobile industry. A large wrought iron fence surrounded the entire property, with a guard entrance off Giles Street and a smaller, less known entrance at the back of the property. The main house was a mixture of limestone and brick with a huge front staircase that spanned the width of the home. To Sebastian this feature was more annoying to climb than the character others would have thought it offered the house. Above the windows were hand carvings of cherubs and intricate patterns were etched in the pillars on the front porch. To Sebastian it all seemed a little silly, but for his parents it always seemed to be a source of pride.

As Sebastian reached the front gate; he turned to wave hello to the guard stationed there. He could have gone through the back entrance to avoid having to climb all those stairs he hated, but because he liked the guard who worked at the back gate even less, he usually just put up with the climb.

"Hello, Marty," Sebastian said with a polite smile. He always tried to be nice to the house staff, as he figured that was the least he could do. Although he never thought of himself as better than them, he always wondered if they looked at him as just another spoiled rich kid. The more he thought about it, he wondered if he was wrong for doing the same thing to the other kids at his school. It sure was funny how no one seemed to understand other people. Especially when there was the perceived barrier of being from a different social, economic or cultural background. He decided maybe sometimes that with a lack of understanding comes judgments, right or wrong.

"Hello, Mister Sebastian. How was school today?"

"OK, I guess, if you like being bullied by one of the Myers clan."

"Can't say I would. I 'spect it would be a difficult plight for a young man, such as yourself. Someone ought to teach that boy some manners."

Sebastian rolled his eyes, and smirked, "That is exactly what my friend Brooke thinks. I would rather just dodge the bullet, by staying out of his way."

"Well you head inside and get out of the cold. Alice is expecting you." Marty waved him through the gate and Sebastian began his climb to the front door. Half-way up Sebastian stopped. He sometimes did this after a rough day at school, to try and muster up some appreciation for what life had afforded him. Sometimes he found what he was looking for, other times his pride stayed in the way. Today was one of those days it did.

Sebastian opened the front door and took a step inside. He knew what would be waiting for him. It was right then, the first time all day that he smiled. He heard footsteps rushing to meet him.

"Sebastian, I've been waiting for you!" Marshall exclaimed, running at him down the stairs. Marshall was fourth in the line of Hanks children. He was short for his age and looked like he was five, instead of nine-years-old. However, when you listened to him speak, it became clear that he was actually beyond his years in intelligence. Many people thought he was strange when he was younger, but really it was just that he was simply too smart for his own good. At preschool it just wasn't fair to compare him to the other kids. He was outgoing and got along with anyone he could find who would listen to him, although sometimes it was a struggle for him to find friends who understood him. However, having grown up with him, Marshall's brothers and sister were able to understand him just fine. Even as a younger middle child, he was a natural leader in the family because of his ability to analyze a problem, and then work out a successful plan.

"I built a new train layout today. Wanna see it? I've been waiting to show you!"

Sebastian smiled, knowing he was doomed to playing trains for the next hour at least. The house had a whole room devoted to Marshall's obsession with trains. It included a large Lionel collection. His parents admittedly loved that he was into a collectible toy. This made it all too easy for them to go overboard; strangely though it never seemed to satisfy Marshall's fascination. It was easy for his parents to find something to do with model trains, especially in all the European countries their research usually took them. Marshall first discovered model trains during a visit to the Science and Industry Museum in Chicago. Now, when completely set-up, his layout had actually grown larger than that. To Sebastian his parents were trying to replace their absence with stuff like this. They always said they were just trying to encourage their children's interests and hobbies.

"OK, buddy, I'll be up to check it out in a minute. Just give me some time to change my clothes and grab somethin' to eat. Is Makayla home yet?"

"No. When Alice came to pick us up from school, Makayla asked if she could go with her friend to the mall. She is supposed to be back before dinner. Actually, I had hoped that you would be home before her though, because I would prefer it to be just you and me."

Sebastian smiled, almost laughing out loud. What kid uses "actually" and "prefer" in the same sentence?

"Give me a minute, I'll be right up, OK?"

Marshall smiled and ran off, making plans under his breath the whole way. After throwing his stuff in the corner by the stairs, Sebastian found his way into the kitchen, where the cook had left him a plate of apple and cheese slices for a snack. Sebastian picked up the plate, put it back in the refrigerator, and pulled out a box of leftover pizza from the night before. With the pizza box in one hand and a half-eaten slice in the other, he headed for his room to change his clothes.

On the way, he stuck his head into the playroom, wondering if anyone was in there. Ethan, his ten-year-old brother was on the computer, as usual; Julian and Scotty, who were seven and five respectively, were wrestling on the play mats. Alice looked up from her book, which she had been reading in the far corner of the room. She smiled when she noticed Sebastian.

"I just wanted to let you know I was home. I'm going to play trains with Marshall for a while. When's Makayla coming home?"

"She's at the mall with Julia and her mom. They'll be back before dinner, I think around six. Why? Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, fine. I just needed to talk to her about something. If it's OK with you, I'd like to tell them tonight, during high/low, by myself."

"Sure, that'd be great. I need to go out and do some shopping anyways." Alice gave him a wink. Sebastian sighed, knowing Alice was doing what his parents should have been doing themselves. Alice came over to him and playfully punched his arm.

"I know you're having a hard time, but I'm here if you need me."

"Thanks, but I'm fine." He turned toward his room. Better to get over it, he told himself, instead of dwelling on the fact that they aren't coming home. Sebastian thought about tonight and his stomach began to churn. The Hanks children had found some solace in daily routine and traditions. Every night, they gathered in the playroom in their pajamas while one of them, usually Makayla, read a story to the others. Sebastian usually watched from afar, sitting doing homework or thumbing through a magazine. He thought he was too old for stories and high/low; a game they played where they told each other about the best and worst things that happened that day. Makayla was the best at making her day seem like a tragedy or exaggerated tale. Playing on drama that well, Sebastian was sure she was going to be a huge movie star or a screenplay writer. This nightly ritual was never missed. Although it was rare, their favorite nights were when their mom and dad joined them. However, he was dreading tonight's game of high/low, where he would be forced to participate with the news about Christmas. They all expected his parents to be home in a couple of days, save Alice who had given him the letter the day before.

Sebastian quickly changed into jeans and a T-shirt. Grabbing his favorite baseball cap he headed down to the train room. It was there that he found Marshall meticulously setting up a Lionel replica of a 1940's steam train. Sebastian couldn't keep the trains straight in his mind but found it amusing to pick his brother's brain.

"Hey, buddy, how's it going?"

"This is my newest train. It just arrived yesterday. It is the Lionel model of the big boy, the largest steam train ever built. It has a real working steam stack and the passenger trains light up! Man, this one is cool. But what I really wanted to show you was this." Marshall pulled a sheet off a platform nearby. Sebastian burst out laughing, as there was an entirely new and complicated train layout before him. Marshall had constructed a town, tunnel, bridges, mountains, and everything else you could think to put in a train village.

"How long have you been working on this?" Sebastian marveled.

"Oh, just a couple of days. I found some old junk in the attic. It looks like there's a bunch of old trunks up there filled with Christmas stuff. See these skiers and ski lift? They were from an old Christmas village and I decided they'd be perfect. You wouldn't believe the junk up there. From all the dust on most of the stuff you would think no one has been up there for decades."

"How would you know about decades?" Sebastian teased.

"That's because I'm smart." Marshall shrugged, still looking down at his train. "I know stuff. It's simple, really. You just listen to what other people are talking about, and you learn stuff. For example, I learned today that Mom and Dad aren't coming home for Christmas." Marshall stopped what he was doing and looked at Sebastian with sad eyes. "Is it true? Are they not coming back in time?"

Sebastian sighed and sat down on the couch near the train layout. Marshall was always too smart for his own good. "Yes, buddy, it's true. But, hey, we'll all be together and Grandpa and Grandma Hanks are coming Christmas morning." Sebastian couldn't think of anything else to say to make his brother feel better.

"I figured something was up when this new train arrived." Marshall put down the engine and sat on the couch nearby. "I just wish they'd come home." Marshall crawled onto the empty seat next to Sebastian and hugged his knees to his chest. After a couple of minutes, Marshall looked at Sebastian. "That's why I asked you to come alone. I didn't want the others to know yet. When are you going to tell them?"

"Tonight, Marshall. I'm going to tell them tonight." Through the window Sebastian could see the front gate opening, and Makayla coming up the drive. His heart sank, knowing Makayla would take it the hardest of them all.
Chapter 3 The Attic

Makayla strolled into the house in a relatively good mood. She had just been at the mall with her best friend, Julia, and had found some great Christmas presents for her brothers. She had given the gifts to Marty at the gate so he could hide them until she could get them inside without anyone peeking. She loved shopping, finding it one of a few ways to be social without being forced into a room of shallow girls. She had never played with dolls, she didn't care about the coolest boy band on the music charts, and she had no idea about any of the shows on cable. Makayla loved to pretend, imagine and create on her own. She was usually making up plays with her younger brothers, except Marshall, who couldn't stop analyzing the plays and just go with the flow. She laughed, as she remembered one time when they played puppets and she was a purple dragon, sent to protect a princess in trouble. Marshall got upset because dragons don't talk; they just breathe fire. It was all literal, black and white for him. In that regard, she found it difficult to relate to him. However, Makayla was no dummy. She was top in her class, especially in math. She hadn't skipped any grades, like Marshall, but she was gifted when it came to numbers. This helped her and Marshall get along, and it became their common bond, providing something for them to do together.

Makayla looked around the foyer for any signs of life and found none. She shrugged her shoulders and hung up her coat and book bag. She started humming a Christmas carol, as shopping had really put her into the Christmas spirit, and she was a little surprised at how much she was looking forward to Christmas morning. She was very excited that her parents were coming home soon and had so much to tell them. She wanted to show them her class project, read to them her newest story and talk to her mom about getting braces. She frowned when she thought about the braces, not sure if she was excited or upset about the prospect. She thought about Sally Ann, a girl in her class, who kept coming back from the orthodontist with different colored bands on her clear brackets, making it look like food was stuck on her teeth. Makayla grimaced at the thought and decided that if she had to get braces, she would choose the normal, metal kind.

She raced up the stairs two at a time and skipped toward the playroom, where she peeked inside to see her brothers and Alice cleaning up.

"I'm home. I'm going to change and get ready for dinner."

Alice looked up from the building blocks she was placing inside the bins. "OK, that's fine. Sebastian is looking for you. How was the mall?"

"Oh, it was good. I found some good stuff that I want to show you later. Julia and her mom bought a ton of presents for Christmas, so I had to go into a lot of stores that were boring. But I got what I needed, so I guess it turned out all right."

"Well, we'll take a look later, when little eyes aren't around to see." Ethan perked up and swung his head from the computer screen. He had heard them talk about possible presents, and they now had his interest.

"What did you get me?" he inquired.

"Oh, so now you want to talk to me, huh?" Makayla teased.

"What? I was online in an intense battle of Warcraft. I couldn't just let the Horde overrun my homeland's castle. So, what did you get?"

"None of your beeswax, mister. I'll be right back. I gotta go change. Where's Sebastian anyways?"

"He's with Marshall in the train room."

"OK, I'll see you guys in a few."

Makayla headed to her room humming "Away in a Manger." Her room was painted a sunny yellow color with big, bright flowers all over the walls. She had a simple white canopy bed and a white writing desk, which she sat at often. She loved to write. Her favorite was poetry. She often wrote in her journal, finding it was a great way to release her feelings. Sometimes she wrote about school or friends, maybe even a boy she thought was cute. However, she mostly wrote about her brothers and the funny things they did, or day dreams she conjured up of the exotic places her parents were always running to. She had recently finished a short story about two famous archeologists in search of missing treasure. She had even drawn a cover for the book and had it bound for her parents' Christmas present.

Makayla threw on her favorite sweatpants and sweatshirt, along with some house slippers and pulled her long blonde hair into a ponytail. She loved to hang out at home in her comfy clothes, not the stuffy uniform she had to wear to Preston Middle School. She was in the middle of her 7th grade year and could hardly wait to be at Preston Senior High. She thought the kids in her class were boring and shortsighted, except for Julia who was her very best friend. Julia was the kind of friend who would listen to one of her poems any time of the day, or see a movie and then stay up past midnight talking about the acting and plot. Sebastian was her other best friend, but he was also her brother which sometimes put a strain on their friendship. Not to mention, he was a boy.

Makayla went to find Marshall and Sebastian, who were still, of course, in the train room. Before entering the world of Lionel, she peered inside unnoticed. Marshall and Sebastian hovered over what appeared to be a new layout. Marshall was explaining the differences between the two steam engines on the table and how they functioned. She smiled and was humored by her older brother's ability to pay attention to something as boring as train facts. But, she decided, maybe it was a boy thing.

"OK, guys, what's all this?" Makayla questioned, smirking at her brothers.

"Hey, Makayla, I was just showing Sebastian my new layout. Want to see it?"

"Maybe later, Marshall. Dinner is ready and we need to get downstairs before cook gets mad. She tends to put more veggies on the plates of those who are late."

Marshall scrunched up his nose, "Tell me about it. I hate vegetables. In fact, I hate most of what we're served."

"Well, you don't know good food when you see it. You're the pickiest eater I have ever known. A child who doesn't like spaghetti is just plain strange."

"Hey, who are you calling strange?" Marshall got up and sulked out of the room. He hated being teased, even the slightest bit. This irked Makayla, because he was always taking jabs at her.

"Go easy on him, will ya?" Sebastian demanded.

"Oh, you're just a big softy when it comes to him. He needs to toughen up a bit or he is going to be target practice for Stevie Myers. He is his age, you know. Plus, if he can give, he should take it."

Sebastian winced a bit, "Well, just consider yourself lucky there aren't any Myers in your class. Otherwise, it wouldn't be so funny."

Makayla let it go and turned to go to dinner.

Dinner was, well, dinner. Scotty sat in his seat and made a mess while talking the entire time, Julian laughed and played with his food, Marshall fought with the cook about every bite, Ethan was quiet and kept to himself, Makayla talked to Alice the entire time about a new movie coming out and Sebastian stared off into space, managing to avoid any questions about his parents' return. When the dishes were cleared and dessert finished, Alice told the kids they had an hour to play before Sebastian led the story time. Makayla scowled a bit, but Alice ignored her. Alice excused herself and got ready to go out shopping.

"What are we going to play?" asked Julian, beaming up at Sebastian, who oddly found them staring at him. This was usually the time he made an escape to his room or out with Trevor and Brooke.

"How about Clue?" Sebastian suggested.

"That's boring," Marshall exclaimed. "What about constructing a suspension bridge out of Lincoln logs and Legos?"

"Well, genius, we don't have any idea how to do that and have no desire to learn," Makayla said laughing.

"I just want to play on the computer," Ethan protested.

"You have been on the computer all day. I think we should play sardines." Sebastian offered. Everyone agreed that would be fun, so Sebastian went over the rules, mainly to remind the little ones how not to cheat.

"OK, one person goes to hide and the rest have to find him. When you find him, you are supposed to hide with him, until there is only one person left searching. The last person to find the group is the first person to hide the next round. Julian and Scotty will search together. Who wants to hide first?"

"I will. I think I found the perfect spot the other day," Makayla said, beaming.

"OK, we will count to 50 and then come looking for you," Sebastian said, shooing her out of the room.

Makayla took off running as soon as she heard her brothers starting to count. She had remembered finding a nook that was really hard to see in the back of the attic, when she was up there a few days ago, searching for costumes. Scotty and Julian had wanted to play pirates, and Makayla remembered some costume jewelry her parents had brought back from London a few years ago. It had made great treasure for their pirate adventure.

Makayla reached the door to the attic and bounded up the stairs, two at a time, heading straight toward the back of the room. She had to slow down, when she noticed that things were rearranged from when she was there the other day. "It's probably Marshall, digging up stuff for his train layout," she thought. Her thoughts were pulled back to the game when she noticed the nook. Making her way through a pile of boxes, she stopped when something caught her eye. There lying in the middle of the nook was a trunk. It wasn't an ordinary trunk. This was an oval-shaped trunk that was longer than it was deep; it was yellow and had flowers painted all over it. In fact, it reminded her of her room. When she got closer, she could see that there were initials etched in gold on the front. There wasn't a handle, nor were there any locks. Makayla didn't remember ever seeing this trunk and was pretty sure it wasn't there the other day. Grabbing the boxes of junk that were in front of her, she pushed them to the side, so she could get into the nook. There were cobwebs everywhere, and she swatted them down from all around her.

"Man, this attic is gross. It seems like no one has been up here in years," she muttered to herself. She decided to pull the yellow trunk in front of her, trying to make it harder for her brothers to see her in the dim attic light. The trunk was covered in dust and was a little tattered on the edges, as if it had been dropped a few times along the road. "Well, this is disgusting," she thought. She blew the dust off and brushed the trunk with her hands. Suddenly forgetting about the game, she tipped the trunk up so it was in better light and read the initials inscribed in front. "MDH. Those are my initials," she thought. She reached down to open the trunk, when...

"Ah, ha, I found you!" Ethan shouted.

Makayla let out a scream. "You scared me half to death!"

"What are you doing?" Ethan questioned, peering over the top of the trunk.

"Look, I found this sitting here. I was just up here the other day getting play jewelry out, and I swear it wasn't up here then. I remember because I looked at this nook and decided it was a great hiding spot for when I wanted to write. But look, it has the same initials as my name etched in gold."

"I found you guys!" Marshall exclaimed bounding up the stairs.

"Hey, Marshall, come check out this trunk Makayla found. It has her initials on it."

"What? Let me see!" Marshall went over to where they were sitting, knocking down cobwebs as he went. "Cool. Wait a minute. I was just up here yesterday digging out things for my layout. I don't remember that being there."

"Yeah, that is what I was telling Ethan. It wasn't here a few days ago, when I was up here."

They heard the door open to the attic and knew the rest were coming up to find them. Sebastian, Julian and Scotty came running up the stairs. "I couldn't get them to stop following me," Sebastian exclaimed. He turned to Julian and Scotty. "You aren't supposed to look for them with me. You are supposed to search by yourselves." Julian just laughed and Scotty tackled his leg. Sebastian shrugged his shoulders. "It's hopeless. They'll never play right." Sebastian noticed the three of them huddled over something. "Hey, what are you three staring at over there?"

"Look at this trunk, Sebastian. I was just up here a couple of days ago, and I don't remember seeing it. Marshall says it wasn't up here when he got his stuff for the train layout yesterday. And, look, it has my initials etched on the front. What do you think it could be?" Makayla asked, looking at her older brother.

"Well, why don't you open it and find out?" Sebastian said, his curiosity rising.

"Do you think I should? Maybe it's something for Christmas and I wasn't supposed to see it. Maybe Mom and Dad had it made and sent home early."

Sebastian sighed, remembering that the letter said lots of "fun" things were being sent home for Christmas morning. This could be one of Makayla's presents, and he didn't want to ruin the surprise. But, then again, it had a thick layer of dust covering most of it, which made him doubt it was a special Christmas present.

Ethan perked up, hearing Makayla's mention of Mom and Dad. "Yeah, when are they coming back anyways?"

Sebastian sat down on a box next to him and pulled out the letter. He looked up and saw Marshall looking down at the floor, digging his foot into the scuffed wood of the attic. Sebastian thought he might as well read them the letter now, since they were all together and wondering about Mom and Dad.

"Well, I was hoping to read this to you tonight during High/Low, but I guess now is as good a time as any." He breathed out slowly and began by saying, "Mom and Dad aren't going to make it home, again, this Christmas. Alice gave me this note yesterday, and it says that they've come across a possible site of priceless artifacts. They felt it was important enough to miss the holidays. Grandma and Grandpa Hanks have promised to come Christmas morning, but Mom and Dad won't be home for a while." Sebastian unfolded the letter and read it to them. When he was finished he looked up. No one returned his gaze. Everyone, including Scotty, had gotten quiet and was staring down trying not to catch the others eyes'. Makayla was sniffling, Ethan was drawing in the dust that covered the unopened trunk, and Marshall, now sitting, had begun rocking back and forth with his knees pulled to his chest. Finally, the silence broke when Scotty started to cry and crawled into Sebastian's lap.

"I knew this would happen." Makayla blurted out. "Everything was going too smoothly. That all this holiday cheer that you and the house staff have had for the last three weeks was just false hope for a normal Christmas. I hate Christmas and I hate the joy it represents! What could be more important than spending Christmas with us?"

"Back off, Makayla. I wasn't running around here pretending to be happy just to make you believe a lie. I thought they were coming home too. I thought this year would be different. I was wanted the same thing as you. I thought it would be different. So, just back off and don't you dare blame me for this."

Sebastian took a deep breath as he realized he was unfairly putting his frustrations on his sister. When he looked down, Scotty was looking up at him with a big tear was rolling down his cheek.

"I don't like it any more than everybody else. What we need is something to take our minds off it. Come on, guys, let's go down and get ready for bed."

"Wait, I want to see what's inside that trunk!" Marshall had stopped rocking and was now looking curiously at the mysterious trunk.

"Yeah, let's see what's inside," Julian piped up.

Sebastian sighed. Why not? It's probably some old junk somebody left up here. Maybe it would be stuff they could find a use for tomorrow. It would help them get their minds off everything else.

"Sure, why not?" he answered. "Makayla, you found the trunk; why don't you open it?"

Makayla wiped her eyes on her shirt sleeves and brushed her hands on her pants. She walked over to the trunk and sat in front of it. Brushing off the rest of the dust, she blew the last bit toward Sebastian's face for snapping at her. She tilted the trunk, so that moonlight coming through the window allowed her to better see the trunk's clasp. Comfortably situated, she opened the trunk and started to shuffle through its contents.

All of a sudden, she gasped, "What in the world, how can this be?"
Chapter 4 The Box

"What's in there? Come on, Makayla, let us see!" Marshall was almost on top of her with curiosity.

"Get off me, Marshall. I don't know what all this is, but it's about me. Look, here is a picture of me at some fancy banquet accepting some kind of award. And, here is another picture of me with children sitting all around me. I only know it's me, because my name is mentioned under the photos. But, there's no date on the papers. Sebastian, look at this. I must be over 30 years old!"

"What are you talking about?" Sebastian went over to look at the photos, when he tripped over another trunk. Julian happened to be sitting right there, so Sebastian thought he must have pushed it in front of him, because he would have sworn it wasn't there a second ago.

"Julian, are you trying to kill me? Why did you push that trunk in front of me?"

"I didn't do it! I was sitting here the whole time!" Julian pleaded.

"Well, where did that trunk come from?" Sebastian questioned.

Marshall walked over to the new trunk and brushed the dust off it. This trunk was similar in shape to the yellow one, but it was painted with brown, green and tan camouflage.

"Sebastian, you need to check this out. Look there are initials on the front of this one too. But this one has a lock." Marshall tried to open the lid to the trunk. "It won't budge." He tilted the trunk on its end, so he could have better light. "This one has gold etching too. The initials are SJH."

"SJH? Wait, Scotty James Hanks. Those are Scotty's initials. There must be some old relatives with the same initials as Makayla and Scotty," Sebastian murmured.

Marshall got a curious look on his face and wandered off to the other side of the attic. Sebastian walked over to Makayla, where Ethan had joined her in searching through the trunk. He picked up the photos she had set down and started looking them over.

"What is this?" Ethan had pulled a small gold box out of the trunk. It was the size of a small girl's jewelry box. The entire box was intricately engraved. The top was covered with a crest of some sort bearing a picture of a lion holding a shield and spear. There were streaks coming out of his body, fading out to the edges of the lid. On the sides, there were small knights holding swords and leaping over flames on horseback. It was the most beautiful, but strangest box Ethan had ever seen. It was very heavy, and he figured it was probably made of gold, although he really had no idea how to tell. He tried to open it but couldn't. He looked on the front for a place to put a key but found none. He turned the box over and examined the bottom. There were more carvings of knights, and he noticed a small hole in one of the shields. It was hardly noticeable, but it was there.

"That's weird," Ethan muttered.

"What's weird?" Makayla asked.

"This box I was trying to show you. It's locked, but there isn't a place for a key. There's only this tiny hole in the bottom. There's no way that would fit a key."

"You're right. That couldn't be for a key. I wonder what this box is for. It's really weird looking."

Sebastian set down the photos with a frightened look on his face. "So, what do you think all this stuff could be?" He looked at Makayla. "I mean, how can photos and articles of your future be here, let alone in some old, dusty trunk as if it sat here for 50 years?"

"I don't know," Makayla whispered. "I've never seen it up here before, and I don't know how anyone could have put it up here without any of us knowing about it."

"I think we need to pack all this back up and get downstairs. It's creeping me out." Sebastian started to pack up the photos and other nostalgia they had pulled out of the trunk.

"Um, Sebastian, you need to see this." Marshall's voice came from the other side of the attic. He came out of the shadows, face white and eyes wide.

"Marshall, what happened? What's going on?" Sebastian was starting to get freaked out.

"I've found trunks for you, me and Julian, or at least three trunks that have our initials on the front. The only person I haven't found a trunk for is Ethan." Marshall started to pull a trunk out from behind him.

"Look," he pointed, "the initials SDH are etched here in gold. Sebastian Dean Hanks."

"OK, that's it." Sebastian couldn't get out of there fast enough. "Everyone downstairs now!"

"Oh, come on, Sebastian. It's not like some ghost put these up here. It's just got to be a coincidence. Maybe I'm named after some long-lost relative who just happened to look like me." Makayla wasn't ready to stop digging through her trunk.

"Look at the pictures, Makayla. There is no doubt that's you! Besides, the people in the photos aren't dressed right to be some long-lost relative. Plus, the captions all say 'Makayla Hanks.' There is no way this is a coincidence. Now, pack up the trunk and let's get out of here."

"Hey, guys, what's this?" Ethan was holding up a piece of paper.

"Ethan, will you stop finding more stuff in there? Just leave it be!" Sebastian was desperate to get them all downstairs where familiar surroundings could help him think clearly. He had a feeling that there was more in this attic than they could see.

"Look, it's some kind of map," Ethan said after examining the paper closer.

"Let me see that," Makayla said snatching the paper out of his hand.

"Watch it, Makayla! You're going to rip it. Besides I had it first!"

"Oh, grow up. Look, it's obviously a map from our town to somewhere in Massachusetts. Somewhere inside of Boston," Makayla said, pointing to the paper.

Sebastian sighed, walked over to Scotty and picked him up. "Talk about it all you want. But will you please do it downstairs? Come on, Julian, let's go get ready for bed."

"But I want to stay up here!" Julian started to whine.

"Come on, everyone, we are going downstairs now!" Sebastian was starting to lose his temper. He couldn't say why, but he thought he would suffocate if he had to be in the attic one more second.

They all started to get up and walk toward the stairs, when they heard Marshall shout, "Of course!"

"What now, Marshall?" Sebastian asked, turning toward the other side of the attic.

"The missing trunk! It must be one of the ones I drug downstairs for my layout. I wonder why I didn't notice all these other trunks then?" Marshall bolted toward the stairs.

"Wait, Marshall, slow down. We will all go get ready for bed, and then see if the missing trunk is in the train room," Sebastian insisted.

"Fine. But I am going to check it out before anything else."

"Whatever," Sebastian said, giving in.

Lurking in the shadows in the hallway downstairs, Alice stepped into one of the bedrooms, so she would not be seen.

#  Chapter 5 The First Protector

#

### June-Ten years earlier

His feet hit the stone floor with such force, a burst of pain shot up his calf and into his thigh. He reached down and massaged his burning legs for a moment, rubbing out the pain until he felt normal again. He stood up straight and stretched, arching his back, hoping to get his aging bones to comply with his demands. He wasn't young anymore, and he had a hard time reminding himself that he was not the fighter he used to be. He had lived his glory days and earned his rank the hard way. Battle was not a stranger to him, and he didn't flinch anymore at the thought of conflict. In fact, he had a hard time not wishing for the enemy to attack, giving him an excuse for a fight. This was his burden to bear. He would live in battle every day if the choice was his to make. But the King's will for peace far outweighed his own desire for battle, so he must find a way to be content without war. The King believed a time would come when there would never be need for battle. However, he found himself a little disappointed in the possibility. For now, he had been resolved to be glad for any chance to bring harm to the members of the Sepulchre, Armistoria's enemy that threatened to harm his home and people. A frustrated smile spread across his lips, as he thought of the years that he had been hunting the Sepulchre's leader, Asheron, and the countless battles that had given him his reputation but not the victory he had dreamed about for so long.

He stepped forward and felt the uneven stone floor, as the chill in the room worked its way through him. It was very dark here and he hadn't thought to bring a light of any kind. He fumbled in his pockets, remembering the phone that had been given to him. The people of this world would think it was a cell phone, and it did function as a normal cell phone, but only he knew the power it possessed and the instructions for its use, which had been given to him as he left. He pulled out the phone and flipped it open. A stream of blue light came out and wrapped around the room, making it possible for him to see for the first time since he landed. He let his eyes adjust to the new light and saw that he was standing in a small circular room. The walls were a smooth, shiny black with specks of gold and silver, reminding him of the diamonds in the lady's hair. On the circular walls were seven niches that were about five feet tall and two feet deep. They each held a shelf near the bottom, looking as though they were waiting for something to display. He walked over to the first niche, where something metallic was flashing and gleaming in the blue light. He held it up for a moment and studied the unfamiliar object. It was shaped like a horseshoe, but in the bottom of the "u" was a very skinny and short rod pointing to the top. He put it down, not sure what to make of it, and shrugged his shoulders. He had been warned about this room and knew not to mess with anything. He figured he'd be back when it was all said and done and could worry about it later. He turned to see the only entrance and exit was a large spiral staircase that appeared to be cut out of the stone wall behind him. Just as he was about to ascend the staircase, something caught his eye. On the wall, between the two niches closest to him, was an engraving. He walked over and ran his hands over the picture. It was a large shield with two swords crossed behind it. On the shield was a picture of a cup with a crest on it. The cup didn't seem that spectacular to him, as he had seen some magnificent cups in the King's castle, but the crest was the same as on the city gates of his home, Armistoria. He walked over to the next niche and noticed another shield engraved into the wall. In fact, there was one between each niche, seven in all. All the shields had pictures of differing objects, each bearing the King's crest. He sighed, knowing he was losing time, but fascinated with this room. He would have to make a point to come back sooner than he planned. He turned and started to ascend the staircase, the continued upward for quite a distance. When he reached the top, he came to a door made out of hard earth. He pushed on it, trying to pry open the edges that seemed to have been sealed for centuries. The door finally opened, revealing a small hill. He stepped out and pushed the door shut, amazed as it blended with the browning grass covering the large mound of earth. He turned around and saw that the hill opened out to an empty lot in the middle of what appeared to be a busy part of a major city. He ran through his debriefing and remembered he had been told the name of this place was Boston. He pulled a small envelope out of the modest pouch around his waist. He had a map to the train station and had instructions on how to get the right train, not fully understanding what a train really looked like, heading toward upstate New York. He had been in training for many months and was suddenly grateful for the tips and techniques on how to blend in with this world. His teachers had pulled many books from the library of histories and taught him how they dressed, talked, walked, ate, what their homes were like and anything else they could think of to help with the shock he was likely to undergo. He was the first person from Armistoria to make this journey and had been willing to be the test pilot. No one had ever dared to time travel, fearing the implications it had on their lives. But the King decreed the time of the prophecies had come, and for the room of transition to be put into use once more. He was told, by the King, the room had been used in the past, but it was so long ago that the history of it had been lost to his people. The King, being eternal, had lived the histories himself, but in his wisdom did not share the knowledge of time travel with the generations that followed. In fact, he had shared the knowledge of the room with Armistoria's council members only one year ago. Tildon thought about being the first one through and chuckled at how much commotion was made over what now proved to be a simple journey. He figured the council wouldn't believe him when he got back, not wanting the travel back into time to be such a simple matter after all their work and speculating. He sighed, knowing this mission was his chance to escape becoming stuck in one of the teaching compounds for new soldiers, as his fighting days were coming to an end. He shuddered at the thought of only being able to simulate a fight for the rest of his life. The thought of never being able to come face to face with his enemy frustrated him so much that he could feel the burn of anger on the back of his tongue. He pushed the thought aside, knowing it wouldn't do him any good to get worked up.

He pulled the map out of the pouch, studying it for just a moment. His stomach growled, reminding him of the money they had given him from the antique reserves. He reached in his pouched once more and clenched his hand over the strange green bills. He would need to start walking in search of food. He looked toward the street, watching the boxes that were moving at a rapid pace up and down a black strip of ground. These must be cars, he thought quickly. Now, what was the black surface called? Roads, he reminded himself, silently swearing at for forgetting such a simple fact so soon. He looked on the sidewalks, just slightly higher than the roads, and saw people walking hurriedly, colliding into each other as they pushed their way through the crowd. He studied the people for a moment to see if his training was adequate to make him not stand out in this suspicious world. He noticed that, as they passed, no one was talking to one another or even looking at each other. His teachers had been right. These people were very consumed with themselves and didn't have the time for others. He was shocked at the sheer number of them, forcing himself to make a conscious effort to keep his mouth from falling open in awe. At home, everyone made an extra effort to greet a stranger in passing, and it was required to help them if they were in need. He smiled, thinking he might like the ways of these people better. He found himself annoyed at the formality of Armistoria and silently wished people there would ignore him on the trekking paths and let him go on his way. It was a nuisance, especially when he was off to battle, when he had to stop to greet each stranger who passed. Foolish, he thought, as the growl of his stomach pulled him away from his thoughts, forcing him to the reality of finding food.

Stepping onto the gray sidewalk, he went over the objectives of his mission, the importance of his charge. He had been given the very highest honor of being the first protector of the children of the prophecies. The King had entrusted him with the duty of making sure they were safe. He sighed, not sure how he was going to be with six children. He had never had any of his own and his nieces and nephews only liked him because he was a war hero. He figured he would just have to improvise as he went along.

Looking up, he saw a woman approaching him. She was the first person who had looked directly at him, in this less-than-friendly new world, which made him question her approach. She was tall and dark skinned. She had long dark hair that was matted into what looked like messy ropes all over her head. She wore a black trench coat and tall black boots that were so tight; they emphasized the muscular build of her legs. Her eyes were just as black and danced as she moved with unusual gracefulness. She stood out from the rest of the people occupying this crowded space, making him immediately suspicious of her. Her face lit up in recognition as she met his eyes. Did he know her? He raced through memories of countless assignments, numerous missions and couldn't recall where he could have met her. Besides, he was the first one through, right? She was walking toward him, which made him wary, and he readied himself for a possible assault.

"Hello, greetings to you." She smiled, grabbing his shoulders and kissing him on each cheek.

He stiffened, wondering how she knew the greeting for strangers used in Armistoria.

"Hello, greetings to you too," he responded. He continued the ritual of his people, "All is well with you?"

She smiled, clearly excited about his response. "All is well. All is well with you, my friend?"

"All is well," he replied. "May I inquire your name, my lady?"

"Angelica," she said, eyes dancing with intrigue.

"Angelica, it is my greatest honor to meet you. I am James Tildon." He placed both of his hands over hers. Angelica smiled and led him to a small diner across the street. Tildon followed, figuring he could question this strange woman who knew the ways of his world. She must have something to do with his mission. How else would she know how to greet him? Tildon figured she was sent from the King. Tildon willingly followed this mysterious woman when he smelled something strangely delicious; he was anxious for something to eat and to begin this new chapter of his life.

#  Chapter 6 The Note

### December 20-Present Time

The kids woke up the next morning to find a fresh blanket of snow on the ground. The winter winds were gusty that morning, enough to rattle the old windows of the house with each blast that slammed the historic mansion. The sun was nowhere to be found, and when you looked outside you saw the sure sign of another long and cold northeastern winter. Drifts of snow had piled up against the fence that outlined the perimeter of the Hanks' property. The branches on the trees seemed to sag a little deeper with their freshly laid blanket of glittering flakes. It was like looking at a painting from the museums, a place that only imagination could create and no human could ever enter.

The Hanks' property sat on the higher end of Giles street, overlooking the small town. From Marshall's window, you could see Preston Preparatory, the old church in the town square and the park that the kids loved to go to during summer break.

Marshall sat watching the snow putter down from the gray sky and decided that it was time to get dressed. Alice had not poked her head in yet this morning, which was not too unusual, but Marshall decided that he wanted to find her and talk to her about his new layout. He wasn't going to tell her about the previous night, when he realized that one of the trunks he had dragged to his train room was part of the mysterious collection from the attic. It was engraved with the initials of his brother, Ethan, and was, just like the other trunks, locked. Makayla's had been the only one open.

Marshall had been up all night thinking about the trunks and why there would be six trunks, one with each of their initials, and who would have left them up there. The only reasonable conclusion he could make was that his parents had been leaving them up there and were collecting them for some reason. However, that still didn't explain the clippings in Makayla's trunk that were dated far into the future. He reasoned that hers was only unlocked because his parents had been putting something into her trunk last and forgot to lock it before they left for their current expedition. But after revisiting the attic alone last night, there was a more perplexing discovery.

Throwing on a pair of old jeans and a sweatshirt, he put on his slippers and went into the hall. He could hear fighting coming from the kitchen and raced down the stairs to join in the commotion. Although he was very intelligent for his age, there was nothing he enjoyed better than egging on his brothers and sister.

When he reached the kitchen, he saw Alice sitting in her usual spot, next to Makayla and Sebastian, glancing over the paper. He frowned; he was obviously too late for the fight. He sighed as he considered that he was almost always the loser with those two anyways. The other kids didn't seem to be up yet, so Marshall took his normal seat and reached for the box of cereal on the table.

"Good Morning, Sherlock," smirked Makayla, giving him a wink while she said it.

