The Seventh Medallion (Bartholomew the Adventurer Trilogy Book 3) Read online

  “The universe sent us to this place for one purpose – to retrieve the Black Sphere. It is imperative we take it back to Quintari for study. We must find out precisely what it is and what the Thaumatarians were trying to create. I don’t wish to sound excessively dramatic, but if we leave it here it will destroy our entire universe.”

  Chapter 3

  The Flickering Mouse

  “It’s paws down the best idea we’ve ever had. Everyone on the island will love it.”

  “Uhh... really? The best idea we’ve ever had? What about deciding to become treasure hunters and calling ourselves Thunder and Lightning? How about going with Bartholomew and Oliver and Edmund to the lost Mintarian underground city and finding the Seventh Key and all that treasure? What about the fishing boat we bought for our parents?”

  Thunder rolled his eyes. “Urghh. You sound like old Madam Bletchley when she would correct me in class. Maybe it’s not our best idea, but building a grand fishing pier right here for all the islanders is one of our best ideas. Just look at that sparkling blue water filled with fat tasty fish. We can afford to build a show stopper of a pier with all the gold and Nirriimian white crystals we found in the Wyrme of Deth. Not to mention we’ll be more than famous. They’ll probably make statues of us. Do you think I should wear my adventurer hat when I pose for mine?”

  Lightning snorted. “They’ll probably want you to pose with a sack over your head so your statue doesn’t scare the mouselings.”

  “Excuse me, I seem to remember a certain young lady mouse who said I was–” Thunder stopped, his eyes fixed on the lake.

  “What is it? What are you looking at?”

  “What? Nothing, I wasn’t looking at anything. I was just thinking.”

  “You saw her again didn’t you? Are you going to tell the Thirteenth Monk about her? You should tell him. I would, if I was seeing... a ghost.”

  “It’s not a ghost! It’s a lady mouse all dressed in white floating above the water. And flickering. She flickers like a candle.”

  “Oh, and would you care to explain how that is not a ghost? Does she wave her paws at you and moan? Does she have ghost fangs?”

  “I told you before, she doesn’t have fangs. I don’t think it’s a ghost. She seems friendly and I think she wants to talk to me. Anyway, I’m not scared of her.”

  “Maybe you should ask Clara about it. She would know.”

  “I guess I’ll tell the Thirteenth Monk. He told me to let him know if I see anything strange. Besides, we haven’t seen Bartholomew or Clara since we got back from the lost city. We got that letter from Oliver though, the one that said the flying carriage company is doing well and so are the two Edmunds. It sounds like Edmund the Explorer is getting used to living in our world. It’s a big change from the world he lived in fifteen hundred years ago.”

  “I hope he finds Emma.”

  “He will. Clara said he will, and she’s always right.”

  “Let’s go get breakfast. We’re having snapberry flapcakes today. So yummy.”

  “Would you eat a snapberry flapcake if it had a big furry green caterpillar crawling across it?”

  “Would I have to eat the caterpillar or could I flick it off the flapcake?”

  “You could flick it off, but you’d still have muddy caterpillar footprints all over the snapberries. Plus, there might be more caterpillars stuffed inside the flapcake.”

  “Eeew. Would they be cooked or alive?”

  “That makes a difference?? Gakk!”

  “I’ll race you home. Loser has to wear a frilly purple dress when we pose for statues!”

  As they darted across the Island of Blue Monks toward their home, Thunder’s thoughts turned to the Flickering Mouse he had just seen. He had only recently told Lightning about her, but in truth it had been many weeks since her first appearance. For some reason she always appeared at the lake, floating six or eight feet above the surface, her body flickering like a candle next to a drafty window. Sometimes he could see her mouth move but couldn’t hear any words, and sometimes she would gesture for him to come to her. But where should he go? What was she? Was she from this world?

  Since their return to the island, Thunder had visited the Thirteenth Monk numerous times and had learned a great deal more about seers. He had a series of exercises he did every night now to hone his skills, to make his visions sharper, the voices clear.