"Yeah, whatever," Marshall said. "What's all the commotion about? I heard fighting while I was coming downstairs."

Sebastian shot him a look and Makayla rolled her eyes over to Alice, who was engrossed in her morning paper.

"Nothing that matters," Sebastian said with a look of warning.

"Oh, I see." He decided to quickly change the subject. "Alice, could I get you to help me take one of the trunks I was using for my layout back up to the attic?"

Makayla and Sebastian quickly looked at each other and then at him. Alice put down her paper, obviously annoyed at the request.

"Marshall, we just brought those down a couple days ago. Those things weighed a ton! Are you sure you're already done with it?"

"Well, I've decided to move my layout to the floor to see if I can build a ramp system for the different engines to travel up and down. It was something I saw in my latest Lionel magazine. It looked really hard."

Alice sighed. "I guess. But I am not bringing it back down once it goes back upstairs. Got it?"

"Yep," Marshall said with a smile on his face. He shoved down the rest of his cereal. "I'll go clear all the stuff off the trunk. I want to get started right away." Marshall glanced over at Alice and saw that she was already absorbed in her paper again. He looked at Makayla and Sebastian who were staring at him, eyes wide, when he motioned with his head for them to follow him. The three quickly excused themselves and ran out of the room, taking their dishes into the kitchen.

Alice put her paper down and watched them go. She glanced at her watch, folding up her paper and laying it down on the table. She quickly scanned the room to make sure no one was watching, and decided it was time to go.

Alice had come to the Hanks family only three years ago, when their other nanny had decided to return home to care for an ill relative. She had found the Hanks in what they all thought to be sheer dumb luck. Alice was walking a dog outside Preston Prep when she ran into Sebastian and his friends. Sebastian asked about the dog, and Alice said she was housesitting for a family who were out of town. They started talking about the town, Alice only giving vague answers about herself and where she was from. A couple weeks later, she ran into Sebastian and his friends at the Java Board. She smiled at them, noticing Sebastian blush, and asked if she could sit down with them. Alice chuckled inside when Sebastian's friend, Trevor, seemed to be eager to have her company. Most people were taken by Alice's natural beauty, but Alice thought of herself as simple and plain. She made small talk, inquiring about the people, the local hangout, and any other big scoop about Ithaca. Brooke began to poke around with a few questions about her background, making Alice squirm in the process. She told them she was new there, having just finished up traveling through Europe and Asia. She said she was looking for a job, especially one that dealt with children. Sebastian told her about the new nanny position and the rest was history.

Alice was always a bit of a mystery to the Hanks children, but not enough to cause them to question her about her past; they didn't think to inquire about her home or family. Occasionally, she would refer to a few friends or her mother, but she never went beyond a small suggestion that they existed. She had provided the Hanks with her own background check, and they never thought to push her about where it was she came from. No one in Ithaca really knew much about Alice, but it seemed she liked it better that way. Once, while at the park, Makayla was asking Alice about girl issues and wanted to know what her mom had taught her. But nothing more was usually mentioned about family or past when it came to their nanny. She just lived in the guest house in the back of the property, was always there when needed, never complained about anything and seemed to love her job. The kids took to her right away, knowing she was just what they wanted. Sebastian occasionally thought he'd catch her snooping around the children's bedrooms or thought he would see her in the shadows when they were having secret conversations. But he had decided it was just his imagination getting carried away. After all, she was the best nanny they'd ever had, and he wasn't going to let his mind make up stories to ruin that.

Alice made her way to the back of the property, making sure no one was following her. With one last glance toward the house, she ducked onto the wooded path, listening to the eerie howl of the wind whipping through the thick cluster of branches above her. The cold seeped through her fleece jacket, making her suddenly wish she had put on another layer. The snow crunched beneath her boots with each step, leaving fresh footprints to where she was going. Looking down at the exposed trail, she grunted under her breath. There was nothing she could do about it, and she was sure no one was following her. In the three years of working for the Hanks no one had ever caught her, and she didn't think they would today. She had prepared a pocket full of alibis in case of being found out. Today she decided the excuse she'd use was that she was gathering items to make snow people with Julian and Scotty. Something they loved to do when it snowed. She made the last turn and started down a small hill that opened into the same meadow she visited weekly. Glancing around, she pulled a small golden box out her satchel and turned the key, causing it to open. A couple seconds later familiar blue light burst into the meadow releasing the magic hidden within. She walked to the middle of the clearing and looked up at the sky with her arms spread wide. Whispering, so that no one could hear her, "My lady, all is safe and well." In that moment, the conditions of the forest around her began to slip away. Snow gave way to grass, trees turned thick with leaves, and flowers appeared in full bloom. Alice closed her eyes and smiled, taking in the smells and beauty so familiar to her.

A woman in front of her began to take form from the haze deep within the light. She was tall and the most beautiful looking creature anyone could ever lay eyes on. Her hair was a thick mane of golden blonde, flowing down to her waist and being blown by winds that were unfelt anywhere else in the meadow. The gold in her hair glistened whenever the strands were blown in the light, like metal reflecting the sun, casting a brief, but blinding, spark to anyone watching. There were tiny diamonds embedded throughout the thick billowing trusses of hair, creating rainbows of light that chased the gold sparks radiating off her head. The same diamonds also adorned the length of her slender neck, continuing onto the white gown that caressed her soft silhouette. All this gave her the illusion of a fairy creature in the midst of an inexpressible dream. She wore a silver crown that rose majestically above her slender figure. In the middle was a large lion etched in gold, looking like a powerful beast ready to snatch anyone who posed a threat to this magnificent woman. Her skin was creamy, like toffee, and her expression radiated peace and love. She appeared to be very young, but one could tell by the haunting look in her eyes that she had seen much and was, in turn, very wise.

"News, Alice?"

"Yes, my lady. They found the trunks, just like you planned."

"Good. Have they found the box?"

"I'm not sure. They are up there now trying to make sense of it all. Is there anything I should do to make sure they find the map?"

"No, you must not let them know you are watching, for it would jeopardize our plans. Make sure you follow them closely, and let me know when they set out on their journey."

"Yes, my lady."

"You have done well, Alice. You are a warrior for the King, and He is grateful for your service. Now, go, and make sure that the wheels are set in motion, for what we have been waiting for all these years is about to begin. Be safe and make sure those children find all that is necessary for the journey ahead."

"Yes, my lady. I will call again two days from now."

Instantly, the lady was gone, the box closed, and the clearing returned to normal. Alice listened for a moment, making sure no one was approaching. The only thing she could hear was the rustling of a bird landing on a nearby tree. Alice stood in the snow, thinking about her duty to the children and to the King. She sighed, making her way back to the house, knowing that after today, things would never be the same.

Back in the house, Marshall, Sebastian and Makayla were up in the attic, looking over several pieces of paper Marshall was holding up.

"Look, guys, I couldn't sleep at all last night. Something was bugging me about what I saw yesterday, but I couldn't figure it out. So, I snuck up here while everyone was asleep, wanting another look in the trunk. I didn't find anything new with the mysterious box, but I did find this."

Marshall pulled the trunk open and reached for the inside of the lid. He carefully pulled back a corner of the fabric where the glue had been seemingly tampered with a long time ago. A piece of paper was hidden there and had something neatly written on it. He read it out loud. "The jewelry box is the answer to the trunks' mysteries."

"That's it? How are we supposed to get anything out of that?" Makayla gawked.

"I wonder what it means." Sebastian sighed. "How are we supposed to be able to figure out the mystery? Besides, the jewelry box is locked. There is no way of getting it open."

Marshall sat down with the note, holding it up to a newspaper article he found in the trunk. The article was a picture of Makayla at her college graduation and on it was written, "Purdue University, with best friend, Julia."

"Look! I noticed this last night."

"What did you find, Marshall?" Makayla scooted over to him to peer at the two pieces of paper.

Marshall held them out for the two of them to see. "Look, the handwriting is the same. Whoever wrote the note on this article also wrote the message about the jewelry box." Marshall looked up at Makayla and glanced down at her hands. "Makayla, write something down and we'll see if it's your handwriting."

"I don't have a pen!" Makayla said, mesmerized by the two pieces of paper. "But it looks like mine, only a little nicer. Hold on, I'll go grab a pen." Makayla raced down the stairs, making enough noise to wake the entire house.

"Be quiet!" Sebastian called out after her.

"Sorry!" Makayla whispered harshly, as she left for her room.

"This just gets weirder and weirder by the minute," Sebastian groaned, turning toward Marshall. "I don't know if I want to keep looking in this trunk. Marshall, are you listening to me or what?" Sebastian shot him an annoyed look.

Marshall was digging in the trunk again and looked up at his brother only to roll his eyes. Sebastian knew Marshall thought this was the best thing that had happened to them in a long time. He had overheard him say to Julian, "Finally, something for them to be excited about, really excited!" Sebastian still wasn't sure what to make of it all.

He knelt down to help Marshall sort through the contents until Makayla got back.

Marshall looked up at him. "Look at all this stuff. There are loads of old photos and newspaper clippings. They look old, but the dates on them are in the future."

Marshall grabbed a white corner, sticking out from under the stack of papers. "Hey! An envelope! I wonder what's inside?" Marshall handed Sebastian the envelope.

Sebastian opened it and some photographs of children slid out into his hands. They were black and white pictures of kids at a park, kids in classrooms, and some children with their parents. The pictures looked old, like some he'd seen at his grandpa's house.

"Don't you think it's really weird that everything in here has to do with children? I mean almost every article is about how Makayla's fighting for something to do with education and kids.

"Well, it sounds like her, that's for sure."

Marshall was hanging over the trunk when Makayla got back with her journal and pen.

"OK, well I guess I'll just write the same message as the note." Makayla began to write. When she was done, the three of them peered over her shoulder to compare the messages.

"Impossible!" Sebastian muttered under his breath.
Chapter 7 Secrets Revealed

After finding the match in handwriting, Sebastian piled the trunks into the corner of the attic, giving explicit instructions that nobody was to touch them. He made sure all the weird artifacts, if that's what you call something from the future, were tucked tightly inside Makayla's trunk. Then he made certain it was on the bottom of the pile so the others wouldn't be tempted to sneak up to rummage through it when he wasn't paying attention.

That evening, the children began getting ready for Christmas and the arrival of their grandparents. The night was spent getting their enormous front room, what their parents called the parlor, decorated for Christmas using the decorations that were stored in the other attic above the garage. The parlor was an enormous formal room on the west side of the house. The ceilings were tall, taller than ceilings in most homes that age, and windows surrounded the main wall, making it very bright in the afternoon hours. Some of the windows were decorated with stained-glass panes at the top, but all of them had huge red velvet drapes that hung on either side. There was a large fireplace on the North wall, above which hung a portrait of Jerold and Beth Hanks. Pictures of the children were showcased on the mantel, ranging from Sebastian as a baby to Scotty taking his first steps. Bookcases abounded in this room, showcasing the treasure of literary works Beth Hanks had spent years collecting. Most were found during her travels. She had come across some really lucky finds. Mrs. Hanks' favorite find was a first-edition signed copy of Charles Dickens, _Great Expectations_. But most of the books were common ones their parents read at home or young adult novels Makayla picked up at Book Rack Alley. Makayla often retreated to this room when she wanted to be alone. This was the one place in the large home where her brothers didn't go. They weren't into books and had no desire to sit in a boring room that didn't have a computer, television or stereo.

Sebastian was finishing up with the other children in the kitchen, making Christmas cookies and candy, when he went searching for Makayla. While he had long since outgrown the thrill of making cookies, he put on a good show for his brothers. This was one of many areas where he filled his father's absence. He often found himself doing things that most teenagers would abhor.

When he didn't find Makayla in her room, the next place he looked was in the parlor. She was sitting on the big chaise lounge, curled up under a blanket with a book. Sebastian leaned up against the wall and studied her for a minute. She was lost in another world, and he couldn't quite understand why she was always reading, writing or creating. He let out a big sigh to make his presence known.

"You know, you aren't as sneaky as you think. I knew you were standing there the whole time," Makayla said without so much as looking up from her book.

"Why aren't you with us in the kitchen? Lost your affection for sugar cookies and icing?" Sebastian said, smirking at his sister.

"I'm not in the mood."

Sebastian walked over to his sister and sat down. He leaned back and pulled the book from her hands.

"Hey, what did you do that for?" She shot him an annoyed look and started wrestling him for the book. Sebastian raised it just high enough for it to be out of her reach. She attempted to tackle him and when she was unsuccessful, she punched him in the gut, just hard enough for his hands to come down and grab his stomach. She snatched the book and retreated back to her corner on the chaise lounge.

"Humph. Jerk," she muttered under breath.

"What are you reading anyway?" Sebastian asked with a quizzical look.

"Oh, you wouldn't know or care."

"Try me," Sebastian said, making a bowing gesture, which further aggravated her.

"It's just a book all the girls at school are reading. OK?"

"What's the plot?"

Makayla slammed the book down on her lap and stared at her brother.

"Why don't you just get it over with? What do you want, Sebastian?"

Sebastian let out a defeated laugh, turning toward his sister. His face suddenly serious, he sat thinking about to best approach the subject based on her current mood.

"Makayla, you know that I don't want you up in that attic, right?"

"Yeah, so? I still don't know why you get to decide what I can and cannot do. I never got a note saying you were in charge."

Sebastian sighed. Sometimes girls could be so moody and difficult.  
"Well, I could've sworn I heard someone up there last night."

"Twasn't me, o big brother!" She looked at him with big eyes, batting her lids rapidly. Then she stuck her tongue out and went back to her book.

"Are you sure?" Sebastian wasn't ready to relent.

"Yes, I'm sure! Leave me alone."

Sebastian got up from the couch, letting Makayla brood in her bad temper. He knew she'd be back to her normal self by tonight and just shrugged her off. It was really eating at him that he had no clue who was messing around in the attic. Which one of them was up there going through the trunks? Which one was playing with all the stuff and sneaking around? He made a mental note to check it out later.

The Hanks children spent the next day shopping for each other and their family, exploring mysteriously wrapped presents as huge shipments of parcels arrived from their parents, and helping Alice get the guest house ready for their grandparents. With all the hustle, Sebastian had pushed the thought of checking on the attic to the back of his mind.

Christmas Eve came, and Ithaca seemed more magical than ever. Shoppers were roaming downtown with its classic window displays, lights, and a huge Christmas tree in the center of the commons. Carolers were hired to stand at random street corners downtown, luring potential shoppers and families to spend their evenings visiting coffee shops, small specialty stores, and the hub of retail in Ithaca. Sebastian was watching a group of singers, staring out the window of the Lincoln, waiting for the stoplight to turn green. They were all heading to the traditional Christmas Eve service at the small Lutheran church in town. This was something their parents insisted they do every year, even in spite of their absence, and Alice upheld their wishes with the strictest regularity. They pulled into the tiny parking lot, littered with small sedans. Alice turned into one of the last spots available, right in front of the small arched front entrance. The members of the congregation who were loitering outside stared at them, whispering amongst themselves as they parked. Sebastian had begged to take a more modest vehicle, but Alice seemed to have become partial to the new Lincoln. She rolled her eyes at him when he protested and, as always, she won the argument. He was afraid the new clothes from their parents would attract more unwanted attention. Of course, they weren't just outfits from the mall, but rather outlandish ensembles from top fashion stores from who knows where. Alice had made them wear their ridiculous outfits to church. All the attention was making Sebastian sick to his stomach, and he was hoping to find a pew in the back corner, hidden in the dark shadows of the dimly lit service.

The church was very small, not one of the new mega churches on the outskirts of town. It was very traditional in appearance, with old wooden pews on each side of the main aisle. Red carpet ran up the center of the sanctuary, stopping in front of the altar, which was a platform about two feet off the ground. Huge ornate stained-glass windows stood behind the large wooden podium, where the preacher sat, looking solemn and grave. If you looked closely at the windows, an entire story could be told from the pictures glazed onto the panes. Sebastian found himself staring at the stained-glass most of the service, imagining what their meaning was and the story they told. The Hanks children suffered through the service, following the cues of when to stand and sit, which was done more than Sebastian had hoped. During the sermon, he turned his head slightly and caught a sideways glance of his brothers. Ethan was fidgeting with his hands, turning them over and over on his lap; Scotty was asleep in Alice's lap, and Julian was doodling on the evening's program. Marshall seemed very intrigued by what the preacher was saying and was probably memorizing the entire sermon, working up questions for him later. Great, Sebastian thought. Now I'll have to be a theologian for him too. This reminded him of the Christmas when Marshall asked him about Santa Claus. Marshall wanted to know how Saint Nicholas could have been a real person but not have grown old and died. At the age of four, he had reasoned it out for himself that the idea of Santa was impossible. Sebastian was forced to tell him the truth, something that his parents should have been there to do themselves.

The service finally came to an end and the Hanks family filed out of the sanctuary and into their Lincoln, tired and ready to go home.

Alice, Makayla, and Sebastian carried the littler ones from the car to their beds, being careful not to wake them. They spent the next hour setting out presents from Santa, and filing the stockings full of candy and expensive trinkets. Finally, heading to their rooms, the three called it a night.

Sebastian, not able to fall asleep, logged onto his computer, checking his Facebook. There were a few messages from his mom, making sure everyone was OK and not too upset. His mom went on and on about all the presents that should be arriving. Sebastian figured she was trying to make up for breaking her promise. He sighed, sending back some generic replies that didn't go into too much detail, but told them the presents arrived just fine and everyone was doing well. He didn't want them to worry, even though he was still mad at them for not coming back. So, he tried to type about the others.

As he pushed the send button on his message, he heard something like big claws scraping the floor of the attic. Glancing at the ceiling, he tried to figure out the location of the sound. He clicked on the start button, telling his computer to go into hibernation mode. He wanted to make sure he heard the noise coming from above him and not from his computer. A few moments later the noise came again, but this time it was closer and faster. Sebastian stood up from his desk, hesitating, not sure what to do. He knew if he went back up to the attic, the others would follow and he would never get them to stay out of there until his parents returned. However, someone, or worse something, was up there and he couldn't just ignore it. They could all be in real danger. Sebastian took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair. He had been feeling very anxious since they discovered those trunks, like his life was on the verge of drastic change. Sebastian shook his head and told himself he was crazy, reading way into things. But then again, who of his friends could say they had trunks full of contents from their future? He stuck his head outside his door, glancing to make sure that the younger ones, especially Julian and Scotty, weren't up. Everyone had gone to sleep about an hour ago, but with those two, being "asleep" didn't mean they wouldn't come bounding out of their rooms to see what was going on. He quietly made his way to the attic door, when he heard someone clearing her throat in the hallway. Sebastian whirled around to see Makayla leaning against her doorframe with her arms crossed over her chest. She was scowling, and her eyes flashed a dark piercing look. He braced himself for the wrath that was about to come. However, Makayla held her stance and kept herself from coming unglued.

"So, you can ban us from going up there, but you aren't under the same rules?"

"I heard a noise. I think someone's up there, and I just want to make sure everything and everyone is safe."

Makayla came over to him, curiosity seeping out of every part of her body. Eyes round, she looked up at Sebastian. "What do you think you heard?"

"I was checking Facebook and I heard a scraping noise, like someone was moving the trunks."

"Oh." Makayla bit her lip, trying to keep in check her eagerness to run up there herself.

"Oh, come on. You can come with me. Nothing gets past you, does it?" Sebastian smirked.

"Nope. And I plan on keeping it that way. How else would I be in everybody's business?" Makayla now had a twinkle in her eye and beamed at her brother.

"Well, it's probably just my imagination or one of the staff getting something out for Christmas."

"Probably, even though most of the Christmas stuff is kept in the other attic." Sebastian could see a look in Makayla's eyes that told him that it was going to be more than some house staff looking for yet another wreath. He opened the door and grabbed one of the flashlights hanging next to the bottom of the stairs, not wanting to turn on the lights and alert Alice in the guesthouse. She had a habit of staying up late, watching the house. Sebastian first noticed a couple of months ago, when he went down to the kitchen to get something to drink in the middle of the night. He saw her looking out her window. She looked like she was in some kind of trance, an image Sebastian hadn't been able to forget. He flicked on the flashlight, shining it in front of him while climbing the stairs. He turned and motioned for his sister to follow. Makayla grabbed onto his arm and was close behind, curious but also suddenly afraid. They climbed up and peered around. Makayla gasped. They didn't see anyone, but there had definitely been someone up there. The trunks had all been put back into their original spots and the dust, that was all over them just a couple days ago, had been wiped off. Tiny sliver like rays were pouring in the windows from the moonlight, giving a spooky feel to the already creepy attic. The light shimmered, bouncing off the trunks, creating a spotlight effect on each of them. Sebastian took a deep breath, caught off guard at the unusual and impossible sight.

"Sebastian, what happened?" Makayla slowly made her way over to Marshall's trunk and brushed her fingers lightly across the lid. "These are spotless and they are right back where we found them." Her eyes were darting all over the attic.

Sebastian was frozen in his place. Obviously someone had been up here and was messing with him. But who? He was going to get to the bottom of this first thing tomorrow. Whichever one of those boys did this was going to be in big trouble. But as he thought about it, he couldn't imagine any of them having the strength to move the trunks all by themselves. Didn't Marshall just ask Alice for help moving only one of them, let alone all six? And Ethan, Julian and Scotty were not likely to have been able to do so. He also thought about the dust. He knew that none of his brothers would take the time to clean them off so meticulously. The more he thought about it, the more it wasn't adding up. He could feel his hands shaking and his stomach starting to churn. He knew it hadn't been any of them that had been up here doing this. But who? He shot a glance toward Makayla, suddenly panicked and ready to leave.

"I don't know, Makayla, but I don't like it. Let's leave it until tomorrow."

"Don't you think we should look around just to make sure everything is safe up here?"

Sebastian hesitated, but knew she was right. How could he not check the attic and make sure no one was still up here? "Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

Suddenly, they heard a muffled crying sound coming from the nook where Makayla's trunk was. Makayla shot Sebastian a confused looked, motioning for him to come over to where she was standing. He complied, slowly creeping over to Makayla, careful not to make a sound. He could feel himself breathing deeply and tried to steady his breaths. He knew he was overreacting, but who on earth was up here? He grabbed Makayla's arm, and they walked toward the nook, shining the flashlight into the dark corners where their eyes could only make out shadows and outlines of shapes that probably weren't even there. Sebastian blinked several times, trying not to let his eyes play tricks on him. The light caught a head of red hair. There cowering in the corner was Ethan, with wide shining eyes.

"Oh, Ethan, what do you think you are doing? Do you want us to have a heart attack before we even finish puberty?"

Ethan shot Makayla a dirty look and tried to fight the tears that were threatening to overflow from his eyes. He brushed away the one that did escape with the back of his hand. Sebastian noticed that he was holding the weird jewelry box they had found the other day. Suddenly, Sebastian was no longer anxious but furious. He scowled at his little brother in hopes of getting his message across without pouncing him.

"Ethan, didn't I tell you to stay out of here?"

"I know. But I heard some noises and came to check it out."

"What noises did you hear exactly? And why on earth did you move the trunks and clean everything?"

Ethan looked at his sister, clearly confused, and then shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't!"

Makayla smirked, "Yeah, right!"

"Really, I didn't do it! When I got up here, it was all changed around and the trunks had been cleaned. I was thinking about this box and wanted to check something out again. When I heard the noise, I thought maybe you guys were up here. So, I decided to come up. When you weren't here I went ahead and got the jewelry box."

"So then why are you crying?" Makayla clearly didn't buy his story. She stood there, arms folded, impatiently waiting for his reply.

Sebastian decided he would give his brother the benefit of the doubt. "Makayla back off. Give him a chance to tell us what he wants to say."

Ethan nodded at his brother and held up the jewelry box. "Well, when I was looking at this the other day, I was just checking out the cool knights on the outside. I had noticed this small hole on the bottom, but figured it was for a weird key that opens it. But then, the other night when I was lying in bed, I remembered seeing small grooves in the shields, like it was a giant puzzle or something. When I came up here, I was looking it over to see if I was right. See, the grooves are where the two halves fit together. I don't think this is a jewelry box. It's almost like some kind of device that unlocks and splits in two."

Makayla relaxed slightly and came over and grabbed the box. She held it up to the moonlight and wrinkled her nose. Ethan sank back into the dark, panic on his face.

"What is it?" Sebastian, asked, seeing the change in her expression.

"Well, I came across some of Dad's books in the parlor a couple of months ago. One was about ancient civilizations and their writings. It talked about how people communicated before there were alphabets. They used to draw pictures of their story to tell the history of their people. I just flipped through it and only read the parts that were interesting."

Sebastian smirked and thought she would be the only one, besides his father, who would find that a good read. "Hieroglyphics, right?"

Makayla looked at him, still lost in thought. "Yeah, I wonder if it's like that, but from the future? I wonder if there is a story behind the knights and their shields?" Makayla continued to hold the box in the moonlight, twisting it from side to side to try and catch a better glimpse of the drawings. She saw a black spot on one of the shields, probably from being in the trunk, and rubbed her fingers over it to try to clean it off. Suddenly the attic exploded with a bright light, pushing the box out of her hands into midair. Rays of light seeped out from the grooves, spreading all around them and covering them like a thick down blanket. Six rays spread forth from the blanket of light that covered the three of them and continued forward like arms growing from an insect. They seemed to be searching for something, hunting for a particular destination. Sebastian couldn't move, let alone speak. He watched the jewelry box and saw that it was spinning out of control in midair. As it spun, he noticed that the shields were blazing one at a time with a bright blue light. Sebastian squinted his eyes to make sure he was seeing things clearly. The pictures of the shields seemed to be lighting up in a kind of pattern, like Morse code or something.

Sebastian grabbed Makayla, pulling her back. Ethan stood up and grabbed onto his brother. Then as suddenly as it started, the arms of the light snapped back inside the box, like retracting rubber bands, and the box fell to the floor.

Ethan looked up at them with wide eyes and whispered. "That's why I was crying."

Standing in the shadows, a slow smile spread across Alice's lips. She quietly laughed to herself and walked down the hallway heading to the guest house.

#  Chapter 8 News

### December 12-A few weeks earlier

Beth and Jerold Hanks sat on the crowded train, sweating from the humid passenger car that had a heating system working overtime while traversing through the snow covered English countryside. Beth's hair was damp and pulled back into a tight bun; her white cotton shirt clung to her slender frame, making her look more fragile than she cared. Jerold reached over and laid his hand on her bare knee, just below the hem of her khaki cargo shorts. She was wearing zip-off pants and had taken the bottoms off to make the sauna-like conditions of their passenger car a little more bearable. He had pushed up the sleeves of his light blue oxford shirt, trying to get as much clothing as possible off his sticky skin. He untwisted the bandanna around his neck and lightly rubbed it on the nape of his wife's where sweat was trickling down to the collar of her shirt. Trying to empathize, he hoped he could relieve a small amount of Beth's misery. She had been battling depression the last couple of weeks, quietly crying when she though he wasn't looking. He was worried she was losing focus on their current mission. Still, he wanted to comfort her any way he could. The two of them had spent their adult lives together, nearly every waking moment since they met in college, and he couldn't imagine being without her. She was his soul mate, his breath, his heartbeat, his pulse. So when she was hurting, it sucked the breath out of his lungs and made it difficult for him to see clearly enough to know how to be a comfort to her. He looked at her perfectly placed bun pinned in the middle of her head and smiled to himself, thinking back to their first days together.

Jerold had met Beth at Stanford University, riding in a carpool of graduate students to a Pink Floyd concert. Rock bands had become an obsession of his in his late teens and early twenties. It was the one thing outside the academic world that made him feel grounded. He had always been the academic type in school, president of the chess club, math club, and the debate team. He was fascinated with history, poring over books about ancient civilizations any chance he got. But his college roommate introduced him to the world of rock music, something he had been completely disinterested in high school. He had taken a genuine interest in Pink Floyd. What interested him the most about the band was their choice of communication to their following. He never admitted this to anyone, fearing their ridicule, but he admired their ability to generate so many followers, critics, and students of their music and lyrics. To Jerold's mind, the platform for their music was outstanding.

Excited about studying the concert, he got in his friend's Winnebago, a hand-me-down from some distant relative, and sat next to a beautiful girl who looked sorely out of place. He remembered her sitting there in her ankle-length jeans skirt and black leather jacket, with her wavy blonde hair pulled into a bun. She didn't look like a Pink Floyd fan. He made small talk with her during the ride, wondering what she was doing there, and by the end of the night had fallen head over heels for her. It turned out that she had only gone to the concert to meet him, trying to find an excuse to talk to him. Jerold was stunned by the fashionable and beautiful Beth that emerged after that night. She had laughed when he mentioned her long jeans skirt, saying she was trying to be modest, knowing that he was a conservative type of guy.

Jerold felt the train lurch, bringing him out of his thoughts. Beth looked up at him, letting her lips spread a small smile across her flushed face. She grabbed his hand on her knees. Jerold heard her sigh, knowing she didn't want to talk but also certain they were both thinking the same thoughts about her mood today and the mission ahead. They were heading toward Wales, trying to recover the sixth trunk. After all these years, they finally thought they were at the end of this unexpected journey. There was little satisfaction in their finds. Tildon was still refusing to tell them the trunks' purposes, promising that when they were all uncovered, he would reveal his little secret. They had spent the last six years hunting down and unearthing five trunks that never opened. No matter what they did or tried, nothing seemed to make the locks come undone. Beth had sworn after recovering trunk number three that she had seen a blue light spark out of one of the locks when she used a reciprocating saw on it. But by the time she took off her safety glasses to look closer, it was gone. It almost seemed like there was something protecting the locks. Nothing had even made a dent on the metal. Jerold shook his head, frustrated at the thought. He had never found anything to be difficult for him, especially when it came to solving complex problems or looking at a historical mystery from a unique angle. He was the thinker and Beth was the scientist. She was a biologist and had a Ph.D. in forensic science. Jerold had his Ph.D. in history and cultural studies. He was fluent in six languages and Beth in three. Together they were the perfect team.

The conductor came by to punch their tickets, and Beth pulled them out of her pack lying by her feet. She unzipped the front pocket, shoving her fingers into the space, trying not to ruin her newly polished nails. Jerold was always amused at his wife's vanities, especially since they had spent most of their lives digging in dirt, wading in muddy rivers, crawling through caves and getting plastered by the desert sands. Beth pulled out the tickets and Jerold caught a glimpse of an envelope that was tucked inside the pocket. He saw the last part of her name and the address of the hotel they had checked out of two weeks ago. The rest was hidden by the black leather bag, including the return address. He tried to think of her mentioning any unexpected mail that had arrived in the past couple of weeks. He came up blank. He furrowed his brow, trying to think through the small list of people who knew where they were staying. Jerold looked at Beth, getting ready to ask her about it, when she noticed the letter sticking out and quickly shoved it back in the bag. He thought she zipped up the pocket with a little too much force. He sighed, knowing that he was going to have to break her silent streak and ask about the envelope. There was too much to do when they arrived in Wales to spend the entire trip dwelling on some piece of paper in her pack. He knew he could sneak a peek, but he had always made it a priority to do nothing behind her back, ever. That is what made their marriage and relationship so strong. They were always honest, always open, but kept everything between themselves. He squeezed Beth's hand, trying to get her to look at him. Very rarely did he ever have to ask her about something, but when he did, he always did it with gentleness and patience. Usually, whatever the problem was, it turned out to be nothing of significance. Jerold had recognized early in their relationship that things weren't worth the potential argument they normally created when he handled her with impatience and indifference.

Beth looked up at him, not able to hold his gaze, she looked away and out the window. He was worried about her, but sometimes she got moody at the end of an expedition, especially one that took a while. She had gotten unusually tired at the end of their search for the fourth trunk, and he had insisted she see their doctor back in Ithaca when they were done. She had ended up stuck in bed for three weeks with Mono. He moved his hand out of hers and began to rub his fingers lightly on her thigh. Her shoulders sank, as if in defeat, and when she looked back at him, Jerold saw the fresh tears brimming in her eyes. He squinted, wondering what could possibly be upsetting her so much. Feeling his heart suddenly heavy with worry, Jerold pressed his lips together, waiting for the right words to surface.

"Beth, what is it?" He reached up and stroked her cheek with his thumb, wiping away the one tear that had escaped.

She looked down and grabbed his hand on her face, letting her hand rest on the back of his.

"It's your father," she whispered, barely speaking so he could hear. "He sent me a letter a couple of weeks ago. That's what's in the pocket of my bag." She looked down, and he guessed she was a little ashamed from keeping any news from his dad a secret.

"He wanted to tell you the news himself, in person. That's why I didn't show you the letter." She put her hand on his cheek and rubbed her thumb over the stubble on his chin that was poking through like new grass ready for spring. He knew that the news was not good.

"He's sick. He doesn't know much yet, but they found a tumor on his brain. The doctors are going to do a biopsy, after Christmas, to see how serious it is. He wanted to send me the letter in case something happened before we got back. But he didn't want me to tell you, so he could tell you himself. Oh, Jerold, I'm so sorry!" She buried her face into his chest, letting her tears stream from her eyes. He sat there numbly, stroking her back, trying to let the information sink in. His dad? Sick? He had always been close to his father, thought of him as invincible; the way sons are supposed to think of their fathers. He never once thought of his dad as weak or frail, let alone sickly. In fact, he couldn't remember a day when his father stayed home from work, too sick to fulfill his obligations. He was an ox to Jerold, and as long as he could remember his dad had earned everyone's respect for being so reliable all his life. The thought of anything different was too much for Jerold to bear. Feeling the tears threatening his eyes, he tried to steady his breath. Unable to speak, he sat there in silence for more than an hour. Finally, he resolved that he couldn't dwell on the unknowns and he had to refocus on their job in Wales, less than 45 minutes away. He pushed Beth from his chest, wanting to look into her eyes.

"Honey, we can deal with this when we get home for Christmas, and my parents will be there too. But right now, we have to focus on finding that trunk, or we'll never make it back in time. We promised them we'd be there this year and I don't intend to break that promise." He could feel a tear escaping from the weak barrier he was trying to build. Beth reached up to wipe it away.

Jerold looked down and whispered, almost to himself. "I've never known my father to be weak. He'll fight this and be fine. I just know it." He turned his head and looked down at his wife, worry screaming from her glistening eyes. "So, we need to get ourselves together and focus on what it is we need to do after this train pulls into Wales."

Beth sighed and nodded, knowing he was not going to let her mourn any more. He pulled her into him and rested his lips on her hair.

"Everything is going to be fine. I promise."

"Is there more?" He knew that look on her face.

"I've just been doing a lot of thinking."

He hesitated and pressed when she didn't go on. "And?"

Beth looked up at him with a solemn face. "I think that we need to make it right with our own family. We've been spending years chasing after these ridiculous trunks. We don't even know why! And while we are off chasing some rich man's obsession, our children are being raised by our nanny! I have always had to deal with guilt, but now I am struggling with shame." Beth let the tears trickle down her cheeks. "Oh, Jerold, what have we done? What have we sacrificed to chase our dream of making this world a safer place? Is it worth it?"

Jerold knew this was a rhetorical question, but he couldn't help whispering the answer to himself.

"Yes. This is something we were born to do." He sighed, knowing she was right about their family. This was the one regret he had been living with since they signed on with Tildon. But how could they not? If it meant securing peace for generations to come, wouldn't the kids thank them in the end? Wouldn't the eternal peace of mankind be worth the few years of their kids' childhood they had sacrificed? They didn't know the secrets of how the trunks worked or the contents inside them, but they were too far into their project to doubt that these trunks held a greater significance to their world than either of them had imagined when they began. It was a difficult fate, but Jerold knew, without any doubt, that it was a fate created for them. He didn't know why yet, but he knew that they had done the right thing. He felt Beth sobbing against his chest and he held her until she had cried herself dry. Finally, he felt her shudder in his arms and heard her whisper, "I want to go home."

"Me too, baby; me too."

#  Chapter 9 Snowdonia

The train pulled slowly into the small station in the Snowdonia region of Wales. Jerold and Beth grabbed their bags from above their seats and stepped out onto the platform into the brisk winter winds of the Welsh countryside. They were on the east side of the small country, just miles west of the Tremadog Bay. Jerold breathed in the sea air, letting his lungs fill with the fresh scent, a relief from the stagnant smells of the hot train. He grabbed Beth's hand and they made their way through the departing passengers, shoving their way through bags, pushing past people rushing to get to their own vehicles, past those blocking the walkway as they reunited with loved ones. Jerold thought about how he and Beth had never had anyone meet them at any of the dozens of train stations they pulled into. He let the thought linger and then pushed it aside.

Prior to leaving London, Jerold had made arrangements with one of Tildon's associates. He was going to get them a car, a hotel room, and anything else they'd need while here. Tildon's associate had also gotten them clearance with the local authorities to search Harlech Castle, which is where they believed the sixth trunk to be.

They reached the ticket office and found an attractive young woman, who looked like she wasn't glad to be there.

"Welcome to Harlech. May I help you?" the woman asked, trying to feign enthusiasm.

Jerold smiled, agreeing with her mood. "You have a package for me. It should be under Hanks."

A look of recognition came over the woman's face and Jerold could feel her eyes boring into them. She frowned, a cold expression coming over her.

"Here you go, sir. Tell those thugs who dropped this off that if they come near me again, they'll be sorry."

Jerold had no idea what she was talking about, but could only guess that one of Tildon's associates had made some inappropriate comments to this young lady.

"Sorry about that," Jerold said, flashing her one of his brilliant smiles, and the lady nodded and turned around in her booth. He grabbed Beth's hand and they made their way to the parking lot. Jerold seemed to be scanning the lot and smiled when he saw his target. They made a beeline toward a 2009 gold BMW Z4 roadster. Beaming at Beth, he shook the keys out of the manila envelope. Beth's face perked up as she looked over their ride for the next couple of days.

"Now, this is a model I haven't had the pleasure of driving." Jerold was rubbing his hands over the glossy gold driver's-side door. He slid into the leather seat and put his head on the triangle shaped head rest. Starting up the engine, he smiled at the purr of the 256 horsepower, six cylinder beauty. The GPS sang to life after Jerrold punched in the address of the hotel. The sultry computer voice began speaking to him, but Beth reached down and turned the volume off. She made a face and Jerold knew she didn't want some pushy woman telling them how to drive. Jerold turned on the satellite radio and pulled out of the train station's parking lot.

They were heading toward the town of Harlech, to the Maelgwyn House Bed and Breakfast. It was a luxury four star hotel that sat on the edge of Harlech, close enough to walk, but far enough to be a little removed from the center of town. They drove in silence with the top down, letting the brisk winter wind whip past them, drying them out from the insufferably hot train ride. They were both desperate for showers and wanted to debrief in their hotel room before venturing anywhere in Harlech. They pulled up the narrow drive to the hotel, passing two stone pillars on either side of the front drive. Jerold appreciated the quaint hotel Tildon's associate had reserved for them. The front drive was somewhat steep, rising up a small hill to the entrance. There were shrubs and flower beds on either side of the drive, continuing around the perimeter of the hotel. In the summer months, these beds made the Tudor style home look like it was rising out of an ancient garden from some fairytale book, providing splashes of color to the exterior appeal. But right now, the winter mists had settled onto the region, making everything appear gloomy. The three story home had gables over the dormered windows on the upper floor, making the home symmetrical with two larger windows just below. The steep roof line accented the gray stone exterior with twin chimneys on either side. The hotel itself overlooked Llyn Peninsula, Tremadog Bay, Harlech Castle, the nature reserve, and the championship golf course which was a big attraction for the small town. Jerold and Beth checked in and headed up the wooden staircase hugging the wall in the long hallway that made up the main entrance. Their room was small but just perfect. The large bay window overlooked the castle ruins. This would save them a lot of trips to the castle, as they could probably just look out their window to do most of their preliminary legwork. They set their luggage down on the queen bed covered in a pastel quilt. Jerold took off his shirt and draped it over the curved white metal footboard. He reached up to switch on the television in the corner, hoping for some news of the weather this week. Working in the rain or snow was something he did not want to do.

Several hours later Beth and Jerold sat pulling out books which were stuffed with their notes shoved between various pages. This was the result of their last two months of research in England. They were chasing after an old legend surrounding James of Saint George, the architect who built Harlech Castle. James was appointed, by King Edward I, constable of the castle in 1290 and remained there for three years. The castle was built as part of the "iron ring" after England had taken over Wales in the 13th century. A series of these stone fortresses was constructed by the king to contain the Welsh within the mountain regions and to keep the prince at bay.

A couple of years ago, Jerold and Beth had come across a small book on Welsh history, written in the 17th century, recounting the numerous residents of Harlech Castle. The first son of James of Saint George was young, in his early teens, while he lived with his father at Harlech. The account briefly described a beautiful young lady who had suddenly appeared at the castle gates, with whom the young son had immediately fallen madly in love. The only other thing mentioned was a peculiar trunk that was the reason for her sudden departure. There was nothing more. Beth and Jerrold had tried to find out more about the mysterious girl, spending the last two months interviewing historians throughout England, but could only discover that she was the daughter of an Earl. According to the historians, rumors circulated for several decades; the girl's maidservants told others the trunk possessed objects from the future. But no one could point to any concrete proof or evidence of this trunk's existence. Only the legends handed down through the generations. So, they tried to collect as much information about James of Saint George and his family as they could, as well as books and articles on the battles at Harlech, King Edward I and his reign, his court, and any other piece of information that might be of use.

Beth pulled a large piece of paper from inside a cardboard tube and flattened it out on top of their bed, revealing a large map of the castle. She peered out the window to determine which way they were looking at the castle from the hotel, and turned the map to match the vantage point they had from the room. Jerold was relieved that his wife seemed to have pushed aside her grief and, for now, was back to work. He put his hand on her back and leaned over her shoulder to peer down at the map. Beth was tracing it with her fingers, tapping what was the upper level of the gatehouse.

"I think that this is the best place to look tomorrow. If the lady was staying within the castle walls, which we know she was, then she was probably given a room reserved for dignitaries. James would make her comfortable, wanting to give his son's young love the best during their courtship. Of course, since her maidservants would've been present, they would've stayed fairly close to her chambers. So, she would've required the larger room with smaller chambers nearby."

The part of the castle she was pointing to was the entrance; the only side that was vulnerable to an attack. The design had been a masterpiece for its time. The arranging the of the castle walls against possible attack was a defensive move not yet seen in those days. There were four circular towers, one in each corner of the inner walls. There were also two slender towers attached to the gatehouse, but those were only used for defending the castle and to provide access to the second floor where guests resided. Beth was probably right. The second floor of the gatehouse was the place to look.

"Well, you're probably right. Let's go tomorrow. We've been given clearance to go anytime we want, as long as we don't destroy anything."

Beth frowned, "But how on earth is that going to be possible? These trunks were hidden well and haven't been easy to unearth. If it was in plain view, someone would have found it by now."

Jerold had thought about this. "Well, let's just worry about it when we get to it. If we have to dig, we'll let Tildon handle the logistics and legalities. OK?"

Beth smiled, saying, "I knew Tildon was good for something!"

Jerold laughing, grabbed his wife and started dancing to imaginary music. "Can I take my beautiful wife to dinner?"

Beth beamed and they started to get dressed for a casual dinner in downtown Harlech.

Early the next morning, the waters of Tremadog Bay were unusually still, waiting for the brisk chilly winds to kick up and paint the normal winter picture of white caps and rushing water against the Welsh shores. Jerold stood on the porch of the hotel, letting his lungs absorb the salty air, smiling at the peace of this small village and its history. He loved when his job took him to places like Harlech, places where the people lived simply; never flinching at the centuries of artifacts and ruins they lived amongst.

Jerold watched the water, as sunlight danced across the smooth glassy surface, creating tiny rainbows of swirling light that bounced from one small wave to the next. Beth was out jogging, running through the center of town before everyone was up and starting their business day.

Lost in thought, he looked down the winding drive that led to town and saw Beth coming up from her run. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He sighed, taking in her perfection. She was so beautiful he could barely believe that she was his, even after all these years. Meeting his gaze, he saw the blood rushing to her checks. This made him chuckle. He could still make her blush. She jogged up the steps and placed her lips on his cheek. Her sweaty scent overpowered the smell of the bay, and Jerold smiled, teasingly, "You need a shower!"

Beth pretended to be chagrined, whipped him with her sweat rag, and ran up the stairs to their room.

After breakfast, they walked toward the castle ruins carrying their packs of supplies and water. They had planned on being out through lunch, weather permitting, and had dressed warmly knowing the winds would be stronger at the top of the castle wall. They met with the guard at the entrance gate and showed him their credentials and passes. He waved them on and they made a quick tour of the ruins, familiarizing themselves with the details and layout. Jerold thought he could walk this castle in his sleep, having stared at their map for weeks now. Beth started taking notes and Jerold began searching for markings that would give them some clues of the past. They came on the 200-foot stairway that was used to supply the castle from ships bringing goods. It used to run straight to the edge of the sea, but over the centuries the waters had receded almost two miles. Jerold touched the stone as they walked around the ruins of the great hall on the main level. He thought about the labor-intensive construction methods used in those days and shook his head in wonder at how such feats were possible. He knew that Master James had started this construction at the same time as two other castle projects, a fact that made him marvel at the genius of the crafter. He ran his thumb over a stone in the fireplace of the great hall and traced one of the "signatures" a mason had left. Each mason had a sign of his own and would etch it into the stone before it was laid in place. This would help other laborers know who had been working on a particular project. Beth and Jerold had taken some notes about other carpenters and skilled laborers whom James had brought with him from Savoy to help in the castle projects. Although the information was interesting, he doubted it would be of much use in finding the trunk. They came to the chapel and stood looking around trying to figure out where the altar was and how it was originally laid out. Finally, Jerold had seen enough and was eager to get to their search.

"Let's go to the gatehouse and see what's up there."

"Yeah, I think I have a good idea how these rooms would've been set up." Beth tucked her notebook into her pack and walked out, followed by Jerold.

Once they reached the second level of the gatehouse, they peered in and out of the chambers that would have housed the few guests Harlech could have managed. It wasn't a big castle, at least in comparison to the size of Conwy or others Master James had built. Their research suggested that Harlech only housed 30 or fewer soldiers at any given time, relying on the sea and cliffs to provide a natural defense system.

They came to the largest of the chambers and ran their hands over the chipped stone blocks that made up the walls. During life at the castle, these walls would have been covered in stained plaster, looking something like paint, and would have had large elegant tapestries hung throughout the bedroom. The rooms would have been filled with elaborate hand-carved furniture and wardrobes. Jerold walked over to the large rectangular crevice in the far wall, knowing this would have been the fireplace and thought perhaps he could find a loose stone or secret compartment. Although he figured that would be too easy and obvious, he quickly abandoned the thought and turned to see what Beth was looking at. She was staring out the window that looked over the bailey, which was the old term for the grassy courtyard most castles had within the interior walls, outside of the keep. She was deep in thought. Suddenly, Jerold saw her lean slightly out the window, looking straight down from where she stood.

"Jerold, come look at this." Beth was still looking down, eyes squinted and focused.

Jerold walked over to her and tried to follow her gaze to see what she was focused on.

"I don't see anything."

Beth smiled at him. "Look straight down at the outside wall of the stairs. Tell me what you see."

Taking a minute to let his eyes roam over each stone on the wall, he carefully looked at every inch of its surface. Suddenly, his eyes saw it. There in the middle of the wall was a small stone pushed out slightly farther than the rest, but so insignificant it wouldn't be noticeable at first glance.

"Could it be?" Jerold shot a glance at his wife.

"I was thinking that she wouldn't hide it in the room. It was too obvious. She must have been in a hurry, to have left the trunk behind. So, I thought what if she found a hiding place without anyone knowing; something discreet? I was thinking about this on my run this morning. When we came up here, I realized you can see most of the bailey from her window. She could have sat here and studied for hours where to hide her trunk, if she knew that she was leaving it behind. It was just a wild theory, but look!"

Jerold grabbed her hand and they ran down to the bailey, to the outside wall of the gatehouse stairs. They couldn't reach the stone, but quickly retrieved a ladder from the staff shed. Jerold climbed up to the spot and jiggled the stone. It easily popped out of place, making him grateful for the work this saved him. He also pulled several stones loose on either side. He turned on his head lamp, shining it inside the hole that he had just created. He gasped when he saw the familiar oval-shaped trunk laying a few feet within.

"Beth, it's here and you won't believe this. It's open!"

Beth's eyes were huge. Jerold climbed down and let her take a look for herself. Suddenly she was halfway through the hole, wedging her small frame through the opening. Then her feet left the ladder and her whole body disappeared from sight.

Jerold stood leaning against the wall, waiting for his wife to reappear. He tried not to be anxious, letting her revel in discovering the contents within. Finally growing impatient, Jerold climbed up the ladder to find Beth leaning over the trunk, flipping furiously through papers and books. His light made her glance up, revealing the tears that were streaming down her cheeks.

"What's wrong?"

Beth crawled toward him and shoved a stack of papers at his face. She pointed to a black and white photo of a woman surrounded by children, being honored with some award. The lady looked familiar, but Jerold couldn't quite place it. Beth's finger moved from the picture to the caption below. He narrowed his eyes to read, "Makayla Hanks."

Jerold felt his heart fall like a boulder tumbling over a cliff, falling to a bottom that didn't exist. "What is this?"

Beth whispered, "Jerold it's our kids. He's after our kids."

Jerold glared at his wife. "What?"

"Everything in this trunk is about Makayla, but in the future. I have no idea how a trunk left in the 13th century has articles about our daughter from the 21st century, but it does. There must be something infinitely more powerful than we could have ever imagined behind all this." Beth paused, and then gasped. "What about the other trunks?"

Jerold thought for a moment, and then a look of panic shot across his face, "Oh, no!"

"What?" Beth groaned.

"Didn't the tags on the other trunks have initials on the front as well? How could I have missed this? What if those initials belong to each one of the kids?"

Beth gasped, but then thought it through. He knew he was right when he heard her choke back her tears.

"OK, let's get out of here. We'll have the trunk removed and sent back."

"No! We can't give Tildon this trunk! It's open and we can't let him know we have any idea what's going on. We have to stall. We need to go home and make sure the tags match all the children's names. But how do we keep him from getting the other trunks? He knows where they are being stored and knows everything about what we have done thus far."

Jerold nodded and knew she was right. He wasn't sure how Tildon was involved or what all this meant, but he did know that they had to keep the trunks and their discoveries a secret as long as they could. At least, keep him from this most recent discovery, especially since there was still one more trunk to recover. They wouldn't have much time, as Tildon's associate in Wales would probably be coming through soon to check on them. Jerold helped Beth out of the hole and they climbed down. Grabbing his phone, he punched in the number to his office at Cornell.

"Seth, this is Jerold Hanks. Yeah, we'll be back soon. I need a favor. We need to have all the trunks moved from the storage facility to our home." Pause. "Yeah, have them take them to the attic." Pause. "I want to do some work on them over break." Pause. "Yeah, OK. Oh, and don't mention this to Tildon. I don't want him to freak out over nothing. Thanks!" Jerold snapped his phone shut. He then opened it again, dialing another number.

"Alice? It's Jerold. We are on our way home. We have a crate being shipped to the house. Please have the shippers take it to the attic and open it and then remove the packing. Yeah, we should be there in a couple of days." Pause. "Don't tell the kids. We want to surprise them."

Jerold snapped his phone shut for the second time and shoved it into his pocket. He grabbed Beth and they both ran for their hotel, wondering why their mysterious employer would be after a bunch of trunks that apparently seemed to involve their children.

#  Chapter 10 The kingdom

# Christmas Eve-Present Day

That night, after witnessing the strange light show, Sebastian made Makayla and Ethan swear they wouldn't say a word to the others. He was afraid they'd be scared to death. They had to act like nothing happened, especially since Grandma and Grandpa Hanks were coming first thing in the morning. Carefully, the three of them put the box back inside Makayla's trunk, making every effort not to rub the pictures. No one said a word as they tried to erase any evidence they had been up there. Sebastian didn't want to move the trunks again, for fear of making too much noise, but mostly because he was afraid they would find something else just as crazy and frightening. He didn't think Ethan, or he for that matter, could handle anything else weird tonight.

After watching Makayla and Ethan go safely back to their rooms, Sebastian crashed onto his bed. He knew it was going to be a while before he was calm enough to sleep. He snorted. Sleep. Who could sleep after that? There's some magical box and six mysterious trunks sitting in his attic and he was just supposed to fall asleep like nothing weird was happening? Yeah, right. Deciding he needed take his mind somewhere, anywhere but the attic, he grabbed his remote and flipped on the television. It was after midnight by now, and he knew late-night television sucked. He finally found old reruns of the A-Team, a show that had been the glory of his parents' generation. Still wide awake after three episodes, he decided to find something a little less action packed, hoping the boredom would put him under. He flipped the channels again, stopping when he found the movie "You've Got Mail." Classic chick flick, he thought, but kept it on anyways. Twenty minutes later, he was sound asleep.

Sebastian found himself walking through a meadow with extraordinarily tall grass, even taller than the pictures of Africa his father brought home from his safaris. There were brilliant wildflowers randomly shooting over the grasses everywhere, making the meadow look like a patchwork of color. The sun was blindingly bright, brighter than he had ever seen in Ithaca. The sky was a perfect powder blue, the kind of sky any photographer can only dream of capturing. He was waist high in nature's artwork, brushing the palms of his hands on the yellow and purple buds without having to bend down to do so. The flowers brought a sweet scent to his nose, an intoxicating aroma that was the most amazing scent he had ever smelled. Being a teenage boy, he didn't pay attention to smells, especially the flowery kind, but how could you not notice that? The willowy grasses tickled his forearm as he continued to walk in the meadow. On either side of him were tree lines leading into thick forests. He could see birds flying in and out of the dense woods, swooping through the air and diving back down again to either land on the branches below or catch a meal. He thought that was weird, only having seen birds behave like that while fishing over the ocean. The trees were familiar to him, since he lived in a wooded area, but he noticed that their colors were brighter here. The reds and browns in the leaves seemed more distinct, more defined. It took him a moment to capture it in his mind. Common mundane colors he'd seen every day, seemingly crystal clear in depth and life in this place.

In front of him was a city, but it wasn't a city like he had ever seen. In fact, he wouldn't describe it as a city, but more like a kingdom. Running the length of the perimeter of the kingdom was a fortified wall, like one you'd find on the outside of a castle. But these walls weren't the usual stone faced exterior he expected to see. Instead the walls sparkled and shimmered in the bright sunlight, casting sparkling rays onto the ground in front. It reminded him of his mom's diamond necklace, the one with the pendant that glimmered in the sunlight. She used to wear it often when he was a child, and he had fond memories of sitting on her lap twirling it around and around in his hands.

In the center of the wall, there was a wrought-iron gate that stretched higher than the wall itself, making it clear that this was the entrance. The gate made an arch in the center, where the two halves met, and in the middle was a large oval crest embedded in the iron. In the center of the crest was a picture that was glaring in the sunlight. Sebastian tried to deflect the sun with his hand, while making out the shape within the crest. It looked like a lion holding a coat of arms in one hand and a spear in the other. There were brilliant rays of light projecting out of the body of the lion, as if they were exploding from the abdomen of the majestic creature. Again, like everything else in this meadow, the colors were brilliant, almost blinding to the eyes. When Sebastian looked past the gate, into the kingdom, he saw a central street that made its way to the heart of the city. Sebastian had to blink because he wasn't sure if he saw it correctly or if the sun was just too bright, but it looked like the street was gold in color. The sun shifted as the clouds above kept rolling across the artist sky, changing the focus from the meadow to the path like it was reading his thoughts. With the sun out of his eyes, Sebastian was able to more clearly see the magnificent city. The street, which was definitely made of pure gold, led to an enormous castle rising up from the center of the kingdom far above anything else he could see. It was sparkling in the sun, just like the wall, but looked like it had shimmering colors on the edges of the tall towers that extended toward the clouds. There were four towers, one in each corner of the castle and two central towers that rose taller still. On top of the central towers there were circular balconies that were outlined in a ridged stone pattern that was breathtaking. Sebastian looked more closely, and saw rocks embedded into the towers that were red, green, yellow and blue. The rocks were translucent and when caught by the sunlight, they cast rays of color onto the golden street below. It reminded him of the rocks in some of his mother's rings, the ones that she kept locked away in her safe. The sight was magnificent. Sebastian stood where he was, afraid to move, afraid to breath. He had never witnessed something so precious, so beautiful. He had seen a lot of priceless artifacts, and been to some of the nicest places in the world. Those seemed insignificant compared to what he saw now.

Suddenly the gates started to open and a woman was walking out toward him. She was walking in the traditional sense, but when he looked down at her feet, it seemed like they were hovering above the ground, never making contact with the meadow floor. Her blonde hair reached down to her waist and swayed with each step she took. Tiny, shiny dots in her hair reflected sunlight all around her, as if they were jewels embedded in the strands of her hair. On top of her head was a thin silver crown hardly noticeable compared to the whole of her beauty. Her body was tall and thin, making the silver satin gown that caressed her soft curves appear to be part of her gorgeous frame. The gown flowed around the radius of her feet, trailing behind her as she floated toward him. The toffee colored skin was lost against her thin face and pronounced cheek bones. This angel of his dream, pierced her gaze right into his, her smile crooked and full of secrets. Only then did Sebastian notice she adorned the same crest that was on the gate, blazing brilliant colors in her fragile crown, as if it alive. She was halfway to him when she stopped and beckoned him to make the rest of the journey toward her. He wanted to close the distance, for the appeal to go to her was stronger than any desire he had ever had. He had never wanted anything more than to run to her and go with her into the magnificent kingdom.

"Sebastian, you must come." Her voice was like music, like a bow caressing a perfect note from a violin. It was enchanting and addictive. It was a drug.

Suddenly, her hand dropped, grabbing her stomach in torturous pain. Her face twisted and contorted. As she looked up toward the sky, tears started streaming down her cheeks. Her body writhed, as if she were being beaten by an invisible force. She began to call his name over and over, but instead of the perfection in her voice that he heard just seconds ago, this time her voice was saturated with sharp tones and piercing high shrieks. The clouds rolled over and formed into one massive cluster. They transformed into a hideous black blanket that began to stretch across the sky, covering the picturesque horizon. The castle in the middle of the kingdom began to grow black and all its brilliance began to dull, turning shades of gray. Everything that was beautiful was turning hideous. The sounds that were enchanting were now shrieks of horror and death. The forests around him began to sway, dropping their leaves that were blackening in decay as they fell to the ground. There was nothing left to the majestic woods but bare branches and twigs. The meadow became a scorched land with no sign of life, and the dirt was like an abyss. Sebastian screamed at the top of his lungs. He wanted to run to the lady; he wanted to do whatever it took to save her. What was making her writhe in pain? What unseen force was destroying this most precious place? He tried to reach out to her, but he couldn't move. He tried to pick up his feet and force them in front of him, but the lower half of his body was glued in place. Why couldn't he get to her? Why couldn't he help? He began to scream again, this time not out of fear, but out of panic, out of anxiety. No one was there but him and the lady. No one was able to help. Then suddenly movement at the edge of the woods forced his eyes from the lady to the tree line that was now a pitiful sight. He saw his brothers and sister standing on the forest's edge, looking like they were ready for battle. They were cloaked in hooded wool capes, and each had a sword on their back and in their hands. They had boots that reached their knees, the kind you would wear on a long journey. They were standing, as if frozen in time, watching him. Why were they there? What were they waiting for? Couldn't they see the lady? Couldn't they hear her screaming his name? Run! Save her! He wanted to shout, but he couldn't find his voice. A fury began to ignite deep inside him, threatening to fester up to his mouth. An anger that burned so bright, it was tearing his insides apart. Sebastian willed it forward, calling it out of himself. Finally, it found its way up from the ashes of his emotions, from the buried place that he rarely allowed himself to go. Normally, he would do anything to push it down, to avoid the anxious feeling such anger would cause him, but he knew that this fury was the thing he needed to push himself forward. It slithered up his spine, like a snake racing to attack its prey, and seeped out of his hands, allowing them to move. It raced down his legs, escaping out his feet, separating them from the blackened floor. It burned his throat and grabbed his tongue, helping him to find his voice.

He looked at his siblings and then at the lady. He decided he had to save her himself. She was the most important thing that had ever mattered in his life. He ran to her with a force, a passion that he never thought himself capable of. He was halfway to her, when she screamed his name again. Only this time, her voice was the light musical tone it had once been. Sebastian stopped and everything returned to the brilliant glory he so desperately wanted to see.

The lady looked at him with a smooth expression and motioned toward his siblings. "Sebastian, you must lead them. You must find a way to save us. We are hoping for you!"

Suddenly Sebastian found himself on his knees, too ashamed to look at the lady. Guilt was overriding him, shame for not coming to her the second she needed his help. Why was he so afraid? What was it that had paralyzed him? When he raised his head, the look in her eyes spoke of such perfection, such love, that he couldn't bear it. He threw his face to the ground once more. He knew then that he would die a thousand deaths to save her. He would endure the worst torture to get to her. When he looked up again, she was gone.

Sebastian sat up in his bed, sweat covering his entire body. He rubbed his eyes, giving himself a minute to return to his senses. Collapsing back on his pillow, he rolled over and screamed into the pillow, so that no one could hear him. Could anything get weirder than this? He didn't think so.
Chapter 11 Blue Eyes

Christmas morning finally came and Sebastian was exhausted. He nearly growled when he heard the sound of excited little feet pounding down the hall toward his room. Guessing what was going to happen in a matter of seconds, he rolled over and covered his head with his blanket trying to will himself into another existence. Bam! The door burst open with an excited Scotty, who leapt onto his bed. With all his might, Scotty slammed down onto Sebastian's chest and reached for his face, trying to pry his eyes open.

"Sebastian," Scotty said with his five-year-old lisp, "s time to wake up. Santa came and I want to go downstairs."

Sebastian moaned, knowing it would do no good to argue with Scotty, as he was probably the strongest, most persistent five-year-old in this and the next two counties. For his age, he was huge and very aggressive. Not in a mean way, but in a way that made people give him what he wanted.

"Hmm," Sebastian teased. "Santa? Well I thought he'd fly right over our house this year. Are you sure he came?"

Scotty stuck out his lower lip and sat up. "Sebastian! He came! I want to go now!"

"OK, OK. Just give me a minute, will ya? Why don't you go and wake up the others while I get dressed?"

Scotty's face beamed. This was his favorite game to play, but everybody else's worst nightmare. Always being the first one up, as well as the loudest child in the bunch, Scotty was great at pulling everyone out of bed at an hour most teenagers never see. Alice usually tried to take him downstairs while the others slept, but he was so loud that it was pointless.

Scotty ran down the hall, half laughing, half screaming, making Sebastian smirk when he heard the others grumbling while they were being grotesquely awakened. Jumping out of bed, Sebastian grabbed the first pair of jeans he saw on the floor, and then shoved his arms into a t-shirt before anyone else decided to barge into his room, his only place of privacy. He sighed, wondering what it would be like to live in a smaller family, where the parents' room was the destination point for awaking children, not the teenage son who wanted and needed ungodly amounts of sleep. He glanced in his mirror above his dresser, ruffling his copper hair. A shower would have to wait, he supposed. He flipped off the television he left on last night and threw on some socks. The one area where he was a normal teenage boy was the way he kept his room. There were clothes everywhere, socks hanging off his dresser and desk, a bed that was hardly ever made, a thick layer of dust that was acting like a protective coating on his much-too-expensive furniture. This was one room he didn't allow the house staff to enter, and he sometimes wondered if this was his one act of rebellion.

"Wow," he suddenly mumbled, "I need to get a life!" Shaking his head at the pathetic thought, he walked down the hall to get the others.

Before they could reach the parlor, where the mountain of beautifully packaged presents awaited them, the doorbell rang and he knew his grandparents had arrived. Makayla ran to the door, shoving Ethan and Julian aside, who'd been racing to get there first.

Grandpa and Grandma Hanks were your typical grandparents who loved to spend time with their grandchildren, but always thankful they got to go home, alone. Grandpa Hanks once told Sebastian that didn't mean they loved them less, but the best part of being a grandpa was you could spoil your grandkids and leave them to the parents to deal with later. Except, Sebastian had pointed out, with this family you leave them to the nanny. His grandpa gave him a knowing smile and said, "Yes, with this family, it's the nanny."

The door flew open and Grandma Hanks walked in first. She was carrying two large bags stuffed with presents; their elegant wrapping contrasting with her plain appearance. She was exactly opposite of her husband and son. Where they were both remarkably handsome, she was plain. Since Sebastian could remember, she always had a tidy bob of gray hair, her short frame always been slightly overweight, never dressed in designer clothing, and always kept her appearance simple. But what she lacked for in appearance, she made up for in love. Like bees to honey, people were always looking to his grandmother for companionship. She was a rare jewel who always made people feel like her best friend, wearing a warm smile that never faded. Sebastian had always thought she was perfect, secretly adoring her. Grandpa Hanks was her counterpart. A quiet man, with an unnatural amount of patience, he was content in letting his wife have the spotlight. However, this was hard to do as he was very handsome. And unlike his wife, Grandpa Hanks liked dressing well and unintentionally attracted attention no matter where he went. Even so, his own attention never wavered from his wife. Sebastian admired the way his grandpa secretly watched her in a crowded room, or the way he spoke of her when she wasn't there to hear. He never criticized, never complained. He was a constant and showered her with a love so deep, that it seemed only death could sever their bond. Sebastian hoped someday he would be able to love a girl with such admiration, even after 40 years of marriage.

Grandpa Hanks was watching Marshall, who was hanging back, observing everyone else while they smothered their Grandma with hugs. Pulling a long rectangular-shaped box out of one of their bags, he handed it to Sebastian's brother. "Marshall, I thought a young man such as you would enjoy something like this at Christmas." Marshall's eyes lit up and everyone looked from the box to him and knew instantly a package that shape could only mean one thing: a new train. Ethan rolled his eyes, pretending to choke himself and fall on the floor. Makayla let out an annoyed sigh, and Julian giggled. Scotty, completely oblivious, was wrapped around Grandma Hanks' legs, hoping she'd give him a ride to the parlor. Alice was trying to rescue her by prying him off, to no avail.

Sebastian winked at Marshall and whispered in his ear. A smile flashed across his face. "Great idea," he whispered back and took off upstairs.

Grandpa Hanks watched the transaction between the two brothers and shot Sebastian a curious stare.

"Don't worry," Sebastian smirked. "I just sent him up to turn on the train layout so you two could play later." Marshall wasn't the only one in the Hanks family obsessed with trains. Grandpa Hanks had quite a collection himself. Those two were always in the train room when he came to visit.

"Sebastian, are you OK?" His grandpa was gazing at him, noticing his haggard appearance.

"Yeah, it was a rough night and an early morning."

"Ah. Well, make sure you at least get to be a teenage boy during your break and sleep like the dead."

Sebastian rubbed his eyes, reminded of his lack of sleep. "If only it were that easy."

His grandpa looked like he was going to say something, but decided against it, and turned his attention to the younger ones instead. He snatched up Scotty into his arms, who eagerly went to him, pretending to pull his nose off his face.

"Well, I say we get this show on the road." Grandpa Hanks made a gesture toward the parlor and everyone went running in.

The day was a whirlwind, with new toys, movies, CDs, iPods, clothes, laptops, bikes, and games to open and play with that Sebastian hardly gave two thoughts to the trunks or the lady of his dream. After several hours and many trash bags stuffed full, everyone ate a huge dinner the cook had prepared. When they were all moaning from eating too much, Grandma Hanks played the piano while Alice sang her favorite carols. Her voice was more angelic than pretty; floating over the notes with little effort. Very rarely would she sing for them, although Sebastian knew the rest of them would love to hear her sing more often.

Before they knew it, Grandma and Grandpa Hanks were getting ready to leave, claiming they could not stay the night as planned. Grandpa Hanks grabbed Sebastian by the arm, pulling him into the hall bathroom where no one could hear them.

"This is something I've been waiting to give you. I know you won't understand until the right time, but please promise me you'll carry it with you from now on." Grandpa Hanks pulled out a small package wrapped in brown paper tied with a piece of white yarn. It looked very old, like the package had been wrapped for over a decade, waiting for this exact moment.

"Do you want me to open it?" Sebastian gingerly took the package and carefully examined it.

Grandpa Hanks shoved his hands in his pockets, his eyes looking deep into his grandson's young face. "Sebastian, I've got a feeling you'll know when to open it yourself. Son, something is different about you, like you are going through some kind of change. Don't you think it's time you learned to think for yourself, instead of letting your family situation dictate how you behave? But you must promise me that you'll carry this on you at all times. I can't explain any more than that, but just promise."

Sebastian shrugged. "OK, I promise." He put the package in his pocket and leaned against the wall. Man, everyone is getting weird on him. He was desperate for something normal right now. Maybe he needed to get out; maybe he could call Brooke and Trevor tomorrow. Brooke was supposed to be coming home in the morning and would be anxious to blab about her trip to Indiana. Trevor was probably just as ready to get out of his mother's grasp, although he seemed to enjoy being home lately, now that he was receiving all the perks of his dad's promotion.

After his grandparents left, all the kids went to their rooms to sort through their new presents. Sebastian grabbed his meaningless pile and took it to his room. He really hadn't paid much attention to what he got, since he was helping his grandpa put the boys' toys together. He started rummaging through his half-opened stash, looking at each thing then throwing it into a pile by his desk when he was bored with it. He came to an envelope with his name on it. Sebastian ripped it open and pulled out a prepaid Visa card from his dad. Inside was a note in his father's precise penmanship. Sebastian sat on the bed scanning over the inscription that told him about financially responsible and how he needed to account for a larger amount of money. Along with the card, came the promise of it being reloaded every month. However, in return Sebastian had to keep a detailed register of the money he spent. He flipped the card over and noticed that it had $500 on it. He had no idea what he would use the money for, since he already had everything. Shoving the card into his wallet on his desk, he was suddenly sickened by the thought that more money had just been thrown at him. Frustrated and furious, he plopped back on his bed, wincing as something sharp poked his leg. Realizing it was his grandpa's mysterious gift, he pulled it out to examine it again. Not really caring to open it, for deep down he was afraid of what was inside, he threw it into his backpack. He knew it was the best place to put it if he was going to keep his promise since he took his backpack everywhere.

The next day, Sebastian called Trevor and Brooke and made plans to meet them at the Java Board around 11 o'clock. Makayla begged to come, but Sebastian told her to make plans with her own friends. She, of course, was in the parlor reading to herself when he left. A twinge of guilt crept over his face as he stepped out the door.

"Sebastian, you must lead them." Sebastian stopped dead in his tracks. The lady's voice from his dream, or rather nightmare, made its way into his conscious and was speaking? No way. He looked around, knowing for sure someone was playing a cruel joke on him. No one was in sight. All he could hear was a soft breeze blowing through the trees. He listened harder, but the only other sound his ears could detect was the distant rumble of the falls, just a mile away. Sebastian pulled his fingers into fists at his sides and grunted. Nothing was going to ruin his normal day. Everything had been crazy since school let out for break. He was determined not to let anything destroy his perfectly normal afternoon, with his normal friends, playing normal games, and having a normal teenage life.

"Normal, normal, normal," he kept repeating the words, as he grabbed his bike out of the garage. If Marty had been watching him closely, he would have thought he was crazy.

He rode north on Giles, turning east through the commons and past the Garden Grate grocery store. He turned into the parking lot for the Boar's Head Restaurant and found an empty bike rack in front of The Java Board.

The Java Board was tucked in a cozy storefront behind the popular restaurant, which was a hotspot for tourists and parents visiting their college students. The coffee shop was a locally owned café but was hard to see from the main street, making it more of a hangout for the locals. It was decorated in bold, contemporary streamlined furniture that accented the blues, purples, and reds on the walls. In the back of the shop, there was a large flat screen television where many dance and guitar competitions were held on the latest video game console. Open mic nights were also held here regularly, giving local musicians a place to play their compositions. But mostly the Java, as the locals called it, was known for their video game competitions and Trevor was a legend around these parts for winning almost all of the time. At the side of the shop, there were bookshelves piled high with popular board games like Risk and Apples to Apples. Many kids came to play spades or euchre, as well as the newest game brought to the Java, Hand and Foot. The Java just launched a series of card game competitions. Sebastian always tried to stay out of the spotlight of such things, just wanting to go to support Trevor, but found himself thinking about signing up for the next Hand and Foot competition. He was really good at the canasta-based game and loved playing. Brooke was excited that he was finally showing interest, and ability, in something that could be competitive. He had mistakenly told her about his idea of signing up. Now she was always bringing it up, making a point to remind him of the deadline to join. She offered to be his partner, but Sebastian hadn't had the nerve to bring it up anymore. He figured he'd lost his chance to do it without anyone paying attention.

When he reached The Java, Brooke and Trevor were already going at it on some new dancing game the café owners had just purchased. Trevor was obviously the better of the two, but Brooke was not giving up the fight. Sebastian laughed at the sight. Those two were so competitive with each other and normally made a contest out of anything, including bathroom trips. It was usually funny, but there were times where it was just stupid, not to mention embarrassing. But he was so used to it, that he hardly noticed their obsessive, and often ridiculous, behavior.

It wasn't hard to find the table they were at, since Brooke's skateboard was lying on top. This was one of her junkie ones, since she most likely rode it in the snow on her way here. She was paranoid about getting her bearings wet on her competition or practice boards. So, he knew this was probably one that she could care less about.

Sebastian went to order at the counter. It seemed unusually busy today; full of teens from Ithaca High, the public high school in town, instead of the usual college crowd who had all gone home for the holiday break.

As he was approaching the counter, the bell over the door jingled, announcing a new customer. Sebastian glanced over to see who was coming through the door, a little bit worried that Makayla, despite his warning, had come anyways. Taking notice of a group of girls walking into the café, he went back to studying the menu he knew by heart.

"I guess I'll just have a caramel mocha shake."

Sebastian got out his wallet and paid the cashier. He stepped aside, trying to let the girls move up to order. While waiting for his drink, he glanced over at them. He didn't want to be too obvious, but some of the girls were fairly good looking and he, with all things being normal today, was checking them out. One of the girls chuckled quietly when she noticed him looking. She looked like she was about his age, maybe 14 or 15, had very long curly black hair that was unusually shiny. In fact, it reminded Sebastian of those shampoo ads where the girls, models actually, were throwing their hair in the wind.

Sebastian glanced at the girl, letting his eyes look her over. Her skin was powder white with a translucent appearance, almost like melting snow. She had on a thick turtleneck sweater that swallowed her skinny neck. Her short stature was accentuated by her tight dark jeans, with brown-colored boots lined with fur that reached mid-calf. She wore a short white puffy jacket over her sweater. The jacket was covered in fake fur around the collar, which was too much around her skinny face. Her makeup wasn't overdone like some girls his age, but highlighted her full lips and cheeks. Sebastian let his gaze linger a little too long, finding himself staring into her eyes before he could hide his awe. Her eyes were brilliant. They were the most amazing blue he had ever seen. He expected brown, with her dark hair, but he found himself swimming in the sea of sapphire her eyes formed. It was as if they were pulling him into her gaze; trapping him into the perfection they bestowed. He found the strength to look away, knowing he'd looked too long. He stared at his feet.