  The Thirteenth Monk had showed him how it was possible to see an event which hadn’t occurred yet using Clear Vision, a term Thunder had not yet shared with Lightning. He was still a little embarrassed by the idea of being a seer. He didn’t want to be different, didn’t want the other mice on the island to think he was spooky or creepy, especially that lovely young mouse who worked at the bait shop. Everyone on the island knew about the strange things the Blue Monks could do, but that was different. They were the Blue Monks, and for the most part they kept to themselves.

  Thunder had continued his tutoring under the Thirteenth Monk once he realized it was quite easy to conceal his gift from mice who were uncomfortable with that sort of thing. He learned from the Thirteenth Monk that seers often had other abilities besides viewing future events. Some could enter the minds of sleeping mice and communicate with them during their dreams. There were seers like Bartholomew and Clara who could see the thought clouds of other mice, draw them close and read them. This was a skill Thunder was currently trying to learn. He had seen his first thought cloud only two weeks ago at the monastery. The Thirteenth Monk had clapped him on the back and said, “It won’t be long now, my friend. No indeed, it won’t be long now.” Thunder wasn’t quite sure what he had meant by that, but he was proud he had seen the thought cloud. His thoughts of the Thirteenth Monk were disrupted by the sound of Lightning’s taunting screechy laugh.

  “Ha ha, I can see it now, clear as day – a towering statue of Thunder the Great Treasure Hunter wearing a purple frilly dress!” Lightning had reached the front porch mere seconds before Thunder.

  “No problem, can I borrow one of your purple frilly dresses?”

  Lightning was preparing to pound Thunder on the arm when their mom called out, “Breakfast!” Seconds later they were seated at the kitchen table.

  Lightning’s mom patted them both on the shoulder and laughed, “My two favorite treasure hunters – I hope you’re not too famous to eat my snapberry flapcakes.”

  Thunder closed his eyes, breathing in the delectable aromas wafting over from the wood stove. There was nothing in the world like fresh warm snapberry flapcakes. His thoughts turned to the new fishing pier they were planning. How long should it be? A hundred feet? Two hundred feet? He began to imagine what the pier would look like. It should be massive, with great stout pilings strong enough to withstand any storm. There should be plenty of benches where mice could sit and relax on a sunny day, even if they weren’t fishing. Maybe they would have slides and swings for the mouselings to play on, and fenced areas for the very little ones. As he visualized the pier, its image became clearer and clearer in his mind. He could see at least a hundred mice on it now, mice who were sitting and chatting, mice who were fishing, mouselings playing on the swings. The image grew sharper still, and he could see the sky was gray and stormy. That was not good, it should be a sunny day. He visualized a clear bright day, just as the Thirteenth Monk had taught him, and soon the gray clouds vanished, replaced by a brilliant cerulean blue sky. The image of the pier was now radiantly clear in his mind. He could almost feel the smooth wood planks beneath his feet, hear the screeching of the birds flying overhead as they dove down to pluck the fish from the sparkling water.

  Then it happened. Thunder was standing on the pier. The breakfast table was gone, Lightning was gone, the aroma of snapberry flapcakes was gone – all replaced by the pungent smell of salt air and the sounds of laughing mice. He could hear and see everything as though it was real. This was without a doubt his strangest experience ever. Was the pier real? Was he visiting the future, visiting the pier
after they had built it, or was he just imagining this?

  He decided to look for clues. He would start by wandering around the pier to see if he recognized any of the mice. Could he talk to them? He noticed an older madam mouse walking in his direction. Creekers, it was Madam Bletchley, the teacher who had given him so much trouble in school. He loved to complain about Madam Bletchley and how strict she was, but he had learned more from her than any of his other teachers. As she approached him he tried to smile as pleasantly as he was able. “Good afternoon, Madam Bletchley, I do hope you’re enjoying this lovely sunny day. It’s quite a marvelous pier, is it not?”

  Madam Bletchley walked right past him as though he wasn’t there. This was unexpected. No one could see him here. Was he a ghost? Thunder walked over to an old mouse fishing off the side of the pier. “Excuse me, I couldn’t help but notice there’s a giant Nadwokk about to bite your ear.” The old mouse never even looked up. He was softly humming to himself as he fished.