"Caramel Mocha Shake?" The voice of the café employee shook him from his trance and he looked up to claim his drink. Forcing himself not to look at the girl again, he shoved his straw into the lid, hoping his cheeks weren't giving him away. He could feel her eyes boring into his head and knew, without looking, she was still staring at him. Despite himself, he felt drawn to look back into those blue eyes, to get lost in her trance once more, but knew it would be rude. Suddenly, he could feel her breath on his neck as she stepped uncomfortably close to him. His lungs involuntarily restricted, his breathing becoming erratic. His legs went numb; his stomach about to betray him. She cleared her throat.

"Would you recommend that drink?" Her voice was soft and had a humming tone to it. It was like a lullaby, speaking in his direction. He glanced up, this time looking at her mouth instead of her eyes, afraid that if he met her gaze once more, he wouldn't be able to look away.

"Um, sure, I like it." Stupid, he told himself. He was fuming for not thinking of anything better to say. He shot his eyes toward Brooke and Trevor, looking for a distraction.

"Well, then that's good enough for me," the musical voice said. Sebastian looked at her again, daring himself to look into her eyes. When he did, he nearly fell over. There staring back at him was a pair of beautiful, but normal, brown eyes.

"I'm sorry. Is something wrong?" She had noticed him gawking again.

"No, I just thought..."

"Ma'am, can I take your order?" The cashier cut him off.

"Yeah, just a second." Gina waved off the cashier and turned back to Sebastian. "Well, I'm Gina by the way. What's your name?"

"Sebastian. Sebastian Hanks."

Gina winked at him. "Well, Sebastian Hanks, it's nice to meet you. Maybe I'll see you around?"

"Sure." Sebastian casually shrugged his shoulders and turned to walk over to Brooke and Trevor who were staring at him with their mouths hanging open. Sebastian tried to breathe again, as he made his way to their table.

"What was that?" Trevor teasingly punched him on the arm, as he sat down next to him.

" _That_ was Gina." Sebastian glared at his friend, silently warning him to shut up.

"Wait a minute, you mean Gina Parkins? Do you know who that is? She's new to town, but all the girls have been talking about her. Her dad is some movie producer and they moved here to get away from the pressures of living in Hollywood. She is supposed to start at Preston Prep after break." Brooke beamed at Sebastian, waiting for him to thank her for the gossip.

Sebastian looked wide-eyed at Brooke. "You're joking, right?"

Brooke sat back and folded her arms across her chest, narrowing her eyes at him. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you have a small crush on this Gina."

"Oh, please. I just met her for two seconds." Sebastian tried to wave them off.

"Two seconds seems to be all you needed." Brooke was ready to pounce. Sebastian was not going to let his friend ruin this day for him.

"Brooke, back off." He shot her a glare and he could tell by the flash of her eyes that she got his message. A smile crossed her lips.

"Whatever you say, Romeo," Brooke smirked.

Sebastian quickly changed the subject, asking Brooke about her trip to Fort Wayne and getting Trevor to tell about his holidays. Suddenly, they were trying to one up each other with their stories, making Sebastian laugh at his argumentative best friends. He sat back and let them have their rounds with each other, letting his mind wonder over what had just happened.

Her eyes were so blue! He couldn't ever remember seeing someone's eyes being that color blue before. He thought about how they went from blue to brown in a second and decided he was definitely losing his mind. He made a mental note to see the school counselor when they got back. Someone brushed past his elbow, waking him up from his daydreaming. When he looked up, Gina was walking by, looking down at him as she passed. Sebastian found himself staring into the pool of blue eyes once more, letting them take him back into the trance they had pulled him into at the counter. Then he knew where he had seen the blue. The dream! The sky over the kingdom with the lady! Gina nodded to him, as if she'd heard his thoughts, and walked out of the café with perfectly normal brown eyes.
Chapter 12 Preparation

Sebastian left the coffee shop and peddled as fast as he dared through the commons desperate to get home, tired of putting off the inevitable. He barely noticed the stares of the shoppers, as he wove through the crowd, trying to get to the open road where he could break into a full sprint. His mind wondered through all the events that had happened so far: Makayla finding one of the trunks, the map, the box and its hieroglyphics, the fingerlike rays of light, the dream, and now Gina. He turned off Giles and bolted down a trail in the woods that he used to play on as a kid, one that took him right to the front gate of his home. He flew past the guard house not even looking at Marty, dropping his bike in the middle of the drive, charging through the front door. He stopped short, almost colliding into Scotty who was pretending to be Spiderman swinging through the house.

"Where's Makayla?" Sebastian demanded, putting his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. Scotty gave him a curious look.

"I dunno. Hey, I'm attacking Venom. Wanna help?"

"Not now! Scotty, go find Julian and Ethan and meet me up in the attic."

Huge brown eyes shot up at Sebastian. "You said no attic."

"I know. Just go find them, OK?"

"K." Scotty flew off toward the parlor, his fingers pointed, ready to shoot webs at anyone who threatened danger.

Sebastian went running through the house looking for Makayla. When he found her in her room, he shoved past the door and wrapped his fingers forcefully around her arms.

"Come on! We're having a meeting in the attic," he barked at her.

"Ow! Cut it out!' Makayla pulled her arm out of his grasp and shot daggers at him with her eyes. "What do you think you're doing barging into my room and grabbing me like that? Get out!"

Sebastian sighed, impatient with her. "I'm sorry. But we need to have a meeting right now. I want to talk about what's going on around here." Sebastian turned his head to glance out her door, listening to the stomping feet going up the stairs. Makayla was still growling at him.

"I'm sorry! Just come on. I'll go get Mars and meet you in the attic."

"Jerk," she muttered under her breath as she brushed past him.

Sebastian ran down the hallway, toward the train room, where he knew he'd find Marshall.

"Marshall, we're having a meeting in the attic. Let's go!'

Marshall glanced up from his current layout, excitement shooting out of his face. "All right! It's about time." Marshall nearly knocked Sebastian over, running past his brother toward the attic door. Sebastian followed him, taking deep breaths as he went, preparing himself to face the mysteries inside the trunk once more.

He tried to calm himself down as he slowly made his way up the stairs, knowing he'd just been a little ridiculous. When he reached the top, he glanced to the back of the attic and found five sets of eager eyes waiting for him to explain his sudden mood swing.

Sebastian walked over to them and stopped by the far window. He pulled his mouth into a tight line, trying to figure out how he was going to control these raw emotions that now threatened to boil over after many days of carefully pushing them deep, down inside.

"Sebastian, you don't have to worry." Marshall's small, but confident voice was the first to break the awkward silence. He looked over at him, trying to contain himself.

"Worry?" Sebastian questioned a little louder than he meant. "Everything that's happened since we got out of school has given me every reason to worry. I'm trying not to freak out!" His eyes were wild with fear, and his hands were shaking at his sides. The fury that he had so long suppressed, the reaction that he had so carefully calculated all his life was ready to break out of its box and never look back. For so long he had kept in check; kept himself in control for his family. The animal that wanted to show fear, remorse, anger, worry, sorrow, and even joy had been carefully locked inside of himself and Sebastian had meticulously hidden the key. Or so he thought. How could this happen? After being so careful to disappear among his friends, among his parents and amongst himself, could all this really be happening now? He wasn't strong enough to handle this mess, especially since it was threatening the safety of his siblings.

Sebastian looked up from his moment of self-examination and found Makayla's eyes. They were wide with curiosity, but her mouth was drawn in a long frown, letting him know she was still upset at his rude behavior. She met his eyes for a brief second but quickly looked away.

Sebastian turned his attention towards Marshall once more. "OK, Marshall, what are you trying to say?" He was trying to be careful, hoping not to lose control again. The animal would just have to wait once more.

"Well, don't freak or anything, but we've actually been discussing the situation while you were gone." Marshall stopped to check Sebastian's reaction before continuing.

"OK, and what did you Sherlocks figure out?" Sebastian was trying not to glare at them.

"We decided to look at the facts." Marshall glanced over to Ethan.

Ethan perked up. "Yeah, like the _fact_ that some weird trunks just show up in our attic. And the _fact_ that there is a box that lights up when you touch it." Sebastian nearly growled at his bother for giving up too much information.

"Oh, get off your high horse, will ya?" Makayla defended her brother. "We already told them. We thought Marshall could help us put the clues together." Makayla was challenging him with her eyes and stood up to get something out of her trunk.

She reached in, rummaged around the papers, pulling out the map they had found the first day.

"Look, we decided that this map is the biggest clue to figuring out what the heck that box is and does." Just as she was handing the map over to Marshall to describe, Scotty reached into the trunk and grabbed hold of the box, throwing it into the air.

"No!" They all shouted together, lunging toward him all at the same time.

The box burst into light again and started spinning wildly out of control in midair. The fingerlike rays crept out of the grooves in the middle of the box, making their way across the attic floor in the direction of each trunk. Sebastian grabbed Scotty and Julian, pushing them behind himself, while Makayla, Ethan and Marshall held onto each other for dear life. Marshall let out a whimper when he realized that one of the lights was heading toward them. This was not how the lights reacted the other night, Sebastian thought. Why were they heading toward them and not the trunk that was several feet behind them? It was the only trunk that did not have a ray reaching toward it.

"Guys, don't move. Try to stay very still," Sebastian whispered as loud as he dared.

"Sebastian? What's it doing?" Makayla asked breathless and full of fear.

Sebastian shook his head. "I don't know. Just stay still."

Nobody moved, or breathed for that matter. The finger of light just slowly crawled across Ethan's lap as if sniffing out something that belonged to it. It wrapped around Ethan and then, dissatisfied, made its way to Makayla and searched her hands on her lap. Makayla let out a whimper of fear and finally the light left Makayla and slithered over to Marshall. The light reached the map and exploded with a blinding blue flash, like a flame reaching its kindling, and started dancing wildly around Marshall. The finger detached itself from the main body of light coming out of the box and shot like a dart toward the map, absorbing itself into the paper. Immediately, the box fell to the floor with a loud thud and the attic was back to its normal state.

"Well, that was unexpected," Marshall said with eyes wide on the map. His hands were trembling, barely holding onto the slightly singed paper.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Makayla was patting his hands trying to reassure him.

"I'm fine. I'm not hurt at all. It's just, well, it's just..." Marshall choked on the words.

"Just what, Marshall?" This time Julian spoke, peaking from behind Sebastian, eyes wide with curiosity on his older brother.

"Look! The map's glowing."

They all carefully gathered around him, looking down at the map on his lap. There were markers on the old paper that were glowing a bright blue, the same blue that had exploded out of the light before absorbing into the paper. Marshall twisted the map in the sunlight and the lights seemed to dance around, almost winking at them as the map rippled in Marshall's hands. The lights stayed on the identified landmarks, and they didn't seem to be fading.

"I think it's trying to tell us where to go." Marshall whispered the words so softly that he seemed to be talking to himself.

"What?" Ethan questioned, touching his finger lightly on one of the blue lights.

"I think this is its way of telling us where to go to find whatever it is we need to open the box." Marshall looked up with wide eyes to Sebastian and handed him the map.

Sebastian grabbed the map and followed the blue lights and their course. "Impossible," he mumbled.

"What?" Makayla jumped up and peered over his arms.

"It starts at our house."

"Let me see that." Ethan jumped up and grabbed the map out of Sebastian's hands and held it up to the light. A second later, they heard him swallow loudly and saw a grimace come across his face.

"This is crazy! How can that be?"

"The light is talking to us. I know that sounds weird, but it's talking to us." They all spun around to find Julian, who usually didn't have much to say, looking straight at them. He was sitting down on the floor with his arms wrapped around his knees.

"It's what I've been trying to say since we got up here." This time it was Marshall who spoke. "The box wants us to follow the map to get the thing that will open it up. It wants to be opened."

"Whoa, no way! Did you happen to see where this thing wants us to go? It ends in Boston. There is no way that we are going to sneak off to Boston to help this box open itself up." Sebastian was having difficulty controlling the animal again.

"Why not?" Makayla stood up and put her hands on her hips. "I mean, why can't we go to Boston? It's not like our parents are here to stop us."

"Will you listen to what you are suggesting? How are all six of us going to get to Boston without anyone noticing that we're gone? Don't you think the staff would notice, that Grandma and Grandpa Hanks would notice, or Alice? We can't just take off for a couple of days, with no money, no way to get around and go searching in a city we don't know, looking for who knows what. We don't even know what it is that will open the box! And has anyone thought about what would be inside that box? I don't know that I really want to find out!" Sebastian's hands were gripped into fists at his sides and his face was wild with rage. No one spoke for a couple of minutes, all looking down full of apprehension from his outburst.

"Sebastian," Makayla finally whispered, "do you think it will stop if we ignore it? Think about what has happened since we found it. I don't think there will be peace until it's opened."

"I think she's right." Julian spoke into his knees, not really talking to anyone in particular.

"But I still don't see how we would get there? How could we ever pull something like that off?" Sebastian asked, trying to make them see how impossible the situation really was.

Marshall looked at Sebastian with calm brown eyes and his face was full of confidence. "You'll lead us. We trust you to lead us."

Sebastian just stared at his brother. No! He heard himself screaming inside. For the second time that day, the lady and the dream exploded into his mind. Flashes of the meadow, the castle, and the forest danced around inside him, until he couldn't tell if he was in the dream or in the attic. The lady's face swam across his eyes, and he found himself watching her in agony. He reached out his hands, letting the vision overtake him, and tried to help this most precious being once more. She called to him, shrieking his name with the piercing voice that shot daggers into his heart. Her eyes caught his, eyes so full of pain, full of sorrow, but full of the purest love possible. He knew then that this was beyond himself. This attic and its trunks were not for him, not for his brothers, not for Makayla. They were for her. Everything was for her. But then, peace overtook her and she looked at him with those piercing eyes full of love and her voice exploded into his heart. The lady spread her lips into a thin smile and said, "No, Sebastian. Not for me, but for the King and his people. Go!"

And just as fast as the vision had come upon him, just as fast as the light had gone back inside the box, just as fast as Gina's eyes had gone to brown, it was over. Sebastian stood where he was, letting himself regain consciousness and letting his brain return to reality. Finally, unable to move, Sebastian fell to his knees, burying his face in his hands, sobbing uncontrollably. He was so uncertain, so unsure of the calling. It wasn't enough. He had so many questions, so many doubts. Sorrow crashed over him like a tidal wave and the animal that had threatened to unleash itself all day exploded out in a fury. He just sat there, weeping, forgetting that the others were there watching, waiting and expecting him to keep control. For some time, all that was heard in the Hanks' attic on Giles was the soft weeping of a confused 15-year-old boy.

"OK, so do you know what to do?"

"We've been through this a hundred times! I know what I'm doing. Stop being such a pest," Makayla grumbled under her breath as she and Ethan marched out the door and headed to town. Sometimes girls could be so annoying! Sebastian turned toward Marshall, making sure he had the list of supplies they were assigned to buy. They'd spent the last night coming up with a plan that would work, hopefully one that wouldn't get them in too much trouble. They were going to tell Alice that they were going to visit their Grandpa and Grandma Marshall (their mom's parents whom Marshall was named after) in Springfield, Massachusetts for New Years. The kids had Alice buy train tickets that would take them to the station in Springfield. From there, they would take a bus to Boston and finish the trip. After they found whatever it was they were looking for, they would back track to Springfield for a visit with their grandparents. Alice was going to drive them to the train station in Syracuse for the Thursday morning train, thinking they would arrive six hours later safely into their grandparents' keeping. However, Sebastian told Grandma and Grandpa Marshall to expect them on Friday night, giving them a day and a half to get to Boston, find what they needed, and get back to their grandparents. Hopefully, no one would know to call or ask about the difference in plans.

Today was Tuesday, so they only had two days to get everything they needed. Sebastian and Marshall were on their way to buy the bus tickets. He eagerly looked at Marshall who was wandering around looking for his shoes. Alice had taken Julian and Scotty to the library, so they had the afternoon to themselves, but they had a lot to do. Sebastian reached into his pocket, trying to be patient with his brother, wrapping his fingers around his wallet. Satisfied he hadn't forgotten his gift card, he went to help Marshall. He was planning on using his Visa for their bus tickets and a day's worth of food, as well as their purchases at The Outfitter's store. He was counting on his dad's promise to refill the card, as he wouldn't have much left. Fortunately, his dad had given Makayla a card too, with the same promise to put more money on it every month. Finally, the shoe was found. Sebastian and Marshall grabbed their bikes out of the garage and peddled toward downtown.

Makayla and Ethan were at Book Rack Alley buying books about medieval history, crests, shields, kings, and anything else that might hold clues about the engravings on the box. She also mentioned picking up a travel guide to Boston. They were then going to The Java to book their hotel room online. Sebastian had found his dad's trip rewards points in his study and had given Makayla the codes to reserve a room for free. He knew they would have to explain later, but he figured he would have plenty of time to create a nice story. For once, he was hoping that they wouldn't notice, but he'd come up with a tale just in case. Makayla suggested that she book it somewhere other than at home, in case someone would see the computer's history and figure out what they were doing. He thought she was being a little paranoid but had agreed.

Sebastian peddled alongside Marshall, going slower than his normal pace, giving Marshall's shorter legs a break. They were headed toward the Greyhound station on the corner of State and Fulton. They rode in silence, both mulling over the plan, working through all the possible glitches. The thing that worried him the most was what would happen when they got home, not while they were on their trip. He was still very afraid of what they would find once they opened the box. He figured it would likely change his life forever. He ran his fingers through his hair at the thought, not sure he was ready this. He was comfortable with his friends, had become numb to his family situation, and was used to his nonexistent life. He sighed, knowing that he was beyond the point of no return and felt a twinge of sorrow for the life that he had known, knowing he would be parting with it soon.

They got to the station and purchased their tickets without any problems and jumped back on their bikes. With one more stop to make before heading home, they peddled towards The Outfitter's store on State to purchase items they might need like rope, a good pocket knife, glow sticks, and anything else they might think to buy. They were also getting some day packs for the trip, hoping to carry their clothes and supplies on their backs. This would eliminate extra time at the train or bus stations, not wanting anyone to notice four unsupervised children hanging around. Sebastian frowned, remembering they were leaving Scotty and Julian at home with Alice. Julian was pretty mad when they told him he had to stay. But someone had to make sure no one got into Makayla's unlocked trunk. Plus, Sebastian thought, he didn't want the hassle of traveling with the younger kids. Pulling up to the bike rack, Marshall and Sebastian locked their chains and headed in. He loved living in this small college town, because it made it very easy for him to be independent even without a driver's license. Most everything he needed was a bike ride away. But, he couldn't wait to be able to drive himself to Syracuse or Interlaken Beach. Ithaca was a great place to be during the summer, being so close to different beaches and lakes. But, with the warmer months, came the tourists looking for summer escapes, tours of the falls, or visits to Cornell. This made life more of nuisance around town, especially when they congested Sebastian's favorite hangouts.

As they walked into the store, the clapper hit the small tarnished brass bell hanging over the peeling wooden door, announcing their arrival. The store was in a cozy old store front, retrofitted to become the town's most popular outdoor supply shop. The floors had been stripped down to their original oak and refinished. The walls were painted a warm sage green, but there were a few cracks here and there in the original plaster. Sebastian just thought it added to the quaint feel of the shop.

"May I help you?" a voice questioned them from behind the counter.

"Uh, we're just looking." Sebastian looked up to see a young girl flipping through a magazine, giving them only an obligatory nod.

"Well, let me know if you need anything." The girl didn't even look up from her article.

The two boys made their way to the back, toward the camping gear, and started putting items from their list in a basket. Sebastian heard the bell above the door jingle a couple of times while they were there, listening to the new customers go through the same ceremonious greeting he did. He and Marshall were grabbing the last of their supplies when he heard his name being called from across the aisle.

"Sebastian? Sebastian Hanks?"

Sebastian looked up, curious to see who would be so excited to see him. There looking at him from the end of the isle was Gina and a young girl. Gina was wearing the same white jacket she had on at The Java, jeans and black snow boots that came to her knees. Her thick curly hair was pulled back into a tight braid, looking more like a rope than an attractive hairdo.

"Uh, hi, Gina." Sebastian barely choked out the words, his cheeks turning a shade of crimson almost immediately. Marshall turned to look at him, holding back his laughter.

"What are you doing here?" Gina looked curiously at the items in his basket. "Are you going camping? Seems a little cold, don't you think?" Gina was walking toward him, glancing between him and Marshall.

"Well, uh, we were just going on a little trip and getting some emergency supplies," he lied.

Gina pulled her lips in a tight line. "Hmm. I see. Who's this?" She gestured toward Marshall.

"Oh, this is my younger brother Marshall. Marshall, this is Gina."

Marshall held out his hand. "I'm very pleased to meet you. Excuse me, but may I ask how you know my brother?"

Gina's eyes smiled back, wide with surprise, a reaction not unfamiliar to the Hanks when people meet Marshall for the first time.

"Well, I just met him a couple of days ago at The Java Board." Gina looked up to Sebastian again.

"This is my friend's sister, Abby. She and I were just looking for some boots before school started."

"Well, this is one of the best outdoor stores in town." Sebastian couldn't think what else to say. Gina started talking about moving to Ithaca, comparing the town to her Hollywood home. He found himself staring at her eyes, expecting to see the sea of blue at any moment. However, he also found himself staring at her mouth. Her lips were perfectly formed, with a fullness to them that seemed too thick for her thin face. She had some kind of shiny lip gloss that shimmered in the fluorescent lighting when she talked. Sebastian was fascinated. He had to quietly chastise himself to pay attention to what she was saying and found the conversation returning to an awkward silence.

"Well, I guess we should be going. It was nice to see you, Gina." He started to push Marshall toward the cash register.

"Sebastian," Gina called after him, making him turn around and face her. "I just wanted to say be careful on your trip." A worried expression flashed in her eyes for such a brief moment, he couldn't be sure it was ever there.

"Uh, OK. Thanks, I guess." He started again for the front of the store.

"Sebastian," she called again.

"Yeah?" Sebastian turned toward her once more.

"This is my card. Use it if you get into a jam." Sebastian took the card, wondering what she could possibly mean and glanced up at her to say thanks. He looked into her eyes and saw them flash, just for an instant, into the deep blue he had been expecting.

Sebastian shuddered and shoved the card into his pocket, forcing himself to stay in control. He grabbed Marshall and shoved him, once more, toward the cash register.

"What was that?" Marshall whispered under his breath once they got to the front.

"I have no idea." Sebastian was honest in his reply but knew that those eyes would stay with him forever.
Chapter 13 The Stranger

The next two days were riddled with secret meetings, dodging Alice, packing, and speculating about the trunks' secrets. The day before the trip, Sebastian was going through their plans one more time, while Marshall was checking everyone's bag to make sure they were all equipped with the right gear. Ethan had decided to check the two-way radios and program their portable GPS system, and Makayla was poring over her new books on ancient kingdoms, crests, and even hieroglyphics that she picked up at Book Rack Alley. Sebastian chuckled to himself when he thought about his sister down in the parlor. She was being very impatient and every so often you could hear her slam a book in frustration, stomping to the kitchen, furious that she was coming up with nothing. Sebastian had tried to tell her not to worry about it, but she was taking it upon herself to be the one responsible for decoding the secrets of the shields on the box. They had taken some photos, so she could continue her research on the train and bus rides.

When Thursday morning arrived, Sebastian awoke before any of the others, anxious about the trip ahead. He was rummaging through his room, pulling clothes off one pile and dumping them onto another. He kept feeling like he was forgetting something, but couldn't figure out what it was. He carelessly made his bed, threw on his old jeans and some socks that were in the clean pile next to his desk. He struggled into an old sweater and sat down to pull on his sneakers. While bending down to tie his shoes, he glanced in the corner at his school bag. "That's it," he nearly screamed aloud. He snatched up his backpack, threw open the front pocket, and pulled out the mysterious present from Grandpa Hanks. He started to fumble with the stained yarn wrapped tightly around the faded brown paper. The yarn looked like it was very old, yellowed with age, but Sebastian didn't care or notice. After several unsuccessful attempts at undoing the knot in the yarn, he threw the package into his new day pack.

"Screw it. I'll mess with it later." he mumbled.

It was time to get everyone else up. They were leaving in an hour.

"You drive." Alice threw Sebastian the car keys. They landed in his hand with a jangled thump.

"OK." Sebastian didn't really want to drive today, but he was trying to play it cool, not giving Alice any reason for alarm, and got in the driver's side of the Lincoln. Setting the GPS to the address of the train station on highway 11 in Syracuse, he gently pulled the Lincoln out of the driveway.

"Nervous?" Alice was gazing at him and looking down at his hands.

Sebastian didn't know when his hands had started trembling, but his fingers were shaking against the leather steering wheel.

"I guess I need more practice on the highway, huh?" He kept his eyes on the road, not daring to meet Alice's gaze. He hated lying to her, afraid that he would give himself away before they even boarded the train.

"I didn't mean about the driving. I meant about the trip." Alice's eyes were soft and kind, but questioning as well.

Sebastian heard Makayla quietly gasp in the back seat. He could feel the blood rising to his checks, a dead giveaway. He knew he'd better switch the conversation quickly, before it was too late.

"No, not really, I guess. We're just going to see Grandma and Grandpa Marshall. No big deal. So, what are you going to do with Julian and Scotty while we're gone?"

Alice hesitated for a moment, still quietly questioning Sebastian's face, and then turned forward while she recounted the plans that she had made to make their mandatory stay home more fun.

Glancing in the rearview mirror, he caught the look of three panicked faces. He shot up his eyebrows, trying to tell them to cool it and act as if nothing was happening.

Finally, he pulled onto Alliance Bank Parkway, in Syracuse, and turned into the parking lot at the train station. With some time to kill, he looked around for somewhere to hang out. His eyes found a familiar orange and purple sign. There was a small Dippin' Donuts shop. He thought about suggesting a quick bite to eat to avoid any more close calls, when Alice started unloading their bags.

"Well, I guess we'll just go inside and wait for the train." Alice was motioning for them to walk inside together.

The train station in Syracuse was pretty nice, better than some stations he'd seen. This one was a small building with a cozy waiting room. It even had indoor bathrooms, unlike the outdoor train platforms scattered across the state. They went to the ticket counter to check in. The lady behind the counter looked them over skeptically while she waited for their tickets to finish printing off the machine. She quickly went over the rules of the train, going slower than necessary, focusing on the parts for underage passengers. When she was finished, which seemed like hours later to Sebastian, she handed them their tickets tucked inside an envelope. Sebastian grabbed the tickets, not wanting to hear any more about the rules, and knelt down, carefully opening his pack, putting the tickets on the top. He was hoping Alice wouldn't notice all the gear Marshall had packed for him. She has been watching him pretty closely, glancing his way every few seconds, but he wasn't sure if he was successful in keeping the contents of his bag secret. Alice was looking in his direction, eyes wide and frozen. He starred at her for a few seconds, when he realized she wasn't looking at him. She was looking at something or someone behind him. He turned around to see what her eyes were frozen on; quickly scanning the room. However nothing out of the ordinary stuck out to him. There was a small lady with her miniature poodle trying unsuccessfully to get him into the dog carrier. There was a mother with a toddler who was having a tantrum, tired of waiting in line. There was a younger guy, maybe mid-20s, in a pair of carpenter jeans and a black T-shirt that was a little too tight. A mop of shaggy curly black hair was falling into his eyes, causing the man to sweep it away every so often. Sebastian noticed the man was tall and had chalky white skin, similar to Gina's. Quickly shifting his eyes when the man turned his way, he noticed the stranger flash him a wide smile, before returning his attention to the man behind the counter. Sebastian turned back to Alice, who now looked angry instead of shocked. She was nearly growling when she grabbed Marshall's hand and spun him around.

"Let's go sit down," she said with an unusual force in her voice. Sebastian didn't move at first.

"Sebastian, move it. Now!" Alice shot him a look that dared him to question her.

"Uh, OK." Not sure what on earth was wrong with her, he grabbed his pack, looking one last time at the man who he assumed was making his nanny crazy. He followed the rest toward the waiting room.

Alice was sitting with Ethan and Marshall, trying to keep them busy with a book of mad libs, but she kept glancing toward the other side of the room. Sebastian tried to see what she was looking for, but could only see a few people reading magazines. He looked further and found the guy in the black shirt listening to his music player, sitting next to one of the gates.

"Sebastian?" Alice was looking up at him from the book of mad libs.

"What?" Sebastian was busy trying to create a playlist for the train ride on his mp3 player.

"I need to go to the bathroom. Keep an eye on them." Alice grabbed her purse and headed toward the ladies room.

Sebastian nodded, hardly looking up from what he was doing. Moments later, Marshall and Ethan started fighting about whose turn it was to pick a word. Sebastian looked up to tell them to shut up, when he noticed the guy in the black shirt moving toward the bathrooms. Sebastian watched him, trying not to stare, and noticed that Alice was heading back toward them with a very angry face. The man in the black shirt bumped into her, knocking her purse to the ground. Everything went crashing to the floor. The man backed up to give Alice some room, trying to help her pick up the mess. Sebastian could hear him apologize several times, when he noticed the blood rushing to Alice's face. She looked like she was flustered, like she didn't know how to react to this man. Just as they were about done, the man grabbed something off the floor and shoved it into his pocket. Sebastian thought it must have been his ticket receipt or something. Quickly, he went back to his play list, as Alice came back to her seat. As he glanced up at her, he saw that she looked like she was going to rip someone's head off.

"Of all the people to send, it had to be him!" She mumbled under her breath.

"Alice, are you OK?" Makayla asked her, looking up from her copy of "Emma."

"Yes, I'm fine. It's nothing." Alice went back to the mad libs with the boys, quickly recovering from her encounter with the man in the black T-shirt. Makayla and Sebastian exchanged curious glances, before going back to their music and book.

About a half hour later, the first boarding call was given for their train. People started making their way toward the platform, getting their luggage and tickets ready for the conductor.

Alice was still a little flustered but didn't seem to be angry anymore. She had stopped glancing around her, giving her full attention to the kids. She kissed Makayla and Marshall on the cheek, gave Ethan a big hug, and then turned to Sebastian. Alice gently put her hands on his shoulders, looking him strangely in the eyes. Her hazel eyes seemed to be saying something that Sebastian didn't understand. She pulled herself to his ear, her mouth only inches from the side of his head. "No matter what happens, bring them back to me safely. Please!"

"Alice, calm down. We are just going to our grandparents' house. No big deal."

Pulling back, she stood there and studied him in silence for a brief moment. Then she reached out for his hands. Squeezing them, she pleaded, "Sebastian, just promise me that you will take care of them, no matter what."

"Okay, okay, I promise. You need to chill out!" Sebastian was getting really worried that Alice was seeing right through their plan.

Alice smiled, instantly returning to her bouncy self. "Thanks! Okay, off you go!"

Sebastian grabbed Marshall's hand and the four of them headed out to the platform, leaving Alice behind staring into the opposite direction.

When Sebastian followed her gaze, he noticed that the guy in the black T-shirt was heading toward the same platform. Sebastian was just about to point him out to Makayla, when the "all aboard" call was given to the awaiting passengers.

#  Chapter 14 Flight

### December 17-A few weeks earlier

Jerold and Beth Hanks sat waiting to board the British Airways 747 that was sitting at the gate at London Heathrow Airport. It had been three days since they found Makayla's trunk at Harlech. It had taken them that long to make preparations to ship the trunk, secure their flight, and get back to London. Beth was gripping Jerold's hand so hard he thought he could see his fingertips turning blue. First-class passengers were called to board, and Jerold and Beth swiftly made their way onto the plane, knowing that the flight home was going to seem like an eternity.

### December 18

The plane landed at JFK without incident and the Hanks filed out with the other passengers, most heading to gates where they would catch connecting flights. The Hanks were going to drive home from JFK, the drive being only four and a half hours, as opposed to an eight-hour flight with two lay over's. Jerold pulled out his cell phone once they were clear of the gate. He waited while the phone was ringing on the other end. Beth was looking at him, nervously biting her nails.

"Dad?" Jerold paused, listening to his father on the other end.

"We're here. Can you still meet us? Yeah, OK. We'll meet you there later. We have to stop by the house first."

Jerold hung up the phone, guilt washing over him. He was having a hard time putting something else on his father's shoulders, but he didn't know who else he could trust right now.

They had to be careful not to bring unwanted attention to his father. He'd noticed three men, in the London airport, who seemed to take in their every move. They just happened to be on the same fly back to the states, sitting precariously close to him and Beth. Jerold scanned the crowd and spotted the same three men. One was sitting in the seats at the gate across the way, one was leaning against the wall outside the restrooms, talking on his cell phone, and the third was standing at the coffee bistro in the middle of the aisle, paying the cashier for the drink she was handing him. Jerold sighed, thinking he was being paranoid, but he was pretty certain they were following them. How long had people followed them? Had Tildon hired people to follow them on each of their excavations? Jerold shook his head, frustrated at how oblivious he had been. He and Beth made their way down the wide aisle between the rows of gates, weaving their way through passengers, toward their baggage claim and the car rentals. Jerold passed the man on his cell phone and scowled as he caught his eye. He could have sworn that for a brief moment he saw recognition in the man's face.

He knew, of course, they would be down in the baggage claim with him, whether they were following him or just getting their own bags from the same flight.

With little thought, the Hanks grabbed their numerous suitcases, piling them up on their cart, and then pushing through to the Hertz rental booth. They waited in line, behind several foreign couples, who already had their cameras out ready for their visit to the Big Apple. Annoyed, Jerold was trying hard not to become irritated with the slow girl behind the counter, who seemed to take excruciating pains at checking in the customers in front of him. He turned to scan the room, looking for another car rental line that wasn't moving quite so slowly. His eyes caught a familiar shirt, making Jerold grimace when he realized who it was. One of the three men following them was in his line. He glanced around the rest of the room and spotted the other two only a few feet away, making themselves busy by doing something inconspicuous.

Finally it was their turn at claiming a car, and Jerold was eager to rent anything that would get them home sooner rather than later. He reserved the last Ford Mustang they had, grateful for something decent. Jerold grabbed the keys from the lady, making no attempt at being thankful or polite. Rushing out the sliding glass doors, Jerold had a thousand things on his mind. Lost in thought, he nearly knocked the luggage cart over. Beth gave him a cautious look, nodding her head behind her. Jerold caught the direction of her gaze, turning to see the men walking casually behind them. They found the car and silently threw their luggage into the trunk and backseat. They worked quickly, knowing that they needed to get out of the airport traffic within the next five minutes. Otherwise, they might get cornered by Tildon's men. Again, Jerold's mind began to wonder if it had always been like this, but he was too unaware to notice. They drove in silence, not wanting to verbalize their fears. For some reason, once something is said, it becomes a bigger reality than when it is still part of your thoughts and imagination. Jerold did not want the fact that they were being chased to become reality.

After about 45 minutes, they were finally cruising on I-80 heading toward Ithaca. Jerold and Beth continued to drive in silence, stopping only once to top off the tank and use the restroom. There wasn't much to say, but the silence would eventually have to be broken. They both knew and dreaded this fact.

At the gas station, Jerold recognized one of the men sitting in a parked car next to the building. They didn't seem to realize that he had noticed them, but why should they? They had probably been following him for the last six years and he had no idea. He shook his head again, cursing himself under his breath for being such an idiot.

Jerold looked at the clock to see that it was 11 a.m., and they had 45 minutes left to go. They had given Alice explicit instructions to make sure everyone was out of the house while they were there. They told her they were home strictly for work purposes and didn't know if they could stay. They didn't want the kids to get their hopes up if they weren't going to be able to make it a long visit. Alice had thought it a good idea and agreed to make arrangements for Scotty to be at a friend's house after preschool, while the rest were still in school.

Jerold finally pulled the Mustang into the drive of their Victorian mansion, carefully watching for their pursuers. However, he hadn't seen them since the outskirts of Ithaca. He thought it odd, but the only pursuer left had turned his car around and sped off. Jerold parked in front of the garage, barely allowing enough time for the car to come to a stop before he and Beth tore into the house. Rushing to the attic, they flew up the stairs and stopped short when they saw the trunks scattered over the attic floor, covered in dust from being in storage all these years They had decided to store them at Cornell until they had all seven; then they would return to their task of opening and discovering what was inside. They were hoping that Tildon's secrets had something to do with the fact that the locks would not budge. Jerold wasn't sure he really wanted to know the answer to the riddle. At this point, though, he had no choice in the matter. Beth started roaming from trunk to trunk, looking them over and studying the gold plates on the fronts. Jerold grimaced, when he heard his wife moan, after examining the last of them. Jerold saw her face become pale, her body unsteady. He moved swiftly to her side, throwing his arm around her waist for stability.

"Beth?" he whispered, already knowing what the tears brimming in her eyes confirmed.

"It's true; the initials on the plates. All of them, every last one of them has a trunk." Beth shoved her head into his chest and started sobbing.

Jerold caught his breath, his mind racing with all sorts of possibilities and outcomes.

"Well, at least they can't be opened. And Tildon would never guess that they were here. He wouldn't come here anyways, never has, and I suppose he never will." Jerold pushed his wife away from him and leaned down to the trunk closest to him. He began to run his thumb over the dirty, cold plate. "Ethan's"

Beth leaned down and looked. She let her body collapse to the dusty attic floor, her tears springing to life once more. Jerold sat down next to her, wanting to just hold her for a few minutes. Finally, as gently as possible, he began to speak.

"Beth, we have to look at this objectively. We've known for quite some time that these trunks are bigger than anything we've studied about in our lifetime. And now they have to do with our children. We certainly can't answer the why right now, but what we can figure out is how to prevent Tildon from getting his hands on them."

Beth was sitting with her head in her knees, just like Makayla does when she's upset. Jerold tucked a strand of wavy blond hair behind her ear, thinking to himself about keeping Tildon at bay.

"I think that if we aren't near the trunks, he won't have a chance to get at them." Beth's voice was barely audible. Jerold shot her a sideways glance, not sure he heard her right.

"What?" He questioned.

"Think about it, Jerold. If he's after the trunks, and we are the key to finding all the trunks, it's really us he's after for the moment. Maybe he doesn't need the children until all seven are found. Maybe that's why he's waiting to tell us the 'big' secret until all seven are in his hands. Then he'll have no need for us. He'll get rid of us and get his hands on the children."

Jerold swallowed hard and thought the theory through. It made sense, but he couldn't imagine leaving the children right now, not after knowing the danger they could be in. He rubbed his hand through his hair, annoyed that his wife was probably right.

"What should we do?" Beth's eyes questioned him, waiting for him to have some epiphany.

"I think you're right. I think we have to let Tildon chase us for now until we can figure out what's going on. My dad can keep a close eye on the kids for us until we feel it's safe to come back."

"Can we wait until after Christmas?" Beth looked at him, pleading.

"I don't think so. It won't take Tildon long to realize what's going on, but if we make him think we're searching for the seventh trunk, then we can buy some time."

"The seventh trunk," Beth repeated to herself. "But we only have six children! Who could the seventh trunk represent?"

"Maybe it's not who, but what." Jerold let this thought fester a moment. He knew he couldn't dwell on something he didn't understand, not now anyways. They didn't have that kind of time.

"I don't know, but that's not important right now. We need to get out of here before the kids get home from school." Jerold checked his watch and saw it was close to 1:30 p.m. They had about an hour left, before the others would be coming back. They were meeting his dad at a restaurant outside of town in a few hours.

"Beth, why don't you go downstairs and write Sebastian a note telling him we won't be home for Christmas this year. I'll go grab anything from my study that might be of use. We'll need to swing by Cornell and grab the rest."

Beth nodded and Jerold watched her go, seeing her shoulders sink, as she seemed to be thinking about what to write.

Jerold ran down to his office, searching through the stacks of papers on his desk, shoving items of interest into a box he'd grabbed upstairs. He came across a drawing he had confiscated when they were searching for the third trunk. It was an elegant cup with a very unique crest on the front of it. He had thought the crest was so unusual, nothing like the other medieval crests he'd seen. He'd meant to study it, but had never found the time. He laid the paper down on top of his desk and ran out to find Beth. They needed to get ready to leave.

"Jerold, is that you?" A light, airy voice called from downstairs.

Jerold moaned, instantly recognizing Alice's voice, fearing they were too late to miss any of the children. He turned toward the staircase, nearly tripping down the steps to meet her in the foyer. Beth must have heard Alice too, because she was standing there laughing with her when he came down. He could tell she was trying very hard to cover up her sorrow.

"Alice, please give this to Sebastian. We have come across, uh, something unexpected these last couple of days." Beth shot Jerold a pained look, and then turned back toward Alice forcing herself to resume the carefree attitude she had concocted a few minutes ago.

"I am so sorry to say we won't be able to stay for the holidays."

Alice looked down at the envelope and took it from Beth.

Seeing Alice's face twist in regret, Beth couldn't hold back the tears any longer. She was never good at hiding her real emotions. They all stood there quietly, while Beth made futile attempts to wipe away the tears that were now streaming down her cheeks. Jerold saw a flash of sorrow and understanding come across Alice's smooth features. Alice grabbed Beth's arm, consoling her with understanding.

"Mrs. Hanks, please don't worry. Whatever it is, I'm sure the children will understand. We'll be all right. They are in good hands." Alice hesitated and looked up at Jerold, something in her eyes, an instant flash of reckoning, causing him to catch his breath.

"Mr. Hanks," Alice continued, "trust me when I say your children are in very good care."

Jerold nodded, not knowing what she was hinting at. Alice was the best nanny they had ever had. In fact, many families in upstate New York had their eye on her. They were all waiting for her to leave them, so they could jump at the chance of hiring her for themselves.

He sighed, knowing she was right. They'd be fine.

"Alice, we probably won't be back for a while. We'll be in touch when we can." He shoved his arms into his coat. Picking up the box, he stopped and glanced around at his home, not sure when they'd be back. A feeling of abandonment swept over him. He grabbed Alice with his free hand, pulling her to his side and kissed her on the top of her head, hoping this wasn't the last time he would see her.

"Alice, you mean the world to us. Thank you so much."

Alice smiled, a faint chuckle forming under her breath, "You don't know how true that statement is."

Jerold looked at her, regarding her with a moment of apprehension, but shrugged the feeling off. He did not have the time to contemplate his intuition right now. He grabbed Beth and disappeared out the door. Jerold gave the house one last look before getting in the car. Alice stood in the side window of the entryway, wiping away the tears as she watched them leave.

Beth and Jerold drove off, first to Cornell, and then to their meeting with his dad. They had a lot of planning to do. They needed, for the safety of their children, to go in search of the seventh trunk.
Chapter 15 Harassed

### December 28-Present Day

The train ride was, much to Sebastian's relief, uneventful and boring. Several times they walked to the dining or observation cars, looking for an excuse to stretch their legs. Marshall was still bouncing off the walls, long after the initial excitement would have worn off for most seven-year-olds. Sebastian was trying very hard not to duct tape him to his seat. The people sitting around them had all gotten up in search of new seats, mumbling about "loud obnoxious brats" when they gathered their belongings. Marshall was still rambling a mile a minute, at the top of his lungs, about boring train facts. He had tried to tune him out by turning his mp3 player on full blast, but Marshall droned on about the pistons of steam locomotives, a subject he could care less about. Makayla and Ethan had gotten out their mp3 players ages ago, but were now passed out in their seats, abandoning Sebastian to Marshall's over-stimulated brain.

Finally Marshall settled down to a Lionel catalog, losing himself in his world of trains. Several minutes later he was sound asleep. Alone and quiet for the first time since they'd left, Sebastian suddenly realized he was hungry.

Rummaging through the stuffed bag, he was trying to feel for his beef jerky, but found his grandpa's mysterious present instead. He might as well open it now, since there was nothing else to do. Laying it in his lap while he tried to shove the bag back under the seat in front of him, his eyes caught Gina's card on the floor by his feet. Sebastian shoved the card into his pocket, for safe keeping, and began to fumble with the aging yarn on the package. Pulling it free, he tore through the crisp brown paper his grandfather had used as wrapping, letting it fall to the floor. Inside an old white box was an antique compass. It wasn't anything special. In fact, it looked like it had been well used. The gold was tarnished, leaving an uneven polish to the back and sides of the instrument. The paint on the face of the compass had chipped in numerous places, and the glass on the front had several thin scratches stretching across its surface. Sebastian jiggled it, trying to make the needle spring to life. Not impressed, he set it down on his lap. A white piece of paper inside the brown wrapping he had thrown down caught his eye. He scooped it up, smoothing it out on his lap. The old note had a message scribbled in his grandpa's penmanship, "It will always point the way home." Sebastian shrugged, wondering what was so special about an old compass. He shoved it and the note into his pocket, letting them rest next to Gina's card.

The train slowly lurched into the station at Springfield, just before dinner time. The children quickly grabbed their packs, wearily getting off the train. No one else was getting off from their car, but there wasn't anyone left in their car to get off with. Sebastian, climbing down onto the platform, decided they were going to have to get something to eat. He led them to the info map he spotted in the middle of the station. Remembering from their last visit that there were a few restaurants south by the River, he looked on the map for the fastest way to Main Street. They checked the map, and Sebastian suggested that they walk down Lyman and turn left on Main. The rest just shrugged at his plans, not really caring or knowing to do anything different. They headed off, anxious and nervous. Marshall was bouncing as he walked, holding on to Sebastian's hand for comfort. Ethan and Makayla still had their earphones stuffed into their ears, but were glancing nervously around while they walked. Sebastian led them in silence, letting his mind wander back to the meeting with Gina at The Outfitter's Store. He felt his pulse quicken, as he thought about the way her black hair curled around her forehead, the way her lips were puckered when she looked like she wanted to say something but didn't. He suddenly wished he hadn't been so chicken that day; desperately wanting to talk to her and figure out her secrets. At least there was still some hope they would have some classes together. Maybe then he would have the courage to talk to her for more than a minute, even ask her on a date. The second he thought about it, he felt his stomach churn.

Trying to focus on the task at hand, instead of intense fear that gripped him when he thought about dating, he turned onto Main. There were a few local restaurants and bars, but he headed toward the familiar Dippin' Donuts sign, wanting comfort food. They all ordered sandwiches, muffins, and shakes. Makayla got coffee, commenting on how she wanted to stay up to read on the bus. She said she had found a chapter that could be really useful in one of the books she had gotten. They talked about the shields, mulling over their intricate design. The conversation turned to speculating on what could be in the box. Sebastian let them carry on, but pulled himself back into his thoughts about Gina. He still didn't get it. Why was she suddenly in Ithaca? Was it a coincidence that she was there the week all their lives turned into an episode of "The Twilight Zone"? Sebastian laughed at himself, thinking that he really had lost it. She had to be just an ordinary girl. But those eyes...

"Earth to Sebastian," Makayla was pulling him out of his trance. "We need to go!"

Sebastian looked at his watch, frustrated that he had lost track of time. They had wanted to get to the bus station in plenty of time, in case they could catch an earlier bus. They found a taxi waiting outside the Dippin' Donuts. Sebastian thought it was odd that the only taxi within sight just happened to be sitting exactly where they needed it.

"Almost like it read my mind," he smirked to himself.

"What?" Marshall was looking up at him from the sidewalk

"Nothing," Sebastian shrugged.

He shook his head as he climbed into the taxi, thinking he was going to need a mental exam when this was all over.

The bus station was a small building, not designed with Christmas crowds in mind. People were coming and going, keeping the revolving doors in constant motion. There was a long line of yellow taxi cabs waiting outside the front entrance, hoping for their next fare. Inside the station, bags and people seemed to be piled everywhere. Luggage was sitting next to waiting passengers while they slept, ate, or stared off into space. Seeing the line at the ticket counter, Sebastian gave up on the idea of catching an earlier bus.

Once again, he found himself having to wait through the monotony of the check-in counter, while all the other impatient passengers grumbled behind him. Fortunately, the lady at this counter was slightly faster than the last. Sebastian grabbed his tickets and motioned for the rest to follow him to the waiting area. However, after stepping one foot into the stuffy room, he moaned to himself. There weren't enough seats open for all of them. Letting the other three have the only empty seats he could find that were together, he plopped himself down on their bags, trying to wrestle them into a position that wouldn't kill his back.

Finally, after several hours, their bus had arrived and was ready to load. Sebastian gathered up Marshall, who was dead asleep and not budging, handing his pack to Makayla to carry. She rolled her eyes, but tagged along behind him to get in line with the other passengers. People were fairly impatient, trying to push their way up the line for the chance to have first choice of seats. Sebastian was too exhausted to care where they sat, as long as it was together. While he waited, he tried to plan out something of a schedule for the impossible day ahead of them.

Tomorrow morning they would be in Boston and would check into their hotel before heading out to where ever it was they were going. According to a search on map quest, the map wasn't leading them anywhere. In fact, Google earth had no listing for anything at that location.

Sebastian began to wonder if they were just on a wild goose chase. Maybe their destination existed, but there wasn't anything significant there, at least according to the Internet. This frustrated Sebastian, but only further intrigued Makayla. Before they left, she spent hours at the library trying to get information on the address. Ethan had decided that he was responsible for the portable GPS system, eagerly attempting to find the spot. Sebastian thought he had heard Marshall mumbling to himself several times about "blue lights and nothing there." He was obviously trying to solve the newest mystery of the madness happening to them this Christmas break.

Sebastian sucked in his breath as a gust of cold wind swept across his face. The wind tousled his coppery hair, blowing the shaggy mane into his eyes. Dark clouds began to blanket most of the night sky, giving an eerie feel to the chilly night. A snow flake hit his forehead, reminding him that mother-nature could care less about his need for a clear day tomorrow. The last thing they needed was a snow storm. Turning his body to shield his face from the unrelenting wind, he heard some commotion in the back of the line. A bunch of male voices were talking loudly; a couple bellowing in laughter at another's sarcastic tones. Sebastian turned around even more, noticing three boys hanging back, keeping a distance from the rest. They were leaning up against the doors to the station, dragging on cigarettes. Rolling his eyes to himself, he knew this type. These were the kind of kids who acted like the world owed them. He grimaced, watching them, deciding that they were just as dim witted as Bobby Myers. They were punching each other in jest, laughing, and talking loud enough for the entire line to hear. A couple of them had their mp3 players so loud that the beat of their rap music was pounding through the line. Sebastian was glad he hadn't had any coffee earlier, because he was sure this group was going to make their bus ride miserable. Sleep was sounding like a nice escape.

The bus doors opened and the passengers in front of them began to get on board in single file fashion. The bus driver was roughly taking people's luggage, throwing it without much care into the storage compartment underneath. Deciding not to take any chances, he quickly handed Marshall to Makayla, who could barely hold him and switched his pack to the opposite side of the driver. Taking Marshall back, Ethan and Makayla silently followed suit. The last thing they needed was to lose their packs with all their gear inside. Not only that, but they didn't want to be hanging around, waiting for the bags, once they reached Boston. The less people noticed them, the better. Sebastian had a sinking feeling that being in the spotlight was coming soon enough. It was a thought that made every inch of him crawl with horror. Spending his whole life learning how to be a fly on the wall, he was coming to understand that he was being forced off.

A sudden gust of wind ripped through his jacket, sending shivers all over him. Although, Sebastian recalled, he had been shivering the last couple of days regardless of the weather. It was his body's natural way of warning him of his pending doom.

Clear of the bus driver, Sebastian carried Marshall and led the other two toward the middle of the bus. He set Marshall in the window seat, propping his backpack under his head as a pillow and using his jacket as a makeshift blanket. Ethan and Makayla plopped down in the seats across the aisle from him. Pushing her hair out of her face, Makayla cleared her throat with a little too much force, a signal that Sebastian knew. He glanced up at her, catching the slight panicked look in her eyes. Without turning her head, she moved her eyes toward the front of the bus. As far as he could tell there was nothing to fear except the misery the obnoxious boys promised to provide. But then he saw what was making her nervous. There, stepping onto the bus was the man in the black T-shirt, looking like he too had been waiting in the crowded waiting room. The mop of curly hair was disheveled, and his shirt a wrinkled mess. Moaning, only loud enough for Makayla to hear, Sebastian slumped down in his seat. The man passed by them without any sign of recognition making Sebastian feel a little paranoid. In fact, he took a seat a couple rows behind them, putting his bag in the rack above him. Sebastian looked at Makayla, who was now staring straight at the back of her seat, rubbing her fingers together as if a sudden gust of cold air had blown past them. He put his hand on her arm and squeezed it, silently telling her that it was going to be OK.

Makayla looked at him, eyes bright and blazing, betraying her usual carefree attitude. She slowly nodded her head, her blonde trusses waving around her.

"Hey, baby, mind if I sit here? A pretty girl could use some company, huh?" Makayla and Sebastian had been so wrapped up in the man with the black shirt boarding the bus that they hadn't notice the group of teenage boys starting to sit down in front of them.

"You can sit wherever you want, but don't call me baby! And don't even think about bothering me the rest of the trip!" Makayla's panicked expression had turned to sheer rage in a matter of seconds; her cheeks bright red and her hands curled into fists on her lap. She was nearly growling at the arrogant high school boy in front of her. Surprisingly tall and muscular, the boys were obviously the athletic type. They had been too far away at the station, merely shadows against the night's dark canvas, to see what they looked like close up. But now there was ample light from the stationary bus, he could tell their rippled necks had more muscle tone than his entire body. Great, sports jocks. At least, he thought oddly, Bobby Myers doesn't have that going for him. Glancing back at Makayla, he saw a cold and calculating expression come across her face. This was something he hadn't seen in his sister before. Why was this high school jerk hitting on his sister? Did this happen all the time? She just entered junior high! He remembered a lot of adults had murmured around him about how pretty she was, but Sebastian thought they were crazy. She was, after all, just Makayla. She was just his little sister. So, what on earth did this guy want with her?

"Whatever, babe, but if you change your mind you know where I'll be." The boy glanced over at Sebastian, sizing him up, and turned around to sit down.

Makayla relaxed a little bit, letting her fingers uncurl from the tight fists she was holding at her sides. Her color seemed to be returning to normal.

"Uh, does that happen often?" Sebastian couldn't seem to help asking the question, even though he knew he didn't want to know the answer.

Makayla didn't respond at first, but finally looked up at him.

"Sometimes..." she said, her voice drifting off for a second. "Well, actually, all the time. But only when I'm not with you or Ethan." Makayla looked down at her hands and started picking at her nails. Sebastian could feel the heat rising to his cheeks. What did she mean, "When I'm not with you or Ethan?" Was it just the high school boys, or did the college town they lived in add more misery to her life? Sebastian wanted to punch something. He hadn't felt this upset or protective over Makayla in a long time. He must not have been paying close attention to her the last couple of years, because he still saw her as the little girl in pigtails swinging on the swings at the park down the road. He still envisioned her bouncing off to ballet class in that awful tutu she used to wear. To him, she didn't seem any different. She still had the long blonde hair that tangled up into knots all the time, still had the long lanky body that she complained about, still had the pointed nose that wrinkled up every time she got annoyed, still had the long eyelashes that were like overgrown ivy on her eyes. Makayla started to giggle next to him.

"Sebastian, you should see yourself! You look pretty stupid right now." She pushed him on the arm across the aisle.

"Well, I don't know what someone's supposed to look like when they find out their little sister gets hit on by older boys _all the time,_ " Sebastian spat out, annoyed that she was laughing at him.

Makayla returned again to her normal, carefree self, trying to reassure him that she was all right. "Oh, it really isn't that bad. Usually, it's just some stupid high school boys trying to impress their friends. When they find out who I am and how old I am, they almost always back off. Except that time..." Makayla stopped herself and suddenly put her lips together in a tight line. Her eyes lost the sparkle that had just brought them back to life.

"Makayla? What do you mean? What time?" Sebastian was now on the edge of his seat, wanting to know who had hurt his sister, so he could punch his lights out when they got home.

"I don't want to talk about it. I just want to read right now, OK?" Makayla was focusing hard on trying to pull a book free from her pack, but her hands were trembling too hard to succeed.

"Makayla, what happened? Why didn't you tell me about what's been going on?"

Makayla hesitated with her bag, letting it rest on her feet, looking at the seat in front of her. Sebastian thought she was intentionally not meeting his gaze. "Because being harassed is hard enough as it is. It would be even worse with you always hovering around trying to protect me. I just want to ignore them and try to be a normal girl. Is that so bad?" Makayla finally looked up at him, her eyes pleading and sad.

Swallowing hard, trying to force down the fury raging within him, he tried to see her point. Now that he knew boys harassed her all the time, he didn't know how he could leave her alone. Fury was quickly replaced with pity, and he found he wanted to comfort her, but had no idea how. Finally, he decided to leave it alone, for now.

"Yeah, that's not so bad." Sebastian looked at her for a moment, trying to see this grown-up version of his sister. It didn't work. Pigtails still bounced in his head. He put his hand on her shoulder, trying to reassure her without saying anything. In his mind, however, he swore to himself that no one would ever hurt her. They would have to kill him first. Finally, exhausted from thinking about this new revelation, he wanted to be lost in his own little world for a while.

"Will you be OK if I get some sleep?" he asked, motioning to the boy in front of her.

Makayla flashed him a big smile, "Aren't I always?"

"Well, that's to be determined." Makayla flashed him a warning with her eyes, but Sebastian ignored her. He knew when they got back home he was going to have to be looking out for her more than usual. She was definitely not walking home by herself from school anymore. And he would make it a point to go with her to The Java or Book Rack Alley. She was probably OK with her friends, but he wasn't going to take any chances. If something happened to her, he wouldn't be able to live with himself. She was his little sister. Didn't he promise his dad and Alice to watch out for her? Well, that promise wouldn't end when their lives returned to normal. Sebastian pulled out his mp3 player and closed his eyes, and within minutes Sebastian found himself dreaming of the box and its shields.

"Just sit down and leave her alone!" A dark, husky voice pulled Sebastian from his sleep. Wearily he came to his senses, remembering why he was on this crowded and hot bus. Glancing over at Marshall, whose rhythmic breathing told him he was still dead asleep, he shook his head in amazement at how this kid could sleep anywhere. Out of the corner of his eye, a flash of black swept past him. The man in the black T-shirt was towering over the boy in front of Makayla, his back to Sebastian. Barely being able to see around to Makayla, all he could tell was she was curled up on her seat, her face buried in her knees, rocking back and forth. Her hair was acting like a protective curtain, falling over her face and keeping her from anyone's inspection.

"I wouldn't recommend doing anything else foolish. I would hate to have to come back up here and sit there." The man in the black T-shirt motioned to the empty seat in front of Sebastian.

"Oh, yeah? Think you're so tough, do ya? What are you going to do about it? Is she yours? Is she your pretty play thing?" The boy was flexing his muscle so severely that his neck was bulging with blue veins, looking like an atlas of rivers. His other friends stood up to assist. Then something happened between the man and the boys that Sebastian couldn't see from where he was sitting. All of the sudden the boy threw up his hands, as if in surrender, and sat down with a look of defeat on his face. The other two followed suit, brainless to do anything else. The man in the black T-shirt turned, glaring at Sebastian as he walked back to his seat.

Sebastian stared at the teen boys in front of him, wide-eyed, wondering what in the world he missed. Suddenly, tiny little sobs broke his train of thought. Makayla's back trembled as she cried into her knees. Pictures of the unknown possibilities flashed in his mind, making his stomach churn, as he could only imagine what had happened once he fell asleep. Ethan leaned forward, apparently wide awake, and looked at Sebastian with horror in his eyes.

"What happened?" He mouthed to his little brother.

Ethan looked at Makayla and then pulled himself past her into the aisle motioning for Sebastian to follow. Not sure he wanted to leave his sister alone he quickly made a scan of the bus to see what the other passengers were doing. Only a few overhead lights indicated those who were awake, but most were sound asleep. Sebastian caught the eye of the man who'd just saved his sister. He gave a curt nod, letting Sebastian know it was ok to go with his brother. Was he offering to watch her while he talked to Ethan? Hesitant, remembering the anxiety he had felt seeing this creep board the bus, could he trust him to protect Makayla? Well, he did stand up for her just now, but why? Curiosity got the best of him. He had to know what had happened to bring this guy out of his seat as their protector. He nodded at him, accepting his offer. The back of the bus wasn't as nearly as crowded as the front half. Plopping next to Ethan, who had found empty seats next to the bathroom, he noticed that his brother red hair was wild and his green eyes wide with disbelief, but red and puffy from exhaustion. Or had he been crying?

"Oh, man. I can't believe those creeps! I ought to smash that guy's face in." Ethan was pounding the palm of his hand, making a smacking sound as his knuckles hit the tender skin.

"Ethan, just tell me what happened!" He was already starting to flush with fury, thinking about what could have been going on with Makayla. He grabbed Ethan's hands, wanting him to stop that annoying smacking.

"Most people were asleep, but she was poring over her books like normal. After a while, Makayla got up to go to the bathroom. There were about four people in line, so she had to stand in the aisle. I had just woken up to get something to drink. The boy in front of her noticed that you had fallen asleep. He nudged his friend, pointing to Makayla. They whispered to themselves for a while, like they were making plans or plotting something. Every once in a while, they would look back at you, laughing."

Sebastian could feel the hair on the back of his neck bristling. It was all he could do to stay next to Ethan, wanting to go and bash the guy's face in.

"Then the boy got up and stood in line behind Makayla. I didn't really pay much attention. I was just annoyed that they wouldn't shut up. Man, I should have been listening. If I had known..."

Sebastian looked at his brother. Concern and sorrow swept over Ethan's freckled face; moisture creeping into the corner of his eye. A silent lull passed before Ethan finally continued.

"I did hear Makayla threaten his manhood. He must have said something to her. You know how she can be! But the boy didn't seem to take her seriously, as he knew he could take her in a heartbeat. He kept brushing her hair, whispering in her ears, touching her arms, pulling himself up to her from behind. She was frozen and rigid, with a look of panic on her face. I didn't know what to do. What could I do? Finally, after a couple of minutes, the man in the black shirt grabbed the boy by the collar, picked him up and threw him into his seat. Makayla ran back to her seat, curling up into a ball, sobbing. That's when you woke up. Man, I knew she was having a hard time with boys teasing her, but I had no idea."

Sebastian caught his last sentence. "You mean she told you she was being bothered by boys?"

Ethan seemed to catch on to his sharp tone, "Well, yeah, but she didn't make it seem like it was a big deal. I mean, I've been noticing the stares and the raised eyebrows from some of the kids when we go places, but it never seemed to be anything more than that."

Sebastian slammed his fist into the back of the seat in front of him. What had happened to his baby sister? He swore to himself that she would never leave his sight.

Ethan grabbed him by the arm and sighed, "Come on, we're almost to Boston. Let's get back up there and get ready to get off. I don't want to be hanging around the station with those creeps!"

"Yeah, good idea. We need to get her away from them as soon as we can."

Ethan and Sebastian made their way up to the front of the bus. When Sebastian got to the man in the black T-shirt, he stopped. He didn't know why, but he knew he had to thank this unexpected protector for doing what he didn't and probably couldn't.

"Thanks. My brother told me what happened. I just wanted to say thanks." Not knowing what else to do, he thrust out his hand to the mysterious stranger, who grabbed it with both of his in an ironclad grip. He hadn't guessed this man to be as strong as he now seemed. Weird, he thought. He actually took him for the moody, skate-boarding group. The man smiled, penetrating Sebastian with his eyes, like he was reading his soul. The depth of them seemed endless, giving him the feeling that he was getting lost in them, helpless to do anything but stare until the man decided to break the hold. Sebastian blinked, coming out of the trance he hadn't felt since meeting Gina. What had happened?

"Sebastian, is it?" the man asked, pulling Sebastian back to the present moment. He finally let go of his hand.

"Yeah." Sebastian pulled his hand away, rubbing some feeling back into his fingers. He finally gave up and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Well, you're welcome. Just keep a better eye on her. She seems to be having an unusual effect on most of the males on this bus."

Sebastian looked wide-eyed at him, his mouth falling open. The man just started chuckling and shrugged.

"You don't seem to be aware of the natural beauty your sister possesses. She is like a shining light in the middle of a black world. Keep an eye on her. "

"Uh, thanks?" Sebastian said, trying to get his name.

"Cyrus." The man smiled, but when Sebastian looked into his eyes, there was a darkness that came over them that sent chills down his back.
Chapter 16 The attack

#

Sebastian, Marshall, Ethan, and Makayla got off the bus at the Atlantic Avenue station, or as the locals call it South Station, in downtown Boston. They quickly dodged the other passengers, trying to avoid attracting attention. Marshall nearly collided with a large, overweight woman who was pulling her suitcases behind her. She had stopped suddenly to figure out where she needed to go to get directions. But this is how it was everywhere they turned. People were going every which way, moving at a quick pace, not bothering to look at anyone while they focused on getting to their destination points. People pushed past each other, without so much as an apology. Sebastian suddenly remembered why he liked living in a smaller town. Finally they made their way out of the congestion and headed out the station's front doors. He was pushing through the glass revolving door, when he saw the boy from the bus standing by the info map in the main lobby glaring in their direction. His friends weren't anywhere, making it seem as if he was waiting on them to return from somewhere. The boy folded his arms over his chest, not breaking his gaze toward Sebastian. Makayla was still waiting her turn to get through the glass doors. Panic shot through his entire body, not sure what to do. Obviously, the boy wasn't relenting; probably too humiliated about what happened on the bus to let it go. He turned to motion for Makayla to come over by him, but she was still on the other side of the revolving doors fishing through her purse for something. Go figure! She wasn't paying any attention to him, not looking up to notice his desperate attempt to remain calm. Suddenly a very familiar black T-shirt caught his peripheral vision. Cyrus was coming down the escalator, flipping through his iPod. He looked up and caught eyes with Sebastian, giving him a slight nod. Sebastian nodded his head toward the boy in the lobby. Cyrus looked over, his mouth turning down at the corners. He walked off the escalator, when through a second set of revolving doors, and stopped two feet from the boy. A strange sensation of relief washed over him, not entirely sure why this brooding stranger was so eager to help them out. Makayla, still completely oblivious, spun through the revolving door at last, putting on some pink glittery lip gloss. Sebastian nearly lost it, but then figured it was probably better that she didn't know.

The boy on the bus watched them leave, but seemed to be more furious than ever having Cyrus so close to him.

Once outside on the sidewalk, Sebastian suddenly realized he wasn't sure where they were. With all the drama on the bus, they hadn't looked at their maps to figure out how to get to the hotel. It was just after eight a.m., and they were tired, dirty and hungry. Nothing familiar, in the way of food, stuck out to him. Frustrated that he hadn't thought to stop at one of the many kiosks in the station, he knew they couldn't go back inside. His stomach screaming at him in neglect, he finally saw a sign down the street that read "Smoothie Squeeze." They had to do something to kill time before they could check in at the hotel, and sightseeing was not at the top of the list right now.

"Let's go over there and get some breakfast." Sebastian pointed to the juice store's sign.

"Do they have anything to eat?" Marshall was grabbing his stomach.

"I don't know. I have some stuff in my pack if they don't. Let's just go and check it out."

They crossed Atlantic and headed south to the store. The smoothie store didn't have much in the way of food, but Sebastian had crumbled Pop tarts in his pack. They sat down in the empty store to drink their smoothies and munch on crumbs of brown sugar and cinnamon. It seemed odd to him that the store was empty, especially for work day. They had the place all to themselves. Maybe, he thought, the work rush was over.

They ate in silence; everyone tired from the long bus ride. Makayla's eyes were still red around the edges from crying, but she was hiding the evidence behind her thick trusses. Ethan grabbed the maps out of his bags, laying out the portable GPS system on the table. He started working on programming their way to the hotel, annoyed by Marshall's eager attempts to help. Sebastian was trying to find the number to the hotel, wanting to call and see if they could check in early. He was watching his sister closely, worried that she was still stressed out about that jerk. Suddenly, panic streaked across Makayla's face. She grabbed his hand, her eyes huge with fear. She motioned with her head to the door, just as a bell announced the entry of a new customer. Sebastian looked around and groaned. The boys from the bus had followed them and were heading toward their table, a determined look on their faces.

But how? What happened to Cyrus?

"Hey, babe, miss me?" The boy spat out, towering over their table. Marshall and Ethan stopped what they were doing, frozen with fear.

Sebastian didn't want to stand, fearing that the height difference between himself and the guy would encourage him to continue on his quest to have Makayla.

Still in his seat, he growled through his teeth. "Why don't you just give up this ridiculous charade? She's made it perfectly clear she's not interested."

The boy's rancid breath was warm on his neck as the jerk leaned inches from his face, making him shudder.\ "Because I always get what I want. And I've decided I want her. Just for a while, then you can have your little slut back."

Sebastian stood up so fast that he didn't even realize what he was doing. He pulled his arm back and punched the boy so hard in the nose, he sent him reeling on his feet. Blood instantly began oozing from his nostrils. The boy growled with rage and ran at Sebastian, grabbing him by the collar. Before he knew what happened, Sebastian felt himself flying through the air. A loud thud reached his ears, and something cold and hard slammed into his back. Pain coursed down his spine, like a fire blazing through his body, as he tumbled to the floor. He lay there, trying to keep his mind coherent, needing to protect his sister.

"Stand up!" He screamed at himself.

If he could just get his legs under him, he might have the strength to get the other three out of there before everything went terribly wrong. But when he tried to move, the pain paralyzed him even further. No part of his body was responding to what he mind was commanding.

Just when he thought it was over, a sudden blast of cool air crossed his face, making him alert to a funny sound. Laughter began ringing in his ears, the sound of the thugs hovering over him, mocking his weakness.

A small fire began to boil inside his legs, slowly spreading its way to his arms. He tried again to move. This time he forced himself up, grabbing at the wall for balance. He glanced over at his table and saw the boy struggling with Makayla, who was screaming for help. Her chair tumbled to the ground, as the boy forced her to stand up. The fire burning in his legs had gone away. But he could feel it being replaced by the animal that had been stirring deep within him this week. This time Sebastian did not push it away. Just like in the dream, he let the animal creep up, shoving its rage into his arms and down to his hands. He willed its power to snake down his legs, to his feet. Sebastian sprang at the boy, tossing him to the ground. He wrestled him down, pinning him to the tile floor, throwing his fist as hard as he could at his face. The boy's face bloodied again, and he pulled his hands up trying to protect himself from Sebastian's blows. No one noticed the blow that was about to come from behind. Pain seared through his ear as the friend knocked Sebastian on the side of the head, throwing him off Makayla's attacker. The room started to spin. He tried to focus his eyes, but his vision was blurred. It was all he could do to stand back up and swagger toward the two boys who were back at it with his sister. He willed his legs toward them, one step at a time. Where had the fire gone? Where was the rage that had spurred him on? In a daze, he found enough strength to pull his foot up to the friend's side, making contact with his ribs. The friend went sprawling into the table behind him, knocking it and two chairs to the floor. Finally, the restaurant staff came running out, confused about the commotion in the lobby. Someone shouted to call the cops, but Sebastian didn't care, as he was too intent on getting his message across to Makayla's stalkers. Suddenly, the boy sprung from the ground and threw his fist into Sebastian's stomach. Sebastian fell to his knees, his lungs burning with each breath he took. He doubled over, putting his hands to the tile floor, spitting blood. Just as the boy was ready to hit him over the head with a chair, a dark, gruff voice came like music to Sebastian's ear.

"Enough!" Cyrus was standing in the doorway, ready to pounce. The boys took one look at him and ran out of the restaurant. Cyrus ran over to Sebastian, pulling him up into his arms with little effort. Looking over at Marshall, Ethan and Makayla, who were sitting with their backs to the wall terrified, he barked, "Let's go!"

The three grabbed their stuff, following without question. Sebastian passed out in Cyrus' arms, blood dribbling out of the corner of his mouth. Cyrus climbed in the back seat of the taxi waiting outside, with Sebastian lying on his side, while the others jumped in, too afraid to ask any questions.

"Cambridge Hospital," Cyrus said, gruffly. The taxi driver nodded, speeding off toward the Emergency Room.

Hidden in the alley, a tall dark woman stepped out, watching the taxi drive off. She pulled a silver cell phone out of the pocket of her black leather coat and dialed a number. Her black eyes darted up and down the familiar streets of Boston. Dark, long dread locks swayed as she hurriedly headed north up the sidewalk. Finally someone on the other end picked up.

"The boys failed. The children got away. And he's with them."

Unfamiliar beeps stirred him awake, only to find a blinding light shining in his eyes when he tried opening them. He kept them shut.

Sebastian could feel warm, soft hands poking his face, moving down to his ribs. The pain seared up his back as the finger continued to prob.

"And you're his father?" A soft, deep voice was obviously doubtful as he questioned a man standing at his right. His father? He strained to remember what had happened. Where was he? Then he gasped, as another round of pain shot through him like a fire trying to consume him.

"Ah, he's coming around. Well, we'll need to get a few X-rays. I think his ribs might be broken." Broken ribs? He fluttered his eyes open to find the bright light still cursing his vision. He gazed around him, only being able to make out a curtain with pastel strips and flowers, pulled open revealing a bright sterile room behind it. Nothing else was coming into view except for the silver rings attached to the curtain. Focusing on the rings, Sebastian let his vision come around, before trying to see the rest of the room. Finally, he glanced over and saw Makayla with bright red eyes looking at him. Marshall was sitting in the chair next to her with his chin on his knees. Next to Marshall, Ethan was leaning against the wall, staring at him, eyes narrow in concern. A smile crept across his face, when he looked into Sebastian's eyes. Just as Sebastian was going to ask him what happened, a black mass stepped in his way. He looked up and saw Cyrus staring down at him, his eyes deep with worry. Finally, everything came to him; the bus ride, the mission, the map, the fight in the restaurant. The pain he was in suddenly intensified. He threw his hands to his stomach, groaning at the consuming fire that was raging war inside of him.

"They've given you something for that. It should go away soon." Cyrus' voice wasn't as hard as it had been this morning. Sebastian wanted to sit up, but knew he couldn't. He didn't like this man being here with them. He was a total stranger, one that Sebastian didn't feel right about. Why would he give up his own day to watch out for some ragamuffin band? For all he knew, they were runaways with no home. He had no idea who they were, nor did they understand who he was. It was just weird that he was acting as their "protector." He shrugged off the feeling of dread, as the pain became more acute. What did he say about pain medicine?

"Cyrus, why were you at the restaurant? How did you know we were there?" Sebastian thought the question had come from his own mouth, because that was exactly what he was thinking. But he looked over and saw Marshall's eyes questioning this knight in a black T-shirt. Cyrus looked at the three along the wall, clearly choosing his words carefully. He put his hand on Marshall's head, rubbing the sandy fine hair.

"We'll have time for questions later. Right now, let's let Sebastian rest. Come on guys, why don't we go find the soda machine." Cyrus winked at Sebastian and led them out of the room. Moments later a nurse came to wheel him toward the X-ray room.