  Thunder was now thoroughly confused. What was this place where no one could see him? Maybe it was the future but he didn’t exist here since he was a visitor from the past. Maybe his physical body was still sitting at the breakfast table waiting for the snapberry flapcakes. That made a kind of sense to him. When he thought about it, he liked the idea of being invisible. He strolled down the pier looking closely at all the mice. He recognized almost all of them as island mice. Not a single one reacted to his presence, even when he called out and waved to them. Except for one.

  She was standing in a group of mice with her back to him, but he would recognize her white cloak and hood anywhere. It was the Flickering Mouse, but she was not flickering now. She was real, solid, and nothing at all like a ghost. Thunder knew what was going to happen next. He was both thrilled and terrified. She spun around and looked directly at him. He could see her mouth moving, but this time he could hear her words.

  “Vahtees! My dearest Vahtees, you can finally hear me, see me. I have waited such a long time for this moment.”

  Thunder stared blankly at her. Who was Vahtees? Was she looking at someone behind him? He turned around, but there was no one there. He turned back to find the Flickering Mouse standing directly in front of him. There were tears in her eyes.

  “Vahtees, I am Lybis. I am your mother.”

  Chapter 4

  A Tale of Sacrifice

  Lybis gingerly touched her paw to Thunder’s shoulder. “There’s no need to say anything now. I understand how confusing this must be for you, and I know you don’t recognize me, Vahtees. Sit with me on one of your lovely benches and I will tell you a story.”

  Thunder could not tear his gaze from Lybis. His thoughts and feelings were racing. He didn’t remember her face, but there were other things, small things, like the way she took his paw and led him to the bench. The starchy smell of her white cloak. He never forgot smells. A sudden vision appeared to him – he was at the beach on a hot summer day. He was embarrassed that Lybis was wearing her white cloak. Another mouse was there – was it his father? Vahnar. Vahnar. The name had come from nowhere. Just popped into his head. Lybis and Vahnar. His parents. Lybis and Vahnar.

  Lybis sat on the bench holding Thunder’s paw. “I knew I could find you in the future. Vahtees, I am a seer. Not the most powerful seer in the world, but still a seer. You have inherited this from me, and one day your abilities will far surpass mine. You and your friend Lightning will bring a great change to Nirriim.” She paused for a moment, looking into his eyes.

  “I will tell you how you came to be in Nirriim. Your dear father Vahnar is gone, Vahtees. That is part of the story I am going to tell you. It is a long story, but we have all the time we need. We can stay here as long as we wish. When you go back you will return to the moment you left. The snapberry flapcakes will still be cooking and you will remember everything we talked about.

  “The Black Sphere. That is where it all began. Your father and I were on the planet Thaumatar, the birthplace of the World Doors. We found a tiny Black Sphere no larger than a grain of sand containing an inconceivable amount of life force. It was created by the Thaumatarians, but it was a creation which brought a cataclysmic end to their civilization. All the life force in their world was drawn into the Black Sphere. When Vahnar and I found the sphere I knew we had to bring it back to Quintari for study. That is where you were born, Vahtees. On the planet Quintari. It’s beautiful there. When you were small you would point up to the five moons and–” Lybis turned away, putting her paws to her face as though she was going to cry, then turned back to him. Thunder shifted in his seat as he waited for her to continue.

  “I’m sorry. It is difficult to speak of those times. They were the happiest days of my life – Vahnar and I were so proud of our little Vahtees.” She gently caressed his arm and continued. “Our journey from Thaumatar to Quintari took over two weeks, even at the fantastic speeds our ship was traveling.