Sebastian had two broken ribs, bruises everywhere, and seven stitches on his face. Cyrus had found Sebastian's insurance card in his wallet and concocted some story about being his father. Sebastian's mouth fell open as Cyrus, overly charming and polite, told the registration attendant that he had forgotten his ID at the hotel. The woman, flustered and flushed, accepted the story without question. The doctor, standing over Sebastian at the time, gave him a quizzical look. But Cyrus' face never let on there was anything wrong. The story was that some homeless men had caught up with them in an alley and Sebastian had gotten in the way. It was good enough to get them in and out of the hospital without anyone questioning otherwise.

Once they left the hospital, however, Cyrus returned to the hardened man he'd been on the bus. The gruff tones in his voice made Sebastian think that the soft, kind voice he'd just heard in the hospital was a hallucination. Sebastian was feeling a little woozy again, not sure if the pain medicine was churning his stomach or it was Cyrus' return to the dark side. Cyrus grabbed Marshall up into his arms, Marshall giving him an annoyed look, and grabbed Makayla by the hand. Sebastian was leaning on Ethan for support, knowing he couldn't hold himself up, but also not sure what they were supposed to do now. They either had to get to the hotel and continue on their mission or go back to the bus station. If they were smart, they'd head back, as fast as they could, to the safety of their grandparents. But, then again, would they just have to do this all over again?

"Well, again, thanks for your help. I guess we should get to our hotel." Sebastian stuck out his free hand, but Cyrus shot him a look. Chills went down his spine, as the man's face now matched his voice.

"You think I'm just going to walk away and let you guys roam Boston alone? I think I'm going to stay with you for the next couple of days, just to see that you don't get yourselves killed."

Sebastian caught his breath. "Well, thanks, but we don't really know who you are. It's a little creepy for a complete stranger to follow four children around, don't you think?"

Cyrus put Marshall down. Sebastian could feel his eyes boring into him, but was too nervous to meet his gaze. Finally, he looked up and saw Cyrus running his fingers through his hair, as if trying to figure out what to say.

"Let's just say I'm not as much of a stranger as you think. Maybe I'm your guardian angel." Cyrus smiled, piercing Sebastian with his eyes. Sebastian looked at him, trying to decide what his intentions were, when he noticed something changing in his expression. The brown in his eyes began to swirl, almost like they were forming a picture of something. The color was flecked with swarming colors. For an instant, Sebastian thought he saw the face of his mom. Sebastian couldn't pull his eyes away; he couldn't release his gaze. But just as suddenly as it started, it stopped. Cyrus quickly grabbed up Marshall, breaking the hold he had on him.

"Sebastian," Makayla whispered, looking down at her feet. "I would feel better if he stayed with us. He saved my life and maybe yours."

He could feel a deep sigh escaping his lips, which only sent pain shooting through his ribs. He groaned and grabbed his side, nearly toppling over onto his brother. Cyrus put his free arm around his waist, suddenly laughing, acting carefree as he had been in the hospital. Growling in humiliation under his breath, he was not happy that Cyrus was seemingly taking pleasure in his pain.

"Well, it would seem like you aren't the defense machine that you were a couple of hours ago, huh? Maybe I should stick around until you feel better."

A sudden desire to start another fight surged its way into Sebastian. The feeling of being incapable was nothing new, but it never had bothered him as much as it did in this moment. With nothing left to do, he shot Cyrus a warning look, letting him know he was watching him and spat out, "Fine."

Cyrus chuckled some more and said with a light voice, "Fine. Now if you don't mind, I would like to get to the hotel before more evil disasters find you guys." Cyrus hailed a taxi with a smile, a look that seemed unusual on his face, but the lightheartedness didn't last long. A dark, moody cloud came over him once more. Sebastian was thinking about his ever changing eyes, when he noticed Cyrus sticking his nose up in the air, as if trying to sniff it.

Suddenly picking up speed and anxious, Cyrus grabbed their stuff, shoved them into the taxi, and told the driver to get out of there as fast as possible.

Down the road, sitting outside a small cafe, the lady in the black leather coat watched them leave the hospital. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed. "It's me. He's still got them." She listened. "I know. He's hurt, looks pretty bad." Pause. "Yes." Pause. "OK." She hung up the phone and left toward the south side of Boston.

#  Chapter 17 History

### December 24-A Few Days Earlier

"Well, are you going to tell me what I came to hear?" Jerold Hanks leaned into the dark man before him, anxious to get on with it.

"Where's the lady?" The man sat back in his chair, chewing on the straw from his cocktail.

"She couldn't make it. She wasn't well." Jerold grimaced at Beth's haggard appearance the last couple of days, coming down with the flu.

The man clicked his tongue, "Such a shame. Do you have my payment?"

A large envelope filled with bills was laid in the middle of the table.

"All American, just like you asked. You can count it if you want, but it's all there."

The man smiled and shoved the envelope into his jacket. Jerold watched him make a quick surveillance out the window, and then he leaned into him, so close that the man's cologne overwhelmed his senses. Holding his breath in anticipation of the information this native man, Ceban, could mean for their search, he silently hoped he hadn't made a mistake. They didn't have much time in Port Elizabeth, and they could use a bit of luck right now.

Just a few days ago, Jerold happened to be in the right place at the right time. He was in the city's small library, reading through old tribal stories and histories, focusing on books about South Africa during the 1800s, before the British turned this port into a major English trade city. A tall black man had walked past, slowing as he noticed the books on Jerold's table, studying him with a curious look.

"Excuse me, may I ask a question?" Ceban inquired, standing at the edge of Jerold's table, hands shoved into his denim jacket.

"I guess so."

"Why is 'n Amerikaanse wit man studying the history of an African tribe from long ago?" The man was leaning into Jerold, a polite smile plastered into place. Ah, a man who speaks Afrikaans and English.

"Well, I'm researching, although, I'm not sure if I'm searching through the correct information. I'm looking for a particular item that might've been lost centuries ago."

"What item is that?" The man sat down across from Jerold, suddenly interested.

"Well, it's of a confidential nature. I can't share that information," Jerold said not sure if this man was to be trusted.

"I see. Well, I might've been of some assistance. Name's Ceban." He shoved his hand out, which Jerold tentatively shook.

"I've lived here all my life, and that book," he pointed to the book opened, "is the history of my people."

Jerold sat up, suddenly attentive. "You are of the Khoi tribe?"

"Yes. I am a decedent of the Khoi people. My ancestors were a small sect of that tribe. I have grown up with their legends and tales."

"You mean you know their origins?" Jerold sat back, eyebrows raised.

Jerold looked across at Ceban, studying the man's strong facial features, his prominent chin that jutted out just a little too far in front of his face, his high cheek bones, his wide nose that sat between two very dark eyes that blazed against his black skin.

"Jerold, my name is Jerold Hanks."

Ceban smiled letting his brilliant white teeth gleam in the dimly lit library. Jerold relaxed a bit; his instincts telling him this man could be trusted.

Ceban shook his hand, leaning into him from across the table.

"You see, Mr. Hanks, I was raised here by my grandmother and mother. I never knew my father, as he was never involved in my life. But, my mother and grandmother tried to raise me with a sense of dignity, culture, and purpose. They decided that it was very important for me to understand my origins and the histories of this town. So, when most children have bedtime stories and fairy tales, I had tribal legends and stories of my ancestors. So, if there were any stories you needed to know about the tribe, I am sure that I would know of them."

"Well, then, yes you can be of some assistance to me." Looking around, Jerold decided that this was not the place. "Meet me on Wednesday night at the bar across the street. My wife will be with me."

Ceban smiled and nodded. He wrote something down on a piece of paper and pushed it in front of Jerold. Jerold picked up the paper, his shoulders sagging.

"Of course, I should have known you'd want payment for your information. I'm sorry for not offering." Jerold was slightly disgusted at the bribe, but it wasn't at all uncommon.

"No problem, my friend. Good information is not free. If there is an item of interest that was lost, and if there are stories about such an item, I would know. As I said, I've been raised with the history of my tribe and its tales." Ceban stood up, walked out of the library, never looking back at Jerold.

Jerold looked at Ceban in front of him. The crowd in the bar was growing; a comfort for Jerold in case Ceban wasn't the man he claimed to be. Jerold patiently waited for him to begin his tale.

"Well, there is a brief history about a box, but not a trunk. But this box was said to have an unusual shape, like an egg, and it held unlimited treasure. Anyway, the white man brought it to this area, before the ships came to haul off slaves. The legends say there were four white people in all; a small boy, an older boy and two women. My people were scared of them at first, scared of their skin color. They were planning on killing them, but curiosity kept them from doing so. They continued to let them live among them, eventually forgetting the plans of death as they began to see they brought peace with them. The vreemdeling taught them many things that improved their quality of life. In fact, the legends say they were full of magic, but it was thought the strange box was the source of the magic."

"Why would the box be the source?" This was the first time Jerold heard anything about magic or power being associated with the trunks, if this was one of their trunks. But it was a possibility he'd been thinking about the last few years. How else could they be impossibly locked?

Ceban smiled, "The wit man protected the vak with their lives, never letting anyone near it. But then the men in ships started arriving, capturing slaves from the neighboring tribes. The wit man wanted to stay to help the Khoi, but one day while a small group took the wit man hunting, my tribe was captured and taken away on the slave ships. When they returned, the village was burned to the ground. The only thing that survived the flames of the slawehandelaars was the box. Legends say that the white visitors helped all that survived escape into a secret world: a world that would protect them forever from any evil or danger. About 6, along with the box, were taken to that world."

"Do you know where this secret world is?" Jerold was shocked, frustrated.

"Now that my friend is something I know nothing about. You see my ancestors were in hiding in the bushes just outside the village, having been to the river for cleaning, and missed being taken either on the ship or to the secret world. They overheard what was happening, but were too fearful of going with either party. They thought the second party with the white visitors would eventually be caught and put onto the ships with everybody else. So, they made their own way, carrying on my tribe from the few they had remaining. They somehow found a place that allowed them to escape the slave captives, but if you ask me, I think that the white visitors put magic on the tribe before they left for the secret world. I think the spell hit the ancestors in hiding."

Jerold's eye brows shot up, questioning the man's theory. The story was already far-fetched for him, but spells?

Ceban noticed his doubt, but continued. "Why do I think this? Because, from that day forward, not one conflict ever descended upon my tribe. No slave ships, no tribal wars, no plagues, no sickness, no hunger. Natural death was the only sorrow experienced after that day. My relatives all say that the white man's box holds the power of life. Many of my descendants have sacrificed much to find it, but no one ever has."

"Do you know where this village was located? Is it still around?"

Ceban sat back in his chair and smiled at the question. "You are in luck, my friend. The gods are smiling on you, for the right information has fallen into your lap this week, has it not? Well, it is just as it was back then. I go there sometimes when I need to remember who I am. It is about 40 miles north, in the jungle."

"Will you drive me and my wife?" Jerold was whispering as loudly as he dared.

"Well, that will cost you extra, but yes, I will take you there."

"Tomorrow, then?"

Ceban smiled, "Yes, môre will be just fine."

Ceban got up, strolling out of the bar with a spirit that defied the cares of the world. Jerold watched him leave, thinking about what he had just learned, wondering if all this time they had been dealing with the impossible. His instincts told him he was out of his mind to even consider it, but his heart told him the truth has been staring at him for years.

The next morning Jerold, Beth, and Ceban were loading the jeep with their gear. They were dressed in hiking clothes, prepared to make some of the journey on foot if necessary. Beth insisted on coming despite the fact that she spent the entire morning throwing up. She was sitting on a bench outside their hotel, closing her eyes, be he could tell she was breathing in deeply, trying to ease her stomach. The sun was streaming down into the small courtyard outside their hotel. Peeking through the trees, the natural light acted the stage lights hitting her face. Even in sickness, Jerold thought she was the most beautiful thing he'd every laid eyes on. Wanting to alleviate her discomfort, he took a handkerchief from his pocket and soaked it with water from his canteen. He made his way to her and silently handed it to his wife, who was grateful but preferred to be miserable alone. Beth took the handkerchief and rubbed it all over her face. Finally, after all their gear was loaded up, they hopped in the Jeep and Ceban began driving them toward the place where his people once lived.

A few miles from their destination point, Ceban stopped the Jeep to make a pit stop, leaving Jerold and Beth protected by only a single riffle. They had left the border of the civilized coastal town of Port Elizabeth about a half hour ago and were now deep into hilly jungles of South Africa. Jerold looked at Beth, whose face was covered with sweat. He could tell she was battling with her stomach on the bumpy and rough ride. Even so, this was not the worst she'd been through, so he remained quiet, knowing she didn't want to be babied. She was tough. He knew she could handle anything, if she had to.

Jerold wrapped his fingers around the trigger of the rifle, wanting to be ready should they have an unexpected encounter with some of the wild animals known to these parts.

Hoping to distract his wife, and himself, from any anxious thoughts while they sat in the thick of the jungle, he began to hum. An old hymn quickly popped up in his head, one from his youth. A chuckle nearly escaped his lips. He hadn't been to church in years, except for the traditional Christmas Eve service, when they were home. Jerold sighed, his thoughts coming round to home. What would the kids be doing right now? Would the Christmas decorations be hung? Glancing at his watch, he answered his own internal query. Everyone at his house was probably asleep by now. It was almost Christmas for them. He smiled, thinking about all the things they had ordered online during their trip from New York to South Africa. Hopefully, it had all arrived in time. He had purchased a prepaid card for Sebastian, just in case Tildon.... The thought was interrupted by the sound of an oncoming truck. Jerold instantly stood up in the passenger side of the truck and looked down the road, nothing coming into view. He looked at Beth, who was looking down the road as well, and held his breath. There, several miles off, were two trucks. He grabbed the high resolution binoculars from his pack and focused on the front truck, knowing that if one of Tildon's associates was here, they'd be in the front. He zoomed in as far as the lens would go. Three figures were standing in the front with guns aimed and ready. Jerold gasped when he made out the figure of a dark woman in black; a face he'd know that face anywhere. Angelica. Jerold dropped the binoculars, nodded to Beth, who needed no explanation. They quickly scrambled for their gear. Fortunately, they had prepared themselves for the unexpected, packing enough food and water to make it several days out here. Hopefully, that is all they'd need to outrun their attackers. Ceban. Jerold stopped. They'd have to make a run for it in his direction. He silently prayed that they would find him. Otherwise, it would be the end for the tribal guide they had started to befriend. Jerold grabbed Beth's hand and they disappeared off into the line of trees.

Angelica watched through her binoculars, as Beth and Jerold made their way into the dense forest. She'd hoped she would get the pleasure of ended this fiasco herself, but Tildon had called. The King's magic had finally been used and she was needed back in the States to follow the children of the prophecies. Her associates would have to finish off the parents.
Chapter 18 Plans

### December 29-Present Day

The four Hanks children and Cyrus rode to the hotel without speaking. They all scrambled out of the taxi, dragging their feet from exhaustion to the front desk. Sebastian reluctantly gave his reservation information to Cyrus, letting Ethan help him to a couch in the lobby. It was a relief to learn that he at least had the decency to get two separate rooms that were connected together. Time to plan in private was an essential right now, especially since they had to figure how to work around Sebastian's current condition.

When they got to their rooms, Cyrus excused himself for a shower. He made it very clear, nearly scowling at them, that they were not to go anywhere without him. Frustrated at the new turn of events, Sebastian rolled his eyes and cursed silently at the helpless feeling he had, his plans now screwed up. Not to mention the fact that they were now allowing a complete stranger to assist them. How on earth were they going to tell Cyrus about the box? How were they going to get away from him long enough to search for the keys? If they told him, he would probably think they were crazy and put them on a train straight back to Ithaca. On the other hand, Cyrus didn't seem to be all that normal either, so maybe he would believe them.

Makayla rushed into the bathroom, claiming first dibs on the shower, which was fine with him. All he wanted to do was crash on the bed, his pain meds were starting to wear off. Overwhelmed by everything, he lowered himself on the bed and felt a heavy sigh escape. Marshall sat down next to him, laid his head on his stomach. Sebastian sharp breath reminded all of them his need for rest.

Marshall sat up and mumbled, "Sorry, I forgot."

"It's OK, buddy. Today's been a very long day."

"Are you worried?" His eyes were roaming over Sebastian's wounds.

"About what, exactly?"

"What we're going to tell him?" Marshall motioned toward Cyrus' room, looking down at Sebastian.

Sebastian laughed, wondering how Marshall does it. "Are you a mind reader? Sometimes I swear you can read my thoughts."

Marshall smiled, clearly thrilled at his brother's observation. "It's not that hard to know what you're thinking. You just have to be observant, that's all."

"Well, mister-know-it-all, what do you think?"

"Well, we could tell him the truth, but it's a risk." Marshall turned and put his chin on his knees. "If he thinks we're crazy, then we'll probably be making this trip again next month. But, if he believes us, then we could use his help, that's for sure." Sebastian winced at the reference to his inadequacy.

"So, I was thinking that maybe we could do it with him, without him even knowing about it." Marshall was still staring at the blank television on the dresser.

"What do you mean?" Ethan, who had been tinkering around on the GPS was now standing at the foot of the bed, curious what Marshall was thinking. Makayla's shower was still going, and Sebastian knew she'd probably be in there a while. She deserved it, after what she'd been through in the last 24 hours.

"Well, what if we said we wanted to go on a sightseeing tour? And we happened to find ourselves in the area that the map's leading us to?" Marshall pulled out the map. It seemed to Sebastian that the blue lights were brighter than the last time he'd looked.

Noticing his expression, his little brother expressed his thoughts. "Yeah, they're getting brighter. It seems like the closer we get to this spot," he pointed to where the map ended, "the brighter the lights get. It's talking again; trying to tell us that we're close."

Sebastian ran his fingers lightly over the map, in awe. How could a map talk? How could light have life? These kinds of thoughts made his head swim. He laid his head back down on the pillow, tracing the cracks in the plaster ceiling with his eyes.

"Anyways, if we go to the spot with Cyrus, then we'll know where it is. Then we can sneak out early tomorrow morning, before he wakes up, and search for the key. Once we have it, we can come back and act like we never left."

Ethan looked at the clock. "Marshall, it's almost five. Everything is probably getting ready to close for the day."

Marshall put his lips together in thought. "OK, so what if we find a restaurant on your GPS that's close to here." He pointed to the last light on the map. "We can tell him we want to go there for dinner?"

It was the best plan they had. In fact it was the only plan they had. "Marshall, I think it might just work."

Marshall smiled, loving it when Sebastian liked his ideas.

Ethan sat down at the edge of the bed. "We still have to come up with a story. We have to tell him why we're here for a day, by ourselves, and leaving tomorrow."

Closing his eyes, Sebastian racked his brain for something that seemed realistic. But there was nothing but intensifying pain.

Marshall smiled, and Ethan rolled his eyes at his little brother.

"You thought that through too, haven't you?"

"Of course!" Marshall said it so confidently that Sebastian found himself laughing. He grabbed his ribs in pain.

"There's a Boston Celtics game tonight. Maybe we got tickets for Christmas and our parents let us come for the day to see the game with some family friend who didn't show up at the bus stop. We could pretend to try to call the friend a couple of times tonight. It wouldn't be our fault if we don't get through."

"What about the tickets?" Sebastian sat up on his elbows, trying to see any possible holes in the story.

Marshall smiled. He reached into his pocket, pulling out four tickets to the game.

"Where did you get those?" Ethan's eyes were wide with surprise.

"Oh, I thought we might need an alibi. So, I had Alice help me purchase these before we left. I purchased them and had them overnighted to our house before we left." Marshall was clearly delighted with himself.

Looking over the tickets his brother had handed him, he was amazed at the things he'd failed to think through. "Incredible," he whispered. "You think of everything! It's all very impressive for someone with no imagination."

"I know!" Marshall jumped off the bed and shoved the tickets back into his pocket. "This has more to do with logic than imagination. So, do you think it'll work?"

"Yeah, I do. I think it will."

Ethan nudged him on the leg. "Do you think we could really go to the game? I mean, since we already have the tickets and everything?"

Sebastian threw a pillow at his brother. "We are not here to go to a basketball game! "

"What a waste!' Ethan grumbled, going back to work on the GPS.

"I guess you could go. But if we're getting up at the crack of dawn, I'm not dragging you around on my back." Maybe they could go and he would have a quiet room to sleep.

"Like you even could." Ethan smirked. "Marshall, what time does it start?"

"Tip off is at eight," Marshall said, lying on the bed next to Sebastian.

"Why don't you guys find the restaurant on the GPS?" Sebastian said, looking at Ethan while dictating directions. "We need to know where we're heading tomorrow morning. Then have Cyrus take you to the game. I'll stay here and crash."

The sound of the GPS being programmed let him know that Ethan was already getting to work on find somewhere to eat in the area of the last light.

"Ethan, remember to program your GPS on the way to the restaurant. That way we can retrace the route tomorrow morning."

"I thought that was the plan, genius," Ethan mumbled.

A knock at the attached door in their room startled them. Cyrus poked his head around the door, scanning the room.

"Are you guys OK?" he asked gruffly. He glanced around the room again, noticing the absence of Makayla, but then glanced at the sound of the shower and his shoulders relaxed a bit.

"We have tickets to tonight's Celtics game. Will you take us?" Ethan grabbed the tickets from Sebastian and held up them up as proof.

"There aren't enough for all of us." Cyrus looked at the tickets, clearly not excited about basketball. Smiling in spite of himself, Sebastian wondered why he took pleasure in the fact Cyrus might be miserable at a basketball game.

"I don't want to go. I'll just stay here and crash," Sebastian tried to say complacently.

"And you want me to take them? I thought you didn't trust me?" Quizzical, and normal, eyes were boring into him.

He narrowed his eyes back, not wanting to give him an upper hand. "Well, I figured if you were going to hurt us, you would've had your chance. And if you weren't really interested in watching out for us, you would've let those boys beat me up and take Makayla. I guess I really don't have a reason not to trust you."

There was a moment of silence in the room, while everyone waited to see if he'd take the bait.

"OK, a basketball game it is. But, Sebastian, you have to promise me you won't leave this hotel."

Sebastian shrugged, still looking hard at him.

"Cyrus, there's this restaurant I wanted to try before the game." Ethan held up the GPS. Marshall was rummaging through his pack, pulling out a pamphlet of the restaurant that was on the screen. He saw Ethan's mouth fall open, and Marshall shrugged at him, as if it was no big deal. Sebastian tried not to smile, silently wishing he had an ounce of Marshall's brain.

Cyrus grabbed the pamphlet, scanning the front cover.

"Marshall, it's almost five-thirty. I don't think we can to get to the north side of downtown, eat, and make it to the game in time."

Marshall shrugged, "I don't care if we miss some of the game. I really want to go there. Please?" Marshall gave him his pleading eyes, the ones that always got him what he wanted, especially when he was asking for a new train.

Cyrus wasn't biting. "Why do you want to go to this restaurant?" He glanced around the room, studying their faces, obviously suspicious. Ethan was trying to study his GPS intently, not wanting to give away his shock.

"Well, it's Cheers. This is the restaurant I've seen on all those reruns, and I thought it would be cool to see it in real life. Haven't you seen the show?" Marshall looked at him with a curious glance.

Sebastian studied Cyrus. Not a hint of recognition came across his face.

"Uh, sure." Cyrus seemed flustered, quickly heading back to his room. "All right, I guess I'll go get my stuff and get ready. You'll need to get Makayla out of the bathroom. Tell her we're leaving in 15 minutes."

"She can stay here with me, if she wants," Sebastian offered up the idea, thinking they could study her books together. Maybe they could make some new plans, now that things have changed.

"No way!" Cyrus snapped too quickly at the idea. The dark features were returning to his face, but soften instantly when he saw Sebastian flinch.

"I don't want to let her out of my sight right now. Plus some fun might do her good; get her mind off what happened today."

"Fine." Sebastian was ready for him to just leave. He suddenly wanted to be alone.

Cyrus went into his room, shutting the door behind him. Ethan shot Marshall a look.

His little brother sighed. "I just thought we'd need information on places around the end point. I pulled this up online, mostly to show a taxi driver or something. It's no big deal."

A few minutes later, Makayla came into the room. They caught her up to speed about their new plan while they rushed around to get ready. Cyrus came back into the room and barked some orders to Sebastian, nothing Sebastian really heard, before he pushed the rest out the door. Sebastian ordered room service, took more pain meds, watched some television, and fell asleep.
Chapter 19 The Room of Transition

"Sebastian, wake up! Come on, we've got to go."

Sebastian moaned, not wanting to move his stiff body. He could still feel the sharp pain from yesterday's fight. When he opened his eyes, he found Ethan standing over him, dressed and ready to go. Grabbing his ribs in agony, he couldn't remember ever feeling so miserable. Of all the times to be completely incapable of moving, it was just his luck it would happen today. It could be the biggest day of his life.

"What time is it?" Sebastian couldn't see around Ethan to look at the clock on the nightstand.

"Its 4:30 in the morning. Come on, get up. I'll help you get dressed." Ethan supported Sebastian as he slowly sat up, guiding him toward the bathroom, where he had already laid out some of Sebastian's clothes. Pride found its way into his throat, wanting him to scream out in objection of needing help, especially now. However, nothing would come of a pointless argument now. The lump had to be swallowed and he would have to gratefully accept. He was so used to taking care of them. Not the other way around. Sebastian pulled out the contents of his pockets from yesterday and shoved them into his fresh jeans.

Ethan shot him a worried look, "Are you up for this? You look terrible."

"Thanks a lot. Yeah, I'll be fine." The bottle of pain killers was still open from last night. Grabbing more than necessary, he swallowed them down.

There was a light knock on the door, and Marshall peered in. "It's time to go. The taxi will be here in a few minutes."

"Taxi?" Sebastian raised his eyebrows in question.

"Well, while you were out cold last night, we put our heads together. We decided to call a taxi for this morning, knowing you couldn't walk there, let alone to the bus stop three blocks away. So we called the cab instead." Ethan was holding up him coat, patiently waiting for him to put his arms through the sleeves.

"Anything else I need to know about?" He instantly regretted missing last night's pow wow. Gentle hands of his brother helped him pull his coat on, while he tried not to grimace at the fresh wave of pain the motion shot through him.

"Well, the place we are supposed to go is under construction. Apparently, it doesn't exist, yet. But we kind of already knew that, since I've been trying for days to find it on the GPS without much luck. So, we have some hunting to do." Ethan flashed him a confident smile and shrugged his shoulders as if this was no big deal.

Sebastian knew better than to argue, reminding himself again that picking a fight didn't seem like the thing to do right now. He grabbed his pack, surprised at how light it was.

Makayla snatched it from him before he could get it on his back. "We divided up all your stuff into our bags. We figured you'd be in too much pain to carry your pack. Sorry." She knew it would hurt his already tattered ego.

"Thanks, guys. You've been awesome this trip." Sebastian thought he'd have to do everything while they were here, but he was being proven wrong at every turn. He didn't know what he would've done without them.

The taxi was waiting for them when they reached the front lobby. They quickly climbed into the back seat, Ethan showing the driver where on the GPS they wanted to go, or at least the area. Trying to hide the pain he was in, Sebastian turned away from them and looked out the window. He scanned the seemingly quiet hotel lobby that was only hours away from being awakened with demanding guests. Just behind the glass revolving doors, a strange-looking lady was standing near the front desk. She was leaning against the counter, watching them leave. Remarkably tall, her legs were exaggerated by the tight high heel leather boots that laced up to her knees. She wore a short black skirt that hit her mid-thigh, drawing even more attention to her skinny legs. Her black leather coat hung open to her waist, revealing a sheer black tank top underneath. The shirt clung to her tiny torso, but instead of making her seem emaciated, it hugged the tone shape of her mid-section. Messy dread locks hit her waist, reminding him of fraying ropes he had seen on some family friend's yacht. She was fairly dark skinned, but had the same translucent complexion that Gina and Cyrus both had. The thought caught Sebastian off guard. Instinctively moving to her eyes for a comparison, he was surprised when he found two huge, very dark pupils meeting his gaze. Her eyes were dead, not like the lively colors Gina and Cyrus had. Sebastian was holding her gaze, when Marshall tapped him on the arm.

"Look at the lights!" Marshall pointed to the map.

Sebastian glanced at his little brother, and when he looked back, the dark lady was gone.

As the taxi made its way through downtown Boston, the lights on the map were going dim the closer they got to the sight. Only the last light was getting brighter, so bright that it was casting a ray of light into the taxi. Sebastian nudged Marshall, nodding toward the front seat, where the taxi driver was peering into the rearview mirror, trying to see what they had in their hands. Taking his cue, the map was tucked into Marshall's pocket once more.

The taxicab pulled up in front of Faneuil Hall Market Place; the driver anxious to get a new fare started pulled away leaving the four Hanks children standing in the middle of the street. Ethan gently guided Sebastian by the arm into an alley, heading toward North Street. They had walked about three blocks toward the harbor when Ethan finally motioned for them to stop.

"Marshall, pull out the map." Ethan looked anxious.

The two boys studied the map for a few moments, while Sebastian tried to rub the pain out of his side.

"This is it! This has to be it!" Ethan looked at Sebastian, as if waiting for him to take over.

To their left was a giant construction site. You couldn't see much because the sight was still and dark, waiting for the morning crew to arrive and pick up yesterday's activity. However, the light from the surrounding tourist attractions was enough to illuminate the area. Dusk was just an hour away, and people were starting to surface for the start of the work day. But darkness was still the backdrop of their comfortable morning routine.

"This is it," Ethan said again, pointing toward the construction site. Sebastian looked around and saw that a large fence was keeping out unwanted visitors and wondered how they were going to get in. But even then, what next? Where on earth were they supposed to find a key in this mess? There were trucks everywhere, unearthed ground sitting in large piles, and caution tape strung tightly around various parts of the site. Sebastian studied the signs on the fence. There were bank signs, announcing who was funding the project, a large sign with the construction company's name on it, and another that said, "Future home of the Trans Hotel."

"Now what?" Sebastian asked, to himself, feeling a little defeated. This was the most impossible and ridiculous thing he had ever done in his life. What was he thinking? Dragging his young siblings here in an unfamiliar town, staying in a hotel with a complete stranger, hunting for who knows what, and standing in downtown Boston at five in the morning injured, tired, and without a plan. This was absurd. Sebastian was just about to turn them around and march them back to the bus station, when Marshall pulled on his hand.

"Sebastian, it's going to be all right. Look." Marshall pointed to the map. He unfolded it, so they could all see. The map exploded with light, just as it had in their attic. A small blue stream swirled out of the brilliant light in the paper, weaving its crystal-like dust into a steady beam that radiated over them. Gracefully, it slithered down along the pavement, across the opposite sidewalk and through the gate of the construction site.

"I think we should follow it," Marshall whispered.

Sebastian hesitated, not trusting himself. His instincts were also telling him to follow the light, but now that those same instincts had almost gotten Makayla hurt and he killed, he wasn't sure he wanted to listen anymore. But what other choice was there? If they didn't follow, there would always be this unanswered question about the box, the trunks and all the crazy stuff that's been going on. He knew it wouldn't stop either; that he was meant, actually born, to follow that light and until he did, bizarre things would just keep happening to him. He wasn't sure how he knew this, but he just did. It was the same way he knew that the sun set every night, that the earth rotated on its axis, that snow was frozen water. It was just something that was fact to him, not theory.

"Let's go." Sebastian grabbed Marshall by the hand, more out of habit than anything. A quiet sigh was heard by his side, but his brother remained silent as they all crossed the street.

They followed the light to the fence and stopped. There didn't seem to be any way through. Sebastian looked all around, but there wasn't an opening large enough for them to crawl through. He looked up, but the barbed wire on top killed any ideas of climbing over. Marshall wandered off a few feet to their left, pulling at a gate that was chained together. The rest walked over to try and help him pull, managing to open it just enough in the center to provide a small hole. Marshall beamed, pushing himself easily through. He motioned from the other side for rest to join him. For the first time, Sebastian was glad that he was small. Makayla and Scotty were the only ones who were tall, like Grandpa Hanks. But Makayla was pretty skinny, so they all slid through the opening fairly easily.

They followed the light past a couple of piles of dirt, past a bulldozer, past equipment strewn on the dirt floor. The farther they walked, the more of the hotel came into view. Sebastian figured it was going to be a luxury hotel, based on its size, probably for people like his parents. The light continued to lead them through the maze of trucks and equipment. They stopped and put on their head lamps they purchased at The Outfitter's store. Sebastian noticed a trailer to the left and saw a couple of trucks pulled up next to it. These were marked with the construction company's name, the same company on one of the signs outside the fence. He suddenly panicked; worried that someone might be there. But he relaxed a little, remembering most construction sites don't come to life until around seven. He was banking on this being the case here, hoping to be in and out within the hour. The light finally seemed to be slowing down, heading toward the back corner of the partially built structure. Just as they drew nearer, they saw it turn, shooting itself into the concrete wall. Sebastian stopped, turning around to see where they stood. It appeared they were in the middle of the first floor, back in a deep corner of the main lobby. At least that's what he thought. He was used to looking at blueprints of buildings with his dad, so from what he could tell, this was the central part of the main level. It had to be the lobby.

"Now what?" Makayla asked, scanning the wall, looking for the light.

The four of them stepped back, looking at the spot where the light disappeared. There was no indication anywhere that a strange light had just absorbed itself into the newly formed cement. While they were staring, Marshall walked forward, letting his fingers skim the surface of the outside wall.

"What are you doing?" Ethan whispered.

"I don't know." Marshall paused, continuing to run his fingers over the concrete, searching for a clue. "Something just told me to feel for a hole."  
Sebastian looked sideways, exchanging looks with Ethan.

"This is what I was looking for!" Marshall shoved his finger into a tiny crevice in the wall, pulling it toward him. All of a sudden, the shape of a small door began to expose itself within the wall, finally opening as Marshall continued to pull. The blue light exploded in their faces, exposing a staircase heading down into darkness.

"I don't like this." Makayla was grabbing onto Sebastian's arm. She looked as if she'd just seen a ghost.

"I don't either. But we've come this far, we might as well finish this. Come on, let's go find the key and get out of here. Ethan are you sure you know what we need?"

"I think so. I have that box memorized. When I see the key, I'll know it."

"Then let's go." Sebastian took the lead and started down the stairwell.

When they got inside, the door automatically closed behind them, snuffing out the blue light that had guided their way. Their head lamps were now the only illumination they had. They switched them to the brightest setting possible, Ethan helping Makayla with hers. Sebastian put his hands on either side of the wall, expecting to feel dirt. Instead the walls were smooth and cold, like hard rock. He turned his head to shine his lamp onto the wall. It was stone, but not the kind normally found in the outdoors. It was refined with a finished look to it. The black smooth stone glittered with specks of silver and gold, making it look like someone had glued glitter all over its surface. He remembered seeing stone exactly like this in a kitchen once.

"Granite." Marshall confirmed his thoughts from behind.

"Sure." Sebastian replied, wondering who could have put granite on walls like these.

hey walked straight down into the dark, when suddenly, the stairs took a quick turn to the right and started to spiral down. Sebastian lowered his head, trying to focus his beam down the hole in the middle of the stairs. The bottom didn't seem anywhere in sight. Silently the four Hanks children climbed further and further down into the darkness. Finally, after what seemed like eternity, they stumbled onto an uneven cobblestone floor, reaching the end of their descent.

They were in a circular room with no other entrance or exit, except for the staircase behind them. Above them, a large domed-shape ceiling reached about 15 feet high, looking like the night sky with stars twinkling back at them. The floor was a pattern of brown and gray stones, not unlike the kind in their mother's garden. Except here some of the stones seemed to be corroding with age. The room itself was disgusting. There were cobwebs strung over almost everything, making it impossible to walk around without batting them down. The light from their head lamps caught the specks of dust flying through the air, their presence seeming to have disturbed it for the first time in years.

Sebastian turned around, trying to see everything in the room. The walls down here were made of the same granite stone in the stairwell. He aimed his light at the circular wall, seeing that there were several niches, like display shelves, circling the room. There were seven in all. They reminded him of something in the lobby of a hotel or fancy house. Each niche had an empty stand, as if waiting for something to be put inside. As far as he could tell, they were all exactly the same.

"I know this!" Makayla was tracing her hands on the walls, knocking down cobwebs to clear the surface. Walking closer, Sebastian noticed that there were etchings of large shields in the granite, in between each display shelf.

Makayla dropped her pack and pulled out the photos of the box. She started flipping through them, finally holding up one next to the engraving.

"What do you see?" Ethan walked to where they stood.

"They're the same! These markings are the same as the ones on the box." She traced her fingers delicately over one of the markings. "Well, we at least know we're in the right place."

Ethan began wandering around the room, feeling the walls with his hands, trying to knock down the cobwebs as he went.

"Where do you think the key could be?" he whispered.

Makayla was now running her finger through the crevices of the drawings on the shields, looking for some hidden compartment.

Following her cue, Marshall began running his hands along the display shelves next to him, when they all heard a jingling sound.

"Look, is this it?" Marshall held up a large curved golden rod, shaped like a horseshoe with a single rod poking up out of the bottom of the "u".

Ethan grabbed the rod from his hands and studied it for a moment. He looked up, wide-eyed, beaming at his little brother. They knew they had finally found what they came here for - the key.

Suddenly, they heard clapping coming from the stairwell. The four of them spun around. There standing at the foot of the stairs was the lady from the lobby, clapping as if they had just found the lost ark. She looked scarier up close, her features darker than in the lobby. A feeling of evil came over the room, causing a flash of cold shivers to run down Sebastian's spine.

"Bravo! You've done very well!" She sneered at the children. His mind was racing through possible outcomes that they now faced. None of them seemed happy.

"Well, well. The Hanks children have come through after all. Who knew? Mommy and Daddy couldn't do the job, so their pathetic offspring had to carry the burden instead."

Sebastian had no idea what she was talking about but was too afraid to ask. What did she know about his parents? Perspiration began to cover his palms; his chest feeling like it would explode from his quickening pulse. What could they do to get past her? Sebastian looked around, desperate to find an escape.

"Oh, don't worry about that. There isn't a way in or out of this room except up those stairs."

Sebastian looked back at the lady, eyes flashing in fear.

"Now, now, don't go getting yourself all worked up. We need to save your energy for later." The lady smiled at Sebastian. "Oh, yes, you are going to be of much use to us, aren't you?" She grabbed his chin and studied his face. "I'm not sure about the rest of you lot, but yes, you Sebastian are the one."

He felt his eyes grew wide. How did this lady know his name?

She began to laugh at him, as he trembled in her grasp. "Ah, I see you still don't know. Perfect! That, my dear boy, makes my job much more fun. Now, be good boys and girls and say night night."

Before Sebastian could see what the lady was doing, a funny odor hit his nose. His lungs suddenly began burning with each breath he took. His eyes instantly becoming heavy, he collapsed to the floor deep in sleep. The others fell beside him.

The lady walked over the children, pulling out her phone. "I've got them, and he isn't here." She moved all the children into the middle of the floor, when a sudden flash of blue light exploded from the push of a button on her phone. The five of them disappeared in its shimmer.

Cyrus was running down the staircase cursing under his breath at his carelessness, wondering how the children got away from him, when he saw her take them. He had just reached the bottom when the familiar flash of blue went off. "No!" He screamed. The last think he saw was the lady snarl at him; a face from his past.

Defeated, he sat in the middle of empty room, reaching for his own phone. With little else to do, he waited for the voice on the other end to answer.

"Alice, it's me, Cyrus. I've lost them."
Chapter 20 Tildon Enterprises

Sebastian woke up, putting his hand on his forehead. Pain was pounding through his head so hard, it felt like someone was jabbing a knife into his skull and twisting without mercy. He slowly pulled himself up, realizing he was lying on something soft. Immediately another familiar pain was gripping his torso, reminding him of his ribs. Slowly pushing past the pain, he tried to bring himself around. What happened? Rubbing unconsciousness from his eyes, the unfamiliar bedspread came into view.

"Sebastian, are you OK?" Makayla was by him, putting her hands under his arms, trying to help him to his feet.

Nothing, not even his sister, could make him stand up right now. He swatted at her attempt to help, grabbing his head once more, hoping to push back the pounding headache.

"Where are we?" The question was a distant murmur, a scratchy voice he didn't recognize. Raising his eyes to see the face that went with the voice, he looked around and saw that they were sitting in a large square bedroom.

In front of him were three ordinary beds. Two of them occupied by Marshall and Ethan, who lay unconscious, sprawled on top of the shabby quilt. The sparseness of the room reminded him of the dorm room at Cornell, where he had the unfortunate pleasure of being held captive for a week at a summer science camp. It was something his dad thought he'd enjoy; a camp about robotic machines. Instead, he just ended up being all by himself, wishing he was at home hanging out with Brooke and Trevor.

Sebastian looked next to him and saw that there was a bed on either side of him, making six beds in all. In the center of the room, a huge circular woven rug covered most of the expanse between the two rows of beds.

The walls were a pale yellow, hardly noticeable at first glance, blending into the unfinished pine slab floor. It reminded Sebastian of pictures he had seen in Makayla's books she had brought on medieval castles, of the tower rooms the illustrators had elaborately recreated in the drawings, trying to bring history to life for the reader. Except this room could use the help of an interior decorator.

The sun was blasting into the room, casting rays that crept onto the middle of the wood floor. Sebastian followed the beams of light to their source to his left. A very large, single pane window reached from floor to ceiling on the opposite wall from the arched wooden door. It was covered with stained glass on the top, which projected tiny rainbows onto the far wall, providing the only vibrancy to the dull room. On each side of the window, sheer white curtains billowed in the breeze of the open glass. Sebastian stood up slowly and ran his hand through the fabric.

"Is it open?" He asked, glancing at the window.

"Yeah, but it's pointless. Look down." Sebastian walked up to the large transom and felt himself scowl when he saw out. There wasn't anything but a 60 foot drop down to the ground. They must be more than five stories high! But how was that possible? His eyes roamed the scene outside, revealing nothing but a thick expanse of forest that stretched across the horizon. Several clearings swam in the midst of the sea of green foliage, as well as a river to the right frozen in the winter chill. To the left, mountains towered over the forest floor, casting shadows against the top of the thick blanket of trees below. Tightening his gaze in hopes for any sign of civilization, or a way that would lead them out of this place, he felt his throat tightened as he realized there was no escape.

"What is going on?" He whispered to himself.

"Sebastian?" Makayla had walked up next to him and gazed out the window with him. "Are we going to die?"

"No," Sebastian whispered. He didn't meet her eyes because he didn't want her to know that he was lying.

"What are we going to do?" Makayla was now looking at him, waiting for him to give her some hope.

"Makayla, I don't know. Let me think!" Sebastian spun around, grabbing his forehead, his back turned away from the window. Only then did he really notice the wall with the only door, the one way in or out of this towered room. Short, but wide, it was trimmed in tarnished steel with a large metal ring for the doorknob. Probably for knights to use to rescue their princesses being held captive in the tower, Sebastian thought to himself. He rolled his eyes, making his way across the room. He knew what the answer would be but couldn't resist. He walked toward the door.

"Don't bother. I already tried." Makayla plopped down on her bed, hugging her knees.

Ignoring her advice, he pulled on the ring, only to find that he trapped. Sebastian shoved his foot into the door with all the force he had in him, feeling defeated and let himself sink to the floor. For the first time, despair took him over. How could this be happening? Why didn't he just stay in the comfort of his own home? Why couldn't he just be back in Ithaca; a nobody who blended into the crowd? No! This couldn't be happening! He wasn't ready to be responsible for the fate of the other three. He wasn't ready to go on ridiculous missions, face impossible tasks, and risk his life for something he couldn't even understand. A force so fierce from within him made him crumple to the floor. He fell on his face, pounding his fist to let out all his fury. Sebastian let his mind run through all the events of the last two weeks, fresh memories flooding over him. Raw, but real, emotions made him shiver at the thought of recent events: the letter, the trunks, the box, the light, the map, the bus ride, the fight, and Gina. With tears streaming down his cheeks the memories of Gina plagued him still. Would he ever see her again? He thought about her smile, the way her lips turned upward with shyness. The way her eyes had lit up in the store when she saw him. He thought about how she felt warm when her hand brushed his, handing him her card at the camping store. Wait! The card! What was it she had said about it? When you get into a jam? Sebastian sat up and quickly reached into his pocket, hoping his captor hadn't thought to check his pockets. A smile crept across his face as his fingers felt the rough square piece of cardstock in his pocket. For the first time, Sebastian carefully studied the card. On the front, gold foiled calligraphy that said "Gina" in big letters was flashing in the sunlight. But that was it. No phone number, no address, and no contact information at all! He wasn't sure how that could help him now, but thought they could figure out a plan. He flipped the card over and ran his thumb across the back. Suddenly, letters started forming words as his thumb moved back and forth. Sebastian started rubbing faster and the words were staying in sight. Makayla had noticed what he was doing and knelt beside him, her blond hair tumbling over to the side.

The first word that appeared was "If," then the next word "you." The words kept appearing one by one. Finally the entire message appeared and Makayla softly read the words.

"If you need my help, rub my name three times. I'll be there soon."

Makayla looked at Sebastian, folding her arms across her chest and pointed to the card.

"Is this a joke?" Her mouth was puckered, a look that told Sebastian she was not amused.

"What?" Sebastian was confused about her reaction.

"Where did you get that?"

"Uh, Gina gave it to me." Sebastian now realized what the problem was. In all the chaos, he had forgotten to tell Makayla about Gina.

"Who is Gina?"

"She's a girl I met at The Java Board. She gave me this card before we left."

"And do you trust her? How do we know she is someone we can trust?"

"What do you mean?"

"Sebastian, wake up! We are locked away in some tower in the middle of nowhere, on a journey for some random key to some magical box, we've had some strange man pop into our lives trying to protect us, and now we are being held by some evil lady who wants to use us for who knows what! Don't you get it? We are being hunted and protected. Why? Who are we that people are doing this to us? What do they know that we don't? Why do we need protectors? I've been going over it all morning and I can't figure out what we did to make this happen! So, I think we should think twice before we knowingly use magic. We need to start being careful about who we trust and who we don't. If you rub that card, is the floor going to mysteriously open up and we fall into some bottomless pit? What else could possibly happen to us?"

Sebastian stared at her, amazed at this sudden outburst of caution. However, he couldn't have agreed more.

"I know. I have been thinking the same thing. One day our lives are perfectly normal and the next day we are chasing after some magical light. It sounds like a twisted book, doesn't it?" Sebastian was suddenly overcome with uncontrollable laughter. Makayla looked at him like he had lost his mind. Holding his ribs from more pain, he sat there laughing, unable to stop himself. Finally, when he was able to regain control, he took in a deep breath. Glancing over at his sister, he grimaced, when he realized his foolishness had caused her more pain. She had a fresh stream of tears down her cheeks. He stood up to gently wipe a tear off her check, but she knocked his hand away and sat down facing away from him.

"Makayla, I know how crazy this has been. I'm sorry that I haven't been able to protect you more than I did. I'm sorry that I feel asleep and let those boys from the bus bother you; that I couldn't have done more at the restaurant or keep this crazy lady away from us."

Makayla turned and looked up. "You think this is all your fault? Are you crazy? You're the one who tried to keep us away from the trunks, you're the one who didn't want us messing with the box, you're the one who nearly got killed standing up for me. Sebastian, this is anything but your fault."

Sebastian shrugged, "Well, right now it doesn't matter whose fault it is. We just have to figure out what we're going to do. I wish Marshall would wake up." He was absently turning Gina's card over in his hands.

"I think it'll be a while. The gas will take longer to wear off because they're so much smaller than us."

Sebastian nodded, knowing she was probably right.

"Do you trust her?" Makayla looked at him, pointing at the card in his hands.

Sebastian hesitated and thought about Gina. He thought about her gentle laugh at the coffee shop, her translucent blue eyes, and warm smile. A knot came in his throat and he could feel his hands getting sweaty as her face swept across his memory. "Yeah, I'd trust her with my life," he whispered to the floor.

"Well, it's all our lives we'll be entrusting her with, if you rub that card. But I don't see what other choice we have. I think you should do it."

Sebastian knew she was right, again. He gently put the card on his knee, using his index finger to rub her name three times, just like the backside had instructed.

The two of them held their breath, waiting for some flash of light, some puff of smoke, someone to jump into the room. They glanced around, waiting. After a few minutes, Makayla stood up and wiped her hands on her jeans.

"Well, so much for that idea." She stomped off to her bed.

Sebastian sat there, disappointed, a twinge of anger creeping up inside him. He felt foolish for thinking such a thing really worked. Shoving the card back into his pocket, it was hard to push away the feeling of betrayal.

Just then there was a loud clink of metal, as the handle to the door hit its wooden face. The sudden intrusion to the suspenseful moment made him jump back, subconsciously moving closer to his brothers. Holding his breath, he could feel chills course down his spine as the lady from the chamber appeared in the entryway.

"Good morning, children. I see we are wide-awake." She looked over at Ethan and Marshall, ticking her tongue in disapproval. "Or at least some of us are. Too bad those two couldn't join us this morning. Oh, well. Maybe they'll join the festivities this afternoon."

Makayla stood up and threw her fisted hands to her side. "Don't you dare touch them," she growled.

The lady smiled, gliding into the room. "Feisty little thing, aren't we? For being the pure one, you sure have a temper."

Makayla shot Sebastian a wide-eyed look.

"What did you call me?" Her obvious curiosity betrayed the rage she was trying to keep on her face.

"So many questions! In time my dear. We have lots of time, don't we? But now it's time for you two to meet someone very special." She grabbed Sebastian by the arm and threw his hands in front of him. She tied his wrists together with a coarse rope that cut into his skin. Once he was bound, she grabbed Makayla by the arm and did the same. She then connected both sets of binds to a main rope that she used to pull them forward. She dragged them out behind her, forcing them to follow.

The lady led them down a long hallway that was dark and richly decorated in maroon wallpaper. There were gold sconces hanging every few feet, providing what little light illuminated the ancient house. The carpet was a patterned Berber, dark in color, just like the rest of the creepy hall they were trekking through. It was hard to make out many of the paintings or details, but from what he could tell, the décor seemed more than 100 years old. The whole house smelled like lemon wood polish, and he could imagine an entire house staff slaving away to keep this mansion clean. He shuddered, thinking again of Makayla's books. Who owned a house like this anymore? He would give anything just to know where they were. But, he figured, that would never happen. Secrets seemed to abound in his life at the moment. Secrets he wanted nothing to do with or would never get to know their answers. Sebastian found himself brooding once more on his plight, when they came to a dead end, where the hallway turned. Down to his right was a smaller hall with a set of wide cherry double doors at its end. The lady pushed the double doors open in one graceful swoop of her arms and led them into a large round room surrounded in windows, providing an almost panoramic view of the woods below. Sunlight was pouring into the room, a stark contrast to the dark, depressing hallway they had just left. The sudden light nearly blinded both Makayla and Sebastian, but with their hands tied, they could only narrow their eyes from the sun.

Despite the sun, his eyes roamed the elaborately rich space. The ceiling was covered in wood beams that matched the double doors to the room. In front of him there was a large black desk with a laptop opened in the center. The rest of the desk was bare, except for a small name plate and a piece of brown-colored paper. Rich, plush carpet lay under their feet; several sets of couches paired together, a fireplace on the one wall without glass.

Inside the brass holder, the name Tildon was glaring at him. Sebastian felt like he stopped breathing, the name literally knocking the wind out of him.

"Tildon," he whispered quietly to himself. The pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place in Sebastian's mind: Tildon, as in Tildon Enterprises. The company his parents worked for, the company that has them out of the country almost the entire year, digging for priceless artifacts.

A small door opened on the far side of the room. Sebastian's eyes darted to the opening, only to find that it was a secret door disguised as the wall right next to the fireplace.

A tall, skinny man walked into the room. He wasn't an impressive-looking man; in fact, he was fairly ordinary. He had short, cropped gray hair and a small matching mustache that came to the end of his thin lips. Beady, black eyes, like those of a snack, adorned the top of his lean face. The white button down shirt only drained the already pale skin, making him look sickly. However, he didn't have the same translucence to his appearance that Gina and Cyrus seemed to possess.

The man walked around to the backside of his desk, keeping his eyes on Sebastian and Makayla. He reached down, pulling out a drawer on his left, bringing up a cigar box that he gently laid in the center of the desk. He continued to remain silent, taking his time picking the right one. He kept glancing from the children in front of him, to the cigars at his hands. After selecting the one he wanted, he replaced the box in the drawer, walked around to the front side of the desk and sat down on the corner. He seemed amused with himself, puffing smoke rings into the air. Finally, the man looked at Sebastian with a smile, his eyes remaining dark and void of life.

"So, you are the famous Sebastian Hanks?" The man seemed amused about something Sebastian couldn't see.  
Sebastian had no idea what he was talking about.

"Sir?" He was afraid to say anything more.

The man chuckled to himself. "Ah, I forgot. Angelica told me you have no idea who you are. Isn't that something?" The man winked at them and went back to sit down behind his desk.

Sebastian shivered, suddenly afraid to find out why Tildon has referred to him as famous.

"So, tell me, Sebastian, what do you know about your parents' employer?"

Sweat began beading on his forehead, adrenaline starting to race inside him. Yet, he couldn't stop staring straight into Tildon's ominous eyes. Choosing his words carefully, Sebastian decided that less information would be better.

"I know they are employed by an antiques collector who owns a company that buys and sells expensive artifacts. They are sent around the world to find pieces of history that haven't yet been discovered."

Tildon sat forward in his chair. "Yes, that is true. Do you know the name of that company, my boy?"

Sebastian swallowed. "Tildon Enterprises, sir."

Tildon smiled wide. "Do you know who I am?"

Sebastian looked at the floor, afraid to admit he did. But what else could he do?

"The name on the desk implies that you are Mr. Tildon."

The man chuckled. "Very good my boy. So you are intuitive. But the stories say that the younger brother, Marshall, is smarter. I don't know. It seems like if he were as smart as the stories say, he would have figured out how to get out of this simple place, let alone figure out who you are, huh?"

"Stories, sir?" Sebastian asked, glancing over at Makayla.

"Yes, the prophecies, my boy; the legends of the boy Sebastian and his brothers and sister who save Armistoria. Don't you know the prophecies?" Tildon narrowed his eyes, staring at them.

"No, sir, we've never heard of such tales." This time it was Makayla who spoke up.  
"Makayla Hanks: The pure one. So, it is true. You are a rare beauty; pure of heart, pure of spirit, pure of mind."

Makayla looked sideways at Sebastian, mouth opened in awe.

"Well, enough of this foolish talk. You'll find out soon enough the stories of who you are and what legend has told of your future. What I want to know is something of another matter." Tildon grabbed the brown-colored paper on his desk and walked toward them. He held the paper in his hands and shoved it in Sebastian's face.

"Do you recognize this?" Tildon had bent down so low, Sebastian could his breath on his neck.

He gasped. There on the paper was the crest that he had seen in his dream. Despite their current circumstance, he could not help but be mesmerized by its brilliant colors and design once more.

"Well?"

"No. I've never seen it." Sebastian lied.

"Are you sure?" Tildon's face was beginning to lose his cool composure.

"Positive" Sebastian said through his teeth.

Tildon stood up and smiled, watching them for a moment. Pulling at the ends of his mustache, he smirked, "Well, if you're positive. I think maybe some time to think about what you've seen and haven't seen would do you two some good. We'll continue this conversation over dinner tonight."

Sebastian and Makayla exchanged glances. Tildon noticed their silent communication, watching them as he pulled at his mustache.

"You do eat, don't you?" Tildon asked, laughing to himself.

"Yes, sir, but we'd like to go home," Sebastian said meekly.

"Well, now I can't see how that is going to be possible since the prophecies are starting to unravel. Besides, your parents have gone missing, leaving me to assume they've finally figured out the power of the trunks." Tildon sat back in his chair and propped his feet up, finishing his cigar.

"Are my parents all right?" Sebastian questioned.

"Who knows?" Tildon glared at Angelica. "My associates lost their trail in South Africa. But, we'll catch them sooner or later. They're bound to come after you, aren't they? Another reason to keep you close. But the real treasure isn't found in the trunks, now is it?" Tildon cocked his head and smiled. His dark beady eyes flashed for just a second, something evil glancing through them. Sebastian thought he was going to hurl.

"You see, my boy, I was actually sent by the King of Armistoria to protect you. I was the first of your protectors." Tildon stood up and faced out the window, remembering back. "I was a great warrior in Armistoria, and I was chosen to be the first one sent on the greatest of missions. But I really only took the job because I was so sick of Armistoria, of the will of its King. All the selfless living the people had subdued themselves to made me tired. I wasn't sure who I was anymore. I'll never understand why the King agreed to send me, knowing my faith was wavering. I thought he knew me better than I knew myself. But, regardless, I was chosen and I was sent. On my way to Ithaca, I met Angelica, a member of the Sepulcher who was keeping watch at the portal's entrance. Asheron and his spies had been waiting for centuries, trying to guess when the children of the prophecies would be born. So, they always had a guard at the portal's entrance, knowing eventually the first protector would emerge." Tildon stopped speaking for a moment. Sebastian held his breath, trying to take in what he was saying. None of it made any sense.

Tildon shook his head, realizing their confusion, and continued his tale. "You see, long ago, there was a beautiful Kingdom named Armistoria and it was held together by the powers of the seven seals. When unified, those seals can keep any evil from overtaking the land they were created to protect. This was something the King himself created to protect his people, but he also protected them by keeping secret how the power worked. Harnessed with a perfect mate, created separate but meant to be a whole, the seals rested in a room called the room of transition. One part of the seal was the imagination, the etching on the wall; the other was the tangible, the fabric of the seal that sat on display. Together, with the others, they were enough power to hold out even the vilest of creatures. But the King had not shown anyone this room before. He knew its power would be too much temptation for anyone to withstand. But that doesn't mean people didn't try to find it. For centuries, traitors and spies were caught and killed for attempting to capture the glory of the room.

It wasn't until the King's most favored and closest companion, Asheron, betrayed him causing the seals' power to be cursed. Asheron was loved by all, especially by the King himself, and was treasured in the company of the court. He was the King's most prized warrior, most beloved confidant, most trusted companion. He is the only human in Armistoria who has been given the King's gift of immortality. But what the King didn't know was that Asheron had spies, working in Armistoria, trying to find the secrets to the room of transition. Of course they finally found what they were looking for. The King, having learned of his betrayal, cursed the day he created the seals. With one word, the seals were separated from their mates and scattered all over the earth, all across time. And not only were the seals scattered, so was the Kingdom of Armistoria. The King sent some of his people with the seals, instructing them to protect them and keep them hidden until the time came to reunite them with their mates. They are called the guardians. Asheron, in the meantime, used the room of transition to scatter his spies, trying to follow the guardians. After learning the first members of the Sepulcher, Asheron's followers, escaped the King shut down the room, locking them out of Armistoria forever. Asheron, meanwhile, hid away, slowly building an army of those who were tired of the King's ways, hoping for a new kind of life; a life where self had significance. Time passed and the betrayal of the King became a story, which then became legend. But within that legend there was always a prophecy that spoke about the rise of Asheron once more. It spoke of an unfathomable evil he'd bring to Armistoria, hoping for its final destruction. The only hope of saving this world, the future world of the human race would be to reunite the seals once more into the room of transition. Such a task would be left up to six children, souls who were untainted and compromised by the world of the King."

Sebastian could feel his head spinning. He barely managed to find his voice. "So who are you in all this talk of legends and prophecies?"

Tildon, turning slowly around, studied Sebastian before he spoke.

"Only the King knew the exact time the prophecies would unfold. He may have given Asheron immortality, but he didn't give him omniscience. So, Asheron instructed a select few of the Sepulcher he scattered to watch the room of transition, a job to be passed down to their descendants, knowing that eventually one of the King's protectors would emerge close to the time of the prophecies. And so, after I surfaced, I met Angelica who had an offer from Asheron of unlimited power, unlimited position in this world, if I would be of service to him. He needed the knowledge the King had imparted to me before coming here. Also, I have the ability to detect the King's magic when used. You could say it was a gift given to me some time ago. Tired of the foolish ways of Armistoria, I gladly accepted the offer and thus, my greatest arch enemy became my ally. Since then, I've decided that since you are destined to find the seals, you'll find them for our purposes instead of the King's." A snarl came across his lips and a flash of bright red came across his eyes. Makayla shrieked, burying her face in Sebastian's arm. Tildon crossed over to them, leaning down close.

"But there is a seventh trunk that we haven't found yet. It was your parents' job to find _all_ the trunks for me, and then I would've disposed of them. It's your jobs to find the seals. But with them gone, we'll have to figure something else out, now, won't we?" Tildon was leaning so close to Sebastian's face, he could smell the acidic breath that came from this man who no longer seemed human. His lungs burned after several seconds of trying not to breath, afraid his breath was poisonous. Tildon noticed the moment of panic in Sebastian's eyes, making him chuckle under his breath. He turned as if starting to leave, and then swung around to face them. His eyes still black, Tildon opened his mouth. Where his tongue should have been, there was a silver blade of a sword. It shot at them, coming inches from their faces, covered in dripping blood. Tildon let the sword recoil back into his mouth, laughed and walked out of the room.

Angelica took them back to their room, having to practically drag them all the way. Makayla and Sebastian could barely get their feet in front of them, after what they had just seen. When they got back to the room, Marshall and Ethan were still passed out on their beds. A tray of food was on the floor at the foot of each bed, but both had no desire to eat. They threw themselves on their own beds, silently facing each other. After a few minutes, tears started streaming down Makayla's face and Sebastian turned to stare at the ceiling.

A creak in the wood floor near the window made Sebastian sit up. Two dark shadows coming out of the corner of the room were creeping toward them, finally stepping into the sunlight.

Sebastian gasped, "Gina?"
Chapter 21 Escape

Sebastian blinked twice to make sure he was seeing clearly. Gina and Cyrus stood in the middle of the room, together, dressed in what appeared to be traveling clothes. Both looked like they'd just step out of Return of the Jedi, draped in hooded cloaks, packs on their backs, their legs covered in tall boots. They had on thick belts, under the cloaks, adorned with knives, a sword, picks, rope, and anything else they would need in a journey you might take with, oh, maybe Frodo Baggins?

Gina rushed over to him, practically plowing into him with her arms, wrapping herself around him. Caught off guard, Sebastian stiffened at the sudden gesture of affection. She was still practically a stranger, right? He felt her fingers trace the stitches on his face, making him shiver under her touch.

"Sebastian, are you OK? Did he hurt you?" Gina's eyes were piercing blue, wavering with flecks of brown. Again he found himself barely able to think, let alone breathe, as they held him in a trance.

"No, we're OK. He hasn't done anything to us yet. Just asked us some questions and told us some bogus stories about prophecies and legends." Gina and Cyrus exchange a quick glance of panic.

"How did you, I mean, how is this possible?" Sebastian motioned to them, indicating their presence.

Gina looked confused. "You did rub the card, didn't you?"

"Yeah, three times just like it said." He pulled out the card and held it up in his fingers.

"There are tiny location trackers inside the gold foil. They can be traced anywhere. But for privacy, they only activate when you rub the card, like it says. Comes in handy, don't you think? Cyrus and I use them all the time." Gina flashed Sebastian a big smile.

"Do you two know each other?" Makayla asked with wide eyes glancing back and forth, from one to the other.

A small giggle escaped her lips. "He's my brother!"

Sebastian's mouth fell open, "What?"

Cyrus stepped forward, concern on his face. "Gina, we need to go. We can do this later." Cyrus' voice was dark and sharp. Gina sighed and shot him an annoyed looked.

"Sebastian, can you manage to get you and Makayla into these packs?" Gina motioned to several packs sitting by the window. The thought of carrying a heavy bag on his ribs made him wince, but the thought of Tildon made him jump to his feet and nod.

"Where are our bags?" Makayla asked as she scurried to her pack, wiping her face free of tears.

"They have them somewhere. We're going to have to leave them behind. Was there anything important in them?" Cyrus asked.

Makayla and Sebastian looked at each other, trying to remember. Sebastian thought of the compass and the card in his pocket.

"My wallet is all I had in there," Sebastian said, shrugging his shoulders. He groaned suddenly thinking about his prepaid visa that would be lost.

Makayla suddenly looked up. "Sebastian, the pictures of the box were in my bag."

"Pictures? You didn't have the box with you?" Gina's voice was calm and comforting.

"No. We didn't want to lose it. We thought pictures would be better," Makayla whispered to her.

"Perfect!" Gina's face exploded into a smile. She helped Makayla finishing snapping the pack into position.

Cyrus walked over to Marshall and Ethan, putting something under their noses. Instantly the two of them sat up, wide-awake. Before they could ask many questions, he put his finger to his lips. Ethan was helped into his own pack, while Cyrus carried Marshall, who made an annoyed face, but remained silent.

They all walked over to the window, where there were five rope ladders attached to the sill, hanging to the ground below. Sebastian looked down and swallowed hard. He felt his nerves running out of control, groaning when his stomach clinched down and rumbled. This time he ran for the middle of the room, hurling all over the woven carpet. Gina walked over to him, concern streaking across her face. She lightly put her hand on the middle of his back, calming him as he tried to regain his composure.

"Sebastian, don't worry. Everything's going to be OK, I promise." She was still stroking his back, trying to calm him down.

"Sorry." He straightened up and attempted a weak smile. "I'm just not used to climbing out of windows atop tall towers, running from mad men who tell me I'm part of some strange prophecy, meeting people who appear out of nowhere, and feeling like my life is doomed before it even begins."

Gina bit her lip. "It isn't doomed. It's just starting."

Sebastian stared at her for a moment, not knowing what to say. Finally he motioned toward the window.

"Ladies first," he was trying to muster up some confidence.

Once they reached the safety of the ground, Cyrus motioned for them to be quiet and follow him. They all disappeared into the edge of the woods moving swiftly behind their leader.

They had been walking briskly for about an hour, when they heard vehicles behind them. It sounded like there were four or five large trucks several miles from where they had just come. Cyrus turned slowly, scanning the horizon behind them for a moment.

He scowled and barked, "Come on, I can smell the woman. We need to hurry. The car is close by."

Makayla and Sebastian looked behind them and then at each other. Nodding to Ethan and Marshall, they started jogging to keep up with Gina and Cyrus.

Gina slowed to Sebastian's side, noticing his scowl. "Cyrus has been given the gift of a sensitive sensory system. He can hear, smell, taste, and feel so much more than we can. It's what makes him one of the best trackers in Armistoria." Gina saw Sebastian flinch at the name of her home and sighed.

"Sorry. We'll explain it all to you later. I forgot you still don't know everything." She reached out and squeezed his hand. "I promise, everything will be fine and you will know the truth soon."

Sebastian just shrugged, not wanting to get into it right now, not trusting himself to stay calm. He felt slightly betrayed by her, realizing she had known the truth all along and didn't bother conveying it to him. But, then again, they are still just strangers. Why did she owe it to him to inform him of some life altering prophecy? He could feel his rage burning deep within, but he couldn't afford to deal with it right now. They were still being pursued and at the moment, the only thing Sebastian wanted to focus on was getting out of there.

They continued on the forest path, taking time to cross a ravine, as well as several downed trees along the trail. They even found themselves traversing across a narrow path, slippery from a fresh blanket of snow, on the edge of a small rock face. It appeared to Sebastian that they would never be able to find their way out. Every direction was the same thick mass of trees.

The snow was getting deeper in spots, up to their calves, slowing their pace drastically. Every once in a while, they would reach a small clearing where the sunlight broke through the trees and made the snow reflect its true crystal form, giving the illusion of dancing lights on the forest floor. It reminded Sebastian of the elaborate snowflakes they had made in art class, taking a break from their normal pen and ink projects. He wished he was sitting in class right now. Chastising himself, he shook the thought vowing to buck up. He had to stop wishing he were somewhere else, had to deal with this new reality. How was he supposed to help his sister and the others if he couldn't even deal with the present? He had started to let his thoughts roam over the conversation with Tildon, when Cyrus stopped suddenly and Sebastian heard a car engine softly rumbling. He and Gina ran over to a large cluster of smaller trees, where two beams of lights revealed the origin of the sound. He threw his hands to his eyes, trying to see through the bright head lights, when he felt himself being shoved toward the vehicle.

"Cool!" Ethan gasped, brushing past him, a smile breaking across his face.

Gina pulled on his hand, "Get in! Let's go!"

The familiar Lexus seemed oddly unfamiliar with Cyrus and Gina in the front seats, comfortable and confident like it was their own. This made him fume even more, wondering how they got his family's car. He decided now was not the time for 20 questions, as the sound of pursuit vehicles continued to close in behind them. Makayla, Ethan, and Marshall got in the back seat. Sebastian, not having anywhere else to go, jumped into the hatch back, cramming himself into the trunk space. He sat on his knees, looking over the backs of the seats through the front window. Suddenly, Cyrus let the car lurch forward out of the bushes and pushed the accelerator down with such force, Sebastian had to keep himself from flying forward into Makayla's lap.

"OK, Gina, like before. I'll drive, you move." Cyrus was talking to his sister, who was concentrating on something out the front window.

Suddenly, Sebastian saw they were driving through a perfect clearing of trees, with nothing in their way. He clinched his teeth, trying to keep his mouth from falling open. The other three in front of him were wide-eyed, noticing the clear path that seemingly appeared as the car moved forward. Sebastian turned around and the path was gone. It was the same mass of forest that he had just walked through. Something in the distance caught his attention. Five huge jeeps were making their way across the forest. However, the trees weren't jumping out of the way for them, like they were for their car, making it nearly impossible for them to get through.

Sebastian turned forward and watched the trees continue to step out of the way, as if they had legs and could walk like any human.

"How is this possible?" Sebastian whispered.

Gina smiled, still concentrating out the window. "Oh, this is easy. If you just have a little faith, you could actually move that mountain out of the way if necessary, which I've done before. Trees are nothing." She put her hand over her mouth and giggled.

Sebastian stared at her in disbelief, not sure if he believed what he was seeing. But after this week, nothing seemed impossible.

Cyrus looked in his rearview mirror, scowling at something behind them. The Hanks children all looked out the back, Makayla whimpering as the Jeeps continued their pursuit. They all screamed at the sound of a machine gun aimed at them by the woman, Angelica, who'd just switched from the role of prison guard to assassin. She was rapidly firing at them, laughing as she pressed continuously on the trigger. He swallowed loudly when he realized she had a lot of spare bullets draped over her shoulder. Sebastian knew they were too far away to do any damage to them or their car, but his stomach still turned all the same.

Cyrus grunted and picked up his speed, which was already over 100 miles per hour. No one spoke for the next 20 minutes, as they raced through Gina's path, trying desperately to reach the road at the edge of the forest. They had long lost the Jeeps, but they weren't willing to slow down to find out if they'd given up their pursuit.

Finally, reaching the edge of the woods, they turned onto a small country road covered in snow. Cyrus continued to drive at the same speed, not slowing down to the posted speed limit or road conditions. Gina reached over to turn on the GPS. She pushed the power button, but nothing happened. The screen remained blank, the power light not lighting up. Gina looked up at Cyrus who reached down to try it for himself. Still nothing happened.

Gina bit down on her lip. "What're we going to do? We don't know how to get back. We aren't safe until we're back there."

Cyrus slammed his fist down on the steering wheel, and snapped, "I know, Gina! You don't have to remind me."

"What's wrong? What are you talking about?" Sebastian spoke for the first time since they'd lost their captors. Maybe now he'd get some answers.

"The GPS isn't working and we don't know the way. We didn't have time to grab any maps before we left. Alice said this wouldn't fail."

"Alice? You talked to Alice? What..." Sebastian had a thousand questions right now.

Cyrus held up his hand. "Later Sebastian. Right now, we need to figure out a way to get you back home."

"Can't you just call her on your cell phone?" Ethan perked up.

Gina shook her head, "No reception out here. We already checked on the way to get you."

Sebastian thought about that, and the card popped into his head.

"Can't you just use the card?" He asked.

Cyrus looked at him through the rearview mirror. "No, the card will just tell _us_ where _your_ current location is. Alice doesn't have any on her."

"Oh." Sebastian sank in his seat, tired of figuring out complications and troubles in plans gone wrong.

"Well, if you can move trees out of the way, I should think you could figure out the lousy way home!" Sebastian couldn't help from being rude. He wasn't in high spirits right now.

Gina bit down on her lip, a tendency Sebastian had picked up on already. She didn't say anything, but Sebastian noticed Cyrus studying her.

Makayla turned in her seat. "Sebastian, didn't I see you pull a compass out of your pocket earlier? When you were looking for Gina's card?"

Sebastian nodded and shoved his hand into his pocket. He pulled out the compass, holding it up for Makayla to see. Gina gasped, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"What? It's just a stupid compass." Sebastian threw it at her, not sure why she was so shocked at an ordinary navigational tool.

"Cyrus! Just like the stories." Gina was gingerly twisting the compass over in her hands, examining it as if it was a precious gem.

"Yeah, amazing isn't it?" Cyrus' expression had gone from harsh determination to awe and wonder. He glanced at Sebastian in the rearview mirror. "Sebastian, do you know how it works?"

"Uh, no, it's broken. It just came with a note that said it will always guide me home." Sebastian shrugged, still not sure what the big deal was over a stupid compass.

Gina held it in front of her, suddenly tapping excitedly on Cyrus' shoulder. They both looked at the compass, watching the needle jump to life and settle into a fixed position. When it stopped, it was pointing in the opposite direction that they were heading.

Gina smiled. "The stories say that with the compass, the children never lost their way. They were always able to get back to the safety of their home. I never really thought about it until now, but I think the needle points the way to their house. Let's follow it." Cyrus nodded in agreement, spinning the car around, heading for Ithaca.

There wasn't any other sign of their pursuers, and Sebastian settled in for the long ride home. His lids became like anvils, his pain the only thing keeping him from complete oblivion. When he felt all motion cease, the car sitting in its familiar spot, the moon was bright overhead and the night air brisk with a wet wind blowing through. Sebastian woke up stiff from the awkward position of lying in the cramped trunk space. His ribs were still killing him, thinking it would take an entire bottle of aspirin to relieve the burning flames coursing through his sides.

Alice came running out of the house, her face mixed with worry and relief. She looked a wreck in her grungy t-shirt and yoga pants; her hair pulled back in a sloppy bun at the top of her head. Arms found themselves wrapped tightly around him, trying to reassure themselves of his safety and return. The fresh wave of pain that shot through his side nearly choked him. Alice heard him gasping, and pushed him off of her, gazing up and down assessing his condition.

"Oh, I'm sorry. What happened to you?" Alice was touching his sides and then ran her fingers over his face. Not sure who to trust, Sebastian pulled away from her scrutiny, returning her assessing eyes with anger. She looked like the same Alice, but he knew that everything was different from when they left. There were a lot of unanswered questions, too many secrets.

"Like you don't know?" Sebastian glared at her, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Gina, will you take the others to their rooms?" Alice asked, still staring at Sebastian.