  “During the voyage a hidden truth about the Black Sphere was revealed to me. I sat quietly with the sphere resting in my paw and brought my thoughts to a standstill, allowing only the presence of the Great Universe to enter my awareness. I let my consciousness travel into the Black Sphere, and what I saw there astounded me. Within it I found a universe filled with trillions upon trillions of stars and planets and galaxies, a universe where time was passing at a far greater rate than ours. I realized the life force from Thaumatar had not simply been absorbed, but had taken up residence within this new universe. Life force can never be destroyed, but it can be transferred from one body to the next. Billions of years had passed inside the Black Sphere since its creation. Physical life forms had evolved on countless planets. Civilizations had come and gone. The Great Universe showed this to me in the blink of an eye. It also showed me why I had been brought to Thaumatar.

  The Black Sphere was expanding. Slowly at first, but soon it would reach critical mass and the sphere would expand at speeds beyond our comprehension. Our universe would be destroyed in the process, our life force absorbed by the Black Sphere. I had no idea why the Thaumatarians would create such a monstrosity, but I did know we had to stop the sphere from expanding. I told Vahnar everything I had discovered.

  “When we returned to Quintari we immediately informed Manghar the Science Guild Master of the Black Sphere and the terrible danger it posed. Like us, he found it to be both frightening and fascinating. For many months we studied the sphere. Eventually we determined that the black outer layer of the sphere was a failsafe put in place by the Thaumatarians to prevent it from expanding in the event of a catastrophic failure such as the one they experienced. It had worked well enough so far, but it would not last much longer. The Thaumatarians may have had a backup plan to further contain the sphere, but we had no idea what it might be.

  “What Vahnar and I had not counted on was Manghar telling Counselor Pravus about the Black Sphere. If I had to name one mouse in this world who I consider to be truly evil, the name would be Counselor Pravus, Chief of the Imperial Military Command. He cares only for power and the ceaseless expansion of the Quintarian Empire. Mice mean nothing to him. Lives mean nothing to him.

  “When he learned about the Black Sphere, Pravus saw the potential for an unimaginably powerful new weapon. If they could control the Black Sphere they could drop it on an enemy planet and cause it to absorb all the life force on that planet. Their enemy would be gone, but the planet’s infrastructure would remain untouched. The lifeless planet could then be colonized and reseeded with our native plants and animals. Within a relatively short time the empire would have a new planet, a new source of raw materials, and further expansion of Quintarian enterprise and industry. With such a weapon nothing could stand in the way of the empire. To our great dismay, Manghar approved of Counselor Pravus’s plan and directed us to weaponize the Black Sphere.

  “Vahnar thought it morally untenable to destroy worlds simply for economic benefit of the empire, but he wisely kept these thoughts to himself. He was not the only sci
entist to harbor these feelings, and after some time a group of seven like minded scientists joined forces to form a secret alliance. All seven, your father included, knew something must be done to prevent Pravus from gaining control of the Black Sphere, and together they formulated a plan.

  “Vahnar would take the sphere to another world and hide it where Manghar and the military would not be able to find it, even when using their full spectrum scanners. Once the scientists understood the inner dynamics of the sphere, they would retrieve it and eliminate the threat of expansion and the threat of life force absorption. Only Vahnar knew where the sphere was hidden, and he created a cleverly disguised map detailing its precise location, a map meant to be used only in the event of his death. Each scientist received a silver medallion with a small eye embossed on it, the original mark of the Thaumatarians and a mark still used today by many mystical guilds. Individually the medallions were of little value. It was only when all seven medallions were united in a particular fashion that the map would be revealed.

  “Several weeks after the medallions were distributed to the scientists, Vahnar requisitioned a scout ship, telling Manghar he was taking his son to visit relatives on the fourth moon of Quintari. He had often taken you there in the past, so Manghar’s suspicions were not aroused. Once you and your father were on the ship, he headed to the fourth moon, circling around behind it. Hidden from the main Quintarian comm scanners, he created a spectral doorway to Nirriim large enough for the ship to pass through. Unfortunately, the creation of this spectral doorway did not go unnoticed by the Imperial Military Command.”

  Lybis stopped for a moment. “Vahtees, what I am going to tell you now will be difficult for you to hear. Your father lost his life on Nirriim, sacrificing himself to prevent your death at the hands of a biohunter.”