"No way! We all deserve to know what is going on! Why are we running for our lives? Why is there a magic box in our attic? What are these prophecies and legends everyone keeps talking about? And just exactly _who_ are you?" Sebastian was holding his ground. Even though he was unsteady on his feet, needing an ungodly amount of sleep, he was not going to let down until he had some answers.

Alice looked down at the ground. "Sebastian, I'm sorry. I know you have a lot of questions, but it isn't my place to answer them." Tears were starting to spill over onto her cheeks, which just made him more confused and mad.

Sebastian threw up his hands, outraged.

"What?" He stepped forward, his face just inches away from her face.

"And just who would be the person to answer these questions?" He could feel his rage being unfairly targeted toward Alice, but he couldn't help it. If she had known all along what was going on, why would she do this to him? Didn't that make her a traitor or something; a spy in his own home?

Cyrus stepped forward, placing his body between Sebastian and Alice. With both hands, he shoved Sebastian back a couple of steps, reminding him at the uncanny strength Cyrus seemed to have.

"Sebastian, go get some sleep. I promise all your questions will be answered tomorrow. You have a very big day ahead of you. Please, just leave it alone until tomorrow." Sebastian could hear Alice crying into her hands, hiding behind Cyrus for comfort, and felt a twinge of guilt. But the feeling of frustration and anger quickly washed it away.

He narrowed his eyes at Cyrus and spat out, "Fine. I'll be locked away in my room. Don't bother me."

As he moved toward the door to the house, a hand suddenly gripped his arm, forcing him to spin around and face those mysterious blue eyes.

Gina looked quickly down, whispering so softly. "Sebastian, please don't be mad. We were just trying to help."

Sebastian couldn't believe that she was in on this too. "Help? How? By letting me haul a 12-year-old girl around Boston to be almost abducted by sex-crazed boys? By letting me put Marshall and Ethan's life in danger? You knew and you didn't say a word! You knew that there was some mad man out there looking for us, waiting to catch us, and you didn't think to bother giving me a heads up? Well, thanks for the help. You better believe that this will never happen again. It'll be over my dead body before I let anyone drag me into this foolishness again." Just then Sebastian remembered the key they had retrieved. He looked at Ethan, who was staring at him, annoyed by his rampage.

Sebastian held out his hand. "Ethan, give me the key."

Gina put her hand in his outstretched palm. "Sebastian, please! Just trust me. You don't want to do this. I know you're angry, but please, don't do anything stupid. You will have your answers tomorrow."

Sebastian gave her a look of warning and growled through his teeth at his brother, "Give. Me. The. Key."

Ethan slowly reached in his pocket, his fingers revealing the strange-looking key, which he silently laid in his palms. It was strange how tense it become inside their garage as the key lay there in his hand. Gina, Alice and Cyrus stood with their eyes on Sebastian, holding their breath.

Unable to control the fury, he shoved the key into his pocket and stormed to his room, locking himself inside. Today was Thursday.

"Fine!" he shouted to no one but himself. He vowed that he would not show his face again until Monday morning, before school.

Tildon raised his arms and swept the contents off the top of his desk, growling at the company standing in front of him. He walked around to the front of his desk, eyes flashing darkly at Angelica.

"Do you want us to go after them?" Angelica questioned, her eyes on the wood floor of Tildon's study.

"And how do you think that possible? You know that we can't go inside the boundaries of Ithaca!" He threw his hand across Angelica's face, leaving a bright red mark on her cheek. Spinning on his heels in rage, he muttered a few curses before sitting at his desk.

"No, we can't follow them. All we can do now is to wait for them to use the magic or leave Ithaca." He leaned forward, eyes narrowing on Angelica's face. "When that happens, you had better be ready. We cannot afford to make any more mistakes!" He pounded his fist into the desk, causing Angelica to flinch from the sound.

Tildon turned in his chair, face softening at the view from the massive windows. The majestic forest always seemed to calm him from his tirades. "We will wait. We will wait for Him to call them out of His protection. Then, and only then, we will make our move."

After a few minutes, Tildon spun around in his chair, dismissing her with a flick of his hand.

"Leave me! Go find something to do, something you can't mess up."

Angelica growled at Tildon for treating her like a mindless servant. She spun around, furious at herself for losing her prisoners, but even more furious for once again becoming a shadow in the service of James Tildon.
Chapter 22 Confinement

### January 3-Present Day

The sun was streaming through Sebastian's window, taunting him with the knowledge of the brilliant day he was purposefully giving up. It was Sunday, the last day he had of his self-enforced solitude. Tomorrow he would have no choice but to leave his room and face the rest of his family before going to school. The clock next to him indicated that he had successfully wasted the entire morning sleeping, although it was anything but peaceful. He had slept most of the last two days away, tossing and turning with visions of dread-lock clad women and dark beady eye men whose tongues turned into sabers. The few times he did wake was to check Facebook, pee, or shower.

Each time he opened the door, Gina had been sitting against the wall opposite his room, eyes red, watching him in silence. There was usually a tray of food, which she placed outside the door, but he just ignored it. He had managed to find some boxes of snacks in his room, using those to keep himself from starving to death. Last night, he had left in the middle of the night to go take a shower. Expecting to endure her silence once more, he was surprised to find her asleep on the floor. A small pain tugged at his heart, when he saw her curled up on the cold wood floor. He had debated picking her up and carrying her to the guest room. The need to brood has subsided, his anger simmering down to dull annoyance. Looking at Gina each time he left his room, the desire to reach out to her and comfort her pain grew. And knowing he was the cause of it made him more curious than anything. She acted like they'd been together for some time, but in reality he knew nothing about her. They were still complete strangers, yet he felt they'd been destined to complete each other. The longing to know her better was undeniable, but he couldn't let go that she was in on this whole thing. She had to have known the day she met him at the coffee shop. It wasn't just mere coincidence that she gave him that card.

But why? Why on earth would anyone in their right mind let him carry on with a trip that nearly cost them their lives? Maybe that was it. Maybe she wasn't in her right mind. Sebastian looked at her. He followed the long, curly strand of black hair that was hanging down across her eyes, touching her small nose. He looked at her pink lips, slightly parted in sleep. His eyes fell on her gentle hands tucked against her chest. No, she wasn't crazy. Not in the least. She was beautiful. He stepped toward her, kneeling down to pick her up. Fear rose in his throat. But this was a different kind of fear than the one he was becoming used to lately. This was a fear of losing something so precious. Losing something before you even had it. He ran to the bathroom to think in the shower, needing to stand in the hot water, hoping it would clear his mind. He stayed in there for more than an hour. But it wasn't working. Nothing was taking away this feeling that something more precious than life itself was waiting for him up in the attic. Something, like Gina, that was worth more than any fear, more than any worry, more than even his life. And he was doing everything he could to lose it. When he came back to his room, Gina was still asleep. Sebastian sat down against his door, thinking about his behavior. What was he doing? He knew he was being foolish, a conclusion he had reached yesterday. He was only delaying the inevitable, knowing that tomorrow he would have to come out of hiding. He knew that this impossible fate that had found him couldn't be ignored or put off any longer. It wouldn't go away, and Gina's presence alone made that much clear. Sebastian put his face in his hands, still unwilling to wrap his brain around everything, unwilling to believe that this was his new reality. He got up, knowing tomorrow it would time to go downstairs.

With the sun blazing through his windows, Sebastian grabbed his dirty jeans from his trip, throwing them on. He felt in the pocket, making sure the key was still there. It felt good to be returning to the land of the living, even if it meant that it would be drastically different.

Sounds of teasing and shrieking told him Scotty and Julian were fighting down the hallway. He could smell hints of bacon and toast, as lunch was being made in the kitchen. The smell hit his nose and wafted to his stomach, making it growl at the neglect of real food in the last couple of days. He sat at the end of his bed and ran his hands through his hair. Now that he had decided to come out of his room, he suddenly felt embarrassed by his behavior. No one would laugh at him, but regret threatened to swallow him whole. An apology for being such a jerk was probably required, after which he could try to get on with all of this hoping it would restore things to normal. He grabbed a T-shirt off the floor, opening the door to the hallway. Gina was just waking up when he came out. Sebastian leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms over his chest. Their eyes met, holding each other's in a silent gaze. She was biting on her lip again, something that was becoming endearing to him.

He cleared his throat before whispering, "I'm sorry for being such a jerk. It isn't your fault that all this happened to me. I just wish...." Sebastian didn't finish the sentence, not wanting to get into another argument.

Gina stood up, silently walking over to him. She put her hands on his forearms running her thumbs lightly across his skin. The feeling sent chills down his spine. Suddenly he realized how good she smelled. He leaned down slightly and put his nose close to her hair. Strawberries.

Gina looked up at him, her lips pushing against his. This was so unexpected that he went stiff at first, not sure what to do. Even so, kissing her felt as natural as holding her next to him. It felt like he'd known how all along, just never had the opportunity. Their lips moved in sync together, all the pent up frustration being unleashed by both. Sebastian could feel his heart picking up speed, the blood rushing to his cheeks.

Gina backed up and studied his face. She suddenly burst into laughter, grabbing him by the hand.

"Come on. Let's go get some lunch."

Together they made their way to the kitchen, he worrying about what to say to the others. When they walked in, everyone stopped what they were doing and froze in place. Sebastian nervously glanced around, rocking slightly on his heels, nervously messing with his hair.

"Uh, I'm sorry for being such a jerk." Gina raised an eyebrow and crossed her hands over her chest. He'd better think of another line and quick.

"Well, I thought it was time to come out of my room and get on with it."

Alice set down the plate of BLT sandwiches she was serving, putting a hand on the back of one of the chairs. She raised her eyebrows, "Get on with it?" she asked quizzically.

"Well, it seems like I am doomed to this fate. None of you seem to be going away, and I'm sure the trunks upstairs haven't mysteriously disappeared, although they could go away the same way they got here, for all I care." Sebastian stopped himself and took a deep breath. He didn't want to get himself all worked up again.

"I don't know why I'm destined to be some prophecy fulfiller, even though no one asked if I wanted the job. I have no idea what the prophecy says or what these stories say. But I figured that I can't ignore it anymore and am just going to have to accept that my life is going to suck and I am going to be haunted by the ridiculous for the rest of my life."

Gina stared at him, her mouth turned down.

"Very optimistic of you," she mumbled while heading to the table.

Throwing up his hands, he felt himself shouting, again. "What? I'm doing the best I can here. I don't see your life thrown upside down and people chasing after you!"

Gina, without looking up, whispered, "Well, you obviously aren't looking very close."

Cyrus calming, but decisively, walked over and put himself directly in front of Sebastian.

"You aren't the only one affected by all this. We're all in this together, whether we like it or not. It isn't for us to decide. What's for us to decide is if we're going to do the right thing or if we're going to be selfish by following our own path." He was gazing at Alice as he said this, tears starting to brim in her eyes.

Sebastian felt terrible. Now guilt washed over him like a wave breaking on the rocks of the shore. "I'm sorry. I didn't think. I guess I just need to know why."

Gina looked up and wiped a tear from her cheek. "Do you still have that key?" she asked gently.

Sebastian nodded. He reached in, pulled it out and set it on the island.

Everyone in the room, especially the older three, became suddenly nervous with the key out in the open. Cyrus backed up a bit, seemingly frightened.

"Why don't you put that back in your pocket? It's safer in your pocket, OK?"

Snatching it back off the island, he rolled his eyes.

"Great, more secrets." He shoved the key back into his pocket.

"Well, I'm going up to the attic if anyone wants to come." Instantly all of them were standing next to him, waiting for him to lead the way.
Chapter 23 Answers

When Sebastian looked around the attic, nothing seemed to have changed while they were away. The trunks were still spotless; everything seemed exactly as it should be. Making his way to Makayla's trunk, he threw open the lid without much care, pulling out the gold box with little consciousness to what he was doing. Throwing it the floor next him, he stood up expecting everyone to be nearly on top of him. Except, when he turned around, Alice, Cyrus and Gina were huddled together in the corner, eyes wide and curious. He snorted at their sudden shyness to things mysterious.

"Nothing in here bites. Come take a look, if you want to see it for yourselves."

The three of them cautiously walked over to where he was standing. Sebastian began handing them the articles about children and education, showing them the clippings of Makayla grown up, as well as all the other mysterious papers in her trunk. Alice kept rubbing her fingers over the photos, gasping each time a new one came into her hands.

"You don't know what this stuff is? I thought you knew all the secrets." He was really confused.

Alice looked up at him. "No. We don't know what's in the trunks. We could only guess, as we know some of the stories, but we weren't sure. This just doesn't fit. The stories don't talk of Makayla being an educator." Cyrus was looking over her shoulder, clearly just as surprised as she was.

"Well, what do the stories say about me?" Makayla was looking at Alice, eyebrows raised in curiosity.

Alice smiled. "I'm not allowed to say. The stories are of your future. Only the prophecies are certain to be fulfilled, but the stories are just legends and traditions passed down through the generations. Those can change. Your future isn't set in stone and I have been given strict instructions to let you decide for yourself how it will turn out."

"So, what are the prophecies?" Marshall asked, sitting on his trunk with his chin in his hand.

"Sebastian, why don't you try the key?" Gina was suddenly by his side with her hand on his arm. She smiled at him and whispered in his ear so no one else could hear. "I believe in you. You can do this."

Sebastian looked at her, knowing then that no matter what was in that box, he'd be all right as long as he had Gina. He held her piercing blue gaze for a moment, his heart hammering in his chest. Forget this whole prophecy mess. He just wanted to enjoy her company without any baggage. He sighed, knowing that it was an impossible thought. Grabbing the key out of his pocket, Sebastian reached down to get the gold box. He lifted it up, letting the sunlight from the window bounce off its intricate carving. Sebastian studied the shields once more. Thoughts of the room of transition swirled around his mind, flashes of the etchings he had traced with his fingers.

"Well, here goes nothing!" He rubbed his fingers across one of the shields, making the blue light dance around him once more. The box lifted out of his hands, spinning wildly in the air, just like it had done before. The fingers of light started shooting all around the attic, flying from one side to the other, almost ecstatic at being called forth. Sebastian held up the key and let the rays of light pass through the metal rod as they danced around the attic. The light seemed to electrify in response. The blue turned to gold, shimmering into a piercing purple and back to blue. Sebastian gasped. He felt like they were talking to him. He stood frozen in place and looked at the others. Marshall walked up to him, eyes wide. "Do you hear that, Sebastian?"

Sebastian strained his ears, but couldn't hear anything. He looked down at Marshall who was smiling. "What? What do you hear?"

Marshall looked up at him and touched his ears. Suddenly, the sound of singing came alive, as if Marshall had pulled out earplugs in the middle of a song. It was beautiful. It sounded like a thousand angelic voices singing in chorus. Sebastian was mesmerized by the purity of the voices, stunned by its beauty. Suddenly a hand was on his shoulder; Gina standing next to him. She had tears streaming down her face.

"It's the song of the King."

He only nodded, instantly knowing what King she was talking about. It was the King of his dreams, the King of the lady, the King who had set all of this in motion, the King of Armistoria. Sebastian had found the key to the King and he wanted nothing more than to open up this box to his new life. How foolish had he been? He had this key for several days and had been doing everything in his power not to use it. Why? Standing here in the midst of splendor, he felt foolish and ashamed. Why didn't he believe? Why did he fight it?

He reached up, pulling the box down to fit onto the single rod in the bottom of the key. The curved metal frame of the key nestled around the sides of the box, making the bottom fit securely onto the bottom rod. The box flew out of Sebastian's hand, the lid springing open, as more fingers of light shot out across the attic, making it impossible for anyone to see. He raised his hand to his eyes, trying to keep the light from blinding him, afraid he would miss what was next. Suddenly, in the midst of the bright light a figure was approaching him. It was the only thing his eyes could focus on. Everything else in the attic had become a radiant blur.

The figure seemed to be gliding toward him. Sebastian squinted, trying to make something of the shadow that was approaching. Finally, the face to the figure came into view and a chill rushed down him. There standing in his attic was the lady of his dream. Could this really be happening? The lady smiled and nodded as if in response to his question.

She reached out her hand, motioning for him to come closer. As he did the light began to fade and he could see his brothers and sister walking toward her.

"Kneel, for you are in the presence of the King." The lady's voice was glorious. It sounded like a thousand violins in chorus together, playing to form her words. The children did as she said, bending their knees before her.

"Sebastian, my child, the King's people have been waiting a long time for you. You are most treasured in his lands. Why do you not believe?"

Sebastian looked up into her eyes, feeling the shame he had swallowed earlier come crashing down on him once more. "I'm sorry. I don't understand what is happening to me. It's just too hard."

The lady reached down, putting her long slender fingers on his neck. Her touch felt like icing on his skin. It was comforting and immediately he felt at peace.

"Well, my child, many quests of the King are difficult. But you must learn to have faith in him, or you will find yourself lost in the evils that surround us. The King has chosen you, Sebastian, to be the one to fulfill the prophecies. He has picked you to help him fight the battle that threatens his people."

Sebastian looked into her eyes. "What battle? What prophecies?"

The lady smiled and stroked his hair.

"The prophecies of the kingdom, Armistoria," she pointed to Gina, Alice and Cyrus, "prophecies of their home and its people. Armistoria is the only remaining kingdom of the human race, a time far into your future. For many centuries, an evil army had been predicted to destroy our peaceful lands, a war that would wipe humans off the planet for good. No one but the King knew when that time would come. But still, our enemy, Asheron, and his following, the Sepulcher, have grown more powerful over the generations.

At first, Asheron tried to strong arm his way into power through warfare and battle. However, the King's army is unstoppable. So, Asheron learned a more powerful way to overcome humanity by attacking through a method that proved more effective, and far more evil, than any age has seen. Deception is his tool, a quiet murmur of lies, slowly turning honest souls into paranoid, selfish creatures who want to follow a mirage instead of truth. It's a road treacherous to their race. We had hoped that when this time came, the prophecy would have already been fulfilled. But they are not and we are losing hope as time moves forward." Seeing the confusion on the children's faces, she continued further. "The prophecies say that six children will rise up, risking their own lives for ours, in hope of reuniting the seven seals into the room of transition. If they do not, the people of Armistoria will be lost and humankind will be gone forever."

Sebastian swallowed, still not understanding. The lady continued, "You see, Sebastian, the prophecies also say that the eldest child will rise up and lead the others through many journeys to defeat the evil that ensues. They say that he will rise up from our past, a time not revealed. That child will possess supernatural powers, given to him by the King, to defeat and destroy Asheron. Armistoria has been waiting on the King to tell when and how all this would come to pass. And that day has come. The King has spoken and opened the room of transition to this time, to this place. You are the one to lead us to victory. You, Sebastian, are the child."

Sebastian couldn't breathe, couldn't think, and couldn't move. What? He was some chosen savior for a kingdom and a people he didn't even understand or know?

The lady's mouth turned down, and her eyes became cold. She answered sharply, "Sebastian, why can you not believe? Haven't you seen enough magic in the last two weeks to know that all things are possible for the King? The King himself sent Alice to you to watch over you. He sent Gina and Cyrus to help you with your journey in your time of need. They are his people, from my world. It is a world far in the future, but one that is being threatened into extinction. Asheron will stop at nothing until he's deceived us all into his wicked ways, threatening the future of all."

"Who are you?" Sebastian asked.

"I'm Augury, the King's messenger. It is my job to translate his will and purpose to the people. I am the giver of purpose, the reminder of hope." She still had a cold look in her eye.

"Who is Tildon? He said he was sent here by the King." Sebastian was starting to doubt once more.

"James Tildon was the first protector sent to this world to watch over you. The King opened the room of transition when the time of the prophecies drew nearer, given James his trust to do His bidding. Even though most in Armistoria live for the King's purposes, the people are still human and have their own will to battle. James Tildon is the example of what happens to the people when Asheron has his way with them."

"Is he still human?" Sebastian whispered, shuddering at the memory of his eyes and sword-like tongue.

A loud crying came out of the light and suddenly the attic was filled with wailing and moans. It sounded like the cries of a family saying their last goodbyes before the coffin of a loved one was closed up forever. The lady's head was thrown back in sorrow and she was joining the chorus of the anguished choir of lights. She finally looked at Sebastian, crystal tears forming on her eyelids.

"James Tildon is now a creature of the Sepulcher, the second in command to Asheron. He's power is unmatched by many in our lands. The wickedness that has consumed his heart is thick and all life has left his veins, being replaced by the void of darkness. Do not underestimate him. Asheron has given much of himself to this creature. In addition to his new powers, he still possesses some of his old gifts. That is why he could feel the magic of the box when you touched it before, understanding that the prophecies had been set into motion.

A look of panic, at the mention of Tildon, came across all their faces.

The lady soothed their fears by adding, "The King has placed a protection over all of Ithaca. None of the Sepulcher can come within its borders, including him. Please use that protection wisely. Their evil is unimaginable, their doings intolerable."

"What can I do? How can I help?" Sebastian whispered.

The lady smiled, and a warm comforting glow crept back into her eyes. "There are seven seals hidden throughout the ages of mankind. These seals represent the good that has prevailed in times of great evil. Originally, they were created with a perfect mate, the etchings you touched in the room of transition. The seals were separated from the etchings and scattered after the great betrayal. They are now treasures of love, artifacts sealed with the purity of unadulterated hope and joy. Humanity's good, in the midst of horrendous evils, has been stored up in the artifact itself. When reunited with their original mates, they will create the most perfect form of love. Together, there is no evil that can overtake them. Each of you must journey through the ages, back or forward, into a time where these artifacts were hidden from the evil hearts of mankind. They are all marked with the King's crest, the mark of Armistoria." She turned to Sebastian once more. "Sebastian, you are to lead the others; you are to be their guide. You will be the strongest of them all. But you must make yourself available to the King's will and believe with your whole heart that his way is more important than your own. You must show the King your loyalty through your life and actions, by accepting this fate and agreeing to recover the seals."

Sebastian didn't know what to say. How could he not accept? He had to believe this lady and the things she said were true. Once again, he thought about the events of his Christmas vacation and his eyes were opened. He could now see everything from the King's perspective, and it all began to make sense. He felt the anger, the mistrust, and the doubt beginning to crumble like old mortar in a falling brick wall. Suddenly there was a squeeze on his hand, and he turned to meet the blues eyes he knew to be there. But instead of Gina's piercing eyes, it was Cyrus. Swimming in the colors, Sebastian saw for the first time a picture of the love that their so-called King was capable of giving. It was unconditional. He saw the forgiveness that Sebastian so desperately wanted, the approval of a father figure, the appreciation of his family. He saw his greatest desires in one flash of a moment. He saw into his soul. Cyrus stepped back without saying a word, his eyes returning to the normal dark cavernous holes that Sebastian had mistrusted for the last few days.

"I believe. I believe!" Sebastian felt the tears threatening to overflow from his eyes, suddenly overwhelmed at this new clarity of life. Relief washed over him as he began to think about his new calling, his new destiny for this King.

Augury laughed joyfully. The attic exploded into music, sounds erupting at ridiculous volumes. It sounded like a thousand angels singing harmonies never heard to human ears.

"Very good, Sebastian, now do you accept the King's will? Will you go?"

Now confident in himself, he looked up and reached out to Augury. "Yes. I will go."

The diamond studs in her hair were casting tiny rainbows all over the attic, like thousands of prisms moving in sync. Her blonde tresses were flying all over as the fingers of light began to dance around her in the celebration. Sebastian heard the singing once more, and for a few moments nothing but Augury and the singing lights moved or existed.

After several minutes, the song began to die down, and Augury leaned into him.

"Sebastian, the King welcomes you to his family, to his kingdom. There will come a day when you will visit us and our kingdom. But until that day comes, the King has a gift for you and your siblings." She leaned close to all of them and breathed across their faces. Tiny crystal-like particles began dancing through the air toward each of them. They floated and twirled, making their way to the faces of the children, who were too mesmerized to move. The crystals reached each of them and shot into their mouths and disappeared.

Augury danced with excitement. "Ah, the best gift of all. The King has just given you his spirit."

"His spirit?" Sebastian asked, confused.

"Yes, my child. His spirit will speak to you when you need clarity. It will be your guide to truth. Listen closely, my friends, for the longer you listen and the more you obey, the clearer it will become. When you choose not to hear, the voice of the spirit will fade with time. Listen and believe, and you will have all the power you need to accomplish your calling. "

"What are we supposed to do, once we find one of these seals?" Sebastian was starting to think about the quest and had a thousand questions forming in his brain.

"You are to take each one to their holding place in the room of transition. Once the seals are reunited, they cannot be separated again."

"The room of transition?" Makayla gasped. "Do you mean we have to keep going back there?"

"Ah, Makayla." Augury spoke directly to her for the first time since she had arrived in the attic. "Yes, that's correct." She smiled down at Makayla, reaching down to stroke her cheek.

"The pure one, cherished among my people."

Sebastian could hear Makayla swallowing hard.

"Excuse me?" A small voice was heard next to Sebastian. Augury looked over and smiled wide. She reached out and touched Marshall's head.

"Marshall? The wisdom of the ages belongs to this child alone. It has brought much comfort to our world."

"I was wondering about something you said; that there were seven seals, but there are only six of us and six trunks." Augury threw her head back and laughed.

"The stories about you do not disappoint. You are as wise as they make you out to be. Yes, my child. You are correct. The King will reveal all in time." Marshall seemed disappointed in this answer, but decided not to push his curiosity.

"But why couldn't Alice have told us all this? Why did we have to get the key to open a box for all of this to be revealed?" Ethan was looking at Augury with a mixture of doubt and curiosity.

Augury put her face close to his. "My child, would you have believed? If you had not experienced the journey for yourself, would you have accepted the will of the King? You proved to have some faith by pushing through confusion and doubt. But only you can make the choice to seek the keys to the King, as no one else can gain your entry to the King's family for you. This was a journey that you alone had to do."

Augury's eyes narrowed and she looked at Ethan. "Be wise, Ethan Hanks. Do not let pride overtake your faith. You must hold on to it, as a priceless jewel. You must never let it go, for when you do, the lies and deception of Asheron will be there to take its place."

Sebastian shuddered at her words, memorizing them in his heart.

Augury suddenly had a black stone in her hand. "Alice, Cyrus, Gina, please come to me."

The three of them stepped into her light and knelt down in front of the others. She touched their mouths with the black stone.

"You tongues are free to share the secrets of your kingdom with the children of the prophecies. No one else must know these secrets, unless they are ready to believe. Their power will be too much for them."

"Tell me about it," Sebastian muttered under his breath. He felt a sudden nudge in his ribs, as Makayla shot him a look of warning.

Gina turned back toward Sebastian. "See, we couldn't have told you the secrets, even if we wanted to. We were forbidden."

Sebastian looked down at the ground, feeling guilty again. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Augury looked at Gina, with a slight frown. "Of course you didn't know. We do not judge you, Sebastian. The people of Armistoria have much hope in the King and his choice. Please remember to listen and believe." She held out her hand and Sebastian took it. She pulled him up to face her. She smiled and bent forward, brushing her lips on his forehead, like a mother to her newborn child.

"The journey will be hard. It will seem impossible. Please do not lose heart. Please, for the people, do not give up. Listen to his spirit, Sebastian, and you will find your way. Believe in his power and you will succeed."

Sebastian closed his eyes and took in her sweet smell. She smelled like fresh fruit just picked off the vine. It was like nectar to a honey bee, a scent Sebastian couldn't get enough of. Suddenly, a cold breeze hit his face and he opened his eyes. Augury was gone and the box lay dead in the middle of the attic floor.

Epilogue

### April 2-Present Day

Sebastian climbed out of his desk in the back of the art room, as the bell rang, announcing the end of the school day. He shoved his sketchbook into his bag, hurrying through the desks toward the front of the class. Gina was leaning against the door frame, watching him with a smile spread across her lips. She had started school at Preston Prep the day after Augury's visit in the attic; an instant star with the populous, her story about a film biz dad gaining her instant popularity. No one ever questioned that he was never around. In fact, everyone thought it was so cool that he would leave her home alone so much, as he was "out of town on business." The truth of the matter was that Cyrus and Gina were staying in a rental property down the street. It was a large contemporary home, perfect for a Hollywood family. However, Gina was often staying in their guest quarters, attached to the back of the property. She usually shared a room with Alice. It turned out that Alice and Cyrus spent a lot of time together, now that they had been reunited. It wasn't uncommon for Cyrus to be there past midnight, forcing Gina to stay in their guest rooms or have Sebastian drive her to their own gigantic home, where she'd be alone. This frustrated him, and he thought it was pretty selfish of Cyrus not to pay more attention to Gina. He should at least make an attempt to get her home at a decent hour. Of course, deep down, neither of them minded because it meant that they could stay up late and talk, do homework, watch television and just hang out. Sebastian didn't know much of the story of Alice and Cyrus, and he really hadn't cared to ask. He hadn't been very thrilled to learn that Alice was dating him, Sebastian still having a hard time liking the guy and all. Something about Cyrus bothered him, but the feeling had been fading, as he had become part of their everyday lives.

Gina slid her fingers into Sebastian's and leaned in to brush her lips across his cheek. "How was class?"

"Fine." Sebastian took her books from her arms and put his arm around her neck as they walked casually down the hallway. The students at Preston used to stare and whisper as they walked the halls together, but over the last three months, everyone had gotten used to them being inseparable. Even Bobby Myers, who used to tease Sebastian faithfully, seemed to be impressed that he had hooked up with such a good-looking girlfriend.

When they were close to their lockers, Brooke and Trevor came bouncing up to them. They had taken to Gina instantly, and the four of them now did everything together.

They spent most of their free time at Hanks' residence, Sebastian secretly not wanting to leave Makayla alone. Normally, the four of them would pick Makayla up from school, now that Sebastian had his license, and go home to study together. Makayla was frustrated with him, feeling like she could never do anything by herself anymore. But one thing Cyrus and Sebastian did agree on: she was not to be left alone. It didn't matter where they were, boys were making eyes at her, staring at her, trying to talk to her, offering her free drinks and food and asking for her number. She didn't seem bothered by it, but it made Sebastian furious. Cyrus seemed to be just as outraged as him. Word was starting to get around Ithaca that Makayla had a new personal bodyguard. This always made Gina laugh hysterically.

"So, are we meeting up with you later?" Brooke put on her dark sunglasses that were way too big for her face as they headed for the doors.

"Sure. But wait until around six, all right?"

Trevor put his hand on Sebastian, leaning in to whisper in his ear, "Have fun!" He winked and whisked Brooke down the hall, laughing as his lanky body nearly tripped over itself out the front door.

Gina's fingers stroked his cheek, and Sebastian was pulled out of his thoughts.

"Lost in thought?" Her eyes were sparkling.

"Yeah, sorry. So, are you ready?" Sebastian pulled her closer, taking in her sweet smell, something he couldn't get enough of.

"So, what's the big surprise?" Gina laughed, excited that he had planned something special for her.

"Well, I thought we would kick off spring break with some time by ourselves."

Gina turned her head toward him, "Oh, an entire week at the beach house isn't going to be enough?"

They were leaving tomorrow to spend the week with his parents at their beach house in the Keys, a place not many people knew of. This would be the first time he would see them in five months. Alice and Cyrus were working on the plans of how to get them down to the Keys without being followed or detected by Tildon. It wasn't proving an easy task, but Sebastian knew that Cyrus was the best one for the job, despite his feelings about him.

"Our week will probably be lost in debriefings with my parents, since we have no choice but to tell them what's been going on. Not to mention we're going to be up to our knees in sand castles and mud moats." This made Gina laugh. She was excited about the week away, getting to spend more time with Scotty and Julian.

Sebastian smiled, thinking about the beach. The weather in Ithaca was just starting to turn, but this was upstate New York. It would be late April before it was here to stay. Gina noticed his smirk.

"Sebastian Hanks, what's that goofy grin on your face for?"

"Oh, I was just envisioning you in something other than a turtleneck sweater and clunky boots." Sebastian squeezed her hand.

She whipped her hand out of his, throwing it on her hip. A look of disgust crossed her face.

"Oh, you wish! I bought a nice conservative one piece, for your information." Sebastian laughed aloud. Gina was always the conservative and virtuous one.

They walked out of the building and crossed over to the student parking lot to the red mini cooper he'd driven for the special occasion. They drove with the top down and let the warmer air of the dawning spring whip through their hair.

Buttermilk Falls State Park was just miles down the road. Looking for just the right spot, he'd spent an entire day hiking the trails scouting for a place where they wouldn't be bothered by spring break tourists. He parked the car in front of the trail head, reaching for the picnic basket the cook had prepared him. Gina's face lit up, her eyes were swimming in a sea of blue.

"Shall we?" Hand in hand they made it to his secret spot.

He had wanted to make this day very special, knowing that once his parents knew what was going on, they weren't going to be giving him so much freedom.

After they were done eating, Sebastian pulled Gina onto the blanket and they lay there, not paying any attention to the time, wrapped in each other's arms. A long time passed with only the sounds of the woods comforting their thoughts. This was something he appreciated about Gina. She was cool with quiet. She let him alone when he was in his thoughts.

"Gina?" He whispered, afraid she had fallen asleep.

"Hmm." She moaned, not quite coherent.

"I was wondering what Armistoria is like? I mean what're the people like there?"

Gina opened her eyes and slowly propped herself up on her elbow.

"Well, they're like me. Human." She shrugged, like it was so obvious.

"Do people die in your world?"

Gina giggled. "Of course, we die, Sebastian. We are just as human as you are. It's just that time is a different element for us. What's a year here in your world is only a day in mine. So my world moves very slowly."

She paused for a moment, looking at the clearing they were in. "I guess my world is a much simpler place. The people are simpler."

"Hmm," Sebastian said, still rubbing her arm. "What happens when your people die? Do you guys believe in heaven and hell?"

Gina sighed, "Well, all my people are destined to go to the final kingdom, where the King is, when we die."

Sebastian was confused. "You mean the King isn't in your kingdom?"

"Oh, no! Ever since the great betrayal, he has lived in the final kingdom. I've been told it's beautiful. It has a fence all around it made of diamonds and the streets are made of solid gold. The castle in the middle of the kingdom reaches the clouds and has gemstones embedded on the towers."

Sebastian froze. Gina sat up and looked at him. "What?"

"I've seen it. Before we left for Boston, I had this dream about Augury and she was coming out of a place just like it."

Gina didn't seem fazed. "Oh, lots of people have seen it in their dreams. That isn't unusual. It's the King's way of reminding us what all of this is for, helping us to understand the bigger picture." She frowned slightly. "Although, I've never had the dream. I'm told it's because I don't need reminding." She sighed and laid her head back on his chest.

"So, why pick me? If your people are better qualified, why someone like me?"

Gina sighed and sadness crept over her face.

"Sebastian, my people are in trouble. They have lost faith and vision of the King. Many of them only pretend to hear his spirit, but cannot and do not live their lives as if they did. We are simple, but we are also easily misled. We need someone to remind us. We need someone from another time, another world to remind us that he is bigger than us, bigger than anything we know or understand."

"But, why pick someone so insignificant and young? Why not go back and get one of the great kings or great warriors in history?" This was a question that had been eating at him, but he had been too embarrassed to voice it until now.

"Everything the King does is to bring glory to him. What would our people think if someone who had greatness in their own world came to conquer Asheron? My people would probably rely on his human abilities to explain away what the King did for us. But when someone ordinary, someone so unlikely comes along, and does great things, then the glory can be easily pointed back to the King. He is the one who deserves it."

This actually made Sebastian feel better, as the thought of being a hero made him want to crawl into a hole forever. He had become more confident over the last three months, not to mention much stronger. Ever since Augury had breathed on him, his body had been shaping out and he was becoming very muscular and toned. But he was still shy to the bone and any thought of attention made him shudder.

"It seems so simple. But impossible." Sebastian sighed, running his fingers through Gina's hair.

"Yes, it does," Gina whispered.  
Sebastian sighed and stood up, pulling Gina up with him.

"Come on, or we're going to be late for our fencing class. You know how Alice is about missing our training sessions." Sebastian smiled as he watched Gina grimace. Alice was making all of them go through ridiculous amounts of training. She was having them learn all kinds of defense skills, not sure which time they would be thrust into and which weapons or defense tactics would be needed.

Fencing was Sebastian's least favorite class. Makayla was proving to be a whiz at it, her long legs providing the gracefulness needed for the swift moves.

"So, what do you think about Cyrus and Alice?" Sebastian asked her, shaking out the blanket.

"Oh, it's not that big a deal. They had a small thing going back home, before she left. But he broke up with her, as he was starting to waiver in faith. She was sent back here and he had a wake-up call. He literally pleaded with the lady to ask the King to send him here. Of course, I got to come too." She winked at him and started folding up the blanket.

They started up the path, toward the mini cooper. Sebastian was walking, thinking about Cyrus and Alice when he heard a strong, deep voice blow through his ears, like the sound of rushing water: "It's time."

Sebastian froze and panic crept across his face. He looked all around him, trying to find the face to the voice, but failed to see anything but the dense forest around him. Again, a deep voice swept across his ears, like waves hitting the stones on the coast. "Sebastian! It's time."

Sebastian gasped this time and turned to Gina. Her eyes were wide, the blue sea reappearing. Gina had told Sebastian that the blue was her real eye color, but the King had given her brown eyes to blend in with the people of this world better. But whenever she was thinking about matters of her own world, they seemed to revert back to their natural state.

"What did the spirit say?" Gina knew instantly what was going on, as she had seen it many times before.

"It's time!" Sebastian stood staring down into her eyes, not moving.

Gina bit down on her lip. She narrowed her eyes and grabbed his hands in hers. "Well, I guess we'd better go get the others."

"Yeah, I guess so." Sebastian led her to the car and they drove off, wondering whose trunk would be opened and what journey was about to begin.

